THE 
DISPENSATORY 
OP THE 
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
BY 
GEORGE B. WOOD, M.D., 
PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY; 
PRESIDENT OF THE COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS OF PHILADELPHIA; 
B1U2RITUS PROFESSOR OF THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF MEDICINE IN THE UNIVERSITY 
OF PENNSYLVANIA, ETC. ETC., 
FRANKLIN BACHE, M.D., 
AND 
LATE PROFESSOR OP CHEMISTRY IN JEFFERSON MEDICAL COLLEGE OF PHILADELPHIA; 
LATE VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS OF PHILADELPHIA; 
LATE PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY, ETC. ETC. 
TWELFTH EDITION, 
CAREFULLY REVISED. 
PHILA DELPHI^: 
J. B. LIPPING QTT "ATTirHOT 
1867. Entered, according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1865, 
By George B. Wood, M.D., 
In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States in and lor the 
Eastern District of Pennsylvania. PREFACE 
TO 
THE FIRST EDITION. 
The objects of a Dispensatory are to present an account of medicinal sub- 
stances in the state in which they are brought into the shops, and to teach 
the modes in which they are prepared for use. The importance of these 
objects, and the general value and even necessity of a work of this nature, 
will not be disputed. It may, however, be a question, how far the wants of 
the medical and pharmaceutical community in this country are supplied by 
the Dispensatories already in circulation; and whether such a deficiency 
exists as to justify the offer of a new one to the public attention. The great 
merits of the works severally entitled “The Edinburgh New Dispensatory” 
and “The London Dispensatory,” the former edited by the late Andrew 
Duncan, M.D., the latter by Anthony Todd Thomson, M.D., are well 
known wherever the English language is spoken. Founded, as they both 
are, upon the excellent basis laid by Lewis, they are nevertheless entitled, 
from the great addition of valuable materials, and the distinctive character 
exhibited in the arrangement of these materials, to be considered as origi- 
nal works; while the style in which they have been executed speaks 
strongly in favour of the skill and industry of their authors. But they 
were calculated especially for the sphere of Great Britain, and are too 
deficient in all that relates exclusively to this country, to admit of being 
received as standards here. In the history of our commerce in drugs, and 
of the nature, growth, and collection of our indigenous medical plants; in 
the chemical operations of our extensive laboratories; and in the modes of 
preparing, dispensing, and applying medicines, which have gradually grown 
into use among us; there is much that is peculiar, a knowledge of which 
is not to be gained from foreign books, and is yet necessary to the char- 
acter of an accomplished American pharmaceutist. We have, moreover, a Preface to the First Edition. 
National Pharmacopoeia, which requires an explanatory commentary, in 
order that its precepts may be fully appreciated, and advantageously put 
into practice. On these accounts it is desirable that there should be a Dis- 
pensatory of the United States, which, while it embraces whatever is useful 
in European pharmacy, may accurately represent the art as it exists in 
this country, and give instruction adapted to our peculiar wants. It appears 
due to our national character that such a work should be in good faith an 
American work, newly prepared in all its parts, and not a mere edition of 
one of the European Dispensatories, with here and there additions and 
alterations, which, though they may be useful in themselves, cannot be 
made to harmonize with the other materials so as to give to the whole an 
appearance of unity, and certainly would not justify the assumption of a 
new national title for the book. Whether, in the Dispensatories which have 
been published in the United States, these requisites have been satisfac- 
torily fulfilled, it rests with the public to determine. That valuable trea- 
tises on Materia Medica and ’Pharmacy have been issued in this country, 
no candid person, acquainted with our medical literature, will be disposed 
to deny. In offering a new work to the medical and pharmaceutical pro- 
fessions, the authors do not wish to be considered as undervaluing the 
labours of their predecessors. They simply conceive that the field has not 
been so fully occupied as to exclude all competition. The pharmacy of con- 
tinental Europe is ground which has been almost untouched; and much 
information in relation to the natural history, commerce, and management 
of our own drugs, has lain ungathered in the possession of individuals, or 
scattered in separate treatises and periodicals not generally known and 
read. Since the publication of the last edition of our National Pharma- 
copoeia, no general explanation of its processes has appeared, though re- 
quired in justice both to that work and to the public. The hope of being 
able to supply these deficiencies may, perhaps, be considered a sufficient 
justification for the present undertaking. 
The Pharmacopoeia of the United States has been adopted as the basis 
of this Dispensatory. It is followed both in its general division of medi- 
cines, and in its alphabetical arrangement of them under each division. 
Precedence is, in every instance, given to the names which it recognises, 
while the explanations by which it fixes the signification of these names 
are inserted in immediate connection with the titles to which they severally 
belong. Every article which it designates is more or less fully described; 
and all its processes, after being literally copied, are commented on and 
explained wherever comment and explanation appeared necessary. No- 
thing, in fine, has been omitted, which, in the estimation of the authors, 
could serve to illustrate its meaning, or promote the ends which it was in * Preface to the First Edition. 
tended to subserve. This course of proceeding appeared to be due to the 
national character of the Pharmacopoeia, and to the important object of 
establishing, as far as possible, throughout the United States, uniformity, 
both in the nomenclature and preparation of medicines. In one particular, 
I convenience required that the plan of the Pharmacopoeia should be de- 
parted from. The medicines belonging to the department of Materia 
Medica, instead of being arranged in two divisions, corresponding with 
the Primary and Secondary Catalogues of that work, have been treated 
of indiscriminately in alphabetical succession; and the place which they 
respectively hold in the Pharmacopoeia is indicated by the employment of 
the term Secondary, in connection with the name of each of the medicines 
included in the latter catalogue. 
But, though precedence has thus been given to the Pharmacopoeia of 
the United States, those of Great Britain have not been neglected. The 
nomenclature adopted by the different British Colleges, and their formulas 
for the preparation of medicines, have been so extensively followed through- 
. out the United States, that a work intended to represent the present state 
of pharmacy in this country would be imperfect without them; and the 
fact that the writings of British physicians and surgeons, in which their 
own officinal terms and preparations are exclusively employed and referred 
to, have an extensive circulation among us, renders some commentary 
necessary in order to prevent serious mistakes. The Pharmacopoeias of 
I London, Edinburgh, and Dublin have, therefore, been incorporated, in all 
their essential parts, into the present work. Their officinal titles are uni- 
formly given, always in subordination to those of the United States Pharma- 
copoeia, when they express the same object; but in chief, when, as often 
happens, no corresponding medicine or preparation is recognised by our 
national standard. In the latter case, if different names are applied by 
different British Colleges to the same object, that one is generally pre- 
ferred which is most in accordance with our own system of nomenclature, 
and the others are given as synonymes. The medicines directed by the 
British Colleges are all described, and their processes either copied at 
length, or so far explained as to be intelligible in all essential particulars. 
Besides the medicinal substances recognised as officinal by the Pharma- 
copoeias alluded to, some others have been described, which, either from 
the lingering remains of former reputation, from recent reports in their 
favour, or from their important relation to medicines in general use, ap- 
pear to have claims upon the attention of the physician and apothecary. 
Opportunity has, moreover, been taken to introduce incidentally brief 
accounts of substances used in other countries or in former times, and 
occasionally noticed in medical books; and, that the reader may be able to  Preface to the First Edition. 
refet to them when desirous of information, their names have been placed 
with those of the standard remedies in the Index. 
In the description of each medicine, if derived immediately from the 
animal, vegetable, or mineral kingdom, the attention of the authors has 
been directed to its natural history, the place of its growth or production 
the method of collecting and preparing it for market, its commercial his- 
tory, the state in which it reaches us, its sensible properties, its chemical 
composition and relations, the changes which it undergoes by time and 
exposure, its accidental or fraudulent adulterations, its medical properties 
and application, its economical uses, and the pharmaceutical treatment to 
which it is subjected. If a chemical preparation, the mode and principles 
of its manufacture are indicated in addition to the other particulars. If 
a poison, and likely to be accidentally taken, or purposely employed as 
such, its peculiar toxicological effects, together with the mode of ‘counter- 
acting them, are indicated; and the best means of detecting its presence 
by reagents are explained. 
The authors have followed the example of Dr. A. T. Thomson, in giving 
botanical descriptions of the plants from which the medicines treated of 
are derived. In relation to all indigenous medicinal plants, and those 
naturalized or cultivated in this country, the advantages of such descrip- 
tions are obvious. The physician may often be placed in situations, in 
which it may be highly important that he should be able to recognise the 
vegetable which yields a particular medicine; and the apothecary is con- 
stantly liable to imposition from the collectors of herbs, unless possessed 
of the means of distinguishing, by infallible marks, the various products 
presented to him. A knowledge of foreign medicinal plants, though of 
less importance, will be found useful in various ways, independently of the 
gratification afforded by the indulgence of a liberal curiosity in relation to 
objects so closely connected with our daily pursuits. The introduction of 
these botanical notices into a Dispensatory appears to be peculiarly ap- 
nropriate; as they are to be considered rather as objects for occasional 
reference than for regular study or continuous perusal, and therefore 
coincide with the general design of the work, which is to collect into a 
convenient form for consultation all that is practically important in rela- 
tion to medicines. The authors have endeavoured to preserve a due pro- 
portion between the minuteness of the descriptions, and their value as 
means of information to the student; and, in pursuance of this plan, have 
generally dwelt more at length upon our native plants than upon those of 
foreign growth; but, in all instances in which they have deemed a botanical 
description necessary, they have taken care to include in it the essential 
scientific character of the genus and species, with a reference to the posi- Preface to the First Edition. 
tm. of the plant in the artificial and natural systems of classification; so 
that a person acquainted with the elements of botany may he able to re- 
cognise it when it comes under his observation. 
In preparing the Dispensatory, the authors have consulted, in addition 
to many of the older works of authority, the greater number of the treatises 
and dissertations which have recently appeared upon the various subjects 
connected with Pharmacy, and especially those of the French writers, who 
stand at present at the head of this department of medical science. They 
have also endeavoured to collect such detached facts, scattered through 
the various scientific, medical, and pharmaceutical journals, as they con- 
ceive to be important in themselves, and applicable to the subjects under 
consideration; and have had frequent recourse to the reports of travellers 
in relation to the natural and commercial history of foreign drugs. The 
occasional references in the body of the work will indicate the sources 
from which they have most largely drawn, and the authorities upon wdiich 
they have most relied. In relation to our own commerce in drugs, and to 
the operations of our chemical laboratories, they are indebted for informa- 
tion chiefly to the kindness of gentlemen engaged in these branches of 
business, who have always evinced, in answering their numerous inquiries, 
a promptitude and politeness which merit their warm thanks, and which 
they are pleased to have this opportunity of acknowledging.* 
It has not been deemed necessary to follow the example of the British 
Dispensatories, by inserting into the work a treatise upon Chemistry, under 
the name of Elements of Pharmacy. Such a treatise must necessarily be 
very meagre and imperfect; and, as systems of chemistry are in the hands 
of every physician and apothecary, would uselessly occupy the place of 
valuable matter of less easy access. 
The authors may, perhaps, be permitted to observe, in relation to them- 
selves, that they have expended much time and labour in the preparation 
of the work; have sought diligently for facts from every readily accessible 
source; have endeavoured, by a comparison of authorities, and a close 
scrutiny of evidence, to ascertain the truth whenever practicable; and have 
exerted themselves to the extent of their abilities to render the Dispensa- 
tory worthy of public approbation, both for the quality and quantity of 
its contents, and the general accuracy of its statements. They are con- 
* The authors deem it proper to state that they are peculiarly indebted for assistance 
to Mr. Daniel B. Smith, president of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, to whom, 
besides much important information in relation to the various branches of the apothe- 
cary’s business, they owe the prefatory remarks on Pharmacy which are placed at thi 
commencement of the second part of the work, and the several articles, in the Materia 
Medica, upon Leeches, Carbonate of Magnesia, and Sulphate of Magnesia.  Preface to the First Edition. 
scious, nevertheless, that, in so great a multiplicity of details, numerous 
errors and deficiencies may exist, and that the faults of undue brevity in 
some cases, and prolixity in others, may not have been entirely avoided; 
but they venture to hope that a candid public will make all due allowances; 
and they take the liberty to invite, from all those who may feel interested 
in the diffusion of sound pharmaceutical knowledge, the communication of 
friendly suggestions or criticisms in relation to the objects and execution 
of the work. 
Philadelphia, January, 1833. 
B. PREFACE TO THE TWELFTH EDITION. 
In the foregoing preface to the first edition of this work, sufficient has been 
said of its objects, the plan upon which it was written, and the sources whence 
the materials composing it were originally derived. A modification of its arrange- 
ment was made in the second edition, by the introduction of an Appendix, con- 
taining an account of drugs not recognised by the American or British Pharma- 
j copceias, yet possessing some interest from their former or existing relations to 
; Medicine and Pharmacy. This Appendix was so much enlarged by the numerous 
additions made to it in successive editions, that the authors at length deemed 
it worthy of being considered as a third part of the Dispensatory; and, in the 
edition immediately preceding the present, this change was carried into effect, 
so that the work as then arranged, and as it now continues, consists of three 
divisions, the first treating exclusively of the medicines included in the Materia 
Medica catalogues of the Pharmacopoeias, the second of the Preparations, and 
the third of substances not strictly officinal. An Appendix, however, is still 
retained, in which are introduced various tables, and other subjects of interest 
or use to the apothecary and physician, for which a place could not conveni- 
ently be found in the body of the work. A precision has thus been given to the 
arrangement of the Dispensatory which was at first wanting. 
In the several successive editions, it has been the aim*of the authors to keep 
pace with the progress of Materia Medica and Pharmacy, making changes cor- 
responding with those of the officinal codes acknowledged by them as authori- 
tative, and introducing more or less in detail all the new facts, views, and pro- 
cesses, as they came to public notice. In the ninth edition, that, namely, of 1851, 
it was necessary to make a thorough revision of the whole work, and in a con- 
siderable degree to rearrange the materials, in consequence of the then recent 
appearance of new and greatly altered editions of our national Pharmacopoeia, 
and of those of the London and Dublin Colleges. On this occasion, attention 
was called to a new division of weights adopted by the Dublin College, which, 
though the same in terms as those in general use, differed from them materially 
in value, and, therefore, required much caution, on the part of the authors, to 
guard agaiust serious mistakes. Happily, these Dublin weights have been aban- 
doned in the existing British Pharmacopoeia, and one great source of incon- 
venience, if not of error, has been removed. The British Council, in the revision 
of the former London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Pharmacopoeias, resulting in their 
consolidation into one work, which, under the name of the British Pharmaco- 
poeia, is hereafter to serve as a standard for the whole empire, have retained the 
Imperial gallon and its subdivisions, differing more or less in value from the 
similar denominations of the wine measure used in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. 
They have, moreover, adopted the avoirdupois pound and ounce, abandoning 
entirely the Troy pound and its divisions, which are still retained in our national 
standard. To secure the practical pharmaceutist from misapprehension and 
mistakes in fulfilling the directions of the officinal formulas, arising from this 
want of uniformity in the meaning of the terms employed, it has been deemed 
necessary, in this work, to make a special reference to the value, in U. S. denomi- Preface to the Twelfth Edition. 
nations, of the British measure or weight employed, in every formula in which 
entire accuracy is essential. 
In regard to the present edition of the Dispensatory, it is thought desirable 
to enter into some detail. Few of our readers require to be informed of the de- 
cease of Dr, Bache, one of the authors of this work. This deplorable loss, by 
which long existing ties of friendship and joint labour have been broken, has 
thrown the whole responsibility of the revision upon the surviving author; and , 
at a time, moreover, when circumstances called for an unusual exercise of judg- 
ment, and rendered necessary an extraordinary amount of labour in preparing 
a new edition. 
In the first place, an unprecedented length of interval has occurred between 
the present and immediately preceding revisions of the work; the eleventh and 
latest edition having been published in February, 1858, more than seven years 
ago. It is true that, in this interval, it has been necessary to reprint the work 
twice to meet the public demand; but no material change could be made; and, 
with the exception of some errors corrected, the book remained the same as 
before. This delay of the revision was caused by the unfinished state of the 
Pharmacopoeias, which were to constitute the basis of the new edition, as the 
old Pharmacopoeias had done of the preceding. It was known that the U. S. 
Pharmacopoeia was undergoing a thorough revision, with many and important 
changes; and it was equally notorious that the three British Pharmacopoeias 
were in the course of consolidation into one, which, it was supposed, would re- 
tain few features of the former works, and almost none unaltered. Under these 
circumstances, it would have been folly to undertake a new revision of the Dis- 
pensatory, which, when completed, would in a short time have had its whole 
foundation undermined, and in all probability been left as useless lumber upon 
the hands of the publishers. This long period allowed materials to accumulate 
beyond all precedent, and thus increased in proportion the necessary labour of 
revision. 
In the second place, the changes made both in our own and the British Phar- 
macopoeias rendered indispensable similar changes in the Dispensatory. One 
not familiar with the subject can scarcely appreciate the constant vigilauce, the 
unceasing attention to the minutest details running through every part of the 
work, which were necessary to obviate confusion and prevent embarrassing mis- 
takes, in making the book conform to the present standards. Not only was it 
requisite to introduce all that was new, to alter positions in conformity with the 
changes in the standards, and to notice and discuss all modifications whether in 
substance or form; but there was a constantly recurring necessity to solve the 
various practical problems arising from the substitution of a single one for the 
three former British Pharmacopoeias, which were referred to, at greater or less 
ength, in almost every page. 
Taking the above circumstances into consideration, and reflecting, in the third 
place, how greatly the field of labour has been extended for the surviving author 
by the decease of his colleague, the reader will understand that he has had a 
very heavy task upon his hands, and will not be disposed to censure him for a 
delay in the appearance of the present editiou, which could have been shoitened 
only at the expense of the usefulness and trustworthiness of the work itself. In- 
dependently of the attention given, ever since the publication of the preceding 
edition, to the collection of materials for the one to follow, he has, during the 
last six months, devoted his whole time and energy to the.business of revision, 
at the sacrifice even of ordinary social enjoyments, in order that he might have 
nothing to regret in future from errors or deficiencies in a book, in which accu- 
racy is so important to the general good. 
It is, however, with pleasure that he ackuowledges his indebtedness, for mate- 
rial assistance in the prosecution of the revision, to his friends, Mr. Wm. Procter, Preface to the Twelfth Edition. 
Onn., Professor of Pharmacy in the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, and Dr. 
Robert Bridges, Professor of Chemistry in the same Institution. By the sugges- 
tion of new subjects for investigation and new points of inquiry, by a careful 
watchfulness to prevent or correct error, and by valuable information particu- 
larly connected with their special departments; though thereby rather increasing 
than diminishing the labours of the author, they have contributed no little to 
extend the usefulness, and secure the accuracy of the work. But with all these 
advantages it would be expecting too much from human fallibility to look for a 
faultless production. No one is more sensible than the author of possible errors 
and omissions; and he can only reiterate the invitation for friendly suggestion 
or criticism, given at the close of the original preface. 
Some idea may be formed of the amount of new matter added to the Dispen- 
satory in this revision, when it is understood that, notwithstanding the very con- 
siderable space gained by the consolidation of the three British Pharmacopoeias 
into one, and the consequent substitution, in many instances, of a single process 
and its necessary commentary for three, and notwithstanding the effort made to 
compress everything to be said into the fewest possible words, and to leave no 
part of the space unoccupied, it has nevertheless been found necessary to extend 
the limits of the work by more than one hundred pages. Among the more im- 
portant additions, independently of those made in conformity with the Pharma- 
copoeias, in the first and second parts of the Dispensatory, and the various new 
or modified pharmaceutical processes in the preface to the second part, or 
scattered here and there throughout that division, may be particularized the 
articles in the third part upon Anilin, Calabar Bean, Carbolic Acid, Coal 
Tar, Peroxide of Hydrogen, Petroleum, Propylamia, Sorghum, Thallium, the 
Upas, &c., with numerous brief notices of plants, especially the indigenous, in- 
tended to call attention to them rather as objects worthy of inquiry by the phy- 
sician, than from their known value. The reader who may be already in any 
degree familiar with the work will be struck with one change, for which he may 
probably not perceive, at first sight, sufficient necessity in all cases. Reference is 
here made to the transfer of various articles from one part of the Dispensatory 
to another, as for example the articles on coffee, gutta-percha, ignatia, leptandra, 
permanganate of potassa, &c., from the third into the first part, and origanum, 
sponge, tin, &c. from the first to the third. But all these and analogous changes 
have been made in accordance with the Pharmacopoeias adopted as the basis of 
the work, and will be explained when necessary in connection with the several 
articles themselves. On the whole, it may be said truly of this revision, that there 
has been no one, since the Dispensatory was originally published, which has been 
attended with so much labour, or in which so many modifications and additions 
have been introduced. 
Finally, it may be permitted to the surviving author to say that, considering 
his advanced age, it is hardly probable that he will live to see or at least par- 
ticipate in, another revision, and, under these circumstances, to express his warm 
thauks to the members of the Medical and Pharmaceutical Professions, who 
have in so many ways evinced a kind regard for him personally, and a disposi- 
tion to judge favourably if not partially of his works. 
Philadelphia, March 14th, 1865. ABBREVIATIONS EMPLOYED IN THE WORK. 
U. S.—“The Pharmacopeia op the United States of America. By au- 
thority of the National Convention for revising the Pharmacopoeia, held at 
Washington, A.D. 1860.” 
U. S. 1850.—The same, by authority of the Convention of 1850. 
Br.—The British Pharmacopeia, published under the direction of the Gene- 
ral Council, A.D. 1864. 
Land.—London Pharmacopeia, A.D. 1851. 
Ed.—Edinburgh Pharmacopeia, A. D. 1841. 
Dub.—Dublin Pharmacopeia, A. D. 1850. 
Off. Syn.—Officinal Synonymes, or the titles employed by the Pharmacopoeias 
with the accompanying explanations, when these titles are not given in chief. 
Sex. Syst.—The Sexual System, or the artificial system of Linnaeus, founded 
on the sexual organization of plants. 
Nat. Ord.—The Natural Order to which any particular genus of plants be- 
longs. When not otherwise stated, it is to be understood that the natural 
orders referred to are those recognised by Professor Lindley, of the Univer- 
sity of London, in his “Introduction to the Natural System of Botany.” 
Gen. Ch.—The Generic Character, or scientific description of any particular 
genus of plants under consideration. 
Pharm. Uses.—Use of the substance referred to in the preparation of officinal 
medicines, without entering into the constitution of the medicines prepared. 
Off. Prep. — Officinal Preparations; including all the preparations into 
which any particular medicine directed by the U. S. or British Pharmacopoeia 
enters. When the same preparation is contained in both Pharmacopoeias, 
neither is referred to; but when only in one, this is designated by its repre- 
sentative abbreviation at the end of the preparation named. 
Sp. Gr.—Specific Gravity. 
Equiv., or Eq.—Chemical Equivalent, or the number representing the small- 
est quantity in which bodies usually combine. 
Linn., Linnahjs.—Juss., Jussieu.—De Gand., De Candolle. — Willd. Sp. 
Plant., WlLLDENOW’S EDITION OF THE SPECIES PLANTARUM OF LlNNAlUS.— 
Woodv. Med. Bot., Woodville’s Medical Botany, 2d edition.—B., Baume’s 
Hydrometer. 
Fr., French.—Germ., German. — Ilal., Italian. — Span., Spanish. — Arab., 
Arabic. 
Journ. de Pharm.—Journal de Pharmacie et de Ciiimie. 
Pharm. Journ.—London Pharmaceutical Journal and Transactions. 
When, in referring to a journal in parenthesis, the word See is placed before 
the name of the journal, it is generally intended to intimate that the article 
referred to is not original. THE 
DISPENSATORY 
OF 
THE UNITED STATES. 
PART I. 
MATERIA MEDICA. 
The Materia Medica, in its most comprehensive sense, embraces all those 
substances which are capable of making sanative impressions on the human 
system; bat, as the term is employed in this work, it has a more restricted sig- 
nification. The Pharmacopoeias of the United States and Great Britain very 
appropriately arrange medicines in two distinct divisions; one including all those 
which are furnished immediately by nature, or thrown into commerce by the 
manufacturer; the other, those which are prepared by the apothecary, and are 
the objects of officinal directions. The former are enumerated under the title 
of “Materia Medica;” the latter, under that of “Preparations,” or “Pre- 
parations and Compounds.” In Dispensatories, which may be considered as. 
commentaries on the Pharmacopoeias, the same arrangement is usually fol- 
lowed; and the authors of the present work adopt it the more willingly, as, 
independently of the weight of authority in its favour, it has the recommenda- 
tion of being the most convenient. By this plan, all the directions which relate 
to the practical operations of the apothecary are collected in one place, and are 
thus more easily referred to than if mixed indiscriminately with other matters, 
as they must be by any mode of arrangement which makes no distinction be- 
tween the original medicinal substances and their preparations. Under the head 
of Materia Medica, therefore, in this Dispensatory, we treat of medicines in the 
state only in which they are produced by nature, or come into the hands of the 
apothecary. Of these medicines, such as are recognised by our National Phar- 
macopoeia are most minutely described; but we consider also all that are in- 
cluded in the British officinal catalogue. 
Another point in which we accord with the Pharmacopoeias is the alpha- 
betical arrangement of the objects of the Materia Medica. As a Dispensatory 
is intended rather for reference than for regular perusal, it is important that 
its contents should be so disposed as to facilitate consultation. Medicines, in 
a work of this kind, are considered as independent objects, to be studied sepa- 
rately, and without any reference to community of source, or similarity of 
character. Their scientific classification belongs to works which treat of them 2 
Materia Medica. 
PART I. 
rather in their relations than their essential properties; and different systems 
have been adopted, according to the set of relations towards which the mind 
of the author has been especially directed. Thus, the naturalist classifies them 
according to the affinities of the several objects in nature from which they are 
derived; the chemist, according to their composition ; the practitioner of medi- 
cine, according to their effects upon the system in a state of health and disease. 
But none of these classifications is without imperfections; and a simple alpha- 
betical arrangement is decidedly preferable, in every case in which the medicines 
are considered solely in their individual capacity. Yet, as it comes within the 
scope of this work to treat of their physiological and therapeutical effects, and 
as the terms by which these effects are expressed are also the titles of classes to 
which the medicines belong, it will not be amiss to present the reader with the 
outlines of a system of classification, by consulting which he will be enabled to 
ascertain the precise meaning we attach to the terms employed to designate the 
peculiar action of different medicinal substances. 
Remedies are divided into general and local; the former acting on the whole 
system, the latter on particular parts or organs. 
I. GENERAL REMEDIES include 1. Arterial Stimulants, sometimes 
ealled Incitants, which, while they raise the actions of the system above the 
standard of health, exhibit their influence chiefly upon the heart and arteries; 
2. Narcotics, which especially affect the cerebral functions, and are either 
stimulant or sedative according as they increase or diminish action; 3. Anti- 
spasmodics, which, with a general stimulant power, exert a peculiar influence 
over the nervous system, exhibited in the relaxation of spasm, the calming of 
nervous irritation, &c., without any special and decided tendency to the brain; 
4. Tonics, which moderately and permanently exalt the energies of all parts of 
the frame, without necessarily producing any apparent increase of the healthy 
actions; and 5. Astringents, which have the property of producing contrac- 
tion in the living tissues with which they may come in contact. 
II. LOCAL REMEDIES may be divided into four sections: a. Those 
affecting the function of a part, namely, 1. Emetics, which act on the stomach, 
producing vomiting; 2. Cathartics, which act on the bowels, producing a 
purgative effect; 3. Diuretics, which act on the kidneys, producing an increased 
flow of urine; 4. Antilitiiics, which act on the same organs, preventing the 
formation of calculous matter; 5. Diaphoretics, which increase the cutaneous 
discharge; 6. Expectorants, which augment the secretion from the pulmonary 
mucous membrane, or promote the discharge of the secreted matter; I. Emmen- 
agogues, which excite the menstrual secretion; 8. Sialagogues, which in- 
crease the flow of saliva; and 9. Erriiines, which increase the discharge from 
the mucous membrane of the nostrils: b. Those affecting the organization of a 
part, including 1. Rubefacients, which produce redness and inflammation of 
the skin; 2. Epispastics or Yesicatories, which produce a serous discharge 
beneath the cuticle, forming a blister; and 3. Escharotics or Caustics, which 
destroy the life of the part upon which they act: c. Those operating by a me- 
chanical agency, consisting of 1. Demulcents, which lubricate the surface to 
which they are applied, and prevent the contact of irritating substances, or 
mingle with these and diminish their acrimony; 2. Emollients, which serve 
as vehicles for the application of warmth and moisture; and 3. Protectives, 
which operate by excluding the air: d. Those which act on extraneous matters 
contained within the organs, including 1. Anthelmintics, which destroy worms, 
or expel them from the bowels; and 2. Antacids, which neutralize acid, whether 
existing in the alimentary canal, or circulating with the blood. 
It is believed that all substances employed as medicines, with the exception of 
a very few which are so peculiar in their action as scarcely to admit of classifi- 
cation, may be distributed without violence among the abort classes. Some PART I 
Materia Medica. 
3 
substances, however, in addition to the properties of the classes to which they 
are severally attached, possess others in common, which give them practical 
value, and authorize their association in distinct groups, not recognised in the 
system of classification, but constantly referred to in medical language. Thus, 
we have Refrigerants, which, when internally administered, diminish animal 
temperature; Alteratives, which change, in some inexplicable and insensible 
manner, certain morbid actions or states of the system; and Carminatives, 
which, by promoting contraction in the muscular coat of the stomach and 
bowels, cause the of flatus. It is customary, moreover, to attach dis- 
tinct names to groups of remedies, with reference to certain effects which are 
incident to the properties that serve to arrange them in some more compre- 
hensive class. Thus, Narcotics frequently promote sleep, relieve pain, and 
produce insensibility, and, in relation to these properties, are called Soporifics, 
Anodynes, and Anaesthetics; and various medicines, which, by diversified 
modes of action, serve to remove chronic inflammation and enlargements of the 
glands or viscera, are called Deobstruents. These terms are occasionally em- 
ployed in the following pages, and are here explained, in order that the sense 
in which we use them may be accurately understood. W. 4 
Absinthium. 
PART I. 
ABSINTHIUM. U.S. 
Wormicood. 
The tops and leaves of Artemisia Absinthium. U. S. 
Absinthe, Fr.; Gemeiner Wermuth, Germ.; Assenzio, Ital.; Axtemisio Axenjo, Span. 
Artemisia. Sex. Syst. Syngenesia Superflua.—Nat. Ord. Compositse Seneci- 
onideae. De Cand. Asteracese. Lindley. 
Gen.Ch. Receptacle sub-villous, or nearly naked. Seed-down none. Calyx 
imbricate, with roundish, converging scales. Corollas of the ray none. Willd. 
Several species of Artemisia have enjoyed some reputation as medicines. The 
leaves of A. Abrotanum, or southernwood, have a fragrant odour, and a warm, 
bitter, nauseous taste; and were formerly employed as a tonic, deobstruent, and 
anthelmintic. Similar virtues have been ascribed to A. Santonica. A. ponlica 
has been occasionally substituted for common wormwood, but is weaker. A. vul- 
garis, or mugwort, formerly enjoyed considerable reputation as an emmenagogue, 
and some years since came into notice, in consequence of the recommendation 
of its root in epilepsy by Dr. Burdacli, of Germany. For this purpose, it should 
be collected in autumn or early in the spring, and the side roots only dried for 
use. These should be powdered as they are wanted, the ligneous portion being 
rejected. The dose is about a drachm, to be administered in some warm vehicle 
in anticipation of the paroxysm, and to be repeated once or twice, at intervals 
of half an hour, till perspiration is produced, the patient being confined to bed. 
In the intervals, it may be given every second day. This is merely the revival 
of an old practice in Germany. Dr. Neumeister, of Arneburg, has used mugwort, 
in connection with assafetida, successfully in chorea. He adds a pound of the 
tops to a gallon of water, digests for three days, then strains, adds three ounces 
of assafetida, and gives a teacupful for a dose. The proportion of assafetida 
might be reduced to one-third, if well mixed. A. vulgaris of this country is 
thought by Nuttall to be a distinct species. In China, moxa is said to be pre- 
pared from the leaves of Artemisia Chinensis and A. Indica. The medicine 
known in Europe by the name of wormseed, is the product of different species 
of Artemisia. The only species which requires particular description here is 
A. Absinthium. 
Artemisia Absinthium. Willd. Sp. Plant. iii. 1844; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 54, 
t. 22. Wormwood is a perennial plant, with branching, round, and striated or 
furrowed stems, which rise two or three feet in height, and are panicled at their 
summit. The lower portion of the stem lives several years, and annually sends 
up herbaceous shoots, which perish in the winter. The radical leaves are triply 
pinnatifid, with lanceolate, obtuse, dentate divisions; those of the stem, doubly 
or simply pinnatifid, with lanceolate, somewhat acute divisions; the floral leaves 
are lanceolate; all are hoary. The flowers are of a brownish-yellow colour, hemi- 
spherical, pedicelled, nodding, and in erect racemes. The florets of the disk are 
numerous, those of the ray few. The plant is a native of Europe, where it is 
also cultivated. It is among our garden herbs, and has been naturalized in the 
mountainous districts of New England. The leaves and flowering summits are 
employed, the larger parts of the stalk being rejected. They should be gathered 
in July or August, when the plant is in flower. They preserve their peculiar 
sensible properties long when dried. 
Wormwood has a strong odour, and an intensely bitter, nauseous taste, which 
It imnarts to water and alcohol. It yields by distillation a volatile oil (oleum 
absinthii), usually dark-green, sometimes yellow or brownish, having a strong 
odour of the plant, an acrid peculiar taste, and the sp. gr. 0972. It is sometimes 
adulterated with alcohol, oil of turpentine, &c., which lessen its specific gravity. 
The dried herb yields much more than the fresh. {Zeller.) The oilier constitu- PART I. 
Absinthium.—Acacia. 
5 
ents, according to Braconnot, are a very bitter, and an almost insipid azotized 
matter, an excessively bitter resinous substance, chlorophyll, albumen, starch, 
saline matters, and lignin. The cold infusion becomes olive-green and turbid on 
the addition of sesquichloride of iron, indicating the probable existence of a little 
tannic acid. {Pereira.) Among the salts, Braconnot found one consisting of 
potassa, and an acid which he supposed to be peculiar, and denominated absin- 
thic acid, but which is said to be identical with the succinic. This acid may be 
recognised among the products of the dry distillation of wormwood. The sub 
stance formerly called salt of wormwood {sal absinthii) was impure carbonate of 
potassa, obtained by lixiviating the ashes of the plant. By precipitating an infu- 
sion of wormwood with acetate of lead, separating the excess of lead by sulphu- 
retted hydrogen, evaporating the liquor to dryness, digesting the residue in a 
mixture of alcohol and ether, and submitting the resulting tincture to slow 
evaporation, Caventou obtained a very bitter, imperfectly crystalline substance, 
which he considered as the active principle, and which has been named absin- 
thin. Dr. E. Luck has procured pure absinthin by a process which may be seen 
in the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (xxiii. 358). 
Medical Properties and Uses. Wormwood was known to the ancients. It is 
highly tonic; and its active principles probably enter the circulation, as it is said 
to render the flesh and milk of animals fed with it bitter. It formerly enjoyed 
great reputation in numerous complaints, attended with a debilitated condition 
of the digestive organs, or of the system generally. Before the introduction of 
Peruvian bark, it was much used in the treatment of intermittents. It has also 
been supposed to possess anthelmintic virtues. At present, however, it is little 
used in regular practice on this side of the Atlantic. A narcotic property has 
been ascribed to it by some writers, in consequence of its tendency to occasion 
headache, and, when long continued, to produce disorder of the nervous system. 
This property is supposed to depend on the volatile oil, and, therefore, to be less 
obvious in the decoction than in the powder or infusion. A case is recorded in 
the Lancet (Dec. 6, 1862, p. 619) in which half an ounce of the oil, swallowed 
by a male adult, produced insensibility, convulsions, foaming at the mouth, and 
a tendency to vomit; though the patient recovered under the use of emetics, 
with stimulants and demulcents. In large doses, wormwood irritates the stom- 
ach, and excites the circulation. The herb is sometimes applied externally, by 
way of fomentation, as an antiseptic and discutient. The dose in substance is 
from one to two scruples; of the infusion, made by macerating an ounce in a 
pint of boiling water, from one to two fluidounces. W. 
ACACIA. U.S., Br. 
Gum Arabic. 
The concrete juice of Acacia vera and of othqr species of Acacia. U. S. One 
or more undetermined species of Acacia. A gummy exudation from the stem. Br. 
Gomme Arabique, Fr.; Arabisches Gummi, Germ.; Gomma Arabica, Ital.; Goma Ara- 
biga, Span.; Samagh Arabee, Arab. 
Acacia. Sex. Syst. Polygamia Monoecia. — Nat. Ord. Leguminosae. Trib. 
Mimoseae. 
This genus is one of those into which the old genus Mimosa of Linnaeus was 
divided by Willdenow. The name Acacia was employed by the ancient Greeks 
to designate the gum-tree of Egypt, and has been appropriately applied to the 
new genus in which that plant'is included. 
Gen. Gh. Hermaphrodite. Calyx five-toothed. Corolla five-cleft, or formed 
of five petals. Stamens 4-100. Pistil one. Legume bivalve. Male. Calyx 
five-toothed. Corolla five-cleft, or formed of five petals. Stamens 4-100. Willd. 6 
Acacia, 
PAST I. 
Several species of Acacia contribute to furnish the gum arabic of the shops. 
Among the most important are A. vera and A. Arabica, confounded together 
by Linnaeus under the title of Mimosa Nilotica. 
Acacia vera. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 1805 ; Hayne, Darstel. and Beschreib. Ac. 
x. 34. This is a tree of middling size, with numerous scattered branches, of 
which the younger are much bent, and covered with a reddish-brown bark. 
The leaves are alternate and bipinnate, with two pairs of pinnae, of which the 
lower are usually furnished with ten pairs of leaflets, the upper with eight. The 
leaflets are very small, oblong-linear, smooth, and supported upon very short 
footstalks. On the common petiole is a gland between each pair of pinnae. Both 
the common and partial petiole are smooth. Two sharp spines, from a quarter 
to half an inch long, of the colour of the smaller branches, and joined together 
at their base, are found at the insertion of each leaf. The flowers are yellow, 
inodorous, small, and collected in globular heads, supported upon slender pedun- 
cles, which rise from the axils of the leaves, in number from two to five together. 
The fruit is a smooth, flat, two-valved legume, divided by contractions, occur- 
ring at regular intervals, into several roundish portions, each containing one 
seed. This species flourishes in Upper Egypt and Senegal, and is probably 
scattered over the whole intervening portions of Africa. 
A. Arabica. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 1805; Hayne, Darstel. und Beschreib. x. 
32; Carson, Illust. of Med. Bot. i. 31. —Acacia Nilotica, Delille. Illust. Flor. de 
VEgypte, p. 79. This species, though often little more than a shrub, attains in 
favourable situations the size of a considerable tree, being sometimes forty feet 
high, with a trunk a foot or more in diameter. The leaves are alternate and 
doubly pinnate, having from four to six pairs of pinnae, each of which is fur- 
nished with from ten to twenty pairs of minute, smooth, oblong-linear leaflets. 
The common petiole has a gland between the lowest pair of pinnae, and often 
also between the uppermost pair. Both the common and partial petioles, as 
well as the young branches, are downy. The thorns are straight, and disposed 
as in the former species. The flowers are also arranged as in A. vera, and the 
fruit is of a similar shape. A. Arabica is perhaps the most widely diffused of 
the gum-bearing species. It grows in Upper and Lower Egypt, Senegal, and 
other parts of Africa, flourishes also in Arabia, and is abundant in Hindostan, 
where its gum is used for food. 
Besides the two species above described, the following afford considerable 
quantities of gum:—A. Karroo, of the Cape of Good Hope, formerly considered 
by some as identical with A. vera; A. Senegal, a small tree, inhabiting the hot- 
test regions of Africa, and said to form vast forests in Senegambia ; A. gummi- 
fera, seen by Broussonet in Morocco near Mogador; A. Ehrenbergiana, a shrub 
six or eight feet high, named in honour of the German traveller Ehrenberg, who 
observed it in the deserts of Libya, Nubia, and Dongola; A. Seyal, growing in 
the same region, and also in Upper Egypt and Senegambia; A. Adansonii of 
the Flore de Senegambie, said to contribute a portion of the Senegal gum; and 
A. tortilis, which sometimes atftiins the height of sixty feet, and inhabits Arabia 
Felix, Nubia, Dongola, and the Libyan desert. It is highly probable that gum 
is obtained from other species not hitherto described, growing in the hot lati- 
tudes of Africa. A. decurrens and A.foribunda are said to yield it in New 
Holland. Trees, moreover, not belonging to the genus, afford a similar product, 
especially Feronia elephantum of Hindostan, the gum of which, according to 
Ainslie, is used for medical purposes in Lower India, and Algarobia glandulosa 
of New Mexico, supposed to be the source of the mezquite gum. 
The gum-bearing Acacias are all thorny or pfickly trees or shrubs, calculated 
by nature for a dry and sandy soil, and flourishing in deserts where few other 
trees will grow. We are told that camels, attached to the caravans, derive 
from them their chief sustenance in many parts of those desolate regions in part l. 
Acacia. 
7 
which Africa abounds. In these situations, they have a stunted growth, and 
present, a bare, withered, and uninviting aspect; but in favourable situations, 
as on the banks of rivers, they are often luxuriant and beautiful. 
Their bark and unripe fruit contain tannic and gallic acids, and are some- 
times used in tanning. An extract was formerly obtained from the immature 
pods of A. Arabica and A. vera, by expression and inspissation. It was known 
to the ancients by the name of acacise verse succus, and was highly praised by 
some of the Greek medical writers; but is at present little used. It is a solid, 
heavy, shining, reddish-brown substance, of a sweetish, acidulous, styptic taste, 
and soluble in water. Its virtues are probably those of a mild astringent. On 
the continent of Europe, a preparation is said to be substituted for it called 
acacia nostras, obtained by expression and inspissation from the uni’ipe fruit of 
Prunus spinosa, or the wild plum-tree. 
The gum of the Acacias exudes spontaneously from the bark, and hardens 
on exposure; but incisions are sometimes made in order to facilitate the exuda- 
tion. This is supposed to be favoured by disease; and it is stated by Jackson 
that, in Morocco, the greatest product is obtained in the driest and hottest 
weather, and from the most sickly trees. An elevated temperature appears to 
be essential; for in cooler climates, though the tree may flourish, it yields no 
gum. According to Ehrenberg, the varieties in the characters of the gum do 
not depend upon difference in the species of the plant. Thus, from the same 
tree, it will exude frothy or thick, and clear or dark-coloured, and will assume, 
upon hardening, different shapes and sizes; so that the pieces* when collected, 
require to be assorted before being delivered into commerce. 
Commercial History and Varieties. The most common varieties of this drug 
are the Turkey, the Barbary, the Senegal, and the India gum; to which may 
be added the Cape and the Australian gum. 
1. Turkey Gum. Gum arabic was formerly procured, chiefly if not exclu- 
sively, from Egypt and the neighbouring countries; and much is still obtained 
from the same sources. It is collected in Upper Egypt, Nubia, Kordofan, and 
Darfur, whence it is taken down the Nile to Alexandria.* We obtain it in this 
country through Smyrna, Trieste, Marseilles, or some other entrepot of the 
Mediterranean commerce. Two varieties have long been noticed, one more or 
less coloured, the other wEite, which were formerly distinguished by the titles of 
gum gedda and gum turic, derived from the ports of the Red Sea, Jidda and 
Tor, from which the varieties were erroneously supposed to be respectively ex- 
ported. The gum from Egypt is commonly called Turkey gum, and is the kind 
with which apothecaries are usually supplied. Though interspersed with round- 
ish pieces of various sizes, it consists chiefly of small, irregular fragments, com- 
monly whitish, or slightly tinged with yellow or reddish-yellow. It is, on the 
whole, lighter coloured, more brittle, more readily soluble, and freer from im- 
purities than the other commercial varieties, and contains much of that form of 
gum arabic which is characterized by innumerable minute fissures pervading its 
substance, and impairing its transparency. 
2. Babbary Gum. Much gum arabic is obtained from Barbary; and Mo- 
gador, a port of Morocco, is the chief entrepot of the trade. It is probably 
derived, in part at least, from Acacia gummifera. According to Jackson, the 
natives call the tree which affords it attaleh. They gather it in July and August, 
when the weather is hot and very dry. Two kinds are brought to Mogador, 
one from the neighbouring provinces, the other by caravans from Timbuctoo. 
This may account for the fact, that Barbary gum in part resembles the Turkey, 
in part the Senegal. When first deposited in the warehouses, it has a faint 
* Bayard Taylor states that it is obtained almost entirely from Kordofan, where 30,f>00 
cwt. are annually gathered. [Journey to Central Africa, N. Y. 1854, p. 387.) 8 
Acacia. 
PART I. 
smell, and makes a crackling noise, occasioned by the rupture of the small 
masses as they become more dry. Barbarv gum is exported in casks, and 
reaches the United States through English commerce. 
3. Senegal Gum. This variety was introduced into Europe by the Dutch. 
The French afterwards planted a colony on the western coast of Africa, and 
took possession of the trade; but, since the last great European war, it has 
been largely shared by the English. St. Louis, at the mouth of the Senegal, 
and Portendic, considerably further north, are the ports in which the commerce 
in gum chiefly centres. Immense forests of Acacia exist in the interior. These 
are composed chiefly of two trees, called by the natives vereck or nereck, and 
rxebuel or nebued; the former yielding a white gum, the latter a red. These 
are probably distinct species; the vereck being, according tc M. Rain, A. vera, 
and the nebuel, A. Senegal. According to Adanson, there are several other 
gum-bearing species in the neighbourhood. The juice begins to exude in No- 
vember. The dry winds, which prevail after the rainy season, cause the bark 
to crack; the juice flows out, and hardens in masses, which are often as large 
as a pigeon’s egg, and sometimes as that of the ostrich. At this period, the 
Moors and negroes proceed to the forests in caravans, collect the gum in leather 
sacks, and convey it to the coast. Senegal gum is imported into the United 
States chiefly from Bordeaux. It is usually in roundish or oval unbroken pieces, 
of various sizes, sometimes whitish, but generally yellowish, reddish, or brown- 
ish-red, larger than those of Turke}r gum, less brittle and pulverizable, and 
breaking with a'more conchoidal fracture.* 
4. India Gum. Large quantities of gum have been imported from India, 
derived from A. Arabica, and probabty other species of Acacia. Most of it is 
taken to Bombay in Arab vessels from Cape Gardafui and Berbera on the-north- 
eastern coast of A frica, where it is collected, or from the ports of the Red Sea. 
It is in pieces of various size, colour, and quality, some resembling the broken 
fragments of Turkey gum, though much less clunky; others large, roundish, 
and tenacious, like the Senegal. It is usually much contaminated, containing, 
* An interesting account is given by M. J. Leon Soubeiran of the varieties of gum sold 
under the name of Senegal. The following is an abstract from his paper, published in the 
Journ. de Pharm. et de Chim. (Juillet, 1856, p. 58). 
Hard gum Galam (gomme dure de Galam) is the name given to the product of the two spe- 
cies mentioned in the text. That of A. vereck is white, wrinkled, and dull externally, of a 
vitreous fracture, sometimes vermicular or tortuous, but in general roundish or oval, two 
inches in diameter, of a sweetish slightly acidulous taste, and wholly soluble in water, 
with which it forms a mucilage much clearer and less consistent than that of Turkey gum, 
and reddening the tincture of litmus. The product of A. nebued differs only in being more 
frequently of a reddish colour, almost always in roundish lumps from six lines to an inch 
in diameter, transparent, of a slightly bitter taste, and yielding a mucilage thicker than 
that of Turkey gum, and but very slightly reddening the tincture of litmus. 
Mixed with the Galam gum are two other varieties, named Bondou gum and Gonakie gum; 
the former closely resembling the Galam gum, but differing by its decidedly bitter taste, 
which renders it unfit for medical use; the latter derived from A. Adansonii, redder than 
the red Galam gum, drying readily and becoming vitreous like the better varieties, but 
unfortunately so bitter as much to lessen the value of the gum with which it may be mixed, 
and from which it is not easy to distinguish it. 
Brittle gum, Salabreda, or Sadra-beida, is supposed to be obtained from A. albida of the 
Flora of Senegambia, which is much smaller than A. vereck, and characterized by its white 
bark. The gum is usually in small, irregular pieces like coarse salt, probably the fragments 
of larger lumps, but sometimes in vermicular pieces about as thick as a goose-quill, and of 
variable length. It is dull and often wrinkled externally, of a vitreous fracture, and of 
different tints of colour, white, green, yellow, or orange. It is always somewhat bitter. 
Very easily soluble in its weight of water, it affords a mucilage of little consistence, ■which 
has but a slight effect on the tincture of litmus. When the solution is evaporated to the 
consistence of a paste, it absorbs moisture so as to become viscid; and this property de- 
tracts much from its value. It is much less esteemed than the Galam gum.—Note to the 
eleventh edition. part I. 
Acacia. 
9 
besides genuine gum arabic, portions of a different product, having the char- 
acteristic properties of Bassora gum. This is distinguished by its insolubility 
in water, with which, however, it unites, swelling up, and forming a soft viscid 
mass. It owes its properties to the presence of bassorin. Besides this im 
purity in the India gum, there are often others more read-ily detected. Among 
these, we have observed a yellowish-white resinous substance, which has the 
sensible properties of the turpentines. If care be used in assorting this com 
mercial variety, it may be employed for all the purposes of good gum arabic 
India gum is brought to this country, partly from Calcutta or Bombay, and 
partly by way of England. It usually comes in large cases. We have seen a 
parcel said to have come directly from the Red Sea, enclosed in large sacks 
made of a kind of matting, and bearing a close resemblance to the gum from 
Calcutta, except that it was more impure, and contained numerous large, irre- 
gular, very brittle masses, not much less than the fist in size. 
5. Cape Gum. Pereira mentions that gum is imported into Great Britain 
from the Cape of Good Hope, where it is collected probably from Acacia Kar- 
roo, which grows abundantly on the banks of the Gariep, and in other parts. 
Dr. Pappe, of Cape Town, refers it to Acacia horrida of Willdenow. (Flor. 
Gapens. 8.) It is of a pale-yellow colour, in tears or fragments, and is con- 
sidered an inferior variety. According to Mr. Simmons, the importation has 
nearly ceased; this gum having been superseded by the artificial product called 
British gum or dextrin. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxix. 75.) 
6. Australian Gum. Considerable quantities of gum have been imported 
into England from South Australia. It is in pieces elongated or globular, rough 
and even wrinkled upon the sui*face, and of a violaceous tint, which distinguishes 
it from other varieties. It is not entirely soluble in water, to which it imparts 
less viscidity than ordinary gum arabic.* 
General Properties. Gum arabic is in roundish or amorphous pieces, or 
irregular fragments of various size, more or less transparent, hard, brittle, 
pulverizable, and breaking with a shining fracture. It is usually white, or 
* Much confusion has existed in the use of the word gum, which has heen employed to 
express various concrete vegetable juices, and, at the same time, a peculiar proximat e prin- 
ciple of plants. It is now proposed to restrict the term to the former of these applications, 
and to designate the principle alluded to by the name of arabin. The subject of the gums 
was investigated by M. Guerin, who repeated and corrected the experiments of former 
chemists, and threw new light upon the nature of these substances. Several of the facts 
mentioned in the text were derived from his memoir, published in the Ann. de Chim. et de 
Phys. (t. xlix. p. 248). M. Guerin considers as characteristic of gums, the property of afford- 
ing mucic acid, when acted on by nitric acid. He recognises in the different gums three 
distinct proximate principles; namely, 1. arabin, or the pure gum of chemical writers, which 
is the essential constituent of gum arabic; 2. bassorin, which enters largely into the compo- 
sition of Bassora gum and tragacanth; and 3. cerasin, which constitutes the portion of cherry 
gum insoluble in cold water. Of arabin sufficient is said in the text. Bassorin will be treated 
of under the head of Bassora gum. (See Part Third.) Of cerasin it may be proper to say a 
few words in this place. The gums which exude from the cherry, apricot, peach, and plum 
trees, and which the French call gomme dupays, appear to be identical in composition, con- 
sisting of a portion soluble in cold water, which is arabin, and a portion insoluble, which 
was formerly thought to be bassorin, but has been proved by M. Guerin to be different, and 
is appropriately denominated cerasin. This principle is colourless, semi-transparent, taste- 
less, inodorous, uncrystallizable, insoluble in alcohol, insoluble in cold water, in which it 
softens and swells a little, and convertible by the action of boiling water into arabin, with 
which it appears to be isomeric. In this last property it differs from bassorin, which is not 
changed by boiling water. M. Guerin suggests that the heat of the climate, in tropical coun- 
tries, produces the same effect upon the exuded gums as artificial heat in colder regions, 
and that consequently the acacia gum consists chiefly of arabin.—Note to the third edition. 
From the observations of Dr. Kiitzing, it would appear that the spontaneously exuded 
gum of the plum, cherry, &c., is sometimes at least the product of a diseased cell-action, 
and contains remains of the cells, probably analogous to the epithelial constituent of ani- 
mal mucus. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxv. 39.)—Note to the tenth edition. 10 
Acacia. 
PAHT I. 
yellowish-white; but frequently presents different shades of red, and is some- 
times of a deep-orange or brownish colour. It is bleached by exposure to the 
sun. In powder it is always white. It is inodorous, has a feeble, slightly 
sweetish taste, and when pure dissolves wholly in the mouth. The sp. gr. 
varies from 1*31 to 1'48. Gum arabic consists essentially of a peculiar proxi- 
mate principle usually called gum, but for which the name of arabin has been 
adopted. In describing its chemical relations, therefore, we describe those of 
the principle alluded to. Water, either cold or hot, dissolves it, and forms a 
viscid solution called mucilage, which, when evaporated, yields the gum un- 
changed. (See Mucilago Acacise.) It is insoluble in alcohol, ether, and the 
oils; and alcohol precipitates it from its aqueous solution. Diluted acids dis- 
solve it, but not more freely than water. The concentrated acids decompose it. 
Triturated with sulphuric acid at ordinary Temperatures, it is converted into a 
product similar to the gummy substance resulting from the action of the same 
acid on linen rags and sawdust. Heated with concentrated sulphuric acid, it is 
decomposed with the evolution of carbon. The diluted acid, when boiled with it, 
gives rise to the formation of a saccharine substance. Strong nitric acid con- 
verts it into mueic acid, and at the same time produces oxalic and malic acids. 
It combines with several salifiable bases. With the alkalies and earths it forms 
soluble compounds. By the subacetate of lead it is precipitated from its solu- 
tion, in the form of a white insoluble compound of gum and protoxide of lead: 
and a delicate test of its presence in any liquid is thus afforded. It enters into 
combination with several salts. A solution of borax coagulates it. When 
added to a solution of silicate of potassa, it precipitates a compound of gum, 
potassa, and silica; while a compound of gum and potassa remains dissolved. 
Its solution yields a precipitate with nitrate of mercury, and forms a brown, 
semi-transparent jelly with a strong solution of sesquichloride of iron. In solu- 
tion it unites with sugar; and the liquid, when evaporated, yields a transparent, 
solid substance, insusceptible of crystallization.* 
* Aralin or Pure Gum. Guvimic Acid. Arabic Acid. At the time of the publication of the 
last edition of this work, experiments by Lowenthal, reported by Neubauer, had led to the 
supposition that arabin or pure gum, instead of being a distinct proximate principle, was 
really complex, consisting of an insoluble acid united with a small proportion of lime or 
other base, forming a soluble compound. Since that period; the subject of the gums gene- 
rally, and of gum arabic in particular, has received a new and interesting development 
through the researches of M. Fremy. The following are the conclusions to which these 
researches have led. 
1. Pure gum or arabin consists of a substance soluble in water, having acid properties, 
and hence called gummic acid (arabic acid, Gmelin, Handbook xv. 193), combined with about 
3 per cent, of lime, forming a soluble salt. In other words, the arabin of Gu6rin is gum- 
mate of lime. Gummic acid may be obtained in a soluble state by decomposing gum arabic by 
means of oxalic acid, which separates the lime without modifying the condition of the acid. 
2. Under the influence of concentrated sulphuric acid, applied in a peculiar manner, or 
of a heat' of about 300° F. maintained for several hours, gummic acid undergoes a molecu- 
lar change, by which it is converted into an isomeric substance, also feebly acid, which 
M. Fremy calls metagummic acid, and of which the distinctive property is that it swells up 
with water without dissolving, acting in this respect like cerasin and bassorin. 
3. When this insoluble metagummic acid is exposed to the action of boiling water alone, 
it undergoes no change; but, if small quantities of a base, such as potassa, soda, ammonia, 
bai’yta, or lime are added, it is immediately dissolved, having been reconverted, under the 
influence of these bases, into gummic acid, which forms soluble salts with them; and the 
salt thus formed has all the characters of gum arabic. 
4. Gum arabic itself, as ascertained by M. Gelis, undergoes the same change under the 
operation of a high temperature; being converted from a gummate into a metagummate of 
\ime, which swells up in cold water without dissolving, but by boiling water is rendered 
again soluble, being reconverted into gummate of lime. 
5. According to M. Fremy, cerasin is nothing more than metagummate of lime, being, as !s 
well known, changed by boiling with water into arabin, in other words, gummate of lim<v 
or gum arabic. PART I. 
Acacia. 
11 
Gum arabic undergoes no change by time, when kept in a dry place. Its 
aqueous solution, if strong, remains for a considerable time unaltered, but ulti- 
mately becomes sour, from the production of acetic acid. The tendency to be- 
come sour is increased by employing hot water to dissolve it. Mixed with chalk 
and cheese, at ordinary temperatures, it undergoes a fermentation, resulting ii 
the production of alcohol, without an antecedent formation of sugar. (Journ. 
de Pharm. et de Chim., Se ser. xxxii. 261.) Between 300° and 400°, the gum 
softens, and may be drawn into threads. At a red heat it is decomposed, yield- 
ing, among other substances, a minute proportion of ammonia. When burnt, it 
leaves about 3 per cent, of ashes, consisting, according to Guerin, of carbonates 
of potassa and lime, a little phosphate of lime, chloride of potassium, oxide of 
iron, alumina, magnesia, and silica. The lime has been supposed to exist in the 
gum combined with an excess of malic acid, giving to its solution the property 
of reddening litmus paper. In consequence of the presence of lime, oxalate of 
ammonia occasions a precipitate with the solution. Besides pure gum, or arabin, 
gum arabic contains a very small proportion of an azotized body, which is 
thought to occasion a slight opalescence in its solution, several saline substances, 
and 16 to 17 per cent, of uncombined water. (Guerin.) Pure gum may be ob- 
tained by treating the compound of gum and protoxide of lead with sulphu- 
retted hydrogen. Its ultimate constituents are carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen; 
its generally admitted formula being C12HnOu. 
The properties above enumerated belong to gum arabic generally. There 
are, however, pharmaceutic varieties with differences which deserve notice. 
1. Gum that is transparent and readily soluble. This constitutes by far the 
greater portion of the commercial varieties distinguished by the names of Tur- 
key and Senegal gum. It is characterized by its transparency, ready solubility, 
and the comparatively slight degree of thickness and viscidity of its solution. 
Under this head may be included the gomme blanche fendillee of Guibourt. It 
is distinguished by the whiteness and deficient transparency of the pieces, attri- 
butable to the minute cracks or fissures with which they abound, and which 
render them very brittle and easily pulverizable. This peculiar structure is 
generally ascribed to the influence of solar heat and light; but is conjectured by 
Hayne to arise from the exudation of the juice in the frothy state noticed by 
Ehrenberg. Though the unbroken pieces are somewhat opaque, each minute 
fragment is perfectly transparent and homogeneous. This variety, in conse- 
quence of its prompt and entire solubility, is usually preferred for medical use, 
and for most purposes in pharmacy. 2. Gum less transparent and less soluble. 
Guibourt has proposed for portions of this gum the name of gomme pelliculee, 
from the circumstance that the masses are always apparently covered, on some 
part of their surface, by a yellowish opaque pellicle. Other portions of it have 
a mammillary appearance on the surface. It is less transparent than the for- 
mer variety, is less freely and completely dissolved by water, and forms a more 
viscid solution. It melts with difficulty in the mouth, and adheres tenaciously 
to the teeth. It is found in all the commercial varieties of gum, but least in 
that from Egypt. Its peculiarities have been ascribed to variable proportions 
of bassorin associated with the soluble arabin. Between these two varieties 
of gum there are insensible gradations, so that it is not always easy to classify 
specimens. 
6. Hence, M. Fremy supposes that, in plants, metagummic acid is first formed, which in 
the progress of vegetation is more or less completely changed into gummic acid, thus giving 
rise to different varieties of gum, distinguished by the greater or less proportion of the 
soluble to the insoluble ingredients. 
7. however, when boiled with water and an alkali, though rendered soluble, is 
not, like cerasin, converted into gum arabic or arabin; the soluble gum which results being 
precipitated from its aqueous solution by neutral acetate of lead, which is not the case wbh 
gum arabic. (Journ. de Pharm. et de Chirn., Fev. 1860, p. 81.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 12 
Acacia. 
PART I. 
Impurities and Adulterations. In parcels of gum arabic there are some- 
times pieces of a dark colour, opaque, and incorporated with ligneous, earthy, 
or other impurities. The inferior are often mixed with or substituted for the 
better kinds, especially in powder; and portions of insoluble gum, bdellium, and 
other concrete juices of unknown origin, are found among the genuine. Flour 
or starch is sometimes fraudulently added to the powder, but is easily detected 
by the blue colour which it produces with tincture of iodine. In consequence 
of the impurities and difference in quality, gum arabic should generally be as- 
sorted for pharmaceutic use. A foreign substance sometimes adheres to its 
surface, giving it a bitter taste, from which it may be freed by washing in 
water.* Dextrin, broken into small fragments, has been mingled with parcels 
of gum. It may be known by yielding, in solution, a reddish-purple colour 
with solution of iodine. It does not, like gum, produce a 3rellowish or brownish 
jelly with solutions of the sesquisalts of iron. 
Medical Properties and Uses. This gum is used in medicine chiefly as a 
demulcent. By the viscidity of its solution, it serves to cover and sheathe in- 
flamed surfaces; and, by blending with and diluting irritating matters, blunts 
their acrimony. Hence, it is advantageously employed in catarrhal affections 
and irritation of the fauces, by being held in the mouth and allowed slowly to 
dissolve. Internally administered, it has been found useful in inflammations of 
the gastric and intestinal mucous membrane; and its employment has even 
been extended to similar affections of the lungs and urinary organs. Whether 
it is beneficial, in the latter cases, in any other manner than by the dilution 
resulting from its watery vehicle, is doubtful. By some it has been thought to 
possess a positively sedative influence over inflamed surfaces to which it may 
be applied in the state of solution. It is a good article of diet in cases of high 
febrile and inflammatory action, requiring a very rigid regimen. If not positively 
sedative, it is certainly not in the least irritating; while it is sufficiently nourish- 
ing to prevent the injurious action of the organs upon themselves. Its nutritive 
properties have been denied; but the fact of their existence rests on incontro- 
vertible evidence. The Moors and negroes live on it almost exclusively during 
the period of its collection and conveyance to market; the Bushman Hotten- 
tots, in times of scarcity, support themselves upon it for days together; and 
we are told that the apes of South Africa are very fond of it. Six ounces a day 
are said to be sufficient to sustain life for a time in a healthy adult. In many 
cases of disease, its solution may constitute, for a short period, the exclusive 
drink and food of the; patient. It is best prepared by dissolving an ounce of 
the gum in a pint of boiling water, and allowing the solution to cool. An ex- 
cellent demulcent, called gum-pectoral, is made by dissolving equal parts of 
gum arabic and sugar in water, and evaporating by means of a water-bath. It 
is held in the mouth, and allowed slowly to dissolve, f In pharmacy, gum 
arabic is extensively used for the suspension of insoluble substances in water, 
and for the formation of pills and troches. 
* M. Picciotto proposes to purify coloured gum by dissolving it in six or eight parts of 
a strong and pure solution of sulphurous acid, heating the solution, treating it with car- 
bonate of baryta in excess, then filtering, and evaporating at a moderate heat. (Pharm. 
Journ. and Trans., ix. 16.)—Note to the ninth edition. 
f Jujube paste. Marsh-mallow paste. Iceland moss paste. Under these names, preparations 
are sold in the shops which are essentially the gum-pectoral of the text, containing little 
or none of the substances which give them distinctive names. Prof. Procter has favoured 
us with the following formula, according to which they are made. Take of gum arabic 8 lbs., 
and of sugar 12 fibs, avoirdupois, the whites of two dozen eggs, and 5 pints of water. Heat 
together the gum and water, by means of steam, to 220°, stir till dissolved, strain forcibly, 
stir in the sugar quickly, and, when it is dissolved, add the white of eggs previously well 
beaten, stirring constantly, and at the same time remove from the fire. If made in real 
accordance with the name, decoction of marsh-mallow or Iceland moss must be substituted 
for the water.—Note to the twelfth edition. PAtfT I. 
Acetum. 
13 
Off. Prep. Mistura Amygdalae, U. S.; Mistura Crete; Mistura Glycyrrhiz® 
Composita, U. S.; Mistura Guaiaci, Br.; Mucilago Acaciae; Pulvis Amygdala 
Compositus, Br.; Pulvis Tragacanth® Comp., Br.; Syrupus Acaci®, U. S. W. 
ACETUM. U.S., Br. 
Vinegar. 
Impure dilute Acetic Acid prepared by fermentation. U. S. Impure dilute 
Acetic Acid, prepared from French wines by acetous fermentation. Br. 
Vinaigre, Fr.; Essig, Germ..; Aceto, Ital.; Vinagre, Span. 
Vinegar is a sour liquid, the product of the acetous fermentation. Viewed 
chemically, it is a very dilute solution of acetic acid, containing certain foreign 
matters. 
The acetous fermentation may be induced in all liquors which have under- 
gone or are susceptible of the vinous fermentation. Thus sugar and water, 
saccharine vegetable juices, infusion of malt, cider, and wine may be converted 
into vinegar, if subjected to the action of a ferment, and exposed, with access 
of air, to a temperature between 15° and 90°. During the acetous fermenta- 
tion, a microscopic vegetable growth has been noticed, which Pasteur has shown 
to be a cryptogam of the genus Microderma, and which appears to be essen- 
tial to the process. By the presence and influence of this plant, the germs of 
which exist in the atmosphere, alcohol sufficiently diluted with water is con- 
verted into acetic acid, as sugar in solution is, through the agency of an analo- 
gous growth, converted into alcohol. 
Vinegar is generally made by the German process, by which the time con- 
sumed in its formation is greatly abridged. A mixture is prepared of one part 
of alcohol of 80 per cent., four or six parts of water, and one-thousandth of 
honey or extract of malt, to act as a ferment. This mixture is allowed to trickle 
through a mass of beech shavings, previously steeped in vinegar, and contained 
in a deep oaken tub, called a vinegar generator. The tub is furnished, near 
the top, with a wooden diaphragm perforated with numerous small holes, which 
are loosely filled with packthread about six inches long, prevented from slip- 
ping through by a knot at one end. The alcoholic mixture, heated to between 
15° and 83°, is placed on the diaphragm, and slowly percolates the beech shav- 
ings, whereby it becomes minutely divided. It is essential to the success of the 
process that a current of air should pass through the tub. In order to establish 
this current, eight equidistant holes are pierced near the bottom of the tub, 
forming a horizontal row, and four glass tubes are inserted vertically in the 
diaphragm, of sufficient length to project above and below it. The air enters 
by the holes below, and passes out by the tubes. The contact of the air with 
the minutely divided liquid rapidly promotes the acetification, which consists, 
essentially, in the oxidation of the alcohol. During the process the temperature 
rises to 100° or 104°, and remains nearly stationary while the process is going 
on favourably. The liquid is drawn off by a discharge pipe near the bottom, 
and must be passed three or four times through the tub, before the acetification 
is completed, which generally occupies from twenty-four to thirty-six hours. 
According to Wimmer, pieces of charcoal, about the size of a walnut, may be 
substituted for the beech shavings in the process, with the effect of expediting 
the acetification. The charcoal must be deprived of saline matter by dilute 
muriatic acid, and afterwards washed with water. M. Pasteur denies that the 
more rapid acetification, produced by enlarging the surface of contact with the 
atmosphere, by means of packthread, beech shavings, &c., is owing to the direct 
influence of the air, and ascribes it to the presence of microderms upon the sur- 
face of these substances. 14 
Acetum. 
PART I. 
In England vinegar is made from the infusion of malt by the German pro* 
cess, which is said to have originated with Mr. Ham, of Bristol, England, as 
early as 1822. The fermented wort is made to fall in a shower upon a mass 
of fagots of birch twigs, occupying the upper part of a large vat, and, after 
trickling down to the bottom, is pumped up repeatedly to the top, to be again 
allowed to fall, until the acetification is completed. This mode of oxidizing the 
alcohol in the fermented wort has the advantage of rendering insoluble certain 
glutinous and albuminous principles, which, if not removed, would cause a mud- 
diness in the vinegar, and make it liable to spoil. 
In the United States, vinegar is often prepared from cider. When it is made 
on a large scale, the cider is placed in barrels with their bung-holes open, which 
are exposed during the summer to the heat of the sun. The acetification is 
completed in the course of about two years. The progress of the fermentation, 
however, must be watched; and, as soon as perfect vinegar is formed, it should 
be racked off into clean barrels. Without this precaution, the acetous fermen- 
tation would run into the putrefactive, and the vinegar be spoiled. Cider vinegar 
contains no aldehyd. It contains malic acid, and therefore yields a precipitate 
with acetate of lead. The want of such a precipitate would indicate that the 
supposed cider vinegar is probably a manufactured substitute. 
Vinegar may be clarified, without impairing its aroma, by throwing about a 
tumblerful of boiling milk into from fifty to sixty gallons of the liquid, and 
stirring the mixture. This operation has the effect, at the same time, of render- 
ing red vinegar pale. 
The series of changes which occur during the acetous fermentation is called 
acetification. During its progress, there is a disengagement of heat; the liquor 
absorbs oxygen and becomes turbid; and filaments form, which are observed to 
move in various directions, until, finally, upon the completion of the fermenta- 
tion, they are deposited in a mass of a pultaceous consistence. The liquor now 
becomes transparent, its alcohol has disappeared, and acetic acid has been 
formed in its place. How is this change of alcohol into acetic acid effected ? 
Liebig supposes that it takes place in consequence of the formation of aldehyd, 
into which the alcohol is changed by the loss of a part of its hydrogen. The 
alcohol, consisting of four eqs. of carbon, six of hydrogen, and two of oxygen, 
loses two eqs. of hydrogen through the influence of the atmosphere, and be- 
comes aldehyd, composed of four eqs. of carbon, four of hydrogen, and two of 
oxygen. This, by the absorption of two eqs. of oxygen, becomes four eqs. of 
carbon, four of hydrogen, and four of oxygen; that is, hydrated acetic acid 
(C4H303,H0). Thus the conversion of alcohol into acetic acid consists in, first, 
the removal of two eqs. of hydrogen, and afterwards the addition of two eqs. 
of oxygen. Aldehyd is a colourless, very inflammable, ethereal liquid, having 
a pungent taste and smell. Its density is 0 79. It absorbs oxygen with avidity, 
and is thus converted into acetic acid, as just stated. Its property of absorb- 
ing oxygen gives it a reducing power, like that possessed by glucose. Hence, 
Trommer’s test for glucose may be applied to the detection of aldehyd. A few 
drops of solution of sulphate of copper is added to the solution suspected to con- 
tain aldehyd, and then a solution of potassa in excess. The liquid is next heated 
nearly to the boiling point, which will cause the precipitation of red suboxide 
of copper, if aldehyd be present. The name, aldehyd, alludes to its relation to 
alcohol, a/cohol de/??/<2rogenated. Its aqueous solution is decomposed by caus- 
tic potassa, with formation of aldehyd resin. This is a soft, light-brown mass, 
which, heated to 212°, gives off a nauseous soapy smell. 
Properties. Vinegar, when good, is of an agreeable penetrating odour, and 
pleasant acid taste. According to Magnes Lahens, wine vinegar always con- 
tains a little aldehyd. The better sorts of vinegar have a grateful aroma, which 
is probably due to the presence of an ethereal substance, perhaps acetic ether. 
The colour of vinegar varies from pale yellow to deep red. When long kejt, PART I. 
Acetum. 
15 
especially if exposed to the air, it becomes muddy and ropy, acquires an un- 
pleasant smell, putrefies, and loses its acidity. 
The essential ingredients of vinegar are acetic acid and water; but, besides 
these, it contains various other substances, derived from the particular vinous 
liquor from which it may have been prepared. Among these may be men- 
tioned, colouring matter, gum, starch, gluten, sugar, a little alcohol, and fre- 
quently malic and tartaric acids, with a minute proportion of alkaline and 
earthy salts. According to the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, vinegar should be devoid 
of lead and copper and of free sulphuric acid, as shown by its not being dis- 
coloured by sulphuretted hydrogen, and yielding no precipitate when boiled 
with a solution of chloride of calcium; and of such a strength that a fluidounce 
would require, for saturation, not less than thirty-five grains of crystallized bi- 
carbonate of potassa. After saturation it should be free from acrid taste, indi- 
cating the absence of acrid substances, the taste of which may have been con- 
cealed by that of the acetic acid. 
In the late Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia, two kinds of vinegar were officinal, 
malt vinegar and wine vinegar, under the names of British vinegar and French 
vinegar. The British Pharmacopoeia recognises only vinegar prepared from 
French wines, and of a sp. gr. from r008 to 1-022. “Ammonia added a little in 
excess renders it slightly turbid and 'more or less purple. It is scarcely affected 
by chloride of barium or oxalate of ammonia, and not at all by sulphuretted 
hydrogen” (Br.)-, thus showing that it contains very little if any sulphuric acid 
or lime, and no injurious metallic impurity. 
Malt vinegar (Acetum Britannicum) has a yellowish-red colour, and a sp. gr. 
from 1-006 to 1-019. The strongest kind, called proof vinegar, contains from 
4-6 to 5 per cent, of acetic acid. That of British manufacture usually contains 
sulphuric acid, which the manufacturer is allowed by law to add in a propor- 
tion not exceeding one part in a thousand. This addition was at one time 
thought necessary to preserve the vinegar; but it is now admitted that, if the 
vinegar be properly made, it does not require to be thus protected. 
Wine vinegar (Acetum Gallicum) is nearly one-sixth stronger than pure malt 
vinegar. It is of two sorts, the white and the red, according as it is prepared 
from white or red wine. White wine vinegar is usually preferred, and that made 
at Orleans is the best. Red wine vinegar may be deprived of its colour, and 
rendered limpid, by being passed through animal charcoal. According to the late 
Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia, wine vinegar may be distinguished from malt vinegar 
by the addition of ammonia in slight excess, which causes in the former “a pur- 
plish muddiness, and slowly a purplish precipitate,” and in the latter, either no 
effect, or a dirty-brownish precipitate. 
Adulterations. The principal foreign substances which vinegar is liable to 
contain, are sulphuric and sulphurous acids, certain acrid substances, and cop- 
per and lead, derived from improper vessels used in its manufacture. Tin has 
been found in it after standing a short time in tin vessels. Muriatic and nitric 
acids are but rarely present. Chloride of calcium will detect free sulphuric acid, 
when boiled with the vinegar, without causing the least precipitate with the 
minute quantity of sulphates, almost always present in the liquid. (Boettger.) 
Chloride of barium is not a suitable test here; as it will cause a precipitate 
with these sulphates, when no free sulphuric acid is present. Sulphurous acid 
may be detected and estimated by first precipitating the sulphates and free sul- 
phuric acid by baryta-water, next acting on the vinegar with arsenic acid, which 
converts sulphurous into sulphuric acid, and finally precipitating the newly 
formed sulphuric acid by chloride of barium. From the sulphuric acid in the 
last precipitate, its equivalent of sulphurous acid is easily calculated. (Laroque.) 
Muriatic acid may be discovered by adding to a distilled portion of the sus- 
pected vinegar a solution of nitrate of silver, which will throw down a curdy 16 
Acetum.—Achillea. 
PART I. 
white precipitate. If nitric acid be present, an improbable impurity, it may be 
detected by producing a yellow colour, when the suspected vinegar is boiled 
with indigo. The acrid substances usually introduced into vinegar are red pep- 
per, long pepper, pellitory, 'grains of paradise, and mustard seed. These may be 
detected by evaporating the vinegar to an extract, which will have an acrid, 
biting taste, if any one of these substances be present. By far the most dan- 
gerous impurities in vinegar are copper and lead. The former may be detected 
by a brownish precipitate on the addition of ferrocyanide of potassium to the 
concentrated vinegar; the latter, by a blackish precipitate with sulphuretted 
hydrogen, and a yellow one with iodide of potassium. Pure vinegar is not 
discoloured by sulphuretted hydrogen. According to Chevallier, wine vinegar, 
which has been strengthened with acetic acid from wood, sometimes contains 
a minute proportion of arsenic. The deleterious metal is probably derived from 
arseniferous sulphuric acid, employed in preparing the acetic acid. 
Medical Properties. Vinegar acts as a refrigerant and diuretic. With this 
view it is added to diluent drinks in inflammatory fevers. It is sometimes used 
as a clyster, diluted with twice or thrice its bulk of water. It has been sup- 
posed to be a powerful antidote to the narcotic poisons, but this is a mistake. 
In the case of opium, the best authorities unite in considering it worse than 
useless; as it gives activity to the poison rather than neutralizes it. Externally 
it is employed as a fomentation in bruises and sprains. Diluted with water, it 
forms the best means of clearing the eye from small particles of lime. Its vapour 
is inhaled in certain states of soretliroat, and it is diffused through sick rooms 
under the impression that it destroys unwholesome effluvia, though, in fact, it 
has no other effect than to cover unpleasant smells. The dose is from one to 
four fluidrachms; as a clyster, the quantity used is one or two fluidounces. 
Off. Prep. Acetum Destillatum, U. S.; Tinctura Opii Acetata, U. S. B. 
ACHILLEA. US. Secondary. 
Yarrow. 
The herb and flowers of Achillea millefolium. U. S. 
Millefeuille, Fr.; Schafgarbe, Germ.; Millefoglie, Ilal.; Cientoenrama, Yerba de San Juan, 
Span. 
Achillea. Sex. Syst. Syngenesia Superflua.—Nat. Ord. Composite Seneci- 
onidea3. De Cand. 
Gen. Ch. Receptacle chaffy. Calyx imbricate, ovate, unequal. Pappus none. 
Florets of the ray five'to ten, roundish, dilated. 
Achillea Millefolium. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 2208; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 36, 
t. 15. Milfoil or yarrow is a perennial herb, common to the old and new conti- 
nents, though supposed to have been introduced into this country from Europe. 
It abounds in old fields, along fences, and on the borders of woods and of culti- 
vated grounds, throughout the United States. It is from a foot to eighteen 
inches high, and is specifically distinguished by its doubly pinnate, downy, mi- 
nutely divided leaves, with linear, dentate, mueronate divisions, from which it 
derived the name of milfoil, by its furrowed stem and calyx, and by its dense 
corymb of whitish flowers, which appear throughout the summer, from June to 
September. The whole herb is medicinal. 
Properties. Both the flowei’S and leaves have an agreeable, though feeble 
aromatic odour, which continues after drying, and a bitterish, astringent, pun- 
gent taste. The aromatic properties are strongest in the flowers, the astringency 
in the leaves. The plant owes its virtues to a volatile oil, a bitter extractive, and 
tannin. It contains also a peculiar acid, denominated achilleic acid. The oil, 
which may be obtained separate by distillation with water, has a beautiful PART I. 
Achillea.—Acidum Aceticum. 
17 
azure-blue colour, and the peculiar flavour of milfoil. The active principles are 
extracted both by water and alcohol. 
Medical Properties. The medical properties of the herb are those of a mild 
aromatic tonic and astringent. In former times it was much used as a vulne- 
rary, and was given internally for the suppression of hemorrhages, and of pro- 
fuse mucous discharges. It was employed also in intermittents, and as an anti- 
spasmodic in flatulent colic and nervous affections. It has recently been highly 
recommended by M. Richart, of Soissons, in low forms of exanthematous fevers 
with difficult eruption, in colic, painful menstruation, and infantile convulsions. 
He uses the infusion at once as a drink, an injection, and fomentation. (Journ. 
de Pharm. et de Ghim., xviii. 62.) Dr. B. II. Coates, of Philadelphia, has found 
it useful in hemorrhage ( Trans, of Pliilad. Col. of Phys. N. S. ii. 334); and Dr. 
R. Joly, of France, has used it very advantageously as an emmenagogue, and 
states that it is much employed popularly, in his neighbourhood, for the same 
purpose. (Bullet. Gen. de Therap., Mars, 1851.) He has also found it useful in 
the suppressed lochia. In some parts of Sweden it is said to be employed as a 
substitute for hops in the preparation of beer, which it is thought to render more 
intoxicating. It is most conveniently administered in the form of infusion, which 
may be made in the proportion of an ounce to the pint, and given in the dose 
of a wineglassful or more. The volatile oil has been given in the dose of twenty 
or thirty drops. W. 
ACIDUM ACETICUM. U. S., Br. 
Acetic Acid. 
Acetic acid of the sp. gr. P047, and containing 36 per cent, of monohydrated 
acetic acid. U. S. An acid liquid prepared from wood by destructive distilla- 
tion, and containing 28 per cent, of anhydrous Acetic Acid. The sp. gr. is 
1-044. Br. 
ACIDUM ACETICUM GLACIALE. Br. 
Glacial Acetic Acid. 
Monohydrated Acetic Acid, H0,C4XI303, of the sp.gr. 1-065, which is in- 
creased by adding to the acid 10 per cent, of water. Br. 
Exclusive of Acidum Aceticum Dilutum, which will be noticed in the second 
part of this work, two strengths of acetic acid are now officinal in the E. S. and 
British Pharmacopoeias, assuming those acids to be identical which approach 
most nearly to equality in specific gravity. These are the Acidum Aceticum 
Glaciate, Br., of the sp. gr. 1-065, for the preparation of which the British Phar- 
macopoeia gives a formula, and the Acidum Aceticum, U. S., Br., of the sp. gr. 
1-041 as directed by our officinal standard, and 1-044 by the British, which is 
placed in the Materia Medica Catalogue of both Pharmacopoeias. 
We shall consider these grades of acid separately, in the order of their strength. 
Acidum Aceticum Glaciate, sp. gr. 1-065. Br. The following is the process 
of the British Pharmacopoeia. 
“ Take of Acetate of Soda twenty ounces [avoirdupois]; Sulphuric Acid eight 
Huidounces. Place the Acetate of Soda in a porcelain basin on a moderately 
warm sand bath, apply heat till it liquefies, and, continuing the heat, stir until 
the Salt becomes pulverulent; let the heat be now raised so as to produce 
fusion, and then instantly remove the salt from the fire. As soon as it has 
woled break up the mass, and place it in a stoppered retort capable of holding 
three pints [Imperial measure], and connected with a Liebig’s condenser. Pour 
the Sulphuric Acid on the salt, quickly replace the stopper, and, when the dis- 18 
Acidum Aceticum. 
PART I. 
tillation of Icetic Acid begins to slacken, continue it with the aid of heat until 
six fluidounces have passed over. Mix one fluidrachra of the acetic acid thus 
obtained with a fluidrachra of the solution of iodate of potash previously mixed 
with a little mucilage of starch ; and, if it gives rise to a blue colour, agitate the 
whole product of distillation with a quarter of an ounce of black oxide of man- 
ganese, perfectly dry, and in fine powder, and redistil.” Br. 
This process was intended to furnish an acid of the maximum strength, con- 
sisting of one eq. of dry acid and one of water. The acetate of lead, which was 
employed for this purpose by the Edinburgh and Dublin Colleges, has been 
superseded in the British Pharmacopoeia by the acetate of soda, which has the 
advantage, that by no chance can it impregnate the product with lead. This 
is first freed from water of crystallization by heat, and then decomposed. The 
agent of decomposition is sulphuric acid, which unites with the soda of the 
acetate to form sulphate of soda, and liberates the acetic acid, which combines 
with the water of the sulphuric acid, and, passing over in the state of vapour, 
condenses in the receiver. Sometimes a portion of sulphuric acid undergoes 
decomposition by reaction with the acetic acid, especially if the heat is too 
great, causing the production of sulphurous acid, which passes over with the 
acetic acid, and contaminates it. The presence of the smallest quantity of this 
impurity is detected by the test mentioned in the process; the sulphurous acid 
decomposing the iodate of potassa, and liberating iodine, which produces a blue 
colour with the starch. Tlfe last step of the process is to remove the sulphurous 
acid, should it be present, by converting it into sulphuric acid through the 
oxygen of the black oxide of manganese, and thus causing its retention in the 
retort. It is affirmed, however, by Prof. Redwood that the true monohydrated 
acetic acid cannot be produced by this process, nor by any other on a small 
scale, and that to obtain it recourse must be had to the manufacturer, who 
operates on large quantities of the material. (Pharm. Journ. and Trans., 
March, 1864, p. 411.) It was, therefore, wise in the revisers of the U. S. Phar- 
macopoeia to place this officinal in the Materia Medica Catalogue, without a 
process. 
Acetic acid of maximum strength may likewise be obtained by distilling bin- 
acetate of potassa at a heat between 390° and 570°. One eq. of monohydrated 
acetic acid distils over, and neutral acetate of potassa is left. The binacetate 
may be formed by distilling the neutral acetate with an excess of watery acetic 
acid. In this process, the same acetate of potassa serves repeatedly for con- 
version into binacetate, and subsequent decomposition. 
Acidum Aceticum, U. S., Br. (sp.gr. 1047, U. S., 1 044 Br.). This is the 
acid resulting from the purification of the crude acetic acid, obtained by the 
destructive distillation of wood. It is the acid most useful to the apothecary, 
and which gives the first heading to this article. As this grade of acid has its 
source in the impure acetic acid, obtained by the destructive distillation of wood, 
it will be proper to premise some account of the crude acid, called crude pyro- 
ligneous acid. 
Wood* when charred, yields many volatile products, among which are an 
acid liquor, an empyreumatic oil, and tar containing creasote and some other 
proximate principles. When the carbonization is performed in close vessels, 
these products, which are lost in the ordinary process of charring, may be col- 
lected, and, at the same time, a large amount of charcoal is obtained. 
The carbonization of wood in close vessels, with a view to collect the con- 
densible products, was first put in practice by Mollerat in France. The appa- 
ratus employed at Choisy, near Paris, is thus described by Thenard. It con- 
sists of 1st, a furnace with a movable top; 2d, a strong sheet-iron cylinder, 
standing upright, sufficiently capacious to contain a cord of wood, ar.d furnished 
with a sheet-iron cover; 3d, a sheet-iron tube, proceeding horizontally from tha Acidum Aceticum. 
19 
part I. 
upper and lateral part of the cylinder to the distance of about a foot; 4th, a 
copper tube connected with the last, which is bent in such a manner as to plunge 
successively to the bottom of two casks filled with water, and, after rising out 
of the second, is bent back, and made to terminate in the furnace. At the 
bottom of each cask, the tube dilates into a ball, from the upper part of which 
another tube proceeds, which, passing water-tight through the cask, terminates 
above a vessel intended to receive the condensible products. 
The sheet-iron cylinder, being filled with wood, in the state of billets, or, as 
some prefer, in that of sawdust, and closed by luting on its cover with fire clay, 
is let down into the furnace by the help of a crane. The fire is then applied; 
and, when the process is completed, the cylinder is removed by the same means, 
to be replaced by another. During the carbonization, the volatile products are 
received by the tube; and those which are condensible, being an acid liquor 
and tar, are condensed by the water in the casks, and collect in the lower bends 
of the tubes, from which they run into the several recipients; while the incon- 
densible products, being inflammable gases, are discharged into the furnace, 
where, by their combustion, they assist in maintaining the heat. Eight hun- 
dred pounds of wood afford, on an average, thirty-five gallons of acid liquor, 
weighing about three hundred pounds. 
This is the crude pyroligneous acid, sometimes called pyroligneous vinegar. 
It is a dark-brown liquid, having a strong smoky smell, and consists of acetic 
acid diluted with more or less water, and holding in solution chiefly tar and 
empyreumatic oil, with pyroxylic spirit, and probably a small proportion of crea- 
sote. It is from this crude acid that the TJ. S. and British acetic acid, corre- 
sponding to the acetic acid of commerce, is obtained. The purification is effected 
as follows. The acid is saturated with cream of lime, whereby acetate of lime is 
formed in solution, and a good deal of the tarry matter precipitated. The solu- 
tion of acetate of lime is then mixed with a concentrated solution of sulphate 
of soda, and, by double decomposition, acetate of soda is formed in solution, and 
sulphate of lime precipitated. The solution of acetate of soda is next subjected 
to evaporation, during which further impurities that separate on the surface are 
skimmed off. The solution, being duly concentrated, is set aside to crystallize; 
and the impure salt thus obtained, after having been partially purified by solu- 
tion and recrystallization, is fused in an iron vessel, stirred until it dries, and, 
the heat being carefully raised, subjected to incipient carbonization, whereby 
remaining empyreumatic matters are carbonized, with little damage to the salt. 
The mass is then dissolved in water, and the solution, being strained and recrys- 
tallized, furnishes pure acetate of soda. (See Sodas Acetas.) Finally, this salt is 
distilled with from 34 to 35 per cent, of its weight of sulphuric acid, when it 
yields the acetic acid of commerce, the residue being sulphate of soda, which is 
reserved for decomposing fresh portions of acetate of lime. The acid has still an 
empyreumatic flavour, which is removed by filtering it through animal charcoal. 
Sometimes the acetate of lime is distilled with sulphuric acid directly, with- 
out having been previously converted into acetate of soda, by which mode of 
proceeding a step in the process is saved. But this decomposition is attended 
with many inconveniences, and the acetic acid obtained is apt to be contami- 
nated with sulphuric acid. The same step is saved, and without this risk, by 
distilling the acetate of lime with hydrochloric acid, as recommended by Christl; 
and, if the acid be not used in excess, the acetic acid obtained scarcely contains 
a trace of chlorine. 
The sp. gr. of the different acetic acids increases with their strength up to the 
density of 1 0735 (maximum), after which it decreases until it reaches T063, the 
density of the strongest acid (glacial acid). The following table, condensed 
from one given bv Pereira on the authority of Mohr, exhibits the sp. gr. of acetic 
acid of different Vengths, including the officinal Acidum Aceticum Dilutum. 20 
Acidum Aceticum. 
PART I. 
Tim officinal and commercial acids are noted opposite to their several densities, 
and the corresponding number in the column on the left gives the percentage 
of monohydrated acid in each. 
Percent, 
of Acid. 
Specific Gravity. 
Percent, 
of Acid. 
Specific Gravity. 
100 
1-063 
Acetic acid (glacial), Ed* 
36 
1 -047 Acetic acid, U. S. 
99 
97 
1-065 
1-068 
Glacial acetic acid, Br. 
33 
i nx a f Acetic acid of commerce, 
1-044 { Dub., Br. 
, r\An f Scotch acid of commerce 
1-042 | (strongest). 
90 
80 
1-073 
1-0735 
Maximum density. 
32 
70 
1-070 
31 
1-041 Acetic acid, U. S. 1850. 
60 
1-067 
30 
1-040 
59 
1-066 
Strong acetic acid, Dub. 
25 
1-034 Pyroligneous acid, Ed. 
54 
1-063 
J Acid corresponding in 
20 
1-027 
1 sp. gr. to the strongest. 
10 
1-015 
52 
1-062 
6 
1 -008 Diluted acetic acid, Lond. 
50 
1-060 
5 
1-006 Diluted acetic acid, U.S., Br. 
40 
1-051 
4 
1 0055 
39 
i 
1-050 
f English acid of com- 
3 
1-004 Diluted acetic acid, U. S. 1850. 
\ merce. 
Up to the specific gravity 1-062, the density of acetic acid is a pretty accurate 
index of its strength; but, above that specific gravity, two acids of different 
strengths may coincide in density. Thus, by the table, it is seen that an acid 
weighing 1-063 may be either the strongest possible liquid acid, or an acid con- 
taining only 54 per cent, of such acid. The ambiguity may be removed by dilut- 
ing the acid with a portion of water, when, if the density be increased, the given 
specimen is the stronger acid of the two having the same density. Hence the 
test, in the British Pharmacopoeia, of adding 10 per cent, of water to their 
glacial acetic acid. The density of the English and Scotch acetic acid of com- 
merce is given on the authority of Dr. Christison. 
Properties of the Glacial Acid (Acidum Aceticum Gflaciale, Br.). This acid, 
sometimes called radical vinegar, is a colourless, volatile, inflammable liquid, 
possessing a corrosive taste, and an acid, pungent, and refreshing smell. When 
cooled to nearly 32°, it is converted into colourless prismatic crystals. (Br.) Its 
sp. gr. is 1‘063 (1*065, Br.). The anomaly of its having first an increasing and 
then a decreasing density, upon dilution with water, has been already noticed. 
It possesses the property of dissolving a number of substances, such as volatile 
oils, camphor, resins and gum-resins, fibrin, albumen, &c. As it attracts humid- 
ity from the atmosphere, it should be preserved in well-stopped bottles. Its 
combinations with salifiable bases are called acetates. “One fiuidrachm of it 
requires for neutralization 91 measures of the volumetric solution of soda.'” Br. 
(See Liquor Sodse.) It consists of one eq. of dry acid 51, and one of water 
9=60. The dry acid lias been isolated by C. Gerhardt, who finds it to be a 
limpid liquid, heavier than water, and having the constant boiling point of 219°. 
Its formula is C4H303. 
Properties of the Acid of Commerce (Acidum Aceticum, U. S., Br.). This 
acid has similar properties to those of the glacial, but milder in degree. It is a 
colourless, volatile liquid, having a sharp taste and pungent smell. It unites in 
all proportions with water, and to a certain extent with alcohol. It is incom- 
patible with the alkalies and alkaline earths, both pure and carbonated, with 
metallic oxides, and with most substances acted on by other acids. It is wholly 
volatilized by heat, and yields no precipitate with chloride of barium or nitrate 
* Varies to 1-065. The abbreviations used in this table, Lond., Ed., and Dub., hnvt 
reference to the Pharmacopoeias of the several British Colleges, now no longtr in us.; part I. 
Acidum Aceticum. 
21 
of silver. Any fixed residue is impurity; and precipitates by the tests men 
tioned show the presence of sulphuric and muriatic acids. Sulphohydrate o) 
ammonia does not discolour it. Sometimes the acid is contaminated with em 
pyrcumatic oil arising from its mode of preparation. Much of this impurity 
would betray itself to the senses of smell and taste. When too minute in pro- 
portion to be sensible, it may be detected, according to Mr. John Lightfoot, by 
neutralizing the acid with carbonate of potassa, and adding solution of per- 
manganate of potassa, when if the acid is pure the latter retains its pinky 
colour, but if in the slightest degree empyreumatic, the permanganate is de- 
colorized, and after standing a brown precipitate occurs. (Ghem. News, Nov. 
30, 1861, p. 290.) If sulphuretted hydrogen produces a milkiness, sulphurous 
acid is present. When saturated with ammonia, the acid gives no precipitate 
with iodide or ferrocyanide of potassium, which proves the absence of lead and 
copper. If silver be digested in it, and ehlorohydric acid afterwards added, no 
precipitate will be produced. The negative indication of this test shows the 
absence of nitric acid. Of the U. S. acid (sp. gr. 1-041) “ 100 grains saturate 60 
grains of crystallized bicarbonate of potassa, and contain 36 grains of mono- 
hydrated acetic acid.” This corresponds exactly with the percentage given in 
the foregoing table. Of the British acid (sp. gr. 1-044) the strength in anhydrous 
acetic acid is 28 per cent., in the monohydrated acid, according to the table, is 
33 per cent. The U. S. officinal is therefore somewhat stronger than the British. 
It is difficult to ascertain the strength of acetic acid by saturating it with the 
carbonated alkalies, when the operator depends upon test paper for ascertain- 
ing the point of neutralization. The difficulty is caused by the fact that the 
acetates of potassa and soda, though neutral in composition, are alkaline to test 
paper. Hence the liquid begins to be alkaline to test paper, while some free 
acid yet remains, but insufficient to overcome the alkaline reaction of the salt 
formed. It follows, therefore, that, by the use of test paper, the strength of the 
acetic acid will be underrated. The degree of inaccuracy, where test paper is 
used, is much diminished by saturating the acid with a solution of saccharate 
of lime, of a known strength, as proposed by Mr. C. G. Williams. (Pharm. 
Journ, & Trans., May, 1854, p 594.) A still better way is to add to the acid a 
weighed excess of carbonate of baryta, and to calculate its strength by the 
amount of the carbonate decomposed, ascertained by deducting the undissolved 
from the total used. (Redwood.) Equally accurate results may be obtained by 
the use of carbonate of lime in a similar manner. (E. C. Nicholson and D. S. 
Price, Ghem. Gaz., Jan. 15, 1856.) 
Uses of Crude Pyroligneous Acid. This acid having been incidentally de- 
scribed as the source of the acetic acid of commerce, it may be proper in this 
place to notice its uses. It has been employed as an application to gangrene 
and ill-conditioned ulcers. It acts on the principle of an antiseptic and stimu- 
lant ; the former property being probably chiefly due to the presence of creasote. 
Several cases in which it was successfully employed are reported in a paper by 
Dr. T. Y. Simons, of Charleston, S. C. (Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., O. S., v. 310.) 
The crude acid is advantageously applied to the preservation of animal food. 
Mr. Wi liam Ramsey made some interesting experiments with it for that pur- 
pose. Herrings and other fish, simply dipped in the acid and afterwards dried 
in the shade, were effectually preserved, and, when eaten, were found very agree- 
able to the taste. Herrings, slightly cured with salt by being sprinkled with 
it for six hours, then drained, next immersed in pyroligneous acid for a few 
seconds, and afterwards dried in the shade for two months, were found by Mr. 
Ramsey to be of fine quality and flavour. Fresh beef, dipped in the acid in 
summer for the space of a minute, was perfectly sweet in the following spring. 
Professor Silliman states that one quart of the acid, added to the common 
pickle for a barrel of hams, at the time they are laid down, will impart to them 22 
Aeidum Aceticum.—Aeidum Arseniosum. 
PART 1- 
the smoked flavour as perfectly as if they had undergone the ordinary process 
of smoking 
Medical Properties of Acetic Acid of Commerce (Acidum Aceticum, (J. S., 
Br.). Acetic acid of about this strength acts as a stimulant. When diluted 
sufficiently, it is refrigerant, diaphoretic, and diuretic. Owing to its volatility 
and pungency, its vapour is frequently applied to the nostrils as an excitant in 
syncope, asphyxia, and headache. When employed in this manner, it is gen- 
erally added to a small portion of sulphate of potassa, so as to moisten the salt, 
and the mixture is put into small glass bottles with ground stoppers. 
Medical Properties of the Glacial Acid. This acid is only used externally, 
and acts as a rubefacient, vesicant, or caustic, according to the length ol time 
it is applied. Its application requires caution. It is sometimes employed as a 
substitute for cantharides, when a speedy blister is desired; as, for example, in 
croup, soretliroat, and other cases of internal inflammation. It may be applied 
by means of blotting paper or cambric moistened with the acid. It is a good 
corrosive for destroying warts and corns, and is also a valuable remedy in 
scaldhead. 
Pharm. Uses of Acetic Acid. In the preparation of Digitalinum, Br.; San- 
toninum, U. S. 
Off. Prep, of Acetic Acid. Acidum Aceticum Pilutum; Extractum Col- 
chici Aceticum; Extract. Conii Fluidum, U. S.; Extract. Ergot® Fluidum, U. S.; 
Extract. Ipecacuanha Fluidum, U.8.; Linimentum Cantharidis, Br.; Liniment. 
Terebinthinae Aceticum, Br.; Liquor Ammoniae Acetatis, Br.; Morphiae Acetas, 
U.S.; Oxymel, Br.; Plumbi Acetas, Br ; Potass® Acetas; Zinci Acetas, Br. 
Off. Prep, of Glacial Acetic Acid. Mistura Creasoti, Br. 13. 
ACIDUM ARSENIOSUM. U.S., Br. 
Arsenious Acid. 
Sublimed arsenious acid in masses. U. S. AsOs. Br. 
Arsenicum album, Ed.; White arsenic; Acide arsenieux, Arsenic blanc, Fr.; Arsenichte 
Siiure, Weisser Arsenik, Germ.; Arsenik, Dan., Sw'ed., Polish; Acido arsenioso, Arsenico, 
Ital.; Arsenico bianco. Span. 
Arsenious acid is prepared chiefly in Bohemia and Saxony, where it is pro- 
cured on a large scale, as a collateral product, during the smelting of cobalt 
ores, which are almost invariably accompanied by arsenic. These ores are 
roasted in reverberatory furnaces, with long horizontal flues. The arsenic is 
converted by combustion into arsenious acid, which rises in vapour, and con- 
denses on the sides of the flues. In this state it is impure, and requires a 
second sublimation, which is performed in cast-iron vessels, fitted with conical 
heads of the same material, having an opening at the summit. The vessels 
are placed over a furnace, and brought to a red heat, when a portion of the 
impure arsenious acid is thrown in through the opening, which is immediately 
stopped. This portion being sublimed, a second portion is introduced in a 
similar manner. Finally, the vessels are allowed to cool; and, upon removing 
the heads, the purified acid is found attached to them in vitreous layers, at first 
as transparent as glass, but gradually becoming, by contact with the air, opaque 
al their surface. These are broken into fragments of a convenient size, and 
thrown into commerce. The arsenious acid which reaches this country is gen- 
erally packed in casks, containing from two to five hundred pounds, and is 
shipped principally from the ports of Hamburg and Bremen. 
The British Pharmacopoeia directs the arsenious acid of commerce to be puri- 
fied in the following manner. “Take of Arsenious Acid of Commerce one hun- 
dred grains. Introduce the acid into a thin porcelain capsule of a circular si ape; 
and, having covered this as accurately as possible with a glass flask fiibd with PART I. 
Acidum Arseniosum. 
23 
cold water, apply the heat of a gas lamp. Sublimed Arsenious Acid will bo 
found adhering to the bottom of the flask. Should a larger quantity be required, 
the Commercial Acid should be sublimed, by the heat of a gas lamp or of burning 
charcoal, from a small Florence flask, the neck of which is passed into a second 
flask of larger size; and the flask containing the commercial acid should be fur- 
nished with a hood of sheet-iron to counteract the cooling influence of the atmo- 
sphere. ” Br. It is in this purified form that the British Council recognises the 
medicine under the name of Acidum Arseniosum, in its Materia Medica list. 
The crude drug is merely mentioned in the Appendix of the Pharmacopoeia, as 
one of the articles used in preparing medicines, with the name of Arsenious 
Acid of Commerce, or White Arsenic. 
Properties. Arsenious acid is entirely volatilized by heat. As it occurs in 
commerce, it is in masses, with a vitreous fracture, and of a milk-white colour 
exteriorly, but, internally, often perfectly transparent. As first sublimed, the 
whole mass is transparent; but it gradually becomes white and opaque, the 
change proceeding progressively from the surface inwards. This change has 
not been well explained ; but probably depends upon the absorption of moisture, 
causing a gradual passage of the acid from the amorphous to the crystalline 
state. {Pereira.) According to Guibourt, the sp.gr. of the transparent variety 
is 3*73, of the opaque 3'69. The experiments, however, of Dr. J. Iv. Mitchell and 
Mr. Durand make the density of the former variety from 3'208 to 3-333. As it 
occurs in the shops for medical use, it is often in the form of a white powder, 
almost as fine as flour. In this state it is sometimes adulterated with powdered 
lime or chalk, or sulphate or arsenite of lime, a fraud which is easily detected by 
exposing the powder to a heat sufficient to evaporate the arsenious acid, when 
these impurities will be left behind. In consequence of the liability of the acid 
to contain impurities when in powder, it is directed in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia 
to be kept in masses; so that the apothecary may powder it for himself as it is 
wanted. It has been erroneously stated to have an acrid taste. Dr. Clmistison 
asserts that it possesses hardly any taste; inasmuch as it produces merely a 
faint sweetish impression on the palate. In strong, hot solution, it has an austere 
taste, most nearly resembling that of sulphate of zinc. (Mitchell and Durand.) 
It has no smell, even in the state of vapour; but, when thrown on ignited char- 
coal, it emits a garlicky odour, in consequence of its deoxidation, and the vola- 
tilization of the reduced metal. Its point of sublimation, according to Berzelius, 
is at an incipient red heat; but, according to Mitchell and Durand, it is lower 
than that of metallic arsenic, being only 425° of Fahr. When slowly sublimed, 
it condenses in regular octohedral crystals, exhibiting a sparkling lustre. It con- 
sists of one eq. of arsenic 75, and three of oxygen 24= 99. “ One hundred grains 
of this acid, boiled with dilute muriatic acid, and then treated with liydrosulphu- 
ric acid, yield a deposit of tersulphuret of arsenic, weighing 124 grains.” U. S. 
Arsenious acid is soluble in water. According to Bussy, at the temperature 
of 55° a pint of water dissolves 293 grains of the transparent variety, and only 
about 92 grains of the opaque. Thus the transparent acid, so far from being 
less, as heretofore supposed, is much more soluble than the opaque variety. 
The following particulars are given on the same authority. The transparent 
acid dissolves much more rapidly than the opaque. By prolonged ebullition 
with water, the opaque variety attains the same solubility as the transparent, 
and may be supposed to be converted into the latter. Thus, at the boiling tem- 
perature, a pint of water dissolves 807 grains of both varieties. The transparent 
variety, in cold saturated solution, gradually lessens in solubility, until it reaches 
■the solubility of the opaque, no doubt in consequence of being changed into the 
latter. Pulverization lessens the solubility of the transparent variety, without 
atfecting that of the opaque. The mixture of the two varieties of the acid in the 
same solution serves to explain the anomalies heretofore observed in its solu- Acidum Arseniosum. 
PART I. 
bility (Journ. de Pharm., Nov. 1841.) In relation to some of these results, 
Bussy has been anticipated by Taylor. (See Lond. and Ed. Philos. Mag., Nov. 
1837.) Though arsenious acid combines with salifiable bases, yet, when it is 
heated with muriate of ammonia, instead of evolution of muriatic acid gas, which 
might have been anticipated, we have an escape of ammonia; the materials re- 
acting so as to produce chloride of arsenic, water, and ammonia. (Y. de Luynes, 
Comptes Eendus, Juin 29, 1857, p. 1354.) 
Medical Properties. Internally, the action of the preparations of arsenic is 
alterative and febrifuge; externally, for the most part, violently irritant. They 
have been considered as peculiarly applicable to the treatment of diseases )f a 
periodical character. At the commencement of their exhibition, the dose should 
be small, and afterwards gradually increased, the operation being carefully 
watched. When the specific effects of the medicine are produced, it must be 
immediately laid aside. These are, a general disposition to oedema, especially 
of the face and eyelids, a feeling of stitfness in these parts, itching of the skin, 
tenderness of the mouth, loss of appetite, and uneasiness and sickness of the 
stomach. The peculiar swelling produced is called oedema arsenicalis. Some- 
times salivation is produced, and occasionally the hair and nails fall off. The 
principal preparations now in use are the arsenious acid, the substance undef 
consideration, the solution of arsenite of potassa, or Fowler's solution, and the 
solution of iodide of arsenic and mercury, or Donovan's solution. The arseni- 
ates of potassa and soda are also occasionally employed. 
M. Tschudi lias given some strange accounts of the habitual use, by the pea- 
sants of Styria and the Tyrol, of arsenious acid as an invigorating remedy, which 
they are unable to relinquish without suffering. The air in the neighbourhood 
of Swansea, in South Wales, is impregnated with arsenical vapour, derived from 
the copper smelting works in that locality, and yet the workmen do not appear 
to suffer in health. ( Wood's Therapeutics, ii. 308.) This negative statement is 
very different from that of M. Tschudi, who would lead us to believe that the 
habitual use of arsenic may be beneficial in ordinary health. Encouraged by 
the reports from Styria, M. Decaisne tried a course of arsenious acid in marsh 
cachexy, but with unfavourable results. Upon the whole, it is not improbable 
that the accounts received of the habitual use of arsenic by the peasants of 
Styria, though having a basis of truth, are greatly exaggerated. It is said that 
horse dealers sometimes fatten horses by giving them small doses of arsenic. If 
this statement be admitted as reliable, it may, perhaps, be explained upon the 
ground that arsenic, as would seem to result from the experiments of Schmidt 
and Sturswage upon animals, diminishes the amount of carbonic acid expired 
and of urea excreted, showing a diminished oxidation in the system, and conse- 
quently a diminished destruction of its constituents. (Philos. Mag., March, 1860.) 
Arsenious acid has been exhibited in a great variety of diseases, the principal 
of which are scirrhus and cancer, especially cancer of the lip; anomalous ulcers; 
various cutaneous diseases; intermittent fever; chorea; chronic rheumatism, 
particularly those forms of it attended with pains in the bones; diseases of the 
bones, especially nodes, and firm swellings with deformity of the small joints of 
the hands; frontal neuralgia; and different painful affections of the head, known 
under the names of hemicrania and periodical headache. In intermittent fever 
it is inferior only to Peruvian bark and its alkaloids, and probably no remedy 
surpasses or even equals it in that most obstinate affection of the joints fre- 
quently called rheumatic gout. Mr. Henry Hunt, of Dartmouth, England, found 
it useful in mitigating the pain of ulcerated cancer of the uterus, and‘in menor- 
rhagia; also in irritable uterus, attended with pain and bearing down in the 
erect posture. He gave it in pill, in the dose of the twentieth of a grain three 
times a day. In this dose the remedy seldom produces unpleasant feelings, awd 
may be continued for three or four months, for which period it must sometimes PAltT I. 
Acidum Arseniomm. 
25 
be employed, in order to produce the desired effect on the uterus. In cutaneous 
affections, especially those of scaly character, as lepra and psoriasis, it is an in- 
valuable remedy. Dr. Pereira says that he has seen it used in a large number 
of cases of this kind without a single failure. It is thought highly of by some 
in the treatment of lupus, and of ill-looking sores of the face, lips, and tongue 
and sometimes effects a cure. Dr. Piquot, of Honfleur, employs it in apoplectic 
congestion, in the belief that there is in that affection a great excess of red cor- 
puscles, and that arsenic has the effect of diminishing this constituent of the 
blood in a very decided manner. (Rav/cing’s Abstract, No. 31, p. 53, Am. ed.) 
Inhalation of the vapour of arsenious acid is said to have proved very beneficial 
in asthma, the arsenious acid being smoked in a cigarette, in the dose of one 
quarter of a grain ; but this application of the remedy would require great cau- 
tion. (Ibid., No. 35, p. 81.) Arsenic has also been found useful in intermittent 
mania, where quinia had proved useless. (Ibid., No. 25, p. 50.) 
Five cases of snake-bite, occurring in men, are said to have been successfully 
treated by Mr. Ireland, in the Island of St. Lucia, by grain doses of arsenious 
acid, in the form of Fowler’s solution, given every half hour, until the patient 
began to revive. The quantity of the solution to form this dose is two flui- 
drachms. The number of doses taken varied from six to eight, which always 
produced abundant vomiting and purging, results important to the success of 
the treatment. (Braithwaite, xxviii. 423 ) 
The external application of arsenic has been principally restricted to cancer, 
and anomalous and malignant ulcers, especially of the kind denominated noli 
me tangere. Dupuytren used with advantage a powder, composed of one part 
of arsenious acid and twenty-four parts of calomel, as a topical application to 
herpes exedens, and to the foul ulcers occurring in those who have undergone 
repeated courses of mercury. 
Arsenic is the chief ingredient in nearly all the empirical remedies for the cure 
of cancer by external application. Plunket's caustic, a remedy of this kind of 
great celebrity, consisted of the Ranunculus acris and Ranunculus Flammula, 
each an ounce, bruised, and mixed with a drachm of arsenious acid, and five 
scruples of sulphur. The whole was beaten into a paste, formed into balls, and 
dried in the sun. When used, these balls were rubbed up with yolk of egg, and 
spread on pig’s bladder. The use of the vegetable matter is to destroy the 
cuticle; for, unless this is done, the arsenic will not act. Mr. Samuel Cooper 
thinks that this caustic was never of any permanent benefit in genuine cancer, 
but has effected cures in some examples of lupus, and malignant ulcers of the 
lips and roots of the nails. In onychia maligna, Mr. Luke, of London, regards 
an ointment composed of two grains of arsenious acid and an ounce of sperma- 
ceti ointment as almost a specific. (Pereira, Mat. Med.) 
At Paris, an arsenical paste of the following composition is used as an ap- 
plication to malignant ulcers:—Red sulpliure't of mercury 70 parts; dragon’s 
blood 22 parts; arsenious acid 8 parts. It is applied, made up into a paste with 
saliva. The pain produced by this composition is very severe, and its applica- 
tion dangerous. The arsenical paste of Frere Come has been applied advanta- 
geously by M. Biett to the ulcerated surfaces in yaws. The precaution was used 
of not applying it, at one time, over a surface larger than that of half a dollar. 
This paste is made by mixing with water a powder, consisting of ten grains of 
arsenious acid, two scruples of red sulphuret of mercury, and ten grains of pow- 
dered animal charcoal. The practice of sprinkling unmixed arsenious acid on 
ulcers is fraught with the greatest danger. Mr. S. Cooper characterizes it as a 
murderous practice. The acid may, however, be used either in solution, or re- 
duced by some mild ointment. A lotion may be formed of eight grains of arseni- 
ous acid and the same quantity of carbonate of potassa, dissolved in four fluid- 
ounces of distilled water; and a cerate, of half a drachm of arsenious acid and 26 
Acidum Arseniosum. 
PART I. 
six drachms of simple cerate. The cerate is sometimes formed of half this 
strength. The lotion is in effect a solution of arsenite of potassa. 
Febure’s remedy for cancer consisted of ten grains of arsenious acid, dissolved 
in a pint of distilled water, to which were added an ounce of extract of conium, 
three fluidounces of solution of subacetate of lead, and a fluidrachm of tincture 
of opium. With this the cancer was washed every morning. Febure’s formula 
for internal exhibition was, arsenious acid two grains, rhubarb half an ounce, 
syrup of chicory q. s., distilled water a pint. Of this mixture, a tablespoonful, 
containing about the sixteenth of a grain of the acid, was given every night and 
morning, with half a fluidrachm of the syrup of poppies. The dose was gradu- 
ally increased to six tablespoonfuls. 
Mr. Lloyd, of London, praises the effects of arsenical injections in cancer of 
the vagina and uterus. They act favourably by preventing rather than destroy- 
ing the fetor, and by diminishing the sloughing and discharge. The strength of 
the solution employed was from two to eight grains of arsenious acid to the pint 
of water. (See Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., Oct. 1854, p. 541.) 
The average dose of arsenious acid is the tenth of a grain, three times a day, 
given in the form of pill. It is usually combined with opium, which enables the 
stomach to bear the medicine better. A convenient formula is to mix one grain 
of the acid with ten grains of sugar, and to beat the mixture thoroughly with 
crumb of bread, so as to form a pilular mass, to be divided into ten pills. The 
Asiatic pills, so called, consist of arsenious acid and black pepper, in the pro- 
portion of 1 part of the former to 80 of the latter. A preparation much used on 
the continent of Europe is Boudin's solution, which is simply an aqueous solu- 
tion of arsenious acid with the addition of wine, and is made by boiling one 
gramme (15 4 grains) of the acid with one litre (2d pints) of distilled water 
till entirely dissolved, then cooling, filtering, adding enough distilled water to 
supply the loss, and finally mixing with one litre of white wine. Of this solu- 
tion a fluidounce contains about one-quarter of a grain of arsenious acid. 
Properties of Arsenious Acid as a Poison. Arsenious acid, in an overdose, 
administered internally, or applied externally, acts with very great energy, and 
generally destroys life in a short time; but, in some rare instances, no well- 
marked symptoms are developed until eight or nine hours after the ingestion of 
the poison. Dr. Edward Hartshorne relates a case of recovery, in which at least 
a drachm of arsenious acid had been swallowed, and where the symptoms of 
poisoning were delayed for sixteen hours. (Med. Examiner, Dec. 1855, p. 107.) 
The symptoms produced by the poison are an austere taste; fetid state of the 
mouth; frequent ptyalism; continual hawking; constriction of the pharynx 
and oesophagus; the sensation of the teeth being on edge; hiccough ; nausea; 
anxiety ; frequent sinkings; burning pain at the prascordia; inflammation of the 
lips, tongue, palate, throat, bronchi, and oesophagus; irritable stomach, so as 
not to be able to support the blandest drinks; vomiting of matters, sometimes 
brown, at other times bloody; black, horribly fetid stools; small, frequent, con- 
centrated, and irregular pulse, but occasionally slow and unequal; palpitations; 
syncope; insatiable thirst; burning heat over the whole body, or a sensation of 
icy coldness; difficult respiration ; cold sweats; suppression of urine ; scanty, 
red, bloody, and sometimes albuminous urine; change in the countenance; a 
livid circle round the eyelids; swelling and itching of the body; livid spots over 
the surface, and occasionally a miliary eruption; prostration of strength; loss 
of feeling, especially in the feet and hands; delirium; convulsions, often accom- 
panied with insupportable priapism; falling off of the hair, detachment of the 
cuticle, &c. In some cases there is inflammation with burning pain in the urino- 
genital organs. It is very rare to observe all these symptoms in the same indi- 
vidual. Sometimes, indeed, they are nearly all wanting, death taking place with- 
out any pain or prominent symptom. Occasionally the symptoms have a pei fee* part I. 
Acidum Arseniosum. 
resemblance to those of Asiatic cholera, in the stage of collapse. After death, 
the morbid appearances are various. In some instances, no vestige of lesion can 
be discovered. The appearances, however, in the generality of cases, are the 
following. The mouth, stomach, and intestines are inflamed; the stomach and 
duodenum exhibit spots resembling eschars, and perforations of all their coats; 
and the villous coat of the former is in a manner destroyed, and reduced to the 
consistence of a reddish-brown pulp. In cases of recovery, it has been a ques- 
tion how long it takes for the poison to be eliminated from the system. In a 
case, reported by Dr. D. Maclagan, in which about two drachms of the poison 
had been swallowed, and in which magnesia was used successfully as an antidote, 
arsenic was detected in the urine by Marsh’s test as late as the twentieth day. 
A milder grade of arsenical poisoning, yet sometimes serious in its conse- 
quences, has resulted in many instances from the inhalation of the air of apart- 
ments lined with green wall-paper, which owes its colour to arsenite of copper, 
and from which a line poisonous dust sometimes escapes when the paper has 
not been well prepared. (See Ghem. News, March 2-1, 1860.) Death has also re- 
sulted, in more than one instance, from working in the manufacture of artificial 
leaves, which owe their green colour to the same poison. {Ibid., Nov. 30, 1861.) 
In view of the numerous accidents and crimes caused by the use of arsenious 
acid, its sale should be regulated by law in all the States of the Union. In 
1851, an act for this purpose was passed by the British Parliament. 
Dr. Christison divides the poisonous effects of arsenious acid into three orders 
of cases, according to the character and violence of the symptoms. In the first 
order, the poison produces symptoms of irritation and inflammation along the 
course of the alimentary canal, and commonly kills in from one to three days. 
In the second, the signs of inflammation are moderate, or even altogether want- 
ing, and death occurs in five or six hours, at a period too early for inflammation 
to be always fully developed. In the third order of cases, two stages occur; 
the first stage being characterized by inflammatory symptoms, as in the first 
order; the second, by symptoms referable to nervous irritation, such as imper- 
fect palsy of the arms or legs, epilepsy, tetanus, hysterical affections, mania, 
and coma. It is a general character of this poison to induce inflammation of 
the stomach in almost all instances, provided death does not take place imme- 
diately, whatever be the part to which it is applied. Thus the poison, when 
applied to a fresh wound, will give rise to the same morbid appearances in the 
stomach and intestines, as when it is swallowed. In some cases, observed by 
Drs. Mall and Bailie, the rectum was much inflamed, while the colon and small 
intestines escaped. 
The precise rank which should be assigned, in the scale of poisons, to arse- 
nious acid when applied externally, is still undetermined. One set of observers 
contend that its external application is not attended with great danger; while 
another party conceives that it acts as a virulent poison. Hunter, Sir Everard 
Home, Jceger, Brodie, Dr. Campbell of Edinburgh, Smith, and Orfila have all 
adduced experiments on the inferior animals, which prove that arsenious acid, 
inserted into a recent wound, causes death after a longer or shorter period. In- 
deed, some observations go to prove that its poisonous effects are developed by 
a smaller amount, applied in this way, than when taken into the stomach. Nor 
are there wanting many well-authenticated facts of its deleterious effects, exter- 
nally applied, on the human constitution. Roux has put on record the case of 
a young woman under his care, whose death was caused, after agonizing suf- 
ferings, by the application of an arsenical paste to a cancerous breast. Death 
has occurred from the application of an arsenical paste to a soft tumour of the 
temple; the poisonous effects on the system at large being the cause of the 
fatal result. Sir Astley Cooper bears testimony to the dangerous effects of 
arsenic, externally applied. On the other hand, some writers assert the safety 28 
Acidum Arseniosum. 
PART I. 
of the external application of this poison. Mr. Blackadder applied it in large 
quantities to sores, and never witnessed a single instance in which it acted 
constitutionally. The late Dr. Randolph, of this city, stated that Dr. Physick 
frequently and successfully employed arsenic by external application, without 
its being productive of the injurious consequences which have been attributed 
to it. (North Amer. Med. and Surg. Journ., v. 257.) In weighing testimony 
so conflicting, we are constrained to believe that the circumstances of the dif- 
ferent experiments and observations must have been different; and we think 
that the observations of Blackadder and Harles show in what this difference 
consists. It seems to depend entirely on the circumstances of the application, 
as being favourable or otherwise to absorption. Blackadder attributes his suc- 
cess to the large quantity of arsenic which tie employs, and which, he contends, 
kills the part without being absorbed; and this is probably the fact. Harles’s 
observations may be explained on the same principle. He contended that the 
outward application of arsenic is comparatively safe to ulcers, either common 
or malignant; but is dangerous to parts recently wounded and pouring out 
blood. Here the difference would seem to consist in the greater liability to 
absorption in the latter than in the former case. The very dilution caused by 
the blood may be an efficient promoter of absorption; for the experiments of 
Dr. Campbell show that arsenic acts with more energy when dissolved in water 
than when in the solid state. The case in which Dr. Randolph employed arse- 
nious acid, by the advice of Dr. Physick, was one of ulcerated scrotum, in which 
it acted by producing the death of the diseased part, a state evidently unfavour- 
able to absorption. The formula employed was one part of the acid to five of 
sublimed sulphur. Arsenious acid proves escharotic, according to some, by act- 
ing on the vital properties of the part so as to cause its death; according to 
others, by producing a chemical decomposition of the structure. 
Upon the whole, new facts are wanting to clear up this difficult subject. 
Judging from the lights we possess, the external application of arsenious acid, 
in case it is absorbed, is attended with very great danger; and the conditions 
of a part, and of the system at large, favourable or otherwise to absorption, 
are too little understood, to make it warrantable to use this poison externally 
without the greatest caution. 
Treatment of Poisoning by Arsenious Acid. Before the antidote, to be men- 
tioned presently, can be obtained, the poison should be dislodged as far as pos- 
sible by free vomiting, induced by the finger, the feather part of a quill, and the 
administration of an emetic of sulphate of copper or sulphate of zinc. The same 
object is promoted by the use of the stomach-pump. Demulcent drinks should 
be freely given, such as milk, white of eggs and water, or flour and water, 
which serve to encourage the vomiting and envelope the poison. 
The antidote above referred to is the hydrated sesquioxide (peroxide) of iron, 
in the moist or pulpy state. As soon as it is ready, it must be given in doses 
of a tablespoonful to an adult, of a dessertspoonful to children, every five or 
ten minutes, until the urgent symptoms are relieved. It is calculated that the 
quantity taken should be at least twelve times the supposed ariiount of the 
poison swallowed; but, as the antidote is perfectly innocent, it is prudent to 
give it in larger quantities. According to the experiments of E. Riegel, one 
part of arsenious acid in solution is so fully precipitated by ten of the dry 
oxide, that, after its action, not a trace of the poison can be detected, even by 
Marsh’s test. Its efficacy is of course greater, the sooner it is administered 
after the ingestion of the poison; but, even after delay, its use will prove ad- 
vantageous, so long as any portion of the poison still remains in the stomach 
The antidote acts by producing with the poison, by a transfer of oxygen from 
the oxide to the acid, an insoluble, and therefore inert, subarseniate of protox- 
ide of iron (2Fe203 and As03= 4Fe0,As05). The manner of preparing the PART I. 
Acidum Arseniosum. 
29 
antidote will be given elsewhere. (See Ferri Oxidum Hydratum.) It should 
be kept by all apothecaries ready for use. 
This antidote for arsenious acid was discovered by Drs. Bunsen and Berthold, 
of Gottingen, in 1834; and its efficacy has been abundantly confirmed by ex- 
periments on inferior animals, and by its successful application to numerous 
cases of poisoning in the human subject. Among others, the reader is referred 
to the following. — 1. The case of M. Blondel, in which two drachms of arsenic 
had been swallowed. 2. Two cases treated by Dr. Buzorini. 3. A case re- 
ported by Mr. John Robson, in which more than a drachm and a half of the 
poison had been swallowed, and the antidote was not administered until two 
hours after the poison had been taken. In the last-mentioned case, about an 
hour after the ingestion of the poison, the stomach-pump was used, but unsuc- 
cessfully, on account of.the instrument becoming choked with the remains of 
food. 4. A case related by Dr. Thomas, of Baltimore, in which twenty grains 
of the poison had been swallowed. 5. Case of Dr. Macdonald in the N. Y. Journ. 
of Med. and Surg. (ii. 205.) 6. Case reported by Dr. Gerhard. {Med. Exam., 
iii. 250.) Y. Cases related bv Drs. Smiley and Wallace, of this city. Eight per- 
sons in one family were poisoned, of whom six recovered and two died. In the 
fatal cases, the patients could not retain the antidote. {Ibid., iii. 619.) 
Several valuable observations have been made in relation to the antidotal 
powers of the different oxides of iron, and the circumstances which influence 
their efficacy. The forms of oxide experimented with are the anhydrous ses- 
quioxide (colcothar), the dry hydrated sesquioxide (rust of iron, and the sub- 
carbonate of iron of the B. S. Pharmacopoeia, which are both essentially hydrated 
oxides), the hydrated oxide in the state of pulp or magma, and the same oxide 
kept under a stratum of water. Orfila has shown that colcothar is without 
effect, because it does not combine with the arsenious acid. Dr. Yon Specz, 
of Yienna, has proved that rust of iron acts as an antidote to arsenious acid; 
but, as it is much less powerful than the pulpy hydrate, it should be used only 
in the absence of the latter, and until it can be procured. Orfila agrees with 
Yon Specz as to the degree of efficacy of the rust, and attributes its inferior 
power to its inability completely to neutralize the arsenious acid. According 
to the French toxicologist, it forms with the acid a subsalt which is poisonous, 
though much less so than the free arsenious acid. All the best authorities 
unite in considering the hyd7'ated oxide, in the state of pulp or magma, to be 
the best form of the antidote; but opinions are divided as to the necessity of 
its being freshly prepared as well as moist, and as to the relative advantage 
of much or little water to maintain it in the moist state. An able paper, pub- 
lished by Prof. William Procter, jun., of this city, appears to have settled these 
points. {Amer. Journ. of Fharmacy, xiv. 29, April, 1842.) He has proved that 
the moist oxide gradually decreases in its power of neutralizing arsenious acid, 
the longer it is kept; and that this decrease in power is more rapid in the 
oxide,.when mixed with much water, than when in the form of a thick magma. 
The cause of this diminution of neutralizing power, on the part of the moist 
oxide, by being kept, is explained by the experiments of G. C. Wittstein. This 
chemist finds that the hydrated oxide of iron, recently precipitated, dissolves 
readily in acetic and other vegetable acids in the cold, but becomes nearly in- 
soluble when kept for some time under water. This change in solubility is 
attributed by Wittstein to two causes; the gradual change of the oxide from 
the amorphous to the crystalline state, and its partial dehydration; for, when 
kept a long time, the oxide loses half its water. From these considerations, 
Wittstein prefers the more recent oxide as an antidote for arsenic, and recom- 
mends that the preparation should be re-made every six months or year, by 
dissolving the old oxide in muriatic acid, and re-precipitating with ammonia. 
{Buchner's Repert., xliii. 366.) In the latter remarks, Wittstein has only con- 
firmed what had been previously observed by Procter. 30 
Acidum Arseniosum. 
PART I. 
It follows from the above facts and observations, that the forms of sesqui- 
oxide of iron are efficacious as antidotes to arsenic in the following order, 
beginning with the one having the least power: — 1, dry hydrated oxide; 2, 
hydrated oxide, long kept and mixed with much water; 3, the same, long kept 
and in the form of a thick magma; 4, the same just precipitated and still pulpy. 
The form of antidote which can be obtained first must be used first, although 
not the best, and may be replaced by a better as soou as it can be procured. 
The apothecary should, therefore, always keep the oxide in the form of thick 
magma, and be prepared, at a moment’s warning, to make the antidote. When 
applied to for it, he must furnish the magma, or, if unprovided with this, the 
rust or subcarbonate, and immediately proceed to prepare the antidote, which 
may be done in ten or fifteen minutes, if the proper solutions are always kept 
on hand. (See Ferri Oxidum Hydratum.) 
The antidote having been faithfully applied, the subsequent treatment con- 
sists in the administration of mucilaginous drinks. Should the patient survive 
long enough for inflammatory symptoms to arise, these must be combated on 
general principles. Accordingly, venesection and leeches may become neces- 
sary; and, in the course of the treatment, emollient enemata, antispasmodics, 
and narcotics will often prove useful in mitigating pain and allaying nervous 
irritation. Convalescence is generally long and distressing; and hence it is of 
the greatest importance to attend to the diet, which should consist exclusively 
of milk, gruel, cream, rice, and similar bland articles. 
Bussy has proposed light magnesia, or the kind which has not been too 
strongly calcined, as well as recently precipitated gelatinous magnesia, as an 
antidote for arsenious acid ; and a case is given by him in which it proved effi- 
cacious. (Journ.de Pharm.,x. 81.) The dense kind has very little efficacy. 
Dr. Christison saw a case in which this antidote seemed very serviceable. A 
successful case is also reported by Cadet-de-Gassicourt (Journ. de Pharm., 
Mars, 1848), and another by Dr. E. Bissel, of Norwalk, Conn. (Am. Journ. of 
Med. Sci., July, 1848.) For the full precipitation of arsenious acid, eighteen 
times its weight of anhydrous magnesia are required. (E. Riegel.) Like the 
sesquioxide of iron, the magnesian antidote is conveniently kept, in a pulpy 
state, under water in stopped bottles. M. Scliroff has made some experiments 
on rabbits, to determine the comparative efficacy, as antidotes, of the sesqui- 
oxide and magnesia, and gives the preference to the latter. The hydrated mag- 
nesia is best prepared extemporaneously by quickly forming a solution of sul- 
phate of magnesia, and precipitating by water of ammonia, which is preferable 
to potassa, as any portion of the latter, remaining in the preparation, might act 
injuriously by favouring the solubility of the arsenious acid. 
For the salts of the acids of arsenic, the subacetate of the sesquioxide of iron 
has been suggested as an antidote by Duflos. In poisoning by these salts, the 
sesquioxide is said to be without effect. 
A mechanical method of counteracting the effects of arsenic is said to have 
been employed with complete success in several instances. It consists, after 
thoroughly washing out the stomach, in administering large quantities, a pound 
or more, of a mixture of chalk and castor oil, of the consistence of thick cream, 
which so envelopes the particles of the poison adhering to the mucous mem- 
brane as to render them harmless, while carried through the bowels and eva- 
cuated. (W. T. Fewtrell, Chem. News, Jan. 14, I860, p. II.) 
Reagents for detecting Arsenious Acid. As arsenic is so frequently em- 
ployed for criminal purposes, it becomes important to detect its presence in 
medico-legal investigations. The tests for it may be divided into those which 
indicate indirectly its presence, and those which demonstrate its presence in- 
contestably, by bringing it to the metallic state. The former embrace all the 
liquid reagents, so called; the latter, the processes for metallization. It is PART I. 
Acidum Arseniosum. 
31 
necessary however, to he aware of the fact, that many of the substances em- 
ployed as tests for arsenic are themselves often contaminated with arsenic, and 
unless great care be exercised to select reagents perfectly free from this impurity, 
there will be danger that the results may be fallacious. 
The most characteristic reagents are sulphuretted hydrogen, ammoniacal 
nitrate of silver, and ammoniacal sulph ate of copper. In the opinion of Dr. 
Christison, the concurrent indications of these three tests are all-sufficient for 
detecting arsenious acid; but we think that, in questions involving life, the 
metallization of the poison should never be omitted. 
In using sulphuretted hydrogen, the solution must be neutral. An excess of 
alkali may be neutralized with acetic acid, and an excess of nitric or sulphuric 
acid by potassa. A slight excess of acetic acid is not hurtful, but rather favours 
the subsidence of the precipitate, which is the tersulphuret of arsenic. Accord- 
ing to Dr. Christison, this test is so exceedingly delicate, that it detects the poi- 
son when dissolved in one hundred thousand parts of water. The colour it 
produces is lemon or sulphur-yellow; but the presence of vegetable or animal 
matter commonly gives it a whitish or brownish tint. Some medical jurists 
recommend the use of sulphuretted hydrogen water; but the gas is far prefer- 
able. It can be applied with much convenience by using one of Dr. Hare’s self- 
regulating gas generators. 
The ammoniacal nitrate of silver gives a yellow precipitate of arsenite of 
silver. 
The ammoniacal sulphate of copper is a test of very great delicacy. The pre- 
cipitate occasioned by it is the arsenite of copper, of an apple-green or grass- 
green colour. Its operation is prevented by muriatic,- nitric, sulphuric, acetic, 
citric, and tartaric acids in excess; as also by ammonia. 
Of the three tests mentioned, perhaps sulphuretted hydrogen is the most 
delicate; and it has the advantage of yielding a precipitate eligible for subse- 
quent reduction. But they are all liable to the objection of being obscured in 
their indications, where the amount of poison is small, by the presence of organic 
principles; a complication constituting the most difficult problem for the medical 
jurist. As this case includes all others of more easy solution, we shall suppose 
it to occur, and shall indicate the steps to be pursued. 
Having obtained general indications of the presence of arsenic, the first step 
will be to separate the organic matters; the second, to throw down the arsenic 
by means of sulphuretted hydrogen ; and the third, to reduce the precipitate 
obtained to the metallic state. It is proper to state here that, in a communi- 
cation to the Paris Academy, Dr. Blondlot, of Nancy, asserts, as the result of 
numerous experiments, that the smallest quantity of oily or fatty matter has the 
effect of diminishing, even to one-twentieth, the solubility of arsenious acid, and 
consequently of very much increasing the difficulty of detecting it (See Am. 
Journ. of Pharm., May, 1860, p. 220.) 
The following are the directions given by Dr. Christison for separating the 
organic principles. Boil the suspected matter with distilled water for half an 
hour, and filter, first through gauze to separate the coarser particles, and after- 
wards through paper. To the transparent solution thus obtained add acetic 
acid, which will coagulate some animal principles. To ascertain whether the 
solution has been sufficiently freed from animal matter by this measure, neutral- 
ize with ammonia, and test a small portion of it with the ammoniacal nitrate 
of silver. If this give a characteristic precipitate, the solution is sufficiently 
deprived of animal matter; if not, another measure must be adopted to sepa- 
rate it. This consists in first rendering the solution neutral or slightly alkaline, 
next faintly acidulating with muriatic acid, and then adding an excess of nitrate 
of silver. This salt precipitates the animal matter in combination with oxide 
of silver. After this step, the excess of silver is thrown down by a slight excess of 
chloride of sodium, and the solution filtered. 32 
Acidum Arseniosum. 
PART I. 
The solution having in this manner been disembarrassed of organic matter, 
the free nitric acid is neutralized by potassa in slight excess, and the solution 
acidulated with acetic acid. A stream of sulphuretted hydrogen is then passed 
through it, which will throw down the arsenic as the tersulphuret. If the pro- 
portion of arsenic be very small, a yellowishness only will be produced, owing 
to the precipitate being soluble in an excess of the precipitant. In this case it 
is necessary to boil, to drive off the excess of sulphuretted hydrogen. The pre- 
cipitate is then collected and dried. If it be very minute, it must be allowed to 
subside; and, the clear liquid having been withdrawn, the remainder is to be 
poured upon a filter. After filtration, the precipitate is washed down to the 
bottom of the filter, by means of the pipette, an instrument employed for wash- 
,ing scanty precipitates. The filter is then gently pressed between folds of bibu- 
lous piper, and the precipitate removed with the point of a knife before it dries, 
and then dried in little masses on a watch-glass. In this manner, Dr. Christison 
states that it is easy to collect a portion of the tersulphuret so small as the 
twenty-fifth part of a grain. When the precipitate is small and not easily sepa- 
rated, Devergie recommends to dissolve it in a small quantity of ammonia, filter 
the solution, and evaporate it in a watch-glass, when the tersulphuret will be 
left. The precipitate is then to be reduced by means of a flux, which this author 
recommends to consist of two parts of ignited carbonate of soda and one of 
charcoal, as preferable to black flux. The best flux for arsenious acid is freshly 
ignited charcoal. 
In order to facilitate the detection of arsenic in the solid tissues, as the liver, 
spleen, stomach, &c., it is customary first to destroy the animal matter, and then 
to dissolve out the poison. Yarious agencies have been resorted to for this pur- 
pose, but heating with somewhat less than one-half the weight of concentrated 
sulphuric acid is perhaps the most convenient and effectual. The animal matter 
is thus carbonized, and will now yield a part at least of the arsenic which it 
may contain to boiling water, in a state proper for the application of tests. But 
M. Blondlot has ascertained by experiment that all the arsenic is not thus ex- 
tracted ; a considerable portion being left behind in the state of insoluble sul- 
phuret, resulting from a partial decomposition of the sulphuric acid. To remedy 
this disadvantage, M. Blondlot recommends, after the carbonized tissue has been 
exhausted as far as possible with water, to treat it with solution of ammonia, 
which dissolves the sulphuret, and yields it on evaporation. The sulphuret is 
now to be converted into arsenic acid by boiling with nitric acid; and, having 
been evaporated to dryness, is to be treated with water. The solution thus ob- 
tained is to be added to the first, and the two will yield all the arsenic originally 
present in the tissue. (Journ. de Pharm., Aout, 1851, p. 117.) 
Another method of separating arsenic in solution from organic matters is 
by the process of dialysis, invented by Prof. Graham, of London, of which a 
particular account will be given in the pharmaceutical preface to the second 
part of this work. By means of an instrument called the dialyser, wTatery solu- 
tions of saline and other crystallizable substances may be separated from those 
not crystallizable, such as gelatinous, albuminous, mucilaginous, and amyla- 
ceous liquids; the latter refusing to pass through a diaphragm of some porous 
substance, which is readily permeable by the former. Thus, a circular piece of 
parchment paper, folded in the form of a common filter, is placed in a vessel 
containing distilled water; the suspected liquid, having been heated so as to 
effect a more complete solution of the arsenic, is poured into the filter, and the 
vessel set aside for twenty-four hours. At the end of this time, the crystallizable 
matter, including the arsenic, will have, to a great extent, passed through into 
the distilled water, leaving the organic matters behind, and a solution will have 
been obtained in a condition fit for the application of the different tests. 
Following up a suggestion of Dr. Clarke, of Aberdeen, that arsenic might be PART l. 
Acidum Arseniosum. 
33 
separated by taking advantage of the volatility of its chloride, Dr. Andrew Fyfe., 
of the same place, applied the principle to the detection of the metal when mixed 
with organic matter. For this purpose, he heated the arsenical liquid with sul- 
phuric acid, free from arsenious acid, in a flask to which a bent tube and cooled 
receiver were adapted. When the mixture was brought to the boiling point, a 
little dried sea-salt was added, the receiver was connected, and the distillation 
continued for some time. Hydrochloric acid was evolved, which, by reacting 
with the arsenious acid, produced terchloride of arsenic, which distilled over 
free from organic matter. The terchloride of arsenic was then precipitated by 
a stream of sulphuretted hydrogen, to obtain the yellow tersulpliuret of arsenic, 
or subjected to the action of Marsh’s test. (Philos. Mag., 4th series, ii. 481.) 
The distillate of terchloride, as thus obtained, is liable to contain sulphurous 
acid, from the action of organic matter on the sulphuric acid, with the effect of 
obscuring the indications of Marsh’s test when subsequently applied, by giving 
rise to a yellow ring instead of a black stain. To prevent the formation of sul- 
phurous acid, L. A. Buchner recommends that the chloride of sodium should be 
added to the arsenical liquid before the sulphuric acid, and previously mixed 
with a little chlorate of potassa, the chlorine from which has the effect of pro- 
moting the formation of the arsenical terchloride, and of rendering the decom- 
position of the organic matter more complete. (Pharm. Journ. and Transr, July, 
1855, p. 38.) Dr. Penny and Mr. W. Wallace bear testimony to the value of the 
plan of converting the arsenic into terchloride, as a means of separating the 
metal from organic matter, but think it will be found in practice more conve- 
nient to produce the terchloride by the direct agency of hydrochloric acid, than 
by sulphuric acid and chloride' of sodium, as recommended by Dr. Fyfe. 
The general formula for reduction is as follows. The operation is performed 
in a small glass tube. If the matter to be operated on is small, it is introduced 
to the bottom of the tube, and then a little of the flux is added to cover it, care 
being taken that the materials are conducted to the place they are to occupy, 
by means of a small glass funnel with a slender stem, without soiling the empty 
part of the tube. The heat is applied by means of a spirit-lamp; the upper part 
of the material being first heated with a small flame, and afterwards the lower 
part with a larger flame. A little water, disengaged at first, should be removed 
by a roll of filtering paper, before sufficient heat has been applied to sublime 
the metal. When the dark crust begins to form, the tube should be held quite 
steady, and in the same part of the flame. This crust is the metallic arsenic, 
having the surface next to the tube resplendent and polished, and the interior 
surface crystalline. Its characters are quite distinct, even when it does not 
amount to more than the three-hundredth part of a grain. If any doubt should 
be felt as to the nature of the crust, it may be driven up and down the tube, so 
as to convert it into sparkling octohedral crystals of arsenious acid, the triangu- 
lar facets of which may be seen with a magnifying glass. Finally, the crystals 
may be dissolved in a drop or two of distilled water, and the solution will react 
characteristically with the liquid tests. 
Another method of testing for arsenic has been proposed by Mr. Marsh. It 
consists in taking advantage of the power, which nascent hydrogen possesses, 
of decomposing the acids of arsenic, with the result of forming water and arse- 
niuretted hydrogen. The liquid from the stomach, or obtained from its contents 
by boiling water, is added to the materials for generating hydrogen (dilute sul- 
phuric acid and zinc), contained in a self-regulating generator of hydrogen. If 
the liquid from the stomach contain arsenic, the nascent hydrogen will combine 
with the metal, and the nature of the compound gas formed may be ascertained 
by burning a jet of it from a fine jet-pipe connected with the generator. The 
Game will have a characteristic blue colour; and, by holding a porcelain plate 
against it, a thin film of metallic arsenic, forming a black.stain, will be deposited. 34 
Acidum Arseniosum. 
PART I. 
Liebig and Muhr bear testimony to the delicacy of this test; but, to remove 
every source of fallacy, it is necessary to be sure of the purity of the materials 
for generating the hydrogen, by a preliminary trial of the gas, before the sus- 
pected liquid is added; as zinc and sulphuric acid are both liable to contain a 
minute proportion of arsenic. This trial is made by holding a plate against the 
burning hydrogen, which, if pure, will produce no stain. The pieces of zinc em- 
ployed should be changed after every experiment. A modification of Marsh’s 
apparatus, which is praised by Berzelius for the certainty and distinctness of its 
results, is figured in the Chemical Gazette (iii. 46). 
It has been objected to Marsh’s test, that antimony forms a compound with 
hydrogen, very similar to arseniuretted hydrogen, both in the colour of its flame, 
and in the metallic spot which it deposits during combustion on cold surfaces. 
Still, the two metals may be discriminated by acting on the metallic spot with 
a drop or two of fuming nitric acid, with the aid of heat. Arsenic will thus be 
converted into soluble arsenic acid, precipitable brick-red by nitrate of silver; 
antimony, on the other hand, into insoluble antimonic acid. Another way of dis- 
tinguishing them is to apply to the stain a solution of hypochlorite of soda, which 
instantly dissolves the arsenical spot, without affecting that of antimony. Still 
another method, dependent on the difference of temperature at which the two 
metals are sublimed, has been proposed by Dr. D. Maclagan, of Edinburgh. It 
consists in subjecting the metallic spot to about the temperature of 500°, by 
means of a bath of olive oil; when it will be totally volatilized if arsenic,' but 
remain unchanged if antimony. {Ed. Month. Journ., Nov. 1848.) Prof. E. Davy 
recommends a platinum spatula, instead of porcelain, to receive the metallic spot. 
A platinum surface affords facilities for testing the spot, which, if arsenic, may be 
removed by the flame of a candle, giving rise to a garlicky odour; but, if anti- 
mony, cannot be so removed. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., March, 1851, p. 172.) 
Professor Reinsch has proposed a method for detecting arsenic in organic 
liquids, which is extremely delicate, and at the same time has the merits of facility 
and celerity. It consists in acidulating the suspected liquid with muriatic acid, 
which converts the arsenious acid into the terchloride, and boiling in it, for ten 
minutes, a slip of copper foil, on which the arsenic is deposited as a white alloy 
of arsenic and copper; and then separating it in the state of arsenious acid, by 
subjecting the copper, cut into small chips, to a low-red heat in the bottom of a 
small glass tube. The peculiar crystalline appearance of arsenious acid, men- 
tioned in the last page, is conclusive of its presence; and, besides, if collected 
and dissolved in water, it will answer to the ordinary tests for the poison. The 
form of copper, preferred by Dr. Maclagan, is that of copper wire, No. 24, made 
bright by being rubbed with sand-paper, and rolled into a loose spiral, about 
an inch long, by being twisted round a small pencil. In this form, the copper 
affords an extensive surface for the deposition of the arsenic. The merit of 
Reinsch’s procedure is not so much that it gives a characteristic deposit on 
the copper; for bismuth, tin, zinc, and antimony also give deposits; as that the 
copper collects all the arsenic from the organic liquid, and presents it in a con- 
venient form for applying the liquid and subliming tests. Yet the gray metallic 
appearance of the arsenical deposit can hardly be confounded with that of any 
other metal, except perhaps of antimony, .which can be distinguished by the 
tests already mentioned. But Reinsch’s method is not without its fallacies. Thus, 
it has been ascertained that the presence of a nitrate or chlorate in the suspected 
material, prevents the characteristic action of the arsenic on the copper, until 
the whole of these substances have been consumed by reaction with the metal. 
Besides, both muriatic acid and copper, even such as have been sold in the shops 
as the purest, are liable to contain arsenic, and therefore to afford fallacious 
results. This, however, is less true of the muriatic acid prepared in this coun- 
try than the European, as the sulphuric acid employed in its preparation is ob- part I. 
Acidum Arseniosum.—Acidum Chromicum. 
tained generally from native sulphur, instead of pyrites as abroad. Nevertheless 
no conclusion from Reinsch’s test can be certainly relied on, unless the muriatic 
acid has been ascertained to be free from arsenic. With the copper there is less 
risk, as the arsenic in it can act only by solution of the copper itself, and this is 
known by the green colour imparted to the liquid; so that, if the arsenical de- 
posit is produced without discoloration of the liquid, the indication of the presence 
of the poison maybe considered as satisfactory. (Olding and Taylor.) 
A modification of the methods of Marsh and Reinsch has been proposed by 
Dr. Alfred S. Taylor, which he has found effectual in detecting arsenic whether 
in liquids or solids, and whether associated with organic or inorganic substances, 
for an account of which, however, we must be content, from want of space, to 
refer the reader to the paper of that eminent toxicologist in the Pharmaceuti- 
cal Journal and Transactions (Feb. 1861, p. 411). 
Still another method of detecting arsenic is the electrolytic, consisting in ex- 
posing the suspected liquid, in connection with diluted sulphuric acid, to a vol- 
taic current, through the influence of which, if arsenic be present, even though 
associated with large quantities of organic matter, arseniuretted hydrogen {ter- 
hydride of arsenic) is evolved. It is, however, only the arsenious acid that will 
respond to this test, arsenic acid not being affected; and the presence of mer- 
cury interferes materially with the process. For an account of the process, and 
of the method of rendering arsenic acid sensible to the test, and of counteracting 
the inQuence of the mercury, see papers by Mr. C. L. Bloxam in the Pharma- 
ceutical Journ. and Trans. (Jan. 1860, p. 376, and April, 1861, p. 528). 
It has been shown by MM. Malaguti and Sarzeau that, for the detection of 
minute quantities of arsenic in exhumed bodies, the best method of proceeding 
is to distil the viscera with aqua regia, made by mixing one part of nitric with 
three of hydrochloric acid. The animal matter (the liver for example), cut into 
small pieces, is dried by a gentle heat, and mixed with a quantity of the aqua 
regia equal to the weight of the matter before it was dried. The mixture is dis- 
tilled, and the arsenic, if present, comes over in the form of the volatile terchloride, 
which may be converted into the tersulphuret in the usual manner. 
Arsenic may be detected in exhumed bodies long after death. M. Blondlot 
found it in the brain of a body that had been buried twenty years. In this case, 
it was ascertained that no arsenic existed in the earth of the cemetery. (See 
Brit, and For. Medico-chir. Bev., Jan. 1855, p. 222.) It is necessary also to be 
guarded against the possible preseftce, about the body, of metals which may con- 
tain arsenic; as, for example, brass and copper. 
Off. Prep. Liquor Arsenicalis, Br.; Liquor Potass® Arsenitis, U. S. B. 
ACIDUM CHROMICUM. U.S. 
Chromic Acid. 
This is a new officinal of the TJ. S. Pharmacopoeia, in which it is placed in the 
Materia Medica Catalogue as an article furnished by commerce. It is readily 
obtained by mixing 100 measures of a cold saturated solution of bichromate of 
potassa with 150 measures of sulphuric acid, and allowing the mixture to cool. 
The sulphuric acid unites with the potassa, and sets free the chromic acid, which 
is deposited in crystals. The mother-liquor having been poured off, these should 
be placed upon a tile to drain, covered with a glass bell-jar. 
Properties. Chromic acid is in the form of anhydrous, acicular crystals, of a 
brilliant crimson-red colour and an acid metallic taste, deliquescent, and very solu- 
ble in water, forming an orange-yellow solution. “At a heat between 356° and 
374°, they melt into a reddish-brown liquid, which, on cooling, becomes a red, 
opaque, and brittle mass.” ( U. S.) Chromic acid is a teroxide of the metal chro- 36 
Acidum Chromicum.— Acidum Citricum. 
PART I 
mium, laving the formula CrO,. At a heat above the melting point, it gives off 
half hs oxygen, and is converted into the green sesquioxide Cr203. It is a power- 
ful oxidizing and bleaching material, and gives up its oxygen with great facility 
to organic matter, which is at the same time dissolved. The U. S. Pharmacopoeia 
gives, as a characteristic property of the acid, that “if a few drops of alcohol 
are allowed to fall on a small portion of it, a vigorous action takes place, attended 
with an increase of bulk, and the liquid formed becomes yellowish-brown.” 
Medical Uses. Chromic acid is used medically only as an escharotic, in which 
capacity it acts by rapidly oxidizing and thus decomposing the tissues, while, by 
the loss of one-half its oxygen, it is itself converted into the inert sesquioxide. 
It was first employed as a caustic by Prof. Sigmund, of Vienna, on the recom- 
mendation of Dr. Heller. Used in substance, made into a paste with water, its 
action is exceedingly slow and gradual, but deeply penetrating. In saturated 
solution its action is less penetrating and less gradual. By using a solution 
more or less dilute, the action may be graduated according to the degree of effect 
desired. Prof. Sigmund tried the concentrated solution, with advantage, for the 
destruction of condylomata, occurring in his syphilitic wards. The acid has been 
used with very good results by Mr. Marshall, of University College Hospital, 
London, for removing warts and other morbid growths from the genital organs. 
The solution employed was of the strength of 100 grains of the acid to a fluid- 
ounce of distilled water. It is most conveniently applied by means of a pointed 
glass rod. Dissolved in an equal weight of distilled water, it has been employed 
very advantageously by M. Hairion in destroying excrescences in the female gen- 
erative organs, and in certain obstinate forms of granular conjunctivitis, in which 
nodules form on the conjunctiva, threatening a destruction of the neighbouring 
tissues, especially of the cornea. He applies it by means of a pencil, and finds 
it neither very painful, nor followed by much reaction. Nevertheless great cau- 
tion is required not to allow the destruction of parts to extend too far; and in 
ordinary granular disease of the membrane he considers it too hazardous for use. 
{Archives Generates, Mars, 1859, p. 352.) Chromic acid is well suited to the 
destruction of morbid growths, and gives less pain than other caustics. It acts 
as a rapid solvent of organic matter. “Smaller animals (mice, birds, &c.) were 
so completely dissolved by the acid within fifteen or twenty minutes, that no trace 
of their bones, skin, hair, claws, or teeth could be discovered.” {Dublin Quarterly 
Journ., xiii. 250, from the Wiener Medizinische Wochenschrift.) B. 
ACIDUM CITRICUM. U.S.,Br. 
* Citric Acid. 
Acidum limonis, Lat.; Acide citrique, Fr.; Citronensaure, Germ.; Acido citrico, ItaU, 
Span. 
Citric acid is the peculiar acid to which limes and lemons owe their sourness. 
It is present also in the juice of other fruits; such as the cranberry, the red 
whortleberry, the berry of the bittersweet, the red gooseberry, the currant, the 
strawberry, the raspberry, the tamarind, and the red elderberry (fruit of Sam- 
bucus racemosa rubra). The latter berry contains citric acid so abundantly that 
it has been proposed as a source of the acid by M. Thibierge, of Versailles. 
The acid is extracted from lemon or lime juice by a very simple process, for 
which we are indebted to Scheele. The boiling juice is first completely saturated 
with carbonate of lime (chalk or whiting) in fine powder, and the citrate of lime 
formed is allowed to subside. This is then washed repeatedly with water, and 
decomposed, by dilute sulphuric acid. An insoluble sulphate of lime is imme- 
diately formed, a>",d the disengaged citric acid remains in the supernatant liquor. 
This is careful’/ concentrated in leaden boilers until a pellicle begins to form, 
wher, it is transferred to other vessels in order to cool and crystallize. Acidurti Citricum. 
37 
PART I. 
In the TJ. S. Pharmacopoeia citric acid is properly placed in the Materia 
Medica list as an article purchased from the manufacturing chemist. The British 
Pharmacopoeia gives the following process for preparing it. 
“Take of Lemon Juice four pints [Imperial measure] ; Beer Yeast two fluid- 
ounces; Prepared Chalk four ounces and a half [avoirdupois]; Sulphuric 
Acid two fuidounces and three fluidrachms; Distilled Water a sufficiency. 
Mix the Lemon Juice with the Yeast, and let it stand for two days, at a tempera- 
ture between 60° and 10°. When fermentation has ceased, separate the clear 
liquid from the lees, boil it, and while hot add the Chalk by degrees till there is no 
more effervescence. Collect the deposit on a calico filter, and wash it with hot 
water till the filtered liquor passes from it colourless. Mix the deposit with two 
pints [Imp. meas.] of Distilled Water, and gradually add the Sulphuric Acid 
previously diluted with a pint and a half [Imp. meas.] of Distilled Water, apply- 
ing for half an hour sufficient heat to produce ebullition, and constantly stirring. 
Separate the acid solution by filtration, wash the insoluble matter with cold Dis- 
tilled Water, and add the washings to the solution. Concentrate to the density 
of 1 *21, cool, and after twenty-four hours decant the liquor from the crystals of 
sulphate of lime which have formed; concentrate further till a film forms on its 
surface, and set it aside to cool and crystallize. Purify the crystals if necessary 
by a second crystallization.” Br. 
By the preliminary fermentation, in this process, the solution is cleared of or- 
ganic matters which give it viscidity, and, if retained, might somewhat interfere 
with subsequent operations. The same end is partially obtained by boiling the 
juice, and thus coagulating and separating the albumen. The Br. Pharmacopoeia 
states, as an evidence of the purity of the crystals, that “ 61 grains dissolved in 
water are neutralized by 100 measures of the volumetric solution of soda 
Preparation on the Large Scale. The juice is placed in a large vat, closed 
at top, and is saturated with whiting (carbonate of lime). Carbonic acid gas 
is evolved, which passes out by an exit-pipe, and may be used in the manufac- 
ture of bicarbonate of soda; and citrate of lime precipitates. The supernatant 
liquor, containing much extractive matter, is drawn off; and the citrate of lime 
is decomposed by dilute sulphuric acid, liberating the citric acid, and precipita- 
ting the lime as a sulphate. The mixture of citric acid and sulphate of lime is 
run off into a wooden filter back, lined with lead, furnished with a perforated 
false bottom, and lined throughout with stout twilled flannel. The solution of 
citric acid passes off through a pipe, leading from the bottom of the back to 
suitable reservoirs. The sulphate is washed until it becomes tasteless, and the 
washings are run off into the same reservoirs. The filtered acid solution is then 
concentrated by evaporation in wooden vessels lined with lead, through which 
steam is made to pass by means of coiled lead pipes. As citric acid is liable to 
decomposition, if subjected to too high a temperature, the use of the vacuum 
pan is highly advantageous in concentrating the solution. When the liquor is 
sufficiently concentrated, it is transferred to cylindrical sheet-lead vessels, placed 
in a warm situation, to crystallize. The crystals, as first obtained, are coloured. 
In order to purify them, they are redissolved in a small quantity of water, with 
the assistance of heat, and the solution is digested with purified animal charcoal, 
altered, and recrystallized. The crystals, after having been washed and drained; 
are dried on wooden trays lined with sheet-lead, in a room heated by steam, 
More recently, Dr. Price and Mr. Pontifex, both of England, have made improve- 
ments in the manufacture of citric acid, for the details of which the reader is re- 
ferred to the Pharm. Journ. and Trans, (xiii. 313, and xvi. 430). 
The citrate of lime of the above process should be decomposed without delay; 
for, if kept, it will undergo fermentation, with the effect of destroying the citric 
acid. According to Personne, the products of this fermentation are acetic and 
butyric acids; carbonic acid and hydrogen being evolved. It is desirable to 38 
Acidum Citricum. 
PART I- 
have a slight excess of sulphuric acid, as this rather favours than otherwise the 
crystallization of the citric acid. It is found necessary, also, to add occasionally 
a small proportion of sulphuric acid to the citric acid liquor, during the pro- 
gress of its concentration. 
According to the late Mr. Parkes, a gallon of good juice, if the process be 
well conducted, will yield eight ounces of white crystals. But the product de- 
pends on the proportion of citric acid in the juice, which is very variable. The 
more recent the juice the better the quality. That which is stale will sometimes 
be quite sour, without containing any citric acid, in consequence of having un- 
dergone the acetous fermentation. 
Properties. Citric acid is a white, crystallized solid, often in large crystals, 
having the form of rhomboidal prisms with dihedral summits. It is permanent 
in a dry air, but becomes moist in a damp one. Its sp.gr. is 16. Its taste is 
strongly acid, and almost caustic. When heated, it dissolves in its water of 
crystallization, and, at a higher temperature, undergoes decomposition, becoming 
yellow or brown, and forming a very sour syrupy liquid, which is uncrystalliza- 
ble. By destructive distillation it gives rise to water, empyreumatic oil, acetic 
and carbonic acids, earburetted hydrogen, and a number of pyrogenous acids, 
among which is the aconitic. A voluminous coal is left. 
Citric acid dissolves in three-fourths of its weight of cold, and half its weight 
of boiling water. It is also soluble in alcohol. A weak solution of it has an 
agreeable taste, but cannot be kept, as it undergoes spontaneous decomposition. 
It is incompatible with alkaline solutions, whether pure or carbonated, convert- 
ing them into citrates; also with the earthy and metallic carbonates, most ace- 
tates, the alkaline sulphurets, and soaps. It is characterized by its taste, by the 
shape of its crystals, and by forming an insoluble salt with lime, and a deliques- 
cent one with potassa. If sulphuric acid be present, the precipitate by acetate 
of lead wrill not be entirely soluble in nitric acid; the insoluble portion being 
sulphate of lead. Sometimes crystals of tartaric acid are substituted for or 
mixed with the citric, or the two acids may be mixed in powder, a fraud which 
is readily detected by adding a solution of carbonate of potassa to one of the 
suspected acids; when, if tartaric acid be present, a crystalline precipitate of 
bitartrate of potassa (cream of tartar) will be formed. A still more delicate 
method of detecting tartaric acid is to digest the suspected acid with hydrated 
sesquioxide of iron in a test tube, afterwards to raise the heat slowly to the 
boiling point, and, having allowed the excess of oxide to subside, to decant the 
clear liquid, and evaporate it to a syrupy consistence. If the acid is pure the 
liquid remains limpid, and of a fine red colour; if contaminated with the tar- 
taric acid, even to the extent of only one per cent., it becomes cloudy, and 
deposits tartrate of the sesquioxide. (Journ. de Pharm., A out, 18G2, p. 109.) 
Lime or other fixed impurity is detected by incinerating the acid, either alone or 
with red oxide of mercury, when the fixed matter will be left. According to the 
U. S. Pharmacopoeia, 100 grains of citric acid saturate 150 grains of bicarbo- 
nate of potassa. 
Composition. The formula of this acid, considered dry, as it exists in tho 
citrate of silver, is C12II5Ou. When crystallized from its solution by cooling, it 
contains four eqs. of water, three of which are basic. 
Medical Properties, &c. Citric acid, when given in concentrated solution to 
the inferior animals, acts as a poison, producing effects similar to those of oxalic 
acid. When largely diluted with water, it forms a cooling, refreshing drink. 
Accordingly, it is much used for making a substitute for lemonade. It is also 
employed in the composition of effervescing draughts, and for preparing the 
neutral mixture. (See Liquor Potassse Citratis.) When added in the quantity 
of nine drachms and a half to a pint of distilled water, it forms a solution of 
the average strength of lemon-juice. Of this solution, or of lemon-juice, a PART I. 
Acidum Oitricum.—Acidum Lacticum. 
scruple of bicarbonate of potassa saturates three fluidrachms and a naif; a 
scruple of carbonate of potassa, four fluidrachms; and a scruple of carbonate of 
ammonia, six fluidrachms. Half a fluidounce of lemon-juice, or of an equivalent 
solution of citric acid, when saturated, is considered a dose. An agreeable sub- 
stitute for lemonade may be made by dissolving from two to four parts of the 
acid, mixed with sugar and a little oil of lemons, in nine hundred parts of water; 
or a scruple of the acid may be dissolved in a pint of water, and sweetened with 
sugar which has been rubbed on fresh lemon peel. 
The physiological action of a wreak solution of citric acid is that of a refrige- 
rant, increasing the fluidity of the blood, and rendering it less coagulable. Hence 
its utility in inflammations and fevers. It is also useful in scurvy, liver disease, 
and dropsy. In recent times citric acid, in the form of lemon-juice, has come 
into vogue as a remedy for gout and rheumatism; but the trials made with it in 
these diseases have not shown that it possesses any peculiar efficacy. Dr. II. 
Bence Jones has made some interesting observations on citric acid and lemon- 
juice, and concludes that their action is identical. Experimental trials showed 
that they always increase the acidity of the urine. In view of this fact, Dr. 
Jones cautions the practitioner against the use of the juice for three or four 
weeks continuously in chronic gout or rheumatism, for fear that red gravel, or 
uric acid calculus should be produced. (See Am. Journ. of the Med. Sci., Jan. 
1855, p. 204.) The dose of lemon-juice in inflammatory rheumatism is two fluid- 
ounces, repeated from four to six times a day. 
Pharm. Uses. In preparing Ferri Pyrophosphas, UA. 
Off. Prep. Ferri et Ammouise-Citras, Br.; Ferri et Quinise Citras, Br.; Li- 
quor Ferri Citratis, U.S.; Liquor Magnesiae Citratis, U.S.; Liquor Potassa) 
Citratis, U.S.; Potassoe Citras; Syrupus Acidi Citrici, U.S. B. 
ACIDUM LACTICUM. U.S. 
Lactic Acid. 
This is a new officinal of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, and placed in the Materia 
Medica list, without a formula for its preparation. Lactic acid was discovered 
by Scheele. It exists in sour milk, and has been found in a number of the secre- 
tions, including the healthy gastric juice, in which its presence has been incon- 
testably proved by Bernard and Barreswil. Liebig has shown that it exists 
abundantly in the juice of flesh. It has been detected by Prof. Wittstein in the 
vegetable kingdom, especially in the peduncles of Solanum Dulcamara, and the 
liquid which oozes from freshly cut vine branches. It is a product of the viscous 
or lactic fermentation of rice-water, and of the juices of the beet, turnip, and 
carrot. Indeed, it is formed whenever sugar in solution, of whatever kind, is 
placed in contact with an alkaline or earthy carbonate, in presence of a special 
ferment, as, for example, the casein of milk, or cheese which contains it. Pasteur 
has demonstrated that the lactic acid fermentation, like the vinous, is accom- 
panied with the growth of a peculiar microscopic plant or mycroderm, which 
he is disposed to consider as the real agent of the changes produced. This 
fermentation is attended with the production not only of lactic acid, but of other 
substances also, and among them, a peculiar gum-like substance in abundance, 
which, first noticed by Kirchof, has been isolated in a pure state by Briining. 
Though similar to arabin and dextrin, with the formula C12H10O10, it is not iden- 
tical with either, and yields no mucic acid when treated with the nitric. (See 
Chem. Gaz., May 15, 1858, p. 197.) 
Preparation. Lactic acid may be obtained by the following process, which 
was recommended by M. Louradour as the first step in preparing lactate of iron. 
Ferment whey by keeping it at a temperatuz’e between 70° and 80°, whereby it Acidum Lacticum. 
PART I. 
becomes charged with a considerable quantity of lactic acid. Evaporate the 
liquor to one-third of its bulk, decant and filter, and then saturate with milk of 
lime. This converts the lactic acid into lactate of lime, which remains in solution, 
and throws down a precipitate, consisting principally of phosphate of lime. 
The liquor is filtered again, and precipitated by oxalic acid, which throws 
down the lime as oxalate of lime, and sets free the lactic acid. By a new filtra- 
tion a solution of lactic acid is obtained, containing lactin (sugar of milk) and 
certain salts. From these it may be purified by concentrating it to a syrupy 
consistence, and treating it with alcohol, which dissolves the acid, and precipi- 
tates the lactin and foreign salts. The solution is filtered, and the lactic acid is 
obtained pure by distilling off the alcohol. Wackenroder’s method is to mix 10 
parts of skimmed milk, 2-5 of sugar of milk, 2 of chalk, and 20 of water, to 
digest at about Y5° for six weeks, or till the chalk is dissolved, then to ex- 
press, clarify, and evaporate so as to crystallize the lactate of lime, and, having 
recrystallized this salt, to decompose it with sulphuric or oxalic acid in exact 
saturating proportions. 
Lautemann proposes a modification of this plan, consisting in substituting 
oxide of zinc for chalk. The fermentation is completed in eight or ten days. 
After boiling, the mixture is filtered, and the liquor, having been evaporated 
.and again filtered, is allowed to stand. Lactate of zinc now separates, from 
which the acid may be obtained by dissolving the salt in boiling wrater, throw- 
ing down the zinc by sulphuretted hydrogen, filtering, and concentrating. The 
solution now contains mannite and lactic acid, both the result of the fermenta- 
tion. By agitating with ether the acid is dissolved, and the mannite left; and by 
evaporating the ethereal solution the lactic acid is obtained. (See Philos. Mag., 
May, 1860, p. 385.) 
Properties. Lactic acid is a limpid, syrupy liquid, colourless or of a pale-wine 
colour, of a slight not unpleasant odour, and a very sour taste. Its sp. gr. is 
1-212, and its formula C6H606, or, if considered as hydrated, C6H-05-f-H0. Some 
consider it a bi-basic acid, and give as its formula CI2H12012, or C12H]0O10+2HO. 
It mixes in all proportions with water, alcohol, and ether. Exposed to a heat 
of 480°, it is for the most part converted into a new body called concrete lactic 
acid or lactide. It coagulates albumen, and dissolves a large quantity of freshly 
precipitated phosphate of lime; a property which, doubtless, renders it import- 
ant in the animal economy. 
In the U. S. Pharmacopoeia it is stated-to produce no precipitate with acetate 
of lead, oxalate of ammonia, or, after saturation by ammonia, with sulphuret- 
ted hydrogen; proving the absence of sulphuric acid, lime, and metallic salts. 
Ninety grains of it are saturated by not less than T5 grains of bicarbonate of 
potassa. When gently heated it should yield no smell of acetic or butyric acid. 
Its colour is not chauged by an excess of caustic potassa. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Lactic acid was proposed by Magendie, on 
theoretical grounds, as a remedy in certain forms of dyspepsia, and for the re- 
moval of phosphatic deposits in the urine. It has subsequently been employed 
with good effects in dyspepsia by Dr. Handfield Jones and Dr. O’Connor, both 
of London. The remedy should be taken at the time of meals. It is most con- 
veniently given in solution sweetened with sugar, prepared like lemonade. From 
one to three drachms may be taken in the course of the day. 
Lactic acid is a useful addition to medicinal pepsin, increasing the solvent 
power of that agent upon the food, when taken into the stomach. Some import- 
ance has also been attached to it from the supposition that it might be the materies 
morbi in rheumatism, as uric acid has been supposed to be in gout; but in either 
case the acid is probably rather the effect than the cause of the disease. 
Off. Prep. Ferri Lactas, U. S. B. PART I. 
Acidum Muriaticum. 
41 
ACIDUM MURIATICUM. U.S. 
Muriatic Acid. 
An aqueous solution of clilorohydric acid gas, of the’sp. gr. 1 * 16. U. S. 
Off. Syn. ACIDUM HYDROCHLORICUM. Br. 
Spirit of sea-salt, Marine acid, Hydrochloric acid, Clilorohydric acid; Acide hydro- 
chlorique, Fr.; Salzsliure, Kochsalzsiiure, Germ.; Acido muriatico, Ital., Span. 
The muriatic acid of pharmacy and the arts is a solution of muriatic acid gas 
in water. It is sometimes called liquid muriatic acid, but more properly aqueous 
muriatic acid. The acid is placed in the Materia Medica Catalogue of the U. S. 
Pharmacopoeia; but among the Preparations in the British, which gives the 
following process for preparing it. 
“ Take of Chloride of Sodium, dried, three pounds [avoirdupois]; Sulphuric 
Acid forty-four fluidounces; Water thirty-six fluidounces; Distilled Water 
fifty fluidounces. Dilute the Sulphuric Acid with thirty-two [fluid]ounces of the 
Water, and when the mixture has cooled, pour it upon the Chloride of Sodium 
previously introduced into a flask having the capacity of at least one gallon 
[Imp. meas.]. Connect the flask by corks and a bent glass tube with a three- 
necked bottle, furnished with a safety tube, and containing the remaining four 
[fluid]ounces of the Water; and from this conduct the gas into a second bottle 
containing the Distilled Water, by means of a bent tube dipping about half an 
inch below its surface; and let the process be continued until the product mea- 
sures sixty-eight [fluid]ounces. The bottle containing the distilled water must 
be carefully kept cool during the whole operation.” Br. 
Freparation. Muriatic acid is obtained by the action of sulphuric acid on 
chloride of sodium or common salt. The commercial acid is procured, on a 
large scale, by distilling the salt with an equal weight of sulphuric acid, some- 
what diluted with water, from iron stills, furnished with earthen heads, into 
earthenware receivers containing water. When thus obtained, it is contami- 
nated with iron and other impurities, and is not fit for medicinal purposes. 
Commercial muriatic acid is now procured in large quantities in England, 
during the decomposition of common salt for the purpose of making sulphate 
of soda, from which soda-ash and carbonate of soda are afterwards manufac- 
tured in immense quantities. When the object is to obtain sulphate of soda, 
the decomposition of the sea-salt is performed in semi-cylindrical vessels, the 
curved part, next the fire, being made of iron, and the upper or flat surface, of 
stone. If the acid is to be saved, it is conveyed by a pipe to a double-necked 
stoneware receiver, half filled with water, and connected with a row of similar 
receivers, likewise containing water. 
The acid, when required to be pure, is generally prepared by saturating dis- 
tilled water with the gas in a Woulfe’s apparatus. A quantity of pure fused 
common salt is introduced into a retort or matrass, placed on a sand-bath. The 
vessel is then furnished with an S tube, and connected with a series of bottles, 
each two-thirds full of water. A quantity of sulphuric acid is then gradually 
added, equal in weight to the common salt employed, and diluted with one-third 
of its weight of water. The materials ought not to occupy more than half the 
body of the retort. When the extrication of the gas slackens, heat is applied, 
and gradually increased until the water in the bottles refuses to absorb any 
more, or until no more gas is found to come over. As soon as the process is 
completed, boiling water should be added to the contents of the retort or ma- 
trass, in order to facilitate the removal of the residue. During the progress of 
the saturation, the water in the several bottles increases in temperature, which 
'essens its power of absorption. It is, therefore, expedient, in order to obtain 
a strong acid, to keep the bottles cool by means of water or ice. The connect- 
ing tubes need not plunge deeply into the acid. 42 
Acidum Muriaticum 
PART I. 
Tio process of the British Pharmacopoeia is substantially the same as the one 
here described, with the exception of the proportion of the acid and salt em- 
ployed. In the process for muriatic acid, theory calls for a little less than 82 
parts of liquid sulphuric acid to 100 of common salt. A moderate excess of the 
former may be useful to ensure the complete decomposition of the salt; but the 
quantity of acid, directed in the British process, is sufficient to decompose twice 
the quantity of common salt taken. The intention obviously is to use enough 
of the acid to form the bisulphate instead of sulphate of soda ; and it is thought 
that the process is thus facilitated. 
The rationale of the process for obtaining this acid is very simple. Common 
salt is a compound of chlorine and sodium; muriatic acid, of chlorine and hy- 
drogen ; and liquid sulphuric acid, of dry sulphuric acid and water. The water 
is decomposed; its oxygen, combining with the sodium of the common salt, 
generates soda, which unites with the sulphuric acid to form sulphate of soda; 
while the hydrogen and chlorine, being both in the nascent state, combine, and 
escape as muriatic acid gas. The residue of the process is consequently sulphate 
of soda or Glauber’s salt. 
As muriatic acid, prepared in the ordinary mode, often contains arsenic, so as 
to obscure its indications when employed in testing for that poison, it is of in- 
terest to the practical toxicologist to know that it may be obtained free from 
that impurity by distilling chloride of sodium or potassium with oxalic acid in 
equivalent proportions. (Chem. News, Jan. 18, 1862, p. 41.) 
Properties of the Pure Acid. Muriatic acid, when pure, is a transparent 
colourless liquid, of a suffocating odour and corrosive taste. Exposed to the air 
it emits white fumes, owing to the escape of the acid gas, and its union with the 
moisture of the atmosphere. When concentrated, it blackens organic substances 
like sulphuric acid. Its sp. gr. varies with its strength. When as highly con- 
centrated as possible, its density is 1*21. The U. S. medicinal acid has the sp. 
gr. 1T6; the British ITT; and a fluidrachm of the latter requires for neutrali- 
zation 60-25 measures of “ the volumetric solution of soda.” When of the sp. gr. 
1T6 it contains rather more than 339 per cent, of muriatic acid gas. (Phillips.) 
It freezes at 60° below zero. When exposed to heat, it continues to give off 
muriatic acid gas, with the appearance of ebullition, until its sp. gr. falls to 
1 *094, when it properly boils, and distils over unchanged. 
As it is desirable to know, on many occasions, in chemical and pharmaceutical 
operations, the quantity of strong aqueous acid, of acid gas, and of chlorine, 
contained in samples of acid of different densities, we subjoin a table by Dr. Ure, 
containing this information. . 
Table of the Quantity of Aqueous Muriatic Acid of sp. gr. 1 *2, of Muriatic 
Acid Gas, and of Chlorine in 100 parts of Aqueous Acid of different den- 
sities. 
Sp. Gr. 
Aqueous 
Acid of 
sp. gr. 1-2. 
Acid Gas. 
Chlorine. 
Sp. Gr. 
Aqueous 
Acid of 
sp. gr. 12. 
Acid Gas. 
Chlorine. 
1-2000 
100 
40-777 
39-675 
1-1102 
55 
21-822 
22-426 
1-1910 
95 
38-738 
37-692 
1-1000 
50 
20-388 
19-837 
1-1822 
90 
36-700 
35-707 
1-0899 
45 
18-348 
17-854 
1-1721 
85 
34-660 
33-724 
1-0798 
40 
16-310 
15-870 
1-1701 
84 
34-252 
33-328 
1-0697 
35 
14-271 
13-887 
1-1620 
80 
32-621 
31-746 
1-0597 
30 
12-233 
11-903 
1-1599 
79 
32-213 
31-343 
1-0497 
25 
10-194 
9-919 
1-1515 
75 
30-582 
29-757 
1-0397 
20 
8-155 
7-935 
1-1410 
70 
28-544 
27-772 
1-0298 
15 
6-116 
54 51 
1-1308 
65 
26-504 
25-789 
1-0200 
10 
4-078 
3-968 
1-1206 
60 
24-466 
23-805 
1-0100 
5 
2-039 
1-984 PART I. 
Acidum Muriaticum. 
43 
Muriatic acid is characterized by forming, on the addition of nitrate of silver, 
a white precipitate (chloride of silver), which is insoluble in nitric acid, bus 
readily soluble in ammonia. It is incompatible with alkalies and most earths, 
with oxides and their carbonates, and with sulphuret of potassium, tartrate of 
potassa, tartar emetic, tartrate of iron and potassa, nitrate of silver, and solu- 
tion of subacetate of lead. 
Impurities. This acid, when pure, will evaporate without residue in a platinum 
spoon. If sulphuric acid be present, a solution of chloride of barium will cause 
a precipitate of sulphate of baryta in the acid, previously diluted with distilled 
water. Iron may be detected by saturating the diluted acid with carbonate of 
soda, and then adding ferrocyanide of potassium, which will strike a blue colour 
if that metal be present. The absence of arsenic may be inferred if it do not 
tarnish bright copper foil when boiled with it, and of this as well as other me- 
tallic impregnation, excepting that of iron, by its giving no precipitate with sul- 
phuretted hydrogen. Ammonia in excess shows the absence of iron, if it pro- 
duces no precipitate. Free chlorine or nitric acid may be discovered by its hav- 
ing the power to dissolve gold-leaf. Any minute portion of the leaf which may 
be dissolved is detected by adding a solution of protochloride of tin, which will 
give rise to a purplish tint. The free chlorine is derived from the reaction of 
nitric or hyponitric acid on a small portion of the muriatic acid, which is thus 
deprived of its hydrogen. Hence it is that, when free chlorine is present, hypo- 
nitric acid or some other oxide of nitrogen is also present as an impurity. The 
nitric aud hyponitric acids are derived from nitrates in the common salt, and 
from hyponitric acid in the commercial sulphuric acid employed in the prepara- 
tion of the muriatic acid. 
Muriatic Acid of Commerce. This acid has the general properties of the 
pure aqueous acid. It has a yellowish colour, owing to the presence of sesqui- 
chloride of iron, or of a minute proportion of organic matter, such as cork, 
wood, &c. It usually contains sulphuric acid, and sometimes free chlorine and 
nitrous acid. But the most injurious impurity, to those who consume it in the 
arts, is sulphurous acid. Mr. T. H. Savory analyzed three samples of commer- 
cial muriatic acid, each having a sp. gr. of between 1T6 and 1T7, and found 
them to contain from 7 to nearly 11 per cent, of sulphurous acid. To detect this 
acid, M. Girardin has proposed a very delicate test, namely, the protochloride 
of tin. The mode of using the test is to take about half an ounce of the acid to 
be tested, and to add to it two or three drachms of the protochloride. The mix- 
ture having been stirred two or three times, as much distilled water as of the 
protochloride is to be added. If sulphurous acid is present, the muriatic acid 
becomes turbid and yellow immediately upon the addition of the protochloride; 
and, upon the subsequent addition of the water, a slight evolution of sulphu- 
retted hydrogen takes place, perceptible to the smell, and the liquid assumes a 
brown hue, depositing a powder of the same colour. The manner in which the 
test acts is as follows. By a transfer of chlorine, the test is converted into bi- 
chloride and metallic tin, the latter of which, by reacting with the sulphurous 
acid, gives rise to a precipitate of the deutoxide and protosulphuret of tin. In 
case the sulphurous acid forms but one-half of one per cent, of the commercial 
icid, the precipitate may not be perceptible. Under these circumstances, a solu- 
tion of sulphate of copper must be added to the liquid previously warmed, when 
a brown precipitate of sulphuret of copper will be immediately formed. (Heintz.) 
M. Lembert has proposed the following, which he considers as a more delicate 
test of sulphurous acid. Saturate the suspected muriatic acid with carbonate of 
potassa, and add successively a little weak solution of starch, one or two drops 
of solution of iodate of potassa, and sulphuric acid, drop by drop. Sulphurous 
acid, if present, will be set free with iodic acid, and these, by reacting on each 
other, will develope iodine, which will cause a blue colour with the starch. 44 
Acidum Muriaticum. 
PART I. 
Another impurity occasionally present in the commercial acid, as shown by 
Rupasquier, is arsenic. The immediate source of this impurity is the sulphuric 
a/2id used to prepare the muriatic acid. The sulphuric acid derives the arsenic 
from the sulphur used in its manufacture, and this last from pyrites containing 
a little of the poisonous metal. The arsenic, when present, is in the form of a 
terchloride, and, from its volatility in this state of combination, is transferred 
to the muriatic acid, distilled from the commercial acid. This impurity is sepa- 
rated by diluting the acid with an equal volume of water, and passing through 
it sulphuretted hydrogen, which throws down the arsenic as a tersulphuret. 
According to Wittstein muriatic acid is freed from arsenic by mercury, accord- 
ing to Reinsch by copper, and in either case it may be deprived of metallic im- 
pregnation by distillation. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., Sept. 1851, p. 408.) 
When leaden vessels are used in preparing muriatic acid, it is apt to contain 
chloride of lead, which falls as a white precipitate on neutralizing the acid. The 
nature of the precipitate is verified by dissolving it in nitric acid and adding 
iodide of potassium, when the yellow iodide of lead will fall. (Hainault.) This 
impurity, being fixed, may be got rid of by distilling the acid. A small propor- 
tion of thallium has been detected in commercial muriatic acid by Mr. Wm. 
Crookes, being derived from sulphuric acid, in the manufacture of which pyrites 
were employed. (Ghem. News, April 25, 1863, p. 194.) 
Hydrochloric Acid of Commerce is placed in the Appendix of the British 
Pharmacopoeia, without definition, as one of the substances used in the prepara- 
tion of medicines without being themselves medicinal. 
Properties of Muriatic Acid Gas. Muriatic acid gas is a colourless elastic 
fluid, possessing a pungent odour, and the property of irritating the organs of 
respiration. It destroys life and extinguishes flame. It reddens litmus power- 
fully, and has the other properties of a strong acid. Its sp. gr. is 1 -269. Sub- 
jected to a pressure of 40 atmospheres, at the temperature of 50°, it is con- 
densed into a transparent liquid, to which alone the name of liquid muriatic 
acid properly belongs. It absorbs water with the greatest avidity, and, accord- 
ing to the temperature and pressure, unites with a greater or less quantity of 
that liquid. Water, at the temperature of 69°, takes up 464 times its volume 
of the gas, increasing one-third in bulk, and about three-fourths in weight. 
Water thus saturated constitutes the strong aqueous acid already described. 
Composition. Muriatic acid gas consists of one eq. of chlorine 35-5, and one 
of hydrogen 1=36‘5; or of one volume of chlorine and one of hydrogen, 
united without condensation. 
Medical Properties. Muriatic acid is tonic, refrigerant, and antiseptic. It 
is exhibited, largely diluted with water, in low fevers, phthisis, chronic dyspep- 
sia, some forms of syphilis, and to counteract phosphatic deposits in the urine. 
Dr. Paris has given it with success in malignant cases of typhus and scarlatina, 
administered in a strong infusion of quassia. It may also be added with advan- 
tage to infusions of columbo, gentian, and cinchona. It proves a good adjunct 
to gargles in ulcerated sorethroat and scarlatina maligna. The dose for internal 
exhibition is from ten to twenty minims, in a sufficient quantity of some bland 
fluid, as barley-water or gruel. In the composition of gargles, it may be used 
in the proportion of from half a fluidrachm to two fluidrachms, mixed with six 
fluidounces of the vehicle. (See Acidum Murialicum Dilutum.) It has been 
found useful, as a topical application, in various affections of the skin, particu- 
larly in follicular acne. It may be used diluted with glycerin, or concentrated. 
If applied in an undiluted form, it should be removed in less than thirty second's 
by washing with pure water and afterwards with soap. (Kletzinsky; see Journ. 
de Pharm., Oct. 1859, p. 301.) 
Toxicological Properties. Muriatic acid, when swallowed, is highly irritating 
and corrosive, but less so than sulphuric or nitric acid. It produces blackness of PART I. 
Acidum Muriaticum.—Acidum Nitricum. 
45 
the lips, fiery redness of the tongue, hiccough, violent efforts to vomit, and ago- 
nizing pain in the stomach. There is much thirst, with great restlessness, a dry 
and burning skin, aud a small concentrated pulse. If the acid has been recently 
swallowed, white vapours of a pungent smell are emitted from the mouth. The 
best antidote is magnesia, which acts by saturating the acid. Soap is also use- 
ful for the same reason. In the course of the treatment, bland and mucilaginous 
drinks must be freely given. When inflammation supervenes, it must be treated 
on general principles. 
Pharm. Uses. In the preparation of Antimonii Oxidum, U. S.; Calcis Phos- 
phas Praecipitata; Carbo Animalis Purifieatus; Hydrargyrum, Br.; Quinise Sul- 
phas ; Strychnia, U.S.; Sulphur Prsecipitatum; Yeratria, Br. 
Off. Prep, of Muriatic Acid. Acidum Hydrochloricum Dilutum, Br.; Aci- 
dum Muriaticum Dilutum, U. S.; Acidum Nitrohydrocliloricum Dilutum, Br.; 
Acidum Nitromuriaticura, U. S.; Aqua Chlorinii, U. S.; Barii Chloridum, U. S.; 
Ferri Chloridum, U. S.; Liquor Calcii Chloridi, U. S.; Liquor Chlori, Br.; Liquor 
Ferri Perchloridi, Br.; Morphise Murias, U. S.; Podophylli Resina, Br.; Tinc- 
tura Ferri Chloridi, U. S.; Zinci Chloridum. 
Off. Prep, of Muriatic Acid of Commerce. Liquor Antimonii Terchloridi, Br. 
Pharm. Uses. In preparing Potassae Bicarbonas, Br.; Sodae Bicarbonas, Br. 
B. 
ACIDUM NITRICUM. U. S., Br. 
Nitric Acid. 
Nitric acid, of the specific gravity L42. U.S. 3H0,2N05. The sp. gr. 15. Br. 
Spirit of nitre; Aqua fortis; Acide nitrique, Acide azotique, Fr.; Saltpetersiiure, Germ.; 
Zaltpeterzuur, Sterkwater, Dutch; Shedwater, Swed.; Acido nitrico, Ital., Span. 
Nitric acid is one of the five compounds formed between nitrogen and oxy- 
gen. These are nitrous oxide (exhilarating gas), NO; nitric oxide, N02; nitrous 
acid (formerly hyponitrous acid), N03; hyponitric acid (formerly nitrous acid), 
NO,; and nitric acid, NO. 
Nitric acid is now officinal in three forms; the pure acid of the sp.gr. 15, 
the pure acid of the sp. gr. 1 *42, and the diluted. The first two will be noticed 
here, and the third under the preparations. (See Acidum Nitricum Dilutum.) 
The usual practice, adopted in the laboratory for obtaining nitric acid, is to 
add to nitrate of potassa in coarse powder, contained in a retort, an equal 
weight of strong sulphuric acid, poured in by means of a tube or funnel, so as 
not to soil the neck. The materials should not occupy more than two-thirds of 
the capacity of the retort. A receiver being adapted, heat is applied by means 
of a spirit-lamp, the naked fire, or a sand-bath, moderately at first, but after- 
wards more strongly when the materials begin to thicken, in order to bring the 
whole into a state of perfect fusion. Red vapours will at first arise, and after- 
wards disappear in the progress of the distillation. Towards its close they will 
be reproduced, and their reappearance will indicate that the process is completed. 
The proportion of equal weights, as above given, corresponding nearly to one 
eq. of nitrate of potassa and two of monohydrated sulphuric acid, is the best 
for operations on a small scale in the laboratory. This proportion is preferred 
by Thenard. In operations on a large scale, where an iron vessel is used, a 
strong heat applied, and wrater placed in the receivers to condense the acid, less 
sulphuric acid may be advantageously employed. 
Monohydrated Nitric Acid. Nitrate of Water. This is the strongest liquid 
nitric acid that can be procured, and may be supposed to be obtained by distill- 
ing one eq. of pure and dry nitre with two eqs. of monohydrated sulphuric acid. 
One eq. of monohydrated nitric acid distils over, and one eq. of monohydrated 
Oisulphate of potassa remains behind. KO,NOs and 2(H0,S03) = H0,N0s Acidum Nitrieum. 
PART I. 
46 
and K0,2S03-f-H0. Acid of this strength is very difficult to get, and requires 
fo” its preparation the most elaborate attention to separate the superabundant 
water. According to Mr. Arthur Smith, of London, acid, dehydrated as far as 
possible, is perfectly colourless, boils at 184°, has the sp. gr. L517 at 60°, and 
nearly approaches, in composition, to a monohydrate. Acid of this strength, 
even at the boiling temperature, has not the slightest action on tin or iron. 
(Phil. 3Iag., Dec. 1847.) According to Millon, the true monohydrate has a sp. 
gr. as high as 1*521. 
The Nitric Acid of the British Pharmacopoeia, which may be considered a ses- 
quihydrate, is obtained by the following process. “Take of Nitrate of Potash 
two pounds [avoirdupois]; Sulphuric Acid seventeen fuidounces [Imperial 
measure]. Pour the Sulphuric Acid upon the Nitrate of Potash previously in- 
troduced into a plain retort; pass the neck of the retort at least five inches into 
the glass tube of a Liebig’s condenser, and distil over the acid with a heat which 
towards the end of the process must be raised so as to liquefy the contents of the 
retort.” Br. 
The acid thus prepared is directed to have the sp. gr. 1*5. It is of a yellow- 
ish colour, and strongly corrosive. “One fluidrachm requires for neutralization 
121 5 measures of the volumetric solution of soda. Diluted with six[fluid]ounces 
of distilled water, it gives no precipitate with chloride of barium or nitrate of 
silver;” indicating the absence of sulphuric and muriatic acids. This acid is 
considered to be a sesquihydrate, consisting of one eq. of dry acid 54, and one 
and a half eqs. of water 13*5 = 67 *5. Strictly speaking it is a nitrate of water, 
diluted with half an eq. of water (HO,NOft An acid of this strength 
is inconveniently strong, is constantly undergoing decomposition under the in- 
fluence of light, and might with advantage be replaced by a pure acid of the 
density L42. This substitution was made in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia of 1850, 
and is continued in the present edition. 
Nitric Acid (sp.gr. 1*42). Quadrihydrated Nitric Acid. This is the acid 
adopted in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia of 1850, in the place of the acid weighing 15. 
Acid of the density 1*5 was not found in any of the shops, and much pains were 
required to get it of that strength. Besides, acid of the density 1*5 was not ne- 
cessary for any process of the Pharmacopoeia. Considerations of this kind in- 
duced the revisers of our national standard of 1850 to lower the strength of 
officinal nitric acid to 1-42, its purity in other respects remaining the same. To 
satisfy the tests given in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, it must be colourless, entirely 
volatilized by heat, and, when diluted with distilled water, not precipitated by 
hydrosulphuric acid, nitrate of silver, or chloride of barium. Acid of the den- 
sity L42 is the most stable of the hydrated compounds of nitric acid, and boils 
at 250°. When either stronger or weaker than this, it distils over at a lower 
temperature; and, by losing more acid than water in the first case, and more 
water than acid in the second, constantly approaches to the sp. gr. L42, when its 
boiling point becomes stationary. These facts in relation to quadrihydrated ni- 
tric acid were first observed by Dalton, and have since been confirmed by Mr. 
Arthur Smith, of London. This acid consists of one eq. of dry acid and four 
of water (4H0,N05); but as only one of the eqs. of water is basic, the other 
three being constitutional, the true formula is H0,N05-(-3H0. 
Nitric Acid of the Arts. Two strengths of this acid occur in the arts ; double 
aqua fortis (sp. gr. L36), which is half the strength of concentrated nitric acid, 
and single aqua fortis (sp. gr. L22), which is half as strong as the double. 
Aqua fortis is sometimes obtained by distilling a mixture of nitre and calcined 
sulphate of iron. By an interchange of ingredients, sulphate of potassa and 
nitrate of iron are formed, the latter of which, at the distilling heat, readily 
abandons its nitric acid. The sulphate of potassa is washed out of the residue, 
aud the sesquioxide of iron which is left is sold, under the name of colcothar, to Acidum Nitricum. 
47 
PART I. 
the polishers of metals. The distillation is performed in large cast-iron retorts, 
lined on the inside with a thick layer of red oxide of iron, to protect them from 
the action of the acid. The acid is received in large glass vessels containing 
water. A considerable portion of the acid is decomposed by the heat into red- 
dish vapours, which subsequently dissolve in the water, and absorb the oxygen 
which had been disengaged. The acid thus obtained is red and tolerably strong, 
but is diluted with water before being thrown into commerce. 
The reddish acid, called nitrous acid of the shops, is nitric acid containing 
more or less hyponitric acid (N04). The same acid may be formed by impreg- 
nating, to a limited extent, colourless nitric acid with nitric oxide (N02). If the 
saturation be complete, every two eqs. of nitric acid become three eqs. of hyponitric 
acid, by the aid of one eq. of nitric oxide (2N05 and N02=3N04). The nitrous 
acid of the shops may be converted into colourless nitric acid by exposing it to 
a gentle heat. As hyponitric acid (N04) forms, in contact with bases, a nitrate 
and nitrite, there being, strictly speaking, no hyponitrates, some chemists con- 
sider it as a compound of nitric and nitrous acids (2N04=N0.-f-N03). 
In France, nitric acid is manufactured on the large scale from nitre and sul- 
phuric acid in cast-iron cylinders. The cylinders are disposed horizontally across 
a furnace, and are strewed internally throughout their length with nitre. Two 
circular cast-iron plates, each pierced with a hole, serve to close the ends. At 
one end the sulphuric acid is poured in, and, by means of a stoneware tube con- 
nected with the other end, the nitric acid is conducted to receivers. The sulphate 
of potassa is removed after each operation. The iron cylinders are acted upon 
by the acid; but this disadvantage is counterbalanced by a great saving of ex- 
pense, when the process is conducted in such vessels. 
In England, nitric acid is generally procured for the purposes of the arts, by 
distilling the materials in earthenware retorts, or cast-iron pots with earthen 
heads, connected with a series of glass or stoneware receivers containing water. 
The proportion of sulphuric acid, employed by the manufacturer, is between one 
and two equivalents to one of the salt; and hence the product has an orange-red 
colour, which is removed by heating the acid. 
In the United States, nitric acid is made, on the large scale, in a distillatory 
apparatus having the same general arrangement as in France and England. 
Sometimes a cast-iron cylinder is used, as in France, and sometimes a thick cast- 
iron pot with an earthenware head. The pot is set in brick-work over a fire- 
place; and, the materials having been placed in it, the head is luted on with a 
fat lute, and made to communicate with two receivers, either of stoneware or 
glass, connected together by means of a tube. Large demijohns of glass answer 
the purpose of receivers very well. The incondensible products are made to 
pass, by means of a tube, into a portion of water. The quantity of sulphuric 
acid, employed in different establishments, varies from one-half to two-thirds of 
the weight of the nitre. Nitrate of soda (cubic nitre), imported into the United 
States from Peru, is used by some manufacturing chemists to obtain nitric acid. 
One objection to this salt is that it often contains much common salt. Supposing 
it pure, it yields 10 per cent, more acid for a given weight than nitrate of po- 
tassa; but the residuum, sulphate of soda, is less valuable than sulphate of po- 
tassa. The latter salt, under the name of sal enixum, is sold to the alum makers. 
M. Mallett, of Paris, has proposed to obtain nitric acid from nitrate of soda, 
by distilling it with dried boracic acid. In this case, biborate of soda or borax 
is the residue. Another method, employed by Kuhlman, is to expose a mixture 
of nitrate of soda and chloride of manganese to a heat of about 450° F., and to 
pass the mixed gases which escape through water. Hyponitric acid and oxygen 
are disengaged, which become nitric acid when they enter the water. (See Pharm. 
Journ. and Trans., Oct. 1862, p. 155.) 
General Properties of Nitric Acid. Nitric acid, so called from nitre, is a 48 
Acidum Nitricum. 
PAET I. 
liquid, extremely sour and corrosive. It was discovered by Raymond Lully, in 
the 13th century, and its constituents by Cavendish, in 1184. When perfectly 
pure, it is colourless; but, as usually obtained, it has a straw colour, owing to 
the presence of hyponitric acid. The concentrated acid, when exposed to the air, 
emits white fumes, possessing a disagreeable odour. By the action of light it 
undergoes a slight decomposition, and becomes yellow. It acts powerfully on 
animal matter, causing its decomposition. On the living fibre it operates as a 
strong caustic. It stains the skin and most animal substances of an indelible 
yellow colour. On vegetable fibre it acts peculiarly, abstracting hydrogen or 
water, and combining with its remaining elements. When diluted, nitric acid 
converts most animal and vegetable substances into oxalic, malic, and carbonic 
acids. The general character of its action is to impart oxygen to other bodies, 
which it is enabled to do in consequence of the large quantity of this element 
which it contains in a state of loose combination. It acidifies sulphur and phos- 
phorus, and oxidizes all the metals, except chromium, tungsten, columbium, 
cerium, titanium, osmium, rhodium, gold, platinum, and iridium. In the liquid 
state it always contains water, which is essential to its existence in that state. 
It combines with salifiable bases and forms nitrates. When mixed with muriatic 
acid, mutual decomposition takes place, and a liquid is formed, capable of dissolv- 
ing gold, called nitromuriatic acid or aqua regia. (See Acidum Nitromuriaticum.) 
A trace of nitric acid has been detected in atmospheric air. It is said to be 
always present in the air in summer. (Kletzinsky.) 
Tests. Nitric acid, when uncombined, is recognised by its dissolving copper 
with the production of red vapours, and by its forming nitre when saturated 
with potassa. When in the form of a nitrate, it is detected by its action on 
gold-leaf, after the addition of muriatic acid, in consequence of the evolution of 
chlorine; or it may be discovered, according to Dr. O’Shaughnessy, by heating 
the supposed nitrate in a test tube with a drop of sulphuric acid, and then add- 
ing a crystal of morphia. If nitric acid be present, it will be set free by the 
sulphuric acid, and reddened by the morphia. The same effect is produced by 
brucia; as also by commercial strychnia, on account of its containing brucia. 
To prevent all ambiguity, arising from the accidental presence of nitric acid in 
the sulphuric acid employed, the operator should satisfy himself, by a separate 
experiment, that the latter acid has no power to produce the characteristic 
colour with morphia. Another test for nitric acid is to add pure sulphuric acid 
to the concentrated liquid, suspected to contain it, together with a little con- 
centrated solution of the sulphate of protoxide of iron. The smallest trace of 
nitric acid affords, when the mixture is warmed, a pink-red colour;. and, if it 
be present in considerable amount, the liquid becomes almost black. 
The most common impurities in nitric acid are sulphuric acid and chlorine; 
the former derived from the acid used in the process, the latter from common 
salt, which is not an unfrequent impurity in nitre. They may be detected by 
adding a few drops of the solution of chloride of barium and of nitrate of silver 
to separate portions of the nitric acid, diluted with three or four parts of dis- 
tilled water. If these reagents should produce a precipitate, the chloride will 
indicate sulphuric acid, and the nitrate, chlorine. These impurities may be 
separated by adding nitrate of silver in slight excess, which will precipitate them 
as sulphate and chloride of silver, and then distilling nearly to dryness in very 
clean vessels. The sulphuric acid may also be got rid of by distilling from a 
fresh portion of nitre. The chlorine may be separated, without the use of nitrate 
of silver, by distilling the commercial acid, and rejecting the first eighth or fourth 
which comes over, according to the quality of the acid, and reserving that which 
passes subsequently, which is absolutely pure. (Ch. Barresivil.) According to 
M. Lembert, the nitric acid of commerce sometimes contains iodine, probably 
derived from the native nitrate of soda, in which he found that element. It may PART I. 
Acidum Nitricum. 
49 
be detected by saturating the suspected acid with a carbonated alkali, pouring 
in a little clear solution of starch, and then adding a few drops of sulphuric acid. 
If iodine be present, the sulphuric acid will set it free, and the starch solution 
will become blue. Another test, proposed by Mr. Stein, is to introduce a stick 
of tin into the suspected acid, and, after red vapours have begun to escape, to 
withdraw the metal, and add a few drops of sulphuret of carbon, and agitate. 
If iodine be present, drops of sulphur will soon separate, coloured more or less 
deeply red according to the quantity of the impurity. These impurities, however, 
do not affect the medical properties of the acid. 
As a nitric acid below the standard strength is necessarily employed in many 
chemical and pharmaceutical operations, it often becomes important to know 
the proportion of dry acid, and of acid of the strength of 1 *5, contained in an 
acid of any given specific gravity. The following table, drawn up from experi- 
ments by Dr. Ure, gives information on these points. 
Table showing the Quantity of Hydrated Nitric Acid (sp. gr. T5), and of Dry 
Nitric Acid, contained in 100 parts of the Acid at Different Densities. 
Ilyd. 
Dry 
Ilyd. 
Dry 
Hyd. 
Dry 
Ilyd. 
Dry 
Sp.Gr. 
Acid 
Acid 
Sp. Gr. 
Acid 
Acid 
Sp.Gr. 
Acid 
Acid 
Sp. Gr. 
Acid 
Acid 
in 100. 
in 100. 
in 100. 
in 100. 
in 100. 
in 100. 
in 100. 
in 100. 
1-500 
100 
79-700 
1-4189 
75 
59-775 
1-2947 
50 
39-850 
1-1403 
25 
19-925 
1-498 
99 
78-903 
1-4147 
74 
58-978 
1-2887 
49 
39 053 
1-1345 
24 
19-128 
1-4960 
98 
78-106 
1-4107 
73 
58-181 
1-2826 
48 
38-256 
1-1286 
23 
18-331 
1-4940 
97 
77-309 
1-4065 
72 
57-384 
1-2765 
47 
37-459 
1-1227 
22 
17-534 
1-4910 
96 
76-512 
1-4023 
71 
56-587 
1-2705 
46 
36-662 
1-1168 
21 
16-737 
1 4880 
95 
75-715 
1-3978 
70 
55-790 
1-2644 
45 
35-865 
1-1109 
20 
15-940 
1 4850 
94 
74-918 
1-3945 
69 
54-993 
1-2583 
44 
35-068 
1-1051 
19 
15-143 
1-4820 
93 
74-121 
1-3882 
68 
54-196 
1-2523 
43 
34-271 
1-0993 
18 
14-346 
1-4790 
92 
73-324 
1-3833 
67 
53-399 
1-2462 
42 
33-474 
1-0935 
17 
13-549 
1-4760 
91 
72-527 
1-3783 
66 
52-602 
1-2402 
41 
32-677 
1 0878 
16 
12-752 
1-4730 
90 
71-730 
1-3732 
65 
51-805 
1-2341 
40 
31-880 
1-0821 
15 
11-955 
1-4700 
89 
70-933 
1-3681 
64 
51-068 
1-2277 
39 
31-083 
1-0764 
14 
11-158 
1-4670 
88 
70-136 
1-3630 
63 
50-211 
1-2212 
38 
30-286 
1-0708 
13 
10-861 
1-4640 
87 
69-339 
1-3579 
62 
49-414 
1-2148 
37 
29-489 
1-0651 
12 
9-564 
1 4600 
86 
68-542 
1-3529 
61 
48-617 
1-2084 
36 
28-692 
1-0595 
11 
8-767 
1-4570 
85 
67-745 
1-3477 
60 
47-820 
1-2019 
35 
27-895 
1-0540 
10 
7-970 
1-4530 
84 
66-948 
1-3427 
59 
47-023 
1-1958 
34 
27-098 
1-0485 
9 
7-173 
1-4500 
83 
66-155 
1-3377 
58 
46-226 
1-1895 
33 
26-301 
1-0430 
8 
6-376 
1-4460 
82 
65-354 
1-3323 
57 
45-429 
1-1833 
32 
25-504 
1-0375 
7 
5-5.79 
1-4424 
81 
64-557 
1-3270 
56 
44-632 
1-1770 
31 
24-707 
1-0320 
6 
4-782 
1-4385 
80 
63-760 
1 3216 
55 
43-835 
1-1709 
30 
23-910 
1-0267 
5 
3-985 
1-4346 
79 
62-963 
1-3163 
54 
43-038 
1-1648 
29 
23-113 
1-0212 
4 
3-188 
1-4306 
78 
62-166 
1-3110 
53 
42-241 
1-1587 
28 
22 316 
1-0159 
3 
2-391 
1-4269 
77 
61-369 
1-3056 
52 
41-444 
1-1526 
27 
21-519 
1-0106 
2 
1-594 
1-4228 
76 
60 572 
1-3001 
51 
40-647 
1-1465 
26 
20-722 
1-0053 
1 
0-797 
Composition. The composition of the officinal acid of the density 1*42 has 
already been given. It contains about 75 per cent, of nitric acid, of the sp. gr. 
l'S. Anhydrous nitric acid consists of one eq. of nitrogen 14, and five eqs. of 
oxygen 40 = 54; or, in volumes, of one volume of nitrogen and two and a half 
volumes of oxygen, supposed to be condensed, to form nitric acid vapour, into 
one volume. In 1849, the interesting discovery was made by M. Deville, of Be- 
san9on, of the means of isolating anhydrous nitric acid. The method pursued 
was to pass perfectly dry chlorine over nitrate of silver. The anhydrous acid ig 
in the form of colourless, brilliant, limpid crystals, which melt at 85° and boil 
at 113°. In contact with water, they form a colourless solution with evolution of 
heat, without the disengagement of gas. (Journ. de Pharm., Mars, 1849, p. 207.) 50 
Acidum Nitricum. 
PART I. 
Medi>al Properties. Nitric acid is tonic and antiseptic. Largely diluted 
with water, it forms a good acid drink in low forms of fever. It is praised as 
an antiperiodic in intermittent fever by Dr. Geo. Mendenhall and Dr. E. T. 
Bailey, of Indiana, given in doses of from five to eight drops once in six hours, 
without regard to intermissions or exacerbations. (See Am. Journ. of the Med. 
Sci., Oct. 1854, p. 581.) According to Dr. Arnoldi, of Montreal, nitric acid, added 
to water so as to give it the acidity of lemon-juice, and sweetened, is an effica- 
cious remedy in hooping-cough ; and his report of its value was confirmed by Dr. 
Geo. D. Gibbs, in his treatise on hooping-cough, published in London in 1854. 
The dose for a child one year old is a dessertspoonful every hour; for an adult, 
a tumblerful during the day. To save the teeth, the mouth should be washed 
after each dose. In syphilis, and in the chronic hepatitis of India, this acid was 
highly extolled by Dr. Scott, formerly of Bombay. It has occasionally excited 
ptyalism. It cannot be depended upon as a remedy in syphilis, but, in worn-out 
constitutions, is often an excellent adjuvant, either to prepare the system for the 
use of mercury, or to lessen the effects of that metal on the economy. As nitric 
acid dissolves both uric acid and the phosphates, it was supposed to be appli- 
cable to those cases of gravel in which the uric acid and the phosphates are 
mixed ; but experience has not confirmed its efficacy in such cases. Neverthe- 
less, when the sabulous deposit depends upon certain states of disordered diges- 
tion, this acid may prove serviceable by restoring the tone of the stomach. 
The dose is from five to twenty minims in three fluidounces or more of water, 
given three or four times a day. The diluted acid is more convenient for pre- 
scribing. (See Acidum Nitricum Dilutum.) 
Externally, nitric acid has been used with advantage as a lotion to ulcers, of 
the strength of about twelve minims to the pint of water. This practice origi- 
nated with Sir Everard Home, and is particularly applicable to those ulcers which 
are superficial and not disposed to cicatrize. It is also useful in ulceration of 
the‘mouth and gums as a gargle, made by adding about sixty drops of the acid 
to a pint of water. In sloughing phagedaena, strong nitric acid is one of the best 
remedies, applied by means of a piece of lint tied round a small stick, or by the 
use of a glass brush. Sometimes a piece of lint is soaked with the strong acid, 
and pressed into the sore, being allowed to remain for several hours. In can- 
crum oris concentrated nitric acid, freely applied, is one of the best local remedies 
that can be employed for arresting the phagedenic ulceration, and disposing the 
sore to heal. The strong acid also has been found very useful as an escharotic, in 
the local treatment of hemorrhoids and of prolapsus ani, by Dr. W. Cooke, Mr. 
H. Lee, and Mr. H. Smith, of London. For information as to the mode of ap- 
plying the acid, the instruments employed, and the precautions to be observed, 
the reader is referred to Banking's Abstract (Am. ed., No. 20, p. 143, and No. 
23, p. 158). 
Nitric acid, in the state of vapour, is considered useful for destroying conta- 
gion, and hence has been employed for purifying jails, hospitals, ships, and other 
infected places. It is prepared for use by the extemporaneous decomposition of 
nitre by sulphuric acid. Half an ounce of powdered nitre is put into a saucer, 
which is placed in an earthen dish containing heated sand. On the nitre two 
drachms of sulphuric acid are then poured, and the nitric acid fumes are imme- 
diately disengaged. The quantities just indicated are considered sufficient for 
disinfecting a cubic space of ten feet. Fumigation in this manner was first in- 
troduced by an English physician, Dr. Carmichael Smyth, who received from 
the British Parliament, for its discovery, a reward of five thousand pounds. But 
nitric acid, as a disinfectant, is not comparable to chlorine; and, since the intro- 
duction of chlorinated lime and the solution of chlorinated soda as disinfecting 
agents, this gas has been brought into so manageable a form, that its use has 
entirely superseded that of nitric acid vapour. (See Calx Chlorim ta and Liquor 
Sodse Chlorinatse.) part I. 
Acidum Nitricum.—Acidum Phosphoricum Glaciate. 
51 
Properties as a Poison. Nitric acid, in its concentrated state, is one of the 
mineral poisons most frequently taken for the purpose of self-destruction. Im- 
mediately after swallowing it, there are produced burning heat in the mouth, 
oesophagus, and stomach, acute pain, disengagement of gas, abundant eructa- 
tions, nausea, and hiccough. These effects are soon followed by repeated and 
excessive vomiting of matter having a peculiar odour and taste, tumefaction of 
the abdomen with exquisite tenderness, a feeling of coldness on the surface, hor- 
ripilations, icy coldness of the extremities, small depressed pulse, horrible anx- 
ieties, continual tossings and contortions, and extreme thirst. The breath becomes 
extremely fetid, and the countenance exhibits a complete picture of suffering. 
The cases are almost always fatal. The best remedies are repeated doses of mag- 
nesia as an antidote, mucilaginous drinks in large quantities, olive or almond oil 
in very large doses, emollient fomentations, and clysters. Until magnesia can be 
obtained, an immediate resort to a solution of soap in large amount will be proper. 
Pharm. Uses. In the preparation of Acidum Ilydrocyanicum Dilutum, U. S.; 
Acidum Phosphoricum Dilutum ; Antimonii Oxidum, U. S.; Bismuthi Subcarbo- 
nas, U. S.; Cadmii Sulphas, U. S.; Ferri Chloridum, U. S.: Ferri Oxidum Mag- 
neticum, Br.; Ilydrargyri Oxidum Rubrum; Liquor Ferri Perchloricli, Br.; 
Liquor Ferri Subsulphatis, U. S.; Liquor Ferri Tersulphatis, U. S.; Tinctura 
Ferri Chloridi, U. S.; Zinci Chloridum, U. S. 
Off. Prep. Acidum Nitricum Dilutum; Acidum Nitro-hydrochloricum Dilu- 
tum, Br.; Acidum Nitromuriaticum, U. S.; Acidum Nitromuriaticum Dilutum, 
U. S.; Argenti Nitras; Bismuthi Subnitras, U. S.; Bismuthum Album, Br.; 
Liquor Ferri Nitratis, U. S.; Liquor Ferri Pernitratis, Br.; Liquor Hydrargyri 
Nitratis, U.S.; Liquor Ilydrargyri Nitratis Acidus, Br.; Spiritus vEtheris Ni- 
trosi, U. S.; Unguentum Hydrargyri Nitratis. B. 
ACIDUM PHOSPIIORICUM GLACIALE. U.S. 
Glacial Phosphoric Acid. 
Phosphoric acid, in the anhydrous state, consists of one eq. of phosphorus 
and five eqs. of oxygen, P05, and can be obtained only by the direct union of 
its constituents, which takes place when phosphorus is burned in perfectly dry 
oxygen gas. Thus procured, it is in the form of a white amorphous powder, ex- 
tremely deliquescent, volatilizable at a red heat, and assuming, when it cools 
after fusion, a vitreous appearance. It has been shown by Prof. Graham that 
this acid is capable of assuming three isomeric conditions, each characterized 
by peculiar properties, and essentially distinguished by their relations to bases, 
water being considered as acting the part of a base. These are most con- 
veniently designated as monobasic, bibasic, and tribasic phosphoric acids, the 
first uniting with one eq. of base, the second with two eqs., and the third with 
three. Obtained in any other way than as above stated, they are always com- 
bined with water, the monobasic consisting of one eq. of acid and one of water, 
II0,P05, the bibasic of one of the former and two of the latter, 2II0,P05, the 
tribasic of one to three, 3H0,P05. When uniting with other bases than water, 
the same relation of equivalents is observed, the monobasic combining with 
only one eq., giving up its eq. of water, the bibasic with one or two eqs. accord- 
ing as it retains one or gives up both its eqs. of water, the tribasic with one, 
two, or three eqs., according to the number of eqs. of water it abandons; in 
other words, the eqs. of water being replaced by as many eqs. of base; so that 
the acid always has its characteristic complement of basic eqs., wrater being 
counted among them. Other names had been given to these acids before their 
peculiar character was developed; the common and best known form of the 
acid being called simply phosphoric acid, which is the tribasic; another, from Acidum Phosphoricum Grlaciale. 
52 
PART I. 
heat being used in its production, pyrophosphoric, which is the bibasic; and 
the third metaphosphoric acid, which is monobasic. An aqueous solution of 
either of the three acids, heated so long as water escapes, yields the monobasic 
or metaphosphoric acid; and as, upon cooling, it becomes a transparent ice- 
like solid, it has received in this state the name of glacial phosphoric acid. 
Conversely, this monobasic acid is slowly transformed, in aqueous solution, and 
more rapidly if the solution is heated, into the bibasic and tribasic forms. Mr. 
Maisch has ascertained that nitric acid, added to the solution of the monobasic 
acid, with the aid of heat, causes the change from the monobasic to the tribasic 
form, or that of common phosphoric acid, without undergoing any observable 
change itself, and without the intermediate production of the bibasic. (Am. J. 
of Pharm., Sept. 1861, p. 387.) 
The three forms of acid are distinguishable by peculiar reactions. Thus, the 
monobasic is characterized by coagulating albumen, and giving wdiite gelatinous 
uncrystallizable precipitates with the soluble salts of baryta, lime, and silver; 
the bibasic does not coagulate albumen, and, though it causes a white precipi- 
tate with nitrate of silver, must first be neutralized; the tribasic does not co- 
agulate albumen, and until neutralized does not precipitate nitrate of silver; 
but after neutralization throws down a yellow precipitate of phosphate of silver. 
The two latter forms of the acid will be considered in the second part of this 
work under appropriate heads. Our attention will at present be confined to the 
monobasic acid, which is the glacial acid of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. 
Glacial Phosphoric Acid. U. S. Metaphosphoric Acid. Monobasic Phos- 
phoric Acid. Monohydrated Phosphoric Acid. Phosphate of Water. This is 
most advantageously obtained from calcined bones, by first treating them with 
sulphuric acid, which produces an insoluble sulphate and soluble superphosphate 
of lime; then dissolving out the latter salt, and saturating it with carbonate of 
ammonia, which generates phosphate of ammonia in solution; and, finally, ob- 
taining the phosphate of ammonia by evaporation to dryness, and then igniting 
it in a platinum crucible. The ammouia and all the water except one eq. for each 
eq. of the acid are driven off, and the glacial acid remains. 
Properties. Thus procured, glacial phosphoric acid is in the form of a white, 
transparent, fusible solid, inodorous and sour to the taste, slowly deliquescent, 
slowly soluble in water, and soluble also in alcohol. Its formula is H0,P05, and 
it contains 1P2 per cent, of water. As already stated, it is characterized by pro- 
ducing white gelatinous with albumen, and with the soluble salts of 
lime, baryta, and silver; and the precipitate produced with the chloride of barium 
is readily redissolved by an excess of the acid. This is the form of the acid which 
results when the anhydrous acid, produced by burning phosphorus in dry oxygen 
gas, is introduced into water. 
Impurities. Glacial phosphoric acid is seldom prepared in this country. That 
found in our shops is almost all imported, and chiefly from Germany. It is often 
more or less impure, containing most frequently, as shown by the experiments 
of Mr. Maisch, silica, and the phosphates of lime and magnesia, which are pre- 
cipitated from a neutralized solution of the acid by ammonia. In one instance 
8 per cent, of these impurities was found; but in some others little or none. 
Mr. Maisch never found nitric or muriatic acid, and sulphuric acid rarely; and. 
though the presence of ammonia might be suspected from the source whence the 
acid is obtained, he did not detect it. {Am. Journ. ofPharm., May, 1860, p. 194.) 
In consequence of its deliquescence upon exposure to the air, a portion of the 
monobasic acid passes into the state of the tribasic. This is detected, if in con- 
siderable quantity, by giving a yellowish colour to the precipitate with nitrate or 
silver. The U. S. Pharmacopoeia directs that the acid, in aqueous solution, should 
yield no precipitate with sulphuretted hydrogen, showing the absent e of metals; 
should cause a white precipitate with chloride of barium soluble in an excess ot PART I. 
Acidum Phosphoricum Grlaciale.—Aeidum Sulphuricum. 
acid; and, with an excess of ammonia, should cause only a slight turbidness, 
proving the almost total absence of earthy salts. Should the presence of arsenic 
be ascertained by the tests for that metal, it may be separated by boiling with 
muriatic acid, so as to convert the arsenic into its very volatile chloride, which 
would escape with the vapours of the muriatic acid. 
Medical Uses. Glacial phosphoric acid is seldom if ever used medicinally in 
reference to its influence on the system, though probably capable of producing 
all the effects for which the officinal diluted acid is employed. It was introduced 
into the Materia Medica of our Pharmacopceia as affording a convenient method 
of preparing the medicinal acid. It may also be used in prescriptions with the 
insoluble phosphates to render them soluble in the liquors of the stomach, and 
thereby favour their entrance into the circulation. Thirty-eight and a half grains, 
dissolved in a fiuidounce of water, form a solution about equal in strength to the 
officinal TJ. S. diluted acid. 
Off. Prep. Aeidum Phosphoricum Dilutum, U. S. B. 
ACIDUM SULPHURICUM. U.S.,Br. 
Sulphuric Acid. 
Sulphuric acid, of the specific gravity 1,843. U. S. Monohydrated Sulphuric 
Acid, H0,S03. Sp.gr. 1846. Br. 
Oil of vitriol, Vitriolic acid; Acide sulfurique, Fr.; Vitriolol, Schwefelsaure, Germ.; Acido 
solforico, Ital.; Acido sulfurico, Span. 
Sulphuric acid is placed in the Materia Medica list of the U. S. Pharmaco- 
poeia, as an article to be obtained from the wholesale manufacturer. Provision, 
however, is made that it shall be free from all odorous substances, and all me- 
tallic and other non-volatile impurities. The British Pharmacopoeia admits only 
the purified acid in its Materia Medica, giving a process for its preparation 
from the commercial acid, which is placed in the Appendix of that work, with 
the name of Sulphuric Acid of Commerce, or Oil of Vitriol, as one of the arti- 
cles employed in the preparation of medicines. 
Preparation. Sulphuric acid is obtained by burning sulphur, mixed with one- 
eighth of its weight of nitre, over a stratum of water contained in a chamber 
lined with sheet-lead. If the sulphur were burned by itself, the product would 
be sulphurous acid, which contains only two-thirds as much oxygen as sulphuric 
acid. The object of the nitre is to furnish, by its decomposition, the requisite 
additional quantity of oxygen. To understand the process, it is necessary to 
bear in mind that nitric acid contains five, sulphuric acid three, sulphurous acid 
two, nitric oxide two, nitrous acid three, and hyponitric acid four equivalents 
of oxygen, combined with one eq. of their several radicals. One eq. of sulphur 
decomposes one eq. of nitric acid of the nitre, and becomes one eq. of sulphuric 
acid, which combines with the potassa of the nitre to form sulphate of potassa. 
In the mean time, the nitric acid, by furnishing three eqs. of oxygen to form 
the sulphuric acid, is converted into one eq. of nitric oxide, which is evolved. 
This gas, by combining with two eqs. of the oxygen of the air, immediately be- 
comes hyponitric acid vapour, which diffuses itself throughout the leaden cham- 
ber. While these changes are taking place, the remainder of the sulphur is un- 
dergoing combustion, and filling the chamber with sulphurous acid gas. One eq. 
of hyponitric acid vapour, and one eq. of sulphurous acid gas, being thus inter- 
mingled in the chamber, react on each other, by the aid of moisture, so as to 
form a crystalline compound, consisting of one eq. of sulphuric acid and one eq. 
of nitrous acid, united with a portion of water. This compound falls into the 
water of the chamber, and is instantly decomposed. The sulphuric acid dissolves 
in the water, and the nitrous acid, resolved, at the moment of its extrication, into 54 
Acidum Sulphuricum. 
PART 1 
hyponitric acid and nitric oxide, escapes with effervescence. The hyponitric acid 
thus set free, and that reproduced by the nitric oxide uniting with the oxygen 
of the air, again react with sulphurous acid and humidity, and give rise to a 
second portion of the crystalline compound, which undergoes the same changes 
as the first. Thus, the nitric oxide performs the part of a carrier of oxygen from 
the air of the chamber to the sulphurous acid, converting the latter into sulphu- 
ric acid. The residue of the combustion of the sulphur and nitre, consisting of 
sulphate of potassa, is sold to the alum makers. 
Preparation on the Large Scale. The leaden chambers vary in size, but are 
generally from thirty to thirty-two feet square, and from sixteen to twenty high. 
The floor is slightly inclined to facilitate the drawing off of the acid, and covered 
to the depth of several inches with water. There are several modes of burning 
the mixture of sulphur and nitre, and otherwise conducting the process. That 
pursued in France is as follows. Near one of the sides of the chamber, and 
about a foot from its bottom, a cast-iron tray is placed over a furnace, resting 
on the ground, its mouth opening externally, and its chimney having no com- 
munication with the chamber. On this tray the mixture is placed, being intro- 
duced by a square opening, which may be shut by means of a sliding door, 
and the lower side of which is level with the surface of the tray. The door 
being shut, the fire is gradually raised in the furnace, whereby the sulphur is 
inflamed, and the products already spoken of are generated. When the com- 
bustion is over, the door is opened, and the sulphate of potassa removed. A 
fresh portion of the mixture is then placed on the tray, and the air of the cham- 
ber is renewed by opening a door and valve situated at its opposite side. Next, 
the several openings are closed, and the fire is renewed. These operations are 
repeated, with fresh portions of the mixture, every three or four hours, until the 
water at the bottom of the chamber has the sp. gr. of about 15. It is then drawn 
off and transferred to leaden boilers, where it is boiled down to the sp.gr. IT. 
At this density it begins to act on lead, and its further concentration must be 
conducted in large glass or platinum retorts, where it is evaporated as long as 
water distils over. This water is slightly acid, and is thrown back into the cham- 
ber. When the acid is fully concentrated, grayish-white vapours arise, which 
indicate the completion of the process. The acid is allowed to cool, and is then 
transferred to demijohns of green glass, called carboys, which, for greater secu- 
rity, are surrounded with straw or wicker-work, and packed in square boxes, 
enclosing all the carboy except the neck. 
As, in the manufacture of sulphuric acid, nitre is the most expensive mate- 
rial, many plans have been resorted to for obtaining the necessary hyponitric acid 
at a cheaper rate. One plan is to procure it by treating molasses or starch with 
common nitric acid. In this case, the manufacturer obtains oxalic acid as a 
collateral product, which serves to diminish the expense. Sometimes nitrate of 
soda is substituted for nitre. The advantages of the former salt are its greater 
cheapness, and its larger proportional amount of nitric acid. Another method, 
sometimes practised, consists in filling the leaden chamber with sulphurous acid 
by the combustion of sulphur, and afterwards admitting into it hyponitric acid 
and steam. The acid is generated from a mixture of sulphuric acid with nitre 
or nitrate of soda, placed in an iron pan over the burning sulphur in the sulphur 
furnace, where the draught conducts the hyponitric acid fumes into the chamber. 
As, under these circumstances, sulphurous and hyponitric acids and aqueous 
vapour are mingled in the chamber, all the conditions necessary for generating 
the crystalline compound, already alluded to, are present. Mr. Thomas Bell, of 
England, obtained a pateut in 1852 for the use of ozonized air,* produced 
* Ozonized air is air having its oxygen in a peculiar state, which Schiinbein, who first 
remarked it, attributed to the union with the oxygen of a peculiar form of matter, which 
he called ozone, from a Greek word signifying, to have a smell. It is now admitted that part I. 
Acidum Sulphuricum. 
55 
either by electricity, or by the slow combustion of phosphorus, in order to cause 
the union of sulphurous acid with the requisite oxygen, in the leaden chamber, 
without the use of nitre. (Phnrm. Journ. and Trans., March, 1853.) 
The process for making sulphuric acid by the combustion of sulphur with 
nitre was first mentioned by Lemery, and afterwards put in practice by an Eng- 
lish physician, of the name of Ward. As practised by him, the combustion was 
conducted in very large glass vessels. About the year 1746, the great improve- 
ment of leaden chambers was introduced by Dr. Roebuck, of Birmingham, where 
the first apparatus of this kind was erected. In consequence of this improvement, 
the acid immediately fell to one-fourth of its former price. 
What is said above relates to the mode of preparing common sulphuric acid; 
but there is another kind, known on the continent of Europe by the name ot 
the faming sulphuric acid of Nordliausen, so called from its properties, and 
a place in Saxony where it is largely manufactured. This acid is obtained by 
distilling dried sulphate of iron in large stoneware retorts, heated to redness, 
and connected with receivers of glass or stoneware. The acid distils over, and 
sesquioxide of iron is left in the form of colcothar or polishing rouge, a mate- 
rial employed for polishing metals, particularly gold and silver. According to 
A. Vogel, jun., a better polishing rouge for fine work is made by calcining 
oxalate of protoxide of iron. (Ghem. Gaz., Nov. 1, 1854, p. 410.) 
Properties. Sulphuric acid (sulphate of water), commonly called oil of 
vitriol, is a dense, colourless, inodorous liquid, of an oleaginous appearance, 
and strongly corrosive. On living tissues it acts as a powerful caustic. In the 
liquid form, it contains water, which is essential to its existence in that form. 
When pure, and as highly concentrated as possible, as manufactured in leaden 
chambers, its sp. gr. is 1 845 (1 ‘8485, Ure), a fluidounce weighing a small fraction 
over 14 drachms. When of this sp. gr., it contains about 18 percent, of water. If 
its density exceed this, the presence of sulphate of lead, or other impurity may 
be inferred. The commercial acid is seldom of full strength. According to Mr. 
Phillips, it has generally the sp. gr. 1-8433, and contains 22 per cent, of water. 
The strong acid boils at 620°, and freezes at 15° below zero. When diluted, 
its boiling point is lowered. When of the sp. gr. 178, it deposits crystals of 
the bihydrated acid at about 28°, and hence it is hazardous for manufacturers 
to keep an acid of that strength in glass vessels in cold weather, as they are 
liable to burst. With salifiable bases it forms a numerous class of salts, called 
sulphates. It acts powerfully on organic bodies, whether vegetable or animal, 
depriving them of the elements of water, developing charcoal, and turning them 
black. A small piece of cork or wood, dropped into the acid, will on this prin- 
the state of oxygen referred to does not depend upon the presence of any form of matter, 
either simple or compound; and hence the term ozone should be abandoned, retaining 
only the term ozonization to express the means by which oxygen is brought into the new 
state. Oxygen may be ozonized by electrical, chemical, and galvanic agency, and is always 
the same in the ozonized state, by whatever means generated. Thus, the oxygen in air 
may be ozonized by passing repeated electrical discharges through it, or by the slow com- 
bustion of phosphorus in it, and the oxygen in water, by electrolysis. Even dry oxygen 
may be ozonized by the passage of repeated electrical sparks, a fact which proves that the 
change does not depend upon any foreign matter, simple or compound. Oxygen has never 
been fully ozonized ; as is shown by the delicate test of iodide of potassium, prepared with 
starch, which absorbs the ozonized oxygen only. Thus, the oxygen, obtained by electro- 
lysis, contains only part of its weight in the ozonized state. Ozonized oxygen has 
chemical properties different from those of ordinary oxygen. It is not absorbed by pure 
water. It has a peculiar smell like that produced by repeated discharges of electricity. 
Its oxidizing power is far greater than that of ordinary oxygen; and this forms its most 
marked characteristic. By many agencies it is deozonized, and brought to the condition 
of ordinary oxygen. It is not known in what the ozonized state of oxygen essentially con- 
sists. Chemists recognise the general fact that the same element may exist in different 
physical and chemical states, and call these allotropic states. Accordingly, ozonized oxygen 
is an allotropic state of this element. Acidum Sulphuricum. 
part I. 
ciple render it of a dark colour. It absorbs water with avidity, and is used as 
a desiccating agent. It has been ascertained by Professors W. B. and R. E. 
Rogers to be capable of absorbing 94 per cent, of carbonic acid gas, a fact 
having an important bearing on analytic operations. When diluted with dis- 
tilled water, it ought to remaiu limpid; and, when heated sufficiently in a pla- 
tinum spoon, the fixed residue should not exceed one part in 400 of the acid 
employed. When present in small quantity in solution, it is detected uner- 
ringly by chloride of barium, which causes a precipitate of sulphate of baryta. 
The most usual impurities in it are the sulphates of potassa and lead ; the 
former derived from the residue of the process, the latter from the leaden boilers 
in which the acid is concentrated. Occasionally nitre is added to render dark 
samples of acid colourless. This addition gives rise to the impurity of sulphate 
of potassa. These impurities often amount to 3 or 4 per cent. The commercial 
acid cannot be expected to be absolutely pure; but, when properly manufac- 
tured, it should not contain more than one-fourth of 1 per cent, of impurity. 
The fixed impurities are discoverable by evaporating a portion of the acid, when 
they will remain. If sulphate of lead be present, the acid will become turbid 
on dilution with an equal bulk of water. This impurity is not detected by sul- 
phuretted hydrogen, unless the sulphuric acid be saturated with an alkali. If 
only a scanty rauddiness arises, the acid is of good commercial quality. 
Other impurities occur in the commercial sulphuric acid. Hyponitric acid is 
always present in greater or less amount. It may be detected by gently pouring 
a solution of green vitriol over the commercial acid in a tube, when the solution, 
at the line of contact, will acquire a deep-red colour, due to the sesquioxidation 
of the iron by the hyponitric acid. Another method is to pass into tincture of 
guaiac the gases proceeding from the suspected acid heated with iron filings. If 
hyponitric acid is present the tincture becomes blue. The commercial acid, how- 
ever, is not to be rejected, unless the test shows the-presence of hyponitric acid in 
unusual quantity. Hyponitric acid is an injurious impurity when the sulphuric 
acid is employed in the manufacture of muriatic acid, which is decomposed by the 
hyponitric acid with evolution of chlorine. To remove this impurity it was recom- 
mended by Wackenroder, before distilling it, to heat the acid with a little sugar. 
This and the hyponitric acid mutually decompose each other, and the products 
are dissipated by heat. For the removal of the nitrogen acids generally, Dr. J. 
Lowe recommends the addition, to the heated sulphuric acid, of small portions 
of dry oxalic acid, so long as it exhibits a yellow tinge. The oxalic acid is de- 
composed into carbonic acid and oxide, the latter of which, in becoming carbonic 
acid, deoxidizes and destroys the nitrogen acids. A slight excess of oxalic acid 
produces no harm; as it is immediately decomposed. The British Pharmaco- 
poeia provides, in its process for the preparation of the pure acid, for getting rid 
of these acids by distillation with a little sulphate of ammonia. When sulphate 
of potassa is fraudulently introduced into the acid to increase its density, it may be 
detected by saturating the acid with ammonia, and heating to redness in a crucible; 
when sulphate of ammonia will be expelled, and the sulphate of potassa left. 
Arsenic is sometimes present in sulphuric acid. In consequence of the high price 
of Sicilian sulphur, some English manufacturers have employed iron pyrites for the 
purpose of furnishing the necessary sulphurous acid in the manufacture of oil 
of vitriol. As the pyrites usually contains arsenic, it happens that the sulphurous 
acid fumes are accompanied by this metal, and thus the sulphuric acid becomes 
contaminated. From 22 to 35 grains of arsenious acid have been found in 20 
fluidounces of oil of vitriol, of English manufacture, by Dr. G. 0. Rees and Mr. 
Watson, and a still larger proportion by Mr. J. Cameron, of South Wales. To 
detect this impurity, the acid, previously diluted with five or six measures of dis- 
tilled water, must be examined by Marsh’s test. (See Acidum Arseniosum.) To 
separate the arsenious acid, Dr. J. Lowe recommends that the concentrated sul- part I. 
Acidum Sulphuricum. 
57 
phuric acid should be gently heated in a flat dish, in a place where the fumes may be 
carried off, and then treated with small quantities of finely powdered chloride ol 
sodium, constantly stirred in with a glass rod. By the reaction between the arse- 
nious acid and disengaged muriatic acid, terchloride of arsenic is formed, which, 
being volatile, is separated by the heat. The heat is afterwards continued, to expel 
the excess of muriatic acid. This mode of purification introduces into the oil of 
vitriol a little sulphate of soda. Buchner proposes a similar process; instead of 
chloride of sodium, employing muriatic acid, or a stream of the acid gas. This 
plan does not introduce sulphate of soda into the acid; but is less convenient 
than that of Lowe, and, when the aqueous muriatic acid is used, tends to weaken 
the oil of vitriol by introducing water. Experience, however, has shown that 
neither plan can be entirely relied.on. An excess of sulphuric acid is said to pre- 
vent the formation of the chloride of arsenic. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 
1860, p. 85.) The sulphuric acid manufactured in the U. States, being usually 
made from Sicilian sulphur, seldom contains arsenic. Dupasquier states that tin 
is sometimes present in commercial sulphuric acid, derived from the solderings 
of the leaden chambers. It may be discovered by sulphuretted hydrogen, which 
precipitates sulphuret of tin, convertible by nitric acid into the white insoluble 
deutoxide of tin. Should the precipitate be the mixed sulphurets of arsenic and 
tin, the former would be converted by nitric acid into arsenic acid and dissolved, 
and the latter into insoluble deutoxide and left. 
As sulphuric acid is often under the standard strength, it becomes important 
to know how much hydrated sulphuric acid of the standard specific gravity and 
of dry acid is contained in an acid of any given density. The following table, 
drawn up by Dr. Ure, gives this information. 
Table of the Quantity of Hydrated Sulphuric Acid of Sp. Gr. 1-8485, and 
of Dry Acid, in 100 parts of Dilute Acid at Different Densities. 
Sp. Gr. 
Hyd. 
Acid 
in 100. 
Dry 
Acid 
in 100. 
Sp. Gr. 
Hyd. 
Acid 
in 100. 
Dry 
Acid 
in 100. 
Sp.Gr. 
Hyd. 
Acid 
in 100. 
Dry 
Acid 
in 100. 
Sp.Gr. 
Hyd. 
Acid 
in 100. 
Dry 
Acid 
in 100. 
1-8485 
100 
81-54 
1-6520 
75 
61-15 
1-3884 
50 
40-77 
1-1792 
25 
20-38 
1-8475 
99 
80-72 
1-6415 
74 
60-34 
1-3788 
49 
39-95 
1-1706 
24 
19-57 
1-8460 
98 
79-90 
1-6321 
73 
59-52 
1-3697 
48 
39-14 
1-1626 
23 
18-75 
1-8439 
97 
79-09 
1-6204 
72 • 
58-71 
1-3612 
47 
38-32 
1-1549 
22 
17-94 
1-8410 
96 
78-28 
1-6090 
71 
57-89 
1-3530 
46 
37-51 
1-1480 
21 
17-12 
1-8376 
95 
77-46 
1-5975 
70 
57-08 
1-3440 
45 
36-69 
1-1410 
20 
16-31 
1-8336 
94 
76-65 
1-5868 
69 
56-26 
1 3345 
44 
35-88 
1-1830 
19 
15-49 
1-8290 
93 
75-83 
1-5760 
68 
55-45 
1-3255 
43 
35-06 
1-1246 
18 
14-68 
1-8288 
92 
75-02 
1-5648 
67 
54-63 
1-3165 
42 
34-25 
1-1165 
17 
13-86 
1-8179 
91 
74 20 
.1-5503 
66 
53-82 
1-3080 
41 
33-43 
1-1090 
16 
13-05 
1-8115 
90 
73 39 
1-5390 
65 
53-00 
1-2999 
40 
32-61 
1-1019 
15 
12-23 
1-8043 
89 
72-57 
1-5280 
64 
52-18 
1-2913 
39 
31-80 
1-0953 
14 
11-41 
1-7962 
88 
71-75 
1-5170 
63 
51-37 
1-2826 
38 
30-98 
1-0887 
13 
10-60 
1-7870 
87 
70 94 
.1-5066 
62 
50-55 
1-2740 
37 
30-17 
1-0809 
12 
9-78 
1-7774 
86 
70-12 
1-4960 
61 
49-74 
1-2654 
36 
29 85 
1-0743 
11 
8-97 
1-7673 
85 
69-31 
1-4860 
60 
48-92 
1-2572 
35 
28 54 
1-0682 
10 
8-15 
1-7570 
84 
68-49 
1-4760 
59 
48-11 
1-2490 
34 
27-72 
1-0614 
9 
7-34 
1-7465 
83 
67-68 
1-4660 
'58 
47-29 
1-2409 
33 
23-91 
1 0544 
8 
6-52 
1-7360 
82 
66 86 
1-4560 
57 
46-48 
1-2334 
32 
26-09 
1-0477 
7 
5-71 
1 -7245 
81 
66-05 
1-4460 
56 
45-66 
1-2260 
31 
25-28 
1 -0405 
6 
4-89 
1-7120 
80 
65-28 
1-4360 
55 
44 85 
1-2184 
30 
24-46 
1-0336 
5 
4-08 
1 8993 
79 
64-42 
1-4265 
54 
44-03 
1-2108 
29 
23-65 
1-0268 
4 
3-26 ] 
1 6870 
78 
63-60 
1-4170 
53 
43-22 
1-2032 
28 
22-83 
1-0206 
3 
2-446 i 
1-6750 
77 
62-78 
1-4073 
52 
42-40 
1-1956 
27 
22-01 
1-0140 
2 
1-63 
1-6630 
76 
61-97 
1-3977 
51 
41-58 
1-1876 
26 
21-20 
1-0074 
1 
0-8154 58 
Acidum Sulphuricum. 
PART I. 
The only way to obtain pure sulphuric acid is by distillation. Owing to the 
high boiling point of this acid, the operation is rather precarious, in consequence 
of the danger of the fracture of the retort from the sudden concussions to which 
the boiling acid gives rise. Dr. Ure recommends that a retort of the capacity 
of from two to four quarts be used in distilling a pint of acid. This is connected, 
by means of a wide glass tube three or four feet long, with a receiver surrounded 
with cold water. All the vessels must be perfectly clean, and no luting employed. 
The retort is then gradually heated by a small furnace of charcoal, or, what is 
better, by means of a sand-bath, the retort being buried in the sand up to the 
neck. It is useful to put into the retort a few sharp-pointed pieces of glass, or 
slips of platinum foil, with the view of diminishing the shocks produced by the 
acid vapour. The distilled product ought not to be collected until a dense gray- 
ish-white vapour is generated, the appearance of which is a sign that the pure 
concentrated acid is coming over. If this vapour should not immediately appear, 
it shows that the acid subjected to distillation is not of full strength; and the 
distilled product, until this point is attained, will be an acid water. In the dis- 
tillation of sulphuric acid, M. Lembertuses fragments of the mineral called quartz- 
ite, instead of pieces of glass or platinum foil. After a time the fragments get 
worn, and must be changed. 
The following process for purifying the acid is given in the British Pharma- 
copoeia. “Take of Sulphuric Acid of Commerce twelve Jluidounces; Sulphate 
of Ammonia, in powder, a quarter of an ounce [avoirdupois]. Having added 
the Sulphate of Ammonia to the Sulphuric Acid, introduce the mixture into a 
plain retort with a few slips of platinum foil, cover the upper part of the body 
of the retort with a sheet-iron hood, and distil over one-tenth of the acid into a 
flask. Remove this flask, and reject its contents; and, having applied a fresh 
flask, continue the distillation till only a fluidounce of liquid remains behind. 
Preserve the product in a stoppered bottle.” Br. 
Composition. The hydrated acid of the sp. gr. l-845 (P846, Br., 1'8485, Ure) 
consists of one eq. of dry acid 40, and one eq. of water 9 = 49. As the water acts 
the part of a base, the proper name of it is sulphate of water, its formula being 
HO,SO.r The dry acid consists of one eq. of sulphur 16, and three eqs. of oxygen 
24 = 40. The ordinary commercial acid (sp. gr. 18433) consists, according to 
Phillips, of one eq. of dry acid, and one and a quarter eqs. of water. The hydrated 
acid of Nordhausen has a density as high as l-89 or 1-9, and consists of two eqs. 
of dry acid, and one eq. of water (H0,2S03). This acid is particularly adapted to 
the purpose of dissolving indigo for dyeing the Saxon blue. When heated gently 
in a retort, connected with a dry and refrigerated receiver, dry or anhydrous 
sulphuric acid distils over, and the common monohydrated acid remains behind. 
In performing this operation, much difficulty from concussion is avoided, and the 
product of dry acid increased, by introducing a coil of platinum wire into the 
retort. The dry acid may also be obtained by the action of dry phosphoric acid 
on concentrated sulphuric acid, according to the method of Ch. Barreswil. The 
mixture must be made in a refrigerated retort, and afterwards distilled by a gen- 
tle heat into a refrigerated receiver. Anhydrous suljyhuric acid under 64° is 
in the form of small colourless crystals, resembling asbestos. It is tenacious, dif- 
ficult to cut, and may be moulded in the fingers like wax, without acting on 
them. Exposed to the air, it emits a thick opaque vapour of an acid smell. 
Above 64° it is a liquid, very nearly of the density 2. 
Medical I)roperties. Sulphuric acid is tonic, antiseptic, and refrigerant. In- 
ternally it is always administered in a dilute state. For its medical properties 
in this state, the reader is referred to the title, Acidum Sulphuricum Dilutum. 
Externally it is sometimes employed as a caustic; but, from its liquid form, it is 
very inconvenient for that purpose. A plan, however, has been proposed by Prof. 
Simpson by which it becomes very manageable. This consists in mixing it with part I. 
Acidum Sulphuricum.—Acidum Tartaricum. 
59 
dried and powdered sulphate of zinc sufficient to give it a pasty consistence. 
When mixed with saffron to the consistence of a ductile paste, Yelpeau found it 
to form a convenient caustic, not liable to spread or be absorbed, and producing 
an eschar which is promptly detached. It is used also as an ointment, mixed with 
lard, in the proportion of a drachm to an ounce, in swellings of the knee-joint 
and other affections. Charpie, corroded by it, is a good application to gangrene. 
Toxicological Properties. The symptoms of poisoning by this acid are the 
following: — Burning heat in the throat and stomach, extreme fetidness of the 
breath, nausea aud excessive vomitings of black or reddish matter, excruciating 
pains in the bowels, difficulty of breathing, extreme anguish, a feeling of cold on 
the skin, great prostration, constant tossing, convulsions, and death. Sometimes 
there is no pain whatever in the stomach; sensibility being apparently destroyed 
by the violence of the caustic action. The intellectual faculties remain unim- 
paired. Frequently the uvula, palate, tonsils, and other parts of the fauces are 
covered with black or white sloughs. The treatment consists in the administra- 
tion of large quantities of magnesia, or, if this be not at hand, of solution of soap. 
The safety of the patient depends upon the greatest promptitude in the applica- 
tion of the antidotes. After the poison has been neutralized, mucilaginous and 
other bland drinks must be taken freely. According to Dr. Geoghegan, the acid 
may be detected, after death, in the blood and the parenchymatous viscera, espe- 
cially the liver. It is found, not as a sulphate, but combined severally with the 
colouring matter and tissues. 
The holes burnt in linen by sulphuric acid, so long as the texture is undis- 
turbed, are distinguished from those produced by red-hot coals, by the paste- 
like characters of the edges' of the former. (Masclika, of Prague.) 
Uses in the Arts. Sulphuric acid is more used in the arts than any other acid. 
It is employed to obtain many of the other acids; to extract soda from common 
salt; to make alum and sulphate of iron, when these salts command a good price, 
and the acid is cheap ; to dissolve indigo ; to prepare skins for tanning; to pre- 
pare phosphorus, chlorinated lime, sulphate of magnesia, &c. The arts of bleach- 
ing and dyeing cause its principal consumption. 
Pharm. Uses. In preparing Acidum Aceticum Glaciale, Br.; Acidum Citri- 
cum, Br.; Acidum Ilydrochloricum, Br.; Acidum Hydrocyanicum Dilutum; 
Acidum Nitricum, Br.; Acidum Tartaricum, Br.; Acidum Valerianicum, U.S.; 
Aether; Argenti Cyanidum, U. S.; Chloroformum, Br.; Chloroformum Purifi- 
catum, U. S.; Collodium, U. S.; Ferri Oxidum Magneticum, Br.; Ferrnm Redac- 
tum, Br.; IlydrargyriChloridumCorrosivum, U. S.; Ilydrargyri Chloridum Mite, 
U. S.; Hydrargyri Cyanidum, U. S.; Liquor Sodas Chlorat®, Br.; Sod® Phos- 
phas; Sod® Yalerianas, U. S.; Spiritus AEtheris Nitrosi, Br.; Yeratria, U. S. 
Off. Prep. Acidum Sulphuricum Aromalicum; Acidum Sulphuricum Dilu- 
tum; Acidum Suiphurosum; Alumin® Sulphas, TJ. S.; Atropi® Sulphas, U. S.; 
Beberi® Sulphas, Br.; Cadmii Sulphas, U. S.; Ferri Sulphas; Ferri Sulphas 
Exsiccata, Br.; Ferri Sulphas Granulata, Br.; Hydrargyri Sulphas, Br.; Hy- 
drargyri Sulphas Flava, U. S.; Liquor Ferri Subsulphatis, U. S.; Liquor Ferri 
. Tersulphatis, U. S.; Oleum iEthereum U.S.; Quiui® Sulphas, U. S.; Zinci Sul- 
phas, Br. B. 
ACIDUM TARTARICUM. U.S., Br. 
Tartaric Acid. 
“An Acid, 2HO,CgH+O10, obtained from the Acid Tartrate of Potash.” Br. 
Acide tartrique, Fr.; Weinsteinsiiure, Germ.; Acido tartarico, Ital., Span. 
Tartaric acid is placed, in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, in the Materia Medica 
list, as an article to be purchased from the ‘manufacturing chemist. In the Br. 60 
Acidum Tartaricum. 
PART I. 
Pharmacopoeia a process is given for its preparation. It is extracted from tar- 
tar, a peculiar substance which concretes on the inside of wine-casks, being 
deposited there during the fermentation of the wine. Tartar, when purified and 
reduced to powder, is the cream of tartar of the shops, and consists of two eqs. 
of tartaric acid united to one of potassa. (See Potassse Bitarlras.) The follow- 
ing is the British process. 
“ Take of Acid Tartrate of Potash forty-five ounces [avoirdupois]; Distilled 
Water a sufficiency; Prepared Chalk twelve ounces and a half [avoird.]; Chlo- 
ride of Calcium thirteen ounces and a half [avoird.]; Sulphuric Acid thirteen 
fluidounces. Boil the Tartrate of Potash with two gallons [Imperial measure] 
of the Water, and add gradually the Chalk, constantly stirring. When the effer- 
vescence has ceased, add the Chloride of Calcium dissolved in two pints [Imp. 
meas.] of the Water. When the tartrate of lime has subsided pour off the liquid, 
and wash the tartrate with Distilled Water until it is rendered tasteless. Pour 
the Sulphuric Acid, first diluted with three pints [Imp. meas.] of the Water, on 
the tartrate of lime, mix thoroughly, boil for half an hour with repeated stirring, 
and filter through calico. Evaporate the filtrate at a gentle heat until it ac- 
quires the sp.gr. of 121, allow it to cool, and then separate and reject the 
crystals of sulphate of lime which have formed. Again evaporate the clear liquor 
till a film forms on its surface, and allow it to cool and crystallize. Lastly purify 
the crystals by solution, filtration (if necessary), and recrystallization.” Br. 
Tartaric acid was first obtained in a separate state by Sclieele in 1770. The 
process consists in saturating the excess of acid in bitartrate of potassa or cream 
of tartar with carbonate of lime, and decomposing the resulting insoluble tar- 
trate of lime by sulphuric acid, which precipitates in combination with the lime, 
and liberates the tartaric acid. The equivalent quantities are one eq. of bitar- 
trate, and one of carbonate of lime. The process, when thus conducted, furnishes 
the second equivalent, or excess of acid only of the bitartrate. The other equi- 
valent may be procured, as in the British process, by decomposing the neutral 
tartrate of potassa, remaining in the solution after the precipitation of the tar- 
trate of lime, by chloride of calcium in excess. By double decomposition, chlo- 
ride of potassium will be formed in solution, and a second portion of tartrate of 
lime will precipitate, which may be decomposed by sulphuric acid together with 
the first portion. The process, when thus conducted, will, of course, furnish twice 
as much tartaric acid, as when the excess of acid only is saturated and set free. 
Preparation on the Large Scale. The process pursued on the large scale is 
different from that above given. The decompositions are effected in a wooden 
vessel, closed at the top, called a generator, of the capacity of about 2000 gal- 
lons, and furnished with an exit-pipe for carbonic acid, and with pipes, entering 
the sides of the generator, for the admission of steam and of cold water respec- 
tively. Into the generator, about one-fourth filled with water, 1500 pounds of 
washed chalk (carbonate of lime) are introduced, and the whole is heated by a 
jet of steam, and thoroughly mixed by an agitator, until a uniform mass is ob- 
tained. About two tons of tartar are now, introduced by degrees, and thor- 
oughly mixed. The carbonate of lime is decomposed, the carbonic acid escapes 
by the exit-pipe, and the lime unites with the excess of tartaric acid to form 
tartrate of lime, which precipitates; while the neutral tartrate of potassa re- 
mains in solution. The next step is to decompose the tartrate of potassa, so as 
to convert its tartaric acid into tartrate of lime. This is effected by the addi- 
tion of sulphate of lime in the state of paste, which, by double decomposition, 
forms a fresh portion of tartrate of lime, while sulphate of potassa remains in 
solution. The solution of sulphate of potassa, when clear, is drawn off into 
suitable reservoirs, and the remaining tartrate of lime is washed with several 
charges of cold water, the washings being preserved. The tartrate of lime, 
mixed with sufficient water is now decomposed by the requisite quantity ot part I. 
Acidum Tartaricum. 
61 
sulphuric acid, with the effect of forming sulphate of lime, and liberating the 
tartaric acid, which remaius in solution. The whole is now run off into a wcoden 
back, lined with lead, furnished with a perforated false bottom, and covered 
throughout with stout twilled flannel. Through this the solution of tartaric 
acid Alters, and the filtered liquor passes through a pipe, leading from the bot- 
tom of the back, to suitable reservoirs. The sulphate of lime is then washed 
until it is tasteless, and the whole acid liquor is evaporated, in order to crystal- 
lize. The evaporation is effected in wooden vessels, lined with lead, by means 
of steam circulating in coils of lead-pipe, care being taken that the heat does 
not exceed 165°. The vacuum-pan is used with advantage in evaporating the 
acid solution; as it furnishes the means of concentration at a lower tempera- 
ture. When the acid liquor has attained the sp. gr. of about To, it is drawn off 
into sheet-lead, cylindrical, crystallizing vessels, capable of holding 500 pounds 
of the solution. These crystallizers are placed in a warm situation, and, in the 
course of three or four days, a crop of crystals is produced in each, averaging 
200 pounds. These crystals being somewhat coloured, are purified by redissolv- 
ing them in hot water. The solution is then digested with purified animal char- 
coal, filtered, again concentrated, and crystallized. The crystals, having been 
washed and drained, are finally dried on wooden trays, lined with thin sheet- 
lead, placed in a room heated by steam. The mother-liquors of the first crys- 
tallization are again concentrated, and the crystals obtained, purified by animal 
charcoal as before. When the residuary liquors are no longer crystallizable, 
they are saturated with chalk, and converted into tartrate of lime, to be added 
to the product of a new operation. In order to obtain fine crystals of tartaric 
acid, it is necessary to use a slight excess of sulphuric acid in decomposing the 
tartrate of lime. (Pharm. Journ. and Trans., Feb. 1851.) The merit of this 
process consists in the greater economy of sulphate of lime over chloride of 
calcium for decomposing the tartrate of potassa. 
Dr. Price, of England, has made some improvements in the above process, 
which are described, in detail, in the London Pharmaceutical Journal and 
Transactions (Jan. 1854, p. 315). The main point in his improvements is to 
convert the crude tartar into tartrate of potassa and ammonia by means of am- 
moniacal liquor, which gives a soluble double salt, comparatively free from 
organic colouring matter and other impurities, and, therefore, favourable for 
conversion into tartrate of lime by the usual methods. Mr. Pontifex, of Eng- 
land, has obtained a patent for an improvement in manufacturing tartaric acid, 
which consists in evaporating in vacuo. (Ibid., Feb. 185T, p 430.) 
Liebig has succeeded in preparing tartaric acid artificially by the oxidation 
of sugar of milk, and other substances, by nitric acid; and the resulting pro- 
duct has been found to be identical in all respects, even in its influence on polarized 
light, with the acid derived from grapes. 
Properties. Tartaric acid is a white crystallized solid, in the form of irregu- 
lar six-sided prisms. Sometimes two opposite sides of the prism become very 
much enlarged, so as to cause the crystals to present the appearance of tables. 
.As found in the shops, it is in the form of a fine white powder, prepared by pul- 
verizing the crystals. It is unalterable in the air, and possesses a strong acid 
taste, which becomes agreeable when the acid is sufficiently diluted with water. 
It is soluble in a little less than its weight of cold water, and in half its weight 
of boiling water. It is also soluble in alcohol, A weak solution undergoes 
spontaneous decomposition by keeping, becoming covered with a mouldy pelli- 
cle. In the form of crystals it always contains combined water, from which it 
cannot be separated without the substitution of a base. In uniting with bases, 
it has a remarkable tendency to form double salts, several of which constitute 
important medicines. It combines with several of the vegetable organic alka- 
lies, so as to form salts. It is distinguished from all other acids by forming a 62 
Acidum Tartaricum. 
PART I. 
crystalline precipitate, consisting of bitartrate of potassa, when added to a neutral 
salt of that alkali. Its most usual impurity is sulphuric acid, which may be de- 
tected by the solution affording, with acetate of lead, a precipitate only partially 
soluble in nitric acid. When incinerated with red oxide of mercury, it leaves no 
residuum, or a mere trace. The British Pharmacopoeia directs that it should 
give no precipitate with solution of sulphate of lime, showing the absence of 
racemic and oxalic acids. Solution of oxalate of ammonia would detect lime, 
sometimes present in minute proportion, by causing a precipitate. Its solution 
should not be affected by sulphuretted hydrogen. “One hundred grains saturate 
133-5 grains of bicarbonate of potassa.” U.S. “Seventy-five grains dissolved in 
water require for saturation 100 measures of the volumetric solution of soda.” Br. 
Tartaric acid is incompatible with salifiable bases and their carbonates; with 
salts of potassa, with which it produces a crystalline precipitate of bitartrate; 
and with the salts of lime and lead, with which it also forms precipitates. It 
consists, when dry, of four eqs. of carbon 24, two of hydrogen 2, and five of 
oxygen 40 = 66; aud, when crystallized, of one eq. of dry acid 66, and one of 
water 9 = 15. But, if we agree with the chemists who regard it as bibasic, these 
numbers must be doubled, and its formula given, as in the British Pharmaco- 
poeia, CgII4O10, or, in its crystallized state, 2HO,CgH4O10. In this view, its ordi- 
nary salts, whether with one or two bases, consist of one eq. of acid and two of 
base; and in the acid or bitartrates, one eq. of base is replaced by one of water, 
as in the bitartrate of potassa or cream of tartar, the constitution of which would 
be expressed by the formula KO,HO-f C8II4O10. 
Racemic acid, otherwise called paratartaric or uvic acid, is isomeric with 
tartaric acid. It exists, naturally, in small proportion, in the juice of grapes, 
growing in particular localities, and was obtained artificially, in 1853, by M. 
Pasteur. By combination with certain organic alkalies, M. Pasteur has re- 
solved racemic acid into two acids which form distinct salts with the alkali. The 
acids in these salts have the power of turning the plane of polarization of po- 
larized light in contrary directions, one to the right, the other to the left, which 
has caused them to be distinguished as dextro- and laevo-tartaric acids. Ordi- 
nary tartaric acid is dextro-tartaric acid, which may be converted into racemic 
acid, by exposing it, in the form of tartrate of cinchonia, to a heat of 338° for 
several hours. At the same time, a portion of tartaric acid is formed, which has 
no action on polarized light, and which is, therefore, called inactive tartaric 
acid. This acid, like racemic acid, is resolvable.into dextro- and lmvo-tartaric 
acids. Accordingly, we have four isomeric tartaric acids—dextro-tartaric acid 
(ordinary tartaric acid) ; lasvo-tartaric acid; racemic acid, consisting of dextro- 
and lmvo-tartaric acids; and inactive tartaric acid. Racemic acid differs from 
ordinary tartaric acid in being much less soluble in water, and in its want of ac- 
tion on polarized light. When crystallized it contains one eq. more of water 
than tartaric acid. The racemates differ from the tartrates in their crystalline 
form, and in their less solubility in water. 
Medical Properties. Tartaric acid, being cheaper than citric acid, forms, when 
dissolved in water and sweetened, a good substitute for lemonade. It is much 
used in medicine to form acid refrigerant drinks and effervescing draughts. It 
is also employed in making soda powders and Seidlitz powders, preparations 
now officinal in the IJ. S. Pharmacopoeia. (See Pulveres Effervescentes and Pul- 
veres Effervescentes Aperientes, Part II.) Tartaric acid, dried by a gentle heat, 
and then mixed with bicarbonate of soda, in the proportion of thirty-five grains 
of the acid to forty of the bicarbonate, forms a good effervescing powder, the 
dose of which is a teaspoonful, stirred in a tumbler of water. The powder is 
generally directed to be kept in well-stopped vials; but Prof. Otto has shown that 
this direction tends to spoil rather than to preserve it, by preventing the evapora- 
tion of some water of crystallization which is set free by a commencing chemical PART I. 
Aconiti Folium.—Aeoniti Radix. 
reaction. A. better plan is to keep the powder in ordinary boxes. On this subject 
see remarks by Mr. J. M. Maisch, published in the Proceedings of the Ameri- 
can Pharmaceutical Association (A. D. 1856, p. 52). The neutralizing power of 
tartaric acid is about the same as that of citric acid. Tartaric acid, in an over- 
dose, acts as a poison. After death, it may be detected in the blood and liver, 
from which it should be extracted by absolute alcohol, to avoid the error of 
mistaking the tartrates for it. 
Off. Prep. Ferri et Ammonioe Tartras, U. S.; Pulveres Effervescentes, U. S ; 
Pulveres Effervescentes Aperientes, U. S. B. 
ACONITI FOLIUM. JJ.S. 
Aconite Leaf. 
The Leaves of Aconitum Napellus. U. S. 
Off. Syn. ACONITUM. Aconitum Napellus. Monkshood. The fresh leaves 
and flowering tops, gathered when about one-third of the flowers are expanded. Br. 
ACONITI RADIX. U.S.,Br. 
Aconite Root. 
The root of Aconitum Napellus. U. S. The root dried; collected in the winter 
or early spring before the leaves have appeared. Br. 
Aconit, Fr.; Eisenhut, Monchskappe, Germ..; Aconito Napello, Ttal.; Aconito, Span. 
Aconitum. Sex. Syst. Polyandria Trigynia. — Nat. Ord. Ranunculace®. 
Gen. Oh. Calyx none. Petals five, the highest arched. Nectaries two, pe- 
duncled, recurved. Pods three or five. Willd. 
The plants belonging to this geuus are herbaceous, with divided leaves, and 
violet or yellow flowers, disposed in spikes, racemes, or panicles. In the French 
Codex three species are recognised as officinal, A. Anthora, A. Cammarum, and 
A. Napellus. The U. S. and British Pharmacopoeias unite at present in ac- 
knowledging only A. Napellus. There has been much difference of opinion as 
to the plant originally employed by Storck. Formerly thought to be A. Napel- 
lus, it was afterwards generally believed to be A. neomontanum of Willdenow, 
and by De Candolle was determined to be a variety of his A. paniculatum, de- 
signated as Storckianum. But, according to Geiger, A. neomontanum is pos- 
sessed of little acrimony; and Dr. Christison states that A. paniculatum, raised 
at Edinburgh from seeds sent by De Candolle himself, was quite destitute of that 
property. Neither of these, therefore, could have been Storck’s plant, which is 
represented as extraordinarily acrid. It is, however, of little consequence which 
was used by Storck; as many of the species possess similar virtues, and one is 
frequently substituted for another in the shops. Those are probably the best 
which are most acrid. Among these certainly is A. Lycoctonum. Dr. Christison 
found A. Napellus, A. Sinense, A. Tauricum, A.uncinatum, and A.ferox to 
have intense acrimony; and Geiger states that he has found none equal, in this 
respect, to A. Napellus. This species is said to yield aconitia most largely. 
(Repert. de Pharm., Nov. 1859.) A. uncinatum is the only species indigenous 
in this country. Most of the others are natives of the Alpine regions of Europe 
and Siberia. Those employed in medicine appear to be indiscriminately called 
by English writers wolfsbane or monkshood. The root of A. heterophyllum is 
said to be used as an antiperiodic in Upper India {Pharm. Journ. and Trans., 
xvi. 312), and that of A. Japonicum as a local anmsthetic in China, as also for 
poisoning'arrows {Ibid., Nov. 1861, p. 263). 64 
Aconiti Folium.—Aconiti Radix. 
PART I. 
Aconitum Napellus. Linn. Flor. Suec. ed. 1T55, p. 1G8.—A. neubergense. 
De Candolle, Prodrom. i. 62.—A. variabile neubergense. Hayne, Darstel. und 
Beschreib. &c.,xii. 14. This is a perennial herbaceous plant, with a spindle- 
shaped, tapering root, seldom exceeding at top the thickness of the finger, three 
or four inches or more in length, brownish externally, whitish and fleshy within, 
and sending forth numerous long, thick, fleshy fibres. When the plant is in full 
growth, there are usually two roots joined together, of which the older is dark • 
brown and supports the stem, while the younger is of a light yellowish-brown, 
and is destined to furnish the stem of the following year, the old root decaying. 
The stein is erect, round, smooth, leafy, usually simple, and from two to six or 
even eight feet high. The leaves are alternate, petiolate, divided almost to the 
base, from two to four inches in diameter, deep-green upon their upper surface, 
light-green beneath, somewhat rigid, and more or less smooth and shining on 
both sides. Those on the lower part of the stem have long footstalks and five 
or seven divisions; the upper, short footstalks and three or five divisions. The 
divisions are wedge form, with two or three lobes, which extend nearly or quite 
to the middle. The lobes are cleft or toothed, and the lacinise or teeth are linear 
or linear-lanceolate and pointed. The flowers are of a dark violet-blue colour, 
large and beautiful, and are borne at the summit of the stem upon a thick, simple 
straight, erect, spike-like raceme, beneath which, in the cultivated plant, several 
smaller racemes arise from the axils of the upper leaves. Though without calyx, 
they have two small calycinal stipules, situated on the peduncle within a few lines 
of the flower. The petals are five, the upper helmet-shaped and beaked, nearly 
hemispherical, open or closed, the two lateral roundish and internally hairy, the 
two lower oblong-oval. They enclose two pediceled nectaries, of which the spur 
is capitate, and the lip bifid and revolute. The fruit consists of three, four, or 
five pod-like capsules. 
The plant is abundant in the mountain forests of France, Switzerland, and 
Germany. It is also cultivated in the gardens of Europe, and has been intro- 
duced into this country as an ornamental flower. All parts of it are acrid and 
poisonous. The leaves and root are used. The leaves should be collected when the 
flowers begin to appear, or shortly before. After the fruit has formed, they are less 
efficacious. The root is much more active than the leaves; and an extract from 
tjie latter is said to have only one-twentieth of the strength of one made from the 
former. It should be gathered in autumn or winter after the leaves have fallen, 
and is not perfect until the second year. It has been mistakenly substituted for 
horseradish root, as a condiment, with fatal effect; but the possibility of such an 
event has only to be known to be avoided. The seeds also are acrid. The wild 
plant is said to be more active than the cultivated. (Scliroff.) Prof. Wm. Proc- 
ter has found the roots of the plant cultivated in this country richer in the active 
alkaline principle than the imported roots; having obtained as much as 0 85 per 
cent, from the former. (Proceed. of the Am. Pharm. Association, A. D. 1860.) 
Properties. The fresh leaves have a faint narcotic odour, mosttlensible when 
they are rubbed. Their taste is at first bitterish and herbaceous, afterwards 
burning and acrid, with a feeling of numbness and tingling on the inside of the 
lips, tongue, and fauces, which is very durable, lasting sometimes many hours. 
When long chewed, they inflame the tongue. The dried leaves have a similar 
taste, but the acrid impression commences later. Their sensible properties and 
medicinal activity are impaired by long keeping. They should be of a green 
colour, and free from raustiness. The root has a feeble, earthy smell. Though 
sweetish at first, it has afterwards the same effect as the leaves upon the mouth 
and fauces. It shrinks much in drying, and becomes darker, but does not lose 
its acrimony. Those parcels, whether of leaves or roots, should always be re- 
jected which are destitute of this property. The analysis of aconite, though 
attempted by several chemists, has not been satisfactorily accomplished. Bucholz PART I. 
Aconiti Folium.—Aconiti Radix. 
obtained from the fresh herb of A. neomontanum, resin, wax, gnm, albumen, ex- 
tractive, lignin, malate and citrate of lime and other saline matters, besides 83'33 
per cent, of water. During the bruising of the herb, he experienced headache, 
vertigo, &c., though water distilled from it produced no poisonous effect. Ii 
has been rendered probable by Geiger and Hesse, that there are two active prin- 
ciples in aconite; one easily destructible, upon which the acrimony depends, 
the other less acrid, alkaline, and capable of exerting a powerful narcotic influ- 
ence. For the latter the name of aconitin or aconitia has been proposed. Hesse 
obtained it from the dried leaves by a process similar to that employed in pro- 
curing atropia. (See Atropia, Part II.) The TJ. S. and Br. Pharmacopoeias give 
a process for its preparation. (See Aconitia, Part II.) Hubschmann has found 
in impure commercial aconitia a small proportion of another alkaloid which he 
names napellina.* Messrs T. and H. Smith, of Edinburgh, have recently an- 
nounced the discovery of a new alkaloid in the root, which they propose to name 
aconella, and which bears so close a resemblance to narcotina as to suggest the 
supposition that the two are identical. {Pharm. Journ. and Trans., Jan. 1864, 
p. 317.)f Peschier discovered a peculiar acid in aconite, which he called aconitic 
acid. The root contains also mannite and a fatty matter soluble in alcohol. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Aconite was well known to the ancients as a 
* Napellina. To obtain this principle, Hubschmann treats the impure aconitia with the 
least quantity of ether necessary to dissolve the pure alkaloid, dissolves the residue in alco- 
hol, filters the solution, adds acetate of lead so long as it produces a precipitate, again filters, 
and, having separated the lead by sulphuretted hydrogen and subsequent filtration, evapo- 
rates the alcohol, adds an excess of carbonate of potassa, evaporates to dryness, treats the 
residue with alcohol, passes the solution through animal charcoal, and again evaporates to 
dryness. The resulting napellina is in the form of a white powder, of a bitter and after- 
wards burning taste, of decided alkaline properties, but slightly soluble in ether, and not, 
like aconitia, precipitated from its aqueous solution by ammonia. It contains nitrogen. 
(See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxx. 399.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 
f Aconella. The Messrs. Smith obtain this alkaloid in the following manner. The juice 
of the fresh root is evaporated to a soft extract, which is exhausted by officinal alcohol. 
The alcoholic liquid is treated with lime in the proportion of 1*5 per cent, of the root em- 
ployed. To the liquid, previously filtered, sulphuric acid is gradually added till a precipi- 
tate ceases to be produced. After filtration, the alcohol is distilled off, and the watery resi- 
due, after separation of a copious dark-green fatty matter, is again filtered. The liquid is 
now very acid; and it is through this acidity that it retains the aconella; so that all that 
is required to separate the alkaloid is to neutralize the acid. Por this purpose carbonate 
of soda is added, at first freely while there is brisk effervescence, but at last gradually, 
with constant stirring, till the liquid is nearly, but not quite neutralized, when it is to be 
set aside for a time. The aconitia, which has hitherto accompanied the aconella, remains 
in the solution provided it be not alkaline, while the latter alkaloid is deposited partially 
crystallized. After a day or two, it is to be removed, and may be purified by repeated solu- 
tion in hot alcohol, with the addition of animal charcoal. It is deposited from the alcoholic 
solution on cooling. 
Aconella is thus obtained in snow-white tufts of acicular crystals, which are without 
taste, though bitter in solution, nearly insoluble in pure water, but very soluble in water 
acidulated by any acid, soluble in 300 parts of cold and 11-4 parts of boiling alcohol of 
0-840, moderately soluble in ether, much more so in acetic ether, and remarkably so in 
chloroform. It is distinguished by an extraordinary facility of crystallization. It forms 
salts with the acids, of which only the muriate is crystallizable. It is precipitated from its 
acidulated solution by tincture of iodine. Tannic acid precipitates its oxalate but not its 
muriate. Its solution in acids, even in contact with an excess of the base, reddens litmus, 
though the alkaloid itself restores the blue of litmus paper feebly reddened by acids. It is 
not poisonous; the Messrs. Smith having given 15 grains to a cat without apparent incon- 
venience. In all these points it resembles narcotina, and its combining number was found 
virtually to be the same. Hence the Messrs. Smith, as stated in the text, are disposed to 
ionsider it identical with that alkaloid. 
An important practical consideration is that aconella probably often constitutes an unin- 
tentional adulteration of aconitia, being precipitated along with it in its preparation. Hence 
In some degree may be accounted for the frequent relative weakness of the aconitia of the 
.shops. [Pharm. Journ. and Trans., Jan. 1864, p. 317.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 
C 66 
Aconiti Folium.—Aconiti Radix. 
PART I. 
powerful poison, but was first employed as a medicine by Baron Storck, of Vi- 
enna, ■whose experiments with it were published in the year 1762. In moderate 
doses, it has been said to excite the circulation, and to increase the perspiratory 
and urinary discharges; but these effects are doubtful, and certainly not constant. 
Schroff, however, states that it generally increases the secretion of urine. Ac- 
cording to Dr. Fleming, it is a powerful sedative to the nervous system, reducing 
also the force of the circulation. In moderate doses, it produces warmth in the 
stomach and sometimes nausea, general warmth of the body, numbness and tin- 
gling in the lips and fingers, muscular weakness, diminished force and frequency 
of the pulse, and diminished frequency of respiration. From larger doses all 
these effects are experienced in an increased degree. The stomach is more nau- 
seated; the numbness and tingling extend over the body; headache, vertigo, and 
dimness of vision occur; the patient complains occasionally of severe neuralgic 
pains ; the pulse, respiration, and muscular strength are greatly reduced; and a 
state of general prostration may be induced, from which the patient may not 
quite recover in less than two or three days. The effects of remedial doses 
begin to be felt in twenty or thirty minutes, are at their height in an hour or 
two, and continue with little abatement from three to five hours. 
In poisonous doses, besides the characteristic tingling in the mouth and else- 
where, aconite occasions burning heat of the oesophagus and stomach, thirst, vio- 
lent nausea, vomiting, purging, severe gastric and intestinal spasms, headache, 
dimness of vision with contracted or expanded pupils, numbness or paralysis 
of the limbs, diminished sensibility in general, stiffness or spasm of the mus- 
cles, great prostration, pallid countenance, cold extremities, an extremely feeble 
pulse, and death in a few hours, sometimes preceded by delirium, stupor, or con- 
vulsions. All these effects are not experienced in every case; but there is no one 
of them which has not been recorded as having occurred in one or more instances. 
Dissection reveals inflammation of the stomach and bowels, and engorgement of 
the brain and lungs. Pereira states that, when dogs are opened immediately 
after death from aconite, no pulsations of the heart are visible. Life may usu- 
ally be saved by a timely and thorough evacuation of the stomach, and the use 
of stimulant remedies internally and externally; and it is wonderful how rapidly 
the patient passes from a state of imminent danger to perfect health. Experi- 
ments upon inferior animals appear to have demonstrated a physiological antag- 
onism between aconite and nux vomica, or of their two alkaloids respectively, 
of which advantage may be taken in treating the poisonous effects of these sub- 
stances. In a case of extreme poisoning from tincture of aconite in a child, the 
tincture of nux vomica was administered with the apparent effect of saving life. 
(Hanson, Boston Med. and Surg. Journ., Sept. 26, 1861.) But reliance should 
not be placed on this antidote to the exclusion of emetic and stimulant measures. 
Applied to the skin, aconite occasions heat and prickling or tingling, followed 
by numbness, and, if in contact with a wound, produces its peculiar constitutional 
elfects. Applied to the eye, it causes contraction of the pupil. In relation to 
its mode of action, it appears to be locally irritant, and, at the same time, en- 
tering the system, to operate powerfully on the brain, spinal marrow, and nerves, 
directly diminishing their power, and thus producing, to a greater or less extent, 
paralysis both of sensation and motion. The heart also feels this paralyzing in- 
fluence, and hence proceeds the great depression of the pulse under the full action 
of the medicine. 
Aconite has been employed in rheumatism, neuralgia, gout, anginose and ca- 
tarrhal affections, scrofula, phthisis, metastatic abscess and other cases of puru- 
lent infection, secondary syphilis, carcinoma, certain cutaneous diseases, hooping- 
cough, amaurosis, deafness, paralysis, epilepsy, intermittent fever, dropsies, and 
hypertrophy of the heart. It has long enjoyed, in Germany, a high reputation 
as a remedy in rheumatism; and has recently come into great vogue elsewhere PART I. 
Aconiti Radix.—Adeps. 
67 
in the treatment of that disease, especially in its chronic and neuralgic forms 
By some practitioners it is considered as one of the most effectual remedies in 
neuralgia, in which it is used both internally and as a local application. Dr 
Fleming considers it highly useful as an antiphlogistic remedy, and especially 
applicable to cases of active cerebral congestion or inflammation; while it i? 
contraindicated in the headache of antemia, and in all cases attended with a 
torpid or paralytic condition of the muscular system. Cazenave has found it 
very useful in cutaneous eruptions with extreme sensibility of the skin; and it 
is said sometimes to check excessive sweating. It may be administered in 
powder, extract, or tincture. The dose of the powdered leaves is one or two 
grains, of the extract from half a grain to a grain, of the tincture of the leaves 
twenty or thirty drops, to be repeated twice or three times a day, and gradually 
increased till the effects of the medicine are experienced. The preparation now 
most employed is probably the strong tincture of the root, a process for which 
is given in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, under the name of Tinctura Aconili Radicis. 
Of this, from five to ten drops may be given three times a day, and gradually 
increased till its effects become obvious. It is very important to distinguish 
between the tincture of the leaves and the strong tincture of the root just referred 
to.* Few patients will bear at first more than ten minims of the latter. Aconite 
may be used externally in the form of the saturated tincture of the root, of ex- 
tract mixed with lard, of a plaster or liniment, or of aconitia. (See Extractum 
Aconiti, Extractum Aconiti Alcoholicum, and Aconitia.) The tincture may be 
applied by means of a soft piece of sponge, fastened to the end of a stick. 
Off. Prep, of the Leaves. Extractum Aconiti, Br.; Extractum Aconiti Alco- 
holicum, U. S.; Tinctura Aconiti Folii, XJ. S. 
Off. Prep, of the Boot. Aconitia; Linimentum Aconiti, Br.; Tinctura Aco- 
niti, Br.; Tinctura Aconiti Radicis, U. S. W. 
ADEPS. U.S. 
Lard. 
The prepared fat of Sus Scrofa. Lard should be free from saline matter. Be- 
low the temperature of 90°, it has the consistence of a soft solid. U. S. 
Off. Syn. ADEPS PRAEPARATITS. Hog’s fat, deprived of its membranes 
and purified by heat. Br. 
Axonge, Graisse, Saindoux, Fr.; Schweineschmalz, Germ.; Grasso di porco, Lardo, Ital.; 
Manteca de puerco, Lardo, Span. 
Lard is the prepared fat of the hog. The Br. Pharmacopoeia gives a process 
for its preparation; but in this country it is purchased by the druggists already 
prepared. The adipose matter of the omentum and mesentery, and that around 
the kidneys, are usually employed; though the subcutaneous fat is said to afford 
lard of a firmer consistence. In the crude state it contains membranes and ves- 
sels, and is more or less contaminated with blood, from all which it must be freed 
before it can be fit for use. For this purpose, the fat, having been deprived 
as far as possible by the hand of membranous matter,' is cut into pieces, washed 
with water till the liquor ceases to be coloured, and then melted, usually with a 
small portion of water, in a copper or iron vessel, over a slow fire.f The heat 
* Physicians should be very careful, when prescribing, to designate by name which of 
these tinctures they intend, whether that of the root, or that of the leaves; as serious mis- 
takes may otherwise occur; and apothecaries should be scrupulous in putting up the pre- 
paration of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia when the tincture of the root is prescribed, and not 
that of Dr. Fleming, which is stronger than the officinal. (Note to the tenth edition.) 
' f Prof. Procter recommends the following method of operating. After careful removal 
of the membranes and adhering flesh, the crude lard is to be cut into small pieces, malax- 
ated with successive portions of cold water until this remains clear, and then heated moder- Adeps. 
part I. 
is continued till all the moisture is evaporated, which may be known by the 
transparency of the melted fat, and the absence of crepitation when a small por- 
tion of it is thrown into the fire. Care should be taken that the heat is not too 
great; as otherwise the lard might be partially decomposed, acquire a yellow 
colour, and become acrid. This may be guarded against by using a water-bath 
in melting the lard. The process is completed by straining the liquid through 
linen, arid pouring it into suitable vessels, in which it concretes upon cooling. 
Lard may be rendered quite inodorous by melting it, when fresh, by means of a 
salt-water bath, adding a little alum or common salt, continuing the heat till a 
scum rises, which is to be skimmed off, and, after the lard has concreted, sepa- 
rating the saline matter by washing it thoroughly with water. For a particular 
account of the process, see the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (xxviii. 116). 
The following is the process of the British Pharmacopoeia for preparing lard. 
“ Take of the internal Fat of the abdomen of the Hog, perfectly fresh, fourteen 
pounds. Remove as much as possible of the membranes, cut the fat into small 
pieces, and liquefy it over a water bath at a boiling heat; strain through fine 
linen, again heat it on the water bath, stirring continually uutil it becomes clear, 
and entirely free from water. Keep it in a stone jar.*’ Br. 
Lard, as offered for sale, often contains common salt, wdiieh renders it unfit 
for pharmaceutic purposes. This may be detected, when the quantity is insuffi- 
cient to be sensible to the taste, by means of nitrate of silver, which will pro- 
duce a precipitate of chloride of silver with water in which the salted lard has 
been boiled, after cooling and filtration. To free it from this impurity, it may 
be melted with twice its weight of boiling water, the mixture well agitated and 
set aside to cool, and the fat then separated. American lard is said to be adul- 
terated, in England, with water, starch, and a small proportion of alum and 
quicklime, which render it whiter, but unfit for medical use. Considerable quan- 
tities of lard have been imported into France from the United States, adultera- 
ted with 25 per cent, of a jelly-like substance supposed to be extracted from 
Irish moss. This was separated by treating the lard with boiling water. {Journ. 
de Pharm. et de Chim., Juin, 1855, p. 455.) 
Properties. Lard is white, inodorous, with little taste, of a soft consistence 
at ordinary temperatures, fusible at about 100° F., insoluble in water, partially 
soluble in alcohol, entirely so in ether and the volatile oils, dissolved and de- 
composed by the stronger acids, and converted into soap by reaction with the 
alkalies. When melted, it readily unites with wax and resins. According to 
Braconnot, it contains, in 100 parts, 62 of olein or the liquid principle of oils, 
and 38 of stearin or the concrete principle. But M. Le Canu ascertained that 
the stearin of Braconnot consists of two distinct substances, differing in fusi- 
bility and solubility. For the least fusible of these he retained the name of 
stearin, and to the other applied that of margarin, from its resemblance to the 
principle of the same name in vegetable oils. Most fats and oils of animal ori- 
gin are composed of these ingredients, upon the relative proportion of which 
their consistence respectively depends. The liquid and concrete principles may 
be obtained separate by the action of boiling alcohol, which deposits the latter 
on cooling, and yields the former upon evaporation. Another method is to com- 
press fat, or oil congealed by cold, between the folds of bibulous paper. The 
olein is absorbed by the. paper, and may be separated by compression under 
water; the stearin and margarin remain. 
Olein, stearin, and margarin are now generally considered as compounds re- 
spectively of oleic, stearic, and margaric acids with glycerin and water. For an 
ately, in a tinned vessel, until the melted fat becomes perfectly clear and anhydrous. Lastly, 
it is to be strained into earthen pots, being occasionally stirred as it cools; ar.d the pota 
should be securely covered with waxed or varnished paper, and kept in a cool, Iry cellar. 
{Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxxv. 114.)—Note to the twelfth edition. part I. 
Adeps.—Alcohol. 
69 
account of these principles, see Olea Fixa. Very good candles are made out of 
the concrete constituents of lard; and the liquid principle or olein is extensivelj 
employed for burning in lamps, and other purposes in the arts. Vast quantities 
of it are prepared in Cincinnati, Ohio, and much is exported. In France it is 
said to be largely used for adulterating olive oil. 
Exposed to the air, lard absorbs oxygen and becomes rancid. It should, 
therefore, be kept in well-closed vessels, or procured fresh when wanted for use. 
In the rancid state, it irritates the skin, and sometimes exercises an injurious 
reaction on substances mixed with it. Thus, the ointment of iodide of potassium, 
which is white when prepared with fresh lard, is said to be more or less yellow 
when the lard employed is rancid. Rancidity in lard and other fats is prevented 
by digesting them with benzoin, or poplar buds. (See Unguenta.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Lard is emollient, and is occasionally em- 
ployed by itself in frictions, or in connection with poultices to preserve their 
soft consistence; but its chief use is in pharmacy as an ingredient of ointments 
and cerates. It is frequently added to laxative enemata. 
Off. Prep. Ceratum Adipis, U. S.; Unguentum Adipis, U. S.; TJnguentum 
Simplex, Br. W. 
ALCOHOL. U.S. 
Alcohol. 
Spirit, of the specific gravity 0-835. U.S. 
Off. Syn. SPIRITUS RECTIFICATUS. Rectified Spirit. Alcohol, C4H60, 
HO, with 16 per cent, of water, of the sp.gr. 0-838. Br. 
Rectified spirit, Spirit of wine; Alcohol, Esprit de vin, Fr.; Rectificirter Weingeist, 
Germ.; Alcoole, Acquavite rettificata, Ital.; Alcohol, Espiritu rectificado de vino, Span. 
ALCOHOL DILUTUM. U.S 
Diluted Alcohol. 
Alcohol mixed with an equal measure of Distilled Water. The specific gravity 
is 0-941. U. S. 
Off. Syn. SPIRITUS TENUIOR. Proof Spirit. Made by mixing five 
pints of Rectified Spirit with three pints of Distilled Water. Sp. gr. 0-920. Br. 
ALCOHOL FORTIUS. U.S. 
Stronger Alcohol. 
Spirit of the specific gravity 0 *817. U. S. 
From the titles and definitions above given, which include all the forms of 
alcohol recognised by the U. S. and Br. Pharmacopoeias, it will be perceived 
that there are three officinal strengths of Alcohol, those being considered the 
same which approach nearly in specific gravity, and are employed for similar 
purposes. Of these, two are common to both Pharmacopoeias; Alcohol, U. S. 
(sp. gr. 0 835), corresponding with Spiritus Rectificatus, Br. (sp. gr. 0 838), and 
Diluted Alcohol, U. S. (sp. gr. 0-941), corresponding with Spiritus Tenuior or 
Proof Spirit, Br. (sp. gr. 0-920). The third, Alcohol Fortius or Stronger Al- 
cohol (sp. gr. 0 817), is peculiar to our own officinal standard. As they are all 
placed in the Materia Medica Catalogue of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, they will 
all be considered here. 
Alcohol, in the chemical sense, is a peculiar liquid, generated for the most 
part in vegetable juices and infusions by a fermentation, called the vinous or 70 
Alcohol. 
PART I. 
alcoholic rIhe liquids which have undergone it are called vinous liquors, and 
are of vailous kinds. Thus, the fermented juice of the grape is called wine ; of 
the apple, cider; and the fermented infusion of malt, beer. 
With regard to the nature of the liquids susceptible of the vinous fermenta- 
tion, however various they may be in other respects, one general character pre- 
vails; that, namely, of containing sugar in some form or other. It is found, 
further, that, after they have undergone the vinous fermentation, the sugar they 
contained has either wholly or in part disappeared; and it was long believed 
that the only new products are alcohol which remains in the liquid, and carbonic 
acid which escapes during the process; and that these, when taken together, 
are equal in weight to the sugar lost. It was hence inferred that sugar is the 
subject-matter of the changes that occur during the vinous fermentation, and 
that it is resolved into alcohol and carbonic acid. More recently, however, it 
has been shown by M. Pasteur that, along with alcohol and carbonic acid, gly- 
cerin and succinic acid are also generated, and that the process is not so simple 
as at one time supposed. 
Sugar will not undergo the vinous fermentation by itself; but requires to be 
dissolved in water, subjected to the influence of a ferment, and kept at a certain 
temperature. Accordingly, sugar, water, the presence of a ferment, and the main- 
tenance of an adequate temperature may be deemed the prerequisites of the 
vinous fermentation. The water acts by giving fluidity, and the ferment and tem- 
perature by commencing and maintaining the chemical changes. The precise 
manner in which the ferment operates in causing the reaction has not been posi- 
tively determined ; but the fermentative change seems to be intimately connected 
with the multiplication of a microscopic vegetable, in the form of diaphanous 
globules, contained in the ferment, and called torula cerevisise. Pasteur has ren- 
dered it highly probable that the yeast plant lives and grows at the expense of 
the sugar, which is converted partly into the tissue of the plant, partly into alco- 
hol and those other products which have been proved to result from vinous fer- 
mentation. The proper temperature for conducting the vinous fermentation 
ranges from 60° to 90°. 
Certain vegetable infusions, as those of potatoes and rice, though consisting 
almost entirely of starch, are, nevertheless, capable of undergoing the vinous 
fermentation, and form seeming exceptions to the rule, that sugar is the only 
substance susceptible of this fermentation. The apparent exception is explained 
by the circumstance, that starch is susceptible of a spontaneous change which 
converts it into sugar. How this change takes place is not well known, but it 
is designated by some authors as the saccharine fermentation. Thus, KirchofF 
proved that, if a mixture of gluten from flour, and starch from potatoes be put 
into hot water, the starch will be converted into sugar. When, therefore, starch 
is apparently converted into alcohol by fermentation, it is supposed that it passes 
through the intermediate state of sugar. Accoi’ding to Berthelot, mannite, 
glycerin, and similar substances may be made to ferment by contact, for several 
weeks, writk chalk and cheese at 104°; and the change takes place without the 
production of sugar, provided chalk is present. M. Arnoult has succeeded in 
obtaining alcohol by fermenting sugar (glucose), formed by the action of sul- 
phuric acid on poplar wood sawdust, which yielded from 70 to 80 per cent, of 
this kind of sugar. 
Alcohol, being the product of the vinous fermentation, necessarily exists in 
all vinous liquors, and may be obtained from them by distillation. Formerly it 
was supposed that these liquors did not contain alcohol, but were merely capa- 
ble of furnishing it, in consequence of a new arrangement of their ultimate con- 
stituents, the result of the heat applied. Braude, however, disproved this idea, 
by showing that alcohol may be obtained from all vinous liquors without the 
application of heat, and therefore must pre-exist in them. His metl od of sepa- PART I. 
Alcohol. 
71 
rating it consists in precipitating the acid and colouring matter from each vinous 
liquor by subacetate of lead, and removing the water by carbonate of potassa. 
According to Gay-Lussac, litharge, in fine powder, is the best agent for preci- 
pitating the colouring matter. 
In vinous liquors, the alcohol is diluted with abundance of water, and asso- 
ciated with colouring matter, volatile oil, extractive, and various acids and salts. 
In purifying it, we take advantage of its volatility, which enables us to separate 
it by distillation, combined with some of the principles of the vinous liquor em- 
ployed, and more or less water. The distilled product of vinous liquors forms 
the different ardent spirits of commerce. When obtained from wine, it is called 
brandy; from fermented molasses, rum; from cider, malted barley, or rye, 
whisky; from malted barley and rye-meal with hops, and rectified from juniper 
berries, Holland gin; from malted barley, rye, or potatoes, and rectified from 
turpentine, common gin; and from fermented rice, arrack. These spirits are of 
different strengths, that is, contain different proportions of alcohol, and have 
various peculiarities by which they are distinguished by the taste. Their strength 
is accurately judged of by the specific gravity, which is always less in proportion 
as their concentration is greater. When they have the sp. gr. 0'920 (0-91984, 
Drinkwater), they are designated in commerce by the term proof spirit. If 
lighter than this, they are said to be above proof; if heavier, below proof; and 
the percentage of water, or of spirit of 0-825, necessary to be added to any sam- 
ple of spirit to bring it to the standard of proof spirit, indicates the number of 
degrees the given sample is above or below proof. Thus, if 100 volumes of a 
spirit require 10 volumes of water to reduce it to proof spirit, it is said to be “ 10 
over proof.” On the other hand, if 100 volumes of a spirit require 10 volumes of 
spirit, of 0-825, to raise it to proof, the sample is said to be “ 10 under proof.” 
Proof spirit is still very far from being pure; being a dilute alcohol, contain- 
ing about half its weight of water, together with a peculiar oil and other foreign 
matters. It may be further purified and strengthened by redistillation, or recti- 
fication as it is called. Whisky is the spirit usually employed for this purpose; 
and from every hundred gallons, between fifty-seven and fifty-eight may be ob- 
tained, of the average strength of rectified spirit (sp. gr. 0 835), corresponding 
with the Alcohol of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, and very nearly with the Spiritus 
Rectificatus of the British. When this is once more cautiously distilled, it will be 
further purified from water, and the sp. gr. attained will be about 0-825, which 
is the lightest spirit that can be obtained by ordinary distillation, and is the pure 
spirit of the British system of excise. It still, however, contains 11 per cent, 
of water. In the mean while, the spirit, by these repeated distillations, becomes 
more and more freed from the contaminating oil, called grain oil or fusel oil. 
(See Alcohol Amylicum.) We shall first consider the general properties of al- 
cohol, and afterwards the different officinal forms. 
Properties. Alcohol, using this term in a generic sense, is a colourless, trans- 
parent, volatile liquid, of a penetrating, agreeable odour, and burning taste. It 
should be free from foreign odour, which, when present, is owing to fusel oil. 
When free from water, it is called anhydrous or absolute alcohol. It is inflam- 
mable, and burns without smoke or residue, forming water and carbonic acid. Its 
flame is bluish when strong, but yellowish when weak. It combines in all propor- 
tions with water and ether; and, when diluted with distilled water, preserves its 
transparency. Its density varies with the proportion of water it contains. When 
of the sp.gr. 0-820, its boiling point is at 176°. Its value depends upon the 
quantity of absolute alcohol contained in it; and, as this is greater in proportion 
as the sp. gr. is less, it is found convenient to take the density of a sample in esti- 
mating its strength. This is done by instruments called hydrometers, which, when 
allowed to float in the spirit, sink deeper into it in proportion as it is lighter. 
Each hydrometer strength has a corresponding specific gravity; and, by refer- Alcohol. 
PART I. 
ring to tables constructed for the purpose, the percentage of absolute alcohol 
is at once shown. Br. W. II. Pile, maker of hydrometers, of this city, graduates 
instruments showing specific gravity at once, which are exceedingly convenient. 
The following table, constructed by Lowitz and improved by Thomson, gives 
the sp. gr. of different mixtures by weight of absolute alcohol and water. 
Table of the Specific Gravity of different Mixtures by Weight of Absolute 
Alcohol and Distilled Water, at the Temperature of 60°. 
100 Parts. 
Sp. Gr. 
at 00°. 
100 Parts. 
Sp. Gr. 
at 60°. 
100 Parts. 
Sp. Gr. 
at 60°. 
100 Parts. 
Sp. Gr. 
at 60°. 
Me. 
Wat. 
Ale. 
Wat 
Ale. 
Wat. 
Ale. 
Wat. 
100 
0 
•796* 
76 
24 
•857 
52 
48 
•912 
28 
72 
•962 
99 
1 
•798 
75 
25 
•860 
51 
49 
•915 
•27 
73 
•963 
98 
2 
•801 
74 
26 
•863 
50 
50 
•917 
26 
74 
•965 
97 
3 
•804 
73 
27 
•865 
49 
51 
•9201T 
25 
75 
•967 
96 
4 
•807 
72 
28 
•867 
48 
52 
•922 
24 
76 
•968 
95 
5 
•809 
71 
29 
•870 
47 
53 
•924 
23 
77 
•970 
94 
6 
•812 
70 
30 
■871 
46 
54 
•926 
22 
78 
•972 
93 
7 
•815 
69 
31 
•874 
45 
55 
•928 
21 
79 
•973 
92 
8 
•817f 
68 
32 
•875 
44 
56 
•930 
20 
80 
•974 
91 
9 
•820 
67 
33 
•879 
43 
57 
•933 
19 
81 
•975 
90 
i(T 
•822 
66 
34 
•880 
42 
58 
•935 
18 
82 
•977 
89 
n 
•825t 
65 
35 
•883 
41 
59 
•937 
17 
83 
•978 
88 
12 
•827 
64 
36 
•886 
40 
60 
•939 
16 
84 
•979 
87 
13 
•830 
63 
37 
•889 
39 
61 
•941ft 
15 
85 
•981 
86 
14 
•832 
62 
38 
•891 
38 
62 
•943 
14 
86 
•982 
85 
15 
•835g 
61 
39 
•893 
37 
63 
•945 
13 
87 
•984 
84 
16 
•83811 
60 
40 
•896 
36 
64 
•947 
12 
88 
•986 
83 
17 
•840 
59 
41 
•898 
35 
65 
•949 
11 
89 
•987 
82 
18 
•843 
58 
42 
•900 
34 
66 
•951 
10 
90 
•988 
81 
19 
•846 
57 
43 
•903 
33 
67 
•953 
9 
91 
•989 
80 
20 
•848 
56 
44 
•904 
32 
68 
•955 
8 
92 
•990 
79 
21 
•851 
55 
45 
•906 
31 
69 
•957 
7 
93 
•991 
78 
22 
•853 
54 
46 
•908 
30 
70 
•958 
6 
94 
•992 
77 
23 
•855 
53 
47 
•910 
29 
71 
•960 
II. von Baumhauer has inferred from his experiments that the results in the 
above table are not entirely correct. The inaccuracies, however, admitting the 
results of Baumhauer, are not so great as to be of much importance in a phar- 
maceutic point of view. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., July, 1860, p. 1.) 
Alcohol is capable of dissolving a great number of substances; as, for exam- 
ple, sulphur and phosphorus in small quantity, iodine and ammonia ireely, and 
potassa, soda, and lithia in the caustic state, but not as carbonates. Among or- 
ganic substances, it is a solvent of the organic vegetable alkalies, urea, tannic 
acid, sugar, mannite, camphor, resins, balsams, volatile oils, and soap. It dis- 
solves the fixed oils sparingly, except castor oil, which is abundantly soluble. It 
acts on most acids, forming ethers with some, and effecting the solution of 
others. All deliquescent salts are soluble in alcohol, except carbonate of po- 
tassa ; while the efflorescent salts, aud those either insoluble or sparingly soluble 
in water are mostly insoluble in it. It dissolves muriate of ammonia, and most 
of the chlorides that are readily soluble iu water; also some nitrates, but none 
of the metallic sulphates. 
* Absolute Alcohol. 
f Alcohol Fortius. Stronger Alcohol, TJ. S. 
t Lightest spirit obtained by ordinary distillation. 
I Alcohol, U. S. 
|| Spiritus Rectificatus, Br. 
If Spiritus Tenuior, Proof Spirit, Br. 
•j-f Alcohol Dilutum. U. S. PART I. 
Alcohol. 
1. Absolute Alcohol. Anhydrous Alcohol. This, though formerly directed 
by the Edinburgh and Dublin Colleges, is not now officinal. By the term is 
implied pure alcohol, entirely free from water. In this state it cannot be obtained 
by ordinary distillation alone; the purest alcohol thus procured still containing 
11 per cent, of water. To separate this it is customary to have recourse to sub- 
stances having a very strong affinity for water, sufficient not only to abstract it 
from the alcohol, but to retain it at a temperature at which alcohol will distil 
over. Soubeiran recommends the following as an easy method for obtaining it, 
free from water, abundantly and economically. 1st. Rectify alcohol, marking 86° 
of the centesimal alcoholmeter of Gay-Lussac (rectified spirit), by distilling it 
from carbonate of potassa. This operation raises its strength to 91° or 95°. 
2d. Raise this alcohol to 91°, by distilling it with fused chloride of calcium, or 
by digesting it with quicklime (from which it must be afterwards poured off), 
in the proportion of a pint of the alcohol to ounces of the chloride, or 2£ 
ounces of the lime. 3d. Distil the product of this operation slowly with quick- 
lime, in the proportion of 3f ounces to the pint. The product will be absolute 
alcohol. The operation may be shortened to two steps, by distilling the alcohol 
of 94° or 95°, with an excess of quicklime (7|- ounces to the pint). In all cases, 
before decanting or distilling, the alcohol must be digested for two or three days 
with the lime, at a temperature between 95° and 100° F. Lime will not answer 
as a substance to be distilled from, unless it be in sufficient excess; for other- 
wise, towards the end of the distillation, the hydrate of lime formed will yield 
up its water to the alcohol, and weaken the distilled product. 
Properties. Absolute alcohol is a colourless, volatile liquid, of an agreeable 
odour and burning taste. It boils at 172°, and is not congealed by a cold of 
166° below zero. Its sp.gr. is 0 7978 at 68°, according to Regnault; 0-79381 
at 60°, according to Drinkwater. The sp. gr. of its vapour is 159. Its freedom 
from water may be ascertained by dropping into it a piece of anhydrous baryta, 
which will remain unchanged if the alcohol be free from water; but otherwise 
will fall to powder. Another method for determining the same point is to allow 
alcohol to stand for some time, in a stoppered bottle, on anhydrous sulphate of 
copper. If the alcohol be anhydrous, the salt will remain white; otherwise it 
will become blue. (Casoria.) Absolute alcohol should be free from fusel oil. 
Absolute alcohol burns with a pale flame without residue, the products being 
carbonic acid and water. Its vapour, passed through a porcelain tube filled 
with pumice-stone and heated to redness, yields carbon, gaseous carbohydro- 
gens, aldehyd, naphthalin, benzin, phenic acid, and various other substances. 
(Berthelot.) It unites in all proportions with ether and water. Its union with 
water is attended by condensation and a rise of temperature. When 519 
volumes of alcohol are mixed with 48 1 of water, corresponding with one eq. 
of the former to six of the latter, the decrease of volume is at the maximum, 
amounting to 3 4 per cent. Berthelot has announced the formation of alcohol 
synthetically, by uniting olefiant gas with water. In this discovery he was an- 
ticipated by the late Mr. Hennel, who published it in 1828. 
Composition. Absolute alcohol consists of four eqs. of carbon 24, six of hy- 
drogen 6, and two of oxygen 16 = 46; or, in volumes, of four volumes of the 
vapou-r of carbon, six of hydrogen, and one of oxygen, condensed into two 
volumes. Its empirical formula is, therefore, C4HB02. Yiewed as a hydrated 
oxide of ethyl, its formula is C4IL,04-II0. 
It has been stated, at page 70, that during the vinous fermentation sugar dis- 
appears, and that the sole products had been supposed to be alcohol and car- 
bonic acid, which, taken together, were equal in weight to the sugar lost. Now, 
the comparative composition of the substances concerned supports the opinion 
that these are the sole derivatives of a portion of the sugar lost. Preparatory 
to the fermentation, the cane sugar is changed into grape sugar, or, according 74 
Alcohol. 
PART I. 
to Mitscherlich and Soubeiran, into uncrystallizable sugar. These two sugars, 
dried at 212°, consist of C12IT120]2. Supposing one eq. of this fermeutable sugar 
to be the subject-matter of the change, it will be found to have a composition 
which admits of its being broken up into two eqs. of alcohol and four of carbonic 
acid; for C12II12012=2(C4H602) and 4(C02). But it does not follow that all 
the sugar has been converted into sugar and carbonic acid; and Pasteur, as be- 
fore stated, has shown that a portion lost has not been thus converted, but has 
been partly appropriated to the growth of the yeast plant of the ferment', and 
partly changed into glycerin and succinic acid. 
2. Alcohol Fortius. U:S. Stronger Alcohol, sp. gr. 0-817. This was an offi- 
cinal of the Dublin College,.which gave a formula for its preparation, and stated 
its sp. gr. at 0-818. The Stronger Alcohol introduced into the Materia Medica of 
theU. S. Pharmacopoeia, at the late revision, though of the sp.gr. 0 817, and 
therefore a little stronger than the Dublin preparation, may for all practical pur- 
poses be considered as identical with it. To prepare it on a small scale, carbonate 
of potassa, previously ignited in a heated mortar, may be mixed with officinal alco- 
hol (sp. gr. 0-835) in a bottle, and shaken occasionally for about four hours; the 
mixture being, in the mean time, maintained at the temperature of about 100°. 
Upon resting, the liquid divides into two strata, the lower consisting of a watery 
solution of carbonate of potassa, the upper of the stronger alcohol, which is to be 
separated, and distilled so as to obtain the measure of about nine-tenths of the 
original alcohol employed. 
On a large scale, we are informed that alcohol of this strength is now pre- 
pared, in the U. States, very abundantly by simple distillation, by means of a 
modified distillatory apparatus. The modification consists in substituting, for a 
single refrigerated receiver, a series of receivers, kept at such temperatures that, 
in the first of them, the watery vapour shall condense with comparatively little 
of the alcoholic, which, as it passes through the successive recipients, is more 
and more deprived of water, until, when condensed in the last, it yields a spirit 
at least as strong as the officinal Stronger Alcohol of the sp.gr. 0 817. At the 
same time that the spirit is thus strengthened, it becomes, on the same principle, 
more and more freed from fusel oil, until at length almost wholly deprived of it. 
The properties of this form of spirit do not materially differ from those of 
officinal alcohol, except in its exemption from fusel oil. The test of the absence 
of this impurity, or of its presence in only very minute proportion, is that, when 
“treated with a few drops of solution of nitrate of silver, and exposed to a bright 
light, the alcohol either remains unchanged, or lets fall a very scanty dark pre- 
cipitate.” U. S. Stronger alcohol is used exclusively in the preparation of other 
officinals, as ether, purified chloroform, ethereal oil, spirit of nitrous ether, &c., for 
which purpose it was introduced into the Pharmacopoeia. 
3. Alcohol. U. S. Spiritus Rectificatus. Br. Officinal Alcohol. Rectified 
Spirit. This is the form of spirit resulting from the ordinary distillation of ardent 
spirit, though not the strongest which can be obtained by a repetition of that 
process; having the sp. gr. 0'835, U. S., or 0‘838, Br., while that of the strongest 
is 0-825. The British preparation contains 16, the U. S. only 15 per ceut. of water. 
Officinal alcohol, though of standard strength, may still be impregnated with an 
essential oil, called fusel oil. This is usually removed by digesting the alcohol 
with charcoal. It may also be removed, as well as other impurities, by passing the 
impure spirit through a filtering bed, composed of sand, wood-charcoal, boiled 
-wheat, and broken oyster-shells, arranged in layers, according to the method of Mr. 
W. Schaelfer. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., Nov. 1854, p. 536.) Another method, 
proposed by M. Breton, is to add a few drops of olive oil to the spirit in a bottle, 
which is then to be shaken, allowed to settle, and decanted. The olive oil dis- 
solves and retains the fusel oil. (Cliem. Gaz., April 15, 1859, p. 160.) It may be 
detected by adding a little of the solution of nitrate of silver to the s>l?ohol and PART I. 
Alcohol. 
75 
then exposing it to a bright light. If fusel oil be present, it will be converted into 
a black powder. Officinal alcohol will not withstand this test; as the best contains 
a little of the foreign oil. According to Mr. E. N. Kent, of New York, nitrate 
of silver will not detect fusel oil, but affords its indications by reacting with other 
organic substances. For detecting fusel oil Mr. Kent finds pure sulphuric acid 
the best test. To apply it he half fills a test tube with the spirit to be tested, 
and then fills it up very slowly with pure concentrated sulphuric acid. If the 
spirit be pure, it will remain colourless; otherwise it will become coloured, the 
tint being deeper in proportion to the amount of the impurity. (New York Journ. 
ofPharm., Aug. 1854.) The U. S. Pharmacopoeia directs that officinal alcohol, 
when diluted with 20 parts of distilled water, should have little or no foreign odour. 
The best alcohol, made in Philadelphia, is that manufactured by Z. Locke & 
Co., under Atwood’s patent process, in which manganic acid is used to destroy 
the fusel oil and other foreign substances. This alcohol withstands the tests of 
nitrate of silver and sulphuric acid remarkably well. 
4. Alcohol Dilutum. U. S. Spiritus Tenuior. Br. Diluted Alcohol. Proof 
Spirit. The U. S. preparation, which is placed in the Materia Medica, consists 
of equal measures of officinal alcohol and water, and has the sp.gr. 0-941; the 
British, for which a process is given, is made by mixing five pints of Rectified 
Spirit with three pints of Distilled Water, and has the sp.gr. 0-920. The latter 
is much the stronger of the two, containing only 51 per cent, of water, while the 
U. S. preparation contains 61 per cent. Considering the purpose to which it is 
chiefly applied, that of making tinctures, our officinal diluted alcohol is preferable 
to the British proof spirit, as it has enough alcohol both for solvent effect and 
preservative influence, and the less there is, when these objects are answered, 
the better. 
Medical Properties, &c. Alcohol is a very powerful diffusible stimulant. It 
is the intoxicating ingredient in all spirituous liquors, including under this term 
wines, porter, ale, cider, and every other liquid which has undergone the vinous 
fermentation. In a diluted state, it excites the system, renders the pulse full, and 
gives additional energy to the muscles, and temporary exaltation to the mental 
faculties. It is found to lessen the amount of the excretions, from which fact 
some physiologists have inferred that it diminishes the disintegration of the tis- 
sues. But this is not likely; since the effect of stimulation is to increase function 
in the tissues, and consequently to cause their waste. On this subject Dr. Wood 
holds the more probable opinion, that alcoholic liquors, besides furnishing some 
nutriment, act by promoting digestion and sanguification, thus causing a more 
thorough appropriation of food to nutrition; and that the saving, thus effected, 
more than counterbalances the waste of the tissues, implied by increased vital 
action. (See his Therapeutics, i. 664.) 
In some states of acute disease, characterized by excessive debility, alcohol is 
a valuable remedy. In chronic diseases, physicians should be cautious in pre- 
scribing liquids containing it, for fear of begetting intemperate habits. Exter- 
nally, alcohol is sometimes applied to produce cold by evaporation; but, when 
this is repressed, it acts as a stimulant. A mixture of equal parts of rectified 
spirit and white of egg forms an excellent application to excoriations from press- 
ure, in their early stage, occurring in protracted diseases. It is to be applied 
frequently by a fine brush or feather, and renewed as it dries, until an albumi- 
nous coating is formed over the excoriated surface. 
As an article of daily use, alcoholic liquors produce the most deplorable con- 
sequences. Besides the moral degradation which they cause, their habitual use 
gives rise to dyspepsia, hypochondriasis, visceral obstructions, dropsy, paralysis, 
and not unfrequently mania. 
Effects as a Poison. When taken in large quantities, alcohol, in the various 
forms of ardent spirit, produces a true apoplectic state, and occasionally speedy 76 
Alcohol. 
PAET I. 
death The face becomes livid or pale, the respiration stertorous, and the mouth 
frothy ; and sense and feeling are more or less completely lost. Where the dan- 
ger is imminent, an emetic may be administered, or the stomach-pump used. The 
affusion of cold water is often useful. An enema of two tablespoonfuls of com- 
mon salt in a pint of warm water is said to dissipate rapidly the more serious 
symptoms. As a counter-poison, acetate of ammonia has been found to act with 
advantage. After death, abundant evidence is furnished of the absorption of the 
alcohol. By Dr. Percy it has been detected in the brain, by others in the ven- 
tricles, and by Dr. Wright in the urine. According to Dr. Ducheck, alcohol un- 
dergoes, in the system, continued combustion, producing intermediate products, 
amonp which is aldehyd, to the presence of which in the blood he attributes in- 
toxication. Mr. R. D. Thomson has proposed the following test for detecting 
alcohol in medico-legal investigations. Distil one-third of the suspected liquid, 
and to the distillate add a crystal or two of chromic acid, and stir. If the smallest 
quantity of alcohol be present, green oxide of chromium, and aldehyd percepti- 
ble to the smell, will be developed. Instead of chromic acid, a few grains of 
powdered bichromate of potassa, acted on by a few drops of sulphuric acid, may 
be used. Dr. Ed. Strauch objects to this test as liable to some ambiguity, and 
proposes platinum-black as preferable. For a description of the mode in which 
he uses it, the reader is referred to the Chemical Gazette for Aug. 1, 1854. 
It is, however, very rarely that any of the forms of alcohol here described are 
used internally in their ordinary state; the various forms of ardent spirits and 
fermented liquors being preferred for this purpose, and these are described else- 
where. The purer forms of alcohol, whether strong or diluted, are employed 
almost exclusively in pharmacy; as in the preparation of medicines, such as ether, 
into the composition of which they enter; for the preservation of organic sub- 
stances ; in the extraction of the active principles of vegetables, as in the tinc- 
tures ; for dissolving bodies soluble in alcohol much more readily than in water, 
or insoluble in the latter fluid; and for various other pharmaceutic purposes. 
Diluted alcohol is employed as an addition to the compound infusion of gen- 
tian, and to some of the distilled waters and preparations of vinegar, in order to 
preserve them from decomposition; as a menstruum for extracting the virtues of 
plants, preparatory to the formation of extracts and syrups; and in preparing 
many of the spirits, and a few of the medicated wines. But it is in forming the 
tinctures that diluted alcohol is chiefly used. Some of these are made with offi- 
cinal alcohol (rectified spirit), but the majority with diluted alcohol (proof spirit) 
as the menstruum. As the latter contains more than half its weight of water, it 
is well fitted for acting on those vegetables, the virtues of which are partly solu- 
ble in water and partly in alcohol. The apothecary, however, should never sub- 
stitute the commercial proof spirit for diluted alcohol, even though it may be of 
the same strength, on account of the impurities in the former; but, when it is 
recollected how variable the so-called proof spirits are in strength, the objection 
to their use in pharmacy becomes still stronger. Thus, according to Mr. Brunde, 
gin contains 516 percent, of alcohol of 0 825; and the percentage of the same 
alcohol is 53-39 in brandy, 53 68 in rum, 53-90 in Irish whisky, and 54 32 in 
Scotch whisky. The alcohol on which these results are based already contains 
11 per cent of water. 
Pharm. Uses. 1. Of Alcohol Fortius, U. S. In the preparation of Aloe Puri- 
ficata, U. S.; Atropi® Sulphas, U. S.; Ceratum Extracti Cantharidis, U. S.; 
Chloroformum Purificatum, U. S.; Collodium, U. S.; Collodium cum Cantha- 
ride, U. S-; Iodidum Hydrargyri Viride, U. S. 2. Of Alcohol, TJ. S., Spiritus 
Rectificatus, Br. In the preparation of Aconitia; Aqua Camphor®, U. S.; Atro- 
pia; Berberi® Sulphas, Br.; Cinchonia, U.S.; Extracta; Extracta Alcoholica, 
U.S.; Extracta Fluida, U. S.: Extracta Liquida, Br.; Fel Bovinum Purifica- 
tum, Br.; Ferri Sulphas Granulata, Br.; Hydrargyri Iodidum Yiride, Br.; Mor- part I. 
Alcohol.—Alcohol Amylicum. 
phia, U. S.; Quiniae Sulphas, U. S.; Resinse; Santoninum, Br.; Strychnia; 
Syrupus Aurantii Corticis, U. S.; Unguentum Aconitine, Br.; Unguentum Atro- 
piae, Br.; Yeratria. 3. Of Alcohol Dilutum, U. S., Spiritus Tenuior or Proof 
Spirit, Br. In the preparation of Extracta; Extracta Alcoholica, U.S.; Ex- 
tracta Eluida, U. S.; Santoninum, U. S.; Strychnia, U. S.; Syrupi; Unguentum 
Iodi Compositum, Br. 
Off. Prep. 1. Of Alcohol Fortius, TJ. S. Aether, U. S.; Collodium, TJ. Col- 
lodium cum Oantliaride, U.S.; Oleum AUthereura, U. S.; Spiritus AUtheris Ni- 
trosi, U. S.; Spiritus, U. S. 2. Of Alcohol, U. S., Spiritus Bectificatus, Br. 
Acidum Sulphuricum Aromaticum ; AEther, Br.; Chloroformum, Br.; Collodium, 
Br.; Infusum Gentianae Comp., TJ. S.; Linimentum Aconiti, Br.; Liniment. Bel- 
ladonna?, Br.; Liniment. Camphorae Comp., Br.; Liniment. Iodi, Br.; Liniment. 
Saponis; Liquor Atropiae, Br.; Liquor Morphiae Hydrochloratis, Br.; Liquor 
Plumbi Subacetatis Dilutus, Br.; Liquor Strychnias, Br.; Oleoresina Zinziberis, 
U. S.; Suecus Conii, Br.; SuccusScoparii,Br.; Succus Taraxaci,Br.; Spiritus; 
Syrupi, Br * Tincturae. 3. Of Alcohol Dilutum, U. S., Spiritus Tenuior or 
Proof Spirit, Br. Infusum Gentianae Compositum, Br.; Spiritus; Syrupus Rhei 
Aromaticus, TJ. S.; Syrupus Scillae, Br.; Tincturae; Yinum Rhei, U. S. B. 
ALCOHOL AMYLICUM. U.S. 
Amylic Alcohol. Fusel Oil. 
“A peculiar alcohol, obtained by distillation from fermented grain or potatoes 
by continuing the process after the ordinary spirit has ceased to come over. Its 
sp. gr. is 0-818.” U.S. Fousel Oil. Br. Appendix. 
Syn. Hydrated Oxide of Amyl. Grain Oil. Potato Spirit Oil. 
This was an officinal of the late Dublin Pharmacopoeia, which directed it to 
be prepared in the following manner. “ Take of the light liquid, which may be 
obtained at any large distillery by continuing the distillation for some time after 
the pure spirit has been drawn off, any convenient quantity. Introduce it into 
a small still or retort connected with' a condenser, and apply heat so as to cause 
distillation. As soon as the oil begins to come over unmixed with water, the 
receiver should be changed, and, the distillation being resumed and carried 
nearly to dryness, the desired product will be obtained. The liquid drawn over 
during the first part of the distillation will consist of an aqueous fluid, sur- 
mounted by a stratum of the Fusel Oil. This latter, though impregnated with 
a minute quantity of water, should be separated and preserved, as being suffi- 
ciently pure for use.” 
This oil is always present in the products of alcoholic fermentation. It is an 
ingredient in the ardent spirit obtained from various grains, but is most abundant 
in that procured from fermented potatoes. In grain spirit it is present in the 
proportion of about one part in five hundred by measure. When grain or potato 
whisky is distilled for the purpose of obtaining alcohol, the pure spirit will con- 
tinue to come over for a certain time, after which, if the distillation be continued, 
a milky liquid will be obtained, which, upon standing, will be covered with a 
stratum of this peculiar oil. Subjected to distillation, the milky liquid will at 
first boil at a comparatively low temperature, and yield water and a little of the 
oil; but after a time the boiling point will rise to 269°, when the oil will come 
over pure. By changing the receiver when the oil begins to distil free from water, 
the oil is collected separate from the watery part. In relation to fusel oil, see a 
paper by Edward N. Kent, in the N. Y. Journ. of Pharm. (i. 251); and one by 
Dr. Charles M. Wetherill, copied into the Am. Journ. of Pharm. for Sept. 1853. 
Properties. Amylic alcohol is an oily, colourless liquid, of a strong, offensive 
odour, and acrid, burning taste. As usually prepared it has a pale-yellow colour. Alcohol Amylicum.—Aletris. 
PART I 
Its sp gr. is 0 818; that of its vapoui’ 3-15. It boils at 269°, and congeals at 
4° below zero, in the form of crystalline leaves. It is very sparingly soluble in 
water, but unites in all proportions with alcohol and ether. It dissolves iodine, 
sulphur, and phosphorus, and forms a good solvent for fats, resins, and camphor. 
When dropped upon paper it does not leave a greasy stain. It does not take 
fire like alcohol by the contact of flame, but requires to be heated to a tempera- 
ture of about 130° before it begins to burn. According to M. Pasteur, there 
are two amylic alcohols, chemically the same, but optically distinct. Amylic 
alcohol consists of ten eqs. of carbon 60, twelve of hydrogen 12, and two of 
oxygen 16 = 88. It is generally considered to be a hydrated oxide of the com- 
pound radical amyl (C10HU); and on this view its formula will be C10HnO -f 
IIO. Heated with anhydrous phosphoric acid, it loses the elements of two eqs. 
of water, and forms a carbohydrogen, C10H10, homologous with ethylen, called 
amylen or valeren, which has been proposed as an anesthetic. (See Amylen in 
Part III.) When subjected to oxidizing agents, it loses two eqs. of hydrogen 
and gains two of oxygen, and becomes C10HgO3 -{- HO, or amylic arid, which is 
identical with valerianic acid, the acid found in valerian. This acid bears the 
same relation to amylic alcohol that acetic acid does to ethylic alcohol, and for- 
mic acid to methylic alcohol. Amyl has been isolated by Dr. E. Frankland. It 
is a colourless pellucid liquid, of the sp. gr. 0’7704. (Chem. Gaz., March 15, 
1850.) Its hydruret (hydride), C10HUH, has been discovered to be an energetic 
anaesthetic by Dr. Simpson, of Edinburgh. 
Crude fusel oil may be obtained from the alcohol distillers. Mr. Kent, of Hew 
York, found in it, as impurities, water, alcohol, acetic and amylic acids, oxide of 
iron, and an amyl compound, analogous to cenanthic ether. According to Messrs. 
T. and II. Smith, of Edinburgh, the crude oil is a mixture of propylic, butylic, 
and amylic alcohols, and of other alcohols much higher in the series. (Pharm. 
Journ. and Trans., June, 1857, p. 606.) 
Fusel oil was made officinal by the Dublin College, in its Pharmacopoeia of 
1850, as an artificial source of valerianic acid, to be used in forming valerianate 
of soda, from which, by double decomposition, three other valerianates, namely, 
those of iron, zinc, and quinia, were directed to be formed by the College. It 
was introduced into the U. S. Pharmacopoeia for a similar purpose. 
Amylic alcohol, as shown by experiments on inferior animals, is an active 
irritant poison. 
Off. Prep. Sodse Valerianas, U.S. B. 
ALETRIS. U.S. Secondary. 
Star Grass. 
The root of Aletris farinosa. U. S. 
Aletris. Sex. Syst. Hexandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Liliacem. 
Gen. Ch. Corolla tubular, six-cleft, wrinkled, persistent. Stamens inserted 
into the base of the segments. Style triangular, separable into three. Capsule 
opening at the top, three-celled, many-seeded. Bigelow. 
Aletris farinosa. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 183; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. iii. 92. 
This is an indigenous perennial plant, the leaves of which spring immediately 
from the root, and spread on the ground in the form of a star. Hence have 
originated the popular names of star grass, blazing star, and mealy starwort, 
by which it is known in different parts of the country. The leaves are sessile, 
lanceolate, entire, pointed, very smooth, longitudinally veined, and of unequal 
size, the largest being about four inches in length. From the midst of them a 
flower-stem rises, one or two feet in height, nearly naked, with remote scales, 
which sometimes become leaves. It terminates in a slender scattered spile, the PART I. 
Aletris.—Allium. 
79 
flowers of which stand on very short pedicels, and have minute bractes at the 
base. The calyx is wanting. The corolla is tubular, oblong, divided at the sum- 
mit into six spreading segments, of a white colour, and, when old, of a mealy or 
rugose appearance on the outside. The plant is found in almost all parts of the 
United States, growing in fields and about the borders of woods, and flowering 
in June and July. 
Properties. The root, which is the officinal portion, is small, crooked, branched, 
blackish externally, brown within, and intensely bitter. The bitterness is ex- 
tracted by alcohol, and the tincture becomes turbid upon the addition of water. 
The decoction is moderately bitter; but much less so than the tincture. It 
affords no precipitate with the salts of iron. (Bigelow.) 
Medical Properties. In small doses the root appears to be simply tonic, and 
may be employed advantageously for similar purposes with other bitters of the 
same class. When freely given, it is apt to occasion nausea. In very large doses, 
it is said to be cathartic and emetic, and to produce some narcotic effect. It has 
been employed, with asserted benefit, in colic, dropsy, and chronic rheumatism. 
The powder may be administered as a tonic in the dose of ten grains. W. 
ALLIUM. U.S. 
Garlic. 
The bulb of Allium sativum. U. S. 
Ail, Fr.; Knoblauch, Germ.; Aglio, Ital.; Ajo, Span. 
Allium. Sex. Syst. Hexandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Liliacete. 
Gen. Gh. Corolla six-parted, spreading. Spathe many-flowered. Umbel 
crowded. Capsule superior. Willd. 
This is a very extensive genus, including more than sixty species, most of 
wrhich are European. Of the nine or ten indigenous in this country, none are 
officinal. Dr. Griffith states that the bulb of A. Canadense has been substituted 
for the cultivated garlic, and found equally efficient. (Med. Bot., p. 653.) Of the 
European species several have been used from a very early period, both as food 
and medicine. A. sativum, or garlic, is the only one now officinal; and to this 
we shall here confine our observations, simply stating that there are few genera, 
of which the several species resemble one another more closely in sensible and 
medical properties than the present. For an account of A. Cepa, or onion, and 
A. Porrum, or leek, see Part III. of this work. 
Allium sativum. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 68; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 149, t. 256. 
This is a perennial plant, and, like all its congeners, bulbous. The bulbs are 
numerous, and enclosed in a common membranous covering, from the base of 
which the fibres that constitute the proper root descend. The stem is simple, 
and rises about two feet. The leaves are long, flat, and grass-like, and sheathe 
the lower half of the stem. At the termination of the stem is a cluster of flowers 
and bulbs mingled together, and enclosed in a pointed spathe, which opens on 
one side and withers. The flowers are small and white, aud make their appear- 
ance in July. This species of garlic grows wild in Sicily, Italy, and the south of 
France; and is cultivated in all civilized countries. 
The part employed, as well for culinary purposes as in medicine, is the bulb. 
The bulbs are dug up with a portion of the stem attached, and, having been 
dried in the sun, are tied together in bunches, and thus brought to market. 
They are said to lose, by drying, nine parts of their weight out of fifteen, with 
little diminution of their sensible properties. This species of Allium is commonly 
called English garlic, to distinguish it from those which grow wild in our fields 
and meadows. 
Properties. Garlic, as found in the shops, is somewhat spherical, flattened at 80 
Allium. 
PART I. 
the bottom, and drawn towards a point at the summit, where a portion of the 
stem several inches in length projects. It is covered with a white, dry, mem- 
branous envelope, consisting of several delicate laminae, within which the small 
bulbs are arranged around the stem, having each a distinct coat. These small 
bulbs, commonly called cloves of garlic, are usually five or six in number, of an 
oblong shape, somewhat curved, and in their interior are whitish, moist, and 
fleshy.* They have a disagreeable, pungent odour, so peculiar as to have re- 
ceived the name of alliaceous. Their taste is bitter and acrid. The peculiar 
smell and taste, though strongest in the bulb, are found to a greater or less ex- 
tent in all parts of the plant. They depend on an essential oil, which is very 
volatile, and may be obtained by distillation, passing over with the first portions 
of water. As first obtained, the oil is of a dark brownish-yellow colour, heavier 
than water, and decomposed at its boiling temperature. It may be purified by 
repeated distillation in a salt-water bath, and is then lighter than water, of a 
pale-yellow colour, and not decomposed by boiling. According to Wertheim, it 
consists of a peculiar organic radical, called allyl (C6H5), combined with one 
equivalent of sulphur. From one hundred weight of garlic Wertheim obtained 
from three to four ounces of the impure oil, and about two-thirds as much of the 
rectified. (Chem. Gaz., iii. III.) The impure oil has an exceedingly pungent 
odour, and strong acrid taste; and, when applied to the skin, produces much 
irritation, and sometimes even blisters. Besides this oil, fresh garlic, according 
to Cadet-Gassicourt, contains, in 1406 parts, 520 of mucilage, 31 of albumen, 
48 of fibrous matter, and 801 of water. Bouillon-Lagrange mentions, among its 
constituents, sulphur, a saccharine matter, and a small quantity of fecula. The 
fresh bulbs yield upon pressure nearly a fourth part of juice, which is highly 
viscid, and so tenacious as to require dilution with water before it can be easily 
filtered. When dried, it serves as a lute for porcelain. It has the medical pro- 
perties of the bulbs. Water, alcohol, and vinegar extract the virtues of garlic. 
Boiling, however, if continued for some time, renders it inert. 
Medical Properties and Uses. The use of garlic, as a medicine and condi- 
ment, ascends to the highest antiquity. When it is taken internally, the oil is 
speedily absorbed, and, pervading the system, becomes sensible in the breath 
and various secretions. Even externally applied, as to the soles of the feet, it 
imparts its odour to the breath, urine, and perspiration, and, according to some 
writers, may be tasted in the mouth. Its effects on the system are those of a 
general stimulant. It quickens the circulation, excites the nervous system, pro- 
motes expectoration in debility of the lungs, produces diaphoresis or diuresis 
according as the patient is kept warm or cool, and acts upon the stomach as a 
tonic and carminative. It is said also to be emmenagogue. Applied to the skin, 
it is irritant and rubefacient, and moreover exercises, in some degree, its pecu- 
liar influence upon the system, in consequence of absorption. Moderately em- 
ployed, it is beneficial in enfeebled digestion and flatulence; and by many it is 
habitually used as a condiment. It has been given with advantage in chronic 
catarrh, and other pectoral affections in which the symptoms of inflammation 
have been subdued, and a relaxed state of the vessels remains. We use it habitu- 
ally, and with great benefit, in such affections in children, as well as in the ner- 
vous and spasmodic coughs to which patients of this class are peculiarly liable. 
Some have recommended it in old atonic dropsies and calculous disorders; and 
* In a note, in the preceding edition of the Dispensatory, it was stated that a variety of 
garlic had been introduced into this market, having larger and fewer cloves or small bulbs 
than the officinal, and supposed to be the product of a hybrid between the common garlic 
and the leek. It was also said to be much inferior to the genuine drug. In the Proceed- 
ings of the American Pharmaceutical Association for 1860, is a paper by Prof. Robert P. 
Thomas, which satisfactorily shows that this is really, as supposed, the product of a hybrid, 
probably between A. sativum and A. Porrum.—Note to the twelfth edition. PART i. 
Allium.—Aloe. 
81 
it has been employed in the treatment of It is thought also to be 
an excellent anthelmintic, especially in cases of ascarides, in which it is given 
both by the mouth and the rectum. The juice is said sometimes to check ner- 
vous vomiting, in the dose of a few drops. If taken too largely, or in excited 
states of the system, garlic is apt to occasion gastric irritation, flatulence, he- 
morrhoids, headache, and fever. As a medicine, it is at present more used ex- 
ternally than inwardly. Bruised, and applied to the feet, it acts very beneficially, 
as a revulsive, in disorders of the head; and is especially useful in the febrile 
complaints of children, by quieting restlessness and producing sleep. Its juice 
mixed with oil, or the garlic itself bruised and steeped in spirits, is frequently 
nsed as a liniment in infantile convulsions, and other spasmodic or nervous affec- 
tions in children. The same application has been made in cutaneous eruptions. 
A clove of garlic, or a few drops of the juice, introduced into the ear, are said 
to prove efficacious in atonic deafness; and the bulb, bruised, and applied in 
the shape of a poultice above the pubes, has sometimes restored action to the 
bladder, in retention of urine from debility of that organ. In the same shape, it 
has been used to resolve indolent tumours. 
Garlic may be taken in the form of pill; or the clove maybe swallowed either 
whole, or cut into pieces of a convenient size. Its juice is also frequently ad- 
ministered mixed with sugar. The infusion in milk was at one time highly re- 
commended, and the syrup is officinal. The dose in substance is from half a 
drachm to a drachm, or even two drachms, of the fresh bulb. That of the juice 
is half a fluidrachm. 
Off. Prep. Syrupus Allii. W. 
ALOE. 
Aloes. 
ALOE BARBADENSIS. U. S., Br. Barbadoes Aloes. 
The inspissated juice of the leaves of Aloe vulgaris {Lamarck). U. S., Br. 
ALOE CAPENSIS. U. S. Gape Aloes. 
The inspissated juice of the leaves of Aloe spicata ( Thunberg), and of other 
species of Aloe. U. S. 
ALOE SOCOTRIIN’A. U. S., Br. Socotrine Aloes. 
The inspissated juice of the leaves of Aloe Socotrina {Lamarck). XJ. 8. One 
or more undetermined species of Aloe. The juice of the Leaf inspissated. Br. 
Sue d’alofcs, Ft.; Aloe, Germ., Ital.; Aloe, Span.; Musebber, Arab. 
Most of the species belonging to the genus Aloe are said to yield a bitter 
juice, which has all the properties of the officinal aloes. It is impossible, from 
the various and sometimes conflicting accounts of writers, to determine exactly 
from which of the species the drug is in all instances actually derived. Aloe 
spicata, however, is generally acknowledged to be an abundant source of it; and 
A. vulgaris and A. Socotrina are usually ranked among the medicinal species. 
In Lindley’s Flora Medica, A. purpurascens, A. arborescens, A. Commelyni, 
and A. multiformis, all natives of the Cape of Good Hope, are enumerated as 
yielding aloes; and others are, without doubt, occasionally resorted to. We 
shall confine ourselves to a description of the three following species, which 
probably yield most of the aloes of commerce. 
Aloe. Sex. Syst. Hexandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Liliaceae. 
Gen. Gh. Corolla erect, mouth spreading, bottom nectariferous. Filaments 
inserted into the receptacle. Willd. 
Aloe spicata. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 185. This species of Aloe was first described 
by Thunberg. The stem is round, three or four feet high, about four inches in 
diameter, and leafy at the summit. The leaves are spreading, subverticillate, 82 
Aloe. 
PART I. 
about two feet long, broad at the base, gradually narrowing to the point, chan- 
neled upon their upper surface, and with remote teeth upon their edges. The 
flowers are bell-shaped, and spread horizontally in very close spikes. Beneath 
each flower is a broad, ovate, acute bracte, white, with three green streaks, and 
nearly as long as the corolla. Of the six petals, the three inner are ovate, ob- 
tuse, white, with three green lines, and broader than the outer, which otherwise 
resemble them. The stamens are much longer than the corolla. The spiked aloe 
is a native of Southern Africa, growing near the Cape of Good Hope, and, like 
all the other species, preferring a sandy soil. In some districts of the colony 
it is found in great abundance, particularly at Zwellendam, near Mossel Bay, 
where it almost covers the surface of the country. Much of the Cape aloes is 
said to be derived from this species. 
A. Socotrina. Lamarck, Encycl. i. 85; De Cand. Plantes Grasses, fig. 85; 
Curtis’s Pol. Mag. pi. 472; Carson’s lllust. of Med. Bot. ii. 48, pi. 92. —A. vera'. 
Miller, Diet., ed. 8, No. 55. The stem of this species is erect, eighteen inches 
or more in height, woody, and leafless below, where it is very rough from the 
remains of former leaves. At top it is embraced by green, sword-shaped, as- 
cending leaves, somewhat concave on their upper surface, convex beneath, curved 
inward at the point, writh numerous small white serratures at their edges. The 
flowers, which are in a cylindrical, simple raceme, are scarlet near the base, pale 
in the centre, and greenish at the summit, and have unequal stamens, of which 
three are longer than the corolla. The plant received its name from the Island 
of Socotra, of which it is said to be a native; and is supposed to be the source 
of the Socotrine aloes. 
A. vulgaris. Lamarck, Encycl. i. 86; De Cand. Plantes Grasses, fig. 27; 
Carson’s lllust. of Med. Bot. ii. 4G, pi. 90. This species has a very short woody 
stem, and lanceolate embracing leaves, which are first spreading, then ascending, 
of a glaucous-green colour, somewhat mottled with darker spots, flat on the upper 
surface, convex beneath, and armed with hard reddish spines, distant from each 
other, and perpendicular to the margin. The flower-stem is axillary, of a glau- 
cous-reddish colour, and branched, with a cylindrical-ovate spike of yellow flowers, 
which are at first erect, then spreading, and finally pendulous, and do not exceed 
the stamens in length. A. vulgaris is a native of south-eastern Europe and the 
north of Africa, and is cultivated in Italy, Sicily, Malta, and especially in the 
West Indies, where it contributes largely to furnish the Barbadoes aloes. 
The proper aloetic juice was formerly thought to exist in longitudinal vessels 
beneath the epidermis of the leaves, and readily flows out when these are cut 
transversely; but, according to M. Edmond Robiquet, who has made elaborate 
researches in relation to this drug, these vessels are air-ducts, and the juice flows 
in the inter-cellular passages between them. The liquid obtained by expression 
from the parenchyma is mucilaginous, and possessed of little medicinal virtue. 
The quality of the drug depends much upon the mode of preparing it. The 
finest kind is that obtained by exudation, and subsequent inspissation in the sun. 
Most of the better sorts, however, are prepared by artificially heating the juice 
which has spontaneously exuded from the cut leaves. The chief disadvantage 
of this process is the conversion of a portion of the soluble active principle into 
an insoluble and comparatively inert substance, through the influence of an ele- 
vated temperature. The plan of bruising and expressing the leaves, and boiling 
down the resulting liquor, yields a much inferior product; as a large portion of 
it must be derived from the mucilaginous juice of the parenchyma. The worst 
plan of all is to boil the leaves themselves in water, and evaporate the decoction. 
The quality of the drug is also affected by the careless or fraudulent mixture of 
foreign matters with the juice, and the unskilful management of the inspissation. 
Commercial History and Varieties. Four chief varieties of aloes are known 
in commerce ; the Cape aloes, the Socotrine, the hepatic, and the Barbadoes, 
of which the first two are most used in this country. PART I. 
Aloe. 
83 
1. Cape Aloes is imported from the Cape of Good Hope, either directly, or 
through the medium of English commerce. It is collected by the Hottentots 
and Dutch boors indiscriminately from A. spicata and other species, which grow 
wild in great abundance. I)r. L. Pappe, of Cape Town, states that the best 
aloes is derived from Aloe ferox (Lam.) growing at Zwellendam, and a weaker 
product from A. Africana and A. plicatilis of Miller. (Flor. Gapens. 28.) The 
process is very simple. According to Hallbeck, a Moravian missionary who re- 
sided at the Cape, a hole is made in the ground, in which a sheep skin is spread 
with the smooth side upward. The leaves are then cut off near the stem, and 
arranged around the hole, so that the juice which runs out maybe received into 
the skin. The juice flows most freely in hot weather. (United Breth. Mission, 
Intelligencer, N. Y.t vi. 436.) When a sufficient quantity of the liquor has beep 
collected, it is inspissated by artificial heat in iron cauldrons, care being taken, 
by constant stirring, to prevent its burning. When sufficiently concentrated, it 
is poured into boxes or skins, where it concretes upon cooling. The finest kind 
is collected at the Missionary Institution at Bethelsdorp, and hence called Bethels- 
dorp aloes. Its superiority is owing exclusively to the greater care observed in 
conducting the evaporation, and in avoiding the intermixture of earth, stones, 
and other impurities. 
Cape aloes has sometimes been confounded with the Socotrine, from which, 
however,, it differs very considerably in appearance. By the German writers it 
is called shining aloes. When freshly broken, it has a very dark olive or greenish 
colour approaching to black, presents a smooth bright almost glassy surface, and 
if held up to the light, appears translucent at its edges. The small fragments 
also are semi-transparent, and have a tinge of yellow or red, mixed with the deep 
olive of the opaque mass. The same tinge is sometimes observable in the larger 
pieces. The powder is of a fine greenish-yellow colour, and, being generally 
more or less sprinkled over the surface of the pieces as they are kept in the shops, 
gives them a somewhat yellowish appearance. Its odour is strong and disa- 
greeable, but not nauseous, and in no degree aromatic. In mass, the drug has 
little or no smell. Cape aloes, when quite hard, is very brittle, and readily pow- 
dered; but, in very hot weather, it is apt to become somewhat soft and tenacious, 
and the interior of the pieces is occasionally more or less so even in winter. It 
is usually imported in casks or boxes. Dr. Pereira says that a variety is some- 
times imported into England from the Cape, of a reddish-brown colour like he- 
patic aloes. 
2. Socotrine Aloes. The genuine Socotrine aloes is produced in the Island 
of Socotra, which lies in the Straits of Babelmandel, about forty leagues to the 
east of Cape Guardafui; but we are told by Ainslie that the greater part of 
what is sold under that name is prepared in the kingdom of ‘Melinda, upon the 
eastern coast of Africa; and Wellsted states that the aloes of the neighbour- 
ing parts of Arabia is the same as that of Socotra. The commerce in this 
variety of aloes is carried on chiefly by the maritime Arabs, who convey it 
either to India, or up the Red Sea by the same channel through which it reached 
Europe before the discovery of the southern passage into the Indian Ocean. 
Mr. Vaughan states that nearly the whole product of the island is carried to 
Maculla, on the southern coast of Arabia, and thence transhipped to Bombay. 
(Pharrn. Journ. and Trans., xii. 268.) The species of Aloe which yields it is 
not certainly known, but is probably A. Socotrina. According to Wellsted, the 
plant grows on the sides and summits of mountains, from five hundred to three 
thousand feet above the level of the plains. It is found in all parts of the island, 
but most abundantly on the western portion, where the surface is thickly covered 
with it for miles. It appears to thrive best in parched and barren places. Much 
less of the drug is collected than formerly, and in the year 1833 only two tons were 
exported. The whole produce was formerly monopolized by the Arabian Sultan 84 
Aloe. 
PART I. 
of Kisseen; but at present the business of collecting the drug is entirely free to 
the inhabitants. The leaves are plucked at any period of the year, and are 
placed in skins into which the juice is allowed to exude. In what way the in- 
spissation is effected we are not informed by Wellsted; but, according to Her- 
mann, it is by exposure to the heat of the sun. The aloes is exported in skins. 
Its quality differs much according to the care taken in its preparation. (Well- 
sled’s Voyage, &c.) A portion ascends the Red Sea, and through Egypt reaches 
the Mediterranean ports, whence it is sent to London. Another portion is carried 
to Bombay, and thence transmitted to various parts of the world. That which 
reaches this country either comes by special order from London, or is brought 
by our India traders. We have known of two arrivals directly into the United 
States, said to be from Socotra, and have in our possession parcels of aloes 
brought by both. They are identical in character, and correspond with the fol- 
lowing description. 
Soeotrine aloes is in pieces of a yellowish or reddish-brown colour, wholly 
different from that of the former variety. Sometimes the colour is very light, 
especially in the fresh and not fully hardened parcels; sometimes it is a deep 
brownish-red like that of garnets. It is rendered much darker by exposure to 
the air; and the interior of the masses is consequently much lighter-coloured 
than the exterior. Its surface is somewhat glossy, and its fracture smooth and 
conchoidal, with sharp and semi-transparent edges. The colour of its powder is 
a bright golden yellow. It has a peculiar, not unpleasant odour, and a taste, 
which, though bitter and disagreeable, is accompanied with an aromatic flavour. 
Though hard and pulverulent in cold weather, it is somewhat tenacious in sum- 
mer, and softens by the heat of the hand. 
Under the name of Soeotrine aloes, are occasionally to be met with in the 
market small parcels beautifully semi-transparent, shining, and of a yellowish, 
reddish, or brownish-red colour. These, however, are very rare, and do not de- 
serve to be considered as a distinct variety. They are probably portions of the 
juice carefully inspissated in the sun, and may accompany the packages brought 
from any of the commercial sources of aloes. 
When in mass, as imported from the East, Soeotrine aloes is soft and plastic, 
and of a very light yellowish-brown colour in the interior. It becomes hard and 
brittle when broken into pieces; and the London dealers hasten the result by 
exposing it to a very gentle heat, so as to evaporate the moisture. 
I’ereira tells us that impure and dirty pieces of the drug are melted and 
strained, and that the skins from which the best portions have been removed are 
washed with water, which is then evaporated. 
Occasionally the juice has been imported into London in casks, not thoroughly 
inspissated. In this state it is of the consistence of molasses, of an orange or 
yellowish colour, and of a strong fragrant odour. It separates, upon standing, 
into a transparent liquid, and an opaque, lighter-coloured, granular portion 
which subsides. Pereira found the latter portion to consist of innumerable 
minute prismatic crystals, and believed it to be identical with or closely analo- 
gous to the aloin of the Messrs. Smith. When the juice is heated, the deposit 
dissolves, and the whole being evaporated yields a solid, transparent product, 
having the properties of fine Soeotrine aloes. (Pharm. Journ., xi. 439.) 
Much of the aloes sold as Soeotrine has never seen the Island of Socotra, nor 
even the Indian seas. It has been customary to affix this title, as a mark of 
superior value, to those parcels of the drug, from whatever source they may have 
been derived, which have been prepared with unusual care, and are supposed 
to be of the best quality. Thus, both in Spain and the West Indies, the juice 
which is obtained without expression, and inspissated in the sun without artifi 
cial heat, has been called Soeotrine aloes; and is probably little inferior to the 
genuine drug. PART I. 
Aloe. 
85 
Socotrine aloes has been very long known under this name, and in former 
times held the same superiority, in the estimation of the profession, which it 
still to a certain degree retains. 
3. Hepatic Aloes. Much confusion and uncertainty have prevailed in rela- 
tion to this kind of aloes. The name was originally applied to a product from 
the East Indies, of a reddish-brown or liver colour, which gave origin to the 
designation. From a supposed resemblance between this and the aloes from the 
West Indies, the name was very commonly applied also to the latter variety, 
and was even extended to portions of the drug collected in Spain and other 
parts of the South of Europe. But the West India aloes is decidedly different 
from any now brought from the East, and deserves the rank of a distinct variety, 
with the name of Barbadoes aloes. In this country, we seldom meet with aloes 
bearing the name of the hepatic, although much that is sold as Socotrine prob- 
ably deserves it. In the drug commerce of London, it is still recognised as a 
distinct variety. It is imported into Eugland chiefly from Bombay; but, accord- 
ing to Ainslie, is not produced in Hindostan, being taken thither from Yemen 
in Arabia. It is probably obtained from the same plant or plants which yield 
the Socotrine, but prepared with less care, or by a different process.* In rela- 
tion to the Socotrine and hepatic aloes, we should probably not be far wrong in 
considering the former as embracing the finest, and the latter the inferior parcels 
of the same variety; and it is in fact stated that they sometimes come together, 
a large mass of the hepatic being crossed by a vein of the Socotrine. 
Hepatic aloes is reddish-brown, but darker and less glossy than the Socotrine. 
Its odour is somewhat like that of the Socotrine, but less agreeable; its taste 
nauseous, and intensely bitter. The fracture is not so smooth, nor the edges so 
sharp and transparent as in either of the first-mentioned varieties. It softens in 
the hand, and becomes adhesive. The powder is of a dull-yellow colour. 
4. Barbadoes Aloes. This is the name by which the aloes produced in the 
West Indies is generally designated. The aloes plants are largely cultivated in 
the poorer soils of Jamaica and Barbadoes, especially of the latter island. The 
species from which most of the drug is procured is A. vulgaris; but A. Socotrina, 
A. purpurascens, and A. arborescens are also said to be cultivated. The pro- 
cess employed appears to be somewhat different in different places, or at least as 
described by different authors. A fine kind was formerly prepared by the spon- 
taneous inspissation of the juice, placed in bladders or shallow vessels, and ex- 
posed to the sun. The common Barbadoes aloes, however, is now made, either 
by boiling the juice to a proper consistence, or by first forming a decoction of the 
leaves, chopped and suspended in water in nets or baskets, and then evaporating 
the decoction. In either case, when the liquor has attained such a consistence 
that it will harden on cooling, it is poured into calabashes and allowed to con- 
crete. It is imported into England in gourds weighing from 60 to 70 pounds, or 
even more. In consequence of the great demand for it in veterinary practice, 
it commands a high price in Great Britain. 
The colour of Barbadoes aloes is not uniform. Sometimes it is dark-brown or 
almost black, sometimes of a reddish-brown or liver colour, and again of some 
intermediate shade. It has usually a dull fracture, and is almost perfectly opaque, 
even at the edges, and in thin layers. It is also distinguishable by its odour, 
which is disagreeable and even nauseous. The powder is of a dull olive-yellow. 
According to Mr. Giles, it yields 80 per cent, of aqueous extract, and is even 
more active than the Socotrine. (Pharm. Journ., Dec. 1860, p. 301.) 
* Dr. Pereira inferred, we think somewhat prematurely, from his observations on the 
juice of aloes before referred to, that the Socotrine is prepared by evaporation by artifi- 
cial heat, to which it owes its transparency; while the hepatic is opaque, because dried in 
the sun. If this were the case, Barbadoes aloes, which is wholly opaque, more so even 
than the hepatic, should have been dried in the sun, instead of being inspissated by heat, 
as it really is.—Note to the tenth edition. 86 
Aloe. 
PART I. 
Besides those varieties of aloes, others are mentioned by authors. -A very in- 
ferior kind, supposed to consist of the dregs of the juice which furnished tho 
better sorts, almost black, quite opaque, hard, of a rough fracture and very fetid 
odour, and full of various impurities, was formerly sold under the name of fetid, 
caballine, or horse aloes. It was used exclusively for horses; but, in consequence 
of the cheapness of better kinds, has been banished from veterinary practice, and 
is not now found in the market. Aloes has been imported from Muscat, and a 
considerable quantity came over in a vessel sent by the Sultan to the United 
States. Some of a similar origin has been called Mocha aloes in London; but 
it is nothing more than an inferior sort of hepatic. Several inferior kinds, pro- 
duced in different parts of Ilindostan, have been described by Pereira under the 
name of India aloes; but they are not brought, unless accidentally, into the mar- 
kets of Europe or this country. 
General Properties. The odour of aloes is different in the different varieties. 
The taste is in all of them intensely bitter and very tenacious. The colour and 
other sensible properties have been sufficiently described. Several distinguished 
chemists have investigated the nature and composition of aloes. Braconnot found 
it to consist of a bitter principle, soluble in water, and in alcohol of 38° B., which 
he considered peculiar, and named resino-amer (resinous bitter); and of another 
substance, in smaller proportion, inodorous and nearly tasteless, very soluble in 
alcohol, and scarcely soluble in boiling water, which he designated by the name 
of flea-coloured principle. These results were essentially confirmed by Tromms- 
dorff, Bouillon-Lagrange, and Yogel, who considered the former substance as 
extractive matter, and the latter as a kind of resin. Besides these principles, 
Trommsdorff discovered, in a variety of hepatic aloes, a proportion of insoluble 
matter which he considered as albumen ; and Bouillon-Lagrange and Yogel found 
that the Socotrine also yielded, by distillation, a small quantity of volatile oil, which 
they could not obtain from the hepatic. The proportions of the ingredients were 
found to vary greatly in the different varieties of the drug; and the probability 
is, that scarcely any two specimens would afford precisely the same results. Bra- 
connot found about *13 per cent, of the bitter, and 26 of the flea-coloured prin- 
ciple. Trommsdorff obtained from Socotrine aloes about 15 parts of extractive 
and 25 of resin; and from the hepatic, 81'25 of extractive, 6'25 of resin, and 
12'50 of albumen, in 100 parts. The former variety, according to Bouillon- 
Lagrange and Yogel, contains 68 per cent, of extractive and 32 of resin; the 
latter 52 of extractive, 42 of resin, and 6 of the albuminous matter of Tromms- 
dorff. We are not aware that any analysis has been published of the Cape aloes 
as a distinct variety. 
Berzelius considers the resin of Trommsdorff and others to belong to that form 
of matter which he calls apotheme (see Extracts), and which is nothing more 
than extractive, altered by the action of the air. It may be obtained separate 
by treating aloes with water, and digesting the undissolved portion with oxide 
of lead, which unites with the apotheme forming an insoluble compound, and 
leaves a portion of the unaltered extractive, which had adhered to it, dissolved 
in the water. The oxide of lead may be separated by nitric acid very much di- 
luted ; and the apotheme remains in the form of a brown powder, insoluble in 
cold water, very slightly soluble in boiling water, to which it imparts a yellowish- 
brown colour, soluble in alcohol, ether, and alkaline solutions, and burning like 
tinder without flame, and without being melted. According to the same author, 
the bitter extractive, which constitutes the remainder of the aloes, may be ob- 
tained by treating the watery infusion with oxide of lead, to separate a portion oi 
the apotheme which adheres to it, and evaporating the liquor. It is a yellowish, 
translucent, gum-like substance, fusible by a gentle heat, of a bitter taste, soluble 
in ordinary alcohol, but insoluble in anhydrous alcohol, and in ether. 
A subsequent analysis of aloes by M. Edmond Ilobiquet yielded the following PART i. 
Aloe, 
87 
results. A portion of hyaeinthine, transparent aloes, considered as genuine Soco- 
trine, was found to consist, in 100 parts, of 85 of aloetin, 2 of ulmate of potassa, 
2 of sulphate of lime, 0-25 of gallic acid, 8 of albumen, and traces of carbonato 
of potassa, carbonate of lime, and phosphate of lime. To get pure aloetin, M. 
Robiquet exhausted aloes in powder with cold water; concentrated the infusion ; 
added an excess of acetate of lead, which precipitated the gallate, ulmate, and 
albuminate of that metal; poured into the clear liquor solution of ammonia; 
separated the yellowish-orange coloured precipitate, consisting of oxide of lead 
combined with aloetin, washed it with boiling water, and then decomposed it by 
a current of sulphuretted hydrogen with the exclusion of atmospheric air. Sul- 
phuret of lead was deposited, and a colourless liquid floated above it, which, being 
decanted, and evaporated in vacuo, yielded aloetin in slightly yellowish scales. 
Thus procured, aloetin is uncrystallizable, very soluble in water and alcohol, but 
slightly soluble in ether, and quite insoluble in the fixed and volatile oils. It is 
entirely dissipated at a red heat. If exposed to the air during desiccation, it be- 
comes intensely red, in consequence of the absorption of a minute proportion of 
oxygen, which, however, scarcely affects its properties in other respects. It pos- 
sesses in a high degree the bitter taste and purgative property of aloes, and 
might be used as a substitute; 8 parts of it representing 10 of Socotrine and 50 
of Cape aloes. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., x. 173.) 
Aloin. The bitter substances noticed above, viz., the resino-amer of Braccn- 
not, the bitter extractive of Berzelius and others, and the aloetin of Robiquet, 
probably contain the active principle of aloes, but combined with impurities 
which render it insusceptible of crystallization. Messrs. T. and H. Smith, of 
Edinburgh, have succeeded in obtaining it quite pure and in crystals, and name 
it aloin. This has been examined by Mr. Stenhouse, and found, when quite free 
from water, to have a definite composition, represented by the formula C.uII18Ol4. 
There can be no doubt that it is the active principle of aloes; as it has been 
found to operate invariably as a cathartic in the dose of one or two grains, and 
occasionally in that of half a grain. 
It is obtained most readily from Barbadoes aloes. The process consists of 
mixing this, previously powdered, with sand, exhausting it with cold water, 
evaporating the infusion in vacuo to the consistence of syrup, and allowing the 
residue to rest in a cool place. In two or three days the concentrated liquid 
becomes filled with a brownish-yellow granular mass of minute crystals, which 
is impure aloin. This is separated, by pressure between folds of bibulous paper, 
from a greenish-brown matter that contaminates it, and then repeatedly crys- 
tallized from hot water, the temperature of which should not exceed 150°, as 
aloin is rapidly oxidized at the boiling point. By dissolving it in hot alcohol, 
and allowing the solution to cool, it is obtained in the shape of minute needle- 
shaped crystals, arranged in a star-like form. These are pale-yellow, at first 
sweetish to the taste, but soon intensely bitter; combustible without residue; 
slightly soluble in cold water or alcohol, but readily dissolved by these liquids 
when moderately heated; soluble also readily in alkaline solutions, which are 
rendered of an orange-yellow colour, and become rapidly darker, especially when 
heated, in consequence of the oxidation of the aloin, and its conversion into 
resin. By the action of strong Ditric acid it is converted into chrysammic acid. 
It is neither acid nor alkaline; but, with strong solution of subacetate of lead, 
is precipitated in combination with the oxide of that metal. (See Ed. Monthly 
Journ. of Med. Sci., xii. 127, Feb. 1851, and Pharm. Journ. and Trans., xi. 
458.) There can be no doubt that aloin exists also in Socotrine and Cape 
aloes; and the Messrs. Smith, though they at first failed in obtaining it from 
these varieties, have subsequently succeeded with the Socotrine.* 
* M Edmond R'/oiquet has recently again investigated the chemical constitution of 
aloes, and come to the conclusion that the aloin of the Messrs. Smith, for which he retains 88 
Aloe. 
PART I. 
Aloes yields its active matter to cold water, and when good is almost wholly 
dissolved by boiling water; but the inert portion, or apotheme of Berzelius, is 
deposited as the solution cools. It is also soluble in alcohol, rectified or diluted. 
Long boiling impairs its purgative properties by oxidizing the aloin, and ren- 
dering it insoluble. The alkalies, their carbonates, and soap alter in some 
measure its chemical nature, and render it of easier solution. It is inflammable, 
swelling up and decrepitating when it burns, and giving out a thick smoke which 
has the odour of the drug. 
Those substances only are incompatible with aloes which alter or precipitate 
the soluble matter; as the insoluble portion is without action upon the system. 
Among these is the infusion of galls, which we have found, probably through its 
tannic acid, to afford a copious precipitate with an aqueous solution of aloes. It 
is said that such a solution will keep a long time, even for several months, with- 
out exhibiting mouldiness or putrescency, though it becomes ropy. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Aloes was known to the ancients. It is men- 
tioned in the works of Dioscorides and Celsus, the former of whom speaks of two 
kinds. The varieties are similar in their mode of action. They are all cathartic, 
operating very slowly but certainly, and having a peculiar affinity for the large 
intestines. Their action, moreover, appears to be directed rather to the muscu- 
lar coat than to the exhalant vessels; and the discharges which they produce 
are, therefore, seldom very thin or watery. In a full dose they quicken the cir- 
culation, and produce general warmth. When frequently repeated, they are apt 
to irritate the rectum, giving rise, in some instances, to hemorrhoids, and ag- 
gravating them when already existing. Aloes has also a decided tendency to 
the uterine system. Its emmenagogue effect, which is often very considerable, is 
generally attributed to a sympathetic extension of irritation from the rectum to 
the uterus; but we can see no reason why the medicine should not act specifi- 
cally upon this organ; and its influence in promoting menstruation is by no 
means confined to cases in which its action upon the neighbouring intestine is 
most conspicuous. A peculiarity in the action of this cathartic is, that an in- 
crease of the quantity adnynistered, beyond the medium dose, is not attended 
by a corresponding increase of effect. Its tendency to irritate the rectum may 
his name of aloetin, exists originally in the juice of aloes, and is retained in its crystal- 
lizahle state, when the juice is allowed to concrete in the sun; that the juice thus con- 
creted is quite opaque, as in the case of Barbadoes aloes; that by exposure to a boiling 
temperature the aloin becomes amorphous, and gives to the concrete juice a vitreous or 
transparent character; and that consequently the Socotrine aloes, which, in this view of 
the subject, must have been obtained in the concrete state by boiling the juice, affords no 
crystallizable aloin. He also states that crystalline aloin or aloetin is wholly destitute of 
purgative properties, and acquires them only when, by the action of air and heat, it hag 
become amorphous or uncrystallizable. (See Journ. de Pliarm. et de Chim., Avril, 1856, p. 
241, and Am. Journ. ofPharm., xxviii. 543.) 
But these views are so contradictory to what is known of the mode of preparing com- 
mercial aloes, that they cannot be received unless amply confirmed by repeated experi- 
ment; and, indeed, have been refuted by the more recent experiments of Mr. T. B. Groves, 
who lias obtained aloin largely from Socotrine aloes. In the process of the Messrs. Smith, 
cold water was used in the extraction of the principle. But aloin is feebly soluble in cold 
water, while readily so in the same liquid heated. Mr. Groves availed himself of this tact- 
ile exhausted the aloes by means of boiling water, acidulated the decoction slightly with 
muriatic acid, separated the precipitated matter by filtration, evaporated the liquor to the 
consistence of syrup, and set it aside to crystallize. In a fortnight the liquid had become 
a mass of crystals, which were separated by draining and compression, and purified by 
repeated solution in boiling water, and crystallization. The pure aloin obtained amounted 
to 10 per cent, of the aloes used. (Pharm. Journ., xvi. 129.)—Note to the eleventh edition. 
A more recent view of the constitution of aloes, resulting from the experiments of M. 
Kosmann, an apothecary at Thann, in France, is that it belongs to the family of glucosides; 
consisting of two electronegative resins, having acid properties in different degrees, and 
a carbohydrogen, which is converted into glucose or grape sugar by the action either of 
acids, or strong alkalies. {Journ. de Pharm., Sept. 1861, p. 177.)—Note to the tweljih edition. PART I. 
Aloe.—Althaea. 
89 
be obviated, in some measure, by combining with it soap or an alkaline carbon- 
ate; but it does not follow, as supposed by some, that this modification of its 
operation is the result of increased solubility; for aloes given in a liquid state 
produces the same effect as when taken in pill or powder, except that it acts 
somewhat more speedily. Besides, when externally applied to a blistered surface, 
it operates exactly in the same manner as when internally administered, thus 
proving that its peculiarities are not dependent upon the particular form in 
which it may be given, but on specific tendencies to particular parts. (Gerhard, 
N. Am. Med. and Surg. Journ., x. 155.) With its other powers, aloes combines 
the property of slightly stimulating the stomach. It is, therefore, in minute 
doses, an excellent remedy in habitual costiveness attended with torpor of the 
digestive organs. It has been supposed to stimulate the hepatic secretion, and 
certainly acts sometimes very happily in jaundice, producing bilious stools even 
after calomel has failed. From its special direction to the rectum, it has been 
found peculiarly useful in the treatment of ascarides. In amenorrhoea it is per- 
haps more frequently employed than any other remedy, entering into almost all 
the numerous empirical preparations habitually resorted to by females in that 
complaint, and enjoying a no less favourable reputation in regular practice. It 
is frequently combined with more irritating cathartics, in order to regulate their 
liability to excessive action. In amenorrhoea, it is said to be peculiarly effica- 
cious, when given, in the form of enema, about the period when the menses 
should appear. Aloes is contraindicated by hemorrhoids, and is unsuitable, 
unless modified by combination, to the treatment of inflammatory diseases. 
The medium dose is 10 grains; but as a laxative it will often operate in the 
quantity of 2 or 3 grains; and, wheu a decided impression is required, the dose 
may be augmented to 20 grains. In consequence of its excessively bitter and 
somewhat nauseous taste, it is most conveniently administered in pills.* 
Off. Prep. Aloe Purificata, U. S.; Enema Aloes, Br.; Extractum Aloes Bar- 
badensis, Br.; Ext. Aloes Socotrinae, Br.; Ext. Colocynth. Comp., U. S.; Pilulae 
Aloes, U.S.; Pil. Aloes Barbadensis, Br.; Pil. Aloes et Assafoetidae; Pil. Aloes 
et Mastiches, U. S.; Pil. Aloes et Myrrhae; Pil. Aloes Socotrinae, Br.; Pil. Cam- 
bogiae Comp., Br.; Pil. Colocynth. Comp., Br.; Pil. Colocyuthidis et Hyoscyami, 
Br.; Pil. Rhei Comp.; Pulvis Aloes et Canellae, U. S.; Tinetura Aloes; Tinct. 
Aloes et Myrrhae, U. S.; Tinct. Benzoini Comp.; Vinum Aloes. W. 
ALTHiEA. U.jS. 
Marshmallow. 
The root of Althaea officinalis. U. S. 
Guimauve, Fr.; Eibisch, Germ.; Altea, Ital.; Altea, Malvavisco, Span. 
Althaea. Sex. Syst. Monadelphia Polyandria. — Nat. Ord. Malvaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx double, the exterior six or nine-cleft. Capsules numerous, 
one-seeded. Willd. 
Althaea officinalis. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 7*70; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 552, t. 
* Dr. Paris enumerates the following empirical preparations, containing aloes as a lead- 
ing ingredient:—Anderson’s pills, consisting of aloes, jalap, and oil of aniseed; Hooper’s 
pills, of aloes, myrrh, sulphate of iron, canella, and ivory-black; Dixon’s antibilious 
pills, of aloes, scammony, rhubarb, and tartarized antimony; Speediman’s pills, of aloes, 
myrrh, rhubarb, extract of chamomile, and essential oil of chamomile; Dinner pills, of 
aloes, mastich, red roses, and syrup of wormwood; Fotiiergill’s pills, of aloes, scam- 
mony, colocynth, and oxide of antimony; Peter’s pills, of aloes, jalap, scammony, gam- 
boge, and calomel; and Radcliff’s Elixir, of aloes, cinnamon, zedoary, rhubarb, cochi- 
neal, syrup of buckthorn, and spirit and water as the solvent; to which may be added Lee’s 
Windham pills, consisting of gamboge, aloes, soap, and nitrate of potassa; and Lee’s New 
London pills, of aloes, scammony, gamboge, calomel, jalap, soap, and syrup of buckthorn. 90 
Althaea. 
PAKT I. 
l&S Marshmallow is an herbaceous perennial, with a perpendicular branching 
root, and erect woolly stems, from two to four feet or more in height, branched 
and leafy towards the summit. The leaves are alternate, petiolate, nearly cord- 
ate on the lower part of the stem, oblong-ovate and obscurely three-lobed above, 
somewhat angular, irregularly serrate, pointed, and covered on both sides with 
a soft down. The flowers are terminal and axillary, with short peduncles, each 
bearing one, two, or three flowers. The corolla has five spreading, obcordate 
petals, of a pale-purplish colour. The fruit consists of numerous capsules united 
in a compact circular form, each containing a single seed. The plant grows 
throughout Europe, inhabiting salt marshes, the banks of rivers, and other moist 
places. It is found also in this country on the borders of salt marshes. In some 
parts of the Continent of Europe, it is largely cultivated for medical use. The 
whole plant abounds in mucilage. The flowers, leaves, and root are mucilagi- 
nous, and were formerly officinal; but the last only is employed to any consider- 
able extent in this country.* 
The roots should be collected in autumn from plants at least two years old. 
They are cylindrical, branched, as thick as the finger or thicker, from a foot to 
a foot and a half long, externally of a yellowish colour which becomes grayish 
by drying, within white and fleshy. They are usually prepared for the market by 
removing the epidermis. Our shops are supplied from Europe. 
Properties. Marshmallow root comes to us in pieces three or four inches or 
more in length, usually not so thick as the finger, generally round, but sometimes 
split, white externally and downy from the mode in which the epidermis is re- 
moved, light and easily broken with a short somewhat fibrous fracture, of a pecu- 
liar faint smell, and a mild, mucilaginous, sweetish taste. Those pieces are to be 
preferred which are plump and but slightly fibrous. The root contains a large 
proportion of mucilage, besides starch and saccharine matter, which it yields 
readily to boiling water. The mucilage, without the starch, is extracted by cold 
water, which thus becomes ropy. A principle was discovered in the root by M. 
Bacon, which he supposed to be peculiar to the marshmallow, but which has 
been ascertained to be identical with the asparagin of Robiquet. MM. Boutron- 
Charlard and Pelouze found it to belong to that class of organic principles, which 
are convertible by strong acids, and other agencies, into ammonia and peculiar 
acids, and which are designated by the termination amide. Thus asparagin, which 
in this view should be called asparamide, is converted into ammonia and aspar- 
mic, or, as it was formerly named, aspartic acid; and one eq. of the resulting 
asparmate of ammonia corresponds with one eq. of asparamide and one of water. 
(Journ. de Pharm., xix. 208.) Asparagin, being now considered as a derivative 
from malate of ammonia, has received the name of nialamide, and asparmic acid 
is called, by a corresponding change, malamidic acid. (Gregory's Chemistry.) 
It is found in various other plants besides the marshmallow, as in the shoots of 
asparagus, in vetches grown in the dark, in all the varieties of the potato, and 
in the roots of the comfrey and liquorice plant. According to Professor Piria, 
asparagin has acid properties. It has no therapeutical value. Marshmallow is 
said to become somewhat acid by decoction. Those pieces should be rejected which 
are woody, discoloured, mouldy, of a sour or musty smell, or a sourish taste. 
The roots of other Malvaceae are sometimes substituted for that of marshmal- 
low, without disadvantage, as they possess similar properties. Such are those of 
Althaea rosea or hollyhock, and Malva Alcea. 
Medical Properties and Uses. The virtues of marshmallow are exclusively 
* The dark-purple flowers of one of the varieties of Althaea rosea have been proposed 
ay Prof. Aiken, of the Univ. of Md., as a test for acids and alkalies. Slips of white filter- 
ing paper, immersed in a strong infusion of these flowers, acquire a permanent purplish- 
blue colour, which is reddened by acids, and rendered bluish-green by alkalies.—Note to 
the twelfth edition. PART I. 
Althsea.—Alumen. 
those of a demulcent. The decoction of the root is much used in Europe in irri- 
tation and inflammation of the mucous membranes. The roots themselves, boiled 
and bruised, are sometimes employed as a poultice. The leaves and flowers are 
applied to similar uses. In France, the powdered root is much used in the pre- 
paration of pills and electuaries. Some prefer it to powdered liquorice root in 
the preparation of the mercurial pill. 
Off. Prep. Pilulae Ferri Iodidi, U. S. W. 
ALUMEN. U.S., Br. 
Alum. 
Sulphate of alumina and potassa. U. S. Sulphate of alumina and potash, 
Ala03,3S08+K0,S03+24H0. Br. 
Alan, Fr., Dan., Swed.; Alaun, Germ..; Allume, Ital.; Alumbre, Span. 
The officinal alum is a double salt, consisting of tersulphate of alumina, united 
with sulphate of potassa. 
Alum is manufactured occasionally from earths which contain it ready formed, 
but most generally from minerals which, from the fact of their containing most 
or all of its constituents, are called alum ores. The principal alum ores are 
the alum stone, which is a native mixture of sulphate of alumina and sulphate 
of potassa, found in large quantities at Tolfa and Piombino in Italy; and cer- 
tain natural mixtures of bisulphuret of iron with alumina, silica, and bitumi- 
nous matter, called aluminous schist or alum-slate. 
At the Solfaterra, and other places in the kingdom of Naples, alum was for- 
merly extracted from earths which contain it ready formed. The ground being 
of volcanic origin, and having a temperature of about 104°, an efflorescence of 
pure alum is formed upon its surface. This was collected and lixiviated, and 
the solution made to crystallize by slow evaporation in leaden vessels sunk in 
the ground. 
The alum stone is manufactured into alum by calcination, and subsequent ex- 
posure to the air for three months; the mineral being frequently sprinkled with 
water, in order that it may be brought to the state of a soft mass. This is lixi- 
viated, and the solution obtained crystallized by evaporation. The alum stone 
may be considered as consisting of alum, united with a certain quantity of hydrate 
of alumina. The latter, by the calcination, loses its water, and becomes incapable 
of remaining united with the alum of the mineral, which is consequently set 
free. Alum of the greatest purity is obtained from this ore. 
Alum-slate, when compact, is first exposed to the air for a month. It is then 
stratified with wood, which is set on fire. The combustion which ensues is slow 
and protracted. The sulphur is in part converted into sulphuric acid, which 
unites with the alumina; and the sulphate of alumina thus formed generates a 
portion of alum with the potassa derived from the ashes of the wood. The iron, 
in the mean time, is almost wholly converted into sesquioxide, and thus becomes 
insoluble. The matter is lixiviated, and the solution crystallized into alum by 
evaporation. The mother-waters, containing sulphate of alumina, are then drawn 
eff, and made to yield a further portion of alum by the addition of sulphate of 
potassa or chloride of potassium; the latter being obtained usually from the 
soap boilers. 
When the alum-slate is easily disintegrated, it is not subjected to combustion, 
but merely placed in heaps, and occasionally sprinkled with water. The bisul- 
phuret of iron gradually absorbs oxygen, and passes into sulphate of the pro- 
toxide, which effloresces on the surface of the heap. Part of the sulphuric acid 
formed unites with the alumina; so that, after the chemical changes are com- 
pleted, the heap contains both the sulphate of iron and the sulphate of alumina. 92 
Alumen. 
PART I. 
At the end of about a year, the matter is lixiviated, and the solution of the two 
sulphates obtained is concentrated to the proper degree in leaden boilers. The 
sulphate of iron crystallizes, while the sulphate of alumina, being a deliquescent 
salt, remains in the mother-waters. These are drawn off, and treated with sul- 
phate of potassa in powder, heat being at the same time applied. The whole is 
then allowed to cool, that the alum may crystallize. The crystals are then sepa- 
rated from the solution, and purified by a second solution and crystallization. 
They are next treated with water, just sufficient to dissolve them at the boiling 
temperature; and the saturated solution is run into casks or tubs, so constructed 
as to be easily taken to pieces, and set up again. In the course of ten or fifteen 
days, the alum concretes into a crystalline mass, from which the mother-liquor 
is let off. The vessel is then taken to pieces, and the salt, having been broken 
up, is packed in barrels for sale. This process for forming the alum in large 
masses is called rocking. 
Alum is now largely manufactured by the direct combination of its consti- 
tuents. With this view, clays are selected as free from iron and carbonate of 
lime as possible, and calcined to sesquioxidize the iron, and render them more 
easily pulverizable; after which they are dissolved, by the assistance of heat, in 
weak sulphuric acid. Advantage has been found from mixing the clay, pre- 
viously to calcination, with powdered charcoal, coke, or other carbonaceous mat- 
ter, in the proportion of about one to six of the clay, and then applying heat 
by a reverberatory furnace till all the carbon is consumed. It is asserted that 
the alumina is thus rendered more soluble in the acid. (Pharm. Journ. and 
Trans., Dec. 1851, p. 328.) The sulphate of alumina, thus generated, is next 
crystallized into alum by the addition of sulphate of potassa in the usual manner. 
Alum is made in this way from the ashes of the Boghead cannel-coal, which 
occurs near Edinburgh. These ashes, which form the residue of the combustion 
of the coke derived from the coal used for making gas, contain a considerable 
quantity of alumina in a state readily soluble in acids. 
Alumina et Ammonite Sulphas. TJ. S. Sulphate of Alumina and Ammo- 
nia. Ammonia-alum. Besides the potassa-alum, which was formerly the only 
officinal variety of this salt, there are several others, in which the potassa is re- 
placed by some other base, as, for example, ammonia or soda. Of these, ammo- 
nia-alum, or the sulphate of alumina and ammonia, was introduced into the TJ. S. 
Pharmacopoeia at its late revision, under the name at the head of this paragraph. 
It is made by adding sulphate of ammonia to the solution of sulphate of alumina. 
This kind of alum has come into very general use, owing to the rise in value of 
potassa, and to the comparative cheapness of ammonia, obtained in the process 
for ferrocyanide of potassium, or derived from the liquor of gas-works. Am- 
monia-alum is extensively manufactured by Powers & Weightman of this city. 
Scotch alum, made near Paisley, generally contains both potassa and ammonia. 
Ammonia-alum resembles potassa-alum so exactly that it cannot be distinguished 
by simple inspection; and in composition it is perfectly analogous to the potassa- 
salt. It may, however, be distinguished by subjecting it to a strong calcining 
heat, after which alumina will be the sole residue; or by rubbing it with potassa 
or lime and a little water, when the smell of ammonia will be perceived. 
Properties. Alum is a white, slightly efflorescent salt, crystallizing in regular 
octohedrons, and possessing an acid, sweetish, astringent taste. It dissolves in 
between fourteen and fifteen times its weight of cold, and three-fourths of its 
weight of boiling water. Its solution is precipitated by ammonia and potassa 
and their carbonates, which throw down a gelatinous subsulphate of alumina, of 
variable composition, dependent upon the proportion of the precipitant em- 
ployed. Alum is insoluble in alcohol and brandy. Its sp. gr. is 1*71. It reddens 
litmus, but changes the blue tinctures of the petals of plants to green. When 
heated a little above 212°, it undergoes the aqueous fusion; and, if the heat be PART i. 
Alumen. 
93 
continued, it loses its water, swells up, becomes a white, opaque, porous mass, 
and is converted into the officinal dried alum. (See Alumen Exsiccatum.) Ex- 
posed to a red heat, it gives off oxygen, together with sulphurous and anhydrous 
sulphuric acids; and the residue consists of alumina and sulphate of potassa. 
When calcined with finely divided charcoal, it forms a spontaneously inflamma- 
ble substance, called Homberg's pyrophorus, which consists of a mixture ot 
sulphuret of potassium, alumina, and charcoal. 
The characters of the salt, as stated in the British Pharmacopoeia, are that its 
solution gives with solution of potassa a white precipitate, soluble in an excess 
of the reagent, an immediate precipitate with chloride of barium, and a crystal- 
line precipitate very slowly with tartaric acid. 
Several varieties of alum are known in commerce. Roche alum, so called 
from its having come originally from Rocca, in Syria, is a sort which occurs 
in fragments about the size of an almond, and of a pale-rose colour, which is 
given to- it, according to Pereira, by bole or rose-pink. Roman alum, which is 
the purest variety found in commerce, also occurs in small fragments, covered 
with a reddish-brown powder, resembling ochre, which is put on by the manu- 
facturers. It has been supposed that the powder contains iron ; but this is prob- 
ably a mistake. Roman alum crystallizes in cubes, from the fact that the crystals 
are deposited from a solution always containing an excess of alumina, which 
decomposes any iron salt that may be present. This crystalline form of alum is, 
therefore, an index of its freedom from iron. 
All the alums of commerce contain more or less sulphate of iron, varying 
from five to seven parts in the thousand. The iron is readily detected by adding 
to a solution of the suspected alum a few drops of the ferrocyanuret of potas- 
sium, which will cause a greenish-blue tint, if iron be present. It may be de- 
tected also by precipitating the alumina as a subsulphate with a solution of 
potassa, and afterwards adding the alkali m excess. This will redissolve the 
precipitate, with the exception of any iron, which will be left in the state of ses- 
quioxide. The proportion of iron usually present, though small, is an injurious 
impurity when the salt is used in dyeing. It may, however, be purified, either 
by dissolving it in the smallest quantity of boiling water, and stirring the solu- 
tion as it cools, or by repeated solutions and crystallizations. The British Phar- 
macopoeia requires that it should be entirely free from iron. 
Incompatibles. Alum is incompatible with the alkalies and their carbonates, 
lime and lime-water, magnesia and its carbonate, tartrate of potassa, and acetate 
of lead. 
Composition. Alum was regarded as a sulphate of alumina, until it was proved 
by Descroizilles, Yauquelin, and Chaptal to contain also sulphate of potassa, 
sulphate of ammonia, or both these salts. When its second base is potassa, it 
consists of one equivalent of tersulphate of alumina 171*4, one of sulphate of 
potassa 87*2, and twenty-four of water 216 = 474*6. In the ammonia-alum, 
the equivalent of sulphate of potassa is replaced by one of sulphate of oxide of 
ammonium, that is, sulphate of ammonia and water. Alumina is classed as an 
earth, and may be obtained by subjecting ammonia-alum to a strong calcining 
heat. It consists of twro eqs. of a metal called aluminium 27*4, and three of 
oxygen 24 = 51-4. It is, therefore, a sesquioxide. The existence of this metal 
was rendered probable by Sir H. Davy in 1808; but it was not fairly obtained 
until 1828, when Wohler procured it in an impure state, in globules of the size 
of a pin’s head, by the action of potassium on chloride of aluminium. In 1854 
Deville succeeded in obtaining the pure metal in ingots by decomposing the same 
chloride with sodium. Aluminium is silver-white, sonorous, unalterable in the 
air, and lighter than glass, having the sp. gr. 2*56 only. Its fusing point is some- 
what lower than that of silver. It is not attacked by sulphuric or nitric acid, 
nor tarnished by sulphuretted hydrogen. Its proper solvent is muriatic acid 94 
Alumen. 
PART I. 
After silver, gold, and platinum, it is the least alterable of the metals. According 
to Mr. A. Monier, of Camden, N. J., who first obtained the metal in this country, 
it is not in the least oxidized by fusion- with nitre, a property which affords a 
ready means of purifying it from other metals. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., March, 
1857.) By reason of its valuable properties, it will be applied to many purposes 
in the arts, if obtainable in sufficient quantities, and at a moderate cost. 
Medical Properties, &c. Alum, in ordinary doses, is astringent and anti- 
spasmodic ; in large doses, purgative and emetic. It is employed as an astring- 
ent in passive hemorrhages, colliquative sweats, diabetes, and chronic dysentery 
and diarrhoea; also in gleet and leucorrhcea, in which diseases it is sometimes 
combined with cubebs. In connection with ice, it has been found effectual by 
Dr. de Ilicci in a very bad case of haematemesis. (Dub. Quart. Journ. of Ated. 
Sci., Aug. 1860.) It has been recommended in dilatation of the heart, and in 
aortic aneurism, and as an antispasmodie in hooping-cough. As a purgative, it 
has been employed in colica pictonum. This practice was introduced by Gra- 
shuis, a Dutch physician, in 1752, was imitated by Dr. Percival with great success, 
and has been revived in recent times with the happiest results. It allays nausea 
and vomiting, relieves flatulence, mitigates the pain, and opens the bowels with 
more certainty than any other medicine. Sometimes it is advantageously con- 
joined with opium and camphor. It is also efficacious in nervous colic. Sir 
James Murray found it a useful remedy in the peculiar affection of the stomach, 
characterized by the frequent vomiting of a large quantity of glairy fluid. He 
gave it in doses of ten or twelve grains three or four times a day, mixed with 
an equal quantity of cream of tartar to prevent constipation, and a little ginger 
to obviate .flatulence. By Dr. C. D. Meigs alum has been strongly recommended, 
after an experience of more than twenty years, as an excellent emetic in pseudo- 
membranous croup. In these cases, it has the merit of acting with promptness 
and certainty, and without producing that extreme prostration which often follows 
the use of antimonials. Ilis son, Dr. J. F. Meigs, has also borne testimony to 
its value in this disease. In a case in which an ounce of opium had been swal- 
lowed, Dr. C. D. Meigs found alum an efficient emetic. After 30 grains of sul- 
phate of zinc had been given without effect, half an ounce of alum was adminis- 
tered, followed by copious vomiting. Soon afterward, a second half ounce was 
given, with the same effect; and the result was that the patient recovered. 
In various anginose affections, alum is found highly useful, applied topically 
either in powder or solution. When the affection is attended with membranous 
exudation, its efficacy has been particularly insisted on by Bretonneau, applied 
in solution prepared with vinegar and honey for adults, and in powder, by in- 
sufflation, in the cases of children. When used in the latter way, a drachm of 
finely powdered alum may be placed in one end of a tube, and then blown by 
means of the breath into the throat of the child. Yelpeau, in 1835, extended 
the observations of Bretonneau, and has used alum successfully, not only in 
simple inflammatory sorethroat, but in those forms of angina dependent on small- 
pox, scarlatina, &c. In these cases the powdered alum may be applied several 
times a day to the fauces, by means of the index finger. In relaxation of the 
uvnla, and in the beginning of sorethroat, a solution of alum is one of our best 
gargles. It forms also a useful astringent wash in mercurial sore-mouth. In 
the form of lozenge, made with sugar and tragacanth, and allowed slowly to dis- 
solve in the mouth, it is peculiarly applicable to chronic throat affections. In 
gleet and leucorrhcea the solution is an approved remedy, either alone or con- 
joined with sulphate of zinc. It is frequently applied as a styptic, in epistaxis, 
by means of a plug soaked in a saturated solution, and pressed up the nostril, 
and in menorrhagia, by the aid of a sponge soaked in a similar solution, and in- 
troduced into the vagina. It may be applied also by injection, both in these 
hemorrhages and in that from the rectum. In the latter stages of conjunctival PART I. 
Alumen.—Ammonia. 
95 
inflammation it is often useful, and in the purulent ophthalmia of infants is our 
most efficacious remedy. In these cases, it is usually applied in the form of cata- 
plasm, made by coagulating the whites of two eggs with a drachm of alum. 
The ordinary dose of alum is from ten to twenty grains, repeated every two 
or three hours, mixed with syrup or molasses. Sir James Murray objects to its 
administration in solution, and greatly prefers the form of an impalpable powder, 
mixed with molasses, as furnishing the means of presenting the remedy slowly to 
the surfaces intended to be acted upon. In hooping-cough the dose is from two 
to ten grains, according to the age of the child, repeated three times a day; in 
colica pictonum, from half a drachm to two drachms every three or four hours. 
In croup the dose, as an emetic, is a teaspoonful of the powder, mixed with 
honey, syrup, or molasses, and repeated every ten or fifteen minutes, until free 
vomiting is induced. An elegant mode of giving alum in solution is in the form 
of alum-whey, made by boiling two drachms of alum with a pint of milk, and 
then straining to separate the curd. The dose is a wineglassful, containing about 
fifteen grains of alum. As a collyrium, the solution is made of various strengths; 
as four, six, or eight grains to the fluidounce of water. A solution, containing 
from half an ounce to an ounce in a pint of water, and sweetened with honey, is 
a convenient gargle. Solutions for gleet, leucorrlioea, ulcers, &c., must vary in 
strength according to the state of the parts to which they are applied. 
Alum is sometimes used to adulterate bread, with the view to increase its 
whiteness, and to conceal the defects of the flour. 
Off. Prep, of Alum. Alumen Exsiccatum. 
Off. Prep, of Ammonia-alum. Aluminoe Sulphas, U. S. B. 
AMMONIA. 
All the amtnoniacal compounds owe their distinctive properties to the pre- 
sence of a peculiar gaseous substance, composed of nitrogen and hydrogen, called 
ammonia. This is most easily obtained by the action of lime on muriate of am- 
monia or sal ammoniac; when the lime unites with the muriatic acid, so as to 
form chloride of calcium and water, and expels the ammonia. It is transparent 
and colourless, like common air, but possesses an acrid taste, and exceedingly 
pungent smell. It has a powerful alkaline reaction, and, from this property and 
its gaseous nature, was called the volatile alkali by the earlier chemists. Its sp. 
gr. is 0'59. It is irrespirable, the glottis closing spasmodically when the attempt 
is made to breathe it. It consists of one eq. of nitrogen 14, and three of hydro- 
gen 3 = 17; or, in volumes, of one volume of nitrogen and three volumes of 
hydrogen, condensed into two. Its symbol is NH3. 
The salts of ammonia may be divided into hydracid salts and oxacid salts. 
Thus, when muriatic acid unites with ammonia, we have the hydracid salt called 
muriate of ammonia, with the symbol NH3,HC1. But Berzelius supposed that, 
in the act of uniting, the hydrogen of the muriatic acid is transferred to the ele- 
ments of the ammonia, and that the compound thus formed, uniting with the 
chlorine, gives rise to a salt, represented by NH4C1. To this hypothetical com- 
pound (NII4) Berzelius gave the name of ammonium, and consequently to 
muriate of ammonia the appellation of chloride of ammonium. . 
Applying the same view to the oxacid salts of ammonia, Berzelius conceived 
that they are compounds of oxide of ammonium (NH40) with their several 
acids. It is found that the true oxacid salts of ammonia always contain one eq. 
of water, which cannot be separated from them without destroying their identity; 
and it is supposed that the elements of this eq. of water, united with the elements 
of one eq. of ammonia, form oxide of ammonium. To apply Berzelius’s view to 
Ammonia. 96 
Ammonia. 
PART I. 
sulphate of ammonia, this salt is usually considered a monohydrated sulphate of 
ammonia (NH3,S03-f HO); but he made it the sulphate of oxide of ammonium 
without water (NH40,S03). 
The atmosphere contains a minute proportion of ammonia, probably in the 
state of carbonate. 
Ozonized oxygen oxidizes the elements of ammonia, producing water and 
nitric acid, which latter, by uniting with undecomposed ammonia, generates 
nitrate of ammonia. Ordinary oxygen, under the influence of platinum-black, or 
finely divided copper, likewise oxidizes the elements of ammonia, the nitrogen to 
the extent only of forming nitrous acid, with the result of producing nitrite of 
ammonia. (Schonbein, Chem. Gaz., March 16, 1857.) 
Medical Properties. The compounds of ammonia are stimulant, antispasmo- 
dic, antacid, and alexipharmic. According to Dr. Ogier Ward, they possess the 
property of dissolving the protein principles of the blood ; and, while their pri- 
mary action is stimulant, their remote operation is sedative, resolvent, and at- 
tenuant, implying the power of carrying the products of inflammation out of the 
system. Dr. Ward appears to be much influenced in his views by the alleged dis- 
covery, by Dr. Richardson, that the blood contains ammonia as a normal consti- 
tuent, and owes its fluidity to its presence. (See Am. Journ. of the Med. Sci. for 
April, 1857, from the London Lancet.) 
The following table contains a list of the principal officinal preparations of 
ammonia, with their synonymes. 
I. In Aqueous Solution. 
Aqua Ammoniae Fortior, U. S.; Ammoniae Liquor Fortior, Br.— 
Stronger Water of Ammonia. Stronger Solution of Ammonia. 
Linimentum Camphorae Compositum, Br. 
Aqua Ammoniae, U. S.; Liquor Ammoniae, Br.— Water of Ammonia. 
Solution of Ammonia. 
Hydrargyrum Ammoniatum, U. S., Br.—Ammoniated Mercury. 
White Precipitate. 
Linimentum Ammoniae, U. S., Br. —Liniment of Ammonia. Volatile,, 
Liniment. 
Linimentum Hydrargyri, Br. —Liniment of Mercury. 
II. In Spirituous Solution. 
Spiritus Ammoniae, XJ. S. — Spirit of Ammonia. 
Spiritus Ammoniae Aromaticus, U. S., Br.—Aromatic Spirit of Am- 
monia. 
Tinctura Guaiaci Ammoniata, XJ. S., Br.—Ammoniated Tincture of 
Guaiac. 
Tinctura Valerianae Ammoniata, U. S., Br. — Ammoniated Tincture 
of Valerian. 
III. In Saline Combination. 
Aluminae et Ammoniae Sulphas, TJ. S. — Sulphate of Alumina and Am- 
monia. 
Ammoniae Benzoas, Br.—Benzoate of Ammonia. 
Ammoniae Carbonas, U. S., Br. — Carbonate of Ammonia. Mild Vola- 
tile Alkali. 
Cuprum Ammoniatum, TJ. S.—Ammoniated Copper. 
• Liquor Ammoniae Acetatis, TJ.S.,Br. — Solution of Acetate of Am- 
monia. Spirit of Mindererus. 
Ammoniae Murias, TJ. S.; Ammoniae Hydrochloras, Br. — Muriate of 
Ammonia. Hydrochlorate of Ammonia. Sal Ammoniac. 
Ammoniae Phosphas, Br. — Phosphate of Ammonia. 
Ammoniae Sulphas, TJ. S. — Sulphate of Ammonia. 
Ammoniae Valerianas, TJ. S. — Valerianate of Ammonia. part I. 
Aqua Ammonise Fortior. 
97 
Ferri et Ammonice Citras, U. S., Br. — Citrate of Iron and Ammonia. 
Ferri et Ammonice Sulphas, U. S. — Sulphate of Iron and Ammonia. 
Ferri et Ammonice Tartras, U. S.— Tartrate of Iron and Ammonia. 
Hydrargyrum Ammoniatum, U. S., Br.—Ammoniated Mercury. B. 
AQUA AMMONLE FORTIOR. U.S. 
Stronger Water of Ammonia. 
An aqueous solution of ammonia of the specific gravity 0-900, and containing 
26 per cent, of the gas. U. S. 
Off. Syn. LIQUOR AMMONIiE PORTIOR. Strong Solution of Ammo- 
nia. Ammoniacal gas, NH3, dissolved in water, and constituting 32-5 per cent, 
of the solution. Br. 
This preparation is too strong for internal exhibition, but forms a convenient 
ammoniacal solution for reduction, with distilled water, to the strength of or- 
dinary officinal water of ammonia (Aqua Ammonias), or for preparing strong 
rubefacient and vesicating lotions and liniments. 
The U. S. Pharmacopoeia includes this solution in the list of the Materia 
Medica; but in the British, the following formula is given for its preparation. 
“ Take of Hydrochlorate of Ammonia, in coarse powder, three pounds [avoir- 
dupois] ; Slaked Lime four pounds [avoird.]; Distilled Water thirty-two 
ffuidounces. Mix the Lime with the Hydrochlorate, and introduce the mixture 
into an iron bottle, placed in a metal pot surrounded by sand. Connect the iron 
tube, which screws air-tight into the bottle, in the usual manner, by corks, glass 
tubes, and caoutchouc collars, with a Woulf’s bottle capable of holding a pint 
[Imperial measure] ; connect this with a second Woulf’s bottle of the same size, 
the second bottle with a matrass of the capacity of three pints [Imp. meas.], in 
which twenty-two [fluid]ounces of the Distilled Water are placed, and the 
matrass, by means of a tube bent twice at right angles, with an ordinary bottle 
containing the remaining ten [fluid]ounces of Distilled Water. Bottles 1 and 2 
are empty, and the latter and the matrass which contains the twenty-two ounces 
of distilled water are furnished each with a siphon-safety tube, charged with a 
very short column of mercury. The heat of a fire, which should be very gradu- 
ally raised, is now to be applied to the metal pot, and continued until bubbles 
»f condensible gas cease to escape from the extremity of the glass tube which 
dips into the water of the matrass. The process being terminated, the matrass 
will contain about forty-three fluidounces of Strong Solution of Ammonia. 
“Bottles 1 and 2 will now include, the first about sixteen, the second about 
ten fluidounces of a coloured ammoniacal liquid. Place this in a flask closed by a 
cork, which should be perforated by a siphon-safety tube containing a little mer- 
cury, and also by a second tube bent twice at right angles, and made to pass to 
the bottom of the terminal bottle used in the preceding process. Apply heat 
to the flask until the coloured liquid it contains is reduced to three-fourths of its 
original bulk. The product now contained in the terminal bottle will be nearly 
of the strength of Solution of Ammonia, and may be made exactly so by the 
addition of the proper quantity of Distilled Water, or of Strong Solution of 
Ammonia.” Br. 
In this process the ammonia is disengaged in the usual manner from muriate 
of ammonia by the action of lime, as explained under the head of Aqua Am- 
monise. But it is perceived, by the details of the process, that the purpose is 
to obtain both the stronger and ordinary solution of ammonia at one operation. 
This is done by connecting the iron bottle containing the materials with a series 
of four receivers, the first two being empty Woulfe’s bottles, the third a matrass 
containing twenty-two fluidounces of distilled water, and the fourth an ordinary 98 
Aqua Ammonise Fortior. 
PART I. 
bottle, containing the. remainder of the distilled water. In the first two bottles, 
impurities are condensed with a considerable portion of ammonia; in the matrass, 
the officinal Strong Solution of Ammonia (Br.) has been formed by the absorption 
of the gas; and, in the fourth, is a weaker ammoniacal liquid formed by the absorp- 
tion of a portion of the gas which has passed through the matrass unabsorbed. 
This last liquid is raised to the strength of the officinal Solution of Ammonia 
(Br.) by forcing into it a portion of ammoniacal gas from the impure contents 
of the first two bottles. We presume that the receivers are to be kept cool by 
means of cold water or ice, though no such direction is given in the process. If 
the solution in the fourth bottle be not of the required officinal strength (sp. gr. 
0'959), it may be made so by the addition of stronger solution from the matrass 
if too weak, or of distilled water, if too strong. 
Water of ammonia is seldom made by the formula of the Pharmacopoeia, but 
is prepared on a large scale, from one of the products of the coal gas manufac- 
ture, by the following more economical process. Gas liquor is distilled, and the 
distillate, which is principally hydrosulphuret of ammonia, is converted into 
sulphate of ammonia by sulphuric acid. The rough sulphate is then gently dis- 
tilled with milk of lime, the still being connected with a series of glass carboys, 
arranged like Woulfe’s bottles, and three-fourths filled with distilled water. In 
this way solution of ammonia may be obtained of maximum strength. (See a 
paper by Mr. W. Lawson, in the Am. Journ. of Pharm. for July, 1855, p. 362, 
from the Pharm. Journ. and Trans, for April, 1855.) 
Properties of Aqueous Ammonia of Maximum Strength. This is a colour- 
less liquid, of an acrid taste, and very pungent smell. It is strongly alkaline, 
and immediately changes turmeric, when held over its fumes, to reddish-brown. 
Cooled to 40° below zero, it concretes into a gelatinous mass, and at 130° boils, 
owing to the rapid disengagement of the gas. Its sp. gr. is 0*875 at 50°. 
Properties of the Officinal Stronger Water of Ammonia. This has similar 
properties to those above mentioned. Its sp. gr. is 0 900, U. S., 0*891, Br. When 
of the former density, it contains 26 per cent, of the gas, when of the latter 32-5 
per cent. The stronger water of ammonia of the shops usually ranges in density 
from 0*900 to 0*920. Even when of proper officinal strength at first, it generally 
becomes weaker by the escape of ammonia. To prevent its deteriorating, it should 
be kept in closely stopped bottles in a cool place. If precipitated by lime-water, 
it contains carbonic acid. After having been saturated with nitric acid, a precipi- 
tate by carbonate of ammonia indicates earthy impurity, by nitrate of silver, a 
chloride, and by chloride of barium, a sulphate. 
Aqua Ammonise Fortior is a convenient preparation for making Aqua Am- 
monise (sp. gr. 0*960, U. S., 0*959, Br.) by dilution with distilled water. To effect 
this reduction, the U. S. stronger solution requires to be diluted with about one 
and a half measures of distilled water; the British, with two measures. 
When purchasing the Stronger Solution of Ammonia, the apothecary should 
not trust to its being of the officinal strength; but should ascertain the point 
by taking its density, either by the specific gravity bottle or the hydrometer. 
Another method of ascertaining its density is by the ammonia-meter of Mr. J. 
J. Griffin, of London, described and figured in the Pharm. Journ. and Trans. 
(x. 413). In reducing it to make Liquor Ammoniae, the same precaution should 
be taken; and, if the mixture should not have the sp.gr. 0*960, it should be 
brought to that density by the addition either of the stronger solution or of dis- 
tilled water, as the case may require. A test of its strength given in the British 
Pharmacopoeia is, that a fluidrachm requires for neutralization 102 measures of 
the volumetric solution of oxalic acid. 
Medical Properties and Uses. This solution is too strong for medical use 
in its unmixed state. Sufficiently diluted with spirit of camphor and rosemary, 
it has been much employed as a prompt and powerful rubefacient, vesicatory, or part I. 
Aqua Ammonise Forlior.—Ammonise Carhonas. 
escharotic, in various neuralgic, gouty, rheumatic, spasmodic, and inflammatory 
affections, in which strong and speedy counter-irritation is indicated. When 
mere rubefaction is desired, a mixture may be used composed of five fluidounces 
of the ammoniacal liquid and eight of the diluent liquids; and this will answer 
even for blistering or cauterizing, unless a very prompt effect is necessary. In 
the latter case, a lotion may be resorted to consisting of five measures of the am- 
moniacal to three of the diluent liquid. These mixtures are applied by means of 
linen folded several times, or a thick piece of flannel saturated with the liniment. 
A convenient mode is to fill the wooden cover of a large pill or ointment box, 
an inch or two in diameter, with patent lint, saturate this with the liquid, and 
press it upon the part. The ammonia is thus prevented from escaping, and a 
definite boundary given to the inflammation. The application will generally pro- 
duce rubefaction in from one to six or eight minutes, vesication in from three to 
ten minutes, and a caustic effect in a somewhat longer period. 
When a solution of ammonia of 25° (sp. gr. 0*905) is mixed with fatty matter, 
the mixture forms the vesicating ammoniacal ointment of Dr. Gondret. The 
amended formula of this ointment is as follows. Take of lard 32 parts, oil of 
sweet almonds 2 parts. Melt them together by the gentle heat of a candle or 
lamp, and pour the melted mixture into a bottle with a wide mouth. Then add 
It parts of solution of ammonia of 25°, and mix, with continued agitation, until 
the whole is cold. The ointment must be preserved in a bottle with a ground 
stopper, and kept in a cool place. When well prepared, it vesicates in ten minutes. 
A case of poisoning by stronger solution of ammonia, successfully treated by 
Dr. H. W. Deed, in which the stomach-pump, dilute acetic acid, olive oil, milk, 
hot fomentations, and strong purgative enemata were used, is related in the Lon- 
don Med. Times and Gaz. (xi. 59). The subsequent irritation and inflammation 
were combated chiefly by morphia, and by leeches to the stomach and throat. 
The immediate effects, after swallowing the ammonia, were those of the strong 
corrosive poisons. There may be danger of excessive irritation and inflamma- 
tion of the nostrils, mouth, and air-passages, from the inadvertent inhalation of 
the gas escaping from a bottle of the stronger water of ammonia, when freshly 
opened. The best antidote, under these circumstances, would be the inhalation 
of the vapours of vinegar or acetic acid. 
Pharm. Use. In the preparation of Aconitia, U. S. 
Off. Prep. Ammonise Phosphas, Br.; Linimentum Camphor* Compositum, 
Br.; Liquor Ammonise, Br.; Spiritus Ammoni* Aromaticus, Br. B. 
AMMONIA CARBONAS. U.8.,Br. 
Carbonate of Ammonia. 
Sesquicarbonate of Ammonia, 2NH40,3C02. Br. 
This has been transferred, in the recent revision of the TJ. S. Pharmacopoeia, 
from the Preparations to the Materia Medica, where it also stands in the British 
Pharmacopoeia, certainly the proper place for it, as it is prepared only by the 
manufacturing chemist. 
Carbonate of ammonia is usually prepared, on the large scale, by subliming a 
mixture of muriate of ammonia and chalk (carbonate of lime) from an iron pot 
into a large earthen or leaden receiver. By the reciprocal action of the salts 
employed, the carbonic acid of the chalk unites with the ammonia of the muriate, 
generating carbonate of ammonia, and the muriatic acid with the lime, forming 
water and chloride of calcium. The carbonate and water sublime together as a 
hydrated carbonate of ammonia, and the residue is chloride of calcium. The re- 
lative quantities of chalk and muriate of ammonia, for mutual decomposition, are 
50 of the former, and 53*5 of the latter, or one eq. of each. But a great excess 100 
Ammonise Carbonas. 
PART I. 
of chalk is usually taken; being desirable in order to ensure the perfect decom- 
position of the muriate of ammonia, any redundancy of which would sublime 
along with the carbonate and render it impure. 
Sulphate of ammonia maybe substituted for the muriate with much economy, 
as was shown by Payen. This double decomposition between sulphate of am- 
monia and carbonate of lime takes place in the dry way only, that is, by sublima- 
tion. In the wet way, the double decomposition is reversed; carbonate of 
ammonia and sulphate of lime reacting so as to form sulphate of ammonia and 
carbonate of lime. Large quantities of this carbonate are manufactured indi- 
rectly from coal-gas liquor and bone-spirit; the ammoniacal products in these 
liquors being converted successively into sulphate, muriate, and carbonate of 
ammonia. (See Ammonise Murias.) The salt as first obtained has a slight odour 
of tar, and leaves a blackish carbonaceous matter when dissolved in acids. 
Hence it requires to be purified, which is effected in iron pots, surmounted with 
leaden heads. 
Properties. Carbonate (sesquicarbonate) of ammonia, recently prepared, is 
in white, moderately hard, translucent masses, of a fibrous and crystalline ap- 
pearance, a pungent ammoniacal smell, and a sharp penetrating taste. It pos- 
sesses an alkaline reaction, and, when held under a piece of turmeric paper, 
changes it to brown, owing to the escape of monocarbonate of ammonia. When 
long or insecurely kept, it gradually passes into the state of bicarbonate, becom- 
ing opaque and friable, and falling into powder. It is soluble without residue in 
about four times its weight of cold water, but is decomposed by boiling water 
into two eqs. of monocarbonate which dissolve, and one eq. of carbonic acid, 
which escapes with effervescence. According to Dr. Barker (Observations on 
the Dublin Pharmacopoeia), it dissolves abundantly in diluted alcohol, as also 
in heated alcohol of the sp. gr. 0'836, with effervescence of carbonic acid. When 
heated on a piece of glass, it should evaporate without residue, and, if turmeric 
paper held over it undergoes no change, it has passed into bicarbonate. As now 
prepared from coal-gas liquor, it usually contains traces of tarry matter, which 
gives a dark colour to its solution in acids. When it is saturated with nitric 
acid, neither chloride of barium nor nitrate of silver causes a precipitate. The 
non-action of these tests shows the absence of sulphate and muriate of ammo- 
nia. It is decomposed by acids, the fixed alkalies and their carbonates, lime- 
water and magnesia, solution of chloride of calcium, alum, acid salts, such as 
bitartrate and bisulpliate of potassa, solutions of iron (except the tartrate of iron 
and potassa), corrosive sublimate, the acetate and subacetate of lead, and the 
sulphates of iron and zinc. 
Composition. The salt consists of three eqs. of carbonic acid 66, two of am- 
monia 34, and two of water 18 = 118; or, which comes to the same thing, of one 
eq. of bicarbonate 61, and one of monocarbonate 39, combined with the same 
quantity of water. The medicinal carbonate of ammonia is, therefore, when 
perfect, a sesquicarbonate, as it is defined in the British Pharmacopoeia. On 
the ammonium theory, the two eqs. of water disappear, and the salt becomes a 
sesquicarbonate of oxide of ammonium. Dalton and Scanlan have rendered it 
probable that it really consists of the two salts above mentioned; for, when 
treated with a small quantity of cold water, monocarbonate is dissolved and bi- 
carbonate left. When converted into bicarbonate by exposure to the air, each 
eq. of the medicinal salt loses one eq. of monocarbonate, a change which leaves 
the acid and base in the proper proportion to form the bisalt. The mutual de- 
composition of the salts, employed in its preparation, would generate, if no loss 
occurred, the monocarbonate, and not the sesquicarbonate. The way in which 
the latter salt is formed may be thus explained. By the mutual decomposition 
of three eqs. of muriate of ammonia and three of chalk, three eqs. of monocar- 
bonate of ammonia, three of water, and three of chloride of calcium are generated. part I. 
Ammonise Carbonas. 
101 
During the operation, however, one eq. of ammonia, and one of water, forming 
together oxide of ammonium, are lost; so that there remain to be sublimed, 
three eqs. of carbonic acid, two of ammonia, and two of water; or, in other 
words, the constituents in the proper proportion for forming the hydrated ses- 
quicarbonate of ammonia, or sesquicarbonate of oxide of ammonium. When the 
salt is re-sublimed in the process of purification, two eqs. are said to lose one 
eq. of carbonic acid, and to become one eq. of the 5-4 carbonate. Accordingly, 
the medicinal carbonate, after having been submitted to a second sublimation, is 
not a perfect sesquicarbonate. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Carbonate of ammonia is stimulant, diapho- 
retic, antispasmodic, powerfully antacid, and in large doses emetic. Under cer- 
tain circumstances it may prove expectorant; as when, in the last stages of 
phthisis, it facilitates the excretion of the sputa by increasing the muscular 
power. As a stimulant, it is exhibited principally in typhus fever, and very fre- 
quently in connection with wine-whey. Its principal advantage, in this disease, 
is its power to increase the action of the heart and arteries without unduly ex- 
citing the brain. It is employed, with a view to the same effect, and as an antacid, 
in certain stages of atonic gout, and in the gastric derangement supervening on 
habits of irregularity and debauchery. As a diaphoretic, it is resorted to in 
gout and chronic rheumatism, particularly the latter, in conjunction with guaiac. 
Dr. Pereira has employed it in many cases of epilepsy with benefit. In diabetes 
it has been recommended by Dr. Barlow in England, and Bouchardat in France. 
In cases of scrofula attended with languid circulation and dry skin, it is said to 
produce excellent effects. It is very seldom used as an emetic; but is supposed 
to act with advantage, in this way, in some cases of paralysis. In psoriasis and 
lepra vulgaris, Cazenave has used it with remarkable success. Two cases of 
glanders, successfully treated chiefly with five-grain doses of carbonate of am- 
monia, repeated every hour or two hours, are reported by Dr. Mackenzie, of 
London. (Ranking's Abstract, No. 18, p. 230.) As an external application, it is 
rubefacient, and may be employed in several ways. Reduced to fine powder, and 
mixed with some mild ointment, it is useful in local rheumatism. One part of it, 
incorporated with three parts of extract of belladonna, forms a plaster very effi- 
cacious in relieving local and spasmodic pains. Coarsely bruised, and scented 
with oil of lavender, it constitutes the common smelling salts, so much used as a 
nasal stimulant in syncope and hysteria.* The ordinary dose is five grains, every 
two, three, or four hours, given in the form of pill or mixture. The dose as an 
emetic is thirty grains, repeated if necessary, and assisted by free dilution. It 
should never be given in powder, on account of its volatile nature. Pills of it 
may be made with some vegetable extract, as of gentian, and should be dispensed 
in a wide-mouthed vial, and not in a box. Carbonate of ammonia is sometimes 
directed to be made into pills with sulphate of quinia. According to Mr. J. M. 
Maisch, these salts are incompatible; and, unless the physician wishes to give 
sulphate of ammonia and free quinia, they should not be ordered together. If so 
ordered, Mr. Maisch suggests that they should be rubbed up with a little strong 
alcohol, in order that the whole of the carbonic acid may be evolved, before they 
are made into pills. If this be not done, each pill will swell and burst from the 
gradual extrication of the acid. {Am. Journ. o/PAarm., xxviii. 309.) 
Carbonate of ammonia is sometimes employed to make effervescing draughts, 
20 grains of the salt requiring for this purpose 6 fluidrachms of lemon-juice, 24 
grains of citric acid, or 25| grains of tartaric acid. 
Off. Prep. Cuprum Ammoniatum, U.S.; Ferri et Ammoniae Tartras, U.S.; 
Liquor Ammoniae Acetatis, U. S.; Spiritus Ammoniae Aromaticus. B. 
* In Mounsey’s recipe for the English preparation, called Preston salts, the essence to he 
added to the carbonate is made as follows. Take of oil of cloves gss; oil of lavender gj ; 
oil of bergamot giiss; stronger solution of ammonia (sp. gr. 0-880) fgx. Mix. The bottles 102 
Ammonise Murias. 
PART I. 
AMMONIA MURIAS. U.S. 
Muriate of Ammonia. 
Of Syn. AMMONIAS IIYDROCIILORAS. Hydrochlorate of Ammo- 
nia. NH4C1. Br. * 
Sal ammoniac, Hydrochlorate of ammonia; ITydrochlorate d’ammoniaque, Sel ammoniac, 
Fr.; Salmiak, Germ.; Sale ammoniaco, Ital.; Sal ammoniaco, Span. 
This salt is placed in the Materia Medica list of both the U. S. and Br. Phar- 
macopoeias. It originally came from Egypt, where it was obtained by sublima- 
tion from the soot resulting from the burning of camels’ dung, which is used in 
that country for fuel. 
Preparation.• At present muriate of ammonia is derived from two principal 
sources; the ammoniacal liquor, called gas liquor, found in the condensing ves- 
sels of coal-gas works, and the brown, fetid ammoniacal liquor, known under the 
name of bone-spirit, which is a secondary product, obtained from the destruc- 
tive distillation of bones, in the manufacture of bone-black. These two liquors 
are the chief sources of ammoniacal compounds; for they are both used to pro- 
cure muriate of ammonia, and this salt is employed, directly or indirectly, for 
obtaining all the other salts of ammonia. Other sources are stale urine, coal soot, 
guano, peat, and bituminous schist. 
Gas liquor contains carbonate, hydrocyanate, hydrosulphate, and sulphate of 
ammonia, but principally the carbonate. It is saturated with sulphuric acid, and 
the solution obtained, after due evaporation, furnishes brown crystals of sulphate 
of ammonia. These are then sublimed with chloride of sodium in iron pots, lined 
with clay, and furnished with a leaden dome or head. By the mutual action of 
the sulphate, water, and chloride, there are formed muriate of ammonia which 
sublimes, and sulphate of soda which remains behind. Thus NII3,H0,S03 and 
Nad become NH3,HC1 and NaO,SOr Sometimes, instead of the ammonia of 
the gas liquor being first converted into the sulphate, it is made at once into 
muriate by the addition of muriatic acid or chloride of calcium. When chloride 
of calcium is employed, the chief reaction takes place between carbonate of am- 
monia and the chloride, whereby muriate of ammonia is formed in solution, and 
carbonate of lime precipitated. The solution is duly evaporated, whereby brown 
crystals of the muriate are obtained. These, after having been dried, are purified 
by sublimation in an iron subliming pot, coated with a composition of clay, sand, 
and charcoal, and covered with a dome of lead. These pots are sometimes suf- 
ficiently large to hold 500 pounds. “A gentle fire is kept up under the subliming 
pot for seven or eight days, when the dome having cooled down, and the sal am- 
moniac somewhat contracted, so as to loosen from the sides, the dome is thrown 
off from the iron pot, and about two or three hundred weight of white, semi-trans- 
parentsal ammoniac are knocked off in cakes.” (Pereira, Mat. Med., 3ded., p. 446.) 
In the destructive distillation of bones for making bone-black, the distilled pro- 
ducts are the bone-spirit already mentioned, being chiefly an aqueous solution of 
carbonate of ammonia, and an empyreumatic oil called animal oil. These pro- 
ducts all result from a new arrangement of the ultimate constituents of the ani- 
mal matter. Thus, hydrogen and oxygen form the water; carbon and oxygen, 
the carbonic acid; nitrogen and hydrogen, the ammonia; and carbon, hydrogen, 
and oxygen, the animal oil. 
Muriate of ammonia may be obtained from bone-spirit in the manner just de- 
scribed for procuring it from gas liquor. Sometimes, however, the sulphate of 
ammonia is not made by direct combination, but by digesting the bone-spirit 
are to be filled with cai'bonate of ammonia, half with the salt coarsely bruised, ani the 
remainder with it in fine powder; and then as much of the above essence as the silt will 
absorb is to be added. [Pharm. Journ. and Trans., xiii. 628.) PART I. 
Ammonise Murias. 
103 
with ground plaster of Paris (sulphate of lime). By double decomposition, sul- 
phate of ammonia and carbonate of lime are formed. The sulphate of ammonia 
is then converted into the muriate by sublimation with common salt, in the man- 
ner just explained. 
Other processes have been proposed or practised for obtaining muriate of 
ammonia. For an account of the manufacture of ammoniacal salts, and for a list 
of the patents issued in Great Britain, since 1827, for their preparation, the 
reader is referred to the Pharm. Journ. and Trans, (xii. 29, 63, and 113). 
Commercial History. All the muriate of ammonia consumed in the United 
States is obtained from abroad. Its commercial varieties are known under the 
names of the crude and refined. The crude is imported from Calcutta in chests 
containing from 350 to 400 pounds; and is consumed almost exclusively by cop- 
persmiths and other artisans in brass and copper, being employed for the purpose 
of keeping the metallic surfaces bright, preparatory to brazing. The refined comes 
to us exclusively from England, packed in casks containing from 5 to 10 cwt. 
Properties. Muriate of ammonia is a white, translucent, tough, fibrous salt, 
occurring in large cakes, about two inches thick, convex on one side and concave 
on the other. It has a pungent, saline taste, but no smell. Its sp. gr. is 145. It 
dissolves in three parts of cold, and one of boiling water, and cold is produced 
during its solution. It is less soluble in rectified spirit than in water, and spar- 
ingly so in absolute alcohol. This salt is very difficult to powder in the ordinary 
way. Its pulverization, however, may be readily effected by making a boiling 
saturated solution of the salt, and stirring it as it cools. The salt is thus made 
to granulate, and in this state, after having been drained from the remaining 
solution and dried, may be easily powdered. At a red heat it sublimes without 
decomposition, as its mode of preparation shows. Exposed to a damp atmo- 
sphere it becomes slightly moist. It has the property of increasing the solubility 
of corrosive sublimate in water. It is decomposed by the strong mineral acids, 
and by the alkalies and alkaline earths; the former disengaging muriatic acid, 
the latter, ammonia, both sensible to the smell. Muriate of ammonia is the salt 
usually employed for obtaining gaseous ammonia, which is conveniently disen- 
gaged by means of lime. It is incompatible with acetate of lead and nitrate of 
silver, producing a precipitate with the former of chloride of lead, with the latter 
of chloride of silver. 
Muriate of ammonia is little subject to adulteration. If not entirely volatil- 
ized by heat and soluble in water, it contains impurity. Still, as ordinarily pre- 
pared, it contains iron in the state of protochloride. This metal may be detected 
by boiling a small portion of a saturated solution of the salt with a drop or two 
of nitric acid, and then adding ferrocyanide of potassium, when the character- 
istic blue colour occasioned by iron will be produced. If the salt is entirely 
volatilized by heat, and yet produces a precipitate with chloride of barium, the 
presence of sulphate of ammonia is indicated. 
Composition. Muriate of ammonia is composed of one eq. of muriatic acid 
36-5, and one of ammonia 17 = 53 5. Yiewed as chloride of ammonium, it 
consists of one eq. of chlorine and one of ammonium (NH4C1). 
Medical Properties. Muriate of ammonia acts primarily as a stimulant, purg- 
ing in large doses, but rather constipating in small ones. Its secondary action 
is that of a resolvent, conjoined with a tonic power, derived probably from the 
presence of chlorine. By reason of these properties, it forms, according to Dr. 
O. Ward, an excellent substitute for mercury, in cases where that medicine, on 
account of its debilitating effect, is inadmissible. It has been recommended in 
chronic rheumatism; in pleuritis, chronic bronchitis, peritonitis, dysentery, and 
other inflammations of the serous and mucous membranes, after the first vio- 
lence of the disease has abated; in chronic inflammation and enlargement of the 
thoracic and abdominal viscera; in scrofulous and syphilitic enlargements of Ammonise Murias.—Ammonise Sulphas. 
PART I. 
the lymphatic glands; and in amenorrhoea, when dependent on deficient action 
of the uterus. Several cases of pectoral disease simulating incipient phthisis 
are reported, in Otto’s Bibliothek for 1834, to have been cured by this salt. Ac- 
cording to Dr. Watson, it is a very efficacious remedy in hemicrania. In the 
opinion of Dr. Ebden, of the Bengal medical service, it is a powerful remedy for 
neuralgic affections generally; such as tic douloureux, nervous headache, tooth- 
ache, sciatica, and neuralgic dysmenorrhoea. lie gives it in the amount of from 
twenty-five to thirty-five grains in a fluidounce of camphor mixture, or of mint- 
water, every twenty minutes, for three doses. Usually, after the second dose, the 
immediate pain is relieved. (Ranking's Abstract, No. xx. 55.) In 1851, Dr. Aran 
reported his success with this remedy in intermittent fever to the Academy of 
Medicine, of Paris, having cured eleven out of thirteen cases. M. Fischer, of 
Dresden, in 1821, recommended it in chronic enlargement of the prostate; and, 
since then, several German practitioners have confirmed his statement. Dr. A. 
Lindsay, of Glasgow, has investigated the physiological and therapeutical effects 
of muriate of ammonia. Taken in health he found it to improve the appetite, 
and to give a certain buoyancy to the spirits. In his hands it proved particu- 
larly efficacious in chronic rheumatism, and chronic bronchitis. In the latter 
disease, when the sputa were tough and tenacious, it speedily improved their 
quality. (Med. Exam, for Jan. 1856, from the Glasgow Med. Journ.) Similar 
testimony is borne to its value in chronic bronchitis by M. Delvaux, of Brussels, 
who found it to diminish dyspnoea, mitigate cough, and facilitate and lessen ex- 
pectoration. (Ann.de Therap., 1855, 99.) 
, The dose of muriate of ammonia is from five to thirty grains, repeated every 
two or three hours, and given in sweetened water or mucilage. When given in 
enlarged prostate, the dose recommended is fifteen grains every two hours, grad- 
ually increased until nearly half an ounce is taken daily. When the dose is 
greater than the system can safely bear, it produces disordered digestion, a miliary 
eruption, profuse sweats, and scorbutic symptoms. 
Externally, muriate of ammonia is used in solution, as a stimulant and insolv- 
ent, in contusions, indolent tumours, &e. An ounce of the salt, dissolved in nine 
fluidounces of water and one of alcohol, forms a solution of convenient strength. 
When the solution is to be used as a wash for ulcers, or an injection in leucor- 
rhoea, it should not contain more than from one to four drachms of the salt to a 
pint of water. 
The vapour of muriate of ammonia has been administered by inhalation, 
employed several times a day, in chronic catarrh, with marked advantage, by 
Dr. Gieseler, of Germany. 
Pharm. Use. In preparing Ammoniae Yalerianas, U. S. 
Off. Prep. Aqua Ammoniae, U. S.; Spiritus Ammoniae, U. S. 
AMMONITE SULPHAS. U. S., Br. Appendix. 
Sulphate of Ammonia. 
This salt has been introduced into the Materia Medica list of the U. S. Pharma- 
copoeia, and into the Appendix of the British, as a substance employed in the pre- 
paration of other medicines. It is usually obtained as one of the steps in the pre- 
paration of muriate of ammonia. (See Ammonite Murias.) The impure salt result- 
ing from the sublimation of gas liquor or fetid bone-spirit, saturated with sulphuric 
acid, is submitted repeatedly to solution and crystallization until obtained pure. 
It is in colourless flattened prisms, unalterable in the air at common temperatures, 
but efflorescing in heated air with the loss of half its water, soluble in twice its 
weight of cold and its own weight of boiling water, fusible by heat, and wholly 
volatilizable, but, according to Berzelius, with partial decomposition. It contains PART I. 
Ammonise Sulphas.—Ammoniacum. 
105 
24’3 per cent, of water. It is known to be a sulphate by giving a white pre- 
cipitate with chloride of barium, and scarcely any with a dilute solution of nitrate 
of silver, and to contain ammonia by emitting the smell of that gas when rubbed 
■with hydrate of lime or of potassa. It is not used as a medicine, but enters inte 
the composition of two officinals; ammonia-alum and the sulphate of iron and 
ammonia. 
Pharm. Use. In the preparation of Acidum Sulphuricum, Br. 
Off. Prep. Ferri et Ammoniae Sulphas, U. S. B. 
AMMONIACUM. TI.S.,Br. 
Ammoniac. 
The concrete juice of Dorema Ammoniacum. U. S. Gum-resinous exudation 
from the stem. Br. 
Gomme ammoniaque, Fr.; Ammoniak, Germ.; Gomma ammoniaco, Iial.; Comma amo- 
niaco, Span.; Usliek, Arab.; Semugli belshereen, Persian. 
Much uncertainty long existed as to the ammoniac plant. It was generally 
believed to be a Ferula till Willdenow raised, from some seeds mixed with the 
gum-resin found in the shops, a plant which he ascertained to be a Heracleum, 
and named H. gummiferum, under the impression that it must be the source of 
the medicine. On this authority, the plant was adopted by the British Colleges, 
and recognised in former editions of our national Pharmacopoeia. Willdenow 
expressly acknowledged that he could not procure from it any gum-resin, but 
ascribed the result to the influence of climate. The Heracleum, however, did 
not correspond exactly with the representations given of the ammoniac plant by 
travellers; and Sprengel ascertained that it was a native of the Pyrenees, aud 
never produced gum. Mr. Jackson, in his account of Morocco, imperfectly de- 
scribed a plant of that country, supposed to be a Ferula, from which gum-am- 
moniac is procured by the natives. This plant was ascertained by Dr. Falconer 
to be Ferula Tmgitana (Royle’s Mat. Med.), and its product is thought to be the 
ammoniacum of the ancients, which was obtained from Africa; but this is not 
the drug now used under that name, which comes exclusively from Persia. M. 
Fontanier, who resided many years in Persia, saw the ammoniac plant growing 
in the province of Fars, and sent a drawing of it with specimens to Paris. From 
these it was inferred to be a species of Ferula; and Merat and De Lens proposed 
for it the name, originally given to it by Lemery, of F. ammonifera. It was sub- 
sequently, however, ascertained, from specimens obtained in Persia by Colonel 
Wright, and examined by Dr. David Don, that it belonged to a genus allied to 
Ferula, but essentially different, which was named, by Dr. Don, Dorema. It is 
described in the 16th vol. of the Linn. Transactions, under the name of Dorema 
Ammoniacum. This is now acknowledged by the officinal authorities. The same 
plant was described and figured by Jaubert and Spach in their “ Illustrations 
of Oriental Plants ” (Paris, 1842, t. 40, p. 18), by the name of Diserneston gum- 
miferum, under the erroneous impression that it belonged to a previously un- 
described genus. 
The ammoniac plant is umbelliferous, and belongs to the class and order 
Pentandria Digynia of Linnaeus. It grows spontaneously in Farsistan, Irauk, 
Chorassan, and other Persian provinces. Dr. Grant found it abundantly in 
Syghan near Bameean, on the northwest slope of the Hindoo Coosh mountains. 
It attains the height of six or seven feet, and in the spring and early part of 
summer abounds in a milky juice, which flows out upon the slightest puncture. 
From the accounts of travellers, it appears that, in the month of May, the plant 
is pierced in innumerable places by an insect of the beetle kind. The juice, 
exuding through the punctures, concretes upon the stem, and when quite dry is 106 
Ammoniacum. 
PART I. 
collected by the natives.. M. Eontanier states that the juice exudes sponta- 
neously, and that the harvest is about the middle of June. According to Dr. 
Grant, the drug is collected in Syghan, like assafetida, from the root of the 
plant. The gum-resin is sent to Bushire, whence it is transmitted to India, 
chiefly to Bombay. A small portion is said to be taken to the ports of the Le- 
vant, and thence distributed. The name of the drug is thought to have been 
derived from the temple of Jupiter Ammon in the Libyan desert, where the 
ammoniac of the ancients is said to have been collected; but Dr. Don considers 
it a corruption of Armeniacum, originating in the circumstance that the gum- 
resin was formerly imported into Europe through Armenia. 
I Properties. Ammoniac comes either in the state of tears, or in aggregate 
masses, and in both forms is frequently mixed with impurities. That of the tears, 
however, is preferable, as the purest may be conveniently picked out and kept 
for use. These are of an irregular shape, usually more or less globular, opaque, 
yellowish on the outside, whitish within, compact, homogeneous, brittle when 
cold, and breaking with a conchoidal, shining fracture. The masses are of a 
darker colour and less uniform structure, appearing, when broken, as if composed 
of numerous white or whitish tears, embedded in a dirty gray or brownish sub- 
stance, and frequently mingled with foreign, matters, such as seeds, fragments of 
vegetables, and sand or other earth. We have seen masses composed of agglu- 
tinated tears alone. 
The smell of ammoniac is peculiar, and stronger in the mass than in the tears. 
The taste is slightly sweetish, bitter, and somewhat acrid. The sp. gr. is 1-207. 
When heated, the gum-resin softens and becomes adhesive, but does not melt 
It burns with a white flame, swelling up, and emitting a smoke of a strong, 
resinous, slightly alliaceous odour. It is partly soluble in water, alcohol, ether, 
vinegar, and alkaline solutions. Triturated with water, it forms an opaque 
milky emulsion, which becomes clear upon standing. The alcoholic solution is 
transparent, but is rendered milky by the addition of water. Bucholz obtained 
from 100 parts of ammoniac, 22-4 parts of gum, 72'0 of resin, l-0 of bassorin, 
and 4'0 of water including volatile oil and loss. Braconnot obtained 18-4 per 
cent, of gum, 70-0 of resin, 4-4 of a gluten-like substance (bassorin), and 6-0 of 
water, with 12 per cent, of loss. Hagen succeeded in procuring the volatile oil 
in a separate state by repeated distillation with water. It has a penetrating 
disagreeable odour, and a taste at first mild, but afterwards bitter and nauseous. 
The resin of ammoniac is dissolved by alcohol, and by the fixed and volatile 
oils; but it is divided by ether into two resins, of which one is soluble, the other 
insoluble in that menstruum. 
Medical Properties and Uses. This gum-resin is stimulant and expectorant, 
in large doses cathartic, and, like many other stimulants, may be so given as 
occasionally to prove diaphoretic, diuretic, or emmenagogue. It has been em- 
ployed in medicine from the highest antiquity, being mentioned in the writings 
of Hippocrates. The complaints in which it is most frequently used are chronic 
catarrh, asthma, and other pectoral affections attended with deficient expecto- 
ration without acute inflammation, or with a too copious secretion from the 
bronchial mucous membrane, dependent upon debility of the vessels. It is 
thought to have been useful in some cases of amenorrhoea, and in chlorotic and 
hysterical conditions of the system arising out of that complaint. It has also 
been prescribed in obstructions or chronic engorgements of the abdominal vis- 
cera, under the vague notion of its deobstruent power. Any good which it may 
do in these affections, is more probably ascribable to its revulsive action upon 
the alimentary mucous membrane. Authors speak of its utility in long and ob- 
stinate colics dependent on mucous matter lodged in the intestines; but it would 
be difficult to ascertain in what cases such mucous matter existed, and, even 
admitting its presence, to decide whether it was a cause or a result of the dis- part I. 
Amygdala Amara.—Amygdala Dulcis. 
107 
eased action. Ammoniac is usually administered in combination with other ex- 
pectorants, with tonics, or emmenagogues. It is much less used than formerly. 
Externally applied, in the shape of a plaster, it is thought to be useful as a dis- 
cutient or resolvent in white swellings of the joints, and other indolent tumours 
(See Emplastrum Ammoniaci.) It is given in substance, in the shape of pill 01 
emulsion. The latter form is preferable. (See Mistura Ammoniaci.) The dose 
is from ten to thirty grains. 
Off. Prep. Emplastrum Ammoniaci, U. S.; Emplast. Ammoniaci cum Hy- 
drargyro; Emplast. Galbani, Br.; Mistura Ammoniaci; Pil. Scillse Composite. 
W. 
AMYGDALA AMARA. US. 
Bitter Almond. 
The kernel of the fruit of Amygdalus communis, variety amara. TJ. S. 
Amande am&re, Fr.; Bittere Mandeln, Germ.; Mandorle amare, Ital.; Almendra amarga, 
Span. 
AMYGDALA DULCIS. U.S. 
Sweet Almond. 
The kernel of the fruit of Amygdalus communis, variety dulcis. U. S. 
Off. Syn. AMYGDALA. Jordan Almonds. Amygdalus communis, var. 
dulcis. The sweet almond tree. The seed. Br. 
Amande douce, Fr.; Siisse Mandeln, Germ.; Mandorle dolci, Ital.; Almendra dulce, Span. 
Amygdalus. Sex. Syst. Icosandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Amygdalete. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx five-cleft, inferior. Petals five. Drupe with a nut perforated 
with pores. Willd. 
Amygdalus communis. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 982; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 507, 
t. 183. The almond-tree rises usually from fifteen to twenty feet in height, and 
divides into numerous spreading branches. The leaves stand upon short foot- 
stalks, are about three inches long, and three-quarters of an inch broad, ellipti- 
cal, pointed at both ends, veined, minutely serrated, with the lower serratures 
and petioles glandular, and are of a bright-green colour. The flowers are large, 
of a pale-red colour varying to white, with very short peduncles, and petals 
longer than the calyx, and usually stand in pairs upon the branches. The-fruit 
is of the peach kind, with the outer covering thin, tough, dry, and marked with 
a longitudinal furrow, where it opens when fully ripe. Within this covering is a 
rough shell, containing the kernel or almond. 
There are several varieties of this species of Amygdalus, differing chiefly in 
the size and shape of the fruit, the thickness of the shell, and the taste of the 
kernel. The two most important are Amygdalus (communis) dulcis and Amyg- 
dalus (communis) amara, the former bearing sweet, the latter bitter almonds. 
Another variety is the fragilis of De Candolle, which yields the soft-shelled 
almonds. 
The almond-tree is a native of Persia, Syria, and Barbary, and is very exten- 
sively cultivated in various parts of the south of Europe. It has been introduced 
into the United States; but in the northern and middle sections the fruit does 
not usually come to perfection. We are supplied with sweet almonds chiefly from 
Spain and the south of France. They are distinguished into the soft-shelled 
and hard-shelled, the former of which come from Marseilles and Bordeaux, the 
latter from Malaga. From the latter port they are sometimes brought to us with- 
out the shell. In British commerce, the two chief varieties are the Jordan and 
Valencia almonds, the former imported from Malaga, the latter from Valencia.* 
* Upon a visit to Spain, in the winter of 1860-61, the author was informed, when at Va- 
lencia, that the thin, paper-shelled almonds, exported from that town, were produced, not 108 
Amygdala Amara.—Amygdala Dulcis. 
PART I. 
The former are longer, narrower, more pointed, and more highly esteemed than 
the latter. The bitter almonds are obtained chiefly from Morocco, and are 
exported from Mogador. 
Properties. The shape and appearance of almonds are too well known to re- 
quire description. Each kernel consists of two white cotyledons, enclosed in a 
thin, yellowish-brown, bitter skin, which is easily separable after immersion in 
boiling water. When deprived of this covering, they are called blanched almonds. 
On exposure to the air, they are apt to become rancid; but, if thoroughly dried, 
and kept in well-closed glass vessels, they may be preserved unaltered for many 
years. The two varieties require each a separate notice. 
1. Amygdala Dulcis. Sweet Almonds. These, when blanched, are without 
smell, and have a sweet, very pleasant taste, which has rendered them a favourite 
article of diet in all countries where they are readily attainable. They are, how- 
ever, generally cansidered of difficult digestion. By the analysis of M. Boullay, 
it appears that they contain, in 100 parts, 5 parts of pellicle, 54 of fixed oil, 24 of 
albumen, 6 of uncrystallizable sugar, 3 of gum, 4 of fibrous matter, 3‘5 of water, 
and 0‘5 of acetic acid comprising loss. The albumen is somewhat peculiar, and 
is called emulsin. It may be obtained separate by treating the emulsion of 
almonds with ether, allowing the mixture, after frequent agitation, to stand until 
a clear fluid separates at the bottom of the vessel, drawing this off by a syphon, 
adding alcohol to it so as to precipitate the emulsin, then washing the precipi- 
tate with fresh alcohol, and drying it under the receiver of an air-pump. In this 
state it is a white powder, inodorous and tasteless, soluble in water, and insolu- 
ble in ether and alcohol. Its solution has an acid reaction, and, if heated to 
212°, becomes opaque and milky, and gradually deposits a snow-white precipi- 
tate, amounting to about 10 per cent, of the emulsin employed. (Am. Journ. of 
Pharin., xxi. 354, from Annalen.) Its distinguishing property is that 
of producing certain changes, presently to be noticed, in which pro- 
perty it loses when its solution is boiled, though not by exposure in the solid state 
to a heat of 212°. (Ibid., 357.) It consists of nitrogen, carbon, hydrogen, and 
oxygen, with a minute proportion of sulphur, and is probably identical with the 
synaptase of Robiquet. The fixed oil is described under the head of Oleum 
Amygdalse, to which the reader is referred. Almonds, when rubbed with water, 
form a milky emulsion, the insoluble matters being suspended by the agency of 
the albuminous, mucilaginous, and saccharine principles. 
2. Amygdala Amara. Bitter Almonds. These are smaller than the preced- 
ing variety. They have the bitter taste of the peach kernel, and, though when 
dry inodorous or nearly so, have, when triturated with water, the fragrance of the 
peach blossom. They contain the same ingredients as sweet almonds, and like 
them form a milky emulsion with water. It was formerly supposed that they 
also contained hydrocyanic acid and volatile oil, to which their peculiar taste 
and smell, and their peculiar operation upon the system were ascribed. It was, 
however, ascertained by MM. Robiquet and Boutron that these principles do 
not pre-exist in the almond, but result from the reaction of water; and Wohler 
and Liebig proved, what was suspected by Robiquet, that they are formed out 
of a substance of peculiar properties, denominated amygdalin, which is the char- 
acteristic constituent of bitter almonds. This substance, which was discovered 
by Robiquet and Boutron, is white, crystallizable, inodorous, of a sweetish-bitter 
taste, unalterable in the air, freely soluble in water and hot alcohol, very slightly 
soluble in cold alcohol, and insoluble in ether. Its elementary constituents are 
in the immediate neighbourhood of Valencia, but chiefly in the Balearic Islands, and the 
Province of Alicante, whence they are sent to that port; and, in a journey through the in- 
terior from Valencia to Alicante, he noticed that the almond-tree, then in full bloom, was 
very abundant in the region back of the latter city, while there were comparatively fivr 
near the former.—Note to the twelfth edition. PART I. 
Amygdala Amara.—Amygdala Dulcis. 
109 
nitrogen, carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen; and it is supposed to be an amide; as, 
when treated with an alkali, it yields ammonia, and a peculiar acid which has 
been named amygdalic acid. Liebig and Wohler recommend the following pro- 
cess for procuring it, in which the object of the fermentation is to destroy the 
sugar with which it is associated. Bitter almonds, previously deprived of their 
fixed oil by pressure, are to be boiled in successive portions of alcohol till ex- 
hausted. From the liquors thus obtained all the alcohol is to be drawn oft' by 
distillation; care being taken, near the end of the process, not to expose the 
syrupy residue to too great a heat. This residue is then to be diluted with water, 
mixed with good yeast, and placed in a warm situation. After the fermentation 
which ensues has ceased, the liquor is to be filtered, evaporated to the consist- 
ence of syrup, and mixed with alcohol. The amygdalin is thus precipitated in 
connection with a portion of gum, from which it may be separated by solution in 
boiling alcohol, which will deposit it upon cooling. If pure, it will form a per- 
fectly transparent solution with water. Any oil which it may contain may be 
separated by washing it with ether. One pound of almonds yields at least 120 
grains of amygdalin. (Annalen der Pharm., xxii. and xxiii. 329.)* 
Amygdalin, mixed with an emulsion of sweet almonds, gives rise, among other 
products, to the volatile oil of bitter almonds and hydrocyanic acid—the emulsin 
of the sweet almonds acting the part of a ferment, by causing a reaction between 
the amygdalin and water; and the same result is obtained when pure emulsin 
is added to a solution of amygdalin. It appears then that the volatile oil and 
hydrocyanic acid, developed in bitter almonds when moistened, result from the 
mutual reaction of amygdalin, water, and emulsin. Certain substances have the 
effect of preventing this reaction, as, for example, alcohol and acetic acid. It is 
asserted that emulsin procured from other seeds, as those of the poppy, hemp, 
and mustard, is capable of producing the same reaction between water and amyg- 
dalin, though in a less degree. (Annal. der Pharm., xxviii. 290.) Amygdalin 
appears not to be poisonous when taken pure into the stomach; as there is no- 
thing in the system capable of acting the part of emulsin. Nevertheless, large 
quantities given to a dog have produced narcotic effects. 
Bitter almonds yield their fixed oil by pressure; and the volatile oil, impreg- 
nated with hydrocyanic acid, may be obtained from the residue by distillation 
with water. (See Oleum Amygdalae Amarae.) 
Confectioners employ bitter almonds for communicating flavour to the syrup 
of orgeat. (See Syrupus Amygdalae.) The kernel of the peach possesses similar 
properties, and is frequently used as a substitute. It has been ascertained that 
bitter almond paste, and other substances which yield the same volatile oil, such 
as bruised cherry-laurel leaves, peach leaves, &c., have the property of destroy- 
ing the odour of musk, camphor, most of the volatile oils, creasote, cod-liver oil, 
the balsams, &c.; and M. Mahier, a French pharmaceutist, has employed them 
successfully to free mortars and bottles from the odour of assafetida, and other 
substances of disagreeable smell. All that is necessary is first to remove any 
oily substance by means of an alkali, and then to apply the paste or bruised 
leaves. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xviii. 209.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Sweet almonds have no other influence upon 
the system than that of a nutrient and demulcent. The emulsion formed by tritu- 
rating them with water is a pleasant vehicle for the administration of other medi- 
cines, and is itself useful in catarrhal affections. From their nutritive properties, 
* Amygdalin appears to be extensively diffused in plants, having been noticed not only 
in the different genera of the Amygdalem, as Amygdalus, Cerasus, and Prunus, but also by 
Wicke in various Pomace®, as Pyrus Malus, Sorbus Aucuparia, Sorbus hybrida, Sorbus tor- 
minales, Amelanchier vulgaris, Cotomaster vulgaris, and Cratsegus Oxycantha. (Ann. der Ghem. 
und Pharm., lxxix. 79.) It may be advantageously procured from peach kernels, which 
have been found to yield 80 grains for each avoirdupois pound, or more than 1 per cent. 
(Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxvii. 227.) 110 
Amygdala Amara.—Amygdala Dulcis.—Amylum. 
PART I. 
and the absence of starch in their composition, they have been recommended by 
Dr. Pavy as an ingredient in the diet of diabetic patients. (Guy's Hosp. Rep., 
1862, p. 213.) Bitter almonds are more active, and might be employed with ad- 
vantage in cases to which hydrocyanic acid is applicable. An emulsion made 
with them has proved useful in pectoral affections with cough, and is said to 
have cured intermittents. It probably operates by diminishing the excitability 
of the nervous centres. Dr. A. T. Thomson found it useful as a lotion in acne 
rosea and impetigo. Bitter almonds are said by flufeland to have been success- 
fully employed for the expulsion of the tape-worm. In some persons they pro- 
duce urticaria, in the smallest quantities. Largely taken, they have sometimes 
proved deleterious. Landerer mentions the case of a lady, who was alarmingly 
affected by a bath, made from the residue of bitter almonds after expression of 
the fixed oil. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxviii. 321.) 
Wohler and Liebig propose, as a substitute for cherry-laurel water, which 
owes its effects to the hydrocyanic acid it contains, but is objectionable from its 
unequal strength, an extemporaneous mixture, consisting of seventeen grains of 
amygdalin, and one fluidounce of an emulsion made with two drachms of sweet 
almonds, and a sufficient quantity of water. This mixture contains, according 
to the above named chemists, one grain of anhydrous hydrocyanic acid, and is 
equivalent to two fluidounees of fresh cherry-laurel water. If found to answer 
in practice, it will have the advantage of certainty in relation to the dose; as 
amygdalin may be kept any length of time unaltered. If the.calculation of Wbliler 
and Liebig is correct as to the quantity of acid it contains, not more than a 
fluidrachm should be given as a commencing dose. 
Off. Prep, of Sweet Almonds. Mistura Amygdalae, U. S.; Pulvis Amygdalae 
Compositus, Br.; Syrupus Amygdalae, U. S. 
Off. Prep, of Bitter Almonds. Syrupus Amygdalae, U. S. W. 
AMYLUM. U./S., Br. 
Starch. 
The fecula of the seed of Triticum vulgare. U. S. Common Wheat. Starch 
procured from the seed. Br. 
Amidon, Fr.; Stiirkmekl, Germ.; Amido, Ital.; Almidon, Span. 
Starch is a proximate vegetable principle contained in most plants, and espe- 
cially abundant in the various grains, such as wheat, rye, barley, oats, rice, 
maize, &c.; in other seeds, as peas, beans, chestnuts, acorns, &c.; and in numerous 
tuberous roots, as those of the potato (Solanum tuberosum), the sweet potato 
(Convolvulus Batatas), the arrow-root, the cassava plant, and different species 
of Curcuma. The process for obtaining it consists essentially in reducing the 
substances in which it exists to a state of minute division, agitating or washing 
them with cold water, straining or pouring off the liquid, and allowing it to 
stand till the fine fecula which it holds in suspension has subsided. This, when 
dried, is starch, more or less pure, according to the care taken in conducting 
the process. The starch of commerce is procured chiefly from wheat, sometimes 
also from potatoes. Our space will not allow us to enter into details in relation 
to the particular steps of the operation to which those substances are subjected; 
and the omission is of less consequence, as starch is never prepared by the 
apothecary. 
Starch is white, pulverulent, opaque, and, as found in the shops, is usually in 
columnar masses, having a somewhat crystalline aspect, and producing a pecu- 
liar sound when pressed between the fingers. Its specific gravity is L505, at 
61° F. (Payen.) When exposed to a moist air, it absorbs a considerable quan- 
tity of water, which may be driven off by a gentle heat. It is insoluble in alco- PART I. 
Amylum. 
hoi, ether, and cold water; but unites with boiling water, which, on cooling, 
forms with it a soft semi-transparent paste, or a gelatinous opaline solution, 
according to the proportion of starch employed. The paste, placed ou folds of 
blotting paper, renewed as they become wet, abandons its water, contracts, and 
assumes the appearance of horn. If the proportion of starch be very small, the 
solution, after slowly depositing a very minute quantity of insoluble matter, con- 
tinues permanent, and upon being evaporated yields a semi-transparent mass, 
which is partially soluble in cold water. The starch has, therefore, been modi- 
fied by the combined agency of water and heat; nor can it be restored to its 
original condition. Exposed, in the dry state, to a temperature somewhat above 
212°, it undergoes, according to Caventou, a similar modification; and a degree 
of heat sufficient to roast it slightly converts it into a substance soluble in cold 
water, called British gum, and applicable to the same purposes as gum in the 
arts.* The same change in regard to solubility is, to a certain extent, produced 
by mechanical means, as by trituration in a mortar; and that the effect is not 
the result of heat evolved by friction is evinced by the fact, that it takes place 
when the starch is triturated with water. 
Iodine forms with starch, whether in its original state or in solution, a blue 
compound; and the tincture of iodine is the most delicate test of its presence 
in any mixture. The colour varies somewhat according to the proportions em- 
ployed. When the two substances are about equal, the compound is of a beau- 
tiful indigo-blue; if the iodine is in excess, it is blackish-blue; if the starch, 
violet-blue. A singular property of the iodide of starch is that its solution be- 
comes colourless if heated to about 200°, and afterwards recovers its blue colour 
upon cooling. By boiling, the colour is permanently lost. Alkalies unite with 
starch, forming soluble compounds, which are decomposed by acids, the starch 
being precipitated. It is thrown down from its solution by lime-water and baryta- 
water, forming insoluble compounds with these earths. The solution of subacetate 
of lead precipitates it in combination with the oxide of the metal. Starch may 
be made to unite with tannin by boiling their solutions together; and a com- 
pound results, which, though retained by the water while hot, is deposited when 
it cools. By long boiling with diluted sulphuric, muriatic, or oxalic acid, it is 
converted into dextrinf and glucose or grape sugar. A similar conversion into 
dextrin and glucose is effected by means of a principle called diastase, discovered 
by MM. Payen and Persoz in the seeds of barley, oats, and wheat, after germi- 
nation. (See Hordeurm) Strong muriatic and nitric acids dissolve it; and the 
latter, by the aid of heat, converts it into oxalic and malic acids. By the action 
of strong nitric, sulphuric, or crystallizable acetic acid, used with certain pre- 
cautions, the starch is rendered soluble, and may be obtained' in this state by 
separating the acid by means of alcohol. (Chem. Gaz., Dec. 1, 1854, p. 450.) 
* The chief constituent of this substance is dextrin; but there is also produced another 
substance to which it owes its brown colour, and for which M. G61is proposes the name 
pyrodextrin. This is solid, black, insipid, inodorous, insoluble in alcohol or ether, but 
readily dissolved by water, with which it forms a viscid solution. It is always produced 
when substances containing much starch are exposed to a high heat. (Journ. de Pharm., 
3e sir., xxxiii. 405.)—Note, to the twelfth edition. 
f Dextrin is a substance resembling gum in appearance and properties, but differing 
from it in not affording mucic acid by the action of nitric acid. It is largely dissolved by 
water, hot or cold, and forms a mucilaginous solution, from which it is precipitated by 
alcohol. This fluid has no action on dextrin. Large quantities of dextrin are now manu- 
factured in England, and employed for various purposes in the arts, under the name of 
artificial gum. It is found in the market in the form of mucilage, in that of a white brilliant 
powder, and in small masses or fragments resembling natural gum. According to M. Emile 
Thomas, it may be distinguished from gum arabic by the taste and smell of potato oil 
which it always possesses. It is made by the action either of acids or of diastase on starch. 
For particulars as to the manufacture, the reader is referred to a paper by M. Thomas, 
republished in the American Journal of Pharmacy (vol. xix. p. 284). 112 
Amylum. 
PART I. 
By the continued action of concentrated sulphuric acid it is decomposed. When 
it is dissolved in strong nitric acid, and precipitated by water, a white powder 
is thrown down, called xyloidin, in which one equivalent of the hydrogen of the 
starch is replaced by one eq. of hyponitric acid (N04); the formula of xyloidin 
being, according to Bechamp and Laurent, C12H9NOu. Mixed with hot water, 
and exposed to a temperature of ’70° or 80°, it undergoes chemical changes, 
which result in the formation of several distinct principles, among which are 
sugar, a gummy substance (perhaps dextrin), and a modification of starch which 
De Saussure called amidine. With yeast starch undergoes the vinous fermenta- 
tion, being, however, first converted into sugar. Mixed with cheese and chalk it 
is said to yield alcohol without the previous saccharine conversion. (Berthelot, 
Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., xxxii. 260.) 
Nature of Starch. The views now generally entertained in relation to starch, 
by which the above-mentioned phenomena may be most conveniently explained, 
are those originally presented by Raspail, and subsequently confirmed and ex- 
tended by Guibourt, Guerin, and others. According to these views, starch con- 
sists of organized granules, which, examined by the microscope, appear to be of 
various form and size. Different opinions have been held as to the precise struc- 
ture of the granules. The one first adopted is that they consist of a thin exterior 
coating, of an interior substance; the former wholly insoluble, the latter solu- 
ble in water. The former constitutes, according to M. Payen, only 4 or 5 thou- 
sandths of the weight of starch. In relation to the interior portion, there is not 
an exact coincidence of opinion. M. Guerin supposed that it consisted of two 
distinct substances, one soluble in cold water, the other soluble at first in boiling 
water, but becoming insoluble by evaporation. Thus, when one part of starch is 
boiled for fifteen minutes in one hundred parts of water, and the liquid is allowed 
to stand, a small portion, consisting of the broken teguments, is gradually de- 
posited. If the solution be now filtered and evaporated, another portion is 
deposited which cannot afterwards be dissolved. When wholly deprived of this 
portion, and evaporated to dryness, the solution yields the part soluble in cold 
water. According to MM. Payen and Persoz, the interior portion of the globules 
consists only of a single substance, which is converted into the two just mentioned 
by the agency of water; and Thenard is inclined to the same opinion. An ap- 
propriate name for the interior soluble portion of starch is amidin, which has 
been adopted by some chemists. Starch, in its perfect state, is not affected by 
cold water, because the exterior insoluble teguments prevent the access of the 
liquid to the interior portion; but, when the pellicle is broken by the agency of 
heat, or by mechanical means, the fluid is admitted, and the starch partially dis- 
solved. 
Another view of the structure of the starch granule, founded on microscopic 
observation, has been advanced by Schleiden. According to this view, it con- 
sists of concentric layers, all of which have the same chemical composition; but 
the outer layers, having been first formed, have more cohesion than the inner, 
and are consequently more difficult of solubility. The rings observed upon the 
surface of the granules, in some varieties, are merely the edges of these layers; 
and the point or hylum about which the rings are concentrically placed, is a minute 
hole, through which probably the substance of the interior layers was introduced. 
[Pharm. Central Blatt, 1844, p. 401.) 
Mr. J. J. Field thinks he has demonstrated that the granule consists, as at first 
supposed, of an interior matter surrounded by a distinct membranous envelope. 
Having saturated some canna starch with glycerin, and then added a little water, 
an endosmose of the thinner outer liquid took place into the granules, distending 
them so as to rupture their investing membrane, which was distinctly visible, 
under the microscope, in longitudinal wrinkles. The concentric rings he thinks 
nothing more than folds of the membrane, produced probably by the contraction PART I. 
Amylum. 
113 
« 
of the granules. (Pharm. Journ , xiv. 253.) The idea has been advanced that 
the starch granule is a true vegetable cell with a nucleus, which surrounds itself 
by a cell-wall, which then secretes the contents of the cell in successive layers. This 
view combines that of Schleiden with that of Raspail. (Grundy, Ibid., p.447.) 
In accordance with it, the hylum may be considered as the effete nucleus in the 
cell-wall. The cell-wall has been supposed to have a different composition from 
the interior; as, when separated, as above stated, by the action of boiling water, 
which leaves it alone undissolved, it is not coloured blue by iodine. (Ibid., p. 448.) 
If the granule be really a cell, it probably contains nitrogenous matter; and this 
may exist in the envelope. This idea is supported by the fact that, when treated 
with boiling solution of potassa, starch gives out a little nitrogen in the state of 
ammonia. (Journ. de Pharm., Juin, 1855, p. 409.) 
The tegumentarv portion of starch, for which the name of amylin has been 
proposed, is, when entirely freed from the interior soluble matter, wholly insol- 
uble in water even by prolonged boiling, insoluble in alcohol, and said to suffer 
no change by the action of diastase. The acids, however, act upon it as they do 
upon starch. It is thought to approach nearer in properties to lignin than to 
any other principle. 
Varieties. Starch, as obtained from different substances, is somewhat different 
in its characters. Wheat starch, when examined with a microscope, is found to 
consist of granules of various sizes, the smaller being spheroidal, the larger 
rounded and flattened, with the hylum in the centre of the flattened surface, and 
surrounded by concentric rings, which often extend to the edge. The granules 
are mixed with loose integuments, resulting from the process of grinding. This 
variety of starch has a certain degree of hardness and adhesiveness, owing, ac- 
cording to Guibourt, to the escape of a portion of the interior substance of the 
broken granules, which attracts some moisture from the air, and, thus becoming 
glutinous, acts as a bond between those which remain unbroken. Another opin- 
ion attributes this peculiar consistence to the retention of a portion of the gluten 
of the wheat flour, which causes the granules to cohere. Under the name of corn 
starch, a variety of fecula obtained from the meal of maize or Indian corn, is 
much used for nutritive purposes in the U. States. It is an excellent preparation. 
The granules of maize starch are very small, with a diameter not exceeding, ac- 
cording to Payen, one-sixth of that of the potato, and little more than one-half 
that of the wheat granules. (Gmelin, xv. 79.) Potato starch is employed in 
various forms, being prepared so as to imitate more costly amylaceous substances, 
such as arrow-root and sago. In its ordinary state, it is more pulverulent than 
wheat starch, has a somewhat glistening appearance, and may be distinguished, 
with the aid of the microscope, by the size of its granules, which are larger than 
those of any other known fecula, except canna or tous les mois. They are ex- 
ceedingly diversified in size and shape, though their regular form is thought to 
be ovate. They are characterized by concentric rings or rugae, which are most 
readily distinguishable in the fresh starch, and are said by Raspail to disappear 
upon desiccation. These surround a minute circular hole or hylum upon the 
surface of the granule. In some instances there are two of these holes, one at 
each end, or both at the same end. The characters of other kinds of fecula will 
be given under the heads of the several officinal substances of which they con- 
stitute the whole or a part. Starch consists of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen; 
its formula, from whatever source it may be derived, being, according to the 
latest opinions, C12H10O10, or, doubling the numbers, C^H^O^. 
According to Chevallier, starch is sometimes adulterated with carbonate and 
sulphate of lime; and the fraud is also practised of saturating it with moisture, 
of which it will absorb 12 per cent, without any obvious change. 
Medical Properties, &c. Starch is nutritive and demulcent, but in its ordi- 
nary form is seldom administered internally. Powdered and dusted upon the 114 
Amylum.—Anethum.—Oleum Anethi. 
PART I. 
skin, ;t is sometimes used to absorb irritating secretions,'and prevent excoria- 
tion. Dissolved in hot water and allowed to cool, it is often employed in ene- 
mata, either as a vehicle of other substances, or as a demulcent application in 
irritated states of the rectum. It may be used as an antidote to iodine taken in 
poisonous quantities.* 
Off. Prep. Mucilago Amyli, Br.; Pulvis Tragacanthae Compositus, Br. W. 
ANETHUM. Br. 
Dill. 
Anethum graveolens. The fruit. Br. 
OLEUM ANETHI. Br. 
Oil of Dill. 
The oil distilled in England from Dill. 
Aneth a odeur forte, Fr.; Dill, Germ,.; Aneto, Ital.; Eneldo, Span. 
Anetiium. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Digynia. — Nat. Ord. Umbelliferae or Api- 
acese. 
Gen. Gh. Fruit nearly ovate, compressed, striated. Petals involuted, entire. 
Willd. 
Anethum graveolens. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1469; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 125, t. 
48. Dill is an annual plant, three or four feet high, with a long spindle-shaped 
root; an erect, striated, jointed, branching stem; and bipinnate or tripinnate, 
glaucous leaves, which stand on sheathing footstalks, and have linear and pointed 
leaflets. The flowers are yellow, and in large, flat, terminal umbels, destitute of 
involucre. The plant is a native of Spain, Portugal, and the south of France; 
and is found growing wild in various parts of Africa and Asia. It is cultivated 
in all the countries of Europe, and has been introduced into our gardens. The 
seeds, as the fruit is commonly called, are the only part used. They are usually 
rather more than a line in length, and less than a line in breadth, of an oval 
shape, thin, concave on one side, convex and striated on the other, of a brown 
colour, and surrounded by a yellowish membranous expansion. Their smell is 
strong and aromatic, but less agreeable than that of fennel-seed; their taste, 
moderately warm and pungent. These properties depend on a volatile oil, which 
may be obtained separate by distillation. The bruised seeds impart their virtues 
to alcohol and to boiling water. 
Oil of dill is of a pale-yellow colour, with the odour of the fruit, and a hot, 
sweetish, acrid taste. Its sp.gr. is said to be 0 881. The fruit yields about 35 
per cent, of it. The oil is sometimes used for preparing dill water. 
Medical Properties. Dill seeds have the properties common to the aromatics, 
but are very seldom used in this country. They may be given in powder or in- 
fusion. The dose of the fruit is from fifteen grains to a drachm, of the oil three 
or four drops. 
Off. Prep, of Dill. Aqua Anethi, Br. W. 
* Glycerate of Starch. A preparation which may be thus denominated ( Glycerols d'Amidon ' 
Fr.) has been recommended as a substitute for unctuous preparations, whether as a demul- 
cent application, or as an excipient of other substances, such as sulphate of copper, corro- 
sive sublimate, red oxide of mercury, &c., intended for external use; its advantage being 
that it is not likely to become irritant to the surface through chemical change. It may be 
prepared by heating together 15 parts of glycerin and one of starch, with constant stir- 
ring until the mixture becomes clear. (Journ. de Pharm., Mai, 1862, p. 363.) We propose 
the word glycerate for the title of solutions in which glycerin is the menstruum, as prefera- 
ble to glycerole, perverted from the French glycerole, and inappropriate, as words with this 
termination are used to designate a class of organic proximate principles, as benzole, &c.— 
Note to the twelfth edition. PART I. 
Angelica. 
115 
ANGELICA. U. S. Secondary. 
Angelica. 
The root of Angelica Archangelica. XJ. S. 
Angelique, Fr.; Engelwurzel, Germ.; Arcangelica, Ital.; Angelica, Span. 
Angelica. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Digynia.—Nat. Ord. Umbelliferse or Api 
aeeae. 
Gen. Ch. Fruit elliptic, compressed, somewhat solid and corticate, ridges three, 
dorsal acute, intervals grooved, margin alated. Gen. involucre none. (Sprengel.) 
Umbel large, many-rayed, spreading; umbellet dense, subhemispheric; involu- 
cell about eight-leaved. Calyx live-toothed. Petals inflected. (Nuttall.) 
In former editions of the U. S. Pharmacopeia it was our indigenous species, 
Angelica atropurpurea, which was recognised under the name of angelica, in 
the secondary list. In the present edition this species has been rejected, and the 
root of the European A. Archangelica substituted. It nevertheless deserves a 
brief notice in this place. 
Angelica atropurpurea, sometimes called masterwort, has a perennial purplish 
root, and a smooth herbaceous stem, the dark colour of which has given rise to 
the specific name of the plant. The leaves are ternate, and supported by very 
large inflated petioles. The partitions of the leaf are nearly quiuate, with ovate, 
acute, deeply serrate, somewhat lobed leaflets, of which the three terminal are 
confluent. The flowers are greenish-white. The purple angelica extends through- 
out the United States from Canada to Carolina, growing in meadows and marshy 
woods, and flowering in June and July. It is smaller than A. Archangelica, with 
a less succulent stem. The whole plant was officinal. It has a strong odour, and 
a warm aromatic taste. The juice of the recent root is acrid, and is said to be 
poisonous; but the acrimony is dissipated by drying. The medical virtues of the 
plant are similar to those of the garden angelica of Europe, for which it has been 
proposed as a substitute. It is, however, little employed. An infusion is occa- 
sionally used in flatulent colic; and we are told that the stems are sometimes 
candied by the country people. 
Angelica Archangelica. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1428; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 86, 
t. 35.—Archangelica officinalis. Hoch, De Cand., &c. Garden angelica has a 
long, thick, fleshy, biennial root, furnished with many fibres, and sending up an- 
nually a hollow, jointed, round, channeled, smooth, purplish stem, which rises five 
feet or more in height, and divides into numerous branches. The leaves, which 
stand upon round fistulous footstalks, are very large, doubly pinnate, with ovate- 
lanceolate, pointed, acutely serrate leaflets, of which the terminal one is three- 
lobed. The flowers are small, greenish-white, and disposed in very large, many- 
rayed, terminal umbels, composed of numerous dense, hemispherical umbellets. 
This plant is a native of the north of Europe, and is found in the high moun- 
tainous regions in the southern section of that continent, as in Switzerland and 
among the Pyrenees. It is cultivated in various parts of Europe, and may be 
occasionally met with in the gardens of this country. It flowers during the sum- 
mer. The whole plant has a fragrant odour and aromatic properties; but the 
root and fruit only are officinal. 
1. The root should be dug up in the autumn of the first year, as it is then least 
liable to become mouldy and worm-eaten. It is spindle-shaped, an inch or more 
thick at top, and beset with long descending radicles. The fresh root has a 
yellowish-gray epidermis, a fleshy yellow parenchyma, and when wounded yields 
a honey-coloured juice, having all the aromatic properties of the plant. The 
dried root is grayish-brown and much wrinkled externally, whitish and spongy 
within, and breaks with a starchy fracture, exhibiting shining resinous points. Angelica.—Angustura. 
PART I. 
It i& very apt to be attacked by worms, and is said to keep best, in the state of 
powder, in full and well-closed vessels. The smell is strong and fragrant, and the 
taste at first sweetish, afterwards warm, aromatic, bitterish, and somewhat musky. 
These properties are extracted by alcohol, and less perfectly by water. The con- 
stituents of the root, according to the younger Buchner, are volatile oil, a vola- 
tile acid which he calls angelicic acid, a wax-like substance, a crystallizable 
sub-resin, a brittle amorphous resin, a bitter principle, tannic acid, malic acid, 
sugar, starch, albumen, pectic acid, fibrin, and various salts. (Journ. de Pharm., 
3e ser., ii. 124.) Five hundred parts yield nearly four parts of volatile oil. 
2. The seeds, as the fruit is commonly called, are two or three lines long, 
oval, obtuse or somewhat notched at the ends, flat and marked with a longitudi- 
nal furrow on one side, convex with three angular ridges on the other. They 
are ash-coloured, and have the same smell and taste as the root. They are said 
to keep well. 
Medical Properties. Garden angelica is an elegant aromatic tonic, but is little 
employed in the United States. The Laplanders, in whose country it flourishes, 
are said to esteem it highly as a condiment and medicine. In Europe, the 
stems are frequently made into a preserve, and used in desserts in order to excite 
the stomach. The dose of the root or seeds is from thirty grains to a drachm. 
W. 
ANGUSTURA. U.S. 
Angustura. 
The bark of Galipea officinalis {Hancock). U. S. 
Off. Syn. CUSPARIA. Galipea Cusparia. The bark. Br. 
Angusture, Fr.; Angusturarinde, Germ..; Corteccia dell’ Angustura, Ital.; Corteza de An- 
gostura, Span. 
The subject of Angustura bark, in its botanical relations, has been involved 
in some confusion. The drug was at first supposed to be derived from a species 
of Magnolia, and was referred by some to Magnolia glauca of this country. 
Humboldt and Bonpland were the first to throw light upon its true source. When 
at Angustura, a South American city on the Orinoco, they received specimens 
of the foliage of the plant from which the bark was obtained; and afterwards 
believed that they had found the same plant in a tree growing in the vicinity of 
Cumana. This latter they had the opportunity of personally inspecting, and 
were therefore enabled to describe accurately. Unable to attach it to any known 
genus, they erected it into a new one, with the title of Cusparia, a name of In- 
dian origin, to which they added the specific appellation of febrifuga. On their 
authority, Cusparia febrifuga was generally believed to be the true source of 
the medicine, and was recognised as such by the London College. A specimen 
having in the mean time been sent by them to Willdenow, the name of Bonplan- 
dia was imposed on the new genus by that celebrated botanist; and it was sub- 
sequently adopted by Humboldt and Bonpland themselves, in their great work 
on equinoctial plants. Hence the title of Bonplandia trifoliata, by which the tree 
is described in many works on Materia Medica. De Candolle, however, having 
found in the description all the characters of the genus Galipea of Aublet, re- 
jected both these titles, and substituted that of Galipea Cusparia, which was 
adopted by the London College, and has been retained in the British Pharma- 
copoeia. But, after all these commutations, it appears from the researches of 
Dr. Hancock, who resided for several months in the country of the Angustura 
bark tree, that the plant described by Humboldt and Bonpland is not that which 
yields the medicine, but probably another species of the same genus. Among 
other striking differences between them is that of their size; the tree described 
by Humboldt and Bonpland being not less than sixty or eighty feet in height, PART I. 
Angustura. 
117 
while that from which the bark is obtained is never more than twenty feet 
Hancock proposes for the latter the title of Galipea officinalis, which has been 
adopted in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. 
Galipea. Sex. Syst. Diandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Rutacem. 
Gen. Ch. Corolla inferior, irregular, four or five cleft, hypocrateriform. Sta 
mens four; two sterile. Loudon's Encyc. 
Galipea officinalis. Hancock, Trans. Lond. Medico-hot. Soc. This is a smab 
tree, irregularly branched, rising to the medium height of twelve or fifteen feet 
with an erect stem from three to five inches in diameter, and covered with a 
smooth gray bark. The leaves are alternate, petiolate, and composed of three 
leaflets, which are oblong, pointed at each extremity, from six to ten inches in 
length, from two to four in breadth, and supported upon the common petiole by 
short leafstalks. They are very smooth and glossy, of a vivid green colour, 
marked occasionally with small whitish round spots, and, when fresh, of a strong 
odour resembling that of tobacco. The flowers are numerous, white, arranged 
in axillary and terminal peduncled racemes, and of a peculiar unpleasant odour. 
The fruit consists of five bivalve capsules, of which two or three are commonly 
abortive. The seeds, two of which are contained in each capsule, one often abor- 
tive, are round, black, and of the size of a pea. The tree grows abundantly on 
the mountains of Carony, between the 7th and 8th degrees of N. latitude; and 
is well known in the missions, near the Orinoco, upwards of two hundred miles 
from the ocean. It flourishes at the height of from six hundred to one thousand 
feet above the level of the sea. Its elegant white blossoms, which appear in vast 
profusion in August and September, add greatly to the beauty of the scenery. 
The bark is generally brought from the West Indies, packed in casks; but, 
according to Mr. Brande, the original package, as it comes from Angustura, con- 
sists of the leaves of a species of palm, surrounded by a network of sticks. 
Properties. The pieces are of various lengths, for the most part slightly 
curved, rarely quilled, sometimes nearly flat, from half a line to a line or more 
in thickness, pared away towards the edges, covered externally with a light 
yellowish-gray or whitish wrinkled epidermis, easily scraped by the nail, and in- 
ternally of a yellowish-fawn colour. They are very fragile, breaking with a short, 
resinous fracture, and yield, on being pulverized, a pale-yellow powder; but, 
when macerated for a short time in water, they become soft and tenacious, and 
may be cut into strips with scissors. The smell of Angustura bark is peculiar 
and disagreeable when fresh, but becomes fainter with age; the taste is bitter 
and slightly aromatic, leaving a sense of pungency at the end of the tongue. 
According to Fischer, it contains volatile oil, bitter extractive, a hard and bitter 
resin, a soft resin, a substance analogous to caoutchouc, gum, lignin, and various 
salts. The volatile oil, which may be obtained by distillation with water, is of a 
pale-yellowish colour, lighter than water, of an acrid taste, and with the odour 
of the bark. Its formula is given as C13H120 by Dr. C. Herzog, who states that 
its boiling point is 511° F., probably one of the highest of the volatile oils. 
( Chem. Gaz., May 15, 1858.) Cusparin is the name given by Saladin to a prin- 
ciple, deposited in tetrahedral crystals, when an infusion of the bark is treated 
with absolute alcohol, at common temperatures, and allowed to evaporate spon- 
taneously. It is neutral, fusible at a gentle heat, by* which it loses 23 09 per 
cent, of its weight, soluble in 200 parts of cold and 100 parts of boiling water, 
soluble in the concentrated acids and in the alkalies, and precipitated by the in- 
fusion of galls. (Journ. de Pharm., xxii. 662.) Herzog, however, was unable 
to isolate this principle. The virtues of the bark probably reside in the volatile 
oil and bitter constituent. They are extracted by water and alcohol. 
Dr. A. T. Thomson states that precipitates are produced with the infusion 
by the solutions of sulphate of iron, tartrate of antimony and potassa, sulphate 
of copper, acetate and subacetate of lead, bichloride of mercury, nitrate of silver, 118 
Angustura. 
PART I. 
and pare potassa; by nitric and sulphuric acids; and by the infusions of galls 
and yellow cinchona; but how far these substances are medicinally incompatible 
with the bark, it would be difficult to determine. 
False Angustura. Under this title, European writers describe a bark which 
was introduced on the continent mixed with true Angustura bark, and, being 
possessed of poisonous properties, produced in some instances unpleasant effects, 
when prescribed by mistake for that medicine. It is distinguished by its greater 
thickness, hardness, weight, and compactness; by its resinous fracture; by the 
appearance of its epidermis, which is sometimes covered with a ferruginous 
efflorescence, sometimes is yellowish-gray, and marked with prominent white 
spots; by the brownish colour and smoothness of its internal surface, which is 
not, like that of the genuine bark, separable into laminae; by the white slightly 
yellow powder which it yields; by its total want of odour, and its intense tena- 
cious bitterness. When steeped in water, it does not become soft like the true 
Angustura. Analyzed by Pelletier and Caventou, it was found to contain a pecu- 
liar alkaline principle which they called brucia, and upon which its poisonous 
operation depends. (See Nux Vomica.) In consequence of the presence of this 
principle, a drop of nitric acid upon the internal surface of the bark produces a 
deep-red spot. The same acid, applied to the external surface, renders it emerald- 
green. In true Angustura bark, a dull-red colour is produced by the acid on 
both surfaces. The false Angustura was at first supposed to be derived from 
Brucea antidysenterica; and was afterwards referred to some unknown species 
of Strychnos, in consequence of containing brucia, which is a characteristic in- 
gredient of that genus of plants. At present, it is ascribed to Strychnos Nux 
Vomica, the bark of which, according to Dr. O’Shaughnessy, exactly corresponds 
with the description of false Angustura, and like it contains brucia. Little of this 
bark reaches the United States. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Angustura bark had been long used bv the 
natives of the country where it grows, before it became known elsewhere. From 
the continent its employment extended to the West Indies, where it acquired 
considerable reputation. It was first taken to Europe about eighty years since. 
It is now ranked among the officinal remedies throughout Europe and America; 
but it has not sustained its early reputation, and in the United States is not 
much prescribed. Its operation is that of a stimulant tonic. In large doses it 
also evacuates the stomach and bowels, and is often employed for this purpose 
in South America. It was at one time considerably used as a febrifuge in the 
place of Peruvian bark; but has not been found generally successful in the inter- 
mittents of northern latitudes. It is said to be peculiarly efficacious in bilious 
diarrhoeas and dysenteries; and has been recommended in dyspepsia, and other 
diseases requiring a tonic treatment. The testimony, however, of practitioners 
in Europe and the United States is not strongly in its favour; and it is probably 
better adapted to tropical diseases than to those of temperate climates. Hancock 
employed it extensively in the malignant bilious intermittent fevers, dysenteries, 
and dropsies of Angustura and Demarara; and speaks in strong terms of its 
efficacy in these complaints. He used it in the form of fermented infusion, as 
recommended by the native practitioners. 
It may be given in powder, infusion, tincture, or extract. The dose in sub- 
stance is from ten to thirty grains. In larger quantities it is apt to produce 
nausea. From five to fifteen grains is the dose of the extract, which,-however, 
according to Dr. Hancock, is inferior to the powder or infusion. To obviato 
nausea, it is frequently combined with aromatics. 
Off. Prep. Iufusum Angusturse, U. S.; Infusum Cusparise, Br. W. PART I, 
Anisum 
119 
ANISUM. U.S. 
Anise. 
The fruit of Pimpinella Anisum. U. S. 
Graines d’anis, Fr.; Anissame, Germ..; Semi d’aniso, Ital.; Simiente de anis, Span.; Ani- 
son, Arab. 
Pimpinella. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Pigynia.—Nat. Ord. Umbelliferee or 
Apiacem. 
Gen.Ch. Fruit ovate-oblong. Petals inferior. Stigma nearly globular. Willd. 
Pimpinella Anisum. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1473; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 135, t. 
52. This is an annual plant, about a foot in height, with an erect, smooth, and 
branching stem. The leaves are petiolate, the lower roundish-cordate, lobed, 
incised-serrate, the middle pinnate-lobed with cuneate or lanceolate lobes, the 
upper trifid, undivided, linear. The flowers are white, and in terminal compound 
umbels, destitute of involucres. 
The anise plant is a native of Egypt and the Levant, but has been introduced 
into the south of Europe, and is cultivated in various parts of that continent. 
It is also cultivated occasionally in the gardens of this country. The fruit is 
abundantly produced in Malta and Spain, and especially so in Romagna, in 
Italy, whence it is largely exported through Leghorn. The Spanish is smaller 
than the German or French, and is usually preferred. 
Anise seeds (botanically fruit) are about a line in length, oval, striated, some- 
what downy, attached to their footstalks, and of a light greenish-brown colour, 
with a shade of yellow. Their odour is fragrant, and increased by friction ; their 
taste, warm, sweet, and aromatic. These properties, which depend upon a peculiar 
volatile oil, are imparted sparingly to boiling water, freely to alcohol. The vola- 
tile oil exists in the envelope of the seeds, and is obtained separate by distilla- 
tion. (See Oleum Anisi.) Their internal substance contains a bland fixed oil. 
By expression, a greenish oil is obtained, which is a mixture of the two. The 
seeds are sometimes adulterated with small fragments of argillaceous earth, 
which resembles them in colour; and their aromatic qualities are occasionally 
impaired by a slight fermentation, which they are apt to undergo in the mass, 
when collected before maturity. 
A case of poisoning is on record from the accidental admixture of the fruits 
of Conium maculatum, which bear some resemblance to those of anise, but may 
be distinguished by their crenate or notched ridges. They are, moreover, broader 
in proportion to their length, and are generally separated into half-fruits, while 
those of anise are whole. 
Star aniseed, the badiane of the French writers, though analogous in sensible 
properties to the common aniseed, is derived from a different plant, being the 
fruit of Illicium anisatum, an evergreen tree growing in China, Japan, and 
Tartary. The fruit consists of from five to ten brownish ligneous capsules, four 
or five lines long, united together in the form of a star, each containing a brown 
shining seed. It is much used in France to flavour liquors; and the volatile oil, 
upon which its aromatic properties depend, and of which it is said to yield about 
2 3 per cent., is imported into this country from the East Indies, and sold as com- 
mon oil of anise, to which, however, it is thought by some to be much superior. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Anise is a grateful aromatic carminative; and 
is supposed to have the property of increasing the secretion of milk. It has been 
in use from the earliest times. In Europe it is much employed in flatulent colic, 
and as a eorrigent of griping or unpleasant medicines; but in this country fen- 
nel-seed is preferred. Anise may be given bruised, or in powder, in the dose of 
twenty or thirty grains or more. The infusion is less efficient. The volatile oil 120 
Anthemis. 
PART I. 
may be substituted for the seeds in substance. Much use is made of this aromatic 
for imparting flavour to liquors. 
Off. Prep. Oleum Anisi. W 
ANTHEMIS. U.S.,Br. 
Chamomile. 
The flowers of Anthemis nobilis. U. S. The flower heads, single and double, 
dried. Br. 
Camomille Romaine, Fr.; Romische Kamille, Germ.; Camomilla Romana, Ital.; Man- 
zanilla Romana, Span. 
Anthemis. Sex. Syst. Syngenesia Superflua. — Nat. Ord. Composite Sene- 
cionideae. De Cand. Asteracem. Lindley. 
Gen. Gh. Receptacle chaffy. Seed-down none or a membranaceous margin. 
Calyx hemispherical, nearly equal. Florets of the ray more than five. Willd. 
Several species of Anthemis have been employed in medicine. A. nobilis, which 
is the subject of the present article, is by far the most important. A. Cotula, or 
mayweed, is also recognised by the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. (See Cotula.) A. Pyre- 
thrum, which affords the pellitory root, is among the officinal plants. (See Pyre- 
thrum.) A. arvensis, a native of this country and of Europe, bears flowers which 
have an acrid bitter taste, and possess medical properties analogous though 
much inferior to those of common chamomile. They may be distinguished by 
their want of smell.* A. tinctoria is occasionally employed as a tonic and vermi- 
fuge in Europe. 
Anthemis nobilis. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 2180; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 41, t. 19. 
This is an herbaceous plant with a perennial root. The stems are from six inches 
to a foot long, round, slender, downy, trailing, and divided into branches, which 
turn upwards at their extremities. The leaves are bipinnate, the leaflets small, 
thread-like, somewhat pubescent, acute, and generally divided into three seg- 
ments. The flowers are solitary, with a yellow convex disk, and white rays. The 
calyx is common to all the florets, of a hemispherical form, and composed of 
several small imbricated hairy scales. The receptacle is convex, prominent, and 
furnished with rigid bristle-like paleas. The florets of the ray are numerous, 
narrow, and terminated with three small teeth. The whole herb has a peculiar 
fragrant odour, and a bitter aromatic taste. The flowers only are officinal. 
This plant is a native of Europe, and grows wild in all the temperate parts 
of that continent. It is also largely cultivated for medicinal purposes. In France, 
Germany, and Italy, it is generally known by the name of Roman chamomile. 
By cultivation the yellow disk florets are often converted into the white ray 
florets. Thus altered, the flowers are said to be double, while those which remain 
unchanged are called single; but, as the conversion may be more or less com- 
* M. Pattone, an apothecary in the civil hospital of Alexandria, has announced the dis- 
covery in Anthemis arvensis of a new alkaloid, and a new organic acid, which he proposes 
to call, respectively, anthemine (antheima) and anthemic acid. The former he procured by 
subjecting the flowers to distillation with water so as to separate all the volatile oil, ex- 
pressing the residue, filtering the expressed liquor, evaporating this to the consistence of 
an extract, exhausting the extract by boiling alcohol of 85°, which dissolves the resinous 
matter and the peculiar acid, treating the residue with boiling distilled water, filtering the 
liquor and allowing it to cool, and then dropping in solution of ammonia until the liquid 
became decidedly alkaline. After a short time, beautiful, shining, prismatic crystals were 
deposited. To complete the process, the liquor was allowed to stand for 24 hours, after 
which the mother-water was decanted, and the crystals washed repeatedly with cold dis- 
tilled water. Anthemia is inodorous and tasteless, very slightly soluble in cold water, some- 
what more soluble in boiling water, insoluble in alcohol and ether, but freely dissolved by 
acetic acid. It is carbonized by a high heat. (Journ. de Pharm., Mars, 1859, p. 198.)— Note to 
the twelfth edition. PAET i. 
Antliemis. 
121 
plete, it generally happens that with each of the varieties there are intermingled 
Borne flowers of the other kind, or in different stages of the change. The double 
flowers are generally preferred; though, as the sensible properties are found in 
the greatest degree in the disk, the single are the most powerful. It is rather, 
however, in aromatic flavour than in bitterness that the radial florets are sur- 
passed by those of the disk. If not well and quickly dried, the flowers lose their 
beautiful white colour, and are less efficient. Tho.se which are whitest should be 
preferred. The seeds yield by expression a fixed oil, which is said to be applied 
in Europe to various economical uses.* 
Though not a native of America, chamomile grows wild in some parts of this 
country, and is occasionally cultivated in our gardens for family use, the whole 
herb being employed. The medicine, as found in our shops, consists chiefly of the 
double flowers, and is imported from Germany and England. From the former 
country the flowers of Matricaria Ghamomilla are also occasionally imported, 
under the name of chamomile. (See Matricaria.) In France, the flowers of two 
other plants are sold in the shops, indiscriminately with those of Authemis no- 
bilis; viz. those of Pyrethrum Parthenium (the Chrysanthemum Parthenium 
of Persoon) or feverfew, and those of Anthemis parthenoides, De Cand., or the 
Matricaria parthenoides, Desf. {Journ. de Pharm., Mai, 1859, p 341.) For 
the peculiar character by which these two flowers may be distinguished from 
the chamomile, see Pyrethrum Parthenium in Part III. 
Properties. Chamomile flowers, as usually found in the shops, are large, 
almost spherical, of a dull-white colour, a fragrant odour, and a warmish, bitter, 
aromatic taste. When fresh, their smell, is much stronger, and was fancied by 
the ancients to resemble that of the apple. Hence the name chamsemelum 
{xayai on the ground, and yyjXov an apple); and it is somewhat singular that the 
Spanish name manzanilla (a little apple) has a similar signification. The flowers 
impart their odour and taste to both water and alcohol, the former of which, at 
the boiling temperature, extracts nearly one-fourth of their weight. They con- 
tain a volatile oil, a bitter principle, resin, gum, a small quantity of tannin, and 
various salts. The first two are probably their active ingredients. (See Oleum 
Antliemidis.) A volatile acid, in minute proportion, has been obtained from 
them by Schendler, said to resemble, if it be not identical with valerianic acid. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Chamomile is a mild tonic, in small doses ac- 
ceptable and corroborant to the stomach, in larger quantities capable of acting 
as an emetic. In cold infusion it is often advantageously used in cases of en- 
feebled digestion, whether occurring as an original affection, or consequent upon 
some acute disease. It is especially applicable to that condition of general de- 
bility, with languid appetite, which often attends convalescence from idiopathic 
fevers. As a febrifuge it formerly possessed much reputation, and was employed 
in iutermittents and remittents; but we have remedies so much more efficient, 
that it is now seldom used in this capacity. The tepid infusion is very often 
* To those who may be disposed to cultivate the flowers for the shops, the following 
statements made by Mr. Jacob Bell, from observations at the flower gardens at Mitcham, 
in Surrey, England, may not be without interest. The plant is usually propagated by 
dividing the root, though the seeds are employed when it is desired to introduce new 
varieties. Each root will serve as the source of thirty or forty plants. They are set in rows 
idyard apart., at intervals of about eighteen inches. The proper period for planting is March; 
and the flowers are in perfection in July, but continue to appear throughout the season. 
Extremely wet or extremely dry weather is injurious to the crop. It is more productive in 
a rather heavy loam, than either in light sandy soil, or in stiff clay. It requires little 
manure, but attention to weeding is necessary. Over-manuring increases the leaves at the 
expense of the flowers. When gathered, the flowers are dried upon canvass trays in a 
drying room, artificially warmed, where they remain about a day. The crop varies from 
three to ten hundred weight per acre. The single flowers are more productive than the 
double by weight; but, as they command a less price, the value of the crop is about the 
name. (Pharra. Journ. and Trans., x. 118.)—Note to the ninth edition. 122 
Anthemis. —Antimonium. 
PART I. 
given to promote the operation of emetics, or to assist the stomach in relieving 
itself when oppressed by its contents. The flowers are sometimes applied exter- 
nally in the form of fomentation, in cases of irritation or inflammation of the 
abdominal viscera, and as a gentle incitant in flabby, ill-conditioned ulcers. The 
dose of the powder as a tonic is from half a drachm to a drachm three or four 
times a day, or more frequently. The infusion is usually preferred. The decoc- 
tion and extract cannot exert.the full influence of the medicine; as the volatile 
oil is driven off at the boiling temperature. 
Off. Prep. Extractum Anthemidis, Br.; Infusum Anthemidis. W 
ANTIMONIUM, 
Antimony. 
Stibium, Lat.; Antimoine, Fr.; Antimon, Spiessglanz, Germ.; Antimonio, Span., Ttal. 
Metallic antimony, sometimes called regulus of antimony, is not officinal in 
the British or United States Pharmacopoeias; but, as it enters into the compo- 
sition of a number of important pharmaceutical preparations, we have thought 
it proper to notice it under a distinct head. 
Antimony exists in nature, 1. uncombined; 2. as an oxide; 3. as a tersul- 
phuret; and 4. as a sulphuretted oxide. It is found principally in France and 
Germany; but has recently been discovered in the British province of New 
Brunswick. 
Extraction. All the antimony of commerce is extracted from the native tersul- 
phuret. The ore is first separated from its gangue by fusion. It is then reduced 
t-o powder, and placed on the floor of a reverberatory furnace, where it is sub- 
jected to a gentle heat, being constantly stirred with an iron rake. This process 
of roasting is known to be completed, when the matter is brought to the state 
of a dull grayish-white powder, called antimony ash. By this treatment the anti- 
mony is partly teroxidized, and partly converted into antimonious acid; while 
nearly all the sulphur is dissipated in the form of sulphurous acid gas: a portion 
of tersulphuret, however, remains undecoraposed. The matter is then mixed with 
charcoal impregnated with a concentrated solution of carbonate of soda, and the 
mixture heated in crucibles, placed in a melting furnace. The charcoal reduces 
the teroxide of antimony, while the alkali unites with the undecomposed tersul- 
phuret, and forms with it melted scoriae, which cover the reduced metal, and 
diminish its loss by volatilization. 
The purest commercial antimony is not entirely free from foreign metals, chiefly 
iron, lead, and arsenic. M. Lefort purifies it for the purposes of pharmacy, by 
gradually adding twenty-five parts of the metal, in fine powder, to fifty parts of 
nitric acid, by the action of which the antimony is precipitated as antimonious 
acid, while the foreign metals remain in solution. The precipitate is then thor- 
oughly washed with water, containing a hundredth part of nitric acid, drained 
completely, mixed with three or four parts of powdered sugar, and reduced to 
the metallic state by being heated to redness in a Hessian crucible. (Journ. de 
Pliarm., Aout, 1855, 93.) 
Autimony is imported into the United States principally from France, packed 
in casks. A portion is also shipped from Trieste, from Holland, and occasion- 
ally from Cadiz. The Spanish antimony is generally in the form of pigs; the 
French, in circular cakes of about ten inches in diameter, flat on one side and 
convex on the other; the English, in cones. The French is most esteemed. 
Properties, &c. The time of the discovery of antimony is not known; but 
Basil Valentine was the first to describe the method of obtaining it, in his work 
entitled Currus Triumphalis Antimonii, published towards the end of the fif- 
teenth century. It is a brittle, brilliant metal, ordinarily of a lamellated texture, PART I. 
Antimonium. 
123 
of a silver-white colour when pure, but bluish-white as it occurs in commerce. 
When rubbed between the fingers, it imparts a sensible odour. Its equivalent 
number is 129, symbol Sb, sp. gr. 6'T, and fusing point 810°, or about a red heat. 
Recent experiments of Schneider, confirmed by Weber, make the eq. of antimony 
120 2; but we shall adhere to 129, until the new number is fully confirmed. On 
cooling after fusion, antimony assumes an appearance on the surface bearing some 
resemblance to a fern leaf. When strongly heated, it burns with the emission of 
white vapours, consisting of teroxide, formerly called argentine flowers of anti- 
mony. A small portion, being fused, and then thrown upon a flat surface, divides 
into numerous globules, which burn rapidly as they move along. It forms three 
combinations with oxygen; one oxide—teroxide of antimony, and two acids— 
antimonious and antimonic acids. The teroxide contains three, antimonious acia 
four, and antimonic acid five eqs. of oxygen, combined with one of the metal 
In addition to these, a suboxide is said to exist, which, according to Marchand, 
has a composition represented by the formula Sb304. The teroxide will be noticed 
under the head of Antimonii Oxidum. Antimonic acid is a lemon-coloured pow- 
der, which may be prepared by oxidizing the metal by digestion in nitric acid, and 
then driving off the excess of nitric acid by a heat not exceeding 600°. When 
exposed to a red heat, it parts with oxygen, and is converted into antimonious 
acid. This is a white powder, and, though medicinally inert, frequently forms a 
large proportion of the preparation called antimonial powder. (See Pulvis Anti- 
monialis.) 
Antimony is officinal in the following states of combination. 
I. Sulphuretted. 
Antimonii Sulphuretum, U. S.— Sulphuret of Antimony. Prepared 
Sulphuret of Antimony, Br. Appendix. 
Antimonium Sulphuratum, U. S., Br. — Sulphurated Antimony. 
Antimonii Oxysulphuretum, V. S. —Oxysulphuret of Antimony. Ker- 
mes Mineral. 
II. Oxidized. 
Teroxide. Antimonii Oxidum, U. S., Br. — Oxide of Antimony. 
Teroxide mixed with phosphate of lime. Pulvis Antimonialis, Br. — 
Antimonial Powder. 
III. Combined with chlorine. 
Liquor Antimonii Terchloridi, Br. — Solution of Terchloride of Anti- 
mony. 1 
TV. In saline combination. 
Antimonii et Potass® Tartras, U. S.; Antimonium Tartaratum, Br.— 
Tartrate of Antimony and Potassa. Tartar ate d Antimony. Tar- 
tar Emetic. 
Unguentum Antimonii, U.S.; TJnguentum Antimonii Tartarati, Br. 
— Ointment of Antimony. Ointment of Tartarated Antimony. 
Yinurn Antimonii, U. S.; Vinum Antimoniale, Br. — Wine of Anti- 
mony Antimonial Wine. 
The antimonial preparations are active in proportion to their solubility in the 
gastric juice. According to Mialhe, those antimonials which coutain the hydrated 
teroxide, or are easily converted into it, are most active. Hence metallic anti- 
mony in fine powder, and tartar emetic act with energy. The teroxide is much 
more active when prepared in the moist than in the dry way. According to 
Serullas, all the antimonial preparations, except tartar emetic and butter or ter- 
chloride of antimony, contain a minute proportion of arsenic. Tartar emetic is 
an exception, because it separates entirely, in the act of crystallizing, from any 
minute portion of arsenic in the materials from which it is prepared; the poison- 
ous metal being left behind in the mother-water of the process. B. 124 
Antimonii Sulpliuretum. 
PART I. 
ANTIMONII SULPHURETUM. U.S. 
Sulphuret of Antimony. 
Native tersulphuret of antimony, purified by fusion. U.S. 
Off. Syn. Prepared Sulpiiuret op Antimony. Tersulphuret of Antimony, 
SbS3, reduced to fine powder. Br. Appendix. 
Artificial sulpiiuret of antimony; Antimoine Fr.; Scliwefelantimon, Scliwefel- 
Bpiessglanz, Germ.; Solfuro d’antimonio, Ital.; Antimonio crudo, Span. 
Preparation, &c. The sulphuret of antimony of the Pharmacopoeias is obtained 
from the native sulphuret, called antimony ore, by different processes of purifi- 
cation ; the following being an outline of that generally pursued. The ore is 
placed in'melting pots in a circular reverberatory furnace, and these are made to 
connect, by means of curved earthen tubes, with the receiving pots, situated out- 
side the furnace. This arrangement affords facilities for removing the residue of 
the operation, and allows of the collection of the melted sulphuret without in- 
terrupting the fire, and, consequently, without loss of time or fuel. In the U. S. 
Pharmacopoeia it is directed to be melted in order to purify it from infusible sub- 
stances ; in the British to be reduced to fine powder, to fit it for pharmaceutic use. 
In order to bring it to this state, it should be submitted to the process of levi- 
gation. (See Greta Prseparata ) 
Properties, &c. Sulphuret of antimony is mostly prepared in France and Ger- 
many. It is called, in commerce, antimony, or crude antimony, and occurs in 
fused conical masses, denominated loaves. These are dark-gray externally, and 
exhibit internally, when broken, a brilliant steel-gray colour, and a striated crys- 
talline texture. Their goodness depends upon their compactness and weight, and 
the largeness and distinctness of the fibres. The quality of the sulphuret cannot 
well be judged of, except in mass; hence it ought never to be bought in powder. 
It is entirely soluble in muriatic acid, by the aid of heat, with the evolution of 
sulphuretted hydrogen. The muriatic solution, when added to water, is decom- 
posed with the production of a white powder (oxychloride of antimony). If the 
muriatic acid should have dissolved some lead or copper, the filtered solution, 
after the precipitation of the white powder, will give a dark-coloured precipitate 
with sulphuretted hydrogen; but if these metals should be absent, it will yield, 
» with the same test, an orange-coloured precipitate, derived from a small quantity 
of antimony, not thrown down by the water. Arsenic, which is often present in 
considerable quantities, may be detected by the usual tests for that metal. (See 
Acidum Arseniosum.) 
Composition. The officinal sulphuret of antimony is a tersulphuret, consisting 
of one eq. of antimony 129, and three of sulphur 48=117. 
When prepared by pulverization and levigation, it is in the form of an insol- 
uble powder, without taste or smell, usually of a dull blackish colour, but reddish- 
brown, when perfectly pure. By exposure to the air, it absorbs, according to 
Buchner, a portion of oxygen, and becomes partially converted into teroxide. 
Medical Properties and Uses. This preparation is very uncertain in its ope- 
ration ; being sometimes without effect, at other times, if it meet with acid in 
the stomach, acting with violence by vomiting and purging. The effects attrib- 
uted to it are those of a diaphoretic and alterative; and the principal diseases 
in which it has been used are scrofula, glandular obstructions, cutaneous dis- 
eases, and chronic rheumatism. It is not employed by physicians in the United 
States; its use in this country being confined to veterinary practice. The dose 
is from ten to thirty grains, given in powder or bolus. 
Off. Prep. Antimonii Oxidum, U. S.; Antimonii Oxysulphuretum, U. S.; Anti- 
monium Sulphuratum; Liquor Antimonii Terchloridi, Br. B. PART I. 
Apocynum Androssemifolium.—A. Cannabinum. 
125 
APOCYNUM ANDROSiEMIFOLIUM. U.S Secondary. 
Dogs-bane. 
The root of Apocynum androssemifolium. U. S. 
Apocynum. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Digynia. — Nat. Ord. Apocynaceae. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx very small, five-cleft, persistent. Corolla campanulate, half 
five-cleft, lobes revolute, furnished at the base with five dentoid glands alternating 
with the stamens. Anthers connivent, sagittate, cohering to the stigma by the 
middle. Style obsolete. Stigma thick and acute. Follicles long and linear 
Seed comose. Nutt all. 
Apocynum androssemifolium. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1259; Bigelow, Am. Med. 
Bot. ii. 148. Dog’s-bane is an indigenous, perennial, herbaceous plant, from three 
to six feet in height, and abounding in a milky juice, which exudes when the 
plant is wounded. The stem is erect, smooth, simple below, branched above, 
usually red on the side exposed to the sun, and covered with a tough fibrous 
bark. The leaves are opposite, petiolate, ovate, acute, entire, smooth on both 
sides, and two or three inches long. The flowers are white, tinged with red, and 
grow in loose, nodding, terminal or axillary cymes. The peduncles have very 
small acute bractes. The tube of the corolla is longer than the calyx, and its 
border spreading. The fruit consists of a pair of long, linear, acute follicles, con- 
taining numerous imbricated seeds, attached to a central receptacle, and each 
furnished with a long seed-down. 
The plant flourishes in all parts of the United States from Canada to the 
Carolinas. It is found along fences and the skirts of woods, and flowers in June 
and July. The root is the part employed. 
This is large, and, like other parts of the plant, contains a milky juice. Its 
taste is unpleasant and intensely bitter. Bigelow inferred from his experiments 
that it contained bitter extractive, a red colouring matter soluble in water and 
not in alcohol, caoutchouc, and volatile oil. 
Medical Properties. The powder of the recently dried root acts as an emetic 
in the dose of thirty grains, and is said to be sometimes employed by practi- 
tioners in the country for this purpose. By Dr. Zollickoffer it is considered a 
useful tonic, in doses of from ten to twenty grains. Dr. Lannon, of Ohio, has 
found it useful in dyspepsia, and states that in small doses it is laxative, and in 
large probably cathartic. He recommends the recently dried root in the form of 
infusion or decoction. (Proceed. of the Am. Pharm. Assoc., A. D. 1858, p. 12.) 
Dr. Bigelow states that its activity is diminished and eventually destroyed by keep- 
ing. It is among the remedies employed by the Indians in lues venerea. W. 
APOCYNUM CANNABINUM. U. S. Secondary. 
Indian Hemp. 
The root of Apocynum cannabinum. U. S. 
Apocynum. See APOCYNUM ANDROSSEMIFOLIUM. 
Apocynum cannabinum. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1259; Knapp, Am. Med. Rev. 
iii. 197. In general appearance and character, this species bears a close resem- 
blance to the preceding. The stems are herbaceous, erect, branching, of a brown 
colour, and two or three feet in height; the leaves are opposite, oblong-ovate, 
acute at both ends, and somewhat dowrny beneath; the cymes are paniculate, 
manv-flowered, and pubescent; the corolla is small and greenish, with a tube 
not longer than the calyx, and an erect border; the internal parts of the flower 
are pinkish or purple. The plant grows in similar situations with A. androsse- 126 
Apocynum Cannabinum.—Aqua. 
PART I. 
mifolium, flowers about the same period, and bears a similar fruit. It abounds 
in a milky juice, and has a tough fibrous bark, which, by maceration, alfords a 
substitute for hemp. From this circumstance its common name was derived. 
The root, which is the officinal part, is horizontal, five or six feet in length, 
about one-third of an inch thick, dividing near the end into branches which ter- 
minate abruptly, of a yellowish-brown colour when young, but dark-chestnut 
when old, of a strong odour, and a nauseous, somewhat acrid, permanently bitter 
taste The internal or ligneous portion is yellowish-white, and less bitter than 
the exterior or cortical part. The fresh root, when wounded, emits a milky juice, 
which concretes into a substance resembling caoutchouc. In the dried state, it 
is brittle and readily pulverized, affording a powder like that of ipecacuanha. 
Dr. Knapp found it to contain a bitter principle, extractive, tannin, gallic acid, 
resin, wax, caoutchouc, fecula, lignin, and a peculiar active principle which he 
proposed to call apocynin. (Am. Med. Review, iii. 197.) Dr. Griscom, by a sub- 
sequent analysis, obtained similar results, with the addition of gum. The root 
yields its virtues to water and alcohol, but, according to Dr. Griscom, most readily 
to the former. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Indian hemp is powerfully emetic and cathar- 
tic, sometimes diuretic, and, like other emetic substances, promotes diaphoresis 
and expectoration. It produces much nausea, diminishes the frequency of the 
pulse, and appears to induce drowsiness independently of the exhaustion con- 
sequent upon vomiting. The disease in which it has been found most beneficial 
is dropsy. An aggravated case of ascites, under the care of the late Dr. Joseph 
Parrish, was completely cured by the decoction of the plant, which acted as a 
powerful hydragogue cathartic. Dr. Knapp also found it useful in a case of 
dropsy. Other instances of its efficacy in this complaint have been published by 
Dr. Griscom, of New York. (Am. Journ. Med. Sciences, xii. 55.) Dr. R. S. 
Cauthorn, of Richmond, Ya., has employed the bark of the root successfully in 
several cases of intermittent fever, and considers it scarcely inferior in antipe- 
riodic power to quinia. He gave from four to six grains, in the form of pill, every 
two or three hours, augmenting the dose to three times the quantity.* From 
fifteen to thirty grains of the powdered root will generally produce copious 
vomiting and purging. The decoction is a more convenient form for administra- 
tion. It may be prepared by boiling half an ounce of the dried root in a pint 
and a half of water to a pint, of which from one to two fluidounces may be given 
two or three times a day, or more frequently if requisite. The watery extract, 
in doses of three or four grains three times a day, will generally act on the 
bowels. W. 
AQUA. U.S.,Br. 
Water. 
Natural water in the purest attainable state. U. S. Natural water, HO, the 
purest that can be obtained, cleared, if necessary, by filtration. Br. 
"TSctig, Gr.; Eau, Fr.; Wasser, Germ,; Acqua, It.al.; Agua, Span. 
Water has always been included in the Materia Medica of the U. S. Pharmaco 
poeia, on account of its great importance as a medical and pharmaceutical agent. 
It was not admitted into the officinal lists of the British Pharmacopoeias until 
1839, when it was first recognised by the Edinburgh College. It is more or less 
concerned in almost all the changes which take place in inorganic matter, and 
* In a paper published in the Va. Monthly Stethoscope and Med. Reporter (i. 7.), Dr. Cau- 
thorn ascribes these effects to Asclepias Syriaca; but, in a subsequent communication to 
the Va. Med. Journ. (ix. 425), he informs us that, the plant employed was really the Apo- 
cynum cannabinum, and that he had been led into the error by the common name of milk- 
weed attached to both plants.—Mote to the twelfth edition. part I 
Aqua 
127 
is essential to the growth and existence of living beings, whether animal or 
vegetable. In treating of a substance of such diversified agency, our limits will 
allow of a sketch only of its properties and modifications. We shall speak of it 
under the several heads of pure water, common water, and mineral waters. 
Pure Water. Water, in a pure state, is a transparent liquid, without colour, 
taste, or smell. Its sp.gr. is assumed to be unity, and forms the term of com- 
parison for that of solids and liquids. A cubic inch of it, at the temp, of 60°, 
weighs very nearly 252 -5 grains. It is compressible to a small extent, as was 
proved first by Canton, and afterwards, in an incontestable manner, by Perkins. 
Reduced in temp, to 82°, it becomes a solid or ice, with the sp. gr. 0 9175 (Du- 
four, Gomptes Rendus, Juin, 1860); and raised to 212°, an elastic fluid called 
steam. In the state of steam its bulk is increased nearly 1100 fold, and its sp. gr. 
so far diminished as not to be much more than half that of atmospheric air. At 
the temp, of about 39° its density is at the maximum; and consequently, setting 
out from that point, it is increased in bulk by being either heated or cooled. It 
has the power of dissolving more or less of all the gases, including common air, the 
constituents of which are always present in natural water. It is uniformly pre- 
sent in the atmosphere, in the form of invisible vapour, even in the driest weather. 
Water consists of one eq. of hydrogen 1, and one of oxygen 8 = 9; or, in 
volumes, of one volume of hydrogen and half a volume of oxygen condensed into 
one volume of aqueous vapour or steam. On these data, it is easy to calculate 
the sp. gr. of steam; for its density will be 0-0689 (sp. gr. of hydrogen) + 0-5512 
(half the sp. gr. of oxygen) = 0-6201. 
Common Water. By reason of its extensive solvent powers, water, in its 
natural state, must be more or less contaminated with foreign matter. Thus, it 
becomes variously impregnated, according to the nature of the strata through 
which it percolates. When the foreign substances present are in so small an 
amount as not materially to alter its taste and other sensible qualities, it con- 
stitutes the different varieties of common water. 
There are almost innumerable shades of difference in common water, as ob- 
tained from different localities and sources; but all its varieties may be con- 
veniently arranged under the two heads of soft and hard. A soft water is one 
which contains but inconsiderable impurities, and which, when used in washing, 
forms a lather with soap. By a hard water is understood a variety of water 
which contains calcareous or magnesian salts, or other impurities, through which 
it curdles soap, and is unfit for domestic purposes. Tincture of soap is a conve- 
nient test for ascertaining the quality of water. In distilled water it produces 
no effect; in soft water, only a slight opalescence; but in hard water, a milky 
appearance. The milkiness is due to the formation of an insoluble compound 
between the oily acids of the soap and the lime or magnesia of the foreign salt. 
The most usual foreign substances in common water, besides oxygen and 
nitrogen, and matters held in a state of mechanical suspension, are carbonic acid, 
sulphate and carbonate of lime, and chloride of sodium (common salt). Car- 
bonic acid is detected by lime-water, which produces a precipitate before the 
water is boiled, but not afterwards, as ebullition drives off this acid. The pre- 
sence of sulphate of lime is shown by precipitates being produced by nitrate of 
baryta, and, after ebullition, by oxalate of ammonia. The former test shows the 
presence of sulphuric acid, and the latter, after boiling the water, indicates lime 
not held in solution by carbonic acid. Carbonate of lime, when held in solution 
by an excess of carbonic acid, may be detected by boiling the water, which 
causes it to precipitate; but, even after ebullition and filtration, the water will 
retain enough carbonate of lime to give a precipitate with acetate of lead; car- 
bonate of lime being itself to a minute extent soluble in water. Nitrate of silver 
will produce a precipitate, if any soluble chloride be present; and, ordinarily, 
the one present may be assumed to be common salt. Arsenic-in minute quantity 128 
Aqua. 
PART I. 
has been found in water used as drink. At Whitbeck, in Cumberland, England, 
the inhabitants employ, both as drink and for culinary purposes, a water holding 
enough arsenic in solution to be quite sensible to tests, without any known in- 
jurious consequences. (Chern. News, Aug. 25, 18G0, p. 128.) 
Dr. Clark has proposed to purify hard water, when the hardness arises from 
bicarbonate of lime, by a process which he calls liming. This consists in adding 
to the water sufficient lime-water to convert the bicarbonate into the very spar- 
ingly soluble carbonate. This procedure renders the water soft, and gets rid 
of all the lime, except that in the minute portion of carbonate dissolved. The 
merit of this process chiefly consists, not in the removal of lime, but in prevent- 
ing the formation of organic matters, principally confervae, the decomposition 
of which renders the water offensive and unwholesome. Dr. Clark’s process has 
been for some time in successful operation on the water obtained by boring, 
at the Plumbstead water-works near Woolwich. (Pharm. Journ. and Trans., 
June, 1856.) River water containing the usual amount of calcareous matter, if 
allowed to stagnate in open reservoirs, in the summer, will become contaminated 
with myriads of microscopic plants and animals. Now this change is prevented, 
according to Dr. Clark, by his peculiar treatment, which deprives the living or- 
ganisms of the nutriment, derived from loosely combined carbonic acid. 
The oxygen and nitrogen present in natural waters are not usually in the 
same proportion as in atmospheric air; the oxygen in atmospheric air amonnt- 
ing to about 20 per cent, in volume, while the usual gaseous mixture, expelled 
from fresh water by boiling, contains about 32 per cent. 
Common water is also divided into varieties according to its source. Thus we 
have rain, snow, spring, river, well, lake, and marsh water. 
Bain and snow waters are the purest kinds of natural water. Rain water, to 
be obtained as pure as possible, must be collected in large vessels in the open 
fields, at a distance from houses, and some time after the rain has commenced 
falling; otherwise it will be contaminated with the dust which floats in the at- 
mosphere, and with other impurities derived from roofs. The rain water of large 
cities contains nitrogenized organic matter, as shown by the odour produced by 
burning the residue left after the water has been evaporated. 
Rain water ordinarily contains atmospheric air, and, according to Liebig, a 
little nitric acid, the amount of which is increased when the rain descends during 
a storm. According to an analysis, made by M. Martin, of rain water which 
fell at Marseilles during a violent storm, 1000 parts by weight contained 0'004 
of chlorine and 0-003 of ammonia. Not a trace of iodine or of nitric acid was 
discovered. Boussingault has ascertained that the rain which falls in towns con- 
tains considerably more ammonia than that which falls in the country. Thus, 
the rain of Paris was found by him to contain three or four parts of ammonia 
per million; while that collected in a mountainous region contained about four- 
fifths of one part only in a million. The average results of Mr. J. B. Lawes 
and Dr. J. H. Gilbert give one part of ammonia to the million of rain water. 
(Chem. Gaz., Nov. 1, 1854.) Snow water has a peculiar taste, which was sup- 
posed to depend on the presence of air more oxygenous than that of the atmo- 
sphere ; but in point of fact it contains no air, and this accounts for its vapid 
taste. Both rain and snow water are sufficiently pure for employment in most 
chemical operations. 
Spring water (aqua fontana) depends entirely for its quality on the strata 
through which it flows; being purest when it passes through sand or gravel. It 
almost always contains a trace of common salt, and generally other impurities, 
which vary according to the locality of the spring. 
River water (aqua fluvialis) is, generally speaking, less impregnated with saline 
matter than spring water, because made up in considerable part of rains; while 
its volume bears a -larger proportion to the surface of its bed. It is, however, PART I, 
Aqua 
129 
much more apt to have mechanically suspended in it insoluble matters, of a 
vegetable and earthy nature, which impair its transparency. 
Well water, like that from springs, is liable to contain various impurities. As 
a general rule, the purity of the water of a well will be in proportion to its depth 
and the constancy with which it is used. Well water in large cities always con- 
tains a large amount of impurity, both organic and inorganic. Dr. R. D. Thom- 
son found 147-6 grs., per Imperial gallon, of impurityin a well in London. From 
the organic matter he extracted much nitric acid and ammonia, evidently the pro- 
duct of animal excretions. (Pliarm. Journ. and Trans., July, 1856, p. 27.) The 
presence of nitrates in water prevents the formation of organic beings, which 
cannot be detected by the microscope, even after it has been long kept. Artesian 
ox over flowing wells, on account of their great depth, generally afford a pure water. 
Lake water cannot be characterized as having any invariable qualities. That 
of most of the lakes in the United States is pure and wholesome. 
Marsh water is generally stagnant, and contains vegetable remains undergoing 
decomposition. It is an unwholesome water, and ought never to be used for 
medicinal purposes. 
Common waters are apt to contain organic matter in solution, of the nature 
of ulmin or gein. In order to ascertain whether its amount exceeds the minute 
quantity usually present in good water, Dupasquier has proposed chloride of gold 
as a test. From one to two fluidounces of the water to be tested, is put into a 
small flask, and a few drops of solution of chloride of gold, free from excess of 
muriatic acid, are added, so as to give the water a slightly yellow tint. The liquid 
is then boiled. If the water contain the ordinary proportion of organic matter, 
the yellow tint will remain unchanged; but if its quantity be greater than this, 
the liquid will at first become brownish, and afterwards violet or bluish, in con- 
sequence of the reduction of the gold. Organic matter is also detected by its 
decolorizing effect on a solution of permanganate of potassa. Water rendered 
impure and discoloured by organic impregnation, or the presence of animalcula, 
is freed from its impurities, partially at least, by the presence of a coil of bright 
iron wire, or admixture with sesquioxide of iron, and subsequent filtration. 
The term Aqua, in the U. S. and Br. Pharmacopoeias, may be considered as 
designating any natural water of good quality. A good water maybe known by 
its being limpid and inodorous. It answers well for cooking, and does not curdle 
soap. Upon the addition of nitrate of baryta, nitrate of silver, or oxalate of am- 
monia, its transparency is but slightly affected; and, upon being evaporated to 
dryness, it leaves but an inconsiderable residue. 
Water should never be kept in leaden cisterns, on account of the risk of its 
dissolving a small portion of lead. This risk is greater in proportion to the soft- 
ness and purity of the water; for it is found that the presence of a minute pro- 
portion of saline matter, as for example of sulphate of lime, protects the water 
from the slightest metallic impregnation. According to Mr. R. Phillips, jun., 
the chlorides are not protective; as they give rise to chloride of lead, which is 
slightly soluble. The protection has been ascribed to an insoluble film on the 
surface of the lead, formed by the decomposition of the saline matter. Upon 
this principle is based a plan of protection by Dr. Schwartz, of Breslau, who pro- 
poses to fill leaden pipes through which water is conducted with a strong solu- 
tion of an alkaline sulphide, which forms a perfectly insoluble coating of sulphide 
(sulphuret) of lead, said to be quite impermeable by the water afterwards intro- 
duced. (Ghent. News, Sept. 26, 1863, p. 157.) A coating of zinc has been em- 
ployed for protecting the surface of iron pipes and reservoirs against the action 
of water, but has failed. Experiment has shown that the water becomes impreg- 
nated with the salts of both metals. (Ibid., Ap. 5,1862, p. 188.) 
The Schuylkill water, introduced into Philadelphia, possesses all the charac- 
teristics of a good water, except that it is occasionally turbid after heavy rains. 
A 130 
Aqua 
PART I. 
It contains, on an average, in a wine gallon, according to an analysis by Prof. 
M. H. Boyfe, of Philadelphia, 4 42 grains of solid matter, nearly one-half of which 
is carbonate of lime, with only a trace of organic matter. It is perfectly free 
from lead, even after stauding in leaden pipes for thirty-six hours. {Prof. E. 
N. Horsford.) The solid matter in the same quantity of the Delaware water at 
Philadelphia, is 3-53 grains, a little over one-third of which is carbonate of lime. 
{Henry Wurtz.) The Groton water of New York is also a good water. It con- 
tains 10-93 grs. of solid matter to the gallon. Brackish or hard water ought 
never to be employed in compounding prescriptions. For some pharmaceutical 
purposes, no natural water is sufficiently pure; and hence the necessity of resort- 
ing to distillation. (See Aqua Destillata.) 
Matters mechanically suspended in a natural water may be removed by fil- 
tration through sand. On a large scale they may be separated by causing the 
water to percolate a bed of gravel and sand. Rest, causing subsidence, effects 
the same purpose, but in a less perfect manner, and requires time. 
Mineral Waters. When natural spring waters are so far impregnated with 
foreign substances as to have a decided taste, and a peculiar operation on the 
economy, they are called mineral waters. These are conveniently arranged 
under the heads of carbonated, sulphuretted, chalybeate, and saline. 
1. Carbonated waters are characterized by containing an excess of carbonic 
acid, which gives them a sparkling appearance, and the power of reddening, lit- 
mus paper. These waters frequently contain the carbonates of lime, magnesia, 
and iron, which are held in solution by the excess of carbonic acid. The waters 
of Seltzer, Spa, and Pyrmont in Europe, and of the sweet springs in Yirginia, 
belong to this class. 
2. Sulphuretted waters are such as contain sulphuretted hydrogen, and are 
distinguished by the peculiar fetid smell of that gas, and by yielding a brown 
precipitate with the salts of lead or silver. Examples of this kind are the waters 
of Aix la Chapelle and Harrogate in Europe, and those of the white, red, and 
salt sulphur springs in Yirginia. 
3. Chalybeate waters are characterized by a strong inky taste, and by strik- 
ing a black colour with the infusion of galls, and a blue one with ferrocyanide of 
potassium. The iron is generally in the state of carbonate of the protoxide, held 
in solution by excess of carbonic acid. By standing, the carbonic acid is given 
off; and the protoxide, by absorbing oxygen, is precipitated as a hydrated ses- 
quioxide of an ochreous colour. The principal chalybeate waters are those of 
Tunbridge and Brighton in England, of Wiesbaden in Germany, and of Bed- 
ford, Pittsburg, and Brandywine in the United States. The sediments of many 
of the chalybeate springs of Germany have been ascertained by Walchner to 
contain both arsenic and copper in minute quantities. These results have been 
confirmed by Dr. H. Will, who finds in some of these springs a minute propor- 
tion of tin, lead, and antimony, in addition to the arsenic and copper. In three 
springs Will found the ratio of the sesquioxide of iron to the other metals to 
be, on an average, as 48 to 1. According to M. Lassaigne, the arsenical impreg- 
nation exerts no poisonous action on the inferior animals, a result which he as- 
cribes to the antidotal power of the iron. The mineral water of Mont Dore, in 
France, was found by Thenard to contain arseniate of soda, in the proportion 
of about one-fifteen thousandth of a grain to two pints. 
4. Saline waters are those, the predominant properties of which depend upon 
saline impregnation. The salts most usually present are sulphates and carbo- 
nates of soda, lime, and magnesia, and the chlorides of sodium, calcium, and 
magnesium. Potassa is occasionally present, and lithia has been detected by 
Berzelius in the spring of Carlsbad, and other salt springs of Germany. Cacsia 
and rubidia have also been detected in certain mineral waters. Bromine is found 
in the saline at Theodorshalle, in Germany, as also in the salt wells of western Aqua 
131 
part i, 
Pennsylvania. The mineral springs at Saratoga contain a small proportion of 
iodine and bromine. The principal saline waters are those of Seidlitz in Bohe- 
mia, Cheltenham and Bath in England, and Harrodsburg and Saratoga in the 
United States. To these may be added the water of the ocean. 
We subjoin a summary view of the composition of most of the mineral waters 
enumerated under the foregoing heads. 
1. Carbonated. Seltzer. In a wine pint. Carbonic acid It cubic inches. 
Solid contents;—carbonate of soda 4 grs.; carbonate of magnesia 5; carbonate 
of lime 3; chloride of sodium It. Total 29 grs. (Bergmann.) 
Spa. In a wine pint. Carbonic acid 13 cubic inches. Solid contents;—carbo- 
nate of soda 1-5 grs.; carbonate of magnesia 4*5; carbonate of lime 1-5; chlo- 
ride of sodium 0 2; oxide of iron 0*6. Total 8*3 grs. {Bergmann.) 
Pyrmont. In a wine pint. Carbonic acid 26 cubic inches. Solid contents;— 
carbonate of magnesia 10 grs.; carbonate of lime 4*5; sulphate of magnesia 
5 5; sulphate of lime 8 5; chloride of sodium 1*5; oxide of iron 0*6. Total 
30 6 grs. {Bergmann.) 
Vichy. Gra,nd-Grille spring. In 1000 parts by weight. Water 992"512; car- 
bonic acid 0’983; carbonate of soda 4*971; carbonate of lime 0*349; carbonate 
of magnesia 0 084; carbonate of iron 0 012; chloride of sodium 0*570; sul- 
phate of soda 0 4t2; silica 0*073. {Longchamp.) 
2. Sulphuretted. Aix la Chapelle. In a wine pint. Sulphuretted hydro- 
gen 5 5 cubic inches. Solid contents;—carbonate of soda 12 grs.; carbonate of 
lime 4*t5; chloride of sodium 5. Total 2175 grs. {Bergmann.) 
Ha7'rogate old sulphur well. Sp.gr. 1 *01113; temp. 48*2°. In an Imperial 
gallon. Gaseous contents;—carbonic acid 22 03 cubic inches; carburetted hy- 
drogen 5*84; sulphuretted hydrogen 5*31; nitrogen 2*91. Total 36*09 cubic 
inches. Solid contents;—sulphate of lime 0*181 grs.; carbonate of lime 12*365 ; 
chloride of calcium 81*735; chloride of magnesium 55*693; chloride of potas- 
sium 64*701; chloride of sodium 866*180; sulphuret of sodium 15*479; silica 
0*246; with traces of fluoride of calcium, bromide and iodide of sodium, am- 
monia, carbonate of iron, carbonate of manganese, and organic matter. Total 
1096*580 grs. {Hofmann. Pharm. Journ. and Trans., xiv. 123.) 
White sulphur. Gaseous contents in a wine gallon;—sulphuretted hydrogen 
2*5 cubic inches; carbonic acid 2; oxygen 1*448; nitrogen 3*552. Total 9*5. 
Solid contents in a pint;—sulphate of magnesia 5*588 grs.; sulphate of lime 
7*744; carbonate of lime 1*150; chloride of calcium 0*204; chloride of sodium 
0*180; oxide of iron a trace; loss 0*410. Total 15*276 grs. {W. B. Rogers.) 
3. Chalybeate. Tunbridge. In a wine gallon. Solid contents;—chloride 
of sodium 2*46 grs.; chloride of calcium 0*39; chloride of magnesium 0*29; 
sulphate of lime 1*41; carbonate of lime 0*27; oxide of iron 2*22; manganese, 
vegetable fibre, silica, &c. 0*44; loss 0*13. Total 7*61 grs. {Scudamore.) 
Brighton. In a wine pint. Carbonic acid 2*5 cubic inches. Solid contents ;— 
sulphate of iron 1*80 grs.; sulphate of lime 4*09; chloride of sodium 1*53; chlo- 
ride of magnesium 0*75; silica 0*14; loss 0*19. Total 8*5 grs. {Marcet.) 
Cheltenham {chalybeate). In a wine pint. Gaseous contents;—carbonic acid 
2*5 cubic inches. Solid contents;—carbonate of soda 0*5 grs.; sulphate of soda 
22*7; sulphate of magnesia 6; sulphate of lime 2*5; chloride of sodium 41*3; 
oxide of iron 0*8. Total 73*8 grs. {Brande and ParJces.) 
Bedford. In a wine pint. Carbonic acid not estimated. Solid contents;—car- 
bonate of lime 2*120 grs.; sulphate of lime 11*274; sulphate of magnesia 3*974; 
sulphates of alumina and sesquioxide of iron 1*280; sulphate of soda 3*092; 
chloride of sodium 0*343; free sulphuric acid [?] 0*128; silica and organic mat- 
ter a trace. Total 22*211 grs. {J. Cheston Morris. Med. Exam., June, 1852.) 
Sharon {chalybeate). Gaseous contents in a wine gallon;—sulphhydric acid 
gas [sulphuretted hydrogen] 0*7702 cubic inches. Solid contents in a gallon;— 132 
Aqua. 
PART I. 
bicarbonate of magnesia 15-1148 grains; sulphate of lime 63-8024; sulphate of 
magnesia 8 1546; protosulphate of iron 1-4040; sulphate of soda 3 7401; sul- 
phate of potassa a trace; organic matter 28-48. This analysis was of water 
which had been kept several months, and there was a precipitate of sulphide (sul- 
phuret) of iron in the vessel, showing that the fresh water must have contained 
more of this metal than that obtained upon analysis. {Maisch. Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., March, 1861, p. 105.) 
Rockbridge alum spring. In a wine gallon. Carbonic acid *7*536 grs. Solid 
contents;—sulphate of potassa 1-765 grs.; sulphate of lime 3 263; sulphate of 
magnesia 1-763; protoxide of iron 4'863; alumina 1T*905; crenate of ammo- 
nia 0-700; chloride of sodium 1-008; silica 2-840; free sulphuric acid 15-224. 
Total 49-331. {Hayes.) A free acid and free bases are here made to coexist. 
Church Hill alum water, Richmond, Va. Sp. gr. 1-0069. In a wine gallon. 
Solid contents;—sulphate of potassa 2-444.grs.; sulphate of soda 1-943 ; chlo- 
ride of sodium 4*627 ; sulphate of ammonia 0-643; sulphate of lime 88*836; 
sulphate of magnesia 86*064; tersulphate of alumina 72-928; sulphate of 
protoxide of iron 24*991; tersulphate of sesquioxide of iron 51-270 ; bisulphate 
of sesquioxide of iron 83*355; silica 10-429; phosphoric acid a trace. Total 
427"530 grs. {J. C. Booth. Am. Journ. of Pharm., May, 1854.) 
4. Saline. Seidlitz. In a wine pint. Solid contents;—carbonate of magne- 
sia 2-5 grs.; carbonate of lime 0’8; sulphate of magnesia 180; sulphate of lime 
5; chloride of magnesium 4-5. Total 192-8 grs. (Bergmann.) 
Cheltenham {pure saline). In a wine pint. Solid contents;—sulphate of 
soda 15 grs.; sulphate of magnesia 11; sulphate of lime 4-5; chloride of sodium 
50. Total 80'5 grs. {Parkes and Brande.) 
Bath. King's well. Sp. gr. 1-0025; temp. 115°. In an Imperial gallon. Solid 
contents;—carbonate of lime 8-820 grs.; carbonate of magnesia 0-329; car- 
bonate of iron 1-064; sulphate of lime 80 052; sulphate of potassa 4-641; 
sulphate of soda 19-229; chloride of sodium 12*642; chloride of magnesium 
14-581; silica 2 982; with traces of iodine and oxide of manganese. Total 
144-34 grs. {Merck and Galloway. Chem. Gaz., 1846, p. 496.) 
Balston Spa. Sans Souci spring. In a wine gallon. Solid contents;—chlo- 
ride of sodium 143 733 grs.; bicarbonate of soda 12-66; bicarbonate of mag- 
nesia 39 1; carbonate of lime 43-407; carbonate of iron 5-95; iodide of sodium 
1-3; silica 1. Total 247T5 grs. {Steel.) 
Saratoga. Iodine spring. In a wine gallon. Gaseous contents;—carbonic 
acid 336 cubic inches; atmospheric air 4. Total 340 cubic inches. Solid con- 
tents;—chloride of sodium 187 grs.; carbonate of magnesia 75; carbonate of 
lime 26; carbonate of soda 2; carbonate of iron 1; iodine 35. Total 294-5 
grs. {Emmons.) 
Saratoga. Pavilion spring. In a wine gallon. Gaseous contents;—carbonic 
acid 359 05 cubic inches; atmospheric air 5-03. Total 364-08 cubic inches. 
Solid contents;—chloride of sodium 187"68 grs.; carbonate of soda 4-92; carbo- 
nate of lime 52-84; carbonate of magnesia 56’92; carbonate of iron 3*51; sul- 
phate of soda 1-48; iodide of sodium 2-59; alumina 0-42; silica 1*16 ; phosphate 
of lime 0-19; bromide of potassium a trace. Total 311-71 grs. {Chilton.) 
Saratoga. Union spring. In a wine gallon. Gaseous contents;—carbonic acid 
314-16 cubic inches; atmospheric air 4-62. Total 318*78 cubic inches. Solid 
contents;—chloride of sodium 243-620 grs.; carbonate of magnesia 84*265; car- 
bonate of lime 41-600; carbonate of soda 12-800; carbonate of iron 5-452; iodide 
of sodium and iodine 3-600; silica and alumina 1*570; bromide of potassium a 
trace. Total 392-907 grs. {J. R. Chilton.) 
Saratoga. Congress spring. Gaseous contents in 100 cubic inches;—carbonic 
acid 114 cubic inches. Solid contents in a pound Troy;—chloride of ammonium 
0 0326 grs.; chloride of potassium 1-6256; chloride of sodium J 9-6653; iodide PART I, 
Aqua. 
133 
of sodium 0 0046; bromide of sodium 0-1613; carbonate of soda 0 8261; car 
bonate of lime 5-8531; carbonate of magnesia 4-1155; carbonate of strontia 
0-0672; carbonate of protoxide of iron 0*0173; carbonate of protoxide of manga- 
neseD'0202; sulphate of potassa 0-1379; nitrate of magnesia 0 1004; alumina 
0-0069; silica 01112. Total 32-7452 grs. (Schweitzer.) 
Sea Water. English Channel. In a thousand grains. Water 964-744 grs., 
chloride of sodium 27 059; chloride of potassium 0-765; chloride of magnesium 
3*667; bromide of magnesium 0-029; sulphate of magnesia 2-296; sulphate of 
lime T407; carbonate of lime 0-033. Total 1000 grs. (Schweitzer.) The pro- 
portion of chloride of sodium is from 36 to 37 parts in 1000 in the ocean, at a 
distance from land. Its amount is small iu the interior of the Baltic. It is per- 
ceived that bromine is present in very minute amount; 100 pounds of sea water 
yielding only grs. of this element. According to Balard, iodine exists in the 
water of the Mediterranean; but it has not been detected in the water of the 
ocean, the bromine being supposed to mask its presence. Besides these ingredi- 
ents, others are alleged to exist in minute proportion in sea water; as fluorine by 
Dr. Gf. Wilson; lead, copper, and silver, by MM. Malaguti, Durocher, and Sar- 
zeau; and iron and manganese by M. TJziglio. Anterior to Wilson’s researches, 
Mr. Middleton and Prof. Silliman, jun. had inferred the existence of fluorine in 
sea water, from its presence in marine animals. The lead and copper, above men- 
tioned, were found in certain fuci only; the silver, in the sea water itself. The 
presence of silver in sea water has been rendered probable by Mr. F. Field, by a 
comparative analysis of the same copper sheathing, when new, and after having 
been on a vessel for many years. The old sheathing was always found to contain 
more silver than the new (Chem. Gaz., March 2, 1857); and the observations of 
Mr. Field have been subsequently confirmed by others. Schweitzer’s analysis gives 
a small proportion of carbonate of lime; but Bibra could not detect any. Dr. 
John Davy’s examinations of sea water show that carbonate of lime does not 
exist at a great distance from land, except in very minute proportion; but be- 
comes quite evident in water, taken at a distance of from fifty to a hundred miles 
from coasts. Boracic acid has been found by Mr. Yeatch in the sea water on the 
coast of California. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., July, 1860, p. 330.) 
Sea water, filtered, and charged with five times its volume of carbonic acid, 
forms, according to Pasquier, a gentle purgative, which keeps very well, and is 
not disagreeable to take. The dose is from half a pint to a pint. 
By freezing, sea water is almost entirely freed from saline matter, the ice being 
nearly pure water. It is obvious that the unfrozen water contains much more than 
its ordinary proportion of salts; and this is one of the methods of concentrating 
this and other saline solutions. 
Medical Properties of Water. Water is a remedy of great importance. 
When taken into the stomach, it acts by its temperature, by its bulk, and by being 
absorbed. When of the temperature of about 60°, it gives no positive sensation 
either of heat or cold; between 60° and 45°, it creates a cool sensation; and 
below 45°, a decidedly cold one. Between 60° and 100°, it relaxes the fibres 
of the stomach, and is apt to produce nausea, particularly if the effect of bulk 
be added to that of temperature. By its bulk and solvent powers, it allays irri- 
tation by diluting the acrid contents of the stomach and bowels, and favouring 
their final expulsion ; and by its absorption, it promotes the secretion of urine 
and cutaneous transpiration. Indeed, its influence is so great in the latter way, 
that it may be safely affirmed that sudorifics and diuretics will not produce their 
proper effect, unless assisted by copious dilution. 
Water, externally applied as a bath, is also an important remedy. It may act 
by its own specific effect as a liquid, or as a means of modifying the heat of the 
body. It acts in the latter way differently, according to the temperature at which 
it may be applied. When this is above 97°, it constitutes the vapour or hot bath; 134 
Aqua.—Aralia Nudicaulis. 
PART 
when between 97° and 85°, the warm bath; between 85° and 65°, the tepid bath; 
and between 65° and 32°, the cold bath. 
The general action of the vapour bath is to accelerate the circulation, and 
produce profuse sweating. It acts locally on the skin, by softening and relaxing 
its texture. In stiffness of the joints, and in various diseases of the skin, it has 
often proved beneficial. 
The hot bath, like the vapour bath, is decidedly stimulant. By its use the pulse 
becomes full and frequent, the veins turgid, the face flushed, the skin red, and the 
respiration quickened. If the temperature be high, and the constitution pecu- 
liar, its use is not without danger; as it is apt to produce a feeling of suffoca- 
tion, violent throbbing in the temples, and vertigo with tendency to apoplexy. 
When it acts favourably, it produces profuse perspiration. 
The warm bath, though below the animal heat, nevertheless produces a sen- 
sation of warmth; as its temperature is above that of the surface. It diminishes 
the frequency of the pulse, renders the respiration slower, lessens the heat of the 
body, and relaxes the skin. It cannot, therefore, be deemed a stimulant. By re- 
lieving certain diseased actions and states, accompanied by morbid irritability, it 
often acts as a soothing remedy, producing a disposition to sleep. It is proper 
in febrile exauthematous diseases, in which the pulse is frequent, the skin hot and 
dry, and the general condition characterized by restlessness. It is contraindicated 
in diseases of the head *nd chest. 
The tepid bath is not calculated to have much modifying influence on the heat 
of the body. Its peculiar effects are to soften and cleanse the skin, and to pro- 
mote insensible perspiration. 
The cold bath acts differently according to its temperature and manner of ap- 
plication, and the condition of the system to which it is applied. When of low 
temperature and suddenly applied, it acts primarily as a stimulant, by the sudden 
and rapid manner in which the caloric is abstracted; next as a tonic, by condens- 
ing the living fibres; and finally as a sedative. It is often useful in diseases of 
relaxation and debility, when practised by affusion or plunging. But it is essen- 
tial to its efficacy and safety, that the stock of vitality should be sufficient to 
create, immediately after its use, those feelings of warmth and invigoration, in- 
cluded under the term reaction. Currie used it with advantage, by affusion, in 
certain febrile diseases, especially typhus and scarlatina. To make it safe, the 
heat must be steadily above the natural standard, and the patient free from all 
sense of chilliness, and not in a state of profuse perspiration. 
Cold water is frequently applied as a sedative in local inflammations, and as 
a means of restraining hemorrhage. Its use, however, is inadmissible in inflam- 
mations of the chest. 
Pharm. Uses. Water is used in a vast number of preparations, either as a 
menstruum, or as a means for promoting chemical action by its solvent power. 
Off. Prep. Aqua Destillata. B. 
ARALIA NUDICAULIS. U. S. Secondary. 
False Sarsaparilla. 
The root of Aralia nudicaulis. U. S. 
Aralia. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Pentagynia.—Nat. Ord. Araliaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Flowers umbelled. Calyx five-toothed, superior. Petals five. Stig~ 
ma sessile, subglobose. Berry five-celled, five-seeded. Torrey. 
Aralia nudicaulis. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1521; Rafinesque, Med. Flor. i. 53. 
False sarsaparilla, wild sarsaparilla, or small spikenard, as this plant is 
variously called, is an indigenous perennial, with one leaf and one flower-stem, 
springing together from the root, or from a very short stalk, and seldom rising PART I. 
Aralia Nudicaulis.—Aralia Spinosa. 
135 
two feet in height. The leaf, which stands upon a long footstalk, is twice ter- 
nate, 01* once and quiuate, with oblong-oval, acuminate leaflets, rounded at the 
Dase, serrate on the margin, and smooth on both surfaces. The scape or flower- 
stem is naked, shorter than the leaf, and terminated by three small umbels, each 
consisting of from twelve to thirty small yellowish or greenish flowers. The fruit 
consists of small round berries, about as large as those of the common elder. 
The plant grows throughout the United States, from Canada to the Carolinas, 
inhabiting shady and rocky woods, and delighting in a rich soil. It flowers in 
May and June. 
The root, which is the officinal portion, is horizontal, creeping, sometimes 
several feet in length, about as thick as the little finger, more or less twisted, of 
a yellowish-brown colour externally, of a fragrant odour, and a warm, aromatic, 
sweetish taste. It has not been analyzed. 
Medical Properties and Uses. False sarsaparilla is a gentle stimulant and 
diaphoretic, and is thought to have an alterative influence, analogous to that of 
the root from which it derived its name. It is used in domestic practice, and, by 
some practitioners in the country, in rheumatic, syphilitic, and cutaneous affec- 
tions, in the same manner and dose as genuine sarsaparilla. A strong decoction 
has proved useful as a stimulant to old ulcers. 
The root of Aralia racemosa, or American spikenard, though not officinal, 
is used for the same purposes as A. nudicaulis, which it is said to resemble in 
medical properties. Dr. Peck strongly recommends the root of Aralia hispida, 
called in Massachusetts dwarf elder, as a diuretic in dropsy. He uses it in the 
form of decoction, and finds it pleasanter to the taste and more acceptable to 
the stomach than most other medicines of the same class. (Am. Journ. of Med. 
Sci., xix. 111.) W. 
ARALIA SPINOSA. U. S. Secondary. 
Aralia Baric. 
The bark of Aralia spinosa. U. S. 
Aralia. See ARALIA NUDICAULIS. 
Aralia spinosa. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1520. This is an indigenous arborescent 
shrub, variously called angelica-tree, toothache-tree, and prickly ash. The last 
name, however, should be dropped; as it belongs properly to Xanthoxylum 
fraxineum, and if retained might lead to confusion. The stem is erect, simple, 
from eight to twelve feet high, armed with numerous prickles, and furnished 
near the top with very large bipinnate or tripinnate leaves, which are also prickly, 
and are composed of oval, pointed, slightly serrate leaflets. It terminates in an 
ample panicle, very much branched, and bearing numerous small hemispherical 
umbels, in each of which are about thirty white flowers. 
This species of Aralia is found most abundantly and of the largest growth in 
the Southern States, where it is said sometimes to attain a height of from thirty 
to sixty feet. It grows also in the Western States, and as far north as New York. 
It is sometimes cultivated in the gardens of the North as a curious or ornamental 
plant. It flourishes in low, fertile w’oods, and flowers in August and September. 
The bark, root, and berries are medicinal; but the first only is directed by the 
Pharmacopoeia. 
The bark, as in the shops, is usually in small quills or half quills, from two 
or three lines to half an inch in diameter, thin, fibrous, grayish externally, and 
armed with prickles or the remains of them, yellowish within, of an odour some- 
what aromatic, and a bitterish taste, which becomes slightly acrid on chewing, 
and leaves a lasting sense of pungency upon the tongue. It yields its virtues to 
boiling water. 136 
Aralia Spinosa.—Argentum. 
PART I. 
Medical Properties and Uses. The virtues of Aralia spinosa are those of a 
stimulant diaphoretic. According to Elliot, an infusion of the recent bark of the 
root is emetic and cathartic. The remedy is used in chronic rheumatism and 
cutaneous eruptions ; and in some parts of the South has been employed in 
syphilis. Pursh states that a vinous or spirituous infusion of the berries is re- 
markable for relieving rheumatic pains; and a similar tincture is said to be em- 
ployed in Virginia with advantage in violent colic. The pungency of this tincture 
has also been found useful in relieving toothache. The bark is most conveniently 
administered in decoction. W. 
ARGENTUM. U.S. 
Silver. 
Off. Syn. REFINED SILVER. Br. Appendix. 
Argent, Fr.; Silber, Germ.; Argento, Ital.; Plata, Span. 
Silver is occasionally found in the metallic state, sometimes crystallized, at 
other times combined with gold, antimony, arsenic, or mercury; but usually it 
occurs in the state of sulphuret, either pure, or mixed with other sulphurets, as 
those of copper, lead, and antimony. It is sometimes found as a chloride. 
The most productive mines of silver are found on this continent, being those 
of Mexico and Peru ; the richest in Europe are those of Norway, Hungary, and 
Transylvania. Mines have been opened and profitably worked in California and 
Nevada, and there can be little doubt that vast deposits of silver ores exist in 
the mountainous regions of our country, extending northward from Arizona and 
New Mexico. The principal ore is the sulphuret. The mineral containing silver, 
which is most disseminated, is argentiferous galena, which is sulphuret of lead, 
containing a little sulphuret of silver. Argentiferous galena exists in several 
localities in the United States. A mine of silver was opened, about the year 1841, 
in Davidson county, N. C. The ore is an argentiferous carbonate of lead, yield- 
ing about one-third of its weight of lead, from which from 100 to 400 ounces of 
silver are extracted per ton. (Eckfeldt and Du Bois. Manual of Coins.) Native 
silver is associated, in small quantities, with the native copper of the Lake 
Superior region ; and a little of it has come into the market; but in general the 
quantity is not so great as to render its collection profitable. The two metals, 
though more or less mixed, are yet quite distinct, seldom being alloyed to any 
considerable extent. 
Extraction. Silver is extracted from its ores by two principal processes, 
amalgamation and cupellation. At Freyberg, in Saxony, the ore, which is prin- 
cipally the sulphuret, is mixed with a tenth of chloride of sodium, and roasted 
in a reverberatory furnace. The sulphur becomes acidified, and combines with 
sodium and oxygen, so as to form sulphate of soda, while the chlorine forms a 
chloride with the silver. The roasted mass is then reduced to very fine powder, 
mixed with half its weight of mercury, one-third of its weight of water, and 
about a seventeenth of iron in flat pieces, and subjected, for sixteen or eighteen 
hours, to constant agitation in barrels turned by machinery. The chlorine com- 
bines with the iron, and remains in solution as chloride of iron ; while the silver 
forms an amalgam with the mercury. The amalgam is then subjected to press- 
ure in leathern bags, through the pores of which the excess of mercury passes, 
a solid amalgam being left behind. This is then subjected to heat in a distilla- 
tory apparatus, by means of which the mercury is separated from the silveT, 
which is left in a porous mass. In Peru and Mexico the process is similar to 
that above given, common salt and mercury being used; but slaked lime and 
sulphuret of iron are also employed, with an effect which is not very obvious. 
When argentiferous galenas are worked for the silver they contain, they are 
Silver. PART I. 
Argentum.—Armoracia. 
137 
first reduced, and the argentiferous lead obtained is fused on a large, oval, shallow 
vessel called a test, and exposed to the blast of a bellows, whereby the lead is 
oxidized, half vitrified, and driven off the test in scales, in the form of litharge. 
The operation being continued on successive portions of argentiferous lead, the 
whole of the lead is separated, and the silver, not being oxidizable, accumulates 
on the test as a brilliant fused mass, until its amount is sufficient to be removed. 
The time required for the separation is much abridged by the process of Mr, 
Pattinson, of Newcastle, England. This consists in allowing the melted alloy to 
cool slowly, and separating the crystals which first form, consisting mainly of lead, 
by means of a perforated ladle. The residue is a very fusible alloy of lead ana 
silver, in which the latter metal is in large proportion, and from which it can 
be easily separated by cupellation or other means. (Brande and Taylor.) 
Properties. Silver is a white metal, very brilliant, tenacious, malleable, and 
ductile. In malleability and ductility, it is inferior only to gold. It is harder 
than gold, but softer than copper. Its equivalent number is 108, symbol Ag, and 
sp. gr. about 10‘4. It forms but one well characterized oxide, which is a protox- 
ide. Exposed to a full red heat, it enters into fusion, and exhibits a brilliant 
appearance. It is not oxidized in the air, but contracts a superficial tarnish oi 
sulphuret of silver by the action of sulphuretted hydrogen in the atmosphere. 
It is entirely soluble in diluted nitric acid. If any gold be present, it will remain 
undissolved as a dark-coloured powder. From the nitric solution, the whole oi 
the silver may be thrown down by chloride of sodium, as a white precipitate of 
chloride of silver, characterized by being completely soluble in ammonia. If the 
remaining solution contain copper or lead, it will be precipitated or discoloured 
by sulphuretted hydrogen. 
Pharm. Uses. The only officinal preparations containing silver are the oxide 
nitrate, and cyanide. The chloride will be noticed in the third part of this work. 
Off. Prep. Argenti Nitras. B. 
ARMORACIA. Br. 
Horse-radish Root. 
Cochlearia Armoracia. The fresh root. Br. 
Raifort sauvage, Ft.; Meerrettig, Germ.; Rafano rusticano, It at.; Rabano rusticano, Span. 
Cochlearia. Sex. Syst. Tetradynamia Silliculosa.—Nat. Ord. Brassicaceae 
or Crucifer®. 
Gen. Ch. Silicula emarginate, turgid, scabrous, with gibbous, obtuse valves. 
Willd. 
Cochlearia Armoracia. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 451; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 400, 
t. 145. The root of this plant is perennial, sending up numerous very large 
leaves, from the midst of which a round, smooth, erect, branching stem rises two 
or three feet in height.’ The radical leaves are lance-shaped, waved, scalloped 
on the edges, sometimes pinnatifid, and stand upon strong footstalks. Those of 
the stem are much smaller, without footstalks, sometimes divided at the edges, 
sometimes almost entire. The flowers are numerous, white, peduncled, and form 
thick terminal clusters. The calyx has four ovate, deciduous leaves, and the co- 
rolla an equal number of obovate petals, twice as long as the calyx, and inserted 
by narrow claws. The pod is small, elliptical, crowned with the persistent stigma, 
and divided into two cells, each containing from four to six seeds. 
The horse-radish is a native of western Europe, growing wild on the sides of 
ditches, and in other moist situations. It is cultivated for culinary purposes in 
most civilized countries, and is said to have become naturalized in some parts 
of the United States. Its flowers appear in June. 
The root, which is officinal in its fresh state, is long, conical at top, then nearly 138 
Armoracia.—Arnica. 
PART I. 
cylindrical for some inches, at last tapering, whitish externally, very white within, 
fleshy, of a strong pungent odour when scraped or bruised, and of a hot, biting, 
somewhat sweetish and sometimes bitterish taste. Its virtues are imparted to 
water and alcohol. They depend upon a volatile oil, which is dissipated by dry- 
ing; the root becoming at first sweetish, and ultimately insipid and quite inert. 
Its acrimony is also destroyed by boiling. The oil may be obtained by distilla- 
tion with water. It is colourless or pale-yellow, heavier than water, very volatile, 
excessively pungent, acrid, and corrosive, exciting inflammation and even vesi- 
cation when applied to the skin. Hubatka considers it as identical with the vola- 
tile oil of mustard. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., v. 42.) According to Gutret, 
only 6 parts of it are obtained from 10,000 of the root. Besides this principle, 
the fresh root contains, according to the same chemist, a bitter resin in minute 
quantity, sugar, extractive, gum, starch, albumen, acetic acid, acetate and sul- 
phate of lime, water, and lignin. From observations made by F. L. Winckler, it 
may be inferred that myronic acid exists in the root combined with potassa, and 
that it is from the reaction between this acid, myrosine, also existing in the root, 
and water, that the volatile oil is produced, in the same manner as oil of mustard 
from mustard seed. (See Sinapis.) Horse-radish, when distilled with alcohol, 
yields none of the oil. {Journ. fur Prakt. Pharm., xviii. 89.) The root may be 
kept for some time without material injury, if buried in sand in a cool place. 
It is said that if, to the powder of the dried root, which has become appa- 
rently inert, the emulsion of white mustard seed containing myrosine be added, 
it reacquires its original irritant properties; so that it is the myrosine and not 
the myronate of potassa which is injured by drying. Hence, the powdered root 
may be added with advantage to mustard in preparing cataplasms, pediluvia, 
&c. {Journ. de Pharm. et de Chim., xxvii. 268.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Horse-radish is highly stimulant, exciting the 
stomach when swallowed, and promoting the secretions, especially that of urine. 
Externally it is rubefacient. Its chief use is as a condiment to promote appetite 
and invigorate digestion; but it is also occasionally employed as a medicine, 
particularly in dropsy attended with enfeebled digestion and general debility. 
It has, moreover, been recommended in palsy and chronic rheumatism, both as 
an internal and external remedy; and in scorbutic affections is highly esteemed. 
Cullen found advantage, in cases of hoarseness, from the use of a syrup pre- 
pared from an infusion of horse-radish and sugar, and slowly swallowed in the 
quantity of one or two teaspoonfuls, repeated as occasion demanded. The root 
may be given in the dose of half a drachm or more, either grated, or cut into 
small pieces. 
Off. Prep. Spiritus Armoracise Compositus, Br. W. 
ARNICA. U. S.y Br. 
Arnica. 
The flowers of Arnica montana. U. S. The root, dried. Br. 
Leopard’s-bane, U.S. 1850; Arnique, Fr.; Berg Wolverly, Gemeines achtes Fallkraut, 
Germ,.; Arnica montana, Ital., Span. 
Arnica. Sex. Syst. Syngenesia Superflua. — Nat. Ord. Compositae-Senecio- 
nidem. De Cand. Asteraceae. Lindley. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx with equal leaflets, in a double row. Seed-down hairy, sessile. 
Seeds both of the disk and ray furnished with seed-down. Receptacle hairy. Hayne. 
Arnica montana. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 2106; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 41, t. 17. 
This is a perennial, herbaceous plant, having a woody, brownish, horizontal root, 
from one to three inches long, and two or three lines thick, ending abruptly, and 
sending forth numerous slender fibres of the same colour. The stem is about a PART I. 
Arnica. 
139 
foot high, cylindrical, striated, hairy, and terminating in one, two, or three pe- 
duncles, each bearing a flower. The radical leaves are ovate, entire, ciliated, 
and obtuse; those of the stem, which usually consist of two opposite pairs, are 
lance-shaped. Both are of a bright-green colour, and somewhat pubescent on 
their upper surface. The flowers are very large, and of a fine orange-yellow 
colour. The calyx is greenish, imbricated, with lanceolate scales. The ray con- 
sists of about fourteen ligulate florets, twice as long as the calyx, striated, three- 
toothed, and hairy at the base ; the disk, of tubular florets, with a five-lobed margin. 
This plant is a native of the mountainous districts of Europe and Siberia, and 
is found, according to Nuttall, in the northern regions of this continent, west of 
the Mississippi. It has been introduced into England, and might no doubt be 
cultivated in this country. Its transference from the secondary to the primary 
catalogue, in the present edition of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, indicates that it is 
more used in this country than formerly. The flowers, leaves, and root are em- 
ployed; but the flowers are usually preferred. 
Properties. The whole plant, when fresh, has a strong, disagreeable odour, 
which is apt to excite sneezing, and is diminished by desiccation. The taste is 
acrid, bitterish, and durable. Water extracts its virtues. Chevallier and Las- 
saigne discovered, in the flowers, gallic acid, gum, albumen, yellow colouring 
matter, an odorous resin, and a bitter principle which they considered identical 
with cytisin, discovered by them in the seeds of the laburnum-tree ( Cytisus La- 
burnum) , which are possessed of poisonous properties. (See Lond. Med. Times 
and Gaz., Nov. 1856, p. 446.) Cytisin is yellow, of a bitter and nauseous taste, 
deliquescent, readily soluble in water and diluted alcohol, but with difficulty in 
strong alcohol, and insoluble in ether. In the dose of five grains it is powerfully 
emetic and cathartic; and it has been supposed to be the active principle of the 
plant. The flowers also contain a small proportion of a blue volatile oil. Pfaff 
obtained from the root a volatile oil, an acrid resin, extractive, gum, and lignin. 
Mr. Win. Bastick, of London, has separated an organic alkali from the flowers, 
and names it arnicina. It is solid, slightly bitter, but not acrid, of the odour of 
castor, slightly soluble in water, and much more soluble in alcohol and ether. 
{Pharm. Journ. and Trans., x. 389.)* The alkali, however, appears to have 
been previously obtained by M. Lebourdais by the charcoal process. (See Am. 
Journ. of Pliarm., xxiii. p. 243.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Leopard’s-bane is a stimulant, directed with 
peculiar energy to the brain and whole nervous system, as manifested by the re- 
sulting headache, spasmodic contractions of the limbs, and difficulty of respiration. 
It acts also as an irritant to the stomach and bowels, often producing an emetic 
and cathartic effect, and is said by Bergius to be diuretic, diaphoretic, and em- 
menagogue. It is capable of acting as a poison in overdoses, causing burning 
in the stomach, violent abdominal pains, intense headache, and great nervous 
disturbance. A case of tetanic spasm of one side, and ultimate death under its 
use, is on record; but there is reason to doubt whether arnica was the real cause 
of the fatal issue. {Ann. de Therap., 1854, p. 46.) It is much used by the Ger- 
mans, who prescribe the flowers and root with advantage in amaurosis, paralysis, 
and other nervous affections. It is said to prove serviceable in that disordered 
* Mr. Bastick obtained the alkaloid by the following process. The flowers were mace- 
rated with alcohol acidulated with sulphuric acid; the tincture was filtered, and treated 
with lime until it evinced an alkaline reaction; the liquid was then filtered, and the filtrate 
treated with sulphuric acid in slight excess; the acid solution was filtered and concentrated 
by evaporation; to the residue a little water was added, the liquid was evaporated until all 
the alcohol was driven off, and was then again filtered; the filtered liquor was saturated 
with carbonate of potassa, and after filtration was mixed with a considerable excess of 
carbonate of potassa; finally, the liquid was agitated with successive portions of ether 
until this fluid ceased to dissolve anything, and the ethereal solution obtained was left to 
spontaneous evaporation. Arnicina remained. PAKT I. 
Arnica.—Arsenicum. 
condition which succeeds concussion of the brain from falls, blows, &c.; and from 
this circumstance has received the title of panacea lapsorum. It has also been 
recommended in chronic catarrh of the old, intermittent fever and its sequelae, 
dysentery, diarrhoea, nephritis, gout, rheumatism, passive hemorrhages, dropsy, 
chlorosis, amenorrhoea, and various other complaints, in most of which it seems to 
have been empirically prescribed. It is peculiarly useful in diseases attended with 
a debilitated or typhoid state of the system. Dr. T. 0. Miller has found it a very 
valuable remedy in enteric or typhoid fever. (Penins. Med. Journ., Sept. 1859, 
p. 382.) The powdered flowers and leaves are employed as a sternutatory; and 
the inhabitants of Savoy and the Yosges are said to substitute them for tobacco. 
They are best given in substance or infusion. .The dose of the powder is from 
five to twenty grains frequently repeated. The infusion may be prepared by 
digesting an ounce in a pint of water, of which from half a fluidounce to a fluid- 
ounce may be given every two or three hours. It should always be strained 
through linen, in order to separate the fine fibres, which might otherwise irritate 
the throat. The poisonous properties of the plant are said to be best counteracted 
by the free use of vinegar or other dilute vegetable acid; but the stomach should 
be first thoroughly emptied. 
A tincture prepared from the flowers has come into use in this country as a 
domestic remedy in sprains, bruises, &c., and is now among the U. S. officinals. 
It is employed externally. 
Off. Prep, of the Flowers. Extractum Arnicse Alcoholicum, U.S.; Tinctura 
Arnicse, U. S. 
Off. Prep, of the Root. Tinctura Arnicae, Br. W. 
ARSENICUM. U.S. 
Arseni-c. 
Arsenic,Fr.; Arsenik, Germ.; Arsenico, Ital., Span. 
This metal was introduced into the U. S. and Dublin Pharmacopoeias of 1850, 
for the purpose of being used to form the iodide of arsenic, and the solution of 
iodide of arsenic and mercury, two new officinals of those works. It has been re- 
tained in the Materia Medica of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, but was rejected by 
the compilers of the British. The Dublin College gave the following formula. 
“Take of White Oxide of Arsenic of Commerce two drachms [Dub. weighty. 
Place the Oxide at the sealed end of a hard German glass tube, of about half an 
inch in diameter and eighteen inches long, and, having covered it with about 
eight inches of dry and coarsely pulverized charcoal, and raised the portion of 
the tube containing the charcoal to a red heat, let a few ignited coals be placed 
beneath the Oxide, so as to effect its slow sublimation. When this has been 
accomplished, the metallic arsenic will be found attached to the interior of the 
tube at its distant or cool extremity. 
“ In conducting this process, the furnace used in the performance of an organic 
analysis should be employed, and the fuel should be ignited charcoal. It will be 
proper also to connect the open extremity of the tube with a flue, for the purpose 
of preventing the possible escape into the apartment of arsenical vapours; and, 
with the view of keeping it from being plugged by the metal, to introduce occa- 
sionally into it, as the sublimation proceeds, an iron wire through a cork, fixed 
(but not air-tight) in its open extremity.” 
In the above process, the white oxide (arsenious acid) is reduced by the agency 
of ignited charcoal, which attracts the oxygen of the acid, and revives the metal. 
On the large scale, metallic arsenic is generally obtained by heating arsenical 
pyrites (FeAs,FeS2) in earthen tubes; when the metal sublimes, and two cqs. 
of protosulphuret of iron are left. part I. 
Arsenicum.—Arum. 
141 
Properties. Arsenic is a brittle, crystalline metal, of a steel-gray colour, and 
possessing much brilliancy when recently broken or sublimed. Exposed to the 
air, its surface becomes dull and blackish. Its texture is granular, and sometimes 
a little scaly. Rubbed on the hands, it communicates a peculiar odour; but it 
is devoid of taste. Its sp. gr. is about 5 8. When heated to about 356°, it sub- 
limes without fusing, giving rise to white vapours having a garlicky odour. Its 
equivalent number is 75. It forms two combinations with oxygen, both having 
acid properties, called arsenious and arsenic acids, and three with sulphur, namely, 
bisulphuret of arsenic or realgar; tersulphuret or orpiment, corresponding in com- 
position with arsenious acid; and quintosulphuret, corresponding with arsenic 
acid. (See Acidum Arseniosum; also realgar and orpiment in the third part 
of this work.) Arsenic acid is obtained by distilling a mixture of twelve parts 
of nitric and one of muriatic acid off four parts of arsenious acid, until the 
whole has acquired the consistence of a thin syrup. The liquid is then poured 
into a porcelain dish, and evaporated at a moderate heat. Suddenly the arsenic 
acid, in the anhydrous state, concretes into an opaque white mass, which should 
be transferred, while warm, to a well-stopped bottle. Arsenic acid is white, solid, 
deliquescent, and soluble in six parts of cold and two of boiling water. It forms 
several hydrates, corresponding to those of phosphoric acid, to which it bears 
a close analogy. With nitrate of silver it gives a brick-red precipitate of arseniate 
of silver. As a poison it is even more virulent than arsenious acid. It consists 
of one eq. of arsenic and five of oxygen (As05). 
Arsenic is much diffused. Besides being present in a great many minerals, it 
has been detected, in minute proportion, in the earth of graveyards by Orfila; in 
certain soils and mineral waters by M. Walchner; in the ashes of various plants 
by M. Stein; and in various kinds of mineral coal, as also in the incrustation 
formed in the boiler of a sea-going steamer, by M. Daubree. 
Arsenic is officinal:— 
I. In the metallic state. 
Arsenicum, U. S. — Arsenic. 
II. Combined with oxygen. 
Acidum Arseniosum, U. S., Br. —Arsenious Acid. 
III. Combined with iodine. 
Arsenici Iodidum, U. S. —Iodide of Arsenic. 
IV. Combined with iodine and mercury. 
Liquor Arsenici et Hydrargyri Iodidi, U. S. — Solution of Iodide of 
Arsenic and Mercury. Donovan’s Solution. 
Y. In saline combination. 
Liquor Potassae Arsenitis, U. S.; Liquor Arsenicalis, Br. — Solution 
of Arsenite of Potassa. Arsenical Solution. Fowler’s Solution. 
B. 
ARUM. U. S. Secondary. 
Indian Turnip. 
The cormus of Arum triphyllum. U. S. 
Arum. Sex. Syst. Moncecia Polyandria. — Nat. Ord. Aracese. 
Gen. Gh. Spathe one-leafed, cowled. Spadix naked above, female below, 
>5tamineous in the middle. Willd. 
The root or cormus of Arum maculatum is occasionally used as a medicine in 
Europe, and formerly held a place in the Dublin Pharmacopoeia. Its properties 
so closely resemble those of our A. triphyllum, that the substitution of the latter 
in our Pharmacopoeia was obviously proper, independently of the consideration 
that the root is efficient only in the recent state. Its constituents, according to 
J. B. Enz, are a neuter acrid volatile principle soluble in ether, starch, gum, Arum 
PART I. 
mucilage, sugar, lignin, albumen, saponin, fixed oil, resin, and phosphate of lime ; 
the fresh cormus containing 58-4 per cent, of water, 5 2 of lignin, and 27 2 of 
starch. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxxi. 352.) In overdoses it is capable of 
producing fatal effects, through the violent inflammation caused by it in the mouth, 
fauces, oesophagus, and stomach. A fatal case, occurring in a child three years 
old, is recorded in the Annuaire de Therapeutique (A. D. 1862, p. 16), in which, 
besides the effects mentioned, profound torpor occurred at the end of three hours, 
followed by intense febrile reaction, and subsequent prostration. It is no doubt 
the acrid volatile principle to which these effects are to be ascribed. The root 
of A. esculentum, which abounds in starch, is much used by the natives of the 
Sandwich and other islands of the Pacific, as an article of food, having been 
previously deprived of its acrimony by heat. 
Arum triphyllum. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 480 ; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. i. 52.' 
The dragon-root, Indian turnip, or wake-robin, as this plant is variously called, 
has a perennial root or cormus, which, early in spring, sends up a large, ovate, 
acuminate, variously coloured spathe, convoluted at bottom, flattened and bent 
over at top like a hood, and supported by an erect, round, green or purplish 
scape. Within the spathe is a club-shaped spadix, green, purple, black, or varie- 
gated, rounded at the end, and contracted near the base, where it is surrounded 
by the stamens or germs in the dioecious plants, and by both in the monoecious, 
the female organs being below the male. The spathe and upper portions of the 
spadix gradually decay, while the germs are converted into a compact bunch of 
shining, scarlet berries. The leaves, usually one or two in number, and upon long 
sheathing footstalks, are composed of three ovate acuminate leaflets, paler on 
their under than their upper surface, and becoming glaucous as the plant ad- 
vances. There are three varieties of this species, distinguished by the colour of 
the spathe, which in one is green, in another dark-purple, and in a third white. 
The plant is a native of North and South America, and is common in all parts 
of the United States, growing in damp woods, in swamps, along ditches, and in 
other moist shady places. All parts of it are highly acrid, but the root only is 
officinal. 
This is roundish, flattened, an inch or two in diameter, covered with a brown, 
loose, wrinkled epidermis, and internally white, fleshy, and solid. In the recent 
state, it has a peculiar odour, and is violently acrid, producing, when chewed, 
an insupportable burning and biting sensation in the mouth and throat, which 
continues for a long time, and leaves an unpleasant soreness behind. According 
to Dr. Bigelow, its action does not readily extend through the cuticle, as the 
bruised root may lie upon the skin till it becomes dry, without producing pain 
or redness. The acrid principle is extremely volatile, and is entirely driven off 
by heat. It is not imparted to water, alcohol, or olive oil, but is probably solu- 
ble in ether, as may be inferred from the experiments of Enz, before referred 
to, on A. maculatum. The root loses nearly all its acrimony by drying, and in 
a short time becomes quite inert. It was found by Mr. D. S. Jones, besides the 
acrid principle, and from 10 to 17 per cent, of starch, to contain albumen, gum, 
sugar, extractive, lignin, and salts of potassa and lime. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
xv. 83.) The starch may be obtained from it as white and delicate as from the 
potato. In Europe, the dried root of A. maculatum is said sometimes to be em- 
ployed by the country people, in times of great scarcity, as a substitute for bread ; 
and an amylaceous substance is prepared from it, in small quantities, in the Isle 
of Portland, on the south coast of England, and called Portland arrow-root, or 
Portland sago. The Indian turnip may be preserved fresh for a year, if buried 
in sand. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Arum in its recent state is a powerful local 
irritant, possessing the property of stimulating the secretions, particularly those 
of the skin and lungs. It has been advantageously given in asthma, pertussis, PART I. 
Arum.—Asarum 
143 
chronic catarrh, chronic rheumatism, and various affections connected with a 
cachectic state of the system. As immediately taken from the ground, it is too 
acrid for use. The recently dried root, which retains a portion of the acrimony, 
but not sufficient to prevent its convenient administration, is usually preferred. 
It may be given in the dose of ten grains, mixed with gum arabic, sugar, and 
water, in the form of emulsion, repeated two or three times a day, and gradu- 
ally increased to half a drachm or more. The powder, made into a paste with 
honey or syrup, and placed in small quantities upon the tongue, so as to be 
gradually diffused over the mouth and throat, is said to have proved useful in 
the aphthous sore-mouth of children. W. 
ASARUM. U. S. Secondary, 
Wild Ginger. Canada Snake-root. 
The root of Asarum Canadense. U. S. 
Asarum. Sex. Syst. Dodecandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Aristolochiacese. 
Gen. Oh. Calyx three or four cleft, sitting on the germen. Corolla none. 
Capsule coriaceous, crowned. Willd. 
Asarum Canadense. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 838; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. i. 149 ; 
Barton, Med. Bot. ii. 85. This species of Asarum very closely resembles A. Euro- 
pseum or asarabacca, in appearance and botanical character. It has a long, 
creeping, jointed, fleshy, yellowish root or rhizoma, furnished with radicles of 
a similar colour. The stem is very short, dividing, before it emerges from the 
ground, into two long round hairy leafstalks, each of which bears a broad kid- 
ney-shaped leaf, pubescent on both surfaces, of a rich shining light-green above, 
veined and pale or bluish beneath. A single flower stands in the fork of the 
stem, upon a hairy pendulous peduncle. The flower is often concealed by the 
loose soil or decayed vegetable matter; so that the leaves with their petioles 
are the only parts that appear. There is no corolla. The calyx is very woolly, 
and divided into three broad concave acuminate segments, with the ends reflexed, 
of a deep brownish-purple colour on the inside, and of a dull-purple inclining 
to greenish externally. The filaments, which are twelve in number, and of un- 
equal length, stand upon the germ, and rise with a slender point above the 
anthers attached to them. Near the divisions of the calyx are three filamentous 
bodies, which maybe considered as nectaries. The pistil consists of a somewhat 
hexagonal germ, and a conical grooved style, surmounted by six revolute stigmas. 
The capsule is six-celled, coriaceous, and crowned with the adhering calyx. 
Canada snakeroot, or wild ginger, is an indigenous plant, inhabiting woods 
and shady places from Canada to the Carolinas. Its flowering period is from 
April to July. All parts of the plant have a grateful aromatic odour, which is 
most powerful in the root. This is the officinal portion. 
As we have seen it in the shops, it is in long, more or less contorted pieces, 
of a thickness from that of a straw to that of a goose-quill, brownish and wrinkled 
externally, whitish within, hard and brittle, and frequently furnished with short 
fibres. Its taste is agreeably aromatic and slightly bitter, said to be intermediate 
between that of ginger and serpentaria, but in our opinion bearing a closer 
resemblance to that of cardamom. The taste of the petioles, which usually ac- 
company the root, is more bitter and less aromatic. 
Among its constituents, according to Dr. Bigelow, are a light-coloured, pun- 
gent, and fragrant volatile oil, a reddish bitter resinous matter, starch, and gum ; 
in addition to which Mr. Rushton found fatty matter, chlorophyll, and salts of 
potassa, lime, and iron. Mr. Procter found the resin to be acrid as well as bitter, 
and without aromatic properties. The root imparts its virtues to alcohol, and 
less perfectly to water. PART I. 
144 
Medical Properties and Uses. Canada snakeroot is an aromatic stimulant 
tonic, with diaphoretic properties, applicable to similar cases with serpentaria, 
which it resembles in its effects. It is said to be sometimes used by the country 
people as a substitute for ginger. Dr. J. E. Black, of Indiana, has found it to pos- 
sess diuretic properties, and has used it with extraordinary success in two cases 
of dropsy connected with albuminous urine. (N. Y. Journ. of Med., xxxii. 289.)* 
From the close botanical analogy of the plant with the European Asarum, it 
might be supposed, like that, to possess emetic and cathartic properties; but 
such does not appear to be the case, at least with the dried root. It would form 
an elegant adjuvant to tonic infusions and decoctions. It maybe given in powder 
or tincture. The dose in substance is twenty or thirty grains. W. 
ASCLEPIAS. US. Secondary. 
Butterfly-weed. 
The root of Asclepias tuberosa. U. S. 
Syn. Asclepias Tuberosa. U. S. 1850. 
Asclepias. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Digynia. — Nat. Ord. Asclepiadaceoe. 
Oen. Ch. Calyx small, five-parted. Corolla rotate, five-parted, mostly re-, 
flexed. Staminal crown (or nectaiy) simple, five-leaved; leaflets opposite the 
anthers, with a subulate averted process at the base. Stigmas with the five 
angles (corpuscles) opening by longitudinal chinks. Pollinia five distinct pairs. 
Torrey. 
Several species of Asclepias, besides A. tuberosa, have been employed me- 
dicinally; and two of these, A. Syriaca and A. incarnata, wrere recognised in 
the Secondary Catalogue of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, from which, however, they 
were discharged, perhaps not altogether judiciously, at the late revision of that 
work. They will be noticed particularly in the third part of the Dispensatory. 
Asclepias tuberosa. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1213; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. ii. 59; 
Barton, Med. Bot. i. 239. The root of the butterfly-weed or pleurisy-root is 
perennial, and gives origin to numerous stems, which are erect, ascending, or pro- 
cumbent, round, hairy, of a green or reddish colour, branching at the top, and 
about three feet in height. The leaves are scattered, oblong-lanceolate, very 
hairy, of a rich, deep-green colour on their upper surface, paler beneath, and 
supported usually on short footstalks. They differ, however, somewhat in shape 
according to the variety of the plant. In the variety with decumbent stems, they 
are almost linear, and in another variety cordate. The flowers are of a beauti- 
ful reddish-orange colour, and disposed in terminal or lateral corymbose umbels. 
The fruit is an erect lanceolate follicle, with flat ovate seeds connected to a 
longitudinal receptacle by long silky hairs. 
This plant differs from other species of Asclepias in not emitting a milky juice 
when wounded. It is indigenous, growing throughout the United States from 
Massachusetts to Georgia, and as far. west as Texas, and, when in full bloom, in 
June and July, having a splendid appearance. It is most abundant in the South- 
ern States. The root is the only part used in medicine. 
This is large, irregularly tuberous, branching, often somewhat fusiform, fleshy, 
externally brown, internally white and striated, and, in the recent state, of a 
sub-acrid, nauseous taste. When dried it is easily pulverized; and its taste is bit- 
ter, but not otherwise unpleasant. Mr. E. Rhoads has discovered in it a pecu- 
liar principle, which he obtained by treating the cold infusion with tannic acid, 
mixing the precipitate, previously washed and expressed, with litharge, drying 
Asarum.—Asclepias. 
* Dr. Black used the root in the form of decoction, boiling four ounces in two pints of 
water for thirty minutes, and giving two tablespoonfuls every four hours till its effects 
were produced.—Note to the twelfth edition. PART I. 
Asclepias.—Assafoetida. 
145 
the mixture and exhausting it with hot alcohol, and finally decolorizing and eva- 
porating the alcoholic liquor. The product was a yellowish-wdiite powder, having 
the taste of the root, soluble in ether, and much less readily so in water, from 
which it was precipitated by tannic acid. Mr. Rhoads also found evidence of 
the existence in the root of tannic and gallic acids, albumen, pectin, gum, starch, 
a resin soluble and another insoluble in ether, fixed oil, a volatile odorous fatty 
matter, and various salts, besides from 30 to 35 per cent, of lignin. (Am. Journ. 
of Pharm., xxxiii. 492.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. The root of Asclepias tuberosa is diaphoretic 
and expectorant, without being stimulant. In large doses it is often also cathar- 
tic. Dr. Pawling, of Norristown, Pa., found it always, when freely given, to 
diminish the volume and activity of the pulse, while it produced copious dia- 
phoresis (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxxiii. 490); and Dr. Goodrake, of Clinton, 
Illinois, considers it, from his experience, slightly sedative and astringent. ( Trans, 
of Illinois State Med. Soc., A. D. 1851.) In the Southern States it has long 
been employed by regular practitioners in catarrh, pneumonia, pleurisy, consump- 
tion, and other pectoral affections; and appears to be decidedly useful, if ap- 
plied in the early stage, or, after sufficient depletion, when the complaint is already 
formed. Its popular name of pleurisy-root expresses the estimation in which it 
is held as a remedy in that disease. It has also been useful in diarrhoea, dysen- 
tery, and acute and chronic rheumatism. Dr. Lockwood speaks highly of its 
efficacy in promoting the eruption in exanthematous fevers. (Buffalo Med. 
Journ., March, 1848.) Much testimony might be advanced in proof of its possess- 
ing very considerable diaphoretic powers. It is said also to be gently tonic, and has 
been popularly employed in pains of the stomach from flatulence and indigestion. 
From twenty grains to a drachm of the root in powder may be given several 
times a day; but as a diaphoretic it is best administered in decoction or infu- 
sion, made in the proportion of an ounce to a quart of water, and given in the 
dose of a teacupful every two or three hours till it operates.* W. 
ASSAFCETIDA. U.S.,Br. 
Assafetida. 
The concrete juice of the root of Narthex Assafcetida, U. S. A gum-resin 
obtained by incision from the living root. Br. 
Assafoetida Ft.; Stinkasant, Teufelsdreck, Germ.; Assafetida, Ital.; Asafetida, Span.; 
Ungoozeh, Persian.; Hilteet., Arab. 
Narthex. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Digynia. — Nat. Ord. Apiacese or Umbel- 
lifer .e. 
Gen. Ch. Umbels compound. Involucres none. Calyx obsolete. Fruit thin, 
compressed at the back, with a dilated border. Ridges three only, dorsal. Vittse 
one to each dorsal furrow, and two to the laterals. Albumen thin, flat. Bindley. 
Narthex Assafoetida. Falconer, Royle's Mat. Med., Am. ed., p. 401.—Ferula 
Assafoetida. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1413; Kcempfer, Amoenitat. Exotic. 535, t. 536. 
This plant was first described by Kcempfer, who wrote from actual observation. 
By him and others after him it was considered as belonging to the genus Ferula; 
* Fluid Extract of Asclepias Mr. E. Rhoads prepares a fluid extract by moistening sixteen 
ounces of the powdered root with four fluidounces of a menstruum consisting of three pints 
of alcohol and a pint and a half of water, packing the mixture into a conical glass perco- 
lator, pouring on it the remainder of the menstruum, reserving the twelve fluidounces which 
first pass, evaporating the residue of the filtered liquor by means of a water-bath to four 
fluidounces, mixing this with the reserved liquor, and filtering at the end of twenty-four 
hours. This preparation was found effective by Dr. Pawling, in the dose of a fluidrachm 
every four hours.—Note to the twelfth edition. 146 
Assafoetida. 
PART I. 
but Dt Falconer, from a careful examination of the plant in its native site, as 
well as of specimens cultivated in the Saharunpore Botanic Garden, came to 
the conclusion that it belongs to a distinct genus, which he denominated Nar- 
thex, and which is now generally admitted. The root is perennial, fleshy, ta- 
pering, simple or divided, a foot or more in length, about three inches thick at 
top, where it is invested above the soil with numerous small fibres, dark-gray 
and transversely corrugated on the outside, internally white, and abounding in 
an excessively fetid, opaque, milky juice. The leaves, which spring from the 
root, are numerous, large and spreading, nearly two feet long, light-green above, 
paler beneath, and of a leathery texture. They are three-parted, with bipinna- 
tifid segments, and oblong-lanceolate, obtuse, entire or variously sinuate, decur- 
rent lobes, forming a narrow winged channel on the divisions of the petiole. 
From the midst of the leaves rises a luxuriant, herbaceous stem, from six to nine 
feet high, two inches in diameter at the base, simple, erect, round, smooth, 
striated, solid, and terminating in a large head of compound umbels, with from 
ten to twenty rays, each surmounted by a roundish partial umbel. The flowers 
are pale-yellow, and the fruit oval, thin, flat, foliaceous, and reddish-brown. 
The plant is said to differ, both in its leaves and product, according to the situa- 
tion and soil in which it grows. 
It is a native of Persia, Affghanistan, and other neighbouring regions; and 
flourishes abundantly in the mountainous provinces of Laar and Chorassan, where 
its juice is collected. Burns, in his travels into Bokhara, states that the young 
plant is eaten with relish by the people, and that sheep crop it greedily. Some 
have erroneously supposed that certain species of Ferula contribute to the pro- 
duction of the assafetida of commerce; and F. Persica was admitted among its 
probable sources in the last edition of the Edinburgh Pharmacopeia. This 
plant grows also in Persia, and has a strong odour of the drug.* 
The oldest plants are most productive, and those under four years old are 
not considered worth cutting. At the season when the leaves begin to fade, the 
earth is removed from about the top of the root, and the leaves and stem, being 
twisted off near their base, are thrown with other vegetable matters over the 
root, in order to protect it from the sun. After some time the summit of the root 
is cut off transversely, and, the juice which exudes having been scraped off, 
another thin slice is removed, in order to obtain a fresh surface for exudation. 
This process is repeated at intervals till the root ceases to afford juice, and per- 
ishes. During the whole period of collection, which occupies nearly six weeks, 
the solar heat is as much as possible excluded. The juice collected from numer- 
ous plants is put together, and allowed to harden in the sun. The fruit is said 
to be sent to India, where it is highly esteemed as a medicine. 
Assafetida is brought to this country either from India, whither it is conveyed 
from Bushire, and down the Indus, or by the route of Great Britain. It some- 
times comes in mats, but more frequently in cases, the former containing eighty 
or ninety, the latter from two hundred to four hundred pounds. It is sometimes 
also imported in casks. 
Properties. As found in the shops, assafetida is in irregular masses, softish 
* On a visit by the author to the Edinburgh Botanical Garden, in September, 18G0, in 
company with Drs. Christison and Balfour, the latter the Superintendent of the garden, an 
assafetida plant was shown to him, of which the herbaceous part had died down, and the 
root only*remained. The author had seen the same plant in 1848; but it was then very 
young, and had not yet flowered; nor did it reach perfection until 14 years old, when for 
the first time it flowered and bore fruit. The seeds had been planted, and, at the tirte of 
the author’s last visit, had produced several young plants, which were then in the earliest 
stage of their growth, with their cotyledonous leaves, long, slender, and delicate, still re- 
maining. Drs. Christison and Balfour were kind enough to present some seeds to the au- 
thor, which, however, unfortunately, when planted in his garden, did not germinate.— 
Note to the twelfth edition. PART I. 
Assafoetida. 
147 
when not long exposed, of a yellowish or reddish-brown colour externally, ex- 
hibiting when broken an irregular, whitish, somewhat shining surface, which 
soon becomes red on exposure, and ultimately passes into a dull yellowish-brown. 
This change of colour is characteristic of assafetida, and is ascribed to the influ- 
ence of air and light upon its resinous ingredient. The masses appear as if 
composed of distinct portions agglutinated together, sometimes of white, almost 
pearly tears, embedded in a darker, softer, and more fetid paste. Occasionally 
the tears are separate, though rarely in the commerce of this country. They are 
roundish, oval, or irregular, and generally flattened, from the size of a pea to that 
of a large almond, sometimes larger, yellowish or brownish externally and white 
within, and not unlike ammoniac tears, for which they might be mistaken ex- 
cept for their odour, which, however, is weaker than that of the masses. 
The odour of assafetida is alliaceous, extremely fetid, and tenacious; th? 
taste, bitter, acrid, and durable. The effect of time and exposure is to render 
it more hard and brittle, and to diminish the intensity of its smell and taste, 
particularly the former. Koempfer assures us that one drachm of the fresh juice 
diffuses a more powerful odour, through a close room, than one hundred pounds 
of the drug as usually kept in the stores. Assafetida softens by heat without 
melting, and is of difficult pulverization.* Its sp. gr. is 1-327. (Berzelius.) Itis 
inflammable, burning with a clear, lively flame. It yields all its virtues to alco- 
hol, and forms a clear tincture, which becomes milky on the addition of water. 
Macerated in water it produces a turbid red solution, and, triturated with that 
fluid, gives a white or pink-coloured milky emulsion of considerable permanence. 
In 100 parts, Pelletier found 65 parts of resin, 19'44 of gum, 11-66 of bassorin, 
3 60 of volatile oil, with traces of supermalate of lime. Brandes obtained 4-6 
parts of volatile oil, 47 25 of a bitter resin soluble in ether, 1-6 of a tasteless 
resin insoluble in ether, 10 of extractive, 19-4 of gum containing traces of po- 
tassa and lime united with sulphuric, phosphoric, acetic, and malic acids, 6‘4 of 
bassorin, 6 2 of sulphate of lime, 3-5 of carbonate of lime, 0-4 of oxide of iron 
and alumina, 0'4 of malate of lime with resin, 6'0 of water, and 4-6 of impuri- 
ties consisting chiefly of sand and woody fibre. The odour of the gum-resin 
depends on the volatile oil, which may be procured by distillation with water 
or alcohol. It is lighter than water, colourless when first distilled, but becoming 
yellow with age, of an exceedingly offensive odour, and of a taste at first flat, 
but afterwards bitter and acrid. It contains, according to Stenhouse, from 15-75 
to 23 per cent, of sulphur. Hlasiwetz considers it as a mixture, in variable pro- 
portions, of the sulphuret and bisulphuret of a compound radical, consisting of 
carbon and hydrogen (C12IIU). A persulphide (persulphuret) of allyl, which is 
sublimed when oil of mustard is heated with persulphide (persulphuret) of po- 
tassium, is said by Wertheim to have an extremely intense odour of assafetida; 
a fact which justifies the supposition that it may be identical with the oil of that 
gum-resin. (Gmelin, ix. 377.) The oil boils at about 280°, but suffers decom- 
position, yielding sulphuretted hydrogen. When long exposed to the air it be- 
comes slightly acid, and acquires a somewhat different odour. (See Chem. Oaz., 
No. 178, p. 108.) The volatile oil and bitter resin are the active principles. 
Impurities and Adulterations. Assafetida is probably not often purposely 
adulterated; but it frequently comes of inferior quality, and mixed with various 
impurities, such as sand and stones. Portions which are very soft, dark-brown 
or blackish, with few or no tears, and indisposed to assume a red colour when 
* In the pharmaceutical preparation of assafetida, it is sometimes very desirable to re- 
duce it to powder. Mr. B. S. Proctor has found that this, and other gum-resins, when 
incorporated with from 4 to 10 per cent, of magnesia, by first softening them by means of 
a water-bath, and then stirring them with the earth, become readily pulverizable; and the 
powder is without the tendency to agglutination which it has when procured without this 
preliminary preparation. (Lotid. Chem. and Druggist, April 13, 1863.)—Note to the twelfth 
edition. Assafoetida.—Aurantii Cortex. 
PART I. 
freshly broken, should be rejected. We have been informed that a case seldom 
comes without more or less of this inferior .assafetida, and of many it forms the 
larger portion. It is sold chiefly for horses. A factitious substance, made of 
garlic juice and white pitch with a little assafetida, has occurred in commerce. 
Assafetida is sometimes kept in the powdered state; but this is objectiona- 
ble; as the drug is thus necessarily weakened by the loss of volatile oil, and is 
besides rendered more liable to adulteration. 
Medical Properties and Uses. The effects of assafetida on the system are 
those of a moderate stimulant, powerful antispasmodic, efficient expectorant, 
and feeble laxative. Some consider it also emmenagogue and anthelmintic. Its 
volatile oil is undoubtedly absorbed; as its peculiar odour may be detected in 
the breath and the secretions. As an antispasmodic simply, it is employed in 
the treatment of hysteria, hypochondriasis, convulsions of various kinds, spasm 
of the stomach and bowels unconnected with inflammation, and in numerous 
other nervous disorders of a merely functional character. From the union of 
expectorant with antispasmodic powers, it is highly useful in spasmodic pecto- 
ral affections, such as hooping-cough and asthma, and in certain infantile coughs 
and catarrhs, complicated with nervous disorder, or with a disposition of the 
system to sink. In catarrhus senilis; in the secondary stages of peripneumonia 
notha, croup, measles, and catarrh; in pulmonary consumption; in fact, in*all 
cases of disease of the chest in which there is want of due nervous energy, and 
in which inflammation is absent or has been sufficiently subdued, assafetida may 
be occasionally prescribed with advantage. In the form of enema, it is useful in 
cases of inordinate accumulation of air in the bowels, and, in the same form, is 
most conveniently administered in the hysteric paroxysm, and other kinds of 
convulsion. Its laxative tendency is generally advantageous, but must some- 
times be counteracted by opium. It may often be usefully combined with ca- 
thartics in constipation with flatulence. 
It appears to have been known iu the East from very early ages, and, not- 
withstanding its repulsive odour, is at present much used in India and Persia 
as a condiment. Persons soon habituate themselves to its smell, which they, 
even learn to associate pleasantly with the agreeable effects experienced from 
its internal use. Children with hooping-cough sometimes become fond of it. 
The medium dose is ten grains, which may be given in pill or emulsion. (See 
Mistura Assafoetidse.) The tincture is officinal, and is much used. When given 
by injection, the gum-resin should be triturated with warm water. From half a 
drachm to two drachms may be administered at once in this way. As assafetida 
is not apt to affect the brain injuriously, it may be given very freely when not 
contraindicated by the existence of inflammatory action. 
Off. Prep. Emplastrum Assafoetidse, U.S.; Mistura Assafoetidse, U.S.; Pilulae 
Aloes et Assafoetidae; Pilulae Assafoetidse, U. S.; Pilula Assafoetidse Compositn, 
Br.; Pilulse Galbani Composite, U. S.; Tinctura Assafoetidse. W. 
AURANTII AMARI CORTEX. U.S. 
Bitter Orange Peel. 
The rind of the fruit of Citrus vulgaris. U.S. 
Off. Syn. AURANTII CORTEX. Citrus Bigaradia. The outer part of the 
rind, dried, from the ripe fruit. Br. 
AURANTII DULCIS CORTEX. U.S. 
Sweet Orange Peel. 
The rind of the fruit of Citrus Aurantium. U.S. PART I. 
Aurantii Cortex.—Aurantii Flores. 
149 
AURANTII FLORES. U.S. 
Orange Flowers. 
The flowers of Citrus Aurantium and of Citrus vulgaris. 
Ecorce d’orange, Fr.; Pomeranzenscliale, Germ.; Scorze del frutto dell’arancio, Ilal. 
Corteza de naranja, Span. 
Citrus. Sex. Syst. Polyadelphia Icosandria.— Nat. Ord. Aurantiaeese. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx five-cleft. Petals five, oblong. Anthers twenty, the filaments 
united into different parcels. Berry nine-celled. Willd. 
This very interesting genus is composed of small evergreen trees, with ovate 
or oval-lanceolate, and shining leaves, odoriferous flowers, and fruits which 
usually combine beauty of colour with a fragrant odour and grateful taste. 
They are all natives of warm climates. Though the species are not numerous, 
great diversity exists in the character of the fruit; and many varieties, founded 
upon this circumstance, are noticed by writers. In the splendid work on the 
natural history of the Citrus by Risso and Poiteau, 169 varieties are described 
under the eight following heads:—1. sweet oranges, 2. bitter and sour oranges, 
3 bergamots, 4. limes, 5. shaddocks, 6. lumes, 7. lemons, and 8. citrons. Of these 
it is difficult to decide which have just claims to the rank of distinct species, and 
which must be considered merely as varieties. Those employed in medicine may 
be arranged in two sets, of which the orange, C. Aurantium, and the lemon, C, 
Medica, are respectively the types; the former characterized by a winged, the 
latter by a naked or nearly naked petiole. The form and character of the fruit, 
though not entirely constant, serve as the basis of subdivisions. C. Decumana, 
which yields the shaddock, agrees with C. Aurantium in the form of its petiole. 
Citrus Aurantium. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 1427 ; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 532, t. 
188. The orange-tree grows to the height of about fifteen feet. Its stem is 
round, much branched, and covered with a smooth, shining, greenish-brown bark. 
In the wild state, and before inoculation, it is often furnished with axillary spines. 
The leaves are ovate, pointed, entire, smooth, and of a shining pale-green colour. 
When held between the eye and the light, they exhibit numerous small trans- 
parent vesicles, filled with volatile oil; and, when rubbed between the fingers, 
are highly fragrant. Their footstalks are about an inch long, and have wings 
or lateral appendages. The flowers, wrhich have a delightful odour, are large, 
white, and attached by short peduncles, singly or in clusters, to the smallest 
branches. The calyx is saucer-shaped, with pointed teeth. The petals are ob- 
long, concave, white, and beset with numerous small glands. The filaments are 
united at their base in three or more distinct portions, and support yellow anthers. 
The germen is roundish, and bears a cylindrical style, terminated by a globular 
stigma. The fruit is a spherical berry, often somewhat flattened at its base and 
apex, rough, of a yellow or orange colour, and divided internally into nine ver- 
tical cells, each containing from two to four seeds, surrounded by a pulpy matter. 
The rind of the fruit consists of a thin exterior layer, abounding in vesicles filled 
with a fragrant volatile oil, and of an interior one, which is thick, white, fungous, 
insipid, and inodorous. There are two varieties of C. Aurantium, considered* 
by some as distinct species. They differ chiefly in the fruit, which in one is 
tweet, in the other sour and bitterish. The first retains the original title, the 
second is called Citrus vulgaris by De Candolle and C. Bigaradia by Risso. 
The Seville orange is the product of the latter.* 
* A variety of the orange, called the Mandarin Orange (Citrus Bigaradia Sinensis or C. 
Bigaradia myrtifolia), which is probably a native of China, but cultivated largely in Sicily 
and the south of Italy, bears a fruit much smaller than the common orange, round but 
flattened above and below, with a smooth, thin, delicate rind, and a very sweet delicious 
pulp. A volatile oil is obtained from the rind by expression, of a yellow colour, a very 150 
Aurantii Cortex.—Aurantii Flores. 
PART I. 
Thii beautiful evergreen, in which the fruit is mingled, in every stage of its 
growth, with the blossoms and foliage, has been applied to numerous purposes 
of utility and ornament. A native of China and India, it was introduced into 
Europe at a very early period, was transplanted to America soon after its first 
settlement, and is now found in every civilized country where the climate is 
favourable. In colder countries, it is one of the most cherished ornaments of 
the hot-house, though in this situation its beauties are not fully developed, and 
its fruit does not attain perfection. It flourishes in the most southern portions 
of our own country, especially near St. Augustine in Florida, where very fine 
oranges are produced. The tree also grows in the gardens about New Orleans, 
but is sometimes destroyed by frosty winters. The fruit is brought to us chiefly 
from the south of Europe and the West Indies. The Havana oranges have the 
sweetest and most agreeable flavour. 
Various parts of the plant are used in medicine. The leaves, which are bitter 
and aromatic, are employed in some places in the form of infusion as a gently 
stimulant diaphoretic. They yield by distillation with water a volatile oil, which 
is said to be often mixed by the distillers with the oils obtained from the flowers 
and unripe fruit. In regard to polarized light, it has a rotatory power to the 
left, which is considerably weakened by the prolonged action of heat. (Ohautard, 
Journ. de Pharm., Se ser., xliv. 28.) The fresh flowers impart to water distilled 
from them their peculiar fragrance; and the preparation thus obtained is much 
esteemed in the south of Europe for its antispasmodic virtues. (See Aqua Aurantii 
Florum, among the Preparations.) The dried flowers are used on the conti- 
nent of Europe, as a gentle nervous stimulant, in the form of infusion, which 
may be made in the proportion of two drachms to the pint of boiling water, and 
taken in the dose of a teacupful. The flowers should be dried in the shade, at a 
temperature between *75° and 95° F. (Annuaire de Therap., A. D. 1861, p. 59.) 
An oil is also obtained from the flowers by distillation which is called neroli 
in France, and is much used in perfumery, and in the composition of liqueurs. 
It is an ingredient of the famous Cologne water. That obtained from the flowers 
of the Seville or bitter orange (G. vulgaris) is deemed the sweetest. It was in- 
troduced into the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia, with the title of Aurantii Oleum, 
to serve for the preparation of orange-flower water. Soubeiran considers this oil 
rather as a product of the distillation, than as pre-existing in the flowers. The 
fact may thus be explained, that orange-flower water, made by dissolving even 
the finest neroli in water, has not the precise odour of that procured by distilla- 
tion from the flowers. Pure neroli has a rotating power to the right, in this 
respect differing from the oil of the leaves. (Ghautomd.) 
The fruit is applied to several purposes. Small unripe oranges, about the size 
of a cherry or less, previously dried, and rendered smooth by a turning lathe, are 
sometimes employed to maintain the discharge from issues. They are preferred 
to peas on account of their agreeable odour, and by some are thought to swell 
less with the moisture; but this is denied by others, and it is asserted that they 
require to be renewed at the end of twenty-four hours. These fruits are some- 
times kept in the shops under the name of orange berries. They are of a gray- 
.ish or greenish-brown colour, fragrant odour, and bitter taste, and are said to be 
used for flavouring cordials. A volatile oil is obtained from them by distillation, 
known to the French by the name of essence de petit grain, and employed for 
similar purposes with that of the flowers. The oil, however, which now goes by 
this name, is said to be distilled from the leaves, and those of the bitter orange 
yield the best. The oils from the unripe and the ripe fruit have a rotating 
bland agreeable odour different from that of the orange or lemon, and a not unpleasant 
taste, like that of the rind. When freed from colouring matter by distillation, it was found 
by M. S. de Luca to be a pure carbohydrogen, with the formula C20H](.. (Journ. de I'karm., 
3c s6r., xxxiii. 52.)—Note to the twelfth edition. PART I. 
Aurantii Cortex.—Aurantii Flores. 
151 
power to the right, the latter much greater than the former; and this property 
might serve to distinguish them from the oil of the leaves. Several of the oils 
from the Aurantiaceae deposit a crystalline substance, differing from camphor. 
(Chautard.) The juice of the Seville orange is sour and bitterish, and forms 
with water a refreshing and grateful drink in febrile diseases. It is employed 
in the same manner as lemon-juice, which it resembles in containing citric acid, 
though in much smaller proportion. The sweet orange is more pleasant to the 
taste, and is extensively used as a light refrigerant article of diet in inflamma- 
tory diseases, care being taken to reject the membranous portion. The rind both 
of the sweet and bitter varieties is directed by the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, the bit- 
ter only by the British. With the latter, the outer portion is that considered 
officinal; as the inner is destitute of activity, and by its affinity for moisture ren- 
ders the peel liable to become mouldy. The best mode of separating the outer 
rind, when its desiccation and preservation are desired, is to pare it from the 
orange in narrow strips with a sharp knife, as we pare an apple. When the ob- 
ject is to apply the fresh rind to certain pharmaceutic purposes, as to the pre- 
paration of the confection of orange peel, it is best separated by a grater. The 
dried peel, sold in the shops, is usually that of the Seville orange, and is brought 
chiefly from the Mediterranean. 
Properties. Orange peel has a grateful aromatic odour, and a warm bitter 
taste, which depend upon the volatile oil contained in its vesicles. The rind of 
the Seville orange is much more bitter than that of the other variety. Both 
yield their sensible properties to water and alcohol. The oil may be obtained 
by expression from the fresh grated rind, or by distillation with water. It is 
imported into the United States in tinned copper cans. It has properties re- 
sembling those of the oil of lemons, but spoils more rapidly on exposure to the 
air, acquiring a terebinthinate odour. The perfumers use it in the preparation 
of Cologne water, and for other purposes; and it is also employed by the con- 
fectioners. According to Dr. Imbert-Gourbeyre, they who are much exposed to 
the inhalation of the oil of bitter oranges are apt to be affected with cutaneous 
eruptions, and various nervous disorders; as headache, tinnitus aurium, oppres- 
sion of the chest, gastralgia, want of sleep, and even muscular spasm. He thinks 
that the oils of the Aurantiaceae have much resemblance to camphor in their 
effects. ( Chem. Pharm. Gent. Blatt, Feb. 1854, p. 128.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Bitter orange peel is a mild tonic, carmina- 
tive, and stomachic, the sweet is simply aromatic; but neither is much used alone. 
They are chiefly employed to communicate a pleasant flavour to other medicines, 
to correct their nauseating properties, and to assist their stimulant impression 
upon the stomach. They are a frequent and useful addition to bitter infusions 
and decoctions, as those of gentian, quassia, columbo, and especially Peruvian 
bark. It is obviously improper to subject orange peel to long boiling; as the 
volatile oil, on which its virtues chiefly depend, is thus driven off. The dose in 
substance is from half a drachm to a drachm three times a day. Large quanti- 
ties are sometimes productive of mischief, especially in children, in whom violent 
colic and even convulsions are sometimes induced by it. We have known the 
case of a child, in which death resulted from eating the rind of an orange. 
When orange peel is used simply for its agreeable flavour, the rind of the 
sweet orange is preferable; as a tonic, that of the Seville orange. 
Of. Prep, of Bitter Orange Peel. Infusum Aurantii, Br.; Int'usum Gentianae 
Comp.; Spiritus Armoracise Comp., Br.; Tinctura Aurantii, Br.; Tinct. Cin- 
chonae Comp.; Tinct. Gentianae Comp. 
Off. Prep, of Sweet Orange Peel. Confectio Aurantii Corticis, U. S.; Syrupua 
Aurantii Corticis, U. S. 
Off. Prep, of the Flowers. Aqua Aurantii Florum, U. S. W. 152 
Avenas Farina. 
PART I. 
AVENiE FARINA. U.S. 
Oatmeal. 
The mea\ prepared from the seeds of Avena sativa. U. S. 
Farine d’avoine, Ft.; Hafermehl, Germ.; Farina dell’aveiia, Ital.; Harina de avena, Span. 
Avena. Sex. Syst. Triandria Digynia.— Nat. Ord. Graminacese. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx two-valved, many-flowered, with a twisted awn on the back. 
Willd, 
Avena sativa. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 446. The common oat is so well known 
that a minute description would be superfluous. It is specifically distinguished 
by its “loose panicle, its two-seeded glumes, and its smooth seeds, one of which 
is awned.” It was known to the ancients, and is now cultivated in all civilized 
countries; but its original locality has not been satisfactorily ascertained. It 
grows wild in Sicily, and is said to have been seen by Anson in the Island of 
Juan Fernandez, on the coast of Chili. 
This grain, though cultivated chiefly for horses, is very nourishing, and is 
largely consumed as food by the inhabitants of Scotland, the north of Ireland, 
Brittany, and some other countries. A decoction is said to possess decided 
diuretic properties, and to be useful in dropsy. (Lond. Med. Times and Gaz., 
Sept. 1854, p. 263.) The seeds deprived of their husks are called groats, but 
are little used in this country. It is only the meal, prepared by grinding the 
seeds, that is kept in our shops. 
Oatmeal contains, according to Yogel, in 100 parts, 59 of starch, 4 30 of a 
grayish substance resembling rather coagulated albumen than gluten, 8 25 of 
sugar and a bitter principle, 2 50 of gum, 2 of fixed oil, and 23-95 of fibrous 
matter including loss. An elaborate analysis of oats, deprived of the husk, 
made by Professor J. P. Norton, of Yale College, gave as the average of four 
varieties of the grain, 6511 per cent, of starch, 2 24 of sugar, 2*23 of gum, 
6 55 of oil, 16 51 of a nitrogenous body analogous to casein, though differing 
from it in some respects, l-42 of albumen, l-68 of gluten, 2T7 of epidermis, 
and 2 09 of alkaline salts, with allowance for loss and error. Professor Nor- 
ton thinks there may have been some error in the proportion of the nitrogenous 
compounds, in consequence of the difficulty of separating them from starch ; and 
concludes, from the quantity of nitrogen obtained by ultimate analysis, that 
these compounds must amount to at least 8 per cent. (Am. Journ. of Sci. and 
Arts, 2d ser., iii. 330.) Oatmeal has no smell, is very slightly but not unpleasantly 
bitter, and yields most of its nutritive matter with facility to boiling water. 
Gruel made with oatmeal affords a nutritious, bland, and easily digested ali- 
ment, admirably adapted to inflammatory diseases; and, from its somewhat 
laxative tendency, preferable in certain cases to the purely mucilaginous or 
amylaceous preparations. It is often administered after brisk cathartics, in order 
to render them easier, and at the same time more efficient in their action. It 
is sometimes also used in the form of enema; and the meal, boiled with water 
into a thick paste, forms an excellent emollient cataplasm. Oatmeal gruel may 
be prepared by boiling an ounce of the meal with three pints of water to a 
quart, straining the decoction, allowing it to stand till it cools, and then pour- 
ing off the clear liquor from the sediment. Sugar and lemon-juice may be added 
to improve its flavour; and raisins are not unfrequently boiled with the meal 
and water for the same purpose. W PART I. 
Azedarach.—Balsamum Peruvianum. 
153 
AZEDARACI1. U.S. Secondary. 
Azedarach. 
The bark of the root of Melia Azedarach. U. S. 
Melia. Sex. Syst. Decandria Monogynia.— Nat.Ord. Meliaceae. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx five-toothed. Petals.five. Nectary cylindrical, toothed 
bearing the anthers in the throat. Drupe with a five-celled nut. Willd. 
Melia Azedarach. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 558; Michaux, N. Am. Sylv: iii. 4 
This is a beautiful tree, rising thirty or forty feet in height, with a trunk fifteen 
or twenty inches in diameter. When standing alone, it attains less elevation, 
and spreads itself out into a capacious summit. Its leaves are large and doublj 
pinnate, consisting of smooth, acuminate, denticulate, dark-green leaflets, which 
are disposed in pairs with an odd one at the end. The flowers, which are of a 
lilac colour and delightfully fragrant, are in beautiful axillary clusters near the 
extremities of the branches. The fruit is a round drupe, about as large as a 
cherry, and yellowish when ripe. 
This species of Melia is variously called pride of India, pride of China, 
and common bead-tree. It is a native of Syria, Persia, and the north of India, 
and is cultivated as an ornament in different parts of the world. It is abundant 
in our Southern States, where it adorns the streets of cities, and the environs 
of dwellings, and has even become naturalized. North of Virginia it does not 
flourish, though small trees may sometimes be seen in sheltered situations. Its 
flowers appear early in the spring. The fruit is sweetish, and, though said by 
some to be poisonous, is eaten by children without inconvenience, and is re- 
puted to be powerfully vermifuge. But the bark of the root is the part chiefly 
employed. It is preferred in the recent state, and is, therefore, scarcely to be 
found in the shops at the North. It has a bitter, nauseous taste, and yields its 
virtues to boiling water. 
Medical Properties and Uses. This bark is cathartic and emetic, and in 
large doses is said to produce narcotic effects similar to those of spigelia, espe- 
cially if gathered at the season when the sap is mounting. It is considered in 
the Southern States an efficient anthelmintic, and appears to enjoy, in some 
places, an equal degree of confidence with the piukroot. It is thought also to 
be useful in those infantile remittents which resemble verminose fevers, without 
' being dependent on the presence of worms. The form of decoction is usually 
preferred. A quart of water is boiled with four ounces of the fresh bark to.a 
pint, of which the dose for a child is a tablespoonful every two or three hours, 
till it affects the stomach or bowels. Another plan is to give a dose morning and 
evening for several successive days, and then to administer an active cathartic. 
W. 
BALSAMUM PERUVIANUM. U. 8., Br. 
Balsam of Peru. 
The prepared juice of Myrospermum Peruiferum {De Candolle) U. S. My- 
rospermum Pereiras. (Boyle.) A balsam obtained from the stem by incision. Br. 
Baume de Peru, Ft.; Peruvianischer Balsam, Germ.; Balsamo del Peru, Ital.; Balsame 
uegro, Span. 
Myrospermum. Sex. Syst. Decandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Leguminosae. 
De Cand. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx campanulate, five-toothed, persistent. Petals five, the upper 
one largest. Stamens ten, free. Ovary stipitate, oblong, membranous, with 
from two to six ovules; the style originating near the apex, filiform, lateral. 154 
Balsamum Peruvianum. 
PART I. 
yume with the stalk naked at the base, broadly winged above, samaroid, inde- 
hisccnt, one-celled, one or two seeded, laterally somewhat pointed by the style. 
Seed covered over with balsamic juice. Cotyledons thick, flat. De Candolle. 
Most botanists agree in uniting the genera Myroxylon and Toluifera of 
Linnaeus, and Myrospermum of Jacquin, into one, and follow De Candolle in 
adopting the last-mentioned title. Klotzsch, of Berlin, however, asserts the 
distinctness of the genera Myroxylon and Myrospermum, and attaches the 
Peru balsam tree to the former. (rBonplandia, Sept. 15, 1857, p. 274.) Be- 
sides the officinal species, there are others which possess medical virtues, and 
have been more or less employed. The pod of M. frutescens (Jacq.), growing 
in Trinidad, is popularly used in that island as a carminative, and externally, in 
the form of tincture, as a lotion in rheumatic pains; and a small quantity of 
balsamic juice is obtained by incisions in the stem, not distinguishable from bal- 
uam of Tolu. (Pharm. Journ. and Trans., Sept. 1862, p. 108.) Another spe- 
cies is known in Paraguay under the name of quino-quino, the bark of which 
is used, in powTder and decoction, as a remedy in wounds and ulcers; and from 
the trunk of which a juice is obtained, which, in its concrete state, closely re- 
sembles dried balsam of Peru. {Ibid., Oct. 1862, p. 183.) In relation to the 
particular species which yields the balsam now under consideration, there has 
been much uncertainty. After the death of Linnaeus, specimens of a plant 
wrere sent to the younger Linnaeus by Mutis, from New Granada, which was 
said by this botanist to yield the balsam of Peru. A description of the plant 
was published in the Sup>plementum Plantarum with the name of Myroxylon 
Peruiferum; and pharmacologists have generally referred the balsam to it. 
But considerable doubt has existed as to the identity of the species; nor have 
these doubts been satisfactorily settled up to the present time. Specimens of a 
plant were received by Dr. Pereira from Central America, which, there is no 
reason to doubt, is the real source of Peruvian balsam. Upon comparing these 
with the specimen of Mutis’s plant, preserved in the Herbarium of the Linnsean 
Society, he found a sufficiently close resemblance in the leaves; but unfortu- 
nately this specimen is not perfect, and a certain conclusion did not seem to 
be attainable. A species of Myrospermum was described by Ruiz, in his Qui- 
nologia, as the true Peruvian balsam plant, which he believed to be identical 
with Myroxylon Peruiferum of Linn., and named accordingly. But this identity 
is denied by Kunth and De Candolle, who consider Ruiz’s plant to be the My- 
rospermum pubescens. {Prodrom. ii. 95.) Lambert, in his Illustrations of the 
genus Cinchona, translated the description of Ruiz, and gave a figure of the- 
plant (p. 97) ; but, according to Dr. Pereira, he drew the figure from Pavon’s 
specimens contained in the British Museum, which were not those of Ruiz’s 
plant, and were marked in Pavon’s own handwriting Myroxylon balsamiferum. 
With this figure the real plant corresponds most closely; and it would appear, 
therefore, not to be the M. Peruiferum of Ruiz, the M. pubescens of Kunth 
and De Candolle. More recently, Prof. Carson, of the University of Pennsyl- 
vania, has received from Central America a specimen, in leaf and flovrer, of the 
true Peruvian balsam tree, which he has described and figured in the Am. Journ. 
of Pharm. for July, 1860 (p. 297). From a comparison of this specimen with 
the description of Pereira’s plant, and with that by Willdenow, in the 4th edi- 
tion of the Species Plantarum, of the M. Peruiferum of the younger Linnams, 
he concluded that the three plants were identical, and that the balsam is in fact, 
as originally supposed, the product of the Myroxylon Peruiferum of Linn., the 
Myrospermum Peruiferum of Kunth and De Candolle. In the uncertainty which 
exists upon this subject, we shall give a brief account of the plant described 
and figured by Pereira, writh the designation of “ Myrospermum of Sonsonatef 
leaving its proper botanical place to be determined by further observation 
The Myrospermum of Sonsonate, for which Dr. Royle proposes the name of part I. 
Balsamum Peruvianum. 
Myrospermum Pereirse, in honour of the late Dr. Pereira (Manual of Mat, Med., 
2d ed., p. 414), the Myroxylon Pereirse of Klotzsch, is a handsome tree, with 
a straight, round, lofty stem, a smooth ash-coloured bark, and spreading branches 
at the top. The leaves are alternate, petiolate, and unequally pinnate. The leaf- 
lets are from five to eleven, shortly petiolate, oblong, oval-oblong, or ovate, about 
three inches long by somewhat less than an inch and a half in breadth, rounded 
at the base, and contracting abruptly at top into an emarginate point. When 
held up to the light, they exhibit, in lines parallel with the primary veins, beau- 
tiful rounded and linear pellucid spots. The common and partial petioles and 
midribs are smooth to the naked eye, but, when examined with a microscope, are 
found to be furnished with short hairs. The fruit, including the winged foot- 
stalks, varies from two to four inches in length. At its peduncular extremity it 
is rounded or slightly tapering; at the top enlarged, rounded, and swollen, with a 
small point at the side. The mesocarp, or main investment of the fruit, is fibrous, 
and contains in distinct receptacles a balsamic juice, which is most abundant in 
two long receptacles or vittee, one upon each side. A gum-resin exudes sponta- 
neously in small quantities from the trunk of the tree, which, though containing, 
besides gum and resin, a small proportion of volatile oil, is wholly distinct from 
, the proper balsam, and yields no cinnamic acid. (Attfield, Pharm. Journ., Dec. 
1863, p. 248.) . 
This tree grows in Central America, in the State of Saint Salvador, upon the 
Pacific Coast. Dr. Charles Dorat, in a letter to Professor Carson, states that it 
is never found at a greater height on the mountains than one thousand feet, that 
it begins to be productive after five years, and continues to yield for thirty years 
or more, and that the aroma of its flowers is perceived at the distance of one 
hundred yards. {Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxxii. 303.) The balsam is collected 
from it exclusively by the aborigines, within a small district denominated the 
Balsam Coast, extending from Acajutla to Port Libertad. Incisions are made 
into the bark, which is slightly burned, so as to cause the juice to flow. Pre- 
vious to the incisions, according to Dr. Dorat, the bark is beaten on four sides 
of the trunk, so as to separate it from the wood without breaking it; interme- 
diate strips being left sound, in order not to destroy the life of the tree. Cuts 
are then made in the bruised bark, and the exuding balsam set on fire. Fifteen 
days after this operation the juice begins to flow freely. It is received on cotton 
or woollen rags inserted into the apertures, which, after saturation, are removed 
and replaced by others. When sufficient is collected, the rags are boiled in water 
in large jars, and the liquid allowed to stand; whereupon the water rises to the 
top, and is poured off, leaving the balsam, which is put into calabashes or blad- 
ders. {Pharm. Journ. and Trans.i. 205.)* It is then taken for sale to the neigh- 
bouring town of Sonsonate, where it is purified by subsidence and straining, and 
put into jars for exportation. The annual average produce is said to be about 
25,000 pounds. 
A substance called white balsam is procured from the fruit by expression. 
This has been confounded by some with the balsam of Tolu, but is wholly distinct. 
It is of a semifluid or soft solid consistence, somewhat granular, and, on stand- 
ing, separates into a white resinous crystalline deposit, and a superior translu- 
cent more fluid portion. The smell, though quite distinct from that of the balsams 
of Tolu and Peru, is not disagreeable. Dr. Stenhouse has obtained from it a 
peculiar resinous body, readily crystallizable, and remarkably indifferent in its 
* In a recent communication to the Pharmaceutical Journal (Dec. 1863, p. 241), Mr. Daniel 
Banbury publishes an extract of a letter from Dr. Dorat, giving an account of a somewhat 
modified process for collecting the balsam. After the bruising of the bark as described in 
the text, fire is applied to the beaten bark, which becomes charred, and, after eight days, 
falls off in places, or is removed; and the rags are spread on the bare wood, and allowed 
to remain till saturated. They are then treated as above stated.—Note to the twelfth edition. 156 
Balsamum Peruvianum. 
PART 1 
chemical affinities, which he denominates myroxocarpin. (Pharrn. Journ. and 
Trans., x. 290.) Dr. Dorat, however, denies that the white balsam is produced 
by the same tree, or in the same vicinity. 
Another substance obtained from the same tree, and much used in Central 
America, is a tincture of fruit, made by digesting it in rum. It is called 
balsamito by the inhabitants, and is said to be stimulant, anthelmintic, and di- 
uretic. It is also used as an external application to gangrenous or indolent 
ulcers, and as a wash to the face to remove freckles. According to Dr. Dorat, 
the balsamito is not the tincture, but an alcoholic extract of the young fruit. 
Neither this nor the white balsam reaches the markets of this country. 
The balsam of Peru was named from its place of exportation ; and it was long 
thought to be a product of Peru., It is now shipped partly from the Pacific coast, 
and partly from the Balize or other ports on the Atlantic side, whither it is 
brought across the country. It was Guibourt who first made known the fact of 
its exclusive production in Central America. As imported it is usually in tin 
canisters, with a whitish scum upon its surface, and more or less deposit, which 
is dissolved with the aid of heat. 
The balsam is said to be adulterated in Europe with castor oil, copaiba, &c. 
(Pharrn. Journ. and Trans., xii. 549); and a factitious substance has been sold » 
in this country for the genuine balsam, prepared by dissolving-balsam of Tolu in 
alcohol. This may be distinguished by taking fire readily, and burning with a 
blue flame. (N. Y. Journ. of Pharrn.,i. 133.) A method of detecting castor oil, 
proposed by Dr. Wagner, is to expose a small portion of the suspected balsam to 
distillation until somewhat more than one-half has passed, to shake the distillate 
with baryta-water, to remove by means of a pipette the layer of oil floating on 
the surface, and to shake this with a concentrated solution of bisulphite of soda. 
If castor oil be present, the liquid will immediately become a crystalline mass. 
(Am. Journ. of Pharrn., xxx. 570, from Annal. der Chem. und Pharrn.) 
Properties. Balsam of Peru is viscid like syrup or honey, of a dark reddish- 
brown colour, a fragrant odour, and a warm bitterish taste, leaving when swal- 
lowed a burning or prickling sensation in the throat. Its sp. gr. is from 1T4 to 
1T6. When exposed to flame it takes fire, diffusing a white smoke and fragrant 
odour. Containing resin, volatile oil, and either benzoic or cinnamic acid, it is 
properly considered a balsam, though probably somewhat altered by heat. Al- 
cohol in large proportion entirely dissolves it. Boiling water extracts the acid. 
From 1000 parts of the balsam, Stolze obtained 24 parts of a brown nearly in- 
soluble resinous matter, 207 of resin readily soluble, 690 of oil, 64 of benzoic 
acid, 6 of extractive matter, and a small proportion of water. The oil he con- 
siders to be of a peculiar nature, differing from the volatile, the fixed, and the 
empyreumatic oils. Fremy gives the following views of the composition of the 
balsam. The acid is cinnamic and not benzoic acid. The oily substance is 
named by him cinnamein. It is decomposed by caustic potassa into cinnamic 
acid, which unites with the alkali, and a light oily fluid called peruvin. The resin 
is a hydrate of cinnamein, and increases at the expense of the latter principle 
as the balsam hardens. Cinnamein often holds in solution a crystalline substance 
called metacinnamein, isomeric with hydruret of cinnamyl, and by its oxidation 
producing cinnamic acid. When none exists in the balsam, it is presumed to have 
been wholly converted into that acid. 
Medical Properties and Uses. This balsam is a warm stimulating tonic and 
expectorant, and has been recommended in chronic catarrhs, certain forms of 
asthma, phthisis, and other pectoral complaints attended with debility. It has 
also been used in gonorrhoea, leucorrhcea, amenorrhoea, chronic rheumatism, and 
palsy. At present, however, it is little employed by American physicians. As 
an external application it has been found beneficial in chronic indolent ulcers. 
The dose is half a fluidrachm. It is best administered diffused in water by means 
of sugar and the yolk of eggs or gum arabic, W. PART I. 
Balsamum Tolutanum. 
157 
BALSAMUM TOLUTANUM. U.8.,Br. 
Balsam of Tolu. 
The juice of Myrospermum Toluiferum (De Candolle). TJ. S. A balsam ob 
tained from the stem by incision. Br. 
Baume de Tolu, Fr.; Tolubalsam, Germ.; Balsamo del Tolu, Ital.; Balsamo de Tolu, Sjpan 
Myrospermum. See BALSAMUM PERUYIANUM. 
For a long time the tree from which this balsam is derived retained the name 
of Toluifera Balsamum, given to it by Linnaeus; but it is now admitted that 
the genus Toluifera was formed upon insufficient grounds; and botanists agree 
in referring the Tolu balsam tree to the genus Myroxylon, or, as it is now de- 
nominated, Myrospermum. Ruiz, one of the authors of the Flora Peruviana, 
considered it identical with Myroxylon Peruiferum; but M. Achille Richard 
determined that it was a distinct species, and gave it the appropriate specific 
name of Toluiferum, which is now recognised by the Pharmacopoeias. Sprengel 
and Humboldt also consider it a distinct species of Myroxylon. According to 
Richard, who had an opportunity of examining specimens brought from South 
America by Humboldt, the leaflets of M. Peruiferum are thick, coriaceous, acute, 
blunt at the apex, and all equal in size; while those of M. Toluiferum are thin, 
membranous, obovate, with a lengthened and acuminate apex, and the terminal 
one is longest. M. Peruiferum is found in Peru and the southern parts of New 
Granada; M. Toluiferum grows in Carthagena, and abounds especially in the 
neighbourhood of Tolu. The wood of the latter species, according to Hum- 
boldt, is of a deep-red colour, has a delightful balsamic odour, and is much used 
for building. 
The balsam is procured by making incisions into the trunk. The juice is re- 
ceived in vessels of various kinds, in which it concretes. It is brought from 
Carthagena in calabashes or baked earthen jars, and sometimes in glass vessels. 
G. L. Ulex gives as a test of the purity of the balsam, that, if heated in sulphuric 
acid, it dissolves without disengagement of sulphurous acid, and yields a cherry- 
red liquid. (Archie. der Pharm., Jan. 1853.) 
Properties. As first imported, balsam of Tolu has a soft, tenacious consist- 
ence, which varies considerably with the temperature. By age it becomes hard 
and brittle like resin. It is shining, translucent, of a reddish or yellowish-brown 
colour, a highly fragrant odour, and a warm, somewhat sweetish and pungent, 
but not disagreeable taste. Exposed to heat, it melts, inflames, and diffuses an 
agreeable odour while burning. It is entirely dissolved by alcohol and the vola- 
tile oils. Boiling water extracts its acid. Distilled with water it affords a small 
proportion of volatile oil; and, if the heat be continued, an acid matter sub- 
limes. Mr. Hatchett states that, when dissolved in the smallest quantity of solu- 
tion of potassa, it loses its own characteristic odour, and acquires that of the 
clove pink. Its ingredients are resin, cinnamic acid, and volatile oil, the pro- 
portion of which vary in different specimens. The acid was formerly thought 
to be benzoic; but was proved by Fremy to be the cinnamic. The existence of 
the former acid in the balsam was denied by that chemist; and, though Deville 
subsequently obtained benzoic acid from it, yet, according to Kopp,'this did not 
pre-exist in the balsam, but resulted from changes produced in the resin by heat, 
■*r the reaction of strong alkaline solutions. The pure volatile oil is a carbo- 
hydrogen (C10H8), which is denominated by Kopp tolene. According to the same 
chemist, the resinous matter is of two kinds, one very soluble in alcohol, the 
other but slightly so. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., xi. 426.) Guibourt observed 
that the balsam-contains more acid, and is less odorous in the solid form; and 
thinks that the acid is increased at the expense of the oil. Trommsdorff obtained 158 
Balsamum Tolutanum.—Barium. 
PART I. 
8S per cent, of resin, 12 of acid, and only 0'2 of volatile oil. According to Mr. 
Heaver, the balsam yields by distillation about one-eightb of its weight of pure 
cinnamic acid. The acid distils over in the form of a heavy oil, which condenses 
into a white crystalline mass. It may be freed from empyreumatic oil by press- 
ure between folds of bibulous paper, and subsequent solution in boiling water, 
which deposits it in minute colourless crystals, upon cooling. (See Am. Journ. 
of Pharm., xv. 71.) According to Fremy, this balsam is closely analogous in 
constitution to the balsam of Peru, being composed of cinnamein, cinnamic acid, 
and resin. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Balsam of Tolu is a stimulant tonic, with a 
peculiar tendency to the pulmonary organs. It is given with some advantage 
in chronic catarrh and other pectoral complaints, in which a gently stimulating 
expectorant is demanded ; but should not be prescribed until after the reduction 
of inflammatory action. Independently of its medical virtues, its agreeable flavour 
renders it a popular ingredient in expectorant mixtures. Old and obstinate 
coughs are said to be sometimes greatly relieved by the inhalation of the vapour, 
proceeding from an ethereal solution of this balsam. From ten to thirty grains 
may be given at a dose, and frequently repeated. The best form of administra- 
tion is that of emulsion, made by triturating the balsam with mucilage of gum 
arabic and loaf sugar, and afterwards with water. 
Off. Prep. Syrupus Tolutanus, Br.; Tinctura Benzoini Composita; Tinctura 
Tolutana. W. 
BARIUM. 
Barium. 
This is the metallic radical of the earth baryta, and the basis of two officinal 
compounds. It was first obtained in 1808 by Sir H. Davy, who describes it as 
a difficultly fusible metal, of a dark-gray colour, effervescing violently with water, 
and considerably heavier than sulphuric acid. Its eq. is 68T, and symbol Ba. 
When exposed to the air, it instantly becomes covered with a crust of baryta, 
and, when gently heated, burns with a deep-red light. The only officinal com- 
pounds of barium are the chloride, and the carbonate of the protoxide (baryta). 
Baryta may be obtained from the native carbonate by intense ignition with 
carbonaceous matter; or from the native sulphate, by ignition with charcoal, 
which converts it into sulphuret of barium, subsequent solution of the sulphuret 
in nitric acid, and strong ignition of the nitrate formed to dissipate the acid. 
As thus obtained, it is an anhydrous solid, caustic, alkaline, difficultly fusible, 
and of a grayish-white colour. Its sp. gr. is about 4. It acts on the animal 
economy as a poison. When sprinkled with water it slakes like lime, becomes 
hot, and is reduced to the state of a white pulverulent hydrate, containing one 
eq. of water. The same hydrate is formed in mass, when the anhydrous earth is 
made into a paste with water, and exposed to a red heat in a platinum crucible. 
The excess of water is expelled, and the hydrate, undergoing fusion, may be 
poured out and allowed to congeal. Baryta dissolves in water, and forms the 
reagent called baryta-water. A boiling saturated solution, as it cools, yields 
crystals of baryta, containing much water of crystallization. 
An economical process for obtaining baryta in crystals has been published 
by Dr. Mohr, of Coblentz. It consists in adding to a boiling solution of caustic 
soda an equivalent quantity of chloride of barium or nitrate of baryta. In con- 
sequence of the usual impurities in caustic soda, a precipitate is formed of some 
carbonate and sulphate of baryta, which is easily separated by subsidence from 
the solution of caustic baryta, kept hot. This, when clear, is drawn off by a 
syphon, and put in a suitable covered vessel to cool and crystallize; when the PART I. 
Barytse Carbonas.—Barytse Sulphas. 
159 
whole liquid is often converted into amass of acicular crystals. (Pharm. Journ 
and Trans., Dec. 1856.) 
Baryta consists of one eq. of barium 68% and one of oxygen 8 = 76% Its 
symbol is, therefore, BaO. B. 
* 
BARYTAS CARBONAS. U.S. 
Carbonate of Baryta. 
Carbonate de baryte, Fr.; Kohlensaurer Baryt, Germ.; Barite carbonate, Ital.; Carbo- 
nato de barito, Span. 
The officinal carbonate of baryta is the native carbonate, a rare mineral, dis- 
covered in 1783 by Dr. Withering, in honour of whom it is called Witherite. It 
is found in Sweden and Scotland, but most abundantly in the lead mines of the 
north of England. It occurs usually in grayish, or pale yellowish-gray, fibrous 
masses, but sometimes crystallized. Its sp.gr. varies from 4-2 to 44. It is gen- 
erally translucent, but sometimes opaque. It effervesces with acids, and, before 
the blowpipe, melts into a white enamel without losing its carbonic acid. It con- 
sists of one eq. of acid 22, and one of baryta 76-7 = 98‘7. It is distinguished 
from the carbonate of strontia, with which it is most liable to be confounded, by 
its greater specific gravity, and by the absence of a reddish flame upon the burn- 
ing of alcohol impregnated with its muriatic solution. If strontia be present, 
the reddish flame will detect it. 
When pure, carbonate of baryta is entirely soluble in muriatic acid. Any sul- 
phate of baryta present is left undissolved. If neither ammonia nor sulphuretted 
hydrogen produces discoloration or a precipitate in the muriatic solution, the 
absence of alumina, iron, copper, and lead is shown. Lime may be detected by 
adding an excess of sulphuric acid, which will throw down the baryta as a sul- 
phate, and afterwards testing the clear liquid with carbonate of soda, which, if 
lime be present, will produce a precipitate of carbonate of lime. 
Carbonate of baryta acts as a poison on the animal economy. Its only offici- 
nal use is to prepare chloride of barium. 
Off. Prep. Barii Chloridum, U. S. B. 
BARYTJE SULPHAS. 
Sulphate of Baryta. , 
Heavy spar, Baroselenite; Sulfate de baryte, Fr.; Schwefelsaurer Baryt, Germ.; Barite 
solfata, Ital. 
The native sulphate of baryta is used in pharmacy with the same view as the 
native carbonate; namely, to obtain chloride of barium. The U. S. Pharmaco- 
poeia directs for this purpose the carbonate of baryta; but, as the sulphate may 
be employed more economically, and is, in fact, generally employed in the pre- 
paration of chloride of barium, we retain it here, though no longer recognised 
as officinal. 
Sulphate of baryta is a heavy, lamellar, brittle mineral, varying in sp. gr. from 
4-4 to 4'6. It is generally translucent, but sometimes transparent or opaque, 
and its usual colour is white or flesh-red. When crystallized, it is usually in very 
flat rhombic prisms. Before the blowpipe it strongly decrepitates, and melts into 
a white enamel, which, in the course of ten or twelve hours, falls to powder. It 
is thus partially converted into sulphuret of barium, and, if applied to the tongue, 
will give a taste like that of putrid eggs, arising from the formation of sulphuret- 
ted hydrogen It consists of one eq. of acid 40, and one of baryta 76‘7=116% 
f 160 
Barytse Sulphas.—Bela. 
PART I. 
This salt, on account of its great insolubility, is not poisonous. Ground to 
fine powder, it is sometimes mixed with white lead, but impairs the quality of 
that pigment. The artificial sulphate of baryta, under the name of permanent 
white or blancjix, is much used in the arts as a water colour’. It is made from 
both the native sulphate and native carbonate. It forms a dazzling white colour, 
unalterable by light, heat, air, or sulphuretted hydrogen. It is used by the manu- 
facturers of paper hangings, and for mixing with other colours, the tone of which 
it does not impair. (Chem. Gaz. Eeb. 1, 1857.) B.. 
BELA. Br. 
JUgle Marmelos. The half-ripe fruit, dried. Br. 
This is a newly introduced officinal of the British Pharmacopoeia, little known 
as yet in Great Britain, and scarcely at all in the United States; and probably 
sanctioned by the British Council out of complaisance to practitioners in the 
E. Indies, who are said to have used it with advantage. It is the unripe fruit of 
the AEgle Marmelos of De Candolle, belonging to the Aurantiacese, and with 
the following generic character. “Flowers bi-sexual. Petals 4-5, patent. Sta- 
mens 30-40, with distinct filaments, and linear-oblong anthers. Ovary 8-15 celled, 
with numerous ovules in each cell. Style very short and thick. Stigma capitate. 
Fruit baccate, with a hard rind, 8-15 celled, the cells 6-10 seeded. Seed with a 
woolly coat, covered with a slimy liquid.” (Wight & Arnott.) 
This species of JEgle, sometimes called the Bengal quince, is a rather large 
tree, with an erect stem, and few and irregular branches, covered with an ash- 
coloured bark, and furnished in general with strong, very sharp, axillary thorns, 
single or in pairs. The leaves are ternate, with oblong-lanceolate, crenulated, 
slightly dotted leaflets, of which the terminal is largest. The flowers are large, 
white, and in small, terminal or axillary panicles. The fruit is a berry, of about 
the size of a large orange, somewhat spherical, but flattened at the base, and de- 
pressed at the insertion of the stem, with a hard smooth shell, and from 10 to 
15 cells, containing besides the seeds a large quantity of exceedingly tenacious 
mucilage, which, when dried, is hard and transparent. The tree is a native of 
Hindostan and of further India. It is figured in the Pliarm. Journ. and Trans. 
(Octob. 1850, p. 106), from which we have taken the foregoing account. 
Several parts of the tree are used in India. The ripe fruit is described as fra- 
grant, and of a delicious flavour; and a sort of sherbet prepared from it is deemed 
useful in febrile affections. The mucilage about the seeds is applied to various 
purposes in the arts, in connection with its viscid properties. The rind is used in 
dyeing. The flowers are deemed refrigerant by the native physicians. The fresh 
leaves yield by expression a bitterish and somewhat pungent juice, which, diluted 
with water, is occasionally used in the early stage of catarrhal and other fevers. 
The bark of the stem and root is thought to possess febrifuge properties. But 
it is the unripe or half-ripe fruit which is chiefly employed, and is the part recog- 
nised by the British Pharmacopoeia. 
Properties. The dried fruit is imported into England in vertical slices, or in 
broken pieces consisting of a part of the rind with the adherent pulp and seeds. 
The “rind is about a line and a half thick, covered with a smooth pale-brown 
or grayish epidermis, and internally, as well as the dried pulp, brownish-orange, 
or cherry-red.” {Br.) When moistened, the pulp becomes mucilaginous. The 
fruit is astringent to the taste, and yields its virtues to water by maceration or 
decoction. It was found by Mr. Pollock to contain tannic acid, a concrete essen- 
tial oil, and a vegetable acid. {Med. Times and Gaz., Feb. 1864, p. 199.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Bael, as the medicine is called in India, or 
Bael. PART I. 
Bela.—Belladonna. 
161 
bela, as it lias been officinally named, is said to possess astringent properties 
which render it useful in diarrhoea, dysentery with an enfeebled state of the mu- 
cous membrane, and other diseases of the bowels with relaxation, which it relieves 
without inducing constipation. It is much used by some practitioners in India, 
generally in the form of decoction, made by slowly boiling down a pint of water 
with two ounces of the dried fruit to four fluidounces. Of this one or two fluid- 
ounces are given in acute cases every two or three hours, in chronic cases two 
or three times a day. A liquid extract is directed in the Br. Pharmacopoeia, the 
dose of which may be one or two fluidrachms. Mr. Waring, of the East India 
medical service, recommends an extract in the dose of half a drachm or a drachm. 
(Med. Times and Gaz.) 
Off. Prep. Extractum Belm Liquidum, Br. W. 
BELLADONNA FOLIUM. U.S. 
Belladonna Leaf. 
The leaves of Atropa Belladonna. U. S. 
Off. Syn. BELLADONNA. Atropa Belladonna. Deadly Nightshade. The 
leaves, fresh and dried, and the fresh branches; gathered when the fruit has begun 
to form. Br. 
BELLADONNA RADIX. U.S.,Br. 
Belladonna Root. 
The root of Atropa Belladonna from plants more than two years old. U. S. 
The root, dried; imported from Germany. Br. 
Belladone, Fr.; Gemeine Tollkirsclie, Wolfskirsclie, Germ.; Belladonna, Ital.; Belladona, 
Belladama, Span. 
Atropa. Sex. Syst, Pentandria Monogvnia.— Nat. Ord. Solanacem. 
Gen. Ch. Corolla bell-shaped. Stamens distant. Berry globular, two-celled. 
Willd. 
Atropa Belladonna. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1017; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 280, t. 82. 
Carson, Illust. of Med. Bot. ii. 19, pi. Ixv. The belladonna, or deadly nightshade, 
is an herbaceous perennial plant, with a fleshy creeping root, from which rise 
several erect, round, purplish, branching stems, to the height of about three feet. 
The leaves, which are attached by short footstalks to the stem, are in pairs of 
unequal size, pval, pointed, entire, of a dusky green on their upper surface, and 
paler beneath. The flowers are large, bell-shaped, pendent, of a dull-reddish 
colour, with solitary peduncles, rising from the axils of the leaves. The fruit is 
a roundish berry with a longitudinal furrow on each side, at first green, after- 
wards red, ultimately deep purple, bearing considerable resemblance to a cherry, 
and containing, in two distinct cells, numerous seeds, and a sweetish violet- 
coloured juice. The calyx adheres to the base of the fruit. 
The plant is a native of Europe, where it grows in shady places, along walls, 
and amidst rubbish, flowering in June and July, and ripening its fruit in Sep- 
tember. It grows vigorously under cultivation in this country, and retains all 
its activity, as shown by the observations of Mr. Alfred Jones. (Am. Journ. of 
Fharm.,xxiv. 106.) All parts of it are active. The leaves and roots are directed 
by the United States and British Pharmacopoeias; the latter including the young 
branches, which are probably not less efficient. The leaves should be collected 
in June or July, when the plant is in flower, the roots in the autumn or early in 
the spring, and from plants three years old or more. Leaves which have been 
kept long should not be used, as they undergo change through absorption of 162 
Belladonna. 
PART I. 
atmospheric moisture, emitting ammonia, and probably losing a portion of their 
active nitrogenous matter. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxvii. 455.) 
Properties. The dried leaves are of a dull-greenish colour, with a very faint, 
narcotic odour, and a sweetish, subacrid, slightly nauseous taste. The root is long, 
round, from one to several inches in thickness, branched and fibrous, externally 
when dried of a reddish-brown colour, internally whitish, of little odour, and a 
feeble sweetish taste. As to the relative strength of these two parts, M. Hirtz, 
of Strasburg, has inferred from his experiments that the root yields an extract 
five times stronger than that obtained from the leaves; but, to determine accu- 
rately the point referred to, another element in the calculation is necessary; the 
relative quantity, namely, of the extracts from the two sources; and this is un- 
certain. (Annuaire de Therap., A. D. 1862, p. 22.) Both the leaves and root, as 
well as all other parts of the plant, impart their active properties to water and 
alcohol. Brandes rendered it probable that these properties reside in a peculiar 
alkaline principle, which he supposed to exist in the plant combined with an ex- 
cess of malic acid, and appropriately named atropia. Besides malate of atropia, 
Brandes found in the dried herb two azotized principles, a green resin (chloro- 
phyll), wax, gum, starch, albumen, lignin, and various salts. The alkaline prin- 
ciple was afterwards detected by M. Runge; and the fact of its existence was 
established beyond question by Geiger and Hesse, who obtained it from an ex- 
tract prepared from the stems and leaves of the plant. It was first, however, 
procured in a state of purity by Mein, a German apothecary, who extracted it 
from the root. Liibekind has described, under the name of belladonnin, a vola- 
tile alkaline principle, wholly distinct from atropia, which he obtained from bella- 
donna; but it yet remains to be seen whether this was not a product of the 
process. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xiii. 127.) For the mode of preparing atro- 
pia and its properties, see the article Atropia in the second part of this work. 
The imported belladonna, especially that from Germany, is occasionally adul- 
terated. Mr. J. M. Maisch, in a communication to the American Journal of 
Pharmacy (xxxiv. 126), states that, in different packages of the German drug, 
he has met with the leaves of Digitalis purpurea, Solanum nigrum and villo- 
sum, and Yerbascum Thapsus, the leaves, stem, and capsules of Hyoscyamus 
niger, and various other impurities, not to speak of the flowers and fruit and 
immature leaves of the belladonna plant itself. The apothecary can have no 
difficulty in detecting these adulterations, if acquainted with the characters of 
the genuine leaves.. One of the most distinctive of these is the unequal size of the 
two leaves constituting each pair. But the plant is so easily cultivated, and 
grows so vigorously in this country, that all the demand for it might be readily 
supplied from our own gardens, without the need of recourse to Europe, were a 
little attention paid to the subject. 
Medical Properties and Uses. The action of belladonna is that of a power- 
ful narcotic, possessing also diaphoretic and diuretic properties, and somewhat 
disposed to operate upon the bowels. Among its first obvious effects, when 
taken in the usual dose, and continued for some time, are dryness and stricture 
of the fauces and neighbouring parts, with slight uneasiness and giddiness of the 
head, and more or less dimness of vision. In medicinal doses, it may also occa- 
sion dilatation of the pupil, decided frontal headache, slight delirium, colicky 
pains and purging, and a scarlet efflorescence on the skin; but this last effect is 
rare. The practitioner should watch for these symptoms as signs of the activity 
of the medicine, and should gradually increase the dose till some one of them 
is experienced in a slight degree, unless the object at which he aims should be 
previously attained; but, so soon as they occur, the dose should be diminished, 
or the use of the narcotic suspended for a time. 
In large quantities, belladonna produces the most deleterious effects. It is in 
fact a powerful poison; and many instances are recorded in which it haj been PART I. 
Belladonna. 
163 
taken with fatal consequences. All parts of the plant are poisonous. It is not 
uncommon, in countries where it grows wild, for children to pick and eat thu 
berries, allured by their fine colour and sweet taste. Soon after the poison has 
been swallowed, its peculiar influence is experienced in dryness of the mouti 
and fauces, burning in the throat and stomach, great thirst, difficult deglutition, 
nausea and ineffectual retching, loss of vision, vertigo, and intoxication or de- 
lirium, attended with violent gestures and sometimes fits of laughter, and followed 
by coma. The pupil is dilated and insensible to light, the face red and tumid, 
the mouth and jaws spasmodically affected, the stomach and bowels insuscepti- 
ble of impressions, in fact the whole nervous system prostrated and paralyzed. 
A feeble pulse, cold extremities, subsultus tendiuum, deep coma or delirium, and 
sometimes convulsions precede death. Dissection discloses appearances of in- 
flammation in the stomach and intestines; and it is said that the body soon 
begins to putrefy, swells and becomes covered with livid spots, while dark blood 
flows from the mouth, nose, and ears. To obviate the poisonous influence of 
belladonna, the most effectual method is to evacuate the stomach as speedily as 
possible, by means of emetics or the stomach-pump, and afterwards to cleanse 
the bowels by purgatives and enemata. The shocks of an electro-magnetic bat- 
tery have been found useful in the comatose state. (N. Y. Joarn. o f Med., N. S., 
v. 112.) The infusion of galls may be serviceable as an antidote; and, if the 
experiments of M. Runge can be relied on, lime-water or the alkaline solutions 
would render the poisonous matter remaining in the stomach inert. Bouchardat 
recommends the ioduretted solution of iodide of pojtassium; and a case is re- 
corded in which it seems to have been useful. (Ann. de Therap., 1854, p. 14.) 
Dr. Garrod, of London, infers from his experiments that the caustic alkalies 
have the effect of destroying the activity of the poisonous principle of bella- 
douna, and, consequently, that solution of potassa should never be used, even 
though very dilute, in prescriptions with this medicine, but may be employed 
with the hope of some benefit as an antidote, though its influence in this respect 
would be much limited by the necessity of giving it in small quantities, in con- 
sequence of its caustic properties. 
It has been satisfactorily ascertained that the physiological effects of opium 
are to some extent antagonistic to those of belladonna; and that the prepara- 
tions of the former may be advantageously employed in poisoning by the latter. 
But, in the present state of medical experience on the subject, it would be un- 
safe to rely on this expedient, to the exclusion of other measures, and especially 
of a thorough preliminary evacuation of the stomach. 
Belladonna has been used as a medicine from early times. The leaves were 
first employed externally to discuss sehirrhous tumours, and heal cancerous and 
other ill-conditioned ulcers; and were afterwards administered internally for 
the same purpose. Much evidence of their usefulness in these affections is on 
record, and even Dr. Cullen spoke in their favour; but this application of the 
medicine has fallen into disuse. It is at present more esteemed in nervous diseases. 
It has been highly recommended in hooping-cough, in the advanced stages of 
which it is undoubtedly sometimes beneficial. In neuralgia it is one of the most 
effectual remedies in our possession; and it may be employed to give relief in 
other painful affections. Hufeland recommends it in the convulsions dependent 
on scrofulous irritation. It has been prescribed also in nervous colic, chorea, 
epilepsy, hydrophobia, tetanus, mania, delirium tremens, paralysis, amaurosis, 
incontinence of urine, rheumatism, gout, dysmenorrhoea, obstinate intermittents, 
scarlatina, dropsy, and jauudice; and, in such of these affections as have their 
seat chiefly in the nervous system, it may sometimes do good. It has been re- 
commended as an antaphrodisiac, and is said to have been effectually employed 
in several cases of strangulated hernia. It has acquired considerable credit as 
a preventive of scarlatina; an application of the remedy first suggested by the Belladonna.—Benzoinum. 
PART I. 
author ol the homoeopathic doctrine; but its efficiency in this way is at best 
doubtful. In the form of tincture, it has been recently employed by Dr. Thomas 
Anderson, with supposed benefit, in the coma with contracted pupil, attendant 
on the over-action of opium. (Ranking's Abstract, xxii. 246.) 
Applied to the eye, belladonna has the property of dilating the pupil exceed- 
ingly, and for this purpose it is employed by oculists previously to the operation 
for cataract. Dilatation usually comes on in about an hour, is at its greatest 
height in three or four hours, and continues often for one or two days, or even 
longer. In cases of partial opacity of the crystalline lens, confined to the cen- 
tre of that body, vision is temporarily improved by a similar use of the remedy; 
and it may also be beneficially employed, when, from inflammation of the iris, 
there is danger of a permanent closure of the pupil. For these purposes, a 
strong infusion of the plant, or a solution of the extract, may be dropped into 
the eye, or a little of the extract itself rubbed upon the eyelids. The same ap- 
plication has been recommended in morbid sensibility of the eye. The extract, 
rubbed upon the areola of the breast, has been found quickly to arrest the secre- 
tion of milk; and, upon the abdomen, to relieve the vomiting of pregnancy, and 
other irritations sympathetic with the gravid uterus. Applied, in the form of a 
large plaster, above the pubes, it has been found very useful in relieving dysen- 
teric tenesmus, and, as a dressing to a blistered surface over the abdomen, has 
been known to effect a cure in epidemic cholera ; but in such a case much care 
would be required to prevent its poisonous effects. (Ann. de Therap., A. I). 
1860, p. 49.) The decoction or extract, applied to the neck of the uterus, is 
asserted to have hastened tedious labour dependent on rigidity of the os tincae; 
and spasmodic stricture of the urethra, neck of the bladder, and sphincter ani, 
anal fissures, and painful uterine affections, have been relieved by the local use 
of the extract, either smeared upon bougies, or administered by injection. In 
the latter mode it has relieved strangulated hernia. It is asserted also to be 
useful in paraphimosis. The inhalation of the vapour from a decoction of the 
leaves or extract has been recommended in spasmodic asthma. For this purpose, 
two drachms of the leaves, or fifteen grains of the aqueous extract are employed 
to the pint of water. Relief is said to have been obtained in phthisis by smoking 
the leaves, infused when fresh in a strong solution of opium, and then dried. 
Belladonna may be given in substance, infusion, or extract. The dose of the 
powdered leaves is for children from the eighth to the fourth of a grain, for 
adults one or two grains, repeated daily, or twice a day, and gradually increased 
till the characteristic effects are experienced. An infusion may be prepared by 
adding a scruple of the dried leaves to ten fiuidounces of boiling water, of which 
from one to two fiuidounces is the dose for an adult. The extract is generally 
preferred in the United States. (See Extractum Belladonnas.) 
From its quicker action, more uniform strength, and greater cleanliness, atro- 
pia has been recently substituted for extract of belladonna for external use. (See 
Atropia in Part II.) 
Off. Prep, of the Leaves. Extractum Belladonnae; Extract. Belladonnae Al- 
coholicum, U. S.; Tinetura Belladonnae. 
Off. Prep, of the Root. Atropia; Linimentum Belladonnae, Br. W. 
BENZOINUM. U.S.yBr. 
Benzoin. 
The concrete juice of Styrax Benzoin. U. S. A resinous exudation from the 
stem. Br. 
Benjoin, Fr.; Benzoe, Germ.; Belzoino, Ital.; Benjui, Span. 
The botanical source of benzoin was long uncertain. At one time it was PART I. 
Benzoinum. 
165 
generally supposed in Europe to be derived from the Laurus Benzoin of this 
country. This error was corrected by Linnaeus, who, however, committed another, 
in ascribing the drug to Groton Benzoe, a shrub which he afterwards described 
under the name of Terminalia Benzoin. Mr. Dryander was the first who as- 
certained the true benzoin-tree to be a Styrax; and his description, published 
in the Ttth vol. of the London Philosophical Transactions, has been copied by 
most subsequent writers. 
Styrax. Sex. Syst. Decandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Stvraceae. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx inferior. Gorolla funnel-shaped. Drupe two-seeded. Willd. 
Styrax Benzoin. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 623; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 294, t. 102. 
This is a tall tree of quick growth, sending off many strong round branches, 
covered with a whitish downy bark. Its leaves are alternate, entire, oblong, 
pointed, smooth above, and downy beneath. The flowers are in compound, 
axillary clusters, nearly as long as the leaves, and usually hang all on the same 
side upon short slender pedicels. 
The benzoin, or benjamin-tree, is a native of Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Laos, 
and Siam. By wounding the bark near the origin of the lower branches, a juice 
exudes, which hardens upon exposure, and forms the benzoin of commerce. A 
tree is deemed of a proper age to be wounded at six years, when its trunk is 
about seven or eight inches in diameter. The operation is performed annually, 
and the product on each occasion from one tree never exceeds three pounds. 
The juice which first flows is the purest, and affords the whitest and most fra- 
grant benzoin. It is exported chiefly from Bangkok in Siam, and Acheen in 
Sumatra, and comes into the western markets in large masses packed in chests 
and casks, and showing externally the impression of the reed mats in which they 
were originally contained. 
Two kinds of benzoin are distinguishable in the market; one consisting chiefly 
of whitish tears united by a reddish-brown connecting medium, the other of 
brown or blackish masses, without tears. The first is the most valuable, and has 
been called benzoe amygdaloides, from the resemblance of the white grains to 
fragments of blanched almonds; the second is sometimes called benzoe in sortis 
—benzoin in sorts—and usually contains numerous impurities. Between these 
two kinds there is every gradation. We have seen specimens consisting exclu- 
sively of yellowish-white homogeneous fragments, which, when broken, presented 
a smooth, white, shining surface. These were no doubt identical in constitution 
with the tears of the larger masses. 
A factitious substance has been sold in our markets for benzoin, consisting of 
chips of wood agglutinated by a resinous substance, with no benzoic acid, and 
only a trace of the cinnamic. (J. M. Maisch, Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxxv. 494.) 
Properties. Benzoin has a fragrant odour, with very little taste; but, when 
chewed for some time, leaves a sense of irritation in the mouth and fauces. It 
breaks with a resinous fracture, and presents a mottled surface of white and 
brown or reddish-brown; the white spots being smooth and shining, while the 
remainder, though sometimes shining and even translucent, is usually more or 
less rough and porous, and often exhibits impurities. In the inferior kinds, the 
white spots are very few, or entirely wanting. Benzoin is easily pulverized, and, 
in the process of being powdered, is apt to excite sneezing. Its sp. gr. is from 
10C3 to L092. When heated it melts, and emits thick, white, pungent fumes, 
which excite cough when inhaled, and consist chiefly of benzoic acid. It is 
wholly soluble, with the exception of impurities, in alcohol, and is precipitated 
by water from the solution, rendering the liquor milky. It imparts to boiling 
water a notable proportion of benzoic acid. Lime-water and the alkaline solu- 
tions partially dissolve it, forming benzoates, from which the acid may be pre- 
cipitated by the addition of other acids. Its chief constituents are resin and 
Denzoic acid; and it therefore belongs to the balsams. The white tears aiid the 166 
Benzomum, 
PART I. 
brownish connecting medium are said by Stolze to contain nearly the same pro- 
portion of acid, which, according to Bucholz, is 12-5 per cent., to Stolze 19’8 
per (sent. In a more recent examination by Kopp, the white tears were found 
to contain from 8 to 10 per cent, of acid, and the brown 15 per cent. (Journ 
de Pharm., 3e ser., iv. 46.) The resin is of three kinds, one extracted from the 
balsam with the benzoic acid by a boiling solution of carbonate of potassa in 
excess, another dissolved by ether from the residue, and the third affected by 
neither of these solvents. Besides benzoic acid and resin, the balsam contains 
a minute proportion of extractive, and traces of volatile oil. Benzoin is said to 
retard the oxidation of fatty matters, and thus to prevent rancidity. 
It appears from recent researches that benzoin, besides its own characteristic 
acid, often also contains the cinnamic, which is found more especially in the 
white tears. Indeed, Hermann Aschoff obtained from some benzoin of Sumatra 
a pure cinnamic acid, without any benzoic; and Messrs. Kolbe and Lautermann, 
upon examining a specimen of the tears, discovered what they at first supposed 
to be a peculiar acid, but which, on further investigation, proved to be a mix- 
ture of the cinnamic and benzoic acids. Aschoff recommends the following method 
of detecting cinnamic acid. Boil the benzoin with milk of lime, filter, decompose 
with muriatic acid, and add either bichromate of potassa with sulphuric acid, or 
permanganate of potassa, when, if cinnamic acid be present, the odour of oil of 
bitter almonds will be perceived (Annal. der Ghem. vnd Pharm., cxix. 136.) 
The two acids, which, when they occur together in benzoin, are said to be always 
mixed in the same proportion, may be at least partially separated by simple 
crystallization; their melting points being very different, that of benzoic acid 
249° F., and that of the mixed acid, consisting of one part of the cinnamic and 
two of the benzoic, only 78° F. {Pharm. Journ., Aug. 1863, p. 77.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Benzoin is stimulant and expectorant, and 
was formerly employed in pectoral affections; but, except as an ingredient of 
the compound tincture of benzoin, it has fallen into disuse. Trousseau and Pi- 
doux recommend strongly its inhalation in chronic laryngitis. Either the air of 
the chamber may be impregnated with its vapour by placing a small portion 
upon some live coals, or the patient may inhale the vapour of boiling water to 
which the balsam has been added. It is employed in pharmacy for the preparation 
of benzoic acid (see Acidum Benzoicum); and the milky liquor resulting from 
the addition of water to its alcoholic solution is-sometimes used as a cosmetic, 
under the impression that it renders the skin soft. A tincture has been strongly 
recommended in fissures of the anus. In the East Indies the balsam is burnt by 
the Hindoos as a perfume in their temples.* 
Off'. Prep. Acidum Benzoicum; Tinctura Benzoini Composita; IJnguentum 
Benzoini, U. S. W. 
* A styptic liquid, prepared by a Roman pharmaceutist named Pagliari, and kept secret 
for a time, has acquired some reputation among the French army surgeons. It is made by 
boiling, for six hours, eight ounces of tincture of benzoin (containing about two ounces of 
the balsam), a pound of alum, and ten pounds of water, in a glazed earthen vessel, stirring 
constantly, and supplying the loss with hot water. The liquor is then strained md kept 
in stopped bottles. It is limpid, styptic, of an aromatic smell, and said to have the pro- 
perty of causing an instantaneous coagulation of the blood. (See Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., 
N. S., xxv. 199.)—Note to the tenth edition. 
Fumigating pastiles are made from 16 parts of benzoin, 4 of balsam of Tolu, 4 of yellow 
saunders, 1 of labdanum, 48 of charcoal, 2 of nitre, 1 of tragacanth, 2 of gum arabic, and 
12 of cinnamon-water, by reducing the solid ingredients to powder, and mixing the whole 
into a plastic mass, which is to be formed into cones, flattened at the base, and dr ed arst 
in the air, and then in a stove. (Soubeiran, Trait, de Pharm., 3e ed., i. 463.) PART I. 
Berberis 
167 
BERBERIS. TJ. S. Secondary. 
Barberry. 
The bark of the root of Berberis vulgaris. U. S. 
Epine-vinette, Vinettier, Fr ; Fauerach, gemeiner Sauerdorn, Berberitze, Germ; Ber 
bero. ItalSpan. 
Berberis. Sex.Syst. HexandriaMonogynia. — Nat. Ord. Berberacese. Lindley 
Gen. Ch. Sepals 6, with interior scales. Petals 6, with 2 glands at the base 
Stamens 6, without denticulations. Pericarp fleshy, oblong, 2 to 3 seeded. Seeds 
erect, oblong, with a crustaceous skin. Lindley. 
The plants belonging to this genus are shrubs, with the inner bark and wood 
yellow, and with leaves and berries of a sour taste. Besides the officinal Berberis 
vulgaris, there are other species of which the products have been medicinally 
employed. The Lycium, or Auxcov of the ancients, highly valued as a local ap- 
plication in affections of the eye and eyelids, and used for various other pur- 
poses, is supposed to be the medicine still used in India for the same affections, 
under the name of rusot or ruswut. This, according to I)r. Royle, is an extract 
from the wood or roots of different species of Berberis, as B. Lycium, B. aristata, 
&c., growing in Upper India, especially near Lahore. Combined with opium 
and alum, it is much used, and with great asserted benefit, in both incipient and 
chronic ophthalmia. It has been employed also by European practitioners for 
the same purpose, and especially by Mr. Walker, of Edinburgh, who found it 
very efficient. The preparation used by him consisted of equal parts of lycium 
and burnt alum, with half the quantity of opium, and was applied, mixed with 
lemon-juice to the consistence of cream, over the eyelids and eyebrows. (J. Y. 
Simpson, Pharm. Journ., xiii. 415 ; from Month. Journ. of Med. Sci.) 
Berberis vulgaris. Gray’s Manual of Botany, p. 19; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 
618, t. 219. This is a native of Europe, but grows wild in waste grounds in the 
eastern parts of New England, and is sometimes cultivated in gardens on ac- 
count of its berries. It is a spreading shrub, from 4 to 6 feet or more in height, 
with thorny branches, a light-gray bark, and a fine yellow wood. The leaves are 
somewhat obovate, with ciliated teeth on their edges, and upon the young shoots 
three-parted and spiny. The flowers, which are in drooping many-flowered ra- 
cemes, have yellow entire petals, and are succeeded by oblong scarlet berries. It 
is a vulgar error to suppose that the vicinity of this plant is injurious to wheat. 
Under the name of Berberis Canadensis, Pursh described an American plant, 
which grows in hilly districts, from the borders of Canada to the Carolinas, and 
which is characterized, according to Gray, by its repandly-toothed leaves, with the 
teeth less bristly-pointed, by its few-flowered racemes, its petals notched at the 
apex, and its oval berries. By Dr. Hooker, however, it is considered a variety 
of B. vulgaris, from which it differs only in the points mentioned. It is from 1 
to 3 feet high. 
Properties. The berries, which grow in loose bunches, are oblong, and of a 
red colour, have a grateful, sour, astringent taste, and contain malic and citric 
acids. They.are refrigerant, astringent, and antiscorbutic, and are used in Europe, 
in the form of drink, in febrile diseases and diarrhoeas. An agreeable syrup is 
prepared from the juice; and the berries are sometimes preserved for the table. 
The root and inner bark have been used for dyeing yellow. The bark of the 
root is the officinal portion. This is grayish on the outside, yellow within, very 
bitter, and stains the saliva when chewed. Brandes found in 100 parts of the 
root 6-63 of bitter, yellow extractive, 1*55 of brovvn colouring matter, 0-35 of 
gum, 020 of starch, 0T0 of cerin, O'OI of stearin, 0 03 of chlorophyll, 0’55 of 
a subresin, 55-40 of lignin, and 35 00 of water. The active properties reside in 
the extractive matter of Brandes, which, however, has subsequently been found Berberis. 
PART I. 
to owe its virtues, as well as colouring properties, to a peculiar crystallizable 
principle, possessed of alkaline properties, and named berberin, or more properly 
berberina. This alkaloid appears to have been first discovered, in 1826, in a 
species of Xanthoxylum, by Chevallier and Pelletan, who, from its colour and 
taste, named it xanthopicrite. Buchner and Herberger, in 1835, found it in Ber- 
beris vulgaris, and named it berberin; but none of these chemists were aware of 
its alkaline properties. Indeed, the substance obtained by them, at least the 
berberin of Buchner, must have been a native salt of the proper alkaloid, which 
was not, therefore, procured in a pure state. Subsequently Fleitmann demon- 
strated its basic character, and published an account of several of its salts. It 
is not confined to the barberry, but has been found, by various chemists, in several 
other plants, particularly those combining bitterness and a yellow colour, as in 
various products of Cocculus palmatus, Hydrastis Canadensis, Xanthorrhiza 
apiifolia, Coptis Teeta, Xanthoxylum Clava Herculis, and others belonging to 
the natural families of Berberacese, Menispermacese, and Ranunculacese. In- 
deed, few if any of the known alkaloids are so widely diffused as this appears to 
be in the vegetable kingdom.* 
Berberina may be obtained most readily from its sulphate. Prof. Procter has 
given the following process for preparing it, based upon a suggestion of Mr. 
Merrill, of Cincinnati. The coarsely powdered root is to be exhausted by re- 
peated decoction with boiling water, and the mixed liquids, after filiation, are 
to be evaporated to a soft extract. This is to be digested several times with 
stronger alcohol, in the proportion of a pint to half a pound of the root, until 
exhausted, one-fourth of its bulk of water is to be added to the tincture, and 
five-sixths of the alcohol to be distilled off. To the residue, while still hot, 
sulphuric acid is to be added in excess, and the liquid allowed to cool. The 
sulphate of berberin is deposited in crystals, and, having been purified by re- 
crystallization, is to be decomposed by the addition, in excess, to its solution in 
boiling water, of freshly precipitated protoxide of lead, the solution being kept 
hot until the decomposition is completed. This may be known by the absence 
of a precipitate when acetate of lead is added to a drop of the clear liquid. The 
liquid is then to be filtered, and set aside to crystallize. Thus obtained, berberina 
is in the form of a yellow powder, which, under the microscope, appears to con- 
sist of groups of minute acicular crystals. It has a bitter taste, is soluble in 
about 100 parts of cold water, still less soluble in cold alcohol, freely soluble in 
both these liquids when hot, and insoluble in ether. It forms salts of difficult solu- 
bility with muriatic and sulphuric acids, and is distinguished by being copiously 
precipitated by the former acid from its cold watery solution in the form of crys- 
tals of the muriate. It is freely dissolved by acetic acid, which forms with it a 
readily soluble salt. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 1864, p. 10.) Its formula is, 
according to Fleitmann, C42H18Tn09, but, on the more recent authority of Perrins, 
(Pharm. Journ., April, 1863, p. 464.) The muriate of berberina, 
which is the salt that has attracted most notice, may be readily obtained by using 
muriatic instead of sulphuric acid in the above process, and purifying the pre- 
cipitate by solution in hot alcohol, and subsequent refrigeration. It is in fine 
acicular crystals, of a bright-yellow colour, and intensely bitter taste,»very slightly 
soluble in cold water, to which, however, it imparts a deep-yellow colour, slightly 
soluble also in cold alcohol, but dissolved in large proportion by both liquids 
when hot. By concentrated nitric acid both this salt and its base are decom- 
posed, with the production of a dark-red colour, and the escape of nitrous fumes. 
Besides berberina, another alkaloid has been discovered in the root of the 
barberry, for which the name of vinetina, derived from the French name of the 
* For a list of all plants from which it has been obtained, see a paper by J. Dyson Per- 
rins, contained in the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (Sept. 1863, p. 456). PART I. 
Berberis.—Bismuthum. 
169 
plant, has been proposed. Oxycanthin and berbina are other, though less appro- 
priate names, which have been applied to this principle. To procure it, the mother- 
liquor of berberina is precipitated by carbonate of soda, the precipitate treated 
with dilute muriatic acid, and the liquid filtered, and precipitated by ammonia 
The impure alkaloid thus obtained may be purified by washing with water, drying, 
exhausting with ether, evaporating, dissolving the residue in dilute muriatic acid, 
and finally precipitating by ammonia. Yinetina is a white amorphous powder, 
crystallizable from its alcoholic and ethereal solutions, purely bitter, fusible un- 
changed at 283° F., insoluble or but slightly soluble in water, sparingly dis- 
solved by cold but freely by hot alcohol and ether, and freely soluble in alcohol. 
It forms soluble salts with the acids, and its muriate is white. When deprived 
of one eq. of water at 212°, it has the formula On. (Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., xxxiii. 455.) 
Medical Properties. Barberry is in small doses tonic, in larger cathartic, and 
was formerly given in jaundice, in which, though probably originally employed 
on account of its yellow colour, it may be useful, when the influence of a gentle 
tonic and laxative is required. It may be used in the form of decoction. There 
can be little doubt that its alkaloid berberina, from its extensive diffusion in 
plants used in medicine, is possessed of valuable remedial properties, and capable 
of advantageous application in many diseases. It would be desirable to test 
thoroughly its antiperiodic properties. It may be used in the form of the muriate, 
of which the dose is stated at from one to ten grains, according to the effect 
desired. Should it come into extensive use, it would be more conveniently ob- 
tained from the root of our native Hydrastis Canadensis, which yields it very 
copiously. W. 
BISMUTHUM. U.S. 
Bismuth. 
In the British Pharmacopoeia, Bismuth is placed in the Appendix, as one of 
the substances used in preparing medicines. 
Etain de glace, Bismuth, Fr.; Wissmuth, Germ.; Bismutte, Ital.; Bismut, Span. 
Bismuth occurs usually in the metallic state, occasionally as a sulphuret, and 
rarely as an oxide. It is found principally in Saxony. It occurs also in Corn- 
wall, and has been found at Monroe, in Connecticut. It is obtained almost 
entirely from native bismuth, which is heated by means of wood or charcoal, 
whereby the metal is fused and separated from its gangue. Almost all the bis- 
mtith of commerce comes from Saxony. 
Bismuth was first distinguished as a metal by Agricola in 1520. Before that 
period it was confounded with lead. It is a brittle, pulverizable, brilliant metal, 
of a crystalline texture, and of a white colour with a slight reddish tint. Its 
crystals are in the form of cubes. It undergoes but a slight tarnish in the air. 
Its sp. gr. is 98, melting point 507° (Brande and Taylor), eq. number 213, 
and symbol Bi. When impure bismuth solidifies after fusion, globules of the 
metal, nearly pure, are thrown hp from the mass. This takes place when the 
metal contains as much as 50 per cent, of impurity. The same phenomenon 
does not occur when pui’e bismuth is melted. (B. Schneider.) At a high tem- 
perature, in close vessels, bismuth volatilizes, and may be distilled over. When 
heated in the open air to a full red heat, it takes fire, and burns with a faint 
blue flame, forming an oxide of a yellow colour. This is the teroxide, and con- 
sists of one eq. of bismuth 213, and three of oxygen 24 = 237. There is another 
compound of bismuth and oxygen, consisting of one eq. of the former and five 
eqs. of the latter, which, having acid properties, is called bismuthic acid, BiOs. 
It is obtained in the form of a hydrate by boiling nitrate of bismuth in solution 
of potassa, washing the precipitate, and mixing it while moist with solution of po- 170 
Bismuthum.—Brayera. 
PART L 
tassa into which chlorine is passed. A mixture of teroxide and bismutliie acid is 
precipitated, from which the former is separated by digestion with nitric acid. 
The hydrated acid remaining, when washed and dried, is in the form of a red 
powder, which gives up its water at 266°, and at a higher heat loses oxygen. 
Bismuth is acted on feebly by muriatic acid, but violently by nitric acid, which 
dissolves it with a copious extrication of red fumes. Sulphuric acid, when cold, 
has no action on it, but at a boiling heat effects its solution with the extrication 
of sulphurous acid. As it occurs in commerce, it is generally contaminated with 
other metals, among which is arsenic in minute quautity, and sometimes a very 
small proportion of thallium. It may be purified from all contaminating metals by 
dissolving the bismuth of commerce in diluted nitric acid, precipitating the clear 
solution by adding it to water, and reducing the white powder thus obtained 
with black flux. The same precipitate is obtained by adding ammonia to the 
nitric solution ; and, if the supernatant liquor is blue, the presence of copper is 
indicated. If the precipitate is yellowish, iron is present. 
Pharmaceutical Uses, &c. Bismuth is not used in medicine in an uncombined 
state, but is employed pharmaceutically to obtain the subcarbonate and subnitrate 
of bismuth, the only medicinal preparations formed from this metal. In the arts 
it is used to form a white paint for the complexion, called pearl white; and as 
an ingredient of the best pewter. 
Off7. Prep. Bismuthi Subcarbonas, U. S.; Bismuthi Subnitras, U. S.; Bismu- 
thum Album, Br. B. 
BRAYERA. U.S. Secondary. 
Koosso. 
The flowers and unripe fruit of Brayera anthelmintica, U. S. 
Off. Syn. CUSSO. Kousso. Brayera anthelmintica. The flower. Br. 
Brayera. Nat. Ord. Rosace®. 
Gen. Ch. 11 Calyx with the tube bibracteolate at the base, turbinate; throat 
internally constricted by a membranous ring: the limb with two series of seg- 
ments, each five in number, the outer much larger. Petals five, inserted in the 
throat of the calyx, small, linear. Stamens from 15 to 20, inserted with the 
petals. Filaments free, unequal. Anthers bilocular, dehiscing longitudinally. 
Carpels two at the bottom of the calyx, free, unilocular, containing one or two 
pendulous ovules. Styles terminal, exserted from the throat of the calyx, thick- 
ened upward. Stigmas subpeltate, dilated, crenate, oblong.” The flowers are 
said to be dioecious; though the male have well-developed carpels. 
Brayera anthelmintica. Kunth; De Cand. Prodrom. ii. 580; Pereira, Mat. 
Med., 3d ed., ii. 1818. ■—Hagenia Abyssivica. Lamarck. — Bancksia Abyssinica. 
Bruce. This is a tree about 20 feet high, growing on the table-land of Abys- 
sinia, at an elevation of not less than six or seven thousand feet. The branches 
exhibit circular cicatrices, left by the fallen leaves. These are crowded near 
the ends of the branches, large, pinnate, sheathing at the base, with opposite, 
lanceolate, serrate leaflets, villose at the margin,‘and nerved beneath. The flowers 
are tinged with purple, pedicelled, with an involucre of four roundish, oblong, ob- 
tuse, membranous bracts, and are arranged in fours, upon hairy, flexuous, brac- 
teate peduncles, with alternate branches. They are small, and of a greenish 
colour, becoming purple. These and the unripe fruit are the parts of the plant 
employed. The petals are apt to be wanting in the dried flowers. They are 
brought from Abyssinia packed in boxes. The Abyssinian name of the medicine 
has been variously spelled by European writers kosso, kousso, cusso, cosso, Ac.; 
but that at the head of this article is deemed the most appropriate English title, 
as it indicates the proper pronunciation of the word. 
Properties. The dried flowers are in unbroken though compressed clusters. PART I. 
Bray era.—Brominium. 
171 
The general colour of the mass is greenish-yellow. As the medicine, from its 
high price, is apt to be adulterated, it should be procured in the unpowdered 
state, in which the botanical characters of the flower will sufficiently test its 
genuineness. It has a fragrant balsamic odour; and the taste, little perceptible 
at first, becomes in a short time somewhat acrid and disagreeable. Analyzed by 
Wittstein, it was found to contain, in 100 parts, 1-44 of fatty matter and chloro- 
phyll, 2-02 of wax, 6-25 of bitter acrid resin, 0'77 of tasteless resin, 1'08 of 
sugar, 7‘22 of gum, 24'40 of tannic acid, 40’97 of lignin, 15 71 of ashes, with 
014 parts loss. To Clemens Willing it yielded a small quantity of volatile oil, 
having the odour of the flowers, much extractive, tannic acid colouring iron 
green, a crystallizable acid, and a resin having a bitter and astringent taste and 
the odour of the oil. (Ghem. Gent. Blatt, Marz 31, 1855, p. 224.) In which of 
these constituents the virtues of the medicine reside has not been determined. 
The claims of the koossine of Signor Pavesi, of Mortara, in Piedmont, to be 
considered the active principle, cannot be admitted until experimentally deter- 
mined ; and, indeed, it is by no means certain that it is not a complex substance. 
In the present state of knowledge on the subject, it appears to us premature 
even to give it the name of koossine, much less that of teniine, which has also 
been proposed for it, from its supposed relation to the tapeworm. (See Journ. 
de Phnrm., Avril, 1849, p. 274 ) 
Medical Properties. Koosso is highly valued in Abyssinia as a vermifuge. 
Bruce speaks of it in his travels, and gives a figure of the plant. Dr. Brayer, a 
French physician, practising in Constantinople, employed the medicine effec- 
tively, and published a treatise on it at Paris, so long ago as 1823. It was in 
his honour that Kunth adopted his generic title of the plant. Much attention 
has recently been attracted to this medicine; and trials made with it have proved 
that it lias extraordinary efficacy in the destruction and expulsion of the tape- 
worm. Its effects, when taken internally, are not very striking. In the ordinary 
dose it sometimes produces heat of stomach, nausea, and even vomiting, and 
shows a tendency to act on the bowels, though this effect is not always produced. 
It appears to operate exclusively as a poison to the worms; and has been found 
equally effectual in both kinds of tapeworm. The high price demanded for it 
has tended very much to restrict the use of the remedy; but, should the demand 
continue, it will no doubt be supplied at a reasonable cost, as it is brought by 
caravans from Abyssinia into Egypt; and the monopoly which was at first the 
cause of its expensiveness cannot be long maintained. The medicine is taken in 
the morning upon an empty stomach, a light meal having been made the pre- 
ceding evening. A previous evacuation of the bowels is also recommended. The 
flowers are given in the form of powder, mixed with half a pint of warm water; 
the mixture being allowed to stand for fifteen minutes, then stirred up, and taken 
in two or three draughts at short intervals. The medicine maybe preceded and fol- 
lowed by lemonade. The medium dose for an adult is half an ounce, which may 
be diminished one-third for a child of 12 years, one-half for one of 6, and two- 
thirds for one of 3. Should the medicine not act on the bowels in three or four 
hours, a brisk cathartic should be administered. One dose is said to be sufficient 
to destroy the worm. Should the quantity mentioned not prove effectual, it may 
be increased to an ounce or more. 
Off. Prep. Infusum Cusso, Br. W. 
BROMINIUM. TJ.S. 
Bromine. 
In the British Pharmacopoeia Bromine is placed in the Appendix as one of 
the substances used in preparing medicines. 
Brorne, Ft.; Brom, Germ.; Bromo, Ital. PART I. 
172 
Bromine is an elementary body, possessing many analogies to chlorine and 
iodine. It was discovered in 1826 by M. Balard, of Montpellier, in the bittern 
of sea-salt works, in which it exists as a bromide of magnesium. Since then it 
has been found in the waters of the ocean, in certain marine animals and vege- 
tables, in various aquatic plants, as the water-cress, in numerous salt springs, 
and, in two instances, in the mineral kingdom—in an ore of zinc, and in the 
cadmium of Silesia. It has also been detected by M. Mene in the coal-gas liquor, 
of the Paris gasworks. In the United States it wras first obtained by Professor 
Silliman, who found it in the bittern of the salt works at Salina, in the State of 
New York. It was discovered in the salt wells, near Freeport, Pa., by Dr. David 
Alter, who has been engaged for several years in manufacturing it on a large 
scale. The bittern of the salt wells of that locality contains the bromine com- 
bined with sodium and magnesium, and affords an average product of nine 
drachms of bromine to the gallon; though the yield of different wells varies 
greatly. Bromine has been detected also in the waters of the Saratoga springs. 
Preparation. Bromine is obtained from bittern, rich in this element, on the 
same principle that chlorine is procured from chloride of sodium; that is, by 
the action of diluted sulphuric acid and deutoxide of manganese. As manufac- 
tured near Freeport, the reaction takes place with the bromides of sodium and 
magnesium, with the result of forming a residue, consisting of the sulphates of 
soda and magnesia, mixed with sulphate of deutoxide of manganese. The dis- 
tillation should be performed at a gentle heat, by means of a water-bath, into a 
refrigerated receiver, containing water. We are informed by Dr. Thomas Ma- 
gill, of Allegheny Co., Pa., that Dr. Alter first heats the bittern in an iron 
boiler, and then introduces it hot into the retort, thus facilitating the process. 
The bittern of the salt works of Schoenbeck, in Germany, which contains 
only seven-tenths of one part of bromine in 1000 parts, is subjected to several 
successive operations, whereby the solution is reduced in bulk, and so far puri- 
fied as to contain chiefly the bromide and chloride of magnesium. The chlorine 
is separated in the form of muriatic acid gas, by heating the liquid with sul- 
phuric acid, at a temperature not exceeding 259°; the sulphates are crystallized 
out; and the bromine is evolved in the usual manner by sulphuric acid and deu- 
toxide of manganese. The last operation, which occupies six hours, is performed 
in a leaden still, of sufficient capacity to contain a charge of 84 pounds of the 
concentrated bittern, 60 or 10 pounds of weak sulphuric acid from the leaden 
chambers, and 40 pounds of deutoxide of manganese. The product is 4 pounds 
of bromine. (Moritz Herman, Journ. de Pharm., Janv. 1854.) 
Properties. Bromine is a volatile liquid, of a dark-red colour when viewed 
in mass, but hyacinth-red in thin layers. Its taste is very caustic, and its smell 
strong and disagreeable, having some resemblance to that of chlorine. Its den- 
sity is very nearly 3. At 4° below zero it becomes a hard, brittle, crystalline 
solid, having a dark leaden colour, and a lustre nearly metallic. It boils at 
about 117°, forming a reddish vapour resembling that of nitrous acid, and of 
the sp. gr. 5 39. It evaporates readily, a single drop being sufficient to fill a 
large flask with its peculiar vapour. 
Bromine is sparingly soluble in water, to which it communicates an orange 
colour, more soluble in alcohol, and still more so in ether. By the aid, however, 
of bromide of potassium, it may be dissolved to any desirable extent in water. 
Its alcoholic and ethereal solutions lose their colour in a few days, and become 
acid from the generation of hydrobromic acid. It bleaches vegetable substances 
like chlorine, destroys the colour of sulphate of indigo, and decomposes organic 
matters. Its combination with starch has a yellow colour. It corrodes the skin 
and gives it a deep-yellow stain. Bromine is intermediate in its affinities between 
chlorine and iodine; since its combinations are decomposed by chlorine, while, 
in its turn, it decomposes those of iodine. Its eq. number is 78'4 (80, Dumas), 
Brominium. part I. 
Brominium. 
173 
and its symbol Br. It forms acids with both oxygen and hydrogen, called bromic 
and hydrobromic acids, which are analogous in properties and composition to 
the corresponding acids of chlorine and iodine. It also combines with chlorine, 
forming chloride of bromine, which probably has the formula 13rCl5. This is 
prepared by passing chlorine through bromine, and condensing the resulting 
vapours at a low temperature. It is a reddish-yellow liquid, very fluid and vola- 
tile, soluble in water, and having a penetrating odour and disagreeable taste. 
Commercial bromine sometimes contains as much as 6 or 8 per cent, of bro- 
mide of carbon, as ascertained by M. Poselger. He discovered the impurity 
by submitting some bromine to distillation, during the progress of which the 
boiling point rose to 248°. The residuary liquid at this temperature was colour- 
less, and, when freed from a little bromine, proved to be the bromide of carbon 
in the form of an oily, aromatic liquid. 
In testing for bromine in mineral or saline waters, the water is evaporated in 
order to crystallize most of the salts. The solution, after having been filtered, 
is placed in a narrow tube, and a few drops of strong chlorine-water are added. 
If this addition produces an orange colour, bromine is present. The water ex- 
amined, in order that the test may succeed, must be free from organic matter, 
and the chlorine not be added in excess. Bromine may be detected in marine 
vegetables by carbonizing them in a covered crucible, exhausting the charcoal, 
previously pulverized, with boiling distilled water, precipitating any alkaline 
sulphuret present in the solution by sulphate of zinc, and then adding succes- 
sively a few drops of nitric acid and a portion of ether, shaking the whole to- 
gether. If bromine be present, it will be set free and dissolve in the ether, to 
which it will communicate an orange colour. (Dupasquier.) According to 
Reynoso, a more delicate test is furnished by oxidized water, which liberates 
bromine from its compounds, without reacting on it when free. The mode of 
proceeding is as follows. Put a piece of deutoxide of barium in a test tube, and 
add to it successively distilled water, pure muriatic acid, and ether. The mate- 
rials are here present for generating oxidized water; and so soon as bubbles 
are seen to rise to the surface, the substance suspected to contain bromine i? 
added, and the whole shaken together. If a bromide be present, the muriatic 
will give rise to hydrobromic acid; and the oxidized water, acting on this, will 
set free the bromine, which will dissolve in the ether, and give it a yellow tint. 
Medical Properties. Bromine, from its analogy to iodine, was early tried as 
a remedy, and the result has demonstrated its value as a therapeutic agent. It 
acts like iodine, by stimulating the lymphatic system and promoting absorption. 
It has been employed in bronchocele, scrofulous tumours and ulcers, amenorrhoea, 
diphtheritic affections, chronic diseases of the skin, and hypertrophy of the ven- 
tricles. Magendie recommends it in cases in which iodine does not operate 
with sufficient activity, or has lost its effect by habit. The form in which it is 
employed is aqueous solution, the dose of which, containing one part of bromine 
to forty of distilled water, is about six drops taken several times a day. When 
used as a wash for ulcers, from ten to forty minims of bromine may be added 
to a pint of water. Bromine has recently been found by Dr. Goldsmith, sur- 
geon of the U. S. volunteers, extremely efficacious as a local remedy in hospital 
gangrene, being applied either pure or dissolved in water; and the same remedy, 
dissolved in water in the proportion of from 15 to 40 drops to the fluidounce, 
with the aid of bromide of potassium, has produced very good effects in erysip- 
elas. (See Am. Med. Times, June 20, 1863.) Of the compounds of bromine, the 
bromides of potassium, iron, and mercury have been chiefly used. See these titles 
in the second and third parts of this work. The chloride of bromine has been 
used in Cancer by Landolfi, of Naples, both externally as a caustic and internally. 
The caustic was usually formed of equal parts of the chlorides of bromine, zinc, 
gold, and antimony, made into a paste with flour. To assist the local treatment, Brominium.—Buchu. 
PART I. 
ho gave a pill, composed of the tenth of a drop of chloride of bromine, half a 
grain of extract of hemlock, and a grain of phellandrium seed, daily, for two 
months, and twice a day for two months more. {Arch. Gen., Mai, 1855, p. 609.) 
A committee of the Paris Academy of Sciences, consisting of M. Broca and others, 
having had an opportunity of examining the method of Landolti applied in the 
hospitals, has reported decidedly against it, not only as inefficacious, but as some- 
times positively injurious. (Gaz. Hebdom. de Med. et Chirurg., Mai 9, 1856.) 
Dr. J. Lawrence Smith, of Louisville, Ivy., proposes the following as a con- 
venient formula for a solution of bromine. Dissolve 160 grains of bromide of 
potassium in two fluidounces of water, add one troyounce of bromine, and, stirring 
diligently, pour in sufficient water to make the solution measure four fluidounces. 
The solution should be kept in accurately stopped bottles. This is a suitable 
preparation for application to hospital gangrene, and may be diluted to any 
desirable extent with water. (Am.. Journ. of Pharm., May, 1863, p. 202.) 
Bromine, in an overdose, acts as an irritant poison. The best antidote, ac- 
cording to Mr. Alfred Smee, is ammonia. A case of poisoning by this substance, 
which proved fatal in seven hours and a half, is related by Dr. J. It. Snell, of 
Long Island, N. Y. The amount swallowed was about an ounce, and the symp- 
toms generally were those produced by the irritant poisons; such as violent 
inflammation of the lips, mouth, tongue, and oesophagus, with incessant burning 
pain, followed, in two hours and a half, by prostration, which soon ended in 
death. (New York Journ. of Med., Sept. 1850.) 
Bromine is extensively used in the art of the daguerreotypist. 
Off. Prep. Potasii Bromidum. B. 
BUCHU. US. 
Buchu. 
The leaves of Barosma crenata, and of other species of Barosma. U. S. 
Off. Syn. BTJCCO. Buchu. Barosma betulina, Barosma crenulata, and Ba- 
rosma serratifolia. The dried leaves. Br. 
This medicine consists of the leaves of different plants growing at the Cape of 
Good Hope, formerly ranked in the genus Diosma, but transferred by botanists 
to Barosma, so named from the strong odour of the leaves (fiapus and oapff). 
B. crenata (B. betulina, Br.), B. crenulata, and B. serratifolia are described by 
Lindley as medicinal species. The leaves of these and other Barosmas, and of 
some Agathosmas, are collected by the Hottentots, who value them on account 
of their odour, and, under the name of bookoo or buchu, rub them, in the state 
of powder, upon their greasy bodies. 
Barosma. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Rutaceae. 
Gen. Oh. Calyx five-cleft or five-parted. Disk lining the bottom of the calyx, 
generally with a short scarcely prominent rim. Petals five, with short claws. 
Filaments ten; the five opposite the petals sterile, petaloid ; the other five 
longer, subulate. Style as long as the petals. Stigma minute, five-lobed. Fruit 
composed of five cocci, covered with glandular dots at the back. (Condensed 
from Lindley.) These plants are all small shrubs, with opposite leaves and 
peduncled flowers. 
Barosma crenata. Lindley, Flor. Med. p. 213. —Diosma crenata. De Cand. 
Prodrom. i. 714; Woodv. Med. Bot., 3d ed., v. 52. This is a slender shrub, with 
smooth, somewhat angular branches, of a purplish colour. The leaves are op- 
posite, ovate or obovate, acute, serrated and glandular at the edge, coriaceous, 
and full of small pellucid dots on the under surface. The flowers are white or 
of a reddish tint, and stand solitarily at the end of short, lateral, leafy shoots. 
Properties. The leaves, as found in the shops, are from three-quarters of an PART I. 
JBucJiu.—Cadmium. 
175 
inch to an inch long, from three to five lines broad, elliptical, lanceolate-ovate 
or obovate, sometimes slightly pointed, sometimes blunt at the apex, very finely 
notched and glandular at the edges, smooth and of a green colour on the upper 
surface, dotted and paler beneath, and of a firm consistence. Their odour is 
strong, diffusive, and somewhat aromatic; their taste bitterish, and analogous to 
that of mint. These properties will distinguish them from senna, with which they 
might be confounded upon a careless inspection. They are sometimes mixed with 
portions of the stalks and fruit. Cadet de Gassicourt found them to contain, in 
1000 parts, 6 65 parts of a light, brownish-yellow, and highly odorous volatile oil, 
21W of gum, 51G of extractive, 11 of chlorophyll, and 21-51 of resin. Water 
and alcohol extract their virtues, which probably depend on the volatile oil and 
extractive. The latter is precipitated by infusion of galls. 
The foregoing description of buchu leaves applies to the drug, as fifWt seen by 
the author many years ago, when the chief product imported was probably that 
of B. crenulata, more or less mixed with the leaves of B. crenata. The first of 
these has now in great measure disappeared from our market, the importations 
consisting either of the leaves of B. crenata or B. serratifolia, in distinct parcels. 
The following is a concise description of the three different kinds of leaf. The 
leaves of B. crenata (short buchu or round, buchu, as it is called in commerce,) 
are “about three-quarters of an inch long, obovate, with a recurved truncated 
apex, and sharp, cartilaginous, spreading teeth;” those of B. crenulata, of me- 
dium size, “are about an inch long, oval-lanceolate, obtuse, minutely crenated, 
and five-nerved ;” those of B. serratifolia, or long buchu, “are from an inch to 
an inch and a half long, linear-lanceolate, tapering to each end, sharply and firmly 
serrated, three-nerved.” (Br.) The last-mentioned leaves are also of more deli- 
cate structure than the others. Of the three species, the short-leaved was found 
by Mr. P. W. Bedford to yield an average of 1*21 percent, of volatile oil; while 
the long-leaved, though more highly valued in the market, gave only 0'66 per cent., 
showing their great inferiority in strength. (Proceed. of the Am. Pharm. Asso- 
ciation, A. D. 1863, p. 211.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Buchu is gently stimulant, with a peculiar 
tendency to the urinary organs, producing diuresis, and, like all similar medicines, 
exciting diaphoresis when circumstances favour this effect. The Hottentots have 
long used it in a variety of diseases. From these rude practitioners the remedy 
was borrowed by the resident English and Dutch physicians, by whose recom- 
mendation it was employed in Europe, and has come into general use. It is 
given chiefly in complaints of the urinary organs, such as gravel, chronic catarrh 
of the bladder, morbid irritation of the bladder and urethra, disease of the pros- 
tate, and retention or incontinence of urine from a loss of tone in the parts con- 
cerned in its evacuation. It has also been recommended in dyspepsia, chronic 
rheumatism, cutaneous affections, and dropsy. From twenty to thirty grains of 
the powder may be given two or three times a day. The leaves are also used in 
infusion, in the proportion of an ounce to a pint of boiling water, of which the 
dose is one or two fluidounces. A tincture has been employed as a stimulant 
embrocation in local pains. There is an officinal fluid extract, of which the dose 
is half a tluidraehm. 
Off. Prep. Extractum Buchu Fluidum, U. S.; Infusum Bucco, Br.; Infusum 
Buchu, U. S.; Tinctura Bucco, Br. W. 
CADMIUM. U.S. 
Cadmium. 
This metal was introduced into the present edition of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, 
because used in the preparation of sulphate of cadmium. It is associated with 176 
Cadmium 
PART I. 
zinc in its ores, and, being more volatile than that metal, comes over with the 
first portions of it distilled in the process for obtaining it. (See Zincum.) The 
cadmium is separated by dissolving the mixed metal in dilute sulphuric acid, 
precipitating the sulphuret by sulphuretted hydrogen, treating the precipitate 
with muriatic acid, and again precipitating with carbonate of ammonia. The car- 
bonate of cadmium thus obtained, after being washed and dried, is mixed with 
charcoal, and exposed to a dull-red heat in an earthen retort, when the reduced 
metal distils over. 
Properties. Cadmium is a white metal, resembling tin, but somewhat heavier 
and more tenacious. Like that metal, it crackles when bent. Its sp.gr. is 8’7, 
melting point about 440°, equivalent 55'8, and symbol Ca. It is little affected 
by the air, but, when heated, combines with an eq. of oxygen, forming a reddish- 
brown omtrange-coloured oxide, CaO, which combines with the acids to form 
salts. From its saline solutions the oxide is precipitated by the alkalies in the 
form of a white hydrate. Cadmium also combines with chlorine, iodine, bromine, 
and sulphur, in equivalent proportions. It is distinguished by forming a colour- 
less solution with nitric acid, from which sulphuretted hydrogen or hydrosulphate 
of ammonia precipitates a lemon-yellow sulphuret, insoluble in an excess of the 
reagent, or in potassa or ammonia, and not volatilized at a red heat. Potassa 
produces a white precipitate insoluble in an excess, and ammonia a similar pre- 
cipitate soluble in an excess of the precipitant. Zinc precipitates cadmium in 
the metallic state. "A neutral solution of the metal in nitric acid, after having 
been fully precipitated by carbonate of soda in slight excess, yields a filtrate 
which is not affected by hydrosulphate of ammonia.” (£7. S.) This proves the 
absence of arsenic. 
Medical Uses. According to Prof. Simpson, of Edinburgh, the preparations 
of cadmium resemble those of antimony in their effects on the system. Dr. Garrod 
considers the metal, in this respect, more closely allied to zinc. In overdoses 
its salts appear to act as corrosive poisons. Three cases are recorded in which 
serious consequences resulted from inhaling the powdered carbonate, while used 
in polishing silver. The chief symptoms were constriction of the throat, embar- 
rassed respiration, vomiting and purging, giddiness, and painful spasms. (Annu- 
aire de Therap., A. D. 1859, p. 229.) It is, however, chiefly if not exclusively for 
external application that the preparations of this metal are used. Two of them 
have especially engaged attention ; the iodide and sulphate. The latter is among 
the Preparations in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, and will be treated of in the second 
part of this work. (See Gadmii Sulphas.) The former will be noticed here. 
The iodide of cadmium (Cal) may be prepared by mixing iodine and filings 
of cadmium in a moist state. It is soluble in water and alcohol, and may be 
crystallized from either solution in large, white, transparent crystals, in the form 
of six-sided tables, of a pearly lustre. Iodide of cadmium was introduced as an 
external remedy by Dr. A. B. Garrod, of London. He has employed it, with good 
effects, in the form of ointment, made of one part of the iodide to eight of lard, 
as a local application by friction to enlarged scrofulous glands, nodes, chronic 
inflammations of joints, certain cutaneous diseases, and chilblains. The ointment 
is soft and white, readily yields its iodine for absorption, and is preferable to the 
corresponding ointment of iodide of lead, the use of which endangers lead poison- 
ing. (Pharm. Journ. and Trans., Nov. 1857, p. 260.) 
Off. Prep. Cadmii Sulphas, U. S. B. PART I. 
Caffea, 
177 
CAFFEA. U. S. 
Coffee. 
The seed of Caffea Arabica. U. S. 
Cafe, Fr ; Kaffee, Germ.; Caffe, Cafe, Span.; Bun, Arabic; Copi cotta, Cyngalcse, 
Kaeva, Malay. 
Coffea. Sex.Syst. PentandriaMonogynia.— Nat. OreZ. Cinchonacese. Lindley. 
Gen. Ch. “ Calyx with a small, 4-5 toothed limb. Corolla tubular, funnel- 
shaped, with a 4-5 parted spreading limb. Stamens 4-5, inserted in the middle 
of the upper part of the tube, exserted or inclosed. Style bifid at the apex. 
Berry umbilicate, naked, or crowned with the calyx, containing two seeds in- 
closed in a parchment-like putamen.” Lindley. 
Coffea Arabica. Linn. Sp. 245; Bot. Mag. t. 1303. The coffee plant is a small 
tree, from fifteen to thirty feet in height. The branches are opposite, the lower 
spreading, the upper somewhat declining, and gradually diminishing in length 
as they ascend, so as to form a pyramidal summit, which is covered with green 
foliage throughout the year. The leaves are opposite, upon short footstalks, ob- 
long-ovate, acuminate, entire, wavy, four or five inches long, smooth and shining, 
of a dark-green colour on their upper surface', paler beneath, and accompanied 
with a pair of small pointed stipules. The flowers are white, with an odour not 
unlike that of the jasmine, and stand in groups in the axils of the upper leaves. 
The calyx is very small, the corolla salverform, with a nearly cylindrical tube, 
and a flat border divided into five lanceolate, pointed segments. The stamens 
project above the tube. The fruit, which is inferior, is a roundish berry, umbil- 
icate at top, at first green, then red, and ultimately dark purple. It is about as 
large as a cherry, and contains two seeds surrounded by a paper-like membrane, 
and enclosed in a yellowish pulpy matter. These seeds, divested of their cover- 
ings, constitute coffee. 
This tree is a native of Southern Arabia and Abyssinia, and probably per- 
vades Africa about the same parallel of latitude, as it is found growing wild at 
Liberia, on the western coast of the continent. It is cultivated in various parts 
of the world where the temperature is sufficiently elevated and uniform. Con- 
siderable attention has long been paid to its culture in its native country, par- 
ticularly in Yemen, in the vicinity of Mocha, from which the demands of com- 
merce were at first almost exclusively supplied. About the year 1690, it was in- 
troduced by the Dutch into Java, and in 1718, into their colony of Surinam. 
Soon after this latter period, the French succeeded in introducing it into their 
West India Islands, Cayenne, and the Isles of France and Bourbon; and it has 
subsequently made its way into the other West India Islands, various parts of 
tropical America, Hindostan, and Ceylon. 
The tree is raised from the seeds, which are sown in a soil properly prepared, 
and, germinating in less than a month, produce plants which, at the end of the 
year, are large enough to be transplanted. These are then set out in rows at 
suitable distances, and in three or four years begin to bear fruit. It is customary 
to top the trees at this age, in order to prevent their attaining an inconvenient 
height, and to increase the number of the fruit-bearing branches. It is said that 
they continue productive for thirty or forty years. Though almost always covered 
with flowers and fruit, they yield most abundantly at two seasons, and thus afford 
two harvests during the year. Various methods are employed for freeing the 
seeds from their coverings; but that considered the best is, by means of machinery, 
to remove the fleshy portion of the fruit, leaving the seeds surrounded only by 
their papyraceous envelope, from which they are afterwards separated by drying, 
and by the action of peeling and winnowing mills. 
The character of coffee varies considerably with the climate and mode of cul- 178 
Caffea. 
part i. 
ture. Consequently, several varieties exist in commerce, named usually from the 
sources from which they are derived. The Mocha coffee, which is in small round- 
ish grains, takes precedence of all others. The Java coffee is highly esteemed 
in this country; but our chief supplies are derived from the West Indies and 
South America. Some good coffee has been brought from Liberia. Coffee im- 
proves by age, losing a portion of its strength, and thus acquiring a more agree- 
able flavour. It is said to be much better when allowed to become perfectly ripe 
upon the tree, than as ordinarily collected. The grains should be hard, and so 
heavy as readily to sink in water. When soft, light, black or dark-coloured, or 
musty, they are inferior. 
Properties. Coffee has a faint, peculiar odour, and a slightly sweetish, some- 
what austere taste. An analysis by M. Payen gives for its constituents, in 100 
parts, 34 of cellulose, 12 of hygroscopic water, 10 to 13 of fatty matter, 15*5 
of glucose, with dextrin and a vegetable acid, 10 of legumin, 35 of chlorogenate 
of potassa and caffein, 3 of a nitrogenous body, 0*8 of free caffein, 0*001 of 
concrete volatile oil, 0*002 of fluid volatile oil, and 6*697 of mineral substances. 
{Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., x. 266.) Pfaff recognised, in the precipitate pro- 
duced by acetate of lead with the decoction of coffee, two peculiar principles, 
one resembling tannin, called caffeo-lahnic acid, and the other an acid, called by 
him caffeic acid. The latter is thought to be identical with the chlorogenic acid 
of Payen. When strongly heated, it emits the odour of roasted coffee, and is 
supposed to be the principle to which the flavour of coffee as a drink is owing. 
A remarkable property of caffeic acid is that, when acted on by sulphuric acid 
and binoxide of manganese, it is converted into kinone, being in this respect 
analogous to kinic acid. The sugar of coffee is probably neither glucose as sup- 
posed by Payen, nor cane-sugar as stated by Rochleder, but peculiar; for, when 
the coffee is roasted, it does not answer to Trommer’s test for glucose. {Pharm. 
Journ., xvi. 526-8.) 
Caffein (caffea) was first discovered by Runge, and afterwards by Robiquet. 
According to Payen, it exists in the coffee partly free, partly in the form of a double 
salt, consisting of chlorogenic acid, combined with potassa and caffein. It may 
be obtained in the following manner. Exhaust bruised coffee by two successive 
portions of boiling water, unite the infusions, add acetate of lead, in order to 
precipitate various principles which accompany the caffein, filter, decompose the 
excess of acetate of lead in the filtered liquor by sulphuretted hydrogen, concen- 
trate by evaporation, and neutralize with ammonia. The caffein is deposited in 
crystals upon cooling, and may be purified by redissolving in water, treating with 
animal charcoal, and evaporating. H. J. Versmann, of Lubeck, recommends the* 
following process as more economical. Powdered coffee, mixed with one-fifth of 
its weight of caustic lime previously slaked, is exhausted, by means of percola- 
tion, with alcohol of 0*863; the tincture is distilled to separate the alcohol; the 
residue is rinsed out of the still with warm water, and the supernatant oil sepa- 
rated; the liquid is evaporated so as to solidify on cooling; and the crystalline 
mass thus obtained, having been expressed and dried by pressure in bibulous 
paper, is purified by solution in water with animal charcoal, and recrystalliza- 
tion. ( Chem. Gaz., Feb. 1852, p. 67.) H. Leuchsenring obtains caffein by avail- 
ing himself of its property of subliming unchanged by heat. He precipitates a 
concentrated decoction of coffee by a weak solution of acetate of lead, filters, 
evaporates to dryness, mixes the residue with sand, and sublimes as in Mohr’s 
process for procuring benzoic acid. {Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxxii. 25.) Still an- 
other method, proposed by Vogel, is to treat coffee, ground to powder, with ben- 
zine, which dissolves the caffein and an oily substance, to separate the benzine 
by distillation, to treat the residue with boiling water which dissolves the caffein, 
and deposits it in a crystalline form, after filtration and concentration. {Journ. 
de Pharm., 3e ser., xxxv. 436.) The proportion of caffein in coffee may be stated PART I. 
Caffe a. 
179 
at from 0 to I/O per cent. (Pharm. Journ., xvi. 527.) Caffein crystallizes, by 
the cooling of its concentrated solution, in opaque, silky, flexible needles, bj slow 
and spontaneous evaporation, in long transparent prisms. It has a feebly bitter 
and disagreeable taste, is soluble in water, alcohol, and ether, melts when exposed 
to heat, and at a higher temperature sublimes, without residue, in needles anal- 
ogous to those formed by benzoic acid. It is precipitated from its aqueous solu- 
tion by no reagent except tannic acid and solution of iodide of potassium and 
mercury. When this solution, made by saturating iodide of potassium with red 
oxide of mercury, is added to a solution of caffein, a precipitate is produced, 
which soon takes the form of white, shining, acicular crystals. This reaction is 
proposed as a test of caffein by Prof. Dellfs; for, though the same solution will 
precipitate the other alkaloids, the product is always amorphous. (Chum. Gaz., 
Feb. 15, 1855.) It is stated by M. Schwazenbach that, if chlorine-water with 
caffein is evaporated, a red residue is obtained, which becomes yellow at a higher 
temperature, and is restored to its original red colour by a drop of solution of 
ammonia. This is proposed as a delicate test of caffein. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e 
ser., xxxix. 232.) Caffein is remarkable for containing a larger proportion of 
nitrogen than almost any other proximate vegetable principle, in this respect 
equalling some of the most highly animalized products. The present views of its 
composition are represented by the formula C16H10N4O4; and it is believed to be 
identical with thein, or the peculiar principle of tea. Notwithstanding its large 
proportion of nitrogen, caffein does not putrefy, even when its solution is kept for 
some time in a warm place. 
Coffee undergoes considerable change during the roasting process. It swells 
up very much, acquiring almost double its original volume, while it loses from 
15 to 20 percent, of its weight. (Pharm. Cent. Blatt, Oct. 1850, p. 687 ) It ac- 
quires, at the same time, a peculiar odour entirely different from that of the un- 
roasted grains, and a decidedly bitter taste. A volatile oil is developed during 
the process, and, according to Chenevix, a portion of tannin. The caffein does 
not appear to undergo material change, as, according to Garot, it may be ex- 
tracted unaltered from the roasted coffee. The excellence of the flavour of roasted 
coffee depends much upon the manner in which the process is conducted, and the 
extent to which it is carried. It should be performed in a covered vessel, over a 
moderate fire, and the grains should be kept in constant motion. When they 
have acquired a chestnut-brown colour, the process should cease. If too long 
continued, it renders the coffee bitter and acrid, or, by reducing it to charcoal, 
deprives it entirely of flavour. The coffee should not be burnt long before it is 
used, and should not be kept in the ground state. 
Medical and Economical Uses. More attention has been paid to the effects 
of coffee on the system in the roasted than in the crude state. Unroasted coffee 
has been employed by Dr. Grindel, of Russia, in intermittent fever; and the 
practice has been followed by others; but the success, though considerable, has 
not been such as to lead to the conclusion that this medicine would answer as 
a substitute for quinia. It was given in powder, in the dose of a scruple every 
hour; in decoction prepared by boiling an ounce with eighteen ounces of water 
down to six; or in the state of extract in the dose of from four to eight grains. 
The action of coffee is directed chiefly to the nervous system. When swal- 
lowed it produces a warming cordial impression on the stomach, quickly followed 
by a diffused agreeable nervous excitement, which extends itself to the cerebral 
functions, giving rise to increased vigour of imagination and intellect, without 
any subsequent confusion or stupor such as characterizes the action of narcotic 
medicines. Indeed, one of its most extraordinary effects is a disposition to wake- 
fulness, which continues for several hours after it has been taken. It is even 
capable of resisting, to a certain extent, the intoxicating and soporific influence 
of alcohol and opium, and may sometimes be advantageously employed for this 180 
Caffe a 
PART I. 
purpose. It also moderately excites the circulatory system, and stimulates the 
digestive function. A cup of coffee, taken after a hearty meal, will often relieve 
the sense of oppression so apt to be experienced, and enable the stomach to 
perform its office with comparative facility. The exhilarating effects of coffee, 
united with its delicious flavour when suitably qualified by cream and sugar, have 
given rise to its habitual employment as an article of diet. Its use for this pur- 
pose has prevailed from time immemorial in Persia and Arabia. In 1517 it was 
introduced by the Turks into Constantinople, whence it was carried to France 
and England about the middle of the succeeding century, and has since gra- 
dually made its way into almost universal use. It cannot be supposed that a 
substance, capable of acting so energetically upon the system, should be entirely 
destitute of deleterious properties. Accordingly, if taken in large quantities, it 
leaves, after its first effects, a degree of nervous derangement or depression equi- 
valent to the previous excitement; and its habitual immoderate employment is 
well known very greatly to injure the tone of the stomach, and frequently to 
occasion troublesome dyspeptic and nervous affections. This result is peculiarly 
apt to take place in individuals of susceptible nervous systems, and in those of 
sedentary habits. We have repeatedly known patients, who have long suffered 
with headache and vertigo, to get rid of them by abstaining from coffee. 
In the treatment of disease, coffee has been less employed than might have 
been expected from its effects upon the. system. There can be no doubt that it 
may be advantageously used in various nervous disorders. In a tendency to 
stupor or lethargy dependent on deficient energy of the brain, without conges- 
tion or inflammation, it would be found useful by stimulating the cerebral func- 
tions. In light nervous headaches, and even in sick headache not caused by the 
presence of offending matter in the stomach, it often proves temporarily useful. 
It has acquired much reputation as a palliative in the paroxysms of spasmodic 
asthma, and has been recommended in hooping-cough, and in hysterical affec- 
tions. The Egyptians are said to have formerly employed it as a remedy in 
amenorrhoea. Hayne informs us that, in a case of violent spasmodic disease, at- 
tended with short breath, palpitation of the heart, and a pulse so much increased 
in frequency that it could scarcely be counted, immediate relief was obtained 
from a cup of coffee, after the most powerful antispasmodics had been used in 
vain for several hours. It has been given, with supposed advantage, in strangu- 
lated hernia. By the late Dr. Dewees it was highly recommended in cholera 
infantum. It is said also to have been used successfully in obstinate chronic 
diarrhoea; and the late Dr. Chapman, of Philadelphia, found it highly useful in 
calculous nephritis. Under the impression of its diuretic powers, it has been 
recommended in dropsy. We have heard of its effectual use in croup. In acute 
inflammatory affections it is contraindicated. It should be given in cases of 
poisoning from opium, after the evacuation of the stomach, or when from any 
cause such evacuation is not effected. 
Roasted coffee is said to have the effect of destroying offensive and noxious 
effluvia from decomposing animal and vegetable substances, and therefore to be 
capable of beneficial application as a disinfecting and deodorizing agent. The 
powder of the grains should be roasted until it becomes dark-brown, and then 
sprinkled, or placed in plates, in the infected place. 
Coffee is usually prepared in this country by boiling the roasted grains, pre- 
viously ground into a coarse powder, in water for a short time, and then clarify- 
ing by the white of an egg. Some prefer the infusion, made by a process similar 
to that of displacement. It has more of the aroma of the coffee than the decoc 
tion, with less of its bitterness. The proper proportion for forming the infusion 
for medical use is an ounce to a pint of boiling water, of which a cupfui may be 
given warm for a dose, and repeated, if necessary. A syrup of coffee is prepared 
by Dorvault in the following manner. Treat a pound of ground roasti d. coffee PART I. 
Caffea.—Calamus. 
181 
by percolation with boiling water until two pints have passed. Evaporate eight 
pounds of simple syrup to six, add the infusion, and strain. Two tablespoonfuls 
of this syrup may be added to a cup of hot water or milk. It is also used with 
carbonic acid water. 
Caffein, though undoubtedly one of the active principles of coffee, is not ex- 
actly identical with it in effects. Precise and reliable information as to its physi- 
ological action and therapeutic application is yet wanting. Lehmann found it, in 
doses of from two to ten grains, to produce great disturbance of the nervous 
and circulatory systems. Introduced directly into the circulation, in the lower 
animals, such as cats, rabbits, and dogs, in doses of three-quarters of a grain or 
more, by Drs. Stuhlmann and Falek, it caused death, preceded by purging, 
vomiting of food, tonic and clonic spasms, and prostration ; but no useful reliable 
inference can be drawn from these results. {Ranking's Abstract, xxix. 286.) It 
has been used remedially both uncombined, and in the state of salt. Prof. H. 
F. Campbell, of Georgia, found it apparently very useful, given by enema, in a 
case of poisoning by opium, in the advanced stage, when the patient could no 
longer swallow. He injected twenty grains in infusion of coffee. The patient 
recovered; but in a second case, though some favourable effects seemed to be 
produced, the patient ultimately succumbed. (See Am. J. of Med. Sci., July and 
Oct. 1860, pp. 282 and 510.) In the form of citrate of caffein, made by dissolving 
caffein in a solution of citric acid with a gentle heat, and evaporating carefully, 
it has been recommended, as a remedy and preventive in sick headache, in the 
dose of a grain every hour, before and during the paroxysm. The arseniate has 
been given as an antiperiodic; but the arsenic is no doubt the main therapeutic 
agent in this case. 
The leaves of the coffee plant possess properties analogous to those of the 
fruit, and are extensively used, in the form of infusion, as a beverage, in the 
vicinity of Padang, in the island of Sumatra. An account of their employment 
was published in the Singapore Free Press by Mr. N. M. Ward, of Padang. 
Previously to this, Dr. John Gardener, of London, had proposed to introduce 
them into use in Europe, and is stated to have taken out a patent for the mode 
preparing them. A specimen examined by Dr. Stenhouse has been found to 
contain caffein in larger proportion than the coffee-bean, and also caffeic acid. 
Mr. Ward states that, in Sumatra, the leaves are prepared for use by moderately 
roasting them, and then powdering them coarsely by rubbing in the hands. The 
powder is made into an infusion like common tea. The taste is said to be like 
that of tea and coffee combined. (Pharm. Journ., xii. 443, and xiii. 20f and 382.) 
W. 
CALAMUS. U. S. Secondary. 
Sweet Flag. 
The rhizoma of Acorus Calamus. TJ. S. 
Acorns vrai, Acorus odorant, Ft.; Kalmuswurzel, Germ ; Calarao aromatico, Ital., Span. 
Acokus. Sex. Syst. Hexandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Acoraceae. 
Gen. Ch. Spadix cylindrical, covered with florets. Corolla six-petaled, na- 
ked. Style none. Capsule three-celled. Wi/ld. 
Acorus Calamus. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 199; Barton, Med. Bot. ii. 63. The 
sweet flag, or calamus, has a perennial, horizontal, jointed, somewhat com- 
pressed mot (rhizome), from half an inch to an inch thick, sometimes several 
feet in length, sending off numerous round and yellowish or whitish radicles from 
its base, and bunches of brown fibres resembling coarse hair from its joints, in- 
ternally white and spongy, externally whitish with a tinge of green, variegated 
with triangular stains of light brown and rose colour. The leaves are all radical, 
sheathing at the base, long, sword-shaped, smooth, green above, but, near their Calamus, 
PART I. 
origii from the root, of a red colour, variegated with green and white. The 
scape or flower-stem resembles the leaves, but is longer, and from one side, near ' 
the mi Idle of its length, sends out a cylindrical spadix, tapering at each end, 
about two inches in length, and crowded with greenish-yellow flowers. These 
are without calyx, and have six small, concave, membranous, truncated petals. 
The fruit is an oblong capsule, divided into three cells, and containing numerous 
oval seeds. 
This is an indigenous plant, growing throughout the United States, in low, 
wet, swampy places, and along the sides of ditches and streams, and flowering 
in May and June. It is also a native of Europe and Western Asia; and a va- 
riety is found in India. The European plant differs slightly from the American. 
The leaves as well as root have an aromatic odour; but the latter only is em- 
ployed. It should be collected late in the autumn, or in the spring. After re- 
moval from the ground, the roots are washed, freed from their fibres, and dried 
with a moderate heat. By the process of drying they lose nearly one-half their 
diameter, but are improved in odour and taste. 
Properties. The roots, as kept in the shops, are in pieces of various length, 
somewhat flattened, externally wrinkled and of a yellowish-brown colour, and 
presenting on their under surface numerous minute circular spots, indicating the 
points at which the radicles were inserted. Their texture is light and spongy, 
their colour internally whitish or yellowish-white, and their fracture short and 
rough. A variety imported from Germany consists exclusively of the interior 
portion of the root The pieces are usually long, slender, irregularly quadran- 
gular, and of a grayish-white colour. 
The odour of calamus is strong and fragrant; its taste warm, bitterish, pun- 
gent, and aromatic. Its active principles are taken up by boiling water. From 
100 parts of the fresh root of the European plant, Trommsdorff obtained 0 1 
of volatile oil, 2 3 of soft resin, 3 3 of extractive with a little chloride of potas- 
sium. 5’5 of gum with some phosphate of potassa, 1‘6 of starch analogous to 
inulin, 21-5 of lignin, and 65 7 of water. Sixteen ounces of the dried root af- 
forded to Neumann about two scruples of volatile oil. The oil is at first yellow, 
but ultimately becomes red, and has the smell and taste of calamus. The extrac- 
tive matter has an acrid and sweetish taste. The robt is sometimes attacked by 
worms, and deteriorates by keeping. 
The root of the India variety is said to be less thick than the European, and 
to have a stronger and more pleasant taste and smell. 
Medical Properties and Uxes. Calamus is a stimulant tonic, possessing the 
ordinary virtues of the aromatics. It may be taken with advantage in pain or 
uneasiness of the stomach or bowels arising from flatulence, and is a useful ad- 
juvant to tonic or purgative medicines, in cases of torpor or debility of the ali- 
mentary canal. It was probably known to the ancients, and is supposed to have 
been the dxopov of the Greeks; but the calamus aromaticus of Dioscorides 
was a different product, having been derived, according to Dr. Hoyle, from a 
species of Andropogon. The medicine is at present much neglected, though well 
calculated to answer as a substitute for more costly aromatics. The dose in sub- 
stance is from a scruple to a drachm. An infusion, made in the proportion of 
an ounce of the root to a pint of boiling water, is sometimes given in the dose 
of a wineglassful or more.* W. 
* A fluid extract of calamus may be prepared in tlie same manner as fluid extract of gin- 
ger (see Extractum Zit giberis Fluidum in Part II.), and given in the dose of from half a flui- 
drauhm to a fluidrachm. From this Mr. J. M. Maisch prepares a syrup by rubbing a 
fluidounce of the fluid extract with about eight troyounces of sugar, exposing the mixture 
to a moderate heat until all the alcohol has been evaporated, then adding seven troyounces 
of sugar, and half a pint of water, heating to 212°, and straining. (Am. Journ. oj Pharr 1., 
xxxii. 113.)—Note to the twelfth edition. part I. 
Calcium.— Calcii Chloridum. 
183 
CALCIUM. 
Calcium. 
This is the peculiar metal of lime, and, consequently, of all calcareous sub 
stances. It was obtained by I)r. Matthiessen, in 1855, in masses of the size oi 
a pea, by the electrolysis, with a Bunsen battery, of chloride of calcium. It is 
a pale-yellow metal, remarkably glittering when freshly filed. Its fracture is 
jagged, becoming granular. It is malleable and very ductile. In a dry air it 
remains unaltered ; but it soon tarnishes in a moist one. It melts at a red heat, 
and afterwards burns with splendour, forming lime. Its eq. number is 20, and 
symbol Ca. (See Chem. Gaz., June 15, 1855.) 
Calcium is a very abundant element in nature, existing in the mineral king- 
dom chiefly as a carbonate, in the form of limestone, marble, chalk, and calca- 
reous spar; and as a phosphate and carbonate in the bones and shells of animals. 
It is the peculiar metal in the officinals, lime, chloride of calcium, and carbo- 
nate, phosphate, and hypochlorite of lime. . * B. 
CALCII CIILORIDUM. U. & 
Chloride of Calcium. 
Fused chloride of calcium. U. S. 
In the British Pharmacopoeia, chloride of calcium is placed in the Appendix, 
as one of the substances used in preparing medicines. 
Muriate of lime, Hydroclilorate of lime ; Clilorure de calcium, Ilydrochlorate de cliaux, 
Fr.; Chlorcalcium, Salzsaurer Kalk, Germ. 
Chloride of calcium consists of chlorine, united with calcium, the metallic 
radical of lime. It may be readily formed by saturating muriatic acid with chalk 
or marble, evaporating to dryness, and heating to redness. The muriatic acid, 
by reacting with the lime, forms chloride of calcium and water, the latter of 
which is dissipated at a red heat. 
Properties. In the fused or anhydrous state, as it is directed or understood 
to be in the U. S. and Br. Pharmacopoeias, chloride of calcium is a colourless, 
slightly translucent, hard and friable solid, of an acrid, bitter, saline taste, ex- 
tremely deliquescent, very soluble in water, and readily soluble in rectified spirit. 
On account of its avidity for water, the fused salt is used for drying gases, and 
for bringing alcohol to its highest degree of concentration. The crystallized 
salt is also very deliquescent, and has the form of colourless, transparent, stri- 
ated, six-sided prisms. The crystals, on exposure to heat, first dissolve in their 
water of crystallization, and, after this has evaporated, undergo the igneous 
fusion. With ice or snow they form a powerful frigorific mixture. Solution of 
chloride of calcium, when pure, yields no precipitate with ammonia, chloride of 
barium, or ferrocyanide of potassium dissolved in a large quantity of water; 
evincing the absence of magnesia, sulphuric acid, and iron. 
Chloride of calcium exists in the water of the ocean and of many springs. It 
is usually associated with common salt and chloride of magnesium, from which 
it is separated with difficulty. It consists of one eq. of chlorine 35 5, and one 
of calcium 20 = 55'5. When crystallized, it contains six eqs. of water = 54. 
Chloride of calcium is used medicinally in solution only. In this state it 
forms the officinal Liquor Calcii Ghloridi, under which title its medicinal pro- 
perties are given. 
Pliarm. Uses. In preparing Acidum Tartaricum, Br.; JEther, Br.; JEther 
Fortior, U. S.; Chloroformum, Br.; Ferrum Redactum, Br. 
Off. Prep. Calcis Carbonas Precipitata, Br.; Morphiae Hydrochloras, Br. 184 
Calx. 
PART I. 
CALX. U.S., Br. 
Lime. 
Lime tecently prepared by calcination. U. S. OaO. Br. 
Quickloae; Chaux, Chaux vive, Fr.; Kalk, Germ.; Calce, Ital.; Calviva, Span. 
Lime, which is ranked among the alkaline earths, is a very important phar- 
maceutical agent, and forms the principal ingredient in several standard prepa- 
rations. It is a very abundant natural production. It is never found pure, but 
mostly combined with acids ; as with carbonic acid in chalk, marble, calcareous 
spar, limestone, and shells; with sulphuric acid in the different kinds of gyp- 
sum; with phosphoric acid in the bones of animals; and with silica in a great 
variety of minerals. 
Preparation. Lime is prepared by calcining, by a strong heat, some form of 
the native carbonate. The carbonic acid is thus expelled, and the lime remains 
behind. When the lime is intended for nice chemical operations, it should be 
obtained from pure white marble, or from oyster shells. For the purpose of the 
arts it is procured from common limestone, by calcining it in kilns of peculiar 
construction. When obtained in this way it is generally impure, being of a 
grayish colour, and containing alumina, silica, sesquioxide of iron, and occa- 
sionally a little magnesia and oxide of manganese. 
The officinal lime of the United States and British Pharmacopoeias is the 
lime of commerce, and therefore impure. It may be obtained purer by exposing 
pure white marble, broken into small fragments, in a covered crucible, to a full 
red heat for three hours, or till the residuum, when slaked and suspended in 
water, no longer effervesces on the addition of muriatic acid. 
Properties. Lime is a grayish-white solid, having a strong, caustic, alkaline 
taste, and the sp. gr. 2 3. It is very refractory in the fire, having been fused 
only by the compound blowpipe of Dr. Hare. Exposed to the air, it absorbs 
moisture and carbonic acid, and falls into a white powder. On account of its 
liability to change by being kept, lime intended for pharmaceutical purposes 
should be recently prepared. It acts upon vegetable colours like an alkali. 
Upon the addition of water, it cracks and falls into powder, with the evolution 
of heat, forming hydrate of lime. In this state lime dissolves freely iu syrup. 
(See Syrup of Lime.) If it dissolve in muriatic acid without effervescence, the 
fact shows the absence of carbonic acid, arid that the lime has been well calcined. 
If any silica be present, it will remain undissolved. If the solution give no pre- 
cipitate with ammonia, the absence of iron and alumina is shown. 
Lime is but sparingly soluble in water, requiring at 60° about seven hundred 
times its weight of that liquid for complete solution. Contrary to the general 
law, it is less soluble in hot than in cold water. The solution is called lime- 
water. (See Liquor Calcis.) When lime in excess is mixed with water, so as to 
form a thick liquid, the mixture is called milk of lime. 
Lime is the protoxide of calcium, and consists of one eq. of calcium 20, and 
one of oxygen 8 = 28. (See Calcium.) It is distinguished from the other alka- 
line earths by forming a very deliquescent salt (chloride of calcium) by reac- 
tion with muriatic acid, and a sparingly soluble one with sulphuric acid. All 
acids, acidulous, ammoniacal, and metallic salts, borates, alkaline carbonates, 
and astringent vegetable infusions are incompatible with it. 
Medical Properties. Lime acts externally as an escharotic, and was formerly 
applied to ill-conditioned ulcers. The lime ointment of Spender is made by in- 
corporating four parts of washed slaked lime with one part of fresh mrd and 
three parts of olive'oil, previously warmed together. Mixed with potassa, lime 
forms an officinal caustic. (See Potassa cum Calce.) As an internal remedy, 
it is always administered in solution. (See Liquor Calais.) PART I. 
Calx.—Calx Chlorinata. 
Pharvn. Uses. In preparing Aether Fortior, U. S; Ammoni® Valerianas., 
U.S.; Aqua Ammoni®, U. S.; Liquor Potass®, U.S.; Liquor Sod® U. S., 
Quini® Sulphas, U. S.; Santoninum, U. S.; Spiritus Ammoni®; Strychnia U. S.; 
Sulphur Pr®eipitatum, U. S. 
Off. Prep. Calcis Hydras, Br.; Liquor Caleis, U. S.; Potassa cum Calce, 
U. S. B. 
CxlLX CIILOR1NATA. U.S. 
Chlorinated Lime. 
A compound resulting from the action of chlorine on hydrate of lime, and 
containing at least twenty-five per cent, of Chlorine. U. S. 
Off. Syn. CALX CHLORATA. Chlorinated Lime. Hypochlorite of lime, 
Ca0,C10, with chloride of calcium, and a variable amount of hydrate of lime. Br. 
Chloride of lime, Hypochlorite of lime, Oxymuriate of Lime, Bleaching powder; Calcis 
chloridum, Calcis hypochloris, Lat.; Chlorure de chaux, Fr.; Chlorkalk, Germ.; Cloruro 
di calce, Ilal. 
This compound was originally prepared and brought into notice as a bleach- 
ing agent, in 1798, by Tennant of Glasgow. Subsequently it was found to have 
valuable properties as a medicine and disinfectant; and, accordingly, it has been 
introduced into the United States and British Pharmacopoeias. 
The following is an outline of the process for preparing chlorinated lime on 
the large scale. An oblong square chamber is constructed, generally of silice- 
ous sandstone, the joints being secured by a cement of pitch, rosin, and dry gyp- 
sum. At one end it is furnished with an air-tight door, and on each side with 
a glass window, to enable the operator to inspect the process during its pro- 
gress. The slaked or hydrated lime is sifted, and placed on wooden trays eight 
or ten feet long, two broad, and one inch deep. These are piled within the cham- 
ber to a height of five or six feet on cross-bars, by which they are kept about 
an inch asunder, in order to favour the circulation of the gas over the lime. 
The chlorine is generated in a leaden vessel nearly spherical, the lower portion 
of which is surrounded with an iron case, leaving an interstice two inches wide, 
intended to receive the steam for the purpose of producing the requisite heat. 
In the leaden vessel are five apertures. The first is in the centre of the top, and 
receives a tube which descends nearly to the bottom, and through which a ver- 
tical stirrer passes, intended to mix the materials, and furnished, at the lower 
end, with horizontal cross-bars of iron, or of wood sheathed with lead. The 
second is for the introduction of the common salt and manganese. The third 
admits a syphon-shaped funnel, through which the sulphuric acid is introduced. 
The fourth is connected with a pipe to lead off the chlorine. The fifth, which 
is near the bottom, receives a discharge pipe, passing through the iron case, and 
intended for drawing off the residuum of the operation. The pipe leading off 
the chlorine terminates, under water, in a leaden chest or cylinder, where the 
gas is washed from muriatic acid. From this intermediate vessel the chlorine 
finally passes, by means of a pretty large leaden pipe, through the ceiling of the 
chamber containing the lime. The process of impregnation generally lasts four 
days, this time being necessary to form a good bleaching powder. If it be hast- 
ened, heat will be generated, which will favour the production of chloride of 
calcium, with a proportional diminution of chloride of lime. 
The proportions of the materials generally adopted are 10 cwt. of common 
salt, mixed with from 10 to 14 cwt. of deutoxide of manganese; to which are 
added, in successive portions, from 12 to 14 cwt. of strong sulphuric acid, di- 
luted before being used until its sp.gr. is about L65, which will be accomplished 
by adding about one-third of its weight of water. In manufactories in which 
sulphuric acid is also made, the acid intended for this process is brought to the 
sp. gr. L65 only, whereby the expense of further concentration is saved. 186 
Calx Chlorinata. 
PART I. 
Pi operties. Chlorinated lime is a dry, or but slightly moist, grayish-white, 
pulverulent substance, possessing an acrid, hot, bitter, astringent taste, and an 
odour resembling that of chlorine. It possesses powerful bleaching properties. 
When perfectly saturated with chlorine, it dissolves almost entirely in water; 
but., as ordinarily prepared, a large proportion is insoluble, consisting of hydrate 
of lime. When exposed to heat, it gives off oxygen, and some chlorine, and is 
converted into chloride of calcium. It is incompatible with the mineral acids, 
carbonic acid, and the alkaline carbonates. The acids evolve chlorine copiously, 
and the alkaline carbonates cause a precipitate of carbonate of lime. (See 
Liquor Sodee Clilorinatse.)* 
Chlorinated lime is an oxidizing agent, the oxygen being derived from decom- 
posed water, the hydrogen of which unites with the chlorine to form muriatic acid. 
It has a powerful action on orgaidc matter, converting sugar, starch, cotton, linen, 
and similar substances into formic acid, which unites with the lime. ( W. Bostick.) 
It also acts energetically on the volatile oils, including oil of turpentine, pro- 
ducing chloroform. (J. Chautart, Journ. de Pharm., Mars, 18-55.) 
Composition. According to Dr. Ure, bleaching powder consists of hydrate of 
lime and chlorine, united in variable proportions, not correspondent to equiva- 
lent quantities. According to Braude, Grouvelle, and Phillips, the compound 
obtained wrhen chlorine ceases to be absorbed consists of one eq. of chlorine 
and two of hydrate of lime, resolvable, by water, into one eq. of hydrated chlo- 
ride of lime which dissolves, and one of hydrate of lime which is left. Dr. Thom- 
son, however, asserts that the compound has been so much improved in quality, 
that good samples consist of single equivalents of lime and chlorine, and are 
almost entirely soluble in water. Its ultimate constituents, exclusive of the ele- 
ments of water, may, therefore, be considered to be one eq. of calcium, one of 
oxygen, and one of chlorine. Three views may be taken of the manner in which 
these elements are united to form the bleaching powder. The first makes it a 
chloride of lime, CaO,Cl; the second, oxychloride of calcium, Ca | _ and the 
third, hypochlorite of lime with chloride of calcium, Ca0,C10 -f CaCl, formed 
by doubling the equivalents of the elements present. 
The simplest view of the nature of bleaching powder is that which supposes 
it to be a compound of chlorine and lime. The view which makes it a hypo- 
chlorite with chloride of calcium is that of Balard, and is supported by the 
fact that the compound smells of hypochlorous acid. But, if it contain chloride 
of calcium, it ought to deliquesce; unless it can be shown that the metallic chlo- 
ride is in such a state of combination as to prevent this result. The second view, 
that it is an oxychloride, which assimilates its nature to that of the deutoxide 
* Chlorinated lime is constantly becoming weaker on exposure, giving off chlorine or 
hypochlorous acid, probably through the influence of the atmospheric carbonic acid, which 
sets them free by combining with the lime. But it would seem that, even when closely 
confined, it sometimes at least gives off gaseous matter, as we have an account of a well- 
stopped bottle containing it having been broken by a violent explosion, without any pecu- 
liar exposure to heat. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 1861, p. 72.) M Barreswil has found 
that the subjection of chlorinated lime to strong pressure greatly diminishes the tendency 
to decomposition. It is rendered in this way as hard as a stone, and may be kept long 
without undergoing change (Chem. News, No. 58, p. 38.) 
Under the following conditions, it is stated by C. Schrader that good chlorinated lime 
may be prepared which will long retain its strength. 1 The lime used must be free from 
iron and alumina; but the hydrate may contain from 6 to 12 percent, of moisture with- 
out injury. 2 The chlorine must, be brought slowly in contact with the hydrate. 3. When 
the hydrate of lime is oversaturated with chlorine, decomposition speedily ensues. Hence 
the hydrate and the muriatic acid employed must be in due proportion, to be determined 
by practice. 4. To ensure complete saturation, there should be free chlorine in the appa- 
ratus at the close of the process. By attending to these precautions, it is said that a pro- 
duct may be obtained, with from 83 to 35 per cent, of chlorine, and losing its strength only 
at the rate of 3 or 4 per cent, a year. (Ibid., Aug. 15, 1863, p. 78.)—Note to the twelfth edition. PART L 
Calx Chlorinata. 
187 
of calcium, is held by Millon. According to this chemist, the quantity of chlo- 
rine, taken up by a metallic protoxide, is regulated by the nature of its perox- 
ide. The peroxide of calcium is a deutoxide (Ca02); and Millon contends that, 
in forming bleaching powder, the lime takes up but one eq. of chlorine, corre- 
sponding to the second eq. of oxygen in the deutoxide, thus generating the 
compound Ga Again, the peroxide of potassium is represented by KOs, 
and Millon states that the bleaching compound which potassa (KO) forms with 
chlorine is K If further observation should show that the number of 
equivalents of chlorine, necessary to convert a protoxide into a bleaching com- 
pound, is always equal to the number of equivalents of oxygen required to convert 
it into a peroxide, the fact will go far to prove the correctness of Millon’s views. 
On the supposition that the bleaching powder is a hypochlorite of lime with 
chloride of calcium, the mode of its formation is thus explained. Two eqs. of 
chlorine, by uniting separately with the elements of one eq. of lime, form one 
eq. of chloride of calcium, and one of hypochlorous acid; the latter of which 
combines with an additional eq. of lime, to form hypochlorite of lime. 
M. F resenius, having submitted chlorinated lime to the action of successive 
portions of water, noticed that the first portions dissolved out nearly all the free 
chloride of calcium, with very little hypochlorite of lime, while in the subsequent 
operations the two salts were dissolved in regular proportion. From this fact he 
inferred that either the chloride of calcium and hypochlorite of lime were com- 
bined, or that water decomposed the chlorinated lime into them. His views as 
to the composition of the bleaching powder, deduced from this observation and 
from various experiments, are that it consists of hypochlorite of lime, combined 
with chloride of calcium, CaO.ClO-fCaCl, of free chloride of calcium CaCl, of 
hydrated lime CaO.HO, and of combined water. (Chevi. Gaz., Aug. 30, 1862.) 
Impurities and Tests. Chlorinated lime may contain a great excess of lime, 
from imperfect impregnation with the gas. This defect will be shown by the 
large proportion insoluble in water. If it contain much chloride of calcium, it 
will be quite moist, which is always a sign of inferior quality. When long and 
insecurely kept, it deteriorates from the gradual formation of chloride of calcium 
and carbonate of lime. Several methods have been proposed for determining its 
bleaching power, which depends solely on the proportion of loosely combined 
chlorine. Walter proposed to add a solution of the bleaching powder to a stand- 
ard solution of sulphate of indigo, in order to ascertain its decolorizing power; 
but the objection to this test is that the indigo of commerce is very variable in 
its amount of colouring matter. Dr. Ure has proposed muriatic acid to disen- 
gage the chlorine over mercury; but this test is liable to the fallacy that it will 
disengage carbonic acid as well as chlorine; and it has been shown, by some un- 
published experiments of Prof. Procter of this city, that the amount of disengaged 
gaseous matter is not in proportion to the decolorizing power. Dalton recom- 
mended, as a test, to add a solution of the bleaching powder to one of the sul- 
phate of protoxide of iron, slightly acidulated with muriatic or sulphuric acid, 
until the odour of chlorine is perceived. Chlorine is not disengaged until the 
iron is sesquioxidized, and the stronger the bleaching powder, the sooner will 
this be accomplished. A more delicate way of ascertaining when all the iron is 
sesquioxidized, is to test a drop of the liquid with one of a solution of ferridcy- 
anide of potassium (red prussiate of potassa). So long as any protoxide of iron 
remains in the liquid, this salt will occasion a blue precipitate ( Turnbull's Prus- 
sian blue), but not afterwards. This test for chlorinated lime was adopted in 
the U. S. Pharmacopoeia of 1850, and is applied as follows. “When 40 grains 
of it, triturated with a fluidounce of distilled water, are well shaken with a'solu- 
tion of 18 grains of crystallized sulphate of protoxide of iron, and 10 drops of 188 
Calx Chlorinata. 
culphuric acid, in two fluidounces of distilled water, a liquid is formed which does 
not yield a blue precipitate with ferridcyanide of potassium (red prussiate of 
potassa).” The chlorinated lime of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia is directed to con- 
tain at least 25 per cent of chlorine. If' it be to this extent chlorinated, 40 grains 
will contain enough chlorine to cause the sesquioxidation of all the protoxide of 
iron in TS grains of crystallized sulphate of iron; but, if impregnated with chlo- 
rine to a less extent, some of the protoxide will remain unchanged, and, conse- 
quently, a blue precipitate will be formed with the ferridcyanide. According to 
Wittstein and Claude, however, the test of sulphate of iron is not reliable. 
The following is the test given in the British Pharmacopoeia. “ Ten grains mixed 
with thirty grains of iodide of potassium, and dissolved in four fluidounces of 
water, produce, when acidulated with two fluidrachms of hydrochloric acid, a red- 
dish solution, which requires for the discharge of its colour at least 85 measures 
of the volumetric solution of hyposulphite of soda.” In this process iodine is 
separated by the chlorine in equivalent quantity, and imparts colour to the liquid, 
which is removed by the hyposulphite of soda, by forming colourless compounds 
with the iodine; and the quantity required for this purpose measures the quan- 
tity of iodine, and consequently that of chlorine present in the chlorinated solu- 
tion. (See Sulphite of Soda.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Chlorinated lime, externally applied, is a de- 
siccant and disinfectant, and has been used with advantage, in solution, as an 
application to ill conditioned ulcers, burns, chilblains, and cutaneous eruptions, 
especially itch; as a gargle in putrid sorethroat; and as a wash for the mouth 
to disinfect the breath, and for ulcerated gums. Internally, it is stimulant and 
astringent. It has been employed by Dr. Reid in the epidemic typhoid fever of 
Ireland ; by the same practitioner in dysentery, both by the mouth and injection, 
with the effect of correcting the fetor, and improving the appearance of the 
stools; by Cima, both internally and externally, in scrofula; and by Dr. Yarlez, 
of Brussels, in ophthalmia. Dr. Pereira has used a weak solution very success- 
fully in the purulent ophthalmia of infants. In the febrile cases, Dr. Reid found 
it to render the tongue cleaner and inoister, to check diarrhoea, and induce sleep. 
The dose internally is from three to six grains, dissolved in one or two fluid- 
ounces of water, filtered, and sweetened with syrup. It should never be given in 
pills. As it occurs of variable quality, and must be used in solution more or less 
dilute, according to the particular purpose to which it is to be applied, it is im- 
possible to give any very precise directions for its strength as an external remedy. 
From one to four drachms of the powder added to a pint of water, and the solu- 
tion filtered, will form a liquid within the limits of strength ordinarily required. 
For the cure of itch, M. Derheims has recommended a much stronger solution— 
three ounces of the chloride to a pint of water, the solution being filtered, and 
applied several times a day as a lotion, or constantly by wet cloths. When ap- 
plied to ulcers, their surface may be covered with lint dipped in the solution. 
When used as an ointment, to be rubbed upon scrofulous enlargements of the 
lymphatic glands, this may be made of a drachm of the chloride to an ounce of 
lard. Chloriuated lime is less eligible for some purposes than the solution of 
chlorinated soda. (See Liquor Sodae Chlorinatse.) 
In consequence of its powers as a disinfectant, chlorinated lime is a very im- 
portant compound in its application to medical police. It possesses the property 
of preventing or arresting animal and vegetable putrefaction’, and, perhaps, of 
destroying pestilential and infectious miasms. It may be used with advantage 
for preserving bodies from exhaling an unpleasant odour, before interment, in 
the summer season. In juridical exhumations its use is indispensable; as it effect- 
ually removes the disgusting and insupportable fetor of the corpse. The mode in 
which it is applied, in these cases, is to envelope the body with a sheet completely 
wet with a solution, made by adding about a pound of the chloride to a backet- PART I 
Calx Chlorinata.—Calumba. 
189 
ful of water. It is employed also for disinfecting dissecting rooms, privies, com- 
mon sewers, docks, and other places which exhale offensive effluvia. In destroy 
ing contagion and infection, it appears to be highly useful. Hence hospitals, 
alms-houses, jails, ships, &c. may be purified by its means. In short, all places 
deemed infectious from having been the receptacle of disease, may be more or less 
disinfected by its use, after having undergone the ordinary cleansing. 
Chlorinated lime acts exclusively by its chlorine, which, being loosely com- 
bined, is disengaged by the slightest affinities. All acids, even the carbonic, dis- 
engage it; and, as this acid is a product of animal and vegetable decomposition, 
noxious effluvia furnish the means, to a certain extent, of their own disinfection. 
But the stronger acids disengage the chlorine far more readily, and, among these, 
sulphuric acid is the most convenient. Accordingly, the powder may be dis- 
solved in a very dilute solution of this acid; or a small quantity of the acid may 
be added to an aqueous solution ready formed, if a more copious evolution of 
chlorine be desired than that which takes place from the mere action of the car- 
bonic acid of the atmosphere. 
Chlorinated lime may be advantageously applied to the purpose of purifying 
offensive water, a property which makes it invaluable on long voyages. When 
used for this purpose, from one to two ounces of the chloride may be mixed with 
about sixty-five gallons of the water. The water must afterwards be exposed for 
some time to the air, and allowed to settle, before it is fit to drink. 
Strong insecticide properties have been ascribed to chlorinated lime. Hence 
it is recommended to sprinkle it on vegetables, flowers, fruit-trees, &c., which 
are apt to be attacked by worms and insects. 
Of. Prep. Chloroformum, Br.; Liquor Calcis Chloratas, Br.; Liquor Sod® 
-Chlorinat®, U. S B. 
CALUMBA. U. Br. 
Golumbo. 
The root of Cocculus palmatus. U. S. The root, sliced transversely, and 
dried. Br. 
Colomba, U. S. 1850; Colombo, Fr.; Oolumbowurzel, Germ.; Columba, Tial.; Raiz de 
Columbo, Span.; Kalumbo, Port.; Calumb, Mozambique. 
The columbo plant was long but imperfectly known. Flowering specimens of 
a plant gathered by Commerson, about the year 1710, in the garden of M. 
Poivre in the Isle of France, and sent to Europe with that botanist’s collection, 
were examined by Lamarck, and described under the name of Menispermum 
palmatum. But its original locality was unknown, and it was only conjectured 
to be the source of columbo. In the year 1805, M. Fortin, while engaged in 
purchasing the drug in Mozambique, obtained possession of a living offset of the 
root, which, being taken to Madras, and planted in the garden of Dr. Anderson, 
produced a male plant, which was figured and described by Dr. Berry. Frum 
the drawing thus made, the plant was referred to the natural family of the 
Menispermeae; but, as the female flowers were wanting, some difficulty was ex- 
perienced in fixing its precise botanical position. De Candolle, who probably 
had the opportunity of examining Commerson’s specimens, gave its generic and 
specific character; but confessed that he was not acquainted with the structure 
of the female flower and fruit. The desideratum, however, has been supplied by 
ample drawings sent to England by Mr. Telfair, of Mauritius, made from plants 
which were propagated from roots obtained by Captain Owen in 1825, while 
prosecuting his survey of the eastern coast of Africa. The genus Cocculus, in 
which the plant is now placed, was separated by De Candolle from Menisper- 
mum, and includes those species which have six stamens, while the Menisper- 
mum is limited to those with twelve or more. 190 
Calumba. 
PART I. 
Cocculus. Sex. Syst. Dioecia Hexandria.— Nat. Ord. Menispermaceae. 
(ien. Ch. Sepals and Petals ternate, usually in 2, rarely in 3 rows. Stamens 
six, distinct, opposite the petals. Drupes berried, 1-6, generally oblique, reni- 
forrn, somewhat compressed, one-seeded. Cotyledons distant. De Cand. 
Cocculus palmatus. De Cand. Syst. Veg. i. 523; Woodv. Med. Bot., 3d ed., 
vol. v. p. 21.* This is a climbing plant, with a perennial root, consisting of 
several fasciculated, fusiform, somewhat curved, and descending tubers, as thick 
as an infant’s arm. The stems, of which one or two proceed from the same 
root, are twining, simple in the male plant, branched in the female, round, hairy, 
and about as thick as the little finger. The leaves, which stand on rounded, 
glandular-hairy footstalks, are alternate, distant, cordate, with three, five, or 
seven entire, acuminate, wavy, somewhat hairy lobes, and as many nerves, each 
running into one of the lobes. The flowers are small and inconspicuous, and 
arranged in solitary axillary racemes, which, in the male plant, are compound, 
in the female, simple, and in both, shorter than the leaves. 
This species of Cocculus is a native of Mozambique, on the south-eastern 
coast of Africa, where it grows wild in great abundance in the thick forests 
extending from the sea many miles into the interior. It is not cultivated. The 
root is dug up in March, when dry weather prevails. From the base of the root 
numerous fusiform offsets proceed, less fibrous and woody than the parent stock. 
These offsets are separated and cut into transverse slices, which are dried in the 
shade. The old root is rejected. 
Columbo is a staple export of the Portuguese from their dominions in the 
south-east of Africa. It is taken to India, and thence distributed. It was for- 
merly supposed to be a product of Ceylon, and to have derived its name from 
Colombo, a city of that island, from which it was thought to be exported. It 
is possible that, when the Portuguese were in possession of Ceylon, Colombo 
may have been the entrepot for the drug brought from Africa, and thus have 
given origin to its name. Some, however, consider a more probable derivation 
to be from the word calumb, which is said to be the Mozambique name for the 
root. Dr. Christison has been misinformed in relation to the cultivation of the 
true columbo plant in this country. (Dispensatory, Am. ed., p. 304.) 
Properties. The root, as it reaches us, is in flat circular or oval pieces, from 
the eighth of an inch to near an inch in thickness, and from one to two inches 
in diameter. Along with these are sometimes a few cylindrical pieces an inch 
or two in length. The cortical portion is thick, of a bright-yellow, slightly 
greenish colour internally, but covered with a brownish, wrinkled epidermis. 
The interior or medullary portion, which is readily distinguishable from the 
cortical, is light, spongy, yellowish, usually more or less shrunk, so that the 
pieces are thinnest in the centre ; and is frequently marked with concentric circles 
and radiating lines. Those pieces are to be preferred which have the brightest 
colour, are most compact and uniform, and least worm-eaten. The odour of 
columbo is slightly aromatic. The taste is very bitter, that of the cortical much 
more so than that of the central portion, which is somewhat mucilaginous. The 
root is easily pulverized. The powder has a greenish tinge, which becomes 
browner with age, and deepens when it is moistened. As it attracts moisture 
from the air, and is apt to undergo decomposition, it should be prepared in 
small quantities at a time. 
* After the above was sent to press, the attention of the author was called to a lecture 
by Prof. Bentley, of London, published in the Pharmaceutical Journal (March, 1864), in 
which it is stated that the columbo plant is not the Cocculus palmatus of De Candolle, 
but has very recently been ascertained to be the Cocculus palmatus of Wallich, the Meni- 
spermum Calumba of Roxburgh, the Jateorhiza Calumba of Miers; and reference is made to 
a paper by Miers on the Menispermacete in the Ann. and Mag. of Nat. Hist., Feb. 1864, which 
the author has not yet had an opportunity to consult.—Note to the twelfth edition. PART I. 
Calumba. 
191 
M. Planche analyzed columbo in 1811, and found it to contain an azotized 
substance, probably albumen, in large quantity, a bitter yellow substance not 
precipitated by metallic salts, and one-third of its weight of starch. He ob- 
tained also a small proportion of volatile oil, salts of lime and potassa, oxide of 
iron, and silica. Wittstock, of Berlin, afterwards isolated a peculiar crystal!izable 
principle, which he called colombin. This crystallizes in beautiful transparent 
quadrilateral prisms, is without smell, and is extremely bitter. It is but very 
slightly soluble in water, alcohol, or ether, at ordinary temperatures, and yet 
imparts to these fluids a strongly bitter taste. It is more soluble in boiling alco- 
hol, which deposits it upon cooling. The best solvent is dilute acetic acid. It is 
taken up by alkaline solutions, from which it is precipitated by acids. It has 
neither acid nor alkaline properties, and its alcoholic and acetic solutions are 
not affected by the metallic salts, or the infusion of galls. It is obtained by ex- 
hausting columbo by means of alcohol of the sp.gr. 0-835, distilling off three- 
quarters of the alcohol, allowing the residue to stand for some days till crystals 
are deposited, and lastly treating these crystals with alcohol and animal charcoal. 
The mother-waters still contain a considerable quantity of colombin, which may 
be separated by evaporating with coarsely powdered glass to dryness, exhaust- 
ing the residue with ether, distilling off the ether, treating the residue with boiling 
acetic acid, and evaporating the solution so that crystals may form. 
From the researches of Hr. Bodeker it appears that another bitter principle 
exists in columbo, which corresponds in composition and chemical relations with 
berberina, the active principle of Berberis vulgaris, and is assumed to be iden- 
tical with that substance. It was obtained by exhausting columbo with alcohol 
of 0 889, distilling off the alcohol, allowing the residual liquor to stand for three 
days so as to deposit the colombin, evaporating the supernatant liquid together 
with the aqueous washings of the colombin to dryness, exhausting the residue 
with boiling alcohol of 0 863, treating the solution thus obtained as the former 
one, submitting the residue to the action of boiling water, filtering and adding 
muriatic acid, collecting the precipitate thus formed on a filter, drying it with 
bibulous paper, and finally, in order to separate adhering acid, dissolving it in 
alcohol, and precipitating with ether. The result was an imperfectly crystalline, 
bright-yellow powder, of a disagreeable, bitter taste, supposed to be muriate of 
berberina. It is stated that berberina is present in columbo in much larger pro- 
portion than colombin, and, being freely soluble in hot water and alcohol, while 
colombin is but slightly so, is probably more largely extracted in the ordinary 
liquid preparations of the root. {Am. Journ. of Pharm., xx. 322.) It is thought 
that berberina exists in columbo combined with a peculiar acid denominated 
columbic acid; and that, while the colombin occurs in the cells of the root in a 
crystalline state, the columbate of berberina is deposited in the thickening layers 
of the cell-membranes. (Chem. Gaz., vii. 150.) It is probable that the bitter 
yellow principle of Planche either was berberina or contained it. 
There can be little doubt that both colombin and berberina contribute to the 
remedial effects of columbo. The virtues of the root are extracted by boiling 
water and by alcohol. Precipitates are produced with the infusion and tincture 
by infusion of galls, and solutions of acetate and subacetate of lead; but the 
bitterness is not affected. 
Adulterations. It is said that the root of white bryony, tinged yellow with 
the tincture of columbo, has sometimes been fraudulently substituted for the 
genuine root; but the adulteration is too gross to deceive those acquainted with 
the characters of either of these drugs. American columbo, which is the root 
of Frasera Walteri, is said to have been sold in some parts of Europe for the 
genuine. Independently of the sensible differences between the two roots (see 
Ft ’asera), M. Stolze of Halle states that, while the tincture of columbo remains 
unaffected by the sulphate or sesquichloride of iron, and gives a dirty-gray pre- 192 
Calumba.—Camphora. 
PART I. 
cipitat.e with tincture of galls, the tincture of frasera acquires a dark-green 
colour with the former reagent, and is not affected by the latter. (Duncan.) 
Under the name of columbo wood, or false columbo, the wood of Coscinium 
fenestratum, a plant of the family of Menispermacese, growing in Ceylon, has 
been imported into England, and offered for sale in the drug market. (Pharm. 
Journ., x. 321, and xii. 185 ) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Columbo is among the most useful of the mild 
tonics. Without astringency, with very little stimulating power, and generally 
acceptable to the stomach, it answers admirably as a remedy in simple dyspepsia, 
and in the debility of convalescence, especially when the alimentary canal is left 
enfeebled. Hence, it is often prescribed in the declining stages of remittent 
fever, dysentery, diarrhoea, cholera morbus, and cholera infantum. The absence 
of irritating properties renders it also an appropriate tonic in the hectic fever 
of phthisis, and kindred affections. It has been highly recommended in vomit- 
ing, unconnected with inflammation of the stomach, as in the sickness of preg- 
nant women. It is frequently administered in combination with other tonics, 
aromatics, mild cathartics, and antacids. The remedy which we have found 
most effectual in the permanent cure of a disposition to the accumulation of 
flatus in the bowels, is an infusion made with half an ounce of columbo, half an 
ounce of ginger, a drachm of senna, and a pint of boiling water, and given in 
the dose of a wineglassful three times a day. Columbo is much used by the 
natives of Mozambique in dysentery and other diseases. (Berry.) It was first 
introduced to the notice of the profession in Europe by Francois Redi, in the 
year 1685. It is most commonly prescribed in the state of infusion. (See Infu- 
sum Calumbse.) The dose of the powder is from ten to thirty grains, and may 
be repeated three or four times a day. It is frequently combined with powrdered 
ginger, subcarbonate of iron, and rhubarb. 
Off. Prep. Extractum Calumbse, Br.; Infusum Calumbae; Tinctura Calumbae. 
W. 
CAMPHORA. U.S.,Br. 
■ Camphor. 
A peculiar concrete substance derived from Camphora officinarura, and puri- 
fied by sublimation. U. S. A concrete volatile oil, obtained from the wood by 
sublimation, and resublimed in bell-shaped masses. Br. 
Camphre, Fr.; Kampher, Germ.; Canfora, Ital.; Alcanfor, Span. 
The name of camphor has been applied to various concrete, white, odorous, 
volatile products, found in different aromatic plants, and resulting probably from 
chemical change in their volatile oil. But commercial camphor is derived ex- 
clusively from two plants, the Camphora officinarum of Nees or Laurus Cam- 
phora of Linnaeus, and the Dryobalanops Camphora; the former of which yields 
our officinal camphor, the latter, a product much valued in the East, but unknown 
in the commerce of this country and of Europe. A considerable quantity of cam- 
phor, said to be identical with the officinal, was a few years since obtained upon 
the Tenasserim coast, in further India, by subliming the tops of an annual plant, 
abundant in that region, and thought to be a species of Blumia. This pro- 
duct, however, has not been introduced into general commerce. (Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., xvi. 56.) The Rev. Mr. Mason, an American missionary in Burmah, 
states, in a letter to Mr. Yaux, of Philadelphia, that the Chinese settlers informed 
him that the same plant abounds in China, and that camphor is made from it 
there. (Proceed. of the Acad, of Nat. Sci. of Phil., May 13th, 1851, p. 201.) The 
following observations apply to the officinal camphor. 
Camphora. Sex. Syst. Enneandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Lauraceae. 
Gen.Ch. Flowers hermaphrodite, panicled, naked. Calyx six-cleft, papery, 
with a deciduous limb. Fertile stamens nine, in three rows; the inner with two- PART I. 
Camphora. 
193 
stalked, compressed glands at the base; anthers four-celled; the outer turned 
inwards, the inner outwards. Three sterile stamens shaped like the first, placed 
in a whorl alternating with the stamens of the second row; three others stalked, 
with an ovate glandular head. Fruit placed on the obconical base of the calyx. 
Leaves triple-nerved, glandular in the axils of the principal veins. Leaf buds 
scaly. (Lindley, Flora Medica, 332.) 
Among the species composing the genus Laurus of Linn., such striking dif- 
ferences have been observed in the structure of the flower and fruit, that bota- 
nists have been induced to arrange them in new genera. The camphor, cinna- 
mon, and sassafras trees have been separated from the proper laurels by Nees, 
and made the types of distinct genera, which have been adopted by most recent 
writers, and may be considered as well established. 
Camphor a officinarum. Nees, Laurin. 88; Carson, lllust. of Med. Bot. ii. 29, 
pi. Ixxiv. —Laurus Camphora. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 478; Woodv. Med. Bot. 
p. 681, t. 236. The camphor-tree is an evergreen of considerable size, having the 
aspect of the linden, with a trunk straight below, but divided above into many 
branches, which are covered with a smooth, greenish bark. Its leaves, which 
stand alternately upon long footstalks, are ovate-lanceolate, entire, smooth and 
shining, ribbed, of a bright yellowish-green colour on their upper surface, paler 
on the under, and two or three inches in length. The flowers are small, white, 
pediceled, and collected in clusters, which are supported by long axillary pedun- 
cles. The fruit is a red berry resembling that of the cinnamon. The tree is a 
native of China, Japan, and other parts of eastern Asia. It has been introduced 
into the botanical gardens of Europe, and is occasionally met with in our own 
conservatories.* * 
The leaves have when bruised the odour of camphor, which is diffused through 
all parts of the plant, and is obtained from the root, trunk, and branches by 
sublimation. The process is not precisely the same in all places. The following 
is said to be the one pursued in Japan. The parts mentioned, particularly the 
roots and smaller branches, are cut into chips, which are placed, with a little 
water, in large iron vessels, surmounted by earthen capitals, furnished with a 
lining of rice-straw. A moderate heat is then applied, and the camphor, vola- 
tilized by the steam, rises into the capital, where it is condensed upon the straw. 
In China, the comminuted plant is said to be first boiled with water until the 
camphor adheres to the stick used in stirring, when the strained liquor is allowed 
to cool; and the camphor which concretes, being alternated with layers of earth, 
is submitted to sublimation. In the Island of Formosa, where the camphor-tree 
abounds, the chips are heated in an iron pot, surmounted by another, and the 
product of the sublimation is introduced into large vats, with holes in the bot- 
tom, through which an oil escapes called camphor oil, much used by the Chinese 
for medical purposes, and samples of which have been sent to Europe. The cam- 
phor thus drained, is packed in bags and exported. (Pharm. Journ., Dec. 1863, 
p. 280.) 
Commercial History. Camphor, in the crude state, is brought to this coun- 
try chiefly from Canton. It comes also from Batavia, Singapore, Calcutta, and 
frequently from London. All of it is probably derived originally from China 
and Japan. Two commercial varieties are fohnd in the market. The cheapest 
and most abundant is the Chinese camphor, most of which is produced in the 
Island of Formosa, and thence taken to Canton. It comes in chests lined with 
* The camphor-tree sometimes attains a great age and an enormous size. A tree seen by 
Kampfer, in Japan, in 1691, with a trunk 36 feet in circumference, was in the year 1826 
described by Siebold as having a circumference of 50 feet. (Japan as it was and is, by R. 
Hildreth. Boston, 1855, p. 337.) The author has seen a large tree growing in the open 
air at Naples, and has no doubt that it might be readily, and perhaps profitably cultivated 
in the southern parts of our own country, and especially in California.—Note to the eleventh 
'<nd twelfth editions. 194 
Camphora. 
PART I. 
lead, each containing about 130 pounds. It is in small grains or granular masses, 
of a dirty-white colour, and frequently mixed with impurities. It has occurred 
in commerce adulterated with muriate of ammonia. The other variety is vari- 
ously called Japan, Dutch, or tub camphor, the first name being derived from 
the place of its origin, the second from the people through whom it is intro- 
duced into commerce, and the third from the recipient in which it is often con- 
tained. It has usually come from Batavia, to which port it was taken from Japan. 
Like the former variety, it is in graitfs or granular masses; but the grains are 
larger and of a pinkish colour, and there are fewer impurities, so that it yields 
a larger product when refined. 
Crude camphor, as brought from the East, is never found in the shop of the 
apothecary. It must be refined before it can be used for medicinal purposes. 
The process for refining camphor was first practised in Europe by the Venetians, 
who probably derived it from the Chinese. It was afterwards transferred to the 
Dutch, who long enjoyed a monopoly of this business; and it is only within a few 
years that the process has been generally known. It is now practised largely in 
this country, and the camphor refined in our domestic establishments is equal to 
any that was formerly imported. Crude camphor is mixed with about one-fiftieth 
of quicklime, and exposed, in an iron vessel placed in a sand-bath, to a gradually 
increasing heat, by which it is melted, and ultimately converted into vapour, 
which condenses in a suitable recipient.* Refined in this manner, it is usually 
in the form of large circular cakes, one or two inches thick, slightly convex on 
one side and concave on the other, and perforated in the centre. 
Properties. Camphor has a peculiar, strong, penetrating, fragrant odour; and 
a bitter, pungent taste, with a slight sense of coolness. It is beautifully white 
and pellucid, somewhat unctuous to the touch, brittle, and yet possessed of a 
tenacity which renders its reduction to a fine powder very difficult, unless its co- 
hesion be overcome by the addition of a minute proportion of alcohoi, or other 
volatile liquid for which it has an affinity. It may be obtained in powder also 
by precipitating the tincture with water, or by grating and afterwards sifting it. 
The fracture of camphor is shining, and its texture crystalline. Its sp. gr. varies 
from 0'9857 to 0-996. When thrown in small fragments upon water, it assumes 
singular circulatory movements, which cease upon the addition of a drop of oil; 
and this property has been applied to the detection of grease in liquids, a very 
small proportion of which is sufficient to prevent the movements. Its volatility 
is so great that, even at ordinary temperatures, it is wholly dissipated if left ex- 
posed to the air. When it is confined in bottles, the vapour condenses upon the 
inner surface, and, in large bottles partially filled, sometimes forms, after long 
standing, large and beautiful crystals. It melts at 288° F., boils at 400° (Tur- 
ner), and, in close vessels, sublimes unchanged. When allowed to concrete slowly 
from the state of vapour, it assumes the form of hexagonal plates. It is not 
altered by air and light. It readily takes fire, burning with a brilliant flame, with 
much smoke, and without residue. Water triturated with camphor dissolves, ac- 
* We are informed that, the process is conducted in the following manner in the labora- 
tories of Philadelphia. The vessels in which the camphor is put are of cast-iron, circular, 
from 12 to 15 inches or more in diameter, and 4 inches deep, with perpendicular sides, and 
a ledge at top on which the cover rests. This consists of sheet-iron, with a hole through 
the centre about, an inch in diameter, over which a small hollow cone of sheet-iron is 
placed loosely. The crude camphor, mixed with the lime, the object, of which is said to be 
to combine with the moisture present, which interferes with the due solidification of the 
camphor vapour, is placed in the iron vessels described, of which from 20 to 50 are ar- 
ranged in a long sand-bath. Heat, is then applied until the camphor melts, after which it 
is kept as nearly uniform as possible, so that the vaporization may take place regularly, 
without violent ebullition. The vapour condenses on the lower surface of the lid; and 
care is taken, by the occasional removal of the iron cone, and clearing of the opening by 
means of a knife, to allow the escape of any accidental excess of the vapour.—Note to the 
ninth edition. PART I. 
Camphora. 
195 
cording to Berzelius, not more than a thousandth part; which, however, is suf- 
ficient to impart a decided odour and taste to the solvent. By the intervention 
of sugar or magnesia, a much larger proportion is dissolved. (See Aqua, Cam- 
phor tie.) Carbonic acid increases the solvent power of water, as also does the 
spirit of nitrous ether. Ordinary alcohol will take up 75 per cent, of its weight 
of camphor, which is precipitated upon the addition of water. Berzelius states 
that 100 parts of alcohol, of the sp. gr. 0 806, dissolve 120 parts at 50° F. It 
is soluble without change in ether, the volatile and fixed oils, strong acetic acid, 
and diluted mineral acids, and is extremely soluble in chloroform. By strong 
sulphuric and nitric acids it is decomposed; the former carbonizing and convert- 
ing it into artificial tannin, the latter, with the aid of repeated distillation, into 
camphoric acid. Alkalies produce very little effect upon it. Resins unite with 
it, forming a soft tenacious mass, in which the odour of the camphor is some- 
times almost extinguished, and frequently diminished; and a similar softening 
effect results when it is triturated with the concrete oils.* Exposed to a strong 
heat, in close vessels, camphor is resolved into a volatile oil and charcoal. It is 
closely analogous in character to the essential oils; and is thought to consist of 
a radical called camphene united with oxygen. Camphene, which is represented 
by pure oil of turpentine, is composed of twenty eqs. of carbon and sixteen of 
hydrogen With two eqs. of oxygen it forms camphor, with eight eqs. 
of the same element, hydrated camphoric acid, and with one eq. of hydrochloric 
acid, artificial camphor.f 
* As this property of camphor may have a bearing, injuriously or otherwise, on phar- 
maceutical processes, it is desirable that the operator, as well as prescriber, should be aware 
of the degree of effect produced by different resinous substances which may be mixed 
with it. M. Planche has found that mixtures, formed by triturating powdered camphor 
with powdered dragon's blood, guaiac, assafetida, and galbanum, assume, and preserve indefi- 
nitely the pilular consistence; with benzoin, tolu, ammoniac, and mastic, though at first of a 
pilular consistence, afterwards become soft by exposure to the air; Avith sagapenum and 
anime, assume a permanently semi-liquid form; with olibanum, opopanax, gamboge, euphor- 
bium, bdellium, myrrh, and amber, remain pulverulent though somewhat grumous; and with 
tacamahac, resin of jalap, sandarac, and resinoid matter of cinchona, preserve the form of pow- 
der indefinitely. The same experimenter observed that camphor loses its odour entirely, 
when mixed with assafetida, galbanum, sagapenum, anime, and tolu; retains a feeble odour 
with dragon's blood, olibanum, mastic, benzoin, opopanax, tacamahac, guaiac, and ammoniac; 
while, with the other resinous substances above mentioned, it either has its odour in- 
creased, or retains it without material change. (Journ. de Pharm., xxiv. 226.) 
In mixing camphor with other substances in the form of powder, it is best first to pul- 
verize the camphor with the aid of a little alcohol, then to pulverize the other substances 
together, and lastly to mix the two powders gently; much rubbing with the pestle having 
the effect of consolidating the granules of the camphor. (Procter in Mohr and Redwood's 
Pharmacy, Am. ed., p. 492.) 
•j- Sumatra Camphor. Borneo Camphor. Dryobalanops Camphor. Camphol. It has long been 
known that a variety of camphor is produced, in the Islands of Sumatra and Borneo, by 
a forest tree, which remained until a recent period undetermined. It was at length, how- 
ever, described by Colebrooke, and is now recognised in systematic works as Dryobalanops 
Camphora, or D. aromatica. It is a very large tree, often exceeding one hundred feet in 
height, with a trunk six or seven feet in diameter, and ranking among the tallest and 
largest trees of India.* It is found in Sumatra and Borneo, and is abundant on the N.W. 
coast of the former island. The camphor exists in concrete masses, which occupy longi- 
tudinal cavities or fissures in the heart of the tree, from a foot to a foot and a half long, 
at certain distances apart. The younger trees are generally less productive than the old. 
The only method of ascertaining whether a tree contains camphor is by incision. A party 
Proceeds through the forest, wounding the trees, till they find one which will answer their 
Purpose; and hundreds may be examined before this object is attained. When discovered, 
* For a particular description of this tree, see a paper by Dr. W. II. De Vriese, of Leyden, in the American 
Journal of Pharm. (xxiv. 329), taken from Hooker’s Journal of Botany. In this paper it is stated, on the au- 
thority of Dr- Junghuhn, who witnessed the process of collection, that the camphor is deposited in very small 
quantities in minute fissures between the fibres, from which it is scraped off by small splinters of wood, or by the 
nail; and the thickest ar.J oldest trees seldom yield more than two ounces. This account as to the productiveness 
of the tree differs greatly from that of Colebrooke, as stated in the note above.—Note to the tenth edition. 196 
OampTiora. 
PART I. 
Get.uine camphor is said to be sometimes adulterated with the artificial, which 
may be detected by the action of ammonia upon its alcoholic solution, causing a 
flocculent precipitate, which does not redissolve, and the quantity of which is pro- 
portionate to that of the artificial product in any mixture of the two. (Am. Journ. 
of Pharm., xxxiv. 189.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Camphor does not seem to have been known 
to the ancient Greeks and Romans. Europe probably derived it from the Ara- 
bians, by whom it was employed as a refrigerant. Much difference of opinion 
has prevailed as to its mode of action ; some maintaining its immediate sedative 
influence, others considering it as a direct and decided stimulant. Its operation 
appears to be primarily and chiefly directed to the cerebral and nervous sys- 
tems; and the circulation, though usually affected to a greater or less extent, is 
probably involved, for the most part, through the brain. It acts, also, to a cer- 
tain extent, as a direct irritant of the mucous membranes with which it is 
brought into contact, and may thus in some measure secondarily excite the pulse. 
The effects of the medicine vary with the quantity administered. In moderate 
doses it produces, in health, mental exhilaration, increased heat of skin, and oc- 
casional diaphoresis. The pulse is usually increased in fulness, but little, if at 
all, in force or frequency. According to the experiments of certain Italian 
physicians, it has a tendency to the urinary and genital organs, producing a 
burning sensation along the urethra, and exciting voluptuous dreams (N. Am. 
Med. and Surg. Journ., ix. 442); and these experiments have been confirmed 
by the observations of Dr. Reynolds in a case of poisoning by camphor (Brit. 
Am. Journ. of Med., June, 184G). Cullen, however, states that he has employed 
the tree is felled and cut into logs, which are then split, and the camphor removed by 
means of sharp-pointed instruments. It is stated that the masses are sometimes as thick 
as a man’s arm; and that the product of a middling-sized tree is nearly eleven pounds; 
of a large one, double that quantity. The trees which have been wounded, and left stand- 
ing, often produce camphor seven or eight years afterwards. Mrs. Ida Pfeiffer states, in 
her Second Journey round the World (Am. ed., p. 183), that the camphor is also found in a 
concrete state under the bark, and is swept down with long brooms. The Dryobalanops 
yields also a fragrant straw-coloured liquid, called in the East Indies oil of camphor, and 
highly valued as an external application in rheumatism and other painful affections. It 
is said to be found in trees too young to produce camphor, and is supposed to constitute 
the first stage in the development of this substance; as it occupies the cavities in the 
trunk, which are afterwards filled with the camphor. It has been stated to hold a large 
portion of this principle in solution, and to yield an inferior variety by artificial concre- 
tion; but this was not true of a specimen in the possession of Dr. Christison. A specimen 
examined by Professor Procter deposited a small quantity of the camphor at a tempera- 
ture near the zero of Fahrenheit. By the action of nitric acid, it may be combined with 
oxygen, and converted into camphor of the same character as that deposited by refrigera- 
tion. The whole tree is pervaded more or less by the camphor or the oil. The wood re- 
tains a fragrant smell, and, being on this account less liable to the attacks of insects, is 
highly esteemed for carpenters’ work. The camphor wood-chests, occasionally brought to 
this country from the East Indies, are probably made out of the wood of the Dryobalanops. 
It has been supposed that this variety of camphor is occasionally brought into the mar- 
kets of Europe and America. But this is a mistake; as the whole produce of the islands 
is engrossed by the Chinese, by whom it is so highly valued that it commands at Canton, 
according to Mr. Crawford, seventy-eight times, according to Mr. Reeves, one hundred 
times the price of ordinary camphor. A specimen in our possession, which was sent to 
this country from Canton as a curiosity, and kindly presented to us by Dr. Joseph Carson, 
is in tabular plates of the size of a finger nail or smaller, of a foliaceous crystalline tex- 
ture, white, somewhat translucent, of an odour analogous to that of common camphor, 
and yet decidedly distinct, and less agreeable. It has also a camphorous taste. It is more 
compact and brittle than ordinary camphor; and, though the pieces will often float, for a 
time when thrown on water, yet they sink when thoroughly moistened, and deprived of 
adhering air. According to Dr. Christison, its sp. gr. is 1009. It is easily pulverized with- 
out the addition of alcohol. It is, moreover, much less disposed to rise in vapour, and to 
condense on the inside of the bottle containing it. Like ordinary camphor, it is fusible, 
volatilizable, very slightly soluble in water, and freely soluble in alcohol and in ether. Dr. 
Gregory considers it as the bihydrate of camphene (C20H18O2). part I. 
Camphora. 
197 
it fifty times, even in large doses, without having ever observed any effect upon 
the urinary passages. By many it is believed to allay irritation of the urinary 
and genital apparatus, and to possess antaphrodisiac properties. In its primary 
operation, it allays nervous disorder, quiets restlessness, and produces a general 
placidity of feeling, and is thus highly useful in certain forms of disease attended 
with derangement of the nervous functions. In larger doses, it displays a more 
decided action on the brain, producing more or less giddiness and mental con- 
fusion, with a disposition to sleep; and, in morbid states of the system, relieving 
pain and allaying spasmodic action. In immoderate doses it occasions nausea, 
vomiting, anxiety, faintness, vertigo, delirium, insensibility, coma, and convul- 
sions, which may end in death. The pulse, under these circumstances, is at first 
reduced in frequency and force (Alexander, Experimental Essays, p. 227); but, 
as the action advances, it sometimes happens that symptoms of strong sangui- 
neous determination to the head become evident, in the flushed countenance, 
inflamed and fiery eyes, and highly excited pulse. (Quarin.) In three cases of 
poisoning by camphor, reported by Schaaf, of Strasburg, the symptoms pro- 
duced were violent and incessant convulsions, paleness and coolness of the sur- 
face, vomiting and frequent micturition, and finally stupor or coma. The patients 
were children, and the youngest, a girl of about eighteen months, died from the 
effects of the poison, of which she took about ten grains. (Monthly Journ. of 
Med. Sci., Oct. 1850, p. 377.) There can be no doubt that camphor is absorbed; 
as its odour is observed in the breath and perspiration, and, according to Dr. 
Reynolds, in the urine also, though the contrary has been asserted. 
By its moderately stimulating powers, its diaphoretic tendency, and its influ- 
ence over the nervous system, camphor is admirably adapted to the treatment 
of diseases of a typhoid character, which combine, with the enfeebled condition 
of the system, a frequent irritated pulse, a dry skin, and much nervous derange- 
ment, indicated by restlessness, watchfulness, tremors, subsultus, and low mut- 
tering delirium. With a view to its anodyne and narcotic influence, it is also 
used in diseases of an inflammatory character; as in our ordinary remittents, 
and the phlegmasiae, particularly rheumatism, when the increased vascular action 
is complicated with derangement of the nervous system. In such cases, how- 
ever, it should not be given until after proper depletion, and even then should 
be combined with such medicines as may obviate the slight stimulation it pro- 
duces, and increase its tendency to the skin; as, for instance, tartarized anti- 
mony, ipecacuanha, or nitre. In a great number of spasmodic and nervous dis- 
orders, and complaints of irritation, camphor has been extensively employed. 
The cases of this nature to which experience has proved it to be best adapted, 
are dysmenorrhoea, puerperal convulsions and other nervous affections of the 
puerperal state, and certain forms of mania, particularly nymphomania, and that 
arising from the abuse of spirituous liquors. In some of these cases, advantage 
may be derived from combining it with opium. Camphor has also been employed 
internally to allay the strangury produced by cantharides. 
It is much used locally as an anodyne, dissolved in alcohol, oil, or acetic acid, 
and frequently combined with laudanum.* In rheumatic and gouty affections, 
and various internal spasmodic and inflammatory complaints, it often yields re- 
lief in this way. The ardor urinae of gonorrhoea may be alleviated by injecting 
an oleaginous solution of camphor into the urethra; and the tenesmus from as- 
* An ointment of camphor may be made by heating three parts, in powder, by means 
of a water-bath, with twelve parts of prepared lard, and stirring the solution thoroughly 
wher. it begins to thicken on cooling. (Pharm. Journ., July, I860, p. 41.) M. Parisel recom- 
mends. as affording a better product, that the powdered camphor and the lard should be 
mixed, at ordinary temperatures, in a thin well-glazed earthen vessel, and allowed to stand 
.tor twelve hours, with occasional agitation. The solution of the camphor is effected without 
apparent liquefaction, each molecule being dissolved in the surrounding molecules of the 
lard. {Journ. de Pharm., Mai, 1860, p. 362.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 198 
Camphor a.—Canella. 
PART I. 
earides and dysentery, by administering the same solution in the form of enema. 
Twenty or thirty grains of camphor, added to a poultice, and applied to the 
perineum, allay the chordee which is a painful attendant upon gonorrhoea. Its 
vapour has been inhaled into the lungs with benefit in asthma and spasmodic 
cough; and a lump of it held to the nose is said to relieve coryza. It has been 
employed for the same purpose, and for nervous headache, in the form of powder 
snuffed up the nostrils. It enters into the composition of certain tooth-powders; 
but is asserted, when employed in this way, to injure the enamel of the teeth. 
Camphor may be given in substance, in the form of bolus or pill, or diffused 
in water by trituration with various substauces. The form of pill is objectiona- 
ble; as in this state the camphor is with difficulty dissolved in the gastric liquor, 
and, floating on the top, is apt to excite nausea, or pain and uneasiness at the 
upper orifice of the stomach. Orfila states that, when given in the solid form, it 
is capable of producing ulceration in the gastric mucous membrane.* The 
emulsion is almost always preferred. This is made by rubbing up the camphor 
.with loaf sugar, gum arabic, and water; and the suspension will be rendered 
more complete and permanent by the addition of a little myrrh. Milk is some- 
times used as a vehicle, but is objectionable, from its liability to become speedily 
sour. The aqueous solution is often employed where only a slight impression is 
desired. For this purpose, the Aqua Camphorse of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia is 
preferable to the solution made by simply pouring boiling water upon a lump of 
camphor, which is sometimes prescribed under the name of camphor tea. When 
chloroform is not inadmissible, an elegant preparation may be made by dissolv- 
ing camphor in that liquid, in the proportion of two drachms of the former to 
a fluidrachm of the latter, and then mixing the solution with water by the in- 
tervention of the yolk of an egg. 
The medium dose of camphor is from five to ten grains ; but, to meet va- 
rious indications, it may be diminished to a single grain, or increased to a scru- 
ple. The injurious effects of an overdose are said to be best counteracted, after 
clearing out the stomach, by the use of opium. 
Off. Prep. Aqua Camphorse; Ceratum Plumbi Subacetatis, U. S.; Linimen- 
tum Aconiti, Br.; Linimentum Belladonnae, Br.; Linimentum Camphorse; Lini- 
mentum Camphorse Comp., Br.; Linimentum Saponis ; Mistura Chloroformi, 
U.S.; Spiritus Camphorse; Tinctura Camphorse cum Opio, Br.; Tinct. Opii 
Camphorata, U.S.; Unguentum Plumbi Subacetatis, Br. W. 
CANELLA. U.S. 
Canella. 
The bark of Canella alba. TJ. S. 
Canelle blanche, Fr.; Weisser Zirnmt, Canell, Germ.; Canella bianca, Ital.; Canela 
blanca, Span. 
Canella. Sex. Syst. Dodecandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Meliaceae. De 
Cand. Canellese. Lindley. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx three-lobed. Petals five. Anthers sixteen, adhering to an ur- 
ceolate nectary. Berry one-celled with two or four seeds. Willd. 
Canella alba. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 851; Woodv. Med Bot. p. 694, t. 237 ; Car- 
son, Illust. of Med. Bot. i. 24, pi. 16. This is the only species of the genus. It is 
an erect tree, rising sometimes to the height of fifty feet, branching only at the 
top, and covered with a whitish bark, by which it is easily distinguished from other 
trees in the woods where it grows. The leaves are alternate, petiolate, oblong, 
* Thwe is some difficulty in making a good pilular mass with powdered camphor. Mr. 
W. H. Githens states that this difficulty may he obviated by using soap and honey as excipi- 
ents. (Am. Journ. o/Pharm., xxxiii. 206.)—Note to the twelfth edition. PART I. 
Canella.—Canna. 
199 
obtuse, entire, of a dark-green colour, thick and shining like those of the laurel, 
and of a similar odour. The flowers are small, of a violet colour, and grow in 
clusters upon divided footstalks, at the extremities of the branches. The fruit is 
an oblong berry, containing one, two, or three black shining seeds. 
Canella alba is a native of Jamaica and other West India islands. The bark 
of the branches, which is the part employed in medicine, having been removed bj 
an iron instrument, is deprived of its epidermis, and dried in the shade. It comes 
to us in pieces partially or completely quilled, occasionally somewhat twisted, of 
various sizes, from a few inches to two feet in length, from half a line to two or 
even three lines in thickness, and, in the quill, from half an inch to an inch and 
a half in diameter. 
Propeiiies. Canella is of a pale orange-yellow colour externally, yellowish- 
white on the inner surface, with an aromatic odour somewhat resembling that 
of cloves, and a warm, bitterish, very pungent taste. It is brittle, breaking with 
a short fracture, and yielding, when pulverized, a yellowish-white powder. Boil- 
ing water extracts nearly one-fourth of its weight; but the infusion, though 
bitter, has comparatively little of the warmth and pungency of the bark. It 
yields all its virtues to alcohol, forming a bright-yellow tincture, which is ren- 
dered milky by the addition of water. By distillation with water it affords a 
large proportion of a yellow or reddish, fragrant, and very acrid volatile oil. 
It contains, moreover, according to the analysis of MM. Petroz and Ilobinet, 
mannite, a peculiar very bitter extractive, resin, gum, starch, albumen, and va- 
rious saline substances. Meyers and Reiche obtained twelve drachms of the 
volatile oil from ten pounds of the bark. They found it to consist of two dis- 
tinct oils, one lighter and the other heavier than water. According to the same 
chemists, the bark contains 8 per cent, of mannite, and yields 6 per cent, of 
ashes. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xvi. 75.) Canella has been sometimes con- 
founded with Winter’s bark, from which, however, it differs both in sensible 
properties and composition. (See Wintera.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Canella is possessed of the ordinary properties 
of the aromatics, acting as a local stimulant and gentle tonic, and producing 
upon the stomach a warming cordial effect, which renders it useful as an addi- 
tion to tonic or purgative medicines, in debilitated states of the digestive or- 
gans. It is scarcely ever prescribed except in combination. In the West Indies 
it is employed by the negroes as a condiment, and has some reputation as an 
antiscorbutic. 
Of. Prep. Pulvis Aloes et Canelhe, U. S.; Yinum Rhei, U. S. W. 
CANNA. U.S. 
Canna. 
The fecula prepared from the rhizoma of an undetermined species of Canna. U. S. 
Canna. Sex.Syst. Monandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Marantaceae. 
Gen. Gh. Corolla unequal, scarcely lip-shaped in any segment. Stamens peta- 
loid, one with half an anther on the edge. Style straight, flat, nearly free. Ovary 
three-celled, many-seeded, granular. Fruit membranous, three-valved, with a de- 
ciduous granular surface. Lindley. 
It is yet somewhat uncertain from what species of Canna the fecula com- 
monly known by the French name tous les mois, and officinally designated 
canna, is derived, though it is generally believed to be C. edulis. The tubers ol 
Ganna Achiras (Gillies), growing in Central and South America, are said to be 
used as food in Peru and Chili (Bindley, Med. and Econom. Bot. p. 50); and 
a root or rhizoma, closely resembling turmeric, and used by the native Africans 
at Sierra Leone for dyeing yellow, was found by Dr, Win. F. Daniell to be the 200 
Canna.—Cannabis Indica.—Cantharis. 
PART I. 
product of u species of Canna, believed to be the G. speciosa of Roscoe. (Pharm. 
Journ.. Nov 1859, p. 258.) 
Ganna edulis. Lindley, Flor. Med. p. 569, figured in FI. Med. and Econ. of 
the same author, p. 49. This is a tuberous plant, with erect, smooth, purplish 
stems, from four to six feet high, and invested with sheathing leaves, which are 
ovate-oblong, tapering towards each end, smooth, and of a deep glaucous green, 
with purplish edges. The flowers are few, and in compact racemes, of a red and 
yellow colour. The plant is a native of the West Indies, and is cultivated in the 
islands of St. Kitts, Trinidad, and perhaps others. The tubers, which are said to 
be three times larger than the fist, are first rasped, by means of a machine, into 
a pulp, from which the starch is extracted in the usual manner, by washing and 
straining, and, after the washings have been allowed to stand, so as to deposit 
the fecula, decanting the clear liquid. (Pereira, Mat. Med.) 
Properties. Canna starch is in the form of a light, beautifully white powder, 
of a shining appearance, very unlike the ordinary forms of fecula. Its granules 
are said to be larger than those of any other variety of starch in use, being 
from the 300th to the 200th of an inch in length. Under the microscope they 
appear ovate or oblong, with numerous regular unequally distant rings; and 
the circular hylum, which is sometimes double, is usually situated at the smaller 
extremity. {Pereira.) This fecula has the ordinary chemical properties of starch, 
and forms, when prepared with boiling water, a nutritious and wholesome food 
for infants and invalids. It may be prepared in the same manner as arrow-root, 
and is said to form even a stiffer jelly with boiling water. (See Maranta.) W. 
CANNABIS INDICA. Br. 
Indian Hemp. 
Cannabis sativa. The flowering tops of the female plant from which the resin 
has not been removed, dried ; cultivated in India. Br. 
See EXTRACTUM CANNABIS. 
CANTIIARIS. U.S.,Br. 
Cantharides. Spanish Flies. 
Cantharis vesicatoria. XJ. S., Br. 
SpanischeFliege,Kantliaride, Germ.; Cantarelle./M.; Cantkaridas.Sjoan. 
The term Cantharis was employed by the ancient Greek writers to desig- 
nate many coleopterous insects. Linnteus gave the title to a genus not including 
the officinal blistering fly, and placed this insect in the genus Meloe which, how- 
ever, has been divided by subsequent naturalists into several genera. Geoffroy 
made the Spanish fly the prototype of a new one called Cantharis, substituting 
Gicindela as the title of the Linnsean genus. Fabricius altered the arrange- 
ment of Geoffroy, and substituted Lytta for Cantharis as the generic name. The 
former was adopted by the London College, and at one time was in extensive 
use; but the latter, having been restored by Latreille, is now recognised in the 
British and American Pharmacopoeias, and is universally employed. By this 
naturalist the vesicating insects were grouped in a small tribe, corresponding 
very nearly with the Linnsean genus Meloe, and distinguished by the title Can- 
tliarideae. This tribe he divided into eleven genera, among which is Cantharis. 
Two others of these genera, Meloe properly so called, and Mylabris, have been 
employed as vesicatories. Mylabris cichorii is thought to be one of the insects 
described by Pliny and Dioscorides under the name of cantharides, and is to 
this day employed in Italy, Greece, the Levant, and Egypt; and another spe- PART I. 
Cantharis. 
201 
cies, M. pustulata, is used for the same purpose in China. Mr. W. R. Warner 
has found 500 parts of M. cichorii to yield 2T3 parts of cantharidin, which 
somewhat exceeded the yield of Spanish flies. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxviii. 
195.) Meloe proscarabseus and M. mojalis have been occasionally substituted 
for cantharides in Europe, and M. trianthemse is used in the upper provinces 
of Hindostan. Several species of Cantharis, closely analogous in medical proper- 
ties, are found in various parts of the world ; but C. vesicatoria is the only one 
recognised as officinal in the United States, Great Britain, and France. A second 
species, C. vitlata, was introduced into our national Pharmacopoeia, but has been 
discarded, upon insufficient grounds, we think, in the present edition. Of this, 
and some other indigenous species, notice will be taken at the end of this arti- 
cle. At present we shall confine our observations to G. vesicatoria, or the com- 
mon Spanish fly. 
Cantharis. Glass Insecta. Order Coleoptera. Linn. — Family Trachelides. 
Tribe Cantharidese. Latreille. 
Gen. Ch. Tarsi entire; nails bifid; head not produced into a rostrum; 
elytra flexible, covering the whole abdomen, linear semicylindric; wings perfect; 
maxillae with two membranous laciniae, the external one acute within, subunci- 
nate ; antennae longer than the head and thorax, rectilinear; first joint largest, 
the second transverse, very short; maxillary palpi larger at tip. Say. 
Cantharis vesicatoria. Latreille, Gen. Crust, et Insect., ii. p. 220. This in- 
sect is from six to ten lines in length, by two or three in breadth, and of a beauti- 
ful, shining, golden-green colour. The head is large and heart-shaped, bearing 
two thread-like, black, jointed feelers; the thorax short and quadrilateral; the 
wing-sheaths long and flexible, covering brownish membranous wings. When 
alive, the Spanish flies have a strong, penetrating, fetid odour, compared to that 
of mice, by which swarms of them may be detected at a considerable distance. 
They attach themselves preferably to certain trees and shrubs, such as the white 
poplar, privet, ash, elder, and lilac, upon the leaves of which they feed. They 
abound most in Spain, Italy, and the south of France; but are found also in all 
■she temperate parts of Europe, and in the west of Asia. In the state of larva, 
they live in the ground and gnaw the roots of plants. They usually make their 
appearance in swarms upon the trees in May and June, when they are collected. 
The time preferred for the purpose is in the morning at sunrise, when they are 
torpid from the cold of the night, and easily let go their hold. Persons with their 
faces protected by masks, and their hands with gloves, shake the trees, or beat 
them with poles; and the insects are received as they fall upon linen cloths spread 
underneath. They are then plunged into vinegar diluted with water, or exposed 
in sieves to the vapour of boiling vinegar, and, having been thus deprived of life, 
are dried either in the sun, or in apartments heated by stoves. This mode of kill- 
ing the flies by the steam of vinegar is as ancient as the times of Dioscorides and 
Pliny. In some places they are gathered by smoking the trees with burning brim- 
stone. It has been proposed by M. Lutrand to destroy them by the vapour of 
chloroform. When perfectly dry, they are introduced into casks or boxes, lined 
with paper and carefully closed, so as to exclude as much as possible the atmo- 
spheric moisture. 
Cantharides come chiefly from Spain, Italy, Sicily, and other parts of the 
Mediterranean. Considerable quantities are also brought from St. Petersburg, 
derived originally, in all probability, from the southern provinces of Russia, 
where the insect is very abundant. The Russian flies are more esteemed than 
those from other sources. They may be distinguished by their greater size, and 
their colour approaching to that of copper. 
Properties. Dried Spanish flies preserve the form and colour, and, to a cer- 
tain extent, the disagreeable odour of the living insect. They have an acrid, 
burning, and urinous taste. Their powder is of a grayish-brown colour, inter- 202 
Cantharis. 
PART I. 
spersed with shining green particles, which are the fragments of the feet, head, 
and wing-cases. If kept perfectly dry, in well-stopped glass bottles, they retain 
their activity for a great length of time. A portion which had been preserved 
by Yan Swieten for thirty years, in a glass vessel, was found still to possess 
vesicating properties. But, exposed to a damp air, they quickly undergo putre- 
faction ; and this change takes place more speedily in the powder. Hence, the 
insects should either be kept whole, and powdered as they are wanted for use, 
or, if kept in powder, should be well dried immediately after pulverization, and 
preserved in air-tight vessels. They should never be purchased in powder, as, 
independently of the consideration just mentioned, they may in this state be 
more easily adulterated. But, however carefully managed, cantharides are apt to 
be attacked by mites, which feed on the interior soft parts of the body, reducing 
them to powder, while the harder exterior parts are not affected. An idea was 
at one time prevalent, that the vesicating property of the insect was not injured 
by the worm, which was supposed to devour only the inactive portion. But this 
has been proved to be a mistake. M. Fariues, an apothecary of Perpignan, has 
satisfactorily shown that, though the hard parts left by these mites possess some 
vesicating power, and the powrder produced by them still more, yet the sound 
flies are much stronger than either. Camphor, wdiich has been recommended as 
a preservative, does not prevent the destructive agency of the worm.* It is 
stated by M. Farines that, when the flies are destroyed by the vapour of pyro- 
ligneous acid, instead of common vinegar, they acquire an odour which contri- 
butes to their preservation. Cantharides will bear a very considerable heat 
without losing the brilliant colour of their elytra; nor is this colour extracted 
by water, alcohol, ether, or the oils; so that the powder might be deprived of 
all its active principles, and yet retain the exterior characters unaltered. The 
wing-cases resist putrefaction for a long time, and the shining particles have 
been detected in the human stomach months after interment. 
So early as 1718, Thouvenel attempted to analyze cantharides, and the at- 
tempt was repeated by Dr. Beaupoil in 1803; but no very interesting or valu- 
able result was obtained till 1810, when Robiquet discovered in them a crys- 
talline substance, which proved to be the vesicating principle of the insect, and 
received the name of cantharidin. The constituents, according to Robiquet, 
are, 1. a green oil, insoluble in wTater, soluble in alcohol, and inert as a vesi- 
catory; 2. a black matter, soluble in water, insoluble in alcohol, and inert; 3. 
a yellow viscid matter, soluble in water and alcohol, and without vesieatiug 
powers; 4. cantharidin ; 5. a fatty matter insoluble in alcohol; 6. phosphates 
of lime and magnesia, acetic acid, and in the fresh insect a small quantity of 
uric acid. Orfila afterwards discovered a volatile principle, upon which the 
fetid odour of the fly depends. It is separable by distillation with wrater. Can- 
tharidin is a white substance, in the form of crystalline scales, of a shining 
micaceous appearance, inodorous, tasteless, insoluble in water, nearly so in cold 
alcohol, but soluble in ether, chloroform, benzole, the oils, and in hot alcohol 
and acetic acid, which deposit it upon cooling, j* It is fusible and volatilizable 
* It appears from the experiments of M. Nivet that, though camphor does not preserve 
the entire fly from the attacks of the larvae of the Anthrcnus, it actually destroys the mites 
of the Cantharis so often found in the powder, and may, therefore, be introduced with ad- 
vantage, in small lumps, into bottles containing powdered cantharides. (Journ. de Pharrn., 
xix. 6U4.) Carbonate of ammonia has also been recommended as a preservative. Pereira 
has found that a few drops of strong acetic acid, added to the flies, are very effectual. Per- 
haps, however, the best means of preserving them, whether whole or in powder, would be 
the application of the process of Apert, which consists in exposing them, for half an hour, 
confined in glass bottles, to the heat of boiling water, -which destroys the eggs of the in- 
sect, without impaii’ing the virtues of the flies. (Ibid., xxii. 246.) Of course the access of 
water to the flies should be carefully avoided. Lutrand recommends chloroform as the 
best preservative that he has tried. (Journ. de Pharm., xviii. 214.) 
f The solubilities of cantharidin have been examined with great care by Professor Proc- PART I. 
Cantharis. 
203 
by heat without decomposition, and its vapour condenses in acicular crystals. 
The most satisfactory test of it is its vesicating property. It may be obtained 
by macerating powdered flies in ether for several days; introducing the mixture 
into a percolation apparatus; adding, after the liquid has ceased to pass, fresh 
portions of ether, till it comes away nearly colourless; displacing the whole of 
the menstruum still remaining in the mass by pouring water upon it; distilling 
the filtered liquor so as to recover the ether; then allowing the residue to cool; 
and, finally, purifying the cantharidin which is deposited by treating it with 
boiling alcohol and animal charcoal. Alcohol of 34°, or a mixture of alcohol 
and ether, may be substituted for the ether itself; but the last-mentioned fluid 
is preferable, as it dissolves less of the green oil, the separation of which from 
the cantharidin is the most difficult part of the process. By this plan, M. Thierry 
obtained, from 1000 parts of powdered flies, 4 parts of pure cantharidin. Not- 
withstanding the insolubility of this principle in water and cold alcohol, the de- 
coction and tincture of cantharides have the medicinal properties of the insect; 
and Lewis ascertained that both the aqueous and alcoholic extracts acted as 
effectually in exciting vesication as the flies themselves, while the residue was in 
each case inert. Cantharidin consequently exists in the insect, so combined with 
the yellow matter as to be rendered soluble in water and cold alcohol. It has 
been found in Cantharis vittata, Mylabris cichorii, and different species of Meloe.* 
M. Ferrer found cantharidin in all parts of the fly, but somewhat more largely 
in the soft than the hard parts. {Journ. de Pharm., Oct. 1859, p. 219.) 
Adulterations. These are not common. Occasionally other insects are added, 
purposely, or through carelessness. These maybe readily distinguished by their 
different shape or colour. Flies exhausted of their cantharidin by ether are said 
to have been substituted for the genuine. An account has been published of 
considerable quantities of variously coloured glass beads having been found in a 
parcel of the drug; but this would be too coarse a fraud to be extensively practised. 
Pereira states that powdered flies are sometimes adulterated with euphorbium. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Internally administered, cantharides are a 
powerful stimulant, with a peculiar direction to the urinary and genital organs. 
In moderate doses, this medicine sometimes acts as a diuretic, and generally 
excites some irritation in the urinary passages, which, if its use be persevered in, 
or the dose increased, often amounts to violent strangury, attended with excru- 
ciating pain, and the discharge of bloody urine. In still larger quantities, it 
ter, with the following results. It is insoluble in water. Cold alcohol dissolves it slightly, 
hot alcohol freely. It is more soluble in ether, which also dissolves it more freely hot than 
cold. Chloroform, cold or hot, is its best solvent; and acetone ranks next to it in this re- 
spect. Olive oil, at 250° F., dissolves one-twentieth of its weight, and oil of turpentine, boil- 
ing hot, one-seventieth; and both deposit the greater portion on cooling. The olive oil solu- 
tion after deposition vesicates, the terebinthinate does not. Strong acetic, sulphuric, and 
nitric acids dissolve it, with the aid of heat, and deposit it unchanged on cooling. It is also 
dissolved by solutions of potassa and soda, and to a small extent by strong solution of am- 
monia. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxiv. 296.)—Note to the tenth edition. 
* Professor Procter informs us that he has succeeded, by means of chloroform, in isola- 
ting cantharidin with great facility. He treats the flies with chloroform by percolation, 
displacing the last portions by means of alcohol, and allows the resulting solution to evapo- 
rate spontaneously. Cantharidin is thus obtained in crystals mixed with the green oil, the 
greater portion of which may be removed by bibulous paper. The residuary crystals are 
dissolved in a mixture of ether and alcohol, which, by the spontaneous evaporation of the 
ether, yields the cantharidin nearly pure.—Note to the ninth edition. 
Wittstein obtains it by digesting coarsely powdered flies repeatedly with water, strain- 
ing through linen and expressing, allowing the liquid to settle for a day, separating the 
supernatant oil, adding a little wood charcoal, evaporating to dryness, treating the residue 
with sulphuric ether so long as the solution atfords a laminated substance on evaporation, 
evaporating the ethereal solution, treating the residue with cold alcohol of 80 per cent, for 
one day with frequent shaking, and finally drying the scales. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
xxviii. 231.) Mr. Williams has obtained it by means of benzole. (Ibid., xxvi. 340.)—Note to 
the eleventh edition. Cantharis. 
PART I. 
produces, in addition to these effects, obstinate and painful priapism, vomiting, 
bloody stools, severe pains in the whole abdominal region, excessive salivation 
with a fetid cadaverous breath, hurried respiration, a hard and frequent pulse, 
burning thirst, exceeding difficulty of deglutition, sometimes a dread of liquids, 
frightful convulsions, tetanus, delirium, and death. Orfila has known twenty- 
four grains of the powder to prove fatal. Dissection reveals inflammation and 
ulceration of the mucous coat of the whole intestinal canal. According to M. 
Poumet, if the intestines be inflated, dried, cut into pieces, and examined in the 
sun between two pieces of glass, they will exhibit small shining yellow or green 
points, strongly contrasting with the matter around them. (Journ. de Pharm., 
3e ser.,iii. 167.) The poisonous effects are to be counteracted by emetics, ca- 
thartics, bleeding, and opiates by the stomach and rectum. Dr. Mulock, of Dublin, 
recommends the officinal solution of potassa as an antidote, having found thirty 
drops given every hour an effectual remedy in strangury from blisters. {Dub. 
Quart. Journ. of Med. Sci., N. S., vi. 222.) From the experiments of Schroff it 
appears that oils somewhat accelerate the poisonous action, probably by dissolv- 
ing the cantharidin. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxviii. 365.) By experiments 
upon dogs, M. Thouery, a French apothecary, has satisfied himself that animal 
charcoal possesses a real antidotal power. {Journ. de Pharm., Janv. 1858, p. 65.) 
Notwithstanding their exceeding violence, cantharides have been long and bene- 
ficially used in medicine. Either these or other vesicating insects appear to have 
been given by Hippocrates in dropsy and amenorrhoea, in the latter of which com- 
plaints, when properly prescribed, they are a highly valuable remedy. In dropsy 
they sometimes prove useful when the system is in an atonic condition, and the 
vessels of the kidneys feeble. They are also useful in obstinate gleet, leucorrhoea, 
and seminal weakness; and afford one of the most certain means of relief in in- 
continence of urine, arising from debility or partial paralysis of the sphincter of 
the bladder. A case of diabetes is recorded in the N. Am. Archives (vol. ii. p 
175), in which recovery took place under the use of tincture of cantharides. They 
are used also in certain cutaneous eruptions, especially those of a scaly character, 
and in chronic eczema. Dr. Erven has employed them in scurvy {Ann. de Therap., 
1845); and they have been found useful, internally administered, in obstinate 
ulcers. Their unpleasant effects upon the urinary passages are best obviated by 
the free use of diluent drinks; and, when not consequent upon great abuse of the 
medicine, may almost always be relieved by an anodyne injection, composed of 
laudanum with a small quantity of mucilaginous fluid. The dose of Spanish flies 
is one or two grains of the powder, which may be given twice a day, in the form 
of pill. The tincture, however, is more frequently employed. 
Externally applied, cantharides excite inflammation in the skin, which termi- 
nates in a copious secretion of serum under the cuticle. Even thus employed, 
they not unfrequently give rise to strangury or tenesmus ; and this is one of the 
most troublesome attendants upon their operation. It probably results from 
the absorption of the active principle of the fly. For various methods employed 
for obviating strangury from blisters, see Ceratum Gantharidis. 
The blistering fly may be used either as a rubefacient, or to produce a blister. 
In the former capacity it is seldom employed, except in low states of disease, 
where external stimulation is required to support the system ; but as an epis- 
pastic it is preferred to all other substances. 
Blisters are calculated to answer numerous indications. Their local effect is 
attended with a general excitement, which renders them valuable auxiliaries to 
internal stimulants in low conditions of disease ; and they may sometimes be 
safely resorted to with this view, when the latter remedies are inadmissible. The 
powerful impression they make on the system is sufficient, in many instances, to 
subvert morbid associations, and thus to allow the re-establishment of healthy 
action. Hence their application to the cure of remittent and intermittent fevers, part I. 
Cantharis. 
205 
in which they often prove effectual, when so employed as to be in full operation 
at the period for the recurrence of the paroxysm. On the principle of revulsion, 
they are useful in a vast variety of complaints. Drawing both the nervous en- 
ergy and the circulating fluid to the seat of their immediate action, they relieve 
irritations and inflammations of internal parts; and are employed for this pur- 
pose in every disease attended with these derangements. In such cases, however, 
arterial excitement should be reduced before the remedy is resorted to. Blisters 
are also capable of substituting their own action for one of a morbid nature, 
existing in the part to which they are directly applied. Hence their use in tinea 
capitis, obstinate herpes, and various cutaneous eruptions. Their local stimu- 
lation renders them useful in some cases of threatened gangrene, and in partial 
paralysis. From the serous discharge they occasion, much good results in ery- 
sipelas and various other local inflammations, in the immediate vicinity of which 
their action caii be established; and the effects of an issue may be obtained by 
the continued application of irritants to the blistered surface. Perhaps the 
pain produced by blisters may be useful in some cases of nervous excitement or 
derangement, in which it is desirable to withdraw the attention of the patient 
from subjects of agitating reflection. On some constitutions they produce a 
poisonous impression, attended with frequent pulse, dryness of the mouth and 
fauces, heat of skin, subsultus tendinum, and even convulsions. What is the 
precise condition of system in which these effects result, it is impossible to de- 
termine. They probably arise from the absorption of the active principle, and 
depend on individual peculiarities of constitution. In this respect Spanish flies 
are analogous to mercury; and any argument drawn from this source against 
the use of the one would equally apply to the other. The general good result- 
ing from their use far overbalances any partial and uncertain evil. For some 
rules relative to the application of blisters, the reader is referred to the article 
Geratum Cantharidis. Under the same head will be noticed other blistering 
preparations from Cantharides. Cantharidal or blistering collodion is officinal. 
Within the limits of the United States are several species of Cantharis, which 
have been employed as substitutes for C. vesicatoria, and found to be equally 
efficient. Of these, only G. vittata has been at any time adopted as officinal; 
but, as others may be more abundant in particular districts, or in certain sea- 
sons, and are not inferior in vesicating powers, we shall briefly notice all that 
have been submitted to experiment. 
1. Cantharis vittata. Latreille, Gen. Crust, et Insect.; Durand, Journ. of the 
Phil. Col. of Pharm., ii. 214, fig. 4. The potato fly is rather smaller than G. vesi- 
catoria, which it resembles in shape. Its length is about six lines. The head is 
light-red, with dark spots upon the top; the feelers are black; the elytra or wing- 
cases are black, with a yellow longitudinal stripe in the centre, and with a yellow 
margin; the thorax is also black, with three yellow lines; and the abdomen and 
legs, which have the same colour, are covered with a cinereous down. It inha- 
bits chiefly the potato plant, and appears about the end of July or beginning of 
August, in some seasons very abundantly. It is found on the plant in the morning 
and evening, but during the heat of the day descends into the soil. The insects 
are collected by shaking them from the plant into hot water; and are afterwards 
carefully dried in the sun. They are natives of the Middle and Southern States. 
This species of Cantharis was first described by Fabricius in the year 1781; 
and was introduced to the notice of the profession by Dr. Isaac Chapman, of 
Bucks county, Pennsylvania, who found it equal if not superior to the Spanish 
fly as a vesicatory. The testimony of Dr. Chapman has been corroborated by 
that of many other practitioners, some of whom have even gone so far as to 
assert that the potato fly is not attended with the inconvenience of producing 
strangury. But this statement has been ascertained to be incorrect; and, as 
the vesicating property of all these insects probably depends on the same proxi- Cantharis. 
PART I. 
mate principle, their operation may be considered as identical in other respects. 
If the potato fly has been found more speedy in its effects than the Cantharis 
of Spain, the result is perhaps owing to the greater freshness of the former. It 
may be applied to the same purposes, treated in the same manner, and given in 
the same dose as the foreign insect. Professor Procter obtained cantharidin 
from this species; and Mr. W. R. Warner has shown that the proportion of 
this ingredient is but slightly less than in Spanish flies, the former yielding l-99, 
the latter 2'03 parts in 500. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxviii. 195.) Professor 
Leidy, of the University of Pennsylvania, ascertained, by experiment, that the 
vesicating property of this insect resides in the blood, the eggs, and a peculiar 
fatty matter of certain accessary glands of the generative apparatus. (Am. Journ. 
of Med. Sci., Jan. 1860, p. 60.) 
2. Cantharis cinerea. Latreille, Gen. Crust, et Insect.; Durand, Journ. of 
the Phil. Col. of Pharm., ii. 214, fig. 5. The ash-coloured cantharis closely 
resembles the preceding species in figure and size; but differs from it in colour. 
The elytra and body are black, without the yellow stripes that characterize C. 
vittata, and are entirely covered with a short and dense ash-coloured down, 
which conceals the proper colour of the insect. The feelers are black, and the 
first and second joints are very large in the male. This species also inhabits the 
potato plant, and is occasionally found on other plants, as the English bean and 
wild indigo. It is a native of the Northern and Middle States. All the remarks 
before made upon the potato fly, as to the mode of collection, properties, and 
medical use, apply equally well to that at present under consideration. Uliger 
in 1801 discovered its vesicating properties ; but Dr. Gorham was the first to 
call public attention particularly to the subject, in a communication addressed, 
in the year 1808, to the Medical Society of Massachusetts. 
3. Cantharis marginata. Latreille, Gen. Crust, et Insect.; Durand, Journ. of 
the Phil. Col. of Pharm., ii. 274, fig. 6. This is somewhat larger than C. vittata, 
and of a different shape. The elytra are black with the suture and margin ash- 
coloured. The head, thorax, and abdomen are black, but nearly covered with an 
ash-coloured down; and, on the upper part of the abdomen, under the wings, 
are two longitudinal lines of a bright clay-colour. The insect is usually found, 
in thg latter part of summer, upon different species of Clematis, and frequents 
especially the lower branches which trail along the ground. Professor Wood- 
house, of Philadelphia, first ascertained its vesicating properties; but it had pre- 
viously been described by Fabricius as a native of the Cape of Good Hope. Dr. 
Harris, of Massachusetts, found it equally efficient as a vesicatory with any other 
species of the genus. 
4. Cantharis atrata. Latreille, Gen. Crust, et Insect.; Durand, Journ. of the 
Phil. Col. of Pharm., ii. 274, fig. 7. The black cantharis is smaller than the in- 
digenous species already described; but resembles C. marginata in figure. Its 
length is only four or five lines. It is distinguished by its size, and its uniform 
black colour. It frequents more especially the different species of Aster and Soli- 
dago, though it is found also on Prunella vulgaris, Ambrosia trifida, and some 
other plants. Mr. Durand met with considerable numbers of this insect near Phil- 
adelphia, in the month of September; and they continued to appear till the mid- 
dle of October. They are common in the Northern and Middle States, but are not 
confined exclusively to this country, being found also in Barbary. Drs. Oswood 
and Harris, of New England, satisfactorily ascertained their vesicating powers. 
They are probably identical with the insect noticed as vesicatory by Prof. Wood- 
house, under the name of Meloe niger. 
Several other species have been discovered in the United States, but not yet 
practically employed. Among these are C. seneas, a native of Pennsylvania, 
discovered by Mr. Say; C. politus and C. aszelianus, inhabiting the Southern 
States; C. Nuttalli, a large and beautiful insect of Missouri, first noticed by PART I. 
Cantharis.—Capsicum. 
207 
Mr. Nuttall, and said to surpass the Spanish fly in magnitude and splendour; 
and C. albida, another large species, found by Mr. Say near the Rocky Moun- 
tains. Of these, G. Nuttalli (Lytta Nuttalli, Say, Am. Entomol., i. 9) bids 
fair, at some future period, to be an object of importance in the western section 
of this country. The head is of a deep greenish colour, with a red spot in front; 
the thorax is of a golden green; the elytra, red or golden purple and somewhat 
rugose on their outer surface, green and polished beneath; the feet black; the 
thighs, blue or purplish. The exploring party under Colonel Long ascertained 
the vesicating powers of this insect. It was found in the plains of the Missouri, 
feeding on a scanty grass. In one place it was so numerous and troublesome, as 
to be swept away by bushels, in order that a place might be cleared for encamping. 
Off. Prep. Ceratum Cantharidis, U. S.; Ceratum Extracti Cantharidis, U. S.; 
Collodium cum Cantharide, U. S.; Emplastrum Califaciens, Br.; Emplastrum 
Cantharidis, Br.; Linimentum Cantharidis; Tinctura Cantharidis; Unguentum 
Cantharidis, Br. W. 
CAPSICUM. U.S., Br. 
Capsicum. Cayenne Pepper. 
The fruit of Capsicum annuum, and of other species of Capsicum. U. S. Cap- 
sicum fastigiatum. The ripe fruit, dried, Br. 
Poivre de Gainee, Poivre d’lnde, Fr.; Spanisclier Pfeifer, Germ.; Pepperone, Ital.; Pimi- 
ento, Span. 
Capsicum. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Solanacese. 
Gen.Cli. Corolla wheel-shaped. Berry without juice. Willd. 
Numerous species of Capsicum, inhabiting the East Indies and tropical Amer- 
ica, are enumerated by botanists, the fruit of which, differing simply in the de- 
gree of pungency, may be indiscriminately employed. G. bacoatum or bird pep- 
per, and G. frutescens, are said to yield most of the Cayenne pepper brought 
from the West Indies and South America; and Ainslie informs us that the lat- 
ter is chiefly employed in the East Indies. The Br. Pharmacopoeia recognises, as 
the source of capsicum, G. fastigiatum, a species growing in the East Indies, and 
on the coast of Guinea. The species most extensively cultivated in Europe and 
this country is that recognised as officinal by the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, namely, 
G. annuum. The first three are shrubby plants, the last is annual and herbaceous. 
Capsicum annuum. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1052; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 226, t. 80. 
The stem of the annual capsicum is thick, roundish, smooth, and branching; rises 
two or three feet in height; and supports ovate, pointed, smooth, entire leaves, 
which are placed without regular order on long footstalks. The flowers are soli- 
tary, white, and stand on long peduncles at the axils of the leaves. The calyx is 
persistent, tubular, and five-cleft; the corolla, monopetalous and wheel-shaped, 
with the limb divided into five spreading, pointed, and plaited segments; the fila- 
ments, short, tapering, and furnished with oblong anthers; the germen, ovate, sup- 
porting a slender style, which is longer than the filaments, and terminates in a blunt 
stigma. The fruit is a pendulous, pod-like berry, light, smooth and shining, of a 
bright scarlet, orange, or sometimes yellow colour, with two or three cells, con- 
taining a dry, loose pulp, and numerous flat, kidney-shaped, whitish seeds. 
The plant is a native of the warmer regions of Asia and America, and is 
cultivated in almost all parts of the world. It is abundantly produced in this 
country, both for culinary and medicinal purposes. The flowers appear in July 
and August, and the fruit ripens in October. Several varieties are cultivated 
in our gardens, differing in the shape of the fruit. The most abundant is probably 
that with a large irregularly ovate berry, depressed at the extremity, which is 
much used in the green state for pickling. The medicinal variety is that with 
long, conical, generally pointed, recurved fruit, usually not thicker than the 208 
Capsicum. 
PART I. 
finger Sometimes we meet with small, spherical, slightly compressed berries, 
not greatly exceeding a large cherry in size. When perfectly ripe and dry, the 
fruit is ground into powder, and brought into market under the name of red or 
Cayenne pepper. Our markets are also partly supplied from the West Indies. 
A variety of capsicum, consisting of very small, conical, exceedingly pungent 
berries, is imported from Liberia. It is probably the same that the British Phar- 
macopoeia refers to Capsicum fastigiatum. In England, the fruit of C. annuum 
is frequently called chillies. 
Powdered capsicum is usually of a more or less bright-red colour, which 
fades upon exposure to light, and ultimately disappears. The odour is pecu- 
liar and somewhat aromatic, stronger in the recent than in the dried fruit. The 
taste is bitterish, acrid, and burning, producing a fiery sensation in the mouth, 
which continues for a long time. The pungency appears to depend on a pecu- 
liar principle, which was obtained, though not in a perfectly isolated state, by 
Braconnot, and named capsicin. The fruit, freed from the seeds, was submitted 
to the action of alcohol, and the resulting tincture evaporated. During the 
evaporation a red-coloured wax separated, and the residuary liquor by farther 
evaporation afforded an extract, from which ether dissolved the capsicin. This 
was obtained by evaporating the ether. It resembles an oil or soft resin, is of a 
yellowish-brown or reddish-brown colour, and, when tasted, though at first bal- 
samic, soon produces an insupportably hot and pungent impression over the whole 
interior of the mouth. Exposed to heat it melts, and at a higher temperature 
emits fumes, which, even in very small quantity, excite coughing and sneezing. 
It is slightly soluble in water and vinegar, and very soluble in alcohol, ether, 
oil of turpentine, and the caustic alkalies, which it renders reddish-brown. It 
constitutes, according to Braconnot, 1 -9 per cent, of the fruit.* The other in- 
gredients, as ascertained by the same chemist, are colouring matter, an azotized 
substance, gum, pectic acid (probably pectin), and saline matters, lied oxide 
of lead is sometimes added to the powdered capsicum sold in Europe. It may 
be detected by digesting the suspected powder in diluted nitric acid, filtering, 
and adding a solution of sulphate of soda, which will throw down a white pre- 
cipitate if there be any oxide of lead present. Capsicum is said to be sometimes 
adulterated with coloured sawdust. It is occasionally attacked by insects. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Cayenne pepper is a powerful stimulant, 
producing when swallowed a sense of heat in the stomach, and a general glow 
over the body, without any narcotic effect. Its influence over the circulation, 
though considerable, is not in proportion to its local action. It is much em- 
ployed as a condiment, and proves highly useful in correcting the flatulent ten- 
dency of certain vegetables, and aiding their digestion. Hence the advantage 
derived from it by the natives of tropical climates, who live chiefly on vegetable 
* The capsicin of Braconnot, though containing the active principle of capsicum, was 
shown by Professor Procter to be itself a complex substance. By treating its alcoholic 
solution with subacetate of lead, he obtained an abundant precipitate, which, when washed 
with alcohol, proved to be quite tasteless, while the liquid from which it had been precipi- 
tated, yielded, on evaporation, a brownish substance much more pungent than the capsicin 
itself. Mr. F. V. lleydenreich, by treating the liquid just referred to with hydrosulphuric 
acid to separate the lead, filtering, and boiling to drive off fhe acetic and hydrosulphuric 
acids, obtained an amber-coloured oily substance, which, when purified by solution in alco- 
hol, treatment with animal charcoal, filtration, and exposure to spontaneous evaporation, 
became of a light lemon-yellotv colour, and presented the following properties. It had the 
aspect of an oil, rather more viscid than olive oil, was lighter than water, with the 
odour and intensely hot taste of capsicum, became nearly solid at 0° F., and very fluid 
when heated, without any tendency to crystallize in the former case, and at a high heat gave 
off very irritating fumes. It was very soluble in ether, chloroform, and alcohol of 0-809, 
and soluble in eighty parts of officinal alcohol, and appeared to be saponifiable. From his 
experiments, Mr. lleydenreich concluded that the capsicin, thus purified, consists of two 
oils, differing in colour and solubility in alcohol, and may be considered as representing 
the virtues of capsicum in their most concentrated state.—Note to the twelfth edition. part I. 
Capsicum.—Carlo. 
209 
food. In the East Indies it has been used from time immemorial. From a 
passage in the works of Pliny, it appears to have been known to the Romans 
As a medicine it is useful in cases of enfeebled and languid stomach, and is oc- 
casionally prescribed in dyspepsia and atonic gout, particularly when attended 
with much flatulence, or occurring in persons of intemperate habits. It has 
also been given as a stimulant in palsy and certain lethargic affections. To the 
sulphate of quinia it forms an excellent addition in some cases of intermittents, 
in which there is a great want of gastric susceptibility. Upon the same principle 
of rousing the susceptibility of the stomach, it may prove useful in low forms of 
fever, as an adjuvant to tonic or stimulant medicines. Its most important ap- 
plication, however, is to the treatment of malignant sorethroat and scarlet fever, 
in which it is used both internally and as a gargle. The following formula was 
employed in malignant scarlatina, with great advantage, in the West Indies, 
where this application of the remedy originated. Two tablespoonfuls of the 
powdered pepper, with a teaspoonful of common salt, are infused for an hour in 
a pint of boiling liquid, composed of equal parts of water and vinegar. This is 
strained when cool through a fine linen cloth, and given in the dose of a table- 
spoonful every half hour. The same preparation is also used as a gargle. It is, 
however, only to the worst cases that the remedy is applied so energetically. 
In milder cases of scarlatina, with inflamed or ulcerated throat, much relief and 
positive advantage often follow the employment of the pepper in a more diluted 
state. Capsicum has been advantageously used in sea sickness, in the dose of a 
teaspoonful, given in some convenient vehicle on the first occurrence of nausea. 
It is thought also to have been beneficial in hemorrhoidal affections. 
Applied externally, Cayenne pepper is a powerful rubefacient, very useful in 
local rheumatism, and in low forms of disease, where a stimulant impression 
upon the surface is demanded. It has the advantage, under these circumstances, 
of acting speedily without endangering vesication. It may be applied in the form 
of cataplasm, or more conveniently and efficiently as a lotion, mixed with heated 
spirit. The powder or tincture, brought into contact with a relaxed uvula, often 
acts very beneficially. The tincture has also been used advantageously in chil- 
blain. The ethereal extract (Oleoresina Capsici, U. S.) is powerfully rubefacient. 
The dose of the powder is from five to ten grains, which may be most conveni- 
ently given in the form of pill. Of an infusion prepared by adding two drachms 
to half a pint of boiling water, the dose is about half a fluidounce. A gargle may 
be prepared by infusing half a drachm of the powder in a pint of boiling water, 
or by adding half a fluidounce of the tincture to eight fluidounces of rose-water. 
Off Prep. Infusum Capsici, TJ. S.; Oleoresina Capsici, U. S.; Tinctura 
Capsici W. 
CARBO. 
Carbon. 
Pare charcoal; Carbone, Fr., Ital.; Kohlenstoff, Germ,.; Carbon, Span. 
Carbon is an element of great importance, and very extensively diffused in 
nature. It exists in large quantity in the mineral kingdom, and is the most 
abundant constituent of animal and vegetable matter. In the crystallized state 
it constitutes the diamond; and, more or less pure, it forms the substances called 
plumbago, graphite, or black lead, anthracite, bituminous coal, coke, animal 
charcoal, and vegetable charcoal. Combined with oxygen it forms carbonic acid, 
which is a constituent of the atmosphere, and present in many natural waters, 
especially those which have an effervescing quality. United with oxygen and a 
base it forms the carbonates, among others carbonate of lime, which is one of 
the most abundant minerals. There are three allotropic conditions of carbon, 
represented respectively by the diamond, graphite, and charcoal. Garbo.— Garbo Animalis. 
PART L 
The diamond is found principally in India and Brazil. Several diamonds 
have been found in the gold region of Georgia. This gem is perfectly trans- 
parent, and the hardest and most brilliant substance in nature. Its sp. gr. is 
about 35. It is fixed and unalterable in the fire, provided air be excluded ; but 
is combustible in air or oxygen, the product being the same as when charcoal is 
burned, namely, carbonic acid. 
Next to diamond, plumbago and anthracite are the purest natural forms of 
carbon. Plumbago is the substance of which black-lead crucibles and pencils 
are made. It is found in greatest purity in the mine of Borrowdale, in England ; 
but it also occurs very pure in this country, especially near Bustleton, in Penn- 
sylvania. It was formerly supposed to be a carburet of iron ; but, in very pure 
specimens, it is nearly free from iron, which must, therefore, be deemed an acci- 
dental impurity. Anthracite occurs in different parts of the world, but particu- 
larly in the United States. Bituminous coal is a form of the carbonaceous 
principle, in which the carbon is associated with volatile matter of a bituminous 
nature. When this is driven off by the process of charring, as in the manufac- 
ture of coal gas, a kind of mineral charcoal, called coke, is obtained, very useful 
in the arts as a fuel. When peat is charred, it is converted into peat charcoal, 
which forms a cheap disinfectant and deodorizer, applicable to the purification 
of hospitals, dissecting rooms, factories, privies, &c. 
Carbon may be obtained in a state approaching to purity by several pro- 
cesses. One method is to expose lampblack to a full red heat in a close vessel. 
It may also be obtained, in a very pure state, by passing the vapour of volatile 
oils through an ignited porcelain tube ; whereby the hydrogen and oxygen of 
the oil will be dissipated, and the charcoal left in the tube. A pure charcoal is 
procured by exposing sugar, or other vegetable substances which leave no ashes 
when burnt, to ignition in close vessels. 
Properties. Carbon, in its uncrystallized state, is an insoluble, infusible solid, 
generally of a black colour, and without taste or smell. It burns when suffi- 
ciently heated, uniting with the oxygen of the air, and generating carbonic acid 
gas. Its sp.gr. in the solid state, apart from its pores when in mass, is 3 5; 
but with the pores included, it is only 0 44. It is a very unalterable and inde- 
structible substance, and has great power in resisting and correcting putrefac- 
tion in other bodies. When properly prepared, it possesses the property of 
destroying the colouring and odorous principles of most liquids. (See Carbo 
Animalis.) Its other physical properties difi'er according to its source, and 
peculiar state of aggregation. Its equivalent number is 6, and its symbol C. As 
a chemical element it enjoys a very extensive range of combination. It forms 
several compounds with oxygen, the principal of which are carbonic oxide, and 
carbonic and oxalic acids. With hydrogen it forms a number of compounds, 
called carbohydrogens, of which the most interesting, excluding hypothetical 
radicals, are light carburetted hydrogen or fire-damp, olefiant gas, the light 
and concrete oils of wine, and certain non-oxygenous volatile oils. With nitro- 
gen it constitutes cyanogen, the compound radical of hydrocyanic or prussic 
acid ; and united in minute proportion with iron it forms steel. 
To notice all the forms of the carbonaceous principle would be out of place 
in this work. We shall, therefore, restrict ourselves to the consideration of 
those which are officinal, namely, animal charcoal and wood charcoal. B. 
CARBO ANIMALIS. U.S. 
Animal Charcoal. 
In the British Pharmacopoeia, this substance is placed, under the names of 
Bone-Black, Ivory-Black, and Animal Charcoal, in the Appendix, among the 
substances used in the preparation of medicines. PART I. 
Carlo Animalis. 
211 
Charbon animal, Fr.; Thieriscbe Kohle, Germ.; Carbone Animale, Ital.; Carbon ani- 
mal, Span. 
The animal charcoal, employed in pharmacy and the arts, is usually obtained 
from bones, by subjecting them to a red heat in close vessels. The residue ol 
the ignition is a black matter, which, when reduced to powder, forms bone-black, 
Bometimes incorrectly called ivory-black. Ivory by carbonization will furnish a 
black, which, on account of its fineness and intensely black colour, is more es- 
teemed than the ordinary bone-black ; but it is much more expensive. 
In manufacturing bone-black, the bones, first boiled in water to separate the 
fat,* are subjected to destructive distillation in iron cylinders, connected with 
vessels which receive the ammoniacal liquor, called bone-spirit; this being a 
secondary product of the operation. When the bone-spirit ceases to come over, 
the residue is charred bone, or bone-black. Bone consists of animal matter with 
phosphate and carbonate of lime. From a new arrangement of the elements of 
the animal matter, the nitrogen and hydrogen, united as ammonia, and a part of 
the charcoal in the form of carbonic acid distil over; while the remainder of the 
charcoal is left in the cylinder, intermingled with the calcareous salts. This form 
of animal charcoal necessarily contains phosphate and carbonate of lime. 
Properties. Animal charcoal, in the form of bone-black, is a black powder, 
possessing a slightly alkaline and bitterish taste, and having a general resem- 
blance to powdered vegetable charcoal. It is, however, more dense and less 
combustible than vegetable charcoal; from which, moreover, it may be distin- 
guished by burning a small portion of it on a red-hot iron, when it will leave a 
residuum imperfectly acted on by sulphuric acid ; whereas the ashes from vege- 
table charcoal readily dissolve in this acid, forming a bitterish solution. 
Animal charcoal by no means necessarily possesses the decolorizing property; 
as this depends upon its peculiar state of aggregation. If a piece of pure animal 
matter is carbonized, it usually enters into fusion, and, from the gaseous matter 
which is extricated, becomes porous and cellular. The charcoal formed has 
generally a metallic lustre, and a colour resembling that of black lead. It has, 
however, little or no decolorizing power, even though finely pulverized. 
The decolorizing power of vegetable charcoal was first noticed by Lowitz, of 
St. Petersburg; and that of animal charcoal, by Figuier, of Montpellier, in 
1811. In 1822 the subject was ably investigated by Bussy, Payen, and Des- 
fosses. The power is generally communicated to charcoal by igniting it in close 
vessels, but not always. The kind of charcoal, for example, obtained from sub- 
stances which undergo fusion during carbonization scarcely possesses the pro- 
perty, even though it may be afterwards finely pulverized. The property in 
question is possessed to a certain extent by wood charcoal; but is developed in 
it in a much greater degree by burning it with some chemical substance, which 
may have the effect of reducing it to an extreme degree of fineness. The most 
powerful of all the charcoals for discharging colours are those obtained from 
certain animal matters, such as dried blood, hair, &c., by first carbonizing them 
in connection with carbonate of potassa, and then washing the product with 
water. Charcoal, thus prepared, seems to be reduced to a state of extremely 
minute division, and is, therefore, very porous. The next most powerful de- 
colorizing charcoal is bone-black, in which the separation of the carbonaceous 
particles is effected by the phosphate of lime present in the bone. Vegetable 
substances also may be made to yield a good charcoal for destroying colour, 
provided, before carbonization, they be well comminuted, and mixed with 
pumice stone, chalk, flint, or other similar substance in a pulverized state. 
* E. Deiss, of Paris, who manufactures bisulphuret of carbon at the moderate price of 
about five cents per pound, proposes this substance as a solvent for the fat of bones; as 
i: has the advantage of furnishing a larger and better product of fat, and of rendering the 
bones fitter for producing a good bone-black. (Chern. Gaz., Apr. 1, 1856.)—Note to the 
eleventh edition. 212 
Carlo Animalis. 
PART I. 
It results from the foregoing facts that the decolorizing power of charcoal 
depends upon a peculiar mode of aggregation of its particles, the leading char- 
acter of which is that they are isolated from one another, and thus enabled to 
present a greater extent of surface. It is on this principle that certain chemi- 
cal substances act in developing the property in question, when they are ignited, 
in a state of intimate mixture, with the substance to be charred. Thus, it is 
perceived that there is no necessary connection between the animal charcoal and 
the decolorizing power. Bone-black, for instance, has this property, not be- 
cause it is an animal charcoal, but because, in consequence of the phosphate of 
lime present in the bone, the favourable state of aggregation is imparted.* 
The following table, abridged from one drawn up by Bussy, denotes the 
relative decolorizing power of different charcoals. 
KINDS OF CHARCOAL. 
Decoloriz- 
ing power 
on Syrup. 
Decoloriz- 
ing power 
on Indigo. 
Bone-black, ----------- 
1 
1 
Bone charcoal treated with an acid, ------ 
1-6 
1-8 
Lampblack, not ignited, - -- -- -- - 
3-3 
4 
Charcoal from acetate of potassa, ------- 
4-4 
6-6 
Blood ignited with phosphate of lime, ------ 
10 
12 
Lampblack ignited with carbonate of potassa, - 
10-6 
12-2 
Blood ignited with chalk, - -- -- -- - 
11 
18 
White of egg ignited with carbonafe of potassa, - - - - 
15-5 
84 
Glue ignited with carbonate of potassa, ----- 
Bone charcoal, formed from bone deprived of phosphate of lime by 
15-5 
36 
an acid, and subsequently ignited with carbonate of potassa, - 
20 
45 
Blood ignited with carbonate of potassa, ----- 
20 
50 
E. Filhol has shown that charcoal is not the only decolorizing agent; but that 
many substances, such as iron reduced by hydrogen, sulphur, arsenic, deutoxide 
of manganese, sulphate and artificial sulphuret of lead, possess the same pro- 
perty. The property varies not only in different substances in relation to the same 
colouring matter, but in the same substance in respect to different colouring 
matters. (Ghem. Gaz., April 15, 1852.) 
In order to determine the commercial value of animal charcoal, M. Coren- 
winder has proposed to ascertain its power of absorbing lime from a solution of 
saccharate of lime of determinate strength. The value is in proportion to the 
absorbing power of the charcoal. A given weight of the charcoal to be tested 
is left in contact, for an hour, with a given volume of the solution of the sac- 
charate, taken in excess. The liquid is then filtered, and a small measure of it 
saturated with dilute sulphuric acid of known strength. The less the acid neces- 
sary for this purpose, the greater the amount of lime absorbed, and the better 
the animal charcoal. (See Ghem. Gaz., Jan. 1, 1854, p. 16.) 
Spent animal charcoal, which has been used by the sugar refiners, may have 
its decolorizing power restored by subjecting it to a weak solution of carbonate 
of potassa or of soda. In removing the colouring matter, the alkaline solution 
becomes yellow. After its action the animal charcoal must be carefully washed, 
first with boiling water, and afterwards with acidulated water. (Pelouze.) 
Animal charcoal is capable of taking the bitter principles from bitter infusions 
and tinctures, according to the experiments of Weppen; as also iodine from 
* Dr. Stenhouse divides decolorizing charcoals into three classes. First, pure charcoals, 
which, being in a state of minute division, decolorize by their porosity alone. Second, those 
which, like aluminized charcoal and artificial bone-black, decolorize solely bf the bases 
they contain, acting as mordants. (Seepage 216.) Third, those which, like bone-black, de- 
colorize, partly by the mineral matter, and partly by the minutely divided charcoal they 
contain. (Pharm. Journ., Jan. 1857, p. 366.)—Note to the eleventh edition. PART I. 
Carbo Animalis.—Carbo Ligni. 
liquids which contain it in solution, as observed by Lassaigne. Its power, how- 
ever, of acting on solutions and chemical compounds is much more decided k 
its purified state, as shown by both Warington and Weppen. In this state, it 
takes a number of salts from their aqueous solutions, and even converts chromate 
of potassa into the carbonate. (See Garbo Animalis Purificatus.) 
Bone-black consists of about 90 per cent, of phosphate and carbonate of lime 
and 10 per cent, of charcoal. 
Pharmaceutical Uses, &c. Animal charcoal is used in pharmacy for decolor- 
izing vegetable principles, such as gallic acid, quinia, morphia, veratria, &c., and 
in the arts, principally for clarifying syrups in sugar refining, and for depriving 
spirits distilled from grain of the peculiar volatile oil, called fusel oil, which 
imparts to them an unpleasant smell and taste, as first distilled. (See page 71.) 
The manner in which it is used as a decolorizer is to mix it with the substance 
to be decolorized, and to allow the mixture to stand for some time. The char- 
coal unites with the colouring matter, and the solution by filtration is obtained 
white and transparent. Its use, however, in decolorizing the organic alkalies 
and other vegetable principles, no doubt causes a loss by absorption; since it 
has been shown by the experiments of M. Lebourdais, mentioned under the 
head of purified animal charcoal, that several of these principles may be obtained 
by the sole action of charcoal. For most pharmaceutical operations, and for use 
as an antidote, animal charcoal must be purified by muriatic acid from phosphate 
and carbonate of lime. (See Garbo Animalis Purificatus.) In the U. S. formula 
for sulphate of quinia, however, it is employed without purification. (See Quiniae 
Sulphas.) According to Guthe, a German chemist, bone charcoal, without purifi- 
cation, is to be preferred as a decolorizer, in all cases in which the calcareous 
salts exert no injurious effect. 
Pharm. Uses. In preparing Cinchonias Sulphas, US.; Morphias, U.S.; Quiniae 
Sulphas, U. S.; Santoninum, U. S. 
Off. Prep. Carbo Animalis Purificatus. B 
CARBO LIGNI. U.S.,Br. 
Charcoal. 
Charcoal prepared from wood. U. S. Wood charred by exposure to a red heat 
without access of air. Br. 
Vegetable charcoal; Charbon de bois, Fr.; Holzkohle, Germ,.; Carbone di legno, Ital.; 
Carbon de lena, Span. 
Preparation on the Large Scale. Billets of wood are piled in a conical 
form, and covered with earth and sod to prevent the free access of air; several 
holes being left at the bottom, and one at the top of the pile, in order to pro- 
duce a draught to commence the combustion. The wood is then kindled from 
the bottom. In a little while the hole at the top is closed, and, after the ignition 
is found to have pervaded the whole pile, those at the bottom are stopped also. 
The combustion taking place with a smothered flame, the volatile portions of 
the wood, consisting of hydrogen and oxygen, are dissipated; while the carbon, 
in the form of charcoal, is left. 
In this process for the carbonization of wood, all the volatile products are 
dissipated; and a portion of the charcoal itself is lost by combustion. Wood, 
thus carbonized, yields not more than 17 or 18 per cent, of charcoal. A better 
method is to char the wood in iron cylinders, when it yields from 22 to 23 parts 
in 100 of excellent charcoal; and, at the same time, the means are afforded for 
collecting the volatile products, consisting of pyroligneous acid, empyreumatic 
oil, and tar. This process for obtaining charcoal has been described under 
another head. (See Acidum Acelicum.) A method of preparing charcoal by 214 
Garbo Ligni. 
PART I. 
subjecting wood to over-heated steam has been invented by M. Violette. When 
the temperature of the steam is 572°, the wood is converted into a peculiar 
charcoal, called red charcoal, which is intermediate in its qualities between 
wood and ordinary charcoal. When the temperature is lower, the carbonization 
is incomplete; when higher, the product is black charcoal. The steam process 
yields a uniform charcoal for a given temperature, which may be easily regu- 
lated, and a product about double that obtained in closed cylinders. Charcoal, 
prepared in closed cylinders, contains ten times as much ash as that made by 
the ordinary process. Charcoal contains carbon, in proportion to the tempera- 
ture at which it is formed; varying from 65 per cent, when made at 482°, to 
80 per cent, when made at 752°. The gaseous matter present is always in- 
versely as the temperature of carbonization. Thus, for charcoal made at 572°, 
it is one-third of its weight; at 662°, one-fourth of its weight. (SeeJourn. de 
Pharm., Juillet, 1851, p. 35.) 
Preparation for Medicinal Use. M. Belloc recommends charcoal for this 
purpose to be obtained from poplar shoots, cut at the time the sap rises, and 
deprived of their bark. The carbonization should be performed in cast-iron 
vessels at a red-white heat. The product is a light and brilliant charcoal, which 
must be purified by being macerated for three or four days in water, frequently 
renewed. It is then dried, powdered, and placed in bottles, which should be 
well stopped. The charcoal most esteemed in Philadelphia, for medicinal pur- 
poses, is that prepared by the Messrs. Dupont, near Wilmington, Delaware, for 
the manufacture of gunpowder. It is made from young willow shoots of two or 
three years’ growth. 
Properties. Charcoal is a black, shining, brittle, porous substance, tasteless 
and inodorous, and insoluble in water. It is a good conductor of electricity, 
but a bad one of heat. It possesses the remarkable property of absorbing many 
times its own bulk of certain gases. When exposed to the air after ignition, 
it increases rapidly in weight, absorbing from 12 to 14 per cent, of moisture. 
As ordinarily prepared, it contains the incombustible part of the wood, amount- 
ing to 1 or 2 per cent., which is left as ashes when the charcoal is burned. These 
may be removed by digesting the charcoal in diluted muriatic acid, and after- 
wards washing it thoroughly with boiling water. 
Medical Properties, &c. Powdered charcoal is disinfectant and absorbent. 
It is employed with advantage in diarrhoea as an absorbent, and in dyspepsia 
with fetid breath and eructations. It was given in dysentery by the late Dr. 
Robert Jackson, who found it to have the effect of soothing the patient, and 
improving the character and consistence of the stools. It is also useful, in the 
form of injection, in putrid discharges from the uterus. M. Belloc recommends 
it strongly in gastralgia, and especially pyrosis, in which, if it fails to remove 
the disease, it abates the pain, nausea, and vomiting; and his observations have 
been confirmed by a committee of the French Academy of Medicine. As a rem- 
edy in obstinate constipation, Dr. Daniel, of Savannah, speaks of it in high 
terms. He also found it useful in the nausea and constipation of pregnancy. On 
the other hand, some practitioners have found charcoal to confine the bowels. 
Dr. Wilson, of New Zealand, speaks highly of it in the diarrhoea of measles, 
and in epidemic cholera. Dr. Newman recommends it as a dressing to wounds 
and ulcers. Mr. Wormald, of St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, has made a useful 
application of the disinfecting power of dry charcoal, in what he calls the char- 
coal quilt. This consists of two sheets of cotton wadding, quilted together in 
small segments, with a tolerably thick layer of powdered charcoal between them. 
The quilts, thus prepared, may be of any size, so as to fit a gangrenous sore or 
stump. Its use as an ingredient of poultices is noticed under Cataplasma Gar- 
bonis. Several of its varieties are used as tooth-powder. Those generally pre- 
ferred are the charcoals of the cocoa-nut shell and of bread. It is said that ?har* PART I. 
Carlo Ligni. 
215 
coal proves useful in preserving the teeth by absorbing the acid sometimes mor- 
bidly present in the mucus of the mouth. The dose of charcoal varies from one 
to four teaspoonfuls or more. Dr. Daniel gave it, in his case of constipation, 
iu doses of a tablespoonful, repeated every half hour. 
Schonbein has observed the power of charcoal to absorb chlorine, iodine, and 
bromine, both in the gaseous or vaporous state, and in aqueous solution. He has 
also noticed its deoxidizing effects, when shaken with certain salts of peroxides, 
reducing them to salts of protoxides. The power of charcoal to precipitate 
gold and other metals on its surface has long been known. 
Charcoal has recently been employed with good effect, as a deodorizer, in dis- 
secting rooms, placed in open pans in different parts of the room. It has the 
advantage over the chlorides that it has no smell. When it loses its effect, it re- 
quires merely to be recalcined. Water, intended for long voyages, is preserved 
sweet by having a small quantity of powdered charcoal added to each cask. 
Dr. Stenhouse has devised a process for combining alumina with common 
vegetable charcoal, forming what he calls aluminized charcoal, which is an 
economical substitute for purified animal charcoal, and equally efficacious as a 
decolorizer. It is prepared by digesting finely powdered charcoal with sufficient 
of the solution of sulphate of alumina to give an impregnation of D5 per cent, 
of alumina. The whole is evaporated to dryness, and ignited in a covered Hes- 
sian crucible, until the water and acid have been dissipated. Alumiuized char- 
coal is perfectly black, though thoroughly impregnated with anhydrous alumina, 
and only requires to be carefully pulverized to be ready for use. (Pharm. Journ., 
Jan. 1851, p. 364.) On similar principles, Dr. Stenhouse prepares what he calls 
artificial hone-black, by impregnating powdered wood charcoal with 7 -5 per cent, 
of phosphate of lime, by digesting it in a solution of this salt in muriatic acid, 
evaporating to dryness, and igniting in covered vessels. This charcoal decolor- 
izes well, but can only be used for neutral solutions. 
Charcoal may act either as an oxidizer or deoxidizer; and these contrary 
powers seem to depend upon its having for oxyge.n a medium affinity, which 
enables it to take that element from some bodies, and to yield it to others. 
Thus, it is known to reduce several oxides; while, on the other hand, it power- 
fully oxidizes animal matter. The bodies of two dogs, having been laid in an 
open box on a bed of charcoal, a few inches deep, and covered by the same 
material, were kept by Mr. John Turnbull, of Glasgow, for six months in his 
laboratory, without emitting any perceptible effluvium; and, when they were 
examined at the end of this time, scarcely anything remained but the bones. 
Dr. Stenhouse, who relates this experiment, has confirmed it by observations of 
his own, and believes that the animal matter, thus treated, undergoes putrefac- 
tion; though the products, by their rapid oxidation, are prevented from con- 
taminating the air. He, therefore, considers charcoal not to be antiseptic, but 
the very opposite. Facts are yet wanting to clear up this subject. (Chem. Gaz., 
April, 1854, p. 132.) 
The study of the absorbent and oxidizing properties of charcoal has led Dr. 
Stenhouse to apply it to the purpose of preventing the access of noxious efflu- 
via to the lungs in respiration. This object he proposes to effect by covering 
the nose and mouth with what he calls the charcoal respirator. The instrument 
consists of a layer of coarsely powdered charcoal, a quarter of an inch thick, 
between two sheets of silvered wire gauze, covered with thin woollen cloth, by 
means of which the temperature of the inspired air is greatly increased. The 
frame is made of thin sheet copper; but the edges, of lead padded and lined 
with velvet, so as to fit the lower part of the face. Dr. Stenhouse considers his 
respirator to act as an air filter, and to be peculiarly adapted to protect the 
wearer against infectious diseases. (Pharm. Journ., Jan. 1855, p. 328.) This in- 
strument must not be confounded with Jeffrey’s wire ventilator, which is intended 
solely to warm the air before entering the lungs. 216 
Cardamomum. 
PART I. 
Phariu. Uses. In the preparation of Acidum Sulphurosumj Potassii Bromi- 
dum, Br.; Potassii Iodidum. 
Off. Prep. Cataplasma Carbonis, Br. B. 
CARDAMOMUM. U.S.,Br. 
Cardamom. 
The fruit of Elettaria Cardamomum. U.S. The seeds, contained in their cap- 
sules, which are to be removed when the seeds are employed. Br. 
Petit cardamome, Fr.; Kleine Cardamomen, Germ.; Cardamomo minore, Ital.; Carda- 
momo menor, Span.; Ebil, Arab.; Kakelah seghar, Persian; Capalaga, Malay; Gujaratii 
elachi, Hindoost. 
The subject of Cardamom has been involved in some confusion and uncer- 
tainty, both in its commercial and botanical relations. The name has been ap- 
plied to the aromatic capsules of various Indian plants belonging to the family 
of Scitaminem. Three varieties have long been designated by the several titles 
of the lesser, middle, and larger—cardamomum minus, medium, and majus; 
but these terms have been used differently by different writers, so that their pre- 
cise signification remained doubtful. To the late Dr. Pereira we are mainly in- 
debted for the clearing up of this confusion. It is well known that the lesser 
cardamom of most writers is the variety recognised by the Pharmacopoeias, 
and generally kept in the shops. The other varieties, though circulating to a 
greater or less extent in European and Indian commerce, are little known in 
this country.* The following remarksIiave reference exclusively to the genu- 
ine Malabar or officinal cardamom. 
* The following is a sketch of the non-officinal cardamoms, chiefly condensed from the 
account of Pereira. 
1. Ceylon Cardamom. This has been denominated variously cardamomum medium, carda- 
momum majus, and cardamomum longum, and is sometimes termed in English commerce wild 
cardamom. It is the large cardamom of Gu'ibourt. In the East it is sometimes called grains 
of Paradise; but it is distinct from the product known with us by that name. It is derived 
from a plant cultivated in Candy, in the island of Ceylon, which belongs to the same genus 
as that producing the officinal cardamom, and is designated by Sir James Edward Smith 
Elettaria major. This plant was described by Pereira in the Pharmaceutical Journal and 
Transactions (ii. 388). The fruit is a lanceolate-oblong, acutely triangular capsule, some- 
what curved, about an inch and a half long and four lines broad, with flat and ribbed 
sides, tough and coriaceous, brownish or yellow ash-coloured, having frequently at one 
end the long, cylindrical, three-lobed calyx, and at the other the fruit-stalk. It is three- 
celled, and contains angular, rugged, yellowish-red seeds, of a peculiar fragrant odour, 
and spicy taste. Its effects are analogous to those of the officinal cardamom. 
2. Round Cardamom. This is probably the v A of Dioscorides, and the Amomi uva 
of Pliny, and is believed to be the fruit of Amnmum Cardamomum (Willd.), growing in 
Sumatra, Java, and other East India islands. The capsules are usually smaller than a 
cherry, roundish or somewhat ovate, with three convex sides, more or less striated longi- 
tudinally, yellowish or brownish-white, and sometimes reddish, wTith brown, angular, 
cuneiform, shrivelled seeds, which have an aromatic camphorous flavour. They are some- 
times, though very rarely, met with connected together in their native clusters, consti- 
tuting the amomutn racemosum, or amorne en grappes of the French Codex. They are similar 
in medicinal properties to the officinal cardamom, but are seldom used except in the south- 
ern parts of Europe. 
8. Java Cardamom. The plant producing this variety is supposed to be the Amomum maxi- 
mum of Roxburgh, growing in Java and other Malay islands, and said to be cultivated in 
the mountains of Nepaul. The product of the latter site is called Nepaul or Bengal carda- 
moms in the East. The capsules are oval, or oval-oblong, often somewhat ovate, from eight 
to fifteen lines long, and from four to eight broad, usually flattened on one side and con- 
vex on the other, sometimes curved, three-valved, and occasionally imperfectly three-lobed, 
of a dirty grayish-brown colour, and coarse fibrous appearance. They are strongly ribbed, 
and, when soaked in water, exhibit from nine to thirteen ragged membranous wings, which 
distinguish them from all other varieties. The seeds have a feebly aromatic taste and emeu. PART I. 
Cardamomum. 
217 
Linnaeus confounded, under the name of Amomum Gardamomum, two dif- 
ferent vegetables—the genuine plant of Malabar, and another growing in Java. 
These were separated by Willdenow, who conferred on the former Sonnerat’s 
title of Amomum repens, while he retained the original name for the latter 
though not the true cardamom plant. In the tenth volume of the Linn. Trans- 
actions, A. D. 1811, Mr. White, a British Army Surgeon in India, published 
a very minute description of the Malabar plant, which he had enjoyed frequent 
opportunities of examining in its native state. From this description, Dr. Maton 
inferred that the plant, according to Roscoe’s arrangement of the Scitaminem, 
could not be considered an Amomum ; and, as he was unable to attach it to any 
other known genus, he proposed to construct a new one with the name of Elet- 
taria, derived from elettari, or elatari, the Malabar name of this vegetable. Sir 
James Smith afterwards suggested the propriety of naming the new genus Ma- 
tonia, in honour of Dr. Maton; and the latter title, having been adopted by 
Roscoe, obtained a place in former editions of the London and IT. S. Pharma- 
copoeias. The celebrated Dr. Roxburgh described the Malabar cardamom plant 
as an Alpinia, with the specific name Cardamomum. As doubts were enter- 
tained of the necessity for the new genus proposed by Maton, Roxburgh was 
followed in the London and U. S. Pharmacopoeias, and the fruit was referred 
This variety of cardamom affords but a very small proportion of volatile oil, is altogether 
of inferior quality, and, when imported into London, is usually sent to the continent. 
4. Madagascar Cardamom. This is the Cardamomum majus of Geiger and some other 
authors, and is thought to be the fruit of Amomum angustifolium of Sonnerat, which grows 
in marshy grounds in Madagascar. The capsule is ovate, pointed, flattened on one side, 
striated, with a broad circular scar at the bottom surrounded by an elevated, notched, 
and corrugated margin. The seeds have an aromatic flavour analogous to that of the offi- 
cinal cardamom. 
5. Grains of Paradise. Grana Paradisi. Under this name, and that of Guinea grains, and 
Malegueta or MaUaguetta pepper, are kept in the shops small seeds of a round or ovate form, 
often angular and somewhat cuneiform, minutely rough, brown externally, white within, 
of a feebly .aromatic odour when rubbed between the fingers, and of a strongly hot and 
peppery taste. Two kinds of them are known in the English market, one, larger, plumper, 
and more warty, with a short conical projecting tuft of pale fibres on the umbilicus; the 
other, smaller and smoother, and without the fibrous tuft. The latter are the most com- 
mon. It is probable that one of the varieties is produced by Amomum Grana Paradisi of 
Sir J. E. Smith, and the other by Roscoe’s Amomum Melegueta. (Pereira’s Mat Med., 3d 
ed., p. 1134.) Dr. W. F. Daniell, who has published (Pharm. Journ. and Trans., xiv. 312 
and 356) an elaborate paper on the Atnoma of Western Africa, states that the true Malla- 
guetta pepper is obtained exclusively from varieties of the same species, to which belong 
the Amomum Grana Paradisi of Afzelius, and the A. Melegueta of Roscoe; while the A. 
Grana Paradisi of Sir J. E. Smith is a different plant, and yields a different product. These 
grains are imported from Guinea, and other parts of the western coast of Africa. Similar 
grains are taken to England from Demarara, where they are obtained from a plant culti- 
vated by the negroes, supposed to have been brought from Africa, and believed by Dr. 
Pereira to be the Amomum Melegueta of Roscoe. (Ibid., vi. 412.) At the international ex- 
hibition of 1862, at London, the author noticed a specimen of similar grains, under the 
name of grains of paradise, sent from the island of Trinidad. Their effects on the system 
are analogous to those of pepper; but they are seldom used except in veterinai’y practice, 
and to give artificial strength to spirits, wine, beer, and vinegar. In the same journal 
(ii. 443), Dr. Pereira points out seven distinct scitamineous fruits, to which the name of 
grains of paradise has been applied by different authors. 
Other products of different Scitaminese, which have received the name of cardamom, 
are described by Pereira; but the above are all that are known in commerce, or likely to 
be brought into our drug markets. 
In the Pharm. Journ. and Trans, (xiv. 352), and in the same journal for October, 1861 
(p. 207), and for September, 1862 (p 110), are papers by Mr. Daniel Hanbury on some 
rare kinds of cardamom of Siam, Cochin-China, Tonquin, and China, in which new in- 
formation is given on varieties already known, and others are noticed which appear hitherto 
to Lave escaped the attention of European writers; but as these are of little practical 
interest to American pharmaceutists, we must content ourselves with referring these, who 
wish to investigate especially the subject of the cardamoms and analogous products, to 
the sources of information alluded to. 218 
Cardamomum. 
PART L 
to A]piiiia Cardamomum. This decision, however, has been revised in the latest 
edition of the U. S., and in the British Pharmacopoeia, in which the plant is en- 
titled Elettaria Cardamomum. Finally, Roscoe has arranged it with the aban- 
doned genus Renealmia of Linnaeus, which he has restored. 
Elettaria. Sex. Syst. Monandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Scitamineae. 
Brown. Zingiberaceae. Bindley. 
Gen. Ch. Corolla with the tube filiform and the inner limb one-lipped. An- 
ther naked. Capsule often berried, three-celled, three-valved. Seeds numerous, 
arillate. Blume. 
Elettaria Cardamomum. Maton.—Alpinia Cardamomum. Roxburgh.—■ 
Amornum Repens. Sonnerat; Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 9.—Renealmia Cardamo- 
mum. Roscoe, Monandrous Plants. Figured in Linn. Trans, x. 248, and 
Carson’s Illust. of Med. Bot. ii. 55. The cardamom plant has a tuberous hori- 
zontal root or rhizoma, furnished with numerous fibres, and sending up from 
eight to twenty erect, simple, smooth, green and shining, perennial stems, which 
rise from six to twelve feet in height, and bear alternate sheathing leaves. 
These are from nine inches to two feet long, from one to five inches broad, 
elliptical-lanceolate, pointed, entire, smooth and dark-green on the upper sur- 
face, glossy and pale sea-green beneath, with strong midribs, and short foot- 
stalks. The flower-stalk proceeds from the base of the stem, and lies upon the 
ground, with the flowers arranged in a panicle. The calyx is monopliyllous, 
tubular, and toothed at the margin; the corolla monophyllous and funnel- 
shaped, with the inferior border unilabiate, three-lobed, and spurred at the 
base. The fruit is a three-celled capsule, containing many seeds. 
This valuable plant is a native of the mountains of Malabar, where it springs 
up spontaneously in the forests after the removal of the undergrowth. From 
time immemorial, great numbers of the natives have derived a livelihood from 
its cultivation. It begins to yield fruit at the end of the fourth year, and con- 
tinues to bear for several years afterwards. The capsules when ripe are picked 
from the fruit-stems, dried over a gentle fire, aud separated by rubbing with the 
hands from the footstalks and adhering calyx. 
Thus prepared, they are ovate-oblong, from three to ten lines long, from two 
to four thick, three-sided with rounded angles, obtusely pointed at both ends, 
longitudinally wrinkled, and of a yellowish-white colour. The seeds which they 
contain are small, angular, irregular, rough as if embossed upon their surface, of 
a brown colour, easily reduced to powder, and thus separable from the capsular 
covering, which, though slightly aromatic, is much less so than the seeds, and 
should be rejected when the medicine is given in substance. The seeds constitute 
about 74 parts by weight in the hundred. According to Pereira, three varieties 
are distinguished in British commerce:—1. the shorts, from three to six lines 
long, from two to three broad, browner and more coarsely ribbed, and more 
highly esteemed than the other varieties; 2. the long-longs, from seven lines to 
an inch in length by two or three lines in breadth, elongated, and somewhat 
acuminate; and 3. the short-longs, which differ from the second variety in 
being somewhat shorter and less pointed. The odour of cardamom is fragrant, 
the taste warm, slightly pungent, and highly aromatic. These properties are 
extracted by water and alcohol, but more readily by the latter. They depend 
on a volatile oil, which rises with water in distillation. The seeds contain, ac- 
cording to Trommsdorff, 4 6 per cent, of volatile oil, 10‘4 of fixed oil, 2-5 of a 
salt of potassa mixed with a colouring principle, 3 0 of starch, L8 of azotized 
mucilage, 0'4 of yellow colouring matter, and 77'3 of ligneous fibre. The vola- 
tile oil is colourless, of an agreeable and very penetrating odour, and of a 
strong, aromatic, burning, camphorous, and slightly bitter taste. Its sp. gr. is 
0-945. It cannot be kept long without undergoing change, and finally, even 
though excluded from the air, loses its peculiar odour and taste. (Trommsdcrff, PART I. 
Cardamomum.—Carota. 
219 
Annal. der Pharm., July, 1834.) If ether be allowed to percolate through the 
powdered seeds, and the liquor obtained be deprived of the ether by evapora- 
tion, a light greenish-brown fluid remains, consisting almost exclusively of the 
volatile and fixed oils. It has the odour of cardamom, and keeps better than the 
oil obtained by distillation. (Am. Journ. of Pliarm., xxi. 116.) The seeds should 
be powdered only when wanted for immediate use; as they retain their aromatic 
properties best while contained in the capsules. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Cardamom is a warm and grateful aromatic, 
less heating and stimulating than some others belonging to the class, and very 
useful as an adjuvant or corrective of cordial, tonic, and purgative medicines. 
Throughout the East Indies it is largely consumed as a condiment. It was 
known to the ancients, and derived its name from the Greek language. In this 
country it is employed chiefly as an ingredient in compound preparations. 
Off. Prep. Extractum Colocynthidis Compositum; Pulvis Aromaticus; Tinc- 
tura Cardamomi, U. S.; Tinct. Cardamomi Comp.; Tinct. Gentian® Comp.; 
Tinct. Ilhei; Yinum Aloes. W. 
CAROTA. U. S. Secondary. 
Carrot Seed. 
The fruit of Daucus Carota. U. S. 
Carotte, Fr.; Gemeine Molire, Gelbe Rube, Germ,.; Carota, Ital; Lanahoria, Span. 
Daucus. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Digynia.—Nat. Ord. Umbellifer® or Apiacese. 
Gen. Gh. Corolla somewhat rayed. Florets of the disk abortive. Fruit hispid 
with hairs. Willd. 
Daucus Carota. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1389; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 130, t. 50. 
The wild carrot has a biennial spindle-shaped root, and an annual, round, fur- 
rowed, hairy stem, which divides into long, erect, flower-bearing branches, and 
rises two or three feet in height. The leaves are hairy, and stand on footstalks 
nerved on their under side. The lower are large and tripinnate, the upper, 
smaller and less compound; in both, the leaflets are divided into narrow pointed 
segments. The flowers are small, white, and disposed in many-rayed compouud 
umbels, which are at first flat on the top and spreading, but, when the seeds are 
formed, contract so as to present a concave cup-like surface. A sterile flower, of 
a deep-purple colour, is often observable in the centre of the umbel. The general 
involucrum is composed of several leaves, divided into long narrow segments; 
the partial is more simply. The petals are five, unequal, and cordate. The fruit 
consists of two plano-convex hispid portions, connected by their flat surfaces. 
Daucus Carota is exceedingly common in this country, growing along fences, 
and in neglected fields, which, in the months of June and July, are sometimes 
white over their whole surface with its flowers. It grows wild also in Europe, 
from which it is supposed by some botanists to have been introduced into the 
United States. The well-known garden carrot is the same plant, somewhat 
altered by cultivation. The officinal portions are the fruit of the wild, and the 
root of the cultivated variety. 
1. Carrot Seed. Strictly speaking, these should be called the fruit. They 
are very light, of a brownish colour, of an oval shape, flat on one side, and con- 
vex on the other, and on their convex surface present four longitudinal ridges, 
to which stiff, whitish hairs or bristles are attached. They have an aromatic 
odour, and a warm, pungent, and bitterish taste. By distillation they yield a 
pale-yellow volatile oil, upon which their virtues chiefly depend. Boiling water 
extracts their active properties. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Carrot seeds are moderately excitant and 
diuretic, and are employed in chronic nephritic affections, and in dropsy. As 220 
Carota. 
PART I. 
they posser.,® the cordial properties of the aromatics, they are especially adapted 
to cases in which the stomach is enfeebled. They are said to afford relief in the 
strangury from blisters. From thirty grains to a drachm of the bruised seeds 
may be given at a dose, or a pint of the infusion, containing the virtues of half 
an ounce or an ounce of the seeds, may be taken during the day. The whole 
umbel is often used instead of the seeds alone. 
2. Carrot Root. The root of the wild carrot is whitish, hard, coriaceous, 
branched, of a strong smell, and an acrid, disagreeable taste; that of the culti- 
vated variety is reddish, fleshy, thick, conical, rarely branched, of a pleasant odour, 
and a peculiar sweet, mucilaginous taste. The constituents of the root arecrys- 
tallizable and uncrystallizable sugar, a little starch, extractive, gluten, albumen, 
volatile oil, vegetable jelly or pectin, malic acid, saline matters, lignin, and a 
peculiar crystallizable, ruby-red, neuter principle, without odour or taste, called 
carotin. The substance called vegetable jelly was by some considered a modifica- 
tion of gum or mucilage, combined with a vegetable acid. Braconnot found it to 
be a peculiar principle, and gave it the name of pectin from the Greek (mjzrtc), 
expressive of its characteristic property of gelatinizing. It exists more or less 
in all vegetables, and is abundant in certain fruits and roots from which jellies 
are prepared. It may be separated from the juice of fruits by alcohol, which pre- 
cipitates it in the form of a jelly. This being washed with weak alcohol and dried, 
yields a semi-transparent substance bearing some resemblance to ichthyocolla. 
Immersed in 100 parts of cold water, it swells like bassorin, and ultimately 
forms a homogeneous jelly. With a larger proportion it exhibits a mucilaginous 
consistence. It is less acted on by boiling than by cold water. When perfectly 
pure it is tasteless, and has no effect on vegetable blues. A striking peculiarity 
is that, by the agency of a fixed alkali or alkaline earthy base, it is instantly 
converted into pectic acid, which unites with the base to form a pectate. This 
may be decomposed by the addition of an acid, which unites with the base, and 
separates the pectic acid. Pectic acid thus obtained is in the form of a colour- 
less jelly, slightly acidulous, with the property of reddening litmus paper, 
scarcely soluble in cold water, more soluble in boiling water, and forming with 
the latter a solution, which, though it does not become solid on cooling, is co- 
agulated by alcohol, lime-water, acids, or salts, and even by sugar if allowed to 
stand for some time. With the alkalies it forms salts, capable of gelatinizing; 
with the earths and metallic oxides, insoluble salts. Braconnot thinks that pectic 
acid exists in many plants already formed. M. Fremy found that pectin results, 
in fruits, from the reaction of acids upon a peculiar insoluble substance they con- 
tain when immature, called by him pectose; and that pectin is changed'into 
pectic acid not only by alkalies, but also by vegetable albumen. 
Medical Properties and Uses. The wild root possesses the same properties 
with the seeds, and may be used for the same purposes. That of the garden 
plant has acquired much reputation as an external application to phagedenic, 
sloughing, and cancerous ulcers, the fetor of which it is supposed to correct, 
while it sometimes changes the character of the diseased action. It is also use- 
ful in the ulcers which follow fevers. The root is brought to the proper con- 
sistence by scraping. In this state it retains a portion of the active principles 
of the plant, which render it somewhat stimulant. Boiled and mashed, as usu- 
ally recommended, the root is perfectly mild, and fit only to form emollient 
cataplasms.* W. 
* Carrot. Ointment. The following formula for this ointment has been handed to us by 
Professor Procter, who has long been in the habit of preparing it. Take of grated carrot 
root half a pound, lard a pound, wax four ounces. Melt the lard and wax, add the carrot 
root, evaporate with a moderate heat the moisture of the root, and strain. It may be used 
in excoriated or ulcerated surfaces, requiring a gentle stimulation.—Note to the tenth edition. part i. 
Carthamus.—Carum. 
221 
CARTHAMUS. U.S. Secondary. 
Safflower. 
The flowers of Carthamus tinctorius. TJ.S. 
Fleurs de carthame, Safran batard, Fr.; Farber Saffor, Germ.; Cartamo, Ital., Span. 
Carthamus. Sex. Syst. Syngenesia iEqualis. —Nat. Ord. Composite Cyna- 
rece. Be Gand. Cynaraceae. Bindley. 
Gen. Gh. Receptacle paleaceous, setose. Calyx ovate, imbricated, with ovate 
scales, leafy at the end. Seed-down paleaceous, hairy, or none. Willd. 
Carthamus tinctorius. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 1706. The dyers' saffron or 
safflower is an annual plant, with a smooth, erect stem, somewhat branched at 
top, and a foot or two in height. The leaves are alternate, sessile, ovate, acute, 
entire, and furnished with spiny teeth. The flowers are compound, in large, 
terminal, solitary heads. The florets are of an orange-red colour, with a funnel- 
shaped corolla, of which the tube is long, slender, and cylindrical, and the border 
divided into five equal, lanceolate, narrow segments. 
The plant is a native of India, the Levant, and Egypt, and is cultivated in 
those countries, as well as in various parts of Europe and America. The florets 
are the part employed. They are brought to us chiefly from the ports of the 
Mediterranean. Considerable quantities are produced in this country, and sold 
as American saffron. 
Safflower in mass is of a red colour, diversified by the yellowness of the fila- 
ments contained within the floret. It has a peculiar slightly aromatic odour, 
and a scarcely perceptible bitterness. Among its ingredients are two colouring 
substances—one red, insoluble in water, slightly soluble in alcohol, very soluble 
in alkaline liquids, and called carthamine, or carthamic acid by Dobereiner, 
who found it to possess acid properties; the other yellow, and soluble in water. 
It is the former which renders safflower useful as a dye-stuff. Carthamine, mixed 
with finely powdered talc, forms the cosmetic powder called rouge. For more 
detailed information in relation to these principles, the reader is referred to the 
Journal de Pharmacie (3e ser., iii. 203). 
These flowers are sometimes fraudulently mixed with saffron, which they re- 
semble in colour, but from which they may be distinguished by their tubular 
form, and the yellowish style and filaments which they enclose. 
Medical Properties. In large doses carthamus is said to be laxative; and, 
administered in the state of warm infusion, it proves somewhat diaphoretic. It 
is used in domestic practice, as a substitute for saffron, in measles, scarlatina, and 
other exanthematous diseases, in order to promote the eruption. An infusion, 
made in the proportion of two drachms to a pint of boiling water, is usually 
employed, and given without restriction as to quantity. W. 
CARUM. TJ.S. 
Caraway. 
The fruit of Carum Carui. TJ. S. 
Off. Syn. CARUI. Carum Carui. The fruit, dried. Br. 
Carvi, Fr., Ital.; Gemeiner Kummel, Germ.; Alcaravea, Span. 
Carum. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Digynia.—Nat. Ord. Umbelliferae or Apiacese. 
Gen. Gh. Fruit ovate-oblong, striated. Involucre one-leafed. Petals keeled, 
mtrexed-emarginate. Willd. 
Carum Carui. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1470; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 102, t. 41. 
This plant is biennial and umbelliferous, with a spindle-shaped, fleshy, whitish 
root, and an erect stem, about two feet in height, branching above, and furnished Carum.—Caryophyllus. 
PART I. 
with doubly pinnate, deeply incised leaves, the segments of which are linear and 
pointed. The flowers are small and white, and terminate the branches of the 
stem in erect umbels, which are accompanied with an involucre, consisting some- 
times of three or four leaflets, sometimes of one only, and are destitute of par- 
tial involucre. 
The caraway plant is a native of Europe, growing wild in meadows and pas- 
tures, and cultivated in many places. It has been introduced into this country. 
The flowers appear in May and June, and the seeds, which are not perfected till 
the second year, ripen in August. The root, when improved by culture, resembles 
the parsnep, and is used as food in the north of Europe. The seeds are the part 
used in medicine. They are collected by cutting down the plant, and threshing 
it on a cloth. Our markets are supplied partly from Europe, partly from our 
own gardens. The American seeds are usually rather smaller than the German. 
Caraway seeds (half-fruits) are about two lines in length, slightly curved, 
witli five longitudinal ridges, which are of a light-yellowish colour, while the 
intervening spaces are dark-brown. They have a pleasant aromatic smell, and 
a sweetish, warm, spicy taste. These properties depend on an essential oil, 
which they afford largely by distillation. The residue is insipid. They yield 
their virtues readily to alcohol, and more slowly to water. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Caraway is a pleasant stomachic and car- 
minative, occasionally used in flatulent colic, and as an adjuvant or corrective 
of other medicines. The dose in substance is from a scruple to a drachm. An 
infusion may be prepared by adding two drachms of the seeds to a pint of boil- 
ing water. The volatile oil, however, is most employed. (See Oleum Gari.) 
The seeds are baked in cakes, to which they communicate an agreeable flavour, 
while they stimulate the digestive organs. 
Off. Prep. Aqua Carui, Br.; Confectio Piperis, Br.; Oleum Cari, U. S.; 
Tinctura Cardamomi Composita; Tinct. Sennae, Br. W. 
CARYOPHYLLUS. U. S. 
Cloves. 
The uhexpanded flowers of Caryophyllus aromaticus. U. S. 
Off. Syn. CARYOPHYLLUM. Caryophyllus aromaticus. The unexpanded 
flower-bud, dried. Br. 
Girofle, Clous de Girofles, Fr.; Gewurznelken, Germ.; Garofani, Ital.; Clavos de es- 
picia, Span.; Cravo da India, Portuguese; Kruidnagel, Dutch; Kerunfel, Arab. 
Caryophyllus. Sex. Syst. Icosandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Myrtaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Tube of the calyx cylindrical; limb, four-parted. Petals four, ad- 
hering by their ends in a sort of calyptra. Stamens distinct, arranged in four 
parcels in a quadrangular fleshy hollow, near the teeth of the calyx. Ovary 
two-celled, with about twenty ovules in each cell. Berry one or two-celled, one 
or two-seeded. Seeds cylindrical, or half-ovate. Cotyledons thick, fleshy, con- 
vex externally, sinuous in various ways internally. Bindley. De Gand. 
Cari/ophyllus aromaticus. Linn. Sp. 735 ; De Cand. Prodrom. iii. 202; 
Carson, Must, of Med. Bot. i. 43, pi. 37.—Eugenia caryophyllata. Willd. 
Sp. Plant, ii. 965; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 538, t. 193. This small tree is one 
of the most elegant of those inhabiting the islands of India. It has a pyramidal 
form, is always green, and is adorned throughout the year with a succession of 
beautiful rosy flowers. The stem is of hard wood, and covered with a smooth, 
grayish bark. The leaves are about four inches in length by two in breadth, 
obovate-oblong, acutninate at both ends, entire, sinuated, with many parallel 
veins on each side of the midrib, supported on long footstalks, and opposite. 
They have a firm consistence, and a shining green colour, and when bruised are PART I. 
Caryophyllus. 
223 
highly fragrant. The flowers are disposed in terminal corymbose panicles, and 
exhale a strong, penetrating, and grateful odour. 
The natural geographical range of the clove-tree is extremely limited. It was 
formerly confined to the Molucca Islands, in most of which it grew abundantly 
before their conquest by the Dutch. By the monopolizing policy of that com- 
mercial people, the trees were extirpated in nearly all the islands except Am- 
boyna and Ternate, which were under their immediate inspection. Notwith- 
standing, however, their jealous vigilance, a French governor of the Isles of 
France and Bourbon, named Poivre, succeeded, in the year 1110, in obtaining 
plants from the Moluccas, and introducing them into the colonies under his con- 
trol. Five years afterwards, the clove-tree was introduced into Cayenne and 
the West Indies, in 1803 into Sumatra, and in 1818 into Zanzibar. It is now 
cultivated largely in these and other places; and commerce has ceased to de- 
pend on the Moluccas for supplies of this spice.* 
The unexpanded flower-buds are the part of the plant employed under the 
ordinary name of cloves, j* They are first gathered when the tree is about six 
years old. The fruit has similar aromatic properties, but much weaker. The 
buds are picked by the hand, or separated from the tree by long reeds, and 
are then quickly dried. In the Moluccas they are said to be sometimes im- 
mersed in boiling water, and afterwards exposed to smoke and artificial heat, 
before being spread out in the sun. In Cayenne and the West Indies they are 
dried simply by solar heat. 
Cloves appear to have been unknown to the ancients. They were introduced 
into Europe by the Arabians, and were distributed by the Venetians. After 
the discovery of the southern passage to India, the trade in this spice passed 
into the hands of the Portuguese ; but was subsequently wrested from them by 
the Dutch, by whom it was long monopolized. Within a few years, however, 
the extended culture of the plant has thrown open the commerce in cloves to 
all nations. The United States derive much of their supply from the West 
Indies and Guiana. The Molucca cloves are said to be thicker, darker, heavier, 
more oily, and more highly aromatic than those cultivated elsewhere. They 
are known by the name of Amboyna cloves. The Bencoolen cloves, from 
Sumatra, are deemed equal if not superior by the English druggists. 
Properties. Cloves resemble a nail in shape, are usually rather more than 
half an inch long, and have a round head with four spreading points beneath it. 
Their colour is externally deep-brown, internally reddish; their odour strong 
and fragrant; their taste hot, pungent, aromatic, and very permanent. The 
best cloves are large, heavy, brittle, and exude a small quantity of oil on being 
pressed or scraped with the nail. When light, soft, wrinkled, pale, and of 
feeble taste and smell, they are inferior. Those from which the essential oil has 
been distilled are sometimes fraudulently mixed with the genuine. 
Trommsdorff obtained from 1000 parts of cloves 180 of volatile oil, 170 of 
a peculiar tannin, 130 of gum, 60 of resin, 280 of vegetable fibre, and 180 of 
water. M. Lodibert afterwards discovered a fixed oil, aromatic and of a green 
colour, and a white resinous substance which crystallizes in fasciculi, composed 
of very fine diverging silky needles, without taste or smell, soluble in ether and 
boiling alcohol, and exhibiting neither alkaline nor acid reaction. This sub- 
stance, called by M. Bonastre caryophyllin, was found in the cloves of the 
Moluccas, of Bourbon, and of Barbadoes, but not in those of Cayenne, from 
* Cloves from Cayenne, and from various West India islands, as Martinique, Guada- 
loupe, and Trinidad, have been for several years circulating in commerce. The author saw 
a specimen from Para, in Brazil, at the late international exhibition at London (A. D. 18t52). 
They were lighter coloured than those from the E. Indies.—Note to the twelfth edition. 
f The peduncles of the flowers have been sometimes employed. They possess the odour 
and taste of the cloves, though in a less degree, and furnish a considerable quantity of 
essential oil. The French call them griffet de girojlea. 224 
Caryophyllus.—Cascarilla. 
PART I. 
which, however, it has since been procured. Berzelius considers it a stearoptene, 
and probably identical with that deposited by the oil of cloves when long kept. 
To obtain it, the ethereal extract of cloves is treated with water, and the white 
substance thrown down is separated by filtration, and treated repeatedly with 
ammonia to deprive it of impurities. Thus procured, Dr. Muspratt found it to 
consist of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, in the proportion represented by the 
formula C10H8O, or C20H16O2. (Pharm. Journ., x. 343.) Dr. Tlieod. Martius ob- 
tains it cheaply by exposing cloves, previously deprived as far as possible of oil 
by distillation with water, to distillation at a higher temperature, redistilling the 
brown liquid obtained until the distillate nearly ceases to have the taste or smell 
of cloves, and then purifying the residue by washing with water, and treating it 
with boiling alcohol and animal charcoal repeatedly, until the caryophillin, which 
is deposited by the alcohol on cooling, is perfectly white. (See Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., xxxii. 65.) It is an oxide of the neutral oil of cloves. M. Dumas has 
discovered another crystalline principle, which forms in the water distilled from 
cloves, and is gradually deposited. Like caryophyllin, it is soluble in alcohol and 
ether, but differs from that substance in becoming red when touched with nitric 
acid. M. Bonastre proposes for it the name of eugenin. (Journ. de Pharm., xx. 
565.) It is said to be isomeric with eugenic acid, or the acid constituent of oil 
of cloves. (Gregory.) Water extracts the odour of cloves with comparatively 
little of their taste. All their sensible properties are imparted to alcohol; and 
the tincture when evaporated leaves an excessively fiery extract, which becomes 
insipid if deprived of the oil by distillation with water, while the oil which comes 
over is mild. Hence it has been inferred that the pungency of this aromatic de- 
pends on a union of the essential oil with the resin. For an account of the oil, 
see Oleum Caryophylli. The infusion and oil of cloves are reddened by nitric 
acid, and rendered blue by tincture of chloride of iron ; facts of some interest, 
as morphia yields the same results with these reagents. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Cloves are among the most stimulant of the 
aromatics; but, like others of this class, act less upon the system at large than 
on the part to which they are immediately applied. They are sometimes ad- 
ministered in substance or infusion to relieve nausea and vomiting, correct flatu- 
lence, and excite languid digestion ; but their chief use is to assist or modify 
the action of other medicines. They enter into several officinal preparations. 
Their dose in substance is from 5 to 10 grains. 
The French Codex directs a tincture of cloves to be prepared by digesting 
for six days, and afterwards filtering, a mixture of four ounces of powdered 
cloves and sixteen of alcohol of 31° Cartier. Three ounces to the pint of alco- 
hol is a sufficiently near approximation. 
Off. Prep. Infusum Caryophylli; Oleum Caryophylli; Pulvis Aromaticus,Br.; 
Spiritus Lavandulae Compositus, U. S.; Syrupus Rhei Aromaticus, U. S.; Vinum 
Opii, U. S. W. 
CASCARILLA. U.S.,Br. 
Cascarilla. 
The bark of Croton Bleuteria. U. S., Br. 
Cascarille, Fr.; Cascarillrinde, Germ.; Cascariglia, Ital.; Chacarila, Span. 
Croton. Sex. Syst. Moncecia Monadelphia. — Nat. Ord. Euphorbiaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Male. Calyx cylindrical, five-toothed. Corolla five-petaled. Sta- 
mens ten to fifteen. Female. Calyx many-leaved. Corolla none. Styles three, 
bifid. Capsule three-celled. Seed one. Willd. 
There has been much confusion in relation to the different species of Croton 
growing in the West Indies, and as to which of them the Cascarilla of the shops 
is to be ascribed. At present, however, it is generally admitted that this bark, PART I. 
Cascarilla. 
225 
which is brought exclusively from the Bahama Islands, is the product of Croton 
Eluteria; and, though it is probable that the proper C. Cascarilla may at 
one time have yielded a portion of its bark to commerce, at present little or 
none is derived from that species. The London College committed the error, 
which it afterwards corrected, of recognising G. Cascarilla of Don as the 
source of it. This botanist mistook the Copalchi bark of Mexico, which is pro- 
duced by Croton Pseudo- China of Schiede, and somewhat resembles cascarilla, 
for the genuine bark, and hence proposed to transfer the specific name of Cas- 
carilla to the Mexican plant. No fact is better ascertained than that the proper 
cascarilla bark is a West India product, and is never brought from Mexico.* 
In relation to the, botany of this subject, the former intricacy has been in 
great measure if not entirely removed by the researches of Mr. John J. Bennett, 
who, having received specimens of the different species of Croton growing in 
the Bahamas from Dr. W. F. Daniel!, by whom they were collected during a 
residence in those islands, was enabled, by a comparisQn of them with former 
specimens and descriptions, to discriminate accurately the species previously 
confounded. {Journ. of Linn. Soc., iv. 29.) 
Croton Eluteria. Bennett, Journ. Linn. Soc. iv. 29 ; Daniell, Pharm. Journ. 
and Trans., 2d ser., iv. 145, figured at p. 150. — Clutia Eluteria. Woodv. Med. 
Pot., 3d ed., iv. 633, t. 223. As described by Dr. Daniell, this, though commonly a 
shrub of from three to five feet high, sometimes appears in the form of a small tree, 
with a stem from four to eight inches in diameter.f The stem is straight, and 
marked at intervals with white or grayish stains. The leaves are petiolate, 
from two or three inches in length to an inch or more in breadth, often some- 
what cordate at the base, obtusely acuminate, pale or grayish-green above, and 
* Copalchi bark has been mistaken not only for cascarilla, but also for a variety of cin- 
chona. Portions of it, having been taken to Europe, attracted the attention both of phar- 
macologists and physicians. Two kinds were noticed; one, in small slender quills, of an 
ash colour, bearing some resemblance to a variety of pale cinchona, but having the flavour 
of cascarilla, and burning with a similar odour; the other, in larger quills, with a thick 
cork-like epidermis, very bitter, and yielding an aromatic odour when burnt. The forme'r 
is the product of Croton Pseudo-China; the latter is of unknown origin, but conjecturally 
referred to C. suberosum. Mr. J. E. Howard states that the quilled copalchi bark contains 
a bitter alkaloid, soluble in ether, and precipitable as a white hydrate from its acid solu- 
tion. (Pharm. Journ., xiv. 819.) Copalchi bark is an aromatic tonic, employed in Mexico in 
intermittents, and capable of useful application in all cases requiring a mild aromatic 
‘bitter. Dr. Stark has employed it advantageously in feeble states of digestion with irritable 
bowels, and found it, in one or two cases, to exhibit antiperiodic properties. It may be 
given in infusion, made with half an ounce of the bark to a pint of water, in the dose of 
one or two fluidounces three times a day. {Ed. Med. and Surg. Journ., April, 1849, p. 410.)— 
Note to the ninth and eleventh editions. 
After the publication of the tenth edition of this work, we received from Dr. Pleasants, 
U. S. Consul at Minatitlan, Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Mexico, a box of bark which it was 
thought might prove to be Peruvian bark, and had some reputation as an antiperiodic. 
It is in large quills, or partially rolled pieces, sometimes nearly flat, with a white or 
whitish epidermis, and a dark-brown colour of the proper bark, the outer surface of which 
appears irregularly striated on the removal of the epidermis. It has a bitter, aromatic 
taste, gives out when burnt the musk-like odour of cascarilla similarly treated, and, though 
much larger than the specimens we have seen of copalchi bark, is probably derived either 
from the same tree, or from another species of Croton.—Note to the eleventh edition. 
f The plant referred to in former editions of this w’ork, as having been seen by Dr. 
Wright in Jamaica, and called by him C. Eluteria, is, according to Mr. Bennett, a distinct 
species, C. Sloanei, which was confounded by Linnaeus with the genuine cascarilla plant, 
under the name of Clutia Eluteria. The genuine plant was first described by him in his 
Hortus Gliffortianus (pp. 486-7), from a specimen in ClifFort’s herbarium in the British 
Museum, and afterwards apparently confused with a Jamaica specimen sent to him by 
Patrick Brown, from the latter of which the description of his Clutia Eluteria was drawn 
up, which is quite inapplicable to the original plant. It is the C. Sloanei also that was 
described by Swartz in his Flora Indise Occidentalis (p. 1183), under the name of Croton 
Eluteria, and probably the same that was figured by Dr. Carson in his Must, of Med. Bot. 
ii. 34, pi. 78. (See Pharm. Journ., Aug. 1859, pp. 132-3.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 226 
Cascarilla. 
PART I. 
densely covered beneath with shining silvery scales, appearing white at a dis- 
tance. They are smaller and narrower in the plants of arborescent growth. 
The flowers, which have a delicious odour, are monoecious, small, white, petio- 
late, and closely set, in simple terminal or axillary spikes. The shrub is a 
native of the Bahamas, scarce at present in the island of New Providence, but 
still abundant in Andros, Long, and Eleutheria islands, from the latter of which 
it derived its botanical title. Daniell calls the plant sweet-wood. The name of 
seaside balsam belongs to another species, G. Balsamiferum of Linnaeus, which 
grows in the Bahamas and other W. India islands, and owes its name to the circum- 
stance that a balsamic juice exudes from its young branches when wounded. 
Croton Cascarilla. Bennett, Journ. of the Linn. Soc. iv. 30.—Clutia Casca- 
rilla. Linn. Sp. Plant, ed. 1, p. 1042.—Ricinoides elasagnifolio. Catesby, Hist. 
Carolin. ii. t. 46. As described by Daniell, this is a shrub of from four to six 
feet, much branched, with a pale grayish-green stem, without the white stains of 
the former species. Thje leaves are petiolate, long, narrow, lanceolate, tapering 
towards each end, pointed, with flat or somewhat undular margins, above smooth 
and green, beneath pale and very hairy. The flowers are monoecious, in simple 
terminal spikes, with small white petals tinged with yellow. They are very fra- 
grant. The plant is a native of the Bahamas, and- is said also to grow in Hayti. 
In the Bahamas it is much scarcer than formerly, and is said by Dr. Daniell to 
yield at present none of the Cascarilla of commerce, of which much wras formerly 
derived from it. This species seems to have been confounded by some with Croton 
lineare of Jacquin, which grows in the Bahamas and most of the W. India islands, 
where it is known by the name of wild rosemary, owing probably in part to its fra- 
grant smell, but still more to its narrow linear leaves, with reflected margins. 
Cascarilla is brought to this market from the West Indies, and chiefly, as we 
have been informed, from the Bahamas. It comes in bags or casks. We have ob- 
served it in the shops in two forms, so distinct as to merit the title of varieties. 
In one, the bark is in rolled pieces of every size, from three or four inches in 
length and half an inch in diameter to the smallest fragments, covered externally 
with a dull-whitish or grayish-white epidermis, which in many portions is par- 
tially, sometimes wholly removed, leaving a dark-brown surface, while the inner 
surface has a chocolate colour, and the fracture is reddish-brown. The small 
pieces are sometimes curled, but have a distinct abrupt edge as if broken from 
the branches. The second variety consists entirely of very small pieces, not more 
than an inch or two in length, very thin, without the white epidermis, not regu- 
larly quilled, but curved more or less in the direction of their length, often having 
a small portion of woody fibre attached to their inner surface, and presenting 
an appearance precisely as if shaved by a knife from the stem or branches. 
Whether these two varieties are derived from distinct species, or differ only from 
the mode of collection, it is difficult to determine.* 
Properties. Cascarilla has an aromatic odour, rendered much more distinct 
by friction, and a warm, spicy, bitter taste. It is brittle, breaking with a short 
fracture. When burnt it emits a pleasant odour, closely resembling that of musk, 
but weaker and more agreeable. This property serves to distinguish it from 
other barks. It was analyzed by Trommsdorff, and more recently by M. Duval, 
of Liseux, in France. The constituents found by the latter were albumen, a 
peculiar kind of tannin, a bitter crystallizable principle called cascarillin, a red 
colouring matter, fatty matter of a nauseous odour, wax, gum, volatile oil, resin, 
starch, pectic acid, chloride of potassium, a salt of lime, and lignin. The oil, 
* We have little doubt that the latter variety, which we have not seen for many years, 
was the product of C. Cascarilla. The fact that it has ceased to appear in our markets cor- 
responds with the fact, stated by Dr. Daniell, that the bark of this species is not now col- 
lected; and the want of a white epidermis, by which the bark of C. Cascarilla is also 
characterized, tends to confirm this view of its origin.—Note to the twelfth edition. PART I. 
Cascarilla.—Cassia Fistula. 
227 
according to Tromrasdorff, constitutes 1-6 per cent., is of a greenish-yellow 
colour, a penetrating odour analogous to that of the bark, and of the sp. gr. 
0'938. To obtain cascarillin, M. Duval treated the powdered bark with water, 
added acetate of lead to the solution, separated the lead by sulphuretted hydro 
gen, filtered, evaporated with the addition of animal charcoal, filtered again, 
evaporated at a low temperature to a syrupy consistence, and, having allowed 
the semi-liquid substance thus obtained to harden by cooling, purified it by twice 
successively treating it, first with a little cold alcohol, to separate the colouring 
and fatty matters, and afterwards with boiling alcohol and animal charcoal. The 
last alcoholic solution was allowed to evaporate spontaneously. Thus obtained, 
cascarillin is white, crystalline, inodorous, bitter, very slightly soluble in water, 
soluble in alcohol and ether, neuter, and destitute of nitrogen. (Journ. de Pharm., 
3e ser., viii.96.) Either alcohol or water will partially extract the active matters 
of cascarilla ; but diluted alcohol is the proper menstruum. 
Medical Properties and Uses. This bark is aromatic and tonic. It was known 
in Germany so early as the year 1690, and was much used as a substitute for 
Peruvian bark by those who were prejudiced against that febrifuge in the treat- 
ment of remittent and intermittent fevers. It has, however, lost much of its 
reputation, and is now employed only where a pleasant and gently stimulant 
tonic is desirable; as in dyspepsia, chronic diarrhoea and dysentery, flatulent 
colic, and other cases of debility of the stomach or bowels. It is said to pro- 
mote the flow of milk in the lower animals, and has been proposed with a view 
to the same effect in the human subject. It is sometimes advantageously com- 
bined with the more powerful bitters. It may be given in powder or infusion. 
The dose of the former is from a scruple to half a drachm, which may be re- 
peated several times a day. Prof. Procter has published a formula for a fluid 
extract, which contains the virtues of a trovounce of the bark in a fluidounce. 
(Am. Journ. of Pharm., March, 1863, p. 113.) In consequence of its pleasant 
odour when burnt, some smokers mix it in small quantity with their tobacco; 
but it is said, when thus employed, to occasion vertigo and intoxication. 
Off. Prep. Infusum Cascarillae; Tinctura Cascarillae, Br. W. 
CASSIA FISTULA. US. 
Purging Cassia. 
The fruit of Cassia Fistula. U. S. 
Off. Syn. CASSIA. Cassia Fistula. The pulp of the pods. Br. 
Casse, Fr.; liokrenkassie, Germ.; Cassia, Ital.; Cana Fistula, Span. 
Cassia. Sex.Syst. DecandriaMonogynia.— Nat. Ord. Fabaceae or Legumi- 
nosae. 
Qen. Ch. Calyx five-leaved. Petals five. Anthers, three upper sterile, three 
tower beaked. Lomentum. Willd. 
The tree which yields the purging cassia is ranked by some botanists as a 
distinct genus, separated from the Cassia, and denominated Cathartocarpus. 
(See Lindley's Flor. Med., 262.) 
Cassia Fistula. Willd. Sp. Plant. ii. 518; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 445, t. 160; 
Carson, Illust. of Med. Bot. i. 24, pi. 26. —• Cathartocarpus Fistula. Persoon, 
Synops. i. 459. This is a large tree, rising to the height of forty or fifty feet, 
with a trunk of hard, heavy wood, dividing towards the top into numerous 
spreading branches, and covered with a smooth ash-coloured bark. The leaves 
are commonly composed of five or six pairs of opposite leaflets, which are ovate, 
pointed, undulated, smooth, of a pale-green colour, from three to five inches long, 
and supported upon short petioles. The flowers are large, of a golden-yellow 
colour, and arranged in long, pendent, axillary racemes. The fruit consists of 228 
Cassia Fistula.—Cassia Marilandica. 
PART I. 
long, cylindrical, woody, dark-brown, pendulons pods, which, when agitated by 
the wind, strike against each other, and produce a sound that may be heard at 
a considerable distance. 
This species of Cassia is a native of Upper Egypt and India, whence it is 
generally supposed to have been transplanted to other parts of the world. It is 
at present very extensively diffused through the tropical regions of the old and 
new continents, being found in Insular and Continental India, Cochin China, 
Egypt, Nubia, the West Indies, and the warmer parts of America. The fruit is 
the officinal portion of the plant. It is imported from the East and West Indies, 
chiefly the latter, and from South America. 
Properties. Cassia pods are a foot or more in length, straight or but slightly 
curved, cylindrical, less than an inch in diameter, with a woody shell, externally 
of a dark-brown colour, and marked with three longitudinal shining bands, ex- 
tending from one end to the other, two of which are in close proximity, appear- 
ing to constitute a single band, and the’third is on the opposite side of the pod. 
These bands mark the place of junction of the valves of the legume, and are 
represented as sometimes excavated in the form of furrows. There are also cir- 
cular depressions at unequal distances. Internally the pod is divided into nu- 
merous cells by thin transverse plates, which are covered with a soft, black pulp. 
Each cell contains a single, oval, shining seed. The pods brought from the East 
Indies are smaller, smoother, have a blacker pulp, and are more esteemed than 
those from the West IncPIes. 
We have seen a quantity of pods in this market sold as cassia pods, which 
were an inch and a half in diameter, flattened on the sides, exceedingly rough ou 
the outer surface, and marked by three longitudinal very elevated ridges, cor- 
responding to the bands or furrows of the common cassia. The pulp was rather 
nauseous, but in other respects seemed to have the properties of the officinal 
purging cassia. They corresponded exactly with a specimen of the fruit of 
Cassia Brasiliana brought from the West Indies, and were probably derived 
from that plant. 
The heaviest pods, and those which do not make a rattling noise when shaken, 
are to be preferred; as they contain a larger portion of the pulp, which is the 
part employed. This should be black and shining, and have a sweet taste. It is 
apt to become sour if long exposed to the air, or mouldy if kept in a damp 
place. The pulp is extracted from the pods by first bruising them, then boiling 
them in water, and afterwards evaporating the decoction; or, when the pods 
are fresh, by opening them at the sutures, and removing the pulp by a spatula. 
Cassia pulp has a slight rather sickly odour, and a sweet mucilaginous taste. 
Erom the analysis of M. Henry it appears to contain sugar, gum, a substance 
analogous to tannin, a colouring matter soluble in ether, traces of a principle 
resembling gluten, and a small quantity of water. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Cassia pulp is laxative, and may be advanta- 
geously given in small doses in cases of habitual costiveness. In quantities suffi- 
cient to purge, it occasions nausea, flatulence, and griping. In this country it 
is rarely prescribed, except as an ingredient in the confection of senna, which is 
a pleasant and useful laxative preparation. The dose of the pulp as a laxati re 
is one or two drachms, as a purge one or. two ounces. 
Off. Prep. Confectio Sennae. W. 
CASSIA MARILANDICA. U.S. 
American Senna. 
The leaves of Cassia Marilandica. U. S. 
Cassia. See CASSIA FISTULA. 
Cassia Marilandica. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 524; Bigelow, Am. Med. Boi iL PART i. 
Cassia Marilandica.—Castoreum. 
229 
116; Barton, Med. Bot. i. 137. This is an indigenous perennial plant, of vigor- 
ous growth, sending up annually numerous round, erect, nearly smooth stems, 
which are usually simple, and rise from three to six feet in height. The leaves 
are alternate, and composed of from eight to ten pairs of oblong-lanceolate, 
smooth, mucronate leaflets, green on their upper surface, pale beneath, and con- 
nected by short petioles with the common footstalk, which is compressed, chan- 
neled above, and furnished near its base with an ovate, stipitate gland. The 
flowers, which are of a beautiful golden-yellow colour, grow in short axillary 
racemes at the upper part of the stem. The calyx is composed of five oval, ob- 
tuse, unequal yellow leaves; the corolla of the same number of spatulate concave 
petals, of which three are ascending, and two descending and larger than the 
others. The stamens are ten, with yellow filaments and brown anthers, which 
open by a terminal pore. The three upper stamens bear short abortive anthers; 
the three lowermost are long, curved, and tapering into a beak. The germ, which 
descends with the latter, bears an erect style terminating in a hairy stigma. The 
fruit is a pendulous legume, from two to four inches long, linear, curved, swell- 
ing at the seeds, somewhat hairy, and of a blackish colour. 
The American senna, or wild senna as it is sometimes called, is very com- 
mon in all parts of the United'States south of New York, and grows as far 
northward as the southern boundary of Massachusetts. It prefers a low-, moist, 
rich soil, in the vicinity of water, and, though frequently found in dryer and more 
elevated places, is most abundant and luxuriant in the flat ground on the borders 
of rivers and ponds. It is sometimes cultivated in gardens for medical use. In 
the months of July and August, when in full bloom, it has a rich and beautiful 
appearance. The leaves should be collected in August or the beginning of Sep- 
tember, and. carefully dried. 
They are sometimes brought into the market, compressed into oblong cakes, 
like those prepared by the Shakers from most herbaceous medicinal plants. The 
leaflets are from an iuch and a half to two inches long, from one-quarter to half 
an inch in breadth, thin, pliable, and of a pale-green colour. They have a feeble 
odour, and a nauseous taste, somewhat analogous to that of senna. Water and 
alcohol extract their virtues. They were analyzed by Mr. Martin, of Philadel- 
phia, and found to contain a principle analogous to calhartin, albumen, muci- 
lage, starch, chlorophyll, yellow colouring matter, volatile oil, fatty matter, resin, 
and lignin, besides salts of potassa and lime. (4m. Journ. of Pharm., i. 22.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. American senna is an efficient and safe cathar- 
tic, closely resembling the imported senna in its action, and capable of being sub- 
stituted for it in all cases in which the latter is employed. It is, however, less 
active; and, to produce an equal effect, must be administered in a dose at least 
one-third larger. It is habitually used by many practitioners in the country. 
Like senna it is most conveniently given in the form of infusion, and should be 
similarly combined in order to obviate its tendency to produce griping. W. 
CASTOREUM. U.S.,Br. 
Castor. 
A peculiar concrete substance obtained from Castor fiber. U. S. The preputial 
follicles and their secretion, dried, separated from the somewhat shorter and 
smaller oil-sacs which are frequently attached to them. Br. 
Castoreum, Fr.; Bibergeil, Germ.; Castoro, Ital.; Castoreo, Span. 
In the beaver, Castor fiber of naturalists, between the anus and external gen- 
itals of both sexes, are two pairs of membranous follicles, of which the lower and 
larger are pear-shaped, and contain an oily, viscid, highly odorous substance, 
secreted by glands which lie externally to the sac. This substance is called cas- 230 
Castor eum. 
PART I. 
tor. After the death of the animal, the follicles containing it are removed, and 
dried either by smoke or in the sun; and in this state are brought into the market. 
This drug is derived either from the northern and north-western parts of 
America, or from Russia; and is distinguished, according to its source, into the 
Canadian or American, and Russian castor. It is supposed by some that the 
American and Russian beavers are distinct species, the former being a building, 
the latter a burrowing animal; and additional ground for the supposition is 
afforded by the fact, that the products of the two differ considerably. Of the 
Russian but a very small portion reaches this country. That which is brought 
to Philadelphia is derived chiefly from Missouri; but large quantities are col- 
lected in the north-western regions of British America. 
Castor comes to us in the form of solid unctuous masses, contained in sacs 
about two inches in length, larger at one end than at the other, much flattened 
and wrinkled, of a brown or blackish colour externally, and united in pairs by 
the excretory ducts which connect them in the living animal. In each pair, one 
sac is generally larger than the other. They are divided internally into numer- 
ous cells containing the castor, which, when the sacs are cut or torn open, is ex- 
hibited of a brown or reddish-brown colour, intermingled more or less with the 
whitish membrane forming the cells. Those brought from Russia are larger, 
fuller, heavier, and less tenacious than, the American; and their contents, which 
are of a rusty or liver colour, have a stronger taste and smell, and are considered 
more valuable as a medicine. A variety of Russian castor, described by Pereira 
under the name of chalky Russian castor, is in smaller and rounder sacs than 
the American, has a peculiar empyreumatic odour very different from that of the 
other varieties, breaks like starch under the teeth, and is characterized by effer- 
vescing with dilute muriatic acid. In a specimen examined by Muller, 40 646 
per cent, of carbonate of lime was found. In the castor from Missouri, the con- 
tents of the sac are sometimes almost white, and evidently inferior. According 
to Jannarch, castor varies with the time of year at which it is collected, being 
lighter coloured, more fluid, and less copious in the follicles from February to 
July than in the remainder of the year. (Pharm. Cent. Blalt, Mai, 1841, p. 318.) 
It is said by M. Kohli that the Canadian castor, treated with distilled water and 
ammonia, affords an orange precipitate, while the matter thrown down from the 
Russian under similar treatment is white. 
Properties. Good castor has a strong, fetid, peculiar odour; a bitter, acrid, 
and nauseous taste; and a colour more or less tinged with red. It is of a softer 
or harder consistence, according as it is more or less thoroughly dried. When 
perfectly desiccated, though still somewhat unctuous to the touch, it is hard, brit- 
tle, and of a resinous fracture. Its chemical constituents, according to Brandes, 
are volatile oil; a resinous matter; albumen ; a substance resembling osmazome; 
mucus; urate,carbonate, benzoate, phosphate, and sulphate of lime; acetate and 
muriate of soda; muriate, sulphate, and benzoate of potassa; carbonate of am- 
monia; membranous matter; and a peculiar proximate principle discovered by 
M. Bizio, an Italian chemist, and called by him castorin. This principle crys- 
tallizes in long, diaphanous, fasciculated prisms, has the smell of castor, and a 
copperish taste. It is insoluble in cold water and cold alcohol; but is dissolved 
by 100 parts of the latter liquid at the boiling temperature, and by the essential 
oils. It possesses neither alkaline nor acid properties. It may be obtained by 
treating castor, minutely divided, with six times its weight of boiling alcohol, 
filtering the liquor while hot, and allowing it to cool. The castorin is slowly de- 
posited, and may be purified by means of cold alcohol. M. Valenciennes, who 
could not obtain the crystals white and pure by simple treatment with alcohol, 
succeeded by first boiling a mixture of equal parts of castor and hydrated lime 
with water, and acting upon the residue, separated and dried, with boiling alco- 
hol of the sp. gr. 0-823. The product exceeded 1 per cent. (Pham. Jovrn., Dec. PART I. 
Castor euvi.—Cataria. 
231 
1861, p. 329.) It has been thought to be the active principle of castor; but itf* 
claims are doubtful. The volatile oil may be obtained by repeated distillation with 
the same portion of water. It is pale-yellow, and has the smell and taste of castor. 
F. Wohler has ascertained the existence of salicin in castor; also that it con- 
tains a small quantity of carbolic acid, one of the products of the distillation of 
coal-tar, to which he ascribes its odour. This acid is poisonous, and has a special 
action on the nervous system. (See Chem. Gaz , Jan. 1, 1849.) 
Dr. Pereira found that a portion of water distilled from American castor gradu- 
ally lost its own peculiar odour, and acquired that of the flowers of Spiraea ulma- 
ria, and afterwards presented no trace of the presence of oil of castor. Upon 
testing it, he ascertained, the existence in it of hydruret of salicyl (oil of Spi- 
raea ulmaria), and concluded that the oil of castor had been converted into that 
principle. He farther inferred that the oil is probably a volatile product of the 
salicin of the castor, and ascribes the carbolic acid to the same source. (Pharm. 
Journ., xi. 200.) The salicin of the castor probably proceeds from the willow 
and poplar on which the beaver feeds. 
Alcohol and ether extract the virtues of castor. An infusion made with boil- 
ing water has its sensible properties in a slight degree; but the odorous principle 
of the drug is dissipated by decoction. 
The virtues of castor are impaired by age; and the change is more rapid in 
proportion to the elevation of temperature. Moisture promotes its speedy de- 
composition. It should not, therefore, be kept in damp cellars. In a dry cool 
place it may be kept for a long time without material deterioration. When quite 
black, with little taste or smell, it is unfit for use. The castor follicles are some- 
times partly deprived of the castor, and its place supplied with sawdust. A fac- 
titious preparation has been sold, consisting of a mixture of various drugs, scented 
with genuine castor, intermingled with membrane, and stuffed into the scrotum 
of a goat. The fraud may be detected by the comparatively feeble odour, the 
absence of other characteristic sensible properties, and the want of the smaller 
follicles containing fatty matter, which are often attached to the real bags of castor. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Castor is moderately stimulant and antispas- 
modic. The experiments of Thouvenel prove that, in large doses, it quickens the 
pulse, increases the heat of the skin, and produces other symptoms of general 
excitement; but its force is directed chiefly to the nervous system, and in small 
doses it scarcely disturbs the circulation. It has also enjoyed a high reputation 
as an emmenagogue. It was employed by the ancients. Pliny and Dioscorides 
speak of it as useful in hysteria and amenorrhcea. In Europe, especially on the 
continent, it is still frequently prescribed in low forms of fever attended with 
nervous symptoms, in spasmodic diseases, such as hysteria and epilepsy, in many 
anomalous nervous affections, and in diseases dependent on or connected with 
suppression or retention of the menses. It is less used in this country. The dose 
in substance is from ten to thirty grains, which may be given in bolus or emul- 
sion. The tincture is sometimes employed. 
Off. Prep. Tinetura Castorei. W. 
CAT ARIA. U.JS. 
Catnep. 
The leaves of INepeta Cataria. U. S. 
Cataire, Fr.; Katzenmunze, Germ.; Cattara, Ital.; Gatera, Span. 
Nepeta. Sex. Syst. Didynamia Gymnospermia. —Nat. Ord. Lamiaceae or La- 
biatae. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx dry, striate, five-toothed. Corolla with the upper lip undi- 
vided, the under lip three-parted, the middle division crenate. Stamens approxi- 
mate Qatar ia.—Catechu. 
PART I. 
Nepfla Gataria. Catnep or catmint is a perennial herbaceous plant, with a 
quadrangular, branching, somewhat hoary stem, from one to three feet high, 
and furnished with opposite, petiolate, cordate, dentate, pubescent leaves, which 
are green above and whitish on their under surface. The flowers are whitish or 
slightly purple, are arranged in whorled spikes, and appear in July and August. 
The plant is abundant in the United States, but is supposed to have been intro- 
duced from Europe. 
The whole herb is used; but the leaves only are recognised in the U. S. 
Pharmacopoeia. They have a strong, peculiar, rather disagreeable odour, and 
a pungent, aromatic, bitterish, camphorous taste. They yield their virtues to 
water. The active constituents are volatile oil, and tannin of the kind which 
produces a greenish colour with the salts of iron. 
In its operation upon the system, catnep is tonic and excitant, bearing con- 
siderable resemblance to the mints. It has had the reputation also of being anti- 
spasmodic and emmenagogue. Cats are said to be very fond of it, and it has 
been asserted to act as an aphrodisiac in these animals. It is employed as a 
domestic remedy, in the form of infusion, in amenorrhoea, chlorosis, hysteria, 
the flatulent colic of infants, &c.; but is little known in regular practice. Some 
of the older writers speak favourably of its powers. The leaves are said to relieve 
toothache if chewed, or held for a few minutes in contact with the diseased tooth. 
Two drachms of the dried leaves or herb may be given as a dose in infusion. 
W. 
CATECHU. U.S. 
Catechu. 
An extract prepared principally from the wood of Acacia Catechu. U. S. 
Off. Syn. CATECHU NIGRUM. Black Catechu. Acacia Catechu. Ex- 
tract of the heart-wood. CATECHU PALLIDUM. Pale Catechu. Uncaria 
Gambir (Nauclea Gambir). An extract of the leaves and young shoots. Br. 
Cacliou, Fr.; Catecliu, Germ.; Catecii, Catciu, Catto, Ilal.; Catecu, Span.; Cutt, Ilin- 
doostanee. 
Acacia. See ACACIA. 
Acacia Catechu. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 1019; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 433,1.157; 
Carson, lllust. of Med. Bot. i. 32, pi. 24. According to Mr. Kerr, whose descrip- 
tion has been followed by most subsequent writers, Acacia Catechu is a small 
tree, seldom more than twelve feet in height, with a trunk one foot in diameter, 
dividing towards the top into many close branches, and covered with a thick, 
rough, brown bark. The leaves, which stand alternately upon the younger 
branches, are composed of from fifteen to thirty pairs of pinnae nearly two inches 
long, each of which is furnished with about forty pairs of linear leaflets, beset 
with short hairs. At the base of each pair of pinnae is a small gland upon the 
common footstalk. Two short recurved spines are attached to the stem at the 
base of each leaf. The flowers are in close spikes, which arise from the axils of 
the leaves, and are about four or five inches long. The fruit is a lanceolate, com- 
pressed, smooth, brown pod, with an undulated thin margin, and contains six or 
eight roundish flattened seeds, which when chewed emit a nauseous odour. 
This species of Acacia is a native of the East Indies, growing abundantly in 
various provinces of Hindostan, and in the Burmese Empire. Pereira says that it 
is now common in Jamaica. Like most others of the same genus, it abounds in 
astringent matter, which may be extracted by decoction. Catechu is an extract 
from the wood of the tree. 
This drug had been long known before its source wras discovered. It was at 
first called terra Japonica, under the erroneous impression that it was an earthy 
substance derived from Japan. When ascertained by analysis to be of vegetable PART I. 
Catechu. 
233 
origin, it was generally considered by writers on the Materia Medica to be an 
extract of the betel nut, which is the fruit of a species of palm, denominated 
Areca Catechu. Its true origin was made known by Mr. Kerr, assistant surgeon 
of the civil hospital in Bengal, who had an opportunity of examining the tree 
from which it was obtained, and of witnessing the process of extraction. Accord- 
ing to Mr. Kerr, the manufacturer, having cut off the exterior white part of the 
wood, reduces the interior brown or reddish-coloured portion into chips, which 
he then boils in water in unglazed earthen vessels, till all the soluble matter is 
dissolved. The decoction thus obtained is evaporated first by artificial heat, and 
afterwards in the sun, till it has assumed a thick consistence, when it is spread 
out to dry upon a mat or cloth, being, while yet soft, divided by means of a 
string into square or quadrangular pieces. The account more recently given by 
Dr. Hoyle, of the preparation of the extract in Northern India, is essentially the 
same. The process, as he observed it, was completed by the pouring of the extract 
into quadrangular earthen moulds. Our own countryman, the Rev. Howard Mal- 
colm, states, in his “Travels in South Eastern Asia,” that catechu is largely 
prepared from the wood of Acacia Catechu near Prome, in Burmah. Two kinds, 
he observes, are prepared from the same tree; one black, which is preferred ii? 
China, and the other red, which is most esteemed in Bengal. It is said that the 
unripe fruit and leaves are also sometimes submitted to decoction. 
The name catechu in the native language signifies the juice of a tree, and 
appears to have been applied to astringent extracts obtained from various plants. 
According to the United States Pharmacopoeia, however, the term is properly 
restricted to the extract of Acacia Catechu; as it was not intended to recog- 
nise all the astringent products which are floating in Asiatic commerce; and 
those from other sources than the Acacia, though they may occasionally find 
their way into our shops, do so as an exception to the general rule. A minute 
account of the diversified forms and exterior characters, which the officinal catechu 
presents as produced in different localities, would rather tend to perplex the 
reader than to serve any good practical purpose. These characters are, more- 
over, frequently changing, as the drug is procured from new sources, or as slight 
variations may occur in the mode of its preparation. Commerce is chiefly sup- 
plied with catechu from Bahar, Northern India, and Nepaul through Calcutta, 
from Canara through Bombay, and from the Burmese dominions. We derive it 
directly from Calcutta, or by orders from London, and it is sold in our markets 
without reference to its origin. It is frequently called cutch by the English 
traders, a name derived, no doubt, from the Hindoostanee word cutt.* 
Properties. Catechu, as it comes to us, is in masses of different shapes, some 
in balls more or less flattened, some in circular cakes, some saucer-shaped, others 
* In order not to embarrass the text unnecessarily, we have thrown together, in the form 
of a note, the following observations upon the varieties of catechu; those being first con- 
sidered which are probably derived from Acacia Catechu, and, therefore, recognised as offi1 
cinal in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. 
1. Officinal Catechu. U. S. 
The following, so far as we have been able to distinguish them, are the varieties of offici- 
nal catechu to be found in the markets of Philadelphia. 
1. Plano-convex Catechu. Cake Catechu. This is in the form of circular cakes, flat on one 
side, convex on the other, and usually somewhat rounded at the edge, as if the soft extract 
had been placed in saucers, or vessels of a similar shape, to harden. As found in the retail 
shops, it is generally in fragments, most of which, however, exhibit some evidences of the 
original form. The cakes are of various size, from two or three to six inches or more in 
diameter, and weighing from a few ounces to nearly two pounds. Their exterior is usually 
smooth and dark-brown; but we have seen a specimen in which the flat surface exhibited 
impressions as if produced by coarse matting. The colour internally is always brown, 
sometimes of a light yellowish-brown or chocolate colour, but more frequently dark red- 
dish-brown, and sometimes almost black. The cakes are almost always more or less cellular Catechu, 
PART I. 
cubical or oblong, or quite irregular, and of every grade in size, from small an- 
gular pieces, which are evidently fragments of the original cakes, to lumps 
in their interior; but in this respect great diversity exists. Sometimes they are very porous, 
so as almost to present a spongy appearance, sometimes compact and nearly uniform; and 
this difference may be observed even in the same piece. The fracture is sometimes rough 
and dull, but in the more compact parts is usually smooth and somewhat shining; and oc- 
casionally a piece split in one direction will exhibit a spongy fracture, while in another it 
will be shining and resinous, indicating the consolidation of the extract in layers. This 
variety of catechu is often of good quality. It is common at present in our market, but we 
have been unable to trace its origin accurately. There can be little doubt, from its inter- 
nal character, that it comes from the East Indies, and is the product of A. Catechu: but no 
accounts that we have seen of the preparation of the drug, in particular geographical 
sites, indicate this particular shape; and it is not impossible that portions of it may be 
formed out of other varieties of catechu by a new solution and evaporation. 
2 Pegu Catechu. This is the product derived from the Burmese dominions, and named 
from that section of the country whence it is exported. It enters commerce, probably in 
general through Calcutta, in large masses, sometimes of a hundred weight, consisting of 
layers of flat cakes, each wrapped in leaves, said to be those of the Nauclea Brunonis. In 
this form, however, we do not see it in the shops; but almost always in angular, irregular 
fragments, in which portions of two layers sometimes cohere with leaves between them, 
indicating their origin. It is characterized by its compactness, its shining fracture, and 
its blackish-brown or dark Port-wine colour, so that when finely broken it bears no incon- 
siderable resemblance to kino. This is an excellent variety of catechu, and is not unfre- 
quent in the shops. 
3. Catechu in Quadrangular Calces. This is scarcely ever found in the shops in its com- 
plete form, and the fragments are often such that it would be impossible to infer from them 
the original shape of the cake. This is usually between two and three inches in length 
and breadth, and somewhat less in thickness, of a rusty-brown colour externally, and 
dark-brown or brownish-gray within, with a somewhat rough and dull fracture, but, when 
broken across the layers in which it is sometimes disposed, exhibiting a smoother and more 
shining sui’face. Guibourt speaks of the layers as being blackish externally and grayish 
within, and bearing some resemblance to the bark of a tree, a resemblance, however, which 
has not struck us in the specimens which have fallen under our notice. There is little 
doubt that this variety comes from the provinces of Bahar and Northern India, where the 
preparation of the drug was witnessed by Mr. Kerr and Dr. Boyle, who both speak of it 
as being brought, when drying, into the quadrangular form. It has been called Bengal 
Catechu, because exported from that province. 
Pale catechu, so far as the term is not applied to gambir, may be considered as belonging 
to this variety. A specimen with this name, which was sent from India to the great Lon- 
don exhibition, and which we have had an opportunity of examining, was in oblong rectan- 
gular pieces, or fragments of such pieces, about three and a half inches long by an inch 
and a half in breadth, of a dirty yellowish colour within, and an earthy fracture, quite free 
from gloss, and bearing a much stronger resemblance to gambir than to ordinary catechu. 
4. Catechu in Balls. We have seen this in two forms—one consisting of globular balls 
about as large as an orange, very hard, and heavy, of a ferruginous aspect externally, 
very rough when broken, and so full of sand as to be gritty under the teeth ; the other in 
cakes, originally, in all probability, globular, and of about the same dimensions, but flat- 
tened and otherwise pressed out of shape before being perfectly dried, sometimes adhering 
two together, as happens with the lumps of Smyrna opium, and closely resembling in ex- 
ternal and internal colour, and in the character of their fracture, the quadrangular variety 
last described. The former kind is rare, and the specimens we have seen had been twenty 
years in the shop, and had very much the appearance of a factitious product. The latter 
is in all probability the kind known formerly as the Bombay catechu; as Dr. Hamilton, and, 
more recently, Major Mackintosh, in describing the mode of preparing catechu on the Mal- 
abar coast, of which Bombay is the entrepot, say that, while the extract is soft, it is shaped 
into balls about the size of an orange. 
2. Catechus not recognised as officinal in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. 
1. Gambir. Terra Japonica. Catechu Pallidum, Pale Catechu. Br. An astringent extract is 
abundantly prepared in certain parts of the East Indies, under the name of gambir or gam- 
beer, and imported into Europe and America under that of terra Japonica. The plant from 
which it is obtained, called by Mr. Hunter, who first minutely described it, Nauclea Gambir, 
but by Roxburgh, De Candolle, and others, Uncaria Gambir, is a climbing shrub, of t)i9 
class and order Pentandria Monogynia, and natural order Rubiacese of Jussieu, Cinchonacese of 
Lindley. It is a native of Malacca, Sumatra, Cochin China, and other parts of East \rn Asia, part I. 
Catechu. 
235 
which weigh one or two pounds. The colour is externally of a rusty brown 
more or less dark, internally varying from a pale-reddish or yellowish-brown 
and is largely cultivated in tlie Islands of Bintang, Singapore, and Prince of Wales. Tlio 
gambir is prepared by boiling the leaves and young shoots in water, and evaporating the 
decoction either by artificial or solar heat. When of a proper consistence, it is spread out 
into fiat cakes in moulds or otherwise, and then cut into small cubes, which are dried in 
the sun. Sometimes these cohere into a mass, in consequence of being packed together 
before they are perfectly dry. 
Gambir is in cubes, with sides about an inch square, is light and porous, so that it floats 
when thrown in water, is of a deep-yellowish or reddish-brown colour externally, but pale- 
yellowish within, presents a dull earthy surface when broken, is inodorous, and has a strongly 
astringent, bitter, and subsequently sweetish taste. It softens and swells up when heated, 
and leaves a minute proportion of ashes when burnt. It is partially soluble in cold water, 
and almost wholly so in boiling water, which deposits a portion upon cooling. Duhamel, 
Ecky, and Procter dissolved 87-5 per cent, of it in cold water by means of percolation. 
(Am. Journ. of Pharm,., xvi. 166.) Nees von Esenbeck found it to consist of from 36 to 40 
per cent, of tannic acid, a peculiar principle called catechuin or catechuic acid, gum or 
gummy extractive, a deposit like the cinchonic red, and 2-5 per cent, of lignin. Catechuic 
acid, when perfectly pure, is snow-white, of a silky appearance, crystallizable in fine 
needles, unalterable if dry in the air, fusible by heat, very slightly soluble in cold water 
with which it softens and swells up, soluble in boiling water which deposits it on cool- 
ing, and soluble also in alcohol and ether. It very slightly reddens litmus paper, and, 
though colouring the solution of chloride of iron green, and producing with it a grayish- 
green precipitate, differs from tannic acid in not affecting a solution of gelatin. It bears 
considerable analogy to gallic acid in its relations to the metallic salts, but does not, ac- 
cording to Neubauer, bear the same relation to the tannic acid of catechu that gallic acid 
does to that of galls. On the contrary, instead of resulting from the oxidation of tannic 
acid, it is by heat converted into a substance analogous to tannin. (Am. Journ. ofPharm., 
xxviii. 329 and 331, from Liebig's Annalen, xcvi. 337.) Neubauer gives the composition as 
C17H12O10, with the loss of one eq. of water at 212° F. To prepare it, the precipitate which 
falls upon the cooling of the decoction of gambir is well washed upon a filter with cold 
water, and again dissolved in boiling water with a little purified animal charcoal. The 
solution, being filtered and allowed to stand, gradually deposits the acid, of a snow-white 
colour. To obtain it perfectly white in the dry state, it must be dried under an exhausted 
receiver with sulphuric acid. ( Wackenroder, Annul, der Pharm., xxxi. 72.) The sweet taste 
of gambir is thought to depend on this constituent. » 
Several varieties of gambir are described. Sometimes it is in oblong instead of cubical 
pieces, without differing in other respects from the ordinary kind; sometimes in small cir- 
cular cakes, or short cylindrical pieces, heavier than water, of a pale reddish-yellow colour, 
moderately astringent, gritty under the teeth, and quite impure; sometimes in very small 
cubes, distinguishable by the black colour they afford with tincture of iodine, indicating 
the admixture of sago, or other amylaceous matter; and, finally, in circular cakes of the 
size of a small lozenge flat on one side, and somewhat convex on the other, of a pale pink- 
ish yellowish-white colour, and a chalky feel. This is most highly esteemed by the natives 
in India. (Pereira.) None of these varieties occur to any extent in our commerce, and we 
have met with none of them in the shops. 
Gambir was probably the substance first brought from tho East under the name of terra 
Japonica. It is largely consumed in the East by the betel-chewers. Great quantities are 
imported into Europe, where it is used for tanning, calico-printing, dyeing, &c. In this 
country it is also largely consumed by the calico-printer. Though a strong astringent, 
and applicable to the same purposes as the officinal catechu, it is seldom medicinally em- 
ployed in the United States. 
2. Areca Catechu. This is obtained from the areca nut, or betel nut, which is the seed of 
Areca Catechu, a palm cultivated in all parts of India. (See Part Third.) It is prepared by 
boiling the nuts in water, and evaporating the decoction. There are two varieties; one of 
a black colour, very astringent, mixed with paddy husks and other impurities, and ob- 
tained by evaporating the first decoction; the other, yellowish-brown, of an earthy frac- 
ture, and pure, resulting from the evaporation of a decoction of the nuts which had been 
submitted to the previous boiling. The first is called kassu, the other coury. (Heyne, Tracts, 
$c., on India.) They are prepared in Mysore, and Ainslie states that both varieties are 
sold in the bazaars of Lower India, and used for the same purpose as the officinal catechu 
by the native and European practitioners. They are also much used for chewing by the 
natives. But they are seldom exported, and it is uncertain whether they find their way into 
European or American commerce. Pereira thinks he has identified the kassu with a variety 
of catechu derived from Ceylon, where he has been informed that an extract of the areca nut Catechu. 
PART L 
to a dark liver colour. In some specimens it is almost black, in others somewhat 
like the colour of Port wine, and in others again, though rarely, dull-red like 
annotta. The extract has been distinguished into the pale and dark varieties; 
but there does not appear to be sufficient ground for retaining this distinction, 
at least in relation to the proper catechu obtained from the wood of A. Catechu. 
Under the name, however, of pale catechu, an astringent product has been re- 
cognised in the British Pharmacopoeia, the proper name of which is gambir, 
and which has a wholly different origin. This is described in a note, among the 
catechus not recognised by our officinal standard. (See page 234.) Catechu is 
inodorous, with an astringent and bitter taste, followed by a sense of sweetness. 
It is brittle, and breaks with a fracture which is rough in some specimens, in 
others uniform, resinous, and shining. That which is preferred in our market is 
of a dark colour, easily broken into small angular fragments, with a smooth 
glossy surface, bearing some resemblance to kino. Catechu is often mixed with 
sand, sticks, and other impurities. From 200 parts of Bombay catechu, Sir H. 
Davy obtained 109 parts of tannic acid, 68 of extractive, 13 of mucilage, and 10 
of insoluble residue. The same quantity of Bengal catechu yielded 97 of tannic 
acid, 73 of extractive, 16 of mucilage, and 14 of insoluble residue. Other ex- 
perimenters have obtained results somewhat different. The proportion of tannic 
acid, which may be considered the efficient principle, varies from about 30 to 55 
per cent, in the different varieties of the drug. The portion designated by Davy 
as extractive is said to contain, if it do not chiefly consist of a principle dis- 
covered by Buchner, and now called catechuin or catechuic acid. For a par- 
ticular account of this principle, the reader is referred to the note (page 235), 
on the subject of gambir (pale catechu, Br.), of which it is a characteristic ingre- 
dient. The tannic acid is of the variety which precipitates iron of a greenish- 
black colour,- and differs from most of the other varieties in not yielding grape- 
sugar when digested with dilute sulphuric acid. It is not, therefore, a glucoside. 
It precipitates gelatin, but not tartar emetic (Kane), and is not, like the tannic 
acid of galls, converted into gallic acid by exposure to the air. It may be distin- 
guished by the name of catechu-tannic acid, or, as proposed by Berzelius, mimo- 
tannic acid, from its source in one of th4e Mimoseae. Catechu is almost wholly 
soluble in a large quantity of water, to which it imparts a brown colour. The 
extractive or catechuic acid is much less soluble than the astringent principle, 
which may be almost entirely separated from it by the frequent application of 
small quantities of cold water. Boiling water dissolves it much more readily 
than cold, and deposits it of a reddish-brown colour upon cooling. Both prin- 
ciples are readily dissolved by alcohol or proof spirit, and are soluble also in 
ether. For the important reactions of catechu, see Acidum Tannicum. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Catechu is gently tonic, and powerfully as- 
tringent. The dark-coloured has the latter property in a somewhat greater de- 
is prepared. It. is in circular flat cakes, from two to three inches in diameter, scarcely an 
inch thick, covered on one side with paddy husks, and internally blackish-brown and 
Bhining, like Pegu catechu. 
Guibourt, and Pereira describe other varieties, which we have not met with, and which 
are probably rare. One of these is the Siam catechu, in conical masses shaped like a betel 
nut, and weighing about a pound and a half. Its fracture is shining and liver-coloured, 
like that of hepatic aloes; in other respects it resembles Pegu catechu. Another is the black 
mucilaginous catechu of Guibourt, in parallelopipeds, an inch and a half in length by an 
inch in breadth. Internally it is black and shining, and its taste is mucilaginous and 
feebly astringent. A third is the dull-reddish catechu of Guibourt., in somewhat flattened 
balls, weighing three or four ounces, of a dull-reddish, wavy, and often marbled fracture. 
We saw something like this many years since, which had been brought upon speculation 
by a merchant from Calcutta, but it is not now in the market. Lastly, there is a pale or 
whitish catechu, in small roundish or oval lumps, with an irregular surface, dark or black- 
ish-brown externally, very pale and dull internally, and of a bitter, astringent, and. sweet isk 
taste, with a smoky flavour. It is unknown in commerce. part I. 
Catechu.—Cera Alba.—Cera Flava. 
237 
gree than the light, and is therefore usually preferred. The latter, being rather 
sweeter, is preferred by the Malays, Hindoos, and other Indians, who consume 
vast quantities of this extract by chewing it, mixed with aromatics and a small 
proportion of lime, and wrapped in the leaf of the Piper Betel. Catechu may be 
advantageously used in most cases where astringents are indicated, and, though 
less employed in this country than kino, is not inferior to it in virtues. The com- 
plaints to which it is best adapted are diarrhoea dependent on debility or relaxa- 
tion of the intestinal exhalants, and passive hemorrhages, particularly that from 
the uterus. A small piece, held in the mouth and allowed slowly to dissolve, is 
an excellent remedy in relaxation of the uvula, and the irritation of the fauces 
and troublesome cough which depend upon it. Applied to spongy gums, in the 
state of powder, it sometimes proves useful; and it has been recommended as a 
dentifrice in combination with powdered charcoal, Peruvian bark, myrrh, &c. 
Sprinkled upon the surface of indolent ulcers, it is occasionally beneficial, and is 
much used in India for the same purpose, in the form of an ointment. An infu- 
sion of catechu may be used as an injection in obstinate gonorrhoea, gleet, and 
leucorrhoea, and we have found it highly beneficial, when thrown up the nostrils, 
in arresting epistaxis. The dose is from ten grains to half a drachm, which should 
be frequently repeated, and is best given with sugar, gum arabic, and water.* 
Off. Prep. Infusutn Catechu, Br.; Infusum Catechu Compositum, U. S.; Pul- 
vis Catechu Compositus, Br.; Tinctura Catechu. 
Off. Prep, of Pale Catechu (Oambir). Trochisci Catechu, Br. W. 
CERA ALBA. U.S.,Br. 
White Wax. 
Yellow wax, bleached. U. S., Br. 
Cire blanche, Fr.; Weisses Waclis, Germ.; Cera bianca, Ital.; Cere blanca, Span. 
CERA FLAYA. U.S., Br. 
« 
Yellow Wax. 
A peculiar concrete substance prepared by Apis mellifica. U. S. The prepared 
honeycomb. Br. 
Cire jaune, Fr.; Gelbes Wacks, Germ.; Cera gialla, Ital.; Cera amarilla, Span. 
Wax is a product of the common bee, Apis mellifica of naturalists, which 
constructs with it the cells of the comb in which the honey and larvae are depo- 
sited. It was at one time doubted whether the insect elaborated the wax by its 
own organs, or merely gathered it from vegetables. The question was set at 
rest by Huber, who fed a swarm of bees exclusively on honey and water, and 
found that they formed a comb consisting of wax. This, therefore, is a proper 
secretion of the insect. It is produced in the form of scales under the rings of 
the belly. But wax also exists in plants, bearing in this, as in other respects, a 
close analogy to the fixed oils. It is, however, the product of the bee only that 
is recognised by the Pharmacopoeias. This is directed in two forms: 1. that of 
yellow wax procured immediately from the comb; and 2. that of white wax pre- 
* Fluid Extract of Catechu. Prof. Procter has suggested the following formula for a fluid 
txtract of catechu based on the solvent power of glycerin over this extract. Eight troyounces 
of pure catechu, in moderately coarse powder, are mixed in a mortar with four fluidounces 
of glycerin so as to form a paste, to which enough diluted alcohol is added to make a pint. 
The liquid is poured into a bottle, shaken occasionally for twenty-four hours, and then 
strained through muslin. Each fluidrachm of the fluid extract represents thirty grains of 
catechu. (Proceed. of Am. Fharm. Aseoc., A. D. 1863, p. 241.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 238 
Cera Alba.—Cera Flava. 
part i. 
pared by bleaching the former. We shall consider these separately, and after- 
wards give an account of vegetable wax. 
1. Cera Flava or Yellow Wax. This is obtained by slicing the comb taken 
from the hive, draining and afterwards expressing the honey, and melting the 
residue in boiling water, which is kept hot for some time in order to allow the 
impurities to separate, and either subside or be dissolved by the water.. When 
the liquid cools the wax concretes, and, having been removed and again melted 
in boiling water, is strained and poured into pans or other suitable vessels. It 
is usually brought to market in round flat cakes of considerable thickness. The 
druggists of Philadelphia are supplied chiefly from the Western States and 
North Carolina, especially the latter, and from Cuba. Some of inferior quality 
is imported from Africa. 
In this state, wax has a yellowish colour, an agreeable somewhat aromatic 
odour, and a slight peculiar taste. To the touch it is rather soft and unctuous, 
though of a firm solid consistence and brittle. It has a granular fracture; but 
when cut with a knife presents a smooth glossy surface, the lustre of which is so 
peculiar as, when met with in other bodies, to be called waxy. It does not ad- 
here to the fingers, nor to the teeth when chewed, but is softened and rendered 
tenacious by a moderate heat. Its point of fusion is 142° F.; its specific gravity 
from 0‘960 to 0 965. The colour, odour, and taste of yellow wax depend upon 
some associated principle or principles. 
Yarious adulterations have been practised, most of which may be readily de- 
tected.* Meal, earth, and other insoluble substances are at the same time dis- 
covered and separated by melting and straining the wax. When the fracture 
is smooth and shining instead of being granular, the presence of resin may be 
suspected. This is dissolved by cold alcohol, while the wax is left untouched. 
For other adulterating substances used, and the modes of detecting them, see 
the remarks which follow on white wax. 
Yellow wax is used in medicine chiefly as an ingredient of plasters and cerates. 
2. Cera Alba or White Wax. The colour of yellow wax is discharged by ex- 
posing it, with an extended surface, to the combined influence of air, light, and 
moisture. The process of bleaching is carried on to a considerable extent in the 
vicinity of Philadelphia. The wax, previously lAelted, is made to fall in streams 
upon a revolving cylinder, kept constantly wet, upon which it concretes, form- 
ing thin riband-like layers. These, having been removed, are spread upon linen 
cloths stretched on frames, and exposed to the air and light; care being taken 
to water and occasionally turn them. In a few days they are partially bleached; 
but, to deprive the wax completely of colour, it is necessary to repeat the whole 
process once, if not oftener. When sufficiently white, it is melted and cast into 
small circular cakes. The colour may also be discharged by chlorine ; but the. 
wax is said to be somewhat altered, f White wax sometimes contains one or 
more free fatty acids, consequent probably upon the employment of alkalies in 
* The inducements for the adulteration of wax have of late been greatly increased, in 
consequence of its high price, occasioned, probably, by its enormous consumption in our 
armies, and army hospitals.—Note to'the twelfth edition. 
f The following process for purifying wax by steam has been patented by M. Cassgrand, 
in France, and is said to have been employed advantageously. Wax melted by steam is 
passed along with the steam through a coiled tube or worm, is received into a double bot- 
tom heated by steam, where it is washed with water, and is then raised by a pump into 
another pan, also heated by steam, where it is again washed with water; and the whole 
operation is repeated three or four times; the wax being allowed to rest for about four or 
five minutes in the upper pan after each operation, and, after the last one, an hour or two 
for the subsidence of impurities. The wax is then granulated by means of cold water, 
allowed to dry for two or three days, and then exposed to light and air. The whole process 
is completed in a few days. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxvi. 525, from Dub. Journ. of In- 
dustrial Progress.)—Note to the eleventh edition. PART I. 
Cera Alba.—Cera Flava. 
239 
bleaching it, which render it an unSt ingredient in the unctuous preparations of 
certain salts. Of these acids it may be deprived by means of alcohol. (Journ. 
de Pharm., 3e ser., iv. 205.) 
Perfectly pure wax is white, shining, diaphanous in thin layers, inodorous, in- 
sipid, harder and less unctuous to the touch than the yellow, soft and ductile at 
95° F., and fusible at about 155°, retaining its fluidity at a lower temperature. 
According to Saussure, its specific gravity in the solid state is 0*9G6, at 178° F. 
0834, and at 201° 0‘8247. By a great heat it is partly volatilized, partly de- 
composed; and, when flame is applied to its vapour, it takes fire and burns with 
a clear bright light. It is insoluble in water, and in cold alcohol or ether, but is 
slightly soluble in boiling alcohol and ether, which deposit it in a great measure 
upon cooling. The volatile and fixed oils dissolve it with facility, resin readily 
unites with it by fusion, and soaps are formed by the action of soda and potassa 
in solution. It is not affected by the acids at ordinary temperatures, but is con- 
verted into a black mass when boiled with concentrated sulphuric acid. Its ulti- 
mate constituents are carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. I)r. John found it to con- 
sist of two distinct principles, one of which he called cerin, the other myricin. 
According to MM. Boudet and Boissenot, the former constitutes at least 70 per 
cent, of wax, melts at about 143°, dissolves in 16 parts of boiling alcohol, and 
is saponifiable with potassa, yielding margaric acid, a little oleic acid, and a fatty 
matter insusceptible of saponification called cerain; the latter melts at 149°, is 
dissolved by 200 parts of boiling alcohol, and is not saponifiable by potassa. 
M. Lewy inferred from his experiments that cerin and myricin are isomeric with 
each other and with wax; that by a boiling solution of potassa wax is wholly 
saponified, without the formation of glycerin; that both wax and cerin are con- 
verted into stearic acid by saponification; and that this, by a further oxidation, 
is changed into margaric acid. {Journ. de Pliarm., 3e ser., iii. 315.) Messrs. 
Warington and Francis, however, have found that the substance supposed to be 
stearic acid, though similar to that body in appearance, is wholly different from 
it in properties and composition, and is isomeric, if not identical, with the cerain 
above referred to. (Philos. Mag., Jan. 1844, p. 20.)* 
* New views have been put forth as to the constitution of wax, in communications from 
B. Collins Brodie to the Royal Society of London. Cerin, when quite pure, he considers as 
a peculiar acid, having the constitution C54II5404, which he names cerotic acid. This he 
procures by precipitating a boiling alcoholic solution of cerin by means of an alcoholic 
solution of acetate of lead, treating the precipitated cerotate of lead by hot alcohol and 
ether until everything soluble is removed, then decomposing it with concentrated acetic 
acid, washing the separated cerotic acid with boiling water, and still further purifying it 
by solution in boiling absolute alcohol and refrigeration. The acid is deposited pure. It 
melts at 172° F., and on cooling concretes into a crystalline mass. When distilled alone, the 
' greater portion of it passes unchanged; wrhereas, if mixed with the other constituents of 
wax, it is wholly decomposed; and it is, consequently, not found in the results of the dis- 
tillation of wax itself. It is a singular fact that cerotic acid was not found in some bees- 
wax brought from Ceylon, showing that wax varies much according to the circumstances 
under which it is produced. Myricin, when entirely separated from the cerotic acid, is saponi- 
fiable, but with difficulty; and from the results of saponification palmitic acid (C3.JI3,04) 
was isolated, and a peculiar body, called by Mr. Brodie melissine, having the composition 
an<i considered by him as a wax-alcohol, convertible by the loss of two eqs. of 
hydrogen and the gain of two of oxygen, into melissic acid, as alcohol is converted into 
acetic acid. (See Aceturn ) 
In the examination of a variety of wax from China, Mr. Brodie found a substance called 
by him cerotine (C54H5602), which he regards as the alcohol of cerotic acid, into which it 
was convertible by loss of hydrogen and gain of oxygen as above; that is by oxidation, 
two eqs. of the hydrogen being converted into water. 
According to these views, the varieties of wax are composed of substances having to 
each other similar relations to those which characterize alcohol and acetic acid resulting 
from fermentation. (Chcm. Gaz., vi. 225, and vii. 46.) 
The China wax, above referred to, called pe-la by the Chinese, resembles spermaceti in 
whiteness and crystalline appearance, but is distinguished by greater hardness and fria- 240 
Cera Alba.—Cera Flava. 
PART I. 
White wax has been variously adulterated. White lead sinks to the bottom 
of the vessel when the wax is melted. Starch, meal, and other insoluble sub- 
stances remain behind when the wax is dissolved in oil of turpentine or benzine; 
and the starch is known by producing a blue colour with iodine added to water in 
which the wax has been boiled. Water, which is said to be sometimes fraudu- 
lently incorporated with it, by agitation when partially melted, is driven off by 
heat. Fatty substances render lime-water turbid, when agitated with it and 
allowed to stand. For the detection of stearin and stearic acid, M. Lebel dis- 
solves the suspected wax in two parts of oil, beats the cerate thus formed with 
its wreight of pure water, and then adds a few drops of solution of subacetate of 
lead. If stearin is present, there is an immediate decomposition, and the mix- 
ture acquires an extraordinary solidity from the formation of stearate of lead. 
[Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., xv. 302.) Yogel proposes chloroform as a means of 
detecting the adulteration with fatty matters. That liquid dissolves only 25 per 
cent, of wax, but stearin and stearic acid completely. If, therefore, wax, treated 
with 6 or 8 parts of chloroform, loses more than one-quarter of its weight, it 
may be considered as impure. (Ibid,, xvii. 874.) Overbeck detects stearic acid 
by the abundant effervescence produced from the escape of carbonic aci*d, when 
a small portion of the suspected wax is boiled in a solution, composed of one 
part of carbonate of soda and fifty of distilled water. (Pharm. Journ., xi, 
128.) Fehling detects stearic acid and resin by boiling one part of the wax 
in twenty of alcohol, filtering the solution when cool, and then adding water. 
If either of these substances be present, there will be a flocculent precipitate, 
whereas if the wax be pure there will scarcely be an observable turbidness. 
The natural fats, as tallow, suet, lard, &c., are not amenable to this test; but 
it may be applied by first saponifying them, and thus converting them into the 
fatty acids, as the stearic. But, as wax itself is somewhat liable to be affected, ■ 
it is necessary to avoid too strong an alkaline solution, and too long boiling in 
the process. To obviate such a result, 30 grain’s of the wax are to be boiled with 
two or three fluidounces of water containing 6 grains of pure hydrate of soda, 
and the mass then saturated with a very dilute acid, and heated. The wax is 
then to be separated, dried between folds of blotting paper, and treated as above 
for stearic acid. (Neues Bepert. fur Pharm., viii. 78.) To detect paraffin, 
which is another adulteration, Prof. Landolt, of Bonn, heats the wax with fuming 
sulphuric acid (Nordhausen), which destroys the wax, converting it into a black 
jelly-like mass, while the paraffin is left as a transparent layer on the surface. 
(See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxxiv. 35.) There are other less precise methods 
of detecting adulterations. Thus, spermaceti and lard render wax softer and less 
cohesive, of a smoother and less granular fracture, and of a different odour when 
heated. The melting point and specific gravity are lowered by tallow, suet, and 
lard. Legrip’s cereometer is based upon the altered specific gravity of wax when 
adulterated. Any one may apply this principle by making a mixture of alcohol 
and water such that pure wax will neither sink nor rise in it, but remain where- 
ever placed. Adulterated wax would either swim or sink in this liquid. Pereira 
says that pure wax is yellowish-white; and that the white wax in circular cakes 
always contains spermaceti, added to improve its colour. 
bility, and a somewhat fibrous fracture. It melts at about 181° F., is very slightly solu- 
ble in alcohol or ether, is insoluble in cold oil of turpentine and rectified petroleum, but is 
dissolved by these fluids with the aid of heat. These solubilities distinguish it from sper- 
maceti. (Pharrn. Journ., xiv. 9.) It was formerly supposed to be of vegetable origin; but 
has been ascertained to be the product of an insect belonging to the genus Coccus, which 
fixes itself to the branches of a certain tree, and, investing them closely, becomes embed- 
ded in a waxy material, which is scraped off with the insects, and constitutes the crude 
wax. It is purified by melting and straining. (Hanbury, Pharrn. Journ., xii. 476.) The tree 
from which the wax is obtained has been ascertained to be the Fraxinus Chinensis of Rox- 
burgh. [Ibid., Sept. 1, 1859, p. 176.) part I. 
Cera 'Alba.—Cera Flava. 
241 
Medical Properties and Uses. Wax has little effect upon the system. Under 
the impression that it sheathes the inflamed mucous membrane of the bowels, it 
has been occasionally prescribed in diarrhoea and dysentery; and it is mentioned 
by Dioscorides as a remedy in the latter complaint. By Poerner it is highly re- 
commended in excoriations of the bowels, attended with pain and obstinate diar- 
rhoea. His mode of using it is to melt the wax with oil of almonds or olive oil, 
and, while the mixture is still hot, to incorporate it by means of the yolk of an 
egg with some mucilaginous fluid. The dose is half a drachm three or four times 
a day. Another method is to form an emulsion by means of soap ; but it is evi- 
dent that the soap would be the most energetic ingredient. Wax is also used to 
fill cavities in carious teeth. Its chief employment, however, is in the formation 
of ointments, cerates, and plasters. It is an ingredient in almost all the officinal 
cerates, which owe their general title to the wax they contain. 
3. Vegetable Wax. Many vegetable products contain wax. It exists in the 
pollen of numerous plants, and forms the bloom or glaucous powder which covers 
certain fruits, and the coating of varnish with which leaves are sometimes sup- 
plied. In some plants it is so abundant as to be profitably extracted for use. 
Such is the Ceroxylon Andicola, a lofty palm growing in the South American 
Andes. Upon the trunk of this*tree, in the rings left by the fall of the leaves, is 
a coating of wax-like matter, about one-sixth of an inch thick, which is removed 
by the natives, and employed in the manufacture of tapers. It contains, according 
to Vauquelin, two-thirds of a resinous substance, and one-third of pure wax. Two 
kinds of wax are collected in Brazil, one called carnauba* from the leaves of a 
palm growing in the province of Ceara, the other ocuba, from the fruit of a shrub 
of the province of Para. (Journ. de Pharm., Be ser., v. 154.)f But the form of 
vegetable wax best known in this country is that derived from Myrica cerifera, 
and commonly called myrtle wax. The wax myrtle is an aromatic shrub, from one 
to twelve feet high, growing in the United States from New England to Louisi- 
ana, and flourishing especially on the sea-coast. The fruit, which grows in clus- 
ters closely attached to the stems and branches, is small, globular, and covered 
with a whitish coat of wax, which may be separated for use. Other parts of the 
plant are said to possess medical virtues. The bark of the root is acrid and astring- 
ent, and in large doses emetic, and has been popularly employed in jaundice. The 
process for collecting the wax is simple. The berries are boiled in water, and the 
wax, melting and floating on the surface, is either skimmed off and strained, or 
allowed to concrete as the liquor cools, and then removed. To render it pure, it 
is again melted and strained, and cast into large cakes. It is collected in New 
Jersey, North Carolina, and New England, and particularly in Rhode Island. 
* This is obtained from Ceroxylon carnauba and other palms of Brazil, being found on the 
under surface of the leaves. It is hard, brittle, and butf-coloured, resembling the resins more 
than wax, and melts at 192° F., which is much higher than the fusing point of other kinds 
of vegetable wax. “ It takes a fine polish when rubbed with any soft material,” does not 
receive impressions from the finger at the natural temperature of the hand, and is adapted 
for polishing furniture, either alone or mixed with wax. (B. S. Proctor. See .4m. J. ofPharm., 
xxxv. 527.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 
f Japan Wax. A substance under this name has been imported into Europe in considerable 
quantities, either directly from Japan, or through the Chinese ports. It is obtained from 
the berries of the Rhus succedaneum of Linnaeus. It has come in two forms, the one, as origi- 
nally distinguished by Mr. Hanbury, of circular cakes, about four inches in diameter, and 
an inch thick, flat on one side and somewhat convex on the other; the second, as brought 
iirectly from Japan, of large rectangular blocks, which are packed in chests. It bears a 
considerable resemblance to purified beeswax, but is not quite so white, having a slightly 
yellowish tint, is softer, more friable, and has a somewhat rancid smell and taste. Its melt- 
ing point is below that of wax, varying from 120°, as stated by Prof. Procter, to 125°, 126°, 
and even 131°, as observed in different specimens by Mr. Hanbury. It is much more soluble 
in alcohol than beeswax, is saponifiable with the alkalies, and is said to consist of palmitic 
acid and glycerin. It has been employed in the preparation of candles, which yield as bril- 
liant light as those made of common wax. It is possible that it may be found useful in the 
of cerates, &c.—Note to the twelfth edition. 242 
Cera Alba.—Cera Flava.—Cetaceum. 
PART I. 
Myrtle, wax is of a pale grayish-green colour, somewhat diaphanous, more 
brittle and unctuous to the touch than beeswax, of a feeble odour, and a slightly 
bitterish taste. It is about as heavy as water, and melts, according to Mr. G. E. 
Moore, at from 116° to 120°. It is insoluble in water, scarcely soluble in cold 
alcohol, soluble, excepting about 13 per cent., in twenty parts of boiling alcohol, 
which deposits the greater portion on cooling, soluble also in boiling ether, and 
slightly so in oil of turpentine. It is readily saponifiable with the alkalies. By 
Dr. John it was found to consist, like beeswax, of cerin and myricin, containing 
81 per cent, of the former and 13 of the latter; but a more accurate analysis by 
Mr. Moore gives as its constituents one part of palmitin and four of palmitic acid, 
with a little laurin or lauricacid. {Am. Journ. ofSci. and Arts, May, 1862, p. 319.) 
The green colour and bitterness depend upon distinct principles, which may be 
separated by boiling with ether. On cooling, the wax is deposited eolourless, while ; 
the ether remains green. The colour is ascribed by Mr. Moore to chlorophyll. 
Medical Properties and Uses. This variety of wax has been popularly em- 
ployed in the United States as a remedy for dysentery; and we are told by Dr. 
Fahnestock that he found great advantage from its use in numerous cases, during 
an epidemic prevalence of that complaint. He gave the powdered wax in doses 
of a teaspoonful frequently repeated, mixed with'mucilage or syrup. (Am. Journ. 
of Med. Sci., ii. 313.) It is occasionally substituted by apothecaries for beeswax 
in the formation of plasters, and is used in the preparation of tapers and candles. 
It is somewhat fragrant when burning, but emits a less brilliant light than 
common lamp oil. W. 
CETACEUM. U.S., Br. 
Spermaceti. 
A peculiar concrete substance obtained from Physeter macrocephalus. U.S. 
Nearly pure cetine, separated by cooling and purification from the oil contained 
in the head. Br. 
Blanc de baleine, Spermaceti, Cetine, Fr.; Wallrath, Germ,.; Spermaceti, Ilal.; Espcrma 
de bellena, Span. 
The spermaceti whale is from sixty to eighty feet long, with an enormous 
head, not less in its largest part than thirty feet in circumference, and constitut- 
ing one-third of the whole length of the body. The upper part of the head is 
occupied by large cavities, separated by cartilaginous partitions, and containing 
an oily liquid, which, after the death of the animal, concretes into a white spongy 
mass, consisting of spermaceti mixed with oil. This mass is removed, and the oil 
allowed to separate by draining. The crude spermaceti, obtained from a whale 
of the ordinary size, is more than sufficient to fill twelve large barrels. It still 
contains much oil and other impurities, from which it is freed by expression, 
washing with hot water, melting, straining, and repeated washing with a weak 
boiling ley of potash. Common whale oil and the oil of other cetaceous animals 
contain small quantities of spermaceti, which they slowly deposit on standing. 
Spermaceti is in white, pearly, semitransparent masses, of a crystalline folia- 
ceous texture; friable, soft, and somewhat unctuous to the touch; slightly odor- 
ous; insipid; of the sp.gr. 0 943; fusible at 112° F. (Bostock); volatilizable 
at a higher temperature without change in vacuo, but partially decomposed if 
the air is admitted; inflammable; insoluble in water; soluble in small proportion 
in boiling alcohol, ether, and oil of turpentine, but deposited as the liquids cool; 
readily soluble in chloroform* and in the fixed oils; not affected by the mineral 
acids, except the sulphuric, which decomposes and dissolves it; rendered yel- 
lowish and rancid by long exposure to hot air, but capable of being again purified 
* In consequence of its solubility in chloroform, stains made by dropping it on doth may 
be quickly removed by this liquid.—Note to the twelfth edition. PART I. 
Cetaceum.—Cetraria. 
by washing with a warm ley of potash. As found in the shops it is not chemically 
pure, containing a fixed oil, and often a peculiar colouring principle. From 
these it is separated by boiling in alcohol, which on cooling deposits it in crys- 
talline scales. Thus purified, it does not melt under 120° F., is soluble in 40 
parts of boiling alcohol of the sp.gr. 0‘821 (Thenard), and is harder, more 
shining, and less unctuous than ordinary spermaceti. The name of cetin was 
proposed for pure spermaceti by Chevreul. Its ultimate constituents are carbon, 
hydrogen, and oxygen. By the agency of the alkalies, it is with difficulty saponi- 
fied, yielding an acid, called by MM. Dumas and Stass ethalic acid, and a pecu- 
liar principle named ethal by Chevreul. From a more recent analysis, however, 
by Dr. Heintz, it would appear that the ethalic acid of Dumas and Stass is a 
complex substance, consisting of not less than five distinct acids, viz. the marga- 
ric, palmitic, cetic, myristic, and cocinic, and that consequently pure spermaceti 
is a mixture of the salts of these acids with ethal. (Chem. Gaz., x. 321.) Etlial 
is now considered as bearing to a hypothetical carbohydrogen cetyl (C32H83) the 
same relation that alcohol bears to ethyl; that is, to be a hydrated oxide of cetyl, 
and is accordingly denominated cetylic alcohol (C32H330,H0). 
Medical Properties and Uses. Like the fixed oiis, spermaceti has been given 
as a demulcent in irritations of the pulmonary and intestinal mucous membranes; 
but it possesses no peculiar virtues, and its internal use has been generally aban- 
doned. It may be reduced to powder by the addition of a little alcohol or almond 
oil, or suspended in water by means of mucilage, or the yolk of eggs and sugar. 
A convenient mode of forming an emulsion with spermaceti, is to mix it first 
with half its weight of olive oil, then with powdered gum arabic, and lastly with 
water gradually added. Externally it is much employed as an ingredient of 
ointments and cerates. 
Off. Prep. Ceratum Cetacei, U. S.; Unguentum Aquae Rosse, U. S.; Ungnen- 
tum Cetacei, Br. W. 
CETRARIA. TJ.S.,Br. 
Iceland Moss. 
Cetraria Islandica. U.S. The entire Lichen. Br. 
Lichen d’lslande, Fr.; Isliindisches Moos, Germ..; Liehene Islandico, Ital.; Liquen 
Islandico, Span. 
Cetraria. Sex. Syst. Cryptogamia Lichenes. — Nat. Ord. Lichenaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Plant cartilagino-membranous, ascending or spreading, lobed, 
smooth, and naked on both sides. Apothecia shield-like, obliquely adnate with 
the margin, the disk coloured, plano-concave; border inflexed, derived from the 
frond. Loudon’s Encyc. 
The genus Lichen of Linnaeus has been divided by subsequent botanists into 
numerous genera, which have been raised to the dignity of a distinct order, both 
in the natural and artificial systems of arrangement. The name Cetraria has 
been conferred on the genus to which the Iceland moss belongs. 
Cetraria Islandica. Acharius, Lichenog. Univ. 512.—Lichen Islandicus. 
Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 803, t. 211. Iceland moss is foliaceous, erect, from two to 
four inches high, with a dry, coriaceous, smooth, shining, laciniated frond or 
leaf, the lobes of which are irregularly subdivided, channeled, and fringed at their 
edges with rigid hairs. Those divisions upon which the fruit is borne are dilated. 
The colour is olive-brown or greenish-gray above, reddish at the base, and lighter 
on the under than the upper surface. The fructification is in fiat, shield-like, 
reddish-brown receptacles, with elevated entire edges, placed upon the surface 
of the frond near its border. The plant is found in the northern latitudes of the 
old and new continents, and on the elevated mountains further south. It received 
its name from the abundance in which it prevails in Iceland. It is also abundant 
cn the mountains and in the sandy plains of New England. 244 
Cetraria. 
PART I. 
The dried moss is of diversified colour, grayish-white, brown, and red, in dif- 
ferent parts, with less of the green tint than in the recent state. It is inodorous, 
and has a mucilaginous, bitter taste. Macerated in water, it absorbs rather more . 
than its own weight of the fluid, and, if the water be warm, renders it bitter. 
Boiling water extracts all its soluble principles. The decoction thickens upon 
cooling, and acquires a gelatinous consistence, resembling that of starch in ap- 
pearance, but without its viscidity. After some time the dissolved matter sepa- 
rates, and when dried forms semitransparent masses, insoluble in cold water, 
alcohol, or ether, but soluble in boiling water, and in solution forming a blue 
compound with iodine. This principle resembles starch in its general characters, 
but differs from it in some respects, and has received the distinctive name of 
lichenin. Berzelius found in 100 parts of Iceland moss 16 of chlorophyll, 3-0 
of a peculiar bitter principle, 3 6 of uncrystallizable sugar, 3 7 of gum, 7 0 of 
the apotheme of extractive, 44-6 of the peculiar starch-like principle, T9 of the 
bilichenates of potassa and lime mixed with phosphate of lime, and 36-2 of 
amylaceous fibrin—the excess being l-6 parts. 
The name of cetrarin has been conferred on the bitter principle. The follow- 
ing process for obtaining it is that of Dr. Herberger. The moss, coarsely pow- 
dered, is boiled for half an hour in four times its weight of alcohol of 0-883. 
The liquid, when cool, is expressed and filtered, and treated with dilute muriatic 
acid, in the proportion of three drachms to every pound of moss employed. 
Water is then added in the quantity of about four times the bulk of the liquid, 
and the mixture left for a night in a closed matrass. The deposit which forms is 
collected on a filter, allowed to drain as much as possible, and submitted to the 
press. To purify it, the mass, while still moist, is broken into small pieces, washed 
with alcohol or ether, and treated with two hundred times its weight of boiling 
alcohol, which dissolves the cetrarin, leaving the other organic principles by 
which it has been hitherto accompanied. The greater part is deposited as the 
liquor cools, and the remainder may be obtained by evaporation. By this process 
one pound of moss yielded to Dr. Herberger 133 grains of cetrarin. This prin- 
ciple is white, not crystalline, light, unalterable in the air, inodorous, and ex- 
ceedingly bitter, especially in alcoholic solution. Its best solvent is absolute 
alcohol, of which 100 parts dissolve 17 of cetrarin at the boiling temperature. 
Ether also dissolves it, and it is slightly soluble in water. Its solutions are quite 
neutral to test paper. It is precipitated by the acids, and rendered much more 
soluble by the alkalies. Concentrated muriatic acid changes its colour to a bright 
blue. It precipitates the salts of iron, copper, lead, and silver. In the dose of 
two grains, every two hours, it has been used successfully in intermittent fever. 
(Journ. de Pharm., xxiii. 505.) Drs. Sehnedermann and Knopp have ascertained 
that the cetrarin above referred to consists of three distinct substances; 1. ce- 
traric acid, which is the true bitter principle, crystallizable, and intensely bitter; 
2. a substance resembling the fatty acids, called lichstearic acid; and 3. a green 
colouring substance, which they name thallochlor. These principles are obtained 
perfectly pure with great difficulty. {Ann. der Pharm., lv. 144.) 
The gum and starch contained in the moss render it sufficiently nutritive to 
serve as food for the inhabitants of Iceland and Lapland, who employ it pow- 
dered and made into bread, or boiled with milk, having first partially freed it 
from the bitter principle by repeated maceration in water. The bitterness may 
be entirely extracted by macerating the powdered moss, for twenty-four hours, 
in twenty-four times its weight of a solution formed with 1 part of an alkaline 
carbonate and 375 parts of water, decanting the liquid at the end of this time, 
and repeating the process with an equal quantity of the solution. The powder, 
being now dried, is perfectly sweet and highly nutritious. This process was sug- 
gested by Berzelius. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Iceland moss is demulcent, nutritions, ani PAKT I. 
Cetraria.—Chenopodium. 
245 
tonic, and well calculated for affections of the mucous membrane of the lungs 
and bowels, with debility of the digestive organs, or of the system generally 
Hence it has been found useful in chronic catarrhs, and other chronic pulmonary 
affections attended with copious puruloid expectoration, in dyspepsia, in chronic 
dysentery and diarrhoea, and in the debility succeeding acute disease, or depend- 
ent on copious purulent discharge from external ulcers. At one time it pos 
sessed much reputation as a remedy in pulmonary consumption. It had long 
been employed in this disease, and in haemoptysis, by the Danish physicians, 
before it became generally known. In the latter half of the last century it came 
into extensive use, and numerous cures supposed to have been effected by it are 
on record. But now that the pathology of phthisis is better understood, physi- 
cians have ceased to expect material advantage from it in that disease; and 
there is reason to believe that the cases which have recovered under its use, were 
simply chronic bronchitis. It acts only as a mild, nutritious, demulcent tonic; 
and can exercise no specific influence over the tuberculous affection. 
It is usually employed in the form of decoction. (See Decoctum Cetrarise.) 
By some writers it is recommended to deprive it of the bitter principle by ma- 
ceration in water or a weak alkaline solution, before preparing the decoction; 
but we thus reduce it to the state of a simple demulcent, or mild article of diet, 
in which respect it is not superior to the ordinary farinaceous or gummy sub- 
stances used in medicine. The powder is sometimes given in the dose of thirty 
grains or a drachm; and a preparation at one time obtained some repute, in 
which the ground moss was incorporated with chocolate, and used at the morn- 
ing and evening meal as an ordinary beverage. 
Off. Prep. Decoctum Cetrarise. W. 
CHENOPODIUM. TJ.S. 
Wormseed. 
The fruit of Chenopodium anthelmintieum. U. S. 
Ciienopodium. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Digynia. — Nat. Ord. Chenopodiaceae. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx five-leaved, four-cornered. Corolla none. Seed one, lenticular, 
superior. Willd. 
Chenopodium anthelmintieum. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1304; Barton, Med. Bot. 
ii. 183. This is an indigenous perennial plant, with an herbaceous, erect, branch- 
ing, furrowed stem, which rises from two to five feet in height. The leaves are 
alternate or scattered, sessile, oblong-lanceolate, attenuated at both ends, sinuated 
and toothed on the margin, conspicuously veined, of a yellowish-green colour, and 
dotted on their under surface. The flowers are very numerous, small, of the 
same colour with the leaves, and arranged in long, leafless, terminal panicles, 
composed of slender, dense, glomerate, alternating spikes. 
This species of Chenopodium, known commonly by the names of wormseed 
and Jerusalem oak, grows in almost all parts of the United States, but most 
vigorously and abundantly in the southern section. It is usually found in the 
vicinity of rubbish, along fences, in the streets of villages, and in open grounds 
about the larger towns. It flowers from July to September, and ripens its seeds 
successively through the autumn. The whole herb has a strong, peculiar, offen- 
sive, yet somewhat aromatic odour, which it retains when dried. All parts of 
the plant are occasionally employed; but the fruit only is strictly officinal. This 
should be collected in October.* 
* C. anthelmintieum is cultivated to a considerable extent in Maryland, twenty or thirty 
miles north of Baltimore. The seeds are sown in small beds of rich mould early in spring, 
and during the month of June the young plants are pulled up, and set out in ridges three 
feet apart, with intervals of from six to ten inches. The plants do not require to be renewed Chenopodium.—Chimaphila. 
part i. 
"Woriuseed, as found in the shops, is in small grains, not larger than the head 
of a pin, irregularly spherical, very light, of a dull, greenish-yellow, or brownish 
eolour, a bitterish, somewhat aromatic, pungent taste, and possessed in a high 
degree of the peculiar smell of the plant. These grains, when deprived, by rub- 
bing them in the hand, of a capsular covering which invests the proper seed, 
exhibit a shining surface of a very dark colour. They abound in a volatile oil, 
upon which their sensible properties and medical virtues depend, and which is 
obtained by distillation. (See Oleum Chenopodii.) The same oil impregnates 
to a greater or less extent the whole plant. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Wormseed is one of our most efficient indi- 
genous anthelmintics, and is thought to be particularly adapted to the expulsion 
of the round worms in children. A dose of it is usually given before breakfast 
in the morning, and at bedtime in the evening, for three or four days succes- 
sively, and then followed by calomel or some other brisk cathartic. If the worms 
are not expelled, the same plan is repeated. The medicine is most conveniently 
administered in powder, mixed with syrup, in the form of an electuary. The 
dose for a child two or three years old is from one to two scruples. The vola- 
tile oil is more frequently given than the fruit in substance; though its offensive 
odour and taste sometimes render it of difficult administration. The dose for a 
child is from live to ten drops, mixed with sugar, or in the form of emulsion. A 
tablespoonful of the expressed juice of the leaves, or a wineglassful of the de- 
coction prepared by boiling an ounce of the fresh plant in a pint of milk, with 
the addition of orange-peel or other aromatic, is sometimes substituted in do- 
mestic practice for the ordinary dose of the fruit and oil. 
The fruit of Chenopodium ambrosioides, which is also an indigenous plant, 
and very prevalent in the Middle States, is said to be used indiscriminately with 
that of G. anthelminticum. It may be distinguished by its odour, which is weaker 
and less offensive, and to some persons agreeable. The plant itself is often con- 
founded with the true wormseed, from which it differs in having its flowers in 
leafy racemes. This species of Chenopodium has been employed in Europe as a 
remedy in nervous affections, particularly chorea. Five or six cases of this dis- 
ease, reported by Plenk, after having resisted the ordinary means, yielded to the 
daily use of an infusion of two drachms of the plant in ten ounces of water, taken 
in the dose of a cupful morning and evening, and associated with the employ- 
ment of peppermint. 
G. Botrys, known by the vulgar name of Jerusalem oak, is another indigenous 
species, possessing anthelmintic virtues. It is said to have been used in France 
with advantage in catarrh and humoral asthma. 
Off. Prep. Oleum Chenopodii, U. S. W. 
CHIMAPHILA. U.S. 
Pipsissewa. 
The leaves of Chimaphila umbellata. U. S. 
Chimaphila. Sex. Syst. Decandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Pyrolacese. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx five-toothed. Petals five. Style very short, immersed in the 
germ. Stigma annular, orbicular, with a five-lobed disk. Filaments stipitate; 
stipe discoid, ciliate. Capsules five-celled, opening from the summits, margins 
unconnected. Nuttall. 
This genus was separated from Pyrola by Pursh. It embraces two species, G 
oftener than once in four or five years. The crop of the second year is more productive 
than the first. The plant is fit for distillation during the first half of September. The dis- 
tillation is carried on in the same neighbourhood. The whole herbaceous part of the plant 
is used. It is said to yield from 1-5 to 2 per cent, of the oil, and the produce of an act* 
will yield 20 pounds. (See Am. Journ. o/Fharm., xxii. 304.) PART I. 
Chimaphila. 
247 
umbellata and C. maculata, which are both indigenous, and known by the com- 
mon title of winter-green. The generic title is formed of two Greek words, xeitia 
winter, and <pcXo<; a friend. C. umbellata only is officinal. 
Chimaphila umbellata. Barton, Med. Bot. i. 17; Carson, Illust. of Med. Boi 
i. 62, pi. 53. — Pyrola umbellata. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 622; Bigelow, Am. Med. 
Bot. ii. 15. The pipsissewa is a small evergreen plant, with a perennial, creep- 
ing, yellowish root (rhizoma), which gives rise to several simple, erect or semi- 
procumbent stems, from four to eight inches in height, and ligneous at their base. 
The leaves are wedge-shaped, somewhat lanceolate, serrate, coriaceous, smooth, 
of a shining, sap-green colour on the upper surface, paler beneath, and supported 
upon short footstalks, in irregular whorls, of which there are usually two on the 
same stem. The flowers are disposed in a small terminal corymb, and stand upon 
nodding peduncles. The calyx is small and divided at its border into five teeth 
or segments. The corolla is composed of five roundish, concave, spreading petals, 
which are of a white colour tinged with i’ed, and exhale an agreeable odour. The 
stamens are ten, with filaments shorter than the petals, and with large, nodding, 
bifurcated, purple anthers. The germ is globular and depressed, supporting a 
thick and apparently sessile stigma, the style being short and immersed in the 
germ. The seeds are numerous, linear, chaffy, and enclosed in a roundish, de- 
pressed, five-celled, five-valved capsule, having the persistent calyx at the base. 
This humble but beautiful evergreen is a native of the northern latitudes of 
America, Europe, and Asia. It is found in all parts of the United States, ex- 
tending even to the Pacific Ocean. It grows under the shade of woods, and pre- 
fers a loose sandy soil, enriched by decaying leaves. The flowers appear in June 
and July. All parts of the plant are endowed with active properties. The leaves 
and stems are kept in the shops. 
G. maculata, or spotted winter-green, probably possesses similar virtues. The 
character of the leaves of the two plants will serve to distinguish them. Those 
of C. maculata are lanceolate, rounded at the base, where they are broader than 
near the summit, and of a deep olive-green, veined with greenisli-white ; those 
of the officinal species are broadest near the summit, gradually narrowing to the 
base, and of a uniform shining green. 
Properties. Pipsissewa, when fresh and bruised, exhales a peculiar odour. The 
taste of the leaves is pleasantly bitter, astringent, and sweetish ; that of the stems 
and root unites with these qualities a considerable degree of pungency. Boiling 
water extracts the active properties of the plant, which are also imparted to 
alcohol. The leaves have been examined by Mr. Samuel Fairbank, who found 
in them gum, starch, sugar, extractive, pectic acid, tannic acid, resin, fatty mat- 
ter, chlorophyll, yellow colouring matter, lignin, a peculiar whitish substance 
which he calls chimaphilin, and various inorganic substances, as potassa, lime, 
magnesia, chloride of sodium, and sulphuric, phosphoric, and silicic acids. The 
chimaphilin was obtained by agitating a tincture with chloroform, allowing the 
mixture to stand, removing the lighter liquid, and allowing the chloroformic solu- 
tion to evaporate spontaneously. A yellow crystalline substance was left, which, 
purified by solution in alcohol, filtration and spontaneous evaporation, constituted 
the substance in question. It was also obtained by simply distilling the stems with 
water. It is in beautiful, golden-yellow, acicular crystals, inodorous, tasteless, 
fusible, volatilizable unchanged, insoluble or nearly so in water, soluble in alco- 
hol, ether, chloroform, and the fixed and volatile oils, and possessed of neither 
acid nor alkaline properties. (Journ. and Trans, of the Md. Col. of Pharm., 
March, 1860.) The active principle of the leaves does not appear to have been 
isolated, though probably contained in the substance called bitter extractive. 
The so-named chimaphilin has no claims to this character, nor, we think, to the 
name given to it, which should be reserved for the active principle when discov- 
ered, The pungency of the stems is said by Mr. Fairbank to reside in the resin. 248 
Chimaphila.—Chiretta. 
part i. 
Medical Properties and Uses. This plant is diuretic, tonic, and astringent. 
It was employed by the aborigines in various complaints, especially scrofula, 
rheumatism, and nephritic affections. From their hands it passed into those of 
the European settlers, and was long a popular remedy in certain parts of the 
country, before it was adopted by the profession. The first regular treatise in 
relation to it that has come to our knowledge, was the thesis of Dr. Mitchell, 
published in the year 1803; but it wras little thought of till the appearance of 
the paper of Dr. Sommerville, in the 5th volume of the London Medico-Chirur- 
gical Transactions. By this wrriter it was highly recommended as a remedy in 
dropsy; and his favourable report has been sustained by the subsequent state- 
ments of many respectable practitioners. It is particularly useful in cases attended 
with disordered digestion and general debility, in which its tonic properties and 
usual acceptability to the stomach prove highly useful auxiliaries to its diuretic 
powers. Nevertheless, it cannot be relied on exclusively in the treatment of the 
complaint; for, though it generally produces an increased flow of urine, it has 
seldom effected cures. Other disorders, in which it is said to have proved useful, 
are calculous and nephritic affections, and in general all those complaints of the 
urinary passages for which uva ursi is prescribed. It is highly esteemed by some 
practitioners as a remedy in scrofula, both before and after the occurrence of 
ulceration ; and it has certainly proved highly advantageous in obstinate ill-con- 
ditioned ulcers and cutaneous eruptions, supposed to be connected with the stru- 
mous diathesis. In these cases it is used both internally, and locally as a wash. 
The decoction is the preparation usually preferred, and may be taken to the 
amount of a pint in twenty-four hours. The watery extract may be given in the 
dose of twenty or thirty grains four times a day. Prof. Procter prepares a syrup 
by macerating four ounces of the leaves, finely bruised, in eight fluidounces of 
water for thirty-six-hours, and then subjecting the mass to percolation till a pint 
of fluid is obtained, which is reduced one-half by evaporation, and incorporated 
with twelve ounces of sugar. One or two tablespoonfuls may be given for a dose. 
Prof. Procter has suggested also a fluid extract, prepared in the same manner 
as the saccharine fluid extracts of the IT. S. Pharmacopoeia, especially that of uva 
ursi. A fluidrachm of it would represent a drachm of pipsissewa. 
Off. Prep. Decoctum Chimaphilos, U. S. W. 
CHIRETTA. U.jS. 
Chiretta. 
The herb and root of Agathotes Chirayta. U. S. 
Off. Syn. CHIRATA. Chiretta. Ophelia Chirata. The entire plant. Br. 
Agathotes. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Gentianaceae. 
Gen. Oh. Corolla withering, rotate, in aestivation twisted to the right; with 
glandular hollows protected by a fringed scale upon the segments. Anthers not 
ehauging. Stigmas sessile. Capsules conical; one-celled, with spongy placentae 
upon the sutures. Seeds indefinite, minute. (Bindley.) 
Agathotes Chirayta. Don, Bond. Philos. Mag. 1836, p. 76.— Gentiana Chi- 
rayta. Fleming, Asiat. Research, xi. 167. — Ophelia Chirata. Grisbach. The 
chirayta or chiretta is an annual plant, about three feet high, with a branching 
root, and an erect, smooth, round stem, branching into an elegant leafy panicle, 
and furnished with opposite, embracing, lanceolate, very acute, entire, smooth, 
three or five-nerved leaves. The flowers are numerous, peduncled, yellow, with 
a four-cleft calyx having linear acute divisions, the limb of the corolla spreading 
and four-parted, four stamens, a single style, and a two-lobed stigma. The cap- 
sules are shorter than the permanent calyx and corolla. The plant is a native 
of Nepaul, and other parts of northern India. The wdiole of it is officinal. It is 
gathered when the flowers begin to decay. PART I. 
Cliiretta.—Chloroformum.—Chondrus. 
The dried plant is imported into Europe in bundles, consisting mainly of the 
stems, with portions of the root attached. The stems, which have been already 
described, contain a yellowish pith. All parts of the plant have a very bitter taste, 
which is strongest in the root. It is without odour. It imparts its virtues to 
water and alcohol; and they are retained in the extract. According to Lassaigno 
and Boissel, the stems contain resin, a yellow bitter substance, *brown colouring 
matter, gum, and various salts. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Chiretta has long been used in India, where 
it is a favourite remedy with both the native and European practitioners. It has 
been introduced into Europe, and appears to be highly esteemed; but has not 
been employed to any considerable extent in this country. Its properties are 
those of the pure bitters, and probably do not differ from those of the other 
members of the family of Gentianacem. (See Gentiana.) Like these, in over- 
doses it nauseates and oppresses the stomach. Some have supposed that, in 
addition to its tonic properties, it exerts a peculiar influence over the liver, pro- 
moting the secretion of bile and correcting it when deranged, and restoring 
healthy evacuations in cases of habitual costiveness. But it may well be doubted 
whether it produces any other effects of this kind than such as are incident to 
its tonic power. It has been used in dyspepsia, and in the debility of convales- 
cence, and generally in cases in which corroborant measures are indicated. In 
India it has been successfully employed in intermittents and remittents, com- 
bined with the seeds of Guilandina Bonduc. It may be given in powder, in- 
fusion, tincture, or extract. The dose in substance is twenty grains. A fluid ex- 
tract may be made in the same manner as that of gentian. (See Extractum Gen- 
tianse Fluidum.) 
Off. Prep. Infusum Chiratse, Br.; Tinctura Chiratse, Br. W. 
CHLOROFORMUM VENALE. US. 
Commercial Chloroform. 
In the TJ. S. Pharmacopoeia of 1850 a process was given for the preparation of 
chloroform ; in the present edition, the drug, in its impure commercial form, has 
been placed in the Materia Medica Catalogue, while a process is given in the 
second part of the work for its purification. Thinking it expedient that what is 
to be said on the subject should all be included under the same head, we shall 
content ourselves here with referring the reader to the article Chloroformum 
Purificatum in Part II. 
Off. Prep. Chloroformum Purificatum, V S. 
CHONDRUS. US. 
Irish Moss. 
Chondrus crispus. U. S. 
Chondrus. Sex. Syst. Cryptogamia Algae. — Nat. Ord. Algaceae. 
Gen. Gh. Frond cartilaginous, dilating upwards into a flat, nerveless dicho- 
tomously divided expansion, of a purplish or livid-red colour. Fructification, 
subspherical capsules in the substance of the frond, rarely supported on little 
•stalks, and containing a mass of minute free seeds. Greville. 
Chondrus crispus. Greville, Alg. Brit. 129, t. 15. — Sphserococcus crispus. 
Agardh.—Fucus crispus. Linn. The Irish moss, or carrageen as it is fre- 
quently called, consists of a flat, slender, cartilaginous frond, from two to twelve 
inches in length, dilated as it ascends until it becomes two or three lines in width, 
then repeatedly and dichotomously divided, with linear, wedge-shaped segments, Chondrus.—Cimicifuga. 
PART I. 
and mt»re or less curled up so as to»diminish the apparent length. The capsules 
are somewhat hemispherical, and are embedded in the disk of the frond. The 
plant grows upon rocks and stones on the coast of Europe, and is especially 
abundant on the southern and western coasts of Ireland, where it is collected. 
It is also a native of the United States, and is said to be gathered largely on the 
southern sea-coast of Massachusetts, where it is partly torn from the rocks, and 
partly collected upon the beach, upon which it is thrown up during storms. It 
is prepared for market by spreading it out high on the beach, to dry and bleach 
in the sun. (Aug. P. Melzar, Proceed, of Am. Pharm. Assoc., A. D. 1860.) 
When collected, it is washed and dried. In the fresh state it is of a purplish 
colour, but, as found in the shops, is yellowish or yellowish-white, with occasion- 
ally purplish portions. It is translucent, of a feeble odour, and nearly tasteless. 
It swells in cold water but does not dissolve. Boiling water dissolves a large 
proportion of it, and the solution, if sufficiently concentrated, gelatinizes on 
cooling. According to Feuchtwanger, it contains starch and pectin, with com- 
pounds of sulphur, chlorine, and bromine, and some oxalate of lime. Herberger 
found 79 T per cent, of pectin, and 9 5 of mucus, with fatty matter, free acids, 
chlorides, &c., but neither iodine nor bromine. M. Dupasquier discovered in it 
both of these elements, which had generally escaped attention in consequence of 
their reaction, as soon as liberated, upon the sulphuret of sodium resulting from 
the decomposition of the sulphate of soda of the moss when charred. (Journ. de 
Pharm., 3e ser., iii. 113.) The pectin Pereira thinks peculiar, and proposes to 
call carrageenin. It is distinguished from gum by affording, when dissolved in 
water, no precipitate with alcohol; from starch, by not becoming blue with tinc- 
ture of iodine; from pectin, by yielding no precipitate with acetate of lead, and 
no mucic acid by the action of nitric acid. 
Carrageen is nutritive and demulcent, and, being easy of digestion and not 
unpleasant to the taste, forms a useful article of diet in cases in which the fari- 
naceous preparations, such as tapioca, sago, barley, &c., are usually employed. 
It has been particularly recommended in chronic pectoral affections, scrofulous 
complaints, dysentery, diarrhoea, and disorders of the kidneys and bladder. It 
may be used in the form of decoction, made by boiling a pint and a half of water 
with half an ounce of the moss down to a pint. Sugar and lemon-juice may 
usually be added to improve the flavour. Milk may be substituted for water, 
when a more nutritious preparation is required. It is recommended to macerate 
1 he moss for about ten minutes in cold water before submitting it to decoction. 
Any unpleasant flavour that it may have acquired from the contact of foreign 
substances is thus removed. W. 
CIMICIFUGA. U.S. 
Cimicifuga. Black Snakeroot. 
The root of Cimicifuga racemosa. U. S. 
Cimicifuga. Sex.Syst. PolyandriaDi-Pentagynia. — Nat.Ord. Ranunculacese 
Gen. Cli. Calyx four or five-leaved. Petals four to eight, deformed, thickish, 
sometimes wanting. Capsules one to five, oblong, many-seeded. Seeds squa 
mose. Nuttall. 
Cimicifuga racemosa. Torrey, Flor. 219; Carson, lllust. of Med. Bot. i. 9, 
pi. 3.— C. Serpentaria. Pursh, Flor. Am. Sept. p. 372.—Actsea racemosa. 
Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1139. — Macrotys racemosa. Eaton’s Manual, p. 288. 
This is a tall stately plant, having a perennial root, and a simple herbaceous 
stem, which rises from four to eight feet in height. The leaves are large, and 
ternately decomposed, having oblong-ovate leaflets, incised and toothed at their 
edges. The flowers are small, white, and disposed in a long, terminal, wand-like PART I. 
Cimicifuga. 
251 
raceme, with occasionally one or two shorter racemes near its base. The calyx 
is white, four-leaved, and deciduous; the petals are minute, and shorter than 
the stamens; the pistil consists of an oval germ and a sessile stigma. The fruit 
is an ovate capsule containing numerous flat seeds. 
The black snakeroot, or cohosh as this plant is sometimes called, i3 a native 
of the United States, growing in shady or rocky woods from Canada to Florida, 
and flowering in June and July. The root is the part employed. 
Properties. The dried root consists of a thick, irregularly bent or contorted 
body or caudex, from one-third of an inch to an inch in thickness, often several 
inches in length, furnished with many slender radicles, and rendered exceedingly 
rough and jagged in appearance by the remains of the stems of successive years, 
which to the length of an inch or more are frequently attached to the root. 
The colour is externally dark-brown, almost black, internally whitish; the odour, 
though not strong, is peculiar and rather disagreeable, and is gradually lost by 
keeping; the taste is bitter, herbaceous, and somewhat astringent, leaving a 
slight sense of acrimony. The root yields its virtues to boiling water. It was 
found by Mr. Tilghman, of Philadelphia, to contain gum, starch, sugar, resin, 
wax, fatty matter, tannic and gallic acids, a black colouring matter, a green 
colouring matter, lignin, and salts of potassa, lime, magnesia, and iron. (Journ. 
of Phil. Got. ofPharm., vi. 20.) It no doubt also contains, when fresh, a volatile 
principle, with which its virtues may be in some degree associated; as we are 
confident that it is more efficacious in the recent state, than when long kept. In 
fact, Mr. Geo. H. Davis, in a more recent analysis, has separated by distillation 
a small proportion of volatile oil, having decidedly the peculiar odour of the 
root. Mr. Davis also found, in addition to the principles above mentioned, albu- 
men and extractive among the organic, and silica among the inorganic constitu- 
ents. The sugar, moreover, noticed by him was of the uncrystallizable variety, 
and the resin of two kinds, one soluble in alcohol but not in ether, the other 
soluble in both these menstrua. (Am. Journ. ofPharm., xxxiii. 396.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. The effects, of cimicifuga in health have not 
been fully investigated. It was at one time considered a mild tonic, with the 
property of stimulating the secretions, particularly those of the skin, kidneys, 
and bronchial mucous membrane; and has been thought by some to have an 
especial affinity for the uterus. It undoubtedly exercises considerable influence 
over the nervous system, probably of a sedative character; but this influence, so 
far as our observation has gone, is shown more in morbid states of that system 
than in health. Dr. Hildreth, of Ohio, found it, in large doses, to produce ver- 
tigo, impaired vision, nausea and vomiting, and a reduction of the circulation; 
but from very large quantities he observed no alarming narcotic effects. Dr. N. 
S. Davis uniformly found it to lessen the force and frequency of the pulse, to 
soothe pain, and allay irritability. (Trans, of Am. Med. Assoc., i. 352.) Its 
common name was probably derived from its supposed power as an antidote to 
the bite of the rattlesnake. It was originally employed in domestic practice in 
rheumatism, dropsy, hysteria, and various affections of the lungs, particularly 
tfiose resembling consumption. The first published notice of its use in phthisis 
r/as by Dr. Thomas J. Garden, of Charlotte, Virginia. (Am. Med. Recorder, Oc- 
tober, 1823.)* Several cases of chorea were recorded by Dr. Jesse Young, in 
which it effected cures; and the editor of the Am. Journ. of the Med. Sciences 
stated that he had been informed by Dr. Physick that he had known it, in the 
dose of ten grains every two hours, to prove successful in the cure of that com- 
plaint in several instances. Dr. Young gave a teaspoonful of the powdered root 
three times a day. (Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., ix. 310.) We have administered the 
medicine in chorea with complete success, and have derived the happiest effects 
* In a letter from Dr. Garden to tlie authors, dated May 15th, 1850, that practitioner 
states that thirty years’ use of the medicine has fully realized the favourable anticipations 
produced by the first trials. 252 
Cimicifuga.—Cinchona. 
PART I. 
from it in a cfi.se of periodical convulsions connected with uterine disorder. Dr. 
Hildreth has found it, in combination with iodine, very advantageous in the 
early stages of phthisis. {Ibid., N. S., iv. 281.) Dr. F. N. Johnson has employed 
it with extraordinary success in acute rheumatism; the disease generally yield- 
ing completely within eight or ten days. (Trans, of Am. Med. Assoc., i. 352.) 
It may be given in substance, decoction, tincture, or extract. The dose of the 
powder is from a scruple to a drachm. The decoction has been much used, but 
is thought by some not to contain all the virtues of the root. An ounce of the 
bruised root may be boiled for a short time in a pint of water, and one or two 
fluidounces given for a dose. From half a pint to a pint of the decoction may 
be taken without inconvenience during the day. The tincture may be made in 
the proportion of four ounces to the pint of diluted alcohol, and given in the 
dose of one or two fluidrachms. In acute rheumatism, the remedy is recom- 
mended by Dr. Davis, in the dose of from thirty to sixty drops of the tincture, 
or twenty grains of the powder, repeated every two hours till its effects are ob- 
served. (Ibid., p. 356.) Dr. Brundige speaks, in the strongest terms, of the effi- 
cacy of a saturated tincture of the dried root, as an application about the eye, 
and to the outer surface of the eyelids in ophthalmia. (Med. Exam., N. S., vii. 
809, from the N. Y. Med. Gaz.) Dr. Koehler, of Schuylkill Haven, Pa., after 
failing with the decoction and simple tincture in the treatment of chorea, suc- 
ceeded satisfactorily with an acetous tincture, made by digesting, for fourteen 
days, five ounces of the root with a menstruum consisting of one of 
diluted acetic acid, eight of alcohol, and eleven of water. The dose is the same 
as that of the simple tincture. (N. Am. Med. Chir. Ren., iii. 189.) A. fluid ex- 
tract is now officinal; and a dry extract has been prepared by Professor Proc- 
ter. The dose of the former is from 30 to 60 minims, of the latter from 4 to 8 
grains.* The practitioners calling themselves eclectics use, under the name of 
cimicifugin, an impure resin obtained by precipitating a saturated tincture of 
the root with water. It is given in the dose of a grain or two. The name, how- 
ever, is inappropriate, as it should be reserved for the pure active principle when 
discovered. (See N. J. Med. Reporter, viii. 247.) 
Off. Prep. Extractum Cimicifugae Fluidum, U. S. W. 
CINCHONA. 
Peruvian Baric. Cinchona Bark. 
Varieties. 
CINCHONA FLAY A. TJ. S., Br. Yelloiu Cinchona. The bark of Cinchona 
Calisaya, called in commerce Calisaya bark, and containing not less than two 
per cent, of alkaloids yielding crystallizable salts. U. S. 
Cinchona Calisaya. The bark. Br. 
CINCHONA PALLIDA. U.S.,Br. Pale Cinchona. The bark of Cinchona 
Condaminea and of Cinchona micrantha. U. S. 
Cinchona Condaminea. The bark. Br. 
CINCHONA RUBRA. U. S., Br. Red Cinchona. The bark of an undeter- 
* The dry extract is prepared in the following manner. Sixteen ounces of the recently 
dried root, in powder, are put into a percolator for volatile liquids, and a mixture of a 
pint of alcohol and half a pint of ether is gradually added. After the liquid has ceased to 
pass, diluted alcohol is poured in until the filtered liquid equals a pint and a half, which 
is set aside in a warm place, and allowed to evaporate spontaneously until reduced to hali 
a pint. The percolation is continued with diluted alcohol until two pints of tincture are 
obtained. The two tinctures are eyaporated separately to the consistence of syrup, then 
mixed, and carefully evaporated to dryness by means of a water-bath. (Aw. Journ oj 
Pharm., xxvi. 107.)—Note to the eleventh edition. PART I. 
Cinchona. 
253 
mined species of Cinchona, called in commerce red bark, and containing not 
less than two per cent, of alkaloids yielding crystallizable salts. U. S. 
Cinchona succirubra. The bark. Br.* 
Quinquina, Ft.; China, Peruvianische Piinde, Germ..; China, Ital.; Quina, Span. 
Botanical History. 
Though the Peruvian bark was introduced into Europe so early as 1640, it 
was not till the year 1737 that the plant producing it was known to naturalists. 
In that year La Condamine, on a journey to Lima, through the province of 
Loxa, had an opportunity of examining the tree, of which, upon his return, he 
published a description in the Memoirs of the French Academy. Soon after- 
wards Linnaeus gave it the name of Cinchona officinalis, in honour of the 
Countess of Cinchon, who is said to have first taken the bark to Europe; but, in 
his description of the plant, he united the species discovered by La Condamine 
with C.puhescens, a specimen of which had been sent to him from Santa Fe de 
Bogota. For a long time it was not known that more than one species existed; 
and C. officinalis continued, till a comparatively recent period, to be recognised 
by the Pharmacopoeias as the only source of the Peruvian bark of commerce. 
But a vast number of plants belonging to the Linnaean genus Cinchona were in 
the course of time discovered; and the list became at length so unwieldy and 
heterogeneous, that botanists were compelled to distribute the specie* into seve- 
ral groups, each constituting a distinct genus, and all associated in the natural 
family of Cinchonacese. Among these genera, the Cinchona is that which embrace 
the proper Peruvian bark trees, characterized by the production of the alkaloids, 
quinia, cinchonia, &c., as well as by certain botanical peculiarities, among which 
the most distinctive is probably the dehiscence of the capsule from the base to- 
wards the apex, or from below upward. The new genera Exostemma and Buena 
embrace species which have been, perhaps, most frequently referred to as Cin- 
chonas; but they are sufficiently characterized, the former by the projection of 
the stamens beyond the corolla, a peculiarity which has given name to the genus, 
the latter by the different shape of the corolla, the separation of the calyx from 
the fruit at maturity, and the opening of the capsule from above downward. 
More recently Weddell has separated several generally admitted species from 
Cinchona, and instituted a new genus, which he proposes to name Cascarilla. 
This includes the former Cinchona magnifolia of Ruiz and Pavon (C. oblongi- 
folia of Mutis), the C. stenocarpa of Lambert, the C. acutifolia of Ruiz and 
* The British Pharmacopoeia gives the following methods of testing these varieties. 
1. “Test of Yellow Cinchona. Boil 100 grains of the bark, reduced to very fine powder, 
for a quarter of an hour, in a fluidounce of distilled water acidulated with ten minims of 
hydrochloric acid; and allow it to macerate for twenty-four hours. Transfer the whole 
to a small displacement tube, and, after the fluid has ceased to percolate, add at intervals 
about an ounce and a half of similarly acidulated water, or add until the fluid which 
passes through is free from colour. Add to the percolated fluid solution of subacetate of 
lead until the whole of the colouring matter has been removed, taking care that the fluid 
remains acid in reaction. Filter, and wash with a little distilled water. To the filtrate add 
about thirty-five grains of caustic potash, or so much as will cause the precipitate which 
is at first formed to be nearly redissolved, and afterwards six fluidrachms of pure ether. 
Then shake briskly, and, having removed the ether, repeat the process twice with three 
fluidrachms of ether, or until a drop of the ether employed leaves on evaporation scarcely 
any perceptible residue. Lastly, evaporate the mixed ethereal solution in a capsule. The 
residue, which consists of nearly pure quinia, when dry, should weigh not less than two 
grains, and should be readily soluble in dilute sulphuric acid. 
2. Test for Pale Cinchona. Two hundred grains of the bark, treated in the manner di- 
rected in the test for yellow cinchona, with the substitution of chloroform for ether, should 
yield not less than two grains of alkaloids. 
3. Test for Red Cinchona. One hundred grains of the bark, treated in the manner di- 
rected in the test for yellow cinchona, with the substitution of chloroform for ether, should 
yield not less than two grains of alkaloids.” Br.—Note to the twelfth edition. 254 
Cinchona. 
PART I. 
Pavon, the C. oblong ifolia of Lambert, the C.macrocarpa of Vahl, and the 
C. cava of Pavon, which differ from the true Cinchona in having the dehiscence 
of the capsules from the apex towards the base, or from above downward, and 
the barks of which contain neither of the alkaloids above referred to. (Weddell, 
Hist. Nat. des Quinquinas, p. 77.) With this brief preliminary notice, we shall 
proceed to consider the true Cinchonas. It may be proper, however, first to 
say, that the botanists who have personally observed these plants, besides La 
Condamine, of whom we have before spoken, are chiefly Joseph de Jussieu, who 
in the year 1739 explored the country about Loxa, and gathered specimens still 
existing in the cabinets of Europe; Mutis, who in 1772 discovered Cinchona 
trees in New Granada, and afterwards, aided by his pupil Zea, made further in- 
vestigations and discoveries in the same region; Ruiz and Pavon, who in 1777 
began a course of botanical inquiries in the central portions of Lower Peru, and 
discovered several new species; Humboldt and Bonpland, who visited several 
of the Peruvian bark districts, and published the results of their observations 
after 1792; Poppig, who travelled in Peru so late as 1832, and published an ac- 
count of his journey about the year 1835; and finally Weddell, whose researches 
in Bolivia are so well known, and have been so productive of valuable information 
in relation to the Calisaya bark. 
Cinchona. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Cinchonaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx with a turbinate tube, and a persistent five-toothed limb. 
Corolla with a round tube, a five-parted limb, and oblong lobes valvate in 
aestivation. Stamens with short filaments inserted into the middle of the tube, 
and linear anthers entirely enclosed. Stigma bifid, subclavate. Capsule ovate 
or oblong, somewhat furrowed on each side, bilocular, crowned with the calyx, 
septicidal-dehiscent, with the mericarps loosened from the base towards the 
apex, the introflexed part disjoined. Placentae elongated. Seeds numerous, erect, 
imbricated upward, compressed, winged, with a membranous margin, and a fleshy 
albumen.—The plants composing this genus are trees or shrubs. The leaves are 
opposite, upon short petioles with flat margins, and are attended with ovate or 
oblong, foliaceous, free, deciduous stipules. The flowers are terminal, in corym- 
bose panicles, and of a white or purplish rose colour. (De Candolle.) 
The genuine Cinchona trees are confined exclusively to South America. In 
that continent, however, they are widely diffused, extending from the 19th degree 
of south latitude, considerably south of La Paz, in Bolivia, to the mountains of 
Santa Martha, or, according to Weddell, to the vicinity of Caracas, on the north- 
ern coast, in about the 10th degree of north latitude. They follow, in this dis- 
tance, the circuitous course of the great mountain ranges, and for the most part 
occupy the eastern slope of the second range of the Cordilleras. Those which 
yield the bark of commerce grow at various elevations upon the Andes, seldom 
less than 4000 feet above the sea; and require a temperature considerably lower 
than that which usually prevails in tropical countries.* 
* Transplantation of the Cinchona trees. For a long time after the discovery of the virtues 
of Peruvian bark, no attempt appears to have been made to transplant to other countries 
the trees which produced it. In 1737, La Condamine collected a large number of young 
plants, with the view of conveying them to Europe; but, after having descended the 
Amazon in safety for more than a thousand leagues, they were washed overboard, near 
the mouth of that river, from the boat containing them, and were all lost. After this failure, 
though the idea of transplanting the Cinchonas was occasionally suggested, nothing was 
done until 1846-7, when Dr. Weddell, now celebrated for his successful exploration of the 
region of the Calisaya bark, sent some seeds to France, which were planted with success 
in the Jardin des Plantes, and thus supplied some of the conservatories of Europe with 
specimens of the plant. But the first successful effort, with a view to great practical re- 
sults, was made, in 1853, by the Dutch Government, by whom Mr. Hasskarl, formerly 
superintendent of the botanical garden in Java, was sent to South America on this im- 
portant mission. A number of young Cinchona plants were sent by him directly across 
the Pacific to Batavia, which they reached before the close of 1854. From these, and from PART I. 
Cinchona. 
255 
There.has been much difficulty in properly arranging the species of Cinchona. 
One source of the difficulty is the varying shape of the leaves of the same species, 
according to the degree of elevation upon the mountainous declivities, to the 
severity or mildness of the climate, the greater or less humidity of the soil, and 
to various circumstances in the growth of individual plants. Even the same tree 
often produces foliage of a diversified character; and a person, not aware of 
this fact, might be led to imagine that he had discovered different species, from 
an examination of the leaves from one and the same branch. The fructification 
partakes, to a certain extent, of the same varying character. Lambert, in his 
“ Illustration of the genus Cinchona,” published in 1821, after admitting with 
Humboldt the identity of several varieties which had received specific names 
from other botanists, described nineteen species. De Candolle enumerated only 
sixteen. Lindley admits twenty-one known species, and five doubtful. Weddell 
describes twenty-one species, including eight new ones of his own, and two 
doubtful, and excluding several before admitted by other writers, which he joins 
to his new genus Cascarilla. 
Until very recently, it was impossible to decide from which species of Cinchona 
the several varieties of bark were respectively derived. The former references of 
the yellow bark to C. cordifolia, of the pale to C. lancifolia, and of the red to C. 
oblongifolia, have been very properly abandoned in all the Pharmacopoeias. It 
is now universally admitted that the officinal barks, known in the market by these 
seeds obtained from other sources, which were planted in the mountains of Java, in sites 
selected for their supposed conformity in climate with the native locality of the Cinchona, 
have sprung plantations, which in 1860 contained nearly a million of trees, of which 15,000 
or 16,000 were of the C. Calisaya. Dr. De Vry obtained, from the bark of one of the Cin- 
chona plants of Java, not five years old, 3-12 per cent, of quinia, which is equal to the 
product of the Bolivian trees. Many of the trees, at the end of 1861, were thirty feet high. 
Unfortunately, however, most of the plants in Java are of comparatively valueless species; 
and the Dutch will probably not be able to draw from their existing plantations all the 
important commercial results to which their enterprise and perseverance entitle them. 
The English East India Government has been more successful. Stimulated by the sug- 
gestions of Dr. Royle, and by the partial success of the Dutch, they engaged, in 1859, the 
services of Mr. Clements B. Markham, who proceeded to Bolivia, in South America, and, 
after almost incredible hardships, arising partly from the nature of the country, and partly 
from the jealousy of the native authorities, succeeded in collecting and transmitting to 
England upwards of 400 Calisaya plants. Most of these, however, were so much injured, 
on their way from England to India, by the excessive heat of the Red Sea, that very few, 
on their arrival in Hindostan, had sufficient life remaining to grow when planted. Hap- 
pily, the deficiency was supplied by seeds of C. Calisaya sent from Java, where they were 
produced, to Calcutta, at the request of the English Governor General. (De Vry, Fharm. 
Journ., April, 1863, p. 440.) Whilst Mr. Markham was in Bolivia, other agents were col- 
lecting other species in Peru and Ecuador, whence seeds of the pale and red bark Cinchonas 
reached India, and, being planted in the selected sites, proved to be very productive. 
The sites selected for the Cinchona plantations were in the Neilgherry Hills, in Southern 
India, in the Presidency of Madras, at the junction of the East and West Ghauts, near the 
Sanitary Station of Ootacamund, at heights varying from 5000 to 7450 feet above the sea. 
These positions unite the peculiar, characters of the native region of the Cinchonas in the 
Andes, not only as regards elevation and latitude, but also as to atmospheric moisture, an 
excess of which, for the greater portion of the year, seems essential to the perfection of 
these trees. Other situations also have been chosen, as at Darjeeling, in the mountains of 
British Sikhim, Presidency of Bengal, and in the mountains of Ceylon. 
The success of this enterprise, thus far, has been complete. In April, 1863, there were 
in the Neilgherry plantations alone 120,000 Cinchona trees, of which 45,000 were of the 
Cinchona succirubra, which yields the genuine red bark, 1500 of the C. Calisaya, and others 
of less valuable, but still productive species. At the latest accounts, specimens of the bark 
of C. succirubra, two years old, had been sent to London, and, on examination by Mr. 
Howard, yielded from 3-30 to 3-40 per cent, of pure alkaloids, of which 2-40 was quinia 
with a little cinchonidia, and 0-60 cinchonia; a product quite equal to that of the South 
American red barks of the same age; so that the question has been determined of the 
productiveness of these transplanted trees; and it now only remains to be settled how far 
the enterprise may be successful in a commercial point of view. (Fharm.. Journ., June and 
July, 1862, and April, July, and Aug. 1863.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 256 
Cinchona. 
part I. 
titles, are not the product of the species mentioned. It is stated by Humboldt, 
that the property of curing agues belongs to the barks of all the Cinchonas with 
hairy and woolly blossoms, and to these alone. All those with smooth corollas 
belong to the genus Cascarilla of Weddell. Within a few years much light has 
been thrown upon the botanical history of the different varieties of bark, and at 
present most if not all of the valuable varieties can be traced to their sources. 
The following species are acknowledged by the Pharmacopoeia of the U. States. 
1. Cinchona Calisaya. Weddell, Hist. Nat. des Quinquinas, p. 30, t. 3. This 
is a lofty tree, with a trunk often two feet or more in diameter, and a summit 
usually rising above the other trees of the forest. The leaves are petiolate, 
oblong or lanceolate-obovate, from three to six inches long and one or two in 
breadth, obtuse, acute or slightly attenuated at the base, softish, above smooth, 
of a velvety aspect, and obscurely green, beneath smooth and of a pale emerald 
hue, with scrobiculi at the axils of the veins, but scarcely visible on the upper 
surface. The stipules are about as long as the petioles, oblong, very obtuse, and 
very smooth. The flowers are in ovate or subcorymbose panicles.. The calyx is 
pubescent, with a cup-shaped limb, and short triangular teeth ; the corolla is 
rose-coloured, with a cylindrical tube about four lines long, and a laciniate limb 
fringed at the edges; the stamina are concealed in the tube, with anthers more 
than twice as long as the filaments. The fruit is an ovate capsule scarcely as 
long as the flower, enclosing elliptical lanceolate seeds, the margin of which is 
irregularly toothed, with a fimbriated appearance. The tree grows in the forests, 
upon the declivities of the Andes, at the height of 6000 or 7000 feet above the 
ocean, in Bolivia and the southernmost part of Peru. 
A variety of this species, described by Weddell under the name of Josephiana, 
is a mere shrub, not more than twelve feet high, with a slender stem, erect branches, 
and a strongly adherent bark. This variety is found in some places covering ex- 
tensive surfaces destitute of forest trees. .Weddell supposes that these tracts had 
once been covered with forests, which, having been destroyed by fires, have been 
succeeded by this stunted growth springing from the roots, and prevented from 
receiving its full development by the want of protection from other trees. 
By the discovery of this species the long unsettled point of the botanical source 
of Calisaya bark has been determined. The immense consumption of that bark, 
and the wasteful methods pursued by the bark gatherers have caused the rapid 
destruction of the tree; and already it has disappeared from the neighbourhood 
of inhabited places, except in the form of a shrub. Weddell was compelled to 
make long journeys on foot through the forests, by paths scarcely opened, before 
he could get a sight of the tree in its full vigour. 
2. Cinchona Condaminea. Ilumb. and Bonpl. Plant. Equin. i. p. 33, t. 10; 
Bindley, Flor. Med. 414; Carson, lllust. of Med. Bot. i. 53, pi. 45.—Cinchona 
officinalis. Linn.; Hooker, Bot. Mag. t. 5364. This tree, when full grown, has 
a stem about eighteen feet high and a foot in thickness, with opposite branches, 
of which the lower are horizontal, and the higher rise at their extremities. The 
bark of the trunk yields when wounded a bitter astringent juice. The leaves are 
of variable shape, but generally ovate-lanceolate, about four inches in length by 
less than two in breadth, smooth, and scrobiculate at the axils of the veins be- 
neath. The flowers are in axillary, downy, corymbose panicles. The tree grows 
on the declivities of the mountains, at an elevation of from about a mile to a 
mile and a half, and in a mean temperature of 67° F. It was seen by Humboldt 
and Bonpland in the neighbourhood of Loxa, and is said also to grow near Guan- 
cabamba and Ayavaca in Peru. It is now admitted to be the source of the crown 
bark of Loxa. Weddell considers as varieties of this species, though with some 
hesitation, as he has never seen them alive, the following: 1. Candollii (C. ma- 
crocalyx of Pavon and De Candolle); 2. lucumsefolia ((7. lucumsefolia of Pavon 
and Lindley); 3. lancifolia (C. lancifolia of Mutis), hereafter referred to as a 
distinct species; and 4. Pitayensis, growing in New Granada. PART I. 
Cinchona. 
257 
3. C. micrantha. Ruiz and Pavon, FI. Peruv. ii. 52, t. 194; Lindley, Flor. 
Med. 412; Carson, Illust. of Med. Bot. i. 52, pi. 44. This is a large tree, forty 
feet high, with oblong leaves, from four to twelve inches in length and from two 
to six in breadth, scarcely acute, smooth, shining on the upper surface, and scro- 
biculate at the axils of the veins beneath. The flowers are in terminal, loose, 
leafless panicles, and are smaller than those of any other species except C. lanci- 
folia. {Lindley.) The tree grows, according to Ruiz and Pavon, in the moun- 
tains near Chicoplaya, Monzon, and Puebla de San Antonio, according to Poppig, 
at Cuchero, and, according to Weddell, in the Peruvian province of Carabaya, 
and in Bolivia. Ruiz states that its bark is always mixed with that sent into the 
market from the provinces of Panatahuas, Huamilies, and Iluanuco. The Edin- 
burgh and Dublin Colleges ascribed to it the cinchona cinerea, the gray or silver 
hark of British commerce; and the U. S. Pharmacopoeia recognises it as one of 
the sources of pale bark, as it undoubtedly is. 
Though not recognised in our officinal code, there is another species, recently 
determined, which, as the source of the genuine red bark, is scarcely less import- 
ant than either of the preceding, and has, within a few years, acquired additional 
value from the great success with which it has been transplanted, and propagated 
in the Highlands of Hindostan. We refer to the species denominated, after 
Pavon, Cinchona succirubra. 
4. C. succirubra. Pavon, Ms.; Howard, Pharm. Journ. and Trans., Octob. 
1856, p. 209, with a figure. —C. ovata, var. erythroderma. Weddell, Hist. Nat. des 
Quinquin. p. 60. This species has been satisfactorily ascertained to produce the 
proper officinal red bark, the origin of which remained so long unknown, or at 
least undetermined. The name of C. succirubra originated with Pavon, having 
been applied by him, in an unpublished manuscript, to an undescribed species 
yielding the bark called cinchona colorada de Huaranda, which has been shown 
to be identical with officinal red bark ; while a specimen of the plant itself, in the 
collection of Ruiz and Pavon at Kew, upon examination by Mr. J. E. Howard, 
of London, proved to correspond exactly with a specimen of the red-bark tree 
which that gentleman had received from South America. The same plant was 
described by Weddell, in his Natural History of the Cinchonas, as a variety 
of C. ovata, under the designation of Cinchona ovata, var. erythroderma, and 
was conjectured by him to be the source of red bark, though he did not at the 
time feel justified in giving a decided opinion. This point, however, having been 
subsequently determined, and the plant elevated to the dignity of a new species, 
Mr. Howard proposed at first to name it Cinchona erythroderma, not only from 
courtesy to Dr. Weddell, but also from the appropriateness of the name itself, 
implying the redness of the bark; but Pavon’s name of succirubra was after- 
wards preferred on the ground of priority, being itself also (red-juiced) expressive 
of a quality of the tree. This species is, when full grown, of great magnitude; 
but almost all the older trees have been destroyed, and few now remain with a 
stem so much as a foot in diameter. The branches have a silvery epidermis, cor- 
responding with that of the red bark in quills as often seen in the market. The 
leaves are ovate, varying greatly in size, often as much as nine inches by six, nar- 
rowing towards the base, somewhat membranaceous, pubescent beneath, and green 
on both sides. The tree inhabits a region, in the present republic of Ecuador, on 
the western slope of Chimborazo, the sea-port of which is the town of Guayaquil. 
Besides the foregoing species, several others deserve a brief notice, either as 
contributing to furnish the bark of commerce, or on account of the attention they 
have received from pharmacologists. 
5. C. scrobiculata. Humb. and Bonpl. Plant. Equin. i. p. 165, t. 47; Weddell, 
Hist. Nat. des Quinquinas, p. 42, t. 7. This species was united by Lindley with 
C. micrantha; but Weddell, who has had ample opportunities of forming a just 
conclusion, considers it as one of the best characterized species of the genus. 258 
Cinchona, 
PART I. 
According to this author, the scrobiculi at the axils of the veins on the under 
surface of the leaf, which are one of the most prominent of its peculiarities, are 
not usually found in C. micrantha, as stated in its description ; but what have been 
taken for them, in the latter species, are simply small bundles of hairs. The tree 
was seen by Humboldt and Bonpland, forming large forests near the city of Jaen 
de Bracomoros ; and Weddell states that it is met with also in the Peruvian pro- 
vinces of Cuzco and Carabaya. Large quantities of the bark were formerly col- 
lected at Jaen, and sent to the coast to be shipped for Lima. At present the 
traders in this bark are said by Weddell to be chiefly at Cuzco. The bark of the 
younger branches has been ranked with the pale or gray barks; that of the larger 
branches has been sometimes employed to adulterate the Calisaya. 
0. G. lancifolia. Mutis, Period, de Santa Fe, p. 465 ; Lindley, Fhr. Med. 415. 
This is one of the species discovered by Mutis in New Granada, and by the dis- 
ciples of that botanist was considered as embracing many trees which had received 
distinct specific designations. By the London College it was long recognised as the 
source of one of the officinal barks, under the impression, probably, that it was 
identical with C. Condaminea, which was known to yield one of the most highly 
valued varieties. It is, however, a native of New Granada; and, as none of the 
barks recognised by the Pharmacopoeias come from Carthagena, its product, 
which must be shipped from that port, cannot be considered as ranking among 
them. It yields the orange bark of Mutis, or fibrous Carthagena bark of present 
pharmacologists. 
7. G. cordifolia. Mutis, in Humb. Magaz. Berlin, 1807, p. 117; Lindley, 
Flor. Med. 839 ; Carson, Illust. of Med. Bot. i. 51, pi. 43. This is a spreading 
tree, fifteen or twenty feet high, with a single, erect, round stem, covered with a 
smooth bark, of a brownish-gray colour. It was first discovered by Mutis in the 
mountains about Santa Fe de Bogota, in New Granada, and grows at elevations 
varying from 5800 to 9500 feet. It was formerly considered by the British Col- 
leges as the source of their yellow bark; but has been ascertained not to pro- 
duce the officinal bark, which never comes from the region where it is known to 
grow. Guibourt found that the quina amarilla or yellow bark of Sanle Fe, 
which is probably produced by C. cordifolia, is identical with hard Carthagena 
bark. Weddell states that the tree grows also in Peru, and yields the white and 
ash-coloured barks of Loxa. 
8. G. Bolivianoi. Weddell, Hist. Nat. des Quinquinas, p. 50, t. 9. This tree 
was discovered and named by Weddell, who found it growing in Bolivia and 
Peru, extending somewhat further northward than C. Calisaya, but not so far 
towards the south. In the northern parts of Bolivia the two species frequently 
grow together. The bark of C. Boliviana is generally mixed in commerce with 
the proper Calisaya, from which it cannot always be easily distinguished. This 
is less to be regretted, as, according to Weddell, the properties of the two barks 
are not essentially different. It is said that this botanist now considers his C. 
Boliviana as scarcely more than a variety of C. Calisaya; and Mr. Markham, 
who joins in this opinion, proposes to designate the plant Cinchona Calisaya, 
var. Morada. (Pliarm. Journ., Sept. 1863, p. 108.) The close resemblance of 
the products of the two trees is a strong evidence of their specific identity. 
9. G. ovata. Ruiz and Pavon, FI. Peruv.; Weddell, Hist. Nat. des Quinquinas, 
p. 42, t. xi. and xii. This species grows in close groves, in warm places at the 
foot of the Andes, near Pozuzo and Panao, about ten leagues from Huanuco. 
Lindley considers it quite distinct from C. pubescens of Vahl, and C. cordifolia 
of Mutis, with both of which it has been confounded. Ruiz calls its bark casca- 
rillo pallido or pale bark, and states that it was not to be found in commerce. 
Yon Bergen, however, upon comparing a specimen of the cascarillo pallido m 
the collection of Ruiz with the Jaen bark, found them identical. From Wed- 
dell’s statements it would seem that this species is widely diffused in Peru and PART i. 
Cinchona, 
259 
Bolivia, and varies extremely in the character of its bark in different situations. 
In the parts visited by him, the finer qualities pass for Calisaya bark; and in 
the Peruvian province of Carabaya, bordering on Bolivia, it is habitually em- 
ployed to sophisticate that bark. He believes also that much of the quilled bark 
of Loxa and Huanuco must be referred to this species. The variety C. ovata, 
var. erythroderma, referred to in the last edition of the Dispensatory, and now 
known to be the source of the officinal red bark, has been raised to the position 
of a species, under the name of C. succirubra. (See p. 257.) 
In addition to the species above mentioned, the following, for a description of 
which we refer to Lindley’s Flora Medica, yield barks possessing febrifuge pro- 
perties.—10. C.nitida of the Flora Peruviana, incorrectly confounded, accord- 
ing to Lindley, with C. lanceolata by De Candolle, and C. Condaminea by 
Lambert, grows in groves, in cold situations upon the Andes, in the Peruvian 
provinces of Pluanuco, Tarma, ITuamilies, and Xuaxa, and is probably the source 
of the finest variety of commercial Lima bark. — 11. G. lucumsefolia of Pavon, 
confounded by Lambert with C. Condaminea, grows near Loxa, and probably 
contributes to the Loxa or pale barks. — 12. G. lanceolata of the Flora Peruviana 
is found at Cuchero, and various other places fifteen or twenty leagues distant 
from Huanuco, where it forms groves in lofty cold situations upon the Andes. 
Its bark is said by Ruiz and Pavon to be called yellow bark, from the colour of 
its inner surface, and to resemble Calisaya bark in flavour. —13. G. ovalifolia 
of Humboldt and Bonpland, the G. Humboldtiana of Romer and Schultes, and 
of De Candolle, is a shrub from six to nine feet high, inhabiting the province of 
Cuenca, where it forms considerable forests. It probably contributes to the Loxa 
barks, although its product is said to be of inferior quality. —14. G. pubescens 
of Yahl, considered by Lindley as identical with G purpurea of the FI. Peruv., 
is a tree of considerable magnitude, distinguished by the violet tint of its large 
leaves, and the purple colour of its flowers. It occurs in groves on the lower 
mountain ridges in the provinces of Loxa, Jaen, Pantahuas, &c., was seen by 
Poppig at Cuchuo, and is stated to grow also in New Granada. The bark is 
inferior, and is said to be employed for adulterating the better kinds. A speci- 
men taken to Europe by Poppig was found by Reiehel to be identical with the 
Huamilies bark. By Weddell it is stated to be the bark known in French com- 
merce as Gusco bark, and closely to resemble that of C. cordifolia. —15. G. hir- 
suta of the Fi. Peruv grows on wooded mountains in the province of Panata- 
huas near Huanuco, and is said to yield a good bark, called formerly quina 
delgadilla or delgada, now scarcely collected. — 16. G. glandulifera of the FI. 
Peruv. is a shrub of about twelve feet, flourishing on the mountains N. W. of 
Huanuco, and yielding an excellent bark, unknown in commerce, called by the 
inhabitants cascarillo negrillo from its blackish epidermis. In its flowering 
season, it perfumes the forest by the scent of its blossoms. —17. C. Mutisii of 
Lambert (G. glandulifera of Lindley) is considered among the best character- 
ized species. It grows in Loxa, but its bark is unknown. 
Besides the above species, Lindley enumerates, 18. G. rotundifolia of Ruiz 
and Pavon, growing in the province of Loxa ; 19. G. villosa of Pavon (C. Hum- 
boldtiana of Lambert), growing at Jaen of Loxa; and 20. G. caduciflora of 
Bonpland, growing near Jaen de Bracomoros ; not to mention the species joined 
by Weddell to his now admitted genus of Cascarilla. None of the species re- 
ferred to in this paragraph are known to yield bark to commerce. To these must 
now be added, 21. G. amygdalifolia of Bolivia and Peru ; 22. C. australis of 
Bolivia, the most southern of all the known species, growing as far south as the 
1.9th degree of latitude; 23. G. purpurascens; 24. C. Ghomeliana; 25. C.asperi- 
folia, also of Bolivia; and 26. G. Garabayensis of Carabaya; all of which were 
discovered and described by Weddell; but from none of which is commercial 
bark procured. G. dichotoma of the FI. Peruv., G. macrocalyx of De Candolle, 260 
Cinchona. 
PART I. 
C. crassrfolia of Pavon, in De Candolle’s Prodromus, C. Pelalba of the same 
authority, and G. Muzonensis of Goudot in De Candolle’s Prodromus, are con- 
sidered by Lindley as uncertain species. 
Perhaps too much importance has been attached to the study of particular 
species of Cinchona. The character of the product of any one species varies 
much according to the part of the plant decorticated, and the circumstances of 
its growth. Weddell has made some observations on this point, which, if con- 
firmed, may lead to important practical results.* 
Commercial History. 
For more than a century after Peruvian bark came into use, it was procured 
almost exclusively from the neighbourhood of Loxa. In a memoir published 
A. D. 1138, La Condamine speaks of the bark of Rhiobambo, Cuenca, Ayavaca, 
and Jaen de Bracomoros. Of these places, the first two, together with Loxa, 
lie within the ancient kingdom of Quito, at the southern extremity; the others 
are in the same vicinity, within the borders of Peru. The drug was shipped 
chiefly at Payta, whence it was carried to Spain, and thence spread over Europe. 
Beyond the limits above mentioned, the Cinchona was not supposed to exist, 
till, in the year 1153, a gentleman of Loxa discovered it, while on a journey to 
Santa Fe de Bogota, in numerous situations along his route, wherever, in fact, 
the elevation of the country was equal to that of Loxa, or about 6500 feet above 
the level of the sea. This discovery extended through Quito into New Granada, 
so far as two degrees and a half north of the equator. But no practical advan- 
tage was derived from it; and the information lay buried in the archives of the 
vice-royalty, till subsequent events brought it to light. To Mutis belongs the 
credit of making known the existence of the Cinchona in New Granada. He 
first discovered it in the neighbourhood of Bogota, in 1712. A botanical ex- 
pedition was afterwards organized by the Spanish government, with the view of 
* The fundamental idea is, that the chemical character of the bark is connected with 
peculiarities in its intimate structure, and that by knowing the latter we may ascertain, 
with an approach to certainty, the former also; and thus, as the virtues of the bark depend 
on its chemical constitution, we may have reliable criteria of its value. Now, in the differ- 
ent barks there are three varieties of structure; the dead exterior layers being left out of 
the question. First, as in the Calisaya bark, which consists of the inner bark or liber, the 
whole substance is filled with short fusiform fibres, which, whether viewed in a longitudi- 
nal or transverse section, are seen, with the aid of the microscope, to be isolated by a cel- 
lular tissue, in the midst of which they are regularly disposed in parallel lines, lying end 
to end without absolute junction. It is known that this bark abounds in quinia, and owes 
its virtue to that constituent. 
In the second variety, such as the flat bark of C. scrobiculata, a cellular coat exists outside 
of the liber. In this, under the microscope, the inner layer is seen to consist of fibres more 
closely arranged, more numerous and much larger than in the preceding, and firmly at- 
tached at their extremities; and they suddenly diminish in number as we approach the 
outer surface, where the bark consists solely of cells. 
The third variety, of which the bark of C. pubescens is an example, consists chiefly of 
cellular tissue, with a few irregular series of fibres in the inner half; and these fibres are 
three or four times as large as in the other varieties. In the two latter barks cinchonia is 
the predominant alkali; but it is not very abundant in either, and least so in the one last 
mentioned. The inference is, that quinia is most largely developed in those barks in which 
the fibres are short and intimately mixed with cells; while the cinchonia is more espe- 
cially deposited in the tissue exclusively cellular. The fracture in the first variety is, from 
its structure, fibrous, but short-fibrous throughout; that of the second and third is smooth 
where cells exist exclusively, and with long fibres where fibres exist. A shorl, smooth 
fracture, therefore, as in the young barks, or a fracture partly smooth and partly long- 
fibrous, as in the older barks which have not thrown off their cellular layer, indicates a 
cinchonia bark, and one comparatively feeble; while a fracture uniformly short-iibrous 
indicates a variety abounding in quinia and energetic; and, in proportion as a bark ap- 
proaches this latter condition, will it prove to be efficacious.—Note to the ninth ciition part I. 
Cinchona. 
261 
exploring this part of their dominions, and the direction was given to Mutis. 
Its researches eventuated in the discovery of several species of Cinchona in New 
Granada; and a commerce in the bark soon commenced, which was carried on 
through the ports of Carthagena and Santa Martha. 
To these sources another was added about the same time, A. D. 1776, by the 
discovery of the Cinchona in the centre of Peru, in the mountainous region 
about the city of Huanuco, which lies on the eastern declivity of the Andes, north’ 
east of Lima, at least six degrees south of the province of Loxa. To explore 
this new locality, another botanical expedition was set on foot, at the head of 
which were Ruiz and Pavon, the distinguished authors of the Flora Peruviana. 
These botanists spent several years in that region, during which time they dis- 
covered numerous species. Lima became the entrepot for the barks collected 
around Huanuco; and hence probably originated the name of Lima bark, so 
often conferred, in common language, not only upon the varieties received 
through that city, but also upon the medicine generally. 
Soon after the last-mentioned discovery, two additional localities of the Cin- 
chona were found; one at the northern extremity of the continent near Santa 
Martha, the other very far to the south, in the provinces of La Paz and Cocha- 
bamba, then within the vice-royalty of Buenos Ayres, now in the republic of Bo- 
livia. These latter places became the source of an abundant supply of excellent 
bark, which received the name of Calisaya. It was sent partly to the ports on 
the Pacific, partly to Buenos Ayres. 
The consequence of these discoveries was a vast increase in the supply of 
bark, which was now shipped from the ports of Guayaquil, Payta, Lima, Arica, 
Buenos Ayres, Carthagena, and Santa Martha. At the same time, the average 
quality was probably deteriorated; for, though many of thrf new varieties were 
possessed of excellent properties, yet equal care in superintending the collection 
and assorting of the bark could scarcely be exercised, in a field so much more 
extended. The varieties now poured into the market soon became so numerous 
as to burden the memory, if not to defy the discrimination of the druggist; and 
the best pharmacologists found themselves at a loss to discover any permanent 
peculiarities which might serve as the basis of a proper and useful classification. 
This perplexity has continued more or less to the present time; though the dis- 
covery of the alkaline principles has presented a ground of distinction before 
unknown. The restrictions upon the commerce with South America, by direct- 
ing the trade into irregular channels, had also a tendency to deteriorate the 
character of the drug. Little attention was paid to a proper assortment of the 
several varieties; and not only were the best barks mixed with those of inferior 
species and less careful preparation, but the products of other trees, bearing no 
resemblance to the Cinchona, were sometimes added, having been artificially 
prepared so as to deceive a careless observer. The markets of this country were 
peculiarly ill-furnished. The supplies, being derived chiefly, by means of a con- 
traband trade, from Carthagena and other ports on the Spanish Main, or indi- 
rectly through the Havana, were necessarily of an inferior character; and most 
of the good bark which reached us was imported by our druggists from London, 
whither it was sent from Cadiz. A great change, however, in this respect, took 
place, after the ports on the Pacific were opened to our commerce. The best 
kinds of bark were thus rendered directly accessible to us; and the trash with 
which our markets were formerly glutted is now in great measure excluded. Our 
tships trading to the Pacific run along the American coast from Valparaiso to 
Guayaquil, stopping at the intermediate ports of Coquimbo, Copiapo, Arica, 
Callao, Truxillo, &c., from all which they probably receive supplies. Much 
good bark has of late also been imported from Carthagena, and other ports of the 
Caribbean Sea, being brought down the Magdalena river from the mountainous 
regions of I{ew Granada; and, since the completion of the railroad across the Cinchona. 
262 
PART I. 
Isthm is, large quantities have reached this country by way of Panama, to which 
place they are brought chiefly from the Pacific ports of Buenaventura and Guay- 
aquil. An additional source of supply has recently been opened through the 
Amazon; a considerable quantity of bark having been taken to the London 
market from the port of Para, in Brazil, brought down that river, probably from 
the Peruvian province of Huanuco. According to Mr. Howard, the bark thus ob- 
tained is of inferior quality, yielding but a small proportion of alkaloids. (Pharm. 
Journ., Dec. 1863, p. 248.)* 
The persons who collect the bark are called in South America Cascarilleros. 
Considerable experience and judgment are requisite to render an individual 
well qualified for this business. He must not only be able to distinguish the trees 
which produce good bark from those less esteemed, but must also know the pro- 
per season and age at which a branch should be decorticated, and the marks by 
which the efficiency or inefficiency of any particular product is indicated. The 
bark gatherers begin their work with the setting in of the dry season in May. 
Sometimes they first cut down the tree, and afterwards strip off the bark from 
the branches; in other instances they decorticate the tree while standing. The 
former plan is said to be the most economical; as, when the tree is cut down, 
the stump pushes up shoots which in the course of time become fit for decortica- 
tion, while, if deprived of its bark, the whole plant perishes. The operator 
separates the bark by making a longitudinal incision with a sharp knife through 
its whole thickness, and then forcing it off from the branch with the back of the 
instrument. Other means are resorted to, when the trunk or larger limbs are 
decorticated. According to Poppig, the bark is not separated until three or 
four days after the tree is felled. It must then be speedily dried, as otherwise it 
becomes deteriorated. For this purpose it is taken out of the woods into some 
open place, where it is exposed to the sun. In drying it rolls up, or becomes 
quilled; and the degree to which this effect takes place is proportionate directly 
to the thinness of the bark, and inversely to the age of the branch from which 
it was derived. In packing the bark for exportation, it often happens that several 
different kinds are introduced into the same case. The packages are, in com- 
mercial language, called seroons. As found in this market they are usually co- 
vered with a case of thick and stiff ox-hide, lined within by a very coarse cloth, 
apparently woven out of some kind of grass. 
The Cinchona forests, being in very thinly inhabited districts, do not, for the 
most part, belong to individuals, but are open to the enterprise of all who choose 
to engage in the collection of the bark. The consequence is, that the operations 
are carried on without reference to the future condition of this important inter- 
est ; and the most wasteful modes of proceeding are often adopted. Neverthe- 
less, the great extent to which the Cinchona forests prevail, spreading, as they 
do, with some interruptions, over thirty degrees of latitude, and occupying re- 
gions which can never be applied to agricultural purposes, almost precludes the 
idea of their even remote extinction. 
The bitterness of the Cinchona is not confined to its bark. The leaves and 
flowers also have this property, which in the former is associated witli acidity, 
in the latter with a delicious aroma, which renders the air fragrant in neighbour- 
hoods where the trees abound. The wood is nearly tasteless; but the bark of the 
root has the same virtues as that of the trunk; and rich mines of underground 
treasure may await future explorers, in regions which have been stripped of 
their trees either by fire or the axe. 
* An interesting history of the commerce in the Cinchona barks by Dr. II. A. Weddell 
will be found in the American Journ. of Pharm. (xxvi. 539, Nov. 1854), originally Irjil hia 
Voyages dans le Nord dc la Bolivie, Paris, 1853. part I. 
Cinchona 
263 
To form a correct and lucid system of classification is the most difficult part 
of the subject of bark. An arrangement founded on the botanical basis is liable 
to the objection, that the product of the same species may vary according to the 
age of the bark and the situation of the tree; and, besides, is at present scarcely 
practicable ; as, though our knowledge of the source of the several varieties has 
very much extended, it is still defective on some points. 
The Spanish merchants adopted a classification, dependent partly on the 
place of growth or shipment, and partly on the inherent properties, or supposed 
relative value of the bark. So long as the sources of the drug were very con- 
fined, and the number of varieties small, this plan answered the purposes of trade ; 
but at present it is altogether inadequate; and, though some of the names ori- 
ginally conferred upon this principle are still retained, they are often uncertain 
or misapplied. 
Perhaps, on the whole, the best arrangement for pharmaceutical and medicinal 
purposes is that founded upon difference of colour. It is true that dependence 
cannot be placed upon this property alone; as barks of a similar colour have been 
found to possess very different virtues; and, between the various colours considered 
characteristic, there is an insensible gradation of shade, so that it is not always 
possible to decide where one ends and the other begins. Still it has been found 
that'mostof the valuable barks may be arranged, according to their colour, in 
three divisions, which, though mingling at their extremes, are very distinctly cha- 
racterized, in certain specimens, by peculiarity not only in colour, but also in other 
sensible properties, and even in chemical constitution. The three divisions al- 
luded to are the pale, the yellow, and the red. This arrangement has been adopted 
in the U. S. and British Pharmacopoeias; and as, until recently, almost all the 
highly esteemed barks were brought from the Pacific coast of South America, and 
those from the northern coast were deemed inferior, it is only the former that are 
recognised under the three divisions referred to. In describing, therefore, the dif- 
ferent kinds of bark, we shall treat first, under the officinal titles of pale, yellow, 
and red, of those originally brought only from the ports of the Pacific; while those 
coming to us from the northern ports of New Granada and Yenezuela will be subse- 
quently considered under the heading of non-officinal or Carthagena barks, by the 
latter of which names they have been generally known in commerce. The commer- 
cial name will be given whenever a knowledge of it can be useful. It is proper to 
state that the different barks are often mingled in the same package, and that, 
in deciding upon the character of a seroon, the druggist is guided rather by the 
predominance than the exclusive existence of certain distinctive properties. 
Classification. 
1. Pale Bark. 
The epithet pale, applied to the barks of this division, is derived from the 
colour of the powder. The French call them quinquinas gris, or gray barks, 
from the colour of the epidermis. They come into the market in cylindrical 
pieces, of variable length from a few inches to a foot and a half, sometimes singly, 
sometimes doubly quilled, from two lines to an inch in diameter, and from half 
a line to two or three lines in thickness. The kinds which were formerly deemed 
the finest are about the size of a goosequill; but experience has shown that the 
young barks are not the most efficient. Their exterior surface is usually more 
or less rough, marked with transverse and sometimes with longitudinal fissures, 
and of a grayish colour, owing to adhering lichens. The shade is different in 
different samples. Sometimes it is a light gray, approaching to white, sometimes 
dull and brown, sometimes a grayish fawn, and frequently diversified by the in- 
termixture of the proper colour of the epidermis with that of the patches of 264 
Cinchona, 
PART I 
lichens. The interior surface, in the finer kinds, is smooth ; in the coarser, oc- 
casionally rough and somewhat ligneous. Its colour is a brownish-orange, some- 
times inclining to red, sometimes to yellow, and, in some inferior specimens, of 
a dusky hue. The fracture is usually smooth, with some short filaments on the 
internal part only. In the coarser barks it is more fibrous. The colour of the 
powder is a pale fawn, which is of a darker hue in the inferior kinds. The taste 
is moderately bitter and somewhat astringent, without being disagreeable or nau- 
seous. Authors speak also of an acidulous and aromatic flavour. The better 
kinds have a feeble odour, which is distinct and agreeably aromatic in the powder 
and decoction. The pale barks are chemically characterized by containing a much 
larger proportion of cinchonia and quinidia or cinchonidia than of quinia; 
and their infusion does not yield a precipitate with solution of sulphate of soda. 
Their appearance generally indicates that they were derived from the smaller 
branches. They are collected in the provinces about Loxa, or in the country 
which surrounds the city of Huanuco, northeast of Lima, and are probably derived 
chiefly from Cinchona Condaminea, C. nitida, and C. micrantha. 
There are several commercial varieties of pale bark, obtained from different 
sources, and differing more or less in properties. The most highly esteemed of 
these is the Loxa baric, the finest specimens of which are sometimes called crown 
bark of Loxa, from the impression that they have the same origin and character 
with the bark, formerly selected with great care for the use of the King of Spain 
and the royal family. The pale bark collected about Huanuco is named either 
Lima bark, because taken to that city for commercial distribution, or Huanuco 
bark, from its place of collection. The former name has been more common in 
this country, where, indeed, this commercial variety has not unfrequently been 
confounded with the Loxa bark. Other pale barks are the Jaen and Huamilies 
barks, which are scarcely known as distinct varieties in the United States.* 
* The following description of the several varieties of pale bark has been derived mainly 
from the works of Von Bergen, Guibourt, and Pereira, probably the highest European au- 
thorities on this subject; the first in Germany, the second in France, and the third in Eng- 
land. We have consulted also other pharmacological writers, and have derived advantage 
from the recent observations of Dr. Weddell and M. Delondrc, and of Mr. J. E. Howard, of 
London, who has carefully examined the rich collection of Pavon deposited in the British 
Museum, and compared the specimens with the barks of commerce. Our remarks are put 
in the form of a note; as the information in relation to these varieties can be of little use 
to the student, though it may aid the druggist. 
For a proper understanding of the subject, the reader should have some idea of the gene- 
ral structure of the bark. In the young barks there are four layers, viz.: 1. the epidermis or 
outer coat, often covered or incorporated with lichens; 2. the periderm or suberous coat, 
sometimes of a cork-like character; 3. the cellular coat or green layer, often containing 
resin; and 4. the liber, or inner coat, which is more or less fibrous. 
1. Loxa Bark. Crown Bark. — Quinquina de Loxa, Fr.—Loxa China, Kron-China, Germ.— 
The following is Von Bergen’s description of this variety, contained in his splendid work upon 
bark, entitled Versuch einer Monographic der China, published in Hamburg in the year 1826. 
This bark is in cylindrical tubes, strongly rolled, from six to fifteen inches long, from two 
lines to an inch in diameter, and from half a line to two lines thick. The outer surface is 
more or less rough, seldom much wrinkled longitudinally, but marked with numerous 
transverse fissures, which usually run round the bark, and divide it into rings, the edges 
of which are somewhat elevated. In the smallest quills these fissures are not very obvious; 
in the larger, they are distant and apt to be interrupted. In the largest the surface is 
sometimes very rough and even warty. The proper colour of the epidermis is dark-gray, 
Gometimes almost black, sometimes ash-coloured, and occasionally inclining to fawn; but 
frequently diversified by whitish lichens, which are in some instances so numerous as to 
cover almost the whole exterior of the bark, and to give it a light-gray appearance. The 
inner surface is smooth and uniform, and of the colour of cinnamon, with occasionally a 
reddish tinge. The fracture in the smaller quills is quite smooth, in the larger somewhat 
fibrous. The bark is of a rather firm consistence, and when cut transversely exhibits a 
I’esinous character. Its odour is compared by Guibourt to that perceived in damp woods, 
by Von Bergen to that of tan. Its taste is acidulous, astringent, and bitterish. The pc tvder 
is of a dull cinnamon colour. 
Guibourt, in the edition of his Ilistoire des Drogues published in 1850, describes four chief VA RT I. 
Cinchona. 
265 
In this country, the pale bark has fallen into disuse. As it yields little quinia, 
it is not employed in the manufacture of the sulphate of that alkali, which has 
varieties of Loxa bark, under the names severally of 1. Quinquina de Loza gris compacte. 
2. Quinquina de Loxa brun compacte,' 3. Quinquina de Loxa rouge fibreux de roi d’Espagne, and 
4. Quinquina de Loxa jaune fibreux. Of these the first two appear to be embraced in the de- 
scription above given from Von Bergen. The third is distinguished from the common Loxa 
bark by its eminently fibrous texture, and its slight astringency to the taste. It is scarcely 
to be found in commerce. The fourth was almost the only variety of Loxa bark known in 
the French market. It is in quills, very thin, and usually very much rolled, but slightly 
rough externally, with minute transverse fissures, generally covered with a thin whitish 
coat which gives it a light-gray colour, reddish and very smooth internally, and of a very 
finely fibrous fracture. Its taste is astringent and bitter, and its odour sufficiently marked. 
The pieces from the trunk are much larger, and may even have a thickness of two lines, 
with some resemblance to the Calisaya; but its outer surface, scarcely rough, and often 
longitudinally wrinkled, the fineness of its texture, and the smoothness od' its inner surface 
readily distinguish it. Guibourt has no hesitation in referring it to C. macrocalyx. 
English druggists distinguish Loxa bark into 1. the picked crown bark, which consists of 
the finest, thinnest, and longest quills; 2. the silvery crown bark, somewhat larger in size, 
and characterized by a whitish silvery appearance of the epidermis, derived from adhering 
lichens; and 3. the leopard crown bark, named from its speckled appearance, depending on 
whitish lichens alternating with the dark-brown epidermis. Dr. Pereira, in the last edition 
of his work on Materia Medica, the publication of which was completed after his death 
(A. D. 1853), distinguishes the following varieties of Loxa bark.—1. Original or old Ijoxa 
Bark. This is the original crown bark, and derived its name from the circumstance, that 
parcels of it were found on board a captured Spanish vessel returning from S. America, put 
up with peculiar care, and marked as for the royal family. It was in slender quills, thirteen 
inches long, tied up in bundles about three inches in diameter. Similar bundles were after- 
wards imported, and still occasionally come in the seroons of commercial crown bark. This 
bark is believed to have been derived from C. Condaminea, variety vera of Weddell; but, as 
the tree is nearly exhausted, little is obtained from it at present; and what is commonly 
called Loxa, or crown bark, is derived from other varieties of C. Condaminea, or from other 
species.—2. White Crown Bark. This is in small and large quills; the former having a sil- 
very appearance from the presence of crustaceous lichens, and exhibiting numerous trans- 
verse cracks; the latter without these transverse fissures, but ragged externally from 
longitudinal rents in the epidermis, with a satin-like lustre of the surface thus exposed. It 
is the produce of C. Condaminea, var. lucumsefolia of Weddell, C. lucumsefolia of Pavon.—3. II. 0. 
Crown Bark. This is the variety usually found in commerce, and has been named from the 
brand H. 0. with a crown, adopted in the time of the Spanish government in S. America. 
It is in quills from six to fifteen inches long, from two lines to an inch in diameter, and 
from one-third of a line to two lines thick. Some of the quills are without lichens, thin, 
externally brown and shrivelled, with numerous longitudinal wrinkles, but with few trans- 
verse fissures. The internal surface is cinnamon-coloured, and the fracture pale-yellow. 
Others are larger, coarser, grayish externally from lichens, with many transverse fissures, 
some of which quite surround the quills. Others again are twisted, and have a patchy 
black and white appearance from the adhering lichens. The botanical origin of this bark is 
not certainly known; though Howard ascribes it to C.glandulifera. (Pharm. Juurn., xii. 128.) 
It comes from the port of Payta.—4. Ashy Crown Bark. This is in quills about the size of the 
fingers, having an external surface mottled with white, gray, and black or soot-like patches 
of powdery and crustaceous lichens, sometimes also marked with rusty fungoid warts. The 
epidermis has longitudinal wrinkles and transverse fissures; the internal surface is of an 
orange or cinnamon colour. Mr. Howard found it identical with the bark, in Pavon’s col- 
lection, ascribed to C. rolundifolia of that botanist, C. cordifolia, var. rotundifolia of Weddell. 
It is stated to be imported from Lima; and, according to Mr. Howard, large quantities are 
used for pharmaceutical purposes. (Ibid , 126 )— 5. Wiry Loxa Bark. This is in very slender, 
wire-like quills, internally smoothish and brown, in some places slightly gray, without lich- 
ens, and almost destitute of transverse fissures. Many of the quills are lined within with 
a thin shaving of pale-yellow wood. The fracture is short and resinous. The taste is very 
astringent and but slightly bitter, and, as the bark is almost destitute of alkaloids, it is 
vei’y nearly worthless. It is brought from Payta; but its botanical source is unknown. 
The earlier analyses gave as constituents of the Loxa barks cinchonia and quinia, gene- 
rally with a predominance of the former alkaloid. Since the discovery of quinidia and cin- 
chonidia, these also have been found, sometimes in considerable proportion. The different 
rarieties vary much in their yield of alkaloids; the larger barks, in all the varieties, af- 
fording more than the smaller. An average of several results, stated by Geiger, gives about 
0-48 per cent, of cinchonia, and 0-06 of quinia. In the thickest pieces, Thiel found 1-0 per Cinchona 
PART I. 
almost superseded the bark as a remedy in intermittents; and the red or yellow 
bark is preferred by physicians when it is necessary to resort to the medicine in 
cent, of cinchonia, and 0-03 of quinia. According to Soubeiran, one pound of Loxa bark 
yields from a drachm and a half to two drachms of sulphate of cinchonia. From some fine 
old Loxa bark, not now in the market, Mr. Howard obtained 0-714 per cent, of quinia, 
0 514 of quinidia (or cinchonidia), and 0-04 of cinchonia. From the II. 0. crown bark, which 
is at present the variety usually found in commerce, he got from small quills 0-57 per cent, 
of quinidia and 0-6 of cinchonia, and from larger 1-05 of the former and 0-8 of the latter, 
and no quinia from either. (Pereira, Mat. Med., 3d ed , p. 1G89.) From tlicash)/ croun bark 
the same chemist got 0-418 per cent, of quinia and quinidia jointly, and 0-914 of cinchonia. 
(Pharm. Journ., xii. 12G.) From these results it would appear either that the older Loxa 
barks contained much more quinia than the modern, or that what was supposed to be quinia 
was really the then unknown alkaloid quinidia or cinchonidia. The strong reaction of a solu- 
tion of gelatin with the infusion of Loxa bark indicates the presence of much tannic acid. 
2. Lima or Ihuwuco Bark. Cinchona Cinerea, Gray Bark, Silver Bark, Ed. — Quinquina de 
Lima, Fr. — China Huanuco, Graue China, Germ.—Lima or Iluanuco bark was introduced 
into notice about the year 1779, after the discovery of Cinchona trees in the central regions 
of Peru; but Poppig says that the trade in it began in 1785. The first name originated 
from the circumstance that the bark entered into commerce through the city of Lima; the 
second was derived from the name of the city (Huanuco or Guanuco), in the more imme- 
diate neighbourhood of which the trees were found. There would seem to be two varieties 
of this bark, which come either in separate packages, or mixed together in the same. They 
are distinguished in England as fine and coarse gray barks, and have a different, botanical 
origin; the former having been ascertained by Mr. Howard to belong to C. nitida, and the 
latter being ascribed to C.micrantha, probably with justice. 
Fine Gray Bark. — Quinquina Rouge de Lima. Guibourt. The dimensions of this variety 
do not materially differ from those of the preceding, although in the largest pieces the 
diameter is somewhat greater. Many of the smaller quills have a more or less spiral form. 
At the edge of most of the complete quills, a sharp oblique cut with a knife is observable. 
The epidermis is usually adherent. The exterior surface is marked with longitudinal 
wrinkles or furrows, which in the thick pieces often penetrate- quite through the outer coat- 
ing of the bark. Transverse fissures are also generally observable; but they never run 
wholly round the quill, often not more than a quarter or half round, and do not exhibit 
elevated borders. In some pieces the epidermis is rubbed off, either wholly or in spots; 
and in a few the entire thickness of the external layers is here and there removed, ex- 
hibiting the proper bark in patches. The colour externally is very light-gray, almost 
milk-white, with occasionally bluish-gray and darkish spots intermingled. Where the outer 
crust which imparts this whitish colour is wanting, the surface is grayish-fawn or reddish- 
gray, and in the thicker pieces of a dark cinnamon colour. The inner surface, though in 
the smaller quills sometimes tolerably uniform, is generally more or less uneven, fibrous, 
or splintery, especially in the larger pieces, in which may often be observed adhering 
yellowish-white splinters of wood. The colour is usually a rusty brown inclining some- 
what to red, with occasionally a purplish tinge. The transverse fracture is smooth exte- 
riorly, fibrous or splintery interiorly. The longitudinal fracture is generally somewhat 
uneven, without being splintery, and exhibits here and there minute shining spots. The 
inner layers of the bark are usually soft and friable. The colour of the powder is a full 
cinnamon-brown. The odour of the bark is like that, of clay, and in this respect different 
from that of all other varieties. The taste is at first acidulous, astringent, and slightly 
aromatic, and ultimately bitter and adhesive. 
Coarse or Inferior Gray Bark. The characters of this bark as a distinct, variety were first 
given by Guibourt, who calls it quinquina de Lima gris brun. The following is his descrip- 
tion. “It is in the form of long tubes, well-rolled, from the size of a quill to that of the 
little finger, offering very often longitudinal wrinkles, formed by desiccation. The exterior 
surface is, moreover, moderately rugose, oft en nearly dest it ute of transverse fissures, having 
a general deep-gray tint, but. with black or white spots, and bearing here and there the 
same lichens as the Loxa barksT The inner bark is of a deep brownish yellow, and formed 
as it were of agglutinated fibres.” (Hist, dcs Drogues, 4e ed., iii. 108.) Mr. Howard says 
of this bark that its predominant feature is its general woody texture, a feature very ob- 
servable on reducing it to powder, while the only hard portion of the former variety is a 
resinous circle existing between the inner and outer coats. He further states, as distinc- 
tions between the two varieties, that the one now described is thinner than the former; 
that, its prevailing superficial colour, independently of the white lichenous covering, is 
glaucous green, and the colour of its substance rusty yellow, while the fine gray, as regards 
the inner surface, varies superficially, from a maroon colour to rust, and as regards the 
outer is brown, the substance of the bark being red; that a decoction of the fanner is Cinchona. 
267 
PART I. 
substance. There is no doubt, however, that cinchonia possesses febrifuge pro- 
perties little inferior to those of quinia; and the same is probably the case with 
pale, and gives a small flocculent deposit on cooling, while one of the latter is brown, and 
lets fall a copious sediment. (Pharm. Journ., xii pp. 15 and 16.) 
The Edinburgh College referred the Lima bark, which it denominated cinchona cinerea or 
gray bark, to C. micrantha. There is at present little room to doubt, from the observations 
of Guibourt, Pereira, and Howard, that it is only the coarse or inferior variety that belongs 
to that species; while the fine gray bark must be ascribed to C. nitida, which also grows in 
the neighbourhood of Iluanuco. 
The Lima or Huanuco barks contain a considerable proportion of the alkaloids, though 
cinchonia predominates over quinia, and the latter is said to exist in a form in which it is 
difficultly crystallized, at least in the fine variety. Howard gives, as the result of his anal- 
ysis of the fine gray bark (C. nitida), 1-4 per cent, of cinchonia, 0 571 of quinia, and O'142 of 
quinidia (or cinchonidia), amounting altogether to 2-113 per cent. [Pharm. Journ., xii. 12.) 
It also contains a good deal of tannic acid. (Ibid., p. 161.) In the inferior kind (C. micrantha) 
he found 1 -25 of cinchonia, 0-243 of quinia, 0 28 of quinidia (or cinchonidia), together 1-773 
per cent. (Ibid., p. 14.) Geiger gives as the average of several results, in relation to Lima or 
Huanuco bark, 1-72 per cent, of cinchonia and 0-29 of quinia. Von Santen got from the best 
specimens, as the maximum, 2-73 per cent, of cinchonia, and no quinia. Delondre obtained 
from the different varieties from 0-2 to 0 6 per cent, of sulphate of quinia, and from 0-8 to 
1-2 of sulphate of cinchonia. (Quinologie, pp. 27, 28 ) It would, therefore, appear that this 
variety of bark must become valuable, if cinchonia should come into general use. 
3. Jaen Bark. Ash Bark. — China Jaen, Blasse Ten-China, Germ. — Quinquina de Loza cen- 
dre of Guibourt. This variety probably derives its name from the province of Jaen de 
Bracomoros, in the vicinity of Loxa, where large quantities of bark have been collected. 
The Jaen bark is always in quills, which do not differ much in size from those of the Loxa 
bark, but are distinguishable by being frequently curved longitudinally, or bent in differ- 
ent directions, and somewhat spiral. The outer coat is often partially or entirely rubbed 
off, leaving the surface smooth and soft to the touch. When the epidermis is perfect, it 
exhibits small irregular transverse fissures, with occasionally faint longitudinal fissures 
and wavy wrinkles, and here and there a few warts, but no deep furrows. The colour va- 
ries from light or ash-gray to light yellow, diversified with blackish and brownish spots. 
When the outer coat is rubbed off, it inclines still more to yellow. Considered in mass, the 
bark always appears somewhat yellowish or straw-coloured. The exterior layers are soft 
and rather spongy, and may be readily scraped by the nail. The inner surface is exceed- 
ingly diversified, sometimes smooth, sometimes uneven and splintery. It is usually of a 
dull cinnamon colour. The bark is very brittle, and the fracture is smooth in the smaller 
quills, more or less uneven and sometimes splintery in the larger, and in neither exhibits 
s resinous appearance. The odour is sweetish, and is compared to that of tan. The taste 
is acidulous, slightly astringent, and bitter, without being disagreeable. The colour of the 
powder is cinnamon-brown. The bark is very deficient in alkaloids. Some expei’imenters 
have found none, or only traces, while the highest product obtained was 80 grains of qui- 
nia and 13 grains of cinchonia from a pound. M. Munzini, of Paris, extracted from it an 
alkaline principle which he believed to be peculiar, and named cinchovatin; but others be- 
lieve that it is identical with the aricina of Pelletier; and. Mr. Howard can discover no 
difference between it and quinidia. (Pharm. Journ., xii. 127.) Mr. Howard does not coin- 
cide in the general opinion of the great poverty of the ash bark in alkaloids. He found in a 
mean-looking specimen 0-86 per cent, of cinchonia, and 0-61 of quinidia (or cinchonidia). 
(Ibid , p. 127.) Delondre obtained, on the large scale, 0-4 of sulphate of cinchonia, and 1-0 
of sulphate of quinia. (Quinologie, p. 29.) Von Bergen believes this bark to be the product 
of C. ovata; and Mr. Howard confirms this reference. 
Von Bergen describes a variety of pale bark, under the name of dark Jaen bark (dunkele 
Ten China), or pseudo Loxa, which resembles the Loxa, but may be distinguished by the 
oblique or bent shape of the quills, and the uneven, fibrous, or splintery appearance of 
the inner surface. It seldom comes in large pieces. Pereira considers it identical with the 
ashy crown bark already described. (See page 265.) 
4. Huamilies Bark. — China Iluamilies, Germ. This bark is little known as a distinct va- 
riety. Its commercial name was derived from the province of Huamilies, which lies in the 
interior' of Peru, northward of Huanuco, and is a part of the region explored by the 
botanical expedition under Ruiz and Pavon. It came into notice in Germany about the 
beginning of the present century. It is in quills and flat pieces. The quills are from three 
lines to an inch and a half in diameter, from five to sixteen inches long, and from half a 
line to three lines thick. The flat pieces, which are usually only fragments of the largest 
quills, are from one to two inches broad, and six to twelve inches long. In general all the 
layers of the bark are present, but sometimes the outer coat, and even the whole of that Cinchona. 
part I. 
quinidia and cinchonidia; so that, should the source of quinia begin to fail, 
the pale bark may come into more extensive use for the preparation of the other 
alkaloids. 
2. Yellow Bark. 
The officinal term yellow bark is applicable only to the valuable variety of the 
drug called commercially Ccilimya, a name which has been said, though errone- 
ously, to be derived from a province in Bolivia, near the city of La l*az, where 
the bark is collected * By the druggists Calisaya bark is arranged in two sub- 
varieties, the quilled and the flat, which sometimes come mixed together in the 
same seroon, sometimes separate. It is called by the French quinquina jaune 
royal (royal yellow bark), from its resemblance to a variety of bark formerly 
collected for the Spanish king. 
The quilled Calisaya (Calisaya arrolada of the Spanish Americans) is in 
pieces from three inches to two feet long, from a quarter of an inch to two or 
three inches in diameter, and of equally variable thickness. The epidermis is of 
a brownish colour, diversified or concealed by silvery-white, whitish, or yellow- 
ish lichens, is marked by longitudinal wrinkles and transverse fissures, and is 
often partially separated, and generally easily separable from the proper bark. 
In the larger kinds, it is thick, rough, deeply indented by the transverse fissures, 
which often surround the quills, and is composed of several layers, separated 
from each other by a reddish-brown membrane. The epidermis yields a dark- 
red powder, and is tasteless and inert. It is desirable, therefore, to get rid of it 
before the bark is powdered, as the medicine is thus procured of greater strength. 
The bark itself, without the epidermis, is from one to two lines in thickness, 
compact, of a short-fibrous texture, and when broken presents shining points, 
apparently the termination of small fibres running longitudinally, which, ex- 
part usually called the epidermis in our descriptions of bark (including those outer layers 
■which in the tree are destitute of vitality, having been thrown outward by the annually 
renewed layers beneath them), are wanting in spots, though very seldom entirely absent. 
The epidermis is comparatively thin, very brittle, soft, and spongy. The outer surface, in 
the small and middling quills, is sometimes nearly smooth, but usually marked with wavy 
longitudinal wrinkles, and beset here and there with warts. These warts are abundant 
upon the thick pieces, which they sometimes almost entirely cover. Transverse fissures 
are seldom found, and only in the thick pieces The colour of the epidermis is usually 
grayish-fawn, here and there passing into a rusty brown; but, in the thicker pieces, in 
which the warts are abundant, it is between a liver and chestnut colour, often mixed with 
a tinge of purple. When the epidermis is wanting, the colour is often a full ochre yellow. 
The inner surface is sometimes uniform and almost smooth, sometimes slightly fibrous, 
rarely splintery. The colour of this surface is rusty-brown, occasionally reddish, and in 
the fibrous or splintery pieces of an ochre yellow. The fracture in the smaller quills is 
rather even, in the larger presents short fibres, and is sometimes even splintery The odour 
of the bark is feeble but agreeable, the taste somewhat aromatic, bitterish, and slightly 
astringent. The powder is of a full cinnamon colour. The average product of cinchonia 
and quinia, as stated by Geiger, is 0-67 per cent, of the former, and 0 25 of the latter; so 
that the bark, though dissimilar in appearance to the other varieties of pale bark, agrees 
with them in containing more cinchonia than quinia. Von Santcn obtained, as the maxi- 
mum, 12 per cent, of cinchonia, and little or no quinia. Huamilies bark, on the authority 
of Reichel, has been referred to C pubescens ((7. purpurea of the Flor. Peruv ); but Dr. 
Pereira and Mr. Howard agree in believing it to be the product of C. Condaminca, variety 
Chaliuarguera of De Candolle, considered by Weddell as identical with his C. Condaminea, 
variety vera. The bark here described is noticed by Guibourt, who names it quinquina Ilua- 
milies ferrugitieux. The same author makes four other varieties of Huamilies bark; viz. the 
gris feme, mince et rougeatre, blanc, and jaune de Cuenga.—Note to the tenth edition. 
* No such province e> ists in Bolivia According to M. Laubert, the name is a corruption 
of colisalla, said to be derived from colla, a remedy, and salla, a rocky country. (Journ. de 
Pharm., xxii. 614.) Weddell refers the origin of the name to the words colli and saga, 
which in the Quichua language signify red and sort, and have probably been applied from 
the redness which the outer denuded surface of the bark assumes in drying, or from the i ed 
colour which the leaves sometimes exhibit. PART I. 
Cinchona, 
269 
arained by the microscope, are found, when freed from a salmon-coloured pow- 
der that surrounds them, to be yellow and transparent. When the bark is pow- 
dered, they readily separate, in the form of spicula, which, like those of cowhage, 
insinuate themselves into the skin, and produce a disagreeable itching and irri- 
tation. The colour of the bark is brownish-yellow with a tinge of orange, the 
taste less astringent than that of the pale bark, but much more bitter; and the 
bitterness is somewhat peculiar. The external part of the proper bark is more 
bitter and astringent, and consequently stronger in medicinal power, than the 
internal. The odour is faint, but, when the bark is boiled, resembles that of the 
pale varieties. The small quills closely resemble some of the pale barks, but 
may be distinguished by their very bitter taste. 
The fiat Calisaya (Calisaya plancha of the Spaniards), which is derived 
from the large branches and trunk, is in pieces of various lengths, either quite 
flat, or but slightly curved, and generally destitute of the epidermis, which has 
been obviously removed through its own want of adhesiveness to the proper 
bark, and not by a knife, as is the case with some inferior barks in other respects 
resembling the Calisaya. The inner surface is like that of the quilled pieces ; 
the outer is irregular, marked with confluent longitudinal furrows and ridges, 
and somewhat darker coloured than the inner, being of a brownish fawn, fre- 
quently diversified with darker stains. The bark is of uniform fracture through- 
out, generally thicker than the quilled, more fibrous in its texture, less compact, 
less bitter, and possessed of less medicinal power. Though weaker than the 
proper bark of the quills, it is usually, in equal weight, more valuable than that 
variety, because free from the useless epidermis. 
The officinal yellow bark is characterized by its strongly bitter taste, with 
little astringency ; by its fine brownish-yellow, somewhat orange colour, which 
is still brighter irf the powder; and by containing a large proportion of quinia 
with very little cinclwnia. The salts of quinia and lime are so abundant, that 
a strong infusion of it instantly affords a precipitate when crystals of sulphate 
of soda are added. (Guibourt, Hist, des Drogues, 4eme ed., iii. 131.)* 
* Calisaya bark is described by Yon Bergen, under the name of China Regia or Kbnig’s 
China. We present a brief abstract of his description, omitting the form and dimensions, 
which are given in the text. The epidermis,! which in many of the small quills is partly 
wanting, in the fiat pieces usually quite wanting, is very thick and brittle, constituting 
from a third to one-half of the bark, and, in some of the largest quills or partially quilled 
pieces, even two-thirds. In the latter case, it often consists of six or eight different layers. 
The quills are generally marked with longitudinal wrinkles and furrows, and always with 
transverse fissures. These fissures, which often form complete circles round the quills, 
have usually an elevated border, and sink so deeply in many of the larger pieces, that 
they are observable upon the proper bark. In the smaller pieces they are often faint, but 
usually crowded. The colour of the epidermis varies from whitish-gray to bluish-gray; 
but it is very much diversified by lichens, so as to present yellowish-white, ash-gray, and 
blackish spots. When the outer layer of the epidermis is wanting, as is not unfrequently 
the case to a greater or less extent, the colour is somewhat sooty-brown or almost liver- 
brown. The outer surface of the pieces without epidermis is of a colour between cinnamon- 
brown and dai’k rusty-brown. The inner surface, in the pieces of all dimensions, is uni- 
form and almost smooth, but exhibits fine longitudinal fibres closely compressed. Splinters 
of wood are never found adhering to the inner surface. The prevailing colour of this sur- 
face is a rather dark or full-cinnamon brown, passing sometimes into a rusty brown, but 
seldom reddish. This bark breaks more easily in the longitudinal direction than any other 
variety, exhibiting a chestnut-brown colour in the part answering to the epidermis, a more 
or less dark cinnamon-brown in that answering to the proper bark. The transverse frac- 
ture of the epidermis is rather even, that of the inner bark fibrous or splintery. A resin- 
f By the epidermis is here understood the whole of the external layers which are accumulated upon the outer 
surface >f the bark by the annual renewal of the cortical layers, and the consequent separation of those of former 
years, which remain, but without life, attached to the external surface. A different meaning is attached to the 
term by Vou Bergen; but, as we have taken pains to make the description in every instance correspond with our 
definition, we do not misrepresent his meaning. 270 
Cinchona. 
PART I. 
Until the recent most valuable researches of Weddell, nothing was known with 
certainty as to the particular species which yields Calisaya bark. At present 
ous layer may be seen beneath the epidermis, which usually remains when the latter is 
removed, and communicates to the flat pieces the dark colour which distinguishes their 
external surface. Small sharp splinters, which in the longitudinal fracture appear like 
shining points, are apt to insinuate themselves into the skin when the bark is handled. 
The odour is feebly tan-like; the taste slightly acidulous, strongly but not disagreeably 
bitter, somewhat aromatic, feebly astringent, and rather durable. The powder is of a fine 
cinnamon hue. 
Weddell speaks of a variety of Calisaya bark having a dark-coloured external surface, 
which is often wholly of a vinous black, and of another which has a less uneven surface, 
sometimes semi-cellular, and of a paler colour. The former he says is denominated in 
Bolivia Colisaya zamba, C. negra or C. macha; the latter Colisaya blanca. 
Thiel obtained from the flat Calisaya 2-3 per cent, of quinia, and 0-08 of cinchonia; 
Michaelis from the flat. 3‘7 per cent.., and from the quill 2-0 per cent, of quinia, but no cin- 
chonia; Von Sa.nten from the flat, an average of 2-0 per cent, of quinia, and little or no 
cinchonia; Wittstock, on an average, 3-0 per cent, of sulphate of quinia, and 0-12 of cin- 
chonia. (Geiger ) ltiegel obtained as the lowest product 2-18 per cent., and the highest 3 8 
per cent, of quinia.. (Pharm. Journ., xii. 249.) MM. Delondre and Bouchardat have obtained 
from the flat Calisaya, without epidermis, from 3-0 to 3-2 per cent, of sulphate of quinia, 
and 0-6 to 0-8 per cent, of sulphate of cinchonia; and from the quilled with epidermis 1*5 
to 2-0 per cent, of the former, and from 0-8 to 1-0 per cent, of the latter. (Quinologie, pp. 
23 and 26 ) M. Guilliermond has recently obtained the very large product of 6 per cent, 
of quinia from a specimen of quilled Calisaya, without epidermis. (Journ. de Pharm., Jan- 
vier, 1862, p. 42.) Calisaya bark without epidermis should yield from 3 to 3 5 per cent, of 
officinal sulphate of quinia. 
False or Spurious Calisaya Barks. 
The great value of Calisaya bark has led to the substitution for it, or fraudulent admix- 
ture with it, of other varieties bearing a more or less close resemblance to it in character 
or appearance. Some of these are not much inferior to the genuine bark, others of little 
value; and it is highly important that they should be distinguished. We give below a brief 
notice of such as are described in pharmacological works, or have come under our own 
observation. Weddell states that the characters by which the true Calisaya bark may be 
best, distinguished from all others are, 1. the shortness of the fibres in the whole surface 
of its transverse fracture, 2. the facility with which these may be separated, 3. the uni- 
form fawn colour, without any white marking in its thickness, 4. the great density of the 
bark, which is such that, when the nail is drawn across it, a shining track is often left, 5. 
the depth of the depressions on its outer surface, and the prominence of the ridges that 
separate them. These remarks refer to the flat variety. The quills are not so easily distin- 
guished, as they closely resemble certain other varieties, especially the bark of C. scrobi- 
culata and C. rufinervis, and the fracture does not afford signs so precise as in the older barks. 
The surest test is the greater bitterness of the genuine. From their deficiency in compact- 
ness, spurious Calisaya barks are called by the French Calisaya Uger or light Calisaya. 
1. Bark of C. Calisaya, variety Josephiana of Weddell. This is not known as a distinct va- 
riety in Europe or this country; but is very probably mingled more or less with the genu- 
ine, as it is collected in Bolivia. It is in quills, of a brown, grayish-black, or slate colour 
on the outer surface, which is also covered with pale lichens. The inner surface is irregu- 
lar, in consequence of the difficulty with which it is separated from the wood. From the 
roots of the same variety, which are probably the remains of former forest trees, is obtained 
another kind of bark, in short pieces, flattish, undular, or more or less contorted, desti- 
tute of epidermis, internally fibrous or almost smooth, slightly cellular externally, of a 
uniform oclireous yellow, and of a decided bitterness, though not so strong as that of good 
Calisaya, which it resembles in its internal structure. The Peruvians call it ichu-cascarilla. 
(Weddell.) These barks can scarcely be considered as adulterations, as they have the virtues 
of the genuine. 
2. Bark of C. Boliviana. Weddell states that this is almost always mixed in commerce 
with genuine Calisaya, from which it is often difficult to distinguish it. This is of the less 
consequence, as it is probably not much inferior in virtue. The following is Weddell’s de- 
scription. The quilled is in all points similar to the quilled Calisaya. The flat consists ex- 
clusively of the inner bark. It is generally not so thick as the Calisaya, but of equal den- 
sity. The furrows on the outer surface are not so deep, and the ridges which separate them 
more rounded. The colour of this surface is a brownish-yellow fawn, with here and there 
greenish shades, of the inner, a somewhat reddish or orange fawn. The fracture is like 
that of the Calisaya, but exhibits spots of a light almost white colour, which are never PART I. 
Cinchona. 
271 
there is no variety of which, in this respect, we have such accurate knowledge. 
The genuine bark is derived from the newly described species, named C. Cali- 
seen in that variety. The taste is a strong and agreeable bitter, which is developed more 
quickly than that of the Calisaya. 
3. Bark of C. ovata, var. rufinervis of Weddell. This variety of C. ovata inhabits Bolivia 
and the southern province of Peru called Carabaya, where the bark is said by Weddell to 
be largely employed for adulterating the Calisaya. It is known in Peru by the name of 
Cascardla Carabaya. It sometimes so closely resembles Calisaya as to be with difficulty 
distinguished. In the quilled, the outer coating sometimes ditfers only in being somewhat 
less thick. In other instances it has but a few annular fissures, is finely wrinkled longi- 
tudinally, and varies in colour from a light gray to a deep brown, being often completely 
covered with mosses and lichens. It is generally easily separable from the inner coat, the 
uncovered surface of which is of a light-brownish fawn, and smooth, or marked with lon- 
gitudinal depressions corresponding to rents in the outer coat. The inner surface is grayish 
or reddish-yellow, and finely fibrous; the transverse fracture fibrous; the resinous circle 
scarcely observable; the taste quickly bitter and astringent. The flat kind is of variable 
form, often closely resembling the Calisaya, but generally much lighter. Sometimes it 
consists solely of the inner bark, but more frequently has a portion greater or less of the 
cellular coat attached. The outer surface is sometimes smooth, with a few linear trans- 
verse depressions, and wholly cellular; in other instances, uneven, with roundish depres- 
sions, fibrous at bottom; and is of a grayish-fawn or reddish colour, sometimes marbled 
with darker shades. The inner surface is of a dull grayish-yellow, or brilliant orange, with 
fine parallel fibres. The transverse fracture is more or less corky exteriorly, and fibrous- 
stringy within, or of the latter character in the whole thickness. It has considerable bit- 
terness, which is rapidly developed in the recent barks. 
Carabaya Bark. Under this name a bark has within a few years been introduced into 
the commerce of this country and Europe, derived from the province of Carabaya, through 
the port of Islay or that of Arica. Dr. Pereira describes it as follows.—It is thin and 
flimsy, of a more or less rusty colour, and in some of the pieces very similar to the IIu- 
amilies. The quills are about as thick as the finger, and of variable length, sometimes even 
two feet, coated, or uncoated; the coated having a dull-rusty, or grayish-rusty, warty 
surface, marked by longitudinal furrows, but rarely by transverse; the uncoated some- 
times presenting a dark or more or less tea-green tint. The flat pieces consist of the liber 
alone, or of this with a portion of the cellular coat. The outer surface of the liber, in some 
of the uncoated pieces, is blackish, with rusty, round, flattish warts. Sometimes it looks 
as if dusted over with a yellowish powder. The liber itself is more or less orange; but 
some pieces resemble red bark in colour. Whether this is the product of C. ovata is uncer- 
tain ; but, taking its source into consideration, and the fact stated by Weddell that the 
bark of that species is gathered largely in Carabaya, and known by the same name in 
Peru, the probabilities seem to be greatly in favour of this opinion Pereira states that its 
total yield of alkaloids, including quinia, cinchonia, and quinidia, is from 3 to 4 per cent. 
In the Quinologie of MM. Delondre and Bouchardat (p. 26), the product of the better spe- 
cimens is stated to be from 1*6 to l-8 per cent, of sulphate of quinia, and 0-4 to 0-5 per 
cent, of sulphate of cinchonia. It is, therefore, a valuable bark. 
A variety of flat bark, imported into the U. States as Carabaya, is in irregular pieces, some 
very small, the largest about 9 inches in length, generally very thin; for the most part 
destitute of-epidermis, but sometimes with portions of the outer coat attached; on the 
outer surface, when uncoated, of a dull-cinnamon hue, with spots of a different colour 
sometimes much darker, more or less irregular from slight elevations and shallow depres- 
sions, somewhat furrowed longitudinally, seldom so transversely; on the inner surface, of 
a lighter hue than on the outer, smooth and somewhat shining when viewed obliquely, 
with fine compact straight fibres; with a decided fibrous fracture, sometimes smooth to- 
ward the outer edge; and, when handled, readily yielding spicula, which penetrate the 
fingers like those of Calisaya. In one specimen shown us by Messrs. Powers & Weight- 
man, the outer surface was almost completely covered with the subepidermic layer, with 
little or none of the epidermis itself, and was remarkably uniform in its aspect, though 
sometimes presenting numerous slight longitudinal wrinkles from drying, and a few shal- 
low transverse impressions. We are informed that this variety contains more cinchonia 
than quinia, and have little doubt that it is the bark referred to by Weddell as the product 
of C. ovata, var. rufinervis. 
4. Bark of C. scrobiculata. The younger bark of this tree has, we think, \mdoubtedly been 
imported among the pale or gray barks. The larger or flat pieces have been fraudulently 
substituted for Calisaya. Of these, according to Pereira, there are two varieties, derived 
from different varieties of the tree. 
a. Cusco Bark. Red Bark of Cusco. [Delondre and Bouchardat, Quinologie, p. 26.) Bark of 272 
Cinchona. 
PART I. 
saya; but the bark of C. Boliviana, .another of the species discovered by Wed- 
dell, is sometimes mixed with it in the same seroons. It is produced exclusively 
St. Ann. Bark of C. scrobiculata, var. Delondriana. This is collected in the province of Cusco, 
in the south of Peru; and the town of Cusco, according to Weddell, is the centre of its 
commerce. It is the kind to which Guibourt has especially attached the name of light 
Calisaya. Weddell thus describes it: “Less dense than the Calisaya; consisting generally 
of the liber and a thin layer of the cellulo-resinous tissue; thickness from 5 to 10 milli- 
metres (2 to 4 lines). Outer surface obscurely red, smooth, with some linear transverse 
impressions, or more or less irregular; exhibiting often superficial cavities filled with 
fungous detritus; raised in other instances into asperities or irregular warts, or more rarely 
presenting an exfoliation of the cellular coat, as complete as in the Calisaya, with digital 
confluent furrows fibrous at bottom, and the ridges which separate them. Interior surface 
uniform, of fine and straight grain, and of a handsome reddish-orange colour. Transverse 
fracture more or less cork-like on thq outside, according to the thickness of the cellular 
portion; on the inside very fibrous, with long, pliable, stringy fibres, and of a lighter 
colour than the outer part. Longitudinal fracture presenting numerous splinters with shining 
points, less marked than in the Calisaya, and medullary rays more numerous and visible. 
Taste bitter, quite strong and quickly developed in the middling sized barks, with very 
perceptible astringency. This bark yields from 0-7 to 0-8 per cent, of sulphate of cinchonia, 
and from 0 3 to 0-4 of sulphate of quinia.” (Hist. Nat. des Quinquinas, pp. 44, 45.) 
b. Peruvian Calisaya. Bark of C. scrobiculata, var. genuina, Weddell. This is imported from 
Lima. Pereira describes it as occurring in flat pieces, closely resembling the genuine Cali- 
saya in colour, for which it is often sold. They are thicker and denser than the last-men- 
tioned variety, from which they also differ in colour. Externally the bai’k is smoother 
than the Calisaya; and the ridges between the furrows are more rounded. The fracture 
is fibrous, and the taste, in the larger pieces, less bitter than that of Calisaya. (Mat. Med , 
3d ed., p. 1629.) 
This bark is probably the same with that referred to in the eighth and ninth editions of 
this Dispensatory (p. 236 of the 9th), as having been imported into the United States about 
the year 1848; having been consigned to a manufacturing chemist of this city by a com- 
mercial house in Valparaiso, with the information that it had been sent to them by Dr. J. 
Villamil, and had been gathered in the forests of Huanuco in Peru. The pieces are gene- 
rally without the epidermis, which appears to have separated spontaneously, and, when 
retained, has the transverse fissures and longitudinal furrows characteristic of the Cali- 
saya. The colour and consistence of the bark are the same as in the genuine; and it even 
presents the shining spicula which characterize the latter, though they are less numerous, 
and do not so readily penetrate the fingers. The taste is very bitter. Examined chemically 
by Professor Procter, it was found to afford a precipitate with sulphate of soda, in conse- 
quence of containing kinate of lime, and thus in another point approaches the Calisaya; 
but he could not detect in it a trace of quinia. The only alkaloid it was found to contain 
was cinchonia, of which there was the large proportion of 2-8 per cent.; so that this must 
rank with the valuable barks. For a more particular account of it, the reader is referred 
to a paper by Prof. Procter in the American Journal of Pharmacy (xix. 178). 
5. Bark of Cinchona pubescens, var. Pelleleriana of Weddell. Cusco Bark. Arica Bark. This 
was first known in France by the name of Arica bark, from the port at -which it was ship- 
ped; but, both in French and English commerce, this name has given way to the more ap- 
propriate one of Cusco bark, derived from the Peruvian province in which it is collected. 
Dr. Pereira says that it was first introduced into Europe in 1829 as yellow or Calisaya 
bark. From the statements of Weddell, there seems to be little doubt that it is the product 
of the tree referred to at the heading of this paragraph; as specimens collected by himself 
in the mountains of Cusco were found identical with the bark as known in Europe. The 
following is his description condensed.—In the qudled, the outer coat is thin, very adherent, 
almost smooth, sometimes with traces of annular fissures, of a uniform dirty-gray colour, 
or marbled with darker shades. The proper bark is, without, of an obscure yellow, sprinkled 
with little brown spots when artificially denuded, and marked with some superficial longi- 
tudinal wrinkles; within, is obscurely yellow and a little reddish, coarsely fibrous, and 
often rough to the touch. The transverse fracture is exteriorly corky and quite short, 
without a resinous circle, and inwardly with a few short thick fibres. The flat pieces are 
very dense, and consist about equally of cellular coat and liber. The outer surface is 
smoothish, sometimes slightly wrinkled longitudinally, of an ochre-yellow more or less 
brownish, and frequently marbled with grayish or silvery spots, which are the remains of 
the epidermis. The inner surface is brownish or reddish, thick, and fibrous. The trans- 
verse fracture is cork-like outwardly, of short woody fibres inwardly. A fresh cut surface 
in the same direction shows inwardly rows of large isolated semitranslucent points, cor- 
responding to the section of the cortical fibres, agglutinated in bundles. The longitudinal Cinchona. 
273 
in Bolivia, formerly upper Peru, and in the southern portion of the adjoining 
Peruvian province of Carabaya. Before these countries were separated from 
Spain, it was shipped as well from Buenos Ayres as from the ports on the Pacific; 
but at present it comes only from the latter. As first announced in this work, 
from information derived from merchants long personally eng'aged in commercial 
transactions on the Pacific coast of South America, the bark is brought from the 
PART I. 
fracture is almost without splinters. The epidermis, when it remains on the large barks, 
is thin, unequal, sometimes warty, of an obscure gray, and more or less brownish or even 
greenish in some spots. When it has been scraped, the bark sometimes presents deep- 
brown spots, which are the points where prominences in the cellular coat had raised the 
epidermis so as to form the little warts referred to. These are sometimes decayed, and 
upon falling leave roundish depressions. The taste of the bark is bitter, astringent, and 
somewhat pungent. (Hist. Nat. des Quinquin., p. 56.) 
Yon Bergen says that this bark somewhat resembles the fibrous Carthagena. Inexperi- 
enced persons might mistake it for the Calisaya. Guibourt says that it may be readily 
distinguished by a more regularly cylindrical form, its smoother outer surface, the remains 
of the white and fungous layer, by its two shades of colour, orange or brownish externally, 
and whitish or very pale internally, and by not yielding a precipitate with sulphate of soda. 
Pelletier supposed that he had found a new alkaloid in this bark, which he named aricina; 
but the substance he obtained is now thought to have been some modification of one of the 
other alkaloids. The chief alkaloid in the bark is cinchonia. Frank obtained 48 ounces of 
it from 100 lbs. of the bark, and only a trace of quinia; Winckler, 256 grains from 16 
ounces of a good specimen, and only 77 grains from the same quantity of an inferior one. 
Guibourt estimates the proportion at a drachm for every pound, and observes that the 
bark is rich in cinchonic red. 
6. Bark of C. micrantha, var. rotundifolia of Weddell. As this variety of Cinchona grows in 
Bolivia, and the flat bark derived from it simulates Calisaya, it is very probable that its 
product has been sometimes used to adulterate the latter bark. Weddell says of it that it 
has little density, and consists of the liber alone, or of this and the cellular coating, which 
is generally semi-fungous and imperfectly exfoliated. The external surface is unequal, pre- 
senting superficial concavities similar to those of Calisaya, and separated by, irregular 
corky eminences, but sometimes though rarely smooth from the persistence of the whole 
cellular coating, and is of a bright and grayish orange-yellow. The internal surface is con- 
siderably fibrous, of the same colour as the external, but of a more lively tint. The trans- 
verse fracture is stringy; the longitudinal but slightly splintery, and of a dull surface. The 
taste is decidedly bitter and quickly developed, a little pungent, scarcely astringent. (Hist. 
Nat. des Quinquin., p. 53.) 
7. Bark of C. amygdalifolia. This species also inhabits Bolivia, and its bark may possibly 
sometimes contaminate the Calisaya, as it has been largely collected. Pereira states that 
it is imported alone or mixed with other Bolivian barks, both quilled and flat. According 
to the same author, it is distinguished from the Calisaya by its lightness, its more orange 
colour, the presence of the cellular coat in the pieces deprived of epidermis, the stringy 
transverse fracture, the splintery longitudinal fracture, the want of marked annular fis- 
sures in the epidermis, and the astringent and but slightly bitter taste. Mr. Howard ob- 
tained from a portion of the quills 0-7 per cent, of quinidia and a trace of cinchonia; from 
the flat 0-23 of quinidia and the same of cinchonia. (Pereira’s Mat. Med., 3d ed., p. 1629.) 
—Note to the tenth edition. 
Yellow Bark of Guayaquil. Under this name MM. Delondre and Bouchardat describe a 
bark, occurring in very long rolls, of a colour like that of Chinese cinnamon, with the outer 
surface marked by rather close but shallow longitudinal furrows, with traces of a very 
thin, white epidermis; the inner surface browner, uniform, and compact; the fracture 
resinous exteriorly, and shortly fibrous interiorly. The bitterness is strong, without astrin- 
gency. Delondre obtained from it 3-0 per cent, of sulphate of cinchonia, and 0-3 to 0-4 of 
sulphate of quinia. (Quinologie, p. 32.) This bark is scarce in commerce; but we have been 
told that portions have been brought from Guayaquil, across the Isthmus of Panama. It 
will be very valuable, should cinchonia come, as it ought to do, into general use. 
A false bark has been sometimes mixed with the genuine Calisaya, which it resembles so 
olosely as not to be easily distinguished by the eye. According to Weddell, it is the bark 
of Gomphosia chlorantha, a lofty tree, growing in the same forests where the C. Calisaya is 
found. It is distinguished by a peculiar odour, and by exhibiting in its transverse section, 
under the microscope, “a peculiar fasciculate disposition of the cortical fibres, and some 
vessels gorged with a ruby-coloured juice.” It does not contain a particle of alkaloid, 
out yields a volatile oil on which its odour depends. (Howard, Pharm. Journ., xiv. 318.)— 
Note to the eleventh edition. Cinchona. 
274 
PART I. 
interior to the port of Arica, whence it is sent to various other ports on the coast 
The interior commerce in the drug has its centre chiefly in the town of La Paz. 
The trade in this bark has been much diminished, in consequence partly of its 
greater scarcity, partly of restrictions by the Bolivian government, which issued 
a decree forbidding the cutting of it entirely for three years, from the first of 
January, 1851. 
It is generally supposed to have been first introduced into commerce towards 
the end of the last century, and it was probably not known by its present name 
till that period; but La Condamine states that the Jesuits of La Paz, at a pe- 
riod anterior to the discovery of the febrifuge of Loxa, sent to Rome a very 
bitter bark by the name of quinaquina, which, though supposed by that travel- 
ler to have been derived from the Peruvian balsam tree, was very probably, as 
conjectured by Guibourt, the true cinchona, Besides, Pomet, in his History of 
Drugs, published in 1694, speaks of a bark more bitter than that of Loxa, ob- 
tained from the province of Potosi, which borders upon that of La Paz; and 
Chomel also states that the cinchona tree inhabited the mountains of Potosi, 
and produced a bark more esteemed than that which grew in the province of 
Quito. (Guibourt, Journ. de Pharm.,xvi. 235.) It is possible that, though known 
at this early period, it may have gone out of use; and its reintroduction into 
notice, towards the end of the last century, may have been mistaken for an 
original discovery.* 
* The great value of Calisaya bark will justify us in giving a brief account of its mode 
of collection, as described by Weddell from personal observation. The tree producing it 
grows in the Bolivian provinces Enquisivi, Yungos, Larecaja, and Caupolican. At present 
it is necessary to travel for eight or ten days from the nearest inhabited place, in order 
to reach the forests where it is found of a size and in numbers which will repay the trou- 
ble of gathering the bark. The Cascarilleros are persons educated from infancy to the 
business. Several of them are engaged in the service of a merchant or small company, 
by whom they are sent, at any period of the year except during the rains, upon an ex- 
pedition under the charge of a leader called a Mayordomo. Having previously received 
information which governs the direction of their journey, they proceed to the vicinity of 
their intended operations, and establish a camp in a convenient position. Henceforward 
the neighbourhood is considered as belonging exclusively to the party, and no other bark- 
gatherers pretend to interfere. From the camp the Cascarilleros are despatched, singly or 
in small bands, in different directions into the forests, through which they have to make 
their way, often with great labour and fatigue. Each man cari’ies with him provisions for 
a long absence. The trees do not form forests of themselves, but are scattered singly or 
in groups more or less close. From some convenient point of view the explorer scans the 
top of the forest, and is able to recognise, at a great distance, from the peculiarity of its 
aspect, not only one of the Cinchonas, but the particular species of which he is in search. 
Sometimes he is directed by the appearance of the dry leaves upon the ground. Having 
found a suitable tree, he first fells it, cutting as near the soil as possible, then tops off the 
branches, and detaches by blows with a wmoden mallet, or the back of his axe, the outer 
or dead layers of the bark, which easily separate. He next makes incisions through the 
bark, so as to isolate pieces usually fifteen or twenty inches long by three or four broad, 
which he removes by means of a knife or other instrument. The branches are decorticated 
without separating the epidermis. The pieces obtained from these are simply allowed to 
dry in the sun, and, rolling themselves up, form the quilled variety. The pieces from the 
trunk are disposed in square piles, one being placed over the other, and the whole kept 
down by some heavy body. They are thus prevented from rolling as they dry. When suf- 
ficiently dried they are carried to the camp on the back of the gatherer, who often consumes 
several days in his returning journey, and undergoes incredible fatigue. At the camp, the 
bark is assorted, and the portion deemed fit for commerce is sent to the town, on the backs 
of men or of mules, where it is packed in bales or seroons, covered with fresh hides. The 
most wasteful methods of collecting the bark prevail, the only object being present con- 
venience. Not only is the tree felled, but the bark is frequently removed from the stump 
down into the very earth, so as to prevent the growth of sprouts, which would otherwise 
spring up from the old roots, and in the course of time afford another crop.—Note to the 
ninth edition. PART I. 
Cinchona. 
275 
3. Red Bark. 
The name of this variety is very appropriately applied; as the colour is usually 
distinct both in the bark and the powder. In South America it is called casca- 
villa roxa and colorada. Some writers have divided it into several sub-varie 
ties; but, in relation to the true red bark, there does not seem to be ground for 
such division in any essential difference of properties. Like the Calisaya, it 
comes in quills and flat pieces, which are probably derived from different parts 
of the same tree. It is imported in chests. 
Some of the pieces are entirely rolled, some partially so, as if they had been 
taken from half the circumference of the branch ; others are nearly or quite flat. 
They vary greatly in size, the quill being sometimes less than half an inch in 
diameter, sometimes as much as two inches; while the flat pieces are occasion- 
ally very large and thick, as if derived from the trunk of a tree. They are 
covered with a reddish-brown or gray, sometimes whitish epidermis, which is 
rugged, wrinkled longitudinally, and in the thicker pieces marked with furrows, 
which in some places penetrate to the surface of the proper bark. In many 
specimens, numerous small roundish or oblong eminences, called warts, may be 
observed upon the outer surface. Beneath the epidermis is a layer, dark-red, 
brittle, and compact, which possesses some bitterness and astringency, but much 
less than the interior parts. These are woody and fibrous, of a more or less 
lively brownish-red colour, which is usually very distinct, but in some specimens 
passes into orange and even yellowish-brown; so that it is not always possible 
to distinguish the variety by this property alone. The taste is bitter and as- 
tringent, and the odour similar to that of other good barks. Red bark is chemi- 
cally distinguished by containing considerable quantities of both quinia and 
cinchonia.* It yields a turbid salmon-coloured decoction with water. 
* The red bark is described by Yon Bergen under the name of China rubra, or rothe China. 
The following is an abstract of his description. The quills are from two lines to an inch 
and a quarter in diameter, from one-third of a line to two lines thick, and from two to 
twelve inches or more in length. The smaller quills are often spiral. The flat pieces are 
from one to two inches broad, from three-eighths to a quarter of an inch thick, and of the 
same length as the quills. In the smaller and middling-sized quills, the external surface 
exhibits longitudinal wavy wrinkles. In the thicker pieces, these wrinkles, between which 
are here and there longitudinal furrows, often elevate themselves into roundish or oblong 
warts, which are of a somewhat friable and granular consistence. The longitudinal fur- 
rows sometimes penetrate to the bark. Transverse fissures seldom occur. The colour in 
the smaller quills varies from a fawn-gray to a dull reddish-brown, in the larger is reddish- 
brown or chestnut-brown with a tinge of purple. When the wrinkles and warts are rubbed 
off, the peculiar brownish-red colour of the bark appears. The pieces are often in part or 
almost wholly covered with a whitish-gray or yellowish-white coat, either belonging to 
vhe epidermis or consisting of lichens. In some of the quills the epidermis is wanting in 
spots, which exhibit a dirty reddish cinnamon-colour. The inner surface is delicately 
fibrous and almost \miform in the small quills, but becomes more fibrous and uneven in 
the larger, and in the flat pieces is splintery and very irregular. Its colour varies with 
the size of the pieces, being a reddish-rusty brown in the least, redder in the larger, and 
a full brownish-red in the largest. The inner surface is also sometimes yellowish, or 
brownish, or of a dirty appearance. It becomes darker when scraped with the nail. The 
fracture exhibits the different colours of the epidermis, the inner bark, and a resinous 
layer between the two. It is usually smooth in the smaller quills, fibrous in the larger, and 
at the same time fibrous and splintery in the largest pieces. The fracture of the epidermis, 
however, is in all either smooth, or only here and there somewhat granular. The odour is 
like that of tan, and earthy; the taste strongly but not disagreeably bitter, somewhat 
aromatic, and not lasting. The powder is of a dull brownish-red colour. 
Experiments upon many different specimens of red bark, as stated by Pfaflf, give as an 
average product 1-7 percent, of pure cinchonia, and 0-44 of sulphate of quinia. The highest 
product obtained was 3-17 per cent, of cinchonia, and 0-15 of sulphate of quinia. Another 
specimen yielded 1-21 per cent, of the former, and 1-33 of the latter. Pelletier and Caventou 
obtained 0-8 per cent, of cinchonia, and 1-7 of quinia. [Geiger.) Dr. E. Riegel, of Carls- 
ruhe, obtained from one specimen of the best red bark 4-16 per cent, of alkaloids (2-65 of 276 
Cinchona, 
PART I. 
The species of Cinchona which produces red bark has been unknown until 
very recently. The notion derived from Mutis, and formerly generally prevalent, 
that it was obtained from the G. oblongifolia of that botanist, was long since 
demonstrated to be incorrect. For the proofs upon this point, which have now 
ceased to have any practical importance, the reader is referred to the article 
Cinchona, section Red Bark, in early editions of this work. It has been sup- 
posed that red bark may be derived from the same species with one or more of 
the pale barks, but taken from the larger branches or the trunk. This opinion 
received some support from a statement made by La Condamine, in his memoir 
upon cinchona. We are told by this author that three kinds of bark were known 
at Loxa; the white, the yellow, and the red. The white, so named from the 
colour of the epidermis, scarcely possessed any medicinal virtue, and was ob- 
tained from a tree entirely distinct from that which yielded the two other varie- 
ties. The red was superior to the yellow; but he was assured, on the very best 
authority, that the trees producing them grew together, and were not distin- 
guishable by the eye. Of the three varieties mentioned by La Condamine, the 
white, which was probably one of the inferior barks with micaceous epidermis, 
does not reach us; and that which he calls yellow is probably identical with the 
pale variety of the Pharmacopoeias, as this grows abundantly about Loxa. At 
the date of the publication of the last edition of this work, it had been rendered 
extremely probable by Mr. Howard, that the genuine red bark is derived from the 
trunk and larger branches of the Cinchona ovata, var. erythroderma of Weddell, 
growing on the western slopes of the mountains Assuay and Chimborazo, east- 
ward of Guayaquil, in about 2° of south latitude. {Pharm. Journ., xvi. 201.) Since 
that period, this ascription has been found to be correct, though the variety re- 
ferred to has been raised to the dignity of a species, G. succirubra, which is now 
generally admitted to be the source of the red bark of the Pharmacopoeias. 
Under this head may be classed all the Cinchona barks brought from the north- 
ern Atlantic ports of South America. In commerce, they are variously called 
Pitaya, Bogota, Garthagena, Maracaybo, and Santa Martha barks, according to 
the place in the vicinity of which they are collected, or the particular port at which 
quinia and 1-51 of cinclionia), and from another 3-85 per cent. (Fharm. Journ., xii. 250.) 
Delondre obtained from the genuine red bark, “bright red,” 2-0 to 2-5 per cent, of sulphate 
of quinia, and 10 to 1-2 of sulphate of cinclionia; from the “pale red” 1-5 to 1-8 of the former, 
and 0-5 to 06 of the latter. (Quinologie, p. 30.) It appears, therefore, that the proportion of 
the alkalies is exceedingly different in different specimens; and it is highly probable that 
some of the barks experimented upon were inferior red barks, not properly belonging to this 
variety. The degree of bitterness is, perhaps, the best criterion of their efficacy. 
Guibourt divides the red bark into two principal varieties, which he distinguishes by the 
names of quinquina rouge verruqueux, and quinquina rouge non verruqueux, from the presence 
or absence of the warts upon the outer surface. There is, however, no real distinction be- 
tween the varieties, as they possess the same virtues, and differ only in being derived from 
different parts of the same tree; the warty, it is asserted, being derived from the root and 
trunk, the non-warty from the branches. (Howard, Pharm. Journ., xvi. 210.) He describes 
also four other red barks; 1. Rouge orange verruqueux, differing from the true warty kind 
by its more orange colour, its very thin epidermis, its finer fibres, and the less thick- 
ness of the large barks; 2. Rouge blanchissant d Vair, characterized by the whitening of its 
fracture in the air, and by its little bitterness ; 3. Rouge de Lima, with a whitish epidermis, 
an ochreous reddish liber, and of excellent qualities (see Fine Gray Bark, p. 239); and 4. 
Rouge pdle d surface blanche, resembling the first of these varieties, but distinguishable by its 
whiter epidermis, and generally lighter colour. Under the same head may be ranked his 
quinquina de Ja'en ou de Loxa rougedtre, which has a dark-gray epidermis, and a uniform 
fibrous proper bark, reddish or deep-brown, and of a very astringent taste with little bit- 
terness.—Note to the second, fourth, ninth, and twelfth editions. 
A specimen of bark in our possession, brought by Dr. Dillard, of the U. S. Navy, from the 
Pacific, and labelled red bark of Cuenqa, has a thick epidermis like that of the ordinary red 
bark3, is of a very deep dark-red colour, and possesses little bitterness. 
Non-officinal oe Carthagena Barks. PART I. 
Cinchona 
they may be shipped. Formerly these barks were for the most part of inferior 
quality, and were therefore not recognised in the Pharmacopoeias; but the defi- 
cient supply and consequent high price of Calisaya have directed enterprise into 
other quarters; and within a few years large quantities of very good bark have 
been imported from New Granada, derived chiefly from the neighbourhood of 
Bogota and Popayan, and brought down the river Magdalena. Since the com- 
pletion of the railroad across the Isthmus of Panama, considerable quantities 
have been brought to us by that route, being shipped from the port of Buenaven- 
tura, on the Pacific coast. There can be little doubt that the commerce in these 
barks will continue and increase ; as some of them are inferior in their yield of 
alkaloids only to the Calisaya, if even to that variety, and the region from which 
they are procured is almost virgin soil. It has appeared to us, from an exami- 
nation of such of them as have come under our notice, that they may all, at least 
with one exception, be referred without violence to some one or another of the 
varieties of Carthagena bark already recognised; but these better kinds formerly 
seldom reached the market; because, partaking of the general reputation of the 
inferior barks from the same region, it was feared that they might not pay the 
cost of importation. Most of the Carthagena barks are characterized by a soft, 
whitish, or yellowish-white epidermis, which may be easily scraped by the nail, 
and which, though often more or less completely removed, almost always leaves 
behind traces sufficient to indicate its character. Those of them which may, in 
other respects, bear some resemblance to Calisaya, are in general readily dis- 
tinguishable by this character of the epidermis when it remains, and, when it is 
wanting, by the peculiar appearance of the outer surface, showing that the ex- 
terior coating has been scraped off, or shaved off with a knife. They all contain 
the alkaloids in greater or less proportion, though they differ much in this re- 
spect. In reference to the relative proportion of the different alkaloids, they have 
nothing in common, except perhaps that they yield proportionably more cin- 
chonia, cinchonidia, and quinidia than the Calisaya, resembling, in this respect, 
the pale and red barks. Inferior barks, with the soft, white epidermis, are found 
on the western coast of South America, where they are known as white barks; 
but they seldom reach us. In the state of powder, the inferior Carthagena barks 
were formerly, and are still, to a certain extent, kept in the shops, and sold for 
tooth-powder, &c., under the name of common bark. They have not unfrequently 
been substituted, either fraudulently, or by mistake, for the better kinds. 
The Carthagena barks were formerly classified, according to their colour, into 
the yelloio, orange, red, and brown; but this mode of distinction must now be 
abandoned; for these varieties of colour may be found in barks identical in other 
respects, and derived from the same species of Cinchona. The well characterized 
Carthagena barks may all be referred to one of the three following varieties. 
1. Hard Carthagena Bark. Hard Yellow Carthagena Bark. Yellow Bark 
of Santa Fe. Common Yellow Carthagena Bark. — China Jlava dura. Von 
Bergen. — Quinquina de Carthagene jaune pale. Guibourt. This is in pieces 
of various size and form, sometimes wholly or partially quilled, and sometimes 
flat; and the flat pieces present the appearance of having been warped in drying, 
being frequently curved longitudinally backward, and sometimes also in the 
transverse direction or spirally. The quills are from three to eight lines in dia-1 
meter, from half a line to a line and a half thick, and from five to nine and rarely 
fifteen inches long. The flat pieces are thicker, from half an inch to two inches 
broad, and from four to eight and sometimes twelve inches in length. As found 
in this market, the bark is sometimes in small, irregularly square or oblong, 
flattish, and variously warped pieces, from one to four inches long, and from 
one to three lines in thickness, mixed with small quills or fragments of quills; 
the former appearing as if chipped from the trunk or large branches, the latter 
evidently derived from the small branches. In this shape it was treated of in 278 
Cinchona 
PART I. 
some foimer editions of this work, as a distinct variety, under the name of Santa 
Martha Bark, which it at one time held in the market; but a closer examination 
has convinced us that it is the same bark as the one above described, though 
collected in a different manner. The quills are generally more covered with the 
whitish epidermis than the flat pieces, in which it is often nearly or quite removed. 
The inner surface of the latter, though sometimes smooth, is often rough and 
splintery, as if forcibly separated from the wood. The colour of the proper bark 
is a pale, dull, brownish-yellow, darker in parcels which have been long kept; 
and the surface often appears as if rubbed over with powdered bark. The tex- 
ture is rather firm aud compact, and the fracture abrupt, without being smooth 
or presenting long splinters. The taste is bitter and nauseous. This variety of 
bark is now universally ascribed to C. cordifolia.* 
2. Fibrous Carthagena Bark. Fibrous Yellow Carthagena Bark. Spongy 
Carthagena Bark. Bogota Bark. Goquetla Bark. — Quinia naranjanda. 
Mutis — Quinquina orange. Humboldt. — China flava fibrosa. Von Bergen. 
— Quinquina Carlhagene spongieux. Guibourt. This is in quills or half-quills, 
or is slightly rolled; and there are comparatively few pieces which are quite fiat, 
even among the largest barks. The quills are from half an inch to an inch and 
a half in diameter, and of extremely variable length, with a yellowish-brown 
epidermis, often covered with crustaceous lichens so as to render the surface of 
the bark whitish and smooth, and exhibiting not unfrequently longitudinal and 
transverse fissures. The larger barks, which are much the most frequent in com- 
merce, are usually from six to twelve inches long, from one to two inches broad, 
and from two to five lines in thickness; but they often vary much from these 
dimensions, being sometimes in the smallest fragments, and sometimes forming 
semi-cylinders four or five inches in diameter, a foot and a half long, and nine 
lines thick. They are usually without epidermis, which has been scraped off, 
or pared off with a knife, leaving the surface smooth and uniform in the former 
case, and somewhat angular in the latter. Sometimes, however, the epidermis 
either partially or wholly remains, when it generally exhibits the soft whitish 
surface characteristic of most of the Carthagena barks. The bark is very 
fibrous, presenting generally, when broken, long, sometimes stringy splinters, 
though the outer edge of the fracture is occasionally short from the cellular, or 
* We introduce, in the form of a note, more detailed and precise information on the 
subject of the Carthagena barks than our space allows in the text; because, in the present 
condition of the manufacture of the cinchona alkaloids, it is important to be able to dis- 
tinguish the several varieties, and estimate their value. 
Hard Carthagena Bark. The following is a somewhat precise description of this variety, 
taken from Yon Bergen. The account of the dimensions and shape of the pieces, given in 
the text, is sufficiently particular. The epidermis is in many pieces partially or almost 
wholly wanting. The outer surface is on the whole rather smooth, though it usually ex- 
hibits a few faint longitudinal furrows and transverse fissures, and pieces are occasionally 
found with hard warts or protuberances. In the flat pieces, the epidermis, when present, 
has somewhat the consistence of cork, and is composed of several layers. The colour of 
the epidermis varies from yellowish-white to ash-gray, and is sometimes diversified by 
bluish-gray or blackish lichens. When it is wanting, the colour is between a dark cinna- 
mon and brownish-yellow. These shades, however, are seldom clear, and the flat pieces 
have usually a somewhat dusty aspect. The inner surface of the quills is tolerably uniform, 
that of the flat pieces uneven or faintly furrowed and even splintery, the points of the 
splinters often projecting. Its colour, which is almost always dull, as if the surface were 
dusty, varies between a light cinnamon and a dull ochre-yellow, and in some pieces is 
rusty-brown, or fawn-gray, or even whitish-yellow. The bark does not readily break in 
the longitudinal direction. The transverse fracture presents short splinters, and in some- 
times fibrous. When cut transversely, the bark obscurely exhibits a very small uarker- 
coloured resinous layer beneath the epidermis. The odour is feeble, the taste astringent 
and bitter, but not strongly so. The powder is of the colour of cinnamon. This bark 
yielded, according to Von Bergen, on an average of two experiments, 0-57 per cent, of cin- 
chonia, and 0-33 of sulphate of quinia. Goebel and Kirst found in a pound 56 grains of 
quinia and 43 of cinchonia. Dr. Pereira states that it contains quinidia (cinchonidia) part I. 
Cinchona. 
remains of the suberons coat. Its texture is loose, soft, and spongy under the 
teeth, and the bark itself is usually light. The colour both of the trimmed outer 
surface, and the inner, and of the bark itself, varies from an ochreous or light 
brownish-yellow, to orange, and red; but, for the most part, it presents more or 
less of the orange tint, which induced Mutis to give it the title of orange bark. 
The red colour is found especially in the largest barks. The larger pieces are 
sometimes marked on the outside with a deep spiral impression produced prob- 
ably by a climbing plant winding around the stem of the tree. The colour of 
the powder is yellowish, with not unfrequently an orange tint. The taste is 
more or less bitter; but varies in this respect extremely; some barks being 
almost insipid, while others have a very decided taste. There can be little doubt 
that these barks are all derived from the Cinchona lancifolia of Mutis. It is 
asserted that the red variety of the bark is obtained from trees which grow side 
by side with those which yield the yellow or orange. 
The productiveness of the fibrous bark in alkaloids varies greatly in the dif- 
ferent specimens. Thus while some have scarcely yielded any product, others 
have been found to afford more than three per cent. They probably contain all 
the cinchona alkaloids; but some have been found more abundant in one, and 
others in another. Thus, the red is said to be especially rich in quinidia (cin- 
chonidia); a Pitaya bark, which we believe to belong to the fibrous Carthagena, 
has yielded a very large product of quinia; while, in not a few specimens which 
have been examined, the cinchonia predominates. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxv. 
308.) It is probable that the richness in these principles depends in some degree 
on the natural position of the plants ; those growing in low situations being less 
productive than those higher on the mountains.* 
A specimen labelled yellow bark of Loxa, brought from South America 
several years since by Dr. Dillard, of the U. S. Navy, and said to be used in 
Loxa for making extract of bark, presents characters closely analogous to those 
of fibrous Carthagena bark, sufficiently so to justify the supposition that it was 
derived from the same species of Cinchona; and we have seen a specimen sent 
fiither from Guayaquil, which has the same character, and is so rich in alkaloids 
as to be worked with advantage.f 
* Karsten states that the bark of C. lancifolia, which on the average yields 2-5 per cent, 
of sulphate of quinia and from 1-0 to 1-5 per cent, of sulphate of cinchonia, often yields 
neither, and sometimes 4-5 per cent, of the two. The bark of the young branches yields 
much less than that of the trunk. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxx. 534.) 
f Fibrous Carthagena Bark. The following is an abbreviation of Von Bergen’s descrip- 
tion of this variety. In shape and dimensions, it does not materially ditfer from the pre- 
ceding; but the flatter pieces are almost always a little rolled, or curved laterally. The 
epidermis is in general either in part or wholly rubbed off. When it is present, the outer 
surface is nearly smooth, only marked here and there with faint irregular transverse fis- 
sures and longitudinal furrows. Its colour varies from a dirty whitish-gray to yellowish. 
Out is sometimes more or less dark. When the outer surface is rubbed off, as is almost 
always the case in the flat pieces, the colour is nearly pure ochre-yellow. Where the whole 
thickness of the outer coat is wanting, as happens here and there in spots, the surface is 
dark cinnamon, or dark ochre-yellow, and commonly dull or powdery. The inner surface is 
usually even, but sometimes irregular and splintery, and always harsh to the fingers, leav- 
ing small splinters sticking in the skin when drawn over it. It is of a nearly pure ochre- 
yellow colour, and is very powdery. The fracture distinguishes this variety from the pre- 
ceding, and from all others. The longitudinal fracture is strikingly fibrous, and in the flat 
pieces the fragments still hang together by connecting fibres. The bark, moreover, breaks 
obliquely, and the fracture even of the outer coat, which in other varieties is almost 
always smooth, is here uneven or rough-grained. The transverse fracture exhibits very 
long and thin splinters or fibres, which are very flexible, and may almost be said to be 
soft. No traces of a resinous appearance are observable in the fracture. The odour is fee- 
ble, the taste at first woody and flat, afterwards slightly bitter and astringent, and weaker 
in this than in any other variety of bark. The colour of the powder is intermediate be- 
tween that of cinnamon and yellow ochre. The highest product of this bark in alkaloids 
was about 0-59 per cent, of cinchonia, and 0-52 of sulphate of quinia. 
The above description does not embrace all the varieties of this bark which have since 280 
Cinchona 
PART I. 
3. Hard Pitaya Baric.— Pitaya Condaminea Bark. Pereira. — Quinquina 
brun de Carthagdne. Quinquina Pitaya, ou de la Colombia, ou d'Antioquia. 
Guibourt. This bark, though seen by Guibourt so long since as 1830, has come 
been introduced into commerce: nor does it by any means represent the finest specimens. 
The highly fibrous character of the bark, its looseness of texture, relative lightness, and sponginess 
under the teeth, are properties common to all the specimens; but in appearance and virtues 
they vary considerably; so much so, indeed, that it is only of late that they have been 
united under one name, and traced to one source. 
In the edition of this work for 1843, we described a kind of bark of which large quan- 
tities had then recently been imported in a vessel from Maracaybo, and which, from its 
possession in a high degree of the properties just referred to, we were disposed to rank 
with this variety; and subsequent observation has tended to prove the correctness of this 
reference. In general aspect it bore some resemblance to the flat Calisaya, particularly in 
the appearance of its inner surface; but it differed in being thicker, less hard, compact, 
and heavy, and much more fibrous, and especially in the character of its outer surface, 
which had the appearance as though the exterior coating had been removed by scraping 
or cutting with a knife, and not spontaneously separated at the natural juncture, as in the 
Calisaya. The pieces were considerably larger than those we had previously seen of the 
fibrous Carthagena, and differed somewhat in colour, having much more of the orange 
tint., especially in the outer portion, where it was decidedly reddish in some of the pieces. 
Though less bitter than the Calisaya, and without the property of precipitating sulphate 
of soda, it nevertheless had a decided bitterness; and its infusion afforded a copious pre- 
cipitate with infusion of galls, indicating the presence of no inconsiderable portion of the 
alkaline principles. 
Recently we have had opportunities, through the kindness of Messrs. Powers & Weight- 
man, of examining several varieties of the fibrous bark brought from Bogota and Popayan, 
which have proved of great value as sources of the cinchona alkaloids, and which wTe pro- 
pose briefly to describe, in connection with a statement, derived from the same highly re- 
spectable source, of their yield of these valuable principles. 
Bogota Bark. Fusagasuga Bark. Coquetta Bark. The first of these names is derived from 
the entrepot of the trade in this bark; the second, from the particular district where it is 
collected. Of the origin of the third, by which it is known in English commerce, we are 
not informed. The bark is in pieces of various lengths, often exceeding a foot, sometimes 
nearly flat, but generally more or less rolled, and occasionally forming semi-cylinders 
more than an inch in diameter. It is often either partially or wholly covered with the 
whitish, soft, micaceous epidermis characteristic of Carthagena barks. In other instances 
this has been removed by scraping, or sometimes by chipping, and the deep strokes of the 
knife or hatchet are not unfrequently observable. The pieces are often of considerable 
thickness, usually rather firm, though very fibrous, and spongy under the teeth. The 
colour is brownish-yellow with a tinge of red. Mr. Weiglitman obtained from it from 1 to 
1-3 per cent, of sulphate of quinia, and from 0-3 to 0-4 per cent, of sulphate of cinchonia. 
An inferior variety of Bogota bark, not designated as Fusagasuga, yielded him only 0-4 
of sulphate of quinia. In the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (xxv. 308) is a statement of results ob- 
tained in the examination of the Bogota (Fusagasuga) bark, which were, on the average 
of four specimens, 0 95 per cent, of cinchonia or quinidia or both, 1-45 of sulphate of 
quinia (equivalent to about 1-09 of the umcombined alkaloid), and 1-0 of extractive resi- 
due, wliich is presumed to consist mainly of amorphous quinia; so that the whole of the 
alkaline ingredients amounted to about 3-04 per cent. 
Soft Pitaya Bark. Calisaya of New Granada (Delondre and Bouchardat, Quinologie, p. 33). 
This, though said to be brought from the Pitaya mountain near Popayan, is wholly differ- 
ent from the hard Pitaya described in the text as one of the varieties of Carthagena bark. 
It is imported from Carthagena, whither it is brought down the Magdalena river, and 
from the Pacific port of Buenaventura, whence it is sent to us by the Isthmus of Panama. 
From the specimens we have seen of the soft Pitaya, we have no hesitation in classing it 
with the fibrous Carthagena barks, though superior to the others, probably in consequence 
of the more elevated site of its growth. It comes broken up into small irregular fragment? 
of larger pieces, either quilled, partially rolled, or flat. Few of the fragments exceed four 
inches in length, and many are very minute. Indeed, in some of the seroons, much of 
their contents seem to be almost in the state of a very coarse powder. This condition of 
the bark no doubt depends partly on its great fragility; but it is probable that it is pur- 
posely broken up for the convenience of close package in the hide seroons. The fragments 
arc almost all destitute of epidermis, but, when portions of it remain, it has the usual 
whitish, soft, micaceous character, common to all these barks. The outer surface, which 
consists of a thin sub-epidermic suberous layer, is remarkably uniform and smooth, ap- 
parently from the careful scraping to which it has been subjected. By far the greater part 
of the bark consists of the liber, which is highly fibrous, though very soft, easily broken, PART I. 
Cinchona. 
281 
into general notice only within the last eight or ten years. Much, of it has beer 
imported into Philadelphia, coming sometimes through Carthagena, and some 
times over the Isthmus of Panama, whither it is brought from Buenaventura. 
The following description is drawn from an examination of the bark contained 
in several seroons that have come under our notice. It is in small irregular 
pieces, from less than an inch to about four inches long, which are obviously 
the fragments of larger pieces both quilled and flat. Dr. Pereira states that he 
had pieces more than a foot in length. In thickness it varies from less than a 
line to four or five lines. Most of the fragments are covered with the whitish, 
soft epidermis, characteristic of the Carthagena barks; but some of them have 
a dark-brown epidermis, rugose with innumerable cracks in all directions; and 
others are partially or wholly destitute of the outer covering, presenting gene- 
rally, in the denuded part, a dark uniform or somewhat wrinkled surface. The 
inner surface is finely and compactly fibrous, and of a dull yellowish-brown 
colour with a reddish tinge; and the whole of the liber or true bark has the 
same colour and texture. But outside of the liber there is in many pieces a very 
distinct resinous layer, which is sometimes of considerable thickness, and, when 
cut across by a knife, exhibits a dark, reddish-brown, shining surface. The re- 
sinous layer is the most striking peculiarity of the bark, though not present in 
all of the pieces, which sometimes consist of the liber alone. The fracture is 
towards the interior shortly fibrous, towards the exterior often smooth, in conse- 
quence of the layer just referred to. The whole bark is rather hard, compact, 
and heavy; differing in this respect very decidedly from the last mentioned va- 
riety. It has more resemblance to the hard Carthagena, from which, however, 
it differs by its deeper and redder colour, its much more developed resinous 
coat, and its occasional grater-like epidermis. The taste is very bitter, and the 
yield in alkaloids considerable. Mr. Weightman informed us that he had ob- 
tained from it an average product of 16 per cent, of sulphate of quinia, and 
0 34 of sulphate of cinchonia, independently of the amorphous or uncrystalli- 
zable alkaline matter. It must, therefore, be ranked among the efficient barks, 
though not so productive as the fine variety of fibrous bark denominated soft 
Pitaya. It contains also a large proportion of resin. 
This bark comes from the mountain of Pitaya near Popayan, and the particu- 
lar seroons examined by ourselves were said to have been brought down the 
Magdalena river from the town of Honda. It is referred by Dr. Pereira and Mr. 
Howard to the Cinchona Condaminea, var. Pitayensis of Weddell, of which that 
author has more recently made a distinct species, under the name of Cinchona 
Pitayensis. {Ann. des Sci. Nat., May, 1849.)* 
and yielding with great facility under the teeth. The colour is externally and internally 
a uniform fine brownish-yellow, with an orange tint, and is brighter than in most others 
of the analogous barks. The taste is very bitter. Mr. Weightman obtained from ordinary 
specimens of this bark 2-0 per cent, of sulphate of quinia, and 005 of sulphate of cincho- 
nia; from a very fine specimen, 3-0 per cent, of the former, and but a trace of the latter. 
It is, therefore, one of the most valuable varieties of bark, scarcely yielding in produc- 
tiveness to Calisaya. The results stated in the Am. Journ of Pharm. (xxv. 308) even exceed 
these. The average yield of four dilferent specimens, including the uncrystallizable pro- 
duct, was 4-42 of alkaloids, probably in the state of sulphates, and, without the uncrys- 
tallizable matter, about 3-4 per cent.—Note to the tenth and eleventh editions. 
* HardPitaya Bark. The following is Guibourt’s description of this bark. “ In the young 
barks, the crust is fine, whitish externally, fissured, almost like the young red Lima barks. In 
the large barks, and in the parts not worn by rubbing, the crust is always whitish exteriorly, 
but interiorly it is rust-coloured and fungous. The liber presents a very fine fibrous tex- 
ture, joined to a considerable density and hardness ; the internal surface is smooth and red- 
dish ; its taste is very bitter and disagreeable, and its watery infusion strongly precipitates 
with sulphate of soda. It yields largely of the alkalies, but proportionably more cinchonia 
than quinia.” Guibourt obtained 2-3 per cent, of cinchonia, and 1-15 of sulphate of quinia; 
ar about 3-16 per cent, of pure alkaloids. (Hist. Nat. des Drogues, 3feme ed., iii. 141.) 
Under the title of Pitaya-Condaminea bark, Pereira describes this variety as follows. 282 
Cinchona. 
part I. 
0 False Barks. 
Before dismissing the subject of the varieties of cinchona, it is proper to ob- 
serve that numerous barks have at various times been introduced into the market, 
and sold as closely resembling or identical with the febrifuge of Peru, which ex- 
perience has proved to differ from it materially, both in cherries1 composition 
and medical virtues. These barks are generally procured from trees formerly 
ranked among the Cinchonas, but now arranged in other genera. They are dis- 
tinguished from the true Peruvian bark by the absence of its peculiar alkaloids. 
Among them are 1. a bark known to the French pharmaceutists by the name of 
quinquina nova or new bark, which, though at one time thought to be possessed 
of some virtues, has been proved to be worthless, and was ascertained by Guibourt 
to be the produce of the C. oblongifolia of Mutis, now ranked in Weddell’s genus 
Cascarilla;* 2. the Caribseanbark, from Exostemma Caribaea; 3. the St. Lucia 
bark, or quinquina piton of the French, derived from Exostemma floribunda; 
and 4. a bark of uncertain botanical origin, called in France quinquina bicolore, 
and in Italy china bicolorala, and sometimes erroneously named Pitaya bark. 
Of these the last only is known in this country. A considerable quantity of it 
was some time since imported into New Orleans, whence a portion reached this 
city. The specimen in our possession is in quills, for the most part singly, but 
in some instances doubly rolled, from eight or ten inches to more than two feet 
in length, and from a quarter of an inch to an inch or more in diameter. The 
outer surface is of a dull grayish-olive colour, with numerous large oval or irregu- 
lar spots, much lighter coloured, sometimes even whitish, and slightly depressed 
beneath the general surface, as if a layer of the epidermis had fallen off within 
their limits. It is to this appearance that the bark owes the name of bicolorata. 
The colour of the internal surface is deep-brown or almost blackish ; that of the 
fresh fracture, brownish-red. The bark is hard, compact, and thin, seldom as much 
“Bark consisting of single or double quills, or lialf-rolled pieces. I have specimens which 
are more than a foot in length. Some samples, however, which I have received, consist of 
pieces not more than two or three inches in length, sometimes entirely, at others only par- 
tially coated; the partially coated pieces consist of the suberous and cellular coats and 
liber. Epidermis, when present, dark-brown, frequently coated by crustaceous lichens, 
marked by numerous, closely set, transverse cracks, with prominent or slightly everted bor- 
ders, which give the bark a grater-like feel; and here and there presenting round or oval 
warts, or fungoid rusty tubercles, varying' in size from a grain of wheat to a seed of coffee, 
and usually marked like the latter with a longitudinal, sometimes also with a transverse 
fissure. The suberous coat in some pieces much developed, spongy or fungous, fawn-yellow, 
sometimes brown in the interior, and yellow externally and internally, ltesinous tissue on 
the inside of the suberous coat, from which it is definitely separated, shining, of a dark- 
reddish colour. Liber gradually passing into the resinous coat, hard, dense, dark, reddish- 
brown : cortical fibres small and short. Pitaya-Condaminea bark is firm and heavy, and has 
a very bitter, rather disagreeable taste, which is slowly developed.” It contains einchonia, 
quinidia (cinclionidia), and quinia. (Mat. Med., 3d ed., p. 1643.)—Note to the tenth edition. 
* This was formerly called red Carlhagena bark, but must not be confounded with the genuine 
red Carlhagena bark, which belongs to the fibrous Carlhagena, and has been already noticed. 
As described by Guibourt, it is in pieces a foot or more long, rolled when small, open or 
nearly flat when larger, in general perfectly cylindrical, with a whitish, thin, uniform epi- 
dermis, showing scarcely any cryptogamia, and but a few transverse fissures which are some- 
times entirely wanting; one to three lines thick without the epidermis; of a pale carnation 
colour, becoming deeper in the air, especially upon the outer surface, which, when destitute 
of epidermis, is always reddish-brown ; of a fracture which is foliaceous in the outer part, 
and short-fibrous in the inner; and exhibiting under the microscope, between its fibres, and 
especially between the laminae, a great abundance of two granular matters, of which one 
is red and the other whitish. In some pieces the fracture exhibits, nearer the external than 
the internal surface, a yellow, transparent, resinous or gummy exudation. The taste is flat 
and astringent like that of tan, the odour feeble, between that of tan and of the pale baiks. 
The powder is decidedly red. It contains neither quinia nor einchonia. Its most interest- 
ing constituents are a peculiar tannic acid, kinic acid, kinovic acid discovered by Winckler, and 
a peculiar red colouring matter called kinovic red. (Hlasiwetz, Chem. Gaz., ix. 421 and 441.) PART I. 
Cinchona, 
283 
as a line in thickness, and breaks with a short rough fracture. It is inodorous, and 
has a very bitter taste, not unlike that of some of the inferior kinds of cinchona.* 
Chemical History. 
In the analysis of Peruvian bark, the attention of chemists was at first di 
rected exclusively to the action of water and alcohol upon it, and to the deter 
initiation of the relative proportions of its gummy or extractive and resinous 
matter. The presence of tannin and of various alkaline or earthy salts in minute 
quantities was afterwards demonstrated. Fourcroy made an elaborate analysis, 
which proved the existence of other principles in the bark besides those previ- 
ously ascertained. Dr. Westring was the first who attempted the discovery of 
an active principle in the bark, on which its febrifuge virtues might depend; but 
he was not successful. Seguin afterwards pursued the same track, and endea- 
voured, by observing the effects of various reagents, to discover the relative value 
of different varieties of the drug; but his conclusions have not been supported 
by subsequent experiment. M. Deschamps, an apothecary of Lyons, obtained from 
bark a crystallizable salt of lime, the acid of which Yauquelin afterwards sepa- 
rated, and called kinic acid. The latter chemist also pushed to a much further 
extent the researches of Seguin as to the influence of reagents, and arrived at 
the conclusion that those barks were most efficient which gave precipitates with 
tannin or the infusion of galls. Reuss, of Moscow, succeeded in isolating a pecu- 
liar colouring matter from red bark, which he designated by the name of cincho- 
nic red, and obtained a bitter substance which probably consisted in part of the 
peculiar alkaline principles subsequently discovered. The first step, however, 
towards the discovery of cinchonia and quinia appears to have been taken by the 
late Dr. Duncan, of Edinburgh, so early as 1803. He believed the precipitate, 
afforded by the infusion of cinchona with that of galls, to be a peculiar vegetable 
principle, and accordingly denominated it cinchonine. Dr. Gomez, a Portuguese 
physician, convinced that the active principle of bark resided in this cinchonine, 
but mixed with impurities, instituted experiments upon some pale bark, which 
resulted in the separation of a white crystalline substance, considered by him to 
be the pure cinchonine of Dr. Duncan. It was obtained by the action of potassa 
upon an aqueous infusion of the alcoholic extract of the bark, and was un- 
doubtedly the principle now universally known by the name of cinchonine or cin- 
chonia. But Dr. Gomez was ignorant of its precise nature, considering it to be 
analogous to resin. M. Laubert afterwards obtained the same principle by a dif- 
ferent process, and described it under the name of white matter, or pure white 
resin. To Pelletier and Caveutou was reserved the honour of crowning all these 
experiments, and applying the results which they obtained to important practical 
purposes. In 1820, they demonstrated the alkaline character of the principle dis- 
covered by Gomez and Laubert, and gave it definitively the name of cinchonine. 
They discovered in the yellow or Calisaya bark another alkaline principle, which 
they denominated quinine. Both these bases they proved to exist in the barks, 
combined with kinic acid, in the state of kinate of cinchonine and of qui- 
nine. It was, moreover, established by their labours that the febrifuge property 
of bark depends upon the presence of these two principles. In 1833, MM. 0. 
Henry and Delondre discovered a new alkaloid, but afterwards, finding its com- 
position in its anhydrous state the same as that of quinia, concluded that it was 
* In previous editions of this work, it was stated that this bark had been employed in 
Itaiy successfully in intermittents; and that Folchi and Peretti had discovered in it a new 
alkali, which they named pitayna. Put there is reason to believe that this was a mistake, 
caused by the confused use of the name Pitaya bark; and that the bark employed in Italy, 
and analyzed by the chemists mentioned, was that described as hard pitaya in a preceding 
page. It is conjectured that the alkaloid pitayna may have been either quinidia or cincho- 
nidia, or a mixture of the two.—Note to the tenth and eleventh editions. 284 
Cinchona 
PART I. 
h hydrate of that base. About 1844, Winckler announced anew the existence of 
the same principle, which he considered distinct, and named chinidine; and, 
under the similar title of quinidine, it is now generally admitted to a place among 
the cinchona alkaloids. In 1853, M. Pasteur found that what had been considered 
as quinidine consisted in fact of two alkaloids, for one of which he retained the 
name of quinidine, and called the other cinchonidine ; and, on pushing his inves- 
tigations further, he ascertained that no less than six alkaloids may be obtained 
from different varieties of Peruvian bark; namely quinine and quinidine isome- 
ric w'ith each other, cinchonine and cinchonidine also isomeric, and two others, 
derivatives from the preceding through the agency of heat, viz., quinicine from 
quinine, and cinchonicine from cinchonine, each being isomeric with the alka- 
loid from which it is derived. As the termination a or ia has been generally 
adopted by American and English chemists to distinguish the organic alkaloids 
from other organic proximate principles, the names of which terminate in in or 
ine, the terms quinine and cinchonine of the French writers have been changed 
with us into quinia and cinchonia. On the same principle, quinidine, quinicine, 
cinchonidine, and cinchonicine should be called respectively quinidia, quini- 
cia, cinclionidia, and cinchonicia. This method of designating the vegetable 
alkaloids is uniformly followed in the present work.* 
It has before been stated, on more than one occasion, that the three officinal 
varieties of bark are distinguished by peculiarities of composition. We give 
the result of the analysis of each variety, as obtained by Pelletier and Caven- 
tou. (Journ. de Pharm., vii. 70, 89, 92.) 
Pale bark of Loxa contains, 1. a fatty matter; 2. an insoluble red colouring 
matter; 3. a yellow colouring matter; 4. tannin, or soluble red colouring mat- 
ter; 5. gum ; 6. starch ; 7. lignin ; 8. kinate of lime ; 9. kinate of cinchonia, 
with a very minute proportion of kinate of quinia. 
Yellow Calisaya bark contains the fatty matter, the cinchonic red, the yellow 
colouring matter, tannin, starch, lignin, kinate of lime, and kinate of quinia, 
with a comparatively small proportion of kinate of cinchonia. 
Red bark contains the fatty matter, a large quantity of the cinchonic red, the 
yellow colouring matter, tannin, starch, lignin, kinate of lime, and a large pro- 
portion both of kinate of quinia and of kinate of cinchonia. 
Cartliagena bark generally contains the same ingredients with the red bark, 
but in different proportions. It has less of the alkaline matter, which it also 
yields with much greater difficulty to water, in consequence of the abundance of 
insoluble cinchonic red which it contains, and which cither involves the salts of 
quinia and cinchonia so as to prevent the full contact of water, or retains these 
alkaloids in combination. (Journ. de Pharm., vii. 105.) 
* Reference has been made in a note to the discovery, by Pelletier and Coriol, of an alkaloid 
called aricina in the Arica or Cusco bark. It was obtained by the same process as that em- 
ployed in the extraction of quinia from yellow bark. It is white, crystallizable, and distin- 
guishable from cinchonia, which it in many respects resembles, by exhibiting a green colour 
under the action of nitric acid, and by the property, possessed by its sulphate, of forming 
a tremulous jelly when a saturated boiling solution of the salt is allowed to cool. Manzini 
obtained from Jaiin bark an alkaline substance which he supposed to be peculiar, and named 
cinckovatin; but the same had been obtained by Bouehardat, and considered by him, as well 
as by Pelletier, to be identical with aricina; and Winckler, having extracted a portion from 
the bark, and examined it with great care, coincided in this conclusion. (Journ. de Fharm., 
3e ser., ii. 95 et 313; Central Blatt, A. D. 1844, p. 126.) Much doubt, however, exists on the 
subject of this supposed alkaloid, and by Mr. Howard it is thought most probably to have 
been quinidia. 
Besides the alkaloids mentioned in the text, the claims of which as characteristic con- 
stituents of Peruvian bark are admitted, and besides the aricina of Pelletier, there are 
others, the discovery of which has been from time to time announced, but of which the 
pretensions to this rank have not been so satisfactorily determined. Of these mention will 
be made in notes, as the opportunity offers; our limits not permitting that they slvuld be 
introduced into the text of the work. PART I. 
Cinchona. 
285 
Besides quinia and cinchonia, there can be little doubt that two other alka- 
loids, quinidia and cinchonidia as they are denominated in this work, exist in 
Peruvian bark; and it is highly probable that, though found most abundantly 
in the pale, and some of the Carthagena barks, they are contained at least occa- 
sionally, to a greater or less extent, in all; while two others, quinicia and tin- 
chonicia, if they do not pre-exist in the barks, result from the processes employed 
in the separation of the alkaloids just mentioned. 
Another bitter principle was extracted from Calisaya bark by Winckler. He 
named it kinovic bitter; but, having been supposed to possess acid properties, it 
was afterwards denominated kinovic acid. It is thought to exist in the bark 
in a free state. (Schwartz, Pharm. Cent. Blatt,1852,g. 194.) The nauseous taste 
of some of the barks has been ascribed to this principle. 
By the experiments of Henry, jun. and Plisson, it may be considered as estab- 
lished, that the alkaloids of the different varieties of bark are combined at the 
same time with kinic acid, and with one or more of the colouring matters, which, 
in relation to these substances, appear to act the part of acids. This idea was 
originally suggested by Robiquet. (Journ. de Pharm., xii. 282, 369.) The com- 
pounds of quinia, cinchonia, &c. with the colouring matter, are scarcely soluble 
in water, while their kinates are very soluble. 
Prom these statements it appears that the three officinal varieties of bark 
differ little except in the proportion of their constituents. All contain quinia 
and cinchonia; the yellow bark most of the first, the pale of the second, and the 
red a considerable quantity of both. All probably contain, occasionally at least, 
the other characteristic alkaloids. Gum was found in the pale, but not in the red 
or yellow. Kinovic bitter, though first discovered in the yellow, probably exists 
in others. 
The odour of bark appears to depend on a volatile oil, which Fabroni and 
Trommsdorff obtained by distillation with water. The oil floated on the surface 
of the water, was of a thick consistence, and had a bitterish, acrid taste, with the 
odour of bark.* 
The fatty matter, which was first obtained pure by M. Laubert, is of a greenish 
colour as obtained from the pale bark, orange-yellow from the yellow. It is in- 
soluble in water, soluble in boiling alcohol, which deposits a part of it on cooling, 
very soluble in ether even cold, and saponifiable with the alkalies. 
The cinchonic red of Reuss, the insoluble red colouring matter of Pelletier 
and Caventou, is reddish-brown, insipid, inodorous, largely soluble in alcohol 
especially when hot, and almost insoluble in ether or water, though the latter 
dissolves a little at the boiling temperature. The acids promote its solubility in 
water. It precipitates tartar emetic, but not gelatin; but, if treated with a cold 
solution of potassa or soda, or by ammonia, lime, or baryta, with heat, and then 
precipitated by an acid, it acquires the property of forming an insoluble com- 
pound with gelatin, and seems to be converted into tannin. It is precipitated by 
snbacetate of lead. It is most abundant in the red bark, and least so in the pale. 
Berzelius supposed it to be formed from tannin by the action of the air. Accord- 
ing to Schwartz, it results from the absorption by the tannin of three eqs. of oxy- 
gen, and the elimination of two eqs. of carbonic acid and one eq. of water. 
(Pharm. Cent. Blatt, 1852, p. 194.) 
The yellow colouring matter has little taste, is soluble in water, alcohol, and 
* A. very careful chemical examination of several varieties of Peruvian bark has been made 
by Dr. E. Reichardt, the results of which are given in a paper, which received a prize from 
the Philosophical Society of Jena. The following are the constituents of the barks exam- 
ined. '5. Organic constituents; quinia, cinchonia, ammonia, kinic acid, kinovic acid, cincho- 
tannic acid, oxalic acid, sugar, wax, cinchonic red, humic acid, and cellulose. 2. Inorganic 
constituents; chloride of potassium, carbonates of potassa, magnesia, and lime, phosphates 
of lime, alumina, and iron, silicate of lime, sulphate of lime, and oxide of manganese. 
{Chem. Pharm. Gent. Hiatt, Sept. 12, 1855, p. 637.)—Note to the eleventh edition. 286 
Cinchona. 
PART I. 
ether, precipitates neither gelatin nor tartar emetic, and is itself precipitated by 
subacetate of lead. 
The tannic acid, tannin, cincho-tannic acid, or soluble red colouring matter 
of Pelletier and Caventou, has been considered as possessing all the properties 
which characterize the proximate vegetable principles associated together under 
the name of tannic acid. It has a brownish-red colour and austere taste, is solu- 
ble in water and alcohol, combines with metallic oxides, and produces precipi- 
tates with the salts of iron, which vary in colour according to the variety of bark, 
being deep-green with the pale bark, blackish-brown with the yellow, and red- 
dish-brown with the red. It also forms white precipitates with tartar emetic 
and gelatin, and readily combines with atmospheric oxygen, becoming insoluble. 
It must, however, differ materially from the tannic acid of galls, which could not 
exist in aqueous solutions containing cinchonia and quinia without forming in- 
soluble compounds with them. 
But the most interesting and important constituents of Peruvian bark are the 
alkaline and active principles quinia, cinchonia, &c\, and the kinic and kinovic 
acids, with the former of which the latter principles are combined. In relation 
to these, therefore, we shall be more minute in our details. 
Quinia. As usually prepared, quinia is whitish, rather flocculent, aud not 
crystalline; but it may with care be crystallized from its alcoholic solution in silky 
needles; and Liebig obtained it from a somewhat ammoniacal watery solution in 
the same form. It is inodorous and very bitter. At about 300° F. it melts with- 
out chemical change, and on cooling becomes brittle. It is soluble in about 400 
parts of cold and 250 of boiling water, is very soluble in alcohol and ether, and 
dissolved by the fixed and volatile oils. The alcoholic solution is intensely bitter. 
Quinia is unalterable in the air. It forms salts with the acids which readily 
crystallize. The tannate, tartrate, and oxalate are said to be insoluble or nearly 
so, but are dissolved by an excess of acid. The acetate, according to Mr. J. M. 
Maisch, is so slightly soluble that it is precipitated from a solution of the sul- 
phate by the acetates of magnesia and the alkalies. (Am. Journ. of Pliarm., 
xxx. 386.) When recently precipitated quinia, diffused in water, is exposed to 
the action of a stream of carbonic acid gas, the quinia is dissolved; and, if the 
solution be exposed, acicular crystals of carbonate of quinia are deposited, which 
effloresce in the air, are soluble in alcohol, but insoluble in ether, have an alka- 
line reaction, and effervesce with acids. After the deposition of the crystals has 
ceased, the solution yields quinia on evaporation. (Langlois, Comjites Rendus, 
Nov. 7, 1853, p. 727.) 
Quinia aud its salts may be distinguished from all other vegetable alkalies and 
their salts, excepting only quinidia, by the beautiful emerald-green colour which 
results, when their solution is treated first with solution of chlorine and then 
with ammonia, and which changes to a white or violet upon saturation with a 
dilute acid. The least quantity of quinia may be detected by powdering the sub- 
stance supposed to contain it, then shaking it with ether, and adding successively 
the tests just mentioned. Its salts are precipitated by the bichlorides of mercury 
and platinum, and of a buff colour by the terchloride of gold. 
The composition of quinia is differently given. According to Liebig, it con- 
sists of twenty eqs. of carbon, twelve of hydrogen, one of nitrogen, and two of 
oxygen and its combining number is 162. This formula is based 
on the supposition that, of the two salts which quinia forms with most acids, the 
one containing the smallest proportion of acid is a di-salt, consisting of two 
eqs. of base and one of acid, and the other neutral, consisting of one eq. of each. 
Another view is, that the first of these salts is neutral, and the second a bi-salt; 
and, if this be admitted, the above combining number must be doubled. Upon 
the latter supposition, the formula, according to Laurent, is and the 
combining number 310; according to Regnault and Strecker, the former is TART I. 
Cinchona 
287 
C40TI24N2O4 and the latter 324, being just double the number of Liebig, and 
probably correct, at least so far as concerns the relative proportion of the seve- 
ral ingredients.* 
There is reason to believe that quinia may become uncrystallizable without 
change of composition, and impart to its salts the same uncrystallizable char- 
acter. In this state it is called amorphous quinia. This is always among the 
substances left in the mother-waters after the crystallization of sulphate of 
quinia, in its preparation from Calisaya bark. More will be said of this under 
sulphate of quinia in the second part of this work. 
Quinia is obtained by treating its sulphate with the solution of an alkali, 
tollecting the precipitate, washing it till the water comes away tasteless, then 
drying it, dissolving it in alcohol, and slowly evaporating the solution. 
The most important artificial salt of quinia is the sulphate, the process for pro- 
curing which, as well as its properties, will be hereafter described. The valerianate 
has been introduced into the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, and the citrate of iron and 
quinia both into this and the British, which give processes for their preparation. 
The phosphate, acetate, citrate, lactate, ferrocyanate, tannate, arsenite, ammoni- 
ate, urate, and hypophosphite have also been employed and recommended; but 
none of them has yet gained admittance into the Pharmacopoeias, and none pro- 
bably is superior to the officinal sulphate. The first four may be prepared by satu- 
rating a solution of the acids respectively with quinia, and evaporating the solu- 
tions. The ferrocyanate is directed to be made by boiling together two parts of 
sulphate of quinia and three of ferrocyanide of potassium in a very little water, 
pouring off the liquor from a greenish-yellow substance of an oily consistence 
which is precipitated, washing the latter with distilled water, then dissolving it in 
strong alcohol at 100° F., filtering immediately, and afterwards evaporating the 
solution. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xii. 351.) M. Pelouze, however, found this pre- 
paration to be pure quinia, mixed with a little Prussian blue. (Archives Gen., 3<? 
ser., xv. 236.) The tannate may be prepared by precipitating the infusion of bark, 
or solution of sulphate of quinia, by the infusion of galls or solution of tannic acid, 
and then washing and drying the precipitate. It has the advantage of possessing 
little taste, while experience has shown that it is little if at all inferior in anti- 
periodic powers to the sulphate; but its amorphous condition renders it more 
liable to adulteration. Either of these salts may be given in the same dose as 
the sulphate. Arsenite of quinia has been recommended by Dr. Ringdon, espe- 
cially in chronic cutaneous affections. He prepares it by boiling 64 grains of 
arsenious acid, with half the quantity of carbonate of potassa, in four fiuidounces 
* Langlois found the carbonate of quinia, deposited from a solution in carbonic acid 
water, to contain one eq. of acid and one of base, admitting the combining number of the 
latter to be 162; and, if this salt be considered neutral, the result will tend to confirm the 
view of-Liebig. (Comptes Rendus, Nov. 7,1853, p. 727.) On the contrary, Adolphus Strecker, 
who has made an elaborate analysis of quinia and its compounds, has adopted the formula 
C40H24N,O4 (eq. 324), basing his opinion chiefly on the composition of the double chloride 
of platinum and quinia, and on the fact, that the only crystallizable nitrate he could obtain 
coincides with the officinal sulphate, and that in this compound one eq. of oxide of silver 
may be made to replace one eq. of water, so as to form a nitrate of silver and quinia. (See 
Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxvii. 241 and 321.) To the same point tends the fact, that the 
officinal sulphate of quinia is the more permanent of the two sulphates. Upon the whole, 
we are inclined to the view which considers the formula to be C40H24N2O4, and the combining 
number 324.—Note to the eleventh, edition. 
Oxxjquinia. Schutzenberger has ascertained that when sulphate of quinia is boiled with 
a solution of nitrite of potassa, nitrogen escapes with effervescence, and the liquid, after 
cooling, deposits, on the addition of ammonia, a white, granular substance, which, when 
dissolved in alcohol, and obtained in a dry state by the evaporation of the menstruum, 
assumes a transparent, resinous appearance. By contact with water it becomes crystalline. 
This substance has alkaline properties, and differs from quinia only in containing two ad- 
ditional eqs. of oxygen. It has, therefore, been named oxyquinia. (Comptes Rendus, Juillet 12, 
1858, p. 81.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 288 
Cinchona. 
PART I. 
of distilled water until dissolved, adding water enough to make the solution 
measure four fluidounces, and then mixing five drachms of this solution with two 
scruples of sulphate of quinia, previously dissolved in boiling distilled water. 
The arsenite of quinia is thrown down in the form of a white curdy precipitate, 
which is to be washed on a filter and dried. It is uncrystallizable, insoluble in 
water, and soluble in alcohol. The dose is one-third of a grain, given at first 
twice a day, and afterwards three and four times a day. (Prov. Med. & Surg. 
Journ., Aug. 25, 184T.) Antimoniate of quinia has been recommended by Dr. 
La Camera, of Naples, as a febrifuge, being especially applicable to cases of 
doubtful periodicity. It unites, he thinks, the evacuant properties of the anti- 
monials with the antiperiodic property of quinia. The dose is two or three 
grains, four times a day. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., xxv. 471.) The urate of 
quinia is thought by Dr. Perayre, of Bordeaux, to be peculiarly efficacious in ob- 
stinate intermittents. It is prepared by boiling 10 parts of crude quinia in water, 
adding gradually 20 parts of crystallized uric acid, and, after sufficient ebullition, 
filtering and evaporating. A yellow salt is obtained, sometimes amorphous, more 
frequently crystalline, soluble in hot and less so in cold water, and, according to 
the author, capable of curing intermittent fever in smaller doses than the sul- 
phate, with less cerebral disturbance, less bitterness, and easier tolerance by the 
stomach. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., xxxvii. 139.) The hypophosphite of quinia 
has been brought into notice by Dr. J. Lawrence Smith, of the University of 
Louisville, who prepares it by mixing, in a large porcelain capsule, 50 ounces of 
sulphate of quinia, 2 gallons of distilled water, and 2 ounces of hypophosphorous 
acid, heating the mixture to 200°, and then adding a solution of hypophosphite 
of baryta sufficient to produce complete decomposition, an excess of the latter salt 
being scrupulously avoided. Sulphate of baryta and hypophosphite of quinia are 
formed, the latter in solution. The solution is filtered while hot, and on cooling 
deposits the salt in crystals. If the sulphate of baryta be washed, the washings 
added to the mother-waters of the first crystallization, and the mixed liquors care- 
fully evaporated, a fresh crop of crystals will be obtained. The salt consists of one 
eq. of quinia (admitting the double numbers) and one of hypophosphorous acid, 
with two eqs. of water of crystallization. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., Sept. 1860, 
p. 410.) 
Ginchonia. This, when pure, is white, crystallizable from its alcoholic solu- 
tion in four-sided prisms with oblique terminal facets, soluble in 2500 parts of 
boiling water, almost insoluble in cold water, soluble in boiling alcohol which 
deposits a portion upon cooling, and slightly soluble in ether and in the fixed 
and volatile oils.* Its bitter taste, at first not very obvious in consequence of 
its difficult solubility, is developed after a short time by the solution of a minute 
portion in the saliva. Its alcoholic, ethereal, and oleaginous solutions are very 
bitter. By heat it is melted and partially changed, and, if the heat be cautiously 
increased, sublimes into a matted tissue of fine crystals, which have the same 
formula as the pure alkaloid. (Hlasiwetz, Ghem. Gaz., ix. 90.) Its alkaline 
character is very decided, as it neutralizes the strongest acids. Of the salts of 
ciuchonia, the sulphate, nitrate, muriate, phosphate, and acetate are soluble in 
water. The neutral tartrate, oxalate, and gallate are insoluble in cold water, but 
soluble in hot water, alcohol, or an excess of acid. Winckler has shown that 
cinchonia is«rendered uncrystallizable or amorphous by sulphuric acid in excess, 
aided by heat; a fact of importance in the preparation of the sulphate of this 
alkaloid. (Ghem. Gaz., March 15,1848.) Cinchonia is but little more soluble in 
carbonic acid water than in pure water, and does not, like quinia, yield crystals 
of the carbonate on exposure of its carbonic acid solution. (Comptes Rendus, 
Nov. 7, 1853, p. 727.) 
* According to Hesse, cinchonia is soluble at 68° F. in 8670 parts of water, in 125-7 
parts of alcohol of 0-852, and in 371 parts of ether of 0-7305. (See Aw. Journ. of Pharm-, 
xxxv. 54.)—Note to the twelfth edition. PART I. 
Cinchona. 
289 
Several processes have been employed for the preparation of cinchonia. One 
of the simplest is the following. Powdered pale bark is submitted to the action 
of sulphuric or muriatic acid very much diluted, and the solution obtained h 
precipitated by an excess of lime. The precipitate is collected on a filter, washed 
with water, and treated with boiling alcohol. The alcoholic solution is filtered 
while hot, and deposits the cinchonia when it cools. A further quantity is ob- 
tained by evaporation. If not perfectly white, it may be made so by converting 
it into a sulphate with dilute sulphuric acid, then treating the solution with ani- 
mal charcoal, filtering, precipitating by an alkali, and redissolving by alcohol in 
the manner already mentioned. It may also be obtained from the mother-waters 
of sulphate of quinia by diluting them with water, precipitating with ammonia, 
collecting the precipitate on a filter, washing and drying it, and then dissolving 
it in boiling alcohol, which deposits the cinchonia in a crystalline form upon cool- 
ing. It may be still further purified by a second solution and crystallization. 
The same remarks in relation to equivalent composition apply to cinchonia, as 
those already made in reference to quinia. According to the view which con- 
siders the salts as basic and neutral, cinchonia consists of twenty eqs. of carbon, 
twelve of hydrogen, one of nitrogen, and one of oxygen and its 
combining number is 154. This is the formula of Liebig. The other view would 
double these numbers; the formula being C40H24N2O2, and the eq. 308. 
Exposed to the air, cinchonia does not suffer decomposition, but very slowly 
absorbs carbonic acid, and acquires the property of effervescing slightly with 
acids. It is precipitated of a sulphur-yellow by the terchloride of gold. Chlorine 
water dissolves it or any of its salts without change; but if ammonia be now 
added, a white precipitate is produced. It is thus distinguishable from quinia. 
Dr. J. W. Bill, IJ. S. A., proposes ferrocyanide of potassium as a very delicate 
test of cinchonia. If added to the solution of a salt of this alkaloid, it produces 
a yellowish-white curdy precipitate, which is dissolved upon the application of 
a gentle heat, but is again deposited, when the liquid cools, as an abundant 
crop of golden-yellow crystals. No other alkaloid exhibits the same reaction. 
A cloudy precipitate is produced by the same reagent with a salt of quinia, but 
this does not happen when the ferrocyanide is in excess, and, if the precipitate 
is dissolved by heat, no subsidence takes place on cooling. Hence, in the appli- 
cation of this test to cinchonia, a slight excess of the ferrocyanide should be 
added. (Am. Joarn. of Sci. and Arts, July, 1858, p. 108.) 
Sulphate of cinchonia (disulphate of Liebig), the only salt of this base which 
has been employed in a separate state, is now one of the H. S. officinals, and will 
be treated of in the second part of this work among the Preparations. 
Quinidia (quinidine) and Cinchonidia (cinchonidine). It has been already 
stated that the substance, at one time considered as a .peculiar alkaloid, and 
denominated quinidia or quinidine, has been ascertained to be generally com- 
plex, and to consist of two distinct alkaloids in variable proportions. For one 
of these, in consequence of its similarity in chemical constitution to quinia, Pas- 
teur retained the name of quinidine (quinidia), while he called the other, from a 
similar resemblance to cinchonia, cinchonidine (cinchonidia). It is unfortunate 
that Pasteur’s quinidine is the alkaloid which in general constitutes the smaller 
proportion of the complex substance formerly so named; his cinchonidine ex- 
isting in it much more largely, and sometimes, there is reason to believe, con- 
stituting almost the whole of it. Nevertheless, it is necessary to adopt the 
nomenclature of Pasteur, as corresponding strictly with the chemical relations 
of the several substances concerned. The student will, therefore, take care not 
to confound the quinidia as formerly described with the pure alkaloid of the 
same name, and to recollect that the former substance corresponds more closely 
with cinchonidia (the cinchonidine of Pasteur), and sometimes probably consists 
of it exclusively, or nearly so. 290 
Cinchona. 
PART L 
Quinidia (quinidine, Pasteur) is isomeric with quinia, having the constitu- 
tion C4nII24N204, or It crystallizes readily in rhombic prisms, which 
contain four eqs. of water, and effloresce on exposure to the air. It resembles 
quinia not only in composition, but also in its chemical relations with chlorine 
and ammonia, being rendered green by the successive action of those agents. 
According to Dr. Ilerapath, it resembles quinia also in causing a fluorescent ap- 
pearance when dissolved in water, which is not the,case with either cinchonia or 
cinchonidia, or is so at least in a much less degree. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
xxix. 245.) It differs, however, in its greater facility of crystallization, in its 
much less solubility in ether, and in its influence on polarized light, quinidia 
producing deviation to the right, and quinia to the left. De Try, of Rotterdam, 
states, as the result of his observation, that quinidia (of Pasteur) forms a salt 
of very difficult solubility with hydriodic acid; and, consequently, when a solu- 
tion of iodide of potassium is added to a solution of sulphate of quinidia, a white 
precipitate takes place. By this test quinidia may be distinguished from the 
other cinchona alkaloids, and detected when mixed with them in solution; no 
other yielding a precipitate writh iodide of potassium. (See Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., xxix. 233.) Dr. Ilerapath proposes another test to distinguish this 
alkaloid from quinia. If to a solution of sulphate of quinia in acetic acid 
tincture of iodine be added, and the mixture heated and then allowed to cool, 
a beautiful emerald-green compound is formed; while sulphate of quinidia treated 
in the same way, yields a brown precipitate. When the mixture of this alkaloid 
with cinchonidia is exposed to hot air, the crystals of quinidia effloresce, and 
may be distinguished from the others by their opaque whiteness. For practical 
purposes this separation is unnecessary; for there is probably no appreciable 
difference in their effects as remedial agents.* 
Cinchonidia (cinchonidine, Pasteur) is isomeric with cinchonia, having the 
constitution C4nII24N.,02, or and agrees also with that alkaloid in 
forming anhydrous crystals, and in not producing the green colour with chlo- 
rine and ammonia. It differs in being more soluble in ether, and in producing 
deviation to the left in its‘influence on polarized light; cinchonia producing 
deviation to the right. (Regnault, Cours Element, de Cliim., 4e ed., iv. 314.) 
If, on exposure to hot air, white effloresced crystals show themselves, it may be 
taken for granted that there is an admixture of quinidia. 
As the two preceding alkaloids have not been thoroughly investigated, in their 
perfectly pure and isolated state, in reference either to their chemical or practi- 
cal relations, it will be proper to state what has been made known of the com- 
mercial quinidia, in which they are believed to exist, in general, conjointly. 
Commercial quinidia, consisting generally of proper quinidia with a much 
* Cinchonia, quinia, quinidia, and strychnia, when heated with caustic potassa, yield 
acrid vapours, which condense into an oily liquid having alkaline properties, for which 
the name of quinolein was proposed by its discoverer Mr. Gerhardt, and which is also called 
cincholin. It has a peculiar odour, not unlike that of the bean of St. Ignatius, and an ex- 
tremely acrid and bitter taste; is slightly soluble in water, and freely so in alcohol, ether, 
and the volatile oils; forms crystallizable salts with the acids; and is characterized by 
producing a yellow crystalline precipitate with chromic acid. It results also from the dry 
distillation of quinia. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., ii. 341.) Dr. A. W. Hofmann has found that 
the substance called leucol, existing in coal-gas naphtha, is identical with cincholin. (Chan. 
Gazette, June, 1845, p. 251.) More recently Mr. C. Greville Williams has shown that the 
alkaline matter called cincholin is complex, and that several volatile alkaloids result from 
the decomposition of cinchonia by potassa with heat, analogous to those found in coal-gas 
tar. (Ibid., Aug. 15, 1855, p. 301. See also Gregory's Chemistry, 4th ed., Lond., p. 400.) Dr. 
Stenliouse proposes, as a test of the presence of alkaline principles in bark, to macerate 
Avith dilute sulphuric acid, precipitate with solution of carbonate of potassa or soda in ex- 
cess, and distil the precipitate with a great excess of caustic potassa or *oda. Cincholin 
will distil over in oily drops, recognisable by its peculiar odour and strong alkaline proper- 
ties. (Philos. Mag., xxvi. 199.) PART I. 
Cinchona. 
291 
larger proportion of cinchonidia, and sometimes, there is reason to believe, ex- 
clusively, or nearly so, of the latter alkaloid, was carefully examined by H. Gr- 
Leers, from whose paper, published originally in the Ann. der Chem. und 
Pharm. (May, 1852), the following account of its properties has been chiefly 
derived. It readily crystallizes from its alcoholic solution, by spontaneous 
evaporation, in hard, shining, colourless crystals, which are easily pulverized, 
and yield a snow-white powder. They melt without decomposition or loss of 
water at 847° F., and on cooling concrete into a grayish-white crystalline mass. 
At a higher heat they take fire, and burn with the odour of kinole, and volatile 
oil of bitter almonds. Their taste is bitter, but less intensely so than that of 
quinia. Quinidia is soluble, according to Leers, in 2580 parts of water at 62°, 
and in 1858 parts at 212°, in 143 (169 Winckler) of ether, and 12 of alcohol 
of 0-835, both at 62° F.; but its solubilities must, of course, vary more or less 
according to the quantities of its two components, quinidia proper and cin- 
chonidia, contained in it. With the acids it forms salts, most of which are 
beautifully crystallizable, and much more soluble than those of quinia. There 
are, as of quinia and cinchonia, two sets of the salts of quinidia, which may be 
considered either as neutral and acid, or as basic and neutral. When treated 
first with chlorine and then with ammonia, it does not like quinia yield a green 
colour, nor like cinchonia a white one, but remains unaffected. It differs from 
quinia also by its much less solubility in ether. From the aqueous solution of 
its salts, the alkalies, their carbonates, and bicarbonates throw down pulver- 
ulent precipitates not soluble in an excess of the precipitant. With phosphate 
of soda, nitrate of silver, and bichloride of mercury it forms white, with ter- 
chloride of gold light yellow, and with bichloride of'platinum orange-yellow 
precipitates. It may be obtained by first precipitating it from the solution of 
one of its salts by an alkali, and then repeatedly dissolving in alcohol and crys- 
tallizing, until it is entirely freed from a greenish-yellow resinous substance 
which is apt to attend it. From quinia it may be separated by repeated washing 
with ether, until the ethereal solution no longer affords evidence of the presence 
of quinia by the test of chlorine and ammonia. In this state, it must be looked 
on as unmixed cinchonidia. One of the distinctive characters of this complex 
alkaloid is, according to Gluibourt, that, while oxalate of quinia is quite insolu- 
ble-in water, oxalate of quinidia (commercial) is very soluble, and easily crystal- 
lizable by refrigeration or evaporation. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., xxii. 414.) 
Sulphate of quinidia (commercial) is, according to one view, neutral, con- 
sisting of one eq., each, of quinidia, sulphuric acid, and water; according to 
another, basic, containing two eqs. of base, one of acid, and one of water, and 
therefore a disulphate. It is in long, shining, silky acicular crystals, soluble in 
130 parts of water at 62° F., in 16 parts at 212°, readily soluble in alcohol, but 
almost insoluble in ether. It is obtained from the quinidia (strictly, cinchonidia) 
barks by the same process as that by which sulphate of quinia is procured from 
the Calisaya. When the two alkaloids are contained in the same bark, the sul- 
phate of quinidia (commercial) remains in the mother-waters in consequence of 
its greater solubility. By the addition to its solution of a quantity of sulphuric 
acid equal to that which it contains, it is converted into the bisulphate (sulphate 
on the basic view), crystallizable in fine acicular crystals like asbestos. 
Quinicia (quinicine) and Ginchonicia (cinchonicine). When quinia and cin- 
chonia, or quinidia and cinchonidia, or their salts, are exposed to heat, these alka- 
loids have been found by Pasteur to be converted into other but isomeric alkaloids; 
the quinia and quinidia into quinicia, isomeric with themselves; and cinchonia and 
cinchonidia into cinchonicia, isomeric with its own antecedents. These new alka- 
loids are, therefore, products rather than educts, and generally result, in greater 
or less proportion, from the processes employed in extracting the other alkaloids 
from bark; though it is not impossible that they may pre-exist in bark to a certain Cinchona. 
PART I. 
extent, being formed by a natural process, from the same original alkaloids, either 
in the living tree, or in the barks while drying, after separation from the tree. 
Quinicia is almost insoluble in water, but very soluble in alcohol, and differs 
from quinia in causing deviation of the plane of polarization to the right instead 
of the left (Regnault), and in being apparently uncrystallizable. 
Ginchonicia is also insoluble in water and soluble in alcohol. It agrees with 
cinchonia, from which it is derived, in producing deviation of the plane of polar- 
ization to the right; but differs from cinchonidia in this respect; and differs 
from both of these alkaloids in being amorphous or uncrystallizable. 
The amorphous quinia of Liebig {quinoidine or quinoidia) is probably when 
pure identical with quinicia; but, as it occurs in commerce, is generally a mix- 
ture of this with cinchonicia. For a particular account of it, see Sulphate of 
Quinia, in the second part of this work.* 
Kinic Acid {called also Cinchonic or Quinic Acid), and the Kinates of Cin- 
chonia and Quinia.—It may be desirable to procure the alkaline principles in 
the state of saline combination in which they exist in the bark; as it is possible 
that they may exert an influence over the system in this state, somewhat different 
from that produced by their combinations with the sulphuric or other mineral 
acid. As it is impossible to procure the kinates immediately from the bark in a 
pure state, it becomes necessary first to obtain the kinic acid separately, which 
* Cinchonidia of Witlstein. Wittstein lias announced the discovery of a new alkaloid in a 
variety of bark belonging probably to the division of barks here considered under the name 
of fibrous Carthagena barks. He calls the alkaloid cinchonidine; but it must not be con- 
founded with the cinchonidine of Pasteur. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxix. 115.) From the 
researches of Dr. Ilerapath It appears that its claims to be considered as a distinct alkaloid 
are well founded; its iodo-sulphate being readily distinguishable by the eye from the other 
iodo-sulphates examined by him. {Pharm. Journ., xvii. 468.) It ought, therefore, to receive 
another designation, in order to prevent confusion. 
/3. cinchonine of Schwabe. Still another cinchona alkaloid has been brought into notice by 
Schwabe, who extracted it from quinoidine. He calls it cinchonine (/3. cinchonia), and ob- 
tained it by dissolving quinoidine in dilute muriatic acid, precipitating with ammonia, 
washing the precipitate successively with cold and hot water and drying it, treating it with 
cold alcohol for 24 hours, then exhausting it successively with alcohol and water, and finally 
dissolving it in dilute sulphuric acid. The solution was heated, and, carbonate of soda being 
added till a pellicle began to form, was set aside to cool. Sulphate of /&. cinchonia was now 
deposited in crystals, from which the pure alkaloid was obtained by precipitating an acidu- 
lated solution with ammonia. It differs from the other cinchona alkaloids in the shape of its 
crystals, solubilities, and chemical properties. For an account of some of these properties, 
see Am. Journ. of Pharm. (March, 1861, p. 174). 0. Hesse, however, having compared the 
/3. cinchonia of Schwabe with cinchonia obtained directly from bark, believes them to be 
identical. {Ibid., Jan. 1863, p. 54.) There seems also to be a discrepancy in the account of 
the alkaloid given in the journal from which this sketch is extracted, which tends to in- 
validate the conclusions of the paper. Thus, fhe alkaloid is said to be soluble in 173 parts 
of cold alcohol; yet is also said to be procured from the quinoidine after having been com- 
pletely exhausted by water and cold alcohol. 
Iluanochine. This was extracted by Erdmann from a variety of bark imported into Bre- 
men, seventeen or eighteen years since, supposed to be flat Huanuco bark, derived from Cin- 
chona nitida. He obtained it by boiling the bark with water acidulated with muriatic acid, 
treating the decoction with caustic soda in slight excess, washing the precipitate thus ob- 
tained and dissolving it in diluted acetic acid, again precipitating with caustic soda, digest- 
ing the precipitate with alcohol, decolorizing with animal charcoal, filtering, evaporating 
and crystallizing. The substance obtained was found to be an alkaloid, isomeric with 
quinia, yet differing from this and all the other cinchona alkaloids in properties. It crys- 
tallized in small prisms, which were tasteless, almost insoluble in water, soluble in 400 parts 
of alcohol of 80 per cent, at 62° F. and in 110 parts at the boiling point, in 600 parts of 
ether at 62° and 470 parts of boiling ether, readily fusible and volatilizable, and inflam- 
mable, burning with a smoky flame, and without residue. Though tasteless itself, its salts 
were very bitter. The alkaloid was found efficient as an antiperiodic. To us, however, it 
seems most probable, from the method of obtaining the alkaloid, that it is a mixture of cin- 
chonia with one or more of the other known cinchona alkaloids. (See Am. Journ. if Pharm., 
xxix. 553.)—Note to the twelfth edition. part I. 
Cinchona. 
293 
may thus become of some practical importance. We shall, therefore, briefly de- 
scribe the mode of procuring it, and its characteristic properties. By evaporating 
the infusion of bark to a solid consistence, and treating the extract thus obtained 
with alcohol, we have in the residue a viscid matter consisting chiefly of mucilage 
with kinate of lime, which is insoluble in alcohol. If an aqueous solution of this 
substance be formed, and allowed to evaporate at a gentle heat, crystals of the 
kinate will be deposited, which may be purified by a second crystallization. The 
salt thus obtained, being dissolved in water, is decomposed by means of oxalic 
acid, which precipitates the lime, and leaves the kinic acid in solution. This 
may be procured in the crystalline state by spontaneous evaporation, though, as 
usually prepared, it is in the form of a thick syrupy liquid. The crystals are trans- 
parent and colourless, sour to the taste, and readily soluble in alcohol and in 
water. The kinates of cinchonia and quinia may be obtained either by the direct 
combination of their constituents, or by the mutual decomposition of the sul- 
phates of those alkalies and kinate of lime. Kinate of cinchonia has a bitter and 
astringent taste, is very soluble in water, is soluble also in alcohol, and is crystal- 
lized with difficulty. Kinate of quinia is also very soluble in water, but less so 
in rectified alcohol. Its taste is very bitter, resembling exactly that of yellow bark. 
It crystallizes in crusts of a mammillated form, and opaque or semitransparent. 
The salt is with difficulty obtained free from colour, and only by employing the 
ingredients in a state of extreme purity. {Ann. de Ghim. et de Phys., Juillet, 
1829.)* Lauteman found, in experiments upon himself, that kinic acid, when 
taken into the system, undergoes a conversion into hippuric acid, and in this 
state escapes with the urine. {Ann. der Ghem. und Pharm., exxv. 9.) Kinic acid 
is said by Zwenger to have been found in the leaves of Vaccinium Myrtillus. 
{Am. Journ. of Pharm., March, 1861, p. 128.) 
Kinovic Bitter. Kinovin. Kinovic Acid. Originally discovered in the false 
bark called quinquina nova or new bark, this substance has since been found in the 
Calisaya bark, and probably exists, in greater or less proportion, in all the Cin- 
chona barks. It was detected by Dr. de Vry not only in the bark, but also in the 
wood and leaves of C. Calisaya and C. lucumaefolia. {Journ. de Pharm., Avril, 
1860, pp. 225 and 258.) It is white, uncrystallizable, almost insoluble in water-, 
but readily dissolved by alcohol and ether. It is very bitter, and, as it is asserted 
to have no febrifuge virtues, may on this account mislead the judgment in relation 
to the activity of the bark in which it may be found. Some barks are said to owe 
their bitterness mainly to this ingredient. It consists of carbon, hydrogen, and 
oxygen; its formula being, according to Hlasiwetz and Gilm, It has 
been supposed to possess acid properties, and a solution of its combination with 
magnesia is said to precipitate solutions of acetate of lead, bichloride of mercury, 
and the salts of cinchonia. Winckler gives, as a certain test of its presence in 
any bark, the sulphate of copper, which is indifferent to infusion of bark con- 
taining none of this principle, but detects the smallest proportion of it by pro- 
ducing a dirty-green colour, soon followed by the deposition of a fine similarly 
coloured powder. This is a salt of copper, and has a very bitter and metallic taste. 
* When kinic acid is mixed with sulphuric acid and deutoxide of manganese, and dis- 
tilled, a neuter substance called kinoile or kinone is obtained, in crystalline needles, of a 
beautiful golden-yellow colour and high lustre, fusible and yolatilizable without change, 
and having a peculiar odour. The production of this substance, when a concentrated de- 
coction of a bark is distilled with half its weight of sulphuric acid and deutoxide of man- 
ganese, has been proposed as a test of the presence of kinic acid in thp bark, and conse- 
quently of its belonging to the cinchona barks. If there be the least quantity of that acid, 
the first portion of liquid distilled will have a yellow colour and the odour of kinone, and 
will become bright-green on the addition of chlorine water. (Philos. Mag., xxvi. 198.) The 
test, however, cannot be fully relied on; as it has been ascertained that caffeic acid also 
yields kinone, when treated gs above with sulphuric acid and deutoxide of manganese. 
(Stenhouse, Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxvi. 249, from Philos. Mag.) 294 
Cinchona. 
PART I. 
(See An. Journ. of Pharm., xxv. 343.) Hlasiwetz and Gilm deny the acid pro- 
perties of this substance, considering it a glucoside, capable of being resolved, 
through the action of muriatic acid on its alcoholic solution, into a peculiar 
acid, and a hind of sugar which they consider as identical with the mannitan of 
Berthelot. This acid they propose to call kinovic acid, adopting the name which 
had been given to the kinovic bitter under the impression of its acid character. 
Its formula is C4SII3804. It is white, in rhomboidal crystals, insoluble in water, 
but slightly soluble in ether, somewhat more so in boiling alcohol, but very soluble 
in ammonia and the fixed alkalies. All its solutions are decidedly bitter. Its acid 
properties are feeble, yet it is capable of decomposing the alkaline carbonates. 
(Journ. de Pharm., Nov. 1859, p. 380.) These results have been confirmed by 
Dr. de Try, who proposes the following method of isolating the kinovic bitter. 
Macerate powdered cinchona with a very weak solution of caustic potassa or soda, 
precipitate the filtered liquid with an acid, redissolve the precipitate in milk of 
lime to separate the cinchonic red, filter and precipitate the solution boiling hot 
with muriatic acid, separate the precipitate, wash it, express as much as possible, 
and lastly dry it on porous stones, and powder it. Thus prepared, the kinovic 
bitter forms soluble compounds with magnesia and lime, and has been employed, 
in this mode of combination, as a tonic, in the hospital of Batavia, with encou- 
raging success. (Ibid., Avril, 1800, p. 258.) ' 
Incompatibles. Of the relations of bark to the several solvents employed in 
pharmacy we shall speak hereafter, under the heads of its infusion, decoction, and 
tincture; where wre shall also have an opportunity of mentioning some of the 
more prominent substances which afford precipitates with its liquid preparations. 
It is sufficient at present to state that all the substances which precipitate the 
infusion of bark do not by any means necessarily affect its virtues ; as it contains 
several inert ingredients which form insoluble compounds with bodies that do not 
disturb its active principles. As tannic acid forms with the alkaloids compounds 
insoluble in water, it is desirable that substances containing this acid, in a free 
state, should not be prescribed in connection with the infusion or decoction of 
bark; for, though these insoluble tannates might be found efficacious if admin- 
istered, yet, being precipitated from the liquid, they would be apt to be thrown 
away as dregs, or at any rate would communicate, if agitated, an unpleasant tur- 
bidness. The same may be said of the tincture and compound solution of iodine, 
which form insoluble compounds with all the cinchona alkaloids, and of the alka- 
lies, alkaline carbonates, and alkaline earths, which precipitate these alkaloids 
from their aqueous solution. 
Estimation of Value. It is evident, from what has been said, that an infusion 
of bark, on account of the tannin-like principle which it contains, may precipitate 
gelatin, tartar-emetic, and the salts of iron, without having a particle of cincho- 
nia, quinia, or other alkaloid in its composition; and that consequently any in- 
ference as to its value, drawn from these chemical properties, would be fallacious; 
but, as the active principles are thrown down by the tannic acid of galls, no bark 
can be considered good which does not afford a precipitate with the infusion of 
this substance.* 
* A test of the cinchona barks, containing one or more of their characteristic alkaloids, 
has been proposed by Grahe. It is founded on the fact, that, when these barks are exposed 
to destructive distillation, a product is obtained of a bright carmine colour, which is yielded 
by no other bark under the same circumstances, and not by cinchona unless it contain one 
or more of its peculiar alkaloids. Nor do the pure alkaloids afford it; but, if mixed with a 
little acetic, kinic, tannic, citric, or tartaric acid, they exhibit the reaction, showing that 
in the bark it takes place between the alkaloids and organic acids contained in it. Grahe 
applies the test by heating a piece of the bark weighing from five to ten grains in an ordi- 
nary test-tube, and gradually increasing the heat to redness. Whitish smoke, and watery 
vapour condensing on the surface of the tube, are first given off, which are soon followed 
by the appearance of redness in the fumes, and by the deposition, an inch above the heated part I. 
Cinchona. 
295 
It is impossible to determine, with accuracy, the relative proportion of tho 
active ingredients in the different varieties of cinchona; as the quantity is by no 
means uniform in different specimens of the same variety. The results of the 
most recent experiments have been already stated under the head of the several 
varieties of bark described. But it is highly important, in relation to any particu- 
lar sample of bark, to be able to ascertain its medicinal efficiency, which is 
sured by the quantity of the peculiar cinchona alkaloids it may contain. The fol 
lowing is Winckler’s process, which he prefers to all others. In determining the 
value of a large quantity of bark, it is necessary first to ascertain whether it may 
not consist of more than one variety, and if it do, to assort it, and act on each 
kind separately. The pieces are to be reduced to a fine powder, of which 1000 
grains are to be digested with 6 ounces of alcohol of 80 per cent., by means of a 
water-bath, until completely exhausted. The tincture, when cold, is to be strained 
through thin but close linen ; and the residue to be again digested with 3 ounces 
of alcohol, and strained as before. The residue now obtained is to be once more 
treated in like manner with alcohol. The tinctures are then to be united, filtered, 
and treated, at common temperatures, with a mixture of equal parts of fresh- 
slaked lime and crude well-burnt animal charcoal, of which about 500 grains will 
be required. The mixture is to be frequently shaken, and the maceration to be 
continued until the supernatant liquid is rendered colourless. In most of the 
genuine barks the decolorization is soon effected; but in those containing kinovic 
acid it is imperfect. The decolorized liquid is to be separated, and the residue 
to be repeatedly shaken with small quantities of alcohol, 'washed on a filter with 
the same liquor, and dried. The alcoholic liquids are to be mixed, and the alco- 
hol distilled off. The whole of the alkaloids is contained in the residue, with a 
peculiar fatty matter, cinchonic red, and any kinovic acid which may have ex- 
isted in the bark. To remove these, the matter is to be transferred to a small 
evaporating basin from the distilling vessel, which is to be washed with a little 
water acidulated with sulphuric acid, and the liquid thus obtained to be added 
to the rest. A slight excess of sulphuric acid is now to be dropped into the mix- 
ture, which is to be heated, allowed to cool, and then filtered, so as to remove 
the precipitated kinovic acid and other impurities. Trom the filtered acidulated 
solution, the alkaloids are to be precipitated by a slight excess of ammonia, and 
the mixture evaporated by a gentle heat to dryness. The sulphate of ammonia 
is to be removed from the residue by a small quantity of very cold water, and the 
residual alkaloid matter dried and weighed. Though not absolutely pure, it is 
sufficiently so for the purposes of the investigation. {Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxv. 
343.) Winckler states that the barks will yield to the manufacturer quite as much 
as is obtained in this way, and generally from one-eighth to one-quarter of one per 
cent, more, in consequence of the loss in working being less on a large scale.* 
part, of a red pulverulent film, which is gradually changed into a thick, oily liquid, run- 
ning down the glass in drops or streaks of a fine carmine colour. (Chemisches Central Blatt, 
Feb. 17, 1858, p. 97.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 
* M. Itabourdin has proposed choloroform as an agent for testing the alkaloid richness 
of barks. The following is the method, applied to the Calisaya. Five drachms of the pow- 
der, previously passed through a fine hair sieve, are to be exhausted by water, acidulated 
with hydrochloric acid (2 drachms of acid to a pound of water), in a percolation apparatus, 
the liquid being added until it passes colourless and tasteless. Five or six ounces of liquid 
are thus obtained, to which a drachm and a half of caustic potassa and five drachms of chlo- 
roform are to be added. These are to be agitated for a short time, and then allowed to stand. 
A dense whitish deposit forms, consisting of the alkaloids and chloroform. Sometimes the 
separation is complete and etfected in- an instant, leaving a red transparent liquid floating 
on the surface, which is to be immediately poured off. The chloroformic solution is then 
washed with water, put into a capsule, and allowed to evaporate. The alkaloids remain 
behind in a pure state. 
Red bark is to be treated as the Calisaya; but for the pale or cinchonia barks the process 
is to be carried further. The matter left after the evaporation of the chloroform contains 296 
Cinchona. 
PART I. 
The quantity of alkaloid matter obtained by the above process will measure 
the efficacy of the bark; for all the organic alkaline principles contained in it 
are efficient as medicines, and in all probability in a nearly equal degree. But, 
for manufacturing purposes, it is necessary to push the investigation further, and 
ascertain the proportion of the several alkaloids in the mixture. This is most 
conveniently done by means of ether. Cinchonia is scarcely soluble in ether, 
quinidia is soluble in small proportion, quinia is freely soluble. When, therefore, 
a mixture of these alkaloids is treated with that menstruum, quinia and quinidia 
are dissolved, and cinchonia left. The two former may be separated by allowing 
the ethereal solution to evaporate. Quinidia crystallizes from the solution, and 
quinia is obtained uncrystallized, as the last product of the evaporation of the 
ether. These remarks apply to quinidia, as it was understood before the investi- 
gations of Pasteur.* 
From the most recent and carefully conducted experiments, it appears that 
the best officinal yellow Calisaya bark, the finest red bark, and the finest fibrous 
Carthagena bark (soft Pitaya) are about equal in their amount of alkaloids, 
each containing from 3 to 4 per cent.; while between these and the barks of 
cinchonic red as well as cinchonia. It. is to be treated with water acidulated with hydro- 
chloric acid, which dissolves all the alkaloid, and a portion of the cinchonic red. The liquid 
is to bo filtered, and solution of ammonia, diluted with 15 or 20 parts of water, added drop 
by drop, with constant stirring, until a white cloud appears which is not removed by the 
agitation. The cinchonic red is thus precipitated without the alkaloid. It is easy to know 
when to stop this part of the process; as the cinchonic red is precipitated in reddish-brown 
flakes, the cinchonia in white curdled flakes. The liquid is now to be filtered, the filter 
washed with a little distilled water, and the unit ed liquors precipitated by an excess of am- 
monia. The precipitate is the pure alkaloid. (See .dm. Journ. of Pharm., xxiii. 249.) 
M. Guillermond employs another test, which, as last improved by himself, is as follows. 
Take 20 grammes (about gv) of yellow bark, powder it without residue, pour on the powder 
sufficient alcohol of 76° (sp. gr. 0-872) to form a soft paste, which is to be heated for some 
minutes on a salt-water bath, so that the particles may be thoroughly penetrated by the 
liquid; then add 10 grammes of hydrated lime, finely powdered, mix it thoroughly with the 
paste, and dry the mixture on a plate till quite free from moisture. Introduce the resulting 
powder into a percolator, pack it firmly, and pour upon it 100 grammes of rectified ether. 
This, in passing, carries with it all the quinia. The filtered liquid, rapidly evaporated at 
the temperature of boiling water, leaves a residue consisting of quinia, with a little colouring 
matter, which is altogether insignificant. The weight of this residue, when entirely dried, 
will represent the quinia strength of the bark employed. By afterwards passing alcohol 
through the mass remaining in the percolator, the cinchonia may also be obtained. [Armu- 
aire de Therap., A. D. 1859, p. 149.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 
* Mr. Robert Howard employs the following method of ascertaining the presence or ab- 
sence of these alkaloids, severally, in any mixture of their sulphates, founded on the fact, 
that ten grains of sulphate of quinia dissolve in sixty drops of ether, but only one grain 
of sulphate of quinidia. Ten grains of the salt are put into a strong test-tube, ten drops 
of dilute sulphuric acid (one of acid and five of water) with fifteen drops of water ara 
added, and a moderate heat applied till the salt is dissolved. When the solution has quite 
cooled, sixty drops of officinal ether with twenty of spirit of ammonia are added, and the 
mixture is well shaken, the tube being closed by the thumb. After this the tube is closely 
stopped with a well-fitting cork, and gently shaken from time to time. If the salt contain 
only quinia, or not more than 10 per cent, of quinidia, it will be completely dissolved, while, 
at the surface of contact of the two clear liquids, only mechanical impurities will be seen. 
After some time the layer of ether becomes gelatinous, and then no further observation can 
be made. Ten grains of the salt examined may contain one grain of quinidia, and yet be 
completely dissolved by the ether and ammonia; but in this case the quinidia will soon 
begin to crystallize in the layer of ether. The least trace of quinidia may be detected by 
employing, instead of ordinary ether, the same fluid previously saturated with quinidia, 
in which case all the quinidia must remain undissolved. It is necessary, in the last experi- 
ment, to observe, after the shaking, whether or not all has dissolved; for, owing to the 
great tendency of quinidia to crystallize, it may again separate, and thus become a source 
of error. If more than a tenth of quinidia, or if cinchonia be present in the sait, an inso- 
luble precipitate will be seen between the layers of the two fluids. If it be quinidia, it will 
be dissolved on the addition of proportionately more ether; while, if cinchonia, it will 
remain unaffected. [Pharm. Journ., xi. 394.) PART i. 
Cinchona. 
lowest value there is every grade of productiveness, down to a mere trace of 
alkaline matter.* 
Medical Properties and Uses. 
This valuable remedy was unknown to the civilized world till about the mid- 
dle of the seventeenth century, though the natives of Peru are generally supposed 
to have been long previously acquainted with its febrifuge powers. Humboldt, 
however, is of a different opinion. In his Memoir on the Cinchona forests, he 
states that it is unknown as a remedy to the Indians inhabiting the country 
where it grows; and, as these people adhere pertinaciously to the habits of their 
ancestors, he concludes that it never was employed by them. They have gene- 
rally the most violent prejudices against it, considering it poisonous, and in the 
treatment of fever prefer the milder indigenous remedies. Humboldt is disposed 
to ascribe the discovery of the febrifuge powers of the bark to the Jesuits, who 
were sent to Peru as missionaries. As bitters had been chiefly relied on in the 
treatment of intermittent fevers, and as bitterness was observed to be a pre- 
dominant property in the bark of certain trees which were felled in clearing the 
forests, the missionaries were naturally led to give it a trial in the same com- 
plaint. They accordingly administered an infusion of the bark in the tertian 
ague, then prevalent in Peru, and soon ascertained its extraordinary powers. 
A tradition to this effect is said by Humboldt to be current at Loxa. Huiz and 
Pavon, however, ascribe the discovery to the Indians; and Tschudi states, in his 
Travels in Peru (Am. ed., ii. 280), that the inhabitants of the Peruvian forests 
drink an infusion of the green bark as a remedy in intermittent fever.f The 
Countess of Cinchon, wife of the Viceroy of Peru, having in her own person 
experienced the beneficial effects of the bark, is said, on her return to Spain in 
the year 1640, to have first introduced the remedy into Europe. Hence the 
name of pulvis Commitissee, by which it was first known. After its introduction, 
it was distributed and sold by the Jesuits, who are said to have obtained for it 
the price of its weight in silver. From this circumstance it was called Jesuits’ 
powder, a title which it long retained. It had acquired some reputation in Eng- 
land so early as the year 1658, but, from its high price, and from the prejudice 
excited against it, was at first little used. At this early period, however, its 
origin and nature do not seem to have been generally known; for we are told 
that Sir John Talbot (Sir Robert Talbor, Pereira), an Englishman, having 
employed it with great success in France, in the treatment of intermittents, under 
the name of the English powder, at length, in the year 1619, sold the secret of 
its origin and preparation to Louis XIV., by whom it was divulged. 
When taken into the stomach, bark usually excites in a short time a sense of 
warmth in the epigastrium, which often diffuses itself over the abdomen and even 
the breast, and is sometimes attended with considerable gastric and intestinal 
irritation. Nausea and vomiting are sometimes produced, especially if the sto- 
mach was previously in an inflamed or irritated state. Purging, moreover, is 
not an unfrequent attendant upon its action. After some time has elapsed, the 
* To obviate tbe disadvantages arising from the variable strength of bark, M. Guiller- 
mond recommends to fix on an appropriate strength, as indicated by the percentage of 
quinia, below the highest yet much above the lowest, and either to select bark of this 
strength, or to bring that employed to the medium strength, by adding a stronger or 
weaker bark, as the case may require, in due proportion. He recommends as this standard 
the yield of 3-2 per cent, of sulphate of quinia. This is to be treated by alcohol till entirely 
Exhausted, and the tincture evaporated so as to yield an extract which shall exactly re- 
present the virtues of the bark, and shall always have the same strength. From this ex- 
tract all the preparations of bark are to be made, which will thus always be uniform in 
strength. (Journ. de Fharm., Aout, 1863, p. 124.) 
f Tschudi also observes that he has found the fresh bark more efficacious than the dried; 
as, in less than half the usual dose, it not only effects cures in a short time, but ensures 
uhe patient against the return of the disease. 298 
Cinchona. 
PART I. 
circulation often experiences its influence, as exhibited in the somewhat increased 
frequency of pulse; and, if the dose be repeated, the whole system becomes more 
or less affected, and all the functions undergo a moderate degree of excitement 
Its action upon the nervous system is often evinced by a sense of tension, or 
fulness, or slight pain in the head, singing in the ears, and partial deafness, which 
are always experienced by many individuals when brought completely under its 
influence. The effects above mentioned entitle bark to a place among the tonics, 
and it is usually ranked at the very head of this class of medicines. But, besides 
the mere excitation of the ordinary functions of health, it produces other effects 
upon the system, which must be considered peculiar, and independent of its mere 
tonic operation. The power by which, when administered in the intervals be- 
tween the paroxysms of intermittent disorders, it interrupts the progress of the 
disease, is something more than what is usually understood by the tonic pro- 
perty; for no other substance belonging to the class, however powerful or per- 
manent may be the excitement which it produces, exercises a control over inter- 
mittents at all comparable to that of the medicine under consideration. As it is 
probable that, in the intervals of these complaints, a train of morbid actions is 
going on out of our sight, within the recesses of the nervous system; so it 
is also probable that bark produces, in the same system, an action equally 
mysterious, which supersedes that of the malady, and thus accomplishes the 
restoration of the patient. When taken very largely, especially in the form of 
its active principles, in which its effects on the system can be obtained with less 
of the direct irritant influence on the stomach, cinchona has been found, while it 
produces the effects already adverted to upon the brain, at the same time to 
lessen considerably the force and frequency of the pulse. This sedative effect is 
probably secondary, and dependent on an influence upon the nervous centres in 
the encephalon, interfering with the due performance of their functions, and con- 
sequently of the in some degree dependent function of the heart. From the pos- 
session of tonic, anti-intermittent, and indirect sedative properties, bark is capable 
of being usefully employed in the treatment of numerous diseases. 
It may usually be employed with benefit in all morbid conditions of the system, 
whatever may be the peculiar modifications, in which a permanent corroborant 
effect is desirable, provided the stomach be in a proper state for its reception. 
In low or typhoid forms of disease, in which either no inflammation exists, or 
that which does exist has been moderated by proper measures, or has passed 
into the suppurative or the gangrenous stage, this remedy is often of the greatest 
advantage in supporting the system till the morbid action ceases. Hence its use 
in the latter stages of typhus gravior; in malignant scarlatina, measles, and 
smallpox; in carbuncle and gangrenous erysipelas; and in all cases in which 
the system is exhausted under large purulent discharges, and the tendency of 
the affection is towards recovery. As a tonic, bark is also advantageously em- 
ployed iu chronic diseases connected with debility; as, for example, in scrofula, 
dropsy, passive hemorrhages, certain forms of dyspepsia, obstinate cutaneous 
affections, amenorrhoea, chorea, hysteria; in fact, whenever a corroborant influ- 
ence is desired, and no contraindicating symptoms exist. But in all these cases 
it greatly behooves the physician to examine well the condition of the system, 
and, before resorting to the tonic, to ascertain the real existence of an enfeebled 
condition of the functions, and the absence of such local irritations or inflamma- 
tions, especially of the stomach or bowels, as might be aggravated by its use. In 
doubtful cases, we have been in the habit of considering the occurrence of profuse 
sweating during sleep as an indication for its use, and, under these circumstances, 
have prescribed it very advantageously, in the form of sulphate of quiuia, in acute 
rheumatism, and in the advanced stages of protracted fevers. 
But it is in the cure of intermittent diseases that bark displays its most ex- 
traordinary powers. It was originally introduced into notice as a remedy iu PART I. 
Cinchona. 
299 
fever and ague, and the reputation which it acquired at an early period it has 
ever since retained. Yery few cases of this disease will be found to resist the 
judicious use of bark, or some one of its preparations. This is not the place to 
speak of the precise circumstances under which it is best administered. It will 
be sufficient to say that physicians generally concur in recommending its early 
employment, in divided doses, to the extent of one or two ounces, during the 
intermission, and the repetition of this plan till the disease is subdued, or the 
remedy is found insufficient for its cure. Other intermittent diseases have been 
found to yield with almost equal certainty to the remedy, particularly those of 
a neuralgic character. Hemicrania and violent pains in the eyes, face, and 
other parts of the body, occurring periodically, are often almost immediately 
relieved by the use of bark. Some cases of epilepsy, in which the convulsions 
recurred at regular intervals, have also been cured by it; and even the hectic 
intermittent is frequently arrested, though, as the cause still generally con- 
tinues to operate, the relief is too often only temporary. Diarrhoea and dysen- 
tery sometimes put on the intermittent form, especially in miasmatic districts; 
and under these circumstances may often be cured by bark. Nor is it necessary 
that, in the various diseases which have been mentioned, the intermission should 
always be complete, in order to justify a resort to the remedy. Remittent fe- 
vers, in which the remission is very decided, not unfrequently yield to the use of 
bark, if preceded by proper depleting measures. But, as a general rule, the less 
of the diseased action there is in the interval, the better is the chance of success. 
In reference to its indirect sedative elfects, bark or its alkaloids have been of 
late considerably used, in large doses, in various febrile and inflammatory affec- 
tions, as in the early stage of remittent and yellow fevers, typhoid and typhus 
fevers, and acute rheumatism; but, in this use of the medicine, caution is required 
lest, in suppressing the general arterial excitement, injurious congestion or in- 
flammation of the brain may be induced. In the form of sulphate of quiuia, it 
has of late been recommended, in large doses, in puerperal fever. 
Some observations are requisite as to the choice of the bark, and the forms of 
administration. In the treatment of intermittents, either the best red or the 
yellow (Calisaya) bark is decidedly preferable to the pale. The pale bark may, 
in its finest forms, be superior for the purposes of a general tonic; as it is less 
liable to offend the stomach, and perhaps to irritate the bowels. 
Where the object is to obtain the full influence of the bark, it may in some 
instances be advisable to administer it in substance. We are not absolutely cer- 
tain that the alkaloids are the only active ingredients; and, eveu supposing 
them to be so, we are equally uncertain whether they may not be somewhat 
modified in their properties, even by the therapeutically inert principles with 
which they are associated. In fact, bark in substance has been repeatedly known 
to cure intermittents when sulphate of quinia has failed. It is best administered 
diffused in water or some aromatic infusion. Experience has proved that its 
efficacy in intermittents is often greatly promoted by admixture with other sub- 
stances. A mixture of powdered bark, Virginia snakeroot, and carbonate of 
soda was at one time highly esteemed .in this city; and another, consisting of 
bark, confection of opium, lemon-juice, and port wine, has proved highly effica- 
cious in obstinate cases of fever and ague.* 
But, notwithstanding the supposed superior efficacy of the bark in substance, 
in the same relative dose, it is in the great majority of instances sufficient to 
resort to some one of its preparations; and in many cases we are compelled to 
this resort by the inability of the stomach to support the powder, or the un- 
* The following are the formulas for these mixtures.—1. R. Cinchon. Pulv. ;jss; Ser- 
pentariae pulv. gj; Sodas Carbonat. gas. Misce et in pulveres quatuor divide, una tertisi 
vel quarta quaque hora sumenda. 2. R. Cinchon. Rub. pulv. Confect. Opii gj; Sue. 
liimon. recentis Vin. Rub. Misce. Tertia pars tertia quaque hora sumenda. 300 
Cinchona.—Cinnamomum. 
PART I. 
willingness of the patient to encounter its disagreeable taste. The best substi- 
tutes, in intermittent diseases, are the sulphates of its alkaloids. Sulphate of 
quinia has until recently been used almost to the exclusion of the others; but 
sulphate of cinchonia is now considerably employed, and with nearly equal 
effect; and there is every reason to believe that the sulphates of quinidia and 
cinchonidia will be found not less efficient. In fact any one, or any combination 
of the cinchona alkaloids, may be used with propriety for obtaining the thera- 
peutic effects of bark. The advantage of these preparations is their facility of 
administration, and the possibility, by their employment, of introducing a large 
quantity of the active matter, with less risk of offending the stomach. (See 
Quinise Sulphas.) 
Though the alkaloids possess the anti-intermittent power of bark, they have 
not been certainly ascertained to exert all the peculiar influence of that medi- 
cine as a tonic; but, as bark in powder can seldom be supported, by a delicate 
stomach, for a sufficient period to ensure the necessary influence of the medicine 
in chronic disease, it is customary to resort, in this case, to some one of its 
preparations in which the alkaloids are extracted in connection with the other 
principles; as the infusion, decoction, tincture, extract, and fluid extract. Each 
of these will be particularly treated of among the Preparations. It is here only 
necessary to say that their use is mostly confined to chronic cases, or those of a 
malignant character, as typhus gravior, &c., in which the whole virtues of the 
bark are desired, but the stomach is unable to bear the powder. Should bark 
or its preparations produce purging, as they occasionally do, they ought to be 
combined with a small portion of laudanum. 
It is sometimes desirable to introduce bark into the system by other avenues 
than the stomach; as it exercises its peculiar influence to whatever part it is 
applied. Injected into the rectum, in connection with opium to prevent purg- 
ing, it has been employed successfully in the cure of intermittents; and the use 
of bark jackets, made by quilting the powder between two pieces of flannel or 
muslin, and worn next the skin, and of bark baths made by infusing the medi- 
cine in water, has proved serviceable in cases of children. But the best prepa- 
ration of bark for injection, or external use, is sulphate of quinia, which, thrown 
with a little laudanum into the rectum, or applied to a blistered surface denuded 
of the cuticle, produces on the system effects scarcely less decided than those 
which result from it when swallowed. 
The medium dose of bark, as administered in intermittents, is a drachm, to be 
repeated more or less frequently according to circumstances. y\rhen given as a 
tonic in chronic complaints, the dose is usually smaller; from ten to thirty grains 
being sufficient to commence with. 
Off. Prep, of Yellow Bark. Decoctum Cinchonas Flavas; Extractum Cincho- 
nae, U. S.; Extractum Cinchonas Fluidurn, U. S.; Extractum Cinchonas Flavas 
Liquidum,Br.; Infusnm Cinchonas Flavas; Quiuias Sulphas; Tinctura Cincho- 
nas, U. 3.; Tinctura Cinchonas Flavae, Br. 
Off. Prep, of Pale Bark. Tinctura Cinchonae Composita, Br. 
Off. Prep, of Red Bark. Decoctum Cinchonas Rubras, U.S.; Infusum Cinchonae 
Rubrae, U. S.; Tinctura Cinchonas Composita, U. S. W. 
CINNAMOMUM. TJ.S.,Br. 
. Cinnamon. 
The bark of Cinnamomum Zeylanicum and of Cinnamomum aromaticum. U. S. 
Cinnamomum Zeylanicum. The inner bark of shoots from the truncated stock. Br. 
Cinnamon.—Canelle, Fr.; Brauner Canel, Zimmt, Germ.; Canella, Ital.; Canela, Spin.; 
Kurundu, Cingalese; Kama putt ay, Tamul. 
Cassia.—Cassia lignea; Casse, Fr.; Cassienzimmt, Germ.; Cannellina, Ital.; Casia, Span. PART I. 
Cinnamomum. 
The U. S. Pharmacopoeia embraces, under the title of cinnamon, not only the 
bark of that name obtained from the island of Ceylon, which is the only variety 
recognised in the new British Pharmacopoeia, but also the commercial cassia, 
which is imported from China; and, as the two products, though very different 
in price, and somewhat in flavour, possess identical medical properties, and are 
used for the same purposes, there seems to be no necessity for giving them dis- 
tinct officinal designations. Indeed, the barks of all the species of the genus Cm- 
namomum, possessing analogous properties, are as much entitled to the common 
name of cinnamon, as the barks of the Cinchonas are to the name of cinchona, 
and the juice of different species of Aloe to that of aloes. Yarieties may be suffi- 
ciently distinguished by an appropriate epithet. Both cinnamomum and cassia 
were terms employed by the ancients, but whether exactly as now understood, it 
is impossible to determine. The term cassia, or cassia lignea, has been gener- 
ally used in modern times to designate the coarser barks analogous to cinnamon. 
It was probably first applied to the barks from Malabar, and afterwards extended 
to those of China and other parts of Eastern Asia. It has been customary to 
ascribe cassia lignea to the Laurus Cassia of Linnaeus; but the specific char- 
acter given by that botanist was so indefinite, and based on such imperfect in- 
formation, that the species has been almost unanimously abandoned by botanists. 
The fact appears to be, that the barks sold as cinnamon and cassia in different 
parts of the world are derived from various species of Cinnamomum. Dr. Wight, 
who was commissioned by the British Indian Government to inquire into the 
botanical source of “the common cassia bark of the markets of the world,” ex- 
presses his belief, that the list of plants yielding this product extends to nearly 
every species of the genus, including not less than six plants on the Malabar 
coast and in Ceylon, and nearly twice as many more in the eastern part of Asia, 
and in the islands of the Eastern Archipelago. (Madras Journ. of Liter at. and 
Sci., 1839, No. 22.) We shall describe only the two species recognised in the 
TJ. S. Pharmacopoeia. 
Cinnamomum. Sex. Syst. Enneandria Monogynia.—Nat.Ord. Lauracese. 
Gen. Ch. Flowers hermaphrodite or polygamous, panicled or fascicled, naked, 
Calyx six-cleft, with the limb deciduous. Fertile stamens nine, in three rows; 
the inner three with two sessile glands at the base; anthers four-celled, the three 
inner turned outwards. Three capitate abortive stamens next the centre. Fruit 
seated in a cup-like calyx. Leaves ribbed. Leaf-buds not scaly. Lindley. 
1. Cinnamomum Zeylanicum. Nees, Laurinese, 52; Lindley, Flor. Med. 329 
Hayne, Darstel. und Besclireib. &c. xii. 263.—Laurus Cinnamomum. Linn. 
This is a tree about twenty or thirty feet high, with a trunk from twelve to eigh- 
teen inches in diameter, and covered with a thick, scabrous bark. The branches 
are numerous, strong, horizontal, and declining; and the young shoots are beau- 
tifully speckled with dark green and light orange colours. The leaves are oppo- 
site for the most part, coriaceous, entire, ovate, or ovate-oblong, obtusely pointed, 
and three-nerved, with the lateral nerves vanishing as they approach the point. 
There are also two less obvious nerves, one on each side, arising from the base, 
proceeding towards the border of the leaf, and then quickly vanishing. The foot- 
stalks are short and slightly channeled, and, together with the extreme twigs, are 
smooth and without the least appearance of down. In one variety, the leaves are 
fery broad and somewhat cordate. When mature, they are of a shining green 
upon their upper surface, and lighter-coloured beneath. The flowers are small, 
white, and arranged in axillary and terminal panicles. The fruit is an oval berry, 
which adheres like the acorn to the receptacle, is larger than the black currant, 
and when ripe has a bluish-brown surface, diversified with numerous white spots. 
The tree emits no smell perceptible at any distance. The. bark of the root has 
the odour of cinnamon with the pungency of camphor, and yields this principle 
upon distillation. The leaves have a spicy odour when rubbed, and a hot taste. PART I. 
302 
A volatile oil distilled from them has been introduced into commerce.* The 
petiole has the flavour of cinnamon. It is a singular fact, that the odour of the 
flowers is to people in general disagreeable, being compared by some to the 
scent exhaled from newly sawn bones. The fruit has a terebinthinate odour when 
opened, and a taste in some degree like that of juniper berries. A fatty sub- 
stance, called cinnamon-suet, is obtained from it when ripe, by bruising and 
then boiling it in wrater, and removing the oleaginous matter which rises to the 
surface, and concretes upon cooling. It is the prepared bark that constitutes the 
genuine cinnamon. 
This species is a native of Ceylon, where it has long been cultivated. It is 
said also to be a native of the Malabar Coast, and has at various periods been 
introduced into Java, the Isle of France, Bourbon, the Cape de Yerds, Brazil, 
Cayenne, several of the West India islands, and Egypt; and in some of these' 
places is at this time highly productive, especially in Cayenne, where the plant 
was flourishing so early as 1755. It is exceedingly influenced, as regards The 
aromatic character of its bark, by the circumstances of soil, climate, and mode 
of culture. Thus we are told by Marshall that in Ceylon, beyond the limits of 
Negombo and Matura, in the western and southern aspect of the island, the bark 
is never of good quality, being greatly deficient in the aromatic flavour of the 
cinnamon; and that even within these limits it is of unequal value, from the 
various influence of exposure, soil, shade, and other circumstances. 
2. C. aromaticum. Nees, Laurinese, 52; Lindley, Flor. Med. 330.—C. Cas- 
sia. Blume, Ed. Ph.; Hayne, Darstel. und Beschreib. &c. xii. 23. — Laurus Cas- 
sia. Aiton, Hort. Kew. ii. 427. — Not Laurus Cassia of Linn. This is of about 
the same magnitude as the former species, and like it has nearly opposite, shortly 
petiolate, coriaceous, entire leaves, of a shining green upon the upper surface, 
lighter-coloured beneath, and furnished with three nerves, of which the two lat- 
eral vanish towmrds the point. The leaves, however, differ in being oblong-lance- 
olate and pointed, and in exhibiting, under the microscope, a very fine down upon 
the under surface. The footstalks and extreme twigs are also downy. The flow- 
ers are in narrow, silky panicles. The plant grows in China, Sumatra, and other 
parts of Eastern Asia, and is said to be cultivated in Java. It is believed to be 
the species which furnishes, wholly or in part, the Chinese cinnamon or cassia 
brought from Canton, and is supposed to be the source of the cassia buds. 
Besides the two species above described, others have been thought to contri- 
bute to the cinnamon and cassia of commerce. The opinion of Dr. Wight has 
been already stated. C. Loureirii of Nees, growing in the mountains of Cochin 
China near Laos, and in Japan, affords, according to Loureiro, a cinnamon of 
which the finest kind is superior to that of Ceylon. C. nilidum, growing in 
Ceylon, Java, and on the continent of India, is said to have been the chief source 
of the drug, known formerly by the name of Folia Malabalhri, and consisting of 
the leaves of different species of Cinnamomum mixed together. The leaves of 
C. Tamala of Ilindostan have been sold under the same name. C. Culilawan 
of the Moluccas yields the aromatic bark called culilawan, noticed in the third 
part of this work; and similar barks are obtained from another species of the 
same region, named G. rubrum, and from G. Sintoc of Java. Massoy-barlc, from 
which an aromatic volatile oil is obtained called oil of mas soy, is the product 
of C. Kiamis. (Gfmelin, Hand-book, xiv. 380.) 
Cinnamomum. 
* The cinnamon leaf oil, as imported into Great Britain, is of two kinds, one containing 
a considerable quantity of a fatty fixed oil, perhaps cinnamon-suet from the fruit, the other 
a pure volatile oil. The oil is said to be obtained by distilling the leaves after maceration 
in sea-water. It resembles the oil of cloves and pimento in sensible properties, having a 
brownish colour, a penetrating, fragrant odour, and a very pungent taste. According to 
Stenhouse, it is of the sp. gr. 1-053, has an acid reaction, and consists essentially of eugenio 
acid and a neuter substance with the formula but contains also a minute proportion 
of benzoic acid. (Pharm. Journ., xiv. 319.)—Note to the twelfth edition. part I. 
Cinnamomum. 
303 
Culture, Collection, Commerce, &c. Our remarks under this head will first be 
directed to the cinnamon of Ceylon, in relation to which we have more precise 
information than concerning the aromatic obtained from other sources. The 
bark was originally collected exclusively from the tree in a wild state; but the 
Dutch introduced the practice of cultivating it,, which has been continued since 
the British came into possession of the island. The principal cinnamon gardens. 
are in the vicinity of Columbo. The seeds are planted in a prepared soil at 
certain distances; and, as four or five are placed in a spot, the plants usually 
grow in clusters like the hazel bush. In favourable situations they attain the 
height of five or six feet in six or seven years; and a healthy bush will then 
afford two or three shoots fit for peeling, and every second year afterwards from 
four to seven shoots in a good soil. The cinnamon harvest commences in May, 
and continues till late in October. The first object is to select shoots proper for 
decortication, and those are seldom cut which are less than half an inch, or more 
than two or three inches in diameter. The bark is divided by longitudinal inci- 
sions, of which two are made in the smaller shoots, several in the larger, and is 
then removed in strips by means of a suitable instrument. The pieces are next 
collected in bundles, and allowed to remain in this state for a short time, so as 
to undergo a degree of fermentation, which facilitates the separation of the 
epidermis. This, with the green matter beneath it, is removed by placing the 
strip of bark upon a convex piece of wood, and scraping its external surface 
with a curved knife. The bark now dries and contracts, assuming the appearance 
of a quill. The peeler introduces the smaller tubes into the larger, and connects 
them also endwise, thus forming a congeries of quills which is about forty inches 
long. When sufficiently dry, these cylinders are collected into bundles weighing 
about thirty pounds, and bound together by pieces of split bamboo. The com- 
merce in Ceylon cinnamon was formerly monopolized by the East India Com- 
pany; but the cultivation is now unrestricted, and the bark may be freely ex- 
ported upon the payment of a fixed duty. It is assorted in the island into three 
qualities, distinguished by the designations of first, second, and third. The in- 
ferior kinds, which are of insufficient value to pay the duty, are used for the 
preparation of oil of cinnamon. 
Immense quantities of cinnamon are exported from China, the finest of which 
is little inferior to that of Ceylon, though the mass of it is much coarser. It 
passes in commerce under the name of cassia, and is said by Mr. Beeves to be 
brought to Canton from the province of Kwangse, where the tree producing it 
grows very abundantly. {Trans. Meclico-Bot. Soc., 1828, p. 26.) It has already 
been stated that this tree is supposed to be the Cinnamomum aromaticum; 
but we have no positive proof of the fact. Travellers inform us that cinnamon 
is also collected in Cochin China; but that the best of it is monopolized by the 
sovereign of the country. It is supposed to be obtained from the Cinnamomum. 
Loureirii of Nees, the Laurus Cinnamomum of Loureiro. According to Sie- 
bold, the bark of the large branches is of inferior quality and is rejected; that 
from the smallest branches resembles the Ceylon cinnamon in thickness, but has 
a very pungent taste and smell, and is little esteemed; while the intermediate 
branches yield an excellent bark, about a line in thickness, which is even more 
highly valued than the cinnamon of Ceylon, and yields a sweeter and less pungent 
oil. {Annal. der Pharm., xx. 280.) Cinnamon of good quality is said to be col- 
lected in Java, and considerable quantities of inferior quality have been thrown 
into commerce, as cassia lignea, from the Malabar Coast. Manilla and the Isle 
of France are also mentioned as sources whence this drug is supplied. Little, 
however, reaches the United States from these places. 
Cayenne, and several of the West India islands, yield to commerce consider- 
able quantities of cinnamon of various qualities. That of Cayenne is of two 
kinds, one of which closely resembles, though it does not quite equal, the aromatic 304 
Cinnamomum. 
PART I. 
of Ceylon, the other resembles the Chinese. The former is supposed to be de- 
rived from plants propagated from a Ceylonese stock, the latter from those which 
have sprung from a tree introduced from Sumatra.* 
By far the greater proportion of cinnamon brought to this country is imported 
from China. It is entered as cassia at the custom house, while the same article 
brought from other sources is almost uniformly entered as cinnamon. Much of 
'it is afterwards exported. 
From what source the ancients derived their cinnamon and cassia is not cer- 
tainly known. Neither the plants nor their localities, as described by Dioscorides, 
Pliny, and Theophrastus, correspond precisely with our present knowledge; but 
in this respect much allowance must be made for the inaccurate geography of 
the ancients. It is not improbable that the Arabian navigators, at a very early 
period, conveyed this spice within the limits of Phoenician and Grecian, and 
subsequently of Roman commerce. 
Properties. Ceylon cinnamon is in long cylindrical fasciculi, composed of 
numerous quills, the larger enclosing the smaller. In the original sticks, which 
are somewhat more than three feet in length, two or three fasciculi are neatly 
joined at the end, so as to appear as if the whole were one continuous piece. 
The finest is of a light brownish-yellow colour, almost as thin as paper, smooth, 
often somewhat shining, pliable to a considerable extent, with a splintery frac- 
ture when broken. It has a pleasant fragrant odour, and a warm, aromatic, pun- 
gent, sweetish, slightly astringent, and highly agreeable taste. When distilled 
it affords but a small quantity of essential oil, which, however, has an exceed- 
ingly grateful flavour. It is brought to this country from England; but is very 
costly, and is not generally kept in the shops. The inferior sorts are browner, 
thicker, less splintery, and of a less agreeable flavour, and are little if at all su- 
perior to the best Chinese. The finer variety of Cayenne cinnamon approaches 
in character to that above described, but is paler and in thicker pieces, being 
usually collected from older branches. That which is gathered very young is 
scarcely distinguishable from the cinnamon of Ceylon. 
Chinese cinnamon, or cassia, is in tubes from the eighth of an inch to an 
inch in diameter, usually single, sometimes double, but very rarely more than 
double. In some instances the bark is rolled very much upon itself, in others is 
not even completely quilled, forming segments more or less extensive of a hollow 
cylinder. It is of a redder or darker colour than the finest Ceylon cinnamon, 
thicker, rougher, denser, and breaks with a shorter fracture. It has a stronger, 
more pungent and astringent, but less sweet and grateful taste; and, though of 
a similar odour, is less agreeably fragrant. It is the kind almost universally kept 
in our shops. Of a similar character is the cinnamon imported directly from 
various parts of the East Indies. But under the name of cassia have also been 
brought to us very inferior kinds of cinnamon, collected from the trunks or large 
branches of the trees, or injured by want of care in keeping, or perhaps derived 
from inferior species. It is said that cinnamon from which the oil has been dis- 
tilled, is sometimes fraudulently mixed with the genuine. These inferior kinds 
* While on a visit, Nov. 1860, to the Palais <TIndustrie, in Paris, where is kept a noble collec- 
tion of industrial and natural products from the various French colonies, we noticed spe- 
cimens of the Ceylon cinnamon (C. Zeylanicum), from the W. India island of Martinique. 
It was apparently of fine quality, consisting of pieces, singly and doubly quilled, and 
bearing a close resemblance to the product of Ceylon, except that the quills were single, 
and not, like the Ceylonese, introduced one into the other, forming a sort of compact cylinder. 
There were, besides, large flat pieces of the bark from the same source, bearing, in their 
general aspect, some resemblance to the flat Calisaya bark. These were, no doubt, from 
the trunk or larger branches. How far they possessed the aromatic properties of the trne 
cinnamon could not be determined; for they were enclosed in cases in such a manner that, 
though they could be seen, they could not be submitted to the test of taste and smell.— 
Note to the twelfth edition. Cinnamomum.—Cocculus. 
305 
PART I. 
are detected, independently of their greater thickness, and coarseness of fracture, 
by their deficiency in the peculiar sensible properties of the spice. 
According to the analysis of Vauquelin, cinnamon contains a peculiar vola- 
tile oil, tannin, mucilage, a colouring matter, an acid, and lignin. The tannin 
is of the variety which yields a greenish-black precipitate with the salts of iron 
The oil obtained from the Cayenne cinnamon, he found to be more bitiug that* 
that from the Ceylonese, and at the same time to be somewhat peppery. Bu- 
cholz found in 100 parts of cassia lignea, 0 8 of volatile oil, 4’0 of resin, 14*6 of 
gummy extractive (probably including tannin), 64 3 of lignin and bassorin, and 
163 of water including loss. This aromatic yields its virtues wholly to alcohol, 
and less readily to water. At the temperature of boiling alcohol very little of the 
oil rises, and an extract prepared from the tincture retains, therefore, the aro- 
matic properties. For an account of the volatile oil, see Oleum Ginnamomi. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Cinnamon is among the most grateful and 
efficient of the aromatics. It is warm and cordial to the stomach, carminative, 
astringent, and, like most other substances of this class, more powerful as a local 
than general stimulant. It is seldom prescribed alone, though, when given in 
powder or infusion, it will sometimes allay nausea, check vomiting, and relieve 
flatulence. It is chiefly used as an adjuvant to other less pleasant medicines, 
and enters into a great number of officinal preparations. It is often employed 
in diarrhoea, in connection with chalk and astringents; and has recently been 
recommended as peculiarly efficacious in uterine hemorrhage. The dose of the 
powder is from ten grains to a scruple. 
Cassia Buds. This spice consists of the calyx of one or more species of Cin- 
namomum, surrounding the young germ, and, as stated by Dr. Martius, on the 
authority of the elder Nees, about one-quarter of the normal size. It is pro- 
duced in China; and Mr. Reeves states that great quantities of it are brought 
to Canton from the province which affords cassia. The species which yields it 
is in all probability the same with that which yields the bark, though it has been 
ascribed by Nees to Cinnamomum Loureirii. In favour of the former opinion 
is the statement of Dr. Christison, that G. aromaticum, cultivated in the hot- 
houses of Europe, bears a flower-bud which closely resembles the cassia bud 
when at the same period of advancement. Cassia buds have some resemblance 
to cloves, and are compared to small nails with round heads. The enclosed 
germen is sometimes removed, and they are then cup-shaped at top. They have 
a brown colour, with the flavour of cinnamon, and yield an essential oil upon 
distillation. They may be used for the same purposes as the bark. 
Off. Prep. Acidum Sulphuricum Aromaticum; Aqua Cinnamomi, Br.; De- 
coctum Haematoxyli, Br.; Infusum Catechu, Br.; Infus. Catechu Comp., U. S.; 
Pulvis Aromaticus; Pulvis Catechu Compositus, Br.; Pulvis Kino cum Opio, 
Br.; Spiritus Lavandulae Comp., U. S.; Syrupus Rhei Aromaticus, U. S.; Tinc- 
tura Cardamomi Comp.; Tinctura Catechu; Tinctura Cinnamomi; Tinctura 
Lavandulae Comp., Br.; Yinum Opii, U. S. W. 
COCCULUS. Br. 
Cocculus Indicus. 
Anamirta Cocculus. The fruit, dried. Br. 
Coque du Levant, Ft.; Kokkelskorner, Fisckkorner, Germ.; Galla di Levante, Ital. 
The plant which produces cocculus Indicus was embraced by Linnaeus, with 
several others, under the title of Menispermum Cocculus. These were referred 
by De Candolle to a new genus, denominated Cocculus. From this the particu- 
lar species under consideration has been separated by Wight and Arnott, and 
erected into a distinct genus with the name of Anamirta. 306 
Cocculus. 
PART I. 
Anamirta. Sex. Syst. Dioecia Dodecandria.—Nat. Ord. Menispermaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Flowers dioecious. Calyx of six sepals in a double series, with two 
close-pressed braceteoles. Corolla none. Male. Stamens united into a central 
column dilated at the apex. Anthers numerous, covering the whole globose apex 
of the column. Female. Flowers unknown. Drupes one to three, one-celled, 
one-seeded. Seed globose, deeply excavated at the hilum. Albumen fleshy. 
Cotyledons very thin, diverging. ( Wight and Arnott.) 
Anamirta Cocculus. Wight and Arnott, Flor. Penins. Ind. Orient, i. 446; 
Lindley, Flor. Med. 371. — Menispermum Cocculus, Linn.— Cocculus suber- 
osus. De Cand. Prodrom. i. 97. This is the only species. It is a climbing shrub, 
with a suberose or corky bark; thick, coriaceous, smooth, shining, roundish or 
cordate leaves, sometimes truncate at the base; and the female flowers in lateral 
compound racemes. It is a native of the Malabar Coast, and of Eastern Insular 
and Continental India. The fruit is the officinal portion. 
This plant was proved to be the source of cocculus Indicus by Roxburgh, 
who raised it from genuine seeds which he had received from Malabar. It is 
believed that other allied plants, bearing similar fruit, contribute to furnish the 
drug; and the Cocculus Plukenetii of Malabar, and C. la.cunosus of Celebes 
and the Moluccas, are particularly designated by authors. It was known to the 
Arabian physicians, and for a long time was imported into Europe from the 
Levant, from which circumstance it was called cocculus Levanticus. It is now 
brought exclusively from the East Indies. 
Properties, &c. Cocculus Indicus, as found in the shops, is roundish, some- 
what kidney-shaped, about as large as a pea; having a thin, dry, blackish, 
wrinkled exterior coat, within which is a ligneous bivalvular shell, enclosing a 
whitish, oily, very bitter kernel. It is without smell, but has an intensely and 
permanently bitter taste. It bears some resemblance to the bay berry, but is not 
quite so large, and may be distinguished by the fact, that in the cocculus Indicus 
the kernel never wholly fills the shell. When the fruit is kept long, the shell is 
sometimes almost empty. The Edinburgh College directed that “the kernels 
should fill at least two-thirds of the fruit.” M. Boullay discovered in the seeds 
a peculiar bitter principle which he denominated picrotoxin. This is white, 
crystallizable in quadrangular prisms, soluble in 25 parts of boiling and 150 of 
cold water (Glover), and very soluble in alcohol and ether, but insoluble in the 
oils. Its composition is C12H706 (Pelletier and Couerbe), or accord- 
ing to Gmelin, who considers it as isomeric with cantharidin. (Hand-book, xir. 
475.) It is poisonous, and, given to strong dogs in the quantity of from five to 
ten grains, produces death, preceded by convulsions, which, according to Dr. R. 
M. Glover, are very similar in character to those produced by Flourens by sec- 
tion of the corpora quadrigemiua and cerebellum; being attended with back- 
ward and rotatory movements and tetanic spasms. It also greatly increases 
the animal heat. (Ed. Monthly Journ. of Med. Sci., N. S., iii. 303.) To procure 
it, the watery extract of the seeds is triturated with pure magnesia, and then 
treated with hot alcohol, which dissolves the picrotoxin, and yields it upon 
evaporation. In this state, however, it is impure. To obtain it colourless it 
must be again dissolved in alcohol, and treated with animal charcoal. After 
filtration and due evaporation, it is deposited in the crystalline form. Besides 
picrotoxin, cocculus Indicus contains a large proportion of fixed oil, and other 
substances of less interest. The active principle above described is said to re- 
side exclusively in the kernel. In the shell MM. Pelletier and Couerbe discqpered 
two distinct principles; one alkaline and named menispermin (menispermia), 
the other identical with it in composition, but distinguishable by its want of 
alkalinity, its volatility, and its solubility and crystalline form, and denominated 
paramenispermin. They found also in the shell a new acid, which they called 
hypopicrotoxic. The picrotoxin of M. Boullay they believed to possess acid PART I. 
Cocculus.—Coccus. 
307 
properties, and proposed for it the name of picrotoxic acid. (Joarn. de Pharm., 
xx. 122.) In Europe, picrotoxin is said to be added to malt liquors, in order to 
give them bitterness and intoxicating properties; although the practice is for- 
bidden by the law, in England, under heavy penalties.* 
Medical Properties, &c. Cocculus Indicus acts in the manner of the acrid nar- 
cotic poisons, but is never given internally. In India it is used to stupefy fishes 
in order that they may be caught; and it has been applied to the same purpose 
in Europe and this country. It is asserted that the fish thus taken are not poi- 
sonous. The powdered fruit, mixed with oil, is employed in the East Iudies as 
a local application in obstinate cutaneous affections. An ointment made with 
the powder has been used in tinea capitis, and to destroy vermin in the hair. 
Picrotoxin has been successfully substituted by Dr. Jeager for the drug itself. 
Ilubbed up with lard in the proportion of ten grains to the ounce, it usually 
effected cures of tinea capitis in less than a month. A case is recorded by W. 
B. Thompson, of New York, in which death in a child six years old, preceded by 
tetanic spasms, and extremely contracted pupil, resulted from the application of 
a strong tincture of the fruit to the scalp. {Med. Exam., N. S., viii. 227.) It 
should be used with great caution when the surface is abraded, f 
Off. Prep. Unguentum Cocculi, Br. W 
COCCUS. U.S.,Br. 
Cochineal. 
Coccus Cacti. U. S. The female insect, dried. Br. 
Coclienille, Fr., Germ.; Cocciniglia, ltal.; Cockinilla, Span. 
The Coccus is a genus of hemipterous insects, having the snout or rostrum 
in the breast, the antennae filiform, and the posterior part of the abdomen fur- 
* Gunckel proposes the following mode of detecting and separating picrotoxin from 
liquids containing it, founded on the facts, that it is soluble in dilute acids though not com- 
bining with them, and that ether extracts it from its acidulous solutions, but not from 
those in water or alcohol, even with the presence of potassa. The substance suspected to 
contain it, having been brought to the consistence of paste, is to be digested with alcohol 
and a little tartaric acid, the liquid separated, the alcohol evaporated, the residue diluted 
with a little water and then treated with ether, and, finally, the ethereal solution submit- 
ted to evaporation in a watch-glass. Picrotoxin, if present, is deposited, recognisable by 
its feathery crystallization, its bitter taste, and the property of reducing the tartrate of 
copper and potassa. If strychnia, which perhaps resembles it most closely in its effects, 
should have been present, it would be left behind in the acidulated solution. (Joum. de 
Pharm., Juillet, 1858, p. 78, from Archiv. der Pharrn., xciv. 14.) In the instance of adulter- 
ated malt liquor, in consequence of the resin of hops it contains, it might be expedient first 
to evaporate the liquor to dryness, and prepare a watery extract of the residue, and then 
to proceed as stated. 
Mr. J. W. Langley proposes, as a means of detection, the oxidation of picrotoxin. When 
to a little of this substance, mixed with nitrate of potassa in a watch-glass, a drop of sul- 
phuric acid is added, no observable reaction takes place; but, if a very strong solution of 
caustic potassa or soda be now added, a bright reddish-yellow colour is produced, which 
is highly characteristic. A very minute quantity may thus be detected. Mr. Langley, how- 
ever, thinks it extremely probable that this phenomenon is owing to a minute quantity of 
some nitrogenous principle strongly attached to the picrotoxin; for, if this principle be 
purified by combining it in solution with potassa, and then precipitating it with an acid, it 
does not answer the test. {Am. Joum. of Sci. and Arts, July, 1862, p. 109.) 
f Fluid Extract of Cocculus Indicus. This is a convenient form for external use. Prof. 
Procter prepares it by moistening a moderately coarse powder, obtained from 16 troy- 
ounces of the fruit, with 6 ounces of a menstruum composed of two parts of alcohol and 
one of water; packing the mixture, after two hours, in a conical percolator; pouring upon 
it a similar menstruum till twelve fluidounces have passed; digesting the coatings, from 
which the powder was sifted, in two pints of diluted alcohol; pouring the whole, when 
cool, into the percolator; after the liquid has disappeared, pouring on diluted alcohol 
until two pints of filtered liquor are obtained; evaporating this to four fluidounces; mixing 
the residue with the reserved tincture; and, after 24 hours, filtering through paper. {Am. 
Joum. of Pharm., 1863, p. 112.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 308 
Coccus. 
PART I. 
niched with bristles. The male has two erect wings, the female is wingless. The 
G. Cacti is characterized by its depressed, downy, transversely wrinkled body, its 
purplish abdomen, its short and black legs, and its subulate antennae, which are 
about one-third of the length of the body. (Bees's Cyclopaedia.) Another spe- 
cies, C. llicis, which inhabits a species of oak, is collected in the mountainous 
parts of the Morea, in Greece, and used as a dye-stulF in the East. (Landerer.) 
The Coccus Cacti is found wild in Mexico and Central America, inhabiting 
different species of Cactus and allied genera of plants; and is said to have been 
discovered also in some of the West India islands, and the southern parts of the 
United States. In Mexico, particularly in the provinces of Oaxaca and Guaxaca, 
it is an important object of culture. The Indians form plantations of the nopal 
(Opuntia cochinillifera), upon which the insect feeds and propagates. During 
the rainy season, a number of the females are preserved under cover upon the 
branches of the plant, and, after the cessation of the rains, are distributed upon 
the plants without. They perish quickly after having deposited their eggs. These, 
hatched by the heat of the sun, give origin to innumerable minute insects, which 
spread themselves over the plant. The males, of which, according to Mr. Ellis, 
the proportion is not greater than one to one hundred or twTo hundred females, 
being provided with wings and very active, approach and fecundate the latter. 
After this period, the females, which before moved about, attach themselves to 
the leaves, and increase rapidly in size; so that, in the end, their legs, antennae, 
and proboscis are scarcely discoverable, and they appear more like excrescences 
on the plant than distinct animated beings. They are now gathered for use, by 
detaching them by means of a blunt knife, a quill, or a feather, a few being left 
•o continue the race. They are destroyed either by dipping them enclosed in a 
bag into boiling water, or by the heat of a stove. In the former case they are 
subsequently dried in the sun. The males, which are much smaller than the full 
grown females, are not collected. It is said that of the wild insect there are six 
generations every year, furnishing an equal number of crops; but the domestic 
is collected only three times annually, the propagation being suspended during 
the rainy season, in consequence of its inability to support the inclemency of the 
weather. The insect has been taken from Mexico to the Canary Islands; and 
very large quantities of cochineal have been delivered to commerce from the 
island of Teneriffe.* The culture has also been successfully introduced into Java; 
and attempts have been made to introduce it into Spain, Corsica, and Algiers.f 
As kept in the shops, the finer cochineal, grana fina of Spanish commerce, is 
in irregularly circular or oval, somewhat angular grains, about one-eighth of an 
inch in diameter, convex on one side, concave or flat on the other, and marked 
with several transverse wrinkles. Two varieties of this kind of cochineal are 
known to the druggist, distinguished by their external appearance? One is of a 
reddish-gray colour, formed by an intermixture of the dark colour of the insect 
with the whiteness of a powder by which it Is almost covered, and with patches 
* Various species of Opuntia are adapted to the support of the cochineal insect, espe- 
cially those which are very juicy, with few thorns, and a thick skin. It is the 0. Ficus In- 
dica which is chiefly cultivated in TenerifFe, the dry but hot climate of which is peculiarly 
adapted to the growth both of the plant and the insect. In the year 1856, the product of 
the Canaries is stated to have amounted to more than one and a half millions of pounds, 
having increased to that amount from eight pounds in 1831. (Neues Repertorium fur Pharm., 
viii. 105.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 
f At the Palais d’Industrie, in Paris, in Nov. 1860, the author noticed considerable quan- 
tities of apparently good cochineal, said to be the product of Algiers. In Spain, the culti- 
vation seems to have proved unprofitable. The author observed a small field near Malaga, 
in 1861, still appropriated to the culture; but was informed that it was now neglected. In 
Asia Minor, in the vicinity of Oushak, are great quantities of an insect, closely resembling 
the Coccus Cacti, which feed on a species of cistus; but it is unknown whether any portion 
has been introduced into general commerce. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxxv. 455.)— Vote to 
the twelfth edition. Coccus, 
309 
PART I, 
of a rosy tinge irregularly interspersed. From its diversified appearance, it is 
called by the Spaniards cochinilla jaspeada. It is the variety commonly kept in 
our shops. The other, cochinilla renegrida, or grana nigra, is dark-coloured, 
almost black, with only a minute quantity of the whitish powder between the 
wrinkles. The two are distinguished in our markets by the names of silver grains 
and black grains. Some suppose the difference to arise from the mode of prepa- 
ration ; the gray cochineal consisting of the insects destroyed by a dry heat; the 
black, of those destroyed by hot water, which removes the external whitish pow- 
der. According to Mr. Faber, who derived his information from a merchant re- 
sident in the neighbourhood where the cochineal is collected, the silver grains con- 
sist of the impregnated female just before she has laid her eggs; the black, of the 
female after the eggs have been laid and hatched. {Am. Journ. of Pharm., xv;L. 
47.) There is little or no difference in their quality.* Another and much inferior 
variety is the grana sylvestra, or wild cochineal, consisting partly of very small 
separate insects, partly of roundish or oval masses, which exhibit, under the micro- 
scope, minute and apparently new bora insects, enclosed in a white or reddish 
cotton-like substance. It is scarcely known in our drug market. 
Cochineal has a faint heavy odour, and a bitter slightly acidulous taste. Its 
powder is of a purplish carmine colour, tinging the saliva intensely red. Ac- 
cording to Pelletier and Caventou, it consists of a peculiar colouring principle, 
a peculiar animal matter constituting the skeleton of the insect, stearin, olein, an 
odorous fatty acid, and various salts. Tyrosin, a crystallizable animal principle, 
has been found in it by De la Rue. {Gmelin, xiii. 358.) It was also analyzed by 
John, who called the colouring principle cochinilin. This is of a brilliant purple- 
red colour, unalterable in dry air, fusible at 122° F., very soluble in water, soluble 
in cold, and more so in boiling alcohol, insoluble in ether, and without nitrogen 
among its constituents. It is obtained by macerating cochineal in ether, and treat- 
ing the residue with successive portions of boiling alcohol, which on cooling depo- 
sits a part of the cochinilin, and yields the remainder by spontaneous evaporation. 
It may be freed from a small proportion of adhering fatty matter, by dissolving 
it in alcohol of 40° Baume, and then adding an equal quantity of sulphuric 
ether. The pure cochinilin is deposited in the course of a few days. The watery 
infusion of cochineal is of a violet-crimson colour, which is brightened by the 
acids, and deepened by the alkalies. The colouring matter is readily precipi- 
tated. The salts of zinc, bismuth, and nickel produce a lilac precipitate, and 
those of iron a dark-purple approaching to black. The salts of tin, especially 
the nitrate and chloride, precipitate the colouring matter of a brilliant scarlet, 
and form the basis of those splendid scarlet and crimson dyes, which have ren- 
dered cochineal so valuable in the arts. With alumina the colouring matter 
forms the pigment called lake. The finest lakes are obtained by mixing the de- 
coction of cochineal with freshly prepared gelatinous alumina. The pigment 
called carmine is the colouring matter of cochineal precipitated from the decoc- 
tion by acids, the salts of tin, &c., or by animal gelatin, and when properly made 
is of the most intense and brilliant scarlet. The colouring principle has been 
named carminic acid, in consequence of its possession of acid properties. 
Cochineal has been adulterated by causing certain heavy substances, such as 
powdered talc and carbonate of lead, by shaking in a bag or otherwise, to ad- 
here to the surface of the insects, and thus increase their weight. The fraud may 
be detected by the absence, under the microscope, of a woolly appearance, which 
* Cake cochineal is the name given to a variety of this drug, produced in the Argentine 
Republic, in South America, a specimen of which was recently sent by Mr. Black from Cor- 
dova, in that country, to London, and has been examined by Dr. Stark. It is in flat cakes 
about a quarter of an inch thick, and, under the microscope, is seen to consist chiefly of 
the cochineal insect, mixed with small portions of the thorns and epidermis of the cactus, 
in consequence of careless gathering. It is inferior for dyeing purposes to the ordinary 
variety. (Pharm. Journ., xiv. 346.) 310 
Coccus.—Colchiei Radix.—Colchici Semen. 
PART L 
characterizes the white powder upon the surface of the unadulterated insect. 
Metallic lead, which is said frequently to exist in fine particles in the artificial 
coating, may be discovered by powdering the cochineal, and suspending it in 
water, when the metal will remain behind. Grains of a substance artificially pre- 
pared to imitate the dried insect have been mixed with the genuine in Prance. 
A close inspection will serve to detect the difference. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e sSr., 
ix. 110.) Vermilion and chromic-red (dichromate of lead) are said also to have 
been largely used in the adulteration of carmine, to the extent sometimes of 60 
or even 70 per cent. {Pliarm. Journ., May, I860, p. 54\) There can be no dif- 
ficulty in detecting them by the appropriate tests. Starch has been used, accord- 
ing to Mr. Maisch, for the same purpose in the U. States, and in one specimen he 
found 57 14 per cent. (Am. Journ. of Pliarm., xxxiii. 18.) 
Medical Properties, &c. Cochineal is supposed by some to possess anodyne 
properties, and has been highly recommended in hooping-cough and neuralgic 
affections. It is frequently associated, in prescription, with carbonate of potassa, 
especially in the treatment of hooping-cough. In pharmacy it is employed to 
colour tinctures and ointments. To infants with hooping-cough, cochineal in 
substance is given in the dose of about one-third of a grain three times a day. 
The dose of a tincture, prepared by macerating one part of the medicine in 
eight parts of diluted alcohol, is for an adult from twenty to thirty drops twice 
a day. In neuralgic paroxysms, Sauter gave half a tablespoonful, with the as- 
serted effect of curing the disease. 
Off. Prep. Tinctura Cardamomi Composita; Tinct. Cinchonae Comp., Br.; 
Tinct. Cocci, Br. W. 
COLCHICI RADIX. U.S. 
Colchicum Root. 
The Cormus of Colchicum auturanale. TJ. S. 
Off. Syn. COLCHICI CORMIJS. Colchicum autumnale. The corm; col- 
lected about the end of June; and the same stripped of its coats, sliced trans- 
versely, and dried at a temperature not exceeding 150°. Br. 
COLCHICI SEMEN. U.S.,Br. 
Colchicum Seed. 
The seed of Colchicum autumnale. U. S. The seed fully ripe. Br. 
Colchique, Ft.; Zeitlose, Herbst-Zeitlose, Germ,.; Colcliico, Ital., Span. 
Colchicum. Sex. Syst. Ilexandria Trigynia. — Nat. Ord. Melanthaceae. 
Gen. Ch. A spalhe. Corolla six-parted, with a tube proceeding directly from 
the root. Capsules three, connected, inflated. Willd. 
Colchicum autumnale. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 272; Woodv. Med Bot. p. 759, t. 
258. This species of Colchicum, often called meadow-saffron, is a perennial 
bulbous plant, the leaves of which appear in spring, and the flowers in autumn. 
Its manner of growth is peculiar, and deserves notice as connected in some 
measure with its medicinal efficacy. In the latter part of summer, a new bulb, 
or cormus as the part is now called, begins to form at the lateral inferior por- 
tion of the old one, which receives the young offshoot in its bosom, and embraces 
it half round. The new plant sends out fibres from its base, and is furnished 
with a radical spathe, which is cylindrical, tubular, cloven at top on one side, 
and half under ground. In September, from two to six flowers, of a lilac or pale- 
purple colour, emerge from the spathe, unaccompanied with leaves. The corolla 
consists of a tube five inches long, concealed for two-thirds of its length in the 
ground, and of a limb divided into six segments. The flowers perish by the end PART I. 
Colchici Radix. 
311 
of October, and the rudiments of the fruit remain under ground till the follow- 
ing spring, when they rise upon a stem above the surface, in the form of a three- 
lobed, tliree-celled capsule. The leaves of the new plant appear at the same 
time; so that in fact they follow the flower instead of preceding it, as might be 
inferred from the order of the seasons in which they respectively show them- 
selves. The leaves are radical, spear-shaped, erect, numerous, about five inches 
long, and one inch broad at the base. In the mean time, the new bulb has been 
increasing at the expense of the old one, which, having performed its appointed 
office, perishes; while the former, after attaining its full growth, sends forth 
shoots, and in its turn decays. The old bulb, in its second spring, and a little 
before it perishes, sometimes puts forth one or more small bulbs, which sepa- 
rate from the parent, and are supposed to be sources of new plants. 
C. autumnale is a native of the temperate parts of Enrope, where it grows 
wild in moist meadows. Attempts have been made to introduce its culture into 
this country, but with no great success; though small quantities of the bulb, oi 
apparently good quality, have been brought into the market. The officinal por- 
tions are the bulb or cormus, and the seeds. The root, botanically speaking, 
consists of the fibres attached to the base of the bulb. The flowers possess 
similar virtues with the bulb and seeds. 
1. Colciiici Radix. 
The medicinal virtue of the bulb depends much upon the season at which it 
is collected. Early in the spring, it is too young to have fully developed its 
peculiar properties; and, late in the fall, it has become exhausted by the nour- 
ishment afforded to the new plant. The proper period for its collection is from 
the early part of June, when it has usually attained perfection, to the middle of 
August, when the offset appears.* It may be owing, in part, to this inequality 
at different seasons, that entirely opposite reports have been given of its powers. 
Krapf ate whole bulbs without inconvenience; Haller found the bulbs entirely 
void of taste and acrimony; and we are told that in Carniola the peasants use 
it as food with impunity in the autumn. On the other hand, there can be no 
doubt of its highly irritating and poisonous nature, when fully developed, under 
ordinary circumstances. Perhaps soil and climate may have some influence in 
modifying its character. 
The bulb is often used in the fresh state in the countries where it grows; as 
it is apt to be injured in drying, unless the process is carefully conducted. The 
usual plan is to cut the bulb, as soon after it has been dug up as possible, into 
thin transverse slices, which are spread out separately upon paper or perforated 
trays, and dried with a moderate heat. The reason for drying it quickly, after 
removal from the ground, is that it otherwise begins to vegetate, and a change 
in its chemical nature takes place; and such is its retentiveness of life, that, if not 
cut in slices, it is liable to undergo a partial vegetation even during the drying 
process. Dr. Houlton recommends that the bulb should be stripped of its dry 
coatiDg, carefully deprived of the bud or young bulb, and then dried whole. It is 
owing to the high vitality of the bud that the bulb is so apt to vegetate. Much 
loss of weight is sustained by exsiccation. Mr. Bainbridge obtained only two 
pounds fifteen ounces of dried bulb from eight pounds of the fresh. 
Properties. The recent bulb or cormus of G. autumnale resembles that of the 
tulip in shape and size, and is covered with a brown membranous coat. Inter- 
nally it is s<$id, white, and fleshy; and, when cut transversely, yields, if mature, 
* Dr. Christison, however, has found the roots collected in April, though shrivelled and 
less abundant in starch than those gathered in July, to be even more bitter; and conjec- 
tures, therefore, that the common opinion of their superior efficacy at the latter season may 
not be well founded. Prof. Schroff states, as the result of his observation, that the autumn 
root is much stronger than that dug in summer. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxix. 324.) Colchici Radix. 
PART I. 
an acrid milky juice. There is often a small lateral projection from its base, 
particularly noticed by Dr. J. R. Coxe, which appears to be merely a connecting 
process between it and the new plant, and is not always present. When dried, 
and deprived of its external membranous covering, the bulb is of an ash-brown 
colour, convex on one side, and somewhat flattened on the other, where it is 
marked by a deep groove, extending from the base to the summit. As found in 
our shops it is always in the dried state, sometimes in segments made by verti- 
cal sections of the bulb, but generally in transverse circular slices, about the 
eighth or tenth of an inch in thickness, with a notch at one part of their circum- 
ference. The cut surface is white, and of an amylaceous aspect. The odour of 
the recent bulb is said to be hircine. It is diminished but not lost by drying. 
The taste is bitter, hot, and acrid. Its constituents, according to Pelletier and 
Caventou, are a vegetable alkali combined with an excess of gallic acid; a fatty 
matter composed of olein, stearin, and a peculiar volatile acid analogous to the 
cevadic; a yellow colouring matter; gum; starch; inulin in large quantity; and 
lignin. The active properties are ascribed to the alkaline principle, which was 
believed by its discoverers to be identical with veratria, but has been subsequently 
found to be peculiar, and has received the appropriate name of colchicine, or 
colchicia.* Wine and vinegar extract all the virtues of the bulb. Dr. A. T. 
* The subject of the alkaloid of colchicum does not appear to have been satisfactorily 
settled. According to Geiger and Hesse, to whom has generally been ascribed the credit 
of determining the precise nature of this principle, colchicine (colchicia) is crystallizable, 
and has a very bitter and sharp taste, but is destitute of the extreme acrimony of veratria, 
and does not, like that principle, excite violent sneezing when applied to the nostrils. It 
differs also in being more soluble in water, and less poisonous. To a kitten eight weeks 
old, one-tenth of a grain was given dissolved in a little dilute alcohol. Violent purging 
and vomiting were produced, with apparently severe pain and convulsions, and the animal 
died at the end of twelve hours. The stomach and bowels were found violently inflamed, 
with effusion of blood throughout their whole extent. A kitten somewhat younger was 
destroyed in ten minutes by only the twentieth of a grain of veratria; and, on examination 
after death, marks of inflammation were found only in the upper part of the oesophagus. 
The alkaloid was obtained from the seeds by a process similar to that employed in the pre- 
paration of hyoscyamia from hyoscyamus. (See Hyoscyamus.) A simpler process is to digest 
the seeds of meadow-saffron in boiling alcohol, precipitate the tincture with magnesia, treat 
the precipitated matter with boiling alcohol, and finally filter and evaporate. 
The nature of the active principle of colchicum subsequently engaged the attention of 
L. Oberlin. Upon repeating the process of Geiger and Hesse, he was unable to obtain a 
crystallizable product, and came to the conclusion that the substance obtained by them 
was complex. By acidifying its watery solution by sulphuric or muriatic acid, and concen- 
trating until the liquid became intensely yellow, he obtained, upon the addition of wrater, 
a yellowish-white precipitate, which, when well washed and freed from colouring matter, 
dissolved readily in alcohol or ether, and crystallized with facility. The crystalline product 
thus obtained he proposed to call colchiceine. It is a neuter substance, contains no acid and 
is therefore not a salt, crystallizes in pearly lamellae, is almost insoluble in cold water, to 
which, however, it imparts a slight bitterness, is more soluble in boiling water, and readily 
dissolves in alcohol, ether, methylic alcohol, and chloroform. It is dissolved by concen- 
trated sulphuric, muriatic, and nitric acids, becoming yellow, by acetic acid without change 
of colour, and by ammonia and potassa. It is not altered nor precipitated by acetate or 
subacetate of lead, nitrate of silver, bichloride of mercury, or infusion of galls, but is ren- 
dered green by sesquichloride of iron. It consists of nitrogen, carbon, hydrogen, and 
oxygen. It was found to be very poisonous to rabbits, killing an animal in 12 hours in the 
dose of about one seventh of a grain, and in a few minutes in five times that quantity. 
[Comptes Rendus, Dec. 1856, p. 1199. See also Am. Journ. of Fharm , xxix. 235.) 
More recently, Mr. J. E. Carter, of Philadelphia, has made some experiments which ap* 
pear to invalidate the conclusions of Oberlin as to the nature of colchicia, and to confirm 
the previous opinion of its alkaloid character. Mr. Carter used the bulb, instead of the 
seeds, which had previously in general been made the subject of experiment. He employed 
two processes for the extraction of the alkaloid, but found the following most productive. 
The dried and powdered bulb wras exhausted by alcohol of 0-835 by means of percolation; 
the tincture thus obtained was evaporated to the consistence of syrup; water acidulated 
with acetic acid was added, and the liquor, after filtration, was nearly neutralized with 
ammonia, and then precipitated by solution of tannic acid; the precipitated tannato, after Colchici Radix, 
313 
Thomson states that the milky juice of fresh colchicum produces a fine blue 
colour, if rubbed with the tincture of guaiac; and that the same effect is obtained 
from an acetic solution of the dried bulb. He considers the appearance of this 
colour, when the slices are rubbed with a little distilled vinegar and tincture of 
guaiac, as1 a proof that the drug is good and has been well dried. Dr. J. M 
Maclagan has shown that this change of colour is produced with the albumen, 
which is not affected if previously coagulated; so that the value of the test con- 
sists simply in proving that the drying has not been effected at a heat above 
180°, or the temperature at which albumen coagulates. A very deep or large 
notch in the circumference of the slices is considered an unfavourable sign; as 
it indicates that the bulb has been somewhat exhausted in the nourishment of 
the offset. The decoction yields a deep-blue precipitate with solution of iodine, 
white precipitates with acetate and subacetate of lead, nitrate of protoxide of 
mercury, and nitrate of silver, and a slight precipitate with tincture of galls. 
The value of colchicum is best tested by its bitterness. 
Medical Properties and Uses. • Colchicum root is believed to act upon the 
nervous system, allayiug pain and producing other sedative effects, even when it 
exerts no obvious influence over the secretions. Generally speaking, when taken 
in doses sufficiently large to affect the system, it gives rise to more or less dis- 
order of the stomach or bowels, and sometimes occasions active vomiting and 
purging, with the most distressing nausea. When not carried off by the bowels, 
it often produces copious diaphoresis, and occasionally acts as a diuretic and 
expectorant; and a case is on record of violent salivation, supposed to have re- 
sulted from its use. It appears in fact to have the property of stimulating all 
the secretions, while it somewhat diminishes the action of the heart. In an over- 
dose, it may produce dangerous and even fatal effects. Excessive nausea and 
vomiting, abdominal pains, purging and tenesmus, great thirst, sinking of the 
pulse, coldness of the extremities, and general prostration, with occasional symp- 
toms of nervous derangement, such as headache, delirium, and stupor, are among 
the results of its poisonous action. It was well known to the ancients as a poi- 
son, and is said to have been employed by them as a remedy in gout and other 
diseases. Storck revived its use among the moderns. He gave it as a diuretic 
and expectorant in dropsy and humoral asthma; and on the continent of Europe 
it acquired considerable reputation in these complaints; but the uncertainty of 
its operation led to its general abandonment, and it had fallen into almost entire 
neglect, when Dr. Want, of London, again brought it into notice by attempting 
to prove its identity with the active ingredient of the eau medicinale d'Husson, 
so highly celebrated as a cure for gout. In James’s Dispensatory, printed in 
1747, it is said to be used in gout as an external application. The chief em- 
ployment of the meadow-saffron is at present in the treatment of gout and rheu- 
matism, in which experience has abundantly proved it to be a highly valuable 
part r. 
being well washed, was rubbed with five times its weight of freshly prepared hydrated 
oxide of lead, small quantities of alcohol being added from time to time during the tritura- 
tion; the whole was then filtered, and the filtered liquid evaporated at a gentle heat. 
Twenty grains were thus obtained from three pounds of the dried root. Thus obtained 
eolchicia was yellowish in mass, nearly white in powder, inodorous, bitter without being 
acrid, not sternutatory, soluble in water hot or cold, still more so in dilute acids and alka- 
line solutions, very soluble in alcohol and chloroform, sparingly so in pure ether, and in- 
soluble in benzole. Mr. Carter did not succeed in crystallizing it. It was alkaline to 
test-paper, neutralized the acids, and with sulphuric acid formed a crystallizable salt. 
The most delicate test appeared to be that of sulphuric acid and nitre. A piece of nitre, 
added to its solution in sulphuric acid, produced a beautiful blue Colour, changing to 
green, dark-brown or purple, and finally reddish-yellow. (For a further account of Mr. 
Carter’s experiments, see Am. Journ. of Pharm., May, 1858, p. 209.) There can be little 
doubt, we think, that there is an alkaloid in colchicum; but it may be doubted whether it 
was obtained pure by Mr. Carter. The colchiceine of Oberlin was probably a product, the 
result of chemical reaction, rather than a proximate principle of the plant.—Notes to the 
eleventh and twelfth editions. Colchici Radix.—Colchici Semen. 
PART I. 
remedy. We have, within our own observation, found it especially useful in 
these affections, when of a shifting or neuralgic character. It sometimes pro- 
duces relief without obviously affecting the system; but is more efficient when it 
evinces its influence upon the skin or alimentary canal. Professor Chelius states 
that it changes the chemical constitution of the urine in arthritic patients, pro- 
ducing an evident increase of the uric acid. Dr. Maclagan has found it greatly 
to increase the proportion both of urea and uric acid in the urine, and, where 
these previously existed in the blood, to separate them from it. (Ed. Monthly 
Journ. of Med. Sci., N. S., v. 23.) Dr. Elliotson successfully treated a case of 
prurigo with the wine of colchicura, given in the dose of half a drachm three 
times a day, and continued for three weeks; and it has been found useful in urti- 
caria and other cutaneous affections. Dr. Smith, of Port au Prince, employed 
it advantageously in tetanus both traumatic and idiopathic. He gave it in full 
doses, repeated every half hour till it produced an emetic or cathartic effect. (Am. 
Journ. of the Med. Sci., xvii. 66.) Mr. Ritton found the powdered bulb an effectual 
remedy in uumerouscasesof leucorrhoea. (Ibid., vi. 527.) Colchicum has also been 
recommended in inflammatory and febrile diseases as an adjuvant to the lancet, 
in diseases of the heart with excessive action, in various nervous complaints, as 
chorea, hysteria, and hypochondriasis, and in chronic bronchial affections. It is 
generally given in the state of vinous tincture (see Vinum Colchici Radicis); 
but there are various other officinal preparations, any one of which may be 
used efficiently. The wine has been employed externally in rheumatism. The dose 
of the dried bulb is from two to eight grains, which may be repeated every four 
or six hours till its effects are obtained. 
2. Colchici Semen. 
The seeds of the meadow-saffron ripen in summer, and should be collected 
about the end of July or beginning of August. They never arrive at maturity 
in plants cultivated in a dry soil, or in confined gardens. ( Williams.) They are 
nearly spherical, about the eighth of an inch in diameter, of a reddish-brown 
colour externally, white within, and of a bitter acrid taste. Dr. Williams, of Ips- 
wich, in England, who first brought them into notice, recommends them in the 
warmest terms in chronic rheumatism, and considers them superior to the bulb, 
both in the certainty of their effects, and the mildness of their operation. Prof. 
Schroff, however, has found that their activity is inferior to that of the dried bulb, 
dug in autumn. (Am. Journ. ofPharm., xxix. 324.) There is no doubt that they 
possess virtues analogous to those of the bulb, and have this advantage, that they 
are not liable to become injured by drying; an advantage of peculiar value in 
a country where the plant is not cultivated, and a fresh bulb cannot be readily 
procured. A wine, fluid extract, and tincture of the seeds are directed in the 
U. S. Pharmacopoeia. Their dose is about the same with that of the bulb.* 
* The following description of the seeds is given by Mr. Gray in the Lond. Med. Repository 
for April, 1821. “Seeds, ovate, globose, about one-eighth of an inch in diameter. Integu- 
ments, simple, soft, spongy, membranaceous, thin, reddish brown, closely adherent to the 
perisperm. Perisperm or albumen, hard, rather cartilaginous, pellucid, pale, not in the least 
divided, of the same shape as the seed. Corculum or embryo, very small, ovate-globose, not 
in the least divided, whitish, placed nearly opposite to the liylum, or that part where the 
seed is atlixed to the parent plant, but out of the axis of the seed. Base pointing to the 
bylum, slender. Apex very obtuse.” An acquaintance with the characters of these seeds 
vs the more necessary, as the seeds of other plants have been sold for them. 
The flowers have been repeatedly employed as a substitute for the root or seeds, and by 
some have been thought more uniform in their effects, and at the same time less irritating. 
M. Lusldnd, of Geneva, Switzerland, prepares them in the following manner. The flowers 
having been gathered when in full perfection, on a sunny day, are submitted to expression 
in a silk bag. A dark-brown juice is obtained, which is to be mingled with an enual mea- 
sure of strong alcohol, allowed to stand for a month, and then filtered. (See Va Med. jnd 
Surg. Journ., March, 1854, p. 486.) PART I. 
Colocynthis. 
315 
Off. Prep, of the Root. Acetura Colchici, U. S.; Extractum Colcbici, Br.; 
Extractum Colchici Aceticura; Extractum Colchici Radicis Fluidum, U. S.; 
Yinum Colchici, Br.; Yinum Colchici Radicis, TJ. S. 
Off. Prep, of the Seed. Extractum Colchici Seminis Fluidum, TJ. S.; Tinctura 
Colchici, TJ. S.; Tioct. Colchici Seminis, Br.; Yinum Colchici Seminis, U. S. 
W. 
COLOCYNTHIS. U. S., Br. 
Colocynth. 
The fruit, deprived of its rind, of Citrullus Colocynthis. TJ. S. The dried de 
corticated fruit, freed from the seeds. Br. 
Coloquintida; Coloquinte, Fr.; Coloquinte, Coloquintenapfel, Germ.; Coloquintida, Ital., 
Span. 
Cucumis. Sex. Syst. Moncecia Monadelphia. — Nat. Ord. Cucurbitacem. 
Gen. Ch. Male. Calyx five-toothed. Corolla five-parted. Filaments three 
Female. Calyx five-toothed. Corolla five-parted. Pistil three-cleft. Seeds o. 
the gourd with a sharp edge. Willd. 
Cucumis Colocynthis. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 611; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 189, t. 
11. — Citrullus Colocynthis, Royle’s Mat. Med. The bitter cucumber is an an- 
nual plant, bearing considerable resemblance to the common watermelon. The 
stems, which are herbaceous and beset with rough hairs, trail upon the ground, 
or rise upon neighbouring bodies, to which they attach themselves by their nume- 
rous tendrils. The leaves, which stand alternately on long petioles, are triangular, 
many-cleft, variously sinuated, obtuse, hairy, of a fine green colour on the upper 
surface, rough and pale on the under. The flowers are yellow, and appear singly 
at the axils of the leaves. The fruit is a globular pepo, of the size of a small 
orange, yellow and smooth when ripe; and contains, within a hard, coriaceous 
rind, a white spongy medullary matter, enclosing numerous ovate, compressed, 
white or brownish seeds. 
The plant is a native of Turkey, and abounds in the islands of the Archipelago. 
It grows also in various parts of Africa and Asia. Burkhardt, in his travels 
across Nubia, found the country covered with it; Thunberg met with it at the 
Cape of Good Hope; and Ainslie says that it grows in many parts of Lower 
India, particularly in sandy places near the sea. It is said to be cultivated in Spain. 
The fruit is gathered in autumn, when it begins to become yellow, and, having 
been peeled, is dried quickly in a stove or by the sun. Thus prepared, it is im- 
ported from the Levant. Small quantities are said to be imported into England 
from Mogador unpeeled.* 
Properties. As kept in the shops, colocynth is in the shape of whitish balls 
about the size of an orange, very light and spongy, and abounding in seeds which 
constitute three-fourths of their weight. The seeds are somewhat bitter; but 
possess little activity, and, according to Captain Lyon, are even used as food in 
the north of Africa. When the medicine is prepared for use, they are separated 
and rejected, the pulpy or medullary matter only being employed. This has a 
* In a letter from Mr. R. W. Pelham, of the Shakers’ Village, near NewLebanon, Ohio, 
the author was informed that a hybrid plant between the colocynth and watermelon had 
been successfully cultivated in that place, and yielded a bitter fruit having the medical vir- 
tues of colocynth. With the letter came also some seeds of the plant, and a portion of ex- 
tract prepared from the pulp of the fruit. This was found, upon trial, to be actively cathartic. 
The seeds, planted in the garden of the author, produced vigorous plants, which perfected 
their fruit. The plant appeared intermediate between the colocynth and watermelon. The 
fruit was globular, about four inches in diameter, green like the watermelon externally, 
having the same odour when cut, but of an extremely bitter taste. A portion of the pulp 
was dried; and an extract prepared from it was found to have the cathartic properties of 
the extract of colocynth. Colocynthis. 
PART I. 
very feeble odour, but a nauseous and intensely bitter taste. Water and alcohol 
extract its virtues. Vauquelin obtained the bitter principle in a separate state, 
and called it colocynthin. According to Meissner, 100 parts of the dry pulp of 
colocynth contain 144 parts of colocynthin, 10 0 of extractive, 4‘2 of fixed oil, 
13-2 of a resinous substance insoluble in ether, 9 5 of gum, 3’0 of pectic acid 
(pectin), 17'6 of gummy extract derived from the lignin by means of potassa, 2'7 
of phosphate of lime, 3 0 of phosphate of magnesia, and 19 0 of lignin, besides 
water.* Colocynthin is obtained by boiling the pulp in water, evaporating the 
decoction, treating the extract thus procured with alcohol, evaporating the alco- 
holic solution, and submitting the residue, which consists of the bitter principle 
and acetate of potassa, to the action of a little cold water, which dissolves the 
latter, and leaves the greater part of the former untouched. Mr. Bastick obtained 
it by exhausting the pulp with cold water, heating the solution to ebullition, 
adding subacetate of lead so long as a precipitate was produced, filtering the 
liquor when cold, adding dilute sulphuric acid gradually until it no longer occa- 
sioned a precipitate, boiling to expel free acetic acid, filtering to separate sulphate 
of lead, evaporating cautiously nearly to dryness, extracting the colocynthin from 
the residuum by strong alcohol, which left the salts, and finally evaporating the 
alcoholic solution. The following process, employed by Dr. Waltz, probably 
yields it in a purer state. Colocynth is exhausted by alcohol of 0-84, the tinc- 
ture evaporated to dryness, the residue treated with water, and the solution pre- 
cipitated first with acetate and afterwards with subacetate of lead. The yellow 
filtered liquor is then treated with sulphuretted hydrogen to separate the lead, 
and, after filtration, with solution of tannic acid, which throws down a compound of 
tannic acid and colocynthin. This is dissolved in alcohol, the tannin thrown down 
by subacetate of lead, the excess of lead separated, and the liquid digested with 
animal charcoal, filtered, and evaporated. The residue, washed with anhydrous 
ether, is pure colocynthin. This is yellowish, somewhat translucent, brittle and 
friable, fusible by a heat below 212°, inflammable, more soluble in alcohol than 
in water, but capable of rendering the latter intensely bitter. M. Mouchon states 
that it is insoluble in ether. It is neither acid nor alkaline; but its aqueous solu- 
tion gives with infusion of galls a copious white precipitate. It consists of carbon, 
hydrogen, and oxygen, and its formula, according to Dr. Waltz, is 
Upon the same authority it is a glucoside, being resolved, by the action of sul- 
phuric acid, into sugar and a peculiar resinous substance. An infusion of colo- 
cynth, made with boiling water, gelatinizes upon cooling. Neumann obtained 
from 768 parts of the pulp, treated first with alcohol and then with water, 168 
parts of alcoholic and 216 of aqueous extract. 
* Medical Properties and Uses. The pulp of colocynth is a powerful drastic, 
hydragogue cathartic, producing, when given in large doses, violent griping, anel 
sometimes bloody discharges, with dangerous inflammation of the bowels. Death 
has resulted from a teaspoonful and a half of the powder. (Christison.) Even 
in moderate doses it sometimes acts with much harshness, and is, therefore, seldom 
prescribed alone. By some writers it is said to be diuretic. It was frequently 
employed by the ancient Greeks and the Arabians, though its drastic nature was 
not unknowu to them. Among the moderns it is occasionally used in obstinate 
dropsy, and in various affections depending on disordered action of the brain. In 
combination with other cathartics it loses much of its violence, but retains its 
purgative energy; and in this state is very extensively employed. The compound 
* Dr. Waltz supposes that he has found another peculiar principle in colocynth, to which 
he gives the name of colocynthitin. It was obtained by treating with ether the alcoholic ex- 
tract previously exhausted by water, decolorizing the ethereal solution with animal char- 
coal, evaporating to dryness, and dissolving the residue in anhydrous alcohol, which de- 
posited it in crystals on spontaneous evaporation. It is white and tasteless, and is probably 
a resin. (iV. Jahrbuch der Pharm., xvi. 10.)—Note to the twelfth edition. part I. 
Colocynthis.—Conium. 
317 
extract of colocynth is a favourite preparation with many practitioners; and, 
combined with calomel, extract of jalap, and gamboge, it forms a highly efficient 
and safe cathartic, especially useful in congestion of the portal circle and torpidity 
of the liver. (See Pilulas Gatharticse Composite.) The dose of colocynth is from 
five to ten grains. It is best administered in minute division, effected by tritura- 
tion with gum or farinaceous matter. The active principle has sometimes been 
employed; and, in the impure state in which it is prepared by the process of 
M. Emile Mouchon, may be given in the dose of a grain.* 
Thunberg states that the fruit of C. Colocynthis, at the Cape of Good Hope, 
is rendered so mild by being properly pickled, that it is eaten both by the natives 
and colonists; but, as it is thus employed before attaining perfect maturity, it is 
possible that the drastic principle may not have been developed. 
Off. Prep. Extractum Colocynthidis Alcoholicum, U. S.; Extractum Colocyn- 
thidis Compositum, Br.; Pilula Colocynthidis Composita, Br.; Pilula Colocyn- 
thidis et Hyoseyami, Br. W. 
CONII FRUCTUS. Br. 
Hemlock Fruit. 
Conium maculatum. The ripe fruit, dried. Br. 
CONIUM. U.S.,Br. 
Hemlock. 
The leaves of Conium maculatum. U. S. The fresh leaves and branches of 
wild plants, gathered when the fruit begins to form; and the leaves dried in the 
sun, or at a temperature not exceeding 120°. Br. 
Cigue ordinaire, Grande cigue, Fr.; Gefleckter Schierling, Germ.; Cicuta, Ttal., Span. 
Conium. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Digynia.—Nat. Ord. TJmbelliferae or Apiaceae. 
Gen. Gh. Partial involucre halved, usually three-leaved. Fruit nearly globu- 
lar, five-streaked, notched on both sides. Willd. 
Conium maculatum. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1395; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. i. 
113; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 104, t. 42. This is an umbelliferous plant, having a 
biennial spindle-shaped whitish root, and an herbaceous branching stem, from 
three to six feet high, round, hollow, smooth, shining, slightly striated, and 
marked with brownish-purple spots. The lower leaves are tripinnate, more than 
a foot in length, shining, and attached to the joints of the stem by sheathing 
petioles; the upper are smaller, bipinnate, and inserted at the division of the 
branches; both have channeled footstalks, and incised leaflets, which are deep- 
green on their upper surface and paler beneath. The flowers are very small, 
white, and disposed in compound terminal umbels. The general involucre con- 
sists of from three to seven lanceolate, reflected leaflets, whitish at their edges; 
the partial involucre, of three or four, oval, pointed, spreading, and on one side 
* The following is the simple process of M. Mouchon. Take 125 parts of colocynth in very 
fine powder, and 60 parts of purified animal charcoal. Mix the colocynth intimately with 
half the charcoal; introduce the mixture into a percolator containing the other half of the 
charcoal; and percolate first with strong alcohol, then with dilute alcohol, and finally with 
water so as to displace the previous liquid, until 250 parts of concentrated alcoholic tinc- 
ture are obtained. Allow this to evaporate spontaneously on flat dishes to dryness. A 
garnet-coloured pulverizable product is thus obtained, of insupportable bitterness, and 
powerfully cathartic in the dose of a grain and a half. In this state it is sufficiently pure 
for use. It may be further purified by dissolving in strong alcohol, and treating with a 
little animal charcoal. One part of colocynthin is obtained from 32 of the entire fruit. (Am. 
Journ. of Pharm., xxviii. 166, from Repert. der Pharm., Nov. 1855.) For a process by Prof. 
Procter, see the same journal, March, 1863, p. 116.) 318 
Conium. 
PART I. 
only. There are five petals, cordate, with their points inflected, and nearly equal. 
The stamens are spreading, and about as long as the corolla; the styles diverging. 
The fruit, commonly called seeds, is roundish-ovate, a line and a half or rather 
less in length by a line in breadth, striated, and composed of two plano-convex, 
easily separable parts, which have on their outer surface five crenated ribs. 
Hemlock is a native of Europe, and has become naturalized in the United 
States, where it is also cultivated for medicinal purposes. It grows usually iu 
clusters along the road-sides, or in waste grounds, and is found most abundantly 
near old settlements. It flowers in June and July. The whole plant, especially 
at this period, exhales a fetid odour, compared by some to that of mice, by 
others to that of the urine of cats; and narcotic effects result from breathing 
for a long time air loaded with the effluvia. The plant varies in narcotic power 
according to the weather and climate, being most active in hot and dry seasons, 
and in warm countries. The hemlock of Greece, Italy, and Spain is said to be 
much more energetic than that of the north of Europe. As a general rule, those 
plants are most active which grow in a sunny exposure. The term cicuta, which 
has often been applied to this plant, belongs to a different genus. The leaves and 
fruit are officinal. 
The proper season for gathering the leaves is when the plant is in flower; and 
Dr. Fothergill asserts, from experiment, that they are most active about the time 
when the flowers begin to fade. The footstalks should be rejected, and the leaf- 
lets quickly dried, either in the hot sun, on tin plates before a fire, or by a stove- 
heat not exceeding 120° F. They should be kept in boxes or tin cases, excluded 
from the air and light, by exposure to which they lose their fine green colour, 
and become deteriorated. The same end is answered by pulverizing them, and 
preserving the powder in opaque and well-stopped bottles. But little reliance 
can be placed on the dried leaves; as, even when possessed of a strong odour 
and a fine green colour, they may be destitute of the narcotic principle. When 
rubbed with caustic potassa they should exhale the odour of conia. The fruit 
retains its activity much longer than the leaves. Dr. Christison found it to have 
sustained no diminution of power, after having been kept eight years. Hirtz 
inferred from experiment that the relative strength of extracts of the seeds and 
the leaves was as ten to one iu favour of the former. 
Properties. The dried leaves of the hemlock have a strong, heavy, narcotic 
odour, less disagreeable than that of the recent plant. Their taste is bitterish 
and nauseous; their colour a dark green, which is retained in the powder. A 
slight degree of acrimony possessed by the fresh leaves is said to be dissipated 
by drying. The seeds have a yellowish-gray colour, a feeble odour, and a bit- 
terish taste. Their form has already been described. Water distilled from the 
fresh leaves has the odour of hemlock, and a nauseous taste, but does not pro- 
duce narcotic effects. The decoction has little taste, and the extract resulting 
from its evaporation is nearly inert. From these facts it is inferrible that the 
active principle, as it exists in the plant, is not volatile at 212°, and, if soluble 
in water, is injured by a boiling heat. Alcohol and ether take up the narcotic 
properties of the leaves; and the ethereal extract, which is of a rich dark-green 
colour, is stated by Dr. A. T. Thomson to have the smell and taste of the plant 
in perfection, and in the dose of half a grain to produce headache and vertigo. 
Upon destructive distillation, the leaves yield a very poisonous empyreumatic 
oil. We have no satisfactory analysis of hemlock. Schrader found in the juice 
of the leaves, resin, extractive, gum, albumen, a green fecula, and various saline 
substances. Brandes obtained from the plant a very odorous oil, albumen, resin, 
colouring matter, and salts. 
So long ago as 1827, Giseke obtained an alkaline liquid by distilling hem- 
lock leaves with water and caustic lime; but he did not succeed in isolating the 
substance in which the alkalinity resided. Geiger was the first who obtained the paet I. 
Conium. 
319 
active principle in a separate state, and proved it to be alkaline. It appears 
that there are two volatile substances in hemlock; one of them an oil, which 
comes over by simple distillation, and upon which the odour of tfie plant de- 
pends, and the other an alkaline principle, which, as it exists in the plant, is 
so combined as not to be volatilizable, but which, when separated by one of the 
mineral alkalies from its native combination, rises readily in distillation, and may 
thus be procured separate. The latter substance is the active principle, and has 
received the name of conia or coniine. It probably exists in the plant united with 
an acid, as it is separated by the alkalies. This acid Peschier believed to be pecu- 
liar, and named coniic acid. Geiger obtained conia by the following process. 
He distilled fresh hemlock with caustic potassa and water, neutralized with sul- 
phuric acid the alkaline liquid which came over, evaporated this liquid to the 
consistence of syrup, added anhydrous alcohol so long as a precipitate of sul- 
phate of ammonia was afforded, separated this salt by filtration, distilled off the 
alcohol, mixed the residue with a strong solution of caustic potassa, and distilled 
anew. The conia passed over with the water, from which it separated, floating 
on the surface in the form of a yellowish oil. According to Dr. Christison, an 
easier process is to distil cautiously a mixture of a strong solution of potassa and 
the alcoholic extract of the unripe fruit. As obtained by the above process, 
conia is in the state of a hydrate, containing one-fourth of its weight of water 
and a little ammonia. From the former, it may be freed by chloride of calcium; 
from the latter, by exposing it under an exhausted receiver till it ceases to emit 
bubbles of gas. 
The fresh leaves or seeds should be employed in the preparation of conia; as 
the alkali undergoes decomposition by time and exposure. The seeds contain 
most of this principle; but even in these it exists in very small proportion. 
From 6 pounds of the fresh and 9 of the dried seeds, Geiger obtained about an 
ounce of conia; while from 100 pounds of the fresh herb he got only a drachm, 
and from the dried leaves none. Christison recommends the full grown fruit 
while yet green, and states that 8 pounds will yield half an ounce of hydrate ot 
conia, and contains much more.* 
Conia is in the form of a yellowish oily liquid, lighter than water, of a very 
acrid taste, and a strong penetrating odour, compared to that of the urine of 
mice, and recalling the smell of fresh hemlock, though not identical with it. In 
volatility it resembles the essential oils, readily rising with the vapour of boiling 
water, but, when unmixed, requiring for ebullition, according to Christison, a 
temperature of 370°. It is freely soluble in alcohol, ether, the fixed and volatile 
oils, and slightly so in water. It unites with about one-fourth of its weight of 
* Methylconia. Ethylconia. From a communication by Drs. A. von Planta and Aug. Kekule 
to the Annal. der Chem. und Pharm. (lxxxix , s. 129-156), it would appear that commercial 
conia consists most commonly of at least two homologous bases; one being the proper 
conia (C16H15N), which contains one eq. of hydrogen capable of being replaced by radicals, 
and the other, named methylconia (C18IIj7N), having no hydrogen which can be replaced by 
radicals. A third, ethylconia (C20H19N), was obtained from a specimen of commercial conia 
containing no methylconia. In relation to the modes of separating these alkaloids and 
their distinctive properties, we must content ourselves with referring to the original paper; 
as no practical advantage has yet accrued from the investigation, and it may be doubted 
whether the new alkaloids may not be products of the operation, as they are obtained by 
the action respectively of iodide of methyl, and iodide of ethyl on conia^ 
Conhydria. Prof. T. Wertheim has also found a new alkaloid mixed with the conia ob- 
tained by distillation from fresh hemlock flowers. It is crystallizable, fusible at a tem- 
perature below 212° F., and volatilizable at a higher temperature, diffusing the peculiar 
odour of conia, or one very much like it. Water dissolves it considerably, ether and alcohol 
freely: and the solution has a strong alkaline reaction. Its formula is given as C161I15N, 
H202, or conia with two eqs. of water. Hence it has been named conhydrine (conhydria). 
(Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxix. 321.) It may be separated from conia by exposing the mixed 
alkaloids to a freezing mixture, expressing, and then repeatedly crystallizing from ether. 
(Gmelin, xiii. 169.)—Notes to the eleventh and twelfth editions. Conium. 
PART i. 
water to form a hydrate. It reddens turmeric, and neutralizes the acids, forming 
with them soluble salts, some of which are crystallizable. With tannic acid it 
forms an insMuble compound. Like ammonia it occasions a white cloud, when 
approached by a rod moistened with muriatic acid; and the resulting muriate, 
contrary to previous statements, is asserted by Prof. Wertheim to be crystalli- 
zable, and not in the least deliquescent. It coagulates albumen, and precipitates 
the salts of aluminium, copper, zinc, manganese, and iron. It also precipitates 
nitrate of silver, but in excess redissolves the precipitate. Most of its salts are 
decomposed by evaporation. When exposed to the air, it speedily assumes a 
deep-brown colour, and is ultimately converted into a resinous matter, and into 
ammonia which escapes. Under the influence of heat this change takes place 
with much greater rapidity. The presence of conia may be detected in an ex- 
tract, or other preparation of hemlock, by rubbing it with potassa, which instantly 
developes its peculiar odour. It consists of nitrogen, carbon, and hydrogen; its 
admitted formula being C18II]5N.* In its effects on the system it closely re- 
sembles hemlock itself. Dr. Christison found it, contrary to the experience of 
Geiger, more active in the saline state than when uncombined. It is a most 
energetic poison; one drop of it injected into the eye of a rabbit killing the 
animal in nine minutes, and three drops killing a stout cat in a minute and a 
half when similarly applied. Dr. Christison (Trans. Boy. Soc. Ed., 1836) thinks 
that it acts upon the spinal marrow, directly prostrating the nervous power, 
producing paralysis of the voluntary muscles, and destroying life by arresting 
respiration. The brain does not seem to be especially attacked; as the animal, 
when it dies slowly, preserves its senses unimpaired so long as it breathes. In 
cases of sudden death from the poison, the heart does not cease to act till after 
apparent death; and its action may be sustained,%fter the animal has ceased to 
breathe, by keeping up artificial respiration. A recently prepared extract of 
hemlock acted precisely as conia. Locally the alkali appears to act as an irritant. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Hemlock is narcotic, and somewhat sedative 
to the circulation. Mr. Judd inferred from his experiments that it directly di- 
minishes the action of the heart, and, when it produces de'ath, contrary to the 
results obtained by Christison, exhausts the contractility of that organ. (Medico- 
Bot. Trans., vol. i. pt. 4.) When given so as fully to affect the system, it produces 
more or less vertigo, dimness of vision, nausea, faintness, sensations of numbness, 
and general muscular debility. In larger doses it occasions dilated pupils, diffi- 
culty of speech, delirium or stupor, tremors and paralysis, and ultimately con- 
vulsions and death. Sometimes it produces fatal effects through paralysis alone, 
without coma or convulsions. Its operation usually commences in less than half 
an hour, and, if moderate, seldom continues longer than twenty-four hours. It 
is supposed to be the narcotic used by the Athenians to destroy the life of con- 
demned individuals, and by which Socrates and Phocion died. It was also used 
by the ancients as a medicine, but fell into entire neglect, and did not again 
come into notice till the time of Storck, by whom it was much employed and 
extravagantly praised. Since that time it has been submitted to ample trial, 
and, though its original reputation has not been fully sustained, it still retains a 
place in the catalogue of useful medicines. Anodyne, soporific, antispasmodic, 
antaphrodisiac, deobstruent, and diuretic properties have been ascribed to it. It 
* Orfila gives the following additional chemical characters of conia. Heated in a cap- 
sule, it forms white vapours, having a strong smell of celery and of the urine of mice. Weak 
tincture of iodine gives a white precipitate, becoming olive with excess of the tincture. 
Pure concentrated sulphuric acid does not alter it; but, when the mixture is heated, it becomes 
first brown, then blood-red, and finally black. Nitric acid imparts a topaz colour, not changed 
by heat. The chlorides of platinum and of gold give yellow precipitates, and corrosive 
sublimate a white one. Red permanganate of potassa is immediately decolorized. Neutral 
acetate of lead gives no precipitate, nor does the subacetate. The parts of this note in Italics 
indicate the means of distinguishing this alkaloid from nicotia. (See Pharm. Journ., xi. 89.) PART I. 
Conium. 
321 
was highly recommended by Storck as a remedy in scirrhus and cancerous ulcers, 
but at present is considered only a useful palliative in those affections. In mam- 
mary tumours and chronic enlargements of the liver and other abdominal vis- 
cera; in painful scrofulous tumours and ulcers; in various diseases of the skin, 
as lichen, prurigo, acne, eczema, psoriasis, leprosy, and elephantiasis; in the 
complicated derangements of health -attendant upon secondary syphilis; in 
chronic rheumatism and neuralgic affections; in excessive secretion of milk; in 
pertussis, asthma, chronic catarrh, and consumption; and in various other dis- 
orders connected with nervous derangement, or a general depraved state of the 
health, it is occasionally employed with the effect of relieving or palliating the 
symptoms, or favourably modifying the action of other remedies. I)r. Gibson, of 
the University of Pennsylvania, considers it efficacious in the cure of goitre. 
The powdered leaves, and the inspissated juice (the extract of the Pharmaco- 
poeias) are the forms in which it is usually administered. Either of these may 
be given in the dose of three or four grains twice a day, gradually increased till 
the occurrence of slight vertigo or nausea indicates that it has taken effect. To 
maintain a given impression, it is necessary to increase the dose even more 
rapidly than is customary with most other narcotics; as the system becomes very 
speedily habituated to its influence. In some instances, the quantity adminis- 
tered in one day has been augmented to more than two ounces. The strength 
of the preparations of hemlock is exceedingly unequal; and caution is therefore 
necessary, when the medicine is given in very large quantities, to employ the 
same parcel, or, if a change be made, to commence with the new parcel in small 
doses, so as to obviate any danger which might result from its greater power. 
Unpleasant consequences have followed a neglect of this precaution. There are 
also an officinal tincture and alcoholic extract, both of which, when properly made, 
are efficient preparations. The fresh juice of the plant has been recommended by 
Ilufeland in the dose of from twelve to forty drops. The powdered seeds should 
be given in a dose considerably smaller than that of the leaves.* The fresh leaves 
are sometimes used externally as an anodyne cataplasm ; and the extract, and an 
ointment prepared from the leaves, are applied to the same purpose. A plaster 
made from the extract has also been employed.f 
Conia has been occasionally employed, both internally and externally, with 
asserted advantage, for the same purposes as hemlock itself, or the extract. It 
has been particularly recommended in hooping-cough. Dr. Spengler, of Herborn, 
gave it to an infant a year old in the dose of one-sixteenth of a grain every six 
hours, with the effect of curing the disease in ten days. (Ann. de Therap., 1853, 
p. 13.) According to the formula of Fronmiiller, two drops are dissolved in 
twenty-four drops of alcohol, and three drops of the solution are given, each on 
a piece of sugar. (Arch. Gen., Ae ser., xxiii. 226.) From one-quarter of a drop 
to a drop may be given to an adult, and two or three drops by enema in emul- 
sion of starch. A solution of one part in one hundred of very dilute alcohol has 
been used with advantage in certain cases of scrofulous ophthalmia with photo- 
phobia, applied several times daily by friction about the eyelids. (Journ. de 
Pharm., Be ser., xix. 219.) Prof. Mauthner, of Vienna, recommends it espe- 
* From their greater strength, permanency, and uniformity, the seeds might well super- 
sede the leaves for internal use. They should be pulverized, made into pills with syrup, and 
given in the commencing dose of half a grain, to be gradually increased till their effects 
are experienced. MM. Devay and Guillermond prepare a syrup from the seeds, made by 
exhausting 10 parts of them with 60 parts of alcohol of 28°, and adding the tincture to 
8000 parts of syrup “aromatised ad libitum.” One or two fluidrachms may be taken at first. 
(Ann. de Therap., 1853, p. 54.)—Note to the tenth edition. 
f The following formula of Planche has been approved by the Society of Pharmacy, of 
Paris. Take of extract of hemlock 90 parts, of purified elemi 20 parts, of white wax 10 
parts. Melt the resin and wax with a gentle heat, and incorporate the extract with the 
mixture. (Journ. de Pharm., Juillet, 1862, p. 46.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 322 
Conium.—Copaiba. 
PART I. 
daily in the spasmodic contraction of the orbicularis in scrofulous children, em- 
ploying a solution containing half a grain of conia in a drachm of almond oil, 
which he applies by a pencil to the eyelids twice or thrice daily. As a collyrium, 
from one to three drops may be added to six drachms of pure water, and two 
drachms of mucilage of quince seeds. Introduced into the cavity of a carious 
tooth, it is said to be very effectual in toothache. For this purpose it should be 
diluted with ten parts of tincture of cinnamon, and applied by means of a camel’s 
hair pencil. In diseases of the skin it may be used as an ointment, made with 
three drops to a drachm of simple ointment. In neuralgia, three or four drops 
may be applied on linen to the skin, and confined by oiled silk. 
Though fatal to some animals, hemlock is eaten with impunity by others, as 
horses, goats, and sheep. The best method of relieving its poisonous effects is 
flie speedy evacuation of the stomach. 
Off. Prep, of the Fruit. Tinctura Conii Fructus, Br. 
Off. Prep, of the Leaves. Cataplasma Conii, Br.; Extract-urn Conii; Ex- 
tractum Conii Alcoholicum, U. S.; Extractum Conii Fluidum, U. S.; Succus 
Conii, Br.; Tinctura Conii, U. S. W. 
COPAIBA. TJ. S., Br. 
Copaiba. 
The juice of Copaifera multijuga and of other species of Copaifera. U. S. 
Copaifera multijuga and other species of Copaifera. The oleo-resin obtained 
from the trunk by incision. Br. 
Copaiva, Br.; Balsam of copaiva; Baume de copaku, Fr.; Copaiva-Balsam, Germ.; Bal- 
samo di copaiba, Ital.; Balsamo de copayva, Span. 
Copaifera. Sex. Syst. Decandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Leguminosae, Jus- 
sieu. Amyridaceae, Bindley. 
. Gen. Ch. Calyx none. Petals four. Legume ovate. Seed one, with an ovate 
arillus. Willd. 
The first notice to be found of the copaiba plant is by Marcgrav and Piso in 
the year 1648. Jacquin in 1163 described a species of Copaifera, growing in 
Martinique, which he named C. officinalis. As this was believed to be the same 
plant with the one observed by Marcgrav in Brazil, it was adopted in the Phar- 
macopoeias; but their identity is now denied; and Desfontaines has proposed 
for Jacquin’s species the title of C. Jacquini, in honour of that botanist. It is 
now known that many species of Copaifera exist in Brazil and other parts of South 
America; and all of them, according to Martius, yield copaiba. Besides C. offici- 
nalis or C. Jacquini, the following are described by Hayne;—C. Guianensis, 
C. Langsdorffii, C. coriacea, C. Bey rich ii, C. Martii, C. bijuga, C. nitida, C. 
laxa, C. cordifolia, C. Jussieui, 0. Sellowii, C. oblongifolia, and C. multijuga. 
Hayne believed that C. bijuga was the plant seen by Marcgrav and Piso. 
Copaifera officinalis. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 630; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 609, t. 
216. — C. Jacquini. Desfont. Mem.duMus.\ ii. 316; Hayn e, Darstel. und Bes- 
creib. &c. x. 14. This is an elegant tree, with a lofty stem, much branched at 
the top, and crowned by a thick canopy of foliage. The leaves are alternate, 
large, and pinnate, composed of from two to five pairs of ovate, entire, obtusely 
acuminate leaflets, two or three inches in length, rather narrower on one side 
than the other, smooth, pellucidly punctate, somewhat shining, and on short 
footstalks. The flowers are whitish, and in terminal branched spikes. The fruit 
is an oval, two-valved pod, containing a single seed. 
This species of Copaifera is a native of Venezuela, and grows in the province 
of Carthagena, mingled with the trees which afford the balsam of Tolu. It 
grows also in some of the West India islands, particularly Trinidad and Mar- 
tinique. Though recognised in former editions of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia as one PART I. 
Copaiba. 
323 
of the sources of copaiba, it probably yields little of that notv in use. According 
to Hayne, the species from which most of the copaiba of commerce is derived 
is G. multijuga, growing in the province of Para; and this is now the one spe* 
daily recognised by our national standard. Like many other species, it was dis- 
covered by Martius; and a leaf of it is figured by Hayne (x. t. 17 f.c.). It is 
specifically characterized by its pinnate leaves, with from six to ten pairs of leaflets, 
which are somewhat incurved, with unequal sides, acuminate, with pellucid spots, 
the lower ovate-oblong, the upper lanceolate, and all supported by slightly 
pubescent petioles. It is probable that C. Guianensis, which inhabits the neigh- 
bouring province of Guiana, especially in the vicinity of the Rio Negro, affords 
also considerable quantities; and G. Langsdorfdi and G. coriacea, which are 
natives of Santa Paulo, are thought to yield most of the juice collected in the 
latter province. G. nitida, inhabiting tfle province of Minas-Geraes, probably 
also contributes to the commercial supplies, through Rio Janeiro. 
The juice is obtained by making into the stems of the trees; and 
the operation is said to be repeated several times in the same season. As it flows 
from the wound, it is clear, colourless, and very thin, but soon acquires a thicker 
consistence, and a yellowish tinge. It is most largely collected in the provinces 
of Para and Maranham, in Brazil, and is brought to this country from the port 
of Para, in small casks or barrels. Large quantities of it come from Maracaybo, 
in Venezuela, and from other ports on the Caribbean sea, whence it is brought 
in casks, demijohns, cans, jugs', &c. The drug is also exported from Angustura, 
Cayenne, Rio Janeiro, and some of the West India islands. 
Properties. Copaiba is a clear, transparent liquid, usually of the consistence 
of olive oil, of a pale-yellow colour, a peculiar not unpleasant odour, and a bit- 
terish, hot, nauseous taste. Its sp. gr. varies ordinarily from 0'950 to LOCK); but 
has been known to be as low as 0 916. (Procter, Am. J. of Pharm., xxii. 292.)* 
It is insoluble in water, but entirely soluble in absolute alcohol, ether, and the 
fixed and volatile oils. Strong alkaline solutions dissolve it perfectly; but the 
resulting solution becomes turbid when largely diluted with water. With the 
alkalies and alkaline earths it forms saponaceous compounds, in which the resin 
of the copaiba acts the part of an acid. It dissolves magnesia, especially with 
the aid of heat, and even disengages carbonic acid from the carbonate of that 
earth. If triturated with a sixteenth of its weight of magnesia and set aside, 
it gradually assumes a solid consistence; and a similar change is produced with 
hydrate of lime. (See Pilulse Gopaibx.) Its essential constituents are volatile 
oil and resin, with a minute proportion of an acid which appears to be the acetic. 
{Durand.) As it contains no benzoic acid, it cannot with propriety retain its old 
title of balsam of copaiva. The substances which it most closely resembles, both 
in composition and properties, are the turpentines. The volatile oil will be treated 
of among the Preparations. (See Oleum Copaibas.) 
The resinous mass which remains after the distillation of the oil is hard, brit- 
tle, translucent, greenish-brown, and nearly destitute of smell and taste. By 
mixing it with the oil in proper proportion, we may obtain a liquid identical or 
nearly so with the original juice. When treated with the oil of petroleum, it is 
separated into two distinct resins, one of which is dissolved, and may be obtained 
separate by evaporation, the other is left behind. The first is yellowish, hard, and 
* The variety of copaiba found by Prof. Procter to have this low sp. gr. was of uncer- 
tain origin, but supposed to be from Para. It was of a light straw colour, very fluid, and 
possessed of the pure copaiba odour. It contained 80 per cent, of volatile oil and 20 of 
resin, and was not affected by recently calcined magnesia. It appears to be the same with 
a variety described by Dr. L. Posselt, of which an account is contained in the Chemical 
Gazette for May 1st, 1849. The view of Prof. Procter that it is the product of young trees, 
in which the juice has not become fully elaborated, is highly probable. As the virtues of 
copaiba depend mainly on the oil, this variety should be more efficacious than the copaiba 
iu common use.—Note to the ninth edition. 324 
Copaiba. 
PART I. 
brittle*, and constitutes by far the largest proportion of the residuum of the dis- 
tillation. It forms definite compounds with the alkalies; and its alcoholic solution 
reddens litmus. It is therefore an acid, and has been named copaivic acid. The 
second resin is yellowish-brown, soft, unctuous, and without acid reaction; and 
is believed to result from the resinification of the volatile oil. Recent copaiba, ex- 
amined by Gerber, yielded 41 percent, of volatile oil, 5F38 of the hard and brittle 
resin, 2T8 of the soft resin, and 5-44 of water; while an older specimen gave 
31-07 per cent, of oil, 53 68 of hard resin, 11T5 of soft resin, and 4T0 of water. 
Copaiba, upon exposure to the air, acquires a deeper colour, a thicker con- 
sistence, and greater density, and, if spread out upon an extended surface, ulti- 
mately becomes dry and brittle. This change is owing partly to the volatiliza- 
tion, partly to the oxidation of the essential oil. As it is the soft resin that 
results from the oxidation of the oil, it.follows that the proportion of this resin 
must increase with age. Considerable diversity must, therefore, exist in the drug, 
both, in physical properties and the proportion of its ingredients, according to 
its age and degree of exposure. Similar differences also exist in the copaiba pro- 
cured from different sources. Thus, that of the West Indies, when compared with 
the Brazilian, which is the variety above described, and in common use, is of a 
thicker consistence, of a deeper or darker yellow colour, less transparent, and of 
a less agreeable, more terebinthinate odour; and specimens obtained from the 
ports of Venezuela or New Granada were found, upon examination by M. Vigne, 
to differ from each other not only in physical properties, but also in their chemi- 
cal relations. (Journ. de Pharm., N. S., i. 52.) The same is true, as observed by 
M. Buignet, in their action on polarized light, in which they differ not only in 
degree, but sometimes also even in direction. {Journ. de Pharm., Oct. 1861, p. 
266-7.) It is not impossible that differences may exist in the juice according to 
the circumstances of its collection. The species of copaifera from which the juice 
is collected as well as the age of the tree, its position, and the season of collec- 
tion must also have influence over the product. It is highly probable that the 
resinous matter results from oxidation of the oil in the cells of the plant, and 
that the less elaborated the juice may be, the larger proportion it will contain 
of the oil. It is said that-a volatile oil flow's abundantly from a tree near Bo- 
gota, which is employed to adulterate the copaiba collected in that vicinity, and 
shipped from Maracaybo and other neighbouring ports. 
Adulterations. Copaiba is said to be frequently adulterated; but the remark 
is applicable rather to the markets of Europe than to those of the United States.* 
The fixed oils are the most frequent addition, especially castor oil, which, in con- 
sequence of its solubility in alcohol, cannot, like the others, be detected by the 
agency of that fluid. Various plans have been proposed for ascertaining the pre- 
sence of castor oil. The simplest is to boil a drachm of the copaiba in a pint of 
water, till the liquid is wholly evaporated. If the copaiba contain a fixed oil, the 
residue will be more or less soft, according to the quantity present; otherwise 
it will be hard. Another mode, proposed by M. Planche, consists in shaking to- 
gether in a bottle one part of solution of ammonia of the sp.gr. 0'9212 (22° 
Baume) with two and a half parts of copaiba, at a temperature of from 50° to 
60° F. The mixture, at first cloudy, quickly becomes transparent if the copaiba 
is pure, but remains more or less opaque if it is adulterated with castor oil. Ac- 
cording to J. E. Simon, however, a variety of genuine copaiba occurs in com- 
merce, in wrhich this test fails {Am. Journ. of Pharm., xvi. 236); and it does not 
* We have a specimen of a substance imported into New York, under the name of red 
copaiba, which has not a single character of the genuine drug. It is of a thick, semifluid 
consistence, not unlike that of balsam of Tolu, as it often reaches us, a brown colour 
similar to that of the same balsam, though darker, and an unpleasant jet somewhat aro- 
matic odour, recalling that of liquidamber, but less agreeable. Its origin is wnkno Rn.— 
Note to the ninth edition. part I. 
Copaiba. 
325 
apply to tne variety containing 80 per cent, of volatile oil, described by Prof. 
Procter. (See note, p. 323.) Carbonate of magnesia, caustic potassa, and sulpiiuric 
acid have also been proposed as tests. In the late Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia, it 
is stated that copaiba “dissolves a fourth part of its weight of carbonate of mag 
nesia, with the aid of a gentle heat, and continues translucent.” The presence of 
a small proportion of any fixed oil renders the mixture opaque. One part of 
potassa dissolved in two of water forms a clear solution with nine parts of pure 
copaiba, and the liquid continues clear when moderately diluted with water or 
alcohol; but the presence of one-sixth of fixed oil in the copaiba occasions more 
or less opacity in the liquid, and half the quantity causes the precipitation of 
white flakes in a few hours. (Stolze.) Turpentine, which is said to be sometimes 
added to copaiba, may be detected by its smell, especially if the copaiba be heated. 
According to Mr. Redwood, most of the proposed tests of the purity of copaiba 
are liable to fallacy; and the best measure of its activity is the quantity of vola- 
tile oil it affords by distillation.* 
Medical Properties and Uses. Copaiba is gently stimulant, diuretic, laxative, 
and in very large doses often actively purgative. It produces, when swallowed, 
a sense of heat in the throat and stomach, and exteuds an irritant action, no* 
only throughout the alimentary canal, but also to the urinary passages, and in 
fact, in a greater or less degree, to all the mucous membranes, for which it ap- 
pears to have a strong affinity. The urine acquires a peculiar odour during its 
use, and its smell may be detected in the breath. It sometimes occasions an 
* Wood Oil. Gurjun Balsam. In the Pharm. Journ. and Trans, for August, 1854 (p. 65), 
appeared an account, by Mr. Charles Lowe, of Manchester, of a “ new variety of balsam of 
capaiba,” derived from the East Indies. In a subsequent communication to the same journal 
(Jan. 1856, p. 321) from Mr. Daniel Hanbury, it appears that this product, though offered 
for sale in the London market as balsam of copaiba, is known in India under the names of 
tcood oil and Gurjun balsam. Considerable quantities had been imported from Moulmein, in 
Burmah; and specimens of a similar drug had been received from Canara and Tenasserim; 
and it appears to be widely diffused in the Indian markets. 
According to Roxburgh, this liquid is obtained from Dipterocarpus turbinatus, a very 
large tree, growing in Pegu, and other parts of further India. A large notch is cut in the 
trunk of the tree, between two and three feet from the ground, and a fire made so as to 
char the wound. The juice then begins to flow, and is received in suitable vessels. Every 
3 or 4 weeks, the charred surface is cut off and burned anew. A single tree sometimes 
yields 40 gallons during the season. Other species of Dipterocarpus afford a similar pro- 
duct; and hence probably the difference which has been observed in the specimens ex- 
amined. It is at first turbid, but may be clarified either by filtration or deposition. After 
filtration, wood oil is a clear, dark-brown liquid, of the sp.gr. 0-964 [Hanbury), and, in 
consistence, smell, and taste, bears a close resemblance to copaiba. It is soluble in two 
parts of alcohol of the sp. gr. 0-796, with the exception of a very small proportion of darkish 
flocculent matter, which subsides on standing. According to Mr. Lowe, it contains 65 per 
cent, of volatile oil, 34 of resin, and 1 of acetic acid and water. A characteristic property, 
noticed first by Mr. Lowe, by which it may be distinguished from copaiba, is that, when 
heated in a closed vial to 266° (230°, Lowe), it becomes slightly turbid and coagulates, so 
that the vial may be inverted without changing the position of its contents; and this con- 
sistence is retained when the liquid cools. By a gentle heat with agitation the fluidity re- 
turns; but the liquid again coagulates if heated to 266°. Guibourt states that it does not 
solidify, like copaiba, by the addition of one-sixteenth of magnesia; and the two separate 
on standing. [Journ.de Pharm., xxx. 192.) De Vry, of Rotterdam, proposes the reaction of 
benzole with wood oil and copaiba respectively as a test to distinguish them. With an equal 
volume of the wood oil, benzole forms a turbid mixture, from which, after a long time, a 
resinous matter is deposited in flocculi; with copaiba it forms a transparent solution. (Pharm. 
Journ., Jan. 1857, p. 374.) According to De Vry, the volatile oil obtained by distillation 
has the sp. gr. 0 928, and boils at 255°. [Ibid.) 
Roxburgh states that this liquid is much employed in India for painting ships, houses, 
fcc. According to Dr. O’Shaughnessy, it is little inferior to copaiba in the diseases for 
which that medicine is employed. It probably has a similar remedial influence on diseased 
mucous membranes with the different turpentines, which it appears to resemble in com- 
position. The juice may be given in emulsion, in closes of from fifteen to forty drops; the 
volatile oil, from ten to thirty drops.—Note to the eleventh edition. 326 
Copaiba.—Coptis. 
PART I. 
eruption apon the skin, resembling that of measles, and attended with disagree- 
able itching and tingling. Nausea and vomiting, painful purgation, strangury 
and bloody urine, and a general state of fever are among the morbid results of 
its excessive action. As a remedy it has been found most efficient in diseases of 
the mucous membranes, particularly those of a chronic character. Thus, it is 
given with occasional advantage in leucorrhcea, gleet, chronic dysentery and 
diarrhoea, painful hemorrhoidal affections, and chronic bronchitis, and has re- 
cently been used, with great asserted success, in diphtheria and pseudomembranous 
croup. By Dr. La Roche, of Philadelphia, it is highly recommended in catarrh 
of the bladder, and in chronic irritation of the same organ. (Am. Journ. of 
Med. Sci., xiv. 13.) It has been given in psoriasis and dropsy, and is said to 
be used as a vermifuge in Brazil. The complaint, however, in which it is most 
employed is gonorrhoea. It is given in all stages of the disorder; but caution 
is requisite when the inflammatory symptoms are high. Even in health, if taken 
largely, it sometimes produces very unpleasant irritation of the urinary passages, 
and, by sympathy, of the testicles. It was formerly much esteemed as a vulne- 
rary, and as an application to ulcers; but it is now seldom used externally. Dr. 
Ruschenberger recommends it locally in chilblains. {Med. Examiner, i. 71.) 
Prof. Marchal, of Strasburg, has employed it with great success in gonorrhoea 
and leucorrhcea, injecting it in the form of an emulsion made with 5 parts of 
copaiba, 8 of gum arabic, and 100 of water, and applying it also by means of 
catheters or tampons smeared with the emulsion. 
The dose of copaiba is from twenty drops to a fluidrachm three times a day, 
or a smaller quantity repeated more frequently. It may be given dropped on 
sugar; but in this form is often so exceedingly offensive, as to render some con- 
cealment of its nauseous qualities necessary. It is sometimes given floating on 
the surface of an aromatic water, or mixed with an equal measure of spirit of 
nitrous ether. A less disagreeable form is that of emulsion, prepared by rubbing 
the copaiba first with mucilage or the yolk of an egg, and sugar, and afterwards 
with some aromatic water, as that of mint or cinnamon. The volatile oil, which 
is the active ingredient of copaiba, may be given in the dose of ten or fifteen 
drops, either upon sugar, or iu emulsion. The resin, which has been proposed 
as a substitute, is nearly inert. The pills made with magnesia may sometimes 
be resorted to with advantage; and it is customary to administer copaiba, en- 
closed in capsules of gelatin, which cover the taste, while they readily dissolve 
in the stomach. (See Glue, in Part III.) Yelpeau has fouiid the best effects from 
copaiba in the form of enema. He gives two drachms made into an emulsion with 
the yolk of an egg, twenty or thirty drops of laudanum, and eight fluidounces 
of water. A distilled water of copaiba has recently been recommended by Dr. 
E. Langlebert both for internal use, in the dose of one or two fluidounces three 
or four times a day, and as a vehicle in urethral injections. 
Off. Prep. Oleum Copaibae; Pilulse Copaibae, U. S. W. 
COPTIS. U.S. 
Goldthread. 
The root of Coptis trifolia. U. S. 
Coptis. Sex. Syst. Polyandria Polygynia.—Nat. Ord. Ranunculacete. 
Gen.Ch. Calyx none. Petals five or six, caducous. Nectaries five or six, 
cucullate. Capsules five to eight, stipitate, stellately diverging, and rostrate, 
many-seeded. Nuttall. 
Coptis trifolia. Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. i. 60; Barton, Med. Bot. ii. 97. This 
little evergreen has a perennial creeping root, the slenderness and bright-yellow 
colour of which have given rise to the common name of goldthread. The caudex, PART I. 
Coptis.—Coriandrum. 
327 
from which the petioles and flower-stems proceed, is invested with ovat?e, acu 
minate, yellowish, imbricated scales. The leaves, which stand on long -°lendei 
footstalks, are ternate, with firm, rounded or obovate, sessile leaflets, having an 
acute base, a lobed and acuminately crenate margin, and a smooth veined sur- 
face. The flower-stem is slender, round, rather longer than the leaves," and sur- 
mounted by one small white flower, with a minute mucronate braete beneath it. 
The petals are oblong, concave, and white; the nectaries inversely conical, hol- 
low, and yellow at the top. The stamens have capillary filaments and globose 
anthers. The germs are from five to eight, stipitate, oblong, compressed, and 
support short recurved styles, with acute stigmas. The capsules, which diverge 
in a star-like form, are pedicelled, compressed, beaked, and contain numerous 
black seeds attached to the inner side. 
The goldthread inhabits the northern regions of this continent and of Asia, 
and is found in Greenland and Iceland. It delights in the dark shady swamps 
and cold morasses of northern latitudes and Alpine regions, and abounds in 
Canada, and in the hilly districts of New England. Its blossoms appear in May. 
All parts of the plant possess more or less bitterness; but this property is most 
intense in the root, which is the only officinal portion. 
Dried goldthread, as brought into the market, is in loosely matted masses, 
consisting of the long, thread-like, orange-yellow roots, frequently interlaced, 
and mingled with the leaves and stems of the plant. It is without smell, and has 
a purely bitter taste, unattended with aroma or astringency. It imparts a bitter- 
ness and yellow colour to water and alcohol, but most perfectly to the latter, 
with which it forms a bright-yellow tincture. The infusion is precipitated by 
nitrate of silver and acetate of lead. {Bigelow.) It affords no evidence of con- 
taining either resin, gum, or tannin. 
The fact of the presence of the alkaloid berberina in several plants, char- 
acterized by bitterness and a yellow colour, naturally suggested its existence in 
this root; and Mr. Maisch and Prof. Procter have satisfied themselves of the 
truth of this conjecture. According to Prof. F. F. Mayer, the berberina is here, 
as in Hydrastis, associated with a colourless alkaloid, which is not precipitated 
by muriatic or nitric acid, but the precise nature of which does not yet appear 
to have been demonstrated. {Am. Journ. of Pharm., March, 1863, p. 91.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Goldthread is a simple tonic bitter, bearing a 
close resemblance to quassia in its mode of action, and applicable to all cases in 
which that medicine is prescribed, though, from its higher price, not likely to 
come into general use as a substitute. In New England it is employed as a local 
application in aphthous ulcerations of the mouth; but it probably has no other 
virtues in this complaint than such as are common to the simple bitters. It may 
be given in substance, infusion, or tincture. The dose of the powder is from ten 
to thirty grains, of a tincture made with an ounce of the root to a pint of diluted 
alcohol, one fluidrachm. 
Another species of Coptis has been described by Dr. Wallich, under the name 
of Coptis Teeta, which grows in the mountainous regions bordering on Assam, 
and is much used as a tonic by the natives, and by the Chinese. It appears to 
be closely analogous in properties to C. trifolia, and like it contains berberina. 
W. 
COEIANDEUM. U.S.,Br. 
Coriander. 
The fruit of Coriandrum sativum. U. S. The ripe fruit, dried. Br. 
Oleum Coriandri. Oil of Coriander. The oil distilled in England from Cori- 
ander. Br. 
Coriandre, Ft.; Ivoriander, Germ.; Coriandro, Ital.; Cilantro, Span. Coriandrum.—Cornus Circinata. 
PART I. 
Cqriandrum. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Digynia.— Nat. Ord. Apiacete or Um» 
belli ferae. 
Gen. Ch. Corolla radiate. Petals inflex-emarginate. Universal involucre 
one-leafed. Partial involucres halved. Fruit spherical. Willd. 
Coriandrum sativum. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1448; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 137, t. 
53. This is an annual plant, with an erect, round, smooth, branching stem, rising 
about two feet, and furnished with compound leaves, of which the upper are thrice 
ternate, with linear pointed leaflets, the lower pinnate, with the pinnae cut into 
irregular serrated lobes, like those of parsley. The flowers are white or rose-col- 
oured, and in compound terminal umbels; the fruit globular, and composed of two 
concave hemispherical portions. 
C. sativum is a native of Italy, but at present grows wild in most parts of Eu- 
rope, having become naturalized in consequence of its extended cultivation. The 
flowers appear in June, and the fruit ripens in August. It is a singular fact, that 
all parts of the fresh plant are extremely fetid when bruised, while the fruit 
becomes fragrant by drying. This is the olficinal portion. It is brought to ua 
from Europe. 
The fruit of the coriander is globular, about the eighth of an inch in diameter, 
obscurely ribbed, of a grayish or brownish-yellow colour, and separable into the 
two portions (half-fruits) of which it consists. It has the persistent calyx at its 
base, and is sometimes surmounted by the adhering style. The smell and taste 
are gratefully aromatic, and depend on a volatile oil, which may be obtained 
separate by distillation, and is said to belong to the camphene family. One.pound 
of the seeds yields forty-two grains of the oil. {Zeller.) It is colourless or pale- 
yellow, with an agreeable odour of coriander, a mild aromatic taste, and a sp. gr. 
varying from 0 859 to 0'871. It is recognised among the oflficinals in the Br. 
Pharmacopoeia, which employs it in the Syrup of Senna. The virtues of the fruit 
are imparted to alcohol by maceration, and less readily to water. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Coriander has, in a moderate degree, the or- 
dinary medicinal virtues of the aromatics. It is almost exclusively employed in 
combination with other medicines, either to cover their taste, to render them ac- 
ceptable to the stomach, or to correct their griping qualities. It was well known 
to the ancients. The dose is from a scruple to a drachm. 
Off. Prep. Confectio Sennse; Infusum Gentian® Compositum; Infusuin Sennse, 
U. S.; Tinctura Rhei, Br.; Tiuctura Rhei et Sennse, U. S.; Tinctura Sennse, Br. 
Off Prep, of the Oil. Syrupus Sennse, Br. W. 
CORNUS CIRCINATA. U. S: Secondary. 
Round-leaved Dogwood. 
The bark of Cornus circinata. U. S. 
Cornus. Sex. Syst. Tetrandria Monogyuia.—Nat. Ord. Cornacese. 
Gen. Ch. Involucre usually four-leaved. Petals superior, four. Drupe with 
a two-celled nut. Willd. 
We have ten indigenous species of Cornus, all supposed to possess similai 
medical properties ; and three— C. Florida, C. circinata, and C. sericea—are 
noticed in the Pharmacopoeia of the United States. The last two are placed in 
the secondary list, not because they are esteemed less efficient than the first, but 
because they have hitherto attracted less attention. 
Cornus circinata. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 6G3. This is a shrub from six to ten 
feet high, with warty branches, large, roundish, pointed leaves, waved on their 
edges and downy beneath, and white flowers disposed iu depressed cymes. The 
fruit is blue. The plant is a native of the United States, extending from Canada 
to Virginia, and growing on hill-sides and the banks of rivers. It flowers in 
June and July. part I. 
Cornus Florida. 
329 
The bark, when dried, is in quills of a whitish or ash colour, and affords a 
powder resembling that of ipecacuanha. Its taste is bitter, astringent, and aro 
matic. In chemical composition, so far as this has been ascertained, it is ana 
logous to Cornus Florida. It possesses also similar medical virtues, and may be 
employed in the same doses. It has been much used as a tonic and astringent 
in Connecticut, and was highly extolled by the late Dr. Ives, of New York, wh( 
recommended, as the most eligible preparation, an infusion made by pouring a 
pint of boiling water on an ounce of the coarsely powdered bark. The dose of 
this is from one to two fluidounces. W. 
CORNUS FLORIDA. U.S. 
Dogwood. 
The bark of Cornus Florida. U. S. 
Cornus. See CORNUS CIRCINATA. 
Cornus Florida. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 661; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. ii. T3; 
Barton, Med. Bot. i. 44. This is a small indigenous tree, usually about fifteen 
or twenty feet in height, though sometimes not less than thirty or thirty-five 
feet. It is of slow growth; and the stem, which generally attains a diameter of 
four or five inches, is compact, and covered with a brownish bark, the epidermis 
of which is minutely divided by numerous superficial cracks or fissures. The 
branches are spreading, and regularly disposed, sometimes opposite, sometimes 
in fours nearly in the form of crosses. The leaves are opposite, oval, about 
three inches long, pointed, dark-green and sulcated on the upper surface, glau- 
cous or whitish beneath, and marked with strong parallel veins. Towards the 
close of summer they are speckled with black spots, and on the approach of 
cold weather become red. The proper flowers are small, yellowish, and collected 
in heads, which are surrounded by a large conspicuous involucre, consisting of 
four white obcordate leaves, having the notch at their summit tinged with red 
or purple. This involucre constitutes the chief beauty of the tree when in flower. 
The calyx is four-toothed, and the corolla composed of four obtuse reflexed 
petals. The fruit is an oval drupe, of a vivid glossy redness, containing a two- 
celled and two-seeded nucleus. The drupes are usually associated together to 
the number of three or four, and remain on the tree till after the early frosts. 
They ripen in September. 
The dogwood is found in all parts of the United States, from Massachusetts 
to the Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico; but is most abundant in the Middle 
States. In the month of May, it is clothed with a profusion of large white blos- 
soms, which render it one of the most conspicuous ornaments of the American 
forests. The bark is the officinal portion, and is derived for use both from the 
stem and branches, and from the root. That from the root is preferred. 
As brought into market, the bark is in pieces of various size, usually more or 
less rolled, sometimes invested with a fawn-coloured epidermis, sometimes par- 
tially or wholly deprived of it, of a reddish-gray colour, very brittle, and afford- 
ing, when pulverized, a grayish powder tinged with red. The odour of dogwood 
is feeble, its taste bitter, astringent, and slightly aromatic. Water and alcohol 
extract its virtues. It has not been accurately analyzed; but, from the experi- 
ments of Dr. Walker and Mr. James Cockburn (Am. Journ. of Pharm., vii. 109), 
appears to contain bitter extractive, gum, resin, tannin, gallic acid, fixed oil, 
wax, red colouring matter, lignin, and salts of potassa and iron. Mr. Cock- 
burn also obtained a crystallized substance, without taste, the characters of 
which, however, were not sufficiently investigated to authorize an opinion as to 
its nature. A peculiar bitter principle, for which the name of cornine was pro- 
posed, was announced as an ingredient by Mr. Carpenter; but his results have Cornu8 Sericea.—Cotula. 
PART I. 
not been confirmed. More recently, an examination of the bark, with a view to 
the isolation of its active principle, has been made by Mr. John M. Maisch, who 
appears to have obtained the bitter principle pure in solution, but, in conse- 
quence of its extreme facility of decomposition, could not succeed in isolating 
it in the solid state. He inferred, however, that it is a neuter, colourless sub- 
stance, very soluble in water and alcohol, insoluble in ether, not capable of pre- 
cipitation by chemical reagents, but very easily destroyed on exposure to the 
air. (Proceed. of Am. Pharm. Assoc., 1859, p. 315.) The flowers of C. Florida 
have the same bitter taste as the bark, and, though not officinal, are sometimes 
employed for the same purposes. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Cornus Florida is tonic and astringent. By 
Hr. Walker it was found, when taken internally, to increase the force and fre- 
quency of the pulse, and the heat of the body. It is thought to possess remedial 
properties analogous to those of Peruvian bark, for which it has occasionally 
been successfully substituted in the treatment of intermittent fevers; but the 
introduction of sulphate of quinia into use has nearly banished this, as well as 
many other substitutes for cinchona, from regular practice. The dogwood has 
also been employed in low fevers, and other complaints for which Peruvian bark 
is usually prescribed. 
It may be given in powder, decoction, or extract. The dose of the powder is 
from a scruple to a drachm, repeated, in cases of intermittent fever, so that from 
one to two ounces may be taken in the interval between the paroxysms. The 
decoction is officinal. (See Decoctum Cornus Florulse.) The dried bark is said 
to be preferable to the fresh; as it possesses all the activity of the latter, with- 
out being equally liable to offend the stomach and bowels. An extract might 
probably be used with advantage in intermittents in large doses. 
Off. Prep. Decoctum Cornus Florid®, U. S. W. 
CORNUS SERICEA. U. S. Secondary. 
Swamp Dogwood. 
The bark of Cornus sericea. U. S. 
Cornus. See CORNUS CIRCINATA. 
Cornus sericea. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 663; Barton, Med. Bot. i. 115. This 
species of Cornus is usually six or eight feet in height, with numerous erect stems, 
wmcn are covered with a shining reddish bark, and send out opposite spreading 
branches. The young shoots are more or less pubescent. The leaves are oppo- 
site, petiolate, ovate, pointed, entire, and on the under surface covered with soft 
brownish hairs. The flowers are small, white, and disposed in terminal cymes, 
which are depressed and woolly. The fruit consists of globular, berry-formed 
drupes, of a cerulean blue colour, and collected in bunches. 
The swamp dogwood inhabits the United States from Canada to Carolina, and 
is found in moist woods, in swamps, and on the borders of streams. It flowers 
in June and July. The bark was ascertained by Dr. Walker to have the same 
medical properties as that of Cornus Florida. It may be given in the same 
doses, and administered in a similar manner. W. 
COTULA. TJ. S. Secondary. 
Mayweed. 
The herb of Anthemis Cotula, Maruta Cotula (De Candolle). U. S. 
Camomille puante, Maroute, Fr.; Hunds-Kamille, Stinkende-Kamille, Germ.; 
fetida, Cotula, It#!.; Manzanilla loca, Span. 
Anthemis. See ANTHEMIS. PART I. 
Cotula.—Creasotum 
331 
Anthemis Gotula. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 2181; Barton, Med. Bot. i. 161.— 
Maruta Gotula. De Cand. Prodrom. vi. 13. The mayweed is an annual plant, 
with a fibrous root, and an erect, striated stem, very much branched even to the 
bottom, from one to two feet in height, and supporting alternate, sessile, flat, 
doubly pinnated, somewhat hairy leaves, with pointed linear leaflets. The flowers 
stand singly upon the summits of the branches, and consist of a central, convex, 
golden-yellow disk, with white radial florets, which spread horizontally during 
the day, but are reflexed, or bent towards the stem at night. The calyx, which 
is common to all the florets, is hemispherical, and composed of imbricated hairy 
scales. The receptacle is conical or nearly cylindrical, and surmounted by rigid, 
bristle-shaped palese, shorter than the florets. The seeds are naked. 
This plant grows abundantly both in the United States and Europe. In this 
country it is found in the vicinity of inhabited places, growing among rubbish, 
along the sides of roads, and in waste grounds. Notwithstanding its extensive 
diffusion, it is generally believed to be a naturalized and not an indigenous 
plant. It is frequently called wild •chamomile. It flowers from the middle of 
summer till late in autumn. 
Mr. W. II. Warner, from a chemical examination of the flowers, concluded 
that they contain volatile oil, oxalic, valerianic, and tannic acids, colouring mat- 
ter, acrid fatty matter, bitter extractive, and salts of potassa, lime, magnesia, 
and iron. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., Sept. 1858, p. 390.) 
The whole plant has a strong, disagreeable smell, and a warm, bitter taste, 
and imparts these properties to water. 
The medical properties of this species of Anthemis are essentially the same as 
those of chamomile, for which it may be substituted; but its disagreeable odour 
is an obstacle to its general use. On the continent of Europe it has been given 
in nervous diseases, especially in hysteria, under the impression, probably derived 
from its peculiar smell, that it possesses antispasmodic powers. It has also been 
thought to be emmenagogue. It is said to have the property of vesicating, if 
applied to the surface fresh and bruised. In this country it is scarcely employed, 
except as a domestic remedy. The whole plant is active; but the flowers, being 
less disagreeable than the leaves, are preferred for internal use. The remedy is 
best administered in the state of infusion. W. 
CREASOTUM. U.S.,Br. 
Creosote. 
A peculiar substance obtained from wood-tar. XJ. S. A product of the dis- 
tillation of wood tar. Br. 
This is a substance, of the nature of the volatile oils, discovered in 1830 by 
Reichenbach in the products of the distillation of wood. M. Deville conceives 
that it is a volatile oil, derived by heat from the resin of wood, and isomeric 
with the original volatile oil, from which the resin is supposed to have been 
formed by a slow alteration occurring in the vegetable. It may, therefore, be 
classed with the volatile oils which are regenerated by distillation. 
In the products of the distillation of organic substances generally, whether 
vegetable or animal, Reichenbach also discovered five other principles, called 
paraffin, eupion, picamar, capnomor, and pittacal, which, as being associated 
with creasote, will be here described. Paraffin is a solid carbohydrogen, most 
abundantly obtained by distilling cannel-coal, when it comes over with certain 
isomeric oils, several of the least volatile of which, appearing towards the close 
of the distillation, form a mixture called paraffin oil. Mr. Young, an English 
manufacturing-chemist, has succeeded in obtaining paraffin from this coal in the 
proportion of thirteen pounds to the ton. Crude paraffin, as first obtained, is Creasotum. 
PART I. 
recommended to be purified by It. Reichenbach, the son of the discoverer, by dis- 
tillation from fuming sulphuric acid, which destroys an empyreutnatic substance 
by which it is contaminated. Paraffin is a white, crystalline solid, resembling 
white wax, for which it has been proposed as a substitute in the composition of 
cerates. It is devoid of taste and smell, and is characterized by its feeble affinity 
for other bodies, as indicated by its name, from parum affinis. It resists the 
action of concentrated acids and alkalies. It burns with a bright, white flame, 
without smoke. At present it is much used in England as a lubricating sub- 
stance for machinery, and to a considerable extent as a material for candles. It 
is also prepared in this country for practical purposes. A rich bituminous coal, 
rivaling the Boghead carmel-coal of England, has been discovered in Western 
Virginia, and is the source of the American paraffin. (Proceedings of the Am. 
Pliarm. Assoc., Sept. 1856.) The product of paraffin oil from a ton of English 
cannel-coal, as manufactured by Mr. Young, is about thirty gallons. This also is 
a good lubricating substance. The empirical formula of paraffin is CH in equal 
equivalents, but how many of each element is not known. Eupion is an inodo- 
rous,, insipid, limpid, and colourless liquid, of the sp.gr. 0-740, obtained most 
abundantly from animal tar and Dippel’s animal oil. It likewise consists exclu- 
sively of carbon and hydrogen. Picamar is a colourless, oily liquid, heavier than 
water, of a peculiar odour and very bitter taste. It is present in the heaviest 
portion of the rectified oil of tar, and constitutes the bitter principle of that sub- 
stance. Gapnomor, so called from being an ingredient of smoke, is a colourless 
liquid, lighter than water, having a pleasant odour and pungent taste, and oc- 
curring in the heavy oil of tar, and in coal naphtha. It lias the property of dis- 
solving caoutchouc. Pitlacal, also obtained from the heavy oil of tar, is a solid 
of a beautiful blue colour, differing from the substances above noticed in contain- 
ing nitrogen as one of its elements. 
Preparation. Creasote is obtained either from wood tar or from crude pyro- 
ligneous acid. When wood tar is used, it is distilled until it has attained the 
consistence of pitch. The distilled liquid divides itself into three layers, an 
aqueous between two oily layers. The inferior oily layer, which alone contains 
the creasote, is separated, and saturated with carbonate of potassa to remove 
acetic acid. The liquid is allowed to rest, and the new oil which separates is 
decanted from it. This oil is distilled, and yields products lighter than water, 
and a liquid heavier. The latter alone is preserved, and, after having been agi- 
tated repeatedly with weak phosphoric acid to neutralize ammonia, is allowed to 
remain at rest for some time. It is next washed as long as acidity is removed, 
and then distilled with a fresh portion of weak phosphoric acid; care being taken 
to cohobate from time to time. The oily liquid thus rectified is colourless, and 
contains much creasote, but also a portion of eupion. To separate the latter, 
the liquid is mixed with a solution of caustic potassa of the density IT2, which 
dissolves the creasote, but not the eupion. The eupion, which swims above from 
its levity, is then separated; and the alkaline solution of the creasote is exposed 
to the air, until it becomes brown in consequence of the decomposition of a 
foreign matter, and is then saturated with sulphuric acid. This sets free the 
creasote, which is decanted and again distilled. The treatment by solution of 
potassa, sulphuric acid, &c. is to be repeated until the creasote no longer becomes 
brown by exposure to the air, but only slightly reddish. It is then dissolved in 
a stronger solution of potassa and distilled again, and finally redistilled for the 
last time, rejecting the first portion which comes over on account of its contain- 
ing much water, collecting the next portion, and avoiding to push the distilla- 
tion too far. The product collected in this distillation is creasote. 
When creasote is extracted from pyroligneous acid, the first step is to dissolve 
sulphate of soda in it to saturation. The oil which separates and swims above 
is decanted, and, having been allowed to remain at rest for a few days, is satu- part i. 
Creasoturn. 
333 
rated by carbonate of potassa with the assistance of heat, and distilled with 
water. The oleaginous liquid obtained is of a pale-yellow colour, and is to bo 
treated with phosphoric acid, &c., as above detailed, in relation to the treatment 
of the corresponding oil obtained from wood tar. 
According to M. Koene, the tar of the pine furnishes but little pure creasote; 
while coal tar yields nearly five drachms to the pint. Some object to the use 
of coal tar, as affording phenylic acid, which closely resembles creasote, or, at 
least, as furnishing a creasote contaminated with that acid. 
Properties. Creasote, when pure, is a colourless oleaginous liquid, of the con- 
sistence of oil of almonds, slightly greasy to the touch, volatilizable by heat, and 
having a caustic, burning taste, and a penetrating, disagreeable odour, like that 
of smoked meat, quite different from that of phenylic acid. As met with in the 
shops, it has frequently a brownish tinge. It burns with a sooty flame. Applied 
in a concentrated state to the skin, it corrugates and then destroys the cuticle, 
causing a white spot. On paper it leaves a greasy stain, which disappears in a 
few hours, or in ten minutes when heated to about 212°. Its sp. gr. is T057 at 
55° (Gorup-Besanez), T046 (U. S.), 1 ’065 (Br.). It boils at 397°, and remains 
fluid at 17° below zero. It is a non-conductor of electricity, and a powerful re- 
fractor of light. It is devoid of acid or alkaline reaction. Mixed with water, 
it forms two solutions; one consisting of one part of creasote and about 80 of 
water, the other, of 1 part of water and 10 of creasote. (Berzelius.) It unites in 
all proportions with alcohol, ether, naphtha, and bisulphuret of carbon, and is dis- 
solved freely by acetic acid. It dissolves a large proportion of iodine and phos- 
phorus, and a considerable amount of sulphur, especially when assisted by heat. 
Creasote forms two combinations with potassa; one anhydrous, of an oleagi- 
nous consistence, the other, hydrated, and in the form of small, white, pearly 
scales. It forms similar compounds with soda. Its formula is C23H1B04 (Reg- 
nault), or CuII802 (Fownes); but it is differently given by other authorities ; 
and the probability is that creasote, as ordinarily obtained at least, is not a defi- 
nite principle. Creasote instantly dissolves ammonia, and retains it with great 
force. Strong nitric and sulphuric acids decompose it; the former giving rise to 
reddish vapours, the latter to a red colour, which becomes black on the addition 
of more of the acid. Dilute nitric acid converts it into a brown resin, which, 
treated with ammonia, and then dissolved in boiling alcohol, gives, by evapora- 
tion, certain salts of ammonia, two of which contain new acids, discovered by 
Laurent. Muriatic acid produces no change in it. A splinter of pine wood, 
moistened with this acid, acquires no colour when dipped into creasote, but be- 
comes first blue and then brown, when dipped into phenylic acid. The British 
Pharmacopoeia gives, as one of the characters of its creasote, that a “slip of deal 
dipped into it, ancl afterwards into hydrochloric acid, and then allowed to dry 
in the air, acquires a greenish-blue colour;” and consequently does not consider 
the presence of phenylic acid as a contamination. Creasote dissolves a large 
number of metallic salts, and reduces a few to the metallic state; as, for ex- 
ample, nitrate and acetate of silver. It powerfully coagulates albumen, and in 
this way is supposed to act as a hemostatic. 
Of all the properties of creasote, the most remarkable is its power of pre- 
serving meat. It is this property which has suggested its name, derived from 
flesh, and aw=u) 1 preserve. 
Impurities and Adulterations. Creasote is apt to contain eupion, picamar, 
and capnomor, and is sometimes adulterated with rectified oil of tar, and the 
fixed and volatile oils. All these substances are detected by strong acetic acid, 
which dissolves the creasote, and leaves them behind, floating above the creasote 
solution. Creasote, however, from beech-wood tar, is only partially dissolved by 
hot acetic acid of ordinary strength. Fixed oils are also discovered by a stain 
on paper, not discharged by heat. Any trace of the matter which produces the Creasotum. 
PART I. 
brownish tinge (see page 332) is detected by the liquid becoming discoloured 
by exposure to sunshine. 
Commercial creasote, when obtained from coal tar, is always contaminated 
with phenylic acid (phenic acid—carbolic acid—phenol—hydrated oxide of 
phenyl), C12HvO + HO. Indeed, this acid is often sold for creasote, which it 
closely resembles in properties, and to a considerable extent, it is said, in medical 
virtues also. The use now made of phenylic or carbolic acid renders it worthy 
of a distinct consideration; and an article will be devoted to it in Part III. of 
this work. The substitution of phenylic acid may be discovered by its lower 
boiling point (3G8° F.). Its presence in creasote is detected by the addition of 
sesquichloride of iron, which causes a violet-blue colour, and afterwards a whitish 
turbidness, if this impurity is present. According to Mr. E. N. Kent, of New 
York, phenylic acid from the oil of coal tar, and creasote from wood tar are es- 
sentially the same; the former being a purer state of the latter. (N. K. Journ. of 
Pharm., Oct. 1853.) This view is contradicted by the results of Gorup-Besanez, 
who obtained creasote which did not respond to the tests of phenylic acid. Still 
he admits that creasote, as pure as he could get it with a boiling point between 
398° and 406°, is not a chemically definite compound. Gmelin considers the 
creasote from wood tar, and the carbolic acid from coal tar, as differing from 
each other only in the degree of purity. In this unsettled state of opinion in re- 
lation to the precise chemical constitution of creasote, we continue to consider 
it under a distinct head, and give its properties as practically ascertained. 
Medical Properties, &c. Creasote is irritant, narcotic, styptic, antiseptic, and 
moderately escharotic. Internally, it has been employed in a number of diseases; 
externally, for the most part, as an application to eruptions, wounds, and ulcers, 
and as an injection and gargle. Dr. It. Dick, of Glasgow, recommends it as an 
internal remedy in chronic gonorrhoea and gleet. Dr. Elliotson, of London, con- 
siders it an efficacious remedy in arresting nausea and vomiting, when not de- 
pendent on inflammation or structural disease of the stomach, as in hysteria, 
pregnancy, and sea-sickness. Mr. Kesteven, of England, found it a very useful 
remedy in diarrhoea; and others have confirmed this statement. Dr. D. J. Cain, 
of Charleston, used it with advantage in cholera morbus and cholera infantum, 
either alone, or conjoined with charcoal, chalk, or bicarbonate of soda. It has 
also been used with benefit in dysentery and malignant cholera; and has been 
recommended in pectoral affections with purulent expectoration. 
• The eruptions, to the treatment of which creasote has been supposed to be 
best suited, are those of a scaly character. In burns its efficacy has been insisted 
on, especially in those attended with excessive suppuration and fungous granu- 
lations. In chilblains also it is stated to be a useful application. Mixed with four 
parts of lard, it is said to have proved very serviceable in erysipelas. When ap- 
plied to wounds it acts as a hemostatic, stopping the capillary hemorrhage, but 
possesses no power to arrest the bleeding from large vessels. Accordingly, crea- 
sote water has been applied locally in menorrhagia, and to arrest uterine hemor- 
rhage and the bleeding from leech-bites. The ulcers, in the treatment of which 
it has been found most useful, are those of an indolent and gangrenous character, 
in which its several properties of escharotic, stimulant, and antiseptic are use- 
fully brought into play. It is also praised as an application to syphilitic, scrofu- 
lous, and cancerous ulcers, and to malignant pustule. In all these cases, should 
the remedy cause irritation, it must be suspended, or alternated with emollient 
and soothing applications. Injected into fistulous ulcers, it proves a useful re- 
source, by exciting the callous surfaces, and disposing them to unite. Dr. Hii 
dreth, of Zanesville, Ohio, found it efficacious, mixed with mercurial ointment, in 
the proportion of from ten to thirty drops to the ounce, in scrofulous ophthalmia, 
and scrofulous ulceration of the cornea. A small portion of the ointment is in- 
troduced under the upper eyelid, morning and evening, and rubbed over the whole Creasotum.—Creta. 
PART I. 
globe. The application should be strong enough to produce a smarting pain for 
about five minutes. The local must of course be combined with constitutional 
treatment. In chronic varicose ophthalmia it is a valuable remedy, in the form 
of collyrium, of the strength of from one to three drops to the fluidounce of 
water. In putrid sorethroat, requiring the use of a stimulant and antiseptic, a 
gargle of creasote acts beneficially; and in chronic suppuration of the external 
meatus of the ear, it is valuable as an injection. It has been much used topically 
in diphtheria, in which it corrects the fetor, and is said to cure the local affec- 
tion. In deafness from deficient cerumen, Mr. Curtis has found it useful. The 
meatus is first well cleansed, and afterwards brushed over, night and morning, 
by means of a camel’s hair brush, with a mixture formed of a drachm of creasote 
and four drachms of oil of almonds. The meatus may be cleansed by dropping 
into the ear at night a few drops of olive oil, and syringing it out the next morn- 
ing with a weak and warm solution of castile soap, to which a sixth of Cologne 
water has been added. This may be repeated for five or six days, if required. In 
leucorrhoea M. Arendt has found creasote very useful in the form of injection, 
made with two drops to the fluidounce of water, used several times a day. Dr. 
Mackenzie has derived advantage from it as a vaginal injection in puerperal fever, 
arising from the absorption of vitiated secretions. It is also efficacious in the de- 
struction of warts, applied freely every day or two, and kept on by adhesive plaster.. 
In toothache, depending on caries of the tooth and exposure of the nerve, crea- 
sote often acts promptly and radically in the removal of the pain. One or two 
drops of the pure substance must be carefully introduced into the hollow of the 
tooth, on a little cotton, avoiding contact with the tongue or cheek. To render 
it effectual, the hollow of the tooth must be well cleansed before it is applied. A 
mixture of 15 parts of creasote and 10 of collodion has a jelly-like consistence, 
and may be usefully applied to carious teeth, which it protects from the air. 
Creasote is employed in the pure state, in mixture or solution, and in the form 
of ointment. (See Mistura Creasoli and Unguentum Qreasoti.) In the pure 
state, it may be brushed over indolent or ill-conditioned ulcers, or applied to them 
by means of lint. Internally it is given in the dose of from one to two drops or 
more, repeated several times a day, diluted with weak mucilage in the proportion 
of half a fluidounce to the drop. When used as a lotion for eruptions, ulcers, or 
burns, or as a gargle or injection, it is employed in solution, containing two, four, 
or six drops to the fluidounce of water; the strength being determined by the 
circumstances of each particular case. In some cases the solution of creasote is 
used externally, mixed with poultices. 
Creasote, in an overdose, acts as a poison. It produces giddiness, obscurity 
of vision, depressed action of the heart, convulsions, and coma. No antidote is 
known. The medical treatment consists in the evacuation of the poison, and the 
administration of ammonia and other stimulants. 
The addition of three or four drops of creasote to a pint of ink effectually pre- 
vents it from becoming mouldy. Dr. Christison finds that creasote water is as 
good a preservative of some anatomical preparations as spirit, with the advan- 
tage of not hardening the parts. It is probably to creasote that the antiseptic 
properties of wood-smoke and of pyroligneous acid are owing. 
Off. Prep. Aqua Creasoti, U. S.; Mistura Creasoti, Br.; Unguentum Crea- 
soti. B. 
CRETA. U. S. 
Chalk. 
Native friable carbonate of lime. XJ. S. 
In the British Pharmacopoeia, chalk is. placed in the Appendix, as one of the 
substances employed in preparing medicines. 336 
Creta.—Crocus. 
PART L 
Craie, Fr.; Kreide, Germ.; Creta, Ital.; Greda, Span., Port. 
Carbonate of lime, in the extended meaning of the term, is the most abundant 
of simple minerals, constituting, according to its state of aggregation and other 
peculiarities, the different varieties of calcareous spar, common and shell lime- 
stone, marble, marl, and chalk. It occurs also in the animal kingdom, forming 
the principal part of shells, and a small proportion of the bones of the higher 
orders of animals. It is present in small quantity in most natural waters, being 
held in solution by the carbonic acid which they contain. In the waters of lime- 
stone districts it is a very common impregnation, and causes purging in those 
not accustomed to their use. In all such cases, boiling the water, by expelling 
the carbonic acid, causes the carbonate to be deposited. (See page 127.) Besides 
being officinal in the state of chalk, carbonate of lime is also ordered as it exists 
in marble and oyster-shell, and as obtained by precipitation. (See Marmor, Testa, 
and Calcis Carbonas Praecipitata.) In the present article we shall confine our 
observations to chalk. This occurs abundantly in the south of England and north 
of France. It has not been found in the United States. It occurs massive in beds, 
and very frequently contains nodules of flint, and fossil remains of land and ma- 
rine animals. 
Properties. Chalk is an insipid, inodorous, insoluble, opaque, soft solid, gene- 
rally white, but grayish-white when impure. It is rough to the touch, easily pul- 
'verized, and breaks with an earthy fracture. It soils the fingers, yields a white 
trace when drawn across an unyielding surface, and when applied to the tongue 
adheres slightly. Its sp. gr. varies from 2 3 to 2'6. It is never a perfectly pure 
carbonate of lime; but contains, besides gritty silicious particles, small portions 
of alumina and of oxidized iron. If pure it is entirely soluble in muriatic acid; 
but usually a little silica is left. If the muriatic solution is not precipitated by 
ammonia, it is free from alumina and iron. Like all carbonates it effervesces with 
acids. Though insoluble in water, it dissolves in an excess of carbonic acid. It 
consists, like the other varieties of carbonate of lime, of one eq. of carbonic acid 
22, and one of lime 28 = 50. 
Chalk, on account of the gritty particles which it contains, is unfit for medi- 
cinal use, until it has undergone levigation, wdien it is called prepared chalk. 
(See Creta Prseparata.) 
Off. Prep. Creta Prmparata. B. 
CROCUS. U.S.,Br. 
Saffron. 
The stigmas of Crocus sativus. U. S. The stigma, a'nd part of the style, 
dried. Br. 
Safran, Fr., Germ.; Zafferano, Ital.; Azafran, Span. 
Crocus. Sex. Syst. Triandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Iridaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Corolla six-parted, equal. Stigmas convoluted'. Willd. 
Crocus sativus. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 194; Woodv. Med. Pot. p. 763, t. 259. 
The common cultivated saffron is a perennial plant, with a rounded and depressed 
bulb or cormus, from which the flower rises a little above the ground, upon a 
long, slender, white, and succulent tube. The flower is large, of a beautiful lilac 
or bluish-purple colour, and appears in September or October. The leaves are 
radical, linear, slightly revolute, dark-green upon their upper surface with a white 
longitudinal furrow in the centre, paler underneath with a prominent flattened 
midrib, and enclosed at their base, together with the tube of the corolla, in a 
membranous sheath, from which they emerge soon after the appearance of the 
flower. The style hangs out on one side between the two segments of the corolla, 
and terminates in three long convoluted stigmas, which are of a rich orange colour, PART I, 
Crocus 
837 
highly odorous, rolled in at the edges, and notched at the summit. These stigmas 
are the officinal part of the plant. 
C. sativus, or autumnal crocus, is a native of Greece and Asia Minor, where 
it has been cultivated from the earliest ages. It is also cultivated for medicinal 
use in Sicily, Spain, France, England, and other temperate countries of Europe. 
Large quantities of saffron are raised in Egypt, Persia, and Cashmere, whence 
it is sent to India. Much of the drug reaches the market of Constantinople from 
the neighbourhood of Tifflis and the Caucasus. We cultivate the plant in this 
country chiefly, if not solely, as a garden flower. It is liable to two diseases, 
which interfere with its culture; one dependent on a parasitic fungus which 
attaches itself to the bulb, the other called by the cultivators in France tacon, by 
which the bulb is converted into a blackish powder. (Journ. de Pharm., xviii. 41.) 
In England the flowers appear in October, and the leaves continue green 
through the winter; but the plant does not ripen its seed, and is propagated by 
offsets from the bulb. These are planted in grounds prepared for the purpose, 
and are arranged either in rows, or in small patches at certain distances. The 
flowers are gathered soon after they show themselves, as the period of flowering 
is very short. The stigmas, or summits- of the pistils, together with a portion 
of the style, are separated from the remainder of the flower, and carefully dried 
by artificial heat, or in the sun. During this process, they are sometimes made 
to assume the form of a cake by pressure; but the finest saffron is that which 
has been dried loosely. The two forms are distinguished by the names of cake- 
saffron and hay-saffron. Five pounds of the fresh stigmas are said to yield 
one pound of the dried. 
The English saffron, formerly most highly esteemed in this country, has dis- 
appeared from our market. What may be sold under the name is probably 
derived from other sources. Much of the drug is imported from Gibraltar, 
packed in canisters. Parcels of it are also brought from Trieste, and other ports 
of the Mediterranean. The Spanish saffron is generally considered the best. 
Genuine cake-saffron is at present seldom found in commerce. According to 
Landerer, the stigmas of several other species besides those of C. sativus are 
gathered and sold as saffron in Greece and Turkey.* 
Properties. Saffron has a peculiar, sweetish, aromatic odour, a warm, pun- 
geut, bitter taste, and a rich deep-orange colour, which it imparts to the saliva 
when chewed. The stigmas of which it consists are an inch or more in length, 
expanded and notched at the upper extremity, and narrowing towards the lower, 
where they terminate in a slender, capillary, yellowish portion, forming a part 
of the style. Analyzed by Yogel and Bouillon-Lagrange, it afforded 65 0 per 
cent, of a peculiar extractive matter, and 7-5 of an odorous volatile oil, together 
with wax, gum, albumen, saline matter, watar, and lignin. The extractive was 
named polychroile, from the changes of colour which it undergoes by the action 
of reagents. They prepared it by evaporating the watery infusion to the con- 
sistence of honey, digesting the residue in alcohol, filtering the tincture, and 
evaporating it to dryness. Thus obtained, it is in the form of a reddish-yellow 
mass, of an agreeable smell, slightly bitter, soluble in water and alcohol, and 
somewhat deliquescent. Its solution becomes grass-green by the action of nitric 
acid, blue and then violet by that of sulphuric acid, and loses its colour alto- 
gether on exposure to light, and by chlorine. M. Henry, sen., found it to contain 
about 20 per cent, of volatile oil, which could be separated only by an alkali. 
M. Quadrat obtained it pure by exhausting saffron with ether, then treating it 
with boiling water, precipitating with subacetate of lead, decomposing the com- 
pound of oxide of lead and colouring matter thus obtained with sulphuretted 
* At the International Exhibition, in London, in the year 1862, the author noticed a spe- 
cimen of saffron, from the island of Ceylon, closely resembling that of the Crocus sativus. 
It consisted of the stigmas of the Crocus orientalis.—Note to the twelfth edition. 338 
Crocus, 
PART I. 
hydrogen, treating the precipitate with boiling alcohol, evaporating the solu- 
tion, dissolving the residue in water, and lastly evaporating by means of a water- 
bath. Thus procured, it is of a brilliant red colour, inodorous, slightly soluble 
in water which it renders yellow, much more soluble by the least addition of an 
alkali, readily soluble in alcohol, but sparingly in ether. Its formula is C.,0IIJ3On. 
M. Quadrat found also, in saffron, a fatty matter, glucose, and a peculiar acid. 
(Ann. der Ghem. und Pharni., lxxx. 340.) According to M. Henry, the colour- 
ing principle constitutes 42 per cent, of saffron, and the essential oil 10 per cent 
It is to the latter that the medicine owes its activity. It may be partially sepa- 
rated by distillation. It is yellow, of a hot, acrid, bitterish taste, and heavier 
than water, in which it is slightly soluble. 
Adulterations. The high price of this medicine gives rise to frequent adul- 
terations. Water is said to be very often added in order to increase its weight. 
Oil is also added for the same purpose, or to improve the appearance. Some- 
times the flowers of other plants, particularly Carlhamus tinclorius or safflower, 
Calendula officinalis or officinal marygold, and arnica, are fraudulently mixed 
with the genuine stigmas. They may be known by their shape, which is rendered 
obvious by throwing a portion of the suspected mass into hot water, which causes 
them to expand. (See Carlhamus.) Other adulterations are the fibres of dried 
beef, the stamens of the Crocus distinguishable by their yellow colour, the stig- 
mas previously exhausted in the preparation of the infusion or tincture, and 
various mineral substances easily detected upon close examination. The flowers 
of a Brazilian plant, named Fuminella, have, according to M. J. L Soubeiran, 
been recently employed for the adulteration of saffron. They may be detected by 
shaking gently but repeatedly a large pinch of the suspected saffron over a piece 
of paper. The flowers of Fuminella, being smaller and heavier, separate and 
fall, and may be seen to consist of very short fragments, with a colour like that 
of saffron, but a rusty tint which the latter does not possess. (Journ. de Pharm., 
Avril, 1855, p. 261.) J. Muller recommends concentrated sulphuric acid as the 
most certain test of saffron. It instantly changes the colour of pure saffron to 
indigo blue. (Chem. Gaz., May, 1845, p. 197.) 
Choice of Saffron. Saffron should not be very moist, nor very dry, nor easily 
pulverized; nor should it emit an offensive smell when thrown upon live coals. 
The freshest is the best, and that which is less than a year old should, if possible, 
be selected. It should possess in a high degree the characteristic properties of 
colour, taste, and smell. If it do not colour the fingers when rubbed between 
thejn, or if it have an oily feel, or a musty flavour, or a black, yellow, or whitish 
colour, it should be rejected. In the purchase of this medicine in cakes, those 
should be selected which are close, tough, and firm in tearing; and care should 
be taken to avoid cakes of safflower. 
As its activity depends, partly at least, on a volatile ingredient, saffron should 
be kept in well-stopped vessels. Some recommend that it should be enclosed in 
a bladder, and introduced into a tin case. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Saffron was formerly considered highly stimu- 
lant and antispasmodic. It has been alleged that, in small doses, it moderately 
excites the different functions, exhilarates the spirits, relieves pain, and produces 
sleep; in large doses, gives rise to headache, intoxication, delirium, stupor, and 
other alarming symptoms; and Shroder asserts that, in the quantity of two or 
three drachms, it proves fatal. It was thought also to act powerfully on the 
uterine system, promoting menstruation. The ancients employed it extensively, 
both as a medicine and condiment, under the name of crocus. It was also highly 
esteemed by the Arabians, and enjoyed considerable reputation among the phy- 
sicians of modern Europe till within a comparatively recent period. On the 
continent it is still much used as a stimulant and emmenagogue. But the ex- 
periments of Dr. Alexander have proved it to possess little activity; and in PART I. 
Crocus.—Cubeba. 
339 
Great Britain and the United States it is seldom prescribed. In domestic prac- 
tice, saffron tea is occasionally used in exanthematous diseases, to promote the 
eruption. At present the chief use of the drug is to impart colour and flavour 
to officinal tinctures. The dose is from ten to thirty grains. 
Off. Prep, Acetum Opii, U. S.; Decoctum Aloes Compositum, Br.; Pilulse 
Aloes et Myrrh®; Pulvis Aromaticus, Br.; Tinctura Aloes et Myrrhae, U.S.; 
Tinct. Cinchonas Comp.; Tinct. Croci, Br.; Tinct. Rhei, Br.; Tinct. Rhei et 
Sennse, U. S. W. 
CUBEBA. U.S.,Br. 
Cuheb. 
The berries of Piper Cubeba. XJ. S. The unripe fruit. Cubeba officinalis. The 
unripe fruit, dried. Br. 
Cubebs, Br.; Cubebe, Fr.; Kubeben, Germ.; Cubebe, Ital.; Cubebas, Span.; Kebabeh,Arab. 
Piper. Sex. Syst. Diandria Trigynia.—Nat. Ord. Piperacese. 
Gen. Oh. Calyx none. Corolla none. Berry one-seeded. Willd. 
Piper Cubeba. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 159; Woodv. Med. Bot., 3d ed., v. 95.— 
Cubeba officinalis. Miquel. This is a climbing perennial plant, with a smooth, 
flexuous, jointed stem, and entire, petiolate, oblong or ovate-oblong, acuminate 
leaves, rounded or obliquely cordate at the base, strongly nerved, coriaceous, and 
very smooth. The flowers are dioecious and in spikes, with peduncles about as 
long as the petioles. The fruit is a globose, pedicelled berry. 
This species of Piper is a native of Java, Penang, and probably other parts 
of the East Indies. It grows wild in the woods, and does not appear to be cul- 
tivated. The dried unripe fruit is the officinal portion. Dr. Blume thinks it 
probable that the drug is derived chiefly from another species, the P. caninum, 
inhabiting the same countries ; but Dr. Lindley could discover no difference be- 
tween the fruit of P. Cubeba and ordinary cubebs.* 
Properties. Cubebs are round, about the size of a small pea, of a blackish or 
grayish-brown colour, and furnished with a short stalk, which is continuous with 
raised veins that run over the surface of the berry, and embrace it like a net- 
work. The shell is hard, almost ligneous, and contains within it a single loose 
seed, covered with a blackish coat, and internally white and oleaginous. The 
odour of the berry .is agreeably aromatic; the taste warm, bitterish, and cam- 
phorous, leaving in the mouth a peculiar sensation of coolness, like that produced 
by oil of peppermint. The powder is dark-coloured and of an oily aspect. Rrom 
1000 parts of cubebs M. Monheim obtained 30 parts of a ceruminous substance, 
25 of a green volatile oil, 10 of a yellow volatile oil, 45 of cubebin, 15 of a bal- 
* Cubebs were exhibited, at the great London Exhibition of 1862, among the products 
of Ceylon. It was at one time supposed that cubebs were also produced in Western Africa; 
but this was a mistake, originating probably in the fact, that a peculiar pepper growing 
in that region has, like cubebs, the stalk attached. It is, however, a different product, 
being, as shown by Dr. W. F. Daniell, the fruit of a distinct species, the Piper Afzelii of 
Lindley, Cubeba Clusii of Miquel, figured in the Pharm. Journ. (xiv. 201). This Guinea pepper, 
or African black pepper, was formerly taken to Europe in considerable quantities by the Por- 
tuguese, but has been superseded by the more agreeable products of the E. Indies. The 
fruit is one-third smaller than the officinal cubebs, is more compact, and has a taste mere 
Analogous to that of ordinary black pepper. Dr. Stenhouse has also shown that it is chemi- 
cally more analogous to black pepper than to cubebs, as it contains piperin and not cubebin. 
ylbid., xiv. 364.) 
Under the name of cubebs, a product has been introduced into commerce from the Dutch 
E. Indies, which is probably the fruit of a different species of Piper, as it differs essen- 
tially from genuine cubebs, being somewhat larger, with less distinct veins and somewhat 
flattened footstalks, of a less agreeable odour, and a less hot and pungent taste. It has 
been ascribed to Piper anisatum. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxxv. 511; from Journ. de Chim. 
Med )—Note to the eleventh and twelfth editions. 340 
Cubeba.—Cuprum. 
part i. 
samic resin, 10 of chloride of sodium, 60 of extractive, and 650 of lignin, with 
155 parts lost. According to MM. Capitaine and Soubeiran, cubebin is best 
obtained by expressing cubebs from which the oil has been distilled, preparing 
with them an alcoholic extract, treating this with a solution of potassa, washing 
the residue with water, and purifying it by repeated crystallizations in alcohol. 
Thus prepared, it is white, inodorous, and insipid, not volatilizable by heat, 
almost insoluble in water, slightly soluble in cold alcohol, freely so in that liquid 
when hot, and soluble also in ether, acetic acid, and the fixed and volatile oils. 
It bears a close resemblance to piperin, but materially differs from it in composi- 
tion, as it contains no nitrogen. (Jo urn. de Pharm., xxv. 355.) In the officinal 
oleoresin of cubebs a deposit takes place consisting chiefly of cubebin, which 
may be obtained by washing the deposit with a small quantity of cold alcohol to 
remove adhering resin and oil, and then dissolving repeatedly in boiling alcohol, 
and crystallizing until the product is white. The volatile oil is officinal. (See 
Oleum Gubebse.) Cubebs gradually deteriorate by age, and in powder become 
rapidly weaker, in consequence of the escape of their volatile oil. They should 
be kept whole, and pulverized when dispensed. The powder is said to be some- 
times adulterated with that of pimento. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Cubebs are gently stimulant, with a special 
direction to the urinary organs. In considerable quantities they excite the cir- 
culation, increase the heat of the body, and sometimes occasion headache and 
giddiness. At the same time they frequently produce an augmented flow of the 
urine, to which they impart a peculiar odour. Among their effects are also oc- 
casionally nausea and moderate purging; and they are said to cause a sense of 
coolness in the rectum during the passage of the feces. We have no evidence 
that they were known to the ancients. They were probably first brought into 
Europe by the Arabians, and were formerly employed for similar purposes with 
black pepper; but they were found much less powerful and fell into disuse. Some 
years since they were again brought into notice in England as a remedy in go- 
norrhoea. This application of cubebs was derived from India, where they have 
long been used in gonorrhoea and gleet, and as a grateful stomachic and carmin- 
ative in disorders of the digestive organs. They are said to have sometimes pro- 
duced swelled testicles, when given in gonorrhoea; and, though recommended in 
all its stages, will probably be found most safe and effectual in cases where the 
inflammation is confined to the mucous membrane of the urethra. If not speedily 
useful, they should be discontinued. They have been given also in leucorrhoea, 
cvstirrhoea, the urethritis of women and female children, abscess of the prostate 
gland, piles, and chronic bronchial inflammation. In connection with copaiba 
they have been especially recommended in affections of the neck of the bladder 
and the prostatic portion of the urethra. They are best administered in pow- 
der, of which the dose in gonorrhoea is from one to three drachms, three or four 
times a day. For other affections, the dose is sometimes reduced to ten grains. 
The volatile oil may be substituted, iu the dose of ten or twelve drops, sus- 
pended in water by means of sugar. An ethereal extract is directed by the U. S. 
Pharmacopoeia, and considerably used. (See Oleoresina Gubebse.) An infusion, 
made in the proportion of an ounce of cubebs to a pint of water, has been em- 
ployed as an injection in discharges from the vagina, with asserted advantage. 
Off. Prep. Oleoresina Cubeboe, U.S.; Oleum Cubebae, U. S.; Tinctura Cu- 
bebae, U. S. W. 
CUPRUM. 
Copper. 
Cuivre, Fr.; Kupfer, Germ.; Rame, Ital.; Cobre, Span. 
This metal is very generally diffused in nature, and exists principally in four 
states; as uative copper, as an oxide, as a sulphuret, and as a Balt. Its princi PART I. 
Cuprum. 
341 
pal native salts are the sulphate, carbonate, arseniate, and phosphate. In the 
United States it occurs in various localities, tyut especially in the neighbourhood 
of Lake Superior. The principal copper mines of Europe are those of the Pyre- 
nees in France, Cornwall in England, and Fahlun in Sweden. 
Properties. Copper is a brilliant, sonorous metal, of a reddish colour, and 
very ductile, malleable, and tenacious. It has a slightly nauseous taste, and 
emits a disagreeable smell when rubbed. Its texture is granular, and its fracture 
hackly. Its sp.gr. is 8-89, and its fusing point 1996°, according to Daniell, 
being intermediate between the fusing points of silver and gold. Its equivalent 
number is 31-T5. Exposed to the air it undergoes a slight tarnish. Its combina- 
tions are numerous and important. With oxygen it forms two well characterized, 
oxides, a red suboxide or dioxide, consisting of two eqs. of copper and one of 
oxygen, and a black protoxide formed of one eq. of metal and one of oxygen. 
The latter oxide, which alone is salifiable, forms with acids several salts, import- 
ant in medicine and the arts. With metals, copper forms numerous alloys, of 
which that with zinc, called brass, is the most useful. 
Characteristics. Copper is recognised by its colour, and the effects of tests on 
its nitric solution. This solution, with potassa, soda, and ammonia, yields a blue 
precipitate, soluble in excess of the latter alkali, with which it forms a deep-blue 
liquid. Ferrocyanide of potassium occasions a brown precipitate of ferrocyanide 
of copper; and a bright plate of iron, immersed in the solution, immediately be- 
comes covered with a film of metallic copper. The ferrocyanide of potassium 
is an exceedingly delicate test for minute portions of copper in solution. Another 
test, proposed by M. Verguin, is to precipitate the copper in the metallic state 
on platinum by electro-chemical action. For this purpose a drop of the liquid 
to be examined is placed on a slip of platinum foil, and a slip of bright iron is 
brought in contact with the platinum and the liquid. If copper be present, it will 
be instantly precipitated on the surface of the platinum. 
Action on the Animal Economy. Copper, in its pure state, is perfectly inert, 
but in combination is highly deleterious. Nevertheless, a minute portion of the 
metal has been found in the human body. According to Millon, copper, when 
it exists in the blood, is, like the iron, attached to the red corpuscles. To bring 
the copper into a state favourable for ready detection, he advises that the blood, 
as it escapes from a vein, be received in about three times its bulk of water, and 
the mixture poured into a bottle of chlorine and agitated. The whole, upon being 
rapidly filtered, furnishes a liquid in which copper is readily detected. Wacken- 
roder found copper in the blood of man, but does not consider it a constant and 
normal constituent. He also detected this metal in the blood of domestic ani- 
mals living on a mixed diet, but not in their blood when nourished on vegetable 
food only. ( Ch.em. Gaz., May 1,1854.) The combinations of copper, when taken 
in poisonous doses, produce a coppery taste in the mouth; nausea and vomiting; 
violent pain in the stomach and bowels; frequent black and bloody stools; small, 
irregular, sharp, and frequent pulse; faintings; burning thirst; difficulty of breath- 
ing ; cold sweats; paucity of urine, and burning pain in voiding it; violent head- 
ache ; cramps, convulsions, and finally death. The best antidote, according to Dr. 
Schrader, of Gottingen, is the ferrocyanide of potassium, given freely, which forms, 
with the poison, the very insoluble ferrocyanide of copper. Before the antidote 
can be procured, large quantities should be given of milk, and white of eggs 
mixed with water, which act favourably by forming the caseate and albuminate 
of copper; but these compounds should be evacuated as soon as possible by 
vomiting and' purging. Should vomiting not take place, the stomach-pump may 
be employed. Magnesia was proposed as an antidote by M. Roucher; but Dr. 
Schrader says it is not to be depended upon. (Med. Times and Gaz., May, 1855.) 
The symptoms of slow poisoning by copper are, according to Dr. Corrigan, of 
Dublin, a cachectic appearance, emaciation, loss of muscular strength, colicky 342 
Cuprum.—Cupri Subacetas. 
PART l. 
pains, cough without physical signs, and retraction of the gums, with a persistent 
purple edge, quite distinct from the blue edge produced by lead. (Braithwaite's 
Retrospect, Am. ed., xxx. 303.) 
Dr. Horsley has detected sulphate of copper in bread and flour, used in London, 
and presumes that it was added with the view of improving the appearance of the 
flour. (Chern. News, No. 63, p. Ill, and No. 65, p. 142.) 
In medico-legal examinations, where cupreous poisoning is suspected, Orfila 
recommends that the viscera be boiled in distilled water for an hour, and that the 
matter obtained by evaporating the filtered decoction to dryness be carbonized 
by nitric acid. The carbonized product will contain the copper. By proceeding 
in this way, there is no risk of obtaining the copper which may happen to pre- 
exist in the animal tissues. This method of search is preferable to that of ex- 
amining the contents of the stomach and intestines, from which copper may be 
absent; while it may have penetrated the different organs by absorption, espe- 
cially the abdominal viscera. 
Vessels of copper should be discontinued in all operations connected with 
pharmacy and domestic economy; for, although the metal uncombined is inert, 
yet the risk is great that the vessels may be acted on; in which event, whatever 
may be contained in them would be rendered deleterious. 
The following is a list of the preparations containing copper in the U. S. and 
British Pharmacopoeias. 
Cupri Subacetas, U. S.— Subacetate of Cupper. 
Cupri Sulphas, XJ. S., Br. — Sulphate of Copper. Blue Vitriol. 
Cuprum Ammoniatum, U. S.—Ammoniated Copper. B. 
CUPRI SUBACETAS. U.S. 
Subacetate of Copper. 
Impure subacetate of copper. U. S. 
Verdigris; Acetate de cuivre brut, Vert-de-gris, Fr.; Griinspan, Germ.; Verde rame, Ital.; 
Cardenillo, Span. 
Preparation. Verdigris is prepared in large quantities in the south of France, 
more particularly in the neighbourhood of Montpellier. It is also manufactured 
in Great Britain and Sweden. In France the process is conducted in the follow- 
ing manner. Sheets of copper are stratified with the residue of the grape after 
the expression of the juice in making wine, and are allowed to remain -in this 
state for a month or six weeks. At the end of this time, the plates are found 
coated with a considerable quantity of verdigris. This is scraped off, and the 
plates are then replaced as at first, to be further acted on. The scrapings thus 
obtained form a paste, which is afterwards well beaten with wooden mallets, and 
packed in oblong leathern sacks, about ten inches in length by eight in breadth, 
in which it is dried in the sun, until the loaf of verdigris, as it is called, attains 
the proper degree of hardness. The rationale of the process is easily understood. 
The grape-refuse contains a considerable quantity of juice, which, by contact with 
the air, undergoes the acetous fermentation. The copper becomes oxidized, and 
the resulting oxide, by combination with the acetic acid generated during the 
fermentation, forms the subacetate of copper, or verdigris. In England a purer 
verdigris is prepared by alternating copper plates with pieces of woollen cloth, 
steeped in pyroligneous acid. 
Verdigris comes to this country exclusively from France, being imported prin- 
cipally from Bordeaux and Marseilles. The leathern packages in which it is put 
up, called sacks of verdigris, weigh generally from twenty-five to thirty pounds, 
and arrive in casks, each containing from thirty to forty sacks. 
Properties. Verdigris is in masses of a pale-green colour, and composed of a PART I. 
Cupri Suhacetas.—Cupri Sulphas. 
343 
multitude of minute silky crystals. Sometimes, however, it occurs of a bright-blue 
colour. Its taste is coppery. It is insoluble in alcohol, and, by the action of 
water, a portion of it is resolved into the neutral acetate which dissolves, and 
the trisacetate which remains behind in the form of a dark-green powder, gradu- 
ally becoming black. It is hence evident that, when verdigris is prepared by levi- 
gation with water, it is altered in its nature. The neutral acetate is the crystal- 
lized acetate of copper, or Crystals of Venus. (See Part Third.) When verdigris 
is acted on by sulphuric acid, it is decomposed, vapours of acetic acid being 
evolved, easily recognised by their vinegar odour. It is soluble almost entirely 
in ammonia, and dissolves in muriatic and dilute sulphuric acid with the excep- 
tion of impurities, which should not exceed 5 per cent. When of good quality, 
it has a lively green colour, is free from black or white spots, and is dry and dif- 
ficult to break. The green rust, called in popular language verdigris, which cop- 
per vessels are apt to contract when not kept clean, is a carbonate of copper, 
and should not be confounded with true verdigris. 
Composition. Verdigris, apart from its impurities, is a variable mixture of the 
subacetates of copper; the basic sesquiacetate predominating in the green variety, 
the diacetate in the blue. When acted on by water, two eqs. of the portion con- 
sisting of diacetate are converted into one eq. of soluble neutral acetate, and one 
of insoluble trisacetate. 
Medical Properties. Verdigris is used externally as a detergent and escha- 
rotic, and is occasionally applied to chronic eruptions, foul and indolent ulcers, 
and venereal warts. The special applications of it will be mentioned under its 
preparations. For its effects as a poison, see Cuprum. B. 
CUPRI SULPHAS. U.S.,Br. 
Sulphate of Copper. 
Blue vitriol, Roman vitriol, Blue stone ; Sulfate de cuivre, Vitriol bleu, Couperose blue, 
Fr.; Schwefelsaures Kupfer, Kupfervitriol, Blauervitriol, Blauer Galitzenstein, Germ.; 
Rame solfato, Vitriolo di rame, ltal.; Sulfato de cobre, Vitriolo azul, Span. 
Preparation, dec. Sulphate of copper occasionally exists in nature, in solution 
in the water which flows through copper mines. In this case the salt is pro- 
cured by merely evaporating the waters which naturally contain it. Another 
method for obtaining it is to roast the native sulphuret in a reverberatory fur- 
nace, whereby it is made to pass, by absorbing oxygen, into the state of sulphate. 
The roasted mass is lixiviated, and the solution obtained evaporated that crys- 
tals may form. The salt, procured by either of these methods, contains a little 
tersulphate of the sesquioxide of iron, from which it may be freed by adding 
either an excess of protoxide of copper, which precipitates the sesquioxide of 
iron, or recently precipitated subcarbonate of copper, which causes the deposi- 
tion of the iron as a carbonate. {Am. Journ. of P harm., xxxiv. 50t.) A third 
method consists in wetting, and then sprinkling with sulphur, sheets of copper, 
which are next heated to redness, and while hot plunged into water. The same 
operation is repeated until the sheets are entirely corroded. At first a sulphuret 
of the metal is formed, which, by the action of heat and air, gradually passes 
into the state of sulphate of the oxide. This is dissolved by the water, and ob- 
tained in crystals by evaporation. A fourth method is to dissolve copper scales 
to saturation in sulphuric acid, contained in a wooden vessel, lined with sheet 
lead. The scales consist of metallic copper, mixed with oxide, and are produced 
in the process for annealing sheet copper. 
Sometimes sulphate of copper is obtained in pursuing one of the methods for 
separating silver from gold. The silver is dissolved by boiling the alloy in sul- 
phuric acid. The sulphate of silver formed is then decomposed by the immersion Cupri Sulphas. 
PART I. 
of copper plates in its solution, with the effect of forming sulphate of copper 
and precipitating the silver. 
In the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, sulphate of copper is presumed to be obtained 
pure from the manufacturer; in the British, the following process is given for 
the purification of the Sulphate of Copper of Commerce, which has been in- 
troduced into its Appendix among the substances used in the preparation of 
medicines. “Take of Sulphate of Copper of Commerce eight ounces [avoirdu- 
pois]; Boiling Distilled Water one pint [Imperial measure]. Dissolve the 
Sulphate of Copper in the Water; filter the solution, and set it by that it may 
crystallize. Remove the crystals to filtering paper placed upon a porous brick, 
and, having dried them without heat, enclose them in a bottle.” Br. 
Properties. Sulphate of copper has a rich deep-blue colour, and strong 
metallic styptic taste. It reddens vegetable blues, and crystallizes in large, 
transparent, rhomboidal prisms, which effloresce slightly in the air, and are 
soluble in four parts of cold, and two of boiling water, but insoluble in alcohol. 
When heated it first melts in its water of crystallization, and then dries and 
becomes white. If the heat is increased, it next undergoes the igneous fusion, 
and finally, at a high temperature, loses its acid, protoxide of copper being left. 
Potassa, soda, and ammonia throw down from it a bluish-white precipitate of 
hydrated protoxide of copper, which is immediately dissolved by an excess of 
the last-mentioned alkali, forming a rich deep-blue solution, called aqua sap- 
phirina. It is decomposed by the alkaline carbonates, and by borax, acetate 
and subacetate of lead, acetate of iron, nitrate of silver, corrosive chloride of 
mercury, tartrate of potassa, and chloride of calcium; and it is precipitated by 
all astringent vegetable infusions. If it becomes very green on the surface by 
the action of the air, it contains sesquioxide of iron. This oxide may also be 
detected by ammonia, which will throw it down along with the oxide of copper, 
without taking it up when added in excess. When sulphate of copper is obtained 
from the dipping liquid of manufacturers of brass or German silver ware, it is 
always contaminated with sulphate of zinc, as pointed out by Mr. S. Piesse. 
This liquid is at first a mixture of sulphuric and nitric acids, but becomes, at 
last, nearly saturated with copper. When ziuc is present in sulphate of copper, 
it will be taken up by solution of potassa, added in excess, from which it may be 
thrown down, in white flocks, by a solution of bicarbonated alkali. 
Sulphate of copper consists of one eq. of sulphuric acid 40, one of protoxide 
of copper 39-T5, and five of water 45=124-75. 
Medical Properties. Sulphate of copper, in small doses, is astringent and 
tonic; in large ones a prompt emetic. With a view to its tonic effect, it has been 
given in intermittent fever, as well as in epilepsy and other spasmodic diseases; 
and as an emetic, for discharging poisons from the stomach, especially opium. 
In croup it has been employed as an emetic with encouraging success. M. 
Honerkopf, a German practitioner, speaks warmly of his success with it in this 
disease. He uses the salt freely, especially in severe cases, in which great in- 
sensibility of the stomach is usually manifested. Out of ninety cases, half of 
which he estimates to have been pseudo-membranous croup, he reports the cure 
of seventy-seven. (Journ. de Pharm., Oct. 1855.) Sulphate of copper has also 
been highly recommended in chronic diarrhoea. Externally it is employed in 
solution as a stimulant to ill-conditioned ulcers, as an escharotic for destroying 
warts, fungous granulations, and callous edges, and as a styptic to bleeding sur- 
faces. It is found, in not a few instances, to promote the cicatrization of ulcers, 
and is not unfrequently employed, with that view, as a wash for chancres. In 
weak solution, either alone or associated with other substances, it forms a useful 
collyrium in the chronic stages of some forms of ophthalmia. Eight grains o( it, 
with an equal weight of Armenian bole, and two grains of camphor, added to 
half a pint of boiling water, form, after becoming limpid by rest, a collyrium part I. 
Cupri Sulphas.—Curcuma. 
345 
strongly recommended by Mr. Ware in the purulent ophthalmia of infants. The 
preparation called cuprum aluminatum (lapis divinus—pierre divine) w 
made, according to the French Codex, by mixing, in powder, three ounces, each, 
of sulphate of copper, nitrate of potassa, and alum, heating the mixture in a 
crucible, so as to produce watery fusion, then mixing in*a drachm of pow- 
dered camphor, and, finally, pouring out the whole on an oiled stone to congeal. 
The mass, when cold, is broken into pieces, and kept in a well-stopped bottle. 
When this preparation is used as a collyrium, a filtered solution is made of the 
average strength of thirty grains to the pint of water. It is employed in various 
affections of the eyes, in which astringent applications are admissible. It is 
often desirable to employ sulphate of copper, as a caustic, in the form of pencil. 
Its tendency to effloresce interferes with its use in this way in the pure state. 
M. Llovet recommends for the purpose a mixture of one part of potassa-alum 
and two of sulphate of copper, which are to be first powdered, and then gradu- 
ally melted together in a porcelain vessel, and poured into moulds made of 
bronze. (Gaz. des Hop., Juillet 28, 1863.) Another mode of preparing pencils 
of sulphate of copper is to rub briskly together four parts of that salt and one 
of borax, and to mould the plastic mass which results into the desired form. 
(Am. Journ. of Pharm.} March, 1864, p. 106.) 
The dose of sulphate of copper, as an astringent or tonic, is a quarter of a 
grain, gradually increased; as an emetic, from two to five grains. As a stimu- 
lant wash, the solution may be made of the strength of two, four, or eight grains 
to the fluidounce of water. Orfila cautions against giving large doses of this 
salt as an emetic in cases of poisoning; as it is apt, from its poisonous effects, 
to increase the mischief when not expelled by vomiting. Upon the whole, such 
is the activity of sulphate of capper, that it should always be exhibited with 
caution. For its effects as a poison, see Cuprum. 
Off. Prep. Cuprum Ammoniatum, U. S. B. 
CURCUMA. U.S Secondary. 
Turmeric. 
The rhizoma of Curcuma longa. U. S. 
Safran des Indes, Fr.; Kurkuma, Gelbwurz, Germ.; Curcuma, Ital., Span.; Zirsood, Arab.; 
Huldie, Hindoo. 
Curcuma. Sex.Syst. Monandria Monogvnia. — Nat. Ord. Zingiberaceae. 
Gen.Ch. Both limbs of the corolla three-partite.. Anther with two spurs at 
the base. Seeds with an arillus. Loudon's Encyc. 
Curcuma longa. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 14; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 737, t. 252. 
The root of this plant is perennial, tuberous, palmate, and internally of a deep- 
yellow or orange colour. The leaves are radical, large, lanceolate, obliquely 
nerved, sheathing at their base, and closely embrace each other. The scape or 
flower-stem, which rises from the midst of the leaves, is short, thick, smooth, and 
constitutes a spike of numerous imbricated bracteal scales, between which the 
flowers successively make their appearance. The plant is a native of the East 
Indies and Cochin China, and is cultivated in various parts of southern Asia, 
particularly in China, Bengal, and Java, whence the root is exported. The best 
is said to come from China. 
The dried root is in cylindrical or oblong pieces, about as thick but not as 
long as the finger, tuberculated, somewhat contorted, externally yellowish-brown 
or greenish-yellow, internally deep orange-yellow, hard, compact, breaking with 
a fracture like that of wax, and yielding a yellow or orange-yellow powder. 
Another variety, comparatively rare, is round or oval, about the size of a 
pigeon’s egg, and marked externally with numerous annular wrinkles. Some- 346 
Curcuma.—Cydonium. 
PART I. 
times it comes cut into two transverse segments. It is distinguished by the name 
of curcuma rotunda, the former being called curcuma longa. The two varie- 
ties have a close resemblance in sensible properties, and are thought to be de- 
rived from the same plant, though formerly ascribed to different species of Cur- 
cuma. The odour of turmeric is peculiar; the taste warm, bitterish, and feebly 
aromatic. It tinges the saliva yellow. Analyzed by Pelletier and Vogel, it was 
found to contain lignin, starch, a peculiar yellow colouring matter called curcu- 
min, a brown colouring matter, gum, an odorous, and very acrid volatile oil, and 
a small quantity of chloride of calcium. Curcumin is obtained, mixed with a 
little volatile oil, by digesting the alcoholic extract of turmeric in ether, and 
evaporating the ethereal tincture. It may be procured perfectly pure by separat- 
ing it from its combination with oxide of lead. M. Lepage procures it bv ex- 
hausting turmeric with sulphuret of carbon, which does not dissolve curcumin, 
drying the residue, and treating it with 8 times its weight of distilled water, 
containing 2 or 3 per cent, of caustic potassa or soda, then filtering, and pre- 
cipitating with a slight excess of dilute muriatic acid, which takes the alkali, 
and throws down the curcumin. To obtain it quite pure, the precipitate is 
washed, dried, and treated with ether, which dissolves only the curcumin, and 
yields it by spontaneous evaporation. (Rev. Pharmaceut., A. D. 1857, p. 8.) It 
is brown in mass, but yellow in the state of powder, without odour or taste, in- 
soluble in benzine, scarcely soluble in water, but very soluble in alcohol, ether, 
and the oils. The alkalies rapidly change its colour to a reddish-brown; and 
paper tinged with tincture of turmeric is employed as a test of their presence. 
Berzelius, however, states that its colour is changed to red or brownish-red by the 
concentrated mineral acids, by pure boracic acid, especially when dissolved in 
alcohol, and by numerous metallic salts; so that its indications cannot be cer- 
tainly relied on. Its alcoholic solution produces coloured precipitates with ace- 
tate of lead, nitrate of silver, and other salts. Turmeric is used for dyeing yellow; 
but the colour is not permanent.* 
Medical Properties, &c. This root is a stimulant aromatic, bearing some re- 
semblance to ginger in its operation, and is much used in India as a condiment. 
It is a constant ingredient in the curries so generally employed in the East. In 
former times it had some reputation in Europe as a remedy in jaundice and other 
visceral diseases; but at present it is employed only to impart colour to oint- 
ments, and other pharmaceutic preparations. 
Turmeric paper, used as a test, is prepared by tinging white unsized paper 
with a tincture or decoction of turmeric. The tincture may be made with one 
part of turmeric to six parts of proof spirit; the decoction, with one part of the 
root to ten or twelve of water. The access of acid or alkaline vapours should 
be carefully avoided. W. 
CYDONIUM. U.S. Secondary. 
Quince Seed. 
The seed of Cydonia vulgaris. U. S. 
Semences de coings, Fr.; Quittenkerne, Germ.; Semi di cotogno, Ital.; Simiente de mem- 
brillo, Span. 
The quince-tree has been separated from the genus Pyrus, and erected into 
a new one called Cydonia, which differs in the circumstance that the cells of its 
fruit contain many seeds, instead of two only as in Pyrus. 
* African Turmeric. Dr. Wm. F. Danicll lias brought into notice a product, much used by 
the native Africans of Sierra Leone in dyeing, consisting of rliizomas, closely resembling 
the E. Indian turmeric, having a similar odour and taste, and in like manner tinging the 
saliva yellow, and imparting their colouring matter readily to alcohol and water. He found 
it to be derived from a species of Canna, supposed to be the C. speciosa of Roscoe. (J harm, 
Joum., Nov. 1859, p. 258.)—Note to the twelfth edition. PART i. 
Cydonium.—Cypripedium. 
347 
Cydonia. Sex. Syst. Icosandria Pentagynia.— Nat. Ord. Pomace®. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx five-parted, with leafy divisions. Apple closed, many-seeded. 
Testa mucilaginous. Loudon’s Encyc. 
Cydonia vulgaris. Persoon, Enchir. ii. 40. — Pyrus Cydonia. Willd. Sp. 
Plant, ii. 1020; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 505, t. 182. The common quince-tree is 
characterized as a species by its downy deciduous leaves. It is supposed to be 
a native of Crete, but grows wild in Austria, on the banks of the Danube. It 
is abundantly cultivated in this country. The fruit is about the size of a pear, 
yellow, downy, of an agreeable odour, and a rough, astringent, acidulous taste; 
and in each of its five cells contains from eight to fourteen seeds. Though not 
eaten raw, it forms a very pleasant confection; and a syrup prepared from it 
may be used as a grateful addition to drinks in sickness, especially in looseness 
of the bowels, which it is supposed to restrain by its astringency. The seeds are 
the officinal portion. 
They are ovate, angled, reddish-brown externally, white within, inodorous, 
and nearly insipid, being slightly bitter when long chewed. Their coriaceous en- 
velope abounds in mucilage, which is extracted by boiling water. Two drachms 
of the seeds will render a pint of water thick and ropy. It has been proposed 
to evaporate the decoction to dryness, and powder the residue. Three grains of 
this powder form a sufficiently consistent mucilage with an ounce of water. Ac- 
cording to M. Garot, one part communicates to a thousand parts of water a 
semi-syrupy consistence. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., iii. 298.) Dr. Pereira con- 
siders the mucilage as peculiar, and proposes to call it cydonin. It differs from 
arabin in not yielding a precipitate with silicate of potassa, and from bassorin 
and cerasin, in being soluble in water both hot and cold. 
Medical Properties, &c. The mucilage of quince seeds may be used for the 
same purposes as other mucilaginous liquids. It is preferred by some practi- 
tioners as a local application in conjunctival ophthalmia, but in this country is 
less used for that purpose than the infusion of sassafras pith. W. 
CYPRIPEDIUM. US. Secondary. 
Cypripedium. 
The root of Cypripedium pubescens. JJ. S. 
Cypripedium. Sex. Syst. Gynandria Diandria. — Nat. Ord. Orchidaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Sepals spreading; the two anterior generally united into one under 
the lip. Petals similar but usually narrower, spreading. Lip a large inflated sac, 
somewhat slipper-shaped. Column short, three-lobed; the lateral lobes bearing 
an anther under each, the middle dilated and petal-like. Gray. 
TJnder the common name of ladies’ slipper, or moccasin plant, several spe- 
cies of Cypripedium inhabit the woods in different parts of the United States. 
They are small plants, with large many-nerved, plaited leaves, sheathing at the 
'base, and large often beautiful flowers, of a shape not unlike the Indian moccasin, 
whence they derived one of their common names. Their generic name of Cypri- 
pedium (KuTtpis, Venus, and nodcov, sock) had a similar origin. Several of them 
have been used by American physicians, the root being the part employed. Dr. 
R. P. Stevens, of Ceres, Pennsylvania, says of them, that he has found the 
C. spectabile and C. acaule, especially when growing in dark swamps, to be 
possessed of narcotic properties, and to be less safe than the C. parvijlorum, 
which is gently stimulant with a tendency to the nervous system, and is quite 
equal to valerian. He has employed it advantageously in hysteria, and in the 
pains of the joints following scarlet fever. (N. Y Journ. of Med., iv. 359.) Dr. 
E. Ives considers C. pubescens, spectabile, and humile identical in their effects, 
but C. pubescens the most powerful. (Trans, of Am. Med. Assoc., iii. 312.) C. 
pubescens is the only one designated in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. 348 
Cypripedium.—Delphinium. 
part I. 
Cypripedium pubescens. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 142; Darlington, Flor. Ges- 
trie. p. 514. The yellow ladies’ slipper, as this plant is called from the colour 
of its flowers, has a simple, often flexuous, pubescent, leafy stem, from one to 
two feet high. The leaves are pubescent, ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, narrowing 
at the base, about four or five inches long by two in breadth, alternate, sessile, 
and sheathing. The flower is usually solitary and terminal; with four divisions 
of the perianth, the two outer cohering nearly to the apex, the inner longer, nar- 
rower, undulatory or twisted, and the lip an inch or two in length, swelling, sac- 
like, and of a yellow colour. The fruit is an oblong capsule, tapering at each end, 
recurved, pubescent, and peduncled. (Darlington.) The plant is indigenous, 
growing abundantly in rich, moist woods throughout the United States. The 
root is the part used. 
Properties. The dried root, as brought to the shops, has a small, knotted 
head or caudex, with numerous somewhat contorted fibres or radicles, consider- 
ably thicker than those of serpentaria, from four to six inches long, of a yellow- 
ish-brown colour, which is darker in the caudex, of a somewhat aromatic odour 
which diminishes by time, and a bitter, sweetish, peculiar, and in the end some- 
what pungent taste. It yields its virtues to water and alcohol. The root, so 
far as we know, has not been analyzed. The so-called eclectics prepare what 
they improperly call cypripedin by precipitating with water a concentrated 
tincture of the root. The substance thus obtained is complex, and has no claim 
to the name given it, which ought to be reserved for the active principle when 
discovered. It is probable that the virtues of the root reside in a volatile oil and 
bitter principle. 
Medical Uses. Cypripedium appears to be a gentle nervous stimulant or 
antispasmodic, and has been used for the same purposes as valerian, though less 
powerful. Dr. E. Ives, of New Haven, Conn., has employed the remedy in a 
variety of nervous diseases with advantage, and has known it even to cure epi- 
lepsy. The other complaints mentioned by him are hypochondriasis, neuralgia, 
and morbid sensitiveness of the nervous system generally, and especially of the 
eye. The medicine may be used in powder, infusion, or tincture. The dose of 
the powder given by Dr. Ives was fifteen grains three times a day. The oleo- 
resin obtained by precipitating the tincture has been given in doses varying 
from half a grain to three grains. W. 
DELPHINIUM. U. S. Secondary. 
Larkspur. 
The root of Delphinium Cousolida. U. S. 
Pied d’allouette, Fr.; Feld-Rittersporn, Germ. 
Delphinium. Sex.-Syst. Polyandria Trigynia. — Nat. Ord. Ranunculacese. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx none. Petals five. Nectary bifid, horned behind. Pods three, 
or one. Willd. 
Delphinium Consolida. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1226; Loudon’s Encyc. of 
Plants, p. 413, 1832. The larkspur is a showy annual plant, with an erect, 
branched, slightly pubescent stem. Its leaves are divided into linear segments, 
widely separated, and forked at the summit. The flowers are usually of a beau- 
tiful azure-blue colour, and disposed in loose terminal racemes, with peduncles 
longer than the bractes. The nectary is one-leaved, with an ascending horn 
nearly equalling the corolla. The seeds are contained in smooth, solitary cap- 
sules. This species of larkspur has been introduced from Europe into the United 
States, where it has become naturalized, growing in the woods and fields, and 
flowering in June and July. 
Various parts of the larkspur have been employed in medicine; and the plant part I. 
Delphinium.—Digitalis. 
349 
is said to have properties closely analogous to those of Delphinium Staphisa- 
gria. (See Staphisagria.) The flowers are bitter and acrid, and, having formerly 
been supposed to possess the power of healing wounds, gave the name of con- 
solida to the species. Aconitic acid has been obtained from the expressed juice 
by W. "VVicke. (Journ.de Pharm., Juillet, 1854, p. 79.) The seeds were ana- 
lyzed by Mr. Thomas C. Hopkins, of Baltimore, and found to contain delphinia, 
volatile oil, fixed oil, gum, resin, chlorophyll, gallic acid, and salts of potassa, 
lime, and iron. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xi. 8.) 
The flowers were formerly considered diuretic, emmenagogue, and vermifuge; 
but are not now used. The seeds are very acrid, are esteemed diuretic, and in 
large doses produce vomiting and purging. A tincture, prepared by macerating 
an ounce of them in a pint of diluted alcohol, has been found useful in spasmodic 
asthma and dropsy. The dose is ten drops, to be gradually increased till some 
effect upon the system is evinced. The remedy has been employed both in Ame- 
rica and England; and the seeds of an indigenous species, D. exaltatum, have 
been applied to a similar purpose. The root probably possesses the same pro- 
perties as other parts of the plant; but, though designated in the Pharmacopoeia, 
is little if at all used. W. 
DIGITALIS. U.S.,Br. 
Digitalis. Foxglove. 
The leaves of Digitalis purpurea, from plants of the second year’s growths 
U. S. The dried leaf; from wild indigenous plants, gathered when about two- 
thirds of the flowers are expanded. Br. 
Digitate pourprde, Doigktier, Fr.; Purpurrotker Pingerkut, Germ.; Digitate purpurea, 
Ital.; Dedalera, Span. 
Digitalis. Sex. Syst. Didynamia Angiospermia.—Nat. Ord. Scrophulari- 
acese. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx five-parted. Corolla bell-shaped, five-cleft, ventricose. Cap- 
sule ovate, two-celled. Willd. 
Digitalis purpurea. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 383; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 218, t. 
78. The foxglove is a beautiful plant, with a biennial or perennial fibrous root, 
which, in the first year, sends forth large tufted leaves, and in the following 
summer, a single erect, downy, and leafy stem, rising from two to five feet, and 
terminating in an elegant spike of purple flowers. The lower leaves are ovate, 
pointed, about eight inches in length and three in breadth, and stand upon short, 
winged footstalks; the upper are alternate, sparse, and lanceolate; both are 
obtusely serrate, and have wrinkled velvety surfaces, of which the upper is of a 
fine deep green, the under paler and more downy. The flowers are numerous, 
and attached to the upper part of the stem by short peduncles, in such a manner 
as generally to hang down upon one side. At the base of each peduncle is a 
floral leaf, which is sessile, ovate, and pointed. The calyx is divided into five 
segments, of which the uppermost is narrower than the others. The corolla is 
monopetalous, bell-form, swelling on the lower side, irregularly divided at the 
margin into short obtuse lobes, and in shape and size not unlike the end of the 
finger of a glove, a circumstance which has suggested most of the names by 
which the plant is designated in different languages. Its mouth is guarded by 
long soft hairs. Externally, it is in general of a bright purple; internally, is 
sprinkled with black spots upon a white ground. There is a variety with white 
flowers. The filaments are white, curved, and surmounted by large yellow anthers. 
The style is simple, and supports a bifid stigma. The seeds are numerous, very 
small, grayish-brown, and contained in a pyramidal two-celled capsule. 
The foxglove grows wild in the temperate parts of Europe, where it flowers 
in the middle of summer. In this country it is cultivated both for ornament and 350 
Digitalis. 
part I. 
for medical use. The leaves are the part generally employed. Much care is re- 
quisite in selecting, preparing, and preserving them, in order to ensure their 
activity. .They should be gathered in the second year, immediately before or 
during the period of inflorescence, and those only chosen which are full-grown 
and perfectly fresh. (Geiger.) It is said that those plants are preferable which 
grow spontaneously in elevated places, exposed to the sun. (Duncan.) As the 
leaf-stalk and midrib are comparatively inactive, they may be rejected. Withering 
recommends that the leaves should be dried either in the sunshine, or by a gentle 
heat before the fire; and care should be taken to keep them separate while drying. 
Pereira states that a more common, and, in his opinion, a preferable mo'de, is to 
dry them in a basket, in a dark place, in a drying stove. It is probably owing, 
in part, to the want of proper attention in preparing digitalis for the market, 
that it is so often inefficient. Much of the medicine kept in our shops is obtained 
from the Shakers, and is in oblong compact masses, into which the leaves have 
been compressed. In some of these cakes the digitalis is of good quality; but 
we have seen others in which it was quite the reverse, and some which were 
mouldy in the interior; and, upon the whole, cannot but consider this mode of 
preparing the drug as objectionable. The dried leaves should be kept in tin 
canisters, well closed so as to exclude light and moisture; or they may be pul- 
verized, and the powder preserved in well-stopped and opaque bottles. As fox- 
glove deteriorates by time, it should be frequently renewed, as often, if possible, 
as once a year. Its quality must be judged of by the degree in which it possesses 
the characteristic properties of colour, smell, and especially taste. It is said to 
oe sometimes adulterated; but if it be bought in leaf, there can be little difficulty 
with one acquainted with the characters of the genuine leaves in detecting the 
sophistication. 
The seeds contain more of the active principle than the leaves, are less apt to 
suffer in drying, and keep better; but are little used. So far as the relative 
strength of these two parts can be determined from that of their alcoholic ex- 
tracts, it would appear, from the experiments of Prof. Hirtz, that the seeds are 
ten times stronger than the leaves. (See Am. Journ. of Pliarm., xxxiii. 414.) 
Properties. Foxglove is without smell in the recent state, but acquires a faint 
narcotic odour when dried. Its taste is bitter and% nauseous. The colour of the 
dried leaf is a dull pale green, modified by the whitish down upon the under sur- 
face ; that of the powder is a fine deep green. Digitalis yields its virtues both 
to water and alcohol. These virtues reside in a peculiar bitter principle, which 
was first isolated by M. Homolle. In the extraction of this principle, called digi- 
taline, he employed the agency of tannic acid, as originally proposed by M. 0. 
Henry. The latter chemist has somewhat simplified the process of M. Homolle. 
An alcoholic extract is first prepared. This is treated with distilled water acidu- 
lated with acetic acid, and heated to about 110° F., a little animal charcoal being 
added. To the liquor, filtered, and partially neutralized by ammonia, a fresh con- 
centrated infusion of galls is gradually added, so long as a precipitate is produced. 
This precipitate, which is tannate of digitaline, is obtained separate by decanting 
the liquid, is washed with pure water mixed with a little alcohol, and then rubbed 
in a mortar with one-third of its weight of very finely powdered litharge. The 
mixture is heated gently, and submitted to the action of twice its volume of alco- 
hol at about 90°. The alcoholic solution is treated with a little animal charcoal, 
filtered, and evaporated at a very gentle heat. The residue is acted on twice or 
three times with cold and very pure sulphuric ether, which removes impurities, 
and leaves the digitaline. This may be powdered, or obtained in small scales by 
dissolving it in the least quantity of alcohol, and allowing the concentrated solu- 
tion to evaporate in a stove upon plates of glass. From 1000 parts of the leaves, 
M. Henry obtained between 9 and 10 parts of digitaline. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e 
ser.,vii. 462.) This substance is white, inodorous, crystallizable with difficulty, PART I. 
Digitalis. 
351 
intensely bitter, sternutatory when powdered, slightly decomposed at a boiling 
heat, soluble in about 2000 parts of cold water, more soluble in boiling water, 
which retains one part in 1000 when it cools, very soluble in alcohol cold or hot, 
very slightly soluble in ether, incapable of precipitating salts, without alkaline or 
acid reaction, and destitute of nitrogen. It forms an insoluble compound with 
tannic acid. It has the characteristic property of giving a fine emerald-green 
colour to concentrated muriatic acid. In the plant, it is rendered soluble in water 
by means of saline or extractive matters. It has all the effects of digitalis on the 
system, at least upon the heart. Besides the bitter principle, digitalis contains a 
volatile oil, a fatty matter, a red colouring substance analogous to extractive, 
chlorophyll, albumen, starch, sugar, gum, lignin, and salts of potassa and lime, 
among which, according to Rein and Haase, is superoxalate of potassa. M. 
Morin, of Geneva, has discovered in the leaves two acids; one fixed, called digi- 
talic acid, the other volatile and resembling valerianic acid, which he proposes 
to name antirrhinic acid. (Ibid., vii. 294.) Dr. Morries obtained a narcotic 
empyreumatic oil by the destructive distillation of the leaves. 
It appears, from the experiments of M. Kosmann, that digitaline must be 
ranked among the glucosides; as, when boiled with dilute sulphuric acid, it is 
resolved into glucose (grape-sugar) and a peculiar substance to which he gives 
the name of digitaliretin, a compound of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, having 
feeble acid properties, and somewhat bitter in solution, though much less so than 
digitaline itself. Under the influence of caustic soda digitaline is converted into 
a substance decidedly acid, which M. Kosmann names digilalinic acid. The same 
chemist has shown that digitaline exists in two states, hydrous and anhydrous, 
the former being converted into the latter at 212° F., with the loss of eight eqs. of 
water; the formula of the hydrous being, according to Kosmann, 681, 
that of the anhydrous = 609. It is always the anhydrous which is used 
in medicine. Digitalinic acid is somewhat bitter, but much less so than its original. 
Like digitaline, it is converted by diluted sulphuric acid and heat into glucose and 
digitaliretin. (Journ. de Pharm., Juillet, 1860, p. 6, and Aout, p. 87.) 
From more recent researches by Waltz, and by MM. Homolle and Quevenne 
themselyes, it has been determined that the digitaline of Homolle, though suf- 
ficiently pure for practical use, yet contains more or less of two other principles, 
from which it may be separated by the agency of ether and alcohol, as stated in 
the note below.* 
* The following are the results of the chemical examination of digitalis, as given by MM. 
Homolle and Quevenne, in Bouchardat’s Archives de Physiologie, §c. for January, 1854. 
Unfortunately these authors employ the very similar names digitaline and digitalin to desig- 
nate different substances; the former being applied by them to the bitter active principle, 
the latter to a tasteless and probably inert constituent. In conformity with their example, 
and to prevent confusion, we employ the term digitaline as the name of the active prin- 
ciple, though digitalin would be in accordance with our general usage. Besides the proper 
active constituent, digitalis contains, according to MM. Homolle and Quevenne, three pe- 
culiar neuter principles, digitalin, digilalose, and digitalide; four organic acids, the digitalic, 
anlirrhinic, digitaleic, and tannic; various other neuter organic substances, viz. starch, sugar, 
pectin, an albuminoid substance, an orange-red crystallizable colouring matter, chlorophyll, 
volatile oil, and lignin ; and, lastly, various inorganic salts and earthy matters. It is to the 
digitaleic acid, which is a fatty substance, that M. Homolle ascribes the nauseating and 
emetic properties and effects on vision, from which pure digitaline is exempt. (Ann. de 
Therap., A. D. 1862, p. 71.) 
Digitalin (digitasolin of Waltz) is a white, imperfectly crystalline powder, tasteless or very 
slightly acrid, soluble in water and alcohol, and insoluble in ether. Digitalose (digitalierin. 
of Waltz) is of a white, crystalline, almost micaceous appearance, tasteless, insoluble in 
water, and soluble in alcohol and ether. These two principles are often contained in the 
digitaline procured in the manner directed in the text. To separate them, advantage may 
be taken of the fact, that, though but very slightly soluble in perfectly pure ether, digita- 
line is readily dissolved by that liquid containing but a very small proportion of alcohol. 
If the impure digitaline be submitted to the action of ether, brought by the addition of 352 
Digitalis. 
part i. 
Since this article was revised for the press, we have seen the announcement, 
that a volatile alkaloid has been obtained by W. Englehardt from the leaves of 
digitalis, by a process similar to that by which conia is extracted from hemlock. 
It is described as an exceedingly volatile liquid, of an oily consistence, a very 
penetrating odour, an alkaline reaction, soluble with difficulty in water, readily 
dissolved by alcohol, soluble in pure ether, and but slightly so in chloroform. 
Should this discovery be confirmed, and the alkaloid prove to be one of the 
active principles of digitalis, it should receive the name of digitalia. In the 
mean time, the discoverer calls it digitalinum Jluidum. (See Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., March, 1864, p. 126.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Digitalis is narcotic, sedative, and diuretic. 
Administered in quantities sufficient to bring the system decidedly under its in- 
tiuence, it is apt to produce a sense of tightness or weight with dull pain in the 
head, vertigo, dimness or other disorder of vision, and more or less confusion of 
thought. At the same time it occasionally gives rise to irritation in the pharynx 
and oesophagus, which extends to the larynx and trachea, producing hoarseness; 
and, in more than one instance, ptyalism has been observed to result. It some- 
times also disturbs the bowels, and excites nausea, or even vomiting. Another 
and highly important effect is an augmented flow of urine. This has been as- 
cribed by some to increased absorption; and, in support of this opinion, it is 
stated that its diuretic operation is observable only when dropsical effusion ex- 
ists ; but the fact seems to be, that it is capable of augmenting the quantity of 
urine in health, and it probably exerts a directly stimulating influence upon the 
secretory function of the kidneys. This influence is said sometimes to extend to 
the genital organs. Besides the effects above detailed, digitalis has a remarka- 
bly sedative action upon the heart. This is exhibited in the reduction both of 
the force and frequency of the pulse, which sometimes sinks to 50, 40, or even 
30 strokes in the minute. In some instances, however, it undergoes little change; 
in others only becomes irregular; and we are told that it is even occasionally 
increased in frequency. It was observed by Dr. Baildon that the effects of digi- 
talis upon the circulation were much influenced by posture. Thus, in his own case, 
the pulse, which had been reduced from 110 to 40 in the recumbent position, was 
increased to 72 when he sat, and to 100 when he stood. We do not discover 
anything remarkable in this circumstance. It is well known that the pulse is 
always more frequent in the erect than in the horizontal posture, and the differ- 
ence is greater in a state of debility than in health. Digitalis diminishes the 
frequency of the pulsations of the heart by a directly debilitating power; and 
this very debility, when any exertion is made which calls for increased action in 
that organ, causes it to attempt, by an increase in the number of its contrac- 
alcohol to the sp. gr. 0-780, the digitaline and digitalose will be dissolved, and digitalin 
left; and, by a repetition of the treatment, almost the whole of the bitter principle may 
be extracted. If the ethereal solutions thus obtained be mixed, the ether distilled off until 
the residue has a pap-l)ke consistence, and this residue be treated with boiling alcohol of 
00°, the digitaline will be taken up, and most of the digitalose remain undissolved. The 
former may now be obtained by a gentle evaporation of the alcohol; and, by repetitions of 
the process, may be rendered very nearly free from digitalose, though not perfectly so. 
In its purest state, digitaline, instead of being white, has a pale-yellow tint, and is crys- 
tallizable with even greater difficulty than in its ordinary condition. Indeed, MM. Ilomolle 
and Quevenne are disposed to consider it quite uncrystallizable when perfectly pure. One 
of its peculiarities is a disposition to assume a globular form when deposited from its solu- 
tion. If its alcoholic or ethereal solution be concentrated until it becomes turbid, and then 
examined with a microscope, innumerable globules will be seen of variable size, closely 
resembling those of milk. These coalesce, and, when deposited, adhere to the bottom of 
the vessel in grains or masses of a resinoid appearance. (Op. tit., pp. 21 and 22.) As a test 
of the sufficient purity of digitaline, the authors state that its bitterness should be such as 
to require, in order to be rendered imperceptible, the addition of 10 litres (about 21 pints) 
of water to 5 centigrammes (about 0-77 gr.) of the digitaline. (Ibid., p. 126.1—Note to the 
eleventh and twelfth editions. Digitalis. 
353 
part I. 
tions, to meet the demand which it is unable to supply by an increase in their 
force. According to Dr. Traube, it directly diminishes animal temperature in 
febrile and inflammatory diseases, without antecedent effect on the circulation. 
(See Archives Gen., 4e ser., xxviii. 338.) It is said also to have a powerful seda- 
tive influence on the generative organs. This statement is not altogether incom- 
patible with that already made, that the medicine sometimes stimulates these 
organs. The normal depressing effect may be experienced through the nervous 
centres; while the occasional irritation may proceed, either from the direct ac- 
tion of the medicine through the blood on the tissues affected, or a sympathetic 
influence extended from the urinary organs. Dr. A. Buchner states that digita- 
line arrests vinous fermentation, and consequently poisons the yeast plant. (See 
Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxiv. 154.) 
The effects above detailed may result from digitalis given in remediate doses. 
In larger quantities its operation is more violent. Nausea and vomiting, stupor 
or delirium, cold sweats, extreme prostration of strength, hiccough, convulsions, 
and syncope are among the alarming symptoms which indicate its poisonous 
character. These effects are best counteracted by stimulants, such as brandy, 
the volatile alkali, and opium. Should any of the poison be suspected to remain, 
it would be proper, before employing other measures, to evacuate the stomach 
by the free use of warm liquids. From the experiments of M. Bonjean, it ap- 
pears that powdered digitalis may be given to fowls, in large quantities, with 
entire impunity. {Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., iv. 21.) 
A peculiarity of digitalis is that, after having been given in moderate doses 
for several days without apparent effect, it sometimes acts suddenly with an ac- 
cumulated influence, even endangering life. It is, moreover, very permanent in 
its operation, which, having once commenced, is maintained for a considerable 
period without fresh accessions of the medicine. The practical inferences deduci- 
ble from these properties of digitalis are, first, that, after it has been given for 
some time without effect, care should be taken not to increase the dose too 
greatly; and, secondly, that, after its effects have begun to appear, it should be 
suspended for a time, or exhibited in smaller doses, lest a dangerous accumula- 
tion should be experienced. In numerous instances death has resulted from its 
incautious employment. 
Digitalis has been long known to possess medicinal powers; but it was never 
regarded as a standard remedy till after its application by Withering to the 
treatment of dropsy, about the year 1775. It is at present employed very exten- 
sively, both for its diuretic power, and for its sedative influence over the circula- 
tion. The former renders it highly useful in dropsical diseases, though like all 
other remedies it frequently fails; the latter adapts it to cases in which the 
action of the heart requires to be controlled. The idea was at one period enter- 
tained, that it might serve as a substitute for the lancet in febrile and inflamma- 
tory complaints; and it has been much employed for this purpose by the advo- 
cates of the contra-stimulant doctrine in Italy; but experience has proved that 
it is a very frail support where the symptoms of inflammation are such as to 
call for the loss of blood. A s an adjuvant to the lancet,'and when circumstances 
forbid the employment of that remedy, it is often useful. Though it certainly 
has not the power, at one time ascribed to it by some, of curing phthisis, it acts 
beneficially as a palliative in that complaint by depressing the excited move- 
ments of the heart. In the same way it proves advantageous in aneurism, 
hypertrophy and dilatation of the heart, palpitations from rheumatic or gouty 
’rritation, and in various forms of hemorrhage, after action has been sufficiently 
reduced by the lancet. Some consider it especially efficient in menorrhagia. 
It has also been prescribed in nervous headache, mania, epilepsy, pertussis, and 
spasmodic asthma; and highly respectable testimony can be adduced in favour 
of its occasional efficacy in these complaints. In delirium tremens it has been 354 
Digitalis. —Diospyros. 
PART I. 
recommended as a specific, given in infusion, in the full dose, repeated every 
two hours till symptoms of narcotism are induced; but the practice is somewhat 
hazardous, unless the patient is carefully watched. (Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., 
xvii. 501.) Much testimony has recently been given in favour of large doses of 
digitalis in this affection; the tincture having been taken in doses of from half a 
fluidrachm to half a fluidounce, and repeated afterwards in smaller quantities, at 
intervals of two, four, or six hours till sleep was obtained. (Ibid., Jan. 18G1, p. 
25?.) The same practice has been recommended in acute mania. But we would 
reiterate the necessity of caution; for, though the tincture, as found in the shops, 
may no doubt often be administered safely in large doses, yet, if the medicine is 
of good quality, they cannot but be hazardous. Digitalis is said to be a very effi- 
cient remedy in spermatorrhoea. Externally applied, it sometimes acts speedily 
and powerfully as a diuretic, and has proved useful in dropsy. For this purpose 
the fresh leaves bruised, or the tincture, may be rubbed over the abdomen and 
on the inside of the thighs. (Revue Medicate, May, 1834.) 
Digitalis is administered in substance. The dose of the powder is one grain, 
repeated twice or three times a day, and gradually increased till some effect is 
produced upon the head, stomach, pulse, or kidneys, when it should be omitted 
or reduced. The infusion and tincture are officinal preparations often resorted 
to. (See Infusum Digitalis and Tinctura Digitalis.) The extract has also been 
employed; and Orfila found it, whether prepared with water or alcohol, more 
powerful than the powder. Enormous doses of this medicine have been given 
with asserted impunity; and, when they occasion full vomiting, it is possible that 
they may sometimes prove harmless; but, when the alarming effects sometimes 
experienced from comparatively moderate doses are considered, the practice must 
be condemned as exceedingly hazardous. 
Digitaline has been used internally, but its employment requires caution. With 
all the powers of digitalis, it possesses the advantage of more equable strength, 
and consequently greater precision and certainty in regard to the dose. It may 
be used for any of the purposes to which the leaves are applicable; and may be 
administered in pill, or alcoholic solution. The dose to begin with should not 
exceed the fiftieth or sixtieth of a grain, and should not be carried beyond the 
twelfth. It is much administered in the form of granules, made by saturating 
small globules of sugar with an alcoholic solution of digitaline. The granules 
of Homolle, which are commonly used in Europe, contain each a milligramme, or 
about the seventieth of a grain; equivalent, on the average, to perhaps a grain 
and a half of digitalis of medium strength. One of these globules may be given 
as a commencing dose. Forty of them taken with a view to suicide, though 
followed by copious vomiting, so that most of the poison was probably discharged, 
produced the most alarming prostration, with a pulse weak, 46 to 48 in a minute, 
intermittent, and sometimes scarcely perceptible. The patient, however, ulti- 
mately recovered. (Ann. de Therap., A.D. 1858, p. 103.) 
Off. Prep. Digitalinum, Br.; Extractum Digitalis Alcoholicum, U. S.; Infu- 
sum Digitalis; Tinctura Digitalis. W. 
DIOSPYROS. U.S. Secondary. 
Persimmon. 
The unripe fruit of Diospyros Yirginiana. U. S. 
Diospyros. Sex. Syst. Dicecia Octandria.—Nat. Ord. Ebenacem. 
Gen. Gh. Male. Calyx four to six-cleft. Corolla urceolate, four to six-cleft. 
Stamens eight to sixteen; filaments often producing two anthers. Female. Flower 
as the male. Stigmas four to five. Berry eight to twelve-seeded. Nuttall. 
Diospyros Virginiana. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 110?; Michaux, N. Am. Sylv. part I. 
Diospyros.—Dracontium. 
355 
ii. 219. The persimmon is an indigenous tree, rising sometimes in the Southern 
States to the height of sixty feet, with a trunk twenty inches in diameter; but 
seldom attaining more than half that size near its northern limits, and often not 
higher than fifteen or twenty feet. The stem is straight, and in the old tree 
covered with a furrowed blackish bark. The branches are spreading; the leaves 
ovate-oblong, acuminate, entire, smooth, reticulately veined, alternate, and sup- 
ported on pubescent footstalks. The buds are smooth. The male and female 
flowers are on different trees. They are lateral, axillary, solitary, nearly sessile, 
of a pale-orange colour, and not conspicuous. The fruit is a globular berry, 
dark-yellow when perfectly ripe, and containing numerous seeds embedded in a 
soft yellow pulp. 
This tree is very common in the Middle and Southern States, but, according 
to Michaux, does not flourish beyond the forty-second degree of north latitude. 
The flowers appear in May or June; but the fruit is not ripe till the middle of 
autumn. While green, the fruit is excessively astringent, and, we presume, will 
retain its astringency if carefully sliced and dried in this state; but, when per- 
fectly mature, and after having been touched by the frost, it is sweet and pala- 
table. Michaux states that, in the Southern and Western States, it is made into 
cakes with bran, and used for preparing beer with the addition of water, hops, 
and yeast. A spirituous liquor may be obtained by the distillation of the fer- 
mented infusion. The unripe fruit was examined by Mr. B. R. Smith, of Phila- 
delphia, and found to contain tannic acid, sugar, malic acid, colouring matter, 
and lignin. {Am. Journ. of Pharm., xviii. 167.) The tannic acid has been as- 
certained by Mr. John E. Bryan not to be of the kind existing in galls and oak- 
bark. {Ibid., xxxii. 215.) The fact that tannin is a glucoside may throw some 
light on the rapid and complete change which the fruit undergoes from astrin- 
gency to sweetness during maturation. It has been used by Dr. Mettauer, of 
Virginia, in diarrhoea, chronic dysentery, and uterine hemorrhage. He gave it 
in infusion, syrup, and vinous tincture, prepared in the proportion of about an 
ounce of the bruised fresh fruit to two fluidounces of the vehicle, and adminis- 
tered in the dose of a fluidrachm or more for infants, and half a fluidounce or 
more for adults. The bark is astringent and very bitter, and is said to have 
been used advantageously in intermittents, and in the form of a gargle in ulcer- 
ated sorethroat. W. 
DRACONTIUM. TJ. S. Secondary. 
Skunk Cabbage. 
The root of Dracontium foetidum, Ictodes foetidus {Bigelow), Symplocarpus 
foetidus {Salisbury). U. S. 
Botanists have had some difficulty in arranging this plant. It was attached 
by Willdenow to the genus Dracontium, by Michaux and Pursh was considered 
a Pothos, and by American botanists has been erected into a new genus, which 
Nuttall calls Symplocarpus after Salisbury, and Dr. Bigelow proposes to name 
Ictodes, expressive of the odour of the plant. The term Symplocarpus, though 
erroneous in its origin, was first proposed, and, having been adopted by several 
botanists, should be retained. 
Symplocarpus. Sex. Syst. Tetrandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Araceae. 
Gen. Ch. Spathe hooded. Spadix covered with perfect flowers. Calyx with 
four segments. Petals none. Style pyramidal. Seeds immersed in the spadix. 
Symplocarpus fcetida. Barton, Med. Bot. i. 123.—Ictodes foetidus. Bigelow, 
Am. Med. Bot. ii. 41. The skunk cabbage is a very curious plant, and the only 
one of the genus. The root is perennial, large, abrupt, and furnished with nu- 
merous fleshy fibres, which penetrate to the depth of two feet or more. The 3 56 
Dracontium. 
PART I. 
spathe, which first appears, is ovate, acuminate, obliquely depressed at the apex, 
auriculated at the base, folded inwards at the edges, and of a brownish-purple 
colour, varied with spots of red, yellow, and green. Within the spathe, the 
flowers, which resemble it in colour, are placed in great numbers upon a globdse 
peduncled spadix, for which they form a compact covering. After the spathe 
has decayed, the spadix continues to grow, and, when the fruit is mature, has 
attained a size exceeding several times its original dimensions. At the base of 
each style is a roundish seed, immersed in the spadix, about the size of a pea, 
and speckled with purple and yellow. The leaves, which appear after the flowers, 
are numerous and crowded, oblong-cordate, acute, smooth, strongly veined, and 
attached to the root by long petioles, which are hollowed in front, and furnished 
with coloured sheathing stipules. At the beginning of May, when the leaves are 
fully developed, they are very large, being from one to two feet in length, and 
from nine inches to a foot in breadth. 
The plant is indigenous, growing abundantly in meadows, swamps, and other 
wet places throughout the northern and middle sections of the Union. Its 
flowers appear in March and April, and in the lower latitudes often so early 
as February. The fruit is usually quite ripe, and the leaves are decayed before 
the end of August. The plant is very conspicuous from its abundance, and the 
magnitude of its leaves. All parts of it have a fetid odour, thought to resemble 
that of the offensive animal after which it is named. This odour resides in an 
extremely volatile principle, which is rapidly dissipated by heat, and diminished 
by desiccation. The root is the part employed. It should be collected in autumn, 
or early in spring, and dried with care. 
The root, as found in the shops, consists of two portions; the body either 
whole or in transverse slices, and the separated radicles. The former, when whole, 
is cylindrical or in the shape of a truncated cone, two or three inches long by 
about an inch in thickness, externally dark-brown and very rough from the in- 
sertion of the radicles, internally white and amylaceous. The latter are of various 
lengths, about as thick as a hen’s quill, very much flattened and wrinkled, white 
within, and covered by a yellowish reddish-brown epidermis, considerably lighter 
coloured than the body of the root. More or less of the fetid odour remains for 
a considerable period in the dried root. The taste, though less decided than in 
the fresh, is still acrid, manifesting itself, after the root has been chewed for a 
short time, by a pricking and smarting sensation in the mouth and throat. The 
acrimony, however, is dissipated by heat, and is quite lost in decoction. It is 
also diminished by time and exposure; and the root should not be kept longer 
than a single season. The radicles are said to have less acrimony than the caudex. 
The seeds are very acrid, and, though inodorous when whole, give out strongly, 
when bruised, the peculiar odour of the plant. 
Medical Properties and Uses. The root is stimulant, antispasmodic, and 
narcotic. In large doses it occasions nausea and vomiting, with headache, ver- 
tigo, and dimness of vision. Dr. Bigelow has witnessed these effects from thirty 
grains of the recently dried root. The medicine was introduced into notice by 
the Rev. Dr. Cutler, who recommended it highly in asthma; and it has been 
subsequently employed with apparent advantage in chronic catarrh, chronic 
rheumatism, hysteria, and dropsy. Dr. Heintzelman thinks it expectorant as well 
as antispasmodic, and has used it beneficially in hooping-cough and pulmonary 
consumption. (N. J. Med. Reporter, iv. 310.) 
It is best given in powder, of which the dose is from ten to twenty grains, to 
be repeated three or four times a day, and gradually increased till some evidence 
of its action is afforded. A strong infusion is sometimes employed, and the people 
in the country prepare a syrup from the fresh root; but the latter preparation 
is very unequal. The root itself, as kept in the shops, is of uncertain stiength, 
in consequence of its deterioration by age. W. Dulcamara. 
357 
part r. 
DULCAMAKA. U.S., Br. 
Bittersweet. 
The stalks of Solanum Dulcamara. U. S. The young branches, dried. Br. 
Douce-am&re, Ft.; Bittersiiss, Alpranken, Germ.; Dulcamara, Ital., Span. 
Solanum. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Solanaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Corolla wheel-shaped. Anthers somewhat coalescing, opening by 
two pores at the apex. Berry two-celled. Willd. 
This genus includes numerous species, of which several have been used in 
medicine. Besides S. Dulcamara, which is the only officinal species, a few others 
merit notice. 1. Solanum nigrum, the common garden or black nightshade, 
is an annual plant from one to two feet high, with an unarmed herbaceous stem, 
ovate, angular-dentate leaves, and white or pale-violet flowers, arranged in 
peduncled nodding umbel-like racemes, and followed by clusters of spherical 
black berries, about the size of peas. There are numerous varieties of this spe- 
cies, one of which is a native of the United States. The leaves are the part em- 
ployed. They are said to produce diaphoresis, sometimes diuresis and moderate 
purging, and in large doses nausea and giddiness. As a medicine they have 
been used in cancerous, scrofulous, and scorbutic diseases, and other painful 
ulcerous affections, being given internally, and applied at the same time to the 
parts affected in the form of poultice, ointment, or decoction. A grain of the 
dried leaves may be given every night, and gradually increased to ten or twelve 
grains, or till some sensible effect is experienced. The medicine, however, is 
scarcely used at present. By some persons the poisonous properties ascribed to 
the common nightshade are doubted. M. Dunal, of Montpellier, states, as the 
result of numerous experiments, that the berries are not poisonous to man or 
the inferior animals; and the leaves are said to be consumed in large quantities 
in the Isles of France and Bourbon as food, having been previously boiled in 
water. In the latter case, the active principle of the plant must hawe been ex- 
tracted by decoction. 2. The leaves, stalks, and unripe berries of Solanum 
tuberosum, or the common potato, are asserted to be narcotic; and an extract 
prepared from the leaves has been employed in cough and spasmodic affections, 
in which it is said to act like opium. {Geiger.) From half a grain to two grains 
may be given as a dose. Dr. Latham, of London, found the extract to produce 
favourable effects in protracted cough, chronic rheumatism, angina pectoris, 
cancer of the uterus, &c. Its influence upon the nervous system was strongly 
marked, and, in many instances, the dose could not be increased above a few 
grains without giving rise to threatening symptoms. It appeared to Dr. Latham 
to be analogous in its operation to digitalis. His experiments were repeated in 
Philadelphia by Dr. Worsham with different results. The extract was found, in 
the quantity of nearly one hundred grains, to produce no sensible effect. (Philad. 
Journ. of the Med. and Phys. Sciences, vi. 22.) We can reconcile these opposite 
statements only upon the supposition, that the properties of the plant vary with 
the season, or with the place and circumstances of culture. Dr. Julius Otto 
found solania in the germs of the potato. He was induced to make the investiga- 
tion by observing that cattle were destroyed by feeding on the residue of germi- 
nated potatoes, used for the manufacture of brandy. A case of death in a girl of 
fourteen, from eating the unripe fruit of the potato, is recorded in the British 
Med. Journ. for Sept. 3d, 1859. The prominent symptoms were partial stupor, 
speechlessness, jactitation, hurried breathing, lividness of the skin, cold sweats, 
very frequent and feeble pulse, and a constant spitting through the closed teeth 
of viscid frothy phlegm. Death occurred on the second day. 3. The well-known 
tomato, so much used as a vegetable at the table, and so advantageous through 358 
Dulcamara. 
PART I. 
its nutritive, laxative, and antiscorbutic properties, is the fruit of a species of So- 
lanum, denominated S. Lycopersicum. Though the juice of the fruit is free from 
solania, the seeds probably contain it, as their alcoholic extract has a bitter, 
pungent taste. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxxiv. 519.) 4. Several instances 
of poisoning are on record from the fruit of S. pseudocapsicum, or Jerusalem 
cherry, which, from its resemblance to the common cherry, is liable to be eaten 
by children. 
Solarium Dulcamara. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1028; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 237, 
t. 84 ; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. i. 169. The bittersweet ox woody nightshade is 
a climbing shrub, with a slender, roundish, branching, woody stem, which, in 
favourable situations, rises six or eight feet in height. The leaves are alternate, 
petiolate, ovate, pointed, veined, soft, smooth, and of a dull-green colour. Many 
near the top of the stem are furnished with lateral projections at their base, 
giving them a hastate form. Some have the projection only on one side. Most 
of them are quite entire, some cordate at the base. The flowers are disposed in 
elegant clusters, somewhat analogous to cymes, and standing opposite to the 
leaves. The calyx is very’small, purplish, and divided into five blunt persistent 
segments. The corolla is wheel-shaped, with five pointed, reflected segments, 
which are of a violet-blue colour, with a darker purple vein running longitudi- 
nally through their centre, and two shining greenish spots at the base of each. 
The filaments are very short, and support large, erect, lemon-yellow anthers, 
which cohere in the form of a cone around the style. The berries are of an oval 
shape and a bright scarlet colour, and continue to hang in beautiful bunches 
after the leaves have fallen. 
This plant is common to Europe and North America. It flourishes most 
luxuriantly in damp and sheltered places, as on the banks of rivulets, and among 
the thickets which border our natural meadows. It is also found in higher and 
more exposed situations, and is frequently cultivated in gardens. In the United 
States it extends from New England to Ohio, and is in bloom from June to 
August. The root and stalk have medicinal properties, though the latter only 
is officinal.* The berries, which were formerly esteemed poisonous, and thought 
to act with great severity on the stomach and bowels, have of late been said to 
be innoxious. A case, however, of death from their use in a child has recently 
been recorded. (See Pharm. Journ., Feb. 1861, p. 436.) Bittersweet should be 
gathered in autumn, after the fall of the leaf; and the extreme twigs should be 
selected. That grown in high and dry situations is said to be the best. 
The dried twigs, as brought to the shops, are of various lengths, cylindrical, 
about as thick as a goose-quill, externally wrinkled, and of a grayish-ash colour, 
consisting of a thin bark, an interior ligneous portion, and a central pith. They 
are inodorous, though the stalk in the recent state emits, when bruised, a pecu- 
liar, rather nauseous smell. Their taste, which is at first bitter and afterwards 
sweetish, has given origin to the name of the plant. Boiling water extracts all 
their virtues. These are supposed to depend, at least in part, upon a peculiar 
alkaline principle called solanin or solania, which was origiually discovered by 
M. Desfosses, of Besan9on, in the berries of Solanum nigrum, and has subse- 
quently been found in the stalks, leaves, and berries of S. Dulcamara and S. 
tuberosum. It is supposed to exist in the bittersweet combined with malic acid * 
* Solania is most conveniently obtained from the sprouts of the common potato. The fuJ 
lowing is Wackenroder’s process for extracting it. The sprouts, collected in the beginning 
of June, and pressed down in a suitable vessel by means of pebbles, are macerated for 
twelve or eighteen hours in water enough to cover them, previously acidulated with sul- 
phuric acid, so as to have a strongly acid reaction during the maceration. They are then 
expressed by the hand; and the liquor, with the addition of fresh portions of sulphuric 
acid, is added twice successively, as at first, to fresh portions of sprouts, and in like man- 
ner separated by expression. After standing for some days, it is filtered, and treated with 
powdered hydrate of lime in slight excess. The precipitate which forms is sepirated by Dulcamara. 
359 
Solania is in tlie form of a white opaque powder, or of delicate acicular crys- 
tals, somewhat like those of sulphate of quinia, though finer and shorter. It is 
inodorous, of a bitter taste, fusible at a little above 212°, scarcely soluble in 
water, soluble in alcohol and ether, and capable of neutralizing the acids. It is 
distinguished by the deep-brown, or brownish-yellow colour which iodine imparts 
to its solution, and by its reaction with sulphuric acid, which becomes first red- 
dish-yellow, then purplish-violet, then brown, and lastly again colourless, with 
the deposition of a brown powder. {Pharm. Gent. Blatt, A. D. 1843, p. 177.) 
Given to a cat, it was found by M. Desfosses to operate at first as an emetic, 
and afterwards as a narcotic. Dr. J. Otto observed, among its most striking 
effects, a paralytic condition of the posterior limbs of animals. One grain of the 
sulphate of solania was sufficient to destroy a rabbit in six hours. Dr. Frass did 
not observe paralysis of the lower limbs of animals as one of its effects. Given 
to different animals, he found it to occasion loss of appetite, vomiting, sometimes 
diarrhoea, excitement of the circulation, dilatation of the pupils, and, in large 
doses, heaviness, apathy, slowness of movement, and sometimes convulsions. 
Injected into the jugular vein, it caused accelerated circulation, difficult, and even 
spasmodic respiration, convulsions, tetanic spasms, and death. Two grains of the 
acetate, injected into the rectum of a rabbit, killed it in six hours. Ten grains 
given to a dog, and confined by a ligature round the oesophagus, though it 
occasioned great disturbance, did not prove fatal. Twenty grammes (5v) pro- 
duced no effect on a hog. (See B. & F. Medico-Chirurg. Bev., Am. ed., July, 
1854, p. 189.) Besides solania, the stalks of S. Dulcamara contain, according 
to Pfaff, a peculiar principle to which he gave the name of picroglycion, indi- 
cative of the taste, at once bitter and sweet, which it is said to possess. This 
was obtained by Blitz, in the following manner. The watery extract was treated 
with alcohol, the tincture evaporated, the residue dissolved in water, the solution 
precipitated with subacetate of lead, the excess of this salt decomposed by sul- 
phuretted hydrogen, the liquor then evaporated to dryness, and the residue treated 
with acetic ether, which yielded the principle in small isolated crystals by spon- 
taneous evaporation. Pfaff found also in dulcamara a vegeto-animal substance, 
gummy extractive, gluten, green wax, resin, benzoic acid, starch, lignin, and vari- 
ous salts of lime. 
part I. 
straining, dried in a warm air, and boiled several times with alcohol. The alcoholic solu- 
tion, having been filtered while hot, will, upon cooling, deposit the solania in flocculent 
crystals. An additional quantity of the alkaloid may be obtained by evaporating the mother- 
liquor to one-quarter of its volume, and then allowing it to cool. The whole residuary 
liquor will assume a gelatinous consistence, and, upon being dried, will leave the solania in 
the form of a translucent, horny, amorphous mass. (Pharm. Central Blatt, 1843, p. 174.) 
Opinion at present seems to be unsettled as to the nature of solanin or solania; and the 
results obtained by different chemists are so very different as almost to necessitate the 
conclusion that they have operated on different substances. Indeed, M. Moitessier states 
expressly that the alkaloids obtained from different species of Solanum differ perceptibly 
\a their physical properties. By this chemist the alkaloid, as obtained from dulcamara, 
was found, after a careful examination, to have the formula C42H35NOu, though M. Blan- 
'.het had previously given it as C84H68N028. It appears to have very feeble alkaline pro- 
perties, and forms amorphous compounds with the acids. (Comptes Rendus, Nov. 17, 1856.) 
Zwenger and Kind ascertained that, when boiled with sulphuric or muriatic acid, 
solania is resolved into grape sugar and a much stronger alkaloid, which they name sol- 
anidin (solanidia). This has a decided alkaline reaction and a bitter taste, and forms crys- 
tallizable salts. According to this statement, solania ranks among the glucosides. (Liebig's 
Annalen, cix.) The reaction between solania and sulphui’ic acid, resulting in the produc- 
tion of a red colour, is said by these chemists actually to take place between the acid and 
solanidin, which has been first produced by it. 
Still more recently, the astonishing information is given, on the basis of experiments 
©y Otto Gmelin, that not only are solanin and solanidin glucosides, but that neither of them 
contains nitrogen, the formula of the former being C88H72O30, that of the latter C52H4204. 
ilbid., cx. p. 167.) To us it seems impossible that the many experienced chemists who have 
round nitrogen in solania should have been mistaken; and the inference is that Gmelin has 
probably operated on a different —Note to the twelfth edition. 360 
Dulcamara.—Elaterium. 
part i. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Dulcamara possesses feeble narcotic proper- 
ties, with the power of increasing the secretions, particularly that of the kidneys 
and skin. We have observed, in several instances, when the system was under 
its influence, a dark purplish colour of the face and hands, and at the same time 
considerable languor of the circulation. Its narcotic effects do not become ob- 
vious, unless when it is taken in large quantities. In overdoses it produces nau- 
sea, vomiting, faintness, vertigo, and convulsive muscular movements. A case is 
recorded in Casper’s Wochenschrift, in which a man took, in one forenoon, from 
three to four quarts of a decoction made from a peck of the stalks, and was 
attacked with pain in the joints, numbness of the limbs, dryness of the mouth, 
and palsy of the tongue, with consciousness unimpaired, the pulse quiet, but small 
and rather hard, and the skin cool. The symptoms disappeared under the use of 
stimulants. (Bond. Med. Gaz., Sept. 1850, p. 548.)* Dulcamara has been recom- 
mended in various diseases, but is now chiefly employed in the treatment of cuta- 
neous eruptions, particularly those of a scaly character, as lepra, psoriasis, and 
pityriasis. In these complaints it is often beneficial, especially in combination 
with minute doses of the antimonials. Its influence upon the secretions is insuf- 
ficient to account for its favourable effects. Perhaps they may be ascribed to its 
sedative influence on the capillary circulation. It is said to have been beneficially 
employed in chronic rheumatism and chronic catarrh. Antaphrodisiac properties 
have been ascribed to it. We have seen it apparently useful in mania connected 
with strong venereal propensities. The usual form of administration is that of 
decoction, of which two fluidounces may be taken four times a day, and gradually 
increased till some slight disorder of the head indicates the activity of the medi- 
cine. (See Decoctum Dulcamarae.) An extract and fluid extract are officinal. 
The dose of the former is from five to ten grains, of the latter from thirty minims 
to a fluidrachm. That of the powder would be from thirty grains to a drachm. 
In cutaneous affections, a strong decoction is often applied to the skin, at the 
same time that the medicine is taken internally. 
Off. Prep. Decoctum Dulcamarae, U.S.; Extractum Dulcamarae, U.S.; Ex- 
tractum Dulcamaras Fluidum, U. S.; Infusum Dulcamarae, Br. W. 
ELATERIUM. U. &, Br. 
Elaterium. 
A substance deposited by the juice of the fruit of Momordica Elateriura, Ecba- 
lium agreste {Richard). U. S. Ecbalium officinarum. Squirting Cucumber. A 
sediment from the expressed juice of the fruit. Br. 
* Prof. Caylus, of Leipsick, has made numerous experiments upon man and animals, in re- 
lation to the physiological effects and relative strength of dulcamara and its preparations, 
including solania, with the following results. 1. They are poisonous, and may prove fatal 
in overdoses. 2. In the character of their operation they are identical. 3. The extract of 
the twigs is from five to ten times stronger than the twigs themselves, that of solania thirty 
times stronger than the extract. 4. They produce congestion of the kidneys, and sometimes 
an increased flow of urine, which, in that case, is always albuminous. 5. They cause a con- 
stant and remarkable diminution in the frequency of respiration, and death from their 
action is ascribed to a paralyzing influence on the respiratory nerve-centres. 6. In the last 
period of their operation, they weaken while they accelerate the action of the heart. 7. 
Prof. Caylus thinks that they act especially on the spinal marrow and medulla oblongata, 
as evinced not only by their influence on the breathing, but also by the tetanic contraction 
they occasion in the muscles of the chest and extremities. 8. They produce little direct 
effect on the brain, and cause but a feeble contraction of the pupil. 9. They increase the 
sensibility of the skin, and have no dii'ect irritant influence on the stomach and bowels. 
They are applicable, the Professor thinks, to spasmodic and irritative affections of the 
respiratory organs; and inflammation either of the lungs or bowels constitutes no contra- 
indication to their use. He recommends solania in the form of acetate, in the dose of from 
one-sixth of a grain to a grain. He prefers the alcoholic extract to the aqueous. {Ann. de 
Therap., A. D. 1859, p. 24, and Arch. Gdnerales, 1859, p. 350.)—Note to the twelfth edition. part I. 
Elaterium. 
361 
In the Br. Pharmacopoeia, the “ nearly ripe fruit” has a place in the Appen 
dix, with the name of Squirting Cucumber Fruit, as one of the substances used 
in the preparation of medicines. , 
Elaterion, Fr.; Elaterium, Germ.; Elaterio, Ital., Span. 
Momordica. Sex. Syst. Moncecia Monadelphia.—Nat. Ord. Cucurbitacese. 
Gen. Ch. Male. Calyx five-cleft. Corolla five-parted. Filaments three. Fe 
male. Calyx five-cleft. Corolla five-parted. Style trifid. Gourd bursting elasti 
cally. Willd. 
Momordica Elaterium. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 605; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 192, 
t. 12.—Ecbalium agreste. Richard; Lindley, Med. and (Econ. Bot. p. 95.— 
Ecbalium officinarum. Br. — Ecbalium Elaterium. French Codex, A. D. 1837. 
The wild or squirting cucumber is a perennial plant, with a large fleshy root, 
from which proceed several round, thick, rough stems, branching and trailing like 
the common cucumber, but without tendrils. The leaves are petiolate, large, 
rough, irregularly cordate, and of a grayish-green colour. The flowers are yel- 
low, and proceed from the axils of the leaves. The fruit has the shape of a 
small oval cucumber, about an inch and a half long, an inch thick, of a greenish 
or grayish colour, and covered with stiff hairs or prickles. When fully ripe, it 
separates from the peduncle, and throws out its juice and seeds with considerable 
force through an opening at the base, where it was attached to the footstalk. The 
name of squirting cucumber was derived from this circumstance, and the scientific 
and officinal title is supposed to have had a similar origin; though some authors 
maintain that the term elaterium was applied to the medicine, rather from the mode 
of its operation upon the bowels, than from the projectile property of the fruit.* 
This species of Momordica is -a native of the south of Europe, and is culti- 
vated in Great Britain, where, however, it perishes in the winter, f Elaterium is 
the substance spontaneously deposited by the juice of the fruit, when separated 
and allowed to stand. From the experiments of Dr. Clutterbuck, it has been 
supposed that only the free juice about the seeds, which is obtained without ex- 
pression, affords the product. The substance of the fruit itself, the seeds, as well 
as other parts of the plant, have been thought to be nearly or quite inert. From 
the statements made by Mr. Bell (see note, page 362), these opinions must be 
somewhat modified; but there is no doubt that strong expression injures the 
product. When the fruit is sliced and placed upon a sieve, a perfectly limpid 
and colourless juice flows out, which soon becomes turbid, and in the course of 
a few hours begins to deposit a sediment. This, when collected and carefully 
dried, is very light and pulverulent, of a yellowish-white colour, slightly tinged 
with green. It is the genuine elaterium, and was found by Clutterbuck to purge 
violently in the dose of one-eighth of a grain. But the quantity contained in 
the fruit is very small. Clutterbuck obtained only six grains from forty cucum- 
bers. Commercial elaterium is often a weaker medicine, owing in part, perhaps, 
to adulteration, but much more to the mode in which it is prepared. In order 
to increase the product, the juice of the fruit is often expressed with great force; 
and there is reason to believe that it is sometimes evaporated so as to form an 
extract, instead of being allowed to deposit the active matter. The French 
elaterium is prepared by expressing the juice, clarifying it by rest and filtration, 
and then evaporating it to a suitable consistence. As the liquid remaining after 
the deposition of the sediment is comparatively inert, it will be perceived that 
the preparation of the French Codex must be relatively feeble. The following 
* From the Greek i\siyya> I drive, or driver. The word elaterium was used by Hip- 
pocrates to signify any active purge. Dioscorides applied it to the medicine of which we 
are treating. 
| On a visit to Spain, in the year 1861, the author noticed the plant growing abundantly 
in different localities upon the Rock of Gibraltar, especially on its southern declivity, 
which faces Africa, where, in some spots, it almost covered the ground.—Note to the twelfth 
edition. 362 
jElaterium. 
part i. 
are the directions of the British Pharmacopoeia. “ Cut the fruit lengthwise, and 
lightly press out the juice. Strain it through a hair sieve, and set aside to de- 
posit. Carefully pour off the supernatant liquor; pour the sediment on a linen 
filter, and dry it on porous bricks with a gentle heat. The decanted fluid may 
deposit a second portion of sediment, which can be dried in the same way.” The 
latter portion deposited is of a lighter colour. {Pereira.) The slight pressure 
directed is necessary for the separation of the juice from the somewhat immature 
fruit employed. The perfectly ripe fruit is not used; as, in consequence of its 
disposition to part with its contents, it cannot be carried to market. In the 
British Pharmacopoeia, the former name of Extractum Elaterii of the London 
College has been very properly abandoned; as the preparation is in no correct 
sense of the word an extract. As the plant is not cultivated in this country for 
medicinal purposes, our Pharmacopoeia very properly adopts, as officinal, the 
medicine as found in commerce. It is brought chiefly from England; but it is 
probable that a portion of the elaterium, of which Dr. Pereira speaks as coming 
from Malta, reaches our market also.* 
Properties. The best elaterium is in thin flat or slightly curled cakes or frag- 
ments, often bearing the impression of the muslin upon which it was dried, of a 
greenish-gray colour becoming yellowish by exposure, of a feeble odour, and a 
bitter somewhat acrid taste. It is pulverulent and inflammable, and so light that 
it swims when thrown upon water. When of inferior quality, it is sometimes 
dark-coloured, much curled, and rather hard, either breaking with difficulty, or pre- 
senting a resinous fracture. The Maltese elaterium is in larger pieces, of a pale 
colour, sometimes without the least tinge of green, destitute of odour, soft, and 
friable; and not unfrequently gives evidence bf having been mixed with chalk 
or starch. It sinks in water. 
Dr. Clutterbuck first observed that the activity of elaterium resided in the 
portion of it soluble in alcohol and not in water. This fact was afterwards con- 
firmed by Dr. Paris, who found that the alcoholic extract, treated with boiling 
distilled water, and afterwards dried, had the property of purging in minute doses, 
* The following notice of the cultivation of the elaterium plant, and the preparation ef 
the drug at Mitcham, in Surrey, England, condensed from a paper by Mr. Jacob Bell in 
the Pharm. Journ. for October, 1850, may have some interest for the American reader. 
The seeds are sown in March, and the seedlings planted in June. In the luxuriant plants 
the stem sometimes acquires an extraordinary breadth. In one instance, though not 
thicker than the forefinger where it issued from the earth, it was in its broadest part four 
inches wide and half an inch thick. A wet season interferes with the productiveness of 
the plant. At the spontaneous separation of the fruit, it throws out its juice sometimes to 
the distance of twenty yards; and hazard of injury to the eyes is incurred by walking 
among the plants at their period of maturity. A bushel of the fruit weighs 40 pounds, and 
the price varies from 7 to 10 shillings sterling. In the manufacture of elaterium, which 
begins early in September, the fruit, having been washed, if necessary, to cleanse it from 
earthy matters, is sliced longitudinally into halves, and then submitted to expression, 
wrapped in a hempen cloth, in a common screw-press. Considerable force is used in the 
expression. The juice is then strained through hair, cypress, or wire sieves, and set aside 
for deposition. The deposit usually takes place in three or four hours. When this part of 
the process is completed, the supernatant liquor is carefully poured oflf, the deposit is 
placed on calico cloths resting on hair sieves, and allowed to drain for about twelve hours, 
after which it is removed by a knife, spread over small cloths, and dried on canvas frames 
in the drying stove. About half an ounce of fine elaterium is obtained from a bushel of 
fruit. Some obtain more; but the product is inferior, in consequence of the use of too 
much force in the expression. Good elaterium has a pale pea-green tint; that of inferior 
quality is of a duller hue. The juice expelled in bursting is said to undergo very little 
change in the air, while that expressed from the ripe fruit immediately afterwards, becomes 
milky, and deposits elaterium. The recently burst fruit, therefore, is nearly if not quite 
as good for the preparation of the drug as that collected before perfect maturity. For a 
paper on the cultivation of the elaterium plant at Hitchin, Herts, England, taken from the 
Pharmaceutical Journal, see the American Journal of Pharmacy, March, 1860, p. 163—Note 
to the ninth and twelfth editions. Elaterium. 
363 
PART I. 
while the remaining portion of the elaterium was inactive. The subsequent ex- 
periments of Mr. Hennell, of London, and Mr. Morries, of Edinburgh, which were 
nearly simultaneous, demonstrated the existence of a crystallizable matter in 
elaterium, which is the active principle, and has been named elaterin. Accord- 
ing to Mr. Hennell, 100 parts of elaterium contain 44 of elaterin, 17 of a green 
resin (chlorophyll), 6 of starch, 27 of lignin, and 6 of saline matters. The alco- 
holic extract which Dr. Paris called elatin, is probably a mixture of elaterin and 
the green resin or chlorophyll.* 
Elaterin, according to Mr. Morries, crystallizes when pure in colourless micro- 
scopic rhombic prisms, having a silky appearance when in mass. It is extremely 
bitter and somewhat acrid, insoluble in water and alkaline solutions, soluble in 
alcohol, ether, and hot olive oil, and sparingly soluble in dilute acids. At a tem- 
perature between 300° and 400° it melts, and at a higher heat is dissipated in 
thick, whitish, pungent vapour, of an ammoniacal odour. It has no alkaline re- 
action. It may be procured by evaporating an alcoholic tincture of elaterium 
to the consistence of thin oil, and throwing the residue while yet warm into a 
weak boiling solution of potassa. The potassa holds the green resin in solution, 
and the elaterin crystallizes as the liquor cools. Mr. Hennell obtained it by 
treating with ether the alcoholic extract procured by the spontaneous evapora- 
tion of the tincture. This consists of elaterin and the green resin, the latter of 
which, being much more soluble in ether than the former, is completely extracted 
by this fluid, leaving the elaterin pure. But, as elaterin is also slightly soluble 
in ether, a portion of this principle is wasted by Mr. Hennell’s method. By 
evaporating the ethereal solution, the green resin is obtained separate. Mr. 
Hennell says that this was found to possess the purgative property of elaterium, 
as it acted powerfully in a dose less than one-third of a grain. But the effect 
was probably owing to the presence of a portion of elaterin which had been 
dissolved by the ether. The late Dr. Duncan, of Edinburgh, ascertained that the 
crystalline principle or elaterin produced, in the quantity of -fa or T]g of a grain, 
all the effects of a dose of elaterium. The proportion of elaterin varies exceed- 
ingly in different parcels of the drug. Mr. Morries obtained 26 per cent, from 
the best British elaterium, 15 per cent, from the worst, and only 5 or 6 per cent, 
from the French; while a portion, procured according to the directions of the 
London College, yielded to Mr. Hennell upwards of 40 per cent. Experiments 
by Mr. John Williams satisfactorily prove that the fruit, exhausted of the free 
juice from which elaterium is obtained, contains very little if any elaterin, cer- 
tainly not enough to compensate for the cost of its extraction. (Ghem. News, 
Feb. 18, 1860, p. 124.) Mr. Williams substitutes the name of ecbalin for that of 
elaterin; a change which, we think, is uncalled for, at least so long as that of 
elaterium is retained for the medicine. 
Choice of Elaterium. The inequality of elaterium depends probably in general 
more on diversities in the mode of preparation than on adulteration. Sometimes, 
nowever, it is greatly sophisticated; and large quantities are said to have been 
imported into this country, consisting mainly of chalk, and coloured green arti- 
* The substance to winch. Pelletier gave the name of chlorophyll, under the impression 
that it was a peculiar proximate principle, was afterwards ascertained by that chemist to 
be a mixture of wax and a green fixed oil. (Journ. de Pharm., xix. 109.) More recently, 
M. Frdmy has succeeded, by the joint action of a menstruum composed of two parts of ether 
and one of muriatic acid diluted with a little water, in separating chlorophyll into two 
colouring principles, one yellow and the other blue; the former being dissolved by the 
ether, and the latter by the muriatic acid. The yellow, M. Fremy proposes to nam<sphyllo- 
nanthin, the blue phyllocyanin. If the two are separated from their solvents and then dis- 
solved in alcohol, the green colour of chlorophyll is reproduced. The change of the green 
colour of leaves to yellow in autumn is thus easily explained. The blue colouring matter 
is changed under the influence of the season, and the yellow only remains. [Ibid., Avril, 
1860, p. 241.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 364 
Elaterium.—Elemi. 
PART I. 
ficially (B. Canavan, N. Y. Journ. of Pharm., iii. 385.) It should possess the 
sensible properties above indicated as characterizing good elaterium, should not 
effervesce with acids, and should yield from one-sixth to one-fourth of elaterin. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Elaterium is a powerful hydragogue cathartic, 
and in a large dose generally excites nausea and vomiting. If too freely admin- 
istered, it operates with great violence both upon the stomach and bowels, pro- 
ducing inflammation of these organs, which has in some instances eventuated 
fatally. It also increases the flow of urine. The fruit was employed by the an- 
cients, and is recommended in the writings of Dioscorides as a remedy in mania 
and melancholy. Sydenham and his contemporaries considered elaterium highly 
useful in dropsy; but, in consequence of some fatal results from its incautious 
employment, it fell into disrepute, and was generally neglected till again brought 
into notice by Dr. Ferriar. It is now considered one of the most efficient hydra- 
gogue cathartics in the treatment of dropsical diseases, in which it has some- 
times proved successful after all other remedies have failed. The full dose of com- 
mercial elaterium is often from one to two grains; but, as in this quantity it 
generally vomits, if of good quality, the best plan is to give it in the dose of a 
quarter or half of a grain, repeated every hour till it operates. The dose of Clut- 
terbuck’s elaterium is the eighth of a grain. That of elaterin is from the sixteenth 
to the twelfth of a grain, and is best given in solution. One grain may be dis- 
solved in a fluidounce of alcohol with 4 drops of nitric acid, and from 30 to 40 
minims may be given diluted with water. W. 
ELEMI, Br. 
Elemi. 
Botanical source undetermined, probably from Canarium commune. A con- 
crete resinous exudation. Br. 
R6sine Fr.; Oelbaumharz, Elemi, Germ,.; Elemi, Ital.; Goma de limon, Span. 
Amyhis. Sex. Syst. Octandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Terebintacem, Juss.; 
Amyrideae, B. Brown, Bindley. 
Gen.Cli. Calyx four-toothed. Petals four, oblong. Stigma four-cornered. 
Berry drupaceous. Willd. 
Some botanists separate from this genus the species which have their fruit in 
the form of a capsule instead of a nut, and associate them together in a distinct 
genus with the name of Idea. This is recognised by De Candolle. 
Most of the trees belonging to these two genera yield, when wounded, a resi- 
nous juice analogous to the turpentines. It is not improbable that the drug, 
usually known by the name of elemi, is derived from several different trees. That 
known to the ancients is said to have been obtained from Ethiopia, and all the 
elemi of commerce was originally brought from the Levant. The tree which af- 
forded it was not accurately known, but was supposed to be a species of Amyris. 
At present the drug is said to be derived from three sources, namely, Brazil, 
Mexico, and Manilla. The Brazilian is believed to be the product of a plant 
mentioned by Marcgrav under the name of icicariba, and called by De Candolle 
Idea Icicariba. It is a lofty tree, with pinnate leaves, consisting of three or five 
pointed, perforated leaflets, smooth on their upper surface and woolly beneath. 
It is erroneously stated in some works to be a native of Carolina. The elemi is 
obtained by incisions into the trees, through which the juice flows and concretes 
upon the bark. The Mexican is said by Dr. Royle to be obtained from a species 
of Elaphrium, which that author has described from dried specimens, and pro- 
poses to name E. elemiferum. (Mat. Med., Am. ed., p. 339.) The Manilla elemi 
is conjecturally referred to Canarium commune. (Ibid., p. 340.) 
Elemi is in masses of various consistence, sometimes solid and heavy like wax, PART I. 
Elemi.—Ergota. 
365 
sometimes light and porous; unctuous to the touch; diaphanous; of diversified 
colours, generally greenish with intermingled points of white or yellow, sometimes 
greenish-white with brown stains, sometimes yellow like sulphur; fragile and 
friable when cold; softening by the heat of the hand ; of a terebinthinate some- 
what aromatic odour, diminishing with age, and said, in some varieties, to re- 
semble that of fennel; of a warm, slightly bitter, disagreeable taste; entirely 
soluble, with the exception of impurities, in boiling alcohol; and affording a 
volatile oil by distillation. A variety examined by M. Bonastre was found to con- 
sist of 60 parts of resin, 24 of a resinous matter soluble in boiling alcohol, but 
deposited when the liquid cools, 12-5 of volatile oil, 2 of extractive, and 15 of 
acid and impurities. M. Baup found the resin to be of two kinds, one amorphous, 
the other crystallizable; the latter of which he proposes to call elemin. (Journ. 
de Pharm., 3e ser., xx. 331.) Elemi is sometimes adulterated with colophony 
and turpentine. The Manilla elemi is in masses of a light-yellowish colour, in- 
ternally soft, and of a strong odour of fennel. (Boyle.) We have been told that 
a considerable amount of elemi is used in this country by the hatters. Dr. Emil 
Mannkoff obtained from Brazilian elemi about 6 per cent, of a colourless volatile 
oil, insoluble in water, but easily dissolved both by alcohol and ether, of a not 
unpleasant odour, and a somewhat acrid and bitter taste, and of a composition 
represented, according to Stenhouse and Deville, by the formula C.H6. Dr. Mann- 
koff considers the oil as coinciding in medical properties with oil of turpentine, 
for which it may be substituted, with the advantage of a less disagreeable taste. 
(B. and F. Med.-Chir. Rev., July, 1859, p. 170, from Virchow's Archiv.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Elemi has properties analogous to those of the 
turpentines; but is exclusively applied to external use. In the United States it 
is rarely employed even in this way. In the pharmacy of Europe it enters into 
the composition of numerous plasters and ointments. We are told that it is oc- 
casionally brought to this country in small fragments, mixed with the coarser 
kinds of gum arabic from the Levant and India. 
Off. Prep. Unguentum Elemi, Br. W. 
ERGOT A. U.S., Br. 
Ergot. 
The diseased seed of Secale cereale. U. S. The grain diseased by the presence 
iff an imperfect fungus. Br. 
Spurred rye; Secale cornutum; Siegle ergot*;, Fr.; Mutterkorn, Germ. 
In all the Graminacese or grass tribe, and in some of the Cyperacese, the 
place of the seeds is sometimes occupied by a morbid growth, which, from its re- 
semblance to the spur of a cock, has received the name of ergot, adopted from 
the French. This product is most frequent in the rye, Secale cereale, and, hav- 
ing been found, as occurring in that plant, to possess valuable medicinal pro- 
perties, was adopted in the first edition of the U. S. Pharmacopceia, under the 
came of secale cornutum or spurred rye. In the edition of 1840, this name was 
changed for ergota, in conformity with the nomenclature of the London and 
Edinburgh Colleges. It is probable that this morbid growth has similar pro- 
perties from whatever plant derived; and the fact has been proved in relation to 
the ergot of wheat. (See Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., N. S., xxxii. 479.) Indeed, in 
a case reported by Dr. D. L. McGugin (Iowa 3Ied. Journ., iv. 93), this variety 
of ergot is said to have succeeded promptly, when that of rye, previously tried, 
had failed.* 
* Ergot of Wheat. M. Leperdriel, jun., of Montpellier, in France, recommends this pro- 
duct as preferable to the ergot of rye, on the grounds that it is destitute of the poisonous 
properties of the latter, and is more certain in its remediate influences, in consequence of 
being less liable to change. The former point is, to say the least, very uncertain; but in 366 
Ergota 
PART I. 
Different opinions have been held in relation to the nature of this singular 
substance. It was at one time thought to be merely the seed altered by disease; 
the morbid condition being ascribed by some to the agency of an insect, by others 
to excess of heat and moisture. A second opinion considered it a parasitic fun- 
gus, occupying the place of the seed. This was entertained by De Candolle, who 
called the fungus Sclerotium Clavus. According to a third and intermediate 
opinion, the ergot is the seed, diseased and entirely perverted in its nature by 
the influence of a parasitic fungus, attached to it from the very beginning of its 
development. This view was put forth by M. Leveille, in a memoir published in 
the Annals of the Linnsean Society of Paris for the year 1826. He gave to the 
supposed fungus the name of Sphacelia segetum ; but his observations as to its 
characters have not been sustained. To the late Mr. E. J. Quekett, of London, 
belongs the credit of having fully investigated this subject, and established the 
last-mentioned view of the nature of ergot. According to Mr. Quekett, the be- 
ginning of the growth of the ergot is marked by the appearance, about the young 
grain and its appendages, of multitudes of minute filaments like cobwebs, which 
run over all its parts, cementing anthers and stigmas together, and of a white 
coating upon the surface of the grain, from which, upon immersion in water, in- 
numerable minute particles separate, which after a time sink in the fluid. These 
particles, when examined by the microscope, prove to be the germs or sporidia 
of a species of fungus, and may be observed to sprout and propagate in various 
ways under favourable circumstances. Their length, upon the average, is about 
the four-thousandth of an inch. The filaments are the results of the growth of 
these singular germs. The sporidia and filaments do not increase with the in- 
crease of the ergot; and, when this has projected beyond the pale® and become 
visible, it has lost a portion of its white coating, and presents a dark-violet 
colour. It now increases with great rapidity, and attains its full size in a few 
days. When completely developed, it exhibits very few of the filaments or spo- 
ridia upon its surface. But Quekett believed that the germs of the fungus emit 
their filaments through the tissue of the ergot when young and tender, and that, 
as this increases, it is made up partly of the diseased structure of the grain, and 
partly of the fungous matter. The fungus was named by Quekett Ergotsetic 
abortif aciens; for which title Dr. Pereira, at the suggestion of the Rev. M. J. 
Berkeley, substituted that of Oidium abortif aciens. This view of the nature 
and cause of ergot is supported by the asserted facts, that the microscopic fun- 
gus has an existence independent of the morbid grain, being found in various 
other parts of the plant, and growing even when entirely separated from it; and 
that the sporidia or white dust upon the surface of ergot, if applied to the seeds 
of certain Graminace® before germination, or sprinkled in the soil at the roots 
of the plants after they have begun to grow, will give rise to ergotized fruit. 
That the ergot is not itself a peculiar fungus, but the perverted grain, is evinced 
by the frequent remains of the stigma upon its summit, by the scales at its base, 
and by the circumstance that in some instances only a portion of the seed is er- 
gotized. How far its peculiar medical properties may depend upon the morbid 
substance of the grain, and how far on the fungous matter associated with it, has 
not been determined. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xi. 116 and 237.) 
relation to the latter there is some reason to think that M. Leperdriel is right; for Prof. 
Bentley, of London, found that of two specimens, one of the ergot of rye, the other of 
wheat, which had been kept under similar circumstances for ten years, the former was 
quite destroyed, while the latter was apparently unchanged. Ergot is rarer in wheat than 
in rye; and in the head of the former there is generally but one and very rarely more than 
two of the diseased grains. It is produced usually in wheat in wet seasons, and on that 
side of the head most exposed to the dampness. It is shorter and much thicker than the 
ergot of rye, being about half an inch long and three-quarters of an inch or more in cir- 
cumference, and cleft into two or three divisions. In colour and smell it resembles the 
spurred rye. (Pharm. Journ., March and April, 1863, pp. 423 and 442.)—Note to the twelfth 
edition part I. 
Ergota. 
367 
The ergot usually projects out of the glume or husk beyond the ordinary out- 
line of the spike or ear. In some spikes the place of the seeds is wholly occu- 
pied by the ergot, in others only two or three spurs are observed. It is said to 
be much more energetic when collected before than after harvest. Rye has gen- 
erally been thought to be most subject to the disease in poor and wet soils, and 
in rainy seasons; and intense heat succeeding continued rains has been said to 
favour its development, especially if these circumstances occur at the time the 
flower is forming. It is now, however, asserted that moisture has little or no- 
thing to do with its production.* It should not be collected until some days 
after it has begun to form ; as, according to M. Bonjean, if gathered on the first 
day of its formation, it does not possess the poisonous properties which it ex- 
hibits when taken on the sixth day. (See Pharm. Journ., Jan. 1842.) 
Properties. Ergot is in solid, brittle yet somewhat flexible grains, from a 
third of an inch to an inch and a half long, from half a line to three lines in thick- 
ness, cylindrical or obscurely triangular, tapering towards each end, obtuse at 
the extremities, usually curved like the spur of a cock, marked with one or two 
longitudinal furrows, often irregularly cracked or fissured, of a violet-brown 
colour and often somewhat glaucous externally, yellowish-white or violet-white 
within, of an unpleasant smell when in mass, resembling that of putrid fish, and 
of a taste which is at first scarcely perceptible, but ultimately disagreeable and 
slightly acrid. Under the microscope, the surface appears more or less covered 
with sporidia, which occasion its glaucous aspect; and the interior structure is 
found to be composed of minute roundish cells, containing, according to Quekett, 
particles of oil. Ergot yields its virtues to water and alcohol. The aqueous in- 
fusion or decoction is claret-coloured, and has an acid reaction. It is precipi- 
tated by acetate and subacetate of lead, nitrate of silver, and tincture of galls; 
but affords with iodine no evidence of the presence of starch. Long boiling im- 
pairs the virtues of the medicine. 
Ergot has been analyzed by Yauquelin, Winckler, Wiggers, Wright, Legrip, 
and several others. The analysis by M. Legrip is among the most recent and 
complete. That chemist obtained from 100 parts of ergot 34 50 parts of a thick, 
fluid, fixed oil, of a fine yellow colour; 2T5 of starch; 1-00 of albumen; 2-25 
of inulin; 2'50 of gum; l-25 of uncrystallizable sugar; 2T5 of a brown resin; 
3-50 of fungin; 13-50 of vegeto-animal matter; 0T5 of osmazome; 0'50 of a 
fatty acid ; 24'50 of lignin; 0’50 of colouring principles; an odorous principle 
not isolated; 2-25 of fungate of potassa; 0-50 of chloride of sodium; 0 50 of 
sulphate of lime and magnesia; 1 *25 of subphosphate of lime; 0‘25 of oxide of 
iron; 0J5 of silica; and 2'50 of water, with 2-35 loss. (Ann. de Therap., 1845, 
p. 44.) Wiggers obtained a substance which he denominated ergotin, under the 
impression that it was the active ingredient. It was reddish-brown, of a pecu- 
liar nauseous odour and bitter slightly acrid taste, soluble in alcohol, but insolu- 
ble in water or ether. It was obtained by digesting ergot in ether and afterwards 
in alcohol, evaporating the alcoholic solution, and treating the extract thus ob- 
tained with water, which left the ergotin undissolved. It was given with fatal 
effects to a hen. But, though the ergotin of Wiggers may exercise some influ- 
ence on the system, it is very obvious that it cannot be the active principle of 
ergot, which yields its virtues to water, and partially at least to ether. Dr. Wright 
supposed the virtues of ergot to reside in the fixed oil, which he therefore recom- 
mended as a substitute for the medicine. The oil of ergot, when obtained from 
grains recently collected, is, according to Dr. Wright, often quite free from 
* Mr. J. Price Wetherill informed the author that, in two seasons, he had found rye, 
sown very late, so as scarcely to come up before spring, to be almost universally ergot- 
ized; while neighbouring rye, sown at the proper season, in the same kind of soil pre- 
cisely, had nothing of the disease, though the seed was the same in both cases.—Note to 
the sixth edition. 368 
Ergota. 
part i. 
colour; but, as usually prepared,is reddish-brown. It has a disagreeable,some- 
what acrid taste, is lighter than water, and is soluble in alcohol and alkaline 
solutions. It is prepared by forming an ethereal tincture of ergot by the process 
of displacement, and evaporating the ether with a gentle heat. Experience has 
shown that, though the oil thus prepared with ether may have produced effects 
analogous to those of ergot, they were to be ascribed rather to some principle 
extracted along with the oil by the menstruum than to the oil itself; for, when 
procured by expression, this has been found to be inactive. Indeed, Prof. Proc- 
ter has ascertained that it contains a little secalin, one at least of the active 
principles of ergot, which may be separated from it by washing with acidulated 
water. According to Mr. T. R. Baker, the oil has a taste and smell similar to 
those of castor oil, with which it also agrees in ultimate composition, and yields 
analogous results in saponification. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxiv. 101-2.) The 
sugar of ergot was found by Mitscherlich to be peculiar, and was named by him 
mycose. He described it as crystallizable, very soluble in water, almost insoluble 
in cold but dissolved by about 100 parts of boiling alcohol, quite insoluble in 
ether, and without the action of glucose on the salts of copper. Its formula is 
2HO. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxx. 346.) Dr. F. L. Winckler dis- 
covered a peculiar colouring matter in ergot, which he considered, if not iden- 
tical with hematin, as closely resembling it. (Pharm. Journ., xii. 86.) 
Secalia. Propylamia. By the same chemist a volatile alkaloid was detected 
in ergot, which he named secalin (secalia), and believed to exist in the drug in 
the form of ergotate of secalin, being combined with the ergotin of Wiggers, to 
which he ascribed acid properties, and therefore gave the name of ergotic acid. 
This alkaloid has been ascertained to be identical with propylamin (propylamia), 
the odorous principle of herring pickle. Winckler obtained it by distilling the 
watery extract of ergot with potassa. The following process, employed by Prof. 
Procter, yields it with facility. Ergot, having been exhausted by ether, is sub- 
mitted to percolation with water; the aqueous solution, after the addition of four 
times its bulk of alcohol, which precipitates the gummy and albuminous matter, 
is filtered; the liquid is concentrated and mixed with milk of lime, and the mix- 
ture distilled into a receiver containing water acidulated with sulphuric acid. 
The secalia escapes freely, and is condensed in the receiver, forming a sulphate 
with the acid present. If to a little of this liquid a drop of solution of potassa 
is added, the odour of ergot is perceived; and the presence of a rod moistened 
with muriatic acid produces visible vapours of muriate of secalia. (Proceed, of 
the Am. Pharm. Assoc., A. D. 1857.) It can scarcely be doubted that the virtues 
of ergot are connected in some degree with this alkaloid; and the conjecture of 
Winckler that the ergotate of secalia is the active principle of ergot, if wrong, 
is so probably only by its exclusiveness.* 
* Ergotina. Ecbolina. Experiments have recently been made on ergot by Mr. Wm. T. Wen- 
zell, of La Crosse, Wisconsin, which, if confirmed by future observation, will throw new 
and most valuable light upon the intricate subject of the composition of that drug. Mr. 
Wenzell claims to have discovered in it two new fixed alkaloids, which he proposes to name 
respectively ecbolina and ergotina, and in which, along with the volatile alkaloid propy- 
lamia, the virtues of the medicine reside. Mr. Wenzell claims also to have ascertained that 
ergotic acid, the peculiar acid of ergot, with which the alkaloids are probably combined, 
is volatile. The acid reaction, however, which is evinced by an infusion of ergot, is not, 
he thinks, owing to this acid, but to an acid phosphate of magnesia. 
Ecbolina was obtained by precipitating a cold infusion of ergot with acetate of lead, 
throwing down the lead with sulphuretted hydrogen, filtering and concentrating the liquid, 
adding gradually bichloride of mercury so long as a precipitate was produced, washing 
the precipitate, treating it with sulphuretted hydrogen, and filtering. The chloride (muriate) 
of ecbolina thus obtained was treated with an excess of phosphate of silver, the chloride 
of silver formed and the excess of the phosphate were removed by filtration, the phosphoric 
acid was separated by hydrate of lime, the liquid was again filtered, lime was removed by 
a stream of carbonic acid, and the gas expelled by a gentle heat. The liquid now contained 
the pure alkaloid, which was obtained by evaporation at a low temperature. part I. 
Ergota. 
369 
The odour of ergot is no doubt owing to the liberation of its volatile alkaloid, 
probably in consequence of a slow decomposition of the native salt. A method 
of detecting ergot in a mixed powder, rye flour for example, is thus afforded. If, 
on the addition of solution of potassa, the odour of ergot is perceived, its presence 
i3 sufficiently proved. 
Ergot, when perfectly dry and kept in well-stopped bottles, will retain its vir- 
tues for a considerable time; but, exposed to air and moisture, it speedily under- 
goes chemical change and deteriorates. It is, moreover, apt to be attacked by a 
minute worm, which consumes the interior of the grain, leaving merely the ex- 
terior shell and an excrementitious powder. This insect is sometimes found in 
the ergot before removal from the plant. In the state of powder, the medicine 
still more readily deteriorates. It is best, as a general rule, to renew it every 
year or two. M.Yiel recommends that it should be well dried at a gentle heat, 
and incorporated with double its weight of loaf sugar, by means of which, if pro- 
tected from moisture, it will retain its virtues for many years. According to M. 
Zanon, the same result is obtained by stratifying it with well washed and perfectly 
dried sand, in a bottle from which air and light are excluded. Camphor is said 
to prevent injury from worms. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Given in small doses, ergot produces, in the 
system of the male, no obvious effects; but, in the female, exhibits a strong ten- 
dency to the uterus, upon the contractile property of which it operates with great 
energy. In the quantity of half a drachm or a drachm it often occasions nausea 
or vomiting, and in still larger doses produces a sense of weight and pain in the 
head, giddiness, dilatation of the pupils, delirium, and even stupor, proving that 
it possesses narcotic properties. It is said also to excite febrile symptoms; but 
our own observation coincides with that of authors who ascribe to it the power 
of reducing the frequency of the pulse. We have seen this effect produced by 
it in a remarkable degree, even without nausea. A case is recorded in which it 
produced great prostration, with an almost absent pulse, paleness and coldness 
of the surface, partial palsy, with pricking of the limbs, and great restlessness, 
without stupor or delirium. (Gazette Med. de Paris, Juillet 25,1851.) Dr. Hardy, 
of the Dublin Lying-in Hospital, found it to diminish the pulsations of the foetal 
heart. Its long-continued and free use is highly dangerous, even when no imme- 
diate effects are perceptible. Fatal epidemics in different parts of the continent 
of Europe, particularly in certain provinces of France, have long been ascribed 
Ergotina was obtained by filtering the liquid which remained after precipitation with 
bichloride of mercury, treating it with phospho-molybdic acid, washing the precipitate ob- 
tained, suspending it in water with an excess of carbonate of baryta, and digesting until 
the yellowish colour of the mixture was exchanged for a pure white, with the evolution of 
carbonic acid. Nothing now remained but to filter and carefully evaporate the solution, 
which yielded the ergotina. 
The alkaloids thus obtained are brownish, apparently uncrystallizable, slightly bitter, 
alkaline in their reaction on litmus and turmeric, soluble in alcohol and water, and inso- 
luble in pure ether and chloroform. They form salts with the acids, which are uncrystal- 
lizable and generally deliquescent. Ignited, they are entirely consumed, leaving no residue. 
As they yield ammonia when heated with lime, they contain nitrogen. 
With ecbolina in solution bichloride of platinum produces a deep orange-coloured, and 
cyanide of potassium a white precipitate, while a solution of ergotina is affected by neither 
of these reagents. 
As to their operation upon the system, ecbolina in the dose of half a grain, supposed to 
be equivalent to 30 grains of ergot, produced decided effects on the brain and spinal mar- 
row, with involuntary contractions of the muscles, followed by nausea and general depres- 
sion, with little change in the pulse, and is believed by Mr. Wenzell to be the ingredient 
which causes uterine contraction in women. Ergotina was found less active, but produced 
some cerebral disturbance with x-eduction of the pulse. 
Ergotic acid was obtained by distilling ergot with sulphuric acid. It is supposed by Mr. 
Wenzell to be combined naturally with ecbolina, ergotina, and potassa; while the propy- 
iamia exists in ergot as a phosphate. (Am. Journ. ofPharm., May, 1864, p. 193.) Ergota. 
PART I. 
to the use qf bread made from rye contaminated with this degenerate grain. 
Dry gangrene, typhus fever, and disorder of the nervous system attended with 
convulsions, are the forms of disease which have followed the use of this unwhole- 
some food. It is true that ergot has been denied to be the cause; but accurate 
investigations, made by competent men upon the spot where the epidemics have 
prevailed, together with the result of experiments made upon inferior animals, 
leave no room for reasonable doubt that at least the gangrenous affection alluded 
to may result from, it. Very large quantities are required for immediate poisonous 
effects. From two to eight drachms have been given at one dose to a man without 
very serious results; and three ounces, according to Dr. Wright, were required 
to kill a small dog. Death from single doses, in inferior animals, is preceded by 
symptoms indicating irritation of the stomach and bowels, great muscular pros- 
tration, loss of sensation, and sometimes slight spasms. A case of acute poison- 
ing from ergot is recorded by Dr. Pratschke, in which uneasiness in the head, 
oppression of stomach, diarrhoea, urgent thirst, burning pains in the feet, tetanic 
spasms, violent convulsions, and death ensued upon eating freely of ergotized 
grain. (Lond. Med. Gaz., Oct. 1850, p. 579.) 
Ergot has been much used for promoting the contraction of the uterus. On 
the continent of Europe, in Germany, France, and Italy, it has long been empi- 
rically employed by midwives for this purpose; and its German name of mutter- 
Icorn implies a popular acquaintance with its peculiar powers. But the attention 
of the medical profession was first called to it by a letter from Dr. Stearns, of 
Saratoga County, N. Y., addressed to Dr. Ackerly, in 1807, and published in the 
eleventh volume of the New York Medical Repository. The journals afterwards 
teemed with communications attesting its efficacy in facilitating parturition ; and, 
though it sometimes failed, the general opinion was so decidedly in its favour, 
that it soon took a place among the established articles of the materia medica. 
When it proves wholly inefficient, the result is ascribable to peculiarity of con- 
stitution in the individual, or inferiority in the ergot used. In its operation upon 
the pregnant uterus, it produces a constant unremitting contraction and rigidity, 
rather than that alternation of spasmodic effort and relaxation which is observable 
in the natural process of labour. Hence, unless the os uteri and external parts 
are sufficiently relaxed, the medicine is apt to produce injury to the foetus by the 
incessant pressure which it maintains; and the death of the child is thought not 
unfrequently to have resulted from its injudicious employment. The cases to 
which it is thought to be especially adapted are those of lingering labour, when 
the os uteri is sufficiently dilated, and the external parts sufficiently relaxed, when 
no mechanical impediment is offered to the passage of the child, and the delay 
iS ascribable solely to want of energy in the uterus. Other cases are those in 
which the death of the foetus has been ascertained, and when great exhaustion 
or dangerous constitutional irritation imperiously calls for speedy delivery. The 
medicine may also be given to promote the expulsion of the placenta, to restrain 
inordinate hemorrhage after delivery, and to hasten the discharge of the foetus 
in protracted cases of abortion. In women subject to dangerous flooding, a dose 
of ergot given immediately before delivery is said to have the happiest effects. 
It has also been recommended for the expulsion of coagula of blood, polypi, and 
hydatids from the uterine cavity. It has been accused of producing puerperal 
convulsions, hour-glass contraction of the uterus, and hydrocephalus in the new- 
born infant. In uterine hemorrhage, unconnected with pregnancy, the medicine 
is deemed very useful; and its employment has been extended to other hemor- 
rhages with asserted advantage. We have seen it promptly effectual in pulmonary 
hemorrhage, after all the usual means had failed. May it not have the power of 
producing contraction of the capillaries in general, or of interfering in some 
other way with the circulation of the blood in these vessels, as by the exertion of 
a direct sedative or paralyzing influence upon them ? We might in this way Ergota.—Erigeron. 
371 
PART I. 
account for the dry gangrene which results from its abuse, as well as for its influ 
ence in restraining hemorrhage. It has also been employed in amenorrhoea, bui 
not with encouraging success. Gonorrhoea, gleet, leucorrhoea, dvsmenorrhoea, 
chronic dysentery and diarrhoea, inordinate thirst, excessive sensitiveness of the 
eyes with pain upon use, paraplegia, paralysis or debility of the bladder and of 
the rectum, spermatorrhoea, hooping-cough, hysteria, intermittent fever, and pul- 
monary consumption are among the complaints in which it has been recommended. 
Ergot is usually given in substance, infusion, or decoction. The dose of the 
powder to a woman in labour is fifteen or twenty grains, to be repeated every 
twenty minutes till its peculiar effects are experienced, or till the amount of a 
drachm has been taken. Of an infusion made with a drachm of ergot and four 
fluidounees of water, one-third may be given for a dose, and repeated with the 
same interval. For other purposes the dose of the medicine is ten or fifteen 
grains, repeated three times a day, and gradually increased, but not continued 
for a great length of time. In urgent cases of hemorrhage, the dose may be re- 
peated every two hours, or oftener if necessary. A wine and fluid extract of 
ergot are directed in the TJ. S. Pharmacopoeia. (See Vinum Ergotse and Ex- 
tractum Ergotse Fluidum.) The oil of ergot, prepared by means of ether, as 
already described (page 368), was given by Dr. Wright in the dose of from twenty 
to fifty drops, diffused in cold water, warm tea, or weak spirit and water. 
Under the name of ergotin, Bonjean’s purified extract is sometimes used in 
the dose of from five to ten grains. It is made by exhausting ergot with water, 
evaporating to the consistence of syrup, precipitating the albumen, gum, &c., 
by a large excess of alcohol, decanting the clear liquid, and evaporating to the 
consistence of a soft extract. 
Ergot has been employed externally. Dr. Muller found it to check the bleed- 
ing from divided arteries; and Dr. Wright states that in powder or infusion it 
acts promptly in arresting hemorrhage. It is recommended by the latter as an 
injection in uterine hemorrhage. It should be used, however, with caution, as the 
powder applied to abraded surfaces has produced sloughing in the lower animals. 
Ergot should be powdered only when wanted for use. 
Off. Prep. Extractum Ergotse Fluidum, U. S.; Extractum Ergotse Liquidum, 
Br.; Infusum Ergotse, Br.; Tinctura Ergotse, Br.; Vinum Ergotse, U. S. 
W. 
ERIGERON. U.& 
Fleabane. 
The herb of Erigeron heterophyllum and of Erigeron Philadelphicum. U. S. 
Erigeron. Sex. Syst. Syngenesia Superflua. —Nat. Ord. Composite-Asteroi- 
dese. De Cand. Asteracese. Bindley. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx imbricated, sub-hemispherical, in fruit often reflected. Flo- 
rets of the ray linear, very narrow, numerous. Receptacle naked. Pappus double, 
exterior minute, interior pilose, of few rays. Nuttall. 
1. Erigeron heterophyllum. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 1956; Barton, Am. Med. 
Bot. i. 231. —E. annuum. Persoon, Synop. ii. 431; Torrey and Gray, Flor. of 
N. Am. ii. 115. This is a biennial herbaceous plant, belonging both to North 
America and Europe. It has a branching root, with several erect, roundish, 
striated, pubescent stems, much divided near the top, and rising two or three 
feet in height. The lower leaves are ovate, acute, deeply toothed, and supported 
on long winged footstalks; the upper are lanceolate, acute, deeply serrate in the 
middle, and sessile; the floral leaves are lanceolate and entire; all, except those 
from the root, are ciliate at the base. The flowers are in terminal corymbs. The 
florets of the disk are yellow; those of the ray numerous, very slender, and of 
a white, pale-blue., or pale-purple colour. The flowering period is from June to 
October. Erigeron.—Erigeron Canadense. 
PART I. 
2. Erigeron Pliiladelphicum. Barton, Med. Bot. i. 227.—E. strigosum. 
Willd. Sp. Plant, iil 1956; Torreyand Gray, Flor. ofN. Am. ii. 176. The Phila- 
delphia fleabane is perennial and herbaceous, with a branching yellowish root, 
and from one to five erect stems, which rise two or three feet in height, and are 
much branched at top. The whole plant is pubescent. The lower leaves are ovate- 
lanceolate, nearly obtuse, ciliate on the margin, entire or marked with a few 
serratures, and supported on very long footstalks; the upper are narrow, ob- 
long, somewhat wedge-shaped, obtuse, entire, sessile, and slightly embrace the 
stem; the floral leaves are small and lanceolate. The flowers are numerous, 
radiate, and disposed in a panicled corymb, with long peduncles bearing from 
one to three flowers. They resemble those of the preceding species in colour, 
and make their appearance about the same period. 
We include these two species under one head because they grow together, 
possess identical medical properties, and are indiscriminately employed. They 
are found in various parts of the United States, and abound in the fields about 
Philadelphia, where they are known and used under the common though inaccu- 
rate name of scabious. The whole herb is used, and should be collected while 
the plants are in flower. It has a feebly aromatic odour, and bitterish taste, and 
imparts its properties to boiling water. Mr. F. L. John, of Philadelphia, ob- 
tained from E. Pliiladelphicum a volatile oil by distillation, but in exceedingly 
small proportion; 45 pounds of the herb having yielded only half a drachm of 
the oil. As described by Prof. Procter, this is of a greenish-yellow colour, a 
powerful, penetrating, aromatic odour, and a bitterish, pungent, disagreeable 
taste. It is more viscid than the oil of E. Canadense, has a higher sp. gr. 
(0-946), and contains more oxygen. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxvii. 105.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Fleabane is diuretic, without being offensive 
to the stomach. It has been a favourite remedy, with some highly respectable 
practitioners of Philadelphia, in gravel and other nephritic diseases, and has 
been used advantageously in dropsy. By the late Prof. Wistar it was recommended 
in hydrothorax complicated with gout. It cannot be relied on for the cure of 
dropsy; but may be employed as an adjuvant to more efficient medicines. It is 
most conveniently administered in infusion or decoction, of which a pint, con- 
taining the virtues of an ounce of the herb, may be given in twenty-four hours. 
In a communication by Dr. Wilson, of Philadelphia, to the College of Physi- 
cians, Nov. 1, 1854, it is stated that the oil of Philadelphia fleabane had been 
employed with great advantage by Dr. Bournonville and himself in uterine 
hemorrhage, in the dose of five drops every two hours. (Transact, of Col. of 
Phys., N. S. ii. 330.) There can be little doubt, from the account of the oil at 
the same time given, that it was the oil of E. Canadense, and not that of E 
Pliiladelphicum, which was really used. W. 
ERIGERON CANADENSE. US. 
Canada Fleabane. 
The herb of Erigeron Canadense. U. S. 
Erigeron. See ERIGERON. 
Erigeron Canadense. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 1954. This is an indigenous an- 
nual plant, with a stem from two to six feet high, covered with stiff hairs, and 
divided into many branches. The leaves are linear-lanceolate, and edged with 
hairs; those at the root are dentate. The flowers are very small, numerous, 
white, and arranged in terminal panicles. They differ from those of the other 
species of Erigeron in having an oblong calyx, the rays very minute and more 
numerous than the florets of the disk, and the seed-down simple. Hence by 
some botanists the plant is placed in a sub-genus with the title C&notus. An- PART I. 
Erigeron Canadense.—Euonymus. 
373 
other variety of E. Canadense, which Mr. Nuttall makes a distinct species, 
with the title E. pusilum, is not more than from four to six inches high, and has 
an erect smooth stem, less branched than the preceding, with all its leaves entire 
and scabrous on the margin. The panicle is simple, and the peduncles filiform., 
nearly naked, divaricate, each bearing two or three flowers. 
Canada fleabane is very common throughout the northern and middle sections 
of the United States, and has become naturalized in many parts of Europe. It 
abounds in neglected fields, and blooms in July and August. The plant, all parts 
of which are medicinal, should be collected while in flower. The leaves and 
flowers are said to possess its peculiar virtues in greatest perfection. 
This species of Erigeron has an agreeable odour, and a bitterish, acrid, some- 
what astringent taste. Among its constituents, according to Dr. De Puy, are 
bitter extractive, tannin, gallic acid, and volatile oil. Both alcohol and water 
extract its virtues. Its acrimony is diminished by decoction, in consequence, 
probably, of the escape of the oil, upon which its virtues in part depend. The 
oil is included among the Preparations in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, and will be 
described in Part II. of this work. (See Oleum Erigerontis Canadensis.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. From the observations of Dr. De Puy, Canada 
fleabane appears to be diuretic, tonic, and astringent; and has proved useful in 
dropsical complaints and diarrhoea. It may be given in substance, infusion, tinc- 
ture, or extract. The dose of the powder is from thirty grains to a drachm ; of 
an infusion, prepared with an ounce of the plant and a pint of boiling water, 
from two to four fluidounces; of the aqueous extract, from five to ten grains. 
The dose should be repeated every two or three hours. The oil has been em- 
ployed for arresting hemorrhage, in the dose of five drops every two hours. 
Off. Prep. Oleum Erigerontis Canadensis, U. S. W. 
EUONYMUS. US. Secondary. 
Wahoo. 
The bark of Euonymus atropurpureus. U. S. 
Euonymus. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Celastracese. 
Lindley. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx four or five-parted, flat. Corolla four or five-petaled, infe- 
rior, flat. Capsule three to five-valved, three to five-celled, coloured, each cell 
containing one or two seeds, surrounded by a red arillus. 
The plants belonging to this genus are shrubs or small trees, presenting in the 
autumn a striking appearance from the rich red colour of 'their fruit, which has 
obtained for them the name of burning bush. E. Americanus and E. Europseus 
have been cultivated in gardens as ornamental plants. Two or more of the 
species have been used in medicine. Their properties are probably similar, if 
not identical. Grundner, who experimented with the fruit of E. Europseus, found 
it to have no other effect than that of a diuretic. (Pliarm. Cent. Blatt, A. D. 
1847, p. 873.) An oil expressed from the seeds is used in Europe for the de- 
struction of vermin in the hair, and sometimes also as an application to old 
sores. {Ibid., A.D. 1851, p. 641.) Dr. Griffith says that the seeds of this and 
other species are purgative and emetic, and that the leaves are poisonous to 
sheep and other animals feeding on them. He states also that the inner bark of 
E. tingens is beautifully yellow, and used in India for dyeing, and in diseases of 
the eye. {Med. Bot., p. 220.) About twenty years since a bark was introduced 
into notice in this city, as a remedy for dropsy, under the name of Wahoo, by 
Mr. Geo. W. Carpenter, who had obtained a knowledge of its virtues in the 
Western States. On a journey in the North West in the year 1845, the author 
made some inquiries into the source of this medicine, and, having had the op- 374 
Euonymus. 
PART I. 
portunity of examining the plant producing it, found it to be E. atropurpureus; 
and this is recognised in the present edition of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. The 
name of wahoo (pronounced wawhoo) was given to it by the Indians. The same 
name has also been applied to Ulmus alata, of the Southern States, and has 
thus led to mistakes. It is probable that the product of E.Americanus has 
been indiscriminately used with that of the officinal species. 
Euonymus atropurpureus. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1132; Gray’s 3Ianual, p. 
81; figured in Griffith’s Med. Bot. p. 219. This plant has been named variously 
wahoo, spindletree, and burning bush. It is a tall, erect shrub, with quadran- 
gular branchlets, and opposite, petiolate, oval-oblong, pointed, serrate leaves. 
The flowers, which stand in loose cymes on axillary peduncles, are small and 
dark-purple, with sepals and petals commonly in fours. The capsule or pod is 
smooth and deeply lobed. The plant is indigenous, growing throughout the 
Northern and Western States, and sometimes cultivated for the beauty of its 
crimson fruit. The bark is the part used. 
Properties. The dried bark is in thin pieces, whitish with a darker grayish 
epidermis, brittle, of a feeble, peculiar, not disagreeable odour, and a bitterish 
slightly sweetish taste, and somewhat pungent after-taste. It imparts its virtues 
to water and alcohol. Analyzed by Mr. Wm. T. Wenzell, it was found to contain 
a bitter principle which he named euonymin, asparagin, a soft resin, a crystalli- 
zable resin, a yellow resin, a brown resin, fixed oil, wax, starch, albumen, glu- 
cose, pectin, and various salts of organic and inorganic acids. Euonymin was 
obtained by agitating with chloroform a tincture made with diluted alcohol, sepa- 
rating the chloroformic solution and allowing it to evaporate spontaneously, 
treating the residue with ether, dissolving what was left in alcohol, adding acetate 
of lead to the solution, filtering, precipitating the lead with hydrosulphuric acid, 
and evaporating. The euonymin obtained was uncrystallizable, intensely bitter, 
soluble in water and alcohol, and neuter in its reactions. It was abundantly pre- 
cipitated from its solution by subacetate of lead and phospho-molybdic acid. 
(Am. Journ. of Pharm., Sept. 1862, p. 387.) Mr. W. P. Clothier found the 
bark to yield no volatile oil on distillation. According to the same writer, if a 
concentrated tincture is poured into water, a dark-yellow bitter substance is 
thrown down, containing resin and fixed oil, which is the euonymine of the Eclec- 
tics, very improperly so named, as, though it contains a portion of the active 
principle, it is a very complex substance. Mr. Clothier found it to purge actively 
without griping. (Ibid., Nov. 1861, p. 491.) Kubel has discovered in the fresh 
inner bark of E. Europseus a saccharine, crystallizable substance, closely resem- 
bling mannite, but differing in its crystalline form, and melting point. He calls 
it euonymite. (Journ. de Pliarm., Dec. 1862, p. 523.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. The precise virtues of wahoo have not been 
determined. Mr. C. A. Santos, in a dissertation upon the American species, 
published in the American Journal of Pharmacy (xx. 80), speaks of the bark 
as tonic, hydragogue cathartic, diuretic, and antiperiodic. Dr. Twyman, of 
Westport, Missouri, informed the author that he had found it as a cathartic 
rather to resemble rhubarb, than to possess hydragogue properties, and thought 
he had obtained useful effects from it as an alterative to the hepatic function. 
Similar information was obtained from other sources. On the whole, the char- 
acter of its action must be considered as somewhat uncertain; and it might well 
form a subject of further examination. As a diuretic in dropsy it may be used 
in the form of decoction or infusion, made in the proportion of an ounce to a 
pint of water, and given in the dose of a wineglassful several times a day. A 
fluid extract, prepared with diluted alcohol, would no doubt be an efficient, ard 
would probably be found a convenient preparation. W. PART I. 
Eupatorium. 
375 
EUPATORIUM. U.S. 
Tliorougliwort. 
The tops and leaves of Eupatorium perfoliatura, gathered after flowering has 
commenced. U. S. 
Eupatorium. Sex. Syst. Syngenesia iEqualis.— Nat. Ord. Compositse-Eupa- 
toriaceae. De Cartel. Asteraceas. Lindley. 
Gen. Cli. Calyx simple or imbricate, oblong. Style long and semi-bifid. 
Receptacle naked. Pappus pilose, or more commonly scabrous. Seed smooth 
and glandular, qulnquestriate. Nuttall. 
Of this numerous genus, comprising not less than thirty species within the 
limits of the United States, most of which probably possess analogous medical 
properties, E.perfoliatum alone now holds a place in our national Pharmaco- 
poeia. E.purpureum and E. teucrifolium were originally in the Secondary 
List, but were discarded at the revision of 1840. They merit, however, a brief 
notice, if only from their former officinal rank. 
Eupatorium p-urpureum, or gravel root, is a perennial herbaceous plant, 
with a purple stem, five or six feet in height, and furnished with ovate-lanceo- 
late, serrate, rugosely veined, slightly scabrous, petiolate leaves, placed four or 
five together in the form of whorls. The flowers are purple, and consist of nume- 
rous florets contained in an eight-leaved calyx. It grows in swamps and other 
low grounds, from Canada to Virginia, and flowers in August and September. 
The root has, according to Dr. Bigelow, a bitter, aromatic, and astringent 
taste, and is said to operate as a diuretic. Its vulgar name of gravel root indi- 
cates the popular estimation of its virtues. 
Eupatorium teucrifolium (Willd. Sp. Plant, in. 1753), E. pilosum (Walt. 
Flor. Car. 199), E. verbensefolium (Mich. Flor. Am. ii. 98), commonly called 
wild horehound, is also an indigenous perennial, with an herbaceous stem, which 
is about two feet high, and supports sessile, distinct, ovate, acute, scabrous 
leaves, of which the lower are coarsely serrate at the base, the uppermost entire. 
The flowers are small, white, composed of five florets within each calyx, and 
arranged in the form of a corymb. The plant grows in low wet places from New 
England to Georgia, and abounds in the Southern States. It is in flower from 
August to November. The whole herb is employed. In sensible properties it cor- 
responds with E. perfoliatum, though less bitter and disagreeable. It is said to 
be tonic, diaphoretic, diuretic, and aperient; and has been employed as a domestic 
remedy in intermittent and remittent fevers. Dr. Jones, formerly president of the 
Georgia Medical Society, first made its properties known to the profession. It 
is usually given in the form of infusion, made with an ounce to a quart of water, 
the whole to be taken during the day. 
E. Cannabinum, of Europe, the root of which was formerly used as a pur- 
gative, and E. Aya-pana, of Brazil, the leaves of which at one time enjoyed a 
very high reputation, have fallen into entire neglect. The aya-pana is an aro- 
matic bitter, like E. perfoliatum, but weaker. 
Eupatorium perfoliatum. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 1761; Bigelow, Am. Med. 
Bot. i. 33; Barton, Med. Bot. ii. 125. Thoroughwort, or boneset, is an indige- 
nous perennial plant, with numerous herbaceous stems, which are erect, round, 
hairy, from two to five feet high, Simple below, and trichotomously branched 
near the summit. The leaves serve to distinguish the species at the first glance. 
They may be considered either as parforated by the stem, perfoliate, or as con- 
sisting each of two leaves, joined at the base, connate. In the latter point of 
view, they are opposite and in pairs, which decussate each other at regular dis- 
tances upon the stem; in other words, the direction of each pair is at right 
angles with that of the pair immediately above or beneath it. They are narrow Eupatorium.—Euphorbia Corollata. 
part I. 
in proportion to their length, broadest at the base where they coalesce, gradu- 
ally tapering to a point, serrate, much wrinkled, paler on the under than the 
upper surface, and beset with whitish hairs, which give them a grayish-green 
colour. The uppermost pairs are sessile, not joined at the base. The flowers 
are white, numerous, supported on hairy peduncles, in dense corymbs, forming a 
flattened summit. The calyx, which is cylindrical and composed of imbricated, 
lanceolate, hairy scales, encloses from twelve to fifteen tubular florets, having 
their border divided into five spreading segments. The anthers are five, black, 
and united into a tube, through which the bifid filiform style projects. 
This species of Eupatorium inhabits meadows, the banks of streams, and other 
moist places, growing generally in bunches, and abounding ih almost all parts 
of the United States. It flowers from the middle of summer to the end of Octo- 
ber. All parts of it are active; but the herb only is officinal. 
It has a faint odour, and a strongly bitter, somewhat peculiar taste. The 
virtues of the plant are readily imparted to water and alcohol. Mr. W. Peterson 
found it to contain a peculiar bitter principle, chlorophyll, resin, a crystalline 
matter of undetermined character, gum, tannin, yellow colouring matter, ex- 
tractive, lignin, and salts. (Am. Journ. of Pharm.,xxiii. 210.) Mr. Biekley found 
also albumen, gallic acid, and signs of volatile oil. (Ibid., xxvi. 495.) Eupatorin 
will be the proper name to apply to the bitter principle, when isolated and 
satisfactorily determined; but is wholly inapplicable to any complex substance, 
consisting of different proximate principles, however concentrated, and whether 
possessing or not the virtues of the leaves. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Thoroughwort is topic, diaphoretic, and in 
large doses emetic and aperient. It is said to have been employed by the In- 
dians in intermittent fever, and has proved successful in the hands of several 
regular practitioners. The general experience, however, is not in its favour in 
that complaint. We have seen it arrest intermittents when given freely in warm 
decoction, immediately before the expected recurrence of the paroxysm; but it 
operated in this instance by its emetic rather than its tonic power. The medi- 
cine has also been used as a tonic and diaphoretic in remittent and typhoid 
fevers, and is said to have been productive of advantage in yellow fever. Given 
in warm infusion, so as to produce vomiting or copious perspiration, at the com- 
mencement of catarrh, it will frequently arrest that complaint; and has been 
especially recommended in influenza. It has also been recommended as a diapho- 
retic in acute rheumatism; and may prove serviceable in the absence of high 
arterial excitement. As a tonic it is given with advantage in dyspepsia, general 
debility, and other cases in which the simple bitters are employed. 
With a view to its tonic effects, it is best administered in substance, or cold 
infusion. The dose of the powder is twenty or thirty grains, that of the infusion 
a fluidounce, frequently repeated. (See Infusum Eupatorii.) The aqueous ex- 
tract has been used with advantage. When the diaphoretic operation is required 
in addition to the tonic, the infusion should be administered warm, and the pa- 
tient remain covered in bed. As an emetic and cathartic, a strong decoction, 
prepared by boiling an ounce with three half pints of water to a pint, may be 
given in doses of one or two gills, or more. 
Off. Prep. Infusum Eupatorii, U. S. W. 
EUPHORBIA COROLLATA. U.S. Secondary. 
Large-floieering Spurge. 
The root oi Euphorbia corollata. U. S. 
EuniORBiA. Sex. Syst. Dodecandria Trigynia, Linn.; Monoecia Monadelphia, 
Michavjc. — Nat. Ord. Euphorbiaceoe. PART i. 
Euphorbia Corollata. 
377 
Oen. Ch. Involucrum caliciform, eight to ten toothed, exterior alternate den 
tures glanduloid or petaloid. Stamina indefinite, twelve or more, rarely less; 
filaments articulated. Receptacle squamose. Female fiower solitary, stipitate, 
naked. Capsule three-grained. Nuttall. 
In the flower of the Euphorbim, the stamina are arranged two or more to- 
gether, in distinct parcels, corresponding in number with the inner segments of 
the calyx. These parcels were considered by Michaux as distinct male florets; 
while the central stipitate germ, with its three bifid styles, was considered as a 
distinct female floret, and the calyx as an involucre. lie accordingly placed the 
genus in the class and order Monoecia Monadelphia, and in this respect has 
been followed by most American botanists. The genus Euphorbia contains nu- 
merous species, having the common property of yielding a milky juice. They 
are herbaceous or shrubby, with or without leaves; and the leafless species, which 
are chiefly confined to the African deserts, have fleshy, naked, or spiny stems, 
like those of the Cactus. They nearly all afford products which act powerfully a3 
emetics and cathartics, and in overdoses occasion dangerous if not fatal pros- 
tration, with symptoms of inflamed gastro-intestinal mucous membrane. Their 
milky juice, which concretes on exposure, usually possesses these properties in a 
high degree, and, iu addition, that of powerfully irritating the skin when applied 
to it. Two species are acknowledged in our national Pharmacopoeia, E. corol- 
lata and E. Ipecacuanha, which are both indigenous. E. hypericifolia, which 
is also indigenous, has been highly commended as a remedy in dysentery after due 
depletion, diarrhoea, menorrhagia, and leucorrhoea by Dr. W. Zollickoffer. He 
infuses half an ounce of the dried leaves in a pint of boiling water, and gives 
half a fluidounce every hour iu dysentery till the symptoms begin to yield, the 
same quantity after every evacuation in diarrhoea, and two fluidounces, morning, 
noon, and night, in menorrhagia and fluor albus. The herb is at first sweetish, 
afterwards harsh and astringent to the taste, and appears to contain tannin. Its 
effects upon the system are those of an astringent and feeble narcotic. It dif- 
fers, therefore, considerably, both in sensible and medicinal properties, from most 
of the other species. (Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., xi. 22.) In a subsequent commu- 
nication, it is stated that E. maculata possesses similar properties. (Ibid., N. S., 
iii. 125.) Dr. B. J. D. Irwin, of the IT. S. Army, having heard much, while in 
New Mexico and Arizona, of the efficacy, among the native Mexicans, of a cer- 
tain plant called by them gollindrinera, as an antidote to the poison of serpents, 
was induced to make trials of it, which convinced him that its reputation was not 
unmerited. A specimen of the plant having been sent to Prof. Torrey, it was pro- 
nounced by him to be Euphorbia prostrata, which is abundant in the South- 
western parts of the U. States and Mexico. Dr. Irwin thinks that the virtues 
reside in the milky juice of the plant, but the liquid obtained by bruising the herb 
is commonly used. Like other Euphorbiae, it is emetic and cathartic in large 
quantities, but he has heard of no injurious effects from its use. (Ibid., Jan. 1861, 
p. 89.) 
Euphorbia corollata. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 916; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. iii. 
119. The blooming or large-flowering spurge, frequently called milk-weed, is 
au erect plant, with a large, perennial, branching, yellowish root, which sends up 
several stems from two to five feet in height, round and generally simple. The 
leaves, which stand irregularly upon the stem, and without footstalks, are oblong- 
obovate, wedge-form or linear, flat or revolute at the margin, smooth in some 
plants, and hairy in others. The flowers are disposed upon a large terminal umbel, 
with a five-leaved involucrum, and five trifid and dichotomous rays, at each fork 
of which are two oblong bractes. The calyx is large, rotate, white, with five 
obtuse segments closely resembling a corolla, from which the species has been 
named. At the base of these divisions are five interior smaller segments, which 
are described as nectaries by many systematic writers, while the larger are con- 378 
Euphorbia Corollata.—Euphorbia Ipecacuanha 
PART I. 
sidered as belonging to a real corolla. The stamens are twelve, evolving gra- 
dually, with double anthers. Many flowers have only stamens. The pistil, when 
existing, is stipitate, nodding, rounded, with three bifid styles. The fruit is a 
smooth, three-celled, three-seeded capsule. 
The plant grows in various parts of the United States, from Canada to Florida, 
and abounds in Western Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. It prefers a 
dry, barren, and sandy soil, seldom growing in woods or on the borders of streams. 
Its flowers appear in July and August. The root is the only part used. 
This, when full grown, is sometimes an inch in thickness, and two feet in length. 
It is without unpleasant taste, producing only a sense of heat a short time after 
it has been taken. The medical virtues are said to reside in the cortical portion, 
which is thick, and constitutes two-thirds of the whole root. They are taken up 
by water and alcohol, and remain in the extract formed by the evaporation of the 
decoction or tincture. 
Medical Properties and Uses. In a full dose, the root of E. corollata ope- 
rates actively and with sufficient certainty as an emetic, producing ordinarily 
several discharges from the stomach, and sometimes acting with considerable 
energy upon the bowels. In quantities insufficient to vomit, it excites nausea, 
almost always followed by brisk purging. In still smaller doses it is diaphoretic 
and expectorant. It cannot, however, like ipecacuanha, be given largely in cases 
of insensibility of stomach, without endangering hypercatharsis with inflamma- 
tion of the mucous coat of the stomach and bowels. It is in fact greatly inferior 
to this emetic in mildness, while it is no less inferior to the tartarized antimony 
in certainty. It is objectionable as a purge, in consequence of the nausea which 
it occasions when given in cathartic doses. Dr. Zollickoffer was the first to in- 
troduce it to the particular notice of the medical profession. It is little pre- 
scribed, and seldom kept in the shops. The dose of the dried root as an emetic 
is from ten to twenty grains, as a cathartic from three to ten grains. The recent 
root, bruised and applied to the skin, produces vesication. W. 
EUPHORBIA IPECACUANHA. U.S. Secondary. 
Ipecacuanha Spurge. 
The root of Euphorbia Ipecacuanha. U. S. 
Euphorbia. See EUPHORBIA COROLLATA. 
Euphorbia Ipecacuanha. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 900; Barton, Med. Bot. i. 211; 
Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. iii. 108. Ipecacuanha spurge, or American ipecacu- 
anha, is a singular plant, varying so much in the shape and colour of its leaves, 
and in its whole aspect, that mere individual peculiarities might without care be 
attributed to a specific difference. The root is perennial, yellowish, irregular, 
and very large, penetrating sometimes to the depth of six or seven feet in the 
sand, and in its thickest part, when full grown, from three-quarters of an inch to 
an inch and a half in diameter. The stems are numerous, herbaceous, erect or 
procumbent, smooth, dichotomous, jointed at the forks, white under the ground, 
red, pale-green, or yellow above, sometimes almost buried in the sand, usually 
forming thick low bunches upon its surface. The leaves are opposite, sessile, 
entire, smooth, generally oval, but sometimes round, obovate, or even lanceolate 
or linear They are small early in the spring, and increase in size with the ago 
of the plant. Their colour varies from green to crimson. The flowrers are soli- 
tary, on long axillary peduncles. The calyx is spreading, with five exterior obtuse 
segments, and the same number of inner, smaller segments. The fertile flowers 
have a roundish, drooping, pedicelled germ, crowned with six revolute stigmas. 
The capsule is three-celled, and contains three seeds. 
E. Ipecacuanha is indigenous, growing in pine-barrens and other sandy PART I. 
Euphorbia Ipecacuanha.—Extractum Cannabis. 
places in the Middle and Southern States, especially along the sea-board, and 
abundantly in New Jersey, on the banks of the Delaware. It blooms from May 
to August. The root, which is the officinal portion, is, according to Dr. Barton, 
equally efficacious at whatever period collected. 
The dry root is light and brittle, of a grayish colour externally, white within, 
inodorous, and of a sweetish not unpleasant taste. Its active principle has not 
been isolated. Dr. Bigelow inferred from his experiments that it contained caout- 
chouc, resin, gum, and probably starch. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Ipecacuanha spurge is an active, tolerably cer- 
tain emetic, rather milder than E. corollata, but, like it, disposed to affect the 
bowels, and liable, if given in overdoses, to produce excessive nausea and vomit- 
ing, general prostration, and alarming hypercatharsis. It is, therefore, unfit to 
supersede ipecacuanha. In small doses it is diaphoretic. The specific name of 
the plant indicates that the emetic property of the root has been long known. 
The late Professor Barton alluded to it in his “ Collections;” but it did not come 
into general notice till after the publication of Dr. W. P. C. Barton’s Medical 
Botany. The late Dr. Hewson, of Philadelphia, informed us that this emetic was 
the subject of an inaugural essay by Dr. Royal, and that experiments, conducted 
with it among the convicts in the Walnut Street prison, proved it to be advan- 
tageously available for all the purposes of an emetic; while, in consequence of 
its want of nauseous taste, it seemed to answer even better than ipecacuanha as 
an expectorant and diaphoretic. The dose of the powdered root is from ten to 
fifteen grains. ' W. 
EXTRACTUM CANNABIS. U.S. 
Extract of Hemp. 
An alcoholic extract of the dried tops of Cannabis sativa, var. Indica. U. S. 
Off. Syn. EXTRACTUM CANNABIS INDICT. Br. 
Cannabis. Sex. Syst. Dioecia Pentandria.—Nat. Ord.- Cannabinaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Male. Calyx five-parted. Stamens five. Female. Calyx one- 
leaved, rolled up. Styles two. Bindley. 
Cannabis sativa. Linn. Sp. Plant. 145T; Griffith, Med. Bot. p. 512. Hemp 
is an annual plant, from four to eight feet or more in height, with an erect, 
branching, angular stem. The leaves are alternate or opposite, on long, lax 
footstalks, roughish, and digitate with linear-lanceolate, serrated segments. The 
stipules are subulate. The flowers are axillary; the male in long, branched, 
drooping racemes; the female in erect simple spikes. The stamens are five, with 
long pendulous anthers; the pistils two, with long, filiform, glandular stigmas. 
The fruit is ovate and one-seeded. The whole plant is covered with a fine pu- 
bescence, scarcely visible to the naked eye, and is somewhat viscid to the touch. 
The hemp plant of India, from which the drug is derived, has been considered 
by some as a distinct species, and named Cannabis Indica; but the most ob- 
servant botanists, upon comparing it with our cultivated plant, have been unable 
to discover any specific difference. It is now, therefore, regarded merely as a 
variety, and is distinguished by the epithet Indica. Dr. Pereira states that, in 
the female plant, the flowers are somewhat more crowded than in the common 
hemp; but that the male plants in the two varieties are in all respects the same. 
It is unfortunate that the name of Indian hemp has been attached to the medi- 
cinal product; as, in the United States, the same name has long been appropriated 
to Apocynum cannabinum; and some confusion has hence arisen. 
C. sativa is a native of the Caucasus, Persia, and the hilly regions in the north 
of India. It is cultivated in many parts of Europe and Asia, and largely in our 
Western States. It is from the Indian variety exclusively that the medicine is 380 
JExtractum Cannabis. 
PART I. 
obtained; the heat of the climate in Hindostan apparently favouring the de- 
velopment of its active principle.* 
The seeds, though not now officinal, have been used in medicine. They are 
about the eighth of an inch long, roundish-ovate, somewhat compressed, of a 
shining ash-gray colour, inodorous, and of a disagreeable, oily, sweetish taste. 
They yield by expression a fixed oil, which has the drying property, and is used 
in the arts. They contain also uncrystallizable sugar and albumen, and when 
rubbed with water form an emulsion, which may be used advantageously in 
inflammations of the mucous membranes, though without narcotic properties. 
They are much used as food for birds, which are fond of them. They are gene- 
rally believed to be in no degree poisonous; but M. Michaud relates the case of 
a child, in which serious symptoms of narcotic poisoning occurred after taking a 
certain quantity of them. It is probable that some of the fruit eaten by the child 
was unripe; as, in this state, it would be more likely to partake of the peculiar 
qualities of the plant itself. (Ann. de Therap., A. D. 1860, p. 159.) 
In Hindostan, Persia, and other parts of the East, hemp has long been habitu- 
ally employed as an intoxicating agent. The parts used are the tops of the plant, 
and a resinous product obtained from it. The plant is cut after flowering, and 
formed into bundles from two to four feet long by three inches in diameter, which 
are sold in the bazaars under the name of gunjah. The hashish of the Arabs is 
essentially the same. The name bang is given to a mixture of the larger leaves 
and capsules without the stems. There is on the surface of the plant a resinous 
exudation to which it owes its clammy feel. Men clothed in leather run through 
the hemp fields, brushing forcibly against the plants, and thus separating the 
resin, which is subsequently scraped from their dress, and formed into balls. 
These are called churrus. In these different states of preparation, the hemp is 
smoked like tobacco, with which it is said to be frequently mixed. An infusion 
or decoction of the plant is also sometimes used as an exhilarating drink. 
The medicinal resin or extract of hemp, directed by the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, 
is made by evaporating a tincture of the dried tops. Dr. O’Shaughnessy directs 
it to be prepared by boiling the tops of the gunjah in alcohol until all the resin 
is dissolved, and evaporating to dryness by means of a water-bath. Mr. Robert- 
son, of the Calcutta Medical College, prepares it by passing the vapour of boil- 
ing alcohol from the boiler of a still into the dried plant contained in a con- 
venient receptacle, and evaporating the condensed liquor by a heat not exceeding 
150° P. The Messrs. Smith, of Edinburgh, obtain a purer resin by the fol- 
lowing process. Bruised gunjah is digested, first in successive portions of warm 
water, till the expressed liquid comes away colourless; and afterwards, for two 
days, with a moderate heat, in a solution of carbonate of soda, containing one 
part of the salt for two of the dried herb. It is then expressed, washed, dried, 
* On a visit to the botanical garden of Edinburgh, in the autumn of 1860, the author saw 
a full-grown specimen of Cannabis sativa, and was surprised to find that it was only about 
4 feet high, had little or no odour, and was scarcely adhesive when handled. If this is the 
general character of the hemp plant in the North of Europe, it is not surprising that it 
should be destitute of the medicinal properties of the Indian plant. As cultivated in his 
own garden in Philadelphia, the plant attains a height usually of six or eight feet, has a 
decided narcotic odour, and exudes so much of its peculiar resin as to be very adhesive to 
the fingers. It is highly probable, therefore, that the hemp plant grown in this country 
might be advantageously used in medicine. On this occasion Dr. Christison informed the 
author, from information he had received from India, that the plant, there cultivated in the 
hot plains, does not yield hashish satisfactorily; but that this product is chiefly if not ex 
clusively obtained from it in the hilly regions. He said, moreover, that the story of the 
natives running through the hemp fields, and collecting the resin on their clothing, from 
which it is afterwards scraped, is, if not quite untrue, at least apocryphal. He had been 
informed that the real mode of gathering it is to rub the hemp-tops between the hands, 
and, when the palms and fingers are sufficiently loaded with the resin, to scrape it off. It 
is possible, however, that different methods may be followed in different localities.—Note 
to the twelfth edition. pabt I. 
Extractum Cannabis. 
381 
and exhausted by percolation with alcohol. The tincture, after being agitated 
with milk of lime'containing one part of the earth for twelve of the gunjah used, 
is filtered; the lime is precipitated by sulphuric acid; the filtered liquor is agi- 
tated with animal charcoal, and again filtered; most of the alcohol is distilled 
off, and to the residue twice its weight of water is added; the liquid is then 
allowed to evaporate gradually; and, finally, the resin is washed with fresh 
water until it ceases to impart a sour or bitter taste to the liquid, and is then 
dried in thin layers. Thus obtained, it retains the odour and taste of the gunjah, 
of which 100 pounds yield 6 or I pounds of the extract. Much of the com- 
mercial extract is very impure, and is but partially soluble in alcohol. 
Under the name of Extraction Cannabis Purificatum, the U. S. Pharma- 
copoeia directs a preparation made by evaporating a tincture of the crude ex- 
tract, which, from its greater uniformity of strength, is preferable for prescrip- 
tion. (See Part II.) The British Pharmacopoeia directs the Extract of Indian 
Hemp to be prepared by macerating an avoirdupois pound of the dried tops of 
the hemp, in coarse powder, in four Imperial pints of rectified spirit, for seven 
days, then expressing, and evaporating to the proper consistence. From this a 
tincture is ordered to be prepared. 
Properties. Fresh hemp has a peculiar narcotic odour, which is said to be 
capable of producing vertigo, headache, and a species of intoxication. It is 
much less in the dried tops, which have a feeble bitterish taste. According to 
Dr. Royle, churrus is when pure of a blackish-gray, blackish-green, or dirty 
olive colour, of a fragrant and narcotic odour, and a slightly warm, bitterish, 
and acrid taste. Schlesinger found in the leaves a bitter substance, chloro- 
phyll, green resinous extractive, colouring matter, gummy extract, extractive, 
albumen, lignin, and salts. The plant also contains volatile oil in very small 
proportion, which probably has narcotic properties. The resin is probably the 
active principle, and has received the name of cannabin. It is neuter, soluble 
in alcohol and ether, and separable from the alcoholic solution by water as a 
white precipitate. According to M. Laneau, of Brussels, it is insoluble in cold 
alcohol of 80 or 90 per cent., but is soluble in the same liquid heated, in cold 
absolute alcohol, ether, acetic ether, spirit of nitric ether, muriatic ether, chloro- 
form, and bisulphuret of carbon. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxviii. 362.) Its 
taste is warm, bitterish, acrid, somewhat balsamic, and its odour fragrant, espe- 
cially when heated.* 
Medical Properties. Extract of hemp is a powerful narcotic, causing exhilara- 
tion, intoxication, delirious hallucinations, and, in its subsequent action, drowsi- 
ness and stupor, with little effect upon the circulation. It is asserted also to act 
as a decided aphrodisiac, to increase the appetite, and occasionally to induce 
the cataleptic state. In overdoses it may produce poisonous effects. In morbid 
states of the system, it has been found to cause sleep, to allay spasm, to com- 
* From the effects on the system of the exhalations from fresh hemp, it was a very pro- 
bable supposition that the plant owed its medical properties, in part at least, to a volatile 
principle. By repeated distillation of the same portion of water from relatively large 
quantities of hemp renewed at each distillation, M. J. Personne obtained a volatile oil, of 
a stupefying odour,, and an action on the system such as to dispose him to think that it 
was the active principle of the plant. As the water distilled was strongly alkaline, he 
supposed that this volatile principle might be a new alkaloid; but the alkaline reaction 
was found to depend on ammonia; and the liquid obtained proved to be a volatile oil, lighter 
than water, of a deep amber colour, a strong smell of hemp, and composed of two distinct 
oils, one colourless, with the formula C36II20, the other a hydrate of the first. For the 
former M. Personne proposes the name of cannabene. When this is inhaled, or taken into 
*he stomach, a singular excitement is felt throughout the system, followed by a depression, 
sometimes amounting to syncope, .with hallucinations which are generally disagreeable, 
but an action on the whole slighter and more fugitive than that of the resin. The pure 
resin of the Messrs. Smith, M. Personne considers to be complex, depending on volatile 
principles for its activity, deprived of which at a temperature of about 300° C., it becomes 
quite inert. (Journ. de Fharm., A. D. 1857, p. 46.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 382 
Extractum Cannabis.—Extractum Glycyrrhizse. 
PART I. 
pose nervous inquietude, and to relieve pain. In these respects it resembles 
opium; but it differs from that narcotic in not diminishing thh appetite, check- 
ing the secretions, or constipating the bowels. It is much less certain in its 
effects; but may sometimes be preferably employed, when opium is contraindi- 
cated by its nauseating or constipating effects, or its disposition to produce 
headache, and to check the bronchial secretion. The complaints in which it has 
been specially recommended are neuralgia, gout, rheumatism, tetanus, hydro- 
phobia, epidemic cholera, convulsions, chorea, hysteria, mental depression, deli- 
rium tremens, insanity, and uterine hemorrhage. It has been found to cure 
obstinate intermittent fever, given before the paroxysm. Dr. Alexander Christi- 
son, of Edinburgh, has found it to have the property of hastening and increasing 
the contractions of the uterus in delivery, and has employed it with advantage 
for this purpose. It acts very quickly, and without anassthetic effect. It ap- 
pears, however, to exert this influence only in a certain proportion of cases. {Ed. 
Month. Journ. of Med. Sci., xiii. 117, and xv. 124.) The strength of the extract 
varies much as found in commerce; and therefore no definite dose can be fixed. 
When it is of good quality half a grain or a grain will affect the system. The 
Messrs. Smith found two-thirds of a grain of their extract to produce powerful 
narcotic effects. In some instances it will be necessary to give as much as ten 
or twelve grains of the extract; and half an ounce of it has been taken without 
sensible effect. The proper plan is to begin with one-quarter or half a grain, re- 
peated at intervals of two, three, or four hours, and gradually increased until its 
influence is felt, and the strength of the parcel employed is thus ascertained. After- 
wards the dose will be regulated by the ascertained strength; but, should a new 
parcel be employed, the same caution must be observed as to the commencing 
dose. A tincture is prepared by dissolving six drachms of the extract in a pint 
of alcohol. The dose of this, equivalent to a grain of the extract, is about twenty 
minims, or forty drops. Dr. O’Shaughnessy gave ten drops every half hour in 
cholera, and a fluidrachm every half hour in tetanus. As the resin is precipitated 
by water, the tincture should be administered in mucilage or sweetened water. 
Alarming effects have been produced by overdoses.* 
Off. Prep. Extractum Cannabis Purificatum, U. S.; Tinctura Cannabis In- 
dicas, Br. W. 
EXTRACTUM GLYCYRRHIZiE. U.S.,Br. 
Liquorice. 
The extract of the root of Glycyrrhiza glabra. U.S. 
Extrait de reglisse, Fr.; Sussholzsaft, Germ.; Sugo di liquirizia, Ital.; Regaliza en bollos, 
Span. 
For an account of Glycyrrhiza glabra, see article GLYCYRRHIZA. 
The British Pharmacopoeia gives directions for preparing this extract; but, as 
it is seldom made in this country by the apothecary, it is very properly placed, 
in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, in the catalogue of the Materia Medica. 
The British directions are to macerate an avoirdupois pound of liquorico 
root, in coarse powder, for twelve hours, in eight ff uidounces of distilled water ; 
then to pack in a percolator, and add more distilled water, until the root is ex- 
hausted; and finally to heat the liquor to 212°, strain it through flannel, and 
evaporate by means of a water-bath. The object in heating the infusion to 212° 
is to coagulate the albumen, and thus exclude it from the extract. 
Liquorice is an article of export from the north of Spain, particularly Cata- 
* A preparation of hemp has been recommended as an anodyne liniment in painful 
affections, made by heating together for five or six hours upon a salt-water bath one part 
of the bruised tops of Indian hemp and two parts of the oil of hempseed, and then ex- 
pressing and filtering. (Journ. de Pharm., Mars, 1863, p. 239.)—Note to the twelfth edition. Fxtraetum Glycyrrhizse. 
383 
PART I. 
Ionia, where it is obtained in the following manner. The roots of the G. glabra, 
having been dug up, thoroughly cleansed, and half dried by exposure to the air, 
are cut into small pieces, and boiled in water till the liquid is saturated. The 
decoction is then allowed to rest, and, after the dregs have subsided, is decanted, 
and evaporated to the proper consistence. The extract, thus prepared, is formed 
into rolls from five to six inches long by an inch in diameter, which are dried in 
the air, and wrapped in laurel leaves. 
Much liquorice is also prepared in Calabria, according to M. Fee, from the 
G. echinata, which abounds in that country. The process is essentially the same 
as that just described, but conducted with greater care; and the Italian liquorice 
is purer and more valuable than the Spanish. We have been informed that most 
of the extract brought to this country comes from the ports of Leghorn and 
Messina. It is in cylinders, generally somewhat smaller than the Spanish, and 
sometimes stamped with the manufacturer’s name.* Perhaps in no part of the 
world is more liquorice consumed than in this country; from four to five thou- 
sand tons having been imported annually before the war. Much of it is used in 
the manufacture of tobacco. {Am. Journ. of Pharm., Sept. 1862, p. 449.) 
Crude liquorice is in cylindrical rolls, somewhat flattened, and often covered 
with bay leaves. We have seen it in the London market in large cubical masses. 
When good, it is very black, dry, brittle, breaking with a shining fracture, of a 
very sweet, peculiar, slightly acrid or bitterish taste, and almost entirely soluble 
when pure in boiling water. Neumann obtained 460 parts of aqueous extract 
from 480 parts of Spanish liquorice. It is, however, considerably less soluble 
in cold water. It is often.impure from accidental or fraudulent addition, or care- 
less preparation. Starch, sand, the juice of prunes, &c. are sometimes added; 
and carbonaceous matter, and even particles of copper are found in it, the latter 
arising from the boilers in which the decoction is evaporated. Four pounds of 
the extract have yielded two drachms and a half of metallic copper. {Fee.) In 
different commercial specimens examined by Chevallier, he found from 9 to 50 
per cent, of insoluble matter. {Journ. de Pharm., xxx. 429.) This is by no 
means, however, always impurity. In the preparation of the extract by decoction, 
a portion of matter originally insoluble, or rendered so by decoction, is taken up, 
and is, in fact, necessary to the proper constitution of the liquorice. When this 
is prepared with cold water, or even with hot water by simple displacement, the 
extract obtained attracts moisture from the air, becomes soft, and loses the charac- 
teristic brittleness of the drug. The additional substances taken up in decoction 
serve to protect the extract against this change. M. Delondre has obtained the 
same result by using steam as the solvent. He prepares from the root an excel- 
lent liquorice, having all the requisite qualities of colour, taste, and permanence, 
by passing steam, in suitable vessels, through the coarse powder of the root. The 
vapour thoroughly penetrates the powder, and is drawn off as it condenses. 
With about 500 lbs. of the root, this treatment is continued for 12 hours, and 
repeated at the end of 5 days. The liquors are collected, decanted, clarified with 
about 4 lbs. of gelatin, and quickly evaporated. After being put into the form 
of cylinders, the extract is kept for ten days in a drying room, at a temperature of 
Fl°. {Ibid., p. 433.) A bitter or empyreumatic taste is a sign of inferior quality 
in liquorice. As ordinarily found in commerce it requires to be purified for use. 
* Much liquorice is now prepared in this country, chiefly at the laboratory of the Messrs. 
Tilden, at New Lebanon, Columbia Co., New York. The best roots being selected, are 
ground into a coarse powder, which is submitted to the action of condensing steam, so as 
to make a concentrated infusion, which is then evaporated without access of air. The ex- 
tract is prepared in three forms: 1, in boxes containing 25 lbs. in which it solidifies in mass; 
2, in small rolls of 80 to the pound; and 3, in lozenges like those of the Pontefract liquorice. 
(See the next page.) In the two latter forms, the addition of gum arabic is necessary to give 
the extract a proper consistence; as, without this, it softens in warm weather, set as not 
to retain its form. It is much lighter-coloured than the imported liquorice, but darkens on 
exposure. {Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxvii. 311.)—Note to the eleventh edition. Extractum Glyeyrrhizae.—Farina. 
part i. 
The refined liquorice, kept in the shops in small cylindrical pieces not thicker 
than a pipe stem, is prepared by dissolving the impure extract in water without 
boiling, straining the solution, and evaporating. The object of this process is to 
separate not only the insoluble impurities, but also the acrid oleo-resinous sub- 
stance, which is extracted by long boiling from the liquorice root, and is neces- 
sarily mixed with the unrefined extract. It is customary to add, during the pro- 
cess, a portion of sugar, gum, flour, starch, or perhaps glue. These additions, 
or something equivalent, are necessary to obviate the deliquescent property of 
the pure liquorice. According to M. Delondre, 15 per cent, of gum is the proper 
proportion, when this substance is used; Dr. Geisler has found the sugar of milk 
to lessen the disposition of the extract to absorb moisture; but he considers the 
best addition, on the whole, to be very finely powdered liquorice root, which 
should be used in the proportion of 1 part to 16 of the purified extract. (Am. 
Journ. ofPharm., xxviii. 225.) The preparation is sometimes attacked by small 
worms, probably in consequence of the farinaceous additions. Excellent liquorice 
is prepared, in some parts of England, from the root cultivated in that country. 
The Pontefract cakes are small lozenges of liquorice of superior quality, made 
in the vicinity of Pomfret. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Liquorice is a useful demulcent, much employed 
as an addition to cough mixtures, and frequently added to infusions or decoc- 
tions, in order to cover the taste or obtund the acrimony of the principal medicine. 
A piece of it held in the mouth and allowed slowly to dissolve, is often found to 
allay cough by sheathing the irritated membrane of the fauces. It is used in phar- 
macy to impart consistence to pills and troches, and to modify the taste of other 
medicines. Much is also used in the preparation of tobacco for chewing. 
Off. Prep. Confectio Sennas, Br.; Decoctum Aloes Compositum, Br.; Mis- 
tura Glycyrrhiz® Composita, U.S.; Tinctura Aloes; Tinctura Rhei et Sennae, 
U. S.; Trochisci Glycyrrhizae et Opii, U. S.; Trochisci Cubebae, U. S.; Trochisci 
Opii, Br. W. 
FARINA. 
Wheat Flour. 
This is placed, under the name of Flour, in the Appendix of the British Phar- 
macopoeia, among the substances used in preparing medicines, and defined “the 
grain of wheat, Triticum vulgare, ground and sifted.” 
Farine de froment,, Ft.; Waizenmchl, Germ.; Farina di frumento, Ital.; Flor del trigo, 
Acemite, Span. 
Triticum. Sex. Syst. Triandria Digynia. — Nat. Ord. Graminaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx two-valved, solitary, transverse, many-flowered, on a flexuose, 
toothed receptacle. Bees’s Cyclopaedia. 
Triticum hybernum. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 471. — T. vulgare, var. /?. hyber- 
num. Kunth, Gramin. 438. The common winter wheat has a fibrous root and 
one or more erect, round, smooth, jointed stems, which rise from three to five 
feet in height, and are furnished with linear, pointed, entire, fiat, many-ribbed, 
rough, somewhat glaucous leaves, and jagged bearded stipules. The flowers are 
in a solitary, terminal, dense, smooth spike, two or three inches long. The calyx 
is four-flowered, tumid, imbricated, abrupt, with a short compressed point. In 
the upper part of the spike it is more elongated; and in this situation the corolla 
is more or less awued. The grain is imbricated in four rows. 
The native country of wheat is unknown; but its cultivation is supposed to 
have spread from Sicily over Europe. It is now an object of culture in almost 
all countries having a temperate climate. Sown in the autumn, it stands the 
winter, and ripens its seeds in the following summer. Numerous varieties have 
been produced by cultivation, some of which are usually described as distinct PART i. 
Farina. 
385 
species. Among these may perhaps be ranked T. aestivum, or spring wheat, dis- 
tinguished by its long beards, and T. compositum, or Egyptian wheat, by its com 
pound spikes. The seeds are too well known to need description. They are 
prepared for use by grinding and sifting, by which the interior farinaceous part 
is separated from the husk. The former is divided according to its fineness into 
different portions, but so far as regards its medical relations may be considered 
under one head, that of farina or flour. The latter is called bran, and consti- 
tutes from 25 to 33 per cent. 
Flour is white, inodorous, and nearly insipid. Its chief constituents are starch, 
gluten, albumen, saccharine matter, and gum, the proportions of which are not 
constant. Yauquelin obtained, as an average product, from eight varieties of 
flour which he examined, 10-25 per cent, of water, 10'80 of gluten (including 
coagulated albumen), 68-08 of starch, 5-61 of sugar, and 4T1 of gum. Accord- 
ing to Christison, subsequent experiments have given an average of 16 or 17 
per cent, of gluten and albumen. The ashes of wheat, which amount only to 
about 0T5 per cent., contain, according to Henry, superphosphates of soda, 
lime, and magnesia. The gummy substance found in wheat flour is not precisely 
identical with ordinary gum; as it contains nitrogen, and does not yield mucic 
acid by the action of nitric acid. The starch, which is by far the most abundant 
ingredient, is much employed in a separate state. (See Amylum.) The gluten, 
however, is not less important; as it is to the large proportion of this principle 
in wheat flour, that it owes its superiority over that from other grains for the 
preparation of bread. The gluten here alluded to is the substance first noticed 
as a distinct principle by Beccaria. It is the soft, viscid, fibrous mass which re- 
mains, when wheat flour, enclosed in a linen bag, is exposed to the action of a 
stream of water, and at the same time pressed with the fingers till the liquor 
comes away colourless. But this has been ascertained to consist, in fact, of two 
different substances. When boiled in alcohol, one portion of it is dissolved, while 
another remains unaffected. Einhof ascertained that the part of the glutinous 
mass left behind by alcohol is identical with vegetable albumen, while the dis- 
solved portion only is strictly entitled to the name of gluten, which had been 
previously applied to the whole mass. As these two principles are contained in 
numerous vegetable products, and as they are frequently referred to in this work, 
it is proper that they should be briefly noticed. They both contain nitrogen, and 
both, when left to themselves in a moist state, undergo putrefaction. From these 
circumstances, and from their close resemblance to certain proximate animal 
principles in chemical habitudes and relations, they are sometimes called, in 
works on chemistry, vegeto-animal substances. They are separated from each 
other by boiling the gluten of Beccaria, above referred to, with successive por- 
tions of alcohol, till the liquid, filtered while yet hot, ceases to become turbid on 
cooling. The proper gluten dissolves, and may be obtained by adding water to 
the solution, and distilling off the alcohol. Large cohering flakes float in the 
liquor, which, when removed, form a viscid elastic mass, consisting of the sub- 
stance in question with slight impurity. The part left behind by the alcohol is 
coagulated albumen. 
Pure gluten, sometimes called vegetable fibrin, is a pale-yellow, adhesive, 
elastic substance, which, by drying, becomes more deeply yellow and translucent. 
It is almost insoluble in water, and quite insoluble in ether, and in the oils both 
fixed and volatile. Hot alcohol dissolves it much more readily than cold; and 
from its solution in boiling alcohol it separates unchanged when the liquor cools. 
It is soluble in the dilute acids, and in caustic alkaline solutions, in consequence 
of forming soluble compounds with the acids and alkalies. With the earths and 
metallic oxides it forms nearly insoluble compounds, which are precipitated when 
earthy or metallic salts are added to the solution of gluten in liquid potassa. 
Corrosive sublimate precipitates it from its acid as well as alkaline solutions, 386 
Farina. 
PART I. 
and, added in solution to moist gluten, forms with it a compound, which, when 
dry, is hard, opaque, and incorruptible. Gluten is also precipitated by infusion 
of galls. Its name originated in its adhesive property. It exists in most of the 
farinaceous grains, and in the seeds of some leguminous plants. 
Vegetable albumen is destitute of adhesiveness, and, when dried, is opaque, 
and of a white, gray, or brown colour. Before coagulation, it is soluble in water, 
but insoluble in alcohol. By heat it coagulates and becomes insoluble in water. 
It is dissolved by solutions of the caustic alkalies. Most of the acids, if added 
to its solution in excess, precipitate compounds of the acids respectively with 
the albumen, which, though soluble in pure water, are insoluble in that liquid 
when acidulated. It is not, however, precipitated by an excess of phosphoric or 
acetic acid. Its relations to the earthy and metallic salts are similar to those of 
gluten. Corrosive sublimate precipitates it from its solutions, except from those 
in phosphoric and acetic acids, and, when added in a state of solution to moist 
albumen, forms with it a hard, opaque compound. It is also precipitated by infu- 
sion of galls. This principle derived its name from its very close resemblance to 
animal albumen. It is associated with gluten in most of the farinaceous grains, 
is a constituent of all the seeds which form a milky emulsion with water, and 
exists in all the vegetable juices which coagulate by heat. 
The mixture of vegetable fibrin and albumen which constitutes the gluten of 
Beccaria, exercises an important influence over starch, which, with the presence 
of water, and the aid of a moderate heat, it converts partly into gum and partly 
into sugar. The production of saccharine matter in the germination of seeds, 
and in malting, which is an example of germination, is thus explained. The 
gluten becomes acid in the process, and loses the property of reacting on starch. 
It is now thought by many chemists that vegetable albumen is identical in all 
respects with animal albumen, and the gluten of vegetables with animal fibrin; 
and that both these principles, as well as another named casein, found also both 
in the animal and vegetable kingdoms, consist of a principle named protein, 
combined with a very small proportion of mineral substances, such as sulphur and 
phosphorus. Protein consists of nitrogen, carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen; and 
its formula, according to Liebig, is It is procured by dissolving any 
one of the substances above named in a strong solution of potassa, keeping the 
solution for some time at a heat of 120°, and precipitating with acetic acid. 
It is scarcely necessary to state that bread is formed by making flour into a 
paste with water, with the addition of yeast, setting it aside to ferment, and then 
exposing it to the heat of an oven. The fermentation excited by the yeast is 
accompanied with the extrication of carbonic acid gas, which, being retained by 
the tenacity of the gluten, forms innumerable little cells throughout the mass, 
and thus renders the bread light. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Wheat flour in its unaltered state is seldom 
used in medicine. It is sometimes sprinkled on the skin in erysipelatous inflam- 
mation, and various itching or burning eruptions, particularly the nettlerash; 
though rye flour is generally preferred for this purpose. 
Bread is more employed. An infusion of toasted bread in water is a nutritive 
drink, well adapted to febrile complaints. Within our experience, no drink has 
been found more grateful in such cases than this infusion, sweetened with a little 
molasses, and flavoured by lemon-juice. Boiled with milk, bread forms a good 
emollient poultice, which may be improved by the addition of a little perfectly 
fresh lard. Slices of it steeped in lead-water, and the crumb mixed with the fluid 
and confined within gauze, afford convenient modes of applying this preparation 
to local inflammations. The crumb (mica panis) is, moreover, frequently used 
to give bulk to minute doses of very active medicines, administered in the form 
of pill. It should be recollected that it always contains common salt, which is 
incompatible with certain substances, as, for example, nitrate of silver Farina.—Fermentum. 
387 
PART I. 
Bran is sometimes used in decoction, as a demulcent in catarrhal affections 
and complaints of the bowels. When taken in substance, it is laxative, and may 
be used with advantage to prevent costiveness. Bran bread, made from the 
unsifted flour, is an excellent laxative article of diet in some dyspeptic cases. 
The action of the bran is probably mechanical, consisting in the irritation pro- 
duced upon the mucous membrane of the bowels by its coarse particles. Braf 
also forms an excellent demulcent bath. 
Off. Prep. Cataplasma Fermenti. W. 
FERMENTUM. U.S. 
Yeast. 
Off. Syn. CEREYISEE FERMENTUM. Beer Yeast. The ferment obtained 
in brewing beer. Br. 
Levure, Fr.; Bierhefen, Germ.; Fermento di cervogia, Ital.; Espuma de cerveza, Span. 
This is the substance which rises, in the form of froth, to the surface of beer, 
and subsides, during the process of fermentation. A similar substance is pro 
duced during the fermentation of other saccharine liquids. 
It is flocculent, frothy, somewhat viscid, semi-fluid, of a dirty yellowish colour, 
a sour vinous odour, and a bitter taste. At the temperature of 60° or 70°, in 
a close vessel or damp atmosphere, it soon undergoes putrefaction. Exposed 
to a moderate heat, it loses its liquid portion, becomes dry, hard, and brittle; 
and may in this state be preserved for a long time, though with the loss of much 
of its peculiar power. In France it is brought to the solid state by introducing 
it into sacks, washing it with water, then submitting it to pressure, and ulti- 
mately drying it.* 
* M. C. Gutkind, of Paris, recommends the following process for preparing bakers’ yeast. 
Barley, having been slightly malted, is dried in a rapid current of heated air, then re- 
duced to fine flour without bolting, and placed in a vat, where it is made into dough with 
water of 104° F., and afterwards brought with water at the same temperature to the con- 
sistence of porridge. For each pound of flour about a pint and a half of water is required 
(100 kilogrammes and 2 hectolitres). The porridge is heated in a boiler to 178° F., beyond 
which degree the temperature is not to be raised, and introduced into canvas bags, in 
which it is submitted to expression. The expressed liquid is put into large vats, where it 
cools. The solid matter is again put into a vat, mixed with 2 pints of water at 114° F. for 
each pound, and stirred into a porridge, which is then heated to 201° F., and kept so for 
an hour. The mass is put into bags and expressed; and the two expressed liquids are 
mixed, and exposed to the air in large vats for a period of time varying from two to ten 
days according to the atmospheric temperature. To cause the liquid to ferment, it is heated 
to 90° F., and a little fresh yeast added. During the whole period of fermentation, which 
may be conducted in vats or vessels, an exterior temperature of at least 59° F. must be 
maintained. The yeast thus obtained is free from bitterness or acidity, is extremely white, 
and consequently does not require washing, and is superior in raising power to all others. 
The residuary liquid after fermentation may be used for making vinegar. (Lond. Pharm. 
Journ., xiv. 331.)—Note to the eleventh edition. 
Dried Yeast. For keeping, and for transmission from place to place, it is often desirable 
to have yeast in the dried state. Yeast cakes have appeared in commerce. They may be 
prepared by washing the ordinary yeast with water, expressing the liquid portion, and 
spreading out the residue, in thin layers, on linen or cotton cloth, in order to dry, in the 
sun, or in heated chambers, or on porous bricks to absorb the moisture. The layers may 
be cut in pieces of convenient shape, which may be occasionally turned to facilitate drying. 
The following plan is recommended in the Chemical News (Aug. 29th, 1863, p. 109). To 
every pound of the yeast, previously washed and drained, a drachm of pure carbonate of 
potassa or soda, and three drachms of officinal alcohol are to be added, the whole to be 
thoroughly mixed by stirring, and the mass thus prepared to be allowed to stand for half 
an hour, and then put into bags and expressed. Two drachms of solution of gelatin, in the 
form of a nearly cold jelly, are now to be thoroughly incorporated by kneading with the 
mixture, which is to be exposed for twelve hours in a cold place, for the complete solidifi- 
cation of the gelatin. The mass is, finally, to be cut into slices of the desired shape and 
size, and dried on muslin at ordinary temperatures.—Note to the twelfth edition. 388 
Fermentum, 
PART I. 
Yeas'r is insoluble in alcohol or water. It was analyzed by Westrumb, and 
found to contain, in 15,142 parts, 13 of potassa, 15 of carbonic acid, 10 of acetic 
acid, 45 of malic acid, G9 of lime, 240 of alcohol, 120 of extractive, 240 of muci- 
lage, 315 of saccharine matter, 480 of gluten, 13,595 of water, besides traces of 
silica and phosphoric acid. Its bitterness is attributable to a principle derived 
from the hops.. The property for which it is chiefly valued is that of exciting 
the vinous fermentation in saccharine liquids, and in various farinaceous sub- 
stances. This property it owes to its azotized ingredient; for, if separated from 
this, it loses its powers as a ferment, and reacquires them upon its subsequent 
addition. It is also rendered ineffective by strong alcohol, by several of the acids, 
as sulphuric and concentrated acetic acids, by various other substances, and 
by a heat of 212°. At a high temperature it is decomposed, affording products 
similar to those which result from the decomposition of animal matters. 
Examined with a microscope, yeast is seen to abound in minute transparent 
vesicles, which appear to contain one or more granules. These are now believed 
to be a fungous plant, which has the power of propagating itself at the expense 
of organic proximate principles with which it may be brought into contact; and 
attempts have been made to solve the mysteries of fermentation by the con- 
jecture, that the sugar or other fermenting substance, while contributing to the 
nourishment of the fungus, undergoes a decomposition resulting in the forma- 
tion of new products. Another theory, originally put forth by Liebig, is that 
fermentation is merely a chemical movement, excited by a movement of decom- 
position going on in the ferment. Mulder considers the cell-wall of the yeast 
plant to consist of a substance analogous to cellulose, and its contents to be a 
protein body, differing in some respects from gluten and albumen, and probably 
a superoxide of protein. During fermentation, this protein body makes its way 
through the vesicular coat, undergoes decomposition by the agency of heat, and, 
in the act of decomposition, sets on foot the changes in sugar which result in 
the formation of alcohol and carbonic acid. ( Ghern. Gazette, Feb. 15,1845.)* 
Medical Properties and Uses. Yeast has been highly extolled as a remedy 
* There can, we think, scarcely he a doubt, at present, that fermentation and the re- 
production of yeast are best explained upon the basis of an organic process. The germs 
of various microscopic plants, mucedinese, as they are called, are always floating in the ah , 
which, incorporated with certain nitrogenous substances, such as albumen, gluten, &c , 
essential to their nutrition, constitute what are called ferments. These have the property 
when mixed with other substances, of producing certain chemical changes, accompanied 
with phenomena called fermentation, and resulting in the decomposition of these sub- 
stances, and the production of new ones. Different plants produce different results, each 
giving rise to a peculiar fermentation, characterized by its own peculiar product. The 
vinous fermentation is one of these. Yeast, containing its proper plant, Torula cerevisise, mixed 
with a solution of sugar and water, at a sufficient temperature, causes a decomposition of 
the sugar, and the generation of alcohol and carbonic acid, with the phenomena of vinous 
fermentation, while the yeast itself, instead of being destroyed, is in fact greatly increased. 
The plants, by abstracting, in the process of their growth and reproduction, a portion of the 
constituents of the sugar, decompose this substance, the remaining constituents of which 
enter into new combinations, forming alcohol and carbonic acid. Thus the yeast is aug- 
mented by the growth of the old and the abundant generation of new plants; and in this 
way, much better than in any other, is explained the singular phenomenon of the generation 
of the new yeast. Pasteur has given a strong evidence of the truth of this explanation by 
the discovery, that, though the yeast plant, when exposed to the air, will grow freely, yet 
it has comparatively little effect on the sugar, while, with the air excluded, it operates on 
this substance energetically. In the former case, it derives the oxygen necessary to its 
respiration from the air, in the latter, exclusively from the sugar. Opposed to this view is 
the asserted fact, that the alcohol and carbonic acid produced exactly represent the sugar 
lost, which could not be if a part of the sugar were consumed as food by the plant. But 
this difficulty is removed by the consideration, that, as the plant exposed to the air, while 
absorbing oxygen, gives out carbonic acid, so, when it derives oxygen from the sugar, it 
yields an equivalent product of carbonic acid, the surplus carbon of the sugar being pro- 
bably appropriated in the nutritive process.—Note to the twelfth edition. PART I. 
Fermentum.—Ferrum. 
389 
in low fevers of a typhoid character, and is said to have been given with advan- 
tage in hectic. It is, however, little employed; as its somewhat tonic and stimu 
lating effects, ascribable to the bitter principle of hops, the alcohol, and the 
earbonic acid, which are among its constituents, may be obtained with equal 
certainty from more convenient medicines. The late Dr. Hewson, of Philadel- 
phia, informed the authors that, in a case of typhoid fever, attended with great 
irritability of the stomach, the patient was benefited and sustained by taking a 
pint of yeast daily for five days, during which period no other remedy was em- 
ployed. We have used it with apparent advantage in diabetes. (See Trans, of 
Col. of Phys. of Phil., N. S., i. 390 ) It has also been recommended internally 
in boils. When largely taken, it generally proves laxative; and it may some- 
times be necessary to obviate this effect by opium. Externally applied, it is 
very useful in foul and sloughing ulcers, the fetor of which it corrects while it 
affords a gentle stimulus to the debilitated tissue. It is usually employed mixed 
with farinaceous substances in the form of a cataplasm. The dose is from half 
a fluidounce to two fluidounces every two or three hours. 
Pharm. Uses. In preparing Acidum Citricum, Br. 
Off. Prep. Cataplasma Fermenti, Br. W. 
FERRUM. TJ.S. 
Iron. 
Fer, Fr.; Eisen, Germ.; Ferro, Ital.; Hierro, Span. 
In the British Pharmacopoeia, Iron Wire is placed in the Appendix as one 
of the substances used in preparing medicines. Annealed Iron Wire and Bind- 
ing Wire are given as synonymes. In the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, this metal is em- 
ployed in different preparations, in the form either of wire or filings; and each of 
these forms, therefore, will be briefly noticed in the following article; the general 
properties of the metal having been first considered. 
Iron is the most abundant and useful of the metals, and so interwoven with 
the wants of mankind, that the extent of its consumption by a nation may be 
taken as an index of its progress in civilization. It is universally diffused in na- 
ture, not only in the mineral, but also in the vegetable and animal kingdoms. There 
are very few minerals in which traces of it are not to be found, and it is an essen- 
tial constituent in many parts of animals, but particularly in the blood. It is one 
of the few metals which are not deleterious to the animal economy. 
Iron occurs, 1. native; 2. sulphuretted, forming magnetic and cubic pyrites; 
3. oxidized, embracing the magnetic, specular, red, brown, and argillaceous oxides 
of iron; 4. in saline combination, forming the carbonate, sulphate, phosphate, and 
arseniate of iron. Those minerals of iron which admit of being worked to ad- 
vantage are called iron ores. These include the different native oxides, and the 
carbonate (sparry iron). The best iron is obtained from the varieties of the na- 
tive oxide, usually called magnetic iron ore and specular iron ore. These occur 
abundantly in Sweden, and furnish the superior iron of that country. As a gene- 
ral rule, those ores yield the best iron which occur in primitive formations. 
Extraction. The mode of extracting iron from its ores varies somewhat with 
■die nature of the ore; but the general principles of the operation are the same 
tor all. The ore, previously broken into small pieces and roasted, is exposed to 
the action of an intense heat, in contact with carbonaceous matter, such as char- 
coal, coke, or anthracite, and in connection with some flux, capable of fusing with 
the impurities of the ore. The flux varies with the nature of the ore, and is 
generally either limestone or clay; limestone being employed when the ore is 
argillaceous, clay when it is calcareous. The flux, whatever it may be, enters into 
fusion with the impurities, and forms what is called the slag; while the carbona- 390 
Ferrum, 
PART I. 
ceom matter, acting on the oxide of iron, reduces it to the metallic state. The 
reduced metal, from its density, occupies the lower part of the furnace, and is 
protected from the action of the air by the melted slag which floats on its sur- 
face. When the reduction is completed, the slag is allowed to run out by a hole 
in the side of the furnace, and the melted metal by an aperture at the bottom, 
the latter being received into long triangular moulds, where it solidifies in masses, 
known in commerce by the name of pig or cast iron. In this state the metal is 
brittle and far from being pure; as it contains about 10 per cent, of carbon, with 
silicon, phosphorus, sulphur, calcium, aluminium, and sometimes manganese. It 
is purified, and brought to the state of malleable iron, by being fused, and sub- 
jected, while stirred, to the action of a current of air on its surface. By these 
means the carbon is nearly burnt out, and the other impurities are oxidized and 
made to rise to the surface as a slag. As the metal approaches to purity, it be- 
comes tough and less liquid, and its particles agglutinate so as to form semi-fused 
lumps, though the temperature of the furnace continues the same. These lumps 
are then taken out of the furnace, and their particles, by means of ponderous 
hammers, moved by steam or water power, are beaten together so as to form one 
tenacious mass. The metal is finally rolled out into bars of a convenient size, 
when it constitutes the malleable iron of commerce. 
Very pure malleable iron is now manufactured by the new process of Mr. W. 
Bessamer, from the crude metal while still in a state of fusion, by running it into 
a separate vessel, and there subjecting it to a blast of atmospheric air. The car- 
bon is thus burnt out; and by the heat generated the temperature of the fused 
metal is increased, with the effect of dissipating the volatile impurities, such as 
sulphur, &c., and of burning some of the iron into oxide, which, fusiug with the 
earthy impurities, separates them in the form of slag. The loss of weight is 18 
percent., against 28 per cent, by the old process. (Pharrn. Journ., Sept. 1856.) 
Iron mines occur in most countries, but more particularly in northern ones. 
In Spain, the principal mines furnish sparry iron, and the red and brown oxides. 
The chief iron ores of France are the sparry iron, and the specular, brown, and 
argillaceous oxides; of Germany, the sparry iron and brown oxide. The island 
of Elba is celebrated for its rich and abundant specular iron ore. 
In the United States iron is abundant. The principal ores that are worked are 
the magnetic, brown, and argillaceous oxides. They occur in the greatest abund- 
ance in the States of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, 
New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The ores of the three last-mentioned 
States rival the best Swedish in quality. 
Properties. Iron is a hard, malleable, ductile, and tenacious metal, of a gray- 
ish-white colour and fibrous texture, a slightly styptic taste, and a sensible odour 
when rubbed. In tenacity it yields only to nickel and cobalt. (Deville.) Its sp. 
gr. is about 7T, and its fusing point very high. It possesses the magnetic and 
welding properties. It is combustible, and, when heated to whiteness, burns in 
atmospheric air, and with brilliant scintillations in oxygen gas. At a red heat, 
its surface is converted into black oxide, and at common temperatures, by the 
combined agency of air and moisture, it becomes covered with a reddish matter, 
called rust, which consists of the hydrated sesquioxide. It combines with all the 
non-metallic elements, except hydrogen and nitrogen, and with most of the metals. 
Its eq. is 28 and symbol Fe. It forms three principal compounds with oxygen, 
a protoxide and sesquioxide, which, by their union, form the native black oxide, 
and a teroxide, possessing acid properties, called ferric acid. The protoxide is 
of a dark-blue colour, attracted by the magnet, and spontaneously combustible 
in the air, being converted into sesquioxide. It is the base of green vitriol, and 
of the green salts of iron generally. It is very prone to absorb oxygen; and 
hence the salts which contain it are soon partially converted, when in solution, 
into salts of the sesquioxide. It consists of one eq. of iron 28, and one of oxygen part I. 
Ferrum. 
391 
8 = 36. The sesquioxide is readily obtained by dissolving iron in nitromuriatic 
acid, precipitating by ammonia, and igniting the precipitate. It is of a red colour, 
not attracted by the magnet, and forms salts, which for the most part have a red 
dish colour. It is composed of two eqs. of iron 56, and three of oxygen 24 = 80 
An allotropic variety of the sesquioxide, soluble in water, and not responding to 
the ordinary tests of iron, has been discovered by M. Pean de Saint-Grilles. The 
native black oxide, the magnetic oxide of mineralogists, is officinal in the British 
Pharmacopoeia under the name of Ferri Oxidum Magneticum. It consists of 
one eq. of protoxide 36, and one of sesquioxide 80 = 116. The teroxide or ferric 
acid, discovered by Prerny, may be obtained, in union with potassa, by passing 
chlorine through a very concentrated solution of the alkali, holding hydrated 
sesquioxide of iron in suspension. This acid consists of one eq. of iron 28, and 
three of oxygen 24 = 52. Iron, combined with a minute proportion of carbon, 
and perhaps of silicon and aluminium, forms steel, a modification of iron formerly 
used in medicine, but now very properly laid aside. It also forms a number of 
important salts, several of which are officinal. 
Iron is readily detected, even in minute quantities, by bringing it to the state 
of sesquioxide in solution, and adding ferrocyanide of potassium or tincture 
of galls; the former of which will strike a deep-blue, the latter a black colour. 
The object of bringing it to the state of sesquioxide is readily effected by boil- 
ing the solution containing it with a little nitric acid. 
General Therapeutic Effects of Iron. The preparations of iron are pre- 
eminently tonic, and peculiarly well fitted to improve the quality of the blood, 
when impoverished from any cause. Hence they are useful in diseases charac- 
terized by debility, especially when the consequence of inordinate discharges. 
The diseases in which they are usually employed are chronic anaemia or chlo- 
rosis, hysteria, fluor albus, scrofula, rickets, passive hemorrhages, dyspepsia when 
dependent on deficient energy of the digestive function, and neuralgia. They 
are contraindicated in all inflammatory diseases, producing, when injudiciously 
employed, heat, thirst, headache, difficulty of breathing, and other symptoms 
of an excited circulation. In order to understand their effect in improving the 
blood, it must be borne in mind that this fluid always contains iron, as an essen- 
tial constituent of the red corpuscles. The amount in ten thousand parts of 
blood, according to different authorities, is 2-3 parts (Le Caml), 2*4 (Denis), 
5 5 (Becquerel and Rodier), 8'7 (Poggiale), mean 4’7. In anmmia the blood 
is deficient in iron, not because the red corpuscles contain less of the metal, 
for they, individually considered, always contain the normal quantity; but be- 
cause there are fewer of them. (Becquerel and Rodier.) The question here 
arises, which are the preparations of iron best adapted to promote the forma- 
tion of the red constituent of the blood, and what are the conditions of their 
administration most favourable to their efficient action? According to M. 
Bouchardat, the preparations most easily assimilated are metallic iron and the 
protoxide; and, when the latter is in saline combination, it should be united 
either with carbonic acid, or with some organic acid. He holds that, when the 
iron is combined with a mineral acid, such as the sulphuric or phosphoric, the 
preparation acts solely as an astringent. Quevenne did not go so far as this, but 
believed that the mineral acid salts were not well adapted for assimilation, and 
that they were less so in proportion to their astringent power. 
Quevenne laid it down as a rule, that, when the iron preparations are given 
with the view of improving the blood, they should be taken with the meals, and 
not on an empty stomach. Doses, thus given, were well borne, which often 
caused uneasiness and pain, when taken fasting. The gastric juice of the empty 
stomach is usually alkaline; and Quevenne proved that reduced iron, introduced, 
through a fistulous opening, into the stomach of fasting dogs, was not acted on, 
and was without effect in exciting the secretion. The juice, during digestion, is 392 
Ferrum. 
PART I. 
acid, aud has been shown by the experiments of Quevenne to be in a favourable 
state for dissolving iron. The ferruginous preparations, it is true, were found 
to be unequally soluble; for, while iron filings were freely soluble, the subcar- 
bonate of iron was but slightly attacked. It was observed that the acidity of 
the gastric juice was but little diminished by the solution of the iron; which fact 
can be explained only by supposing that the presence of the metal caused a 
nearly proportional increase of the acid secretion. Assuming these observations 
to be accurate, it is easy to perceive why the ferruginous preparations should be 
taken with the food, selecting of course those most soluble in the gastric juice. 
The digested iron, being intimately blended with the digested food, is in a favour- 
able state to fulfil its indispensable agency in sanguification. 
In the use of ferruginous preparations, it is often necessary to persevere for 
several months, in order to reap the fullest benefit. Even after the cure appears 
to be accomplished, it is safest to continue them, in diminishing doses, for a 
considerable time. For further information on the properties of iron, the reader 
is referred to the able memoir of the late T. A. Quevenne, entitled Memoir sur 
HAction Physiologique et Therapeutique des Ferrugineux (Paris, 1854). 
The following table embraces all the preparations of iron to be found in the 
United States and British Pharmacopceias, together with their synonymes. 
Iron is officinal— 
I. In the metallic state. 
Ferrum, TJ. S.— Iron. Iron Wire, Br. 
Ferrum Redactum, TJ. S., Br. — Reduced Iron. Powder of Iron. 
II. Oxidized. 
Ferri Oxidum Hydratum, TJ. S.; Ferri Peroxidum Hydratum, Br.—Hy- 
drated Oxide of Iron. Hydrated Peroxide of Iron. 
Ferri Oxidum Magneticum, Br.—Magnetic Oxide of Iron. 
Ferri Peroxidum, Br.—Peroxide of Iron. 
Emplastrum Ferri, Br. — Chalybeate Plaster. 
Ill Sulphuretted. 
Ferri Sulphuretum, TJ. S., Br. Appendix. — Sulphuret of Iron. 
IV. In saline combination. 
Ferri Arsenias, Br. — Arseniate of Iron. 
Ferri Carbonas Saccharata, Br. — Saccharated Carbonate of Iron. 
Pilula Ferri Carbonatis, Br. —Pill of Carbonate of Iron. 
Pululae Ferri Carbonatis, U. S.—Pills of Carbonate of Iron. Vallei's 
ferruginous pills. 
Piluloe Ferri Composite, TJ. S.— Compound Pills of Iron. 
Ferri Chloridum, U. S. — Chloride of Iron. 
Tinctura Ferri Chloridi, U. S. — Tincture of Chloride of Iron. 
Ferri Citras, TJ. S. — Citrate of Iron. 
Liquor Ferri Citratis, U. S. — Solution of Citrate of Iron. 
Ferri et Ammonise Citras, U. S., Br. — Citrate of Iron and Ammonia. 
Ferri et Ammoniae Sulphas, U. S. — Sulphate of Iron and Ammonia. 
Ammonio-ferric Alum. 
Ferri et Ammoniae Tartras, TJ. S.—Tartrate of Iron and Ammonia. 
Ferri et Potassae Tartras, U. S.; Ferrum Tartaratum, Br.— Tartrate of 
Iron and Potassa. Tartarated Iron. 
Yinum Ferri, Br. — Wine of Iron. 
Ferri et Quinice Sulphas, U. S., Br. — Sulphate of Iron and Quinia. 
Ferri Ferrocyanidum, TJ. S. —Ferrocyanide of Iron. Pure Prussian blue. 
Potassii Ferrocyanidum, TJ. S. — Ferrocyanide of Potassium, Br. 
Pilulae Ferri Iodidi, TJ. S.— Pills of Iodide of Iron. Ferrum 
393 
PART I 
Syrttpus Ferri Iodidi, U. S., Br.— Syrup of Iodide of Iron. 
Ferri Iodidura, Br. — Iodide of Iron. 
Ferri Lactas, TJ. S.—Lactate of Iron. 
Liquor Ferri Nitratis, U.S.; Liquor Ferri Pernitratis, Br. — Solution 
of Nitrate of Iron. 
Liquor Ferri Perchloridi, Br. — Solution of Perchloride of Iron. 
Tinctura Ferri Perchloridi, Br. — Tincture of Perchloride of Iron. 
Ferri Phosphas, TJ. S., Br. — Phosphate of Iron. 
Syrupus Ferri Phosphatis, Br. — Syrup of Phosphate of Iron. 
Ferri Pyrophosphas, TJ. S.—Pyrophosphate of Iron. 
Ferri Subcarbonas, TJ. S. — Subcarbonate of Iron. 
Eraplastrum Ferri, TJ. S. — Plaster of Iron. Strengthening plaster. 
Trochisci Ferri Subcarbonatis, TJ. S. — Troches of Subcarbonate of 
Iron. 
Liquor Ferri Subsulphatis, TJ. S. —Solution of Subsulphate of Iron. 
Ferri Sulphas, TJ. S., Br. — Sulphate of Iron. 
Ferri Sulphas Exsiccata, TJ. S., Br.—Dried Sulphate of Iron. 
Mistura Ferri Composita, TJ. S., Br. — Compound Mixture of Iron. 
Ferri Sulphas Granulata, Br. — Granulated Sulphate of Iron. 
Liquor Ferri Tersulphatis, TJ. S. — Solution of Tersulphate of Iron. 
Iron Wire. Ferri Filum. TJ. S. 1850. 
Fil de fer, Fr.; Eisendraht, Germ.; Fil di Ferro, Ilal.; Hilo de hierro, Span. 
Iron Filings. Ferri Ramenta. TJ. S. 1850. 
Limailles de fer, Fr.; Eisenfeilickt, Germ.; Limatura di ferro, Ital.; Limatura de hierro, 
Span. 
Iron, when employed in pharmaceutical operations, should be of the purest 
kind; and hence the Pharmacopoeias generally direct it, when wanted in small 
masses, to be in the form of iron wire, which is necessarily made from the purest, 
because the softest and most ductile iron, and is readily cut into pieces. 
Iron filings are usually obtained from the workshops of the blacksmith; but, 
as furnished from this source, they are generally very impure, and unfit for medi- 
cinal use. M. Gobley, upon examining thirty-six samples of iron filings, found 
but three exempt from copper. The rest, besides wood, sand, and oxide of iron, 
contained as high as 2 per cent, of this metal. Iron filings cannot be com- 
pletely purified by the magnet; as they often have adhering to them bits of 
foreign matter, which are carried up with them. The only way to obtain them 
pure, is to file a piece of pure iron with a clean file. The French Codex directs 
iron in an impalpable powder, prepared by porphyrizing bright and clean iron 
filings without water. A dull black powder is formed, which must be carefully 
preserved from moisture. An impalpable powder of the metal, obtained by re- 
ducing the sesquioxide by hydrogen, is officinal in the U. S. and Br. Pharmaco- 
poeias. (See Fer rum Redactum.) 
Medical Uses. In the form of wire, iron is never used internally; in that of 
filings; it was formerly much employed. Though undoubtedly an efficacious 
remedy, iron filings have been entirely superseded by one of the forms of powdered 
iron which have lately been brought into use, and which have the great advan- 
tages of more entire purity and more ready solubility in the liquids of the sto- 
mach, while exempt, by their impalpable character, from the liability to produce 
Irritation mechanically, which was objected against the filings. 
Pharm. Uses. In preparing Potassii Bromidum, U. S. 
Off. Prep. Ferri Chloridum, U. S.; Ferri Iodidum, Br.; Ferri Lactas, U. S.; 
Ferri Sulphas; Ferri Sulphas Granulata, Br.; Liquor Ferri Nitratis, U.S.; 
Liquor Ferri Perchloridi, Br.; Liquor Ferri Pernitratis, Br.; Pilulse Ferri 
Iodidi; Syrupus Ferri Iodidi; Tinctura Ferri Chloridi, U. S. B. Ferri Sulphuretum. 
PART I. 
FERRI SULPHURETUM. U.S. 
Sulphuret of Iron. 
“Protosulphuret of Iron, prepared by melting together Iron in small pieces 
and Sublimed Sulphur.” U.S. 
This has been introduced into the TJ. S. Pharmacopoeia as the material from 
which sulphuretted hydrogen may be obtained, which, though not officinal, is in 
constant use as a reagent, and is often employed with great advantage in pro- 
cesses for isolating the active principles of medicinal substances. 
The officinal sulphuret of iron is best prepared by bringing iron and sulphur 
into contact at a red or white heat. The following is the process of the late 
Dublin Pharmacopoeia. 
“Take of rods of Iron, of the size employed in the manufacture of nails, any 
convenient number. Having raised them to a strong red or white heat, apply 
them in succession by their heated extremities to sticks of Sulphur, operating 
so that the melted Sulphuret, as it is formed, may drop into a stone cistern filled 
with water, and be thus protected from oxidation. The wrater being poured off, 
let the product be separated from the Sulphur with which it is mixed, and, when 
dried, let it be enclosed in a well stopped bottle.” Dub. 
“An inferior sort, good enough, however, for pharmaceutic purposes, is ob- 
tained by heating one part of Sublimed Sulphur and three of Iron Filings, in a 
crucible, in a common fire till the mixture begins to glow, and then removing 
the crucible, and covering it until the action, which at first increases considera- 
bly, shall come to an end.” Ed. 
Iron and sulphur form a number of sulphurets, among which the most im- 
portant are the protosulphuret and sesquisulphuret, corresponding with the pro- 
toxide and sesquioxide of iron, the bisulphuret or cubic pyrites, and magnetic 
pyrites, which is a compound of five eqs. of protosulphuret, and one of bisul- 
phuret. When the sulphuret is obtained by the application of solid sulphur to 
white-hot iron, the product corresponds with magnetic pyrites; but, when pro- 
cured by heating flowers of sulphur with an excess of iron filings, as directed in 
the above Edinburgh process, a protosulphuret is formed mixed with metallic 
iron. When sulphur is applied to white-hot iron over water, the metal appears 
to become hotter, burns with scintillations in the vapour of the sulphur, and 
forms instantly the sulphuret, which, being comparatively fusible, melts into 
globules, and drops into the water, which serves to extinguish them. 
Properties, &c. The officinal sulphuret of iron has a yellowish colour and the 
metallic lustre. When obtained over water it is in the form of brownish-yellow 
globules, having a somewhat crystalline texture. When pure it furnishes a yel- 
low powder, and dissolves in dilute sulphuric or muriatic acid without leaving 
a residue of sulphur, and with the production of hjilrosulphuric acid gas (sul- 
phuretted hydrogen), free from admixture of hydrogen. As prepared, however, 
by the officinal processes, it is not entirely soluble in dilute sulphuric acid, a 
portion of uncombined sulphur being left. The fused globules have the compo- 
sition 5FeS-f FeS2, or, according to some, 5FeS-fFe2S3. This sulphuret is em- 
ployed solely as a pharmaceutical agent for the production of hydrosulphuric 
acid. It yields this gas by reaction with diluted sulphuric acid. Water is decom- 
posed; its hydrogen combines with the sulphur to form hydrosulphuric acid, 
while the oxygen converts the iron into protoxide, with which the sulphuric 
acid unites. Hydrosulphuric acid is a colourless gas, having a smell like that 
of putrid eggs. Its sp.gr. is 1-1782. It saturates bases, with which it forms 
salts called hydrosulphates, sulphohydrates, or hydrosulphurets. It consists 
of one eq. of sulphur 16, and one of hydrogen 1 — 17. B. PART I. 
Ficus 
395 
FICUS. TJ.S.,Br. 
Fig. 
The dried fruit of Ficus Carica. U. S., Br. 
Figues, Fr.; Feigen, Germ..; Fichi, Ital.; Higos, Span. 
Ficus. Sex. Syst. Polygamia Dioecia.—Nat. Ord. Urticacem. 
Gen. Ch. Common receptacle turbinate, fleshy, converging, concealing the 
florets in the same or distinct individuals. Male. Calyx three-parted. Corolla 
none. Stamens three. Female. Calyx five-parted. Corolla none. Pistil one. 
Seed one, covered with the closed, persistent, somewhat fleshy calyx. Willd. 
Ficus Carica. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 1131; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 714, t. 244. 
The fig-tree, though often not more than twelve feet high, sometimes rises in 
wrarm climates twenty-five or even thirty feet. Its trunk, which seldom exceeds 
seven inches in diameter, is divided into numerous spreading branches, covered 
with a brown or ash-coloured bark. It3 large, palmate leaves, usually divided 
into five obtuse lobes, are deep-green and shining above, pale-green and downy 
beneath, and stand alternately on strong, round footstalks. The flowers are 
situated within a common receptacle, placed upon a short peduncle in the axils 
of the upper leaves. This receptacle, the walls of which become thick and fleshy, 
constitutes what is commonly called the fruit; though this term is, strictly 
speaking, applicable to the small seed-like bodies found in great numbers on the 
internal surface of the receptacle, to which they are attached by fleshy pedicels. 
Cultivation has produced in the fig, as in the apple and peach, a great diversity 
in shape, size, colour, and taste. It is usually, however, turbinate or top-shaped, 
umbilicate at the large extremity, of the size of a small pear, of a whitish, yel- 
lowish, or reddish colour, and of a mild, mucilaginous, saccharine taste. 
The fig-tree is supposed to have come originally from the Levant. It was in- 
troduced at a very early period into various parts of the south of Europe, and is 
now very common throughout the whole basin of the Mediterranean, particularly 
in Italy and France. To hasten the maturation of the fruit, it is customary to 
puncture it with a sharp-pointed instrument covered with olive oil. The ancient 
process of caprijication is still practised in the Levant. It consists in attaching 
branches of the wild fig-tree to the cultivated plant. The fruit of the former con- 
tains great numbers of the eggs of an insect of the genus Cynips, the larvae of 
vhich, as soon as they are hatched, spread themselves over the cultivated fruit, 
and, by conveying the pollen of the male organs over which they pass to the 
female florets, hasten the impregnation of the latter, and cause the fig to come 
quickly to perfection, which might otherwise ripen very slowly, or wither and 
drop off before maturity. Some authors attribute the effect to the piercing of 
the fruit by the young insects. According to Landerer, the unripe fig contains 
an irritant juice, which inflames the skin, and may even disorganize it. (See Am. 
Journ. of Pharm., xxxiii. 215.) 
The figs, when perfectly ripe, are dried by the heat of the sun or in ovens. 
Those imported into this country come chiefly from Smyrna, packed in drums or 
boxes. They are more or less compressed, and are usually covered in cold weather 
with a whitish saccharine efflorescence, which melts in the middle of summer, and 
renders them moist. The best are yellowish or brownish, somewhat translucent 
when held to the light, and filled with a sweet viscid pulp, in which are lodged 
numerous small yellow seeds. They are much more saccharine than the fresh 
fruit. Their chief constituents are sugar and mucilage. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Figs are nutritious, laxative, and demulcent 
In the fresh state they are considered in the countries where they grow a whole- 
some and agreeable aliment, and have been employed from time immemorial. 396 
Ficus.—Filix Mas. 
PART I. 
They are apt, however, when eaten freely, to produce flatulence, pain in the 
bowels, and diarrhoea. Their chief medical use is as a laxative article of diet in 
constipation. They occasionally enter into demulcent decoctions; and, when 
roasted or boiled, and split open, are sometimes applied as a suppurative cata- 
plasm to parts upon which an ordinary poultice cannot be conveniently retained, 
as, for example, to the gums. 
Off. Prep. Confectio Sennas. W. 
FILIX MAS. U.S. 
Male Fern. 
The rhizoma of Aspidium Filix mas. U. S. 
Off. Syn. FILIX. Aspidium Filix mas. The rhizoma dried. Br. 
Fougkre male, Fr.; Johanniswurzel, Germ.; F41ce maschio, Ital.; Heleclio, Span. 
Aspidium. Sex. Syst. Cryptogamia Filices.—Nat. Ord. Filices, Jussieu. 
Filicales, Bindley. 
Gen. Oh. Fructification in roundish points, scattered, not marginal. Involucre 
umbilicated, open almost on every side. Smith. 
The root of a species of Aspidium, growing in South Africa, has been used 
by the Kaffirs in the vicinity of Natal, by whom it is called inkomankomo, or un- 
comocomo as the name is given by Dr. Theodore Martius. The plant is the A. 
athamanticum, and the root has received the name of panna in Europe, where 
it was first brought into notice in 1851. It is probably in no respect superior to 
the European species. (Pharm. Journ., xvi. 447.) 
Aspidium Filix mas. Willd. Sp. Plant, v. 259; Smith, Flor. Britan. — Ne- 
phr odium Filix mas. Lindley, Flor. Med. 619. —Polypodium Filix mas. Linn.; 
Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 795, t. 267. The male fern has a perennial, horizontal root 
or rhizoma, from which numerous annual fronds or leaves arise, forming tufts 
from a foot to four feet in height. The stipe or footstalk, and midrib are thickly 
beset with brown, tough, transparent scales; the frond itself is oval-lanceolate, 
acute, pinnate, and of a bright-green colour. The pinnae or leaflets are remote 
below, approach more nearly as they ascend, and run together at the summit of 
the leaf. They are deeply divided into lobes, which are of an oval shape, crenate 
at the edges, and gradually diminish from the base of the pinna to the apex. 
The fructification is in small dots on the back of each lobe, placed in two rows 
near the base, and distant from the edges. The plant is a native of Europe, Asia, 
and the north of Africa. It is said also to be indigenous, growing in shady pine 
forests from New York to Virginia; but it may be doubted whether the Ameri- 
can plant is identical with the European. 
The proper period for collecting the root is during the summer, when, accord- 
ing to M. Peschier, of Geneva, it abounds more in the active principle-than at 
any other season. The same writer informs us that it deteriorates rapidly when 
kept, and in about two years becomes entirely inert. The roots of other species 
of fern are frequently substituted for the officinal; and in the dried state it is 
difficult to distinguish them. 
Properties, &c. As taken from the ground, the root consists of a long cylin- 
drical caudex, around which are closely arranged, overlapping each other like the 
shingles of a roof, the remains of the leafstalks or stipes, which are an inch or 
two in length, from two to four lines thick, somewhat curved and directed up- 
wards, angular, brown, shining, and surrounded near their origin from the root 
with thin silky scales, of a light-brown colour. From between these remains of 
the footstalks emerge numerous small radical fibres. The whole root, thus con- 
stituted, presents a somewhat flexible, cylindrical mass, one or two inches thick, 
and a foot or more in length. In this form, however, it is not usually found in PART I. 
Filix Mas. 
397 
our shops. The whole is ordinarily broken up into fragments, consisting of the 
separated remains of the leafstalks before described, with a small portion of the 
substance of the root attached to their base, where they are surrounded by the 
silky scales. These fragments, as seen in the shops, often appear as if long kept, 
and are probably, in general, much deteriorated by time. The following observa- 
tions are made by Geiger in relation to the collection and preservation of the 
root. The inner parts of the fresh root, and of the portions of stalk attached to 
it, are fleshy and of a light yellowish-green colour. In collecting them, all the 
black discoloured portions should be cut away, the fibres and scales separated, 
and only the sound green parts preserved. These should be immediately but 
carefully dried, and then pulverized; and the powder should be kept in small 
well-stopped glass bottles. The powder thus prepared has a pale-yellowish colour 
with a greenish tinge. 
Dried fern root is externally of a brown colour, internally yellowish-white or 
reddish, with a peculiar but feeble odour which is most obvious in the powder 
and decoction, and a sweetish, bitter, astringent, nauseous taste. It has been 
analyzed by H. Bock, who gives as its constituents, volatile oil, fixed oil, resin, 
starch, vegetable jelly, albumen, gum, sugar, tannic and gallic acids, pectin, lignin, 
and various salts. (See Am. Journ. of Pliarm., xxiv. 64.) Peschier ascertained 
that its active properties reside in the ethereal extract, which is the fixed oil in 
an impure state, containing volatile oil, resin, colouring matter, &c. It is a thick 
dark liquid, with the odour of the fern, and a nauseous, bitterish, somewhat acrid 
taste. Dr. E. Luck has found in it a peculiar acid, which he denominates filicic 
acid, and has extracted from the root two others named tannaspidic and pteri- 
iannic acids. ( Chem. Gaz., ix. 407 and 452.) The aspidin of Pavesi is not en- 
titled to the name, as, though it may contain, it does not itself constitute the 
active principle, and is probably little if at all superior to the ethereal extract. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Male fern is slightly tonic and astringent; but 
produces, when taken internally, no very obvious effects upon the system. It 
was used by the ancients as a vermifuge, and is mentioned in the works of 
Dioscorides, Theophrastus, Galen, and Pliny. Its anthelmintic powers were also 
noticed by some of the earlier modern writers, among whom was Hoffmann. But 
it does not appear to have been generally known to the profession, till brought 
into notice, about the year 1775, by the publication of the mode of treat- 
ing taenia, employed by Madame Nouffer. This lady, who was the widow of a 
surgeon in Switzerland, had acquired great celebrity in the cure of tape-worm 
by a secret remedy. Her success was such as to attract the attention of the 
medical profession at Paris; and some of the most eminent physicians of that 
city, who were deputed to examine into the subject, having reported favourably 
of the remedy, the secret was purchased by the King of France, and published 
by his order. The outlines of her plan were to give a dose of the powdered root 
of the male fern, and two hours afterwards a powerful cathartic, to be followed, 
if it should not operate in due time, by some purging salt; and this process 
was to be repeated, with proper intervals, till the worm should be evacuated. A 
German physician, named Herrenschwand, had used the male fern in a manner 
somewhat similar, before Madame Nouffer’s secret was known. Different opi- 
nions have been held of the value of this anthelmintic; but the accounts of its 
efficacy in the treatment of tape-worm are too numerous and authentic to admit 
of any reasonable doubt. Dr. Peschier stated that, in the course of nine months, 
150 tape-worms had been expelled by the ethereal extract. Dr. Ebers found the 
same preparation completely successful in eight cases. The testimony of Brera 
is also strongly in favour of the remedy, which he found effectual even against the 
armed taenia. M. Honzel cured with it more than 100 cases of taenia, and never 
found it to fail. {Journ. dePharm., 3e ser., iv. 474.) Perhaps the different re- 
sults obtained by different practitioners may be in part ascribed to the variable 398 
Filix Mas.—Foeniculum. 
PART I. 
strength and character of the root employed. It is said that the remedy proves 
more effectual against the tape-worm of the Swiss (Bothrioceplialus latus) than 
against the Tsenia solium, which is more frequent in France and England. 
(Bremser.) It appears to act as a poison to the worm, which it destroys; thereby 
facilitating its expulsion from the bowels. 
The medicine may be given in the form of powder or ethereal extract. The 
dose of the powder is from one to three drachms, to be administered in electuary 
or emulsion, and repeated morning and evening for one or two days. M. Ronzel 
gives half an ounce to adults, made into boluses, to be swallowed in fifteen minutes, 
in the morning, on an empty stomach. The dose of the ethereal extract (oil of 
fern) is from twelve to twenty-four grains. Dr. Mayor, of Geneva, recommends 
it in the dose of from thirty to fifty drops, one-half to be taken at night, the 
other half in the morning, and followed, at the interval of an hour, by an ounce 
and a half of castor oil. The decoction has also been employed, made with an 
ounce of the root and a pint of water. It is customary to follow the medicine 
by some brisk cathartic, though this is not considered essential. 
Off. Prep. Extractum Filicis Liquidum, Br. W. 
FGENICULUM. TJ.S.,Br. 
Fennel. 
The fruit of Foeniculum vulgare. U. S. Foeniculum dulce. The fruit. Br. 
Sweet Fennel Fruit, Br.; Fenouil, Fr.; Fenchel, Germ.; Finnocchio, Ital.; Hinojo, Span. 
The plant producing fennel-seed was attached by Linnaeus to the genus Ane- 
thum, but was separted from it by De Candolle, and placed, with three or four 
others, in a new genus styled Fceniculum, which has been generally adopted by 
botanists. The Anetlium Foeniculum of Linnaeus embraced two varieties, the 
common or wild fennel, and the sweet fennel; the latter being the plant usually 
cultivated in the gardens of Europe. These are considered by De Candolle as 
distinct species, and named respectively Fceniculum vulgare and Foeniculum 
dulce. In the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, the former of these is recognised as the 
source of the medicine; in the British Pharmacopoeia, the latter. In the late 
Ed. Pharmacopoeia, the F. officinale of Allioni was recognised. The last-men- 
tioned plant De Candolle considers as belonging to his F. vulgare (Prodromus, 
iv. 142); while Herat treats of it as a distinct species, differing both from the 
F. vulgare and F. dulce of De Candolle {Diet, de Mat. Med.); and Dr. Christi- 
son, in his Dispensatory, is disposed to unite it with the last-mentioned plant. 
In this confusion it is impossible to arrive at any definite and satisfactory con- 
clusion as to the botanical history of the drug under consideration. One thing, 
however, is certain, that there are two kinds of fennel-seed found in the shops; 
and it is highly probable that these are derived, if not from distinct species of 
fennel, at least from marked varieties of the plant. One of them corresponds 
closely with the description given of the fruit of F. vulgare, while the other is 
undoubtedly produced by the plant cultivated under the name of sweet fennel, 
whether that be the F. dulce of De Candolle, or F. officinale of Allioni and Herat. 
Fceniculum. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Digynia.—Nat. Ord. Umbelliferas or 
Apiaeece. 
Oen. Gli. Calyx a tumid obsolete rim. Petals roundish, entire, involute, with 
a squarish blunt lobe. Fruit nearly taper. Half-fruits with five prominent 
bluntly keeled ridges, of which the lateral are on the edge, and rather broadest. 
Vittse single in the channels, two on the commissure. Involucre none. {Bindley.) 
Foeniculum vulgare. De Cand. Prodrom. iv. 142.—Anethum Foeniculum. 
Linn.; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 127, t. 49. Common fennel has a biennial or per- 
ennial tapering root, and an annual, erect, round, striated, smooth, green, and Foeniculum. 
399 
PART I. 
copiously branching stem, which usually rises three or four feet in height. The 
leaves, which stand alternately at the joints of the stem, upon membranous 
striated sheaths, are many times pinnate, with long, linear, pointed, smooth, 
deep-green leaflets. The flowers are in large, flat, terminal umbels, with from 
thirteen to twenty rays, and destitute both of general and partial involucres. The 
corolla consists of five petals, which, as well as the stamens, are golden-yellow. 
The fruit is ovate, rather less than two lines in length by about a line in breadth, 
and of a dark colour, especially in the channels. The plant is a native of Europe, 
growing wild upon sandy and chalky ground throughout the continent. 
F. officinale. Merat and De Lens, Diet, de Mat. Med. iii. 210; Allioni, Ed. 
Pharm. This, which is sometimes called sweet fennel, is also perennial, with 
shorter leaves and less elongated leaflets than the common fennel, but resembling 
it very closely except in the character of the fruit. This is twice as long as that 
of the former plant, a little curved, of a less dark colour, with prominent ridges, 
and a persistent peduncle. It is sweeter and more aromatic than common fennel- 
seed. The plant is a native of the south of Europe; but is cultivated elsewhere 
in gardens, and is probably the source of much of the fennel-seed of the shops. 
Whether it is a distinct species, or a mere variety of F. vulgare, is not deter- 
mined. Some confound it with the following. 
F. dulce. De Cand. Prodrom. iv. 142. This plant is eminently entitled to the 
name of sweet fennel. It bears a general resemblance to F. vulgare, but differs 
in having its stem somewhat compressed at the base, its radical leaves somewhat 
distichous, and the number of rays in the umbel only from six to eight. It is 
also a much smaller plant, being only about a foot in height; its flowers appear 
earlier; and its young shoots or turiones are sweeter and edible. It is a native 
of Portugal, Italy, and perhaps other parts of Southern Europe; and is culti- 
vated largely in Italy and Sicily for the sake of the shoots, which are eaten raw, 
or in salad, or boiled as potherbs. The fruit is described by Merat and De Lens 
as “ being globular-ovate, twice the size of that of common fennel, and with 
prominent ridges.” This description does not answer to the character of any of 
the fennel-seed we have seen in the shops. 
In all these species or varieties, the whole plant has an aromatic odour and 
taste, dependent on a volatile oil by which it is pervaded. The roots were formerly 
employed in medicine, but are generally inferior in virtues to the fruit, which is 
now. the only officinal portion. Our shops are partly supplied from our own 
gardens; but much the larger portion of the medicine is imported from Europe, 
and chiefly, as we have been informed, from Germany. The fennel-seed cultivated 
here is sweeter and more aromatic than that from abroad, probably in conse- 
quence of its greater freshness. 
Fennel-seeds (half-fruits) are oblong-oval, from one to three or four lines in 
length, flat on one side, convex on the other, not unfrequently connected by their 
flat surfaces, straight or slightly curved, of a dark grayish-green colour, with 
longitudinal yellowish ridges on the convex surface. There are two varieties; 
one of them from one to two lines long, dark-coloured, rather flat, almost always 
separate, and without footstalks; the other from three to five lines in length, 
lighter-coloured, with much more prominent ridges, often conjoined by their flat 
surface, and very frequently provided with a footstalk. They do not differ essen- 
tially in aromatic properties. The odour of fennel-seed is fragrant, its taste warm, 
sweet, and agreeably aromatic. It yields its virtues to hot water, but more freely 
to alcohol. The essential oil may be separated by distillation with water. (See 
Oleum Foeniculi.) The seeds contain also fixed oil. From 960 parts, Neumann 
obtaiued 20 parts of the former and 120 of the latter. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Fennel-seed was used by the ancients, is among 
our most grateful aromatics, and in this country is much employed as a carmina- 
tive, and as a corrigent of other less pleasant medicines, particularly senna and 400 
Fceniculum.—Frasera. 
PART I. 
rhubarb. It is recommended for these purposes by the absence of any very highly 
excitant property. The infusion, prepared by introducing two or three drachms 
of the seeds into a pint of boiling water, is the form usually preferred. The dose 
of the bruised or powdered seeds is from a scruple to half a drachm. In infants, 
the infusion is frequently employed as an enema for the expulsion of flatus. 
Off. Prep. Aqua Foeniculi, Br.; Oleum Fceniculi, U. S.; Tinctura Ilhei et 
Senuse, U. S. W. 
FRASER A. U. S. /Secondary. 
American Columbo. 
The root of Frasera Walteri. U. S. 
Frasera. Sex. Syst. Tetrandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Gentianaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx deeply four-parted. Corolla four-parted, spreading; seg- 
ments oval, with a bearded, orbicular gland in the middle of each. Capsule com- 
pressed, partly marginated, one-celled. Seeds few, imbricated, large, elliptical, 
with a membranaceous margin. Nuttall. 
Frasera Walteri. Michaux, Flor. Bor. Americ. i. 96; Barton, Med. Bot. ii. 
103.—F. Carolinensis. Walter. This is among our most elegant indigenous 
plants, and the only one of its genus. From the root, which is triennial, long, 
spindle-shaped, horizontal, fleshy, and yellow, a strong, succulent, solid, smooth 
stem rises, from five to ten feet in height. The leaves are sessile, entire, glabrous, 
of a deep-green colour, and disposed in whorls, which commence at the root, and 
ascend to the summit with successively diminishing intervals. The radical leaves, 
from five to twelve in number, are elliptical, obtuse, a foot or more in length by 
about four inches in breadth, and lie upon the ground in the form of a star. Those 
constituting the whorls are successively smaller as they ascend; the lowest ob- 
long-lanceolate, the upper lanceolate and pointed. The flowers are numerous, 
large, yellowish-white, and disposed in a beautiful terminal pyramidal panicle, 
from one to five feet long, the branches of which spring from the axils of the 
upper leaves. The segments of the calyx are lanceolate, acute, and somewhat 
shorter than those of the corolla. The filaments are inserted into the base of the 
corolla, between its segments, which they do not equal in length. The anthers 
are oblong and notched at the base. The germ is oblong-ovate, compressed, and 
gradually tapers into the style, which ends in a bifid stigma. The fruit is an oval, 
acuminate, compressed, two-valved, one-celled, yellow capsule, containing from 
eight to twelve flat, elliptical seeds. 
The Frasera flourishes in the southern and western portions of the United 
States, and in many situations is very abundant, especially in Arkansas and Mis- 
souri. It prefers rich woodlands and moist meadows. The period of flowering 
is from May to July; but the stems and flowers are produced only in the third 
year, the radical leaves being the only part of the plant which previously appears 
above ground. From this manner of growth, it is inferred that the root should 
be collected in the autumn of the second, or spring of the third, year. Before 
being dried, it should be cut into transverse slices. 
As formerly in the market, frasera was in pieces irregularly circular, an eighth 
of an inch or more in thickness, about an inch in diameter, somewhat shrunk in 
the middle, consisting of a central medullary matter and an exterior cortical por- 
tion, of a yellowish colour on the cut surfaces, with a light reddish-brown epi- 
dermis. In appearance these pieces somewhat resembled columbo, but were easily 
distinguishable by the greater uniformity of their internal structure, the absence of 
concentric and radiating lines, and their purer yellow colour without a greenish 
tinge. We have met with a parcel of the root sliced longitudinally, so as to imi- 
tate gentian, though not likely to be confounded with it by an experienced per- 
son. It was called American gentian. The taste of frasera is bitterish and sweet- PART i. 
Frasera.—Galbanum. 
401 
isk. Water and diluted alcohol extract its virtues; and the tincture lets fall a 
precipitate upon the addition of water, but is not disturbed by tincture of galls. 
The hot infusion is not precipitated by solution of gelatin, and gives with iodine 
no signs of starch. These reactions afford additional means of distinguishing the 
root from columbo. Mr. Higinbothom, of Bermuda, found in it gum, pectin, glu 
cose, wax, resin, fatty matter, yellow colouring matter, bitter extractive, and an 
acid which was probably peculiar. {Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 1862, p. 23.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Frasera is a mild tonic, calculated to meet the 
same indications with the other simple bitters. It has been thought to resemble 
columbo in medical properties as well as in appearance, and hence has received 
the popular name of American columbo; but experience has not confirmed the 
high estimate at one time formed of its virtues; and though, perhaps, still occa- 
sionally used in some places, it has failed to supplant the tonic of Mozambique. 
It may be given in powder or infusion. The dose of the former is from thirty 
grains to a drachm; that of an infusion, made in the proportion of an ounce of 
the bruised root to a pint of boiling water, is one or two fluidounces, to be re- 
peated several times a day. The fresh root is said to operate as an emetic and 
cathartic, and has been given with a view to the latter effect. W. 
GALBANUM. U.S.,Br. 
Galbanum. 
The concrete juice of an undetermined plant. U. S. A gum-resin, derived from 
an unascertained umbelliferous plant. Br. 
Galbanum, Fr.; Mutterkarz, Germ.; Galbano, Ital., Span. 
It is uncertain from what plant galbanum is derived. At one time it was sup- 
posed to be the product of Bubon Galbanum, an umbelliferous plant of the 
eastern coast of Africa. It has also been referred to the Ferula ferulago of 
Linnaeus, the Ferula galbanifera of Lobel, which inhabits the coasts of the 
Mediterranean, and is found also in Transylvania and the Caucasus. But on 
part of either of these plants has the odour of galbanum; and it is, therefore, 
scarcely probable that they yield the drug. Mr. Don, having found the seeds 
taken from a parcel of galbanum to belong to an undescribed genus of umbelli- 
ferous plants, and concluding that they came from the same source as the gum- 
resin itself, gave the title of Galbanum to the new genus, and named the species 
Galbanum officinale. This was rather hastily adopted by the London College; 
as it is by no means certain that the same plant produced the seeds and the 
gum-resin. Specimens of a plant were received in England from Persia having 
a concrete juice adhering to them, which was taken by Dr. Lindley for galba- 
num ; and that botanist, finding that the plant belonged to an undescribed genus, 
named it Opoidia, with the specific name galbanifera. Dr. Pereira, however, 
found the substance not to be galbanum; and this supposed origin of the drug, 
therefore, though admitted as probable by the Edinburgh College, and recognised 
by the Dublin, must be considered as more than doubtful. A German traveller, 
F. A. Bukse, who has resided in Persia, states that, in 1848, he met with the 
galbanum plant on the declivities of the Demawend, near the southern coast of 
the Caspian. He saw the gum-resin exuding spontaneously from the plant, and 
was informed by the natives that the drug was collected from it. The plant is a 
Ferula, and closely resembles the F. erubescens of Boissier, if not identical with 
it. {Pharm. Gent. Blatt, March 17, 1852, p. 206;) Galbanum is said to be ob- 
tained by making incisions into the stem, or cutting it off a short distance above 
the root. A cream-coloured juice exudes, which concretes upon exposure to the 
air. A portion of juice also exudes spontaneously from the joints, and hardens 
»n the shape of tears. The drug is brought from India and the Levant. 402 
Galbanum.—Galla. 
part i. 
Properties. Galbanum usually appears in the form of masses composed of 
whitish, reddish, or yellowish tears, irregularly agglutinated by a darker coloured 
yellowish-brown, or greenish substance, more or less translucent, and generally 
mixed with pieces of stalk, seeds, or other foreign matters. It is also found, 
though rarely in our markets, in the state of distinct roundish tears, about as 
large as a pea, of a yellowish-white or pale brownish-yellow colour, shining ex- 
ternally as if varnished, translucent, and often adhering together. Galbanum 
has in cool weather the consistence of firm wax; but softens in summer, and by 
the heat of the hand is rendered ductile and adhesive. At 212° F. it is suffici- 
ently liquid to admit of straining; and it generally requires to be strained before 
it can be used. A dark-brown or blackish colour, a consistence always soft, the 
absence of whitish grains, a deficiency in the characteristic odour and taste, and 
the intermixture of earthy impurities are signs of inferiority. 
The odour of galbanum is peculiar and disagreeable; its taste bitterish, warm, 
and acrid; its sp.gr. 1 212. Triturated with water, it forms an imperfect milky 
solution, which on standing deposits the greater portion of what was taken up. 
Wine and vinegar act upon it in a similar manner. Alcohol dissolves a con- 
siderable proportion, forming a yellow tincture, which has the smell and taste of 
galbanum, and becomes milky with water, but affords no precipitate. In dilute 
alcohol it is wholly soluble, with the exception of impurities. Ether dissolves 
the greater portion. Pelletier found in 100 parts, 66‘86 parts of resin, 19'28 of 
gum, 6’34 of volatile oil including the loss, 7-52 of wood and impurities, with 
traces of supermalate of lime. A small proportion of bassorin was found by 
Meissner. The medicine is, therefore, a gum-resin. By distillation at the 
temperature of about 250° F., the volatile oil is obtained of a fine indigo-blue 
colour, which it imparts to alcohol. Procured by distillation with water, it is 
colourless, and becomes yellowish by age. It is lighter than water. 
According to Ludewig, a gum-resin, designated as Persian galbanum, is re- 
ceived in Russia by the way of Astracan or Orenburg, and is the kind used in 
that country. It comes enclosed in skins, and is in masses of a reddish-brown 
colour with whitish streaks, of a disagreeable odour somewhat like that of assa- 
fetida, and of an unpleasant, bitter, resinous taste. It is so soft as to melt with 
a slight elevation of temperature. It differs from common galbanum in its odour, 
in its colour which is never greenish, and in the absence of tears, and is probably 
derived from a different plant. It abounds in impurities. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Galbanum was known to the ancients. It is 
stimulant, expectorant, and antispasmodic; and is considered as intermediate 
in power between ammoniac and assafetida, though much less employed than 
either of these gum-resins. The complaints to which it has been thought appli- 
cable, are chiefly chronic affections of the bronchial mucous membrane, arnenor- 
rhcea, and chronic rheumatism. It is occasionally applied externally as a plaster 
to indolent swellings, with the view of promoting resolution or suppuration. 
The dose is from ten to twenty grains, and may be given in pill, or triturated 
with gum arabic, sugar, and water, so as to form an emulsion. 
Off. Prep. Emplastrum Assafoetid®, U.S.; Emplastrum Galbani, Br.; Era- 
plastrum Galbani Compositum, U. SPilula Assafoetidae Composita, Br.; 
Pilulse Galbani Composite, U. S. W. 
GALLA. U.S., Br. 
Nutgall. Galls. 
A morbid excrescence upon Quercus infeetoria. U. S. Excrescences caused 
by the punctures and deposited ova of Diplolepis Gall® tinctori®. Br. 
Noix de galle, Fr.; Gallapfel, Germ.; Galla, Ital.; Agallas de Levante, Span. 
Many vegetables, when pierced by certain insects, particularly thoso of the G-alla. 
PART I. 
genus Cynips, are affected at the points of puncture with a morbid action, 
resulting in excrescences, which, as they are derived from the juices of the plant, 
partake more or less of its chemical character. Most of the oaks are occasion- 
ally thus affected; and the resulting excrescences, having in a high degree the 
astringency of the plant, have been employed for various practical purposes. 
They are known by the name of galls, a term which, as well as their use in 
medicine, has been handed down from the ancients. Quercus infectoria, Q. JEgi- 
lops, Q. excelsa, Q. Ilex, Q. Cerris, and Q. robur have been particularized as 
affording this product; but it is now generally admitted, on the authority of 
Olivier, that the officinal galls are derived chiefly, if not exclusively, from Q. in- 
fectoria; and this is recognised as their source in the U. S. and Br. Pharma- 
copoeias.* 
Quercus. See QUERCUS ALBA. 
Quercus infectoria. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 436; Olivier, Voy. Orient, t. 14 et 
15; Carson, illust. of Med. Bot. ii. 40, pi. 85. The dyers’ oak is a small tree 
or shrub, with a crooked stem, seldom exceeding six feet in height. The leaves 
are obtusely toothed, smooth, of a bright-green colour on both sides, and stand 
on short footstalks. The acorn is elongated, smooth, two or three times longer 
than the cup, which is sessile, somewhat downy, and scaly. This species of 
Quercus grows, according to Olivier, throughout Asia Minor, from the Archi- 
pelago to the confines of Persia. Captain M. Kinneir found it also in Armenia 
and Kurdistan; General Hardwicke observed it growing in the neighbourhood 
of Adwanie; and it probably pervades the middle latitudes of Asia. 
The gall originates from the puncture of the Cynips quercusfolii of Linnaeus, 
ihe Diplolepis gallse tinctorise of Gfeoffroy, a hymenopterous insect or fly, with 
a fawn-coloured body, dark antennae, and the upper part of its abdomen shining 
brown. The insect pierces the shoots and young boughs, and deposits its egg 
in the wound. This irritates the part, and a small tumour quickly rises, which 
is the result of a morbid growth, exhibiting various cells under the microscope, 
but no proper vegetable fibre. The egg grows with the gall, and is soon con- 
verted into a larva, which feeds upon the vegetable matter around it, and thus 
forms a cavity in the centre of the excrescence. The insect at length becomes 
* Under the name of Chinese galls, a product has been brought from China, supposed to 
be caused by an insect allied to the Aphis, as such an insect has been found in the interior 
of them. A specimen, which came under our notice, consisted of irregularly spindle-shaped 
bodies, often more or less bent, with obtusely pointed protuberances, about two inches long 
by an inch in diameter at the central thickest part, of an ash colour and a soft velvety 
feel, very light, hollow, with translucent walls about a line in thickness, of a slight odour 
recalling that of ipecacuanha, and a bitter astringent taste. From an examination of frag- 
ments of leaves and petioles found among these galls, Dr. Schenck concluded that the tree 
on which they are found is a species of Rhus; but, according to M. Decaisne, professor at 
the Museum of Natural History in Paris, their true source is probably the Dislylium race- 
mosum of Zuccarini (Flor. Japan., i. p. 178, t. 94), a large tree of Japan, the leaves of which 
produce a velvety gall, resembling the one in question. (Guibourt, Hist. Nat. des Drogues, 
A. D. 1850, iii. 703.) More recently, however, it has been asserted by Mr. Daniel Hanbury 
that this opinion of Decaisne is erroneous; as, in his examination of the packages im- 
ported from China and Japan, he has found remains of ditferent parts of a species of Rhus, 
nut never any of a Distylium. Besides, the form of the galls of the Distylium, as figured 
oy Siebold and Zuccarini, is entirely different. The species of Rhus to which they are 
ascribed is the R. semi-alata. (Fharm. Journ., Feb. 1862, p. 421.) The Chinese make great 
use of this product both in dyeing and as a medicine. L. A. Buchner, jun., has found it 
to contain 65 per cent, of tannic acid identical with that of the officinal galls. (Pharm. Cent. 
Blatt, July, 1851, p. 526.) It is recommended by Stenhouse for the manufacture of gallic 
acid, being preferable for this purpose to the officinal galls, in consequence of its less 
amount of colouring matter. [Pharm. Journ., Dec. 1862, p. 330.) 
An inferior kind of galls has been recently produced in great quantities in England, by 
the attack of another species of Cynips, the C. Kollari of Hartig, upon the common English 
oa\. But they have been ascertained to contain little tannic acid, and will not, probably, 
supersede the galls of the Levant.—Note to the twelfth edition. Galla, 
PART I, 
a fly, and escapes by eating its way out. The galls are in perfection when fully 
developed, before the egg has been hatched, or the fly has escaped. Collected 
at this period, they are called, from their dark colour, blue, green, or black galls, 
and are most highly esteemed. Those which are gathered later, and which have 
been injured by the insect, are .called white galls. They are usually larger, less 
heavy and compact, and of a lighter colour than the former. 
The galls collected in Syria and Asia Minor are brought to this country 
chiefly from the ports of Smyrna and Trieste, or from London. As they are 
produced abundantly near Aleppo, it has been customary to designate them by 
the name of that town; though the designation, however correct it may formerly 
have been, is now wholly inapplicable, as they are obtained from many other 
places, and the produce of different parts of Asiatic Turkey is not capable of 
being discriminated, at least in our markets. Great quantities of galls, very 
closely resembling those from the Mediterranean, have been brought to the 
United States from Calcutta. Dr. Royle states that they are taken to Bombay 
from Bussorah through the Persian Gulf. We are, nevertheless, informed that 
galls are among the products of Moultan. Those of France and other southern 
countries of Europe have a smooth, shining, reddish surface, are little esteemed, 
and are seldom or never brought to the United States. 
Properties. Galls are nearly round, from the size of a pea to that of a very 
large cherry, with a surface usually studded with small tuberosities, in the inter- 
vals of which it is smooth. The best are externally of a dark-bluish or lead 
colour, sometimes with a greenish tinge, internally whitish or brownish, hard, 
solid, brittle, with a flinty fracture, a striated texture, and a small spot or cavity 
in the centre, indicating the presence of the undeveloped or decayed insect. 
Their powder is of a light yellowish-gray. Those of inferior quality are of a 
lighter colour, sometimes reddish or nearly white, of a loose texture, with a large 
cavity in the centre, communicating externally by a small hole through which 
the fly has escaped. Galls are inodorous, and have a bitter, very astringent taste. 
From 500 parts Davy obtained 185 parts of matter soluble in water, of which, 
according to his analysis, 130 were tannin, 31 gallic acid with a little extractive, 
12 mucilage and matter rendered insoluble by evaporation, and 12 saline matter 
and calcareous earth. Braconnot discovered the presence of a small quantity 
of an acid to which he gave the name ellagic, derived from galle, the French 
name for galls, by reversing the order of the letters. According to M. Pelouze, 
however, neither gallic nor ellagic acid pre-exists in galls, being formed by the 
reaction of atmospheric oxygen upon their tannin. (Journ. de Pharm., xx. 359.) 
Galls also yielded to Professor Branchi, by distillation with water, a concrete 
volatile oil. Guibourt found 65 per cent, of tannic acid, 10-5 of lignin, 5-8 of 
gum, sugar, and starch, 4‘0 of gallic, ellagic, and luteo-gallic acids, and 11-5 
of water, besides extractive, chlorophyll, volatile oil, albumen, and salts. For 
some interesting views of the chemical nature of galls, see Acidum Gallicum 
in the second part of this work. All the soluble matter of galls is taken up by 
forty times their weight of boiling water, and the residue is tasteless. Alcohol 
dissolves seven parts in ten, ether five parts. (Thomson's Dispensatory.) A 
saturated decoction deposits upon cooling a copious pale-yellow precipitate. 
The infusion or tincture affords precipitates with sulphuric and muriatic acids, 
lime-water, and the carbonates of ammonia and potassa; with solutions of ace- 
tate and subacetate of lead, the sulphates of copper and iron, the nitrates of 
silver and mercury, aud tartrate of antimony and potassa; with solution of gelatin; 
and with the infusions of Peruvian bark, columbo, opium, and many other vege- 
tables, especially those containing alkaloids, with most of which tannic acid 
forms insoluble compounds. The infusion of galls reddens litmus paper, is ren- 
dered orange by nitric acid, milky by the corrosive chloride of mercury, and 
has its colour deepened by ammonia; but yields no precipitate with either of PART I. 
Galla.—Gambogia. 
these reagents. Sulphate of zinc was said by Dr. A. T. Thomson to occasion a 
slow precipitate, but this result was not obtained by Dr. Duncan. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Galls are powerfully astringent. They are little 
employed as an internal remedy, though occasionally prescribed in chronic diar- 
rhoea and chronic dysentery. They have been recommended as an antidote to 
tartar emetic, and those vegetable poisons which depend for their activity upon 
organic alkalies; but, though the insoluble compounds which these principles 
form with galls may be less active than their soluble native compounds, they 
cannot be considered as inert. In the form of infusion or decoction, made in the 
proportion of half an ounce to a pint of water, galls may be advantageously 
used as an astringent gargle, lotion, or injection; and, mixed with simple oint- 
ment, in the proportion of one part of galls, in very fine powder, to eight parts 
of the unguent, they are frequently applied to the anus and rectum in hemor- 
rhoidal affections. The dose of powdered galls is from ten to twenty grains, to 
be repeated several times a day.* 
Off. Prep. Acidum Gallicum; Acidum Tannicum; Tinctura Gallse; Unguen- 
tum Gall®; Unguentnm Gall® cum Opio, Br. W. 
GAMBOGIA. TJ.S. 
Gamboge. 
The concrete juice of an undetermined tree. U. S. 
Off. Syn. CAMBOGIA. An undetermined species of Garcinia. The gum- 
resin. Br. 
Gomme gutte, Fr.; Gummigutt, Germ.; Gomma-gotta, Ital.; Gutta gamba, Span. 
Several plants belonging to the natural family of Guttiferse, growing in the 
equatorial regions, yield on incision a yellow opaque juice, which hardens on ex- 
posure, and bears a close resemblance to gamboge; but it is not certainly known 
from which of these plants the officinal gum-resin is procured. Until recently 
the United States and all the British Pharmacopoeias ascribed it to Stalagmitis 
Cambogioides. This genus and species were established by Murray of Gottingen, 
in 1788, from dried specimens belonging to Konig, procured in Ceylon; and, 
from information derived from the same source, it was conjectured by Murray 
that the tree yielded not only the gamboge of Ceylon, but that also collected in 
Siam. • On this authority, the British Colleges made the reference alluded to. 
But it has been ascertained by Dr. Graham, of Edinburgh, that there is no such 
plant as Stalagmitis Cambogioides; the description of Murray having been 
drawn up from accidentally conjoined specimens of two trees belonging to different 
genera; one being the Xanthochymus ovalifolius of Roxburgh, and the other, 
the Hebradendron Cambogioides of Graham. By several botanists the gum- 
resin has been ascribed to Garcinia Cambogia, also a tree of Ceylon belonging 
to the Guttifer®, and yielding a yellowish concrete juice; but a specimen of the 
product of this tree, sent to Edinburgh, was found by Dr. Christison to differ 
from gamboge both in composition and appearance, being of a pale lemon-yellow 
colour. Thus it appears that neither of these references is correct; and, besides, 
* The following preparation has been made in imitation of one much used by the late 
Dr. Physick and Dr. Jos. Parrish, of Philadelphia. Macerate for twenty-four hours half an 
ounce of powdered galls, two drachms of bruised cinnamon, and two drachms of bruised 
nutmeg, in half a pint of brandy; then percolate, and, when the liquor has ceased to pass, 
tdd enough diluted alcohol to yield half a pint of filtered liquor. Put this into a shallow 
eapsule, suspend over it two ounces of sugar on a slip of wire-gauze, and set the tincture 
on fire. The sugar melts with the flame, and falls into the liquid beneath. When the com- 
bustion ceases, agitate and filter. A highly astringent aromatic syrup is obtained, which 
may be given in obstinate diarrhoeas in the dose of a fluidrachm. (im. Journ. ofPharm., 
xxvii. 416.)—Note to the eleventh edition. 406 
Giambogia. 
PART I. 
the fact seoms to have been overlooked, that commercial gamboge is never ob- 
tained from Ceylon, but exclusively from Siam and Cochin China. A gum-resin 
from Ceylon having been found similar in composition to the gamboge of com- 
merce, and the tree which produced it having been referred by Dr. Graham to a 
new genus, and named by him Hebradendron Cambogioides, the Edinburgh 
College, in the last edition of its Pharmacopoeia, was induced to adopt this Cey- 
lon gamboge as officinal, and to recognise the name proposed by Dr. Graham 
for the tree producing it. But, as this variety is never found in western com- 
merce, and exists only in cabinets, or the bazaars of India, it scarcely merited a 
place in an officinal catalogue; and the sufficiency of the grounds upon which 
the proposed genus Hebradendron was separated from Garcinia is not univer- 
sally admitted. The decision of the Ed. College would, therefore, seem to have 
been somewhat premature; though there is reason to believe that the Siam gam- 
boge may be derived from a tree belonging to the same genus as the H. Cam- 
bogioides of Graham, but of a species hitherto undescribed.* 
Gamboge is collected in Siam and Cochin China. Similar products are ob- 
tained in Ceylon ; but they do not appear to be sent out of the island. Milburn 
does not mention gamboge among the exports.' It is said to be procured in Siam 
by breaking off the leaves and shoots of the tree, from which the juice issues in 
drops, and, being received in suitable vessels, gradually thickens, and at length 
becomes solid. Portions of it, when of the requisite consistence, are rolled into 
cylinders, and wrapped in leaves. The juice is sometimes received into the hollow 
joints of the bamboo, which give it a cylindrical form; and, as it contracts dur- 
ing concretion, the cylinder is often hollow in the centre. The name gummi 
gutta, by which it is generally known on the continent of Europe, probably 
originated from the circumstance that the juice escapes from the plant by drops. 
The officinal title was undoubtedly derived from the province of Cambodia, in 
which the gum-resin is collected. It was first brought to Europe by the Dutch 
about the middle of the 17th century. We import gamboge from Canton and 
Calcutta, whither it is carried by the native or resident merchants. There is no 
difference in the appearance or character of the drug as brought from these two 
ports; an evidence that it is originally derived from the same place. 
Varieties. The best gamboge is in cylindrical rolls, from one to three inches 
in diameter, sometimes hollow in the centre, sometimes flattened, often folded 
double, or agglutinated in masses so that the original form is not always easily 
distinguishable. The pieces sometimes appear as if rolled, but are in general 
striated longitudinally from the impression made by the inner surface of the bam- 
boo. They are externally of a dull-orange colour, which is occasionally displaced 
by greenish stains, or concealed by the bright-yellow powder of the drug, slightly 
adhering to the surface. In this form the drug is sometimes called pipe gamboge. 
Another variety is imported under the name of cake or lump gamboge. It is in 
irregular masses of two or three pounds or more, often mixed with sticks and 
other impurities, containing many air cells, less dense, less uniform in texture, 
and less brittle than the former variety, and breaking with a dull and splintery, 
instead of a shining and conchoidal fracture. The worst specimens of this variety, 
as well as of the cylindrical, are sometimes called by the druggists coarse gam- 
boge. They differ, however, from the preceding, only in containing a greater 
amount of impurities. Indeed, it would appear, from the experiments of Ciiris- 
tison, that all the commercial varieties of this drug have a common origin, and 
that cake or lump gamboge differs from the cylindrical, only from the circum- 
* In the autumn of 1860, there was shown to the author, in one of the hot-houses of the 
Edinburgh Botanical Garden, a plant which had been sent from Siam to Dr. Christ ison 
as a specimen of the true gamboge tree. It was about five feet high; but, as it had of 
course not yet flowered, and as no specimen of the flowers had been received, the botwii- 
cal character of the plant could not be determined.—Note to the twelfth edition. PART I. 
Gf-ambogia. 
stance that the latter is the pure concrete juice; while to the former, farinaceous 
matter and other impurities have been added for the purpose of adulteration 
The inferior kinds of gamboge may be known by their greater hardness and 
coarser fracture; by the brownish or grayish colour of their broken surface, 
which is often marked with black spots; by their obvious impurities; and by 
the green colour which their decoction, after having been cooled, gives with 
tincture of iodine. When pure, the guin-resin is completely dissolved by the 
successive action of ether and water.* 
Properties. Gamboge, in its pure form, is brittle, with a smooth, conchoidal, 
shining fracture; and the fragments are slightly translucent at their edges. The 
colour of the mass when broken is a uniform reddish orange, which becomes a 
beautiful bright yellow in the powder, or when the surface is rubbed with water. 
From the brilliancy of its colour, gamboge is highly esteemed as a pigment. It 
has no smell and little taste; but, after remaining a short time in the mouth, 
produces an acrid sensation in the fauces. Its sp. gr. is 1221. Exposed to heat, 
it burns with a white flame, emitting much smoke, and leaving a light spongy 
charcoal. It is a gum-resin, without volatile oil. In 100 parts of it Braconnot 
found 195 parts of gum, 80 of resin, and 05 of impurities. John obtained 105 
per cent, of gum, 89 of resin, and 0'5 of impurities. Christison has shown that 
the proportion of gum and resin varies in different specimens even of the purest 
drug. In one experiment, out of 100-8 parts he obtained 74-2 of resin, 2F8 of 
gum, and 4-8 of water. The gum is quite soluble in water, and of the variety 
denominated arabin. In a specimen of cake gamboge he found 11 -2 per cent, of 
fecula and lignin, and in a very bad one of coarse gamboge, no less than 41 per- 
cent. of the same impurities. In addition to gum and resin, Ph. Buchner found 
a small and variable proportion of a peculiar reddish-yellow colouring matter, 
soluble both in alcohol and water. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., iii. 303.) Gam- 
boge is readily and entirely diffusible in water, forming a yellow opaque emul- 
sion, from which the resin is very slowly deposited. It yields its resinous ingre- 
dient to alcohol, forming a golden-vellow tincture, which is rendered opaque 
and bright-yellow by the addition of water. Its solution in ammoniated alcohol 
is not disturbed by water. Sulphuric ether dissolves about four-fifths of it, 
taking up only the resin. It is wholly taken up by alkaline solutions, from which 
it is partially precipitated by the acids. The strong acids dissolve it; but the 
solution when diluted with water deposits a yellow sediment. The colour, acri- 
mony, and medicinal power of gamboge reside in the resin. This has the neu- 
tralizing property of the acids, and has been named gambogic acid. It is ob- 
tained by evaporating an ethereal tincture of the gum-resin. In mass it is of a 
cherry-red colour, but becomes of a deep-orange in thin layers, and yellow when 
powdered. So intense is its colour, that one part of it communicates a percepti- 
ble yellowness to thousand parts of water or spirit. It is insoluble in water, 
but soluble in alcohol, and very soluble in ether, chloroform, and benzole. It 
forms with the alkalies dark-red solutions of gambogiates, from which the acids 
throw down gambogic acid of a yellow colour, and with the soluble salts of 
lead, copper, and iron, gambogiates of those metals respectively; the salt of 
lead being yellow, that of copper brown, and that of iron dark-brown. Its com- 
position is given by Johnston as (Lond. Philos. Trans., 1839.) In 
* Ceylon gamboge, derived from the Hebradendron Cambogioides of Graham (Cambogia guttcu, 
Jjinn., Garcinia Morelia, De Cand.), is procured by incisions, or by cutting away a portion 
of the bark, and scraping off the juice which exudes. The specimens sent to Dr. Christi- 
an were in flattish or round masses, eight or nine inches in diameter, apparently com- 
posed of aggregated irregular tears, with cavities which are lined with a grayish and 
brownish powdery incrustation. It resembled coarse gamboge, and was identical in com- 
position. In Ceylon it is used as a pigment and purgative. (Christison.) This note was 
already stereotyped, when we learned that Mr. Hanbury has rendered it almost certain, 
that Garcinia Morelia is also the source of the true gamboge of Siam. 408 
Gambogia.—Gaultheria. 
PART I. 
the dose of five grains it is said to produce copious watery stools, with little or 
no uneasiness. If this be the case, it is probable that, as it exists in the gum- 
resin, its purgative property is somewhat modified by the other ingredients. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Gamboge is a powerful, drastic, hydragogue 
cathartic, very apt to produce nausea and vomiting when given in the full dose. 
In large quantities it is capable of producing fatal effects, and death has resulted 
from a drachm. It is much employed in the treatment of dropsy attended with 
torpid bowels, generally in combination with bitartrate of potassa or jalap. It is 
also prescribed in cases of obstinate constipation, and has frequently been found 
effectual in the expulsion of the tape-worm. It is often combined with other 
and milder cathartics, the action of which it promotes and accelerates, while its 
own is moderated. The full dose is from two to six grains, which in cases of 
taenia has been raised to ten or fifteen grains. As it is apt to occasion much 
sickness and griping, the best plan, under ordinary circumstances, is to give it 
in small doses, repeated at short intervals till it operates. It may be given in 
pill or emulsion, or dissolved in an alkaline solution. The last method of admi- 
nistration has been recommended in dropsical complaints. 
Off. Prep. Pilul® Cathartic® Composite, U. S.; Pilula Cambogi® Comp., Br. 
W. 
GAULTHERIA. U.S. 
GaultJieria. Partridge-berry. 
The leaves of Gaultheria procurabens. U. S. 
Gaultheria. Sex. Syst. Decandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Ericace®. 
Gen. Oh. Calyx five-cleft, bibracteate at the base. Corolla ovate. Capsule 
five-celled, invested with the berried calyx. Pursh. 
Gaultheria procumbens. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 616; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. 
iii. 27; Barton, Med. Bot. i. 171. This is a small, indigenous, shrubby, ever- 
green plant, with a long, creeping, horizontal root, which sends up at intervals 
one or two erect, slender, round, reddish stems. These are naked below, leafy 
at top, and usually less than a span in height. The leaves are ovate or obovate. 
acute, revolute at the edges with a few mucronate serratures, coriaceous, shining, 
bright-green above, paler beneath, of unequal size, and supported irregularly on 
short red petioles. The flowers, of which not more than from three to five are 
usually on each stem, stand upon curved, drooping, axillary peduncles. The 
calyx is white, five-toothed, and furnished at its base with two concave cordate 
bractes, described by some as an outer calyx. The corolla is white, ovate or 
urceolate, contracted at the mouth, and divided at the border into five small 
acute segments. The stamens have curved, plumose filaments, and oblong orange- 
coloured anthers opening on the outside. The germ, which rests upon a ring 
having ten teeth alternating with the ten stamens, is roundish, depressed, and 
surmounted by an erect filiform style, ending in an obtuse stigma. The fruit is 
a small, five-celled, many-seeded capsule, with a fleshy covering, formed by the 
enlarged calyx, and presenting the appearance of a bright scarlet berry. 
The plant extends from Canada to Georgia, growing in large beds in moun- 
tainous tracts, or in dry barrens and sandy plains, beneath the shade of shrubs 
and trees, particularly of other evergreens, as the Kalmi® and Rhododendra. It 
is abundant in the pine-barrens of New Jersey. In different parts of the country, 
it is variously called partridge-berry, deer-berry, tea-berry, winter-green, and 
mountain-tea. The flowers appear from May to September, and the fruit ripens 
at corresponding periods. Though the leaves only are officinal, all parts of the 
plant are endowed with the peculiar flavour for which these are employed, and 
which is found in several other plants, particularly in the bark of Betula lenta, 
or sweet birch. The fruit possesses it in a high degree, and, being at the same part I. 
Gaultheria.—Gelsemium. 
409 
time sweetish, is much relished by some persons, and forms a favourite article 
of food with partridges, deer, and other wild animals. To the very peculiar 
aromatic odour and taste which belong to the whole plant, the leaves add a 
marked astringeney. The aromatic properties reside in a volatile oil, which may 
be separated by distillation. (See Oleum Gaultherias.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Gaultheria has the usual stimulant operation 
of the aromatics, united with astringeney; and may, therefore, be used with ad- 
vantage in some forms of chronic diarrhoea. Like other substances of the same 
class, it has been employed as an emmenagogue, and with the view of increasing 
the secretion of milk; but its chief use is to impart an agreeable flavour to mix- 
tures and other preparations. It may be conveniently administered in the form 
of infusion, which, in some parts of the country, is not unfrequently used at the 
table as a substitute for common tea. The oil, however, is more used in regular 
practice than the leaves. Instances of death are on record, resulting from the 
taking of the oil, by mistake, in the quantity of about a fluidounce. On exami- 
nation after death, strong marks of gastric inflammation were discovered. (Journ. 
of Phil. Col. of Pharm., vi. 290.) 
Off. Prep. Oleum Gaultheriae, U. S. W. 
GELSEMIUM. U.S. Secondary. 
Yellow Jasmine. 
The root of Gelsemium sempervirens {Gray). U. S. 
Gelsemium. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Digynia.—Nat. Ord. Scropbulariacese. 
Loganiace®. (Gray, Man. of Bot. pp. 296, 703.) 
Gen. Ch. Calyx five-parted. Corolla funnel-form, with a spreading border, five- 
lobed, nearly equal. Anthers oblong, sagittate. Style long and slender. Stigmas 
two, two-parted. Capsule elliptical, flat, two-valved, two-celled. Seeds flat, at- 
tached to the margin of the valves. 
Gelsemium sempervirens. Gray, Man. of Bot. — Gelseminum nitidum. Mi- 
chaux. —Bignonia sempervirens. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 291. Figured in Am. 
Journ. of Pharm., xxvii. 197. The yellow or Carolina jasmine is one of the 
most beautiful climbing plants of our Southern States, ascending lofty trees, and 
forming festoons from one tree to another, and in its flowering season, in the 
early spring, scenting the atmosphere with its delicious odour. The stem is 
twining, smooth, and shining; the leaves perennial, opposite, shortly petiolate, 
lanceolate, entire, dark-green above, and paler beneath; the flowers in axillary 
clusters, large, of a deep-yellow colour, and fragrant, with a very small, five- 
leaved calyx, and a funnel-shaped corolla, having a spreading, five-lobed, nearly 
equal border. The fruit is a flat, compressed capsule, divisible into two parts, 
two-celled, and furnished with flat seeds, which adhere to the margins of the 
valves. The plant grows in rich moist soils along the sea-coast from Virginia to 
the south of Florida. The root is the part employed. The flowers are said to be 
poisonous. 
Properties.—As we have seen it in the shops, the root is sliced into pieces 
about an inch in length, cylindrical or split, very light and fibrous, of a dirty 
yellowish-white colour, but darker where the epidermis remains, of a slight feebly 
narcotic odour, and a bitterish, not unpleasant taste. It yields its virtues to 
water, and readily to diluted alcohol. Analyzed by Mr. Henry Kollock, it was 
found to contain gum, starch, pectic acid, albumen, gallic acid, fixed oil, a fatty 
resin, a dry acrid resin, yellow colouring matter, volatile oil, extractive, lignin, 
a peculiar alkaloid called gelseminia, salts of potassa, lime, and magnesia, iron, 
and silica. The alkaloid, however, was not obtained sufficiently pure to admit 
of a full investigation of its properties. {Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxvii. 203.) 410 
Grelsemium. 
PART I. 
Medical Properties and Uses. From the accounts given by various authors 
of the effects of yellow jasmine, it appears to be a nervous and arterial sedative, 
without nauseating or purgative properties, but sometimes causing diaphoresis, 
especially in febrile diseases. In moderate doses it produces agreeable sensations 
of languor, with muscular relaxation, so that the patient finds some difficulty in 
moving the eyelids, and keeping the jaws closed. More largely taken it occa- 
sions dizziness, dimness of vision, dilated pupil, general muscular debility, and 
universal prostration; reducing the frequency and force of the pulse, and the 
frequency of respiration, and producing insensibility to pain ; but without stupor 
or delirium. After a short time these symptoms pass off, leaving no unpleasant 
effects. It usually begins to act in half an hour, and ceases to act after one or 
two hours. It is no doubt capable of causing death in overdoses. 
Gelsemium is said to have been long popularly employed as a vermifuge in the 
Southern and South-western States; but its more valuable properties have been 
known but for a few years. Their discovery was accidental. A planter of Missis- 
sippi, labouring under an obstinate bilious fever, directed his servant to get a par- 
ticular root from the garden, and prepare a tea from it. The tea was prepared 
accordingly, and drank by the invalid, who was soon afterwards affected with great 
prostration, and especially muscular debility, so that he could not raise a limb, 
but without stupor. These effects gradually passed off, and with them the fever. 
The servant had made a mistake in the root, and dug that of the Gelsemium, 
instead of the one intended. The planter, having made this discovery, employed 
the root afterwards with success upon bis own plantation, and in the neighbour- 
hood. The remedy passed into the hands of irregular practitioners, and was em- 
ployed by the “eclectic physicians’’before its virtues came to the knowledge of 
the profession.* The diseases in which the medicine has been prescribed are in- 
termittent, remittent, typhoid, and yellow fevers, inflammation of the lungs and 
pleura, rheumatism, neuralgia, chorea, and epilepsy. It has been used also with 
success in the treatment of gonorrhoea by Dr. John Douglass, of Chester Dist., 
S. C. The preparation usually employed is a tincture made by macerating for 
two weeks the fresh bark of the root, well bruised, in diluted alcohol, or some 
form of ardent spirit, and then expressing, and filtering. It has a dark-red colour, 
and the bitterness of the root, and is probably saturated. The dose is from ten 
to fifty drops, every hour or two; but is of course somewhat indefinite, as there 
is no officinal formula for the tincture. A formula has been proposed by Dr. 
Mayes, according to which four ounces of the fresh root are macerated for four- 
teen days with a pint of diluted alcohol. Tlie.dose of this tincture is from twenty 
to fifty drops. Yellow jasmine would probably form a good subject for a fluid 
extract. According to Dr. Cleveland, death has been caused by an excessive use 
of the tincture. W. 
* Attention was called to it by a paper of Prof. Procter in the Am. Journ. of Pharmacy 
for October, 1852 (page 307), who derived most of his information from the “ Eclectic Dis- 
pensatory,” and a paper by F. D. Hill, in the “ Eclectic Medical Journal” of Cincinnati. Com- 
munications have since been published in reference to it in the Southern Journ. of Med. and 
Phys. Sciences for January 1853 (page 40) by Dr. W. S. Jenkins, of Castilian Spring, Tenn.; 
in the Stethoscope of Nov. 1853 (page 636) by Dr. H. M. Nash, of Norfolk, Va.; and in the 
Iowa Med. Journ., by Dr. Bachelor. (See Charleston Med. Journ. and Rev., March, 1854,page 
243.) Confirmatory accounts have still more lately appeared by Dr. C. II. Cleveland in the 
Am. Med. Gaz. (vi. 154), by Dr. J. A. Mayes in the Charleston Med. Journ. (xii. 180), and by 
Dr. F. F. Gary, of Cokesbury, S. C., in the Med. and Surg. Report. (June 11, 1859, p. 226). 
An abstract, by Dr. John Bell, of the various papers which have appeared in relation to it 
is contained in the Ar. Am. Med.-Chirurg. Journ. (Sept. 1858, p. 931). From these various 
sources we have derived the above account of the medical properties and uses of the taX PART I. 
Gentiana. 
411 
GENTIANA. U.S.,Br. 
Gentian. 
The root of Gentiana lutea. U. S. The root dried. Br. 
Gentiane jaune, Fr.; Rotlier Enzian, Germ,.; Genziana, Ital.; Genciana, Span. 
Gentiana. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Digynia.—Nat. Ord. Gentianaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Corolla one-petaled. Capsule two-valved, one-celled, with two longi- 
tudinal receptacles. Willd. 
Gentiana lutea. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1331; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 273, t. 95; 
Carson, Illust. of Med. Bot. ii. 12, pi. 60. Yellow gentian is among the most 
remarkable of the species which compose this genus, both for its beauty and 
great comparative size. From its thick, long, branching, perennial root, an erect, 
round stem rises to the height of three or four feet, bearing opposite, sessile, 
oval, acute, five-nerved leaves, of a bright-green colour, and somewhat glaucous. 
The lower leaves, which spring from the root, are narrowed at their base into 
the form of a petiole. The flowers are large and beautiful, of a yellow colour, 
peduncled, and placed in whorls at the axils of the upper leaves. The calyx is 
monophyllous, membranous, yellowish, and semi-transparent, splitting when the 
flower opens, and reflected when it is fully expanded; the corolla is rotate, and 
deeply divided into five or six lanceolate, acute segments; the stamens are five 
or six, and shorter than the corolla. This plant grows among the Apennines, 
the Alps, the Pyrenees, and in other mountainous or elevated regions of Europe. 
The root is the only part used in medicine. 
Several other species possess analogous virtues, and are used for similar pur- 
poses. The roots of G. purpurea and G. punctata, inhabiting the same regions 
as G. lutea, and of G. Pannonica, growing in Austria, are said to be often min- 
gled with the officinal, from which they are scarcely distinguishable. The G. 
•macrophylla of Pallas is used in Siberia; one indigenous species, G. Catesbasi, 
growing in the Southern States, has a place in the secondary catalogue of the 
TJ. S. Pharmacopoeia; and G. quinquifora, growing throughout the Northern 
and North-western States, is said to be much used in domestic practice. 
Properties. As found in the shops, gentian is in pieces of various dimensions 
and shape, usually of considerable length, consisting sometimes of longitudinal 
slices, sometimes of the root cut transversely, twisted, wrinkled externally, some- 
times marked with close transverse rings, of a grayish-brown colour on the out- 
side, yellowish or reddish within, and of a soft, spongy texture. The odour is 
feeble, but decided and peculiar. The taste is slightly sweetish and intensely 
bitter, without being nauseous. The powder is yellowish. Water and alcohol 
extract the taste and virtues of the root. Examined by MM. Henry and Caven- 
tou, it was found to contain, 1. a crystallizable principle which they supposed 
to be the chief active ingredient of the root, and therefore named gentianin, 
2. a volatile odorous principle, 3. a substance identical with birdlime (glu), 4. 
a greenish fixed oil, 5. a free organic acid, 6. uncrystallizable sugar, 7. gum, 8. 
yellow colouring matter, and 9. lignin. Mr. Denis afterwards detected pectic 
acid; and the gentianin of Henry and Caventou was proved by Trommsdorff 
and Leconte to be, when quite pure, wholly destitute both of bitterness and me- 
dicinal power; so that it would not appear to merit the name given to it. M. 
Leconte proposed, accordingly, to-call it gentisin; and, as it possesses the pro- 
perty of neutralizing the alkalies, it has received also the name of gentisic acid. 
It is obtained by treating the alcoholic extract of gentian, previously exhausted 
by water, with sulphuric ether, filtering the ethereal solution, and allowing it to 
evaporate spontaneously. It is in needle-shaped crystals, pale-yellow, insoluble 
in water, and soluble in alcohol. The same chemist believes that he has ascer- 412 
Grentiana, 
PART I. 
tained the birdlime or glu of Henry and Caventou to be a mixture of wax, oil, 
and caoutchouc. When distilled with water, gentian yields a minute proportion 
of a concrete oil, having a strong odour of the root. Professor Dulk, of Konigs- 
berg, gave a process for isolating the bitter principle; but the substance ob- 
tained was in all probability complex, and, therefore, not deserving of the name 
of ger.tianin bestowed upon it. In a note, we give the process and its results.* 
At length, Ludwig and Kromayer appear to have been successful in discovering 
the long sought for principle. They prepared an alcoholic extract of the fresh 
root, treated this with water, and the aqueous solution twice with animal char- 
coal, which absorbed all the bitterness, extracted the bitterness from the charcoal 
with alcohol, evaporated the tincture, treated the residue in solution with oxide 
of lead to separate the precipitable matter, removed the lead by sulphuretted 
hydrogen, evaporated to the consistence of syrup, and agitated the residue with 
ether, which precipitated the bitter principle. This they named gentiopicrin, 
though its proper name would be gentianin. It is crystallizable, very bitter, 
soluble in water and alcohol, but not in ether, neutral, and not precipitable by 
tannin or subacetate of lead. It ranks with the glucosides; as it is resolved by 
the action of acids into glucose and an amorphous substance called gentiogenin. 
Its formula is (See Am. J. of Pharm., xxxv. 330.) When gentian is 
macerated in cold water, it undergoes the vinous fermentation, in consequence of 
the sugar contained in it. From the fermented infusion a spirituous liquor is ob- 
tained by distillation, which, though bitter and unpleasant to the smell, is said to 
be relished by the Swiss and Tyrolese. Infusion of gentian is precipitated by 
tannic acid and the soluble salts of lead, but is compatible with the salts of iron. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Gentian possesses, in a high degree, the tonic 
powers which characterize the simple bitters. It excites the appetite, invigorates 
digestion, moderately increases the temperature of the body and the force of the 
circulation, and operates in fact as a general corroborant. In very large doses, 
however, it is apt to load and oppress the stomach, to irritate the bowels, and 
even to occasion nausea and vomiting. It has been known as a medicine from 
the highest antiquity, and is said to have derived its name from Gentius, a king 
of Illyria. Many of the complex preparations handed down from the Greeks 
and Arabians contain it among their ingredients; and it enters into most of the 
stomachic combinations employed in modern practice. It may be used in all 
cases of pure debility of the digestive organs, or requiring a general tonic im- 
pression. Dyspepsia, gout, amenorrhoea, hysteria, scrofula, intermittent fever, 
diarrhoea, and worms are among the many affections in wrhich it has proved use- 
ful; but it is the condition of the stomach and of the system generally, not the 
name of the disease, which must be taken into consideration in prescribing it; 
and there is scarcely a complaint in which it can be advantageously given under 
all circumstances. Its powder has been applied externally to malignant and 
sloughing ulcers. It is usually administered in the form of infusion or tincture. 
A syrup may be prepared by forming a saturated infusion by means of percola- 
* The alcoholic extract is macerated in water, and the solution, having been subjected 
to the vinous fermentation in order to separate the sugar, is treated first with acetate of 
lead, and then, after filtration, with subacetate of lead and a very little ammonia, in order 
to precipitate the combination of the bitter principle with oxide of lead; care being taken 
not to use too much ammonia, lest by its stronger basic powers it should separate the vege- 
table principle from the oxide. The precipitate is washed with a little water, then mixed 
with a large proportion of the same fluid, and decomposed by liydrosulphuric acid. The 
liquid, having been filtered, is evaporated with a gentle heat to dryness, and the residue 
treated with alcohol of 0-820. The alcoholic solution, being evaporated, yields the gentianin. 
It is a brownish-yellow, uncrystallizable substance, having strongly the bitter taste of the 
root. It is almost insoluble in absolute alcohol, but soluble in ordinary alcohol, and very 
soluble in water. It reddens litmus, and appears to possess acid properties. (Journ. at 
Phartn., xxiv. 638.) PART I. 
Gentiana.—Gentiana Catesbaei.— Geranium. 
413 
tion, and incorporating this at a boiling heat with simple syrup; or, perhaps 
more eligibly, by dissolving two drachms of the extract of gentian, and after- 
wards fifteen ounces of sugar, in half a pint of water. The dose of the powder 
is from ten to forty grains. In consequence of the porous property of the root, 
which causes it to expand with moisture, it has been employed, as a substitute 
for sponge tent, in the enlargement of strictured passages. 
Off. Prep. Extractum Gentian®; Extractura Gentian® Flqidum, XJ.S.; In- 
fusum Gentian® Compositum; Tinctura Gentian® Compositum. W. 
GENTIANA CATESBiEI. US. Secondary. 
Blue Gentian. 
The root of Gentiana Catesb®i. U. S. 
Gentiana. See GENTIANA. 
Several indigenous species of gentian approach more or less nearly to Gen- 
tiana lutea in the bitterness of their roots; but G. Catesbaei, which resembles it 
most closely, is the only one medicinally employed. 
Gentiana Catesbaei. Walter, Flor. Car. 109; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. iii. 137. 
The blue gentian has a perennial, branching, somewhat fleshy root, and a simple, 
erect, rough stem, rising eight or ten inches in height, and bearing opposite 
leaves, which are ovate-lanceolate, acute, and rough on their margin. The flowers 
are of a palish-blue colour, crowded, nearly sessile, and axillary or terminal. 
The divisions of the calyx are linear-lanceolate, and longer than the tube. The 
corolla is large, ventricose, plaited, and divided at its border into ten segments, 
of which the five outer are more or less acute, the five inner bifid and fringed. 
The number of stamens is five, and the two stigmas are seated on the germ. The 
capsule is oblong, acuminate, with two valves, and a single cell. 
G. Catesb®i grows in the grassy swamps of North and South Carolina, where 
it flowers from September to December. It was named by Walter and Elliot in 
honour of Catesby, by whom it was delineated nearly a century ago. Pursh 
confounds it with G. Saponaria, to which it is nearly allied. 
Properties. By Dr. Bigelow we are told that the dried root of this plant has 
at first a mucilaginous and sweetish taste, which is soon succeeded by an intense 
bitterness, approaching nearly to that of the officinal gentian. Alcohol and 
boiling water extract its virtues, and the tincture and decoction are even more 
bitter than the root in substance. 
Medical Properties. As a medicine it is little inferior to the European gen- 
tian, and may be employed for similar purposes. In the Northern and Middle 
States it is not used; but it is said to be occasionally prescribed by the practi- 
tioners of the South in dyspepsia, and other cases of stomachic and general 
debility. It may be given in powder in the dose of from fifteen to thirty grains, 
or in the form of extract, infusion, wine, or tincture, which may be prepared in 
the manner directed for the similar preparations of foreign gentian. W. 
GERANIUM. US. 
Cranesbill. 
The rhizoma of Geranium maculatum. XJ. S. 
Geranium. Sex. Syst. Monadelphia Decandria. — Nat.Ord. Geraniace®. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx five-leaved. Corolla five-petaled, regular. Nectary five mel- 
liferous glands, united to the base of the longer filaments. Arilli five, one-seeded, 
awned, at the base of a beaked receptacle; awns simple, naked, neither spiral nor 
bearded. Willd. 414 
Geranium. 
PART I. 
Geranium maculatum. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 705; Bigelow. Am. Med. Bot. 
i. 84; Barton, Med. Bol. i. 149. This plant has a perennial, horizontal, fleshy 
root, which is furnished with short fibres, and sends up annually an herbaceous 
stem, with several radical leaves. The stem is erect, round, dichotomously 
branched, from one to two feet high, of a grayish-green colour, and thickly 
covered, in common with the petioles and peduncles, with reflexed.hairs. The 
leaves are deeply divided into three, five, or seven Jobes, which are variously 
incised at their extremities, hairy, and of a pale-green colour, mottled with still 
paler spots. Those which rise from the root are supported on footstalks eight 
or ten inches long; those of the stem are opposite, the lower petiolate, the 
upper nearly sessile, with lanceolate or linear stipules. The flowers are large, 
and usually of a purple colour. The peduncles spring from the forks of the stem, 
and severally support two flowers upon short pedicels. The calyx is composed 
of five oblong, ribbed, cuspidate leaves; the petals are five, obovate, and entire; 
the stamens ten, with oblong, deciduous anthers, the five alternate filaments being 
longer than the others, and having glands at their base; the germ is ovate, sup- 
porting a straight style as long as the stamens, and surmounted by five stigmas. 
The fruit consists of five aggregate, one-seeded capsules, attached by a beak to 
the persistent style, curling up and scattering the seeds when ripe. 
The cranesbill is indigenous, growing throughout the United States, in moist 
woods, thickets, and hedges, and generally in low grounds. It flowers from May 
to July. The root should be collected in autumn. 
This, when dried, is in pieces' from one to three inches long, from a quarter 
to half an inch in thickness, somewhat flattened, contorted, wrinkled, tubercu- 
lated, and beset with slender fibres. It is externally of an umber-brown colour, 
internally reddish-gray, compact’ inodorous, and of an astringent taste, without 
bitterness or other unpleasant flavour. Water and alcohol extract its virtues. 
According to Dr. Edward Staples, it contains tannic and gallic acids, mucilage, 
red colouring matter, resin, and a crystallizable vegetable principle. (Journ. of 
Phil. Col. of Pharm., Oct. 1829, p. 171.) The Messrs. Tilden* found, besides 
tannic and gallic acids, gum, pectin, sugar, starch, albumen, resin soluble in 
ether, resin soluble in alcohol, oleo-resin soluble in ether only, colouring matter, 
chlorophyll, lignin, and various salts. (Pharm. Journ., July, 1863, p. 22.) Tannic 
and gallic acids are probably the sole active ingredients. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Geranium is one of our best indigenous as- 
tringents, and may be employed for all the purposes to which these medicines are 
applicable. The absence of unpleasant taste, and other offensive qualities, ren- 
ders it peculiarly serviceable in the cases of infants, and persons of very delicate 
stomach. Diarrhoea, chronic dysentery, cholera infantum in the latter stages, 
and the various hemorrhages are the forms of disease in which it is most com- 
monly used, and with greatest advantage; but care should be taken, before it 
is administered, that the condition of the system and of the part affected is such 
as not to contraindicate the use of astringents. As an application to indolent 
ulcers, an injection in gleet and leucorrhoea, a gargle in relaxation of the uvula 
and aphthous ulcerations of the throat, it answers the same purpose as kino, 
catechu, and other medicines of the same class. It is a popular domestic remedy 
in various parts of the United States, and is said to be employed by the Indians. 
It may be given in substance, decoction, tincture, or extract. The dose of the 
powder is twenty or thirty grains, that of a decoction, made by boiling an ounce 
of the root in a pint and a half of water to a pint, from one to fwo duidounces. 
The medicine is sometimes given to children, boiled in milk. W. Geum, 
415 
PART I. 
GEUM. U S. Secondary. ■ 
Water Avens. 
The root of Geum rivale. U. S. 
Benoite aquatique, Fr.; Wjesen Benediktenwurzel, Germ. 
Geum. Sex. Syst. Icosandria Polygynia.—Nat.Ord. Rosacese. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx ten-cleft. Petals five. Seeds with a bent awn. Willd. 
Several species belonging to this genus have been medicinally employed ; but 
two only are deserving of particular notice—Geum rivale, which has a place 
in the secondary list of the United States Pharmacopoeia, and G. urbanum, for- 
merly recognised by the Dublin College. 
Geum urbanum, or avens, is a native of Europe, where it grows wild in shady 
places. The root, which is the part used, consists of a short oblong body, from 
a quarter to half an inch in thickness, externally brown, internally white towards 
the circumference and reddish at the centre, and furnished with numerous long 
descending fibres. When quite dry it is nearly inodorous; but in the recent 
state has a smell like that of cloves, whence it is sometimes called radix caryo- 
phillatse. The taste is bitterish and astringent. It imparts its virtues to water 
and alcohol, which it tinges red. Distilled with water it yields a thick, greenish- 
yellow volatile oil, and gives a pleasant flavour to the liquid. It contains, ac- 
cording to Trommsdorff, besides tannic acid, which is abundant, a tasteless resin, 
gum, bassorin, and lignin. It has been much used in Europe, as a tonic and 
astringent, in chronic and passive hemorrhages, chronic dysentery and diarrhoea, 
leucorrhoea, intermittent fever, &c. The dose is from thirty grains to a drachm 
of the powder three or four times a day, or an equivalent quantity in decoction. 
Geum rivale. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1115; Engl. Bot. 106. Water avens has 
a perennial, horizontal, jointed, scaly, tapering root, about six inches long, of a 
reddish-brown colour externally, white internally, and furnished with numerous 
descending yellowish fibres. One or more stems rise from the same root, which 
also sends up numerous leaves. The stems are about a foot and a half high, 
simple, erect, pubescent, and of a purplish colour. The radical leaves are inter- 
ruptedly pinnate, with large terminal leaflets, and long, hairy footstalks; those 
of the stem are petiolate, and divided into three serrate, pointed segments. The 
flowers are few, solitary, nodding, yellowish-purple, and supported on axillary 
and terminal peduncles. The colour of the stems and flowers gave rise to the 
name of purple avens, sometimes applied to the plant. The calyx is inferior, 
with ten lanceolate, pointed segments, of which the five alternate are smaller 
than the others. The petals are five, and as long as the calyx. The seeds are 
oval, with plumose awns, minutely uncinate, and nearly naked at the summit. 
This species of Geum is common to Europe and the United States; though 
the plant of this country has smaller flowers, with petals more rounded on tho 
top, and leaves more deeply incised than the European. It delights in wet, boggy 
meadows, and extends from Canada into New England, New York, and Penn- 
sylvania. Its flowers appear in June and July. The dried root is hard, brittle, 
easily pulverized, of a reddish or purplish colour, without smell, and of an astrin- 
gent, bitterish taste. Boeing water extracts its virtues. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Water avens is tonic and powerfully astringent. 
It may be used with advantage in chronic or passive hemorrhages, leucorrhoea, 
and diarrhoea; and is said to be beneficially employed, in the Eastern States, as 
a popular remedy in the debility of phthisis pulmonalis, in simple dyspepsia, and 
in visceral diseases consequent on disorder of the stomach. In Europe it is 
sometimes substituted for the root of common avens, or Geum urbanum, but is 
less esteemed. The dose of the powdered root is from a scruple to a drachm, to 416 
Geum.—Gillenia. 
PART I. 
be repeated three times a day. The decoction, which is usually preferred, may 
be made by boiling an ounce of the root in a pint of water, and given in the 
quantity of one or two fluidounces. A weak decoction is sometimes used by in- 
valids in New England as a substitute for tea and coffee. W. 
GILLENIA. U.S. 
Gillenia. 
The root of Gillenia trifoliata, and of Gillenia stipulacea. U. S. 
Indian physic, American ipecacuanha. 
Gillenia. Sex. Syst. Icosandria Pentagynia.—Nat. Ord. Rosaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx tubular campanulate, border five-toothed. Corolla partly 
unequal. Petals five, lanceolate, attenuated at the base. Stamens few, included. 
Styles five. Capsules five, connate at the base, opening on the inner side, each 
two-seeded. Torrey. 
This genus was separated by Moench from Spireea. It is exclusively North 
American, and includes only two discovered species— G. trifoliata and G. stipu- 
lacea—both of which are recognised in our Pharmacopoeia. 
1. Gillenia trifoliata. Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. iii. 10; Barton, Med. Bot. i. 
65; Carson, lllust. of Med. Bot. i. 40, pi. 34. This is an herbaceous plant with a 
perennial root, consisting of many long, slender, brown branches, proceeding 
from a thick, tuber-like head. The stems, several of which usually rise from the 
same root, are two or three feet high, erect, slender, smooth, flexuose, branched, 
and commonly of a reddish colour. The leaves are ternate, with very short 
petioles, and small linear-lanceolate stipules. The leaflets are ovate-lanceolate, 
sharply serrate, and acuminate. The flowers grow in a loose terminal nodding 
panicle, with long peduncles. The calyx is tubular campanulate, ventricose, and 
terminates in five pointed segments. The corolla is composed of five linear- 
lanceolate, recurved petals, the two upper separated from the three lower, white, 
with a reddish tinge on their border, and of three times the length of the calyx. 
The stamens are twenty, the filaments short, the anthers small and yellow. Each 
flower is succeeded by five capsules, connate at their base, oblong, acuminate, 
gibbous without, acute within, two-valved, one-celled, opening inward, and con- 
taining each one or two oblong seeds. 
This species of Gillenia grows throughout the United States, east of the 
Alleghany ridge, and, in Pennsylvania, may also be found abundantly west of 
these mountains. Pursh found it in Florida, and it extends as far north as 
Canada. It frequents light soils, in shady and moist situations, and flowers in 
June and July. The root should be gathered in September. 
2. G. stipulacea. Barton, Med. Bot. 1. 71. This species is also herbaceous and 
perennial, though much taller, and more bushy than the preceding. The stems 
are brownish and branched. The upper leaves are ternate, lanceolate, serrate; 
the lower more deeply incised, becoming towards the root pinnatifid, and of a 
reddish-brown colour at the margin. The stipules are ovate, acuminate, deeply 
serrate, resembling leaves, and marking the species at the first glance. The 
flowers are smaller than those of G. trifoliata, and grow on long slender peduncles 
in a lax corymb. 
In the valley of the Mississippi, this plant occupies fhe place of G. trifoliata, 
which is not found .beyond the Muskingum. It grows as far north as the State 
of New York, extends through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri, and pro- 
bably into the States south of the Ohio, as it has been found in Western Vir- 
ginia. Its root is precisely similar to that of the eastern species, and is reputed 
to possess the same properties. 
The dried root of Gillenia is not thicker than a quill, wrinkled longitudinally PART I. 
Gillenia.— Glycerina. 
417 
with occasional transverse fissures, and, in the thicker pieces, presenting in some 
places an irregular, undulated, somewhat knotty appearance, arising from indenta- 
tions on one side corresponding with prominences on the other. It is externally of 
a light-brown colour, and consists of a thick, somewhat reddish, brittle, cortical 
portion, with an interior slender, tougher, whitish ligneous cord. The bark, 
which is easily separable, has a bitter, not disagreeable taste; the wood is nearly 
insipid and comparatively inert, and should be rejected. The powder is of a 
light-brownish colour, and possesses a feeble odour, which is scarcely perceptible 
in the root. The bitterness is extracted by boiling water, which acquires the red 
colour of wine. The root yields its bitterness also to alcohol. By various experi- 
menters it has been shown to contain gum, starch, gallo-tannic acid, fatty mat- 
ter, wax, resin, colouring matter, albumen, and lignin, besides salts. (Am. Journ. 
of Pharm., xxvi. 490.) The name of gillenin has been given, by Mr. W. B. 
Stanhope, to a substance obtained by first preparing an alcoholic extract, treat- 
ing this with water, which took up various substances with a little of the active 
matter, then macerating the residue for ten days in water acidulated with sul- 
phuric acid, saturating with magnesia, evaporating to dryness, and finally treating 
with alcohol, filtering, and allowing the alcoholic solution to evaporate sponta- 
neously. The substance thus obtained was whitish, very bitter, slightly odorous, 
permanent in the air, soluble in water, alcohol, ether, and the dilute acids, and 
neutral to test-paper. Nitric acid rendered it blond-red, chromic acid green. 
Tannic acid produced no effect. It gave white precipitates with potassa, sub- 
acetate of lead, and tartar emetic. Half a grain of it produced nausea and 
retching. (Ibid., xxviii. 202.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Gillenia is a mild and efficient emetic, and, 
like most substances belonging to the same class, occasionally acts upon the 
bowels. In very small doses it has been thought to be tonic. It is much used by 
some practitioners in the country as a substitute for ipecacuanha, which it is 
said to resemble in its mode of operation. It was employed by the Indians, and 
became known as an emetic to the colonists at an early period. Linnaeus was 
aware of its reputed virtues. The dose of the powdered root is from twenty to 
thirty grains, repeated at intervals of twenty minutes till it vomits. W. 
GLYCERINA. TJ.S. 
Glycerin. 
Off.Syn. GLYCERINUM. Glycerine. A sweet principle, C6H806, obtained 
from fats and fixed oils. Br. 
In the U. S. Pharmacopoeia of 1850 a process was given for the preparation 
of glycerin; but it is now so exclusively a product of wholesale manufacturing, 
that it was deemed proper, in the late revision of the work, to transfer it to the 
Materia Medica Catalogue, where it also stands in the British Pharmacopoeia. 
The following is the process referred to. 
“Take of Lead Plaster, recently prepared and yet fluid, Boiling Water, each, 
a gallon. Mix them, stir briskly for fifteen minutes, then allow them to cool, and 
pour off the supernatant liquid. Evaporate this until it has the specific gravity 
1T5, and pass a current of sulphohydric acid slowly through it until a black 
precipitate is no longer produced. Filter, and apply heat until the sulphohydric 
acid is driven off. Lastly, evaporate the liquid until it ceases to lose weight.” 
In the process for making lead plaster, litharge, olive oil, and water are boiled 
together, with the result of decomposing the oil, the oily acids of which unite 
with the oxide of lead to form the plaster. At the same time the sweet principle 
of the oil, called glycerin, which was previously united to the oily acids to consti- 418 
Glycerina. 
PART I. 
tute the oil, is set free, becomes hydrated, and dissolves in the water. (See jEm- 
plastrum Plumbi.) It follows, therefore, that the plaster, while still hot and in 
the liquid state, contains an aqueous solution of glycerin, diffused through it 
It is the plaster in this state that is made use of for preparing glycerin in the 
former TJ. S. formula. Accordingly, when the liquid plaster is mixed with an 
equal measure of boiling water, and the mixture stirred briskly, a solution of 
glycerin is obtained; which, after having been decanted, and evaporated to a 
limited extent, is freed from lead by sulphuretted hydrogen. The liquid is then 
fdtered to separate sulphuret of lead, heated to free it from sulphuretted hydro- 
gen, and finally evaporated to expel the free water, which is known to be all re- 
moved when it ceases to lose weight. 
Glycerin was discovered in 1789 by Scheele, by whom it was called the sweet 
principle of oils. It is produced not only during the saponification of the fats 
and oils by oxide of lead ill forming lead plaster, but also during the same pro- 
cess, when effected by potassa and soda in the manufacture of soap; the alkalies 
uniting with the oily acids, and setting the glycerin free. Hence soap-makers’ 
waste is an abundant source of glycerin; but, thus originating, it is apt to have 
more or less odour, which even percolation through animal charcoal does not 
always remove. A method of purifying glycerin from soap-makers’ waste is 
given by M. Bruhre-Perrin. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xx. 549.)* The process of 
Mr. Richard A. Tilghman, of this city, patented, Jan. 9, 1854, consists in sub- 
jecting fatty bodies to the action of water at a high temperature under pressure, 
whereby their constituents combine with water, so as to form free fatty acids, 
and solution of glycerin. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., March, 1855, p. 121.) Thus 
obtained it is called distilled glycerin, and is produced at once in the purest 
form. This process is used at the great candle manufactory of Price-& Co., Lon- 
don, whence our markets have been largely supplied with glycerin. Through a 
distillatory apparatus containing palm oil, heated steam between 550° and 600° 
is passed. The oil is decomposed into its oily acids and glycerin, which, together 
with water, distil over, and, condensing in the receiver, separate into two layers, 
the lower of which is glycerin. If this, as first procured, contain too much water, 
it must be concentrated ; if discoloured, it must be redistilled with vapour. 
(Pharm. Journ., Jan. 1861, p. 350.) Ordinary impure glycerin may be purified 
by distillation with steam under pressure. Though, when distilled alone, it is 
partially decomposed, giving out pungent vapours of acrolein, yet, in a current 
of superheated steam, it passes over unchanged at temperatures between 400° 
and 500°. (Brande & Taylor.) Yery pure glycerin is now prepared in the TJ. 
States. 
Properties, &c. Glycerin is a thick syrupy liquid, either colourless or of a 
* Dr. Campbell Morfit has given the following process for making pure glycerin on the 
large scale. Melt one hundred pounds of tallow, lard, or pressed lard, in a clean iron-bound 
barrel, by the direct application of a current of steam, and add to the melted liquid fifteen 
pounds of lime, previously slaked and made into a milk with two and half gallons of water. 
Then cover the vessel, and continue the steaming for several hours, or until the completion 
of the saponification. This is known to be completed, when a portion of the cooled soap 
gives a smooth shining surface on bejng scraped with the nail, and breaks with a cracking 
noise. By this treatment the fat is decomposed, the oily acids unite with the lime to form 
an insoluble lime soap, and the liberated glycerin remains in solution in the water, along 
with the excess of lime. After the liquid has been sufficiently boiled, it is allowed to cool 
and settle, and then strained through a crash cloth. The strained liquid, containing only 
the glycerin and excess of lime, is carefully concentrated by steam heat, treated with a 
current of carbonic acid to remove the lime as carbonate of lime, boiled again to decom- 
pose any carbonate of lime that may have been formed, and allowed to repose. The super- 
natant clear liquid is finally decanted or strained off from the precipitated carbonate of 
lime, and concentrated, if necessary, to expel any excess of water. The residue of the 
process, the lime soap, is sold to the stearic candle makers, or reconverted into saleable 
fat. Dr. Morfit has found his process for glycerin to combine the advantages of saving 
time, labour, and money. (Silliman’s Journal, 2d ser., xv. 429.)—Note to the tenth edition. part I. 
Glycerina. 
419 
slight amber colour, without smell when pure, unctuous to the touen, and of a 
very sweet taste. In properties it is intermediate between water and the oils. 
When exposed to the air it gradually absorbs moisture. Its sp. gr. is 1'25, U.S., 
126, Br. According to Mr. Gr. F. Wilson, glycerin, when of the density 124, 
contains 94 per cent, of anhydrous glycerin; when of the* density 1*26, 98 per 
cent. It is soluble in all proportions in water and alcohol, but insoluble in 
ether. Glycerin possesses exteusive powers as a solvent, and is an excellent ex- 
cipient for many medicinal substances. It dissolves bromine and iodine, the 
iodide of sulphur, the chlorides of potassium and sodium, the fixed alkalies, 
some of the alkaline earths, and a large number of neutral salts. It also dis- 
solves the vegetable acids, particularly tannic acid, and either suspends or dis- 
solves the vegetable alkalies. Many of the salts of the vegetable alkalies are 
soluble in it, forming convenient solutions for external application. Such solu- 
tions are now made for medicinal purposes with some of the salts of morphia, 
quinia, strychnia, veratria, and atropia. Prof. J. S. Blockey, of London, has 
ascertained that certain neuter vegetable substances are far more soluble in gly- 
cerin than in water. Thus salicin dissolves in eight parts of cold glycerin, and 
santonin in eighteen parts when boiling. The latter solution, when of half this 
strength, forms on cooling an almost solid mass. Glycerin, next to alcohol, is 
the best solvent of iodine. Iodine and iodide of potassium, when dissolved in 
it, form iodized glycerin, the medical applications of which are given under 
iodine. (See Iodinium.)* Glycerin is not susceptible of becoming rancid, or of 
fermenting spontaneously; but will generate a portion of alcohol under the 
combined influence of chalk, and of a ferment formed of cheese or animal tissue. 
During this change there is no intermediate formation of glucose, provided car- 
bonate of lime is present. (Berthelot.) Glycerin does not evaporate when ex- 
posed to the air; nor can it be distilled without decomposition, uuless in the 
presence of water or steam, When decomposed by heat, it emits extremely irri- 
tating vapours. At a full red heat it takes fire, and burns with a blue flame. 
Glycerin is antiseptic, and has been recommended by Mr. Warington and M. 
Demarquay to preserve alimentary substances and objects of natural history, 
and to inject bodies for dissection. According to Dr. W. Frazer, it does not 
answer to keep pathological preparations; as they are completely softened by its 
action. M. Berthelot, of Paris, has succeeded in combining glycerin with a 
number of acids, both mineral and organic, forming three distinct series of neu- 
tral compounds. Among others he has united it with the fatty acids, producing, 
by synthesis, the organic fatty substances, stearin, margarin, olein, &c. Glycerin 
has been recently formed artificially, by a complicated process, by M. A. Wurtz. 
(See Ghem. Gaz., June 1, 1857, p. 205.) By Pasteur it has been ascertained to 
be one of the products of the vinous fermentation. Glycerin consists of one eq. 
of the hypothetical radical glyceryl (C6H7), five eqs. of oxygen, and one of 
water. Its formula is, therefore, C6II705-j-H0. 
When treated with equal parts of strong nitric and sulphuric acids, succes- 
sively added in small portions, at a temperature kept below freezing, glycerin is 
converted into a bright-yellow, volatile, explosive, and poisonous oleaginous 
liquid, discovered by M. Sobrero, and called nitroglycerin or glonoin. Its den- 
sity is 1'6, and its composition corresponds with that of glycerin, with three eqs. 
of hydrogen replaced by three of hyponitric acid (3NOJ. Experiments have 
been’ made in reference to the effects of nitroglycerin on the system; but with no 
?ery satisfactory results. It appears to act as a powerful but temporary stimulant 
to the circulation and nervous system, causing increased frequency of pulse and 
severe headache, followed, if the dose is considerable, by symptoms of prostra- 
* Solutions of medicines in glycerin may be called glycerates. In relation to its solvent 
powers, the reader is referred to an elaborate paper by MM. Cap and Garot, published in 
ihe Journ. de, Pharm. for Aug. 1854, p. 81. 420 
Grlycerina. 
PART I. 
tion, which are alarming from overdoses. The dose required to affect the sys- 
tem is exceedingly small. Mr. J. M. Merrick, jun., experienced decided effects 
from one-fortieth of a drop; and in a case recorded by Mr. Field about the 
forty-fifth of a drop caused the loss of consciousness and other alarming symp- 
toms of narcotic poisoning. On the other hand, two drops of the poison are 
said to have been taken with no other effect than a slight confusion of the head. 
In all these instances the nitroglycerin was given dissolved in alcohol. Mr. Mer- 
rick experienced from the accidental inhalation of the vapour intense headache, 
intolerance of light, and general distress, with a feeling of faintness and exhaus- 
tion. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., Nov. 1863, p. 564.) Considering the uncertainty 
and occasional violence of this substance, together with its liability to explosion, 
as shown in the case of Mr. Ferris, of New Castle, Delaware (Ibid., Nov. 1860, 
p. 524), it is hardly probable that it will come into use as a remedy, unless proved 
to have more valuable therapeutic effects than have yet been demonstrated. 
Impurities and Tests. Glycerin is sometimes deficient in density and con- 
sistency. According to M. Dalpiaz, it is sometimes perfectly colourless from 
being bleached by chlorine, when it is apt to contain chloride of calcium, as well 
as free chlorine. The latter may be detected by rendering the suspected sample 
slightly blue by a few drops of sulphate of indigo, and then adding a little sul- 
phuric acid, when, if free chlorine be present, the blue colour will disappear. 
Lime may be detected by oxalate of ammonia; lead by hydrosulphate of ammo- 
nia, and sulphuric acid by a soluble salt of baryta. Diluted, and boiled with a 
solution of potassa, it is not altered in colour, showing the absence of glucose. 
The absence of cane sugar is proved by the complete solubility of the glycerin 
in chloroform, which does not dissolve sugar (Chem. News, No. 205, p. 211); 
also, if, upon the addition of two drops of concentrated sulphuric acid, and the 
application of heat, no brown discoloration is observed. (Journ. de Pharm., 
Nov. 1863, p. 405.) Diluted with water, glycerin should give no precipitate 
with hydrosulphate of ammonia, or ferrocyanide of potassium, showing the ab- 
sence generally of metallic salts. If a drop be rubbed on the hand, no odour 
should be perceived.. One volume of glycerin should dissolve completely in one 
volume of alcohol, acidulated with 1 per cent, of sulphuric acid, without afford- 
ing any precipitate of sulphate of lime, even after standing for twelve hours. 
For the tests of pure glycerin, given more in detail, see the paper of M. Cap in 
the Journal de Pharmacie (Mars, 1856, p. 212). 
Medical Properties, &c. The uses of glycerin as a vehicle of other medicines 
have been already given. Employed internally as a therapeutic agent, it is 
deemed alterative, nutrient, and demulcent. Dr. J. L. Crawcour, of New Orleans, 
has used it with supposed advantage in phthisis, and prefers it to cod-liver oil. 
Dr. R. P. Cotton has tried it in the Consumption Hospital at Brompton, and 
concluded that it has generally but little influence, and that, as a remedial agent, 
it will bear no comparison with cod-liver oil. Dr. W. Lauder Lindsay made ex- 
periments with it, to determine its alterative and'nutrient properties, and found 
it to increase the weight of the body; but his experiments were not made on a 
sufficient scale to be conclusive. It sometimes appeared to act beneficially in 
tuberculous and strumous affections, forming a useful succedaneum for cod-liver 
oil, when the latter could not be borne by the stomach. 
Glycerin has come into extensive use as an external remedy. Its emollient 
virtues and undrying property adapt it to the treatment of skin diseases, in 
which a softening and soothing application is required. It appears to have been 
first employed externally, in 1846, by Mr. Thomas De la Rue, of London, whose 
observation of its utility led Mr. Startin to try it in the Hospital for Skin Dis- 
eases, where it came into extensive use. The principal cutaneous diseases in 
which it has been found beneficial are pityriasis, lepra, herpes, eczema, psoriasis, 
prurigo, and lichen It is a useful addition to lotions in the incrusted fora of part I. 
Glycerina.—Glycyrrhiza. 
421 
lupus, and in various syphilitic and strumous eruptions. Added to poultices, in 
a proportion varying from one-fourth to one-sixteenth, it has the effect of keep- 
ing them soft for a long time. To collodium it gives a plasticity which renders 
it often better suited to skin affections. Incorporated in very small proportion 
with extracts and pills, it keeps them soft and free from mouldiness. M. Dever- 
gie, in giving the results of his trials of glycerin in skin diseases, thinks its vir- 
tues have been exaggerated, and that it is not superior to pure lard and similar 
fatty substances; though it has the advantages of liquidity and freedom from 
odour. Iii cases of deafness, from deficiency, accumulation, or hardness of the 
cerumen, and attended with dryness of the meatus, glycerin is an excellent 
remedy, introduced into the canal by means of raw cotton, saturated with it. 
In relation to the uses of glycerin in diseases of the ear, the reader is referred 
to a paper by Mr. Thomas Wakley, in the London Lancet for June, 1849. Gly- 
cerin may be prepared as an ointment, for which formulas are given by Mr. J. 
Laidley, and by Mr. J. H. Ecky.* (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxii. 118, and xxv. 
27.) It is recommended, in its perfectly pure state, by Dr. Foucher, as a vehicle 
in collyria, agreeing with all the substances used locally in diseases of the eye, 
except nitrate of silver, which it decomposes. (Chem. News, Dec. 8, 1860, p. 306.) 
Glycerin has been used by M. Demarquay, of Paris, as a dressing in hospital 
gangrene, and in wounds in general. The wound is covered with folds of linen, 
dipped in the glycerin, over which lint is applied, and secured by a bandage. 
The advantages claimed fo* this dressing are that it lessens suppuration, pro- 
motes cicatrization, and, when removed, leaves the wound clean. Glycerin, used 
in this way, has been tried by two London surgeons, Mr. Skey and Mr. Hutch- 
inson, and both conclude that it possesses no particular virtues. It is con- 
ceded, however, that it is an agreeable application, causes no smarting, excludes 
the air, keeps the sore moist, and does not adhere to its edges; and these are 
no small recommendations. It has the advantage over bland oils that it may be 
readily washed from the wound, on account of its solubility in water. (See Am. 
Journ. of Med. Sci., July, 1856, p. 253.) The vaccine lymph and scab have 
been dissolved in glycerin with a view to the preservation of the virus, and Dr. 
Andrews, of Chicago, has successfully vaccinated with the solution; but the 
expedient, to say the least, is of doubtful advantage. 
Of. Prep. Suppositoria Acidi Tannici, Br. B. 
GLYCYRRHIZA. U. S., Br. 
Liquorice- Root. 
The root of Glycyrrhiza glabra. U. S. The root fresh and dried. Br. 
Bois de reglisse, Fr.; Siissholzwurzel, Germ.; Liquirizia, Ital.: Regaliza, Span. 
Glycyrrhiza. Sex. Syst. Diadelphia Decandria. — Nat. Ord. Leguminosae or 
Fabace®. 
Gen.Ch. Calyx bilabiate; upper lip three-cleft, lower undivided. Legume 
ovate compressed. Willd. 
Glycyrrhiza glabra. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 1144; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 420, 
i. 152; Carson, Illust. of Med. Bot. i. 38, pi. 32. The liquorice plant has a per- 
ennial root, which is round, succulent, tough, and pliable, furnished with sparse 
fibres, rapid in its growth, and in a sandy soil penetrates deeply into the ground. 
The stems are herbaceous, erect, and usually four or five feet in height, have few 
* Mr. Ecky’s glycerin ointment is made as follows: Take of spermaceti half an ounce; 
white wax a drachm; oil of almonds two fluidounces; glycerin a jluidounce. Melt the sper- 
maceti and wax with the oil of almonds by a moderate heat. Then, having poured the 
melted liquid into a Wedgwood mortar, add the glycerin, and rub until the ingredients 
are thoroughly mixed and cool. This ointment may be used with advantage in chaps and 
excoriations. 422 
Glycyrrhiza. 
PART l 
branjhef and are garnished with alternate, pinnate leaves, consisting of several 
pairs jf ovate, blunt, petiolate leaflets, with a single leaflet at the end, of a pale- 
green colour, and clammy on their under surface. The flowers are violet or 
p&rplc, formed like those of the pea, and arranged in axillary spikes supported 
on long peduncles. The calyx is tubular and persistent. The fruit is a com- 
pressed, smooth, acute, one-celled legume, containing from one to four small 
kidney-shaped seeds. 
The plant is a native of the south of Europe, Barbary, Syria, and Persia; and 
is cultivated in England, the north of France, and Germany. Much of the root 
imported into this country comes from Messina and Palermo in Sicily. It is 
also largely produced in the north of Spain, where it is an important article of 
commerce. It is not improbable that a portion of the root from Italy and Sicily 
is the product of G. echinata, which grows wild in Apulia. This species is also 
abundant in the south of Russia, where, according to Hayne, sufficient extract 
is prepared from it to supply the whole Russian empire. 
A species of Glycyrrhiza, G. lepidota, grows abundantly about St. Louis, in 
the State of Missouri, and flourishes along the banks of the Missouri river to its 
source. It is probably the same as the liquorice plant mentioned by Mackenzie 
as growing on the northern coast of this continent. Mr. Nuttall states that its 
root possesses in no inconsiderable degree the taste of liquorice. 
Properties. The liquorice root of the shops is in long pieces, varying in thick- 
ness from a few lines to more than an inch, fibrous, externally grayish-brown 
and wrinkled by desiccation, internally yellowish, without smell, and of a sweet 
mucilaginous taste, mingled with a slight degree of acrimony. It is often worm- 
eaten and more or less decayed. The best pieces are those which have the bright- 
est yellow colour internally, and of which the layers are distinct. The powder 
is of a grayish-yellow colour, when the root is pulverized without being deprived 
of its epidermis; of a pale sulphur-yellow, when the epidermis has been removed. 
Robiquet found the following ingredients in liquorice root: 1. a peculiar trans- 
parent yellow substance, called glycyrrhizin or glyeion, of a sweet taste, scarcely 
soluble in cold water, very soluble in boiling water with which it gelatinizes on 
cooling, thrown down from its aqueous solution by acids, readily soluble in cold 
alcohol, insusceptible of the vinous fermentation, yielding no oxalic acid by the 
action of the nitric, and therefore wholly distinct from sugar; 2. a crystallizable 
■principle named igedoile by Robiquet, but subsequently proved to be identical 
with asparagin; 3. starch; 4. albumen; 5. a brown acrid resin; 6. a brown 
azotized extractive matter; 7. lignin; 8. salts of lime and magnesia, with phos- 
phoric, sulphuric, and malic acids. Robiquet prepared glycyrrhizin by subject- 
ing a strong cold infusion of the root to ebullition, in order to separate the 
albumen; then filtering, precipitating with acetic acid, and washing the pre- 
cipitate with water to remove any adhering acid. It may be still further purified 
by solution in absolute alcohol, and evaporation at a very gentle heat. According 
to Dr. T. Lade, glycyrrhizin, as it exists in the root, is rendered soluble in water 
by combination with inorganic bases, such as lime and ammonia, from which it 
is separated by the addition of an acid. From the observations of Dr. Lade, it 
is to be inferred that this principle has no affinity for the acids, but combines 
with salifiable bases, forming salts of various degrees of solubility. Its sweetness 
is retained in the compounds which it forms with the alkalies. It consists of 
carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, and ranks among the glucosides. Its formula, ac- 
cording to M. Gorup-Besanez,is according to Vogel, C16Hl2Os. (Journ. 
de Pharm., Juillet, 1861, p. 72.) 
An extract of liquorice root is brought from Spain and Italy, and much used 
under the name of liquorice. (See Extractum'Glycyrrhizee.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Liquorice root is an excellent demulcent, well 
adapted to catarrhal affections, and to irritations of the mucous membrane of the part I. 
Glycyrrhiza.—G-ossypii Radix.—Gossypium. 
423 
bowels and urinary passages. It is best given in the form of decoction, either 
alone, or combined with other demulcents. It is frequently employed as an addi- 
tion to the decoctions of acrid or irritating vegetable substances, such, for ex- 
ample, as seneka and mezereon, the acrimony of which it covers, while it renders 
them more acceptable to the stomach. Before being used, it should be deprived 
of its cortical part, which is somewhat acrid, without possessing the peculiar 
virtues of the root. The decoction may be prepared by boiling an ounce of the 
bruised root, for a few minutes, in a pint of water. By long boiling, the acrid 
resinous principle is extracted. Perhaps, however, to this principle may in part 
be ascribed the therapeutical virtues of liquorice root in chronic bronchial dis- 
eases. The powder is used in the preparation of pills, either to give due con- 
sistence, or to cover their surface and prevent them from adhering together. 
Off. Prep. Confectio Terebinthinae, Br.; Decoctum Sarsoe Compositum, Br.; 
Decoctum Sarsaparillae Compositum, U. S.; Extractum Glycyrrhizae, Br.; Ex- 
traetum Sarsaparillae Fluidum Compositum, U. S.; Infusum Lini, Br.; Iufusum 
Lini Compositum, U. S.; Pilula Ferri Iodidi, Br.; Pil. Hydrargyri; Syrupus 
Sarsaparillae Compositus, U.S. W. 
GOSSYPII RADIX. U.S. Secondary. 
Cotton Root. 
The root of Gossypium herbaceum, and of other species of Gossypium. TJ. S. 
GOSSYPIUM. U.S. 
Cotton. 
A filamentous substance separated from the seed of Gossypium herbaceum, 
and of other species of Gossypium. U. S. 
Cotton. Cotton Wool. The hairs of the seed of various species of Gossypium. 
Br. Appendix. 
Coton, Fr.; Baumwolle, Germ.; Cotone, Ttal.; Algodon, Span. 
Gossypium. Sex. Syst. Monadelphia Polyandria.—Nat. Ord. Malvaceae. 
Gen.Ch. Calyx cup-shaped, obtusely five-toothed, surrounded by a three- 
parted involucel, with dentate-incised, cordate leaflets, cohering at the base. 
Stigmas three to five. Capsule three to five-celled, many-seeded. Seeds sur- 
rounded by a tomentose wool. Be Cand. 
In consequence of changes produced in the plants of this genus by cultivation, 
botanists have found great difficulty in determining which are distinct species, 
and which merely varieties. De Candolle describes thirteen species in his Pro- 
dromus, and mentions six others; but considers them all uncertain. Boyle de- 
scribes eight and admits others. Schwartz thinks they may all be referred to one 
original species. The plants inhabit different parts of tropical Asia and Africa, 
and many of them are cultivated for their cotton in climates adapted to their 
growth. The species from which most of the cotton of commerce has been 
thought to be obtained, is the one specially indicated by the U. S. Pharmaco- 
poeia. According to Dr. Royle, it is the India cotton which is produced by 
G. herbaceum, while G. Barbadense furnishes all the cotton of N. America, and 
G. Peruvianum that produced in Brazil, Peru, and other parts of S. America. 
(See Am. Journ. of Pharm., July, 1858, p. 389.) Dr. A. W. Chapman, how- 
ever, in his Flora of the Southern United States (N. Y., A. D. 1860, p. 58), 
states that the numerous varieties of the cotton-plant are now referred to two 
species, the long-staple or sea-island to G. album (Haw.), and the short-staple 
or upland, to G. nigrum, (Haw.). G-ossypium. 
PART I. 
Gossypium herbaceum. Linn. Sp. 975; De Cand. Prodrom. i. 456. This is 
a biennial or triennial plant, with a branching stem from two to six feet high, 
and palmate hoary leaves, the lobes of which are somewhat lanceolate and acute. 
The flowers are pretty, with yellow petals, having a purple spot near the claw. 
The leaves of the involucel or outer calyx are serrate. The capsule opens when 
ripe, and displays a loose white tuft of long slender filaments, which surround 
the seeds, and adhere firmly to the outer coating. The plant is a native of Asia, 
but is cultivated in most tropical countries. It-requires a certain duration of 
warm weather to perfect its seeds, and, in the United States,'cannot be culti- 
vated advantageously north of Virginia. 
The herbaceous part of the plant contains much mucilage, and has been used 
as a demulcent. The seeds yield by expression a fixed oil of the drying kind, 
which is employed for making soap and other purposes.* The root has been 
supposed to possess medical virtues, and is now recognised by the U. S. Pharma- 
copoeia. Another officinal portion, and that for which the plant is cultivated, 
is the filamentous substance surrounding the seeds. This when separated con- 
stitutes the cotton of commerce. 
Cotton consists of filaments, which, under the microscope, appear to be flat- 
tened tubes, with occasional joints indicated by transverse lines. It is without 
smell or taste, insoluble in water, alcohol, ether, the oils, and vegetable acids, 
soluble in strong alkaline solutions, and decomposed by the concentrated mineral 
acids. In chemical character, it bears a close analogy to lignin. By nitric acid 
it is converted into that remarkable explosive substance denominated gun cotton, 
for an account of which, as well as of a valuable adhesive preparation made by 
dissolving it in ether, the reader is referred to the articles Gun Cotton and Col- 
lodium. For medical use it should be carded into thin sheets; or the wadding 
of the milliners may be employed, consisting of sheets somewhat stiffened, and 
glazed on the surface by starch. It the latter case, the sheets should be split 
open when applied. It is said that air, passed through cotton, loses the pro- 
perty of inducing the putrefactive fermentation in animal substances. (Bost. 
Med. and Surg. Journ., liii. 68, from Gaz. des Hdpitaux.) 
Medical Properties, dec. Cotton has been used from time immemorial for the 
fabrication of cloth; but it is only of late that it has entered the catalogue of 
medicines. It is chiefly employed in recent burns and scalds; an application 
of it adopted from popular practice. It is said to relieve the pain, diminish the 
inflammation, prevent vesication, and very much to hasten the cure. Whatever 
advantages result from it are probably ascribable to the absorption of effused 
liquids, and the protection of the part affected from the air. It is applied in 
thin and successive layers; and benefit is said to result from the application of 
* Cotton-Reed Oil. This is obtained by expression from the seeds previously deprived 
of their shells. In this state, they yield two gallons of oil to the bushel. As first obtained, 
it is thick and turbid, but deposits a portion of its impurities on standing. Besides this 
crude oil, there are three varieties in the shops of the South, more or less purified, recog- 
nised as the clarified, the refined, and the winter-bleached. The last-mentioned is of a pale- 
straw colour, a mild peculiar odour, and a bland sweetish taste, not unlike that qf almond 
oil. The oil is used in the preparation of woollen cloth and morocco leather, and for oil- 
ing machinery. There seems to be some doubt of its drying qualities. It has been found 
to be an excellent substitute for almond and olive oil in most pharmaceutical preparations 
in which they are employed; but does not answer well in the formation of the lead plaster. 
Citrine ointment carefully prepared with it, too great heat being avoided, retains long a 
rich-orange colour and proper unctuous consistence. Its sp. gr. is stated at 0-921. It is 
insoluble in alcohol, soluble in not less than its own bulk of ether, and dissolved in all 
proportions by chloroform. By sulphuric acid it is made deep-red, almost brown; but it is 
not obviously affected by nitric and muriatic acids. These interesting facts ha\e been ex- 
tracted from a dissertation by Mr. ffm. Henry Weatherby, whose residence in a cotton- 
growing district of the South gave him peculiar opportunities. (See Am. Journ of Phc.rm.t 
May, 18G1, p. 208.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 
I part I. 
Granati Fructds Cortex.— Granati Radicis Cortex. 
425 
a bandage when the skin is not too much inflamed. We have, however, seen 
cotton do much harm in burns, by becoming consolidated over a vesicated sur- 
face, and acting as a mechanical irritant. Such a result may be prevented by 
first dressing the burn with a piece of fine linen spread with simple ointment. 
Cotton is also recommended in erysipelas, and as a dressing for blisters; and we 
have found it useful, applied in a large batch over parts affected with rheuma- 
tism, especially in lumbago. 
The root of the cotton plant has been employed by Dr. Bouchelle, of Missis- 
sippi, who believes it to be an excellent emmenagogue, and not inferior to ergot 
in promoting uterine contraction. He states that it is habitually and effectually 
resorted to by the slaves of the South for producing abortion; and thinks that 
it acts in this way, without injury to the general health. To assist labour, he 
employs a decoction made by boiling four ounces of the inner bark of the root 
in a quart of water to a pint, and gives a wineglassful every twenty or thirty 
minutes, {West. Journ. of Med. and Surg., Aug. 1840.) Dr. T. J. Shaw, of 
Tennessee, thinks it superior, in the treatment of amenorrhcea, to any other 
emmenagogue, and equal to ergot as a parturient, while attended with less 
danger. He uses a tincture made by macerating eight ounces of the dried bark 
of the root in two pounds of diluted alcohol for two weeks, and gives a drachm 
three or four times a day. (Nashv. Journ. of Med. and Surg., July, 1855.) Mr. 
Weatherby denies the statement that the root is used for producing abortion 
among the slaves, at least within his observation. (Am. Journ. of Pharm.) 
Cotton seeds have been employed in our Southern States with great asserted 
success in the treatment of intermittents. In a communication from Prof. H. R. 
Frost to the Charleston Medical Journal for May, 1850, it is stated, on the 
authority of Dr. W. K. Davis, of Monticello, that this application of the cotton 
seed originated with a planter in Newberry District, S. Carolina, who had often 
used the remedy in intermittents, and never failed to effect a cure. A pint of the 
seeds is boiled in a quart of water to a pint, and a teacupful of the decoction is 
given to the patient in bed, an hour or two before the expected return of the chili. 
Off. Prep. Collodium, U. S.; Pyroxylin, Br. Appendix. W. 
GRANATI FRUCTUS CORTEX. U. S. - 
Pomegranate Rind. 
The rind of the fruit of Punica Granatum. U.S. 
GRANATI RADICIS CORTEX. U. S. 
Barh of Pomegranate Root. 
The bark of the root of Punica Granatum. U. S. 
Off. Syn. GRANATI RADIX. Punica Granatum. The bark of the root, 
fresh or dried. Br. 
Ecorce de granade, Fr.; Granatiipfel-Echalin, Germ.; Malicorio, Scorza del melogra- 
nati, Ital.; Corteza de granada, Span. 
Punica. Sex.Syst. Icosandria Monogynia. — Ngt.Ord. Myrtacese. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx five-cleft, superior. Petals five. Pome many-celled, many 
seeded. Willd. 
Punica Granatum. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 981; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 531, t. 
190; Carson, lllust. of Med. Bot. i. 45, pi. 38. The pomegranate is a small 
shrubby tree, attaining in favourable situations the height of twenty feet, with 
a very unequal trunk, and numerous branches, which sometimes bear thorns. 
The leaves are opposite, entire, oblong or lance-shaped, pointed at each end, Grranati Radicis Cortex. 
PART I. 
smooin, shining, of a bright-green colour, and placed on short footstalks. The 
flowers are large, of a rich scarlet colour, and stand at the end of the young 
branches. The petals are roundish and wrinkled, and are inserted into the upper 
part of the tube of the calyx, which is red, thick, and fleshy. The fruit is a 
globular berry, about the size of an orange, crowned with the calyx, covered 
with a reddish-yellow, thick, coriaceous rind, and divided internally into many 
cells, which contain an acidulous pulp, and numerous oblong, angular seeds. 
This tree grows wild upon both shores of the Mediterranean, in Arabia, Persia, 
Bengal, China, and Japan, has been introduced into the East and West Indies, 
and is cultivated in all civilized countries, where the climate is sufficiently warm 
to allow the fruit to ripen. In higher latitudes, where it does not bear fruit, it 
is raised in gardens and hot-houses for the beauty of its flowers, which become 
double, and acquire increased splendour of colouring by cultivation. Doubts 
have been entertained as to its original country. The name of Punicum ma- 
lum, applied by the ancients to its fruit, implies that it was abundant at an 
early age in the vicinity of Carthage. The fruit, for which the plant is cultivated 
in tropical climates, varies much in size and flavour. It is said to attain greater 
perfection, in both these respects, in the West Indies than in its native country. 
The pulp is red, succulent, pleasantly acid, and sweetish, and is used for the 
same purposes as the orange. The rind of the fruit, and the bark of the root are 
the parts indicated in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. The flowers were formerly 
recognised by the Dublin College, and the seeds are officinal in France. 
Rind of the Fruit. This is presented in commerce under the form of irregular 
fragments, hard, dry, brittle, of a yellowish or reddish-brown colour externally, 
paler within, without smell, and of an astringent, slightly bitter taste. It con- 
tains a large proportion of tannin, and in countries where the tree abounds has 
been employed for tanning leather. • 
Flowers. The flowers, sometimes called balaustines, are inodorous, have a 
bitterish, astringent taste, and impart a violet-red colour to the saliva. They 
contain tannic and gallic acids, and were used by the ancients in dyeing. 
Bark of the Root. The roots of the pomegranate are hard, heavy, knotty, 
ligneous, and covered with a bark which is yellowish-gray or ash-gray ou the 
outer surface, and yellow on the inner. As found in the shops, the bark is in 
quills or fragments, breaks with a short fracture, has little or no smell, colours 
the saliva yellow when chewed, and leaves in the mouth an astringent taste 
without disagreeable bitterness. It contains, according to M. Latour de Trie, 
fatty matter, tannin, gallic acid, a saccharine substance having the properties of 
mannite, resin, wax, and chlorophyll, besides insoluble matters. The name of 
punicin has been given by Giovanni Righini to a peculiar principle which he 
extracted from the bark. It has the aspect of an oleo-resin, affects the nostrils 
somewhat like medicinal veratria, and is of an acrid taste. It may be obtained 
by rubbing a hydro-alcoholic extract of the bark with one-eighth of hydrate of 
potassa, heating the mixture with eight parts of pure water gradually added, and 
then dropping in dilute sulphuric acid to saturate the potassa. The punicin 
subsides, and may be separated by filtration. (Journ. de Pliarm., 3e. ser., v. 
298.) The infusion of the bark yields a deep-blue precipitate with salts of iron, 
and a yellowish-white precipitate with solution of gelatin. The inner surface 
of the bark, steeped in water and then rubbed on paper, produces a yellow stain, 
which, by the contact of sulphate of iron, is rendered blue, and by that of nitric 
acid acquires a slight rose tint, which soon vanishes. (Ibid., xvii. 488.) These 
properties serve to distinguish this bark from those of the box root and barberry, 
with which it is said to be sometimes adulterated. When used it should be 
separated from the ligneous portion of the root, as the latter is inert. 
Medical Properties and Uses. The rind of the fruit is astringent, and in the 
form of decoction is sometimes employed in diarrhoea and colliquative sweats, part L 
Granati Iladicis Cortex.—Guaiaci Lignum. 
427 
and, more frequently, as an injection in leucorrhoea, and as a gargle in sorethroai 
in the earlier stages, or after the inflammatory action has in some measure sub- 
sided. The powdered rind has also been recommended in intermittent fever. 
The flowers have the same medical properties, and are used for the same pur- 
poses. The bark of the root was used by the ancients as a vermifuge, and is 
recommended in the writings of Avicenna; but was unknown in modern practice 
till brought into notice by Dr. F. Buchanan, who learned its powers in India. 
The Mahometan physicians of Hindostan consider it a specific against taenia. 
One of these practitioners, having relieved an English gentleman in 1804, was 
induced to disclose his secret, which was then made public. Numerous cures 
were subsequently effected in Europe; and there can be no doubt of the occa- 
sional efficacy of the remedy. The French writers prefer the product of the wild 
pomegranate, growing on. the borders of the Mediterranean, to that of the plant 
cultivated in gardens for ornamental purposes. The bark may be administered 
in powder or decoction; but the latter form is usually preferred. The decoction 
is prepared by macerating two ounces of the bruised bark in two pints of water 
for twenty-four hours, and then boiling to a pint. Of this a wineglassful may 
be given every half hour, hour, or two hours, until the whole is taken. It often 
nauseates and vomits, and usually purges. Portions of the worm often' come 
away soon after the last dose. It is recommended to give a dose of castor oil, 
and to diet the patient strictly on the day preceding the administration of the 
remedy; and, if it should not operate on the bowels, to follow it by castor oil, 
or an enema. If not successful on the first trial, it should be repeated daily for 
three or four days, until the worm is discharged. It appears to have been used' 
by the negroes of St. Domingo before its introduction into Europe. 
The dose of the rind and flowers in powder is from twenty to thirty grains. 
A decoction may be prepared in the proportion of an ounce of the medicine to a 
pint of water, and given in the dose of a fluidounce. The seeds are demulcent. 
Off. Prep, of the Bark of the Boot. Decoctum Granati Iladicis, Br. W 
GUAIACI LIGNUM. TJ.S.,Br. 
Guaiacum Wood. 
The wood of Guaiacum officinale. TJ. S. The wood sliced, or coarsely turned. Br. 
Bois de gayac, Fr.; Pockenliolz, Germ.; Legno guaiaco, Ital.; Guayaco, Span. 
Guaiacum. Sex. Syst. Decandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Zygophyllaceae. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx five-cleft, unequal. Petals five, inserted into the calyx. 
Capsule angular, three or five-celled. Willd. 
Guaiacum officinale. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 538; Woodv. Med.Bot. p. 557, 
t. 200; Carson, lllust. of Med. Bot. i. 25, pi. 17. This is a large tree, of very 
slow growth. When of full size it is from forty to sixty feet high, with a trunk 
four or five feet in circumference. The branches are knotted, and covered with 
an ash-coloured striated bark. That of the stem is of a dark-gray colour, varie- 
gated with greenish or purplish spots. The leaves are opposite, and abruptly 
pinnate, consisting of two, three, and sometimes four pairs of leaflets, which are 
obovate, veined, smooth, shining, dark-green, from an inch to an inch and a half 
long, and almost sessile. The flowers are of a rich blue colour, stand on long 
peduncles, and grow to the number of eight or ten at the axils of the upper 
leaves. The seeds are solitary, hard, and of an oblong shape. 
G. officinale grows in the West Indies, particularly in Hayti and Jamaica, and 
is found also in the warmer parts of the neighbouring continent. All parts of 
the tree are possessed of medicinal properties; but the wood and the concrete 
juice only are officinal. The bark, though much more efficacious than the wood, 
is not kept in the shops. It is said that other species of Guaiacum contribute G-uaiaci Lignum. 
PART L 
to the supplies brought into the market. G. sanctum of Linnaeus, and G. arboreum 
of De Candolle, are particularly specified. Th<? former, however, is said by Wood- 
ville not to be sufficiently characterized as a distinct species. Fee states that the 
wood of G. sanctum is paler, and less heavy and hard than the officinal. 
Guaiacum wood is imported from Hayti and other West India islands, in the 
shape of logs or billets, covered with a thick gray bark, which presents on its 
inner surface, and upon its edges when broken, numerous shining crystalline 
points. These were supposed by Guibourt to be benzoic acid, by others a resin- 
ous exudation from the vessels of the plant; but Dr. Otto Berg has determined 
that they are crystals of sulphate of lime. The billets are used by the turners 
for the fabrication of various instruments and utensils, for which the wood is 
well adapted by its extreme hardness and density. It is kept by the druggists 
and apothecaries in the state of shavings or raspings, which they obtain from 
the turners. It is commonly called lignum vitse, a name which obviously origi- 
nated from the supposition that the wood was possessed of extraordinary re- 
medial powers. 
Properties. The colour of the sap-wood is yellow, that of the older and cen- 
tral layers greenish-brown, that of the shavings a mixture of the two. It is said 
that, when the wood is brought into a state of minute division, its colour is ren- 
dered green by exposure to the air, and bluish-green by the action of nitric acid 
fumes; and the latter change may be considered as a test of its genuineness. 
{Duncan.) An easier test is a solution of corrosive sublimate, which, added to 
the shavings and slightly heated, causes a bluish-green colour in the genuine 
wood. (Ghem. Gaz., No. 80, Feb. 1846.) Guaiacum wood is almost without 
smell unless rubbed or heated, when it becomes odorous. When burnt it emits 
an agreeable odour. It is bitterish and slightly pungent, but requires to be 
chewed for some time before the taste is developed. It contains, according to 
Trommsdorff, 26 per cent, of resin, and 0'8 of a bitter pungent extractive, upon 
both of which, probably, though chiefly on the former, its medicinal virtues de- 
pend. (See Guaiaci Resina.) It yields its virtues but partially to water. One 
pound of the wood afforded to Geiger two ounces of extract. In this extract 
M. Thierry discovered a volatilizable acid, which he considered peculiar, and 
named guaiacic acid (acide gayacique). He obtained it by treating the extract 
with ether, evaporating the liquid, and carefully subliming the residue. The acid 
condenses in small, brilliant needles. If the heat be pushed too far, an oil is 
also produced which colours the crystals. He procured the same acid from the 
guaiac of the shops. (Journ. de Pharm., xxvii. 381.) According to Jahn, how- 
ever, this substance is nothing more than benzoic acid, rendered impure by 
adhering volatile oil and resin. (Pharm. Central Platt, 1843, p. 309.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Guaiacum wood ranks among the stimulant 
diaphoretics. It is said to have been introduced to the notice of European prac- 
titioners by the natives of Hispaniola, soon after the discovery of America. It 
was used in Europe so early as 1508, and attained great celebrity as a remedy 
for lues venerea; but more extended experience has proved it to be wholly in- 
adequate to the cure of that disease; and it is now employed simply to palliate 
the secondary symptoms, or to assist the operation of other and more efficient 
remedies. It is thought to be useful also in chronic rheumatism and gout, scro- 
fula, certain cutaneous eruptions, oztena, and other protracted diseases dependent 
on a depraved or vitiated condition of the system. It is usually exhibited in 
decoction, and in combination with other medicines, as in the compound decoc- 
tion of sarsaparilla. As but a small proportion of the guaiac contained in it is 
soluble in water, the probability is that its virtues have been greatly overrated, 
and that the good which has followed its employment resulted rather from the 
more active medicines with which it is associated, or from the attendant regi- 
men, than from the wood itself. The simple decoction may be prepared by boib part I. 
Guaiaci Lignum.—Guaiaci Resina. 
429 
ing an ounce in a pint and a half of water down to a pint, the whole of which 
may be administered in divided doses during the twenty-four hours. An aque- 
ous extract is directed by the French Codex. 
Off. Prep. Decoctum Sarsae Compositum, Br.; Decoctum Sarsaparillse Comp , 
U. S.; Syrupus Sarsaparillse Comp., U. S. W. 
GUAIACI RESINA. U.S.,Br. 
Guaiac. 
The concrete juice of Guaiacum officinale. U. S. The resin obtained from the 
stem by natural exudation, by incisions, or by heat. Br. 
Ursine de gayac, Fr.; Guajakkarz, Germ.; Resina de guajaco, Ital.; Resina de guayaeo, 
Span. 
For a description of Guaiacum officinale, see GUAIACI LIGNUM. 
Guaiac is the concrete juice of this tree. It is obtained in several different 
modes. The most simple is by spontaneous exudation, or by incisions made into 
the trunk. Another method is by sawing the wood into billets affiout three feet 
long, boring them longitudinally with an auger, then placing one end of the 
billet on the fire, and receiving in a calabash the melted guaiac, which flows out 
through the hole at the opposite extremity. But the plan most frequently pur- 
sued is probably to boil the wood, in the state of chips or sawdust, in a solu- 
tion of common salt, and skim off the matter which rises to the surface. Guaiac 
is brought to this market from the West Indies. It is usually in large irregular 
pieces of various size, in which small fragments of bark, sand, and other impu- 
rities are mixed with the genuine guaiac, so as to give to the mass a diversified 
appearance. Sometimes we find it in small roundish homogeneous portions, sepa- 
rate or agglutinated; sometimes in homogeneous masses, prepared by melting 
and straining the drug in its impure state. It is probable that the guaiac, ob- 
tained from the billets in the manner above described, is of uniform consistence. 
Properties. The masses are of a deep greenish-brown or dark-olive colour 
on their external surface, and internally wherever the air could penetrate. 
The predominant hue of those parts not exposed to the air is reddish-brown or 
hyacinthine, diversified, however, with shades of various colours. The odour is 
feeble but fragrant, and is rendered stronger by heat. The taste, which is at first 
scarcely perceptible, becomes acrid after a short period, and a permanent sense 
of heat and pungency is left in the mouth and fauces. Guaiac is brittle, and 
when broken presents a shining glass-like surface, conchoidal or splintery, with 
the smaller fragments more or less translucent. It is readily pulverized; and 
the powder, at first of a light-gray colour, becomes green on exposure to the light. 
Its sp.gr. varies from 12 to 1-23. It softens in the mouth, and melts with a 
moderate heat. According to Mr. Brande, it consists of 91 per cent, of a pe- 
culiar substance analogous to the resins, and 9 per cent, of extractive. Buchner 
found I9'8 parts of pure resin, and 20T of bark consisting of 16‘5 of lignin, 
1-5 of gum, and 21 of extractive; but he must have operated on the unstrained 
guaiac. An acid discovered by M. Thierry is asserted by Jahn to be benzoic 
acid. Water dissolves a small proportion of guaiac, not exceeding nine parts 
in 100, forming an infusion of a greenish-brown colour and sweetish taste, which, 
upon evaporation, yields a brown substance soluble in hot water and alcohol, 
but scarcely so in ether. Alcohol takes up the whole with the exception of im- 
purities. The tincture is of a deep-brown colour, is decomposed by water, and 
affords blue, green, and brown precipitates with the mineral acids. It is coloured 
blue by nitric acid and by chlorine, and usually by spirit of nitrous ether; and is 
similarly changed when treated successively by dilute hydrocyanic acid, and so- 
lution of sulphate of copper. Either in substance or tincture, guaiac gives a blue Guaiaei Resina. 
PART I. 
colour to gluten and substances containing it, to mucilage of gum arabic, to milk, 
and to various freshly cut roots, as the potato, carrot, and horseradish. It is 
soluble also in ether, alkaline solutions, and sulphuric acid. The solution in sul- 
phuric acid is of a rich claret colour, deposits, when diluted with water, a lilac 
precipitate, and, when heated, evolves charcoal. Exposed to air and light, guaiac 
absorbs oxygen and becomes green, and the change takes place rapidly in the 
sunshine. 
Guaiacin is a name given to the pure resinoid principle of guaiac. It is in- 
soluble in w'ater, but is dissolved readily by alcohol, and less readily by ether. 
It combines with the alkalies, forming soluble compounds, which are decomposed 
by the mineral acids and by several salts. Hence it has been called guaiacic acid. 
It has been obtained in crystals by Prof. Hlasiwetz by first forming a soap with 
potassa, dissolving this in hot solution of potassa, precipitating with muriatic 
acid, washing the precipitated resin, aud then dissolving it in alcohol, which 
yields it crystallized by spontaneous evaporation. (Annal. der Chem. und 
Pharm., cxii. 183.) It differs from most of the resins in being converted by 
nitric acid into oxalic acid instead of artificial tannin. It is also peculiar in the 
changes of colour, already alluded to, which it undergoes under the influence of 
various reagents. By nitric acid and chlorine it is made to assume successively 
a green, blue, and brown colour. These changes are ascribed by Mr. Braude to 
the absorption of oxygen, which forms variously coloured compounds according 
to the quantity absorbed. M. Kossman considers guaiacin to be a glucoside, 
having, by heating it with dilute sulphuric acid, succeeded in converting it into 
glucose, and a peculiar principle which he names gaiaretine. {Journ. de Pharm., 
Aout, 18G0, p. 83.) According to Jahn, guaiac resin consists of three distinct 
bodies, viz.: 1. a soft resin soluble in ether and ammonia, and constituting 18 J 
per cent.; 2. another soft resin, soluble in ether, but with difficulty dissolved by 
ammonia, amounting to 58‘3 per cent.; and 3. a hard resin, insoluble in ether, 
but soluble in ammonia, in the quantity of 11‘3 per cent. The same chemist 
found in guaiac traces of benzoic acid, and 11’7 per cent, of impurities. {Pharm. 
Cent. Blalt, 1843, p. 317.)* 
It will be inferred, from what has been said, that the mineral acids are incom- 
patible with the solutions of guaiac. 
This drug is sometimes adulterated with the resin of the pine. The fraud may 
be detected by the terebinthinate odour exhaled when the sophisticated guaiac 
is thrown upon burning coals, as well as by its partial solubility in hot oil of 
turpentine. This liquid dissolves resin, but leaves pure guaiac untouched. Amber 
is said to be another adulteration. Nitric acid affords an excellent test of guaiac. 
If paper moistened with the tincture be exposed to the fumes of this acid, it 
speedily becomes blue. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Guaiac is stimulant and alterative, producing, 
when swallowed, a sense of warmth in the stomach, with dryness of the mouth 
and thirst, and promoting various secretions. If given to a patient wrhen covered 
warm in bed, especially if accompanied with opium and ipecacuanha or the anti- 
monials, and assisted by warm drinks, it often excites profuse perspiration; and 
hence has been usually ranked among the diaphoretics. If the patient be kept 
cool during its administration, it is sometimes directed to the kidneys, the action 
* By the destructive distillation of guaiac, Unverdorben obtained two volatile oils; one 
heavier than water, and variously called pyrogayic acid, gayacol, and hydrurct of gayacyl, 
the last of which names was given by MM. Pelletier and Deville, who determined its re- 
semblance to creasote; the other called by Voelkel, who has particularly investigated it, 
gdyol, and having an odour which recalls that of bitter almonds. (Journ. de Pharm., Mr.i, 
1854, p. 396.) Ebermayer has obtained, by the. dry distillation of the same resiD a crys- 
tallized product which lie calls pyroguaiacine. (Chern. Gaz., Oct. 16, 1854, p.386.)- Note to 
the eleventh edition. PART I. 
(xuaiaci Resina.—Gutta-percha. 
431 
of which it promotes. In large doses it purges; and it is thought by some prac- 
titioners to be possessed of emmenagogue powers. The complaint in which it 
has been found most beneficial is rheumatism. In the declining stages of the 
acute form of this disease, after due depletion, it is given in combination with 
opium, ipecacuanha, nitre, and the antimonials; and in the chronic form is fre- 
quently useful without accompaniment. It is also advantageously prescribed in 
gouty affections, and is occasionally used in secondary syphilis, scrofulous dis- 
eases, and cutaneous eruptions; though the guaiacum wood is more frequently 
resorted to in these latter complaints. It was much relied upon by the late Dr. 
Dewees in the cure of amenorrhoea and dysmenorrheea. Dr. D. Lewis has found 
it useful in the hay-fever, given at bedtime, for six successive nights, in the dose 
of twenty grains, in a cup of warm tea. Dr. James Jackson, of Boston, recom- 
mends it occasionally as a laxative, in the dos,e of a drachm. {Letters to a Young 
Physician, p. 291.) 
The medicine is given in substance or tincture. The dose of the powder is 
from ten to thirty grains, which may be exhibited in pill or bolus, or in the shape 
of an emulsion formed with gum arabic, sugar, and water. An objection to the 
form of powder is that it quickly aggregates. Guaiac is sometimes administered 
in combination with alkalies, with which it readily unites. Several European 
Pharmacopoeias direct a soap of guaiac, under the name of sapo guaiacinus, 
to be prepared by diluting the Liquor Potassae with twice its weight of water, 
boiling lightly, then adding guaiac gradually, with continued agitation, so long 
as it continues to be dissolved, and finally filtering, and evaporating to the pilular 
consistence. One scruple may be taken daily in divided doses. 
Off. Prep. Mistura Guaiaci, Br.; Pilulse Antimonii Composite, U. S.; Pilula 
Calomelanos Composita, Br.; Tinctura Guaiaci, U. S.; Tinctura Guaiaci Am- 
moniata. W. 
GUTTA-PERCHA. U.S. 
Gutta-percha. 
The concrete juice of Isonandra gutta. (Hooker, Loudon's Journal of Bot- 
any, 1848.) U. S. 
This valuable product of the East Indies was first brought into notice by Dr. 
Win. Montgomerie, a British army surgeon, who became acquainted with its 
singular properties in the year 1842, at Singapore, and in the following year 
sent specimens of it'to Europe. It is the product of a large tree growing in the 
southern extremity of the Malayan Peninsula, the island of Singapore, Borneo, 
and probably many other islands in the neighbourhood. This tree belongs to 
the Linnasan class and order Decandria Monogynia, natural family Sapotaceoe, 
and genus'Isonandra of Dr. Wight, and has received the name of Isonandra 
gutta. It is of considerable magnitude, with a trunk commonly three feet, and 
sometimes as much as six feet in diameter, having numerous ascending branches, 
which are crowded with leaves at their extremities. The flowers are small and 
white; the leaves petiolate, oblong, four or five inches long by two in breadth, 
briglit-green above and brownish beneath.* 
Dr. Montgomerie states that the natives procure the gutta percha by the very 
wasteful mode of cutting down the tree, stripping off the bark, and then collecting 
the milky juice, which is put into convenient recipients, and coagulates on expo- 
sure to the air. Twenty or thirty pounds are thus collected from each tree; but 
* A product analogous to gu+ta percha is said to be produced by a tree, Sapota Mulleri, 
growing in great abundance in Dutch Guiana in S. America. It is classed at Amsterdam 
among the best kinds from the East Indies. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e s£r., xxxii. 437.)—Note 
to the twelfth edition. Gutta-perclia. 
PART I. 
the probability is that the product would be much greater if obtained by tapping 
the tree, and thus preserving it for future use. In consequence of the abundance 
in which it is collected, and the wasteful methods pursued, fears are entertained 
that the tree will before long be extirpated. Large quantities of gutta percha are 
now imported into Europe and this country. As found in commerce it is generally 
impure, containing fragments of vegetable matter and earth. From tnese it may 
be freed by kneading it in hot water, or by melting it with oil of turpentine, 
straining, and evaporating. It may also be purified by means of chloroform. One 
part of gutta percha cut into small pieces, put into a flask with 20 parts of chlo- 
roform, and frequently shaken, will be fully dissolved in two or three days. To 
this solution, which cannot be readily filtered, add one-fourth of a part of water, 
shaking the mixture, and then allowing it to rest for two weeks. The impurities 
rise or sink, and the clear intervening liquid yields pure gutta percha by the dis- 
tillation of the chloroform. (Chem. Cent. Blatt, Feb. 1857, p. 108.)* 
Properties. Gutta percha is of a dull-white or whitish colour, of a feeble odour, 
tasteless, at ordinary temperatures hard and almost horny, somewhat flexible 
in thin pieces, having an unctuous feel under the fingers, and very tenacious. Its 
sp.gr. is 0’9791. (Soubeiran.) At about 120° F., it becomes softer and more 
flexible, but is still elastic, resisting, and tenacious. At 150° or 160°, it is soft, 
very plastic, and capable of being welded and moulded into any form. It is thus 
softened, whether by means of hot water or by dry heat. On cooling it reas- 
sumes its former state, and retains any form which may have been given to it. In 
the softened state it is readily cut with a knife, though with some difficulty when 
cold. Exposed to a heat of 330° it loses a portion of water, and on hardening 
becomes translucent and gray; but it recovers its original characters if im- 
mersed in water. Subjected to igneous distillation, it yields volatile products, 
resembling closely the volatile oil obtained from caoutchouc by the same pro- 
cess. Heated in an open vessel, it melts, foams up, and takes fire, burning with 
a brilliant flame and smoke. A portion thus melted retains the state of a viscid 
fluid on cooling. Gutta percha is a non-conductor of electricity. It is insoluble 
in water, alcohol, alkaline solutions, and the weak acids. Ether and the volatile 
oils soften it in the cold, and imperfectly dissolve it with the aid of heat. Oil 
of turpentine dissolves it perfectly, forming a clear colourless solution, which 
yields it unchanged by evaporation. It is also dissolved by bisulphuret of carbon, 
chloroform, and benzole. According to Soubeiran, it contains, besides pure gutta 
percha, small portions of a vegetable acid, casein, and two resins, one soluble in 
ether and oil of turpentine, the other in alcohol. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., xi. 
22.) Freed from these impurities, it has an ultimate composition closely analo- 
gous if not identical with that of caoutchouc. For a particular account of the 
distinctive properties of pure gutta percha, and the two resins mixed with it, the 
reader is referred to an article by M. Payen, in the Journ. de Pharm. (3e ser., 
xxii. 183), also in the Chem. Gaz. (x. 353). According to Baumhauer, pure 
gutta percha, as it issues from the tree, is a carbohydrogen, with the formula 
which he calls gutta, and by the oxidation of which in various degrees, 
the different bodies constituting gutta percha are produced. This carbohydrogen 
can be separated by treating gutta percha with dilute muriatic acid, and boiling the 
residue with ether, which deposits the gutta on cooling; but the ethereal treat- 
ment must be frequently repeated to obtain it quite pure. {Journ. fur prakt. 
Chem., Ixxviii. 279.) M. Arppe considers gutta percha as a mixture of six dif- 
* A more satisfactory method is probably by dissolving one part of gutta percha in twenty 
of boiling benzole, shaking the solution frequently with sulphate of lime, which upon 
standing two or three days carries down with it the colouring matter, then decanting the 
clear liquid, and adding it, in small portions at a time, to alcohol, agitating continually. 
During this process the gutta percha is deposited perfectly white. To dry it thoroughly 
requires an exposure of several Aveeks; but the result may be hastened by rubbing in a 
mortar. {Journ. de Pharm., Aout, 18G3, p. 138.)—Note to the twelfth edition. part I. 
Gutta-percha. 
433 
ferent resins, which may have been formed from a carbohydrogen C10HS. (See 
Chem. Gaz., ix. 471.) This vegetable product resists putrefaction strongly; but 
in certain situations, as when employed to protect underground telegraph wires 
passing near the roots of the oak, it has been observed to undergo speedy de- 
composition, in consequence, as is supposed, of the action of fungi arising from 
sporules generated in such exposures. (Pharm. Journ., xvii. 193.) 
Gutta percha has been applied to many useful and ornamental purposes. Its 
plasticity when moderately heated, great firmness and tenacity at ordinary tem- 
peratures, and insolubility in water and alcohol, are the properties to which it 
chiefly owes its value. By immersing it in hot water, it is made susceptible of 
being formed into any desirable shape; so-that utensils of various kinds, orna- 
mental impressions, casts, sheets, bands, cords, sticks, tubes, &c., applicable to 
numerous purposes in the arts, may be made from it with great facility. To 
give it greater pliability, it is sometimes mixed with the tar resulting from the 
igneous decomposition of caoutchouc, or with its own tar, and lampblack. It 
may be vulcanized, in the same manner as caoutchouc, and undergoes a similar 
change of properties. (See Caoutchouc.) In the dissolved state it may be em- 
ployed as a varnish, impervious to moisture. 
Medical Uses. Gutta percha has been introduced into surgery, in order to pre- 
serve limbs and joints in fixed positions; and has been used beneficially in club- 
foot, fractures, and diseases of the joints. It is employed for these purposes in the 
shape of bands, two or three inches broad and about a line thick, which, being 
softened in water, are applied in this state, and, when they harden, form a firm 
case for the limb. Holes should be made through the bands, for the escape of 
the vapour from the surface. It is also used for the formation of catheters and 
other tubes, splints, stethoscopes, bougies, specula, pessaries, and various other 
instruments, useful in surgery. The author has seen it employed, in the form of 
a bandage, in fracture of the thigh, in the hospital at Edinburgh. Being soft- 
ened by immersion in warm water at the time, it was applied without difficulty; 
and hardening, afterwards, it acted as a splint to the injured limb. Vogel re- 
commends the solution in bisulphuret of carbon as an application to the skin in 
incised wounds. The liquid speedily evaporates, producing a refrigerant effect; 
while the gutta percha hardens, and holds the edges of the wound firmly together. 
According to Mr. Acton, the best substance for protecting the surface from the 
contact of poisons, contagions, &c., is prepared by dissolving with a gentle heat 
a drachm of gutta percha in an ounce of benzole, and ten grains of caoutchouc 
in the same quantity of the same menstruum, and mixing the solutions. It may 
be applied by a brush, and a delicate film is left by the evaporation of the liquid. 
A saturated solution in chloroform is very useful in slight superficial injuries 
and in various chronic affections of the skin. It is applied by means of a camel’s 
hair pencil, and forms, on the evaporation of the solvent, a thin elastic covering, 
which completely excludes the air, and acts like an artificial cuticle to the part. 
The crusts or scales should be previously removed by poultices or alkaline solu- 
tions. The affections in which it has been found most efficacious are the dry 
acaly and tubercular diseases of the skin, especially psoriasis. It has been used 
also to render the variolous eruption abortive. The preparation is now officinal 
under the name of Liquor Gutta-perchee. (See Part II.) Another application 
of gutta percha is to serve as a vehicle of certain caustic substances, particularly 
chloride of zinc, and caustic potassa. The preparation is made by reducing the 
caustic substance to fine powder, and then thoroughly mixing it with its weight 
of gutta percha, melted at the lowest possible temperature. (See Potassa, and 
Zinci Cliloridum.) A great advantage of the preparation is that it may be made 
into any desirable form, and will retain that form without spreading when ap- 
plied. 
Off. Prep. Liquor Gutta-perchae, U. S. W. 434 
Hsematoxylon. 
PART I. 
HiEMATOXYLON. US. 
Logwood. 
The wood of Ilaematoxylon Carapechianum. U. S. 
Off. Syn. ILEMATOXYLUM. Hasinatoxylum Campechianum. The heart- 
wood sliced. Br. 
Bois de Campeche, Fr.; Blutholz, Kampeschenholz, Germ.; Legno di Campeggio, ltal.; 
Palo de Campeche, Span. 
ILematoxylon. Sex. Syst. Decandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Fabaceae or 
Leguminosae. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx five-parted. Petals five. Capsule lanceolate, one-celled, 
two-valved, with the valves boat-form. Willd. 
Hsematoxylon Campechianum. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 547; Woodv. Med. BoL 
p. 455, t. 163; Carson, lllust. of Med. Bot. i. 33, pi. 25. This is a tree of middle 
size, usually not more than twenty-four feet high, though, under favourable cir- 
cumstances, it sometimes rises forty or fifty feet. The trunk, seldom exceeding 
twenty inches in diameter, is often very crooked, and is covered with a dark 
rough bark. The branches are also crooked, with numerous smaller ramifica- 
tions, which are beset with sharp spines. The sap-wood is yellowish, but the 
interior layers are of a deep-red colour. The leaves are alternate, abruptly pin- 
nate, and composed of three or four pairs of sessile, nearly obcordate, obliquely 
nerved leaflets. The flowers, which are in axillary spikes or racemes near the 
ends of the branches, have a brownish-purple calyx and lemon-yellow petals. 
They exhale an agreeable odour, said to resemble that of the jonquil. 
The tree is a native of Campeachy, the shores of Honduras Bay, and other 
parts of tropical America; and has become naturalized in Jamaica. The wood, 
which is the part used in medicine, is a valuable article of commerce, and largely 
employed in dyeing. It comes to us in logs, deprived of the sap-wood, and 
having a blackish-brown colour externally. For medical use it is cut into 
chips, or rasped into coarse powder, and in these states is kept in the shops. 
Properties. Logwood is hard, compact, heavy, of a deep-red colour becoming 
dark by exposure, of a slight peculiar odour, and a sweet, somewhat astringent 
taste. It imparts its colour to water and to alcohol. The infusion made with 
cold water, though red, is less so than that with boiling water. It affords pre- 
cipitates with sulphuric, nitric, muriatic, and acetic acids, alum, sulphate of 
copper, acetate of lead, and sulphate of iron, striking a bluish-black colour with 
the last-mentioned salt. {Thomson'1 s Dispensatory.) Precipitates are also pro- 
duced with it by lime-water and gelatin. Chevreul found in logwrood a volatile 
oil, an oleaginous or resinous matter, a brown substance the solution of which is 
pi’ecipitated by gelatin {tannin), another brown substance soluble in alcohol but 
insoluble in water or ether, an azotized substance resembling gluten, free acetic 
acid, various salts, and a peculiar principle, called hematoxylin or hematin, on 
which the colouring properties of the wood depend. This is obtained by digest- 
ing the aqueous extract in alcohol, evaporating the tincture till it thickens, then 
adding a little water, and submitting the liquid to a new but gentle evaporation. 
Upon allowing it to rest, hematoxylin is deposited in crystals, wrhich may be 
purified by washing with alcohol and drying. Thus procured, the crystals are 
shining, of a yellowish rose colour, bitterish, acrid, and slightly astringent to 
the taste, readily soluble in boiling water, forming an orange-red solution which 
becomes yellow on cooling, and soluble also in alcohol and ether. According to 
Erdman, who obtained hematoxylin by the process of Chevreul, substituting 
ether for alcohol, its crystals, when quite pure, are yellow without a tinge of 
redness; its taste is sweet like that of liquorice, without bitterness or astrin- 
gency; and it is not of itself a colouring substance, but affords beautiful red, part I. 
Hsematoxylon.—Hedeoma. 
435 
blue, and purple colours, by the joint action of an alkaline base and the oxyget: 
of the air. It consists of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. ( Bourn. de Pharm., 
3e ser., ii. 293.) Its formula in crystals is given as CS2HmO 2+2HO, or C HU 
012+6HO, according to the amount of its water of crystallization. ( Ghem. Gaz. 
June 15, 1859, p. 227.) It is sometimes found iu distinct crystals in the crevices 
of the wood. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Logwood is a mild astringent, devoid of irri- 
tating properties, and well adapted to the treatment of that relaxed condition 
of bowels which is apt to succeed cholera infantum. It is also occasionally used 
with advantage in ordinary chronic diarrhoea and chronic dysentery. It may be 
given in decoction or extract. 
Off. Prep. Decoctum Heematoxyli; Extractum Hsematoxyli. W 
HEDEOMA. U.S. 
Hedeoma. American Pennyroyal. 
Herb of Hedeoma pulegioides. U. S. 
This herb, first attached to the genus Melissa, and afterwards to Cunila, is 
at present universally considered by botanists as belonging to the Hedeoma of 
Persoon. It has been very erroneously confounded by some with Mentha Pule- 
gium, or European pennyroyal. 
Hedeoma. Sex. Syst. Diandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Lamiaceae or La- 
biatae. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx bilabiate, gibbous at the base, upper lip three-toothed, lower 
two; dentures all subulate. Corolla ringent. Stamens two, sterile; the two 
fertile stamens about the length of the corolla. Nuttall. 
Hedeoma pulegioides. Barton, Med. Bot. ii. 165. — Cunila pulegioides. 
Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 122. This is an indigenous annual plant, from nine to fifteen 
inches high, with a small, branching, fibrous, yellowish root, and a pubescent 
stem, which sends off numerous slender erect branches. The leaves are opposite, 
oblong-lanceolate or oval, nearly acute, attenuated at the base, remotely serrate, 
rough or pubescent, and prominently veined on the under surface. The flowers 
are very small, pale-blue, supported on short peduncles, and arranged in axillary 
whorls along the whole length of the branches. The plant is common in all 
parts of the United States, preferring dry grounds, and, where abundant, scent- 
ing the air for a considerable distance with its grateful odour. 
Both in the recent and dried state it has a pleasant aromatic smell, and a 
warm, pungent, mint-like taste. It readily imparts its virtues to boiling water. 
The volatile oil upon which they depend may be separated by distillation, and 
employed instead of the herb itself. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Pennyroyal is a gently stimulant aromatic, 
and may be given in flatulent colic and sick stomach, or to qualify the action of 
other medicines. Like most of the aromatic herbs, it possesses the property, when 
administered in warm infusion, of promoting perspiration, and of exciting the 
menstrual flux when the system is predisposed to the effort. Hence it is much 
used as an emmenagogue in popular practice, and frequently with success. A 
large draught of the warm tea is given at bedtime, in recent cases of suppres- 
sion of the menses, the feet having been previously, bathed in warm water. 
Off. Prep. Oleum Hedeomae, U. S. W 436 
Helianthemum.—Helleborus. 
PART I. 
HELIANTHEMUM. U.S. Secondary. 
Frostwort. 
The heib of Heliantheraura Canadense. U. S. 
Helianthemum. Sex. Syst. Poljandria Monogynia.— Nat. Ord. Cistaceae. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx five-leaved, the two exterior sepals bract-like, smaller, or 
wanting. Petals five, rarely three, sometimes abortive. Stigma capitate, some- 
times subsessile. Capsule triangular, three-valved, with the dissepiments in th 
middle of the valves. Seeds angular. 
Helianthemum Canadense. Michaux, Flor. i. 308; Torrey & Gray, Flor. of 
N. Am. i. 151. — Cistus Canadensis. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1199. The frost- 
wort, frost-weed, or rock rose, as this plant is variously called, is an herbaceous 
perennial, from six to eighteen inches high, with a slender, rigid, pubescent 
stem, oblong, somewhat lanceolate leaves about an inch in length, and large 
yellow flowers, the calyx and peduncles of which, as well as the branches, are 
covered with a white down. The flowers which first appear are terminal, few or 
solitary, large, on short peduncles, with erosely eraarginate petals about twice 
as long as the calyx. Later in the season, or on different plants, other flowers 
appear, very small, axillary, solitary or somewhat clustered, nearly sessile, some- 
times destitute of petals, and usually wanting the two outer sepals of the calyx. 
The fruit is a capsule, smooth and shining, with brown, scabrous, punctate seeds. 
Eaton states that, in the months of November and December, he has seen hun- 
dreds of these plants sending out, near the roots, broad, thin, curved ice crys- 
tals, about an inch in breadth, which melted in the day, and were renewed in the 
morning. (Manual of Botany, 1th ed., p. 246.) 
Frostwort grows in all parts of the United States, preferring dry sandy soils, 
and flowering in June in the Middle States. 
Medical Properties and Uses. The herb has an astringent, slightly aromatic, 
and bitterish taste; and appears to possess tonic and astringent properties. 
Attention has only recently been attracted to it as a medicine. We have been 
told that it was first introduced into regular practice by Dr. Ives, of New Haven, 
Connecticut, who considers it a valuable remedy in scrofula. The late Dr. Isaac 
Parrish, of Philadelphia, informed us that he had employed it with much appa- 
rent benefit, as an internal remedy, in scrofulous affections of the eyes. In a 
pamphlet upon the frost-weed, by Dr. D. A. Tyler, published at New Haven, 
A. D. 1846, it is stated that II. corymbosum possesses similar properties, and is 
indiscriminately employed with H. Canadense. He found both useful in scrofula, 
diarrhoea, and secondary syphilis, and locally as a gargle in scarlatina, and a 
wash in prurigo. The plant has been used in the forms of powder, decoction, 
tincture, and syrup; and may be given freely with impunity. Dr. Tyler, how- 
ever, has known the strong decoction and the extract to produce vomiting. He 
considers two grains of the latter as a full dose for an adult. W. 
IIELLEBORUS. U. S. 
Black Hellebore. 
Root of Helleborus niger. U. S. 
E116bore noire, Fr.; Schwarze Niesswurzel, Germ.; Elleboro nero, Ttal.; Ileleboro negro, 
Span. 
Hellebores. Sex. Syst. Polyandria Polygynia.—Nat. Ord. Ranunculacese. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx none. Petals five or more. Nectaries bilabiate tubular. 
Capsules many-seeded, nearly erect. Willd. PART I. 
Hellcborus. 
437 
Helleborus niger. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1336; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 473, t. 
169; Carson, Illust. of Med. Bot. i. 8, pi. 1. The root or rhizoraa of the black 
hellebore is perennial, knotted, blackish on the outside, white within, and sends 
off numerous long, simple, depending fibres, which are brownish-yellow when 
fresh, but become dark-brown upon drying. The leaves are pedate, of a deep- 
green colour, and stand on long footstalks which spring immediately from the 
root. Each leaf is composed of five or more leaflets, one terminal, and two, 
three, or four on each side, supported on a single partial petiole. The leaflets 
are ovate-lanceolate, smooth, shining, coriaceous, and serrated in their upper 
portion. The flower-stem, which also rises from the root, is six or eight inches 
high, round, tapering, and reddish towards the base, and bears one or two large, 
pendent, rose-like flowers, accompanied with floral leaves, which supply the place 
of the calyx. The petals, five in number, are large, roundish, concave, spreading, 
and of a white or pale-rose colour, with occasionally a greenish tinge. There 
are two varieties of the plant—humilifolius and altifolius—in the former of 
which the leaves are shorter than the flower-stem, in the latter longer. It is 
a native of the mountainous regions of southern and temperate Europe, and is 
found in Greece, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, France, and Spain. It is cultivated 
in gardens for the beauty of its flowers, which expand in the middle of winter, 
and have thus given it the name of Christmas rose. 
Till the publication of Tournefort’s travels in the Levant, this plant was re- 
garded as identical with the hellebore of the ancient Greeks and Romans. But 
in the island of Anticyra, and various parts of continental Greece, in which it 
appears from the testimony of ancient writers that the hellebore abounded, this 
traveller discovered a species entirely distinct from those before described, and 
particularly from H. niger. He called it H. orientalis, and reasonably inferred 
that it was the true hellebore of the ancients; and botanists at present generally 
coincide in this opinion. But, as H.niger is also found in some parts of Greece, 
it is not impossible that the two plants were indiscriminately used. It is, indeed, 
highly probable that they possess similar properties; and a third, H. viridis, 
which grows in the west of Europe, is said to be frequently substituted for H. 
niger, which it closely resembles, if it does not equal in medicinal power. The 
roots of various other plants, not belonging to the same genus, are said to be 
frequently substituted for the black hellebore. They may usually be readily dis- 
tinguished by attending to the characters of the genuine root.* 
* The following minute description of the root, which we translate from Geiger’s Hand- 
buck dcr Pharmacie, may, perhaps, be useful in enabling the druggist to distinguish this 
from other analogous roots, mingled with or substituted for it in commerce. “It is usually 
a many-headed root, with a caudex or body half an inch thick or less, seldom thicker, and 
several inches long, horizontal, sometimes variously contorted, uneven, knotty, with trans- 
verse ridges, slightly striated longitudinally, presenting on its upper surface the short re- 
mains of the leaf and flower stalks, and thickly beset upon the sides and under surfaoe 
with fibres of the thickness of a straw, and from six to twelve inches long. These are 
undivided above, but, at the distance of from two to six inches from their origin, are fur- 
nished with small, slender branches. The colour of the root is dark-brown, sometimes 
rather light-brown, dull, and for the most part exhibiting a gray, earthy tinge. Internally 
it is whitish, with a somewhat darker pith, which, when cut transversely, shows lighter 
converging rays. Sometimes it is porous. It has a medullary or fleshy, not a ligneous 
consistence. The fibres, when dried, are wrinkled, very brittle, sometimes grayish inter- 
nally, horny, with a white point in the centre. The odour of the dried root is feeble, some- 
what like that of seneka, but more nauseous, especially when it is rubbed with water. The 
taste is at first sweetish, then nauseously acrid and biting, but not very durable, and slightly 
bitterish.” (Ilandbuch, ii. s. 1181.) 
A root said to be not unfrequently substituted for or mixed with the genuine, and often 
to be met with in the shops of this country, is thought to be that of the Aclzea spicata of 
Europe. This has been particularly described by Dr. Carson in the American Journal of 
Pharmacy (xx. 163). The points of difference upon which that writer especially insists are 
the diffuse, jointed, stem-like character of the caudex of the false root, the straggling, sc- 438 
Uelleborus. 
PART I. 
The medicine of which we are treating is sometimes called melampodium, in 
honour of Melampus, an ancient shepherd or physician, who is said to have 
cured the daughters of King Prsetus by giving them the milk of goats which 
had been fed on hellebore. 
Properties. Though the whole root is kept in the shops, the fibres are the 
portion usually recommended. They are about as thick as a straw, when not 
broken from four inches to a foot in length, smooth, brittle, externally black or 
deep-brown, internally white or yellowish-white, with little smell, and a bitterish, 
nauseous, acrid taste. In their recent state they are extremely acrimonious, pro- 
ducing on the tongue a burning and benumbing impression, like that which re- 
sults from taking hot liquids into the mouth. This acrimony is diminished by 
drying, and still further impaired by age. MM. Feneulle aud Capron obtained 
from black hellebore a volatile oil, an acrid fixed oil, a resinous substance, wax, 
a volatile acid, bitter extractive, gum, albumen, gallate of potassa, supergallate 
of lime, a salt of ammonia, and woody fibre. Mr. William Bastick discovered 
a peculiar crystalline principle, which he proposed to call helleborin. It was 
obtained by diluting with water a strong tincture of the root, expelling the 
alcohol by heat, filtering to separate the resin, adding carbonate of potassa in 
excess, and agitating the mixture with three or four times its volume of ether. 
The ethereal solution was separated, and on evaporation yielded the helleborin, 
which was purified by solution in alcohol, and crystallization. It is in white, 
translucent crystals, of a bitter taste with a tingling effect on the tongue, not 
volatilizable, slightly soluble in water, more so in ether and alcohol, and more 
readily in these liquids hot than cold. Though nitrogenous, it is neither acid 
nor alkaline. It probably exists uncombined in the root. {Pharm. Journ., xii. 
214.) Water and alcohol extract the virtues of the root, which are impaired by 
long boiling. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Black hellebore is a drastic hydragogue ca- 
thartic, possessed of emnieuagogue powers, which by some are ascribed to a 
specific tendency to the uterus, by others are supposed to depend solely on the 
purgative property. In overdoses it produces inflammation of the gastric and 
intestinal mucous membrane, with violent vomiting, hypercatharsis, vertigo, 
cramp, and convulsions, which sometimes end in death. The fresh root applied 
to the skin produces inflammation and even vesication. The medicine was very 
highly esteemed by the ancients, who employed it in mania, melancholy, amen- 
orrhoea, dropsy, epilepsy, various cutaneous affections, and verminose diseases. 
By the earlier modern physicians it was also much used. Backer's pills, cele- 
brated for the cure of dropsy, consisted chiefly of black hellebore. It is at pre- 
sent little employed except as an eramenagogue, in which capacity it is highly 
esteemed by some practitioners. Dr. Meade considered it superior to all other 
medicines belonging to this class. It may be given in substance, extract, decoc- 
tion, or tincture. The dose of the powdered root is from ten to twenty grains 
as a drastic purge, two or three grains as an alterative. The decoction is pre- 
pared by boiling two drachms in a pint of water, of which a fluidounce may be 
given every four hours till it operates. The extract and tincture are officinal. 
Off. Prep. Extractum Hellebori Alcoholicum, U. S.; Tinetura Hellebori, U. S. 
W. 
parated, and horizontal arrangement of the fibres, and their dense, woody structure, and 
reddish-brown colour, contrasted with the thickness, double-headed form, and sponginess 
of the genuine caudex, the close-set, perpendicular position of its fibres, and their wrinkled 
appearance, soft texture, and grayish-brown colour. The transverse section of the fibre of 
the Actaea presents the appearance of a cross, which is not obvious in that of the black 
hellebore, though the central point of this, if closely examined, will be found to present a 
somewhat stellate appearance. In the Pharm. Journ. and Trans for Aug. 1861, 1j. 112, 
Prof. Bentley states that solution of perchloride of iron produces little change of colour and 
little or no precipitation with an infusion of black hellebore, while, with a similar infusion 
of the Actma root, it causes a deep-blue or black colour and a copious precipitate. PART I. 
Hemidesmus.—Hepatica. 
439 
HEMIDESMUS. Br. 
Hemidesmus. Indian Sarsaparilla. 
Hemidesmus Indicus. The root dried. Br. 
Hemidesmus. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Digynia.—Nat. Ord. Asclepiadaceee. 
Gen. Ch. Corolla rotate. Filaments connate at the base, not united above, 
inserted into the tube of the corolla. Anthers cohering separate from the stigma, 
with twenty pollen-masses. Stigma flattish, pointless. 
Hemidesmus Indicus. R. Brown, Hort. Kew. ii. 75; Bindley, Flor. Med. p. 
543. — Periploca Indica. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1251. This is a climbing plant, 
with twining, woody, slender stems, and opposite petiolate leaves, which are en- 
tire, smooth, shining, and of a firm consistence. The leaves vary much in size 
and shape, some being linear and acute, others broad-lanceolate, and others again 
oval or ovate. The flowers are small, green on the outside, purple within, and 
disposed in axillary racemes. The calyx is five-parted, with acute divisions; the 
corolla flat, with oblong, pointed divisions. The fruit consists of two long, 
slender, spreading follicles. 
This plant is common over the whole peninsula of Hindostan. The officinal 
portion is the root, which has long been used in India as a substitute for sarsa- 
parilla. It is .long, slender, tortuous, cylindrical, and little branched, consisting 
of a ligneous centre, and a brownish, corky bark, marked with longitudinal fur- 
rows and transverse fissures. It has an aromatic odour and bitter taste. Mr. 
Garden obtained from it a peculiar volatilizable acid principle, which he named 
smilasperic acid, under the erroneous impression that the root wras derived from 
Smilax aspera. Pereira proposed to call it hemidesmic acid. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Indian sarsaparilla is said to be tonic, diuretic, 
and alterative. It was introduced into Great Britian from India, and was em- 
ployed for some time under the name of smilax aspera. It is used for the same 
purposes as sarsaparilla. In some instances it is said to have proved successful 
in syphilis when that medicine had failed; but it cannot be relied on. The na- 
tive practitioners in India are said to employ it in nephritic complaints, and in 
the sore-mouth of children. It is used in the form of infusion or decoction, 
made in the proportion of two ounces of the root to a pint of water. A pint 
may be given, in wineglassful doses, in the course of the day. A syrup is directed 
in the British Pharmacopoeia. (See Syrupus Hemidesmi.) 
Off. Prep. Syrupus Hemidesmi, Br. W. 
HEPATICA. U. S. Secondary. 
Liverwort. 
The leaves of Hepatica Americana. U. S. 
Hepatica. Sex. Syst. Polyandria Polygynia. — Nat. Ord. Ranunculaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx three-leaved. Petals six to nine. Seeds naked. Nuttall.' 
Hepatica Americana. De Cand.; Eaton, Manual o f Botany, p. 241.—H. 
triloba. Willd. Enum.; figured in Rafinesque’s Med. Flor. i. 238. Botanists 
generally admit but one species of Hepatica, H. triloba, and consider as acci- 
dental the difference of structure and colour observable in the plant. Pursh 
speaks of two varieties, one with the lobes of the leaf oval and acute, the other 
jvith the lobes rounded and obtuse. These are considered as distinct species by 
De Candolle, and the latter is the one adopted by the Pharmacopoeia, and 
popularly employed as a medicine in this country, under the name of liverwort. 
Both have a perennial fibrous root, with three-lobed leaves, cordate at their 440 
Hepatica.—Heuchera. 
PART I. 
base, (OtiVeous, nearly smooth, glaucous and purplish beneath, and supported 
upon hairy footstalks from four to eight inches long, which spring directly from 
the root. The scapes or flower-stems are several in number, of the same length 
with the petioles, round, hairy, and terminating in a single white, bluish, or pur- 
plish flower. The calyx is at a little distance below the corolla, and is con- 
sidered by some an involucre, while the corolla takes the name of the calyx. In 
H. acutiloba the leaves are cordate, with from three to five entire, acute lobes; 
and the leaflets of the calyx are acute. In H. Americana the leaves are cordate- 
reniform, with three entire, roundish, obtuse lobes; and the leaflets of the calyx 
are obtuse. Both are indigenous, growing in woods upon the sides of hills and 
mountains; the former, according to Eaton, preferring the northern, the latter 
the southern exposure. The leaves resist the cold of the winter, and the flowers 
make their appearance early in spring. The whole plant is used. 
It is without smell, and has a mucilaginous, somewhat astringent, slightly 
bitterish taste. Water extracts all its active properties. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Liverwort is a very mild, demulcent tonic and 
astringent, supposed by some to possess diuretic and deobstruent virtues. It 
was formerly used in Europe in various complaints, especially chronic hepatic 
affections, but has fallen into entire neglect. In this country, some years since, 
it acquired considerable popular reputation, which, however, it has not main- 
tained, as a remedy in haemoptysis and chronic coughs. It may be used in 
infusion, and taken ab libitum. The term liverwort properly belongs to the 
cryptogamous genus Marchantia. W. 
HEUCHERA. U. S. Secondary. 
Alum-root. 
The root of Heuchera Americana. U. S. 
Heuchera. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Digynia. — Nat. Ord. Saxifragaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx five-cleft. Petals five, small. Capsule bi-rostrate, bi-locular, 
many-seeded. Nuttall. 
Heuchera Americana. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1328; Barton, Med. Bot. ii. 159. 
— H. cortusa. Michaux, Flor. Boreal. Am. i. 171. — H.viscida. Pursh, Flor. 
Am. Sept. p. 187. The alum-root or American sanicle is a perennial, herba- 
ceous plant, the leaves of which are all radical, petiolate, cordate, with rounded 
lobes, furnished with obtuse mucronate teeth. There is no proper stem; but 
numerous scapes or flower-stems are sent up by the same root, from one to three 
feet in height, very hairy in their upper part, and terminating in long, loose, 
pyramidal, dichotomous panicles. The calyx is small, with obtuse segments; 
the petals lanceolate, rose-coloured, and of the same length with the calyx; the 
filaments much longer, yellowish, and surmounted by small, red, globose anthers. 
The whole plant is covered with a viscid pubescence. 
It is found in shady, rocky situations, from New England to Carolina, and 
flowers in June and July. The root, which is officinal, is horizontal, somewhat 
c-ontpressed, knotty, irregular, yellowish, and of a strongly styptic taste. 
Medical Properties. Alum-root is powerfully astringent, and may be em- 
ployed in similar cases with other medicines belonging to the same class. It has 
hitherto, however, been little used. We are informed, in Dr. Barton’s “Collec- 
tions,” that it is applied by the Indians to wounds and obstinate ulcers, and that 
it is the basis of a powder which, when the author wrote, enjoyed some reputa- 
tion as a cure for cancer. Mr. Frederick Stearns, in a report to the Am. Phar- 
maceutical Association in reference to the medicinal plants of Michigan (Pro- 
ceedings, A. D. 1858, p. 263), speaks of two other species, H. caulescens and 
H. pubescens, as having similar properties. W. PART I. 
Hirudo 
441 
HIRUDO. Br. 
The Leech. 
Sanguisuga officinalis, and S. medicinalis. Br. 
Sangsue, Fr.; Blutegal, Germ ; Mignatta, Ital.; Sauguijuela, Span. 
Hirudo. Class 1, Annelides. Order 3, Abranchiatae. Family 2, Asetigerse. 
Cuvier. 
The leech belongs to that class of invertebrated articulated animals called 
Annelides. This class contains the worms with red blood, having soft retractile 
bodies composed of numerous segments or rings, breathing generally by means 
of branchiae, with a nervous system consisting in a double knotted cord, desti- 
tute of feet, and supplying their place by the contractile power of their segments 
or rings. The third order of this class — Abranchiates — comprehends those 
worms which have no apparent external organ of respiration. This order is 
again divided into two families, to the second of which — the Asetigerse, or those 
not having setae to enable them to crawl — the leech belongs. 
It is an aquatic worm with a flattened body, tapering towards each end, and 
terminating in circular flattened disks, the hinder one being the larger of the 
two. It swims with a vertical undulating motion, and moves when out of the 
water by means of these disks or suckers, fastening itself first by one and then by 
the other, and alternately stretching out and contracting its body. The mouth 
is placed in the centre of the anterior disk, and is furnished with three cartila- 
ginous lens-shaped jaws at the entrance of the alimentary canal. These jaws are 
lined at their edges with fine sharp teeth, and meet so as to make a triangular 
incision in the flesh. The head is furnished with small raised points, supposed 
by some to be eyes. Respiration is carried on through small apertures ranged 
along the inferior surface. The nervous system consists of a cord extending 
the whole length, furnished with numerous ganglions. The intestinal canal is 
straight, and terminates in the anus, near the posterior disk. Although herma- 
phrodite, leeches mutally impregnate each other. They are oviparous, and the 
eggs, varying from six to fifteen, are contained in a sort of spongy, slimy cocoon, 
from half an inch to an inch in diameter. These are deposited near the edge of 
the water, and hatched by the heat of the sun. The leech is torpid during the 
winter, and casts off from time to time a thick slimy coating from its skin. It 
can live a considerable time in sphagnous moss, or in moistened earth, and is 
frequently transported in this manner to great distances by the dealers. 
Savigny has divided the genus Hirudo of Linnaeus into several genera. The 
true leech is the Sanguisuga of this author, and is characterized by its three len- 
ticular jaws, each armed with two rows of teeth, and by having ten ocular points. 
Several species are used for medical purposes, of which the most common are 
the gray and the green leech of Europe, both of which are varieties of the Hirudo 
medicinalis of Linnaeus; and the Hirudo decora of this country. 
1. Hirudo medicinalis. Linn. Ed. Gmel. i. 3095. — Sanguisuga officinalis. 
Savigny, Mon. Hir. p. 112, t. 5, f. 1. The green leech. — Sanguisuga medicinalis. 
Savigny, Mon. Hir. p. 114, t. 5, f. 2. The gray leech. Many of the best zoolo- 
gists regard the Sanguisuga officinalis and S. medicinalis of Savigny as mere 
varieties. They are both marked with six longitudinal dorsal ferruginous stripes, 
the four lateral ones being interrupted or tesselated with black spots. The colour 
of the back varies from a blackish to a grayish-green. The belly in the first 
variety is of a yellowish-green colour, free from spots, and bordered with longi- 
tudinal black stripes. In the second it is of a green colour, bordered and macu- 
lated with black. This leech varies from two to four inches in length. It inhabits 
marshes and running streams, and is abundant throughout Europe.* 
*A variety of the leech has recently come into use in Europe, called in commerce Afri- 
can leeches. They aro of a beautiful light-green colour, varying to a deep-green, and often 442 
Hirudo 
PART r. 
The great use made of leeches in the modern practice of medicine has occa- 
sioned them to become a considerable article of commerce. They are collected 
in Spain, France, Italy, Germany, and Sweden, and carried in large numbers to 
London and Paris. They are also frequently brought to this country; as the 
practitioners in some of our large cities use only the foreign leech, although our 
own waters furnish an inexhaustible supply of this useful worm.* 
2. Hirudo decora. Say, Colonel Long's Second, Expedition, ii. 268. The 
medicinal leech of America has been described by Say under the name of Hirudo 
decora, in the Appendix to the Second Expedition of Colonel Long. Its back 
is of a deep pistachio-green colour, with three longitudinal rows of square spots. 
These spots are placed on every fifth ring, and are twenty-two in number. The 
lateral rows of spots are black, and the middle range, of a light brownish-orange 
colour. The belly is of the latter colour, variously and irregularly spotted with 
black. The American leech sometimes attains the length of four or five inches, 
although its usual length is from two to three. It does not make so large and 
deep an incision as the European leech, and draws less blood. 
The indigenous leech is much used in the city of Philadelphia. The practi- 
tioners of New York and Boston are supplied chiefly from abroad. The leeches 
employed in Philadelphia are generally brought from Bucks and Berks county, 
in Pennsylvania, and occasionally from other parts of the State. 
The proper preservation of leeches is an object of importance to the practi- 
tioner, as they are liable to a great and sudden mortality. They are usually kept 
in jars, in clear, soft water, which should be changed twice a week in winter, and 
every other day in summer. The jar must be covered with a linen c’oth, and 
placed in a situation not liable to sudden changes of temperature. They will 
live a long time and continue active and healthy, without any other attention 
than that of frequently changing the water in which they are kept. M. Derheims 
has proposed the following excellent method of preserving them. In the bottom 
of a large basin or trough of marble he places a bed, six or seven inches deep, 
of a mixture of moss, turf, and fragments of wood. He strews pebbles above, 
so as to retain them in their place without compressing them too much, or pre- 
venting the water from freely penetrating them. At one end of the trough, and 
about midway of its height, is placed a thin slab of marble or earthenware, pierced 
with numerous holes, and covered with a bed of moss, which is compressed by a 
thick layer of pebbles. The reservoir being thus disposed is half-filled with water, 
so that the moss and pebbles on the shelf shall be kept constantly moist. The 
basin is protected from the light by a linen cover stretched over it. By this 
arrangement the natural habits of the leech are not counteracted. One of these 
habits, essential to its health, is that of drawing itself through the moss and roots 
inclining to red, with black points on the back, and broad streaks of a bright orange-yel- 
low, which are black towards the abdomen. They correspond perfectly with the Sangui- 
suga interrupta of Moquin-Tandon. These leeches draw very well. (Pharm. Journ., x. 38, from. 
Buchner’s Repertorium, A. D. 1850, p. 376.) The leeches from Algiers, called in French com- 
merce dragons (Sanguisuga troctena of Moquin-Tandon), of which considerable numbers have 
been taken to France, are said by M. A. de Quatrefages, contrary to former opinion, to be 
quite equal to the European. (Journ. de Pharm,., 3e ser., xxxiii. 105.)—Note to the ninth and 
twelfth editions. W. 
* Attempts have recently been made, in France, on a large scale, to-propagate leeches 
for sale. This is done by means of natural meadows, in which numerous small ponds are 
made, where the leeches, with certain precautions as to nourishment and preservation, 
multiply and grow so rapidly as to become a source of profit. In order that they may 
propagate, it is necessary that they should be fed on blood, which is given them either by 
causing animals, as horses, cows, &c., to be driven into the meadows, or, by obtaining 
blood from slaughter houses, and, after depriving it of fibrin by agitation, immersing the 
animals for a time in it while yet warm. For very interesting particulars in relation to 
this kind of culture, the reader is referred to papers in the Journ. de Pharm. (fan. 1854, 
p. 5, and Mai, 1854, p. 336).—Note to the eleventh edition. W. PART 1. 
Hirudo 
to clear its body from the slimy coat which forms on its skin, and is a principal 
‘cause of its disease and death. Mr. James Banes recommends that, when kept 
in jars, they should be cleansed by means of a whisk of very fine broom or willow, 
when the water is changed.* 
Medical Uses. Leeches afford the least painful, and in many instances the 
most effectual means for the local abstraction of blood. They are often appli- 
cable to parts which, either from their situation or their great tenderness when 
inflamed, do not admit of the use of cups; and, in the cases of infants, are under 
all circumstances preferable to that instrument. They are indeed a powerful 
therapeutic agent, and give to the physician, in mauy instances, a control over 
disease which he could obtain in no other way. Their use is in great measure 
restricted to the treatment of local inflammation; and, as a general rule, they 
should not be resorted to until the force of the circulation has been diminished 
by bleeding from the arm, or in the natural progress of the complaint. 
In applying leeches to the skin, care should be taken to shave off the hair, if 
there be any, and to have the part well cleansed with soap and water, and after- 
wards with pure water. If the leech do not bite readily, the skin should be 
moistened with a little blood, or milk and water. It is said to bite more freely 
if the skin is previously reddened by a sinapism, and then washed perfectly 
clean. Sometimes the leech is put into a large quill open at both ends, and ap- 
plied with the head to the skin until it fastens itself, when the quill is withdrawn. 
If it be desirable that the leech shall bite in a particular spot, this end may be 
attained by cutting a small hole in a piece of blotting paper, and then applying 
this moistened to the skin, so that the hole shall be immediately over the spot 
from which the blood is to be taken. Leeches continue to draw blood until they 
* M. Soubeiran considers it important that they should be kept in running water, and 
has figured an apparatus for this purpose in the second edition of his Treatise on Phar- 
macy. The addition of a solution of chlorine to the water, in the proportion of one or two 
drops to the pint, or of a little muriatic or sulphuric acid to neutralize the ammonia which 
forms, has sometimes been found a preservative against disease. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., 
x.186.) M. Domine has found the following plan for preserving leeches most successful. He 
selects the greenest moss he can find, washes it perfectly clean, and puts alternately it and 
the leeches, also well washed, into a glass vessel of convenient size, taking care to fill the 
vessel completely with the loosened moss, and then to cover it with a piece of linen. In win- 
ter, it is sufficient merely to introduce the leeches and moss moistened; but, as soon as 
warm weather approaches, a little water should be put at the bottom of the vessel. It is 
not necessary to change often in winter; but in summer the moss should be renewed 
nearly every other day, and the vessel should be kept in the cellar. [Ibid., xvi. 110.)—Note 
to the ninth edition. W. 
Mr. Alfred Allchin has had great success in the preservation of leeches by the use of 
aquaria, in which the natural conditions necessary for the health of the animal are sup- 
plied, by introducing a living and growing water plant, to afford oxygen and consume 
carbonic acid, and water snails to consume the decaying vegetable matter, the confervm 
which grow on the sides of the vessel, and the slimy matter given off by the leeches them- 
selves. For full particulars in relation to the structure and management of these aquaria, 
the reader is referred to the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (xxviii. 222), and the Pharm. Journ. (xv. 
453), in the latter of which journals the account was originally published.—Note to the 
eleventh edition. W. 
An interesting account of the culture of both the Spanish and American leech (the 
latter II. decora) has been published in the “Proceedinys of the American Pharmaceutical 
Association” for the year 1857, by Mr. Frederick Stearns, of which the following is an epi- 
tome. A wooden tank, eight feet in length by six in breadth and four in depth, is placed 
in the ground, near a running stream, so that a portion of the water passes through it, 
the orifices through which it enters and escapes being covered with wire-gauze to prevent 
the exit of the animal. A layer of cobble stones eighteen inches thick is placed in the 
bottom of the tank. The outlet is about ten inches below the top of the tank, and from 
the edge at top, all round, a ledge of boards is made to project inward. A few frogs are 
thrown in once a week for food. In winter the animal is torpid, and the tank is allowed 
to remain frozen over till spring. The eggs are produced in June and July; the leech is 
mature in about two years, and will live fifteen.—Note to the twelfth edition. W 444 
Hirudo. 
PART 
are gorged, when they drop off.* The quantity of blood which they draw varies 
with the part to which they are applied, and the degree of inflammation exist- 
ing in it. From the loose and vascular textures they will abstract more than 
from those which are firm and compact, and more from an inflamed than a healthy 
part. As a general rule our leechers apply six for every fluidounce of blood. A 
single European leech will draw from half an ounce to an ounce. The quantity 
may often be much increased by bathing the wound with warm water. Leeches 
will continue to suck after their tails are cut off, which is sometimes done, al- ! 
though it is a barbarous practice. It is said that they will draw better if put into ! 
cold beer, or diluted wine, and allowed to remain until they become very lively. 
They may be separated from the skin at any time by sprinkling a little salt upon 
them. After they drop off, the same application will make them disgorge the 
blood they have swallowed. Some leechers draw the leeches from the tail to the 
head through their fingers, and thus squeeze out the blood, after which all that 
is necessary is to put them in clean water, and change it frequently.'j* Leeches 
which are gorged with blood should be kept in a vessel by themselves; as they 
* As a very efficient mode of applying leeches, it is recommended, after having moistened 
the skin with pure warm water, to put the leeches into a tumbler half full of cold water, 
and by an adroit movement invert it upon the part. The leeches are said to attach them- 
selves so rapidly that it seems to the patient as though they made but a single bite. When 
they are all attached, the glass is to be carefully removed, the water being absorbed, as it 
runs off on one side, by a sponge or linen cloths. 
Another method of increasing the efficiency of leeches, recommended by Dr. C. R. Sloan, 
of Ayr, Scotland, is to cover them with a cupping glass, and, by means of an air-pump, 
moderately exhaust the air over them. An extraordinary increase in their activity is im- 
mediately observable. (Ed. Monthly Journ. of Med. Sci., Aug. 1852, p. 126 ) W. 
f MM. Soubeiran and Bouchardat, after numerous experiments upon the different modes 
of fitting the gorged leeches for use again, came to the conclusion, that a carefully managed 
pressure is the best. Two conditions, however, are necessary to success; one that they 
should be disposed to disgorge the blood, and the other that they should be immersed in 
warm water previously to the stripping. The first object is effected by common salt-. The 
following plan is recommended. The leeches are to be thrown into a solution of 16 parts 
of common salt in 100 of water, from which they are to be taken out one by one, and, 
being held by the tail, are to be dipped into water which feels hot to the hand, but yet can 
be borne by it, and then passed lightly between the fingers. Thus treated, they easily give 
up the blood. After being stripped, they should be placed in vessels containing fresh water, 
which should be renewed once a day. At the end of eight or ten days, they are fit for re- 
application. (Journ. de Pharm., 3eser., xi. 343 and 350.) It is said that, in the French mili- 
tary hospitals, a mixture of~vinegar and water, consisting of one part of the former to 
eight of the latter, is preferred to salt water for promoting disgorgement. (Lond. Med. 
Times and Gaz., Oct. 1856, p. 375.) 
It has been stated that, if the leeches, after being stripped, be put into water sweetened 
with a little white sugar, and the solution be renewed several times, at intervals of six or 
twelve hours, they will speedily recover their activity, and may be reapplied two or three 
times in the course of a few days. Immersion in camphor water, for a few moments, is 
said by Mr. Boyce to cause them to vomit the blood. They should afterwards be put into 
clean water, to be changed in half an hour. Dr. Frodsham, of England, has found camphor 
water preferable either to salt water or diluted vinegar, for disposing the gorged leech to 
part with blood. 
M. Grannat, a French military pharmaceutist, has found the natural process of disgorg- 
ing preferable to all others. He placed some gorged leeches in wooden tubs, containing at 
bottom a little clay and water, and renewed the water every forty-eight, hours. After eight 
days, the leeches, now in good health, were transferred to a pond prepared for the purpose, 
where they propagated. He put 1000 leeches in the pond, and at the end of a year had 
taken out 850 fit for service, without interfering with the reproduction. (Journ. de Pharm., 
3e sir., xx. 186.) 
M. Vayson’s plan of preserving leeches has been highly commended. It consists simply 
in putting them, after stripping, if they have been used, in an earthenware vessel of the 
shape of an inverted truncated cone, with holes in the bottom so small as to prevent the 
escape of the leech, and filled with turfy earth. After the introduction of the leech the 
opening is to be closed with a coarse cloth. The vessel is then placed in a tub containing 
water four inches deep. If to be sent to a distance, the earth in the vessel should be moist- 
ened throughout. W. part I. 
Ilirudo.—Hordeum. 
445 
are more subject to disease, and often occasion a great mortality among the 
others. They should not be again used until they have recovered their activity. 
In cases where the bleeding from leech-bites continues longer than is desirable, 
it may be stopped by continued pressure, with the application of lint, by the use 
of collodium, or by touching the wounds with lunar caustic.* It may sometimes 
be necessary, in the case of a deep bite, to sew the wound, which is readily done 
with a single stitch of the needle, that need not penetrate deeper than the cutis, 
D. B. S. 
HORDEUM. U. /S., Br. 
Barley. Pearl Barley. 
The decorticated seed of Hordeum distichon. U. S. The seeds deprived of 
their husks. Br. 
Orgc, Fr.; Gerstengraupen, Germ.; Orzo, Ital.; Cebada, Span. 
Hordeum. Sex. Syst. Triandria Digynia.—Nat. Ord. Graminacese. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx lateral, two-valved, one-flowered, three-fold. Willd, 
Several species of Ilordeum are cultivated in different parts of the world. 
The most common are H. vulgare and II. distichon, both of which have been 
introduced into the United States. 
1. Ilordeum vulgare. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 412; Loudon's Encyc. of Plants, 
p. 73. The culm or stalk of common barley is from two to four feet in height, 
tistular, and furnished with alternate, sheathing, lanceolate, roughish, and pointed 
leaves. The flowers are all perfect, and arranged in a close terminal spike, the 
axis of which is dentate, and on each tooth supports three sessile flowers. The 
calyx or outer chaff has two valves. The corolla or inner chaff is also composed 
of two valves, of which the interior is larger than the other, and terminates in 
a long, rough, serrated awu or beard. The seeds are arranged in four rows. 
2. H. distichon. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 473; Loudon’s Encyc. of Plants, p. 73. 
* A little cotton, impregnated with a saturated solution of alum in boiling-hot water, 
and, after it has become sufficiently cool, and before the alum has begun to crystallize, 
pressed upon the wound, will often prove effectual. Another mode of repressing the hemor- 
rhage is to press upon the bite a piece of thin caoutchouc, previously softened upon one 
side by heat, so as to become adhesive. If lunar caustic be applied, the stick must first be 
brought to a fine point, which is to be inserted in the wound. Some have even recom- 
mended the use of a fine wire made red-hot. When the part wounded is without a bony 
basis, pressure may be made by pinching the wound between the fingers. W. 
| An instrument has been invented called the mechanical leech, by which the attempt has 
been made to imitate the action of the leech in drawing blood. It consists essentially of 
two parts, one'for making the puncture, and the other for abstracting blood through the 
agency of atmospheric pressure. In other words, it is a minute cupping instrument. 
Practically, however, it has not been found so convenient as to supersede the use of the 
living leech. For an account of the instrument, see the Am. Journ. of the Med. Sciences 
(xvi. 207). W. 
Danger from Leeches. Young leeches are sometimes swallowed by men and animals while 
drinking from streams or ponds inhabited by them. If swallowed they probably perish in 
the stomach; but occasionally they attach themselves in the passages, in man most fre- 
quently to the fauces or pharynx, but in the lower animals also to the gums, cheeks, soft 
palate, and even the nasal passages. The animal has been known to attach itself within 
the larynx, with the most alarming effects. It grows in its new quarters, living on the 
blood which it draws, much of which also escapes from the punctures, causing spitting of 
blood, which probably first calls attention to the case. • There are also various morbid 
sensations, such as arise from the presence of a foreign body in the throat, and symptoms 
of impending suffocation when the animal is near the glottis. Death has occurred from 
this cause. Generally there is little danger, and anemic symptoms are the most serious of 
those existing. The animal can generally be seen when in the fauces, and may bo removed 
by seizing it with an instrument. If it cannot be seized, or if invisible, as in the nares, it 
should be attacked by solution of salt or vinegar, which will cause it to give up its hold. 
Emetics have been recommended, and in one instance laryngotomy was performed. (See 
Archives Gen., Aofit, 1863, p. 161.)—Note to the twelfth edition. ‘ W. 446 
Hordeum. 
PART I. 
This species is distinguished by its flat spike or ear, which on each flat side has 
a double row of imperfect or male florets without beards, and on each edge, a 
single row of bearded perfect or hermaphrodite florets. The seeds, therefore, 
are in two rows, as indicated by the specific name of the plant. 
The original country of the cultivated barley is unknown. The plant has 
been found growing wild in Sicily, and various parts of the interior of Asia. 
If. vulgare is said by Pursh to grow in some parts of the United States, appa- 
rently in a wild state. The seeds are used in various forms. 
1. In their natural state they are oval, oblong, pointed at one end, obtuse at 
the other, marked with a longitudinal furrow, of a yellowish colour externally, 
white within, having a faint odour when in mass, and a mild sweetish taste. They 
contain, according to Proust, in 100 parts, 32 of starch, 3 of gluten, 5 of sugar, 
4 of gum, 1 of yellow resin, and 55 of hordein, a principle closely analogous to 
lignin. Berzelius suggests that hordein may be an intimate mixture of vegetable 
fibre with gluten and starch, which are very difficultly separable as they exist in 
this grain. Einhoff found in 100 parts 67T8 of starch, 5-21 of uncrystallizable 
sugar, 4-62 of gum, 3 52 of gluten, 1T5 of albumen, 024 of phosphate of lime, 
and 7'29 of vegetable fibre; the remainder being water and loss. 
2. Malt consists of the seeds made to germinate by warmth and moisture, and 
then baked so as to deprive them of vitality. By this process the sugar, starch, 
and gum are increased at the expense of the hordein, as shown by the-analysis 
of Proust, who found in 100 parts of malt, 56 of starch, 1 of gluten, 15 of sugar, 
15 of gum, 1 of yellow resin, and only 12 of hordein, Berzelius attributes the 
diminution of the hordein to the separation, during germination, of the gluten 
or starch from the fibrous matter with which he supposes them to be associated 
in that substance. It is in the form of malt that barley is so largely consumed 
in the manufacture of malt liquors. 
An interesting substance, called diastase, was discovered by MM. Payen and 
Persoz in the seeds of barley, oats, and wheat, and in the potato. It is found, 
however, only after germination, in which process the production of it appears 
to be the first step. Germinated barley seldom contains it in larger proportion 
than two parts in a thousand. It is obtained by bruising freshly germinated 
barley, adding about half its weight of water, expressing strongly, treating the 
viscid liquid thus obtained with sufficient alcohol to destroy its viscidity, then 
separating the coagulated albumen, and adding a fresh portion of alcohol, which 
precipitates the diastase in an impure state. To render it pure, it must be re- 
dissolved as often as three times in water, and precipitated by alcohol. It is 
solid, white, tasteless, soluble in water and weak alcohol, but insoluble in the 
latter fluid when concentrated. Though without action upon gum and sugar; 
it has the extraordinary property, when mixed, in the proportion of only one 
part to 2000, with starch suspended in water, and maintained at a temperature 
of about 160°, of converting that principle into dextrin and sugar of grapes. 
The whole of the starch undergoes this change, except the teguments of the 
granules, amounting to about 4 parts in 1000. The change which barley under- 
goes during germination, and in malting, is of a similar character. 
3. Hulled barley is merely the grain deprived of its husk, which, according 
to Einhoff, amounts to 18*75 parts in the hundred.* 
* M. Lemoine, a French pharmaceutist, proposes a chemical method of decorticating 
barley and other seeds. Putting 1U0 parts of the seeds into a wooden vessel, he pours upon 
them 15 parts of sulphuric acid, stirs the mixture for 15 or 20 minutes, applying in the case 
of barley a gentle heat, then adds 50 parts of water, which he decants after a very few 
moments of constant agitation. After sufficient washing, and the neutralization of the last 
remains of acid by solution of carbonate of soda or potassa, he puts the grain upon a piece 
of cloth with large meshes stretched upon a frame, where he allows it to drain for about 
an hour, then transfers it to a similar cloth, and exposes it to a current of air for severa' 
days to dry. (Pourn. de Phartn., Mars, 1863, p. 223.)—Note to the twelfth edition. PART I. 
Hordeum.—Humulus. 
447 
4. Barley meal is formed by grinding the seeds, previously deprived of their 
husk. It has a grayish-white colour, and contains, according to Fourcroy and 
Yauquelin, an oleaginous substance, sugar, starch, azotized matter, acetic acid, 
phosphates of lime and magnesia, silica, and iron. It may be made into a coarse, 
heavy, hard bread, which in some countries is much used for food. 
5. Pearl barley (hordeum perlatum) is the seed deprived of all its invest- 
ments, and afterwards rounded and polished in a mill. It is in small round or 
oval grains, having the remains of the longitudinal furrow of the seeds, and of 
a pearly whiteness. It is wholly destitute of hordein, and abounds in starch, with 
some gluten, sugar, and gum. This is the proper officinal form of barley, and is 
kept in the shops almost to the exclusion of the others. 
Medical Properties. Barley is one of the mildest and least irritating of fari- 
naceous substances; and, though not medically used in its solid state, forms, by 
decoction with water, a drink admirably adapted to febrile and inflammatory 
complaints, and much employed from the time of Hippocrates to the present. 
Pearl barley is the form usually preferred for the preparation of the decoction, 
though the hulled grain is sometimes used, and malt affords a liquor more de- 
mulcent and nutritious. (See Decoctum Hordei.) The decoction of malt may be 
prepared by boiling from two to four ounces in a quart of wrater and straining. 
When hops are added, the decoction takes the name of wort, and acquires tonic 
properties, which render it useful in debility, especially when attended with sup- 
puration. 
Off. Prep. Decoctum Hordei. W. 
HUMULUS. TJ.S. 
Hops. 
The strobiles of Humulus Lupnlus. TJ. S. 
Off. Syn. LTJPULUS. Humulus Lupulus. The dried catkins of the female 
plant. Br. 
Iloublon, Ft.; Hopfen, Germ..; Luppolo, Ital.; Lupulo Hombrecillo, Span. 
Humulus. Sex. Syst. Dioecia Pentandria.—Nat. Ord. Urticaceas. 
Gen. Ch. Male. Calyx five-leaved. Corolla none. Female. Capone-leafed 
obliquely spreading, entire. Corolla none. Styles two. Seed one, within a leafy 
calyx. Willd. 
Humulus Lupulus. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. T69; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. iii. 
163. The root of the hop is perennial, and sends up numerous annual, angular, 
rough, flexible stems, which twine around neighbouring objects in a spiral direc- 
tion, from left to right, and climb to a great height. The leaves are opposite, 
and stand upon long footstalks. The smaller are sometimes cordate; the larger 
have three or five lobes; all are serrate, of a deep-green colour on the upper 
surface, and, together with the petioles, extremely rough, with minute prickles. 
At the base of the footstalks are two or four smooth, ovate, reflexed stipules. 
The flowers are numerous, axillary, and furnished with bractes. The male flowers 
are yellowish-white, and arranged in panicles; the female, which grow on a sepa- 
rate plant, are pale-green, and disposed in solitary, peduncled aments, composed 
of membranous scales, ovate, acute, and tubular at the base. Each scale bears 
near its base, on its inner surface, two flowers, consisting of a roundish com- 
pressed germ, and two styles, with long filiform stigmas. The aments are con- 
verted into ovate membranous cones or strobiles, the scales of which contain, 
each, at its base, two small seeds, surrounded by a yellow, granular, resinous 
powder. 
The hop is a native of North America and Europe. It is occasionally found 
growing wild in the Eastern States, and, according to Mr. Nuttall, is abundant 448 
Humulus. 
PART I. 
on the banks of the Mississippi and Missouri. In parts of New England and 
New York it is extensively cultivated, and most of the hops consumed in the 
United States are supplied by those districts. The part of the plant used is the 
fruit or strobiles. These when fully ripe are picked, dried by artificial heat, 
packed in bales, and sent into the market under the name of hops. 
They consist of numerous thin, translucent, veined, leaf-like scales, which are 
of a pale greenish-yellow colour, and contain near the base two small, round, 
black seeds. Though brittle when quite dry, they are pulverized with great dif- 
ficulty. Their odour is strong, peculiar, somewhat narcotic, and fragrant; their 
taste very bitter, aromatic, and slightly astringent. Their aroma, bitterness, and 
astringency are imparted to water by decoction; but the first-mentioned pro- 
perty is dissipated by long boiling. The most active part of hops is a substance 
formed on the surface of the scales, and, in the dried fruit, existing in the state 
of very small granules. This substance was called lupulin by the late Dr. A. 
W. Ives, of New York, by whom its properties were first investigated and made 
generally known; though it was previously noticed by Sir J. E. Smith, of Eng- 
land, and M. Planche, of France. The scales themselves, however, are not des- 
titute of virtues, and contain, as shown by MM. Payen and Chevallier, the same 
active principles as the lupulin, though in less proportion.* 
LupulIlVa. U. S. Lupulin. This is obtained separate by rubbing or thresh- 
ing and sifting the strobiles, of which it constitutes from one-sixth to one-tenth 
by weight. It is in the state of a yellowish powder, mixed with minute par- 
ticles of the scales, from which it cannot be entirely freed when procured by 
a mechanical process. It has the peculiar flavour of hops, and appeared to 
MM. Lebaillif and Raspail, wdien examined by the microscope, to consist of 
globules filled with a yellow matter, resembling in this respect the pollen of vege- 
tables; but, from the investigations of M. Personne, it appears to be of the 
nature of a gland, commencing in a cell formed among those of the epidermis, 
and, when fully developed, secreting a resinous matter. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e 
ser., xxvi. 242.) It is inflammable, and when moderately heated becomes some- 
* Hops are often subjected in Germany to the fumes of burning sulphur, from the sup- 
position that they keep better when thus treated. Besides, by being partially bleached by 
the process, old hops, which have suffered from time, having become darker, generally 
spotted, and weaker, assume a brighter appearance, as if fresher, and generally command 
a better price in the market. To detect the consequent presence of sulphurous acid, the 
brewers put a silver spoon in a mixture of hops and water, under the impression that it 
will produce a black stain upon the silver. But this test will answer only when applied 
within a fortnight after the use of the sulphur. A more delicate method is that of Dr. 
Heidenreich, who puts 20 or 30 cones of the hops in a flask -with zinc and muriatic acid, 
and passes the hydrogen evolved through solution of acetate of lead. If sulphurous acid 
be present, sulphuretted hydrogen will be produced, which will occasion a dark precipitate 
with the solution. But even this plan often fails when the hops have been kept more than 
three or four weeks. A modification of this test has been proposed by Dr. R. Wagner. For 
the solution of acetate of lead used in Heidenreich’s method, there is to be substituted a 
solution of nitroprusside of sodium, so weak as to have a very light-brown colour, to which 
have been added a few drops of solution of potassa. If the gas evolved contain the minutest 
proportion of sulphur, a violet colour will be produced when the first bubble passes into 
the solution; and this will by a continuance of the process become a magnificent purple. 
The least trace of sulphurous acid may thus be found; but, a few months after the sul- 
phuring of hops, none at all can be detected. (Chem. Gaz., April 1,1850, from Comptes Rendus.) 
Hops are said to be sometimes threshed in order to separate the lupulin, which is sold 
separately. Their efficiency is thus, no doubt, greatly impaired. Hops thus treated have 
the scales more or less broken; and any parcel presenting this appearance may be sus- 
pected. Hops often contain a variable quantity of lupulin, in consequence of the granules 
of this substance separating, especially on agitation, and seeking the lower portion of the 
mass, which thus becomes richer, while the upper is poorer. They should always be ex- 
amined in reference to the lupulin they contain, and, if nearly or quite destitute of it, 
should be deemed of inferior value, though not worthless.—Note to the eleventh and twelfth 
editions. PART I. 
Mumulus. 
449 
what adhesive. MM. Chevallier and Payen obtained from 200 parts, 105 of resin 
and 25 of a peculiar bitter principle, besides volatile oil, gum, traces of fixed 
oil, a small quantity of an azotized substance, and various salts. Dr. Ives found 
in 120 grains, 5 of tannin, 10 of extractive, 11 of bitter principle, 12 of wax, 36 
of resin, and 46 of lignin. M. Personne found in the liquid distilled from it not 
only volatile oil, but also valerianic acid. (Ibid., p. 333.) The virtues of the 
powder probably reside in the volatile oil and bitter principle, and are readily 
imparted to alcohol. By boiling in water the bitterness is extracted, but the 
aroma is partially driven off. The volatile oil, which may be obtained by dis- 
tillation with water, is yellowish, of the odour of hops, of an acrid taste, and 
lighter than water. It was formerly supposed to be narcotic, but this is denied 
by Dr. Wagner, who gave twenty drops of it to a rabbit, with no observable 
effect. (Chem. Gaz., July 15, 1853.) It is said to consist of a carbo-hydrogen 
isomeric with pure oil of turpentine, and of an oxygenated oil. 
The bitter principle, which has been named lupulite or lupuline, but ought 
to be called humulin, may be procured by treating with alcohol the aqueous 
extract of lupulin, previously mixed with a little lime, evaporating the tincture 
thus formed, treating the resulting extract with water, evaporating the solution, 
and washing the residue with ether. When pure it is yellowish or orange-yellow, 
inodorous at common temperatures, but of the smell of hops when heated, of the 
peculiar bitter taste of hops, partially soluble in water which takes up 5 per 
cent, of its weight, readily soluble in alcohol, almost insoluble in ether, neither 
acid nor alkaline in its reaction, and destitute of nitrogen. It is scarcely affected 
by the weak acids or alkaline solutions, or by the metallic salts. It is probably 
the tonic principle of the medicine.* 
Hops, according to Wagner, contain from 3 to T per cent, of tannic acid, of 
the variety which precipitates the salts of iron greenish, and differing, moreover, 
from the tannic acid of galls in not being convertible into gallic acid, and in not 
having the characteristic property of the glucosides. Besides the tannin, Wag- 
ner has discovered in hops a yellow substance which appeared to him to be 
quercitrin. (Pharm. Journ., Dec. 1859, p. 459.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Hops are tonic and moderately narcotic, and 
have been highly recommended in diseases of general or local debility, associated 
with morbid vigilance, or other nervous derangement. They have some tendency 
to produce sleep and relieve pain, and may be used for these purposes in cases 
where opiates, from their disposition to constipate, or other cause, are inadmis- 
sible. Diuretic properties have also been ascribed to them, but are by no means 
Very obvious. The complaints in which they have been found most useful are 
dyspepsia, and the nervous tremors, wakefulness, and delirium of drunkards. Dr. 
Maton found the extract advantageous in allaying the pain of articular rheuma- 
tism. Dr. W. Y. Godberry, of Benton, Miss., has found hops efficacious in inter- 
mittents, and considers them inferior in antiperiodic powers only to quinia. 
(West. Journ. of Med. and Surg., March, 1853.) 
The medicine may be given in substance, infusion, tincture, or extract. From 
three to twenty grains are mentioned as the dose of the powder; but the quan- 
tity is too small to produce any decided effect; and this mode of administration 
is scarcely ever resorted to. An infusion, prepared with half an ounce of hops 
and a pint of boiling water, may be given in the dose of two fluidounces three or 
* It is extremely doubtful whether the lupulite thus obtained is the active principle in a 
pure state. Dr. J. C. Lermer has recently obtained from hops a crystalline bitter principle, 
which he believes to have acid properties, and the composition of which is represented by 
the formula C32H25Or He obtained it by a very complex process; and it is, perhaps, some- 
what doubtful whether it may not be a product of the operation rather than an educt; 
especially as he has found two other crystalline bitter principles, which he was still in- 
vestigating. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., Nov. 1863, p. 540.)—Note to the twelfth edition 450 
Humulus.—Hydrargyrum. 
PART I. 
four times a day. In intermittents Dr. Godberry gives, in the apyrexia, a pint of 
the infusion made with an ounce of hops. The extract and tincture are officinal. 
(See Extractum Lupuli and Tinctura Humuli.) A pillow of hops has proved 
useful in allaying restlessness and producing sleep in nervous disorders. They 
should be moistened with spirit previously to being placed under the head of the 
patient, in order to prevent rustling. Fomentations with hops, and cataplasms 
made by mixing them with some emollient substance, are often beneficial in local 
pains and tumefactions. An ointment of the powder with lard is recommended 
by Mr. Freake as an anodyne application to cancerous sores. 
The effects of hops may be obtained most conveniently by the use of lupulin. 
Dr. Wm. Byrd Page, of Philadelphia, has found this substance very effectual as 
an antaphrodisiac, in the treatment of gonorrhoea, spermatorrhoea, and other 
irritated conditions of the genito-urinary apparatus; and the same result has 
been obtained by other practitioners. We have found it apparently effectual in 
irritable bladder, when other narcotics had failed. The dose of lupulin in sub- 
stance is from six to twelve grains, given in the form of pills, which may be made 
by simply rubbing the powder in a warm mortar till it acquires the consistence 
of a ductile mass, and then moulding it into the proper shape. There is an officinal 
tincture. (See Tinctura Lupulinse.) Mr. Livermore proposes an alcoholic ex- 
tract of lupulin, prepared by exhausting commercial lupulin with alcohol by the 
process of percolation, and exposing the tincture thus formed to spontaneous 
evaporation. The dose will be about one-third less than that of lupulin itself. 
(Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxv. 294.) A fluid extract and oleoresin have been 
introduced into the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, (See Part II.) Lupulin may be in- 
corporated with poultices, or formed into an ointment with lard, and used exter- 
nally for the same purposes as hops. 
Off. Prep, of Hops. Extractum Lupuli, Br.; Infusum Humuli, U. S.; Infusum 
Lupuli, Br.; Tinctura Humuli, 17. S.; Tinctura Lupuli, Br. 
Off. Prep, of Lupulin. Extractum Lupulin® Fluidum, U. S.; Oleoresina 
Lupulin®, U. S.; Tinctura Lupulin®. W. 
HYDRARGYRUM. U.S.,Br. 
Mercury. 
Quicksilver; Mercurius, Lat.; Mercure, Yif argent, Fr.; Quecksilber, Germ.; Mercurio, 
Jtal.; Azogue, Span, and Port. 
Mercury is found pure, forming an amalgam with silver, in the form of proto- 
chloride (native calomel), but most abundantly as the bisulphuret, or native 
cinnabar. Mines of this metal are found at Almaden in Spain, at Idria in Car- 
niola, in the Duchy of Deux-ponts, in Corsica, in the Philippine Islands and 
China, near Huancavelica in Peru, near Azogue in Hew Granada, at Durasco 
in Mexico, and at New Almaden, New Idria, and other localities in Santa Clara 
County, California, about sixty-six miles from San Francisco. The most ancient 
mine is that of Almaden in Spain, which was worked before the Christian era. 
This mine, and the mine in California are the most productive at the present 
day; the Spanish mine yielding about three millions of pounds, and the Cali- 
fornia, more than this amount annually. The ore in all the mines mentioned 
is cinnabar. The cinnabar from old Almaden is of a dull-red colour in mass, of 
a dull brick-red colour when in fine powder, and of the sp. gr. 3'6. That from 
New Almaden is of a bright red colour, slightly inclining to purple, not so hard 
as the Spanish ore, of a brilliant vermilion colour in powder, and having the 
sp. gr. 4‘4. The California cinnabar is richer in mercury, because purer, than 
the Spanish; the former yielding about 70, the latter about 38 per cent, of 
mercury, according to the analyses of Mr. Adam Bealey. The California mine PART I. 
Hydrargyrum. 
451 
had been long known to the Indians, but its commercial value was first made 
known, about 1843, by a Mexican, named Castillero, who became its first owner 
At present it is in the hands of Americans. (See Pharm. Journ., Feb. 1855; also 
a paper by Dr. Ruschenberger, U. S. N., in the Am. Journ. of Pharm., March. 
1856.) Dr. Ruschenberger has detected selenium in California cinnabar. 
Extraction, dec. Mercury is obtained almost exclusively from the bisulphuret, 
or native cinnabar. It is extracted by two principal processes. According to 
one process, the mineral is picked, pounded, and mixed with lime. The mixture 
is then introduced into cast-iron retorts, which are placed in rows, one above the 
other, in an oblong furnace, and connected with earthenware receivers, one-third 
full of water. Heat being applied, the lime combines with the sulphur, so as to 
form sulphuret of calcium and sulphate of lime; while the mercury distils over, 
and is condensed in the receivers. The process is practised at Almaden in 
Spain. Here a square furnace is employed, the floor of which is pierced with 
many holes, for the passage of the flame from the fire-place beneath. In the 
upper and lateral part of the furnace, holes are made, communicating with several 
rows of aludels, formed of adapters passing into one another, which terminate 
in a small chamber that serves both as condenser and receiver. The mineral, 
having been picked by hand and pulverized, is kneaded with clay, and formed 
into small masses, which are placed on the floor of the furnace. Heat being ap- 
plied, the sulphur undergoes combustion; while the mercury, being volatilized, 
passes through the aludels to be condensed in the chamber. The process pur- 
sued at New Almaden is described by Dr. Ruschenberger. (See Am. Journ. 
of Pharm., March, 1856.) 
Mercury, as found in commerce, is contained in cylindrical wrought-iron bot- 
tles, called flasks, each containing 75 pounds. Since the regular working of the 
California mine of New Almaden, the importation of the metal from Spain and 
Austria has gradually diminished, and at present the domestic production is suf- 
ficient not only to supply the home consumption, but to give an excess for ex- 
portation. The value of American mercury exported was 94,335 dollars for the 
year ending June 30th, 1854, and 806,119 dollars, or more than eight-fold, for 
the next fiscal year. (Treasury Report on the Finances, Washington, 1856.) 
The different mines of California were, in the year 1862, said to be yielding mer- 
cury at the rate of four millions of pounds per annum. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
Sept. 1862, p. 410.) The exports are made principally to China, Mexico, Chili, 
and Peru. The chief uses of the metal are in mining silver and gold, in pre- 
paring vermilion, in making thermometers and barometers, in silvering looking- 
glasses, and in forming various pharmaceutical compounds. 
Properties. Mercury is a very brilliant liquid, of a silver-white colour, and 
without taste or smell. When perfectly pure it undergoes no alteration by the 
action of air or water, but in its ordinary state suffers a slight tarnish. When 
heated to near the boiling point, it gradually combines with oxygen, and is con- 
verted into deutoxide; but at the temperature of ebullition it parts with the 
oxygen which it had absorbed, and is reduced again to the metallic state. Its 
sp.gr. is 13 5, and its equivalent 200.* It boils at 662°, and congeals at 39° 
below zero, forming a malleable solid resembling lead. It is a good conductor 
of caloric, and its specific heat is small. It is not attacked by muriatic acid, nor 
by cold sulphuric acid; but boiling sulphuric acid or cold nitric acid dissolves 
* Some chemists adopt 100 as the equivalent of mercury, or half the number given in 
the text. There are many arguments in favour of the smaller number; but, as the phar- 
maceutical processes involving this metal are generally explained by the use of the larger 
number, we shall adhere to it for the present. The use of the smaller number makes a per- 
plexing change in the nomenclature of the mercurial compounds. Thus, the black oxide 
becomes the dioxide, and the red oxide the protoxide, instead of the deutoxide. Again, 
calomel becomes the dichloride, and corrosive sublimate the protochloride, instead of the 
bichloride.—Note to the eleventh edition. 452 
Hydrargyrum. 
PART I 
it, generating a bisulphate or binitrate of the deutoxide; with the extrication, 
in the former case, of sulphurous acid; in the latter, of nitric oxide becoming 
hyponitric acid fumes. Its combinations are numerous, and several of them 
constitute important medicines. It forms two oxides, two regular sulphurets, two 
chlorides, three iodides, and one cyanide, all of which, excepting the protoxide, 
protosulphuret, and sesquiodide, are officinal. Both the oxides are capable of 
uniting with acids so as to form salts, of which the binitrate, sulphate, and bi- 
sulphate of the deutoxide are officinal, or enter into officinal compounds. 
Mercury, as it occurs in commerce, is in general sufficiently pure for pharma- 
ceutical purposes. Occasionally it contains foreign metals, as lead, tin, zinc, and 
bismuth. Mr. Brande informs us that, in examining large quantities of this me- 
tal in the London market, he found it only in one instance intentionally adulte- 
rated. When impure, the metal has a dull appearance, leaves a trace on white 
paper, is deficient in due fluidity and mobility, as shown by its not forming per- 
fect globules, is not totally dissipated by heat, and, when shaken in a glass bottle, 
coats its sides with a pellicle, or, if very impure, deposits a black powder. If 
agitated with strong sulphuric acid, the adulterating metals become oxidized 
and dissolved, and thus the mercury may to a limited extent be purified. Lead 
is detected by shaking the suspected metal with equal parts of acetic acid and 
water, and then testing the acid by sulphate of soda, or iodide of potassium. 
The former will produce a white, the latter a yellow precipitate, if lead be pre- 
sent. Bismuth is discovered by dropping a nitric solution of the mercyry, pre- 
pared without heat, into distilled water, when subnitrate of bismuth will be 
precipitated. The complete solubility of the metal in nitric acid shows that tin 
is not present; and, if sulphuretted hydrogen does not act upon muriatic acid 
previously boiled upon the metal, the absence of contaminating metals is shown. 
Mercury may be purified by digesting it with a small portion of weak nitric 
acid, or with a solution of bichloride of mercury (corrosive sublimate); whereby 
all the ordinary contaminating metals will be removed. M. Ulex recommends 
its purification by triturating, for ten minutes, a pound of the metal with an 
ounce of the solution of sesquichloride of iron (sp.gr. 1 48), diluted with an 
equal measure of water. The mercury is thus divided to a very great extent, and 
the contaminating metals are separated as chlorides; the sesquichloride of iron 
being, in the mean time, reduced to protochloride. After decanting the iron 
solution, and washing with water, the mercury is dried by a gentle heat, and 
subjected to trituration, when the greater portion of it runs together. Mercury, 
however, is usually purified by distillation. 
The British Pharmacopoeia, though pure mercury is placed in its Materia 
Medica list, nevertheless gives the following process for its preparation, using 
for this purpose an impure form of the metal, which, under the name of Com- 
mercial Mercury or Quicksilver, has been introduced into the Appendix as one 
of the articles used in the preparation of medicines. 
“Take of Mercury of Commerce three pounds [avoirdupois]; Hydrochloric 
Acid three fluid drachms; Distilled Water a sufficiency. Place the Commercial 
Mercury in a glass retort or iron bottle, and applying heat cause two pounds and 
a half of the metal to distil over into a flask employed as a receiver. Boil on 
this for five minutes the Hydrochloric Acid diluted with nine fluid drachms of 
Distilled Water, and having, by repeated affusions of Distilled Water and decan 
tations, removed every trace of acid, let the mercury be transferred to a porce- 
lain capsule, and dried first by filtering paper, and finally on a water bath.” Br. 
Mercury, being much more volatile than the contaminating metals, rises first 
in distillation, while they are left behind. But it is necessary to avoid pushing 
the distillation too far; for in that event, some of the foreign metals are apt to 
be carried over. The British Council, on account of this danger, directs only 
five-sixths of the mercury to be distilled. The distilled product is b'dnd frr « part I. 
Hydrargyrum. 
453 
few minutes with dilute muriatic acid, which, while it does not attack the mer- 
cury, dissolves any contaminating metals which may have passed over. The dis- 
tillation is directed to be performed from a glass retort over a gas lamp; but ii 
is more conveniently conducted from an iron retort, over a common fire, intu 
water contained in a receiver. In small operations a wash-hand basin will an- 
swer for a receiver. Millon has ascertained the curious fact, that the presence or 
so small a quantity as one ten-thousandth of lead or zinc in mercury raises its 
boiling point. M. Yiolette has made known a new method of distilling mercury, 
or amalgamated silver, which presents many advantages. It consists in subject- 
ing the metal, in iron vessels, to a current of high pressure steam, which serves 
the double purpose of imparting the necessary heat, and carrying over the 
mercurial vapour by a mechanical agency. {Philos. Mag., Dec. 1850, from 
Comptes Rendus.) As it is difficult and troublesome to purify mercury by dis- 
tillation, it is better to purchase pure samples of the metal, which may always 
be found in the market. 
Medical Properties. Mercury, in its uncombined state, is inert; but, in com- 
bination, acts as a peculiar and universal stimulant. When exhibited in minute 
division, as it exists in several preparations, it produces its peculiar effects; but 
this does not prove that the uncombined metal is active, but only that the con- 
dition of minute division is favourable to its solution in the stomach. Its com- 
binations exhibit certain general medical properties and effects, which belong to 
the whole as a class; while each individual preparation is characterized by some 
peculiarity in its operation. In this place we shall consider the physiological 
action of mercury, and the principles by which its administration should be regu- 
lated; while its effects, as modified in its different combinations, will be noticed 
under the head of each preparation. 
Of the modus operandi of mercury we know nothing, except that it probably 
acts through the medium of the circulation, and that it possesses a peculiar al- 
terative power over the vital functions, which enables it in many cases to subvert 
diseased actions. This alterative power is sometimes exerted, without being at- 
tended with any other vital phenomenon than the removal of disease; while at 
other times it is attended with certain obvious effects, indicative of the agency 
of a potent stimulus. In the latter case, its operation is marked by a quickened 
circulation, by a frequent, jerking pulse, by an increased activity of all the secre- 
tory functions, particularly those of the salivary glands and the liver, by an 
exaltation of nervous sensibility, and, in short, by a general excitation of the 
organic actions of the system. 
When mercury acts slowly as an alterative, there is not the least apparent dis- 
turbance of the circulation. When it operates decidedly and obviously, it is very 
prone to let the brunt of its action fall upon the salivary glands, causing, in 
many instances, an immoderate flow of saliva, and constituting the condition 
denominated ptyalism or salivation. Under these circumstances the effects of 
depletion and revulsion are added to the alterative action of the metal. In the 
saliva discharged, as a consequence of its action, mercury has been detected by 
chemical tests. Occasionally its depletory action is exhibited in an increased 
secretion of urine, or an immoderate flow of the bile; and one or both of these 
effects are apt to be experienced where ptyalism cannot be induced. Mercury * 
has been found in the urine of those under the influence of corrosive sublimate, 
by M. Audouard. It has, indeed, been detected in most of the solids and fluids 
of the body, including the blood. When in the blood it cannot be detected by 
the ordinary tests, on account of its intimate union with the organic matter of 
that liquid. To discover it, the blood must be subjected to destructive distilla- 
tion. The liver is the organ which retains mercury the longest. It has been de- 
tected in that viscus, though absent in the lungs, heart, bile, and spinal marrow, 
in the body of a person who had long worked in mercury, but had desisted from 454 
Hydrargyrum. 
PART I. 
the occupation for a year before death, on account of the occurrence of mercurial 
cachexy. 
Mercury has been used in almost every disease, but too often empirically, and 
without the guidance of any recognised therapeutic principle. Nevertheless, its 
efficacy in certain classes of diseases is universally acknowledged. In functional 
derangement of the digestive organs, mercurials in minute doses often exert a 
salutary operation, subverting the morbid action, and that too by their slow, 
alterative effect, without affecting the mouth. In these cases no decided disturb- 
ance of the vital functions takes place; but the alvine discharges, if clay-coloured, 
are generally restored to their natural hue, a certain proof that the remedy is 
stimulating the liver, and promoting the secretion of the bile. Indeed, there is 
no fact better established in medicine than that of the influence of the mercurial 
preparations over the hepatic system; and, whether the liver be torpid and ob- 
structed as in jaundice, or pouring out a redundancy of morbid bile as in melaena, 
its judicious use seems equally efficacious in unloading the viscus, or restoring 
its secretion to a healthy state. In the acute and chronic hepatitis of India it 
is considered as almost a specific; but here its use must be carried to the ex- 
tent of exciting ptyalism. In chronic inflammation of the mucous and serous 
membranes, the alterative effects of mercury are sometimes attended with much 
benefit. In many of these cases effusion has taken place; and, under these cir- 
cumstances, the mercury often proves useful, as well by promoting absorption as 
by removing the chronic inflammation on which the effusion depends. Hence it 
is often given with advantage in chronic forms of meningitis, bronchitis, pleuritis, 
pneumonia, dysentery, rheumatism, &c., and in hydrocephalus, hydrothorax, as- 
cites, and general dropsy. 
Mercury may also be advantageously resorted to in certain states of febrile dis- 
ease. In some forms of remittent and typhoid fever, a particular stage is marked 
by a parched tongue, torpor of the bowels, scanty urine, and dryness of the sur- 
face. Here depletion by the lancet or leeches is generally inadmissible, and one 
of the measures most to be relied on is the very cautious employment of mercury. 
It acts in such cases by increasing the secretions and stimulating the exbalant capil- 
laries, and, perhaps, by producing a new impression incompatible with the disease. 
In syphilitic affections, mercury, until of late years, was held to be indispen- 
sable. Of its mode of action in these affections we know nothing, except that 
it operates by substituting its own peculiar impression for that of the disease. 
Without entering into the question of the necessity of mercury in venereal com- 
plaints, we are free to admit that the discussion which has grown out of it has 
shown that this remedy has frequently been unnecessarily resorted to in affec- 
tions resembling syphilis, though of a different character; and that the disease 
in question ought to be treated less empirically, and more in accordance with 
the general principles of combating morbid action. Mercury exerts a peculiar 
control over the deleterious effects of lead; and hence, in colica pictonum, it is 
accounted by some writers to act almost as a specific. 
For inducing the specific effects of mercury on the constitution, blue pill or 
calomel is generally resorted to. In order to produce what we have called the 
slow alterative effects of the metal, from half a grain to a grain of blue pill may 
be given in the twenty-four hours, or from a sixth to a fourth of a grain of calo- 
mel ; or, if a gentle ptyalism be our object, two or three grains of the former, or 
a grain of the latter, two or three times a day. Where the bowels are peculiarly 
irritable, it is often necessary to introduce the metal by means of frictions with 
mercurial ointment; and, where a speedy effect is desired, the internal aud ex- 
ternal use of the remedy may be simultaneously resorted to. 
The first observable effects of mercury in inducing ptyalism are a copper? taste 
in the mouth, a slight soreness of the gums, and an unpleasant sensation in the 
sockets of the teeth, when the jaws are firmly closed. Shortly afterwards the PART I. 
Hydrargyrum. 
455 
gams begin to swell, a line of whitish matter is seen along their edges, and the 
breath is infected with a peculiar and very disagreeable smell, called the mer 
curial fetor. The saliva at the same time begins to flow; and, if the affection 
proceeds, the gums, tongue, throat, and face are much swollen; ulcerations 
attack the lining membrane of the mouth and fauces; the jaws become exces- 
sively painful; the tongue is coated with a thick whitish fur; and the saliva 
flows in streams from the mouth. It occasionally happens that the affection of 
the mouth proceeds to a dangerous extent, inducing extensive ulceration, gan- 
grene, and even hemorrhage. The best remedies are astringent and detergent 
gargles, used weak at first, as the parts are extremely tender. In cases attended 
with swelling aud protrusion of the tongue, the wash is best applied by injec- 
tion, by means of a large syringe. We have found lead-water among the best 
applications in these cases; and dilute solutions of chlorinated soda or of chlo- 
rinated lime, while they correct the fetor, will be found to exert a curative in- 
fluence on the ulcerated surfaces. A wash of nitrate of silver, made by dissolving 
eight grains in a fluidounce of water, has also been used with benefit. 
While the system is under the actiou of mercury, the blood is more watery 
than in health, less charged with albumen, fibrin, and red globules, and loaded 
with a fetid fatty matter. (Dr. S. Wright, quoted by Christison.) When drawn 
from a vein, it exhibits the same appearance as in inflammation. 
In the foregoing observations we have described the ordinary effects of mer- 
cury ; but occasionally, in peculiar constitutions, its operation is quite different, 
being productive of a dangerous disturbance of the vital functions. The late 
Mr. Pearson gave a detailed account of this occasional peculiarity in the ope- 
ration of mercury, in his work on the venereal disease. The symptoms which 
characterize it are a small and frequent pulse, anxiety about the prmcordia, pale 
and contracted countenance, great nervous agitation, and alarming debility. 
Their appearance is the signal for discontinuing the mercury; as a further per- 
severance with it might be attended with fatal consequences. Mercury also pro- 
duces a peculiar eruption of the skin, which is described by writers under the 
various names of hydrargyria, eczema mercuriale, and lepra mercurialis. 
Those who work in mercury, and are, therefore, exposed to its vapour, such 
as water-gilders, looking-glass silverers, and quicksilver miners, are injured seri- 
ously in their health, and not unfrequently affected with shaking palsy, attended 
with vertigo and other cerebral disorders. The miners are often salivated. 
Mercury is sometimes given in the metallic state, in the quantity of a pound 
or two, in obstruction of the bowels, to act by its weight: but the practice is 
of doubtful advantage. 
Mercury is detected with great delicacy by Smithson’s process, which consists 
in the use of a plate of tin, lined with one of gold, in the form of a spiral. 
When immersed in a mercurial solution, this galvanic combination causes the 
precipitation of the mercury on the gold, which consequently contracts a white 
stain. In order to be sure that the stain is caused by mercury, the metal must 
be volatilized in a small tube, so as to obtain a characteristic globule. MM. Dan- 
ger and Flandin have improved on Smithson’s process. (See Chem. Gaz., No. 
61, p. 191.) A minute portion of any of the preparations of mercury, either in 
the solid state or in concentrated solution, being placed on a bright plate ot 
copper, and a drop of a strong solution of iodide of potassium added, a silvery 
characteristic stain will immediately appear on the copper. 
Mercury is officinal:— 
I. In the Metallic state. 
Hydrargyrum, U.S., Br.—Mercury. 
Emplastrum Ammoniaci cum Hydrargyro, U. S., Br.—Plaster of 
Ammoniac with Mercury. 
Emplastrum Hydrargyri, U. S., Br.—Plaster of Mercury. Hydrargyrum.—Hydrastis. 
PART I 
Hydrargyrum cum Creta, U. S., Br.—Mercury with Chalk. 
Pilulas Hydrargyri, U. S.; Pilula Hydrargyri, Br. — Mercurial 
Pills. Blue Pills. 
Unguentum Hydrargyri, U. S., Br. — Mercurial Ointment. 
Linimentum Hydrargyri, Br. —Liniment of Mercury. 
II. Oxidized. 
Hydrargyri Oxidum Rubrum, TJ.S.} Br. — Bed Oxide of Mercury. 
Bed precipitate. 
Unguentum Hydrargyri Oxidi Rubri, U. S., Br. — Ointment of Bed 
-> Oxide of Mercury. Bed precipitate ointment. 
III. Sulphuretted. 
Hydrargyri Sulphuretum Rubrum, TJ. S. — Bed Sulphuret of Mer- 
cury. Cinnabar. 
IY. As Protochloride. 
Hydrargyri Cldoridum Mite, U. S.; Calomelas, or Hydrargyri Sub- 
chloridum, Br. — Mild Chloride of Mercury. Calomel. 
Pilul® Antimonii Composite, U. S.; Pilula Calomelanos Composita, 
Br. — Compound Pills of Antimony. Compound Pills of 
Calomel. Plummer's Pills. 
Pilul® Cathartic® Composite, TJ. S.— Compound Cathartic Pills. 
V. As Bichloride. 
Hydrargyri Chloridum Corrosivum, TJ. S.; Hydrargyrum Corrosivum 
Sublimatum, or Hydrargyri Chloridum, Br. — Corrosive Chlo- 
ride of Mercury. Corrosive Sublimate. 
Hydrargyrum Ammoniatum, TJ. S., Br.—Ammoniated Mercury. 
White precipitate. 
Unguentum Hydrargyri Ammoniati, TJ. S , Br. — Ointment of 
Ammoniated Mercury. White precipitate ointment. 
VI. Combined with Iodine. 
Hydrargyri Iodidum Rubrum, TJ. S., Br. — Bed Iodide of Mercury. 
Liquor Arsenici et Hydrargyri Iodidi, TJ. S. — Solution of Iodide of 
Arsenic and Mercury. Donovan's Solution. 
Unguentum Hydrargyri Iodidi Rubri, Br. — Ointment of Bed 
Iodide of Mercury. 
Hydrargyri Iodidum Viride, TJ. S., Br. — Green Iodide of Mercury. 
VII. Combined with Cyanogen. 
Hydrargyri Cyanidum, TJ. S. — Cyanide of Mercury. 
VIII. Oxidized and combined with Acids. 
Liquor Hydrargyri Nitratis, U.S.; Liquor Hydrargyri Nitratis Acidus, 
Br. — Solution of Nitrate of Mercury. 
Unguentum Hydrargyri Nitratis, TJ. S., Br. — Ointment of Nitrate 
of Mercury. Citrine ointment. 
Hydrargyri Sulphas, Br. Appendix. — Sulphate of Mercury. 
Hydrargyri Sulphas Flava, TJ. S. — Yellow Sulphate of Mercury. 
Turpeth Mineral. B. 
HYDRASTIS. U.S. Secondary. 
Hydrastis. 
The root of Hydrastis Canadensis. U.S. 
Hydrastis. Sex. Syst. Polyandria Polygynia. — Nat. Ord. Ranunculace®. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx of three petalloid sepals, falling when the flower opens. 
Ovaries in a roundish-ovoid head; stigmas subsessile, dilated, flat, rounded at 
the apex. Carpels fleshy, one or two seeded, cohering in a compound beny. part I. 
Hydrastis. 
457 
This genus was at first included by Linnaeus in Hydrophyllum, but was after- 
wards separated, and received the name by which it is now generally recognised 
The officinal species is the only known oue of the genus. 
Hydrastis Canadensis. Gray, Manual of Bot. p. 14; figured in Griffith’s 
Med. Bot. p. 82. — Yellow-root. Orange-root. Yellow Puccoon. This is a small, 
herbaceous, perennial plant, with a thick, fleshy, yellow rhizoma, from which 
numerous long radical fibres proceed, and an erect, simple, pubescent stem, from 
six inches to a foot in height. There are usually but two leaves, which are 
unequal, one sessile at the top of the stem, the other attached to it a short 
distance below by a thick, roundish footstalk, causing the stem to appear as if 
bifurcate near the summit. The leaves are pubescent, roundish-cordate, with 
from three to seven, but generally five lobes, which are pointed and unequally 
serrate. A solitary flower stands upon a peduncle rising from the basis of the 
upper leaf. It is whitish, rose-coloured, or purplish, without corolla, but with 
a coloured calyx, the sepals of which closely resemble petals, and are very cadu- 
cous, falling very soon after the flower has expanded. The fruit is a globose, 
compound, red or purple berry, half an inch or more in diameter, composed of 
many minute granules, each containing one, or more rarely two seeds. The 
plant grows in moist, rich woodlands, in most parts of the United States, but 
abundantly in the North and West. The fruit bears a close resemblance to the 
raspberry, but is not edible. The root is the part employed. Though long in 
use in domestic and empirical practice, and more or less among regular practi- 
tioners, it was not recognised as officinal before the publication of the present 
edition of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, in which it holds a place in the Secondary 
Catalogue. The Indians employed it for staining and dyeing yellow, and it is 
said to impart a rich and permanent yellow, and with indigo a fine green to 
wool, silk, and cotton. 
Properties. The fresh root is juicy and loses much of its weight in drying. 
The dried caudex or rhizoma is contorted, irregular, very rough and wrinkled, 
hard and brittle, from an inch to two inches or more in length, usually two 
or three lines in thickness, and either beset with numerous slender rootlets, or 
showing marks upon the surface where they have been broken off. Many of the 
detached rootlets are mixed with the rhizomas in mass. The colour of the rhi- 
zoma, though yellow in the recent root, becomes of a dark yellowish-brown by 
age; that of the rootlets and the interior of the root is yellow, and of the powder 
still more so. The odour is strong, sweetish, and somewhat narcotic, the taste 
bitter and peculiar. The root imparts its virtues and colouring matters to water 
and alcohol. Examined by Mr. Alfred A. B. Durand, of Philadelphia, it was 
found to contain albumen, starch, fatty matter, resin, yellow colouring matter, 
sugar, lignin, and various salts. He also discovered a peculiar nitrogenous, crys- 
tallizable substance, for which he proposed the provisional name of hydrastin, 
until it should be'determined whether it was, as he suspected, an organic alkali. 
(Am. Journ. of Pharm., April, 1851, p. 112.) Since that time it has been ascer- 
tained that the claims of this principle to be considered an alkaloid were just, and 
it has definitely taken the name of hydrastia, of which hydrastin and hydrastina 
are merely synonymes. It has also been determined that the root contains another 
alkaloid, to which it owes its yellow colour, and which is probably identical 
with the yellow colouring matter of Mr. A muriate of this latter 
alkaloid, obtained by the precipitation essentially of an infusion of the root by 
muriatic acid, has been for some time known and used by the “Eclectics” under 
the name of hydrastin, and the reader must be cautious not to confound this 
substance with the alkaloid to which the name properly belongs. Mr. F. Mahla 
first ascertained that this new alkaloid of hydrastis is in fact berberina (Am. 
Journ. of Sci. and Arts, Jan. 1862, p. 43), which was long since found in the 
root of Berberis vulgaris, and has since been detected in columbo, and other 458 
Hydrastis. 
part l. 
medicinal roots. An account of its mode of preparation and properties is con- 
tained in the article on Berberis. (See page 168.) It exists in large proportion 
in hydrastis, constituting, according to Perrins, nearly 4 per cent. There can 
be no doubt that this medicine owes much of its virtues to berberina. 
Hydrastia, which is its characteristic alkaloid, may be obtained by exhausting 
the powdered root as far as possible with water by percolation, adding muriatic 
acid to the infusion so as to precipitate the berberina in the form of muriate, and 
treating the mother-liquor with solution of ammonia in slight excess. The hy- 
drastia is precipitated, in an impure state, and may be purified by repeated 
solution in boiling alcohol, which deposits it in crystals on cooling. A little 
animal charcoal may be used towards the close of the process, in order com- 
pletely to deprive the crystals of colour. To Mr. Malila, of Chicago, and Mr. 
Perrins, of London, is due the credit of having fully investigated the properties 
of this alkaloid.* Hydrastia crystallizes in brilliant, four-sided prisms, which 
are white or colourless when pure, inodorous, and almost tasteless in conse- 
quence of their insolubility in the saliva, but become bitter and somewhat acrid 
in saline combination. It melts at 215° F., is decomposed at a higher tempera- 
ture, and is inflammable. It is nearly insoluble in water, but is readily dissolved 
by alcohol, ether, chloroform, and benzole. It has an alkaline reaction, and with 
the acids forms salts, most of which are readily soluble in water, and, according 
to Mr. Merrill, of Cincinnati, either uncrystallizable, or crystallizable with diffi- 
culty. The alkalies and tannic acid precipitate it from its saline solutions. With 
sulphuric acid and bichromate of potassa or red oxide of lead, it assumes a red 
colour; but differs from strychnia in exhibiting no tint of blue or violet. Its 
constituents are carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen, and its formula, as 
given by Mr. Mahla, is C44H24N012. Mr. Perrins obtained 15 per cent, of it 
from the root; and, having given five grains of it to a rabbit, without any other 
effect than a slight uneasiness which soon ceased, concluded justly that it was 
not poisonous. 
It is highly probable, from the odour of hydrastis, that, besides the two alka- 
loids here mentioned, it contains also an active volatile principle; but this has 
not yet been isolated. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Yery diversified powers have been claimed for 
hydrastis. Thus, while all admit its tonic properties, it is considered by different 
practitioners as aperient, alterative-in its influence on the mucous membranes, 
cholagogue, deobstruent in reference to the glands generally, diuretic, antiseptic, 
&c. It has been employed in dyspepsia and other affections requiring tonic 
treatment, in jaundice and other functional disorders of the liver, as a laxative 
in constipation and piles, and as an alterative in various diseases of the mucous 
membranes, as catarrh, chronic enteritis, cystirrhcea, leucorrhoea, gonorrhoea, &c., 
being used in the latter complaints both internally and locally. By some it is 
used as one of the best substitutes for quinia in intermittents. In the form of 
infusion, it has been used in the Western States as a topical application in 
ophthalmia; and the Indians are said to employ it in the same manner in old 
ulcers of the legs. The notion of its efficacy in cancer, originating in a report 
which reached the late Professor Barton, that it was used in the cure of this 
complaint by the Cherokees, is probably altogether groundless. Dr. TJ. E. Ewing, 
of Lexington, Kv., and Dr. D. M. McCann, of Martinsburgh, Ohio, have recom- 
mended an infusion or decoction of the root as an injection in gonorrhoea. Dr. 
McCann made the decoction in the proportion of a drachm of the dried root to 
a pint of water, and injected a syringeful three times a day. Dr. Ewing used 
the infusion with the addition of sulphate of copper. {Med. Examiner, N. S., 
* For a paper by Mr. Mahla, see American Journal of Sci. and Arts, July, 1803, p. 57, a\id 
for another by Mr. J. Dyson Perrins, of London, the Pharm. Journ., May, 1862, p. 510 PART I. 
Hydrastis.—Hyoscyamus. 
459 
vii. 738.) Dr. P. C. Gooch has subsequently used it in five cases, and obtained 
no good effect whatever. (Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., N. S., xxiii. 286.) But a 
more precise investigation into its physiological and therapeutic properties is 
necessary, before we can venture to decide upon its place among medicines. 
It has been given in the form of infusion, decoction, tincture, and extract; 
but no preparation is yet officinal. Till regular formulas are adopted, the root 
may be treated like columbo or gentian. The impure muriate of berberina, ob- 
tained as above mentioned from hydrastis, is used by the “Eclectics,” under the 
name of hydrastiu, in the dose of from three to five grains. Hydrastis might 
probably be advantageously prepared in the form of a fluid extract; as little as 
possible of its odorous volatile principle being allowed to escape. W. 
HYOSCYAMI FOLIUM. U.S. 
Henbane Leaf. 
The leaves of Hyoscyamus niger. U. S. 
Off. Syn. HYOSCYAMUS. Hyoscyamus niger. The leaves and branches 
of the biennial plant dried; collected when about two-thirds of the flowers are 
expanded. Br. 
HYOSCYAMI SEMEN. U.S. 
Henbane Seed. 
The seed of Hyoscyamus niger. U. S. 
Jusquiame noire, Fr.; Schwarzes Bilsenkraut, Germ.; Giusquiamo nero, Ital.; Beleno, 
Span. 
Hyoscyamus. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Solanaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Corolla funnel-form, obtuse. Stamens inclined. Capsules covered 
with a lid, two-celled. Willd. 
Hyoscyamus niger. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1010; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 204, t. 
76; Carson, Illust. of Med. Bot. ii. 19, pi. 66. Henbane is usually a biennial 
plant, with a long, tapering, whitish, fleshy, somewhat branching root, not unlike 
that of parsley, for which it has been eaten by mistake, with poisonous effects. 
The stem, which rises in the second year, is erect, round, branching, from one 
to four feet high, and thickly furnished with leaves. These are large, oblong- 
ovate, deeply sinuated with pointed segments, undulated, soft to the touch, and 
at their base embrace the stem. The upper leaves are generally entire. Both 
the stem and leaves are hairy, viscid, and of a sea-green colour. The flowers 
form long, one-sided, leafy spikes, which terminate the branches, and hang 
downwards. They are composed of a calyx with five pointed divisions, a funnel- 
shaped corolla, with five unequal, obtuse segments at the border, five stamens 
inserted into the tube of the corolla, and a pistil with a blunt, round stigma. 
Their colour is an obscure yellow, beautifully variegated with purple veins. The 
fruit is a globular two-celled capsule, covered with a lid, invested with the per- 
sistent calyx, and containing numerous small seeds, which are discharged by the 
horizontal separation of the lid. The whole plant has a rank offensive smell. 
H. niger is susceptible of considerable diversity of character, causing varie- 
ties which have by some been considered as distinct species. Thus, the plant is 
sometimes annual, the stem simple, smaller, and less downy than in the biennial 
plant, the leaves more deeply incised and less hairy and viscid, and the flowers 
often yellow without the purple streaks. It is not known whether any difference 
of medical properties is connected with these diversities of character; but the 
London College directs the biennial variety. 
The plant is found in the northern and eastern sections of the United States, Uyoscyami Folium.—Hyoscyami Semen. 
part I. 
occupying waste grounds in the older settlements, particularly graveyards, old 
gardens, and the foundations of ruined houses. It grows in great abundance 
about Detroit, in Michigan. It is not, however, a native of this country, having 
been introduced from Europe. In Great Britain, and on the continent of Eu- 
rope, it grows abundantly along the roads, around villages, amidst rubbish, and 
in uncultivated places. Both varieties are cultivated in England. The annual 
plant flowers in July or August, the biennial in May or June.* 
H. albus, so named from the whiteness of its flowers, is used in France in- 
discriminately with the former species, with which it appears to be identical in 
medicinal properties. 
All parts of Hyoscyamus niger are active. The leaves are usually employed, 
but both these and the seeds are recognised in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. Much 
of the efficacy of henbane depends upon the time at which it is gathered. The 
leaves should be collected soon after the plant has flowered. In the biennial 
plant, those of the second year are preferred to those of the first. The latter, 
according to Dr. Houlton, are less clammy and fetid, yield less extractive, and 
are medicinally much less efficient. It is said that the plant is sometimes de- 
stroyed by severe winters in England, and that no leaves of the second year?s 
growth are obtainable. This is, perhaps, one of the causes of the great uncer- 
tainty of the medicine as found in the shops. The root also is said to be much 
more poisonous in the second year than in the first. 
Properties. The recent leaves have, when bruised, a strong, disagreeable, 
narcotic odour, somewhat like that of tobacco. Their taste is mucilaginous and 
very slightly acrid. When dried, they have little smell or taste. Thrown upon 
the fire, they burn with a crackling noise as if they contained a nitrate, and at 
the same time emit a strong odour. Their virtues are completely extracted by 
diluted alcohol. The watery infusion is of a pale-yellow colour, insipid, with the 
narcotic odour of the plant. The leaves were analyzed by Lindbergsen, who ob- 
tained from them a narcotic principle. They contain a large proportion of 
nitrate of potassa; Mr. F. Malila having obtained, as nearly as he could esti- 
mate from his experiments, 2 per cent, of that salt. {Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
Sept. 1859, p. 402.) The seeds are very small, roundish, compressed, somewhat 
kidney-shaped, a little wrinkled, of a gray or yellowish-gray colour, of the odour 
of the plant, and an oleaginous, bitterish taste. Analyzed by Brandes, they 
yielded 24’2 per cent, of fixed oil, l-4 of a solid fatty substance, traces of sugar, 
1‘2 of gum, 2-4 of bassorin, 1-5 of starch, 34 of a substance soluble in water, 
insoluble in alcohol, and precipitated by infusion of galls (phyteumacolla, 
Brandes), 4'5 of albumen, 26 0 of vegetable fibre, 241 of water, and 9'T of 
salts, including the malate of an alkaline principle called hyoscyamin or hyoscya- 
mia. But the process employed by Brandes for separating this principle has 
not succeeded in other hands; and it is doubtful whether the substance obtained 
by him was really what he supposed it to be. Geiger and Hesse were the first 
to demonstrate the existence of an organic alkali in hyoscyamus. Its extraction 
from the plant is somewhat difficult, in consequence of its tendency to undergo 
change by the contact of alkaline solutions, which render it very soluble in 
water. The following is the process of these chemists. The seeds are macerated 
in alcohol; the tincture obtained is evaporated by a very gentle heat, decolorized 
by repeated additions of lime and sulphuric acid, with filtration after each addi- 
tion, and then still further concentrated by evaporation; an excess of powdered 
carbonate of soda is added, and the precipitate produced is separated, as speedily 
as possible, from the alkaline carbonate by expressing and treating it with abso- 
lute alcohol, while the mother-waters are at the same time treated with ether; 
* For an account of the cultivation of the biennial variety of H. niger at Ilitchin, Herts, 
England, see Pharm. Journ., Feb. 1860, p. 414. part I. 
Hyoscyami Folium.—Hyoscyami Semen. 
461 
the alcoholic and ethereal liquors are united, again treated with lime, filtered, de- 
colorized with animal charcoal, and evaporated by a very gentle heat. If the 
hyoscyamia now deposited should still be coloured, it will be necessary to com- 
bine it anew with an acid, and proceed as before, in order to obtain it quite pure. 
The product is very small. 
From experiments made by Mr. Hirtz upon the relative medicinal power of 
extracts from the seeds and leaves, he inferred that the former had ten times the 
strength of the latter. 
Hyoscyamia crystallizes in colourless, transparent, silky needles, is inodorous, 
of an acrid disagreeable taste, slightly soluble in water, very soluble in alcohol 
and ether, and volatilizable with little change if carefully distilled. It is quickly 
altered by contact with water and an alkali, and when heated with potassa or 
soda is completely decomposed, with the disengagement of ammonia. It neu- 
tralizes the acids, forming crystallizable salts, and is precipitated by infusion of 
galls. The alkaloid and its salts are very poisonous; and the smallest quantity, 
introduced into the eye, produces dilatation of the pupil, which continues long. 
Henbane leaves yield, by destructive distillation, a very poisonous empyreu- 
matic oil. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Hyoscyamus ranks among the narcotics. In 
moderate quantities it gently accelerates the circulation, increases the general 
warmth, occasions a sense of heat in the throat, and after a short period induces 
sleep. This action is sometimes attended with vertigo, pain in the head, and 
dilated pupils; and the medicine occasionally acts as a diaphoretic or diuretic, 
and even produces a pustular eruption. It does not constipate like opium, but, 
on the contrary, often proves laxative. In overdoses it powerfully irritates the 
brain and alimentary canal, causing dilatation of the pupil, disordered vision, 
loss of speech, difficult deglutition, delirious intoxication or stupor, great rest- 
lessness or jactitation, sometimes tonic spasms, convulsions, paralysis, pain in 
the bowels, diarrhoea, excitement of the circulation, followed by great feeble- 
ness of the pulse, coldness of the surface, petechiae, and other alarming symp- 
toms, which sometimes end in death. Dissection exhibits marks of inflamma- 
tion of the stomach and bowels. The poisonous effects are to be counteracted 
in the same manner as those of opium. Dr. Garrod has suggested animal 
charcoal as an antidote, as it has the property of absorbing the active prin- 
ciple, and thus rendering it inert. All parts of H. niger are deleterious when 
largely taken; but the seeds are said to be most powerful. Upon inferior 
animals its effects are not always the same. Though fatal to birds and dogs, 
the leaves are eaten with entire impunity by horses, cows, sheep, goats, and 
swine. It is not impossible that injury has in some cases resulted from the use 
of milk, derived from cows or goats which had been feeding on henbane. Ac- 
cording to Dr. Garrod, the remedial properties of hyoscyamus are completely 
neutralized by solution of potassa or soda; so that they cannot properly be com- 
bined in prescriptions; but as the carbonates of the alkalies have no such effect, 
these should be substituted. From these facts it might be inferred that the 
caustic alkalies would be the best antidote to the poisonous effects of hyoscya- 
mus; but the quantity required would be so great as to endanger the integrity 
of the gastric mucous membrane, and thus probably to cause more danger than 
the poison itself. {Med. Times and Gaz., Dec. 1857, p. 589.) 
The remedial operation of hyoscyamus is anodyne and soporific. The medi- 
cine was known to the ancients, and was employed by some of the earlier modern 
practitioners; but had fallen into disuse, and was almost forgotten, when Baron 
Storck again introduced it into notice. By this physician and some of his suc- 
cessors it was prescribed in numerous diseases, and, if we may credit their tes- 
timony, with the happiest effects; but subsequent experience of its operation 
has been such as very much to narrow the extent of its application. It is at Hyoscyami Folium.—Hyoscyami Semen. 
part I. 
462 
present used almost exclusively to relieve pain, procure sleep, or quiet irregular 
nervous action; and is not supposed to exercise any specific curative influence 
over particular diseases. Even for the purposes which it is calculated to answer 
it is infinitely inferior to opium or its preparations; and is generally resorted to 
only in cases in which the latter remedy is from peculiar circumstances deemed 
inadmissible. Hyoscyamus has one great advantage over opium in certain cases, 
that it has no tendency to produce constipation. The diseases to which it is 
applicable it would be useless to enumerate, as there are few in which circum- 
stances might not be such as to call for its employment. Neuralgic and spas- 
modic affections, rheumatism, gout, hysteria, and various pectoral diseases, as 
catarrh, pertussis, asthma, phthisis, &c., are among those in which it is most 
frequently prescribed. It is also much used in connection with griping cathar- 
tics, the disagreeable effects of which it is thought to counteract. The officinal 
pills of colocynth and henbane are formed upon this principle. In Europe, 
where the fresh leaves are readily obtained, it is often applied externally in the 
shape of lotion, cataplasm, or fomentation, to allay pain and irritation, in scrof- 
ulous or cancerous ulcers, scirrhous, hemorrhoidal, or other painful tumours, 
gouty and rheumatic swellings, and nervous headache. The smoke of the leaves 
or seeds has also been used in toothache; but the practice is deemed hazardous. 
Henbane is used by European oculists for dilating the pupil, previously to the 
operation for cataract. For this purpose an infusion of the leaves, or a solu- 
tion of the extract, is dropped into the eye. The effect is usually greatest at the 
end of four hours from the application, and in twelve hours ceases entirely. 
Vision is not impaired during its continuance. Reisinger recommends a solution 
of hyoseyamia in the proportion of one grain to twenty-four of water, of which 
one drop is to be applied to the eye. Its solubility in water gives it an advan- 
tage for this purpose over atropia, the alcoholic solution of which irritates the 
conjunctiva. According to Schroff, there is nothing which acts so quickly and so 
powerfully in dilating the pupil. He uses one part of hyoseyamia, one hundred 
parts of water, and ten of alcohol, the latter fluid being added to prevent decom- 
position. (Annuaire de Therap., A. D. 1858, p. 25.) 
Henbane may be given in substance, extract, or tincture. The dose of the 
powdered leaves is from five to ten grains, of the seeds somewhat smaller. The 
common extract, or inspissated juice of the fresh leaves (Extractum Hyoscy- 
ami, U. S.), is exceedingly variable in its operation, being sometimes active, 
sometimes almost inert. The usual dose is two or three grains, repeated and 
gradually increased till its effects are obtained. Cullen rarely procured its 
anodyne operation till he had carried the dose to eight, ten, or even fifteen or 
twenty grains. Collins pushed it to thirty-six grains; and Professor Fouquier, 
who experimented largely with hyoscyamus in the Hopital de la Charite, gave 
two hundred and fifty grains of the extract during twenty-four hours, without 
any specific or curative impression. (Richard, Elem. Hist. Nat. Med.) The alco- 
holic extract, prepared from the recently dried leaves (Extractum Hyoscyami 
Alcohol icum,U. S.), is said to be more certain. The dose of this to begin with 
is one or two grains, which may be increased gradually to twenty or thirty 
grains. An extract from the* seeds would, no doubt, be much more efficacious. 
The dose of the tincture is one or two fluidrachms. A fluid extract is directed 
by the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. (See Extractum Hyoscyami Fluidum.) A good 
plan, in administering any of the preparations, is to repeat the dose every hour 
or two till its influence is felt. Schroff has given hyoseyamia with good effects 
in allaying cough and procuring sleep, prescribing it in the form of powder 
mixed with sugar, in doses varying from the sixtieth to the twentieth of a grain. 
He has found the tenth of a grain too much. 
Off. Prep. Extractum Hyoscyami; Extractum Hyoscyami Alcoholicum,U. S.; 
Extractum Hyoscyami Fluidum, U. Tinctura Hyoscyami. W. PART I. 
Ichthyocolla. 
463 
ICHTHYOCOLLA. U.& 
Isinglass. 
The swimming bladder of Acipenser ITnso. and of other species of fish. U. S. 
Fish-glue; Ichtliyocolle, colie de poisson, Fr.; Hausenblase, Fischleim, Germ.; Colla di 
pesce, Ital.; Cola de pescado. Span. 
Isinglass is a gelatinous substance, prepared chiefly from the sounds or swim- 
ming bladders of fishes, especially those of different species of sturgeon. Though 
not retained in the British Pharmacopoeia, it still has a place in that of the U. 
States, and is universally kept in the shops. 
In most fishes there is a membranous bag, placed in the anterior part of the 
abdomen, communicating frequently, though not always, by means of a duct, 
with the oesophagus or stomach, and containing usually a mixture of oxygen and 
uitrogen gases in various proportions. From the supposition that it was in- 
tended by its expansion or contraction to enable the fish to rise or sink in the 
wrnter, it has been denominated swimming bladder. It is of different shape in 
different fishes, and consists of three coats, of which the two interior are thin 
and delicate, the outer tough and of a silvery whiteness. 
The Acipenser Huso, or beluga of the Russians, is particularly designated 
by the Pharmacopoeia as the species of sturgeon from which isinglass is pro- 
cured; but three others, the A. Ruthenus, or sterlet, A. sturio, or common stur- 
geon, and A. stellatus, or starred sturgeon, also furnish large quantities to com 
merce. All these fish inhabit the interior waters of Russia, especially the Wolga 
and other streams which empty into the Caspian Sea. Immense numbers are 
annually taken, and consumed as food by the Russians. The air-bags are re- 
moved from the fish, and, having been split open and washed in water in order 
to separate the blood, fat, and adhering extraneous membranes, are spread out, 
and when sufficiently stiffened' are formed into cylindrical rolls, the ends of which 
are brought together and secured by pegs. The shape given to the roll is that 
of a staple, or more accurately that of a lyre, which it firmly retains when dried. 
Thus prepared it is known in commerce by the name of staple isinglass, and is 
distinguished into the long and short staple. Sometimes the membranes are 
dried in a flat state, or simply folded, and then receive the name of leaf or book 
isinglass. The scraps or fragments of these varieties, with various other parts 
of the fish, are boiled in water, which dissolves the gelatin, and upon evaporation 
leaves it in a solid state. This is called cake isinglass, from the shape which 
it is made to assume. It is sometimes, however, in globular masses. Of these 
varieties, the long staple is said to be the best; but the finest book isinglass is 
not surpassed by any brought to this country. It is remarkable for its beautiful 
iridescence by transmitted light. One hundred grains of this isinglass dissolve 
in ten ounces of water, forming a tremulous jelly when cold, and yield but two 
grains of insoluble residuum. That in cakes is brownish, of an unpleasant odour, 
and employed only in the arts. Inferior kinds, with the same commercial titles, 
are said to be prepared from the peritoneum and intestines of the fish. An in- 
ferior Russian product, known in English commerce by the name of Samovey 
isinglass, is procured, according to Pereira, from the Silurus Glanis. It comes, 
like the better kind, in the shape of leaf, book, and short staple. 
Isinglass, little inferior to the Russian, is made in Iceland from the sounds of 
the cod and ling. It is said also to be prepared by the fishermen of Newfound- 
land. We receive from Brazil the air-bladders of a large fish, prepared by drying 
them in their distended state. They are oblong, tapering, and pointed at one 
end, bifid with the remains of their pneumatic duct at the other, and of a firm 
consistence. The Brazilian isinglass is inferior to the Russian. Considerable 
quantities have been manufactured in NewEnglaud, as formerly supposed; from the 464 
Ichthyocolla. 
PART I. 
intestines of the cod, and of other allied fishes. This sort is in the form of thin 
ribbons several feet in length, and from an inch and a half to two inches in width. 
One hundred grains dissolve almost entirely in water, leaving but two grains of 
insoluble membrane, and form a tremulous jelly when cold with eight ounces of 
water. It is, therefore, as pure and nearly as strong a gelatin as the Russian 
isinglass; but it retains a fishy taste and odour, which render it unfit for culinary 
or medicinal purposes. Isinglass of good quality has also been made in New 
York from the sounds of the weak fish—Otolithus regalis of Cuvier (Storer, 
Rep. on Fishes of Mass., p. 33)—and perhaps of other fishes caught in the 
neighbourhood. The sounds are dried whole, or merely split open, and vary 
much in size and texture, weighing from a drachm to an ounce. An article called 
“refined or transparent isinglass” is made by dissolving the New England 
isinglass in hot water, and spreading the solution to dry on oiled muslin. It is 
in very thin transparent plates, and is an excellent glue, but retains a strong 
fishy odour. A preparation called Cooper's gelatin has been introduced as a 
substitute for isioglass in making jellies. It appears to be the dried froth of a 
solution of pure bone glue. Most of the above facts, in relation to American 
isinglass, were derived from papers by D. B. Smith, in the Journ. of the Phil. 
Col. of Pharm. (iii. 17 and 92). 
Mr. C. T. Carney states that the New England-isinglass is prepared, not as 
supposed from the intestines of fish, but from the sounds of the hake (Genius 
merluccius), by the following process. Having been taken from the fish, split 
open, cleansed, and dried, they are soaked in water till sufficiently soft, then 
passed through rollers so as to form a large, homogeneous, dough-like sheet, 
which is cut into strips, and then again passed through rollers till reduced to a 
ribbon-like form. The pieces thus prepared are thoroughly dried, and folded 
into bundles. (Proceed. of Am. Pharm. Assoc., A. D. 1857.) 
Isinglass is sometimes kept in the shops cut into fine shreds, and is thus more 
easily acted on by boiling water. 
Properties. In its purest form it is whitish, semi-transparent, of a shining, 
pearly appearance, and destitute of smell and taste. The inferior kinds are yel- 
lowish and more opaque. In cold water it softens, swells up, and becomes opa- 
lescent. Boiling water entirely dissolves it, with the exception of a minute pro- 
portion of impurities, amounting, according to Mr. Hatchet, to less than 2 
per cent. The solution on cooling assumes the form of a jelly, which consists 
of pure gelatin and water. Isinglass is in fact the purest form of gelatin with 
which we are acquainted, and may be used whenever this principle is required 
as a test. It is insoluble in alcohol, but is dissolved readily by most of the diluted 
acids, and by alkaline solutions. It has a strong affinity for tannin, with which 
it forms an insoluble compound. Boiled with sulphuric acid, it is converted into 
a peculiar saccharine matter, called glycocoll, or sugar of gelatin. Its aqueous 
solution speedily putrefies. 
An ingenious adulteration of isinglass has been practised in London, appa- 
rently by rolling a layer of gelatin between two layers of the genuine substance. 
This may be detected by the disagreeable odour and taste of the adulterated 
drug, and the effects of water upon it. Genuine isinglass, cut into shreds and 
treated with water, becomes opalescent and more opaque than before; while the 
shreds, though they soften and swell, remain unbroken, and, when examined by 
the microscope, are seen to be decidedly fibrous. Gelatin, on the contrary, when 
similarly treated, becomes more transparent than before; the shreds are disin- 
tegrated, and the structure appears amorphous under the microscope. In the 
adulterated article, both these characters are presented in layers more or less 
distinct. {Pharm. Journ., ix. 505.) 
A false isinglass has been imported into England from Para, in Brazil, con- 
sisting of the dried ovary of a large fish. It has somewhat the form of a bunch part i. 
Ichthyocolla.—Ignatia. 
465 
of grapes, consisting of ovoid or roundish masses, attached by a footstalk to a 
central axis. It is not gelatinous, and is unfit for the purposes to which isinglass 
is applied. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxv. 144.)* 
Medical Properties and Uses. Isinglass has no peculiar medical properties. 
It may be given internally, in the form of jelly, as a highly nutritious article 
of diet; but it has no advantage over the jelly made from calves-feet. Three 
drachms impart sufficient consistency to a pint of water. It is employed for clari- 
fying liquors, and imparting lustre to various woven fabrics. Added in small 
quantities to vegetable jellies, it gives them a tremulous appearance, which they 
want when unmixed. As a test of tannin it is used in solution, in the propor- 
tion of a drachm to ten fluidounces of distilled water. It forms the basis of the 
English court-plaster. W. 
IGNATIA. U.JS. 
Ignatia. Bean of Saint Ignatius. 
The seed of Strychnos Ignatia (Lindley). U. S. 
Faba Sancti Ignatii, Lat.; F&ve de Saint Iguace, Fr.; Ignatiusbohne, bittere Fieber- 
nuss, Germ.; Fava di Santo Ignazio. Ital.; Ilaba de Santo Ignacio, Span. 
Strychnos. See NUX VOMICA. 
Strychnos Ignatia. Lindley, Flor. Med. 530.—Ignatia amara. Linn. Suppl. 
This species of Strychnos is a tree of middling size, with numerous long, cylin- 
drical, glabrous, vine-like branches, which bear opposite, nearly sessile, oval, 
pointed, entire, and very smooth leaves. The flowers are long, nodding, white, 
tubular, fragrant, and arranged in short axillary racemes. The fruit is of the 
size and shape of a pear, with a smooth, whitish, ligneous rind, enclosing about 
twenty seeds, embedded in a dry medullary matter, and lying one upon the 
other. The seeds are the part used. The tree is a native of the Philippine Islands, 
where the seeds were highly esteemed as a medicine, and, having attracted the 
attention of the Jesuits, were honoured with the name of their founder. 
Properties. The seeds are about an inch long, rather less in breadth, still 
less in thickness, convex on one side, obscurely angular, with two, three, or 
four faces on the other, and marked at one end with a small depression indicating 
their point of attachment. They are externally of a pale-brown colour, appa- 
rently smooth, but covered in fact with a short down or efflorescence, which may 
be removed by scraping them with a knife. They are somewhat translucent, and 
their substance is very hard and horny. They have no smell, but an excessively 
bitter taste. To Pelletier and Caventou they yielded the same constituents as 
nux vomica, and, among them, 1 -2 per cent, of strychnia. Analyzed by Mr. J. 
M. Caldwell, they were found to contain the two alkaloids, strychnia and brucia, 
* Japanese Isinglass. Under this name, which, however, is altogether inappropriate, a 
substance has been recently brought into the English market, prepared from sea-weeds in 
China and Japan. Two forms of it are described by Mr. Hanbury, one in irregularly four- 
sided sticks, about eleven inches long, very light and porous, the other in long shrivelled 
strips about one-eighth of an inch thick. It is translucent, yellowish-white, without smell 
or taste, insoluble in cold water, but swelling up and softening under its influence, and 
dissolved in great measure by boiling water, with which it gelatinizes on cooling. The 
peculiarities of this substance are owing to a principle denominated gelose by Payer*, which 
resembles gelatin in its gelatinizing property, but differs in its chemical relations, and is 
probably peculiar. It resembles the carrageenin of Irish moss, but has a greater gelati- 
nizing power. The jelly formed by dissolving it in boiling water and allowing the solution 
to cool, requires a higher temperature to liquefy it than gelatin jelly, and does not melt 
in the mouth. Gelose differs from gelatin in not being precipitated by tannic acid, and from 
uce jelly in not being rendered blue by iodine. Japan isinglass is used for the same pur- 
poses as that of animal origin. It is derived, according to Mr. Hanbury, from different 
species of various genera of sea-weed, and especially Gelidium corneum. (See Am. Journ. of 
Fharm., July, 1860, p. 354.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 466 
Ignatia.—Inula. 
PART I. 
combined with igasuric acid, and, besides these, a volatile principle, extractive, 
gum, resin, colouring matter, fixed oil, and bassorin, but no starch or albumen. 
(Am. Journ. of Pharm., July, 1857, p. 298.) In consequence of the relatively 
larger proportion of strychnia which they yield, they have been considerably 
used, instead of nux vomica, in the preparation of that alkaloid. 
Medical Properties and Uses. MM. Magendie and Delile have proved that 
ignatia acts on the human system in the same manner as nux vomica. In the 
Philippines, the seeds have been employed for the cure of obstinate intermittents, 
and in numerous other diseases. It is probable that, in small doses, they act as 
a tonic. Recently, an extract prepared from them has been much used, having 
been first introduced into notice empirically, under the name of ignatia amara. 
It has been employed chiefly in cases of debility of the digestive organs, or gen- 
eral defect of nervous power; but, being in all probability identical in its effects 
with a similar preparation of nux vomica, though somewhat stronger, it may be 
used for all the therapeutic purposes to which the latter medicine is applied. It 
is scarcely necessary to observe that so energetic a substance should never be 
taken without regular medical supervision, as it may prove, if abused, a terrific 
poison. An extract is directed, in the present edition of the U. S. Pharma- 
copoeia. (See Extractum Ignatiae. Alcoholicum.) The dose may be from half a 
grain to a grain and a half, in pill, three times a day. A tincture may also be 
used. Prof. Procter has given the following formula for its preparation. Powder 
four troyounces of the beans coarsely by grinding, or in a mortar, add two fluid- 
ounces of water to the powder in a bottle, and heat by a water-bath until it swells 
up; then pour on it half a pint of alcohol, and, having continued the heat for 
three hours, put the whole into a percolator, and displace with alcohol until a 
pint of tincture is obtained. Or, half an ounce of the extract may be dissolved 
in a pint of alcohol. The commencing dose, corresponding with that above 
stated of the extract, would be about sixteen minims. 
Off. Prep. Extractum Ignatiae Alcoholicum, U. S. W 
INULA. U S. Secondary. 
Elecampane. 
The root of Inula Ilelenium. U. S. 
Aun6e, Fr.; Alantwurzel, Germ.; Er.ula campana, Ital., Span. 
Inula. Sex. Syst. Syngenesia Superflua. — Nat. Ord. Compositm-Asteroideae, 
De Cand. Asteraceae, Lindley. 
Gen.Ch. Receptacle waked. Seed-down simple. Anthers ending in two bristles 
at the base. Willd. 
Inula Ilelenium. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 2089; Woodv. Med. Pot. p. 64, t. 26. 
Elecampane has a perennial root, and an annual stem, which is round, furrowed, 
villous, leafy, from three to six feet high, and branched near the top. The leaves 
are large, ovate, serrate, crowded with reticular veins, smooth and deep-green 
upon the upper surface, downy on the under, and furnished with a fleshy midrib. 
Those which spring directly from the root are petiolate, those of the stem sessile 
and embracing. The flowers are large, of a golden-yellow colour, and stand 
singly at the ends of the stem and branches. The calyx exhibits several rows 
of imbricated ovate scales. The florets of the ray are numerous, spreading, linear, 
and tridentate at the apex. The seeds are striated, quadrangular, and furnished 
with a simple somewhat chaffy pappus. 
This large and handsome plant is a native of Europe, where it is also culti- 
vated for medical use. It has been introduced into our gardens, and has become 
naturalized in some parts of the country, growing in low meadows, and on the 
roadsides, from New England to Pennsylvania. It flowers in July and August. PART I. 
Inula.—Iodinium. 
467 
The roots, which are the officinal part, should be dug up in autumn, and in their 
second year. When older they are apt to be stringy and woody. 
The fresh root of elecampane is very thick and branched, having whitish cylin- 
drical ramifications, furnished with thread-like fibres. It is externally brown, 
internally whitish and fleshy; and the transverse sections present radiating lines 
The dried root, as found in the shops, is usually in longitudinal or transverse 
slices, and of a grayish colour internally. The smell is slightly camphorous, and, 
especially in the dried root, agreeably aromatic. The taste, at first glutinous, 
and compared to that of rancid soap, becomes, upon chewing, warm, aromatic, 
and bitter. Its medical virtues are extracted by alcohol and water, the former 
becoming most strongly impregnated with its bitterness and pungency. A pecu- 
liar principle, resembling starch, was discovered in elecampane by Valentine 
Hose, of Berlin, who named it alantin; but the title inulin, proposed by Dr. 
Thomson, has been generally adopted. It differs from starch in being deposited 
unchanged from its solution in boiling water when the liquor cools, and in giving 
a yellowish instead of a blue colour with iodine. It has been found in the roots 
of several other plants. It may be obtained white and pure by precipitating a 
concentrated decoction with twice its volume of alcohol, dissolving the precipi- 
tate in a little distilled water, treating the solution with purified animal char- 
coal, and again precipitating with alcohol. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxvii. 
69.) Besides this principle, elecampane contains, according to John, a white, 
concrete substance, called helenin, intermediate in its properties between the 
essential oils and camphor, and separable by distillation with water; a bitter 
extractive, soluble in water and alcohol; a soft, acrid, bitter resin, having an 
aromatic odour when heated ; gum ; albumen ; lignin ; traces of volatile oil; a 
little wax; and various saline substances. If water is added to a tincture made 
by boiling the fresh root in alcohol, the liquid becomes turbid, and, in twenty- 
four hours, long white crystals of pure helenin are formed, leaving very little in 
solution. (Archie. der Pharm., lx. 30.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Elecampane is tonic and gently stimulant, and 
has been supposed to possess diaphoretic, diuretic, expectorant, and emmena- 
gogue properties. By the ancients it was much employed, especially in the com- 
plaints peculiar to females ; and it is still occasionally resorted to in amenorrhoea. 
In this country it is chiefly used in chronic diseases of the lungs, and is some- 
times beneficial when the affection of the chest is attended with weakness of the 
digestive organs, or with general debility. From a belief in its deobstruent and 
diuretic virtues, it was formerly prescribed in chronic engorgements of the abdo- 
minal viscera, and the dropsy to which they so often give rise. It has also been 
highly recommended both as an internal and external remedy in tetter, psora, 
and other diseases of the skin. The usual modes of administration are in powder 
and decoction. The dose of the powder is from a scruple to a drachm. The 
decoction may be prepared by boiling half an ounce of the root in a pint of.water 
and given in the dose of one or two fluidounces. W. 
IODINIUM. U.jS. 
Iodine. 
Off. Syn. IODUM. Br. 
lode, Fr.; Jod, Germ.; Iodina, Ital., Span. 
The Iodine of the TJ. S. and Br. Materia Medica Catalogues is considered as 
nure; but, while in our officinal standard, the medicine in this condition is sup- 
posed to be purchasable in the market, as it undoubtedly is, the British Pharma- 
copoeia contains a process for its purification from an impure commercial variety, 
which, under the name of Iodine of Commerce, has been inserted in the Ap- 
pendix of that work, among the articles used in the preparation of medicines. 468 
Todinium. 
PART I. 
Iodine is a lion-metallic element, discovered in 1812 by Courtois, a soda manu- 
facturer of Paris. It exists in certain marine vegetables, particularly the fuci or 
common sea-weeds, which are its most abundant natural source. It has been 
detected in some fresh-water plants, among which are the water-cress, brooklime, 
and fine-leaved water-hemlock; also in the ashes of tobacco, and of Honduras 
sarsaparilla. (Ghatin.) It has been found in the beet-root of the Grand Duchy 
of Baden. (Lamy.) M. Chatin announced the presence of iodine in the atmo- 
sphere and in rain-water; but the negative experimental results of Dr. S. Mac- 
adam of Edinburgh, of Dr. Lohmeyer of Gottingen, and of M. S. De Luca of 
Paris, threw doubts on the experiments of M. Chatin, who was supposed to 
have been misled by the use of reagents containing iodine. Nevertheless, M. 
Chatin, in answer to the two chemists first named, reasserts the correctness of 
his results; and declares that he has found iodine in the rain-water of Paris, Ver- 
sailles, and many other towns in France, while he has failed to discover it in the 
waters of the Alps and of the Norwegian mountains. (Journ. de Pharrn., Avril 
1860, p. 259.) Dr. Macadam detected a trace of iodine in 100 gallons of water 
used for domestic purposes in Edinburgh, in several of the domestic animals, 
and in man. He detected it also in potatoes, beans, peas, wheat, barley, and 
oats. (Pharm. Journ., Nov. 1854, p. 235.) Iodine is moreover found in the 
animal kingdom, as in the sponge, the oyster, various polypi, cod-liver oil, and 
eggs; and, in the mineral kingdom, in sea-water in minute quantity, in certain 
salt springs, as iodide of silver in a rare Mexican mineral, in a zinc ore of 
Silesia, in native nitrate of soda, and in some kinds of rock salt. It has been 
detected by M. Genteles in the aluminous schists of Sweden, by Prof. Sigwart 
in bituminous slate, by M. Lembert in limestone rocks, and by M. Bussy and 
M.Duflos in coal. M. Bussy has recently obtained iodine, in the proportion of 
one part in five thousand, from the coal-gas liquor of the gas-works of Paris. 
It was first discovered in the United States in the water of the Congress Spring, 
at Saratoga, by Dr. William Usher. It was detected in the Kenhawa saline 
waters by the late Professor Emmet; and it exists in the bittern of the salt-works 
of western Pennsylvania, in the amount of about eight grains to the gallon. In 
sea-weeds the iodine exists in the state probably of iodide of sodium. In different 
countries, sea-weeds are burned for the sake of their ashes; the product being 
a dark-coloured fused mass called kelp. This substance, besides carbonate of 
soda and iodide of sodium, contains more or less common salt, chloride of potas- 
sium, sulphate of soda, &c. The deep-sea fuci contain the most iodine; and, 
when these are burned at a low temperature for fuel, as is the case in the island 
of Guernsey, their ashes furnish more iodine than ordinary kelp. (Graham.) 
According to Dr. Geo. Kemp, the laminarian species, especially Laminaria 
digitata, L. saccharina, and L. bulbosa, which are deep-water sea-weeds, and 
contain more potassium than sodium, are particularly rich in iodine. In a paper 
on the extraction of iodine from sea-weeds, Dr. Kemp makes many useful sug- 
gestions, having chiefly in view the prevention of the waste of the element, which 
takes place in the ordinary kelp process. (Chem. Gaz., July 1, 1850.)* 
* Dr. Wallace and Mr. Lamont, of Glasgow, in a paper describing a new method of esti- 
mating the proportion of iodine in kelp, state that, in parcels from the West Highlands, 
they had obtained from 0-162 to 0-175 per cent., which is a much larger product than that 
mentioned in the text; but they operated on small quantities, which yield a larger per- 
centage than is procured by operations on a large scale, in consequence of the loss neces- 
sarily incurred in them. (Chem. Gaz., April 1, 1859, p. 137.) A complete analysis of kelp 
by Mr. Lamont is contained in the same journal. (June 1, 1859, p. 210.) To prevent the 
loss of iodine by volatilization in the burning of sea-weeds, Dr. Wallace proposes, instead 
of burning them, to extract all the iodine compounds they contain by boiling them with 
water, and evaporating the decoction. The extract thus obtained is to be treated as kelp. 
New method of preparing kelp. As the preparation of kelp for the extraction of iodine may 
possibly become a source of profitable occupation upon the sea-coast of some parts of the part I. 
Iodinium. 
469 
Preparation. Iodine is obtained from kelp, and in Great Britain is manu- 
factured chiefly at Glasgow. The kelp, which on an average contains a 224tL 
part of iodine, is lixiviated with water, in which about half dissolves. The solu 
tion is concentrated to a pellicle and allowed to cool; whereby nearly all tho 
salts, except iodide of sodium, are separated, they being less soluble than the 
iodide. The remaining liquor, which is dense and dark-coloured, is made very 
sour by sulphuric acid, which causes the evolution of carbonic acid, sulphuretted 
hydrogen, and sulphurous acid, and the deposition of sulphur. The liquor is then 
introduced into a leaden still, and distilled with deutoxide of manganese into a 
series of glass receivers, inserted into one another, in which the iodine is con- 
densed. In this process the iodide of sodium is decomposed, and the iodine 
evolved; and the sulphuric acid, deutoxide of manganese, and sodium unite, so 
as to form sulphate of protoxide of manganese and sulphate of soda. 
The following is the British Pharmacopoeia process for purifying iodine. 
“ Take of Iodine of Commerce one ounce. Introduce the Commercial Iodine 
into a porcelain capsule of a circular shape, cover this as accurately as possible 
with a glass matrass filled with cold water, and apply to the capsule the heat of 
boiling water for twenty minutes. Let the matrass be now removed, and should 
colourless acicular prisms of a pungent odour be found attached to its bottom, 
let them be separated from it. This being done, the matrass is to be restored to 
its previous position, and a gentle and steady heat (that of a gas lamp answers 
well) applied, so as to sublime the whole of the iodine. Upon now allowing the 
capsule to cool, and lifting off the matrass, the purified product will be found 
attached to the bottom of the latter. When separated it should be immediately 
enclosed in a bottle furnished with an accurately ground stopper.” Br. 
In this process, which is that of the former Dublin Pharmacopoeia, a short 
preliminary sublimation by the heat of a water-bath is ordered, in winch the 
bottom of a glass matrass filled with cold water is the refrigerator. The object 
of this is to separate any iodide of cyanogen that may happen to be present. 
This impurity is sometimes present in considerable amount. Klobach obtained 
from eighty avoirdupois pounds of commercial iodine twelve ounces of this 
iodide, which is in the proportion of nearly one per cent. (Chem. Gaz., April 
15, 1850.) Should the matrass, upon its removal, have attached to its bottom 
United States, the following observations, contained in a paper on its manufacture, read 
by Mr. Ed. C. C. Stanford before a meeting of the British Pharmaceutical Society, may be 
of advantage. The present process, employed in the Highlands of Scotland, is on various 
accounts objectionable, but especially from the waste of iodine attending it. From the high 
heat to which the sea-weed is exposed in its conversion into ashes, much of the iodine is 
driven otf. From the same cause, the sulphates are deoxidftsed, and converted into sul- 
phurets, the separation of which in the process for extracting the iodine necessitates a 
large expenditure of sulphuric acid. Besides, there is an entire loss of the volatile matters 
escaping during combustion, which might be utilized by an improved process. The plan 
suggested by Mr. Stanford is to carbonize the weed in close vessels. The following is a 
summary of his method, as specified in a patent taken out in Great Britain and France. 
The sea-weeds, which may be gathered at all seasons, should be well dried, and then 
compressed into cakes of convenient size. These are put into large cylindrical vessels of 
wrought iron heated from without, placed vertically, with the base and upper end conical, 
and with arrangements for introducing and withdrawing the charge. The retorts, thus 
formed, are furnished at the upper end with pipes which carry the volatilized products to 
an iron main, whence they pass through a series of ordinary iron pipe condensers, from 
which the uncondensed matter passes through a pair of scrubbers to a gasometer. When 
sufficiently charred, the contents of the retorts are withdrawn into closely-covered iron 
boxes, which are to be removed to a convenient place. When cool, the charcoal is lixiviated 
'dke kelp, and the solution treated in the ordinary manner for separating the iodine. The 
fixiviated charcoal may be used for heating the retort, and the gas collected in the gaso- 
meter for lighting the factory, or for producing heat. The ashes resulting from the burn- 
ing of the charcoal is a valuable manure. The condensed products of the distillation may 
be used for obtaining muriate of ammonia, and utilized in various other ways. (Pharm. 
Joum., April, 1862, p. 502.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 470 
Iodinium. 
PART l. 
white acicular crystals, these will be the iodide in question, and must be rejected. 
The matrass having been replaced, heat is again applied until the whole of the 
iodine has sublimed, and attaches itself to the cool bottom of the matrass. 
Water has sometimes been found in iodine to the extent of 15 or 20 per cent. 
If considerable, it is easily discovered by the iodine adhering to the inside of the 
bottle. M. Bolley estimates its amount by rubbing together, until the smell of 
iodine disappears, 30 grains of iodine with about 240 of mercury, in a small 
weighed porcelain dish, using a small weighed agate pestle. When complete 
combination has been effected, the whole is placed in a water-bath to dissipate 
the water. The loss of weight gives the amount of water in the iodine. (Chem. 
Qaz., Mar. 15, 1853, p. 118.) The presence of water is injurious only as it rend- 
ers all the preparations of iodine weaker than they should be. In the former Ed. 
Pharmacopoeia, directions were given to dry it, by placing it “in a shallow basin 
of earthenware, in a small confined space of air, with ten or twelve times its weight 
of fresh-burnt lime, till it scarcely adheres to the inside of a dry bottle.” 
Properties. Iodine is a soft, friable, opaque substance, in the form of crys- 
talline scales, having a bluish-black colour and metallic lustre. It possesses a 
peculiar odour, somewhat resembling that of chlorine, and a hot acrid taste. 
Applied to the skin, it produces a yellow stain, which soon disappears. Its sp. gr. 
is 49. It is a volatile substance, and evaporates even at common temperatures. 
When heated, it volatilizes more rapidly, and, when the temperature reaches 
225°, it melts and rises in a rich purple vapour, a property which suggested its 
name. Its vapour has the sp.gr. 8 7, being the heaviest aeriform substance 
known. If inhaled mixed with air, it excites cough and irritates the nostrils. 
When it comes in contact with cool surfaces, it condenses in brilliant steel-gray 
crystals. Iodine is freely soluble in alcohol and ether, but requires 1000 times 
its weight of water to dissolve it. If water stands on iodine for some time, 
especially in a strong light, it apparently dissolves more iodine; but the result 
depends upon the formation of hydriodic acid, in a solution of which iodine is 
more soluble than in water. The solution of iodine in water has no taste, a 
feeble odour, and a light-brown colour; in alcohol or ether, is nearly black. 
Its solubility in water is very much increased by the addition of certain salts, as 
the chloride of sodium, nitrate of ammonia, or iodide of potassium; and the 
same effect is produced, to some extent, by tannic acid. Its solution in tannic 
acid is called iodo-lannin, of which MM. Socquet and Guillermond make a syrup 
for internal, and an aqueous solution for external use. For the formulas, see the 
B. and F. Medico- Chir. liev., July, 1854, p. 181. It is also soluble in glycerin, 
as ascertained by M. Cap in 1854. In chemical habitudes iodine resembles chlo- 
rine, but its affinities are weaker. Its eq. is 126'3, and symbol I. It combines 
with most of the non-metallic, and nearly all the metallic elements, forming a 
class of compounds called iodides. Some of these are officinal, as the iodides of 
iron, mercury, lead, potassium, and sulphur. It forms with oxygen one oxide, 
oxide of iodine, and three acids, iodous, iodic* and hyperiodic, and with hy- 
u: Jgen, a gaseous acid, called hydriodic acid. 
Tests, &c. Iodine, in most cases, may be recognised by its characteristic pur- 
* Dr. R. H. Brett, of Liverpool, has found that when a small portion of several of the 
alkaloids, or their salts, is mixed with about an equal portion of iodic acid and a few drops 
of water, and the mixture gently heated, a succession of distinct explosions, attended by 
the evolution of gas, takes place. Dr. Brett finds that this phenomenon occurs with all the 
alkaloids yet tried by him, but not with other classes of organic substances, whether nitro- 
genous or non nitrogenous, and thinks it will prove a valuable test for the former. (Pharm. 
Joum.., Nov. 1854.) According to Mr. It. F. Fairthorne, of this city, several of the more 
poisonous alkaloids, dissolved by the aid of an acid, yield, with the officinal compound 
solution of iodine, precipitates, insoluble in weak sulphuric, muriatic, or acetic acid. H9 
therefore infers that the above-mentioned solution might prove useful as a .1 as, \i lute to 
the alkaloids. (Am, Joum. of Fharm., May, 1856.)—Note to the eleventh edition. Iodinium. 
471 
pie vapour; but where this cannot be made evident, it is detected unerringly 
by starch, which produces with it a deep-blue colour. This test was discovered 
by Colin and Gaultier de Claubry, and is so delicate that it will indicate the 
presence of iodine in 450,000 times its weight of water. In order that the test 
may succeed, the iodine must be free and the solutions cold. To render it free 
when in combination, as it always is in the animal fluids, a little nitric acid, free 
from iodine, must be added to the solution suspected to contain it. Thus, in 
testing urine for iodine, the secretion is mixed with starch, and acidulated with a 
drop or two of nitric acid; when, if iodine be present, the colour produced will 
vary from a light purple to a deep indigo blue, according to the amount of the 
element present. Sometimes, in mineral waters, the proportion of iodine is so 
minute that the starch test, in connection with nitric acid, gives a doubtful colora- 
tion. In such cases, Liebig recommends the addition to the water of a very 
small quantity of iodate of potassa, followed by a little starch and muriatic 
acid. Assuming the iodine to be present as hydriodie acid, the liberated iodic 
acid sets free the iodine of the mineral water, and becomes itself deoxidized, 
thus increasing the amount of the free iodine (5111 and 10. = 5HO and I6). 
This test would be fallacious, if iodic acid, mixed with muriatic acid, coloured 
starch ; but this is not the case. Still, Liebig’s test is inapplicable in the presence 
of reducing agents, such as sulphurous acid, which would give rise to free iodine 
from the test itself, independently of the presence of the element in the water 
tested. (Dp. W. Knop.) Another test for iodine, proposed by M. Ilabourdin, is 
chloroform, by the use of which he supposes that the element may be not only 
detected in organic substances, but approximately estimated. Thus, if 150 grains 
of a solution, containing one part in one hundred thousand of iodide of potas- 
sium, be treated with 2 drops of nitric and 15 or 20 of sulphuric acid, and 
afterwards shaken with 15 grains of chloroform, the latter acquires a distinct 
violet tint. M. Rabourdiu applies his test to the detection of iodine in the 
several varieties of cod-liver oil. For this purpose he incinerates, in an iron 
spoon, 50 parts of the specimen of oil with 5 of pure caustic potassa, dissolved 
in 15 of water, and exhausts the cinder with the smallest possible quantity of 
water. The solution is filtered, acidulated with nitric and sulphuric acids, and 
agitated with 4 parts of chloroform. After a time the chloroform subsides, of 
a violet colour more or less deep according to the proportion of iodine present. 
M. Lassaigne considers the starch test more delicate than that of chloroform. 
For detecting iodine in the iodides of the metals of the alkalies, he considers 
bichloride of palladium as extremely delicate, producing brownish flocks of 
biniodide of palladium. According to M. Moride, benzine is a good test for 
free iodine, which it readily dissolves, forming a solution of a bright-red colour, 
deeper in proportion to the amount of iodine taken up. As benzine does not 
dissolve chlorine or bromine, it furnishes the means of separating iodine from 
these elements. Mr. D. S. Price has pointed out the nitrites as exceedingly 
sensitive tests of iodine, combined as an iodide. The suspected liquid is 
mixed with starch paste, acidulated with muriatic acid, and treated with solu- 
tion of nitrite of potassa. The iodine is set free, and a blue colour appears, 
more or less deep, according to the proportion of iodine present. By this test, 
iodine may be detected in an aqueous solution containing only one in 400,000 
parts. A similar test had been previously proposed by M. Grange. 
Adulterations. Iodine is said to be occasionally adulterated with mineral 
coal, charcoal, plumbago, and black oxide of manganese. These are easily de- 
fected by their fixed nature, while pure iodine is wholly volatilized by heat, 
flerberger found native sulphuret of antimony in one sample, and plumbago in 
another; and Righini has detected as much as 25 per cent, of chloride of calcium. 
The presence of iodide of cyanogen and of water have already been referred to, 
and the modes of detecting and separating them pointed out. (See pages 469-70.) Iodinium 
PART I. 
The British Pharmacopoeia directs that officinal iodine should be entirely soluble 
in ether and should sublime without residue, that the part which first comes 
over should contain no colourless prisms of a pungent odour, and that 12T grains 
dissolved in a fluidounce of water with 15 grains of iodide of potassium, should 
be completely decolorized by 100 measures of the volumetric solution of hypo- 
sulphite of soda. 
Medical Properties. Iodine was first employed as a medicine in 1819, by 
Dr. Coindet, sen., of Geneva. It operates as a general excitant of the vital ac- 
tions, especially of the absorbent and glandular systems. Its effects are varied 
by its degree of concentration, state of combination, dose, &c.; and hence, under 
different circumstances, it may prove corrosive, irritant, desiccant, tonic, diuretic, 
diaphoretic, and emmenagogue. It probably acts by entering the circulation; 
at least it has been proved by numerous observations that, whether taken inter- 
nally, or applied externally, it always passes with the secretions, particularly the 
urine and saliva, not, however, uncombined, but in the state of hydriodic acid 
or an iodide. Cantu detected it not only in the urine and saliva, but also in the 
sweat, milk, and blood. According to Dr. John C. Dalton, jun., of New York, 
iodine, taken in a single moderate dose, appears in the urine in thirty minutes, 
and may be detected for nearly twenty-four hours. In two cases in which large 
doses of iodide of potassium had been taken for six or eight weeks, and the 
medicine intermitted, all trace of iodine disappeared from the urine in eighty- 
four hours. Prom this observation Dr. Dalton infers, as Becquerel had previ- 
ously done, that iodine does not accumulate in the system, and that, therefore, 
the effect of moderate doses is probably equal to that of large ones, the excess 
constantly passing off, principally by the kidneys. But iodine is not, like iron, 
a reconstructive element, and does not act by supplying anything to the system. 
Hence, its rapid elimination by the urine may have a therapeutic effect; and this 
effect may be in proportion to the amount eliminated. It is certainly not an un- 
reasonable supposition that the medicine, while passing off in larger or smaller 
quantity by the kidneys, may carry with it more or less abnormal material, and 
thus act as a sorbefacient. 
The tonic operation of iodine is evinced by its increasing the appetite, which 
is a frequent effect of its use. Salivation is occasionally caused by it, and some- 
times soreness of the mouth only. In some cases, pustular eruptions and coryza 
have been produced; especially when the remedy has been given in the form of 
iodide of potassium. In an overdose it acts as an irritant poison. Doses of two 
drachms, administered to dogs, have produced irritation of the stomach, and 
death in seven days; and the stomach wTas found studded with numerous little 
ulcers of a yellow colour. From four to six grains, in man, cause a sense of 
constriction in the throat, sickness and pain at the stomach, and at length vomit- 
ing and colic. Even in medicinal doses, it sometimes causes alarming symptoms ; 
such as fever, restlessness, disturbed sleep, palpitations, excessive thirst, acute 
pain in the stomach, vomiting and purging, violent cramps, frequent pulse, and, 
finally, progressive emaciation, if the medicine be not laid aside. The condition 
of the system, marked by these effects of iodine, is called iodism. Upon their 
first appearance, the remedy should be discontinued, and a milk diet prescribed. 
Though iodism, when it occurs, is generally the result of incautious doses of the 
medicine too long continued, yet it sometimes arises, under other circumstances, 
from causes not well understood. On the other hand, large doses have been 
given for a long time with perfect impunity. Dr. Lugol, of Paris, never observed 
alarming effects to arise from iodine, given in the doses and in the state of dilu- 
tion in which he prescribed it. On the contrary, many of his patients gained 
flesh, and improved in general health. 
Testimony is not wanting to the effect, that a long course of the remedy has 
in some instances occasioned absorption of the mammm and wasting of the tes PART I. 
Iodinium. 
tides. Yet Dr. T. H. Silvester, who had the opportunity of making extensive 
observations in St. Thomas’s Hospital, London, on the effects of iodine in the 
form of iodide of potassium, did not meet with a single instance of atrophy or 
absorption of the glands. Numerous cases of syphilitic periostitis were suc- 
cessfully treated, enlarged testicles from a syphilitic cause reduced, and chronic 
induration of the inguinal glands removed; but in no case was atrophy or ab- 
sorption of the breast or testicle observed. It would thus appear that iodine, 
as a general rule, does not affect the healthy glands, but acts upon abnormal 
material, such as tumours, enlargements, and thickenings. 
The variable operation of iodine may to some extent be accounted for by the 
more or less amylaceous character of the food; starch having the property of 
uniting with iodine and rendering it mild. Dr. Lebert, who has practised both 
in Switzerland and France, explains the fact in another way. Under his observa- 
tion, the'accidents produced by iodine, with scarcely an exception, were in those 
cases of goitre in which the remedy acted rapidly in removing the tumour; while 
in scrofulous, tuberculous, and syphilitic patients, free from goitre, though the 
medicine was given in considerable doses, no injury to the system ensued. He 
supposes that the bad effects, in the goitre cases, arose from the too prompt 
absorption of the abnormal material of the tumour, which, entering the circula- 
tion in the course of its elimination, produced the poisonous effect, and not from 
the iodine itself. (Ann. de Therap., 1855, p. 228.) 
Iodine has been principally employed in diseases of the absorbent and gland- 
ular systems. It has been used with success in ascites, especially when connected 
with diseased liver. It acts most efficiently immediately after tapping. It has 
proved successful with several British practitioners in ovarian tumours, but has 
failed in the hands of others. Dr. B. Roemer, of Otter Bridge, Ya., reports 
three cases of ovarian tumour, removed by the combined internal and external 
use of the remedy. (Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., April, 1857.) In glandular enlarge- 
ments and morbid growths, it has proved more efficacious than in any other class 
of diseases. Dr. Coindet discovered its extraordinary power in curing goitre;* 
and it has been used with more or less advantage in enlargements and indurations 
of the liver, spleen, mammae, testes, and uterus. In hepatic affections of this kind, 
where mercury has failed or is inadmissible, iodine is our best resource. In 
chronic diseases of the uterus, with induration and enlargement, and in hard 
tumours of the cervix and indurated puckerings of the edges of the os tincae, 
iodine has occasionally effected cures, administered internally, and rubbed into 
the cervix, in the form of ointment, for ten or twelve minutes every night. The 
emmenagogue power of iodine has been noticed by several practitioners. It has 
been recommended in gleet; also in gonorrhoea and leucorrhcea, after the inflam- 
matory symptoms have subsided. In the latter complaint, iodine, rendered soluble 
by iodide of potassium, has been used successfully, in the form of injection, by 
Dr. T. T. Russell, of Pattersonville, La. He joined to the local treatment, the 
internal use of the tincture of chloride of iron. (Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., April, 
1854.) In pseudo-syphilis and mercurial cachexy, it is one of our best remedies, 
in the form of iodide of potassium. In the same form, it is a favourite remedy 
in chronic rheumatism, and, by Gendrin, was employed in acute gout, with the 
* M. Chatin, finding, according to his observations, a great variation in the amount of 
iodine in the air, water, and soil of different localities, has founded on this supposed fact 
an explanation of the prevalence of goitre and cretinism in some places, and their absence 
in others. Thus, in certain parts of France, near Paris, which he calls the Paris zone, 
the amount of iodine thus distributed is comparatively large, and goitre and cretinism are 
Unknown; while, in the Alpine valleys, where only one-tenth the amount of iodine is found, 
these affections are endemic. The conclusions of M. Chatin are controverted by the ex- 
periments, so far as they go, of M. Lohmeyer, of Gottingen, and of M. liletzinsky, of Vi- 
enna, who failed to detect iodine in the air of those cities, the inhabitants of which are 
free from goitre.—Note to the eleventh edition. 474 
Iodinium. 
PART l. 
supposed effect of cutting short the fits. Dr. Manson, as early as 1825, recorded 
cases of the efficacy of iodine in several nervous diseases, such as chorea and 
paralysis. In various scaly eruptions, the internal and external use of the remedy 
is very much relied on. 
But it is in scrofulous diseases that the most striking results have been ob- 
tained by the use of iodine. Dr. Coindet first directed attention to its effects in 
scrofula, and Dr. Manson reported a number of cases of this affection, in a large 
proportion of which the disease was either cured or meliorated. The latter phy- 
sician derived benefit from its use also in white swelling, hip-joint disease, and 
distortions of the spine, diseases admitted to be connected with the scrofulous 
taint. We are indebted, however, to Dr. Logoi for the most extended researches 
in relation to the use of iodine in scrofula. This physician began his trials in 
the hospital Saint Louis, in 1821, and published his results in three memoirs, 
in 1829, 1830, and 1831. The scrofulous affections, cured by Dr. Lugol by the 
iodine treatment, were glandular tubercles, ophthalmia, ozaeua, lupus, and fistu- 
lous and carious ulcers. 
After the publication of Dr. Lugol’s memoir, his practice was imitated and 
extended. Dr. Bermond, of Bordeaux, succeeded with the iodine treatment in 
enlarged testicle from a venereal scrofulous ophthalmia of six years’ dura- 
tion, and scrofulous ulcers and abscesses of the cervical and submaxillary glands. 
In numerous other cases of scrofula under his care, iodine proved beneficial; 
though, before its commencement, the cases underwent no improvement. The 
only peculiarity in Dr. Bermond’s treatment was that, in some cases, he asso- 
ciated opiates with the iodine. In ophthalmia, the collyrium employed by him 
consisted of thirty drops of tincture of iodine, thirty-six of laudanum, and four 
fluidounces of distilled water. When the local application of the iodine created 
much pain or rubefaction, he found advantage from combining extract of opium 
with it. A plaster, which proved efficacious as an application to an enlarged 
parotid, consisted of lead plaster (diachylon) and iodide of potassium, each, four 
parts, and iodine and extract of opium, each, three parts. In confirmation of 
Dr. Bermond’s statements, M. Lemasson has published a number of cases, prov- 
ing the efficacy of a combination of iodine and opium in the local treatment of 
scrofulous ulcerations. One of the combinations which he employed consisted 
of fifteen grains of iodine, a drachm of iodide of potassium, and two drachms 
of Rousseau’s laudanum, made into an ointment with two ounces of fresh lard. 
The most eligible form of iodine for internal administration is its solution in 
water, aided by iodide of potassium. This is the form preferred by Dr. Lugol; 
and such a solution is among the preparations of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. The 
solutions employed by Dr. Lugol contained one part of iodine and two of iodide 
of potassium ; and the doses given by him were equivalent to half a grain of 
iodine daily for the first fortnight, three-quarters of a grain daily for the second 
and third fortnights, one grain daily during the fourth and fifth, and, in some 
cases, a grain and a quarter daily for the remainder of the treatment; always 
largely diluted. (See Liquor Iodinii Gompositus.) The tincture of iodine is not 
eligible for internal use; for, when freshly prepared, the iodine is precipitated 
from it by dilution with water; and, as a consequence, the irritating solid iodine 
will come in contact with the stomach when the dose is swallowed. The same 
objection is not applicable to the compound tincture, or to the simple tincture 
after having been long kept. 
The favourable results obtained by Dr. Lugol, in the treatment of scrofulous 
diseases by the iodine preparations, are so numerous as to leave no doubt of 
their efficacy in these affections. To judge fairly, however, of his results, it is 
not sufficient to give iodine; but it should be given in the manner in wnich it 
was employed by him. We can readily conceive that a dilute aqueous solution 
of iodine may act differently from the tincture; for a therapeutical agent may PART I. 
Iodinium. 
475 
in a dilute form be introduced gradually into the current of the circulation, and 
thus produce important alterative effects; while in a concentrated form it may 
create irritation of the stomach without being absorbed, and thus prove mis- 
chievous. A case in point is furnished by natural mineral waters, which, though 
generally containing a minute proportion of saline matter, often produce reme- 
dial effects which cannot be obtained by their constituents in larger doses. 
These views are confirmed and extended by M. Benj. Belli, in an able paper on 
the efficacy of a certain dilution of medicines, illustrated by examples drawn 
from iodine, bromine, iron, antimony, belladonna, oil of turpentine, and common 
salt, published in the Annuaire de Therapeutique for 1857, p. 270. They cor- 
respond also with the views of Dr. A. Buchanan, of Glasgow, who gives iodine 
in the form of iodide of starch, and of hydriodic acid largely diluted with water. 
(See Iodide of Starch and Hydriodic Acid in Part III.) 
A mode of safely bringing and maintaining the system under the influence of 
iodine, proposed by M. Boinet, and called by him iodic alimentation, is to mix 
the medicine with the food, as with bread and other farinaceous substances, so that 
the patient may take daily a due quantity, which, with this mode of administra- 
tion, may be large, if desirable, without inconvenience. The compound formed 
with starch by the iodine, while destitute of irritating properties, is taken readily 
into the system, and produces the remedial effects of the medicine. 
M. Marchal (de Calvi), under the impression that cod-liver oil owed its chief 
virtue to the presence of iodine, proposed, in 1848, to prepare an iodized oil. 
Following out this proposal, M. Personne devised the following formula. Five 
parts of iodine are mixed with a thousand of almond oil, and the mixture is sub- 
jected to a jet of steam, until decolorized. The same operation is repeated with 
five additional parts of iodine. The oil is then wnshed with a weak alkaline 
solution, to remove the hydriodic acid, developed in the process. By this mode 
of proceeding, it may be presumed that the iodine is intimately united with the 
oil, along with which it would find an easy entrance into the system; and that, 
while about half of the iodine is lost as hydriodic acid, the remainder takes the 
place of the hydrogen eliminated from the oil. In 1851, the French Academy 
appointed MM. Guibourt, Soubeiran, Gibert, and Ricord, to report upon the 
therapeutic value of a definite combination of iodine and oil. The reporter 
(Guibourt) approved of M. Personnel process; and MM. Gibert and Ricord 
reported favourably of the therapeutic effects of the preparation. M. Personne’s 
iodized oil differs little in appearance and taste from almond oil, and is easily 
taken alone or in emulsion. The usual dose is two fluidounces daily, which may 
be increased to three fluidounces or more. (Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., xxiii. 502.) 
M. Berthe and M. Lepage have objected to M. Personnel iodized oil, that 
it is of variable iodine strength, and that it is liable to become rancid, in conse- 
quence of the use of steam in its preparation. M. Berthe makes an iodized oil, 
which he alleges to be free from these objections, by heating, to about 176°, five 
parts of iodine with a thousand parts of almond oil, in a water-bath, until deco- 
loration shall have taken place. The resulting oil is colourless, perfectly trans- 
parent, without odour or rancidity, not acted on by starch, and of a constant 
•’.omposition. To shorten the time in preparing the oil, M. Lepage dissolves the 
iodine in three times its weight of ether, before adding it to the oil, and briskly 
shakes the mixture for eight or ten minutes. The preparation is then heated in 
i water-bath, to decolorize it and drive off the ether. M. Hugounenq objects to 
this process that, if the oil be completely deprived of the odour of ether, the 
heating must be continued for several hours. He also objects to any process 
which requires the continued application of heat, as rendering the oil liable to 
become quickly rancid. His plan is to rub up the iodine, for five or six minutes, 
in a porcelain mortar, with a small portion of the oil, and then gradually to add 
the remainder. A red limpid liquid is obtained, which may be completely deco- 476 
Iodinium, 
PART I. 
lorized by exposure for fifteen minutes to the sun’s rays. Iodized oil, thus pre- 
pared, has the odour and taste of almond oil, is not more liable to become rancid 
than the pure oil, and is free from hydriodic acid. (Journ. de Pharm., Mars, 
1856.) Prom the above statements it is not easy to determine which is the best 
method of preparing iodized oil; but it may be useful to state that the prepara- 
tion may be made with good olive oil, instead of the more expensive almond oil. 
The external treatment by iodine may be divided into general and topical. 
By its use in this way it does not create a mere local effect; but, by its absorp- 
tion, produces its peculiar constitutional impression. The external treatment, 
when general, consists in the use of the iodine bath. This for adults should con- 
tain from two to four drachms of iodine, with double that quantity of iodide of 
potassium, dissolved in water, in a wooden bath tub; the proportion of the 
water being about a gallon for every three grains of iodine employed. The 
quantity of ingredients for the baths of children is one-third as much as for 
adults, but dissolved in about the same proportional quantity of water. The 
quantity of iodine and iodide for a bath having been determined upon, it is best 
to dissolve them in a small quantity of water (half a pint for example), before 
they are added to the water of the bath; as this mode of proceeding facilitates 
their thorough diffusion. The iodine baths, which may be directed three or 
four times a week, usually produce a slight rubefacient elfect; but, occasionally, 
a stronger impression, causing the epidermis to peel off, particularly of the arms 
and legs. The skin at the same time acquires a deep-yellow tinge, which usually 
disappears in the interval between the baths. 
The topical application of iodine is made by means of several officinal prepa- 
rations. (See Unguenlum Iodinii and Unguentum Iodinii Composition.) Be- 
sides these, several others have been employed topically. Lugol’s iodine lotion 
consists of from two to four grains of iodine, and double that quantity of iodide 
of potassium, dissolved in a pint of water. It is used as a wash or injection in 
scrofulous ophthalmia, ozaena, and fistulous ulcers. Ilis rubefacient iodine solu- 
tion is formed by dissolving half an ounce of iodine and an ounce of iodide of 
potassium in six fluidounces of water. This is useful for exciting scrofulous ul- 
cers, for touching the eyelids, and as an application to recent scrofulous cica- 
trices, to render them smooth. The rubefacient solution, added to warm water 
in the proportion of about a fluidrachm to the gallon, makes a convenient local 
bath for the arms, legs, feet, or hands; and, mixed with linseed meal or some 
similar substance, it forms a cataplasm useful in certain eruptions, especially 
where the object is to promote the falling off of scabs. External applications of 
iodine have been recommended for the removal even of internal plastic exuda- 
tions, as to the side for example in protracted pleurisy. The rubefacient prepa- 
ration of iodine, at present most commonly employed, is the tincture. (See 
Tinctura Iodinii.) The preparation, called iodine paint, is a tincture twice as 
strong as the officinal tincture, and is made by dissolving a drachm of iodine in 
a fluidounce of alcohol, and allowing the solution to stand in a glass-stoppered 
bottle for several months before it is used, when it will become thick and syrupy. 
It is applied, with a glass or a camel’s hair brush, in one or more coatings, ac- 
cording to the degree of effect desired. Iodine paint is used as a counter-irritant, 
with advantage, in pains of the chest; in aphonia, applied to the front of the 
throat; in chronic pleuritic effusion, or consolidated lung, applied extensively 
opposite to the diseased part; in periostitis, whether syphilitic, strumous, or the 
result of injury; in inflammation of the joints; in serous effusion into bursae; 
and in the cicatrices of burns. When thus used, it must be borne in mind that 
the iodine acts also by being absorbed. Another valuable application of it is for 
the removal of cutaneous naevi. Lugol’s caustic iodine solution is made of 
iodine and iodide of potassium, each, an ounce, dissolved in two fluidounces of 
water. This is used to destroy soft and fungous granulations, and has been em- PART I. 
Iodinium. 
ployed with decided benefit in lupus. The Liniment of Iodine of the British 
Pharmacopoeia is intermediate in strength between the two solutions last men- 
tioned. (See Linimenturn Iodi.) Another caustic solution of iodine, under the 
name of iodized glycerin, is made by dissolving one part of iodide of potassium in 
two parts of glycerin, and adding the solution to one part of iodine, which it com- 
pletely dissolves. Dr. Max Ritcher, of Vienna, to whom the credit belongs of 
having introduced into practice the solution of iodine in glycerin, found this 
caustic particularly useful in lupus, non-vascular goitre, and scrofulous and con- 
stitutional syphilitic ulcers. The solution is applied by means of a hair pencil to 
the diseased surface, which must then be covered with gutta percha paper, fixed 
at the edges by strips of adhesive plaster, in order to prevent the evaporation 
of the iodine. The application produces burning pain, which rarely lasts for 
more than two hours. The dressing is removed in twenty-four hours, and pledgets, 
dipped in cold water, applied. This iodine caustic is too strong for ordinary 
local use. A weaker solution is recommended by Dr. Szukits, formed of one part 
of iodine to five of glycerin, for application to the neck, female breast, abdomen, 
&c. After four or five paintings it causes excoriation, which requires its discon- 
tinuance, and the use of cold applications. 
Iodine is used by injection into various cavities. It has been employed in this 
way for the cure or relief of hydrocephalus, pleuritic effusion, hydropericar- 
dium, ascites, ovarian dropsy, hernia, hydrocele, spina bifida, dropsy of the joints, 
and chronic abscesses. Dr. J. M. Winn, of London, reports a case of chronic 
hydrocephalus in an infant, in which the injection of iodine was used, after tap- 
ping, with the apparent effect of retarding the reaccumulation of the fluid. M. 
Aran, of Paris, tried the same treatment, after tapping, in two cases of pleuritic 
effusion, and with success in one of the cases. The same physician reports a case 
of hydropericardium, relieved by twice tapping the sac, and twice injecting it 
with iodine within the space of twelve days. (Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., April, 
1856, p. 499.) Dr. Costes has tried these injections in ascites, but not with 
encouraging results. In practising them in this disease, Dr. Tessier lays down 
these rules; first, not to empty the peritoneal cavity before performing the in- 
jection, as the injected fluid requires dilution by the effused fluid; second, to 
regulate the amount of the injected fluid by the nature of the effused fluid, using 
twice as much, if the latter is decidedly alkaline and albuminous; and third, to 
practise a tapping some days before the time of injecting, if the abdomen be 
very voluminous, in order to diminish the peritoneal surface. Iodine injections 
in ovarian cysts were first practised, in 1846, by Dr. Allison, of Indiana, in a 
case that terminated favourably. They are now advocated by Prof. Simpson, of 
Edinburgh, who has employed them in twenty, or thirty cases, with variable but 
encouraging results. A fatal case, however, is recorded by M. Demarquay. (B. 
and F. Med.-Chirurg. Bev., April, 1862, p. 553.) The injection causes little or 
no pain, if the case is one of genuine cystic dropsy. Three cases of the radical 
cure of hernia by similar injections are reported by M. Jobert, of Paris. (Am. 
Journ. of Med. Sci., Jan. 1855, p. 241.) In hydrocele iodine has superseded 
the wine injection formerly employed. It would seem hazardous to inject drop- 
sical joints with a substance so irritating as iodine; and yet Velpeau is stated 
to have repeatedly used it in these cases with success; and, when the operation 
nas failed, no bad consequences, it is alleged, have followed to the joint. Iodine 
injections have been employed by Dr. Brainard of Chicago, in seven cases of spina 
bifida, in all without dangerous symptoms, and in three, uncomplicated with hy- 
drocephalus, with the effect of a permanent cure. (Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., July, 
1861, p. 6T.) In all these cases, the object is to excite a new action in the walls 
of the cavity, with the effect either of obliterating it by the adhesive inflamma- 
tion, or of restoring its secreting surface to a healthy condition. Iodine injections 
have been used with advantage in fistula in ano, effecting the cure, when sue- 478 
Iodinium. 
PART L 
eessful, by exciting adhesive inflammation. This treatment originated with Mr. 
Charles Clay, of London, and is praised by Dr. Boinet, who recommends that it 
should always be tried, before having recourse to the knife. For the mode of 
preparing iodine injections, see Tinctura lodinii. 
As connected with the subject of iodine injections, it is proper to notice in 
this place the method of treating serpent bites and other poisoned wounds, pro- 
posed by Prof. Brainard, of Chicago. This consists in infiltrating the tissues, 
where the bite has been inflicted, with from half a drachm to a drachm and a 
jialf of a solution, made of five grains of iodine and fifteen of iodide of potas- 
sium in a fluidounce of distilled water. A cupping glass is applied over the 
wound as soon as possible; and the infiltration is effected by passing beneath 
the skin, under the edge of the cup, a small trocar, through the cannula of which 
the solution is injected. Forty experiments were tried with this treatment on 
pigeons, kittens, and dogs, with generally successful results. Prof. Brainard pro- 
poses to extend it to dissection wounds, and all poisoned wounds of a dangerous 
character. (See Prof. Brainard’s Essay, &c., Chicago, 1854; also N. Y. Med. 
Times, iii. 210.) Dr. E. Harwood treated successfully two cases of snake bite, 
by simply brushing the tincture of iodine over the wound. (Boston Med. and 
Surg. Journ., May 11, 1854, from the N. W. Med. and Surg. Journ.) 
Enemata containing iodine have been used, by several practitioners, in the 
chronic dysentery and diarrhoea of both adults and children, with decided bene- 
fit, a prominent effect being the relief of tenesmus. They are supposed to act 
locally on ulcers in the colon and rectum, and generally by absorption. The pre- 
paration of iodine used was the tincture, rendered miscible with water, without 
precipitation, by iodide of potassium. The formula recommended by M. Delioux 
is from three to six fluidrachms of the tincture, with from fifteen to thirty grains 
of iodide of potassium, dissolved in half a pint of water. The injection should 
be preceded by an emollient enema to empty the intestine, and should be re- 
peated once or twice daily, gradually increasing its strength. If the pain be 
severe, a laudanum injection will bring immediate relief. 
Dr. Norman Cheevers, of India, strongly recommends iodine gargles in mer- 
curial salivation. The gargle employed by him was composed of from four to 
ten fluidrachms of the compound tincture of iodine and a pint of water. 
Iodine, in the state of vapour, has been employed by inhalation; and the ex- 
periments, as yet tried, have been in the treatment chiefly of phthisis and chronic 
bronchitis. Sir Charles Scudamore, Sir James Murray, and Dr. Corrigan have 
recommended iodine vapour in phthisis. The plan of Sir Charles is to inhale 
from a glass inhaler, for ten minutes, two or three times a day, a small portion 
of a solution of ioduretted iodide of potassium, mixed with a saturated tincture 
of conium. The ioduretted solution is made by dissolving six grains, each, of 
iodine and iodide of potassium, in five ounces and three-quarters of distilled 
water, and a quarter of an ounce of alcohol. The dose, for each inhalation, is 
from half a drachm to a drachm of the ioduretted solution, gradually increased, 
with half a drachm of the tincture, added to a portion of water at 120° F., 
nearly sufficient to half fill the inhaler. M. Piorry employs iodine vapour in 
phthisis in a different way. He places one or two scruples of iodine, or from 
one to three fluidounces of the tincture, in a quart jar, and causes the patient 
to take a deep inspiration from the air in the vessel, one or two hundred times 
a day. The patient is made to inhale iodine vapour also during sleep, by placing 
iodine in several saucers near his pillow, and in numerous vials, attached to his 
bedstead. Modes of internal treatment, appropriate to each case, were concur- 
rently adopted. M. Piorry avers that, in almost every case subjected to iodine 
treatment in this way, there was a diminution of the space in which the physical 
signs of diseased lung were manifested. Many patieifts with cavities in the lungs 
were apparently cured. (Gomptes Rendus, Jan. 24, 1854.) Another application PART I. 
Iodinium. 
of iodine inhalations is to the cure of aphonia, a plan of treatment suggested by 
Prof. Pancoast, of this city. A successful case of this affection, of twenty months’ 
standing, treated in this way, is related by Dr. Edward B. Stevens. (Charleston 
Med. Journ., March, 1854, from the Iowa Med. Journ.) 
Another method of administering iodine vapour by inhalation in phthisis and 
chronic bronchitis has been proposed by M. Barrere, of Toulouse. It consists 
in forming what he calls iodized camphor, which is to be taken like snuff. This 
is prepared by putting powdered camphor in a snuff-box, with a hundredth part 
in bulk of iodine, contained in a muslin bag. In the course of a few hours, the 
substances, by occasional shaking, unite, forming a powder resembling iodine in 
colour. The difficulty in practising ordinary iodine inhalation depends chiefly 
on the irritation caused by the vapour, which excites cough and fatigues the 
patient. According to M. Barrere, this inconvenience is avoided by the use of 
the iodized camphor. A pinch of it produces sneezing and some smarting in the 
nostrils; but, wThen the vapour reaches the lungs, it causes a refreshing sensa- 
tion, which induces the patient to draw a long and deep breath. {Ann. de 
Therap., 1855, p. 232.) The only remaining proposition for iodine inhalation 
that we have seen, is the one made by M. Huett, who recommends the use of 
hydriodic ether. This has been employed by him, with success, in a case of 
phthisis with cavities at the top of the left lung. 
Dr. Brainard employs the vapour of iodine, with great advantage, in the 
treatment of indolent ulcers, first dressing the ulcer with simple cerate spread on 
lint, then applying over this several layers of lint in which from one to four 
grains of iodine have been folded, and covering the whole with oiled silk and 
tin foil, secured by a bandage, so as to prevent the escape of the iodine, which 
is vaporized by the heat of the body. {Chicago Med. Journ., Jan. 1860.) 
In cases of poisoning by iodine, the stomach must be first evacuated, and 
afterwards drinks administered containing an amylaceous substance, such as 
flour, starch, or arrow-root. 
Iodine is officinal:— 
I. AS SIMPLE TINCTURE AND OINTMENT. 
Tinctura Iodinii, TJ. S.— Tincture of Iodine. 
Unguentum Iodinii, TJ. S.— Ointment of Iodine. 
II. Combined with hydrogen. 
Aeidum Hydriodicum Dilutum, TJ. S.— Diluted Hydriodic Acid. 
III. Combined with sulphur. 
Sulphuris Iodidum, U. S.—Iodide of Sulphur. 
Unguentum Sulphuris Iodidi, U. S. — Ointment of Iodide of Sulphur. 
IV. Combined with metals. 
Arsenici Iodidum, U. S. — Iodide of Arsenic. 
Liquor Arsenici et Hydrargyri Iodidi, U. S. — Solution of Iodide of 
Arsenic and Mercury. Donovan’s solution. 
Ferri Iodidum, Br. — Iodide of Iron. 
Syrupus Ferri Iodidi, U. S., Br. — Syrup of Iodide of Iron. 
Pilulae Ferri Iodidi, TJ. S.; Pilula Ferri Iodidi, Br. — Pills of Iodide 
of Iron. 
Hydrargyri Iodidum Rubrum, U. S., Br. — Red Iodide of Mercury. 
Unguentum Hydrargyri Iodidi Ilubri, Br. — Ointment of Red Iodide 
of Mercury. 
Hydrargyri Iodidum Yiride, TJ. S., Br. — Green Iodide of Mercury. 
Plumbi Iodidum, TJ. S. — Iodide of Lead. 
Potassii Iodidum, TJ. S., Br. — Iodide of Potassium. 
Unguentum Potassii Iodidi, TJ. S., Br. — Ointment of Iodide of Po- 
tassium. 480 
Iodinium.—Ipecacuanha. 
PART I. 
V. Associated with iodide of potassium. 
Linimentum Iodi, Br.— Liniment of Iodine. 
Liquor Iodinii Compositus, U. S. — Compound Solution of Iodine. 
Tinctura Iodinii Composita, U. S ; Tinctura Iodi, Br. — Compound 
Tincture of Iodine. 
Unguentum Iodinii Compositum, U.S.; TJnguentum Iodi Corapositum, 
Br.— Comjjound Ointment of Iodine. B. 
IPECACUANHA. U.S., Br. 
Ipecacuanha. Ipecacuan. 
The root of Cephaelis Ipecacuanha. U. S. The root, dried. Br. 
Ipecacuanha, Fr.; Brechwurzel, Ipecacuanha, Germ.; Ipecacuana, Ital., Span. 
The term ipecacuanha, derived from the language of the aborigines of Brazil, 
has been applied to various emetic roots of South American origin.* The U. S. 
and British Pharmacopoeias recognise only that of Cephaelis Ipecacuanha; and 
no other is known by the name in the shops of this country. Our chief attention 
will, therefore, be confined to this root, and the plant which yields, it; but, as 
others are employed in South America, are occasionally exported, and may pos- 
sibly reach our markets mingled with the genuine drug, we shall, in a note, give 
a succinct account of those which have attracted most attention. 
The botanical character of the ipecacuanha plant was long unknown. Pison 
and Marcgrav, who wrere the first to treat of this medicine, in their work on the 
Natural History of Brazil, published at Amsterdam, A. D. 1648, described in 
general terms two plants; one producing a whitish root, distinguished by the 
name of white ipecacuanha, the other, a brown root, which answers in their de- 
scription precisely to the officinal drug. But their account was not sufficiently 
definite to enable botanists to decide upon the character of the plants. The 
medicine was generally thought to be derived from a species of Viola, which 
Linnasus designated as V. Ipecacuanha. Opinion afterwards turned in favour 
of a plant, sent to Linnaeus by Mutis from New Granada, as affording the 
ipecacuanha of that country and of Peru. This was described in the Supple- 
mentum of the younger Linnaeus, A. D. 1781, under the name of Fyschotria 
emetica, and was long erroneously considered as the source of the true ipeca- 
cuanha. Dr. Gomez, of Lisbon, was the first who accurately described and figured 
the genuine plant, which he had seen in Brazil, and specimens of which he took 
with him to Portugal; but Brotero, professor of Botany at Coimbra, with whom 
he had left specimens, having drawn up a description, and inserted it with a 
figure in the Linnaean Transactions without acknowledgment, enjoyed for a time 
the credit due to his countryman. In the paper of Brotero the plant is named 
Callicocca Ipecacuanha; but the term Callicocca, having been applied by 
Sehreber, without sufficient reason, to the genus already established and named, 
has been universally abandoned for the Cephaelis of Swartz, though this, also, 
it appears, is a usurpation upon the previous rights of Aublet. 
Cephaelis. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Rubiacese, Juss. 
Cinchonaceae, Bindley. 
Gen. Ch. Flowers in an involucred head. Corolla tubular. Stigma two- 
parted. Berry two-seeded. Receptacle chaffy. Willd. 
Cephaelis Ipecacuanha. Richard, Hist. Ipecac, p. 21, t. i.; Martins, Spec. 
Mat. Med. Brazil, p. 4, t. i.; Curtis's Bot. Mag. N. S. vol. xvii. pi. 4063, A. D. 
1844. — Callicocca Ipecacuanha. Brotero, Linn. Trans, vi. 137. This is a 
small shrubby plant, with a root from four to six inches long, about as thick as a 
* M. Weddell states that the word ipecacuanha is nowhere in Brazil used to designate 
the Cephaelis, which is generally called poaya. (Journ. dePharm., 3e ser., xyi. 34.) PART I. 
Ipecacuanha. 
481 
goose-quill, marked with annular rugae, simple or somewhat branched, descend- 
ing obliquely into the ground, and here and there sending forth slender fibrils. 
The stem is two or three feet long; but, being partly under ground, and often 
procumbent at the base, usually rises less than a foot in height. It is slender; 
in the lower portion leafless, smooth, brown or ash-coloured, and knotted, with 
radicles frequently proceeding from the knots; near the summit, pubescent, green, 
and furnished with leaves seldom exceeding six in number. These are opposite, 
petiolate, oblong-obovate, acute, entire, from three to four inches long, from one 
to two broad, obscurely green and somewhat rough on their upper surface, pale, 
downy, and veined on the under. At the insertion of each pair of leaves are 
deciduous stipules, embracing the stem, membranous at the base, and separated 
above into numerous bristle-like divisions. The flowers are very small, white, 
and collected to the number of eight, twelve, or more, each accompanied with a 
green bracte, into a semi-globular head, supported upon a round, solitary, axil- 
lary footstalk, and embraced by a monophyllous involucre, deeply divided into 
four, sometimes five or six obovate, pointed segments. The fruit is an ovate, 
obtuse berry, which is at first purple, but becomes almost black when ripe, and 
contains two small plano-convex seeds. 
The plant is a native of Brazil, flourishing in moist, thick, and shady woods, 
and abounding most within the limits of the eighth and twentieth degrees of 
south latitude. According to Humboldt, it grows also in New Granada. It 
flowers in January and February, and ripens its fruit in May. The root is 
usually collected during the period of flowering, though equally good at other 
seasons. By this practice the plant is speedily extirpated in places where it is 
most eagerly sought. Were the seeds allowed to ripen, it would propagate itself 
rapidly, and thus maintain a constant supply. Weddell, however, states that 
the remains of the root, often left in the ground when it is collected, serve the 
purpose of propagation, each fragment giving rise to a new plant. The root is 
collected chiefly by the Indians, who prepare it by separating it from the stem, 
cleaning it, and hanging it up in bundles to dry in the sun. The Brazilian mer- 
chants carry on a very brisk trade in this drug. According to Weddell, most 
of it was, at the time he wrote, A. D. 1851, collected in the interior province of 
Matto-Grosso, upon the upper waters of the Paraguay, where it was discovered 
in the year 1824. The chief places of export are Rio Janeiro, Bahia, and Per- 
nambuco. It is brought to the United States in large bags or bales. 
Properties. Genuine ipecacuanha is in pieces two or three lines thick, va- 
riously bent and contorted, simple or branched, consisting of an interior slender, 
light straw-coloured, ligneous cord, with a thick cortical covering, which pre- 
sents on its surface a succession of circular, unequal, prominent rings or rug®, 
separated by very narrow fissures, frequently extending nearly down to the 
central fibre. This appearance of the surface has given rise to the term annele 
or annulated, by which the true ipecacuanha is designated by French pharma- 
ceutists. The cortical part is hard, horny, and semi-transparent, breaks with a 
resinous fracture, and easily separates from the tougher ligneous fibre, which 
possesses the medicinal virtues of the root in a much inferior degree. Attached 
to the root is frequently a smoother and more slender portion, which is the base 
of the stem, and should be separated before pulverization. Pereira has met, in 
the English market, with distinct bales composed of these fragments of stems, 
with occasionally portions of the root attached. Much stress has been laid upon 
the colour of the external surface of the ipecacuanha root; and diversity in this 
respect has even led to the formation of distinct varieties. Thus, the epidermis 
is sometimes deep-brown or even blackish, sometimes reddish-brown or reddish- 
gray, and sometimes light-gray or ash-coloured. Hence the distinction into 
Drown, red, and gray ipecacuanha. But these are all derived from the same 
plant, are essentially the same in properties and composition, and probably dif- 482 
Ipecacuanha. 
part i. 
fcr only In consequence of difference in age, place of growth, or mode of desic- 
cation. The colours in fact are often so intermingled, that it would be impossible 
to decide in which variety a particular specimen should be placed. The brown 
is the most abundant in the packages brought to our market. The red, besides 
the colour of its epidermis, presents a rosy tint when broken, and is said to be 
somewhat more bitter than the preceding variety. The gray is much lighter- 
coloured externally, usually rather larger, with less prominent rings and wider 
furrows, and is still more decidedly bitter. Many years since wre saw in this 
market bales of gray ipecacuanha, with very imperfectly developed rings, which 
were said to have come from Caracas. This commercial variety.afterwards quite 
disappeared; but, under the name of Carthagena ipecacuanha, it would seem 
to have been again imported into New York. (Am. Journ. ofPharm., xxv. 4*74.) 
When the bark in either variety is opaque, with a dull amylaceous aspect, the 
root is less active. As the woody part is nearly inert, and much more difficult 
of pulverization than the cortical, it often happens that, when the root is pow- 
dered, the portion last remaining in the mortar possesses scarcely any emetic 
power; and care should be taken to provide against any defect from this cause. 
The colour of the powder is a light grayish-fawn. 
Ipecacuanha has little smell in the aggregate state, but when powdered has 
a peculiar nauseous odour, which in some persons excites violent sneezing, in 
others dyspnoea resembling an attack of asthma. The taste is bitter, acrid, and 
very nauseous. Water and alcohol extract its virtues, which are injured by 
decoction. Its emetic property resides in a peculiar alkaline principle called 
emetia, discovered by Pelletier in the year 1811. The cortical portion of the 
brown ipecacuanha, analyzed by this chemist under the erroneous name of Psy- 
chotria emetica, yielded, in 100 parts, 16 of an impure salt of emetia, which was 
at first considered the pure emetic principle, 2 of an odorous fatty matter, 6 of 
wax, 10 of gum, 42 of starch, 20 of lignin, with 4 parts loss. The woody fibre 
was found to contain only 1T5 per cent, of the impure emetia. M. A. Richard 
detected in the cortical part traces of gallic acid. The bark of red ipecacuanha 
was found by Pelletier to contain but 14 per cent, of impure emetia. In addition 
to these principles, Bucholz found extractive, sugar, and resin; and Erwin Wil- 
ligk, afterwards, traces of a disagreeably smelling volatile oil, phosphatic salts, 
and a peculiar acid which he named ipecacuanhic acid, and which had previously 
been mistaken for the gallic. It would seem to belong to the tannic acid group. 
(See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxiii. 352.) Good ipecacuanha contains about 80 
per cent, of cortical and 20 of ligneous matter. 
Emetia, when perfectly pure, is whitish, inodorous, slightly bitter, pulverulent, 
unalterable in the air, very fusible, sparingly soluble in cold water and ether, 
more soluble in hot water, and very soluble in alcohol. It is not reddened by 
nitric acid, forms crystallizable salts with the mineral acids and acetic acid, is 
precipitated by gallic and tannic acids from its solutions, and contains nitrogen. 
It is, however, very difficult to procure it in this state of purity, and the propor- 
tion afforded by the root is exceedingly small. As originally obtained it was 
very impure, probably in the condition of a salt, and in this state is directed by 
the French Codex. Impure emetia is in transparent scales of a brownish-red 
colour, almost inodorous, of a bitterish acrid taste, deliquescent, very soluble in 
water and alcohol, insoluble in ether, precipitated from its solutions by gallic 
acid and the acetates of lead, but not by tartar emetic or the salts of iron. The 
Codex directs it to be prepared by evaporating a filtered aqueous solution of an 
alcoholic extract of ipecacuanha. According to the original method, it was ob- 
tained by treating powdered ipecacuanha with ether to remove the fatty matter, 
exhausting the residue with alcohol, evaporating the alcoholic solution to dry- 
ness, and subjecting the extract to the action of cold water, which dissolves the 
emetia with some free acid, and leaves the wax and other matters. To separate part I. 
Ipecacuanha. 
483 
the acid, the watery solution is treated with carbonate of magnesia, filtered, and 
then evaporated. If pure emetia is required, magnesia is used instead of the 
carbonate. The salt is thus decomposed, and the organic alkali, being insoluble, 
is precipitated with the excess of the earth. The precipitate is washed with cola 
water, and digested in alcohol, which dissolves the emetia; the alcoholic solution 
is then evaporated, the residue redissolved in a dilute acid, and the alkali again 
precipitated by a salifiable base. To deprive it of colour it is necessary to em- 
ploy animal charcoal. Berzelius has obtained emetia by treating the powdered 
root with very dilute sulphuric acid, precipitating with magnesia, and treating the 
precipitate iu the manner above directed. Pure emetia has at least three times 
the strength of the impure.* 
* Non-officinal Ipecacuanhas. When ipecacuanha began to be popular in Europe, the 
roots of several other plants were imported and confounded with the genuine; and the 
name came at length to be applied to almost all emetic roots derived from America. Seve- 
ral of these are still occasionally met with, and retain the name originally given to them. 
The two most worthy of notice are the ipecacuanha of New Granada and Peru, and the 
white ipecacuanha of Brazil. On each of these we shall offer a few remarks. 
1. Peruvian Ipecacuanha. Striated Ipecacuanha. Black Ipecacuanha. This is the root of 
Psychotria emetica, formerly supposed to produce the genuine Brazilian ipecacuanha. This 
plant, like the Cephaelis, belongs to the class and order Pentandria Monogynia, and to the 
natural order Rubiaceae of Jussieu. A description of it, sent by Mutis, was published by 
Linnaeus, the younger, in his supplement. It lias since been described in the Plant, zBquin. 
of Ilumb. and Bonpl.; and has been figured by A. Richard in his History of the Ipecacu- 
anhas, and by Hayne in the eighth volume of his Medical Botany published at Berlin. It 
is a small shrub, with a stem twelve or eighteen inches high, simple, erect, round, slightly 
pubescent, and furnished with opposite, oblong-lanceolate, pointed leaves, narrowed at 
their base into a short petiole, and accompanied with pointed stipules. The flowers are 
small, white, and supported in small clusters towards the end of an axillary peduncle. 
The plant flourishes in Peru and New Granada, and was seen by Humboldt and Bonjdand 
growing in abundance near the river Magdalena. The dried root is said to have been 
exported from Carthagena. 
It is cylindrical, somewhat thicker than the root of the Cephaelis, usually simple, but 
sometimes branched, not much contorted, wrinkled longitudinally, presenting here and 
there deep circular intersections, but without the annular rugae of the true ipecacuanha. 
The longitudinal direction of the wrinkles has given it the name of striated ipecacuanha. It 
consists of an internal woody cord, and an external cortical portion; but the former is 
usually larger in proportion to the latter than in the root of the Cephaelis. The bark is 
soft and easily cut with a knife, and when broken exhibits a brown, slightly resinous frac- 
ture. The epidermis is of a dull reddish-gray colour, which darkens with age and expo- 
sure, and ultimately becomes almost black. Hence the root has sometimes been called black 
ipecacuanha. The ligneous portion is yellowish, and perforated with numerous small holes 
visible by the microscope. Peruvian ipecacuanha is nearly inodorous, and has a flat taste, 
neither bitter nor acrid. From 100 parts Pelletier obtained 9 of impure emetia, 12 of fatty 
matter, with an abundance of starch, besides gum and lignin. The dose, as an emetic, is 
from two scruples to a drachm. 
2. White Ipecacuanha. Amylaceous Ipecacuanha. Undulated Ipecacuanha. This variety was 
noticed in the work of Pison; but the vegetable which produced it was not satisfactorily 
ascertained till a recent date. Gomez, indeed, in the memoir which he published at Lisbon, 
A. D. 1801, gave a figure and description of the plant; but the memoir was not generally 
known, and botanists remained uncertain upon the subject. By the travels of M. Saint 
Hilaire and Dr. Martius in Brazil, more precise information has been obtained; and the 
white ipecacuanha is now confidently referred to different species of Richardsonia, the 
Richardia of Linnaeus. R. scabra, or R. Braziliensis of Gomez, and R. emetica are specially 
indicated by Martius. For the root usually called white ipecacuanha, Guibourt has proposed 
the name of undulated ipecacuanha, derived from the peculiar character of the surface, 
which presents indentations or concavities on one side, corresponding with prominences 
or convexities on the other, so as to give a wavy appearance to the root. It differs little 
in size from the genuine; is of a whitish-gray colour externally; and, when broken, pre- 
sents a dull-white farinaceous fracture, offering by the light of the sun shining points, 
which are nothing more than small grains of fecula. Like the other varieties it has a 
woody centre. It is inodorous and insipid, and contains, according to Pelletier, a very 
large proportion of starch, with only 6 per cent, of impure emetia, and 2 of fatty mat- 
ter. Richard found only 3-5 parts of emetia in the hundred. It is said to be sometimes 484 
Ipecacuanha. 
part i. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Ipecacuanha is in large doses emetic, in smal- 
ler, diaphoretic and expectorant, and in still smaller, stimulant to the stomach, 
exciting appetite and facilitating digestion. In quantities not quite sufficient to 
vomit, it produces nausea, and frequently acts on the bowels. As an emetic it 
is mild but tolerably certain, and, being usually thrown from the stomach by one 
or two efforts, is less apt to produce dangerous effects, when taken in an over- 
dose, than some other substances of the same class. It is also recommended by 
the absence of corrosive and narcotic properties. 
It was employed as an emetic by the natives of Brazil, when that country was 
first settled by the Portuguese; but, though described in the work of Pison, it 
was not known in Europe till 1612, and did not come into use till some years 
afterwards. John Helvetius, grandfather of the famous author of that name, 
having been associated with a merchant who had imported a large quantity of 
ipecacuanha into Paris, employed it as a secret remedy, and with so much suc- 
cess in dysentery and other bowel affections, that general attention was drawn 
to it; and the fortunate physician received from Louis XIY. a large sum of 
money and public honours, on the condition that he should make it public. 
As an emetic it is peculiarly adapted, by its mildness and efficiency, to cases in 
which the object is merely to evacuate the stomach, or a gentle impression only 
is desired; and, in most other cases in which emetics are indicated, it may be ad- 
vantageously combined with the more energetic medicines, which it renders safer 
by insuring their discharge. It is especially useful where narcotic poisons have 
been swallowed; as, under these circumstances, it may be given in almost indefi- 
nite doses, with little comparative risk of injury. In dysentery it has been sup- 
posed to exercise peculiar powers. As a nauseating remedy it is used in asthma, 
hooping-cough, and the hemorrhages; as a diaphoretic, combined with opium, 
in numerous diseases. (See Pulvis Ipecacuanhas Compositus.) Its expectorant 
properties render it useful in catarrhal and other pulmonary affections. It has 
been given, also, with supposed advantage, in very minute doses, in dyspepsia, 
and in chronic disease of the gastro-intestinal mucous membrane. 
Ipecacuanha is most conveniently administered, as an emetic, in the form of 
powder suspended in water. The dose is about twenty grains, repeated, if neces- 
sary, at intervals of twenty minutes till it operates. In some persons much 
smaller quantities prove emetic, and we have known an individual who was 
generally vomited by the fraction of a grain. The operation may be facilitated, 
and rendered milder, by draughts of warm water, or warm chamomile tea. An 
mixed with the genuine ipecacuanha; but we have discovered none in the bales that we 
have examined. 
According to Martius, different species of Ionidium (Viola; Linn.) also produce what is 
called while ipecacuanha. The roots of all the species of Ionidium possess emetic or purga- 
tive properties, and some of them have been reported to be equal to the genuine ipecacu- 
anha. The root of I. Ipecacuanha is described by Guibourt as being six or seven inches 
long, as thick as a quill, somewhat tortuous, and exhibiting at the points of flexion semi- 
circular fissures, which give it some resemblance to the root of the Cephaelis. It is often 
bifurcated at both extremities, and terminates at top in a great number of small ligne- 
ous stalks. It is wrinkled longitudinally, and of a light yellowish-gray colour. The bark 
is thin, and the interior ligneous portion very thick. The root has little taste or smell. 
According to Pelletier, it contains, in 100 parts, 5 of an emetic substance, 35 of gnm, 1 of 
azotized matter, and 37 of lignin. (Hist. Ahreg. des Drogues Simples, i. 514.) 
The root of a species of Ionidium growing in Quito has attracted some attention as a 
remedy in elephantiasis, under the South American name of cuichunchulli. The plant, being 
considered an undescribed species by Dr. Bancroft, was named by him I. Marcucci; but Sir 
W. Hooker found the specimen, received from Dr. Bancroft, to be identical with the I.par- 
viflorum of Ventenat. Bindley thinks a specimen he received under the same name from 
Quito, to be the I. microphyllum of Humboldt. If useful in elephantiasis, it is so pr tbably 
by its emeto-purgative action. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm.,\ii. 186.) 
The reader is referred to a paper on Ipecacuanha by the late R. E. Griffith, M.D., in the 
Journ. of the Philad. Col. of Pharm. (iii. 181), for a more extended account of the roots whiok 
have been used under that name. PART I. 
Ipecacuanha.—Iris Florentina. 
485 
infusion of boiling water, in the proportion of two drachms to six fluidounces, 
may be given in the dose of a fluidounce repeated as in the former case. For the 
production of nausea, the dose in substance may be two grains, repeated more 
or less frequently according to circumstances. As a diaphoretic it may be given 
in the quantity of a grain; as an alterative, in diseases of the stomach and 
bowels, in that of a quarter or half a grain two or three times a day. A fluid 
extract is officinal in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, having been introduced at the 
late revision of that work. (See Extractum Ipecacuanhae Fluidum.) One flui- 
drachm of this preparation represents a drachm of the root. 
Ernetia has been used on the continent of Europe as a substitute, but with no 
great advantage. Its operation on the stomach is apt to be more violent and 
continued than that of ipecacuanha; and, if given in overdoses, it may produce 
dangerous and even fatal consequences. From the experiments of Magendie, it 
appears to have a peculiar direction to the mucous membranes of the alimentary 
canal and the bronchial tubes. Ten grains of the impure alkali, administered 
to dogs, were generally found to destroy life in twenty-four hours, and the mu- 
cous membranes mentioned were observed to be inflamed throughout their whole 
extent. The same result took place when ernetia was injected into the veins, or 
absorbed from any part of the body. The dose of impure ernetia is about a grain 
and a half, of the pure not more than half a grain, repeated at proper intervals 
till it vomits. In proportional doses, it may be applied to the other purposes 
for which ipecacuanha is used. It will excite vomiting when applied to a blis- 
tered surface after the removal of the cuticle. 
Dr. Turnbull recommends the external use of ipecacuanha as a counter- 
irritant. An ointment, made with one part of the powder, one of olive oil, and 
two of lard, rubbed once or twice a day for a few minutes upon the skin, pro- 
duces a copious eruption, which continues out for many days, without pain or 
ulceration. (London Lancet, May, 1842.) It has, however, been found by others 
of little efficacy in the great majority of cases. 
Off. Prep. Extractum Ipecacuanha Fluidum, U. S.; Pulvis Ipecacuanhae Com- 
positus, U. S.; Pulvis Ipecacuanhae cum Opio, Br.; Trochisci Ipecacuanhae, U. S.; 
Trochisci Morphiae et Ipecacuanhae, Br.; Yinum Ipecacuanhae. W. 
IRIS FLORENTINA. U. S. Secondary. 
Florentine Orris. 
The rhizoma of Iris Florentina. U. S. 
Iris de Florence, Fr.; Florentinische Yiolenwurzel, Germ,.; Ireos, Ital.; Lirio Florentina, 
Span. 
Iris. Sex. Syst. Triandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Iridaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Corolla six-parted; the alternate segments reflected. Stigmas petal- 
shaped. Willd. 
In all the species belonging to this genus, so far as examined, the roots are 
more or less acrid, and possessed of cathartic and emetic properties. In Europe, 
Iris foetidissima, I. Florentina, I. Germanica, I. pseudo-acorus, and I. tube- 
rosa have at various times been admitted into use. Of these I. Florentina is 
the only one officinal in this country. 
Iris Florentina. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 226; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 176, t. 262. 
The root (rhizoma) of the Florentine Iris is perennial, horizontal, fleshy, fibrous, 
and covered with a brown epidermis. The leaves spring directly from the root, 
are sword-shaped, pointed, nerved, and shorter than the stem, which rises from 
the midst of them more than a foot in height, round, smooth, jointed, and bear- 
ing commonly two large white or bluish-white terminal flowers. The calyx is a 
spathe with two valves. The corolla divides into six segments or petals, oi 486 
Iris Florcntina.—Iris Versicolor. 
PART I. 
which three stand erect, and the remaining three are bent backward, and bearded 
within at their base with yellow-tipped white hairs. The fruit is a three-celled 
capsule, containing many seeds. 
This plant is a native of Italy and other parts of the south of Europe, where 
it is also cultivated. The root, which is the officinal portion, is dug up in spring, 
and prepared for the market by the removal of its cuticle and fibres. It is 
brought from Leghorn in large casks. 
Properties. Florentine orris is in pieces of various form and size, often 
branched, usually about as thick as the thumb, knotty, flattened, white, heavy, 
of a rough though not fibrous fracture, an agreeable odour resembling that of 
the violet, and a bitterish, acrid taste. The acrimony is greater iu the recent 
than in the dried root; but the peculiar smell is more decidedly developed in the 
latter. The pieces are brittle and easily powdered, and the powder is of a dirty- 
white colour. Yogel obtained from Florentine orris, gum, a brown extractive, 
fecula, a bitter and acrid fixed oil or soft resin, a volatile crystallizable oil, and 
vegetable fibre. According to Landerer, the acrid principle is volatile, separat- 
ing in the form of a stearoptene from water distilled from the root. {Arch, der 
Pharm., lxv. 302.) In order to preserve the root from the attacks of insects, Mr. 
Maisch recommends to put a little ether in the bottle iu which it may be kept. 
{Am. Journ. of Pharm., July, 1858, p. 310.) 
Medical Properties. This medicine is cathartic, and in large doses emetic, 
and was formerly employed to a considerable extent on the continent of Europe. 
It is said also to be diuretic, and to have proved useful in dropsies. At present 
it is valued for its agreeable odour. It is occasionally chewed to conceal an 
offensive breath, and enters into the composition of tooth-powders. In the form 
of small round balls, about the size of a pea, it is used by the French for main- 
taining the discharge ffom issues, a purpose to which it is adapted by its odour, 
by the slight acrimony which it retains in its dried state, and by the property of 
swelling very much by the absorption of moisture. W. 
IRIS VERSICOLOR. US. Secondary. 
Blue Flag. 
The rhizoma of Iris versicolor. U. S. 
Iris. See IRIS FLORENTINA. 
Iris versicolor. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 233; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. i. 155. 
This indigenous species of Iris has a perennial, fleshy, horizontal, fibrous root 
or rhizoma, and a stem two or three feet high, round on one side, acute on the 
other, and frequently branching. The leaves are sheathed at the base, sword- 
shaped, and striated. The flowers are from two to six in number, and are 
usually blue or purple, though varying much in colour. The capsule has three 
valves, is divided into three cells, and when mature is oblong, three-sided, with 
obtuse angles, and contains numerous flat seeds. 
The blue flag is found in all parts of the United States, flourishing in low wet 
places, in meadows, and on the borders of swamps, which it serves to adorn with 
its large and beautiful flowers. These make their appearance in June. The root 
is the medicinal portion. The flowers afford a fine blue infusion, which serves 
as a test of acids and alkalies. 
The recent root is without odour, and has a nauseous, acrid taste, which is 
imparted to water by decoctiou, and still more perfectly to alcohol. The acri- 
mony as well as medicinal activity is impaired by age. If cut when fresh into 
slices, dried at the temperature of about 100°, and then powdered and kept in 
bottles excluded from the air, the root retains its virtues unimpaired foi a con- 
siderable time. {Andrews.) PART I. 
Iris Versicolor.—Jalapa. 
487 
Blue flag possesses the cathartic, emetic, and diuretic properties common to 
most of its congeners. It was said by Mr. Bartram to be much esteemed by the 
southern Indians; and Dr. Bigelow states that he has found it efficacious as a 
purgative, though inconvenient from the distressing nausea and prostration 
which it is apt to occasiou. Dr. M. H. Andrews, of Michigan, has employed it 
frequently as a cathartic, and found it, when combined with a grain of Cayenne 
pepper, or two grains of ginger, not less easy and effectual in its operation than 
the ordinary more active cathartics, and preferable on account of its less disa- 
greeable taste. (N. Y. Journ. of Med., ix. 129.) Dr. Macbride found it useful 
in dropsy. It is, however, little used by the profession at large, and seldom kept 
in the shops. It may be given in substance, decoction, or tincture. The dose 
of the dried root is from ten to twenty grains. Under the unscientific name of 
iridin or irisin, which should be reserved for the pure active principle when 
discovered, the “Eclectics” have for some time used an oleo-resin, obtained by 
precipitating a tincture of the root with water, and mixing the precipitate with 
an equal weight of some absorbent powder, for which purpose powdered 
liquorice root would probably answer well. This may be given in the form of 
pill, in the dose of three or four grains. It is thought to unite cliolagogue and 
diuretic with aperient properties; and a writer in the London Lomcet states that 
he has found it to produce effects similar to those caused by a mixture of blue 
pill, rhubarb, and aloes. (Aug. 30, 1862, p. 239.) W. 
JALAPA. U.S.,Br. 
Jalap. 
The root of Exogonium Purga (Bentham), Ipomsea Jalapa (Nuttall). XJ. S. 
Exogonium Purga. The tubers dried. Br. 
Jalap, Fr.; Jalappen-Wurzel, Germ; Sciarappa, Ital.; Jalapa, Span. 
The precise botanical origin of jalap remained long unknown. It was at first 
ascribed by Linnaeus to a Mirabilis, and afterwards to a new species of Con- 
volvulus, to which he gave the name of G. Jalapa. The correctness of the latter 
reference was generally admitted; and, as the Ipomsea macrorrhiza of Michaux, 
growing in Florida and Georgia, was believed to be identical with the C. Jalapa 
of Linn., it was thought that this valuable drug, which had been obtained ex- 
clusively from Mexico, might be collected within the limits of the United States. 
But the error of this opinion was soon demonstrated ; and it is now an admitted 
fact, that jalap is the product of a plant first made known to the scientific world 
by Dr. John R. Coxe, of Philadelphia, and described by Mr. Nuttall under the 
name of Ipomsea Jalapa. When this Dispensatory was first published, opinion 
in relation to the botanical history of the drug was unsettled, and it was deemed 
proper to enter at some length into the consideration of the subject; but the 
subsequent general admission of the views then advocated renders an equal de- 
gree of minuteness now unnecessary. It is sufficient to state that Dr. Coxe 
received living roots of jalap from Mexico in 1827, and succeeded in producing 
a perfect flowering plant, of which a description, by Mr. Nuttall, was published 
in the Am. Journ. of Med. Sci. for January, 1830; that the same plant was 
afterwards cultivated in France and Germany from roots transmitted to those 
countries from Mexico; and that one of the authors of this work has produced, 
from roots obtained in the vicinity of Xalapa, and sent to him by the late Dr. 
Marmaduke Burrough, then United States consul at Vera Cruz, luxuriant plants, 
which he was enabled to compare with others descended from the plant of Dr. 
Coxe, and found to be identical with them. In the United States and British 
Pharmacopoeias, this origin of jalap is now recognised. J. II. Balfour (Curtis's 
Bot. Mag., Feb. 1847) maintains that the plant belongs to the genus Exogo- Jalapa. 
part i. 
nium (' Clioisy, as defined in De Candolle’s Prodromus, being distinguished 
from Ipomaea by its exserted stamens; and this view has been taken by the 
framers of the British Pharmacopoeia. 
Ipomsea. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord, Convolvulacem. 
Gen. Gh. Sepals five. Corolla campanulate. Stamens included. Style one. 
Stigma two-lobed; the lobes capitate. Ovary two-celled; cells two-seeded. 
Capsule two-celled. Lindley. 
Ipomsea, Jalapa. Nuttall, Am. Journ. of Med. Sciences, v. 300; Carson, 
Illust. o f Med. Bot. ii. 13, pi. 61.—Ipomsea Purga. Hayne, Darstel. und Be- 
schreib. &c. xii. 33 and 34; Lindley, Flor. Med. 396.—Exogunium Purga. 
Balfour, Curtis’s Bot. Mag., 3d ser., vol. iii. tab. 4280. The root of this plant 
is a roundish somewhat pear-shaped tuber, externally blackish, internally white, 
with long fibres proceeding from its lower part, as well as from the upper root- 
stalks. A tuber produced by Dr. Coxe was, in its third year, between two and 
three inches in diameter. The stem is round, smooth, much disposed to twist, 
and rises to a considerable height upon neighbouring objects, about which it 
twines. The leaves are heart-shaped, entire, smooth, pointed, deeply sinuated 
at the base, prominently veined on their under surface, and supported upon long 
footstalks. The lower leaves are nearly hastate, or with diverging angular points. 
The flowers, which are large and of a lilac-purple colour, stand upon peduncles 
about as long as the petioles. Each peduncle supports two, or, more rarely, 
three flowers. The calyx is without bractes, five-leaved, obtuse, with two of the 
divisions external. The corolla is funnel-form. The stamens are five in number, 
with oblong, white, somewhat exserted anthers. The stigma is simple and capi- 
tate. The above description is taken from that of Mr. Nutt all, published in Dr. 
Coxe’s paper in the American Journal of the Med. Sciences. 
The jalap-plant is a native of Mexico, and derived its name from the city of 
Xalapa, in the state of Yera Cruz, in the neighbourhood of which it grows, at 
the height of about 6000 feet above the ocean. The drug is brought from the 
port of Yera Cruz in bags, containing usually between 100 and 200 pounds. 
Properties. The tuber comes either whole, or divided longitudinally into two 
parts, or in transverse circular slices. The entire tubers are irregularly roundish, 
or ovate and pointed, or pear-shaped, usually much smaller than the fist, and 
marked with circular or vertical incisions, made to facilitate their drying. The 
root is preferred in this state, as it is less apt to be defective, and is more 
easily distinguished from the adulterations than when sliced. A much larger 
proportion comes entire than formerly, indicating a greater scarcity of the older 
roots, which it is necessary to slice in order to dry them properly. The tuber is 
heavy, compact, hard, brittle, with a shining undulated fracture, exhibiting nu- 
merous resinous points, distinctly visible with the microscope. It is externally 
brown and wrinkled, internally of a grayish colour, diversified by concentric 
darker circles, in which the matter is denser and harder than in the intervening 
spaces. Jalap is always kept in the shops in the state of powder, which is of a 
yellowish-gray colour, and when inhaled irritates the nostrils and throat, and 
provokes sneezing and coughing. The odour of the root, when cut or broken, 
is heavy, sweetish, and rather nauseous; the taste is sweetish, somewhat acrid, 
and disagreeable. It yields its active properties partly to water, partly to alco- 
hol, and completely to diluted alcohol. M. Cadet de Gassicourt obtained from 
500 parts of jalap, 24 of water, 50 of resin, 220 of gummy extract, 12 5 of 
fecula, 12’5 of albumen, 145 of lignin, 16 3 of saline matters, 2 7 of silica, with 
a loss of 17 parts. Buchner and Herberger supposed that they had discovered 
a basic substance, which they called jalapin. G. A. Kayser found that the resin 
of jalap consists of two portions, one of which, amounting to seven parts out of 
ten, is hard and insoluble in ether, the other is soft and soluble in that men- 
struum The hard resin he named rhodeoretin, and found to be identical with PART I. 
Jalapa 
489 
the jalapin of Buchner and Herberger. By reaction with the alkalies it is con- 
verted into an acid, called rhodeoretinic acid. Bhodeoretin is slightly soluble 
in water, freely so in alcohol, and insoluble in ether, chloroform, or benzole) 
and the alcoholic solution is precipitated both by ether and water. It is dis- 
solved by solutions of the alkalies, more quickly if heated, and is not precipi- 
tated by acids, having become soluble by conversion into the acid above referred 
to. It purges violently in the dose of three or four grains, and is supposed to 
be the active principle of jalap. Mayer has confirmed and extended the obser- 
vations of Kayser. The formula of rhodeoretin, according to the latter chemist, 
is according to the former, C72Hw036. (See Chem. Gaz., iii. 15, and 
xi. 21.) Rhodeoretin and rhodeoretinic acid are both glucosides, being con- 
vertible by the action of acids into glucose and a peculiar substance named rho- 
deoretinol. (Pelouze and Fremy.) The proportion of resin to the other ingre- 
dients of the root varies considerably in different specimens. According to 
Gerber, the root contains *7'8 per cent, of hard resin, 32 of soft resin, 17 9 of 
extractive, 14-5 of gummy extract, 8'2 of a colouring substance which becomes 
red under the influence of the alkaline carbonates, 1-9 of uncrystallizable sugar, 
15T» of gum mixed with some saline matters, 3-2 of bassorin, 39 of albumen, 
G'O of starch, 8 2 of lignin, with some water, and various salts. For the method 
of obtaining the resin of jalap pure, see Resina Jalapse. 
Jalap is apt to be attacked by worms, which, however, are said to devour the 
amylaceous or softer parts, and to leave the resin; so that the worm-eaten drug 
is more powerfully purgative than that which is sound. Thus, out of 397 parts 
of the former, M. Henry obtained 72 parts of resin, while from an equal quan- 
tity of the latter he procured only 48 parts. Hence worm-eaten jalap should 
be employed for obtaining the resin, but should not be pulverized, as it would 
afford a powder of more than the proper strength. The drug is also liable to 
various adulterations, or fraudulent substitutions, which, however, can usually 
be detected without difficulty. Those which have attracted particular attention 
are mentioned in the note below.* Jalap should be rejected when it is light, 
* Adulterations, Jalap is said to be sometimes adulterated with bryony root; but no 
instance of the kind has come under our notice; and the two drugs are so widely diiferent 
that the fraud would be instantly detected. (See Bryony in Part Third.) it is probable, 
however, that the adulteration which has been considered as bryony root is the mechoacan, 
which in Europe is sometimes called American bryony, and was formerly erroneously sup- 
posed to be derived from a species of Bryonia. Mechoacan is a product of Mexico, which 
was taken to Europe even before the introduction of jalap. The plant producing it has 
been conjectured to be Ipomsea macrorrhiza of Michaux, which is believed to grow in Mexico 
near Vera Cruz, as well as in our Southern States, and the root of which is said to weigh, 
when of full size, from fifty to sixty pounds, and, according to Dr. Baldwin, has little or 
no purgative power. But this origin is quite uncertain. Mechoacan is in circular slices, 
or fragments of various shapes, white and faiinaceous within, and, as in the European 
markets, generally destitute of bark, of which, however, portions of a yellowish colour 
sometimes continue to adhere. The larger slices are sometimes marked with faint con- 
centric stride ; and upon the exterior surface are brown spots and ligneous points, left by 
the radicles after removal. (Guibourt.) Though tasteless when first taken into the mouth, 
it becomes after a time slightly acrid. It is very feebly purgative. We have seen flat cir- 
cular pieces of root, mixed with jalap, altogether answering this description, except that 
the cortical portion still remained, between which and the starchy parenchyma there was 
an evident line of division. 
A drug, formerly known in our markets as spurious jalap, sometimes comes mingled 
with the genuine, and has been imported, unmixed, in mistake for that root. It is proba- 
bly the same with that referred to by French writers as the product of a plant denomi- 
nated male jalap in Mexico, and named by M. Ledanois Convolvulus Orizabensis, from the 
city of Orizaba, in the neighbourhood of which it grows abundantly. In the shops of 
Paris the drug is called light jalap, and, in Guibourt’s Histoire des Drogues, is described 
under the title of fusiform jalap. A description of it was first published in this country 
by Air. D. B. Smith, in a paper upon Ipomsea Jalapa, in the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (ii. 22). 
For an account of the plant, the reader is referred to the same journal (x. 224). The 
’•ecent root is large, spindle-shaped, sometimes twenty inches in length, branched at its 490 
Jalapa. 
PART I. 
of a, whitish colour internally, of a dull fracture, spongy, or friable. Powders 
of calomel, and jalap, taken on long voyages to southern climates, are said, 
lower extremity, yellow on its outer surface, and white and milky within. The drug, as 
described by Guibourt, is in circular pieces, two or three inches in diameter, or in longer 
and moro slender sections. As we have seen it, the shape of the pieces is often such as 
to indicate that the root was sliced transversely, and each circular slice divided vertically 
into quarters. The horizontal cut surface is dark from exposure, unequal from the 
greater shrinking in desiccation of some parts than others, and presents the extremities 
of numerous fibres, which are often concentrically arranged, and run in the longitudinal 
direction of the root. Internally the colour is grayish, and the texture, though much 
less compact than that of jalap, is sometimes almost ligneous. The taste is at first slight, 
but after a time becomes somewhat acrid and nauseous. The root, analyzed by M. Leda- 
nois,-yielded, in 1000 parts, 80 of resin, 256 of gummy extract, 32 of fecula, 24 of albumen, 
and 580 of lignin. It has cathartic properties similar to those of the true jalap, but feebler, 
requiring to be given in a dose of from thirty to sixty grains in order to operate effectively. 
The proportion of resin, which in both is the purgative principle, is considerably less in 
the male jalap; while that of lignin, which is wholly inert, is about double. (Journ. de 
Pharm., xxiv. 166.) This resin, according to G. A. Kayser, differs from jalap resin in con- 
sisting of only one principle, which is entirely soluble in ether. But both l-esins are dis- 
tinguished from all others by being gradually dissolved in concentrated sulphuric acid, 
and deposited again after some hours in a soft state. (Chem. Gaz., No. 53, from Liebig’s 
Annalen.) The resin of C. Orizabensis, which has been unfortunately named jalapin by 
Mayer, is, according to that chemist, changed by boiling with baryta-water into an acid 
called jalapic acid; and both jalapin and jalapic acid are glucosides, being resolved by 
boiling dilute acid into glucose, and a peculiar substance which he designates as jalapinol. 
(See Journ. de Pharm.., 8e ser., xxix. 123.) 
A false jalap was some years since brought into the United States, different from any- 
thing before seen in our market. It was said to have been imported from Mexico into 
New York in considerable quantities, and was offered for sale under the name of over- 
grown jalap. A specimen, brought to Philadelphia, and examined by a Committee of the 
College of Pharmacy, presented the following characters. It was in light, entire or ver- 
tically sliced tubers, of different form and magnitude, spindle-shaped, ovate, and kidney- 
form, some as much as six inches long and three thick, others much smaller, externally 
somewhat wrinkled, with broad flattish light-brown ridges, and shallow darker furrows, 
internally grayish-white, with distant darker concentric circles, sometimes uniformly amy- 
laceous, of a dull rough fracture, a loose texture, a slight, peculiar, and sweetish odour, 
and a feeble jalap-like taste. The powder was of a light-gray colour, and did not irritate 
the nostrils or throat during pulverization. The root differed from mechoacan by the 
absence of the marks of rootlets, and from male jalap by the want of a fibrous struc- 
ture. It yielded by analysis, in 100 parts, 3 of a soft and 4 of a hard and brittle resin, 17 
of gummy exti'active, 28 of starch and inulin,. 10 of gum and albumen, 23-2 of lignin, and 
14-8 of saccharine matter and salts of lime, including loss. In doses of from fifteen 
to twenty grains it produced no effect on the system. A similar root was described by 
Guibourt by the name of rose-scented jalap. It was taken to France from Mexico, mixed 
with genuine jalap. It proved equally inefficacious as a purgative, and probably had the 
same origin. This spurious drug is probably the product of a Convolvulus or Ipomasa. 
See report by Messrs. Ellis, Duhamel, and Ecky, in the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (xiv. 289). 
Two varieties of false jalap, imported into New York, are described by Mr. John H. 
Currie in the N. Y. Journ. of Pharm. for Jan. 1852. The first corresponds with the root 
above described as that of Convolvulus Orizabensis, or male jalap, both in appearance and 
in the character of its resinous ingredient. The second is a tuberous root, resembling in 
shape, colour, and size, the butternut, or fruit of Juglans cinerea, being black or nearly 
so externally, dull over most of the surface but glossy in spots, with deep longitudinal in- 
cisions, internally yellow or yellowish-white, with a horny fracture, and upon the trans- 
versely cut sui’face marked with sparse dots, as if from delicate fibres. It contains no resin, 
and appears to be inert. 
In the numbei's of the Journal de Pharmacie, &c. for Dec. 1863 (p. 477), and for March, 
1864 (p. 212), three other tubers are described by M. Guibourt, which have been offered in 
the market for jalap; one named false jalap of New Orleans, because imported into. France 
from that city, the second digitate jalap (jalap digits) from the arrangement of its component 
tubers, and the third radiated false-jalap (faux-jalap rayonnS) from the stellate appearance 
of the cut surface. Our space will not permit a particular description of these substances, 
which is the less important, as they are not likely to be mistaken for the true jalap by one 
at all acquainted with the characters of the latter; and, besides, do not appear ni them- 
selves to possess any valuable properties. We must, therefore content ourselves with 
referring to the oi-iginal papers as above indicated. PART I. 
Ji lap a. —Jug Ians. 
when brought back, to have become consolidated, and' so far chemically altered 
as plainly to exhibit globules of mercury. This change is ascribed by Scliacht 
and Waekenroder to a fungous growth. (Arch, der Pharm., xxxix. 289.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Jalap is an active cathartic, operating briskly 
and sometimes painfully upon the bowels, and producing copious watery stools. 
The aqueous extract purges moderately, without much griping, and is said to 
increase the flow of urine. The portion not taken up by water gripes severely. 
The watery extract obtained from jalap, previously exhausted by rectified spirit, 
is said to have no cathartic effect, but to operate powerfully by urine. (Duncan.) 
The alcoholic extract, usually called resin of jalap, purges actively, and often 
produces severe griping. From these facts, it would appear that the virtues 
of this cathartic do not depend exclusively upon any one principle. Experi- 
ments, however, by Mr. John C. Long, .of Philadelphia, seem to show that the 
gummy extract, which he took in the quantity of a drachm without any effect, 
is inert; while the soft resin, or that soluble in ether, wffiich was thought to 
have but feeble power, if any, acted powerfully as a hydragogue cathartic, in 
the dose of three grains. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., Nov. 18G1, p. 489.) Jalap 
was introduced into Europe in the latter part of the sixteenth, or beginning of 
the seventeenth century, and now ranks among the purgative medicines most 
extensively employed. It is applicable to most cases in which an active cathartic 
is required, and from its hydragogue powers is especially adapted to the treatment 
of dropsy. It is generally given in connection with other medicines, which assist 
or qualify its operation. In dropsical complaints it is usually combined with 
bitartrate of potassa; and the same mixture is much employed in the treatment 
of the hip disease, and scrofulous affections of other joints. With calomel it 
forms a cathartic compound, which has long been highly popular, in the United 
States, in bilious fever and other complaints attended with congestion of the 
liver or portal circle. In overdoses it may produce dangerous hypercatharsis. 
It is said to purge when applied to a wound. 
The dose of jalap in powder is from fifteen to thirty grains; of the resin, or 
alcoholic extract, from four to eight grains; of the extract of the U. S. and Br. 
Pharmacopoeias, from ten to twenty grains. The latter extract is preferable to 
the alcoholic, as it more completely represents jalap itself. The dose of calomel 
and jalap is ten grains of each; of bitartrate of potassa and jalap, two drachms 
of the former and ten or fifteen grains of the latter. 
Off. Prep. Extractum Jalap®; Pulvis Jalap® Compositus; Pulvis Scam- 
raonii Comp., Br.; Resina Jalap®; Tinctura Jalap®. W. 
JUGLANS. US. 
Butternut. 
The inner bark of the root of Juglans cinerea. U. 8. 
Juglans. Sex. Syst. Moncecia Polyandria.— Nat. Ord. Juglandacete. 
Gen. Ch. Male. Amentum imbricated. Calyx a scale. Corolla six-parted. 
Filaments four to eighteen. Female. Calyx four-cleft, superior. Corolla 
four-cleft. Styles two. Drupe coriaceous, with a furrowed nut. Willd. 
Several products of Juglans regia, or common European walnut, are used 
medicinally in Europe. The hull of the fruit has been employed as a vermifuge 
from the times of Hippocrates, and has been recommended in syphilis and old 
ulcers. The expressed oil of the fruit has been deemed efficacious against the 
tape-worm, and is also used as a laxative injection. The leaves, long occasion- 
ally employed for various purposes both in regular and domestic practice, have 
been found by Professor Negrier. of Angers, in the highest degree efficacious in 
scrofula. He gave to children a teacupful of a pretty strong infusion, or six 492 
Juglans, 
PART L 
grams of the aqueous extract, or an equivalent dose of a syrup prepared from 
the extract, two, three, or four times a day; and at the same time applied a 
strong decoction to the ulcers, and as a collyrium when the eyes were diseased. 
No injury ever resulted from a long-continued use of the remedy. It appears to 
act as a moderately aromatic bitter and astringent. {Arch. Gen., 3e serie, x. 399 
and xi. 41.) They are said also to have proved useful as a topical application in 
malignant pustule. {Ibid., be ser., x. 609.) The leaves of our J. nigra, or com- 
mon black walnut, and those of J. cinerea, the only officinal species, probably 
possess the same properties. 
Juglans cinerea. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 456; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. ii. 115; 
Carson, Illust. of Med. Bot. ii. 42, pi. 86.—J. cathartica. Michaux, N. Am. 
Sylva, i. 160. This is an indigenous forest tree, known in different sections of 
the country by the names of butternut, -oilnut, and white walnut. In favourable 
situations it attains a great size, rising sometimes fifty feet, with a trunk three 
or four feet in diameter at the distance of five feet from the root. The stem 
divides, at a short distance from the ground, into numerous nearly horizontal 
branches, which spread widely, and form a large tufted head. The young 
branches are smooth and of a grayish colour, which has given origin to the spe- 
cific name of the plant. The leaves are very long, and consist of seven or eight 
pairs of sessile leaflets, and a single petiolate leaflet at the end. These are two 
or three inches in length, oblong-lanceolate, rounded at the base, acuminate, 
finely serrate, and somewhat downy. The male and female flowers are distinct 
upon the same tree. The former are in large aments, four or five inches long, 
hanging down from the sides of the shoots of the preceding year’s growth, near 
their extremity. The fertile flowers are at the end of the shoots of the same 
spring. The germ is surmounted by two large feathery, rose-coloured stigmas. 
The fruit is sometimes single, suspended by a thin pliable peduncle; sometimes 
several are attached to the sides and extremity of the same peduncle. The 
drupe is oblong-oval, with a terminal projection, hairy, viscid, green in the im- 
mature state, but brown when ripe. It contains a hard, dark, oblong, pointed 
nut, with a rough, deeply and irregularly furrowed surface. The kernel is thick, 
oily, and pleasant to the taste. 
The butternut grows in Upper and Lower Canada, and throughout the whole 
northern, eastern, and western sections of the United States. In the Middle 
States, the flowers appear in May, and the fruit ripens in September. The tree, 
if pierced immediately before the leaves unfold, yields a richly saccharine juice, 
from which sugar may be obtained, nearly if not quite equal to that from the 
sugar maple. The wood, though neither strong nor compact, is useful for some 
purposes on account of its durability, and exemption from the attacks of worms. 
The fruit, when half-grown, is sometimes made into pickles, and, when ripe, 
affords in its kernel a grateful article of food. The bark is used for dyeing wool 
a dark-brown colour, though inferior for this purpose to that of the black walnut. 
It is said, when applied to the skin, to be rubefacient. The inner bark is the 
medicinal portion, and that of the root, being considered most efficient, is directed 
by the Pharmacopoeia. It should be collected in May or June. 
On the living tree, the inner bark, when first uncovered, is of a pure white, 
which becomes immediately on exposure a fine lemon colour, and ultimately 
changes to deep brown. It has a fibrous texture, a feeble odour, and a peculiar, 
bitter, somewhat acrid taste. Its medical virtues are extracted by boiling water. 
Dr. Bigelow could detect no resin in the bark; and the presence of tannin was 
not evinced by the test of gelatin, though a brownish-black colour was produced 
by sulphate of iron. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Butternut is a mild cathartic, operating with- 
out pain or irritation, and resembling rhubarb in the property of evacuating 
without debilitating the alimentary canal. It was much employed, during our part I. 
Juniperus. 
493 
revolutionary war, by Dr. Rush and other physicians attached to the army. It is 
especially applicable to cases of habitual costiveness and other bowel affections, 
particularly dysentery, in which it has acquired considerable reputation. In 
connection with calomel it has sometimes been used in our intermittent and re- 
mittent fevers, and other complaints attended with congestion of the abdominal 
viscera. It is given in the form of decoction or extract, never in substance. The 
extract is officinal, and is almost always preferred. The dose of it is from twenty 
to thirty grains as a purge, from five to ten grains as a laxative. 
Off. Prep. Extractum Juglandis, U. S. W. 
JUNIPERUS. U.S. 
Juniper. 
The fruit of Juniperus communis. U. S. 
Genevrier commun, Baies de Genievre, Fr.; Gemeiner Wackkolder, Wackliolderbeeren, 
Germ.; Ginepro, Ital.; Enebro, Bayas de Enebro, Span. 
Juniperus. Sex.Syst. Dioecia Monadelphia.—Nat.Ord. Pinacese or Conifer®. 
Gen. Gh. Male. Amentum ovate. Calyx a scale. Corolla none. Stamens 
three. Female. Calyx three-parted. Petals three. Styles three. Berry three- 
seeded, irregular, with the three tubercles of the calyx. Willd. 
Juniperus communis. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 853; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 13, 
t. 6. This is an erect evergreen shrub, usually small, but sometimes twelve or 
fifteen feet high, with numerous very close branches. The leaves are narrow, 
longer than the fruit, entire, sharply pointed, channeled, of a deep-green colour, 
somewhat glaucous on their upper surface, spreading, and attached to the stem 
or branches in threes, in a verticillate manner. The flowers are dioecious, and 
disposed in small, ovate, axillary, sessile, solitary aments. The fruit is formed 
of the fleshy coalescing scales of the ament, and contains three angular seeds. 
The common juniper is a native of Europe; but has been introduced into this 
country, in some parts of which it has become naturalized. It is not uncommon 
in the neighbourhood of Philadelphia. The plant described in Bigelow’s Ame- 
rican Medical Botany, under the title of J. communis, and very common in 
certain parts of New England, deserves, perhaps, to be considered a distinct 
species. It is a trailing shrub, seldom more than two or three feet high, spread- 
ing in all directions, throwing out roots from its branches, and forming beds 
which are often many rods in circumference. The name of J. depressa has been 
proposed for it. The common juniper flowers in May, but does not ripen its 
fruit till late in the following year. All parts of the plant contain a volatile oil, 
which imparts to them a peculiar flavour. The wood has a slight aromatic odour, 
and was formerly used for fumigation. A terebinthinate juice exudes from the 
tree and hardens on the bark. This has been erroneously considered as identical 
with sandarach. The peasantry in the south of France prepare a sort of tar, 
which they call “ huile de cade,” from the interior reddish wood of the trunk 
and branches, by a distillation per descensum. (See Oil of Cade in Part Third.) 
The fruit and tops of juniper are the only officinal parts. 
The berries, as the fruit is commonly called, are sometimes collected in this 
country, and parcels are occasionally brought to the Philadelphia market from 
New Jersey. But, though equal to the European in appearance, they are inferior 
in strength, and are not much used. The best come from the south of Europe, 
particularly from Trieste and the Italian ports. They are globular, more or 
less shrivelled; about as large as a pea; marked with three furrows at the sum- 
mit, and with tubercles from the persistent calyx at the base; and covered with 
a glaucous bloom, beneath which they are of a shining blackish-purple colour. 
They contain a brownish-yellow pulp, and three angular seeds. They have an 494 
Juniperus.—Juniperus Virginiana. 
PART I. 
agreeable somewhat aromatic odour, and a sweetish, warm, bitterish, slightly 
terebinthinate taste. These properties, as well as their medical virtues, they 
owe chiefly to a volatile oil. (See Oleum Juniperi.) The other ingredients, 
according to Trommsdorff, are resin, sugar, gum, wax, lignin, water, and various 
saline substances. The proportion of these ingredients varies according to the 
greater or less maturity of the berries. The volatile oil is most abundant in 
those which have attained their full growth and are still green, or in those which 
are on the point of ripening. In the latter, Trommsdorff found one per cent, of 
the oil. In those perfectly ripe it has been partly changed into resin, and in 
those quite black, completely so.* The berries impart their virtues to water and 
alcohol. They are very largely consumed in the preparation of gin. 
The tops of juniper were formerly directed by the Edinburgh and Dublin 
Colleges. Their odour is balsamic, their taste resinous and bitterish, and they 
possess similar virtues with the berries. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Juniper berries are gently stimulant and 
diuretic, imparting to the urine the smell of violets, and producing occasionally, 
when largely taken, disagreeable irritation in the urinary passages. They are 
chiefly used as an adjuvant to more powerful diuretics in dropsical complaints; 
but have been recommended also in scorbutic and cutaneous diseases, catarrh of 
the bladder, and atonic conditions of the alimentary canal and uterus. They 
may be given in substance, triturated with sugar, in the dose of one or two 
drachms three or four times a day. But the infusion is more convenient. It is 
prepared by macerating an ounce of the bruised berries in a pint of boiling water, 
the whole of wdiich may be taken in the course of twenty-four hours. Extracts 
are prepared from the berries, both bruised and unbruised, and given in the dose 
of one or two drachms; but, in consequence of the evaporation of the essential 
oil, they are probably not stronger than the berries in substance. 
Off. Prep. Infusum Juniperi, U.S.; Oleum Juniperi. W. 
JUNIPERUS VIRGINIANA. U.S. Secondary. 
Red Cedar. 
The tops of Juniperus Yirginiana. U. S. 
Juniperus. See JUNIPERUS. 
Juniperus Virginiana. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 853; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. 
iii. 49; Michaux, N. Am. Sylv. iii. 221. This species of Juniper, commonly 
called red cedar, is an evergreen tree of slow growth, seldom very large, though 
sometimes rising forty or fifty feet, with a stem more than a foot in diameter. 
It has numerous very close branches, which, in the young tree, spread out 
horizontally near the ground; but, as the tree advances, the lower branches 
slowly decay, leaving the trunk irregular with knots and crevices. The leaves 
are very small, fleshy, ovate, concave, pointed, glandular on their outer surface, 
* Franz Steer of Cashau, in a more recent analysis, found the sugar to be glucose, and, 
besides the principles discovered by TrommsdortF, obtained pectin, malic acid, and a 
peculiar resin-like substance, which he names juniperin. This is black, with a yellow 
tint in thin layers by transmitted light, brittle, easily pulverizable, tasteless, insoluble 
in water and ether, but soluble in alcohol, and without acid or alkaline reaction. A sin- 
gular property is that, when rubbed with a little water, it changes into a yellow powder, 
which is perfectly soluble in CG parts of water, and has in solution an unpleasant bitter 
taste. It is obtained by distilling a tincture of the berries until nearly all the alcohol has 
passed over, pouring the residue while hot into a vessel, in which it deposits a gum-resin 
on cooling, decanting the clear liquid and reducing it with a gentle heat to a small volume, 
and allowing it to stand. A yellow powder separates, resembling powdered rhubarb, which 
disappears by further evaporation, and is followed by resinous drops, which, separated 
and washed, constitute the substance in question. (Chem. Cent. Blatt, Dec. 31, 1856, p. 961 ) PART I. 
Juniperus Virginiana.—Kino. 
495 
ternate or in pairs, and closely imbricated. Those of the young shoots are often 
much longer and spreading. The leaves closely invest the extreme twigs, in- 
creasing with their growth, till ultimately lost in the encroachments of the bark. 
“The barren flowers are in oblong aments, formed by peltate scales with the 
anthers concealed within them. The fertile flowers have a proper perianth, which 
coalesces with the germ, and forms a small, roundish berry, with two or three 
seeds, covered on its outer surface with a bright blue powder.” (Bigelow.) 
The red cedar grows in all latitudes of the United States, from Burlington, 
in Vermont, to the Gulf of Mexico; but it is most abundant and vigorous in the 
southern section. The interior wood is of a reddish colour, and highly valuable 
on account of its great durability. Small excrescences, which are sometimes 
found on the branches of the tree, are popularly used as an anthelmintic, under 
the name of cedar apples, in the dose of from ten to twenty grains three times 
a day. The tops or leaves only are officinal. 
They have a peculiar not unpleasant odour, and a strong, bitterish, somewhat 
pungent taste. These properties reside chiefly in a volatile oil, and are readily 
imparted to alcohol. The leaves, analyzed by Mr. Wm. J. Jenks, were found to 
contain volatile oil, gum, tannic acid, albumen, bitter extractive, resin, chloro- 
phyll, fixed oil, lime, and lignin. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xiv. 235.) They 
bear a close resemblance to the leaves of Juniperus Sabina, from which they 
can be certainly distinguished only by the difference of odour. 
Medical Properties and Uses. The resemblance of red cedar to savine is 
said also to extend to their medical properties; the former being considered, 
like the latter, stimulant, emmenagogue, diuretic, and, under certain circum- 
stances, diaphoretic. It is, however, much less energetic; and, though advan- 
tage may, as has been asserted, have accrued from it in amenorrhoea, chronic 
rheumatism, and dropsy, it has not acquired the confidence of the profession 
generally. Externally applied it acts as an irritant; and an ointment, prepared 
by boiling the fresh leaves for a short time in twice their weight of lard, with 
the addition of a little wax, is employed as a substitute for savine cerate in 
maintaining a purulent discharge from blistered surfaces. Sometimes the dried 
leaves in powder are mixed with six times their weight of resin cerate, and used 
for a similar purpose. But neither of these preparations is as effectual as the 
analogous preparation of savine.* W 
KINO. U.S.,Br. 
Kino. 
The inspissated juice of Pterocarpus Marsupium, and of other plants. U. S. 
Pterocarpus Marsupium. The juice obtained from incisions in the trunk, inspis- 
sated. Br. 
Kino, Fr.. Germ., Ital.; Quino, Span. 
The term kino was originally applied to a vegetable extract or inspissated 
juice, taken to London from the western coast of Africa, and introduced to the 
* In the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal (xl. 469), several cases of poisoning are re- 
corded by Dr. S. C. Watt, of Gouverneur, New York, resulting from the use of “cedar oil,” 
which we presume to be the volatile oil procured by distillation from the red cedar, though 
no information on that point is given. It appears that this oil has the reputation of pro- 
ducing abortion, and was taken, in three of the cases described, with a view to this effect. 
In one instance a fluidrachm was taken, in another a fluidounce, and in both of these 
cases recovery took place. Two of the cases were fatal. The symptoms were burning in 
the stomach, sometimes vomiting, violent convulsions, coma, and a very slow pulse. The 
operation of the poison was mainly on the brain. No abortive effect was experienced in 
either case. The stomach, on examination after death, showed marks of inflammation, but 
noi violent.—Note to Ike ninth edition. 496 
Kino. 
PART I. 
notice of the profession by Dr. Fothergill. Vegetable products obtained from 
various other parts of the world, resembling kino in appearance and properties, 
afterwards received the same name; and much confusion and uncertainty have 
existed, and in some degree still exist, in relation to the botanical and commer- 
cial history of the drug. We shall first give an account of the general properties 
of the medicines denominated kino, and then treat of the several varieties. 
General Properties. Kino, as found in the shops, is usually in small, irre- 
gular, angular, shining fragments, seldom so large as a pea, of a dark reddish- 
brown or blackish colour, very brittle, easily pulverizable, and affording a red- 
dish powder, much lighter coloured than the drug in its aggregate state. If in 
large masses, it may be reduced without difficulty into these minute fragments. 
It is without odour, and has a bitterish, highly astringent taste, with a somewhat 
sweetish after-taste. It burns with little flame, and does not soften with heat. 
It imparts its virtues and a deep-red colour to water and alcohol. Cold water 
forms with it a clear infusion. Boiling water dissolves it more largely; and the 
saturated decoction becomes turbid on cooling, and deposits a reddish sediment. 
The tincture is not disturbed by water. When long kept it often gelatinizes, 
and loses its astringency. (See Tinctura Kino.) Kino has been supposed to 
consist chiefly of a modification of tannic acid or tannin, with extractive, gum, 
and sometimes probably a little resin; but we need a careful analysis of the dif- 
ferent well-ascertained varieties. The aqueous solution is precipitated by gelatin, 
the soluble salts of iron, silver, lead, and antimony, bichloride of mercury, and 
sulphuric, nitric, and muriatic acids. The precipitate with iron is of an olive or 
greenish-black colour. The alkalies favour the solubility of kino in water, but 
essentially change its nature, and destroy its astringency. 
1. East India Kino. This is the variety at present probably most used, and 
most highly esteemed, and the only one recognised by the British Pharmaco- 
poeia. Its origin was long unknown. It is now ascertained, through the united 
researches of Drs. Pereira, Royle, Wight, and others, to be the product of Ptero- 
carpus Marsupium, a lofty tree, growing upon the mountains of the Malabar 
coast of Hindostan. Kino is the juice of the tree, extracted through longitudinal 
incisions in the bark, and afterwards dried in the sun. Upon drying it breaks into 
small fragments, and is put into wooden boxes for exportation. It is collected 
near Tellicherry, and exported from Bombay. It is sometimes imported into this 
country directly from the East Indies, but more commonly from London. From 
a communication in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, by the Rev. F. 
Mason, it appears that kino is also collected in the Tenasserim provinces, in Fur- 
ther India, and has been exported from Maulmain to Europe. It is produced by 
a tree called Pa-doulc, which is supposed to be a species of Pterocarpus; but its 
precise character was not certainly known. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxi. 134.) 
Dr. Christison has subsequently recognised, in a description of this tree furnished 
to him by Mr. Begbie, of Maulmain, the precise characters of Pterocarpus Mar- 
supium ; so that this kino has the same origin with that from Malabar. 
East India kino is in small, angular, glistening fragments, of a uniform con- 
sistence, appearing as if formed by the breaking down of larger masses. The 
larger fragments are opaque and nearly black; but minute splinters are some- 
times translucent, and of a deep garnet redness when viewed by transmitted 
light. This variety of kino is very brittle, readily breaking between the fingers, 
and easily pulverized, affording a dark-reddish powder, a portion of which, re- 
sulting from the mutual attrition of the fragments, is often found interspersed 
among them. When chewed, it softens in the mouth, adheres somewhat to the 
teeth, and tinges the saliva of a blood-red colour. In odour, taste, and chem- 
ical relations, it corresponds with the account already given of kino in general. 
According to Vauquelin, it contains 75 per cent, of tannin and peculiar extrac- 
tive, 24 of red gum, and 1 of insoluble matter. But new views have been ad- part I. 
Kino. 
497 
vanced as to its composition. When kino is boiled in water, the decoction 
deposits on cooling a bright-red substance; and a similar deposition takes place 
when a cold filtered aqueous solution is long exposed with a broad surface to 
the air. Dr. Gerding considers this deposit as the result of the combination of 
oxygen with kino-tannic acid, and calls it kino-red. {Ghent. Gaz., ix. 260, from 
Liebig’s Annalen.) Hennig, who has examined East India kino with some care, 
considers this kino-red as a colouring matter in intimate combination with the 
tannic acid, which he is disposed to think identical in its pure state with the tan- 
nic acid of galls; and he extends the same views to the other forms of this astrin- 
gent principle which give greenish precipitates with the salts of sesquioxide of 
iron, and which are generally believed to be somewhat different as they occur in 
different plants. Finding this red colouring matter to possess acid properties, 
he has named it kinoic acid. According to Hennig, kino consists of tannic acid 
with a trace of gallic acid, kinoic acid, pectin, ulmic acid, and inorganic salts 
with excess of earthy bases. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xv. 544.) 
2. West India or Jamaica Kino. This is believed to be the product of the 
Coccoloba uvifera, or sea-side grape, a tree twenty feet or more in height, bear- 
ing beautiful broad shining leaves, and large bunches of purple berries, to which 
it owes its vernacular name. It grows in the West Indies and neighbouring 
parts of the continent. The kino is said to be obtained by evaporating a de- 
coction of the wood and bark, which are very astringent. Many years since, a 
thick reddish-brown liquid was imported into Philadelphia from the West 
Indies, which, when dried by exposure to the air in shallow vessels or by heat, 
afforded an extract having all the properties of kino, for which it was sold by 
the druggists. This has been long exhausted; but some years since, a consid- 
erable quantity of West India kino was brought into this market, which may 
still enter into the consumption of the country. It was contained in large gourds, 
into which it was evidently poured while in a liquid or semi-liquid state, and 
then allowed to harden. We have specimens of this kino in our possession. 
When taken from the gourd, it breaks into fragments of various sizes, upon 
an average about as large as a hazelnut, and having some tendency to the rect- 
angular form. The consistence of these fragments is uniform, their surface 
smooth and shining, and their colour a dark reddish-brown, approaching to 
black. They are, however, not so glistening, nor so black as the East India 
kino. In mass they are quite opaque, but in thin splinters are translucent and 
of a ruby redness. They are readily broken by the fingers into smaller frag- 
ments, are easily pulverized, and yield a dull-reddish powder, considerably 
lighter-coloured than that of the former variety. The West India kino is with- 
out odour, and has a very astringent, bitterish taste, with a scarcely observable 
sweetish after-taste. It adheres to the teeth when chewed, though rather less 
than the East India variety, and colours the saliva red. The solubility of Ja- 
maica kino was very carefully examined, at our request, by Dr. Robert Bridges, 
of this city, who found that cold water dissolved 89 per cent., and ordinary of- 
ficinal alcohol 94 per cent. The portion dissolved by alcohol and not by water 
was probably of a resinous nature; as it appeared to be viscid, and very much 
impeded the filtration of the watery solution. Considering the nature of this 
substance, the form of kino in which it was found is probably, like that from the 
Enst Indies, an inspissated juice. Guibourt, who states that Jamaica kino is but 
slightly dissolved by cold water, must have operated on a different product. 
3. South American Kino.— Caracas Kino. In 1839, when the fourth edition 
of this Dispensatory was published, an astringent extract was described, which 
had recently been introduced into our market, derived, as we were informed, 
from Caracas, and known by that name to the druggists. Since that period it 
has come much more extensively into use. It is probably the same as that de- 
scribed by Guibourt, in the last edition of his History of Drugs, as the kino of 498 
Kino. 
part i. 
Columbia. As imported, this variety of kino is in large masses, some weighing 
several pounds, covered with thin leaves, or exhibiting marks of leaves upon 
their unbroken surface, externally very dark, and internally of a deep reddish- 
brown or dark port-wine colour. It is opaque in the mass, but translucent in 
thin splinters, very brittle, and of a fracture always shining, but in some masses 
wholly rough and irregular, in others rough only in the interior, while the outer 
portion, for an inch or two in depth, breaks with a rather smooth and uniform 
surface, like that of the West India kino. This outer portion is easily broken 
into fine angular fragments, while the interior crumbles quite irregularly. Some 
of the masses are very impure, containing pieces of bark, wood, leaves, &c.; 
others are more homogeneous, and almost free from impurities. The masses are 
broken up by means of a mill so as to resemble East India kino, from which, 
however, this variety differs in being more irregular, less sharply angular, more 
powdery, and less black. On comparing the finer and more angular portions of 
the masses with the West India kino, we were strongly struck with their re- 
semblance ; and in fact could discover no difference between the two varieties 
either in colour, lustre, taste, the colour of the powder, or other sensible pro- 
perty. South American kino was found by Dr. Bridges to yield 93 5 per cent, 
to cold water, and 93 per cent, to alcohol; so that, while it has almost the same 
solubility as Jamaica kino in alcohol, it is somewhat more soluble in cold water. 
The aqueous solution, in this case, was not embarrassed by the adhesive matter 
which impeded the filtration in the former variety; and the want of a minute 
proportion of resinous matter in the South American kino is the only difference 
we have discovered between the two drugs. It is not improbable that they are 
derived from the same plant; and there is no difficulty in supposing that this 
may be the Coccoloba uvifera, as that tree grows as well upon the continent as 
in the islands. 
4. African Kino. The original kino employed by Dr. Fothergill was known 
to be the produce of a tree growing in Senegal, and upon the banks of the 
Gambia, on the western coast of Africa; but the precise character of the tree 
was not ascertained until a specimen, sent home by Mungo Park during his last 
journey, enabled the English botanists to decide that it was the Pterocarpus 
erinaceus of Lamarck and Poiret.* The Edinburgh and Dublin Colleges ac- 
cordingly referred kino in chief to this plant; but, in so doing, overlooked 
the fact that not one of the varieties now used is brought from Africa. The 
importation of African kino has long ceased; and the most experienced phar- 
macologist cannot speak with certainty of having seen a specimen. That de- 
scribed by Guibourt has turned out to be the Butea gum,f and the description 
in the first edition of Christison’s Dispensatory evidently applies to the common 
* A particular account of Pterocarpus erinaceus and its concrete juice, with a figure by 
Dr. W. F. Daniell, is contained in the Pharm. Journ. for August, 1854 (vol. xiv. p. 55). 
f Butea gum is the concrete juice of the Butea frondosa or Dhak-tree of Hindostan. The 
juice flows from natural fissures, and from wounds made in the bark of the tree, and 
quickly hardens. It is in small elongated tears, or irregular angular masses, less in size 
than a grain of barley, apparently black and opaque, but translucent and of a ruby-red 
colour, when examined in small fragments by transmitted light. Many of the tears hare 
small portions of bark adhering to them. They are very brittle, and readily pulverizable, 
yielding a reddish powder. They are very astringent to the taste, do not adhere to the 
teeth when chewed, and tinge the saliva red. The relations of this product to water, alco- 
hol, and other chemical reagents are nearly the same as those of ordinary kino. When 
freed from impurities, consisting of from 15 to 25 per cent, of wood, bark, sand, &c., it 
contains, according to Mr. E. Solly, 73-26 per cent, of tannin, 5-05 of soluble extractive, 
and 21-67 of gum and other soluble substances. It is used in the arts in India, and might 
undoubtedly be employed as kino in medicine. It is, however, very- seldom imported into 
England, and never, at present, into this country. Dr. Pereira found a quantity in an old 
drug store in London, and sent a portion to Guibourt, from which that, writer drew up his 
description of African kino. It is possible that the kino which formerly reached Us, full 
of small pieces of wood, bark, &c., may have been the Butea gum. PART I. 
Kino 
East India kino. A specimen given to Dr. A. T. Thomson as African kino, and 
described in his Dispensatory, is certainly not the drug spoken of by Fothergill, 
but rather resembles the Butea gum. 
As described by Fothergill, the African kino, for which he proposed the name 
of gummi rubrum astringens Gambinetise, was in lumps of about the size of 
those of gum Senegal or dragon’s blood, and so similar in appearance to the 
latter that a good judge might easily be deceived. These lumps were hard, 
brittle, opaque, and almost black; but minute fragments were reddish and 
transparent like garnet. The drug was inodorous, of a strongly astringent and 
sweetish taste, and soluble in water to the extent of about five or six parts out 
of seven, forming a deep-red astringent infusion. There can be little doubt that 
this variety of kino is a concrete juice, which exudes either spontaneously or 
from wounds in the bark, and hardens in the air. (Med. Obs. and Inq., i. 358.) 
5. Botany Bay Kino. This is the concrete juice of Eucalyptus resinifera, 
or brown gum tree of New Holland, a lofty tree, belonging to the class and 
order Icosandria Monogynia, and the natural order Myrtacese. When the bark 
is wounded, the juice flows very freely, and hardens in the air. According to 
Mr. White, a single tree is capable of furnishing 500 pounds of kino in one year. 
(White's Voyage.) Duncan states that specimens of the juice have reached 
Great Britain in the fluid form, and that, when he first examined kino in 1802, 
it was common, and was the finest kind in commerce. According to information 
received by Dr. Thomson, its importation into Great Britain must have ceased 
soon after that period (Thomson's Dispensatory, 1826, p. 506) ; but Dr. Pereira 
speaks of it as imported in boxes, and has himself met with a parcel of it from 
Van Diemen’s Land. Ainslie informs us that he has seen it in the markets of 
Hindostan. Until after the publication of the tenth edition of this Dispensa- 
tory, we had never met with it in this country; but a specimen was afterwards 
presented to us by Mr. S. W. Osgood, druggist, of New York, with the in- 
formation that it had been brought to that city in a vessel directly from western 
Australia.* 
* Of the specimen presented to us by Mr. Osgood, one portion is in the liquid state, con- 
sisting, I presume, of the juice of the tree not yet inspissated, another portion is concrete. 
The liquid, which is contained in a corked and sealed bottle, is of a deep reddish-brown 
colour, transparent and redder in very thin layers, and somewhat viscid, with a slight 
solid deposit. The concrete parcel consists, for the most part, of very small grains, from the 
size of powdery particles up to that of a pea. But with these are mixed pieces of a larger 
size, and two of them comparatively very large, being not less than two or three inches 
long by an inch, more or less, in breadth and thickness. These latter consist of a thick 
irregular deposit of the concrete juice on pieces of a thick, spongy, soft, and very brittle 
bark, which may be easily broken by the nail, and fragments of which of all sizes are 
mixed with the proper kino, which it resembles in colour, though somewhat lighter. In 
the irregular angular form of its granules, their dark reddish-brown colour and shining 
surface, their extreme brittleness and ready pulverization, the reddish colour of their 
powder, and their astringent bitterish taste, this drug corresponds closely with the more 
common varieties of kino; and, if deprived of the cortical matter with which it is min- 
gled, might, I have no doubt, be used advantageously for the general purposes of the 
medicine. If the juice could be imported in quantities, and inspissated here, a pure pro- 
duct might be insured. Examined at our request by Professor Procter, this kino formed, 
when rubbed with water, a soft adhesive mass, and yielded to the water 67 per cent, of its 
weight in solution; though, as it was very slowly dissolved, more might have been taken 
up by the water, had the treatment been longer continued. Alcohol of sp. gr. 0-835 dis- 
solved the whole with the exception of 1-5 grains, which might well have been impurity; 
as particles of the bark may have been embedded in the fragments examined. The tincture 
was not precipitated by water. The watery solution gave precipitates with gelatin, lime- 
water, sesquichloride of iron, and sulphate of copper, and slight ones with corrosive sub- 
.'imate and tartar emetic.—Note to the eleventh edition. 
The liquid referred to in the preceding paragraph was afterwards examined by Prof 
Procter, with the following results. Evaporated to dryness, it yielded 13 per cent, of solid 
product, resembling the kino in appearance and taste. With reagents it acted like a solu- 
tion of the kino, being precipitated copiously by gelatin, acetate of lead, and lime-water. 500 
Kin o. —Kram eria. 
PART I. 
The specimen examined by Pereira was in irregular masses, many of them in 
the form of tears as large as those of Senegal gum. “ The purer pieces were 
vitreous, almost black in the mass, but transparent and of a beautiful ruby-red 
in small and thin fragments. Some of the pieces, however, were opaque and 
dull, from the intermixture of wood and other impurities.” This variety of kino 
is brittle, with a resinous unequal fracture, and yields a reddish-brown powder. 
It is infusible, without odour, of an astringent taste followed by sweetness, and 
when long chewed adheres to the teeth. {Duncan.) It swells up and becomes 
gelatinous with cold water, yielding a red solution, which gives precipitates 
with lime-water, gelatin, and sesquichloride of iron, but not with alcohol or 
tartar emetic. With rectified spirit it also becomes gelatinous, and forms a red 
tincture which is not precipitated by water. {Pereira.) White states that only 
one-sixth of this kino is soluble in water; Guibourt found it wholly soluble with 
the exception of foreign matters; and Dr. Thomson informs us that water at 
60° dissolves more than one-half. These writers must have experimented with 
different substances. According to Dr. Duncan, alcohol dissolves the whole ex- 
cept impurities; and the tincture, with a certain proportion of water, lets fall a 
copious red precipitate, but with a large proportion only becomes slightly turbid. 
It is said that catechu, broken into small fragments, has sometimes been sold 
as kino. Fortunately little injury can result from the substitution, as the medical 
virtues of the two substances are very nearly the same. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Kino is powerfully astringent, and in this 
country is much used for the suppression of morbid discharges. In diarrhoea, 
not attended with febrile excitement or inflammation, it is often an excellent 
adjunct to opium and the absorbent medicines, and is a favourite addition to 
the chalk mixture. It is also used in chronic dysentery when astringents are 
admissible; in leucorrhcea and diabetes; and in passive hemorrhages, particu-. 
larly that from the uterus. It was formerly used in intermittent fever. 
It may be given in powder, infusion, or tincture. The dose of the powder is 
from ten to thirty grains. The infusion, which is a very convenient form of ad- 
ministration, may be made by pouring eight fluid ounces of boiling water on two 
drachms of the extract, and straining when cool. Aromatics may be added, if 
deemed advisable. The dose is a fluidounce. The proportion of alcohol in the 
tincture renders it frequently an unsuitable preparation. 
Locally applied, kino is often productive of benefit. Its infusion is useful as 
an injection in leucorrhcea and obstinate gonorrhoea, and thrown up the nostrils 
we have found it very efficacious in suppressing epistaxis. A case of obstinate 
hemorrhage from a wound in the palate, after resisting various means, yielded 
to the application of powdered kino, which was spread thickly on lint, and 
pressed against the wound by the tongue. The powder is also a very useful ap- 
plication to indolent and flabby ulcers. 
Off. Prep. Pulvis Catechu Compositus, Br.; Pulvis Kino cum Opio, Br.; 
Tinctura Kino. W. 
KRAMERIA. U.S.,Br. 
Rhatany. 
The root of Krameria triandra. U. S. The root, dried. Br. 
Ratanhie Fr.; Ratanliiawurzel, Germ.; Ratania, Ital., Span. 
Krameria. Sex. Syst. Tetrandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Polygalese, De 
Gand. Krameriacese, Bindley. 
and yielding a greenisli-black colour with the salts of sesquioxide of iron. Dr. Pereira 
found in Botany Bay kino a peculiar pectin-like substance, which he named eucal;/ptin, a 
characteristic property of which was that, it was precipitated from the tincture by solution 
of ammonia; and Prof. Procter found this juice to act similarly when treated in the same 
manner. {Am. Journ. of Pharm., May, 1859, p. 228.)—Note to the twelfth edition. PART I. 
Krameria, 
501 
Gen. Ch. Calyx none. Corolla four-petaled; the superior nectary three- 
parted, and inferior two-leaved. Berry dry, echinated, one-seeded. Willd. 
Krameria triandra. Ruiz and Pavon, Flor. Peruv. i. 61. The rhatany plant 
is a shrub, having a long, much branched, spreading root, of a blackish-red 
colour; with a round, procumbent, very dark-coloured stern, divided into nu- 
merous branches, of which the younger are leafy and thickly covered with soft- 
hairs, giving them a white, silky appearance. The leaves are few, sessile, oblong- 
ovate, pointed, entire, presenting on both surfaces the same silky whiteness with 
the young branches. The flowers are lake-coloured, and stand singly on short 
peduncles at the axils of the upper leaves. There are only three stamens. The 
nectary consists of four leaflets, of which the two upper are spatulate, the lower 
roundish and much shorter: it does not correspond with the generic character 
of Willdenow, which was drawn from the Krameria Ixina. The fruit is globu- 
lar, of the size of a pea, surrounded by stiff reddish-brown prickles, and fur- 
nished with one or two seeds. The name rhatany is said to express, in the 
language of the Peruvian Indians, the creeping character of the plant. 
This species of Krameria is a native of Peru, growing in dry argillaceous and 
sandy places, and abundant about the city of Huanuco. It flowers at all sea- 
sons, but is in the height of its bloom in October and November. The root is 
dug up after the rains. Tschudi states that most of the rhatany now exported 
is obtained in the southern provinces of Peru, particularly in Arica and Islay. 
( Trav. in Peru, Am. ed., p. 214.) 
The K. Ixina, growing in the West Indies and northern parts of South 
America, affords a root closely analogous in appearance and properties to that 
of the Peruvian species; but the latter only is officinal. This root is occasionally 
imported into Europe, and is known in England by the name of Savanilla 
rhatany, derived from the port of New Granada, from which it was imported. 
It has been described by Dr. Mettenheimer of Giessen, and more recently by Dr. 
Schuchardt of Dresden, whose accounts of it are more particularly referred to 
in the note below.* 
We receive rhatany in pieces of various shapes and dimensions, some being 
simple, some more or less branched, the largest as much as an inch in thickness, 
derived from the main body of the root, the smallest not thicker than a small 
quill, consisting of the minute ramifications. The pieces are often nearly cylin- 
drical, and as much as two or three feet in length. Sometimes many of the 
* Sdvanilla Rhatany. Mettenheimer describes a false rhatany, which has occurred in 
German commerce, as follows. The body of the root is from 1 to 2 inches thick and 4 long, 
knotty, with many branches; but these are generally separate, from 4 to 12 inches long, 
and nearly half an inch thick. The body resembles the genuine; but the branches are 
smoother, in parts somewhat shining, with deeper longitudinal furrows, and transverse 
fissures, which sometimes divide the bark quite around the root. They are more undulat- 
ing, and, as well as the body, have more frequent wart-like elevations The false root is 
more bitter than the genuine, with a thicker bark, and in mass has a dirty violet reddish- 
brown colour. Exteriorly the bark is of a dirty dark brownish-red, with a granular frac- 
ture; interiorly it is lighter coloured, with a fibrous fracture; and when cut with a knife 
pas a shining surface. The ligneous part is pale-red, hard, of a short-fibrous fracture, 
and, when cut across, dull, and without the dark central point of the genuine root. The 
false root is inodorous. Its taste is more astringent than that of the genuine. Its source 
is unknown. (Pharm. Cent. Blatt, March 24, 1852, p. 22L.) 
The above description, which we leave entire, corresponds closely with that of a variety 
of the drug, known in English commerce as SavaniUa rhatany, given by Dr. Schuchardt 
of Dresden, by whom it is referred, in all probability correctly, to Krameria Ixina. In ad- 
dition to what has been stated above, it may be mentioned that, in this variety of rhatany, 
the bark adheres more firmly to the root than in the genuine, that it has a more abrupt and 
less fibrous fracture, and consequently is more readily pulverized, and that both the wood 
and bark contain a large proportion of tannic acid. (Pharm. Journ. and Trans., xvi 29 and 
132, from Botanische Zeitung.) A root, sent to this city from London, as a specimen of the 
.rhatany known there as Savanilla, corresponds exactly with the description here given.— 
Note to the tenth and eleventh editions. Krameria. 
PART I. 
radicles are united in a common head, which is short, and from half an inch to 
two inches or more in diameter. The roots are composed of a dark reddish- 
brown, slightly fibrous, easily separable bark, and a central woody portion, less 
coloured, but still reddish or reddish-yellow. Rhatany is without smell, but has 
a bitter, very astringent, slightly sweetish taste, which is connected with its 
medical virtues, and is much stronger in the cortical than the ligneous part. 
The smallest pieces are therefore preferable, as they contain the largest propor- 
tion of the bark. The powder is of a reddish colour. The virtues of the root 
are extracted by water and alcohol, to which it imparts a deep-reddish-brown 
colour. From the researches of Vogel, Gmelin, Peschier, and Trommsdorff, it 
appears to contain tannic acid, lignin, and minute quantities of gum, starch, 
saccharine matter, and an acid which Peschier considered as peculiar, and named 
krameric acid. The taunic acid is in three states; 1st, that of purity, in which 
it is without colour; 2d, that of apotheme, in which it has lost its astringency, 
and been rendered insoluble by the action of the air, and 3d, that of extractive, 
which is a soluble combination of tannin and its apotheme, and is the sub- 
stance which imparts to the infusion and tincture their characteristic reddish- 
brown colour. (Soubeiran, Journ. de Pharm., xix. 596.) The tannic acid of 
rhatany (krameria-tannic or rhatania-tannic acid) is separated by treating 
the ethereal extract of the bark with alcohol, and evaporating the alcoholic 
solution. It gives a dark-green precipitate with sesquichloride of iron, a flesh- 
coloured one with gelatin, and none with tartar emetic. (Gmelin, Handbook, 
xv. 529.) The proportion of red astringent matter obtained by Vogel was 40 
per cent. The mineral acids and most of the metallic salts throw down precipi- 
tates with the infusion, decoction, and tincture of rhatany, and are incompatible 
in prescription. 
Cold water, by means of displacement or percolation, extracts all the astrin- 
gency of rhatany, forming a clear deep-red infusion, which, upon careful eva- 
poration, yields an almost perfectly soluble extract. The root yields its virtues 
also to boiling water by maceration ; but the resulting infusion becomes turbid 
upon cooling, in consequence of the deposition of apotheme taken up by the 
water when heated. By boiling with water a still larger proportion of the apo- 
theme is dissolved, and a considerable quantity of the pure tannin becomes in- 
soluble in cold water and medicinally inert, either by combining with the starch 
which is also dissolved, or by conversion into apotheme through the agency ot 
the atmosphere. The decoction is, therefore, an ineligible preparation, and the 
extract resulting from its evaporation, though greater in weight than that from 
the cold infusion, contains much less soluble and active matter. Alcohol dis- 
solves a larger proportion of the root than water; but this excess is owing to 
the solution of apotheme, and the alcoholic extract contains little if any more 
of the astringent principle than that prepared by cold water, while it is encum- 
bered with much inert matter. (See Extractum Kramerise.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Rhatany is gently tonic and powerfully as- 
tringent; and may be advantageously given in chronic diarrhoea, passive hemor- 
rhages, especially menorrhagia, some forms of leucorrhcea, and in all those cases 
in which kino and catechu are beneficial. It has long been used in Peru as a 
remedy in bowel complaints, as a corroborant in cases of enfeebled stomach, and 
as a local application to spongy gums. Ruiz, one of the authors of the Peru- 
vian Flora, first made it known in Europe. It was not till after the year 1816 
that it began to come into general use. It has the advantage over the astrin- 
gent extracts imported, that, being brought in the state of the root, it is free 
from adulteration, and may be prescribed with confidence. 
The dose of the powder is from twenty to thirty grains; but in this form the 
root is little used. The infusion or decoction is more convenient. The propor- 
tions are an ounce of the bruised or powdered root to a pint of water, and the PART I. 
Lactucarium. 
503 
dose one or two fluidounces. The extract, tincture, ana syrup are officinal, and 
may be given in the dose, the first of fifteen or twenty grains, the second of two 
or three fluidrachms, and the third of half a fluidounce. In the form of infusion 
tincture, and extract, rhatany has been highly recommended as a local remedy 
in fissure of the anus, prolapsus ani, and leucorrhoea. 
Off. Prep. Extractum Krameriae; Infusum Krameriae; Pulvis Catechu Com- 
positus, Br.; Syrupus Kramerim, U. S.; Tinctura Krameriae. W. 
LACTUCARIUM. US 
Lactucarium 
The concrete juice of Lactuca sativa. U. S. 
Lactuca. Sex. Syst. Syngenesia. ASqualis.—Nat. Ord. Composite Cicho- 
raceae, De Gaud. Cichoraceae, Lindley. 
Gen. Ch. Receptacle naked. Calyx imbricated, cylindrical, with a membran- 
ous margin. Pappus simple, stipitate. Seed smooth. Willd. 
The plants of this genus yield when wounded a milky juice, to which, indeed, 
they owe their generic name. In some of them this juice possesses valuable 
narcotic properties. This is the case, among others, with L. sativa, L. virosa, 
and L. altissima. It was supposed that our native L. elongala, or wild lettuce, 
might have similar virtues; and Dr. Bigelow was informed by physicians who 
had employed it, that it acts as an anodyne, and promotes the secretion from the 
skin and kidneys. But, according to M. Aubergier, who experimented with 
different species of Lactuca, in order to ascertain from which of them lactucarium 
might be most advantageously obtained, the milky juice of this plant is of a flat 
and sweetish taste without bitterness, contains much mannite, but no bitter prin- 
ciple, and is destitute of narcotic properties. {Ann.de Therap., 1843, p. 18.) 
The probability is that it is nearly or quite inert. Therefore, though formerly 
holding a place in our national Pharmacopoeia, it has been discarded. 
Lactuca sativa. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1523. The garden lettuce is an annual 
plant. The stem, which rises above two feet, is erect, round, simple below, and 
branching in its upper part. The lower leaves are obovate, rounded at the end, 
and undulating; the upper are smaller, sessile, cordate, and toothed; both are 
shining, and of a yellowish-green colour. The flowers are pale-yellow, small, 
' and disposed in an irregular terminal corymb. Before the flower-stem begins to 
shoot, the plant contains a bland, pellucid juice, has little taste or smell, and is 
much used as a salad for the table; but during the period of inflorescence it 
abounds in a milky juice, which readily escapes from incisions in the stem, and 
has been found to possess decided medicinal as well as sensible properties. The 
juice is more abundant in the wild than the cultivated plants. Inspissated by ex- 
posure to the air, it constitutes the lactucarium of our Pharmacopoeia. This was 
formerly recognised by all the British Pharmacopoeias; but has been discarded, 
we think upon insufficient grounds, in the new code. 
The original native country of the garden lettuce is unknown. The plant has 
been cultivated from time immemorial, and is now employed in all parts of the 
civilized world. It flourishes equally in hot and temperate latitudes. Some 
botanists suppose that L. virosa of the old continent is the parent of all the 
varieties of the cultivated plant. 
Lactuca virosa. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 1526; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 75, t. 31. 
The acrid or strong-scented lettuce is biennial, with a stem from two to four 
leet high, erect, prickly near the base, above smooth and divided into branches. 
The lower leaves are large, oblong-obovate, undivided, toothed, commonly 
prickly on the under side of the midrib, sessile, and horizontal; the upper are 
smaller, clasping, and often lobed; the bractes are cordate and pointed. The 504 
Lactucarium. 
PART I, 
flow jrs are numerous, of a sulphur-yellow colour, and disposed in a panicle. The 
plant is a native of Europe. 
L. virosa is lactescent, and has a strong disagreeable smell like that of opium, 
and a bitterish, acrid taste. It was admitted by the late Edinburgh and Dublin 
Pharmacopoeias as one of the sources of lactucarium, which it is said to yield in 
greater quantity, and of better quality, than the garden lettuce. Mr. Schutz, of 
Germany, obtained only IT grains, on the average, from a single plant of the 
garden lettuce, while a plant of L. virosa yielded 56 grains. 
The milky juice of these species of Lactuca undergoes little alteration, if con- 
fined in closely stopped bottles from which the air is excluded. But, when ex- 
posed to the air, it concretes, and assumes a brownish colour somewhat like that 
of opium. The following mode of collecting it from L. sativa was recommended 
by Mr. Young, of Edinburgh. When the stem is about a foot high, the top is cut 
off, and the juice which exudes, being absorbed by cotton or a piece of sponge, 
is pressed out into a cup or other small vessel, and exposed till it concretes. In 
order to obtain all the juice which the plant is capable of affording, it is necessary 
to cut off five or six successive slices of the stem at short intervals, and to repeat 
the process two or three times a day. The juice may also be collected by the 
finger as it flows from the incisions. 
A plan proposed by Mr. Probart, of London, is to collect the milky juice on 
pieces of woven cotton about half a yard square, to throw these when fully 
charged into a vessel containing a small quantity of water, and allow the water 
thus impregnated to evaporate in shallow dishes at the ordinary atmospheric 
temperature. The lactucarium is left in the form of an extract. 
Another method of extracting the virtues of the lettuce has been recom- 
mended by Mr. Probart. When the plant begins to assume a yellow hue, the 
white juice concretes in the bark of the stem, and in the old leaves, which be- 
come very bitter. These parts, being separated, are macerated for twenty-four 
hours in water, then boiled for two hours; and the clear decoction, having been 
allowed to drain off through a sieve, is evaporated in shallow vessels by simple 
exposure. The resulting extraict, according to Mr. Probart, has half the strength 
of lactucarium, and may be obtained at one-sixth of the cost. 
The inspissated expressed juice both of L. sativa and L. virosa was formerly 
officinal; but this must be exceedingly uncertain, from the variable quantity of 
the milky juice contained in the plant; and, as the young leaves, which contain little 
or none of it, were often employed, the preparation was liable to be quite inert. 
The thridace of Dr. Francis, at one time supposed to be identical with lactu- 
carium, is in all probability nothing more than the inspissated expressed juice 
of lettuce, and, indeed, is directed as such in the last French Codex; the leaves 
being rejected, and the stalks alone, near the flowering period, being subjected 
to pressure. 
M. Aubergier, of Clermont, in a treatise presented to the French Academy 
of Sciences in November, 1842, states that lactucarium, identical with that of 
the garden lettuce, can be abundantly and cheaply procured from Lactuca altis- 
sima, which is a large plant, with a stem more than nine feet high, and an inch 
and a half in diameter. (Annuaire de Therap., 1843, p. 18.) 
Lactucarium, as brought from England, is in small irregular lumps, about 
the size of a pea or larger, of a reddish-brown colour externally, and of a nar- 
cotic odour and bitter taste. As prepared near Edinburgh, it is commonly in 
roundish, compact, and rather hard masses, weighing several ounces. (Christi- 
son.) A variety, known in our market as German lactucarium, is in pieces 
about an inch and half by an inch in thickness, four-sided, with one side convex 
and the three others flat, or slightly concave from shrinking, as if quarter sec- 
tions of a saucer-shaped cake, which had been divided before it was quite dry. 
The colour on the outer or convex surface is darkish-brown, that of the cut $ur- PART T. 
Lactucarium. 
505 
faces liglit yellowish-brown. From experiments by Messrs. Parrish and Bakes, 
the German appears to be inferior to the English; as 44 per cent, of spiritn- 
ous extract was obtained from the latter, and only 36 per cent, from the for- 
mer, while the two extracts were about equal in their sensible properties. {Am 
Journ. of Pharm., May, 1860, p. 226.) In colour, taste, and smell lactucarium 
bears considerable resemblance to opium, and has sometimes been called lettuce 
opium. It does not attract moisture from the air. It yields nearly half its weight 
to water, with which it forms a deep-brown infusion. From its resemblance 
in sensible properties and therapeutical effects to opium, it was conjectured to 
contain morphia, or some analogous principle; but this conjecture has not yet 
been verified. Buchner, Aubergier, and Walz claim severally to have discovered 
the active principle, which has been named lactucin; but the substances ob- 
tained by these different chemists are not exactly identical in properties; and 
the lactucin of Walz and Aubergier is considered by M. Lenoir as owing its 
bitterness to impurities, separated from which it is without taste and inert. It 
is at least doubtful whether the constituent upon which the medical virtues of 
lactucarium depend has yet been isolated. We give in a note the results of 
various analyses of this medicine. They all relate to the lactucarium obtained 
from Lactuca virosa.* 
* Buchner published experiments on lactucarium in 1832. Ilis results are not essen- 
tially different from those subsequently obtained. The principle, named by him lactucin, 
is bitter, soluble in water, more soluble in alcohol, less so in ether, without alkaline reac- 
tion though precipitated by tannic acid, destitute of nitrogen, capable of forming with 
acids very soluble bitter combinations, and not easily obtained perfectly white and crys- 
tallized. (See Pharm. Journ., vii. 74.) 
Dr. Walz, in an inaugural thesis published at Heidelberg in 1839, gives the following 
constituents of lactucarium from L. virosa; viz., a peculiar principle denominated lactucin, 
volatile oil, a fatty matter easily dissolved by ether, and another of difficult solubility in 
that fluid, a reddish-yellow tasteless resin, a greenish-yellow acrid resin, common sugar, 
uncrystallizable sugar, gum, pectic acid, a brown liumus-like acid, a brown basic sub- 
stance, albumen, oxalic, citric, malic, and nitric acids, potassa, lime, and magnesia. Lac- 
tucin, as obtained by Walz, is in yellow crystalline needles, inodorous, of a strong and 
durable bitter taste, easily fusible, soluble in from tiO to 80 parts of cold water, freely 
soluble in alcohol, less so in ether, soluble in very dilute acids, and without alkaline or 
acid reaction. [Annal. der Pharm., xxxii. 97.) It was obtained by treating lactucarium 
with alcohol acidulated with one-fifteenth of concentrated vinegar, adding an equal volume 
of water, precipitating by subacetate of lead, separating the excess of lead by sulphuretted 
hydrogen, filtering, evaporating by a gentle heat, treating the residuum by ether, and 
allowing the solution to evaporate. 
M. Aubergier, in his memoir presented to the French Academy in 1842, gives the fol- 
lowing as the result of his analysis:—1. a bitter crystallizable substance [lactucin), soluble 
in alcohol and boiling water, scarcely soluble in cold water, insoluble in ether, without 
alkaline reaction, and supposed to be the active principle; 2. mannite; 3. asparamide; 
4. a crystallizable substance having the property of colouring green the sesquisalts of 
iron; 5. an electro-negative resin, combined wit-h potassa; 6. a neuter resin; 7. ulmate of 
potassa; 8. cerin, myricin, pectin, and albumen; 9. oxalate, malate, nitrate, and sul- 
phate of potassa, chloride of potassium, phosphate of lime and magnesia, oxides of iron 
and manganese, and silica. The bitter principle above referred to separates from its 
solution in boiling water, upon cooling, in pearly scales. By the action of alkalies it 
loses its bitterness, which is not restored by acids. The lactescence of the fresh juice of 
lettuce is owing to a mixture of wax and resin, and not to caoutchouc. [Ann. de Therap., 
1843, p. 19.) The bitter principle of Aubergier differs from that of Dr. Walz in being less 
soluble in cold water, and insoluble in ether. 
M. Lenoir considers the lactucin of these two chemists as impure, and denies that it is 
the active principle, which, he thinks, is probably an organic alkali. He obtained the 
lactucin pure by treating the lactucarium of L. virosa with boiling alcohol, and filtering 
while hot. It was deposited on the cooling of the liquid, and afterwards purified by fre- 
quent crystallization from alcohol, and treatment with animal charcoal. Thus obtained, 
ft was without taste or smell, and without effect upon the system. It was nearly insoluble 
In water, but readily dissolved by alcohol, ether, and the volatile and fixed oils, lie pro- 
posed to name it lactucone, leaving the former name for the active principle when isolated. 
[Ann. de Chim. et de Phys., Feb. 1847.) According to Walz, the lactucone of Lenoir is only Lactucarium. 
PART I. 
Medical Properties and Uses. That lettuce possesses soporific properties 
is a fact which was known to the ancients; but Dr. J. R. Coxe, of Philadelphia, 
enjoys the credit of having first proposed the employment of its inspissated milky 
juice as a medicine. From experiments with a tincture prepared from lactu- 
carium, Dr. Coxe obtained the same results as usually follow the administration 
of laudanum. Dr. Duncan, senior, of Edinburgh, afterwards paid particular 
attention to the subject, and, in his treatise on pulmonary consumption, recom- 
mended lactucarium as a substitute for opium, the anodyne properties of which 
it possesses, without being followed by the same injurious effects. In consequence 
of this recommendation, the medicine came into extensive use, and was adopted 
as officinal in several of the Pharmacopoeias. Dr. Francis, a French physician, 
also investigated the medicinal properties of the inspissated juice of lettuce. 
According to that author, it is sedative, diminishing the rapidity of the circula- 
tion, and consequently the temperature of the body, without producing that dis- 
turbance of the functions which often follows the use of opium. The general 
inference which may be drawn from the recorded experience in relation to lactu- 
carium is, that it has, in a much inferior degree, the anodyne and calming pro- 
perties of opium, without its disposition to excite the circulation, to produce 
headache and obstinate constipation, and to derange the digestive organs. In 
this country the medicine is occasionally employed to allay cough, and quiet 
the fatty matter discovered by himself. Thieme could not divide this into the two kinds 
noticed by Walz as differing in their solubility in ether, and, considering it as peculiar, 
proposed for it the name of laciucerin. 
The most recent analysis of lactucarium is by Ludwig. That chemist found, in 100 parts, 
48 63 of substances insoluble in water, and 51-37 of those soluble in -water. Of the in- 
soluble matter 42-64 parts were of laciucerin or lactucone, which he obtained by first ex- 
hausting lactucarium with water, then treating the insoluble residue several times with 
hot alcohol of 0-833, allowing the alcoholic solution to evaporate slowly, washing the yel- 
lowish substance thus procured with water, and purifying it by re-solution in alcohol, and 
crystallization. Thus obtained, it is in snow-white aggregated granules, dissolves in strong 
hot alcohol which deposits it on cooling, is readily soluble in ether but insoluble in water, 
becomes transparent and tenacious when moderately heated in a platinum dish, melts 
completely at a higher heat with the escape of white odorous vapours, is incapable of 
3aponitication by caustic potassa, and is therefore not properly a fat, and in alcoholic 
solution faintly reddens litmus-paper. It consists of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen 
(C40H34O5). Besides this principle there were 3-99 parts of wax, and 2-00 of lignin and of 
a substance which swelled in ammonia, and was insoluble in water, alcohol, and ether. 
Of the 51-37 parts soluble in water, 6-98 were albumen, 1-75 lactucerin held in solution by 
other substances, 27-68 bitter extract soluble in water and in alcohol, and 14-96 watery extract 
insoluble in alcohol of 0*830. The former of these extracts was found to contain a peculiar 
acid substance called lactucic acid, and the lactucin of Aubergier. To obtain these prin- 
ciples, 80 parts of lactucarium, in fine powder, were triturated with 80 of pure cold diluted 
sulphuric acid, and then mixed with 400 parts of alcohol of 0 851; the liquor was filtered, 
shaken with hydrate of lime till it yielded no precipitate with baryta-water or oxalate of 
potassa, then decolorized with pure animal charcoal, and evaporated; the brown tena- 
cious mass thus obtained (alcoholic extract) was treated with boiling water, which left 
behind a viscid substance; the aqueous solution was treated with animal charcoal, and 
on being evaporated yielded a mixture of lactucic acid and lactucin ; these were separated 
by dissolving the mixture in boiling water, which on cooling deposited the latter in white 
crystalline scales, and gave up the former on subsequent evaporation. Lactucic acid is 
of difficult crystallization, light-yellow, strongly bitter, without sour taste, of an acid 
,*eaction, and readily soluble in alcohol and water. It has as much claim as any other 
discovered substance to be considered the active principle of lactucarium. Lactucin, puri- 
fied by animal charcoal, is in white pearly scales, the solution of which exhibits no reac- 
tion with subacetate of lead, or solution of iodine. It is dissolved without change of 
colour by concentrated sulphuric acid. Besides the above ingredients, Ludwig found also 
in lactucarium a substance resembling mannite, oxalic acid, another organic acid not well de- 
termined, a soft resin, potassa, magnesia, and oxide of iron. Distilled -with diluted sulphuric 
acid, it gave an acid product smelling like lactucarium, which, saturated with carbonate 
of lime, and again distilled with bisulphate of potassa, yielded an acid fluid having the 
odour of valerian. (Pharm. Cent. Blatt, June, 1847, p. 438, from Arch, der Pharm., ii. I and 
129. See also Am. Journ. of Pharm., xx. 57.)—Note to the eighth edition. PART I. 
Lactucarium.—Lappa. 
507 
nervous irritation. It may be given in all cases in which, while opium is indi- 
cated in reference to its anodyne or soothing influence, it cannot be administered 
from idiosyncrasy of the patient. It is, however, very uncertain. The dose is 
from five to fifteen or twenty grains. An alcoholic extract would be a good 
preparation. It may be given in the dose of from two to five grams. A syrup 
is directed in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. (See Syrupus Laclucarii, Part II.)* 
Water distilled from lettuce (eau de laitue) is used in France as a mild seda- 
tive, in the quantity of from two to four ounces. The fresh leaves boiled in 
water are sometimes employed in the shape of cataplasm. It is said that in 
Egypt a mild oil is derived from the seeds, fit for culinary use. 
The extract or inspissated expressed juice of L. virosa is a sedative narcotic, 
said, also to be gently laxative, powerfully diuretic, and somewhat diaphoretic. 
It is employed in Europe, particularly in Germany, in the treatment of dropsy, 
and is especially recommended in cases attended with visceral obstruction. It 
is usually, however, combined with squill, digitalis, or some other diuretic; and 
it is not easy to decide how much of the effect is justly ascribable to the lettuce. 
The medicine is never used in this country. The dose is eight or ten grains, 
which may be gradually increased to a scruple or more. Lactuca Scariola, 
another European species, possesses similar properties, and is used for the same 
purposes. 
Off. Prep. Syrupus Lactucarii, U. S. W. 
LAPPA. U. S. Secondary. 
Burdock. 
The root of Lappa minor. U. S. 
Bardane, Fr.; Gemeine Klette, Germ.; Bardana, Ital., Span. 
Arctium. Sex. Syst. Syngenesia ASqualis.— Nat. Ord. Composite Cina- 
reae, De Cand. Cynaraceae, Lindley. 
Gen. Ch. Receptacle chaffy. Calyx globular; the scales at the apex with 
inverted hooks. Seed-down bristly, chaffy. Willd. 
Arctium Lappa. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 1631 ; Woodv. Med.Bot. p. 32, t. 13. 
—Lappa major. De Cand. Prodrom. vi. 661. Burdock is biennial, with a 
simple spindle-shaped root, a foot or more in length, brown externally, white 
and spongy within, furnished with thread-like fibres, and having withered scales 
near the summit. The stem is succulent, pubescent, branching, and three or 
four feet in height, bearing very large cordate, denticulate leaves, which are 
green on their upper surface, whitish and downy on the under, and stand on 
long footstalks. The flowers are purple, globose, and in terminal panicles. The 
calyx consists of imbricated scales, with hooked extremities, by which they ad- 
here to clothes, and the coats of animals. The seed-down is rough ar d prickly, 
and the seeds quadrangular. 
This plant, which is the one intended in the Pharmacopoeia, is a native of 
* Mr. ffm. Hodgson has recommended that, lactucarium should be prepared for use by 
freeing it from a caoutchouc-like principle, which, without possessing any medicinal vir- 
tues, interferes with its convenient exhibition. He recommends chloroform for this pur- 
pose, but found benzole to answer better, as it removes this tenacious matter without 
affecting the active principle. 
Fluid Extract of Lactucarium. Messrs. Parrish and Bakes propose a fluid extract, prepared 
by completely exhausting lactucarium with diluted alcohol, evaporating the tincture till 
each fluidounce represents a troyounce of the drug, separating the resinous matter de- 
posited in the course of the evaporation, rubbing this with a little strong alcohol till dis- 
solved, and adding the solution to the fluid extract before the entire completion of the 
process. Thus prepared, the fluid extract is black, of a heavy narcotic odour, and intensely 
bitter. Each minim of it represents a grain of the lactucarium. [Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
May, 1860, p. 229.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 508 
Lappa.—Lauro-cerasus. 
PART I. 
Europe, and is abundant in the United States, where it grows on the roadsides, 
among rubbish, and in cultivated grounds. Pursh thinks that it was introduced. 
The root, which should be collected in spring, loses four-fifths of its weight by 
drying 
The odour of the root is weak and unpleasant, the taste mucilaginous and 
sweetish, with a slight degree of bitterness and astringency. Among its con- 
stituents, inulin has been found by Guibourt, and sugar by Fee. 
The seeds are aromatic, bitterish, and somewhat acrid. 
Medical Properties and Uses. The root is considered aperient, diaphoretic, 
and diuretic, without irritating properties; and has been recommended in gouty, 
scorbutic, venereal, rheumatic, scrofulous, leprous, and nephritic affections. To 
prove effectual its use must be long continued. It is administered in the form 
of decoction, which may be prepared by boiling two ounces of the recent bruised 
root in three pints of water to two, and given in the quantity of a pint during 
the day. A fluid extract and syrup have also been prepared from it.* The 
seeds are diuretic, and have been used in the same complaints, in the form of 
emulsion,-powder, and tincture. The dose is a drachm. The leaves have been 
employed both externally and internally in cutaneous eruptions and ulcerations. 
W. 
LAURO-CERASUS. Br. 
Cherry-laurel Leaves. 
Prunus Lauro-cerasus. The fresh leaves. Br. 
Laurier cerise, Fr.; Kirschlorbeer, Germ ; Lauro ceraso, Ital. 
Cerasus. Sex. Syst. Icosandria Monogynia,—Nat. Ord. Amygdalese. 
Gen. Ch. Differing from Prunus only in its fruit being destitute of bloom, 
with the stone round instead of acute, and the leaves when in bud folded flat, 
not rolled up. (Lindley, Flor. Med., 232.) 
Cerasus Lauro-cerasus. De Cand. Prodrom. ii. 540. — Prunus iMuro-cer- 
asus. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 988; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 513, t. 185. This is a small 
evergreen tree, rising fifteen or twenty feet, with long spreading branches, which, 
as well as the trunk, are covered with a smooth blackish bark. The leaves, stand- 
ing alternately on short strong footstalks, are oval-oblong, from five to seven 
inches in length, acute, finely toothed, firm, coriaceous, smooth, beautifully green 
and shining, with oblique nerves, and yellowish glands at the base. The flowers 
are small, white, strongly odorous, and disposed in simple axillary racemes. The 
fruit is an oval drupe, very similar in shape and structure to a small black cherry. 
The cherry laurel is a native of Asia Minor, but has been introduced into 
Europe, throughout which it is cultivated both for medical use, and for the 
beauty of its shining evergreen foliage. Almost all parts of it are more or less 
impregnated with the odour, supposed to indicate the presence of hydrocyauic 
acid. The leaves only are officinal. 
In their recent and entire state they have scarcely any smell; but, when bruised, 
they emit the characteristic odour of the plant in a high degree. Their taste is 
somewhat astringent and strongly bitter, with the flavour of the peach kernel. 
* Fluid Extract of Burdock. This is prepared by Mr. I. J. Graham in the following man- 
ner. Sixteen ounces of the root, in moderately fine powder, are first moistened with diluted 
alcohol, and then submitted to percolation with the same menstruum until exhausted; one 
and a half fluidounces of the tincture which first passes being reserved. The remainder of 
the filtrate is evaporated, by means of a water-bath, to nine fluidounces, to which four 
ounces of sugar, and, after filtration, the reserved portion are added. A fluidraclim, re- 
presenting eighty grains of the root, may be given for a dose. [Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
March. 1860, p. 178.) A syrup may be prepared by mixing four fluidounces of this fluid 
extract with twelve fluidounces of simple syrup, and given in the dose of a tablespoonfu* 
—Note to the twelfth edition. PART I. 
Lauro-cerasus.—Lavandula. 
509 
By drying they lose their odour, but retain their bitterness. They yield a pecu- 
liar oil and hydrocyanic acid by distillation with water, which they strongly 
impregnate with their flavour. One pound, avoirdupois, of the fresh leaves 
yields 40 5 grains of the oil. (Cent. Blatt, A. D. 1855, p. 205.) The oil resembles 
that of bitter almonds, for which it is said to be sometimes sold in Europe, 
where it is employed to flavour liquors and various culinary preparations; but, 
as it is highly poisonous, danger may result from its careless use. It has not 
been determined how far the mode of production of this oil resembles that of 
bitter almonds. (See Amygdala Amara.) Chemists have failed in obtaining 
amygdalin from the leaves. That the oil exists already formed, to a certain 
extent, in the fresh leaves, is rendered probable by the fact, stated by Winckler, 
that they yield it in considerable quantity when distilled without water. (Journ. 
de Pharm., xxv. 195.) The fresh leaves are used to flavour milk, cream, &c., 
and more safely than the oil; though they also are poisonous when too largely 
employed. 
Medical Properties and Uses. The leaves of the cherry laurel possess pro- 
perties similar to those of hydrocyanic acid; and the water distilled from them is 
much employed in various parts of Europe for the same purposes as that active 
medicine. But it is deteriorated by age, and, therefore, as kept in the shops, 
must be of variable strength. Hence, while Hufeland directs only twenty drops 
for a dose every two hours, to be gradually increased to sixty drops, M. Fou- 
quier has administered several ounces without effect. Another source of inequality 
of strength must be the variable quality of the leaves, according to the time they 
have been kept after separation from the tree, and probably also to their age 
and degree of development. It is not, therefore, to be regretted that the want 
of the plant in this country has prevented the general introduction of the distilled 
water into use. 
Off. Prep. Aqua Lauro-cerasi, Br. 
LAVANDULA. U.S. 
Lavender. 
The flowers of Lavandula vera. U. S. 
Lavande, Fr.; Lavandelblumen, fJerm.; Lavandola, Ital.; Espliego, Alhucema, Span. 
Lavandula. Sex. Syst. Didynamia Gymnospermia.—Nat. Ord. Lamiacese 
or Labiatae. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx ovate, somewhat toothed, supported by a bracte. Corolla 
resupine. Stamens within the tube. Willd. 
Lavandula vera. De Cand. Flor. Fr. Sup. p. 398. — L. Spica. Willd. Sp. 
Plant, iii. 60 ; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 321, t. 114. The Lavandula Spica of Lin- 
naeus includes two distinct species, which were considered by him merely as varie- 
ties of the same plant, but have been separated by subsequent botanists. Of 
these, the officinal plant, the narrow-leaved variety of Linnaeus, has been de- 
nominated by De Candolle L. vera, while the broad-leaved variety still retains 
the title of L. Spica. The latter is scarcely cultivated in the United States. 
Common lavender is a small shrub, usually not more than two or three feet 
high, but sometimes as much as six feet. The stem is woody below, and covered 
with a brown bark; above, is divided into numerous, slender, straight, herba- 
ceous, pubescent, quadrangular branches, furnished with opposite, sessile, nar- 
row, nearly linear, entire, and green or glaucous leaves. The flowers are small, 
blue, and disposed in interrupted whorls around the young shoots, forming term- 
inal cylindrical spikes. Each whorl is accompanied with two bractes. The corolla 
is tubular and labiate, with the lower lip divided into three segments, the upper 
larger and bifid. The filaments are within the tube. 510 
Lavandula.—Leptandra. 
PART I. 
The plant is a native of Southern Europe, and covers vast tracts of dry and 
barren land in Spain, Italy, and the south of France. It is cultivated in our 
gardens, and in this country flowers in August. It is said that in fields, when 
too thickly planted, it is apt to suffer from a disease consequent on the noxious 
influence of its own aroma, which is relieved by thinning the plants. {Pharm. 
Journ., x. 119.) All parts of it are aromatic; but the flowers only are officinal. 
The spikes should be cut when they begin to bloom.* 
Lavender flowers have a strong fragrant odour, and an aromatic, warm, bit- 
terish taste. They retain their fragrance long after drying. Alcohol extracts 
their virtues; and a volatile oil upon which their odour depends rises with that 
liquid in distillation. The oil may be procured separate by distilling the flowers 
with water. (See Oleum Lavandulae.) Hagan obtained from a pound of the 
fresh flowers from half a drachm to two drachms of the oil. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Lavender is an aromatic stimulant and tonic, 
esteemed useful in certain conditions of nervous debility, but seldom given in its 
crude state. The products obtained by its distillation are much used in per- 
fumery, and as adjuvants to other medicines, which they render at the same time 
more acceptable to the palate, and cordial to the stomach. 
Off. Prep. Oleum Lavandulae; Spiritus Lavandulae, U. S. 
LEPTANDRA. U.tS. 
Leptandra. 
The root of Veronica Virginica {Linn.), Leptandra Virginia Nutt all) U. S. 
Leptandra. Sex. Syst. Diandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Scrophulariaceae. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx five-parted, segments acuminate. Corolla tubuiar-campanu- 
late, border four-lobed, a little ringent, unequal, the lower lamina narrower. 
Stamens and at length the pistils much exserted; filaments below, and tube of 
the corolla pubescent. Capsule ovate, acuminate, two-celled, many-seeded, 
opening at the summit. Nutt-all. 
The genus Leptandra was separated by Nuttall from the Veronica of Linnaeus; 
and, though the new genus is not universally admitted, and has been rejected in 
the Manual of Gray, and the Flora of Chapman, yet it has in its favour the dis- 
tinctive character of its medical properties, and is retained here on this and other 
considerations. 
Leptandra Virginica. Nuttall, Genera of N. Am. Plants, i. 7 ; Rafinesque, 
Med. Flora, vol. ii. — Veronica Virginica., Linn.; Gray, Man. of Bot. Sc. p. 
290. This plant, commonly called Culver's root, or Culver's physic, is a her- 
baceous perennial, with a simple, erect stem, three or four feet high, smooth or 
downy, furnished with leaves in whorls, and terminating in a long spike of white 
flowers. The leaves, of which there are from four to seven in each whorl, are 
lanceolate, pointed, and minutely serrate, and stand on short footstalks. A va- 
riety was seen by Pursh with purple flowers, which was described and figured 
as a distinct species by Rafinesque, under the name of L. purpurea. The plant 
flowers in July and August. It grows throughout the United States east of the 
Mississippi, affecting mountain meadows in the South, and rich woods in the 
North, and not unfrequently cultivated. 
The root is the part employed. Under the title of Veronica, it was recognised 
in the first and second editions of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, holding a place in 
the secondary catalogue; was omitted in the third and fourth editions; and, so 
* For accounts of the cultivation of lavender at Hitchim, in England, see Pharm. Journ. * 
Nov. 1859, p. 276, and the Boston Med. and Surg. Journ., Jan. 14, 1864, p. 481.—Note to the 
twelfth edition. part I. 
Leptandra. 
511 
rapidly had it gained favour in the intervening decennial period, that in the 
fifth edition it was not only readmitted with the name of Leptandra, but took a 
place in the primary list. 
Properties. The root consists of a rhizoma or root-stalk several inches in 
length, sometimes branched, with numerous long slender radicles. As brought 
dried to the shops, the rhizoma is usually broken into pieces an inch or more 
long, from two to four lines in thickness, either beset with the rootlets or very 
rough from their remains when broken, very hard and firm, and of difficult frac- 
ture, dark-brown externally, light-coloured and ligneous within. The rootlets 
are round, smooth, slender, generally broken, but, when not so, six inches or 
more in length, and almost black, being much darker-coloured than the caudex. 
The odour is feeble and not disagreeable, the taste bitterish, somewhat nauseous, 
and feebly acrid. Water and alcohol extract the virtues of the root. Accord- 
ing to Mr. E. S. Wayne, of Cincinnati, it contains volatile oil, extractive, tannin, 
gum, resin, and a peculiar crystalline principle, to which the virtues of the 
medicine may be ascribed. To this principle the name of leptandrin properly 
belongs. Mr. Wayne obtained it by treating an infusion of the root with sub- 
acetate of lead, filtering, precipitating the excess of lead by carbonate of soda, 
filtering to separate the carbonate of lead, passing the filtered liquid through 
animal charcoal which absorbed all the active matter, washing the charcoal with 
water till the washings began to be bitter, then treating it with boiling alcohol, 
and allowing the alcoholic solution to evaporate spontaneously. By dissolving 
the powder thus obtained in water, treating this with ether, and allowing the 
ether to evaporate, needle-shaped crystals were obtained, which had the bitter 
taste of the root. The resinous matter obtained by making a tincture of the 
root, and precipitating this with water, has been improperly called leptandrin, 
and considered the active principle. The pure resin is probably inert; and the 
preparation referred to owes what activity it may possess to some of the true 
leptandrin associated with it. Leptandrin is soluble in water, alcohol, and ether. 
It has not been isolated for use. (Proceedings of the Am. Pharm. Assoc., 1856, 
p. 34.) Subsequently, Mr. Wayne has obtained from the root a saccharine prin- 
ciple, which he found to have the properties of mannite (Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
Nov. 1859, p. 557); and Prof. F. F. Mayer has extracted a saponaceous prin- 
ciple, closely resembling senegin, which he ascertained to be a glucoside. (Ibid., 
July, 1863, p. 298.) The chemistry, however, of leptandra needs further investi- 
gation. 
Medical Properties. The recent root is said to act violently as a cathartic, 
and sometimes as an emetic. In the dried state it is much milder, but less cer- 
tain. The practitioners calling themselves Eclectics consider it an excellent 
cholagogue, and use both the impure resin, which they call leptandrin, and the 
root itself as a substitute for mercurials. The dose of the powder is from twenty 
grains to a drachm ; that of the impure resin referred to from two to four grains 
Prof Procter has prepared a fluid extract of leptandra, which probably con- 
tains all its virtues, and may be given as an aperient cholagogue in the dose of 
from twenty to sixty minims.* W. 
* Tlie following is the formula referred to in the text. Moisten sixteen troyounces of 
the powdered root with three fluidounces of mixture consisting of two parts of alcohol by 
measure and one of water, pack it in a glass percolator, and pour upon it the diluted alco- 
hol. When a pint of the tincture has passed, set this aside in a warm place, so that it may 
evaporate to one-half. Continue the percolation until three pints more are obtained, which 
are to be evaporated on a water-bath to a pint. To this add four ounces of sugar, and, 
having continued the evaporation till the liquid is reduced to half a pint, add this while 
hot to the reserved liquid, so as together to make a pint. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., March, 
1863, p 112.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 512 
Limones.—Limonis Cortex.—Limonis Succus. 
PART I. 
LIMONES. 
Lemons. 
The fruit of Citrus Limonum. 
Limons, Citrons, Fr.; Limonen, Citroncn, Germ.; Limoni, Ital.; Limones, Span 
LIMONIS CORTEX. U.S.,Br. 
Lemon Peel. 
The rind of the fruit of Citrus Limonum. U. S. The fresh outer part of the 
rind of the ripe fruit. Br. 
LIMONIS SUCCUS. U.S.,Br. 
Lemon Juice. 
The juice of the fruit of Citrus Limonum. U. S. The expressed juice of the 
ripe fruit. Br. 
For some general remarks on the genus Citrus, see Aurantii Cortex. 
Citrus medica. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 1426; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 582, t. 189. 
This tree closely resembles Citrus Aurantium, before described. The leaves, 
however, are larger, slightly indented at the edges, and stand upon footstalks 
which are destitute of the winged appendages that characterize the other species. 
The flowers, moreover, have a purplish tinge on their outer surface, and the fruit 
is entirely different in appearance from the orange. There are several varieties 
of Citrus medica, which some botanists consider as distinct species, but which 
scarcely differ except in the character of their fruit. Those particularly deserv- 
ing of notice are the citron, lemon, and lime. 1. In the citron, C. medica of Risso, 
the fruit is very large, sometimes six inches in length, ovoidal, with a double 
rind, of which the outer layer is yellowish, thin, unequal, rugged, with innumera- 
ble vesicles filled with essential oil; the inner is white, very thick, and spongy. 
It is divided in the interior into nine or ten cells, filled with oblong vesicles, 
which contain an acid juice precisely like that of the lemon, and used for the 
same purposes. The rind is applied to the preparation of conserves, to which 
it is adapted by its thickness. The fruit is called cedrat by the French. 2. The 
lemon (C. medica, var. limon of Linn., Citrus Limonium of Risso) is smaller 
than the preceding, with a smoother and thinner rind, a pointed nipple-shaped 
summit, and a very juicy, acid pulp. In other respects it closely resembles the 
citron, to which, however, it is usually preferred in consequence of the greater 
abundance of its juice. 3. The lime is still smaller than the lemon, with a smooth- 
er and thinner rind, oval, rounded at the extremities, of a pale-yellow or greenish- 
yellow colour, and abounding in a very acid juice, which renders it highly useful 
for the purposes to which the lemon is applied. It is the product of the variety 
C. acris of Miller. 
The Citrus medica, like the orange-tree, is a native of Asia. It was intro- 
duced into Europe from Persia or Media, was first cultivated in Greece, after- 
wards in Italy, so early as the second century, and has now spread over the 
wdiole civilized world, being raised by artificial heat where the climate is too 
cold to admit of its exposure during winter to the open air. 
We are supplied with lemons and limes chiefly from the West Indies and the 
Mediterranean. Though the former of these fruits only is directed by the 
United States Pharmacopoeia, both kinds are employed indiscriminately for most 
medicinal purposes; and the lime affords a juice at least equal, in proportional 
quantity and acidity, to that obtained from the lemon. PART I. 
Limones.—Limonis Cortex.—Limonis Succus. 
513 
Properties. The exterior rind of the lemon has a fragrant odour, and a 
warm, aromatic, bitter taste, somewhat similar to that of the orange, though less 
agreeable. It contains a bitter principle, and yields, by expression or distilla 
tion, an essential oil, which is much used for its flavour. Both this and the rina 
itself are recognised in the Pharmacopoeias. (See Oleum Livionis.) When the 
white spongy portion of the rind is boiled in water, and the decoction evapo- 
rated, crystals are deposited, of a substance called hesperidin. This is bitter, 
but, as it is found most largely in the spongy and comparatively tasteless part 
of the rind, it may be doubted whether it is entitled to be considered as the ac- 
tive bitter principle. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxvi. 553.) Lemon peel yields 
its virtues to water, wine, and alcohol. 
The juice is the part for which the fruit is most esteemed. It is sharply acid, 
with a peculiar grateful flavour, and consists chiefly of citric acid, mucilage, 
and extractive, dissolved in water. As lemons cannot always be obtained, the 
juice is often kept in a separate state; but, from its liability to spontaneous 
decomposition, it speedily becomes unfit for medical use; and, though various 
means have been resorted to for its preservation, it can never be made to retain 
for any length of time its original flavour unaltered. The best medicinal sub- 
stitute for lemon juice is a solution of crystallized citric acid in water, in the 
proportion of about an ounce to the pint, with the addition of a little oil of 
lemons.* One of the most effectual methods of preserving the juice is to allow 
it to stand for a short time after expression, till a coagulable matter separates, 
then to filter, and introduce it into glass bottles, with a stratum of almond oil 
or other sweet oil upon its surface. It will keep still better, if the bottles con- 
taining the filtered juice be suffered, before being closed, to stand for fifteen 
minutes in a vessel of boiling water. Another .mode is to add one-tenth of 
alcohol, and to filter. The juice may also be preserved by concentrating it either 
by evaporation with a gentle heat, or by exposure to a freezing temperature, 
which congeals the watery portion, aud leaves the acid much stronger than be- 
fore. When used, it may be diluted to the former strength; but, though the 
acid properties are retained, the flavour of the juice is found to have been dete- 
riorated. Lemon syrup is another form in which the juice is preserved. 
A solution of tartaric acid in water, with the addition of a little sulphuric 
acid, and flavoured with the oil of lemons, has been fraudulently substituted for 
lemon juice, particularly as an antiscorbutic on long voyages, for which purpose 
it is quite useless. An application of the tests for tartaric and sulphuric acid 
will at once detect the fraud. 
Medical Properties and Uses. The rind of the lemon is sometimes used to 
qualify the taste and increase the power of stomachic infusions and tinctures. 
The juice is refrigerant, and, properly diluted, forms a refreshing and agreeable 
beverage in febrile and inflammatory affections. It may be given with sweetened 
water in the shape of lemonade, or may be added to the mildly nutritive drinks, 
such as gum-water, barley-water, &c., usually administered in fevers. It is also 
much employed in the formation of those diaphoretic preparations known by 
the names of neutral mixture and effervescing draught. (See Mistura Potassoe 
Citratis.) One of the most beneficial applications of lemon juice is to the pre- 
vention and cure of scurvy, for which it may be considered almost a specific. 
For this purpose, ships destined for long voyages should always be provided 
with a supply of the concentrated juice, or of crystallized citric acid with the oil 
of lemons. Lemon juice is sometimes prescribed in connection with opium and 
Peruvian bark, the effects of which it has been thought to modify favourably, by 
substituting the citrate of their respective alkalies for the native salts. It has 
* Nine drachms and a half, dissolved in a pint of water, form a solution of the average 
strength of lime juice; but, where precision is not requisite, the proportion mentioned in 
the text is most convenient. 514 
*■ 
Linum.—Lini Farina. 
PART I. 
recently been employed with great supposed advantage in acute rheumatism, 
having been given in quantities varying from one to four fluidounces, from four 
to six times a day. It has been used with benefit as a local application in pru- 
ritus of the scrotum, and in uterine hemorrhage after delivery. 
Off. Prep, of the Peel. Spiritus Limonis, U. S.; Syrupus Limonis, Br.; Tinc- 
tura Limonis, Br. 
Off. Prep, of the Juice. Acidum Citricum, Br.; Mistura Potassse Citratis, 
U. S.; Syrupus Limonis. W. 
LINUM. u.s. 
Flaxseed. 
The seed of Linum usitatissimum. U. S. 
Off. Syn. LINI SEMEN. Linum usitatissimum. The seeds. Br. 
Linseed; Grains de lin, Fr.; Leinsame, Germ.; Semi di lino, Ital.; Linaza, Sjpan. 
LINI FARINA. US.,Br. 
Flaxseed Meal. Linseed Meal. 
The meal prepared from the seed of Linum usitatissimum. U. S. The seeds 
ground and deprived of their oil by expression. Br. 
Linum. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Pentagynia.—Nat. Ord. Linacese. 
Gen.Ch. Calyx five-leaved. Petals five. Capsule five-valved, ten-celled. Seeds 
solitary. Willd. 
Linum usitatissimum. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1533; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 565, 
t. 202. Common flax is an annual plant, with an erect, slender, round stem, 
about two feet in height, branching at top, and, like all other parts of the plant, 
entirely smooth. The leaves are small, lanceolate, acute, entire, of a pale-green 
colour, sessile, and scattered alternately over the stem and branches. The flowers 
are terminal, and of a delicate blue colour. The calyx is persistent, and com- 
posed of five ovate, sharp-pointed, three-nerved leaflets, which are membranous 
on their border. The petals are five, obovate, striated, minutely scalloped at their 
extremities, and spread into funnel-shaped blossoms. The filaments are also five, 
united at the base; and the germ, which is ovate, supports five slender styles, 
terminating in obtuse stigmas. The fruit is a globular capsule, about the size of 
a small pea, having the persistent calyx at the base, crowned with a sharp spine, 
and containing ten seeds in distinct cells. 
This highly valuable plant, now almost everywhere cultivated, is said by some 
to have been originally derived from Egypt, by others from the great elevated 
plain of central Asia. It flowers in June and July, and ripens its seeds in August. 
The seeds, and an oil expressed from them, are officinal. 
The seeds are oval, oblong, flattened on both sides with acute edges, some- 
what pointed at one end, about a line in length, smooth, glossy, brown externally, 
and yellowish-white within. They are inodorous, and have an oily mucilaginous 
taste. Meyer found in them fixed oil, wax, resin, extractive, tannin, gum, azo- 
tized mucilage, starch, albumen, gluten, and various salts. M. Meurein could find 
no starch, but detected phosphates, which had escaped the notice of Meyer. 
(Journ. de Pharm., Seser., xx. 97.) Their investing coat abounds in a peculiar 
gummy matter or mucilage, which is readily imparted to hot water, forming a 
thick viscid fluid, that lets fall white flakes upon the addition of alcohol, and 
affords a copious dense precipitate with subacetate of lead. By Berzelius the 
term mucilage was applied to a proximate vegetable principle, distinguished 
from gum by being insoluble in cold, and but slightly soluble in boiling water, PART I. 
Lini Farina.—Lithise. Carbonas. 
515 
in which it swells up and forms a mucilaginous, viscid body, which loses its water 
when placed upon filtering paper, or other porous substance, and contracts like 
starch in the gelatinous state. The name, however, is unfortunate; as it is gene- 
rally applied to the solution of gum, and must inevitably lead to confusion. No# 
is it strictly a distinct proximate principle; as it embraces a number of different 
bodies, such as bassorin, cerasin, &c. According to Guerin, the mucilage of flax- 
seed, obtained at a temperature of from 120° to 140°, and evaporated to dryness, 
by means of a salt-water bath, contains, in 100 parts, 52-70 of a principle soluble 
in cold water, 29‘89 of a principle insoluble in that liquid, and 10'30 of wattr, 
and yields 7T1 per cent, of ashes. The soluble part he believes to be arabin or 
pure gum; the insoluble he found not to afford mucic acid with the nitric, and, 
therefore, to differ from both bassorin and cerasin. There was also a small pro- 
portion of azotized matter which he did not isolate. (Ann. de Chim. et de Phys., 
xlix. 263.) Vauquelin found free acetic acid, silica, and various salts of potassa 
and lime. Meurein discovered in the mucilage extracted by cold water, albumen, 
and a very small proportion of an oleo-resin, which resides in the coats of the 
seeds, and to which they owe their peculiar odour and taste. The interior of the 
seed, or nucleus, is rich in a peculiar oil, which is separated by expression, and 
extensively employed in the arts. (See Oleum Lini.) 
The ground seeds are kept in the shops under the name of flaxseed meal. 
This is of a dark-gray colour, highly oleaginous, and when mixed with hot water 
forms a soft adhesive mass, much employed for luting by practical chemists. The 
cake remaining after the expression of the oil, usually called oil-cake, still retains 
the mucilaginous matter of the euvelope, and affords a nutritious food for cattle. 
This is the Lini Farina of the British Pharmacopoeia. 
Flaxseed is sometimes accidentally or fraudulently mixed with other seeds, 
especially of plants growing among the flax. We have seen a parcel containing 
a considerable proportion of the seeds of a species of garlic.* 
Medical Properties and Uses. Flaxseed is demulcent and emollient. The 
mucilage obtained by infusing the entire seeds in boiling water, in the propor- 
tion of half an ounce to the pint, is much and very advantageously employed 
in catarrh, dysentery, nephritic and calculous complaints, strangury, and other 
inflammatory affections of the mucous membrane of the lungs, intestines, and 
urinary passages. By decoction water extracts also a portion of the oleaginous 
matter, which renders the mucilage less fit for administration by the mouth, but 
superior as a laxative enema. The meal mixed with hot water forms an excel- 
lent emollient poultice. 
Off. Prep, of the Seeds. Infusum Lini, Br.; Infusum Lini Compositum, U. S. 
Off. Prep, of the Meal. Cataplasma Carbonis, Br.; Catap. Conii, Br.; Catap. 
Lini, Br.; Catap. Sinapis, Br.; Catap. Sodae Chlorinatae, Br. W. 
LITHIiE CARBONAS. U. &, Br. 
Carbonate of Lithia. 
“A white powder, sparingly soluble in water, and having a feeble alkaline re- 
action. It dissolves with effervescence in dilute sulphuric acid, and forms a freely 
soluble salt. It imparts to the flame of burning alcohol a carmine-red colour. ” U. S. 
* Light-coloured Flaxseed. A variety of flax has recently originated, and is now largely 
Cultivated in Ohio, the seeds of which, instead of having the brown colour of ordinary flax- 
seed, are of a greenish-yellow, and the flower white instead of blue. According to informa- 
tion obtained by Mr. E. L. Wayne, of Cincinnati, the plant is more productive than the 
common flax; and the seeds are preferred by some in the manufacture of oil. Professor 
Procter states that, so far as he could judge from a somewhat superficial examination, they 
differ from the common seeds chemically only in the absence of the brown colouring mat- 
ter. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxvi. 493.)—Note to the eleventh edition. 516 
Lithise Carbonas. 
PART I. 
This salt has for the first time been made officinal in the recent editions of 
the U. S. and Br. Pharmacopoeias, in which it is placed in the Materia Medica 
list, as an article to be obtained from the manufacturer. The alkali lithia, so 
far as has yet been ascertained, is rare in nature; for though extensively diffused, 
it exists but in very small proportion, except in a few scarce minerals. It was 
discovered by Arfwedson in 1817, in certain minerals from the iron mines of Uton, 
as the petalile, triphcine, and a variety of tourmaline. (Berzelius.) It has since 
been found in other minerals, as the lepidolite, spodumene, amblygonite, mica, 
&c., and in numerous mineral waters, as those of Carlsbad, Pyrmont, Kissingen, 
Kreuznach, Aix-ia-Chapelle, Vichy, &c., in which it exists generally as a car- 
bonate or bicarbonate. By the spectrum analysis, it has been detected in the 
waters of the Atlantic and the Thames, the ashes of plants grown on a granite 
soil, and even in milk and human blood. In the mother-waters of tartaric acid, 
in the factories, it has been found in a proportion to justify extraction. It has 
been most largely obtained from a phosphatic triphylene, found in Bavaria, in 
which it existed as a phosphate; but this source is said to be exhausted. 
There are several methods of extracting lithia from the minerals containing 
it, an account of which may be seen in Gmelin’s Handbook (iii. 123). They con- 
tain the alkali in various proportions, from 3-6 per cent, in lepidolite to 11 per 
cent, in amblygonite. Carbonate of lithia is prepared from lepidolite in the fol- 
lowing manner. One part of the mineral is ignited with two parts of limewater 
is added so as to form a paste; this is treated with dilute sulphuric acid, and 
water is added; the solution is filtered and concentrated; carbonate of soda is 
added to precipitate earths and metals; the liquor is again concentrated, and, 
while boiling hot, is treated with carbonate of soda dissolved in twice its weight 
of water, by which carbonate of lithia is precipitated somewhat impure. To ob- 
tain it pure, it is dissolved in very dilute muriatic acid, and the solution precipi- 
tated by carbonate of ammonia. (Gmelin) 
Lithia, LO, is the oxide of the metal lithium, and ranks in chemical properties 
with the fixed alkalies. In the form of hydrate, LO,HO, it is white and trans- 
lucent ; does not deliquesce in the air, but absorbs carbonic acid, and becomes 
opaque; is fusible below ignition, but not volatilizable at a white heat; is solu- 
ble in water, but less so than potassa or soda; is sparingly soluble in alcohol; 
and in solution has an acrid alkaline taste, caustic properties, and a strong alka- 
line reaction. The salts of lithia are generally freely soluble, with the exception 
of the neutral carbonate and phosphate, the latter of which is nearly insoluble. 
Lithium, which was first obtained by MM. Bunsen and Matthiessen, in 1855, 
is silver-white, brilliant, softer than lead, ductile, capable of welding, and the 
lightest known solid. Its sp. gr. is 0 594, melting point 356° F., equivalent 7, 
and symbol L. (Brande and Taylor.) The eq. of lithia, therefore, is L=7 + 
0 = 8, or LO = 15; which is the lowest combining number of the fixed alkalies. 
Carbonate of lithia may be prepared directly from one of the lithia minerals, 
in the manner already described, or from sulphate of lithia or chloride of lithium 
in concentrated solution by adding carbonate of ammonia. The precipitated 
salt should be washed with alcohol and dried. It is a white powder, of a mild 
alkaline taste, fusible at a high temperature, soluble in about 100 parts of water, 
more soluble in carbonic acid water, and insoluble in alcohol. Its aqueous solu- 
tion has an alkaline reaction. It consists of one eq. of lithia and one of car- 
bonic acid, L0,C02, and its eq. is 37. It is known by imparting a carmine- 
red colour to the flame of alcohol, and by dissolving in dilute sulphuric acid 
with effervescence; the latter property distinguishing it from the salts of stron- 
tia, which also colour the flame of alcohol red. In the British Pharmacopoeia, 
the following test is given. Ten grains, neutralized with sulphuric acid, and 
heated to redness, leave 14'86 grains of dry sulphate, which, when dissolved iu 
water, yields no precipitate with oxalate of ammonia or lime-wate* part I. 
Lithise Carbonas.—Liriodendron. 
517 
Medical Properties and Uses. Carbonate of lithia has the ordinary remedia* 
properties of the alkaline carbonates, over which, however, it possesses advan- 
tages, under certain circumstances, which render it a valuable addition to the 
Materia Medica. In the year 1843, Mr. Alexander Ure, of London, called at 
tention to the extraordinary solvent power of a solution of lithia over uric acid, 
with which, unlike the other alkalies, it forms a very soluble salt, and suggested 
its injection into the bladder, for the solution or disintegration of uric acid cal- 
culi. In 1857, Dr. Garrod, of London, gave it internally in cases of gout and 
gouty diathesis, in reference to the same property, as well as in considera- 
tion of its low combining number, and consequent extraordinary neutralizing 
power. From these properties, it is admirably adapted to cases in which it is 
desirable to eliminate uric acid from the system, and especially to cases of gout, 
in which there is a strong indication to prevent the formation of insoluble salts 
of uric acid, and their deposition in the bladder, kidneys, or joints, and to favour 
the solution of such salts when already formed, as in the chalky deposits in the 
joints and ligamentous tissues of gouty patients, consisting chiefly of urate of 
soda. Dr. Garrod has, moreover, found the carbonate of lithia, in dilute solution, 
not only to exceed the other alkalies in rendering the urine neuter or alkaline, 
but also to act powerfully as a diuretic, probably more so than the correspond- 
ing salts of potassa and soda. {Med. Times and Oaz., March, 1864, p. 303.) The 
dose of carbonate of lithia is from three to six grains, and is most advantageously 
given in carbonic acid water. 
Off. Prep. Lithise Citras, Br. W. 
LIRIODENDRON. U. S. Secondary. 
Tulip-tree Bark. 
The bark of Liriodendron tulipifera. U. S. 
Liriodendron. Sex. Syst. Polyandria Polygynia. — Nat. Ord. Magnoliaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx three-leaved. Petals six. Samarse sublanceolate, one or two- 
seeded, imbricated in a cone. Nuttall. 
Liriodendron tulipifera. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1254 ; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. 
ii. 107 ; Barton, Med. Bot. i. 92. This noble tree is the boast of American land- 
scape. Rising on an erect, straight, cylindrical stem, which is often of nearly 
equal thickness for the distance of forty feet, it attains, in favourable situations, 
an elevation seldom less than fifty and sometimes more than one hundred feet, 
with a diameter of trunk varying from eighteen inches to three feet; and indi- 
viduals are occasionally met with which greatly exceed these dimensions. The 
bark is of a brown or grayish-brown colour, except in the young branches, on 
which it is bluish or of a reddish tinge. The leaves, which stand on long foot- 
stalks, are alternate, somewhat fleshy, smooth, of a beautiful shining green colour, 
and divided into three lobes, of which the upper one is truncated and notched 
at its summit, so as to present a two-lobed appearance, and the two lower are 
rounded at the base and usually pointed. In the larger leaves, the lateral lobes 
have each a tooth-like projection at some distance below their apex. This pecu 
liar form of the leaf serves to distinguish the tree from all others inhabiting the 
American forests. On isolated trees the flowers are very numerous. They are 
large, beautifully variegated with different colours, among which yellow pre- 
dominates, and in appearance bear some resemblance to the tulip, which has given 
a name to the species. Each flower stands on a distinct terminal peduncle. The 
calyx is double, the outer two-leaved and deciduous, the inner consisting of three 
large, oval, concave leaves, of a pale-green colour. The corolla is composed of 
six, seven, or more obtuse, concave petals. The stamens are numerous, with 
short filaments, and long linear anthers. The pistils are collected into the form 518 
Liriodendron.—Lobelia. 
PART I. 
of a cone, the upper part of which is covered with minute stigmas. The fruit 
consists of numerous long, narrow scales, attached to a common axis, imbricated 
in a conical form, and containing each two seeds, one or both of which are often 
abortive. 
The tulip-tree extends from New England to the borders of Florida, but is 
most abundant, and attains the greatest magnitude in the Middle and Western 
States. It delights in a rich strong soil, and luxuriates in the exhaustless fer- 
tility of the banks of the Ohio and its tributaries. Throughout the United States 
it is known by the inappropriate name of American poplar. When in full bloom, 
about the middle of May, it presents, in its profusion of flowers, its shining, 
luxuriant foliage, its elevated stature, and elegant outline, one of the most mag- 
nificent objects which the vegetable kingdom affords. The interior or heart- 
wood is yellowish, of a fine grain, and compact without being heavy; and is 
much employed in the making of furniture, carriages, door-panels, &c. It is re- 
commended by its property of resisting the influence of atmospheric moisture, 
and the attacks of worms. The bark is the officinal portion. It is taken for use 
indiscriminately from the root, trunk, and branches; though that of the root is 
thought to be most active. 
Deprived of the epidermis, it is yellowish-white; the bark of the root being 
somewhat darker than that of the stem or branches. It is very light and brittle, 
of a feeble, rather disagreeable odour, strongest in the fresh bark, and of a bit- 
ter, pungent, and aromatic taste. These properties are weakened by age, and 
we have found specimens of the bark, long kept in the shops, almost insipid. 
The peculiar properties of liriodendron appear to reside in a volatile principle, 
which partially escapes during decoction. The late Professor Emmet, of the 
University of Virginia, believed that he had isolated this principle, and gave it 
the name of liriodendrin. As described by Professor Emmet, it is, in the pure 
state, solid, white, crystallizable, brittle, insoluble in water, soluble in alcohol 
and ether, fusible at 180°, volatilizable and partly decomposed at 270°, of a 
slightly aromatic odour, and a bitter, warm, pungent taste. It does not unite 
either with acids or with alkalies; and the latter precipitate it from the infusion 
of the bark by combining with the matter which renders it soluble in water. 
Water precipitates it from its alcoholic solution. It is obtained by macerating 
the root in alcohol, boiling the tincture with magnesia till it assumes an olive- 
green colour, then filtering, concentrating by distillation till the liquid becomes 
turbid, and finally precipitating the liriodendrin by the addition of cold water. 
(Journ. of the Phil. Col. of Pharm., iii. 5.) The virtues of the bark are ex- 
tracted by water and alcohol, but are injured by long boiling. 
Medical Properties. Liriodendron is a stimulant tonic, with diaphoretic pro- 
perties. It has been used as a substitute for Peruvian bark in intermittent fevers, 
and has proved serviceable in chronic rheumatism, dyspepsia, and other com- 
plaints in which a gently stimulant and tonic impression is desirable. The dose 
®f the bark in powder is from half a drachm to two drachms. The infusion and 
decoction are also used, but are less efficient. They may be prepared in the pro- 
portion of an ounce of the bark to a pint of water, and given in the quantity cf 
one or two fluidounces. The dose of the saturated tincture is a fluidrachm. W. 
LOBELIA. U. S., Br. 
Lobelia. 
The herb of Lobelia inflata. U. S. The herb in flower, dried. Br 
Lobelia. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Lobeliaceie. 
Gen.Ch. Calyx five-cleft. Corolla irregular, five-parted, cleft on the upper 
side nearly to the base. Anthers united into a tube. Stigma cwo-lobed Capsule 
inferior or semi-superior, two or three-celled, two-valved at the npex Torrey. part I. 
Lobelia. 
519 
Lobelia, injlala. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 946; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. i. 11Y ; Bar- 
ton, Med. Bot. i. 181; Carson, Illust. of Med. Bot. i. 60, pi. 51. This species of 
Lobelia, often called Indian tobacco, is an annual or biennial indigenous plant, 
usually a foot or more in height, with a fibrous root, and a solitary, erect, angu- 
lar, very hairy stem, much branched about midway, but rising considerably above 
the summits of the highest branches. The leaves are scattered, sessile, oval, acute, 
serrate, and hairy. The flowers are numerous, small, disposed in leafy terminal 
racemes, and upon short axillary footstalks. The segments of the calyx are linear 
and pointed. The corolla, which is of a delicate blue, has a labiate border, with 
the upper lip divided into two, the lower into three segments. The united an- 
thers are curved, and enclose the stigma. The fruit is an oval, striated, inflated 
capsule, crowned with the persistent calyx, and containing, in two cells, numerous 
very small, brown seeds.* 
Lobelia inflata is a very common weed, growing on the road-sides, and in 
neglected fields, throughout the United States. Its flowers begin to appear to- 
wards the end of July, and continue to expand in succession till the occurrence 
of frost. All parts of it are medicinal; but, according to Dr. Eberle, the root 
and inflated capsules are most powerful. The plant should be collected in August 
or September, when the capsules are numerous, and should be carefully dried% 
It may be kept whole, or in powder. As found in the shops, it is often in oblong 
compressed cakes, prepared by the Shakers. 
Dried lobelia has a slight irritating odour, and when chewed, though at first 
without much taste, soon produces a burning acrid impression upon the poste- 
rior parts of the tongue and palate, very closely resembling that occasioned by 
tobacco, and attended, in like manner, with a flow of saliva and a nauseating 
effect. The powder is greenish. The plant yields its virtues readily to water 
and alcohol. Water distilled from it has its odour without its acrimony. Prof. 
Procter found the plant to contain an odorous volatile principle, probably vola- 
tile oil; a peculiar alkaline principle named lobelina; a peculiar acid, first no- 
ticed as distinct by Pereira, called lobelic acid; besides gum, resin, chlorophyll, 
fixed oil, lignin, salts of lime and potassa, and oxide of iron. The seeds contain 
at least twice as much of lobelina, in proportion, as the whole plant, which yield- 
ed only one part in five hundred. They contain also 30 per cent, of a nearly 
colourless fixed oil, having the drying property in an extraordinary degree. 
Lobelina was obtained by Prof. Procter by the following process. The seeds 
were treated with alcohol acidulated with acetic acid, until deprived of acrimony, 
and the tincture was evaporated; the resulting extract was triturated with mag- 
nesia and water, and, after repeated agitation for several hours, the liquor, hold- 
ing lobelina in solution, was filtered; this was then shaken repeatedly with ether 
until no longer acrid; and the ethereal solution, having been decanted, was al- 
lowed to evaporate spontaneously. The residue, which was reddish-brown, and 
of the consistence of honey, was deprived of colouring matter by dissolving it in 
water, adding a slight excess of sulphuric acid, boiling with animal charcoal, satu- 
rating with magnasia, filtering, agitating with ether until this fluid had deprived 
the water of acrimony, and finally decanting, and allowing the ether to evaporate. 
Thus obtained, lobelina is a yellowish liquid, lighter than water, of a somewhat 
aromatic odour, and a very acrid durable taste. It is soluble in water, but much 
* In case of poisoning by lobelia, it may be very desirable to be able to recognise the 
seeds. The following microscopic characters of them are given by Mr. Frederick Curtis 
in the Lond. Med. Gaz. for July, 1851 (p. 160). They are almond-shaped, about l-30th of 
an inch long by l-75th broad, puce-coloured, regularly marked with longitudinal ridges 
and turrows, and cross ridges generally at right angles with the former; so that the sur- 
face presents the appearance of basket-work. No other seeds examined by the author could 
fife mistaken for them, except those of Lobelia cardinalis, which, however, are larger, coarser, 
cf a lighter colour, and with the superficial rectangular chequering less distinct.—Mote to 
the tenth edition. 520 
Lobelia. 
part i. 
more copiously in alcohol and ether; and the latter fluid readily removes it from 
its aqueous solution. It has an alkaline reaction, and forms soluble and crystal- 
lizable salts with sulphuric, nitric, and muriatic acids, and a very soluble but not 
crystallizable salt with acetic acid. It forms an insoluble compound with tannic 
acid, which instantly precipitates it from its solution. By a boiling heat it is 
entirely decomposed, losing all its acrimony; but, when combined with acids, it 
may be subjected to ebullition with water without change. Prof. Procter intro- 
duced a grain of it diluted with water into the stomach of a cat, which became 
immediately prostrate, remained for an hour nearly motionless, with dilated 
pupils, and had not wholly recovered at the end of fifteen hours. It did not occa- 
sion vomiting or purging. There can be little doubt that it is the narcotic prin- 
ciple of lobelia. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., ix. 105, and xiii. 1.)* The late Dr. S. 
Colhoun, of Philadelphia, was the first to anuounce the existence of a peculiar 
principle in lobelia, capable of forming salts with the acids; but he did not ob- 
tain it in an isolated state. An important inference from the effects of heat upon 
lobelina is, that, in preparing lobelia for use, the plant should never be heated 
in connection with a salifiable base. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Lobelia is emetic, and, like other medicines 
of the same class, is occasionally cathartic, and in small doses diaphoretic and 
expectorant. It is also possessed of narcotic properties. The leaves or capsules, 
chewed for a short time, occasion giddiness, headache, general tremors, and ulti- 
mately nausea and vomiting. When swallowed in the full dose, the medicine 
produces speedy and severe vomiting, attended with continued and distressing 
nausea, copious sweating, and great general relaxation. Its effects in doses too 
large, or too frequently repeated, are extreme prostration, great anxiety and dis- 
tress, and ultimately death preceded by convulsions. Dr. Letheby found 110 
grains of it in the stomach of a patient killed by this poison, and states that he 
has known much less to cause death. (Lond. Med. Times and Gaz., March, 1853, 
p. 210.) From experiments made by Mr. Curtis and Dr. Pearson on hedgehogs 
and cats, it would appear that the poison produces inflammation of the aliment- 
ary mucous membrane in those animals, but that death mainly results from the 
suspension of respiration; the heart continuing to act after that process has 
ceased. It is probable that it paralyzes, by a directly depressing influence, the 
respiratory centres in the medulla oblongata. Death has often resulted from its 
empirical use. Its poisonous effects are most apt to occur, when, as sometimes 
happens, it is not rejected by vomiting. In its action upon the system, therefore, 
as well as in its sensible properties, lobelia bears a close resemblance to tobacco. 
It is among the medicines which were employed by the aborigines of this coun- 
try, and was long in the hands of empirics before it was introduced into regular 
practice. The Rev. Dr. Cutler, of Massachusetts, first attracted to it the atten- 
tion of the profession. 
As an emetic it is too powerful, and too distressing as well as hazardous in 
its operation for ordinary use. The disease in which it has proved most useful 
is spasmodic asthma, the paroxysms of which it often greatly mitigates, and 
sometimes wholly relieves, even when not given in doses sufficiently large to 
vomit. It was from the relief obtained from an attack of this complaint in his 
own person, that Dr. Cutler was induced to recommend the medicine. It has 
been used also in catarrh, croup, pertussis, and other laryngeal and pectoral 
* Mr. William Bastick, of London, published in the Pharmaceutical Journal and Transac- 
tions for December, 1850, an account of lobelina and its mode of extraction, apparently in 
entire ignorance of the previous experiments and observations of Prof. Procter. His pro- 
eess does not differ essentially from that above given. In one magnesia is used to decom- 
pose the native salt of lobelina, in the other lime; the caustic alkalies not being applicable 
to the purpose, as they decompose this organic alkali with great facility.—Note to the ninth 
edition. PART I. 
Lobelia.—Lupulina.—Lycopodium. 
521 
affections; and we have seen it apparently advantageous in some of these com- 
plaints, especially in severe croup, and in chronic bronchitis with dyspnoea; bu\ 
it should always be used with caution. Administered by injection it produces 
the same distressing sickness of stomach, profuse perspiration, and universal 
relaxation, as result from a similar use of tobacco. Dr. Eberle administered a 
strong decoction of it successfully by the rectum in a case of strangulated hernia. 
It has been employed effectually, in small doses repeated so as to sustain a 
slight nausea, for producing relaxation of the os uteri. (Am. Journ. of Med. 
Sci., xvii. 248.) A case is recorded in the Charleston Med. Journ. and Rev. 
(xi. 58), by Dr. Gaston, of Columbia, S. C., in which the tincture of lobelia was 
successfully used in tetanus. 
It may be given in substance, tincture, or infusion. The dose of the powder 
as an emetic is from five to twenty grains, to be repeated if necessary. The 
tincture is most frequently administered. The full dose of this preparation for 
an adult is half a fluidounce; though in asthmatic cases it is better administered 
in the quantity of one or two fluidrackms, repeated every two or three hours till 
its effects are experienced.* 
Two other species of Lobelia have attracted some attention from medical 
writers. L. cardinalis or cardinal flower, distinguished for its showy red 
flowers, is supposed to possess anthelmintic properties; but is seldom used. L. 
syphilitica is said to have been used by th-e Indians in the cure of syphilis, but1 
has been found wholly inefficacious in that complaint. It is emetic and cathartic, 
and appears also to possess diuretic properties; whence it has been conjectured 
that it might have proved serviceable in gonorrhoea. Dr. Chapman states that 
it has been employed, as he has been informed, by some practitioners of the 
western couutry in dropsy, and not without success. The root is the part used. 
Both these species of Lobelia are indigenous. For a more detailed account of 
them, the reader is referred to Dr. W. P. C. Bartou’s Medical Botany. 
Off. Prep. Acetum Lobelise, U. S.; Tinctura Lobelim; Tinct. Lobelise 
iEtherea, Br. W. 
LUPULINA. U.S. 
Lupulin. 
The yellow powder attached to the strobiles of Humulus Lupulus. U. S. 
Lupulina is described under HUMULUS, p. 448. 
LYCOPODIUM. US. 
Lycopodium. 
The sporules of Lycopodium clavatum, and of other species of Lycopodium. 
U. S. 
Pied de Loup, Fr.; Gemeiner Biirlapp, Kolbenmoos, Germ.; Licopodio, Ital., Span. 
Lycopodium. Sex. Syst. Cryptogamia Filices. — Nat. Ord. Lycopodiacese. 
Gen. Ch. Thecae unilocular, of one or two forms; that containing powder 
somewhat reniform and two-valved, the other roundish, three or four valved. 
Bindley. 
* Professor Procter prepares a fluid, extract by macerating eight ounces of finely bruised 
lobelia, mixed with a fluidounce of acetic acid, in a pint and a half of diluted alcohol, for 
‘wenty-four hours; then percolating with an equal quantity of diluted alcohol, and after- 
wards with water, until three pints of liquor are obtained; next evaporating to ten fluid- 
ounces, straining, adding six fluidounces of alcohol, and finally filtering through paper. 
Each teaspoonful of this preparation is equal to half a fluidounce of the tincture, which 
represents about 30 grains of the powder (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxiv. 207.)— Note to the 
tenth edition. 522 
Lycopodium.—Lycopus. 
PART I. 
Lycopodium ciavatum. Linn. Sp. Plant. 1564; Smith, Engl. Flor. iv. 331. 
This plant, commonly called club-moss, has a trailing, branching stem, several 
feet long, and thickly beset with linear-lanceolate, flat, ribless, smooth, partly ser- 
rate leaves, with a capillary point, curved upward, and of a deep-green colour. 
The flowers are in terminal spikes, single or in pairs, with crowded ovate, entire, 
pointed scales, and yellow thecae or capsules. The plant is a native of Europe 
and this country. 
The capsules of this moss, and of others belonging to the same genus, contain 
a fine dust or powder, which is collected in Switzerland and Germany, and used 
in the shops of Europe under the name of lycopodium, or vegetable sulpltur. 
It is this that constitutes the officinal part of the plant, of which it is the seeds 
or sporules. It is extremely fine, very light, of a delicate yellow colour, inodor- 
ous and tasteless, and exceedingly inflammable, so much so that it takes fire like 
gunpowder when thrown upon a burning body. Under the microscope, it is found 
to be composed of cells, which, on pressure between glasses, give out a transpa- 
rent fluid, resembling oil. (Ed. Monthly Journ., Nov. 1854, p. 469.) It is said 
to be often adulterated with the pollen of the pines and firs, and sometimes with 
talc and starch. In medicine, it is used as an absorbent application to excori- 
ated surfaces, especially those which occur in the folds of the skin in infants. In 
pharmacy, it answers the purpose of facilitating the rolling of the pilular mass, 
and of preventing the adhesion of the pills when formed. The moss itself has 
been esteemed diuretic, antispasmodic, &c,; and has been employed, in the form 
of decoction, in rheumatism, epilepsy, and complaints of the lungs and kidneys; 
and has been supposed to be of great service in the removal of plica Polonica. 
It has, however, fallen into discredit. W. 
LYCOPUS. U.S. Secondary. 
Bugle-weed. 
The herb of Lycopus Yirginicus (Michaux). U. S. 
Lycopus. Sex. Syst. Diandria Monogynia.—Nat.Ord. Lamiaceaeor Labiatae. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx tubular, five-cleft or five-toothed. Corolla tubular, four-lobed, 
nearly equal; the upper segment broader, and emarginate. Stamens distant. 
Seeds four, naked, retuse. Nuttall. 
Lycopus Virginicus. Michaux, Flor. Boreal. Americ. i. 14; Rafinesque, Med. 
Flor. vol. ii. The bugle-weed is an indigenous herb, with a perennial creeping 
root, which sends up an erect, nearly simple, obtusely quadrangular stem, from 
twelve to eighteen inches high, and furnished with opposite sessile leaves. These 
are broad-lanceolate, attenuated and entire at both extremities, remotely serrate 
in the middle, somewhat rough, purplish, and beset with glandular dots on their 
under surface. The flowers are minute, in small axillary whorls, with two small 
subulate bractes to each flower, and a white corolla. The seeds are longer than 
the calyx, which is spineless. 
This plant grows in shady and wet places throughout the greater part of the 
United States. Its flowering period is August. The whole herb is used. It has 
a poculiar odour and a nauseous slightly bitter taste, and imparts these proper- 
ties, as well as its medical virtues, to boiling water. 
Lycopus Europseus is said to be frequently collected and sold for L. Vir- 
ginicus. The former may be distinguished by its acutely quadrangular stem, its 
narrow lanceolate leaves, of which the lower are somewhat pinnatifid, its more 
crowded flowers, and the acute segments of its calyx, armed with short spines. 
It has been employed in Europe as a substitute for quinia. 
Medical Properties and Uses. According to Dr. A. W. Ives, the bugle-wreed 
is a very mild narcotic. It is said also to be astringent. It was introduced into PART I. 
Lycopus.—Magnesise Carbonas. 
523 
notice by Drs. Pendleton and Rogers, of New York, who obtained favourable 
effects from it in incipient phthisis and pulmonary hemorrhage. (N. Y. Med. and 
rhys. Journ., i. 179.) It proves useful by diminishing the frequency of the 
pulse, quieting irritation, and allaying cough. The use of it has been extended 
with advantage to the hemorrhages generally. (Transact, of the Am. Med. 
Assoc., i. 347.) It is most conveniently employed in the form of infusion, which 
may be prepared by macerating an ounce of the herb in a pint of. boiling water. 
From half a pint to a pint may be taken daily. 'W. 
MAGNESLE CARBON AS. U.S., Br. 
Ca rbonate of Magnesia. 
“A white substance in powder or pulverulent masses, wholly dissolved by 
dilute sulphuric acid, forming a solution which does not afford a precipitate 
with oxalate of ammonia. Distilled water which has been boiled with it does 
not change the colour of turmeric, and yields no precipitate with chloride of 
barium or nitrate of silver.” U. S. 
Magnesia alba, Lat.; Carbonate de magnesie, Fr.; Koklensaure Magnesia, Germ.; Car- 
bonato di magnesia, Ital.; Carbonato de magnesia, Span. 
Carbonate of magnesia sometimes though rarely occurs as a native mineral. 
That which is sold in the shops is prepared on a large scale by the manufac- 
turer ; and the article is, therefore, very properly placed in the list of Materia 
Medica of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. In the British Pharmacopoeia directions 
are given for preparing it in two forms; that of Magnesite Carbonas, or Car- 
bonate of Magnesia; and that of Magnesite Carbonas Levis, or Light Car- 
bonate of Magnesia. The following are the directions. 
1. Magnesite Carbonas. Carbonate of Magnesia. Br. “ Take of Sulphate of 
Magnesia ten ounces (avoirdupois); Carbonate of Soda twelve ounces (avoird.); 
Boiling Distilled Water a sufficiency. Dissolve the Sulphate of Magnesia and 
Carbonate of Soda, each, in a pint [Imp. Meas.] of the Water, mix the two so- 
lutions, and evaporate the whole to perfect dryness, by means of a sand-bath. 
Digest the residue for half an hour with two pints [Imp. Meas.] of the Water, 
and, having collected the insoluble matter on a calico filter, wash it repeatedly 
with Distilled Water, until the washings cease to give a precipitate with chloride 
of barium. Finally, dry the product at a temperature not exceeding 212°.” Br. 
This is essentially the old process of the Dublin College for Magnesre Car- 
bonas Ponderosum, or Heavy Carbonate of Magnesia, and yields a product 
which is characterized, in the British Pharmacopoeia, as “a white granular pow- 
der, which dissolves with effervescence in the dilute mineral acids, yielding solu- 
tions which, when first treated with hydrochlorate of ammonia, are not disturbed 
by the addition of an excess of solution of ammonia, but yield a copious crystal- 
line precipitate upon the addition of phosphate of soda. With excess of hydro- 
chloric acid it forms a clear solution, in which chloride of barium causes no pre- 
, cipitate. Another portion of the solution, supersaturated with ammonia, gives 
no precipitate with oxalic acid. Fifty grains, calcined at a r$d heat, are reduced 
to twenty-two.” 
2. Magnesite Carbonas Levis. Light Carbonate of Magnesia. Br. The same 
quantity of materials are taken as in the preceding formula, the Distilled Water 
being now cold instead of boiling. The two salts are dissolved separately, each in 
half a gallon (Imp. Meas.) of the Water, the solutions are mixed, and the mixture 
is boiled in a porcelain dish for fifteen minutes. The precipitate is then washed 
and dried as in the former process. The resulting carbonate is characterized, in 
the Br. Pharmacopoeia, as “a very light powder, which, when examined under 
the microscope, is found to be partly amorphous with numerous slender prisms 524 
Magnesix Carbonas. 
PART I. 
intermixed. The other characters are the same as those of carbonate of mag- 
nesia.” 
Carbonate of potassa is less eligible than carbonate of soda for the prepara- 
tion of carbonate of magnesia. It is difficult to separate the last portions of sul- 
phate of potassa from the precipitate, and carbonate of potassa usually contains 
silica, which is thrown down with the magnesia. The consequence is that, when 
prepared with, that salt, carbonate of magnesia is liable to be gritty to the touch, 
and to have a saline taste. The following method is said to be pursued by some 
of the best manufacturers. To a saturated solution of 100 parts of sulphate of 
magnesia, a solution of 125 parts of crystallized carbonate of soda is gradually 
added, the solutions being constantly stirred. The mixture is heated to ebulli- 
tion, to complete the precipitation of the magnesia, which is then washed with 
tepid and finally with cold water, until the washings no longer give a precipitate 
with barytic salts. When sufficiently washed, the carbonate is allowed to drain 
for one or two days on large linen filters, and is then placed in wooden moulds 
with a porous bottom of brick or gypsum, and subjected to pressure in order to 
give it a square and compact form. 
The density of carbonate of magnesia is said to depend upon the strength of 
the solutions from which it is first precipitated, and its fineness and softness to 
the touch, upon the use of carbonate of soda in its preparation. 
Much of the carbonate of magnesia used in this country is imported from Scot- 
land. In New England it is prepared from the bittern of salt-works, which con- 
sists chiefly of sulphate of magnesia and chloride of magnesium ; and it is manu- 
factured in Baltimore from the sulphate of magnesia prepared in that city. The 
Scotch magnesia is generally put up in cases of 120 lbs. each, the American, in 
boxes containing 50 lbs.* 
When made from the bittern of salt-works, carbonate of magnesia is contami- 
nated with carbonate of lime, salts of that earth being contained in sea-water; 
and, wrhen it is prepared from magnesite, or from magnesian schist, iron is almost 
always present. The only way in which these impurities can be avoided, is to 
prepare pure sulphate of magnesia by repeated crystallization, and to use a pure 
carbonate of soda. It is also necessary that the water with which the precipi- 
tate is washed should be free from earthy salts, which would be decomposed and 
contaminate the magnesia. 
Properties. Carbonate of magnesia is inodorous, nearly insipid, perfectly 
white, smooth to the touch, and nearly insoluble in water, requiring 2493 parts 
of cold, and 9000 parts of hot water for solution. It is decomposed by strong 
heat, by all the acids, by potassa, soda, lime, baryta, and strontia, and by acidu- 
lous and metallic salts. 
Two kinds of carbonate of magnesia are distinguished, the light and the heavy. 
The light carbonate is the kind manufactured in Scotland. The British process 
for the heavy has been already given. It may also, according to Dr. Pereira, be 
prepared as follows. “Add one volume of a cold saturated solution of carbonate 
of soda to a boiling mixture of one volume of a saturated solution of sulphate of 
magnesia, and three volumes of water. Boil until effervescence has ceased, con- 
stantly stirring witjji a spatula. Then dilute with boiling water, set aside, pour 
off the supernatant liquor, and wash the precipitate with hot water on a linen 
cloth : afterwards dry it by heat in an iron pot.” Dr. Pereira states that the light 
carbonate, when examined with the microscope, is seen to consist of an amor- 
phous powder, more or less intermingled with slender prismatic crystals, which 
* Carbonate of magnesia is now largely prepared in Great Britain by submitting cal- 
cined magnesian limestone to the action of water and carbonic acid under pressure. Tha 
magnesia is dissolved in the state of bicarbonate, and heat is applied to the solution, so as 
to drive otf a portion of the carbonic acid, and to cause thereby a precipitation of the in- 
eoluble carbonate. (Chern. News, Sept. 12, 18G3, p. 128.)—Note to the twelfth edition. W. part I. 
Magnesise Carbonas. 
525 
appear as if they were eroded or efflorescent; the heavy carbonate consists of 
granules of various sizes, without any traces of the prismatic crystals observed 
in the former variety. 
A solution in carbonic acid water, prepared by passing carbonic acid gas into 
a reservoir containing carbonate of magnesia suspended in water, has been in- 
troduced into use as a cathartic and antacid. Dinneford's magnesia is a solu- 
tion of this nature. According to Dr. Christison, it contains only nine grains of 
carbonate in the fluidounce, though alleged to contain twice that quantity. Its 
taste is more disagreeable than that of the undissolved carbonate. 
Adulterations and Tests. Carbonate of magnesia may contain an alkaline car- 
bonate or sulphate, or both, from insufficient washing; also chloride of sodium, 
alumina, and carbonate of lime. If water boiled on it changes turmeric, an alka- 
line carbonate is indicated. If chloride of barium produces a precipitate in the 
water, the presence of a sulphate or carbonate is shown; and if nitrate of silver 
produces the same effect, a chloride is indicated. When dissolved in an excess 
of muriatic acid, an excess of ammonia will throw down alumina, which is almost 
always present in minute quantity; and oxalate of ammonia, afterwards added 
to the filtered muriatic solution, will throw down oxalate of lime, if that earth 
be present. If the same solution, nearly neutralized, be rendered blue by ferro- 
cyanide of potassium, the presence of iron will be indicated. 
Composition. According to Berzelius, carbonate of magnesia of the shops 
{magnesia alba) is a combination of three eqs. of carbonate of magnesia with 
one of hydrate of magnesia. Each eq. of carbonate contains an eq. of water, and 
the composition of the salt may be thus stated:—three eqs. of carbonate (acid 
66, magnesia 60, water 27) = 153-|-one eq. of hydrate (magnesia 20, water 9) 
= 29= 182. This theoretic composition agrees nearly with the analysis of Ber- 
zelius, who fixes it at 4475 magnesia, 35-77 acid, and 19"48 water. According 
to Phillips, whose analysis agrees with a subsequent one by Fownes, four eqs. 
of the carbonate are combined with one of the bihydrate, and four of water. 
(Pharm. Journ., iii. 480.) The formula given by the British Pharmacopoeia is 
3(Mg0,C02+II0) + Mg0,2H0; in other words, a combination of 3 eqs. of hy- 
drated carbonate of magnesia and one of the bihydrate of magnesia. The com- 
position of this salt varies with the mode of preparation. Thus Bucholz, by de- 
composing sulphate of magnesia with 170 per cent, of carbonate of soda, and 
using only cold water throughout, obtained a very light, spongy, somewhat cohe- 
rent carbonate of magnesia, containing 32 acid, 33 base, and 35 water. By using 
120 per cent, of the carbonate, and boiling for fifteen minutes, he obtained a 
heavy, granular precipitate, containing 35 acid, 42 base, and 23 water. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Carbonate of magnesia is antacid, and, by 
combining with acid in the stomach, becomes generally cathartic. When it 
undergoes no change in the alimentary canal, it produces no purgative effect 
Under these circumstances, it may usually be made to operate by following it 
with draughts of lemonade. It is useful in all cases which require a laxative 
antacid; and, though apt to produce flatulence in consequence of the extrication 
of its carbonic acid in the stomach and bowels, and therefore in ordinary cases 
inferior to calcined magnesia, it sometimes operates favourably, in consequence 
of this very property, in sick stomach attended with acidity. Carbonate of mag- 
nesia is also an excellent antilithic when uric acid is secreted in excess. The dose 
is from half a drachm to two drachms, which may be given in water or milk. In 
order that it may be accurately diffused through water, it should be previously 
rubbed down with syrup or ginger syrup.* 
* Dalby's carminative consists of carbonate of magnesia Qij, oil of peppermint Tl|_j> oil of 
nutmeg oil of aniseed 7T|iij, tincture of castor yfyxxx, tincture of assafetida tfyxv, 
tincture of opium spirit of pennyroyal lT[xv, compound tincture of cardamom tfyxxx, 
peppermint water f^ij Magnesise Sulphas. 
PART I. 
Carbonate of magnesia is a useful agent for diffusing camphor and the vola- 
tile oils through water, in preparing several of the medicated waters. 
Off. Prep. Magnesia. D. B. S. 
JVIAGNESLE SULPHAS. U.S.,Br. 
Sulphate of Magnesia. 
“ In colourless crystals, which slowly effloresce on exposure to the air, and 
are very soluble in water. The solution is not coloured nor precipitated by fer- 
rocyanide of potassium, and gives off no muriatic acid upon the addition of sul- 
phuric acid. One hundred grains of the salt, dissolved in water, and mixed with 
sufficient boiling solution of carbonate of soda to decompose it completely, 
yield a precipitate of carbonate of magnesia, which, when washed and dried, 
weighs thirty-four grains.” U. S. 
Epsom salt ; Sulfate de magn6sie, Fr.; Schwefelsaure Magnesia, Germ.; Solfato di mag- 
nesia, Ital.; Sulfato de magnesia, Span. 
Sulphate of magnesia is a constituent of sea-water, and of some saline springs. 
It also occurs native, either crystallized in slender, prismatic, adhering crystals, 
or as an efflorescence on certain rocks and soils, which contain magnesia and a 
sulphate or sulphuret. In the United States it is found in the great caves, so 
numerous to the west of the Alleghany mountains. In one of these caves, near 
Corydon in Indiana, it formed a stratum on the bottom several inches deep; or 
appeared in masses sometimes weighing ten pounds, or disseminated in the earth 
of the cavern, one bushel of which yielded from four to twenty-five pounds of the 
sulphate.. It also appeared on the walls of the cavern, and, if it was removed, 
acicular crystals again appeared in a few weeks. (Cleaveland.) 
Sulphate of magnesia was originally procured by evaporating the waters of 
saline springs at Epsom in England. Dr. Grew prepared it in this manner in 
1615. It was afterwards discovered that the brine, remaining after the crystal- 
lization of common salt from sea-water, furnished by careful evaporation pre- 
cisely the same salt; and, as this was a much cheaper product, it superseded 
the former. The residual brine or bittern consists of sulphate of magnesia, and 
the chlorides of magnesium and calcium. As the sulphate of magnesia crystal- 
lizes first, it may with proper care be obtained nearly pure, although most fre- 
quently the salt prepared in this way is deliquescent from the presence of chloride 
of magnesium. It may be freed from this impurity by washing the crystals with 
its own saturated solution. It was from this source that the greater part of the 
Epsom salt of commerce was long obtained in Europe. The salt works of New 
England supplied our own markets with an impure and deliquescent sulphate. 
With the improvements of chemistry, other and better processes have been 
adopted. In the neighbourhood of Genoa and Nice, sulphate of magnesia is 
prepared in large quantities from a schistose rock, containing magnesia and' 
sulphuret of iron. The mineral is roasted, and exposed in heaps for some 
months to the action of air and water. It is then lixiviated, the sulphate of iron 
decomposed by lime-water, and the salt obtained pure by repeated solution and 
crystallization. 
William Henry, of Manchester, whose calcined magnesia has become famous 
throughout the world, took out a patent for a mode of preparing magnesia and 
its salts from the double carbonate of magnesia and lime — the dolomite of 
mineralogists. His process was to drive off the carbonic acid by heat, and to 
convert the remaining earths into hydrates. He treated these with a sufficient 
quantity of muriatic acid to dissolve out the lime, and then converted the mag- 
nesia into a sulphate either by sulphuric acid or sulphate of iron. 
The. salt is extensively 'manufactured in Baltimore and Philadelphia from the PART I. 
Magnesite Sulphas. 
527 
siliceous hydrate of magnesia, or magnesite. This mineral occurs in veins in the 
serpentine and other magnesian rocks which abound in the neighbourhood of 
Baltimore, and in the southern counties of Pennsylvania. The advantage which 
it possesses over the dolomite, in the preparation of this salt, is the almost entire 
absence of lime, owing to which there is little or no waste of acid, and the ope- 
ration is much simplified. The mineral is reduced to a fine powder and satu- 
rated with sulphuric acid. The mass is then dried and calcined at a red heat, 
in order to convert the sulphate of iron, which may be present, into red oxide. 
It is then dissolved in water, and sulphuret of lime added to separate any re- 
maining portion of iron. The salt is crystallized and dissolved a third time, in 
order to purify it. The sulphate prepared by this process is generally very pure 
and clean, although it sometimes contains sulphate of iron. 
Properties, &c. Sulphate of magnesia is a colourless transparent salt, with- 
out smell, and of a bitter, nauseous, saline taste. It crystallizes in quadrangular 
prisms, terminating in a four-sided pyramid or in a dihedral summit. It usually 
occurs in small acicular crystals, which are produced by agitating the solution 
while crystallizing. It slowly effloresces in the air. At 32° F. 100 parts of 
water dissolve 25-76 parts of the anhydrous salt, and, for every increased degree, 
0 8591 parts additional are taken up. The crystals contain 51’22 per cent, of 
water of crystallization, and dissolve in their own wreight of water at 60°, and 
in three-fourths of their weight at 212°. They melt in their water of crystalli- 
zation, and at a high temperature fuse into an enamel. (Berzelius.) The salt 
consists of one eq. of acid 40, one of base 20, and seven of water 63=123. 
Sulphate of magnesia is completely decomposed by potassa, soda, and their 
carbonates; by lime, baryta, and strontia, and their soluble salts. Ammonia 
partially decomposes it, and forms with the remainder a double sulphate. The 
bicarbonates of potassa and soda do not decompose it, except by the aid of heat. 
“It gives copious white precipitates with chloride of barium, and with a mixed 
solution of ammonia, hydrochlorate of ammonia, and phosphate of soda.” Br.. 
Sulphate of magnesia is liable to contain iron and chloride of magnesium, the 
former of which may be detected by ferrocyanide of potassium, and the latter 
by its rendering the salt moist. If the addition of sulphuric acid produce no 
extrication of muriatic acid gas, the fact will prove the absence of chlorides. 
An aqueous solution of 100 grains of the salt should yield, when completely de- 
composed by a boiling solution of carbonate of soda, 34 grains of dry carbonate 
of magnesia, and, according to the British Pharmacopoeia, 16*26 grains of the 
carbonate after having been heated to redness. If the dry precipitate is less, the 
specimen tested is not all sulphate of magnesia, and probably contains sulphate 
of soda. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Sulphate of magnesia is a mild and safe 
cathartic, operating with little pain or nausea, and producing watery stools. It 
is more acceptable to the stomach than most medicines of its class, and will 
often be retained when others are rejected. Like many of the other neutral salts 
it is refrigerant, and may be made to act as a diuretic by keeping the skin cool, 
and walking about after it has been taken. It is well adapted to the treatment 
of fevers and inflammatory affections, especially after a previous thorough evacu- 
ation of the bowels by a more energetic cathartic. It is also useful in colic and 
obstinate constipation, and may be employed in most cases which require the 
use of a cathartic, without being attended with debility or relaxation of the 
stomach and bowels; The medium dose is an ounce; but advantage often re- 
sults from its administration in divided doses, frequently repeated. It is often 
given in combination with other medicines, especially with senna, the griping 
effect of which it tends to obviate. The most agreeable form for administering 
the salt, and that in which it usually agrees best with the stomach, is a solution 
in carbonic acid water with lemon syrup. By Dr. Henry, of Dublin, it is highly 528 
Magnolia. 
PART L 
recommended in connection with sulphuric acid. To seven ounces of a saturated 
aqueous solution of the salt he adds an ounce of the diluted sulphuric acid of 
the Pharmacopoeias, and gives a tablespoonful of the mixture for a dose, in a 
wineglassful of water.* 
Off. Prep. Enema Magnesia? Sulphatis, Br.; Magnesia? Carbonas, Br.; Mag- 
nesioe Carbonas Levis, Br. D. B. S. 
MAGNOLIA. U. S. Secondary. 
Magnolia. 
The bark of Magnolia glauca, M. acuminata, and M. tripetala. U. S. 
Magnolia. Sex. Syst. Polyandria Polygynia.— Nat.Ord. Magnoliacese. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx three-leaved. Petals six or more. Capsules two-valved, one- 
seeded, imbricated in a cone. Seeds berried, pendulous. Bigelow. 
The medicinal properties of the Magnolia are common to most, if not all of 
the species composing this splendid genus. Among the numerous trees which 
adorn the American landscape, these are most conspicuous for the richness of 
their foliage, and the magnificence as well as delicious odour of their flowers; 
and M. grandijlora of the Southern States rivals in magnitude the largest 
inhabitants of our forests. The Pharmacopoeia designates M. glauca, M. acu- 
minata, and M. tripetala, each of which we shall briefly describe. 
1. Magnolia glauca. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1266; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. ii. 
fit; Barton, Med. Bot. i. t7; Michaux, N. Am. Sylv. ii. 8. This species of 
Magnolia, which in the Northern States is often nothing more than a shrub, 
sometimes attains in the South the height of forty feet. The leaves are scat- 
tered, petiolate, oval, obtuse, entire, glabrous, thick, opaque, yellowish-green on 
their upper surface, and of a beautiful pale glaucous colour beneath. The flowers 
are large, terminal, solitary, cream-coloured, strongly and gratefully odorous, 
often scenting the air to a considerable distance. The calyx is composed of 
three leavefc; the petals, from eight to fourteen in number, are obovate, obtuse, 
concave, and contracted at the base; the stamens are very numerous, and in- 
serted on a conical receptacle; the germs are collected into a cone, and each is 
surmounted by a linear recurved style. The fruit is conical, about an inch in 
length, consisting of numerous imbricated cells, each containing a single scarlet 
seed. This escapes through a longitudinal opening in the cell, but remains for 
some time suspended from the cone by a slender thread. 
M. glauca extends along the seaboard of the United States, from Cape Ann, 
in Massachusetts, to the shores of the Gulf of Mexico. It is abundant in the 
Middle and Southern States, usually growing in swamps; but is seldom met 
with in the interior, wTest of the mountains. It begins to flower in May, June, or 
July, according to the latitude. It is known by the name of magnolia simply 
in the Northern and Middle States, by that of white bay or sweet bay in the 
South, and is occasionally called sicamp sassafras, beaver tree, &c. 
2. M. acuminata. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1257; Michaux, N. Am. Sylv. ii. 12. 
This species is much larger than the preceding, often growing to the height of 
seventy or eighty feet. The leaves are six or seven inches long, by three or four 
in breadth, oval, acuminate, and pubescent on their under surface. The flowers 
are five or six inches in diameter, bluish or cream-coloured, slightly odorous, 
with obovate rather obtuse petals from six to nine in number. Mingled with 
the splendid foliage, they give a magnificent aspect to the tree wrhen large and 
* It is said that a solution of an ounce of the salt in about a pint of water, boiled for three 
minutes with a grain and a half of tannic acid, or with two or three drachms of roasted 
coffee, is entirely deprived of bitterness. The liquid prepared with coffee should be 
strained, and may be sweetened with sugar. (Combes, Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., xii. 110.) PART I. 
Magnolia.—Manganesii Oxidum Nigrum. 
529 
in full bloom. The tree grows in the interior mountainous regions of the United 
States, extending along the Alleghanies from the State of New York to their 
termination in Georgia, and seldom existing in the low country far either to the 
east or west of that range. It is called cucumber tree, from the resemblance of 
its fruit in shape and size to the common cucumber. 
3. M. tripetala. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1258; Michaux, N. Am. Sylv. ii. 18 
This is a small tree, sometimes though rarely reaching an elevation of thirty 
feet, and almost always having an inclined trunk. It is remarkable for the size 
of its leaves and flowers. The former are eighteen or twenty inches long by 
seven or eight in breadth, thin, obovate, somewhat wedge-shaped, entire, acute 
at both extremities, pubescent when young, and often disposed in rays at the 
extremity of the shoots, displaying a surface thirty inches in diameter. Hence 
has arisen the name of umbrella tree, by which this species is distinguished. 
The flowers are terminal, seven or eight inches in diameter, white, with from five 
to twelve oval acute petals, of which the three outer are reflexed. This species 
extends from the northern parts of New York to the southern limits of the United 
States. It is found only in shady situations, with a strong, deep, and fertile soil. 
The leaves of this species recommended by Dr. J. S. Wilson, of Ala- 
bama, as a dressing for blisters. He scalds them previously to their application, 
but presumes that they would answer as well in their natural state. (South. Med. 
and Surg. Journ., July, 1854.) 
The bark and fruit of all the species of Magnolia are possessed of similar 
medicinal properties; but the bark only is officinal, and that of the root is 
thought to be most efficient. It has an aromatic odour, and a bitter, pungent, 
spicy taste. The aromatic property, which resides in a volatile principle, is 
diminished by desiccation, and entirely lost when the bark is long kept. The 
bitterness, however, remains. The bark is destitute of astringency. The bark 
of Magnolia grandifiora, examined by Dr. Stephen Procter, was found to contain 
volatile oil, resin, and a principle analogous to the liriodendrin of Professor 
Emmet. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xiv. 95.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Magnolia is a gently stimulant aromatic tonic 
and diaphoretic, useful in chronic rheumatism, and capable, if freely given, of 
arresting the paroxysms of intermittent fever. It has been used advantageously 
in these complaints, and in remittents, especially of a typhoid character. The 
dose of the recently dried bark in powder is from half a drachm to a drachm, 
frequently repeated. The infusion may also be used, but is less efficient. 
Diluted alcohol extracts all the virtues of the medicine; and a tincture, made 
by macerating the fresh bark or fruit in brandy, is a popular remedy in chronic 
rheumatism. W. 
MANGANESII OXIDUM NIGRUM. U.S. 
Black Oxide of Manganese. 
Native impure deutoxide of manganese in powder, containing at least 66 per 
cent, of the pure deutoxide. U. S. 
In the British Pharmacopoeia, this is placed in the Appendix, as one of the 
substances employed in preparing medicines. It is defined as binoxide of man- 
ganese, Mn02. 
Manganese, Peroxide of manganese, Deutoxide of manganese, Black oxide of manga- 
nese, Pyrolusite; Oxide noir de manganese, Fr.; Braunstein, Germ.; Manganese, Ital., 
Span. 
The officinal oxide of manganese is the deutoxide or binoxide of a peculiar metal 
properly called manganese; though this name is commonly applied to the oxide 
itself. Metallic manganese was discovered by Scheele and Gahn in 1T74, and is 
a A 530 
Manganesii Oxidum Nigrum. 
PART I. 
obtained from the native black oxide by intense ignition with charcoal. As ob- 
tained by 0. Brunner, by decomposing the fluoride by sodium, manganese is 
brittle, grayish-white, and very hard, being capable of cutting glass, and scratch- 
ing the best tempered steel. It is susceptible of the most perfect polish, and 
is not altered, even in moist air, at the ordinary temperature. Its sp. gr. 
varies from 7 '1 to 7-2. (Ghem. Gaz., May 1,1857.) Deville suspects that Brun- 
ner’s manganese contains a little carbon. This chemist obtained the metal by 
heating the black oxide in excess with charcoal, in a lime crucible. The metal, 
thus obtained, is more refractory than iron; while that procured by Brunner 
fused at the same heat as white cast iron. {Ibid., June 1, 1857.) The eq. num- 
ber of manganese is 27-7. With oxygen it forms five compounds, three regular 
oxides and two acids. The protoxide is of a light-green colour, and is the oxide 
present in the salts of manganese. The sesquioxide is black or dark-brown, and 
the deutoxide black. The two acids are formed by the action of potassa on the 
deutoxide, and are called manganic and liypermanganic acids. Assuming one 
eq. of manganese in each of these compounds, the protoxide contains one, the 
sesquioxide one and a half, the deutoxide two, manganic acid three, and hyper- 
manganic acid three and a half equivalents of oxygen. Besides these, there exist 
a double oxide, of a brownish-red colour, called red oxide, consisting of one eq. 
of protoxide and one of sesquioxide, and invariably formed when any one of the 
other oxides of manganese is exposed to a white heat; and a native oxide, called 
Varvicite, composed of two eqs. of deutoxide and one of sesquioxide. Metallic 
manganese is an occasional constituent of organic matter. It has been detected 
in minute quantity in bone, hair, brain, epidermis, gastric juice, bile, urine, and 
pus, and has been found by Millon and others in the blood. M. Glenard, of 
Lyons, denies that it is a normal constituent of the blood, although sometimes 
present; but the evidence of numerous experimenters shows that it generally 
exists in that fluid; and, when not detected, it may be because the quantity 
present is too minute for discovery. According to Mr. E. Davy, caustic potassa, 
dissolved in an equal weight of water, forms a delicate test for manganese, not 
obscured by the presence of other metals. The smallest portion of matter, sus- 
pected to contain the metal, being finely pulverized or in solution, is placed 
upon a slip of silver foil, and a drop of the test added. Upon evaporating to 
dryness with a spirit-lamp, and raising the heat, the characteristic green manga- 
nate of potassa will appear on the foil. {Ghem. Gaz., March 15,1854.) Manga- 
nese is a constituent of all arable land, and is found in the ashes of most of the 
vegetables which form the food of man and the inferior animals. In the mineral 
kingdom, it occurs sometimes as a sulphuret, rarely as a phosphate, but very 
abundantly as the black or deutoxide, called pyrolusite. It is the latter mineral 
which constitutes the officinal oxide. 
Properties. Deutoxide of manganese, as it occurs in nature, is very diversified 
in its appearance. Its sp. gr. varies from 4-7 to 4-9. It is found sometimes in 
brilliant needle-shaped crystals, often in compact masses having the metallic 
lustre, but far more frequently in the form of a dull earthy-looking substance, 
of a black or brown colour. It is purest when crystallized. As it occurs in com- 
merce it is usually in the form of a black powder, insoluble in water, and con- 
taining more or less oxidized iron, carbonate of lime, sulphate of baryta, and 
earthy matter. Iron, which is rarely absent, is detected by the production of a 
greenish or blue tint on the addition of ferrocyanuret of potassium to its muriatic 
solution. When exposed to a red heat it yields half an equivalent of oxygen, 
and is reduced to the state of sesquioxide. Hence its use in obtaining that gas. 
Good samples, after being dried, lose, when heated to whiteness, 12 per cent, of 
oxygen. It is distinguished from sulphuret of antimony by its infusibility, and 
by causing the evolution of chlorine on being heated with muriatic acid When 
of a brown colour, it is not of good quality. PART I. 
Manganesii Oxidum Nigrum.—Manganesii Sulphas. 
But few mines of deutoxide of manganese exist; though the metal itself is 
very generally diffused throughout the mineral kingdom. It occurs most abund- 
antly in Bohemia, Saxony, the Hartz, France, and Great Britain. In the United 
States no mines have been opened, except in Vermont, from which State an in- 
ferior brown ferruginous manganese is supplied through Boston. Besides this 
source, the mineral is received from Nova Scotia, France, Germany, England, 
and occasionally Scotland. It comes packed in casks or barrels, generally in 
lumps and coarse powder, just as it is dug out of the mines; though occasion- 
ally it is received from England ready pulverized. It is a good rule to buy it 
unpowdered ; as its quality can be better judged of in that state. A dark shining 
crystalline appearance may be taken as an indication of good quality. The 
Nova Scotia manganese is better than the Vermont; but that from Germany, 
England, and Scotland is the best, and commands the highest price. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Deutoxide of manganese is deemed tonic and 
alterative. When slowly introduced into the system, as happens to those en- 
gaged in grinding the mineral, it acts, according to Dr. Coupar, of Glasgow, as 
a cumulative poison, inducing a disease which begins with a staggering gait, 
and ends in paraplegia. It has been used in syphilis, chlorosis, scurvy, and 
various skin diseases, especially itch and porrigo. The dose is from three to 
twenty grains, three times a day, given in the form of pill. For external use, an 
ointment may be made of one or two drachms of the oxide to an ounce of lard. 
The sulphate is officinal. For a notice of some other compounds of manganese 
which have been tried as medicines, see Part Third. 
This oxide is used in the arts for obtaining chlorine in the manufacture of 
bleaching powder, for giving a black glazing to pottery, and for freeing glass 
from the colour which it derives from iron. In the laboratory, it is employed to 
obtain oxygen and chlorine, and to form the salts of manganese. In pharmacy 
it is used for liberating chlorine from muriatic acid and from common salt, and 
iodine from iodide of sodium, contained in kelp. 
Pharm. Uses. In preparing Aqua Chlorinii, U. S.; Hydrargyri Chloridum or 
Hydrargyrum Corrosivum Sublimatum, Br.; Liquor Chlori, Br.; Liquor Sod® 
Chlorat®, Br.; Potassae Chloras, Br. 
Off. Prep. Potass® Permanganas, Br. B. 
MANGANESII SULPHAS. U.S. 
Sulphate of Manganese. 
This salt was first made officinal in the present edition of the U. S. Pharma- 
copoeia, in which it has a place in the Materia Medica list. It may be prepared 
by heating the native black oxide with concentrated sulphuric acid. Oxygen is 
evolved, and the sulphate of the protoxide is formed. The product, when ex- 
hausted by water, furnishes a solution which must be heated to nearly the boil- 
ing point, and treated with carbonate of manganese, added by small portions at 
a time, which will precipitate any iron present, and change the colour of the 
liquid from a dark-red to a pale-rose tint. The liquid is then filtered, evapo- 
rated to the consistence of a thin syrup, and set aside to crystallize. 
Properties. Sulphate of manganese consists of one eq. of protoxide of manga- 
nese and one of sulphuric acid (MnO,SOs). From its aqueous solution it crys- 
tallizes in rhombic prisms, which contain variable proportions of water of crys- 
tallization according to the temperature of the solution and other circumstances. 
Obtained by evaporation at a gentle heat, they contain four eqs. of water; be- 
tween 45° and 68°, five eqs.; under 42°, seven eqs.; and a concentrated solution, 
mixed with sulphuric acid, and evaporated, yields granular crystals with one eq 
Heated to 240°, the crystals lose three eqs. of water, and at a red heat become 532 
Manganesii Sulphas.—Manna, 
PART I. 
anhydrous. (Brande and Taylor.) The crystals usually have a pale-rose or pink 
colour. The salt has an astringent and bitterish taste. It is very soluble in 
water; but its solubility varies with its water of crystallization. When anhy- 
drous it is dissolved by two parts of water at 60°, and in its own weight at 212°. 
It is insoluble in alcohol. If carelessly prepared, it is apt to contain copper and 
arsenic, as well as iron. As it is the source of nearly all the preparations of man- 
ganese, it is of importance that it should be pure. Hence, the sulphate, as first 
obtained, should be calcined at a low red heat at least twice, to render the con- 
taminating metals insoluble, and then tested in solution, to be sure of its purity. 
According to M. A. Gorgeu, copper and iron, as well as nickel and cobalt, are 
completely precipitated by sulphuret of manganese. In applying this reagent, 
the impure solution is shaken for about a quarter of an hour with the sulphuret, 
and then boiled for a few minutes. (Chem. Gaz., July 1, 1853, p. 249.) In the 
description of it in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, the salt is stated not to be precipi- 
tated by tincture of nutgall, to give with alkalies a white precipitate soon be- 
coming brown on exposure, and to throw down a flesh-coloured precipitate with 
hydrosulphate of ammonia, and a white one with ferrocyanide of potassium. 
Medical Properties and Uses. C. G. Gmelin found sulphate of manganese to 
produce an extraordinary secretion of bile when given to the inferior animals, 
and its effects as a cholagogue have been observed in man. According to the 
late Dr. Thomas Thomson, of Glasgow, it resembles sulphate of soda both in 
taste and effect, operating as a purgative in the dose of one or two drachms. 
From the circumstance that manganese had been found in small proportion in 
the blood, it was conjectured that this metal, like iron, might play an important 
part in the human economy; and trial was made of its various preparations in 
debilitated states of the system, and especially in anaemia, in which the hope was 
entertained that it might prove a useful adjuvant of the chalybeates as a recon- 
structive agent. When given with iron, its use was certainly in many instances 
followed by the most satisfactory results; but it may be questioned whether the 
beneficial effects were in any respect greater than those which the iron would 
have produced without such an auxiliary; and, where manganese has been used 
alone in anemic cases, it has generally failed. Dr. Garrod, of London, has re- 
cently reported the result of some trials made with it, in one of the hospitals of 
that city, in cases of anaemia, the inference from which is altogether unfavour- 
able to manganese as a remedy in that disease. {Med. Times and Gaz., Feb. 
1863, p. 222.) The dose of sulphate of manganese as a tonic is from five to 
twenty grains. B. 
MANNA. U. S.j Br. 
Manna. 
The concrete juice, in flakes, of Fraxinus Ornus, and of Fraxinus rotundifolia. 
U. S. A concrete exudation from the stem, obtained by incisions. Br. 
Manne, Fr.; Manna, Germ., Ital.; Mana, Span. 
Manna is not the product of one plant exclusively. Besides Ornus Europsea 
indicated by the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, it is said to be obtained also from several 
other trees, belonging to the genera Ornus and Fraxinus, among which 0. ro- 
tundifolia, F. excelsior, and F.parvijlora have been particularly designated. 
Many saccharine substances, generally exudations from plants, have, from their 
resemblance to this substance, obtained the name of manna, and attracted more 
or less attention from writers. They are described in a note.* 
* False Mannas. Burkliardt states that a species of manna, which exudes from the tama- 
risk of the north of Africa (Tamarix Gallica, Ehrenberg), is used by the Bedouin Arabs near 
Mount Sinai with their food. This substance, however, according to MitscherflcU, con- 
tains no mannite, but consists wholly of mucilaginous sugar. M. Berthelot found a sample 
of manna from Sinai to consist of 55 per cent, of cane sugar, 25 of levulote and glucose, PART I. 
Manna. 
533 
Ornus. Sex. Syst. Diandria Monogynia.— Nat.Ord. Oleaceas. 
Gen.Ch. Calyx very small, four-cleft. Corolla divided to the base into linear 
segments. Pericarp a winged key not dehiscing. Lindley. 
This genus was separated by Persoon from the Fraxinus of Linnasus. 
Ornus Europaea. Persoon, Sytiops. i. 9; Lindley, Flor. Med. 547 ; Carson. 
Illust. of Med. Bot. ii. 8, pi. 61. —Fraxinus Ornus. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 1104 . 
Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 589, t. 209. The flowering ash* is a tree of moderate 
height, usually from twenty to twenty-five feet, very branching, with opposite, 
petiolate, pinnate leaves, composed of three or four pairs of leaflets, and an odd 
one at the end. The leaflets are oval, acuminate, obtusely serrate, about an inch 
and a half in length, smooth, of a bright-green colour, and supported on short 
footstalks. The flowers are white, and usually expand with the leaves. They 
grow in close panicles at the extremity of the young branches, and have a very 
short calyx with four teeth, and four linear-lanceolate petals. 
Both this species of Ornus and 0. rotundifolia are natives of Sicily, Calabria, 
and Apulia ;• and both contribute to supply the manna of commerce. The former 
is cultivated in Sicily, yields manna after the eighth year, and continues to yield 
it for ten or twelve years, when it is usually cut down, and young sprouts allowed 
to grow up from the root. (Stettner, Archie, der Pharm., liii. 194.) During the 
hot months the juice exudes spontaneously from the bark, and concretes upon its 
surface; but, as the exudation is slow, it is customary to facilitate the process by 
making deep longitudinal incisions on one side of the trunk. In the following 
season these are repeated on the other side, and thus alternately for the whole 
period during which the trees yield manna, extending sometimes, it is said, to 
thirty or even forty years. Straw or chips are frequently placed so as to receive 
the juice, which concretes upon them. The manna varies in its character accord- 
and 20 of dextrin and analogous substances. (Annates de Chim. et Pliys., lxvii. 82.) The 
same chemist obtained from Turkish manna a new variety of sugar, which he named tre- 
halose. [Gaz. Med. de Paris, A. D. 1857, No. 49.) The manna used in India is said to be the 
product of Hedysarum Alhagi of Linn., Alhagi Maurorum of De Candolle, a thorny shrub 
which grows abundantly in the deserts of Persia and Arabia. It is much inferior to that 
obtained from the Ornus. A substance closely resembling manna is procured by exudation 
from Eucalyptus mannifera, growing in New South Wales. It contains a saccharine matter 
called melitose, different from mannite, and from all the varieties of sugar in properties, 
though isomeric with glucose. It is susceptible of the vinous fermentation. (See Am. Journ. 
of Pharm., xxviii. 157.) Another manna found in New Holland is produced upon the leaves 
of Eucalyptus dumosa, when very small, and sometimes appears spread over large extents 
of country like a kind of snow. The natives use it for food. It is a complex body, contain- 
ing sugar, gum, starch, inulin, and lignin. [Journ. de Chim. et de Pharm., xvi. 240.) It is 
said to be a secretion from an insect, formed into minute cells, each of which is the abode 
of one of the insects. It is called lerp by the natives. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., Nov. 1862, 
p. 547.) The substance known in France by the name of Briangon manna, is an exudation 
from the common European larch (Larix Europxa or Pinus Larix), and differs chemically 
from ordinary manna in containing no mannite. Berthelot found in it a peculiar sugar, 
analogous to that of the cane, which he named melezitose. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 
1859, p. 61.) Larix Cedrus, of Mount Lebanon, yields a similar product, which has some 
repute in Syria as a remedy in phthisis. [Pharm. Journ. and Trans., xiii. 411.) A substance 
resembling manna, of a sweet, slightly bitter, and terebinthinate taste, and actively purga- 
tive, exudes from incisions in Pinus Lambertiana, of Southern Oregon, and is used by the 
natives. [JYar. of U. S. Expl. Exped., v. 232.) M. Berthelot has extracted from this product 
a peculiar saccharine principle, which he calls pinile. It is very sweet, but does not un- 
dergo the vinous fermentation. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxviii. 157.) In the neighbour- 
hood of Diarbekir, in Asiatic Turkey, a saccharine substance, known as Diarbekir manna, 
is found on the leaves of dwarf oaks, from which it appears to be exuded. [Ibid., Nov. 
1862, p. 546.) Certain seaweeds, after their death, become covered, on exposure to the 
air, with an efflorescence of mannite, supposed not to pre-exist in the plant, but to be 
formed at the expense of their mucilaginous matter. [Journ. de Pharm., Avril, 1859, p. 314.) 
* A syrup prepared from the inner bark of this tree has been employed, in Europe, by 
Dr Devergie, with supposed advantage, in chronic eczema and impetigo. The bark con- 
tains much tannin, and a mucilaginous principle, which renders diluted alcohol a better 
menstruum than boiling water. [Journ. de Pharm., 3e s(r., ix. 347.) 534 
Manna. 
PART I. 
ing to the mode of collection, nature of the season, and period of the year in 
which the exudation takes place. That procured in Sicily is said to be the best. 
Three varieties are distinguishable in commerce. 
1. The purest is that named flake manna, or manna cannulata. It exudes 
spontaneously, or by incisions, during the hottest and dryest weather in July and 
August. According to Stettner, it is furnished by the upper incisions upon the 
trunk; while the lower incisions.yield the inferior varieties. It is in irregular, 
unequal pieces, often several inches long, resembling stalactites, rough, light, 
porous, brittle, whitish or yellowish-white, and frequently concave on the surface 
by which they were attached to the trunk, and which is often soiled by impuri- 
ties, sometimes by adherent fragments of the bark. When broken, these pieces 
exhibit a crystalline or granular structure. This variety is sometimes in small 
fragments, generally less than an inch in length. 
2. Common manna—manne en sorte of French pharmacy—is next in quality, 
and is collected in September and the beginning of October, when the heat of 
the weather has begun to moderate. The juice does not now concrete so readily, 
and a portion, falling on the ground at the root of the tree, becomes more or less 
mixed with impurities, and forms imperfectly solid masses, which require to be 
further dried in the sun. Common manna consists of whitish or yellowish frag- 
ments, similar to the pieces of flake manna, but much smaller, mixed with a soft, 
viscid, uncrystallized brownish matter, identical with that which constitutes the 
following variety. 
3. Fat manna is collected in the latter part of October and November, when 
the weather is cooler and rains more common. The juice is now still less dis- 
posed to concrete, and flowing down the trunk is received in a small excavation 
at its base. As found in commerce, it is in the form of a soft, viscous mass, 
containing few crystalline fragments, of a brown or yellowish-brown colour, and 
full of impurities. 
Manna may be found, in the shops, of every grade, from the most impure of 
the third variety to the purest of the first; but the worst kind is not often im- 
ported into this country. 
Attempts have sometimes been made to counterfeit manna; but the facility 
of detection renders frauds of this kind unprofitable, and they are not often 
practised. Dr. R. P. Thomas has described, in the Am. Journ. of Pharm. 
(xxiv. 208), a sophisticated drug, which was brought into our markets under 
the name of manna, but differed from the genuine drug both in sensible and 
chemical properties, not even containing mannite. Baume describes a method 
in which common manna is purified so as to resemble flake manna. It consists 
in dissolving common manna in a little water, allowing the liquid to settle, de- 
canting it in order to separate the impurities, then inspissating it so that it will 
congeal on cooling, and immersing threads in the inspissated liquid, several times 
successively, in the manner practised by candle-makers. It may be still further 
purified by the use of animal charcoal. Thus prepared it contains less mannite 
than flake manna, and less of the nauseous principle; but is said not to operate 
less effectively as a laxative. 
Properties. Manna has a slight, peculiar odour, and a sweet taste, which in 
the impure kinds is also very nauseous, but, in the finest flake manna, scarcely 
so much so as to be disagreeable. It melts with heat, and takes fire, burning 
with a blue flame. When pure it is soluble in three parts of cold, and in its own 
weight of boiling water. From a boiling saturated aqueous solution, it separates 
in partially crystalline masses on cooling. Alcohol also dissolves it, and, if 
saturated by means of heat, deposits upon cooling a large proportion of the 
manna in a beautifully crystalline form. Fourcroy and Yauqnelin found manna 
to consist of, 1. a peculiar sweet principle, called mannite, which constitutes 75 
per cent.; 2. true sugar; 3. a yellow nauseous matter, upon which the purgative PART I. 
Manna.—Maranta. 
535 
property is thought chiefly to depend; and 4. a little mucilage. Leuchtweiss 
obtained from 105 parts of manna 11 '6 of water, 0'4 of insoluble matter, 9 1 
of sugar, 426 of mannite, 40'0 of a mixture of mucilaginous matter containing 
mannite, resin, organic acid, and a nitrogenous substance, and 13 of ashes. 
It is owing to the presence of true sugar that manna is capable of ferraeuting. 
Mannite is white, inodorous, crystallizable in semi-transparent needles, of a 
sweetish taste, soluble in five parts of cold water, scarcely soluble in cold alcohol, 
but readily dissolved by that liquid when hot, and deposited when it cools. Its 
composition is C12Hu012. Unlike sugar, it does not undergo the vinous fer- 
mentation ; but, if mixed with chalk and cream cheese, and kept for some weeks 
at the temperature of 104° F., it yields alcohol largely, with the disengagement 
of carbonic acid and hydrogen, and the production of lactic acid. JSTo fungus 
is produced, as in the ordinary fermentation of sugar. (Berthelot, Journ. de 
Pliarm., xxx. 269.) With lime, baryta, and strontia, it forms definite compounds, 
soluble in water, and precipitable from their aqueous solutions by alcohol. {Ibid., 
Jan. 1860, p. 56.) It does not reduce an alkaline solution of oxide of copper; 
and a test of its purity is thus presented. {Am. Journ. of Pliarm., Jan. 1861, 
p. 26.) It may be obtained by boiling manna in alcohol, allowing the solution 
to cool, and redissolving the crystalline precipitate. Pure mannite is now de- 
posited. Another method is to dissolve flake manna in water, precipitate by 
solution of subacetate of lead, filter, throw down the excess of lead by sulphuric 
acid, evaporate the solution, and mix with alcohol. On cooling, the mannite is 
deposited. (Bonsall, Arch, der Pliarm., cxxxiv. 70.) This principle has been 
found in numerous vegetables. It is said to be gently laxative in the dose of 
one or two ounces. 
Manna, when long kept, acquires a deeper colour, softens, and ultimately 
deliquesces into a liquid, which, on the addition of yeast, undergoes the vinous 
fermentation. This is probably owing to its conversion into sugar by the absorp- 
tion of enough oxygen to neutralize the slight excess of hydrogen, which con- 
stitutes the only essential difference in composition between it and proper sugar. 
That which is dryest resists this change the longest. It is said that manna, re- 
cently gathered, is less purgative than it afterwards becomes. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Manna is a gentle laxative, usually operating 
mildly, but in some cases producing flatulence and pain. Though peculiarly 
adapted to children and pregnant women, it may be given with advantage in 
ordinary cases of piles from constipation, unattended with dyspeptic symptoms. 
It is usually, however, prescribed with other purgatives, particularly senna, rhu- 
barb, magnesia, and the neutral salts, the taste of which it conceals, while it 
adds to the purgative effect. 
The dose for an adult is from one to two ounces; for children, from one to 
/our drachms. It is usually given dissolved in water or some aromatic infusion; 
but the best flake manna may be administered in substance. W. 
MARANTA. U.S. 
Arrow-root. 
The fecula of the rhizoma of Maranta arundinacea. U. S. 
Arrow-root., Ft.; Amerikanisches Starkmehl, Arrowmehl, Germ. 
Maranta. Sex. Syst. Monandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Marantaceae. 
Gen. Gh. Anther attached to the petal-like filament. Style petal-shaped. 
Stigma three-sided. Flowers panicled. Loudon’s Encyc. 
Maranta arundinacea. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 13; Carson, lllust. of Med. Pot. 
ii. 53, pi. 97 The root (rhizoma) of this plant is perennial, tuberous, fleshy, 
horizontal, nearly cylindrical, scaly, from six inches to a foot or more in length, Maranta. 
PART I. 
and fi.rnished with numerous long white fibres. It sends forth several tuberous, 
jointed, curved, white, scaly stoics, the points of which sometimes rise above the 
ground, and become new plants. The stems, of which several proceed from the 
same root, are annual, slender, branched, jointed, leafy, and about three feet in 
height. The leaves are ovate-lanceolate, about'four inches long, alternate, and 
supported solitarily, at the joints of the stem, upon long, sheathing footstalks. 
The flowers are in a long, loose, spreading, terminal panicle, at each ramification 
of which is a solitary linear bracte. The calyx consists of three small lanceolate 
leaves. The corolla is white and monopetalous, with a tube longer than the 
calyx, and a double border, of which the three outermost segments are smallest, 
and the two inner obovate, and slightly emarginate. 
The arrow-root plant is a native of the West Indies, where it is largely cul- 
tivated. It is cultivated also in the East Indies, Sierra Leone, the south of 
Africa, and our Southern States, especially Georgia and Florida. The plant is 
easily propagated by cuttings of the root. The fecula is prepared in the follow- 
ing manner. The roots are dug up when a year old, washed, and then beaten 
into a pulp, 'which is thrown into water, and agitated so as to separate the 
amylaceous from the fibrous portion. The fibres are removed by the hand, and 
the starch remains suspended in the water, to which it gives a milky colour. 
The milky fluid is strained through coarse linen, and allowed to stand that the 
fecula may subside, which is then washed with a fresh portion of water, and 
afterwards dried in the sun. We obtain the officinal arrow-root from the West 
Indies, and the 'Southern Atlantic States. That from the Bermudas has in 
general been most highly esteemed.* 
Other plants contribute to furnish the arrow-root of commerce. Lindley 
states that it is procured in the West Indies from Maranta Allouya and M. 
nobilis, besides M. arundinacea. Under the name of M. Indica, Tussac de- 
scribes a distinct species, which he says was originally brought from the East 
Indies, and is now cultivated in Jamaica. This, however, is generally con- 
sidered as a mere variety of M. arundinacea, from which it differs chiefly in 
having leaves more elongated at the point, and smooth on both sides. Very fine 
arrow-root is obtained in the East Indies from the root of Curcuma angustifo- 
Ha of Roxburgh, which is cultivated in Travancore. But the product is lighter 
than the Maranta arrow-root, and does not so quickly make a jelly. Ainslie 
states that M. arundinacea has been introduced from the West Indies into Cey- 
lon, where good arrow-root is prepared from it. A fecula, closely resembling 
that of the Maranta, is said by Guibourt to be prepared in the West Indies from 
the root of the cassava plant (Janiplia Maniliot); and it is not improbable 
that a variety of arrow-root brought to this country from Brazil has a similar 
origin. In fact, it often contains small lumps, as large as a pill’s head, identical 
with tapioca, which is a product of J. Maniliot. A variety of arrow-root has 
been imported from the Sandwich Islands. Mr. Nuttall, during a visit to these 
islands, found that it was obtained from a species of Tacca, which he described 
by the name of Tacca oceanica. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., ix. 305.) It is said 
that a similar product is afforded by Tacca pinnatifida, growing in the East India 
province of Arracan. (Pharm. Journ., vi. 383.) Arrow-root has been brought 
from Florida, prepared near St. Augustine from the root of Zamia integrifolia, 
by a process similar to that employed for the fecula of the Maranta (Dr. J. Car- 
son, Am. Journ. of Pharm., xiv. 22); but care must be taken not to confound 
this with the genuine maranta from the same State. The tuberous roots of dif- 
ferent species of Alstroemeria, growing in S. America, yield a fecula, used for the 
same purposes as the maranta; and a specimen, under the name of Talcahuana 
* For an account of the cultivation of the plant and the preparation of the fecula in 
Georgia, see a report by Mr. Robert M. Batt.ey, of Rome, Georgia, on Maranta arundinacea, 
in the Proceedings of the Am. Pharm. Association, A. D. 1858, p. 332.—Note to the twelfth edition. PART I. 
Maranta. 
537 
arrow-root, was sent from Chili by Dr. Ruschenberger to Prof. Carson, of this 
city, who ascertained it to be the product of the Alstroemeria ligtu. {Ibid., xxxii. 
289.) In the West Indies, substitutes for arrow-root are furnished by the roots of 
Dioscorea sativa or yam, and of Golocasia esculenta, and by the fruit of Arto- 
carpus incisa or bread-fruit tree.* Attempts have been made to substitute finely 
prepared potato starch for arrow-root; and there is no doubt that in nutritive 
properties it is quite equal; but patients complain of an unpleasant taste of the 
potato which it is apt to retain. 
Arrow-root is in the form of a light white powder, or of small pulverulent 
masses, without smell or taste. It has a firm feel when pressed between the 
fingers, and produces a faint crackling sound when rubbed. It is a pure starch, 
corresponding in chemical properties with that of wheat and the potato. It is 
very apt to be musty, and should then be rejected. The odour and taste are 
the best criteria of its purity. It should be perfectly free from smell and un- 
pleasant flavour. Prof. Procter has rendered musty arrow-root sweet and fit 
for use by washing it thoroughly with two successive portions of cold water, 
and then drying it upon frames of muslin in a warm place. {Am. Jourru of 
Pharm., xiii. 188.) Arrow-root is said to be sometimes adulterated with com- 
mon starch, and that of the potato. These may be detected by the aid of the 
microscope. Muriatic acid has been proposed as a test. A mixture of equal 
parts of that acid and of water, rubbed with about half its weight of potato or 
wheat starch, very quickly forms so thick a mucilage that the mortar in which 
the trituration is effected maybe raised by the pestle; while the same result 
does not take place with rice flour or arrow-root under 25 or 30 minutes. So 
small a proportion as from 4 to 6 per cent, of the impurity may, it is asserted, 
be detected in this way. {Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., ii. 246.) 
As the microscope offers the best means of distinguishing the different varie- 
ties of fecula sold as arrow-root, or used for its adulteration, it is proper to indi- 
cate the form of their granules as exhibited by this instrument. Those of the 
proper officinal or Maranta arrow-root are rarely oblong, somewhat ovate- 
oblong, or irregularly convex, with very fine rings, a circular hilum which cracks 
in a linear or stellate manner, and small mammillary processes occasionally pro- 
jecting from them. {Pereira.) The largest are the 750th of an inch, but many 
not more than the 2000th of an inch long; and their breadth is generally two- 
thirds of their length. {Christison.) The granules of the East India arrow- 
root are, according to Pereira, of unequal size, ovate or oblong-ovate, flattened, 
and often furnished with a very short neck or nipple-like projection. The rings 
are numerous, close, and very fine; and the hilum, which is situated at the nar- 
row extremity, is circular, small, and indistinct. The microscopic appearance of 
the tapioca fecula will be described under the head of Tapioca. The Tacca 
fecula from the South Sea Islands, examined by Pereira,, consisted of circular, 
muller-shaped, or polyhedral granules, with few and not very distinct rings, and 
a small, circular hilum, which cracked in a linear or stellate manner. The Floi'ida 
or Zamia arrow-root was found by Dr. Carson to consist of granules forming the 
half, third, or quarter of a solid sphere. The potato starch granules are of vari- 
ous shape and size, but generally ovate or elliptical, and from the 7000th to the 
300th of an inch in length; the largest being inferior in size only to the largest 
of the canna starch or tous-les-mois. (See Ganna.) They are strongly marked 
with concentric rings, and have a circular hilum, froreuwhich usually proceed the 
cracks observable in some of the larger grains. {Pereira.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Arrow-root is nutritious and demulcent, af- 
fording a light, very mild, and easily digested article of diet, well adapted for 
the sick and convalescent, and peculiarly suited, from its demulcent properties, 
* Specimens of these feculas were seen by the author in the Palais d’Industrie of Paris, 
among the French colonial products, in the autumn of I860. 538 
Marmor.—Marrubium. 
PART I. 
to bowel complaints and diseases of the urinary passages. It is much used as 
food for infants after weaning, or when the mother’s milk is insufficient. It is 
prepared by dissolving it in hot water, with which it forms a pearly gelatinous 
solution, and, if in sufficient quantity, a jelly-like mass on cooling. A table- 
spoonful will communicate sufficient consistence to a pint of water. It should 
first be formed into a paste with a little cold water, and the boiling water then 
gradually added with brisk agitation. The preparation may be rendered more 
palatable by lemon-juice and sugar, or in low forms of disease by wine and 
spices. For children, arrow-root is usually prepared with milk. 
Off. Prep. Trochisci Ipecacuanhae, TJ. S. W. 
MxlRMOR. US. 
Marble. 
White granular carbonate of lime. U. S. Marble. Hard white crystalline na- 
tive carbonate of lime, in masses. Br. Appendix. 
White Marble; Marbre, Fr.; Marmor, Germ.; Marmo, Ital.; Marmol, Span. 
Marble is used for obtaining carbonic acid, and for making several officinal 
preparations. For the former purpose common marble is sufficiently pure ; for 
the latter, the purer varieties must be selected. 
The officinal marble is a white granular substance, having a sp. gr. varying 
from 2-7 to 2-8. It is brittle, pulverizable, and insoluble in water. It is wholly 
dissolved by dilute muriatic acid with effervescence. If magnesia be present, the 
neutral muriatic solution will be precipitated by ammonia; and if baryta or 
strontia be an impurity, a similar effect will be produced by a solution of sul- 
phate of lime. When marble is exposed to a full red heat, it loses about 44 per 
cent, of carbonic acid, and is converted into lime. (See Calx.) In composition 
it agrees with chalk. 
The purest kind of marble is that of Carrara, sometimes called statuary 
marble; but it is not necessary that this kind should be obtained for pharma- 
ceutic operations. Marble, sufficiently pure for these purposes, is found in various 
parts of the United States. It is necessary, however, to reject the dolomitic 
marbles, which contain a considerable proportion of magnesia. 
Marble is used, in pharmacy, chiefly for furnishing carbonic acid gas. 
Off. Prep. Aqua Acidi Carbonici, U. S.; Liquor Calcii Chloridi, U. S.; Pc- 
tassm Bicarbonas, Br.; Sodse Bicarbonas, Br. B. 
MARRUBIUM. U.S. 
, Ilorehound. 
The herb of Marrubium vulgare. U. S. 
Marrube blanc, Fr.; Weisser Andorn, Germ.; Marrubio, Ital., Span. 
Marrubium. Sex. Syst. Didynamia Gymnospermia. — Nat. Ord. Lauu'aceas or 
Labiatm. 
Oen. Ch. Calyx salver-shaped, rigid, ten-streaked. Corolla with the upper 
lip bifid, linear, and straight. 
Marrubium vulgare. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. Ill; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 332, t. 
118. White horehound has a perennial fibrous root, and numerous annual stems, 
which are quadrangular, erect, very downy, and from twelve to eighteen inches 
high. The leaves are roundish-ovate, dentate or deeply serrate, wrinkled, veined, 
hoary on the under surface, and supported in pairs upon strong footstalks. The 
flowers are white, and in crowded axillary whorls. The calyx is tubular, and 
divided at the margin into ten narrow segments, which are hooked at the end. PART I. 
Marrubium.—Masticlie. 
539 
The corolla is also tubular, with a labiate margin, of which the upper lip is bifid, 
the under reflected and three-cleft, with the middle segment broad and slightly 
scalloped. The seeds are four, in the bottom of the calyx. The plant is a native 
of Europe, but has been naturalized in this country, where it grows on the road- 
sides, and flowers in July and August. 
The herb has a strong rather agreeable odour, which is diminished by drying, 
and lost by keeping. Its taste is bitter and durable. The bitterness is extracted 
by water and alcohol. It contains a vol tile oil, bitter extractive, resin, tannin, 
and lignin. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Horehound is tonic, in large doses laxative, 
and may be so given as to increase the secretion from the skin, and occasionally 
from the kidneys. It was formerly considered a valuable deobstruent, and re- 
commended in chronic hepatitis, jaundice, amenorrhoea, phthisis, and various 
cachectic affections. By its gently tonic powers it may have proved advantageous 
ip some of these complaints; but it exerts no specific influence over any, and 
has passed mainly from the hands of physicians into domestic use. It is em- 
ployed chiefly in catarrh, and other chronic affections of the lungs attended with 
cough and copious expectoration. The infusion made in the proportion of an 
ounce of the herb to a pint of boiling water may be given in wineglassful doses. 
The dose of the powder is from thirty grains to a drachm. The medicine is also 
much used in the shape of syrup and candy. W. 
MASTICHE. U. S., Br. 
Mastic. 
The concrete juice of Pistacia Lentiscus. U. S. A resinous exudation from 
the stem, obtained by incision. Br. 
Mastic, Fr.; Mastix, Germ.; Mastice, Ital.; Almastiga, Span.; Sakes, Turk.; Arali, Arab. 
Pistacia. Sex. Syst. Dioecia Pentandria.—Nat. Ord. Anacardiaceae. 
Gen. Gh. Male. Calyx five-cleft. Corolla none. Female. Calyx three-cleft. 
Corolla none. Styles three. Drupe one-seeded. Willd. 
Pistacia Lentiscus. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 753; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 26, t. 11. 
The lentisk is a shrub or small tree, seldom more than twelve feet in height, 
much branched towards the top, and furnished with petiolate, abruptly pinnate 
leaves. The leaflets are from eight to twelve, and usually alternate, with the 
exception of the two upper, which are opposite. They are ovate-lanceolate, 
entire, obtuse, often mucronate, and sessile upon the common footstalk, which 
has a narrow foliaceous expansion on each side. The flowers are dioecious, and 
very small. The male are in an axillary ament; the female are arranged alter- 
nately upon a common peduncle, which is also axillary. The tree is a native of 
the countries bordering upon the Mediterranean. The fruit yields by expression 
a fixed oil, of a deep-green colour, and liquid at about 90° F., which the Arabs 
of North Africa use both as an article of diet and for light. A resinous exuda- 
tion from the stem and branches is the officinal part, but it does not appear to 
be collected in all places where the tree flourishes. 
Mastic is obtained chiefly from the island of Scio or Chios, in the Grecian 
Archipelago, where the tree is cultivated for this product. Incisions are made 
in the trunk and principal branches, from which the juice slowly exudes, and 
either hardens in tears upon the bark, or drops on the ground, where it is re- 
ceived upon cloths, or the bare earth, and concretes in irregular masses. The 
tears are most esteemed. They are of various sizes, oval or roundish, often 
compressed, smooth, semi-transparent, of a pale-yellow colour, of a shining frac- 
ture, friable, and usually covered with a whitish powder, occasioned by their 
Tiction against each other. The masses consist of yellowish agglutinated tears, 540 
Mastiche.—Matico. 
PART I. 
with others of a darker colour and less translucent, and often fragments of wood, 
bark, or earthy matter intermingled. 
Mastic is nearly inodorous, unless rubbed or heated, when it becomes fra- 
grant. Its taste is weak but agreeably terebinthinate, and, after long chewing, 
very slightly acrid. It is at first friable under the teeth, but soon becomes soft 
and ductile, and acquires a white opaque appearance. Its sp. gr. is P074. It is 
fusible and inflammable by heat. Alcohol dissolves about four-fifths of it, leav- 
ing a viscid substance which becomes brittle when dried, and for which the name 
of masticin has been proposed. This substance, though not dissolved by alco- 
hol, softens and swells up in it, as gluten does in water. According to Berzelius, 
it possesses the same general properties as copal, and should be considered as 
a variety of resin. Mastic is wholly soluble in ether, chloroform, and oil of tur- 
pentine, scarcely soluble in the fixed oils, and insoluble in water. It consists 
chiefly of resin, with maslicin, and a minute proportion of volatile oil, which can 
scarcely be said to have been obtained in a separate state, though it imparts 
flavour to alcohol and water distilled from the mastic, especially when this has 
been previously triturated with an equal weight of carbonate of potassa. 
Mastic is occasionally adulterated with olibanum, sandarach, and other resin- 
ous bodies; and, in seasons of scarcity, with sea-salt. 
•Medical Properties and Uses. Mastic was formerly thought to possess pro- 
perties analogous to those of the turpentines, aud was used in debility of the 
stomach, haemoptysis from ulceration, leucorrhoea, chronic diarrhoea, &c.; but 
its virtues were overrated, and it is at present scarcely ever given internally. 
In the East, however, an aqueous infusion is said to be still used in infantile 
cholera; and the Greeks employ cataplasms made by mixing it with bread and 
red wine, which they apply to the lower abdomen. (Landerer.) It is sometimes 
employed to fill the cavities of carious teeth, for which purpose it is well fitted 
by its softness. Great quantities of it are consumed in Turkey, where it is 
habitually chewed by the women, under the impression that it sweetens the 
breath, and preserves the gums and teeth. The alcoholic solution has been em- 
ployed as a styptic in bleeding from the nose, leech-bites, &c., being applied by 
means of a camel’s hair pencil directly to the bleeding vessel. Dissolved in 
alcohol or oil of turpentine, it forms a brilliant varnish. A solution made by 
macerating half an ounce of mastic and fifteen grains of caoutchouc in two 
fluidounces of chloroform, and filtering in close vessels, forms a varnish highly 
esteemed by some microscopists. 
The following mode of applying it to carious teeth has been recommended. 
Dissolve four parts of mastic in one of ether, in a bottle well stopped. With 
the solution thus formed, which is yellow and of an oily consistence, saturate a 
small piece of cotton of the size of the carious cavity, and, having well cleansed 
and dried the cavity, introduce the cotton, without painful pressure, so as to fill 
it exactly. The resin attaches itself to the diseased surface of the tooth, which 
it protects from the air, and from the food taken into the mouth. 
Off. Prep. Pilulas Aloes et Mastiches, U. S. W. 
MATICO. U.S. 
Matico. 
The leavei of Artanthe elongata. U. S., Br. 
Off. Syn. Matica. Artanthe elongata. The dried leaves. Br. 
Artanthe. Sex. Syst. Diandria Trigynia.—Nat. Ord. Piperacem. 
Gen. Ch. Spikes solitary, opposite the leaves. Flowers hermaphrodite. 
Style none. Bractes peltate or cucullate. Miquel. 
This genus, separated by Miquel from Piper, is very extensive, embracmg PART I. 
Matico. 
nearly a hundred species diffused through South and Central America. At least 
two of these have contributed to furnish their products to commerce; but it is 
to the A. elongata exclusively that the medicine called matico has been offi- 
cinally ascribed.* 
Artanthe elongata. Miquel; Lindley, Med. and CEconom. Bot. p. 133, fig. 
195.—Piper angustifolium. Ruiz and Pavon, Flor. Peruv.—Piper elongation. 
Yahl. This is a shrub with a jointed stem about twelve feet in height. In a 
dried specimen received from Dr. Ruschenberger, of the TJ. S. Navy, the leaves 
are sessile or very shortly petiolate, oval-lanceolate, acuminate, two or three 
inches long by about an inch in breadth, bright-green on the upper surface, 
paler and downy beneath, crenate, minutely and strongly reticulated, of an 
aromatic odour, and a strong spicy taste. The spikes are solitary, 
opposite the leaves, and cylindrical. The bractes are peltate or cucullate; the 
flowers hermaphrodite. The plant is a native of Peru. 
The leaves, spikes, and stalks are mixed together, and more or less com- 
pressed, in the packages of the imported drug; and are all possessed of activity, 
though the leaves only are recognised by the Pharmacopoeias. Their shape and 
general aspect have been described above, as well as their smell and taste. They 
are readily pulverized, forming a light, greenish, absorbent powder. According 
to Dr. Hodges, they contain chlorophyll, a soft dark-green resin, brown and 
yellow colouring matters, gum, salts, lignin, a light-green, thickish volatile oil, 
and a peculiar bitter principle, soluble in water and alcohol, but not in ether, 
which he calls maticin. [Philos. Mag., Sept. 1844, p. 206.) According to Mr. 
Wiegand, the maticin of Dr. Hodges is a salt of potassa. Mr. John J. Stell, who 
examined the drug in the expectation of discovering a principle analogous to 
cubebin or piperin, failed in the attempt. He found, however, the resin to be 
very acrid and pungent, and reasonably inferred that the virtues of matico reside 
in it and the volatile oil. [Am. Journ. of Pharm., Sept. 1858, p. 392.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Matico is an agreeable aromatic tonic and 
stimulant, having a tendency, like cubebs, to act on the urinary passages. It 
has long been known as a medicine in Peru. Dr. Martius speaks .of its use by 
ihe natives externally as a vulnerary, and internally as aphrodisiac [Pharm. 
Cent. Blatt, 1843, p. 12); and, according to Dr. Scrivener, who practised medi- 
cine at Lima, it is much employed in Peru locally for arresting hemorrhage, and 
in the treatment of ulcers. [Am. Journ. of Pharm., xviii. 175.) In 1839 it was 
brought to England, and was prescribed by Dr. Jeffreys, of Liverpool, with 
advantage, in diseases of the mucous membranes; as gonorrhoea, leucorrhoea, 
menorrhagia, catarrh of the bladder, hemorrhoids, and epistaxis. Others have 
employed it with benefit in similar cases and in diarrhoea; and it is said to have 
proved useful in haemoptysis, haematemesis, dysentery, and haematuria. Dr. 
* Ava. Kava. The root of another species of the old genus Piper, P. meihysticum [Macro- 
piper methysticum, Miquel), is used in the Sandwich Islands to form an intoxicating drink, 
under the name of ava, kava, or kawa. See an article by Mr. Morson in the Pharm. Journ. 
and Trans, (iii. 472), where the plant is figured. M. Gobley has discovered in this root a 
crystalline principle analogous to piperin which he calls methysticin, and which, possessing 
neither odour nor taste, is probably inert. He found also a greenish-yellow resin, of a 
strong aromatic smell, and an acrid pungent taste, to which he ascribes the powers of the 
root. [Journ. de Pharm., Janv. 1860, p. 20.) The priority of this discovery having been dis- 
puted by M. Cuzent, the question was referred by the Society of Pharmacy of Paris to a 
committee, who, after investigating the subject, ascertained that the priority of the dis- 
covery was in fact due to Mr. Morson of London, who had announced the discovery so 
early as 1844; though both the other chemists were ignorant of this fact. The name of 
kawine has been proposed for the acrid resin supposed to be the active principle of the 
kava. The root contains also a volatile oil, which probably participates Avitli the resin in 
its effects. [Ibid., Mars, 1862, p. 215.) It is said to be an excellent remedy in gonorrhoea 
[ Ann. de Therap., 1857, p. 61); and a tincture of it has been recently strongly recommended 
by Dr. E. W. Pritchard, used internally and locally, as a remedy in gout. [Med. Times and 
Gaz., Dec. 1854, p. 591.) 542 
Matico.—Matricaria. 
part i. 
Ruschenberger gives strong testimony in its favour in several of the diseases 
mentioned. Its most useful internal application is probably as an alterative 
stimulant to the diseased mucous membranes. If efficient as a haemostatic, it 
must be on principles similar to those upon which oil of turpentine acts; for it 
is not astringent. As a local styptic it probably acts mechanically in the same 
manner as agaric. The dose of the powder is from half a drachm to two 
drachms three times a day. The infusion and tincture are officinal. 
Prof. Bentley, of London, describes a new variety of matico, brought from a 
port of Central America, consisting of broken leaves, spikes, and branches, 
which he referred to another species of the same genus, Artanthe adunca, grow- 
ing in the W. Indies and various parts of S. America. The medicine is dis- 
tinguishable from the genuine, by the want of the reticulated upper surface and 
downy unde.r surface which characterize the latter. Prof. Bentley found the ' 
sensible properties of the new variety very similar to the old, and assumes 
that in medicinal virtues the two are nearly identical. (Pharm. Journ., Jan. 
1864, p. 290.) 
Off Prep. Infusnm Maticoe, Br. W. 
MATRICARIA. U.S. 
German Chamomile. 
The flowers of Matricaria Chamomilla. TJ. S. 
Matricaria. Sex. Syst. Syngenesia Superflua.—Nat.Ord. Composite-Sene- 
cionideae, De Cand. Asteraceae, Lindley. 
Gen. 'Oh. Calyx flat, imbricate, with scales having scarious margins. Recep- 
tacle naked, terete. Pappus none. 
Matricaria Chamomilla. Linn. Sp. 1256. This is an annual plant, with a 
branching stem a foot or two in height, bearing alternate leaves about two inches 
long, the lower ones tripinnate, the upper bipinnate or simply pinnate, and all 
of them very green, and nearly or quite smooth. The leaflets are linear and 
very small. The flowers appear singly at the ends of the stem and branches. 
They are about three-quarters of an inch in diameter, with the ray spreading. 
The scales of the calyx are obtuse, green in the middle, and whitish, membra- 
nous, and translucent at the margin. The ray florets are white, at first spread- 
ing, and ultimately reflected. The disk is of a deep-yellow colour, at first flat, 
but in the end convex, and even somewhat conical. 
The plant is a native of Europe, and is occasionally cultivated in our gar- 
dens. All parts of it are active; but the flowers only are officinal. These shrink 
in drying, so that they are scarcely half as large as in their recent state. Those 
found in our shops are imported from Germany. 
The dried flowers of the Matricaria are considerably smaller than common 
cham-omile, and exhibit a larger proportion of the disk florets compared with 
those of the ray. They have a strong, peculiar, rather unpleasant odour, and 
a disagreeable bitter taste. Their active constituents are volatile oil and bitter 
extractive, which are readily taken up by water and alcohol. The oil, which is 
obtained by distillation with water, is thick, somewhat tenacious, of a fine deep- 
blue colour becoming brown by age, and almost opaque in mass. Though sup- 
posed by Gerhardt to be identical with the oil of the proper chamomile (An- 
themis nobilis), it has been shown to be distinct. {Pharm. Journ., Feb. 1862, p. 
429.) It congeals at —4° F. Diluted muriatic and nitric acids render it green, 
concentrated sulphuric acid reddish-yellow, chlorine yellowish-white and tena- 
cious, iodine reddish-brown and thick, and bromine brown and elastic. (See Am. 
Journ. of Pharm., March, 1864, p. 109.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Matricaria is a mild tonic, very similar to PART I. 
Matricaria.—Mel. 
543 
chamomile in medical properties, and, like it, capable, in large doses, of pro- 
ducing an emetic effect. It is esteemed also in Europe antispasmodic and an- 
thelmintic. It is much employed in Germany; but in this country scarcely at 
all, unless by German practitioners It may be given for the same purposes and 
in the same manner as chamomile. W. 
MEL. U.S.,Br. 
Honey. 
A liquid prepared by Apis mellifica. U. S. A saccharine secretion deposited 
by the insect in the honey-comb. Br. 
Miel, Fr.; Honig, Germ.; Miele, Ital.; Miel, Span. 
Naturalists have not yet determined whether honey is a secretion of the bee, 
Apis mellifica, or whether it exists already formed in plants. It is certain that 
the nectaries of flowers contain a saccharine matter, which is extracted by the 
insect; and the fact is well known that the flavour and character of honey are 
very much affected by the nature of the plants which predominate in the vicinity 
of the hive; so much so that, when these plants are poisonous, the fluid some- 
times partakes of their noxious qualities. Several cases of poisoning from eating 
honey from a particular source, are recorded in the New Jersey Med. Reporter 
for November, 1852, p. 46. Still, it probably undergoes change in the organs of 
the bee; as the saccharine matter of the nectaries, so far as it has been possible 
to examine it, wants some of the characteristic properties of honey. 
The finest honey is that which is allowed to drain from the comb. If obtained 
from hives that have never swarmed, it is called virgin honey. An inferior kind 
is procured by submitting the comb to pressure; and, if heat be employed pre- 
vious to expression, the product is still more impure. 
Honey is collected in different parts of the United States; but much also of 
that used in the shops is imported from the West Indies. 
In the recent state honey is fluid ; but, on being kept, it is apt to form a crys- 
talline deposit, and to be ultimately converted into a soft granular mass. In the 
shops it is found of every consistence, from that of a viscid liquid like thin syrup 
or oil, to that of lard or soft suet. Its colour is sometimes white, but usually 
yellowish, and occasionally of a .brown or reddish tinge. It has a peculiar 
agreeable odour, varying somewhat with the flowers from which it was collected, 
and a very sweet, feebly aromatic taste, which is followed by a slight prickling, 
or sense of acrimony in the fauces. Its sp.gr. is about 1333. {Duncan.) Cold 
water dissolves it readily, alcohol with less facility. It contains crystallizable 
sugar analogous to that of grapes, and, according to Soubeiran, two other kinds 
of sugar, one of which is changed by acids, and has the property of turning to 
the right the plane of polarization; and the other, not acted on by acids, and 
possessed of a strong left-handed rotating power. The first of these two sugars 
is not always present; as there is reason to believe that it is in time wholly 
changed by acid into granular sugar. It is especially abundant in the honey 
taken from the comb. The second variety is very similar to the uncrystallizable 
sugar produced by the reaction of acids on cane-sugar, being identical with it 
in composition, and like it incapable of crystallizing, and very sensitive to the 
action of alkalies. But it is distinguished by the impossibility of converting it 
into granular sugar, and by having nearly twice the rotating power of common 
uncrystallizable sugar. (Journ. de Pharm., Be ser., xvi. 252.) Honey contains, 
besides these saccharine principles, an aromatic principle, an acid, wax, and, 
according to Guibourt, a little mannite. The crystalline sugar may be obtained 
by treating granular honey with a small quantity of alcohol, which, when ex- 
pressed, takes along with it the other ingredients, leaving the crystals nearly 544 
Mel. —Me lissa. 
PART T. 
uutouched. The same end may be attained by melting the honey, saturating its 
acid with carbonate of lime, filtering the liquid, then setting it aside to crystal- 
lize, and washing the crystals with alcohol. Inferior honey usually contains a 
large proportion of uncrystallizable sugar and vegetable acid. Diluted with 
water, honey undergoes the vinous fermentation. 
In warm weather, honey, if not very pure, sometimes ferments, acquiring a 
pungent taste and deeper colour. Starch is said to be occasionally added to the 
inferior kinds to give them a white appearance. The adulteration may be de- 
tected by dilution with water, which dissolves the honey and leaves the starch at 
the bottom of the vessel. The nature of the deposit may be tested by the tinc- 
ture of iodine. Water is said to be sometimes added to honey to increase its 
bulk. Its presence may be suspected from the greater thinness of the liquid, and 
its want of disposition to crystallize. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Honey possesses the same medical properties 
with sugar, but is more disposed to run off by the bowels, and to occasion grip- 
ing pain. Though largely consumed as an article of food, it is seldom employed 
medicinally, except as the vehicle of more active substances. Its taste and de- 
mulcent qualities render it a useful addition to gargles; and it is sometimes 
employed as an application to foul ulcers, and in the form of enema. 
Off. Prep. Mel Depuratum, Br.; Mel Despumatum, U. S. W. 
MELISSA. U.S. Secondary. 
Balm. 
The herb of Melissa officinalis. U. S. 
Melisse, Ft.; Garten-Melisse, Germ,.; Melissa, Ital.; Torongil, Span. 
Melissa. Sex. Syst. Didynamia Gymnospermia. — Nat. Ord. Lamiacese or 
Labiates. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx dry, nearly flat above; with the upper lip sub-fastigiate. 
Corolla, upper lip somewhat arched, bifid; lower lip with the middle lobe cor- 
date. Willd. 
Melissa officinalis. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 14 G; Woodv. Med. Pot. p. 334, t. 
119. Balm has a perennial root, which sends up annually several erect quad- 
rangular stems, usually branched towards the base, and a foot or two in height. 
The leaves are opposite, ovate or cordate, deeply serrate, pubescent; the lower 
on long footstalks, the uppermost nearly sessile. The flowers are white or yel- 
lowish, upon short peduncles, and in axillary whorls, surrounding only half the 
stem. The calyx is tubular, pentangular, and bilabiate, with the upper lip tri- 
dentate and flattened, the lower cut into two pointed teeth. The corolla is also 
tubular and bilabiate, the upper lip less convex and notched, the lower three- 
cleft. The plant is a native of the south of Europe. It has been introduced into 
this country, where it is cultivated in gardens, and grows wild along the fences 
of our roads and lanes. For use the herb should be cut before the appearance 
of the flowers, which begin to expand in July. 
In the fresh state, it has a fragrant odour very similar to that of lemons; but 
is nearly inodorous when dried. The taste is somewhat austere, and slightly 
aromatic. The herb contains a minute proportion of a yellowish or reddish-yellow 
essential oil, which has its peculiar flavour in a very high degree. It contains 
also tannin, bitter extractive, and gum. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Balm scarcely produces any remedial effects 
upon the system. The quantity of oil which it contains is not more than suf- 
ficient to communicate an agreeable flavour to the infusion, which forms an ex- 
cellent drink in febrile complaints, and when taken warm tends to promote the 
operation of diaphoretic medicines. W. PART L 
Mentha Piperita. 
MENTHA PIPERITA. U.S. 
Peppermint. 
The herb of Mentha piperita. XJ. S. 
Menthe poivree, Fr.; Pfeffermiinze, Germ.; Menta piperita, Ital.; Pimenta piperita, Span. 
Mentha. Sex. Syst. Didynamia Gymnospermia. — Nat. Ord. Lamiaceae or 
Labiatae. 
Gen. Ch. Corolla nearly equal, four-cleft; the broader segment emarginate. 
Stamens upright, distant. Willd. 
Several species of Mentha possess medicinal properties. Besides the two here 
described, M. piperita, namely, and M. viridis, the Mentha Pulegium, under the 
name of pulegium or pennyroyal, long held a place in the British Pharmaco- 
poeias. It has, however, been discarded, and in the present Br. Pharmacopoeia is 
not recognised. As in the other species, the herb in flower was employed, both 
fresh and dried. The plant is specifically characterized by its roundish prostrate 
stems, its ovate, obtuse, somewhat crenate leaves, and its verticillate flowers. 
It is a native of Europe, and neither cultivated nor employed in this country; our 
native pennyroyal belonging to a different genus. (See Hedeoma Pulegioides.) 
Pulegium possesses similar properties, and has been employed for the same pur- 
poses, and in the same manner with the other mints. It was used in the forms 
of water, spirit, and volatile oil. 
Mentha piperita. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 79; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 336, t. 120; 
Carson, lllust. of Med. Bot. ii. 16, pi. 63. Peppermint is a perennial herbaceous 
plant, with a creeping root, and quadrangular, channeled, purplish, somewhat 
hairy stems, branched towards the top, and about two feet in height. The leaves 
are opposite, petiolate, ovate, serrate, pointed, smoother on the upper than the 
under surface, and of a dark-green colour, which is paler beneath. The flowers 
are small, purple, and in terminal obtuse spikes, interrupted below. The calyx 
is tubular, furrowed, and five-toothed; the corolla is also tubular, with its bor- 
der divided into four segments, of which the uppermost is broadest, and notched 
at its apex. The anthers are concealed within the tube of the corolla; the style 
projects beyond it, and terminates in a bifid stigma. The four-cleft germ is con- 
verted into four seeds, which are lodged in the calyx. 
This species of mint is a native of Great Britain, whence it has been conveyed 
to the continent of Europe and to this country. In some parts of the United 
States, especially in New England, Michigan,* the western part of New York, 
Ohio, and New Jersey, it is largely cultivated for the sake of its volatile oil. 
We occasionally find it growing wild along the fences of our villages. The cul- 
tivators of this herb have observed that, in order to maintain its flavour in per- 
fection, it is necessary to transplant the roots every three years. It should be 
cut for medical use in dry weather, about the period of the expansion of the 
flowers. These appear in August. 
The herb, both in the recent and dried state, has a peculiar, penetrating, grate- 
ful odour. The taste is aromatic, warm, pungent, glowing, camphorous, bitter- 
ish, and attended with a sensation of coolness when air is admitted into the 
#oouth. These properties depend on a volatile oil, which abounds in the herb, 
and maybe separated by distillation with water. (See Oleum Menthse Piperitse.) 
* For an account of the cultivation of the plant in Michigan, from one county of which, 
vhat of St. Joseph, it is stated that, “for the last ten years, the largest proportion of the 
oil of peppermint, produced in the world, has been sent,” see a paper by Mr. Frederick 
Stearns, of Detroit, in the Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 1859, p. 38. 
For some interesting remarks in relation to the cultivation of peppermint in England, 
the reader is referred to the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (xxiii. 239.) 546 
Mentha Piperita.—Mentha Viridis.—Mezereum. 
PART I. 
The leaves are said to contain a little tannic acid. The virtues of the herb are 
imparted to water, and more readily to alcohol. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Peppermint is a grateful aromatic stimulant, 
much used for all the purposes to which medicines of this class are applied. To 
allay nausea, relieve spasmodic pains of the stomach and bowels, expel flatus, 
and cover the taste or qualify the nauseating or griping effects of other medi- 
cines are among the most common of these purposes. The fresh herb, bruised 
and applied to the epigastrium, often allays sick stomach, and is useful in the 
cholera of children. The medicine may be given in infusion; but the volatile 
oil, either alone, or in some state of preparation, is generally preferred. 
Off. Prep. Aqua Menthae Piperitae, U. S.; Oleum Menthae Piperitae; Spiritus 
Menthae Piperitae, U. S. W 
MENTHA VIRIDIS. U.S. 
Spearmint. 
The herb of Mentha viridis. U. S. 
Menthe a epi, Fr.; Grime Miinze, Germ.; Menta Romana, Ital.; Yerba buena puntia- 
guda, Span. 
Mentha. See MENTHA PIPERITA. 
Mentha viridis. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 76; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 338, t. 121. 
Spearmint, sometimes called simply mint, differs from M. piperita chiefly in 
having sessile or nearly sessile, lanceolate, naked leaves; elongated, interrupted, 
panicled spikes; setaceous bractes ; and stamens longer than the tube of the 
corolla. Like the preceding species, it is a native of Europe. In this country 
it is cultivated in gardens for domestic use, and in some places more largely for 
the sake of its oil. It also grows wild in low grounds, in long settled parts of 
the country. Its flowering season is August. According to Thomson, it should 
be cut in very dry weather, and, if intended for medical use, just as the flowers 
appear; if for obtaining the oil, after they have expanded. 
The odour of spearmint is strong and aromatic, the taste warm and slightly 
bitter, less pungent than that of peppermint, but considered by some as more 
agreeable. These properties are retained for some time by the dried plant. 
They depend on a volatile oil, which is obtained by distillation, and is imparted 
to alcohol and water by maceration. (See Oleum Menlhse Viridis.) 
Medical Properties. The virtues and applications of this plant are the same 
as those of peppermint. 
Off. Prep. Aqua Menthae Yiridis, U. S.; Oleum Menthae Yiridis; Spiritus 
Menthae Yiridis, U. S. W. 
MEZEREUM. U.S.,Br. 
Mezereon. 
The bark of Daphne Mezereum, and of Daphne Gnidium. U.S. Daphne Me- 
zereum, or Daphne Laureola. The bark dried. Br. 
Bois gentil, Fr.; Kellerlials, Germ.; Mezerco, Ital.; Mecereon, Span. 
Daphne. Sex. Syst. Octandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Thymelaceae. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx none. Corolla four-cleft, withering, enclosing the stamens. 
Drupe one-seeded. Willd. 
All the species of Daphne are possessed of active properties; but three only 
are officinal—D. Mezereum, D. Laureola, and D. Gnidium—the first two of 
which are recognised in the British Pharmacopoeia, the last in the French Codex, 
and the first and last in the Pharmacopoeia of the United States. 
1. Daphne Mezereum. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 415; Woodv. Med. Bot p 717, Mezereum. 
t. 245; Carson, Illust. of Med. Bot. ii. 26, pi. 72. This is a very hardy shrub, 
three or four feet high, with a branching stem, and a smooth dark-gray bark, 
very easily separable from the wood. The leaves spring from the ends of tlie 
branches, are deciduous, sessile, obovate-lanceolate, entire, smooth, of a pale- 
green colour, somewhat glaucous beneath, and about two inches long. They 
are preceded by the flowers, which appear very early in spring, and sometimes 
bloom even amidst the snow. These are of a pale-rose colour, highly fragrant, 
and disposed in clusters, each consisting of two or three flowers, forming to- 
gether a kind of spike at the upper part of the stem and branches. At the base 
of each cluster are deciduous floral leaves. The fruit is oval, shining, fleshy, of 
a bright-red colour, and contains a single round seed. Another variety produces 
white flowers and yellow fruit. 
This species of Daphne is a native of Great Britain and the neighbouring 
continent, in the northern parts of which it is particularly abundant. It is cul- 
tivated in Europe both for medicinal purposes and as an ornamental plant, and 
is occasionally found in our own gardens. It flowers in February, March, or 
April, according to the greater or less mildness of the climate. 
2. Daphne Gnidium. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 420. In this species, called garou 
or sain-bois by the French, the leaves are linear-lanceolate, acute, entire, smooth, 
and irregularly but closely set upon the branches. The flowers are white, downy, 
odoriferous, and disposed in terminal panicled racemes. The fruit is globular, 
dry, at first green, but ultimately black. D. Gnidium grows in dry uncultivated 
places in the south of Europe, and flowers in June. In France its bark is used 
indiscriminately with that of the former species. 
Besides the* species above described, Daphne Laureola, or spurge laurel, is 
said to furnish a portion of the mezereon of commerce; but its product is infe- 
rior in acrimony, and consequently in medicinal activity. 
The bark of the root was formerly directed; but the mezereon with which 
our markets are supplied is evidently the bark of the stem; and the Pharma- 
copoeias at present very properly direct the bark, without designating the part 
from which it must be taken. British writers state that the bark of the root is 
the most active. The berries and leaves of the plant are also active; and the 
former have sometimes proved fatal to children who have eaten them. Pallas 
states that they are used as a purgative by the Russian peasants, and that thirty 
berries are required to act. French authors observe that fifteen are sufficient to 
kill a Frenchman. A tincture of them is used in Germany as a local applica- 
tion in neuralgia. {Ann. de Therap., 1854, p. 42.) Mezereon is brought to us 
chiefly from Germany. 
Properties. Mezereon, as it comes to us, is usually in strips, from two to four 
feet long and an inch or less in breadth, sometimes flat, sometimes partially 
rolled, and always folded in bundles, or wrapped in the shape of balls. It is 
covered externally with a grayish or reddish-brown wrinkled epidermis, very 
thin, and easily separable from the bark. Beneath the epidermis is a soft, green- 
ish tissue. The inner bark is tough, pliable, fibrous, striated, and of a whitish 
colour. When fresh it has a nauseous smell, but in the dry state is nearly in- 
odorous. Its taste is at first sweetish, but afterwards highly acrid and even cor- 
rosive. It yields its virtues to water by decoction. 
Yauquelin discovered a peculiar principle in the bark of Daphne Alpina. 
This has subsequently been found in other species, and has received the name 
of daphnin. Gmelin and Bar found it in the bark of D. Mezereum, associated 
with wax, an acrid resin, a yellow colouring matter, reddish-brown extractive, 
an uncrystallizable and fermentable sugar, a gummy matter containing azote, 
ligneous fibre, malic acid, and several malates. By J. B. Eng it has been dis- 
covered, together with a volatile oil, in the flowers of Daphne Mezereum. ( Witt' 
stein’s Viert. Schr., viii. 23.) Daphnin is in prismatic crystals grouped together, 
part T. 548 
Mezereum. 
PART I. 
colourless, transparent, brilliant, slightly soluble in cold water, very soluble in 
boiling water and alcohol, without odour, and of a bitter, somewhat austere 
taste. By Zwenger it is said to be insoluble in ether. The same chemist states 
that it has an acid reaction, and acts like the glucosides, being resolvable by sul- 
phuric or muriatic acid into sugar, and a peculiar crystallizable principle called 
daphnetin. He gives for daphnin the formula C6JH34038-f 8IIO. (Annal. der 
Ghem. und Pharm., cxv. 1.) It is obtained by treating the alcoholic extract of 
the bark with water, decanting the solution, precipitating with subacetate of 
lead, filtering, decomposing the excess of the subacetate by sulphuretted hydro- 
gen, again filtering, evaporating to dryness, submitting the residue to the action 
of anhydrous alcohol, and evaporating the alcoholic solution to the point of 
crystallization. Though daphnin is probably not inert, it is not the principle 
upon which the virtues of mezereon chiefly depend. Vauquelin thinks that in 
the recent plant they reside in an essential oil, which by time and exposure is 
changed into a resin, wdthout losing its activity. The acrid resin, observed by 
Gmelin and Bar, is probably the characteristic principle to which the bark owes 
its vesicating properties. It is obtained separate by boiling mezereon in alcohol, 
allowing the liquor to cool in order that it may deposit some wax which it has 
taken up, then distilling off the alcohol, and treating the residue with water, 
which leaves the resin. This is of a dark-green, almost black colour, hard and 
brittle, and of an exceedingly acrid and permanent taste. In the isolated state it 
is slightly soluble in water; and it is much more so when combined with the other 
principles of the bark. It appears, however, not to be a pure proximate prin- 
ciple, but rather a resinoid combination of an acrid fixed oil with another sub- 
stance. The acrid principle of mezereon is partially given off by decoction with 
water, as proved by the irritating character of the vapour when inhaled; but 
none of it appears to escape when the bark is boiled with alcohol. (Squire, 
Pharm. Transact., i. 395.) 
.Medical Properties and Uses. The recent bark applied to the skin produces 
inflammation followed by vesication, and has been popularly used as an epis- 
pastic, from time immemorial, in some of the southern countries of Europe. The 
dried bark, though less active, is possessed of a similar property, and is occa- 
sionally employed in France by regular practitioners for the purpose of forming 
issues. A small square piece, moistened with vinegar, is applied to the skin, 
and renewed twice a day till a blister is formed, and occasionally afterwards to 
keep up the discharge. It is slow in its operation, generally requiring from 
twenty-four to forty-eight hours to vesicate. An irritant ointment is prepared 
from mezereon, which is used for maintaining the discharge from blistered sur- 
faces, and may be applied advantageously to obstinate, ill-conditioned, indolent 
ulcers. In the TJ. S. Pharmacopoeia of 1850, it was directed to be made by digest- 
ing the bark with melted lard, and straining; but was discarded at the last revi- 
sion of that work. This, we think, was unfortunate; for, though the method of 
preparing it was defective, another might have been adopted, which would have 
yielded a good preparation, and an irritating ointment of the kind is needed. It 
may be made by mixing two drachms of an alcoholic extract of mezereon with 
nine ounces of lard and one of wax, melted together. The alcoholic extract has 
also been employed to communicate irritant properties to issue peas. 
Internally administered, mezereon is a stimulant capable of being directed to 
the skin or kidneys, and in large doses apt to excite purging, nausea, and vomit- 
ing. In overdoses it produces the fatal effects of the acrid poisons; and a case 
of apparently severe narcotic effects has been recorded. (Am. Journ. of Med. 
Sci., xxi. 518.) It had at one time much reputation as a remedy in the secondary 
stages of syphilis, and still enters as an ingredient into the officinal compound 
decoction of sarsaparilla. It has also been thought to act favourably as an 
alterative in scrofulous affections, chronic rheumatism, and obstinate diseases ot part I. 
Mezereum.—Monarda.—Mon Succus. 
549 
the skin. For this purpose it is usually administered in decoction. (SeeDecoctum 
Mezerei.) Dr. Withering cured a case of difficult swallowing from palsy, by 
directing the patient to chew frequently small pieces of the root. The dose ot 
the bark in substance is ten grains; but it is seldom used in this way. 
Off. Prep. Decoct. Sarsrn Compositum, Br.; Decoctum Sarsaparillae Com- 
positum, U. S.; Extractum Sarsaparillae Fluidum Compositum, U. S. W. 
MONARDA. U.S. 
Horsemint. 
The herb of Monarda punctata. U. S. 
Monarda. Sex. Syst. Diandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Lamiaceae or La- 
biatae. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx five-toothed, cylindric, striate. Corolla ringent, with a long 
cylindric tube; upper lip linear, nearly straight and entire, involving the fila- 
ments ; lower lip reflected, broader, three-lobed, the middle lobe longer. Nuttall. 
Monarda punctata. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 126; Am. Med. Recorder, vol. ii. p. 
496. This is an indigenous perennial or biennial plant, with herbaceous, obtusely 
angled, downy, whitish, branching stems, rising one or two feet in height, and 
furnished with oblong-lanceolate, remotely serrate, smooth, punctate leaves. 
The flowers are yellow, spotted with red or brown, and disposed in numerous 
whorls, provided with lanceolate, coloured bractes, longer than the whorl. 
The horsemint grows in light gravelly or sandy soils from New Jersey to 
Louisiana, and flowers from June to September. The whole herb is employed. 
It has an aromatic smell, and a warm, pungent, bitterish taste, and abounds in 
a volatile oil, which may be separated by distillation with water. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Horsemint is stimulant and carminative; but 
is seldom used in regular practice. In the state of infusion it is occasionally 
employed in families as a remedy for flatulent colic and sick stomach, and for 
other purposes to which the aromatic herbs are applied. It was introduced into 
the primary catalogue of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, on account of the volatile oil 
which it affords. (See Oleum Monardse.) 
Off. Prep. Oleum Monardae, U. S. W. 
MORI SUCCUS. Br. 
Mulberry Juice. 
Morus nigra. The juice of the ripe fruit. Br. 
Mures, Fr.; Schwarze Maulbeeren, Germ.; Morone, Ital ; Moras, Span. 
Morus. Sex. Syst. Monoecia Tetrandria.—Nat. Ord. Urticaceae. 
Gen.Ch. Male. Calyx four parted. Corolla none. Female. Calyx four- 
leaved. Corolla none. Styles two. Calyx berried. Seed one. Willd. 
Morus nigra. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 36; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 712, t. 243. 
This species of mulberry is distinguished by its cordate-ovate or lobed, un- 
equally toothed, and scabrous leaves. It is a tree of middle size, supposed to 
have been brought originally from Persia into Italy, and thence spread over 
Europe and America. Its leaves afford food for the silk-worm; and the bark of 
the root, which is bitter and slightly acrid, has been employed as a vermifuge, 
especially in cases of the tape-worm, in the dose of two drachms infused in eight 
ounces of boiling water. The juice of the fruit is the officinal portion. 
The fruit is oblong-oval, of a dark reddish-purple almost black colour, and 
consists of numerous minute berries, united together and attached to a common 
receptacle, each containing a single seed, the succulent envelope of which is 550 
Mori Succus.—Moschus. 
PART I. 
formed by the calyx. It is inodorous, has a sweet, mucilaginous, acidulous taste, 
and abounds in a deep-red juice. The sourish taste is owing, according to 
Hermbstadt, to the presence of tartaric acid. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Mulberries are refreshing and laxative, and 
serve to prepare a grateful drink well adapted to febrile cases. A syrup is made 
from their juice, and used as an agreeable addition to gargles in inflammation 
of the throat. They are, however, more used as food than medicine. Our native 
mulberry, the fruit of Morus rubra, is quite equal to that of the imported spe- 
cies. Morus alba, originally from China, and now extensively cultivated as a 
source of food for the silk-worm, bears a white fruit, which is sweeter and less 
grateful than the others. 
Off. Prep. Syrupus Mori, Br. W. 
MOSCHUS. U.S.,Br. 
Mush. 
A peculiar concrete substance obtained from Moschus moschiferus. U. S. The 
inspissated secretion from the preputial follicles, dried. Br. 
Muse, Fr.; Bisam, Germ ; Muschio, Ital.; Almizcle, Span. 
Moschus. Class Mammalia. Order Pecora. 
Gen.Ch. Horns none. Fore teeth eight in the lower jaw. Tusks one on each 
side, in the upper jaw, projecting out of the mouth. 
Moschus moschiferus. Gmelin, Syst. Nat. i. 172; Reese’s Cyclopaedia. This 
animal bears a close resemblance to the deer in shape and size. It is usually 
about three feet in length and two feet high, with haunches considerably more 
elevated than the shoulders. From its upper jaw two tusks project downwards 
out of the mouth, each about two inches long, curved backwards, and serving to 
extract the roots which are used as food by the animal. The ears are long and 
narrow, and the tail very short. The fleece, consisting of strong, elastic, undu- 
lated hairs, varies in colour with the season, the age of the animal, and perhaps 
the place which it inhabits. The general colour is a deep iron-gray. The indi- 
vidual hairs are whitish near the root, and fawn-coloured or blackish towards 
the tip. The musk is contained in an oval, hairy, projecting sac, found only in 
the male, situated between the umbilicus and the prepuce, from two to three 
inches long, and from one to two broad, opening by a small hairy orifice at its 
anterior part, and marked posteriorly by a groove or furrow which corresponds 
with the opening of the prepuce. It is lined internally by a smooth membrane, 
thrown into a number of irregular folds, forming incomplete partitions. In the 
vigorous adult animal, the sac sometimes contains six drachms of musk; but in 
the old, seldom more than two drachms, and none in the young.* The musk is 
secreted by the lining membrane, and in the living animal forms a consistent 
mass, which, on the outside, is compact, and marked with the folds of the mem- 
brane, but is less firm towards the centre, where there is sometimes a vacant 
space. As first secreted it is probably liquid, and a portion is occasionally forced 
out by the animal, to which it communicates its odour. 
The musk deer inhabits the vast mountainous regions of central Asia, extend- 
ing from India to Siberia, and from the country of the Turcomans to China. It 
is an active and timid animal, springing from rock to rock with surprising agility, 
* Accoi’ding to Col. Frederick Markham, as much as two ounces are sometimes found, 
and the average for a full grown animal is an ounce; but., as many of the deer are killed 
young, the pods in the market probably do not contain more than half an ounce upon an 
average. He states that the musk of the young animal, though not so strong as that of the 
old, has a much pleasanter smell (Pharm. Journ. and Trans., xv. 472; from ‘ Shoodny in ‘ht 
Himalayas,'' &c.)—Note to the eleventh edition. PART I. 
Moschus. 
551 
and frequenting the snowy recesses, and most inaccessible crags of the mountains. 
Concealing itself during the day, it chooses the night for roaming in search oi 
food; and, though said to be abundant in its native regions, is taken with diffi- 
culty. It is hunted for its hide, as well as for the musk. The natives often take 
it by snariug. As soon as the animal is killed, the sac is cut off, and dried with 
its contents; and in this state is sent into the market. 
Musk varies in quality with the country inhabited by the animal. That pro- 
cured from the mountains on the southern borders of Siberia, and brought into 
the market through Russia, is comparatively feeble. The best is imported from 
China, and is said to be the product of Ton quin. A variety intermediate be- 
tween these is procured in the Himalaya Mountains and Thibet, and sent to 
Calcutta. This is sometimes enclosed in the membranous lining of the sac, with- 
out the hairy envelope, and in this condition is said to be quite equal if not 
superior to that surrounded by the skin, as, in the former condition, it dries 
readily in the sun, while, in the latter, the aid of artificial heat is deemed neces- 
sary, by which the musk may sometimes be injured. (F. Peake, Pharm. Journ., 
Feb. 1861, p. 399.) We derive our chief supply from Canton, though portions are 
occasionally brought hither from Europe. 
Two varieties are known in commerce, the Chinese and Russian. Both come 
in sacs, convex and hairy on one side, flat and destitute of hair on the other. 
The hairs are brownish-yellow, grayish, or whitish, stiff and short, and arranged 
concentrically around the orifice of the sac. The Chinese, which is the most 
highly valued, is in bags of a rounder shape, covered with brownish-yellow or 
reddish-brown hairs, and containing at most a drachm and a half of large-grained, 
dark, strong-scented musk, of an ammoniacal odour. The Russian is in longer 
and larger bags, small-grained, of a light yellowish-brown colour, and of a weaker 
and more fetid odour, with less smell of ammonia. 
Properties. Musk is in grains or lumps concreted together, soft and unctuous 
to the touch, and of a reddish-brown or ferruginous colour, resembling that of 
dried blood. Some hairs of the pod are generally mixed with it. The odour is 
strong, penetrating, and so diffusive, that one part of musk communicates its 
smell to more than 3000 parts of inodorous powder. (Fee.) In some delicate 
individuals it produces headache and other disagreeable symptoms, and has even 
caused convulsions. The taste is bitter, disagreeable, and somewhat acrid. The 
colour of the powder is reddish-brown. Musk is inflammable, burning with a 
white flame, and leaving a light spongy charcoal. Reduced to ashes, it leaves 
about 5 per cent., containing potassa, lime, magnesia, iron, carbonic, phosphoric, 
and sulphuric acids, chlorine, and traces of ferrocyauate of potassa and sulphuret 
of ammonium. (Prof. W. Bernatzik.) It yields, upon analysis, a great number of 
proximate principles. Guibourt and Blondeau obtained water, ammonia, stearin, 
olein, cholesterin, an oily acid combined with ammonia, volatile oil, muriate of 
ammonia, chlorides of potassium and calcium, an uncertain acid combined with 
ammonia, potassa, and lime, gelatin, albumen, fibrin, a highly carbonaceous mat- 
ter soluble in water, a soluble calcareous salt with a combustible acid, carbonate 
and phosphate of lime, hair, and sand. (Annal. de Ghim. et de Phys., ix. 327.) 
Besides these constituents, Geiger and Reinman found a peculiar bitter resin, 
osmazome, and a peculiar substance in part combined with ammonia. Accord- 
ing to Guibourt and Blondeau, it contains 47 per cent, of volatile matter, thought 
by some to be chiefly ammonia, by others to be a compound of ammonia and 
volatile oil. Theimann obtained only from 10 to 15 per cent. But the quantity 
of volatile as well as of soluble matter varies exceedingly in different specimens. 
Thus, Theimann found from 80 to 90 per cent, of matter soluble in water,. Buch- 
ner, only 54 5 per cent., and other chemists intermediate proportions. The pro- 
portion soluble in alcohol, as ascertained by different experimenters, varies from 
25 to 62 per cent. Ether is a good solvent. The watery infusion has a yellowish- 552 
Moschus. 
PART L 
brow? colour, a bitterish taste, a strong smell of musk, and an acid reaction. 
The alcoholic tincture is transparent, and of a reddish-brown colour, with the 
peculiar odour of the medicine. The action of potassa upon musk is accompa- 
nied with the extrication of ammonia, and an increase of its peculiar odour. By 
the influence of heat and moisture long continued, ammonia is developed, which 
acts upon the fatty matter, producing a substance resembling adipocire, but, 
according to Guibourt, without diminishing the activity of the medicine. The 
correctness, however, of this opinion is perhaps questionable; and it is advisable 
to preserve the musk as much as possible unaltered. When kept in glass bottles, 
in a situation neither moist nor very dry, it remains for a great length of time 
without material change. The odour of musk is very much diminished by mix- 
ing it with emulsion or syrup of bitter almonds, or cherry-laurel water. From 
the experiments of Wimmer, it appears that musk loses its odour when rubbed 
with kermes mineral, or golden sulphur of antimony, and reacquires it on the 
addition of a little solution of ammonia. (Pharm. Gent. Blatt, A. D. 1843, p. 406.) 
Camphor rubbed up with musk is also said to destroy its odour. 
Adulterations.—The price of this medicine is so high, and its sources so 
limited, as to offer strong temptations to adulteration; and little genuine un- 
mixed musk is to be found in the market. The sophistication commences in China, 
and is completed in Europe and this country. A common practice in the East 
is to open the sac, and to supply the place of the musk with an adulterated 
mixture. Sometimes the scrotum of the animal is filled with this mixture, 
and not unfrequently the sacs are made out of the skin. Dried blood, from 
its resemblance to musk, is among the most common adulterations; but, besides 
this, sand, lead, iron-filings, hair, animal membrane, tobacco, the dung of birds, 
wax, benzoin, storax, asphaltum, artificial musk, and other substances are intro- 
duced. These are mixed with a portion of musk, the powerful odour of which 
is diffused through the mass, and renders the discovery of the fraud sometimes 
difficult. It is said that the Chinese sometimes mix the musk of Tonquin with 
that of Siberia. The bags containing the drug should have the characters be- 
fore described as belonging to the natural sac, and should present no evidence 
of having been opened. The slit is sometimes carefully sewed up, sometimes 
glued together. The former condition may be discovered by close inspection, 
the latter by immersion in hot water. When the bag is made from any other por- 
tion of the skin, the difference may be detected, according to Mr. Neligan, by a 
microscope which magnifies 300 diameters. The genuine hairs exhibit innumer- 
able cells, which are wanting in the spurious. (Chem. Gaz., Feb. 1846, p. T9.) 
Musk which burns with difficulty, has a feeble odour and a colour either pale 
or entirely black, feels gritty to the finger, is very moist, so as to lose much weight 
in drying, or contains obvious impurities, should be rejected. Russian musk is 
said never to be adulterated before leaving Russia.* 
Medical Properties and Uses. Musk is stimulant and antispasmodic, increas- 
ing the vigour of the circulation, and exalting the nervous energy, without pro- 
ducing, either as an immediate or secondary effect, any considerable derange- 
ment of the purely cerebral functions. Its medical uses are such as may be 
inferred from its general operation. In almost all spasmodic diseases, so far as 
mere relaxation of spasm is desirable, it is more or less efficacious; but peculiar 
advantage may be expected from it when a prostrate state of the system, at- 
tended with great nervous agitation, or irregular muscular action, calls for the 
* For an account of the effects of numerous reagents on musk, and other modes of iden- 
tification as well as of detecting adulterations, see a paper by Prof. W. Bernatzik, translated 
in the Am. Journ. of Pharm, for Sept. 1861, p. 427. There is a discrepancy between Prof. 
Bernatzik’s statement of the solubilities of musk and that of the text. According to the 
latter, ether is a good solvent; according to the former, ether and chloroforu pjssess 
scarcely any solvent power.—Note to the twelfth edition. PART i. 
Moschus.—Mucuna. 
553 
united influence of a highly diffusible stimulant and powerful antispasmodic 
Such are low cases of typhous disease, accompanied with subsultus tendinum, 
tremors, and singultus. Such also are many instances of gout in the stomach, and 
other spasmodic affections of that organ. In very obstinate hiccough we have 
found it more effectual than any other remedy; and have seen great advantage 
from its use in those alarming convulsions of infants originating in spasm of the 
intestines. It is said to have done much good, combined with opium, and ad 
ministered in very large doses, in tetanus. Epilepsy, hysteria, asthma, pertussis, 
palpitations, cholera, and colic are also among the spasmodic affections in which 
circumstances may render its employment desirable. The chief obstacles to its 
general use are its high price, and the uncertainty in regard to its purity. Musk 
was unknown to the ancients. Aetius was the first writer who noticed it as a 
medicine. It was introduced into Europe through the Arabians, from whose 
language its name was derived. 
It may be given in the form of pill or emulsion. The medium dose is ten 
grains, to be repeated every two or three hours. To children it may be admin- 
istered with great advantage in the form of enema.* W. 
MUCUNA. U. S. Secondary. 
Coivhage. 
The hairs of the pods of Mucuna pruriens. U. S. 
Pois a gratter, Fr.; Kukkratze, Germ,.; Dolico Scottante, Ital. 
Mucuna. Sex. Syst. Diadelphia Decandria. — Nat. Ord. Fabace® or Legu- 
minos®. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx campanulate, bilabiate; the lower lip trifid, with acute seg- 
ments, the middle one longest; the upper lip broader, entire, obtuse. Corolla 
with the vexillum ascending, shorter than the wings and keel; the wings oblong, 
equal to the keel in length; the keel oblong, straight, acute. Stamens diadel- 
phous, with five anthers oblong-linear, and five ovate, hirsute. Legume oblong, 
torose, bivalvular, with cellular partitions. Seeds roundish, surrounded circularly 
by a linear hilum. (Be Candolle.) 
Mucuna pruriens. De Cand. Prodrom. ii. 405; Lindley, Flor. Med. p. 254.— 
Bolichos pruriens. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 1041; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 422.— 
Stizolobium pruriens. Persoon. This is a perennial climbing plant, with an 
herbaceous branching stem, which twines round the trees in its vicinity, and rises 
to a considerable height. The leaves are pinnately trifoliate, and stand on long 
footstalks, placed alternately on the stem at the distance of a foot from each 
other. The leaflets are acuminate, smooth on their upper surface, and hairy be- 
neath. The lateral leaflets are oblique at the base, the middle one somewhat 
rhomboidal. The flowers, which resemble those of the pea in form, are large, of 
a red or purplish colour, usually placed in threes on short peduncles, and hang 
from the axils of the leaves in pendant spikes about a foot in length. The fruit 
is a coriaceous pod, shaped like the Italic letter f, about four inches long, and 
* Vegetable Musk. It has been proposed to substitute for musk the volatile oil of certain 
plants, having the characteristic odour of that product. The Malva moschata and Mimulus 
moschatus have been used for this purpose. Dr. Hanon, of Belgium, has experimented with 
the distilled oil of these plants, and found it, in the dose of two or three drops, to be an 
energetic excitant of the primae vim and encephalon, producing a sense of weight at the 
epigastrium, with excitation, vertigo, headache, dryness of the pharynx and oesophagus, 
general lassitude, yawning, somnolence, and sleep in five or six hours. The pulse is little 
affected, and no unpleasant symptoms are felt on awaking. He has found it an admirable 
remedy in hysterical disorders, and various nervous affections attendant on other diseases 
when not inflammatory, and thinks that it is in no respect inferior to musk in antispas- 
modic properties. (Journ. de Pharm., xxv. 66.)—Note to the eleventh edition. 554 
Mucuna.—Myristica.—Myristicx Adeps.—Macis. 
PART I. 
covered with brown bristly hairs, which easily separate, and when handled stick 
in«the fingers, producing an intense itching sensation. The plant is a native of 
the West Indies, and other parts of tropical America. It has been supposed to 
grow also in the East Indies; but the plant of that region is now considered a 
distinct species, and entitled Mucuna prurita. The part usually imported is 
the pod, of which the hairs are officinal. 
Medical Properties and Uses. The spicula are said to possess powerful 
vermifuge properties, and are thought to act mechanically, by penetrating the 
worms. That they do act in this manner is evinced as well by the result of direct 
experiment upon worms out of the body, as by the fact that neither the tincture 
nor the decoction is in the least degree anthelmintic. The medicine was first 
employed as a vermifuge in the West Indies, and thence passed into British 
practice. There can be no reasonable doubt of its efficiency. It has been chiefly 
employed against the round worm; but all the different species which infest the 
alimentary canal have been expelled by its use. It is best administered in some 
tenacious vehicle. The usual mode of preparing it is to dip the pods into syrup 
or molasses, and scrape off the hairs with the liquid, which is in a proper state 
for administration when it has attained the consistency of thick honey. The 
dose of this preparation is a tablespoonful for an adult, a teaspoonful for a child 
three or four years old, to be given every morning for three days, and then fol- 
lowed by a brisk cathartic. M. Blatin has proposed to employ cowhage as an 
external irritant; seven grains being mixed with an ounce of lard, and seven or 
eight grains of the ointment rubbed for ten, fifteen, or twenty minutes on the 
skin. A stinging and burning sensation is produced, followed by white eleva- 
tions, which soon disappear, leaving no unpleasant effect. 
The root of M. pruriens (M. prurita, figured in Curtis's Bot. Mag. N. S. xii., 
Oct. 1856, tab. 4915) is said by Ainslie to be employed in the East Indies in 
the treatment of cholera; and both this part and the pods have been thought 
to possess diuretic properties. W. 
MYRISTICA. U.S.,Br. 
Nutmeg. 
The kernel of the fruit of Myristica fragrans (Houttuyn). U. S. Myristica 
officinalis. The kernel of the seed. Br. 
Noix muscade, Fr.; Muskatnuss, Germ.; Noce mosekata, Ilal.; Nuez moscada, Span. 
MYRISTICA ADEPS. Br. 
Concrete oil of Nutmeg. 
A concrete oil obtained by means of expression and heat from nutmegs. Br. 
MACIS. U.S. 
Mace. 
The arillus of the fruit of Myristica fragrans. U. S. 
Macis, Fr.; Muskatbliitlie, Germ.; Macis, I tat.; Macias, Span. 
Myristica. Sex. Syst. Dioecia Monadelphia,—Nat. Ord. Myristicacese. 
Gen. Ch. Male. Calyx none. Corolla bell-shaped, trifid. Filament colum- 
nar. Anthers six or ten united. Female. Calyx none. Corolla bell-shaped, 
trifid, deciduous. Style none. Stigmas two. Drupe with a nut involved in an 
arillus with one seed. Willd. 
Myristica moschata. Thunberg; Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 869; Woodv. Med. 
Bot. p. 698, t. 238.—M. officinalis. Linn. Suppl. 265; Lindlej, Flor. Afed p. pari I. 
Myristica.—Macis. 
555 
21. — M. fragrans. Houttuyn, Nat. Hist. vol. ii., part iii., p. 333. Of these bo- 
tanical titles, that recognised by the U. S. Pharmacopoeia of 1803 has the re- 
commendation of priority of date; M. Moschata, that of most general usage 
since the times of Thunberg. The nutmeg tree is about thirty feet high, with 
numerous branches, and an aspect somewhat resembling that of the orange tree. 
The leaves stand alternately on short footstalks, are oblong-oval, pointed, entire, 
undulated, obliquely nerved, bright-green and somewhat glossy on their uppei 
surface, whitish beneath, and of an aromatic taste. The flowers are male and 
female upon different trees. The former are disposed in axillary, peduncled, 
solitary clusters; the latter are single, solitary, and axillary; both are minute 
and of a pale-yellowish colour. The fruit, which appears on the tree mingled 
with the flowers, is round or oval, of the size of a small peach, smooth, at first 
pale-green, but yellow when ripe, and marked with a longitudinal furrow. The 
external covering, which is at first thick and fleshy, and abounds in an austere, 
astringent juice, afterwards becomes dry and coriaceous, and, separating into two 
valves from the apex, discloses a scarlet reticulated membrane or arillus, com- 
monly called mace, closely investing a thin, brown, shining shell, which contains 
the kernel or nutmeg. Not less than eight varieties of the plant are said by 
Crawford to be cultivated in the East Indies. 
Myristica moschata is a native of the Moluccas and other neighbouring 
islands, and abounds especially in that small cluster distinguished by the name 
of Banda, whence the chief supplies of nutmegs were long derived. But the plant 
is now cultivated in Sumatra, Java, Singapore, Penang, Ceylon, and other parts 
of the East Indies; and has been introduced into the Isles of France and Bour- 
bon, Cayenne, and several of the West India islands. 
The tree is produced from the seed. It does not flower till the eighth or 
ninth year; after which it bears flowers and fruit together, without intermission, 
and is said to continue bearing for seventy or eighty years. Little trouble is 
requisite in its cultivation. A branch of the female tree is grafted into all the 
young plants when about two years old. so as to insure their early fruitfulness. 
In the Moluccas the tree yields three crops annually. The fruit is gathered by 
the hand, and the outside covering rejected. The mace is then carefully sepa- 
rated, so as to break it as little as possible, is flattened, and dried in the sun, 
and afterwards sprinkled with salt water, with the view of contributing to its 
preservation. Its fine red colour is much impaired by drying. The nuts are 
dried in the sun or by ovens, and exposed to smoke till the kernel rattles in the 
shell. They are then broken open; and the kernels, having been removed and 
steeped for a short time in a mixture of lime and water, probably in order to 
preserve them from the attack of worms, are next cleaned, and packed in casks 
or chests for exportation. Dr. Lumsdaine has found them to keep better, if 
rubbed over with dry lime, than when prepared in the moist way. (See Am. 
Journ..of Sci. and Arts, Nov. 1851.) 
Nutmegs are brought to this country either directly from the East Indies, or 
indirectly through England and Holland. They are also occasionally imported 
in small quantities from the West Indies. 
Properties. The nutmeg (nux moschata) is of a roundish or oval shape, 
obtuse at the extremities, marked with vermicular furrows, of a grayish colour, 
hard, smooth to the touch, yielding readily to the knife or the grater, but not 
very pulverulent. When cut or broken it presents a yellowish surface, varied 
with reddish-brown, branching, irregular veins, which give to it a marbled ap- 
pearance. These dark veins abound in oily matter, upon which the medicinal 
properties depend. The odour of nutmeg is delightfully fragrant, the taste 
warm, aromatic, and grateful. Its virtues are extracted by alcohol and ether. 
M. Bonastre obtained from 500 parts, 120 of a white insoluble oily substance, 
38 of a coloured soluble oil (olein), 30 of volatile oil, 4 of acid, 12 of fecula, 6 Myristica.—Myristicse Adeps. 
PART I. 
of gum, 270 of lignin; and 20 parts were lost. The volatile oil is obtained by 
distillation with water. (See Oleum Myristicse.) By pressure with heat an oily 
matter is procured from the kernels, which becomes solid on cooling, and is 
commonly though erroneously called oil of mace. 
Nutmegs have been punctured and boiled in order to extract their essential 
oil, and the orifice afterwards closed so carefully as not to be discoverable un- 
less by breaking the kernel. The fraud may be detected by their levity. They 
are also apt to be injured by worms, which, however, attack preferably the parts 
least impregnated with the volatile oil. The Dutch were formerly said to heat 
them in a stove in order to deprive them of the power of germinating, and thus 
prevent the propagation of the tree. The small and round nutmegs are pre- 
ferred to the large and oval. They should be rejected when very light, with a 
feeble taste and smell, worm-eaten, musty, or marked with black veins. 
A kind of nutmeg is occasionally met with, ascribed by some to a variety of 
M. moschata, by others to a different species {Myristica falua), which is dis- 
tinguished from that just described by its much greater length, its elliptical 
shape, the absence of the dark-brown veins, and its comparatively feeble odour, 
and disagreeable taste. It has been called male, wild, or long nutmeg, the other 
being designated as the female or cultivated nutmeg* 
The concrete or expressed oil of nutmeg (Myristica: Adeps, Br.), com- 
monly called oil of mace, is obtained by bruising nutmegs, exposing them in a 
bag to steam, and then compressing them strongly between heated plates.* A 
liquid oil flows out, which becomes solid when it cools. Nutmegs are said to 
yield from 10 to 12 per cent, of this oil.f The best is imported from the East 
Indies in stone jars. It is solid, soft, unctuous to the touch, of a yellowish or 
orange-yellow colour more or less mottled, with the odour and taste of nutmeg. 
It is composed, according to Schrader, of 52 09 per cent, of a soft oily sub- 
stance, yellowish or brownish, soluble in cold alcohol and ether; 43 75 of a 
white, pulverulent, inodorous substance, insoluble in these liquids; and 4T6 of 
volatile oil. The pulverulent constituent, which received from Playfair the name 
of myristicin, has a silky lustre, melts at 88°, and yields in saponification gly- 
cerin and myristicic acid. It may be obtained directly from nutmeg by exhaust- 
ing it by means of benzole, filtering the liquid, and allowing it to crystallize by 
spontaneous evaporation. To purify the product, it may be dissolved in a mix- 
ture of two parts of absolute alcohol and three of benzole with the aid of heat, 
then filtering the liquid while hot, and setting it aside. On cooling, it deposits 
the pure myristicin in crystals. {Journ. de Pharm., Juin, 1859, p. 471.) An in- 
ferior kind of the oil is prepared in Holland, and sometimes found in the shops. 
It is in hard, shining, square cakes, lighter coloured than that from the East 
Indies, and with less smell and taste. It is supposed to be derived from nut- 
megs previously deprived of most of their volatile oil by distillatfon. An arti- 
* A few years since, attention was called to a California product, derived from Torreya 
California, and, from its resemblance to the fruit of the Myristica, called California nutmeg. 
It is, however, quite distinct in its characters from the true nutmeg, and cannot be sub- 
stituted for it. At the same time a variety of nutmeg appeared in our markets, which was 
at first supposed to be the California product referred to; but, on examination by Prof. 
Jos. Carson, was found to be the variety of drug mentioned in the text as the male or wild 
nutmeg, and to be wholly distinct from the fruit of the Torreya. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
xxvi. 247 and 499.)—Note to the eleventh, edition. 
j- A process for obtaining it by means of bisulphuret of carbon has been proposed by M. 
Lepage, of Gisors, in France, and has received the sanction of the Society of Pharmacy of 
Paris. It consists in treating the nutmeg, thoroughly comminuted, with three times its 
weight of the liquid referred to, well rectified, agitating the mixture frequently for 24 
hours, expressing, repeating the process with two parts only of the menstruum, mixing 
the products of the two macerations, filtering in a covered vessel, and then distilling off 
the sulpliuret, at a temperature of 100°, until the residue is entirely deprived of the nen- 
Btruum. {Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., xxxi. 28 )—Note to the Ucelfth edition. PART I. 
Macis.—Myrrha. 
557 
ficial preparation is sometimes sold for the genuine oil. It is made by mixing 
various fatty matters, such as suet, palm oil, spermaceti, wax, &c., adding some 
colouring substance, and giving flavour to the mixture by the volatile oil. 
Mace (M ACis, U. S.) is in the shape of a flat membrane irregularly slit, smooth, 
soft, flexible, of a reddish or orange-yellow colour, and an odour and taste re- 
sembling those of nutmeg. It contains, according to M. Henry, a volatile oil 
in small quantity; a fixed oil, odorous, yellow, soluble in ether, insoluble in boil- 
ing alcohol; another fixed oil, odorous, red, soluble in alcohol and ether in 
every proportion; a peculiar gummy matter, analogous to amidin and gum, 
constituting one-third of the whole; and a small proportion of ligneous fibre. 
Mace yields a volatile oil by distillation, and a fixed oil by pressure. Neumann 
found the former heavier than water. The latter is less consistent than the fixed 
oil of nutmeg. Mace is inferior when it is brittle, less than usually divided, 
whitish or pale-yellow, or with little taste and smell. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Nutmeg unites, with the medicinal properties 
of the ordinary aromatics, considerable narcotic power. In the quantity of two 
or three drachms, it has been known to produce stupor and delirium; and dan- 
gerous if not fatal consequences are said to have followed its free use in India. 
It is employed to cover the taste or correct the operation of other medicines, 
but more frequently as an agreeable addition to farinaceous articles of diet, and 
to various kinds of drink in cases of languid appetite and delicate stomach. It 
is usually given in substance, and is brought by grating to the state of a powder. 
Mace possesses properties essentially the same with those of nutmeg; and, like 
that medicine, has been known, when taken in excess, to produce alarming sen- 
sorial disturbance. (G. C. Watson, Prov. Med. and S. Journ., Jan. 26, 1848.) 
It is, however, less used as a medicine. The dose of either is from five to twenty 
grains. As the virtues of nutmeg depend chiefly if not exclusively on the volatile 
oil, the latter may be substituted, in the dose of two or three drops. The ex- 
pressed oil is occasionally used as a gentle external stimulant, and is an ingre- 
dient in the Emplastrum Picis of the British Pharmacopoeia. 
The ancients were wholly unacquainted with the nutmeg; and Avicenna is 
said to be the first author by whom it is noticed. 
Off. Prep, of Nutmeg. Acetum Opii, U. S.; Pulvis Aromaticus; Pulvis Cate- 
chu Compositus, Br.; Spiritus Armoracias Comp., Br.; Spiritus Lavandulae 
Comp., £7. S.; Spiritus Myristicae, U. S.; Svrupus Rhei Aromaticus, U.S.; Tinc- 
tura Lavandulae Comp., Br.; Trochisci Cretae, U. S.; Trochisci Magnesiae, U. S. 
Off. Prep, of the Concrete Oil. Emplastrum Picis, Br. W. 
MYRRHA. U. S., Br. 
Myrrh. 
The concrete juice of Balsamodendron Myrrha. U. S. A gum-resinous exuda- 
tion from the stem. Br. 
Myrrhe, Fr., Germ.; Mirra, Ital., Span.; Murr, Arab.; Bowl, Hindoost. 
Though myrrh has been employed from the earliest times, the plant which 
yields it was not determined till quite recently. The Amyris Kataf of Forskhal, 
seen by that traveller in Arabia, was supposed by him to be the myrrh tree, but 
without sufficient proof. Afterwards Ehrenberg met on the frontiers of Arabia 
Felix with a plant, from the bark of which he collected a gum-resin precisely 
similar to the myrrh of commerce. From specimens of the plant taken by Ehren- 
berg to Germany, Nees von Esenbeck referred it to the genus Balsamodendron 
of Kunth, and named it Balsamodendron Myrrha. This genus was formed by 
Kunth from Amyris, and includes the Amyris Kataf of Forskhal, which may 
possibly also produce a variety of myrrh. The new genus differs from Amyris 558 
Myrrha. 
PART I. 
chi'.fly in having the stamens beneath instead of upon the germ. It was not 
thought by De Candolle sufficiently distinct. 
Balsamodendron Myrrha. Fee, Cours. d'Hist. Nat. Pharm. i. 641; Carson, 
Illust. of Med. Bot. i. 28, pi. 20. This is a small tree, with a stunted trunk, 
covered with a whitish-gray bark, and furnished with rough abortive branches 
terminating in spines. The leaves are ternate, consisting of obovate, blunt, 
smooth, obtusely denticulate leaflets, of which the two lateral are much smaller 
than the one at the end. The fruit is oval-lanceolate, pointed, longitudinally 
furrowed, of a brown colour, and surrounded at its base by the persistent calyx. 
The tree grows in Arabia Felix, in the neighbourhood of Gison, in dwarfish 
thickets, interspersed among the Acacim and Euphorbias. The juice exudes 
spontaneously, and concretes upon the bark. 
Formerly the best myrrh was brought from the shores of the Red Sea by way 
of Egypt and the Levant, and hence received the name of Turkey myrrh; while 
the inferior qualities were imported from the East Indies, and commonly called 
India myrrh. These titles have ceased to be applicable; as myrrh of all quali- 
ties is now brought from the East Indies, whither it is carried from Arabia and 
the north-eastern coast of Africa. Aden in the former region, and Berbera in 
the latter would appear, from the statements of Mr. James Vaughan, to be the 
chief entrepots of the trade. {Pharm. Journ., xii. 226.) Great quantities are 
collected on the African coast, near the mouth of the Red Sea, whence it is taken 
to Aden. {Ibid., Oct. 1859, p. 217.) It is usually imported in chests containing 
between one and two hundred weight. Sometimes the different qualities are 
brought separate; sometimes more or less mingled. Only the best kind should 
be selected for medical use. 
Properties. Myrrh is in small irregular fragments or tears, or in larger masses, 
composed apparently of agglutinated portions differing somewhat in their shade 
of colour. The pieces are exceedingly irregular in shape and size, being some- 
times not larger than a pea, and sometimes, though rarely, almost as large as 
the fist. They are often powdery upon the surface. When of good quality, myrrh 
is reddish-yellow or reddish-brown and translucent, of a strong peculiar some- 
what fragrant odour, and a bitter aromatic taste. It is brittle and pulverizable, 
presenting, when broken, a shining surface, which in the larger masses is very 
irregular, and sometimes exhibits opaque whitish or yellowish veins. In powder 
it is of a light-yellowish colour. Under the teeth it is at first friable, but soon 
softens and becomes adhesive. It is inflammable, but does not burn vigorously, 
and is not fusible by heat. Its sp. gr. is stated at U36. The inferior kind, com- 
monly called India myrrh, is in pieces much darker than those described, more 
opaque, less odorous, and often abounding with impurities. We have seen pieces 
of India myrrh enclosing large crystals of common salt; as if the juice might 
have fallen from the tree, and concreted upon the ground where this mineral 
abounds. Pieces of bdellium, and other gummy or resinous substances of un- 
known origin, are often mixed with it. Among these is a product which may 
be called false myrrh. It is in irregular pieces, of a dirty reddish-brown colour, 
a vitreous brownish-yellow fracture, semitransparent, of a faint odour of myrrh, 
and a bitter balsamic taste. Myrrh is best purchased in mass; as in powder it 
is liable to adulterations not easily detected. 
Myrrh is partially soluble in water, alcohol, and ether. Triturated with water 
it forms an opaque yellowish or whitish emulsion, which deposits the larger por- 
tion upon standing. Its alcoholic tincture is rendered opaque by the addition of 
water, but throws down no precipitate. According to Neumann, alcohol and 
water severally extract the whole of its odour and taste. By distillation a vola- 
tile oil rises, having the peculiar flavour of myrrh, and leaving the residue in the 
retort simply bitter. The gum-resin is soluble in solutions of the alkalies, and, 
when triturated with them in a crystalline state, forms a tenacious liquid. Hence PART I. 
Myrrha.—Nectandra. 
559 
carbonate of potassa may be used to facilitate its suspension in water. Bracon- 
not found 2-5 per cent, of volatile oil, 23 of a bitter resin, 46 of soluble, and 12 
of insoluble gum. (Ann. de Chim., Lxvii. 52.) Pelletier obtained 34 per cent, of 
resin, with a small proportion of volatile oil, and 66 of gum. A more recent 
analysis by Rnickoldt gave 2-183 per cent, of volatile oil, 44760 of resin, 40 818 
of gum or arabin, 1475 of water, and 3 650 of carbonate of lime and magnesia, 
with some gypsum and sesquioxide of iron. The resin, which he calls myrrhin, 
is neuter, but becomes acid when kept for a short time in fusion. In the latter 
state, M. Ruickoldt proposes to call it myrrhic acid. (Archiv. derPharm., xli. 1.) 
According to MM. Bley and Diesel, myrrh containing little volatile oil always 
has an acid reaction, which they ascribe to the oxfdation of the oil. They found 
formic acid in the specimen examined by them. (Ibid., xliii. 304.) 
The same writers give, as a test of myrrh, the production of a transparent 
dirty-yellow liquid with nitric acid ; while false myrrh alfords a bright-yellow 
solution in the same fluid, and bdellium is not dissolved, but becomes whitish 
and opaque. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xviii. 228 ) According to M. Righini, if 
powdered myrrh, rubbed for 15 minutes with an equal weight of muriate of am- 
monia, and 15 times its weight of water gradually added, dissolve quickly and 
entirely, it may be considered pure. (Journ. de Chim. Med., 1844, p. 33.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Myrrh is a stimulant tonic, with some tendency 
to the lungs, and perhaps to the uterus. Hence it is employed as an expectorant 
and emmenagogue in debilitated states of the system, in the absence of febrile 
excitement or acute inflammation. The complaints in which it is usually admin- 
istered are chronic catarrh, phthisis pulmonalis, other pectoral affections in which 
the secretion of mucus is abundant but not easily expectorated, chlorosis, amen- 
orrhcea, and the various affections connected with this state of the uterine func- 
tion. It is generally given combined with chalybeates or other tonics, and in 
amenorrhcea very frequently with aloes. It is used also as an application to 
spongy gums, the aphthous sore-mouth of children, and various kinds of un- 
healthy ulcers. The dose is from ten to thirty grains, and may be given in the 
form of powder or pill, Or suspended in water, as in the famous antihectic mix- 
ture of Dr. Griffith, which has become officinal by the name of Mistura Ferri 
Composita. The infusion is also sometimes given, and an aqueous extract has 
been recommended as milder than myrrh in substance. The tincture is used 
chiefly as a local application. 
A plaster of myrrh is made by rubbing together powdered myrrh, camphor, 
and balsam of Peru, of each an ounce and a half, then adding the mixture to 32 
ounces of lead plaster previously melted, and stirring well until the plaster thick- 
ens on cooling. It is then to be formed into rolls. This plaster may be employed 
in all cases where a gentle and long-continued rubefacient effect is desired. 
Off. Prep. Decoctum Aloes Compositum, Br.; Mistura Ferri Comp.; Pilulae 
Aloes et Myrrhae; Pil. Assafoetidae Comp.,Rr.; Pil. Ferri Comp., TJ. S.; Pil. 
Galbani Comp., U. S.; Pil. Rhei Comp.; Tinctura Aloes et Myrrhae, U. S.; Tinc- 
tura Myrrhae. W. 
NECTANDRA. U.S.,Br. 
Nectandra. Bebeeru Baric. 
The bark of Nectandra Rodiei (Schomburg). U. S. Nectandra Rodiaei (Schom- 
buryJc). The Greenheart tree. The Bark. Br. 
Nectandra. Sex. Syst. Dodecandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Lauraceae. 
Gen. Gh. Flowers hermaphrodite. Calyx six-parted, rotate, the three outer 
segments somewhat broader. Stamens twelve, in four series, the nine outer fer- 
tile; the anthers of the first and second series turned inwards, of the third out- 
wards, all ovate, sub-sessile, four-celled. Ovary one-celled, with one ovule. Style 560 
Nectandra. 
PAItT I. 
short. Stigma short, truncated. Berry one-seeded, partly immersed in the tube 
of the calyx. Endlicher. 
Nectandra Rodisei. Schomburgk; Hooker's Bond. Journ. of Bot., Dec. 1844, 
p. 624. The bebeeru, bibiru, or sipiri, as it has been differently named, is a 
tree sixty feet or more in height, branching near the top, with a smooth, ash- 
gray bark. The leaves, which are five or six inches long by two or three in 
breadth, are nearly opposite, coriaceous, oblong-elliptical, shortly acuminate, 
smooth, shining, and obscurely reticulate on the upper surface. The flowers are 
yellowish white, in axillary panicles, much shorter than the leaves, and few-flow- 
ered. The fruit is a large, obovate or obcordate, somewhat compressed berry, of 
the size of a small apple, with a single seed about as large as a walnut. The 
tree inhabits Guiana and neighbouring regions of South America, where the 
wood is used in ship-building, under the name of greenheart. It received its 
specific name of Rodiei from Sir Robert Schomburg, in honour of Dr. Rodie, 
by whom it was first described. Though the fruit is very bitter, its seeds yield a 
starch which is said to be used as food by the Indians. The bark is officinal. 
Properties. This is in large, flat, heavy pieces, from one to two feet long, 
from two to six inches broad, and three or four lines thick, with a rough and 
somewhat fibrous fracture, of a grayish-brown colour on its outer surface, and a 
dark-cinnamon on the inner. It has an intensely bitter, somewhat astringent 
taste. Analyzed by Dr. Maclagan, of Edinburgh, it was found to contain tannic 
acid of the kind that precipitates the salts of iron green, resin, gum, sugar, albu- 
men, fibrin, various salts, and two peculiar alkaloids, named respectively bebee- 
rin (bebeeria) and sipeerin (sipeeria). In the seeds, besides the foregoing prin- 
ciples, Dr. Maclagan found 53 per cent, of starch, and a peculiar white, crystal- 
line, volatile acid, which he named bebeeric acid. The alkaloids are extracted 
together from the bark, in the form of impure sulphate, by a process similar to 
that for preparing sulphate of quinia. This preparation is known as the com- 
mercial sulphate of bebeerin. The sipeerin, which Dr. Maclagan believed to 
be a distinct alkaloid in the bark, he was afterwards induced to consider as the 
result of oxidation of bebeeria. (Pereira, Mat. Med.) 
Bebeeria, which, in accordance with the ordinary nomenclature of the alka- 
loids, should be called nectandria, was obtained pure by Messrs. Maclagan and 
Tilley by the following process. The impure sulphate is dissolved in water, and 
precipitated by ammonia. The precipitate, mixed with an equal weight of re- 
cently precipitated oxide of lead, and dried, is treated with absolute alcohol, 
which, being evaporated, leaves the two alkaloids in the form of a translucent 
resinoid mass. The bebeeria is separated by means of ether, which yields it by 
evaporation. Another process is to dissolve the precipitate obtained by ammo- 
nia, previously washed, in diluted acetic acid, add acetate of lead, precipitate by 
potassa, exhaust the precipitate by strong ether, evaporate the ether to the con- 
sistence of a syrup, dissolve the residue in absolute alcohol, and pour the solu- 
tion gradually into water. A flocculent deposit is formed, which, when washed 
and dried, is the alkaloid in question. Bebeeria is pale-yellow, amorphous, of 
a resinous aspect, inodorous, very bitter, very slightly soluble in water, freely 
soluble in alcohol and ether, fusible at 356°, inflammable, and of an alkaline reac- 
tion. It forms uncrystallizable salts with the acids. Its formula is differently 
given C35HmN06, and C38H21N06. 
Sipeeria (sipeerin) is left after the separation of the bebeeria by ether in the 
foregoing processes. This also is amorphous, very sparingly soluble in water, 
freely soluble in alcohol, but differing from bebeeria in being insoluble in ether. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Nectandra is tonic, somewhat astringent, and 
febrifuge, resembling cinchona in its virtues, though much inferior, at least in 
antiperiodic power. It has generally been employed in the form of the impure 
sulphate, and sometimes with great asserted success, in the treatment of inter- part I. 
Nectandra.—Nux Vomica. 
561 
mittent and remittent fevers. Dr. Rodie recommended it so early as 1834; but 
it did not attract general attention until brought into notice by Dr. Douglas 
Maclagan, of Edinburgh, who published a number of observations, tending to 
prove its possession of valuable antiperiodic properties. Others afterwards con 
firmed his statements in its favour, and it was hoped that a substitute had been 
found for the alkaloids of Peruvian bark; but the more recent published accounts 
by M. Becquerel, of France (Journ. cle Pharm., Se ser., xx. 439), of Dr. Wm. 
Pepper, of Philadelphia (Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., N. S., xxv. 13), and of Dr. 
E. D. Dailey, of Smyrna, Delaware (Med. Exam., N. S., ix. 557), show satisfac- 
torily that, though frequently successful, it often fails, and cannot be relied on as 
a substitute for quinia. From a scruple to a drachm may be given between the 
paroxysms, in doses of two grains. Prof. A. P. Merrill has employed the sul- 
phate with advantage in menorrhagia, in the dose of five grains. (N. Y. Journ. 
of Med., N. S., xv. 433, from the Memphis Med. Becorder.) 
The impure sulphate (commercial sulphate) of bebeeria may be prepared 
by first boiling the powdered bark with a solution of carbonate of soda, to re- 
move the tannic acid and colouring matter, and afterwards with water acidulated 
with sulphuric acid, which extracts the alkaloids in the form of sulphates. The 
solution is then filtered, the alkaloid precipitated by carbonate of soda, the pre- 
cipitate dissolved and neutralized with dilute sulphuric acid, the solution decolor- 
ized with animal charcoal, then concentrated, filtered, and finally evaporated in 
open vessels, with a gentle heat. Thus obtained, the sulphate is fit for medical 
use, though it is not pure, containing sipeeria, a little sulphate of lime, and 
colouring matter. It is in brownish, thin, shining scales, which become yellow 
in powder. It is freely soluble in alcohol, and sparingly in water, but is readily 
dissolved in the latter if acidulated. It may be given in the form of pill, or of 
solution in water acidulated with sulphuric acid, one minim of the officinal diluted 
or aromatic sulphuric acid being added for each grain of the sulphate. The dose 
is from two to five grains. 
The pure sulphate may be readily prepared by dissolving bebeeria, obtained 
as above directed, in water with sulphuric acid to neutralization, and evaporating 
the solution. 
Off. Prep. Beberise Sulphas, Br. W. 
NUX VOMICA. TJ.S.,Br. 
Nux Vomica. 
The seed of Strychnos nux vomica. TJ. S. The seeds. Br. 
Noix vomique, Fr.; Krakenaugen, Brechniisse, Oerm.; Noce vomica, Ital.; Nuez vomica, 
Span. 
Strychnos. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Apocynacese. 
Gen. Ch. Corolla five-cleft. Berry one-celled, with a ligneous rind. Willd. 
Strychnos Nux vomica. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1052; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 222, 
t. 79. This tree is of a moderate size, with numerous strong branches, covered 
with a smooth, dark-grav bark. The young branches are long, flexuous, smooth, 
and dark-green, with opposite, roundish-oval, entire, smooth, and shining leaves, 
having three or five ribs, and short footstalks. The flowers are small, white, 
funnel-shaped, and in terminal corymbs. The fruit is a round berry, about as 
large as an orange, with a smooth, yellow or orange-coloured, hard, fragile rind, 
and many seeds embedded in a juicy pulp. 
The tree is a native of the East Indies, growing in Bengal, Malabar, on the 
Coromandel Coast, *in Ceylon, in many islands of the Indian Archipelago, in 
Cochin China, and other neighbouring countries. The wood and root are very 
bitter, and are employed in the East Indies for the cure of intermittents. The 562 
Nux Vomica. 
PART I. 
radices colubrmee and lignum colubrinum of the older writers, long known in 
Europe as narcotic poisons, have been ascribed to this species of Strychnos, 
under the impression that it is identical with Strychnos Golubrina, to which 
Linnseus refers them. They have been ascertained by Pelletier and Caventou to 
contain a large quantity of strychnia. The bark is said by Dr. O’Shaughnessy 
to answer exactly to the description given by authors of the false angustura, 
and, like that, to contain a large quantity of brucia. The identity of the two 
barks has been confirmed by Dr. Pereira, from a comparison of specimens. (See 
Angustura.) The seeds are the only officinal portion. 
These are circular, about three-quarters of an inch in diameter, and two lines 
in thickness, flat, or slightly convex on one side, and concave on the other. 
They are thickly covered with fine, silky, shining, ash-coloured or yellowish-gray 
hairs, attached to a thin fragile coating, which closely invests the interior nucleus 
or kernel. This is very hard, horny, usually whitish and semitransparent, some- 
times dark-coloured and opaque, and of very difficult pulverization. The powder 
is yellowish-gray, and has a faint sweetish odour. The seeds are destitute of 
odour, but have an acrid, very bitter taste, which is much stronger in the kernel 
than in the investing membrane. They impart their virtues to water, but more 
readily to diluted alcohol. Nux vomica has been analyzed by several chemists, 
but most accurately by Pelletier and Caventou, who discovered in it two alka- 
line principles, strychnia and brucia, united with a peculiar acid which they 
named igasuric. Its other constituents are a yellow colouring matter, a con- 
crete oil, gum, starch, bassorin, a small quantity of wax, and, according to Mr. 
J. M. Maisch, several earthy phosphates. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., Nov. 1860, 
p. 524.) M. Desnoix has announced the discovery of another alkaloid, which he 
denominates igasuria; and M. Schutzenberger, in examining specimens of 
igasuria, separated nine alkaloids, each having a distinct composition, and all 
probably derived from brucia by oxidation under vital influences. These alka- 
loids are the active principles of nux vomica. 
Strychnia was discovered by Pelletier and Caventou, A. D. 1818, both in the 
nux vomica and bean of St. Ignatius, and received its name from the generic 
title of the plants (Strychnos) to which these two products belong. According 
to these chemists, it exists much more abundantly in the bean of St. Ignatius 
than in the nux vomica, the former yielding 12 per cent., the latter only 04 
per cent, of the alkaloid. For an account of its properties and mode of prepa- 
ration, see Strychnia, in Part II. 
Brucia was discovered by Pelletier and Caventou, first in the bark called 
false angustura, in combination with gallic acid, and subsequently associated 
with strychnia in the form of igasurates, in the nux vomica and bean of St. Igna- 
tius. It is crystallizable, and its crystals are said to contain 18 41 per cent, of 
water. It is without smell, but of a permanent, harsh, very bitter taste ; soluble 
in 850 parts of cold, and 500 of boiling water; very soluble in alcohol, whether 
hot or cold ; but insoluble in ether and the fixed oils, and only slightly dissolved 
by the volatile oils. It is permanent in the air, but melts at a temperature a 
little above that of boiling water, and on cooling congeals into a mass resembling 
wax. It forms crystallizable salts with the acids. Concentrated nitric acid pro- 
duces with brucia or its salts an intense crimson colour, which changes to yellow 
by heat, and upon the addition of protochloride of tin becomes violet. These 
effects serve to distinguish brucia from strychnia, and, if produced with the latter 
alkaloid, evince the presence of the former. According to MM. Larocque and 
Thibierge, chloride of gold produces, with solutions of the salts of brucia, pre- 
cipitates at first milky, then coffee-coloured, and finally chocolate-brown. (Journ. 
de Ckim. Med., Oct. 1842.) Brucia is analogous in its operation to strychnia, 
but possesses, according to M. Andral, only about one-twelfth of its strength, 
when the latter principle is entirely pure. It is therefore seldom employed. It PART I. 
Nux Vomica. 
563 
may be procured from false Angustura bark, in a maimer essentially the sairnf 
with that in which strychnia is procured from nux vomica; with this difference, 
that the alcoholic extract, obtained from the precipitate produced by lime or 
magnesia, should be treated with oxalic acid, and subsequently with a mixture 
of rectified alcohol and ether, which takes up the colouring matter, leaving the 
oxalate of brucia. This is decomposed by magnesia, and the brucia is separated 
by alcohol, which, by spontaneous evaporation, yields it in the state of crystals. 
According to Dr. Fuss and Professor Erdmann, brucia is nothing more than a 
compound of strychnia and resin. 
Igasuria is found in the mother-waters from which strychnia and brucia have 
been precipitated by lime. It is strongly bitter; readily crystallizable, with 10 
per cent, of water of crystallization; more soluble in water and weak alcohol 
than the two other alkaloids; reddened by nitric acid even more intensely than 
brucia; rendered by sulphuric acid at first rose-coloured, and afterwards yel- 
lowish and greenish-yellow; dissolved by the diluted acids, which form with it 
easily crystallizable salts; precipitated from its solution by the alkalies, and 
redissolved by them in excess, especially by potassa; precipitated yellow by bi- 
chloride of platinum, and white by tannic acid ; slowly precipitated by iodide 
of potassium in light reddish-yellow crystals; and thrown down as crystalline 
needles by bicarbonate of soda, in the presence of tartaric acid, in which pro- 
perty it resembles strychnia, but differs from brucia. One of its most distinguish- 
ing properties is its degree of solubility in water, of which it requires at 212° 
only 200 parts for solution ; while brucia requires 500 parts, and strychnia 2000. 
M. Desnoix inferred from his experiments on animals that it is intermediate in 
power between the two other alkaloids of nux vomica. 
The nine alkaloids into which Schutzenberger separated igasuria, he distin- 
guished by affixing the letters of the alphabet, as a igasuria, b igasuria, &c. 
They may be separated by the agency of hot water, by taking advantage of their 
different solubility, and their several periods of crystallizing as the solution cools. 
They are all colourless, crystallizable in needles or tufts, of a persistent bitter- 
ness, and almost as energetic as strychnia in their influence on the system. All 
are coloured red by nitric acid, like brucia, which, moreover, they resemble in 
their characters, except their greater solubility in water and alcohol. (Am. Journ. 
of Pharm., Nov. 1858, p. 537; from Comples Rendus.) It is difficult to resist 
the conjecture that the alkaloids, instead of pre-existing, are formed by changes 
in the igasuria during the crystallizing process. 
As a test for nux vomica, Vielgruth proposes to treat a few grains of the sus- 
pected powder with proof spirit, evaporate the tincture to dryness at a heat not 
exceeding 96°, then add a drop or two of dilute sulphuric acid, and again raise 
to the heat mentioned. If nux vomica is present, a beautiful carmine-red colour 
is produced, which disappears in ten or fifteen minutes after cooling, and reap- 
pears, but less brightly, on the reapplication of the heat. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Nux vomica is very peculiar in its action. In 
very small doses, frequently repeated, it is tonic, and is said to be diuretic, and 
occasionally diaphoretic and laxative. When it is given in larger doses, so as 
to bring the system decidedly under its influence, its action appears to be directed 
chiefly to the nerves of motion, probably through the medium of the spinal mar- 
row. Its operation is evinced at first by a feeling of weight and weakness, with 
tremblings in the limbs, and some rigidity on attempting motion. There seems 
to be a tendency to permanent involuntary muscular contraction, as in tetanus; 
but at the same time frequent starts or spasms occur, as from electric shocks. 
These spasms are first brought on by some exciting cause, as by a slight blow 
or an attempt to move; but, if the medicine is persevered in, they occur with- 
out extraneous agency, and are sometimes frequent and violent. In severe cases, 
there is occasionally general rigidity of the muscles. A sense of heat in the Nux Vomica. 
PART I. 
stomach, constriction of the throat and abdomen, tightness of the chest, and 
retention of urine are frequently experienced, to a greater or less extent, 
according to the quantity of the medicine administered. It sometimes, also, 
produces pain in the head, vertigo, contracted pupil, and dimness of vision. 
Sensations on the surface analogous to those attending imperfect palsy, such as 
formication, tingling, &c., are often experienced. The pulse is not materially 
affected, though sometimes slightly accelerated. Strychnia, given to the inferior 
animals, has been observed strikingly to lessen the bulk of the spleen. In over- 
doses, the medicine is capable of producing fatal effects. Given to the inferior 
animals in fatal doses, it produces great anxiety, difficult and confined breath- 
ing, retching to vomit, universal tremors, spasmodic action of the muscles, and 
ultimately violent convulsions. Death is supposed to take place from a suspen- 
sion of respiration, resulting from a spasmodic constriction of the muscles con- 
cerned in the process. Yet it poisons animals which have no lungs. {Am. Journ. 
of Med. Sci., N. S., xviii. 369.) Upon dissection, no traces of inflammatory action 
are observable, unless large quantities of the nux vomica have been swallowed, 
when the stomach appears inflamed. A division of the spinal marrow near the 
occiput does not prevent the peculiar effects of the medicine, so that the inter- 
vention of the brain is not essential. That it enters the circulation, and is brought 
into contact with the parts upon which it acts, is rendered evident by the ex- 
periments of Magendie and others. For further observations on the effects of 
this poison, and for the modes of obviating them, see Strychnia in Part II. 
Nux vomica has long been employed in India, and was known as a medicine 
to the Arabian physicians. On the continent of Europe, it has at various times 
been recommended as an antidote to the plague, and as a remedy in intermit- 
tents, dyspepsia, pyrosis, gastrodynia, dysentery, diarrhoea of debility, colica 
pictonum, worms, mania, hypochondriasis, hysteria, rheumatism, and hydro- 
phobia. It is said to have effectually cured obstinate spasmodic asthma. Its 
peculiar influence upon the nerves of motion, to which the public attention was 
first called by Magendie, suggested to M. Fouquier, a French physician, the 
application of the remedy to paralytic affections, in which he met with great 
success. Others have subsequently employed it with variable results; but the 
experience in its favour so much predominates, that it may now be considered a 
standard remedy in palsy. It is a singular fact, that its action is directed more 
especially to the paralytic part, exciting contraction in this before it is extended 
to other muscles. The medicine, however, should be administered with judg- 
ment, and never given in cases depending on inflammation or organic lesion of 
the brain or spinal marrow, until after the removal of the primary affection. It 
has been found more successful in general palsy and paraplegia than in hemi- 
plegia, and has frequently effected cures in palsy of the bladder, incontinence 
of urine from paralysis of the sphincter, amaurosis, and other cases of partial 
palsy, and has been employed with asserted success in prolapsus ani, sperma- 
torrhoea, and impotence. Upon the same principles, it is said to have proved 
useful in obstinate constipation from deficient contractility of the bowels; and 
is thought to promote the action of cathartics, when added to them in small 
proportion. It has recently been recommended in neuralgia, chorea, and atonic 
dropsy, and has been found peculiarly useful in gastralgia, gastro-enteralgia, 
and other debilitated conditions of the alimentary canal. 
Nux vomica may be given in powder in the dose of five grains, repeated three 
or four times a day, and gradually increased till its effects are experienced. In 
this form, however, it is very uncertain; and fifty grains have been given with 
little or no effect. It is most readily reduced to powder by filing or grating; 
and the raspings may be rendered finer by first steaming them, then drying 
them by stove heat, and lastly rubbing them in a mortar. The Edinburgh Col- 
lege directed that the seeds should be first well softened with steam, then ()liced, PART I. 
Nux Vomica.—Olea.—Olea Fixa. 
565 
dried, and ground in a coffee-mill. It has been recommended that, before being 
pulverized, they should be deprived of their exterior coating, which is easily 
done when they are exposed for a short time to the action of hot water. 
The alcoholic extract is more convenient and more certain in its operation. 
From half a grain to two grains may be given in the form of pill, repeated as 
above mentioned, and gradually increased. (See Extractum Nucis Vomicae.) 
The-watery extract is comparatively feeble. 
Strychnia has recently been much used, and possesses the advantage ot 
greater certainty and uniformity of action. Its effects are precisely similar. 
With very few exceptions, it is the most violent poison in the catalogue of medi- 
cines, and should, therefore, be administered with great caution. The dose is from 
one-sixteenth to one-twelfth of a grain, repeated twice or three times a day, and 
gradually increased. Even the quantity mentioned often produces spasmodic 
symptoms, and these generally occur when the dose is augmented to half a grain 
three times a day; but in the latter quantity the remedy, if pure, is unsafe. The 
system is not so soon habituated to its impression as to that of the narcotics gen- 
erally ; so that, after its effects are experienced, it is unnecessary to go on increas- 
ing the dose. Strychnia has been applied externally with advantage in amaurosis. 
It should be sprinkled upon a blistered surface near the temples, in the quantity 
of from one-fourth to one-half a grain, morning and evening; and the quantity 
may be gradually augmented. The best form of administration is that of pill, in 
consequence of the excessive bitterness of the solution. Strychnia may, however, 
be given, dissolved in alcohol, or in water by the intervention of an acid. 
Brucia may be used, for the same purposes with strychnia, in the dose of one 
grain twice or three times a day. Dr. Bardsley noticed that the quantity of two 
grains, three or four times a day, was seldom exceeded without the occurrence 
of the characteristic effects of the medicine. Magendie found this alkaloid very 
useful iu small doses as a tonic. He employed for this purpose one-eighth of 
a grain frequently repeated. It is very important, in reference to the dose, that 
it should contain no strychnia. 
Off. Prep. Extractum Nucis Vomicae, Br.; Extractum Nucis Vomicae Alco- 
holicum, U.S.; Strychnia; Tinctura Nucis Vomicae W. 
OLEA. 
Oils. 
These are liquid or solid substances, characterized by an unctuous feel, in- 
flammability, and the property of leaving a greasy stain upon paper. They are 
divided into two classes, the fixed and volatile, distinguished, as their names 
imply, by their different habitudes in relation to the vaporizing influence of 
caloric. 
1. OLEA FIXA. Fixed Oils. 
These are sometimes termed expressed oils, from the mode in which they are 
procured. Though existing in greater or less proportion in various parts of 
plants, they are furnished for use exclusively by the fruit; and, as a general' 
rule, are most abundant in the dicotyledonous seeds. They are obtained either 
by submitting the bruised seeds to pressure in hempen bags, or by boiling them 
in water, and skimming off the oil as it rises to the surface. When pressure is 
employed, it is customary to prepare the seeds for the press by exposing them 
to a moderate heat, so as to render the oil more liquid, and thus enable it tc 
flow out more readily. 
The consistence of the fixed oils varies from that of tallow to perfect fluidity • 
but by far the greater number are liquid at ordinary temperatures. They are 566 
Olea Fixa. 
PART I. 
somewhat viscid, transparent, and usually of a yellowish colour, which disap- 
pears when they are treated with animal charcoal. When pure they have little 
taste or smell. They are lighter than water, varying in specific gravity from 
0 913 to 0 936. (Berzelius.) They differ very much in their point of congela- 
tion ; olive oil becoming solid a little above 32° F., while linseed oil remains 
fluid at 4° below zero. They are not volatilizable without decomposition. At 
about 600° they boil, and are converted into vapour, which, when condensed, 
is found to contain, besides other products, a large proportion of oleic and 
margaric acids, together with benzoic acid, sebacic acid proceeding from the 
decomposition of the olein, and the vapours of acrolein, a highly volatile liquid 
resulting from the decomposition of glycerin, upon which the fumes of oils de- 
pend mainly for their irritating effects on the eyes and nostrils. Exposed to 
a red heat, in close vessels, they yield, among other products of the destructive 
distillation of vegetables, a large quantity of the combustible compounds of 
carbon and hydrogen. Heated in the open air they take fire, burning with a 
bright flame, and producing water and carbonic acid. When kept in air-tight 
vessels, they remain unchanged for a great length of time; but, exposed to the 
atmosphere, they attract oxygen, and ultimately become concrete. Some, in 
drying, lose their unctuous feel, and are converted into a transparent, yellowish, 
flexible solid. These are called drying oils. Others, especially such as contain 
mucilaginous impurities, become rancid, acquiring a sharp taste and unpleasant 
smell. This change is owing to the formation of an acid, from which the oil 
may be freed by boiling it for a short time with hydrate of magnesia and water. 
The fixed oils are insoluble in water, but are miscible with that fluid by means 
of mucilage, forming mixtures which are called emulsions. They are in general 
very sparingly soluble in alcohol, but readily dissolved by ether, which serves to 
separate them from other vegetable proximate principles. By the aid of heat 
they dissolve sulphur and phosphorus. Chlorine and iodine are converted by 
them into muriatic and hydriodic acids, which, reacting upon the oils, increase 
their consistence, and ultimately render them as hard as wax. If to one of the 
fixed oils be added one-tenth of its volume of chloride of sulphur, a reaction 
speedily takes place, attended with an elevation of temperature and the escape 
of muriatic acid gas, and followed immediately by solidification of the oil, which 
is wholly converted into a firm elastic substance, bearing considerable resem- 
blance to caoutchouc. (Journ. de Pharm., Fev. 1859, p. 97.) The stronger acids 
decompose them, giving rise, among other products, to oleic and margaric acids. 
Boiled with diluted nitric acid, they are converted into malic and oxalic acids, 
besides other substances usually resulting from the action of this acid upon vege- 
table matter. Several acids are dissolved by them without producing any sensible 
change. They combine with salifiable bases; but at the moment of combination 
undergo a change, by which they are resolved into a peculiar substance called 
glycerin, and into the oleic and margaric or other fatty acids, which unite with 
the base employed. The compounds of these acids with potassa and soda are 
called soaps. (See Sapo and Emplastrum Plumbi.) By the addition of one part 
of carbonate of potassa or of soda, 160 parts of oil may be brought with distilled 
water into the form of an emulsion. The potassa and soda soaps, and the alka- 
line sulphurets have a similar effect; but not the bicarbonates. The fixed oils 
also serve as good vehicles for various metallic bases and subsalts, which form 
soaps to a certain extent soluble in the oil, and thus become less irritant to the 
tissues. Oils thus impregnated may, like the pure oils, be brought to the state 
of emulsion with water, for convenient administration, by the addition of a small 
proportion of carbonate of potassa. (Jeannel et Monsel, Revue Pharm., 1857, 
p. 48.) The fixed oils dissolve many of the organic alkalies, the volatile oils, 
resin, and other proximate principles of plants. The alkaloids are more readily 
dissolved in them by beiug first combined with oleic acid; the olcates being rART I. 
Olea Fixa. 
567 
more soluble than the alkaloids themselves. (Attfield, Pharm. Journ., March, 
1863, p. 308.) According to Buignet, they are, with very few exceptions, in- 
different to polarized light; of all those used in medicine, the only exceptions 
being the liver-oils of the ray and dog-fish, which have a very feeble left rota- 
tory power, and castor oil, which is decidedly dextrogyrate. (Journ. de Pharm., 
Octob. 1861, p. 264.) 
The fixed oils, whether animal or vegetable, in their natural state, consist of 
at least two distinct oleaginous ingredients, one liquid at ordinary temperatures, 
and the other concrete. The liquid is a distinct proximate principle called olein; 
the concrete consists of stearin or margarin, the former being found most 
largely in animal, the latter in vegetable oils or fats, and the two not unfrequently 
existing together in the same oil. But several oils have peculiar constituents, 
differing in properties from either margarin or stearin, and specially named ac- 
cording to the substance containing them; as palmitin in palm oil, butyrin in 
butter, &c. As the most frequent of these proximate constituents of the fixed 
oils, and existing in many different oleaginous substances, olein, margarin, and 
stearin merit a special notice. Preliminarily, however, to their individual con- 
sideration, it will be proper to refer to the existing views in relation to their nature 
aud composition generally. 
It is supposed that these oleaginous principles are of the nature of salts, 
consisting severally of an acid combined with a substance called glycerin, which 
acts the part of a base. When, therefore, one of them is treated with an alka- 
line solution, it is decomposed; its acid uniting with the alkali to form soap, 
and the glycerin being set free. The analogy between these fatty salts and those 
consisting of inorganic ingredients may be carried still further; as glycerin is 
supposed to be, like the inorganic bases, an oxide, and to consist of a compound 
radical called glyceryl (C6H7) with five eqs. of oxygen, united with one eq. of 
water; its formula being C6H7,05+H0. The fatty acids, existing in these 
oleaginous salts, are named severally from the oily principles containing them. 
Thus, the acid of olein is called oleic acid, that of stearin stearic acid, and that 
of margarin margaric acid. It must be admitted that this view of the nature 
of the oily principles was at first received with some hesitation; and many sup- 
posed that, when an alkali with water was made to act on the oils, the resulting 
fatty acids and glycerin were generated by the reactions set on foot between the 
oil and water, and did not pre-exist in the oil. In favour of this view was the 
fact, that the presence of water was necessary to the change. But this is ex- 
plained by the supposition that the oxide of glyceryl cannot exist separately 
unless combined with water, the presence of which, therefore, is necessary to 
detach it from its combination with the fatty acid in the oils. Moreover, the 
received view has been synthetically confirmed; for M. Berthelot has succeeded 
in combining glycerin with various acids, forming salts, and among others with 
oleic, stearic, and margaric acids, thus reconstructing olein, stearin, and margarin 
out of their constituents. 
Olein. Plain. Liquid Principle of Oils. It is extremely difficult to obtain 
olein pure. Being the liquid menstruum which, in most oils, holds the concrete 
principles in solution, it has for the latter an affinity which retains portions of 
them with a tenacity not easily overcome. As ordinarily procured, therefore, 
olein contains more or less of margarin or stearin or both. In this somewhat 
impure state, it is obtained either by the agency of alcohol or by expression. 
When one of the oils, olive oil, for example, is dissolved in boiling alcohol, the 
solution, on cooling, deposits the concrete principles, still retaining the olein, 
which it yields upon evaporation. The other method consists in compressing 
one of the solid fats, or of the liquid oils rendered concrete by cold, between 
folds of bibulous paper, which absorb the olein, and give it up afterwards by 
compression under water. Olein is a liquid of oily consistence, becoming con- 568 
Olea Fixa. 
part i. 
crete at 20° F., colourless when pure, with little odour and a sweetish taste, in- 
soluble in water, soluble in boiling alcohol and ether, and composed of carbon, 
hydrogen, and oxygen. These elements are believed to be so combined as to 
form a salt, consisting, according to Berthelot, of one eq. of glycerin C6H705 and 
three eqs. of oleic acid 3(C36H33O3) = CluH10fiOu, the teroleate of glycerin, or 
triolein of Berthelot.* By reaction with nitric acid, olein is converted into a deep- 
yellow, butryaceous mass. If this be treated with hot alcohol, a deep orange-red 
oil is dissolved, and a peculiar fatty matter remains called elaidin. This is white, 
fusible at 97°, insoluble in water, readily soluble in ether, and supposed to be 
isomeric with olein. It is resolved by saponification with the alkalies into elaidic 
acid and glycerin; and is, therefore, elaidate of glycerin. It is now generally 
thought that olein, as obtained from different oils, is not precisely identical in 
properties; and a distinct compound is recognised, consisting of one eq. of gly- 
cerin C6HT05and one of oleic acid without water C36H3303= C42H40O8, the oleate 
of glycerin, or monolein of Berthelot. 
Stearin. This exists abundantly in tallow and other animal fats. It may be 
obtained by treating the concrete matter of lard, free from olein, by cold ether 
so long as anything is dissolved. The margarin is thus taken up, and stearin 
remains. A better method is to dissolve suet in heated oil of turpentine, allow 
the solution to cool, submit the solid matter to expression in unsized paper, re- 
peat the treatment several times, and finally dissolve in hot ether, which deposits 
the stearin on cooling. This is concrete, white, opaque in mass, but of a pearly 
appearance as crystallized from ether, pulverizable, fusible at about 143°, solu- 
ble in boiling alcohol and ether, but nearly insoluble in those liquids cold, and 
quite insoluble in water. It consists of glycerin and stearic acid; but there are 
several varieties of it, having different points of fusion, and somewhat differing 
in composition. Besides the natural stearin, which appears to consist of four 
eqs. of stearic acid and one of glycerin, Berthelot obtained two others by heat- 
ing glycerin with stearic acid; one of them with one eq. of each of its compo- 
nents, the other with two of the acid and one of the base. 
Margarin. This is obtained by treating the concrete matter of oil, previously 
deprived of olein, with cold ether, and allowing the liquid to evaporate; or by 
boiling a mixture of stearin and margarin with ether, which dissolves both, but 
deposits the former on cooling, and yields the latter upon subsequent evapora- 
tion. It resembles stearin closely, differing mainly in its lower melting point, in 
being soluble in cold ether, and in yielding margarates on saponification. The 
natural margarin is stated to consist of four eqs. of margaric acid and one of 
glycerin. Another has been produced artificially which is cpnsidered as a mo- 
nomargarin, consisting of one eq. of each of its components. 
As stated above, there is some reason to consider olein, stearin, and margarin, 
as being rather representatives of sets of proximate principles, than as quite 
distinct and peculiar; and this appears to have been the impression of Berzelius. 
It is possible, as may be inferred from the observations of Berthelot, that the 
several oleins, stearins, and margarins may differ in the proportion in which the 
acid constituent combines with the glycerin.f 
* Oleic acid has been proposed as a solvent of the vegetable alkaloids for external use. 
Its supposed advantages are that it dissolves these principles more freely than the oils them- 
selves, and that the compounds it forms with them would probably find ready entrance into 
the system. It is not, however, in general use. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxvii. 72.) 
j- Some interesting results in relation to the fixed oils were obtained by MM. Pelouze and 
Boudet, and published in the Journ. de Pharm., xxiv. 385. According to these chemists, 
the variable fusibility of the margarin and stearin of fixed oils, which has induced some 
chemists to believe that they are severally not entirely identical as obtained from different 
oils, is owing to the existence of definite combinations of margarin and stearin respec- 
tively with olein; and each of these principles, in a state of purity, is probably the same 
from whatever source derived, whether from vegetable or from animal oils. Thus they Olea Fixa.—Olea Volatilia. 
569 
PART I. 
As, besides oleic, stearic, and raargaric acids, there are in certain oils other 
analogous fatty acids, such as the palmitic, for example, which united with glycerin 
forms palmitin; so, besides glycerin or oxide of glyceryl, there are other bases 
of fatty salts, as oxide of cetyl, oxide of propyl, &c. So far as these have par- 
ticular interest for the pharmaceutist they will be considered under the several 
substances into the constitution of which they enter. To distinguish the oils 
having glycerin for their base, they are now denominated glycerides. 
The fixed oils are liable to certain spontaneous changes, which have been in- 
vestigated by MM. Pelouze and Boudet. It appears, from their researches, that 
the oils are accompanied, in the seeds which contain them, with principles which 
act as a ferment, and cause the oils to resolve themselves spontaneously into the 
several fatty acids which they afford on saponification, and into glycerin. This 
change takes place in the seeds as soon as the cells containing the oil are broken, 
so as to permit* the contact of the fermenting principle existing in the grain. 
Sometimes the fermenting principle is to a certain extent separated from the 
seeds along with the oil. In such a case, the oil undergoes this resolution into 
the fatty acids and glycerin after expression. Such was ascertaine'd to be the 
case with palm oil, in which, after long keeping, MM. Pelouze and Boudet de- 
tected the presence of glycerin, and of palmitic and oleic acids. They moreover 
proved that, under the continued influence of the ferment, the fatty acids them- 
selves undergo changes, among which is the conversion of the oleic into sebacic 
acid; and it is probable that, with a still longer continuance of the same influence, 
the oil would be completely destroyed. (Journ. de Pharm., Avril, 1856, p. 274.) 
It is sometimes desirable to deprive the fixed oils of colour. The following 
process for this purpose is recommended by M. Brunner. The oil is first brought 
to the state of emulsion by strongly agitating it with water rendered mucilagi- 
nous by gum or starch; the emulsion is treated for each part of oil with two 
parts of wood-charcoal, previously well heated, and coarsely powdered, the finer 
particles being sifted out; the pasty mass is then completely dried at a heat not 
exceeding 212° F., and exhausted by cold ether in a percolator; finally, the 
ethereal solution, having been allowed to stand in order that any charcoal pre- 
sent in it may subside, is submitted to distillation so as to separate the ether, and 
the oil remains colourless in the retort. {Journ. de Pharm., Sept. 1858, p. 214.) 
The ultimate constituents of the fixed oils are carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen; 
the hydrogen being in much larger proportion than is necessary to saturate the 
oxygen. Those which are least fusible contain most carbon and least oxygen; 
and, according to De Saussure, their solubility in alcohol is greater in propor- 
tion to their amount of oxygen. {Berzelius.) Some of them contain a very mi- 
nute proportion of nitrogen. 
2. OLEA YOLATILIA. Volatile Oils. 
These are sometimes called distilled oils, from the mode in which they are 
usually procured; sometimes essential oils, from the circumstance that they 
possess, in a concentrated state, the properties of the plants from which they 
are derived. They exist in all odoriferous vegetables, sometimes pervading the 
found the same margarin in palm oil and in human fat. But there appear to be two dis- 
tinct kinds of olein; one existing in the drying oils, as linseed oil, the oil of poppies, &c.; 
the other in the oils which are not drying, as olive oil, almond oil, human fat, and lard. 
These two forms of olein are different in their solubility in different menstrua, and in the 
circumstances that one is drying and the other not so, that one remains liquid under 
the action of nitric acid, while the other is converted by it into a solid substance called 
elaidin, and finally that the former contains much less hydrogen than the latter. Besides, 
the oleic acid formed in the process of saponification from these two kinds of olein is de- 
cidedly different; inasmuch as, in the one case, it is converted by nitrous acid into eldidic 
»cid, and in the other it is not thus changed.—Note to the fourth edition. Olea Volatilia. 
PART I. 
plant, sometimes confined to a single part; in some instances contained in dis- 
tinct cellules, and preserved after desiccation, in others formed upon the surface, 
as in many flowers, and exhaled as soon as formed. Occasionally two or more 
are found in different parts of the same plant. Thus, the orange tree produces 
one oil in its leaves, another in its flowers, and a third in the rind of its fruit. 
In a few instances, when existing in distinct cellules, they may be obtained by 
pressure, as from the rind of the lemon and orange; but they are generally 
procured by distillation with water. (See Olea Destillala.) Some volatile oils, 
as those of bitter almonds and mustard, are formed, during the process of dis- 
tillation, out of substances of a different nature pre-existing in the plant. 
The volatile oils are usually yellowish, but often brown, red, green, or blue, 
and occasionally colourless. There is reason, however, to believe that, in all 
instances, the colour depends on foreign matter dissolved in the oils. Septimus 
Piesse has succeeded, by the fractional distillation of certain *volatile oils, in 
separating a blue liquid, which, by repeated rectification, he has obtained quite 
pure. In this state, it has the sp. gr. 0‘ 910, and a fixed boiling point of 516° F., 
and yields a dense blue vapour, having peculiar optical properties. He has 
named this principle azulene, and believes that upon it depends the blueness 
of volatile oils wherever existing. The yellowness of the oils he ascribes to the 
resin resulting from their oxidation, the green and brown colours to a mixture 
of azulene and resin in various proportions. The formula of azulene is C161I130. 
(Ghem. News, Nov. 21, 1863, p. 245.) 
The volatile oils have a strong odour, resembling that of the plants from 
which they were procured, though generally less agreeable. Their taste is hot 
and pungent, and, when they are diluted, is often gratefully aromatic. The greater 
number are lighter than water; some are heavier; and their sp.gr. varies from 
0'84T to 117. They partially rise in vapour at ordinary temperatures, diffusing 
their peculiar odour, and are completely volatilized by heat. Their boiling point 
is various, generally as high as 320° F., and sometimes higher; but most of 
them rise readily with the vapour of boiling water. When distilled alone, they 
almost always undergo partial decomposition. They differ also in their point of 
congelation. A few are solid at ordinary temperatures, several become so at 
32° F., and may remain liquid considerably below that point. Heated in the 
open air, they take fire, and burn with a bright flame attended with much smoke. 
Almost all those hitherto examined have the property of very decidedly deviat- 
ing the plane of polarization of light, some in one direction, and some in the 
other; and advantage may sometimes be taken of-this property to detect adulte- 
rations of one of these oils with another. 
Exposed at ordinary temperatures, they absorb oxygen, assume a deeper 
colour, become thicker and less odorous, and are ultimately converted into resin. 
This change takes place most rapidly under the influence of light. Before the 
alteration is complete, the remaining portion of oil may be recovered by distilla- 
tion. Some of them form well characterized acids by combination with oxygen.* 
The volatile oils are very slightly soluble in water. Agitated with this fluid 
they render it milky; but separate upon standing, leaving the water impreg- 
nated with their odour and taste. This impregnation is more complete when 
water is distilled with the oils, or from the plants containing them. Trituration 
with magnesia or its carbonate renders them much more soluble, probably in 
consequence of their minute division. The intervention of sugar also greatly 
* Recovery of volatile oils from their resinified condition. A process for this purpose, cm-, 
ployed by M. Curieux, is to treat the old resinified oil with a solution of borax and animal 
charcoal; these being first mixed to form a magma, the oil then added, and the mixture 
shaken for fifteen minutes. The borax unites with the resinous matter; and the magma, 
adhering to the sides of the vessel, leaves the oil clear and possessed of /ts origina pro- 
perties. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., Sept. 1858, p. 398; from Journ. de Chim. 3/id.)— Note to the 
twelfth edition. Olea Volatilia. 
571 
PART I. 
increases their solubility, and affords a convenient method of preparing them 
for internal use. Most of them are very soluble in alcohol, and in a degree pro- 
portionate to its freedom from water. The oils which contain no oxygen are 
scarcely soluble in diluted alcohol; and, according to De Saussure, their solu- 
bility generally in this liquid is proportionate to the quantity of oxygen which 
they contain. They are readily dissolved by ether. 
The volatile oils dissolve sulphur and phosphorus with the aid of heat, and 
deposit them on cooling. By long boiling with sulphur, they form brown, unc- 
tuous, fetid substances, formerly called balsams of sulphur. They absorb chlo- 
rine, which converts them into resin, and then combines with the resin. Iodine 
produces a similar effect. They are decomposed by the strong mineral acids, 
and unite with several of those from the vegetable kingdom. When treated with 
a caustic alkali, they are converted into resin, which unites with the alkali to 
form a kind of soap. Several of the metallic oxides, and various salts which 
easily part with oxygen, convert them into resin. The volatile oils dissolve 
many of the proximate principles of plants and animals, such as the fixed oils 
and fats, resins, camphor, and several of the organic alkalies. Exposed to air 
and light, they acquire a decolorizing property, analogous to that of chlorine, 
which is ascribed by Faraday to their combination with the ozonized oxygen of 
the atmosphere. For some interesting observations on this property of the vola- 
tile oils, the reader is referred to papers by Dr. J. L. Plummer, of Richmond, 
Indiana, in the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (xxv. 398 and 508).* 
The volatile, like the fixed oils, are mixtures of two or more principles, which 
differ in their point, of volatilization or congelation, or in their composition. It 
is, however, impossible to separate them by distillation alone so as to obtain the 
several principles entirely pure. When, as often happens, the constituents con- 
geal at different temperatures, they may be separated by compressing the frozen 
oil between folds of bibulous paper. The solid matter remains within the folds; 
and the fluid is absorbed by the paper, from which it may be separated by dis- 
tillation with water. The name of stearoptene has been proposed for the former, 
that of eleoptene for the latter. The solid crystalline substances deposited by 
volatile oils upon standing are also called stearoptenes. Some of them ai'e deno- 
minated camphors, from their resemblance to true camphor. Some are isomeric 
with the oils in which they are formed, others are oxides. Certain oils, under 
the influence of water, deposit crystalline hydrates of the respective oils. 
In reference to their ultimate constituents, the volatile oils may be divided 
into three sets: 1. the non-oxygenated, consisting exclusively of carbon and hy- 
drogen, as the oils of turpentine and copaiba; 2. the oxygenated oils, contain- 
ing carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, as oil of cinnamon and most of the aromatic 
oils; and 3. the sulphuretted, containing sulphur, as the oils of horseradish and 
mustard. In relation to the first division, or non-oxygenated oils, it is a remark- 
able fact, that, however differing in sensible properties, almost all of them con- 
tain carbon and hydrogen in the same proportion; their formulas being the 
same, or differing only in the whole number of equivalents; as C5H4,C10H8, and 
CjoIIjg, of which the last two are simple multiples of the first. 
The volatile oils are often sophisticated. Among the most common adultera- 
tions are fixed oils, resinous substances, and alcohol. The presence of the fixed 
oils may be known by the permanent greasy stain which they leave on paper, 
while that occasioned by a pure volatile oil disappears entirely when exposed 
to heat. They may also in general be detected by their comparative insolubility 
* See also the same journal (xxviii. 197) for some curious facts in relation to a repul- 
sive influence exerted upon, and changes of colour produced in a mixture of chromate of 
potassa and sulphuric acid, by different volatile oils, at sensible and sometimes consider- 
able distances from the mixture, effected probably through the vapour of the oils.—Note 
to the eleventh edition. Olea Volatilia. 
PART I. 
in alcohol. Both the fixed oils and resins are left behind when the adulterated 
oil is distilled with water. If alcohol is present, the oil becomes milky when 
agitated with water, and, after the separation of the liquids, the water occupies 
more space and the oil less than before. The following method of detecting 
alcohol was proposed by M. Beral. Put twelve drops of the suspected oil in a 
perfectly dry watch-glass, and add a piece of potassium about as large as the 
head of a pin. If the potassium remains for twelve or fifteen minutes in the 
midst of the liquid, there is either no alcohol present, or less than 4 per cent. 
If it disappears in five minutes, the oil contains more than 4 per cent, of alco- 
hol; if in less than a minute, 25 per cent, or more. M. Borsarelli employs 
chloride of calcium for the same purpose. This he introduces in small pieces, 
well dried and perfectly free from powder, into a small cylindrical tube, closed 
at one end, and about two-thirds filled with the oil to be examined, and heats 
the tube to 212°, occasionally shaking it. If there is a considerable proportion 
of alcohol, the chloride is entirely dissolved, forming a solution which sinks to 
the bottom of the tube; if only a very small quantity, the pieces lose their form, 
and collect at the bottom in a white adhering mass; if none at all, they remain 
unchanged. (Journ. de Pharm., xxvi. 429.) J. J. Bernoulli proposes as a test 
dry acetate of potassa, which remains unaffected in a pure oil, but is dissolved 
if alcohol is present, and forms a distinct liquid. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
xxv. 82.) Sometimes volatile oils of little value are mixed with the more costly. 
The taste and smell afford in this case the best means of detecting the fraud. 
The specific gravity of the oils may also serve as a test of purity. When two 
oils, of which one is lighter and the other heavier than water, are mixed, they 
are separated by long agitation with this fluid, and will take a place correspond- 
ing to their respective specific gravities; but it sometimes happens that an un- 
adulterated oil may thus be separated into two portions. The difference of ap- 
parent effect produced by iodine with the several oils has been proposed as a 
test; and bromine has been employed for the same purpose by Mr. John M. 
Maisch. Mr. Maisch uses both these tests preferably in the state of ethereal 
solution; which, as it is liable to spontaneous change by keeping, should be 
prepared when wanted for use.* According to Liebig, when iodine is made 
to act on a volatile oil, a portion of it combines with the hydrogen of the oil 
forming hydriodic acid, while another portion takes the place of the lost hydro- 
gen. Oil of turpentine may be detected by remaining in part undissolved, when 
the suspected oil is treated with three or four times its volume of alcohol of the 
sp. gr. 0*84; or, according to M. Mero, by causing the suspected oil, when agi- 
tated with an equal measure of poppy oil, to remain transparent, instead of be- 
coming milky, as it would do if pure. The latter test will not apply to the oil 
of rosemary, {journ. de Pharm., 3e s6r., vii. 303.) Gr. S. Heppe suggests a very 
delicate test of oil of turpentine and most other non-oxygenated oils, when used 
to adulterate one of the oils containing oxygen. A piece of nitroprusside of 
copper, of the size of a pin’s head, is put into a little of the suspected oil in a 
test-tube, and heated until the liquid begins to boil. The boiling must be con- 
tinued only a few seconds. If the oil be pure and oxygenated, the nitroprusside 
of copper will become black, brown, or gray; if oil of turpentine or other non- 
oxygenated oil be present, the deposit will be green or bluish-green, and the 
supernatant liquid colourless or yellowish. (Chem. Gaz., Ap. 15, 1857, p. 155.)f 
Volatile oils may be preserved without change in small well-stopped bottles, 
entirely filled with the oil, and secluded from the light. W. 
* Mr. Maisch’s paper on the application of these tests to the several volatile oils is con- 
tained in the Proceedings of the Am. Pharm. Association, A. D. 1859, p. 342. 
| For an elaborate paper on the detection of adulterations in volatile oils by Mr. JobA 
M. Maisch, see Proceedings of the Am. Pharm. Association, A. D. 1858, p. 344. part I. 
Oleum Amygdalae Amarae. 
573 
OLEUM AMYGDALAE AMARiE. US. 
Oil of Bitter Almond. 
The oil obtained by distilling with water the kernels of the fruit of Amyg- 
dalus communis, variety amara. U. S. 
When bitter almonds are expressed, they yield a bland fixed oil; and the 
residuary cake, reduced to powder by grinding, and submitted to distillation 
with water, gives over a volatile oleaginous product, commonly called oil of 
bitter almonds. This does not pre-exist in the almond, but is produced by the 
reaction of water upon the amygdalin contained in it, through the intervention 
of another constituent denominated emulsin. (See Amygdala Amara.) It is 
obtained also by the distillation of the leaves of the cherry-laurel, and of various 
products of the genera Amygdalus, Cerasus, Prunus, and others. (See note, page 
109.) Mr. Whipple obtained, upon an average, from the ground bitter almond 
cake, 135 per cent, of the oil. (Pharm. Journ., x. 297.) Pettenkoffer has ascer- 
tained that the product is greater, if the cake be macerated in water for forty- 
eight hours before being submitted to distillation. (Journ. de Pharm., Mai, 
1862, p. 432.) 
Oil of bitter almonds has a yellowish colour, a bitter, acrid, burning taste, 
and the odour of the kernels in a high degree. It is heavier than water, soluble 
in alcohol and ether, slightly soluble in water, and deposits, upon standing, a 
white crystalline substance consisting chiefly of benzoic acid. Besides a peculiar 
volatile oil, it contains also hydrocyanic acid, with a small proportion of ben- 
zoic acid, and of a concrete principle called henzolne. It may be obtained pure 
by agitating it strongly with hydrate of lime and a solution of protochloride of 
iron, submitting the mixture to distillation, and drying the oil which comes over 
by digestion with chloride of calcium. Mr. George Whipple states that, if crude 
oil be redistilled into a solution of nitrate of silver, and again distilled from a 
fresh solution of the same salt, it is obtained entirely free from hydrocyanic acid, 
which reacts with the silver, and remains behind as cyauuret of silver. (See Am. 
Journ. of Pharm., xxvi. 348.) Thus purified it is colourless, but still retains 
its peculiar odour, with a burning, aromatic taste; and is destitute of the poi- 
sonous properties of the oil in its original state, dependent on hydrocyanic acid. 
The odour of the oil of bitter almonds has been erroneously ascribed to that 
acid, which, on examination, will be found to smell differently and more feebly. 
Like most other volatile oils, this may produce deleterious effects if taken very 
largely. Hippuric acid is found in the urine of animals to which it has been 
given freely. The sp.gr. of the crude oil varies from 1-052 to 1-082, and is 
said to be greater when the oil is distilled from salt water than in the ordinary 
mode. That of the purified oil is l-043, and its boiling point 356°. It probably 
consists of a compound radical called benzyl (C14H502) and one eq. of hydro- 
gen, and is therefore a hydruret of benzyl. This radical is capable of uniting 
with other bodies, and forming a series of compounds. The benzoic acid which 
the oil of bitter almonds deposits on standing does not pre-exist in it, but re- 
sults from the absorption of oxygen. The concrete substance above referred to 
by the name of benzolne is isomeric with the oil, crystallizable in colourless 
shining prisms, without smell or taste, fusible at 248°, and volatilizable un- 
changed at a higher temperature. It is formed abundantly in the original im- 
pure oil by the reaction of alkalies; but cannot be produced in it when deprived 
of hydrocyanic acid.* Schonbein has satisfied himself that oil of bitter almonds 
‘ * Nitrobenzole, or Artificial Oil of Bitter Almonds. This substance was discovered by 
Mitsckerlich, who obtained it by the reaction of nitric acid on benzole, a carbohydrogen 
originally procured by distilling benzoic acid with lime. (See Pari Third.) It is charac- 
terized by having an odour closely resembling that of the oil of bitter almonds, for which Oleum Amygdalx Amarx. 
PART I. 
has, like electricity and phosphorus, an ozonizing effect on oxygen. (Chem. 
Central Blu.lt, Dec. 15, 1858, p. 905.) 
Zeller mentions, as characteristics of the officinal oil by which its genuineness 
and purity may be known, its peculiar odour and high specific gravity; its ready 
solubility in sulphuric acid, with the production of a reddish-brown colour, but 
without visible decomposition; the slow action of nitric acid; the slow and par- 
tial solution of iodine without further reaction ; the want of action of chromate 
of potassa upon it; and the production of crystals when it is dissolved in an 
alcoholic solution of potassa. (See Pharm. Journ., ix. 575.) Mr. Redwood states 
that a very small proportion of alcohol may be detected in the oil, by the effer- 
vescence, with disengagement of nitrous vapours, which ensues when the oil, thus 
contaminated, is mixed with an equal volume of nitric acid of the sp.gr. 15. 
With pure oil no other effect is obvious than a slight change of colour. (Ibid., xi. ' 
486.) If sulphuric acid produces with the oil a bright-red, instead of a brownish- 
red colour, it indicates that the oil has probably been distilled with salt water, 
in which case it is apt, according to Mr. Ferris, to deposit a blood-red matter, 
occasionally complained of by druggists. (Ibid., p. 565.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. The unpurified volatile oil of bitter almonds, 
which is the product directed by the Pharmacopoeia, operates upon the system 
in a manner closely analogous to that of hydrocyanic acid. A single drop is 
sufficient to destroy a bird, and four drops have caused the death of a dog of 
middle size. The case of a man is recorded, who died in ten minutes after taking 
two drachms of the oil. It might probably be substituted with advantage for 
medicinal hydrocyanic acid; as the acid contained in the oil is much less liable 
to decomposition, remaining for several years unaltered, if the oil is preserved 
in well-stopped bottles. According to Schrader, 100 parts of the oil contain 
sufficient acid for the production of 22'5 parts of Prussian blue; but the pro- 
portion is not constant, varying, according to Mr. Groves, from 8 to 12-5 per 
cent. From one-fourth of a drop to a drop may be given for a dose, to be cau- 
tiously increased till some effect upon the system is observed. It may be ad- 
ministered in emulsion with gum arabic, loaf sugar, and water. It has been 
employed externally, dissolved in water in the proportion of one drop to a fluid- 
ounce, in prurigo senilis and other cases of troublesome itching. To facilitate 
the solution in water, the oil may be previously dissolved in spirit. Oil of bitter 
almonds is said to conceal the taste of cod-liver oil, and of castor oil. 
Off. Prep. Aqua Amygdalae Ainarae, U. S. W. 
it lias recently been substituted to a considerable extent in perfumery, in consequence of 
the discovery of benzole among the products of the distillation of coal tar, and the facility 
thus offered for preparing nitrobenzole cheaply. In its preparation a large glass worm is 
used, bifurcated at its upper end, so as to form two funnel-shaped tubes. Into one of 
these concentrated nitric acid is poured, and into the other benzole, and the two, meeting 
at the point of junction of the tubes, form the compound in question, which is cooled as 
it passes through the worm, and is afterwards fitted for use by washing it with water, or 
dilute solution of carbonate of soda. Much of it is consumed, in London, for scenting 
soap, in confectionery, and for culinary purposes, to which it is even better adapted than 
the proper oil of bitter almonds, because free from hydrocyanic acid. (Pharm. Journ., xi. 
421.) It is, however, not destitute of activity, and should not, therefore, be incautiously 
used. Mr. J. M. Maisch has known nitrobenzole to be used for the adulteration of the oil 
of bitter almonds, and proposes the following mode of detecting it. Dissolve half a drachm 
of the suspected oil in two or three drachms of alcohol, add fifteen grains of pure fused 
caustic potassa, heat for a few minutes so as to dissolve the potassa and reduce the liquid 
to one-third, and then set aside to cool. If the oil be pure it will remain liquid, while, if 
nitrobenzole be present, there will, after cooling, be a crystalline deposit, proportionate 
to the amount of adulteration. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., Nov. 1857, p. 544.)—Note to the tenth 
and twelfth editions. PART I. 
Oleum Amygdalse Dulcis. 
575 
OLEUM AMYGDALA DULCIS. U.S. 
Oil of Sweet Almond. 
The fixed oil obtained from the kernels of the fruit of Amygdalus communis, 
variety dulcis. U. S 
Off. Syn. OLEUM AMYGDALAE. The oil expressed from Almonds. Br. 
Huile d’amandes, Fr.; Mandelol, Germ.; Olio di mandorle, Ital.; Aceyte de almendras, 
Span. 
See AMYGDALA. 
This oil is obtained equally pure from sweet and bitter almonds. In its pre- 
paration, the almonds, having been deprived of a reddish-brown powder adher- 
ing to their surface, by being rubbed together in a piece of coarse linen, are 
ground in a mill resembling a coffee-mill, or bruised in a stone mortar, and then 
pressed in canvas sacks' between plates of iron slightly heated. The oil, which 
is at first turbid, is clarified by rest and filtration. Sometimes the almonds are 
steeped in very hot water, deprived of their cuticle, and dried in a stove, pre- 
viously to expression. The oil is thus obtained free from colour, but in no other 
respect better, while it is more apt to become rancid on keeping. Bitter almonds, 
treated in this way, impart a smell of hydrocyanic acid to the oil. M. Boullay 
obtained 54 per cent, of oil from sweet almonds, Yogel 28 per cent, from bitter 
almonds. Though sometimes expressed in this country from imported almonds, 
the oil is generally brought from Europe. 
Oil of almonds is clear and colourless, or slightly tinged of a greenish-yellow, 
is nearly inodorous, and has a bland sweetish taste. It remains liquid at tem- 
peratures considerably below the freezing point of water. Its sp. gr.'is from 
0 917 to 0'92. From the statement of Braconnot, it appears to contain 16 per 
cent, of olein and 24 of margarin. 
Oil of almonds is said to be sometimes adulterated with poppy oil, or other 
drying oils of less value. This sophistication may be detected, as suggested by 
M. Wimmee, by taking advantage of the property of being converted into solid 
elaidic acid by the action of nitric acid, belonging to the olein of the non-drying 
but not to that of the drying oils. By treating iron filings with nitric acid in a 
flask, nitrous acid is produced, which is to be conducted into water upon which 
the suspected oil is placed. If the almond oil contain even but a small quantity 
of poppy oil, or other drying oil, this will remain in the form of drops on the 
surface, while the genuine oil will be converted entirely into crystallized elaidin. 
(Journ. de Pharm., Dec. 1862, p. 500.) 
Colza oil, another not uncommon adulteration, may be detected, according to 
M. Schneider, by the action of nitrate of silver. Dissolve the oil in twice its 
volume of ether, add about 30 drops of a concentrated alcoholic solution of the 
nitrate, shake the mixture, and allow it to stand in the dark. If there be much 
colza oil, the lower part of the liquid will become first brown and then black; 
if but little, the brown colour will not appear for about 12 hours; but always 
the discoloration will be obvious on the evaporation of the ether. (Pharm. 
Journ., March, 1862, p. 484.) 
Oil of almonds may be used for the same purposes with olive oil; and, when 
suspended in water by means of mucilage or the yolk of eggs and loaf sugar, 
forms a pleasant emulsion, useful in pulmonary affections attended with cough. 
From a fluidrachm to a fluidounce may be given at a dose. 
Off. Prep. Unguentum Cetacei, Br.; Uuguentum Simplex, Br.; Unguentum 
Aquae Rosae, U. S. W. 576 
Oleum Anthemidis.—Oleum Bergamii, 
PART I. 
OLEUM ANTHEMIDIS. Br. 
Oil of Chamomile. 
The oil distilled in England from Chamomile flowers. Br. 
For an account of the plant yielding this oil, see ANTHEMIS, page 120. 
This oil has been introduced into the Materia Medica list of the British 
Pharmacopoeia, under the name of English Oil of Chamomile, and with the 
direction that it shall be distilled in England. It is seldom prepared or used in 
this country. Baume obtained thirteen drachms of the oil from eighty-two 
pounds of the flowers; according to Mr. Brande, the average product of 100 
pounds is two pounds twelve ounces. It has the peculiar smell of chamomile, 
with a pungent somewhat aromatic taste. When recently distilled it is of a pale 
sky-blue or greenish-blue colour, which changes to yellow or brownish on expo- 
sure. The sp.gr. of the English oil is said to be 0-9083. According to M. 
Gerhardt, oil of chamomile is a mixture of a carbohydrogen (CMH16) with an 
oxygenated oil (C10HfiO2). (Chem. Gaz., vi. 483.) It has sometimes been em- 
ployed in spasm of the stomach, and as an adjunct to purgative medicines. Its 
chief use, however, appears to be as an ingredient of the extract of chamomile of 
the British Pharmacopoeia, to which it is added in order to supply the place of 
the oil driven off by the heat used in its preparation. This oil must not be con- 
founded with the product of Matricaria Chamomilla, employed on the continent 
of Europe under the name of oil of chamomile. (See Matricaria.) The dose is 
from five to fifteen drops. 
Off. Prep. Extractum Anthemidis, Br. W. 
OLEUM BERGAMII. U.S. 
Oil of Bergamot. 
The volatile oil obtained from the rind of the fruit of Citrus Limetta (De 
Candolle). U. S. 
Huile de bergamotte, Fr.; Bergamottol, Germ.; Oleo di bergamotta, Ital. 
Citrus. See AURANTII CORTEX. 
Citrus Limetta. De Cand. Prodrom. i. 539. The bergamot tree has been 
generally ranked among the lemons; but is now considered as a variety of the 
Citrus Limetta of Risso, and is so placed by De Candolle. It has oblong-ovate, 
dentate, acute, or obtuse leaves, somewhat paler on the under than the upper 
surface, and with footstalks more or less winged or margined. The flowers are 
white, and usually small; the fruit pyriform or roundish, terminated by an 
obtuse point, with concave receptacles of oil in the rind. 
The pulp of the fruit is sourish, somewhat aromatic, and not disagreeable. 
The rind is shining, and of a pale-yellow colour, and abounds in a very grateful 
volatile oil. This may be obtained by expression or distillation. In the former 
case, it preserves the agreeable flavour of the rind, but is somewhat turbid; in 
the latter, it is limpid but less sweet. The mode of procuring it by expression 
is exactly that used for oil of lemons. (See Oleum Limonis.) It is brought 
from Italy, the south of France, and Portugal. 
The oil of bergamot, often called essence of bergamot, has a sweet, very 
agreeable odour, a bitter aromatic pungent taste, and a pale greenish-yellow 
colour. Its sp. gr. varies from 0-8T0 to 0-888 {Lewis, Zeller); and its composi- 
tion is essentially the same as that of oil of lemons. It is distinguished from 
the lemon and orange oils by readily dissolving in liquor potassae, and forming 
with it a clear solution. {Zeller.) Though possessed of the excitant properties 
of the volatile oils in general, it is employed chiefly, if not exclusively, as a 
perfume. W. PART I. 
Oleum Bubulum.— Oleum Cajuputi. 
OLEUM BUBULUM. U.S. 
Neats-foot Oil. 
The oil prepared from the bones of Bos domesticus. U. S. 
Huile de pied de bceuf, Fr.; Ochsenfussefett, Germ. 
Neats-foot oil is obtained by boiling in water for a long time the feet of the 
ox, previously deprived of their hoofs. The fat and oil which rise to the sur- 
face are removed, and introduced into a fresh portion of water heated nearly to 
the boiling point. The impurities having subsided, the oil is drawn otf, and, if 
required to be very pure, is again introduced into water, which is kept for 
twenty-four hours sufficiently warm to enable the fat which is mixed with the 
oil to separate from it. The liquid being then allowed to cool, the fat concretes, 
and the oil is removed and strained, or filtered through layers of small frag- 
ments of charcoal free from powder. 
The oil is yellowish, and, when properly prepared, inodorous and of a bland 
taste. It thickens or congeals with great difficulty, and is, therefore, very useful 
for greasing machinery in order to prevent friction. 
It was introduced into the officinal catalogue of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia as 
an ingredient of the ointment of nitrate of mercury. It has recently been used 
as a substitute for cod-liver oil in scrofulous diseases, and, according to Dr. C. 
R. Hall, of England, with happy effects, especially in cases in which the latter 
does not agree with the stomach. It is apt to be laxative, and in certain cases 
proves useful in this way. It is given in the same dose as cod-liver oil. (See 
Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., N. S., xxiv. 498.) 
Off. Prep. Unguentum Hydrargyri Nitratis, U. S. W. 
OLEUM CAJUPUTI. U.S., Br. 
Oil of Cajeput. 
The volatile oil obtained from the leaves of Melaleuca Cajuputi. U.S. Mela- 
leuca minor. The oil distilled from the leaves. Br. 
Huile de cajeput, Fr.; Cajeputol, Germ.; Olio di cajeput, Ilal.; Kayuputieh, Malay. 
Melaleuca. Sex. Syst. Polyadelphia Icosandria.— Nat. Ord. Myrtacese. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx five-parted, semi-superior. Corolla five-petaled. Stamens 
about forty-five, very long, conjoined in five bodies. Style single. Capsule three- 
celled. Seeds numerous. Roxburgh. 
It was long supposed that the oil of cajeput was derived from Melaleuca 
leucadendron; but from specimens of the plant affording it, sent from the 
Moluccas, and cultivated in the botanical garden of Calcutta, it appears to be a 
distinct species, which has received the name of M. Cajuputi. It corresponds 
with the arbor alba minor of Rumphius, and is a smaller plant than M. leuca- 
dendron. It is possible, however, that the oil may be obtained from different 
species of Melaleuca; as M. Stickel, of Jena, succeeded in procuring from the 
leaves of M. hypericifolia, cultivated in the botanical garden of that place, a 
specimen of oil not distinguishable from the cajeput oil of commerce, except by 
a paler green colour. (Annul. der Pharm., xix. 224.) Two other species ol 
Melaleuca, M. viridifolia, and M. latifolia, large trees growing abundantly in 
the island of New Caledonia, are said to yield a volatile oil very analogous to 
the oil of cajeput. The leaves of different species of Melaleuca have been used 
advantageously, in the form of bath, in chronic rheumatism. (Annuaire de 
Therap., A. D. 1861, p. 67.) 
Melaleuca Cajuputi. Rumphius, Herbar. Amboinense, tom. ii. tab. 17 ; Rox- 
burgh, Trans. Bond. Med. Bot. Soc., A. D. 1829; Journ. of the Phil. Col. of 578 
Oleum, Cajuputi. 
PART I. 
Pharm., vol. i. p. ’’93. — Melaleuca minor. De Candolle. This is a small tree, 
with an erect but crooked stem, and scattered branches, the slender twigs of 
which droop like those of the weeping willow. The bark is of a whitish-ash co- 
lour, very thick, soft, spongy, and lamellated, throwing off its exterior layer from 
time to time in flakes. The leaves have short footstalks; are alternate, lanceo- 
late, when young sericeous, when full grown smooth, deep-green, three and five- 
nerved, slightly falcate, entire, from three to five inches long, from one-half to 
three-quarters of an inch broad; and when bruised exhale a strong aromatic 
odo r. The flowers are small, white, inodorous, sessile, and disposed in terminal 
and axillary downy spikes, with solitary, lanceolate, three-flowered bractes. The 
filaments are three or four times longer than the petals, and both are inserted in 
the rim of the calyx. 
This species of Melaleuca is a native of the Moluccas, and other neighbouring 
islands. The oil is obtained from the leaves by distillation. It is prepared chiefly 
in Amboyna and Bouro, and is exported from the East Indies in glass bottles. 
The small proportion yielded by the leaves, and the extensive use made of it in 
India, render it costly. 
Properties. Cajeput oil is very fluid, transparent, of a fine green colour, a 
lively and penetrating odour analogous to that of camphor and cardamom, and 
a warm pungent taste. It is very volatile and inflammable, burning without any 
residue. The sp. gr. varies from 0 914 to 0'9274. Its composition, according to 
Blanchet and Sell, is represented by the formula CMH1B-(-2I10; and its boiling 
point is 347° F. Schmidt proposes the name of cajeputene for the carbohy- 
drogen of which it is a bihydrate. (Trans. Royal Soc. Edin., xii. 360.) 
The oil is wholly soluble in alcohol. When it is distilled, a light colourless liquid 
first comes over, and afterwards a green and denser one. The green colour has 
been ascribed to a salt of copper, derived from the vessels in which the distilla- 
tion is performed ; and Guibourt obtained two grains and a half of oxide of cop- 
per from a pound of the commercial oil. But neither Brande nor Goertner could 
detect copper in specimens examined by them; and M. Lesson, who witnessed 
the process for preparing the oil at Bouro, attributes its colour to chlorophyll, 
or some analogous principle, and states that it is rendered colourless by rectifi- 
cation. Guibourt, moreover, obtained a. green oil by distilling the leaves of a 
Melaleuca cultivated at Paris. A fair inference is that the oil of cajeput is natu- 
rally green; but that, as found in commerce, it sometimes contains copper, 
either accidentally present, or added with a view of imitating or maintaining the 
fine colour of the oil. The proportion of copper, however, is not so great as to 
forbid the internal use of the oil; and the metal may be separated by distillation 
with water, or agitation with a solution of ferrocyanide of potassium. 
The high price of cajeput oil has led to its occasional adulteration. Oil of 
rosemary, or that of turpentine, impregnated with camphor and coloured with 
the resin of milfoil, is said to be employed for the purpose. The best test, ac- 
cording to Zeller, is iodine, which, after a moderately energetic reaction, with 
little increase of temperature, and but a slight development of orange vapours, 
occasions immediate inspissation into a loose coagulum, which soon becomes a 
dry greenish-brown, brittle mass. 
Medical Properties and Uses. This oil is highly stimulant, producing when 
swallowed a sense of heat, with an increased fulness and frequency of pulse, and 
exciting in some instances profuse perspiration. It is much esteemed by the 
Malays and other people of the East, who consider it a panacea. They are said 
to employ it with great success in epilepsy and palsy. (Ainslie.) The complaints 
to which it is best adapted are probably chronic rheumatism, and spasmodic 
affections of the stomach and bowels, unconnected with inflammation. It has been 
extolled as a remedy in spasmodic cholera, and has been used also as a diffusible 
stimulant in low fevers. Diluted with an equal proportion of olive oil, it is ap- PART I. 
Oleum Cajuputi.—Oleum Camphorse. 
579 
plied externally to relieve gouty and rheumatic pains. Like most other highly 
stimulating essential oils, it relieves toothache, if introduced into the hollow of 
the carious tooth. M. Delvaux, who has made extensive use of this oil, has found 
it beneficial, internally given, in dyspepsia with flatulence, in the early stages 
and milder forms of cholera, in verminose affections in children, in chronic laryn- 
gitis and bronchitis, in chronic catarrh of the bladder, in chronic rheumatism of 
the joints with little or no swelling, and in painful chronic rheumatism of the 
muscles and fibro-muscular tissues, whether external or internal. Externally ap- 
plied, M. Delvaux has derived great benefit from it in various cutaneous diseases, 
as pityriasis, psoriasis, and especially in that extremely obstinate affection of the 
face, acnea rosacea, which he has often succeeded in curing by the simple appli- 
cation of this oil, three times a day. (Annuaire de Therap., A. D. 1862, p. 38.) 
The dose is from one to five drops, given in emulsion, in the form of pill, or 
upon a lump of sugar. 
Off. Prep. Spiritus Cajuputi, Br. W. 
OLEUM CAMPHORS. US. 
Oil of Camphor. 
The volatile oil obtained from Camphora officinarum. U. S. 
As there are two camphors known in commerce, those, namely, of Camphora 
officinarum and of Dryobalanops Camphora, so there are two oils of camphor, 
derived from those plants respectively. It is that of the Camphora officinarum 
which is recognised in our Pharmacopoeia, being the one which most commonly 
reaches this country, and is almost exclusively found in the shops. As the Cam- 
phora officinarum has been already described under the head of Camphora, it is 
unnecessary to say anything more of it here. (See Camphora, page 193.) In the 
same place an account has been given of the mode of procuring the oil, as prac- 
tised in the island of Formosa. 
The commercial oil of camphor, as found in our markets, is a fluid of a light 
reddish-brown colour with a yellowish tint, having a strong odour precisely like 
that of camphor, a bitterish camphorous taste, and the specific gravity, accord- 
ing to Prof. Procter, of 0‘940. As described by M. Lallemand, the oil of the 
Camphora officinarum is very fluid, scarcely coloured, and of a strong smell of 
camphor. It acts strongly on polarized light, and is dextrogyrate. Martius and 
Ricker give as its formula CwH](iO. It begins to boil at 356° F., but the tem- 
perature gradually rises to 401°, when it remains stationary. The part which 
first comes over is the proper volatile oil, that which rises at the higher tem- 
perature condenses after distillation, and is true camphor. The former, when 
duly rectified, distils at 356°, and appears to be a carbohydrogen isomeric with 
pure oil of turpentine, forming a crystallizable compound with muriatic acid. 
(Journ. de Pharm., Avril, 1860, p. 289.) Commercial oil of camphor is there- 
fore a fluid carbohydrogen, holding camphor in solution. 
The Dryobalanops oil of camphor is a different product, resembling the genu- 
ine oil in odour, yet having also something peculiar in addition, which enables 
it to be readily distinguished when the two are examined together. An account 
of this oil is given at page 196, in a note treating of the Dryobalanops Cam- 
phora and its products. A volatile oil, received by M. Biot from Dr. Junghun, 
who is said to have collected it from the Dryobalanops Camphora in the island 
of Sumatra, was sent to M. Lallemand, who describes it as somewhat viscid, of 
a strong balsamic odour and reddish colour, and as separable by distillation into 
A volatile liquid and a non-volatile matter, which concretes on cooling into a 
resinous brittle mass, resembling colophony. The volatile liquid consists of two 
distinct oils, isomeric with each other and with pure oil of turpentine, but dif- Oleum Camphor se.—Oleum Cinnamomi. 
PART I. 
fering in tmeir boiling point, and in various other respects. The original oil 
yielded nothing similar to camphor. It is obviously a very different product 
from that which has been generally ascribed to the Dryobalanops, and much 
more closely resembles the turpentines than the camphorous oils. If it really 
was obtained from the Dryobalanops Camphora, this must be a very different 
tree from what it has been described to be; and the probability is, that there has 
been some mistake as to the origin of the oil described by M. Lallemand. 
The oil of camphor has properties similar to those of camphor but more stimu- 
lant, and is especially applicable to affections of the stomach and bowels, in which 
an anodyne and stimulant impression is indicated, as flatulent colic and spas- 
modic cholera. It may also be used externally, as a rubefacient and anodyne 
liniment, diluted with soap liniment, or olive oil, in local rheumatism and neu- 
ralgic pains, bruises, sprains, &c. The dose is two or threfe drops. W. 
OLEUM CINNAMOMI. U.S.,Br. 
Oil of Cinnamon. 
The volatile oil obtained from the bark of Cinnamomum Zeylanicum. U. S. 
The oil distilled from Cinnamon; imported from Ceylon. Br. 
Huile de cannelle, Fr.; Zimmtol, Germ.; Olio di cannella, Ital.; Aceyte de cannela, Span. 
See CINNAMOMUM. 
There are two oils of cinnamon in commerce; one procured from the Ceylon 
cinnamon, which, as having the finest flavour, is the only one recognised by the 
U. S. and Br. Pharmacopoeias; the other from the Chinese cinnamon, and often 
distinguished by the name of oil of cassia, which it held in the late Edinburgh 
Pharmacopoeia. There is, however, no essential difference in the two oils; and 
that of the Chinese cinnamon, as much the cheaper and more abundant of the 
two, will probably continue to be generally employed, notwithstanding the offi- 
cial preference for the Ceylon product. 
Oil of cinnamon of Ceylon is prepared in that island from inferior kinds of 
cinnamon, of insufficient value to pay the export duty. The following account 
of the method of extraction is given by Marshall. The bark, having been coarsely 
powdered, is macerated for two days in sea-water, and then submitted to distil- 
lation. A light and a heavy oil come over with the water, the former of which 
separates in a few hours, and swims upon the surface, the latter falls to the bot- 
tom of the receiver, and continues to be deposited for ten or twelve days. In 
future distillations, the saturated cinnamon water is employed with sea-water to 
macerate the cinnamon. Eighty pounds of the freshly prepared bark yield about 
2 5 ounces of the lighter oil, and 5 5 of the heavier. From the same quantity 
kept for several years in store, about half an ounce less of each oil is obtained. 
The two kinds are probably united in the oil of commerce. 
Recently prepared oil of cinnamon is of a light-yellow colour, becoming deeper 
by age, and ultimately red. Pereira states that the London druggists redistil the 
red oil, and thus obtain two pale-yellow oils, one lighter and the other heavier 
than water, with a loss of about 10 per cent, in the process. The oil has the 
flavour of cinnamon, and when undiluted is excessively hot and pungent. It is 
said sometimes to have a peppery taste, ascribable to an admixture of the leaves 
with the bark in the preparation of the oil. 
Chinese oil of cinnamon (oil of cassia) is imported from Canton and Singa- 
pore. Like the former it is pale-yellow, becoming red with age. Its flavour is 
similar to that of the Ceylon oil, though inferior; and it commands a much less 
price. Zeller states that it is heavier, less liquid, and sooner rendered turbid by 
cold, and that in the Ceylon oil iodine dissolves rapidly, with a considerable in- 
crease of heat, and the production of a tough residue like extract, while in oil PART I. 
Oleum Cinnamomi.—Oleum Limonis. 
581 
of cassia the reaction is slow, quiet, and with little heat, and the residue is soft 
or liquid. The following remarks apply to both. 
Oil of cinnamon has the sp. gr. of about 1-035. Alcohol completely dissolves 
it; and, as it does not rise in any considerable quantity at the boiling tempera- 
ture of that liquid, it may be obtained by forming a tincture of cinnamon and 
distilling off the menstruum. When exposed to the air, it absorbs oxygen, and 
is slowly converted into a peculiar acid denominated cinnamic acid, two distinct 
resins, and water. Cinnamic acid is colourless, crystalline, sourish, volatilizable, 
slightly soluble in water, readily dissolved by alcohol, and convertible by nitric 
acid with heat into benzoic acid. It is sometimes seen in crystals in bottles of 
the oil which have been long kept. Like benzoic acid, it is said when swallowed 
to cause the elimination of hippuric acid by urine. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., 
iii. 64.) It may be obtained by distilling the balsam of Tolu. Of the two resins, 
one is soluble both in hot and cold alcohol; the other readily in the former, but 
sparingly in the latter. Oil of cinnamon is almost wholly converted by nitric 
acid, slowly added, into a crystalline mass, thought to be a compound of the oil 
and acid. From the researches of Dumas and Peligot, it appears that there ex 
ists in the oil a compound radical, named cinnamyl (C18H702), which with one 
eq. of hydrogen forms pure oil of cinnamon, or hydruret of cinnamyl, and with 
one of oxygen anhydrous cinnamic acid. Crystallized cinnamic acid contains, in 
addition, one eq. of water. All the constituents of the ordinary oils of cinnamon 
are supposed to be derived from the pure oil or hydruret of cinnamyl by the 
absorption of oxygen. The oil has been produced artificially by Strecker from 
styrone, a derivative from styrax. (See Styrax.) 
Oil of cinnamon is said to be frequently adulterated with oil of cloves, which, 
according to Ulex, cannot be detected by the smell or taste. Thus sophisticated, 
it is stated, on the same authority, to evolve a very acrid vapour when a drop 
is heated on a watch-glass, to swell up and evolve red vapours if treated with 
fuming nitric acid, to remain liquid with concentrated caustic potassa, and to 
assume an indigo-blue colour when protochloride of iron is added to its alco- 
holic solution; none of which events happens when the oil is pure. (Archiv. der 
Pharm., Jan. 7, 1853.) It is said also to be frequently adulterated with alcohol 
and fixed oil, the mode of detecting which is given in page 572. 
Medical Properties and Uses. This oil has the cordial and carminative pro- 
perties of cinnamon, without its astringency; and is much employed as an adju- 
vant to other medicines, the taste of which it corrects or conceals, while it con- 
ciliates the stomach. As a powerful local stimulant, it is sometimes prescribed in 
gastrodynia, flatulent colic, and languor from gastric debility. The dose is one 
or two drops, and may be administered in the form of emulsion. Mitscherlieli 
found six drachms to kill a moderate-sized dog in five hours, and two drachms in 
forty hours. Inflammation and corrosion of the gastro-intestinal mucous mem- 
brane were observed after death. 
Of' Prey. Aqua Cinnamomi, U. S.; Spiritus Cinnamomi. U. S. W. 
OLEUM LIMONIS. U.S.,Br. 
Oil of Lemon. 
The volatile oil obtained from the rind of the fruit of Citrus Limonum. U. S. 
The oil expressed oi distilled from fresh Lemon Peel. Br. 
Iluile de citron, Fr.; Citronencil, Germ.; Olio di limone, Ital.; Aceyte de limon, Span. 
See LIMON. 
The exterior rind of the lemon abounds in a volatile oil, which, being con- 
tained in distinct cellules, may be separated by simple expression. The rind is 
first grated from the fruit, and then submitted to pressure in a bag of fine cloth. 582 
Oleum Limonis.—Oleum Lini. 
PART I. 
The oil thus obtained is allowed to stand till it becomes clear, when it is de- 
cayed, and kept in stopped bottles. By a similar process, the oil called by the 
French huile de cedrat is procured from the citron. (See Oleum Bergamii and 
Limon ) These oils may also be obtained by distillation; but thus procured, 
though clearer, and, in consequence of the absence of mucilage, less liable to 
change on keeping, they have less of the peculiar flavour of the fruit; and the 
mode by expression is generally preferred. They are brought originally from 
Italy, Portugal, or the south of France. 
Properties. Oil of lemons is a very volatile liquid, having the odour of the 
fruit, and a warm, pungent, aromatic taste. As commonly procured it is yellow, 
and has the sp.gr. 0-8517; but by distillation it is rendered colourless, and, if 
three-fifths only are distilled, its sp.gr. is reduced to 0'847, at 71° F. It is so- 
luble in all proportions in anhydrous alcohol. In its ordinary state, it contains 
oxygen, but when purified by distillation in vacuo, at a low temperature, it con- 
sists exclusively of carbon and hydrogen, in the same proportion as in pure oil 
of turpentine, or camphene; its formula being In this state it is capa- 
ble of absorbing almost half its weight of muriatic acid gas, by which it is con- 
verted into a crystalline substance, and a yellow oily fuming liquid. The crys- 
talline substance is analogous to artificial camphor, produced by the action of 
muriatic acid upon oil of turpentine, and is a compound of the oil and acid. 
The oil of lemons is said to consist of two isomeric oils. 
It is often adulterated by the fixed oils and by alcohol. But in this country 
the most frequent sophistication is with oil of turpentine, which is difficult of 
detection from its similar composition and specific gravity. Perhaps the best 
test of the presence of this oil is the terebinthinate smell, produced when the 
adulterated oil is evaporated from heated paper. Oil of lemons, procured by 
expression, is apt to let fall a deposit, and to undergo chemical change. Mr. 
J. S. Cobb has found no method so effectual to obviate this result, and at the 
same time to retain unimpaired the flavour of the oil, as to shake it with a little 
boiling water, and allow the mixture to stand. A mucilaginous matter separates, 
and floats on the surface of the water, from which the purified oil may be de- 
canted. (Annals of Pharm., ii. 86.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Oil of lemons has the stimulant properties of 
the aromatics; but is chiefly used to impart flavour to other medicines. It has 
been commended as an application to the eye in certain cases of ophthalmia. 
Off. Prep. Spiritus Ammonia Aromaticus; Syrupus Acidi Citrici, U. S. 
W. 
OLEUM LINI. U.S.,Br. 
Flaxseed Oil. 
The oil obtained from the seed of Linum usitatissimum. U. S. The oil expressed 
without heat. Br. 
Linseed oil; Huile de lin, Fr.; Leinol, Germ.; Olio di lino, Ital.; Aceyte de linaza, Span. 
See LINUM. 
This oil is obtained by expression from the seeds of Linum usitatissimum, 
or common flax, which, according to M. Berjot, contain 34 per cent. (Journ. 
de Pharm., Avril, 1863, p. 277.) In its preparation on a large scale, the seeds 
are usually roasted before being pressed, in order to destroy the gummy matter 
contained in their coating. The oil is thus obtained more free from mucilage, 
but more highly-coloured and acrid than when procured by cold expression. For 
medical use, therefore, it should be prepared without heat; and, as it is apt to 
become rancid quickly on exposure, should be used as soon after expression as 
possible. It may, however, be rendered sweet again by agitation with warm 
water, rest, and decantation. It is said to be obtained purer and in larger pro- PART I. 
Oleum Lini.—Oleum Morrhuse. 
583 
portion, by treating the crushed seeds with bisulphuret of carbon, than by ex- 
pression. (See Am. Journ. ofPharm., xxvi. 265.) Flaxseed oil has a yellowish 
brown colour; a disagreeable odour, and a nauseous somewhat acrid taste; is 
of the sp.gr. 0-932; boils at 600° F.; does not congeal at zero; dissolves in 
forty parts of cold and five of boiling alcohol, and in one part and a half of ether; 
and has the property of drying, or becoming solid on exposure to the air. The 
drying property resides in its fluid constituent, which, to distinguish it from the 
olein of the non-drying oils, is named linolein. Its acrimony is owing to the 
presence of a small proportion of an acrid oleo-resin. From its drying property,, 
it is useful in painting, and the formation of printers’ ink. 
Medical Properties and Uses. It is laxative in the dose of a fluidounce; but 
on account of its disagreeable taste is seldom given internally. It has, however, 
been highly recommended as a cure for piles, in the dose of two ounces of the 
fresh oil morning and evening. It is sometimes added to purgative enemata; 
but its most common application is externally to burns, usually in combination 
with lime-water.* 
Off. Prep. Ceratum Resinae Compositum, U. S.; Linimentum Calcis, U. S. 
W. 
OLEUM MORRHUiE. U.S.,Br. 
Cod-liver Oil. 
A fixed oil obtained from the liver of Gadus Morrhua and of other species of 
Gadus. U. S. The oil extracted from the fresh liver by a steam heat not exceed- 
ing 180°. Br. 
Oleum jecoris Aselli; Iluile de morue,Fr.; Stockfisclileberthran, Germ. 
Gadus. Class Pisces. Order Jugulares. Linn. Malacopterygii Subbrachiati. 
Family Gadidse. Cuvier. 
Gen. Ch. Recognised by the ventrals attached under the throat, and atten- 
uated to a point. 
Gadus Morrhua. Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. Gmelin, i. p. 1162; Cuvier, Itegne 
Animate, ii. 212; Bloch. Ichthyologie, pi. lxiv. — Morrhua vulgaris. Storer, 
Synops. of Fishes of N. Am. p. 216. The common cod is between two and three 
feet long, with brown or yellowish spots on the back. The body is moderately 
elongated and somewhat compressed, and covered with soft rather small scales, 
of which the head is destitute. Of the fins, which are soft, there are three on 
the back, two anal, and a distinct caudal; and the fin under the throat is nar- 
row and pointed. The jaws are furnished with pointed irregular teeth, in several 
ranks. The gills are large with seven rays. This species of cod inhabits the 
Northern Atlantic, and is especially abundant on the banks of Newfoundland, 
where it finds food adapted to its wants. 
Besides the common cod, several other species of Gadus, frequenting the seas 
of Northern Europe and America, contribute to furnish the cod-liver oil of com- 
merce. Among these De Jongh mentions Gadus callarias or dorsch (Morrhua 
* Oiled Paper. A substitute for waxed cloth, for the dressing of wounds and ulcers, pre- 
pared in the following manner by M. Gauthier, of Geneva, with flaxseed oil, has been 
highly recommended. To facilitate its drying, 3 litres (about 6-4 pints) of the oil are 
boiled for an hour or two with 30 grains of acetate of lead, 30 grains of litharge, 15 grains 
of yellow wax, and 15 grains of turpentine. Thus prepared, the oil is spread upon silk- 
uaper by means of a brush on both surfaces. On the top of the first sheet another is then 
placed so as to overlap it at one corner. The lower surface of the second sheet thus be- 
comes impregnated with the oil, which now requires to be applied only to the upper. Any 
desired number of sheets may thus be successively superimposed. They are then sepa- 
rated, and suspended in a drying apartment, attached to a cord by means of hooks or 
pms. When dry, they should be sprinkled over with chalk to prevent adhesion, and packed 
away. (Journ. de Pharrn., Mai, 1860, p. 363.)—Note to the twelfth edition. Oleum Morrhuse. 
PART I. 
Americana of Storer), G. molva or ling, G. carbonarius or coal fish, and G. 
pollachius or pollock, as affording the oil on the coast of Norway; while, from 
information obtained by Professor Procter, there is reason to believe that, on 
our own coast, in addition to the pollock above mentioned, it is obtained also 
from the hake (G. merluccius) and the haddock (G. AEglifinus). It is said that 
24,000 gallons of the oil are obtained annually on our coast between Boston 
and Eastport, in Maine, in reference to the drug market. (See Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., Nov. 1859, p. 500.) 
Preparation. Fishermen have long been in the habit of collecting this oil, 
which is largely consumed in the arts, particularly in the preparation of leather. 
Upon the coasts of Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and New England, the boats 
which fish near the shore, being small, soon obtain a load, and running in to 
land, deliver their cargoes to persons whose business it is to cleanse and salt the 
fish. The oil is prepared either in the huts of the fishermen, or more largely at 
establishments to which the livers are conveyed in quantities. These are put into 
a boiler with water, and heated until they are broken up into a pultaceous mass, 
which is thrown upon a strainer covering the top of a cask or tub. The liquid 
portion passes, and upon standing separates into two parts, the oil rising to the 
surface of the water. The oil is then drawn off, aud, having been again strained, 
is prepared for the market. Another and improved method, which has come 
into use since the extensive employment of the oil as a medicine, is to heat the 
livers in a large tin vessel by means of steam externally applied. The pultaceous 
mass resulting is drained as before mentioned; the livers themselves containing, 
besides oil, a considerable portion of watery fluid, which passes off with it in 
the form of emulsion, and separates on standing. The oil thus procured is called 
shore oil, and is the purest kind. The crews of the larger boats, which fish upon 
the banks far from land, cleanse the fish on board, and, throwing the offal into 
the sea, put the livers into barrels or other receptacles, where they undergo a 
gradual decomposition, the oil rising to the surface, as it escapes from the dis- 
integrating tissue. The oil which first rises, before putrefaction has very de- 
cidedly commenced, approaches in purity to the shore oil, but is somewhat 
darker and less sweet. This is sometimes drawn off, constituting the straits oil 
of the fishermen. The remaining mass, or the whole, if the portion whicL first 
rises be not separated, continues exposed for a variable length of time to the 
heat of the sun, undergoing putrefaction, until the boat, having completed her 
cargo, returns to port. The contents of the casks are then put into boilers, 
heated with water, and treated as already described. Before being finally put 
into barrels, the oil is heated to expel all its water. Thus prepared, it is denomi- 
nated banks oil, and is of the darkest colour, and most offensive to the taste and 
smell. Much of the oil prepared by the fishermen is collected by the wholesale 
dealers, who keep it in very large reservoirs of masonry in their cellars, where it 
becomes clarified by repose, and is pumped into barrels as wanted for sale. By 
the further exposure, however, which it thus undergoes, it acquires a still more 
offensive odour; while that which has been originally introduced into barrels, 
and thus kept secluded from the air, is better preserved. The above facts In 
relation to the collection of cod-liver oil have been mainly derived from a very 
interesting paper by Professor Procter, in the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (xxiii. 97). 
To the same journal (xxvi. 1) the reader is referred for an account, by Dr. E. II. 
Uobinson, of Nova Scotia, of the method in which the oil is prepared by the 
fishermen of that Province. 
The oil is sometimes procured by expression. Mr. Donovan recommends the 
following plan, which affords a very fine oil. The livers, perfectly sound and 
fresh, are to be placed in a clean iron pot over a slow fire, and stirred until they 
assume the condition of a pulp, care being taken that the mass be not heated 
beyond 192°. When this temperature is attained, the pot is to be removed fiom part I. 
Oleum Morrhuse. 
585 
the fire, and its contents introduced into a canvas bag, through which water ana 
oil will flow into a vessel beneath. After twenty-four hours, the oil is to be de- 
canted and filtered through paper. In this state it is pale-yellow, with little 
odour, and a bland not disagreeable taste. 
Properties. Three varieties of cod-liver oil are known in the market, the 
white or pale-yellow, the brownish-yellow, and the dark-broivn, corresponding 
to the three commercial varieties already alluded to. These differ in no essen- 
tial character, but simply from the mode of preparation; the pale being pre- 
pared from fresh sweet livers, the dark-brown from livers in a state of putre- 
faction, and the brownish-yellow from those in an intermediate state; and the 
three varieties run together by insensible shades. The colour of the pale is from 
the slightest tint of transparent yellow to a fine golden yellow, that of the light- 
brown very similar to the colour of Malaga wine, that of the dark-brown what 
its name implies, with opacity in mass, but transparency in thin layers. They 
are of the usual consistence of lamp-oil, and have a characteristic odour and 
taste, by which they may be distinguished from other oils. This smell and taste 
are familiar to most persons, being very similar to those of shoe-leather; at 
least as prepared in this country, where the curriers make great use of cod-liver 
oil. We regard these sensible properties as the most certain test of the genuine- 
ness of the oil. They are much less distinguishable in the pale than in the 
dark-brown varieties, but we have met with no specimen which did not possess 
them in some degree. In the purest they are scarcely repulsive, in the dark- 
brown they are very much so. When a decided smell of ordinary fish-oil is per- 
ceived, the medicine may always be suspected. It is quite distinct from that 
peculiar to the cod-liver oil. The taste of all the varieties is more or less acrid, 
and in the most impure is bitterish and somewhat empyreumatic. The sp. gr. 
at 72° F., as ascertained by Prof. Procter, varied from 0915 to 0*9195; the 
first being that of the hake oil, the second that of the haddock, while the sp. gr. 
of the purest oil from the common cod was 0*917. De Jongh found the sp. gr. 
at 63° F., of the pale 0 923, of the light-brown 0*924, of the dark-brown 0 929. 
The oil from the cod does not congeal at 14° F., though that of G. carbonarius 
and that of the livers of different species of Raja, let fall at that temperature a 
solid fatty matter, supposed to be margarin. Alcohol dissolves from 2*5 to 6 per 
cent., water from 0*637 to 1 *28 per cent, of different varieties ; the pale yielding 
least to these solvents. (Journ. de Pharm., Jan. 1854, p. 39.) 
From an analysis of the oil by De Jongh, it appears to consist of a peculia 
substance named gaduin; oleic and margaric acids with glycerin; butyric ana 
acetic acids; various biliary principles, as fellinic, cholic, and bilifellinic acids, 
and bilifulvin; a peculiar substance soluble in alcohol; a peculiar substance 
insoluble in water, alcohol, or ether; iodine, chlorine, and traces of bromine; 
phosphoric and sulphuric acids; phosphorus, lime, magnesia, soda, and iron. 
These were found in all the varieties, though not in equal proportion in all; 
yet it is quite uncertain whether the difference had any relation to their degree 
of efficacy. Gaduin is obtained by saponifying the oil with soda, decomposing 
the soap by acetate of lead, and treating the resulting lead soap with ether, 
which dissolves the oleate of lead and gaduin, leaving the margarate of lead be- 
hind. The ethereal solution, which is dark-brown, is decomposed by sulphuric 
acid, which liberates the brown oleic acid. This owes its colour to gaduin, to 
separate which soda is added in excess. The resulting oleate of soda, which is 
insoluble in an excess of the alkali, is dissolved in alcohol; and the alcoholic 
solution is cooled below 32°, by which means the oleate of soda is separated, 
*,he gaduin remaining in solution. This is precipitated from its solution by the 
addition of sulphuric acid. Gaduin is a dark-brown substance, brittle and pul- 
verizable when dry, without odour or taste, quite insoluble in water, and in 
great measure soluble in ether and alcohol. It is insoluble in nitric and muri- 586 
Oleum Morrhuse. 
PART I. 
atic icids, but is dissolved by sulphuric acid, giving a blood-red colour to the 
solution, from which it is precipitated by water and the alkalies. It is soluble 
in alkaline solutions. Chlorine decolorizes it. Its formula is C3.H2;J09. Gaduin 
itself is yellow, but becomes brown by exposure to the air. It has not been as- 
certained to be in any degree connected with the virtues of the oil. It is not 
improbable that the biliary principles associated with the oil are concerned in 
its peculiar influences; as it is by their presence mainly that this differs from • 
other oils. It has been thought that gaduin itself is of biliary origin. Winckler 
has inferred from his researches that cod-liver oil is an organic whole, differing 
from all other fixed oils. Thus, it yields no glycerin upon saponification, but, 
in place of it, a peculiar body which he denominates oxide of propyl. The fatty 
acids generated are the oleic and margaric. Dr. Luck has found a peculiar fatty 
acid in turbi.d oil, which he names gadic acid, and the same is obtained from 
the clear oil by saponification. (Neues Jahrbuch fur Pharm., vi. 249.) By re- 
action with ammonia in distillation, the oil yields a peculiar volatile alkali, 
called propylamin, which has a strong pungent odour, recalling that of herring- 
pickle, of which the same alkali is an ingredient. No other officinal fatty oil 
yields a similar product. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxiv. 343.) Some have 
been disposed to ascribe the virtues of the oil to its iodine and bromine; but 
these are in too small proportion for much effect, and the oil has produced re- 
sults which have never been obtained from iodine and bromine themselves. The 
presence of iodine cannot be detected by the usual tests. It is necessary to con- 
vert the oil into a soap, and to carbonize this before it will give evidence of 
iodine. The proportion never exceeds 0 05 per cent., or 1 part in 2000. The 
oil is capable of dissolving a larger proportion; and, if any specimen contain 
more, there is reason to suspect that it has been fraudulently added. 
Tests of Purity. In consequence of the great demand for this oil, it has not 
unfrequently been adulterated with other fixed oils, and occasionally others have 
been fraudulently substituted for it. The importance, therefore, is obvious of 
ascertaining some mode of testing its purity and genuineness. There is reason 
to believe that all the oils from the livers of the Gadidae have analogous proper- 
ties. They have been indiscriminately used; and upon the results of their em- 
ployment is based, in part, the present reputation of the medicine. They may, 
therefore, be considered as in fact one oil, so far as their medicinal use is con- 
cerned. Unfortunately chemistry has yet discovered no perfectly reliable test. 
The furthest it has yet gone is to point out certain reactions, which may be 
considered as evidences of the presence of biliary principles in the oil, thus in- 
dicating its hepatic origin. Among these probably the most characteristic is 
that of sulphuric acid, a drop of which, added to fresh cod-liver oil, on a porce- 
lain plate, causes a centrifugal movement in the oil, and gives rise to a fine 
violet colour, soon passing into yellowish or brownish-red. Sometimes, instead 
of assuming the violet hue, the colour immediately becomes a clear red, or dark 
brownish-red. This is said to be especially the case with those specimens of the 
oil which have been prepared by boiling the livers with water. Shark-liver oil 
responds in like manner to the test of sulphuric acid, but is said to have the 
sp.gr. 08G6, which is much lower than that of any variety of the genuine oil. 
Strong nitric acid causes instantly, when agitated with cod-liver oil, a pinkish 
or rose-red colour, which soon becomes brown; while no such effect is produced 
on other animal or vegetable oils. According to Winckler, the oil should afford 
the smoll of herring-pickle when heated with potassa, lime, and muriate of am- 
monia. But the most reliable tests are the sensible properties of odour and 
taste. If there be none of the peculiar shoe-leather smell and taste, or if a strong 
lamp-oil odour is perceptible, the oil may be suspected. Little of importance 
can be inferred from the colour. Some have been disposed to prefer the daik 
offensive oil; but our own experience accords with that of those who have found part I. 
Oleum Morrhux. 
the pale or light-brown equally efficient; and, for facility of administration ana 
acceptability to the stomach, the latter is greatly preferable. 
It is important that the oil should be secluded from the air, which effects a 
gradual change, no doubt impairing its efficiency. Hence the vessels containing 
it should be full; and apothecaries ought to keep it in bottles well stopped, 
holding about the quantity generally wanted for use at one time. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Cod-liver oil has been long popularly em- 
ployed in northern Europe in rheumatic and strumous diseases. It was first 
brought to the notice of the profession generally by German practitioners, and 
had acquired great reputation on the continent before it was used to any extent 
in Great Britain. At Manchester, in England, it was employed by the medical 
profession in the treatment of chronic rheumatism and gout, as early as 17G6; 
but it was not until the appearance of the treatise of Professor Bennett, of 
Edinburgh, in 1841, that it came into general notice in Great Britain and the 
United States. It is at present one of the most esteemed remedies in the cata- 
logue of the Materia Medica. The diseases in which it has proved most efficient 
are chronic rheumatism and gout, and the various morbid affections connected 
with a scrofulous diathesis, such as external glandular scrofula, diseases of the 
joints and spine, carious ulcers, tabes mesenterica, rickets, and phthisis. It has 
been found useful also in chronic cutaneous eruptions, lupus, ulcers of the mouth, 
some varieties of palsy, chronic pectoral complaints not tuberculous, pertussis, 
obstinate constipation, intestinal worms, and incontinence of urine; and may be 
employed with the hope of good in all chronic cases in which the disease ap- 
pears to consist mainly in impaired digestion, assimilation, and nutrition. In 
pulmonary consumption, in the experience of the author, it has far exceeded in 
efficacy any other remedy or combination of remedies that he has hitherto em- 
ployed. It is necessary, however, to persevere for four or six weeks before look- 
ing for any decidedly favourable results, though the change does often begin 
earlier. In most cases remarkable temporary relief is afforded; in many, the 
disease is favourably modified, and its fatal termination postponed; and in some, 
cures appear to'have been effected. 
As to its mode of action, there has been much difference of opinion. Some 
consider it merely as a nutritive agent, having the advantage over other ole- 
aginous substances, of a readier entrance into the system, and more easy assimi- 
lation. But we cannot agree with this opinion. Other oleaginous substances, 
certainly not less nutritious, have not been equally efficient, though taken in 
much larger quantities. If this be the true explanation, persons living chiefly 
on milk which abounds in oil, or on fat pork, ought to show a special exemp- 
tion from scrofulous complaints. The probability appears to us to be that, in 
consequence of some peculiar principle or principles it contains, it exercises a 
stimulant and alterative influence on the processes of assimilation and nutrition; 
thereby causing the production of healthy tissue, instead of that abortive ma- 
terial which is deposited by the blood-vessels in scrofula and phthisis. With 
our views of the modus operandi of cod-liver oil, it would of course be contra- 
indicated in all cases where there is existing plethora, or a strong tendency to it. 
The medicine has been accused of having occasionally produced serious conges- 
tion of the lungs. 
The dose is a tablespoonful three or four times a day for adults, a teaspoon- 
ful repeated as frequently for children, which may be gradually increased as the 
stomach will permit, and continued for a long time. It may be taken alone, or 
mixed with some vehicle calculated to conceal its taste, and obviate nausea. 
For this purpose recourse may be had to any of the aromatic waters, to the 
aromatic tinctures, as the tincture of orange-peel, diluted with water, or to a 
bitter infusion, as that of quassia. It may be given floating on the vehicle, or 
mixed with it by means of gum or the yolk of eggs, with sugar, in the form of 588 
Oleum Morrhuse.—Oleum Myristicae. 
PART I. 
an emulsion. Perhaps the best vehicle, when not contraindicated, is the froth of 
porter. Let a tablespoonful of porter be put into the bottom of a glass, upon 
the surface of this the oil, and over all some of the froth of the porter. A small 
piece of orange-peel may be chewed before and after taking the medicine. Va- 
rious other methods have been adopted to conceal or correct its taste, and favour 
its administration. Common salt has been recommended; but nothing, perhaps, 
so effectually destroys the taste as oil of bitter almonds, of which one part will 
answer for 200 parts of the oil; but a better plan is to shake strongly, in a flask, 
one measure of the oil with from one to two of cherry-laurel water, according to 
the degree of offensiveness, and to separate the liquids after they have been allowed 
to stand for twenty-four hours. The oil should be filtered if not quite clear. The 
medicine has sometimes also been given in capsules; but this must be a very 
tedious method. M. Dufourmantel prepares a jelly by dissolving half a drachm 
of ichthyocolla in as little hot water as possible, and then gradually mixing with 
it a fluidounce of the oil with four drops of the oil of anise, taking care not to 
exceed the heat of 75° P. (Journ. de Pharm., Juin, 1864, p. 72.) The oil is 
sometimes applied externally by friction, and, in cases of ascarides or lurnbri- 
coides, is injected into the rectum. It has been recommended locally in chronic 
articular affections, paralysis, various chronic cutaneous eruptions, and in opacity 
of the cornea after the subsidence of inflammation. In the last-mentioned af- 
fection, one or two drops of the oil are applied by means of a pencil to the cor- 
nea, and diluted, if found too stimulating, with olive or almond oil. It is said, 
when long used internally, to occasion sometimes an exanthematous or eczema- 
tous eruption. 
The olein of cod-liver oil has been recommended by Dr. Arthur Learned, 
when the oil itself disagrees with the stomach. He has found it to produce the 
same remedial effects, and to be much better borne. It may be given in the same 
dose. A solution of quinia in the oil has been proposed in cases where the two 
medicines are jointly indicated. It may be made by adding the freshly precipi- 
tated alkaloid to the oil, in the proportion of two grains to a fluidounce, and 
heating them together, by means of a water-bath, until the mixture becomes 
quite clear.* W. 
OLEUM MYRISTICiE. U.S., Br. 
Oil of Nutmeg. Volatile Oil of Nutmeg. 
The volatile oil obtained from the kernels of the fruit of Myristica fragrans 
(Houttui/n). U. S. The oil distilled in England from Nutmeg. Br. 
See MYRISTICA. 
This oil is obtained from powdered nutmegs by distillation with water. A 
better method, according to M. J. Cloez, who has carefully examined the sub- 
ject of oil of nutmeg, is to exhaust the powder with bisulphuret of carbon or 
ether, distil off the solvent by means of a water-bath, and expose the butter- 
like residue to a current of steam, the vapour being conveyed into a refrige- 
rated receiver where it condenses. (Journ. de Pharm., Fev. 1864, p. 150.) Oil 
of nutmeg is colourless or of a pale-straw colour, limpid, lighter than water, 
soluble in alcohol and ether, with a pungent spicy taste, and a strong smell of 
* Dvgong Oil. An oil has been brought into notice, as a substitute for cod-liver oil, ob- 
tained from two species of Ilalecore, II. Australis [Owen) and II. Dugong [lllig.), cetaceous 
animals inhabiting the rivers and bays of Northern and Eastern Australia, and many of 
the East India islands. The flesh of these animals is said to be delicate and palatable, 
and valued for food. The oil is obtained by boiling the superficial fat. It is bland and 
sweet, and free from disagreeable taste and smell, so that it may be taken more freely than 
cod-liver oil, which it is thought to equal in virtues. It was introduced into use by Mr. 
W. Hobbs, a surgeon of Brisbane, on Moreton Bay. (Chem. News, Jan. 28, 18(50, p. 87 and 
Am. Journ. of Pharm., July, 1858, p. 335, and May, 1860, p. 230.)—Note to the twelfth edition. part I. 
Oleum Myristicse.—Oleum Olivee. 
589 
nutmeg. The sp. gr. is stated differently at 0-920 and 0 948. (Gmelin.) It con- 
sists of two oils, which may be separated by agitation with water, one rising to 
the surface, the other sinking to the bottom. Upon standing it deposits a crys- 
talline stearoptene, which is called by John myristicin. M. Cloez found that, 
when the oil was distilled at a temperature below 847° F., there came over 95 
per cent, of a liquid, which, when treated with a little caustic potassa and subse- 
quently distilled from a little sodium, in order to separate traces of a compound 
of oxygen, was a pure colourless carbohydrogen, remaining liquid at zero of F., 
of the sp. gr. 0-853 at 59° F., and corresponding in composition with pure oil of 
turpentine, having the formula It differs, however, in yielding, when acted 
on by a current of muriatic acid gas, a liquid instead of solid compound with 
the acid. In this purified state the oil has an odour recalling that of nutmeg, but, 
when the oil is diluted, approaching to that of the oil of lemons. It absorbs oxygen 
slowly, losing its fluidity. Chlorine and bromine act on it vigorously, nitric acid 
violently with the disengagement of red vapours, and concentrated sulphuric acid 
dissolves and darkens it. {Ibid., p. 150-2.) The oil may be used for the same pur- 
poses as nutmeg, in the dose of two or three drops; but is not often employed. 
Off. Prep. Spiritus Ammoniae Aromaticus; Spiritus Myristicae, Br. W. 
OLEUM OLIViE. U.S., Br. 
Olive Oil. 
The oil obtained from the fruit of Olea Europtea. XJ. S., Br. 
Huile d’olive, Fr.; Olivenol, Germ.; Olio delle olive, Ital.; Aceyte de olivas, Span. 
Olea. Sex. Syst. Diandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Oleacem. 
Gen.Ch. Corolla four-cleft, with subovate segments. Drupe one-seeded. Willd. 
Olea Europsea. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 44; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 280, t. 98. This 
valuable tree is usually from fifteen to twenty feet in height, though sometimes 
much larger, especially in Greece and the Levant. It has a solid, erect, unequal 
stem, with numerous straight branches, covered with a grayish bark. The leaves, 
which stand opposite to each other on short footstalks, are evergreen, firm, 
lanceolate, entire, two or three inches in length, with the edges somewhat re- 
verted, smooth and of a dull-green colour on their upper surface, whitish and 
almost silvery beneath. The flowers are small, whitish, and disposed in oppo- 
site axillary clusters, about half as long as the leaves, and accompanied with 
small, obtuse, hoary bractes. The fruit or olive is a smooth, oval drupe, green- 
ish at first, but of a deep-violet colour when ripe, with a fleshy pericarp, and a 
very hard nut of a similar shape. Clusters of not less than thirty flowers yield 
only two or three ripe olives. 
The olive tree, though believed by some to have been originally from the Le- 
vant, flourishes at present in all the countries bordering on the Mediterranean, 
and has been cultivated from time immemorial in Spain, the south of France, 
and Italy. It begins to bear fruit after the second year, is in full bearing at six 
years, and continues to flourish for a century. There are several varieties, dis- 
tinguished by the form of the leaves, and the shape, colour, and size of the fruit. 
The variety longifolia of Willdenow is said to be chiefly cultivated in Italy and 
the south of France, and the latifolia in Spain. The latter bears much larger fruit 
than the former; but the oil is less esteemed. 
The leaves and bark of the olive tree have an acrid and bitterish taste, and 
have been employed as substitutes for cinchona, though with no great success. 
Attention has recently been called, in France, to a hydro-alcoholic extract of 
the leaves, as having considerable febrifuge powers. In the quantity of from 
ten to twenty grains daily, in divided doses, it has been found useful in prevent- 
ing the hectic paroxysms. In hot countries, a substance resembling the gum- Oleum Olivx. 
PART I. 
resins exudes spontaneously from the bark. It was thought by the ancients to 
possess useful medicinal properties, but is not now employed. Analyzed by Pel- 
letier, it was found to contain resin, a little benzoic acid, and a peculiar prin- 
ciple analogous to gum, which has been named olivile. But the fruit is by far 
the most useful product. In the unripe state it is hard and insupportably acrid; 
but, when macerated in water or an alkaline solution, and afterwards introduced 
into a solution of common salt, it loses these properties, and becomes a pleasant 
and highly esteemed article of diet. The pericarp, or fleshy part of the ripe 
olive, abounds in a fixed oil, which constitutes its greatest value, and for which 
the tree is chiefly cultivated in Southern Europe. In the unripe olive a peculiar 
green substance, together with mannite, has been found by M. S. de Lutz, both 
of which disappear as the fruit ripens, being probably converted into oil, which 
now takes their place. {Journ. de Pharm., Juin and Dec. 1862.) The oil is ob- 
tained by first bruising the olives in a mill, and then submitting them to pressure. 
The product varies much, according to the state of the fruit, and the circum- 
stances of the process. The best, called virgin oil, is obtained from the fruit 
picked before perfect maturity, and immediately pressed. It is distinguished by 
its greenish hue. The common oil used for culinary purposes, and in the manu- 
facture of the finest soaps, is procured from very ripe olives, or from the pulp 
of those which have yielded the virgin oil. In the latter case, the pulp is thrown 
into boiling water, and the oil removed as it rises. An inferior kind, employed 
in the arts, especially in the preparation of the coarser soaps, plasters, unguents, 
&c., is afl'orded by fruit which has been thrown into heaps, and allowed to fer- 
ment for several days, or by the marc left after the expression of the finer kinds 
of oil, broken up, allowed to ferment, and again introduced into the press. The 
remarks made under the head of Oleum Myristicee {page 588), in relation to 
the extraction of that oil by means of bisulphuret of carbon, are applicable also 
to olive oil. 
Olive oil is imported in glass bottles, or in flasks surrounded by a kind of net- 
work of grass, and usually called Florence flasks. The best comes from the 
south of France, where most care is exercised in the choice of the fruit. 
Properties. The pure oil is an unctuous liquid, of a pale-yellow or greenish- 
yellow colour, with scarcely any smell, and a bland, slightly sweetish taste. Its 
sp. gr. is 0-9153. It is soluble in twice its volume of ether, but is only partially 
soluble in alcohol, at least unless this liquid be in very large proportion. It be- 
gins to congeal at 38° F. At a freezing temperature a part of it becomes solid, 
and the remainder, retaining the liquid consistence, may be separated by press- 
ure, or .by the agency of cold alcohol, which dissolves it. The concrete portion 
has been found by MM. Pelouze and Boudet to be a definite compound of mar- 
garin and olein; the liquid portion is uncombined olein. According to Bracon- 
not, the oil contains 72 per cent, of olein, and 28 of margarin. Olive oil is solidi- 
fied by nitrous acid and nitrate of mercury, and converted into a peculiar fatty 
substance, called elaidin. The olein of all oils which have not the drying pro- 
perty undergoes the same change, when acted on by nitrous acid ; and the singu- 
lar fact is stated by MM. Pelouze and Boudet, that the margarin of olive oil, 
combined as it is with olein, is converted by that acid into elaidin, while the 
same principle, in a state of purity, is not affected by it. {Journ. de Pharm., 
xxiv. 391.)* 
Olive oil, when exposed to the air, is apt to become rancid, acquiring a dis- 
* The following table gives the solubility of various alkaloids in olive oil as ascertained 
by Pettenkoffer. At the ordinary temperature, 100 parts of the oil dissolve of 
Morphia 0-00 
Narcotina 0-25 
Cinchonia 1-00 
Quinia 4-20 
Strychnia 1-00 
Brucia 1’78 
Atropia 2-62 
Veratria 1 78 
(Journ. de Pharm., Juin, 1859, p. 486.)—Note to the twelfth edition. PART I. 
Oleum Olivse. 
591 
agreeable smell, a sharp taste, a thicker consistence, and a deeper colour; and 
the change is promoted by heat. It is frequently adulterated with the cheaper 
fixed oils, especially with that of poppies; but the adulteration may be easily 
detected by reducing the temperature to the freezing point. As other oils are 
less readily congealed than the olive oil, the degree of its purity will be indi- 
cated by the degree of concretion. Another mode has been indicated by M. 
Poutet, founded on the property possessed by supernitrate of mercury of solidi- 
fying the oil of olives, without a similar influence upon other oils. Six parts of 
mercury are dissolved at a low temperature in seven and a half parts of nitric 
acid of the sp. gr. 1-35; and this solution is mixed with the suspected oil in the 
proportion of one part to twelve, the mixture being occasionally shaken. If the 
oil is pure, it is converted after some hours into a yellow solid mass; if it con- 
tains a minute proportion, even so small as a twentieth, of poppy oil, the result- 
ing mass is much less firm ; and a tenth prevents a greater degree of consistence 
than oils usually acquire, when they concrete by cold. M. Gobel has invented 
an instrument which he calls the elaiometer, by which the smallest quantity of 
poppy oil can be detected. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xvi. 24.) According 
to M. Marchand, strong sulphuric acid produces with poppy oil a lemon-yellow 
colour, which rapidly becomes darker, and, after ten or fifteen minutes, is fol- 
lowed by tints of fose-colour and bright violet, which are never afforded with 
the same reagent by pure olive oil. {Ibid., xxvi. 432.) The presence of colza 
oil may be detected by the test of nitrate of silver, as stated under the head of 
Oleum Amygdalae {page 515). M. Diesel states that the pure oil is coloured 
green by common nitric acid; whereas, if mixed with rape oil, it is rendered of a 
yellowish-gray colour. {Arch, der Pharm., xlvi. 287.) According to M. Behrens, 
whose statement is confirmed by MM. Guibourt and Reveil, the presence of oil 
of sesamum is known by the beautiful deep-green colour immediately produced, 
when the suspected oil is added, in equal weight, to a mixture of equal parts of 
sulphuric and nitric acids; which acids cause with the pure oil, at first, a bright- 
yellow colour. {Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., xxiv. 351.) Immense quantities of 
lard oil are said to be exported from this country to France, and employed in 
the adulteration of olive oil. The reaction with nitric acid would probably serve 
to detect this adulteration, which, however, in a pharmaceutical point of view, 
is of little inconvenience. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Olive oil is nutritious and mildly laxative, and 
is occasionally given in cases of irritable intestines, when the patient objects to 
more disagreeable medicines. Taken into the stomach in large quantities, it 
serves to involve acrid and poisonous substances, and mitigate their action. It 
has also been recommended as a remedy for worms, and is a very common in- 
gredient in laxative enemata. Externally applied, it is useful in relaxing the 
skin, and sheathing irritated surfaces from the action of the air; and is much 
employed as a vehicle or diluent of more active substances. In the countries 
bordering on the Mediterranean, it is thought, when smeared over the skin, to 
afford some protection against the plague; and applied warm, by means of fric- 
tion over the surface, is said to be useful as a remedy in the early stages of that 
complaint. But the most extensive use of olive oil is in pharmacy, as a con- 
stituent of liniments, ointments, cerates, and plasters. 
The dose as a laxative is from one to two fluidounces. 
Off. Prep. Ceratum Cetacei, U. S.; Cerat. Plumbi Subacetatis, U. S.; Cerat. 
Saponis, U. S.; Emplastrum Ammoniaci cum Hydrargyro; Empl. Hydrargyri; 
Emp. Lithargyri, Br.; Emp. Picis, Br.; Emp. Plumbi, U. S.; Linimentum Cam- 
phoras, Br.; Liniment. Crotonis, Br.; Unguentum Cantharidis, Br.; Unguent. 
Hydragyri Nitratis, Br.; Unguent. Plumbi Subacetatis, Br.; Unguent. Yera- 
triae, Br.; Enema Magnesiae Sulphatis, Br.; Linimentum Ammouioe; Liniment. 
Calcis, Br. W. 592 
Oleum Ricini. 
PART I. 
OLEUM RICINI. U. S.} Br. 
Castor Oil. 
The oil obtained from the seeds of Ricinus communis. U. S., Br. 
Huile de ricin, Ft.; Ricinusol, Germ.; Olio di ricino, Ital.; Aceyte de ricino, Span. 
Ricinus. Sex. Syst. Moncecia Mouadelphia. — Nat. Ord. Euphorbiacese. 
Gen. Gh. Male. Calyx five-parted. Corolla none. Stamens numerous. Fe- 
male. Calyx three-parted. Corolla none. Styles three, bifid. Cap>sules three- 
celled. Seed one. Willd. 
Ricinus communis. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 564; Woodv. Med. Rot. p. 624, t. 
221. The castor oil plant, or palma Christi, attains in the East Iudies and 
Africa the character of a tree, and rises sometimes thirty or forty feet. In the 
temperate latitudes of North America and Europe it is annual; though M. 
Achille Richard saw, in the south of France, in the vicinity of Nice, on the sea- 
coast, a small wood consisting entirely of what he supposed to be this species of 
Ricinus.* The following description applies to the plant as cultivated in cool 
latitudes. The stem is of vigorous growth, erect, round, hollow, smooth, glau- 
cous, somewhat purplish towards the top, branching, and from three to eight feet 
or more in height. The leaves are alternate, peltate or supported upon foot- 
stalks inserted into their lower disk, palmate with seven or nine pointed serrate 
lobes, smooth on both sides, and of a bluish-green colour. The flowers are 
monoecious, stand upon jointed peduncles, and form a pyramidal terminal raceme, 
of which the lower portion is occupied by the male flowers, the upper by the 
female. Both are destitute of corolla. In the male flowers the calyx is divided 
into five oval, concave, pointed, reflected, purplish segments; and encloses nu- 
merous stamens, united into fasciculi at their base. In the female the calyx has 
three or five narrow lanceolate segments; and the ovary, which is roundish and 
three-sided, supports three linear, reddish stigmas, forked at their apex. The 
fruit is a roundish glaucous capsule, with three projecting sides, covered with 
tough spines, and divided into three cells, each containing one seed, which is 
expelled by the bursting of the capsule. 
This species of Ricinus is a native of the East Indies and Northern Africa, 
naturalized iu the West Indies, and cultivated in various parts of the world, in 
few countries more largely than in the United States. New Jersey, Virginia, 
North Carolina, and the States upon the right bank of the Ohio, especially Illi- 
nois, are the sections in which it is most abundant. The flowers appear in July, 
and the seeds ripen successively iu August and September. A decoction of the 
leaves is said to be employed effectively in the Cape Verde Islands, as a local 
application to the breast, for promoting the secretion of milk; and an infusion 
of the leaves has been given internally by Ur. Routh, with great supposed suc- 
cess in producing the same effect in lying-in women, with deficiency of milk. 
(London Lancet, Dec. 24, 1859.) The officinal part is the fixed oil extracted 
from the seeds. 
1. The Seeds. These are about as large as a small bean, oval, compressed, 
obtuse at the extremities, very smooth and shining, and of a grayish or ash 
colour, marbled with reddish-brown spots and veins. At one end of the seed is 
a small yellowish tubercle, from which an obscure longitudinal ridge proceeds 
to the opposite extremity, dividing the side upon which it is situated into two 
* While at Montpellier, in France, in the spring of 1861, the author was assured by Dr. 
Martius, Professor of Botany in the University of that city, that the species seen by 
Richard forming a grove in the south of France, was not, as believed by that botanist, 
the Ricinus communis, but the Ricinus Africanus. This Prof. Martius knew from personal 
observation; and he stated, moreover, that all the plants of the genus Ricinus growing 
wild on the borders of the Mediterranean were of this species, viz., the R. Africanus.— 
Note to the twelfth edition. PART I. 
Oleum Ricini. 
593 
flatfish surfaces. In its general appearance the seed is thought to resemble the 
insect called the tick, the Latin name of which has been adopted as the generic 
title of the plant. Its variegated colour depends upon a very thin pellicle, closely 
investing a hard, brittle, blackish, tasteless, easily separable shell, within which 
is the kernel, highly oleaginous, of a white colour, and a sweetish taste, suc- 
ceeded by a slight degree of acrimony. The seeds easily become rancid, and are 
then unfit for the extraction of the oil, which is acrid and irritating. In 100 
parts Geiger found, exclusive of moisture, 23-82 parts of envelope, and 69-09 
of kernel. These 69 09 parts contained 4619 of fixed oil, 2 40 of gum, 20 00 
of starch and lignin, and 0 50 of albumen. Mr. Henry Bower could find no 
starch, but separated from the seeds an albuminoid principle, which acted with 
amygdalin and water like emulsin, producing the odour of oil of bitter almonds, 
though in a less degree. {Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxvi. 208.) It is highly proba- 
ble that it is this principle which, acting as a ferment on the oily matter of the 
seeds, gives rise to changes in its nature which render them rancid. More re- 
cently, Mr. G. J. Scattergood found the odour of castor oil to be developed in the 
beans when bruised with water, and much more powerfully in those long kept 
than in the fresh. The water distilled from the seeds has a peculiar nauseous 
odour, quite distinct from that of the oil. {Ibid., xxviii. 207.)* 
Taken internally the seeds are powerfully cathartic, and often emetic. Two 
or three are sufficient to purge, and seven or eight act with great violence. 
This property depends upon an acrid principle, which has by some been thought 
to exist exclusively in the integuments, by others in the embryo. But it is now 
satisfactorily ascertained that the integuments are inert; and Guibourt main- 
tains that the principle alluded to pervades the whole kernel, in connection with 
the oil. This principle is considered by some as volatile, and is said to be dis- 
sipated by the heat of boiling water. This view is strengthened by the experi- 
ments of Mr. Scattergood above referred to; as the water distilled from the seeds 
proved decidedly purgative in the dose of half a fluidounce, and in twice the 
quantity both purged and vomited. The same experimenter found that the resi- 
due, after the seeds had been exhausted by ether and alcohol, was inert in the 
dose of 28 grains; and the ethereal extract proved a mild cathartic in the dose 
of from two to five fluidrachms. After expression of the oil, and treatment with 
pure alcohol, M. Calloud found the residue to be powerfully emetic in the 
quantity of 30 grains, taken in two doses. {Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., xiv. 190.) 
M. Parola states that ether also is incapable of extracting the acrid emetic prin- 
ciple from the seeds. At a temperature much above 212° the oil itself becomes 
altered, and acquires acrid properties. 
* Ricinia or Ricinin. Very recently Professor Tuson has announced the discovery in the 
seeds of a peculiar alkaloid, which he proposes to name ricinine, but which should be called 
ricinia. To obtain it, the crushed seeds are exhausted by successive portions of boiling 
water: the decoction is filtered through wet muslin; the filtered liquid is evaporated to 
dryness over a water-bath; the extract thus obtained is exhausted by boiling alcohol; the 
alcoholic solution is allowed to cool, then filtered to separate a little resinous matter, and 
lastly concentrated and permitted to stand. In the course of some hours, a mass of nearly 
white crystals is deposited, which when recrystallized from alcohol, and decolorized by ani- 
mal charcoal, are the alkaloid in a pure state. Ricinine crystallizes in rectangular prisms 
and tables, has a feebly bitter taste, somewhat resembling that of bitter almonds, is fusible 
and crystallizes on cooling, volatilizable unchanged, inflammable, soluble most readily in 
water and alcohol, and very slightly in ether or benzole. Heated with hydrate of potassa, it 
evolves ammonia, and therefore contains nitrogen. It appears to combine with sulphuric, 
nitric, and muriatic acids. But a more accurate investigation is needed, before it can be 
admitted to be undoubtedly a distinct and pure alkaloid. A minute quantity is said to be 
obtained from castor oil by shaking it with water, evaporating the liquid, treating the resi- 
due with boiling benzole, and allowing the solution to evaporate spontaneously. Professor 
Tuson does not claim for the new alkaloid the possession of purgative properties. Two 
grains given to a rabbit produced no observable effect.—Note to the twelfth edition. 
38 594 
Oleum Ricini. 
PART L 
2. The Oil. This may be extracted from the seeds in three ways; 1. by de- 
coction, 2. by expression, and 3. by the agency of alcohol or other solvent. 
The process by decoction, which has been practised in the East and West 
Indies, consists in bruising the seeds, previously deprived of their husk, and then 
boiling them in water. The oil, rising to the surface, is skimmed or strained 
off, and afterwards again boiled with a small quantity of water to dissipate the 
acrid principle. To increase the product it is said that the seeds are sometimes 
roasted. The oil is thus rendered brownish and acrid; and the same result takes 
place in the second boiling, if care is not taken to suspend the process soon 
after the water has been evaporated. Hence it happens that the West India oil 
has generally a brownish colour, an acrid taste, and irritating properties. 
The oil is obtained in this country by expression. The following, as we have 
been informed, are the outlines of the process usually employed by those who 
prepare it on a large scale. The seeds, having been thoroughly cleansed from 
the dust and fragments of the capsules with which they are mixed, are conveyed 
into a shallow iron reservoir, wffiere they are submitted to a gentle heat insuffi- 
cient to scorch or decompose them, and not greater than can be readily borne 
by the hand. The object of this step is to render the oil sufficiently liquid for 
easy expression. The seeds are then introduced into a powerful screw press. 
A whitish oily liquid is thus obtained, which is transferred to clean iron boilers, 
supplied with a considerable quantity of wrater. The mixture is boiled for some 
time, and, the impurities being skimmed off as they rise to the surface, a clear 
oil is at length left upon the top of the water, the mucilage and starch having 
been dissolved by this liquid, and the albumen coagulated by the heat. The 
latter ingredieut forms a whitish layer between the oil and the water. The clear 
oil is now carefully removed ; and the process is completed by boiling with a 
minute proportion of water, and continuing the application of heat till aqueous 
vapour ceases to rise, and till a small portion of the liquid, taken out in a vial, 
continues perfectly transparent when it cools. The effect of this last operation 
is to clarify the oil, and to render it less irritating by driving off the acrid vola- 
tile matter. But much care is requisite not to push the heat too far; as the oil 
then acquires a brownish hue, and an acrid peppery taste. After the completion 
of the process, the oil is put into barrels, and sent into the market. There is 
reason, however, to believe that much of the American oil is prepared by merely 
allowing it to stand for some time after expression, and then drawing off the 
supernatant liquid. One bushel of good seeds yields five or six quarts, or 
about 25 per cent, of the best oil. If not carefully prepared, it is apt to de- 
posit a sediment upon standing; and the apothecary may find it necessary to 
filter it through coarse paper before dispensing it. Perhaps this may be owing 
to the plan just alluded to of purifying the oil by rest and decantation. We 
have been told that the oil in barrels occasionally deposits in cold weather a 
copious whitish sediment, which it redissolves when the temperature rises. A 
large proportion of the drug consumed in the eastern section of the Union has 
been derived, by way of New Orleans, from Illinois and the neighbouring States, 
where it has been at times so abundant that it has been used for burning in 
lamps, and for lubricating machinery.* We were informed, however, that in the 
year 1851, from a failure of the crops, and the consequent high price of the oil, 
considerable quantities were brought from the East Indies; and, in a report 
made to the American Pharmaceutical Association, in the autumn of 1859, it is 
stated that, after the first of January of that year, 20,000 gallons of castor oil, 
* For a particular account of the mode of cultivating the castor oil plant, and prepar- 
ing the oil in the Western States, see a paper by Prof. Procter in the Am. Journ. of Pharm. 
(xxvii. 99). It is stated in this paper that, by the aid of an improved press, the product 
of oil has been so much increased, that 15 bushels of seeds will yield 40 gallons of oil. 
Most of the seeds produced in Illinois are now expressed in St. Louis.—Note to the eleventh 
edition. PART I. 
Oleum Ricini. 
595 
and 50,000 bushels of castor beans had been imported from the same source at 
the port of Boston. 
The process for obtaining castor oil by means of alcohol has been practised in 
France; but the product is said to become rancid more speedily than that pro 
cured, in the ordinary mode. Such a preparation has been employed in Italy 
and is asserted to be less disagreeable to the taste, and more effective than th€ 
common oil obtained by expression. According to M. Parola, an ethero-alcoholic 
extract, and an ethereal or alcoholic tincture of the seeds, operate in much 
smaller doses than the oil, and with less disposition to irritate the bowels or to 
cause vomiting. (See Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., N. S., xiii. 143.) 
Properties. Pure castor oil is a thick, viscid, colourless liquid, with little or 
no odour, and a mild though somewhat nauseous taste, followed by a slight sense 
of acrimony. As found in the shops it is often tinged with yellow, and has an 
unpleasant smell; and parcels are sometimes though rarely met with, of a brown- 
ish colour, and hot acrid taste. It does not readily congeal by cold. When ex- 
posed to the air it slowly thickens, without becoming opaque. It is heavier than 
most of the other fixed oils; its sp. gr. having been stated to be 0‘969 at 55° F. 
It differs also from other fixed oils in being soluble in all proportions in cold 
absolute alcohol. Weaker alcohol, of the sp. gr. 0-8425, takes up about three- 
fifths of its weight. It has been supposed that adulterations with other fixed 
oils might thus be detected, as the latter are much less soluble in that fluid; but 
Pereira has shown that castor oil has the property of rendering a portion of 
other fixed oils soluble in alcohol; so that the test cannot be relied on. {Pharm. 
Journ., ix. 498.) Such adulterations, however, are seldom practised in this 
country.* Castor oil is soluble also in ether. Its proximate composition is but 
imperfectly understood. When ekposed to destructive distillation, it yields va- 
rious gaseous products, volatile oleaginous liquids, and two peculiar substances 
called acrolein and oenanthole; and there is left behind a spongy elastic mass of 
remarkable properties. By nitrous acid the oil is solidified, and converted into a 
fatty substance, which was named at first palmin, but afterwards ricinelaidin, 
from its analogy with the product of a similar reaction on olive oil. This prin- 
ciple yields palmic or ricinelaidic acid and glycerin on saponification. The oil 
appears to be a glyceride; and, when it is saponified, and the soap decomposed 
by an acid, an oily liquid is obtained, consisting chiefly of ricinoleic acid, and a 
small portion of a solid acid, which is supposed to be a mixture of stearic and 
palmitic acids. (Gregory’s Handbook, 4th ed., p. 303.) Its constituents would, 
therefore, seem to be mainly ricinolein and a little stearin and palmitin. Ricino- 
leic acid is converted by caustic potassa into caprylic alcohol and sebacic acid, 
* Cohesion figures as a means of testing liquids. A new mode of testing liquids has been 
recently proposed by Mr. Charles Tomlinson, which is applicable to this oil, and may suc- 
ceed when purely chemical methods fail. When one liquid is dropped on the surface of 
another, there are often curious figures produced, as the drop spreads out on the surface 
of the liquid upon which it falls, occasioned by the conflict between the cohesion of the drop, 
and the forces which cause its diffusion. These the author calls cohesion figures. As a gen- 
eral rule, each liquid has its own characteristic figures, which are modified by the admix- 
ture of other liquids, and thus the means are afforded of testing not only the identity of any 
suspected liquid, but also its purity. To one not acquainted with the characteristic cohesion 
figures, it would be sufficient to try the experiment with a specimen known to be pure, and 
then to compare with the figure it forms, those formed by the specimen to be tested. The 
experiment should always be made under precisely similar circumstances. In reference 
to castor oil, it should be dropped from the end of a glass rod upon the surface of perfectly 
clear water, in a glass vessel scrupulously clean; as any imperfection in these respects 
might interpose a physical impediment to the success of the experiment. (Chem. News, Feb. 
13, 1864, p. 79. See also Am. Journ. of Pharm., July, 1864.) 
Effect on light. Another test for castor oil is its influence on polarized light. The fixed 
oils generally have little or no power. Castor oil deviates the plane of polarization to the 
right, but loses this property if heated to 270° C. {Journ. de Pharm., Nov. 1861, p. 339.1— 
Note to the twelfth edition. 596 
Oleum Ricini. 
PART I. 
with disengagement of hydrogen; and the same products are obtained by the 
reaction of potassa with the oil itself. (See Journ. de Pharm., Aout, 1855, p. 
113.) M. Lefort gives the formula as representing the ultimate com- 
position of castor oil. {Ibid., 3e ser., xxiii. 348.) Its pi rgative property is sup- 
posed by MM. Bussy and Lecanu to belong essentially to the oil, and not to any 
distinct principle which it may hold in solution. 
Castor oil which is acrid to the taste may sometimes be rendered mild by 
boiling it with a small proportion of water. If turbid, it should be clarified by 
filtration through coarse paper. On exposure to the air, it is apt to become 
rancid, and is then unfit for use.* 
Medical Properties and Uses. Good castor oil is a mild and speedy cathartic, 
usually operating with little griping or uneasiness, and evacuating the contents 
of the bowels without much increasing the alvine secretions. Hence, it is par- 
ticularly applicable to constipation from collections of indurated feces, and to 
cases in which acrid substances have been swallowed, or acrid secretions have 
accumulated in the bowels. From its mildness it is also especially adapted to 
diseases attended with irritation or inflammation of the bowels; as colic, diar- 
rhoea, dysentery, and enteritis. It is habitually resorted to in cases of pregnant 
and puerperal women, and is decidedly, as a general rule, the best and safest 
cathartic for children. Infants usually require a larger relative dose than adults, 
probably because they digest more of the oil. 
The dose for an adult is about a fluidounce, for an infant from one to three 
or four fluidrachms. It is sometimes difficult of administration, not so much from 
any peculiarly disagreeable taste, as from the recollection of former nausea, or 
other uneasiness which it may have produced, and from its clamminess and ad- 
hesiveness to the mouth. In a few cases, the disgust which it excites is utterly 
unconquerable by any effort of resolution. It is desirable, therefore, to obviate 
this inconvenience, as far as possible, by the mode of exhibition. A common 
method is to give it floating in mint or cinnamon water; but that which we 
have found upon the whole the least offensive, is to mix it with a cup of hot 
sweetened coffee, by which it is rendered more fluid, and its taste considerably 
disguised. Some take it in wine, or spirituous liquors, or the froth of porter; 
but these are often contraindicated by their stimulant property. When the 
stomach is unusually delicate, the oil may be made into an emulsion with mu- 
cilage or the yolk of an egg, loaf sugar, and an aromatic water. Tragacanth 
has been recommended as producing a better emulsion than gum arabic. Lauda- 
num may be added in cases of intestinal irritation. It has been proposed to 
give the oil in the air-bladders of fishes, which may be preserved in alcohol for 
the purpose.f Castor oil may also be beneficially used as an enema, in the 
quantity of two or three fluidounces, mixed with some mucilaginous liquid. It 
has been recommended as a local application to the breasts of nursing women, 
to promote the secretion of milk. 
Though apt to become rancid by itself, it loses much of this susceptibility 
when mixed with lard; and some apothecaries are said to use it as a substitute 
for olive oil in unguents and cerates. But the slightly irritating properties of 
even the mildest castor oil render it unfit for those preparations which are in- 
tended to alleviate irritation. 
Off. Prep. Pilula Calomelanos Composita, Br. W. 
* The following method of purifying rancid castor oil is recommended by M. Pavesi. 
Mix 1000 parts of the oil with 25 parts of purified bone black and 10 of magnesia; allow 
the mixture to stand for three days, with occasional agitation; then filter through paper 
or felt. (Repert. de Pharm., Sept. 1857.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 
f Oil of bitter almonds has been proposed as an effectual means of destroying the tasto 
of castor oil. It is to be employed in the same method as in the case of cod-liver oil. (See 
page 588.) Another measure is to beat the oil well with the contents of an egg, adding a 
little salt, sugar, and a few drops of orange flower water.—Note to the twelfth edition. PART I. 
Oleum Rosse. 
597 
OLEUM ROS.E. U.S. 
Oil of Roses. 
The volatile oil obtained from the petals of Rosa centifolia. U. S. 
See ROSA CENTIFOLIA. 
This is commonly called attar, otto, or essence of roses. It is prepared ou 
a large scale in Turkey in Europe especially in the Balkan mountains, in Egypt, 
Persia, Cashmere, India, and other countries of the East, and in small quanti- 
ties in the south of France, by distilling the petals of the rose with water. The 
oil concretes and floats upon the surface of the water when it cools. The pre- 
cise species of rose from which the oil is extracted is not in all instances cer- 
tainly known; but it is said to be obtained from R. damascena in Northern 
India, R. moschata in Persia, and R. centifolia (provincialis) in the north ot 
European Turkey. It is furnished in very minute proportion; not more than 
three drachms having been obtained by Colonel Polier, in Hindostan, from 100 
lbs. of the petals. It is usually imported in small bottles, and is very costly.* 
Oil of roses is said to be prepared in Macedonia by crushing the petals in 
mills, expressing the fluid part, filtering it, and then exposing it to the sun in 
small glass*vessels. The oil gradually collects on the surface of the liquid, and 
is removed. (Pharm. Cent. Blatt, 1847, p. 783.) 
Landerer states that, at Damascus and other parts of Asia Minor, the oil is 
prepared by dry distillation. The buds being collected before sunrise are placed 
in a glass retort; and the distillation is effected by a salt-water bath, care being 
takeu so to regulate the heat as not to scorch the petals. The water of the fresh 
roses and their oil come over together, and the latter, floating on the top, is 
separated in the usual mode. 
Oil of roses is nearly colourless, or presents some shade of green, yellow, or 
red; but, according to Polier, the colour is no criterion of its value. It is con- 
crete below 80°, and becomes liquid between 84° and 86°. Its odour is very 
powerful and diffusive. At 90° its sp. gr. is 0‘832. Alcohol dissolves it, though 
not freely when cold. It consists of two oils, one liquid, the other concrete at 
ordinary temperatures. These may be separated by freezing the oil, and com- 
pressing it between folds of blotting paper, which absorbs the liquid oil, and 
leaves the concrete or stearoptene. The latter consists exclusively of carbon 
and hydrogen; the former, of these with oxygen. 
Sandal-wood oil, other volatile oils, fixed oils, spermaceti, &c. are said to be 
added as adulterations. The volatile additions may be detected by not being 
concrete; the fixed, by the greasy stain they leave on paper when heated. Gui- 
has offered certain tests by which he thinks the purity of the oil may be 
determined. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxi. 318.) It is said that the oil of 
one of the sweet-scented Pelargoniums, perhaps the rose-geranium, is much 
employed in Turkey for the purpose of adulteration ; but this is probably a mis- 
take. According to Mr. Hanbury, who appears to have thoroughly investigated 
the subject, two substances especially are used in Constantinople for adulterating 
the oil; one spermaceti, the other a volatile oil, produced by certain grasses in 
the E. Indies belonging to the genus Andropogon, large quantities of which are 
exported from Bombay, partly directly to Europe, partly through the Arabian 
Gulf, whence it reaches Constantinople. The same oil is imported into London 
under the name of Turkish essence of geranium. (Pharm. Journ., April, 1859, 
p. 506.) 
Oil of roses may be added, as a grateful perfume, to various spirituous prepa- 
rations for internal use, and to cerates and ointments. W. 
* See a paper by Prof. J. L. Smith, on the preparation of the otto of rose in the Balkans, 
in the Am. Journ. of Fharm., July, 1859, p. 324. 598 
Oleum Seftami.— Oleum Succini. 
PART I. 
OLEUM SESAME U.S. Secondary. 
Benne Oil. 
The oil of the seeds of Sesamum Indicum, and of Sesamum orientale. U. S. 
See SESAMI FOLIUM. 
OLEUM SUCCINI. U.S. 
Oil of Amber. 
The volatile oil obtained by the destructive distillation of amber. TJ. S. 
Amber. Succinum. This is a fossil resin, derived, probably, from extinct 
conifer®, occurring generally in small detached masses, in alluvial deposits, in 
different parts of the world. It is found chiefly in Prussia, either on the sea- 
shore, where it is thrown up by the Baltic, or underneath the surface, in the allu- 
vial formations along the coast. Large deposits occur in some lakes on the east- 
ern coast of Courland, and an extensive bed of yellow amber was discovered in 
1854, on sinking a well in the coal mines near Prague. The largest mass of 
amber, yet found, weighed thirteen pounds. Amber also occurs in considerable 
quantities near Catania, in Sicily. It is usually associated with lignite, and some- 
times encloses insects and parts of vegetables. In the United States, it was found 
at Cape Sable, Maryland, by Dr. Troost. In this locality it is associated with 
lignite and iron pyrites. It has also been discovered in New Jersey. The amber, 
consumed in this country, is brought from the ports of the Baltic. 
It is a brittle solid, generally in small irregular masses, permanent in the air, 
having a homogeneous texture and vitreous fracture, and susceptible of a fine 
polish. It becomes negatively electric by friction. Its colour is generally brown- 
ish-yellow, either light or deep; but is occasionally reddish-brown or even deep- 
brown. It has no taste, and is inodorous when cold, but exhales a peculiar, 
aromatic smell when heated. It is usually translucent, though occasionally trans- 
parent or opaque. Its sp. gr. is about LOT. Water and alcohol scarcely act on it. 
When heated in the open air, it softens, melts at 548°, swells, and at last in- 
flames, leaving, after combustion, a small portion of ashes. Subjected to distil- 
lation in a retort furnished with a tubulated receiver, it yields, first, a yellow acid 
liquor; and afterwards a thin yellowish oil, with a yellow waxy substance, which 
is deposited in the neck of the retort and the upper part of the receiver. This 
waxy substance, exhausted by cold ether of the part soluble in that menstruum, 
is reduced to a yellow micaceous substance, identical with the chrtysen of Lau- 
rent. A white crystalline substance, identical with the idrialin of Dumas, may 
be separated from the micaceous substance by boiling alcohol. Both chrysen and 
idrialin are carbohydrogens. (Pelletier and Walter, Journ. de Pharm., v. 60.) 
As the distillation proceeds, a considerable quantity of combustible gas is given 
off, which must be allowed to escape. By continuing the heat, the oil gradually 
deepens in colour, until, towards the end of the distillation, it becomes black and 
of the consistence of pitch. The oil obtained is called oil of amber, and the acid 
liquor is a solution of impure succinic acid. Repeatedly distilled from nitric acid, 
amber yields an acid liquor, from which, after it has been neutralized with caustic 
potassa, ether separates pure camphor. (Doepping, Journ. de Pharm., vi. 168.) 
Camphor is also obtained by distilling to dryness powdered amber with an ex- 
tremely concentrated solution of caustic potassa. (G. Reich, Ibid., xii;. 33.) 
According to Berzelius, amber consists of 1. a volatile oil of an agreeable odour 
in small quantity; 2. a yellow resin, intimately united with a volatile oil, very 
soluble in alcohol, ether, and the alkalies, easily fusible, and resembling ordinary 
resins; 3. another resin, also combined with a volatile oil, soluble h eth( r and PART I. 
Oleum Succini.— Oleum Terebinthinse. 
599 
the alkalies, sparingly soluble in cold, but more soluble in boiling alcohol; 4. 
succinic acid; 5. a bituminous principle insoluble in alcohol, ether, and the alka-* 
lies, having some analogy to the lac resin of John, and constituting more than 
four-fifths of the amber. It also contains a strongly odorous, bright-yellow sub- 
stance, which hardens by time, but preserves in part its odour. The ultimate 
constituents of amber are carbon 80 59, hydrogen 7 '31, oxygen, 673, ashes (silica, 
lime, and alumina) 3'27 = 97*90. A minute proportion of sulphur has also been 
found among its constituents. (Journ. de Pharm., Mai, 1864, p. 404.) 
Amber was held in high estimation by the ancients as a medicine; but at 
present is employed only in pharmacy and the arts. In pharmacy it is used to 
prepare oil of amber and succinic acid. In the arts it is made into ornaments, 
and employed in preparing varnishes. When put to the latter use it requires to 
be first subjected to roasting, whereby it is rendered soluble in a mixture of lin- 
seed oil and oil of turpentine. This solution forms amber varnish. B. 
Oil of Amber. Oleum Succini. Crude oil of Amber. In the U. S. Phar- 
macopoeia of 1850, this is placed among the Preparations; in the existing edi- 
tion, it has been transferred to the Materia Medica list. The following are the 
former officinal directions for its preparation. 
“ Take of Amber, in powder, any quantity. Put the Amber, previously mixed 
with an equal weight of sand, into a glass retort, which is to be only half filled; 
then distil, by means of a sand-bath, with a gradually increasing heat, an acid 
liquor, an oil, and a concrete acid impregnated with oil. Separate the Oil from 
the other matters, and keep it in well-stopped bottles.” U. S, 
The amber in this process undergoes decomposition, and affords, among other 
products, an empyreumatic oil, which floats in the receiver upon the surface of 
an acid liquor. The heat requisite for the complete decomposition of the amber 
cannot be supported by a glass retort; and, in order that all the oil which it is 
capable of yielding may be collected, the distillation should be performed in a 
tubulated iron or earthenware retort, which may be placed immediately upon 
the fire. The sand is added to prevent the amber from swelling too much. The 
oil may be separated from the acid liquor by means of the separating funnel. 
As first procured, it is a thick, very dark-coloured liquid, of a peculiar strong 
empyreumatic odour. In this state it is occasionally employed as a liniment; 
but for internal use it should be rectified. It is said that the scrapings of copal 
and the resin dammar are often substituted for amber, and yield an oil scarcely 
distinguishable from the genuine. {Pereira.) 
Off. Prep. Oleum Succini Rectificatum, U. S. W. 
OLEUM TEREBINTIJINyE. U.S.,Br. 
Oil of Turpentine. 
The volatile oil distilled from the turpentine of Pinus palustris and of other 
species of Pinus. U. S. Pinus palustris, Pinus Toeda, and sometimes Pinus Pinas- 
ter. The oil distilled from the turpentine. Br. 
Huile volatile de terdbenthine, Fr.; Terpentbinbl, Germ.; Olio della trementina, Ital.; 
Vceyte de trementina, Span. 
See TEREBINTHINA. 
This oil is commonly called spirits or spirit of turpentine. It is prepared 
by distillation from our common turpentine, though equally afforded by other 
varieties. It may be distilled either with or without water; but in the latter 
ease a much higher temperature is required, and the product is liable to be em- 
pyreumatic. To obtain it quite pure it should be redistilled from a solution of 
caustic potassa. The turpentine of Pinus j)alustris is said to yield about 17 
per cent, of oil; while the common turpentine of Europe affords 24 per cent. 
Large quantities are distilled in North Carolina for exportation. 600 
Oleum Terebinthinse. 
PART I. 
Pure oil of turpentine is perfectly limpid and colourless, of a strong, pene- 
trating, peculiar odour, and a hot, pungent, bitterish taste. It is much lighter 
than water, having the sp.gr. 0-86 at 72° F.; is highly volatile and inflamma- 
ble; boils at a temperature somewhat higher than 300°; is very slightly soluble 
in water, less soluble in alcohol than most other volatile oils, and readily soluble 
in ether. Boiling alcohol dissolves it with facility, but deposits most of the oil 
upon cooling. One hundred parts of alcohol of 0 84 dissolve 13 5 parts of the 
oil at 72°. As found in commerce, it always contains oxygen; but, when per- 
fectly pure, it consists exclusively of carbon and hydrogen, and is thought to be 
'someric with the radical of camphor. Hence it has been denominated camphene. 
(See page 195.) According to Blanchet and Sell, it consists of two distinct 
isomeric oils, which, by the absorption of oxygen, are converted into two dis- 
tinct resins, corresponding to those found by TJnverdorben in colophony. (Journ. 
de Pharrn., xx. 226.) But there is reason to believe that these oils are the re- 
sults of chemical reaction; as, when isolated, they have boiling points higher 
than that of the original oil. Heated in close vessels to 482° F., oil of turpen- 
tine undergoes certain changes in properties, without any discoverable change 
of composition. {Ibid., 3e ser., xxiv. 428.) It absorbs muriatic acid, forming 
with it two compounds, one a red dense liquid, the other a white crystalline 
substance resembling camphor, and hence called artificial camphor. The latter 
consists of the unaltered oil (camphene) combined with the acid, and is there- 
fore muriate of camphene. In the former the oil appears to have undergone 
some molecular change, being converted into an oil isomeric with the oil of tur- 
pentine, but differing from it in its action on polarized light, and in forming a 
liquid compound with muriatic acid. Nitric acid converts oil of turpentine into 
resin, and by long boiling into turpentinic acid. Mixed with water and chlo- 
ride of lime, and then distilled, the oil yields a liquid which M. Chautard found 
to be identical with chloroform. {Ibid., 3e ser., xxi. 88.) On exposure to air 
and light, it deposits white acicular crystals, which are without taste or smell, 
insoluble in cold water, but soluble in ether and alcohol. (Boissenot, Journ. de 
Chim. Med.,\\. 143.) White crystals of stearoptene, heavier than wrater and 
fusible at 20°, separate from the oil at the temperature of 18° below zero. 
These are probably a hydrate of the oil. The hydrate may be produced by ex- 
posing on a plate four volumes of the oil recently distilled, three of alcohol, and 
one of nitric acid. Crystals form at the end of a week or more. This happens 
though the oil may be mixed with others, and may serve to detect adulterations 
with it of oils which do not have the same composition. (Berthelot, Journ. de 
Pharm. et de Chim., xxviii. 451.) 
Exposed to the air the oil absorbs oxygen, becomes thicker and yellowish, 
and loses much of its activity, owing to the formation of resin. A small pro- 
portion of formic acid is said also to be generated. Hence the Edinburgh Col- 
lege directed the oil to be rectified by distilling it with about four measures of 
water. But the process is diflicult in consequence of the great inflammability of 
the vapour, and its rapid formation, which causes the liquid to boil over. In 
this country itts scarcely necessary; as the recent oil can be obtained at an ex- 
pense less than that which would be incurred by redistillation on a small scale. 
Another mode of purifying the oil is to agitate it with one-eighth of alcohol, 
which dissolves the resinous portion. About one-fifth of the alcohol is retained 
by the oil, but is readily separated by agitation with water. 
The oil as obtained from different species of pine or fir, though having many 
common properties, and identical in composition, is somewhat different, espe- 
cially in relation to its influence on polarized light. Thus, the oil used in this 
country, derived from Pinus palustris, produces deviation of the plane of polari- 
zation to the right, while the French oil, from Pinus maritima, has the con- 
trary effect. M. Berthelot, after numerous experiments, has come to tho '.'-onclu- PART I. 
Oleum Terebinthinse. 
601 
Bion, that the oils of turpentine of the formula CMH1S, whether from the same 
or different trees, are mixtures of several isomeric carburets, constituting per 
manent varieties, which carry their distinctive character with them into combi- 
nation, as in their artificial camphors and hydrates, which have the same rotary 
power as their respective oils. (Journ. de Pharm. et de Chim., xxv. 263.) 
Berthelot has shown that oil of turpentine has, under certain conditions, the 
power, while undergoing oxidation itself, of causing the oxidation of other bodies, 
to which it imparts a portion of the oxygen absorbed from the air. All that is 
necessary to give this power to the oil is that, soon after distillation, it should 
be exposed to the air, as in a bottle half filled. Solar light assists, but is not 
essential to the change, which goes on even in the dark. The oil retains the pro- 
perty thus acquired indefinitely, but may be deprived of it by exposure to a boil- 
ing heat, or by agitation with certain other substances, as pyrogallate of potassa. 
No other chemical or physical change can be detected in the oil. {Journ. d& 
Pharm., Mai, 1860, p. 351.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Oil of turpentine is stimulant, diuretic, occa- 
sionally diaphoretic, anthelmintic, in large doses cathartic, and externally rube- 
facient. Swallowed in moderate quantities it produces a sense of warmth in the 
stomach, accelerates the circulation, and increases the heat of the skin, without 
especially affecting the functions of the brain. In small doses, frequently re- 
peated, it stimulates the kidneys, augmenting the secretion of urine, and often 
producing, especially if long continued, painful irritation of the urinary passages, 
amounting sometimes to violent strangury. At the same time it imparts the 
odour of violets to the urine; and this effect is also produced by its external 
application, or even by breathing the air of an apartment impregnated with its 
vapours. In large doses it occasions slight vertigo, or a sense of fulness in the 
head, sometimes amounting to intoxication, attended frequently with nausea, 
and succeeded generally, though not always, by speedy and brisk catharsis. 
When this effect is experienced, the oil is carried out of the bowels, and, no time 
being allowed for absorption, is less apt to irritate the kidneys and bladder than 
in small and repeated doses. In some constitutions it produces, even when taken 
internally, an erytheraatic eruption on the skin. Persons who inhale its vapour 
are liable to strangury and even bloody nrine. We have seen cases of hsematuria 
in seamen from on board vessels loaded with turpentine. A case is on record in 
which a woman was found dead, after having swallowed a large quantity of the 
oil, probably about six ounces. The muscles were in a state of rigid contraction ; 
the membranes of the brain and spinal marrow were greatly congested, and the 
brain in a less degree; and the lungs and right cavities of the heart were gorged 
with blood. The inference is that death resulted from asphyxia, produced pro- 
bably by a tetanic contraction of the muscles of respiration. (See Am. Journ. of 
Med. Sci., Oct. 1858, p. 562.) 
The oil is employed in numerous diseases. As a stimulant it sometimes 
proves serviceable in low forms of fever. We have found it extremely useful in 
the advanced stage of typhoid or enteric fever; and especially in cases in which 
the tongue has partially or completely thrown off its fur in flakes, and after- 
wards become dry, with a surface destitute of its ordinary papillary appearance, 
and often contracted and fissured. The remedy has, in our hands, proved almost 
uniformly successful under these circumstances. With small doses of the oil fre- 
quently repeated, the tongue becomes moist and again coated, the tympanitic 
state of the bowels disappears, and the patient goes on to recover as in a favour- 
able case of fever. Its efficiency, how'ever, in typhoid fever, is ascribable not so 
much to its stimulant properties, as to an alterative influence upon the ulcerated 
surface of the bowels characteristic of that disease. The medicine has been re- 
commended as a counter-irritant in yellow and puerperal fevers; and may un- 
doubtedly be given with advantage in the latter stages of these diseases, and in Oleum Terebinthinse. 
PART I. 
other instances of gastric and enteric inflammations, which require a resort to 
stimulation. In chronic rheumatism, particularly sciatica and lumbago, the oil 
has often been given with great benefit. It has also been much extolled as a re- 
medy in neuralgia, in epilepsy and tetanus, in passive hemorrhages, particularly 
from the bowels, in disordered conditions of the alimentary canal attended with 
sallow countenance, foul tongue, tumid abdomen, sour or fetid eructations, and 
general depravation of health, in obstructions of the bowels, in chronic dysen- 
tery and diarrhoea, in obstinate gleets and leueorrhoea, in suppression of urine, 
and retention and incontinence of urine from debility, and in chronic nephritic 
and calculous affections. In certain cases of dysentery, whether acute or chronic, 
when the tongue is quite dry, and smooth as if from defect of the papillary struc- 
ture, no remedy has proved so efficient in our hands as oil of turpentine. We 
have seen it also very beneficial in haemoptysis. As a vermifuge it is highly es- 
teemed, especially in cases of taenia. It appears to destroy or debilitate the 
worm, which, losing its hold upon the bowels, is then easily discharged. In cases 
of worms in the stomach it is very useful. The worms, in this instance, are de- 
stroyed, and then digested as any other dead animal matter. In dropsies with 
feeble action the oil may sometimes be advantageously given as a diuretic; and 
in amenorrhoea from torpor of the uterine vessels it is occasionally useful. As 
a local stimulant it may be given beneficially in some instances of flatulent colic, 
and gout in the stomach. 
The dose for ordinary purposes is from five to thirty drops, repeated every 
hour or two in acute, and three or four times a day in chronic diseases. In rheu- 
matism it is recommended by some in the dose of a fiuidrachm every four hours. 
As a remedy for the tape-worm it is given in the quantity of one or two fluid- 
ounces, and should be followed by castor oil if it do not operate in three or four 
hours. It has also proved successful in taenia in the dose of half a drachm, twice 
a day, continued for a considerable time. In ordinary cases of worms, the usual 
dose may be given. It may be administered on sugar, or in emulsion with gum 
arabic, loaf sugar, and cinnamon or mint water. 
In the form of enema, the oil has been employed in amenorrhoea, and to pro- 
mote uterine contraction in child-birth, and is highly useful in cases of ascarides, 
obstiuate constipation, and distension of the bowels from accumulation of air. 
No remedy is more effectual in tympanites than injections of oil of turpentine. 
From half a fluidounce to two fluidounces may be administered, suspended by 
the yolk of eggs in half a pint or a pint of water, or some mucilaginous fluid. 
Externally applied, oil of turpentine irritates and speedily inflames the skin; 
and, in low forms of fever with coldness of the surface, is when heated one of 
the most efficacious rubefacients. It is also used as a liniment in rheumatic and 
paralytic affections, and various internal inflammations. It should generally, in 
mild cases, be diluted with olive oil; and in some constitutions, even in this 
state, produces such violent inflammation of the skin, with extensive eruptions, 
as to render its external use in any shape improper. Mixed with some mild oil, 
and introduced on cotton into the ear, it is sometimes beneficial in deafness 
arising from a deficient or unhealthy secretion of wax. Applied to recent burns, 
it is thought by some to be highly useful in allaying the burning pain and pro- 
moting a disposition to heal. For this purpose, however, it is usually mixed 
with resin cerate (basilicon ointment), so as to form a liniment capable of being 
spread upon linen rags. (See Linimentum Terebinthinse.)* The oil has been 
recommended also in anthrax and erysipelas. 
Oil of turpentine has been recommended in the form of bath, in affections in 
* The following is the formula adopted by the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy for 
the preparation of the rubefacient liniment, so much sold under the name 0/ British oil. 
R. Olei Terebinth, fjjviij, Olei Lini fgviij, Olei Succini Olei Juniperi P< trvlai 
Barbadensis f3iij, Petrolci Americani (Seneca oil) Misce. PART I. 
Oleum Terebinthinae.—Oleum Theobromae. 
603 
which its constitutional impression is desired. For this purpose Dr. T. Smith, of 
Cheltenham, England, employs from five to ten fluidounces of the oil, with half a 
fluidouuce of the oil of rosemary, and two pounds of carbonate of soda in each bath. 
The breath becomes strongly impregnated with the terebinthinate odour. (Braith- 
waited Retrospect, xxi. 355.) Applied in vapour, the oil is said to be a very 
speedy cure for the itch. The bed and night clothes are sprinkled with thirteen 
drachms of the oil, and the patient finds himself cured on awaking in the morn- 
ing. {Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., July, 1857, p. 232.) Baths of the vapour of tur- 
pentine are stated to be very beneficial in chronic rheumatism. They are said tc 
be borne well, for twenty-five minutes, at a temperature from 140° to 160° F. 
{Arch. Gen., 4e ser., xxviii. 80.) Inhalation of the vapour has been recom- 
mended by Skoda in gangrene of the lungs. 
Of. Prep. Confectio Terebinthinae, Br.; Enema Terebinthinae, Br.; Linimen- 
tum Cantharidis, U. S.; Liniment. Terebinthinae; Liniment. Terebinthinae Aceti- 
cum, Br.; Unguentum Terebinthinae, Br. W. 
OLEUM THEOBROMiE. U. S. 
Oil of Theobroma. Batter of Cacao. 
The concrete oil of the kernels of the fruit of Theobroma Cacao. U. S. 
Theobroma. Sex. Syst. Polyadelphia Decandria. Nat. Ord. Sterculiaceae. 
Bindley. 
Gen.Ch. Calyx sepaled. Petals 5, vaulted at the base, ligulate above. Stamens 
15, connected into an urceolus at the base; sterile filaments 5, alternate with 
the petals; fertile ones short, united into 5 filaments, each opposite to a petal 
and bearing 2 anthers. Style 5-cleft at the apex. Stigmas simple. Fruit inde- 
hiscent, 5-celled. Seeds embedded in a buttery pulp. 
Theobroma Cacao. Linn. Sp. PI. 1100; Hayne, Darstel. und Beschreib. &c., 
ix. 35. This is a handsome tree, from twelve to twenty feet in height, growing 
in Mexico, the West Indies, and South America, in some parts of which it is 
largely cultivated, particularly in Guayaquil and Venezuela. The fruit is an 
oblong-ovate capsule or berry, six or eight inches in length, with a thick, coria- 
ceous, somewhat ligneous rind, enclosing a whitish pulp, in which numerous 
seeds are embedded. These are ovate, somewhat compressed, about as large as 
an almond, and consist of an exterior thin shell, and a brown oily kernel. Sepa- 
rated from the matter in which they are enveloped, they constitute the cocoa, 
cacao, or chocolate nuts of commerce. They have a slightly aromatic, bitterish, 
oily taste, and, when bruised or heated, an agreeable odour. Analyzed by Mitsch- 
erlich, they were found to contain, in 100 parts, from 45 to 49 of fixed oil {cacao 
butter), 14 to 18 of starch, 034 of glucose, 0'26 of cane sugar, 5-8 of cellulose, 
35 to 5 of colouring matter, 13 to 18 of albuminoid matter, 12 to L5 of theo- 
bromin, 5-6 to 6 3 of water, with 3 5 ashes. The colouring matter is probably 
the result of chemical change, as the fresh seeds are white. Theobromiu has 
been found also in the shells in the proportion of about 1 per cent. (See Am. 
Journ. of Pharm., Nov. 1862, p. 509.) The shells of the nuts are sometimes 
employed in the state of infusion, as a substitute for tea or coffee. They impart 
to boiling water a taste analogous to that of chocolate, but weaker. The kernel is 
consumed in great quantities, in the shape of chocolate, or in some analogous form. 
Theobromin (or more properly theobromia) was discovered by M. Woskre- 
sensky, who obtained it in the following method. The kernels are exhausted with 
water by means of the water-bath; the solution is strained through linen, pre- 
cipitated by acetate of lead, and filtered; the filtered liquid is freed from lead by 
sulphuretted hydrogen, and evaporated; the brown residue is treated with boil- 
ing alcohol, and the liquid filtered while hot. Upon cooling, the theobromia is 604 
Oleum Theobromse. 
PART I. 
deposited in the form of a reddish-white powder, which is rendered colourless by 
repeated crystallization. Keller obtained it still purer by heating the powder 
between two watch-glasses, by which a brilliant white sublimate was obtained. 
(0mean's Handbook.) Theobromia is a nitrogenous crystal)izable principle, 
capable of forming salts with the acids, very bitter, volatilizable without change, 
freely soluble in hot alcohol, sparingly so in hot water, and closely analogous to 
caffein. Its formula, according to Dr. F. Keller, is CuH8N404. It has been con- 
verted into caffein by Prof. Strecker. (See Am. J. of Pharm., Sept. 1861, p. 406.) 
Chocolate is differently prepared in different countries. In Great Britain and 
the United States, it usually consists, when pure, exclusively of the cocoa or 
chocolate nuts, which are first roasted, then deprived of their shell, and lastly re- 
duced, by grinding between heated stones, to the state of a paste, which is moulded 
into oblong cakes. Not unfrequently rice flour or other farinaceous substance, 
with butter or lard, is added; but these must be considered as adulterations. 
On the continent of Europe, sugar is generally incorporated with the paste, and 
spices, especially cinnamon, are often added. Yanilla is a favourite addition in 
South America, France, and Spain. Cocoa is often sold in the state of powder, 
which is sometimes mingled with other ingredients, such as ground rice, barley 
flour, sugar, &c. Chocolate is prepared for use by reducing it to powder, and 
boiling it in milk, water, or a mixture of these fluids. In this state it is much 
employed as a drink at breakfast and tea, and serves as a substitute for coffee in 
dyspepsia. It is also a good article of diet for convalescents, and may sometimes 
be given advantageously as a mild nutritive drink in acute disease. 
Oil of Theobroma. Cacao Butter. This is the fixed oil of the chocolate nut. 
It is extracted either by expression, decoction, or the action of a solvent. Sou- 
beiran recommends that the seeds, previously ground, be mixed with one-tenth 
of their weight of water, then pressed between hot plates of tinned iron. It is 
advisable that the heat should not exceed that of boiling water, and even a lower 
heat will answer. When the method of decoction is used, the cacao should be 
slightly roasted before boiling. As a solvent, bisulphuret of carbon has been 
found to answer well, as recommended in the preparation of the expressed oil of 
nutmeg. (See Oleum Myristicee.) Upon the whole, the method of expression is 
perhaps preferable. The presence of water in the ground seeds is said greatly to 
facilitate the process. The expressed oil, which is generally imported, comes in 
the shape of oblong cakes, like those of chocolate, weighing about half a pound 
each. It is whitish or yellowish, of the consistence of tallow, with an agreeable 
odour resembling that of chocolate, and a bland, pleasant taste. It was analyzed 
by Specht and Gdssman, who found it to consist of stearin, palmitin, and olein. 
From its large proportion of stearin, it is one of the best fats for the prepara- 
tion of stearic acid. (Chem. Gaz., Aug. 15, 1854, p. 306.) It is said to be fre- 
quently adulterated with animal fats. 
Butter of cacao is used as an ingredient in cosmetic ointments, and in phar- 
macy for coating pills, and preparing suppositories. For the last purpose it is 
admirably adapted by its consistence and blandness, and is now largely consumed. 
It was, indeed, on this account chiefly that it was introduced into the present 
edition of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia.* W. 
* Mafurra Tallow. Under this name a fatty matter is known, obtained from the fruit of 
a tree growing in Mozambique, and the Isles of Madagascar and Bourbon, and bearing a 
close resemblance in qualities to cacao butter. The kernel of the fruit is described as of 
the size of the cacao bean, having the same characteristic odour when bruised, and a bit- 
ter taste. The fatty matter is extracted by boiling the kernels in water. It is of a firm 
solid consistence, less fusible than tallow, of a yellowish colour, and the odour of cacao 
butter. It agrees, moreover, with that substance in containing olein and palmitin and 
yields palmitic acid largely when saponified. The tree which yields it will probably be l«und 
to bear a close botanical affinity to Theobroma. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxviii. 16?.) PART I. 
Oleum Thy mi.—Oleum Tiglii. 
605 
OLEUM THYMI. US. 
Oil of Thyme, 
The volatile oil obtained from Thymus vulgaris. U. S. 
This was introduced into the present edition of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, 
under the impression, that what is usually employed under the name of oil of 
origanum, and under that name was recognised in former editions of the Phar- 
macopoeia, is really the product of the Thymus vulgaris, or common thyme. 
This fact was ascertained by Mr. Daniel Hanbury, during a journey in the south 
of France, where the thyme grows wild in great abundance, and is largely collected 
for distillation. The oil is taken from France to England, and thence reaches 
this country under the name of oil of origanum, having, probably from its greater 
cheapness, been substituted for the genuine oil. The substitution is of the less 
importance, as, for all the purposes for which oil of origanum was used, that of 
thyme is not less useful, while it is at least quite as agreeable. 
Thymus vulgaris is a very common plant, indigenous in the south of France, 
and cultivated in our gardens. It is a labiate plant, belonging to the Linngean 
class and order Didynamia Gymnospermia, and characterized as a genus by its 
subcampanulate calyx, having its throat closed with hairs, and its corolla with 
the upper lip flat and emarginate, and a longer lower lip. It is a low under- 
shrub, procumbent at the base, with ovate-linear, revolute leaves, and flowers in 
a whorled spike. The herbaceous portion, which should be gathered when the 
plant is in flower, has a peculiar, strong, aromatic, agreeable odour, not lost by 
drying, and a pungent, aromatic, camphorous taste. Its active constituent is 
the volatile oil, which is obtained separate by distillation with water. 
The oil, as prepared in the south of France, is, after one distillation, of a red- 
dish-brown colour, and called the red oil, but when again distilled is colourless, 
and in this condition is distinguished as the white oil. It is the former that is 
exclusively found in our shops. According to Zeller, one pound of the fresh herb 
yields 45-7 grains of the oil, of the dried herb 88 grains. The oil, as found in 
our shops, is of a reddish-brown colour, and of an odour recalling that of thyme, 
but less agreeable. Its sp. gr. is stated at 0'905, but probably varies, as the oil 
is a complex body. Besides other ingredients, it contains a principle called 
thymol, which is concrete at ordinary temperatures, and comes over last in dis- 
tillation, and which in the solid state is somewhat heavier than water. 
Thyme has the aromatic properties of sage, lavender, &c., and may be used 
for the same purposes; but it is more employed in cooking than in medicine. 
T. serpillum, or the wild thyme of Europe, is analogous in properties to the 
garden thyme. Both are occasionally used in baths, fomentations, and cata- 
plasms, along with other aromatic herbs. 
The oil is used almost exclusively as a local application. Introduced on lint 
or cotton into the cavity of a carious tooth, it will sometimes allay toothache. 
It is often used as a mild irritant in chronic rheumatism, sprains, bruises, &c., 
generally in connection with spirit and camphor. It is an ingredient, under the 
name of oil of origanum, in opodeldoc, the Linimentum Saponis Camphoratum 
of former editions of the TJ. S. Pharmacopoeia, which has, we think unfortunately, 
been discarded from the recent edition. W. 
OLEUM TIGLII. U.S. 
Groton Oil. 
The oil obtained from the seeds of Croton Tiglium. TJ. S. 
Off. Syn. OLEUM CROTONIS. Croton Tiglium. The oil expressed from 
the seeds in England. Br. 
Huile de Croton, Ft.; Crotonol, Germ.; Nervalum unnay, Tamool. 606 
Oleum Tiglii. 
PART I. 
Croton. See CASCARILLA. 
Croton Tiglium. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 543; Woodv. Med. Bot., 3d ed., vol. y. 
p. Tl. This species of Croton is a small tree or shrub, with a few spreading 
branches, bearing alternate petiolate leaves, which are ovate, acuminate, serrate, 
smooth, of a dark-green colour on the upper surface, paler beneath, and fur- 
nished with two glands at the base. The flowers are in erect terminal racemes, 
scarcely as long as the leaf; the lower being female, the upper male, with straw- 
coloured petals. The fruit is a smooth capsule, about the size of a filbert, with 
three cells, each containing a single seed. 
The tree is a native of Ilindostan, Ceylon, the Moluccas, and other parts of 
India. It is pervaded by an acrid purgative principle, probably analogous to 
that found in other plants belonging to the family of Euphorbiaceaj. Rumphius 
says that the root is employed in Amboyna, in the dose of a few grains, as a 
drastic purge in dropsy; and, according to the same author, the leaves are so 
acrid that, when chewed and swallowed, they excite inflammation in the lips, 
mouth, and throat, and along the whole course of the alimentary canal. The 
wood is said in small doses to be diaphoretic, in larger, purgative and emetic. 
But the seeds are the most active part. These have been long used in India as a 
powerful purgative, and were employed so early as 1630 in Europe, under the 
names of grana Molucca and grana tiglia. But in consequence of their violent 
effects they fell into neglect, and had ceased to be ranked among medicines, 
when, at a comparatively recent period, attention was again called to them by 
the writings of some English physicians in India. They are now imported for 
their oil, which is the only product of the plant considered officinal. 
These seeds are rather larger than a grain of coffee, oblong, rounded at the 
extremities, with two faces, the external considerably more convex than the in- 
ternal, separated from each other by longitudinal ridges, and each divided by a 
similar longitudinal ridge, so that the whole seed presents an irregular quad- 
rangular figure. Sometimes, as in the coffee grain, their internal surface is flat 
with a longitudinal groove, owing to the presence of only two seeds in the cap- 
sule, the groove being produced by the central column or axis. The shell is 
covered with a soft, yellowish-brown epidermis, beneath which the surface is 
black and smooth; and, as the epidermis is often partially removed by friction 
during their carriage, the seeds as they come to us are frequently mottled, and 
sometimes nearly black. The kernel or nucleus is yellowish-browm, and abounds 
in oil. In India the seeds are prepared for use by submitting them to slight tor- 
refaction, by which the shell is rendered more easily separable. In the dose of 
one or two grains the kernel purges with great activity. 
The oil is obtained by expression from the seeds, previously deprived of the 
shell. It may also be separated by decoction in water, or by the action of ether, 
or bisulphuret of carbon, which dissolves the oil, and leaves it behind when 
evaporated.* Guibourt recommends, after the first expression, to digest the 
residue with alcohol at a temperature of 120° to 140° F., and then submit it to 
* Extraction with ether. Having washed and dried the seeds, grind them in a coffee-mill, 
and form a soft paste with ether. Introduce this into a narrow percolation tube, and gradu- 
ally pour ether upon it until exhausted. Evaporate the ether by means of a -water-bath, 
and filter the remaining oil through paper. (Journ. de Pharm., Aout, 1862, p. 116.) 
Extraction icith bisulphuret of carbon. The seeds, well bruised, are introduced into a bottle 
with three times their weight of bisulphuret of carbon well rectified; the mixture is allowed 
to stand, with frequent agitation, for at least 24 hours; the whole is then poured upon a 
cloth and rapidly expressed. The residue is similarly treated with twice its weight of the 
bisulphuret, and expressed after standing as before. The products of the two macerations 
are mixed, then filtered in a covered funnel, and finally submitted to distillation, by means 
of a water-bath, in a glass retort, at the temperature of 160° or 170° E. The bisulphuret 
should be recovered by condensing its vapour in a refrigerated receiver. The oil is to be 
poured into a capsule, to show that it contains none of the bisulphuret, and then introduced 
into a bottle. [Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., xxxi. 28.)—Note to the twelfth edition. PART I. 
Oleum Titjlii. 
607 
a new expression. The alcohol is to be separated by distillation from the oil, 
which is then to be mixed with the first product. According to Dr. Nimmo, the 
seeds consist of 64 per cent, of kernel, and 36 of envelope. From the seeds im- 
ported into England, about 22 per cent, of oil is obtained by simple expression. 
Guibourt, by his process, obtained 52 per cent, from the kernels, equivalent to 
about 35 from the seeds. Croton seeds yielded to Braudes upon analysis, inde- 
pendently of the shell, traces of a volatile oil, fixed oil, a peculiar fatty acid 
called crotonic acid, an alkaloid which he called crotonin, resin, stearin, wax, 
extractive, sugar, starch, gum, albumen, gluten, lignin, and salts. The crotonin 
has been subsequently found to be nothing more than a magnesian soap with an 
alkaline reaction. The crotonic acid, which is separated along with the oil on 
expression, has been thought to be the active principle of the seeds, but is now 
said to be inert. It may be obtained by treating the oil with solution of potassa, 
decomposing the resulting soap by tartaric acid, filtering and distilling the solu- 
tion, neutralizing the product with baryta-water, evaporating to dryness, decom- 
posing the salt of baryta with strong phosphoric acid, and again distilling. 
(Ghristisori’s Dispensatory.) The acid solidifies at 23° F., is highly volatile, 
has a very acrid taste, and is very irritating to the nostrils.* 
Properties. Croton oil, as found in the shops, varies from a pale-yellow to a 
dark reddish-brown. That imported from India is usually pale, that expressed 
in Europe dark, like the deepest coloured sherry. Its consistence is rather viscid, 
and is increased by time. Its smell is faint, but peculiar, its taste hot and acrid, 
leaving in the mouth a disagreeable sensation which continues for many hours. 
The oil is wholly soluble in ether and oil of turpentine. Its relations to pure 
alcohol differ somewhat with the variety of the oil. That obtained by ex- 
pression in England is wholly and readily soluble, forming a solution which is 
permanent at ordinary temperatures; while the India or pale oil forms an 
opaque mixture, which becomes clear and uniform upon being heated, but sepa- 
rates on standing into two portions, one consisting of alcohol somewhat dimin- 
ished in bulk, the other of the oil correspondingly increased in bulk by retaining 
a portion of the alcohol. It is possible that the difference in colour, and in their 
relations to alcohol, between the India and English oils, may be owing to a 
change in the kernels from being kept. 
Some croton oil examined by M. Dublanc, of Paris, when agitated with ten 
times its weight of alcohol, was separated into two parts, one of which amount- 
ing to 6 per cent, was dissolved by the alcohol, the other remained undissolved, 
but retained 50 per cent, of alcohol. The latter, upon being repeatedly treated 
with alcohol, lost all its acrimony; while the portion dissolved was extremely 
acrid. From these observations it would appear that the acrid and probably 
active principle of the oil is dissolved by alcohol; while a bland fixed oil, which 
constitutes the chief part of it, is not taken up by that liquid.f 
* Pi'of. Tuson believes that he has found in croton seeds a peculiar alkaloid, analogous to 
cascarillin. He extracts it by the same process as that, already described, by which he 
obtained ricinin from the castor-bean. (See note, page 593.) But further experiments are 
required for satisfactory results. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm,., Sept. 1804, p. 418.) 
-f Some experiments have recently been made by Thomas Schlippe on the composition of 
croton oil, with very interesting results. The crotonic acid referred to in the text is only one 
out of a number of fatty acids contained in the oil, and is neither the acrid nor the purga- 
tive principle. Besides the proper fatty part, there are probably other ingredients upon 
which the medicinal activity of the oil depends. Of these Schlippe has separated the acrid, 
but not as yet the purgative principle. The former he calls crotonol. 
The fatty part of the oil, when saponified, yielded stearic, palmitic, myristic, and lauric 
acids; and of the oleic acid series, besides some not well defined, crotonic and angelic acids; 
all of which exist as glycerides, that is, as compounds of the acids respectively with glyce- 
rin, in the recent oil. 
Crotonol, or the acrid principle, which exists in the expressed oil in the proportion of 4 
per cent., may be separated in the following manner. Agitate the oil with sufficient alco- 
holic solution of soda to form a milky fluid; heat this gently for some hours, and then add 608 
Oleum Tiglii. 
PART I. 
It is thought that croton oil is often adulterated with other fixed oils. In 
the Br. Pharmacopoeia, it is given as a test of the purity of the oil expressed 
from the imported seeds, that when agitated with an equal volume of alcohol 
and gently heated, it forms a clear solution, from which about three-fourths of 
the oil separate on cooling; but that statement is asserted to be untrue of the 
English expressed oil, though correct of the imported. The test was intended 
to detect the presence of castor oil, which would be dissolved by the alcohol, 
and thus occasion a diminution of the bulk.* 
We were told by the late Dr. M. Burrough, who was for some time in India, 
that much of the oil there prepared, under the name of croton oil, is derived 
from the seeds of a plant different from the Croton Tiglium. From a parcel of 
these seeds presented Jo him by Dr. Burrough, Dr. R. E. Griffith produced a 
plant which proved to be Jatropha Curcas, the seeds of which are known by the 
name of Barbadoes nuts. (See Tapioca.) This oil, though weaker than the 
genuine, was said by Dr. Burrough to be an efficient cathartic in the dose of 
three or four drops. Dr. Hamilton states that croton seeds are afforded by 
Groton Favana, growing in Ava and the eastern parts of Bengal; and it is 
probable that a portion of the croton oil of commerce is obtained from these 
seeds. (Trans. Lin. Soc., xiv. 257.) These facts may explain some of the dis- 
crepancies in reference to the effects of alcohol above mentioned. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Croton oil is a powerful hydragogue pur- 
gative, acting for the most part, when given in moderate doses, with ease to the 
patient, but in large doses apt to excite vomiting and severe griping pains, and 
capable, if immoderately taken, of producing fatal effects. It acts with- great 
rapidity, frequently evacuating the bowels in less than an hour, and generally 
exciting a rumbling sensation in half that period. It possesses also great ad- 
vantage in the minuteness of the dose, on account of which it may frequently be 
given when we should fail with more bulky medicines; as in mania, coma, and 
the cases of children. A drop placed on the tongue of a comatose patient will 
generally operate. Though long used in India, and known more than a century 
ago to the Dutch physicians, it did not attract general notice till about 1820, 
when it was introduced into England by Mr. Conwell. It is chiefly employed 
in cases of obstinate constipation, in which it often produces the happiest effects 
after the failure of other medicines; but it may also be advantageously used in 
almost all cases in which powerful and speedy purging is demanded. Dropsy, 
apoplexy, mania, and visceral obstructions are among the complaints in which 
it has been particularly recommended. It has recently been employed with great 
water or solution of chloride of sodium, so as to cause the oil to rise and form a stratum 
on the surface; separate this fatty oil by passing the liquid through a moist filter; to the 
filtrate add dilute muriatic acid, which will separate and cause to rise to the surface another 
oily matter; dissolve this in cold alcohol, and treat it with freshly prepared hydrated oxide 
of lead. When the acid reaction has quite ceased, add freely a weak watery solution of 
soda, by which the fluid is rendered milky, and afterwards divides into a watery liquid 
and a clear oil, which sinks to the bottom. To obtain this result, it. is often necessary to 
add chloride of calcium freely to the alcoholic solution. Separate the oil, wash it with 
water on a moist filter, and dissolve it in ether. Agitate the etheral solution with water 
in a cylindrical glass vessel, and, having drawn off the clear ethereal solution, allow the 
ether to evaporate in a capsule in vacuo. The crotonol remains as a tenacious mass, colour- 
less or of a slightly wine colour, and of a weak and peculiar odour.' Schlippe ascribes to 
a decomposition of the crotonol the odour, like that of decoction of seneka, which is often 
possessed by croton oil. (Liebig's Annalen, cv. 1.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 
* Mr. Maisch proposes to detect croton oil in any mixture by the following plan, based 
upon Schlippe’s results in reference to crotonol. The suspected oil is agitated with an 
alcoholic solution of soda or potassa, and the solution, having been separated, is then satu- 
rated with hydrochloric or sulphuric acid. If croton oil be present, its acrid principle, cro- 
tonol, will rise to the surface in the form of an oil, which, when applied to the skin, will 
produce in three or four hours, not only inflammation, but also the peculiar eruptive affection 
excited by croton oil. (Am. Joum. o/Pharm., July, 1860, p. 307.)—Note to the twelfth edition. part I. 
Oleum, Tiglii.—Opium. 
609 
asserted benefit in neuralgia, epilepsy, and spasm of the glottis, and has been 
supposed to have powers in these affections independent of its purgative pro- 
perty. The seeds are said to have been used with great success in India in 
amenorrhoea. Applied externally, the oil produces inflammation of the skin, 
attended with a pustular eruption, aud has been used in this way in rheumatism, 
gout, neuralgia, glandular and other indolent swellings, and in laryngeal and 
pulmonary diseases. It should be diluted with three parts of olive oil, soap 
liniment, oil of turpentine, or other convenient vehicle, and applied as a liniment 
twice or oftener in the twenty-four hours. Sometimes the insusceptibility of the 
skin is such as to require its application undiluted. The oil may also be applied 
externally, in the form of a plaster, made by incorporating one part of it with 
four parts of lead plaster, melted by a very gentle heat. Sometimes it appears 
to produce inflammation in parts distant from those to which it was directly 
applied. It has been said that four drops, used externally by friction around the 
umbilicus, will produce a purgative effect; but this is denied by Dr. Barlai, of 
Tuscany, who states that it is only when the oil is applied to the skin divested 
of the cuticle that it will operate upon the bowels. 
The dose for an adult is one or two drops, and is- most conveniently admin- 
istered in the form of pill. A safe and convenient plan is to make two drops 
into four pills with crumb of bread, and to give one every hour till they operate. 
The oil may also be given in emulsion. The form of tincture may be advan- 
tageously resorted to when a minute quantity of the medicine is required; as it 
affords the means of readily dividing the dose. 
Off. Prep. Linimentum Crotonis, Br. W. 
OPIUM. U.S.,Br. 
Opium. 
The concrete juice of the unripe capsules of Papaver somniferum. TJ. S. The 
inspissated juice, obtained by incision from the unripe capsules grown in Asia 
Minor. Br. 
“Opium should yield at least seven per cent, of morphia by the officinal pro- 
cess.” TJ. S. 
Opium, Fr.; Opium, Mohnsaft, Germ.; Oppio, Ital.; Opio, Span.; Affioni, Turk.; Ufyoon, 
Arab.; Slieerikhaskash, Persian; Ufeem, Hindoo. 
Papaver. Sex. Syst. Polyandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Papaverace®. 
Gen. Ch. Corolla four-petaled. Calyx two-leaved. Capsule one-celled, open- 
ing by pores under the persistent stigma. Willd. 
Opium is at present generally believed to be derived exclusively from the 
Papaver somniferum; though every species of poppy is capable of yielding 
:t to a greater or less extent, and some authors have indicated the Papaver 
orientate as its real source. The British and French Pharmacopoeias unite with 
our own in recognising only the first-mentioned species. 
Papaver somniferum. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1147 ; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 316, 
t. 138. There are several varieties of this species, of which the two most pro- 
minent are distinguished by the titles of the white and black poppy, derived 
from the colour of their seeds. It is the former which is usually described as the 
proper opium plant. The white poppy is annual, with a roundish, smooth, erect, 
glaucous, often branching stem, usually rising two or three feet in height, but 
sometimes five or even six feet in favourable situations. The leaves are large, 
variously lobed and toothed, and alternately disposed on the stem, which they 
closely embrace. The flowers are terminal, very large, and of a white or silver- 
gray colour. In India they appear in February, in Europe and the United 
States not earlier than June, July, or August. The calyx is smooth and com- 610 
Opium. 
PART I. 
posed of two leaves which fall when the petals expand. These are usually four 
in number; but there is a variety in which the flower is double. The germen, 
which is smooth and globular, supports a radiated stigma, and is surrounded by 
numerous short and slender filaments, with erect, oblong, compressed anthers. 
The capsule is smooth and glaucous, rounded, from two to four inches in diam- 
eter, somewhat flattened at the top and bottom, and crowned with the persistent 
stigma, the diverging segments of which are arranged in a circle upon the sum- 
mit. It contains numerous minute white seeds, which, when perfectly ripe, escape 
through small openings beneath the stigma. In the black poppy, the flower, 
though sometimes white, is usually violet-coloured or red, the capsule somewhat 
smaller and more globular, and the seeds of a brown or blackish colour. 
All parts of the poppy contain a white, opaque, narcotic juice; but the leaves, 
analyzed by M. Blondeau, yielded none of the active principles by which opium 
is characterized. (Journ. de Pharm., vii. 214.) It is in the capsule that the 
juice most abounds, and the virtues of the plant chiefly reside. Hence this part 
is sometimes employed medicinally. (See Papaver.) The seeds are destitute of 
narcotic properties, and are even used as food. The Romans employed them in 
the preparation of various dainties. They abound with a bland oil, which may 
be extracted by expression. According to M. Berjot, the seeds yield from 46 to 50 
per cent. {Journ. de Pharm., Avril, 1863, p. 217.) This is an article of much 
importance on the continent of Europe, particularly in France and Germany. In 
the former of these countries, the value of the oil annually produced is said to be 
25 or 30 millions of francs. (Roux, Ibid., Sept. 1859, p. 202.) The oil is employed 
for culinary and pharmaceutic purposes, in painting and the manufacture of 
soap, and in other ways as a substitute for olive oil. The poppy does not ap- 
pear to elaborate the milky fluid in which its narcotic properties reside before a 
certain period of its growth; for we are told that, in Persia, the young plants 
which are pulled up to prevent too thick a crop are used as potherbs; and the 
firjxojv of the Greeks, which is believed to be identical with the Papaver som- 
niferum, is said by Hippocrates to be nutritive. 
Though generally believed to be a native of Asia, this species of poppy growTs 
wild in the south of Europe, and even in England, whither its seeds are sup- 
posed to have been brought at a very early period. It was cultivated by the 
ancient Greeks, and is mentioned by Homer as a garden plant. It is at present 
cultivated very extensively in India, Persia, Egypt, and Asiatic Turkey, for 
opium; and in several parts of Europe, especially in the northern departments 
of France, and in the south of Germany, mainly for the seeds. In this country 
it is found only in our gardens as an ornamental flower. 
The process for procuring opium from the poppy, as practised by the modern 
inhabitants of India and Persia, according to the reports of Kerr and Koempfer, 
is very nearly the same with that described by Dioscorides as employed in his 
own times, about eighteen hundred years since; and the accounts of Belon, 
Olivier, Texier, and more recently M. Bourlier, as to the modes of collection in 
Asia Minor, are not materially different. As the capsules abound most in the 
narcotic juice, it is from these that the opium is procured. According to Texier, 
a few days after the fall of the flower, men and women proceed to the fields, and 
make horizontal incisions in the capsule, taking care not to penetrate its cavity. 
A white juice exudes, and appears in the form of tears upon the edges of the 
incisions. The field is left in this state for twenty-four hours, after which the 
juice is scraped off by means of large blunt knives. A portion of the epidermis 
of the capsule is also removed, and constitutes about one-twelfth of the whole 
product. Each poppy-head affords opium but once. Thus collected, the opium 
is in the state of an adhesive and granular jelly. It is placed in smaller ves- 
sels, where it is beaten, and at the same time moistened with saliva. When of a 
proper consistence, it is wrapped in leaves, and sent into the market. {Journ. PART I. 
Opium. 
611 
de Pharm., xxi. 196.) Considerable quantities of good opium have been ob- 
tained in England by scarifying the capsules of the poppy. Similar success has 
been met with in France; and the drug obtained by incisions, in the latter coun- 
try, has been found equal if not superior to that imported from tne East.*’ 
Another method of extracting the virtues of the capsules is to select such as 
have ceased to yield their juice by exudation, to beat them with a small propor- 
tion of water, and inspissate the liquid thus obtained by artificial heat. The an- 
cient Greeks were acquainted with both processes, as appears from the writings 
of Dioscorides. The term omov, derived from ottos, juice, they applied to the 
substance procured by incisions, which answers precisely to the modern opium. 
The inspissated expressed juice they called pyxwviov, from prjxcov, the name of 
the plant. Tournefort states that it is the latter preparation which is exported 
from Turkey as opium; the former being much more valuable, and therefore 
retained in the country for the use of the great and wealthy. This error has 
been copied by many writers on materia medica; and, till within a compara- 
tively few years, opium was generally believed to be an extract obtained by eva- 
porating either the expressed juice, or a decoction of the capsules. 
Commercial History. Commerce is supplied with opium chiefly from Hin- 
dostan, Persia, Egypt, and Asiatic Turkey. Immense quantities are produced 
in the Indian provinces of Bahar and Benares, and in the more interior province 
of Malwa. The opium of Hindostan is distributed extensively through conti- 
nental and insular India, where it is habitually employed in the place of spirit- 
uous liquors. Great quantities are also sent to China, into which it finds an easy 
entrance, notwithstanding prohibitory laws. Much was formerly imported by the 
East India Company into England, through which a small proportion reached 
our own country; but it was so far inferior to that from Turkey, that it was at 
length excluded from the market, and none is now brought directly from the 
* So early as the year 1796, a premium was awarded by the Society for the Encourage- 
ment of Arts, to Mr. Ball, for a specimen of British opium; and in 1823, Messrs. Cowley 
and Stains collected 196 pounds, which sold for nearly seven dollars a pound, from little 
more than twelve acres of land. This product, however, was by no means equal to that 
obtained in Scotland by Mr. John Young. From one acre of ground, planted with poppies 
and potatoes, he procured fifty-six pounds of opium, valued at 450 dollars, while the whole 
expense was more than repaid by the potatoes, and the oil expressed from the seeds. For 
papers on the subject of the cultivation of the poppy in England, see Edin. Phil. Journ. 
(i. 258), and the Quart. Journ. of Science (iv. 69). 
M. Aubergier has cultivated opium in France, with encouraging results. Instead of al- 
lowing the juice after the incision to inspissate on the capsule, he collected it immediately, 
and dried it by artificial heat. One workman collected in a day 300 grammes (9-64 troy- 
ounces) of juice, which yielded one-quarter of its weight of opium. The product differed 
in strength very greatly, according to the variety of poppy used; the yield of morphia 
having varied from 3 to 17-8 per cent. He gives the preference to the purple poppy. (Ann. 
de Therap., A. D. 1852, p. 29.) See also the same work (A. D. 1853, p. 1) for an elaborate 
report on M. Aubergier’s memoir, by a committee consisting of MM. Rayer, Orfila, and 
others. Attempts have been made to introduce the cultivation of opium into Algiers; and 
specimens of the drug produced in that country have yielded from 7 to 11 per cent, of 
morphia. (Journ. de Pharm., Oct. 1854, p. 293.) From various communications in the jour- 
nals, it appears that the collection of opium in France is on the increase; and an important 
fact is said to have been proved beyond doubt, that the production of the seed for oil, and 
of opium, may be carried on together, without injury. 
In Armenia, where opium is largely produced, four varieties of seeds are used, the white, 
yellow, black, and sky-blue. The flower produced by the white seeds is white, that by the 
yellow is red, that by the black is black, and that by the sky-blue is deep purple. The 
white and sky-blue seeds yield large, somewhat oblong capsules, like citrons in shape; the 
yellow and black, small and round capsules. For an extent of ground forty paces square, 
forty drachms of seeds are required. Each head yields about a grain of opium. The ope- 
rators, not accustomed to the work, are apt to become intoxicated or stupefied during the 
period of harvest. (Gaultier de Claubry, Journ. de Pharm., Ze ser., xiii. 105.) 
A very interesting paper, by Mr. S. II. Maltass, on the cultivation and collection of 
opium in Turkey, and its preparation for the market, affording minute Information on 
these points, is contained in the Pharm. Journ. and Trans, for March, 1854 (p. 395). Opium 
PART I. 
East. The great demand for it in the Indian Archipelago, and in China, and its 
consequent high price, have probably contributed even more than its reputed 
inferiority to this result. Indeed, Ainslie explicitly states that India opium is 
inferior to none; and it is probable that the specimens, from which the descrip- 
tion formerly current among authors was drawn up, were the refuse of the 
Eastern market. We know that the drug was formerly very much and variously 
adulterated by the natives. Among the impurities mentioned by authors are the 
extract of the poppy procured by decoction, the powdered leaves and stems of 
the plant made into a paste with mucilage, oil of sesamum, catechu, and even 
cow-dung. But a more careful official inspection has resulted in a great improve- 
ment of the India opium. Of that produced in Persia, very little is brought to 
this country; and it is scarcely known in our market as a distinct variety. Much 
was formerly produced in Upper Egypt, especially in the district of ancient 
Thebes, which was supposed to yield it in greatest perfection. Hence it was 
long known by the name of Opium Thebaicum, and laudanum is still frequently 
directed in prescriptions as Tinctura Thebaica. Its cultivation has been again 
introduced into Egypt; and considerable quantities are exported. 
Turkey opium is produced in Anatolia, and shipped chiefly from the port of 
Smyrna. It is brought to the United States, either directly from the Levant, 
or indirectly through different European ports. From the treasury returns for 
the years from 1827 to 1845 inclusive, according to a table prepared by Dr. J. 
B. Biddle, and published in the American Journal of Pharmacy for April, 
1847, it appears that the average value of the annual importations for the pe- 
riod referred to was from Turkey 128,137 dollars, from England 13,744, from 
France 4,470, and from all other places 6,607 dollars. Of this amount so much 
was exported as to leave, for the average annual consumption of the country, 
the value of 66,809 dollars. Turkey opium usually comes to us in masses of 
irregular size and shape, generally more or less flattened, covered with leaves, 
or the remains of leaves, and with the reddish capsules of some species of 
Bumex, which are said to be absent in the inferior kinds, and may therefore be 
considered as affording some indication of the purity of the drug. We may ac- 
count for this circumstance upon the very probable supposition, that these cap- 
sules are removed during the operation which the masses undergo in the hands 
of the merchants, after leaving those of the cultivators. We are told by the 
French writers that extensive frauds are practised at Marseilles in this branch of 
commerce. The opium taken thither from the Levant is first softened, and 
then adulterated with various matters which are incorporated in its substance. 
To use a strong expression of M. Guibourt, they make the opium over again at 
Marseilles. Our traders to the Mediterranean would do well to bear this asser- 
tion in mind. According to Dr. A. T. Thomson, one-fourth part of Turkey 
opium generally consists of impurities. Sand, ashes, the seeds of different plants, 
extracts of the poppy, Lactuca virosa, Glycyrrhiza glabra, and Chelidonium 
glaucum, gum arabic, tragacanth, salep, aloes, even small stones, and minute 
pieces of lead and iron, are mentioned among the substances employed in the 
sophistication of the drug. Mr. Landerer, of Athens, was informed by a person 
who had been engaged in the extraction of opium, that grapes, freed from their 
seeds and crushed, were almost universally mixed with the poppy juice, and that 
another adulteration consisted of the epidermis of the capsules and stem of the 
plant, pounded in a mortar with the white of eggs. (See Am. Journ. ofPharm., 
xv. 238.) According to Mr. Wilkins, who witnessed the collection of opium, the 
inspissated juice of the grape, thickened with flour, is often used for the same 
purpose. (Pharm. Journ., xiv. 400.) In England a sophisticated opium was 
fcome years since prepared, which, though so nearly resembling good Turkey 
opium in appearance that by the eye alone it was difficult to detect the fraud, 
was yet wholly destitute of the active principle of the drug. Portions of it were PART I. 
Opium. 
613 
sent into the markets both of France and this country. A sample of a similai 
drug, perhaps the same, was examined by Prof. Aikin, Examiner of drugs foi 
the port of Baltimore, and found to contain but 110 per cent, of morphia. (See 
Am. Journ. of Pharm., July, 1859, p. 374.) It was probably the genuine drug, 
deprived of its piorphia by some process which did not materially disturb the 
visible arrangements of its particles.* (Ibid., x. 261.) 
* The great importance of opium renders it desirable that all its commercial varieties 
should be accurately described, and their relative value so far as possible ascertained. 
The following statement has been drawn up from the most recent published accounts of 
the drug, and from the personal observations of the author. 
The varieties of this drug may be arranged, according to the countries in which they 
are produced, under the heads of Turkey, Egyptian, India, and Persia opium. 
I. TURKEY OPIUM. This title belongs to the opium produced in the Turkish pro- 
vince of Anatolia, and exported from Smyrna and Constantinople. According to some 
authorities, there is no essential difference between the parcels of the drug brought from 
these two ports. Others maintain that they are distinct varieties, differing in their interior 
structure, and probably also in the precise place of their production, and the mode of their 
collection. The truth probably is, that most of the opium shipped at Constantinople is 
produced in the more northern parts of the opium districts of Anatolia, while that from 
Smyrna is collected in the provinces more convenient to the latter city; and, though it is 
possible that an identical drug may often be brought from the two ports, yet there are 
grounds for arranging it under different varieties, as derived from these different sources. 
1. Smyrna Opium. This is the variety which is, beyond all comparison, most abundant 
in our markets; and it is from this that the ordinary descriptions of opium are drawn up. 
It comes to us in masses of various size, usually from half a pound or somewhat less to a 
pound in weight, sometimes, though rarely, as much as two or even three pounds, origi- 
nally, perhaps, of a globular form, but variously indented, and rendered quite irregular 
in shape, by the pressure to which they have been subjected, while yet soft, in the cases 
which contain them. Sometimes they are even pressed out into flat cakes. As brought 
into market, the lumps are usually hard on the outside, but still soft within. They are 
covered externally with the remains of leaves, and with the reddish capsules of a species 
of Rumcx, which have no doubt been applied in order to prevent the surfaces from adher- 
ing. Notwithstanding, however, this coating, the masses sometimes stick together, and 
two or more become consolidated into one. In this way the fact may be accounted for, 
that the seeds of the Rumex are occasionally found in the interior of the masses. In the 
finer parcels of Smyrna opium, the colour internally is light-brown; in the inferior it is 
darker. A peculiar character of this variety is that, when a lump of it is cut into and then 
carefully torn, numerous minute shining tears are observable, particularly under a micro- 
scope, bearing some resemblance to small seeds, but readily distinguishable by pressure 
between the fingers. They are undoubtedly formed from the drops of juice which escape 
from the incisions in the capsules, and which, according to Belon, are allowed to concrete 
before they are removed. From the account of the same author it appears that, after the 
juice has been collected, it is not subjected to the process of kneading or beating, as in 
the case of other varieties of opium; so that the tears preserve their original shape in the 
mass. It is probably owing to the peculiar mode of collecting Smyrna opium, that minute 
pieces of the skin of the poppy capsules are found intermingled in the mass; these being 
separated in the process of removing the adhering tears. In the best specimens of Smyrna 
opium, these fragments of the capsules are the only impurities. This variety of the drug 
is of very different qualities; the finest kinds yielding, according to Merck, as much as 13 
per cent, of pure morphia, while from some very bad parcels he could not procure more 
than 3 or 4 per cent. In these inferior specimens the colour is darker, the smell is often 
musty, and there is very generally more or less mouldiness both upon the surface, and in 
the interior of the masses, indicating perhaps too much moisture in the opium originally, 
or its subsequent exposure to an injurious degree of dampness. Good Smyrna opium ought 
to yield 10 or 11 per cent, of morphia. Dr. Christison, however, states that he has not been a 
able to procure more than 9 per cent, from the finest Smyrna opium.* 
* According to Landerer, little of the opium is produced iu the immediate neighbourhood of Smyrna; the 
greater portion being brought to that port, on the backs of camels, from a distance of from ten to eighteen days’ 
journey. (Journ. de P/iartn., 3e sir.. xxiii. 33.) The same writer states that the opium is chiefly prepared at Kara 
Chissar, near Magnesia. The incisions are generally made before sunrise. The juice is partly caught iu mussel- 
shells, and dried in the sun. This is considered the best. Every evening the juice which has dried upon the cap- 
sules is scraped off, with a portion of the epidermis. The poppy is then cut down, and stripped of its leaves, which 
are boiled in water; and the liquor is evaporated to the consistence of an extract. With this the inspissated juice 
i j incorporated, and the mixture is then formed into cakes, wrapped in poppy leaves, and placed on shelves to dry. 
'See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxiii. 251.) It is very evident, from the interior structure of the best Smyrna opium, 
that it has not been prepared in the way described by Landerer; though his account is probably true in reference 
to inferior varieties of the drug.—Note to the tenth edition. 614 
Opium. 
PART I. 
Opium is regarded as inferior when it has a blackish colour; a weak or era- 
pyreumatic smell; a sweet or slightly nauseous and bitter taste; a soft, viscid, 
or greasy consistence; a dull fracture; or an irregular, heterogeneous texture, 
2. Constantinople Opium. Most of the Constantinople opium is in lumps from half a 
pound to two and a half pounds in weight, and scarcely distinguishable in exterior ap- 
pearance from those of the former variety, being equally irregular in shape, and in like 
manner covered with the capsules of the Rumex. It often, however, dithers strikingly from 
the Smyrna opium in its interior constitution, being, according to Merck, wholly destitute 
of the tears which characterize that variety. This would indicate some difference in the 
mode of collecting and preparing the juice, fn the case of the Constantinople opium, it is 
probably removed from the capsules before concretion. Merck says that he has not discov- 
ered, in this variety, those minute portions of the poppy capsules which are usually present 
in Smyrna opium. The average quality of the Constantinople opium, as above described, 
is about equal to that of the drug from Smyrna; but it appears to be occasionally purer; 
as Merck obtained from one specimen as much as 15 per cent, of pure morphia. 
In a recent account, by M. Bourlier, of the culture of the poppy and collection of opium in 
Bithynia, a province of Asia Minor, near Constantinople, it is stated that the lumps, when 
formed out of the concrete juice, are enveloped in poppy leaves; and no mention is made 
of the use of the Rumex capsules to prevent adhesion. It is the opium here collected, 
which, according to M. Bourlier, is known throughout the Levant and in Europe as Con- 
stantinople opium. On the same authority, it is stated that the yolk of eggs is sometimes 
largely used for adulterating opium; a fraud which may be detected by the large propor- 
tion of fatty matter which the adulterated drug yields to ether, and by the impossibility of 
drying it so as to fit it for pulverization. (Annuaire de Therap., A. D. 1859, p. 4.) 
Guibourt describes another variety of Constantinople opium of much inferior character. 
“It comes,” he observes, “in small flattened cakes, sufficiently regular and of a lenticular 
shape, from two to two and a half inches in diameter, and always covered with a poppy 
leaf, the midrib of which divides the surface into two equal parts. It has an odour similar 
to that of the preceding variety, but feebler, and it blackens and dries in the air. It is 
more mucilaginous than Smyrna opium, and contains only half as much morphia.” 
These characters are obviously those of Egyptian opium; and, though the parcels which 
came under the notice of Guibourt may have been imported directly from Constantinople, 
it is highly probable that they were originally from Alexandria. Mr. Stettner, of Trieste, 
though well acquainted with the opium commerce of that port, admits no such Constanti- 
nople opium as that described by Guibourt. (Annal. der Pharm., xxiv. 65.) 
II. EGYPTIAN OPIUM. This is in fiat roundish cakes, of various dimensions, some- 
times as much as six inches in diameter, and a pound in weight, usually, however, much 
smaller, and sometimes not weighing more than half an ounce. These cakes are either 
wrapped in a poppy leaf, so placed that the midrib divides the surface into two equal parts, 
or exhibit vestiges of such a covering. Occasionally the brown colour of the opium is seen 
through the leaf, and the surface appears as if uncovered, while the leaf is still present. 
This variety of opium is always destitute of the Rumex capsules, and differs from the 
Smyrna opium also in being brittle instead of tenacious, and equally hard in the centre 
as at the surface of the mass. Its fracture is conchoidal and of a waxy lustre, and small 
fragments of it are translucent. Its colour is usually redder than that of Smyrna opium, 
though sometimes dark. Some of the pieces, on exposure to the air, become damp and 
sticky on the surface, indicating the fraudulent addition of a deliquescent substance. The 
odour is similar to that of Smyrna opium, tut weaker. It is an inferior variety; as the 
best of it, examined by Merck, yielded only 6 or 7 per cent, of morphia; and a specimen 
of it was found by Mr. J. Evans, of Philadelphia, to contain not more than 3-55 per cent. 
Egyptian opium, therefore, should never be dispensed by the apothecary, or employed in 
the preparation of his tinctures; as the prescription of the physician is based upon the 
strength of good Smyrna opium, which is about twice that of the Egyptian. 
III. INDIA OPIUM. Little if any of this opium reaches our market. There appear to 
be two chief varieties of it; one produced in Bahar and Benares, in the Bengal Presidency, 
and called Bengal opium, the other in the interior provinces, and designated by the name 
of Malwa opium. 
1. Bengal Opium. For a minute account of the cultivation and preparation of this variety 
of opium, the reader is referred to elaborate papers by Dr. Eatwell, of Calcutta, contained 
in the eleventh and twelfth volumes of the London Pharmaceutical Journal and Transactions, 
an abstract of which will be found in the Am. Joum. of Pharm. (xxiv. 118), and in the last 
edition of Pereira’s Materia Medica (vol. ii. p. 1009, Am. ed.). Bengal opium is identical 
with the variety sometimes called Patna opium. It is in round balls, weighing three pormds 
and a half, invested by a coating half an inch thick, composed of agglutinated leaves und 
poppy-petals. The interior of the mass is of a brownish-black colour, of tne consistence part I. 
Opium. 
615 
from the intermixture of foreign substances. It should not impart a deep-brown 
colour to the saliva, nor leave a dark uniform trace when drawn over paper, not 
form with water a thick viscid solution. 
of a stiff paste, and possessed in a high degree of the characteristic odour and taste of 
opium. The proportion of active matter in this opium varies somewhat with the season, 
and in the different specimens. From a table given by Dr. Eatwell, it appears that the 
percentage of morphia varies from 2-17 to 3-67, and that of narcotina from 3-85 to 5-70. 
Prof. Procter found a specimen of Patna opium to yield about 5 per cent, of morphia. 
(Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxi. 194.) It is, therefore, much inferior to the best Smyrna opium 
in its yield of morphia, while it is richer in narcotina. Yet Christison states that all the 
India opium which he has seen is exempt from the mixture of leaves, seeds, and fragments 
of poppy capsules so abundant in Smyrna opium. Its inferior character is possibly, in 
some degree, owing to the circumstance, that the juice, after collection, is kept for some 
time before it is made up, and consequently undergoes fermentation. Prof. Carson, of the 
University of Pennsylvania, in describing a specimen of this variety, in the Am. Journ. of 
Pharm. for July, 1849 (p. 194), speaks of acicular crystals, which he had noticed by the 
aid of the microscope; and he informs me (Sept. 1864), that on recently examining a spe- 
cimen of the same opium, now perfectly dry, he found similar crystals. No such crystals, 
he states, are to be found in Smyrna opium. 
The India opium examined by Dr. A. T. Thomson was apparently of inferior character. 
As described by that author, it was in round masses, covered with the petals of the poppy 
in successive layers, to the thickness of nearly one-fourth of an inch. It had a strong em- 
pyreumatic smell, with little of the peculiar heavy odour of Turkey opium. Its taste was 
more bitter and equally nauseous, but less acrid. Its colour was blacker, and its texture, 
though as tenacious, was less plastic. It was more friable, and, when triturated with water, 
was wholly suspended or dissolved, leaving none of that plastic residue which is afforded 
by the other variety. It yielded to Dr. Thomson more narcotina than Turkey opium, but 
only about one-third the quantity of morphia. All these are the characters of an extract 
of the poppy heads, rather than of their inspissated juice. The absence of the plastic prin- 
ciple analogous to caoutchouc is strong evidence in favour of this view of its nature; for 
it is obvious that water would not extract this principle from the capsules, while it is 
hardly probable that the juice is destitute of it. Besides, the strength indicated by Dr. 
Thomson is very nearly the same with that of the extract of the capsules prepared in 
France. Bengal opium is at present superior to that here described, though still inferior 
to the Smyrna opium. 
There is a variety of Bengal or Patna opium, called garden Patna opium, which was de- 
scribed in the fifth edition of this work, on the authority of Dr. Christison, as Malwa opium. 
Dr. Christison has subsequently ascertained its true origin. It is prepared in Bahar with 
peculiar care, from juice which has not been suffered to undergo fermentation. It is in 
cakes three or four inches square, and about half an inch thick, which are packed in cases 
with a layer of mica between them. These cakes are without covering, hard, dry, and 
brittle, of a uniform shining fracture, and not unlike an extract in appearance. The colour 
is sometimes almost black, and sometimes of a light-brown, not unlike that of Egyptian 
opium. Dr. Christison states that it is much superior to the globular Bengal opium, and 
that some specimens are little inferior to Turkey opium in the proportion of morphia. 
2. Malwa Opium. This is in flat, roundish cakes, five or six inches in diameter, and 
from four to eight ounces in weight. They are commonly quite hard, dry and brittle, of 
a light-brown colour, a shining fracture, a compact homogeneous texture, and free from 
mechanical impurities. The quality is superior to that of common Bengal opium. (Chris- 
tison’s Dispensatory A A specimen of Malwa opium, described by Dr. Carson (Am. Journ. 
of Pharm., xxi. 195), broke with a short rough fracture, which was of a blackish-brown 
colour, here and there showing irregular oily spots. Prof. Procter obtained from it 9J- per 
cent, of morphia. 
IV. PERSIA OPIUM. A variety of opium under this name has sometimes existed in 
the markets of London, and has even found its way to this country, though it is very rare. 
Recently it is said to have reached Europe in considerable quantities, and has received 
especial attention in France. It is in different forms. The most common is in cylindrical 
pieces, about three and a half inches long, and half an inch thick, wrapped in glossy 
paper, and tied with a cotton thread, and each weighing about half an ounce. It is of a 
uniform consistence, but exhibits, nevertheless, under the microscope, small agglutinated 
tears, much less than those of Smyrna opium. It has the liver-brown colour of Egyptian 
opium, a virose, musty pdour, and a very bitter taste; and, like Egyptian opium, softens 
in a moist atmosphere. According to Dr. Reveil it contained 15 per cent, of glucose. The 
first specimens were brought to England from Trebizond on the Black Sea; but their pre- 
sise origin was not Known. Three other forms of Persia opium have been described by Dr. 616 
Opium, 
TART I. 
Properties. Good opium has a peculiar, strong, narcotic odour, and a bitter, 
somewhat acrid taste. When long chewed it excites much irritation in the lips 
and tongue, and may even blister the mouth of those unaccustomed to its use. 
Its colour is reddish-brown or deep-fawn ; its texture compact; its sp. gr. T336. 
When drawn over paper it usually leaves an interrupted trace of a light-brown 
colour.. It is often soft in the interior of the mass, and in this state is tenacious; 
but when exposed to the air it gradually hardens, and ultimately becomes brit- 
tle, breaking with a shining fracture, and affording, when pulverized, a yellowish- 
brown powder, which becomes adhesive upon a slight elevation of temperature. 
It readily inflames upon the application of a lighted taper. It yields its virtues 
to water, alcohol, and diluted acids, but not to ether. To all these menstrua it 
imparts a deep-brown colour. Alcohol dissolves about four-fifths of it. Pelletier 
states that the proportion taken up by water varies in all specimens. He never 
found the quantity of extract prepared with cold water to exceed 12 parts out 
of 16. {Journ. de Pharm., Nov. 1832.) 
Much attention has been devoted to the chemical constitution of opium. It 
Reveil, as they were offered to his notice in Paris. Owe was in spherical cakes, without 
envelope, or Rumex capsules. In physical characters, it closely resembled the cylindrical 
variety, though softer and more hygrometric. It had a strongly virose odour, and a bitter 
slightly sweetish taste. The second was in irregular masses, liver-coloured, of a virose smell 
and bitter taste, brittle, smooth and shining, compact, and very hygrometric. The third 
was in the form of flat cakes, covered with an unknown leaf with some Rumex capsules, of 
a reddish-brown colour, tasting and smelling like the preceding, compact, and smooth. Of 
these the first and third contained, each, 31-6 per cent, of glucose; the second 13-9 per cent. 
All these varieties were remarkable by the absence of obvious impurities, such as are 
insoluble in water and alcohol. From 75-2 to 84-2 per cent, was soluble in water, from 
71-6 to 81'G in alcohol at 85°. The cylindrical variety yielded 8-15 per cent, of morphia; 
the spherical 6'4 per cent.; the irregular 7-1 per cent.; and the flat and coated 5-10 per cent. 
The presence of glucose in such large proportions may be explained by the asserted fact that 
honey is sometimes mixed with opium at the time of its collection. Though the proportion of 
morphia is considerable in these varieties, yet, in consequence of their large proportion of 
soluble matter, they yield comparatively feeble extracts. (Journ. de Pharm., Aout, 1860, p. 
101.) Since M. Reveil’s investigation, two samples of Persia opium have been examined by 
M. S6put of Paris, one of which yielded 9-33, and the other 9-37 per cent, of morphia. 
(Ibid, Mars, 1861, p. 163.) From the report of a trial in New York, published in the Jour- 
nal of Commerce, it appears that a parcel of Persia opium, imported into that city from 
London in 1835, was in small round balls, and contained only 3 per cent, of morphia. 
Relative strength of the varieties of opium. It is highly important that the real value of these 
commercial varieties should be known; as otherwise, there can be no certainty in relation to 
the strength of the preparations which may be made from them. In the preparation of lauda- 
num and the other tinctures into which opium enters, it is understood that the drug em- 
ployed should have the average quality of good Smyrna opium. The inferior kinds should 
be used only for the extraction of morphia. M. Guibourt has recently published a series 
of investigations into the richness in morphia of different varieties of opium, giving the 
percentage yielded in the soft, the hard, and the dried states. The following table con- 
tains an abstract of his results. It is obvious that he operated only on fair specimens of 
the several varieties. 
Soft. 
Hard. 
Dried. 
Anatolia (Smyrna) opium 
.. 9-60 per c..., 
... 10-82 per c... 
do. do. 
do 
... 18-24 
... 19-77 
... 21-46 
do. do. 
do 
.. 12-40 
... 13-57 
... 14-78 
Constantinople 
do 
.. 10-90 
... 13-32 
... 14-40 
do. 
do 
.. 14 00 
... 15-72 
... 17-00 
Egyptian 
do 
... 5-19 
... 5-81 
do. 
do 
... 11-45 
... 12-21 
Persian 
do 
... 10-52 
... 11-87 
Indian (Patnaj 
do 
... 6-09 
... 5-27 
do. do. 
do 
... 6-93 
French 
do 
... 14-21 
... 14-83 
do. 
do 
... 21-10 
... 22-88 
do 
... 16-77 
... 17-69 
(Journ. de Pharm., 
Janv., Fey., 
et Mars, 1862.) PART i. 
Opium 
617 
was by their researches into the nature of this substance that chemists were led 
to the discovery of those vegetable alkaloids, which, as the active principles oi 
the plants in which they are found, have attracted 9o much attention, and been 
applied so advantageously to the treatment of disease. To Sertiirner, an apo- 
thecary at Eimbeck, in Hanover, belongs the credit of having opened this new 
and most important field of experiment. In the year 1803, M. Derosne made 
known the existence of a crystallizable substance which he had discovered in 
opium, and which he erroneously believed to be the active principle. -In the 
following year, Seguin discovered another crystallizable body, which experience 
has proved to be the true narcotic principle of opium; but he did not fully in- 
vestigate its nature, and no immediate practical advantage accrued from his 
excellent analysis. About the same time Sertiirner was engaged in a similar 
investigation, the results of which, very analogous to those obtained by Seguin, 
were published in a German journal, without, however, attracting general atten- 
tion. In this state the subject remained till 1817, when Sertiirner announced 
the existence of a saline compound in opium, consisting of a peculiar alkaline 
principle united with a peculiar acid, and clearly demonstrated the precise na- 
ture of a substance, which, though before discovered both by Seguin and by 
himself, had been hitherto but vaguely known. To the alkaloid, in which he 
correctly conceived the narcotic powers of opium to reside, he gave the name of 
morphium, which has been subsequently changed to morphia, in order to render 
it conformable with the titles of the other alkalies. The acid he called meconic, a 
term derived from the Greek name of the poppy. The correctness of the state- 
ments of Sertiirner was confirmed by Robiquet, who also satisfactorily demon- 
strated that the substance obtained by Derosne, and called by him the salt of 
opium, was a principle altogether distinct from morphia, though supposed to 
possess considerable influence over the system. In the belief of its narcotic 
powers, Robiquet denominated it narcotin, a title which it still retains. Several 
other peculiar principles have since been discovered; though it is difficult to 
resist the impression, that some of them may be the result of the processes to 
which opium is submitted for their extraction. According to the views of its 
constitution at present admitted, opium contains, 1. morphia; 2. narcotin or nar- 
uotina; 3. codeia; 4. paramorphia; 5. papaverina; 6. opiania; 7. narcein or 
'.arceina; 8. meconin; 9. porphyroxin; 10. meconic and sulphuric acids; 11. a 
peculiar acid, not yet fully investigated; 12. extractive matter; 13. gum; 14. 
bassorin; 15. glucose; 16. a peculiar resinous body insoluble in ether and con- 
taining nitrogen; 17. fixed oil; 18. a substance resembling caoutchouc; 19. an 
odorous volatile principle; together with lignin, and a small proportion of acetic 
acid, sulphate of lime, sulphate of potassa, alumina, and iron. Besides these 
principles, Pelletier announced the discovery of another, which he called pseudo- 
morphia, but which appears to be only an occasional constituent of opium. 
(See Journ. de Pharm., xxi. 575.)* In relation to their optical properties, all 
* Glucose, mentioned in the text as one of the ingredients of opium, has hut recently 
been proved to exist normally in the drug. M. Lakens, of Toulouse, has found it in a 
tincture of poppy capsules, and in all the commercial varieties of opium, in proportions 
varying from 3 to 14-5 per cent. This fact is of some importance in reference to the use 
of grape-juice in the adulteration of opium, showing that the presence of glucose, even 
in considerable quantity, must not be considered as a proof of sophistication. (Journ. cte 
Fharm., Oct. 1854, p. 265.) 
Besides the components of opium above enumerated, notice has been given by Dr. G. C. 
Wittstein of the discovery of another alkaloid, which, from its near alliance to morphia, 
he proposes to name metamorphia. We shall give a brief notice of it here, until its claims 
shall have been established by further investigation. If we count the pseudomorphia of 
Pelletier, it is the ninth alkaloid which has been extracted from opium. 
Metamorphia. This was obtained by Wittstein from a substance separated from the dregs 
of laudanum, in an attempt to prepare morphia from them by Mohr’s method with lime. 
By crystallization fine white silky needles were obtained, which consisted of the hydro- Opium. 
PART I. 
the organic bases of opium produce deviation of the plane of polarization to 
the left. (Bouchardat and Boudet, Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., xxiii. 294.) 
Of the principles above mentioned morphia is by far the most important. It 
is generally admitted to exist in opium united with meconic acid in the state 
meconate, and to a certain extent also as a sulphate. Of morphia and its prepa- 
rations we shall treat under another head. (See Morphia.) 
Narcotina or narcotin receives one or the other of these names, according as 
it is considered alkaline or neuter. It exists in opium, chiefly at least, in the free 
state, and is left behind in considerable quantity when the drug is macerated 
with water. It is white, tasteless, and inodorous; and crystallizes in silky flexible 
needles, usually larger than the crystals of morphia, fusible at a moderate eleva- 
tion of temperature, insoluble in cold water, soluble in 400 parts of boiling 
water, in 100 parts of cold and 24 of boiling alcohol which deposits it upon 
cooling, and very soluble in ether. The fixed and volatile oils, and the diluted 
acids also dissolve it. As it exerts no alkaline reaction upon vegetable colours, 
and does not prevent the acids from reddening litmus paper, there would appear 
to be some reason for denying it the rank of an alkali. But it unites with some 
of the acids forming definite compounds, which may be procured in a separate 
state; and Robiquet obtained the sulphate and muriate of narcotina well crys- 
tallized. (Journ. de Pharm., xvii. 639, and xix. 59.) Hence many chemists, 
among whom is Berzelius, consider it alkaline; and, perhaps, this view of it is 
the most convenient. It must be admitted, however, to have a very feeble neu- 
tralizing power. With acetic acid it does not appear to form a permanent com- 
bination ; for, though dissolved by cold acetic acid, it is separated by heating 
the solution. Narcotina consists of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen; 
and its formula, as given by Hinterberger, is C4+H23NOu. According to Messrs. 
Matthiessen and Foster, it contains the elements of cotarnin and meconin. 
It may be distinguished from morphia by its insipidity, solubility in ether, and 
insolubility in alkaline solutions, by not affecting vegetable colours, by assuming 
a yellowish instead of a blood-red colour under the action of strong nitric acid, 
by not decomposing iodic acid, and by not producing a blue colour with the 
salts of iron. It is, however, reddened by a mixture of nitric and sulphuric acids. 
Hence, if to a mixture of it with strong sulphuric acid a small piece of nitre be 
added, a deep blood-red colour is produced; while morphia, under the same 
circumstances, yields a brownish or olive-green colour. It gives a greasy stain 
to paper when heated upon it over a candle. Heated with an excess of sul- 
phuric acid and deutoxide of manganese, it is converted into an acid called 
opianic acid, and into a substance of feeble alkaline properties, which has re- 
ceived the name of cotarnin (cotarnia). (Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., vi. 99.) 
chlorate of a new alkaloid. This was separated by exactly saturating with sulphate of 
silver, and macerating the precipitate with carbonate of baryta. The alkaloid was extracted 
by alcohol, and, after evaporation, was obtained in hard flat prisms, arranged in a stellate 
form. The crystals were fused by heat, but at the same time decomposed. They were dis- 
solved by about 6000 parts of cold and by 70 of boiling water, by 9 parts of boiling and 
330 of cold alcohol of 90 per cent. The alcoholic solution had a sharp, bitter taste, and a 
feeble alkaline reaction. The alkaloid was insoluble in ether, but rapidly soluble in so- 
lution of potassa, somewhat less so in ammonia, and soluble also in the alkaline carbo- 
nates, especially with the aid of heat. Nitric acid instantly coloured the crystals orange- 
red, and formed a yellow solution. A concentrated solution of iodic acid gradually produced 
a yellow colour with its aqueous solution, and a purple colour in starch paper suspended 
above it. The aqueous solution is not disturbed by sesquichlorido of iron, is rendered 
grayish-black by nitrate of silver, and causes gradually a yellow turbidness in solution 
of terchloride of gold, which results in a brownish precipitate. It was not subjected to 
elementary analysis. From its origin in the dregs of laudanum, it appears to us most j ro- 
bable that it was the result of chemical change in morphia. (Chemisettes Central Blatt, No. 
61, p 966; see also Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 1861, p. 24.) Dr. Fronmiiller found Yf itt- 
stein’s metamorpliia to be soporific in doses of half a grain. (Ibid., Sept. 1861, p. 4C8 )-» 
Note to the twelfth edition. part I. 
Opium. 
619 
Meconin is said also to be among the results of its decomposition by oxidizing 
agents. When distilled with potassa, it yields a colourless volatile liquid 
having alkaline properties, with the strong smell of herring-pickle together 
with that of ammonia. This is a peculiar alkaloid, and has received the name 
of propylamin. (Wertheim, Pharm. Cent. Blatt, June 1, 1850, p. 421, and 
Dec. 17, 1851, p. 918.)* Water extracts narcotina partially from opium, incon- 
sequence of the acid which the latter contains, either free or combined with the 
narcotina. It is usually obtained mixed with morphia in the processes for pro- 
curing that principle; and may be separated by the action of ether, which dis- 
solves it without affecting the morphia, and yields it upon evaporation. It may 
also be obtained by digesting opium in ether, and slowly evaporating the ethe- 
real solution, which deposits crystals of narcotina. Another mode of procuring 
it is to treat opium, exhausted by previous maceration in water, with dilute 
acetic acid, filter the solution, precipitate by an alkali, wash the precipitate with 
water, and purify it by solution in boiling alcohol, from which it crystallizes as 
the liquid cools. Should it still be impure, the solution in alcohol and crystalli- 
zation may be repeated. 
The proportion of this principle found in opium varies extremely in the dif- 
ferent varieties, and in different specimens of the same variety. Thus in Smyrna 
opium it has been found, according to different observers, in quantities varying 
from 1 30 to 9-36 per cent. 
Though narcotina itself is tasteless, its salts are very bitter, even more so 
than those of morphia. (Berzelius.) Their solution reddens litmus, and yields 
precipitates with the alkalies and infusion of galls. It has already been stated 
that Robiquet obtained the sulphate and muriate crystallized. 
Different opinions have been advanced relative to the action of narcotina on 
the system. Derosne believed it to be the active principle of opium; though, 
upon experimenting with it, he obtained effects but little stronger than those 
produced by an equal dose of opium itself. Others found it possessed in different 
degrees of narcotic properties; and the results of various experiments which led 
to this conclusion may be seen in former editions of this work. But a more 
thorough investigation has led to the conclusion that it cannot be ranked among 
narcotic medicines. It is now pretty well established that narcotina is identical 
with aconella, an alkaloid recently extracted by the Messrs. Smith of Edinburgh 
from aconite. (See page 65.) The effects of a narcotic character which have 
been attributed to it, have probably arisen from the employment of a prepara- 
tion not entirely freed from other principles contained in the opium. Indeed, 
so little has it of this character, that the name of anarcotina has been pro- 
posed for it, expressive of its total want of narcotic power. Dr. O’Shaugh- 
nessy, Professor of Chemistry in the Medical College of Calcutta, recommends 
narcotina very highly in intermittent fever, and believes that he has discovered 
in it even stronger antiperiodic properties than those of quinia. In the cases 
* There would seem, from the observations of Wertheim and Ilinterberger, to be four 
homologous modifications of narcotina, having a fixed relation to each other in composi- 
tion, the number of eqs. of nitrogen and oxygen being the same in all, while those of car- 
bon and hydrogen increase by 2 eqs. in regular progression. Thus 1. normal narcotina 
(Ilinterberger) has the formula NC42II21014; 2. methylic narcotina (Wertheim) NC44H23014; 
8. ethylic narcotina (Wertheim) NC46H25014; and 4. propylic narcotina (Wertheim) NC48H27014. 
Another interesting point is that each of these yields a peculiar volatile alkaloid by dis- 
tillation with potassa; and the several products bear to each other the same chemical re- 
lation as exists between the fixed alkaloids from which they are derived. They are am- 
monia from the first, methylamin from the second, ethylamin from the third, and propylamin 
from the fourth. The last of these volatile alkaloids has been referred to in the text aa 
having the smell of herring-pickle. It has been produced also by distilling ergot with 
Dotassa. Methylamin was procured by Wertheim. The other products are, we believe, 
thus far hypothetical. (Pharm. Cent. Blatt, Dec. 17, 1851, p. 918; and Journ. de Pharm., 3« 
ter., xxiii. 154.)—Note to the tenth edition. Opium. 
PART I. 
reported by him, it was employed in combination with muriatic acid. Given in 
this form, though powerfully febrifuge, it was found not to produce narcotic 
effects, not to constipate the bowels, and never to occasion the distressing head- 
ache and restlessness which sometimes follow the use of quinia. It proved, 
moreover, powerfully sudorific. It was given in doses of three grains, three 
times a day. Dr. O’Shaughnessy was induced to recommend its employment to 
his medical friends in India, from a knowledge that it had proved effectual in 
mild agues, in the hands of Dr. Roots and Mr. Jetson in England.* 
Codeia was discovered in 1832 by Robiquet in the muriate of morphia pre- 
pared according to the process of Gregory. It exists in opium combined like 
morphia with meconic acid, and is extracted along with that alkali in the pre- 
paration of the muriate. (See Morphia.) When the solution of the mixed muriates 
of morphia and codeia is treated with ammonia, the former alkaloid is precipi- 
tated, and the codeia, remaining in solution, may be obtained by evaporation and 
crystallization. It may be purified by treating the crystals with hot ether, which 
dissolves them, and yields the codeia in colourless crystals by spontaneous 
evaporation. This alkaline product melts at 300° without decomposition. It 
is soluble in water, which takes up L26 per cent, at 60°, 3'I at 110°, and 5 9 at 
212°. When added in excess to boiling water, the undissolved portion melts 
and sinks to the bottom, having the appearance of an oil. It is soluble also in 
alcohol and ether, but insoluble in alkaline solutions. Hence, it may be separated 
from morphia by a solution of potassa or soda, which dissolves the morphia, and 
leaves the codeia. It has an alkaline reaction on test paper, and combines with 
acids to form salts, some of which are crystallizable, particularly the nitrate. Its 
capacity of saturation is almost identical with that of morphia. According to 
Robiquet, 1 part of muriatic acid is saturated by T*837 of codeia, and by T'88 
of morphia. It is distinguishable, however, from the latter principle by the dif- 
ferent form of its crystals, which are octohedral, by its solubility in boiling ether, 
greater solubility in water, and insolubility in alkaline solutions, and by not as- 
suming a red colour with nitric acid, nor a blue one with the salts of sesquioxide 
of iron. {Journ. de Pharm., xix. 91.) Tincture of galls precipitates from its 
solutions a tannate of codeia. Crystallized from a watery solution, it contains 
about 6 per cent, of water, which is driven off at 212°. The crystals obtained 
from a solution in ether contain no water. Like most of the other organic alka- 
lies, it consists of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen; its received formula 
being and its combining number consequently 284. According to 
Dr. Anderson, however, the formula of the anhydrous alkaloid is C36II21XOfi, 
with the addition of two eqs. of wrater in the hydrate. {Month. Journ. of Meet. 
Sci., May, 1850, p. 492.) Dr. Gregory tried the effects of nitrate of codeia 
upon himself and several of his pupils, and found that, in a dose of three grains 
or less, it produced no obvious effect, but, in the quantity of from four to six 
grains, accelerated the pulse, occasioned a sense of heat in the head and face, 
and gave rise to an agreeable excitement of the spirits like that resulting from 
intoxicating drinks, which was attended with a sense of itching upon the skin, 
and, after lasting for several hours, was followed by an unpleasant depression, 
with nausea and sometimes vomiting. No tendency to sleep was observed, ex- 
cept in the state of depression. In two or three cases the medicine produced a 
slight purgative effect; but in others it appeared to exercise no peculiar influ- 
ence on the bowels. M. Barbier, of Amiens, administered codeia uncombined 
in numerous cases, and observed that, in the dose of one or two grains, it acted 
on the nervous system, and appeared to be directed especially to the great sym- 
* The different effects, obtained by different experimenters from nai’cotina, are readily 
explicable, should the statements as to the existence of a powerful alkaloid (opiania), which 
may have been mixed with the narcotina, and of several different modifications of narcotina 
itself {page 619), prove to be correct.—Note to the tenth edition. Opium. 
621 
PART I. 
pathetic; as it relieved painful affections having their origin apparently in dis- 
orders of that nerve, while it exerted no influence over pains of the back and 
extremities supplied by nerves from the spinal marrow. He did not find it to 
affect the circulation, disturb digestion, or produce constipation. In sufficient 
quantity, it induced sleep without giving rise, like opium, to signs of cerebral 
congestion. Dr. Mirandi, of Havana, employed it with advantage in several bad 
cases of dyspepsia. Dr. Aran, of Paris, considers it one of the most efficient 
means in our possession for relieving pain, and obtaining calm sleep, inferior to 
morphia only that it must be given in larger doses, and having the advantage over 
it that it does not occasion disturbed sleep, disorder of the stomach, constipation, 
or sweating with cutaneous eruptions. (Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., Jan. 1, 1863, 
p. 184.) Dr. Garrod, of London, however, has had a different experience, having 
found it, in large doses, neither anodyne nor soporific. (Med. Times and Gaz., 
March, 1864, p. 333.) On the whole, there can be little doubt that codeia has a 
decided action on the animal economy, and is among the principles upon which 
opium depends for its peculiar powers. It may be given in syrup, in a dose of 
from half a grain to two grains or more, and M. Aran has found it efficient in 
the dose of one-third of a grain. 
Paramorphia (thebaina) is the name given by Pelletier to a principle, dis- 
covered by him in the precipitate thrown down from an infusion of opium, treated 
with milk of lime. The precipitate being washed with water till the liquid came 
away colourless, and then treated with alcohol, instead of affording morphia to 
this solvent, as was anticipated, yielded a new alkaline principle, which was 
obtained separate by evaporating the alcohol, acting on the residue with ether, 
allowing the ethereal solution to evaporate spontaneously, and then purifying 
the resulting crystalline mass by dissolving it in an acid, precipitating by am- 
monia, and recrystallizing by means of alcohol or ether. Pelletier named it 
paramorphia, from its close analogy in composition with morphia, from which, 
however, it is quite distinct in properties. It is white, crystallizable in needles, 
of an acrid and styptic rather than bitter taste, fusible at about 300°, scarcely 
soluble in water, very soluble in alcohol and ether when cold, and still more so 
when heated, and capable of combining with the acids, with which it forms salts 
not crystallizable from their aqueous solution. Alkalies precipitate it from its 
acid solutions, and, unless in very concentrated solution, do not dissolve it when 
added in excess. It is not, like morphia, reddened by nitric acid, nor does it 
become blue with solutions of the salts of sesquioxide of iron. From codeia it 
differs in never being in large crystals, in not forming crystallizable salts, in being 
always precipitated from its acid solutions by ammonia, and in not melting in 
oily drops. From narcotina, which it most resembles, it may be distinguished 
by its shorter crystals, which want the pearly appearance of those of narcotina, 
by its different taste, by its much greater solubility in cold alcohol, of which 10 
parts will dissolve 1 of this principle, while narcotina requires 100 parts, and by 
the action of nitric acid, which converts it into a resin-like matter before dis- 
solving it, while the same acid instantly dissolves narcotina. It consists of 
carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen; its formula being, according to Dr. 
Anderson, (See Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., xxiv. 233.) The name 
of thebain was proposed for it by M. Couerbe, who was disposed to give the 
credit of its discovery to M. Thiboumery, the director of Pelletier’s laboratory. 
Magendie considered it closely analogous, in its effects on the system, to 
tstrychnia and brucia, producing tetanic spasms in the dose of a grain. 
Papaverina (papaverin). The discovery of this alkaloid was announced by 
Dr. G. Merck. It is crystallizable in needles, insoluble in water, very sparingly 
soluble in cold alcohol or ether, more soluble in these liquids boiling hot, and 
deposited by them on cooling. With acids it forms salts, most of which are very 
sparingly dissolved by water. The muriate crystallizes with extraordinary facility. 622 
Opium. 
PART I. 
The alkaloid is readily dissolved by moderately concentrated muriatic acid, from 
which, on the addition of more acid, the muriate separates, assuming the form 
of an oily layer at the bottom of the vessel, which is readily converted on stand- 
ing into a mass of acicular crystals. These crystals are very sparingly soluble 
in cold water. The muriate yields with bichloride of platinum a yellow precipi- 
tate which is insoluble in boiling water or alcohol. Papaverina is prepared by 
precipitating the aqueous infusion of opium with soda, exhausting the precipi- 
tate with alcohol, evaporating the tincture to dryness, treating the residue with 
a dilute acid, filtering, precipitating by ammonia, dissolving the precipitate in 
muriatic acid, mixing acetate of soda with the solution, and treating with 
boiling ether the resulting precipitate. The ethereal solution deposits the papa- 
verina on cooling. A characteristic property of this alkaloid is that its crystals, 
when moistened with concentrated sulphuric acid, acquire a dark-blue colour. 
Its formula is C4nTI21N08. ( Chem. Gaz., March 15,1850, from Liebig's Annalen.) 
Papaverina has been further investigated by Dr. Thos. Anderson, who confirms 
the statements of Merck {Chem. Gaz., Jan. 15, 1855, p. 21.) 
Opiania (opianin). This was found by Dr. Hinterberger in some supposed 
narcotina, which had been obtained by Engler, an apothecary of Yienna, from a 
parcel of Egyptian opium which he was working for morphia. An infusion of 
the opium was precipitated by ammonia, and the precipitate, having been washed 
first with water and then with cold alcohol, was dissolved in hot alcohol, and 
decolorized by animal charcoal. A crystalline mass was thus obtained, consist- 
ing apparently of morphia and narcotina. By repeated solutions in hot alcohol 
and crystallization, the former was separated, remaining in the alcohol, while 
the supposed narcotina was obtained in crystals. These, upon being examined 
by Dr. Hinterberger, proved to be a new alkaloid, to which he gave the name 
of opianin. It is in long, colourless, transparent needles, belonging to the 
prismatic system. When precipitated by ammonia from the solution of the 
muriate, it is in the form of a soft white powder. It is without smell, and in 
alcoholic solution has a strorfg and durable bitter taste. At the temperature of 
212° F. it remains unchanged. It is insoluble in water, and requires for solution 
a large quantity of boiling alcohol, from which it is entirely thrown down, upon 
cooling, in the state of crystals. In alcoholic solution it has a strong alkaline 
reaction; and from this solution both opiania itself and its salts are thrown 
down by alkalies. Concentrated sulphuric acid dissolves without changing it; 
nitric acid renders it yellow, and, if added to its sulphuric acid solution, blood- 
red, but after a short time changing to light-yellow. Its formula, according to 
Hinterberger, is C66HseN2021. From experiments, it has been inferred to be 
powerfully narcotic, and to resemble morphia in its action. About one-tenth of 
a grain of one of these alkaloids was given to a cat, and the same quantity of 
the other to another cat, with very similar effects. These were decidedly narcotic, 
and continued for a considerable time, but had ceased at the expiration of 24 
hours, without fatal effects. {Chem. Gaz., Dec. 1, 1852, p. 444.) 
Narceina or narcein, discovered by Pelletier in 1832, is white, in silky acicular 
crystals, inodorous, of a slightly bitter taste, fusible at 197° F., soluble in 375 parts 
of cold and 220 of boiling water, soluble also in alcohol, and insoluble in ether. It 
forms a bluish compound with iodine, the colour of which is destroyed by heat 
and the alkalies. It is rendered blue by the action of mineral acids so far diluted 
as not to decompose it; but does not, like morphia, become blue by the action 
of the salts of iron, nor red by that of nitric acid. It is dissolved by the acids, 
but was thought not to neutralize them, and, though at first considered alka- 
line by Pelletier, was afterwards ranked with indifferent bodies. At present, 
however, its alkaloid character is admitted, as it unites with sulphuric acid to 
form a crystallizable sulphate. {Journ. de Pharm., Avril, 1864, p. 367.) It re- 
sembles, moreover, the organic alkalies in its constitution, consisting of carbon, PART I. 
Opium. 
623 
hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen. Its formula, according to Dr. Anderson, is 
Pelletier obtained it in the course of his analysis of opium. Having 
formed an aqueous extract of opium, he treated it with distilled water, precipi 
tated the morphia by ammonia, concentrated the solution, filtered it, threw down 
the meconic acid by baryta-water, separated the excess of baryta by carbonate 
of ammonia, drove off the excess of the ammoniacal salt by heat, evaporated the 
liquor to the consistence of syrup, set it aside till a pulpy matter formed con- 
taining crystals, separated and expressed this pulpy matter, then treated it with 
alcohol, and concentrated the alcoholic solution. This, on cooling, deposited 
crystals of narcein, which were easily purified by repeated solution and crystal- 
lization. Meconin, which often crystallizes with it, may be separated by the 
agency of ether. It is without known influence upon the system. Two grains 
were introduced into the jugular vein of a dog without observable effect. 
Meconin, the existence of which was announced in 1832 by M. Couerbe, is 
identical with a substance discovered several years previously by M. Dublanc, 
jun., but of which no account was published. It is perfectly white, in the form 
of acicular crystals, soluble in about 265 parts of cold and 18 of boiling water, 
very soluble in ether, alcohol, and the essential oils, fusible at 195°, volatilizable 
without change, and possessed of a degree of acrimony which favours the sup- 
position that it may not be without action upon the system. It is neither acid 
nor alkaline, and contains no nitrogen. Meconin is obtained by precipitating 
the aqueous infusion of opium with ammonia, washing the precipitate with 
water until the latter nearly ceases to acquire colour, mixing the watery fluids, 
evaporating them to the consistence of molasses, setting them aside for two or 
three weeks, during which a mass of granular crystals is formed, then decanting 
the liquid, expressing the mass, and drying it with a gentle heat. The meconin 
may be separated from the mass by treating it with boiling alcohol of 36° 
Baume, evaporating so as to obtain crystals, dissolving these in boiling water 
with animal charcoal, filtering the liquid while hot, and subjecting the crystals 
formed upon the cooling of the solution to the action of ether, which dissolves 
the meconin, and yields it in a state of purity by spontaneous evaporation. 
(Journ. dc Pharm., Dec. 1832.) 
Porphyroxin may be obtained, according to Merck, by treating powdered 
opium, previously exhausted by boiling ether, and then made into a pulp by 
means of water, with carbonate of potassa, agitating it with ether, evaporating 
the ethereal solution, dissolving the residue in dilute muriatic acid, and pre- 
cipitating with ammonia. Paramorphia and porphyroxin are thus obtained to- 
gether. These are to be dissolved in ether, which, by spontaneous evaporation, 
deposits the former in crystals, and the latter in the form of resin. The porphy- 
roxin is separated by the cautious use of alcohol, and obtained by the evapora- 
tion of the alcoholic solution. It is neuter, erystallizable in shining needles, in- 
soluble in water, soluble in alcohol and ether, and characterized by the property 
of assuming a purple-red or rose colour, when heated in dilute muriatic acid. 
{Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., xiv. 188.) 
Of pseudomorphia, as it is found in opium only as an occasional ingredient, 
and is not generally present, it is scarcely necessary to treat in detail. An 
interesting fact, however, in relation to it, and one of some toxicological im- 
portance, is that it possesses two properties considered characteristic of mor- 
phia, those namely of being reddened by nitric acid, and of striking a blue 
colour with the salts of iron, and yet is without any poisonous influence upon 
the animal economy. {Journ. de Pharm., xxi. 515.) But it differs in not forming 
salts with the acids, and in not decomposing iodic acid. It consists of carbon, 
hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen. 
Meconic acid is in white crystalline scales, of a sour taste followed by bit- 
terness, fusible and volatilizable by heat, soluble in four parts of boiling water, 624 
Opium 
PART I. 
soluble also iip cold water and alcohol, with the property of reddening vegetable 
blues, and forming salts. Its compounds with the earths and heavy metallic 
oxides are generally insoluble in water. Its characteristic properties are, that 
it produces a blood-red colour with the salts of sesquioxide of iron, a green 
precipitate with a weak solution of ammoniated sulphate of copper, and white 
precipitates soluble in nitric acid, with acetate of lead, nitrate of silver, and 
chloride of barium. It is obtained by macerating opium in water, filtering the 
infusion, and adding a solution of chloride of calcium. Meconate and sulphate 
of lime are precipitated. The precipitate, having been washed with hot water 
and with alcohol, is treated with dilute muriatic acid at 180°. The meconate of 
lime is taken up, and upon the cooling of the liquid, bimeconate of lime is de- 
posited. This is dissolved in warm concentrated muriatic acid, which deposits 
pure meconic acid when it cools. It may be freed from colouring matter by 
neutralizing it with potassa, decomposing the crystallized meconate thus obtained 
by muriatic acid, and again crystallizing. Meconic acid has little or no action 
on the system, and is not used separately in medicine; but its natural relation 
to morphia requires that it should be understood. 
Incompatibles. All the substances which produce precipitates with opium do 
not necessarily affect its medical virtues; but the alkalies, and all vegetable in- 
fusions containing tannic and gallic acids, are strictly incompatible; the former 
separating and precipitating the active principle, the latter forming with it an 
insoluble compound. 
The proportion of morphia which any particular specimen of opium will 
furnish, may be considered as the best test of its value, except that of actual 
trial upon the system. G-ood opjum should yield 10 or 12 per cent, of the im- 
pure morphia precipitated from the infusion by ammonia with alcohol, according 
to the process of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. (See Morphia.) The U. S. Pharma- 
copoeia directs that it should yield at least I per cent, of the pure alkaloid by 
the officinal process. The Br. Pharmacopoeia requires at least 6 per cent. 
M. Guilliermond gives the following mode of estimating the strength of opium, 
as tested by the amount of morphia to be obtained from it. Take 15 parts of 
opium, cut it in pieces, rub it up with 60 parts of alcohol at 160°, drain the 
mixture on linen and express, treat the residue with 40 parts of alcohol at the 
same temperature, unite the tinctures in a vessel with a large mouth into which 
4 parts of solution of ammonia (22° Cartier) have been introduced, and allow 
the mixture to stand 12 hours. The crystals which form are to be put upon 
linen, washed repeatedly with water to separate the meconate of ammonia, and 
then introduced, into a small vessel of water. The crystals of narcotina, being 
very light, continue suspended in the water, and may be decanted along with it, 
while those of morphia remaining at the bottom, may be collected and weighed. 
Good opium, treated in this way, will yield for the fifteen parts employed from 
125 to 175 parts of the crystals of morphia. {Journ. de Pharm., x\i. 18.)* 
* As the morphia obtained in the above process is not quite free from narcotina, M. Do 
Vry proposes the following modification. The mixture of morphia and narcotina, pre- 
cipitated from the alcoholic solution by ammonia, after being washed, is to be heated with 
a slight excess of sulphate of copper dissolved in pure water. The narcotina has no ac- 
tion on the sulphate of copper, which is decomposed by the morphia, producing sulphate 
of morphia and tribasic sulphate of copper. The latter and the narcotina remain undis- 
solved, and a solution is obtained containing sulphate of morphia with a little sulphate of 
copper. This, having been filtered, is treated first with sulphuretted hydrogen which pre- 
cipitates the copper, and afterwards with ammonia which throws down the morphia. 
(Pharm. Journ., x. 77.) 
M. Fordos’ method of estimating the proportion of morphia. Practical difficulties having been 
experienced in the application of M. Guilliermond’s method, though much better than any 
plan previously proposed, the Belgic Academy of Medicine made the offer of a prize, which 
seems to have elicited the following process, considered by M. Fordos as the easiest of ex- 
ecution, and most accurate in its results. Macerate in 60 cubic centimetres of water 15 PART I, 
Opium 
625 
Tests of Opium. It is sometimes highly important to be able to ascertain the 
presence or absence of opium in any suspected mixture. As meconic acid and 
morphia have been found only in the products of the poppy, if either or both of 
them be shown to exist in any substance, very strong evidence will be afforded of 
the presence of opium. The test should, therefore, be applied in reference to the 
detection of these two principles. If an aqueous infusion of the substance ex- 
amined yields a red colour with the tincture of chloride of iron, there is presump- 
tive evidence of the presence of meconic acid. Greater certainty may be obtained 
by the following process. Add in excess to the filtered liquor a solution of 
acetate of lead. If opium be present, there will be a precipitate of meconate of 
lead, and the acetates of morphia and lead will remain in solution. The pre- 
cipitate is then to be suspended in water, and decomposed, either by adding a 
little dilute sulphuric acid, which forms sulphate of lead and leaves the meconic 
acid in solution, or by passing through it a stream of sulphuretted hydrogen, 
grammes of opium, cut into fine slices, agitating occasionally. After 24 hours, or sooner if 
there is any urgency, pour the mixture into a mortar, and divide the opium thoroughly 
by the pestle. Then pour the whole on a small filter, and, after the liquid has passed, 
wash the filter with 15 cubic centimetres of water with which the mortar and pestle have been 
thoroughly cleansed. Repeat the washing a second and a third time, using each time 10 cubic 
centimetres of water. The opium is thus sufficiently exhausted. One-third of the mixed 
liquids is taken in order to determine the quantity of ammonia necessary to precipitate the 
morphia. To this add the ammonia drop by drop till the liquor offers a slight ammoniacal 
odour, and then immediately cease. Note the quantity of ammonia consumed. Operate then 
on the residuary two-thirds of the liquid, representing 10 grammes of opium, with the view 
of ascertaining the proportion of morphia. Add an equal volume of alcohol of 85°, and twice 
the quantity of ammonia consumed in the previous operation. A slight excess of ammonia 
is requisite to separate all the morphia. Agitate the liquor, and allow it to stand in a 
bottle well stopped. Narcotina is soon deposited in fine needles but slightly coloured, and 
morphia in prisms larger and somewhat more coloured. After two or three days, shake the 
bottle, and then allow it to rest for some hours, in order to give time for the deposition of 
the Avhole of the morphia. Collect the crystals on a small filter, and wash them with 15 
or 20 cubic centimetres of weak alcohol, of only 40 or 50 to the 100. This washing removes 
the adhering mother-water, and frees the crystals from the colouring matter. There re- 
main crystals of morphia little coloured, and white crystals of narcotina. Allow them to 
dry on the same funnel. Then pour on the filter from 10 to 15 cubic centimetres of pure 
sulphuric ether; and afterwards, at two or three times, from 10 to 15 cubic centimetres of 
chloroform. The crystals of narcotina are instantly dissolved in the chloroform, and carried 
off with it; and the morphia remains untouched. Lastly wash the filter with 15 cubic centi- 
metres of ether, to remove the last traces of chloroform and narcotina. Dry the filter, and 
weigh the crystals of morphia, which may be very easily detached. To verify the result, as- 
certain that the crystals are entirely soluble in a solution of caustic potassa, The weight 
will represent the quantity of morphia in 10 grammes of the opium. We have been particular 
in presenting each step of the process precisely, as much depends upon a proper manipula- 
tion. The French weights and measures have been given for the sake of accuracy; but the 
operator may easily translate them into the equivalent weights and measures in use with 
us by consulting the table in the Appendix; or he can use any other convenient weight 
and measure, taking care to observe the same proportions. {Joura. de Pharm., 3e ser., 
xxxii. 101.) 
In the Am. Journ. of Pharm. for Sept. 1863 (p. 385) is an interesting and valuable ar- 
ticle on the assay of opium by Prof. F. F. Mayer, to which, for want of space, we must 
content ourselves with referring the reader. It is highly important that the apothecary 
should be able to determine the strength of his opium, and never to use any in his offi- 
cinal operations, excepting for the preparation of morphia or its salts, which does not 
come up at least to the percentage required by our officinal standard. Sometimes it may 
happen that the opium is much stronger in morphia than that in ordinary use, and the con- 
sequence may be that an unexpected violence of operation may result. Hence it has been 
proposed in France to adopt some standard, and by mixing parcels of different strengths 
in proper proportion to get an opium which shall always be the same. In a paper on 
opium in the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (March, 1860, p. 115), Dr. Squibb has treated on this 
Bubject, and proposes a preparation which, whatever may be the strength of the opium 
used, shall always have a fixed value. Could such a preparation, based on sound princi- 
ples, and of sufficiently easy execution, receive the sanction of our national code, it would 
eertaimy be of great practical importance.—Notes to the twelfth edition. 626 
Opium 
PART I. 
removing by filtration the precipitated sulphuret of lead, and heating the clear 
liquor so as to drive off the sulphuretted hydrogen. With the clear liquor thus 
obtained, if it contain meconic acid, the tincture of chloride of iron will pro- 
duce a striking red colour, ammoniated sulphate of copper a green precipitate, 
and acetate of lead, nitrate of silver, and chloride of barium, white precipitates 
soluble in nitric acid. Sulphocyanide of potassium, which, according to Dr. 
Wright, is an invariable constituent of saliva (Simon’s Chemistry, ii. 6), pro- 
duces a red colour with the salts of sesquioxide of iron, resembling that pro- 
duced by meconic acid; but, according to Mr. Everitt, this colour is entirely 
and at once destroyed by a solution of corrosive sublimate, which has no effect 
on the red colour of the meconate of iron. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xii. 88.) 
On the contrary, chloride of gold reddens a solution of hydrosulphocyanic acid 
or a sulphocyanide, but not of meconic acid. Pereira says the acetates also 
redden the salts of sesquioxide of iron, but do not afford the results just men- 
tioned with acetate of lead and chloride of barium. To test the presence of 
morphia, the liquid from which the meconate of lead has been precipitated, and 
which may be supposed to contain the acetates of morphia and lead, must be 
freed from the lead by a stream of sulphuretted hydrogen, and then from the 
sulphuretted hydrogen by heat; after which, the following reagents may be ap- 
plied:—viz. 1. nitric acid, which colours the morphia red; 2. iodic acid, which 
is decomposed by the morphia with the extrication of iodine, which colours the 
liquid reddish-brown, and, if starch is present, unites with it to form a blue com- 
pound ; 3. solution of ammonia, which, if carefully added so as not to be in excess, 
throws down a precipitate of morphia soluble in a great excess of that alkali 
or of potassa; and 4. tannic acid, which precipitates tannate of morphia. If 
the precipitate thrown down by ammonia afford a deep-red colour becoming 
yellow with nitric acid, and a blue colour with sesquichloride of iron, the proofs 
may be considered as complete.* 
Though opium is little injured by time if well kept, yet it does undergo spon- 
taneous change, and M. Guibourt found less morphia in a specimen which had 
been in his possession nearly twenty years than it had yielded in its recent state. 
There was also more colouring matter. (Ann. de Therap., A. D. 1863, p. 5.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Opium is a stimulant narcotic. Taken by a 
healthy person in a moderate dose, it increases the force, fulness, and frequency 
of the pulse, augments the temperature of the skin, invigorates the muscular 
system, quickens the senses, animates the spirits, and gives new energy to the 
intellectual faculties. Its operation, while thus extending to all parts of the sys- 
tem, is directed with peculiar force to the brain, the functions of which it excites 
sometimes even to intoxication or delirium. In a short time this excitation sub- 
sides ; a calmness of the corporeal actions, and a delightful placidity of mind 
succeed; and the individual, insensible to painful impressions, forgetting all 
sources of care and anxiety, submits himself to a current of undefined and un- 
connected, but pleasing fancies; and is conscious of no other feeling than that 
of a quiet and vague enjoyment. At the end of half an hour or an hour from 
* Merck has proposed a test of opium, founded on the property, which characterizes 
porphyroxin, of assuming a red colour when heated in dilute muriatic acid. The sus- 
pected liquid is first to be carefully evaporated, a few drops of solution of potassa are to 
be added, and the mixture agitated with ether. The ethereal solution being filtered off, 
a slip of unsized paper is to be dipped into it and dried; and the moistening and drying 
should be repeated several times. The paper thus prepared is to be moistened with dilute 
muriatic acid, and then exposed to the vapour of boiling water. If it become reddened, 
opium may be inferred to exist in the liquid tested. Ileusler states that this test is not 
applicable to the aqueous solution or extract of opium, because porphyroxin is insoluble 
in water; but Mr. Robertson, of Rotterdam, has found it to succeed with the watery ex- 
tract, and infers that the porphyroxin is so combined in opium as to render it in some 
measure soluble. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e sir., xxii. 190.)—Note to the tenth edition. PART I, 
Opium 
627 
the administration of the narcotic, all consciousness is lost in sleep. The sopo- 
rific effect, after having continued for eight or ten hours, goes off, and is gen* 
erally succeeded by more or less nausea, headache, tremors, and other symptom* 
of diminished or irregular nervous action, which soon yield to the recuperative 
energies of the system; and, unless the dose is frequently repeated, and the 
powers of nature worn out by over-excitement, no injurious consequences ulti- 
mately result. Such is the obvious operation of opium when moderately taken; 
but other effects, very important in a remedial point of view, are also experi- 
enced. All the secretions, with the exception of that from the skin, are either 
suspended or diminished; the peristaltic motion of the bowels is lessened; pain 
and inordinate muscular contraction, if present, are allayed; and general ner- 
vous irritation is composed, if not entirely relieved. 
In doses insufficient to produce the full soporific effect, the stimulant influence 
upon the mental functions continues longer, and the subsequent calming effect 
is sustained for hours; sleep being not unfrequently prevented, or rendered so 
light and dreamy that, upon awaking, the patient will scarcely admit that he 
has slept at all. From large doses the period of excitement and exhilaration is 
shorter, the soporific and anodyne effects are more intense and of longer dura- 
tion, and the succeeding symptoms of debility are more obvious and alarming. 
From quantities sufficient to destroy life, after a brief excitement, the pulse 
is reduced in frequency though not in force, muscular strength is diminished, and 
feelings of languor and drowsiness supervene, which soon eventuate in a deep 
apoplectic sleep. A stertorous respiration; a dark suffusion of the countenance; 
a full, slow, and labouring pulse; an almost total insensibility to external im- 
pressions ; and, when a moment of consciousness is obtained by violent agitation 
or irritating applications, a confused state of intellect, and an irresistible dispo- 
sition to sink back into comatose sleep, are symptoms which, for the first few 
hours, attend the operation of the poison. Though not signs of an elevated 
condition of the bodily powers, neither do they imply a state of pure, unmixed 
debility. The pulse is, indeed, slow; but it is often so full and strong as even 
to suggest the use of the lancet. In the space, however, of a few hours, vary- 
ing according to the quantity of the narcotic taken, and the powers of the pa- 
tient’s constitution, a condition of genuine debility ensues; and this condition 
will be hastened in point of time, though it will be more under the control of 
remedies, if the opium be evacuated from the stomach. Called to an individual 
labouring under the influence of a fatal dose of opium, at a period from six to 
eight hours after it has been swallowed, the practitioner will generally find him 
with a cool, clammy skin; cold extremities; a pallid countenance; a feeble, 
thread-like, scarcely perceptible pulse; a slow, interrupted, almost gasping re- 
spiration ; and a torpor little short of absolute, death-like insensibility. Death 
soon follows, unless relief is afforded. 
No appearances are revealed by the dissection of those who have died of the 
immediate effects of opium, which can be considered as affording satisfactory 
evidence of its mode of operation. The redness occasionally observed in the 
mucous membrane of the stomach is not constantly present, and is ascribable as 
much to the irritating effect of remedies prescribed, or to the spirituous vehicle 
of the opiate, as to the action of the poison itself. Such at least is the inference 
drawn by Nysten from his experiments and observations; and Orfila states that 
the stomachs of dogs which he had killed by opium, internally administered, did 
not present the slightest vestige of inflammation. The force of the medicine is 
directed to the cerebral and nervous functions; and death is produced by a sus- 
pension of respiration, arising from the want of due influence from the brain. 
The section of the par vagum, on both sides, has not been found to prevent or 
retard the death of animals to which large doses of opium have been given, nor 
even materially to modify its narcotic effects. (Nysten, quoted by Orfila.) It 628 
Opium 
PART I. 
would seem, therefore, that the active principle is conveyed into the circulation, 
and operates upon the brain, and probably upon the nervous system at large, 
by immediate contact. It is an error to attribute the anodyne, sedative, and 
soporific effects of the medicine to the previous excitement. They are, as much 
as this very excitement, the direct results of its action upon the brain. It is in 
the state of exhaustion and collapse which ensue after the peculiar influence of 
the opium has ceased, that we are to look for an illustration of that principle of 
the system, by which any great exaltation of its functions above the natural 
standard is followed by a corresponding depression. We may be permitted to 
advance the conjecture, that the excitement which almost immediately super- 
venes upon the internal use of opium, may be in some degree produced by means 
of nervous communication; while the succeeding narcotic effects are attributable 
to its absorption and entrance into the circulation; and the ultimate prostration 
of all the powers of the system is a necessary consequence of the previous agi- 
tation of the various organs. 
On some individuals opium produces peculiar effects, totally differing from the 
ordinary results of its operation. In very small quantities it occasionally gives 
rise to excessive sickness and vomiting, and even spasm of the stomach; in other 
cases it produces restlessness, headache, and delirium; and we have known it, 
even in large doses, to occasion obstinate wakefulness. The headache, want of 
appetite, tremors, &c., which usually follow, in a slight degree, its narcotic 
operation, are uniformly experienced by some individuals to such an extent as 
to render the use of the medicine very inconvenient. It is possible that some of 
these disagreeable effects may arise not from the meconate of morphia contained 
in the opium, but from some other of its ingredients; and those which do result 
from the meconate may not be produced by other salts of morphia. It has, in- 
deed, been found that the operation of opium may often be favourably modified 
by changing the state of combination in which its active principle naturally ex- 
ists. Dissolved in vinegar or lemon juice, it had been known to act in some 
instances more pleasantly and effectually than in substance, or tincture, long 
before physicians had learned to explain the fact by referring it to the produc- 
tion of an acetate or citrate of morphia. When upon the subject of morphia, we 
shall take occasion to treat of the medical properties of this principle in its 
various combinations. 
An occasional effect of opium, which has not yet been alluded to, is a disagree- 
able itching or sense of pricking in the skin, sometimes attended with a species 
of miliary eruption. We have found the effect to result equally from all the 
officinal preparations of this narcotic. 
The general operation of opium may be obtained by injecting it into the 
rectum, or applying it to the surface of the body, especially upon a part denuded 
of the cuticle. It has appeared to us, when thus applied, to produce less general 
excitement, in proportion to its other effects, than when administered by the 
mouth; but we do not make the statement with entire confidence. It is said 
that, when introduced into the cellular membrane, it acts with great energy; 
and, when thrown into the cavity of the peritoneum, speedily produces convul- 
sions and death. Injected into the cavity of the heart, it impairs or altogether 
destroys the powers of that organ. 
The local effects of opium are similar in character to those which follow its 
general operation. An increased action of the part is first observable; then a 
diminution of its sensibility and contractility ;‘and the latter effect is more speedy, 
more intense, and of longer continuance, the larger the quantity applied. 
In all parts of the world, opium is habitually employed by many with a view 
to its exhilarating and anodyne influence. This is particularly the case among 
the Mahomedans and Hindoos, who find in this narcotic the most pleasing sub- 
stitute for alcoholic drinks, which are interdicted by their religion. 1a India, part I. 
Opium 
629 
Persia, and Turkey, it is consumed in immense quantities; and many nations o 
the East smoke opium as those of the West smoke tobacco. This is not the 
place to speak of the fearful effects of such a practice upon both the intellectual 
and bodily faculties. 
The use of opium as a medicine can be clearly traced back to Diagoras, who 
was nearly contemporary with Hippocrates; and it was probably employed before 
his time. It is at present more frequently prescribed than perhaps any other 
article of the materia medica. Its extensive applicability to the cure of disease 
will be rendered evident by a view of the indications which it is calculated to 
fulfil. 1. It is excitant in its primary action. In low or typhoid complaints, 
requiring a supporting treatment, it exalts the action of the arterial and nervous 
systems, and, in moderate doses frequently repeated, may be employed with ad- 
vantage in conjunction or alternation with other stimulants. 2. It relieves pain 
more speedily and effectually than any other known medicine taken into the 
stomach. If possessed of no other property than this, it would be entitled to 
high consideration. Not to mention cancer, and other incurable affections, in 
which the alleviation afforded by opium is of incalculable value, we have nu- 
merous instances of painful diseases which are not only temporarily relieved, but 
entirely cured by the remedy; and there is scarcely a complaint in the catalogue 
of human ailments, in the treatment of which it is not occasionally demanded 
for the relief of suffering, which, if allowed to continue, might aggravate the dis- 
order, and protract if not prevent a cure. 3. Another very important indica- 
tion, which, beyond any other narcotic, it is capable of fulfilling, is the produc- 
tion of sleep. For this purpose it is given in a great variety of diseases; when- 
ever, in fact, morbid vigilance exists, not dependent on acute inflammation of the 
brain. Among the complaints in which it proves most serviceable in this way 
is delirium tremens, or the mania of drunkards. Opium produces sleep in two 
ways; first, by its direct operation on the brain, secondly, by allaying that morbid 
nervous irritation upon which wakefulness often depends. In the latter case it 
may frequently be advantageously combined with camphor, or Hoffmann’s ano- 
dyne. 4. Opium is powerfully antispasmodic. No medicine is so efficient in re- 
laxing spasm, and in controlling those irregular muscular movements which 
depend on unhealthy nervous action. Hence its great importance as a remedy 
in tetanus; colic ; spasm of the stomach attending gout, dyspepsia, and cholera; 
spasm of the ureters in nephritis, and of the biliary ducts during the passage of 
calculi; and in various convulsive affections. 5. Probably dependent upon a 
similar influence over the nervous system, is the property which it possesses of 
allaying general and local irritations, whether exhibited in the nerves or blood- 
vessels, provided the action do not amount to positive inflammation; and even 
in this case it is often prescribed with advantage. Hence its use in composing 
restlessness, quieting cough, and relieving nausea, tenesmus, and strangury. 
6. In suppressing morbid discharges, it answers another indication which fits it 
for the treatment of a long list of diseases. This effect it is, perhaps, enabled to 
produce by diminishing the nervous energy upon which Secretion and muscular 
motion depend. Upon this principle it is useful in diarrhoea, when the com- 
plaint consists merely in increased secretion into the bowels, without high action 
or organic derangement; in consumption, chronic catarrh, humoral asthma, and 
other cases of morbidly increased expectoration; in diabetes; and in certain 
forms of hemorrhage, particularly that from the uterus, in combination with 
other remedies. 7. It remains to mention one other indication; that, namely, 
of producing perspiration, in fulfilling which, opium, conjoined with small doses 
of emetic medicines, is pre-eminent. No diaphoretic is so powerful or so exten- 
sively used as a combination of opium and ipecacuanha. We shall speak more 
fully of this application of the remedy under the head of Pulvis Ipecacuanhas 
Compositus. It is here sufficient to say, that its beneficial effects are espe- Opium 
PART I. 
cially experienced in rheumatism, the bowel affections, and certain pectoral dis- 
eases. 
From this great diversity of properties, and the frequent occurrence of those 
morbid conditions in which opium affords relief, it is often prescribed in the same 
disease to meet several indications. Thus, in idiopathic fevers, we frequently 
meet with morbid vigilance and great nervous irritation, combined with a low 
condition of the system. In typhous pneumonia, there is the same depression of 
the vital powers, combined often with severe neuralgic pains, and much nervous 
irritation. In diarrhoea, besides the indications presented by the spasmodic pain 
and increased discharge, there is a strong call for the diaphoretic operation of 
the opium. It is unnecessary to multiply instances. There is hardly a complaint 
which does not occasionally present a complication of symptoms demanding the 
use of this remedy. 
But a medicine possessed of such extensive powers may do much injury, if 
improperly directed; and conditions of the system frequently occur, in which, 
though some one of the symptoms calls for its use, others, on the contrary, are 
incompatible with it. Thus, opium is contraindicated by a high state of inflam- 
matory excitement, which should be reduced before we can with propriety ven- 
ture upon its employment; and, when there is doubt as to the sufficiency of the 
reduction, the opium should be given in combination with tartarized antimony 
or ipecacuanha, which modify its stimulant operation, and give it a more decided 
tendency to the skin. It is also contraindicated by inflammation of the brain, or 
strong determination of blood to the head, by deficient secretion from inflamed 
mucous membranes, as in the early stages of bronchitis, and generally by consti- 
pation. When, however, the constipation depends upon intestinal spasm, as in 
colic, it is sometimes relieved by the antispasmodic action of the opium; and 
the binding effects of the medicine may be counteracted by laxatives. 
Opium may be administered in substance or tincture. In the former state 
it is given in the shape of pill, which, as a general rule, should be formed out of 
powdered opium, as it is thus more readily dissolved in the liquors of the stomach, 
and therefore operates more speedily and effectually than when made, as it some- 
times is, immediately from the plastic mass. There is no medicine of which the 
dose is more variable, according to the habits of the patient, the nature of the 
complaint, or the purpose to be effected. While in catarrh and diarrhoea we 
often prescribe not more than one-fourth or one-third of a grain, in tetanus 
it has been administered, without abating the violence of the symptoms, in the 
enormous quantity of two drachms in twenty-four hours; and in a case of cancer 
of the uterus, under the care of the late Drs. Monges and La Roche, of this city, 
the quantity is stated to have been gradually increased till the amount taken dur- 
ing one day, either in the shape of tincture or in substance, was equivalent to 
more than three ounces. The medium dose, in ordinary cases of disease, to pro- 
duce the anodyne and soporific effects of the medicine, is one grain. 
Experience has shown that the action of opium is sometimes favourably modi- 
fied by employing those constituents only which are soluble in water. Hence 
the watery extract is sometimes advantageously substituted for the drug itself, 
aud an infusion for the tincture.* (See Extractum Opii.) 
* A good extemporaneous infusion of opium cannot well be prepared. Hence, to obtain 
the effects of this preparation, it is best to dissolve the extract in water. Mr. Eugene Dupuy, 
of New York, first prepares an infusion, and then adds alcohol enough to preserve it; so 
that the preparation may be kept ready made by the apothecary, to be used as a substi- 
tute for laudanum. lie takes ten drachms of opium, reduces it to a thin pulp with water, 
allows the mixture to stand 48 hours, then percolates with water so as lo obtain twelve 
fluidounces of infusion, to which four fluidounces of alcohol of 95 per nent are added. 
The preparation is intended to be of about the same strength as laudanum. Consequently 
the dose should be from twelve to fifteen minims, or about as many drops \Am. J<urn of 
Pharm., xxiii. 211.) Opium. 
631 
PART I. 
Opium may often be administered with great advantage by the rectum. In 
this way it operates most advantageously in obstinate vomiting, painful nephri- 
tic and uterine affections, strangury from blisters, and dysenteric tenesmus. Ii 
may be employed as a suppository, or in the form of enema made with laudanum 
and a small quantity of viscid liquid, as flaxseed tea, mucilage of gum arabic, or 
starch prepared with hot water. The quantity, as a general rule, may be three 
times that 'administered by the mouth; but the relative susceptibility of the 
stomach and rectum in different persons is not always the same; and the effects 
produced by the narcotic, given by injection, are sometimes much greater than 
was anticipated. The practitioner, moreover, should take into consideration 
the previous habits of the patient. In an individual long accustomed to take 
opium internally, and whose stomach will receive large doses with impunity, it 
is possible that the rectum may not have lost, in a proportionate degree, its ab- 
sorbing power or susceptibility; and that serious consequences might result by 
adhering, in such a case, to the general rule as to the relative quantity to be 
given in the way of enema or suppository. 
In some one of its liquid preparations, opium is often used locally as an addi- 
tion to collyria in ophthalmia, to injections in gonorrhoea, and to lotions and 
cataplasms in various complaints of the skin, and external pains, as those of 
gout and rheumatism. It is also employed in substance, in the form of a plaster 
or cataplasm made from the powder. But its external use requires some cau- 
tion, especially when the skin is deprived of the cuticle. Death is said to have 
resulted from a cataplasm, containing a large quantity of laudanum, applied to 
the epigastrium. (Ann. de Therap., 1843, p. 5.) 
When opium has been taken in an overdose, the only effectual mode of relief 
is immediately to evacuate the stomach, either by the stomach-pump, or, when 
this is not attainable, by the more active emetics, such as tartarized antimony, 
sulphate of zinc, or sulphate of copper, conjoined with ipecacuanha. Emetics 
are preferable to the stomach-pump, when opium has been swallowed in sub- 
stance ; as the capacity of the tube is insufficient to permit the passage of the 
masses in which the poison is sometimes taken. The operation of the emetic 
should be promoted by a very free use of warm drinks, by irritating the fauces 
with a feather, by keeping the patient in motion, and, if the insusceptibility to 
the action of the remedy is very great, by dashing cold water upon the head 
and shoulders, thus counteracting, for a moment, the narcotic influence of the 
opium upon the brain, and enabling this organ to receive and transmit the ne- 
cessary impressions. Advantage will sometimes accrue from a moderate loss 
of blood, which tends to diminish the cerebral congestion, and thus not only 
awaken susceptibility to the impression of the emetic, but obviate also the dan- 
ger of hemorrhagic effusion; but the bleeding should not be carried far, in con- 
sequence of danger from the subsequent debility. For the same purpose of 
favouring the emetic action, it has been recommended to pass a current of elec- 
tricity through the brain.* After the evacuation of the poison, the chief indi- 
cation is to obviate the debility which generally supervenes, and which, when the 
* From numerous observations recently recorded, there can be no doubt that a certain 
antagonism exists between opium on the one hand and belladonna and stramonium on the 
other, so that these poisons are to a certain extent reciprocally antidotal. For what is 
known on this subject, the reader is referred to a very interesting article by Dr. ffm. F. 
Noi’ris, in the American Journal of Medical Sciences (Oct. 1862, p. 395). In numerous in- 
stances, the administration of belladonna freely, in cases of opium poisoning, so far from 
adding to the narcotic effect, appears to have superseded the influence of the opium by 
substituting its own; while the opium in the system has rendered innoxious, quantities of 
belladonna which might otherwise have produced poisonous effects. Nevertheless, our 
experience on the subject is not yet sufficient to justify us in abandoning the old treat- 
ment of evacuating the stomach, and afterwards supporting the system, which has proved 
effieactous in so many instances.—Note to the twelfth edition. 632 
Opium.— Os. 
PART I. 
quantity of the narcotic has been large, or it has remained long in the stomach, 
it sometimes alarming and even fatal. For this purpose the carbonate of am- 
monia, or the aromatic spirit of ammonia, with wine-whey, may be employed 
internally, and sinapisms and stimulant frictions applied to the surface. The 
practitioner should not despair, even if called at the last moment. The stomach 
tube may be applied at any period; and it is possible that, even without evacua- 
tion of the stomach, a little aid may enable the system to resist the. prostrating 
influence of the poison, if not taken in an overwhelming dose. The electro- 
magnetic battery was employed with great advantage in a case of prostration 
of this kind by Dr. Page, of Valparaiso; and the practice has been imitated in 
Europe and this country. Strong coffee, under these circumstances, has been 
found useful, and is obviously suggested in all cases by its powerful influence in 
producing wakefulness. Caffein has been employed as a substitute for coffee; 
but, as this principle is not the only active one in coffee, it should not be re- 
lied on until further tested by experience. Should other measures fail, resort 
may be had to artificial respiration, by which the functions of the lungs and 
heart may be sustained till the brain has struggled through its conflict with the 
narcotic, and is enabled to resume its healthful action. Brodie has demonstrated 
that death from many of the narcotics results from a suspension of the cerebral 
influence necessary to sustain the respiratory function, and that the heart ceases 
to act in consequence of the cessation of respiration. If this can be restored 
artificially before the contractions of the heart have entirely ceased, the circula- 
tion may continue, and life be supported for a time without aid from the brain, 
which now receives a supply of arterial blood, and is thus better enabled to rise 
aJbove the repressing action of the opium. As this narcotic does not produce 
structural derangement, but operates chiefly on the nervous power, a favourable 
result is more likely to be experienced than in poisoning from some other arti- 
cles of the same class. Several cases are on record, in which patients, apparently 
in the very last stage, were saved by a resort to artificial respiration. 
Off. Prep. Acetum Opii, U. S.; Confectio Opii, U. Emplastrum Opii, Br.; 
Extractum Opii; Morphia, U.S.; Morphias Hydroehloras, Br.; Pilulae Opii; 
Pil. Plumbi cum Opio, Br.; Pil. Saponis Composite, U. S.; Pulvis Cretae Aro- 
maticus cum Opio, Br.; Pulvis Ipecacuanhae Compositus, U.S.; Pulvis Ipecacu- 
anhas cum Opio, Br.; Pulvis Kino cum Opio, Br.; Tinctura Camphorae cum 
Opio, Br.; Tinctura Opii; Tinct. Opii Acetata, U. S.; Tinct. Opii Camphorata, 
U. S.; Tinct. Opii Deodorata, U. S.; Trochisci Glycyrrhizas et Opii, U. S.; 
Unguentum Gallae cum Ooio, Br.; Vinurn Opii. W. 
OS. u.s. 
Bone. 
Bone Ash is directed in the Appendix of the British Pharmacopoeia, with 
the definition :—“the residue of Ox and Sheep Bones, which have been burned 
while in contact with air, reduced to powder.” 
Os, Fr.; Knochen, Germ.; Ossa, Ital.; Huesos, Span. 
Bones are employed in several pharmaceutical processes, and those derived 
from domestic quadrupeds, especially the ox, are the kind intended. 
Properties, &c. Bones are solid, white, and of a lamellated texture, and con- 
stitute the skeleton of the superior orders of animals, of which they are the 
hardest and densest parts. They consist of a cellular gelatinous tissue, the cavi- 
ties of which are filled with certain earthy salts. When subjected to destructive 
distillation, in close vessels, they are decomposed without alteration of shape, 
lose about three-sevenths of their weight, become brittle, and are converted into 
a black substance, containing the earthy salts of the bone, and constituting the PART I. 
Os. 
633 
species of animal charcoal called bone-black. (See Carbo Animalis.) The por 
tions which distil over consist of the usual ammoniacal products derived from 
animal matter. (See Ammonise Murias.) Before the distillation is performed, 
the bones are boiled with water, to separate the fat, which amounts to 5 or 6 
per cent.; but gelatin is at the same time extracted, with the effect of rendering 
the bones less fitted to furnish a good bone-black. In view of this fact, M. Deiss, 
of Paris, has proposed to extract the fat by bisulphuret of carbon, which gives 
a product of 10 or 12 per cent., without injuring the bones for subsequent con- 
version into bone-black. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., July, 1856, p. 356.) When 
calcined in open vessels, bones lose more of their weight in consequence of the 
combustion of the auimal matter, and are converted into a white friable substance, 
consisting of the incombustible part, and commonly called bone-earth, or bone- 
ash; and a similar residue is obtained by calcining horn. (See Cornu Ustum.) 
Treated with boiling water, a small portion of the gelatinous matter is dissolved; 
but, when acted on by water in a Papin’s digester, the whole of it is taken up, 
and the earthy salts, deprived of their cement, crumble into powder, and become 
diffused through the solution. When subjected to dilute muriatic acid, the earthy 
salts are dissolved, and the bone softens without losing its shape, and becomes 
semitransparent and flexible. The portion remaining unattacked by the acid is 
the gelatinous tissue, which may be converted into gelatin by long boiling. This 
is nutritious, and has been prepared so as to form a wholesome aliment by M. 
d’Arcet. His process for obtaining it consists in digesting bones in weak muri- 
atic acid for seven or eight days, occasionally renewing the acid, plunging them 
for a few moments in boiling water, and then subjecting them to a strong current 
of cold water. The pure animal matter, thus procured, is made into cakes, called 
portable soup (tablettes de bouillon), by dissolving it in water, concentrating 
the solution until it gelatinizes, and drying the jelly obtained. 
Composition. The bones of different animals, and of the same animal at dif- 
ferent ages, vary somewhat in composition. Dry ox-bones, according to Berze- 
lius, consist of bone-gelatin (cartilage of bone) 33 3, bone-phosphate of lime with 
a little fluoride of calcium 57 35, carbonate of lime 3 85, phosphate of magnesia 
2 05, soda with a very little chloride of sodium 3-45 = 100. Human bones differ 
somewhat in the proportions of their constituents, and in containing traces ol 
iron and manganese. According to Dr. W. Ileintz, however, bones exhausted 
by water, so as to remove the colouring matter of blood, contain not a trace of 
iron. Marchand found 1 per cent, of fluoride of calcium in human bone. Bone- 
phosphate of lime consists, according to Mitscherlich, of one eq. of acid and 
three of lime. This analysis makes it the tribasic subphosphate, and the same 
composition has been assigned to it by Dr. Heintz. 
Uses. Bones are applied to numerous uses. Burnt to whiteness, they furnish 
bone-phosphate of lime, from which phosphorus and all its compounds are either 
directly or indirectly obtained. (See Phosphorus.) Subjected to destructive 
distillation in close vessels, they yield impure carbonate of ammonia and empy- 
reumatic oil, and a carbonaceous residue, called bone-black. Calcined, pulverized, 
and washed, they form the material of which cupels are made. As bone-dust, 
they form an excellent manure. Deprived of their earthy salts by weak acids, 
they furnish a nutritious article of diet. By proper treatment with water they 
yield several varieties of gelatin, not only the coarser sorts, called size and glue, 
but also the finer kinds, which are employed, under the name of isinglass, in 
making animal jellies, and for the clarifying of wines. (See Ichthyocolla and 
Cornu.) The hoof bones of the ox, when boiled with water, furnish a peculiar 
oil, called neats-foot oil. (See Oleum Bubulum.) 
Off. Prep. Calcis Phosphas Prsecipitata, U.S.; Sodas Phosphas, U.S. 
Off. Prep, of Bone Ash. Calcis Phosphas Prsecipitata, Br. B. 634 
Ovum. 
PART I. 
OVUM. U.S. 
e99- 
The egg of Phasianus Gallus. U. S. 
White op Ego. The liquid albumen of the egg of Gallus Banckiva, var. do- 
mestica. Br. Appendix. 
(Eufv Fr.; Ei, Germ.; Ovo, Ital.; Iluevo, Span. 
The common dunghill fowl is supposed to have come originally from India, 
where it is found in a wild state. It is now almost everywhere domesticated. 
The egg, which is the only officinal product, consists of 1. an exterior cover- 
ing called the shell; 2. a white, semi-opaque membrane, lining the internal sur- 
face of the shell; 3. the white; and 4. the yolk. 
1. The shell—testa ovi or putamen ovi—consists, according to Yauquelin, 
chiefly of carbonate of lime, with animal matter, and a minute proportion of 
phosphate of lime, carbonate of magnesia, oxide of iron, and sulphur. When 
exposed to a high degree of heat in the open air, the carbonic acid is driven 
off, the animal matter consumed, and the lime is left nearly pure. 
2. The membrane lining the shell appears to be of an albuminous nature. 
3. The white—albumen ovi—is a glairy viscid liquid, contained in. very deli- 
cate membranes, without odour or taste, readily soluble in water, coagulable by 
the stronger acids, by alcohol, and by a heat of 160° F. Exposed in thin layers 
to a current of air, it becomes solid, retaining its transparency and solubility in 
water. By coagulation it is rendered sapid, white, opaque, and insoluble. At a 
temperature of 212°, one part of it renders one thousand parts of water in which 
it has been dissolved opaque. It contains, according to Dr. Bostock, in 100 
parts, 85 of water, 12 of pure albumen, 2-7 of mucus or uncoagulable matter, 
and 0 3 of saline substances, including soda with traces of sulphur. The white 
of egg is precipitated by chloride of tin, chloride of gold, subacetate of lead, 
sulphate of copper, corrosive sublimate, and tannin. When kept in the fluid 
state it soon putrefies; but, if carefully dried without coagulation, it may be 
long preserved unaltered, and may be applied in solution to the same purposes 
as in its original condition. 
4. The yolk—vitellus ovi—is inodorous, of a bland oily taste, and forms an 
opaque emulsion when agitated with water. By heat it is coagulated into a 
granular solid, which yields a fixed oil by expression. M. Gobley found 100 
parts of it to contain 51-486 of water, 15 760 of an albuminoid principle deno- 
minated vitellin, 21 -304 of margarin and olein, 0’438 of cholesterin, 7 226 of 
oleic and margaric acids, 1-200 of phosphoglyceric acid, 0 034 of muriate of 
ammonia, 0 277 of chlorides of sodium and potassium and sulphate of potassa, 
1 022 of phosphates of lime and magnesia, 0 400 of animal extract (exlraite de 
viande), and 0 553 of colouring matter, traces of iron, traces of lactic acid, &c. 
(Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., xii. 12.) According to MM. Valenciennes and Fremy, 
there are both albumen and vitellin in the yolk, the former being dissolved by 
cold water, the latter precipitated. They consider vitellin as closely analogous 
to fibrin, from which, however, it differs in not decomposing the peroxide of 
hydrogen. (Cliem. Gaz., Nov. 1, 1855, p. 410.) It is said that the yolk may be 
kept for a considerable time, without observable change, by adding to it 5 per 
cent, of sulphate of soda, in powder or concentrated solution. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Eggs are applied to various purposes in medi- 
cine and pharmacy. The shells, powdered and levigated, may be used beneficially 
as an antacid in diarrhoea. In common with oyster-shells, they possess the ad- 
vantage of uniting intimately animal matter with carbonate of lime, the particles 
of which are thus more thoroughly isolated, and prove more acceptable to the 
stomach than chalk, in the finest state of division to which the latter can ha PART I. 
Ovum.—Panax. 
635 
brought by mechanical means. The dose and mode of preparation are the same 
as those of oyster-shell. (See Testa.) 
The white of the egg is used chiefly for the clarification of liquids, which it 
effects by involving, during its coagulation, the undissolved particles, and rising 
with them to the surface, or subsiding. It is highly recommended as an antidote 
for corrosive sublimate and sulphate of copper, with which it forms insoluble and 
comparatively inert compounds. It is sometimes also used for the suspension of 
insoluble substances in water, but is inferior for this purpose to the yolk, and 
even to mucilage of gum arabic. Agitated briskly with a lump of alum it coagu- 
lates, at the same time dissolving a portion of the alum, and thus forming an 
astringent poultice, which may be advantageously applied between folds of gauze 
over the eye, in some states of ophthalmia. 
The yolk in its raw state is thought to be laxative, and is a popular remedy 
in jaundice. If beneficial in this complaint, it is probably in consequence of 
affording a mild nutritious diet, acceptable to the stomach and easily digested. 
In dyspepsia it is, from this cause, highly useful. The late Dr. Jos. Parrish, of 
Philadelphia, found great advantage in that complaint from the habitual use of 
the yolk of egg, beat up with water and a little ginger. In pharmacy, the yolk 
is highly useful as an intermedium between water and insoluble substances, such 
as the balsams, turpentine, oils, &c. It is a mistake to employ the white, instead 
of the yolk of eggs, in preparing emulsions. 
Off. Prep. Mistura Chloroformi. W 
PAN AX. U.S. Secondary. 
Ginseng. 
The root of Panax quinquefolium. U. S. 
Ginseng, Fr., Germ., Span.; Ginsen,Ital. 
Panax. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Digynia. (Polygamia Dioecia, Linn.)—Nat. 
Ord. Araliaceae. 
Gen. Gh. Flowers polygamous. Umbel simple. Calyx five-toothed. Corolla 
of five petals. Berry inferior, subcordate, two, sometimes three-seeded. Calyx 
in the male flower entire. Nuttall. 
Panax quinquefolium. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 1124; Woodv. Med.Bot. p. 149, 
t. 58; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. ii. 82. The ginseng has a perennial root, which 
sends up annually a smooth round stem, about a foot high, and divided at the 
summit into three leafstalks, each of which supports a compound leaf, consisting 
of five, or more rarely of three or seven petiolate, oblong-obovate, acuminate, 
serrate leaflets. The flowers are small, greenish, and disposed in a simple umbel, 
supported by a peduncle, which rises from the top of the stem in the centre of 
the petioles. The fruit is a kidney-shaped, scarlet berry, crowned with the 
styles and calyx, with two and sometimes three seeds. 
The plant is indigenous, growing in the hilly regions of the Northern, Mid- 
dle, and Western States, and preferring the shelter of thick, shady woods. The 
root is the part employed. This is collected in considerable quantities in Ohio 
and Western Virginia, and brought to Philadelphia and other cities on the sea- 
board for the purpose of exportation to China, where it is highly valued. Great 
quantities have recently been collected in Minnesota west of the Mississippi. 
Some suppose the ginseng plant of Chinese Tartary to be the same as ours; 
others believe it to be the Panax Schinseng of Nees Von Esenbeck; while by 
others, again, though acknowledged to be a Panax, it is thought to be a differ- 
ent species from either of those mentioned. While supplied with this drug ex- 
clusively from their own native sources, which furnished the root only in small 
quantities, the Chinese entertained the most extravagant notions of its virtues, 636 
JPanax.—Panis.—Papaver. 
PART I 
considering it as a remedy for all diseases, and as possessing almost miraculous 
powers in preserving health, invigorating the system, and prolonging life. It is 
said to have been worth its weight in gold at Pekin; and the first shipments 
made from North America to Canton yielded enormous profits. But the subse- 
quent abundance of supply has greatly diminished its value. 
The root is fleshy, somewhat spindle-shaped, from one to three inches long, 
about as thick as the little finger, and tenninated by several slender fibres. 
Frequently there are two portions, sometimes three or more, connected at their 
upper extremity, and bearing a supposed, though very remote resemblance to 
the human figure, from which circumstance it is said that the Chinese name gin- 
seng originated. When dried, the root is yellowish-white and wrinkled exter- 
nally, and within consists usually of a hard central portion, surrounded by a soft 
whitish bark. It has a feeble odour, and a sweet, slightly aromatic taste, some- 
what analogous to that of liquorice root. It has not been accurately analyzed, 
but is said to be rich in gum and starch, and contains albumen. Mr. S. S. Gar- 
rigues, of Philadelphia, obtained from it a peculiar substance, which he pro- 
poses to call panaquilon. To prepare it he heats a cold infusion so as to sepa- 
rate the albumen, filters, concentrates to a syrupy consistence, precipitates by a 
concentrated solution of sulphate of soda, washes the precipitate thoroughly 
with the saline solution, and then treats it with alcohol, which dissolves the 
principle in question, and yields it on evaporation. To purify it, he dissolves it 
in water, treats the solution with animal charcoal, again evaporates, and dissolves 
the residue in absolute alcohol, which is finally distilled off. Panaquilon is an 
amorphous yellow powder, soluble in water and alcohol, but not in ether, of a 
sweet bitterish taste, and has the characteristic property, that, when treated with 
strong acids, it is converted into a white substance, insoluble in water, with the 
escape of carbonic acid and water. Mr. Garrigues proposes for this white sub- 
stance the name of panacon. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxvi. 511.) The root is 
sometimes submitted, before being dried, to a process of clarification, which ren- 
ders it translucent and horny, and enhances its value as an article of export. 
The extraordinary medical virtues formerly ascribed to ginseng had no other ex- 
istence than in the imaginations of the Chinese. It is little more than a demul- 
cent, and in this country is not employed as a medicine. Some persons, however, 
are in the habit of chewing it, having acquired a relish for its taste; and it is 
chiefly to supply the wants of these that it is kept in the shops. W. 
PANIS. 
Bread. 
Bread made with wheat flour. Br. Appendix. 
See FARINA. 
Off. Prep. Cataplasma Carbonis. Br. 
PAPAVER. U. S., Br. 
Poppy. Poppy Capsules. 
The ripe capsules of Papaver somniferum. U. S. The nearly ripe capsules, 
dried and deprived of the seeds. Br. 
Capsules des pavots, Fr.; Kapseln des weissen Mohns, Germ.; Capidel papavero, Tlal.; 
Cabezas de amapola, Span. 
Papaver somniferum. See OPIUM. 
Id England the poppy is cultivated chiefly for its capsules, which are gathered 
as they ripen, and taken to market enclosed in bags. The Br. Pharmacopoeia 
directs them to be collected before they are quite ripe, as they then contain more 
of the active milky juice'; but, cut at this period, they are apt to lose their juice PART I. 
Papaver.—Pareira. 
637 
through the wounded surface, unless carefully kept inverted upon their crown 
while drying; and, even when thus treated, they are, according to the observa- 
tions of Buchner, less active than the capsules collected after perfect maturity, 
while they contain more of useless saccharine and mucilaginous matter. (Buch- 
ner's Bepert., 3 R., viii. 289 and 326.) M. Meurein states, as the result of his 
experiments, that the richest are those collected just before the maturity of the 
seeds, when the capsules have passed from their glaucous-green to a yellowish- 
green colour. (Journ.de Pharm., 3e ser., xxiii. 341.) They are occasionally 
imported; but as no effect is produced by them which cannot be as well obtained 
from opium, or some one of its preparations, they are little employed. 
Dried poppy capsules vary in size from the dimensions of a small egg to those 
of the fist. They differ also in shape according to the variety of the poppy from 
which they are procured. On the continent two sub-varieties of the white poppy 
are recognised, the long, and the round or depressed. Of these, according to 
Aubergier, the long are richest in morphia, and his conclusions are confirmed 
by Meurein, who also found the largest capsules most efficient. Those commonly 
kept in our shops are spheroidal, flattened below, and surmounted by a crown- 
like expansion—the persistent stigma—which is marked by numerous diverging 
rays that rise somewhat above its upper surface, and appear to be prolongations 
of partial septa, or partitions, proceeding along the interior circumference of the 
capsule from the top to the bottom. In the recent state, the seeds, which are 
very numerous, adhere to these septa; but in the dried capsule they are loose in 
its cavity. The capsules of the black poppy are smaller and more globular than 
those of the white, and contain dark instead of light-coloured seeds. There ap- 
pears to be no essential difference in their properties. Both kinds, when fresh, 
are glaucous, but when dry, as directed in the Pharmacopoeias, are of a dirty- 
white or purplish-brown colour, of a consistence somewhat like that of paper, 
inodorous, and with little taste, unless long chewed, when they are decidedly 
bitter. They contain principles similar to those of opium, which they yield to 
water by decoction, and have been employed in France for obtaining morphia. 
3Iedical Properties and Uses. Dried poppy-heads, though analogous to 
opium in medical properties, are exceedingly feeble. They are sometimes em- 
ployed in decoction, as an external emollient and anodyne application; and, in 
emulsion, syrup, or extract, are often used internally, in Europe, to calm irrita- 
tion, promote rest, and produce generally the narcotic effects of opium. 
Off. Prep. Decoctum Papaveris, Br.; Syrupus Papaveris, Br. W 
PAREIRA. U.S.,Br. 
Pareira Brava. 
The root of Cissampelos Pareira. U. S. The dried root. Br. 
Cissampelos. Sex. Syst. Dicecia Monadelphia. — Nat.Ord. Menispermacese. 
Gen. Ch. Male. Calyx four-leaved. Corolla none. Nectary rotate. Stamens 
four, with connate filaments. Female. Calyx one-leafed, ligulate roundish. Co- 
rolla none. Styles three. Berry one-seeded. 
Cissampelos Pareira. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 861; Woodv. Med. Bot., 3d ed., p. 
167, t. 65. This is a climbing plant, with numerous slender, shrubby stems, and 
roundish, entire leaves, indented at the top, covered with soft hair upon their 
under surface, and supported upon downy footstalks, inserted into the back of 
the leaf. The flowers are very small, and disposed in racemes, of which those in 
the female plant are longer than the leaves. The plant is a native of the West 
Indies and South America, and is supposed to be the source of the root brought 
from Brazil, under the name of pareira brava. According to Auguste St. Hilaire, 
however, true pareira is obtained from another species of the same genus, grow- 638 
Pareira. 
PART 1. 
ing in Brazil, and denominated C.glaberrima; while by Aublet it is referred to 
a species of Abuta, of the same natural family.* 
The root comes in pieces from the thickness of the finger to that of the arm, 
from a few inches to two or more feet in length, cylindrical, sometimes contorted 
or forked, and covered with a thin, firmly adhering, grayish-brown bark. The 
outer surface is marked with longitudinal and annular wrinkles, and sometimes, 
in the larger pieces, with knotty excrescences. The interior is ligneous, yellow- 
ish, very porous, marked by irregular concentric circles, inodorous, and of a 
sweetish, nauseous, bitter taste. The root imparts its virtues readily to water. 
M. Feneulle found in it a soft resin, a yellow'bitter principle, a brown substance, 
an azotized substance, fecula, acidulous malate of lime, nitrate of potassa, and 
various other salts. He considers the yellow bitter substance as the active prin- 
ciple. It is soluble in water and alcohol, and precipitated from its solution by 
tincture of galls. Wiggers announced, in 1838, the existence in pareira brava 
of an organic alkali, for which he proposed the name of cissampelina. He pro- 
cured it by boiling the root with water acidulated with sulphuric acid, precipi- 
tating by carbonate of potassa, dissolving the precipitate again in water acidu- 
lated with sulphuric acid, treating the solution with animal charcoal, precipitating 
anew with carbonate of potassa, drying and pulverizing the precipitate, treating 
i'/ repeatedly with ether, and evaporating the ethereal solution. The alkaloid 
thus obtained may be rendered entirely pure by dissolving it in dilute acetic acid, 
precipitating with carbonate of potassa, and washing and drying the precipitate. 
(Annal. der Pharm., xxvii. 29.) It is probably the chief ingredient of the bitter 
substance obtained by Feneulle. Peretti of Rome, and Pelletier afterwards, sepa- 
rated from the root an alkaloid, characterized by assuming a beautiful purple colour 
by contact with strong nitric acid. (Journ. de Pharm., xxvi. 162.) In Christison’s 
Dispensatory it is stated to be uncrystallizable, insoluble in water, soluble in ether, 
alcohol, and the acids, and of an intensely bitter and sweetish taste. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Pareira brava is said to be tonic, aperient, and 
diuretic. It was introduced into European practice so long ago as 1688, and at 
one time enjoyed considerable reputation as a lithontriptic. It has been recom- 
mended in calculous affections, chronic inflammation and ulceration of the kid- 
neys and bladder, leucorrhoea, dropsy, rheumatism, and jaundice. The purpose 
for which it is at present chiefly employed is for the relief of chronic diseases of 
the urinary passages. Sir Benjamin Brodie found it very useful in chronic in- 
flammation of the bladder, in allaying irritability of that organ, and correcting 
the disposition to profuse mucous secretion; and it has subsequently come into 
general use in the same affections. Advantage may often be derived from com- 
bining it, in this complaint, with one of the narcotics, as opium or hyoscyamus. 
In Brazil it is used in the cure of the bites of poisonous serpents; a vinous infu- 
sion of the root being taken internally, while the bruised leaves of the plant are 
applied to the wound. The dose of pareira brava in substance is from thirty 
grains to a drachm. The infusion, however, is more convenient. (See Infusum 
Pareirse.) A tincture, made by macerating one part of the root in five parts of 
alcohol, has been given'in the dose of a fluidrachm. The aqueous extract may 
be given in the dose of from ten to thirty grains. A fluid extract has been pre- 
pared, of which the dose is from half a fluidrachm to a fluidrachm.f 
Off. Prep. Decoctum Pareirae, Br.; Extractum Pareiros Liquidum, Br.; In- 
fusum Pareirae, U. S. W. 
* Parcira Bark. Though the root is the officinal part, the bark is probably possessed of 
similar virtues. A specimen which we had the opportunity of seeing at the International 
Exhibition at London in 1862, was in flat pieces, from two to four inches broad, about a 
line thick, extremely fibrous, so tough that it could be bent without breaking, of a very 
light dirty-yellowish colour, and covered with a light-coloured epidermis. 
f Fluid Extract of Pareira. This is prepared by Prof. Procter in the following manner. 
Of the root, in moderately fine powder, 16 troyounces are mixed with 4 fluidounces of Di- TART I. 
Pepo. 
639 
PEPO. U.S. 
Pumpkin Seed. 
The seed of Cucurbita Pepo. U. S. 
This is one of the officinals newly introduced into the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. 
The Cucurbita Pepo, or common pumpkin, is a plant too well known to need 
description. The seeds are the part used. These are oval, extended into a blunt 
point at one end, flattish, but somewhat swollen in the middle, with a distinct 
groove on both sides near the edge from one end to the other, when of full size 
about 9 lines long by 5 or 6 in breadth where broadest, of a light brownish-white 
colour, and a slightly sweetish, somewhat aromatic smell and taste. They consist 
of a firm brittle coating, and a white oily kernel; and contain a fixed oil, an 
aromatic principle, chlorophyll, sugar, gum, and an acid, soluble in water and 
alcohol, for which the name of citrullic acid has been proposed. Deprived oi 
their coating, and exhausted by ether, they yield 30 per cent, of fixed oil. (An- 
nuaire de Therap., A. D. 1862, p. 116.) 
Medical Properties. The seeds of the pumpkin have, within a few years, ob- 
tained in this country considerable reputation in the treatment of tapeworm. 
This employment of them, however, is not new. In the Dictionary of Materia 
Medica by Merat and De Lens (ii. 493), it is stated that Dr. Hoarau had re- 
ported that, in the Isle of France, the seeds of a small variety of pumpkin were 
used against the tapeworm, and wfith never-failing success. In the year 1820, 
M. Mongeny, a physician of Cuba, published the results of his experience with 
the flesh of the pumpkin in the same disease. He had discovered the remedy by 
accident, and found it uniformly successful. He gave to the patient, in the morn- 
ing, fasting, about three ounces of the fresh pumpkin in the form of a paste, and 
followed it at the end of an hour by about two ounces of honey, which latter was 
twice repeated at intervals of an hour. MM. Brunet and Lamothe, of Bordeaux, 
verified the statements of M. Mongeny, as to the efficacy of the remedy in tsenia, 
employing, however, a paste made from the seeds, in the quantity of about an 
ounce and a half, with as much sugar. (Ann. de Therap., 1853, p. 301.) 
In the Boston Med. and Surg. Journ. (October 8,1851,pa7e 201), is a com- 
munication from Mr. Richard Soule, recommending the seeds in very strong 
terms as a remedy in taenia; and his letter is preceded by some editorial obser- 
vations, in which reference is made to the previous successful employment of the 
remedy by Dr. J. S. Jones, of Boston. Since that time various other notices of 
the efficacy of the seeds have appeared in the journals, and a very striking case 
was related to ourselves, on the best authority, in which they had proved imme- 
diately and completely successful, after the vain employment of all other known 
remedies, through a course of several years. Mr. Soule gives the preference to 
the seeds from the West Indies. The dose of the seeds is about two ounces; 
which are to be taken in the morning, fasting, and followed in an hour or twro by 
a fluidounce of castor oil. The mode of administration is various. Sometimes 
the seeds, deprived of their outer covering, are beaten into a paste with sugar, 
and thus taken. In other instances they are formed into an emulsion, by rubbing 
them up thoroughly with water and a little sugar.* W. 
luted Alcohol, then packed in a conical percolator, and covered with a piece of cloth. 
Diluted alcohol is now added until three pints of tincture have passed, the first twelve 
fluidounces being set aside. The remainder is evaporated, by means of a water-bath, to 
4 fluidounces, which are mixed with the reserved portion; and the mixture, having been 
occasionally agitated for 24 hours, is filtered; sufficient alcohol being dropped into the 
filter to make the product measure a pint. A fluidounce of this represents a troyounce of 
* the root. (Proceedings of the Am. Phariri. Assoc., A. D. 1863, p. 231.) 
* The following emulsion, combining the virtues of the pumpkin seeds and male fern, 
has been recommended in tapeworm. Take of pumpkin seeds 600 grains, sugar 100 grains, 640 
Petroselinum. 
PART I. 
PETROSELINUM. U.S. Secondary. 
Parsley Root. 
The root of Petroselinum sativum. U. S. 
I’ersil, Fr.; Petersilie, Germ.; Prezzemolo, Ital.; Perexil, Span. 
Petroselinum. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Digynia.—Nat. Ord. Apiaceae or 
Umbelliferae. 
Gen. Gh. Umbels compound. Involucres, partial of many, general of few 
bractes. Calyx obsolete. Fruit ovate, contracted at the sides. Ridges five, 
narrow, equal, the lateral on the edge. Yittse one to each furrow. Albumen 
plano-convex. Lindley. 
Petroselinum sativum. Hoffmann, Umb. i. t. 1, f. 2; Lindley, Flor. Med. p. 
35.—Apium Petroselinum. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1475; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 
118, t. 45. Parsley has a biennial root, with an annual, round, furrowed, jointed, 
erect, branching stem, about two feet in height. The radical leaves are com- 
pound, pinnated in ternaries, with the leaflets smooth, divided into three lobes, 
and notched at the margin. In the cauline leaves, the segments of the leaflets 
are linear and entire. The flowers are small, pale-yellow, and disposed in ter-, 
minal compound umbels, with a one or two-leaved general involucre, and partial 
ones composed of six or eight leaflets. The petals are five, roundish, and inflexed 
at their apex. The seeds (half-fruits) are small, ovate, flat on one side, convex 
on the other, dark-green, and marked with five longitudinal ridges. They have 
a strong, terebinthinate odour, and a warm aromatic taste. 
The plant is a native of Sardinia, and other parts of Southern Europe, and 
is cultivated everywhere in gardens. All parts of it contain a volatile oil, to 
which it owes its odour and mainly its taste, as well as its use in seasoning. M. 
H. Braconnot obtained from the herb a peculiar gelatinous substance, resembling 
pectic acid in appearance, which he named apiin. It differs from pectin in being 
more soluble in alcohol than cold water, in not being precipitated by alcohol 
from its watery solution, and in being separated by acids from its alkaline solu- 
tions unaltered, whereas pectin is under these circumstances converted into pec- 
tic acid. (Journ. de Pharm., Be ser., xix. 448.) It is procured by boiling the 
herb in water, straining the liquor, and allowing it to cool. The apiin then forms 
a gelatinous mass, which requires only to be washed with cold water. (Philos. 
Mag., xxiv. 155.) Though the root is the part directed by the Pharmacopoeia, 
the fruit is at least equally efficient. Examined by MM. Joret and Homolle, the 
seeds were found to contain a volatile oil, a crystallizable fatty matter, pectin 
which they believe to be the apiin of Braconnot, chlorophyll, tannin, a colour- 
ing matter, extractive, lignin, various salts, and, in addition to these, a pecu- 
liar substance to which they gave the name of apiol. This is a yellowish oily 
liquid, not volatile, heavier than water, of a peculiar and tenacious odour dis- 
tinct from that of the plant, and an acrid, pungent taste. It is inflammable, in- 
soluble in water hot or cold, very soluble in alcohol, and dissolved in all pro- 
portions by ether and chloroform. It is analogous to the fixed oils, but is not 
ethereal extract of male fern 60 grains, water five fluidounces. Bruise the seeds in a mar- 
ble mortar with the sugar, add half a fluidounce of water, and, when a homogeneous paste 
has been obtained, add the extract of fern, and gradually mix in the rest of the water. 
The emulsion should be taken without straining, early in the morning, in four doses, at 
intervals of fifteen minutes; the bottle being well shaken each time. 
Oil of Pumpkin Seed. At the suggestion of the late Dr. H. S. Patterson, of Philadelphia, 
the expressed oil of the seeds was used in a case of tapeworm by Mr. John C. Lyons, and 
with success. After fasting for 24 hours, the patient took, in the morning, fj-ss of the oil, 
which was followed in two hours by more, and in two hours after the second dose by 
fjji of castor oil, which brought away the worm. It is probable that the oil obtained by 
the action of ether would be even more etfective.—Notes to the twelfth edition. part I. 
Petroselinum.—Phosphorus. 
641 
chemically modified by tho alkalies. It contains no nitrogen. To obtain it MM. 
Joret and Homolle exhausted the seeds with alcohol, treated the tincture with 
purified animal charcoal, distilled off three-fourths of the alcohol, treated the 
residue with ether or chloroform, evaporated the solution thus formed, mixed 
the residuary liquid with an eighth of its weight of litharge, allowed the mixture 
to rest twenty-four hours, and then filtered through a light layer of charcoal 
Apiol is supposed by its discoverers to be the antiperiodic principle of parsley. 
The root is spindle-shaped, about as thick as the finger, externally white, and 
marked with close annular wrinkles, internally fleshy and white, with a yellowish 
central portion. It has a pleasant smell, and a sweetish, slightly aromatic taste; 
but loses these properties by long boiling, and by time. It should be employed 
in the recent state. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Parsley root is said to be aperient and diu- 
retic, and is occasionally used in nephritic and dropsical affections, in connection 
with more active medicines. It was highly recommended by Professor Chap- 
man. The usual form of administration is that of strong infusion. The juice of 
the fresh herb has been employed as a substitute for quinia in intermittents; and 
the seeds, as well as their supposed active principle, have been employed with 
great asserted success in the same complaint. According to MM. Joret and 
Homolle, apiol acts on the system very much like quinia, producing, in the dose 
of about 15 grains, a slight cerebral excitation without unpleasant effects of any 
kind, and, in double or quadruple the quantity, giving rise to a species of in- 
toxication, with giddiness, morbid sights and sounds, frontal headache, and all 
the characteristic effects of a large dose of sulphate of quinia. They found it to 
cure intermittents, in temperate latitudes, in the proportion of 86 per cent, of 
the cases; and, though it proved less effectual in tropical regions, they seem to 
have shown that, in the absence of Peruvian bark or its preparations, it might 
be usefully resorted to as a substitute.* W. 
PHOSPHORUS. U.S. 
Phosphorus. 
Pkosphore, Fr.; Phosphor, Germ.; Fosforo, Ital., Span. 
This non-metallic element was discovered in 1669 by Brandt, an alchemist of 
Hamburg, who obtained it from putrid urine by a process which remained a 
secret until 17 37. As thus procured it was exceedingly scarce and costly. In 
1769, the Swedish chemist Gahn discovered it in bones, and shortly afterwards 
published a process by which it might be extracted from them. 
Preparation. Powdered calcined bones (bone-phosphate of lime) are digested 
for twenty-four hours with two-thirds of their weight of sulphuric acid, previously 
diluted with twelve times its weight of water. The sulphuric acid separates the 
greater part of the lime from the phosphoric acid, and precipitates as sulphate 
of lime; while a superphosphate of lime remains in solution. The liquid is then 
strained through a linen cloth to separate the sulphate of lime, and afterwards 
submitted to evaporation, which causes a fresh precipitation of sulphate, to be 
separated by a new straining. The strained solution is evaporated to a syrupy 
consistence, and then thoroughly mixed with half its weight of powdered charcoal, 
* Since the announcement of the antiperiodic properties of apiol, it has been found to pos- 
sess other virtues also. By MM. Joret and Baillot and other practitioners it has been em- 
ployed, with much success, as an emmenagogue in amenorrhoea and dysmenorrhoea, in the 
dose of about four grains morning and evening; being taken in the former affection in 
anticipation of the menstrual period, in the latter during its continuance. It is said also 
to have proved useful in the night-sweats of phthisis. From its unpleasant taste, it is most 
conveniently exhibited in capsules of gelatin. (Joum.de Pharm., Juin, 1861, p.456.) 642 
Phosphorus. 
PART I. 
so as to fo-’U a mass, which is dried by being heated to dull redness. The mass 
when cool is quickly transferred to a coated earthenware retort, furnished with 
an adopter of copper, bent downwards at right angles, so as to enter a bottle 
with a large neck containing water, which should rise about two lines above the 
orifice of the adopter. The bottle is closed round the adopter with a cork, which 
is traversed by a small glass tube, to give exit to the gaseous products. The re- 
tort is heated in a furnace, furnished with a dome, in the most gradual manner, 
so as to occupy about four hours in bringing it to a red heat. Afterwards the 
heat is pushed vigorously, so long as any phosphorus drops into the wmter; and 
this takes place generally for from twenty-four to thirty hours. During this part 
of the process, the excess of acid in the superphosphate is decomposed; its 
oxygen combining with the charcoal, and the liberated phosphorus distilling over. 
The calcined bones of the sheep are preferred; as they contain the largest pro- 
portion of phosphate of lime, and are most readily acted on by the acid. 
M. Cari-Montrand proposes to obtain phosphorus by passing dry muriatic 
acid gas over a mixture of equal parts of bone-phosphate of lime and finely 
powdered charcoal, contained in a porcelain tube, to which a glass tube is at- 
tached, dipping under water. Phosphorus and water distil over, carbonic oxide 
is evolved, and chloride of calcium is left. The following equation explains the 
reaction; 3Ca0,P05and 5C and 3IIC1 = P and 3HO and 5CO and 3CaCl. 
The following improved process for obtaining phosphorus on a large scale is 
given by Hugo Fleck, of Germany. Clean, broken bones, deprived of fat, are 
digested in dilute muriatic acid, which gives rise to the formation of chloride of 
calcium, and acid phosphate of lime (Ca0,2H0-f-P05). The bone-cartilage, 
remaining undissolved by the acid, is used for preparing gelatin. The solution 
is evaporated in pans until its sp. gr. is about 1 *4, and then run off to cool, when 
the acid phosphate crystallizes. This salt, having been separated from the mother- 
liquor by being pressed between cloths and dried, appears as a white gritty 
powder with a pearly lustre. The dry salt, warmed, and mixed with a fourth of 
its weight of charcoal, is distilled from clay cylinders, like gas retorts. Every 
five cylinders open into one receiver, shaped like a muffle, and contained in a 
channel through which water flows. The residual bone-phosphate of lime, in 
the cylinders, is incinerated upon iron plates to burn away the charcoal, and is 
thus saved to prepare fresh acid phosphate. By this process 100 lbs. of fresh 
bones yield from 6 to 7 lbs. of phosphorus, and from 10 to 20 of gelatin; while 
the process usually pursued gives only 4 or 5 lbs. of phosphorus. (Pharm. Journ., 
Sept. 1856, p. 175.) 
Properties. Phosphorus is a semitransparent solid, without taste, but pos- 
sessing an alliaceous smell. When perfectly pure it is colourless; but as usually 
prepared it is yellowish or reddish-yellow. It is flexible, and when cut exhibits 
a waxy lustre. It is said by M. Bcettger to be easily pulverizable by agitation 
with a solution of urea. {Journ. de Pharm., Juin, 1863, p. 488.) It is insoluble 
in water, but dissolves sparingly in ether, anhydrous alcohol, and the oils, and 
abundantly in bisulphuret of carbon and chloroform. Its sp. gr. is P84, and its 
equivalent number 32 (31-02 Schroetter). It takes fire at 100°, melts at 108°, 
and boils at 550°, air being excluded. During its combustion it combines with 
the oxygen of the air, and forms dry phosphoric acid. On account of its great 
inflammability, it must be kept under water. When exposed to the air it under- 
goes a slow combustion, emitting white vapours, which are luminous in the dark. 
It sometimes contains arsenic, and, therefore, when used in forming medicinal 
preparations, should be tested for that metal. It also occasionally contains 
antimony and sulphur. The latter impurity renders it brittle. 
Prof. Schroetter, of Vienna, discovered an allotropic form of phosphorus, 
which he called red or amorphous phosphorus. It is formed when ordinary 
phosphorus is kept long at a temperature between 419° and 482° F., in atmo- PART I. 
PJiosphorus. 
643 
spheres which have no action on it, or in closed glass tubes. Red phosphorus 
is much more indifferent than the ordinary substance, and is denser, its sp. gr. 
being 211. It is not acted on by the air, and is insoluble in bisulphuret of 
carbon, alcohol, and ether, in which ordinary phosphorus is soluble. Solidified 
from the fused state, it is brittle, and breaks with a conchoidal fracture. Its 
hardness is considerable. Obtained by distillation in a non-acting gas, it is mixed 
with ordinary phosphorus, from which it may be freed by bisulphuret of carbon, 
which dissolves the ordinary variety, and leaves the allotropic as a deep-red 
amorphous powder. It may also be purified by shaking it with a solution of 
chloride of calcium, of a density intermediate between that of red and ordinary 
phosphorus, and with a little bisulphuret of carbon. The red variety will sink 
to the bottom, and the ordinary float on top of the solution, dissolved in the 
bisulphuret. (E. Nickles.) Red phosphorus is not poisonous. This has been 
proved beyond a doubt by the experiments of MM. Ileynal and Lassaigne, and 
of MM. L. Orfila and Rigaut. It is applicable to the manufacture of lucifer 
matches, and forms a much safer material than ordinary phosphorus. It does 
not take fire by friction at common temperatures, and, therefore, may be trans- 
ported with the greatest safety. 
Phosphorus forms with oxygen hypophosphorous, phosphorous, and phosphoric 
acids. Of the last-mentioned acid there are three varieties, distinguished by con 
tabling, severally, one, two, or three eqs. of wTater. The only officinal compounds 
containing phosphorus are glacial and diluted phosphoric acids, phosphate and 
pyrophosphate of iron, and the phosphates of ammonia, lime, and soda. 
Medical Properties. Phosphorus, exhibited in small doses, acts as a powerful 
general stimulant; in large doses, as a violent irritant poison. Its action is 
directed particularly to the kidneys and genital organs, producing diuresis, and 
excitation of the venereal appetite. From its peculiar physiological action, it is 
considered applicable to diseases attended with prostration of the vital powers. 
It has been recommended in impotency, typhoid and typhus fevers, dropsy, 
phthisis, marasmus, chlorosis, paralysis, amaurosis, mania, facial neuralgia, &c. 
Those who work in phosphorus, as the manufacturers of lucifer matches, are 
liable to necrosis of the jaw-bones, the consequence of periostitis. The affection 
is probably produced by the inhalation of air contaminated with phosphorus 
vapour, which has a local action on the teeth, gums, and jaws, and a general 
deteriorating effect on the blood. Dr. James R. Wood has recorded, in the 
N. Y. Journ. of Med. for May, 1856, an interesting case of a girl of sixteen, in 
which the entire lower jaw was removed for necrosis caused by phosphorus. 
The usual form for exhibiting phosphorus is in oily solution. The Oleum 
Phosphoratum of the Prussian Pharmacopoeia is made as follows. Take of 
phosphorus twelve grains; almond oil, recently prepared, an ounce. Melt the 
phosphorus in the oil by the heat of warm water, and agitate until it appears 
to be dissolved. The ounce of oil takes up about four grains of phosphorus; 
and the dose of the solution is from five to ten drops, mixed with some mucil- 
aginous liquid. An aromatic flavour may be given by the addition of a few drops 
of oil of bergamot.. Dr. R. M. Glover has proposed to give phosphorus, dissolved 
in chloroform or cod-liver oil. He makes the chloroform solution, which is non- 
inflammable, by dissolving one part of phosphorus in four of chloroform. Of 
this solution he gives four or five minims, twice a day, with a drachm of ether, 
In a wineglassful of port wine, in typhoid fever. The solution in cod-liver oil 
is effected by adding the phosphorus, in chips, to the oil contained in a bottle, 
in the proportion of half a grain to the ounce. The bottle is then immersed in 
hot water, and the solution effected by shaking. This mode of giving phos- 
phorus was used by Dr. Glover in strumous cases. (See Braithwaite's Retrospect, 
Am. ed., xxvii. 246.) Phosphorus has been given with success in intermittents, 
dissolved in oil of turpentine. {Trans, of the Med. Soc. of Pennsylvania, iv. 644 
Phosphorus. 
PART I. 
119.) M. Tavignot gives pills made from an oleaginous solution of phosphorus. 
One and a half grains are dissolved, by means of a water-bath, in two drachms 
of almond oil; the solution is made into a pill mass by mixing it with two 
drachms of almond oil soap and a sufficient quantity of an inert powder; and 
the mass is divided into 100 pills. From two to four of the pills may be taken 
daily. {Journ. de Pharm., Aout, 1863, p. 137.) Dr. Crawcour shakes phosphorus 
cut fine in a bottle with boiling absolute alcohol until cold. The alcohol dissolves 
about two grains to the fluidounce, and from 30 to 60 drops of the solution may 
be given with a wineglassful or two of water. {Med. Times and Gaz., Feb. 1859, 
p. 222.) Great caution is necessary in the exhibition of phosphorus, and its 
effects should be closely watched. It ought never to be given in substance. 
Toxical Properties and Tests. Phosphorus, taken in a poisonous dose, pro- 
duces violent inflammation of the stomach and bowels, with intense pain, obsti- 
nate vomitings, tremblings, and, finally, convulsions on the approach of death. • 
If swallowed in sticks on a full stomach, the poisonous symptoms are some hours 
in manifesting themselves. When taken in substance, two or three grains of 
tartar emetic should be given to dislodge it. If swallowed in the state of solu- 
tion, copious draughts of cold water, containing magnesia in suspension, should 
be administered, in order to prevent the combustion of the phosphorus, and to 
neutralize any acid which may have been formed. A case is related by Dr. 
Landerer, in which a child who bad swallowed nearly a teaspoonful of phos- 
phorus paste,* prepared for killing rats, was saved by the free administration 
of magnesia, rubbed up with sugared water. Messrs. Antonielli and Borsarelli 
have shown, by numerous experiments on animals, that fatty matter increases the 
poisonous activity of phosphorus, and that the best antidote is calcined mag- 
nesia given largely with water. {Lancet, Feb. 5, 1859, p. 136.) Duflos has pro- 
posed, as an antidote, a mixture of one part of magnesia and eight of chlorine 
water. From experiments on rabbits, A. Bechert inferred that this mixture 
would prove useful; but similar experiments, made by Schrader, L. Hofmann, 
and Schuchardt, were without effect. From experiments on dogs, poisoned by 
phosphorus, MM. L. Orfila and Rigaut have shown that putrefaction is remark- 
ably retarded. In a case of chronic poisoning from the copious inhalation of 
phosphorus vapour, the principal results were a gradual decay of the sexual 
function and paralysis, terminating in death at the end of three years. 
B. Mitscherlich gives the following as a delicate test of phosphorus. The 
suspected substance is distilled with sulphuric acid and water from a flask, by 
means of a tube bent twice at right angles, into a vertical cooling tube, passing 
through the bottom of a wide glass cylinder filled with water, which is constantly 
kept cold by passing cold water in at the bottom, while the warm water escapes 
at the top. Under the cooling tube is placed a vessel to receive the distillate. 
If phosphorus is present, its vapour, mixed with steam, distils over, and gives 
rise to a distinct luminous appearance, visible in the dark, at the point where it 
enters the cold part of the cooling tube. The presence of alcohol and ether 
prevents the occurrence of the luminous appearance until they have distilled 
over. Oil of turpentine has the same effect permanently, but is not likely to be 
present in medico-legal cases. {Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., July, 1856, p. 280, 
from the Lancet.) This test acts equally well in the presence of fatty matters, 
as has been shown by M.Vrij. 
Off. Prep. Aeidum Phosphoricum Dilutum, U. S. B. 
* This paste is made as follows. Triturate six parts of phosphorus and one part of sul- 
phur with six parts of water, until they liquefy. Then mix in two parts of flour of mustard, 
eight parts of sugar, and twelve parts of rye flour, with the aid of ten additional | arts qf 
water, and stir the whole so as to form a soft paste, which must be kept in pots closely 
stopped. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., Sept. 1855, p. 473.) PART I. 
Pliytolaccx Bacca.—Phytolaccx Radix. 
645 
PHYTOLACCA BACCA. U.S. Secondary. 
Poke Berry. 
The berries of Phytolacca decandra. U. S. 
PHYTOLACCA RADIX. U. S. Secondary. 
Poke Root. 
The root of Phytolacca decandra. U. S. 
Phytolacca. Sex. Syst. Decandria Decagynia.—Nat. Ord. Phytolaccacese 
Gen. Gh. Calyx none. Petals five, calycine. Berry superior, ten-celled, ten- 
iroeded. Willd. 
Phytolacca decandra. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 822; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. i, 
3'ir; Barton, Med. Bot. ii. 213. This is an indigenous plant, with a large peren- 
nial root, often five or six inches in diameter, divided into two or three prin- 
cipal branches, soft, fleshy, fibrous, whitish within, and covered with a brownish 
cuticle. The stems, which are annual, frequently grow to the height o,f six or 
eight feet, and divide into numerous spreading branches. They are round, very 
smooth, green when young, but purple after the berries have ripened. The 
leaves are scattered, ovate-oblong, entire, pointed, smooth, ribbed beneath, and 
on short footstalks. The flowers are numerous, small, and in long racemes, which 
are sometimes erect, sometimes drooping. The corolla consists of five ovate, 
concave, whitish petals, folding inwards. The germ is green. There are ten 
stamens, and the same number of pistils. The raceme of flowers becomes a clus- 
ter of dark purple, almost black, shining berries, flattened above and below, and 
divided into ten cells, each containing one seed. 
The poke is abundant in all parts of th& United States, flourishing along 
fences, by the borders of woods, and especially in newly cleared and unculti- 
vated fields. It also grows spontaneously in the north of Africa and the south of 
Europe, where, however, it is supposed to have been introduced from America. 
Its flowers begin to appear in July, and the fruit ripens in autumn. The magni- 
tude of the poke-weed, its large rich leaves, and its beautiful clusters of purple 
berries, often mingled upon the same branch with the green unripe fruit, and the 
flowers still in bloom, render it one of the most striking of our native plants. 
The young shoots are much used as food early in the spring, boiled in the man- 
ner of spinage. The ashes of the stems and leaves contain a very large propor- 
tion of potassa, yielding, according to Braconnot, not less than 42 per cent, of 
the pure caustic alkali. In the plant the potassa is neutralized by an acid closely 
resembling the malic, though differing from it in some respects. The leaves, ber- 
ries, and root are used, but the two latter only are mentioned in the Pharma- 
copoeia. The root is most active. It should be dug up late in November, cut 
into thin transverse slices, and dried with a moderate heat. As its virtues are 
diminished by keeping, a new supply should be procured every year. The ber- 
ries should be collected when perfectly ripe, and the leaves about the middle of 
summer, when the footstalks begin to redden. 
The berries contain a succulent pulp, and yield upon pressure a large quan- 
tity of fine purplish-red juice. They have a sweetish, nauseous, slightly acrid 
taste, with little odour. The colouring principle is evanescent, and cannot be 
applied to useful purposes in dyeing, from the difficulty of fixing it. Alkalies 
render it yellow; but the original colour is restored by acids. The juice contains 
saccharine matter, and, after fermenting, yields alcohol by distillation. 
The dried root is of a light yellowish-brown colour externally, very much 
wrinkled, and, when in transverse slices, exhibits on the cut surface numerous 
concentric rings, formed by the projecting ends of fibres, between which the in- 046 
Phytolaccse Radix.—Pimenta. 
PART I. 
tervewing matter has shrunk in drying. The structure internally in the older 
roots is firm and almost ligneous; the colour yellowish-white, alternating with 
darker circular layers. There is no smell. The taste is slightly sweetish, and at 
first mild, but followed by a sense of acrimony. The active matter is imparted 
to boiling water and alcohol. From the analysis of Mr. Edward Donnelly, the 
root appears to contain tannic acid, starch, gum, sugar, resin, fixed oil, and 
lignin, besides various inorganic substances. (Am. Journ. of Pharrn., xv. 109.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Poke is emetic, purgative, and somewhat nar- 
cotic. As an emetic it is very slow in its operation, frequently not beginning to 
vomit in less than one or two hours after it has been taken, and then continuing 
to act for a long time upon both the stomach and bowels. The vomiting pro- 
duced by it is said not to be attended with much pain or spasm; but narcotic 
effects have been observed by some physicians, such as drowsiness, vertigo, and 
dimness of vision. In overdoses it produces excessive vomiting and purging, 
attended with great prostration of strength, and sometimes with convulsions. A 
case is recorded in the Stethoscope for March, 1852 (ii. 134), by Dr. Geo. F. 
Terrill, of Hanover Co., Va., in which death was produced in a woman by eat- 
ing a double handful of the berries. Free purgation followed upon the first day, 
after wliich coma set it, with great prostration, though death did not occur until 
after the sixth day. Poke root has been proposed as a substitute for ipecacu- 
anha; but the slowness and long continuance of its action, and its-tendency to 
purge, wholly unfit it for the purpose. In small doses it acts as an alterative, 
and has been highly recommended in the treatment of chronic rheumatism. Dr. C. 
S. Fenner, of Memphis, Tennessee, has found it highly useful, as an internal 
remedy, in granular conjunctivitis, especially in preventing the relapses to which 
the affection is so liable. The dose of the powdered root, as an emetic, is from ten 
to thirty grains; as an alterative, from one to five grains. A saturated tincture of 
the berries may be given in rheumatic cases, in the dose of a fluidrachm, three 
times a day. Dr. Fenner uses a saturated decoction, of which he gives a wine- 
glassful every two or three hours. A strong infusion of the leaves or root has 
been recommended in piles. An ointment, prepared by mixing a drachm of the 
powdered root or leaves with an ounce of lard, has been used with advantage 
in psora, tinea capitis, and some other forms of cutaneous disease. Dr. H. G. 
Carey, of Dayton, Ohio, has cured three cases of sycosis, and one of favus, by the 
local use of a decoction of the root. (Va. Med. Journ., Aug. 1856, p. 144.) It 
occasions at first a sense of heat and smarting in the part to which it is applied. 
An extract made by evaporating the expressed juice of the recent leaves has been 
used for the same purposes, and acquired at one time considerable repute as a 
remedy in cancer. W. 
PIMENTA. U.S.,Br. 
Pimento. 
The unripe berries of Eugenia Pimenta. U. S. Eugenia Pimenta. The dried 
unripe berries. Br. 
Allspice, Jamaica pepper; Piment, Poivre de la Jamaique, Fr.; Nelkenpfeffer, Germ.; 
Pimenti, Ital.; Pimienta de la Jamaica, Span. 
Myrtus. Sex. Syst. Icosandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Myrtaceas. 
Gen.Ch. Calyx five-cleft, superior. Petals five. Berry two to five-celled, 
many-seeded. Willd. 
Myrtus Pimenta. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 973; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 541,1.194. 
—Eugenia Pimenta. De Cand. Prodrom. iii. 285; Lindley, Flor. Med. p. 76. 
This is a beautiful tree, about thirty feet high, with a straight trunk, much 
branched above, and covered with a very smooth gray bark. Its dense and ever- 
verdant foliage gives it at all times a refreshing appearance. The leaves, which 
are petiolate, vary in shape and size; but are usually about four inches long, PART I. 
Pimenta.—Piper. 
elliptical, entire, blunt or obtusely pointed, veined, and of a deep shining green 
colour. The flowers are small, without show, and disposed in panicles upon tri- 
chotomous stalks, which usually terminate the branches. The fruit is a spherical 
berry, crowned with the persistent calyx, and when ripe is smooth, shining, and 
of a black or dark-purple colour. The tree exhales an aromatic fragrance, espe- 
cially during the summer months, when in flower. 
It is a native of the West Indies, Mexico, and South America, and is abun- 
dant in Jamaica, whence its fruit received the name of Jamaica pepper. The 
berries are the officinal part. They are gathered after having attained their full 
size, but while yet green, and are carefully dried in the sun. When sufficiently 
dry, they are put into bags and casks for exportation. 
Properties. The berries, as they reach us, are of different sizes, usually about 
as large as a small pea, round, wrinkled, umbilicate at the summit, of a brownish 
colour, and when broken present two cells, each containing a black hemispherical 
seed. They have a fragrant odour, thought to resemble that of a mixture of cin- 
namon, cloves, and nutmeg. Hence the name of allspice, by which they are best 
known in this country. Their taste is warm, aromatic, pungent, and slightly 
astringent. They impart their flavour to water, and all their virtues to alcohol. 
The infusion is of a brown colour, and reddens litmus paper. They yield a vola- 
tile oil by distillation. (See Oleum Pimentse.) Bonastre obtained from them a 
volatile oil, a green fixed oil, a fatty substance in yellowish flakes, tannin, gum, 
resin, uncrystallizable sugar, colouring matter, malic and gallic acids, saline 
matters, moisture, and lignin. The green oil has the burning aromatic taste of 
pimento, and is supposed to be the acrid principle. Upon this, therefore, to- 
gether with the volatile oil, the medical properties of the berries depend; and, 
as these two principles exist most largely in the shell or cortical portion, this 
part is most efficient. According to Bonastre, the shell contains 10 per cent, of 
the volatile, and 8 of the fixed oil, the seeds only 5 per cent, of the former, and 
2 5 of the latter. Berzelius considers the green fixed oil of Bonastre as a mix- 
ture of volatile oil, resin, fixed oil, and perhaps a little chlorophyll. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Pimento is a warm, aromatic stimulant, used 
in medicine chiefly as an adjuvant to tonics and purgatives, the taste of which 
it serves to cover; while it increases their warmth, and renders them more ac- 
ceptable to the stomach. It is particularly useful in cases attended with much 
flatulence. It is, however, much more largely employed as a condiment than as 
a medicine. The dose is from ten to forty grains. A tincture of pimento has 
been recommended as a local application in chilblains. 
Off. Prep. Aqua Pimentse, Br.; Oleum Pimentse. W. 
PIPER. U. S., Br. 
Black Pepper. 
The berries of Piper nigrum. U. S. The dried unripe berries. Br 
Poivre, Ft.; Sellwarzer Pfeifer, Germ.; Gemeine peper, Dutch; Pepe nero, Ital.; Pimi- 
enta negr&, Span.; Fifil uswud, Arab.; Lada, Malay; Maricha, Javan; Sahan, Falembang. 
Piper. See CUBE BA. 
Piper nigrum. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 159; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 121, t. 246; 
Carson, Illust. of Med. Bot. ii. 38, pi. 83. The pepper vine is a perennial plant, 
with a round, smooth, woody, articulated stem, swelling near the joints, branched, 
and from eight to twelve feet or more in length. The leaves are entire, broad- 
ovate, acuminate, seven-nerved, coriaceous, very smooth, of a dark-green colour, 
and attached by strong sheath-like footstalks to the joints of the branches. The 
lowers are small, whitish, sessile, covering thickly a cylindrical spadix, and suc- 
ceeded by globular berries, which are red when ripe. 
The plant grows wild in Cochin China and various parts of India. It is cul- Piper, 
PART I. 
tivated on the coast of Malabar, in the peninsula of Malacca, in Siam, Sumatra, 
Java, Borneo, the Philippines, and many other places in the East. The best 
pepper is said to be produced in Malabar; but Europe and America derive their 
chief supplies from Sumatra and Java. It appears to have been introduced into 
the West Indies; as a specimen of black pepper was seen by the author, at the 
International Exhibition in London, in 1862, among the products of Trinidad. 
The plant is propagated by cuttings, and is supported by props, or trees planted 
for the purpose, upon which it is trained. In three or four years from the period 
of planting, it begins to bear fruit. The berries are gathered before they are all 
perfectly ripe, and, upon being dried, become black and wrinkled. 
White pepper is the ripe berry, deprived of its skin by maceration in water 
and subsequent friction, and afterwards dried in the sun. It has less of the 
peculiar virtues of the spice than the black pepper, and is seldom employed. 
Properties. The dried berries are about as large as a small pea, externally 
blackish and wrinkled, internally whitish, of an aromatic smell, and a hot, pun- 
gent, almost fiery taste. They yield their virtues partially to water, entirely to 
alcohol and ether. Pelletier found them to contain a peculiar crystalline matter 
called piperin, an acrid concrete oil or soft resin of a green colour, a balsamic 
volatile oil, a coloured gummy substance, an extractive matter like that found in 
leguminous plants capable of being precipitated by infusion of galls, starch, a 
portion of bassorin, tartaric and malic acids, lignin, and various salts. Piperin 
tvas discovered by Professor CErsted, of Copenhagen, who considered it an or- 
ganic alkali, and the active principle of pepper. Pelletier, however, utterly 
denied its alkaline nature and medical activity, and ascribed all the effects, sup- 
posed to have been obtained from it, to a portion of the acrid concrete oil with 
which it is mixed when not very carefully prepared. When perfectly pure, 
piperin is in colourless transparent crystals, according to Pelletier without taste, 
fusible at 212°, insoluble in cold water, slightly soluble in boiling water which 
deposits it upon cooling, soluble in alcohol, ether, and acetic acid, decomposed 
by the concentrated mineral acids, with the sulphuric becoming of a blood-red 
colour, with the nitric, first of a greenish-yellow, then orange, and ultimately 
red. Christison, however, states in his Dispensatory, that the whitest crystals 
he had been able to obtain were still acrid, and emitted an irritating vapour 
when thrown on heated iron. As ordinarily procured the crystals are yellow. 
Piperin consists of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen; and its formula, 
according to Wertheim, is CTOH37]N3O10.* It is obtained by treating pepper with 
alcohol, evaporating the tincture to the consistence of an extract, submitting 
the extract to the action of an alkaline solution by which the oleaginous matter 
is converted into soap, washing the undissolved portion with cold water, sepa- 
* An interesting chemical investigation into the nature of piperin has been made by 
Wertheim, the result of which is that it probably consists of a volatile alkaline principle 
(ClaHTN), combined with an electro-negative compound (C58H30NO10), which, however, is 
thus far hypothetical. The former is obtained by distilling piperin mixed with soda and 
hydrate of lime, at a temperature between 300° and 320°. It is considered by Wertheim 
as identical with picolin, previously obtained by Dr. Anderson from the reaction of nitric 
acid on piperin, and described by him in a paper presented at the meeting of the British 
Association, at Edinburgh in 1850. (Chem. Gaz., Aug. 1849, p. 309, from Liebig's Annalen.) 
M. Cahours has since repeated the experiments of Wertheim, and obtained the same alka- 
line principle, which he names piperidin, and of which he gives the formula C10HnN, since 
changed by Wertheim to C12H13N. According to M. Cahours, it is a colourless liquid, having 
a mixed odour of ammonia and pepper, a very caustic taste, and a strong alkaline action. 
It is soluble in water in all proportions, and forms crystallizable salts with several acids. 
(Ibid., May 1, 1852, p. 167.) When piperin is heated with potassa, it yields, among other 
products, a peculiar acid, which has received the name ofpiperic acid. (Chem. Gaz., Jan. I, 
1858, p. 7. 
In the Pharmaceutical Journal (June, 1860, p. 605) is a description by Mr. Evans of thi 
microscopic structure of pepper, to which it may possibly be desirable to recur in instances 
of supposed adulteration. PART I. 
Piper.—Pix Burgundica. 
649 
rating the liquid by filtration, treating the matter left on the filter with alcohol, 
and allowing the solution thus obtained to evaporate spontaneously, or by a 
gentle heat. Crystals of piperin are deposited, and may be purified by alternate 
solution in alcohol or ether, and crystallization. The taste and medicinal activity 
of pepper probably depend mainly on the concrete oil or resin, and on the vola- 
tile oil. The concrete oil is of a deep-green colour, very acrid, and soluble iu 
alcohol and ether. The volatile oil is limpid, colourless, becoming yellow by 
age, of a strong odour, and of a taste less acrid than that of pepper itself. It 
consists of ten eqs. of carbon and eight of hydrogen, and forms a liquid, but not 
a concrete compound with muriatic acid. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Black pepper is a warm carminative stimu- 
lant, capable of producing general arterial excitement, but acting with greater 
proportional energy on the part to which it is applied. From the time of Hip- 
pocrates it has been employed as a condiment and medicine. Its chief medicinal 
application is to excite the languid stomach and correct flatulence. It was 
long since occasionally administered for the cure of intermittents; but its em- 
ployment for this purpose had passed from the profession to the vulgar, till a 
few years since revived by an Italian physician, to be again consigned to forget- 
fulness. Piperin has also beeu employed in the same complaint, and has even 
been thought superior to sulphate of quinia; but experience has not confirmed 
this favourable opinion. That, in its impure state, when mixed with a portion 
of the acrid principle, it will occasionally cure intermittents, there can be no 
doubt; but it is not comparable to the preparations of bark, and is probably 
less active than the alcoholic extract of pepper. In intermittent fever, when the 
stomach is not duly susceptible to the action of quinia, as sometimes in drunk- 
ards, pepper may be found a useful adjuvant to the more powerful febrifuge. 
The dose of pepper is from five to twenty grains. It may be given whole or in 
powder; but is more energetic in the latter state. Piperin has been given in 
doses varying from one to six or eight grains. 
Piper longum, though no longer officinal, deserves a brief notice here, if for 
nothing else, on account of its former position in medicine. This species of Piper 
differs from its congeners in having its lower leaves cordate, petiolate, seven- 
nerved, its upper oblong-cordate, sessile, and five-nerved; its flowers in dense, 
short, terminal, and nearly cylindrical spikes; and its fruit, consisting of very 
small one-seeded berries or grains, embedded iu a pulpy matter. It is a native of 
Southeastern Asia, and is produced abundantly in Bengal and other parts of 
Hindostan. The fruit is green when immature, and becomes red as it ripens. It 
is gathered in the former state, as it is then hotter than when perfectly ripe. The 
whole spike is taken from the plant, and dried in the sun. Long pepper, as the 
fruit is called, is cylindrical, an inch or more in length, indented on its surface, 
of a dark-gray colour, a weak aromatic odour, and a pungent fiery taste. M. 
Dulong found its chemical composition to be closely analogous to that of black 
pepper. Like that it contains piperin, a concrete oil or soft resin upon which 
its burning acrimony depends, and a volatile oil to which it probably owes its 
odour. Its medical virtues are essentially the same as those of black pepper: 
but it is considered inferior to that spice, and is seldom used. 
Off. Prep. Confectio Piperis, Br.; Oleoresina Piperis, U. S. W. 
PIX BURGUNDICA. U.S., Br. 
Burgundy Pitch. 
The prepared concrete juice of Abies excelsa. U. S. A resinous exudation 
from the stem, melted and strained. Br. 
Poix de Bourgogne, Poix jaune, Poix blanche, .Fr.; Burgundisches Pech, Germ. Pix Burgundica. 
PART I. 
The genus Pinus of Linnaeus has been divided into three genera, viz., Pinus, 
Abies, and Larix; the first including the pines, the second the firs and spruces, 
and the third the larches; and the division is recognised in this work. 
Abies. Sex. Syst. Monoecia Monadelphia.—Nat. Ord. Pinacese or Conifer®. 
Gen. Gh. Male flowers. Calkins solitary, not racemose; Scales staminife- 
rous at the apex. Stamens two, with one-celled anthers. Females. Catkins 
simple. Ocaries two. Stigmas glandular. Cone with imbricated scales, which 
are thin at the apex, aud rounded. Cotyledons digitate-partite. Leaves solitary 
in each sheath. De Cand. 
Abies excelsa. De Candolle. — A. communis. Loudon’s Encyc. of Plants. — 
Pinus Abies Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 50G; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 4, t. 2. The Nor- 
way spruce is a very lofty tree, rising sometimes one hundred and fifty feet 
in height, with a trunk from three to five feet in diameter. The leaves, which 
stand thickly upon the branches, are short, obscurely four-cornered, often curved, 
of a dusky-green colour, and shining on the upper surface. The male aments 
are purple and axillary, the female of the same colour, but usually terminal. The 
fruit is in pendent, purple, nearly cylindrical strobiles, the scales of which are 
oval, pointed, and ragged at the edges. 
This tree is a native of Europe and Northern Asia. Though designated as 
the source of Burgundy pitch, it furnishes but a part of the substance sold under 
that name by the druggists. Tingley asserts that the real Burgundy pitch is 
obtained from the Abies picea, or European silver fir tree. According to Geiger, 
who is probably correct, it is procured from both species. To obtain the pitch, 
portions of the bark are removed so as to lay bare the wood, and the flakes of 
concrete resinous matter which form upon the surface of the wound, having been 
detached by iron instruments, are melted water in large boilers, and then 
strained through coarse cloths. It is called Burgundy pitch from the province 
of that name in the east of France. We are told that the greater portion is 
collected in the neighbourhood of Neufchatel. 
From various species of pine, in different parts of Europe, a similar product 
is obtained and sold by the same name. It is prepared by removing the juice 
which concretes upon the bark of the tree, or upon the surface of iucisions, 
called galipot by the French, and purifying it by melting, and straining either 
through cloth or a layer of straw. A factitious Burgundy pitch is made by 
melting together common pitch, rosin, and turpentine, and agitating the mixture 
with water, which gives it the requisite yellowish colour. Its odour is different 
from that of the genuine. 
As brought to this country, Burgundy pitch is generally mixed with impuri- 
ties, which require that it should be melted and strained before being used. In 
its pure state it is hard, brittle, quite opaque, of a yellowish or brownish-vellow 
colour, and a weak terebinthinate taste and odour. It is very fusible, and at the 
heat of the body softens and becomes adhesive. It differs from turpentine in 
containing a smaller proportion of volatile oil. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Applied to the skin in the shape of a plaster, 
Burgundy pitch acts as a gentle rubefacient, producing a slight inflammation and 
serous effusion without separating the cuticle. Sometimes it excites a papillary 
or vesicular eruption ; and we have known it to act upon the surface as a violent 
poison, giving rise to severe pain, swelling, and redness, followed by vesication 
and even ulceration. It is used chiefly in chronic rheumatic pains, and in chronic 
affections of the chest or abdomen, which call for a gentle but long-continued 
revulsion to the skin. A plaster of Burgundy pitch has been found very useful 
in malignant pustules. (Ann. de Therap., A. D. 1860, p. 103.) 
Off. Prep. Emplastrum Antimonii, U. S.; Emplast. Ferri; Emplast. Galbani 
Comp., U. S.; Emplast. Opii, U. S.; Emplast. Picis, Br.; Emplast. Picis Burg*m- 
dicae, U. S.; Emplast. Picis cum Cantharide, U. S. YY PART I. 
Pix Canadensis.—Pix Liquida. 
651 
PIX CANADENSIS. U.S. 
Canada Pitch. 
The prepared concrete juice of Abies Canadensis. XJ. S. 
Abies. See PIX BURGUNDICA. 
Abies Canadensis. Michaux, N. Am. Sylv. iii. 185.—Pinus Canadensis. 
Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 505. This is the hemlock spruce of the United States and 
Canada. When of full growth it is often seventy or eighty feet high, with a 
trunk two or three feet in diameter, and of nearly uniform dimensions for two- 
thirds of its length. The branches are slender, and dependent at their extremi- 
ties. The leaves are very numerous, six or eight lines long, flat, denticulate, 
and irregularly arranged in two rows. The strobiles are ovate, little longer 
than the leaves, terminal, and pendulous. 
The tree is abundant in Canada, Nova Scotia, and the more northern parts 
of New England; and is found in the elevated and mountainous regions of the 
Middle States. Its bark abounds in the astringent principle, and is much used 
for tanning in the northern parts of the United States. It contains much less 
juice than some other of the Pinacese; and very little flows from incisions made 
into its trunk. But in the trees which have attained their full growth, and are 
about or have begun to decay, the juice exudes spontaneously, and hardens upon 
the bark, in consequence of the partial evaporation or oxidation of its volatile 
oil. The bark thus encrusted is stripped from the tree, broken into pieces and 
boiled in water. The pitch melts, rises to the surface, is skimmed off, and is 
still further purified by a second boiling in water. It is brought to Philadelphia 
from the north of Pennsylvania, in dark-coloured brittle masses, which, on being 
broken, exhibit numerous minute fragments of bark interspersed through their 
substance. From these it is purified in the shops, by melting and straining 
through linen or canvas. (Ellis, Journ. of Phil. Col. o/Pharm., ii. 18.) Another 
mode of collecting it is to make incisions into the body of the tree, and to 
remove the juice as it exudes. (Stearns, Am. Journ. o/Pharm., Jan. 1860, 
p.29.) 
Thus prepared it is hard, brittle, quite opaque, of a dark yellowish-brown 
colour, becoming still darker by exposure to the air, of a weak peculiar odour, 
and scarcely any taste. It softens and becomes adhesive with a moderate heat, 
and melts at 198° F. Its constituents are resin and a minute proportion of vola- 
tile oil. It is commonly known by the incorrect name of hemlock gum. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Canada pitch is a gentle rubefacient, closely 
analogous to Burgundy pitch in its properties, and employed for precisely the 
same purposes. It is, however, more readily softened by heat, and is sometimes 
almost too soft for convenient application at the temperature of the body. A 
volatile oil obtained from Abies Canadensis, and called oil of spruce, or oil of 
hemlock, has been employed to produce abortion, with the effect of endanger- 
ing the life of the female. (J. S. Paige, N. Y. Journ. of Med., viii. 184.) 
Off. Prep. Emplastrum Picis Canadensis, U. S. W. 
PIX LIQUIDA. U.jS., Br. 
Tar. 
The impure turpentine procured by burning from the wood of Pinus palustris 
and of other species of Pinus. U. S. A bituminous liquid, obtained from the 
wood of Pinus sylvestris and other Pines, by destructive distillation. Br. 
(xoudron, Fr.; Theer, Germ,.; Pece liquida, ItaL; Alquitran, Sjxm. Pix Liquida. 
PART I. 
The tar used in this country is prepared from the wood of various species of 
pine, particularly Pinus paluslris of the Southern States. (See Terebinthina.) 
The dead wood is usually selected, because, when vegetation ceases, the resinous 
matter becomes concentrated in the interior layers. The wood is cut into billets 
of a convenient size, which are placed together so as to form a large stack or 
pile, and then covered with earth as in the process for making charcoal. The 
stack is built upon a small circular mound of earth previously prepared, the 
summit of which gradually declines from the circumference to the centre, where 
a cavity is formed, communicating by a conduit with a shallow ditch surround- 
ing the mound. Fire is applied through an opening in the top of the pile, and 
a slow combustion is maintained, so that the resinous matter may be melted by 
the heat. This runs into the cavity in the centre of the mound, and passes 
thence by the conduit into the ditch, whence it is transferred into barrels. Im- 
mense quantities of tar are thus prepared in North Carolina and the south- 
eastern parts of Virginia, sufficient, after supplying our own consumption, to 
afford a large surplus for exportation. Considerable quantities of tar have been 
prepared also in the lower parts of New Jersey, in some portions of New Eng- 
land, and in Pennsylvania west of the Alleghany mountains, from the Pinus 
rigida, or pitch pine, and perhaps from some other species. 
Properties. Tar has a peculiar empyreumatic odour, a bitterish, resinous, 
somewhat acid taste, a colour almost black, and a tenacious consistence inter- 
mediate between that of a liquid and solid. It consists of resinous matter, 
united with acetic acid, oil of turpentine, and various volatile empyreumatic 
products, and coloured with charcoal. By distillation it yields an acid liquor 
called pyroligneous acid (see Acidum Aceticum), and an empyreumatic oil 
called oil of tar; and what is left behind is pitch. The empyreumatic oil has 
been ascertained by Dr. Reichenbach, of Moravia, to contain, besides oil of tur- 
pentine, six distinct principles, which he has named paraffin, eupion, creasote, 
picamar, capnomor, and pittacal. Of these, only picamar and creasote merit 
particular attention; the former as the principle to which tar owes its bitterness, 
the latter as the one upon which it probably depends chiefly for its medical vir- 
tues. (See Creasotum.) Tar yields a small proportion of its constituents to 
water, which is thus rendered medicinal, and is employed under the name of tar 
water. It is dissolved by alcohol, ether, and the volatile and fixed oils. 
The pitch, left after the evaporation of tar, was formerly officinal, with the 
British Colleges, under the names of Pix nigra, Pix arida, or simply Pix, but 
has been omitted in the present British Pharmacopoeia. It has a shining frac- 
ture, softens and becomes adhesive with a moderate heat, melts in boiling water, 
and consists of the resin of the pine unaltered, and of various empyreumatic 
resinous products which have received the name of pyretin. (Berzelius, Trait, 
de Chim.,\i. 641 and 680.) It appears to be very gently stimulant or tonic, 
and has been used internally in ichthyosis and other cutaneous diseases, and re- 
cently with great advantage in piles. The dose is from ten grains to a drachm 
given in pills. Pitch is also used externally in the form of ointment. 
Medical Properties and Uses. The medical properties of tar are similar to 
those of the turpentines. It is occasionally used with advantage in chronic ca- 
tarrhal affections, and complaints of the urinary passages. Little benefit can be 
expected from it in genuine phthisis, in the treatment of which it was formerly 
recommended. Dr. Bateman employed it advantageously as an internal remedy 
in ichthyosis. Its vapour, inhaled into the lungs, has been found serviceable in 
numerous cases of bronchial disease. Its effects in this way are most conveniently 
obtained by placing a cup containing tar or oil of tar in a small water-bath, 
over a common nurse-lamp, and thus impregnating the air of the chamber 
Externally applied, in the state of ointment, tar is a very efficient remedy in 
tinea capitis or scaldhead, and in some cases of psoriasis; and has been used PART I. 
Pix Liquida.—Plumbum. 
653 
with advantage in foul or indolent ulcers, and some other affections of the skin 
Some prefer for the same purpose a mixture of glycerin and tar.* 
It may be used in the form of tar water (see Infusum Picis Liquidse), or in 
substance made into pills with wheat flour, or mixed with sugar iu the form of 
an electuary. The dose is from half a drachm to a drachm, and may be repeated 
so as to amount to three or four drachms daily.f 
Off. Prep. Infusum Picis Liquid®, XJ. S.; Unguentum Picis Liquid®, U. S. 
W. 
PLUMBUM. 
Lead. 
Plomb, Fr.; Blei, Germ.; Lood, Dutch.; Piombo, Ital.; Plomo, Span.; Chumbo, Port. 
Lead is not officinal in its metallic state, but enters into a number of im- 
portant medicinal preparations. It occurs in nature as an oxide, as a sulphuret 
called galena, and in saline combination, forming the native sulphate, phos- 
phate, carbonate, chromate, molybdate, tungstate, and arseniate of lead. The 
oxide is rare, but galena is exceedingly abundant, and is the ore from which 
nearly all the lead of commerce is extracted. The process of extraction consists 
in melting the ore in contact with charcoal. The richest and most extensive 
mines of galena are found in this country. The lead region of the United States 
extends in length from the Wisconsin in the north to the Red river of Arkansas 
in the south, and in breadth about one hundred and fifty miles. 
Properties. Lead is a soft, bluish-gray, and very malleable metal, presenting 
a bright surface when newly melted or cut. It has a perceptible taste, and a 
peculiar smell when rubbed. It undergoes but little change in the air, but is 
acted on by the combined influence of air and water, which give rise to a hy- 
drated protoxide, which is afterwards changed, in part, into carbonate, by 
absorbing carbonic acid from the atmosphere. This chemical effect on the metal 
is greater in proportion as the water is purer. (See page 129.) Aqueous vapour 
passed through leaden pipes has a similar corroding effect, which is greater as 
the lead is purer. {Am. Journ. of Pharm., Nov. 1863, p. 507.) Its sp. gr. is 
i.1 *4, melting point about 612°, and eq. 103’5. Exposed to a stream of oxygon 
on ignited charcoal, itjburns with a blue flame, throwing off dense yellow fumes. 
The best solvent of lead is nitric acid; but the presence of sulphuric acid de- 
stroys, and that of muriatic acid lessens its solvent power, on account of the 
* Glycerinated Tar. The following formula has been recommended. Take of tar and 
glycerin, each, six troyounces, and of starch, in powder, two drachms. Mix the starch 
thoroughly with the glycerin previously warmed, then add the tar, and heat quickly to 
212°. Strain if necessary, and stir the mixture while cooling. (Pharm. Journ., Sept. 1862.) 
f Tar Beer or Wine of Tar. A preparation under this name has been used to some ex- 
tent in Philadelphia in pulmonary affections. The following is the formula recommended 
by Prof. Procter. Take of ground malt, honey, and tar, each, a pound; yeast half a pint. 
Mix the malt and honey with six pints of water in an earthen vessel; keep the mixture 
for three hours, with occasional stirring, at the temperature of 150° F., then allow it to 
cool to 80°, and add the yeast. Sustain the fermentation for 36 hours by a heat between 
70° and 80°, then decant the supernanant liquid, .add the tar gradually to the dregs, stir- 
ring constantly, so as to make a uniform mixture, and return the decanted fluid to the vessel. 
Stir the whole occasionally for a week, adding water to preserve the measure; then strain 
with strong expression, allow the expressed liquor to stand until it becomes nearly clear 
by subsidence, and finally filter through paper. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxii. 111.) 
A Syrup of Tar is prepared by Mr. Thos. A. Lancaster in the following manner. Take of 
tincture of tar (made in the proportion of two troyounces of tar to a pint of alcohol) 
carbonate of magnesia Jjj or q. s., white sugar Tbj avoird. Rub the tincture thoroughly with the 
carbonate; add half a pint of water gradually; then filter, and, when the liquid ceases to 
pass, pour water into the filter till the product measures half a pint; lastly, add the sugar 
and dissolve it by means of a gentle heat. The syrup may be given in the dose of half 
an ounce or an ounce. (Ibid., Nov. 1859, p. 555.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 654 
Plumbum. 
PART I. 
insolubility of the sulphate and chloride of lead. Lead forms five oxides, a diox- 
ide, protoxide, sesquioxide, deutoxide, and red oxide. The dioxide consists of 
two equivalents ofjead and one of oxygen. The protoxide, called in commerce 
massicot, may be obtained by calcining, in a platinum crucible, the subnitrate 
of lead, formed by precipitating a solution of the nitrate by ammonia. On a 
large scale it is manufactured by exposing melted lead to the action of the air. 
Its surface becomes encrusted with a gray pellicle, which, being scraped off, is 
quickly succeeded by another; and the whole of the metal, being in this way 
successively presented to the air, becomes converted into a greenish-gray pow- 
der, consisting of protoxide and metallic lead. This, by exposure to a moderate 
heat, absorbs more oxygen, and is converted wholly into protoxide. This oxide 
has a yellow colour, and is the only oxide of lead capable of forming salts with 
the acids. It consists of one eq. of lead 103 5, and one of oxygen 8=111-5. A 
variety of the protoxide, called litharge, is very much used in pharmacy, and is 
officinal in all the Pharmacopoeias. (See Plumbi Oxidum.) The sesquioxide, 
discovered by Winckelblech, is unimportant. The deutoxide, called also puce 
oxide from its flea-brovn\ colour, may be obtained by treating red lead with 
nitric acid. The acid takes up the protoxide and leaves the deutoxide, which 
may be purified by washing with boiling water. A more productive process is 
to precipitate four parts of acetate of lead by three of carbonate of soda, and 
then to pass into the thin pasty mass of carbonate of lead a stream of chlorine, 
which converts the protoxide of the carbonate into the brown deutoxide. (F. 
Wohler.) Solution of chlorinated soda may be conveniently employed to fur- 
nish the necessary chlorine. (F. F. Mayer, Am. Journ. of Pharm., Sept. 1856, 
410.) Deutoxide of lead is a tasteless powder, of a dark-brown colour. When 
heated to redness it loses half its oxygen and becomes protoxide. It consists 
of one eq. of lead 103-5, and two of oxygen 16 = 119-5. The red oxide, called 
in commerce minium or red lead, is described under another head. (See Plumbi 
Oxidum Pubrum.) Lead combines with iodine, forming the officinal iodide of 
lead. The acetate, carbonate, and nitrate are also officinal. 
The best tests of lead are sulphuretted hydrogen, and a solution of iodide of 
potassium. The former produces a black precipitate of sulphuret of lead, the 
latter, a yellow one of iodide of lead.- 
Medical Properties and Uses. The effects of lead in its various combina- 
tions are those of a sedative and astringent. It is used internally for reducing 
the action of the heart and arteries, and for restraining inordinate discharges; 
and externally as an abater of inflammation. When introduced into the system 
in a gradual manner with the food or drinks, or by working in the metal, or 
when taken in small and frequently repeated doses, it acts injuriously on the 
nervous system, producing a peculiar colic, called lead colic, sometimes apo- 
plectic symptoms, and occasionally palsy, which is almost always partial, and 
affects for the most part the upper extremities. In some instances salivation 
occurs; and, according to Dr. Henry Burton, the constitutional effects of the 
metal are indicated by a narrow lead-blue line at the edge of the gum, round 
two or more of the teeth, as a constant and early sign. According to Mialhe, 
lead gains access to the circulation by means of the chlorides of the alkalifiable 
metals in the alimentary canal, which form with the lead a soluble double 
chloride of lead and potassium, or of lead and sodium. The treatment necessary 
in lead colic is given under carbonate of lead. Lead palsy is usually attended 
with dyspepsia, constipation, tendency to colic, lassitude, and gloominess of 
mind, and is best treated, after the elimination of the lead, by tonics, aperients, 
exercise, and avoidance of the cause of the disease. The acute poisonous effects 
of the lead preparations are to be combated by emetics if free vomiting has not 
previously occurred, by purges of sulphate of magnesia or sulphate of soda, and 
by opium. These sulphates are supposed to act as antidotes by forming sulphate PART I. 
Plumbum. 
655 
of lead. It is probable that they lessen the poisonous effects of the soluble salts 
of lead; but the sulphate, though insoluble in water, may be to some extent 
soluble in the gastric juice; and, as to its external use in the form of ointment, 
it has been found by Flandin to prove poisonous to the inferior animals. 
For the purpose of eliminating lead from the system, warm sulphuretted baths 
are useful, formed by dissolving four ounces of sulphuret of potassium in thirty 
gallons of water, in a wooden tub. These baths cause discoloration of the skin, 
from the formation of sulphuret of lead, and should be repeated every few days, 
until this effect ceases to be produced. During each bath, the patient should 
be well washed with soap and water with the aid of a flesh-brush, in order to 
remove the discoloration. By proceeding in this way, the lead on the skin, or 
in its pores, is rendered insoluble and inert, and at the same time removed. Dr. 
Melsens praises iodide of potassium as a means of separating lead from the 
tissues, acting by rendering tlief metal soluble, and separating it principally by 
the urine. (See Potassii Iodidum.) 
Orfila has determined, by experiments on dogs, the appearance exhibited by 
the mucous membrane of the stomach, after the use of small doses of the salts 
of lead. After the action of such doses for two hours, dull white points are 
visible on the membrane, sometimes in rows and sometimes disseminated, and 
evidently consisting of the metal, united with the organic tissue. If the animal 
be allowed to live for four days, the same spots may be seen with the magnifier; 
and if sulphuretted hydrogen be applied to the surface, they are instantly 
blackened. (Archives Gen., Ze serie, iv. 244.) 
According to M. Gendrin, sulphuric acid, prepared like lemonade, and used 
both internally and externally, is a prophylactic against the poisonous effects of 
lead, especially the lead colic. It may be supposed to act by forming the com- 
paratively inert sulphate of lead with the poison. Mr. Benson, a manager of 
white lead works at Birmingham, has tried this acid, and finds it a preventive 
of lead colic in his establishment, where it was exceedingly prevalent before its 
employment. He uses it as an addition to ginger beer, to which bicarbonate of 
soda is also added to render it brisk, but not in sufficient quantity to neutralize 
the whole of the acid. On the other hand, the powers of sulphuric acid in pre- 
venting the poisonous effects of lead are positively denied by Dr. A. Grisolle, 
Dr. Melsens, and other authorities. Dr. Grisolle recommends that workmen 
employed in lead manufactories should use frequent baths, avoid intemperance, 
and always eat before they enter upon their work in the morning. He supposes 
that, in a great majority of cases, the metal is introduced into the system through 
the stomach by means of the saliva or food. 
According to MM. Sandras and Bouchardat, the hydrated sesquisulphuret of 
iron acts as an antidote to the salts of lead; and its; efficacy has been confirmed 
by its effects in a case reported by M. Lepage. {Ann. de Therap., 1857, p. 224.) 
After acute poisoning by lead, the metal has been found in the liver and brain. 
Indeed, it may be detected in most of the organs, a long time after the ingestion 
of the poison. 
The following table embraces all the officinal preparations of lead. 
Plumbi Oxidum, U. S.; Lithargyrum, Br. Oxide of Lead. Litharge. 
Emplastrum Plumbi, U. S.; Emplastrum Lithargvri, Br. Lead plaster. 
Litharge plaster. This plaster is used as the basis of several 
other plasters, and enters, through the soap plaster, into the 
soap cerate of the IT. S. Pharm. 
Liquor Plumbi Subacetatis, U. S., Br. Solution of Subacetate of Lead. 
Goulard’s extract. 
Liquor Plumbi Subacetatis Dilutus, U. S.,Br. Diluted Solution of 
Subacetate of Lead. Lead-water. 
Ceratum Plumbi Subacetatis, U. S.; Unguentum Plumbi Subace- 
tatis, Br. Cerate of Subacetate of Lead. Goulard’s cerate. 656 
Plumbum.—Plumbi Acetas. 
PART I. 
Plnmbi Iodidum, U. S. Iodide of Lead. 
Plurabi Acetas, U.S., Br. Acetate of Lead. Sugar of Lead. 
Pilula Plumbi cum Opio, Br. Pills of Lead and Opium. 
Plumbi Carbonas, U.S., Br. Carbonate of Lead. 
Unguentum Plumbi Carbonatis, TJ. S., Br. Ointment of Carbonate of 
Lead. 
Plumbi Nitras, U. S. Nitrate of Lead. B. 
PLUMBI ACETAS. U. S., Br. 
Acetate, of Lead. Sugar of Lead. 
Saccharum Saturni, Cerussa acetata, Lat.; Acetate de plomb, Sucre de plomb, Sel de 
Saturne, Fr.; Essigsaures Bleioxyd, Bleizucker, (?em.;*Zucchero di Saturno, Ital.; Azucar 
de plomo, Span. 
In the British Pharmacopoeia the following formula is given for preparing this 
salt. “Take of Litharge, in fine powder, twenty four ounces [avoirdupois]; 
Acetic Acid two pints [Imperial measure], ora sufficiency; Distilled Water one / 
pint [Imp. meas.]. Mix the Acetic Acid and the Water, add the Litharge, and 
dissolve with the aid of a gentle heat. Filter, evaporate till a pellicle forms, and 
set aside to crystallize, adding a little Acetic Acid should the fluid not have a 
distinctly acid reaction. Drain and dry the crystals on filtering paper, without 
heat.” Br. In the TJ. S. Pharmacopoeia the salt is more properly placed in the 
catalogue of the Materia Medica. 
Preparation. Acetate of lead is obtained by two methods. By one method, 
thin plates of lead are placed in shallow vessels filled with distilled vinegar, in 
such a manner as to have a part of each plate rising above the vinegar; and 
these are turned from time to time, so as to bring different portions of the metallic 
surface in contact with the air. The metal, after having become protoxidiZed, 
dissolves in the vinegar to saturation, and the solution is evaporated to the 
point of crystallization. This process is a slow one, but furnishes a salt which 
is perfectly neutral. The other method consists in dissolving, by the assistance 
of heat, litharge, or the protoxide of lead obtained by calcination, in an excess 
of distilled vinegar or of purified pyroligneous acid, contained in leaden boilers. 
The oxide is quickly dissolved, and, when the acid has become saturated, the 
solution is transferred to other vessels to cool and crystallize. The crystals 
having formed, the mother-waters are decanted, and, by evaporation, made to 
yield a new crop. These are generally yellow, but may be rendered white by 
repeated solutions and crystallizations. 
Acetate of lead is extensively manufactured in Germany, Holland, France, 
and England, as well as in the United States. It is principally consumed in the 
arts of dyeing and calico-printing, in which it is employed to form with alum 
the acetate of alumina, to act as a mordant. 
Properties. Acetate of lead is a white salt, crystallized in brilliant needles, 
which have the shape of prisms, terminated by dihedral summits. Its taste is at 
first sweet and afterwards astringent. Exposed to the air it effloresces slowly. 
It dissolves in four times its weight of cold, and in a much smaller quantity of 
boiling water. It is soluble also in alcohol. Its solution in common water is 
turbid, in consequence of the formation of carbonate of lead with the carbonic 
acid which such water always contains. This turbidness may be removed by the 
addition of a small proportion of vinegar, or of dilute acetic acid. In pure dis- 
tilled water, free from carbonic acid, it ought to dissolve entirely, and form a 
clear solution. The commercial acetate is sometimes impure from the presence 
of sulphate and carbonate of lead. In purchasing it the apothecary should 
select large crystalline masses. Mr. John Mackay analyzed a specimen of this PART I. 
Plumbi Acetas. 
657 
salt, derived from the London market, which contained nearly 30 per cent, of 
sulphate of lead. (Plmrm. Journ., Jan. 1856, p. 316.) Sulphuric acid, when 
added to a solution of acetate of lead, produces instantly a precipitate of sul 
phate of lead; and the disengaged acetic acid gives rise to vapours having the 
smell of vinegar. The salt, when heated, first fuses and parts with its water ol 
crystallization, and afterwards is decomposed, yielding acetic acid and pyro- 
acetic spirit (acetone), and leaving a residue of charcoal and reduced lead. An 
important property of sugar of lead is its power of dissolving a large quantity 
of protoxide of lead. (See Liquor Plumbi Subacetatis.) It consists of one eq. 
of acetic acid 51, one of protoxide of lead 111-5, and three of water 27 = 189-5; 
and its formula is Pb0,C4H303-f 3IIO. 
Incompatibles and Tests. Acetate of lead is decomposed by all acids, and 
by those soluble salts, the acids of which produce with protoxide of lead insoluble 
or sparingly soluble compounds. Acids of this character are the sulphuric, 
muriatic, citric, and tartaric. It is also decomposed by lime-water, and by am- 
monia, potassa, and soda; the last two, if added in excess, dissolving the pre- 
cipitate at first formed. It is decomposed by hard water, in consequence of the 
sulphate of lime and common salt which such water usually contains. With 
sulphuretted hydrogen it gives a black precipitate of sulphuret of lead; with 
iodide of potassium, a yellow one of iodide of lead; and with a carbouated 
alkali, a white one of carbonate of lead. “Thirty-eight grains dissolved in 
water require for complete precipitation 20 measures of the volumetric solu- 
tion of oxalic acidP Br. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Acetate of lead, in medicinal doses, is a power- 
ful astringent and sedative; in overdoses, an irritant poison. It has sometimes 
been given in pretty large doses in regular practice without bad effects; and 
cases are on record where a quarter of an ounce has been swallowed without 
proving fatal. On the other hand, it sometimes produces colica pictonum, even 
when given in medicinal doses. It is proper to remark, however, that the im- 
mediate effects of an overdose are often escaped by prompt and spontaneous 
vomiting; and that the remote constitutional effects are not apt to occur so 
long as the evacuations from the bowels are not materially diminished. The 
class of diseases in which acetate of lead has been most frequently used are 
hemorrhages, particularly from the lungs, stomach, intestines, and uterus. It3 
effect in restraining the discharge of blood is admitted to be very powerful. It 
has been employed by Dr. Burkart with supposed benefit in pneumonia, especially 
in cases occurring in the aged, in which bleeding or antimony cannot be borne. 
It has also been used with advantage in certain forms of dysentery and diar- 
rhoea, and has been recommended in particular stages of cholera infantum. 
Combined with opium, it is well suited to the treatment of the diarrhoea occur- 
ring in phthisis. It sometimes proves a valuable remedy in checking vomiting. 
Dr. Irvine, of Charleston, recommended it to compose the irritability of the 
stomach in yellow fever. Dr. Wood has employed it in several cases of yellow 
fever, at the beginning of the second stage, with apparently good effect. The 
dose recommended is two grains every two hours, given steadily until thirty-six 
grains have been taken. Dr. Wood conceives that the remedy is well suited to 
obviate the peculiar inflammation of the gastric mucous membrane, and to pre- 
vent hemorrhage, either of pure blood, or of altered blood in the form of black 
vomit. (Trans, of the College of Phys. of Philad., ii. 449.) Dr. Davis, of 
Columbia, S. C., has used acetate of lead with benefit in the irritable stomach 
attendant on bilious fever. It has been much extolled by the German practi- 
tioners, in the class of fevers attended with ulcerations of the intestines. In 
some of these cases it was advantageously combined with carbonate of ammonia. 
The same practitioners have strongly recommended it in aneurism of the aorta, 
and Dupuytren, on their report of its efficacy, tried it in several cases, and with 658 
Plumbi Acetas.—Plumbi Carbonas. 
PART I. 
marked effect id diminishing the size of the aneurismal tumonr. Dr. Wood has 
imitated the practice in aneurism of the aorta, and employed it in several cases 
of enlarged heart, with encouraging results. In the treatment of the latter dis- 
ease, the testimony of M. Brachet, of Lyons, is strongly in favour of the remedy. 
Acetate of lead has been employed by Drs. Neuhold and Hasserbronc, with re- 
markable success, in strangulated hernia, used in enemata, containing ten grains 
of the salt dissolved in six fiuidounces of tepid water, and repeated every two 
hours. In mercurial salivation, M. Brachet found it very efficacious, administered 
in grain pills, night and morning. The solution is frequently used as a collyrium; 
and, applied by means of cloths, or mixed with crumb of bread, it forms a good 
application to superficial inflammation. It is sometimes advantageous to asso- 
ciate opium with the solution, in which case the meconate of morphia of the 
opium is decomposed, with the result of forming acetate of morphia in solution, 
and meconate of lead which precipitates. A convenient lotion, containing an 
excess of acetate of lead, may be formed by adding four grains of the acetate 
and four of opium to a fluidounce of water. 
The practitioner should bear in mind that, when long continued in small doses, 
this medicine is apt to produce dangerous constitutional effects. These are chiefly 
of two kinds; 1. an affection of the alimentary canal, attended with severe pain 
and obstinate constipation, called colica pictonum, or lead colic; 2. a chronic 
affection of the muscles, especially of the extensors of the upper extremities, 
characterized by an excessive wasting of these organs, and denominated lead 
palsy. Both these affections are apt to be produced in those artisans who work 
in lead. The approach of these dangerous constitutional symptoms is indicated 
by a narrow lead-blue line at the edge of the gums. 
The dose of acetate of lead is from one to three grains, in the form of pill, 
repeated every two or three hours. It is generally given combined with opium. 
The solution for external use may be made by dissolving from two to three 
drachms in a pint of water; and, if it be wanted clear, a fluidraehm of vinegar 
or of dilute acetic acid may be added, which immediately dissolves the carbonate 
of lead, to which its turbidness is owing. When the skin is denuded of the 
cuticle, the solution should be weaker. The usual strength of the solution as a 
collyrium is from one to two grains to the fluidounce of distilled water. 
Off. Prep. Liquor Plumbi Subacetatis; Pilula Plumbi cum Opio, Br.; Zinci 
Acetas, U. S. B. 
PLUMBI CARBON AS. U.S.,Br. 
Carbonate of Lead. White Lead. 
Ceruse; Ceruse, Carbonate de plomb, Blanc de plomb, Blanc de ceruse, Fr.; Bleiweiss, 
Germ.; Cerussa, Lat., Ital.; Albayalde, Span. 
Preparation. Carbonate of lead is prepared by two principal methods. By 
one method it is obtained by passing a stream of carbonic acid through a solu- 
tion of subacetate (trisacetate) of lead. The acid combines with the excess of 
protoxide, and precipitates as carbonate of lead, while a neutral acetate remains 
in solution. This, by being boiled with a fresh portion of protoxide, is again 
brought to the state of subacetate, when it is treated with carbonic acid as be- 
fore. In this way the same portion of acetate repeatedly serves the purpose of 
being converted into subacetate, and of being decomposed by carbonic acid. 
The carbonate obtained is washed, dried with a gentle heat, and thrown into 
commerce. This process, which produces white lead of the first quality, was in- 
vented by Thenard, about the year 1802, and is that which is usually pursued 
in France and Sweden. 
A modification of the process of Thenard is now pursued by some manufae- part I. 
Plumbi Carbonas. 
659 
turers in England. It consists in mixing litharge with a hundredth part of 
acetate of lead, and subjecting the mixture, previously moistened with very little 
water, to a stream of carbonic acid. (Pelouze.) 
The other method, which consists in exposing lead to the vapours of vinegar, 
originated in Holland, and is usually pursued in England and the United States; 
but in England, with some modifications which are not well known. We shall 
describe this process as 'pursued by our own manufacturers. The lead is cast 
into thin sheets, made by pouring the melted lead over an oblong sheet-iron 
shovel, with a flat bottom, and raised edges on its sides, which is held in a slant- 
ing direction over the melting-pot. As many of these sheets are then loosely 
rolled up as may be sufficient to form a cylinder five or six inches in diameter, 
and seven or eight high, which is placed in an earthen pot containing about half 
a pint of vinegar, and having within, a few inches from the bottom, three equi- 
distant projecting portions in the earthenware, on which the cylinder of lead is 
supported, in order to keep it from contact with the vinegar. The pots thus 
prepared are placed side by side, in horizontal layers, in a building roughly 
constructed of boards, with interstices between them. The first layer is covered 
with boards, on which a stratum of tan or of refuse straw from the stables is strewed; 
and fresh layers of pots, boards, and tan or straw are successively placed until 
the building is filled. The sides are also enclosed with straw. The layers of pots 
contained in one building, called a stack, are allowed to remain undisturbed for 
about six weeks, at the end of which time they are unpacked, and the cylinder 
of sheet-lead in each pot, though still retaining its shape, is found almost en- 
tirely converted into a flaky, white, friable substance, which is the white lead. 
This is separated from.the lead yet remaining in the metallic state, ground in 
water, whereby it is washed and reduced to fine powder, and finally dried in 
long shallow reservoirs, heated by steam. 
Pelouze has succeeded in explaining all these processes on the same general 
principles. In Thenard’s process, it is admitted that the same portion of acetate 
of lead repeatedly unites with protoxide, and gives it up again to carbonic acid 
to form the carbonate. In the modified English process, referred to above, he 
supposes that the one per cent, of acetate of lead combines with sufficient litharge 
to convert it into subacetate, which immediately returns to the state of neutral 
acetate, by yielding up its excess of base to form the carbonate with the carbonic 
acid. The acetate is now ready to combine with a fresh portion of litharge, to 
be transferred to the carbonic acid as before; and thus this small proportion of 
acetate, by combining with successive portions of the litharge, finally causes the 
whole of the latter to unite with the carbonic acid. In the Dutch process, Pe- 
louze has rendered it almost certain, that none of the oxygen or carbonic acid 
of the carbonate is derived from the vinegar. In this process he supposes that 
the heat, generated by the fermentation of the tan or straw, volatilizes the vine- 
gar, the acetic acid of which, with the assistance of the oxygen of the air, forms 
with the lead a small portion of subacetate. This, by reacting with the carbonic 
acid, resulting from the decomposition of the tan or straw, or derived from the 
atmosphere, forms carbonate of lead, and is brought to the state of neutral 
acetate. The neutral acetate returns again to the state of subacetate, and, by 
alternately combining with and yielding up the protoxide, causes the whole of the 
lead to be finally converted into carbonate. 
The temperature of the stacks of pots in the Dutch process is about 113°. If 
it falls below 95°, a part of the lead escapes corrosion, and if it rises above 
122°, the product is yellow. The form of acetic acid usually employed in this 
process is vinegar; but the variable nature of that liquid as to strength and 
purity is an objection to its use; and, accordingly, other forms of the acid have 
been substituted with advantage; as, for example, the purified acetic acid from 
wood in a diluted state. Eor further information in relation to the processes 660 
Plumbi Carbonas. 
PART I. 
proposed or pursued for making white lead, the reader is referred to a paper by 
Prof. J. (). Booth, in the Journal of the Franklin Institute for Jan. 1842. 
Properties. Carbonate of lead is a heavy, opaque substance, in powder or 
friable lumps, insoluble in water, of a fine white colour, inodorous, and nearly 
insipid. Its beauty as a pigment depends in a great measure on the purity of 
the lead from which it is manufactured. Sulphuretted hydrogen blackens it. It 
is wholly soluble, with effervescence, in dilute nitric acid; and the solution is 
precipitated white by sulphuric acid, and yellow by iodide of potassium. Exposed 
to heat it becomes yellow, and with charcoal is reduced to the metallic state. It 
is sometimes adulterated with the sulphates of baryta, lime, and lead, particu- 
larly the first. M. Louyet has examined samples of French white lead, con- 
taining considerably more than half their weight of sulphate of baryta. These 
sulphates, if present, are left undissolved by nitric acid. Chalk or whiting is 
another adulteration. This may be detected by adding to the nitric solution of 
the white lead an excess of potassa, which will redissolve the protoxide of lead 
first thrown down, but leave a white powder of lime. Neutral carbonate of lead 
consists of one eq. of carbonic acid 22, and one of protoxide of lead 111-5 — 
133’5. Commercial white lead is a compound of the carbonate and hydrate ot 
lead. Mulder and Hochstetter make its formula to be 2(Pb0,C02) + Pb0,H0. 
According to Stein, white lead, when submitted to simple calcination, loses 14 5 
per cent, of its weight; and a mode of determining its purity is thus afforded. 
(Journ. de Pharm., Janv. 1859, p. 78.) But the fact seems to be, from the ob- 
servations of Mr. Wm. Baker, that commercial white lead contains variable pro- 
portions of the hydrated oxide, from a mere trace to the amount of 1 eq. to 3 
eqs. of the neutral carbonate. (Chem. News, Aug. 10, 1861, p. 74.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. White lead is ranked in the materia medica 
as an astringent and sedative. It is employed externally only, being used, in the 
form of ointment, as an application to ulcers, and to inflamed and excoriated 
surfaces. It is recommended in scalds and burns by Prof. Gross; and Mr. Alfred 
Freer has found it very useful in erysipelas, eczema, carbuncle, &c. {Pharm. 
Journ., Aug. 1859, p. 138.) The white lead is first brought to the consistence 
of cream by linseed oil, as in making common white paint, and then brushed 
over the inflamed surface. Its external use, however, is viewed by many prac- 
titioners as dangerous, on account of the risk of absorption ; but the occurrence 
of bad effects is rare. A case, however, of colica pictonum from the white lead 
treatment of a severe scald is reported by Dr. G. A. Kunkler, of Madison, la. 
(See N. A. Medico-Chir. Rev., July, 1857, p. 605.) 
Of the different preparations of lead, the carbonate is considered to be the 
most poisonous. Being extensively manufactured for the purposes of the arts, 
it is that preparation which, by slow absorption, most frequently produces the 
peculiar spasmodic colic, called colica pictonum. This disease is characterized 
by pain about the region of the navel, and by obstinate constipation attended 
with a frequent desire to evacuate the bowels, and is supposed to depend upon 
a spasmodic constriction of the intestinal tube, particularly of the colon. The 
principal indications in the treatment are, first to relax the spasm, and then to 
evacuate the bowels by the gentlest means. Opium and mild aperients, used 
alternately, are, accordingly, the best remedies, and among the latter castor oil 
and sulphate of magnesia are to be preferred. Indeed, the latter appears pecu- 
liarly adapted to the case; for, while it acts as an aperient, it operates to some 
extent as a counterpoison, by forming sulphate of lead with any soluble com- 
pound of the metal which it may meet with in the bowels. Calomel is often 
useful; and, if it happens to induce ptyalism, the complaint immediately yields. 
By some practitioners alum is deemed almost a specific in colica pictonum. 
Pharm. Uses. In preparing Liquor Gutta-perchae, U. S. 
Off. Prep. Unguentum Plumbi Carbonatis. B. part I. 
Plumbi Nitras. 
661 
PLUMBI NITRAS. U.S. 
Plumbum nitricum, Lat.; Nitrate de plomb, Ft.; Salpetersaures Bleioxyd, Germ.; Ni* 
trato di piombo, Itnl.; Nitrato de plomo, Span. 
This salt was introduced into the Materia Medica of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, 
chiefly as one of the substances employed in the preparation of iodide of lead. 
Though formerly directed by the Edinburgh and Dublin Colleges, it is not re- 
tained in the British Pharmacopoeia. The following is the process given in the 
late Dublin Pharmacopoeia for its preparation. 
“Take of Litharge, in fine powder, five ounces [avoirdupois]; Pure Nitric 
Acid two fluidounces ; Distilled Water three pints [Imp. meas.] ; Dilute Nitric 
Acid a s-ufficient quantity. To the litharge, placed in a porcelain dish, add the 
acid with a pint and a half of the water, and, applying a sand heat, and occasionally 
stirring the mixture, evaporate the whole to dryness. Upon the residue boil the 
remainder of the water, clear the solution by filtration, and, having acidulated 
it by the addition of a few drops of the dilute nitric acid, evaporate until a pel- 
licle begins to form. The heat being now#withdrawn, crystals will form on the 
cooling of the solution, which should be dried on blotting paper in a warm at- 
mosphere, and preserved in a close bottle.” 
In this process the nitric acid unites directly with the protoxide of lead to 
form the nitrate. This is in beautiful, white, nearly opaque, tetrahedral or octo- 
hedra’l crystals, which are permanent in the air, of a sweet astringent taste, soluble 
in seven and a half parts of water, and in alcohol, and composed of one eq. of 
acid 54, and one of protoxide 111*5 = 1G5 5, without water of crystallization. 
“Its solution is precipitated black by hydrosulphate of ammonia, white by ferro- 
cyanide of potassium, and yellow by iodide of potassium. When triturated with 
sulphuric acid, it forms a’ mixture, which colours morphia red, and, on being 
heated, evolves nitrous fumes.” (U. S.) 
Medical Properties, &c. The effects of this salt upon the system are the same 
as those of the other soluble salts of lead; but, though formerly employed, it 
is now quite out of use as an internal remedy. Externally it is occasionally 
applied to excoriated surfaces; and a solution made in the proportion of ten 
grains to an ounce of water, and coloured probably with alkanet, has been used 
on the continent of Europe, as a secret remedy, in sore nipples, chapped hands, 
cracked lips, &c. It has recently been found useful in the correction of fetid 
odours dependent on the presence of sulphuretted hydrogen or hydrosulphate 
of ammonia, which it decomposes. It is employed for this purpose in solution, 
which may be sprinkled in apartments, or applied to putrescent ulcers, or mixed 
with offensive discharges, the odour of which it is desirable to correct. It will 
not prevent the putrefaction of animal substances; and there is no-reason to 
suppose that it is capable of rendering contagious or marsh miasms innoxious. 
Ledoyen’s disinfecting fluid is a solution of nitrate of lead in the proportion 
of a drachm to an ounce. Should the salt be used internally, the dose would be 
from the fourth to the half of a grain. 
Dr. Ogier Ward has found a solution extremely useful as an injection and 
lotion in cases of fetid discharges from the uterus and vagina, in gleety dis- 
charges from the urethra, in sloughing and indolent ulcers, and in chronic im- 
petiginous affections of the skin. He prepares the solution extemporaneously 
by dissolving a scruple of carbonate of lead in sufficient diluted nitric acid for 
solution, and adding a pint of distilled water. The application is to be made twice 
or three times daily. (Prov. Med. and Surg. Journ., Oct. 15, 1851.) 
Off. Prep. Plumbi Iodidum, U. S. W. 
Nitrate of Lead. Plumbi Oxidum. 
?ART I. 
PLUMBI OXIDUM. U.S. 
Oxide of Lead. Litharge. 
Off. Syn. LITIIARGYREM. PbO. Br. 
Plumbi Ox) lum Sgmivitreum, Lat.; Semivitrified Oxide of Lead; Oxide de plomb fondu, 
Litharge, Fr.; Bleiglatte, Germ.; Litargirio, lial.; Almartaga, Span. 
When protoxide of lead is rendered serai-crystalline by incomplete fusion, it 
becomes the semivitrified oxide, or litharge. Almost all the litharge of com- 
merce is obtained, as a secondary product, in the process for extracting silver 
from argentiferous galenas. After extracting the argentiferous lead from the 
ore, the alloy is calcined in the open air; whereby the lead becomes oxidized, and 
by fusion passes into the state of litharge, while the silver remains unchanged. 
The following is an outline of the process. The lead containing tliQ silver is 
placed upon an oval slightly excavated dish, about three feet long and twenty 
inches wide, called a test, made by beating pulverized bone-ash, formed into a 
paste with water, into a mould, the sides of which consist of an elliptical band 
of iron, and the bottom of strips of sheet iron, placed at short distances apart. 
The test is of such a size as exactly to fit an opening in the floor of a reverbera- 
tory furnace, where it is placed and‘adjusted to the level of the floor. On one 
side of the test the fire-place is situated, and exactly opposite, the chimney; 
while at one extremity of it the pipe of a strong bellows is placed, and at the 
other a vertical hole is made, communicating with a gutter leading from the 
test. The furnace is now lighted, and shortly afterwards the bellows are put in 
motion. The lead fuses and combines with oxygen, and the resulting oxide, 
melting also, forms a stratum which swims on the surface, and which is driven 
by the blast of the bellows, along the gutter and through the vertical hole into 
a recipient below, where, upon solidifying, it crystallizes in small scales, which 
form the litharge. In proportion as the lead is oxidized and blown off the test, 
fresh portions are added, so as to keep it always sufficiently full. The process 
is continued for eight or ten days, after which no more lead is added. The 
operation is now confined to the metal remaining on the test; and, the oxidation 
proceeding, a period at last arrives when the whole of the lead has run off as 
litharge, and the silver, known to be pure by its brilliant appearance in the fused 
state, alone remains. This is then removed, and the process repeated on a fresh 
portion of argentiferous lead. 
Properties. Litharge is in the form of small, brilliant, vitrified scales, some 
presenting a red, and others a yellow colour. In mass it has a foliaceous struc- 
ture. It is devoid of taste or smell. It slowly attracts carbonic acid from the 
air, and contains more of this acid the longer it has been exposed. It is on 
this account that it commonly effervesces slightly with the dilute acids. It has 
the property of decolorizing wines, when agitated with them. When heated 
with the fats and oils, in connection with water, it saponifies them. (See Emplas- 
truvi Plumbi.) Heated with charcoal it is reduced to the metallic state. In 
dilute nitric acid it should be almost entirely soluble; and the solution is affected 
in the same manner as that of the carbonate. (See page 660.) As it occurs in 
commerce, it usually contains iron, copper, and a little silver and silica. It may 
be purified from iron and copper by digestion in dilute sulphuric acid. The 
English litharge is most esteemed; that from Germany being generally con- 
taminated with iron and copper. In choosing litharge, samples should be 
selected which are free from copper, and from fragments of vegetable matter 
Copper is detected, if, upon adding ferrocyanide of potassium to a nitric solu- 
tion of the litharge, a brown instead of a white precipitate is produced. Two 
varieties of litharge are distinguished in commerce, named from Aheir colour, 
and dependent on differences in the process employed. Sometimes it lies a pale- PART I. 
Plumbi Oxidum.—Plumbi Oxidum Rubrum. 
663 
yellow colour and silvery appearance, and is then denominated silver litharge 
or yellow litharge; at other times it is of a red colour, and is known u’Mer the 
name of gold litharge or red litharge. The latter has been said to owe its 
colour to the presence of a portion of red lead; but M. Leblanc has shown that 
the two varieties of litharge differ in colour, structure, and density only, and 
not in chemical composition. In composition litharge is essentially identical with 
the protoxide of lead. (See Plumbum.) The carbonic acid which it contains is 
variable; but its average amount is about 4 per cent. Peroxide of lead or red 
lead in litharge may be detected by heating it in a test tube with chloride of 
sodium and bisulphate of potassa, and introducing a slip of paper coloured blue 
by indigo. If either of these oxides be present, the paper will be bleached by 
the chlorine evolved. (Journ. de Pharm., Mars, 1860, p. 237.) 
Litharge is never used internally, but is employed in several pharmaceutical 
operations, and forms an ingredient in various external applications, used for 
abating inflammation, and for other purposes. By reaction with olive oil it forms 
the Emplastrum Plumbi, which is the basis of many of the Plasters. (See Em- 
plastra.) In the arts it is employed in the glazing of pottery, in painting to 
render oils drying, and as an ingredient in flint glass. 
Pharm. Uses. In preparing Digitalinum, Br. 
Off. Prep. Emplastrum Lithargyri, Br.; Emplastrum Plumbi, U. S.; Liquor 
Plumbi Subacetatis; Plumbi Acetas, Br. • B. 
PLUMBI OXIDUM RUBRUM. 
Red Oxide of Lead. 
Red lead, Minium; Deutoxide de plomb, Oxide rouge de plomb, Minium, Fr.; Mennig, 
Germ..; Minio, Ital., Span. 
Preparation. Red lead is prepared on the large scale in a furnace, with the 
floor slightly concave and the roof arched, presenting a general resemblance to 
a baker’s oven. The lead is placed on the floor, and gradually raised to a red 
heat, whereby it melts and becomes covered with a pellicle of protoxide, which 
is removed by means of a long iron scraper; and the pellicles, as they succes- 
sively form, are scraped off until the whole of the metal has been converted into 
them. The product is subjected to further calcination, with occasional stirring, 
for some time, in order to oxidize any particles of metallic lead. It is thus 
rendered yellow, and constitutes the protoxide of lead or massicot. This is 
taken out of the furnace, thrown upon a level pavement, and cooled by being 
sprinkled with water. It is next reduced to fine powder by trituration and levi- 
gation, and dried; and in this state is introduced into large, shallow, square tin 
boxes, which are placed in another furnace, closed from the air, and heated 
nearly to redness; the heat being allowed gradually to fall during a period of 
from twenty-four to thirty hours. At the end of that time the protoxide of lead 
will have combined with an additional quantity of oxygen, and become the red 
oxide. This is taken out, and, having been passed through a tine wire sieve, is 
packed in barrels for the purposes of commerce. 
The above is an outline of the French process for making red lead. In Eng- 
land and the United States, the calcination of the protoxide is not performed 
in tin boxes, but by returning it to the furnace in which it was first calcined. 
To save the first calcination, litharge is generally used for making the red lead 
of commerce, which consequently is liable to contain the impurities of that sub- 
stance, consisting of iron, copper, and a little silver and silica. Copper is hurtful 
in red lead when used for making glass, to which it communicates colour. In 
order to have red lead of good quality, it should be made in large quantities at 
a time. It is also important that it be slowly cooled; for, as the absorption of Plumbi Oxidum Rubrum.—Podophyllum. 
PART I. 
oxygen by which it is formed takes place during a particular interval of tem- 
perature only, it is necessary that the heat, within that interval, should be 
maintained sufficiently long to allow all the protoxide to absorb its appropriate 
dose of oxygen. Red lead is also prepared by exposing litharge to a high tem- 
perature with nitrate or carbonate of potassa or soda. 
Properties, &c. Red lead is in the form of a heavy, scaly powder, of a bright- 
red colour, with a slight shade of orange. Its sp. gr. is about 9. When exposed 
to heat it gives off oxygen, and is reduced to the state of protoxide. It is some- 
times adulterated with red oxide of iron and red bole, substances which may be 
detected by treating the red lead with nitric acid, and testing the nitric solution 
with tincture of galls. This reagent will produce a black precipitate, in conse- 
quence of the iron being dissolved by the nitric acid. If brick-dust be present, 
it will be left undissolved upon boiling the suspected specimen in water, with 
sugar and a small quantity of nitric acid. When free from impurities it is wholly 
reduced on charcoal by means of the blowpipe, giving a globule of metallic lead. 
It is completely soluble in highly fuming nitrous acid. (Ed. Pharm.) When 
treated with nitric acid it is resolved into protoxide which dissolves, and deut- 
oxide which remains in the form of a dark-brown powder. 
The red lead of commerce may be considered as a mixture of what may be 
called the true red oxide, and variable proportions of protoxide. That this is 
its nature is rendered probable by the action of cold dilute acetic acid, not used 
in excess, which takes up a variable quantity of protoxide, leaving a portion 
unchanged in colour, which may be deemed the pure red oxide. This latter, when 
analyzed by nitric acid, has been proved, by the coincident results of Dalton, 
Dumas, and Phillips, to consist of three eqs. of lead, and four of oxygen, equal 
to 2Pb0,Pb02 (Dumas), or PbO,Pb2Os (Wiuckelblech). Mulder gives Pb405 = 
3Pb0,Pb02, or 2Pb0,Pb203, as the usual composition of red lead. 
Red lead enters into no officinal preparation. In the arts it is used chiefly 
as a paint, and in the manufacture of flint glass. B. 
PODOPHYLLUM. U.S.,Br. 
May-Apple. Podophyllum. 
The rhizoma of Podophyllum peltatum. TJ. S. The Root dried. Br. 
Podophyllum. Sex. Syst. Polyandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Ranunculi, 
Juss.; Podophylleae, Lindley. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx three-leaved. Corolla nine-petaled. Berry one-celled, 
crowned with the stigma. Willd. 
* Podophyllum peltatum. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1141; Barton, Med. Bot. ii. 9; 
Carson, Illust. of Med. Bot. i. 18, pi. 11. The may-apple, sometimes also called 
mandrake, is an indigenous herbaceous plant, and the only species of the genus. 
The root (rhizoma) is perennial, creeping, usually several feet in length, about 
one-quarter of an inch thick, brown externally, smooth, jointed, and furnished 
with radicles at the joints. The stem is about a foot high, erect, round, smooth, 
divided at top into two petioles, and supporting at the fork a solitary one- 
flowered peduncle. Each petiole bears a large, peltate, palmate leaf, with six or 
seven wedge-shaped lobes, irregularly incised at the extremity, yellowish-green 
on their upper surface, paler and slightly pubescent beneath. The flower is 
nodding. The calyx is composed of three oval, obtuse, concave, deciduous 
leaves. The corolla has from six to nine white, fragrant petals, which are ob- 
ovate, obtuse, concave, with delicate transparent veins. The stamens are from 
thirteen to twenty, shorter than the petals, with oblong, yellow anthers, of twice 
the length of the filaments. The stigma is sessile, and rendered irregular on its 
surface by numerous folds or convolutions. The fruit is a largo oval berry, PART I. 
Podophyllum. 
665 
crowned with the persistent stigma, and containing a sweetish fleshy pulp, in 
which about twelve ovate seeds are embedded. It is, when ripe, of a lemon- 
yellow colour, diversified by round brownish spots. 
The plant is extensively diffused through the United States, growing luxu- 
riantly in moist shady woods, and in low marshy grounds. It is propagated by 
its creeping root, and is often found in large patches. The flowers appear about 
the end of May and beginning of June; and the fruit ripens in the latter part 
of' September. The leaves are said to be poisonous. The fruit has a subacid, 
sweetish, peculiar taste, agreeable to some palates, and may be eaten freely with 
impunity. From its colour and shape, it is sometimes called wild lemon. The 
root is the officinal portion, and is said to be most efficient when collected after 
the falling of the leaves. It shrinks considerably in drying. 
Properties. The dried root is in pieces about two lines in thickness, with 
swelling, broad, flattened joints at short intervals. It is much wrinkled length- 
wise, is yellowish or reddish-brown externally, and furnished with fibres of a 
similar, but somewhat paler colour. The fracture is short and irregular, and the 
internal colour whitish. The powder is light yellowish-gray, resembling that of 
jalap. The root in its aggregate state is nearly inodorous; but in powder has 
a sweetish not unpleasant smell. The taste is at first sweetish, afterwards bitter, 
nauseous, and slightly acrid. Both the decoction and tincture are bitter; but 
alcohol is said to be the best solvent of the active matter. A bitter substance 
was extracted from the root by William Hodgson, jun., of Philadelphia, by boil- 
ing it with quicklime in water, straining the decoction, precipitating the lime 
with sulphate of zinc, evaporating the clear solution to the consistence of an 
•extract, treating this with cold alcohol of 0-817, filtering and evaporating the 
alcoholic solution, and treating the residue with boiling distilled water, which 
deposited the substance referred to on cooling. (Journ. of the Phil. Col. of 
Pharm.,iii. 273.) Though the alcoholic solution of this substance is very bitter, 
it has upon trial been found not to be the purgative principle of the root. There 
can be little doubt, as suggested by Prof. F. F. Mayer, of New York, that the 
principle discovered by Mr. Hodgson is the alkaloid berberina. Indeed, the fact 
has been demonstrated by Mr. John M. Maisch, who separated this alkaloid from 
the mother-liquor remaining after the precipitation of the tincture by water. (Am. 
Journ. of Pharm., July, 1863, p. 303.) Prof. Mayer states, moreover, that the 
root contains, besides berberina, a colourless alkaloid. (Ibid., March, 1863, p. 98.) 
Analyzed by Mr. John R. Lewis, podophyllum yielded albumen, gum, starch, 
extractive, lignin, gallic acid, fixed oil, traces of volatile oil, salts of potassa 
and lime, and two resinous principles, one soluble in alcohol and ether, and the 
other soluble in alcohol only. Both resins were found to possess the active pro- 
perties of the root. Six grains operated as a drastic cathartic, with some emetic 
effect. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xix. 165.) To these ingredients saponin is to 
be added, on the authority of Prof. Mayer. (Ibid., March, 1863, p. 98.) Dr. 
Manlius Smith recommends that the resin should be prepared by forming an 
alcoholic tincture of the root, evaporating the tincture till most of the alcohol 
is driven off, and throwing the residue into water, by which the resin is preci- 
pitated. The concentration should not be carried too far; as otherwise the resin 
separates in clots, which cannot be easily washed. According to Dr. Smith, the 
resin, when pure, is white, and purges actively in the dose of two or three grains. 
It is called podop>hyllin. (Ibid., xxiv. 306.) For a more complete account of 
what is known of the resins of podophyllum, the reader is referred to the article 
on Resina Podophylli in Part II. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Podophyllum is an active and certain cathartic, 
producing copious liquid discharges without much griping, or other unpleasant 
effect. In some cases it has given rise to nausea and even vomiting, but the 
same result is occasionally experienced from every active cathartic. Its opera- 666 
Podophyllum.—Poly gala Rubella.—Potassium. 
PART I. 
tion resembles that of jalap; but is rather slower, and is thought by some to be 
more drastic. It is applicable to most inflammatory affections which require 
brisk purging; and is much employed in various parts of the country, especially 
combined with calomel, in bilious fevers and hepatic congestions. It is also fre- 
quently used, in connection with bitartrate of potassa, in dropsical, rheumatic, 
and scrofulous complaints. There do not appear to be sufficient grounds for 
ascribing to it special cholagogue powers. In minute doses, frequently repeated, 
podophyllum has been thought to diminish the frequency of the pulse, and to 
relieve cough; and for these effects has been given in haemoptysis, catarrh, and 
other pulmonary affections. 
The dose of the powdered root, as a purgative, is about twenty grains. An 
extract is prepared from it possessing all its virtues in a smaller bulk. (See Ex- 
tractum Podophylli.) Podophyllin, or resin of podophyllum, which has become 
officinal, is considerably used either alone, or in combination. Its dose as a 
cathartic is from one to three grains. 
Off. Prep. Extractum Podophylli, U. S.; Resina Podophylli. A". 
POLYGALA RUBELLA. U.S. Secondary. 
Bitter Poly gala. 
The root and herb of Polygala rubella. U. S. 
Polygala. See SENEGA. 
Polygala rubella. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 875; Bigelow, Am. Med. Pot. iii. 129. 
— P. polygama. Walter, Flor. Gar. 179; Pursh, Flor. Am. Sept. 465. Thil 
species of Polygala is an indigenous, perennial plant, with a branching, some- 
what fusiform root, which sends up annually numerous simple, smooth, and an- 
gular stems, from four to eight inches in height. The leaves are scattered, sessile, 
obovate or linear lanceolate, attenuated towards the base, obtuse, and mucronate. 
The flowers are purple, and in elongated terminal racemes. From the base of 
the stem proceed other racemes, which lie upon the ground, or are partially 
buried under it, and bear incomplete but fertile flowers, the calyx of which is 
without wings. 
This plant is found in many parts of the United States, preferring a dry sandy 
or gravelly soil, and flowering in June and July. The whole plant is officinal. 
It has a strong and permanent bitter taste, which it yields to water and alcohol. 
Medical Properties and Uses. In small doses bitter polygala is tonic, in 
larger, laxative and diaphoretic. The infusion of the dried plant has been usually 
employed to impart tone to the digestive organs. (Bigelow.) It appears to be 
closely analogous in medical virtues to Polygala amara of Europe, which is 
used for a similar purpose. W. 
POTASSIUM. 
Potassium. 
Fotassium, Fr.; Kalium, Kalimetall, Germ.; Potassio, Ital.; Potasio, Span. 
Potassium is a peculiar metal, forming the radical of potassa, and of a num- 
ber of other medicinal preparations. It was discovered in 1807 by Sir H. Davy, 
who obtained it by decomposing hydrate of potassa by galvanic electricity. It 
was afterwards procured in larger quantity by Gay-Lussac and Thenard, by 
bringing the fused alkali in contact with white-hot iron, which attracted the 
oxygen and set free the metal. The best process is that of Brunner, as modified 
by Wohler, which consists in decomposing potassa in the state of carbonate, 
mixed with charcoal. The mixture of carbonate and charcoal is obtained by 
heating cream of tartar to redness in a covered crucible. For an account of PART I. 
Potassium.—Potassse Bichromas. 
667 
some improvements in Brunner’s process by MM. Mareska and Donny, see Am. 
Journ. of Pharm. (xxv. 70). 
Potassium is solid, softer and more ductile than wax, easily cut with a knife, 
and of a silver-white colour. A newly cut surface is brilliant; but the metal 
quickly tarnishes by combining with the oxygen of the air, and assumes the 
appearance of lead. It possesses a remarkably strong affinity for oxygen, and 
is capable of taking that element from every other substance. On account of 
this property it must be kept in liquids, such as naphtha, which are devoid of 
oxygen. Its sp.gr. is 0'865, melting point 136°, equivalent number 39 2, and 
symbol K. When thrown upon water it swims, takes fire, and burns with a rose- 
coloured flame, combining with oxygen, and generating potassa which dissolves 
in the water. It forms numerous combinations, uniting with most of the non- 
metallie elements, and with several of the metals. It combines in two propor- 
tions with oxygen, forming a protoxide (dry potassa) of a gray, and a teroxide 
of a yellowish-brown colour. It also unites with chlorine, and forms officinal 
compounds with iodine, bromine, sulphur, cyanogen, and ferrocyanogen, under 
the names of iodide, bromide, sulphuret, cyanide, and ferrocyanide of potas- 
sium. Its protoxide (dry potassa) is a strong salifiable base, existing in nature 
always in combination, and forming with acids a numerous and important class 
of salts. Of these, the acetate, bichromate, carbonate, bicarbonate, chlorate, 
citrate, hydrate (caustic potassa), nitrate, permanganate, sulphate, tartrate, and 
bitartrate are officinal, and will be described under their respective titles. B. 
POTASSiE BICHROMAS. U.S. 
0 
Bichromate of Potassa. 
Bichromate of Potash. K0,2Cr03 = 147-5. Br. Appendix. 
Rod chromate of potassa; Kali chromicum rubrum, Lat.j Bichromate de potasse, Fr.; 
Zweifach Cliromsaures Kali, Germ. 
This salt is most conveniently prepared from the neutral or yellow chromate 
of potassa, by acidulating its solution with sulphuric acid, and setting it aside 
for a day or two. The acid withdraws one eq. of potassa from two of the neutral 
chromate, thus generating one eq. of the bichromate, which separates iii orange- 
red crystals. The yellow chromate is obtained by igniting four parts of pow- 
dered chrome-iron ore (Fe0,Cr203) with one part of nitre, and lixiviating the 
resulting mass with water. The solution, by evaporation, yields the yellow salt 
in crystals. In this process, the nitric acid of the nitre furnishes oxygen to con- 
vert the sesquioxide of chromium into chromic acid, which then unites with the 
potassa of the same salt. The iron, in the mean time, is sesquioxidized and 
rendered insoluble. Sometimes impure carbonate of potassa (pearlash) is sub- 
stituted for part of the nitre in the calcination. Omitting the nitre entirely, 
Stromeyer, of Norway, in performing the ignition, has used lime along with the 
pearlash, with economical results. When lime is employed, chromate of lime is 
formed, which is extracted by lixiviation, and decomposed by a soluble salt of 
potassa. When desired, the bichromate may be obtained directly from the solu- 
tion of chromate of potassa, derived from the treatment of the ore, by acidulating 
it with sulphuric acid, without first crystallizing it. For an account of the patent 
process of Prof. J. C. Booth, of this city, for obtaining bichromate of potassa, 
see Pharm. Journ. (xv. 34). 
Bichromate of potassa is in the form of orange-red, anhydrous, prismatic crys- 
tals, soluble in ten parts of cold and much less boiling water, but insoluble in 
alcohol. Its solution has an acid reaction. Its taste is cooling and bitter. Ex- 
posed to a heat somewhat under redness, it fuses, without decomposition, into 
a red liquid, which congeals on cooling into a crystalline mass, and then falls 668 
Potassse Bichromas.—Potassse Bitartras. 
PART I. 
into powder. At a red heat, it evolves oxygen, the neutral chromate and ses- 
quioxide of chromium being left, of which the former body is dissolved, when the 
mixture is acted on by water. ( U. S ) It consists of two eqs. of chromic acid and 
one of potassa. When one eq. of this salt is heated with four of sulphuric 
acid, chromium-alum is formed and oxygen evolved (KO,2Cr03 and 4SOs = 
Cr203,3S0s + K0,S03 and 30). 
Medical Properties, &c. Bichromate of potassa, in small doses, is alterative, 
in larger, emetic. Externally it acts as an irritant and caustic. It was tirst used 
internally, in 1850, by M. Robin, who gave it in secondary syphilis; and Prof. 
Heyfelder, of Erlangen, and M. Vicente afterwards employed it in the same 
disease with encouraging results. It acts like the mercurials on the syphilitic 
poison, and occasionally produces salivation. It was recommended, in 1827, by 
Dr. Cumin, in saturated solution, as a caustic application to tubercular eleva- 
tions, excrescences, and warts, and in 1850 by M. Puche in syphilitic vegeta- 
tions. It causes the morbid parts to shrivel and fall off. Dissolved in water, in 
the proportion of five grains gradually increased to a drachm to the fluidouuce, 
it has been found useful in affections of the mucous membranes requiring astrin- 
gents; and a solution has also been used with advantage for correcting the fetor 
of sloughing wounds. The dose as an alterative is one-fifth of a grain daily, in 
the form of pill made with extract of gentian, to be increased gradually to five 
or six pills a day. As an emetic the dose is three-quarters of a grain. It may 
be used as a caustic in the form of powder. 
In overdoses it operates as a violent irritative and corrosive poison, producing 
severe vomiting, frequent dark hemorrhagic dejections, violent abdominal pains, 
&c. More than one fatal case is on record. When the stomach does not relieve 
itself by vomiting, magnesia, bicarbonate of soda, or a solution of soap should 
be immediately given as an antidote. 
Bichromate of potassa is manufactured largely for the use of calico-printers. 
The workmen engaged in making it are liable to painful ulcerations of the hands ; 
and, in consequence of the acrid vapours evolved, violent irritation of the nos- 
trils is apt to be experienced, with severe pricking sensations and excessive 
sneezing, followed in time by destruction of the mucous membrane and even the 
septum itself. It is asserted that this result may be avoided by breathing through 
the mouth exclusively; the profuse secretion of saliva produced carrying off the 
poisonous particles. (B. and F. Med.-Chir. Rev., Oct. 18G3, p. 533.) It wras in- 
troduced into the Dublin Pharmacopoeia of 1850, not as a therapeutic agent, 
but to be used in forming artificial valerianic acid by reacting with fusel oil 
{Alcohol Amylicum), as a step in the process for preparing valerianate of soda. 
(See Sodas Valerianas.) For a full account of the manufacture of the chromium 
salts, used as dyes and pigments, see the Pharmaceutical Journal (xv. 32). 
Pharm. Uses. In the preparation of Sodae Valerianas, U. S. A solution of 
this salt, under the title of volumetric solidion of bichromate of potash, has 
been introduced as a test into the British Pharmacopoeia. B. 
POTASSES BITARTRAS. U.S. 
Bitartrate of Potassa. 
Off- Syn. POTASSA TARTRAS ACIDA. Acid Tartrate of Potash. 
HO,KO,C8IRO10. Br. 
Supertartrate of potassa, Crystals of tartar, Cream of tartar; Cremor tartari, Lat.; Tar- 
trate acide de potasse, Creme de tartre, Fr.; Doppelt weinsaures Kali, Weinsteinrahm, 
Germ.; Cremore di tartaro, ltal.; Cremor de tartaro, Span. 
During the fermentation of wines, especially those that are tart, a peculiar 
matter is deposited in the casks, forming a crystalline crust, called crude tartar 
or argol. That deposited from red wines is of a reddish colour, and called red PART I. 
Potassse Bitartras. 
669 
tartar; while that derived from white wines is of a dirty-white colour, and de- 
nominated while tartar. Both kinds consist of potassa, united with an excess 
of tartaric acid, forming bitartrate of potassa, rendered impure by tartrate of 
lime, more or less colouring matter, and other matters which are deposited 
during the clarification of the wine. The deposition of the tartar is thus ex- 
plained. The bitartrate exists naturally in the juice of the grape, held in solu- 
tion by saccharine matter. When the juice is submitted to fermentation in the 
process for converting it into wine, the sugar disappears, and is replaced by 
alcohol, which, not being competent to dissolve the salt, allows it to precipitate 
as a crystalline crust. It is from this substance that bitartrate of potassa is ob- 
tained by a process of purification. 
The wines made in the United States of course deposit tartar; but as yet the 
product has not been collected for the purposes of commerce. According to Mr. 
E. S. Wayne, of Cincinnati, the American catawba wine deposits about three 
pounds of crude tartar from a hundred gallons. We are informed by him that 
American tartar contains at least 15 per cent, of tartrate of lime. 
The process for purifying crude tartar is founded upon the greater solubility 
of bitartrate of potassa in hot than in cold water. The tartar, previously pul- 
verized, is boiled with water in copper boilers. The solution, when saturated, 
is transferred to earthen pans, where it deposits on cooling a crystalline layer, 
nearly free from colour. This is redissolved in boiling water; and the solu- 
tion, having been mixed with 4 or 5 per cent, of pipe-clay, is evaporated to a 
pellicle. The clay precipitates with the colouring matter; and the clear solu- 
tion, as it cools, deposits white crystals in crusts, which, upon being exposed 
to the air on linen for several days, acquire an increased degree of whiteness. 
These constitute the crystals of tartar of pharmacy. The salt, however, as met 
with in the shops, is generally, for greater convenience, in the form of powder, 
to which the name of cream of tartar properly belongs. 
Wittstein proposes to free cream of tartar from lime by dilute muriatic acid, 
which dissolves the lime preferably, and, if not used in excess, will take up very 
little of the potassa salt. For remarks on this subject by Tenner, of Berne, see 
the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (Jan. 1862, p. 39). 
Properties. Bitartrate of potassa occurs in commerce in white crystalline 
crusts, or masses of aggregated crystals, and is received in that state from 
France by our wholesale druggists, who procure its pulverization for the use of 
the apothecaries. In crystals it is hard and gritty between the teeth, and dis- 
solves slowly in the mouth; in powder it has a white colour. It is a permanent 
salt, having a sour not ungrateful taste and acid reaction, soluble in 184 parts 
of cold, and 18 of boiling water, but insoluble in alcohol. When exposed to 
heat it is decomposed, exhales a peculiar odour, gives rise to several pyrogenous 
acids, and the usual products of the destructive distillation of vegetable matter; 
carbonate of potassa, mixed with charcoal, being left. Its solution is precipi- 
tated by solutions of baryta, strontia, and lime, which form insoluble tartrates, 
and by acetate of lead, forming tartrate of legid. With salifiable bases which 
form soluble tartrates, it gives rise to double salts, consisting of neutral tartrate 
of potassa, and the tartrate of the base added. Several of them are important 
medicines, and will be described under their respective titles. Cream of tartar, 
though sparingly soluble in water, becomes abundantly so by the addition of 
borax or boracic acid. (See Sodse Boras.) 
The cream of tartar of commerce is not pure bitartrate of potassa. It usually 
contains from 2 to 5 per cent, of tartrate of lime, an amount admissible in 
samples for medicinal use. But it sometimes contains from 6 to 13 per cent, 
of tartrate of lime, according to the analyses of Mr. J. M. Maisch. It is said to 
be purposely mixed with various substances, among which are sand, clay, gypsum, 
flour, chalk, alum, and sulphate of potassa. Sand, clay, and gypsum may bo 670 
Potassx Bitartras.—Potassx Carbonas Impura. 
PART I 
detected by their insolubility in a hot solution of potassa; flour, by striking a 
blue colour with iodine; chalk, by its effervescing with dilute acids; alum, an 
unlikely sophistication, by its astringent taste; and any soluble sulphate, by 
causing a precipitate with chloride of barium, not entirely soluble in nitric acid. 
The action of the last-mentioned test is explained by the fact, that the tartrate 
of baryta is soluble in nitric acid, but not the sulphate. Another sophistication 
of cream of tartar is said to be with sugar of milk. The best security against 
fraud is to purchase the crystals, which are not so liable to adulteration as the 
powder. The U. S. Pharmacopoeia gives the following test. The salt is dissolved 
freely by a hot solution of potassa, from which it is again deposited by the 
addition of an acid; and whatever remains undissolved is impui’ity. According 
to the Br. Pharmacopoeia, 188 grains ignited till gas ceases to be evolved, leave 
an alkaline residue (carbonate of potassa) which requires for exact saturation 
100 measures of the volumetric solution of oxalic acid. This Pharmacopoeia 
admits a slight impurity of lime, probably in the form of tartrate. 
Composition. Cream of tartar consists of two eqs. of tartaric acid 132, one 
of potassa 47'2, and one of water 9 = 188-2. The water cannot be expelled 
without decomposing the salt, and is supposed to act the part of a base. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Bitartrate of potassa is cathartic, diuretic, and 
refrigerant. In small doses it acts as a cooling aperient, in large ones as a 
hydragogue cathartic, producing copious watery stools; and, from this latter 
property, as well as its tendency to excite the action of the kidneys, it is much 
used in dropsical affections. It is frequently prescribed in combination with 
senna, sulphur, or jalap. (See Confectio Sulphuris and Pulvis Jalapse Com- 
p>ositus.) Its solution in boiling water, sweetened with sugar and allowed to 
cool, forms an acid, not unpleasant, refrigerant drink, advantageously used in 
some febrile affections, and frequently employed as a domestic remedy. The 
beverage called imperial (potus imperialis) is a drink of this kind, made by 
dissolving half an ounce of the salt in three pints of boiling water, and adding to 
the solution four ounces of white sugar, and half an ounce of fresh lemon peel. 
Cream of tartar wliey is prepared by adding about two drachms of the bitar- 
trate to a pint of milk. It may be given, diluted with water, in dropsical com- 
plaints. The dose of cream of tartar is a drachm or two as an aperient; and 
from half an ounce to an ounce as a hydragogue cathartic, mixed with molasses, 
or suspended in water. Asa diuretic in dropsical cases, it may be given in the 
dose of a drachm and a half or two drachms, several times a day. 
In pharmacy, cream of tartar is employed to obtain the neutral tartrate of 
potassa (soluble tartar), tartrate of potassa and soda (Rochelle salt), tartrate 
of antimony and potassa (tartar emetic), and tartrate of iron and potassa (tar- 
tarized iron). Deflagrated with nitre, or incinerated alone, it is converted into 
a pure form of carbonate of potassa, called salt of tartar. In the laboratory it 
is used to procure potassa in a pure state, and for making black and white flux. 
Black flux is prepared by deflagrating cream of tartar with half its weight of 
nitre; and white flux, by deflagrating it with twice its weight of the same salt. 
Off. Prep. Acidum Tartaricum, Br.; Antimonii et Potass® Tartras, U. S.; 
Antimonium Tartaratum, Br.; Confectio Sulphuris, Br.; Ferri et Potass® Tar- 
tras, U. S.; Ferrum Tartaratum, Br.; Potass® et Sod® Tartras, U. S.; Potass® 
Tartras; Pulvis Jalap® Compositus; Sod® et Potass® Tartras, Br. B. 
POTASSiE CARBONAS IMPURA. U.S. 
Impure Carbonate of Potassa. 
The impure carbonate of potassa known in commerce by the name of pearl- 
ash. U. S. 
Pearlash, Pearlashes, Impure potassa, Impure subcarbonate of potassa; Potasse Uu PART I. 
Potassse Carbonas Impura. 
671 
commerce, Fr.; Rohe Pottasche, Germ.; Potasch, Dutch; Potaskc, Dan.; Potaska, Swed.; 
Potassa del commercio, Ital.; Cenizas claveladas, Span. 
The alkali potassa, in the strict sense of the term, is the protoxide of the metal 
potassium. (See Potassium.) It exists in various states of purity. In its most 
impure state, it is the common potash of commerce. This, subjected to calcina- 
tion, is rendered purer, and is then called pearlash, the form of the alkali desig- 
nated by the officinal name at the head of this article. 
Natural State and Preparation. Potash and pearlash of commerce are pro- 
cured from the ashes of wood by lixiviation, and the subsequent evaporation of 
the solution obtained. The alkali exists in the wood, principally in the state of 
acetate; and, being of a fixed and incombustible nature, is left behind after the 
incineration. The wood is burnt on the ground, in a place sheltered from the 
wind. The ashes consist of a soluble and insoluble portion. The soluble part is 
made up of carbonate of potassa, together with sulphate, phosphate, and silicate 
of potassa, and the chlorides of potassium and sodium ; the insoluble portion, of 
carbonate and subphosphate of lime, alumina, silica, oxidized iron and man- 
ganese, and a little carbonaceous matter that has escaped combustion. The 
ashes are lixiviated in barrels with the addition of a portion of lime, and the 
soluble substances above mentioned are taken up. The lixivium is then evapo- 
rated in large iron kettles, which for several days are kept constantly full. The 
evaporation is continued until the mass has become of a black colour, and of the 
consistence of brown sugar. It is now subjected to as powerful a heat as can 
be raised by the best wood fire for a number of hours, by which it is fused. 
During the fusion, the combustible impurities are for the most part burnt out, 
and a gaseous matter is emitted, which agitates the more fluid part. When the 
fusion is complete, the liquid becomes quiescent, and looks like melted iron. It 
is now transferred, by means of large iron ladles, to iron pots, where it congeals 
in cakes. These are broken up and packed in tight barrels, and constitute the 
potash of commerce. {Dr. G. A. Rogers, in SilUman's Journal.) 
If it is intended to make pearlash, the process is varied. In this case the 
black matter of the consistence of brown sugar, called black salts by our manu- 
facturers, instead of being fused, is transferred from the kettles to a large oven- 
shaped furnace, so constructed that the flame may play over the alkaline mass, 
which in the mean time is stirred by means of an iron rod. The ignition is in 
this way continued, until the combustible impurities are burnt out, and the mass, 
from being black, becomes of a dirty bluish-white colour. (Rogers.) 
The ashes of plants amount generally to not more than a few parts in the 
hundred ; and of these a portion only consists of potassa. The different parts of 
the same vegetable, and, for a stronger reason, different plants, furnish variable 
quantities of ashes. Ligneous plants yield less than herbaceous, the trunk less 
than the branches, and the branches less than the leaves. The bark yields more 
ashes than the wood; and the leaves of trees which drop their foliage in winter 
more than the leaves of evergreens. The following table gives the quantity of 
potassa contained in the ashes of one thousand parts of the undernamed plants: 
Pine 0-45 
Poplar 0-75 
Birch 1 -29 
Beech 1-45 
Oak 2-03 
Oak bark 2'08 
Box 2-26 
Willow 2-85 
Linden 3 27 
Elm 3-9 
Maple.. 3-9 
Wheat straw 4-18 
Flax 50. 
Rush 5 08 
Common thistle 5-37 
Vine branches 5-5 
Barley straw 5-8 
Beech bark 6 0 
Fern 6-2 
Indian corn stalks 17-5 
Sun-flower stalks 19’4 
Dry oak leares 24*0 
Common nettle 25-0 
Black elder 25-5 
Vetch 27-5 
Poke 45-6 
Wheat stalks 47 0 
Stems of potatoes 55-0 
Wormwood 73-0 
Fumitory 79-0 
Angelica 96-2 
Commercial History. Potash and pearlash are made in those countries in 672 
Potassx Carbonas Impura. 
PART I. 
which forests abound. Accordingly, the alkali is extensively manufactured in 
Canada and the United States, and constitutes an important export of this 
country. It is prepared chiefly in the State of New York, which is supposed to 
furnish three-fourths of our exports of this alkali. It is also produced in consi- 
derable quantities in the northern countries of Europe, especially in Russia, and 
on the shores of the Baltic. It is of different qualities as it occurs in commerce, 
and is distinguished by the country or place of manufacture, as American, Rus- 
sian, Dantzic potash, &c. 
Potash has been extracted from felspar by Prof. Fuchs, by igniting it with 
lime, which renders the alkali slowly soluble in water. Dr. E. Meyer, of Berlin, 
has found that the extraction is facilitated by digesting the ignited mass with 
water under a pressure of seven or eight atmospheres. (Pharm. Journ. and 
Trans., June, 1857, p. 607.) 
Properties. Potash is in the form of fused masses, of a stony appearance and 
hardness, and caustic burning taste. Its colour is variegated; but reddish and 
dark-brown are the predominant hues. When exposed to the air it absorbs 
moisture and deliquesces ; and, if sufficiently long exposed, finally becomes liquid. 
Pearlash is of a white colour, with usually a tinge of blue. As it occurs in com- 
merce, it is in tight casks, containing about three hundred and fifty pounds, in 
which it forms one entire, hard, concrete mass. In the shops it is found in coarse 
powder, intermingled with lumps as dug out of the casks, presenting an opaque 
granular appearance, like table salt or Havana sugar. It is deliquescent, and has 
a burning alkaline taste. It is soluble in water, with the exception of impurities. 
The soluble matter in 100 grains of the salt of medium quality will neutralize 
about 58 grains of officinal sulphuric acid. It differs from potash principally in 
containing less combustible impurities and in being less caustic and deliquescent. 
The colouring matter of both these forms of alkali is derived from carbonaceous 
impurities, and small portions of iron and manganese. 
Composition. The basis of both pot and pearlash is carbonate of potassa; 
but this is associated with certain salts, and with insoluble impurities. Several 
varieties of potash found in commerce were analyzed by Yauquelin, whose prin- 
cipal results are contained in the following table. The quantity examined of 
each kind was 1152 parts. 
Kinds of Potash. 
Caustic 
Hydrate of 
Potassa. 
Sulphate of 
Potassa. 
Chloride of 
Potassium. 
Insoluble 
ltesidue. 
Carbonic Acid 
and water. 
American potash . . 
857 
154 
20 
2 
119 
Russian potash . . . 
772 
65 
5 
56 
254 
Pearlash 
754 
80 
4 
6 
308 
Dantzic potash . . . 
G03 
152 
14 
79 
304 
These results, calculated for 100 parts, show that the American potash con- 
tains 74 per cent, of pure hydrated alkali, and the Russian 67 per cent. Pearl- 
ash, it is seen, is more rich in carbonic acid than potash; and this result of 
analysis corresponds with the qualities of the two substances as prepared in the 
United States; potash being known to be far more caustic than pearlash. Be- 
sides the impurities shown by the table, phosphate and sijicate of potassa and 
chloride of sodium are present. According to Mr. Stevenson Macadam, the 
potashes of commerce contain iodine and a trace of bromine, which shows that 
the forest trees from which the alkali is obtained must contain a very minute 
proportion of these non-metallic elements. (Chem. Gaz., Aug. 2, 1852, p. 284.) 
As the potash of commerce is valuable in the arts in proportion to the quan- 
tity of real alkali which it contains, it is important to possess an easy method PART i. 
Potassx Carbonas Impura. 
673 
of ascertaining its quality in that respect. The process by which this is accom- 
plished is called alkalimetry, and the instrument used an alkalimeler. The best 
mode of proceeding, which is applicable to the commercial forms of soda as well 
as those of potassa, is that proposed by Faraday, and described by Turner a3 
follows. Take a cylindrical tube, sealed at one end, nine and a half inches long, 
and three-quarters of an inch in diameter, and pour into it one thousand grains 
of water, marking with a file the point at which the water stands. Divide the 
space occupied by the water into one hundred equal parts, graduating from 
above downwards; and, opposite to the numbers 23-44, 48*96, 54-63, and 65, 
severally, write the words soda, potassa, carbonate of soda, and carbonate of 
potassa. Then prepare a dilute sulphuric acid having the specific gravity 1-127, 
which may be formed by adding to the strong acid about four times its volume 
of distilled water. An acid of this strength, if added to the tube so as to reach 
to any one of the heights denoted by the above numbers, will be just sufficient 
to neutralize one hundred grains of the alkali written opposite to it. Suppose, 
for example, that the dilate acid be added until it stands opposite to the word 
carbonate of potassa, we shall then have the exact quantity necessary to neu- 
tralize one hundred grains of that carbonate; and if we add pure water, until 
the liquid reaches to 0, or the beginning of the scale, it is evident that the acid has 
been brought to the bulk of a hundred measures, each of which would be com- 
petent to neutralize one grain of the carbonate in question. All that is now 
necessary, in order to ascertain the quality of any commercial sample of this 
carbonate, is to dissolve one hundred grains of it in warm water, filter the solu- 
tion to remove insoluble impurities, and add by degrees the dilute acid from the 
tube until the solution is exactly neutralized, as shown by litmus paper. The 
number of divisions of acid, expended in attaining this point, may be read off 
from the tube; and for each division one grain of pure carbonate is indicated. 
This method of testing the potash of commerce indicates its alkaline strength, 
assuming this to be dependent solely on potassa; but soda, a cheaper alkali, 
may be present as an adulteration, and its proportion is important to be known. 
To solve this problem, M. 0. Henry proposes that the saturating power of a 
given weight should be first determined in relation to sulphuric acid, and after- 
wards the proportion of carbonate of potassa in an .equal weight, by first con- 
verting it into an acetate, and then precipitating the potassa by hyperchlorate 
(oxychlorate) of soda, the reacting salts being in alcoholic solution. The pre- 
cipitated hvperchiorate of potassa indicates the proportion of carbonate of po- 
tassa. The amount of the latter determines how much of the sulphuric acid was 
expended in saturating the potassa; and the soda is indicated by the amount 
of this alkali equivalent to the remainder of the acid. (Journ. de Pharm., vii. 
214.) Another method of detecting soda in the potash of commerce, proposed 
by Pagenstecher, is to convert the suspected alkali into a sulphate, and to wash 
the sulphate formed with a saturated solution of sulphate of potassa. If the 
whole of the saline matter be sulphate of potassa, the washing will cause no 
loss of weight; but if part of it be sulphate of soda, this will be washed away, 
on account of its solubility in a saturated solution of sulphate of potassa. (Ibid., 
Mars, 1848, 239.) Fremy has proposed the metantimoniate of potassa as a test 
for soda in potash. In applying this test, the potash is converted into a neutral 
chloride of potassium, and treated with a recent solution of the metantimoniate. 
If the alkali examined contain 2 or 3 per cent, of soda, a precipitate will be 
almost instantly formed. If a less proportion of soda be present, time and agita- 
tion will be necessary to effect the precipitation. Fremy states that, by this test, 
he can detect the half of 1 per cent, of soda in commercial potash. (Philos. Mag., 
Oct. 1848, 325.) Good potash should not contain a proportion of chlorides, 
indicating more than 2 per cent, of chlorine by the test of nitrate of silver. If 
a larger proportion is shown, adulteration with common salt may be suspected. Potassoe Carbonas Impura.—Potassse Chloras. 
PART I. 
A standard solution of the silver salt may be made, a known measure of which 
shall be just sufficient to precipitate all the chlorine in a given weight of good 
potash, after having been supersaturated with nitric acid. If a further addition 
of the test causes a precipitate, the presence of too much chlorine is shown. 
Pearlash, from its impurity, is never used as a medicine. Purified to a certain 
extent, it takes the name of carbonate of potassa. 
Off. Prep. Potassse Carbonas, U.S. B. 
POTASSiE CHLORAS. U.S.,Br. 
Chlorate of Potassa. 
Hyperoxymuriate of potassa; Chlorate de potasse, Fr.; Chlorsaures Kali, Germ. 
In the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, Chlorate of Potassa is placed in the Catalogue 
of Materia Medica; in the British, it is ranked among the Preparations. 
The salt may be conveniently obtained by the process of Graham, which con- 
sists in mixing carbonate of potassa with an equivalent quantity of hydrate of 
lime, before submitting it to the action of chlorine. The gas is absorbed with 
avidity, and the mass becomes hot, while water is given off. The lime converts 
the carbonate into caustic potassa, and the reaction then takes place between 
six eqs. of potassa and six of chlorine, with the result of forming five eqs. of 
chloride of potassium, and one of chlorate of potassa. (GKO and 6C1 = 5KC1 
and K0,C105.) The products are, therefore, carbonate of lime, chloride of 
potassium, and chlorate of potassa. The chloride and chlorate are separated 
from the carbonate by solution in hot water, and the chlorate from the chloride 
by priority of crystallization. The Br. Pharmacopoeia has adopted this process, 
with the following directions. “Take of Carbonate of Potash twenty ounces 
[avoirdupois]; Slaked Lime fifty-three ounces [avoird.]; Distilled Water a 
sufficiency; Black Oxide of Manganese eighty ounces [avoird.]; Hydrochloric 
Acid of Commerce twenty-four pints [Imperial measure]. Mix the Lime with 
the Carbonate of Potash, and triturate them with a few ounces of the Water so 
as to make the mixture slightly moist. Place the Oxide of Manganese in a large 
retort or flask, and, having poured upon it the Hydrochloric Acid, diluted with 
six pints [Imp. meas.] of water, apply a gentle sand heat, and conduct the 
Chlorine as it comes over, first through a bottle containing six [fiuid]ounces of 
Water, and then into a large carboy containing the mixture of Carbonate of 
Potash and Slaked Lime. When the whole of the chlorine has come over, remove 
the contents of the carboy, and boil them for twenty minutes with seven pints 
[Imp. meas.] of the Water; filter and evaporate till a film forms on the surface, 
and set aside to cool and crystallize. The crystals thus obtained are to be puri- 
fied by dissolving them in three times their weight of boiling Distilled Water, 
and again allowing the solution to crystallize.” 
In the above process, a large proportion of the potassa is lost by being con- 
verted into chloride of potassium. Prof. F. C. Calvert, of Manchester, has almost 
entirely avoided this loss by his new process, in which he reacts upon one eq. of 
caustic potassa, mixed with five and a half eqs. of lime, with a stream of chlorine. 
The potassa is dissolved in sufficient water to form a solution, containing 10£ 
percent, of the alkali (sp. gr. 1-110), and mixed with the lime; and the mixture, 
after having been gradually heated to 122°, is subjected to a rapid current of 
chlorine to saturation, the reaction caused by which raises the temperature to 
about 194°. The product is then evaporated nearly to dryness, the residue dis- 
solved in boiling water, and the solution filtered and set aside to crystallize. 
The strength of the solution of potassa, together with the increased temperature, 
determines the combination of part of the chlorine with calcium instead of 
potassium; and the oxygen from the lime converts the remaining chlorine into PART I. 
Potassoe Chloras, 
675 
chloric acid. A higher or lower density of the potassa solution was found not to 
give equally favourable results. This process has been tried on a large scale, 
and is said to have been successful. While the original process gives but 43 
parts of chlorate to 100 of anhydrous potassa, this process yields 260 parts. 
The chlorate of potassa of commerce is at present prepared by the reaction 
of solutions of chloride of potassium and hypochlorite of lime, with the assist- 
ance of heat. The chlorate of potassa crystallizes during the refrigeration Oj 
the liquor, and chloride of calcium remains in solution (KC1 and 3(Ca0,C10) 
= K0,C105 and 3CaCl). 
Properties. Chlorate of potassa is a white anhydrous salt, of a cooling and 
slightly acerb taste. It crystallizes in rhomboidal plates of a pearly lustre. It is 
soluble in 16 parts of water at 60°, and in two and a half parts of boiling water. 
When thrown on burning coals, it augments their combustion remarkably. This 
property is due to the presence of oxygen, which may be evolved from the salt, 
in the proportion of nearly 39 per cent., by heating it a little above its point of 
fusion. The residue is chloride of potassium. 
Chlorate of potassa is characterized also by becoming first yellow, and then 
red by admixture with a little sulphuric acid, and by the action of that acid 
evolving chlorous acid gas (quadroxide of chlorine), known by its yellow colour, 
and explosive property when heated; by its bleaching power when mixed first 
with muriatic acid and then with water; and by its property of exploding vio- 
lently when triturated with a small portion of sulphur or phosphorus. Its usual 
impurity is chloride of potassium, which may be detected by a precipitate of 
chloride of silver being produced on the addition of nitrate of silver. This test 
does not precipitate the chlorine of the chloric acid. Chlorate of potassa con- 
sists of one eq. of chloric acid 75-5, and one of potassa 47'2= 122-7. 
This salt is an excellent test of manganese existing in organic matter. If a 
small portion of such matter, containing even a trace of manganese, be thrown 
on the surface of the pure melted salt in a test-glass, after the combustion has 
ceased, the cooled saline mass will be found to have a rose or pinkish tint, caused 
by the formation of permanganate of potassa. (Neues Repert., vi. 247.) A 
similar discoloration of the salt, produced by the use of pure charcoal in the same 
manner, will evince the presence of manganese in the chlorate as an impurity. 
Medical Properties. According to M. Socquet, the physiological action of 
chlorate of potassa is to depress the circulation, without the least effect on the 
digestive organs. From experiments made by Dr. O’Shaughnessy and others, it 
gives a bright scarlet colour to the venous blood, and passes undecomposed into 
the urine. The first trials made with it as a medicine were founded upon the 
supposition that it would prove an oxidizing remedy; and hence it was employed 
in scurvy, and in syphilis and liver complaints as a substitute for mercury. In 
scurvy its use has been recently revived. It has also been employed in acute 
articular rheumatism, pseudo-membranous angina and croup, ulcerative and gan- 
grenous stomatitis of infants, and mercurial and maternal stomatitis. In these 
ulcerous affections there can be no doubt of its great efficacy in very many in- 
stances. Dr. Alexander Harkin, of Dublin, recommends it highly in scrofula and 
consumption. (Dub. Quart. Journ., Nov. 1861.) At an earlier date, it had been 
tried advantageously in presumed cases of phthisis by Dr. Davenport, of Iowa. 
(Am. Med. Monthly, Sept. 1860.) Dr. Austin Flint, however, as the result of 
his own observations, denies that it has any specific influence on the disease. 
(Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., Oct. 1861, p. 321.) It is much employed, and by some 
practitioners mainly relied on in scarlatina, diphtheria, and fetid breath. 
Externally, chlorate of potassa in solution has been used in several diseases. 
Mr. Moore, of London, has found it very useful as an application to indolent 
and scrofulous ulcers and phagedaena, to ulcerations of the nose, mouth, and 
tongue, and for cleansing cancerous sores. It is even asserted to have caused 676 
Potassee Chloras.—Potassee Nitras. 
PART I. 
the healing of cancroid ulcers. (Journ. de Pharm., Mars, 1864, p. 269.) Dr. 
Bedford Brown, of N. C., has employed it with success, in the form of injection, 
in gonorrhoea in women, leucorrhcea, and ulceration of the os uteri. (Am. Journ. 
of Med. Sci, July, 1857, p. 66.) The dose is from fifteen to thirty grains every 
three or four hours, given in sufficient gum water, sweetened water, or lemonade 
to dissolve it. When administered as a prophylactic in salivation, a smaller dose 
will answer. No nicety need be observed in the dose. Taken to the extent of 
five drachms in twenty-four hours, it was found to produce diuresis, abundant 
salivation, and a strong saltish taste. When used as a wash or injection, from 
a drachm to half an ounce of the salt may be dissolved in a pint of water. A 
solution in glycerin, in the proportion of one part of the salt to ten of the men- 
struum, has been especially recommended as a dressing for ill-conditioned wounds 
and ulcers. The remedy has also been applied in the form of very fine powder 
dusted on the surface. 
Off. Prep. Potass® Permanganas, Br. , B. 
POTASSiE NITRAS. V.S.,Br. 
Nitrate of Potassa. 
In the British Pharmacopoeia, Nitrate of Potash of Commerce is placed in 
the Appendix, with the synonymes Nitre and Saltpetre, and a process for its 
purification is given among the Preparations. 
Nitre, Saltpetre; Nitrate de potasse, Azotate de potasse, Salp&tre,Fr.; Salpetersaures 
Kali, Salpeter, Germ., Dutch, Dan., Swed.; Nitro, Ital., Span., Port. 
Nitre or saltpetre is both a natural and artificial product. It occurs in many 
countries, existing in the soil on which it forms a saline efflorescence, in the fis- 
sures of calcareous rocks, and in caves. It has been found in different parts of 
Europe, in Egypt, and in Peru; but the country in which it is most abundantly 
produced is India, whence the principal part is furnished for the demands of 
commerce. In the United States it is found, for the most part, in caverns situated 
in limestone rock, called saltpetre caves, where it is associated with nitrate of 
lime. The earths contained in them are lixiviated, and yield, according to their 
richness, from one to ten pounds of crude nitre to the bushel. These caves are 
particularly numerous in Kentucky, and furnished a large proportion of the nitro 
consumed in the United States during the last war with England. According to 
Mr. E. S. Wayne, of Cincinnati, nitre earth exists near Nashville, Tenn., which 
yields 15 per cent, of nitre, and is said to be sufficiently abundant to supply the 
demand of the United States. In Bradford County, Penn., a solid uncrystalline 
deposit of very pure nitre exists in a sandstone rock. (Prof. W. H. Ellet.) Nitre 
exists also in the vegetable kingdom, having been found in tobacco, borage, bugloss, 
parietaria, hemlock, and the sun-flower. The artificial sources of nitre are cer- 
tain mixtures of animal and vegetable substances with wood-ashes and calcareous 
matter, called nitre-beds; and certain materials, impregnated with saltpetre, 
consisting principally of plaster rubbish, derived from the demolition of old build- 
ings. The ashes of tobacco stems, consisting almost exclusively of carbonate of 
potassa and chloride of potassium in nearly equal parts, have been proposed by 
M. Commaille as an artificial source of nitre, by adding them to the ordinary 
nitre-beds. (Journ. de Pharm., F6v. 1856, 106.) 
Preparation from its Natural Sources. In India the saline earth, which con- 
tains about seven parts of nitre in a thousand, is lixiviated in large mud filters, 
lined with stiff clay, and furnished with false bottoms of bamboo, covered with 
grass mats, on which wood-ashes are laid. The filters being then filled with the 
saline earth, water is added, and the solution filters through the wood-ashes, 
with the effect of converting the nitrate of lime present, amounting to nearly part I. 
Potassx Nitras. 
677 
1 per cent., into nitrate of potassa. The solution obtained is evaporated in earthen 
pots, filtered, and set aside to crystallize. The impure nitre thus obtained con* 
tains from 45 to 70 per cent, of the pure salt. It is redissolved and crystallized, 
and thrown into commerce under the name of crude saltpetre. 
Artificial Preparation. The plan of forming saltpetre in artificial nitre-bed3 
is principally practised in Germany; while the method of obtaining it from old 
plaster rubbish is followed in France. Artificial nitre-beds are formed of animal 
and vegetable remains, together with ashes and calcareous earth, which are 
mixed up with a portion of loose soil and placed under sheds, to shelter the 
mixture from the rain; while the sides are left open to permit the free access ol 
air. The mixture is disposed in little ranges or heaps, which are frequently 
turned over'with a spade, and sprinkled with urine, as a substance containing a 
large quantity of nitrogen. At the end of two or three years the nitrogen is 
converted into nitric acid, and this, by uniting with the potassa existing in the 
vegetable remains, forms nitre. When the contents of the bed contain about four 
ounces of the salt for every cubic foot of the materials, they are deemed fit to be 
lixiviated. The lixiviation is performed with boiling water, which is repeatedly 
thrown upon fresh portions of the mass, until the solution obtained is sufficiently 
strong. The lixivium is of a brown colour, and contains chiefly the nitrate of 
potassa, but at the same time more or less of the nitrates of lime and magnesia, 
and of common salt. The earthy nitrates are then decomposed by a solution of 
wood-ashes, the potassa of which converts them into nitre, and precipitates the 
earths. The solution being further evaporated, the common salt rises to the 
surface as a scum, and is removed. The solution is then allowed to cool, and the 
nitrate crystallizes in dirty-white crystals, called crude nitre. Nitrate of lime 
may be converted into nitre by adding it to a solution of sulphate of potassa. 
Sulphate of lime is precipitated, and nitrate of potassa remains in solution. 
When obtained from old plaster rubbish, the material is reduced to powder 
and lixiviated, in order to exhaust it of everything soluble. The solution is found 
to contain the nitrates of potassa and lime, and common salt, and is treated with 
wood-ashes, which convert the nitrate of lime into nitrate of potassa, with pre- 
cipitation of the earth as a carbonate. The liquor is separated from the precipi- 
tate and concentrated by heat; and the common salt, as it rises to the surface, 
is skimmed off. When the solution is so strong as to mark 45° of Baume’s areo- 
meter, it is allowed to cool and crystallize; and the crystals form the crude nitre 
of this process. The salt obtained in this way generally contains from 85 to 88 
per cent, of pure nitre; the remainder being made up of chloride of sodium, and 
certain deliquescent salts. The details of this process, as formerly practised in 
Paris, are given by Thenard. 
Theory of Nitrification. It is generally supposed that the continuous forma- 
tion of nitre in nitre earths, and in artificial nitre-beds, depends upon the oxida- 
tion of the nitrogen of ammonia, thus generating nitric acid, the formation of 
which is facilitated by the presence of alkaline and earthy bases, with which the 
acid unites. The ammonia is derived, for the most part, from the organic remains 
in the nitre earths, and from the animal matter which is an essential ingredient 
in the artificial mixtures. According to Schoenbein, whose statement has been 
confirmed by Goppelsroder, the formation of the nitric acid is always preceded 
by that of nitrous acid. (Journ. de Pharm., Avril, 18G2, p. 334.) 
Purification. Nitrate of potassa, as first obtained, either from natural or 
artificial sources, is called in commerce crude saltpetre, and requires to be puri- 
fied before it can be used in medicine, or in most of the arts. The process, which 
is founded principally on the fact that nitre is more soluble than common salt 
in hot water, is conducted in the following manner in France. Thirty parts of 
saltpetre are boiled with six parts of water, and the portion which remains un- 
dissolved, or is deposited, consisting of common salt, is carefully removed. As 678 
Potassae Nitras. 
PART I 
the ebullition proceeds, a little»water is added from time to time, to hold the 
nitre in solution. When common salt ceases to be separated, the solution is 
clarified with glue, and more water is added, at intervals, until the whole, 
including that previously added, amounts to ten parts. The clear solution is 
now transferred to large, shallow copper coolers, where it is agitated with 
wooden instruments to hasten the cooling, and to cause the nitre to crystallize in 
small grains. The purification is completed by washing the salt with water, or 
a saturated solution of nitre, in a kind of wooden hopper, with holes in the 
bottom stopped with pegs. The liquid employed is allowed to remain in contact 
with the nitre for several hours, after which it is permitted to drain off by taking 
out the pegs. The salt is now dried, and takes the name of purified nitre. 
In Sweden, the process of purification is conducted in a different manner. The 
solution of the crude nitre is boiled until a saline crust (common salt) forms on 
its surface, and until it is so far concentrated that a small portion of it crystallizes 
upon cooling. The crust being removed, the solution is filtered, and diluted 
with l-48th of water, with a view to retain in solution tjie common salt, which, 
being somewhat less soluble in cold than in boiling water, would otherwise be in 
part precipitated on refrigeration. The solution is now allowed to cool, and, at 
the moment crystals begin to form, is stirred constantly to cause the salt to 
crystallize in small grains. The granular salt is then washed after the French 
method, as above described, dried, and, being fused, is cast in sheet-iron moulds 
so as to form masses, each weighing from ten to twenty pounds. The prepara- 
tion of nitre in this manner by fusion is, according to Berzelius, attended with 
several advantages; such as its occupying less space, its losing nothing by waste 
in transportation, and its presenting, in this state, an obvious index of its quality. 
This index is the character of its fracture. When the salt is perfectly pure, the 
fracture is radiated, the radii being generally large. The presence of l-80th of 
common salt renders the radii smaller; and of l-40th, or a larger quantity, pro- 
duces a zone in the substance of the mass devoid of the radiated structure, or 
causes this structure to disappear entirely. On the other hand, the melting of 
the salt has the disadvantage of converting it in part into nitrite if the heat be 
too high, and of rendering it difficult to pulverize. 
In the British Pharmacopoeia the following process is given for the purifica- 
tion of nitre. “Take of Nitrate of Potash of Commerce four pounds [avoirdu- 
pois]; Distilled Water five pints [Imperial measure], or a sufficiency. Having 
dissolved the Commercial Nitrate of Potash in two pints [Imp. meas.] of the 
Water at a boiling temperature, let the heat be withdrawn, and the solution 
stirred constantly as it cools, in order that the salt rday be obtained in minute 
granular crystals. Separate as much as possible of the uncrystallized solution 
by decantation and draining, and wash the crystals in a glass or earthenware 
percolator, with the remainder of the Water, until the liquid which passes through 
ceases to give a precipitate on being dropped into a solution of nitrate of silver. 
The contents of the percolator are now to be extracted, and dried in an oven.” 
The object of this process is to get rid of the chloride of sodium, through its 
nearly equal solubility in hot and cold wmter. It remains in the mother-water 
when the nitre crystallizes, and the small proportion remaining attached to the 
crystals is removed by washing. The necessity, however, of introducing such a 
formula into the Pharmacopoeia may be doubted, as the salt may be found suffi- 
ciently pure in commerce. 
Commercial History. Nitre is received in this country from Calcutta, packed 
in grass-cloth bags, containing from one hundred and fifty to one hundred and 
seventy-five pounds. The greater portion of it arrives at Boston. Its quality 
varies considerably. That which comes in dirty-yellow crystals is called crude 
saltpetre; while the finer lots, in small, comparatively clear crystals, approach- 
ing to white, are called East India refined. Yery little crude saltpet/o is at PART I. 
Potassae Nitras. 
679 
present obtained from native sources in the United States. The refined saltpetre 
is almost exclusively prepared by our own chemists. 
As connected with the subject of saltpetre, it may be proper in this place to 
notice what is incorrectly called South American saltpetre, considerable quan- 
tities of which have been received within a few years from Peru and Chili. It 
is nitrate of soda, and comes in bags containing about 210 pounds of the salt in 
the crude state. This nitrate is used by our manufacturing chemists, and is better 
suited than nitre for preparing nitric and sulphuric acids, on account of its greater 
proportional quantity of acid. It is, however, not applicable to the purpose of 
making gunpowder, from its tendency to absorb moisture. 
Nitrate of soda may be decomposed, so as to yield nitre, by means of caustic 
American potash (red potash of commerce), by Mr. Ilotch’s patented process. 
This process gives a nitre equal in purity to the East India refined. For the' 
details, see the Pharm. Journ. and Trans, (xi. 36). The same salt will furnish 
nitre by double decomposition with pearlash. {Ibid., xi. 236.) Mr. Hill decom- 
poses nitrate of soda by means of chloride of potassium, forming, by double de- 
composition, nitrate of potassa and chloride of sodium. The latter is got rid of, 
in the usual manner, by evaporating the solution of the mixed salts. 
Properties. Nitre is a white salt, possessing a sharp, cooling, and slightly 
bitterish taste, and generally crystallized in long, striated, semi-transparent, six- 
sided prisms, with dihedral summits. It dissolves in four or five times its weight 
of cold, and in about two-fifths of its weight of boiling water. It is sparingly 
soluble in rectified spirit, but insoluble in absolute alcohol. It undergoes no 
alteration in the air, unless this is very moist. It yields a yellow precipitate 
with bichloride of platinum, showing that potassa forms its base. It is devoid 
of water of crystallization; but is apt to contain a portion of liquid, mechani- 
cally lodged within the substance of the crystals. This is particularly the case 
with the large crystals, and, according to Berzelius, is a source of impurity; as 
the liquid in question is a portion of the mother-water in which they were formed. 
It is on this account that Berzelius recommends that the solution of the purified 
salt should be stirred during crystallization, so as to cause it to shoot into small 
crystals. When exposed to heat, nitre fuses without losing weight at about 
662°. The fused mass, when cast in moulds, or formed into little circular cakes, 
constitutes that form of nitre, kept in the shops under the name of crystal min- 
eral or sal prunelle.* If the heat is increased, the salt is decomposed, evolves 
pure oxygen, and is reduced to the state of nitrite, which, when rubbed to 
powder, emits orange-coloured fumes of hyponitric acid, and nitric oxide on the 
addition of sulphuric acid. Upon a further continuance of the heat, the nitrous 
acid itself is decomposed, and a large additional quantity of oxygen is evolved, 
contaminated, however, with more or less nitrogen. On account of the large 
proportion of oxygen which it contains, nitre increases the combustion of many 
substances in a remarkable degree. When thrown on burning coals, it deflagrates 
with bright scintillations. In the reaction of nitre with charcoal, carbonic acid 
is produced, and never carbonic oxide; and the nitric acid is variously decom- 
posed into nitrous acid, nitric oxide, or nitrogen, according to the proportion of 
the charcoal and to the heat employed. (A. Vogel, jun.) Nitre may be readily 
recognised by its effect in increasing the combustion of live coals, when thrown 
upon them; and by evolving white or reddish vapours on the addition of sul- 
phuric acid. Its most usual impurity is common salt, which is seldom entirely 
* Sal prunelle, as directed to be made in the French Codex, is a mixture of nitrate and 
sulphate of potassa. It is prepared by fusing nitre in a Hessian crucible, adding l-12rfth 
part of sulphur, and pouring out the product on a smooth marble slab, where it is allowed 
to congeal. The sulphur immediately takes fire, and, by combining with oxygen from a 
part of the nitric acid of the nitre, becomes sulphuric acid, which then unites with a small 
portion of potassa, to form sulphate of potassa 680 
Potassse Nitras. 
PART I. 
absent, and which injures it for the manufacture of gunpowder. The presence 
of this salt, or of chloride of potassium, will cause a precipitate with nitrate of 
silver. If a sulphate be present, a precipitate will be formed with chloride of 
barium. Of the pure salt, 100 grains, treated with 60 grains of sulphuric acid, 
and ignited until it ceases to lose weight, yield 86 grains of sulphate of potassa. 
If the residue weighs less, part of it is probably sulphate of soda, and the nitre 
tested may be assumed to have contained nitrate of soda. The refined or purified 
saltpetre of commerce is sufficiently pure for medicinal use. Nitrate of potassa 
is composed of one eq. of nitric acid 54, and one of potassa 47'2 = 101-2.* 
Medical Properties. Nitre is considered refrigerant, diuretic, and diapho- 
retic, and is much used in inflammatory diseases. It is known to be a powerful 
antiseptic. It generally promotes the secretion of urine and sweat, lessens the 
heat of the body and the frequency of the pulse, and has a tendency to keep the 
bowels in a soluble condition. When taken in health, in quantities increasing 
gradually from one to five drachms daily, for the space of from eight to twelve 
days, it was found by F. Lbffler to produce general weakness, lowness of spirits, 
constant disposition to sleep, and slow and weak pulse. Towards the end of 
the experiment, the pulse several times fell to twenty beats in the minute. Dur- 
ing the use of the medicine, the appetite and digestion continued good, and the 
bowels were regular; though, occasionally, some pain was experienced in the 
abdomen, followed by purging. The blood, drawn at the end of the period, re- 
sembled cherry juice in colour, exhibited paler blood corpuscles than in health, 
coagulated very quickly, forming a clot of diminished firmness, was more watery 
than natural, and contained a smaller proportion of fat. (.dm. Journ. of Med. 
Sci., xviii. 204, from Schmidt1s Jahrb.) 
Nitre is very frequently prescribed with tartar emetic and calomel, forming a 
combination usually called the nitrous powder, which promotes most of the 
secretions, particularly those of the liver and skin, and which in many cases is 
advantageously employed in lessening and modifying febrile excitement. The 
formula usually preferred is eight or ten grains of nitre, the eighth of a grain 
of tartar emetic, and from the fourth to the half of a grain of calomel, exhibited 
every two or three hours. Nitre is frequently given in active hemorrhages, par- 
ticularly haemoptysis, and is a useful ingredient of gargles in certain stages of 
inflammatory sorethroat. Dr. Frisi, an Italian physician, found it very efficacious, 
in a case of obstinate spasmodic asthma, in affording speedy relief, and cutting 
short the attack as often as it was repeated. In the same disease, nitrous fumi- 
gation has been found useful, performed by inhaling the fumes from a piece of 
burning touch paper about the size of a playing card, prepared by dipping 
blotting paper in a saturated solution of nitre, and afterwards drying it. In the 
form of sal prunelle, it has been strongly recommended by M. Debout in poly- 
dipsia, given in the dose of a drachm daily. Dr. Henry Tiedemann, of this city, 
praises nitre as a remedy in dysentery. The usual dose is from ten to fifteen 
grains, dissolved in water or some mucilaginous liquid, and repeated every two 
or three hours. If given too freely, or for too long a period, it is apt to excite 
pain in the stomach. In an overdose (half an ounce to an ounce or more), taken 
in concentrated solution, it causes heat and pain in the stomach, vomiting and 
purging of blood, great prostration, convulsions, and sometimes death. On dis- 
section, the stomach and intestines are found inflamed. A fatal case of poison- 
ing by nitre, in which, although three ounces and a half wrere taken at one dose, 
no painful symptoms were manifested, is related by Dr. John Snowden, in the 
New Jersey Med. Reporter (viii. 117). The treatment consists in the speedy 
removal of the poison from the stomach, and in the administration of mucilagi- 
* A method of estimating the nature and amount of the various impurities in commer- 
cial. saltpetres has been published by M. Persoz, and may be seen in the Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., Nov. 1861, p. 543. PART I. 
Potassse Nitras.—Potassse Permanganas. 
681 
nous drinks, laudanum to allay pain and irritation, and cordials to sustain the 
system. No antidote is known. 
Notwithstanding the toxical properties of nitre when taken largely in con* 
centrated solution, it may be given, in divided doses, to the extent of one or two 
ounces in twenty-four hours, if copiously diluted with water. Administered in 
this way, the salt acts as a sedative on the circulation, decreasing the force and 
frequency of the pulse. It is chiefly in acute rheumatism that large doses have 
been employed; and both M. Gendrin and M. Martin-Solon bear testimony to 
its remarkable efficacy in that disease, when thus given. Dr. Henry Bennett, of 
London, also speaks highly of its efficacy in the same disease; and his favour- 
able report of it is confirmed by some well-conducted clinical experiments by 
Dr. R. Rowland, of the same city. The remedy was given by the latter in a 
quantity never exceeding half an ounce in twenty-four hours, dissolved in a pint 
of water. Thus administered, it produced no inconvenience. Large doses of 
this salt have also been employed with success in general dropsy, following re- 
mittent fever. It is best given, dissolved in sweetened barley-water, in the pro- 
portion of half an ounce to a pint and a half or two pints of the liquid. 
Dr. Mangenot recommends, for the removal of cutaneous nsevi, the topical 
use of nitre, applied by friction with the moistened finger, dipped into the pow- 
dered salt. {Half-yearly Abstract, Jan. to July, 1857, p. 120.) 
In pharmacy nitre is employed to form crocus of antimony, to procure nitric 
acid, and sometimes in the preparation of sweet spirit of nitre. It enters into 
the composition of moxa. In the laboratory it is used to make black and white 
flux, and to yield oxygen at a red heat. In the arts it is employed in the produc- 
tion of aqua fortis (common nitric acid), the manufacture of sulphuric acid, and 
the fabrication of gunpowder. 
Off. Prep. Acidum Nitricum, Br.; Collodium, XJ. S.; Potassm Nitras, Br. 
B. 
POTASSiE PERMANGANAS. U.S.,Br. 
Permanganate of Potassa. 
This is a new officinal of the TJ. S. and Br. Pharmacopoeias. In the former 
it is placed in the Materia Medica list, as an article to be procured from the 
manufacturer. In the latter a process is given for its preparation. The follow- 
ing is the British formula. 
“Take of Caustic Potash five ounces [avoirdupois]; Black Oxide of Man- 
ganese, in fine powder, four ounces [avoird.]; Chlorate of Potash three ounces 
and a half [avoird.]; Dilute Sulphuric Acid a sufficiency; Distilled Water 
two jhnts and a half [Imperial measure]. Reduce the Chlorate of Potash to 
fine powder, and mix it with the Oxide of Manganese; put the mixture into a 
porcelain basin, and add to it the Caustic Potash, previously dissolved in four 
[fluid]ounces of the Water. Evaporate to dryness on a sand bath, stirring dili- 
gently to prevent spurting. Pulverize the mass, put it into a covered Hessian 
or Cornish crucible, and expose it to a dull red heat for an hour, or till it has 
assumed the condition of a semifused mass. Let it cool, pulverize it, and boil 
with a pint and a half [Imp. meas.] of the Water. Let the insoluble matter sub- 
side, decant the fluid, boil again with half a pint [Imp. meas.] of the Water, 
again decant, neutralize the united liquors accurately with the Dilute Sulphuric 
Acid, and evaporate till a pellicle forms. Set aside to cool and crystallize. Drain 
the crystalline mass, boil it in six [fluid]ounces of the Water, and strain through 
a funnel, the throat of which is lightly obstructed by a little asbestos. Let the 
fluid cool and crystallize, drain the crystals, and dry them by placing them un- 
der a bell jar over a vessel containing sulphuric acid.”Br. 
By this process chlorate of potassa yields oxygen to binoxide of manganese, 682 
Potassse Permanganas. 
part I. 
converting it into permanganic acid, which unites with the potassa to form the 
permanganate, chloride of potassium being formed at the same time; but as the 
whole of the materials, however accurately the proportions may be calculated, 
do not react upon each other to the desired result, portions of the binoxide and 
of the potassa remain. Hence, when exhausted by water, the solution contains 
with the permanganate and chloride an uncertain proportion of potassa, which 
requires to be neutralized by sulphuric acid. Unfortunately, it is extremely dif- 
ficult to get rid of the sulphate of potassa and chloride of potassium, in the 
crystallization, which, therefore, are apt to contaminate the permanganate. At 
best the product is small and uncertain in amount; and the process, therefore, 
which is a modification of Gregory’s, is not likely to be generally adopted. 
Several other processes have been employed, among the best of which, accord- 
ing to Dr. E. R. Squibb, is the following by M. Bechamp, of Montpellier. 
Ten parts of binoxide of manganese, in fine powder, are intimately mixed 
with 12 parts of potassa dissolved in a little water, and the mixture is thoroughly 
dried. This is introduced into an earthenware retort, furnished with a tube 
passing through the tubulure nearly to the bottom. The retort is placed in a 
furnace, and to the beak a bent tube is adapted, the end of which dips into 
mercury. Heat is then applied, and a current of oxygen, or of atmospheric air 
freed from carbonic acid, is made to enter into the retort through the tube in 
the tubulure, as long as absorption continues. The mass is then exhausted with 
water, and carbonic acid is passed through the solution until it acquires a red 
or purple colour. After standing so as to allow of the subsidence of the undis- 
solved matter, the liquid is decanted, evaporated without ebullition, and allowed 
to crystallize. The crystals are purified by a second crystallization. In this pro- 
cess the requisite oxygen for peroxidizing the manganese is supplied from a dis- 
tinct source, and the disadvantage from the presence of other salts avoided. 
The action of the carbonic acid is to convert into carbonate the excess of po- 
tassa, which, so long as allowed to remain, prevents the conversion into per- 
manganic acid of the manganic acid formed in the earlier stage of the process. 
For satisfactory results it is desirable that, while a heat sufficient in degree 
and sufficiently prolonged is employed, it should not be so great as to decom- 
pose the new acid formed, and that a long continuance of heat in the ex- 
traction of the salt from the mass by water, and in the subsequent evaporation of 
the solutions should be avoided, as it also favours decomposition. Hence the pro- 
priety of using a steam-heat, and of obtaining the salt with as little admixture 
as possible of other salts, which require repeated solution and evaporation to 
separate them. The latter is one of the main advantages of Bechamp’s process. 
Dr. Squibb, after much attention to the subject, and many experiments, proposes 
a method in which these difficulties are avoided, and which has the recommenda- 
tion of simplicity and economy. We have space only for an outline of his process, 
and refer for details to his article in the Am. Journ. of Pharm, for Sept. 1864. 
Fused hydrate of potassa is heated with a little water in a cast-iron vessel, the 
bottom of which is made nearly red-hot; binoxide of manganese is added, and 
the mixture stirred till dry. It is then powdered, and subjected repeatedly to the 
action of water at an elevated temperature, being stirred to dryness after each 
addition.. This operation is repeated four times. After the last addition of water 
the vessel is removed from the fire, and, time being allowed for subsidence, the 
clear liquor is decanted. The operation is twice repeated with the residue, after 
which the undissolved matters are thrown away. The liquors thus obtained are 
mixed and evaporated, care being taken to avoid too high a heat; and the resi- 
due is set aside to crystallize. The crystals are then drained in a funnel, the 
neck of which is obstructed with pieces of glass; as it is of the utmost import- 
ance that the salt shall not come in contact with organic matter. A further pro- 
duct of crystals is obtained by a repetition of the process; the mother wat^r PART I. 
Potassse Permanganas. 
683 
being used, instead of pure water, for the solution of the potassa. The crystals 
thus obtained are washed with distilled water, then dissolved in boiling distilled 
water, and recrystallized. The yield of pure crystals may be from 16 to 25 per 
cent, of the oxide employed, according to the care used in conducting the process. 
The rationale of this process, which appears to us to be an excellent one, is 
probably as follows. When the binoxide of manganese and potassa are heated 
together, a portion of the binoxide, under the influence of the potassa and heat, 
gives up to another portion so much oxygen as to convert it into manganic acid 
(MnOs), which combines with potassa to form the manganate. But this salt, when 
dissolved in water, rapidly changes to the permanganate, probably by the sur- 
render of one eq. of oxygen by one eq. of the manganic acid, by which it is con- 
verted into deutoxide (Mn02), to two other eqs. of manganic acid, converting 
them into one eq. of the permanganic (Mn207). The manganic acid thus be- 
comes a carrier of oxygen from the deutoxide, and, though a small portion may 
be formed at once, yet, by its successive formation and decomposition, it at length 
gives a considerable proportional product. 
Properties. Permanganate of potassa (K0,Mn207) is in the form of slender 
prismatic crystals, of a dark-purple colour, inodorous, and of a sweetish, astrin- 
gent taste. It is said to be soluble in 16 parts of water at 60° (Brande and 
Taylor); but, according to M. Reveil, it is dissolved by 5 times its weight at 
common temperatures. (Arch. Gen., Janv. 1864, p. 24.) Its solution, even with 
a minute proportion of the salt, has a beautiful lilac colour. If the solution be 
evaporated to dryness, the salt has the form of an intensely black powder. If 
suddenly heated, the crystals detonate; evolving oxygen, and leaving a black 
residue, which yields potassa to water, recognised by its alkaline reaction, and 
by giving, when acidulated with muriatic acid, a yellow precipitate with bichloride 
of platinum. (Br.) Moderately heated, they are partially volatilized, giving out 
violet vapours, of a disagreeable metallic odour. (Am. Journ.of Pharm., Sept. 
1862, p. 409.) This salt, in consequence of the facility with which it parts with 
oxygen, is one of the most powerful oxidizing agents known. It causes the 
combustion of certain inflammable bodies, imparts oxygen to almost all organic 
substances, and in chemistry is employed to bring various compounds to a higher 
degree of oxidation. It has been conjectured that a part of the oxygen contained 
in it is in the state of ozone, and to this has been ascribed its extraordinary 
oxidizing power. But the readiness with which it yields oxygen in the nascent 
state, is sufficient to account for the phenomena. It may be kept indefinitely if 
pure, and carefully secured from contact with organic substances, or other de- 
composing agents ; but, in fact, in consequence of the almost universal presence 
of organic matter in the air, it is generally partially decomposed, and, when dis- 
solved, leaves a slight residue of hydrated binoxide of manganese. 
The U. S. Pharmacopoeia gives as a test, that its solution is instantly de- 
colorized by the solution of arsenite of potassa, with the production of a brown 
precipitate. The British requires that 5 grains, dissolved in water, should be 
completely decolorized by not less than 44 grains of granulated sulphate of iron, 
acidulated with two fluidrachms of officinal dilute sulphuric acid. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Permanganate of potassa was first brought 
to the notice of the profession, in 1857, by Mr. Condy as a powerful disinfectant; 
and, since that time, has been very extensively and satisfactorily employed, so 
that it now ranks among the most efficient agents, and by some is considered 
superior to all others. Not only has it an extraordinary power of destroying 
/etid odours from organic sources; but it is thought even to destroy poisonous 
emanations, and thus to prove useful in preventing the spread of infectious dis- 
eases. It is used also very successfully in the treatment of fetid and gangre- 
nous ulcers, abscesses, and wounds of all kinds, of fetid discharges from the 
mucous memorane in ozsena, otorrhcea, and leucorrhcea, and of diphtheritic 684 
Potassse Permanganas.—Potassse Sulphas. 
PART I. 
affections; and it has proved serviceable even in cancerous ulcers, as of the face, 
mouth, and uterus. In this country, it has been employed extensively and with 
extraordinary success in hospital gangrene. As a local stimulant it has also been 
used in chronic and indolent ulcers. In all these cases, it is applied to the dis- 
eased surface in solution of various strengths, according to the effect desired. 
In concentrated solution, it is capable of acting as a caustic, and therefore re- 
quires caution. With the view to its caustic action, it may be sprinkled on the 
diseased surface by means of a pepper-box, or applied in strong solution. As 
a disinfectant lotion it may be of various strengths, from one to ten grains to 
the fluidounce of water. M. Demarquay, who was among the first to employ it, 
uses for injection in cancer of the womb, and for application to gangrenous and 
fetid abscesses, a solution varying in strength from 5 to 20 parts of the salt to 
100 of water, trying the weaker solution first. (Ann. de Therap., A. D. 1864, p. 
251.) M. 0. Reveil recommends as a standard solution 10 parts dissolved in 90 
parts of water. This may be used of its full strength in dressing cancerous, 
phagedenic, and atonic ulcers, and diphtheritic patches at the beginning. In 
consequence of its action on organic bodies, it should be applied by a pencil of 
amianthus, or sprinkled over a dressing of the same material upon the surface. 
For dressing simple wounds, or as an injection in ozaena, leucorrhoea, &c., half a 
fluidounce may be used to a pint of water; in gangrenous and diphtheritic 
wounds and scrofulous ulcers, and as a gargle in unhealthy ulcers of the mouth 
and fauces, a fluidounce to the pint; as a gargle in croup and diphtheritic angina 
with offensive breath, and as a wash for the hands after post-mortem examina- 
tions, two fluidounces to the pint. Of the same normal solution M. Reveil gives 
from ten to thirty drops internally through the day, equivalent to from one to 
three grains. (Arch. Gen., Janv. 1864, p. 25.) 
Internally the medicine has been recommended in diabetes, by Mr. Sampson, 
of London; but experience has not confirmed the hopes that were at one time 
entertained of its efficiency. More recently we have been told that it has been used 
with supposed benefit, in. cases of purulent infection, in the dose of half a grain 
or a grain repeated several times a day; and it is one of the remedies which is 
likely to prove useful in diphtheria, scarlatina, and other affections in which it 
may be presumed that noxious organic matters have entered the circulation. 
Off. Prep. Liquor Potassae Permanganatis, Br. W. 
POTASSiE SULPHAS. U.S.,Br. 
Sulphate of Potassa. 
Vitriolated tartar; Tartarum vitriolatum, Arcanum duplicatum, Sal de duobus, Lat.; 
Sulfate de potasse, Potasse Ft.; Schwefelsaures Kali, Vitriolisirtir Weinstein, 
Germ.; Solfato di potassa, Ital. 
Several chemical processes give rise to sulphate of potassa as a secondary 
product. Thus, it is produced in the distillation of nitric acid from a mixture 
of nitre and sulphuric acid; in the decomposition of sulphate of magnesia by 
carbonate of potassa, in one of the processes for preparing carbonate of mag- 
nesia; in the manufacture of sulphuric acid; and in the decomposition of tar- 
trate of potassa by sulphate of lime. When nitric acid is obtained by calcining a 
mixture of nitre and sulphate of iron, the residue consists of sesquioxide of iron 
and sulphate of potassa, the latter of which, being alone soluble, is separated 
by means of water, and crystallized from its solution. The impure sulphate ot 
potassa with sulphur, forming the residue of the combustion of sulphur and 
nitre in making sulphuric acid, is employed in the manufacture of alum. 
The U. S. Pharmacopoeia places sulphate of potassa in the list of the Materia 
Medica; the British, among the preparations, obtaining it from the salt which rART i. 
Potassse Sulphas. 
685 
remains after the distillation of nitric acid. This salt is a supersulphate of po- 
tassa, and must be so treated as to be brought to the neutral state. In the British 
process it is brought to that state by saturation, in boiling solution, with slaked 
lime. The solution is then filtered to separate the sulphate of lime, and carbonate 
of potassa is added at the boiling temperature to remove lime and sulphate of 
lime. It is again filtered, then either neutralized or rendered slightly acid with 
diluted sulphuric acid; and, finally, having been evaporated to a pellicle, is set 
aside for twenty-four hours to crystallize. 
The manufacturer of tartaric acid who avails himself of sulphate of lime to 
decompose tartrate of potassa, forms sulphate of potassa as a collateral product. 
For the manner in which the latter salt may be economically crystallized for use 
in the arts, see Am. Journ. of Pliarm. (xxiii. 343). 
Properties. Sulphate of potassa is a white, anhydrous salt, in the form of 
small, aggregated, transparent, very hard crystals, permanent in the air, having 
the shape usually of short six-sided prisms, terminated by six-sided pyramids, 
and possessing a nauseous, somewhat bitter taste. Insoluble in alcohol, it is 
slowly soluble in about nine and a half times its weight of cold, and in less than 
four times its weight of boiling water. (Gay-Lussac.) Its solution is precipi- 
tated yellow by bichloride of platinum, and white by chloride of barium. Added 
to a solution of sulphate of alumina, it generates alum, recognised by the octo- 
hedral shape of its crystals. It is decomposed by tartaric acid, which forms bi- 
tartrate of potassa, and by the soluble salts of baryta, strontia, lime, silver, and 
lead, forming insoluble or sparingly soluble sulphates. This salt is not liable to 
adulteration. It consists of one eq. of sulphuric acid 40, and one of potassa 
47-2 = 87-2. 
The plate-sulphate of potassa, so well-described by Prof. Penny, of Glasgow, 
is, when pure, the double sulphate of potassa and soda, having the formula 
3(K0,S03)-f-Na0,S03. It is so called from the circumstance of being crystal- 
lized in hard thick cakes, or slabs, consisting of successive crops of crystals. 
It is a technical product from kelp, and may be formed by allowing successive 
quantities of concentrated kelp-ley to run into coolers, there to crystallize in 
successive layers; the mother-liquor being drawn off by a siphon, after the de- 
posit of each layer. (Philos. Mag., Dec. 1855.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Sulphate of potassa is a mild purgative, 
operating usually without heat, pain, or other symptom of irritation. In small 
doses of from a scruple to half a drachm, it operates as an aperient, and is useful- 
in removing obstructions; in larger doses, of four or five drachms, it acts slowly 
as a purge. Combined with rhubarb, in the proportion of about a drachm of 
the salt to ten grains of the root, Dr. Fordyce recommended it as an excellent 
alterative cathartic in the visceral obstructions of children, characterized by a 
tumid abdomen, and defective digestion and nutrition; and we can bear testi- 
mony to its efficacy in such cases. The late Dr. A. T. Thomson found it, in 
combination with rhubarb or aloes, “more useful than any of the other saline 
purgatives in jaundice and dyspeptic affections.” On the continent of Europe it 
is frequently given as an aperient after delivery, and for the purpose of drying 
up the milk. It enters into the composition of Dover’s powder. 
Notwithstanding the general sentiment of practitioners as to the safety of 
sulphate of potassa as a purgative, several cases are on record of supposed poi- 
soning from its use. A case has been reported (1856), in which death was at- 
tributed to this salt, the amount taken having been estimated at an ounce and 
a half. M. Moritz attributed the poisonous effects of the salt, in a case under 
his notice, to the presence of a notable quantity of sulphate of zinc; but this 
explanation cannot be admitted as adequate. In other cases, the salt, though 
found to be pure, seemed to act as a poison. In these cases its effects may be 
attributed, sometimes to the largeness of the dose, and perhaps also to the insuf- Potassii Ferrocyanidum. 
PAKT I. 
ficiency of water used to dissolve it; at other times, where the dose used was mode- 
rate, to the existence of a predisposition to gastric inflammation. For further 
information in relation to this subject, the reader is referred to a paper by the late 
Dr. T. Romeyn Beck, in the Amer. Journ. of the Med. Sci. (N. S., vii. 88). 
Off. Prep. Pilula Colocynthidis Composita, Br.; Pilula Colocynthidis et 
Hyoscyami, Br.; Pulvis Ipecacuahm Compositus, U. S.; Pulvis Ipecacuanhas 
cum Opio, Br. B. 
POTASSII FERROCYANIDUM. U.S. 
Ferrocyanide of Potassium. 
Fcrrocyanide of potassium, Ferrocyanate of potassa, Ferroprussiate of potassa, Prus- 
siate of potassa; Proto-cyanure jaune de fer et de potassium, Fr.; Cyaneisenkalium, Germ. 
This is placed among the substances used in preparing medicines, in the Ap- 
pendix of the British Pharmacopoeia, with the formula K2FeCy3-j-3HO (Cy- 
anogen, Cy=C2N), and the synonyme Yellow Prussiate of Potash. 
It is the yellow double cyanide of potassium and iron, the salt from which 
cyanide of potassium is obtained by calcination at a low red heat. 
Ferrocyanide of potassium is prepared on the large scale by heating animal 
matters, such as dried blood, hoofs, chips of horn, woollen rags, old leather, the 
refuse of tallow-chandlers called greaves, and other substances rich in nitrogen, 
with the pearlash of commerce and scrap iron, in an egg-shaped iron pot called 
a shell, ladling out the pasty mass called the melt, and, after it has cooled suffi- 
ciently, dissolving it in water, and evaporating the solution so that crystals may 
form. The melt, while still hot, contains cyanide of potassium only, the ferro- 
cyanide being produced solely by the action of the water. The best temperature 
for making the solution is between 158° and 176°; and the conversion of the 
cyanide into the ferrocyanide is facilitated by the presence of finely divided 
amorphous sulphuret of iron, and of caustic potassa. (A. Reimann, Chein. Gaz., 
Jan. 1, 1855.) 
Some years ago this salt was manufactured by a process which dispensed with 
the use of animal matter; the necessary nitrogen being obtained by a current of 
atmospheric air. Fragments of charcoal, impregnated with 30 per cent, of car- 
bonate of potassa, were heated to white redness in a cylinder, through which a 
current of air was drawn by a suction pump. This process is understood to have 
succeeded in a chemical sense, but failed on the score of economy, chiefly from 
the circumstance that the necessary fire-clay tubes could not be made to resist 
the combined action of the alkali and heat. The process of Richard Brunnquell 
consists in passing ammonia through tubes, filled with charcoal and heated to 
redness, so as to form cyanide of ammonium, and converting this into ferrocy- 
anide of potassium by contact with solution of potash and suitable iron com- 
pounds. (Ghent. Gaz., Nov. 1, 1856.) 
Properties. Ferrocyanide of potassium is in large, beautiful, transparent, 
permanent, four-sided, tabular crystals, of a lemon-yellow colour, devoid of 
odour, but possessing a sweetish, yet somewhat bitter, saline taste. It dissolves 
in between three and four times its weight of cold water, and in about its own 
weight of boiling water, but is insoluble in alcohol. It acts but slightly, if at 
all, on turmeric paper. The alkaline reaction, when it exists, is probably owing 
to the presence of a little free potassa. When heated to 140° it loses its water 
of crystallization, amounting to 12 6 per cent., and becomes white. When 
ignited, the insoluble residue amounts to 18'7 per cent, of sesquioxide of iron, 
resulting from the oxidation of the iron of the salt. It is characterized by 
striking a deep-blue colour with the salts of sesquioxide of iron, a deep-brown 
one with the salts of copper, and a white one with those of zinc, the several 
precipitates formed being ferrocyauides of the respective metals. Heated with part I. 
Potassii Ferrocyauidum.—Prinos. 
687 
* » 
eight or ten times its weight of concentrated sulphuric acid, it evolves carbonic 
oxide. (Fownes.) Half an ounce of the salt yields about 250 cubic inches of the 
gas. (C. Grimm and G. Ramdohr.) When boiled with dilute sulphuric acid, 
it emits the smell of hydrocyanic acid. Ferrocyanide of potassium consists of 
two eqs. of cyanide of potassium 130-4, one of cyanide of iron 54, and three of 
water 27 = 211-4 (2KCy,FeCy + 3HO). The water present is just sufficient to 
convert the iron and potassium into protoxides, and the cyanogen into hydro- 
cyanic acid. Apart from the water, it is generally considered to consist of a 
compound radical, called ferrocyanogen, formed of three eqs. of cyanogen and 
one of iron (tercyanide of iron), united with two eqs. of potassium. Hence its 
officinal name. The salt is remarkably pure as it occurs in commerce. 
Medical Properties, &c. Judging from the experiments of the German phy- 
sicians, this salt possesses but little activity. Callies, as quoted by Pereira, found 
the commercial salt slightly poisonous, but the pure salt unproductive of harm 
in the dose of several ounces. It should be borne in mind that it is the com- 
mercial salt which is used medicinally. Westrumb and Ilering proved that it 
passed with rapidity into the blood and urine. The late Dr. Burleigh Smart, of 
Kennebec, Maine, found it to possess active medical properties. (Am. Journ. of 
Med. Sci., xv. 362.) Its primary effect was that of a sedative, diminishing the ful- 
ness and frequency of the pulse, and allaying pain and irritation. It acted also, 
under favourable circumstances, as a diaphoretic and astringent; but, as a diapho- 
retic, only in cases attended with excessive vascular action and increased heat 
of skin. As an astringent, its power was most conspicuous in the colliquative 
sweats of chronic bronchitis and phthisis. The same power was evinced in several 
cases of leucorrhoea. It sometimes produced ptyalism, unattended, however, by 
swelling of the salivary glands or fetor of the breath. Its properties as an ano- 
dyne and sedative rendered it applicable to cases of neuralgic pains and hoop- 
ing-cough, in which diseases, especially the latter, Dr. Smart found it useful. 
When given in an overdose, it occasioned vertigo, coldness, and numbness, with 
a sense of gastric sinking. The form of administration which Dr. Smart pre- 
ferred was that of solution, in the proportion of two drachms to the fluidounce 
of water. Of this the dose for an adult is from 30 to 45 drops, equivalent to 
from 10 to 15 grains of the salt, repeated every four or six hours. 
This salt is manufactured on a large scale, chiefly for the use of dyers and 
calico-printers. In pharmacy it is employed to prepare diluted hydrocyanic acid, 
Prussian blue, and the cyanides of potassium and silver. 
Off. Prep. Acidum Hydrocyanicum Dilutum; Argenti Cyanidum, TJ.S.; 
Ferri Ferrocyanidum, U. S.; Hydrargyri Cyanidum, U. S.; Potassii Cyanidum, 
U. S. B. 
PRINOS. U.jS. /Secondary. 
Black Alder. 
The bark of Prinos verticillatus. U. S. 
Prinos. Sex. Syst. Hexandria Monogynia. — Nat.Ord. Aquifoliace®. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx small, six-cleft. Corolla monopetaloifs, subrotate, six-parted. 
Berry six-seeded; seeds nuciform. Nuttall. 
Prinos verticillatus. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 225; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. iii. 
141; Barton, Med. Bot. i. 203. The black alder is an indigenous shrub, with a 
stem six or eight feet high, furnished with alternate, spreading branches, and 
covered with a bluish-gray bark. The leaves, which stand alternately or irregu- 
larly on short petioles, are oval, pointed, tapering at the base, acutely serrate, 
of a dark-green colour, smooth above, but downy on the veins beneath. The 
flowers are small, white, nearly sessile, and grow three or four together at the 
axils of the leaves. They are often dioecious. The calyx is persistent; the seg- 688 
Prinos.—Prunum. 
PART I. 
ments of the corolla obtuse; the stamens usually six, and furnished with oblong 
anthers; the germ large, green, and roundish, writh a short style, terminating in 
an obtuse stigma. The fruit when ripe consists of glossy, scarlet, roundish ber- 
ries, about the size of a pea, containing six cells and six seeds. Several of these 
berries are clustered, so as to form little bunches at irregular intervals on the stem. 
In the latter part of autumn, after the leaves have fallen, they still remain attached 
to the stem, and render the shrub a striking object in the midst of the general 
nakedness of vegetation. Hence the plant is often called winterberry. 
It grows in all parts of the United States, from Canada to Florida, frequent- 
ing low wet places, such as swamps, and the borders of ponds; ditches, and 
streams. Its flowers appear in June. The berries, which have a bitter, sweet- 
ish, somewhat acrid taste, are sometimes used medicinally for the same purposes 
with the bark, which is the officinal portion. 
The dried bark is in slender pieces, more or less rolled, brittle, greenish-wffiite 
internally, and covered with a smooth epidermis, easily separable, and of a 
whitish-ash colour, alternating or mingled with brown. It has no smell, but a 
bitter and slightly astringent taste. Boiling water extracts its virtues. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Black alder is usually considered tonic and 
astringent; and is among the remedies proposed as substitutes for Peruvian 
bark, wdth which, however, it has very little analogy. It has been recommended 
in intermittent fever, diarrhoea, and other diseases connected with debility, espe- 
cially gangrene and mortification. It is a popular remedy in gangrenous or flabby 
and ill-conditioned ulcers, and in chronic cutaneous eruptions, in which it is given 
internally, and applied locally in the form of a wash or poultice. It may be used 
in substance or decoction. The dose of the powder is from thirty grains to a 
drachm, to be repeated several times a day. The decoction, which is usually 
preferred both for internal and external use, may be prepared by boiling two 
ounces of the bark with three pints of water to a quart, and given in the dose 
of two or three fluidounces. A saturated tincture, as well of the berries as of 
the bark, is sometimes employed. W. 
PRUNUM. U. S.j Br. 
Prunes. 
The dried fruit of Prunus domestica. U. S. The dried Drupe; from plants 
cultivated in Southern Europe. Br. 
Pruneaux, Fr.; Pflaumen, Germ,.; Pruni, Ital.; Ciruelas secas, Span. 
Prunus. Sex. Syst. Icosandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Amygdalem. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx inferior, bell-shaped, deciduous, with five obtuse, concave 
segments. Petals five, roundish, concave, spreading, larger than the segments 
of the calyx, into the rim of which they are inserted. Filaments awl-shaped, 
nearly as long as the corolla, frpm the rim of the calyx within the petals. An- 
thers short, of two round lobes. Ovary superior, roundish. Style of the length 
of the stamens. Stigma orbicular, peltate. Drupe roundish or elliptical. Nut 
hard, somewhat compnessed, of one cell, and two more or less distinct sutures 
with an intermediate furrow. Leaves rolled up when young. (Lmdley.) 
Prunus domestica. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 995; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 520, t. 
187. The cultivated prune or plum tree is so well known as to render a minute 
description unnecessary. We merely give the specific character. u Peduncles 
subsolitary; leaves lanceolate-ovate, convolute; branches not spiny.” The 
varieties of the tree produced by cultivation are very numerous. Nearly one 
hundred are to be found in the British gardens. Though at present growing 
wild in various parts of Europe, it is thought to have been brought originally 
from Asia Minor and Syria. It is the dried fruit only that is officinal. PAJtT I. 
Prunum.—Prunus Virginiana 
689 
The prunes brought to our market come chiefly from the south of France, 
the best from Bordeaux. They are derived from the variety of the tree named 
Juliana by Linnaeus. The fresh fruit, called Prune de Saint Julien by the 
French, is of an oval shape, nearly an inch in length, and of a deep-violet 
colour. It is prepared by drying in the sun, after having been exposed to the 
heat of an oven. The finest prunes, used on the tables in France, are prepared 
from the larger kinds of plums, such as the Saint Catharine, and Reine-Claudo 
or green-gage. An inferior sort is brought from Germany. 
Prunes have a feeble odour, and a sweet mucilaginous taste, which is gene- 
rally also somewhat acid. They contain uncrystallizable sugar, malic acid, and 
mucilaginous matter. In Germany a kind of brandy is obtained from them, 
which in some districts is largely consumed. Bonneberg, a German chemist, has 
extracted from prunes crystallizable sugar, equal to that of the cane. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Prunes are laxative and nutritious, and, 
stewed with water, form an excellent diet in costiveness, especially during con- 
valescence from febrile and inflammatory diseases. Imparting their laxative 
property to boiling water, they serve as a pleasant and useful addition to pur- 
gative decoctions. Their pulp is used in the preparation of laxative confections. 
Too largely taken, in a debilitated state of the digestive organs, they are apt to 
occasion flatulence, and griping pain in the stomach and bowels. 
Off. Prep. Confectio Sennse. W. 
PRUNUS VIRGINIAN A. U.S. 
Wild-cherry Bark. 
The bark of Cerasus serotina (De Cand.). U. S. 
Cerasus. See LAURO-CERASUS. 
This genus, which is now generally admitted, includes a large number of 
species formerly embraced in the genus Prunus of Linnaeus. 
Cerasus serotina. De Candolle, Prodrom. ii. 540; Torrey and Gray, Flora 
of N. America, i. 410.— Cerasus Virginiana. Michaux, N. Am. Sylv. ii. 205. 
According to Torrey and Gray, the name Prunus Virginiana, which has been 
wrongly applied to this species, was given by Linnseus to the choke-cherry, a 
small tree or shrub, growing in the Northern States, and bearing a dark-red, 
globular, astringent fruit, about as large as that of the icild-cherry. This is 
described in the Flora of N. America of these authors, under the name of Ce- 
rasus Virginiana. The officinal species, or wild-cherry tree, is, according to 
Michaux, one of the largest productions of the American forest. Individuals 
were seen by that botanist on the banks of the Ohio, from eighty to one hundred 
feet high, with trunks from twelve to fifteen feet in circumference, and undivided 
to the height of twenty-five or thirty feet. But, as usually met with in the 
Atlantic States, the tree is much smaller. In the open fields it is less elevated 
than in forests, but sends out more numerous branches, which expand into an 
elegant oval summit. The trunk is regularly shaped, and covered with a rough, 
blackish bark, which detaches itself semicircularly in thick narrow plates. The 
leaves are oval-oblong, or lanceolate-oblong, acuminate, unequally serrate, 
smooth on both sides, of a beautiful brilliant green, and supported alternately 
upon petioles, which are furnished with from two to four reddish glands. The 
flowers are small, white, and collected in long erect or spreading racemes. They 
appear in May, and are followed by globular drupes, about the size of a pea, 
and when ripe of a shining blackish-purple colour. 
This tree grows throughout the Union, flourishing most in those parts where 
the soil is fertile and the climate temperate, and abounding in the Middle Atlantic 
States, and in those which border on the Ohio. In the neighbourhood of Phila- 690 
Prunus Virginiana. 
PART I. 
delphia, it affects open situations, growing solitarily in the fields and along 
fences, and seldom aggregated in woods or groves. It is highly valued by the 
cabinet-makers for its wood, which is compact, fine-grained, susceptible of polish, 
and of a light-red tint, which deepens with age. The leaves have been found 
by Prof. Procter to yield volatile oil and hydrocyanic acid on distillation, and in 
such proportion that a water distilled from them might with propriety be sub- 
stituted for the cherry-laurel water. (Proceed. of Am. Pharm. Assoc., 1858, p. 
325.) The fruit has a sweetish, astringent, bitter taste; and is much used in 
some parts of the country to impart flavour to spirituous liquors. The inner 
bark is the part employed in medicine, and is obtained indiscriminately from all 
parts of the tree, though that of the roots is thought to be most active. Mr. 
J. S. Perot has ascertained that it is stronger when collected in autumn than in 
the spring. Thus, from a portion gathered in April he obtained 0 0478 per 
cent, of hydrocyanic acid, and from another in October 0T436 percent., or 
about three times as much. The parcels tried were taken from the same tree, 
and the same part of the tree. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxiv. 111.) The bark 
should be preferred recently dried, as it deteriorates by keeping. 
Properties. Wild-cherry bark, as kept in the shops, is in pieces of various 
sizes, more or less curved laterally, usually destitute of epidermis, of a lively 
reddish-cinnamon colour, brittle, and pulverizable, presenting a reddish-gray 
fracture, and affording a fawn-coloured powder. In the fresh state, or when 
treated with water, it emits an odour resembling that of peach leaves. Its taste is 
agreeably bitter and aromatic, with the peculiar flavour of the bitter almond. It 
imparts its sensible properties to water, either cold or hot, producing a clear 
reddish infusion closely resembling Madeira wine in appearance. Its peculiar 
flavour as well as medical virtues are injured by boiling, in consequence partly 
of the volatilization of the principles upon which they depend, partly upon a 
chemical change effected by the heat. From an analysis by Dr. Stephen Procter, 
it appears to contain starch, resin, tannin, gallic ajid, fatty matter, lignin, red 
colouring matter, salts of lime and potassa, and iron. He obtained also a vola- 
tile oil, associated with hydrocyanic acid, by distilling the same portion of water 
successively from several different portions of the bark. This oil was of a light- 
straw colour, and very analogous in its properties to the volatile oil of bitter 
almonds. In the quantity of two drops it proved fatal to a cat in less than five 
minutes. (Journ. of the Philad. Col. of Pharm., vi. 8.) Prof. William Procter 
proved that, as in the case of bitter almonds, the volatile oil and hydrocyanic 
acid do not exist ready formed in the bark, but are the result of the reaction of 
water with amygdalin, which he ascertained to be one of its constituents. In 
order, however, that this change may take place, the agency of another prin- 
ciple, pi'obably analogous to if not identical with emulsin or the synap/ase of 
Robiquet, is also essential; and, as this principle becomes inoperative at the 
boiling temperature, we can understand how decoction may interfere with the 
virtues of the bark. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., x. 197.) The conjecture was ad- 
vanced, in former editions of this work, that wild-cherry bark might coutain 
also phloridzin, a bitter principle proved to exist in the bark of the apple, pear, 
cherry, and plum trees; but Mr. Perot sought for this principle, without suc- 
cess, in specimens of the bark of different ages, and taken from different parts 
of the tree; so that the tonic property, which is undoubtedly possessed by the 
bark, must reside either in the portion of amygdalin which may remain unde- 
composed, in the pure volatile oil resulting from its reaction with water, or in 
some yet undiscovered principle. (Ibid., xxiv. 111.)” That the last of these in- 
ferences is the correct one, would seem to be proved by an experiment by Prof. 
Procter, who found the bitterness of an extract of the bark to remain after it 
had been wholly deprived of amygdalin. (See the author’s Treatise on Thera- 
peutics, &c., i. 291.) The sedative properties of the bark depend uuon the 
hydrocyanic acid which it yields. PART I. 
Prunus Virginiana.—Pyrethrum. 
691 
Medical Properties and Uses. This bark is among the most valuable of our 
indigenous remedies. Uniting with a tonic power the property of calming irri- 
tation and diminishing nervous excitability, it is admirably adapted to the treat- 
ment of diseases in which debility of the stomach, or of the system, is united 
with general (* local irritation. When largely taken it diminishes the action of 
the heart, an effect ascribable to the hydrocyanic acid. Dr. Bberle found copious 
draughts of the cold infusion, taken several times a day, and continued for nearly 
two weeks, to reduce his pulse from seventy-five to fifty strokes in the minute. 
The remedy is highly useful, arid has been much employed in this country, in the 
hectic fever of scrofula and consumption. In the general debility which often 
succeeds inflammatory diseases, it is also advantageous; and it is well adapted 
to many cases of dyspepsia. It has been given successfully in intermittent fever, 
but is much inferior to cinchona. 
It may be used in the form of powder, infusion, fluid extract, or syrup. The 
dose of the powder is from thirty grains to a drachm; of the infusion, which is 
properly directed in the Pharmacopoeia to be prepared with cold water, two or 
three fluidounces; of the fluid extract, a fluidrachm; and of the syrup, half a fluid- 
ounce. These preparations are all officinal, and are described in the second part 
©f the work, under their titles respectively. 
Off. Prep. Extractum Pruni Virginian® Fluidum, U. S.; Infusum Pruni Vir- 
ginian®, U. S.; Syrupus Pruni Virginian®, U. S. W. 
PYRETHRUM. US. Secondary. 
Pellitory. 
The root of Anacyclus Pyrethrum. U. S. 
Pyrfcthre, Fr.; Bertram Wurzel, Germ..; Piretro, Ital.; Pelitre, Span. 
Anacyclus. Differing from Anthemis by its winged and obcordate achsenia. 
Lindley. See ANTHEMIS. 
Anacyclus Pyrethrum. De Cand. Prodrom. vi. 15. — Anthemis Pyrethrum. 
Willd. Up. Plant, iii. 2184; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 50, t. 20. The root of this 
plant is perennial, and sends up numerous stems, usually trailing at the base, 
erect in their upper portion, eight or ten inches high, and terminated by one 
large flower. The leaves are doubly pirmate, with narrow nearly linear segments 
of a pale-green colour. The florets of the disk are yellow; the rays white on 
their upper surface, and reddish or purple beneath and at their edges. 
The plant is a native of the Levant, Barbary, and the Mediterranean coast 
of Europe. The root is the part used under the name of pellitory, or p>ellitory 
of Spain. According to Hayne, the pellitory of the shops is derived from the 
Anacyclus officinarum, a plant cultivated in Thuryngia for medical purposes. 
This remark, however, can apply only to Germany. 
Properties. The dried root of A. Pyrethrum is about the size of the little 
finger, cylindrical, straight or but slightly curved, wrinkled longitudinally, of 
an ash-brown colour externally, whitish within, hard and brittle, and sometimes 
furnished with a few radicals. It is destitute of odour, though, when fresh, of 
a disagreeable smell. Its taste is peculiar, slight at first, but afterwards acidu- 
lous, saline, and acrid, attended with a burning and tingling sensation over the 
whole mouth and throat, which continues for some time, and excites a copious 
flow of saliva. Its analysis by Koene gives, in 100 parts, 0'59 of a brown, very 
acrid substance, of a resinous appearance, and insoluble in caustic potassa; l-60 
of a dark-brown, very acrid fixed oil, soluble in potassa; 0 35 of a yellow acrid 
oil. also soluble in potassa; traces of tannin; 9-40 parts of gum; inulin; L60 
parts of sulphate and carbonate of potassa, chloride of potassium, phosphate and 
carbonate of lime, alumina, silica. &c.; and 19-80 of lignin, besides loss. (See 
Am. Journ. of Pliarm., viii. 115.) 692 
Pyrethrum.—Quassia. 
part i. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Pellitory is a powerful irritant, used almost 
exclusively as a sialagogue in certain forms of headache, rheumatic and neu- 
ralgic affections of the face, toothache, &c., or as a local stimulant in palsy of 
the tongue or throat, and in relaxation of the uvula. For these purposes it may 
be chewed, or employed as a gargle in decoction or vinous tincture. The dose 
as a masticatory is from thirty grains to a drachm. An alcoholic extract is some- 
times employed by dentists as a local application to carious teeth, with a view 
to its benumbing effect before plugging. W. 
• 
QUASSIA. U.S.,Br. 
Quassia. 
The wood of Simaruba excelsa. U. S. Picrsena excelsa. The Wood. Br. 
Bois de quassie, Fr.; Quassienkolz, Germ.; Legno della quassia, Ital.; Leno de quassia, 
Span. 
Quassia. Sex. Syst. Decandria Monogynia.— Nat Ord. Simarubaceae. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx five-leaved. Petals five. Nectary five-leaved. Drupes five, 
distant, bivalve, one-seeded, inserted into a fleshy receptacle. Willd. 
Of the species included by Linnmus in this genus, some, as Quassia amara, 
are hermaphrodite; others, as Q. excelsa and Q. Simaruba, are monoecious or 
polygamous. The latter have been associated by De Candolle in a distinct genus, 
named Simaruba, which has been again divided by Lindley into Simaruba with 
monoecious, and Picrsena with polygamous flowers. To the last-mentioned genus 
the proper Quassia plant, Q. excelsa of Linnaeus, belongs. 
The medicine was formerly obtained from Quassia amara; but more than 
twenty years since Lamarck stated that, in consequence of the scarcity of this 
tree, Quassia excelsa had been resorted to as a substitute, and the Pharmaco- 
poeias at present agree in acknowledging the latter as the officinal plant. The 
genuine quassia plant, however, of Surinam is the Q. amara; and we shall, there- 
fore, give a brief description of both species. 
Quassia excelsa. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 569. — Simaruba excelsa. De Cand. 
Prodrom. i. 733; Hayne, Darstel. und Beschreib. &c. ix. 16. —Picrsena excelsa. 
Lindley, Flor. Med. 208. As its name imports, this is a lofty tree, attaining 
sometimes not less than one hundred feet in height, with a straight, smooth, 
tapering trunk, which is often three feet in diameter near its base, and covered 
with a smooth, gray bark. The leaves are pinnate, with a naked petiole, and 
oblong pointed leaflets standing upon short footstalks, in opposite pairs, with a 
single leaflet at the end. The flowers are small, of a yellowish-green colour, and 
disposed in panicles. They are polygamous and pentandrous. The fruit is a 
small black drupe. This species inhabits Jamaica and the Caribbean islands, 
where it is called bitter ash. The wood is the officinal portion. 
Quassia amara. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 567 ; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 574, t. 204. 
The bitter quassia is a small branching tree or shrub, with alternate leaves, con- 
sisting of two pairs of opposite pinnae, with an odd one at the end. The leaflets 
are elliptical, pointed, sessile, smooth, of a deep-green colour on their upper 
surface, and paler on the under. The common footstalk is articulated, and edged 
on each side with a leafy membrane. The flowers, which are hermaphrodite and 
decandrous, have a bright-red colour, and terminate the branches in long racemes. 
The fruit is a two-celled capsule containing globular seeds. Quassia amara is a 
native of Surinam, and is said also to grow in some of the West India islands. 
Its root, bark, and wood were formerly officinal. They are excessively bitter, as 
in fact are all parts of the plant. It is uncertain whether any of the produce of 
this tree now reaches our markets. 
Quassia comes in cylindrical billets of various sizes, from an inch to near a PART I. 
Quassia. 
693 
foot in diameter, and several feet in length. These are frequently invested with 
a light-coloured smoothish bark, brittle, and but slightly adherent, and possess 
ing in at least an equal degree the virtues of the wood. Their shape and struc 
ture clearly evince that they are derived from the branches or trunk, and not, 
as some have supposed, from the root of the tree. In the shops they are usually 
kept split into small pieces, or rasped.* 
Properties. The wood is at first whitish, but becomes yellow by exposure. 
It is inodorous, and has a purely bitter taste, surpassed by that of few other 
substances in intensity and permanence. It imparts its active properties, with 
its bitterness and yellow colour, to water and alcohol. Its virtues depend upon 
a peculiar bitter crystallizable principle, denominated quassin, which was first 
discovered by Winckler. It may be obtained pure by the following process of 
Wiggers. A filtered decoction of quassia is evaporated to three-quarters of the 
weight of the wood employed, slaked lime is added, and the mixture, having 
been allowed to stand for a day, with occasional agitation, is again filtered. A 
considerable quantity of pectin, besides other substances, is thus separated. The 
clear liquor is evaporated nearly to dryness, and the resulting mass exhausted 
by alcohol of the sp.gr. 0 835, which leaves behind gum, common salt, nitre, 
&c., in large amount, and dissolves quassin with some common salt and nitre, 
and a brown organic substance. In order to separate the quassin from these 
latter principles, which are soluble in water, the solution is evaporated to dry- 
ness, the resulting mass is dissolved in the least possible quantity of absolute 
alcohol, a large proportion of ether is added, and the liquor, previously sepa- 
rated by filtration from the brown mass which the ether has thrown down, is 
evaporated to dryness; and this process is repeated till the quassin remains 
behind quite colourless, and affords no evidence of the presence of the above- 
mentioned salts. Lastly, in order to obtain it in a crystalline form, to which it 
is not strongly disposed, pour the alcoholic solution mixed with ether upon a 
little water, and allow it to evaporate spontaneously. Quassin is white, opaque, 
unalterable in the air, inodorous, and of an intense bitterness, which in the solu- 
tions of this principle is almost insupportable. The bitterness is pure, and re- 
sembles that of the wood. When heated, quassin melts like a resin. It is but 
slightly soluble in water, 100 parts of which at 54° dissolve only 0-45, and that 
slowly. By the addition of salts, especially of those with which it is associated 
in quassia, its solubility is strikingly increased. It is also but slightly soluble in 
ether, but is very soluble in alcohol, more so in that liquid hot than cold, and 
the more so the purer it is. Quassin is perfectly neuter, though both alkalies 
and acids increase its solubility in water. It is precipitated by tannic acid from 
its aqueous solution, which is not disturbed by iodine, chlorine, corrosive subli- 
mate, the salts of iron, sugar of lead, or even subacetate of lead. Its ulti- 
mate constituents are carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Among the salts con- 
tained in quassia-, Mr. Geo. Whipple has detected a considerable proportion of 
sulphate of soda. (Pliarm. Journ., xiii. 643.) 
Medical Properties and, Uses. Quassia has in the highest degree all the pro- 
perties of the simple bitters. It is purely tonic, invigorating the digestive 
organs, with little excitement of the circulation, or increase of animal heat. It 
has not been very long known as a medicine. About the middle of the last cen- 
Kury, a negro of Surinam, named Quassi, acquired considerable reputation in 
* Mr. Edward Parrish has called attention to a bark, known in the market under the 
name of quassia bark. (Am. Journ. of Phann., xxix. 104.) A specimen in our possession is 
in pieces, very broad, slightly curved laterally, thin in proportion to their other dimensions, 
covered with a thin, greenish-brown, rough epidermis, yellowish-white and striated on 
their inner surface, of a feeble odour, and a quassia-like bitterness. The inner layers of 
the proper bark are very fibrous and tough, and, on the broken surface, of a light-yellow 
•olour. It is uncertain whether the bark is from the Quassia excelsa; but there is little 
doubt that it is either from that or some analogous tree.—Note to the eleventh edition. 694 
Quassia.— Quercus Alba.—Quercus Tinctoria. 
PART i. 
the treatment of the malignant fevers of that country, by a secret remedy, which 
he was induced to disclose to Mr. Rolander, a Swede, for a valuable considera- 
tion. Specimens were taken to Stockholm by this gentleman in the year 1756; 
and the medicine soon became popular in Europe. The name of the negro has 
been perpetuated in the generic title of the plant. But the quassia of Surinam 
is not now in use, having been superseded by the product of Quassia excelsa, 
from the West Indies. This medicine is useful whenever a simple tonic impres- 
sion is desirable. It is particularly adapted to dyspepsia, and to that debilitated 
state of the digestive organs which sometimes succeeds acute disease. It may 
also be given with advantage in the remission of certain fevers in which tonics 
are demanded. No one at present would expect from it any peculiar control- 
ling influence over malignant fevers. It is said to be largely employed in Eng- 
land by the brewers, to impart bitterness to their liqnors. 
It is most conveniently administered in infusion or extract. (See Infusum 
Quassiae and Extractum Quassiae.) The difficulty of reducing the wood to 
powder is an objection to its use in substance. It may, however, be employed 
in a dose varying from a scruple to a drachm, repeated three or four times a 
day. Some dyspeptic patients, who have become habituated to its bitterness, 
chew the wood occasionally with benefit. 
Off. Prep. Extractum Quassias; Infusum Quassiae; Tinctura Quassiae, TJ.S. 
W. 
QUERCUS ALBA. U.S. 
White-oak Bark. 
The bark of Quercus alba. U. S. 
QUERCUS TINCTORIA. U.S. 
Black-oak Bark. 
The bark of Quercus tinctoria. U. S. 
Off. Syn. QUERCUS. Quercus pedunculata. The dried Bark of the small 
branches and young stems; collected in spring, from plants growing in Britain. Br. 
Ecorce de cheuo, Fr.; Eiclienrinde, Germ.; Corteccia della quercia, Itul.; Coi’teza de 
roble, Span. 
Quercus. Sex. Syst. Monoecia Polyandria. — Nat. Ord. Amentaceas, Juss.; 
Cupuliferae, Richard; Corylaceas, Bindley. 
Gen.Ch. Male. Calyx commonly five-cleft. Corolla none. Slamens five to 
ten. Female. Calyx one-leafed, entire, rough. Corolla none. Styles two to 
five. Nut coriaceous, surrounded at the base by the persistent calyx. Willd. 
This genus comprises not less than eighty species, of which between thirty and 
forty are within the limits of the United States. Many of these are applied to 
important practical purposes. In the northern hemisphere, the oak is the most 
valuable, as it is the most widely diffused of all forest trees. Notwithstanding 
the great number of species, few, comparatively, have found a place in the offici- 
nal catalogues. Q. robur, or common European oak, was formerly recognised by 
the British Colleges; but at present only Q. pedunculata, or European white 
oak, is admitted in the Br. Pharmacopoeia. As these do not grow in the United 
States, and their products are not imported, it is unnecessary to treat of them 
particularly in this work. According to Michaux, they grow in the same coun- 
tries, frequently together, constituting the greater part of the forests of Europe, 
and spreading over almost the whole northern section of Asia, and the northern 
coast of Africa. Q. pedunculata is the common British oak, celebrated as well 
for its majestic growth, and the venerable age which it attains, as for the strength 
and durability of its timber. Our own Pharmacopoeia recognises only Q. alba or PART i. 
Quercus Alba.— Quercus Tinctoria. 
695 
white oak, and Q. tinctoria or black oak; but other species afford barks equally 
useful, and perhaps as much employed. Such are Q.falcala or Spanish oak, Q. 
prinus or white chestnut oak, and Q. montana or rock chestnut oak. The fol- 
lowing remarks in relation to white-oak bark, will apply also to that of the threi 
last-mentioned species. The bark of Q. tinctoria is somewhat peculiar. 
1. Quercus alba. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 448; Michaux, N. Am. Sylv. i. It. Of 
all the American species, the white oak approaches nearest, in the character ol 
its foliage, and the properties of its wood and bark, to Q. pedunculata of Great 
Britain. When allowed to expand freely in the open field, it divides at a short 
distance from the ground into numerous widely spreading branches, and attains 
under favourable circumstances a magnificent size. Its trunk and large branches 
are covered with a whitish bark, which serves to distinguish it from most of the 
other species. The leaves are regularly and obliquely divided into oblong, ob- 
tuse, entire lobes, which are often narrowed at their base. When full grown, they 
are smooth and light-green on their upper surface, and glaucous beneath. Some 
of the dried leaves remain on the tree during the whole winter. The acorns are 
large, ovate, contained in rough, shallow, grayish cups, and supported singly or 
in pairs upon peduncles nearly an inch in length. 
The white oak abounds in the Middle States, and extends also through the 
whole Union, though comparatively rare in the northern, southern, and western 
sections. It is the most highly valued for its timber of all the American oaks, 
except the live oak (Q. virens), which is preferred in ship-building. The bark 
is sometimes used'for tanning, but that of the red and Spanish oaks is preferred. 
All parts of the tree, with the exception of the epidermis, are more or less astrin- 
gent, but this property predominates in the fruit and bark. 
White-oak bark, deprived of its epidermis, is of a light-brown colour, of a 
coarse, fibrous texture, and not easily pulverized. It has a feeble odour, and a 
rough, astringent, and bitterish taste. Water and alcohol extract its active pro- 
perties. The chief soluble ingredients are tannin, gallic acid, and extractive 
matter. It is upon the tannin that its medical virtues, as well as its use in the 
preparation of leather, chiefly depend. The proportion of this ingredient varies 
with the size and age of the tree, the part from which the bark is derived, and 
even the season when it is gathered. It is most abundant in the young bark; 
and the English oak is said to yield four times as much in spring as in winter. 
Sir II. Davy found the inner bark most abundant in tannin, the middle portion 
or cellular integument much less so, and the epidermis almost wholly destitute as 
well of this principle as of extractive. 
Gerber discovered, in European oak bark, a peculiar bitter principle upon 
which he conferred the name of quercin. It is obtained by boiling the bark with 
water acidulated with one hundredth of sulphuric acid, adding first milk of lime 
until the sulphuric acid is removed, and then a solution of carbonate of potassa 
so long as a white precipitate is produced, filtering the liquor, evaporating to the 
consistence of a thin extract, adding alcohol, and finally evaporating the spiritu- 
ous solution down to a small volume, and allowing it to rest for some days. Yel- 
low crystals form, which may be obtained colourless by repeated crystallizations. 
Quercin is a neuter principle, in small, white crystals, inodorous, very bitter, 
readily soluble in water, less so in alcohol containing water, and insoluble in 
absolute alcohol, ether, and oil of turpentine. {Arch, der Pharm., xxxiv. 167.) 
2. Quercus tinctoria. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 444; Michaux, N. Am. Sylv. i. 91. 
The black oak is one of our largest trees, frequently attaining the height of eighty 
or ninety feet. Its trunk is covered with a deeply furrowed bark, of a black or 
dark-brown colour. The leaves are ovate-oblong, pubescent, slightly sinuated. 
with obiong, obtuse, mucronate lobes. The fructification is biennial. The acorn 
is globose, flattened at top, and placed in a saucer-shaped cup. 
Black-oak bark has a more bitter taste than that of the other species, and Quercus Alba.— Quercus Tinctoria. 
part I. 
may be distinguished also by staining the saliva yellow when it is chewed. Its 
cellular integument contains a colouring principle, capable of being extracted by 
boiling water, to which it imparts a brownish-yellow colour, which is deepened 
by alkalies and rendered brighter by acids. Under the name of quercitron, large 
quantities of this bark, deprived of its epidermis and reduced to coarse powder, 
are sent from the United States to Europe, where it is used for dyeing wool and 
silk of a yellow colour. The colouring principle is called quercitrin, or, from its 
property of combining with salifiable bases, quercitric acid. It was discovered 
by M. Chevreul; and its properties have been investigated by MM. Bolley and 
Rigaud. These chemists obtained it by forming a tincture of the bark with alco- 
hol of the sp. gr. 0 849, freeing this from tannin and a brown substance by gela- 
tin, distilling off the alcohol, and replacing it as it was evaporated by water. The 
quercitrin was deposited, and afterwards purified by repeated solution in alcohol, 
and separation by water as before. Thus procured, it is yellow, slightly bitter, in- 
odorous, in microscopic crystals of the right-rhombic system, soluble in 425 parts 
of boiling water (Rigaud), almost insoluble in cold water, sparingly soluble in 
ether, and freely soluble in alcohol and alkaline solutions. Its formula is given 
as (Chem. Gaz., No. 290, p. 428.)* According to Rigaud, quercitrin 
is a glucoside, being resolvable into glucose, and a neuter substance which he 
calls quercetin. (Journ. de Pliarm., Janv. 1860, p. 16.) Besides this principle, 
the bark contains much tannin; but it is less used in tanning than the other 
barks, in consequence of the colour which it imparts to the leather. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Oak bark is astringent and somewhat tonic. 
It has been given with advantage in intermittent fever, obstinate chronic diar- 
rhoea, and certain forms of passive hemorrhage; but it is not much employed 
as an internal remedy. Externally applied it is often productive of benefit. The 
decoction may be advantageously used as a bath, particularly for children, when 
a combined tonic and astringent effect is desirable, and the stomach is not dis- 
posed to receive medicines kindly. It has been employed in this way in maras- 
mus, scrofula, intermittent fevers, chronic diarrhoea, and cholera infantum. As 
an injection in leucorrhcea, a wash in prolapsus ani and hemorrhoidal affections, 
and as a gargle in slight inflammation of the fauces, attended with prolapsed 
uvula, the decoction is often useful. It has also been recommended as an injec- 
tion into dropsical cysts. Reduced to powder and made into a poultice, the 
bark was recommended by the late Prof. Barton as an excellent application in 
external grangrene and mortification; and the infusion obtained from tanners’ 
vats has been used beneficially as a wash for flabby, ill-conditioned ulcers. The 
bark may be given in the form of powder, extract, or decoction. The dose of 
the powder is from thirty grains to a drachm, of the extract about half as much, 
of the decoction two fluidounces. (See Decoctum Quercus.) 
Black-oak bark is considered inferior to the white-oak bark as an internal 
remedy, in consequence of being more disposed to irritate the bowels. 
Acorns, besides the bitter and astringent principles of the bark, contain a pecu- 
liar saccharine matter (quercite), which is insusceptible of the vinous fermentation. 
{Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., xx. 335.) They are sometimes used as a tonic or 
astringent; and a decoction made from roasted acorns has been long employed 
in Germany as a remedy in scrofula. Before roasting they should be deprived 
of their shells; and the cotyledons, according to Dausse, should lose, during 
the process, 140 parts of their weight out of 500. {Pharm. Cent. Platt, Oct. 9, 
* Quercitrin has been found also in various other plants; as in the leaves of Ruta grave- 
olens, and the flower-buds of Capparis spinosa, Sophora Japonica, and JEsculus Hippo- 
castanum or horse-chestnut. (Chevi. Gaz., May 2, 1859, p. 161.) As this principle y\ capa- 
ble of assuming various colours under various chemical influences, the idea has 
advanced that it might be the colouring principle of flowers. (Am. Jourh. oj Pharm.. Ala/, 
1860, p. 222.) PART I. 
Quercus Alba.—Quercus Tinctoria.—Ranunculus. 
697 
1850, p. 681.) From half an ounce to an ounce may be prepared as coffee, and 
the whole taken at breakfast with cream and sugar. {Richter.) 
Off. Prep. Decoctum Quercus, Br.; Decoctum Quercus Albse, U. S. W. 
RANUNCULUS. U. S. Secondary. 
Crowfoot. 
The cormus and herb of Ranunculus bulbosus. U. S. 
Ranunculus. Sex. Syst. Polyandria Polygynia.—Nat. Ord. Ranunculaceas 
Gen. Ch. Calyx five-leaved. Petals five, having the inner side of each claw 
furnished with a melliferous pore. Seeds naked, numerous. Nuttall. 
Most of the plants belonging to this genus have the same acrid properties. 
Several of them grow together in our fields and pastures, and, from their close 
resemblance, are confounded under the common name of butter-cup, applied to 
them from the colour and shape of their flowers. Those which are most abund- 
ant are believed to have been introduced from Europe. Such are R. bulbosus, 
R. acris, and R. repens, which, with R. sceleratus, may be indiscriminately used. 
In Europe, R. sceleratus appears to have attracted most attention; in this 
country, R. bulbosus. The latter is the only one designated by our Pharma- 
copoeia. R. acris and R. Flammula were formerly directed by the Dublin Col- 
lege, but have been discarded in the Br. Pharmacopoeia. 
Ranunculus bulbosus. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1324; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. 
iii. 60. This species of crowfoot is perennial, with a solid, fleshy root (cormus), 
and several annual, erect, round, and branching stems, from nine to eighteen 
inches high. The radical leaves, which staud on long footstalks, are ternate oi 
quinate, with lobed and dentate leaflets. The leaves of the stem are sessile and 
ternate, the upper more simple. Each stem supports several solitary, bright- 
yellow, glossy flowers, upon furrowed, angular peduncles. The leaves of the 
calyx are reflexed, or bent downwards against the flowerstalk. The petals are 
obcordate, and arranged so as to resemble a small cup. At the inside of the 
claw of each petal is a small cavity, covered with a minute wedge-shaped emar- 
ginate scale. The fruit consists of numerous naked seeds, in a spherical head. 
The stem, leaves, peduncles, and calyx are hairy. 
In May and June our pastures are everywhere adorned with the rich yellow 
flowers of this species of Ranunculus. Somewhat later R. acris and R. repens 
begin to bloom, and a succession of similar flowers is maintained till Septem- 
ber. The two latter species prefer a moister ground, and are found most abund- 
antly in meadows. R. sceleratus frequents ponds and ditches. In all these 
species, the whole plant is pervaded by a volatile acrid principle, which is dissi- 
pated by drying or by heat, and may be separated by distillation. Dr. Bigelow 
found that water distilled from the fresh plant had an acrid taste, and produced 
when swallowed a burning sensation in the stomach; and that it retained these 
properties for a long time, if kept in closely-stopped bottles. Dr. Clarus dis- 
covered, in R. sceleratus, besides the acrid volatile oil, a nearly inert resin, and a 
narcotic principle called anemonin. The volatile oil is soluble in ether, and is 
decomposed on standing, into a white amorphous substance having acid properties 
(anemonic acid), and into anemonin. Other species of Ranunculus probably have 
the same constituents. (B. and F. Med.-Chir. Rev., Jan. 1.859, p. 181.) The 
plant itself, when chewed, excites violent irritation in the mouth and throat; 
inflaming and even excoriating the tongue and inside of the cheeks and lips, if 
uot quickly discharged. Both the root and herb of R. bulbosus are officinal. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Crowfoot, when swallowed in the fresh state, 
produces heat gnd pain in the stomach, and, if the quantity be considerable, 
may excite fatal inflammation. Dr. Clarus states that it has also narcotic pro- 698 
Ranunculus.—Resina. 
PART 1 
perties, diminishing the frequency of the pulse and respiration, and producing 
palsy of the extremities. These properties he ascribes to the anemonin. It is, 
however, never used internally; though the juice and distilled water of some 
species of Ranunculus are said to act as a prompt and powerful emetic. The 
property for which it has attracted the attention of physicians is that of inflaming 
and vesicating the skin ; and, before the introduction of the Spanish fly into use, 
it was much employed for this purpose. But the uncertainty and occasional 
violence of its action have nearly banished it from regular practice. While on 
some individuals it appears to produce scarcely any effect; on others it acts very 
speedily, exciting extensive and troublesome inflammation, which sometimes ter- 
minates in deep, obstinate ulcers. It probably varies in strength with the sea- 
son ; and, in the dried state, or boiled with water, is wholly inert. The decoction, 
moreover, is inert in consequence of the escape of the acrid principle. Never- 
theless, the plant has been very properly retained in the Pharmacopoeia, in the 
catalogue of medicines of secondary importance; as occasions may happen, when 
the practitioner in the country may find advantage in having recourse to its 
powerful rubefacient and epispastic operation. W. 
RESINA. U.S.,Br. 
Resin. 
The residue after the distillation of the volatile oil from the turpentine of 
Pinus palustris and other species of Pinus. U. S. The residue of the distillation 
of the turpentines from various species of Pinus and Abies. Br. 
Resine blanche, Resine jaune, Fr.; Ficktenharz, Germ,.; Ragea di pino, Ital.; Resina do 
pino, Span. 
After the distillation of the volatile oil from the turpentines (see Terebin- 
thina), a resinous matter remains, which on the continent of Europe is called 
colophony, but with us is commonly known by the name of rosin. It is the 
Resina of the U. S. and Br. Pharmacopoeias. It is sometimes called resina Jlava 
or yellow resin. When this, in a state of fusion, is strongly agitated with water, 
it acquires a distinct appearance, and is denominated resina alba or white resin. 
Before describing this officinal, it may be proper to enumerate the characteristic 
properties of the proximate principles denominated resins. 
Resins are solid, brittle, of a smooth and shining fracture, and generally of a 
yellowish colour and semitransparent. When perfectly pure, they are probably 
inodorous and often insipid; but, as usually found, they have a slight odour, 
and a somewhat acrid or bitterish taste. Their sp.gr. varies from 0’92 to P2. 
They are fusible by a moderate heat, decomposed at a higher temperature, and 
in the open air take fire, burning with a yellow flame and much smoke. Insolu- 
ble in water, they are dissolved by ether and the volatile oils, and generally by 
alcohol; and their alcoholic and ethereal solutions afford precipitates upon the 
addition of water. With pure potassa and soda they unite to form soaps, which 
are soluble in water; and the same result takes place when they are heated with 
solutions of the alkaline carbonates. Concentrated sulphuric acid dissolves them 
with mutual decomposition; and nitric acid converts them into artificial tannin.. 
They readily unite by fusion with wax and the fixed oils.* 
* M. Losch recommends the following process for rendering the resins as white as pos- 
sible. Boil together 5 parts of the resin, 1 of carbonate of potassa or of soda, and 20 of 
water, until a perfectly homogeneous mass is obtained; allow this to cool, and pass into 
it sulphurous acid, which saturates the alkali, and precipitates the resin in white ‘lakes. 
Finally, wash the precipitate well with water, and dry it. (Journ. de PJiarm., Juin, 1850, 
p. 4(j5.)—Note to the eleventh edition. part I. 
Resina.—Rheum. 
699 
Common or yellow resin, in its purest state, is beautifully clear and pellucid, 
but much less so as usually found in the shops. Its odour and taste are generally 
in a slight degree terebinthinate; its colour yellowish-brown with a tinge of olive, 
and more or less dark according to its purity, and the degree of heat to which 
it has been exposed in its preparation. Sometimes it is almost black. It is 
rather heavier than water. At 216° F. it melts, is completely liquid at 306°. 
begins to emit bubbles of gas at 316°, and is entirely decomposed at a red heat 
Its ultimate constituents are carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, in variable propor- 
tions. It appears, from the researches of Uuverdorben, to contain three distinct 
resinous bodies, two of which, denominated pinic and sylvic acids, pre-existed 
in the turpentine, and the third, called colophonic acid, is formed by the agency 
of heat in the distillation. The pinic acid is dissolved by cold spirit of the sp. gr. 
0 865, and is thus separated from the sylvic acid. It is obtained pure by add- 
ing to the solution a spirituous solution of acetate of copper, dissolving the pre- 
cipitated pinate of copper in strong boiling alcohol, decomposing this salt with 
a little muriatic acid, and adding water, which throws down the pinic acid as a 
resinous powder. The sylvic acid is obtained by treating the residue of the 
common resin with boiling spirit of 0 865, which dissolves it, and lets it fall 
upon cooling. Both of these resinous acids are colourless. Pinic acid is soluble 
in weak cold alcohol; sylvic acid is insoluble in the same menstruum when cold, 
but is dissolved by it when boiling hot, and by strong alcohol at all temperatures. 
The salts which they form with the alkalies are soluble, those with the earths 
and metallic oxides, insoluble in water. Colophonic acid differs from the others 
in having stronger acid properties, and in being less soluble in alcohol. It is of 
a brown colour; and common resin is more or less coloured in proportion to 
the quantity of this acid which it contains. (Kane’s Chemistry.) The experi- 
ments of Uuverdorben were made with European colophony. It is somewhat 
uncertain whether exactly the same results would be afforded by the common 
resin of this country, which is obtained from a different species of pine. By the 
destructive distillation of resin an oleaginous product is obtained, called resin 
oil, which in various degrees of purity is used in currying leather, lubricating 
machinery, preparing printers’ ink, &c. 
White resin differs from the preceding only in being opaque and of a whitish 
colour. These properties it owes to the water with which it is incorporated, and 
which gradually escapes upon exposure, leaving it more or less transparent. 
Medical Uses. Resin is important as an ingredient of ointments and plasters, 
but is never used internally. According to Professor Olmsted, it has the pro- 
perty of preventing the oxidation of fatty substances, and thus contributes to the 
preservation of ointments. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxii. 325.) 
Off. Prep. Ceratum Cantharidis, U. S.; Ceratum Extracti Cantharidis, U. S.; 
Ceratum Resin®, U. S.; Ceratum Resin® Compositum, U. S.; Emplastrum Cale- 
faciens, Br.; Emplast. Cantharidis, Br.; Emplast. Ferri; Emplast. Ilvdrargyri; 
Emplast. Picis,Br.; Emplast. Resin®; Emplast. Saponis,Br.; Unguentum Re- 
sin®, Br.; Unguent. Terebinthin®, Br. W. 
RHEUM. U.S.,Br. 
Rhubarb. 
The root of Rheum palmatum, and of other species of Rheum. U S. One or 
more undetermined species of Rheum. The Root, deprived of the bark and 
dried; from Chinese Thibet and Tartary. Br. 
Rhabarbavum; Rht\barbe, Fr.; Rhabarber, Germ.; Itabarbaro, Ilal.; Ruibarbo, Span.; 
Hai-houng, Chinese; Scliara-modo, Thibet. 
Riieum Sex. Syst. Enneandria Trigynia. — Nat. Ord. Polygonace®. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx petaloid, six-parted, withering. Stamens about nine, in- 700 
Rheum, 
PART I. 
sorted into the base of the calyx. Styles three, reflexed. Stigmas peltate, entire. 
Achenium three-cornered, winged, with the withered calyx at the base. Embryo 
in the centre of the albumen. (Lindley.) 
Notwithstanding the length of time that rhubarb has been in use, it has not 
yet been determined from what precise plant the Asiatic drug is derived. The 
remoteness of the region where it is collected, and the jealous care with which 
the monopoly of the trade is guarded, have prevented any accurate information 
on the subject. All that we certainly know is that it is the root of one or more 
species of Rheum. The U. S. Pharmacopoeia refers it to R. palmatum, with 
other species not designated ; the British recognises no particular species. 
The terms rha and rheon, from the former of which were derived the names 
rhabarbarum and rhubarb, and from the latter the botanical title Rheum, were 
applied by the ancients to a root which came from beyond the Bosphorus, and 
which is supposed, though upon somewhat uncertain grounds, to have been the 
product of the Rheum Rhaponticum, growing on the banks of the Caspian Sea 
and the Wolga. This species was also at one time believed to be the source of 
the medicine now in use ; but the true rhubarb has long been known to be wholly 
distinct from the Rhapontic, and derived from a different source. It was not till 
the year 1732 that any probable information was obtained as to its real origin. 
At that time plants were received from Russia by Jussieu in France, and Rand 
in England, which were said to be of the species affording the genuine rhubarb, 
and were named by Linnaeus, under this impression, Rheum Rhabarbarum, a 
title which has since given way to Rheum undulatum. Subsequently, Kauw 
Boerhaave obtained from a merchant, who dealt in the rhubarb of Tartary, some 
seeds which he said were those of the plant producing the root sold by him. 
These, having been planted, yielded two species of Rheum, R. undulatum, and 
another which Linnaeus named R. palmatum. Seeds transmitted by Dr. Mounsey 
from St. Petersburg to Dr. Hope, and planted in the botanic garden at Edinburgh, 
produced the latter species; and the same was also raised at Upsal from a root 
received by Linnaeus from De Gorter, and was described A. D. 1767 by the 
younger Linnaeus, two years after the appearance of Dr. Hope’s paper in the 
Philosophical Transactions. Thus far the evidence appears equally in favour of 
R. palmatum and R. undulatum. The claims of another species were afterwards 
presented. Pallas, upon exhibiting the leaves of R.palmatum to some Bucharian 
merchants, was told that the leaves of the rhubarb plant were entirely different in 
shape; and the description he received of them corresponded more closely with 
those of R. compactum, than of any other known species. Seeds of this plant 
were, moreover, sent to Miller from St. Petersburg, as those of the true Tar- 
tarian rhubarb. A few years since the attention of naturalists was called to a 
fourth species, for which the same honour has been claimed. Dr. Wallich, super- 
intendent of the botanical garden at Calcutta, received seeds that were said to 
be those of the plant which yielded the Chinese rhubarb, growing on the Hi- 
malaya mountains and the highlands of Tartary. These produced a species not 
previously described, which Dr. Wallich named _R. Emodi, from the native title 
of the plant. It is the R. australe of Mr. Don and of Colebrooke, and has been 
ascertained to afford a root which, though purgative, is very unlike the officinal 
rhubarb. Other species have been found to grow in the Himalaya mountains, 
from which a kind of rhubarb used by the natives is said to be procured; but 
none of it reaches the markets of this country or Europe. From what has been 
said, it is obvious that no species yet mentioned can be considered as the un- 
doubted source of commercial rhubarb; the plant having, in no instance, been 
seen and examined by naturalists in its native place. Sievers, an apothecary 
sent to Siberia, in the reign of Catharine II., with the view of improving the 
cultivation of the native rhubarb, asserts, from information given him by the 
Bucharians, that all the seeds procured under the name of true rhubarb are false, PART I. 
Rheum. 
701 
and pronounces “ all the descriptions in the Materia Medicas to be incorrect.” 
This assertion, however, has no relation to R. australe which has been subse- 
quently described; but it is said that the roots of that plant, dried by the medical 
officers of the British army, differ from true rhubarb in appearance and power. 
All the plants of this genus are perennial and herbaceous, with large branch- 
ing roots, which send forth vigorous stems from four to eight feet or more in 
height, surrouuded at their base with numerous very large petiolate leaves, and 
terminating in lengthened branching panicles, composed of small and very numer- 
ous flowers, resembling those of the Rumex or dock. There is some difficulty in 
arranging the species, in consequence of the tendency of the cultivated plants to 
form hybrids; and it is frequently impossible to ascertain to which of the wild 
types the several garden varieties are to be referred. The following descriptions 
are from the Flora Medina of Dr. Lindley. 
Rheum palmatum. Willd. Sp. Riant, ii. 489; Lindley, Flor. Med. p. 358; 
Carson, Must, of Med. Bot. ii. 22, pi. 69. “Leaves roundish-cordate, half pal- 
mate; the lobes pinnatifid, acuminate, deep dull-green, not wavy, but uneven 
and very much wrinkled on the upper side, hardly scabrous at the edge, minutely 
downy on the under side; sinus completely closed; the lobes of the leaf standing 
forwards beyond it. Petiole pale-green, marked with short purple lines, terete, 
obscurely channeled quite at the upper end. Plowering stems taller than those 
of any other species.” This species is said to inhabit China in the vicinity of 
the great wall. It has been cultivated in England and France for its root, 
which is admitted to approach more nearly in odour, taste, and the disposition 
of its colours, than that of any other known species, to the Asiatic rhubarb. 
R. undulatum. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 489 ; Lindley, Flor. Med. p. 357; Woodv. 
Med. Bot., 3d ed., v. 81. “ Leaves oval, obtuse, extremely wavy, deep-green, with 
veins purple at the base, often shorter than the petiole, distinctly and copiously 
downy on each side, looking as if frosted when young, scabrous at the edge; 
sinus open, wedge-shaped, with the lower lobes of the leaves turned upwards. 
Petiole downy, blood-red, semi-cylindrical, with elevated edges to the upper 
side, which is narrower at the upper than the lower end.” This is a native of 
Siberia, and probably Tartary and China. It was cultivated by the Russian 
government as the true rhubarb plant; but the culture has been abandoned. It 
contributes to the rhubarb produced in France. 
R. compactum. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 4891; Lindley, Flor. Med. p. 358; Carson, 
Illust. of Med. Bot. ii. 24, pi. 71. “Leaves heart-shaped, obtuse, very wavy, 
deep-green, of a thick texture, scabrous at the margin, quite smooth on both 
sides, glossy and even on the upper side; sinus nearly closed by the parenchyma. 
Petiole green, hardly tinged with red except at the base, semi-cylindrical, a 
little compressed at the sides, with the upper side broad, flat, bordered by ele- 
vated edges, and of equal breadth at each end.” This plant is said to be a native 
of Tartary and China. It is one of the garden rhubarbs, and has been cultivated 
in France for its root. 
R. australe. Don, Prod. Flor. Nepal, p. 75. — R. Emodi. Wallich; Lindley, 
F'lor. Med. p. 354; Carson, Illust. of Ale d. Bot. ii. 24, pi. 70. “Leaves cordate, 
acute, dull-green, but little wavy, flattish, very much wrinkled, distinctly rough, 
with coarse short hairs on each side; sinus of the base distinctly open, not 
wedge-shaped but diverging at an obtuse angle, with the lobes nearly turned 
upwards. Petioles very rough, rounded-angular, furrowed; with the upper side 
depressed, bordered by an elevated edge, and very much narrower at the upper 
than the lower end.” The root of this species was at one time conjectured to be 
the source of officinal Asiatic rhubarb, but has been found to have scarcely any 
resemblance to it. The plant has been cultivated both in Europe and this coun- 
try, and its petioles answer well for tarts, &c. 
R. Rhaponticum. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 488; Lindley, Flor. Med. p. 357 ; Lou- 702 
Rheum. 
PART I. 
don’s Encyc. of Plants, p. 335. "Leaves roundisli-ovate, cordate, obtuse, pale- 
green, but little wavy, very concave, even, very slightly downy on the under side, 
especially near the edge, and on the edge itself; scabrous at the margin; sinus 
quite open, large, and cuneate. Petiole depressed, channeled on the upper side, 
with the edges regularly rounded off, pale-green, striated, scarcely scabrous. 
Panicles very compact and short, always rounded at the ends, and never lax 
as in the other garden species. Flowering stem about three feet high.” The 
Rhapontic rhubarb grows upon the banks of the Caspian Sea, in the deserts 
between the Wolga and the Oural, and in Siberia. It is said also to grow upon 
the borders of the Fuxine. It is cultivated as a garden plant in Europe and this 
country; and large quantities of the root are produced for sale in France. It is 
said by Royle to be the source of the English rhubarb. 
Besides the species above described, R. leucorrhizum, growing in the Kirghese 
desert in Tartary, R. Gaspicum from the Altai mountains, R. Webbianum, 
R. speciforme, and R. Moorcraftianum, natives of the Himalaya mountains, 
and R. crassinermum and R. hybridum, cultivated in Europe, but of unknown 
origin,'yield roots which have either been employed as purgatives, or possess 
properties more or less analogous to those of officinal rhubarb, though they 
have not entered into general commerce. 
The leafstalks of the different species of Rheum have a pleasant acid taste, 
and are used for making tarts and pies. It is for this purpose only that the 
plants are cultivated in the United States. Mr. T. A. Lancaster has shown that 
the acidity is owing to the presence of binoxalate of potassa. (Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., May, 1859, p. 193.) Lindley states that R. Rhaponticum, R. hybri- 
dum, and R. compactum, and hybrid varieties of them, are the common garden 
rhubarbs. 
In relation to the culture and preparation of rhubarb, our information is 
almost as uncertain as on the subject of its natural history. The accounts 
received from the Bucharian merchants are very discordant, and few intelligent 
travellers have penetrated into the country where the medicine is collected. We 
shall present, however, a brief abstract of what we have been able to collect 
upon the subject from the authorities we have consulted. 
Rhubarb is produced abundantly in the elevated lands of Tartary, about the 
lake Koko Norr, and is said to be cultivated in the neighbouring Chinese pro- 
vince of Shen-see, and in that of Setchuen. From these sources it is generally 
supposed that our supplies of Russian and Chinese rhubarb are exclusively de- 
rived; but the root is also collected in Boutan and Thibet, on the north of the 
Himalaya mountains; and it is probable that the plant pervades the whole of 
Chinese Tartary. It flourishes best in a light sandy soil. It is stated by Mr. 
Bell, who, on a journey from St. Petersburg to Pekin, had an opportunity of 
observing it in a growing state, that it is not cultivated by the Tartars, but 
springs up spontaneously, in tufts, wherever the seeds have fallen upon the heaps 
of loose earth thrown up by the marmots. In other places the thickness of the 
grass prevents their access to the soil. The root is not considered sufficiently 
mature for collection till it has attained the age of six years. It is dug up twice 
a year in Tartary, in the spring and autumn ; in China not till the winter. After 
removal from the ground, it is cleaned, deprived of its cortical portion and the 
smaller branches, and then divided into pieces of a convenient size. These are 
bored with holes, and strung upon cords to dry; according to Mr. Bell, about 
the tents and on the horns of sheep; according to Sievers, under sheds, by which 
the rays of the sun are excluded, while the air has free access. The Chinese are 
said first to place the pieces on a stone slab heated by fire beneath, and after- 
wards to complete the drying process by exposing them to the sun and air. In 
Boutan the roots are hung up in a.kind of drying room, in which a moderate 
and regular heat is maintained. Much time and attention are devoted to the part I 
Rheum, 
703 
preparation of the root; and Sievers states that a year sometimes elapses from 
the period of its collection, before it is ready for exportation. A large propor- 
tion of its weight is lost in drying, according to some accounts four-fifths, to 
others not less than seven-eighths. It is probably in order to favour the drying 
that the bark is removed. The trade in rhubarb is said to centre in the Chinese 
town of Si-nin, where a Bucharian company or family is established, which pos- 
sesses a monopoly of this trade, in consideration of a certain tribute paid to the 
government. To this city the rhubarb is brought from the various places of its 
collection, and, having been duly assorted and undergone further preparation, 
is transmitted partly to Russia, partly to the coast of China; so that the drug 
which reaches us through St. Petersburg is procured from the same neighbour- 
hood with that imported from Canton. But it will soon be seen that there are 
differences between the Russian and Chinese rhubarb, which would seem to in- 
dicate a different origin, and might authorize doubts as to the entire accuracy 
of the above accounts. It is at least probable that the drug produced in the 
province of Setchuen, whence the best China rhubarb is said to be brought, 
takes a more direct route to the coast than that through the town of Si-nin. 
Besides the two commercial varieties just mentioned, a third occasionally comes 
to us from Europe, where the cultivation of rhubarb has been carried on for 
some time, especially in France, Belgium, and Great Britain. Of these three 
varieties we shall treat under different heads. 
1. Chinese Rhubarb. 
India Rhubarb. Rheum Sinense vel Indicum. Much the largest proportion 
of rhubarb consumed in this country is brought from Canton. Though some- 
what inferior to the Russian, its comparative cheapness gives it a decided pre- 
ference in our markets; and, when of good quality, it does not disappoint the 
expectations of the physician. 
It is in cylindrical or roundish pieces, sometimes flattened on one or both 
sides, of a dirty brownish-yellow colour externally, appearing as if the cortical 
portion of the root had been removed by scraping, and the surface rendered 
smooth and somewhat powdery by attrition. The best pieces are heavier than 
the Russian rhubarb, have a texture rather close and compact, and, when broken, 
present a ragged uneven surface, variegated with intermingled shades of dull- 
red, yellowish, and white, which are sometimes diversified or interrupted by 
darker colours. The pieces are generally perforated with small holes, intended 
for convenience of suspension during the drying process; and portions of the 
suspending cord are not unfrequently found remaining in the holes. Chinese 
rhubarb has a peculiar somewhat aromatic smell, and a bitter astringent taste, 
is gritty when chewed, imparts a yellow colour to the saliva, and affords a yel- 
lowish powder with a reddish-brown tinge. With the pieces of good quality 
others often come mingled, defective from decay or improper preparation. These 
are usually lighter, and of a dark or russet colour. Like all the other varieties 
of rhubarb, this is liable to be attacked by worms; and in almost every large 
parcel pieces may be found which have suffered from this cause. The want of 
proper care in its selection by the Chinese merchants, and the exposure incident 
to a long sea-voyage, are causes which contribute to its inferiority to the Rus- 
sian rhubarb. As the whole contents of the chest imported are usually powdered 
together, including the worst as well as the best pieces, it follows that the powder 
is inferior in efficacy to the selected and sound pieces. 
In former editions of this work, we have noticed a variety of rhubarb im- 
ported from Canton, which was evidently prepared, before leaving China, so as 
to resemble the Russian, having an angular surface as if pared with a knife. 
The pieces were obviously selected with great care, as they were remarkably 704 
Rheum 
PART I. 
free from defects. But in most of those which came under our notice, the small 
penetrating hole was observable, which characterizes the Chinese rhubarb, though 
it had in some instances been filled with the powdered root, so as in some mea- 
sure to conceal it. Besides, the colours were not quite so bright as those of 
Russia rhubarb. This is undoubtedly the variety described by Pereira, under a 
distinct head, as the Dutch-trimmed or Batavian rhubarb, and considered by 
him as probably Bucharian or Russian rhubarb of inferior quality, sent by the 
way of Canton. A sufficient proof, we think, that this is not the case, is the 
presence in most pieces of the small penetrating hole, occasionally filled with 
remains of the cord, and in some pieces almost shaved away in the paring pro- 
cess. We have never seen such a hole in any piece of true Russian rhubarb, 
which does not appear to be strung up like the Chinese when dried. 
Under the title of Canton stick rhubarb, Pereira describes a variety of which 
small quantities have been imported from Canton into London. It closely re- 
sembles the English stick rhubarb, and is supposed to be derived from the 
branches of the root of the plant which yields the true Chinese rhubarb. 
2. Russian Rhubarb. 
Turkey Rhubarb. Bucharian Rhubarb. Rheum Russicum vel Turcicum. 
The rhubarb taken to Russia from Tartary undergoes a peculiar preparation, 
in conformity with the stipulations of a contract with the Bucharian merchants 
who furnish the supply. The best is selected, and each piece perforated in order 
to ascertain whether it is sound in the centre. From Si-nin it is conveyed by 
the Bucharian merchants to the frontier town of Iviachta, where it undergoes a 
rigid inspection by an apothecary stationed at that place by the Russian govern- 
ment. All the pieces which do not pass examination are committed to the flames; 
and the remainder is sent to St. Petersburg. This variety is sometimes called 
Turkey rhubarb, from the circumstance that it was formerly derived from the 
Turkish ports, whither it is said to have been brought from Tartary by caravans 
through Persia and Natolia. The circumstance of the identity of the Russian 
and Turkey rhubarb, and its decided diffei'ence from the Chinese, would appear 
to indicate a distinct origin for the two varieties. Inferior parcels of the root, 
which will not pass the inspection of the Russian authorities, are said to enter 
Russia by Taschkent, and to be known to the druggists of that country by the 
name of Taschkent rhubarb. 
The pieces of Russian rhubarb are irregular and somewhat angular, appear- 
ing as if the bark had been shaved "off longitudinally by successive strokes of a 
knife, and a portion of the interior substance removed with each shaving. They 
have a cleaner and fresher appearance than the Chinese, and their colour both 
internally and externally, though of the same general character, is somewhat 
more lively. They are less compact and heavy; and are cut with less facility, 
owing to their giving way before the knife. Another distinction is the character 
of the perforations, which in the Russian rhubarb are large, frequently reaching 
only to the centre, and evidently made for the purpose of inspection; while in 
the Chinese they are small, penetrate completely through the pieces, and wrere 
intended for the passage of a suspending cord. The taste and smell of the former 
closely resemble those of the latter, except that the Russian is rather more aro- 
matic. There is the same crackling under the teeth, and the same yellow stain 
imparted to the saliva; but the colour of the powder in this variety is a bright 
yellow, without the brownish tinge exhibited by the Chinese. When thin slices, 
previously boiled in water, are examined by the microscope, they exhibit nume- 
rous clusters of minute crystals of oxalate of lime. Mr. Quekett found between 
35 and 40 grains of them in 100 grains of the root. They are observed both iu 
the Russian and Chinese rhubarb. 
• PART I. 
Rheum 
705 
The care which renders the Russian rhubarb so free from defects, tends greatly 
to enhance its price, and consequently to limit its consumption. Its great com- 
parative value in the market has led to frequent attempts at adulteration; and 
the pieces of Chinese rhubarb are sometimes cut down and prepared so as to 
resemble the Russian. The fraud, however, may be detected by adverting to 
the peculiarities in texture, colour, and weight, by which the varieties are dis 
tinguished, and to the occasional presence of the small penetrating hole, or 
tiges of it. We have seen a specimen in which the hole was enlarged at its two 
extremities, and closed by powder in the middle, with the view of imitating the 
larger perforations of the Russian pieces. Sometimes worm-eaten pieces are 
made to resemble the sound, by filling up the holes with a mixture of pulver- 
ized rhubarb and mucilage, and covering over the surface with the powder. By 
removing this, the fraud is at once revealed. 
3. jEuropean Rhubarb. 
In various parts of Europe, particularly in England, France, Belgium, and 
Germany, the rhubarb plants have been cultivated for many years; and con- 
siderable quantities of the root are annually brought into the market. It is im- 
ported into this country from England and France. 
English Rhubarb. This formerly came in two forms. In one the root was cut 
and perforated in imitation of the Russian. The pieces were of various shape 
and size, sometimes cylindrical, but more commonly flat, or somewhat lenticular, 
and of considerable dimensions. We have for a long time seen none of this 
variety in our markets. In the other, the pieces are somewhat cylindrical, five 
or six inches long by an inch or less in thickness, and more or less irregular upon 
the surface, as if they had shrunk unequally in drying. This is called stick.rhu- 
barb in England, and is still occasionally met with in our shops. English rhubarb 
is lighter than the Asiatic, more spongy, and often somewhat pasty under the 
pestle. It is of a redder colour, and when broken exhibits a more compact 
and regular marbling; the pinkish lines being arranged in a radiated manner 
from the centre towards the circumference. The powder also has a deeper red- 
dish tint. The odour is feeble and less aromatic than that of the Asiatic varie- 
ties; the taste is astringent and mucilaginous with little bitterness; and the 
root, when chewed, scarcely feels gritty between the teeth, and but slightly 
colours the saliva. Few crystals of oxalate of lime are discoverable by means of 
the microscope. Most of the commercial English rhubarb is now cultivated near 
Banbury, and is said to be the product of R. Rhaponticum. 
French Rhubarb. Rhapontic Rhubarb. Krimea Rhubarb. The rhubarb 
produced in France is, according to Guibourt, chiefly from R. Rhaponticum, 
R. undulatum, and R. compactum ; that of R. palmatum, which most closely 
resembles the Asiatic, having been found to degenerate so much as not to be a 
profitable object of culture. Most of the French rhubarb is produced in the 
neighbourhood of L’Orient, in the department of Morbihan; and the spot where 
it grows has, from this circumstance, received the name of Rheumpole. Two 
kinds are described by Guibourt, both under the name Rhapontic root. One 
proceeds from the R. Rhaponticum, growing in the gardens in the environs of 
Paris; the other, from this and the two other species above mentioned, culti- 
vated at Rheumpole. The former is in pieces of the size of the fist or smaller, 
ligneous in appearance, of a reddish-gray colour on the outside, internally 
marbled with red and white arranged in the form of crowded rays proceeding 
from the centre to the circumference, of an odour like that of Asiatic rhubarb, 
but more disagreeable, of a mucilaginous and very astringent taste, not crack- 
ling under the teeth, but tinging the saliva yellow, and affording a reddish- 
yellow powder. The pieces of the latter are irregularly cylindrical, three or four 
45 706 
Rheum. 
PART I. 
inches long, and from one to two or even three inches thick, less ligneous in ap- 
pearance than the preceding, and externally of a pale or brownish-yellow colour 
less inclining to redness. In exterior aspect, this variety bears considerable 
resemblance to Chinese rhubarb; but may be distinguished by its more disagree- 
able odour, its astringent and mucilaginous taste, its want of crackling under 
the teeth, and its radiating fracture, in which properties it is similar to the pre- 
ceding variety. Considerable quantities of this drug have been imported into 
the United States from France, under the name of Krimea rhubarb; and it is 
sometimes employed to adulterate the powder of the better kinds.* It appears to 
have displaced in France the Rhapontie root formerly imported from the Euxine. 
Whether from difference in species, or from the influence of soil and climate, 
none of the European rhubarbs equals the Asiatic in purgative power, f 
Choice of Rhubarb. In selecting good rhubarb, without reference to the 
commercial variety, those pieces should be preferred which are moderately heavy 
and compact, of a lively colour, brittle, presenting when broken a fresh appear- 
ance, with reddish and yellowish veins intermingled with white, of an odour 
decidedly aromatic, of a bitter and astringent not mucilaginous taste, feeling 
gritty and staining the saliva yellow when chewed, and affording a powder either 
bright-yellow, or yellow with but a slight reddish-brown tinge. When very light, 
rhubarb is usually rotten or worm-eaten; when very heavy and compact, it is 
of inferior species, culture, or preparation. Rotten, worm-eaten, or otherwise 
inferior rhubarb is often powdered, and coloured yellow with turmeric; and the 
shavings left when Chinese rhubarb is trimmed for powdering, or to instate the 
Russian, are applied to the same purpose. 
Chemical Properties. Rhubarb yields all its activity to water and alcohol. 
The infusion is of a dark reddish-yellow colour, with the taste and odour of 
rhubarb; and the residue, after sufficient maceration, is whitish, inodorous, and 
insipid. By long boiling, the virtues of the medicine are impaired. Many attempts 
have been made to analyze the root, with various results. Among them, are those 
of the two Henrys and Caventou of Paris, Brande of London, Peretti of Rome, 
and Hornemann, Brandes, and Schlossberger and Dopping of Germany. Brandes 
found, in 100 parts of Chinese rhubarb, 2 of pure rliabarbaric acid, 7 5 of the 
same acid impure, 2‘5 of gallic acid, 9-0 of tannin, 3‘5 of colouring extractive, 
* M. E. Billot gives the following method of detecting the rhapontie root, when used in 
powder to adulterate Russian or Chinese rhubarb. On a little of the suspected powder, 
upon a plate, let fall two or three drops of oil of anise, oil of fennel, or other essential 
oil; then add magnesia, and rub the mixture well for three or four minutes. If the powder 
be pure, it will remain yellow; but if it contain the smallest quantity of the French 
rhapontie root, it will assume a reddish tint, varying from a salmon to a bright rose- 
colour, according to the quantity of the impurity present. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., May, 
1860, p. 224.) 
f Besides the varieties of rhubarb above described, others are noticed by writers. Pallas 
speaks of a white rhubarb, brought to Kiachta by the Bucharian merchants, who convej'ed 
to that place the drug for Russian commerce. It was white as milk, of a sweet taste, and 
equal to the best rhubarb in quality. It was supposed to be the product of R. leucorrhizum. 
At present, however, it is unknown in St. Petersburg. The Himalaya rhubarb is produced 
by It. australe, and other species mentioned in the text as growing in the Himalaya 
mountains. According to Dr. Royle, it makes its way to the lower countries in Hindostan, 
where it sells for one-tenth of the price of the best rhubarb. Mr. Twining tried it in tlio 
Hospital at Calcutta, and found it superior as a tonic and astringent to Russian rhubarb, 
and nearly equal to it in purgative power. A variety known in Russia as Bucharian rhu- 
barb, differing from the variety which we call Russian, and which is known in Russia as 
Chinese rhubarb, is imported into that country from Tartary, and reaches St. Petersburg 
by Nishny. Parcels of it are said also to reach Vienna, by the way of Brody in Gallicia. 
Still another variety is that called Siberian rhubarb, which is known in Russia by the name 
Siberian Rhapontie root. As these are inferior kinds, and probably never reach our markets, 
we have not thought it necessary to swell our pages with descriptions of them. The reader 
who wishes further information is referred to papers by Pereira, in the London Pharma- 
ceutical Journal, republished in the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (xviii. 63 and 123j. part I, 
Rheum 
707 
31*0 of nncrystallizable sugar with tannin, 40 of starch, 14-4 of gummy 
tractive, 4 0 of pectic acid, 1*1 of malate and gallate of lime, 110 of oxalate 
of lime, 1*5 of sulphate of potassa and chloride of potassium, 1-0 of silica, 0-5 
of phosphate of lime and oxide of iron, 25-0 of lignin, and 20 of water. The 
most recent elaborate analysis which has come to our notice is that of Schloss- 
berger and Dopping. Besides extractive, tannic and gallic acids, sugar, starch, 
pectin, lignin, oxalate of lime, and various inorganic salts, they discovered three 
colouring principles, holding an intermediate place between resin and extractive 
matter, being freely soluble in alcohol, and slightly so in water. Two of these 
were uncrystallizable, and denominated brown resin and red resin, or pliseoretin 
and erythroretin; the other, crystallizable in granular crystals, and identical 
with the chrysophanic acid, previously discovered by Ilochleder and Heldt in 
the yellow lichen, or Parmelia parietina of Sprengel. Another resinous sub- 
stance was also obtained, which was named aporetin; but, as it was insoluble 
in the alcohol from which it had been precipitated by ether, and was isomeric 
with phseoretin, there is reason to think that it was a product of the operation. 
The three principles above referred to were obtained by exhausting rhubarb with 
alcohol, evaporating the tincture, exhausting the extract with water, dissolving 
the residue in the least possible quantity of alcohol, and treating this solution 
with ether. A precipitate was produced, a portion of which (aporetin) was in- 
soluble in alcohol, and the remainder was obtained separate by solution in that 
fluid and evaporation. This was pliseoretin. It is a yellowish-brown powder, 
very slightly soluble in water and ether, freely soluble in alcohol and in alkaline 
solutions, with which it produces an intense reddish-brown colour, and from 
which it is thrown down yellow by the mineral acids. The ethereal solution of 
the alcoholic extract, after all the aporetin and pliseoretin had been separated, 
was allowed to evaporate spontaneously, and a large quantity of crystalline 
granules was obtained, of a beautiful yellow colour. These being washed with 
ether constituted the chrysophanic acid. When the ethereal solution showed 
no longer a disposition to deposit crystals, it was evaporated, and yielded a 
product having all the properties of the resins, and forming beautiful purple 
combinations with potassa and ammonia. This was the erythroretin, or red 
resin of rhubarb. The matter dissolved by water from the alcoholic extract 
was found to have the odour and taste of rhubarb in a high degree. In this, no 
doubt, was contained the peculiar active principle or principles of rhubarb; but 
Schlossberger and Dopping were not more successful than their predecessors in 
isolating them. They obtained a slightly bitter extractive matter; but it wanted 
the flavour of rhubarb. (Pharm. Journ., iv. 136, 232, 318, and viii. 190.) 
Many distinguished chemists have sought for the purgative ingredient of rhu- 
barb, and some not without supposed success; but scarcely has the new principle 
been described and named, before the fallacy of its claim has been determined. 
The caphopicrite of Henry, the rhabarbarin of Pfaff and others, the rheumin 
of Hornemann, the rhabarbaric acid of Brandes, and, lastly, the rhein of Pro- 
fessor Dulk, have all been shown to be bodies more or less complex; and cer- 
tainly no one of them can be admitted to be the peculiar purgative principle. 
The astringency of rhubarb undoubtedly resides in its tannic acid. Some have 
supposed that the tonic and cathartic properties reside in different principles ; 
but we are disposed to think, from the correspondence of the bitterness with the 
purgative property, that they reside in the same substance; and, from the fact 
that exposure to heat diminishes the cathartic power, there is reason to believe 
that this substance, when isolated, will prove to be more or less volatile. 
Chrysophanic acid (chrysophane) is one of the most interesting constituents. 
Most of the hitherto supposed active principles have been mixtures of this with 
other substances. The rhabarbaric acid of Brandes probably approaches nearest 
to it in character. When pure it is beautifully yellow, without smell or taste, dis- 708 
Rheum, 
PART I. 
posed to an imperfect granular crystallization, almost insoluble in cold water, 
more soluble in hot water and in ether, but most freely and yet feebly so in alco- 
hol. Benzole appears to be its best solvent. When heated it emits yellow vapours. 
Alkaline solutions dissolve it with the production of a beautiful red colour; and 
the solution with potassa, when evaporated, changes first to violet, and then to 
blue. It forms definite compounds with the alkalies, but its acid properties are 
very feeble, and even carbonic acid separates it from its combinations. Its for- 
mula, according to Pilz, is C20II8O6. (Journ. de Pharm., Mars, 1862, p. 254.) 
It is probably the chief ingredient in the fine yellow colouring matter produced 
by the reaction of nitric acid on rhubarb, which, in consequence of the magnifi- 
cent purples produced by it with the alkalies, M. Garot has proposed, under 
the name of erythrose, to introduce into the arts as a dye-stuff. (See Journ. de 
Pharm., xvii. 5.)* 
There are other interesting principles in rhubarb. Some have been disposed 
to ascribe its odour to a volatile oil; but this has not been isolated. Tannic acid 
is an important constituent. It is of that variety which precipitates the salts 
of sesquioxide of iron of a greenish colour. The oxalate of lime is interesting 
from its quantity, and from the circumstance that, existing in distinct crystals, 
it occasions the grittiness of the rhubarb between the teeth. The proportion 
seems to vary exceedingly in different specimens. According to Scheele and 
Henry, it constitutes nearly one-third, and Quekett found, as already stated, be- 
tween 35 and 40 per cent.; while Brandes obtained only 11, and Schrader only 
4‘5 parts in the hundred. Little or no difference of composition has been found 
between the Russian and Chinese rhubarb. The European contains but a small 
proportion of oxalate of lime, and is therefore less gritty when chewed. It has, 
however, more tannin and starch than the Asiatic. 
When powdered rhubarb is heated, odorous yellow fumes rise, which are pro- 
bably in part the vapour of chrysophanic acid. Its infusion is reddened by the 
alkalies, in consequence of their union with this acid, and their reaction on the 
other colouring principles. It yields precipitates with gelatin, most of the acids, 
the salts of sesquioxide of iron, acetate of lead, nitrate of protoxide of mercury, 
nitrate of silver, protochloride of tin, lime-water, and solutions of quinia. Nitric 
acid occasions at first a turbidness, and afterwards the deposition of a yellow 
precipitate. The substances producing precipitates may be considered as in- 
compatible with the infusion. 
Medical Properties and Uses. The medical properties of rhubarb are peculiar 
and valuable. Its most remarkable singularity is the union of a cathartic with 
an astringent power; the latter of which, however, does not interfere with the 
former, as the purgative effect precedes the astringent. It is also tonic and 
stomachic; invigorating, in small doses, the process of digestion. It is not pro- 
bable that these properties reside in a single proximate principle; and, as rhu- 
barb owes its chief value to their combination, it is not to be expected that 
chemical analysis will be productive of the same practical advantages in this, as 
in some other medicines, the virtues of which are concentrated in one ingredient. 
In its purgative operation, rhubarb is moderate, producing fecal rather than 
watery discharges, and appearing to affect the muscular fibre more than the 
secretory function. It sometimes occasions griping. Its colouring principle is 
absorbed, and may be detected in the urine. By its long-continued use, the 
* Messrs. W. De la Rue and II. Muller obtain chrysophanic acid by treating with benzole 
rhubarb previously deprived of soluble matter by water, distilling off most of the benzole 
from the solution, and allowing it. to cool. The chrysophanic acid is deposited in an im- 
pure state. By treating this with hot benzole, an insoluble matter is left, and more of the 
same is deposited when the solution cools. By filtering this is separated, and the acid is 
obtainei from the clear liquor by concentration and crystallization. The undissolved 
matter is a new principle, which the authors propose to name emodin. (Pharm. Journ., xvu- 
670.)—Note to the twelfth edition. part I. 
Rheum.—Rhoeas. 
709 
perspiration, especially that of the axilla, is said to become yellow, and the milk 
of nurses cathartic. It gives a yellow colour to the alvine discharges. 
The conditions of disease to which it is applicable may be inferred from its 
peculiar properties. When the stomach is enfeebled, or the bowels relaxed, at 
the same time that a gentle cathartic is required, rhubarb, as a general rule, is 
preferable to all others. Hence its use in dyspepsia attended with constipation, 
in diarrhoea when purging is indicated, in the secondary stages of cholera in- 
fantum, in chronic dysentery, and in almost all typhous diseases when fecal 
matter has accumulated in the intestines, or the use of cathartic medicine is neces- 
sary to prevent such accumulation. When employed in cases of habitual constipa- 
tion, its astringent tendency should be counteracted by combining it with soap. 
Magnesia is also an excellent associate in disorders of the stomach and bowels. 
By combination with other cathartics, rhubarb frequently acquires additional 
activity, while it gives increased efficiency to the associated substance. A mixture 
of calomel and rhubarb is a brisk and powerful cathartic, often used at the com- 
mencement of bilious fevers. As a general rule, rhubarb is not applicable to 
cases attended with much inflammatory action. Its griping effect may be coun- 
teracted by combining it with aromatics. 
The dose of rhubarb as a purgative is from twenty to thirty grains, as a laxa- 
tive and stomachic from five to ten grains. European rhubarb must be given in 
double or treble the dose to produce an equal effect. Few medicines are used in 
a greater variety of forms. It is most effectual in substance. It is frequently 
given in the shape of pill, combined with an equal proportion of soap, when its 
laxative effect is desired. The infusion is much used in cases of delicate stomach, 
and is peculiarly adapted to children. The syrup, tincture, and fluid extract are 
also useful preparations. They are all officinal. 
By the roasting of rhubarb its cathartic property is diminished, probably by 
the volatilization of the purgative principle, while its astringency remains unaf- 
fected. This mode of treatment has, therefore, been sometimes resorted to in 
cases of diarrhoea. By long boiling the same effect is said to be produced. 
Powdered rhubarb has been usefully applied to indolent and sloughing ulcers. 
It is said to have proved purgative when sprinkled over a large ulcerated sur- 
face ; and the same effect is asserted to have been produced by rubbing it, 
mingled with saliva, over the abdomen. 
Off. Prep. Extractum Rhei, Br.; Extractum Rhei Alcoholicum, U. S.; Ex- 
tractum Rhei Fluidum, U. S.; Infusum Rhei; Pilulae Rhei, 17. S.; Pil. Rhei 
Comp.; Pulvis Rhei Comp.; Svrupus Rhei Aromaticus U. S.; Tinctura Rhei; 
Tinct. Rhei et Sennae, U. 8.; Yinurn Rhei, XJ. S. W. 
RHCEAS. Br. 
Red-Poppy Petals. 
Papaver Rhoeas. The Petals dried. Br. 
Coquelicot, Fr.; Wilder Mohn, Klapperro.se, Germ.; Rosolaccio, Ital.; Amapola, Span. 
Papaver. See OPIUM. 
Papaver Rhoeas. Willd. 8p. Plant, ii. 1146 ; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 381, t. 139. 
The red or corn poppy is distinguished by its hairy stem, which is branched 
and rises about a foot in height, by its incised pinnatifid leaves, by its urn-shaped 
capsule, and by the full, bright, scarlet colour of its petals. It is a native of 
Europe, where it grows wild in great abundance, adorning especially the fields 
of grain with its brilliant flower. It has been naturalized in this country. 
Its capsules contain the same kind of milky juice as that found in P. somni- 
ferum, and an extract has been prepared from them having the properties of 
opium; but the quantity is too small to repay the trouble of its preparation. 710 
Rhoeas.—Rhus Glabrum. 
PART I. 
M. Tilhoi has shown that the extract contains morphia, but in a proportion ex- 
ceedingly minute, compared with that in which it exists in opium. (Jo urn. de 
Pharm., ii. 513.) The petals are the officinal portion. They have a narcotic 
smell, and a mucilaginous, slightly bitter taste. By drying, they lose their 
odour, and assume a violet-red colour. Chevallier detected a very minute pro- 
portion of morphia in an extract obtained from them; but their operation 
on the system is exceedingly feeble, and they are valued more for their beautiful 
scarlet colour, which they communicate to water, than for their medical virtues. 
According to Leo Meier, the colouring principles of the flowers are two acids, 
which he denominates rhceadic and papaveric acids. (See Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., xviii. 211.) A syrup is prepared from them, which was formerly pre- 
scribed as an anodyne in catarrhal affections; but is now little esteemed, except 
for its colour. 
Off. Prep. Syrupus Rhoeados, Br. W. 
RHUS GLABRUM. U.S. Secondary. 
Sumach. 
The fruit of Rhus glabrum. XJ. S. 
Rhus. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Trigynia. — Nat. Ord. Anacardiaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx live-parted. Petals five. Berry small, with one nuciform 
seed. Nuttall. 
Of this genus there are several species possessing poisonous properties, which 
should be carefully distinguished from that here described. For an account of 
them the reader is referred to the article Toxicodendron. 
Rhus glabrum. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1478. This species of Rhus, called vari- 
ously smooth sumach, Pennsylvania sumach, and upland sumach, is an indi- 
genous shrub from four to twelve feet or more in height, with a stem usually 
more or less bent, and divided into straggling branches, covered with a smooth, 
light-gray or somewhat reddish bark. The leaves are upon smooth petioles, and 
consist of many pairs of opposite leaflets, with an odd one at the extremity, all 
of which are lanceolate, acuminate, acutely serrate, glabrous, green on their 
upper surface, and whitish beneath. In the autumn their colour changes to a 
beautiful red. The flowers are greenish-red, and disposed in large, erect, ter- 
minal, compound thyrses, which are succeeded by clusters of small crimson ber- 
ries, covered with a silky down. 
The shrub is found in almost all parts of the United States, growing in old 
neglected fields, along fences, and on the borders of woods. The flowers appear 
in July, and the fruit ripens in the early part of autumn. The bark and leaves 
are astringent, and are used in tanning leather and in dyeing. Mr. W. J. Wat- 
son found, in the bark of the root, albumen, gum, starch, tannic and gallic acids, 
caoutchouc, resin, colouring matter, and evidences of volatile oil. (dm. Journ. 
of Pharm., xxv. J.94.) Excrescences are produced under the leaves resembling 
galls in character, and containing large quantities of tannic and gallic acids. 
These have been used as a substitute for the imported galls by Dr. Walters, of 
New York, who thought them in every respect preferable. They may be col- 
lected at little expense; as they are produced very abundantly, especially in the 
Western States. From the experiments of Dr. Stenhouse, it appears that the 
tannic acid of sumach is identical with that of galls, being, like it, resolved under 
the influence of sulphuric acid, into glucose and gallic acid; and this chauge 
is supposed to take place spontaneously in sumach when long kept. (Ibid., 
xxxiv. 252.) The only officinal part of the plant is the fruit. 
The berries have a sour, astringent, not unpleasant taste, and are often eaten 
by the country people with impunity. According to Mr. Cozzens, of New York, PART I. 
Rhus Glabrum.—Rosa Canina.—Rosa Centifolia. 
711 
the acid to which they owe their sourness is the malic, and is contained in the 
pubescence which covers their surface; as, when it is washed away by warm 
water, the berries are wholly free from acidity. Professor W. B. Rogers found 
the acid to be combined with lime, in the state of bimalate.* Mr. W. J. Watson 
ascertained that free malic acid and bimalate of lime coexist in the berries, which 
contain also, upon the same authority, tannic and gallic acids, fixed oil, extractive; 
red colouring matter, and a little volatile oil. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Sumach berries are astringent and refrige- 
rant; and their infusion has been recommended as a cooling drink in febrile 
complaints, and a pleasant gargle in inflammation and ulceration of the throat. 
By Dr. Fahnestock an infusion of the inner bark of the root, employed as a gar- 
gle, is considered almost as a specific in the sore-mouth attending inordinate 
mercurial salivation. (Am. Journ. of Med. Sciences, v. 61.) W. 
ROSA CANINA. Br. 
Hips. 
Rosa canina. The Dog Rose; and other allied species. The ripe fruit of 
indigenous plants, deprived of the hairy seeds. Br. 
Rose sauvage, Fr.; llundsrose, Germ. 
Rosa. See ROSA CENT1FOLIA. 
Rosa canina. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 10TT; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 493, t. 177. 
The dog rose, wild brier, or heptree, is a native of Europe, and distinguished 
as a species by its glabrous ovate germs, -smooth peduncles, prickly stem and 
petioles, and ovate, smooth, rigid leaves. It is eight or ten feet high, and bears 
white or pale-red flowers, having usually five obcordate fragrant petals. The 
plant has been introduced into this country, but is not much cultivated. 
The fruit is fleshy, smooth, oval, red, and of a pleasant, sweet, acidulous taste ; 
and contains sugar, and uncombined citric and malic acids. 
The pulp, separated from the seeds and the silky bristles in which they are 
embedded, is employed in Europe for the preparation of a confection, intended 
chiefly as an agreeable vehicle for other medicines. 
Off. Prep. Confectio Rosse Caninrn, Br. W. 
ROSA CENTIFOLIA. U.S.,Br. 
Pale Rose. Cabbage-Rose Petals. Br. 
The petals of Rosa centifolia. U. S.. The fresh petals fully expanded. Br. 
Roses a cent feuilles, Fr.; Ilundertbliitterige Rose, Germ.; Rosa pallida, Ital.; Rosa de 
Alexandria, Span. 
Rosa. Sex. Syst. Icosandria Polygynia. — Nat. Ord. Rosacese. 
Gen. Gh. Petals five. Calyx urceolate, five-cleft, fleshy, contracted at the 
neck. Seeds numerous, hispid, attached to the inner side of the calyx. Willd. 
* Prof. Rogers suggested that malic acid might be advantageously procured from this 
source. Prof. Procter informs us that he has obtained it by the following process. Pour 
boiling water on the ripe berries; macerate for twelve hours; strain, evaporate to one- 
fourth, and again strain; resume the evaporation and continue it till the liquid assumes 
the consistence of thin syrup; then set it aside to crystallize. Wash the crystals of bima- 
late of lime with a little water, and recrystallize from a boiling solution. Dissolve the salt 
in hot water, and decompose it with a solution of acetate of lead. Wash the precipitated 
malate of lead, suspend it in water, and pass sulphuretted hydrogen through the liquid 
until the whole of the lead is separated. Lastly, filter, and evaporate to dryness in a 
porcelain vessel. Malic acid, thus obtained, may be used in preparing the malates of iron 
and manganese, both of which have been employed medicinally in Europe. 712 
Rosa Centifolia.—Rosa Gallica. 
PART I. 
R,,sa centifolia. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1071; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 495, t. 178. 
This species of rose has prickly stems, usually from three to six feet high. The 
leaves consist of two or three pairs of leaflets, with an odd one at the end, closely 
attached to the common footstalk, which is rough, but without spines. The leaf- 
lets are ovate, broad, serrate, pointed, and hairy on the under surface. The 
flowers are large, with many petals, generally of a pale-red colour, and sup- 
ported upon peduncles beset with short bristly hairs. The germ is ovate, and 
the segments of the calyx semi-pinnate. The varieties of R. centifolia are very 
numerous, but may be indiscriminately employed. The plant is now cultivated in 
gardens all over the world; but its original country is not certainly known. It 
has sometimes been mistaken for the damask rose, which is a distinct species. 
The petals are the officinal portion. They are extremely fragrant, and have 
a sweetish, slightly acidulous, somewhat bitterish taste. Their odour is said to 
be increased by iodine. It depends on a volatile oil, which may be separated by 
distillation with water. (See Oleum Rosae.) They should be collected when the 
flower is fully expanded, but has not begun to fall. Their fragrance is impaired 
but not lost by drying. They may be preserved fresh, for a considerable time, 
by compressing them with alternate layers of common salt in a well-closed ves- 
sel, or beating them with twice their weight of that substance. 
The petals are slightly laxative, and are sometimes administered in the form 
of syrup combined with cathartic medicines; but their chief use is in the pre- 
paration of rose water. (See Aqua Rosae.) 
Off. Prep. Aqua Rosm; Syrupus Sarsaparillae Compositus, U. S. W. 
ROSA GALLICA. U.S., Br. 
Red Rose. 
The petals of Rosa Gallica. TJ. S. The unexpanded petal, fresh and dried. Br. 
Roses rouges. Fr.; Franzosiche Rose, Essig-rosen, Germ.; Rosa domestica, Itol.; Rosa 
rubra o Castillara, Span. 
Rosa. See ROSA CENTIFOLIA. 
Rosa Gallica. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1071; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 498, t. 179. 
This species is smaller than R. centifolia, but resembles it in the character of its 
foliage. The stem is beset with short bristly prickles. The flowers are very large, 
with obcordate widely spreading petals, which are of a rich crimson colour, and 
less numerous than in the preceding species. In the centre is a crowd of yellow 
anthers on thread-like filaments, and as many villose styles bearing papillary 
stigmas. The fruit is oval, shining, and of a firm consistence. The red rose is a 
native of the south of Europe, and is cultivated in gardens throughout the United 
States. 
The petals, which are the part employed, should be gathered before the flower 
has blown, separated from their claws, dried in a warm sun or by the fire, and 
kept in a dry place. Their odour, which is less fragrant than that of R. centi- 
folia, is improved by drying. They have a velvety appearance, a purplish-red 
colour, and a pleasantly astringent and bitterish taste. Their constituents, ac- 
cording to M. Cartier, are tannin, gallic acid, colouring matter, a volatile oil, a 
fixed oil, albumen, soluble salts of potassa, insoluble salts of lime, silica, and 
oxide of iron. (Journ. de Pharm., vii. 531.) According to M. Filhol, the as- 
tringency of red roses is ascribable less to tannic acid, of which they contain but 
a trace, than to quercitrin, which he obtained in notable proportion, and with 
which their colour is probably connected. They also contain much uncrystalli- 
zable sugar. (Repert. de Pharm., Mai, 18G3.) The sensible properties and med- 
ical virtues of the flowers are extracted by boiling water. Their infusion is of a 
pale-reddish colour, which becomes bright red on the addition of sulphuric acid. part I. 
Rosmarinus.—Rottlera. 
713 
As their colour is impaired by exposure to light and air, they should be kept in 
opaque well-closed bottles or canisters. 
Medical Properties, and Uses. Red roses are slightly astringent and tonic, and 
were formerly thought to possess peculiar virtues. They are at present chiefly 
employed in infusion, as an elegant vehicle for tonic and astringent medicines. 
Off. Prep. Confectio Ros®, U.S.; Confect. Rosas Gallic®, Br.; Infusum Rosae 
Acidum, Br.; Infusum Rosas Compositum, U. S.; Mel Rosas, U. S.; Syrupus 
Rosas Gallic®. W. 
ROSMARINUS. U. S. 
Rosemary. 
The tops of Rosmarinus officinalis. U. S. 
Romarin, Fr.;• Rosmarin, Germ.; Itosmarino, Ital.; Romero, Span. 
Rosmarinus. Sex. Syst. Diandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Lamiace® or 
Labiat®. 
Gen. Ch. Corolla unequal, with the upper lip two-parted. Filaments long, 
curved, simple, with a tooth. Willd. 
Rosmarinus officinal\Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 126; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 329, 
t. 117. Rosemary is an evergreen shrub, three or four feet high, with an erect 
stem, divided into many long, slender, ash-coloured branches. The leaves are 
numerous, sessile, opposite, more than an inch long, about one-sixth of an inch 
broad, linear, entire, obtuse at the summit, folded backward at the edges, of a 
firm consistence, smooth and green on the upper surface, whitish and somewhat 
downy beneath. The flowers are pale-blue or white, and disposed in opposite 
groups, at the axils of the leaves, towards the ends of the branches. The seeds 
are four in number, oblong, and naked in the bottom of the calyx. 
The plant grows spontaneously in the countries which border on the Medi- 
terranean, and is cultivated in the gardens of Europe and this country. The 
flowering summits are the officinal portion. They have a strong balsamic odour, 
which is possessed, though in a less degree, by all parts of the plant. Their taste 
is bitter and camphorous. These properties are imparted partially to water, 
completely to alcohol, and depend on a volatile oil which may be obtained by 
distillation. (See Oleum Rosmarini.) The tops lose a portion of their sensible 
properties by drying, and become inodorous by age. 
Medical Proper-ties and Uses. Rosemary is gently stimulant, and has been 
considered emmenagogue. In the practice of this country it is scarcely used; 
but in Europe, especially on the continent, it enters into the composition of 
several syrups, tinctures, &c., to which it imparts its agreeable odour and ex- 
citant property. It is sometimes added to sternutatory powders, and is used 
externally in connection with other aromatics in the form of fomentation. In 
some countries it is employed as a condiment; and its flowers, which are much 
sought after by the bees, impart their peculiar flavour to the honey of the districts 
in which the plant abounds. 
Off. Prep. Oleum Rosmarini. W. 
ROTTLERA. U./S. Secondary. 
Kameela. 
The powder and hairs obtained from the capsules of Rottlera tinctoria (Rox- 
burgh). U. S. 
Off. Syn. KAMELA. Rottlera tinctoria. The powder which adheres to the 
capsules. Br. 
This is an officinal newly introduced into the IT. S. and Br. Pharmacopoeias- 714 
Rottlera. 
PART I. 
In our own, the Latin name Rottlera has been adopted from the generic title of 
the plant which yields the medicine, while the ordinary Indian name Kameela 
(often spelled Icamala) is used as the English synonyme. In the Br. Pharmaco- 
poeia Kamela is given both as the Latin and English title. 
The genus Rottlera to which the plant producing the medicine belongs, was 
named in honour of the Rev. Dr. Rottler, a Danish Missionary, and as now re- 
cognised was established by Roxburgh. It belongs to the Natural Order of 
Euphorbiacese, and, besides the officinal R. tinctoria, includes another species 
having medical virtues, the Rottlera Schimperi, a large tree of Abyssinia, the 
bark of which, under the name of cortex musense or musena bark, has attracted 
some attention from its presumed anthelmintic virtues.* 
Rottlera tinctoria, which is described and figured by Roxburgh in his treatise 
on The Plants of the Coast of Coromandel (ii. 36), is a small tree from 15 to 
20 feet in height, growing throughout Ilindostan, in several of the E. India 
islands, and it is said, in China and Australia. The fruit is a roundish tliree- 
valved, three-celled capsule, of about the size of a small cherry, marked ex- 
ternally with three furrows, and thickly covered with a red powder. This is the 
officinal part of the plant. The capsules are gathered in February and March, 
when full-grown, and the powder carefully brushed from them. This is largely 
collected in some parts of Ilindostan, where it forms an important article of 
commerce, being extensively employed as a dye-stuff. Specimens of it, under 
the name of warrus, were sent to England in 1852, and examined by Mr. D. 
Hanoury, who published an account of it in the Pharmaceutical Journal for 
June, 1853 (xii. 405). It was not till several years afterward that it began to 
attract attention in Great Britain as a medicine. 
Properties. Kameela, as brought to our market, is a light, finely granular, 
and very mobile powder, of a brownish-red or madder colour, with little smell 
or taste, but producing a slight sense of acrimony in the mouth, and feeling 
gritty under the teeth. It is inflammable, and flashes almost like gunpowder 
when dropped into the flame of a candle. It is insoluble in cold, and but very 
slightly soluble in boiling water; but is dissolved by alkaline solutions, which 
give a resinous precipitate on the addition of an acid. Alcohol and ether dissolve 
a large proportion of it, forming a deep-red solution, from which water precipi- 
tates resinous matter. Under the microscope, Mr. Hanbury found it to consist 
of “garnet-red, semi-transparent, roundish granules, from to of an inch 
in diameter, more or less mixed with minute stellate hairs, and the remains of 
stalks and leaves, the latter of which are easily removed by careful sifting.” 
(Pharm. Journ., Feb. 1858, p. 406.) It has been examined chemically by Dr. 
Thos. Anderson, of Glasgow, and by G. Leube, jun., in Germany. As given by 
the former, the constituents are, in 100 parts, 78T9 of resinous colouring matter, 
7-34 of albumen, 7T4 of cellulose, &c., a trace of volatile oil and volatile colour- 
ing matter, 3-84 of ashes, and 349 of water. Of the resinous colouring substances, 
Dr. Anderson obtained one in a pure state by allowing a concentrated ethereal 
solution to stand for two days, draining and pressing in bibulous paper the result- 
ing mass of granular crystals, and purifying them from adhering resin by repeated 
solution in ether and crystallization. To the substance thus obtained he gave 
the name of rottlerin. It is in the form of minute crystalline plates, of a yellow 
* Cortex Museum. This bark is in quills several inches long, an inch or more in diameter, 
rough and fissured externally, with a brown epidermis, and beneath this successively a 
thin greenish cellular coat, a thicker pale-yellow periderm, and a tough very fibrous liber. 
It is inodorous, but has a sweetish nauseous taste, followed by an enduring sense of acri- 
mony in the fauces. It was found by Mr. C. Thiel to contain an acrid substance analogous 
to saponin, a bitter principle, a fatty wax-like substance, yellow colouring matter, ex- 
tractive, and various salts. It is said to be used in Abyssinia, in connection with koosso, 
in the treatment of the tape-worm. (.Neues Jahrb.fur Pharm., Jan. 1863, p. 374.)- • Vote to 
the twelfth edition PART I. 
Rottlera.—Rubia. 
715 
colour and a satin-like lustre, insoluble in water, sparingly soluble in cold, but 
more so in boiling alcohol, and readily dissolved by ether, and by alkaline solu- 
tions, which assume a dark-red colour. Rottlerin melts when heated moderately, 
and at a higher heat is decomposed, giving off pungent vapours. Its formula, 
according to Dr. Anderson, is C22H10O6. (Ibid., p. 407.) Leube found a resin solu- 
ble in ether and cold alcohol, another resin soluble in ether and boiling alcohol, 
starch, gum, extractive, tannin, albumen, and citric acid. He failed in obtaining 
the rottlerin of Dr. Anderson. The ashes were in the extraordinary proportion 
of 25-85 per cent., and of the ashes 83‘8 per cent, consisted of insoluble silica. 
(Ibid., Sept. 1860, p. 168.) Silica probably enters essentially into the constitu- 
tion of the minute granules, and its presence accounts for their grittiness under 
the teeth. The active constituent is supposed to be the resin extracted by ether. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Kameela is actively purgative in full doses, 
sometimes acting violently, and occasionally causing nausea, but seldom vomit- 
ing. It appears to have been long used in India in the treatment of tape-worm, 
but has been only within a few years known in Europe and this country. Its 
properties as a vermifuge were first investigated by Dr. C. Mackinnon, a British 
Army Surgeon in India, who published the results of his observations in the 
Indian Annals of Medical Science, in 1854. He found it extraordinarily effi- 
cient in the treatment of tsenia, having used it in 50 cases, and failed in bringing 
away the worm only in two. The testimony of other practitioners in India and 
Great Britain goes to confirm the statements of Dr. Mackinnon, and there can be 
little doubt of the vermifuge powers of the medicine. It is given without pre- 
vious preparation of the patient, in the dose of from one to three drachms, sus- 
pended in water, mucilage, or syrup. In the latter dose it sometimes acts vio- 
lently. The worm is usually expelled dead at the third or fourth stool. If the first 
dose fail to operate on the bowels, it may be repeated in four hours, or followed 
by a dose of castor oil. Dr. Anderson, British Army Surgeon in India, has em- 
ployed the medicine successfully in the form of tincture, made in the proportion 
of six ounces to sixteen fluidounces of rectified spirit, of which the dose is from 
one to four fluidrachms. As an external remedy, kameela is used by the people 
of India in various affections of the skin, particularly scabies. Dr. Wm. Moore, 
of Dublin, has employed it usefully in herpetic ring-worm. (Dub. Hosp. Gaz., 
Nov. 15, 1857.) W. 
RUBIA. U.S. Secondary. 
Madder. 
The root of Kubia tinctorum. U. S. 
Garance, Fr.; Krappwurzel, Germ.; Robbia, It ah; Rubia tie tintoreros, Granza, Span. 
Kubia. Sex. Syst. Tetrandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Rubiacese. Juss. 
Gen. Gh. Corolla one-petaled, bell-shaped. Berries two, one-seeded. Willd. 
Rubia tinctorum. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 603; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 173, t. 67. 
The root of the dyers’ madder is perennial, and consists of numerous long, suc- 
culent fibres, varying in thickness from the size of a quill to that of the little 
finger, and uniting at top in a common head, from which also proceed side-roots 
that run near the surface of the ground, and send up many annual stems. These 
are slender, quadrangular, jointed, procumbent, and furnished with short prickles, 
by which they adhere to the neighbouring plants upon which they climb. The 
leaves are elliptical, pointed, rough, firm, about three inches long and nearly one 
inch broad, having rough points on their edges and midrib, and standing at the 
joints of the stem in whorls of four, five, or six together. The branches rise in 
pairs from the same joints, and bear small yellow flowers at the summit of each 
of their subdivisions. The fruit is a round, shining, black berry. 
The plant is a native of the south of Europe and the Levant, and is cultivated in 716 
Rubia.—Rubus. 
PART I. 
A.sia Minor, France, Holland, and the south of Italy. It is from Holland that 
commerce derives its chief supply. The root, which is the part used, is dug up in the 
third summer, and, having been deprived of its cuticle, is dried by artificial heat, 
and then reduced to a coarse powder. In this condition it is packed in barrels, 
and sent into the market. Madder from the Levant is in the state of the whole 
root; from the south of France, either whole or in powder. The plant is also 
cultivated in this country, in the States of Delaware and Ohio. 
The root consists of a reddish-brown bark, and a ligneous portion within. 
The latter is yellow in the recent state, but becomes red when dried. The powder, 
as kept in the shops, is reddish-brown. 
Madder has a weak peculiar odour, and a bitterish astringent taste; and im- 
parts these properties, as well as a red colour, to water and alcohol. It contains, 
according to M. Runge, five distinct colouring substances; a red, a purple, an 
orange, a yellow, and a brown. According to M. Decaisne, only yellow colouring 
matter is found in the recent root; and it is under the influence of atmospheric 
air that this changes to red. The most interesting of the colouring substances 
is the alizarin of Robiquet and Collin. It may be obtained from the alcoholic 
extract by sublimation, in the method employed by Mohr in obtaining benzoic 
acid. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., xxxi. 267.) It is orange-red, inodorous, in- 
sipid, crystallizable, capable of being sublimed without change, scarcely soluble 
in cold water, soluble in boiling water, and very readily so in alcohol, ether, the 
fixed oils, and alkaline solutions. The alcoholic and watery solutions are rose- 
coloured ; the ethereal, golden-yellow; the alkaline, violet and blue when con- 
centrated, but violet-red when sufficiently diluted. A beautiful rose-coloured lake 
is produced by precipitating a mixture of the solutions of alizarin and alum. 
Roehleder finds a close analogy between alizarin and the chrysophanic acid of 
rhubarb. (See Chem. Gaz., A. D. 1852, p. 243.) M. Roussin claims to have suc- 
ceeded in preparing alizarin from napthalin. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., Nov. 
1861, p. 558.) Madder also contains sugar; and Dobereiner succeeded in obtain- 
ing alcohol from it by fermentation and distillation, without affecting its colour- 
ing properties. It is much used by the dyers. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Madder was formerly thought to be emmena- 
gogue .and diuretic; and was used in amenorrhoea, dropsy, jaundice, and vis- 
ceral obstructions. It is still occasionally prescribed in suppressed menstrua- 
tion ; but physicians generally have no confidence in its efficacy in this or any 
other complaint. When taken into the stomach it imparts a red colour to the 
milk and urine, and to the bones of animals, without sensibly affecting any other 
tissue. The effect is observable most quickly in the bones of young animals, and 
in those nearest the heart. Under the impression that it might effect some 
change in the osseous system, it has been prescribed in rachitis, but without any 
favourable result. The dose is about half a drachm, repeated three or four times 
a day. W. 
RUBUS. U.jS. 
B ladder ry-root. 
The root of Rubus Canadensis, and of Rubus villosus. U. S. 
Rubus. Sex. Syst. Icosaudria Polygynia. — Nat. Ord. Rosacem. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx five-cleft. Petals five. Berry compound, with one-seeded 
acini. Willd. 
Of this extensive genus not less than twenty species are indigenous in the 
United States, where they are called by the various names of raspberry, black 
berry, dewberry, cloudberry, &c. Most of them are shrubby or suffrnticose 
briers, with astringent roots and edible berries; some have annual stems with- 
out prickles. The only officinal species are B. Canadensis and B. villosus, which, PART I. 
Rubus. 
717 
so far as relates to their medical properties, are so closely alike as not to require 
a separate description. 
1. Rubus Canadensis. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 105; Gray, Manual of Bot. &c., 
p. 121. — B. trivialis. Pnrsh, Flor. Am., Sept. p. 347. The dewberry, sometimes 
also called low blackberry, or creeping blackberry, has a slender, somewhat 
prickly stem, which runs along the ground, and occasionally puts forth roots. The 
leaves are composed of three or five leaflets, which are ovate or ovate-lanceo- 
late, generally pointed, sharply serrate, thin, and nearly smooth. The flowers 
are large, white, and arranged in racemes, with leaf-like bractes. The plant 
grows abundantly in old fields and neglected grounds in the Northern and Mid- 
dle States. Its fruit is large, black, of a very pleasant flavour, and ripens some- 
what earlier than that of R. villosus. 
2. R. villosus. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1085; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. i. 160; 
Barton, Med. Bot. ii. 151. The stem of the blackberry is somewhat shrubby, 
from three to seven feet high, branching, more or less furrowed and angular, 
and armed with strong prickles. The smaller branches and young shoots are 
herbaceous. The leaves are ternate or quinate; the leaflets ovate, acuminate, 
unequally and sharply serrate, and pubescent on both sides; the footstalk and 
midrib usually armed with short recurved prickles. The flowers are large, white, 
and in erect racemes, with a hairy, prickly stalk. The calyx is short, with acu- 
minate segments. The fruit is first green, then red, and, when perfectly ripe, of 
a shining black colour and very pleasant taste. It is a compound berry, con- 
sisting of numerous pulpy one-seeded globules or acini attached to the receptacle. 
This species of Rubus is, perhaps, the most abundant of those indigenous in 
the United States, growing in neglected fields, along fences, on the borders of 
woods, in forest glades, and wherever tillage or too much shade and moisture 
does not interfere with it. Its flowers appear from May to July, and its fruit is 
ripe in August. 
The berries of both these species of Rubus are much used as food; and a 
jelly made from them is in great esteem as an article of diet, and even as a re- 
medy in dysenteric affections. The roots only are officinal. 
The blackberry root is branching, cylindrical, of various dimensions, from 
nearly an inch in thickness down to the size of a straw, ligneous, and covered 
with a thin bark, which is externally of a light-brownish or reddish-brown colour, 
and in the dried root is wrinkled longitudinally. The dewberry root is usually 
smaller, without the longitudinal wrinkles, but with transverse fissures through 
the epidermis, and of a dark-ash colour, without any reddish tinge. Both are 
inodorous. The bark in both has a bitterish strongly astringent taste, and the 
ligneous portion is nearly insipid, and comparatively inert. The smaller roots, 
therefore, should be selected for use; or, if the thicker pieces are employed, the 
cortical part should be separated, and the wood rejected. Their virtues are 
extracted by boiling water, and by diluted alcohol, and depend chiefly, if not 
exclusively, upon tannin, which is an abundant constituent. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Dewberry and blackberry roots are tonic and 
strongly astringent. They have long been a favourite domestic remedy in bowel 
affections, and from popular favour have passed into regular medical use. Given 
in decoction, they are usually acceptable to the stomach, without being offensive 
to the taste; and may be employed with great advantage in cases of diarrhoea 
from relaxation of the bowels, whether in children or adults. ,We can add our 
own decided testimony to that of others who have spoken favourably of their 
«se in this complaint; and there is no doubt that they are applicable to all other 
cases in which the vegetable astringents are found serviceable. The decoction 
may be prepared by boiling an ounce of the smaller roots, or of the bark of the 
larger, in a pint and a half of water down to a pint; of which from one to two 
fluidounces may be given to an adult three or four times, or more frequently, 718 
Rumex. 
PART I. 
during the twenty-four hours. The dose of the powdered root is 20 or 30 grains. 
A fluid extract may be prepared from the root, in the same manner and propor- 
tions exactly as the officinal fluid extract of Bittersweet (see Extraction Dulca- 
mara Fluidum), and given in the dose of 30 minims.* The syrup is officinal. 
Off. Prep. Syrupus Rubi, U. S. W. 
RUMEX. U. S. Secondary. 
Yellow Dock. 
The root of Rumex crispus. XJ. S. 
Rumex. Sex. Syst. Ilexandria Trigynia.—Nat. Ord. Polygonaceae. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx three-leaved. Petals three, converging. Seed one, three-' 
Jsided. Willd. Calyx six-parted, persistent, the three interior divisions petaloid. 
eonnivent. Seed one, three-sided, superior, naked. Stigmata multifid. Nuttall. 
Several species of Rumex have sour leaves, and are distinguished by the com- 
mon name of sorrel from the others, which are called dock. Of the former, 
Rumex Acetosa, or common English sorrel, formerly held a place in the Lon- 
don and Dublin Pharmacopoeias. R. Acetosella is the common sorrel of our 
fields, though supposed to have been originally introduced from Europe. The 
leaves of both these plants are agreeably sour to the taste, and owe their acidity 
to binoxalate of potassa with a little tartaric acid. They quite lose this taste in 
drying. They are refrigerant and diuretic, and may be used advantageously as 
an article of diet in scurvy. For this purpose they are prepared in the form of 
salad. The juice of the leaves forms with water an agreeable acidulous drink, 
sometimes used in fevers. Taken very largely, the leaves are said to have pro- 
duced poisonous effects. (See Wood's Quarterly Retrospect, i. 109.) R. scutatus 
also ranks among the sorrels. 
Of the proper docks, though one only is recognised by the Pharmacopoeia, 
several others have been used. The roots of R. Patientia and R. Alpinus, Eu- 
ropean plants, and of R. aquaticus, R. acidus, and R. sanguineus, belonging 
both to Europe and the United States, may be employed indiscriminately with 
those of the officinal species. R. Britannica and R. obtusifolius were formerly 
officinal, but were dismissed at the late revision of the Pharmacopoeia, and the 
present officinal species adopted in their place. R. Hydrolapathum (Hudson), 
which is the R. aquaticus of the late Dublin Pharmacopoeia, is thought to be the 
Herba Britannica of the ancients, celebrated for the cure of scurvy and diseases 
of the skin. The docks are herbaceous plants with perennial roots. Their flowers 
are in terminal or axillary panicles. Some of the species are dioecious; but the 
one here described has perfect flowers. 
Rumex crispus. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 251; Gray, Manual of Botany, &c., 
p. 3TT. From a perennial, spindle-shaped, yellow root, which penetrates deeply 
into the ground, a stem rises annually, three or four feet high, furnished with 
smooth, lanceolate leaves, strongly waved at their margins, and terminating in 
panicled racemes of small, inconspicuous, greenish flowers. The lower leaves are 
,truncate or cordate at the base, and those which spring from the root have long 
footstalks. The flowers are in crowded whorls, upon long wand-like racemes, 
which are leafless above. The valves or inner sepals of the calyx are roundish- 
cordate, entire or slightly denticulate, and one or all grain-bearing. This species 
* Aromatic Syrup of Blackberry. Take of Blackberry Root ; Cinnamon, Cloves, each, 
Mace gi; Sugar |xxx. Reduce the root and spices to a powder which will pass 
through a sieve of 50 meshes to the square inch, moisten this with two fluidounces of alco- 
hol, put into a percolator, and displace with water till 17 fluidounces have passed, and 
dissolve the sugar in the filtrate. A fluidounce is equivalent to 30 grains of the root. 
[Am. Journ. of Pharm., Nov. 1859, p. 552.)—Note to the twelfth edition. PART I. 
Rumex.—Ruta, 
719 
of dock is a native of Europe, but has become naturalized in this country, and 
is now a common weed, growing in roads and fields. 
Dock root, from whatever species derived, has an astringent, bitter taste, with 
little or no smell. It readily yields its virtues to water by decoction. According 
to Riegel, the root of R. obtusifolius coutains a peculiar principle called rumi- 
cin, resin, extractive matter resembling tannin, starch, mucilage, albumen, lignin, 
sulphur, and various salts, among which are phosphate of lime, and different 
acetates and malates. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., i. 410.) Rumicin, in its pure 
state, has since been ascertained by Karl von Thann, to be identical with ehry- 
sophanic acid. (See Rheum.) (Cliem. Central Blatt, Nov. 10, 1858, p. 795.) 
The leaves of most of the species are edible when young, and are occasionally 
used as spinage. They are somewhat laxative, and form an excellent diet in scor- 
butic cases. The roots are used to dye a yellow colour. 
The officinal species, R. crispus, has been carefully examined by Dr. J. II. 
Salisbury, of New York; and the following statements are derived from his 
paper, published in the New York Journal of Medicine (March, 1855, p. 211). 
The seeds are astringent, but less bitter than the root. The leaves are bitterish, 
pungent, and astringent to the taste, with a smell like that of bruised sorrel. 
The petioles are decidedly sour, and contain nearly one per cent, of oxalic acid. 
The root, which is the officinal part, is spindle-shaped, yellow, and covered with 
an easily separable and nearly tasteless epidermis, within which are successively 
the cortical layers, a ligneous portion, and a central medulla. The cortical part, 
which is easily separated, fleshy, and tender, is the most active. It has a bitter 
and astringent taste, and yielded, on analysis, starch, a little sugar, albuminous 
matter, gummy matter, bitter extractive, tannic acid of the kind which gives 
green precipitates with the salts of iron, lignin, and various salts. The root 
yields its virtues to water and alcohol, but is injured by long boiling. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Dock root is astringent, and gently tonic, and 
is also supposed to possess an alterative property, which renders it useful in scor- 
butic disorders, and cutaneous eruptions, particularly the itch, in the cure of 
which it enjoyed at one time considerable reputation. It is said to have proved 
useful in scrofula and syphilis. Dr. Thomson found a decoction of the root of 
R. Patientia very efficacious in obstinate ichthyosis. R. aquaticus and R. Britan- 
nica are the most astringent. The roots of some species unite a laxative with 
the tonic and astringent property, resembling rhubarb somewhat in their opera- 
tion. Such are those of R. crispus and R. obtusifolius; and R. Alpinus has 
in some parts of Europe the name of mountain rhubarb. This resemblance is 
not singular, as the two genera belong to the same natural family. Dock root 
is given in powder or decoction. Two ounces of the fresh root bruised, or one 
ounce of the dried, may be boiled in a pint of water, of which two fluidounces 
may be given at a dose, and repeated as the stomach will bear it. The root has 
often been applied externally in the shape of ointment, cataplasm, and decoction, 
to the cutaneous eruptions and ulcerations for which it has been used internally. 
The powdered root is recommended as a dentifrice, especially when the gums 
are spongy. W. 
RUTA. U. S. Secondary. 
Rue. 
The leaves of Ruta graveolens. U. S. 
Rue odorante, Fr.; Garten-Raute, Germ,.; Ruta, Ital.; Ruda, Span. 
Ruta. Sex. Syst. Decandria Monogynia.—Nat. Orel. Rutaceas. 
Gen, Gh. Calyx five-parted. Petals concave. Receptacle surrounded by teu 
melliferous points. Capsule lobed. Willd. 
Ruta graveolens. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 542; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 487, t. 174. 720 
Ruta. 
PART I. 
Common rue is a perennial plant, usually two or three feet high, with several 
shrubby branching stems, which, near the base, are woody and covered with a 
rough bark, but in their ultimate ramifications are smooth, green, and herba- 
ceous. The leaves are doubly pinnate, glaucous, with obovate, sessile, obscurely 
crenate, somewhat thick and fleshy leaflets. The flowers are yellow, and dis- 
posed in a terminal branched corymb upon subdividing peduncles. The calyx is 
persistent, with four or five acute segments; the corolla consists of four or five 
concave petals, somewhat sinuate at the margin. There are usually ten stamens, 
but sometimes only eight. The plant is a native of the south of Europe, but 
cultivated in our gardens. It flowers from June to September. The whole herb 
is active; but the leaves are usually employed. 
These have a strong disagreeable odour, especially when rubbed. Their taste 
is bitter, hot, and acrid. When recent, and in full vigour, they have so much 
acrimony as to inflame and even blister the skin, if much handled; but the 
acrimony is diminished by drying. Their virtues depend chiefly on a volatile oil, 
which is very abundant, and is contained in glandular vesicles, apparent over 
the whole surface of the plant. (See Oleum Rutae.) They contain, also, accord- 
ing to Mahl, chlorophyll, albumen, an azotized substance, extractive, gum, starch 
or inulin, malic acid, and lignin; and, according to Borntrager, a peculiar acid 
which he calls rutinic acid. (Chem. Gazette, Sept. 1845, p. 385.) Rutinic acid 
is the colouring principle of rue, and has been found in various other plants. It 
was thought, at one time, that it might be identical with quercitrin; but, though 
analogous to that principle, it has been shown to be distinct. Like quercitrin, 
it seems to play an important part in the colouring of plants. (Journ. de Pharm., 
Aout, 1862, p. 165.) Both alcohol and water extract their active properties. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Rue is stimulant and antispasraodic, and, like 
most other substances which excite the circulation, occasionally increases the 
secretions, especially when deficient from debility. It appears to have a tend- 
ency to act upon the uterus; in moderate doses proving emmenagogue, and in 
larger, producing a degree of irritation in the organ which sometimes determines 
abortion. Taken very largely it acts as an acrid narcotic poison. Three cases 
are recorded by Dr. Helie in which it was taken by pregnant women, with the 
effect of producing dangerous gastro-intestinal inflammation and cerebral de- 
rangement, which continued for several days, but ended at length in recovery. 
In each instance miscarriage resulted. Great depression and slowness of the 
pulse attended the narcotic action of the poison. In one of these cases, three 
fresh roots of the size of the finger were used in the form of decoction. (Ann. 
(I’Hyg. Pub. et de Med. Leg., xx. 180.) A case is recorded by Dr. G. F. Cooper 
in the Nashville Journ. of Med. and Surg., in which a man, convalescent from 
dysentery, having added some brandy to a handful of the bruised herb, expressed 
it, and took the whole of the liquor, with fatal effects. The prominent symptoms 
were vomiting, violent tormina, tenesmus with bloody stools, abdominal disten- 
sion with tenderness, and severe strangury. (Med. Exam., N. S., ix. 120.) Rue 
is sometimes used in hysterical affections, worms, flatulent colic, and amenor- 
rhoea, particularly in the last complaint. It has also been highly recommended 
in uterine hemorrhage, especially when dependent on an atonic state of the 
organ. The ancients employed it as a condiment, and believed it to possess, 
besides other valuable properties, that of resisting the action of poisons. Its 
excitant and irritating properties require that it should be used with caution. 
The dose of the powder is from fifteen to thirty grains two or three times a day 
The medicine is also given in infusion and extract. W. PART I. 
Sabadilla. 
721 
SABADILLA. U.S., Br. 
Cevadilla. 
The seed of Veratrum Sabadilla. U.S. Asagrtea officinalis. The dried Fruit. Br 
Cevadille, Fr.; Sabadillsame, Germ.; Cebadilla, Span. 
There has been much uncertainty in relation to the botanical origin of ceva* 
dilla. At one time it was generally believed to be derived from Veratrum 
Sabadilla, which is recognised in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. But Schiede, during 
his travels in Mexico, ascertained that it was, in part at least, collected from a 
different plant, of the same natural order of Melanthaceae, growing upon the 
eastern declivity of the Mexican Andes. This was considered by Schlechtendahl 
as another species of Veratrum, by Don as an Helonias, and by Lindley as be- 
longing to a new genus which he named Asagrsea. Hence it has been variously 
denominated Veratrum officinale, Helonias officinalis, and Asagrsea officinalis. 
The Edinburgh College recognised this plant, under Don’s title of Helonias offi- 
cinalis, as one of the sources of cevadilla; in the present British Pharmacopoeia 
it is admitted, under Lindley’s name of Asagrsea officinalis, as the only source. 
More exact information, however, is wanted before we can determine its precise 
origin. It has been adopted in the Pharmacopoeias solely on account of its 
employment in the preparation of veratria. It is brought from Vera Cruz.* 
Cevadilla seeds usually occur in commerce mixed with the fruit. This con- 
sists of three coalescing capsules or follicles, which open above, and appear like 
a single capsule with three cells. It is three or four lines long and a line and 
a half in thickness, obtuse at the base, light-brown or yellowish, smooth, and in 
each capsule contains one or two seeds. A resemblance, existing or supposed, 
between this fruit and that of barley is said to have given rise to the Spanish 
name cevadilla, which is a diminutive of barley. The seeds are elongated, pointed 
at each end, flat on one side and convex on the other, somewhat curved, two or 
three lines long, wrinkled, slightly winged, black or dark-brown on the outside, 
whitish within, hard, inodorous, and of an exceedingly acrid, burning, and dura- 
ble taste. Cevadilla was found by Pelletier and Caventou to contain a peculiar 
organic alkali which they named veratria, combined with gallic acid; fatty mat- 
ter, consisting of olein, stearin, and a peculiar volatile fatty acid denominated 
* Until more definite information is obtained on the subject, we give in a note a brief 
description of the two plants above referred to. 
Verairum Sabadilla. Itetzius, Obs. i. 31; Carson, Illust. of Med. Bot. ii. 50, pi. 94. See 
Veratn/m Album. The leaves of this plant are numerous, ovate-oblong, obtuse, with from 
eight to fourteen ribs, glaucous beneath, and all radical. The flow&’-stem is erect, simple, 
and round, rises three or four feet in height, and bears a spreading, simple, or but slightly 
branched panicle of somewhat nodding flowers, supported upon very short pedicels. The 
flowers, which are of a blackish-purple colour, approximate in twos and threes, the fertile 
turning at length to one side, and the sterile falling off. The segments of the corolla are 
ovate-lanceolate, and without veins. The capsules occupy only one side of the stem. This 
plant grows in Mexico and the West Indies, and was cultivated by Descourtilz at San Do- 
mingo, from seeds obtained in Mexico. 
Asagrsea officinalis. Lindley, Botan. Ileg., June, 1839.— Veratrum officinale. Schlechtendahl, 
Linnsea, vi. 45. — Hdonias officinalis. Don, Ed. New Philos. Journ., October, 1832, p. 234. 
The following is the generic character given by Lindley. “Flowers polygamous, racemose, 
naked. Perianth six-partite, segments linear, veinless, almost equal, with a nectariferous 
excavation at the base, equal to the stamens. Stamens alternately shorter; anthers cordate 
as if unilocular, after dehiscence shield-shaped. Ovaries three, quite simple, attenuated 
into an obscure stigma. Follicles three, acuminate, papery; seeds scimitar-shaped, corru- 
gated, winged. Bulbous herbs, with grass-like leaves, and small, pale, and densely ra- 
cemed flowers.” A. officinalis, which is the only known species, has linear, acuminate, sub- 
carinate leaves, rougliish at the margin, and four feet in length by three lines in breadth, 
ind a round flower-stem, about six feet high, terminating in a very dense, straight, spike- 
like raceme, eighteen inches long. The flowers are white, with yellow anthers. 722 
Sabadilla.—Sabbatia. 
PART I. 
cevadtc or sabadillic acid; wax; yellow colouring matter; gum; lignin; and 
salts of potassa and of lime, with a little silica. From 100 parts of the seeds, 
separated from their capsules, Meissner obtained 0-58 of veratria. M. Couerbe 
discovered another alkaloid in the seeds which he denominated sabadillin. Be- 
sides the principles above mentioned, a peculiar acid was discovered by Merck, 
called veratric acid, which is in colourless crystals, fusible and volatilizable 
without decomposition, but slightly soluble in cold water, more soluble in hot 
water, soluble in alcohol, insoluble in ether, having the properties of reddening 
litmus paper, and forming soluble salts with the alkalies. For an account of the 
mode of preparing veratria, its properties, and remedial applications, and for a 
more particular notice of sabadillin (sabadillia), see Veratria in Part II. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Cevadilla is an acrid, drastic emelo-cathartic, 
operating occasionally with great violence, and in overdoses capable of produc- 
ing fatal effects. It was known as a medicine in Europe so early as the year 
1572; but has never been much employed. It has been used chiefly as an anthel- 
mintic, especially in cases of taenia, in which it has been given in doses varying 
from five to thirty grains. It has also been given in different nervous affections. 
It is the principal ingredient of the pulvis Capucinorum, sometimes used in 
Europe for the destruction of vermin in the hair. It is considered by the Mexi- 
cans useful in hydrophobia, and was employed by M. Fouilhoux, of Lyons, in a 
supposed case of that disease, in the dose of about nine grains, with asserted suc- 
cess. Externally applied, it is highly irritating, and is even said to be corrosive. 
Its chief employment at present is for the preparation of veratria. 
Off". Prep. Yeratria. W. 
SABBATIA. U.S. 
Sabbatia. American Centaury. 
The herb of Sabbatia angularis. U. S. 
Sabbatia. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Gentianaceae. 
Gen.Ch. Calyx five to twelve-parted. Corolla rotate, five, to twelve-parted. 
Stigmas two, spiral. Anthers at length revolute. Capsule one-celled, two-valved, 
many-seeded. Nuttall. 
Sabbatia angularis. Pursh, Flor. Am. Sept. 137 ; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. iii. 
147 ; Barton, Med. Bot. i. 255. — Chironia angularis. Linn. The American cen- 
taury is an annual or biennial herbaceous plant, with a fibrous root, and an erect, 
smooth, four-sided stem, winged at the angles, simple below, sending off opposite 
axillary branches above, and one or two feet in height. The leaves, which vary 
considerably in length and width, are ovate, entire, acute, nerved, smooth, op- 
posite, and sessile, embracing half the circumference of the stem at their base. 
The flowers are numerous, growing on the ends of the branches, and forming 
together a large terminal corymb. The calyx is divided into five lanceolate seg- 
ments, considerably shorter than the corolla. This is deeply five-parted, with 
obovate segments of a delicate rose-colour, which is paler and almost white in 
the middle of their under surface. The anthers are yellow, and, after shed- 
ding their pollen, become revolute. The style, which is bent downward, and is 
longer than the stamens, terminates in two linear stigmas, which become spirally 
twisted together. The plant is widely diffused through the Middle and Southern 
States, growing in low meadow grounds, and, in wet seasons, upon uplands, in 
woods, and neglected fields. It flowers in July and August. In its general aspect 
as. well as medical properties, it bears a close resemblance to Erythrsea Cen- 
taurium, or European centaury, for which it was mistaken by the earlier settlers. 
The whole herb is employed, and should be collected when in flower. 
All parts of it have a strongly bitter taste, without any admixture of antrin- PART T. 
Sabbat ia.—Sabina. 
gency, or other peculiar flavour. Both alcohol and water extract its bitterness, 
together with its medical virtues. 
Medical Properties and Uses. American centaury has the tonic properties 
of the simple bitters, and is very analogous in its action to the other plants of 
the same natural family. It has long been popularly employed as a prophylactic 
and remedy in our autumnal intermittent and remittent fevers ; and was formerly 
much esteemed by some physicians in the latter of these complaints. The con- 
dition to which it was considered applicable was that existing between the parox- 
ysms, when the remission was such as to call for tonics, but was not deemed 
sufficient to justify a resort to the preparations of Peruvian bark. It is occa- 
sionally useful, during the progress of a slow convalescence, by promoting appe- 
tite and invigorating digestion; and may be employed for the same purpose in 
dyspepsia and diseases of debility. The most convenient form for administration 
is that of infusion. A pint of boiling water, poured on an -ounce of the herb and 
allowed to cool, may be given in the dose of two fluidounces, repeated every hour 
or two during the remission of fevers, and less frequently in chronic affections. 
The dose of the powder is from thirty grains to a drachm. The decoction, ex- 
tract, and tincture are also efficient preparations. W. 
SABINA. U.S.,Br. 
Savine. 
The tops of Juniperus Sabina. U. S. The fresh and dried Tops; collected in 
Bpring. Br. 
Sabine, Fr.; Sevenbaum, Germ.; Sabina, Ital., Span. 
Juniperus. See JUNIPERUS. 
Juniperus Sabina. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 852; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 10, t. 5. 
This is an evergreen shrub, from three to fifteen feet high, with numerous erect, 
pliant branches, much subdivided. The bark of the young branches is light green, 
that of the trunk rough, and reddish-brown. The leaves, which completely in- 
vest the younger branches, are numerous, small, erect, firm, smooth, pointed, 
dark-green, glandular in the middle, opposite, and imbricated in four rows. The 
.flowers are male and female on different trees. The fruit is a blackish-purple 
berry, of an ovoid shape, marked with tubercles and the remains of the calyx 
and petals, and containing three seeds. 
The savine is a native of the south of Europe and the Levant, and is said to 
grow wild in the neighbourhood of our north-western lakes. The ends of the 
branches, and the leaves by which they are invested, are collected for medical 
use in the spring. When dried they fade very much in colour. 
The tops of Juniperus Virginiana, or common red cedar, are sometimes sub- 
stituted in the shops for savine, to which they bear so close a resemblance as to 
be with difficulty distinguished. The two species, however, differ in their taste 
and smell. In J. Virginiana, moreover, the leaves are sometimes ternate. 
The tops and leaves of the savine plant have a strong, heavy, disagreeable 
odour, and a bitter, acrid taste. These properties, which are less striking in the 
dried than the recent leaves, are owing to a volatile oil, which is obtained by 
distillation with water. (See Oleum Sabinse.) The leaves impart their virtues 
to alcohol and water. From an analysis by Mr. C. H. Needles, they appear to 
contain volatile oil, gum, tannic or gallic acid, resin, chlorophyll, fixed oil, bitter 
extractive, lime, and salts of potassa. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xiii. 15.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Savine is highly stimulant, increasing most 
of the secretions, especially those of the skin and uterus, to the latter of which 
;t is supposed to have a peculiar direction. It has been much used in amenor- 
rhcea. and occasionally as1 a remedy for worms. Dr. Chapman strongly recom- Sabina.—Saccharum.—Syrupus Fuscus. 
PART I. 
mendc-d it in chronic rheumatism ; and it is employed in Germany, botn internally 
and externally, in chronic gout. In overdoses it is capable of producing dan- 
gerous gastro-intestinal inflammation, and should therefore be used with caution. 
In no case should it be employed when much general or local excitement exists. 
In pregnancy it should always be given with great caution; though it has re- 
cently been recommended as an effective remedy in certain forms of menorrhagia, 
and is asserted to prove occasionally useful in preventing threatened abortion. 
(See Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., N. S., viii. 475.) It is most conveniently admin- 
istered in the form of powder, of which the dose is from five to fifteen grains, 
three or four times a day. A fluid extract has been prepared by Mr. J. J. Gra- 
hame, which may be given in the same number of drops.* 
As an external irritant it is useful, in the form of cerate, for maintaining a 
discharge from blistered surfaces; but, as the preparation sold in this country 
under the name of savine ointment is often feeble, either from the age of the 
drug, or the substitution of red cedar, it has in some measure fallen into disre- 
pute. (See Ceratum Sabinse.) In powder or infusion, savine is used in Europe 
as an application to warts, indolent, carious, and gangrenous ulcers, psora, and 
tinea capitis; and the'expressed juice of the fresh leaves, diluted with water, is 
sometimes applied to similar purposes. 
Off. Prep Ceratum Sabinae, U.S.; Oleum Sabinse, U.S.; Unguentum Sabi- 
nas, Br. W. 
SACCHARUM. U.S. 
Sugar. 
The sugar of Saccharum officinarum, refined. U. S. 
Off. Syn. SACCHARUM ALBUM. Refined Sugar, C12HuOn. Saccharum 
officinarum. The crystallized refined juice of the stem. Br. 
White sugar; Sucre pur, Sucre en pains, Fr.; Wreisser Zucker, Germ,.; Zucchero en 
pane, Ital.; Azucar de pilon, Azucar refinado, Span. 
SYRUPUS FUSCUS. U.S. 
Molasses. 
The impure, dark-coloured syrup, obtained in making sugar from Saccharum 
officinarum. U. S. 
Off. Syn. THERIACA. Treacle. The uncrystallized residue of the refining 
of sugar. Br. 
Mdlasse, Fr.; Zuckersatz, Zuckersyrup, Germ.; Melazzo, Ital.; Melaca, Span. 
Among the saccharine principles distinguished by the chemist are cane sugar, 
or sugar properly so called, derived from the sugar cane, the beet, and the sugar 
maple; glucose or grape sugar, with which starch sugar, diabetic sugar, the 
crystallizable sugar of honey, and the saccharine matter of the glucosides are 
identical; uncrystallizable sugar; sorbite, from the berries of the mountain ash 
(Sorbus aucuparia); lactin, or sugar of milk; inosite, or sugar of muscular 
flesh; mannite, with which mushroom sugar is identical; and glycerin. Glucose 
or grape sugar is conveniently obtained by spreading crystalline honey on porous 
* Fluid Extract of Savine. The following is essentially the process of Mr. Grahame. Hav- 
ing mixed four troyounces of recently dried savine in fine powder, with sufficient alcohol 
(of 90 per cent.) to moisten it, pack it in a percolator, cover it with perforated paper, and 
pour alcohol upon it. Set aside the first six fluidounces that pass till reduced one-half by 
spontaneous evaporation. Continue the percolation till eight fluidounces additional are 
obtained, evaporate the filtered liquid, by means of a water-bath, with a moderate heat, to 
one fluidounce, and mix this with the residue of the portion reserved. One fluidrachm 
of the fluid extract represents 60 grains of the savine. [Trans, of Maryland Col of Pharm., 
June, 18o8.)—Note to the twelfth edition. PART I. 
Saccharum. 
725 
tiles, dissolving what remains on their surface in alcohol, and crystallizing. The 
product is about one-fourth of the weight of the honey. Glucose, as obtained 
from a concentrated syrup, is in the form of crystalline grains ; but, when crys- 
tallized from its alcoholic solution, it has the shape of square tables or cubes. It 
is less sweet than cane sugar. It is also less soluble in water, and much mor* 
soluble in alcohol. It has the sp. gr. T386. Strong mineral acids hardly act on 
grape sugar, but destroy cane sugar with facility. On the other hand, grape 
sugar is destroyed by alkalies, with which cane sugar forms definite compounds. 
Dissolved in water and subjected to prolonged ebullition, grape sugar under- 
goes very little alteration. Its solution rotates the plane of polarization of 
polarized light to the right, and is capable of undergoing the vinous fermenta- 
tion directly, without passing through any intermediate state. It is characterized, 
also, in boiling solution, by reducing the potassa-tartrate of copper, and by be- 
coming brown by the action of the alkalies. The name of glucosides has been 
given to certain organic substances which are resolvable, by the presence of acids, 
or other slight chemical influence, into glucose and some other proximate princi- 
ple, as in the instance of tannic acid, which is thus resolved into glucose and gallic 
acid. Uncrystallizable sugar (fruit sugar or chulariose), an isomeric form of 
glucose, exists in honey and the juice of fruits, and is generated from cane sugar by 
solution in water or weak acids, and long boiling. Hence it is present in molasses. 
An aqueous solution of this sugar turns the plane of polarization to the left, and, 
like grape sugar, is susceptible of the vinous fermentation without an interme- 
diate change. In consequence of this effect on polarized light, it has been named 
by the French chemists inverse sugar {sucre interverte)\ its rotatory power being 
the reverse of that of the sugar from which it is produced. Uncrystallizable sugar 
is transformed into grape sugar, when it is made to assume a crystalline struc- 
ture, but not by mere solidification. (Soubeiran.) A solution of cane sugar, like 
that of grape sugar, has a rotating power to the right. When it ferments, it is 
not, as is generally supposed, first converted into grape sugar. It is found both by 
Mitscherlich and Soubeiran to be first changed into uncrystallizable sugar; and, 
as the change proceeds, the rotating power to the right of the cane sugar gra- 
dually lessees and disappears, and is replaced by the rotating power to the left 
of the uncrystallizable sugar formed. Sorbin, discovered by M. Pelouze, is in 
perfectly transparent crystals, having the same taste as cane sugar, but is not 
susceptible of fermentation. Lactin, or sugar of milk, is now officinal. (See 
Saccharum Lactis.) Inosite is a sugar found in the juice of flesh. For a de- 
scription of mannite and glycerin, see the articles Manna and Glycerina. 
Besides the sugars above enumerated, chemical writers mention dulcose (dulcite 
or dulcin), a substance like mannite from an unknown plant of Madagascar; phy- 
cile, obtained from Protococcus vulgaris; quercite, obtained from acorns; me- 
lampyrite, from Melampyrum nemorosum and other Scrophularinese; mycose 
or the sugar of ergot; melitose, the peculiar sugar of Australian manna, at first 
thought to be grape sugar; trehalose, the crvstallizable principle of Turkish 
manna; melizotose, in Brianfon manna; pinile, obtained from a sugar of Cali- 
fornia, said to be derived from Pinus Lambertiana; and phaseomannite, ob- 
tained from kidney beans before they are ripe. Of these saccharine substances, 
melitose, trehalose, mycose, and melizotose, though differing in some of their 
properties from cane sugar, agree with it in composition, and in the property 
of being modified by acids, and transformed into sugars analogous to glucose. 
(Berthelot, Journ. de Pharm., Oct. 1858, p. 292.)* In relation to melampyrite, 
the latest researches give reason to think that it is identical with dulcite. (Grnelin, 
Handbook, xv. 543.) 
* In relation to the fermentation of several of the sugars, in presence of chalk and cer- 
> tain animal substances, such as cheese, &c., the reader is referred to some interesting 
observations of M. Berthelot, contained in the Journ. de Pharm. for Oct. .1856. 726 
Saccharum. 
PART I. 
Cane sugar is manufactured extensively on the continent of Europe from the 
bert, and in considerable quantities, in Canada and the northern and north-western 
parts of the United States, from the sap of the sugar maple (Acer saccharinum). 
In the year 1850, according to the census returns, thirty-four millions of pounds of 
crude maple sugar were made within the limits of the United States.* Cane sugar 
may also be obtained from cornstalks, and from the Chinese sugar cane, or 
Sorghus saccharatus. The juice of the latter contains from 10 to 16 per cent, 
of sugar, crystallizable and uncrystallizable, the latter greatly predominating. 
Hence it is not well suited to produce crystallized sugar, but yields molasses 
abundantly. It also affords good grain for bread, and excellent fodder for do- 
mestic animals. In India sugar is made from the sap of different species of palm. 
In 1844 more than 6000 tons of crude palm sugar, called jaggary, were manu- 
factured. It is more easily refined, and at less cost than the sugar from the cane. 
(Stevens.) But the supply of sugar from these sources is insignificant, when 
compared with that obtained from the sugar cane itself, which is extensively 
cultivated in the East and West Indies, Brazil, and some of our Southern States, 
particularly Louisiana. This plant is the Saccharum officinarum of botanists, 
and is the source of the officinal sugars of the Pharmacopoeias. 
Saccharum. Sex. Syst. Triandria Digynia. — Nat. Ord\ Graminaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx two-valved, involucred, with long down. Corolla two-valved. 
Willd. 
Saccharum officinarum. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 321; Philos. Trans., Ixix. 207. 
The sugar cane is an herbaceous plant, possessing a jointed, succulent root, 
from which arise several shining, jointed, solid stems, from an inch to two inches 
in diameter, and from six to twelve feet high, and containing a white and juicy 
pith. The colour of the stem is yellow, greenish-yellow, purple, or striped. 
The joints are about three inches apart, and give origin to the leaves, which 
embrace the stem at their base, are three or four feet long and about an inch 
wide, flat, acuminate, longitudinally striated, furnished with a white midrib, gla- 
brous, finely dentate, and of a green colour inclining to yellow. The flowers 
are pinkish, surrounded by a long silky down, and disposed in a large, terminal, 
nearly pyramidal panicle, composed of subdivided spikes, and two $r three feet 
in length. The plant has a general resemblance to the Indian corn. Four 
varieties are mentioned; 1. the common, with a yellow stem ; 2. the purple, 
with a purple stem and richer juice; 3. the gigantic, with a very large light- 
coloured stem ; and 4. the Otaheitan, which was introduced into the West Indies 
from the island of Tahiti (Otaheite)by Bougainville and Bligh, and is distin- 
guished by its greater height, the longer intervals between its joints, and the 
greater length of the hairs which surround the flowers. 
The sugar cane is cultivated by cuttings, which are planted in rows, and which, 
by giving rise to successive shoots, furnish five or six crops before the plants 
require to be renewed. At the end of a year the plant generally flowers, and in 
four or five months afterwards the canes are completely ripe, at which time they 
have a yellowish colour, and contain a sweet viscid juice. The quantity of sugar 
which they yield is variable. According to Avequin, of New Orleans, the pro- 
portion of cane sugar in the recent stalk is about 10 per cent., of uncrystallizable 
sugar from 3| to 4 per cent. Cane-juice is said to contain from 17 to 23 per cent, 
of crystallizable sugar, though scarcely 7 per cent, is extracted in practice. 
Preparation and Purification. The canes, when ripe, are cut down close to 
the earth, topped, and stripped of their leaves, and then crushed between ver- 
tical iron rollers in a mill. The juice, constituting 90 per cent, of the cane, 
though scarcely 50 per cent, is actually obtained, is of a pale-greenish colour, 
* In relation to the preparation of maple sugar, see a paper by Dr. Geo. D. Gibb \n tl.e 
Br. Am. Journ. of Med. Sci. (July, 1851), and another by M. J. 13. Avequin in the Am. J turn. 
o/Fharm. (Jan. 1858, p. 72).—Note to the twelfth edition. part I. 
Saccharum. 
727 
sweet taste, and balsamic odour, and has a sp. gr. varying from 1033 to 1 *106 
As it runs out it is received in suitable vessels, and, being quickly removed, 
is immediately mixed with lime, in the form of milk of lime, in the proportion 
of about 1 part of the earth to 800 of the juice, and heated in a boiler to 140_/. 
The exact proportion of the lime cannot be determined, as the juice varies in 
quality in different seasons; but the manufacturer should aim at making the 
liquor neutral, or very slightly alkaline. The gluten and albumen rise to the 
top, and form a thick scum, from underneath which the liquid is drawn off by 
a cock into a copper boiler, where it is concentrated by heat, the scum being 
carefully skimmed off as it forms. Filtering the juice through cloth filters be- 
fore heating it is advantageous. When sufficiently concentrated, the juice is 
transferred to shallow vessels called coolers, from which, when it assumes a 
granular aspect, it is drawn off into wooden vessels with perforated bottoms, the 
holes in which are temporarily plugged. At the end of twenty-four hours, the 
liquid is strongly agitated with wooden stirrers, in order to accelerate the granu- 
lation of the sugar, which is completed in six hours. The stoppers are now re- 
moved, and the syrup is allowed to drain off from the sugar, which in this state 
is granular, of a yellowish colour, and moist. It is next dried in the sun, and, 
being introduced into hogsheads, forms the brown sugar of commerce. The 
syrup, by a new evaporation, furnishes an additional portion of sugar; and the 
liquid which, finally remains, incapable of yielding more sugar with advantage, 
is called molasses. Eight pounds of the juice yield, on an average, one pound 
of brown sugar. In the process of extraction, it is important that the juice 
should be concentrated by a moderate heat; as a high temperature causes more 
of the cane sugar to be converted into uncrystallizable sugar, and, therefore, in- 
creases the amount of the molasses. This conversion takes place slowly, even in 
the cold, if the juice is allowed to stand; and hence the importance of manu- 
facturing it at once into sugar. According to M. Maumene, the cane sugar in 
crude beet juice may be preserved without change by converting it into saccha- 
rate of lime; and he supposes that this is true of all vegetable juices, containing 
cane sugar. In the case of beet juice, he recommends the addition of an amount 
of slaked lime, equal to half the weight of the sugar, supposed to be present; 
an amount which will be about 5 per cent, of the weight of the juice. When 
the juice is to be manufactured, the sugar is set free by saturating nine-tenths 
of the lime with carbonic, phosphoric, or sulphuric acid. (Journ. de Pharm., 
Nov. 1856.) It may be set free also by animal charcoal, which is now generally 
employed for the purpose. 
Brown sugar is sometimes partially purified by boiling it with lime-water, and, 
after sufficient concentration, allowing the syrup to crystallize in large inverted 
conical vessels, pierced at the apex and plugged. The surface of the crystalline 
mass being covered with a thin mixture of clay and water, the plug is removed, 
and the wrater from the clay, percolating the mass, removes the coloured syrup, 
which flows out at the hole. Sugar, thus prepared, approaches to the white 
state, and constitutes the clayed sugar of commerce, usually called, in thi3 
country, Havana sugar. 
There is no doubt that a large proportion of the sugar is lost in the ordinary 
process of manufacture; and several plans have been proposed to prevent this 
loss. In December, 1847, Dr. John Scoffern, of England, took out a patent for 
the use of subacetate of lead as a purifying agent, added 4o the cane-juice in the 
proportion of one-sixth of 1 per cent. When applied to cane-juice, it separates 
the impurities completely, thus avoiding the labour of skimming, and furnishes 
the whole of the sugar, instead of about one-third, as by the ordinary process. 
When used in refining operations, it enables the refiner to work up residues, 
which would not furnish sufficient sugar to repay the cost of the old process. 
The lead is finallv removed from the sugar solutions in the form of sulphite of 728 
Saccharum. 
PART I. 
lead, oy tbe action 3f sulphurous acid gas, forcea through them by mechanical 
means. In this way Dr. Scoffern alleges that the whole of the lead may be sepa- 
rated ; but even if it is not, he believes that a minute proportion of sulphite of 
lead in the sugar would not prove injurious. In this opinion he is supported by 
several eminent chemists and physicians; but the position is controverted by 
others equally eminent, and, we think, on just grounds; as we should feel doubt 
of the wholesomeness of an aliment so extensively used as sugar, containing a 
proportion of lead, however minute. Such is the view taken in France, where 
the process of Dr. Scoffern is prohibited. Another patented process for the 
defecation of cane-juice, and of the syrups of sugar refineries, is that of It. & J. 
Oxland, in which acetate of alumina is used. The details of the process are 
given in the Chem. Gazette for Nov. 16, 1849, to which the reader is referred. 
M. Melsens, of Brussels, has proposed a third process, which consists in the use 
of bisulphite of lime. This salt is alleged to act as an antiseptic, preventing tbe 
operation of any ferment; as an absorber of oxygen, opposing the action of that 
gas on the juice; as a clarifier, rendering insoluble at 212° all coagulable mat- 
ters; as a bleacher of pre existiug colouring matters, and a preventive of the 
formation of new ones; and, lastly, as a substance furnishing a base to neu- 
tralize hurtful acids, which unite with the lime, displacing the weaker sulphurous 
acid. M. Melsens admits that he has made his experiments with cane-juice on 
a small scale only, and, therefore, leaves the application of the principles of his 
method to the intelligence of the manufacturers themselves. M. Emil Pfeiffer has 
proposed another refining process, which consists in the use of superphosphate 
of lime, an agent previously recommended by Brande. (See Chem. Gaz., April 
15, 1856.) M. Emile Rousseau proposes sulphate of lime as the best addition 
to saccharine juices in the manufacture of sugar. This coagulates the albuminous 
matters. The clear juice is then agitated with hydrated peroxide of iron, which 
oxidizes and destroys the colouring matters, and, besides, absorbs the alkaline 
and earthy salts, and removes the small quantity of sulphate of lime remaining 
in the solution. (See Am. Journ. of Pliarm., Sept. 1862, p. 461.) 
The refining of brown sugar forms a distinct branch of business, and the 
methods pursued have undergone many improvements. By the original process, 
the sugar was boiled with lime-water, and clarified by heating it with bullocks’ 
blood. The clarified syrup was then strained through cloth filters, whereby it 
was rendered limpid. It was next transferred to a boiler, where it was subjected 
to ebullition until it was brought to a proper concentration; when it was allowed 
to cool in conical moulds, and to drain for the separation of the molasses. This 
last boiling required to be continued so long, that the action of the fire and air 
frequently decomposed the sugar to such an extent as to cause a loss of 25 per 
cent, in molasses. This disadvantage led to the abandonment of prolonged 
boiling; and now the sugar refiners boil the syrup in shallow boilers, which are 
suspended in such a way as to admit of their being emptied with the greatest 
quickness, without putting out the fire. 
The process of refining was still further improved by Messrs. Philip Taylor 
and Howard. The former introduced the improvement of heating the syrup with 
great rapidity, by means of steam made to pass through a series of tubes travers- 
ing the boiler; and the latter devised the plan of causing the syrup to boil under 
a diminished pressure, created by a suction pump, set in motion by a steam 
engine, while it was heated by steam circulating round the boiler. In this way 
the syrup was made to boil at a lower temperature, and with a diminished con- 
tact of the air; and the loss of cane sugar by its conversion into uncrystallizable 
sugar was in a great measure avoided. 
After the syrup is sufficiently concentrated by any one of these methods, it is 
transferred to coolers, where it is agitated to cause it to granulate. In this state 
it is poured into unglazed earthenware moulds of a conical shape, with a hole PART I- 
Saccharum. 
729 
in the apex, which is stopped with a paper plug. The moulds are placed, with 
the apex downwards, above stone-ware pots, intended to receive the uncrystalliz- 
able syrup. When the mass has completely concreted, the moulds are unstopped, 
to allow the coloured syrup to drain off. To separate the remains of this syrup 
the operation called claying is performed. This consists in removing from the 
base of the loaf a layer of the sugar, about an inch thick, and replacing it with 
pure sugar in powder, which is covered with a mixture of pipe clay and water 
of about the consistence of cream. The water gradually leaves the clay, dissolves 
the pure sugar, and percolates the mass as a pure syrup, removing in its pro- 
gress the coloured syrup. Sometimes the purification is performed without the 
use of clay, by allowing a saturated solution of pure sugar to percolate the loaf. 
When all the coloured syrup is removed, the loaf is taken out of the mould and 
placed in stoves to dry. It now constitutes white or purified sugar. The syrup 
which drains from the loaves contains a considerable quantity of cane sugar, 
and is used in subsequent operations. The syrups of lowest quality are employed 
in forming inferior white sugar, from which a syrup finally drains, containing so 
little cane sugar as not to repay the expense of extracting it. This constitutes 
sugar-house molasses. Good brown sugar, in the process of refining, yields about 
TO per cent, of white sugar. 
Commercial History. Cane sugar was known to the ancients. It was origin- 
ally obtained from India, where it was extracted from the sugar cane. About 
the period of the Crusades, the Venetians brought it to Europe; but, at that 
time, it was so scarce and costly as to be used exclusively as a medicine. Upon 
the discovery of the Cape of Good Hope and the maritime route to the East 
Indies, the commerce in sugar passed into the hands of the Portuguese. Sub- 
sequently, the cultivation of the cane extended to Arabia, Egypt, Sicily, Spain, 
and the Canaries, and finally, upon the discovery of the new world, to America, 
where it was pursued with the greatest success, and continues to be so. In 
America it is produced most abundantly in the West Indies, which supply the 
greater part of the consumption of Europe, little comparatively being taken 
thither from Brazil or the East Indies. The consumption of the United States, 
before the existing war, was more than half supplied by Louisiana and some of 
the neighbouring States. The crop of sugar of Louisiana, in 1847, was estimated 
at 240,000 hogsheads; in 1853, at 322,000. The crop of Cuba for the latter 
year is supposed to have reached 600,000 hogsheads. Latterly, our planters 
have introduced into Louisiana the variety of cane called the Otaheitan cane, 
which is hardier and more productive than the common cane, and better suited 
to the climate of our Southern States. 
Properties. Sugar, in a pure state, is a solid of a peculiar grateful taste, per- 
manent in the air, phosphorescent by friction, and of the sp. gr. l-6. It dissolves 
readily in half its weight of cold water, and to almost an unlimited extent in 
boiling water. The solution, when thick and ropy, is called syrup. An aqueous 
solution of sugar, kept in a warm place, has the property of corroding iron, par- 
tially immersed in it, just above the line where the surface of the liquid touches 
the metal; and the solution itself becomes impregnated with protoxide of iron, 
and of a deep red-brown colour. A similar effect is produced on lead; but zinc 
and copper are but slightly acted on. (Dr. J. H. Gladstone, Annals of Phar- 
macy, iii. 208.) A solution of sugar possesses the property also of dissolving a 
large quantity of hydrate of lime, forming a compound, called syrup of lime. 
When a concentrated syrup is gently heated, and spirit added to it, the liquid, 
on cooling, forms white semi-transparent crystals of hydrated sugar, having the 
shape of oblique four-sided prisms, and called sugar-candy. Sugar is nearly in- 
soluble in absolute alcohol, but dissolves in four times its weight of boiling alco- 
hol, of the sp. gr. 0 83. When heated to 365°, it melts into a viscid, colourless 
liquid, which, on being suddenly cooled, forms a transparent amorphous mass, 730 
Saccharuvi. 
PART I. 
called barley sugar. At a higher temperature (between 400° and 420°) it loses 
two eqs. of water, and is converted into a black porous mass, having a high 
lustre, called caramel. At a still higher heat it yields combustible gases, car- 
bonic acid, empyreumatic oil, and acetic acid; and there remains one-fourth of 
its weight of charcoal, which burns without residue. Sugar renders the fixed 
and volatile oils to a certain extent miscible with water, and forms with the 
latter an imperfect combination, called in pharmacy oleo-saccharum. When in 
solution, it is not precipitated by subacetate of lead, a negative property which * 
distinguishes it from most other organic principles. 
Teds. Cane sugar may be distinguished from grape sugar by Trommer’s test, 
which consists in the use of sulphate of copper and caustic potassa. If a solu- 
tion of cane sugar be mixed with a solution of sulphate of copper, and potassa 
be added in excess, a deep-blue liquid is obtained, which, on being heated, lets 
fall, after a time, a little red powder. A solution of grape sugar, similarly 
treated, yields, when heated, a copious greenish precipitate, which rapidly changes 
to scarlet, and eventually to dark-red. Prof. Bottger finds that, when a liquid 
containing grape sugar is boiled with carbonate of soda and some basic nitrate 
of bismuth, a gray coloration or blackening of reduced bismuth is produced. 
Cane sugar, similarly treated, has no effect on the test. Dr. Donaldson’s test for 
sugar in the animal fluids is formed of 5 parts of carbonate of soda, 5 of caus- 
tic potassa, 6 of bitartrate of potassa, 4 of sulphate of copper, and 32 of distilled 
water. A few drops of this solution, being added to an animal fluid, and the 
mixture heated over a spirit-lamp, a yellowish-green colour is developed, if 
sugar be present. J. Horsley’s test for sugar in diabetic urine is an alkaline 
solution of chromate of potassa, a few drops of which, boiled with the urine, 
will make it assume a deep sap-green colour. 
Action of Acids and Alkalies, &c. The mineral acids act differently on cane 
sugar, according as they are concentrated or dilute. Strong nitric acid, with 
the assistance of heat, converts it into oxalic acid. (See Oxalic Acid in Part III.) 
The same acid, when weak, converts it into saccha?'ic acid, confounded by 
Scheele with malic acid. Concentrated muriatic or sulphuric acid chars it. Di- 
luted muriatic acid, when boiled with cane sugar, converts it into a solid, brown, 
gelatinous mass. Weak sulphuric acid, by a prolonged action at a high tem- 
perature, converts cane sugar, first into uncrystallizable sugar, afterwards into 
grape sugar, and finally into two substances, analogous to ulmin and ulmic acid, 
called saccliulmin and sacchulmic acid, Vegetable acids are supposed to act 
in a similar way. Maumene has found that cane sugar undergoes the change 
into uncrystallizable sugar when kept for a long time in aqueous solution, as 
well as when heated with acids. When the boiling with acids is prolonged for 
several days in open vessels, oxygen is absorbed, and, besides sacchulmin and 
sacchulmic acid, formic acid is generated. Soubeiran admits the change of the 
uncrystallizable into grape sugar, but attributes it to a molecular transformation 
of the sugar, independently of the action of the acid ; as, according to his ob- 
servation, the conversion takes place only after rest. In confirmation of his 
views, this chemist states that he found the same changes to be produced by 
boiling sugar with water alone. 
Cane sugar unites with the alkalies and some of the alkaline earths, forming 
definite combinations which render the sugar less liable to change. It also unites 
with protoxide of lead. Boiled for a long time with aqueous solutions of po- 
tassa, lime, or baryta, the liquid becomes brown, formic acid is produced, and 
two new acids are generated; one brown or black and insoluble in water, called 
melassic acid, the other colourless and very soluble, named glucic acid. 
The account above given of the action of acids and alkalies on cane sugar 
explains the way in which lime acts in the manufacture and refining of sugar. 
The acids, naturally existing in the saccharine juice, have the effect of conv jrt- part I. 
Saccltarum. 
731 
ing the cane sugar into uncrystallizable sugar, by which a loss of the former is 
sustained. The lime, by neutralizing these acids, prevents that result. An excess 
of lime, however, must be carefully avoided; as it injures the product of cane 
sugar both in quantity and quality. The change in sugar which precedes fer- 
mentation, namely, the conversion of cane sugar into the uncrystallizable kind, 
points to the necessity of operating on the juice before that process sets in; and 
hence the advantage of grinding canes immediately after they are cut, and boil- 
ing the juice with the least possible delay. 
The following is a description of the several forms of sugar in common use. 
including the two officinal varieties. 
Purified or white sugar, as obtained on a large scale, is in concrete, some- 
what porous masses, called loaves, consisting of an aggregate of small crystalline 
grains. When carefully refined, it is brittle and pulverulent, perfectly white, 
inodorous, and possessed of the pure saccharine taste. Cane sugar is sometimes 
adulterated with starch sugar, which may be detected by adding to a concen- 
trated solution of the suspected sugar, first a small portion of fused potassa, and 
afterwards, at the boiling temperature, a few drops of nitrate of cobalt. This 
test, if the cane sugar be pure, will produce a violet-blue precipitate, a reaction 
prevented by the presence of a small proportion of starch sugar. {Dr. G. Beich.)* 
Unpurified or brown sugar is in the form of a coarse powder, more or less 
moist and sticky, consisting of shining crystalline grains intermixed with lumps, 
having an orange-yellow colour more or less deep, a sweet, cloying taste, and 
heavy peculiar smell. It varies very much in quality. The best sort is nearly 
dry, in large sparkling grains of a clear yellow colour, and possesses much less 
smell than the inferior kinds. It consists of cane sugar, associated, according to 
Messrs. Alexander and Morfit, with variable quantities of hygroscopic moisture, 
uncrystallizable sugar, gum, albumen, extractive, saline matter, and insoluble 
organic and inorganic substances. (Chern. Gaz., April 15,1858, p. 153.) Among 
the inorganic substances is a small proportion of lime. By keeping it becomes 
soft and gummy, and less sweet, a change attributed to the lime. 
Molasses is of two kinds, the West India and sugar-house. West India mo- 
lasses is a black ropy liquid, of a peculiar odour, and sweet empyreumatic taste. 
When mixed with water and with the skimmings of the vessels used in the manu- 
facture of sugar, it forms a liquor, which, when fermented and distilled, yields 
rum. Sugar-house molasses has the same general appearance as the West 
India, but is thicker, and has a different flavour. Its sp.gr. is about 14, and it 
contains about 15 per cent, of solid matter. Both kinds of molasses consist of 
uncrystallizable sugar, more or less cane sugar which has escaped separation in 
* Estimation of Cane Sugar and Glucose. The aqueous solution of a mixture of ferridcy- 
anide of potassium (red prussiate of potassa) with half its weight of hydrate of potassa, 
has no chemical action on a solution of cane sugar, cold or hot, yet communicates to it, 
even in very small proportion, a decided and persistent yellowness. With a solution of 
glucose or grape sugar it loses its colour slowly if cold, and more rapidly as the tempera- 
ture is raised. If a few drops be added to a solution of glucose at 140°, the yellow colour 
at first produced very soon disappears, and, if the heat be raised to 170°, is immediately 
destroyed. If now the addition continue to be made, the colour will continue to disappear 
so long as any of the glucose remains. By experiment it was ascertained that 10-98 
grammes of the ferridcyanide were sufficient to destroy 1 gramme of sugar converted by 
muriatic acid into glucose. A normal solution may be made by mixing 10-98 grammes of 
the ferridcyanide with 5-50 grammes of hydrate of potassa and dissolving this in 100 cubic 
centimetres of water. Suppose a mixture of cane sugar and glucose to be tested. Dissolve 
1 gramme of it in 40 cubic centimetres of water, heat to 160° F., and add one-tenth of the 
normal solution. If there is much glucose the colour disappears; in which case the solu- 
tion is to be added by cubic centimetres till the colour ceases to disappear. As many 
centimetres of the normal liquid as are used, so many hundredths of the 10-98 grammes 
of the ferridcyanide, and of course of one gramme of glucose will have been consumed, in- 
dicating that quantity of the latter in the mixture. (Gentele, Journ. de Pharm., Mars, 1860, 
p. 208.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 732 
Saccharum.—Saccharum Lactis. 
PART I. 
tne process of manufacture or refining, and gummy and colouring matter. When 
the molasses from cane sugar is treated with a boiling, concentrated solution Oi 
bichromate of potassa, and boiled, a violent reaction takes place, and the liquid 
becomes green; but if it be adulterated with only an eighth of starch sugar mo- 
lasses, the reaction is prevented, and the colour is not changed. (Dr. G. Reich.) 
Composition. The following formulas express the composition of the different 
varieties of sugar, so far as known. Cane sugar, C12HnOu. Of the same com- 
position are mycose, melitose, melizotose, and trehalose, which, as before stated, 
constitute a group closely analogous to cane sugar, though differing in some of 
their properties. The formula of glucose or grape sugar is C12H12012; and un- 
cry stallizable sugar, also named variously chulariose, inverse sugar, and levu- 
lose, which is characterized by a left rotatory power in reference to polarized 
light, has the same composition. With these also agree sorbite and inosite. 
The formula of mannite and of dulcite (dulcin or dulcose) is C12Hu012. 
Med. and Pharm. Uses, &c. The uses of sugar as an aliment and condiment 
are numerous. It is nutritious, but not capable of supporting life when taken 
exclusively as aliment, on account of the absence of nitrogen in its composition. 
It is a powerful antiseptic, and is used for preserving meat and fish; for which 
purpose it possesses the advantage of acting in a much less quantity than is 
requisite of common salt, and of not altering the taste, nor impairing the 
nutritious qualities of the aliment. Prof. Marchand has ascertained that a 
solution of sugar has no action on the teeth out of the body. It may hence 
be inferred that the popular notion that sugar is injurious to the teeth is un- 
founded. 
The medical properties of sugar are those of a demulcent; and as such it is 
much used in catarrhal affections, in the form of candy, syrup, &c. According 
to M. it acts as a powerful antaphrodisiac, when taken in the quan- 
tity of a pound or more daily, dissolved in a quart of cold water. For an ac- 
count of the supposed therapeutic power of the vapour of boiling cane-juice, in 
bronchitis and incipient consumption, applied by living in a sugar-house, the 
reader is referred to the papers of Dr. S. A. Cartwright, of New Orleans, con- 
tained in the 47th and 51st volumes of the Boston Med. and Surg. Journal. 
In pharmacy sugar is employed to render oils miscible with water, to cover the 
taste of medicines, to give them consistency, to preserve them from change, and 
to protect certain ferruginous preparations from oxidation. Accordingly it 
enters into the composition of the compound infusion of roses, of several mix- 
tures, pills, and powders, of many fluid extracts, syrups, and confections, and of 
all the troches. Molasses is used for forming pills, for which it is well fitted, 
preserving them soft and free from mouldiness, on account of its retentiveness 
of moisture and antiseptic qualities. 
Off. Prep, of Saccharum. Ferri Carbonas Saccharata, Br.; Liquor Calcis 
Saccharatus, Br.; Syrupus. B. 
SACCHARUM LACTIS. U.S.,Br. 
Sugar of Milk. 
A crystalline substance obtained from whey. U. S. Crystallized sugar obtained 
from the whey of cows’ milk by evaporation. Br. 
Lactose; Sucre de lait, Ft.; Milchzucker, Germ. 
Sugar of milk, or lactin, is found only in milk, of which it forms about 5 per 
cent. (Boussingault.) It is manufactured largely in Switzerland and the Bava- 
rian Alps, as an article of food and for medicinal purposes. In preparing it, milk 
is first coagulated by the addition of a little dilute sulphuric acid, and the result- 
ing whey is evaporated to a syrupy consistence, and set aside for several weeks, PART I. 
Saccharum Lactis.—Sago. 
733 
in a cool place, to crystallize. The crystals, which constitute the sugar of milk, 
are then decolorized by animal charcoal and repeated crystallizations.* 
Sugar of milk is a hard, somewhat gritty, white substance, crystallized in four- 
sided prisms, and possessing a slightly sweet taste. In commerce it sometimes 
occurs in cylindrical masses, in the axis of which is a cord, around which the 
crystals have been deposited. It dissolves slowly in six parts of cold and three 
of boiling water, without forming a syrup. It is insoluble in ether, and but 
slightly soluble in alcohol. Its sp. gr. is 1*54. It is not susceptible of the vinous 
fermentation by the direct influence of yeast; but, after the action of dilute acids, 
which first convert it into grape sugar, it is capable of furnishing a spirituous 
liquor. It is well known that both mares’ and cows’ milk, after becoming sour, 
is capable of forming an intoxicating drink by fermentation. By the action of 
nitric acid, sugar of milk is converted into mucic (sacchlactic) acid. When anhy- 
drous it consists of C,2HnOn; when crystallized, of C12HuOu + HO. (Staedeler 
and Krause.) These formulas make anhydrous sugar of milk isomeric with cane 
sugar, and the crystallized with anhydrous grape sugar. 
Sugar of milk has been proposed by Dr. Turnbull, of England, as a non-nitro- 
genous article of diet, in consumption and other pulmonary diseases. Dr. Rusch- 
enberger used it with good effect as nourishment in a case of extreme irritability 
of stomach, following profuse loss of blood from menorrhagia. (Trans, of the 
Philad. Col. of Phys., ii. 48.) B 
SAGO. U.S. 
Sago. 
The prepared fecula of the pith of Sagus Rumphii, and of other species of 
Sagus. U. S. 
Sagou, Fr.; Sago, Germ., Ital.; Sagu, Span. 
Numerous trees, inhabiting the islands and coasts of the Indian Ocean, contain 
a farinaceous pith, which is applied to the purposes of nutriment by the natives. 
Such are Sagus Rumphii, Sagus Isevis, Sagus Raffia, Saguerus Rumphii, and 
Phoenix farinifera, belonging to the family of palms; and Cycas circinalis, 
Cycas revoluta, and Zamia lanuginosa, belonging to the Cycadacese. Of theee 
Sagus Rumphii, Sagus Isevis, and Saguerus Rumphii probably contribute to 
furnish the sago of commerce. Crawford, in his History of the Indian Archi- 
pelago, states that it is derived exclusively from Metroxylon Sagu, identical 
with Sagus Rumphii; but Roxburgh ascribes the granulated sago to S. Isevis, 
and one of the finest kinds is said by Dr. Hamilton to be produced by the Sa- 
guerus Rumphii of Roxburgh. The farinaceous product of the different species 
of Cycas, sometimes called Japan sago, does not enter into general commerce. 
Sagus. Sex. Syst. Moncecia Hexandria.—Nat. Ord. Palmacese. 
Gen. Ch. Common spathe one-valved. Spadix branched. Male. Calyx three- 
leaved. Corolla none. Filaments dilated. Female. Calyx three-leaved, with 
two of the leaflets bifid. Corolla none. Style very short. Stigma simple. Nut 
tessellated-imbricated, one-seeded. Willd. 
Sagus Rumphii. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 404; Carson, lllust. of Med. Bot. ii. 44, 
pi. 88. The sago palm is one of the smallest trees of its family. Its extreme 
height seldom exceeds thirty feet. The trunk is proportionably very thick, quite 
erect, cylindrical, covered with the remains of the old leafstalks, and surrounded 
by a beautiful crown of foliage, consisting of numerous, very large, pinnate leaves, 
extending in all directions from the summit, and curving gracefully downwards. 
From the basis of the leaves proceed long, divided and subdivided flower and 
* For a method of estimating the proportion of lactin in milk, see an article by M 
Poggiale in the Journ. dePharm., Aoftt, 1858, p. 130. Sago. 
PART I. 
fruit-bearing spadices, having smooth branches. The fruit is a roundish nut, 
covered with a checkered imbricated coat, and containing a single seed. 
The tree is a native of the East India islands, growing in the Peninsula of 
Malacca, Sumatra, Borneo, Celebes, the Moluccas, and a part of New Guinea. 
It flourishes best in low and moist situations. Before attaining maturity, the 
stem consists of a shell, usually about two inches thick, filled with au enormous 
volume of spongy medullary matter like that of elder. This is gradually absorbed 
after the appearance of fruit, and the stem ultimately becomes hollow. The 
greatest age of the tree is not more than thirty years. Large quantities of a 
kind of sugar called jaggary are procured from its juice. At the proper period 
of its growth, when the medullary matter is fully developed, and has not yet 
begun to diminish, the tree is felled, and the trunk cut into billets six or seven 
feet long, which are split in order to facilitate the extraction of the pith. This 
is obtained in the state of a coarse powder, which is mixed with water in a 
trough, having a sieve at the end. The water, loaded with farina, passes through 
the sieve, and is received in convenient vessels, where it is allowed to stand till 
the insoluble matter has subsided. It is then strained off; and the farina which 
is left may be dried into a kind of meal, or moulded into whatever shape may 
be desired. For the consumption of the natives it is usually formed into cakes 
of various sizes, which are dried, and extensively sold in the islands. The com- 
mercial sago is prepared by forming the meal into a paste with water, and rub- 
bing it into grains. It is produced in the greatest abundance in the Moluccas, 
but of the finest quality on the eastern coast of Sumatra. The Chinese of Malacca 
refine it so as to give the grains a fine pearly lustre. Malcolm states that it is 
also refined in large quantities at Singapore. In this state it is called pearl 
sago, and is in great repute. It is said that not less than five or six hundred 
pounds of sago are procured from a single tree. {Crawford.) 
Pearl sago is that which is now generally used. It is in small grains, about 
the size of a pin’s head, hard, whitish, of a light-brown colour, in some instances 
translucent, inodorous, and with little taste. It may be rendered perfectly w'hite 
by a solution of chloride of lime. Common sago is in larger and browner grains, 
of more unequal size, of a duller aspect, and frequently mixed with more or less 
of a dirty-looking powder. 
Sago meal is imported into England from the East Indies; but we have met 
with none in the markets of this country. It is in the form of a fine amylaceous 
powder, of a whitish colour, with a yellowish or reddish tint, and of a faint but 
somewhat musty odour. 
Common sago is insoluble in cold water, but by long boiling unites with that 
liquid, becoming at first soft and transparent, and ultimately forming a gelati- 
nous solution. Pearl sago is partially dissolved by cold water, probably owing 
to heat used in its preparation. Chemically considered, it has the characters of 
starch.' Under the microscope the granules of sago meal appear oval or ovate, 
and often truncated so as to be more or less mullar-shaped. Many of them are 
broken, and in most the surface is irregular or tuberculated. They exhibit upon 
their surface concentric rings, which are much less distinct than in potato starch. 
The hilum is circular when perfect, and cracks either with a single slit or a cross, 
or in a stellate manner. The granules of pearl sago are of the same form, but 
are all ruptured, and exhibit only indistinct traces of the annular lines, having 
been altered in the process employed in preparing them. Those of common sago 
are very similar to the particles of sago meal, except that they are perhaps 
rather less regular and more broken. {Pereira.) 
Potato starch is sometimes prepared in Europe so as to resemble bleached 
pearl sago, for which it is sold. But, when examined under the microscope, it 
exhibits larger granules, which are also more regularly oval or ovate, smoother, 
less broken, and more distinctly marked with the annular rugae than those of 
sago; and the hilum often cracks with two slightly diverging slits. part I. 
Sago.—Salix. 
735 
Sago is used exclusively as an article of diet. Being nutritive, easily digestible, 
and wholly destitute of irritating properties, it is frequently employed in febrilp 
cases, and in convalescence from acute disorders, in the place of richer less 
innocent food. It is given in the liquid state, and in its preparation care should 
be taken to boil it long in water, and stir it diligently, in order that the grains 
may be thoroughly dissolved. Should any portion remain undissolved, it should 
be separated by straining; as it might offend a delicate stomach. A tablespoon- 
ful to the pint of water is sufficient for ordinary purposes. The solution may be 
seasoned with sugar and nutmeg or other spice, and with wine, when these are 
not contraindicated. W. 
SALIX. U. S. Secondary. 
Willow. 
The bark of Salix alba. U. S. 
Ecorce de saule, Ft.; Weidenrinde, Germ.; Corteccia di salcio, Ital.; Corteza de sauce, 
Span. 
Salix. Sex. Syst. Dioecia Diandria.—Nat. Ord. Salicacete. 
Gen. Ch. Male. Amentum cylindrical. Calyx a scale. Corolla none. Glands 
of the base nectariferous. Female. Amentum cylindrical. Calyx a scale. Co- 
rolla none. Style two-cleft. Capsule one-celled, two-valved. Seeds downy. 
This is an extensive genus, comprising, according to Nuttall, not less than 
one hundred and thirty species, which, with very few exceptions, are natives of 
Europe, and of the northern and temperate parts of North America. Though 
most of them are probably possessed of similar medical properties, only one 
is recognised as officinal; viz., S. alba, which has been introduced into this 
country. S. Russelliana, which has also been introduced from Europe, is said 
by Sir James Smith to be the most valuable species. S. purpurea, a European 
species, is said by Lindley to be the most bitter, and S. pentandra is preferred 
by Nees von Esenbeck. Many native species are in all probability equally active 
with the foreign; but they have not been sufficiently tried in regular practice 
to admit of a positive decision. The younger Michaux speaks of the root of 
S. nigra or black willow, as a strong bitter, used in the country for the pre- 
vention and cure of intermittents. In consequence of the pliability of the young 
branches, the willow is well adapted for the manufacture of baskets and other 
kinds of wicker-work; and several species, native and introduced, are employed 
for this purpose in the United States. S. Babylonica, or weeping willow, is a 
favourite ornamental tree. The degree of bitterness in the bark is probably the 
best criterion of the value of the several species. 
Salix alba. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 110; Smith, Flor. Brit. 1011. The common 
European or white willow is twenty-five or thirty feet in height, with numerous 
round spreading branches, the younger of which are silky. The bark of the 
trunk is cracked and brown, that of the smaller branches smooth and greenish. 
The leaves are alternate, upon short petioles, lanceolate, pointed, acutely serrate 
with the lower serratures glandular, pubescent on both sides, and silky beneath 
There are no stipules. The flowers appear at the same time with the leaves. 
The amenta are terminal, cylindrical, and elongated, writh elliptical-lanceolate, 
brown, pubescent scales. The stamens are two in number, yellow, and somewhat 
longer than the scales; the style is short; the stigmas two-parted and thick. 
The capsule is nearly sessile, ovate, and smooth. The white willow is now very 
common in this country. It flowers in April and May ; and the bark is easily 
separable throughout the summer. 
That obtained from the branches rolls up when dried into the form of a quill, 
has a brown epidermis, is flexible, fibrous, and of difficult pulverization. Willow 
bark has a feebly aromatic odour, and a peculiar bitter astringent taste. It yields 
its active properties to water, with which it forms a reddish-brown decoction. 736 
Salix. 
PART I. 
Pelletier and Caventou found, among its ingredients, tannin, resin, a bitter yel- 
low colouring matter, a green fatty matter, gum, wax, lignin, and an organic 
acid combined with magnesia. The proportion of tannin is so considerable that 
the bark has been used for tanning leather. A crystalline principle has also been 
obtained from it, which, having the medical virtues of the willow, has received 
the name of salicin. When pure, it is in white, shining, slender crystals, inodor- 
ous, but very bitter, with the peculiar flavour of the bark. It is soluble in cold 
water, much more so in boiling water, soluble in alcohol, and insoluble in ether 
and oil of turpentine. It neutralizes neither acids nor salifiable bases, and is not 
precipitated by any reagent. Concentrated sulphuric acid decomposes it, re- 
ceiving from it an intense and permanent bright-red colour, and producing a 
new compound called rutulin. It ranks with the glucosides, being resolved by 
boiling with dilute muriatic and sulphuric acids into grape sugar, saligenin, and 
a white, tasteless, insoluble resinous substance named salireiin. Saligenin is a 
colourless, crystallizable substance, fusible and volatilizable, soluble in water, 
alcohol, and ether, and if heated above 212°, giving off aqueous vapour aud 
salicylous acid. (Gmeliri’s Handbook.) Nitric acid produces with salicin at 
first two principles called respectively helicin and helieoidin, and afterwards 
picric and oxalic acids. (Journ. de Pharm., xxx. 43.) Distilled with bichro- 
mate of potassa and sulphuric acid, it yields, among other products, a volatile 
oleaginous liquid, identical with one of the components of oil of spiraea, and, 
from its acid properties, denominated salicylous acid. This is considered by 
Dumas as consisting of a peculiar compound radical, called salicyl, and hy- 
drogen. The formula of salicyl is CuH304. The discovery of salicin is claimed 
by Buchner, of Germany, and Fontana and Rigatelli, of Italy; but M. Leroux, 
of France, deserves the credit of having first accurately investigated its pro- 
perties. Braconnot procured it by adding subacetate of lead to a decoction of 
the bark, precipitating the excess of lead by sulphuric acid, evaporating the 
colourless liquid which remained, adding near the end of the process a little 
animal charcoal previously washed, and filtering the liquor while hot. Upon 
cooling it deposited the salicin in a crystalline form. (Journ. de Chimie Medi- 
cale, Jan. 1331.) The following is the process of Merck. A boiling concen- 
trated decoction of the bark is treated with litharge until it becomes nearly 
colourless. Gum, tannin, and extractive matter, which would impede the crys- 
tallization of the salicin, are thus removed from the liquid; while a portion of 
the oxide is dissolved in union probably with the salicin. To separate this por- 
tion of oxide, sulphuric acid is first added and then sulphuret of barium, and 
the liquor is filtered and evaporated. Salicin is deposited, and may be purified 
by repeated solution and crystallization. (Turner's Chemistry.) Erdmann has 
given another process. Sixteen ounces of the bark are macerated for twenty-four 
hours in four quarts of water mixed with two ounces of lime, and the whole is 
then boiled for half an hour. The process is repeated with the residue. The 
decoctions having been mixed, and allowed to become clear by subsidence, the 
liquor is poured off, concentrated to a quart, then digested with eight ounces of 
ivory-black, filtered, and evaporated to dryness. The extract is exhausted by 
spirit containing 28 per cent, of alcohol, and the tincture evaporated so that the 
salicin may crystallize. This is purified by again dissolving, treating with ivory- 
black, and crystallizing. Merck obtained 251 grains from 16 ounces of the bark 
and young twigs of Salix helix, and Erdmann 300 grains from the same quantity 
of the bark of Salix pentandra. It may probably be obtained from any of the 
willow barks having a bitter taste. Braconnot procured it from various species 
of Populus, particularly P. Iremula or European aspen. 
Medical Properties and Uses. The bark of the willow is tonic and astringent, 
and has been employed as a substitute for Peruvian bark, particularly in inter- 
mittent fever. It has attracted much attention from the asserted efficacy of sah- PART I. 
Salix.—Salvia. 
737 
cin in the cure of this complaint. There seems to be no room to doubt, from 
the testimony of numerous practitioners in Frauce, Italy, and Germany, that this 
principle has the property of arresting intermittents; though the ascription to 
it of equal efficacy with sulphate of quiiva was certainly incorrect. It is asserted 
that, when freely taken, it is passed by the kidneys, and may be separated by 
alcohol from the residue left on the evaporation of the urine. The bark may be 
employed in substance or decoction, in the same doses and with the same mode 
of preparation as cinchona. The dose of salicin is from two to eight grains, to 
be so repeated that from twenty to forty grains may be taken daily, or in the 
interval between the paroxysms of an intermittent. Magendie has seen fevers cut 
short in one day by three doses of six grains each. The decoction of willow has 
been found beneficial as an external application to foul and indolent ulcers. 
Salicylous acid and the salicylites have been used in medicine by M. Demartis, 
of France, and have been found to exert a direct sedative influence on the 
economy without any previous excitement, which renders them useful in inflam- 
matory and febrile affections. He gave the salicylite of potassa in the dose of 
about four grains. {Ann. de Therap., 1854, p. 77.) W. 
SALYIA. U.S. 
Sage. 
The leaves of Salvia officinalis. U. S. 
Sange,Fr.; Salbey, Germ.; Salvia, Ital., Span. 
Salvia. Sex. Syst. Diandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Lamiacese or Labiatse. 
Oen. Ch. Corolla unequal. Filaments affixed transversely to a pedicel. Willd. 
Salvia officinalis. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 129; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 352, t. 
127. Common gai’den sage is a perennial plant, about two feet high, with a 
quadrangular, pubescent, branching, shrubby stem, furnished with opposite, 
petiolate, ovate-lanceolate, crenulate, wrinkled leaves, of a grayish-green colour, 
sometimes tinged with red or purple. The flowers are blue, variegated with 
white and purple; and are disposed on long terminal spikes, in distant whorls, 
each composed of a few flowers, and accompanied with ovate, acute, deciduous 
bractes. The calyx is tubular and striated, with two lips, of which the upper 
has three acute teeth, the under two. The corolla is tubular, bilabiate, ringent, 
with the upper lip concave, and the lower divided into three rounded lobes, of 
which the middle is the largest. The filaments are supported upon short pedicels, 
to which they are affixed transversely at the middle. 
Sage grows spontaneously in the south of Europe, and is cultivated abund- 
antly in our gardens. There are several varieties, differing in the size and colour 
of their flowers, but all possessing the same medical properties. The flowering 
period is in June, at which time the plant should be cut, and dried in a shady 
place. The leaves are the officinal portion. 
Both these and the flowering summits have a strong fragrant odour, and a 
warm, bitterish, aromatic, somewhat astringent taste. They abound in a volatile 
oil, which may be obtained separate by distillation with water, and contains a 
considerable proportion of camphor. Sulphate of iron strikes a black colour 
with their infusion. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Sage unites a slight degree of tonic power and 
astringency with aromatic properties. By the ancients it was highly esteemed; 
but it is at present little used internally, except as a condiment. In the state of 
infusion it may be given in debility of the stomach with flatulence, and is said to 
have been useful in checking the sweats of hectic fever. But its most useful ap- 
plication is as a gargle in inflammation of the throat, and relaxation of the uvula, 
j’or this purpose it is usually employed in infusion, with honey and alum, or vin- 
a to 738 
Salvia.—Sambucus. 
PART I. 
egar. The dose of tie powdered leaves is from twenty to thirty grains. The 
infusion is prepared by macerating an ounce of the leaves in a pint of boiling 
water, of which two fluidounces may be administered at once. When intended 
merely as a pleasant drink in febrile complaints, or to allay nausea, the macera- 
tion should continue but a very short time, so that all the bitterness of the leaves 
may not be extracted. 
Two other species of Salvia— S. pratensis and S. Sclarea — are ranked among 
officinal plants in Europe. The latter, which is commonly called clarry, has 
been introduced into our gardens. Their medical properties are essentially the 
same as those of the common sage; but they are less agreeable, and are not 
much used. In Europe, the leaves of S. Sclarea are said to be introduced into 
wine in order to impart to it a muscadel taste. 
Off. Prep. Infusum Salvise, U. S. W. 
SAMBUCUS. U.S.,Br. 
Elder. 
The flowers of Sambucus Canadensis. TJ. S. Sambucus nigra. The fresh Flow- 
ers. Br. 
Sureau, Fr.; Holl'under, Germ.; Sambuco, Ital.; Sauco, Span. 
Sambucus. Sex.Syst. Pentandria Trigynia.—Nat. Ord. Caprifoliaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx five-parted. Corolla five-cleft. Berry three-seeded. Willd. 
Sambucus Canadensis. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1494. Our indigenous common 
elder is a shrub from six to ten feet high, with a branching stem, covered with 
a rough gray bark, and containing a large spongy pith. The small branches 
and leafstalks are very smooth. The leaves are opposite, pinnate, sometimes 
bipinnate, and composed usually of three or four pairs of oblong-oval, acumi- 
nate, smooth, shining, deep-green leaflets, the midribs of which are somewhat 
pubescent. The flowers are small, white, and disposed in loose cymes, having 
about five divisions. The berries are small, globular, and deep-purple when ripe. 
The shrub grows in low moist grounds, along fences, and on the borders of 
small streams, in all parts of the United States, from Canada to the Carolinas, 
and westward as far as Texas. It flowers from May to July, and ripens its 
berries early in autumn. The flowers, which are officinal, have an aromatic, though 
rather heavy odour. The berries as well as other parts of the plant are employed, 
in domestic practice, for the same purposes as the corresponding parts of the 
European elder, to which this species bears a close affinity. 
Sambucus nigra. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1495; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 596, t. 211. 
The common elder of Europe differs from the American most obviously in its 
size, which approaches to that of a small tree. The stem is much branched to- 
wards the top, and has a rough whitish bark. The leaves are pinnate, consist- 
ing usually of five oval, pointed, serrate leaflets, four of which are in opposite 
pairs, and the fifth terminal. The flowers are small, whitish, and in five-parted 
cymes. The berries are globular, and blackish-purple when ripe. 
The flowers have a peculiar sweetish odour, which is strong in their recent 
state, but becomes feeble by drying. Their taste is bitterish. They yield their 
active properties to water by infusion, and when distilled give over a small pro- 
portion of volatile oil, which on cooling assumes a butyraceous consistence. 
Water distilled from them contains an appreciable portion of ammonia. The 
berries are nearly inodorous, but have a sweetish, acidulous taste, dependent on 
the presence of saccharine matter and malic acid. Their expressed juice is sus- 
ceptible of fermentation, and forms a vinous liquid used in the north of Europe. 
It is coloured violet by alkalies, and bright red by acids; and the colouring 
matter is precipitated blue by acetate of lead. The inner bark is without smell. PART I. 
Sambucus.—Sanguinaria. 
739 
Its taste is at first sweetish, afterwards slightly bitter, acrid, and nauseous. 
Both water and alcohol extract its virtues, which are said to reside especially 
in the green layer between the liber and epidermis. According to Simon, the 
active principle of the inner bark of the root is a soft resin, which may be ob- 
tained by exhausting the powdered bark with alcohol, filtering the tincture, eva- 
porating to the consistence of syrup, then adding ether, which dissolves the 
active matter, and finally evaporating to the consistence of a thick extract. Of 
this, twenty grains produce brisk vomiting and purging. (Annal. der Pharm., 
xxxi. 262.) The bark, analyzed by Kramer, yielded an acid called by him vibur- 
nic acid, which has proved to be the valerianic, traces of volatile oil, albumen, 
resin, an acid sulphurous fat, wax, chlorophyll, tannic acid, grape sugar, gum, 
extractive, starch, pectin, and various alkaline and earthy salts. (Ghem. Gaz., 
May, 1846, from Archiv. der Pharm.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. The flowers are gently excitant and sudorific, 
but are seldom used, except externally as a discutient, in the form of poultice, 
fomentation, or ointment. The berries are diaphoretic and aperient; and their 
inspissated juice has enjoyed some reputation as a remedy in rheumatic, gouty, 
eruptive, and syphilitic affections. Its dose as an alterative diaphoretic is one or 
two drachms, as a laxative half an ounce or more. The inner bark is a hydra- 
gogue cathartic, and in large doses emetic. It has been employed in dropsy, 
epilepsy, and as an alterative in various chronic diseases. An ounce may be 
boiled with two pints of water to a pint, and four fluidounces of the decoction 
given for a dose. It is also used in vinous infusion. The leaves are not without 
activity, and the young leaf-buds are said to be a violent and even unsafe purga- 
tive. The juice of the root has been highly recommended in dropsy as a hydra- 
gogue cathartic, sometimes acting as an emetic, in the dose of a tablespoonful, 
repeated every day, or less frequently if it act with violence.* 
Off. Prep. Aqua Sambuci, Br. W. 
SANGUINARIA. TJ.S. 
Bloodroot. 
The rhizoma of Sanguinaria Canadensis. U. S. 
Sanguinaria. Seca. Syst. Polyandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Papaveraceae. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx two-leaved. Petals eight. Stigma sessile, two-grooved. 
Capsule superior, oblong, one-celled, two-valved, apex attenuated. Receptacles 
two, filiform, marginal. Nuttall. 
Sanguinaria Canadensis. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1140; Bigelow, Am. Med. 
Bot. i. 75 ; Barton, Med. Bot. i. 31. The bloodroot, or as it is sometimes called, 
puccoon, is an herbaceous perennial plant. The root (rhizoma) is horizontal, 
abrupt, often contorted, about as thick as the finger, two or three inches long, 
fleshy, of a reddish-brown colour on the outside, and brighter red within. It is 
furnished with numerous slender radicles, and makes offsets from the sides, which 
succeed the old plant. From the end of the root arise the scape and leafstalks, 
surrounded by the large sheaths of the bud. These spring up together, the 
folded leaf enveloping the flower-bud, and rolling back as the latter expands. 
The leaf, which stands upon a long channeled petiole, is reniform, somewhat 
* Dr. B. H. Stratton, of Mount Holly, N. J., has found a syrup prepared from the ber- 
ries useful as an alterative, employing it in all cases to which sarsaparilla is thought to 
be applicable. To prepare the syrup, he mixes the juice of the berries and sugar, in the 
•oroportion of a pint of the former to a pound of the latter, boils sufficiently, and adds to 
each pint of the syrup an ounce of the strongest brandy. The syrup must be kept in well- 
closed bottles in a cool place. The dose is from a dessertspoonful to a tablespoonful three 
times a day. (iV. J. Med. Reporter, vii. 446.) 740 
Sanguinaria. 
part I. 
heart-shaped, deeply lobed, smooth, yellowish-green on the npper surface, paler 
or glaucous on the under, and strongly marked by orange-coloured veins. The 
scape is erect, round, and smooth, rising from a few inches to a foot, and ter- 
minating in a single flower. The calyx is two-leaved and deciduous. The petals, 
varying from seven to fourteen, but usually about eight in number, are spread- 
ing, ovate, obtuse, concave, mostly white, but sometimes slightly tinged with 
rose or purple. The stamens are numerous, with yellow filaments shorter than 
the corolla, and orange oblong anthers. The germ is oblong and compressed, 
with a sessile, persistent stigma. The capsule is oblong, acute at both ends, two- 
valved, and contains numerous oval, reddish-brown seeds. The whole plant is 
pervaded by an orange-coloured sap, which flows from every part when broken, 
but is of the deepest colour in the root. 
The bloodroot is one of the earliest and most beautiful spring flowers of North 
America. It grows abundantly throughout the whole United States, delighting 
in loose, rich soils, and shady situations, and flowering in March and April. After 
the fall of the flower, the leaves continue to grow, and, by the middle of summer, 
have become so large as to give the plant an entirely different aspect. Except 
the seeds, all parts of the plant are active; but the root only is officinal. 
This, when dried, is in pieces from one to three inches long, from a quarter 
to half an inch or more in thickness, flattened, much wrinkled and twisted, often 
furnished with abrupt offsets and many short fibres, of a reddish-brown colour 
externally, with a spongy uneven fracture, the surface of which is at first bright- 
orange, but becomes of a dull-brown by long exposure. The colour of the 
powder is a brownish orange-red. Sanguinaria has a faint narcotic odour, and 
a bitterish very acrid taste, the pungency of which remains long in the mouth 
and fauces. It yields its virtues to water and alcohol. The late Dr. Dana, of 
New York, obtained from it a peculiar alkaline principle, denominated by him 
sanguinarina, upon which the acrimony, and perhaps the medical virtues of 
the root depend. It may be procured, according to Dana, by infusing the finely 
powdered root in hot water or diluted muriatic or acetic acid, precipitating 
with water of ammonia, collecting the precipitated matter, boiling it in water 
with pure animal charcoal, filtering off the water, treating the residue leTt upon 
the filter with alcohol, and finally evaporating the alcoholic solution. (Ann. 
Lyc. of Nat. Hist., New York, ii. 250.) It may also be conveniently procured 
by a process similar to that employed by Probst for obtaining chelerythrin 
from celandine. This consists in forming a strong ethereal tincture of the root, 
passing through this muriatic acid gas, drying the precipitated muriate which is 
insoluble in ether, dissolving it in hot water, filtering, precipitating by ammonia, 
drying the precipitate, dissolving it in ether, decolorizing by animal charcoal, 
precipitating by means of muriatic acid gas, and decomposing the muriate as 
before. (Chem. Oaz., i. 145.) Dr. James Schiel, of St. Louis, Missouri, who has 
determined the identity of sanguinarina with chelerythrin, gives the following 
as the simplest process of preparing either alkaloid. Digest the root with water 
strongly acidulated with sulphuric acid, precipitate with ammonia, dry the pre- 
cipitate, dissolve it in ether, treat with animal charcoal, filter, and precipitate 
with sulphuric acid dissolved in ether. A pure sulphate is thus obtained, which 
may be decomposed in the ordinary method, to obtain the alkaloid. (Silliman’s 
Journ., Sept. 1855.) Sanguinarina is a white pearly substance, of an acrid taste, 
very sparingly soluble in water, soluble in ether, and very soluble in alcohol. 
With the acids it forms salts soluble in water, all of which have some shade of 
red, crimson, or scarlet, and form beautiful red solutions. They are acrid and 
pungent to the taste, particularly the muriate and acetate. From these facts it 
would appear that the red colour and acrid properties of the bloodroot may be 
owing to the presence of some native salt of sanguinarina, which is decomposed 
by ammonia in the separation of the organic alkali. The formula of sanguinarina part I. 
Sanguinaria. 
741 
is C37H16N08. A second alkaloid has been extracted from bloodroot by Riegel, 
and is considered by him as analogous to the porphyroxin found by Merck in 
opium.* (Chem. Gaz., iv. 198.) Mr. E. S. Wayne, of Cincinnati, has discovered 
a third alkaloid, which he found in the ether after the precipitation of the sul- 
phate of sanguinarina in the process of Dr. Schiel. It is pale-red, tasteless, in- 
soluble in water, soluble in alcohol and ether, and unites with muriatic and sul- 
phuric acids to form crystallizable compounds, of a deep-red colour. (Am. Journ. 
of Pharm., xxviii. 522.) Dr. Gibb proposes for this principle the name of puc- 
cin. According to that writer, bloodroot contains, besides the three alkaloids 
referred to, chelidonic acid, fecula, sugar, albumen, resin, fixed oil, gum, ex- 
tractive, and lignin. (Pharm. Journ., March, 1860, p. 461.) The virtues of the 
root are said to be rapidly deteriorated by time. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Sanguinaria is an acrid emetic, with stimulant 
narcotic powers. In small doses it excites the stomach, and accelerates the 
circulation; more largely given, produces nausea and consequent depression of 
the pulse; and in the full dose occasions active vomiting. It is also expectorant, 
and is said to be emmenagogue. The effects of an overdose are violent emesis, 
a burning sensation in the stomach, tormenting thirst, faintness, vertigo, dimness 
of vision, and alarming prostration. Four persons lost their lives at Bellevue 
Hospital, New York, in consequence of drinking largely of tincture of blood- 
root, which they mistook for ardent spirit. (Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., N. S., ii. 
506.) Snuffed up the nostrils, bloodroot excites much irritation, attended with 
sneezing. Upon fungous surfaces it acts as an escharotic. It has been given in 
typhoid pneumonia, catarrh, pertussis, croup, phthisis pulmonalis, hydrothorax, 
scarlatina, rheumatism, jaundice, dyspepsia, amenorrhcea, dysmenorrhoea, and 
other affections, either as an emetic, nauseant, alterative, or emmenagogue; and 
its virtues are highly praised by many judicious practitioners. Dr. Mothershead, 
of Indianapolis, speaks in the strongest terms of its efficacy as an excitant to 
the liver, given in alterative doses. (See Wood's Quart. Retrosp., ii. 80.) 
The dose with a view to its emetic operation is from ten to twenty grains, given 
in powder or pill. The latter form is preferable, in consequence of the great 
irritation of throat produced by the powder when swallowed. For other pur- 
poses the dose is from one to five grains, repeated more or less frequently ac- 
cording to the effect desired. The medicine is sometimes given in infusion or 
decoction, in the proportion of half an ounce to the pint. The emetic dose of 
this preparation is from half a fluidounce to a fluidounce. The tincture is offi- 
cinal. f A fluid extract may be prepared in the same manner as the officinal 
* This alkaloid was obtained by treating the root with water, acidulated with acetic 
acid, precipitating the sanguinarina by ammonia, neutralizing the “wash-water” by acetic 
acid, precipitating by infusion of galls, digesting the precipitate previously washed and 
dried in an alcoholic solution of potassa, passing carbonic acid through the solution, and 
distilling off the alcohol. The residue was exhausted with water, the liquid evaporated, 
and what remained extracted by ether, which yielded it, on evaporation, in the form of 
a dirty-white crystalline mass. By dissolving this in alcohol, decolorizing with animal 
charcoal, and crystallizing, it was obtained in colourless tabular crystals, without taste 
or smell, very sparingly soluble in water, more readily soluble in alcohol, and forming with 
the acids colourless, bitter, crystallizable salts, soluble in water. (Chtrn. Gaz., iv. 198 ) Dr. 
Geo. D. Gibb, of London, who has made a partial analysis of the root, denies the identity u 
of this principle with porphyroxin. (Pharm. Journ., March, 1860, p. 45.) It awaits further 
investigation, and a proper name.—Note to the twelfth edition. 
f Mr. T. S. Wiegand proposes the following formula for a syrup of bloodroot. Take of 
lie root in coarse powder ijviij, acetic acid f||iv, water Ov, sugar Ibij. Add to the powder 
two fluidounces of the acetic acid mixed with a pint of the water, macerate for three days, 
transfer to a percolator, and displace with the remainder of the water mixed with the re- 
mainder of the acetic acid. Evaporate the infusion obtained, by means of a water-bath, 
to eighteen fluidounces, then add the sugar, and form a syrup, straining if necessary. 
From one to two fluidrachms should operate as an emetic. tAm. Journ. of Pharm., xxvi. 
108.)—Note to the eleventh edition. Sanguinaria.—Santalum. 
PART I. 
fluid extract of ergot. (See Extractum Ergotse Fluidum.) One fluidrachm re- 
presents the virtues of sixty grains of the root; and the emetic dose, therefore, 
would be from ten to twenty minims. An infusion in vinegar has been employed 
advantageously, as a local application, in obstinate cutaneous affections; and 
Dr. R. G. Jennings has found it more efficient as a gargle, in the sorethroat of 
scarlatina, than any other that he has employed. (Stethoscope, ii. 182.) It has 
been used also in diphtheria. Dr. Stevens, of Ceres, New York, has found the 
powder useful as an errhine, in coryza, combined with cloves and camphor. 
(N. Y. Journ. of Med., N. S., iv. 358.) Mixed with chloride of zinc, and made 
into a paste with flour and water, it has been used by Dr. J. W. Fell as a local 
remedy in cancer, with asserted success. 
In reference to the effects of sanguinarina, the late Dr. Wm. Tully found it, in 
large doses, to produce vertigo, dilatation of the pupil, a haggard expression of 
face, nausea, coldness of the extremities, cold sweats, and diminished frequency 
with irregularity of the pulse. The late Prof. R. P. Thomas, of Philadelphia, 
who experimented with it on himself and others, in medicinal doses, using both 
the alkaloid and its salts, gave the following statement of its powers. In doses 
varying from one-twelfth to one-eighth of a grain, it acted as an expectorant, 
without disturbing the stomach. One-sixth or one-fourth of a grain, given every 
two or three hours, generally produced nausea, and sometimes vomited. Half a 
grain in solution, given at intervals of ten minutes, almost invariably vomited 
after the second or third dose. Under the influence of one-eighth or one-sixth 
of a grain, given every three hours, for two days or more, the pulse was generally 
reduced from five to fifteen beats in the minute. He found no alterative effect, 
and none of any kind directly upon the liver. (Proceedings of the Am. Med. 
Assoc., A. D. 1863, p. 219.) 
Of. Prep. Tinctura Sanguinarise, U. S. W. 
SANTALUM. U.S. 
Red Saunders. 
The wood of Pterocarpus santalinus. U. S. 
Off. Syn. PTEROCARPUS. Red Sandal-wood. Pterocarpus santalinus. 
The wood; from Coromandel and Ceylon. Br. 
Santal rouge, Fr.; Santelholz, Germ. 
Pterocarpus. Sex. Syst. Diadelphia Decandria.—Nat. Ord. Fabacese or 
Leguminosae. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx five-toothed. Legume falcated, leafy, varicose, girted by a 
wing, not gaping. Seeds solitary. Willd. 
Pterocarpus santalinus. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 906; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 
430, t. 156. This is a large tree with alternate branches, and petiolate ternate 
leaves, each simple leaf being ovate, blunt, somewhat notched at the apex, entire, 
veined, smooth on the upper surface, and hoary beneath. The flowers are yellow, 
in axillary spikes, and have a papilionaceous corolla, of which the vexillum is 
obcordate, erect, somewhat reflexed at the sides, toothed and waved, the alae 
spreading with their edges apparently toothed, and the carina oblong, short, 
and somewhat inflated. The tree is a native of India, attaining the highest 
perfection in mountainous districts, and inhabiting especially the mountains of 
Coromandel and Ceylon. Its wood is the officinal red saunders, though there 
is reason to believe that the product of other trees is sold by the same name. 
The wood comes in roundish or angular billets, internally of a blood-red 
colour, externally brown from exposure, compact, heavy, and fibrous. It is kept 
in the shops in the state of small chips, raspings, or coarse powder. 
Red saunders has little smell or taste. It imparts a red colou- to alcohol, part I. 
Santa turn.—Santonica. 
743 
ether, and alkaline solutions, but not to water; and a test is thus afforded by 
which it inay be distinguished from some other colouring woods. The alcoholic 
tincture produces a deep-violet precipitate with sulphate of iron, a scarlet with 
bichloride of mercury, and a violet with the soluble salts of lead. The colour- 
ing principle, which was separated by Pelletier, and called by him santalin, h 
of a resinous character, scarcely soluble in cold water, more so in boiling water, 
very soluble in alcohol, ether, acetic acid, and alkaline solutions, but slightly in 
the fixed and volatile oils, with the exception of those of lavender and rosemary, 
which readily dissolve it. It is precipitated when acids are added to the infusion 
of the wood, prepared with an alkaline solution. Weyermann and Hcefferly have 
found it to possess acid properties. For an analysis of red sandal wood by Mr. 
II. Dussance, New Lebanon, N. Y., the reader is referred to the Am. Journ. of 
Pharm. (Jan. 1860, p. 6). The wood has no medical virtues, and is employed 
solely for the purpose of imparting colour. 
Off. Prep. Spiritus Lavandulae Compositus, U. S.; Tinctura Cinchonse Cotn- 
posita, U. S.; Tinct. Lavandulae Comp.,Rr.; Tinct. Rhei et Sennae, U. S. W. 
SANTONICA. U.S.,Br. 
Santonica. Levant Wormseed. 
The unexpanded flowers and peduncles of Artemisia Contra, and of other 
species of Artemisia. U. S. The unexpanded flower-heads of an undetermined 
species of Artemisia. Br. 
European Wormseed. Santonici Semen. Semen Gynse. Semen Contra. 
This product, though discarded from the Dublin Pharmacopoeia of 1850, has 
been recognised in the British Pharmacopoeia, as well as in the late edition of 
our own. It was formerly ascribed by the Dublin College, in accordance with 
the general belief at one time, to Artemisia Santonica or Tartarian southern- 
wood; but upon insufficient grounds. European wormseed is of two kinds; one 
called the Aleppo, Alexandria, or Levant wormseed, the other Barbary worm- 
seed. The former is supposed to be the product of Artemisia Contra, which 
grows in Persia, Asia Minor, and other parts of the East. It consists in fact not 
of the seeds, but of Che small globular unexpanded flowers of the plant, mixed 
with their broken peduncles, and with minute, obtuse, smooth leaves. It has a 
greenish colour, a very strong aromatic odour increased by friction, and a very 
bitter disagreeable taste. The Barbary wormseed is thought by some to be de- 
rived from Artemisia Judaica, by others from the A. glomerata of Sieber, both 
of which grow in Palestine and Arabia. It consists of broken peduncles, having 
the calyx sometimes-attached to their extremity. The calyx is also sometimes 
separate, consisting of very small linear obtuse leaflets. The flowers are want- 
ing, or in the shape of minute globular buds. All these parts are covered with 
a whitish down, which serves to distinguish this variety from the wormseed of 
the Levant. It is, moreover, lighter and more coloured than the latter. Its 
smell and taste are the same. It is the former variety which is recognised by 
the two Pharmacopoeias. The British gives the following description of the 
medicine. “Flower-heads rather more than a line in length and nearly half a 
line in breadth, fusiform, blunt at each end, pale greenish-brown, smooth; re- 
sembling seeds in appearance, but consisting of imbricated involucral scales with 
a green midrib, enclosing four or five tubular flowers.” 
Wormseed contains a volatile oil and a resinous extractive matter, to which 
its virtues have been ascribed. But it probably owes its efficiency, in a greater 
degree, to a peculiar principle called santonin. This is crystallizable, colour- 
less, tasteless but leaving a slight sense of acrimony in the mouth, inodorous, 
soluble in ether and alcohol, and nearly insoluble in water. Its alcoholic solution 744 
Santonica.—Sapo. 
PART I. 
has a deckled bitterness. Though neuter in its action upon test-paper, it com- 
bines with the alkalies to form soluble and crystallizable salts. Having been 
adopted by the U. S. and Br. Pharmacopoeias, with processes for its preparation, 
it will be treated of more fully in the second part of the work. (See Santoninum.) 
The two kinds of wormseed above described have long been celebrated as a 
vermifuge; and the title of semen contra, by which they are designated in many 
works on pharmacy, originated in their anthelmintic property. Their influence on 
the system is not very striking. A curious effect, however, is recorded as having 
resulted from a large dose of wormseed, which was ascribed to the santonin. 
Several individuals of a family who had taken the remedy as a vermifuge, along 
with the expected results, were affected with a change in the perception of colours, 
red being converted into orange, and blue into green. (Ann. de Therap., A. D. 
1852, p. 234.) Santonica may be given in powder or infusion. The dose in sub- 
stance is from ten to thirty grains, which should be repeated morning and evening 
for several days, and then followed by a brisk cathartic. It is little used in this 
country, having given place to the seeds of Chenopodium anthelminticum, which 
are universally known among us by the name of wormseed. In Europe it has 
been superseded, to a considerable extent, by santonin, which is much employed. 
Off. Prep. Santoninum. W. 
SAPO. U.S. 
Soap. 
Soap made with soda ana oiive oil. U. S. 
Off. Syn. SAPO DURUS. Hard Soap. Soap made with Olive oil and Soda. 
Br. 
Savon blanc, Fr.; Oel-sodaseife, Germ.; Sapone duro, Ital.; Xabon, Span. 
SAPO MOLLIS. Br. 
Soft Soap. 
Soap made with olive oil and potash. Br. 
Savon mou, Savon vert, Savon a base de potasse, Fr.; Schmierseife, Kaliseife, Germ. 
Soaps embrace all those compounds which result from the reaction of salifia- 
ble bases with fats and oils. Fats and oils, as has been explained under the 
titles Adeps and Olea, consist generally of three principles, two solid, differing 
in fusibility, called stearin and margarin, and one liquid, called olein, of which 
there are two varieties. Stearin is found most abundantly in fats which are firm 
and solid, as suet and tallow; margarin in human fat; and olein in the oils. 
When the fats and oils undergo saponification by reaction with a salifiable base, 
these three principles are decomposed into oily acids peculiar to each, discovered 
by Chevreul, and called stearic, margaric, and oleic acids, which unite with the 
base to form the soap, and into a sweet principle not saponifiable, called glyce- 
rin, which is set free. Hence it follows that stearin is a stearate, margarin a 
margarate, and olein an oleate of glycerin, and that the fats and oils are mix- 
tures of these three oily salts. Hence, also, it is obvious that soaps are mixed 
stearates, margarates, and oleates of various bases. Stearic acid is a firm white 
solid, like wax, fusible at 167°, greasy to the touch, pulverizable, soluble in alco 
hoi, very soluble in ether, but insoluble in water. In the impure state it is used 
as a substitute for wax in making candles. Margaric acid has the appearance 
of fat, and is fusible at 140°. Oleic acid is an oily liquid, insoluble in water, 
soluble in alcohol and ether, lighter than water, crystallizable in needles a little 
below 32°, and having a slight smell and pungent taste. Glycerin will be de 
scribed under a separate head. (See Glycerina.) 
Soaps are divided into the soluble and insoluble. The soluble soaps are com- PART I 
Sapo 
745 
binations of the oily acids with soda, potassa, and ammonia; the insoluble con- 
sist of the same acids united with earths and metallic oxides. It is the soluble 
soaps only that are detergent, and to which the name soap is usually applied. 
Several of the insoluble soaps are employed in pharmacy; as, for example, the 
soap of the protoxide of lead, or lead plaster, and the soap of lime, or lime lini- 
ment. (See Emplastrum Flumbi and Linimentum Calcis.) The two officinal 
soaps, here described, are of the soluble kind. One is a soda soap, made with 
olive oil (Castile soap), the other a potassa soap (soft soap). The soap of am- 
monia is noticed elsewhere. (See Linimentum Ammonise.) 
The consistency of the fixed alkaline soaps depends partly on the nature ol 
the oil or fat, and partly on the alkali present. Soaps are harder the more 
stearate and margarate they contain, and softer when the oleate predominates; 
and, as it respects the alkali present, they are harder when formed with soda, 
and softer when containing potassa. Hence it is that of pure soaps, considered 
as salts, stearate of soda is the hardest and least soluble, and oleate of potassa 
the softest and most soluble. 
Preparation. The following is an outline of the process for making soap. 
The oil or fat is boiled with a solution of caustic alkali, until the whole forms 
a thick mass, which can be drawn out into long clear threads. After the soap 
is completely formed, the next step is to separate it from the excess of alkali, 
the glycerin, and redundant water. This is effected by adding common salt, or 
a very strong alkaline lye, in either of which the soap is insoluble. The same 
end may be attained by boiling down the solution until the excess of alkali 
forms a strong alkaline solution, which acts the same part in separating the 
soap as the addition of a similar solution. As soon as the soap is completely 
separated, it rises to the surface; and, when it has ceased to froth in boiling, it 
is ladled out into wooden frames to congeal, after which it is cut into bars by 
means of a wire. The soap, as first separated, is called grain soap. It may be 
purified by dissolving it in an alkaline lye,%nd separating it by common salt. 
During this process the impurities subside, and the soap combines with more 
water; and hence it becomes weaker, although purer and whiter. If the grain 
soap i's not purified it forms marbled soap; the coloured streaks arising princi- 
pally from an insoluble soap of oxidized iron. Sometimes the marbled appear- 
ance is produced by adding to the soap, as soon as it is completely separated, a 
fresh portion of lye, and immediately afterwards a solution of sulphate of iron. 
The black oxide of iron is precipitated, and gives rise to dark-coloured streaks, 
which, by exposure to the air, become red in consequence of the conversion of 
the black into the sesquioxide of iron. For an account of the process of Mr. 
R. A. Tilghman, of this city, patented in 1854, for manufacturing soap by sub- 
jecting a mixture of fatty matters and a solution of carbonated alkali to a high 
temperature under pressure, see the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (xxvii. 121). 
The officinal soap (Sapo, U. S.; Sapo Durus, Br.) is an olive oil soda soap, 
made on the same general plan as that just explained. 
Common Soap (Sapo Yulgaris, U. S., 1850) is also a soda soap; but, instead 
of olive oil, it contains concrete animal oil. This soap corresponds with the white 
soap of northern European countries and of the United States, and is formed 
usually from barilla and tallow. In Scotland it is manufactured from kelp and 
tallow. It was introduced into the list of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia as the only 
proper soap for making opodeldoc; but, as this preparation has been discarded 
in the existing edition, this variety of soap has been dismissed along with it. 
Soft Soap(Sapo Mollis, Br.) is prepared on the same general principles as hard 
soap; potash being employed as the alkali, and a fatty matter rich in olein, as 
the oil. The French soft soap is made with the seed oils, such as rape-seed, 
hemp-seed, &c.; the Scotch and Irish, with fish oil and some tallow; and our 
own with refuse fat and grease. A lye of wood-ashes is the form of potash 746 
Sapo, 
PART I. 
usually employed. In forming this soap it is necessary that it should continue 
dissolved in the alkaline solution, instead of being separated from it. Hence 
soft soap is a soap of potassa, completely dissolved in the solution of its alkali, 
which is consequently present in excess. A soap of potassa is sometimes made 
with a view to its conversion into a soda soap. This is effected by the addition 
of an equivalent quantity of common salt, which, by double decomposition, gen- 
erates a soap of soda, and chloride of potassium in solution. After this change 
is effected, a further addition of salt separates the soda soap formed. 
Besides the officinal soaps of the TJ. S. and Br. Pharmacopoeias, there are 
many other varieties, more or less used for medicinal or economical purposes. 
The officinal soap of the French Codex, called amygdaline soap (almond oil 
soap), is formed of caustic soda and almond oil, and is directed to be kept for 
two months exposed to the air, before being used. Starkey's soap, also offi- 
cinal in the Codex, is prepared by uniting, by trituration, equal parts of car- 
bonate of potassa, oil of turpentine, and Venice turpentine. Beef's marrow 
soap is a fine animal oil soap, also included in the French standard of phar- 
macy. Windsor soap is a scented soda soap, made of one part of olive oil and 
nine parts of tallow. Eau de luce (aqua lucise) is a kind of liquid soap, formed 
by mixing a tincture of oil of amber and balsam of Gilead with water of am- 
monia. Transparent soap is prepared by saponifying kidney fat with soda free 
from foreign salts, drying the resulting soap, dissolving it in alcohol, filtering 
and evaporating the solution, and running it into moulds when sufficiently con- 
centrated. The soap is yellow or yellowish-brown, and preserves its transparency 
after desiccation. Palm soap is prepared from soda and palm oil, to which tal- 
low is added to increase its firmness. If it be wanted white, the palm oil may 
be bleached by heat, bichromate of potassa with sulphuric acid, chlorine, or ex- 
posure to the sun. This soap has a yellowish colour, and the agreeable odour of 
violets derived from the oil. Soap balls are prepared by dissolving soap in a 
little water, and then forming it wtth starch into a mass of the proper consist- 
ence. Common yellow soap (rosin soap) derives its peculiarities from an ad- 
mixture of rosin and a little palm oil with the tallow employed; the oil being 
added to improve its colour. Silicate of soda has, to some extent, been substi- 
tuted for rosin, as more economical. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., Sept. 1S63, p. 466.) 
Large quantities of lard oil (nearly pure olein) are manufactured into soap.* 
All the varieties of soap, except a few of the fancy sort and the olive oil 
soaps, are manufactured in the United States. The latter, which are chiefly 
used for medicinal purposes, are imported from France. 
Properties. Soap, whatever may be its variety, has the same general proper- 
ties. Its aspect and consistence are familiar to every one. Its smell is pecu- 
liar, and taste slightly alkaline. It is somewhat heavier than water, and there- 
fore sinks in that liquid. Exposed to heat it quickly fuses, swells up, and is 
decomposed. It is soluble in water, and more readily in hot than in cold. 
Potassa soaps and those containing oleic acid are far more soluble than the 
soda soaps, especially those in which the stearates and margarates predominate. 
Acids, added to an aqueous solution of soap, combine with the alkali, and set 
free the oily acids, which, being diffused through the water, give it a milky 
appearance. Its decomposition is also produced by metallic salts, which inva- 
riably give rise to insoluble soaps. Soap is soluble in cold, and abundantly in 
boiling alcohol. This solution constitutes the tincture of soap, and forms a very 
convenient test for discovering lime in natural waters. The efficacy of soap as 
* Upon the supposition that the detergent property of soap depends exclusively on the 
alkali it contains, and is consequently proportionate to the quantity of that ingredient, 
a mode of estimating the relative value of soaps has been suggested by R. Graeger, based 
on the equivalent of the fatty constituent; those soaps being the strongest, of which the 
fatty acid has the lowest combining number. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., July, 1861, p. 355.) PART I, 
Sapo 
747 
a detergent depends upon its power of rendering grease and otner soiling sub- 
stances soluble in water, and therefore capable of being removed by washing 
The chief adulterations in soap are lime, gypsum, heavy spar, steatite, and pipe- 
clay. When adulterated with these substances, it will not be entirely soluble in 
alcohol. According to Dr. Riegel, glue is an occasional adulteration in Spanish 
soap, discoverable also by its insolubility in alcohol. The same impurity is some 
times found in other soaps. 
Olive oil soda soap (Sapo), otherwise called Castile or Spanish soap, is a 
hard soap, and is presented under two principal varieties, the white and the mar- 
bled. White Castile soap, when good, is of a pale grayish-white colour, incapa- 
ble of giving an oily stain to paper, devoid of rancid odour or strong alkaline 
qualities, and entirely soluble both in water and alcohol. It should not feel greasy, 
nor grow moist, but, on the contrary, should become dry by exposure to the air, 
without exhibiting any saline efflorescence. This variety of soap contains about 
21 per cent, of water. Sometimes it contains a larger proportion of water, with 
which the soap is made to combine by the manufacturer, with the fraudulent in- 
tention of increasing its weight. Soap, thus adulterated, is known by its unusual 
whiteness, and by its suffering a great loss of weight in a dry air. The propor- 
tion of water may be ascertained by introducing the soap into a saturated solu- 
tion of chloride of sodium, and boiling; when the soap, nearly free from water, 
concretes into a solid mass. Marbled Castile soap is harder, more alkaline, and 
more constant in its composition than the other variety. It contains about 14 
percent, of water. Having less water than the white Castile, it is a stronger and 
more economical soap ; but at the same time less pure. The impurity arises from 
the veins of marbling, consisting of ferruginous matter, as already explained. 
Soap made with animal fat, with the probable addition of silicate of soda, has 
been sold for Castile soap. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., March, 1864, p. 102.) 
Animal oil soda soap (Sapo Yulgaris) is a hard soap, of a white colour, in- 
clining to yellow. It is made from tallow and caustic soda. This soap possesses 
the same general properties as the olive oil soda soap. 
Soft soajo (Sapo Mollis), as made in this country, is semi-fluid, slippery, capa- 
ble of being poured from one vessel to another, and of a dirty brownish-yellow 
colour. This soap always contains an excess of alkali, which causes it to act 
more powerfully as a detergent than hard soap. It also contains the glycerin 
of the fatty matters, which is always separated from hard soap. In the British 
Pharmacopoeia it is directed to be made from olive oil and potash; but Dr. 
Pereira states that he has not been able to meet with it in England. That made 
in France has a greenish colour and the consistence of soft ointment, and is com- 
posed of hemp-seed oil and potash. It is called, in the French Codex, savon 
vert. Sometimes it is manufactured from the dregs of olive oil. 
Incompatibles. Soap is decomposed by all the acids, earths, and earthy and 
metallic salts. Acids combine with the alkali, and set free the oily acids of the 
soap; the earths unite with the oily acids and separate the alkali; while the 
earthy and metallic salts give rise, by double decomposition, to an insoluble 
soap of their base, and a saline combination between their acid and the alkali 
of the soap. Hard waters, in consequence of their containing salts of lime, de- 
compose and curdle soap. They may be rendered soft, and fit for washing, by 
adding sufficient carbonate of soda or of potassa to precipitate all the lime. 
Composition. It has been already explained that soap consists of certain oily 
acids, united with an alkali. As olive oil is a compound of margarin and olein, 
so the officinal “soap” is a mixed margarate and oleate of soda. The former 
officinal “common soap” is principally a stearate of soda; and “soft soap,” as 
defined in the Br. Pharmacopoeia, is a mixed margarate and oleate of potassa. 
The most important soaps have the following composition in the hundred parts. 
Marseilles white soap,—soda 10-24, margaric acid 9'20, oleic acid 59-20, water 748 
Sapo.—Sarsaparilla. 
PART I. 
21-36. (Braconnot.) Castile soap, very dry,—soda 9 0, oily acids T6 5, water 
J45. (Ure.) Glasgow soft soap,—-potassa 9-0, oily acids 43 7, water 47'3. 
(Ure.) French soft soap,—potassa 9 5, oily acids 44, water 46-5. (Thenard.) 
Most soaps, it is perceived, contain a large proportion of water. 
Medical Properties. Soap possesses the properties of a laxative, antacid, and 
antilithic. It is seldom given alone, but frequently in combination with rhubarb, 
the astringency of which it has a tendency to correct. Thus combined, it is often 
administered in dyspepsia, attended with constipation and torpor of the liver. 
As it is readily decomposed by the weakest acids, which combine with the alkali, 
it oft§n proves useful in acidity of the stomach, and has been recommended as 
a remedy in the uric acid diathesis; but it possesses no power to dissolve cal- 
culi, as was once supposed. Externally, soap is a stimulating discutient, and as 
such has been used by friction in sprains and bruises. The late Dr. A. T. Thom- 
son found much benefit to result from rubbing the tumid abdomen of children 
in mesenteric fever, morning and evening, with a strong lather of soap. For the 
cure of itch Dr. Schubert recommends a mixture of soft soap and salt, in the 
proportion of eight ounces of the former to four of the latter, dissolved in a quart 
of water. With this solution, previously warmed, the patient is to be rubbed, 
night and morning, until the cure is effected, which generally takes place in three 
days. M. Thenard recommends a solution of soap as an infallible remedy against 
the bug (punaise, Fr.), which, as well as the egg, is destroyed by a hot solution, 
made by boiling together one part of soap with fifty parts of water. (Journ. de 
Pharm., 3e ser., xxviii. 280.) In constipation of the bowels, particularly when 
arising from hardened feces in the rectum, a strong solution of soap, especially 
of soft soap, forms a useful enema. When the latter is used, two tablespoonfuls 
may be dissolved in a pint of wTarm water. In pharmacy soap is frequently em- 
ployed for the purpose of giving a proper consistence to pills; but care must be 
taken not to associate it with a substance which may be decomposed by it. It 
is also an ingredient in some liniments and plasters. In toxicology it is used as 
a counter-poison for the mineral acids, and should always be resorted to, in poi- 
soning by these agents, without a moment’s delay, and its use continued until 
magnesia, chalk, or the bicarbonate of soda or of potassa can be obtained. The 
mode of administration, in these cases, is to give a teacupful of a solution of 
soap, made by dissolving it in four times its weight of water, every three or four 
minutes, until the patient has taken as much as he can swallow. The dose of 
soap is from five grains to half a drachm, given in the form of pill. 
Off'. Prep, of Soap. Emplastrum Resinas, Br.; Emp. Saponis; Extractum 
Colocynthidis Compositum; Linimentura Saponis; Pilulas Aloes, U. S.; Pil. 
Aloes Barbadensis, Br.; Pil. Aloes et Assafcetidae; Pil. Aloes Soccotrinae, 
Br.; Pil. Assafoetidas, U. S.; Pil. Cambogiae Coraposita, Br.; Pil. Opii; Pil. 
Rhei, U. S.; Pil. Rliei Comp., Br.; Pil. Saponis Comp., U. S.; Pil. Scillse 
Comp. B. 
SARSAPARILLA. U.S. 
Sarsaparilla. 
The root of Smilax officinalis (Humboldt and Bonpland), and of other 
species of Smilax. U. S. 
Off. Syn. SARSA. Jamaica Sarsaparilla. Smilax officinalis. The dnea 
root. Br. 
Salsepureille, Fr.; Sarsaparille, Germ..; Salsapariglia, Itnl.; Zarzapai-illa, Span. 
Smilax. Sex. Syst. Dicecia Ilexandria.—Nat. Ord. Smilaceas. 
Gen.Ch. Male. Calyx six-leaved. Corolla none. Female. Calyx six-leaved. 
Corolla none. Styles three. Berry three-celled. Seeds two. Willd. 
Formerly, Smilax Sarsaparilla was admitted by most of the standard an- PART I. 
Sarsaparilla. 
749 
thorities as the source of this drug; but it is probable that none of the sarsapa- 
rilla of the shops was ever obtained from it. S. Sarsaparilla is a native of the 
United States; and the medicine has never, within our knowledge, been col- 
lected in this country. It is not among the eleven species of Smilax described 
by Humboldt, Bonpland, and Kunth, who indicate S. officinalis, S. syphilitica, 
and S. Cumanensis, especially the first, as the probable sources of the drug ex 
ported from Mexico and the Spanish Main. In the present state of our know 
ledge, it is impossible to decide with certainty from what species the severa. 
commercial varieties of the drug are respectively derived. This much is certain, 
that they do not proceed from the same plant. Of the many species belonging 
to this genus, few possess any medicinal power; and Hancock states that of the 
six or eight which he found growing in the woods of Guiana, only one presented 
in any degree the sensible properties of the genuine sarsaparilla, the rest being 
insipid and inert. The root (rhizoma) of Smilax China, a native of China and 
Japan, has been employed under the name of China Root for similar purposes 
with the officinal sarsaparilla. As it occurs in commerce, it is in pieces from 
three to eight inches long and an inch or two thick, usually somewhat flattened, 
more or less knotty, often branched, of a brownish or grayish-brown colour ex- 
ternally, whitish or of a light flesh-colour internally, without odour, and of a 
taste flat at first, but afterwards very slightly bitterish and somewhat acrid, like 
that of sarsaparilla. The root of Smilax aspera is said to be employed in the 
south of Europe as a substitute for sarsaparilla; but it has little reputation. 
The East India Sarsaparilla, which was at one time referred to this species of 
Smilax, is the product of Hemidesmus Indicus. (See Hemidesmus.) We shall 
briefly describe S. Sarsaparilla, on account of its former officinal rank, and after- 
wards such other species as are believed to yield any portion of the drug. All 
of them are climbing or trailing plants, with prickly stems; a character ex- 
pressed in the name of the medicine, which is derived from two Spanish words 
(zarza and parilla), signifying a small thorny vine. 
Smilax Sarsaparilla Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 176; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 161, 
t. 62. The stem of this plant is long, slender, shrubby, angular, and beset with 
prickles. The leaves are unarmed, ovate-lanceolate with about five nerves, 
somewhat glaucous beneath, and supported alternately upon footstalks, at the 
bases of which are long tendrils. The flowers usually stand, three or four together, 
upon a common peduncle, which is longer than the leafstalk. This species is 
indigenous, growing in swamps and hedges in the Middle and Southern States. 
S. officinalis. Humb. and Bonpl. Plant. vEquinoct. i. 271. In this species the 
stem is. twining, angular, smooth, and prickly; the young shoots are unarmed; 
the leaves ovate-oblong, acute, cordiform, five or seven-nerved, coriaceous, 
smooth, twelve inches long and four or five broad, with footstalks an inch long, 
smooth, and furnished with tendrils. The young leaves are lanceolate-oblong, 
acuminate, and three-nerved. According to Humboldt, the plant abounds on 
the river Magdalena, in New Granada. Large quantities of the root are sent 
down the river to Mompox and Carthagena. 
S. syphilitica. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 780. The stem is round and smooth; 
armed at the joints with from two to four thick, straight prickles; and furnished 
with oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, three-nerved, coriaceous, shining leaves, which 
are a foot in length, and terminate by a long point. The plant was seen by 
Humboldt and Bonpland in New Granada, upon the banks of the river Cassi- 
quiare, and by Martius in Brazil, at Yupura and near the Rio Negro. It has 
been supposed to yield the Brazilian sarsaparilla. 
S. papyracea. Poiret, Encyc. Meth. iv. 467. This is an under-shrub with a 
compressed stem, angular below, and furnished with spines at the angles. Its 
leaves are elliptical, acuminate, and three-nerved. It inhabits Cayenne and 
Brazil, chiefly upon the banks of the Amazon and its tributaries, and is thought 750 
Sarsaparilla. 
PART I. 
to yield the variety of sarsaparilla denominated Brazilian. (Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., xv. 271.) A particular description of a specimen of Smilax, supposed 
to belong to this species, is given by Professor Bentley in the London Pharm. 
Journ. (x. 470). It was obtained from Guatemala, and was the source of a va- 
riety of commercial sarsaparilla, recently introduced into the market, which Pro- 
fessor Bentley proposes to name Guatemala sarsaparilla. 
S. medica. Schlechtendahl, Linnsea, vi. 47; Carson, Illust. of Med. Bot. ii. 
51, pi. 95. This species has an angular stem, armed with straight prickles at the 
joints, and a few hooked ones in the intervals. The leaves are smooth, bright- 
green on both sides, shortly acuminate, five-nerved, with the veins prominent be- 
neath. They vary much in form, the lower being cordate, auriculate-hastate; the 
upper cordate-ovate. In the old leaves, the petiole and midrib are armed with 
straight subulate prickles. The inflorescence is an umbel of from eight to twelve 
flowers, with a smooth axillary peduncle, and pedicels about three lines long. 
Schiede found this plant on the eastern declivity of the Mexican Andes, where 
the root is collected to be taken to Vera Cruz. 
The medicinal species of Smilax grow in Mexico, Guatemala, and the warm 
latitudes of South America. The roots are very long and slender, and origi- 
nate in great numbers from a common head or rhizoma, from which the stems 
of the plant rise. The whole root with the rhizoma is usually dug up, and as 
brought into market exhibits not unfrequently portions of the stems attached, 
sometimes several inches in length. The sarsaparilla of commerce comes from 
different sources, and is divided into varieties according to the place of collec- 
tion or shipment. 
Honduras Sarsaparilla is the variety most used in this country. It is brought 
from the bay of Honduras, and comes in bundles two or three feet long, com- 
posed of several roots folded lengthwise, and secured in a compact form by a 
few circular turns. These are packed in bales imperfectly covered with skins, 
each bale containing one hundred pounds or more. The roots are usually con- 
nected at one extremity in large numbers in a common head, to which portions 
of the stems are also attached. In some bundles are many small fibres either 
lying loose, or still adhering to the roots. The colour of the roots externally is 
a dirty-grayish or reddish-brown; and the cortical portion beneath the epider- 
mis often appears amylaceous when broken. 
The Jamaica or red sarsaparilla of foreign writers is little known by that 
name in the United States. The Island of Jamaica is merely its channel of ex- 
portation to Europe; and it is probably derived originally from Central America. 
It does not materially differ in properties from Honduras sarsaparilla; its chief 
peculiarity being the reddish colour of the epidermis, which is also sometimes 
found in that variety. It is said also to yield a larger proportion of extract, 
and to contain less starch. As found in commerce, it is in bundles from twelve 
to eighteen inches long, by four or five in thickness, consisting of long slender 
roots folded up, with numerous radical fibres attached. 
Considerable quantities of the drug are imported from the Mexican ports of 
Yera Cruz and Tampico. The Vera Cruz sarsaparilla comes in large, rather 
loose bales, weighing about two hundred pounds, bound with cords or leather 
thongs, and usually containing the roots folded upon themselves, and separately 
packed. These, as in the Honduras sarsaparilla, consist of a head or caudex 
with numerous long radicles, which, however, are somewhat smaller than in that 
variety, and have a thinner bark. They are often also much soiled with earth. 
This variety was formerly little esteemed; but, from the acrid taste which it 
possesses, it is probably not inferior in real virtues to the other kinds. It is pro- 
bably derived from Smilax medica. 
Another variety is the Caracas sarsaparilla, brought in large quantities 
from La Guayra. It is in oblong packages, of about one hundred pounds, sur- PART I. 
Sarsaparilla. 
751 
rounded with broad strips of hide, which are connected laterally with thongs 
of the same material, leaving much of the root exposed. The roots, as in the last 
variety, are separately packed, but more closely and carefully. The radicles are 
often very amylaceous internally, in this respect resembling the following. 
The Brazilian, or, as it is sometimes called in Europe, the Lisbon sarsapa- 
rilla, has been less used in the United States than in Europe, where it has com- 
manded a higher price. Within a few years, however, it has been imported in 
considerable quantities. It comes from the ports of Para and Maranham, in 
cylindrical bundles of from three to five feet in length, by about a foot in thick- 
ness, bound about by close circular turns of a very flexible stem, and consisting 
of unfolded roots, destitute of caudex (rhizoma) and stems, and having few ra- 
dical fibres. It is the variety of which Hancock speaks as celebrated through- 
out South America by the name of sarsa of the Rio Negro, and is considered 
as the most valuable variety of the drug. It is distinguished by the amylaceous 
character of its interior structure, and has considerable acrimony. It was said 
by Martius to be derived from Smilax syphilitica; but Dr. Hancock considers 
that portion of it which comes from the Rio Negro, and is shipped at Para, as 
the product of an undescribed species, certainly not S. syphilitica. According 
to Richard, it has been ascertained to be the product of the S. papyracea of 
Poiret. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xv. 27T.) 
The variety described by Professor Bentley under the name of Guatemala 
sarsaparilla was collected in the province of Sacatepeques, about ninety miles 
from the sea. It is in cylindrical bundles about two feet eight inches long by 
four inches in diameter, composed of separate roots, arranged in parallel order, 
without rootstalk, and bound together by a few turns of the flexible stem of a 
monocotyledonous plant. The bundles resemble the Brazilian in arrangement, 
but are much less compact. It is amylaceous, has considerable acrimony, and 
is probably one of the most efficient varieties. Professor Bentley ascribes it to 
S. papyracea. For a particular description of the root, the reader is referred 
to the Pharmaceutical Journal (xii. 472). 
Much sarsaparilla has been imported into England from Lima, Valparaiso, 
and other places on the Pacific coast of South America. It is described by 
Pereira as bearing a close resemblance to Jamaica sarsaparilla, but yielding a 
smaller proportion of extract. It is in bundles of about three feet long and nine 
inches thick, consisting of the roots folded with their heads or rhizomes attached. 
The epidermis is brown or grayish-brown. Sometimes roots of a light-clay 
colour are found in the bundles. 
In a memoir read by Dr. Berthold Seeman before the London Linntean So- 
ciety, the author stated that, after careful examination, he was convinced that 
the commercial varieties of sarsaparilla, called Brazilian, Jamaica, and Guate- 
mala sarsaparilla, are all the product of one species of Smilax, the S. officina- 
lis of Humboldt and Bonpland, and moreover, that the S. medica of Schlecht- 
endahl, and the S. papyracea of Poiret, are identical with that species. (Pharm. 
Journ , Feb. 1854, p. 385.) 
Properties. The dried sarsaparilla roots are several feet in length, about 
the thickness of a goose-quill, cylindrical, more or less wrinkled longitudinally, 
flexible, and composed of a thick exterior cortical portion, covered with a thin 
easily separable epidermis, of an inner layer of ligneous fibre, and of a central 
pith. The epidermis is of various colours, generally ash-coloured, grayish-brown, 
or reddish-brown, and sometimes very dark. The cortical portion is in some 
specimens whitish, in others brown, and not unfrequently of a pink or rosy hue 
It is occasionally white, brittle, and almost powdery like starch. The woody 
part is usually very thin, and composed of longitudinal fibres, which allow the 
root to be split with facility through its whole length. The central medulla 
often abounds in starch. 752 
Sarsaparilla. 
PART I. 
Sarsaparilla in its ordinary state is nearly or quite inodorous, but in decoc- 
tion acquires a decided and peculiar smell. To the taste it is mucilaginous and 
very slightly bitter, and, when chewed for some time, produces a disagreeable 
acrid impression, which remains long in the mouth and fauces. The root is effi- 
cient in proportion as it possesses this acrimony, which is said by some authors 
to be confined to the cortical portion ; while the ligneous fibre and medullary 
matter are insipid and inert. Hancock avers that all parts are equally acrid 
and efficacious. The truth is probably between the two extremes; and, as in 
most medicinal roots, it must be admitted that the bark is more powerful than 
the interior portions, while these are not wholly inactive. The virtues of the 
root are communicated to water cold or hot, but are impaired by long boiling. 
They are extracted also by diluted alcohol. According to Hancock, the whole 
of the active matter is not extracted by water. He observes in his paper upon 
sarsaparilla, published in the London Medico-Botanical Transactions, when 
speaking of the sarsaparilla from Para and the Rio Negro, “after exhausting 
half a pound of this sort by two digestions, boiling, and pressure, I added to the 
dregs half a pint of proof spirit, and digested this with a gentle heat for a few 
hours in a close vessel, then affusing hot water to the amount of that taken off 
from the first boiling, and pressing again, I procured by the last operation about 
four pints of an infusion which possessed the acrid properties of the sarsa in a 
much higher degree even than that obtained by the first decoction with simple 
water.” It appears that in South America it is the custom to prepare sarsapa- 
rilla by digestion in wine or spirit, or by infusion in water with additions which 
may produce the vinous fermentation, and thus add alcohol to the menstruum. 
The same result, as to the superior efficacy of alcohol as a solvent of the acrid 
principle of sarsaparilla, has been obtained by the French experimentalists. 
According to M. Thubeuf, sarsaparilla contains, 1. a peculiar crystalline sub- 
stance, which is probably the active principle of the root, 2. a colouring substance, 
3. resin, 4. starch, 5. lignin, 6. a thick, aromatic, fixed oil, 7. a waxy substance, 
and 8. chloride of potassium and nitrate of potassa. It is said also to contain a 
minute proportion of volatile oil, and Batka found gum, bassorin, albumen, gluten 
and gliadine, lactic and acetic acids, and various salts. The proportion of starch 
is large. Chatin found iodine in Honduras sarsaparilla; but Dr. Winckler, not 
having succeeded in detecting this principle in any one root, thinks it probable 
that the specimen examined by Chatin had been exposed to sea-water. (Pharm. 
Gent. Blatt, May f, 1852.) 
Sarsaparillin. (Smilacin. Pariglin. Salseparine. Parillinic acid.) The 
crystalline principle in which the virtues of sarsaparilla reside should be called 
sarsaparillin. It wTas first discovered by Dr. Palotta, who described it in 1824 
under the name of pariglin. Subsequently, M. Folchi supposed that he had 
found another principle which he called smilacin, In 1831, M. Thubeuf an- 
nounced the discovery of a new substance in sarsaparilla which he named salse- 
parine, from the French name of the root. Finally, Batka, a German chemist, 
towards the end of 1833, published an account of a principle which he had 
discovered in the root, and which, under the impression that it possessed acid 
properties, he called parillinic acid. M. Poggiale, however, has shown that 
these substances are identical, though procured by different processes. The 
following is the process of M. Thubeuf. The root is treated with hot alcohol 
till deprived of taste. The tincture is submitted to distillation, and seven- 
eighths of the alcohol drawn off. The remainder is treated with animal char- 
coal, and filtered at the end of twenty-four or forty-eight hours. The sarsapa- 
rillin is deposited in the form of a granular powder. This is dissolved in a fresh 
portion of alcohol, and crystallized. The alcoholic mother-liquors may be de- 
prived of that portion of the principle which they retain by evaporating to dry- 
ness, dissolving the product in water, filtering, again evaporating to dryness, PART I. 
Sarsaparilla. 
753 
redissolving in alcohol, and crystallizing. Sarsaparillin is white, inodorous, 
almost tasteless in the solid state, but bitter, acrid, and nauseous when dissolved 
in alcohol or water. It is very slightly soluble in cold water, but more readily 
in boiling water, which deposits it on cooling. It is very soluble in alcohol, 
especially at the boiling temperature. Ether and the volatile oils also dissolve 
it. Its aqueous solution has the property of frothing very much by agitation. 
M. Beral states that he has procured it pure by distilling, by means of a salt- 
water bath, a tincture of sarsaparilla prepared with very dilute alcohol. In that 
case it must be volatile, and we can understand why sarsaparilla suffers in de- 
coction. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xii. 245.) The solutions of sarsaparillin 
are without acid or alkaline reaction. Batka erred in considering it an acid. M. 
Poggiale found it both in the cortical and medullary part of the root, but most 
largely in the former. Palotta gave it internally in doses varying from two to 
thirteen grains, and found it to produce nausea, and to diminish the force of the 
circulation. It is probably the principle upon which sarsaparilla depends chiefly, 
if not exclusively, for its remedial powers. 
The sarsaparilla of the shops is apt to be nearly if not quite inert, either from 
age, or from having been obtained from inferior species of Smilax. This ine- 
quality of the medicine, with the improper modes of preparing it long in vogue, 
has probably contributed to its variable reputation. The only criterion of good 
sarsaparilla to be relied on is the taste. If it leave a decidedly acrid impression 
in the mouth after having been chewed for a short time, it may be considered 
efficient; if otherwise, it is probably inert. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Few medicines have undergone greater changes 
of reputation. About the middle of the sixteenth century it was introduced into 
Europe as a remedy for the venereal complaint, in which it had been found very 
useful in the recent Spanish settlements in the West Indies. After a time it 
fell into disrepute, and was little employed till about a century ago, when it 
was again brought into notice by Sir William Fordyce and others, as a useful 
adjuvant and corrigent of mercury in lues venerea. Since that period very dif- 
ferent opinions have been entertained of it. Some, among whom was Dr. Cullen, 
considered it wholly inert; others, on the contrary, have had the most unbounded 
confidence in its powers. The probable cause of much of this discrepancy has 
been already mentioned. Experience, both among regular practitioners and 
empirics, would seem to have placed its efficacy beyond reasonable doubt. Its 
most extensive and useful application is to the treatment of secondary syphilis 
and syphiloid diseases, and that shattered state of the system which sometimes 
follows the imprudent use of mercury in these affections. It is also employed, 
though with less obvious benefit, in chronic rheumatism, scrofulous affections, 
certain cutaneous diseases, and other depraved conditions of health. Its mode 
of action is less evident than its ultimate effects. It is said to increase the per- 
spiration and urine; but, allowing it to do so, the effect is too slight to explain 
its remedial influence; and even that which is produced has been ascribed by 
some to the medicines with which it is generally associated, or the liquid in which 
it is exhibited. In this ignorance of its precise modus operandi we call it an 
alterative, as those medicines are named which change existing morbid actions, 
without obvious influence over any of the functions. 
Sarsaparilla may be given in powder, in the dose of half a drachm three or 
four times a day. It is, however, more conveniently administered in the form of 
infusion, decoction, syrup, or fluid extract. (See these preparations in Part II.) 
A beer, made by fermenting an infusion of the drug with molasses, is said to be 
a popular remedy in South America.* The smoke of sarsaparilla has been highly 
recommended in asthma. (Journ. de Pharm., xviii. 221.) 
* The following is a formula recommended by Hancock. “Take of Rio Negro sarsa, 
bruised, 21b.; bark of guaiac, powdered, 8oz.; raspings of guaiac w'ood, anise seeds, and 754 
Sassafras Medulla.—Sassafras Radicis Cortex. 
RART I. 
Off. Prep. Decoctum Sarsae, Br.; Decoct. Sars® Compositum, Br ; Decoct 
Sarsaparilke Comp., U. S.; Extractum Sarsaparill® Fluidum, U. S.; Extract 
Sarsaparillae Fluid. Comp., U. S.; Extract. Sarsae Liquidum, Br.; Syrupus Sar- 
saparillae Comp., U. S. W 
SASSAFRAS MEDULLA. U.S. 
Sassafras Pith. 
The pith of the stems of Sassafras officinale. U. S. 
SASSAFRAS RADICIS CORTEX. U.S. 
Bark of Sassafras Root. 
The bark of the root of Sassafras officinale. U. S. 
Off. Syn. SASSAFRAS. Sassafras officinale. The dried root. Br. 
Sassafras, Fr.,Germ.; Sassafras, Sassafrasso, Ital.; Sasafras, Span. 
In the new distribution of the species composing the genus Laurus of Linnaeus, 
the sassafras tree has been made the type of a distinct genus, denominated Sas- 
safras, which is recognised by the U. S. and Br. Pharmacopoeias. 
Sassafras. Sex. Syst. Enneandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Lauraceae. 
Gen. Ch. Dioecious. Calyx six-parted, membranous; segments equal, per- 
manent at the base. Males. Fertile stamens nine, in three rows, the three inner 
with double stalked distinct glands at the base. Anthers linear, four-celled, all 
looking inwards. Females, with as many sterile stamens as the males or fewer; 
the inner often confluent. Fruit succulent, placed on the thick fleshy apex of 
the peduncle, and seated in the torn unchanged calyx. (Bindley.) 
Sassafras officinale. Nees, Laurin. 488. — Laurus Sassafras. Willd. Sp. 
Plant, ii. 485 ; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. iii. 142 ; Michaux, N. Am. Sylv. ii. 144. 
This is an indigenous tree of middling size, rising in favourable situations from 
thirty to fifty feet, with a trunk about a foot in diameter. In the Southern 
States it is sometimes larger, and in the northern parts of New England is little 
more than a shrub. The bark of the stem and large branches is rough, deeply 
furrowed, and grayish; that of the extreme branches or twigs is smooth and 
beautifully green. The leaves, which are alternate, petiolate, and downy when 
young, vary much in their form and size even upon the same tree. Some are 
oval and entire, others have a lobe on one side; but the greater number are 
tliree-lobed. Their mean length is four or five inches. The flowers, which are 
frequently dioecious, and appear before the leaves, are small, of a pale greenish- 
yellow colour, and disposed in racemes which arise from the branches below the 
leaves, and have linear bractes at their base. The corolla is divided into six 
oblong segments. The male flowers have nine stamens; the hermaphrodite, 
which are on a different plant, have only six, with a simple style. The fruit is 
an oval drupe, about as large as a pea, of a deep-blue colour when ripe, and 
supported on a red pedicel, enlarged at the extremity into a cup for its reception. 
The sassafras is common throughout the United States, and extends into 
Mexico. It is said also to grow in Brazil and Cochin China; but the plants 
observed in these countries are probably not of the same species. In the United 
States the sassafras is found both in woods and open places, and is apt to spring 
up in the neighbourhood of cultivation, and in neglected or abandoned fields. 
liquorice root, each 4oz.; mezereon, bark of the root, 2oz.; treacle [molasses] 21b.; and 
a dozen bruised cloves; pour upon these ingredients about four gallons of beilirg water, 
and shake the vessel thrice a day. When fermentation has well begun, it is fit fo*. use, and 
may be taken in the dose of a small tumblerful twice or thrice a day.” Th/s formula is 
worthy of attention; but the bark of guaiacum, which is not kept in the sliopg, might ba 
omitted, or replaced by the wood. part I. 
Scammonise Radix.—Scammonium. 
In Pennsylvania and New York, it blooms in the beginning of May, but much 
earlier at the South. The fresh flowers have a slightly fragrant odour, and almost 
all parts of the plant are more or less aromatic. The root is directed by the 
British Pharmacopoeia; the bark of the root, and the pith of the twigs or ex- 
treme branches, by that of the U. States. The best time for collecting the pith 
is after the occurrence of frost in autumn. The root is exported, and is the part 
chiefly used in British pharmacy. It consists of a brownish-white wood, covered 
with a spongy bark divisible into layers. The latter portion is by far the most 
active, and is usually kept separate in our shops. 
1. Sassafras Pith. This is in slender cylindrical pieces, very light and spongy, 
with a mucilaginous taste, and in a slight degree the characteristic flavour of 
the sassafras. It abounds in a gummy matter, which it readily imparts to water, 
forming a limpid mucilage, which, though ropy and viscid, has much less tena- 
city than that of gum arabic, and will not answer as a substitute in the suspen- 
sion of insoluble substances. It differs also from solutions of ordinary gum, in 
remaining limpid when added to alcohol. This mucilage is much employed as a 
soothing application in inflammation of the eyes; and forms an agreeable and 
useful drink in dysenteric, catarrhal, and nephritic diseases. It may be prepared 
by adding a drachm of the pith to a pint of boiling water. 
2. Bark of Sassaf ras Root. As found in the shops, this is usually in small 
irregular fragments, sometimes invested with a brownish epidermis, sometimes 
partially or wholly freed from it, of a reddish or rusty cinnamon hue, very brittle, 
and presenting when freshly broken a lighter colour than that of the exposed 
surfaces. Its odour is highly fragrant, its taste sweetish and gratefully aromatic. 
These properties are extracted by water and alcohol. They reside in a volatile 
oil, which is obtained by distillation. (See Oleum Sassafras.) According to Dr. 
Reinsch, the bark contains a heavy and light volatile oil, camphorous matter, 
fatty matter, resin, wax, a peculiar principle resembling tannic acid called sas- 
saf rid, tannic acid, gum, albumen, starch, red colouring matter, lignin, and salts. 
Medical Properties and Uses. The bark of sassafras root is stimulant, and 
perhaps diaphoretic ; though its possession of any peculiar tendency to the skin, 
independently of its mere excitant property, is very doubtful. It is used almost 
exclusively as an adjuvant to other more efficient medicines, the flavour of which 
it improves; while it renders them more cordial to the stomach. The complaints 
for which it has been particularly recommended are chronic rheumatism, cuta- 
neous eruptions, and scorbutic and syphiloid affections. As a remedy in lues 
venerea, in which it formerly had a high reputation, it is now considered as in 
itself wholly inefficient. It is most conveniently administered in the form of in- 
fusion. The oil may also be given. 
Off. Prep, of the Pith. Mucilago Sassafras, U. S. 
Off. Prep, of the Bark of the Root, or of the Root. Decoctum Sarsae Com- 
positum, Br.; Decoct. Sarsaparillae Comp., U. S.; Extractum Sarsaparillae 
Eluidum Comp., U. S.; Oleum Sassafras, U. S. W. 
SCAMMONDE RADIX. Br. 
Scammony Root. 
Convolvulus Scammonia. The dried Root. Br. 
SC AMMONIUM. U.S., Br. 
Scammony. 
The concrete juice of the root of Convolvulus Scammonia. U. S. A gum- 
resin obtained by incision from the living root. Br. Scammonium. 
PART I. 
Se-ammon je, Fr.; Scammonium, Germ.; Scamonea, Ital.; Escamonea, Span. 
Convolvulus. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Convolvu- 
lacese. 
Gen. Gh. Corolla campanulate. Style one. Stigmas two, linear-cylindrical, 
often revolute. Ovary two-celled, four-seeded. Capsule two-celled. (Bindley.) 
Convolvulus Scammonia. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 845 ; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 
243, t. 86; Carson, Illust. of Med. Bot. ii. 14, pi. 62. This species of Con- 
volvulus has a perennial, tapering root, from three to four feet long, from nine 
to twelve inches in circumference, branching towards its lower extremity, covered 
with a light-gray bark, and containing a milky juice. The stems are numerous, 
slender, and twining, extending sometimes fifteen or twenty feet upon the ground, 
or on neighbouring plants, and furnished with smooth, bright-green, arrow-shaped 
leaves, which stand alternately upon long footstalks. The flowers are placed in 
pairs, or three together, upon the peduncles, which are round, axillary, solitary, 
and of nearly twice the length of the leaf. The plant'is a native of Syria, Ana- 
tolia, and certain islands of the Archipelago. No part is medicinal except the 
root, which was found by Dr. Russel to be a mild cathartic. It is recognised in 
the Br. Pharmacopoeia, being used for the extraction of resin. (See Scammonise 
Resina in Part II.) Scammony is the concrete juice of the fresh root. 
Scammony is collected, according to Russel, in the following manner. In the 
month of June, the earth is cleared away from about the root, the top of which 
is cut off obliquely about two inches from the origin of the stems. The milky 
juice which exudes is collected in shells, or other convenient receptacle, placed 
at the most depending part of the cut surface. A few drachms only are collected 
from each root. The juice from several plants is put into any convenient vessel, 
and concretes by time. In this state it constitutes genuine scammony, but is 
very seldom exported. It is generally prepared for the market by admixture, 
while it is yet soft, with the expressed juice of the stalks and leaves, with wheat 
flour, chalk, ashes, fine sand, &e.; and it has been supposed that scammony 
sometimes consists wholly or in great part of the expressed juice of the root, 
evaporated to dryness by exposure to the sun, or by artificial heat. According 
to Landerer, the roots from which the juice has been collected are in some places 
boiled with water in copper vessels, and the extract added to the juice, not so 
much with the purpose of adulteration, as under the impression that it favour- 
ably modifies the action of the drug. Scammony is exported chiefly from Smyrna, 
though small quantities are said to be sent out of the country at Alexandretta, 
the seaport of Aleppo. Dr. Pereira was informed by a merchant who had re- 
sided iu Smyrna, that it is brought upon camels in a soft state into that city, and 
afterwards adulterated by individuals called scammony makers. The adulteration 
appears to be conducted in conformity with a certain understood scale, more or 
less foreign matter being added according to the price. The materials employed 
are chiefly chalk and some kind of flour or meal. Very little comparatively is 
exported perfectly pure. We obtain scammony either directly from Smyrna, or 
indirectly through some of the Mediterranean ports.* 
* An interesting account of the collection and preparation of scammony in Anatolia, in 
the vicinity of Smyrna, has been communicated by Mr. S. H. Maltass to the London Pharma- 
ceutical Journ. and Trans, (xiii. 264). The juice is collected in the same manner as described 
by Russel in reference to Syria. The product, however, of each plant is somewhat less. 
In some districts, according to Maltass, ten plants produce only a drachm of scammony; 
in others the average from each root is a drachm; and in a good soil a plant four years 
old will yield two drachms. The juice received in the shells is mixed with another portion 
scraped from the cut surface of the root; and this mixture is the pure or lachryma scam- 
mony. Only a small quantity of this is taken to Smyrna; the greater part being adulterated 
by the peasants before it reaches the market. Sometimes the juice is worked up with a 
decoction of the roots, in which case it is black, heavier than the preceding, and not so 
easily broken. Sometimes they add a calcareous earth, in a proportion varying from 10 
to 150 per cent. The kind thus prepared is usually kept for some time in Smyrna, and is PART i. 
Scammonium. 
757 
The name of Aleppo scammony was formerly given to the better kinds of the 
drug, and of Smyrna scammony to those of inferior quality; the distinction 
having probably originated in some difference in the character of the scammony 
obtained at these two places. But no such difference now exists; as scammony 
is brought from Smyrna of every degree of purity. It has been customary in 
this country to designate the genuine drug of whatever quality as Aleppo scam- 
mony ; while the name of Smyrna scammony has been given to a spurious article 
manufactured in the south of France, and to other factitious substitutes. It is 
quite time that these terms should be altogether abandoned. We shall treat of 
the drug under the heads of genuine aud factitious scammony. 
Genuine Scammony. This is sent into commerce in drums or boxes, and is 
either in irregular lumps, in large solid masses of the shape of the containing 
vessel into which it appears to have been introduced while yet soft, or in circu- 
lar, flattish or plano-convex cakes. It seldom reaches us in an unmixed state. 
Formerly small portions of pure scammony were occasionally to be met with in 
Europe, contained in the shells in which the juice was collected and dried. This 
variety, denominated scammony in shells, is now scarcely to be found. The 
pure drug is called virgin scammony. It is in irregular pieces, often covered 
with a whitish-gray powder, friable and easily broken into small fragments be- 
tween the fingers, with a shining grayish-green fracture soon passing into green- 
ish-black, and exhibiting under the microscope minute air-cells, and numerous 
gray semi-transparent splinters.* It is easily pulverized, affording a pale ash- 
gray powder. When rubbed with water it readily forms a milky emulsion. It 
has a rather strong, peculiar odour, compared to that of old cheese. The taste 
is feeble at first, and afterwards somewhat acrid, but without bitterness. It gives 
apt to ferment, so as to become porous and lose its gloss. It is in irregular lumps, and is 
the kind usually sold in London as lachryma scammony. Another kind sold in London in 
rough lumps, and probably under the same name, is prepared in the interior of the country 
by mixing the juice with wheat starch, ashes, earthy matters, gum arabic or tragacanth, 
and sometimes wax, yolk of egg, pounded scammony roots and leaves, flour, or resin. A 
kind much used in Great Britain is prepared by the Jews in Smyrna, and is in the form 
of cakes as described in the text. It is of two qualities. The first quality is prepared by 
mixing skilip (which is an inferior kind of scammony prepared at Anjora, and consists of 
from 30 to 40 per cent, of juice and 60 to 70 of starch) with 60 per cent, of inferior scam- 
mony from the neighbourhood of Smyrna; the second quality, by mixing skilip with about 
30 per cent, of the latter kind, and adding about 10 per cent, of gum arabic and black- 
lead. The first quality contains about 50 per cent, of resin, the second about 30 per cent. For 
an account of specimens of scammony sent by Mr. Maltass from Smyrna, see a paper by 
Mr. D. Hanbury in the Pharm. Journ. (xiii. 268).—Note to the tenth edition. 
Prof. Ch. Boulier, of Algiers, gives the following account of the collection of scam- 
mony in the north-western parts of Anatolia. The plant is not cultivated, but grows wild 
in rocky places covered with brushwood. At the flowering period, about the end of June 
and beginning of July, the peasants go forth in search of localities among the mountains 
where it is most abundant, and, having satisfied themselves on this point, return home, 
provide themselves with the requisite implements, and set out for the place of collection. 
Clearing away the brushwood and stems, the peasant digs deeply around the root, then 
cuts off the top obliquely, and affixes a muscle shell to the root so as to receive the juice 
as it flows from the dependent part. He then passes on to other plants upon which he 
operates in like manner. After a time he returns upon his steps, and empties the shells 
successively into a tinned copper vessel. Next day he goes over the same ground, and 
scrapes by a knife from the cut surface the juice which has in the mean time flowed out, 
and partially concreted. This he mixes with that previously collected, and, when his ves- 
sel is full, takes it to some neighbouring market, where it is bought up, and sent to the 
wholesale druggists at Constantinople and Smyrna. The juice reaches the market in a 
pasty state, and whitish like cheese except where exposed to the air. It is in these centres 
of trade, or on its way from the collectors, that the drug undergoes the various sophistica- 
tions to which it is subjected; the peasant himself being honest, and seldom disposed to 
adulterate. [Ibid., April, 1860, p. 521.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 
* According to Maltass, the purest scammony has a reddish-black fracture, unless it 
has-been mixed with water in its preparation, in which case it is black and very glossy. 
[Pharm. Journ., xiii. 266.) Scammonium. 
PART I. 
no evidence, when the requisite tests are applied, of the presence of starch or 
carbonate of lime, leaves but a slight residue when burned, and yields about 80 
per cent, of its weight to ether. Considerable quantities of what is called virgin 
scammony have been imported into this country since the drug-law went into 
operation; but, though some specimens are tolerably pure, on the whole the 
drug falls far short of the proper standard. Dr. E. R. Squibb examined many 
specimens, and found the proportion of resin to vary from 25 to 19'7 per cent.; 
only two or three, out of more than 30 examined, approaching the latter degree 
of purity within 10 per cent. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 1863, p. 51.)* 
The form of scammony chiefly fouud in our markets is that in circular cakes. 
These are sometimes flattish on both sides, but generally somewhat convex on 
one side and flat on the other, as if dried in a saucer, or other shallow vessel. 
They are from four to six inches in diameter, and from half an inch to an inch 
and a half, or even two inches thick in the centre. As found in the retail shops, 
they are often in fragments. They are hard and heavy, with a faintly shining 
roughish fracture; and when broken exhibit in general a structure very finely 
porous, sometimes almost compact, and in a very few instances cavernous. Their 
colour externally is a dark-ash or dark-olive, or slate colour approaching to 
black; internally somewhat lighter and grayish, with an occasional tinge of 
green or yellow, but deepening by exposure. The small fragments are some- 
times slightly translucent at the edges. The mass, though hard, is pulverizable 
without great difficulty, and affords a light-gray powder. It imparts to water 
with which it is triturated a greenish milky appearance. The smell is rather 
disagreeable, and similar to that of the pure drug. The taste, very slight at 
first, becomes feebly bitterish and acrid. This kind of scammony is never quite 
pure, and much of it is considerably adulterated. In some of the cakes carbon- 
ate of lime is the chief impurity; in others the adulterating substance is prob- 
ably meal, as evidences of the presence of starch and lignin are afforded; and 
in others again both these substances are found. Christison discovered in the 
chalky specimens from 15 to 38 per cent, of carbonate of lime; in the amylaceous, 
from 13 to 42 per cent, of impurity. It was probably to the flat, dark-coloured, 
compact, difficultly pulverizable, and more impure cakes that the name of Smyrna 
scammony was formerly given. These have been erroneously ascribed by some 
to Periploca Secamone, a plant growing in Egypt.f 
* Dr. Squibb gives the following description of the drug recently imported as virgin 
scammon)/. “It generally occurs in soldered square tin boxes, containing 23 to 28 pounds 
each. Occasionally, however, it is in round wooden boxes or drums of a similar capacity. 
The scaminony is in irregular, rough and fissured masses of various sizes, sometimes 
porous, but commonly solid, hard, and semi-resinous, having a tough, dull fracture. It is 
of a very dark grayish-green colour internally, often nearly black, but more of an ash 
colour externally. It is rarely dry enough to be pulverulent, yet still more rarely too 
moist to be rubbed into coarse powder, and it generally loses 6 per cent, in drying suffi- 
ciently to make a fine powder.” (Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 18G3, p. 49.) 
f Dr. Pereira, in his work on Materia Medica, describes as follows the varieties of scam- 
mony as they exist in the London market. 
1. Virgin Scammony. Pure Scammony. Lachryma Scammony. The description of this cor- 
responds with that of pure scammony given in the text. In addition, the following par- 
ticulars may be mentioned. The whitish powder often found upon the surface effervesces 
with muriatic acid, and consists of chalk, in which the lumps have probably been rolled. 
The sp. gr. of the masses is 1-210. In the same pieces it sometimes happens that certain 
portions are shining and black, while others are dull-grayish. Virgin scammony readily 
takes fire, and burns with a yellowish flame. This variety is now much more abundant in 
the shops of London than formerly. 
2. Scammony of second quality. This is called seconds in commerce. It is in two forms. 
1. In irregular pieces. This, in external appearance, brittleness, odour, and taste, i esem- 
bles virgin scammony; but is distinguished by its greater sp. gr., which is 1 4fi3, by its 
dull, very slightly shining fracture, and its grayish colour. The freshly broken surface 
effervesces with muriatic acid, but the cold decoction does not give a blue c-uour with 
iodiue. It therefore contains chalk, but not fecula. 2. In large regular masses. This has Scammonium. 
Scammony is ranked among the gum-resins. It is partially dissolved by 
water, much more largely by alcohol and ether, and almost entirely, when pure, 
by boiling diluted alcohol. Its active ingredient is resin, which constitutes 
from 80 to 90 per cent, of pure dry scammony. (See Resina Scarnmonii.) The 
gum-resin has been analyzed by various chemists, but the results are uncertain; 
as the character of the specimens examined is insufficiently determined by the 
terms Aleppo and Smyrna scammony, employed to designate them. Thus, 
Bouillon-Lagrange and Yogel obtained, from 100 parts of Aleppo scammony, 
60 of resin, 3 of gum, 2 of extractive, and 35 of insoluble matter; from the same 
quantity of Smyrna scammony, 29 parts of resin, 8 of gum, 5 of extractive, 
and 58 of vegetable remains and earthy substances. It is obvious that both 
the specimens upon which they operated were very impure. Marquart found 
in pure scammony (scammony in shells) 81 25 per cent, of resin, 3 00 of gum 
with salts, 0 15 of wax, 4’50 of extractive, 1-15 of starchy envelopes, bassorin, 
and gluten, 1-50 of albumen and lignin, 375 of ferruginous alumina, chalk, 
and carbonate of magnesia, and 3 50 of sand. Christison found different spe- 
cimens of pure scammony to contain, in 100 parts, from 77 to 83 parts of resin, 
from 6 to 8 of gum, from 32 to 5 of lignin and sand, and from 7-2 to 12 6 of 
water, with occasionally a little starch, probably derived accidentally from the 
root, and not in sufficient quantity to cause a cold decoction of the gum-resin 
to give a blue colour with iodine. Mr. Hanbury, of London, found 91T per 
cent, of resin in the purest scammony in shells; and Mr. B. W. Bull, of New York, 
86-88 per cent, in a specimen in irregular lumps, received from Constantinople 
as Aleppo Scammony. (N. Y. Journ. of Pharm., June, 1852.) As already 
stated, scammony is seldom quite pure as found in our shops. Much of it contains 
not more than 50 per cent, of the resin, some not more than 42 per cent., and 
the worst varieties as little as 10 per cent., or even less.* Sometimes the cakes 
the form of the drum or box in which it was imported, and into which it was probably in- 
troduced while soft. It has a dull grayish fracture, and the sp. gr. 1 -359. It exhibits, 
with the appropriate tests, evidence of the presence both of chalk and fecula. It is some- 
times found of a soft or cheesy consistence. 
3. Scammony of third quality. This is called thirds in commerce. It is in circular, flat 
cakes, about five inches in diameter and one inch thick. The cakes are dense, heavy, and 
more difficult to break than the preceding varieties. The fracture is sometimes resinous 
and shining, sometimes dull, and exhibits air cavities, and numerous white specks, which 
consist of chalk. The colour is grayish or grayish-black. The sp. gr. varies from 1-276 
to 1*543. Both chalk and flour are detected by tests. In five different cakes, the quantity 
of chalk employed in the adulteration was stated by the importer to be, in 100 parts of the 
cakes respectively, 13 07, 23 1, 25-0, 31-05, and 37-54, numbers which correspond very 
closely, in the two extremes, with the results obtained by Christison. This is the variety 
of scammony referred to in the text as the one chiefly used in the United States. 
A valuable paper by Dr. Carson, on the varieties of scammony imported into this coun- 
try, was published in the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (xx. i.), to which the reader is referred. 
Besides the kinds described in the text, namely the virgin scammony, and those which are 
adulterated with chalk or meal or both, Dr. Carson describes two, under the names of 
gummy and black gummy scammony, in which the chief adulteration appears to be traga- 
canth, or some analogous substance, which is associated in the dark variety with bone- 
black. They afforded from 6 to 13 per cent, of resin. They are in circular cakes, hard, 
compact, of difficult pulverization, and viscid when moistened.—Note to the eighth edition. 
* The following table is given by Dr. Christison as the result of his examination of 
different specimens of impure commercial scammony. 
PART I. 
Calcareous. 
Amylaceous. 
Culcareo-amylaceous. 
Resin 
64-6 
56-6 
43-3 
87 0 62 0 
42-4 
Gum 
6-8 
5 0 
8-2 
9-0 7-2 
7-8 
Chalk 
17-6 
25-0 
31-6 
18-6 
Fecula 
1-4 
4-0 
20-0 10-4 
13-2 
Lignin anil sand 
5-2 
7-1 
7-8 
22-2 13-4 
9-4 
Water 
6-4 
5-2 
6-4 
12-0 7-5 
10-4 
100-6 
100-3 
101-3 
100-2 100 5 
101-8 Scammonium.—Scilla. 
are of good quality on the outside, and inferior within. (Bull, N. Y. Journ. of 
Pharm., i. 7.) It has been suggested, in this uncertainty as to the strength of 
the scammony of the shops, whether it might not be best to abandon its inter- 
nal use altogether, and to employ only the resin, which is of uniform strength. 
Indeed, the resin has been officinally substituted for the gum-resin in that im- 
portant preparation, the compound extract of colocynth. 
In the U. S. Pharmacopoeia it is directed that 75 percent, of the drug should 
be soluble in ether, in the British from 80 to 90 per cent. Both require that it 
should not effervesce with muriatic acid, and that water heated with it should 
nit give a blue colour with tincture of iodine; the former test indicating the 
absence of chalk, the latter of farinaceous matters. 
Factitious Scammony. Montpellier Scammony. Much spurious scammony 
is manufactured in the south of France, said by Guibourt to be made from the 
expressed juice of Cynanchum Monspeliacum, incorporated with various resius, 
and other purgative substances. M. Thorel, however, a pharmaceutist of Aval- 
Ion, denies that this plant is employed in its preparation. (Journ de Pharm., 
xx. 107.) It has been occasionally imported into the United States, and sold as 
Smyrna scammony. It is usually in flat semicircular cakes, four or five inches in 
diameter, and six or eight lines thick, blackish both externally and within, very 
hard, compact, rather heavy, of a somewhat shining and resinous fracture, a 
feeble balsamic odour wholly different from that of genuine scammony, and a very 
bitter nauseous taste. When rubbed with the moistened finger it becomes dark- 
gray, unctuous, and tenacious. We have seen another substance sold as Smyrna 
scammony, which was obviously spurious, consisting of blackish, circular, flat 
cakes, or fragments of such cakes, rather more than half an inch thick, very light, 
penetrated with small holes, as if worm-eaten, and when broken exhibiting an 
irregular, cellular, spongy texture. Dr. Pereira described a factitious substance 
sold as Smyrna scammony, which was in circular flat cakes about half an inch 
thick, blackish, and of a slaty aspect, breaking with difficulty, of a dull black 
fracture, and of the sp. gr. 1-412. Moistened and rubbed it had' the smell of 
guaiac, which could also be detected by chemical tests. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Scammony is an energetic cathartic, apt to 
occasion griping, and sometimes operating with harshness. It was known to 
the ancient Greek physicians, and was much employed by the Arabians, who 
not only gave it as a purgative, but also applied it externally for the cure of 
various cutaneous diseases. It may be used in all cases of torpid bowels, when 
a powerful impression is desired; but, on account of its occasional violence, it is 
seldom administered, except in combination with other cathartics, the action of 
which it promotes, while its own harshness is mitigated. It should be given in 
emulsion with mucilage, sugar, almonds, liquorice, or other demulcent; and its 
disposition to gripe may be counteracted by the addition of an aromatic. The 
dose is from five to fifteen grains of pure scammony, from ten to thirty of that 
commonly found in the market. 
Off. Prep, of the Root. Scammoniae Resina, Br. 
Off. Prep, of Scammony. Confectio Scammonii, Br.; Extractum Colocynthi- 
dis Composition, Br.; Pilula Colocynthidis Comp., Br.; Pilula Colocynthidis et 
Hyoscyami, Br.; Pulvis Scammonii Comp., Br.; Resina Scammonii, U. S. 
W. 
SCILLA. U.S.,Br. 
Squill. 
The bulb of Scilla maritima. U. S. Urgiuea Scilla, Sleinheil. The Bulb, sliced 
and dried. Br. 
Scille, Fr.; Meerzwiebel, Germ.; Scilla, Ital.; Cebolla albarrana, Span. 
Scilla. Sex. Syst. Hexandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Liliaceae. 
PART I. PART i. 
Scilla. 
761 
Gen. Cli. Corolla six-petaled, spreading, deciduous. Filaments thread-like. 
Willd. 
Scilla maritima. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 125; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 745, t. 255. 
— Squilla maritima. Lindley, Flor. Med. p. 591; Carson, Illust. of Med. Bot. 
ii. 46, pi. 89. This is a perennial plant, with fibrous roots proceeding from the 
bottom of a large bulb, which sends forth several long, lanceolate, pointed, some- 
what undulated, shining, deep-green leaves. From the midst of the leaves a 
round, smooth, succulent flower-stem rises, from one to three feet high, termi- 
nating in a long, close spike of whitish flowers. These are destitute of calyx, 
and stand on purplish peduncles, at the base of each of which is a linear, twisted, 
deciduous floral leaf. The squill grows on the sea-coast of Spain, France, Italy. 
Greece, and the other countries bordering on the Mediterranean. The bulb is 
the officinal portion. It is generally dried for use; but is sometimes imported 
into this country in the recent state packed in sand. 
Pi'operties. The fresh bulb is pear-shaped, usually larger than a man’s fist, 
sometimes as large as the head of a child, and consists of fleshy scales attenu- 
ated at their edges, closely applied over each other, and invested by exterior 
scales so thin and dry as to appear to constitute a membranous coat. There are 
two varieties, distinguished as the red and white squill. In the former, the ex- 
terior coating is of a deep reddish-brown colour, and the inner scales have a 
whitish rosy or very light pink epidermis, with a yellowish-white parenchyma; 
in the latter, the whole bulb is white. They do not differ in medicinal virtue. 
The bulb abounds in a viscid, very acrid juice, which causes it to inflame and 
even excoriate the skin when much handled. By drying, this acrimony is very 
much diminished, with little loss of medicinal power. The bulb loses about four- 
fifths of its weight in the process. Yogel found 100 parts of fresh squill to be 
reduced to 18 by desiccation. The process is somewhat difficult, in consequence 
of the abundance and viscidity of the juice. The bulb is cut into thin transverse 
slices, and the pieces dried separately by artificial or solar heat. The outer and 
central scales are rejected, the former being dry and destitute of activity, the 
latter too fleshy and mucilaginous. 
Dried squill, as found in our shops, is in irregular oblong pieces, often more 
or less contorted, of a dull yellowish-white colour with a reddish or rosy tint, 
sometimes entirely white, slightly diaphanous, brittle and pulverizable when per- 
fectly dry, but often flexible from the presence of moisture, for which they have 
a great affinity. Occasionally a parcel will be found consisting of vertical slices, 
some of which adhere together at the base. The odour is very feeble, the taste 
bitter, nauseous, and acrid. 
The virtues of squill are extracted by water, alcohol, and vinegar. It was 
analyzed by Yogel; and, more recently (A.D. 1856), by M. J. II. Marais, who 
found, in 100 parts, 30 of mucilage, 15 of sugar, 8 of tannin, 10 of a red, acid 
colouring matter, 2 of a yellow, acid, odorous colouring matter, 1 of fatty mat- 
ter, 1 of scillitin, 5 of salts, and traces of iodine. (Journ. de Pharm., Fev. 
1851, p. 127.) Examined by the microscope, the bulb is seen to be pervaded by 
innumerable minute acicular crystals, consisting of the salts of squill, chiefly, 
according to M. Marais, carbonate of lime, with a little chloride of calcium. 
{Ibid.) Water distilled from it had neither taste nor smell, and was drunk by 
Vogel to the amount of six ounces without effect. The acrid principle, there- 
fore, is not volatile. The substance named scillitin by Yogel was soluble in 
water, alcohol, and vinegar; but was considered by M. Tilloy, of Dijon, to be 
a compound of the proper active principle of squill with gum and uncrystalliza- 
ble sugar. The scillitin, obtained by the latter experimenter, was insoluble in 
water and dilute acids, soluble in alcohol, exceedingly acrid and bitter, and 
very powerful in its influence on the system. A single grain produced the 
death of a strong dog. The process of Tilloy may be seen in former editions 762 
Scilla. 
PART L 
of this work. The scillitin obtained by him was still impure. Labourdais be- 
lieved vhat he had obtained it in an isolated state by means of animal charcoal. 
A decoction of squill was first treated with acetate of lead to separate the 
viscid matters, was then filtered and agitated in the cold with purified animal 
charcoal in fine powder, and afterwards allowed to rest. The charcoal gradually 
subsided, carrying with it the bitter and colouring principles. The liquid being 
decanted, the solid matter was dried, and treated with hot alcohol, which ac- 
quired an insupportable bitterness. The alcohol, being distilled off, left a milky 
liquid, which was allowed to evaporate spontaneously. The scillitin thus pro- 
cured was solid, uncrystallized, easily decomposable by heat, almost caustic to 
the taste, not deliquescent, neuter, but slightly soluble in water, to which, how- 
ever, it imparted a very great bitterness, very soluble in alcohol, and dissolved, 
but at the same time decomposed by concentrated sulphuric and nitric acids, 
imparting to the former a purple colour, instantly becoming black. (Ann. de 
Therap., 1849, p. 145.) L. F. Bley succeeded in obtaining scillitin, by the pro- 
cess of Labourdais, in long flexible needle-shaped crystals, by simply allowing 
the last alcoholic solution to evaporate spontaneously. (Arch, der Pharm., lxi. 
141.) Lnnderer obtained a crystalline principle from fresh squill, by treating 
the bruised bulb with dilute sulphuric acid, concentrating the solution, neutral- 
izing it with lime, drying the precipitate, exhausting this with alcohol, and 
evaporating the tincture, which, on cooling, deposited the substance in question 
in prismatic crystals. It was bitter, but not acrid, insoluble in water or the 
volatile oils, slightly soluble in alcohol, and, according to Landerer, capable of 
neutralizing the acids. (Ghristison's Dispensatory.) Wittstein inferred from 
his experiments that the bitterness and acrimony of squill reside in distinct 
principles. (See Pharm. Journ., x. 359.) By a more recent analysis, Tilloy was 
induced to believe that there were two active principles in squill; one a resin- 
oid substance very acrid and poisonous, soluble in alcohol and not in ether, the 
other a very bitter principle, yellow, and soluble in water and alcohol. The 
acrid principle, in the dose of about three-quarters of a grain, killed a dog. 
The bitter principle is much less powerful. Both are contained in the matters ex- 
tracted from squill by means of animal charcoal. (Journ. de Pharm., xxiii. 410.) 
M. Marais obtained results somewhat different from those of his predecessors. 
The scillitin procured by him is uncrystallizable, hygrometric but not deli- 
quescent, insoluble in water, and very soluble in alcohol and ether, even cold. 
It is in minute semitransparent spangles, of a pale-yellow colour, and of an 
intense, pungent bitterness, wdiieh is increased by the presence of water. Sul- 
phuric acid dissolves it, producing a colour precisely similar to that which the 
same acid causes with cod-liver oil. Nitric acid also dissolves it, causing a 
bright-red colour, which rapidly disappears. Muriatic acid has no effect on it. 
The hydrated alkalies disengage ammonia, showing that it contains nitrogen. 
Ammonia and potassa do not dissolve it, but remove its bitterness. Tannic 
acid gives with it a pale-yellow precipitate. It approaches the alkaloids in 
character; as it has an alkaline reaction, combines with acetic acid, and con- 
tains nitrogen. In its effects on the system, it resembles the acrid narcotics, 
proving fatal in the dose of three-quarters of a grain. It first vomits and 
purges violently, then acts as a narcotic, and finally paralyzes the heart. In 
fatal doses it occasions violent inflammation of the alimentary canal. Applied 
endermically, it acts much more rapidly than by the mouth, and now almost 
exclusively as a narcotic. A vigorous dog was killed in tweuty-two minutes 
by six-tenths of a grain applied in this way. M. Marais obtains it by making a 
concentrated tincture of dry squill with alcohol of 0 56, precipitating with milk 
of lime, shaking the whole with ether, decanting the supernatant liquid, washing 
the magma with a fresh portion of ether till wholly deprived of bitterness, 
uniting the liquors, and distilling until there remains in the retort only alohci PART I. 
Scilla—Scoparius. 
with the scillitin and a little fatty matter. This is then evaporated as quickly as 
possible with a gentle heat, and the residue treated with alcohol of 0 90, which 
dissolves the scillitin, and leaves the fatty matter The alcoholic solution 
evaporated to dryness, yields the scillitin, which is to be immediately enclosed 
in a well-stopped bottle. {Ibid., xxi. 128. Fev. 1857. 
When kept in a dry place, squill retains its virtues for a long time: but if 
exposed to moisture it soon becomes mouldy. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Squill is expectorant, diuretic, and in large 
doses emetic and purgative. In overdoses it has been known to occasion hyper- 
catharsis, strangury, bloody urine, and fatal inflammation of the stomach and 
bowels. The Greek physicians employed it as a medicine; and it has retained 
to the present period a deserved popularity. As an expectorant, it is used both 
in cases of deficient and of superabundant secretion from the bronchial mu- 
cous membrane; in the former case usually combined with tartar emetic or ipe- 
cacuahna, in the latter frequently with the stimulant expectorants. In both 
instances, it operates by stimulating the vessels of the lungs*; and, where the 
inflammatory action in this organ is considerable, as in pneumonia and severe 
catarrh, the use of squill should be preceded by depletory measures. In drop- 
sical diseases it is very much employed, especially in connection with calomel, 
which is supposed to excite absorption, while the squill increases the secretory 
action of the kidneys. It is thought to succeed best in these complaints, in 
the absence of general inflammatory excitement. On account of its great uncer- 
tainty and occasional harshness, is is very seldom prescribed as an emetic, except 
in infantile croup or catarrh, in which it is usually given in the form of syrup 
or oxymel. When given in substance it is most conveniently administered in 
the form of pill. The dose, as a diuretic Or expectorant, is one or two grains 
repeated two or three times a day, and gradually increased till it produces 
slight nausea, or evinces its action upon the kidneys or lungs. From six to 
twelve grains will generally vomit. The vinegar and syrup of squill are officinal, 
and much used. An acetic extract has been prepared by Mr. F. D. Niblett, by 
digesting a pound of squill with three fluidounces of acetic acid and a pint of 
distilled water, with a gentle heat, for forty-eight hours, then expressing, and, 
without filtration, evaporating to a proper consistence. One grain is equal to 
about three of the powder. (Pharm. Journ., xii. 188.) 
Off. Prep. Acetum Scillae, U. S.; Pilulae Scilke Composite; Syrupus Scillae, 
Br.; Syrupus Scillae Comp., U. S.; Tinctura Scillae. W. 
SCOPARIUS. U.B,Br. 
Broom. Broom-Tops. Br. 
The tops of Cytisus Scoparius. U. S. Sarothamnus Scoparius, Wimmer. The 
Tops, fresh and dried. Br. 
Genet a balais, Fr.; Gemeine Besenginster, Germ.; Scoparia, dial.; Retama, Span. 
Cytisus. Sex. Syst. Diadelphia Decandria. — Nat. Ord. Fabaceae or Legu- 
minosae. 
Gen. Oh. Calyx bilabiate, upper lip generally entire, lower somewhat three- 
toothed. Vexillum ovate, broad. Garina very obtuse, enclosing the stamens 
and pistils. Stamens monadelphous. Legume piano-compressed, many-seeded, 
not glandular. (De Gand.) 
Cytisus Scojyarius. De Cand. Prodrom. ii. 154.—Spartium Scoparium. 
Wi’ld. Sp. Plant, iii. 933; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 413, t. 150. This is a common 
Euiopean'shrub, cultivated in our gardens, from three to eight feet high, with 
numerous straight, pentangular, bright-green, very flexible branches, and small, 
oblong, downy leaves, usually ternate, but on the upper part of the plant some- 764 
Scoparius.—Scutellaria. 
PART I. 
times simple. The flowers are numerous, papilionaceous, large, showy, of a 
golden-yellow colour, and solitary upon short axillary peduncles. The seeds are 
contained in a compressed legume, which is hairy at the sutures. 
The whole plant has a bitter nauseous taste, and, when bruised, a strong pe- 
culiar odour. The tops of the branches are the officinal portion; but the seeds 
also are used, and, while they possess similar virtues, have the advantage of 
keeping better. Water and alcohol extract their active properties. According 
to Cadet de Gassicourt, the flowers contain volatile oil, fatty matter, wax, chlo- 
rophyll, yellow colouring matter, tannin, a sweet substance, mucilage, osmazome, 
albumen, and lignin. Dr. Stenhouse has separated from them two principles, 
one of which called scoparin he believes to be the diuretic principle, and the 
other, named spartein, to be narcotic. The former is in stellate crystals, easily 
dissolved by boiling water and alcohol, and is obtained by purifying a yellow 
gelatinous substance deposited upon the evaporation of the decoction. It may 
be given in the dose of four or five grains. The latter was obtained by distilla- 
tion from the mother-waters of the scoparin. It is a colourless liquid, having a 
peculiar bitter taste, and all the properties of a volatile organic base. It ap- 
pears to have narcotic properties. But we need more definite information on 
the subject. (Annuaire de Therap., 1853, p. 153.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Broom is diuretic and cathartic, and in large 
doses emetic, and has been employed with great advantage in dropsical com- 
plaints, in which it was recommended by Mead, Cullen, and others. Cullen pre- 
scribed it in the form of decoction, made by boiling half an ounce of the fresh 
tops in a pint of water down to half a pint, of which he gave a fluidounce every 
hour till it operated by stool or urine. It is a domestic remedy in Great Britain, 
but is seldom used in this country. The seeds may be given in powder, in the 
dose of ten or fifteen grains. . 
Off. Prep. Decoctum Scoparii, Br.; Succus Scoparii, Br. W 
SCUTELLARIA. U.S. Secondary. 
Scullcap. 
The herb of Scutellaria lateriflora. U. S. 
Scutellaria. Sex. Syst. Didynamia Gymnospermia. — Nat. Ord. Labiatm. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx bilabiate; lips entire; mouth closed by a helmet-shaped lid 
after the corolla falls. Corolla bilabiate, upper lip vaulted, lower dilated, con- 
vex; tube of the corolla bent. 
Several species of Scutellaria have attracted attention. Scutellaria galericu- 
lata, or common European scullcap, which also grows wild in this country, has 
a feeble, somewhat alliaceous odour, and a bitterish taste. It has been employed 
in intermittents, and externally in old ulcers. Dr. R. W. Evans, of Canada West, 
has found it useful in epilepsy ; but to effect a cure it must be continued, he says, 
for five or six months. He makes an infusion with two ounces of the herb and 
eight ounces of water, and gives a fluidounce every eight hours, doubling the 
quantity after a week. (See Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., xvii. 495.) Another indi- 
genous species, the S integrifolia, of which S. hyssopifolia, Linn., is considered 
by some as a variety, is intensely bitter, and might probably be found useful as 
a tonic. S. lateriflora is the only officinal species. 
Scutellaria lateriflora. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 172; Gray, Manual of the Bot. 
of North. U. S., p. 315. This is an indigenous perennial herb, with a stem erect, 
much branched, quadrangular, smooth, gnd one or two feet high. The leaves 
are ovate, acute, dentate, subcordate upon the stem, opposite, and supported 
upon long petioles. The flowers are small, of a pale-blue colour, and disposed 
in long, lateral, leafy racemes. The tube of the corolla is elongated, the upper PAKT I. 
Scutellaria.—Senega. 
765 
lip concave and entire, the lower three-lobed. The plant grows in moist 
by the sides of ditches and ponds, in all parts of the Union. 
To the senses scullcap does not indicate, by any peculiar taste or smell, the 
possession of medicinal virtues. It is even destitute of the aromatic properties 
which are found in many of the labiate plants. When taken internally, it pro- 
duces no very obvious effects. Notwithstanding this apparent inertness, it ob 
tained, at one period, extraordinary credit throughout the United States, as a 
preventive of hydrophobia, and was even thought to be useful in the disease 
itself. A strong infusion of the plant was given in the dose of a teacupful, re- 
peated several times a day, and continued for three or four months after the 
bite was received; while the herb itself was applied to the wound. Strong tes- 
timony was adduced in favour of its prophylactic powers; but it has already 
shared the fate, which in this case is no doubt deserved, of numerous other 
specifics against hydrophobia, which have been brought into temporary popu- 
larity, only to be speedily abandoned. Nevertheless, it is thought by some prac- 
titioners to have valuable therapeutic properties; and Drs. Ariel Hunton and 
C. II. Cleaveland, of Vermont, speak in strong terms of its efficacy as a nervine. 
They have employed it in neuralgic and convulsive affections, chorea, delirium 
tremens, and nervous exhaustion from fatigue or over-excitement, and have 
found it highly advantageous. Dr. Cleaveland says that he prefers it to all other 
nervines or antispasmodics, except where an immediate effect is desirable. He 
prefers the form of infusion, which he prepares by adding half an ounce of the 
dried leaves to a teacupful of water, and allows the patient Jto drink ad libitum. 
(Am. Journ. of Pliarm., xxiii. 310, also N. J. Med. Reporter, v. 13.) 
Two preparations are now used; one called scutellarine, though erroneously, 
as it has no claim to be considered a pure proximate principle, the other a fluid 
extract. The so-called scutellarine is prepared by mixing a concentrated tinc- 
ture with water, precipitating by alum, and then washing and drying. Dr. 
Cleaveland gives it in a dose varying from one to three or four grains, and finds 
very happy effects from it in quieting nervous disorders. (N. J. Med. Reporter, 
viii. 121.) The fluid extract, prepared by the Messrs. Tilden, is used in the dose of 
one or two fluidrachms. Dr. Joseph Bates, of New Lebanon, N. Y., speaks 
highly of is as a nervine. (Bost. Med. and S. Journ., lii. 337.) W. 
SENEGA. U.S.,Br 
Seneka. 
The root of Polygala Senega. U. S. The dried Root. Br. 
Polygnle de Virginie, Fr.; Klapperschlangenwurzel, Germ.; Poligala Yirginiana, Ital. 
Polygala. Sex. Syst. Diadelphia Octandria.— Nat. Ord. Polygalacese. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx five-leaved, with two leaflets wing-shaped and coloured. 
Legume obcordate, two-celled. Willd. 
Besides P. Senega, two other species have attracted some attention in Europe 
—P. arnara and P. vulgaris—as remedies in chronic pectoral affections; but 
as they are not natives of this country, and are never used by practitioners here, 
they do not merit particular notice. 
Polygala Senega. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 894; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. ii. 97; 
Barton, Med. Bot. ii. 111. This unostentatious plant has a perennial branching 
root, from which several erect, simple, smooth, round, leafy stems annually rise, 
from nine inches to a foot in height. The stems are occasionally tinged with 
red or purple below, but are green near the top. The leaves are alternate or 
scattered, lanceolate, pointed, smooth, bright-green on the upper surface, paler 
beneath, and sessile or supported on very short footstalks. The flowers are 
small and white, and form a close spike at the summit of the-stem. The calyx 766 
Senega. 
PART T. 
is their most conspicuous part. It consists of five leaflets, two of which are 
wing-shaped, white, and larger than the others. The corolla is small and closed. 
The capsules are small, much compressed, obcordate, two-valved and two-celled, 
with two oblong-ovate, blackish seeds, pointed at one end. 
This species of Polygala, commonly called Seneka snakeroot, grows wild in 
all parts of the United States, but most abundantly in the southern and western 
sections, where the root is collected for sale. It is brought into market in bales 
weighing from fifty to four hundred pounds. 
Properties. As the root occurs in commerce, it is of various sizes, from that 
of a straw to that of the little finger, presenting a thick knotty head, which ex- 
hibits traces of the numerous stems. It is tapering, branched, variously twisted, 
often marked with crowded annular protuberances, and with a projecting keel- 
like line, extending along its whole length. The epidermis is corrugated, trans- 
versely cracked, of a yellowish-brown colour in the young roots, and brownish- 
gray in the old. In the smaller branches the colour is a lighter yellow. The 
bark is hard and resinous, and contains the active principles of the root. The 
central portion is ligneous, white, and quite inert, and should be rejected in the 
preparation of the powder. The colour of this is gray. The odour of seneka 
is peculiar, strong in the fresh root, but faint in the dried. The taste is at first 
sweetish and mucilaginous, but after chewing becomes somewhat pungent and 
acrid, leaving a peculiar irritating sensation in the fauces. These properties, as 
well as the medical virtues of the root, are extracted by boiling water and by 
alcohol. Diluted alcohol is an excellent solvent. The root has been analyzed 
by Gehlen, Peschier of Geneva, Fenenlle of Cambray, Dulong D’Astafort, 
Folchi, and Trommsdorff, and more recently by M. Quevenne. The senegin of 
Gehlen, though supposed at one time to be the active principle, has been ascer- 
tained to be a complex substance, and to have no just claim to the rank assigned 
to it. From a comparison of the results obtained by the above-mentioned 
chemists, it would appear that seneka contains, 1. a peculiar acrid principle, 
which M. Quevenne considers to be an acid, and has named polygalic acid; 2. 
a yellow colouring matter, of a bitter taste, insoluble or nearly so in water,, 
but soluble in ether and alcohol; 3. a volatile principle considered by some as 
an essential oil, but thought by Quevenne to possess acid properties, and named 
by him virgineic acid; 4. pectic acid or pectin; 5. tannic acid of the variety 
which precipitates iron green; 6. gum; 7. albumen; 8. cerin; 9. fixed oil; 10. 
woody fibre; and 11. saline and earthy substances, as the carbonates, sulphates, 
and phosphates of lime and potassa, chloride of potassium, alumina, magnesia, 
silica, and iron. The virtues of seneka appear to reside chiefly, if not exclusively, 
in the acrid principle which M. Quevenne called polygalic acid, and which he 
considered closely analogous to saponin. He obtained it pure by the following 
process. Powdered seneka is exhausted by alcohol of 33°, and so much of the 
alcohol is distilled off as to bring the resulting tincture to the consistence of 
syrup. The residue is treated with ether, in order to remove the fatty matter. 
The liquid upon standing deposits a precipitate, which is separated by filtration, 
and is then mixed with water. To the turbid solution thus formed alcohol is 
added, which facilitates the production of a white precipitate, consisting chiefly 
of polygalic acid. The liquid is allowed to stand for several days, that the pre- 
cipitate may be fully formed. The supernatant liquid being decanted, the pre- 
cipitate is drained upon a filter, and, being removed while yet moist, is dissolved 
by the aid of heat in alcohol of 36°. The solution is boiled with purified animal 
charcoal, and filtered while hot. Upon cooling it deposits the principle in ques- 
tion in a state of purity. Thus obtained, polygalic acid is a white powder, in- 
odorous, and of a taste at first slight, but soon becoming pungent and acrid, 
and producing a very painful sensation in the throat. It is fixed, unalterable in 
the air, inflammable, soluble in water slowly when cold and rapidly with the aid part I. 
Senega. 
767 
of beat, soluble in all proportions in boiling absolute alcohol, which deposits 
most of it on cooling, quite insoluble in ether and in the fixed and volatile oils, 
and possessed of the properties of reddening litmus and neutralizing the alka- 
lies. Its constituents are carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. M. Quevenne founu 
it, when given to dogs, to occasion vomiting, and much embarrassment in respi- 
ration, and in large quantities to destroy life. Dissection exhibited evidences of 
inflammation of the lungs; and frothy mucus was found in the stomach, oesopha- 
gus, and superior portion of the trachea, showing the tendency of this substance 
to increase the mucous secretion, and explaining in part the beneficial influence 
of seneka in croup. (Journ. de Pharm., xxii. 449, and xxiii. 227.) M. Bolley 
confirms the opinion of Quevenne as to the strong analogy between polygalic 
acid or senegin and saponin, if not their absolute identity, and considers them 
both as glucosides, resolvable by muriatic acid into glucose and a peculiar sub- 
stance called sapogenin. He represents the composition of senegin by the for- 
mula (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxvii. 45.) 
From the experiments of M. Quevenne it also appears that seneka yields its 
virtues to water, cold or hot, and to boiling alcohol; and that the extracts ob- 
tained by means of these liquids have the sensible properties of the root. But, 
under the influence of heat, a portion of the acrid principle unites with the 
colouring matter and coagulated albumen, and thus becomes insoluble in water; 
and the decoction, therefore, is not so strong as the infusion, if time is allowed, 
in the formation of the latter, for the- full action of the menstruum. If it be de- 
sirable to obtain the virtues of the root in the form of an aqueous extract, the 
infusion should be prepared on the principle of displacement; as it is thus most 
concentrated, and consequently requires less heat in its evaporation. In forming 
an infusion of seneka, the temperature of the water, according to M. Quevenne, 
should not exceed 104° F. 
The roots of Panax quinquefolium or ginseng are frequently mixed with the 
seneka, but are easily distinguishable by their shape and taste. Another root 
has been occasionally observed in parcels of seneka, supposed to be that of Gil- 
lenia trifoliata. This would be readily distinguished by its colour and shape 
(see Gillenia), and by its bitter taste without acrimony. One of the most char- 
acteristic marks of seneka is the projecting line running the whole length of the 
root, and appearing as though a thread were placed beneath the bark, and, being 
attached at the upper end, were drawn at the lower, so as to give the root a 
contorted shape. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Seneka is a stimulating expectorant and di- 
uretic, and in large doses emetic and cathartic. It appears indeed to excite 
more or less all the secretions, proving occasionally diaphoretic and emmena- 
gogue, and increasing the flow of saliva. Its action, however, is especially di- 
rected to the lungs; and its expectorant virtues are those for which it is chiefly 
employed. It was introduced into practice about a century ago by I)r. Tennant, 
of Virginia, who recommended it as a cure for the bite of the rattlesnake, and 
in various pectoral complaints. As an expectorant it is employed in cases not 
attended with acute inflammatory action, or in which the inflammation has been 
in great measure subdued. It is peculiarly useful in chronic catarrhal affections, 
the secondary stages of croup, and in peripneumonia notha after sufficient de- 
pletion. By Dr. Archer, of Maryland, it was recommended in the early stages 
of croup; but is now seldom given, unless in combination with squill and an 
antimonia), as in the Syrupus Scillse Compositus. Employed so as to purge and 
vomit, it bns proved useful in rheumatism; and some cases of dropsy are said to 
have been cured by it. It has also been recommended in amenorrhoea. 
The done of powdered seneka is from ten to twenty grains; but the medicine 
is more frequently administered in decoction. (See Decoctum Senegse.) A syrup 
and alcoholic extract are officinal. The dose of the former is one or two flui- 768 
Senega.—Senna. 
PART r. 
drachms, of the latter from one to three grains. A tincture is directed in the 
Br. Pharmacopoeia. Polygalic acid may be employed in the dose of from the 
fourth of a grain to a grain, and may be administered either in pill or powder, 
or dissolved in hot water, with the addition, in any of its forms, of gum and sugar 
to obtund its acrimony. A formula for its preparation, by Professor Procter, has 
been published in the Am. Journ. of Pharm., March, 1860, p. 150. 
Off. Prep. Decoctum Senegae, TJ. S.; Extractum Senegae Alcoholicum, U. S.; 
Infusum Senegae, Br.; Syrupus Scillae Compositus, U. S.; Syrupus Senegae, U. S.; 
Tinctura Senegae, Br. W. 
SENNA. U.S. 
Senna. 
The leaflets of Cassia acutifolia (Delile), of Cassia obovata (De Candolle), 
and of Cassia elongata {Lemaire). U.S. 
Off. Syn. SENNA ALEXANDRINA. Alexandrian Senna. Cassia lan- 
ceolata, Lamarck; and Cassia obovata. The Leaves. Br. SENNA INDICA. 
Tinnivelly Senna. Cassia elongata. The Leaves, from plants cultivated in 
Southern India. Br. 
S6116, Fr.; Sennesblat.er, Germ.; Senna, Ilal., Port.; Sen, Span. 
Cassia. See CASSrA FISTULA. 
The plants which yield senna belong to the genus Cassia, of which several 
species contribute to furnish the drug. These were confounded together by 
Linnaeus in a single species, which he named Cassia Senna. Since his time the 
subject has been more thoroughly investigated, especially by Delile, who accom- 
panied the French expedition to Egypt, and had an opportunity of examining 
the plant in its native country. Botanists at present distinguish at least three 
species, C. acutifolia, C. obovata, and C. elongata, as the source of commercial 
senna; and it is probable that two others, C. lanceolata of Forskhal and C. 
AEthiopica of Guibourt, contribute towards it. The first three are recognised 
by the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. 
1. Cassia acutifolia. Delile, Flore d’Egypte, lxxv. tab. 21, f. 1. — C. lanceo- 
lata. De Candolle; Carson, Illust. of Med. Bot. i. 34, pi. 27. This is described 
as a small undershrub, two or three feet high, with a straight, woody, branching, 
whitish stem; but, according to Landerer, the senna plant attains the height of 
eight or ten feet in the African deserts. The leaves are alternate and pinnate, 
with glandless footstalks, and two small narrow pointed stipules at the base. 
The leaflets, of which from four to six pairs belong to each leaf, are almost ses- 
sile, oval-lanceolate, acute, oblique at their base, nerved, from half an inch to an 
inch long, and of a yellowish-green colour. The flowers are yellow, and in axil- 
lary spikes. The fruit is a flat, elliptical, obtuse, membranous, smooth, grayish- 
brown, bivalvular legume, about an inch long and half an inch broad, scarcely 
if at all curved, and divided into six or seven cells, each containing a hard, heart- 
shaped, ash-coloured seed. C. acutifolia grows wild in great abundance in Upper 
Egypt, Nubia, Sennaar, and other parts of Africa. This species furnishes the 
greater part of the variety known in commerce by the name of Alexandria senna. 
2. Cassia obovata. Colladon, Monographic des Casses; De Cand. Prodrom. 
ii. 492; Carson, Illust. of Med. Bot. i. 35, pi. 28. The stem of this species is 
rather shorter than that of C. acutifolia, rising to the height of only a foot and 
a half. The leaves have from five to seven pairs of leaflets, which are obovate, 
very obtuse, sometimes mucronate, in other respects similar to those of the pre- 
ceding species. The flowers are in axillary spikes, of which the peduncles are 
longer than the leaves of the plant. The legumes are very much compressed, 
curved almost into the kidney form, of a greenish-brown colour, and covered 
with a very short down, which is perceptible only by the aid of a magnifying part I. 
Senna 
769 
glass. They contain from eight to ten seeds. The C. obtusata of Hayne, with' 
obovate, truncated, emarginate leaflets, is probably a mere variety of this spe- 
cies. The plant, which according to Merat is annual, grows wild in Syria, 
Egypt, and Senegambia; and is said to have been cultivated successfully in 
Italy, Spain, and the West Indies. It yields the variety of senna called in Europe 
Aleppo senna, and contributes to the Alexandrian. 
3. Cassia elongata. Lemaire, Journ. de Pharm. vii. 345; Fee, Journ. de 
Chim. Med. vi. 232; Carson, Illust. of Med. Bot. i. 36, pi. 29. This name was 
conferred by M. Lemaire upon the plant from which the India senna of com- 
merce is derived. The botanical description was completed by M. Fee, from 
dried specimens of the leaves and fruit found by him in unassorted parcels of 
this variety of senna. Dr. Wallich afterwards succeeded in raising the plant from 
seeds found in a parcel of senna taken to Calcutta from Arabia; and it has been 
described by Dr. Royle, Wight & Arnott, and Dr. Lindley. As usually grown, 
it is annual; but with care it may be made to live through the year, and then 
assumes the character of an undershrub. It has an erect, smooth stem, and pin- 
nate leaves, with from four to eight pairs of leaflets. These are nearly sessile, 
lanceolate, obscurely mucronate, oblique at the base, smooth above and some- 
what downy beneath, with the veins turned inwards so as to form a wavy line 
immediately within the edge of the leaflet. The most striking character of the 
leaflet is its length, which varies from an inch to twenty lines. The petioles are 
without glands; the stipules minute, spreading, and semi-hastate. The flowers 
are bright-yellow, and arranged in axillary and terminal racemes, rather longer 
than the leaves. The legume is oblong, membranous, tapering abruptly at the 
base, rounded at the apex, and an inch and a half long by somewhat more than 
half an inch broad. This plant is a native of the southern parts of Arabia. It 
has been said also to grow in the interior of India, and is at present cultivated 
at Tinnevelly for medical use. 
Besides the three officinal species above described, the C. lanceolate of 
Forskhal, found by that author growing in the deserts of Arabia, is admi tted 
by Lindley and others as a distinct species. Some difference, however, of 
opinion exists upon this point. De Candolle considered it a variety of the C. 
acutifolia of Delile, from which it differs chiefly in having leaflets with glandular 
petioles; and, as Forskhal’s description preceded that of Delile, he designated 
the species by the name of C. lanceolata. Forskhal’s plant has been supposed by 
some to be the source of the India or Mocha senna; but the leaflets in this va- 
riety are much longer than those of C. lanceolata, from which the plant differs 
also in having no gland on the petiole. Niebuhr informs us that he found the 
Alexandria senna growing in the Arabian territory of Abaarish, whence it is 
taken by the Arabs to Mecca and Jedda. This is probably the C. lanceolata of 
Forskhal. It is highly probable that this species is the source of a variety of 
senna which has been brought to this market under the name of Mecca senna.* 
Cassia PEthiopica of Guibourt ( C. ovata of Merat), formerly confounded with 
* The following are the botanical characters of this and the next-mentioned species. 
1. C. lanceolata. Forskhal; Lindley, Flor.Med. p. 259. “Leaflets in four or five pairs, 
never more; oblong, and either acute or obtuse, not at all ovate or lanceolate, and per- 
fectly free from downiness even when young; the petioles have constantly a small round 
brown gland, a little above the base. The pods are erect, oblong, tapering to the base, 
obtuse, turgid, mucronate, rather falcate, especially when young, at which time they are 
sparingly covered with coarse scattered hairs.” [Lindley.) 
2. C. JEthiopica. Guibourt, Hist. Ab. des Drogues, $c. ii. 219; Lindley, Flor. Med. p. 259. 
The plant is about eighteen inches high. The footstalks have a gland at the base, and 
another between each pair of leaflets. There are from three to five pairs of leaflets, which 
are pubescent, oval-lanceolate, from seven to nine lines in length, and three or four in 
breadth, rather shorter and less acute than those of C. acutifolia. The legume is flat, 
smooth, not reniform, rounded, about an inch long, with from three to five seeds. 770 
Senna 
PART I. 
C. acutifoiia, is considered by Dr. Lindley as undoubtedly a distinct species. It 
grows in Nubia, Fezzan to the south of Tripoli, and probably, according to 
Guibourt, throughout Ethiopia. It is from this plant that the Tripoli senna of 
commerce is derived. 
Commercial History. Several varieties of this valuable drug are known in 
commerce. Of these, four have been received in America, the Alexandria, the 
Tripoli, the India, and the Mecca senna. 
1. Alexandria Senna. Though the name of this variety is derived from the 
Egyptian port at which it is shipped, it is in fact gathered very far in the inte- 
rior. The Alexandria senna does not consist exclusively of the product of one 
species of Cassia. The history of its preparation is not destitute of interest. 
The senna plants of Upper Egypt yield two crops annually, one in spring and 
the other in autumn. They are gathered chiefly in the country beyond Sienne. 
The natives cut the plants, and, having dried them in the sun, strip olf the leaves 
and pods, which they pack in bales, and send to Boulac, in the vicinity of Cairo, 
the great entrepot for this article of Egyptian commerce. This senna from 
Upper Egypt, consisting chiefly though not exclusively of the product of C. acuti- 
foiia, was here formerly mixed with the leaflets of C. obovata, brought from other 
parts of Egypt, and even from Syria, with the leaves of Cynanchum olesefolium 
(C. Argel of Delile), known commonly by the name of argel or arguel, and 
sometimes with those of Tephrosia Apollinea of De Candolle, a leguminous 
plant growing in Egypt and Nubia. According to M. Royer, the proportions 
in which the three chief constituents of this mixture were added together, were 
five parts of C. acutifoiia, three of C. obovata, and two of Cynanchum. Thus 
prepared, the senna was again packed in bales, and transmitted to Alexandria. 
Rut at present there is no such uniformity in the constitution of Alexandria 
senna; and, though the three chief ingredients may still sometimes be found in 
it, they are not in the same fixed proportions; and not uufrequently the Cynan- 
chum leaves are wholly wanting. This variety of senna is often called in French 
pharmaceutic works sene de la pallhe, a name derived from an impost formerly 
laid upon it by the Ottoman Porte. 
A parcel of Alexandria senna, as it was formerly brought to market, consisted 
of the following ingredients: — 1. The leaflets of C. acutifoiia, characterized by 
their acute form, and their length almost always less than an inch; 2. the leaf- 
lets of C. obovata, known by their rounded very obtuse summit, which is some- 
times furnished with a small projecting point, and by their gradual diminution 
in breadth towards their base; 3. the pods, broken leafstalks, flowers, and fine 
fragments of other parts of one or both of these species; 4. the leaves of Cynan- 
chum oleasfolium, which are distinguishable by their length, almost always more 
than an inch, their greater thickness and firmness, the absence of any visible lateral 
nerves on their under surface, their somewhat lighter colour, and the regularity 
of their base. In this last character they strikingly differ from the genuine senna 
leaflets, which, from whatever species derived, are always marked by obliquity 
at their base, one side being inserted in the petiole at a point somewhat lower 
than the other, and at a different angle. Discrimination between this and the 
other ingredients is of some importance, as the cynanchum must be considered 
an adulteration. It is said by the French writers to produce hypercatharsis and 
much irritation of the bowels; but was found by Christison and Mayer to occa- 
sion griping and protracted nausea, with little purgation. The flowers and fruit 
of the Cynanchum were also often present, the former white, and in small corymbs, 
the latter an ovoid follicle rather larger than an orange seed. Besides the above 
constituents of Alexandria senna, it occasionally contained leaflets of genuine 
senna, much longer than those of the acutifoiia or obovata, equalling in this re- 
spect the Cynanchum, which they also somewhat resembled in form. They were 
distinguishable, however, by their greater thinness, the distinctness of their part I, 
Senna. 
lateral nerves, and the irregularity of their base. The leaflets and fruit of Te- 
phrosia Apollinea, which have been an occasional impurity in this variety of 
senna, may be distinguished, the former by their downy surface, their obovate- 
oblong, emarginate shape, their parallel unbranched lateral nerves, and by being 
usually folded longitudinally; the latter, by its dimensions, being from an inch 
to an inch and a half long, and only two lines broad. As now imported, Alex- 
andria senna is often quite free from the leaves of Cynanchum, and may have 
few or none of the leaflets of obovate senna. It is probably brought directly to 
Alexandria from Upper Egypt, without having undergone intermixture at Boulac 
or other intervening place. In Europe, this senna is said to have been sometimes 
adulterated with the leaflets of Gollutea arborescens or bladder senna, and the 
leaves of Coriaria myrtifolia, a plant of Southern Europe, said to be astringent 
and even poisonous. An account of the former of these plants is given in Part III. 
The leaflets of the Coriaria are ovate-lanceolate, grayish-green with a bluish tint, 
and are readily known, when not too much broken up, by their strongly marked 
midrib, and two lateral nerves running from the base nearly to the summit. They 
are chemically distinguished by giving a whitish precipitate with solution of 
gelatin, and a bluish-black one with the salts of sesquioxide of iron, proving the 
presence of tannin. Their poisonous properties are denied by Peschier. Accord- 
ing to Bouchardat, they are closely analogous to strychnia in their effects. Ac- 
cording to Prof. Bentley, the adulteration of Alexandria senna with argel, though 
for some time suspended, has of late years been resumed, and is now practised to 
a considerable extent, at least in relation to the drug as it reaches the English 
market. (Pharm. Journ., April, 1861, p. 497.) 
2. Tripoli Senna. Genuine Tripoli senna consists in general exclusively of 
the leaflets of one species of Cassia, formerly considered as a variety of G. acu- 
tifolia, but now admitted to be distinct, and named G. JEthiopica. The leaflets, 
however, are much broken up; and it is probably on this account that the va- 
riety is usually, less esteemed than the Alexandrian. The aspect given to it by 
this state of comminution, and by the uniformity of its constitution, enables the 
eye at once to distinguish it from the other varieties of senna. The leaflets, 
moreover, are shorter, less acute, thinner, and more fragile than those of C. acu- 
tifolia in Alexandria senna; and their nerves are much less distinct. The gen- 
eral opinion at one time was, that it was brought from Sennaar and Nubia to 
Tripoli in caravans; but it is reasonably asked by M. Fee, how it could be af- 
forded at a' cheaper price than the Alexandrian, if thus brought on the backs of 
camels a distance of eight hundred leagues through the desert. It is probably 
collected in Fezzan, immediately south of Tripoli. 
3. India Senna. This variety is in Europe sometimes called Mocha senna, 
probably because obtained originally from that port. It derives its name of India 
senna from the route by which it reaches us. Though produced in Arabia, it is 
brought to this and Europe from Calcutta, Bombay, and possibly other 
ports of Hindostan. It consists of the leaflets of Cassia elongata, with some of 
the leafstalks and pods intermixed. The.eye is at once struck by the great length 
and comparative narrowness of the leaflets, so that the variety may be readily 
distinguished. The pike-like shape of the leaflet has given rise to the name of 
sene de la pique, by which it is known in French pharmacy. Many of the leaf- 
lets have a yellowish, dark-brown, or blackish colour, probably from exposure 
after collection; and the variety has commonly in mass a characteristic dull 
tawny hue. It is generally considered inferior in purgative power. Leaflets of 
a senna resembling the Indian were brought by Dr. Livingstone from Southern 
Africa, where the plant grows abundantly. (Bentley, Pharm. Journ., xvii. 499.) 
A variety of India senna has reached this country, which is the produce of 
Hindostan, being cultivated at Tinnevelly, and probably other places in the 
south of the Peninsula. The plant was originally raised from seeds obtained 772 
Senna 
PART I. 
from the Red Sea, and is the same as that from which the common India senna 
is derived. The drug is exported from Madras to England, where it is known 
by the name of Tinnevelly senna. It is a fine unmixed variety, consisting of 
unbroken leaflets, from one to two or more inches long, and sometimes half an 
inch in their greatest breadth, thin, flexible, and of a fine green colour. 
4. Mecca Senna. Since the publication of the fifth edition of this Dispensa- 
tory, a variety of senna has been imported under the name of Mecca senna, 
consisting of the leaflets, pods, broken stems, and petioles of a single species of 
Cf,ssia. The leaflets are oblong-lanceolate, on the average longer and narrower 
than those of C. acutifolia, and shorter than those of C. elongata. The variety 
in mass has a yellowish or tawny hue, more like that of India than that of Alex- 
andria senna. May it not be the product of the C. lanceolata of Forskhal ? 
Landerer, however, speaks of a valuable variety of senna, characterized by the 
large size of the leaflets, and sold under the name of Mecca senna, which he says 
comes from the interior of Africa. 
Commercial senna is prepared for use by picking out the leaflets, and reject- 
ing the leafstalks, the small fragments, and the leaves of other plants. The pods 
are also rejected by some apothecaries; but they possess considerable cathartic 
power, though said to be milder than the leaves. 
Properties. The odour of senna is faint and sickly; the taste slightly bitter, 
sweetish, and nauseous. Water and diluted alcohol extract its active principles. 
Pure alcohol extracts them but imperfectly. (Bley and Diesel, Pharm. Central 
Platt, Feb. 1849, p. 126.) The leaves are said to yield about one-third of their 
weight to boiling water. The infusion is of a deep reddish-brown colour, and 
has the odour and taste of the leaves. When exposed to the air for a short time, 
it deposits a yellowish insoluble precipitate, supposed to result from the union 
of extractive matter with oxygen. The nature of this precipitate, however, is 
not well understood. Decoction also produces some change in the principles of 
senna, by which its medicinal virtues have been supposed to be impaired; but 
some experiments of B. Heerlein would seem to show that this opinion is incor- 
rect. An extract prepared by boiling down an infusion, redissolving the residue, 
and again boiling down to a solid consistence, was found to operate actively in 
a dose equivalent to a drachm of the leaves. (Pharm. Cent. Platt, A. D. 1851, p. 
909.) To diluted alcohol it imparts the same reddish-brown colour as to water; 
but rectified alcohol and ether, digested upon the powdered leaves, become of a 
deep olive-green. The analysis of senna by MM. Lassaigne and Feneulle fur- 
nished the following results. The leaves contain — 1. a peculiar principle called 
cathartin; 2. chlorophyll, or the green colouring matter of leaves; 3. a fixed 
oil; 4. a small quantity of volatile oil; 5. albumen; 6. a yellow colouring mat- 
ter; 7. mucilage; 8. salts of the vegetable acids, viz., malate and tartrate of lime 
and acetate of potassa; and 9. mineral salts. The pods are composed of the 
same principles, with the exception of chlorophyll, the place ofcwhich is supplied 
by a peculiar colouring matter. (Journ. de Pharm., vii. 548, and ix. 58.) Ca- 
thartin was thought to be the active principle of senna; but upon trial it has 
proved to possess little power; and it is now believed to be a complex body, 
consisting, according to Bley and Diesel, of a mixture of resinous and extractive 
matter. It is an uncrystallizable substance, having a peculiar smell, a bitter, nau- 
seous taste, and a reddish-yellow colour; is soluble in every proportion in water 
and alcohol, but insoluble in ether; and in its dry state attracts moisture from 
the air. It is prepared in the following manner. To a filtered decoction of senna 
the solution of acetate of lead is added; and the precipitate which forms is sepa- 
rated. A stream of hydrosulphuric acid is then made to pass through the liquor 
in order to precipitate the lead, and the sulphuret produced is removed by filtra- 
tion. The liquid is now evaporated to the consistence of an extract; the product 
is treated with rectified alcohol; and the alcoholic solution is evaporated. To part I. 
Senna.—Serpentaria. 
773 
the extract thus obtained sulphuric acid diluted with alcohol is added, in order 
to decompose the acetate of potassa which it contains; the sulphate of potassa 
is separated by filtration; the excess of sulphuric acid by acetate of lead; the 
excess of acetate of lead by hydrosulphuric acid; and the sulphuret of lead by 
another filtration. The liquid being now evaporated yields cathartin. This sub- 
stance must not be confounded with a purgative principle, also called cathartin, 
which exists in Rhamnus catharticus. Bley and Diesel found in senna a peculiar 
yellow resin which they name chrysoretin, a brown resin and brown extractive 
which they could not fully separate, pectin, gummy extractive, chlorophyll, fatty 
matter, and various salts. (Pharm. Gent. Blatt, Feb. 1849, p. 126.) 
Incompatibles. Many substances produce precipitates with the infusion of 
senna; but it does not follow that they are all medicinally incompatible; as 
they may remove ingredients which have no therapeutical effect, and leave the 
active principles untouched. Cathartin is precipitated by infusion of galls and 
solution of subacetate of lead. Acetate of lead and tartarized antimony, which 
disturb the infusion, have no effect upon the solution of this substance. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Senna was first used as a medicine by the 
Arabians. It was noticed in their writings so early as the ninth century; and 
the name itself is Arabic. It is a prompt, efficient, and very safe purgative, well 
calculated for fevers and febrile complaints, and other cases in which a decided 
but not violent impression is desired. A disadvantage is that it is apt to pro- 
duce severe griping. This effect, however, may be obviated by combining with 
the senna some aromatic, and some one of the alkaline salts, especially bitartrate 
of potassa, tartrate of potassa, or sulphate of magnesia. The explanation which 
attributes the griping property to the oxidized extractive, and its prevention 
by the saline substances to their influence in promoting the solubility of that 
principle, is not satisfactory. The purgative effect of senna is considerably in- 
creased by combination with bitters; a fact noticed by Cullen, and abundantly 
confirmed by subsequent experience. The decoction of guaiac is said to exert a 
similar influence. Senna yields one or more of its principles to the urine; as, 
from twenty to thirty minutes after it has been taken, this secretion acquires the 
property of being reddened by ammonia. (Journ. de Pharm., Aout, 1863, p. 161.) 
The dose of senna in powder is from half a drachm to two drachms; but its bulk 
renders it of inconvenient administration; and it is not often prescribed in this 
state. Besides, the powder is said to undergo decomposition, and to become 
mouldy on exposure to a damp air. The form of infusion is almost universally 
preferred. (See Infusum Sennae.) The medicine is also used in the forms of con- 
fection, fluid extract, syrup, and tincture, all of which are officinal. 
Senna taken by nurses is said to purge sucking infants, and an infusion in- 
jected into the veins operates as a cathartic. 
Off. Prep. Confectio Sennae; Extractum Sennae Fluidum, U. S.; Infusum 
Sennae; Syrupus Sarsaparillae Compositus, U. S.; Syrupus Sennas, Br.; Tinc- 
tura Rhei et Sennae, U.S.; Tinctura Sennae, Br W. 
SERPENTARIA. U.S.,Br. 
Serpentaria. Virginia Snakeroot. 
The root of Aristolochia Serpentaria, of Aristolochia reticulata, and of other 
species of Aristolochia. U. S. Aristolochia Serpentaria. Serpentary. The dried 
root. Br. 
Serpentaire de Virginie, Fr.; Virginianiscke Scklangenwurzel, Germ.; Serpentaria Vir- 
giniana, Ital., Span. 
Aristolochia. Sex. Syst. GynandriaHexandria. — Nat.Ord. Aristolochiaceae. 
Gen.Ch. Calyx none. Corolla one-petaled, ligulate, ventricose at the base. 
Capsules six-celled, many-seeded, inferior. Willd. Serpentaria. 
PART I. 
Many species of Aristolochia have been employed in medicine. The roots 
of all of them are tonic and stimulant; and their supposed possession of em- 
menagogue properties has given origin to the name of the genus. A. Clema- 
tilis, A. longa, A. rotunda, and A. Pistolochia are still retained in many officinal 
catalogues of the continent of Europe, where they are indigenous. The root of 
A. Clemalitis is very long, cylindrical, as thick as a goosequill or thicker, va- 
riously contorted, beset with the remains of the stems and radicles, of a grayish- 
brown colour, a strong peculiar odour, and an acrid bitter taste; that of A. 
longa is spindle-shaped, from a few inches to a foot in length, of the thickness 
of the thumb or thicker, fleshy, very brittle, grayish externally, brownish-yellow 
within, bitter, and of a strong disagreeable odour when fresh ; that of A. rotunda 
is tuberous, roundish, heavy, fleshy, brownish on the exterior, grayish-yellow 
internally, and similar to the preceding in odour and taste; that of A. Pistolo- 
chia consists of numerous slender yellowish or brownish fibres, attached to a 
common head, and possessed of an agreeable aromatic odour, with a taste bitter 
and somewhat acrid. Many species of Aristolochia growing in the West Indies, 
Mexico, and South America, have attracted attention for their medicinal proper- 
ties ; and some, like our own snakeroot, have acquired the reputation of antidotes 
for the bites of serpents. In the East Indies, A. Indica is employed for similar 
purposes with the European and American species; and the Arabians are said 
by Forskhal to use the leaves of A. sempervirens as a counter-poison. We have 
in the United States six species, of which four — A. Serpentaria, A. hirsuta, A. 
hastata, and A. reticulata — contribute to furnish the snakeroot of the shops. 
Aristolochia Serpentaria. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 159 ; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. 
iii. 82; Barton, Med. Bot. ii. 41. This species of Aristolochia is an herbaceous 
plant, with a perennial root, which consists of numerous slender fibres proceed- 
ing from a short horizontal caudex. Several stems often rise from the same root. 
They are about eight or ten inches in height, slender, round, fiexuose, jointed at 
irregular distances, and frequently reddish or purple at the base. The leaves 
are oblong-cordate, acuminate, entire, of a pale yellowish-green colour, and 
supported on short petioles at the joints of the stem. The flowers proceed 
from the joints near the root, and stand singly on long, slender, round, jointed 
peduncles, which are sometimes furnished with one or two small scales, and bend 
downwards so as nearly to bury the flower in the earth or decayed leaves. There 
is no calyx. The corolla is purple, monopetalous, tubular, swelling at the base, 
contracted and curved in the middle, and terminating in a labiate border with 
lanceolate lips. The anthers—six or twelve in number—are sessile, attached to 
the under part of the stigma, which is roundish, divided into six parts, and sup- 
ported by a short fleshy style upon an oblong, angular, hairy, inferior germ. 
The fruit is a hexangular, six-celled capsule, containing several small flat seeds. 
The plant grows in rich shady woods, throughout the Middle, Southern, and 
Western States, abounding in the valley of the Ohio, and in the mountainous 
regions of our interior. It flowers in May and June. The root is collected in 
Western Pennsylvania and Virginia, in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky, and is 
brought eastward chiefly by the routes of Wheeling and Pittsburg. As it reaches 
Philadelphia, it is usually in bales containing about one hundred pounds, and 
is often mixed with the leaves and stems of the plant, and with dirt from which 
it has not been properly cleansed at the time of collection. 
A. hirsuta. Muhlenberg, Catalogue, p. 81; Bridges, Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
xiv. 121. In Muhlenberg’s Catalogue this species was named without being 
described; and botanists, supposing from the name that it was identical with A. 
tomentosa, generally confounded the two plants. But they are entirely distinct. 
A description of A. hirsuta in the handwriting of Muhlenberg, and a labelled 
specimen of the plant, in the possession of the Academy of Natural .Sciences 
of this city, have been found to correspond with a dried specimen received by PART i. 
Serpentaria. 
the author from Virginia. A. tomentosa is a climbing plant, growing in Louisi- 
ana on the banks of the Mississippi, and ascending to the summit of the highest 
trees. A plant in the garden of the author has a thick, creeping root, entirely 
different in shape from that of the officinal species, though possessed of an analo- 
gous odour. A. hirsuta has a root like that of A. Serpentaria, consisting of a 
knotty caudex, sending out numerous slender simple fibres, sometimes as much as 
six inches in length. From this arise several jointed, flexuose, pubescent stems, 
less than a foot high, with one or two pubescent bractes, and several large round- 
ish-cordate leaves, of which the lower are obtuse, the upper abruptly acuminate, 
and all pubescent on both sides and at the margin. From the joints near the 
root originate from one to three solitary peduncles, each bearing three or four- 
leafy bractes and one flower. The peduncles, bractes, and corolla are all hairy. 
This species grows in Virginia, and perhaps other parts of the Western and 
Southern States. It probably contributes to afford the serpentaria of commerce; 
as its leaves have been found in bales of the drug. 
A. hastata. Nuttall,(?en. of V. Am. Plants, p. 200.—A. sagittata. Muhl. Gatal. 
This species, if indeed it can be considered a distinct species, differs from A. 
Serpentaria in having hastate, acute, somewhat cordate leaves, and the lip of 
the corolla ovate. It flourishes on the banks of the Mississippi, in the Carolinas, 
and elsewhere. Its root scarcely differs from that of the officinal plant, and is 
frequently mixed with it, as proved by the presence of the characteristic leaves 
of A. hastata in the parcels brought into market. 
A. reticulata. Nuttall; Bridges, Am. Journ. of Pharm., xvi. 118; Carson, 
Illust. of Med. Bot. ii. 32, pi. 77. This plant was probably first observed by Mr. 
Nuttall; as a specimen labelled “A. reticulata, Red river,” in the handwriting 
of that botanist, is contained in the Herbarium of the Academy of Natural Sci- 
ences of Philadelphia. From this specimen, as well as from others found in par- 
cels of the drug brought into market, a description was drawn up by Dr. Robert 
Bridges, and published in the Am. Journ. of Pharmacy. From a root, similar 
to that of A. Serpentaria, numerous short, slender, round, flexuose, jointed stems 
arise, usually simple, but sometimes branched near the root. The older stems are 
slightly villous, the young densely pubescent. The leaves, which stand on very 
short villous petioles, are round or oblong-cordate, obtuse, reticulate, very promi- 
nently veined, and villous on both sides, especially upon the veins. From the 
lower joints of the stem four or five hairy, jointed peduncles proceed, which bear 
small leafy villous bractes at the joints, and several flowers on short pedicels. 
The flowers are small, purplish, and densely pubescent, especially at the base and 
on the germ. The hexangular capsule is deeply silicate. This species grows in 
Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, and the Indian Territory west of that State. 
Bales of a new variety of serpentaria were some years since brought to Phila- 
delphia, which is certainly the product of this species; as specimens of all parts 
of the plant have been found in the bales, and the roots, which differ somewhat 
from those before known, are homogeneous in character. One of these bales was 
brought from New Orleans, and was said to have come down the Red river, and 
to have been collected by the Indians. The chief difference between this and 
ordinary Virginia snakeroot is in the size of the radicles, which are much thicker 
and less interlaced in the new variety. Each root has usually a considerable por- 
tion of one or more stems attached to the caudex. The colour is yellowish. The 
odour and taste ai-e scarcely if at all distinguishable from those of common ser- 
pentaria; and there is no doubt that the root is equally effectual as a medicine. 
From a chemical examination by Mr. Thomas S. VViegand, it appears to have 
the same constituents, and to differ only in containing a somewhat larger pro- 
portion of gum, extractive, and volatile oil. 
Properties. Virginia snakeroot, as found in the shops, is in tufts of long, 
blender, frequently interlaced, and brittle fibres, attached to a short, contorted. 776 
Serpentaria.—Sesami Folium.—Oleum Sesami. 
PART I. 
knotty head or caudex. The colour, which in the recent root is yellowish, 
oecomes brown by time. That of the powder is grayish. The smell is strong, 
aromatic, and camphorous; the taste warm, very bitter, and also camphorous. 
The root yields all its virtues to water and alcohol, producing with the former 
a yellowish-brown infusion, with the latter a bright-greenish tincture, rendered 
turbid by the addition of water. Chevallier found in the root volatile oil, a 
yellow bitter principle soluble in water and alcohol, resin, gum, starch, albumen, 
lignin, and various salts. Bucholz obtained from 1000 parts, 5 of a green, fragrant 
volatile oil, 28’5 of a yellowish-green resin, 17 of extractive matter, 181 of 
gummy extract, 624 of lignin, and 144 5 of water. The active ingredients are 
probably the volatile oil, and the yellow bitter principle of Chevallier, which 
that chemist considers analogous to the bitter principle of quassia. The volatile 
oil passes over with water in distillation, rendering the liquid milky, and im- 
pregnating it with the odour of the root. Dr. Bigelow states that the liquid, on 
standing, deposits small crystals of camphor. 
The roots of Spigelia, Marilandica are sometimes found associated with ser- 
pentaria. They may be distinguished by the absence of the bitter taste, and, 
when the stem and foliage are attached, by the peculiar character of these parts 
of the plant. (See Spigelia.) We have occasionally seen the young roots of 
Polygala Senega mixed with serpentaria. Independently of their difference in 
odour and taste, they may be readily distinguished by being simple, and by a 
projecting line running from one end to the other of the root. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Serpentaria is a stimulant tonic, acting also as 
a diaphoretic or diuretic, according to the mode of its application. Too largely 
taken, it occasions nausea, griping pains in the bowels, sometimes vomiting and 
dysenteric tenesmus. It is adapted to the treatment of typhoid fevers, whether 
idiopathic or symptomatic, when the system begins to feel the necessity for sup- 
port, but is unable to bear active stimulation. In exanthematous diseases in 
which the eruption is tardy or has receded, and the grade of action is low, it is 
thought to be useful by promoting the cutaneous affection. It has also been 
highly recommended in intermittent fevers; and, though itself generally inade- 
quate to the cure of the complaint, often proves serviceable as an adjunct to 
Peruvian bark or sulphate of quinia. With the same remedies it is frequently 
associated in the treatment of typhous diseases. It is sometimes given in dys- 
pepsia, and is employed as a gargle in malignant sorethroat. 
The dose of the powdered root is from ten to thirty grains; but the infusion 
is almost always preferred. (Seelnfusum Serpentarise.) The decoction or ex- 
tract would be an improper form; as the volatile oil, upon which the virtues of 
the medicine partly depend, is dissipated by bbiling. There is, however, an 
officinal fluid extract, which is an efficient preparation. 
Off. Prep. Extractum Serpentaria) Fluidum, U. S.; Infusum Serpentarise; 
Tinctura Cinchonae Composita; Tinctura Serpentaria). W. 
SESAMI FOLIUM. U.S. Secondary. 
Benne Leaf. 
The leaves of Sesamum Indicum, and of Sesamum orientale. U. S. 
OLEUM SESAMI. U.S. Secondary. 
Benne Oil. 
The oil of the seeds of Sesamum Indicum, and of Sesamum orientale. U. S. 
Sesame, Fr.; Sesam, Germ.; Sesamo, Ital.; Anjonjoli, Span. 
Sesamum. Sex.Syst. Didynamia Angiospermia.—Nat.Ord. Bignoniae, Juss. 
Pedaliaceae R. Brown, Lindley. PART I. 
Sesami Folium.—Oleum Sesami.—Sevum. 
777 
Gen. Cli. Calyx five-parted. Corolla bell-shaped, five-cleft, with the lower 
lobe largest. Stamens five, the fifth a rudiment. Stigma lanceolate. Capsule 
four-celled. Willd. 
Sesamum orientale. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 358; Rheed. Eort. Malab. ix. 54 
“Leaves ovate-oblong, entire.” 
Sesamum Indicum. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 359 ; Curtis, Bot. Mag. vol. xli. t 
1688. “ Leaves ovate-lanceolate, the inferior three-lobed, the superior undivided 
Stem erect.” There is reason to believe that this species is the one chiefly cul- 
tivated in our Southern States. At least we have found plants, raised in Phila- 
delphia from seeds obtained from Georgia, to have its specific character, as 
given by Willdenow. 
The benne plant of our Southern States is annual, with a branching stem four 
or five feet high, and bearing opposite, petiolate leaves, varying considerably in 
their shape. Those on the upper part of the plant are ovate-lanceolate, irregu- 
larly serrate, and pointed; those near the base three-lobed and sometimes ternate; 
and lobed leaves are not uncommon at all distances from the ground. The flowers 
are reddish-white, and stand solitarily upon short peduncles in the axils of the 
leaves. The fruit is an oblong capsule, with small, oval, yellowish seeds. 
These two species of Sesamum are natives of the East Indies, and have been 
cultivated from time immemorial in various parts of Asia and Africa. From the 
latter continent it is supposed that seeds were brought by the negroes to the 
United States, where, as well as in the West Indies, one or. both species are 
now cultivated to a considerable extent. The plant above described will grow 
vigorously in the gardens so far north as Philadelphia, though it does not 
usually ripen its seeds in this vicinity. 
The seeds are employed as food by the negroes, who parch them over the fire, 
boil them in broths, make them into puddings, and prepare them in various 
other modes. By expression they yield a fixed oil, which, as well as the leaves, 
has been introduced into the secondary catalogue of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. 
M. Berjot obtained 53 per cent, of the oil by means of bisulphuret of carbon. 
' 1. Benne Leaves. These abound in a gummy matter, which they readily im- 
part to water, forming a rich, bland mucilage, much used in the Southern States 
as a drink in various complaints, to which demulcents are applicable; as in 
cholera infantum, diarrhoea, dysentery, catarrh, and affections of the urinary 
passages. The remedy has attracted attention also in the North, and has been 
employed with favourable results in Philadelphia. One' or two fresh leaves of 
full size, stirred about in half a pint of cool water, will soon render it sufficiently 
viscid. If dried, they should be introduced into hot water. The leaves also serve 
for the preparation of emollient cataplasms. 
2. Benne Oil. This is inodorous, of a bland, sweetish taste, and will keep long 
without becoming rancid. It bears some resemblance to olive oil in its proper- 
ties, and may be used for similar purposes. It was known to the ancient Persians 
and Egyptians, and is highly esteemed by the modern Arabs and other people 
of the East, both as food, and as an external application to promote softness 
of the skin. Like olive oil, it is laxative in large doses. W. 
SEVUM. US. 
Suet. 
The prepared suet of Ovis Aries. U.S. 
Off. Syn. SEVUM P R zE PA RAT U M. Prepared Suet. Ovis Aries. The 
Sheep. The internal Fat of the abdomen purified by melting and straining. Br 
Suif, Graisse de rnouton, Fr.; Ilammelstalg, Germ.; Grasse duro, Ital.; Sebo, Span. 
Suet is the fat of the sheep, taken chiefly from about the kidneys. It is pre- 
pared by cutting the fat into pieces, melting it with a moderate heat, and strain- 778 
Sevum.—Simaruba. 
PART I. 
ing it through linen or flannel. In order to avoid too great a heat, the crude 
suet is sometimes purified by boiling it in a little water. 
Mutton suet is of a firmer consistence, and requires a higher temperature for 
its fusion than any other animal fat. It is very white, sometimes brittle, inodor- 
ous, of a bland taste, insoluble in water, and nearly so in alcohol. Boiling alco- 
hol, however, dissolves it, and deposits it upon cooling. It consists, according 
to Chevreul, of stearin, olein, and a small proportion of hircin. The two first- 
mentioned principles are described under the Fixed Oils (page 567). Hircin 
is a liquid like olein, from which it differs in being much more soluble in alcohol, 
and in yielding hircic acid by saponification. 
Suet acquires by time an unpleasant smell, and becomes unfit for pharma- 
ceutic purposes. It is employed to give a proper consistence to ointments, 
cerates, and plasters, and sometimes as a dressing to blisters. 
Off. Prep. Ceratum Ilesinae Corapositum, U. S.; Emplastrum Cantharidis, Br.; 
tJnguentum Hydrargyri, TJ. S.; Unguentum Picis Liquid®, U. S. W. 
SIMARUBA. U.S. Secondary 
Simaruba. 
The bark of the root of Simaruba officinalis. U. S. 
Ecorce de simarouba, Fr.; Simarubarinde, Germ.; Corteccia di simaruba, Ital.; Corteza 
de simaruba, Span. 
Quassia. See QUASSIA. 
Quassia Simaruba. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 568 ; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 569, t. 
203. — Simaruba officinalis. De Cand. Prodrom. i. 733. — S. amara. Aublet; 
Lindley, Flor. Med. p. 207. As this plant is unisexual, it belongs to the genus 
Simaruba of De Candolle and Lindley, those only being placed by these bota- 
nists in the genus Quassia which are hermaphrodite. But, as the Linn®an 
arrangement was adhered to in the case of Quassia excelsa, we continue to ad- 
here to it in relation to this plant. (See Quassia.) It is a tree of considerable 
height and thickness, having alternate branches, with a bark which in the old 
tree is black and somewhat furrowed, in the young is smooth, gray, and marked 
here and there with broad yellow spots. The leaves are alternate and abruptly 
pinnate, with a naked petiole, to which the leaflets are alternately attached by 
short footstalks.. The leaflets are nearly elliptical, on the upper surface smooth 
and deep-green, on the'under whitish. The flowers are yellow, and in long axil- 
lary panicles. In some descriptions they are stated to be monoecious, in others 
dioecious. According to Dr. Wright, the female flowers are never found in 
Jamaica on the same tree with the male. The number of stamens is ten. 
The tree is found in the West Indies and Guyana. In Jamaica it is called 
the mountain damson. The Simaruba amara of Aublet, which grows in Guyana, 
and has generally been considered identical with Q. Simaruba, is believed by 
Hayne to be a distinct species; the Jamaica plant having dioecious, while this 
has monoecious flowers. The bark of the root is the part employed; the wood 
itself being nearly tasteless and inert. 
Simaruba bark is in long pieces, some inches in breadth, folded lengthwise, 
light, flexible, tenacious, very fibrous, externally of a light brownish-vellow 
colour, rough, warty, and marked with transverse ridges, internally of a pale- 
yellow. It is without smell, and of a bitter taste. It readily imparts its virtues, 
at ordinary temperatures, to water and alcohol. The infusion is at least equally 
bitter with the decoction, which becomes turbid as it cools. Its constituents, 
according to M. Morin, are a bitter principle identical with quassin, a resinous 
matter, a volatile oil having the odour of benzoin, malic acid, gallic acid in very 
minute proportion, an ammoniacal salt, malate and oxalate of lime, some min- 
eral salts, oxide of iron, silica, ulmin, and lignin. PART I. 
Simaruba.—Sinapis Alba.—Sinapis Nigra. 
779 
Medical Properties and Uses. Simaruba possesses the same tonic properties 
as other simple bitters, and may be employed for the same purposes. In large 
doses it is said to purge and vomit. It was introduced into France iu 1713 
from Guyana, where it had previously been used as a remedy for dysentery. In 
the treatment of this disease and of obstinate diarrhoea, it afterwards obtained 
much credit in Europe; but Cullen was right in denying to it any specific con- 
trol over these complaints. It operates simply as a tonic; and, though occa- 
sionally beneficial in relaxed and debilitated states of the alimentary canal, 
would do much harm if indiscriminately prescribed in dysenteric cases. On ac- 
count of its difficult pulverization, it is seldom given in substance. The best 
mode'of administration is by infusion. The dose is from a scruple to a drachm. 
W. 
SINAPIS ALBA. U.8. 
White Mustard. 
The seed of Sinapis alba. U. S. 
SINAPIS NIGRA. U S. 
Black Mustard. 
The seed of Sinapis nigra. U. S. 
Off. Syn. SINAPIS. Mustard. Sinapis nigra and Sinapis alba. Black mus- 
tard, White mustard. The sgeds reduced to powder, mixed. Br. 
Moutarde, Fr.; Senfsamen, Germ,.; Senapa, Ital.; Mostaza, Span. 
Sinapis. Sex. Syst. Tetradynamia Siliquosa.—Nat.Ord. Brasicaceas or Cru- 
cifer®. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx spreading. Corolla with straight claws. Glands between the 
shorter stamens and pistil, and between the longer stamens and calyx. Willd. 
Sinapis nigra. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 555; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 403, t. 146. 
Common or black mustard is an annual plant, with a stem three or four feet 
in height, divided and subdivided into numerous spreading branches. The leaves 
are petiolate and variously shaped. Those near the root are large, rough, lyrate- 
pinnate, and unequally toothed; those higher on the stem are smooth and less 
lobed; and the uppermost are entire, narrow, smooth, and dependent. The 
flowers are small, yellow, with a coloured calyx, and stand closely together upon 
peduncles at the upper part of the branches. The pods are smooth, erect, nearly 
parallel with the branches, quadrangular, furnished with a short beak, and oc- 
cupied by numerous seeds. 
Sinapis alba. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 555; Smith, Flor. Brit. 721. The white 
mustard is also annual. It is rather smaller than the preceding species. The 
lower leaves are deeply pinnatifid, the upper sublyrate, and all irregularly 
toothed, rugged, with stiff hairs on both sides, and pale-green. The flowers are 
in racemes, with yellow petals, and linear, green calycine leaflets. The pods are 
spreading, bristly, rugged, roundish, swelling in the position of the seeds, ribbed, 
and provided with a very long ensiform beak. 
Both plants are natives of Europe and cultivated in our gardens; and S. 
nigra has become naturalized in some parts of this country. Their flowers ap- 
pear in June. The seeds are kept in the shops, both whole and in the state of 
very fine powder, as prepared by the manufacturers for the table. 
Black mustard seeds are small, globular, of a deep-brown colour, slightly 
rugose on the surface, and internally yellow. In the entire state they are in- 
odorous, but have a distinct smell in powder, and, when rubbed with water or 
vinegar, exhale a strong pungent odour, sufficient in some instances to excite a 
flow of tears. Their taste is bitterish, hot, and pungent, but not permanent. 
Wnue mustard seeds are much larger, of a yellowish colour, and less pungent 780 
Sinapis Alba.—Sinapis Nigra. 
PART I. 
taste. Both afford a yellow powder, which has a somewhat unctuous appear- 
ance, and cakes when compressed. This is commonly called flour of mustard, 
or simply mustard, and is prepared by crushing and pounding the seeds, and 
then sifting them ; the purest flour being obtained by a second sifting. Both the 
black and the white seeds are used in its preparation. It is often adulterated 
with wheat flour coloured by turmeric, to which red pepper is added to render 
the mixture sufficiently hot. The skin of white mustard seeds contains a muci- 
laginous substance, which is extracted by boiling water. When bruised or pow- 
dered, both kinds impart their active properties wholly to water, but in a very 
slight degree to alcohol. They yield upon pressure a fixed oil, called oil of mus- 
tard, of a greenish-yellow colour, little smell, and a mild not unpleasant taste; 
and the portion which remains is even more pungent than the unpressed seeds. 
The fixed oil of mustard yields, upon saponification, a peculiar acid, for which 
the name of erucic acid has been proposed. (Ghem. Gaz., vii. 163.) 
It has been long known that black mustard seeds yield by distillation with 
water a very pungeut volatile oil, containing sulphur. Guibourt conjectured, 
and Eobiquet and Boutron proved, that this oil does not pre-exist in the seeds, 
but is produced by the action of wrater. Hence the absence or very slight degree 
of odour in the seeds when bruised in a dry state, and their pungency when 
water is added. It seemed reasonable to suppose that the reaction in this case 
was similar to that exercised by water upon bitter almonds (see Amygdala 
Amara)\; and this has been proved to be the fact by the experiments of Simon, 
Bussy, Boutron, and Fremy. According to M. Bussy, there are two peculiar 
principles in black mustard seeds, one named by him myronic acid, existing in 
the seeds in the state of myronate of potassa; the other myrosyne, closely 
analogous in character to the albuminous constituent of almonds called emulsin. 
When wrater is added to black mustard seed, the myrosyne, acting the part of a 
ferment, determines a reaction between the water and myronate of potassa, 
which results in the production of the volatile oil. The same thing happens 
when any one of the myronates is brought into contact with water and myrosyne. 
The presence of the'last-mentioned principle is essential. Like emulsin, it 
becomes inoperative when coagulated by heat, alcohol, or the acids; and, if 
black mustard seeds be subjected to either of these agencies previously to the 
addition of water, they will yield no volatile oil. The myrosyne, however, 
sometimes partially recovers its power by continued contact with water. This 
substance is found also in white mustard seeds, but without myronate of potassa. 
If, therefore, white mustard seeds be added to the black in which the myrosyne 
has been coagulated, the volatile oil will be generated on the application of 
water. Though closely analogous to emulsin, myrosyne is yet distinct, as its 
place cannot be supplied by emulsin with the same effect. (Journ. de Pharm., 
xxvi. 39.) Simon obtained results somewhat different from those of M. Bussy. 
The former chemist succeeded in procuring a peculiar crystalline principle from 
the seeds which he called sinapisin, and which, upon contact with water and 
the albuminous principle of the seeds, emitted the odour of the oil of mustard. 
Dr. S. von Thielau asserts that, though the volatile oil is produced by the re- 
action between myrosyne and some principle existing in black mustard, yet this 
principle is not myronate of potassa, the existence of the so-called myronic acid 
being fabulous. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., Nov. 1858, p. 540.) MM. Ludgwig 
and Lange, however, have found myronic acid in abundance in black mustard 
seeds. They have also found along with it another substance, apparently the 
acid salt of a nitrogeno-sulphur alkaloid, which likewise yields the volatile oil of 
mustard with myrosyne. {Journ. de Pharm., Mars, 1861, p. 236.) 
The volatile oil of mustard Is usually obtained from seeds which have been 
deprived of their fixed oil by pressure. It is a colourless or pale-yellow liquid, 
rather heavier than water of an exceedingly pungent odour, and an acrid burn- PART I. 
Sinapis Alba.—Sinapis Nigra. 
781 
ing taste. It boils at about 298°; is slightly soluble in water, and readily so in 
alcohol and ether; with alkaline solutions yields sulphocyanides; and consists, 
according to M. Lowig and Dr. Will, of nitrogen, carbon, hydrogen, and sul- 
phur; its formula being NC8ELS2. Dr. Will considers it a snlphoeyanide of 
allyl (C6H5), the compound radical of oil of garlic, which is considered a sul- 
phuret of allyl.* (Chem. Gaz., Nos. 62 and 64.) It is the principle upon which 
black mustard seeds depend for their activity. According to Zeller, the seeds 
yield from 0-33 to 0-63 per cent, of the oil. 
White mustard seeds do not yield volatile oil when treated with water; but 
an acrid fixed principle is developed, which renders these seeds applicable to the 
same purposes as the other variety. MM. Robiquet and Boutron, who ascer- 
tained this fact, concluded that the acrid principle resulted from the reaction of 
water upon sulpho-sinapism, discovered in the seeds by MM. Henry, jun., and 
Garot. Their reason for this belief was that mustard, which had been deprived 
of this ingredient, wTas incapable of developing the acrid principle. The myro- 
syne is equally essential to the change here, as to that which occurs in black 
mustard; and the reaction equally fails, if this principle be previously rendered 
inert by heat, alcohol, or the acids. MM. Boutron and Fremy state that not 
only the acrid principle of white mustard, but hydrosulphocyanic acid also re- 
sults from the reaction above explained; and this observation renders still 
closer the analogy between the changes that take place, upon contact with 
water, in mustard seeds and bitter almonds. (Journ. de Pharm., xxvi. 50.)f 
* Volatile oil of mustard has been produced artificially, by MM. Berthelot and S. de 
Luca, by treating iodide of propionyl (identical with allyl) (C6II5I) with sulphocyanuret 
of potassium. The iodine unites with potassium, and the liberated radical (C6H5) com- 
bines with the sulphocyanogen (NC2S2) to form volatile oil of mustard (NC8H5S2). Iodide 
of propionyl is procured by treating glycerin with iodide of phosphorus, and differs from 
volatile oil of garlic (sulphuret of allyl), only in containing iodine instead of sulphur 
(,Journ. de rharm., Aout, 1855, p. 124.) 
f As some may desire to push these investigations further, we give the properties of 
these peculiar principles, and the modes of procuring them. 
Myronic acid is a fixed inodorous substance, of a bitter and sour taste, and acid re- 
action. When obtained separate from its bases, it forms a colourless solution, which by 
evaporation becomes of a thick consistence like molasses, without crystallizing. It is 
soluble in water and alcohol, but not in ether; and forms soluble salts with the alkalies, 
baryta, lime, and the oxides of lead and silver, all of which yield volatile oil of mustard, 
when mixed with an aqueous solution of myrosyne. It contains sulphur, besides nitro- 
gen, carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. It is obtained from the myronate of potassa by 
adding to 100 parts of that salt 38 parts of crystallized tartaric acid, concentrating the 
solution by evaporation, and then adding weak alcohol, which precipitates the bitartrate 
of potassa, and retains the myronic acid in solution. To obtain myronate of potassa from 
black mustard seeds, the powder, having been dried at 212°, and deprived of its fixed oil 
by pressure, is treated with strong alcohol in a displacement apparatus, and, when thus 
nearly exhausted of everything soluble in that liquid, is pressed and treated with water. 
The aqueous solution is evaporated, and, before it is too much concentrated, weak alcohol 
is added, which precipitates a glutinous matter. The solution, being then carefully 
evaporated, deposits crystals of myronate of potassa, which may be obtained very pure 
and white by washing the mass with diluted alcohol. This salt is easily crystallizable in 
fine, large, transparent crystals, is unalterable in the air, very soluble in water, insoluble 
in pure alcohol, and of a bitter.taste. MM. Ludgwig and Lange, who procured the myronate 
of potassa, by a process essentially the same as that of M. Bussy, in the quantity of 1 part 
from 500 parts of black mustard, give its composition as represented by the formula 
KO,NC20H]9S4O18. {Journ. de Pharm., June, 1861, p. 432.) 
Myrosyne, when dry, has the character of an albuminous substance. It is soluble in 
water, forming a viscid solution which froths when agitated, and is coagulated by heat, 
alcohol, and the acids. It is obtained by treating white mustard seed with cold water, 
filtering the solution, evaporating it by a heat not exceeding 100°, and, when it is of the 
consistence of syrup, carefully adding alcohol, which causes a precipitate easily separable 
by decantation. If this be dissolved in water, and the solution evaporated as before, my- 
rosyne is obtained, though not entirely pure. [Journ. de Pharm., xxvi. 39.) 
The sinapisin of Simon is in brilliant, white, scaly crystals, sublimable by heat, soluble PART I. 
782 
Sinapis Alba.—Sinapis Nigra. 
From the above account of the chemical relations of mustard, it is obvious 
that admixture with alcohol or the acids, or the application of a boiling heat, 
can only have the effect of impairing its medical virtues, and that the best ve- 
hicle, whether for external or internal use, is water at common temperatures. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Mustard seeds swallowed whole operate as a 
laxative, and have acquired some reputation as a remedy in dyspepsia, and other 
complaints attended with torpid bowels and deficient excitement. The white 
6eeds are preferred, and are taken in the dose of a tablespoonful once or twice 
a day, mixed with molasses, or previously softened and rendered mucilaginous 
by immersion in hot water. They probably act in some measure by mechanically 
stimulating the bowels. The bruised seeds or powder, in the quantity of a large 
teaspoonful, operate as an emetic. Mustard in this state is applicable to cases 
of great torpor of stomach, especially that resulting from narcotic poisons. It 
rouses the gastric susceptibility, and facilitates the action of other emetics. In 
smaller quantities it is useful as a safe stimulant of the digestive organs; and, 
as it is frequently determined to the kidneys, has been beneficially employed in 
dropsy. Whey, made by boiling half an ounce of the bruised seeds or powder 
in a pint of milk and straining, is a convenient form for administration. It may 
be given in the dose of a wineglassful repeated several times a day. But mus- 
tard is most valuable as a rubefacient. Mixed with water in the form of a cata- 
plasm, and applied to the skin, it very soon produces redness with burning pain, 
which in less than an hour usually becomes insupportable. When a speedy im- 
pression is not desired, especially when the sinapism is applied to the extremi- 
ties, the powder should be diluted with an equal portion of rye meal or wheat 
flour. Care should be taken not to allow the application to continue too long, 
as vesication with obstinate ulceration, and even sphacelus may result. This 
caution is particularly necessary when the patient is insensible, and the degree 
of pain can afford no criterion of the sufficiency of the action. The volatile oil, 
in alcohol, ether, and the fixed and volatile oils, but insoluble in acids and alkalies. To 
obtain it he exhausted black mustard seed with strong alcohol, distilled off the greater part 
of the alcohol, treated the residue several times with four or five times its weight of ether, 
from the ethereal solutions distilled off all the ether, treated the extract again with a 
smaller quantity of ether so as to leave behind insoluble substances, and repeated this 
process until the extract formed a perfectly clear solution without residue. The extract 
was then dissolved in cold strong alcohol, and the solution, having been decolorized with 
animal charcoal, was allowed to evaporate in the air. Simon obtained from 55 pounds of 
the seeds only 80 grains of crystallized sinapisin. (Annal. der Pharm., xxvi. 291.) 
Sulpho-sinapisin, the peculiar ingredient of white mustard seed, is white, crystallizable, 
inodorous, bitter, and soluble in alcohol and water, forming a yellow solution. It was at 
first thought by MM. Henry and Garot to be an acid, but they afterwards ascertained that 
it was neuter. It consists of nitrogen, carbon, hydrogen, sulphur, and oxygen. It may be 
obtained from white mustard seeds, previously deprived of the fixed oil by expression, by 
boiling them in water, evaporating the decoction to the consistence of honey, mixing the 
residue with 6 or 8 times its volume of anhydrous alcohol wh'ch precipitates various sub- 
stances, then distilling off the alcohol, and setting aside the syrupy residue to crystallize. 
The crystals may be purified by repeated solution and crystallization in alcohol. (Ber- 
zelius, Trait e de Chimie.) This principle, which has also been called sinapin, is considered 
by L. von Babo and Hirschbrunn to be the sulphocyanide of an alkaloid, to which they 
propose to confine the name of sinapin, and for which they give the formula C3„H„(.N,012. 
The sulphocyanide of sinapin is obtained from seeds, already so far exhausted by cold 
alcohol as to yield only a pale yellow colour to that liquid by boiling them in alcohol of 
the sp. gr. 0-838, evaporating the liquor, and crystallizing. It has an appearance like that 
of crystallized sulphate of quinia, is soluble with difficulty in cold water and alcohol, but 
readily in both liquids when hot, and is nearly insoluble in ether. When boiled with 
alkalies, it yields an acid called sinapic acid. It is difficult to separate the organic base 
sinapin from it, because this is decomposed by alkalies. It does not appear that sulpho- 
cyanide of sinapin yields with synaptase the acrid principle developed in white mus/ard 
seeds by water; but the authors state that another substance rich in sulphur has been 
ascertained by Simon to exist in white mustard seeds, which plays an important part in 
the production of the pungent matter. (See Chem. Gaz., March 1, 1853, p. 81.) PART I. 
Sin apis Alba.—Sinapis Nigra.—Sodium. 
which is powerfully rubefacient, and capable of producing speedy vesication, has 
been considerably used in Germany. For external application as a rubefacient, 
30 drops may be dissolved in a fluidounce of alcohol, or 6 or 8 drops in a flui- 
drachm of almond or olive oil. To form a sinapism it has been recommended to 
mix 20 drops of the volatile oil with 3 5 drachms of glycerin and 5 drachms of 
starch. (See Am. Journ. ofPharm., Nov. 1861, p. 569.) It has been given inter- 
nally in colic, two drops being incorporated with a six-ounce mixture, and half 
a fluidounce given for a dose. {Ibid., xi. 9.) In overdoses it is highly poison- 
ous, producing gastro-enteric inflammation, and probably perverting the vital 
processes by pervading the whole system. Its odour is perceptible in the blood, 
and it is said to impart the smell of horseradish to the urine. A spirit of mus- 
tard may be prepared by macerating, for two hours, 250 parts of powdered black 
mustard with 500 parts of cold water, then adding 120 parts of alcohol of 86 
per cent., and distilling over 120 parts of spirit. Though not so precise in com- 
position as the alcoholic solution of the oil, it is more economical. {Ann. de 
Therap., 1864, p. 126.) 
Off. Prep. Cataplasma Sinapis, Br W. 
SODIUM. 
Sodium. 
Sodium, Fr.; Natrium, Natronmetall, Germ.; Sodio, Ital., Span. 
Sodium is a peculiar metal, forming the radical of the alkali soda. It was 
discovered by Sir H. Davy in 1807, who obtained it in small quantity by decom- 
posing the alkali by the agency of galvanic electricity. It was afterwards pro- 
cured in much larger quantities by Gay-Lussac and Thenard, by bringing the 
alkali in contact with iron turnings heated to whiteness. The iron became oxi- 
dized, and the metallic radical of the soda was liberated. Since the discovery 
of a mode for obtaining aluminium in bars, by Deville, in 1854, the process for 
procuring sodium, which is the decomposing agent, has been very much improved 
and cheapened. (See page 93.) Sodium is now obtained on a large scale by 
igniting an intimate mixture of dry carbonate of soda, coal, and chalk. 
Sodium is a soft, malleable, sectile solid, of a silver-white colour. It possesses 
the metallic lustre in a high degree, when protected from the action of the air, 
by which it is quickly tarnished and oxidized. Its sp. gr. is 0-97, fusing point 
about 200°, equivalent number 23 3, and symbol Na. Its chemical affinities re- 
semble those of potassium, but are less energetic. Like potassium it has a strong 
attraction for oxygen. When thrown upon cold water it instantly fuses into a 
globule without inflaming, and traverses the surface in different directions with 
rapidity; on hot water it inflames. In both cases the water is decomposed, 
hydrogen is liberated, and a solution of soda generated. It combines also with 
a larger proportion of oxygen than exists in soda, forming a teroxide. This 
oxide is always formed when the metal is burnt in the open air. 
Sodium is a constituent of a number of important medicinal preparations, and 
is briefly described in this place as an introduction to these compounds. Its pro- 
toxide only is salifiable, constituting the alkali soda, which, united to acids, gives 
rise to a numerous class of compounds, called salts of soda. These are charac- 
terized by communicating to the blowpipe flame a rich yellow colour, and by not 
being precipitable by any reagent, except the metantimoniate of potassa. (See 
page 673.) Protoxide of sodium {dry soda) consists of one eq. of sodium 23'3, 
and one of oxygen 8 = 31 *3. United with one eq. of water 9, it forms hydrate 
of soda {caustic soda), weighing 40‘3. 
The officinal combinations containing sodium are caustic soda, chloride of 
sodium, the solutions of soda and chlorinated soda, the acetate, arseniate, borate, 784 
Sodium.—Sodx Acetas.—Sodx Boras. 
PART I. 
carbonate, bicarbonate, phosphate, sulphate, sulphite, and valerianate of soda, 
and the tartrate of potassa and soda. The description of some of these combi- 
nations will immediately follow; and the remainder will be noticed, under their 
respective titles, in Part II. B. 
SODiE ACETAS. U. S., Br. Appendix. 
Acetate of Soda. 
Terra foliata tartari, Lat.; Acetate de soude, Pr.; Essigsaures Natron, Germ.; Acetafco 
di soda, Ital. 
Acetate of soda, being obtained on a large scale from the manufacturing 
chemist, is properly placed in the catalogue of the Materia Medica in the United 
States Pharmacopoeia. In the British, it was introduced into the Appendix, 
because used only in the preparation of other medicines. 
Acetate of soda is prepared by the manufacturer of crude pyroligneous acid, 
for the purpose of being decomposed, so as to yield the officinal acetic acid, by 
the action of sulphuric acid. The steps of the process by which it is made from 
the crude acid have been given under the head of Acidum Aceticum (page 19). 
Properties, &e. Acetate of soda is a white salt, crystallizing in long striated 
prisms, and possessing a sharp, bitterish, not disagreeable taste. Exposed to a 
dry air it effloresces slowly, and loses about 40 per cent, of its weight. It is 
soluble in about 3 parts of cold water, and in 24 of alcohol. Subjected to heat 
it undergoes first the aqueous and then the igneous fusion, and is finally decom- 
posed ; the residue being a mixture of carbonate of soda and charcoal. By the 
addition of sulphuric acid it is decomposed, the acetic acid being liberated, 
known by its acetous odour, and sulphate of soda formed. The salt should be 
perfectly neutral to test paper, and not precipitated by chloride of barium, nitrate 
of.silver, or bichloride of platinum. The non-action of these tests shows the ab- 
sence of sulphates, chlorides, and the salts of potassa. For the proper action of 
the nitrate of silver test, the solution should be dilute; as, if it be strong, there 
will be a crystalline precipitate of acetate of silver, which dissolves on the addi- 
tion of water. Acetate of soda, when crystallized, consists of one eq. of acetic 
acid 51, one of soda 31 3, and six of water 54 = 136'3. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Acetate of soda is diuretic, and possesses gen- 
erally the same medical properties as acetate of potassa, to which article the 
reader is referred. It is, however, more convenient for exhibition than the lat- 
ter salt, as it is not deliquescent. The dose is from a scruple to two drachms. It 
is employed principally to yield acetic acid by the action of sulphuric acid. 
Pharm.Uses. In preparing Ferri Arsenias, Br.; Ferri Phosphas, Br.; Svrupus 
Ferri Phosphatis, Br. 
Off. Prep. Acidum Aceticum Glaciale, Br 
SODiE BORAS. U.S. 
Borate of Soda. 
Off. Syn. BORAX. Biborate of Soda, NaO,2BOs -f- 10HO. Br 
Borate de soude, Borax, Fr.; Boraxsaures Natron, Borax, Germ.; Borace, Ital.; Borax 
Span.; Boorak, Arab. 
Borax was known to the ancients, but its chemical nature was first ascertained 
by Geoffroy in 1132. It exists native, and may be obtained by artificial means. 
It occurs in several localities in Europe, in Peru, and in beds, associated with 
borate of lime, in the district of Iquique, in the Republic of Ecuador. This 
mineral (tinkalzite) which has become an article of commerce, and is consider- 
ably used as a substitute for borax, contains, according to T. L. Phillipson, 34 PART I. 
Sodse Boras. 
785 
per cent, of water, 11 95 of soda, 14-45 of lime, 34-11 of boracic acid, 1*34 of 
chlorine, 110 of sulphuric acid, 0"60 of silica, and 2 of sand; and may be 
considered as a compound essentially of one eq. of crystallized borate of soda 
and two of borate of lime, more two eqs. of water. (Gliem. News, Oct. 5, 1861, 
p. 183.) It is said also to contain usually some iodine and bromine. (G. Sims.) 
Borax is found abundantly in certain lakes of Thibet and Persia, from which it 
is obtained by spontaneous evaporation. The impure borax, called in commerce 
tincal or crude borax, concretes on the borders of these lakes. As thus obtained 
it is in the form of crystalline masses, which are sometimes colourless, sometimes 
yellowish or greenish, and always covered with an earthy coating, greasy to the 
touch, and having the odour of soap. The greasy appearance is derived from a 
fatty matter, saponified by soda. The tincal is transferred to the seaports of 
India, especially Calcutta, from whtah it is exported to this country in chests. 
Besides Indian tincal, there is another commercial variety of borax which comes 
from China, and which is partially refined. Both varieties require to be purified 
before being used in medicine or the arts. Borax is said to exist in many of the 
mineral springs of California, and in one locality is so abundant that large crys- 
tals are formed at the bottom of a shallow lake, one or two hundred acres in 
extent. (Dr. J. A. Yeatch, Journ. of Frank. Instit., Feb. 1860.) 
Purification. The method of refining borax was originally possessed as a 
secret by the Yenetians and Dutch, but is now practised in several European 
countries. The process pursued in France, as reported by Robiquet and Mar- 
chand, is as follows. The tincal is placed in a large wooden vessel, and covered 
to the depth of three or four inches with water; in which state it is allowed to 
remain for five or six hours, being agitated from time to time. Slaked lime is 
now added, in the proportion of 1 part to 400 of the impure salt; and the whole, 
being thoroughly mixed, is allowed to remain at rest till the succeeding day. 
The salt is next separated by means of a sieve, the crystals being crumbled be- 
tween the hands, and placed so as to drain. The object of this treatment is to 
separate the soapy matter, with which the lime forms an insoluble soap; and at 
the same time sulphate of soda and chloride of sodium are removed, with only a 
minute loss of the borax. The borax being drained is next dissolved, by the 
assistance of heat, in two and a half times its weight of water, and the solution 
treated with one-fiftieth of its weight of chloride of calcium, in order to com- 
plete the separation of the soapy matter; after which it is strained through a 
coarse bag. The liquor is then concentrated by heat, and run into wooden ves- 
sels, lined with lead, having the shape of an inverted quadrangular pyramid. If 
care be taken that the cooling proceed very gradually, distinct crystals will be 
obtained, such as are found in commerce; otherwise, crystalline crusts will be 
formed. The Chinese borax is purified in a similar manner; but, being less im- 
pure than the common tincal, does not require to be washed. 
Preparation of Artificial Borax. Large quantities of borax are now made 
by the direct combination of native boracic acid with soda. The acid is found 
abundantly in the crater of Yulcano, one of the Lipari Islands; but principally 
in a volcanic region of Tuscany, occupying a space of ten or twelve miles. 
Within this region are found numerous hillocks and fissures, the latter of which 
emit hot aqueous vapour, containing boracic acid and certain gases. Around 
one or several of these fissures, a circular basin of masonry is built, which is filled 
with water, and called a lagoon. By the jets of vapour, constantly breaking 
through it, the water becomes gradually impregnated with boracic acid, and 
heated. A series of such lagoons are made to communicate with each other on 
the declivity of a hill, and the lowest to discharge itself into a reservoir, where 
the solution is allowed to rest, and deposit mechanical impurities. From this 
reservoir the solution is made to pass into leaden evaporating pans, heated by 
the natural vapour, where it receives sufficient concentration to fit it for being 786 
Sodse Boras. 
PART I. 
conducted into wooden tubs, where it is allowed to cool and crystallize. The 
crude acid, thus obtained, contains, on an average, 84 per cent, of boracic acid; 
the impurities consisting chiefly of alum, the double sulphate of ammonia and 
magnesia, and sulphate of lime. The product of the Tuscany lagoons in 1855 
was over 1800 tons. (A. Pechiney-Ilangot, Journ. de Pharm., xxviii. 358.) The 
crude acid is converted into borax by dissolving it to saturation in a solution of 
carbonate of soda, heated by steam; and the liquor, after boiling, is allowed to 
stand for ten or twelve hours. It is then drawn off into wooden vessels lined 
with lead, where it crystallizes. The impure crystals, thus obtained, are refined 
by dissolving them in water heated by steam, adding carbonate of soda to the 
solution, and crystallizing. The merit of introducing the process for obtaining 
artificial borax belongs to Cartier and Payen, who succeeded in establishing its 
manufacture in France. According to Dr. Yeatch, boracic acid exists in the 
sea-water on the coast of California. 
Properties. Borax is a white salt, generally crystallized in flattened hexahe- 
dral prisms, terminated by triangular pyramids, and possessing a sweetish, feebly 
alkaline taste, and an alkaline reaction. It dissolves in twelve times its weight 
of cold, and twice its weight of boiling water. Exposed to the air it effloresces 
slowly, and the surface of the crystals becomes covered with a white powder. 
Subjected to a moderate heat it undergoes the aqueous fusion, swells consider- 
ably, and finally becomes a dry porous mass, with loss of half its weight. Above 
a red heat it melts into a limpid liquid, which, after cooling, concretes into a 
transparent solid, called glass of borax, much used as a flux in assays with the 
blowpipe. Borax has been found, in the English market, adulterated to the ex- 
tent of 20 per cent, with phosphate of soda. This may be detected by exposing 
the suspected borax to the heat of a drying room for a few hours, when the 
phosphate, if present, will effloresce, and may be picked out. 
Borax has the property of rendering cream of tartar very soluble in water, and 
forms a combination with it called soluble cream of tartar, which is sometimes 
used in medicine. This preparation is made by boiling 6 parts of cream of tartar 
and 2 of borax in 16 of water for five minutes, allowing the solution to cool, 
and then filtering to separate some tartrate of lime. Soluble cream of tartar 
attracts moisture from the air, and is soluble in its own weight of cold, and half 
its weight of boiling water. A similar preparation may be made by substituting 
boracic acid for the borax. Boracic acid soluble cream of tartar is directed by 
the French Codex, and is made by the following formula. Four hundred parts 
of cream of tartar and 100 of the acid are dissolved in a silver basin, at the 
boiling temperature, in 2400 parts of water. The solution is kept boiling until 
the greater part of the water is consumed. The fire is then moderated, and the 
solution continually stirred while the evaporation proceeds. When the matter 
has become very thick, it is removed by portions, which are flattened in the 
hand, completely dried by the heat of a stove, powdered, and kept in well-stop- 
ped bottles. This form of soluble cream of tartar is more soluble than that made 
with borax. According to M. E. Robiquet, in order to obtain soluble cream of 
tartar, made with boracic acid, of good quality, it is necessary to use a large 
quantity of water, and to boil for a long time. By proceeding thus, the boracic 
acid undergoes a molecular modification, equivalent to a change from the crys- 
tallized to the vitreous condition, and a preparation, readily and totally soluble 
in cold water, is ensured. The product should not be powdered, but kept in 
large grains. {Journ. de Pharm., xxi. 197.) 
Composition. Borax consists of two eqs. of boracic acid 69-8, and one of 
soda 3F3=1011. It ordinarily crystallizes in prisms, and contains ten eqs. ot 
water (prismatic borax); but a variety of the salt exists, which crystallizes in 
octohedrons, and contains only five eqs. of water (octohedral borax). The latter 
is obtained in the artificial production of borax, by crystallizing from a concen- PART I. 
Sodse Boras. 
trated solution at a temperature between 174° and 133°. When a solution of 
borax is evaporated at 212°, the salt is left as a transparent, amorphous, brittle 
mass, containing four eqs. of water. (Schweitzer.) In composition borax is a 
biborate, though sometimes called a subborate on account of its possessing an 
alkaline reaction. 
Boracic acid may be obtained artificially by decomposing a hot saturated 
solution of borax with sulphuric acid, which unites with the soda to form sul- 
phate of soda, and sets free the acid. As thus obtained it is in white, shining, 
scaly crystals, characterized by the property of imparting a light-green colour 
to the flame of burning alcohol. Boracic acid consists of one eq. of boron 10*9, 
and three of oxygen 24 = 34'9.* Boron is a non-metallic element, which, like 
carbon, exists in three allotropic states, called amorphous, graphitoidal, and 
crystallized boron, representing severally charcoal, graphite, and diamond. 
Crystallized boron is very brilliant, and of different colours, from garnet-red to 
a nearly colourless honey-yellow. Its density is 2‘68, and hardness very great. 
Wohler and Deville distinguish three varieties of crystals, containing from 2 to 
4 per cent, of carbon; and one specimen, in addition to carbon, about 7 per 
cent, of aluminium. The hardest variety was as hard as diamond. (See Chem. 
Gaz., Aug. 1, 1857, p. 281.) 
Medical Properties. Borax is a mild refrigerant and diuretic. It is supposed 
also to exercise a specific influence over the uterus, promoting menstruation, 
facilitating parturition, and favouring the expulsion of the placenta. Dr. Bins- 
wanger denies its specific power of exciting uterine contractions, or promoting 
menstruation. Nevertheless, Dr. Daniel Stahl, of Indiana, has found it useful 
in dysmenorrhoea, occurring in sanguineous constitutions, venesection being 
premised. He gives it in doses of about nine grains every two hours, in a table- 
spoonful of flaxseed tea, for two days before the time of the expected return of 
the menses. Virey deemed it aphrodisiac; and, according to Dr. J. C. Hubbard, 
it is eminently so when used in the form of enema. Binswanger considers 
borax as the best remedy that can be used in nephritic and calculous com- 
plaints, dependent on an excess of uric acid. It probably acts in such cases as 
an alkali, the soda of the salt neutralizing the uric acid occurring in the urinary 
passages, and the boracic acid being set free. The dose is from thirty to forty 
grains. In infantile diarrhoea, unattended by lesions of the intestinal mucous 
membrane, M. Bouchut has found borax peculiarly efficacious, given in the form 
of enema, made by dissolving from two to five drachms in four fluidounces of 
water. Cream of tartar is conveniently rendered more soluble by borax or 
boracic acid, when it is desirable to administer it in large quantities. Externally 
the solution of borax is used as a wash in scaly eruptions. A solution, formed 
by dissolving a drachm of the salt in two fluidounces of distilled vinegar, has 
been found, both by Dr. Abercrombie and Dr. Cliristison, an excellent lotion 
for ringworm of the scalp. Borax has been employed with good effect by Dr. 
Brinton in an inveterate case of cracked tongue, applied as a lotion, made by 
dissolving two scruples of borax in an ounce of glycerin, and four fluidounces 
of water. This salt is very much used as a detergent in aphthous affections of 
the mouth in children. When employed for this purpose, it is generally ap- 
plied in powder, either mixed with sugar in the proportion of one part to seven, 
or rubbed up with honey. (See Mel Boracis.) 
* Reactions of Boracic Acid. From the researches of M. C. Tissier, it. appears that boracic 
acid, in boiling solution, is capable of dissolving the protoxides of calcium, magnesium, 
manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel, zinc, and cadmium, but not those of copper, lead, or tin, 
nor the sesquioxides of aluminium, chrome, or iron. In other words, it dissolves the protox- 
ides of all the metals which decompose water in the presence of acids, and is without action 
«m those of other metals, as well as on all the higher oxides, such as sesquioxides and 
binoxides. It dissolves only one of the insoluble metallic sulphurets, namely, the sulphuret 
of manganese. {Joum. de Pharm., Juillet, 1858, p. 98.) 788 
Sodse Carbonas. 
PART I. 
Borax is used in the arts for soldering metals, its effect being to keep the sur- 
faces free from oxidation. 
Off. Prep. Mel Boracis, Br.; Mel Sodse Boracis, U. S. B. 
SODiE CARBONAS. U.S,Br. 
Carbonate of Soda. 
Carbonate de soude, Fr.; Einfacb Kolilensaures Natron, Germ.; Carbonato di soda, Ital.; 
Carbonato de soda, Span. 
In the U. S. Pharmacopoeia this salt has always been placed in the list of the 
Materia Medica; the crystallized carbonate of soda, obtained on a large scale 
by the manufacturing chemist, being sufficiently pure, without further prepara- 
tion, for medicinal use; and the same position is given to it in the British Phar- 
macopoeia. 
Before entering upon the consideration of the carbonate of soda, we shall 
speak generally of the sources of the alkali soda. These may be divided into the 
natural and artificial. The natural sources are the minerals of native soda, and 
certain marine plants which yield the alkali in their ashes; the artificial are cer- 
tain salts which furnish it by chemical decomposition. 
Native soda, sometimes called natron, is found chiefly in Hungary, Egypt, 
and South America, and exists, in these countries, either in the earth of the sur- 
face, which often exhibits a saline efflorescence, or in solution in small lakes, 
from which it is extracted by taking advantage of the drying up of the water 
during the heats of summer. The native soda from Egypt, called trona, is a 
sesquicarbonate; while that from South America is less carbonated. Native 
soda, in the form of sesquicarbonate, has been found in a soda lake in the ter- 
ritory of the Nizam, in Hindostan. Dr. Barth, in his Travels in Africa, states 
that natron is largely collected on the shores of Lake Tsad, and in some other 
localities in Negroland or Central Africa. {Am. ed., 1857, i. 312, and ii. 63-8.) 
A similar product exists abundantly in low places along the sea-coast of Arabia, 
near Aden. (R. Haines, Pharm. Journ., July, 1863.) 
Impure soda, derived from the ashes of plants growing on the surface or 
borders of the sea, is called barilla or kelp, according to the character of the 
plants incinerated. Barilla is obtained from several vegetables, principally be- 
longing to the genera Salsola, Salicornia, and Chenopodium. In Spain, Sicily, 
and some other countries, these plants are cultivated for the purpose of yielding 
soda by their combustion. When ripe, they are cut down, dried, and burnt in 
heaps. The ashes form a semi-fused, hard, and compact saline mass, which is 
broken up into fragments by means of pickaxes, and thrown into commerce. 
Kelp, called varec in France, is procured by the incineration of various kinds 
of sea-weeds, principally the algae and fuci, which grow on the rocky coasts of 
many countries. The Orkneys and Hebrides, and the rocky coasts of Wales, 
Scotland, and Ireland furnish large quantities of these weeds. The plants are 
fermented in heaps, then dried, and afterwards burnt to ashes in ovens roughly 
made of brick or stone, and built in the ground. The alkali in the ashes melts, 
and forms the whole into one solid mass. When cold, it is broken up with iron 
instruments into large heavy masses, in which state it is found in commerce. 
About twenty-four tons of sea-weeds produce one of kelp. 
Barilla, when of good quality, is in hard, dry, porous, sonorous, grayish-blue 
masses, which become covered with a saline efflorescence on exposure. It pos- 
sesses a peculiar odour and an alkaline taste. Spanish barilla contains from 25 
to 40 per cent, of carbonated alkali; the residue being made up of sulphate of 
soda, sulphuret and chloride of sodium, carbonate of lime, alumina, silica, oxi- 
dized iron, and a small portion of charcoal which has escaped combustion. Be- 
fore the introduction of artificial soda, barilla formed the source of Ihe .crystal- PART I. 
,$Wa? Carbonas. 
lized carbonate employed in medicine. At present it is principally used in the 
manufacture of soap. 
Kelp is in hard, vesicular masses, of a dark-gray, bluish, or greenish colour, 
sulphurous odour, and acrid, caustic taste. It is still less pure than barilla, con- 
taining only from 5 to 8 per cent, of carbonated soda; the rest being made up 
of a large proportion of the sulphates of soda and potassa, and the chlorides 
of potassium and sodium, a small quantity of iodide of sodium, and insoluble 
and colouring matters. Large quantities of kelp were formerly manufactured in 
Great Britain and the neighbouring islands, particularly the Orkneys; but the 
demand and production have greatly fallen off, since the introduction of artificial 
soda at a comparatively low price. At present kelp is used principally in the 
manufacture of iodine. (See Iodinium.) 
Artificial Soda. This is made from common salt by two steps; first, by con- 
verting the salt by sulphuric acid into sulphate of soda, and secondly, by decom- 
posing the sulphate by carbonate of lime and charcoal at a high temperature, 
so as to yield carbonate of soda. The sulphate, first dried, is mixed with its 
own weight of ground limestone, and half its weight of small coal, ground and 
sifted, and the whole is heated in a reverberatory furnace, where it fuses, and 
forms a black mass called black ash, soda ball, or British barilla. The coal, at 
the temperature employed, converts the sulphate of soda into sulphuret of so- 
dium. This reacts with the limestone, so as to form sulphuret of calcium and 
carbonate of soda (NaS and Ca0,C02= CaS and NaO,C02). If this compound 
were digested in water, sulphuret of sodium and carbonate of lime would be re- 
produced. To prevent this result a large excess of lime is used, which gives 
rise to the formation of an oxysulphuret of calcium (3CaS,CaO), which is in- 
soluble in water, and without action on carbonate of soda. British barilla con- 
tains about 36 per cent, of alkali, imperfectly carbonated on account of the high 
heat used; the remainder being principally oxysulphuret of calcium, caustic 
lime, and coaly matter. It is next digested in warm water, which takes up the 
alkali and other soluble matters, and leaves the insoluble impurities, called soda 
waste, which is now largely utilized in the manufacture of hyposulphite of soda. 
(Chem. News, Sept. 28, 1861, p. 114.) The solution is evaporated to dryness, 
and the mass obtained is calcined with one-fourth of its weight of sawdust, in 
order to convert the alkali fully into carbonate, by means of the carbonic acid 
resulting from the combustion of the sawdust. The product is redissolved in 
water, and the solution evaporated to dryness. The alkali, in this stage of its 
purification, contains about 50 per cent, of carbonate of soda and is called soda- 
ash. It is brought to the state of crystallized carbonate of soda by dissolving 
it in water, straining the solution, evaporating it to a pellicle, and setting it 
aside to crystallize. On the subject of the products of the soda manufacture, 
see the elaborate paper of John Brown, Esq., in the Philos. Mag. for Jan. 1849. 
The process here described, for obtaining soda from common salt, was dis- 
covered in 1184 by Leblanc; and the first manufactory for procuring it on a 
large scale was established in 1190, near Paris, by Leblanc and Dize. The pro- 
cess is pursued on an immense scale in Great Britain, especially at Liverpool 
and Glasgow, and produces soda at so small a cost, that barilla and kelp are 
nearly superseded as sources of the alkali. 
A new process for manufacturing artificial soda from sulphate of soda has 
been proposed by M. Emile Kopp, and has been successfully carried into ope- 
ration on a large scale, near Manchester, England. It consists in decomposing 
the sulphate by sesquioxide of iron and coal. The advantages claimed for this 
process are that the whole of the sulphur of the sulphate may be recovered, in- 
stead of being lost in the waste oxysulphuret of calcium of the old process, and 
that it is more independent of the skill of the workmen. (See Journ. de Pharm., 
Nov. 1856, p. 360.) 790 
Sodse Carbonas. 
PART L 
Anothev source of this carbonate has lately been found in cryolite, a mineral 
existing in great abundance on the coast of Greenland, and consisting of the 
double fluoride of aluminium and sodium. Large quantities are used in Denmark 
and Germany in the preparation of carbonate of soda and of alumina, the latter 
of which is employed in the manufacture of alum and aluminium. The cryolite is 
mixed thoroughly with chalk, in the state of powder, and the mixture is calcined. 
The fluorine combines with the calcium of the lime, which gives its oxygen to 
the sodium and aluminium, converting them into soda and alumina. The soda 
is extracted by lixiviation, and carbonic acid passed through the solution. The 
carbonate of soda thus formed is obtained by evaporation and crystallization. 
(See Am. Journ. of Pharm., May, 1863, pp. 244 and 255.) 
The different kinds of impure carbonate of soda, whether barilla, kelp, or 
soda-ash, being exceedingly variable in composition, it is important to have a 
ready method of determining the quantity of real carbonated alkali which they 
contain. The mode in which this is done, by means of an instrument called an 
alkalimeter, has been already explained. (See page 673.) These various forms 
of carbonated soda are largely consumed in dyeing and bleaching, and in the 
manufacture of soap and glass. 
The following are descriptions of the different grades of artificial soda, known 
under the names of British barilla, soda-ash, and carbonate of soda. 
British barilla, so called to distinguish it from Spanish barilla, which has 
its source in the ashes of maritime plants, is a blackish-brown substance, be- 
coming darker by exposure to the air. When broken it exhibits an imperfect 
metallic lustre, and a close striated texture. Its taste is hepatic and caustic. 
By exposure to a moist atmosphere, it becomes covered with a yellow efflores- 
cence, and quickly falls to powder, with disengagement of heat and sulphuretted 
hydrogen; at the same time increasing in weight by the absorption of carbonic 
acid and water. 
Soda-ash is in white or gray compact masses, and contains about half its weight 
of foreign salts, consisting principally of chloride of sodium and sulphate of soda. 
Carbonate of soda is a colourless salt, possessing a disagreeable taste and 
alkaline reaction, and crystallizing usually in large oblique rhombic prisms, 
which speedily effloresce when exposed to the air. When heated it undergoes 
the aqueous fusion; and, if the heat be continued, it dries and finally suffers 
the igneous fusion. Of the crystallized salt, 100 parts of water dissolve 60 at 
57°, 833 at 07°, its temperature of maximum solubility, and 445 at 219°, or the 
boiling point of the solution. (Payen.) This salt presents other anomalies in 
solubility, as ascertained by M. Henri Loewel. Carbonate of soda is insoluble 
in alcohol. The most usual impurities in it are sulphate of soda and common 
salt, which may be detected by converting it into a nitrate, and testing separate 
portions of this severally with chloride of barium and nitrate of silver. Common 
salt is seldom entirely absent, but good specimens are free from sulphate of 
soda. When badly prepared, it is liable to contain sulphuret of sodium, which 
may be detected by the production of the smell of sulphuretted hydrogen upon 
dissolving the salt in water. Carbonate of soda is incompatible with acids, 
acidulous salts, lime-water, muriate of ammonia, and earthy and metallic salts. 
It consists of one eq. of carbonic acid 22, and one of soda 31 3 = 53 3. When 
fully crystallized it contains ten eqs. of water 90, giving as the number repre- 
senting the crystallized salt 143’3. It is thus perceived that this salt, when per- 
fectly crystallized, contains nearly two-thirds of its weight of water; but the 
quantity actually present in it, as found in the shops, is variable, being depend- 
ent on the extent to which it may have undergone efflorescence. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Carbonate of soda is antacid, antilithic, and 
resolvent. It is given principally in diseases attended with acidity of the stomach ; 
such as gout, uric acid gravel, and certain forms of dyspepsia. It is more fre- PART I. 
Sodee Carbonas.—Sodse Hyposulphis. 
791 
quently exhibited than carbona’te of potassa; as, from its less acrid taste, it is 
more easily taken. It has also been recommended in hooping-cough, scrofula, 
and bronckocele. In the latter disease, Dr. Peschier, of Geneva, considered it 
more efficacious than iodine. It is also employed with advantage, internally 
and externally, in skin diseases, especially those of a papulous and scaly char- 
acter. A lotion suitable for these cases may be formed by dissolving from two 
to three drachms of the carbonate in a pint of water. For a bath, from eight to 
sixteen ounces of the salt may be dissolved in the necessary quantity of water. 
A suitable ointment may be made by mixing from eight to sixty grains to the 
ounce of lard, according to the character of the affection. Carbonate of soda is 
given in doses of from ten grains to half a drachm, either in powder, or dissolved 
in some bitter infusion. In consequence of the variable state in which it exists 
in the shops, as to the amount of water of crystallization which it contains, the 
dose cannot be indicated with precision. It is on this account that the salt is 
most conveniently administered in the dried state, which admits of its being 
given in the pilular form. (See Sodas Garbonas Exsiccatus.) When taken in 
an overdose it acts as a corrosive poison. The best antidotes are the fixed oils, 
acetic acid, and lemon-juice. 
Pharm. Uses. In preparing Alumin® Sulphas, U. S.; Antimonii Oxidum, 
Br.; Antimonii Oxysulphuretum, U. S.; Bismuthi Subnitras, U. S.; Cadmii 
Sulphas, U. S. 
Off. Prep. Bismuthi Subcarbonas, U. S.; Calcis Carbonas Proecipitata; Ferri 
Carbonas Saccharata, Br,; Ferri Subcarbonas, U. S.; Liquor Sod®; Liquor 
Sod® Chlorat®, Br.; Liquor Sod® Chlorinat®, U. S.; Magnesi® Carbonas, Br.; 
Magnesi® Carbonas Levis, Br.; Pilul® Ferri Carbonatis, U. S.; Pil. Ferri Oom- 
posit®, U.S.; Potass® et Sod® Tartras, U.S.; Sod® Bicarbonas; Sod® Car- 
bonas Exsiccata; Sod® et Potass® Tartras, Br.; Sod® Phosphas; Zinci Car- 
bonas, Br.; Zinci Carbonas Precipitata, U. S. B. 
SODiE HYPOSULPHIS. 
Hyposulphite of Soda. Br. Appendix. 
Hyposulphite of Soda crystallized, Na0,S?02-f5H0==124. Br. 
This salt has been introduced into the British Pharmacopmia as a test, and 
for the formation of the Volumetric Solution of Hyposulphite of Soda. It is 
readily prepared, according to Walchner, by mixing a pound of dry carbouate 
of soda, in fine powder, with five ounces of sulphur, heating the mixture gradually 
in a porcelain vessel until the sulphur melts, and stirring the agglutinated mass, 
still kept hot, in order that every portion of it may come in contact with the 
air. The sulphuret of sodium, first formed, is thus converted into sulphite of 
soda. This is dissolved in water, and the filtered solution, being boiled with 
sulphur, becomes one of hyposulphite of soda, from which, after filtration and 
concentration, the salt is deposited in crystals. It may be obtained also by di- 
gesting the solution of sulphite of soda, at a high temperature but short of 
ebullition, with finely divided sulphur. The sulphurous acid (S02) takes an ad- 
ditional eq. of sulphur, becoming hyposulphurous (dithionous) acid (S202), 
which combines with the soda to form the hyposulphite (Na0,S202). This acid 
exists only in combination; and its salts were formerly considered simply as 
sulphuretted sulphites. 
Properties. Hyposulphite of soda is in large colourless transparent crystals, 
of a mild, saline, sulphurous taste, freely soluble in water, and insoluble in alco- 
hol. Its solution dissolves chloride of silver and all other insoluble compounds 
of that metal, except the sulphuret, and that resulting from the decomposition 
of a silver salt by light. Though without action on iodide of potassium, it dis- So doe Hyposulphis.—Sodse Sulphas. 
PART I. 
solves iodine, decomposes iodic acid with the liberation of iodine, and destroys 
the blue colour of iodide of starch. (Braude and Taylor.) In dissolving iodine 
it forms with it iodide of sodium and tetrathionate of soda; as represented by 
the formula 2(Na0,S202-fI) = NaI-j-jNa0,S405. It dissolves also sulphate 
and iodide of lead, and sulphate of lime much more freely than water. (Joarn. 
de Pharm., Avril, 1864, p. 363.) Its relations to iodine render it valuable as 
a means of estimating the quantity of free iodine, for which purpose it is used 
in the I3r. Pharmacopoeia, in the form of a volumetric solution. In consequence 
of its peculiar solvent properties it is much used in photography. The daguer- 
reotypists employ it for the purpose of dissolving the sensitive coating of iodide 
of silver from the plate, after the action of the light, and thus fixing the image 
already formed. For an account of the several tests of this salt, the reader is 
referred to the Chemical News (Dec. 12, 1863, p. 283). One of the most delicate 
is that of iodine and starch. The blue colour produced by the mixture of very 
small quantities of these two substances in solution is instantly discharged by a 
solution containing a trace of the hyposulphite. 
Medical Properties. Hyposulphite of soda has recently come into use, in 
consequence of its extraordinary powers in destroying the life of the lower 
organic beings, such as have been found, through microscopic investigation, to 
infect various parts of the human system, and are sometimes the cause of trou- 
blesome, if not serious disease. When taken internally it appears to have deoxi- 
dizing powers, probably through the passage of the hyposulphurous into sul- 
phuric acid. It has been found, in its action on the urine, to diminish urea and 
increase uric acid, to increase the sulphates, and to cause the presence of sugar 
and oxalic acid in the urine. (Kletzinsky, Ann. de Therap., A. D. 1860, p. 109.) 
The use of this salt has recently been suggested, by Dr. G-. Polli, in various dis- 
eases supposed to be dependent on the presence of substances in the blood 
which act as ferments. Along with its destructive action on microscopic fungi, 
it has an extraordinary power of arresting fermentation; and with those who 
believe that this process is essentially connected with organic growths, the two 
properties may be considered identical. The theory is plausible, and to a cer- 
tain extent is supported by the experiments of Dr. Polli. Low febrile and malig- 
nant diseases, purulent infections, and the contagious exanthemata are included 
in the category referred to; and the medicine might very properly be tried in 
these affections, in connection with the ordinary remedies. With a view to its 
poisonous influence on the sarcina ventriculi which attends yeasty vomiting, it 
has been employed in that complaint; and, as a local application, it may be 
used in all the parasitic affections of the skin and mouth. It may be given in the 
dose of from ten to twenty grains three times a day, simply dissolved in water, or 
in the form of syrup. For external use a drachm may be dissolved in a fluidounce 
of water. As the effects of this salt proceed from its acid constituent, other hypo- 
sulphites may be employed for the same purposes; and hyposulphite of lime 
has been recommended. For the mode of preparing the latter salt, the reader is 
referred to an article in the Am. Journ. of Pharm. for May, 1863 (p. 223). W. 
SODJE SULPHAS. U.S. 
Sulphate of Soda. 
Vitriolated soda, Glauber’s salt; Sulfate de soude, Fr.; Schwefelsaures Natron, Glau- 
bersalz, Germ.; Solfato di soda, Ital.; Sulfato de soda, Sal de Glaubero, Span. 
Sulphate of soda, in small quantities, is extensively diffused in nature, and 
is obtained artificially in several chemical operations. It exists in solution in 
many mineral springs, among which may be mentioned those of Cheltenham 
and Carlsbad; and it is found combined with sulphate of lime, constituting a PART I. 
Sodse Sulphas. 
793 
distinct mineral. Many ponds containing this salt are found in the country be- 
tween Santa Fe and the head waters of the Arkansas, and on the route to 
the Rocky Mountains. The water in one of these ponds forms a solution so 
highly concentrated that, in dry weather, the salt crystallizes on the surface to 
the depth of several inches, so as to have the appearance of limpid ice. (Am,, 
Journ. of Pharm., xii. 110.) As an artificial product, it is formed in the pro- 
cesses for obtaining muriatic acid and chlorine, and in the preparation of muriate 
of ammonia from sulphate of ammonia and common salt. It may also be pro- 
cured from sea-water, in which its ingredients are present. 
Immense quantities of sulphate of soda are made by decomposing common 
salt by sulphuric acid, in the manufacture of soda-ash and carbonate of soda; 
and, so far from the generated muriatic acid being a product of value, its ab- 
sorption in a convenient way, so as to avoid the nuisance of its escape into the 
atmosphere in a gaseous state, is an object of importance to the manufacturer. 
(See Acidum Muriaticum.) MM. Thomas, Dellisse, and Boucard have pro- 
posed a uew process for preparing sulphate of soda, by double decomposition 
between chloride of sodium and sulphate of iron. This process avoids the pro- 
duction of muriatic acid vapours, and is said to furnish a cheap salt. 
The residue of the process for obtaining chlorine, by the action of sulphuric 
acid and deutoxide of manganese on common salt, is a mixture of sulphate of 
soda and sulphate of protoxide of manganese. (See Chlorinii Liquor.) Large 
quantities of this residue are formed in manufacturing chlorinated lime (bleach- 
ing salt); and the sulphate of soda in it, roughly purified, supplies a part of the 
consumption of this salt in making soda-ash and carbonate of soda. 
The process for obtaining muriate of ammonia from sulphate of ammonia and 
common salt, forms another source of sulphate of soda. By double decomposi- 
tion, sulphate of soda and muriate of ammonia are formed ; and by exposing the 
mixed salts to heat, the muriate of ammonia sublimes, and the sulphate of soda 
remains behind. (See Ammoniae Murias.) 
In some of the Northern States, a portion of Glauber’s salt is procured from 
sea-water in the winter. The circumstances under which it is formed have been 
explained by Mr. D. B. Smith, of this city. The constituents of several salts exist 
in sea-water, and the binary order in which these constituents will precipitate, 
upon evaporation, depends on the temperature. During the prevalence Qf rigor- 
ous cold, sulphate of soda is the least soluble salt which can be formed out of 
the acids and bases present, and consequently separates in the form of crystals. 
Properties. Sulphate of soda is a colourless salt, possessing a cooling, nau- 
seous, bitter taste, and crystallizing with great facility in six-sided striated 
prisms. When recently prepared, it is beautifully transparent; but by exposure 
to the air it effloresces, and the crystals become covered with an opaque white 
powder. By long exposure it undergoes complete efflorescence, and falls into 
powder with loss of more than half its weight. It is soluble in three times its 
weight of cold water, and in its own weight of boiling water, but is insoluble in 
alcohol. Subjected to heat, it dissolves in its water of crystallization, then dries, 
and afterwards, by the application of a red heat, melts, with the loss of per 
cent, of its weight. Occasionally it contains an excess of acid or alkali, which 
may be discovered by litmus or turmeric paper. Common salt may be detected 
by sulphate of silver; that of iron by ferrocyanide of potassium or tincture of 
galls. This salt is not subject to adulteration. It is incompatible with carbonate 
of pqtassa, chloride of calcium, the salts of baryta, acetate and subacetate of lead, 
and with nitrate of silver if the solutions are strong. It consists of one eq. of 
sulphuric acid 40, one of soda 31’3, and ten of water 90 == 161 3. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Sulphate of soda, in doses of from half an 
ounce to an ounce, is an efficient cathartic; in smaller doses, an aperient and 
diuretic. When in an effloresced state, the dose must be reduced one-half, on 794 
So doe Sulphas.—So dee Sulphis. 
PART I. 
accoMit of its having lost about one-half of its weight in water. Prof. Buckheim 
has ascertained, by experiment, that the ingestion of this salt causes an increase 
of sulphates in the urine, especially if its purgative action be delayed or pre- 
vented by other medicines. These results were not affected by the quantity of 
\yater taken with the salt. Sulphate of soda is much less used than formerly, 
having been almost entirely superseded by sulphate of magnesia, which is less 
disagreeable to take. Its nauseous taste, however, may be disguised by the ad- 
mixture of a little lemon-juice or cream of tartar, or the addition of a few drops 
of sulphuric acid. It is an ingredient in the artificial Cheltenham salt. (See 
Part III.) Its only use in the arts is to make carbonate of soda, and as an in- 
gredient in some kinds of glass. It has no officinal preparations. B. 
SODiE SULPHIS. U.S. 
Sulphite of Soda. 
This salt was first adopted as officinal in the present edition of the U. S. Phar- 
macopoeia. It may be prepared by passing sulphurous acid into a solution ol 
carbonate of soda, and evaporating out of contact of the air. The sulphurous 
acid unites with the soda of the carbonate, to form the sulphite of soda, and the 
carbonic acid escapes. After sufficient concentration, the solution is allowed to 
cool, aud the salt crystallizes. 
Properties. Sulphite of soda is in the form of white prismatic crystals, solu- 
ble in four parts of cold, and less than their weight of boiling water. Sulphuric 
acid added to the solution gives rise to a smell of burning sulphur, owing to 
the escape of sulphurous acid; and the liquid remains transparent, indicating 
the absence of lime. Sulphite of soda consists of one eq. of soda, one of sulphur- 
ous acid, and three of water (NaO,S02 + 3IIO). The salt should be kept in bot- 
tles well stopped; as it gradually changes on exposure into sulphate of soda. 
Medical Uses. Sulphite of soda has been used in cases of yeasty vomiting 
with remarkable success. The matter vomited in these cases has a yeasty appear- 
ance on the surface, and is generally found to contain, when examined by the 
microscope, two microscopic fungi, called sarcina ventriculi and torula cerevisiae. 
The ren?edy was first used at the suggestion of Prof. Graham, of London, who 
supposed that the sulphurous acid, necessarily extricated from the salt in the 
stomach by the acid of the yeasty matter, would destroy the parasites. Dr. Dobie, 
of Edinburgh, has reported two cases of yeasty vomiting, occurring under his 
observation, in which the disease was immediately checked by the sulphite. In 
one of the cases the vomited matter contained an enormous quantity of the 
torula, without sarcina;. (Pd. Monthly Journ., xiv. 574.) Dr. Astrie, an Italian 
physician, has proposed this salt as a remedy for the constitutional effects of 
mercury, when used in excess, on the ground that it has the power of rendering 
the metal soluble. The dose of sulphite of soda is a drachm three times a day. 
Sulphite of soda is sometimes used locally, especially in that species of aphthous 
sore-mouth, which is attributed to a parasitic vegetable. The wash may be made 
of a drachm of the salt to a fluidouuce of water. The acid secretions of the mouth 
extricate the sulphurous acid, which kills the parasite. It is said that the solu- 
tion acts with surprising rapidity, a single application of it sometimes removing 
the disease in 24 hours. From what has been said it is evident that sulphite of 
soda as a remedy is equivalent to sulphurous acid; since its employment, wheth&r 
internally or externally, is always attended with the extrication of this acid. 
(See Acidum Sulphurosum, Part II.) B PART I. 
Sodii Chloridum. 
795 
SODII CHLORIDUM. U.S.,Br. 
Chloride of Sodium. Common Salt. 
Muriate of soda, Sea salt, Common salt; Chlorure de sodium, Hydro-chlorate de soude, 
Sel marin, Fr.; Chlornatrium, Kochsalz, Germ.; Salt, Dan., Swed.; Chloruro di sodio, Sa- 
commune, Ital.; Sal, Span. 
This mineral production, so necessary to mankind, is universally distributed 
over the globe, and is the most abundant of the natjve soluble salts. Most ani- 
mals have an instinctive relish for it; and, from its frequent presence in the solids 
and fluids of the animal economy, it may be supposed to perform an important 
part in assimilation and nutrition. 
Natural State. Common salt exists in nature, either in the solid state or in 
solution. In the solid state, called rock-salt, fossil salt, and sal gemmae, it is 
often found forming extensive beds, and even entire mountains, from which it is 
extracted in blocks or masses by mining operations. Its geological position is 
very constant, occurring almost invariably in secondary formations, associated 
with clay and gypsum. In solution it occurs in certain springs and lakes, and 
in the waters of the ocean. The principal salt mines are found in Poland, Hun- 
gary, and Russia; in various parts of Germany, particularly the Tyrol; in 
Cheshire, England; in. Spain; in various parts of Asia and Africa; and in 
Peru, and other countries of South America. With the exception of a remark- 
able bed of rock salt in the island of Petite Anse, in Yermillion Bay, on the 
coast of Louisiana, there are in the United States no salt mines; but there are 
numerous salt springs, which either flow naturally, or are produced artificially 
by sinking wells to various depths in places where salt is known to exist.* These 
are found principally in Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsyl- 
vania, Virginia, and New York. In the last-mentioned State the springs are 
the most productive; the chief ones being situated at Salina, Montezuma, and 
Galen. In Virginia an important salt region exists, extending fifteen miles on 
both sides of the great Kenhawa river. Rock salt is always transparent or trans- 
lucent; but it often exhibits various colours, such as red, yellow, brown, violet, 
blue, &c., which are supposed to be derived from iron and manganese. 
Extraction. Mines of salt are worked in two ways. When the salt is pure 
it is merely dug out in blocks and thrown into commerce. When impure it is 
dissolved in water, and extracted afterwards from the solution by evaporation. 
When the salt is naturally in solution, the mode of extraction depends upon the 
strength of the brine, and the temperature of the place where it is found. When 
the water contains from 14 to 15 per cent, of the salt, it is extracted by evapo- 
ration in large iron boilers. If, however, it contains only 2, 3, 4, or 5 per cent., 
the salt is obtained in a different manner. If the climate is warm it is procured 
by spontaneous evaporation, effected by the heat of the sun; if temperate, by a 
peculiar mode of evaporation to be mentioned presently, and the subsequent 
application of artificial heat. 
Sea-water is a weak saline solution, containing 2-7 per cent, of common salt, 
which is extracted by the agency of solar heat in warm countries. Salt thus 
obtained is called bay salt. The extraction is conducted in Europe principally 
on the shores of the Mediterranean, the waters of which are salter than those ol 
the open ocean. The mode in which it is performed is by letting the sea-water 
* Rock-salt in Nevada. After the statement in the text had gone to press, an extract from 
k letter, dated at Virginia City, in the new State of Nevada, adjoining California, was pub- 
lished in one of our daily papers (North, American and United States Gaz., Nov. 2, 1864), in 
which it is said that, near Carson River, in that State, a basin of common salt had been dis- 
covered. live miles square in extent, and fourteen feet in thickness. The salt is said to bo 
very pure, hard, and as clear as crystal, and capable of being mined with great facility. — 
Note to the twelfth edition. 796 
Sodii Chloridum. 
PART I. 
into shallow dikes, lined with clay, and capable, after having been filled, of being 
shut off from the sea. In this situation the heat of the sun gradually concen- 
trates the water, and the salt is deposited. In temperate climates, weak brines 
are first concentrated in buildings called graduation houses. These are rough 
wooden structures open on the sides, ten or eleven yards high, five or six wide, 
and three or four hundred long, and containing an oblong pile, of brushwood 
somewhat smaller than the building itself. The brine is pumped up into troughs 
full of holes, placed above the brushwood, upon which it is allowed to fall; and 
in its descent it becomes minutely divided. This operation, by greatly increasing 
the surface of the brine, promotes its evaporation; and, being repeated several 
times, the solution is at last brought to the requisite degree of strength to per- 
mit of its final concentration in iron boilers by artificial heat. • 
Properties. Chloride of sodium is white, without odour-, and of a peculiar 
taste called saline. It is usually crystallized in cubes; but by hasty evaporation 
it often assumes the form of hollow quadrangular pyramids. When pure it un- 
dergoes no change in the air; but, when contaminated with chloride of magne- 
sium, as not unfrequently happens, it is deliquescent. Water at 54° F. dissolves 
36 percent, of this salt, and at the boiling temperature, 40 per cent. (Feliling.) 
It is but sparingly soluble in alcohol. One hundred parts of this liquid (sp. gr. 
0-815) dissolve, at the temperature of 59°, only 0-174 parts of common salt. 
(R. Wagner.) Exposed to a gradually increasing heat, it first decrepitates from 
the presence of interstitial moisture, next melts, and finally volatilizes in white 
fumes without decomposition. It is decomposed by several of the acids, par- 
ticularly the sulphuric and nitric, which disengage vapours of muriatic acid; by 
carbonate of potassa with the assistance of heat; and by the nitrates of silver 
and protoxide of mercury. 
Several varieties of common salt are distinguished in commerce; as stoved 
salt, fishery salt, bay salt, &c.; but they are characterized by the size and com- 
pactness of the grains, rather than by any difference in composition. 
Composition. Common salt, in its pure state, consists of one eq. of chlorine 
35'5, and one of sodium 233 = 58-8. It contains no water of crystallization. 
When in solution it is by some supposed to become muriate of soda, in conse- 
quence of the decomposition of water, the hydrogen and oxygen of which are 
alleged to convert the chlorine and sodium into muriatic acid and soda. The 
common salt of commerce, besides pure chloride of sodium, contains, generally 
speaking, insoluble matter, and usually more or less of the sulphates of lime 
and magnesia, and chlorides of calcium and magnesium. When pure it is not 
precipitated by carbonate of soda, chloride of barium, or ferrocyanide of potas- 
sium. Chloride of calcium is generally present in very small amount; but the 
chloride of magnesium sometimes amounts to 28 parts in 1000. Sulphate of 
lime is usually present; constituting variously from 1 to 23£ parts in 1000; and 
sulphate of magnesia is sometimes present and sometimes absent. To separate 
the earths, a boiling solution of carbonate of soda must be added, as long as any 
precipitate is formed. The earths will fall as carbonates, and must be separated 
by filtration, and the sulphate of soda and chloride of sodium, resulting from 
the double decomposition, will remain in solution. The sulphate of soda may 
then be decomposed by the cautious addition of chloride of barium, which will 
generate chloride of sodium and insoluble sulphate of baryta. 
Medical Properties, &c. Chloride of sodium, in small doses, acts as a stimu- 
lant tonic and anthelmintic; in larger ones as a purgative and emetic. It cer- 
tainly promotes digestion, and the almost universal animal appetency for it 
proves it to be a stimulus in health. From the experiments of Frof. 
Buckheim, it appears that common salt quickly passes into the blood, and is 
thrown off in greater part, in six hours, by the kidneys. The portion not; 
found in the urine and feces is probably appropriated to the uses of the economy. Sodii Chloridum.—Solidago. 
797 
PART i. 
According to the experiments of M. Plouviez, made upon himself, at intervals, 
during twenty-five months, a saline regimen has the effect of increasing the 
weight and strength of the body. He began with a teaspoonful daily, which 
he increased to a tablespoonful, continuing to take this dose for a period of three 
or four months. The regimen appeared to produce plethora. The blood, ana- 
lyzed while under the full effects of the salt, was found to contain more of the 
corpuscles and salts, but less of the albumen and water. 
Common salt has been used with good effect by a number of practitioners a? 
a remedy in intermittent fever. This practice is said to have been long followed 
in Hungary. In 1850 it was brought to the notice of the profession by M. 
Scelle-Mondezert, of Charenton, on whose results M. Piorry reported favoura- 
bly. Since then the power of common salt as an antiperiodic has been attested 
by Dr. Lattimore of New York, Dr. Hutchinson of Brooklyn, Dr. Moroschkin 
of Russia, and others. In some cases, observed by M. Piorry, the spleen rapidly 
diminished in size. It is not alleged to be equal to quinia; but, while it cures 
many oases, it has the merit of cheapness. The dose is from eight to twelve 
drachms, given in divided doses during the apyrexia. It is best administered in 
mucilage of slippery elm, or in coffee. 
On the sudden occurrence of hsemoptysis, common salt is usefully resorted to 
as a styptic, in the dose of a teaspoonful, taken dry, and often proves successful 
in stopping the flow of blood. Externally applied in solution it is stimulant, 
and may be used either locally or generally. Locally, it is sometimes employed 
as a fomentation in sprains and bruises; and as a general external application 
it forms the salt-water bath, a valuable remedy as a tonic and excitant in de- 
praved conditions of the system, especially when occurring in children. A pound 
of salt, dissolved in four gallons of water, forms a solution of about the strength 
of sea-water, and suitable for a bath. The dose, as a tonic, is from ten grains 
to a drachm; as a cathartic, from two drachms to half an ounce. In doses of 
from half an ounce to an ounce, dissolved in four or five times its weight of 
water, it frequently proves a prompt and efficient emetic, invigorating rather 
than depressing the powers of the system. It is frequently used as a clyster, in 
the quantity of from one to two tablespoonfuls in a pint of water. 
The uses of common salt in domestic economy as a condiment and antiseptic 
are well known. In pharmacy it is employed to prepare chlorine, muriatic acid, 
muriate of ammonia, calomel, and corrosive sublimate. It is also used to form 
sulphate of soda, with a view to its conversion into carbonate of soda. 
Off. Prep. Acidum Hydrochloricum, Br.; Calomelas, Br.; Hydrargyri Chlo- 
ridum, Br.; Hydrargyri Chloridum Corrosivum, U. S.; Hydrargyri Chloridum 
Mite, U. S.; Hydrargyrum Corrosivum Sublimatum, Br.; Liquor Sod® Chlo- 
rat®, Br. B. 
SOLID AGO. U. S. Secondary. 
Golden-rod. 
The leaves of Solidago odora. XJ. S. 
Solidago. Sex. Syst. Syngenesia Superflua. — Nat. Ord. Composit® Aste- 
roide®, De Candolle; Asterace®, Bindley. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx imbricated, scales closed. Radical florets about five, yellow. 
Receptacle naked, punctate. Pappus simple pilose. Nuttall. 
This is a very abundant genus, including, according to Eaton’s enumeration, 
upwards of sixty species belonging to this country. Of these S. odora only is 
officinal. S. Virgaurea, which is common to the United States and Europe, was 
formerly directed by the Dublin College. It is astringent, and has been sup- 
posed to possess lithontriptic virtues. 
Solidago odora. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 2061; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. i. 187. PART I. 
798 
Solidago.—Spigelia. 
Siceet-scented golden-rod has a perennial creeping root, and a slender, erect, 
pubescent stem, two or three feet high. The leaves are sessile, linear-lanceolate, 
entire, acute, rough at the margin, elsewhere smooth, and covered with pellucid 
dots. The flowers are of a deep golden-yellow colour, and are arranged in a 
terminal, compound, panicled raceme, the branches of which spread almost 
horizontally, are each accompanied by a small leaf, and support the flowers on 
downy pedicels, which put forth from the upper side of the peduncle, and have 
small linear bractes at their base. The florets of the ray are ligulate, oblong, 
and obtuse; those of the disk, funnel-shaped, with acute segments. 
The plant grows in woods and fields throughout the United States, and is in 
flower from August to October. The leaves, which are the officinal portion, have 
a fragrant odour, and a warm, aromatic, agreeable taste. These properties de- 
pend on a volatile oil, which may be separated by distillation with water. It is 
of a pale greenish-yellow colour, and lighter than water. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Golden-rod is aromatic, moderately stimulant 
and carminative, and, like other substances of the same class, diaphoretic when 
given in warm infusion. It may be used to relieve pain arising from flatulence, 
to allay nausea, and to cover the taste or correct the operation of unpleasant or 
irritating medicines. For these purposes it may be given in infusion. The vola- 
tile oil dissolved in alcohol is employed in the Eastern States. According to 
Pursh, the dried flowers are used as a pleasant and wholesome substitute for 
common tea. W. 
SPIGELIA. U.S. 
Spujelia. Pinkroot. 
The root of Spigelia Marilandica. U. S. 
Spig61ie du Maryland, Fr.; Spigelie, Germ.; Spigelia, Ttal. 
Spigelia. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Gentianaceae, Juss.; 
Spigeliaceae, Martins, Lindley. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx five-parted. Corolla funnel-shaped, border five-cleft, equal. 
Capsule didymous, two-celled, four-valved, many-seeded. Nuttall. 
Two species of Spigelia have attracted attention as anthelmintics, S. anthelmia 
of South America and the West Indies, and S. Marilandica of this country. 
The former is an annual plant, used only in the countries where it grows; the 
latter is much employed both in this country and in Europe. 
Spigelia Marilandica. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 825; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. i. 
142; Barton, Med. Bot. ii. 15. The Carolina pink is an herbaceous plant with 
a perennial root, which sends off numerous fibrous branches. The stems, several 
of which rise from the same root, are simple, erect, four-sided, nearly smooth, 
and from twelve to twenty inches high. The leaves are opposite, sessile, ovate- 
lanceolate, acuminate, entire, and smooth, with the veins and margins slightly 
pubescent. Each stem terminates in a spike, which leans to one side, and sup- 
ports from four to twelve flowers with very short peduncles. The calyx is per- 
sistent, with five long, subulate, slightly serrate leaves, reflexed in the ripe fruit. 
The corolla is funnel-shaped, and much longer than the calyx, with the tube in- 
flated in the middle, and the border divided into five acute, spreading segments. 
It is of a rich carmine colour externally, paler at the base, and orange-yellow 
within. The edges of the segments are slightly tinged with green. The stamens, 
though apparently very short, and inserted into the upper part of the tube be- 
tween the segments, may be traced down its internal surface to the base. The 
anthers are oblong, heart-shaped; the germ superiof, ovate; the style about 
the length of the corolla, and terminating in a linear fringed stigma, projecting 
considerably beyond it. The capsule is double, consisting of two cohering, 
globular, one-celled portions with many seeds. Part t. 
Spigelia. 
799 
The plant is a native of our Southern and South-western States, being seldom 
found north of the Potomac. It grows in rich soils on the borders of woods, 
and flowers from May to'July. The root is the only part recognised in the 
Pharmacopoeias. The drug was formerly collected in Georgia and the neigh- 
bouring States by the Creek and Cherokee Indians, who disposed of it to the 
white traders. The whole plant was gathered and dried, and came to us in bales 
or casks. After the emigration of the Indians, the supply of spigelia from this 
source very much diminished, and has now nearly if not quite failed. The con- 
sequence was for a time a great scarcity, and increase in the price of the drug; 
but a new source of supply was opened from the Western and South-western 
States, and it is now again plentiful. As we receive spigelia at present, it con- 
sists chiefly if not exclusively of the root, without the stem and leaves. We 
have been informed that most of it comes in casks or bales from St. Louis by 
the way of New Orleans. That contained in casks is to be preferred, as less liable 
to be damp and mouldy. 
Properties. Pinkroot consists of numerous slender, branching, crooked, 
wrinkled fibres, from three to six inches long, attached to a knotty head or 
candex, which exhibits traces of the stems of former years. It is brownish or 
yellowish-brown externally, of a faint, peculiar smell, and a sweetish, slightly 
bitter, not very disagreeable taste. Its virtues are extracted by boiling water. 
The root, analyzed by M. Feneulle, yielded a fixed and volatile oil, a small 
quantity of resin, a bitter substance supposed to be the active principle, a mu- 
cilaginous saccharine matter, albumen, gallic acid, the malates of potassa and 
lime, &c., and woody fibre. The principle upon which the virtues of the root are 
thought to depend is brown, of a bitter nauseous taste, like that of the purga- 
tive matter of the leguminous plants, and, when taken internally, produces ver- 
tigo and a kind of intoxication. An analysis of the root by Dr. R. H. Stabler 
yielded as results, a bitter uncrystallizable principle upon which the virtues of 
the medicine are supposed to depend, a little volatile oil, tannic acid, inert ex- 
tractive, wax, resin, lignin, and salts of soda, potassa, and lime. The active 
principle is acrid and bitter, soluble in water and alcohol, insoluble in ether, not 
volatilizable without change, uncrystallizable, neuter, and deliquescent. It was 
obtained by treating a decoction of the root with subacetate of lead in excess, 
filtering, precipitating the lead by sulphuric acid, again filtering, evaporating 
by means of a steam-bath to a soft extract, treating this with alcohol, filtering the 
alcoholic solution, decolorizing with animal charcoal, and evaporating by steam 
as before. The residue yielded nothing to ether, and was of a reddish-brown 
colour. (Proceed. of the Am. Pharm. Assoc., A.D. 1857.) 
The stalks of the dried plant are oval below the first pair of leaves, and then 
become obscurely four-sided. The leaves, when good, have a fresh greenish 
colour, and an odour somewhat like that of tea. In taste they resemble the root, 
and afforded to M. Feneulle nearly the same principles. The quantity, however, 
of the bitter substance was less, corresponding with their inferior efficacy. This 
circumstance should cause their rejection from the shops; as the inequality in 
power of the two portions of the plaut would lead to uncertainty in the result, 
when they are both employed. 
The roots are sometimes mixed with those of other plants, particularly of a 
small vine which twines round the stem of the Spigelia. These are long, slender, 
crooked, yellowish, thickly set with short capillary fibres, and much smaller and 
lighter-coloured than the pinkroot. They should be separated before the latter 
is used. The activity of spigelia is somewhat diminished by time. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Pinkroot is generally considered among the 
most powerful anthelmintics. In the ordinary dose it usually produces little 
sensible effect on the system; more largely given it acts as a cathartic, though 
unequal and uncertain in its operation; in overdoses it excites the circulation, 800 
Spigelia.—Spiraea. 
PART I. 
and determines to the brain, giving rise to vertigo, umniess of vision, dilated 
pupils, spasms of the facial muscles, and sometimes even to general convulsions. 
Spasmodic movements of the eyelids have been observed among the most com- 
mon attendants of its narcotic action. The death of two children, who expired 
in convulsions, was attributed by Dr. Chalmers to the influence of spigelia. 
The narcotic effects are said to be less apt to occur when the medicine purges, 
and to be altogether obviated by combining it with cathartics. The danger 
from its employment cannot be great; as it is in very general use in the United 
States, both in regular and domestic practice, and we never hear at present of 
serious consequences. Its effects upon the nervous system have been errone- 
ously conjectured to depend on other roots sometimes mixed with the genuine. 
The vermifuge properties of spigelia were first learned from the. Cherokee In- 
dians. They were made known to the medical profession by Drs. Lining, Gar- 
den, and Chalmers, of South Carolina. The remedy has also been recommended 
in infantile remittents and other febrile diseases; but is entitled to little confi- 
dence in these complaints. 
It may be given in substance or infusion. The dose of the powdered root, for 
a child three or four years old, is from ten to twenty grains, for an adult from 
one to two drachms, to be repeated morning and evening for several days suc- 
cessively, and then followed by a brisk cathartic. The practice of preceding its 
use by an emetic has been generally abandoned. It is frequently given in com- 
bination with calomel. The infusion, however, is a more common form of ad- 
ministration. (See Infusum Spigeliae.) It is usually combined with senna or 
some other cathartic, to ensure its action on the bowels. A preparation generally 
kept in the shops, and much prescribed by physicians, under the name of worm 
tea, consists of pinkroot, senna, manna, and savine, mixed together, in various 
proportions, to suit the views of different individuals. Spigelia is also very often 
given in the form of fluid extract. 
Off. Prep. Extractum Spigelias Fluidum, TJ. S.; Infusum Spigeliae, TJ. S. 
W. 
SPIRAEA. U.S Secondary. 
Hardback. 
The root of Spiraea tomentosa. TJ. S. 
Spiraea. Sex. Syst. Icosandria Pentagynia.—Nat. Ord. Rosaceae. 
Oen.Cli. Calyx spreading, five-cleft, inferior. Petals five, equal, roundish. 
Stamens numerous, exserted. Capsules three to twelve, internally bivalve, each 
one to tliree-seeded. Nuttall. 
Spiraea uhnaria, queen of the meadow, or meadow-sweet, which is a Euro- 
pean plant, though introduced into this country, has been found by M. Tessier, 
of Lyons, to possess valuable diuretic properties, united with those of a mod- 
erate tonic and astringent. All parts of it are active. M. Tessier employed it 
in the form of decoction, of which he gave a quart daily. For more extended 
observations in relation to this medicine, see Bouchardat’s Annuaire de Thera ■ 
peutique{A.D. 1852, p. 119). 
Spiraea tomentosa. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1056; Rafinesque, Med. Flor.vol. ii. 
This is an indigenous shrub, two or three feet high, with numerous simple, erect, 
round, downy, and purplish stems, furnished with alternate leaves, closely set 
upon very short footstalks. The leaves are ovate-lanceolate, unequally serrate, 
somewhat pointed at both ends, dark-green on their upper surface, whitish and 
tomentose beneath. The flowers are beautifully red or purple, and disposed in 
terminal, compound, crowded spikes or racemes. 
The hardback flourishes in low grounds, from New England to Carolina, but 
is most abundant in the Northern States. It flowers in July and August. All PART I. 
Spiraea.—Spiritus Frumenti. 
801 
parts of it are medicinal. The root, though designated in the Pharmacopoeia, 
is, according to Dr. A. W. Ives, the least valuable portion. The taste of the 
plant is bitter and strongly astringent. Among its constituents are tannin, gallic 
acid, and bitter extractive. Water extracts its medicinal virtues. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Spiraea is tonic and astringent, and may bo 
used in diarrhoea, cholera infantum, and other complaints in which astringents 
are indicated. In consequence of its tonic powers it is peculiarly adapted to 
cases of debility; and, from the same cause, should not be given during the 
existence of inflammatory action, or febrile excitement. It is said to have been 
employed by the aborigines; but was first brought to the notice of the medical 
profession by Dr. Cogswell, of Hartford, Connecticut. It is said to be less apt 
to disagree with the stomach than most other astringents. 
The form in which it is best administered is that of an extract, prepared by 
evaporating the decoction of the leaves, stems, or root, or an infusion of the 
same parts made by percolation. The dose is from five to fifteen grains, re- 
peated several times a day. A decoction, prepared by boiling an ounce of the 
plant in a pint of water, may be given in the dose of one or two fluidounces. 
W. 
SPIRITUS FRUMENTI. U.S. 
Whisky. 
Spirit obtained from fermented grain by distillation, and containing from 48 
to 56 per cent, of absolute alcohol. For medicinal use, it should be free from 
disagreeable odour, and not less than two years old. U. S. 
The term whisky is said to have been first applied to the spirit obtained from 
barley, in the Highlands of Scotland, and to signify water in the language of the 
people of that region. {Rees's Cyclopaedia.) In the strict sense of the word, as 
at present understood, and as officinally defined, it belongs to the distilled spirit 
from different grains, including wheat, rye, barley, and Indian corn. We have 
been informed that the famous Bourbon whisky, from Kentucky, is prepared 
from Indian corn, previously malted and kiln dried. The common whisky of this 
country is generally made from rye. The term, however, is sometimes extended 
to other forms of ardent spirit; and that resulting from the distillation of cider 
is frequently designated as apple whisky. 
In the preparation of whisky, the infusion of rye or other grain is first made 
to undergo fermentation, by which the saccharine matter and indirectly the 
starch are converted into alcohol. In this state the liquid is called the wash. 
This is submitted to distillation, and the product is denominated low wines. 
By a second distillation it becomes purer and stronger, and now takes the name 
of raw corn spirit or whisky. Sometimes, we are informed, it is submitted to a 
third distillation, in order still further to purify it. By time certain chemical 
changes take place by which the natural impurities contained in the liquor are 
destroyed, and the whisky becomes mellowed, losing the disagreeable odour 
and taste which it is apt to have when first distilled. 
There are volatile principles naturally existing in the grains, which accom- 
pany the liquor in all its changes, and give their characteristic flavour to the re- 
sulting spirit. These can scarcely be considered as impurities. But there are 
others produced during the process of fermentation which serve seriously to 
contaminate the product. Among these is fusel oil or grain oil (amylic alcohol), 
which is offensive both to the smell and taste, and of which it is very desirable 
that the spirit should be freed as far as possible. As this oil has a considerably 
higher boiling point than alcohol or even water, it is mainly left behind, if the 
distillation be not carried too far; yet portions still rise, and to a certain extent 
impregnate the spirit. Minute proportions of acetic and butyric acids are often 
r i 802 
Spiritus Frumenti.—Spiritus Myrcise. 
PART I. 
present in whisky, and valerianic acid has been detected. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
Nov. 1859, p. 573.) According to Dr. A. A. Hayes, of Boston, all new spirits, 
prepared with copper stills, are liable to be adulterated with that metal, which, 
however, is, he thinks, deposited in the process of ripening which they undergo 
by time. (Am. Journ. of Sci. and Arts, July, 1861.) 
Whisky, when recently prepared, is nearly colourless; but, when kept in casks, 
it gradually acquires a brownish colour, which deepens with time; and hence it 
may be found of various shades from a slight yellowrish-browrn tint to the dark 
brown of brandy. Its taste and smell, when mellow by age, though peculiar, are 
not disagreeable. As directed by the Pharmacopoeia it should contain from 48 
to 56 per cent, of absolute alcohol, and its sp. gr. therefore should not exceed 
0 922 at 60° F., nor be less than 0 904. 
It was introduced into the Pharmacopoeia as a cheap substitute for brandy, 
and may be employed for all the purposes which that spirit is capable of ful- 
filling. Indeed, when of good quality, which can always be commanded, it is 
probably preferable as a medicinal agent to brandy such as is now generally 
sold in our markets. W. 
SPIRITUS MYRCLE. U.S. 
Spirit of Myrcia. Bay-rum. 
The spirit ootained by distilling rum with the leaves of Myrcia acris. U. S. 
This is a new officinal of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. It has been long in use 
as a most agreeable and refreshing perfume; and many persons, misled by the 
name, believed it to be prepared by distilling spirit from the leaves of the bay- 
tree (Laurus nobilis). It appears, however, from a paper published by Mr. John 
M. Maisch in the American Journal of Pharmacy for July, 1861, that this 
was an error. A leaf having been presented to him, brought from the West In- 
dies, with the information that it was from the tree of which the leaves were used 
in preparing this spirit, he observed that it had precisely the characteristic odour 
and taste of bay-rum, and on comparing it with the leaves of a twig in the col- 
lection of the Academy of Natural Sciences of this city, brought by the late Dr. 
Griffiths from Saint Croix, and labeled as the plant from which bay-rum was 
prepared, found that the two closely corresponded. From the characters of the 
leaf, Prof. Bridges suggested that it might belong to a plant of the family Myr- 
tacern, and most probably the Myrcia acris of De Candolle. Further investiga- 
tion satisfied Mr. Maisch of the correctness of this reference; and there is little 
room to doubt that the source of this very agreeable perfume is really the plant 
indicated in the Pharmacopoeia. 
Myrcia. Sex. Syst. Icosandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Myrtacese. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx five-parted, tube subglobose. Petals five. Stamens numer- 
ous, free. Ovary two or three-celled. Berry one or two-celled, one to three-seeded. 
Seed subglobose, smooth; cotyledons foliaceous. 
Myrcia acris. Schwartz; De Cand. Prodrom. v. 243; Curtis’s Bot. Mag., 2d 
ser., vol. vi. pi. 3153. — Myrtus acris. Willd. Sp. Plant, p. 973. The hayberry, 
as it is sometimes called, is a tree of considerable size, with a straight stem, and a 
thick pyramidal summit. The young branches are green and sharply four-angled. 
The leaves are opposite, from 3 to 5 inches long, very coriaceous, lanceolate, ob- 
tuse, wavy, somewhat revolute at the edges, with numerous parallel nerves, reticu- 
lated on the upper surface, and sprinkled with pellucid dots. They have a very 
fragrant odour, and are somewhat astringent. The flowers, which are arranged 
in pedunculate, axillary panicles, longer than the leaves, are small, and white 
with a reddish tinge. The berries are round, about as large as a pea, with 7 oi 
8 seeds, and of an aromatic smell aud taste. PART I. 
Spiritus Myrcise.—Spiritus Pyroxilicus Rectificatus. 
803 
The tree is a native of Jamaica and other West India islands. The spirit is 
probably prepared by distilling rum from the leaves; but we are in want of pre- 
cise information on the subject, and it is not impossible that the leaves of other 
species may also be used. Indeed an odour of pimento which it appears to us 
may be sometimes detected, suggests the idea that the leaves of this tree may 
be at least occasionally added to those of the bayberry. A volatile oil is also 
obtained from the leaves by distillation. This is described by Mr. Maisch in the 
same number of the American Journal of Pharmacy (p. 296). It is brownish- 
yellow, limpid, of an aromatic odour resembling that of allspice, and a warm spicy 
taste. It is lighter than water, readily soluble in ether, from which alcohol pre- 
cipitates it, and partially soluble in alcohol. Its alcoholic solution has a feeble 
acid reaction. 
Bay-rum is used chiefly as a refreshing perfume in cases of nervous headache, 
faintness, and other nervous disorders, either held to the nostrils or applied on 
soft linen to the head and forehead. It is also grateful to the feeble and con- 
valescent patient, by being sprinkled on the bed covering, or otherwise made to 
impregnate the air of the chamber. W. 
SPIRITUS PYROXILICUS RECTIFICATUS. Br. 
Rectified Pyroxylic Spirit. 
Hydrated Oxide of Methyle, C2II30,H0, with about 10 per cent, of water; 
a product of the destructive distillation of wood. Br. 
Pyroligneous spirit, Wood spirit, Wood naphtha, Pyroxylic alcohol, Wood alcohol, Me- 
thylic alcohol, Hydrated oxide of methyl, Bihydrate of methylen; Esprit pyroxylique, 
Esprit de hois, Alcool methylique, Fr. 
This substance was discovered in 1812 by P. Taylor, and was afterwards ex- 
amined by Macaire and Marcet, Liebig, Dumas and Peligot, Kane, and others. 
When wood is subjected to destructive distillation, there is formed, besides 
acetic acid, tar, and other products (see page 18), about 1 per cent, of an in- 
flammable, volatile liquid, which, when separated and purified, constitutes py- 
roxylic spirit. The crude liquor, derived from the wood, separates on standing 
into two liquids; the lighter containing the tarry matters, and the heavier con- 
sisting of water, acetic acid, pyroxylic spirit, &c. The heavier liquid is saturated 
with lime, and subjected to distillation, whereby the impure pyroxylic spirit first 
comes over, mixed, however, with various compounds, among which are aldehvd 
and pyroace'tic spirit (acetone). This, after having been redistilled, and deprived 
of water by repeated rectifications from lime, forms the pyroxylic spirit of 
commerce. The spirit of commerce is purified by adding to it as much chloride 
of calcium as it can dissolve, and allowing the mixture to stand for a few days. 
The pyroxylic spirit unites with the chloride of calcium, and the compound 
formed is subjected to distillation to separate certain contaminating substances, 
which distil over. Finally, the pyroxylic spirit is separated from the chloride of 
calcium by the addition of water and a new distillation, and from water by rec- 
tification from dry lime. M. Berthelot has succeeded in producing wood-spirit 
synthetically by uniting the elements of water with marsh gas (C2HJ through 
the instrumentality of chlorine. (Ghem. Gaz., Jan. 15, 1858, p. 33.) 
Properties. Pure anhydrous pyroxylic spirit is a mobile, colourless liquid, 
possessing a hot, pungent taste, and a peculiar aromatic smell, recalling that of 
acetic ether. It mixes in all proportions with water, alcohol, and ether, without 
having its transparency disturbed. It burns like alcohol, but with a less lumi- 
nous flame. Itssp.gr. as a liquid is 0198; as a vapour, 1-041. (Regnault.) Its 
vapour is irritating to the eyes. It boils at 140°, and during ebullition its vapour 
causes concussions, which render its distillation difficult, and which may be pre- 804 
Sph itus Pyroxilicus Rectificatus. 
PART I. 
vented by placing in the bottom of the vessel a layer of mercury. Asa solvent 
it resembles alcohol, all bodies soluble in that menstruum being likewise soluble 
in pyroxylic spirit. As it has the same relation to the compound radical, methyl 
(C2H3), that common alcohol has to ethyl (C4H.), it is deemed an alcohol, and 
called methylic alcohol. It consists of two eqs. of carbon 12, four of hydrogen 
4, and two of oxygen 16 = 32; and its empirical formula is C2H402. Considered 
as a hydrated oxide of methyl, its formula is C2H.,0 -f- HO. Viewed as a bihy- 
drate of methylen, it is represented by C2II2 -f- 2HO. According to Mr. Reuben 
Phillips, pyroxylic spirit usually contains sulphur, not easily separated from it. 
The officinal pyroxylic spirit is directed in the Br. Pharmacopoeia to have a 
sp. gr. from 0 841 to 0'846. From the density, thus recognised, it might be implied 
that not the pure, but the commercial pyroxylic spirit was contemplated, which 
has a straw-yellow colour, and a powerful odour of wood-smoke. But the Phar- 
macopoeia also directs that the spirit should be without action on litmus paper, 
free from smoky taste, and not rendered turbid by water. It therefore intends 
a purified spirit; and the greater density must be ascribed to the presence of the 
10 per cent, of water allowed. According to Mr. Morson, of London, the impure 
commercial spirit, which is unfit for medical use, may be purified “ by largely dilut- 
ing it with water, when an oily substance separates, after the removal of which the 
spirit may be recovered by distillation.” By passing the mixed liquids through 
animal charcoal, the purification is rendered more complete. Pyroxylic spirit 
has been confounded with pyroacetic spirit. They may be distinguished, accord- 
ing to Mr. Scanlan, by chloride of calcium, which is without action on the lat- 
ter, but dissolves in the former. In applying the test, a drop or two of a satu- 
rated solution of chloride of calcium is added to the doubtful liquid in a test 
tube. This solution is immiscible with pyroacetic spirit, separating after agita- 
tion, but dissolves instantly in pyroxylic spirit. The liquid examined must be so 
pure as not to separate into two layers, nor to become milky with water. 
Medical Properties, &c. Pyroxylic spirit, under the incorrect name of naph- 
tha, was introduced as a therapeutic agent, some years ago, by Dr. John Hast- 
ings, of London, who proposed it as a remedy for consumption. It exerts no 
curative power over this disease, but may be usefully employed to palliate the 
cough and lessen the febrile excitement which attend it. The therapeutic pro- 
perties of pyroxylic spirit have not been fully investigated; but, so far as obser- 
vation has gone, it may be ranked as a narcotic, sedative, and anti-emetic. In 
chronic vomiting, whether dependent on functional or organic disease, Dr. Chris- 
tison has found it useful, having frequently seen the vomiting arrested or greatly 
mitigated by its use. Dr. D. W. Yandell speaks favourably of its efficacy in diar- 
rhoea and dysentery. It is not improbable that the impurities present in the com- 
mercial spirit may have some remedial efficacy; and the purified spirit directed 
by the Br. Pharmacopoeia may be less efficacious than the impure. The dose is 
from ten to forty drops, three times a day, sufficiently diluted with water. At 
one time it was doubtful whether the substance, used by Dr. Hastings under the 
name of naphtha, was pyroxylic or pyroacetic spirit; but it is now decided to 
have been the former. 
Crude pyroxylic spirit, varying in density from 0*846 to 0*890, is employed 
by hatters and varnish-makers for dissolving resinous substances, and by chem- 
ists for burning in lamps as a substitute for alcohol. For the latter purpose it 
is more economical than alcohol; giving out more heat for equal weights. 
In Great Britain alcohol is subjected to a heavy duty, which, until lately, pre- 
vented it from being used in many manufactures; because the products of its 
use can be more cheaply obtained from abroad. The British parliament, wish- 
ing to encourage the use of alcohol in the arts, but not as a beverage, passed au 
act in 1855, allowing it to be used duty-free, provided it be mixed with at least 
one-ninth of its bulk of pyroxylic spirit, which renders it unfit for drinking, but iSpiritus Vint Grallici. 
805 
1 ART I. 
does not spoil it for use in the arts. This mixture is called methylated spirit, 
and is now employed extensively, in Great Britain, by hatters, brass founders, 
and cabinet-makers for dissolving shell-lac and other resinous substances, and by 
manufacturing chemists for making ether, chloroform, and sweet spirit of nitre. 
From the purification of pyroxylic spirit already referred to, so as to deprive it 
of offensive taste, it has been supposed that the intended operation of the British 
rev enue laws might be evaded; but, in opposition to this idea, it is asserted that 
tho purifying process is too expensive, on the large scale, to render it available 
for the purpose. The use of this spirit, however purified, would be unjustifiable 
in medical preparations, unless officinally recognised. B. 
SPIRITUS VINI GALLIC! U.S. 
Brandy. 
The spirit obtained from fermented grapes by distillation, and containing 
from 48 to 56 per cent, of absolute alcohol. Brandy, for medicinal use, should 
be free from disagreeable odour, and not less than four years old. U. S. 
Eau de vie, Fr.; Brantwein, Germ.; Acquavite, Ital.; Aqua ardiente. Span. 
All liquids which have undergone the alcoholic fermentation yield an ardent 
spirit by distillation. (See Alcohol, page 69.) When the alcoholic liquid is wine, 
the product of the distillation is brandy. This ardent spirit is subject to varia- 
tion, according to the character of the wine from which it is distilled. The best 
brandy is obtained from French wines, and the kinds called Cognac and Armag- 
nac are most esteemed. The catawba brandy of Messrs. Longworth and Zim- 
mermann, of Cincinnati, distilled from the lees of the catawba wine of Ohio, is 
a good brandy; but possesses the peculiar flavour of the wine. When the brandy 
is distilled from the marc of the catawba grape, it has an unpleasant taste, and 
contains a large amount of fusel oil. (E. S. Wayne, Am. Journ. of Pharm., Nov. 
1855, p. 498.) Our Pharmacopoeia formerly recognised French brandy exclu- 
sively ; but in the present edition all spirits are admitted under that name, when 
obtained from the juice of grapes, and sufficiently strong and pure to meet the 
requisitions above given. Of course the brandy from catawba grape, if well pre- 
pared, is now officinal. 
Brandy has an agreeable, vinous, aromatic odour, and a peculiar, well known 
taste. Its sp. gr. varies from 0 902 to 0 941, and it contains on an average 53 
per cent, by measure of alcohol of the density (P825. Besides alcohol, water, 
and volatile oil, it contains colouring matter, tannin, cenanthic ether described 
under wine, a little acetic ether, and a little aldehyd. Brandy is distinguished 
by its colour into the pale and high-coloured. Pale brandy has a yellow colour, 
derived from the cask in which it is kept. High-coloured brandy has a deep-red 
colour, given to it, before importation, by burnt sugar (caramel), which is said 
to impart a more agreeable flavour. Factitious brandy is sometimes made from 
alcohol, deprived of fusel oil, and reduced to the proper proof by water, by add- 
ing to it acetic ether in the proportion of from half an ounce to an ounce to the 
gallon. The proper colour is then given by burnt sugar. The spurious liquid 
may be known by its leaving on evaporation a residue, containing sugar and no 
tannin ; the absence of the latter being shown by its not striking a black colour 
with the salts of sesquioxide of iron. It may also be detected by the absence of 
aldehyd. (Magnes Lahens.) For modes of detecting impurities in brandy and 
other forms of ardent spirit, the reader is referred to an article by Mr. S. P. Duf- 
field, of Detroit, in the Am. Journ. of Pharm. for March, 1862 (p. 118). 
Medical Properties. Brandy is esteemed cordial and stomachic, and is fre- 
quently given, in the form of toddy or milk-punch, in the sinking stages of low 
fevers. In the late Lond. Pharmacopoeia there was an officinal preparation of it, 806 
Spiritus Vini Gallici.—Statice.—Stillingia. 
PART I. 
called Mis'.ura Spiritus Vini Gallici, consisting of four fluidounces of brandy, 
the same measure of cinnamon water, the yolks of two eggs, half an ounce of 
sugar, and two minims of oil of cinnamon, mixed together. This, though a con- 
venient form for the administration of brandy, was very properly omitted in the 
Br. Pharmacopoeia. If prepared with the U. S. cinnamon water, it would be suf- 
ficiently flavoured without the addition of the oil. Brandy is in general most 
conveniently exhibited, in low fevers, mixed with milk, and flavoured with sugar; 
the proportions being varied to meet the demands of the case. B. 
STATICE. U.S. 
Marsh Rosemary. 
The root of Statice Limonium, variety Caroliniana. U. S. 
Statice. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Pentagynia. — Nat. Ord. Plumbaginaceai. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx one-leaved, entire, plaited, scariose. Petals five. Seed one, 
superior. Nuttall. 
Statice Caroliniana. Walter, Flor. Car. 118; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. ii. 51. 
This is considered by Nuttall, Torrey, and some other botanists, as a mere 
variety of the Statice Limonium of Europe. Pursh, Bigelow, and others follow 
Walter in considering it as a distinct species. It is an indigenous maritime plant 
with a perennial root, sending up annually tufts of leaves, which are obovate or 
cuneiform, entire, obtuse, mucronate, smooth, and on long footstalks. They differ 
from the leaves of S. Limonium in being perfectly flat on the margin, while the 
latter are undulated. The flower-stem is round, smooth, from a few inches to a 
foot or more in height, sending off near its summit numerous alternate subdi- 
viding branches, which terminate in spikes, and form altogether a loose panicle. 
The flowers are small, bluish-purple, erect, upon one side only of the common 
peduncle, with a mucronate scaly bracte at the base of each, a five-angled, five- 
toothed calyx, and spatulate, obtuse petals. 
Marsh rosemary grows in the salt marshes along the sea-coast, from New 
England to Florida, and flowers in August and September. The root, which is 
the officinal portion, is large, spindle-shaped or branched, fleshy, compact, rough, 
and of a purplish-brown colour. It is bitter and extremely astringent to the 
taste, but without odour. Mr. Edward Parrish, of Philadelphia, found it to con- 
tain tannic acid, gum, extractive, albumen, volatile oil, resin, caoutchouc, colour- 
ing matter, lignin, and various salts, among which were common salt, and the 
sulphates of soda and magnesia. The proportion of tannic acid was 12*4 per 
cent. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xiv. 116.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Statice is powerfully astringent, and in some 
parts of the United States, particularly in New England, is much employed. It 
may be used for all the purposes for which kino and catechu are given; but its 
chief popular application is to aphthous and ulcerative affections of the mouth 
and fauces. Dr. Baylies, of Massachusetts, found it highly useful in cynanche ma- 
ligna, both as an internal and local remedy. It is employed in the form of 
infusipn or decoction. W. 
STILLINGIA. U.S. 
Stillivgia. Queens-root. 
The root of Stillingia sylvatica. U. S. 
Stillingia. Sex. Syst. Monoecia Monadelphia. — Nat. Ord. Euphorbiaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Male. Involucre hemispherical, manylowered, or wanting Calgst 
tubular, eroded. Stamens two and three, exserted. Female. Calyx onc-fto .verod, 
inferior. Style trifid. Capsule three-grained. Nuttall. 
From the fruit of Stillingia sebifera, the Chinese procure a vegetable talic to PART I. 
Stillingia.—Stramonii Folium.—Stramonii Semen. 
807 
in large quantities, which is said to be almost pure stearin, and is much used in 
making candles. It exists between the shell of the seeds and the outer husk; 
the kernel, contained within the shell, yielding a liquid oil by expression. 
(Pharm. Journ., xii. 73.) 
Stillingia sylvatica. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 588. This is an indigenous peren- 
nial plant, commonly called Queen's delight, with herbaceous stems, two or three 
feet high, and alternate, sessile, oblong or lanceolate-oblong, obtuse, serrulate 
leaves, tapering at the base, and accompanied with stipules. The male and 
female flowers are distinct upon the same plant. They are yellow, and arranged 
in the form of a spike, of which the upper part is occupied by the male, the 
lower by the female flowers. The male florets are scarcely longer than the 
bracteal scales. The plant grows in pine-barrens from Virginia to Florida, flow- 
ering in May and June. When wounded it emits a milky juice. 
The root, which is the part used, is large, thick, and woody. A specimen pre- 
sented to the writer by Dr. J. B. Holmes, of Charleston, S. C., is in long cylin- 
drical pieces, from a third of an inch to more than an inch thick, wrinkled from 
drying, of a dirty yellowish-brown colour externally, and, when cut across, ex- 
hibiting an interior soft, yellowish, ligneous portion, surrounded by a pinkish- 
coloured bark. The odour is slight, peculiar, and somewhat.oleaginous, but in 
the recent root is said by Dr. Frost to be strong and acrimonious. The taste is 
bitterish and pungent, leaving an impression of disagreeable acrimony in the 
mouth and fauces. It imparts its virtues to water and alcohol. Dr. Frost thinks 
that the active principle is somewhat volatile, and states that the root loses much 
of its activity when long kept. 
Medical Properties and Uses. In large doses, stillingia is emetic and cathartic, 
in smaller doses alterative, with some influence over the secretions. It has been 
long popularly used in South Carolina; but was first introduced to the notice 
of the profession by Dr. Thomas Young Simons, in a paper published in the 
American Medical Recorder for April, 1828 (vol. xiii. p. 312), as a valuable 
alterative remedy in syphilitic affections, and others ordinarily requiring the use 
of mercury. Dr. Simons’s statements have been confirmed and extended by Dr. 
A. Lopez, of Mobile (N. Orleans Med. and Surg. Journ., iii. 40), and Dr. H. R. 
Frost, of Charleston, S. C. (South. Journ. of Med. and Pharm. for November, 
1846). From the reports in its favour there seems no reason to doubt the effi- 
cacy of this medicine in secondary syphilis, scrofula, cutaneous diseases, chronic 
hepatic affections, and other complaints ordinarily benefited by alterative medi- 
iines. It may be given in substance, decoction, or tincture ; but the two latter 
forms are preferable. The dose of the powder is stated at from fifteen to thirty 
grains. The decoction, made by slowly boiling an ounce of the bruised root in 
a pint and a quarter of water to a pint, may be given in the quantity of one or 
two fluidounces three or four times a day, increased as the stomach will bear it. 
The dose of a tincture, made with two ounces of the root and a pint of diluted 
alcohol, is about a fluidrachm. Stillingia is sometimes advantageously combined 
with sarsaparilla and other alteratives. W. 
STRAMONII FOLIUM. U.S. 
Stramonium Leaf. 
The leaves of Datura Stramonium. U. S. 
Off. Syn. STRAMONII FOLIA. Datura Stramonium. The Leaves dried. 
Collected from plants in flower. Br. 
STRAMONII SEMEN. US. 
Stramonium Seed. 
The seed of Datura Stramonium. U. S. 808 
Stramonii Folium.—Stramonii Semen. 
PART I. 
OJf.Syn. STRAMONI SEMINA. Datura Stramonium. The ripe seeds. Br. 
Thornapple; Stramoine, Pomme dpineuse, Fr.; Stechapfel, Germ.; Stramonio, Ital.; 
Estramonio, Span. 
Datura. Sex.Syst. Pentandria Monogynia.— Nat. Ord. Solanaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Corolla funnel-shaped, plaited. Calyx tubular, angular, deciduous. 
Capsule four-valved. Willd. 
Datura Stramonium. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1008 ; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. i. 
; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 197, t. 74. The thornapple is an annual plant, of rank 
and vigorous growth, usually about three feet high, but in a rich soil sometimes 
six feet or more. The root is large, whitish, and furnished with numerous fibres. 
The stem is erect, round, smooth, somewhat shining, simple below, dichotomous 
above, with numerous spreading branches. The leaves, which stand on short 
round footstalks in the forks of the stem, are five or six inches long, of an ovate- 
triangular form, irregularly sinuated and toothed at the edges, unequal at the 
base, dark-green on the upper surface, and pale beneath. The flowers are large, 
axillary, solitary, and peduncled; having a tubular, pentangular, five-toothed 
calyx, and a funnel-shaped corolla with a long tube, and a waved plaited border, 
terminating in five acuminate teeth. The upper portion of the calyx falls with 
the deciduous parts of the flower, leaving its base, which becomes reflexed, and 
remains attached to the fruit. This is a large, fleshy, roundish-ovate, four- 
valved, four-celled capsule, thickly covered with sharp spines, and containing 
numerous seeds, attached to a longitudinal receptacle in the centre of each cell. 
It opens at the summit. 
There are two varieties of this species' of Datura, one with a green stem and 
white flowers; the other with a dark-reddish stem minutely dotted with green, 
and purplish flowers striped with deep purple on the inside. The latter, how- 
ever, is considered by some botanists as a distinct species, being the D. Tatula 
of Linnaeus. The properties of both are the same. 
It is doubtful to what country this plant originally belonged. Many European 
botanists refer it to North America, while we in return trace it to the old conti- 
nent. Nuttall considers it as having originated in South America or Asia; and 
it is probable that its native country is to be found in some portion of the East. 
It is said to grow wild abundantly in Southern Russia, from the borders of the 
Black Sea eastward to Siberia. Its seeds, being retentive of life, are taken in 
the earth put on shipboard for ballast from one country to another, not unfre- 
quently springing up upon the passage, and thus propagating the plant in all 
regions which have any commercial connection. In the United States it is found 
everywhere in the vicinity of cultivation, frequenting dung-heaps, the road-sides 
and commons, and other places where a rank soil is created by the deposited 
refuse of towns and villages. Its flowers appear from May to July or August, 
according to the latitude. Where the plant grows abundantly, its vicinity may 
be detected by the rank odour which it diffuses to some distance around. All 
parts of it are medicinal. The leaves and seeds only are now officinal; the root 
having been omitted in the recent revision of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. The leaves 
may be gathered at any time from the appearance of the flowers till the autumnal 
frost. In this country the plant is generally known by the name of Jamestown 
weed, derived probably from its having been first observed in the neighbourhood 
of that old settlement in Virginia. In Great Britain it is called thornapple. 
1. The fresh leaves when bruised emit a fetid narcotic odour, which they lose 
upon drying. Their taste is bitter and nauseous. These properties, together 
with their medical virtues, are imparted to water and alcohol. Water distilled 
from them, though possessed of their odour in a slight degree, is destitute of 
their active properties. They contain, according to Promnitz, 0-58 per cent, of 
gum, 0 6 of extractive, 0 64 of green starch, 0T5 of albumen, 0T2 of resin, 0-23 
of saline matters, 515 of lignin, and 91 25 of wTater. The leaves, if rarofully 
dried, retain their bitter taste. PART I. 
Stramonii Folium.—Stramonii Semen. 
809 
2. The seeds are small, kidney-shaped, flattened on the sides, of a dark-brown 
almost black colour, inodorous, and of the bitter, nauseous taste of the leaves, 
with some degree of acrimony. They are much more energetic in their action 
on the system than the leaves. MM. Hirtz and Hopp inferred, from their expe- 
riments, that one part of an extract prepared from them was equal in strength 
to five parts of an extract prepared in precisely the .same manner from the leaves 
(Ann. de Tlierap., A. D. 1862, p. 22.) They were analyzed by Brandes, who 
found, besides a peculiar alkaline principle called daturia, a glutinous matter, 
albumen, gum, a butyraceous substance, green wax, resin insoluble in ether, fixed 
oil, bassorin, sugar, gummy extractive, orange-coloured extractive, and various 
saline and earthy substances. Chemists, however, have failed to obtain the datu- 
ria of Brandes by his own process; and Berzelius states that it has been admit- 
ted, even by that chemist himself, to be nothing more than phosphate of mag- 
nesia. (Traite de Ghimie, vi. 319.) But Geiger and Hesse succeeded in isolating 
an alkaline principle, to which the same name has been given, and which Tromms- 
dorff has repeatedly procured by their process. 
As described by Geiger and Hesse, daturia crystallizes in colourless, inodor- 
ous, shining prisms, which, when first applied to the tongue, are bitterish, but 
ultimately have a flavour like that of tobacco. It is dissolved by 280 parts of 
cold, and 72 of boiling water, is very soluble in alcohol, and less so in ether. It 
has been shown to have a poisonous action upon animals, and strongly dilates 
the pupil. Crystals of it are asserted to have been obtained from the urine of a 
person fatally poisoned by stramonium. (See Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., xvi. 485.) 
It may be procured from the seeds in the same manner as hyoscyamia from those 
of Hyoscyamus niger. (See Hyoscyamus.) The product is exceedingly small. 
In the most favourable case, Trommsdorff got only of 1 per cent. Accord- 
ing to Dr. A. Yon Planta, daturia is identical with atropia, its formula being 
(See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxiii. 38.) Mr. Morries obtained a 
poisonous empyreumatic oil by the destructive distillation of stramonium. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Stramonium is a powerful narcotic. When 
taken in quantities sufficient to affect the system moderately, it usually produces 
more or less cerebral disturbance, indicated by vertigo, headache, dimness or 
perversion of vision, and confusion of thought, sometimes amounting to slight 
delirium or a species of intoxication. At the same time peculiar deranged sensa- 
tions are experienced about the fauces, oesophagus, and trachea, increased occa- 
sionally to a feeling of suffocation, and often attended with nausea. A disposi- 
tion to sleep is sometimes but not uniformly produced. The pulse is not mate- 
rially affected. The bowels are rather relaxed than confined, and the secretions 
from the skin and kidneys not unfrequently augmented. These effects pass off 
in five or six hours, or in a shorter period, and no inconvenience is subsequently 
experienced. In poisonous doses, this narcotic produces cardialgia, excessive 
thirst, nausea and vomiting, a sense of strangulation, anxiety and faintness, par- 
tial or complete blindness with dilatation of the pupil, sometimes deafness, flush- 
ing and swelling face, headache, vertigo, delirium sometimes of a furious, 
sometimes of a whimsical character, tremors of the limbs, palsy, and ultimately 
stupor and convulsions. In a case recorded by Dr. C. B. Faust, the whole sur- 
face of the body was of a scarlet colour. (Charleston Journ. & Rev., ix. 745.) 
From all these symptoms the patient may recover; but they have frequently 
terminated in death. To evacuate the stomach by emetics or the stomach-pump 
is the most effectual remedy. What has before been said as to the destructive 
effects of the caustic alkalies upon the active principle of belladonna and hyoscy- 
amus is applicable to their influence on stramonium. (Seepages 163 and 461.) 
Opium exercises the same antagonistic influence upon the operation of this poi- 
son as on that of belladonna. (See Belladonna, page 163.) 
Though long known as a poisonous and intoxicating herb, stramonium was 810 
Stramonii Folium.—Stramonii Semen. 
PART I. 
first ntroduced into regular practice by Baron Storck, of Vienna, who found 
some advantage from its use in mania and epilepsy. Subsequent observation has 
confirmed his estimate of the remedy; and numerous cases are on record in which 
benefit has accrued from it in these complaints. Other diseases in which it has 
been found beneficial are neuralgic and rheumatic affections, dysmenorrhoea, 
syphilitic pains, cancerous sores, and spasmodic asthma. In the last complaint 
it has acquired considerable reputation. It is employed only during the parox- 
ysm, which it very often greatly alleviates or altogether subverts. The practice 
was introduced into Great Britain from the East Indies, wdiere the natives are 
in the habit of smoking the dried root and lower part of the stem of Datura 
ferox, in the paroxysms of this distressing complaint. The same parts of D. 
Stramonium were substituted, and found equally effectual. To prepare the roots 
for use, they are quickly dried, cut into pieces, and beaten so as to loosen the tex- 
ture. The dried leaves answer the same purpose. They are smoked by means of 
a common tobacco-pipe. These and other narcotic leaves have also been used 
in the shape of cigars. The smoke produces a sense of heat in the lungs, followed 
by copious expectoration, and attended frequently with temporary vertigo or 
drowsiness, and sometimes with nausea. The remedy should never be used in 
plethoric cases, unless preceded by ample depletion, and in no case where there 
is determination to the head. Dangerous and even fatal consequences have re- 
sulted from its incautious or improper use; and General Gent, who was instru- 
mental in introducing the practice into England, is said at last to have fallen a 
victim to it. Stramonium has sometimes been given by the stomach in the same 
complaint. It is used by Dr. H. D. W. Pawling in the treatment of delirium tre- 
mens, and, as represented in the inaugural dissertation of his pupil Dr. G. W. 
Holstein, with great success. Dr. Pawling employs a decoction of the leaves. 
Externally the medicine is used advantageously as an ointment or cataplasm 
in irritable ulcers, inflamed tumours, swelling of the mammae, and painful hemor- 
rhoidal affections. Dr. J. Y. Dortch, of North Carolina, has found it very use- 
ful in tinea capitis. ( Thesis, Feb. 1846.) By American surgeons it is very fre- 
quently applied to the eye, in order to produce dilatation of the pupil, previously 
to the operation for cataract; and is found equally efficacious with belladonna. 
For this purpose the extract, mixed with lard, is generally rubbed over the eye- 
lid, or a solution of it dropped into the eye. 
Of the parts of the plant employed, the seeds are the most powerful. They 
may be given in the dose of a grain twice a day ; and an extract made by evapo- 
rating the decoction, in one-quarter or half the quantity. The dose of the pow- 
dered leaves is two or three grains. The inspissated juice of the fresh leaves is 
more commonly prescribed than any other preparation, and may be administered 
in the quantity of one grain. (See Extractum Stramonii Foliorum.) There is 
also an officinal tincture, to wrhich the reader is referred. The dose should be 
gradually increased till the narcotic operation becomes evident, or relief from 
the symptoms of the disease is obtained. Fifteen or twenty grains of the pow- 
dered leaves, and a proportionate amount of the other preparations, have often 
been given daily without unpleasant effects. 
Daturia has been employed for obtaining the effects whether of stramonium 
or belladonna. M. Jobert has found it three times as strong as atropia, less apt 
to disturb vision than belladonna, and at the same time more constant and last- 
ing in its operation. {Ann. de Therap., A. D. 1863, p. 28.) 
Off. Prep, of .the Leaves. Extractum Stramonii, U. S.; Extractum Stramovi 
Alcoholicum, U. S. 
Off. Prep, of the Seeds. Extractum Stramonii, Br.; Tinctura Stramonii. 
W, PART I. 
Styrax. 
811 
STYRAX. U.S. 
/Storax. 
The prepared juice of Liquidarabar orientale. U. S. 
Off. Syn. STYRAX PRA3PARATUS. Prepared Storax. Liquidambar 
orientale. A Balsam, obtained from the bark, and purified by means of rectified 
spirit and straining. Br. 
Storax, Fr., Germ.; Storace, Ital.; Estoraque, Span.* 
Until recently it was generally admitted that storax was obtained from Sty- 
rax officinale; and it has not been determined that this plant does not yield a 
variety of the drug; but both the U. S. and Br. Pharmacopoeias now ascribe the 
storax in ordinary use to Liquidambar orientale; and we shall, therefore, give 
a brief description of both plants. 
Styrax. See BENZOINUM. 
Styrax officinale. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 623; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 291, t. 101. 
This species of Styrax is a tree which rises from fifteen to twenty-five feet in 
height, sends off many branches, and is covered with a rough gray bark. The 
leaves are alternate, petiolate, entire, oval, pointed, bright-green on their upper 
surface, white with a cotton-like down upon the under, about two inches in 
length, and an inch and a half in breadth. The flowers are united in clusters 
of three or four at the extremities of the branches. They are white, and bear 
considerable resemblance to those of the orange. The tree is a native of Syria 
and other parts of the Levant, and has been naturalized in Italy, Spain, and the 
south of France, where, however, it does not yield balsam. This circumstance 
induced some naturalists to doubt whether Styrax officinale is the real source 
of storax; and, as the Liquidambar styraciffua of this country affords a balsam 
analogous to that under consideration, Bernard de Jussieu conjectured that the 
latter might be derived from another species of the same genus, L. orientale ot 
Lamarck, which is more abundant in Syria than the Styrax. This conjecture 
has since been confirmed; and storax is now officinally referred to that plaut. 
Liquidambar. Sex. Syst. Monoecia Polyandria.—Nat. Ord. Amentacese, 
Juss.; Balsamaceae, Bindley. 
Gen. Ch. Male. Amentum conical, surrounded by a four-leaved involucre; 
corolla none; filaments numerous. Female. Amentum globose, with a four- 
heaved involucre; calyx one-leafed, nrceolate, two-flowered; styles two; cap- 
sules two, surrounded at the base by the calyx, one-celled, many-seeded. 
Liquidambar orientale. Miller, Diet. No. 2; Pharm. Journ., xvi. 462. The 
oriental sweet-gum is a tree of from twenty to forty feet high, with palmate 
leaves, of which each division is obscurely three-lobed. They are serrate, perfectly 
smooth, bright-green and shining on the upper surface, and pale on the under. 
The tree is a native of Asia Minor, in the south-western parts of which it forms 
large forests. It yields the variety of the drug called liquid storax. 
Accounts somewhat differ as to the mode of collecting the balsam. They 
agree, however, in the point, that, the outer bark having been removed, the inner 
bark is scraped off and submitted to pressure. According to Mr. Maltass, the 
bark is first pressed cold in horse-hair bags, after which hot water is thrown 
over them, and they are again pressed. Lieutenant Campbell states that the 
inner bark is first boiled with water, and, a portion of the balsam which rises 
having been skimmed off, is then pressed so as to extract the remainder. The 
residuary bark, after expression, is dried in the sun, and employed in various 
parts of Turkey for fumigation. It is the drug known in commerce as Storax 
banc or Cortex Thymiamatis. (Hanbury, Pharm. Journ., xvi. 463.) The balsam 
is sent in casks to Constantinople, Smyrna, and other ports of the Levant. 
Several kinds of storax have been described. The purest was the storax 812 
Styrax. 
PART I. 
in grains, which was in whitish, yellowish-white, or reddish-yellow tears, about 
the size of a pea, opaque, soft, adhesive, and capable of uniting so as to form a 
mass. Another variety, formerly called styrax calamita, from the circumstance, 
as is supposed, that it was brought wrapped in the leaves of a kind of reed, 
consisted of dry and brittle masses, formed of yellowish agglutinated tears, in the 
interstices of which was a brown or reddish matter. The French called it slorax 
amyydaloide. This and the preceding variety had a pleasant odour like that 
of vanilla. Neither of them, however, is now found in the markets. It is pos- 
sible that one or both of these varieties may have been the product of Styrax 
officinale; but there seems to be no certainty on this point. 
A third variety, which is sometimes sold as the styrax calamita, is in brown 
or reddish-brown masses of various shapes, light, friable, yet possessing a cer- 
tain degree of tenacity, and softening under the teeth. Upon exposure, it be- 
comes covered upon the surface with a white efflorescence of benzoic acid. It 
evidently consists of sawdust, united either with a portion of the balsam, or 
with other analogous substances. As found in our shops, it is usually in the 
state of a coarse, soft, dark-coloured powder, mingled with occasional light 
friable lumps of various magnitude, and containing very little of the balsam. 
When good, it should yield, upon pressure between hot plates, a browm resinous 
fluid having the odour of storax. The source of this variety is not precisely 
known. Mr. Hanbury states that some of it is prepared at Trieste by mixing 
the residue of the liquidamber bark remaining after expression, and reduced to 
coarse powder, with genuine liquid storax. (Pharm. Journ., April, 1863, p. 438.) 
A fourth variety, which, under the name of liquid storax, is the one commonly 
used, is a semi fluid, adhesive substance, brown or almost black upon the sur- 
face exposed to the air, but of a slightly greenish-gray colour within, and of an 
odour somewhat like that of Peruvian balsam, though less agreeable. It is kept in 
jars. The source of liquid storax was till recently quite uncertain. Some supposed 
it to be derived by decoction from the young branches of Liquidambar styra- 
cijlua; but a specimen of the juice of this plant, brought from New Orleans, 
which we had an opportunity of inspecting, had an odour entirely distinct from 
that of the substance under consideration. According to Landerer, who resides 
in Greece, liquid storax is obtained, in the islands of Cos and Rhodes, from the 
bark and young twigs of Styrax officinale, by subjecting them to pressure. But 
Mr. Daniel Hanbury, in a communication to the Pharmaceutical Journal (xvi. 
422), has shown this to be an error; none whatever of the balsam being col- 
lected in those islands. It has been stated above that liquid storax had been 
referred to Liquidambar orientate; and from specimens of the plant furnishing 
the balsam, collected by Mr. Maltass, and sent by him to Mr. Hanbury, there 
can scarcely be a doubt of the correctness of this reference. 
As found in the shops, storax is usually so much adulterated as to require 
purification before it can be used; and, both in the U. S. and British Pharma- 
copoeias, processes were formerly given for its preparation. But in the recent 
editions these processes have been abandoned ; and the U. S. authorities content 
themselves with directing, in the Materia Medica Catalogue, the “ prepared juice” 
of the plant; the British, the “balsam purified by means of rectified spirit and 
straining.” Whenever not originally pure enough for use, it should be dissolved 
in alcohol, the solution strained, and the alcohol distilled off to a certain extent, 
and then completely evaporated at a gentle heat. 
General Properties. Storax has a fragrant odour and aromatic taste. It 
melts with a moderate heat, and, when the temperature is raised, takes fire and 
burns with a white flame, leaving a light spongy carbonaceous residue. It im- 
parts its odour to water, which it renders yellow and milky. Its active con- 
stituents are dissolved by alcohol and ether. Newmann obtaiued from 480 grains 
of storax 120 of watery extract; and from an equal quantity, 360 grains of alco- i-ART I. 
Styrax.—Sulphur. 
813 
holic extract. Containing volatile oil and resin, and yielding benzoic or cinna- 
mic acid by distillation, it is entitled to be ranked as a balsam. Besides oil, 
resin, and benzoic acid, Reinsch found in styrax calamita, gum, extractive, lig- 
nin, a matter extracted by potassa, water, and traces of ammonia. Simon found 
in liquid storax cinnamic acid, and a resinous substance, which he considered 
identical with the styracin of Bonastre. According to Toel, styracin is a com- 
pound of cinnamic acid with a peculiar substance which he calls styrone, and 
is in composition perfectly analogous to the natural fats. (Chem. Gaz., July 2, 
1849.) Strecker gives the name of styrone to a substance resulting from the 
action of caustic potassa on liquid storax. He states that, if this be oxidized 
by exposing spongy platinum moistened with it in the liquid state to the air 
the odour of oil of cinnamon is perceived, evincing the production of a portioi 
of that oil. (See Pliarm. Journ., xv. 180.) The volatile oil of storax, denomi- 
nated styrol, is obtained by distilling the liquid balsam with water and carbo- 
nate of soda, this salt being added to retain the cinnamic acid. It is a mobile, 
limpid fluid, with the odour of liquid storax, and a burning taste. It has the 
sp. gr. 0-924, and boils at 294° F. (Gmelin’s Handbook, xiii. 2.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. This balsam is a stimulating expectorant, and 
was formerly recommended in phthisis, chronic catarrh, asthma, and amenorrhoea; 
but it is very seldom used at present, except as a constituent of the compound 
tincture of benzoin. It has been highly praised as a remedy in diphtheria and 
pseudomembranous croup. Liquid storax has been recommended in gonorrhoea 
and leucorrhoea as equally effectual with copaiba, and less disagreeable. From ten 
to twenty grains may be given twice a day, and the dose gradually increased. 
Off. Prep. Tinctura Benzoini Composita. W. 
SULPHUR LOTUM. U.S. 
Washed Sulphur. 
Sublimed sulphur, thoroughly washed with water. U. S. 
SULPHUR SUBLIMATUM. U.S.,Br. 
Sublimed Sulphur. 
Brimstone; Soufre, Fr.; Schwefel, Germ.; Zolfo, Ital.; Azufre, Span. 
The officinal forms of sulphur are the sublimed, the washed, and the precipi- 
tated. The sublimed and washed sulphur will be noticed in this place; the pre- 
cipitated, in Part 11. among the Preparations. 
Natural States. Sulphur is very generally disseminated throughout the min- 
eral kingdom, and is almost always present, in minute quantity, in animal and 
vegetable matter. Among vegetables, it is particularly abundant in mustard and 
other cruciform plants. It occurs in the earth, either native or in combination. 
When native it is found in masses, translucent or opaque, or in the powdery 
form mixed with various earthy impurities. In combination it is usually united 
with certain metals, as iron, lead, mercury, antimony, copper, and zinc, forming 
compounds called sulphurets. Native sulphur is most abundant in volcanic 
countries, and is hence called volcanic sulphur. The most productive mines of 
sulphur are found in Sicily, at Solfatara in the kingdom of Naples,* and in the 
Roman States. A large mine of native sulphur has been opened in California, 
about twenty miles from Santa Barbara, and seven from the sea-coast. (Am. 
Journ. of Pharm., March, 1862, p. 176.) 
* On a recent visit (A. D. 18G1) to Solfatara, one of the authors was informed that sul- 
phur was no longer obtained from this extinct volcano; and certainly no works for its 
extraction were then in operation.—Note to the twelfth edition. 814 
Sulphur. 
PART I. 
Extraction, &c. Sulphur is obtained either from sulphur earths, or from th© 
native sulphurets of iron and copper, called iron and copper pyrites. The sul- 
phur earths are placed in earthen pots, set in oblong furnaces of brickwork. 
From the upper and lateral part of each pot, a tube proceeds obliquely down- 
wards, which communicates with the upper part of a similar pot, situated out- 
side the furnace, and perforated near its bottom, to allow the melted sulphur to 
flow into a vessel containing water, conveniently placed to receive it. Fire being 
applied, the sulphur rises in vapour, leaving the impurities behind, and, being 
condensed again, flows from the perforated pot into the vessel containing the 
water. Sulphur, as thus obtained, is called crude sulphur, and contains about 
one-twelfth of its weight of earthy matter. For purification it is generally 
melted in a cast iron vessel. When the fusion is complete, the impurities sub- 
side, and the purer sulphur is dipped out and poured into cylindrical wooden 
moulds, which give it the form of solid cylinders, about an inch in diameter, called 
in commerce roll sulphur or cane brimstone. The dregs of this process, ground 
to powder, constitute a very impure kind of sulphur, of a gray colour, called in 
the shops sulphur vivum or horse brimstone. 
The above process purifies the sulphur but imperfectly. At the same time it 
causes a considerable loss; as the dregs just mentioned contain a large propor- 
tion of sulphur. A more eligible mode of purification consists in distilling the 
crude sulphur from a large cast iron still, set in brickwork over a furnace, and 
furnished with an iron head. The head has two lateral communications, one 
with a chamber of brickwork, the other with an iron receiver, immersed in water, 
which is constantly renewed to cool it sufficiently to cause the sulphur to con- 
dense in the liquid form. When the tube between the still and receiver is shut, 
and that communicating with the chamber is open, the sulphur condenses on its 
walls in the form of an impalpable powder, and constitutes sublimed sulphur 
or flowers of sulphur. If, on the other hand, the communication with the 
chamber is closed, and that with the receiver opened, the sulphur condenses in 
the latter in the fused state, and, when cast in cylindrical moulds, forms the roll 
sulphur of commerce. 
The extraction of sulphur from the bisulphuret of iron (iron pyrites) is per- 
formed by distilling it in stone-ware cylinders. Half the sulphur contained in 
the bisulphuret is volatilized by the heat, and conducted, by means of an adopter, 
into vessels containing water, where it condenses. The residue of the mineral 
is employed for making sulphate of iron, or green vitriol. In the island of An- 
glesea, large quantities of sulphur are obtained from copper pyrites in the pro- 
cess for extracting that metal. The furnaces in which the ore is roasted are 
connected by horizontal flues with chambers, in which the volatilized sulphur 
is condensed. Each chamber is furnished with a door, through which the sul- 
phur is withdrawn once in six weeks. 
Crude sulphur comes to this country principally from Messina, in Sicily, and 
the ports of Italy. Roll sulphur and the flowers are usually brought from Mar- 
seilles. Good Sicilian sulphur does not contain more than 3 per cent, of impurity, 
consisting chiefly of earths. Crude sulphur is employed by the manufacturers 
of sulphuric acid; and, as it is very variable in quality, it becomes important to 
ascertain its exact value. This may be done by drying a given weight of it, and 
submitting it to combustion. The weight of the incombustible residue, added to 
that lost in drying, gives the amount of impurity. 
Properties. Sulphur is a non-metallic element, susceptible of several allotro- 
pic states. In its ordinary state it is a brittle solid, of a pale yellow-colour, 
permanent in the air, and exhibiting a crystalline texture and shining fracture. 
It nas a slight taste, and a perceptible smell when rubbed. When pure its sp. gr. 
is about 2; but it varies a little in density in its different allotropic states. Oc- 
casionally, from impurity, its sp. gr. is as high as 2’35. Its eq. number is 16, and PART I. 
Sulphur. 
815 
its symbol S. It is a bad conductor of heat, and becomes negatively electric by 
friction. The melting point of sulphur varies with its allotropic state, which is 
readily altered by heat. In ordinary sulphur, which is a mixture of the element 
in different allotropic states, this point varies from 232° to 248°. If heated 
above its melting point, it undergoes, in proportion to the heat applied, a pro- 
gressive change, which will cause it, upon slow cooling, to solidify at a tempera- 
ture lower than that at which it was melted; and, if it be remelted, it will bo 
found to have a higher melting point than before. Melted sulphur is perfectly 
limpid, and of a bright-yellow colour. When sulphur is melted, and, after par- 
tial cooling, the crust formed on its surface is pierced, and the fluid portion 
poured out, it may be obtained in slender prismatic crystals, called prismatic 
sulphur. When sulphur is heated above its melting point, it becomes deeper- 
coloured and less fluid. At 392°, it has a deep-brown colour, and is so viscid 
that it cannot be poured from the containing vessel. If the temperature be still 
further increased, the sulphur resumes its fluidity, but retains its brown colour. 
Finally, when the temperature reaches 752°, it boils in close vessels, forming a 
yellow vapour, and may be distilled. If melted sulphur, heated above 392°, is 
suddenly cooled by being poured out into water, it becomes a reddish-brown 
plastic mass, with alteration of properties, called soft sulphur (viscid sulphur), 
which is employed in taking impressions of medals, &c. This form of sulphur 
resumes the hard state, but not its original colour, after the lapse of a few days, 
or suddenly if heated to about 212°. Sulphur is insoluble in water, but soluble 
in alkaline solutions, petroleum, rectified coal naphtha, the fixed oils, oil of tur- 
pentine and other volatile oils, alcohol and ether, chloroform, and bisulphuret 
of carbon. Its best solvent is bisulphuret of carbon, from solution in which it 
crystallizes generally in octohedrons, a form belonging to a different system from 
the prism, obtained by crystallizing melted sulphur by cooling. Hence sulphur 
is said to be dimorphous. 
The allotropic states of sulphur have been studied chiefly by Brodie, Magnus 
and Weber, and Berthelot. These states are induced, for the most part, by heat, 
and are distinguished by the crystalline form of the sulphur, and by its solubility 
or non-solubility in bisulphuret of carbon. According to the corrected deter- 
minations of Magnus and Weber, there are four allotropic states of sulphur, 
which they distinguish by the names of prismatic, octohedral, crummy, and in- 
soluble sulphur. Prismatic sulphur forms the greater part of ordinary sulphur. 
It is soluble in bisulphuret of carbon. If heated just to its point of fusion, it 
will have a coinciding melting and solidifying point at 248°. ( B. C. Brodie.) 
Octohedral sulphur may be obtained from freshly made soft sulphur, by acting 
on it with bisulphuret of carbon, which dissolves it in part. This solution, by 
distilling off a portion of the bisulphuret, yields, on cooling, octohedral sulphur. 
The melting point of this sulphur is 238°; but it is difficult to get it correctly, 
owing to the facility with which octohedral sulphur is changed by heat into the 
prismatic, with the effect of raising the melting point. (B. G. Brodie.) The 
solution, when no more crystals can be obtained from it, still contains sulphur, 
which may be separated as a cellular amorphous mass, called crummy sulphur, 
by the spontaneous evaporation of the solvent. Crummy sulphur forms from 
2 to 5 per cent, of the soft sulphur; and, though obtained from its solution in 
bisulphuret of carbon, cannot be redissolved in it, even at the boiling tempera- 
ture. Insoluble sulphur is the name given to that part of the soft sulphur 
which is left undissolved by the bisulphuret, amounting to between one-third 
and nearly one-half of the former. Mr. Brodie was unable to determine the 
melting point of this sulphur, but found it considerably above 248°, or the melt- 
ing point of prismatic sulphur. Flowers of sulphur contain about one-third of 
their weight of insoluble sulphur. Crummy sulphur is either yellow or red, ac- 
cording as it is obtained from a soft sulphur which has been once or several 816 
Sulphur. 
PART I. 
times melted and poured out into water. What Magnus formerly called red 
sulphur is a red modification of crummy sulphur. Red and black sulphur are 
no longer considered by Magnus as allotropic states of sulphur; but rather as 
sulphur modified by the presence of a minute proportion of foreign matter. 
This opinion is founded on the recent discovery of Mitscherlich, confirmed by 
Magnus, that a number of substances, especially the fats and oils, when heated 
with sulphur, give it a red or black colour. Thus, one part of tallow, heated 
with 3000 parts of sulphur, imparts to it an intensely red colour; and the «ame 
proportion of paraffin changes it to red or black. So minute is the quantity of 
foreign matter, capable of producing this change, that Magnus asserts that sul- 
phur, touched by the hands, will be coloured red by the greasy matter thereby 
imparted, upon being heated to 572°. Black sulphur forms a soft, greasy, duc- 
tile mass, which after a time solidifies, when it assumes a glassy appearance. (See 
Chem. Gaz., May 15, 1854, and Philos. Mag., Supplement, Jan. 1857.) 
The physical properties of sulphur are remarkably modified by heating it in 
contact with a minute proportion of iodine, bromine, or chlorine. It becomes 
soft and malleable, and at the same time is rendered insoluble in bisulphuret of 
carbon. (Chem. News, March 7, 18G3, p. 115.) 
Sulphur takes fire at about the temperature of 300°, and burns with a blue 
flame, combining with the oxygen of the air, and giving rise to a peculiar 
gaseous acid, called sulphurous acid. The combinations of sulphur are nume- 
rous, and among the most powerful agents of chemistry. It forms with oxygen 
four principal acids, the hyposulphurous, sulphurous, hypo sulphuric, and 
sulphuric; with hydrogen, sulphohydric acid (hydrosulphuric acid or sul- 
phuretted hydrogen); and with the metals, various sulphurets. Some of the 
sulphurets are analogous to acids, others to bases; and these different sulphu- 
rets, by combining with each other, form compounds which, from their analogy 
to salts, are called by Berzelius sulpho-salts. 
An extremely sensitive test of this element is a solution of molybdate of am- 
monia in muriatic acid, diluted with water, which is rendered blue by contact 
with even a trace of sulphur. (Journ. de Pharm., Mai, 1862, p. 367.) 
Sulphur, when obtained by roasting the native sulphurets, sometimes con- 
tains arsenic, and is thereby rendered poisonous. Sicilian sulphur, being vol- 
canic, is not subject to this impurity. The common English roll sulphur is 
sometimes made from iron pyrites, and is then apt to contain orpiment (ter- 
sulphuret of arsenic). This impurity may be detected by heating the sus- 
pected sulphur with nitric acid. The arsenic, if present, will be converted into 
arsenic acid; and the nitric solution, diluted with water, neutralized with car- 
bonate of soda, and acidulated with muriatic acid, will give a yellow precipi- 
tate of quintosulphuret of arsenic with a stream of sulphuretted hydrogen. A 
precipitate may be more readily obtained from the nitric solution, if, after neu- 
tralization, sulphurous acid be added, which will convert the arsenic acid into 
the arsenious. This is more easily decomposed by the sulphuretted hydrogen; 
but the precipitate obtained will now be the tersulphuret. Sulphur, when per- 
fectly pure, is wholly volatilized by heat, and soluble without residue in oil of 
turpentine. According to Dr. Playfair, a solution of nitroprusside of sodium is 
a delicate test for the alkaline sulphurets, producing with them a violet tint. 
The late Prof. Bailey, of West Point, employed the same test for detecting sul- 
phur in any compound. The substance suspected to contain it is fused with car- 
bonate of soda, with the addition of carbonaceous matter if necessary. If sulphur 
be present it will be converted into sulphuret of sodium ; and, upon the addition 
of a small portion of the fused mass to a drop of the nitroprusside, the charac- 
teristic violet tint will be produced. 
Sublimed sulphur, usually called flowers of sulphur (fores sulpliuris), is 
in the form of a crystalline powder of a fine yellow colour. It is always con- PART I. 
Sulphur.—Tabacum. 
817 
taminated with a little sulphuric acid, which is formed at the expense of the 
oxygen of the air contained in the subliming chambers. Accordingly, it always 
reddens litmus; and, if the acid is present in considerable quantity, sometimes 
cakes. It may be freed from acidity by careful ablution with hot water, when it 
becomes the officinal washed sulphur. 
Washed sulphur is placed in the list of Materia Medica of the U. S. Phar 
macopoeia, with an explanatory note, that it is sublimed sulphur, thoroughly 
washed with water. Washed sulphur has the general appearance of sublimed 
sulphur, and is wholly volatilized by heat. When properly prepared it does not 
affect litmus, and undergoes no change by exposure to the air. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Sulphur is laxative, diaphoretic, and resolvent. 
It is supposed to be rendered soluble by the soda of the bile. It evidently 
passes off by the pores of the skin ; as is shown by the fact that silver, worn in 
the pockets of patients under a course of it, becomes blackened with a coating 
of sulphuret. The stools which it occasions are usually solid, and it is gentle in 
its operation, unless it contain a good deal of acid, when it may cause griping; 
and the liability of the sublimed sulphur to contain acid, renders it less eligible 
for exhibition than the washed sulphur, from which all acidity is removed. The 
diseases in which sulphur is principally used are hemorrhoidal affections, atonic 
gout, chronic rheumatism, chronic catarrh, and asthma. It has also been given 
as an antiperiodic, being considered as particularly applicable to cases in which 
the apyrexia is incomplete. It is also much employed, both internally and ex- 
ternally, in cutaneous affections, especially scabies, for the cure of which it is 
considered a specific. In these affections, as well as in chronic rheumatism, it is 
sometimes applied as an air bath, in the form of sulphurous acid gas, the head 
being protected from its effects. The external use of sulphur is strongly recom- 
mended by Dr. O’Connor, of London, in sciatica, and chronic articular rheu- 
matism. The limb affected is covered with sulphur, and bandaged with new 
flannel, over which sheets of wadding are wrapped. The dressing should not 
be taken off for .several days; as its earlier removal would interfere with the 
absorption of the sulphur, on which its curative effect depends. (Lancet, Am. 
ed., June, 1857, p. 507.) The dose of sulphur is from one to three drachms, 
mixed with syrup or molasses, or taken in milk. It is often combined with 
bitartrate of potassa, or with magnesia. 
According to M. Hannon, of Brussels, soft sulphur, recently prepared, pos- 
sesses valuable therapeutic properties, not as a laxative, but as a stimulant to 
the circulation, lungs, and skin, far more active than ordinary sulphur. The 
dose of soft sulphur is from twenty to fifty grains, given in the form of pill. 
It has also been successfully employed for filling the hollows of carious teeth. 
(Pharm. Journ., xvii. 330.) 
Sulphur is consumed in the arts, principally in the manufacture of gunpowder 
and sulphuric acid. 
Off. Prep, of Sulphur Sublimatum. Confectio Sulphuris, Br.; Emplastrum 
Ammoniaci cum Hydrargyro; Hydrargyri Sulphuretum Rubrum, U. S.; Potassa 
Sulphurata, Br.; Potassii Sulphuretum, U. S.; Sulphur Prsecipitatum; Sulphuris 
Iodidum, U. S.; Unguentum Sulphuris. B. 
TABACUM. U.S.,Br. 
Tobacco. 
The commercial dried leaves of Nicotiana Tabacum. U. S. Leaf Tobacco. 
Virginian Tobacco. The dried Leaves. Br. 
Tabac, Fr.; Tabak, Germ.; Tobacco, Ital.; Tobaco, Span. 
Nicotiana. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Solanace®. 
r r\ 818 
Tabacum 
PART I. 
Gen. Ch. Corolla, funnel-shaped, with the border plaited. Stamens inclined. 
Capsules two-valved, two-celled. Willd. 
Nicotiana Tabacam. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1014; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. ii. 
171; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 208, t. 77. The tobacco is an annual plant, with a 
large fibrous root, and an erect, round, hairy, viscid stem, which branches near 
the top, and rises from three to six feet in height. The leaves are numerous, 
alternate, sessile, and somewhat decurrent, very large, ovate-lanceolate, pointed, 
entire, slightly viscid, and of a pale-green colour. The lowest are often two feet 
long, and six inches broad. The flowers are disposed in loose terminal panicles, 
and are furnished with long, linear, pointed bractes at the divisions of the pedun- 
cle. The calyx is bell-shaped, hairy, somewhat viscid, and divided at its summit 
into five pointed segments. The tube of the corolla is twice as long as the calyx, 
of a greenish hue, swelling at top into an oblong cup, and ultimately expanding 
into a five-lobed, plaited, rose-coloured border. The whole corolla is very viscid. 
The filaments incline to one side, and support oblong anthers. The pistil con- 
sists of an oval germ, a slender style longer than the stamens, and a cleft stigma. 
The fruit is an ovate, two-valved, two-celled capsule, containing numerous reni- 
form seeds, and opening at the summit. The leaves are the part employed. The 
seeds, examined by F. M. Brandt, yielded no narcotic principle, though a protean- 
like substance contained in them was thought, by its decomposition, to produce 
nicotia. (Neues Jahrb.fur Pharm., xxi. 42.) Prof. Procter also failed to find 
nicotia in the seeds. (Proceed. of Am. Pharm. Assoc., 1858, p. 296.) 
There is good reason to believe that this plant is a native of tropical America, 
where it was found by the Spaniards upon their arrival. It is at present culti- 
vated in most parts of the world, and nowhere more abundantly than within the 
limits of the United States. Virginia is, perhaps, the region most celebrated for 
its culture. The young shoots, produced from seeds thickly sown in beds, are 
transplanted into the fields during the month of May, and set in rows with an 
interval of three or four feet between the plants. Through the whole period of 
its growth, the crop requires constant attention. The development of the leaves 
is promoted by removing the top of each plant, and thus preventing it from 
running into flower and seed. The harvest is in August. The ripe plants, having 
been cut off above their roots, are dried under cover, and then stripped of their 
leaves, which are tied in bundles, and packed in hogsheads. While hung up in 
the drying houses, they undergo a curing process, consisting in exposure to a 
considerable degree of heat, through which they become moist, or in other words 
are said to sweat, after which they are dried for packing. 
Two varieties of this species are mentioned by authors, one with narrow, the 
other with broad leaves; but they do not differ materially in properties. Great 
diversity in the quality of tobacco is produced by difference of soil and mode of 
cultivation ; and several varieties are recognised in commerce. Other species also 
of Nicotiana are cultivated, especially N.rustica and N. paniculata, the for- 
mer of which is said to have been the first introduced into Europe, and is thought 
to have been cultivated by the aborigines of this country, as it is naturalized 
near the borders of some of our small northern lakes. The N. quadrivalvis of 
Pursh affords tobacco to the Indians of the Missouri and Columbia rivers; and 
N. fruticosa, a native of China, was probably cultivated in Asia before the dis- 
covery of this continent by Columbus. The latter species is said by Mr. John 
Le Conte to be that from which the best Cuba tobacco is obtained, (ini. Journ. 
of Pharm., Sept. 1859, from Proceed, of Acad, of Nat. Sci.) 
Properties. Tobacco, as it occurs in commerce, is of a yellowish-brown colour, 
a strong narcotic penetrating odour which is wanting in the fresh leaves, and a 
bitter, nauseous, and acrid taste. These properties are imparted to water and 
alcohol. They are injured by long boiling; and the extract is, therefore, rela- 
tively feeble. An elaborate analysis of tobacco was made by Vauquelin, who part I. 
Tabacum. 
819 
discovered in it, among other ingredients, an acrid, volatile, colourless liquid, 
slightly soluble in water, very soluble in alcohol, and supposed to be the active 
principle. It was separated by a complicated process, of which, however, the 
most important step was the distillation of tobacco juice with potassa. In tin- 
results of this distillation, Vauquelin recognised alkaline properties, whijh he 
ascribed to ammonia, but which were, in part at least, dependent upon the acrid 
principle alluded to. To this principle the name of nicotin was given; but its 
alkalinity was not ascertained till a subsequent period. Another substance was 
obtained by Hermstadtby simply distilling water from tobacco, and allowing the 
liquid to stand for several days. A white crystalline matter rose to the surface, 
which, upon being removed, was found to have the odour of tobacco, and to 
resemble it in effects. It was fusible, volatilizable, similar to the nicotin of Vau- 
quelin in solubility, and without alkaline or acid properties. It was called nico- 
tianin by Hermstadt, and appears to partake of the nature of volatile oils. Two 
German chemists, Posselt and Reimann, subsequently analyzed tobacco, and 
ascertained the alkaline nature of its active principle, which, however, neither 
they nor Vauquelin obtained in a state of purity. According to these chemists, 
10,000 parts of the fresh leaves contain 6 parts of an alkaline substance, which 
they call nicotin, 1 of the nicotianin of Hermstadt, 28T of slightly bitter ex- 
tractive, 174 of gum mixed with a little malate of lime, 26*T of green resin, 26 
of albumen, 104'8 of a substance analogous to gluten, 51 of malic acid, 12 of 
malate of ammonia, 4’8 of sulphate of potassa, 6-3 of chloride of potassium, 9‘5 
* of potassa, which was combined in the leaves with malic and nitric acids, 16-6 
of phosphate of lime, 24-2 of lime which had been combined with malic acid, 
8’8 of silica, 496 9 of lignin, traces of starch, and 8828 parts of water. (Ber- 
zelius, Traite de Chimie.) According to M. E. Goupet, tobacco contains also 
a little citric acid. (Chem. Gaz., Aug. 1846, p. 319.) The nicotin obtained by 
Vauquelin, and by Posselt and Reimann, was a colourless, volatile liquid, and, 
as subsequently ascertained by Henry and Boutron, was in fact an aqueous solu- 
tion of the alkaline principle in connection with ammonia. It was reserved for 
these chemists to obtain nicotin, or nicotia, as it should now be called, in a state 
of purity. It exists in tobacco combined with an acid in excess, and in this state 
is not volatile. * , 
The following was the process employed by the Messrs. Henry and Boutron. 
Five hundred parts of smoking tobacco were exposed to distillation, in connec- 
tion with about 6000 parts of water and 200 parts of caustic soda; the heat 
applied being at first very moderate, and afterwards increased to the boiling 
point. The product of the distillation was received in a vessel containing about 
30 or 40 parts of sulphuric acid, diluted with 3 times its weight of water; and 
the process was continued till nearly one-half of the liquid had come over. The 
product, in which care was taken to preserve a slight excess of acid, was evapo- 
rated to about 100 parts, and then allowed to cool. A slight deposit which had 
formed was separated by filtration, an excess of caustic soda was added, and the 
liquor again distilled. A colourless, very volatile, acrid liquor now came over, 
which, being concentrated under the receiver of an air-pump, lost the ammonia 
which accompanied it, and assumed a syrupy consistence, and more or less of 
the colour of amber. In the liquid, after a few days, minute crystalline plates 
formed ; but, in consequence of their affinity for moisture, it was difficult to iso- 
late them. This liquid was pure nicotia. M. Debize obtains it by passing a cur- 
rent of steam through a mixture of tobacco and lime, contained in a cylinder, 
and condensing the vapour by a worm connected with the opposite extremity 
of the cylinder from that at which the steam enters. The resulting liquid, which 
contains the nicotia, together with ammonia and some undetermined bases, is 
neutralized with sulphuric acid, then concentrated, and treated with ammonia 
and ether, by means of which an ethereal solution of nicotia is obtained. As 820 
Tahacum. 
PART I. 
this bane is insoluble in solution of sulphate of ammonia, the solution of nicotia 
separates, and, rising to the surface, may be removed. The alkaloid may after- 
wards be obtained pure by rectification. (Journ. de Pharm., Oct. I860, p. 281.) 
Nicotia. (Nicotina. Nicotin.) This is a colourless or nearly colourless fluid; 
of the sp. gr. 1-048; remaining liquid at 22° F.; of little smell when cold; of 
an exceedingly acrid burning taste, even when largely diluted; entirely vola- 
tilizable, and, in the state of vapour, very irritant to the nostrils, with an odour 
recalling that of tobacco; inflammable; very soluble in water, alcohol, ether, 
the fixed oils, and oil of turpentine; strongly alkaline in its reaction ; and capa- 
ble of forming crystallizable salts with the acids. These salts are deliquescent, 
have a burning and acrid taste, and, like the salts of ammonia, lose a portion 
of their base by heat. Nicotia contains a much larger proportion of nitrogen 
than most of the other organic alkalies. Its formula is and combining 
number consequently 162. In its action on the animal system, it is one of the 
most virulent poisons known. A drop of it, in the state of concentrated solution, 
was sufficient to destroy a dog; and small birds perished at the approach of a 
tube containing it. In man, it is said to destroy life, in poisonous doses, in from 
two to five minutes. Tannin forms with it a compound of but slight solubility, 
and might be employed as a counter-poison. It exists in tobacco in small pro- 
portion. Henry and Boutron found different varieties of tobacco to give pro- 
ducts varying from 3’8 to 11 -28 parts in 1000. It has been found in the seeds, 
and in very small proportion in the root. (See Journ. de Pharm., xxii. 689.) 
There can be little doubt that tobacco owes its activity to this alkaloid.* It has 
been employed as a poison. For a very interesting account of it in all its toxi- 
cological relations, the reader is referred to a memoir by Orfila, translated by 
Dr. Lee, and published in the N. Y. Journ. of Med. (N. S., ix. 112, 219, and 
369). A more recent paper on the same subject, by Dr. A. S. Taylor, is con- 
tained in the Pharmaceutical Journal for June, 1859 (p. 620). Nicotia has 
the remarkable property of resisting decomposition amid the decaying tissues 
of the body, and was detected by Orfila in the bodies of animals destroyed by it 
two or three months after their death. 
Nicotianin is probably the odorous principle of tobacco. Posselt and Rei- 
prepared it by distilling six pounds of the fresh leaves with twelve pounds 
of water, till one-half of the liquid passed over, then adding six pounds more of 
water, and again distilling, and repeating this process three times. The nico- 
tianin was obtained to the amount of eleven grains, floating on the surface of 
the water. It was a fatty substance, having the smell of tobacco-smoke, and an 
aromatic somewhat bitter taste. It was volatilizable by heat, insoluble in water, 
soluble in alcohol and ether, and not affected by the dilute acids, but dissolved 
by solution of potassa. This was not obtained by Henry and Boutron. It pro- 
duces sneezing when applied to the nostrils, and a grain of it swallowed by 
Hermstadt occasioned giddiness and nausea. 
The presence of sulphuretted hydrogen and hydrocyanic acid in tobacco- 
smoke has been demonstrated by Dr. A. Yogel and C. Reischauer. (See Am. 
Journ. of Pliarm., Jan. 1859, p. 76.) 
* M. Schloesing obtained a much larger proportion than that stated above by the fol- 
lowing process. Tobacco is exhausted by boiling water, the infusion evaporated to a semi- 
solid consistence, and the extract shaken with twice its volume of alcohol of 36°. Two 
layers form, of which the upper contains all the nicotia. This is decanted, most of the 
alcohol evaporated, and alcohol anew added in order to precipitate certain matters. The 
extract is treated with a concentrated solution of potassa, and, after cooling, is shaken 
with ether, which dissolves the nicotia. To the ethereal solution powdered oxalic acid is 
added, which unites with the nicotia, and separates in the form of a syrupy mass. This, 
being washed with ether, treated with potassa, taken up by water, and distilled in a water- 
bath, yields the nicotia, which may be obtained pure by rectification in a current of hydro • 
gen. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e s6r., xii. 157,) Orfila, in his memoir on nicotia, states that Havana 
tobacco yields 2 per cent, of this alkaloid, Maryland 2-3 per cent., and Virginia 6-9 per cent. PART I. 
Tabacum, 
821 
When distilled at a temperature above that of boiling water, tobacco affords 
an empyreumatic oil, which Mr. Brodie proved to be a most virulent poison. A 
single drop, injected into the rectum of a cat, occasioned death in about fivt 
minutes, and double the quantity, administered in the same manner to a dog, 
was followed by the same result. This oil is of a dark-brown colour, and an 
acrid taste, and has a very peculiar smell, exactly resembling that of tobacco 
pipes which have been much used. It has been shown to contain nicotia. 
(Ann. de Chim. et de Phys., Se ser., ix. 465.) 
It is quite certain that tobacco leaves undergo considerable chemical changes 
during the processes of curing, and preparation for use. Thus, the characteristic 
odour of ordinary tobacco is entirely different from that of the fresh leaves, 
and must be owing to the generation of a new volatile principle. The propor- 
tion, too, of nicotia contained in prepared tobacco is asserted to be much greater 
than in the fresh. It appears that a kind of fermentation takes place in the 
leaves, by which certain pre-existing principles are converted into nicotianin 
and probably nicotia. A similar change is probably produced during the com- 
bustion of tobacco; for M. Malapert obtained, from the condensed products of 
a portion of common French smoking tobacco which he burned, as much as 9 
per cent, of nicotia, while the proportion obtained by the ordinary process 
seldom exceeds 2 per cent., and the highest proportion of which we have seen 
any account is 6 9 per cent. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxvii. 119.) It has 
even been made a question, whether nicotia existed at all in the fresh growing 
leaves; but this question has been experimentally decided in the affirmative by 
Prof. Procter. (Proceed, of Am. Pharm. Assoc., 1858, p. 300.) 
The distinguishing character of tobacco, as given in the Br. Pharmacopoeia, 
is that, when distilled with solution of potassa, it yields an alkaline fluid, having 
the peculiar odour of nicotia, and giving precipitates with bichloride of platinum 
and tincture of galls. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Tobacco unites, with the powers of a sedative 
narcotic, those of an emetic and diuretic; and produces these effects to a greater 
or less extent to whatever surface it may be applied. In addition, when snuffed 
up the nostrils, it excites violent sneezing and a copious secretion of mucus; 
when chewed, it irritates the mucous membrane of the mouth, and increases the 
flow of saliva; and, when injected into the rectum, it sometimes operates as a 
cathartic. Moderately taken, it quiets restlessness, calms mental and corporeal 
inquietude, and produces a state of general languor or repose, which has great 
charms for those habituated to the impression. In larger quantities, it gives 
rise to confusion of the head, vertigo, stupor, faintness, nausea, vomiting, and 
general debility of the nervous and circulatory functions, which, if increased, 
eventuates in alarming and even fatal prostration. The symptoms of its exces- 
sive action are severe retching, with the most distressing and continued nausea, 
great feebleness of pulse, coolness of the skin, fainting, and sometimes convul- 
sions. It probably operates both through the medium of the nervous system, 
and by entering the circulation. As its local action is stimulant, we can thus 
account for the fact, that it excites the function of the kidneys, at the same 
time that it reduces the nervous and secondarily the arterial power. The experi- 
ments of Brodie lead to the inference that the function of the heart is affected 
by tobacco, through the medium of the nervous system; for, in a decapitated 
animal in which the circulation was sustained by artificial respiration, the infu- 
sion injected into the rectum did not diminish the action of the heart; while, on 
the contrary, this organ almost immediately ceased to contract, when an equal 
dose of the poison was administered to a healthy animal. Mr. Brodie observed 
a remarkable difference between the operation of the infusion and that of the 
empyreumatic oil. After death from the former the heart was found completely 
quiescent, while it continued to act with regularity for a considerable time after 822 
Tabacum. 
PART I. 
apparent death from the latter. We may infer from this fact, either that there 
are two poisonous principles in tobacco, or that a new narcotic product is formed 
during its destructive distillation. In cases of poisoning from tobacco, the indi- 
cations are, after the evacuation of the poison, to support the system by external 
and internal stimulants, and to allay irritation of stomach by opiates. 
The use of tobacco was adopted by the Spaniards from the American Indians. 
In the year 1560, it was introduced into France by the Ambassador of that 
country at the court of Lisbon, whose name—Nicot—has been perpetuated in 
the generic title of the plant. Sir Walter Raleigh is said to have intioduced 
the practice of smoking into England. In the various modes of smoking, chew- 
ing, and snuffing, the drug is now largely consumed in every country on the 
globe. It must have properties peculiarly adapted to the propensities of our 
nature, to have thus surmounted the first repugnance to its odour and taste, 
and to have become the passion of so many millions. When employed in ex- 
cess, it enfeebles digestion, produces emaciation and general debility, and lays 
the foundation of serious nervous disorders. The late Dr. Chapman informed 
us that he had met with several instances of mental disorder, closely resembling 
delirium tremens, which resulted from its abuse, and which subsided in a few 
days after it had been abandoned; and Dr. Kirkbride, in the Annual Report 
of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane for 1850, refers to four cases of 
insanity, the origin of which was ascribed to the abuse of tobacco. In the form 
of snuff, tobacco is sometimes so much contaminated with lead, in consequence 
of being kept in leaden boxes, as to endanger the poisonous effects of that metal. 
In different kinds of snuff, Dr. A. Yogel has found from 0 014 to 1 025 per cent, 
of lead. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., Sept. 1864, p. 422.) 
Its remedial employment is less extensive than might be inferred from the 
variety of its powers. The excessive and distressing nausea which it is apt to 
occasion, interferes with its internal use; and it is very seldom administered by 
the stomach. As a narcotic it is employed chiefly to produce relaxation in spas- 
modic affections. For this purpose, the infusion or smoke of tobacco, or the 
leaf in substance in the shape of a suppository, is introduced into the rectum in 
cases of strangulated hernia, obstinate constipation from spasm of the bowels, 
and retention of urine from a spasmodic stricture of the urethra. For a similar 
purpose, the powdered tobacco, or common snuff, mixed with simple cerate, as 
recommended by the late Dr. Godman, is sometimes applied to the throat and 
breast in cases of croup; and Dr. Chapman directed the smoking of a cigar in 
the same complaint, with decided benefit. One of the worst cases of spasm of 
the rima glottidis which we have seen, and which resisted powerful depletion by 
the lancet, yielded to the application of a tobacco cataplasm to the throat. A 
similar application to the abdomen is highly recommended in painters’ colic, and 
has proved useful in hysterical convulsions. Tetanus is said to have been cured 
by baths made with the decoction of the fresh leaves; and an infusion of the leaves 
has been given internally with success in a case of poisoning by strychnia. (Dub. 
Med. Press, June 23, 1858.) The relaxation produced by smoking, in a person 
unaccustomed to it, was very happily resorted to by Dr. Physick, in a case of 
obstinate and long-continued dislocation of the jaw; and the same remedy has 
frequently been found useful in the paroxysm of spasmodic asthma. Tobacco 
has been highly recommended, in the form of cataplasm, in articular gout and 
rheumatism; and has been employed in the same way, as well as by injection, 
in cases of obstinate verminose affections. As an emetic it is seldom employed, 
unless in the shape of a cataplasm to the epigastrium, to assist the action of in- 
ternal medicines, in cases of great insensibility of stomach. As a diuretic it was 
used by Fowler iu dropsy and dysury; but the practice is not often imitated. 
There is no better errhine than tobacco, for the ordinary purposes for which this 
class of medicines is employed. As a sialagogue, it is beneficial in rheumatism PART I. 
Tabacum.— Tamarindus. 
823 
of the jaws, and often relieves toothache by its anodyne action. It is also used 
externally, in the shape of cataplasm, infusion, or ointment, in cases of tinea 
capitis, psora, and some other cutaneous affections. The empyreumatic oil mixed 
with simple ointment, in the proportion of twenty drops to the ounce, has been 
applied with advantage, by American practitioners, to indolent tumours and 
ulcers; but, in consequence of its liability to be absorbed, and to produce un- 
pleasant effects on the system, it should be used with great caution. (See Oleum 
Tabaci.) This remark is applicable to all the modes of employing tobacco; 
particularly to the injection of the infusion into the rectum, which has caused 
death in several instances. It is even more dangerous than a proportionate 
quantity introduced into the stomach; as, in the latter case, the poison is more 
apt to be rejected. Even the external application of the leaves or powder is not 
without danger, especially when the cuticle is removed. A case of death is on 
record, occurring in a child eight years old, in consequence of the application 
of the expressed juice of the leaves to the head, for the cure of tinea capitis. 
Death has also been produced by the inhalation of the smoke. 
Five or six grains of powdered tobacco will generally act as an emetic; but 
the remedy is not given in this shape. The infusion used in dropsy by Fowler 
was made in the proportion of an ounce to a pint of boiling water, and given 
in the dose of sixty or eighty drops. The officinal infusion, which is employed 
for injection, is much weaker. (See Infusum Tabaci.) A wine and an ointment 
of tobacco are directed by the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. 
Off. Prep. Enema Tabaci, Br.; Infusum Tabaci, U. S.; Oleum Tabaci, U. S.; 
Unguentum Tabaci, TJ. S.; Yinum Tabaci, U. S. W. 
TAMARINDUS. TJ.S.,Br. 
Tamarind. 
The preserved fruit of Tamarindus Indica. U. S. The preserved Pulp of the 
fruit. Br. 
Tamarins, Fr.; Tamarinden, Germ.; Tamarindi, Ital.; Tamarindos, Span. 
Tamarindus. Sex. Syst. Monadelphia Triandria. — Nat. Ord. Fabacete or 
Leguminosm. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx four-parted. Petals three. Nectary with two short bristles 
under the filaments. Legume filled with pulp. Willd. 
Tamarindus Indica. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 517; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 448, 
t. 161. The tamarind tree is the only species of this genus. It rises to a great 
height, sends off numerous spreading branches, and has a beautiful appearance. 
The trunk is erect, thick, and covered with a rough, ash-coloured bark. The 
leaves are alternate and pinnate, composed of many pairs of opposite'leaflets, 
which are almost sessile, entire, oblong, obtuse, unequal at their base, about 
half an inch long by a sixth of an inch broad, and of a yellowish-green colour. 
The flowers, which are in small lateral racemes, have a yellowish calyx, and yel- 
low petals beautifully variegated with red veins. The fruit is a broad, com- 
pressed, reddish ash-coloured pod, much curved, from two to six inches long, 
with numerous brown, flat, quadrangular seeds, contained in cells formed by a 
tough membrane. Exterior to this membrane is a light-coloured acid pulpy 
matter, between which and the shell are several tough ligneous strings, running 
from the stem to the extremity of the pod, the attachment of which they serve 
to strengthen. The shells are fragile and easily separated. 
Tamarindus Indica appears to be a native of the East and West Indies, Egypt, 
and Arabia, though believed by some to have been imported into America. Dr. 
Barth, the African traveller, found it abundant in the interior of Africa, and one 
of the greatest ornaments of Negroland. ( Travels in Africa, Am. ed., 1817, i. 824 
Tamarindus.— Tanacetum. 
PART I. 
418.) De Candolle is doubtful whether the East and West India trees are of 
the same species. It is stated by writers that the pods of the former are much 
larger than those of the latter, and have a greater number of seeds; the East 
India tamarinds containing six or seven, those from the West Indies rarely more 
than three or four. We found, however, in a parcel of the latter in our posses- 
sion, numerous pods with from eight to ten seeds, and the number generally 
exceeded four. The fruit is the officinal portion. 
Tamarinds are brought to us chiefly, if not exclusively, from the West Indies, 
where they are prepared by placing the pods, previously deprived of their shell, 
in layers in a cask, and pouring boiling syrup over them. A better mode, some- 
times practised, is to place them in stone jars, with alternate layers of powdered 
sugar. They are said to be occasionally prepared in copper boilers. 
Properties. Fresh tamarinds, which are sometimes, though rarely, brought 
to this country, have an agreeable sour taste, without any mixture of sweetness. 
As we usually find them, in the preserved state, they form a dark-coloured ad- 
hesive mass, consisting of syrup mixed with the pulp, membrane, strings, and 
seeds of the pod, and of a sweet acidulous taste. The seeds should be hard, 
clean, and not swollen, the strings tough and entire, and the smell without musti- 
ness. From the analysis of Yauquelin, it appears that in 100 parts of the pulp 
of tamarinds, independently of the sugar added to them, there are 9-40 parts of 
citric acid, 1 55 of tartaric acid, 0 45 of malic acid, 3 25 of bitartrate of potassa, 
4'70 of gum, 6-25 of jelly, 34 35 of parenchymatous matter, and 27'55 of water; 
so that the acidity is owing chiefly to citric acid. It is said that copper may some- 
times be detected in preserved tamarinds, derived from the boilers in which they 
are occasionally prepared. Its presence may be ascertained by the reddish coat 
which it imparts to the blade of a knife immersed in the tamarinds. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Tamarinds are laxative and refrigerant, and 
infused in water form a highly grateful drink in febrile diseases. Convalescents 
often find the pulp a pleasant addition to their diet, and useful by preserving 
the bowels in a loose condition. It is sometimes prescribed in connection with 
other mild cathartics, and is one of the ingredients in the confection of senna. 
Though frequently given with infusion of senna to cover its taste, it is said to 
weaken its purgative power; and the same observation has been made of its 
influence upon the resiuous cathartics in general. From a drachm to an ounce 
or more may be taken at a dose. 
Off. Prep. Confectio Sennae. W. 
TANACETUM. US. Secondary. 
Tansy. 
The herb of Tanacetum vulgare. U. S. 
Tanaisie, Fr.; Gemeiner Rheinfarrn, Wurmkraut, Germ.; Tanaceto, Ital., Span. 
Tanacetum. Sex. Syst. Syngenesia Superflua. — Nat. Ord. Compositse- 
Senecionideae, De Candolle; Asteracem, Lindley. 
Gen. Ch. Receptacle naked. Pappus somewhat emarginate. Calyx imbri- 
cate, hemispherical. Corolla rays obsolete, trifid. Willd. 
Tanacetum vulgare. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 1814; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 66, 
t. 27. This is a perennial herbaceous plant, rising two or three feet in height 
The stems are strong, erect, obscurely hexagonal, striated, often reddish, branched 
towards the summit, and furnished with alternate, doubly pinnatifid leaves, the 
divisions cf which are notched or deeply serrate. The flowers are yellow, and 
in dense terminal corymbs. Each flower is composed of numerous florets, of 
which those constituting the disk are perfect and five-cleft, those of the ray very 
few, pistillate, and trifid. The calyx consists of small, imbricated, lanceolate PART I. 
Tanacetum.—Tapioca. 
825 
leaflets, having a dry, scaly margin. The seeds are small, oblong, with fiva or 
six ribs, and crowned with a membranous pappus. 
Tansy is cultivated in our gardens, and grows wild in the roads and in old 
fields; but was introduced from Europe, where it is indigenous. It is in flower 
from July to September. 
There is a variety of the plant with curled leaves, which is said to be more 
grateful to the stomach than that above described, but has less of the peculiai 
sensible properties of the herb, and is probably less active. 
The odour of tansy is strong, peculiar, and fragrant, but much diminished by 
drying; the taste is warm, bitter, somewhat acrid, and aromatic. These pro- 
perties are imparted to water and alcohol. According to Peschier, the leaves 
contain volatile oil, fixed oil, wax or stearin, chlorophyll, yellow resin, yellow 
colouring matter, tannic and gallic acids, bitter extractive, gum, lignin, and a 
peculiar acid which he calls tanacetic, and which precipitates lime, baryta, oxide 
of lead, and oxide of copper. The medical virtues of the plant depend on the 
bitter extractive and volatile oil. The latter, when separated by distillation, has 
a greenish-yellow colour, with the flavour of the plant, is lighter than water, 
and deposits camphor upon standing. The seeds contain the largest proportion 
of the bitter principle, and the least of volatile oil. According to Zeller, one 
pound of the fresh herb, in flower, yields upon an average twenty-four grains 
of oil. {Cent. Blatt, 1855, p. 206.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Tansy has the medical properties of the aro- 
matic bitters. It has been recommended in intermittents, hysteria, amenorrhoea, 
and as a preventive of arthritic paroxysms; but at present it is chiefly used as 
an anthelmintic, and in this country is little employed, for any purpose, in regu- 
lar practice. The seeds are said to be most effectual as a vermifuge. The dose 
of the powder is from thirty grains to a drachm two or three times a day; but 
the infusion is more frequently administered. A fatal case of poisoning with 
half an ounce of oil of tansy is recorded in the Medical Magazine for November, 
1834. Frequent aud violent clonic spasms were experienced, with much disturb- 
ance of respiration ; and the action of the heart gradually became weaker till 
death took place from its entire suspension. No inflammation of the stomach 
or bowels was discovered upon dissection. {Am. Journ. of the Med. Sci., xvi. 
256.) Two other fatal cases have since been recorded, one in which more than 
a fluidounce was taken, the other only a fluidrachm. In both death followed 
speedily, preceded by coma and violent convulsions. In two of the three cases 
above referred to, the oil seems to have been taken to produce abortion, but no 
such effect followed in either. {Ibid., xxiii. 136, and xxiv. 219.) Dr. Pendleton 
records a case, in which death resulted to a negress of twenty-one from a con- 
siderable quantity of strong decoction of tansy taken internally. W. 
TAPIOCA. U. S. 
Tapioca. 
The fecula of the root of Janipha Manihot. U. S. 
Janipha. Sex. Syst. Moncecia Monadelphia.—Nat. Ord. Euphorbiacese. 
Gen.Ch. Calyx cainpanulate, five-parted. Stamens ten, distinct, alternately 
shorter. Stigmas three, many-lobed. Fruit three-celled, with solitary seeds. 
(Lindley, Med. and (Econom. Bot., 82.) 
Botanists have generally followed Kunth in separating this genus from Ja- 
tropha. Its name was derived from the Indian designation of another species. 
Janipha Manihot. Curtis’s Bot. Mag. 3011.—Jatropha Manihot. VVilld. Sp. 
Plant, iv. 562. This is the cassava plant of the West Indies, the mandioca or 
tapioca of Brazil. It is a shrub about six or eight feet high, with a very large, 
white, fleshy, tuberous root, which often weighs thirty pounds. The stem is 826 
Tapioca.—Taraxacum. 
PART L 
round, jointed, and furnished at its upper part with alternate petiolate leaves, 
deeply divided into three, five, or seven oval-lanceolate, very acute lobes, which 
are somewhat wavy upon their borders, deep-green on their upper surface, glau- 
cous and whitish beneath. The flowers are in axillary racemes. 
Janipha Manihot is a native of South America, and is cultivated extensively in 
the West Indies, Brazil and other parts of tropical America, and in Liberia, for 
the sake of its root, which is much employed as an article of food. The plant is i 
of quick growth, and the root arrives at perfection in about eight months. There 
are two varieties, distinguished by the names of sweet and bitter. The root of the 
former may be eaten with impunity; that of the latter, which is most extensively 
cultivated, abounds in an acrid milky juice, which renders it highly poisonous if 
eaten in the recent state. By- MM. Henry and Boutron-Charlard it has been 
ascertained that the bitter cassava owes its poisonous properties to the presence 
of hydrocyanic acid. (Journ. de Pharm.,xxii. 119.) Both varieties contain a large 
proportion of starch. The root is prepared for use by washing, scraping, and 
grating or grinding it into a pulp, which, in the bitter variety, is submitted to 
pressure so as to separate the deleterious juice. It is now in the state of meal 
or powder, which is made into bread, cakes, or puddings. As the poisonous 
principle is volatile, the portion which may have remained in the meal is entirely 
dissipated by the heat employed in cooking. The preparation denominated 
tapioca among us is obtained from the expressed juice. This, upon standing, 
deposits a powder, which, after repeated washings with cold water, is nearly 
pure starch. It is dried by exposure to heat, which renders it partly soluble in 
cold water, and enables it to assume its characteristic consistence. When dried 
without heat, it is pulverulent, and closely resembles the fecula of arrow-root 
Tapioca is in irregular, hard, white, rough grains, possessing little taste, par- 
tially soluble in cold water, and affording a fine blue colour when iodine is added 
to its filtered solution. The partial solubility in cold water is owing to the 
rupture of the starch-granules by heat. Examined under the microscope, the 
granules appear partly broken, partly entire. The latter are muller-shaped, 
about the two-thousandth of an inch in diameter, more uniform in size than the 
granules of most other varieties of fecula, with a distinct hilum, which is sur- 
rounded by rings, and cracks in a stellate manner. Tapioca meal, called some- 
times Brazilian arrow-root, and by the French moussache, is the fecula dried 
without heat. Its granules are identical with those already described. Being 
nutritious, and at the same time easy of digestion, and destitute oi irritating 
properties, tapioca forms an excellent diet for the sick and convalescent. It is 
prepared for use by boiling it in water. Lemon-juice and sugar are usually 
grateful additions; and in low states of disease or cases of debility, it may be 
advantageously impregnated with wine and nutmeg or other aromatic. 
A factitious tapioca is found in the shops, consisting of very small, smooth, 
spherical grains, and supposed to be prepared from potato starch. It is sold 
under the name of pearl tapioca. W. 
TARAXACUM. US.,Br. 
Dandelion. 
The root, gathered in the autumn, of Taraxacum Dens-leonis. U. S The fresh 
Roots, gathered between September and February. Br. 
Pissenlit, Pent de lion, Fr.; Lowenzahn, Germ.; Tarassaco, Ital.; Diente dc leon, Span. 
Leontodon. Sex. Syst. Syngenesia JEqualis. — Nat. Ord. Compositse-Cicho 
race®, De Candolle; Cichoraceae, Bindley. 
Gen. Ch. Receptacle naked. Calyx double. Seed-down stipit&te, hairy. Willd. 
Leontodon Taraxacum. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 1544; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 39, PART i. 
Taraxacum. 
827 
t. 16.—Taraxacum Dens-leonis. De Cand. Prodrom. vii. 145. The dandelion 
is an herbaceous plant, with a perennial fusiform root. The leaves, which spring 
immediately from the root, are long, pinnatifid, generally runcinate, with the di- 
visions toothed, smooth, and of a fine green colour. The common name of the 
plant was derived from the fancied resemblance of its leaves to the teeth of 
a lion. The flower-stem rises from the midst of the leaves, six inches or more 
in height. It is erect, simple, naked, smooth, hollow, fragile, and terminated by 
a large golden-coloured flower, which closes in the evening, and expands with 
the returning light of the sun. The calyx is smooth and double, with the outer 
scales bent downwards. The florets are very numerous, ligulate, and toothed at 
their extremities. The receptacle is convex and punctured. The seed-down is 
stipitate, and at the period of maturity is disposed in a spherical form, and is so 
light and feathery as to be easily borne away by the wind, with the seeds attached. 
This species of Leontodon grows spontaneously in most parts of the globe. 
It is abundant in this country, adorning our grass-plats and pasture-grounds 
with its bright-yellow flowers, which, in moist places, show themselves with the 
first opening of spring, and continue to appear till near the close of summer. 
All parts of the plant contain a milky bitterish juice, which exudes when they 
are broken or wounded. The leaves, when very young, and blanched by the ab- 
sence of light during their growth, are tender and not unpleasant to the taste, 
and on the continent of Europe are sometimes used as a salad. When older and 
of their natural colour they are medicinal. The Pharmacopoeias recognise only 
the root, which is by far the most efficacious part. It should be full grown when 
collected, and should be employed in the recent state, as it is then most active. 
It does not, however, as stated by Duncan, lose nearly all its bitterness by dry- 
ing; and the root dug up in the warmer seasons might, if dried with care, be 
employed with propriety in the succeeding winter. The juice of the root is thin 
and watery in the spring; milky, bitter, and spontaneously coagulable in the 
latter part of summer and autumn; and sweet and less bitter in the winter, when 
affected by the frost. The months of July, August, and September are, there- 
fore, the proper periods for collecting it. 
The fresh full-grown root of the dandelion is several inches in length, as thick 
as the little finger or thicker, round and tapering, somewhat branched, of a 
light-brown colour externally, whitish within, having a yellowish ligneous cord 
running through its centre, and abounding in a milky juice. In the dried state 
it is dark-brown, much shrunk, wrinkled longitudinally, brittle, and when broken 
presents a shining somewhat resinous fracture. A transverse section exhibits an 
exterior cortical portion, thick, spongy, whitish, and marked with concentric 
rings, and a smaller central portion, ligneous and yellow; though in very old 
roots the latter is sometimes wanting. It is without smell, but has a sweetish, 
mucilaginous, bitterish, herbaceous taste. Its active properties are yielded to 
water by boiling, and do not appear to be injured in the process. The milky 
juice, examined by John, was found to contain bitter extractive, gum, caoutchouc, 
saline matters, a trace of resin, and a free acid. Besides these ingredients, starch 
or inulin, and saccharine matter exist in the root. Mannite, which has been 
found in the infusion of the root, has been demonstrated by the Messrs. Smith, 
of Edinburgh, not to pre-exist in the root, but to be formed by spontaneous 
changes consequent on exposure. A crystallizable principle has been extracted 
from the juice of the root by M. Pollex, who has named it taraxacin. It is 
bitter and somewhat acrid, fusible but not volatile, sparingly soluble in cold 
water, but very soluble in boiling water, alcohol, and ether. It is obtained by 
boiling the milky juice in distilled water, filtering the concentrated liquor, and 
allowing it to evaporate spontaneously in a warm place. The taraxacin crystal- 
lizes, and may be purified by repeated solution and crystallization in alcohol or 
water. According to Yogel, the intra-cellular substance of the root consists 828 
Taraxacum.—Terebinthina. 
PART 1. 
chiefly of pectose, which is the result of a metamorphosis of the substance con- 
stituting the membrane of the cells. (Journ. de Pharm., Avril, 1864, p. 362.) 
The root of Aspargia hispida has been largely substituted for dandelion in 
England by the herb gatherers {Pharm. Journ., xi. 107); and we are informed 
that a similar fraudulent substitution is not unfrequent, in this country, of the 
root of Gichorium Intibus, or chicory. This is distinguishable from the genu- 
ine root by its lighter colour, and greater bitterness. For a particular account 
of the characteristic properties of the root, by which it may be distinguished 
from all others, the reader is referred to an article by Mr. K. Bentley, in the 
Pharmaceutical Journal (xvi. 304). 
Medical Properties and Uses. Taraxacum is slightly tonic, diuretic, and 
aperient, and is thought to have a specific action upon the liver, exciting it when 
languid to secretion, and resolving its chronic engorgements. It has been much 
employed in Germany, and is a popular remedy with many practitioners in this 
Country. The diseases to which it appears to be especially applicable, are those 
connected with derangement of the hepatic apparatus, and of the digestive organs 
generally. In congestion and chronic inflammation of the liver and spleen, in 
cases of suspended or deficient biliary secretion, and in dropsical affections de- 
pended on obstruction of the abdominal viscera, it appears to be capable of 
doing good, if employed with a due regard to the degree of excitement. Our 
own experience is in its favour. An irritable condition of the stomach and 
bowels, and the existence of acute inflammation contraindicate its employment. 
It is usually given in the form of extract or decoction, though some prefer the 
infusion. (See these preparations in Part II.) Bitartrate of potassa is sometimes 
added to the decoction when an aperient effect is desired; and aromatics will 
occasionally be found useful in correcting a tendency to griping or flatulence. 
The dried root is sometimes mixed, in powder, with ground coffee, the taste of 
which covers that of the dandelion. It is also used as a substitute for coffee, 
being powdered and roasted, and then prepared in the same manner. 
Off. Prep. Decoctum Taraxaci, Br.; Extractum Taraxaci; Extractum Tar- 
axaci Fluidum, U. S.; Infusum Taraxaci, U. S.; Succus Taraxaci, Br. W 
TEREBINTHINA. U.S. 
Turpentine. 
The concrete juice of Pinus palustris, and of other species of Pinus. U. S. 
Off. Syn. THUS AMERICANUM. Common Frankincense. Pinus Taeda, 
the Frankincense Pine, and Pinus palustris, the Swamp Pine. The concrete 
turpentine from the Southern States of North America. Br. 
TEREBINTHINA CANADENSIS. U.S.,Br. 
Canada Turpentine. Balsam of Fir. 
The juice of Abies balsamea, U. S. Canada Balsam. The turpentine obtained 
from the stem by incision. Br. 
Fr.; Terpentin, Germ.; Trementina, Pal., Span. 
The term turpentine is usually applied to certain vegetable juices, liquid or 
concrete, which consist of resin combined with a peculiar essential oil, called oil 
of turpentine. They are generally procured from different species of pine, fir, or 
larch; though other trees afford products which are known by the same general 
title, as for instance Pistacia Terebinthus, which yields the Chian turpentine. 
Some Frendh writers extend the name of turpentine to other juices consisting 
of resin and essential oil, without benzoic or cinnamic acid, as copaiba, balm of 
Gilead, &c. We shall describe particularly, in this place, only the turpentines part I. 
Terebinthina. 
829 
which are either now officinal, or have but recently ceased to be so. A brief 
botanical view of the plants from which they are respectively derived, will be in 
accordance with the plan of this work. It is proper first to observe that the 
original genus Pinus of Linnaeus has been divided into the three genera, Pinus, 
Abies, and Larix, which are now very generally recognised, though Lindlev 
unites the two latter in his Flora Medica. 
Pinus. Sex. Syst. Moncecia Monadelphia. —Nat. Ord. Pinaceae or Conifer®. 
Gen. Gh. Flowers monoecious. Males. Catkins racemose, compact, and ter- 
minal ; squamose; the scales staminiferous at the apex. Stamens two; the anthers 
one-eelled. Females. Catkins or cones simple, imbricated with acuminate scales. 
Ovaries two. Stigmas glandular Scales of the cone oblong, club-shaped, woody; 
umbilicato-angular at the apex. Seeds in pairs, covered with a sharp-pointed 
membrane. Cotyledons digitato-partite. Leaves two or many, in the same sheath. 
(Pereira's Mat. Med. from Bot. Gall.) 
1. Pinus palustris. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 499.—P. Australis. Michaux, N. 
Am. Sylv. iii. 133. “Leaves in threes, very long; stipules pinnatifid ramentace- 
ous, persistent; strobiles subcylindrical, armed with sharp prickles.” 
This is a very large indigenous tree, growing in dry, sandy soils, from the 
southern part of Virginia to the Gulf of Mexico. Its mean elevation is sixty or 
seventy feet, and the diameter of its trunk about fifteen or eighteen inches for 
two-thirds of this height. The leaves are about a foot in length, of a brilliant 
green colour, and united in bunches at the ends of the branches. The names by 
which the tree is known in the Southern States are long-leaved pine, yellow 
pine, and pitch pine; but the first is most appropriate, as the last two are ap- 
plied also to other species. This tree furnishes by far the greater proportion of 
the turpentine, tar, &c. consumed in the United States, or sent from this to 
other countries. (See Fix Liquida.) 
2. Pinus Taeda. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 498; Michaux, N. Am. Sylv. iii. 156. 
“ Leaves in threes, elongated, with elongated sheaths; strobiles oblong-conical, 
deflexed, shorter than the leaf; spines indexed.” 
This is the loblolly, or old field pine of the Southern States. It is abundant 
in Virginia, where it occupies the lands exhausted by cultivation. It exceeds 
eighty feet in height, has a trunk two or three feet in diameter, and expands 
into a wide spreading top. The leaves are about six inches long, and of a light- 
green colour. It yields turpentine in abundance, but less fluid than that which 
flows from the preceding species. 
3. Pinus sylvestris. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 494; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 1, t. 1; 
Michaux, N. Am. Sylv. iii. p. 125. “Leaves in pairs, rigid; strobiles ovate- 
conical, of the length of the leaves; scales echinate.” 
This tree, when of full size, is eighty feet high, with a trunk four or five feet 
in diameter. It inhabits the northern and mountainous parts of Europe. In 
Great Britain it is called the wild pine or Scotch fir; the latter name having 
been given to it from its abundance in the mountains of Scotland. It yields a 
considerable proportion of the common European turpentine. In Germany a 
fibrous substance is prepared from the leaves, called fir-wool, and a volatile oil 
is distilled from them called fir-wool oil, which is said to be considerably used, 
both internally and locally, as a remedy for rheumatism, palsy, chronic catarrh, 
&c., indeed for the same purposes generally as the oil of turpentine. (See Am. 
Journ. of Pharm., May, 1863, p. 274.) 
Besides the pines above described, various others yield medicinal products. 
Pinus maritima (P. Pinaster of Aiton and Lambert), growing in the southern 
and maritime parts of Europe, yields much of the turpentine, pitch, and tar con- 
sumed in France, and is admitted among the officinal plants in the French Codex. 
From the branches of Pinus Pumilio, which inhabits the mountains of eastern 
and south-eastern Europe, a terebinthinate juice exudes spontaneously, called 830 
Terebintliina. 
PART I. 
Hungarian balsam. Pinus Cembra, or the Siberian stone-pine of the Alpa 
and Carpathian mountains, is said to afford the product called Carpathian 
balsam; and the seeds both of that species, and of Pinus Pinea, or stone-pine 
of the south of Europe and north of Africa, are used in Europe in desserts, 
under the name of pine nuts. Pinus Lambertiana, of California, produces by 
exudation a saccharine matter, which has been found to contain a peculiar sweet 
principle called pinite. (Comptes Rendus, Sept. 1855.) The Pinus rigida, or 
pitch pine of this country, and probably others besides those mentioned, are 
sometimes employed in the preparation of tar. 
Abies. See PIX BURGUNDICA. 
Abies balsamea. Lindley, Flor. Med. p. 554.—A. balsamifera. Michaux, N.A. 
Sylv. iii. 191. — Pinus balsamea. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 504. “Leaves solitary, 
flat, emarginate or entire, glaucous beneath, somewhat pectinate, sub-erect above, 
recurved spreading; cones cylindrical, erect; bractes abbreviate, obovate, con- 
spicuously mucronate, sub-serrulate.” 
This is the American silver fir, or balm of Gilead tree, inhabiting Canada, 
Nova Scotia, Maine, and the mountainous regions further south. It is an ele- 
gant tree, seldom rising more than forty feet, with a tapering trunk, and numer- 
ous branches, which diminish in length in proportion to their height, and form 
an almost perfect pyramid. The leaves are six or eight lines long, inserted in 
rows on the sides and tops of the branches, narrow, flat, rigid, bright-green on 
their upper surface, and of a silvery whiteness beneath. The cones are large, 
erect, nearly cylindrical, of a purplish colour, and covered with a resinous ex- 
udation, which gives them a glossy, rich, and beautiful appearance. It is from 
this tree that the Canada balsam is obtained. 
Several other species of Abies are officinal. Abies excelsa of Europe, and 
A. Canadensis of the United States, have already been described as the sources 
respectively of Burgundy and Canada pitch. (See Pix Burgundica and Pix 
Canadensis.) The A.Picea (Abies pectinata of De Candolle, A.taxifolia of 
the French Codex, Pinus Picea of Linnaeus), or European silver fir, growing 
in the mountainous regions of Switzerland, Germany, and Siberia, yields the 
Strasburg turpentine, which is much used in some parts of Europe. By the 
distillation of its cones with water, it also affords a variety of oil of turpentine 
called in France essence de templine. The Abies nigra (Pinus nigra), or black 
spruce of this country, yields a product, which, though not recognised by the 
Pharmacopoeia, is considerably employed. The substance alluded to is the 
essence of spruce, prepared from the young branches by boiling them in water, 
and evaporating the decoction. It is a thick liquid, having the colour and con- 
sistence of molasses, with a bitterish, acidulous, astringent taste. It is used in 
the preparation of the beverage commonly known by the name of spruce beer, 
which is a pleasant and wholesome drink in summer, and useful in long sea- 
voyages as a preventive of scurvy.* 
Larix. Sex. Syst. Moncecia Monadelphia. — Nat. Ord. Pinaceae or Conifer®. 
Gen. Ch. As in Abies, except that the cotyledons are simple, and never 
lobed; the cones lateral; the leaves, when first expanding, in tufted fascicles, 
becoming somewhat solitary by the elongation of the new branch. (Pereira's 
Mat. Med. from Bot. Gall.) 
Larix Europaea. De Cand. Flor. Fr. 2064. — Abies Larix. Lamb. Illust. t. 
185, f. 2 —Pinus Larix. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 503; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 7, t. 
4. “Leaves fascicled, deciduous; cones ovate-oblong; margins of the scales 
reflexed, lacerated; bractes panduriform.” 
* The following is the formula. Take of essence of spruce half a pint; pimento bruised, 
ginger bruised, hops, each, four ounces; water three gallons. Boil for five or ten minutes; 
then strain, and add of warm water eleven gallons; yeast a pint; molasses six pints. Mix, 
and allow the mixture to ferment for twenty-four hours. PART I. 
Terebinthina. 
831 
The European larch is a large tree, inhabiting the mountains of Siberia, 
Switzerland, Germany, and the east of France. It yields the Venice turpentine 
of commerce, and a peculiar sweetish substance called in France Briangon manna. 
which exudes spontaneously, and concretes upon its bark. When the larch forests 
of Russia take fire, a juice exudes from the trunk during their combustion, which 
concretes, and is called Orenburgh gum. It is wholly soluble in water.* 
Pistacia. See MASTICHE. 
Pistacia Terebinthus. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 752; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 29, t. 
12. This is a small tree with numerous spreading branches, bearing alternate, 
pinnate leaves, which consist of three or four pairs of ovate-lanceolate, entire, 
acute, smooth, and shining leaflets, with an odd one at the end. The male and 
female flowers are dioecious, small, and in branching racemes. It is a native of 
Barbarv and Greece, and flourishes in the islands of Cyprus and Ohio, the lat- 
ter of which has given its name to the Chian turpentine obtained from the tree. 
A gall, produced upon this plant by the puncture of an insect, has been used in 
Eastern Europe in pectoral affections. 
We shall treat of the several varieties of turpentine under distinct heads. 
1. White Turpentine. 
T6r6benthine de Boston, Fr. 
The common American or white turpentine ( Terebinthina, U. S.; Thus Arne- 
ricanum, Br.) is procured chiefly from Pinus palustris, partly also from Pinus 
Tseda, and perhaps other species inhabiting the Southern States. In former 
times, large quantities were collected*in New England; but the turpentine trees 
of that section of the Union are said to be nearly exhausted ; and our commerce 
has been until recently almost exclusively supplied from North Carolina, and the 
south-eastern parts of Virginia. Within a few years, however, attention has been 
turned to the collection of this valuable product in Georgia and Florida; and 
there is no doubt that, in time, an abundant supply will be derived from the vast 
* Larch Bark. The inner bark of this species of larch has recently been introduced to 
the notice of the profession by Dr. Charles Frizel, of Dublin. Examined by Prof. Aldridge, 
it was found to contain, among other substances, gum, starch, resin, and tannic acid of the 
kind which precipitates the salts of iron olive-green. Dr. John Stenhouse has obtained 
from it a peculiar volatile principle, which he has not succeeded in finding in other trees 
of the pine family, and which, as it has acid properties, though exceedingly feeble, he pro- 
poses to name larixinic acid (larixine). It may be obtained by evaporating an infusion of 
the bark to the consistence of syrup, and submitting the residue to distillation in a retort of 
glass or porcelain or a silver alembic, by means of a sand-bath cautiously heated. A por- 
tion of larixinic acid comes over and condenses in crystals; but the greater part is dissolved 
in the liquid distillate. This on careful evaporation deposits the impure acid, which may 
be purified by pressing it in bibulous paper, again crystallizing from a strong watery solu- 
tion, and lastly subliming once or twice. Larixinic acid .is most abundant in the young 
bark. It is in beautiful, white, lustrous crystals, often more than an inch long, of a pecu- 
liar somewhat empyreumatic smell, and a slightly bitter and astringent taste, inflamma- 
ble, sublimable at about 200°, soluble in 87-88 parts of water at 59° F., very soluble in boil- 
ing water, soluble in cold but much more so in hot alcohol, and sparingly soluble in ether. 
It readily crystallizes from its solutions. A very singular and characteristic property is 
that of forming, when added in strong solution, in excess, to baryta-water, a bulky, trans- 
lucent, gelatinous precipitate, occupying the whole measure of the liquids if concentrated. 
Its probable formula is C20lI10O10. 
The bark possesses astringent and gently stimulant properties, and is supposed to have 
a special tendency to the mucous membranes. It has been found peculiarly efficacious in 
purpura and other hemorrhagic affections, especially haemoptysis; and has been given in 
bronchitis with copious expectoration, and in diseases of the urinary passages. It has been 
used also, mixed with soap and glycerin, as a local remedy in psoriasis, chronic eczema, 
and other cutaneous affections. The usual forms of exhibition are those of extract and tinc- 
ture, the former in the dose of from 3 to 5 grains, the latter from 30 minims to a fluidrachm 
or more, every three or four hours. (Dub. IIosp. Gaz., April 15, 1858, and Jan. 15, 1859; 
Med. Times and Gaz., Nov. 1859, p. 476; and Am. Journ. of Pharm., Nov. 1862, p. 555, &c.)— 
Note to the twelfth edition. 832 
Terebinthina. 
part i. 
pine forests which occupy the southern portion of our country bordering on the 
Gulf of Mexico. The following is the process for obtaining the turpentine as de- 
scribed by Michaux. During the winter, excavations of the capacity of about 
three pints are made in the trunk of the tree three or four inches from the ground. 
Into these the juice begins to flow about the middle of March, and continues to 
flow throughout the warm season, slowly at first, rapidly in the middle of sum- 
mer, and more slowly again in the autumn. The liquid is removed from these 
excavations as they fill, and transferred into casks, where it gradually thickens, 
and ultimately acquires a soft solid consistence. Yery large quantities are thus 
annually procured, sufficient not only to supply the consumption of this coun- 
try, but also to furnish a valuable export.* 
White turpentine, as found in our shops, is yellowish-white, of a peculiar some- 
what aromatic odour, and a warm, pungent, bitterish taste. It is somewhat 
translucent, and of a consistence varying with the temperature. In the middle 
of summer, it is almost semi-fluid and very adhesive, though brittle; in the 
wunter, it is often so firm and hard as to be incapable of being made into pills 
without heat. Exposed to the air it ultimately becomes perfectly hard and dry. 
In the recent state it affords about FT per cent, of volatile oil. It is apt to con- 
tain small pieces of bark, wood, or other impurity. 
2. Common European Turpentine 
T6r6benthine de Bordeaux, T4r6benthine commune, Fr.; Gemeiner Terpentin, Germ.; 
Trementina comune, Ital.; Trementina comun, Span. 
This is the Terebinthina Vulgaris of-the former London Pharmacopoeia. 
It is famished by several species of pine; but chiefly by P. sylvestris and P. 
maritima. From the latter tree it is obtained largely in the maritime districts 
of the south-west of France, especially in the department of the Landes, and 
is exported from Bordeaux. Hence it is called in commerce Bordeaux turpen- 
tine. It is procured by making incisions into the trunk, or removing portions 
of the bark, and receiving the juice which flows out in small troughs, or m 
holes dug at the foot of the tree. It is purified by heating, and filtering it 
through straw, or by exposing it to the sun in a barrel, through holes in the 
bottom of which the melted turpentine escapes. Thus prepared it is whitish, 
turbid, thickish, and separates, upon standing, into two parts; one liquid and 
transparent, the other of a consistence and appearance like those of thickened 
honey. As found in European commerce it often consists wholly of this latter 
portion. It speedily hardens on exposure to the air in thin layers. The most 
liquid specimens are completely solidified by the addition of one part of mag- 
nesia to thirty-two of the turpentine. (Journ. de Pharm., xxv. 499.) It is 
scarcely ever given internally, but furnishes large quantities of oil of turpentine 
and resin. We do not import it into this country. The substance which the 
French call galipot or barras, is that portion of the turpentine which concretes 
upon the trunk of the tree when wounded, and is removed during the winter. 
( Thenard.) This, when purified by melting with water and straining, takes the 
name of yellow or white pitch, or Burgundy pitch. When turpentine, whether 
the European or American, has been deprived of its oil by distillation, the resin 
which remains is called rosin, and sometimes colophony, from the Ionian city of 
that name, where it was formerly prepared. It is the officinal resin (resina), and 
is sometimes called yellow resin (resina Jlava). White resin (resina alba) is pre- 
pared by incorporating this, while in fusion, with a certain proportion of water. 
(See Resina, page 698.) Tar (pix liquida) is the turpentine extracted from the 
* A particular and interesting account of the mode of collecting turpentine, distilling 
the oil, and preparing tar, practised in North Carolina, is contained in Olmsted’s Journey 
in the Sea-board Southern States, N. Y., 1866, p. 339. * PART L 
Terebinthina. 
833 
wood by slow combustion, and chemically altered by heat. Common pitch (pix 
pix nigra, or resina nigra) is the solid residue left after the evaporation by boil- 
ing of the liquid parts of tar. 
3. Canada Turpentine. 
Canada balsam, Balsam of fir; Baume de Canada, Fr.; Canadischer Balsam, Canadischer 
Terpentin, Germ.; Trementina del Canada, Ital. 
Canada Turpentine (Terebinthina Canadensis, U. S., Br.) is the product of 
Abies balsamea, and is collected in Canada and the State of Maine. It is pro- 
cured by breaking the vesicles which naturally form upon the trunk and branches, 
and receiving their liquid contents in a bottle. When fresh, it is colourless or 
slightly yellowish, transparent, of the consistence of thin honey, very tenacious, 
of a strong, agreeable odour, and a bitterish, somewhat acrid taste. By time 
and exposure it becomes thicker and more yellow, and finally solid. It is usually 
brought into market in bottles, and is kept in the shops under the name of Canada 
balsam or balsam of fir. In Europe, it is sometimes called balm of Gilead, from 
its supposed resemblance to that celebrated medicine. The term balsam, as at 
present understood, is improperly applied to it; as it contains no benzoic nor 
cinnamic acid, and is in fact a true turpentine, consisting chiefly of resin and vola- 
tile oil. Bonastre obtained, from 100 parts of Canada turpentine, 18 6 parts of 
volatile oil, 400 of resin easily dissolved by alcohol, 334 of sub-resin of difficult 
solubility in that fluid, 4 0 of caoutchouc similar to sub-resin, and 4-9 of bitter 
extractive and salts, besides traces of acetic acid. There is reason to believe 
that Strasburg turpentine is sometimes sold for it in the shops. 
4. Venice Turpentine. 
Tdrdbenthine de m61fcze, Tdr6benthine de Venise, Fr.; Venetianiscker Terpentin, Germ.; 
Trementina di Venezia, Ital.; Trementina de Venecia, Span. 
This turpentine was named from the circumstance that it was formerly an 
extensive article of Yenetian commerce. It is procured in Switzerland, and the 
French province of Dauphiny, from the Larix Europsea or larch, which grows 
abundantly upon the Alps and the Jura mountains. The peasants bore holes 
into the trunk about two feet from the ground, and conduct the juice by means 
of wooden gutters into small tubs, placed at a convenient distance. It is after- 
wards purified by filtration through a leather sieve. Genuine Venice turpen- 
tine is a viscid liquid, of the consistence of honey, flowing with difficulty, cloudy 
or imperfectly transparent, yellowish or slightly greenish, of a strong not dis- 
agreeable odour, and a warm, bitterish, and acrid taste. It does not readily con- 
crete on exposure, is not solidified by one-sixteenth of magnesia, and is entirely 
soluble in alcohol. (Guibourt, Journ. de Pharm., xxv. 500.) What is sold under 
the name of Venice turpentine, in our shops, is usually quite brown, and is said 
to be a factitious substance, prepared by dissolving rosin in oil of turpentine. 
Dr. A. T. Thomson states that much of the Venice turpentine of the shops of 
London is obtained from America. It is probably the same preparation as that 
which passes under the name in this country. 
5. Chian Turpentine. 
T4r6bentkine de Ohio, Fr.; Cyprischer Terpentin, Germ.; Trementina Cipria, Ital. 
This variety of turpentine is collected chiefly in the island of Ohio or Scio, by 
incisions made during the summer in the bark of Pistacia Terebinthus. The 
juice, flowing from the wounds, falls upon smooth stones placed at the foot of 
the tree, from which it is scraped with small sticks, and allowed to drop into 
bottles. The annual product of each tree is very small; and the turpentine, 
therefore, commands a high price even in the place where it is procured. Very 834 
Terebinthina. 
PART I. 
little of it reaches this country. It is said to be frequently adulterated with the 
other turpentines. It is a thick, tenacious liquid, of a greenish-yellow colour, a 
peculiar penetrating odour more agreeable than that of the other substances of 
the same class, and a mild taste without bitterness or acrimony. It leaves a 
glutinous residue when treated with strong alcohol. {Guibourt.) On exposure 
to the air it speedily thickens, and ultimately becomes concrete and hard, in 
consequence of the loss of its volatile oil. 
Besides the turpentines mentioned, various others are noticed in books on 
materia medica, though not found in the shops of this country. There are the 
Strasburg turpentine, much used in France, and obtained from the Abies Picea 
(Abies pectinata of De Candolle), or European silver fir, which grows on the 
mountains of Switzerland and Germany, and bears a close resemblance, as well 
in its appearance as its product, to Abies balsamea of Canada; the Damarra 
turpentine, which speedily concretes into a very hard resin, and is derived from 
the Pinus Damarra of Lambert, the Agathis Damarra of Richard, growing in 
the East India Islands; the cowrie or coxodie resin, procured by incision from 
another species of Damarra (D. australis) in New Zealand; and the Dombeya 
turpentine, a glutinous, milky-looking fluid, of a strong odour and taste, de- 
rived from Dombeya excelsa, the Araucaria Dombeyi of Richard, which in- 
habits Chili, and is said to be identical with the Norfolk Island pine. These, 
with one or two other turpentines scarcely known, or having a doubtful claim to 
the title, are all that belong properly to this class of vegetable products.* 
General Properties. The turpentines resemble each other in odour and taste, 
though distinguished by shades of difference. Liquid at first, they become thick 
and gradually solid by exposure, in consequence partly of the volatilization, 
partly of the oxidation of their essential oil. They are rendered more liquid or 
softened by heat, and at a high temperature take fire, burning with a white flame 
and much smoke. Water extracts only a minute proportion of their volatile 
oil. They are almost wholly soluble in alcohol and ether, and readily unite with 
the fixed oils. They yield by distillation a volatile oil, called oil of turpentine; 
the residue consisting exclusively of resin. (See Oleum Terebinthinee and Re- 
sina.) A minute proportion of succinic or acetic acid passes over with the oil. 
From the experiments of M. Faure, of Bordeaux, it appears that some of the 
liquid turpentines, like copaiba, may be solidified by the addition of magnesia. 
(Journ. de Chim. Med., 1830, p. 94.) According to M. Thierry, the same result 
is obtained by the addition of one part of hydrate of lime to thirty-two parts 
of common European turpentine. (Journ. de Pharm, 3e ser., i. 315.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. The effects of the turpentines upon the system 
are dependent entirely on their volatile oil. They are stimulant, diuretic, an- 
thelmintic, and in large doses laxative. When taken internally, or applied to 
the skin, they communicate a violet odour to the urine, and, if continued for 
some time, produce an irritation of the mucous membrane of the urinary pas- 
sages, amounting frequently to strangury. The last effect is less apt to be ex- 
perienced when they operate upon the bowels. Externally applied they act as 
rubefacients. Their medical virtues were known to the ancients. At present they 
are less used than formerly, having been superseded by their volatile oil. They 
are, however, occasionally prescribed in leucorrhoea, gleet, and other chronic 
* The product, of Abies picea, referred to in the text as Strasburg turpentine, is, according 
to Guibourt, nearly as liquid as olive oil, at first turbid and whitish, but becoming by 
filtration or long standing transparent and almost colourless, of an agreeable odour, anal- 
ogous to that of the citron, and of a taste moderately acrid and bitter. It dries quickly in 
the air, is solidified by a sixteenth of magnesia, and is not entirely soluble in alcohol. It is 
procured by incisions into the vesicles which form upon the surface of the tree, beneath 
the outer bark. Guibourt states that this is the true Venice turpentine, while that described 
in the text, and generally recognised by authors as Venice turpentine, is in fact the Stras- 
burg. (Joum. de Fharm., xxv. 487.) PART I. 
Terebinthina.— Testa.—Tormentilla. 
835 
diseases of the urinary passages; in piles and chronic inflammation or ulceration 
of the bowels; in chronic catarrhal affections; and in various forms of rheuma- 
tism, especially sciatica and lumbago. The white turpentine is usually employed 
in this country. They may be given in the shape of pill made with powdered 
liquorice root; in emulsion with gum arabic or yolk of egg, loaf sugar, and 
water; or in electuary formed with sugar or honey. Their dose is from a scruple 
to a drachm. In the quantity of half an ounce or an ounce, triturated with the 
yolk of an egg, and mixed with half a pint of mucilaginous liquid, they form an 
excellent injection in cases of ascarides, and of constipation with flatulence. 
The vapour of turpentine, employed as a vapour-bath, has been highly recom- 
mended in obstinate chronic rheumatism. According to M. A. Chevandier, it is 
borne well for about twenty-five minutes, at a temperature of from 140° to 160° 
F., producing acceleration of the pulse, and copious sweating, sometimes accom- 
panied with a confluent eruption. {Arch. Gen., 4e ser., xxviii. 80.) 
Off. Prep. Ceratum Resin® Compositum, U.S.; Emplastrum Galbani Comp., 
U. S.; Emplastrum Picis, Br. W. 
TESTA. U.S 
Oyster-shell. 
The shell of Ostrea edulis. U. S. 
Ecailles des liuitres, Fr.; Austerschalen, Germ.; Gusci della ostriche, Ital.; Cascaras, 
Span. 
The common oyster is the Ostrea edulis of naturalists, an animal belonging 
to the class Vermes, order Testacea. It is found in many parts of the world, 
and is particularly abundant on our own coast, and in the bays of our large rivers. 
It consists of a soft pulpy portion, comprising the vital organs of the animal, 
enclosed in a hard bivalve shell, of the nature of mother-of-pearl. The flesh of 
the oyster forms a very digestible and nutritious article of food, particularly 
suited to convalescents; but the shell only is officinal. 
Properties. Oyster-shells are too familiarly knowD to require description, 
They are made up, like other mother-of-pearl shells, of alternate layers of earthy 
and animal matter, the latter being of the nature of coagulated albumen. Ac- 
cording to the analysis of Bucholz and Brandes, their constituents are carbonate 
of lime 98-6, phosphate of lime 12, animal matter 0 5, alumina (accidental) 
0-2=100 5. Thus it appears that the animal matter is present in but small 
amount. When calcined or burnt, the animal matter and carbonic acid are dissi- 
pated, and the shells are converted into a species of lime, called oyster-shell lime. 
Pharmaceutical Uses. Oyster-shells must be reduced to an impalpable pow- 
der, before they are fit for medical use. Thus prepared they form Testa Prsepa- 
rata, under which head their medicinal properties are noticed. 
Off. Prep. Testa Prseparata, U. S. B. 
TORMENTILLA. U.JS. Secondary. 
Tormentil. 
The root of Potentilla Tormentilla. U. S. 
Tormentille, Fr.; Tormentillwurzel, Germ.; Tormentilla, Tormentila, Span. 
Potentilla. Sex. Syst. Icosandria Polygynia.—Nat. Ord. Rosaceae. 
Gen. Oh. Calyx with a concave tube, a four or five-cleft limb, and four or 
five bractlets. Petals four or five. Stamens numerous. Carpels numerous, with 
a lateral style, on a procumbent, persistent, capitate, juiceless receptacle. Seed 
appended. Herbs or undershrubs, with compound leaves, stipules adnate to the 
petiole, and white, yellow, rarely red flowers. (De Candolle.) 836 
Tormentilla.—Toxicodendron. 
PART I. 
Pots* hlla Tormentilla. Sibthorp, FI. Ox. 162; Lindley, Flor. Med. 225.— 
Tormentilla erecta. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1112; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 503, t. 
181. — T. officinalis. Smith, Flor. Brit. The tormentil, or septfoil, is a small 
perennial plant, very common throughout Europe. The stems, which rise about 
six or eight inches in height from a woody root, are slender, more or less erect, 
branching towards the top, and furnished with sessile leaves, which on the stalk 
usually consist of seven, on the branches of five, digitate, elliptical, villous, 
deeply serrated leaflets, three larger than the others. The flowers are small, yel- 
low, and solitary upon axillary peduncles. All parts of the plant are astringent, 
especially the root, which is the part employed. It is gathered in spring. 
Properties. The root of tormentil is cylindrical or roundish, rather larger 
above than at the lower extremity, an inch or two in length, about as thick as 
the finger, knotty, sometimes contorted, brown or blackish externally, and red- 
dish within. It has a slight aromatic odour, and a very astringent taste. Tannin 
is an abundant constituent. There is also a red colouring principle, soluble in 
alcohol, but insoluble in water. Besides these ingredients Meissner found resin, 
cerin, myricin, gummy extractive, gum, extractive, lignin, water, and a trace of 
volatile oil. The root is said to be used for tanning leather in the Orkneys and 
Western Islands of Scotland, and for staining leather red by the Laplanders. 
It yields its virtues to boiling water. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Tormentil is a simple and powerful astringent, 
applicable to all cases of disease in which this class of medicines is indicated. 
We seldom, however, employ it in this country, having indigenous plants of 
equal virtue. It may be given in substance, decoction, or extract. The dose of 
the powder is from thirty grains to a drachm. W. 
TOXICODENDRON. U. S. Secondary. 
Poison-oak. 
The leaves of Rhus Toxicodendron. U. S. 
Sumach Fr.; Gift-Sumach, Germ,.; Albero del veleno, Ital. 
Rhus. See RHUS GLABRUM. 
Admitting, as appears generally to be done at present, that Rhus Toxico- 
dendron and Rhus radicans of Linnaeus are mere varieties of the same plant, 
there are four indigenous species of Rhus which possess poisonous properties— 
the one above mentioned; R. vernix, commonly known by the name of swamp 
sumach or poison sumach; R. pumilum of the Southern States; and R. diversi- 
loba of California, where it is known by the Spanish name of hiedra. Though 
the first only is designated in the Pharmacopoeia, we shall briefly describe the 
four; as their medical effects are probably similar, and their operation upon the 
system such that the plants should be known to every practitioner. 
1. Rhus radicans. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1481; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. iii. 17. 
— R. Toxicodendron. Pursh, FI. Am. Sept. p. 205. Though Elliott and Nuttall 
consider R. radicans and R. Toxicodendron as distinct species, the weight of 
botanical authority is on the other side; and Bigelow declares that he has “fre- 
quently observed individual shoots from the same stock, having the characters 
of both varieties.” The difference, however, in their appearance is sufficiently 
striking to have led to the adoption of different common names; R. radicans 
being usually called poison vine, and R. Toxicodendron, poison-oak. The 
former has a climbing stem, rising to a great height upon trees, rocks, and other 
objects, to which it adheres by strong rooting fibres, which it throws out from 
its sides. The leaves, which stand upon long footstalks, are ternate, with broad- 
ovate or rhomboidal, acute leaflets, smooth and shining on both sides, sometimes 
slightly hairy on the veins beneath, entire, or irregularly lobed and toothed PART I. 
Toxicodendron. 
The flowers are small, greenish-white, dioecious, and grow in lateral, usually 
axillary panicles, or compound racemes. The male flowers have five stamens, 
and the rudiments of a style; the female, which are of only half the size, ana 
on a different plant, have abortive stamens, and a short erect style, standing on 
a roundish germ, and terminating in three stigmas. The fruit consists of round- 
ish, pale-green or whitish berries. 
R. Toxicodendron, or poison-oak, has the form of a shrub from one to three 
feet high, with leaflets angularly indented, and pubescent beneath. But this 
character of the foliage is probably not constant; and the stunted growth may 
be owing to peculiarities of situation. Dr. Bigelow states that the young plants 
of R,. radicans do not put forth rooting fibres until several years old, and are 
influenced in this respect by the contiguity of supporting objects. 
This species of Rhus grows in woods, fields, and along fences from Canada to 
Georgia. It flowers in June and July. When wounded it emits a milky juice, 
which becomes black on exposure to the air, and leaves upon linen or other cloth 
a stain, which cannot afterwards be removed by washing with soap and water, 
or by alcohol either hot or cold, but deepens by age. It has been proposed as 
an indelible ink. Ether dissolves it. 
The juice applied to the skin frequently produces inflammation and vesication ; 
and the same poisonous property is possessed by a volatile principle which escapes 
from the plant itself, and produces in certain persons, when they come into its 
vicinity, an exceedingly troublesome erysipelatoid affection, particularly of the 
face. Itching, redness, a sense of burning, tumefaction, vesication, and ultimate 
desquamation, are some of the attendants of this poisonous action. The swelling 
of the face is sometimes so great as almost entirely to obliterate the features. 
The effects are experienced soon after exposure, and usually begin to decline 
within a week. A light, cooling regimen, with saline purgatives, and the local 
use of cold lead-water, are the best remedies. Dr. A. Livezey, of Lumberville, 
Penn., strongly recommends a saturated tincture of lobelia as a local applica- 
tion in this affection. He applies it by means of linen or muslin cloths, and be- 
lieves that it arrests the inflammation. (Boston Med. and Surg. Journ., lv. 262.) 
According to Prof. Procter, who is himself very susceptible to this poison, a 
weak alkaline solution, applied immediately after exposure, seldom fails to pre- 
vent the effects; and, after the vesicles are formed, he has found that Monsel’s 
solution (Liq. Ferri Subsulphatis, U. S.), introduced by a pointed instrument 
into the vesicle, renders it abortive. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., Nov. 1863, p. 506.) 
All persons are not equally liable to the affection, and the great majority are 
wholly insusceptible of it from any ordinary exposure. 
2. Rhus vernix. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1479; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. i. 96. — 
R. venenata. Gray, Manual, Sc., p. 7 6. Swamp sumach is a beautiful shrub or 
small tree, usually ten or fifteen feet high, but sometimes thirty feet. The bark 
of the trunk is dark-gray, of the branches lighter, of the extreme twigs and 
petioles beautifully red. The leaves are pinnate, with four or five pairs of op- 
posite leaflets, and an odd terminal one. These are oblong or oval, entire or 
slightly sinuated, acuminate, smooth, and, except the one at the end, nearly 
sessile. The flowers, as in the preceding species, are dioecious. They are very 
small, greenish, and in loose axillary panicles. The berries are small, roundish, 
and greenish-white. The tree grows in swamps and low grounds, from Canada 
to Carolina, and flowers in June and July. It is thought to be identical with a 
species of Rhus which grows in Japan, and furnishes a fine black varnish, much 
used in that country. Dr. Bigelow found that the opaque whitish juice which 
exudes from our native plant when wounded, and which becomes permanently 
black on exposure, may be made to afford a brilliant, glossy, durable varnish, by 
boiling it sufficiently before applying it. 
Rhus vernix produces, much more powerfully than R. radicans, the poison- 838 
Toxicodendron. 
PART I. 
ous effects already described. Persons coming within its influence are more apt 
to be affected with the poison, and generally suffer more severely. The whole body 
is sometimes enormously swollen, and the patient for many days scarcely able to 
move ; but the complaint almost always spontaneously subsides without destroy- 
ing life. As in the former instance, the susceptibility to the influence of the poison 
is exceedingly various, and some persons handle the plant with perfect impunity. 
3 Rhus pumilum. Michaux, Flor. Americ. i. 182. This is a southern species, 
growing in upper Carolina, and not more than a foot in height. It is character- 
ized by its pubescent branches and petioles; its pinnate leaves, with many pairs 
of oval, nearly acuminate, incised-dentate leaflets, downy beneath; and by its 
silky fruit. According to Pursh, it is the most poisonous of the genus. 
4. Rhus diversiloba. Torrey & Gray, Flor. of North Am. i. 218. — R. lobata. 
Hooker, Flor. Bor. Am. i. 127, t. 46. This species approaches nearly the R. 
Toxicodendron. It has a somewhat climbing stem, with short, leafy branches. 
The leaves have three or rarely five leaflets, which are very obtuse, in the female 
plant slightly, in the male rather deeply pinnately lobed, the lobes being very 
obtuse, and the incisions acute. The flowers are in axillary, racemose panicles, 
often shorter than the petioles, and the fruit white, somewhat pubescent, and. 
subglobose. The leaves in the male and female plant are so different that they 
might readily be mistaken for different species. (Torrey & Gray.) Though 
generally a shrub, the plant sometimes climbs over large trees, and has a stem 
six inches in diameter. In a communication to the American Journal of Phar- 
macy (Sept. 1860, p. 412), the poisonous effects of this plant are described by 
Dr. C. A. Canfield, who found an invariable antidote to its effects in another 
California plant, Grindelia hirsutula, which is applied to the part either simply 
bruised, or in the form of strong decoction. 
It is probable that all parts of Rhus radicans (R. Toxicodendron) are active; 
but the leaves only are directed in the Pharmacopoeia, under the title of Toxico- 
dendron. These are inodorous, have a mawkish acrid taste, and yield their vir- 
tues to water. Analyzed by Dr. Joseph Khittel, the leaves yielded tannic acid 
of the variety which gives greenish precipitates with salts of iron, chlorophyll, 
wax, fixed oil, resin, sugar, albumen, gum, pectin, starch, oxalic acid, a peculiar 
neuter substance, and a volatile alkaloid, on which the poisonous properties of 
the plant depend. To obtain this alkaloid, a concentrated infusion of the leaves 
was distilled with potassa, the distillate saturated with sulphuric acid and evapo- 
rated, a mixture of alcohol and ether then added which left sulphate of ammo- 
nia behind, the solution distilled with caustic potassa, and an alkaline distillate 
obtained, which contained the alkaloid in question. But it does not appear to 
have been further isolated, and no proofs are given of its poisonous properties 
(See Am. Journ. of Pharm., Nov. 1858, p. 544.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. These leaves appear to be stimulant and nar- 
cotic, producing when swallowed more or less irritation of the stomach and 
bowels, and promoting the secretory function of the skin and kidneys. Orfila 
found them to act in the manner of the acrid poisons, and to produce a stupefy- 
ing effect upon the nervous system. They were successfully used by Du Fresnoy 
in France, in the cure of obstinate cutaneous diseases. Dr. Anderson, of Hull, 
in England, effected cures with the medicine in several cases of palsy. A sense 
of heat and pricking, with irregular twitchings, was excited by it in the affected 
parts. Dr. Horsfield and other physicians of this country have used it in con- 
sumption and dropsy, but with little success. The remedy has been found effica- 
cious in nocturnal incontinence. 
The dose of the leaves recommended by Dr. Anderson was half a grain or a 
grain three times a day; but this is much too small. Dr. Duncan gave them in 
larger doses, with little other than a laxative effect. Dr. Horsfield administered 
a teacupful of the strong infusion without disadvantage. In France, the extract PART I. 
Toxicodendron.— Tragacantha. 
is recommended in doses of fifteen or twenty grains, repeated two or three times 
a day, and gradually increased to one or two drachms. Some of Du Fresnoy’s 
patients took an ounce without effect. The probability is, that the active prin- 
ciple is volatile, and that the extract is less efficient than the leaves themselves. 
The risk of experiencing the poisonous effects of the plant upon the system, will 
probably prevent its extensive employment as a remedy, unless it should prove 
much more useful than the trials hitherto made give us reason to expect. 
W. 
TRAGACANTHA. U.S.,Br. 
TragacantJi. 
The concrete juice of Astragalus verus, and of other species of Astragalus. 
U. S. A Gummy Exudation from the stem. Br. 
Gomme Adraganthe, Fr.; Tragant, Germ.; Dragante, Ital.; Gomo tragacanto, Span. 
Astragalus. Sex. Syst. Diadelphia Decandria. — Nat. Ord. Fabaceae or Le- 
guminosae. 
Gen. Ch. Legume two-celled, more or less gibbous, with the lower suture 
turned inwards. Carina blunt. Loudon's Encyc. of Plants. 
Numerous species belonging to this genus yield a gummy matter having the 
properties of tragacanth. The drug known in commerce by that name was at 
first erroneously supposed to be obtained from A. Tragacantha of Linnaeus (A. 
massiliensis of Lamarck), which grows in the south of Europe and north of 
Africa, and is now said to yield no gum. It was afterwards ascribed, on the 
authority of Tournefort, to a species (A. Creticus of Lamarck) which grows in 
Crete and Ionia, and on that of Olivier, to A. verus, which inhabits Asia Minor, 
Armenia, and Northern Persia. Labillardiere described a species by the name 
of A. gummifer, which he found growing on Mount Libanus in Syria, and from 
which tragacanth exudes, though not that of commerce. Sieber denies that any 
one of these species yields the officinal tragacanth, which he ascribes to A. aris- 
tatus, growing in Anatolia, especially upon Mount Ida, where the gum is most 
abundantly collected. This plant, however, is not the A. aristatus of Millars, 
which, according to Sibthorp, furnishes tragacanth in Greece. (Merat and De 
Lens.) Professor Lindley received two specimens of plants, said to be those 
which furnish tragacanth in Turkistan, one of which proved to be A. gummifer 
of Labillardiere, which was said to yield a white variety, and the other a new spe- 
cies, which he called A. strobiliferus, and which was said to yield a red and infe- 
rior product. The fact seems to be, that the commercial drug is collected from 
various sources; and it is affirmed that all the species of Astragalus with thorny 
petioles are capable of producing it. These form a natural group, and so closely 
resemble each other that botanists have found some difficulty in distinguishing 
them. They are very abundant on the mountains of Asia Minor, and, according 
to information recently received by M. J. Leon Soubeiran from M. Balansa, a 
scientific traveller who derived his knowledge from personal observation, the 
gum-producing species are closely analogous to the A. Creticus of Lamarck. It 
is in the chain of Anti-Taurus that the gum is chiefly collected. Transverse in- 
cisions are made, near the base of the stem, into the medullary part, which alone 
yields juice. This exudes very slowly, flowing at night, and ceasing during the 
day; and two weeks usually elapse before the pieces are large enough for collec- 
tion. The shape of the pieces is influenced by the rapidity of the exudation, and 
the lines on their surface indicate the daily concretion. (Journ. de Pharm., Feb. 
1856, p. 117, and Feb. 1857, p. 149.) As A. verus is designated in the Pharma- 
copoeias of the United States and Great Britain, we shall briefly describe it. 
Astragalus verus. Olivier, Voy. dans VEmpire Ottoman, p. 342, pi. 44. This 
is a small shrub, not more than two or three feet high, with a stem an inch in 840 
Tragacantha. 
part I. 
thickness, and numerous very closely crowded branches, covered with imbricated 
scales, and spines which are the remains of former petioles. The leaves, which 
are little more than half an inch long, consist of several pairs of opposite, vil- 
lous, stiff, pointed leaflets, with a midrib terminating in a sharp yellowish point. 
The flowers are papilionaceous, small, yellow, axillary, aggregate, and furnished 
with cottony bractes. This species yields the gum collected in Persia, and thence 
transmitted southward to India through Bagdad and Bassora, northward to Rus- 
sia, and westward to Aleppo. The juice is said to exude spontaneously during 
the summer from the stems and branches, hardening as it exudes. 
Properties. Tragacanth is either in flaky, leaf-like pieces, irregularly oblong 
or roundish, or in tortuous vermicular filaments, rounded or flattened, rolled up 
or extended, of a whitish, yellowish-white, or slightly reddish colour, somewhat 
translucent, and resembling horn in appearance. It is hard and more or less 
fragile, but difficult of pulverization, unless exposed to a freezing temperature, 
or thoroughly dried, and powdered in a heated mortar. The powder is very fine 
and white. Tragacanth has no smell, and very little taste. Its sp.gr. is 1'384. 
Introduced into water, it absorbs a certain proportion of that liquid, swells very 
much, and forms a soft adhesive paste, but does not dissolve. If agitated with 
an additional quantity of water, this paste forms a uniform mixture; but in the 
course of one or two days the greater part separates, and is deposited, leaving 
a portion dissolved in the supernatant fluid. Tragacanth is wholly insoluble in 
alcohol. It appears to be composed of two different constituents, one soluble in 
water and resembling gum arabic, the other swelling in water, but not dissolv- 
ing. The former is said to differ from gum arabic in affording no precipitate 
with silicate of potassa or sesquichloride of iron. (Pereira's Materia Medica ) 
The latter, which, according to Bucholz, constitutes 43 per cent, of tragacanth, 
is ranked by some among the peculiar proximate principles with the title of 
tragacanthin. It is probably identical with bassorin. It has the property of be- 
coming blue with iodine, which is not the case with bassorin; but this property 
is ascribed to the presence of a small quantity of insoluble starch. According to 
M. Guerin, 100 parts of tragacanth contain 53 3 parts of arabin or pure gum, 
33T of bassorin aud insoluble starch, and 11 1 of water, and yield when burned 
2 5 parts of ashes. To separate the soluble entirely from the insoluble part, re- 
quires agitation with separate portions of water, which are to be decanted and 
filtered; and the process is to be continued till water ceases to dissolve anything. 
Examined by Dr. Kiitzing, by means of the microscope, tragacanth wras found 
to consist of organized cells. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxv. 37.) In con- 
formity with this statement is the remarkable fact, developed by the researches 
of Hugo von Mohl, that tragacanth is not a secretion of the plant, but the result 
of the transformation of the cells of the pith, and those of the medullary rays 
which run across the ligneous part of the stem. (Ibid., xxxi. 243.) 
It is stated by Mr. S. II. Maltass that tragacanth is adulterated, in the Le- 
vant, with worthless gums brought from Armenia and Caramania, which, as they 
are originally of a dark colour, and destitute of the flaky form of the genuine 
gum, are broken into small fragments, and whitened by means of carbonate of 
lead, before being mixed with the tragacanth. Mr. Hanbury states, in confirma- 
tion of this information, that he has detected lead in the small tragacanth im- 
ported into London. (Pharm. Journ., xv. 20.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Tragacanth is demulcent, but, on account of 
its difficult solubility, is not often given internally. The great viscidity which it 
imparts to water, renders it useful for the suspension of heavy insoluble powders ; 
and it is also employed in pharmacy to impart consistence to troches, for which 
it answers better than gum arabic. 
Off. Prep. Mucilago Tragacanth®; Pulvis Tragacanth® Compositus, Br.: 
Trochisci Zingiberis, U. S. W. PART L. 
Triosteum.— Ulmus. 
841 
TRIOSTEUM. U. S. Secondary. 
Fever-root. 
The root of Triosteum perfoliatum. U. S. 
Triosteum. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Caprifoliacese. 
Gen. Oh. Calyx five-cleft, persistent, nearly the length of the corolla; seg 
ments linear, acute. Corolla tubular, five-lobed, sub-equal; base nectariferous 
gibbous. Stigma somewhat five-lobed, capitate. Berry three-celled, three-seeded 
crowned with the calyx. Nuttall. 
Triosteum perfoliatum. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 990; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. 
i. 90; Barton, Med. Bot. i. 59. Thi$ plant is indigenous and perennial. Severa. 
stems usually rise from the same root. They are simple, erect, round, hairy, 
fistulous, herbaceous, and from one to four feet high. The leaves are opposite, 
large, mostly connate, oval, acuminate, entire, abruptly narrowed at the base, 
and pubescent on their under surface. The flowers are of a dull-purple colour, 
axillary, sessile, rarely solitary, sometimes in pairs, generally in triplets or five 
together in the form of whorls. The germ is inferior, and the style projects be- 
yond the corolla, into the tube of which the stamens are inserted. The berry is 
oval and of a deep-orange colour, and contains three hard, bony seeds. 
Fever-root, fever-wort, or wild ipecac, as this plant is variously called, though 
not very abundant, is found in most parts of the United States, preferring a 
limestone soil and shady situations. Its flowers appear in June. The whole 
plant is bitter; but the root is most active, and is the only officinal part. 
It is horizontal, long, about three-quarters of an inch in diameter, thicker and 
tuberculated near the origin of the stem, of a yellowish or brownish colour ex- 
ternally, whitish within, and furnished with fibres which may be considered as 
branches of the main root. When dry it is brittle and easily pulverized. It has 
a sickening odour, and a bitter, nauseous taste. Both water and alcohol take up 
its active properties, which are retained in the extract. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Fever-root is cathartic, and in large doses 
emetic. The late Professor Barton observed it also to produce a diuretic effect. 
The bark of the root is the part which has been usually employed. In the quan- 
tity of twenty or thirty grains it ordinarily acts upon the bowels; and may be 
given alone or in combination with calomel at the commencement of fevers. The 
extract may be given in half the dose. W. 
ULMUS. Br. 
Elm Bark. 
Ulmus campestris. Broad-leaved Elm. The dried inner Bark, deprived of its 
onter layers. Br. 
Ecorce d’orme, Fr.; Ulmenrinde, Germ.; Scorza del olma, Tta.l.; Corteza de olmo, Span. 
Ulmus. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Digynia.—Nat.Ord. Ulmacese. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx five-cleft. Corolla none. Capsule (samara) compressed, 
membranaceous. Willd. 
Ulmus campestris. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1324; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 710, t. 
242. This species of elm is characterized by its doubly serrate leaves, unequal 
at their base, by its nearly sessile, clustered, pentandrous flowers, and its smooth 
fruit. It is a large tree, with strong spreading branches, and a rough, cracked 
bark. It is a native of Europe, where the wood is highly esteemed in the arts. 
The inner bark of its young branches, which is the officinal portion, is thin, 
tough, brownish-yellow, inodorous, and of a mucilaginous, bitterish, and very 
slightly astringent taste. It imparts to water its taste and mucilaginous pro- 842 
Ulmus.— Ulmus Fulva. 
parti. 
perties. Tincture of iodine indicates the presence of starch, and Davy found 
somewhat more than 2 per cent, of tannin. A vegetable principle called 
ulmin or uhnic acid, now believed to be a constituent of most barks, was first 
discovered in the matter which exudes from the bark of the European elm. It 
is a dark-brown, almost black substance, without smell or taste, insoluble in cold 
water, sparingly soluble in boiling water which it colours yellowish-brown, solu- 
ble in alcohol, and readily dissolved by alkaline solutions. 
Medical Properties and Uses. The bark of the European elm is demulcent, 
and very feebly tonic and astringent, and is said also to be diuretic. It has been 
recommended in cutaneous affections of the leprous character. Dr. Sigmond 
speaks in strong terms of its efficacy in all the varieties of lepra, in lichenous 
eruptions, and tinea capitis, employed both jnternally and externally. (Medico- 
Bot. Trans., i. 169.) It is usually given in the form of decoction, and in chronic 
cases must be long continued to produce beneficial results. W. 
ULMUS FULVA. U.S. 
Slippery Elm Baric. 
The inner bark of Ulmus fulva. U. S. 
Ulmus. See ULMUS. 
Ulmus fulva. Michaux, Flor Americ. i. 112.— Ulmus rubra. F. Andrew 
Michaux, N. Am. Sylv. iii. 89. The slippery elm, called also red elm, is a lofty 
tree, rising fifty or sixty feet in height, with a stem fifteen or twenty inches in 
diameter. The bark of the trunk is brown, that of the branches rough and 
whitish. The leaves are oblong-ovate, acuminate, nearly equal at the base, un- 
equally serrate, pubescent and very rough on both sides, four or five inches in 
length by two or three in breadth, and supported on short footstalks. The buds, 
a fortnight before their development, are covered with a dense russet down. The 
flowers, which appear before the leaves, are sessile, and in clusters at the ex- 
tremity of the young shoots. The bunches of flowers are surrounded by scales, 
which are downy like the buds. The calyx also is downy. There is no corolla. 
The stamens are five, short, and of a pale-rose colour. The fruit is a membrana- 
ceous capsule or samara, enclosing in the middle one round seed, destitute of fringe. 
This species of elm is indigenous, growing in all parts of the United States 
north of the Caroliuas, but most abundantly west of the Alleghany mountains. 
It flourishes in open, elevated situations, and requires a firm, dry soil. From the 
white elm (U. Americana) it is distinguished by its rough branches, its larger, 
thicker, and rougher leaves, its downy buds, and the character of its flowers and 
seeds. Its period of flowering is in April. The inner bark is the part used, and 
is brought to the shops separated from the epidermis. Large quantities are col- 
lected in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. 
It is in long, nearly flat pieces, from one to two lines thick, of a fibrous tex- 
ture, a tawny colour which is reddish on the inner surface, a peculiar sweetish, 
not unpleasant odour, and a highly mucilaginous taste when chewed. By grind- 
ing, it is reduced to a light, grayish fawn-coloured powder. It abounds in muci- 
laginous matter, which it readily imparts to water. The mucilage is precipitated 
by solutions of acetate and subacetate of lead, but not by alcohol. 
Much of the bark brought into the market is of inferior quality, imparting 
comparatively little mucilage to water. It has the characteristic odour of the 
genuine bark, but is much less fibrous and more brittle, breaking abruptly when 
bent, instead of being capable, like the better kind, of being folded lengthwise 
without breaking. To what this inferiority is owing, whether to difference in the 
species or the age, or to circumstances in the growth of the tree producing it, 
we are unable to determine. part i. 
Ulmus Fulva.— Uva Passa. 
843 
Dr. C. W. Wright, of Cincinnati, in a communication to the Western Lancet, 
states that slippery elm bark has the property of preserving fatty substances 
from rancidity; a fact derived originally from the Indians, who prepared bears’ 
fat by melting it with the bark, in the proportion of a drachm of the latter to 
a pound of the former, keeping them heated together for a few minutes, and 
then straining off the fat. Dr. Wright tried the same process with butter ana 
lard, and found them to remain perfectly sweet for a long time. (Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., xxiv. 180.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Slippery elm bark is an excellent demulcent, 
applicable to all cases in which this class of medicines is employed. It is espe- 
cially recommended in dysentery, diarrhoea, and diseases of the urinary passages. 
Like the bark of the common European elm, it has been employed in cutaneous 
eruptions; but neither in these, nor in any other complaints, does it probably 
exert any greater powers than such as belong to the demulcents generally. Its 
mucilage is nutritious; and we are told that it has proved sufficient for the sup- 
port of life in the absence of other food. The instance of a soldier is mentioned, 
who lived for ten days in the woods on this bark and sassafras; and the Indians 
are said to resort to it for nutriment in extreme emergencies. 
It is commonly used as a drink in the form of infusion. (See Infusum Ulmi.) 
The powder may be used stirred in hot water, with which it forms a mucilage, 
more or less thick according to the proportion added. The bark also serves as 
an emollient application in cases of external inflammation. For this purpose 
the powder may be formed into a poultice with hot water, or the bark itself 
may be applied, previously softened by boiling. Dr. McDowell, of Virginia, 
recommended the use of slippery elm bark for the dilatation of fistulas and 
strictures (see Med. Examiner, i. 244); subsequently Dr. H. R. Storer, of Boston, 
used it advantageously for dilating the os uteri (Bost. Med. and Surg. Journ., 
liii. 300); and Dr. A. Abbe, of the same place, succeeded in curing with it a 
case of stricture of the rectum. (Ibid., liv. 349.) 
Off. Prep. Mucilago Ulmi, U. S. W. 
UVA PASSA. U. S. 
Raisins. 
The dried fruit of Vitis vinifera. U. S. 
Off.Syn. UVJE. Vitis vinifera. The ripe fruit, dried in the sun or with arti- 
ficial heat, imported from Spain. Br. 
Raisins secs, Fr.; Rosinen, Germ.; Uve passe, Ital.; Rasas, Span. 
Vitis. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Monogynia.—Nat. Oi'd. Vitacese. 
Gen. Gh. Petals cohering at the apex, withering. Berry five-seeded, supe- 
rior. Willd. 
Vitis vinifera. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1 ISO; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 144, t. 57. 
The vine is too well known to require description. This particular species is 
distinguished by the character of its leaf, which is lobed, sinuated, and naked 
or downy. The leaves and tendrils are somewhat astringent, and were formerly 
used in diarrhoea, hemorrhages, and other morbid discharges. The juice which 
flows from the stem was also thought to be possessed of medicinal virtues, and 
the prejudice still lingers among the vulgar in some countries. The unripe fruit 
has a harsh sour taste, and yields by expression a very acid liquor, called ver- 
juice, which was much esteemed by the ancients as a refreshing drink, when 
diluted with water. It contains malic and tartaric acids, and another called by 
some chemists racemic acid, by Berzelius paratartaric acid, from its resem- 
blance to the tartaric, with which it agrees in composition, though differing 
from it in properties. The grape, when quite ripe, is among the most pleasant TJva Passa. 
PART I. 
and grateful fruits brought upon the table, and is admirably adapted, by its re- 
freshing properties, to febrile complaints. If largely taken, it proves diuretic 
and gently laxative. The ripe fruit differs from the unripe in containing more 
sugar and less acid, though never entirely destitute of the latter. The plant is 
supposed to have been derived originally from Asia; but it has been*cultivated 
in Europe and Northern Africa from the remotest antiquity, and is now spread 
over all the temperate civilized regions of the globe. The fruit is exceedingly 
influenced by soil and climate, and the varieties which have resulted from cul- 
ture or situation are innumerable. Those which yield the raisins of commerce 
are confined to the basin of the Mediterranean. 
Raisins are prepared either by partially cutting the stalks of the bunches be- 
fore the grapes are perfectly ripe, and allowing them to dry upon the vine; or 
by picking them in their mature state, and steeping them for a short time pre- 
viously to desiccation in an alkaline ley. Those cured by the first method are 
most highly esteemed.* 
Several varieties of raisins are known in commerce. The best of those brought 
to this country are the Malaga raisins, imported from Spain. They are large 
and fleshy, of a purplish-brown colour, and sweet agreeable taste. Those pro- 
duced in Calabria are similar. The Smyrna raisins are also large, but of a 
yellowish-brown colour, slightly musky odour, and less agreeable flavour. They 
are originally brought from the coast of Syria. The Corinthian raisins, or 
currants as they are commonly called in this country, are small, bluish-black, 
of a fatty appearance, with a vinous odour, and a sweet, slightly tartish taste. 
Their name was derived from the city in the vicinity of which they were for- 
merly cultivated. At present they are procured chiefly from Zante, Cephalo- 
nia, and the other Ionian Islands. In the older Pharmacopoeias they are dis- 
tinguished by the title of uvse passse minores. 
Raisins Contain a larger proportion of sugar than recent grapes. This prin- 
ciple, indeed, b often so abundant that it effloresces on the surface, or concretes 
in separate masses within the substance of the raisin. The sugar of grapes 
(glucose) differs from that of the cane; being less sweet, less soluble in cold 
water, and much less so in alcohol, and forming a syrup of less consistence. 
* Culture of Raisins. The statement in the text in relation to the mode of drying grapes is 
allowed to remain, because made on what was deemed competent authority; but, in a jour- 
ney through the raisin districts in the South-east of Spain, in the spring of 1861, the author 
made frequent inquiries at Malaga and Valencia, and found no one who had heard of the 
plan of partially cutting the stalks of the bunches, and then allowing them to dry on the 
plant. The following is a brief account of the raisin culture near Malaga. The grape culti- 
vated for drying is exclusively the Muscatel. The district appropriated to this purpose con- 
sists of red-earth lands, along the coast of the Mediterranean, extending for about 30 miles 
on each side of Malaga. The grounds planted with the vine are the shore plains and val- 
leys, the smaller hills, and the lower declivities of the mountains. The vines are kept trim- 
med very low, and the earth between them loosened by the spade; the plough not being 
used. The grapes are ripe in August, when the bunches are cut off, and carefully dried in 
the sun, upon a hard level earthen floor, prepared for the purpose, which is protected by 
a shed when it rains. After one side of the bunch has become dry, the other is carefully 
turned to the sun. When dried, they are generally packed in wooden boxes, each contain- 
ing about 25 lbs. The most valuable, called the bloom, raisins from the preservation of the 
bloom unbi'oken on the surface, are packed in paper boxes, and sent, as the author was 
told, exclusively to the London market, where they are especially esteemed. About a mil- 
lion of boxes are sent annually to the United States, valued at two millions of dollars. The 
Valencia raisin is a different variety from the Malaga. The grape is thicker-skinned, and 
does not dry well unless with previous preparation. Hence, as soon as picked, they are 
dipped into a ley made from wood ashes, immediately removed, and then dried. The alkali 
causes the skin to crack in minute fissures, and thus facilitates drying. The author was 
assured that the Valencia raisins are not sent to the United States, but exclusively to Eng- 
land, where they are used in puddings. The Malaga grape, imported in the fresh state into 
this country, is a different variety from the raisin grape, and cultivated higher jn tl e 
mountains.—Note to the twelfth edition. PART I. 
Uva Passa.— Uva Ursi. 
845 
Medical Properties and Uses. The chief medical use of raisins is to flavour 
demulcent beverages. Taken in substance they are gently laxative; but are also 
flatulent and difficult of digestion, and, when largely eaten, sometimes produce 
unpleasant effects, especially in children. 
Off. Prep. Tinctura Rhei et Senme, U. S.; Tinctura Sennse, Br. W. 
UVA URSI. U.S.,Br. 
Uva TJrsi. Bearberry Leaves. Br. 
The leaves of Arctostaphylos Uva Ursi. U. S. The dried Leaves from indi- 
genous plants. Br. 
Busserole, Raisin (Tours, Ft.; Barentraube, Germ.; Corbezzolo, Uva Ursina, Ital.; Ga- 
yuba, Span. 
Arctostaphylos. Sex. Syst. Decandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Ericaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Drupe with five distinct, one-seeded stones. Corolla urceolate, 
with a revolute limb. Stamens included. Anthers with two spurs at the back. 
(Lindley, Med. and CEcon. Bot. 106.) 
Arctostaphylos Uva Ursi. Sprengel, Syst. ii. 281; Carson, lllust. of Med. 
Bot. i. 61, pi. 52. —Arbutus Uva Ursi. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 618; Bigelow, Am. 
Med. Bot. i. 66. The uva ursi, or bearberry, is a low evergreen shrub, with 
trailing stems, the young branches of which rise obliquely upwards for a few 
inches. The leaves are scattered, upon short petioles, from half an inch to an 
inch long, obovate, acute at the base, entire, with a rounded margin, thick, co- 
riaceous, smooth, shining, deep-green on their upper surface, paler and covered 
with a network of veins beneath. The flowers, which stand on short reflexed 
peduncles, are in small clusters at the ends of the branches. The caylx is small, 
five-parted, reddish, and persistent. The corolla is ovate or urceolate, reddish- 
white, or white with a red lip, transparent at the base, contracted at the mouth, 
and divided at the margin into five short reflexed segments. The stamens are 
ten, with short filaments and bifid anthers; the germ round, with a style longer 
than the stamens, and a simple stigma. The fruit is a small, round, depressed, 
smooth, glossy, red berry, with an insipid mealy pulp, and five cohering seeds. 
This humble but hardy shrub inhabits the northern latitudes of Europe, Asia, 
and America. It is also found in the lofty mountains of Southern Europe, as 
the Pyrenees and the Alps; and, on the American continent, extends from Hud- 
son’s Bay as far southward as New Jersey, in some parts of which it grows in 
abundance. It prefers a barren soil, flourishing on gravelly hills, and elevated 
sandy plains. The leaves are the only part used in medicine. They are imported 
from Europe; but are also collected within our own limits; and the market of 
Philadelphia is supplied to a considerable extent from New Jersey. They should 
be gathered in autumn, and the green leaves only selected. 
In Europe the uva ursi is often adulterated with the leaves of Vaccinium 
Vitis Idsea, which are wholly destitute of its peculiar properties, and may be 
distinguished by their rounder shape, their revolute edges which are sometimes 
slightly toothed, and the appearance of their uuder surface, which is dotted, in- 
stead of being reticulated like the genuine leaf. Leaves of the Chimaphila 
umbellata are sometimes found among the uva ursi as it exists in our markets. 
They may be readily detected by their greater length, their cuneiform-lanceolate 
shape, and their serrate edges. 
Properties. Uva ursi is inodorous when fresh, but acquires a smell not unlike 
that of hay when dried and powdered. Its taste is bitterish, strongly astringent, 
and ultimately sweetish. It affords a light-brown, greenish-yellow powder. Wa- 
ter extracts its active principles, which are also soluble in officinal alcohol. Among 
its ingredients are tannic and gallic acids, bitter extractive, resin, gum, fatty mat- 846 
Uva Ursi. 
PART I. 
ter, a volatile oil, and salts of potassa and lime. The tannic acid is so abundant 
that the leaves are used for tanning in Russia. Neither this principle nor gallic 
acid exists in the leaves of the Vaccinium Vilis Idsea. 
A crystallizable principle was extracted from uva ursi by Mr. J. C. C. Hugh«» 
by the following process. An aqueous extract of the leaves was treated wivi 
strong alcohol, and submitted for twenty-four hours to the action of purified 
animal charcoal. The tincture was filtered and evaporated, and the residue re- 
dissolved in alcohol, and treated with animal charcoal as before. After filtra- 
tion, the liquid was allowed to evaporate spontaneously, and yielded colourless, 
transparent, needle-shaped crystals, soluble in water, alcohol, ether, and dilute 
acids, insoluble in the fixed and volatile oils, neutral to test-paper, and combus- 
tible. The watery solutiou was precipitated by subacetate of lead and carbonate 
of potassa, but not by lime-water or tincture of chloride of iron. One grain of 
it acted as a powerful diuretic. Mr. Hughes proposed for this substance the 
name of ursin. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xix. 90.) 
Kawalier obtained a crystalline substance, named arbutin, by precipitating the 
decoction with acetate of lead, filtering, treating the liquid with sulphuretted 
hydrogen, again filtering, evaporating to the consistence of syrup, and allowing 
the product to stand for several days. This gradually assumed the form of a 
crystalline jelly, which, being placed upon linen so as to allow the mother-liquor 
to drain off, and then pressed, yielded nearly colourless crystals, which were 
purified by solution in boiling water, and treatment with animal charcoal. Ar- 
butin thus obtained is in long, acicular, colourless crystals, united in tufts, and 
of a bitter taste. It is soluble in water, alcohol, and ether, unchanged appa- 
rently by a heat of 212°, but fusible at a high temperature, without action on 
vegetable colours, and not precipitated by the salts of sesquioxide of iron, or by 
acetate or subacetate of lead. It is a glucoside, being resolvable by boiling with 
sulphuric acid into glucose and a peculiar substance named arcluvine. Its for- 
mula is C32H24021. (Chem. Gaz., Feb. 15,1853, p. 61.) Strecker, however, gives a 
different formula, C24H1(.Ou-f-2HO, and considers the arctuviue of Kawalier as 
identical with hydrochinone prepared by Wohler from kinic acid. (Ibid., Feb. 1, 
1859, p. 48.) 
Another crystallizable principle has been discovered by Trommsdorff, who calls 
it ursone. It appears to be of a resinous character, being tasteless and inodor- 
ous, insoluble in water, difficultly soluble in alcohol and ether, fusible, at a higher 
temperature volatilizable, and inflammable in the air. It is obtained by treating 
uva ursi with a very small quantity of ether by percolation, allowing the ether 
to evaporate, washing the crystalline extract with ether, and recrystallizing from 
alcohol. (See Am. Journ. of Pliarm., xxvii. 334.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Uva ursi is astringent and tonic, and is thought 
by some to have a specific direction to the urinary organs, for the complaints of 
which it is chiefly used. Others deny that it possesses a peculiar tendency of 
this kind, and ascribe its effects to its astringent and tonic action. It alters the 
colour of the urine, and its astringent principle has been detected in that secre- 
tion. It probably, therefore, exerts a direct influence on the kidneys and urinary 
passages. Though known to the ancients, it had passed into almost entire 
neglect, till its use was revived by De Haen about the middle of the last cen- 
tury. It has acquired some reputation as an antilithic, and has undoubtedly 
been serviceable in gravel, partly, perhaps, by a direct action on the kidneys, 
partly by giving tone to the digestive organs, and preventing the accumulation 
of principles calculated to produce a secretion or precipitation of calculous mat- 
ter. In chronic nephritis it is also a popular remedy, and is particularly recom- 
mended when there is reason to conjecture the existence of ulceration in the 
kidneys, bladder, or urinary passages. Diabetes, catarrh of the bladder, incon- 
tinence of urine, gleet, leucorrhcea, and menorrhagia are also among the diseases PART I. 
Uva TJrsi. — Valeriana. 
847 
in which it has occasionally proved serviceable; and testimony is not wanting 
to its beneficial effects in phthisis pulmonalis. Dr. E. Gf. Harris, of Fayette, 
Alabama, believes it to have the property of promoting uterine contraction, and 
has employed it with supposed advantage as a substitute for ergot in tedious 
labours. (See Med. Exam.,JS. S., ix. 727.) The dose of the powder is from a 
scruple to a drachm, to be repeated three or four times a day; but the decoction 
or fluid extract is usually preferred. (See Part II.) 
Off. Prep. Decoctum Uvse Ursi, U.S.; Extractum Uvse TJrsi Fluidum, U.S.; 
Infusum Uvse TJrsi, Br. W. 
VALERIANA. U.S.,Br. 
Valerian. 
The root of Yaleriana officinalis. U. S. The Hoot, of plants indigenous to 
and also cultivated in Britain, collected in autumn and dried; that from wild 
plants growing on dry soil being preferred. Br. 
Val6riane, Ft.; Wilde Baldrianwurzel, Germ.; Yaleriana silvestre, Ital.; Valerian sil- 
vestre, Span. 
Yaleriana. Sex. Syst. Triandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Yalerianacese. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx very small, finally enlarged into a feathery pappus. Corolla 
monopetalous, five-lobed, regular, gibbous at the base. Capsule one-celled. 
(Loudon’s Eno. of PI.) Stamens exserted, one, two, three, and four. (Nuttall.) 
Valeriana officinalis. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 177; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 77, t. 
32. The officinal, or great wild valerian, is a large handsome herbaceous plant, 
with a perennial root, and an erect, round, channeled stem, from two to four 
feet high, furnished with opposite pinnate leaves, and terminating in flowering 
branches. The leaves of the stem are attached by short, broad sheaths; the 
radical leaves are larger and stand on long footstalks. In the former the leaflets 
are lanceolate and partially dentate, in the latter elliptical and deeply serrate. 
The flowers are small, white or rose-coloured, agreeably odorous, and disposed 
in terminal corymbs, interspersed with pear-shaped pointed bractes. The number 
of stamens is three. The fruit is a capsule containing one oblong-ovate, com- 
pressed seed. The plant is a native of Europe, where it grows either in damp 
woods and meadows, or on dry elevated grounds. As found in these different 
situations, it presents characters so distinct as to have induced some botanists 
to make two varieties. Dufresne makes four, of which three prefer marshy situa- 
tions. The variety which affects a dry soil (sylvestris, L. Ph.) is not more than 
two feet high, and is distinguished by its narrow leaves. It has been generally 
believed to be superior to the others in medicinal virtue; but, from experiments 
of A. Buchner, it appears that the dried roots of the variety which grows in low 
moist grounds are in no respect inferior, and that the general opinion to the con- 
trary is a prejudice. (Pharm. Cent. Blatt, June, 1852, p. 429.) 
The root, which is the officinal portion, is collected in spring before the stem 
begins to shoot, or in the autumn when the leaves decay. It should be dried 
quickly, and kept in a dry place. It consists of numerous long, slender, cylin- 
drical fibres, issuing from a tuberculated head or rhizoma. As brought to this 
country, it frequently has portions of the stem attached. The English is superior 
to that from the continent of Europe. Yalerian of good quality has been pro- 
duced by the Shakers at Enfield, New Hampshire. From our own observation, 
we know that the plant grows luxuriantly uuder culture in this country. 
Properties. The colour of the root is externally yellowish or brown, internally 
white. The powder is yellowish-gray. The odour, which in the fresh root is 
slight, in the dried is strong and highly characteristic, and, though rather plea- 
sant to many persons, is very disagreeable to others. Cats are said to be strongly 848 
Valeriana. 
PART 1. 
attracted by it. The taste is at first sweetish, afterwards bitter and aromatic. 
Valerian yields its active properties to water and alcohol. Trommsdorff found 
it to consist of 12 parts of volatile oil; 12 5 of a peculiar extractive matter, 
soluble in water, insoluble in ether and alcohol, and precipitated by metallic 
solutions; 18-75 of gum; 6-25 of a soft odorous resin; and 63 of lignin. Runge 
found in it a peculiar fixed acid, which produced with bases white salts, becom- 
ing green on exposure to the air. (Chein. Gaz., No. 170, p. 452.) Of these con- 
stituents the most important is the volatile oil. It is of a pale-greenish colour, 
of the sp. gr. 0 934, with the pungent odour of valerian, and an aromatic taste. 
It becomes yellow and viscid by exposure. 
Trommsdorff ascertained the existence in the oil of a peculiar volatile acid, 
upon which the name of valerianic acid or valeric acid has been conferred. 
This, when separated from the oil, is a colourless liquid, of an oleaginous con- 
sistence, having an odour analogous to that of valerian, and a very strong, sour, 
disagreeable taste. It is soluble in thirty parts of water, and in all proportions 
in ether and alcohol. It combines with salifiable bases, forming soluble salts, 
which retain, in a diminished degree, the odour of the acid. (Journ. 'de Pharm., 
xx. 316.) From the experiments of MM. Cozzi and Thirault, it would appear 
that this acid does not pre-exist in the root, but results from the oxidation of 
the volatile oil. (Ibid., Be sbr., xii. 162.) Valerianic acid is obtained by distill- 
ing the impure oil from carbonate of magnesia, decomposing by sulphuric acid 
the valerianate of magnesia which remains, and again distilling. M. Rabourdin, 
of Orleans, believing that a large proportion of the valerianic acid remains fixed 
in the root by union with a base, and does not come over by distillation alone, 
procures it by adding sulphuric acid to the root with a sufficient quantity of 
water, distilling, separating the oil, saturating the liquor with carbonate of soda, 
evaporating, adding a slight excess of sulphuric acid, and again distilling. 
(Ibid,, vi. 310.) The following process by Messrs. T. and H. Smith, of Edin- 
burgh, avoids the inconvenience of distilling so bulky a root as valerian, while 
it answers the same purpose as that of M. Rabourdin. Boil the root for three 
or four hours with rather more than its bulk of water, in which an ounce of car- 
bonate of soda is dissolved for every pound of the root, replacing the water as 
it evaporates. Express strongly, and boil the residuum twice with the same 
quantity of water, expressing each time as before. Mix the liquids, add two 
fluidrachms of strong sulphuric acid for every pound of the root, and distil till 
three-fourths of the liquid have passed over. Neutralize this with carbonate of 
soda, concentrate the liquid, decompose the valerianate of soda contained in it 
by sulphuric acid, and separate the valerianic acid set free, either by a separa- 
tory, or by distillation. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xvii. 253.) M. Lefort obtains 
the acid by the rapid oxidation of the volatile oil. He distils 100 parts of the 
root with 500 of water, 10 of sulphuric acid, and 6 of bichromate of potassa. 
In this way he has procured a larger proportion of acid than by any other pro- 
cess. (Journ. de Pharm., Be ser., x. 194.) 
The roots of Valeriana Phu and V. dioica are said to be sometimes mingled 
with those of the officinal plant; but the adulteration is attended with no serious 
consequences; as, though much weaker than the genuine valerian, they possess 
similar properties. The same cannot be said of the roots of several of the Ra- 
nunculacese, which, according to Ebermayer, are sometimes fraudulently sub- 
stituted in Germany. They may be readily detected by their want of the pecu- 
liar odour of the officinal root. According to M. O. Raveil, the valerian in the 
markets of Paris is largely adulterated with the roots of scabious (Scabiosa 
succisa and S. arvensis, Linn.). They are shorter than the genuine root, with 
larger radicles, less rough, little or not at all striated, very brittle, with a white 
amylaceous fracture. The roots are inodorous in themselves, but acquire smell 
from contact with the valerian. (Journ. de Pharm., xxvi. 209.) PART I. 
Valeriana. — Vanilla. 
849 
Medical Properties and Uses. Yalerian is gently stimulant, with an especial 
direction to the nervous system, but without narcotic effects. In large doses it 
produces a sense of heaviness and dull pain in the head, with various other 
effects indicating nervous disturbance. The oil, largely taken, is said by M 
Barailer, from his own observation, to produce dulness of intellect, drowsiness 
ending in deep sleep, reduced frequency of pulse, and increased flow of urine. 
(See Am. Journ. of Pharm., May, 1861, p. 239.) It is useful in cases of irregu- 
lar nervous action, when not connected with inflammation, or an excited condi- 
tion of the system. Among the complaints in which it has been particularly 
recommended are hysteria, hypochondriasis, epilepsy, hemicrania, and low forms 
of fever attended with restlessness, morbid vigilance, or other nervous disorder. 
It has also been used in intermittents, combined with Peruvian bark. At best, 
however, it is an uncertain remedy. It may be given in powder or infusion. In 
the latter form, it is said by Professor Joerg, of Leipsic, who has experimented 
with it, to be less apt to irritate the alimentary canal than when administered 
in substance. The dose of the powder is from thirty to ninety grains, repeated 
three or four times a day. The tincture also is officinal. As the virtues of vale- 
rian reside chiefly in the volatile oil, the medicine should not be given in decoc- 
tion or extract. The distilled water is used on the continent of Europe; and 
the volatile oil is occasionally substituted with advantage for the root. The 
dose of the oil is four or five drops. Yalerianic acid also has been used inter- 
nally; and a process is given in the U.’S. Pharmacopoeia for its preparation. 
(See Acidum Valerianicum.) Landerer says that, in his experience, the acid 
prepared from the root is preferable therapeutically to the artificial acid. 
Off'. Prep. Extractum Yalerian® Alcoholicum, U. S.; Extractum Yalerian® 
Fluidum, U. S.; Infusum Yalerian®; Oleum Yalerian®, U. S.; Tinctura Yaleri- 
an®; Tinct. Yalerian® Ammoniata. W. 
VANILLA. U.S. 
Vanilla. 
The prepared, unripe capsules of Yanilla aromatica. U. S. 
Yanilla. Sex. Syst. Gynandria Monandria.—Nat. Ord. Orchidace®. 
Gen. Oh. Sepals spreading or erect, distinct. Petals of a similar form and 
texture. Labellum connate with the columna, crested, membranous, convolute, 
undivided. Anther terminal, opercular; pollen granular. Fruit a fleshy pod; 
seeds round, destitute of loose tunic. Lindley. 
Vanilla aromatica. Schwartz, Flor. Ind. Occid.—Epidendrum Vanilla. Linn. 
This is a climbing plant, characterized, as a species, by its ovate, oblong, nerved 
leaves, its wavy sepals, its acute lip, and very long cylindrical capsules. It is a 
native of the West Indies, Mexico, and South America; and is said to be culti- 
vated in the Isles of France and Bourbon. Doubts, however, exist whether the 
best commercial vanilla is derived from this species, and some ascribe it to Va- 
nilla planifolia. {Journ. de Pharm.,x\i. 274.) It is probable that different 
varieties of the vanilla of commerce are obtained from different species, of which 
several, besides the two mentioned, have been described as yielding an aromatic 
fruit, as V. Guyanensis, V. palmarum, and V. pompona. 
The pods are collected before they are quite ripe, dried in the shade, covered 
with a coating of fixed oil, and then tied in bundles, which are surrounded with 
sheet lead, or enclosed in small metallic boxes, and sent into the market. Several 
varieties of vanilla exist in commerce. The most valuable, called ley by the 
Spaniards, consists of cylindrical, somewhat flattened pods, six or eight inches 
long, three or four lines thick, nearly straight, narrowing towards the extremi- 
ties, bent at the base,'shining and dark-brown externally, wrinkled longitudi- 
nally, soft and flexible, and containing within their tough shell a soft black pulp, 850 
Vanilla. — Veratrum Album. 
PART I. 
in which numerous minute, black, glossy seeds are embedded. It has a peculiar, 
strong, agreeable odour, and a warm, aromatic, sweetish taste. The interior 
pulpy portion is most aromatic. Another variety, called simarona by the Span- 
iards, is smaller, of a lighter colour, and less aromatic. A third variety is the 
pompona of the Spaniards. In this, the pods are from five to seven inches 
long, from six to nine lines broad, almost always open, brown, soft, viscid, and 
of a strong odour, but less pleasant than that of the ley, to which it is con- 
sidered inferior. According to Bucholz, vanilla does not yield volatile oil when 
distilled with water; and the aroma appears to depend on chemical changes 
which take place during and after the curing of the fruit. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Vanilla has the properties of the aromatics 
generally, but is probably more diffusibly stimulant, with some influence on the 
nervous system. It is employed more as a perfume, and to flavour chocolate, 
ice-cream, &c. than as a medicine. It has, however, been recommended as a 
remedy in hysteria and low fevers, in the form of an infusion made in the pro- 
portion of about half an ounce to a pint of boiling water, and given in table- 
spoonful doses. A fluid extract would be a convenient form for exhibition.* 
Off. Prep. Trochisci Ferri Subcarbonatis, U. S. W. 
VERATRUM ALBUM. U.S. 
White Hellebore. 
The rhizoma of Yeratrum album. U. S. 
Ellebore blanc, Fr.; Weisse Niesswurzel, Germ.; Eleboro bianco, Ital.; Yeratro bianco, 
Span. 
Yeratrum. Sex. Syst. Polygamia Monoecia. — Nat. Ord. Melanthaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Hermaphrodite. Calyx none. Corolla six-petaled. Stamens six. 
Pistils three. Capsules three, many-seeded. Male. Calyx none. Corolla six- 
petaled. Stamens six. Pistils a rudiment. Willd. 
Botanists who reject the class Polygamia of Linnaeus, place this genus in the 
class and order Hexandria Trigynia, with the following character. “Polyga- 
mous. Corolla six-parted, spreading, segments sessile without glands. Stamens 
inserted upon the receptacle. Capsules three, united, many-seeded.” Nuttall. 
Yeratrum album. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 895 ; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 154, t. 257. 
This is an herbaceous plant, with a perennial, fleshy, fusiform root or rhizoma, 
yellowish-wThite externally, pale yellowish-gray within, and beset with long cylin- 
drical fibres of a grayish colour, which constitute the true root. The stem is 
three or four feet high, thick, round, erect, and furnished with alternate leaves, 
which are oval, acute, entire, plaited longitudinally, about ten inches long by 
five in breadth, of a yellowish-green colour, and embrace the stem at their base. 
The flowers are greenish, and arranged in a terminal panicle. 
White hellebore is a native of the mountainous regions of continental Europe, 
* Fluid Extract of Vanilla. This is prepared by Prof. Procter in the following manner. 
An ounce of vanilla, cut transversely into short pieces, is beaten with two ounces of sugar 
and a little alcohol into a pulp, and then submitted to percolation, first with four fluid- 
ounces of deodorized alcohol, and afterwards with diluted alcohol, until twelve fluidounces 
of tincture are obtained. Two ounces of sugar are added to the tincture, which is then 
evaporated with a gentle heat to six fluidounces. Lastly, ten ounces of sugar are added, 
and sufficient water to make the whole measure a pint. (Am. Joum. of Fharm.., xxvi. 300.) 
This fluid extract may be given in the dose of one or two fluidrachms. It is a very con- 
venient form for the use of vanilla as a flavouring substance. 
A Syrup of Vanilla may be prepared by mixing two fluidounces of this fluid extract with 
two pints of simple syrup. If a perfectly transparent syrup is wanted, rub two ounces of 
the fluid extract with two drachms of carbonate of magnesia, and half a pint of water 
gradually added; filter the mixture; then add another half pint of water, and two and a 
half pounds of sugar; dissolve the sugar with the aid of heat; and, lastly, strain the syrup. 
The syrup is fitted rather for giving flavour to mixtures, either nn.dicinal or dietetic, than 
for remedial effect. PART I. 
Veratrum Album. — Veratrum Viride. 
851 
and abounds in the Alps and Pyrenees. All parts of the plant are said to be 
acrid and poisonous; but the root (rhizoma) only is officinal. This is brought 
from Germany in the dried state, in pieces from one to three inches long by an 
inch or less in mean diameter, cylindrical or in the shape of a truncated cone, 
internally whitish, externally blackish, wrinkled, and rough with the remains of 
the fibres which have been cut off near their origin. Sometimes the fibres con- 
tinue attached to the root. They are numerous, yellowish, and of the size of a 
crow’s quill. White hellebore deteriorates by keeping. 
Properties. The fresh root has a disagreeable odour, which is lost by drying. 
The taste is at first sweetish, and afterwards bitterish, acrid, burning, and dura- 
ble. The powdered root is grayish. Analyzed by Pelletier and Caventou, white 
hellebore was found to contain an oily matter consisting of olein, stearin, and a 
volatile acid; supergallate of veratria; a yellow colouring matter; starch, gum, 
and lignin; silica, and various salts of lime and potassa. The medicinal properties 
of the root reside in the veratria, which was first discovered in the seeds of Ve- 
ratrum Sabadilla, and probably exists in other plants belonging to the same 
family. (See Veratria in Part II.) Simon believed that he had found two new 
vegetable alkalies in white hellebore, one of which was named barytina, from being 
precipitated, like baryta, from its solution in acetic or phosphoric acid by sul- 
phuric acid or the sulphates; the other jervina, from the Spanish name for a poi- 
son obtained from the root of white hellebore. (Pharm. Gent. Blatt, 1837, p. 191.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. White hellebore is a violent emetic and ca- 
thartic, capable of producing dangerous and fatal effects if incautiously adminis- 
tered. Even in small doses it has occasioned severe vomiting, hypercatharsis 
with bloody stools, and alarming general prostration. Like many other acrid 
substances, it appears, in small doses, to be a general stimulant to the secretions. 
Applied externally upon a portion of the surface denuded of the cuticle, as upon 
ulcers, for example, it gives rise to griping pain in the bowels, and sometimes 
violent purging. When snuffed up the nostrils, it occasions great irritation with 
violent sneezing, and its use in this way is not free from danger. It was em- 
ployed by the ancients in dropsy, mania, epilepsy, leprosy, elephantiasis, and 
other obstinate disorders, not without occasional advantage; but the severity 
of its action has led to its general abandonment. It is sometimes used as an 
errhine, diluted with some mild powder, in cases of gutta serena and lethargic 
affections; and the decoction, and an oiiitment prepared by mixing the pulverized 
root with lard, have been found beneficial as external applications in the itch, 
and other cutaneous eruptions. From the resemblance of its operation to 
that of the eau medicinale so celebrated for the cure of gout, it was 
at one time, though erroneously, conjectured to be the chief constituent of that 
remedy. A mixture of the wine of white hellebore and the wine of opium, in 
the proportion of three parts of the former to one of the latter, was introduced 
into use by Mr. Moore, of London, as a substitute for the eau medicinale. 
In whatever way white hellebore is used, it requires cautious management. 
It has been given in doses varying from one grain to a scruple. Not more than 
two grains should be administered at first. When employed as an errhine, it 
should be mixed with five or six parts of pulverized liquorice root, or other in- 
active powder. Ten or twelve grains of the mixture may be snuffed up the 
nostrils at one time. W. 
VERATRUM VIRIDE. U.S. 
American Hellebore. 
The rhizoma of Yeratrum viride. U. S. 
Yeratrum. See YERATRUM ALBUM. 
Veratrum viride. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 896; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. ii. 121. 852 
Veratrum Viride. 
PART I. 
The American hellebore, known also by the names of Indian poke, poke root, 
and swamp hellebore, has a perennial, thick, fleshy root or rhizoma, the upper 
portion of which is tunicated, the lower solid, and beset with numerous whitish 
fibres or radicles. The stem is annual, round, striated, pubescent, and solid, 
from three to six feet in height, furnished with bright green leaves, and termi- 
nating in a panicle of greenish-yellow flowers. The leaves gradually decrease 
in size as they.ascend. The lower are from six inches to a foot long, oval, acu- 
minate, plaited, nerved, and pubescent; and embrace the stem at their base, 
thus affording it a sheath for a considerable portion of its length. Those on 
the upper part of the stem, at the origin of the flowering branches, are oblong- 
lanceolate. The panicle consists of numerous flowers, distributed in racemes with 
downy peduncles. Each flower is accompanied with a downy, pointed bracte, 
much longer than its pedicel. There is no calyx, and the corolla is divided into 
six oval acute segments, thickened on the inside at their base, with the three 
alternate segments longer than the others. The six stamens have recurved fila- 
ments, and roundish two-lobed anthers. The germs are three, with recurved 
styles as long as the stamens. Some of the flowers have only the rudiments of 
pistils. Those on the upper end of the branchlets are barren, those on the lower 
portion fruitful. The fruit consists of three cohering capsules, separating at top, 
opening on the inner side, and containing flat imbricated seeds. 
This indigenous species of Veratrum is found from Canada to the Carolinas, 
inhabiting swamps, wet meadows, and the banks of mountain streamlets. Early 
in the spring, before the stem rises, it bears a slight resemblance to the Sym- 
plocarpus fcetidus, with which it is very frequently associated; but the latter 
sends forth no stem. From May to July is the season for flowering. The root 
should be collected in autumn, and should not be kept longer than one year, as 
it deteriorates by time. 
Properties. As found in the shops, it is usually in small pieces or fragments; 
but sometimes it comes whole or merely sliced, so that its characteristic form 
may be observed. In this condition it is seen to consist of a rhizoma an inch or 
two in length by somewhat less than an inch in thickness where broadest, taper- 
ing to a very obtuse or truncated extremity, compact but light, of a dark-brown 
colour externally, and either closely invested with numerous yellowish rootlets 
often several inches long, or exhibiting marks on the surface whence they have 
been removed. When sliced, the cut surface is of a dingy-white colour. The 
rootlets are about as thick as a large knitting-needle, or somewhat thicker, 
obviously much shrunk in drying, and marked by numerous close-set indenta- 
tions, which give them a characteristic appearance. Not unfrequently portions 
of the dried stem or leaf-stalks remain attached to the rhizoma, which should 
always be rejected, as they have been ascertained by Prof. Procter to be inert. 
(4m. Journ. of Pharm., March, 1864, p. 99.) The root has a bitter, acrid 
taste, leaving a permanent impression in the mouth and fauces. In sensible pro- 
perties it bears a close resemblance to white hellebore; and lias been shown by 
the experiments of Mr. J. Gr. Richardson, of Philadelphia, to contain veratria. 
(Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxix. 204.) Mr. J. C. Scattergood, by adding water 
to a saturated tincture of the root, and afterwards evaporating the alcohol, ob- 
tained a resinous precipitate, while from the residuary liquid he succeeded in 
separating veratria. By experimenting separately with the alkaloid and the resin 
thus procured, Dr. S. R. Percy, of New York, obtained effects to a certain ex- 
tent similar, and such as characterize the operation of the root, with this remark- 
able difference, however, that while both substances produced vomiting and pros- 
tration, the resin had a much more powerful influence in reducing the frequency 
of the pulse. Thus while, in one dog, under the action of the veratria, the pulse 
was reduced from 148 to 112; in another, under that of the resin, with no greater 
effect in other respects, it fell from 144 to 40; and this iesult was so constant part I. 
Veratrum Viride. 
853 
that it could not be ascribed to accident. A very important inference is that 
there is a principle in the American hellebore distinct from veratria, upon which 
its remarkable powers over the circulation mainly depend. There can be little 
doubt that the so-called resin will be found to be a complex body, possibly con- 
taining a distinct alkaloid. {Ibid., Jan. 1863, p. 14.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. American hellebore has been thought to re- 
semble its European congener in its effects upon the system, though asserted by 
Dr. Osgood to be wholly destitute of cathartic properties. In addition to its 
emetic action, which is often violent and long continued, it is said to increase 
most of the secretions, and, when freely taken, to exercise a powerful influence 
over the nervous system, indicated by faintness, somnolency, vertigo, headache, 
dimness of vision, and dilated pupils. According to Dr. Osgood, it reduces the 
frequency and force of the pulse, sometimes, when taken in full doses, as low as 
thirty-five strokes in the minute. It may be safely substituted for the European 
root in most cases in which the latter is employed, and is highly recommended 
as a substitute for colchicum by Dr. Tully, of New Haven. Gouty, rheumatic, 
and neuralgic affections are those to which it appeared best adapted. For an 
account of its medical properties and applications, the reader is referred to a 
paper by Dr. Charles Osgood, of Providence, in the American Journal of the 
Medical Sciences (xvi. 296). It may be used in substance, tincture, or extract. 
Dr. Osgood states the dose in which it will generally prove emetic at from four 
to six grains of the powder, one or two fluidrachms of a tincture made of six 
ounces of the fresh root and a pint of alcohol, and one or two grains of an ex- 
tract made by inspissating the juice of the root. The medicine, however, should, 
in most cases, be given in doses insufficient to vomit. 
After the publication of Dr. Osgood’s paper, little attention was paid to the 
subject until a few years since, when various communications appeared in our 
southern medical journals, tending to prove that American hellebore is appli- 
cable to the treatment of numerous febrile and inflammatory affections, in which 
an indication is offered for reducing the frequency of the pulse. The credit of 
calling public attention to it is due more especially to Dr. W. C. Norwood, of 
Cokesbury, South Carolina, who employed it with great success in pulmonary 
inflammation, typhoid fever, &c., and believed that it afforded the means of re- 
ducing the frequency of the pulse at will. He used a saturated tincture, made 
by macerating eight ounces of the dried root in sixteen ounces of alcohol for at 
least two weeks. Of this he gave to an adult man eight drops, and repeated the 
dose every three hours, increasing by one drop at each dose, until the pulse was 
reduced, or nausea and vomiting were occasioned, when it was to be diminished 
one-half, and continued so long as might be necessary to prevent a return of the 
symptoms. {Charleston Med. Journ. and Rev., vii. 168.) From numerous com- 
munications subsequently made to the journals, there can be no doubt of the 
great efficiency of this remedy in reducing the circulation; and many practi- 
tioners speak with great confidence of its usefulness iu pneumonia, diseases of the 
heart with excessive action, inflammatory rheumatism, and other inflammatory 
and febrile diseases with a greatly excited circulation. The author has used it 
with decided effect in reducing the frequency of the pulse in cardiac affections, 
and without materially deranging the stomach. Some have found the commenc- 
ing dose of Dr. Norwood too large; but from six to eight drops of the saturated 
tincture, repeated every three hours, and gradually increased, if necessary, until 
its effects are experienced, may be given with safety. From its powerful emetic 
properties, and the prostration resulting from excessive doses, it should always 
be used with great caution, and its effects carefully observed.* Its nauseating 
* For an elaborate article on the remedial properties and uses of American hellebore, 
by Dr. John Bell, the reader is referred to iF. Am. Med.-Chir. Rev., ii. 914. 854 
Vinum. 
PART I. 
and depressing effects are best counteracted by opiates and alcoholic stimulants. 
A tincture and fluid extract have been introduced into the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. 
(See these preparations in Part II.) 
Of. Prep. Extractum Yeratri Yiridis Fluidum, TJ. S.; Tinctura Yeratri Viri- 
dis, U. S. W. 
VINUM XERICUM. U.S.,Br. 
Sherry Wine. 
Yinum Album, TJ. S. 1850. 
Via blanc, Fr.; Weisser Wein, Germ.; Vino bianco, lial.; Vino bianco, Span. 
YINUM PORTENSE. US. 
Port Wine. 
Yinum Rubrum, TJ. S. 1850. 
Vin rouge, Fr.; Rotlier Wein, Germ.; Vino vermiglio, Ital.; Vino tinto, Span. 
Wine is the fermented juice of the grape, the fruit of Yitis vinifera of bota- 
nists. (See Uva Passa.) The juice of sweet grapes consists of a considerable 
quantity of grape sugar, a peculiar matter of the nature of ferment or yeast, 
and a small portion of extractive, tannic acid, bitartrate of potassa, tartrate of 
lime, common salt, and sulphate of potassa; the whole dissolved or suspended 
in a large quantity of water. Sour grapes contain, in addition, a peculiar acid 
isomeric with the tartaric, called paratartaric acid. (See page 62.) Grape juice, 
therefore, embraces all the ingredients essential to the production of the vinous 
fermentation, and requires only the influence of the atmosphere and a proper 
temperature to convert it into wine. (See page 70.) 
Preparalion. When the grapes are ripe, they are gathered, and trodden in 
wooden vessels with perforated bottoms, through which the juice, called the 
must, runs into a vat placed beneath. The temperature of the air being about 
60°, the fermentation gradually takes place in the must, and becomes fully es- 
tablished after a longer or shorter period. In the mean time, the must becomes 
sensibly warmer, and emits a large quantity of carbonic acid, which causes the 
more solid parts to be thrown to the surface in a mass of froth, having a hemi- 
spherical shape, called the head. The liquor from being sweet becomes vinous, 
and assumes a deep-red colour if the product of red grapes. After a while the 
fermentation slackens, when it becomes necessary to accelerate it by thoroughly 
mixing the contents of the vat. When the liquor has acquired a strong vinous 
taste, and become perfectly clear, the wine is considered formed, and is racked 
off into casks. But even at this stage of the process, the fermentation continues 
for several months longer. During the whole of this period, a frothy matter is 
formed, which for the first few days collects round the bung, but afterwards pre- 
cipitates along with colouring matter and tartar, forming a deposit which con- 
stitutes the wine-lees. 
Division and Nomenclature. Wines, according to their colour, are divided 
into the red and white; and, according to their taste and other qualities, are 
either spirituous, sweet, dry, light, sparkling, still, rough, or acidulous. Red 
wines are derived from the must of black grapes, fermented with their husks; 
while wines, from white grapes, or from the juice of black grapes, fermented 
apart from their husks. The other qualities of wines, above enumerated, depend 
on the relative proportions of the constituents of the must, and on the mode in 
which the fermentation is conducted. The essential ingredients of the must as 
a fermentable liquid are water, sugar, and a ferment. If the juice be very sac- 
charine, and contain sufficient ferment to sustain the fermentation, the conversion 
of the sugar into alcohol will proceed until checked by the production of a cer- 
tain amount of the latter, and there will be formed a spirituous or generous PART I, 
Vinum 
855 
wine. If, while the juice is highly saccharine, the ferment be deficient in quan 
tity, the production of alcohol will be less, and the redundancy of sugar propor- 
tionably greater, and a sweet wine will be formed. When the sugar and ferment 
are in considerable amount, and in the proper relative proportions for mutual 
decomposition, the wine will be strong-bodied and sound, without marked sweet- 
ness or acidity, and of the kind called dry. A small proportion of sugar can 
give rise only to a small proportion of alcohol, and consequently the less sac- 
charine grapes will generate a comparatively weak, or light wine, which will be 
sound and stable in its constitution, in case the ferment is not in excess, but 
otherwise liable to pass into the acetous fermentation and become acescent. In 
case the wine is bottled before the fermentation is fully completed, the process 
will go on slowly in the bottles, and the carbonic acid generated, not having vent, 
will impregnate the wine, and render it effervescing and sparkling. The rough 
or astringent wines owe their flavour to a portion of tannic acid derived from 
the husks of the grape; and the acidulous wines to the presence of carbonic 
acid, or of an unusual proportion of tartar. Several of the above qualities often 
coexist. Thus a wine may be spirituous and sweet, spirituous and rough, sweet 
and rough, light and sparkling, &c. Wines are made in many countries, and are 
known in commerce by various names, according to their source. Thus, Portu- 
gal produces port and lisbon; Spain, sherry, saint lucar, malaga, and tent; 
France, champagne, burgundy, hermitage, vin de grave, sauterne, and claret; 
Germany, hock and moselle; Hungary, tokay; Sicily, marsala or Sicily ma- 
deira, and lisa; the Cape of Good Hope, constantia; Madeira and the Canaries, 
madeira and teneriffe. 
In the United States the first attempt to manufacture wine, on an extended 
scale, was made towards the close of the last century, at Spring Mill, near Phi- 
ladelphia, by Peter Legaux, agent of the Pennsylvania Vine Company, and 
proved unsuccessful. The native grape found most suitable by the Company, 
after the foreign had failed on account of the climate, was the Schuylkill mus- 
cadel grape. The next attempt was made by the Swiss at Yevay, Indiana, with 
the Schuylkill grape, and was partially successful; a rough red wine being 
manufactured which met with a ready sale in the neighbouring States. In a 
few years the manufacture of this wine languished; foreign wines superseding 
it. The foreign grape, after numerous trials, not succeeding as a wine grape, in- 
vestigations were undertaken to determine the adaptation of our various native 
grapes for making wine. Among these the Catawba grape, a native of North 
Carolina, introduced to public notice by Major Adlum, of Washington City, 
about the year 1825, is the most esteemed; being largely cultivated in southern 
Ohio as a wine grape. The chief objection to it is its liability to the rot. The 
Isabella grape is also cultivated, but more for the table than for wine. It is 
claimed by some to be a native; but the evidence preponderates in favour of its 
foreign origin. The wine produced by the Catawba grape, called catawba wine, 
is of three kinds; the still, the sparkling, and the sweet. Still catawba, the result 
of a completed fermentation, is a light, dry, acidulous wine, in these particulars 
like hock, but entirely different in flavour. It has a pinkish or straw colour. 
Sparkling catawba is made by letting the wine undergo the secondary fermenta- 
tion in the bottle. It looks like champagne, but has a different and peculiar taste. 
Sweet catawba resembles the lighter sweet wines of Europe, and is prepared by 
vdding sugar to the grape juice before fermentation. These native wines are 
gradually coming into use, and constantly improving in quality. They are largely 
manufactured by Mr. N. Longworth, of Cincinnati. The average product of ca- 
tawba wine is 400 gallons to the acre, and the amount produced in Ohio in 1855 
was estimated at 400,000 gallons. (See the remarks of E. S. Wayne, of Cincin- 
nati, in the Am. Journ. of Pharm., Nov. 1855, p. 494.) The Herbemont and 
Missouri grapes are also used for making wine; the latter producing a wine 856 
Vinum, 
PART I. 
said to resemble madeira. The Scuppernong grape, indigenous to North Caro- 
lina, yields a hard dry wine; and the vine is said to be a very abundant bearer. 
According to Mi\ R. Buchanan, this grape produces from two to three thousand 
gallons of wine per acre. ( Treatise on the Cultivation of the Grape. Cincinnati, 
1850.) The climate of Texas is peculiarly favourable to the growth of the grape 
vine. The El Paso grape is found in the vicinity of the falls of the Rio Grande; 
and the great mustang grows luxuriantly in every part of the State, and yields 
a superior red wine. California is rich in native grapes, and produces a consid- 
erable quantity of wine, which is now coming into general use. Considering its 
advantages of soil and climate, there is good reason to believe that it may, at 
no very distant time, rank among the most productive wine-regions of the globe. 
At present the grape, for wine making, is successfully cultivated in eighteen 
States of the Union. The wine crop of the whole United States for the year 
1857 was estimated at three millions of gallons. (Stearns, Penins. Journ., July, 
1858, p. 203.) A misfortune in reference to our domestic wines is that, to sup- 
ply the demand, they are too often sold soon after being made, so that they have 
not had the opportunity of ripening with age. (Ibid.) 
Properties. Wine, considered as the name of a class, may be characterized as 
a spirituous liquid, resulting from the fermentation of grape juice, and contain- 
ing colouring matter, and other substances, either combined or intimately blended 
with the spirit. It always contains a small proportion of aldehyd. (Magnes 
Lahens.) All its other qualities vary with the nature of each particular wine. 
The principal wines used for mediciual purposes are the officinal wines, sherry 
and port, together with madeira, teneriffe, claret, and champagne. 
Shert'y (Yinum Xericum) is of a deep-amber colour, and when good possesses 
a dry aromatic flavour and fragrancy, with very little acidity. It ranks among 
the stronger white wines, and contains, on an average, 19 per cent, by measure 
of alcohol. The U. S. and British Pharmacopoeias agree in indicating it as the 
officinal white wine. It is prepared in the vicinity of Xeres, in Spain, and hence 
its English name sherry. This wine is supposed to have been the sack of Shak- 
speare, so called from the word sec (dry). 
Port (Yinum Portense) is of a deep-purple colour, and, in its new state, is a 
rough, strong, and moderately sweet wine. When kept a certain time in bottles, 
it deposits a considerable portion of its astringent matter, loses the greater part 
of its sweetness, acquires more flavour, and retains its strength. If too long kept, 
it deposits the whole of its astringent and colouring matter, and becomes deterio- 
rated. Considerable quantities of brandy are usually added to it, which causes 
its heating quality on the palate. It is one of the strongest wines in common 
use. According to Dr. Muspratt, of Liverpool, the alcohol in genuine port never 
exceeds 19 per cent. (Med. Times and Gaz., Oct. 1856, p. 355.) 
Madeira is the strongest of the white wines in general use. It is somewhat 
acid, and, when of proper age and in good condition, has a rich, nutty, aromatic 
flavour. As it occurs in the market, however, it is of very variable quality, on 
account of the adulterations and mixtures to which it is subjected after importa- 
tion. The madeira consumed in this country is generally better than that used 
in England; its adulteration being practised to a less extent with us, and our 
climate being more favourable to the improvement of the wTine. At present, 
however, little genuine is to be found, in consequence of the destruction of the 
vine in the island of Madeira. 
Teneriffe is a white wine, of a somewhat acid taste, and, when of good 
quality, of a fine aromatic flavour. Its average strength is about the same as 
that of sherry. It is made from the same grape as madeira, to which it bears a 
close resemblance. 
Claret, called in France vin de Bordeaux, from its being produced near that 
city, in the district of Medoc, is a red wine, and from its moderate strength is part 1 
Vinum 
857 
ranked as a light wine. It has a deep-purple colour, and, when good, a delicate 
taste, in which the vinous flavour is blended with some acidity and astnngency 
The most esteemed kinds are the clarets called Chateau-Margaux, Chateau- 
Lafite, and Chateau-Latour. Another celebrated variety is the Chateau-Haul 
Brion of the Pays de Grave. Claret is the French wine most extensively con 
sumed in the United States. 
Dr. H. Bence Jones has ascertained the acidity of equal bulks of the above 
wines, except teneriffe, expressed in grains of caustic soda. The bulk taken was 
that of 1000 grs. of water at 60°, and the numbers express the extremes of acid : 
sherry, 1 95 — 2 85; port, 2J0-2-55; madeira, 2 70 — 3‘60; claret, 255-3'45. 
The same authority has determined the proportion of sugar to the ounce in 
sherry, port, and madeira, expressed in grains: sherry, 4-18; port, 16-34; 
madeira, 6-20. Claret contains no sugar. Assuming that the sugar becomes 
acid in the system, the order of acidity of these wines, beginning with the least 
acid, is claret, sherry, madeira, port. (Cliem. Gaz., Jan. 16, 1854, p. 35.) 
Dr. Christison considers it a mistake to suppose that wines become stronger 
by being kept a long time in cask. His experiments appear to prove the reverse. 
While, however, the wine is not rendered more alcoholic by age, its flavour is 
improved, and apparent strength increased. It becomes less acid partly by the 
deposition of tartar, and probably also by the reaction between the acids and 
alcohol resulting in the production of ether. 
Composition. Wines consist mainly of water and alcohol. They contain also 
volatile oil, cenanthic ether, grape sugar, sometimes glycerin in minute propor- 
tion (Journ. de Pharm., Oct. 1859, p. 292), gum, extractive, colouring matter, 
tannic, malic, phosphoric, carbonic, and acetic acids, bitartrate of potassa (tartar), 
and tartrate of lime. The volatile oil has never been isolated, but is supposed 
to be the cause of the delicate flavour and odour of wine, called the bouquet. 
According to Dr. F. L. Winckler, the bouquet depends upon the presence of a 
nitrogenous compound of a volatile organic acid with a volatile base, which has 
a different smell in different wines. (Enanthic ether (oenanthate of oxide of 
ethyl) was discovered in wine by Pelouze and Liebig. It is obtained towards 
the end of the distillation of wine, on the great scale, for making brandy. It 
forms only about one part in ten thousand of the wine. It is a colourless liquid, 
having a peculiar vinous odour, and a taste, at first slight, but afterwards acrid. 
It is considered to be identical with pelargonic ether, under which head, in Part 
III., it is more fully described. CEnanthic ether must not be confounded with 
the substance which gives rise to the bouquet of wine. The other ingredients of 
wine, above enumerated, are sometimes present and sometimes absent. Thus, 
sugar is present in sweet wines, tannic acid in rough wines, and carbonic acid in 
those that effervesce. The different kinds of wine derive their various qualities 
from the mode of fermentation, the nature of the grape, and the soil and climate 
in which it may have grown. The alcohol in pure wine is that which results 
from the vinous fermentation, and is intimately united with the other ingredients 
of the liquid; but with almost all the wines of commerce a portion of brandy 
is mixed, the state of union of which is probably different from that of the 
natural alcohol of the wine. By the British custom-house regulations, 10 per 
cent, of brandy may be added to wines after importation; but to good wines 
not more than 4 or 5 per cent, is added. 
The intoxicating ingredient in all wines is the alcohol which they contain; 
and hence their relative strength depends upon the quantity of that substance 
entering into their composition. The alcohol, however, naturally in wine, is so 
blended with its other constituents as to be in a modified state, which renders it 
less intoxicating and injurious than the same quantity of alcohol, separated by dis- 
tillation and diluted with water. Mr. Braude published in 1811 a very interesting 
table, giving the percentage by measure of alcohol of the sp. gr. 0-825 in different 858 
Vinum. 
PART I. 
kind* of wine. Similar tables have since been published by M. Julia-FonteneJle, 
Dr. (Jhristison, and Dr. H. Bence Jones. An abstract of their results is given 
in a table below; the results of Julia-Fontenelle being distinguished by F., 
those of Dr. Christison by C., and those of Dr. Jones by J. The rest are Mr. 
Brande’s.* 
Adulterations. Wines are very frequently adulterated, and counterfeit mix- 
tures are often palmed upon the public as genuine wine. Free sulphuric acid 
in red wines cannot be detected by barytic salts; for all wines contain a small 
quantity of the soluble sulphates. It may be discovered, however, by dropping 
the suspected red wine on a piece of common glazed paper, containing starch. 
* Table of the Proportion by Measure of Alcohol (sp.gr. 0-825) contained in 100 parts of 
different Wines. 
Lisa (mean) 
25-41 
Teneriffe (C.) 
16-61 
Lunel 
15-52 
Raisin wine (mean).. 
25-12 
Colares 
19-75 
Ditto (F.) 
18-10 
Marsala [Sicily ma- 
Lachryma Christi 
19-70 
Sheraaz 
15-52 
deira] (mean) 
25-09 
White constantia 
19-75 
Ditto (C.) 
15-56 
strongest (J.) .... 
21-10 
Red constantia 
18-92 
Syracuse 
15-28 
weakest (J.) 
19-90 
Lisbon 
18-94 
Sauterne 
14-22 
Port, strongest 
25-83 
Ditto (C.) 
19-09 
Burgundy (mean) 
14-57 
mean 
22-96 
Bucellas 
18-49 
strongest (J.) 
13-20 
weakest 
19-00 
Red madeira (mean).. 
Cape muschat 
20-35 
weakest (J.) 
10-10 
strongest (C.) .... 
20-49 
18-25 
Hock (mean) 
12-08 
mean (C.) 
18-68 
Cape madeira (mean).. 
20-51 
strongest (J.) 
13-00 
weakest (C.) 
16-80 
Grape wine 
18-11 
weakest (J.) 
9-50 
strongest (J.) 
23-20 
Calcavella (mean) 
Vidonia 
18-65 
Nice 
14-63 
weakest (J.) 
20-70 
19-25 
Barsac 
13-86 
White port (C.) 
17-22 
Alba flora 
17-26 
Tent 
13-30 
Madeira, strongest.... 
24-42 
Zante 
17-05 
Champagne (mean).... 
12-61 
mean 
22-27 
Malaga 
17-26 
Ditto (F.) 
12-20 
weakest 
19-24 
White hermitage 
17-43 
Ditto, strongest (J.)... 
14-80 
strongest (C.) 
20-35 
Rousillon (mean) 
18-13 
weakest (J.) 
14-10 
strongest (J.) 
19-70 
Claret, strongest 
17-11 
Red hermitage 
12-32 
weakest (J.) 
19-00 
mean 
15-10 
Vin de Grave (mean).. 
13-37 
Sercial madeira 
21-40 
weakest 
12-91 
Frontignac (Rives 
Ditto (C.) 
18-50 
ditto (F.) 
14-73 
Altes) 
12-79 
Sherry, strongest 
19-81 
vin ordinare (C.).. 
10-42 
Ditto (C.) 
12-29 
mean 
19-17 
Chateau-Latour, 
Cote rotie 
12-32 
weakest. 
strongest (C.) 
18- 
19- 
1825, (C.) 
first growth, 1811, 
9-38 
Tokay 
Rudesheimer, first 
9-88 
mean (C.) 
18-47 
(c.) 
9-32 
quality, (C.).... 
10-14 
weakest (C.) 
16-96 
strongest (-J.) 
11-10 
inferior (C.) 
8-35 
Amontillado (C.).. 
15-18 
weakest (J.) 
9-10 
Hambacher, first qual., 
strongest (J.) 
24-70 
Malmsey madeira 
16-40 
(C-) 
8-88 
weakest (J.) 
Teneriffe 
15-40 
19-79 
Ditto (C.) 
15-60 
Catawba (Stearns).... 
Stoll 
Prof. Diez, of Madrid, has ascertained, among other points, the percentage in volume of 
alcohol, and the percentage of acid, determined by potassa, in forty Rhenish wines. He 
found these constituents to vary, the former from 12-2 to 9-5 per cent.; the latter from 
0-779 to 0-332. (Central Blatt, 2(5 Aug. 1854, p. 651.) 
Estimation of the. Alcoholic Strength of Wines. Mr. Horsley, of London, gives the following 
mode of ascertaining the percentage of alcohol in wines. Note the sp. gr. of the wine. Then 
take 5 lluidounces of it, boil it down in a flask to 2 fluidounces, and allow it to cool. All 
the alcohol is thus driven off. Add to the residuary liquid sufficient distilled water to bring it 
to the original measure of 5 fluidounces, and ascertain the sp. gr. of the mixture. Deduct 
the excess of its sp gr. over 1-000, which is the sp. gr. of distilled water, from the sp.gr. 
of the wine as at first noted, and the difference will be the sp. gr. of the alcohol and 
water in the wine. Then by consulting the tables giving the percentage in alcohol of 
liquids containing alcohol and water, the percentage of alcohol in the wine will be ob- 
tained. Thus, suppose the sp. gr. of the wine to be 0-997, and that of the liquid, after 
treatment as directed, 1-020. Then -020, the excess of the latter sp. gr. over that of water 
or 1-000, deducted from 0-997, give 0-977 as the sp. gr. of the mixed alcohol and v ater io 
the wine, which, by referring to the table on page 72, will be found to indicate a per tentage 
by weight of 18 of absolute alcohol. (Chem.News, Oct. 19, 1861.)—Note to the twetfti td\\\on. PART I. 
Vinum, 
859 
If the wine be pure, the spot, when dry, will be violet-blue, and the paper un- 
altered in texture; but, if the wine contain even a thousandth part of sulphuric 
acid, the paper will be spotted rose-red, and prove brittle and friable when 
slightly rubbed between the fingers. (Lassaigne, 0. Henri, and Bayard.) For- 
merly the wine dealers were in the habit of putting litharge into wines that had 
become acescent. The oxide of lead formed with the acetic acid acetate of 
lead, which, being sweet, corrected the defect of the wine, but at the same time 
rendered it poisonous. At the present day, this criminal practice is wholly 
abandoned. The adulteration is readily detected by sulphuretted hydrogen, 
which causes a black and flocculent precipitate. Mr. Brande, among the nu- 
merous samples of wine of suspected purity which he examined, did not find 
one containing any poisonous ingredient fraudulently introduced. Lead, in mi- 
nute quantity, may sometimes be detected; but is derived invariably from shot 
in the bottle, or from some analogous source. Rhenish wines, when acid from 
the presence of free tartaric or acetic acid, may be restored by the addition of 
neutral tartrate of potassa, which gives rise to the formation of cream of tartar. 
{Andrew Ure.) Spurious mixtures, frequently containing very little of the fer- 
mented juice of the grape, and which are sold as particular wines, may not be 
poisonous; but they are, notwithstanding, highly pernicious in their effects upon 
the stomach, and always produce mischief and disappointment, when depended 
on as therapeutic agents. The wines most frequently imitated are port and 
madeira; and cider is the chief ingredient in the spurious mixtures. English 
port is sometimes made of a small portion of real port, mixed with cider, juice 
of elder berries, and brandy, and rendered astringent with logwood and alum. 
According to Stracke, genuine wines do not contain salts of potassa in quantity 
sufficient to yield a precipitate with bichloride of platinum. If, therefore, a sus- 
pected wine be evaporated to dryness, and the extract, after being washed with 
alcohol so long as this is coloured by it, and then dissolved in water, give a 
precipitate with the bichloride, the presence of cider may be suspected. (Journ. 
de Pliarm., Mai, 1862, p. 442.) By most dealers in wine, colouring is employed, 
made usually of elder berries and alum. The practice of colouring wines is very 
reprehensible. In France colouring is openly sold with impunity, and exten- 
sively employed; although the wine dealer who uses it is liable to fine and im- 
prisonment. (A. Chevallier.) Alum may be detected in red wine by boiling it 
for a few minutes. If alum be present, even in part, the wine gradually 
becomes turbid, and furnishes a flocculent precipitate; while a pure red wine is 
not rendered turbid, even by long boiling. (J. L. Lassaigne.) 
The weaker wines often spoil by keeping. In this case they are apt to dis- 
solve any tartar that may have been deposited, and have been found to contain 
propionic acid. The result is ascribed by M. Nickles to a fermentative decom- 
position of the tartar. Of course, in this state the wine contains potassa, and 
would not respond favourably to the test of bichloride of platinum above given. 
{Journ. de Pliarm., Aout, 1862, p. 90.) Lactic acid is one of the products of the 
changes which take place in the spontaneous deterioration of wine ; and M. Ba- 
lard has succeeded in discovering the peculiar lactic acid ferment in spoiled 
wines. The appearance of this is preceded by that of globules similar to those 
of yeast; and, after the completion of the lactic acid fermentation, and the com- 
mencement of the putrefactive, a throng of vibrions is observable. After the 
cessation of the vinous fermentation, and during the progress of that of lactic 
acid, all disengagement of gas ceases. {Ibid., Juillet, 1862, p. 9.) 
Besides the grape, a number of other fruits yield a juice susceptible of the 
vinous fermentation. The infusion of malt, also, is capable of undergoing this 
process, and becomes converted into the different kinds of porter and ale. The 
product in all these cases, though not commonly called a wine, is nevertheless 
a vinous liquor, and may be classed among the wines properly so called. The 860 
Vinum. 
PART I. 
following is a list of these vinous liquors, together with the percentage of al- 
cohol which they contain, as ascertained by Mr. Brande: currant wine, 20 55; 
gooseberry wine, 11-84; orange wine, 11-26; elder wine, 8-19; cider, from 5-21 to 
9-87; perry, 7'26; mead, 7'32; Burton ale, 8-88; Edinburgh ale, 6-20; brown 
stout, 6-80; London porter, 4-20; small beer, l-28. Dr. H. Bence Jones gives 
the following percentages of alcohol in the under-named liquors: cider, from 5‘4 
to 7 "5; bitter ale, from 6 6 to 12*3; porter, from 6'5 to 7*0; brown stout, from 
6'5 to T9. According to L. Hoffmann, Burton ale consists, in the 100 parts, of 
carbonic acid 0-04, absolute alcohol 6 62, extract of malt 14-91, and water 78-37 ; 
and pale ale, of carbonic acid 0 07, absolute alcohol 5-57, extract of malt 4'62, 
and water 89 74. None of these liquors should be kept in leaden vessels, for 
fear of being rendered poisonous. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Wine is consumed in most civilized countries; 
but in a state of health is at least useless, if not absolutely pernicious. The de- 
gree of mischief which it produces depends on the character of the wine. Thus, 
the light wines of France are comparatively harmless; while the habitual use of 
the stronger wines, such as sherry, port, madeira, &c., even though taken in mod- 
eration, is always injurious, as having a tendency to induce gout and apoplexy, 
and other diseases dependent on plethora and over-stimulation. All wines, how- 
ever, when used habitually in excess, are productive of bad consequences. They 
weaken the stomach, produce disease of the liver, and give rise to gout, dropsy, 
apoplexy, tremors, and not unfrequently mania. Nevertheless, wine is an import- 
ant medicine, productive of the best effects in certain diseases. As an article of 
the materia medica, it ranks as a stimulant and antispasraodic. In the convales- 
cence from protracted fever, it is frequently the best remedy that can be employed. 
In certain stages of fever, and in extensive ulceration and gangrene, this remedy, 
either alone, or conjoined with bark and opium, is often our main dependence. 
According to Dr. Stokes, of Dublin, the weakness or absence of the first sound 
of the heart is an indication for the use of wine in typhus fever. When given in 
low febrile affections, if it increase the .fulness and lessen the frequency of the 
pulse, mitigate delirium, and produce a tendency to sleep, its further use may be 
deemed proper; but, if it render the pulse quicker, augment the heat and thirst, 
produce restlessness, or increase delirium, it should be immediately laid aside as 
injurious. In some convulsive diseases, as for example tetanus, wine, liberally 
given, has often proved useful. 
Wine, when used medicinally, should be good of its kind; for otherwise it will 
disagree with the stomach, and prove rather detrimental than useful. The indi- 
vidual wine selected for internal exhibition must be determined by the nature of 
the disease, and the particular object in view. Sherry, when in good condition, 
is a fine wine, and, as it contains very little acid, is to be preferred whenever the 
stomach is delicate, or has a tendency to dyspeptic acidity. Good madeira is the 
most generous of the white wines, particularly adapted to the purpose of resus- 
citating debilitated constitutions, and of sustaining the sinking energies of the 
system in old age. The acidity, however, of pure madeira causes it to disagree 
with some stomachs, and renders it an improper wine for gouty persons. T -ne- 
riffe is a good variety of white wine for medicinal use, being of about the medium 
strength, and agreeing very well with most stomachs. Port is generally used in 
cases of pure debility, especially when attended with a loose state of the bowels, 
unaccompanied with inflammation. In such cases it often acts as a powerful tonic 
as well as stimulant, giving increased activity to all the functions, especially diges- 
tion. Claret is much less heating, and is often useful on account of its aperient 
and diuretic qualities. Champagne is applicable to the sinking stage of low 
fevers with irritable stomach, and is often useful in the debility of the aged. 
All the acidulous wines are contraindicated in the gouty and uric acid diathe- 
sis ; as they are apt to convert the existing predisposition into disease. PART I. 
Vinum.— Viola. 
861 
The quantity of wine which may be given with advantage in disease is very 
variable. In low fevers it may be administered to the extent of a bottle or more 
in twenty-four hours, either pure, or in the form of wine-whey. This is made by 
adding to a pint of boiling milk, removed from the fire, from a gill to half a pint 
of white wine, straining without pressure to separate the curd, and sweetening 
the clear whey with loaf sugar. Wine-whey often forms a safe and grateful stimu- 
lus in typhoid fevers, and other febrile affections, which, after depletion, may tend 
to a state of deficient action, and be accompanied with a dry skin. Under these 
circumstances, it generally acts as a diaphoretic, and, when used of moderate 
strength, does not stimulate the system injuriously. 
M. Aran, of Paris, has found enemata of wine highly useful in the convales- 
cence from severe diseases. He has also derived benefit from them in chlorosis, 
dyspepsia, gastralgia attended with debility and gastric irritability, vomiting of 
food, and obstinate diarrhoea, especially that of phthisis. The rectum should be 
emptied by a laxative enema, immediately before giving the vinous, which may 
consist of from five to eight fluidounces of tepid wine, generally diluted with 
water. (See Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., July, 1855, p. 208.) 
Pharmaceutical Uses. White wine is employed as a menstruum to extract 
the virtues of several plants; and the preparations formed are called vinous 
tinctures or medicated wines. Tartar emetic and iron are the only mineral sub- 
stances prepared in a similar manner. (See Vinum Antimonii and Vinum Ferri.) 
For the peculiar powers of wine as a menstruum, see Vina Medicata. B. 
VIOLA. U. jS. Secondary. 
Violet. 
The herb of Viola pedata. U. S. 
Yiolette odorante, Fr.; Wohlriechendes Veilchen, Germ.; Violetta, Ital.; Violeta, Span. 
Viola. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Monogynia. —Nat. Ord. Violacese. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx five-leaved. Corolla five-petaled, irregular, horned at the back. 
Anthers cohering. Capsule superior, three-valved, one-celled. 
This genus includes numerous species, of which, though perhaps all or nearly 
all are possessed of analogous properties, one only, the V. pedata, is now offici- 
nal ; the Viola odorata, formerly recognised by the London and Edinburgh Col- 
leges, having been rejected by the British Council. Viola ovata, an indigenous 
species, has been recommended as a remedy for the bite of the rattlesnake. (See 
a paper by Dr. Williams in the Am. Journ. of Med. $ci.,xiii. 310.) As V. odo- 
rata has long held the most conspicuous place in the genus, medically considered, 
we shall treat of it together with the officinal species. 
Viola pedata. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1160; Curtis, Bot. Mag. 89. This is an in- 
digenous species, without stems, glabrous, with many-parted, often pedate leaves, 
the segments of which are linear-lanceolate, obtuse, and nearly entire. The flow- 
ers are large and of a beautiful blue colour, often more or less variegated. The 
divisions of the calyx are linear and acute. The stigma is large, compressed at 
the sides, obliquely truncate, and perforate at the apex. The plant grows in dry 
sandy hills and fields, and rocky woods, from New England to Carolina, and 
flowers in May and June. 
Viola odorata. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1163; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 251, t. 89. 
This is a small, pretty, creeping plant, the runners of which are furnished with 
fibrous roots, and send up annually tufts of leaves and flowers. The leaves are 
heart-shaped, crenate, and supported on long petioles. The flowers are at the 
summit of delicate, quadrangular, channeled, radical peduncles. The leaves of 
the calyx are shorter than the petals, which are obovate, obtuse, unequal, and 
of a bluish-purple or deep-violet colour, except at the claws, which are whitish 
The two lateral petals are spreading and bearded towards the base, the inferior Viola. 
PART I. 
furnished with a large spar, and the two upper reflected. In the centre are the 
stamens with very short filaments, and anthers slightly cohering by an orange- 
coloured membranous expansion. 
The sweet violet is a native of Europe, growing in woods, hedges, and other 
shady places. It is cultivated in gardens both for its beauty and for medical use, 
and has been introduced into this country. It is valued chiefly for its flowers, 
which appear in April and May. 
The flowers of this species of violet, besides their beautiful colour, have a 
peculiar agreeable odour, and a very slightly bitter taste. These properties they 
yield to boiling water; and their infusion affords a very delicate test for acids 
and alkalies, being reddened by the former, and rendered green by the latter. 
Their odour is destroyed by desiccation; and the degree to which they retain 
their fine colour depends upon the care used in collecting and drying them. They 
should be gathered before being fully blown, deprived of their calyx, and rapidly 
dried, either in a heated room, or by exposing them to a current of very dry air. 
The flowers of other species are often mingled with them, and, if of the same 
colour, are equally useful as a chemical test. 
In the root, leaves, flowers, and seeds of Viola odorata, M. Boullay discovered 
a peculiar alkaline principle, bearing some resemblance to emetia, but possessing 
distinct properties. He called it violine (violia). It is white, soluble in alco- 
hol, scarcely soluble in water, and forms salts with the acids. It exists in the 
plant combined with malic acid, and may be obtained by treating with distilled 
water the alcoholic extract of the dried root, decomposing by means of magnesia 
the malate of violia contained in the solution, and extracting the alkali from the 
precipitated matters by alcohol, which yields it on evaporation. To obtain it 
entirely pure, a more complicated process is necessary. Orfila has ascertained 
that it is exceedingly active and even poisonous. It is probably contained in 
most of the other species of Viola. 
Medical Properties, Sc. of the Violets. The herbaceous parts of different 
species of violet are mucilaginous, emollient, and slightly laxative; and have 
been used in pectoral, nephritic, and cutaneous affections. Much was formerly 
thought of the Viola tricolor, or pansy, as a remedy in crusta lactea. A de- 
coction in milk of a handful of the fresh herb was taken morning and evening, 
and a poultice made with the same decoction was applied to the affected part. 
Cures in numerous instances are said to have been effected by this treatment, 
persevered in for some time. Our own Viola pedata is considered a useful ex- 
pectorant and demulcent in pectoral complaints. {Bigelow.) 
In Europe, a syrup prepared from the fresh flowers of Viola odorata is em- 
ployed as an addition to demulcent di’inks, and as a laxative for infants. The 
seeds were formerly considered beneficial in gravel, but are not now used. The 
root, which has a bitter, nauseous, slightly acrid taste, acts in the dose of from 
thirty grains to a drachm as an emetic and cathartic. It is probable that the 
same property is possessed by the roots of all the violets; as it is known to be 
by several species of Ionidium, which belongs to the same natural family. The 
existence in small proportion of the emetic principle, upon which the powers of 
the root probably depend, in the leaves and flowers, accounts for the expecto- 
rant properties attributed to these parts of the plant.* W. 
* Syrup of Violet. This was officinal with the Lond. and Ed. Colleges; and, though it has 
heen discarded in the British Pharmacopoeia, yet, as it may sometimes prove useful, we 
give the London formula for its preparation, with the remarks upon it contained in the 
eleventh edition of the Dispensatory. 
“Take of Violets [recent petals] nine ounces; boiling Distilled Water a pint [Imperial 
measure]; Sugar [refined] a sufficient quantity; Rectified Spirit a sufficient quantity. Macer- 
ate the Violets in the Water for twelve hours; then express, and filter. Set apart that the 
dregs may subside; then add a weight of the Sugar double that of the liquid, ar,d dissolve PART I. 
Xanthorrhiza. 
863 
XANTHORRHIZA. U. S. Secondary. 
Yellow-root. 
The root of Xanthorrhiza apiifolia. U. S. 
Xanthorrhiza. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Polygynia. — Nat. Ord. Ranuncu- 
lacese. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx none. Petals five. Nectaries five, pedicelled. Capsules five 
to eight, one-seeded, semibivalve. Nuttall. 
Xanthorrhiza apiifolia. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1568; Barton, Med. Bot. ii. 
203. —X. tinctoria. Woodhouse, N. Y. Med. Repos, vol. v. This is an indige- 
nous shrub, two or three feet in height, with a horizontal root, which sends off 
numerous suckers. The stem is simple, rather thicker thau a goose-quill, with 
a smooth bark, and bright-yellow wood. The leaves, which stand thickly at the 
upper part of the stem, are compound, consisting of several ovate-lanceolate, 
acute, doubly serrate leaflets, sessile upon a long petiole, which embraces the 
gtem at its base. The flowers are small, purple, and disposed in long, drooping, 
divided racemes, placed immediately below the first leaves. The nectaries are 
obovate and bilobed, the styles usually about six or eight in number. 
The yellow-root grows in the interior of the Southern, and in the Western 
States. Nuttall says that it is abundant on the banks of the Ohio. It flowers 
in April. The root is the part directed by the Pharmacopoeia; but the bark ol 
the stem possesses the same virtues. 
The root is from three inches to a foot or more in length, and about half an 
inch in thickness near the stem. It shrinks somewhat in drying, and, as found 
in the shops, is in slender pieces of various lengths, diminishing from three or 
four lines in thickness to the dimensions of a knitting-needle, wrinkled longitu- 
dinally, with a light yellowish-brown, easily separable epidermis, a thick, hard, 
bright-yellow woody portion, and a very slender central pith. It is inodorous, 
and of a simple but extremely bitter taste. It imparts its colour and taste to 
water. The infusion is not affected by a solution of sulphate of iron. By the late 
Professor Barton the bark of the root was considered more bitter than its ligneous 
portion. Dr. J. Dyson Perrins extracted from it an alkaloid which, both in its 
reactions and composition, so closely resembled berberina that there can scarcely 
be a doubt of their identity. (Pharm. Journ., May, 1862.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Xanthorrhiza possesses properties closely 
analogous to those of columbo, quassia, and the other simple tonic bitters; and 
may be used for the same purposes, and in the same manner. Dr. Woodhouse 
employed it in the dose of two scruples, and found it to lie easily upon the 
stomach. W. 
with a gentle heat. Finally, when the syrup has cooled, mix with each fluidounce of it 
half a fluidrachm of the Spirit.” Lond. 
This syrup has a deep-blue colour and an agreeable flavour. It is said that its colour is 
most beautiful when it is prepared in well-cleaned pewter vessels; and the influence of 
the metal is ascribed by M. Augillis, of Ypres, to the attraction of the tin for nascent acetic 
acid, which he thinks is produced in the flower by fermentation, and has the effect, if not 
neutralized, of impairing its colour. (Journ. de Pharm., Sept. 1856, p. 194.) As it is apt to 
fade by time, it is sometimes counterfeited with materials the colour of which is more per- 
manent. The fraud may usually be detected by the addition of an acid or alkali, the for- 
mer of which reddens the syrup of violets, the latter renders it green, while they produce 
no such change upon the counterfeit. It should not have the smell or taste of red cabbage, 
a syrup of which acts in the same way with acids and alkalies. 
This syrup acts as a gentle laxative when given to infants in the dose of one or two 
fluidrachms; but it is used chiefly as a test of acids and alkalies. For the latter purpose, 
a syrup prepared from the juice of the red cabbage may be substituted. It is very seldom 
kept in our shops. Xanthoxylum. 
PART I. 
XANTHOXYLUM. U. S. Secondary. 
Prickly Ash. 
The bark of Xanthoxylum fraxineum. U. S. 
Xanthoxylum. Sex. Syst. Dicecia Pentandria.—Nat. Ord. Terebintaceae, 
Juss.; Xanthoxylace®, Lindley. 
Gen. Ch. Male. Calyx five-parted. Corolla none. Female. Calyx five- 
parted. Corolla none. Pistils five. Capsules five, one-seeded. Willd.* 
Xanthoxylum fraxineum. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 757 ; Bigelow, Am. Med. 
Pot. iii. 156.—X. Americanum, Miller; Torrey and Gray, FI. of N. Am. i. 
214. The prickly ash is a shrub from five to ten feet in height, with alter- 
nate branches, which are covered with strong, sharp, scattered prickles. The 
leaves are alternate and pinnate, consisting of four or five pairs of leaflets, and 
an odd terminal one, with a common footstalk, which is sometimes prickly on 
the back, and sometimes unarmed. The leaflets are nearly sessile, ovate, acute, 
slightly serrate, and somewhat downy on their under surface. The flowers, which 
are small and greenish, are disposed in sessile umbels near the origin of the 
young shoots. The plant is polygamous; some shrubs bearing both male and 
perfect flowers, others only female. The number of stamens is five, of the pis- 
tils three or four in the perfect flowers, about five in the pistillate. Each fruit- 
ful flower is followed by as many capsules as it had germs. These capsules are 
stipitate, oval, punctate, of a greenish-red colour, with two valves, and one oval 
blackish seed. This species of Xanthoxylum is indigenous, growing in woods 
and in moist shady places throughout the Northern, Middle, and Western 
States. The flowers appear in April and May, before the foliage. The leaves 
and capsules have an aromatic odour recalling that of the oil of lemons. The 
bark is the officinal portion. 
Properties. This, as found in the shops, is in quills, from one or two lines 
to nearly an inch in diameter, thin, externally of a darkish-gray colour diver- 
sified by whitish patches, with the epidermis in many pieces marked by closely 
set transverse cracks, internally finely striated longitudinally and somewhat 
shining, and, when derived from the smaller branches, exhibiting occasionally 
remains of the prickles. The bark is very light, brittle, nearly or quite inodorous, 
and of a taste which is at first sweetish and slightly aromatic, then bitterish, and 
ultimately acrid. The acrimony is imparted to boiling water and alcohol, which 
extract the virtues of the bark. Its constituents, according to Dr. Staples, be- 
sides fibrous substance, are volatile oil, a greenish fixed oil, resin, gum, colour- 
ing matter, and a peculiar crystallizable principle which he calls xanthoxylin, 
but of which the properties are not designated. {Journ. of the Phil. Col. of 
Pharm., i. 165.) It is probably identical with the bitter crystalline principle 
found by MM. Chevallier and Pelletan in the bark of Xanthoxylum Clava Her- 
culis, and named by them xantliopicrile; and this has been found by Mr. Perrins 
to be identical with berberina; so that the prickly ash is to be added to the 
* The fruit of Xanthoxylum alatum, growing in Northern India and China, is known by 
the nam,e of Japanese pepper, being used as a condiment in Japan and China. It is in small 
roundish capsules, of which one or more stand upon a peduncle, of a reddish-brown colour, 
and beset externally with numerous little prominences, which appear to enclose the oil to 
which the fruit owes its pungency. The flavour of the capsule is aromatic, pungent, and 
agreeable. The seeds are black, shining, and destitute of pungency. Dr. Stenhouse has 
obtained from the fruit by distillation a liquid volatile oil, isomeric with oil of turpentine, 
which he calls xanthoxylene, colourless, and of an extremely agreeable odour; and a crys- 
talline stearoptene, which separates from the liquid on cooling. This he calls xanthoxylin. 
It is slightly aromatic, insoluble in water, soluble in alcohol and ether, fusible, and volatili- 
zable unchanged. (Pharm. Journ., xvii. 19, and N. S. ii. 554.)—Note to the eleventh and twelfth 
editions. part I. 
Xanthoxy him.—Zincum. 
list of medical substances, already large, in which this widely diffused alkaloid 
is contained. {Pharm. Journ., March, 1863, p. 403.) 
A specimen of bark has been shown to us, collected on the shores of the 
Chesapeake Bay, and said to be the product of Xanthoxylum Glava Herculis, 
though probably derived from the trunk of the X. Garolinianum, as the X. 
Clava Herculis is a native of the West Indies, and not of the United States, and 
the X. Carolinianum grows in Virginia. Prof. Bentley first indicated this pro 
bable origin of the bark, which, in the last edition of the Dispensatory, was con* 
jecturally referred to the trunk of the officinal species. The specimen referred 
to resembles the bark above described considerably in its general characters, but 
differs in consisting of irregular fragments of a bark of larger dimensions, flat or 
but slightly rolled, and exhibiting, on the outer surface of some of the fragments, 
large conical, corky eminences, which serve as the bases of the spines, and no 
doubt give to the trunk of the tree the rough, knotty appearance, which obtained 
for its congener the name of the club of Hercules. 
Dr. Bigelow states that the Aralia spinosa, or angelica tree, which grows in 
the Southern States, is occasionally confounded with X. fraxineum, in conse- 
quence partly of being sometimes called, like the latter, prickly ash. Its bark, 
however, in appearance and flavour, is entirely different from xanthoxylum. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Xanthoxylum is stimulant, producing, when 
swallowed, a sense of heat in the stomach, with more or less general arterial 
excitement, and a tendency to diaphoresis. It is thought to resemble mezereon 
and guaiac in its remedial action, and is given in the same complaints. As a 
remedy in chronic rheumatism, it enjoys considerable reputation in this country. 
The dose of the powder is from ten grains to half a drachm, to be repeated three 
or four times a day. A decoction, prepared by boiling an ounce in three pints 
of water down to a quart, may be given in the quantity of a pint, in divided 
doses, during the twenty-four hours. The powder has sometimes been employed 
as a topical irritant; and the bark, used as a masticatory, is a popular remedy 
for toothache, and has been recommended in palsy of the tongue. W. 
ZINCUM. u.s: 
Zinc. 
Off. Syn. Zinc of Commerce. Granulated Zinc. Zinc granulated by fusing 
and pouring it into cold water. Br. Appendix. 
Speltre; Zinc,Fr.; Zink, Germ.; Zinco, Jtal., Span. 
Zinc occurs native in two principal states; as a sulphuret, called blende, and 
as a carbonate and silicate, to which the name of calamine is applied indis- 
criminately.* It has been detected, in the vegetable kingdom, in a peculiar violet 
growing on the calamine hills of Rhenish Prussia. It is found most abundantly 
in Germany, whence the United States have, until recently, been chiefly supplied, f 
The metal is extracted generally from calamine. This is roasted and mixed with 
charcoal powder, and the mixture heated in iron cylinders, placed horizontally over 
a furnace. When the reduction of the zinc commences, iron receivers are adapt- 
ed to the opening of the cylinder to condense the volatilized metal. The metal is 
* A small piece of native zinc was exhibited at the International Exhibition at London, 
in 1862, among the products of Australia, being the first specimen that had been seen of 
the metal in this state. (Chem. News, July 26,1862.) 
•j- Zinc is now largely manufactured near Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, at the zinc works of 
the Lehigh Zinc Company. The ore worked is the silicate or electric calamine. Sulphuret 
of zinc (blende) and sulphuret of cadmium are also found in the same locality. From 
picked specimens of the ore nearly pure zinc has been obtained. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
Sept. 1860, p. 407.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 866 
Zincum 
PART I. 
then melted and run into moulds, and forms speltre, or the zinc of commerce. In 
this state it contains iron, and traces of lead, cadmium, arsenic, copper, sulphur, 
and charcoal. To purify it from these substances, it must be subjected to a 
second distillation in a crucible, furnished with a tube passing through its bot- 
tom, and open at both ends; its upper extremity reaching a little more than 
half way up the interior of the crucible, and its lower end terminating above a 
vessel of water. The impure zinc being placed in the crucible, the cover luted 
on, and the fire applied, the pure zinc is volatilized, and, passing down the tube 
by a descending distillation, condenses in the water below. 
Properties. Zinc has a bluish-white colour, a peculiar taste, and a percepti- 
ble smell when rubbed. Its texture is laminated, and its fracture crystalline. Its 
malleability and ductility are not very great. When perfectly pure, it may be 
reduced to thin leaves at ordinary temperatures; but the zinc of commerce re- 
quires to be heated to a temperature between 212° and 300° to render it suffi- 
ciently malleable to be rolled into sheets. The softness of zinc is peculiar, as is 
shown by the circumstance that it clogs the file, when the attempt is made to 
reduce it to filings; and hence to have it in the divided form, it is necessary to 
melt it, and triturate it at the moment of solidification. Its sp. gr. is about 6-8, 
its equivalent 32 3, and symbol Zn. Favre makes its equivalent 32-99, and Erd- 
mann, 32-527. Subjected to heat it fuses at 773°. At full redness it boils, and 
in close vessels maybe distilled over; but in open vessels it takes fire, and burns 
with a dazzling white flame, giving off dense white fumes. It dissolves in most 
of the acids with disengagement of hydrogen, and precipitates all the metals 
either in the metallic state, or in that of oxide. It forms but one well-charac- 
terized oxide (a protoxide), and but one sulphuret. The protoxide is officinal, 
and will be described under another head. (See Zinci Oxidum.) 
Zinc of good quality dissolves in dilute sulphuric acid, with the exception of 
a scanty grayish-black residue. If absolutely pure, it would be wholly dissolved. 
The solution is colourless, and yields white precipitates with ferrocyanide of 
potassium and hydrosulphate of ammonia. Ammonia throws down from this solu- 
tion a white precipitate, which is wholly dissolved when the alkali is added in 
excess. If copper be present, the solution will be rendered blue by the ammo- 
nia; if iron, it will be thrown down by this alkali, but not redissolved by its ex- 
cess. Arsenic may be detected, unless present in very minute proportion, by 
dissolving the zinc in pure dilute sulphuric acid in a self-regulating reservoir for 
hydrogen, when arseniuretted hydrogen will be formed, recognisable by its flame 
producing a dark stain on a white plate. 
Zinc is extensively employed in the arts. It is the best metal that can be used, 
in conjunction with copper, for galvanic combinations. Combined with tin and 
mercury, it forms the amalgam for electrical machines. Its solution in dilute 
sulphuric acid furnishes the readiest method for obtaining hydrogen. With cop- 
per it forms brass, and, in the form of sheet zinc, it is employed to cover the 
roofs of houses, and for other purposes. It is also applied to the covering 
of iron, to protect it from oxidizement, in the same manner as tin. It should, 
however, never be used for culinary vessels, as it is soluble in the weakest 
acids. 
The compounds of zinc are poisonous, but not to the same extent as those of 
lead. The oxide of zinc, used in painting as a substitute for white lead, is said 
to be capable of producing a colic, resembling that caused by lead, and called 
zinc colic. It attacks workmen, exposed to the dust of the oxide while engaged 
in packing it in barrels, and yields to the remedies appropriate to the treatment 
of lead colic. (See Chem. Gaz., Sept. 16,1850.) This statement, however, is, to 
say the least, very questionable. 
Pharmaceutical Uses. Zinc is never used as a medicine in the metallic state ; PART I. 
Zincum.—Zinci Sulphas. 
but is employed in this state to prepare the officinal Acetate, Sulphate, and 
Chloride of Zinc, and the Reduced Iron of the Br. Pharmacopoeia. In combi 
nation it forms a number of important preparations, a list of which, with their 
synonymes, is subjoined. 
Zinc is employed medicinally, 
I. Oxidized. 
Zinci Oxidum, XJ. S., Br. — Oxide of Zinc. 
Unguentum Zinci Oxidi, U. S.,Br. — Ointment of Oxide of Zinc. 
II. Combined with chlorine. 
Zinci Chloridum, XJ. S., Br.— Chloride of Zinc. 
III. Oxidized and combined with acids. 
Zinci Acetas, U. S., Br. —Acetate of Zinc. 
Zinci Carbonas Prsecipitata, XJ. S.; Zinci Carbonas, Br. — Precipitated- 
Carbonate of Zinc. 
Ceratum Zinci Carbonatis, XJ. S. — Cerate of Carbonate of Zinc. 
Zinci Sulphas, XJ. S., Br. — Sulphate of Zinc. White Vitriol. 
Zinci Yalerianas, XJ. S., Br.— Valerianate of Zinc. 
ZINCI SULPHAS. U.S.,Br. 
Sulphate of Zinc. White Vitriol. 
This salt was, at the late revision of the TJ. S. Pharmacopoeia, transferred from 
the Preparations to the Materia Medica Catalogue, as an article to be purchased 
of the manufacturer. The British Pharmacopoeia gives the following process for 
its preparation. 
“Take of Granulated Zinc sixteen ounces [avoirdupois]; Sulphuric Acid twelve 
fluidounces [Imperial measure]; Distilled Water four pints [Imp. meas.] ; So- 
lution of Chlorine a sufficiency ; Carbonate of Zinc half an ounce [avoird.], or 
a sufficiency. Pour the Acid previously mixed with the Water on the Zinc con- 
tained in a porcelain basin, and, when effervescence has nearly ceased, aid the 
action by a gentle heat. Filter the fluid into a gallon bottle, and add gradually 
with constant agitation the Solution of Chlorine until the fluid acquires a per- 
manent odour of chlorine. Add now with continued agitation the Carbonate of 
Zinc until a brown precipitate appears ; let it settle, filter the solution, evaporate 
until a pellicle forms on the surface, and set aside to crystallize. Dry the crys- 
tals by exposure to the air on filtering paper, placed on porous bricks. More 
crystals may be obtained by again evaporating the mother liquor.” 
Strong sulphuric acid has very little action on zinc; but, when it is diluted, 
water is instantly decomposed, and, while its hydrogen escapes with rapid efferves- 
cence, its oxygen combines with the zinc; and the oxide formed, uniting with 
the acid, generates the sulphate of the oxide of zinc. Thus it is perceived that 
hydrogen is a collateral product of the process. The proportion of the zinc to 
the strong acid in the process is as 4 to 5 53. The equivalent numbers give the 
ratio of 4 to 6*06; which indicates that the metal is somewhat in excess. If the 
materials are mixed at once, without any precaution, the effervescence of hydro- 
gen is apt to be excessive, and to cause the overflowing of the liquid. This may 
be avoided by commencing the solution of zinc with a very dilute acid, which, as 
the action .slackens, is made by degrees stronger and stronger, by the addition, 
at intervals, of small portions of fresh acid. As the zinc of commerce generally 
contains iron, this would contaminate the product, unless precautions were taken 
to prevent it. Hence the addition of chlorine, which reacts with the sulphate of 
iron to form tersulphate of sesquioxide of iron and sesquichloride of iron, which, 868 
Zinci Sulphas. 
PART I. 
upon the addition of the carbonate of zinc, yield the sulphuric acid and chlorine 
to the zinc; the sesquioxide of iron being deposited, and the carbonic acid set 
free. The former is separated by filtration, the latter escapes during the evapo- 
ration, the additional sulphate of zinc crystallizes with that first formed, and the 
chloride of zinc remains in the mother-waters. 
Preparation on the Large Scale. Impure sulphate of zinc, as it occurs in 
commerce, is called white vitriol. It is manufactured by roasting blende (native 
sulphuret of zinc) in a reverberatory furnace. This mineral, besides sulphuret of 
zinc, contains small quantities of the sulphurets of iron, copper, and lead; and 
by roasting is converted, in consequence of the oxidation of its constituents, into 
sulphate of zinc, mixed with the sulphates of iron, copper, and lead. The roasted 
matter is then lixiviated; and the solution obtained, after having been allowed 
to settle, is concentrated by evaporation; so that, on cooling, it may concrete 
•into a white crystalline mass, resembling lump sugar. In this state it always 
contains sulphate of iron, and sometimes a small proportion of sulphate of cop- 
per. It may be purified from these metals by dissolving it in water, and boiling 
the solution with oxide of zinc, which converts the sulphates of iron and copper, 
by precipitating their bases, into sulphate of zinc. The purified solution is then 
decanted or filtered, and, after due evaporation, allowed to crystallize. It has 
generally been proposed to purify the white vitriol of commerce by digesting its 
solution with metallic zinc, under the impression that this is capable of precipi- 
tating all the foreign metals; but, according to Berzelius, though it will preci- 
pitate copper readily, it has no action on iron. 
Properties, &c. Sulphate of zinc is a transparent, colourless salt, having a 
disagreeable, metallic, styptic taste, and crystallizing usually in small four-sided 
prisms. Its crystals have considerable resemblance to those of sulphate of mag- 
nesia. It effloresces slightly in dry air, and, though neutral in composition, 
reddens vegetable blues. It dissolves in two and a half times its weight of cold 
water, and in less than its weight of boiling water, and is insoluble in alcohol. 
When heated it dissolves in its water of crystallization, which gradually evapo- 
rates ; and, by a prolonged ignition, the whole of the acid is expelled, and the 
oxide of zinc left. Potassa, soda, and ammonia throw down a white precipitate 
of mixed oxide and subsulphate, which is redissolved by the alkali in excess. If 
iron be present it is precipitated also, but not redissolved. The alkaline car- 
bonates precipitate the metal in the state of white carbonate. Pure sulphate of 
zinc is precipitated white by ferrocyanide of potassium and hydrosulphuret of 
ammonia. What is thrown down by chloride of barium or acetate of lead (sul- 
phate of baryta or sulphate of lead) is not dissolved by nitric acid. If copper be 
present, ammonia will produce a blue tinge; if iron, the ferrocyanide of potas- 
sium will cause a bluish-white precipitate instead of a white one, and tincture 
of galls a purple colour. Cadmium and arsenic may be detected by acidulating 
the solution with sulphuric acid, and passing a stream of sulphuretted hydrogen 
through it; when, if either of these metals be present, it will be thrown down as 
a yellow sulphuret. Sulphate of zinc is incompatible with alkalies and alkaline 
carbonates, hydrosulphates, lime-water, the soluble salts of lead, and astringent 
infusions. 
The impure commercial variety of sulphate of zinc, called white vitriol, is in 
the form of irregular white masses, having some resemblance to lump sugar. 
The lumps usually exhibit, here and there on the surface, yellow stains, produced 
by sesquioxide of iron. It is less soluble than the pure salt, on account of its 
containing less water of crystallization. 
Composition. Crystallized sulphate of zinc consists of one eq. of sulphuric 
acid 40, one of oxide of zinc 403, and seven of water 63 = 143 3. The white 
vitriol of commerce contains but three eqs. of water. PART I. 
Zinci Sulphas. 
869 
Medical Properties and Uses. This salt is tonic, astringent, and, in large 
doses, a prompt emetic. Before the discovery of tartar emetic, it was much em- 
ployed to produce vomiting; but at present its use as an emetic is restricted prin- 
cipally to the dislodging of poisons, for which purpose its property of operating 
promptly renders it particularly suitable. As a tonic, it is supposed to be well 
suited to cases of debility, attended with irritation, being less heating than sul- 
phate of iron. In dyspepsia it has been used with advantage in very minute 
doses, as, for instance, a quarter of a grain, repeated several times a day; but, it 
good effects are not soon apparent, it should be laid aside. In the night-sweats 
of consumption it acts with singular efficacy, combined with extract of hyoscy- 
amus, given at bedtime in the form of pill, composed of one grain of the salt to 
four of the extract. The combination has been used in these sweats, with the 
effect of arresting them in about thirty cases, by Dr. E. J. Coxe, of New Orleans. 
In obstinate intermittents, it is a valuable resource, and may be given alone, or 
conjoined with cinchona or sulphate of quinia. But it is in spasmodic diseases, 
such as epilepsy, chorea, pertussis, &c., that it has been principally employed. 
Dr. Paris speaks of its efficacy in high terras, in spasmodic cough, especially 
when combined with camphor or myrrh, and “in affections of the chest attended 
with inordinate secretion.” As an astringent it is chiefly employed externally. 
Its solution constitutes a good styptic to bleeding surfaces, and is frequently re- 
sorted to as an injection in fluor albus and gonorrhoea, and as a collyrium in oph- 
thalmia. In some conditions of ulcerated sorethroat, it forms a useful gargle. It 
has been employed also in solution with success as a remedy for nasal polypi, in 
the proportion of two scruples, gradually increased to an ounce of the salt, to 
seven fluidounces of water, applied by means of lint and by injection. The dose, 
as a tonic, is from one to two grains; as an emetic, from ten to thirty grains. To 
children affected with hooping-cough, it may be given in doses of from an eighth 
to a quarter of a grain two or three times a day. When used as a collyrium, in- 
jection, or gargle, or as a wash for indolent ulcers, from one to three grains or 
more may be dissolved in a fluidounce of water. For medicinal purposes the 
crystallized salt should be used, and in no case the impure white vitriol of com- 
merce. 
Prof. Simpson, of Edinburgh, has recently (1851) called attention to the value 
of dried sulphate of zinc, in the form of powder, paste, or ointment, as a caustic. 
He attributes to it the advantages of being powerful, rapid, manageable, safe, 
and not deliquescent. In a recent paper he reports his successful use of it as a 
caustic in indurated inflammatory ulcers of the cervix uteri; in lupus; in ulcer- 
ous forms of skin diseases; in removing the small red sensitive tumours which 
form at the orifice of the female urethra, and in destroying ulcerated condylo- 
mata and warty excrescences. The dried salt should be finely levigated. The 
caustic paste is made by incorporating an ounce of the powder with a drachm 
of glycerin ; and the caustic ointment, by thoroughly mixing the same quantity 
of the powder with two drachms of lard. (See Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., April, 
1857, p. 485.) Dr. Eben Watson, Surgeon to the Royal Infirmary of Glasgow, 
also bears testimony to the utility of dried sulphate of zinc as an escharotic. He 
particularly insists upon its advantages as a caustic application to callous ulcers, 
for the purpose of destroying their surface, exciting a new action, and disposing “ 
them to heal. The application causes severe pain, which should be relieved 
by opiates freely given, and continued until the sloughs separate, about the 
fifth day. 
Sulphate of zinc, in an overdose, acts as an irritant poison. Besides vomiting 
and incessant retching, it produces anxiety, distressing restlessness, and extreme 
prostration. Few cases are on record of fatal poisoning by this salt; the patient 
being generally relieved by its prompt expulsion in vomiting. Four cases, how- 870 
Zingiber, 
PART I. 
eve-i, have been reported in an Italian journal, two of which proved fatal. In 
one of the fatal cases, an ounce and a half had been swallowed by mistake for 
Epsom salt. The treatment consists in the free administration of bland drinks, 
the use of opium to allay irritation, and the employment of the usual antiphlo- 
gistic remedies, should symptoms of inflammation arise. 
Off. Prep. Zinci Carbonas, Br.; Zinci Carbonas Prsecipitata, TJ. S.; Zinci 
Chloridum, TJ. S.; Zinci Yalerianas. ’ B. 
ZINGIBER. U. S., Br. 
Ginger. 
The rhizoma of Zingiber officinale. U. S. The rhizome scraped and dried. Br. 
Gingembre, Fr.; Ingwer, Germ,.; Zenzero, Ital.; Gengibre, Span. 
Zingiber. Sex. Syst. Monandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Scitamine®, JR. 
Brown; Zingiberacese, Lindley. 
Gen. Gh. Flowers spathaceous. Inner limb of the corolla with one lip. An- 
ther double, with a simple recurved horn at the end. Germen inferior. Style 
enclosed in the furrow formed by the anther. Loudon’s Encyc. of Plants. 
Zingiber officinale. Roscoe, Trans. Linn. Soc. viii. 348; Carson, Illust. of 
Med. Bot. ii. 55, pi. 98.—Amomum Zingiber. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 6; Woodv. 
Med. Bot. p. 731, t. 260. The ginger plant has a biennial or perennial, creeping, 
tuberous root or rhizoma, and an annual stem, which rises two or three feet in 
height, is solid, round, erect, and enclosed in an imbricated membranous sheath- 
ing. The leaves are lanceolate, acute, smooth, five or six inches long by about 
an inch in breadth, and stand alternately on the sheaths of the stem. The flower- 
stalk rises by the side of the stem from six inches to a foot, and like it is clothed 
with oval, acuminate sheaths; but it is without leaves, and terminates in an oval, 
obtuse, bracteal, imbricated spike. The flowers are of a dingy yellow colour, and 
appear two or three at a time between the bracteal scales. 
The plant is a native of Hindostan, and is cultivated in all parts of India. It 
is also cultivated in the West Indies, whither it was transplanted from the East, 
and at Sierra Leone in Africa. The flowers have an aromatic smell, and the 
stems, when bruised, are slightly fragrant; but the root is the portion in which 
the virtues of the plant reside. This is fit to be dug up when a year old. In the 
West Indies, the ginger crop is gathered in January and February, after the 
stems have withered. After having been properly cleansed, the root is scalded 
in boiling water, in order to prevent germination, and is then rapidly dried. Thus 
prepared, it constitutes the ordinary ginger of commerce, or black ginger, as it 
is sometimes called from the darkish colour acquired in the process. It is im- 
ported chiefly from Calcutta, and is known to the druggists by the name of East 
India ginger; but recently considerable quantities have been brought from Africa, 
and some probably reaches us from the West Indies. In Jamaica another variety 
is prepared by selecting the best roots, depriving them of their epidermis, and 
drying them separately and carefully in the sun. This is called in the books white 
ginger, and is most highly valued. It reaches us from England, where it is said 
to undergo some further preparation, by which its appearance is improved. It 
is usually called in our markets Jamaica ginger. The root is also at present 
imported from the East Indies deprived of the epidermis. Considerable quanti- 
ties are brought immediately from the West Indies in a recent state, and sold 
by the confectioners. A preserve is made from ginger by selecting the roots 
while young and tender, depriving them of their cortical covering, and boding 
them iu syrup. This is occasionally imported from the East ar.d West Indies. 
When good it is translucent and tender. PART I. 
Zingiber. 
871 
The recent root is from one to four inches’ long, somewhat flattened on its. 
upper and under surface, knotty, obtusely and irregularly branched or lobed, ex- 
ternally of a light ash-colour with circular rugae, internally yellowish-white and 
fleshy. It sometimes germinates when kept in the shops. 
The common or black ginger is of the same general shape, but has a dark 
ash-coloured wrinkled epidermis, which, being removed in some places, exhibits 
patches of an almost black colour, apparently the result of exposure. Beneath 
the epidermis is a brownish, resinous, almost horny cortical portion. The inte- 
rior parenchyma is whitish and somewhat farinaceous. The powder is of a light 
yellowish-brown colour. This variety is most extensively used. 
The Jamaica or white ginger differs in being entirely deprived of epidermis, 
and white or yellowish-white on the outside. The pieces are rounder and thin- 
ner, in consequence of the loss of substance in their preparation. They afford 
when pulverized a beautiful yellowish-white powder, which is brought from Liver- 
pool in jars. This variety is firm and resinous, and has more of the sensible quali- 
ties of ginger than the black. The uncoated ginger of the East Indies resembles 
the Jamaica, but is darker. There is reason to believe that a portion at least of 
the white ginger of commerce has been subjected to a bleaching process, by which 
not only the exterior, but also the internal parts are rendered whiter than in the 
unprepared root. Trommsdorff found, in a specimen which he examined, evi- 
dences of the presence of chlorides, sulphates, and lime; and concluded that the 
bleaching was effected by chlorine, or by chloride of lime and sulphuric acid. 
Having macerated some black ginger in water, deprived it of the cortical por- 
tion, treated it for twenty-four hours with sulphuric acid diluted with nine times 
its weight of water, and finally placed it in a mixture of chloride of lime and 
water, in which it was allowed to remain for two days, he found it, upon being 
washed and dried, to present an appearance closely resembling that of the finest 
white ginger, both on the surface and internally. (Annal. der Pharm., xvii. 98.) 
According to Brande, ginger is often washed in whiting and water; and Pereira 
states that it is sometimes bleached by exposure to the fumes of burning sul- 
phur. 
General Properties. The odour of ginger is aromatic and penetrating, the 
taste spicy, pungent, hot, and biting. These properties gradually diminish, and 
are ultimately lost by exposure. The virtues of ginger are extracted by water 
and alcohol. Its constituents, according to M. Morin, are a volatile oil; a resin- 
ous matter, soft, acrid, aromatic, and soluble in ether and alcohol; a sub-resin 
insoluble in ether; a little osmazome; gum; starch; a vegeto-animal matter; 
sulphur; acetic acid; acetate of potassa; and lignin. The peculiar flavour of the 
root appears to depend on the volatile oil, its pungency partly on the resinous 
or resino-extractive principle. A considerable quantity of pure white starch may 
be obtained from it. The volatile oil, examined by A. Papousck, was yellow, of 
the odour of ginger, and of a hot aromatic taste. Its sp. gr. was 0-893, and boil- 
ing point 475°. Deprived of water by distillation with anhydrous phosphoric 
acid, it consisted of carbon and hydrogen, with the formula C10H8, and therefore 
belongs to the camphene series. (See Chem. Gaz., Jan. 1,1853, p. 12.) Accord- 
ing to Zeller, one pound of the dried root yields one drachm and seventeen grains 
of volatile oil. {Cent. Platt, 1855, p. 207.) Those pieces of ginger which are very 
fibrous, light and friable, or worm-eaten, should be rejected. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Ginger is a grateful stimulant and carminative, 
and is often given in dyspepsia, flatulent colic, and the feeble state of the ali- 
mentary canal attendant upon atonic gout. It is an excellent addition to bitter 
Infusions and tonic powders, imparting to them an agreeable, warming, and cor- 
dial operation upon the stomach. When chewed it produces much irritation of 
the mouth, and a copious flow of saliva; and, when snuffed up the nostrils, in Zingiber. 
PART I. 
powder, excites violent sneezing. It is sometimes used as a local remedy in re- 
laxation of the uvula, and palsy of the tongue and fauces. Externally it is rube- 
lacient. It may be given in powder or infusion. The dose of the former is from 
ten grains to a scruple or more. The infusion may be prepared by adding half 
an ounce of the powdered or bruised root to a pint of boiling water, and may be 
given in the dose of one or two fluidounces. A fluid extract and oleoresin of 
ginger are now officinal, and very convenient preparations. (See Extractum Zin- 
giberis Fluidum and Oleoresina Zingiberis in Part II.) The dose of the former 
may be from ten to thirty minims, of the latter from two to five minims. There 
is also an officinal tincture, the dose of which is about a fluidrachm. 
Off. Prep. Acidum Sulphuricum Aromaticum; Confectio Scammonii, Br.; Ex- 
tractum Zingiberis Fluidum, U. S.; Infusum Sennae, Br.; Infusum Zingiberis, 
TJ. S.; Oleoresina Zingiberis, U.S.; Pilulae Scillae Compositae; Pulvis Aroma- 
ticus, U. S.; Pulvis Jalapae Comp., Br.; Pulvis Rhei Comp.; Pulvis Scammonii 
Comp., Br.; Tinctura Zingiberis; Yinum Aloes. W. PART II. 
PREPARATIONS. 
The preparation of medicines, which constitutes the art of Pharmacy, comes1 
within the peculiar province of the apothecary. It is for his guidance that the 
various formulas of the Pharmacopoeia have been arranged, and to him that 
their directions are especially addressed.* 
A few general observations, therefore, of an explanatory nature, calculated 
to facilitate the progress of the pharmaceutical student, will not be misplaced 
under the present head. The duty of the apothecary is to obtain a supply oi 
good medicines, to preserve them with care, to prepare them properly for use, 
and to dispense them. Our remarks will embrace each of these points. 
The substances obtained from the mineral and animal kingdoms, and those 
furnished by the chemical manufacturer, are of a nature to admit of no general 
precepts as to their proper condition, which would not be suggested by the com- 
mon sense of the purchaser. He must receive them as offered, and judge of their 
fitness for his purposes by his knowledge of the peculiar properties of each. The 
same remark applies to vegetable substances from abroad; but, with respect to 
indigenous plants, the apothecary is frequently called upon to exercise his judg- 
ment in relation to their collection and desiccation, and will derive advantage 
from some brief practical rules upon the subject. 
Collecting and Drying op Plants. The proper mode of proceeding varies 
according to the nature of the part used. The different parts of plants are to 
be gathered at the period when the peculiar juices of the plant are most abund- 
ant in them. In the roots of annual plants this happens just before the time 
of flowering; in the roots of biennials, after the vegetation of the first year has 
ceased; and in those of perennials, in the autumn after vegetation has ceased, 
or in the spring before it has commenced. They should be washed, and the 
small fibres, unless they are the part employed, should be separated from the 
fleshy solid part, which is to be cut in slices previously to being dried. Bulbs 
are to be gathered after the new bulb is perfected, and before it has begun to 
vegetate, which is at the time the leaves decay. Barks, whether of the root, 
trunk, or branches, should be gathered in the autumn or early in the spring. Tiye 
dead epidermis, and the decayed parts are to be separated. Of some trees, as 
the slippery elm, it is the inner bark only that is preserved. Leaves are to be 
* These preliminary observations to the second part of the work were originally prepared 
by Mr. Daniel B. Smith, then President of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy. They 
have from time to time been considerably modified since their first appearance; but never 
the same extent as in the present edition. The alterations now made are such as the 
fmprovements in Pharmacy have suggested, and were deemed necessary to render the work 
a proper exponent of the present state of knowledge upon the subject. The surviving au- 
thor, while he alone is responsible for all that has been added to or modified in the work 
of Mr. Smith, so far as concerns arrangement and expression, has great satisfaction in ac- 
knowledging his indebtedness, for most valuable aid in the revision, to Professor William 
Procter, of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy.—Note to the twelfth edition. 874 
Collecting and Drying of Plants. 
PART II. 
gathered after their full development, before the fading of the flower. The leaves 
of biennial plants do not attain perfection until the second year. Flowers should 
in general be gathered at the jdrne of expansion, before or immediately after hav- 
ing fully opened; and some, as the Rosa Gallica, while in the bud. Aromatic 
herbs are to be gathered when in flower; leaves, flowers, and herbs, in clear dry 
weather, in the morning, after the dew is exhaled. Stalks and twigs are collected 
in autumn; seeds at the period of full maturity. 
Vegetables should be dried as rapidly as is consistent with their perfect pre- 
servation. Those collected in the warm months, and during dry weather, may, 
except in a few instances, be dried by spontaneous evaporation in a well-venti- 
lated apartment; and some, as roots and barks, may be exposed to the direct 
rays of the sun. In spring and autumn, and especially in damp, foggy, or rainy 
weather, the drying room should be artificially heated, and furnished with aper- 
tures near the top for the escape of the moist warm air, and others beneath in 
the direction of the prevailing wind, so as to command a current of air. The 
arrangements for supplying heat, which may consist of a small stove, or a drum 
connected with a stove in another apartment, should be capable of regulation ; so 
that the temperature may range between 70° and 100° Fahr. at will. The sub- 
stances to be dried should be supported on wicker or tinned wire hurdles, arranged 
horizontally above each other, so that the ascending and lateral currents of air 
may pass over and through every part. Fibrous roots may be dried in the sun, 
or at a heat from 65° to 80° in the drying room. Fleshy roots should be cut 
in transverse slices not exceeding half an inch in length, and, during the drying 
process, should be stirred several times to prevent moulding; the'heat being at 
first maintained at about 100°. Bulbs must have the outer membranes peeled 
olf; in other respects they are to be treated like fleshy roots. Barks, woods, 
and twigs readily dry in thin layers in the open air. Leaves, after separation 
from the stalks, should be loosely strewed over the hurdles, and their position 
changed twice a day till they become dry. When very succulent, they require 
more care in order to prevent discoloration. For dry and thin leaves the heat 
need not exceed 70°; for the succulent it maybe gradually raised to 100°. An- 
nual plants and tops, if not too juicy, may be tied loosely in small bundles, and 
strung on lines stretched across the drying room. Flowers must be dried care- 
fully and rapidly so as to preserve their colour. They should be spread loosely 
on the hurdles, and turned several times by stirring. When flowers or loaves 
owe their virtues to volatile oils, greater care is necessary. Succulent fruits, as 
berries, may be dried, when in bunches, by suspending them in the drying room. 
The following table, taken from the Edinburgh Dispensatory, presents the 
amount yielded by 1000 parts of the vegetables respectively mentioned, after 
being dried. 
Root of Angelica Archangelica 263 
Aspidium Filix Mas 500 
Inula Ilelenium 187 
Valeriana sylvestris 316 
ifhrk of the Oak 410 
Elder 292 
Elm 375 
Twigs of Solanum Dulcamara 308 
Leaves of Atropa Belladonna 140 
Conium maculatum. 185 
Datura Stramonium 110 
Leaves of Digitalis purpurea 180 
Ilyoscyamus niger 135 
Melissa officinalis 220 
Salvia officinalis 220 
Tops of Mentha piperita 2 .5 
Flowers of Anthemis nobilis 338 
Borago officinalis 96 
Lavandula vera 510 
Sambucus Ebulus 256 
Petals of Papaver Rhoeas 84 
Rosa rubra 330 
Preservation of Medicines. The proper preservation of medicines is an 
object of the greatest importance to the apothecary. The apartment destined for 
a store room should be quite dry, and capable of being ventilated at will, and 
protected from vermin. As a general rule, drugs should be excluded from the 
light, and not packed away until thoroughly dry. New parcels should not be PART II. 
Preservation of Medicines.— Weights and Measures. 
875 
put in old receptacles until these have been examined, and freed from dust and 
insects. Barrels and boxes, well fitted with movable covers, are suitable for most 
roots, barks, and woods, and for some herbs, leaves, and seeds. They should be 
painted externally, and are less liable to harbour insects when varnished inside 
with a solution of shellac, imbued with aloes, wormwood, or colocynth. Boots 
and bulbs which are to be preserved fresh, should be buried in dry sand. Aro 
viatic leaves and those containing alkaloids, flowers, most seeds, and some roots 
especially liable to the attacks of insects, should be kept in tin canisters, or in 
light boxes lined with lead, tin, or zinc, or in opaque glass or earthenware ves- 
sels. Double-cased tin Vessels aro admirably adapted to the preservation of 
vegetables. These should be frequently examined in order to prevent deterio- 
ration from insects or moisture. When insects are discovered in a drug, the 
best means of destroying them, according to Lutrand, is to suspend an open vial 
containing chloroform in the canister, which is to be closed securely, so that the 
atmosphere of the vessel may become saturated with the vapour. Cantharides 
and ergot may be thus treated. The presence of a little ether in the bottle has 
often also great effect in preventing the attacks of worms; and bisulphuret of 
carbon has been employed for the same purpose. Bundles of aromatic herbs, 
the leaves of which are very friable, as sage, marjoram, &c., should be wrapped 
loosely in refuse paper, so as to preserve a due proportion between stems, leaves, 
and flowers. Gum-resins, unless in original packages, should be kept in earthen 
jars or tinned boxes ; fixed and volatile oils, in canisters or bottles closely stopped, 
in a cool dark place, where the average temperature is about 60°. Substances 
in the form of feeula should be kept in oak barrels, or in canisters, and carefully 
examined from time to time to detect and remove insects. 
Garbling op Drugs. Drugs frequently require to be garbled before they are 
in a proper state for use. Senna is to be separated from the stalks and legumes; 
cetraria from moss, leaves, and sticks; myrrh from bdellium, &c.; gum Sene-' 
gal from Bassora gum and a terebinthinate resin; fiaxseed from clover and 
garlic seed; seneha from ginseng; spigelia from the stems and leaves, and both 
it and serpentaria from adhering dirt. Seroons of cinchona should be examined, 
and the barks assorted before they are put by for use. Gums and gum-resins 
should be garbled, and the tears preserved separately. 
Weights and Measures. A precise acquaintance with the recognised mea- 
sures of weight and capacity is essential to the operations of the apothecary. 
The weights used by him in compounding medicines, and dispensing them by 
prescription, are the troy pound and its divisions; those by which he buys and 
sells commercially, the avoirdupois pound and its divisions. The former contains 
5760 grains, the latter 7000 grains; so that 11 troy pounds are nearly equivalent 
to 9 pounds avoirdupois. The troy pound contains 12 ounces of 480 grains; the 
avoirdupois pound 16 ounces of grains; eleven of the former being nearly 
equal to twelve of the latter. The troy ounce is divided, for the use of the 
apothecary, into 8 drachms of 60 grains each; and the drachm into 3 scruples of 
20 grains each. The United States Pharmacopoeia recognises the troy weights, 
but employs only the grain and ounce, and, to prevent confusion, designates the 
latter weight by the name of troyounce; and whenever, in this work, any term 
is used expressive of weight, when not otherwise stated, it is to be understood as 
being of the denomination of troy weight. The British Pharmacopoeia employs 
the avoirdupois pound and ounce, and the troy grain. 
The measures used by the apothecary, in this country, are the wine pint and 
gallon. The wine pint contains 28-875 cubic inches. The weight of a pint of 
distilled water, at 62° Fahrenheit and 30 inches of the barometer, is 7289’7 
grains, or 1 pound 3 ounces 1 drachm 29 7 grains troy, or 1 pound 289-7 grains 
avoirdupois. The gallon is divided into 8 pints, the pint into 16 fluidounces, the 
fluidonnce into S fluidrachms, the fluidrachm into 60 minims. The weight of a 876 
Weights and Measures.—Specific Gravity. 
PART II. 
fluidounce of water is 455| grains, being 18 grains more than an avoirdupois 
ounce. A drop is generally though incorrectly considered as equivalent to a 
minim. Drops vary in size according to the nature of the fluid, and the size and 
shape of the lip from which they fall. A drop of water nearly equals a minim. 
A fluidrachm of antimonial wine will make, on an average, about 72 drops, one 
of laudanum 120 drops, one of alcohol 138 drops, one of ether 150 drops, and 
one of chloroform more than 200 drops. For a table showing the relative value 
of minims and drops, see the Appendix. The IT. S. Pharmacopoeia recognises 
the wine measure as here given, but, in its processes, employs only the pint and 
its subdivisions, omitting the use of the gallon altogether. The measures recog- 
nised by the British Pharmacopoeia are the Imperial gallon of 70,000 grains of 
distilled water, or 277 cubic inches, and its divisions. This gallon is divided into 
8 pints of 20 fluidounces each. The fluidounce is divided as that of wine mea- 
sure, but differs from it in value, containing precisely an ounce avoirdupois (437'5 
grains) of distilled water. Measures are employed, both in the U. S. and Br. 
Pharmacopoeias, to express the quantity of liquids in most of their formulas. 
Liquids are to be dispensed from graduated measures, of which those holding 
from a fluidounce to a pint are hollow inverted cones; and those holding a 
fluidrachm, and graduated to every five minims, are cylindrical. For smaller 
quantities than five minims, a slender tube holding a fluidrachm may be used, 
having the aliquot parts divided off, and marked with a diamond. Alsop’s milli- 
meter, which consists of a slender glass syringe graduated into sixty parts, each 
equal to a minim, is the most convenient.and accurate instrument for measuring 
fractions of a fluidrachm. Care should be taken to verify these instruments. 
This may be done by reference* to the table in the Appendix, in which the value 
of each division of measure is given in grains; distilled water at 60° F. being 
the standard. The following approximate measures are* used in prescribing 
medicines; viz., a wineglassful containing two fluidounces, a tablespoonful half 
a fluidounce, a dessertspoonful two fluidrachms, and a teaspoonful a fluidrachm.* 
Specific Gravity. The specific gravity of liquids affords one of the best 
tests of their purity. The instrument commonly used by the apothecary for as- 
certaining this is Baume's hydrometer. This is a glass bulb loaded at one end, 
and drawn out at the other into a tube on which the scale is marked. That used 
for alcohol is graduated by loading it until it sinks to the foot of the stem 
(which is marked zero) in a solution of one part of common salt in nine parts of 
water. It is then put into water, and the place to which it sinks marked 10° 
of the scale, which is constructed from these data. The hydrometer for liquids 
heaver than water is made by loading it, so that in distilled water it shall sink 
nearly to the top of the stem. The place to which it sinks in a solution of 15 
parts of salt in 85 parts of water is then marked 15°, and the scale divided off. 
For a table exhibiting the value of these scales in specific gravities, see the 
Appendix. Hydrometers are made specially for syrups, acids, and saline solu- 
tions. Those for syrups should have a very short tube, graduated from 20° to 
40° of Baume’s scale for heavy liquids. The advantage of a short stem is, that 
the instrument may be used in small vessels, f 
* A patented glass measure is made, in Philadelphia, bj Mr. William Hodgson, Jun., 
which, besides peculiar advantages in its graduation, has the great merit of being always 
uniform, as it is cast in moulds. 
•j- For some interesting observations in reference to the inaccuracy of the existing tables 
of specific gravities corresponding to the several degrees of hydrometer, to the 
uncertainty of the hydrometer in use, and to a mode of remedying these inconveniences, 
the reader is referred to a paper by Mr. Henry Pemberton in the Am. Journ. of Pharm. 
(xxiv. 1); and, for a good and accurate method of graduating hydrometers, tr a commu- 
nication from Dr. W. H. Pile, in the same Journal (xxiv. 310). It may be useful to physi- 
cians practising in the country, and to apothecaries, to know that reliable hydi jmeters ind 
other instruments are kept for sale, at this time (A. D. 1864), by Dr. Pile in Philadelph’a. t’ART II. 
Specific G-ravity.—Mechanical Division. 
877 
The hydrometers commonly imported are so carelessly made that scarcely any 
two will agree, and little dependence can be placed on their accuracy. A more 
certain method consists in weighing the liquid at a uniform temperature in a 
bottle, the capacity of which, in grains of distilled water, has been previously 
ascertained. If a bottle be selected which will hold exactly 1000 grains of water 
at 60°, the weight in grains of the quantity of any liquid which it will hold, will 
be the specific gravity of that liquid. Such bottles are sold in the shops. If 
one is not attainable, an ordinary vial may be used, and the specific gravity ob- 
tained by dividing the weight of the liquid examined by the weight of the water. 
The operation is rendered more accurate by fitting a smooth cork to the vial, 
passing a pin transversely through it so as to rest on the lips of the vial, and 
then cutting a small vertical groove into the side of the cork, so as to admit of 
the escape of the excess of liquid when the cork is inserted. 
Gay-Lussac’s centesimal alcoholmeter is a very useful instrument, being gradu- 
ated so as to indicate the percentage of absolute alcohol in any mixture of pure 
spirit and water; but unfortunately the commercial instruments are too often 
inaccurate. 
The specific gravity of a solid is ascertained by first weighing it in air and 
then in water, and dividing the former weight by the difference between the two. 
If lighter than water, it should be first weighed in the air, then in air and in 
water in connection with a heavier body, which has itself been previously weighed 
in air and in water; and the weight of the lighter body in the air, should be 
divided by the excess of the difference between the weights in air and water of 
the two conjoined, over that of the weights in air and water of the heavier body 
alone. If the body be soluble in water, its relative weight to that of some other 
liquid of known specific gravity should be ascertained, in the manner above 
directed, and this weight multiplied by the specific gravity of that liquid. 
The specific gravity of insoluble powders heavier than water, as calomel, may 
be obtained by introducing 100 grains into a thousand-grain bottle, adding first 
a little distilled water and thoroughly agitating, with the thumb over the orifice, 
so as to rid the solid particles of adherent air, then filling the bottle accurately 
with more of the water, ascertaining the weight of the contents in grains, sub- 
tracting the number of grains, exceeding 1000, from the weight of the powder in 
air, and dividing the latter by the difference. When the powder is soluble, or 
lighter than water, another liquid, as alcohol, ether, or oil of turpentine, may be 
used, the necessary allowance being made for the difference in specific gravity. 
Very accurate thousand-grain bottles are now made in Philadelphia. 
Mechanical Division. One of the simplest methods of preparing medicines 
is their reduction, by mechanical means, to a state of minute division. This is 
effected by the operations of slicing, bruising, rasping, filing, triturating, grind- 
ing, sifting, levigation, and elutriation. When the result is a fine powder, the 
process or processes employed are called pulverization. 
The more important drugs which are sold in the state of powder are pulver- 
ized by persons who pursue that occupation for a livelihood. Owing to the read- 
iness with which fraud can be perpetrated in this operation, the apothecary can- 
not be too careful to place his drugs in honest hands. In sending drugs to the 
powderer a certain percentage of powder is sometimes required, without regard 
to the condition of the drugs, as to moisture, extraneous admixture, &c., which 
percentage often cannot be obtained without the addition of foreign matter. 
This procedure on the part of the druggist is one of the chief sources of dis- 
honesty of the powderer, and is highly reprehensible. The loss of weight during 
■the processes of pulverization is due to the evaporation of moisture, the un- 
avoidable escape of dusty particles, and the useless residue called gruffs. We 
have been informed that it is not customary, with the powderers in this country, 
to reject the less active and less readily pulverizable constituents, as the ligue- 878 
Contusion. 
PART II. 
ous parts of certain roots, but to continue the process till almost the whole will 
pass through the sieve. The following statement has been abbreviated from a 
table prepared by MM. Henry and Guibourt. One thousand parts of the sub- 
stances mentioned yielded, when pulverized— 
Roots. 
Jalap 940 
Rhubarb 920 
Columbo 900 
Liquorice root 900 
Valerian 860 
Elecampane 850 
Gentian 850 
Florentine orris 850 
Rhatany 850 
Calamus 840 
Virginia snakeroot 800 
Ipecacuanha 750 
Squill (bulb) 820 
Barks. 
Cinchona, pale 875 
Cinchona, red 880 
Cinchona, yellow 900 
Cinnamon 890 
Angustura 825 
Leaves. 
Hemlock 800 
Savine 800 
Digitalis 790 
Belladonna 785 
Senna 720 
Henbane 630 
Flowers. 
Chamomile 850 
Saffron 800 
Fruits. 
Mustard 950 
Black pepper 900 
Nux vomica 850 
Colocynth 500 
Vegetable Products. 
Aloes 960 
Tragacanth 940 
Opium 930 
Gum arabic 925 
Scammony 915 
Catechu 900 
Liquorice (extract) 810 
Animal Substances. 
Castor 900 
Spanish flies 850 
Mineral Substances. 
Red oxide of mercury... 980 
Red sulphuret of mer- 
cury 950 
Arsenious acid 950 
Sulphuret of antimony.. 950 
Tin 825 
The apothecary often finds it necessary to pulverize drugs in small quantities. 
For this purpose he should be provided with mortars of iron, brass, Wedgwood 
ware, glass, and marble, sieves of several degrees of fineness, at least one hand- 
mill, one or more cutting knives, a rasp, and a pair of pruning shears. 
Contusion should be performed in an iron or brass mortar, the latter being 
used for astringent substances. The curve of the interior surface of the bottom 
should be elliptical, and that of the pestle should be of the same kind, but of 
shorter radius; so that, when the pestle stands vertically in the mortar, their 
surfaces may approximate pretty closely for some distance around the point of 
actual contact. Powdering by contusion is much facilitated by using a large 
mortar, with the pestle suspended on a spring so as to assist in elevating it. In 
powdering acrid substances, as well as to prevent loss in those that are dusty, 
a leathern cover should be attached to the pestle, and held tightly around the 
edge of the mortar by a circular wooden frame. The operator should guard him- 
self against the fine particles of very acrid substances, like cantharides, euphor- 
bium, &c., by standing with his back to a current of air, and covering his nostrils 
with a wet cloth. He should be careful not to impede the process by introducing 
too large a quantity of the materiel, so as to clog the pestle. After the pestle 
has been in action a certain time, the fine particles accumulate so as to hinder the 
reduction of the coarser. At this point the sieve should be brought into requisi- 
tion. Sieves for powders are constructed 
of woven brass wire, and silk cloth (bolt- 
ing cloth). The best arrangement for the 
apothecary’s use is that known as the box 
or drum sieve, being cylindrical, with $ 
cover above, and a receptacle below for the 
powder. After introducing the contents of 
the mortar, a jerking circular motion should 
be given to the sieve, without much jarring, 
so that none but the finest particles may 
pass. The coarser portion should then be 
returned to the mortar to be again acted 
on. A set of simple sieves, formed by tack- 
ing pieces of woven wire, with meshes varj f-ART II. 
Grmding\—Trituration.—Levigation.—Elutriation. 
879 
ing from the sixtieth to the fourth of an inch, to square wooden frames, should 
be provided to prepare drugs for percolation aud other modes of solution. When 
the quantity of material to be sifted is large, recourse may be advantageously had 
to Harris's patent sieve, which has the merits of the drum sieve, with great fa- 
cility of use. (See Am. Journ. ofPharm., xxv. 31.) A figure of this instrument 
is given in the margin of the preceding page. 
Grinding. The hand-mill is exceedingly useful for the coarse comminution of 
drugs, especially of those which, from their acrimony, may annoy the operator 
in the process of contusion. Swift's drug mill is one of the most useful and 
manageable of the kind. It does not answer well for fibrous drugs like slip- 
pery elm and sarsaparilla, unless sliced transversely in short sections. 
Trituration is the effect produced 
where a circular motion, accompanied 
by pressure, is communicated to the 
pestle; and is applied most generally 
to friable substances, or to powders 
obtained by other means, with a view 
to their further and more regular com- 
minution. The operation is accele- 
rated by alternately increasing and 
diminishing the circular movements, so 
as to bring the pestle in contact with 
all parts of the surface of the mortar. 
Dover’s powder and red oxide of mer- 
cury are instances requiring this opera- 
tion ; and in prescriptions for powders, 
where different substances of variable 
molecular condition are associated, this 
process is employed to bring them to a 
uniform state of division. 
Levigation, or porphyrization as it 
was formerly called, is a kind of trituration effected between the flat surfaces of 
a slab and muller. As the surfaces are equidistant at all parts, a substance, sub- 
jected to their action, has its particles more uniformly divided than between the 
curyed surfaces of a mortar and pestle. It is usual to moisten the powder with wa- 
ter or alcohol (in which it should be insoluble) so as to bring it to a pasty consist- 
ence. The slab and muller are made of glass, porphyry, Wedgwood ware, or marble. 
Elutriation bears the same relation to trituration and levigation that sifting 
does to contusion. It consists in agitating a powder, obtained by those pro- 
cesses, in a large quantity of water, allowing the coarser particles to subside, and 
pouring off the supernatant liquid, holding the finer particles in suspension, that 
they may settle separately. The pasty thick mass, left when the clear liquid is 
decanted, is put into a funnel, and dropped in small portions on a chalk stone 
so as to form small conical masses. The fineness of the powder depends on its 
specific gravity, and on the length of time which elapses before the liquid from 
which it subsides is drawn off. 
Various means are used to facilitate powdering. All vegetable substances 
must be carefully and thoroughly dried. No part of the business of the pow- 
derer requires more carejthan this, especially in relation to substances which 6we 
their activity to volatile principles. The heat derived from steam, regulated 
below 100° for aromatic substances, and below 140° for others not injured 
thereby, is the most appropriate. Resins, gum-resins, and gums must be pow- 
dered in cold frosty weather. Tragacanth and nux vomica must be dried by a 
stove heat, and powdered while hot. The fibrous roots, as liquorice and marsh- 
mallow, should be previously cut into thin transverse slices. Agaric is to be 880 
Separation of Mixed Substances.—Decantation. 
part ii. 
beaten into a paste with water, then dried, and triturated. Cloves and the aro- 
matic seeds may be ground in a hand-mill, and afterwards triturated. Squill 
and colocynth, the comminution of which is sometimes aided by soaking them 
in mucilage of tragacanth and then drying, are best powdered in a dry atmo- 
sphere, after having been thoroughly dried by a stove heat. Camphor requires 
the addition of a few drops of alcohol. The efflorescent salts may be obtained 
in the state of fine powder by exsiccation; and those which are insoluble in 
alcohol may be precipitated by it, in impalpable powder, from their aqueous 
solutions. Vanilla, mace, and other oily aromatic substances, may be rubbed to 
powder with sugar; magnesia and white lead, by friction on a wire sieve. 
Care should be taken, in powdering, to separate previously the inert portions 
and impurities, and to mix intimately the whole of the powder which is reserved 
for use. The central woody fibre of ipecacuanha and of other roots, the virtues 
of which reside in the bark, is to be rejected. The first portions of those barks 
to which lichens and the dead epidermis adhere, are inert; as are also the last 
particles of the fibrous roots and barks. 
Ivory, horn, nux vomica, wood, and iron are prepared for pharmaceutic pur- 
poses by filing and rasping; guaiacum wood and quassia by turning in a lathe; 
roots, stalks, and dried herbaceous plants by cutting with a large pair of shears, 
or with a large knife, fixed in a frame at one end, and furnished with a long 
handle at the other. Tin and zinc are granulated by melting them, and strongly 
agitating while they are cooling; and carbonate of potassa, by stirring with an 
iron rod the concentrated solution as it concretes. Earthy insoluble substances 
are conveniently reduced to powder by levigation. 
Powders, as obtained by levigation, elutriation, precipitation, &c., often re- 
quire to be dried. The process of drying may generally be effected by exposure 
to a dry air, aided or not by a moderate heat; but it is much facilitated by the 
action of absorbent substances, such as bibulous or unsized paper, porous bricks, 
&c. A convenient method is to spread the powder on brick-tiles, covered with 
a double layer of bibulous paper. 
Separation or Mixed, Substances. Various mechanical operations for this 
purpose are resorted to in practical pharmacy. Some of these relate to the sepa- 
ration of solids from liquids, others to that of one liquid from another. 
Separation of Solids from Liquids. This includes the processes of decanta- 
tion, filtration, percolation, straining, expression, clarification, &c. 
Decantation. Solids may be separated from liquids, when there exists no 
chemical action between them, by being allowed to subside. The supernatant 
liquid may then be carefully poured off; or it may be drawn off by a syphon, or 
separated by filtering. The last operation, or expression by a stronger force, is 
necessary to separate the whole of the liquid; but decantation should always 
be employed when appropriate, as much time is thus saved in filtering. 
Jars larger at bottom than at the top, and furnished with a lip for pouring, 
called precipitating jars, are sold in the shops, and are proper for decantation, 
precipitation, and the receiving of filtering liquids. When the decanted liquid 
is the object of the process, and the powder subsides very slowly, the precipita- 
tion may be greatly hastened by the addition of a small quantity of solution of 
gelatin. Decantation by pouring is facilitated by holding vertically against the 
lip a glass rod, which attracts and directs the current, and prevents it from run- 
ning down the sides of the vessel. The syphon is a tube bent like the letter U, 
having one limb longer than the other. When it is filled with liquid, and the 
shorter end is inserted in the fluid to be decanted, a current is established towards 
the longer limb owing to the greater weight of its contents, and continues as 
long as the shorter limb is kept below the surface of the liquid. 
Filtration consists in pouring a mixture of solid and liquid matter on a porous 
surface, called a filter or strainer, which admits of the passage of the fluid only, PART II. 
Filtration. 
881 
and is designed either to clarify the liquid, or to separate the solid from the 
associated liquid by washing and draining. 
Filters or strainers are made of unsized paper, muslin, linen, or woollen cloth, 
charcoal, glass, and sand. The apothecary should be provided with several kinds 
of filtering paper, one of which should be white and free from matter soluble 
in dilute acids, especially oxides of iron. A charcoal filtering paper is now 
made, which serves the double purpose of clarifying and decolorizing liquids. It 
is prepared either by incorporating powdered animal charcoal with the pulp 
out of which the paper is made, or placing it, in the process of manufacture, be- 
tween two layers of the pulp. As the charcoal diminishes the cohesion of the 
paper, a sheet of gauze is inserted in each piece, or in the centre of each piece, 
when used as a filter, in order to give it strength at the apex when folded. {Am. 
Journ. of Pharm., xxx. 586.) Paper filters are plain ox plaited. The plain 
filter is made by folding a square piece of paper twice, so as to bring the four 
corners together, and then separating one of the layers from the other three so 
as to form a hollow cone, which is inserted in a funnel. Such filters are best for 
precipitates; but, when rapid filtration is required, the plaited filter, by present- 
ing a much greater extent of surface, and numerous channels for the descent 
of the liquid, is to be preferred. The paper is folded 
into 82 triangular surfaces, all the points meeting in 
the centre, and the edge presenting a zig-zag outline 
as in the figure. In some cases it may be necessary 
to place a small cone of the same material outside of 
the large one to strengthen it. Paper manufactured 
for filtering should be made in square, instead of ob- 
long sheets, as much waste might be. thus prevented. 
Paper in a circular form, and of various sizes, pre- 
pared expressly for filtering, is now imported from 
France. When the liquid is too viscid to pass readily 
through paper, a cotton or woollen bag of a conical shape may be used. Cotton 
flannel with a thick nap is well suited for syrups. Acids may be filtered through 
a layer of fine siliceous sand, supported in the neck of a glass funnel by pieces 
of glass gradually decreasing in size. M. Boettger, having noticed that pyroxylin 
is attacked only by ethereal liquids, proposes 
to employ it in the filtration of corrosive liquids, 
such as the strong acids, concentrated solution 
of permanganate of potassa, &c. The pyroxy- 
lin is introduced in the form of a plug at the 
neck of the funnel. {Journ. de Pharm., Juin, 
1860, p. 412.) Castor oil, syrups, and oxymels 
may be filtered through coarse paper, made 
entirely of woollen shreds; but the best ma- 
terial for fixed oils is hatter’s felt, in the 
conical form in which it is prepared in the 
making of hats. This may be attached to a 
tin ring, and suspended over a suitable vessel. 
Melted fats, resins, wax, and plasters may be 
strained through muslin stretched over a 
square frame, or a hoop. Hair cloth or wire 
gauze is better suited for plasters than muslin. 
Small sieves of fine bolting cloth serve for 
straining emulsions, decoctions, and infusions; and a temporary strainer of this 
kind may be made by fastening a piece of muslin between the upper and lower 
parts of a common wooden pill box, and then cutting off the ends so as to leave 
die rim only of the box around the muslin. The filtration of viscid substances is 882 
Filtration. 
PART II. 
facilitated by heat. Filtration through bone-black is practised for muddy or dark 
coloured liquids. Much inconvenience is often experienced in the filtration of hot 
saturated saline solutions, by the cooling of the liquid, and consequent crystalliza- 
tion of the salt, in the filter and neck of the funnel. To obviate this, the tin ap- 
paratus represented in the wood cut on the preceding page was contrived by Dr. 
Hare. The vessel is filled with hot water, which is kept at a boiling heat by a spirit 
lamp placed udder the 
cavity having the 
shape of an inverted 
funnel. A glass funnel 
with a filter is placed 
in the other cavity, 
and the liquid passes 
through rapidly. In 
filtering alcoholic so- 
lutions, it is necessary 
to protect the liquid 
from the flame of the 
lamp, and for this pur 
pose the partition un- 
derneath has been added. ISo apothecary should be without this useful appa- 
ratus. The arrangement of Dr. Hare has been simplified by- having a funnel 
with double sides, as in the figure, with a hollow cylindrical projection at the 
lower part, to which a spirit lamp heat may be applied, while the funnel is sup- 
ported on a lamp stand; the space between the sides being filled with water. 
Frames of various sizes for holding funnels and filters will be found useful. The 
wood cut represents the one commonly used. The efflorescence of saline solu- 
tions on the edge of the filtering paper may be prevented by dipping it in melted 
tallow or lard. 
The filtration of liquids which are altered by exposure to the air requires 
much caution. A very simple method of accomplishing it is to insert a slender 
tube of glass into the funnel, long enough to reach below the neck, while the 
upper part is nearly as high as the top of the funnel. The space between the 
tube and the neck must be filled with bits of glass and fine sand so as to form 
a good filtering bed; the liquid is then poured in, and the top of the funnel 
covered with a plate of glass. If this be luted on, and the funnel luted into the 
neck of a bottle, the process will be performed with perfect accuracy. Another 
way of performing this operation, in relation both to liquors altered by the car- 
bonic acid of the air, and to those which are very volatile, as ethereal and 
ammoniacal solutions, consists in covering the funnel with a sheet of tin-foil, 
or moist bladder, and putting a small tube within and against the side of the 
funnel, extending nearly to the top, so as to form a communication between the 
atmosphere of the receptacle and that of the funnel. By such an arrangement 
ordinary filtering through paper can be conducted with perfect success with 
ether or solution of ammonia. The filtration of large quantities of liquids is 
facilitated by having a self-supplying apparatus, so that the level of liquid in 
the filter may be constant. This is effected by inserting a tube, with a bore of 
a quarter of an inch, through the cork of a large bottle containing the liquid to 
be filtered, and supporting the bottle in an inverted position over the filter, as 
at page 896, so that the tube shall dip slightly below the surface of the liquid. 
As this descends, its place is supplied from the bottle above. Another arrange- 
ment, in which a syphon is used, is figured in page 884. 
In filtering in the ordinary method, much embarrassment is often experienced, 
especially with viscid substances, such as fixed oils, in consequence of the col- 
lection of the solid matters at the bottom of the funnel, offering a constantly PART II. 
Filtration upwards.—Expression. 
883 
increasing impediment to the passage of the liquid. This is obviated by filter 
ing upwards. Some years since, Professor Procter contrived an instrument for 
this purpose; and more recently a very ingenious apparatus has been invented 
by Mr. Wm. R. Warner, which combines the advantage of upward filtration, 
with that of applying heat to maintain a due degree 
of fluidity in the liquid filtered; both very desirable 
objects in the filtration of fixed oils. A wood cut is 
given in the margin, copied from that of Mr. War- 
ner, in the American Journal of Pharmacy (Jan. 
1861, p. 13). The instrument consists essentially of 
two cylindrical vessels of tinned iron, one placed on 
the top of the other; the upper one (A) about 22, 
the lower (B) 18 inches in height, and both about 10 
inches in diameter. The two communicate by means 
of a tube (d) proceeding, on the outside, from near 
the bottom of the upper vessel, and entering through 
the side of the under one near the bottom, into a com- 
partment, separated from the upper portion of the 
vessel by a diaphragm formed of hatter’s felt. This 
is secured, at its circumference, between a projecting 
ledge of tinned iron soldered to the sides of the ves- 
sel, and a ring of the same material fastened to it 
by screws. The tube is made in two pieces so as to 
allow the vessels to be separated, and is provided 
with a stop-cock (c) near the top. The lower ves- 
sel has an outlet (/) near the bottom of its upper 
compartment, which is also provided with a stop- 
cock. When the instrument is used, the oil is intro- 
duced into the upper instrument at top, where it is 
furnished with a lid, and the stop-cock of the tube is 
opened, so that the liquid shall pass through the tube 
into the lower compartment of the lower vessel. By 
the pressure of the column of liquid it is thus forced 
upward against the diaphragm of felt, which, being porous, allows its passage 
through into the upper compartment, where the clarified liquid accumulates, and 
whence it may be drawn off through the lower stop-cock. The instrument may 
be placed upon a stove, in order to maintain such a heat as may be deemed ad- 
visable. The filtered liquid should be drawn off occasionally, so as not to inter- 
fere with the passage of additional portions through the felt. 
Expression is required to separate the last portions of tinctures and infusions 
from the dregs. A screw-press is used for this purpose. The substance to be 
pressed is put into a cylinder of strong sheet tin, the sides of which are pierced 
with small holes. This is placed on a square tray of tin having a lip for pour- 
ing. A block of wood, which fits into the cylinder like a piston, is placed on the 
top, and the whole is put under the screw-press, the pressure of which is gradu- 
ally brought to bear upon it. 
This press is to be used for expressing the juices of fresh plants, which, pre- 
viously to being pressed, must be well beaten in a mortar, water being added 
to those which are hard and dry. The juices of succulent fruits, as strawberries, 
raspberries, &c., are most advantageously extracted by filling several strong 
flannel bags about two-thirds full, without bruising them, laying these in a pile 
on a suitable tray, placing a strong block over the whole, and gradually bring- 
ing the press to bear upon them. The expressed oils are obtained by bruising 
the seeds which contain them, and enclosing the bruised mass in strong bags, 
which are placed in a firm hollow frame, and subjected to strong sudden pressure 884 
Clarification.—Precipitation.—Separation of Liquids. 
PART II. 
by driving up a wedge. Expressed oils are clarified from mucilage by boiling 
them with water. 
A small hydraulic press has been constructed, in which oil is used instead of 
water, so as to avoid the breaking of the instrument that might result from the 
freezing of the water in winter. (See Proceed, of the Am. Pharm. Assoc., 1864.) 
The clarification of liquids may be effected by the addition of some coagula- 
ble substance, such as milk or an aqueous solution of ichthyocolla. The white 
of an egg beaten up with water will coagulate with a gentle heat, and clarify any 
liquid with which it is mixed. The vegetable acids will clarify many of the ex- 
pressed juices; and the juice of sour cherries will cause the complete separa- 
tion of the pectin of currant and raspberry juice, so as to fit them for syrups. 
Precipitation is sometimes mechanical, as in the levigating and elutriating 
of chalk, and sometimes chemical, as in the preparation of the precipitated 
carbonate of lime by decomposing chloride of calcium. When a precipitant is 
directed to be added until no further precipitation takes place, the fact may be 
ascertained by taking a drop of the liquid on a glass plate, and trying it with 
the precipitant. The formation of a precipitate is often much assisted by agi- 
tation, or by heat. The separation of the supernatant liquid from the precipitate 
i3 most effectually accomplished by means of a syphon. When the liquid is a 
saline solution, it is necessary to wash the precipitate until the water exhibits no 
trace of the salt. In doing this great care must be taken to select the purest 
and clearest water, and the ultimate drying of the precipitate must be performed 
in a filter, or on a porous stone. 
The apparatus figured in the margin is very con- 
venient for procuring a constant and gentle stream 
of water, in washing precipitates, and in clearing 
crystals of the impurities of their mother-water.’ It 
consists of a syphon having legs of equal length, 
one of which is inserted in an air-tight bottle nearly 
filled with water, and the other dips into the funnel. 
A straight open tube is also inserted in the bottle, 
the lower end of which is about half an inch or an 
inch above the end of the syphon. It is obvious that 
the water will run from the syphon no longer than 
till the water in the funnel is level with the end of the 
straight tube. The same effect maybe produced by using an inverted bottle and 
tube, as figured in page 896. 
Separation of Liquids. Liquids which 
have no chemical affinity, and differ in 
specific gravity, may be separated by 
allowing them to remain at rest in the 
separating funnel represented in the an- 
nexed figure, and then drawing off the 
heavier fluid. Another very convenient 
method of separating fluids is by means 
of the separatory figured in the wood- 
cut in the margin. The last drops of the 
heavier fluid may be drawn off by means 
of this instrument. 
Application of Heat. The most efficient and economical means of obtaining 
heat is a subject of great importance to the pharmaceutist, on account of the 
variety of processes in which it is required. 
With the small furnaces, which are now made of fire-clay, of various patterns 
aud sizes, almost all the operations of the laboratory which require heat can be 
performed. The fuel used is charcoal, although anthracite will bnrn in those of a PART II. 
Application of Heat.—Gras Burners. 
larger size, and is to be preferred where a uniform heat is necessary 
for several hours. The apothecary should be provided with a com- 
plete set of these useful utensils, including one with a dome for 
a reverberatory furnace. By adding a pipe several feet in length 
to this, and urging the fire with a pair of double bellows, the heat 
may be raised to that of an air furnace. A small pipe of sheet 
iron with a cone at the lower end, as in the figure, to fit on the 
furnace, will be found an excellent means of obtaining an intense 
heat in those of the smallest size. For operations on a smaller 
scale, a convenient means of obtaining heat is by alcohol lamps. 
Alcohol burns without smoke or smell, and is on every account, 
except its price, preferable to oil as a fuel. The figures beneath 
represent the usual forms of spirit lamps. The larger one will 
be found very useful in heating spatulas for spreading plas- 
ters. 
Gas burners afford a yet more eligible and economical means 
of applying heat than alcohol lamps. When coal gas is mixed 
with a due proportion of atmospheric air before ignition, it burns 
with a bluish flame, and produces but little if any smoke. The gas burner con- 
sists of a cylinder of sheet or 
tinned iron from 2 to 4 inches 
in diameter, and 6 or 8 inches 
long, open at the inferior end, 
while the upper end, which is 
slightly flared, is covered with 
a piece of number 40 or 50 
brass wire-gauze, fastened on 
with wire. This burner is sup- 
ported vertically over an ordinary gas jet in any convenient position, and the 
gas, on being allowed to issue into it, rises from 
its superior levity, mixes with the air, and is 
ignited by rrieans of a taper above the gauze. 
The heat can be managed by regulating the 
flow of gas, and by using burners of differ- 
ent sizes. The left of the two figures in the 
margin exhibits this arrangement. That on 
the right, in which a tube conveying gas (a) 
enters the cylinder horizontally while the air 
passes in at b below, is an arrangement sug- 
gested by Dr. Bridges, and may be adapted to 
the common bat-wing or fish-tail gas burner. 
Bunsen’s gas burner, with Griffin’s modi- 
fications, is a very convenient instrument, now 
much used. The simple burner consists of a 
tube (b. fig. 1.), screwed into the top of a 
metallic stand (a. fig. 1.), containing a small chamber, which is provided with 
four lateral openings for the admission of air. Beneath these 
openings a gas tube enters the chamber, ending in a small jet 
tube in its axis, so that the gas is made to mix thoroughly 
with the atmospheric air entering through the orifices, before 
it reaches the mouth of the burner, thus ensuring a more thor- 
ough combustion and a stronger heat. One of the modifi- 
cations of the simple burner is a cap of brass, shaped like a 
truncated cone (c. fig. 1.), with four lateral perforations, which 
fits around the chamber (a), and rotates about it, so.as to close 
Fig. 1. 886 
Gras Burners. 
PART II. 
or open its orifices at will, and thus regulate the flame. Another modification 
is a cylindrical cap of brass, to be fitted to the top of the tube, perforated with 
numerous small holes at its circumference, and having at the top either a few 
small holes (d. fig. 1.), or one large opening in the centre, furnished with a slid- 
ing valve by which it may be opened or closed at pleasure (b. fig. 2.). The 
burner is represented in action by fig. 2; at b, with the flame issuing from the 
central opening at the top, and at a with this opening closed, and the burning 
gas escaping at the lateral orifices; the former being adapted to produce a con- 
centrated heat, as for igniting crucibles, the latter for a more diffused heat, as in 
Fig. 2. 
Fig. 3. 
Fig. 4. 
evaporation. Fig. 3 represents the burner surrounded by a sheet-iron cylinder, 
supported on three legs, and provided at top with three short arms, for the sup- 
port of the vessel to be heated. Within this is a cylinder of fire-clay, which serves 
to confine the heat. The whole forms a small furnace, a section of which is ex- 
hibited in fig. 4, in which the position of the burner is shown within the cylinder. 
(See Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 1862, p. 46.)* 
Warren’s laboratory safety lamp is another instrument meriting a brief no- 
tice. It is intended to protect from danger of 
fire, in distilling ether and other inflammable 
liquids. It consists of a truncated cone of sheet 
iron, 6 inches in diameter at bottom by 4 at top, 
and 5’5 inches high, with a top and bottom of 
No. 50 brass wire-gauze, held in place by mov- 
able brass rings, as at a a. An opening (b) in 
the side, which may be closed with a cork, 
serves for applying a match. Another open- 
ing (c) admits the entrance of a piece of gas 
pipe, which then forms a horizontal ring in the 
centre of the instrument, 3 5 inches below the 
upper gauze. This is provided on the upper 
surface with small holes for the escape of gas. 
When'used as a safety lamp, the gas is to be 
lighted within, and the flame will be confined by 
the gauze; when for ordinary purposes, the gas may be lighted above the upper 
gauze. The air for combustion is supplied through the lower gauze. The notched 
rod at the side is for the support of retorts, tubes, &c. (See Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., May, 1862, p. 218.) 
For supporting the substance to be heated, iron tripods, of various heights 
* We are informed that these furnaces have been made for sale by Messr° BcJlock & 
Crenshaw, Philadelphia. PART II. 
Evaporation. 
887 
and sizes, must be provided. These should be 
furnished with sets of concentric rings, as in the 
figure, for vessels of different sizes. A very con- 
venient support is the stand and ring figured in 
the wood-cut, which will answer for a spirit 
lamp, or for a small fur- 
nace made from a black 
lead crucible, as in the 
figure. 
The temperature re- 
quired for fusion in phar- 
maceutic processes sel- 
dom exceeds a red heat; 
and the vessels used are 
crucibles of silver, pla- 
tinum, porcelain, Wedg- 
wood ware, black lead, 
and fire-clay (Hessian 
crucibles). Silver is used for the fusion of potassa, porcelain for nitrate of silver, 
and black lead and Hessian crucibles for the metals, glass of antimony, snlphuret 
of potassium, and the ordinary operations which require a great heat. They are 
severally liable to objections; silver fuses too readily; platinum is very costly; 
porcelain and Wedgwood ware do not bear sudden changes of temperature; black 
lead, which bears these changes, is destroyed by saline substances, and burns in a 
current of air; and the Hessian crucibles are so porous as to absorb and waste 
much of the fused substance. The crucible should be covered with a lid or an 
inverted crucible, and should be supported at a little distance from the bottom 
of the grate, and surrounded and covered with ignited coals. 
Liquefaction is performed in open earthen, copper, or iron vessels, and care 
must be taken not to raise the heat so as to char or inflame the substance. 
A sand-bath is an indispensable part of the pharmaceutic apparatus. It is 
usually an iron pot, or a shallow vessel of sheet iron, capable of holding sand to 
tne depth of four or six inches. It serves to regulate the action of the heat on 
vessels which do not bear a rapid change of temperature. It is sometimes heated 
to a red heat, as in preparing the mineral acids, though more frequently used 
for the evaporation of saline solutions and vegetable juices. 
Evaporation is one of the most important operations of the pharmaceutical 
laboratory, and on its proper management depends the value of a large number 
of preparations. The readiness with which organic matter is modified by direct 
heat, has caused the invention of various means and apparatus to effect evapo- 
ration under the most favourable circumstances, as the water-bath, steam bath, 
solution bath, vacuum pans, &c. 
The water-bath is to be used in all cases where a heat above that of boiling 
water would be injurious. A convenient one consists of two copper vessels, the 
upper one of which is well tinned. It is still more convenient to have the water- 
bath constructed as a hollow vessel, with one opening 
at the top for the escape of steam and for the intro- 
duction of the water, as in the figure. By inserting 
a cork in the aperture, the contents of the inner ves- 
sel may be poured out, as from a dish, without spill- 
ing the water. It may be made of tinned iron, or 
preferably of tinned copper. Where a temperature 
above that of boiling water, and not exceeding 228° 
is required, the water-bath may be filled with a satu- 
rated solution of common salt, sulphate of soda, or chloride of calcium, the last- 
mentioned salt permitting a heat as high as 240° when desired. Distillation. 
PART II. 
Steam baths are by far the most useful and easily regulated of the arrange- 
ments for indirect heating. When steam heat is applied in a double-sided vessel 
like the water-bath, this is called a steam jacket, and must have two openings, 
one for the ingress of the steam, the other for the exit of the air, and for drawing 
off the condensed water. When the steam jacket is strongly made, a heat of 300° 
may be readily commanded. A more economical and easily applied arrangement 
consists in placing a coil of tube in the vessel containing the liquid to be evapo- 
rated, and causing a strong current of steam to circulate through it. For further 
remarks on apparatus for evaporation, including the vacuum pan, see Extracts. 
The apothecary should be provided with a set of evaporating vessels, of porce- 
lain, glazed iron, tinned iron, and copper. For metallic solutions vessels of Ber- 
lin porcelain are the most useful. In most cases of surface evaporation, where 
the product is uncrystallizable, the process should be hastened by stirring. 
Distillation consists in vaporizing a liquid in one vessel, and conducting the 
vapour into another vessel, where it is condensed and collected. The process is 
used for separating a liquid from solid substances which it may hold in solution, 
or with which it may be mixed; for separating a more volatile liquid, as ether 
and alcohol, from one less so ; for impregnating a liquid with the volatile prin- 
ciples of plants to the exclusion of other principles, as in the preparation of 
aromatic spirits and waters; and for separating, by means of aqueous vapour, 
the essential oils and volatile proximate principles of the vegetable kingdom. 
When, in the last two operations, the distillation is repeated with the. same liquid 
and a fresh quantity of the plant, the operation is called cohobation. The pro- 
cess for separating one liquid from another is termed rectification. Distillation 
is also used for obtaining the volatile products which result from the decompo- 
sition by heat of substances of animal or vegetable origin. The oils which are 
obtained in this manner are called empyreumatic oils. Sometimes the result is 
an acid, as the succinic acid, and sometimes a volatile alkali, as in the destructive 
distillation of animal substances. Alcohol is very often employed as a mere agent 
in pharmaceutic processes, and, after it has performed its office in the process, 
may either be thrown away with the refuse liquids, or separated and preserved 
by distillation. The low price of alcohol in this country had until recently ren- 
dered the former proceeding the more expedient of the two; but alcohol is now 
so much enhanced in price that the apothecary will generally find his account 
in saving it by distillation. 
The common still and worm, the vessels in general use for distillation, are 
too well known to need description. A convenient still or alembic for small 
operations, which may be heated by a spirit lamp, is figured in the wood cut 
The top of the head is kept filled with cold water; and all escape of vapour is 
prevented by having an inner ledge to the still, and filling the space in which 
the head fits with water. The condensation of all the vapour is secured by 
adapting a worm, or a long tube to the apparatus. The boiler of this still may 
hold one or two gallons, and it will be found a very use- 
ful means of recovering the alcohol, in making alco- 
holic extracts. It may easily be converted into a water- 
bath, by fitting on the top of the boiler a vessel of 
convenient form. These stills are easily adapted to the 
common cylindrical anthracite stoves, used for heating, 
by means of a sheet-iron collar, through which the 
boiler of the still is made to pass, and on which it is 
supported. 
When the common glass retort and receiver are used 
for the distillation of liquids, care should be taken not 
to apply the luting until the atmospheric air is expelled, 
unless the receiver has a tubulure for its escape. The PART II. 
Distillation. 
889 
chief objects to be aimed at are to keep the body of the retort hot, and the neck 
and receiver cool. A hood of pasteboard or tin, as represented in the figure 
will much facilitate the former; and the latter 
will be gained by keeping the neck and receiver 
wrapped in wet cloths, on which a stream of 
cold water is kept running. This may be con- 
veniently done by means of a syphon, made by 
dipping one end of a strip of cotton or woollen 
cloth in a vessel of water, and allowing the 
other end to hang down upon cloths bound 
loosely around the receiver and the neck of the re 
tort. The apparatus figured in the margin is one 
of the best for the condensation of ethereal vapour, 
as in regaining the ether in the process for making 
ethereal extracts. It consists of a close, hollow, 
cylindrical tin vessel, having a large neck above for 
the insertion of the neck of a retort or a tube; and 
a small tube below for the escape of the condensed 
ether. This vessel sits in a large one open at top, 
which is kept filled with cold water, constantly re- 
newed by a tube descending to the bottom. 
Liebig's distillatory apparatus, commonly so 
called, but originally invented, we believe, by the 
elder Weitzel, of Stockholm, is very convenient for 
performing the process of distillation on a small scale. Its peculiarity consists 
mainly in the refrigeratory for condensing the vapour. Below is a figure of the 
instrument, which, with the description, is copied from the last edition of the 
Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia. 
“ In all operations, except where inorganic acids are to be distilled, it is 
greatly preferable to use a globular matrass (a), to which is fitted with a cork a 
tube (be), cut obliquely at its lower end (b), curved above at a somewhat acute 
angle, and fitted at the other end to a refrigeratory. This refrigeratory con- 
sists of a long narrow cylinder (df) slightly inclined to the horizon, and of a 
tube (ce) which passes along the centre of the cylinder, and is fixed at each end, 
so that the space between them is air-tight; and by means of a funnel (gh) en- 
tering at the lower end of this interspace, and an exit tube (di) from its upper 
extremity, a stream of cold water may be kept constantly running, by which re- 
frigeration, and the condensation of vapours within the inner tube are far more 
effectually accomplished than by any other mode that has hitherto been devised.” 
The object of the oblique ending of the tube at b, is to prevent any of the fluid 
which may be driven against it, during the ebullition, from passing along the 
tube. The inner tube of the refrigeratory should be made of glass or block-tin, 890 
Distillation, 
PART II. 
the outer may consist of glass, brass, copper, or common tinned iron. The end c 
of the central tube is either straight, or curved downward so that it may be in- 
serted into a bottle, when the liquid distilled is very volatile. By connecting the 
funnel with a cistern by means of a syphon, and allowing the water to flow out 
from the bent tube (di) into a bucket or sink, the distillation may be allowed to 
go on for a long time without supervision. Dr. Christison states that a refrige- 
ratory, with the outer tube a foot long, and an inch and a quarter in diameter, 
will be sufficient to condense the whole vapour from a matrass, holding two pints 
of alcohol briskly boiling. 
Warner's condenser. This is a convenient instrument in the distillation of 
alcoholic liquids, invented by Mr. W. R. Warner, and figured in the American 
Journal of Pharmacy for January, 1861 (p. 15). It consists of an oblong rectan- 
gular box of tinned iron, with a broad open- 
ing (/') at top, for the admission of the re- 
frigerating liquid, and a smaller one (e) near 
the top for its escape. A diaphragm is 
placed in the vessel near the top obliquely 
across, so that one of the four angles is 
lowest. From this angle, communicating 
with the small compartment above, a tube 
proceeds downward to near the bottom of 
the vessel; and a little below its orifice an- 
other diaphragm is placed, but not com- 
pletely across like the first. Connected with 
the edge of the lower diaphragm is a series 
of partial ones, oblique like the others, pro- 
ceeding upward, and so connected as to 
divide the vessel into two equal parts, lear- 
ing a small space between the edges of the 
partitions on each side and the sides of the 
vessel, and a space also between the upper- 
most of the partial partitions and the com- 
plete diaphragm near the top. Into this 
space a tube (e) is inserted near the top of the instrument. The vapour admitted 
through a large opening (c) in the upper part of one side of the vessel, enters 
into one of the compartments, while cold water poured in through the opening 
at top fills the other compartment, and escapes through the tube (e) near the sum- 
mit. The vapour being compelled, by partial septa, to follow the course of the 
oblique partitions, along a circuitous route (a b), in which it is brought into 
contact with a large extent of refrigerated surface, is condensed, and passes out 
at the spout near the bottom.* 
When certain liquids are boiled in glass vessels, sudden jars or succussions are 
apt to occur, which are often inconvenient, and sometimes interrupt the process. 
These may be obviated by giving a metallic coating to the lower portion of the 
interior surface of the vessel. Mr. Redwood recommends for this purpose the 
process of Drayton. He introduces into the flask or retort as much ammoniacal 
solution of silver as may cover the part to be coated, precipitates the silver by 
the addition of essential oils, and afterwards thoroughly cleanses the vessel by 
boiling in it successive portions of alcohol, until the silver becomes perfectly 
bright, and all smell of the oil is removed. A coating of platinum may also be 
obtained, though less perfect, by precipitating a solution of the bichloride of that 
* Two new stills for pharmaceutical purposes, one by Prof. Wm. Procter, Jr., the other 
by Mr. Thos. S. Wiegand, of Philadelphia, are described and figured in the Proceedings <f 
the American Pharmaceutical Association, A. 1). 1863, pp. 207 and 210, both of which ncrit the 
attention of pharmaceutists.—Note to the twelfth edition. PART II. 
Sublimation.—Lutes. 
891 
metal by formic acid, and afterwards boiling. (See Am. Journ. ofPharm., xx. 
333.) These succussions are moderated and sometimes prevented by putting in 
the retort a number of small angular fragments of glass or quartz crystal. Ac- 
cording to Dr. Gr. C. Wittstein, all that is necessary to prevent them is to have 
some conductor which may convey the heat from the bottom of the fluid to the 
surface. A glass rod will generally answer the purpose, but for liquids of a high 
boiling point, as sulphuric acid, a platinum wire of the thickness of a knitting- 
needle is preferable. 
When the object of distillation is to preserve the residuum, and this is liable 
to injury from heat, as is the case with vegetable extracts, the operation is best 
performed in vacuo. For this purpose the still and recipient are made so as to 
form an air-tight apparatus, and the latter is furnished with a stop-cock, which 
is kept open until the whole of the atmospheric air is expelled by the vapour. 
It is then closed, and a vacuum formed and maintained in the recipient by sur- 
rounding it with cold water. The distillation is carried on in this manner at a 
much lower temperature than under ordinary circumstances; and the heat may 
be applied by a water or steam bath, with greater certainty of obtaining an unin- 
jured product. For a more extended account of vacuum apparatus, see Extracts: 
Sublimation. The vapours of some volatile solids have the property of con- 
densing into the solid form, either in mass, or in a state of minute division. The 
operation in which this occurs is called sublimation. When the product is com- 
pact it is called a sublimate, when slightly cohering it is called flowers. The 
operation is generally performed in a sand-bath; and the apparatus consists of 
two vessels fitting each other, one being inverted over the other. The shape, 
size, material, and depth of the vessel, and the degree of heat to be applied are 
regulated by the nature of the substance operated on. For the details of this 
process, see the articles corrosive sublimate, camphor, and benzoic acid. 
Lutes. The most precious material for the chemist is glass, the transparency, 
insolubility, and hardness of which fit it for almost every purpose. It is often 
necessary to strengthen it by means of lutes, which will bear a heat at which 
glass would soften; and the application of lutes for this purpose, and for secur- 
ing the junctures of tubes and vessels, is an important part of the pharmaceutic 
art. Those lutes which are required for coating vessels exposed to a great heat 
are made of Stourbridge clay. The clay is made into a paste with water, mixed 
with chopped straw or cut hemp, and successive coats applied as they become 
dry. Dr. Hare recommends the fine wood-like turnings of iron, for this purpose, 
instead of chopped straw. Earthenware vessels may be rendered impervious to 
air or vapours by brushing over them a thin paste, made of slaked lime, and a 
solution of borax containing an ounce to the half pint. This is allowed to dry, 
and the vessel is then coated with slaked lime and linseed oil, beaten till the 
mixture becomes plastic. Earthenware retorts, thus coated, may be safely used 
more than once, the coating being renewed every time. 
Fat lute is applied to the joinings of apparatus to prevent the escape of cor- 
rosive vapours. It is made like glaziers’ putty, pipe-clay being substituted for 
whiting. It will bear a considerable heat, and great care must be taken that the 
part where it is applied is perfectly dry. If it be exposed to heat, slips of moist- 
ened bladder must be wrapped around it, and secured with twine. 
Homan cement and plaster of Paris may be applied in the same manner as 
fire-clay. When used for securing the joinings of apparatus, a coating of oil or 
wax will render them air-tight. 
A very useful lute is formed by beating the white of an egg thoroughly with 
an equal quantity of water, and mixing it with some slaked lime in the state of 
fine powder so as to form a thin paste. This must be spread immediately on 
strips of muslin, and applied to the cracks or joinings intended to be luted. 
It soon hardens, adheres strongly, and will bear a heat approaching to redness 892 
Lutes.—Chemical Operations.—Solution. 
part ii. 
without injury. A leak in this lute is readily stopped by the application of a 
fresh portion, Solution of glue, or any liquid albuminous matter, may be used 
in the place of the white of eggs. 
An excellent cement for surfaces of iron consists of one part of sulphur, two 
of sal ammoniac, and eighty of iron filings, mixed together and slightly moist- 
ened. It is rammed or caulked into the joints, and solidifies perfectly in time. 
White lead ground in oil is an excellent cement for broken glass. Spread 
upon linen, it forms a good coating for a cracked surface, but dries slowly. 
Strips of bladder macerated in water adhere well to glass, and are very useful. 
A mixture of whiting and paste or gum water, spread upon strips of paper, 
forms an excellent luting for joinings not exposed to acrid vapours or great heat. 
A useful lute is formed by spreading a solution of glue ori strips of cloth, and 
coating them, after they are applied, with drying oil. 
Linseed meal, beaten into a uniform mass with milk, lime-water, rye paste, or 
thin glue, and applied in thick masses, adheres well, and when dry will resist 
most vapours. 
Cap cement is made of six parts of rosin, one part of yellow wax, and one of 
Venetian red. It is a very useful cement for fastening metals or wood to glass, 
and for rendering joints impervious to water. Soft cement is used for the same 
purposes, and is made of yellow wax, melted with half its weight of turpentine, 
and coloured with a little Venetian red. It is very useful for rendering the stop- 
pers of bottles perfectly air-tight. 
A cement of which gutta percha forms a part has been very highly recom- 
mended by Edmund Davy. It is made by melting together, in an iron pan, two 
parts of common pitch and one of gutta percha, stirring them well together until 
thoroughly incorporated, and then pouring the liquid into cold water. When 
cold it is black, solid, and elastic; but it softens with heat, and at 100° is a thin 
fluid. It may be used as a soft paste, or in the liquid state, and answers an ex- 
cellent purpose in cementing metal, glass, porcelain, ivory, &c. It may be used 
even for glazing windows. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxix. 457.) 
French cement is made by gradually adding finely powdered slaked lime to 
caoutchouc, perfectly melted over a fire in a covered iron pot, stirring constantly, 
until the mixture is so thick that, removed from the fire, well beaten in a mor- 
tar, and moulded in the hands, it shall have the consistence of putty. It answers 
well for cementing glass. (Ibid., July, 1864, p. 374.) 
Caoutchouc, dissolved in heated copal varnish, is said to make a good water- 
proof glue, for cementing wood and leather. 
Casein, dissolved in a cold saturated solution of borax or of silicate of soda, 
is recommended by Dr. Wagner as a cement, answering the purpose of strong 
glue in many instances. 
Chemical Operations. Some of the chemical processes, conducted by the 
apothecary, have been explained in the former part of this Introduction. It re- 
mains to notice others in constant or frequent use. 
Solution. The act of solution, in which solid substances assume the fluid state 
through the agency of liquids, is one of the most important operations of prac- 
tical pharmacy. The process has received a variety of names, according to the 
mode of applying the menstruum and the degree of heat employed; as macera- 
tion, infusion, digestion, decoction, displacement or percolation, and circula- 
tory displacement * 
Two classes of substances are the subjects of solution; those which dissolve 
entirely in the menstruum, as salts, gum, &c., and those which consist of soluble 
* The attention of physicians and apothecaries is called to Storer's Dictionary of Solu 
bilities, recently published in Cambridge, Mass., in which useful information on the solu 
bility of different substances may often be found, which might not be readily obtainei 
elsewhere.—Note to the twelfth edition. PART II. 
Solution.—Infusion.—Decoction.—Lixiviation. 
893 
and insoluble matter, as roots, leaves, barks, &c. The former yield simple solu- 
tions; the latter infusions, decoctions, tinctures, wines, &c. Solution is some- 
times accompanied by chemical reaction, as when metals are dissolved in acid 
liquids. Mechanical division facilitates solution by increasing the extent of 
surface. Heat as a general rule favours solubility. All aqueous solutions of solid 
bodies are denser than water. A solution is said to be saturated when the dis- 
solved substance ceases to be taken up at common temperatures. A saturated 
solution of one salt will dissolve other salts, a fact taken advantage of in puri- 
fying nitre, and other saline bodies in powder, by percolating them with their 
own saturated solutions. Rapid solution, when unaccompanied by chemical re- 
action, causes a reduction of temperature; hence, in such cases, where dense 
solutions are required, heat should be employed to counteract that effect. In 
dissolving a substance wholly soluble in the amount of liquid used, a convenient 
method is to powder it in a mortar, add the liquid in portions, and decant until 
the whole is dissolved. Capsules and flasks are the most suitable vessels for per- 
forming solution when heat is necessary. If the solid softens before dissolving, 
as in the case of the extracts, a capsule should be used, with constant stirring. 
When effervescence occurs, a flask should be used inclined to one side to avoid 
loss; or, if the capsule be employed, an inverted funnel should be placed over it. 
When the quantity of a substance is large, and time permits, the process called 
circulatory displacement is preferable, especially in making saline solutions. 
This is performed by suspending the salt, enclosed in a piece of gauze or other 
porous tissue, near the surface of the liquid. The solution proceeds rapidly; as 
the liquid in contact with the salt, by becoming saturated and heavier, descends 
to give place to less saturated portions, so as to cause a kind of circulation of 
the solvent. This process is applied to the arts, and has been suggested in 
making infusions and tinctures. 
Infusion is the subjecting of a substance containing soluble principles to the 
action of a menstruum, which is usually water. Hot infusions are made by 
pouring boiling water on the substance, and allowing it to remain in a covered 
vessel till cold. Cold infusions are made with cold water, and require several 
hours to attain their full strength. Maceration is the term employed to denote 
the action of liquids upon medicines, when allowed to remain upon them for 
some time, at a heat from 60° to 90°. Digestion is the name given to the same 
operation, when conducted at a temperature between 90° and 100°. This process 
is sometimes effected at higher temperatures; but the heat is uniform during 
the operation, and always below the boiling point of the liquid. It is commonly 
performed in glass bottles or flasks, and a common fire or stove heat is employed. 
When digestion is performed with alcohol and ether at temperatures near their 
boiling points, the vessel should be connected with a refrigerated worm, or 
other condenser, to save the vaporized portion. Soubeiran places the worm 
above the digesting vessel, so that the condensed liquid runs back at once into 
the vessel. 
Decoction, or boiling, is much employed in extracting the virtues of plants; 
but it is often disadvantageous, as most of the proximate principles of vegetables 
are altered by it, especially when long continued. When it is practised, the 
ebullition should generally be continued for a few minutes only, and the liquid 
be allowed to cool slowly in a close vessel. For further remarks on infusions 
and decoctions, see the preliminary notices to these classes of preparations. 
Lixiviation is a process used to separate a soluble from a porous insoluble 
body. It consists in placing the substance to be lixiviated in a vessel, the bot- 
tom of which is covered with straw, sand, &c., pouring water upon it, allowing 
die water to remain until saturated, and then drawing it off through an opening 
at the bottom of the vessel. It is found that, if fresh water is poured on without 
disturbing the mixture in the vessel, it does not mix with the liquid already 894 
Percolation. 
PART II. 
there, bat percolates the solid particles, driving the saturated liquid before it; 
so that, for example in lixiviating wood ashes, if a gallon of water has been 
poured on the ashes, and allowed to become saturated with the alkali, we shall 
obtain, by this mode of proceeding, a gallon of strong ley, and immediately 
thereafter the water will become almost tasteless. This fact has been applied to 
the service of the pharmaceutist, and has led to some valuable improvements in 
the mode of extracting the medicinal qualities of plants. 
Percolation. This is the process of lixiviation, applied to pharmaceutical 
processes, under certain conditions and with certain objects which give it a 
somewhat distinctive character. It was first introduced into notice by the Messrs. 
Boullay, of Paris, in the year 1833, and, though received at first with some hesi- 
tation, has now come into almost universal adoption, and is officinally recognised 
as an important agency both in the U. S. and British Pharmacopoeias. The prin- 
ciple of the process is, that a permeable powder, consisting partly of soluble, and 
partly of insoluble substances, when submitted, in a cylindrical or conical instru- 
ment, open at top and partially closed by a porous material at bottom, to the 
action of a menstruum poured upon it, yields its soluble parts to the liquid, which, 
in its descent by its own gravity or by pressure from the liquid above, becomes 
more or less saturated, and in this state escapes beneath, without mingling in its 
passage through the powder, or but in a slight degree, with the liquid pressing 
upon it from above. If the menstruum be supposed to be in layers in the pow- 
der, the lower layers are pressed downward or displaced by the upper with little 
admixture, so that they severally escape from the instrument with the degree of 
concentration acquired in their passage; and each successive layer is less and 
less impregnated, until the powder is at length exhausted, and the liquid last 
added passes in the state in which it enters. Now what is true of one liquid is 
true of different liquids; and if a particular liquid be first added, and then fol- 
lowed by a second, the two do not mingle, and the latter takes from the former 
little or nothing of what it may have dissolved. Thus, if alcohol or ether be first 
introduced, and then followed by water, the alcoholic or ethereal solution formed 
may all be displaced by the water, without being to any considerable extent 
diluted with it. The idea was at one time entertained, that there was absolutely 
no intermixture or next to none; but experience has shown that this was not 
exactly true, and that there is in fact a slight mixture of the successive and con- 
tiguous layers. 
A little reflection will show, what abundant trial has proved, that this method 
has advantages, in various ways, over that of simple mixture of the solid and 
liquid, however this may be aided by other agencies, as by agitation, heat, and 
expression. In the first place, the particles of the menstruum are brought more 
thoroughly into contact with those to be acted on, and each successive layer of 
the liquid comes into contact with the solid with a higher solvent power than 
that which it has displaced; so that the powder is both more rapidly and more 
thoroughly exhausted. In the second place, as the liquid which first passes is 
saturated or nearly so before it escapes, highly concentrated solutions may be 
obtained with great facility; and, each successive portion being less and less satu- 
rated, it is possible in this way to separate the stronger from the feebler portions, 
which is sometimes an object of great practical importance. Thirdly, the last 
particle of dissolved matter may be obtained by displacing the liquid by another 
menstruum or an additional portion of the same, and great waste thus avoided; 
and though the same object may be accomplished to a great extent by expression, 
the method of displacement is both more thorough and convenient. Fourthly, 
by the employment of a cheaper menstruum as the displacing agent, considerable 
loss may be saved, in obtaining solutions in which the menstruum is very costly. 
A single example will serve to show the value of this process. The Messrs. 
Boullay, by subjecting four ounces of bruised cinchona to percolation with half PART II. 
Percolation. 
895 
a pint of water, and then adding four half pints in succession, obtained the fol- 
lowing results. 
1st half-pint yielded 3 drs. 48 grs. dry extract. 
2d do. “ 1 dr. 5 grs. do. 
3d do. “ 15 grs. do. 
4th do. “ 9 grs. do. 
5th do. “ 1 grs. do. 
The figure in the margin represents 
Boullay's filter, or percolator. It con- 
sists of a long tin vessel, nearly cylin- 
drical, but narrower at the lower end, 
which has a funnel shaped termination, 
for the purpose of being inserted in 
the neck of a bottle. A metallic plate, 
or diaphragm, pierced with holes, like 
a colander, and having a handle in the 
centre, fits accurately in the lower part 
of the cylinder; and upon this is to be 
placed, when the instrument is used, 
a thin layer of carded cotton, tow, or 
a piece of cotton flannel. Another 
similarly pierced plate is to be pro- 
vided, to place upon the top of the powder after it has been introduced into the 
percolator. A stop-cock at the lower end of the instrument, as represented in 
the second figure, will be convenient for regulating the discharge of the liquid. 
Cylinders 14 inches long by in width at 
the base, 14 inches by 4, and 17 by 6, are con- 
venient sizes for ordinary use. Queensware 
percolators are now to be procured from the 
druggists, and are useful for acid or astringent 
solutions. In a large proportion of the cases 
of percolation, small vessels only are required. 
The common glass cones used as lamp glasses, 
figured in the margin, when inverted, with a 
piece of close canvas or flannel tied over the 
smaller end, form convenient percolators; and 
their transparency enables the operator to 
assure himself that the powder is properly 
stratified before adding the menstruum. A tin 
percolator, formed with a double rim, into 
which the rim of the lid is inserted (the inter- 
stice being filled with water so as to make an 
air-tight juncture), and furnished with an open 
vertical tube, extending from the top through 
the diaphragm below, is employed when vola- 
tile liquids, as ether, alcohol, and spirit of am- 
monia, are used as menstrua. It is figured in 
the margin. When it is wished to operate upon a very fine powder, it may be 
found advisable to increase the height of the column of liquid by making the top 
of the cylinder air tight, and inserting a tin tube several feet long, which must be 
kept filled with the liquid. All the substantial advantages, however, of this 
method may be obtained without pressure. For operating on very small quan- 
tities of a substance, an adapter or the neck of a broken retort may be used, by 
loosely stopping the lower and smaller end with a piece of cotton. 
Soubeiran has adapted to Boullay’s filter a receiver of tin. from which the 896 
Percolation. 
PART II. 
filtered liquor may be drawn off 
by a stop-cock at the most de- 
pendent part. An apparatus of 
this kind is represented in the 
margin. One of the most im- 
portant points, in conducting 
the displacement process, is to 
keep the ingredients constantly 
saturated, with a stratum of the 
displacing liquid over them. To 
avoid the necessity of constant 
supervision to effect this, the 
arrangement represented in the 
right-hand one of the two mar- 
ginal figures may be used. An 
ordinary bottle containing the 
menstruum, with a tube of a 
quarter of an inch bore passing 
through the cork, is inverted 
over the percolator, with the 
• end of the tube dipping in the 
liquid above the ingredients.* 
For powders which swell much 
on the addition of water a coni- 
cal percolator is greatly prefer- 
able to those of a cylindrical or 
nearly cylindrical shape; and a common glass funnel may be used. Indeed, most 
of the ordinary tinctures may be prepared with great facility by means of glass 
funnels, which may be had of all capacities, from that of half a pint to that of two 
gallons. But, in order that the process of percolation may be successfully em- 
ployed, it is necessary to lay down various precepts for the guidance of the 
learner; and even those best instructed theoretically can hardly hope to avoid 
errors, unless they have by practice thoroughly qualified themselves for operat- 
ing correctly. An inference from this fact is that, in the execution of pharmaceu- 
tical processes, when an alternative between percolation and another method is 
offered, the wholly inexperienced operator should prefer the latter. Under the 
heading of “general officinal directions” a few pages in advance, will be found 
valuable precepts for conducting percolation, to which, as well as to the expla- 
nations that may be deemed necessary, the pharmaceutical student is referred, f 
* For an ingenious apparatus, invented by Dr. E. R. Squibb, in which the same object 
is obtained by means of a bottle placed on a higher level than the percolator, and con- 
nected with it by means of two syphon tubes, see Am. Journ. of Pharm., March, 1858, 
p. 99. 
}• Dialysis. This name has been given by Mr. Graham, Master of the Mint, London, 
to a process based upon the different diffusibility of liquids, by which mixed substances 
may often be separated from each other, and important ends thus obtained. Though not 
yet officinally employed in pharmacy, it is capable of beneficial application in many in- 
stances by the apothecary, and therefore demands a brief description. It is well known 
that substances, in the liquid state, have the property of diffusing themselves, by their 
own inherent power, through other liquids. Mr. Graham ascertained that this property 
was possessed by different substances in very unequal degrees; and, on pushing his in- 
vestigations into the subject, found that there was good reason to divide bodies into two 
classes based on their degree of diffusibility, one class consisting generally of crysuillizable 
substances, which are highly diffusible, the other of uncrystallizable substances, especially 
those capable of forming a gelatinous mass with water, which diffuse themselves very 
slowly. The first class Mr. Graham proposed to name cnjstaUoids from their property of 
crystallizing, the second colloids from their resemblance to glue in the power of gelatinizing. PART II. 
Crystallization. 
897 
Crystallization. Numerous chemical substances, in becoming solid, when their 
solutions are evaporated, take on certain regular forms. The bodies having such 
forms are called crystals, and the process for obtaining them, crystallization. 
An example of the first we have in sugar, of the second in gum. Another discovery made 
by Mr. Graham was that a thin layer of gelatin in the form of jelly, interposed between 
two liquids, offered no obstacle to the passage of the crystalloids from one to the other, 
while it completely prevented the passage of the colloids; and this property he found to 
belong not only to gelatin, but to other substances having a similar molecular constitu- 
tion, as bladder, parchment, paper sized with starch paste, &c., of which the most conven- 
ient is the texture known as parchment-paver, prepared by immersing unsized paper in a 
cold mixture of two measures of sulphuric acid and one of water. 
Upon the principles here stated, Mr. Graham contrived a very simple apparatus, which 
he called the dialyser, and a figure of which is given in 
the margin. It consists of two parts, one a circular glass 
recipient (b.), about a foot in diameter and six inches 
deep, the other (a.) a similar circular vessel from six to 
ten inches in diameter and about two inches deep, the 
circumference of which consists of a band of gutta 
perclia, and the bott om of a circular piece of parchment 
paper, the edges of which are brought over the lower 
rim of the gutta percha band nearly to the top, and fast- 
ened outside of it by a string, or by a narrow hoop of 
gutta percha. The first part, or circular basin is to re- 
ceive distilled water, and should contain from five to ten 
times the quantity of the liquid that may be introduced into the smaller vessel. The latter 
is to float upon the surface of the water in the former, and is to receive the liquid to be 
submitted to dialysis, which should not be more than half an inch deep on the paper bot- 
tom. It is important that the parchment paper employed should have no rent or aperture, 
and should be brought well up, and well secured on the outside of the gutta percha, to 
prevent the liquid from passing between them. If any liquid containing a mixture of col- 
loid and crystalloid matter be placed in the floating vessel, after some hours it will be 
found that a portion of the latter has passed through the parchment-paper, and is held in 
solution by the distilled water of the larger vessel, while the colloid matter remains. The 
distilled water thus impregnated is called the diffusate. The parchment-paper, or any simi- 
lar material used as the septum, is applicable to the dialysis only of substances held in 
watery solution, and will not answer for alcoholic or ethereal liquids. M. Guignot has 
found that porous or unglazed earthenware is capable of acting efficiently as a dialysing sep- 
tum. Thus, a porous vessel containing pure water was placed in another vessel containing 
a solution of sugar and gum; and, at the end of 24 hours, a greater portion of the sugar 
had passed into the inner vessel, but not a discoverable particle of gum. (Pharm. Journ., 
N. S. iv. 317.) It is obvious that very different arrangements might be made to accomplish 
the same ends. Thus a bladder containing a similar mixture, suspended in a jar of distilled 
water, should yield similar results. Graham’s apparatus is preferable to others only for its 
convenience. 
It is not our purpose to treat of all the applications of the process of dialysis. We shall 
refer to those only in which it may prove useful to the pharmaceutist. 1. It facilitates in 
many instances the separation of the active matter of any artificial or natural mixture, to 
a considerable extent, from the inert and useless, the former being very often crystalline, 
and the latter colloidal. Thus infusions or decoctions of medicines such as opium, bella- 
donna, aconite, &c., submitted to dialysis, might give up more or less completely their 
crystalline principles, such as the salts of morphia, atropia, aconitia, &c., to the water, 
while the gummy, resinoid, extractive, and colouring matters, &c. might remain behind. 
In effecting the analysis of organic bodies, one of the most embarrassing problems is to 
get rid of the inert principles, which interfere with the action of chemical reagents; and 
the process of dialysis may here often be brought to the aid of the operator. 2. In search- 
ing for poisons in organic mixtures, as in the contents of the stomach, in which the appli- 
cation of tests is often rendered abortive by the colloidal matter present, the problem of 
the presence of the poison may be sometimes solved by submitting the suspected matter 
to dialysis. The poison will often be found in the diffusate, separated from the other 
matters, and may then be detected by the ordinary tests. Arsenious acid, morphia, strych- 
nia, brucia, and digitaline have been tried in this way, and given successful results. (See 
Am. Journ. of Pharm., Sept. 1864, p. 414.) 3. In pharmaceutic operations, it often happens 
that salts and other crystallizable substances are thrown away as refuse matter, because 
they would not repay the cost of time and material necessary for their recovery. It is 
possible that, by this simple inexpensive process, these substances may be separated from 898 
Effects of Heat. 
PART II. 
The most usual method is by the evaporation of solutions, either spontaneously, 
or by heat. The extent to which the evaporation should be carried depends on 
the solubility of the substance. The proper degree of concentration is attained, 
■when a drop of the solution, removed to a cool glass plate, deposits well formed 
crystals. When set aside to crystallize, a solution should not be disturbed until 
deposition ceases. The crystals are large in proportion to the slowness of the 
cooling of the solution, to effect which the vessel is sometimes set in the drying 
closet, and sometimes left to cool with the sand-bath. The deposition of crystals 
is facilitated by suspending some insoluble substance, as wood, or sheet lead, in 
the solution, or crystals of the same substance, which are thus increased in size. 
When it is desirable to have small acicular crystals, the solution should be cooled 
rapidly, and stirred constantly meanwhile. 
Crystallization is one of the best means of purifying many substances; the im- 
purities remaining wholly or chiefly in the residual liquid called mother-water. 
Fine silky crystals, which retain their mother-water by capillary attraction, must 
be dried by strong expression in a linen bag. The finest silky crystals may be 
entirely freed from adhering liquid, by placing them in a funnel which fits closely 
to one of the necks of a double-mouthed bottle, and fitting a tube to the other, 
through which air is drawn. The current of air, in passing through the funnel, 
carries the water with it, and dries the crystals perfectly. 
Effects of Heat. The operations which require a heat greater than that used 
in digesting are liquefaction, fusion, calcination, ustulation, incineration, dis- 
tillation, sublimation, and reduction. 
Liquefaction is the melting of those substances that become soft previously 
to fusion, as wax, tallow, plaster, &c. The heat employed is always below that 
at which charring takes place. 
Fusion is the melting of those substances which pass immediately from the 
solid to the fluid state. It is employed in pharmacy in preparing nitrate of silver 
and caustic potassa for casting into cylinders. The former must be melted in a 
porcelain, the latter in an iron crucible. The moulds in which they are cast are 
formed of two thick plates of cast-iron or silver, with semi-cylindrical grooves 
that fit accurately to each other. Fusion is also used in preparing the glass of 
antimony. 
Calcination is the term applied to the changes produced in mineral substances 
by intense heat, not attended with fusion, and leaving a solid residue, and is 
often synonymous with oxidation. The term ustulation is restricted to the me- 
tallurgy operations of roasting ores, to drive off the volatile matters, as arsenic, 
&c. Calcination is often used to express the ustulation or burning of carbonate 
of magnesia. This is to be performed in an earthen vessel at a red heat. Ex- 
posure to the heat of a potter’s furnace, during the burning of the kiln, is an 
excellent mode of performing the operation. More commonly the carbonate is 
burnt in an iron pot, which is objectionable; as the heat soon oxidizes the iron, 
and the oxide scales off and mixes with the magnesia, which is seldom free from 
iron when prepared in this way. 
Incineration, as the name expresses, is the operation of burning substances 
for the sake of their ashes. It is performed in obtaining phosphate of lime, the 
Cornu Ustum of the late London Pharmacopoeia. The bones are burnt in an 
open fire until all the combustible matter is consumed. 
the useless matters and thus saved. 4. An economical application has recently been made 
of the process to the restoration of salted meat to the fresh state. If some salt beef with 
its brine be enclosed in a bag of material suitable for dialysis, as of untanned leather, and 
the bag be immersed in sea-wator, in the course of some days the beef and brine will have 
been rendered sufficiently fresh for use, the salt having passed out into the sea-water. 
(Chevi. News, May 28, 1864.) (See, on the subject of dialysis, papers by Prof. Redwood in 
the Pharm. Journ., April, 1862, p. 515, and by Prof. Procter in the Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
July, 1862, p. 312.)—Note to the twelfth edition. PAitT II. 
Dispensing of Medicines.—Plasters.—Decoctions, etc. 
899 
Deduction is that operation by which certain binary compounds of the metals 
are brought to the metallic state, by heating them alone, or with some substanco 
capable of attracting the combined substance and setting the metal at liberty 
Arsenious acid is thus reduced by heating it with charcoal, and oxide of iron, 
in powder, by heating it in a current of hydrogen. When, in the reduction ol 
metallic compounds, some third substance interferes with the process, as silica, 
a substance capable of combining with this is added called a Jiux. 
Dispensing of Medicines. A large portion of the operations of the apothe- 
cary is performed in the shop extemporaneously. In dispensing medicines from 
the counter, he is continually called upon to put his previous knowledge in 
practice, and often to substitute extemporaneous for the regular officinal for- 
mulas. There is no part of his business which requires, for its proper perform- 
ance, so much ready knowledge and so accurate a judgment. A few directions, 
suggested by running the eye over the list of preparations of the Pharmacopoeia, 
may be found useful. 
Aromatic Waters. It may sometimes be necessary for the apothecary to 
make extemporaneously an aromatic water, not usually kept in the shops. In 
this case he is to prepare it by rubbing two drops of essential oil with from four 
to six grains of carbonate of magnesia for every fluidounce of water, and filtering. 
Plasters. It is sometimes desirable to apply plasters prepared from herbs. 
These may be made extemporaneously, by mixing the soft extract of the plant 
with about twice its weight of melted adhesive plaster. The most suitable mate- 
rial on which to spread plasters is soft white leather. A margin of half an inch 
should be allowed to remain around the plaster. The plaster iron or spatula may 
be heated over the large spirit lamp, figured in page 885. A skilful apothecary 
will be able to spread the plaster uniformly and evenly, without overheating 
it so as to corrugate or penetrate the leather. A convenient instrument for 
determining the size, and preserving a straight 
edge, consists of two squares made of tin and 
graduated to inches, as in the annexed figure; 
or pieces of paper may be cut out and pasted 
on the leather, so as to enclose a space of the 
required dimensions. The plaster should first 
be melted on a piece of brown paper, and then 
transferred to the leather, in order to prevent its 
being applied at too great a heat. For all the 
officinal plasters, the apothecary should have 
small tin trays open on one side, on which to 
melt them. If the plaster to be spread is a very 
large one, it is better to liquefy the material in 
a capsule, and add it to different parts of the 
leather as it is wanted, till the whole is covered. For the description of an ap- 
paratus for spreading plasters, see Emplastra. 
Decoctions and Infusions. These are often ordered in prescriptions in the 
quantity of a few ounces. A very convenient vessel for preparing them is the 
common nursery lamp, which consists of a cylindrical vessel, open at one side to 
receive a spirit lamp, and at the top to receive a teapot or tin boiler. The in- 
fusion mug of Mr. Alsop, of London (see Infusa), which consists of a queens- 
ware vessel, with a perforated diaphragm of the same material resting on a ledge 
at one-third of its height from the top, is the best instrument for this purpose. 
The material to be infused is placed on the diaphragm, and the boiling water 
poured on till it rises over the ingredients. No stirring is necessary, and the 
process is accomplished rapidly. Infusions and decoctions may be kept during 
hot weather, and for many months, by straining them while hot, and pouring 
them at once into bottles provided with accurately ground stoppers. The bottle 900 
Dispensing of Medicines.—Mixtures.—Powders. 
PART n. 
must be quite filled; the stopper being made to displace its own bulk of the 
liquid. A common bottle with a perforated cork stopper may be used, if the 
hole be instantly closed, and the cork covered with sealing wax. The hotter the 
liquid and the freer from air bubbles, the better will the infusion keep. 
Neutral Mixture and Effervescing Draught. Neutral mixture is known to 
be saturated perfectly, when it does not affect litmus paper either in its blue 
state, or reddened by an acid. The carbonic acid, extricated in its preparation, 
combines at first, without effervescence, with the remaining carbonate, and forms 
a bicarbonate. This circumstance may lead, unless the solution be tested, to 
the supposition that the mixture is saturated. For preparing the effervescing 
draught, it is advisable to keep in the shop a solution of carbonate of potassa 
containing an ounce to the pint. The silica which this salt contains precipitates 
after a few weeks, and leaves a perfectly clear solution; whereas that prepared 
at the time it is to be used always becomes turbid after being saturated. 
Extemporaneous Mixtures. In preparing these by direction of the physician, 
it is of the first importance to mix the ingredients in the manner best calculated 
to ensure a smooth and readily miscible compound, without grittiness or imper- 
fectly comminuted portions, when a part of the constituents may be insoluble. 
Kino and extract of rhatany should be first dissolved in boiling water, when 
admissible. If an aromatic water is directed, they should be rubbed to powder, 
mixed with the insoluble ingredients, if any, and the water gradually added, the 
whole being triturated till smoothly mixed. Emulsions of the gum-resins should 
be rubbed till all the particles are softened, and then strained, if any extraneous 
matter is present. Water can be saturated with camphor by means of carbonate 
of magnesia, and an aqueous mixture of any strength may be made with it, by 
triturating the camphor with magnesia, and shaking the mixture before using it. 
Camphor softens the gum-resins, and solid fats and oils, and may be rendered 
permanently miscible with water, in considerable quantity, by trituration with 
a fifth part of myrrh. In preparing oily emulsions in which gum arabic, or 
gum and sugar are the medium, a sufficient quantity of water must be added 
(generally about twice their weight) to convert them into a thick mucilage be- 
fore adding the oil, which must then be thoroughly mixed with the mucilage, 
and the remaining water added gradually with great care. Ether is rendered 
more soluble in water by trituration with spermaceti. The mixture should be 
filtered to separate the superfluous spermaceti. If elaterium is to be incorpo- 
rated in a mixture, it should be first rubbed with a little alcohol, then with sugar 
or syrup, and lastly with the other ingredients. When a few drops of croton 
oil are to be suspended in a mixture, the latter will be more permanent if a little 
olive oil be added with the croton oil to increase its quantity. Mixtures that 
contain the resinous tinctures, should also contain syrup, with which the tinc- 
ture should be first mixed, and the water then added very gradually. If a mixture 
is to contain laudanum and a fixed oil, the former should be first mixed with the 
syrup and the oil afterwards incorporated, and lastly the water. The mixture 
will not otherwise be uniform. When a considerable quantity of sugar is added 
to a mixture, it is best to use syrup, employing a fluidrachm of syrup for each 
drachm of sugar, and making allowance for the water contained in the syrup, 
which equals half its bulk. 
Powders. Powders are often mixed together with difficulty, by means of a 
pestle and mortar, on account of their differing greatly in 
weight, or of their softness and compressibility, as charcoal 
and magnesia, or rhubarb and magnesia. In these cases the 
mixing should be completed with a spatula on paper. In 
dividing powders into doses, it is very desirable to fold the 
packages neatly and of a uniform size. Th z powder folder 
represented in the figure is very useful for this purpose. It PART II. 
Dispensing of Medicines.—Pills.—Gum-resins. 
901 
may be made of mahogany or other hard wood. Instruments of this kind with a 
movable cheek, so as to be widened or contracted by a screw, and made of brass, 
are used in some shops. When volatile or deliquescent substances, as camphor 
and carbonate of potassa, are prescribed in several powders, these should be en 
veloped separately in tin-foil or waxed paper; and, when the number of doses 
is more than two, they should be enclosed in a paper box. 
Pills. In ordering pills care must be taken to avoid the use of deliquescent 
salts, and to deprive those which are efflorescent of their water of crystalliza- 
tion. The mass must be thoroughly incorporated previously to being divided; 
and this is particularly important when extracts of different degrees of hardness 
enter into the composition. A section of the mass should be throughout of 
uniform colour and consistency. Pills are to be rolled and preserved in pow- 
dered liquorice root, or lycopodium powder, which ought to be kept for use in 
a tin box with a perforated lid, like a pepper-box. When pills are of too soft a 
consistence, a little liquorice powder may be incorporated with them to render 
them more firm. Pills, into the composition of which gum arabic enters, should 
be softened with syrup, and not with water, as the latter renders the mass dif- 
ficult to roll. For further remarks relative to the formation of masses for pills, 
see Pilulse. 
Gum-resins. The method of treating gum-resins so as to fit them for use, now 
that it has ceased to be a special subject of officinal direction, may be appropri- 
ately considered in this place. Gum-resins are concrete natural juices of plants, 
obtained by spontaneous exudation or incision, and consisting of gum and resin, 
associated for the most part with more or less volatile oil, and frequently with 
other substances, such as extractive, bassorin, starch, wax, and various salts. 
The gum and resin are essential ingredients, but exist in very different propor- 
tions in the different varieties. All the gum-resins are partially soluble in alco- 
hol and in water, but completely so in neither of these liquids. Diluted alcohol, 
on the contrary, dissolves them almost entirely, especially if assisted by heat. 
With water they form an opaque emulsion; the resin, essential oil, and other 
insoluble constituents being held in suspension by the dissolved gum. They are 
to a certain extent soluble in vinegar. Upon several of them, especially myrrh 
and ammoniac, carbonate of potassa so reacts as to render them soluble in water, 
or capable of being permanently retained in suspension by that liquid. A good 
method of effecting their suspension in any watery vehicle, is to rub them with 
a few drops of pure almond oil so as to form a smooth paste, and then very gra- 
dually to add the liquid, continuing the trituration. 
They are often so impure from admixture of vegetable and mineral substances, 
as to be unfit for use until purified. Various modes of effecting this object have 
been practised. Some of the gum-resins, as galbanum, are so far fusible, that they 
may be rendered sufficiently liquid by heat to admit of straining through a hempen 
cloth. Care should be taken in this process not to apply too great a heat, and 
it is best that the liquefaction should be effected by means of a water-bath. But 
several of them, as assafetida and ammoniac, are not sufficiently fusible at the 
temperature of boiling water to admit of being strained with facility. As they 
are usually brittle and pulverizable when very cold, they may be freed from the 
coarser impurities by powdering them in the winter season, and sifting the pow-' 
der, which afterwards agglutinates with warmth. This plan is recommended by 
Mr. Brande in relation to assafetida, ammoniac, and galbanum. When boiled 
with hot water, any of the gum-resins, though not dissolved, will form a semi- 
liquid mass capable of being strained; and this was the method employed by the 
London College for their purification. It is liable to the objection that a portion 
of the volatile oil, upon which their medical virtues in part depend, is driven off; 
and the gum-resins thus prepared are adapted more especially for external use. 
The French pharmaceutists purify these substances by dissolving them in diluted 902 
Dispensing of Medicines.—Implements. 
PART II. 
alcohol, filtering, and evaporating the solution. This process, though liable in a 
siill greater degree than that of the London College to the objection of diminish- 
ing the virtues of the medicine by driving off the essential oil, has-the advantage 
of completely separating all insoluble substances, however minutely divided, such 
as fine sand or other earth, which might pass through the pores of a hempen 
strainer. For internal use, it is best to select the gum-resin so pure as not to re- 
quire purification. M. Constantin recommends, as an effectual method of produc- 
ing permanent homogeneous emulsions with the gum-resins, to put into a marble 
or porcelain mortar the quantity directed of the gum-resin, in small pieces, to add 
about four times its weight of alcohol, to set this on fire and triturate with a por- 
celain pestle until the alcohol is consumed, and lastly to rub the soft mass, thus 
produced, with the liquid gradually added. (Journ. de Pharm., xxvi. 39.) 
Implements. The proper cleanliness of his vessels is an object of great im- 
portance to the apothecary. Open vessels, as mortars and measures, are easily 
cleansed, and should be wiped dry immediately after being washed. Fats and 
resins are readily removed by pearlash, or tow and damp ashes, or sand ; red pre- 
cipitate and other metallic substances by a little nitric or muriatic acid; Prus- 
sian blue by means of pearlash. Bottles may be cleansed from the depositions 
which accumulate on their sides and bottoms from long use in the shops, by a few 
shreds of grocers’ paper, and a little clean water. They are to be shaken so as 
to give the paper and water a centrifugal motion, which effectually removes the 
dirt from the sides. They may be freed from oil by a little strong nitric acid, 
after the action of which water will thoroughly cleanse them. Long sticks armed 
with sponge, or dry linen or cotton cloth, should be provided for wiping dry the 
interior of flasks and bottles.* A wire, bent at the end into a sort of hook, will 
be found useful for getting corks out of bottles. Wire instruments with three 
prongs are made specially for this purpose. In the absence of these, a loop of 
twine will often be found convenient for effecting the same object. When the 
glass stopper of a bottle is fast, it may often be loosened by gently tapping its 
sides alternately with the handle of a spatula. Sometimes a drop or two of oil, 
alcohol, chloroform, or water, will soften the cementing substance. It will some- 
times answer to wrap the stopper in a cloth, insert it in a crevice or hole, in a 
table or door, and twist the bottle gently and dextrously. Sometimes the stopper 
may be loosened by quickly expanding the neck in the flame of a lamp, and tap- 
ping the stopper before the heat has reached it. The bottle should be constantly 
turned in the hand during the heating process, to avoid unequal expansion and 
fracture. In the absence of a flame, a piece of twine, turned twice around the 
neck and drawn back and forward rapidly, will soon heat it sufficiently in most 
instances. When the stopper of a bottle containing caustic alkali adheres, in 
consequence of the neck not having been wiped thoroughly dry, it is almost im- 
possible to loosen it, and the neck must be cut off. The adhesion in such cases 
may be prevented by dipping the stopper before insertion in melted paraffin, on 
which the alkalies have no action. It is said that organic substances, which are 
altered by exposure to light in ordinary glass bottles, undergo no change when 
contained in orange-coloured bottles. 
* The odour of volatile oils, and other strong smelling substances, such as musk, may 
be removed from bottles, mortars, &c., by means of the pulp of bitter almonds or peach 
kernels, bruised peach leaves, or other substances containing hydrocyanic acid. But fatty 
matters should first be removed by an alkaline solution, and resins by alcohol. [Journ. de 
Chim. Med., 1845, p. 535.) It is asserted that the powder of black mustard has the same 
effect. [Ibid., 2e ser., iii. 727.) 
It is sometimes difficult to cleanse glass and porcelain to which organic matters have 
long adhered. These sometimes become so hard and dry as to resist solvents. C. Brunner 
recommends, in such instances, to moisten the surface to be cleansed with stroDg sulphu- 
ric acid, to sprinkle on the acid some powdered bichromate of potassa, and to let the ves- 
sel stand for some hours in a warm place. The organic matter is thus destroyed aid may 
easily be washed away. [Chem. Gaz., No. 410, p. 430.) PART II. 
General Officinal Directions. — Weights. 
The apothecary should be provided with spatulas of wood, whalebone, and 
horn, as well as of steel. It should be an invariable rule to clean every knife 
and graduated measure immediately after it is used, and to put the dirty mortars 
apart from the clean. Too much particularity and order in all the minute details 
of the shop cannot be practised. The counters should be cleaued every day, and 
wiped as often as they become dusty. The scales should be thoroughly cleaned 
every week, and wiped always after using them for dusty substances; and the 
prescription balance should be kept carefully enclosed in a glass case, and the 
dishes wiped after each time of using. The beam should occasionally be wiped 
with a soft cotton or silk cloth. The mortar stand should pass through the floor 
and cellar into the ground, so as not to jar the counter during the contusion of 
substances, and thus injure the balance. Bottles should be replaced as soon after 
being taken down and used as possible, and should on no account be changed 
from their accustomed place on the shelf. For the preservation of leaves, flowers, 
aromatic powders, calomel, and other medicines to which light is injurious, the 
bottles should be coated with tin-foil, or with black or orange-coloured varnish. 
No apothecary should be unprovided with a set of troy weights, as without 
them he will find it difficult to comply with the officinal directions for the pre- 
paration of his medicines ; and the drawer in which his smaller weights are kept 
should be clean and free from dust, so that the weights may be accurate. In 
dispensing medicines, no vial or parcel should be suffered to leave the shop with- 
out its appropriate label; and this, in the case of prescriptions, should always 
be the physician’s direction as to the manner of taking it, and not the name of 
the medicine, unless it be so directed by him. The prescription, or a copy of it, 
should be retained and numbered, and the same number marked on the parcel 
or bottle. Everything connected with the shop, and the dispensing and putting 
up of medicines and parcels, should be characterized by neatness, accuracy, sys- 
tem, and competent knowledge. 
The apprentice who desires to qualify himself for his business, should care- 
fully study Turner’s, Graham’s or Fownes’s Elements of Chemistry, Mohr and 
Redwood’s Practical Pharmacy, Parrish’s Treatise on Pharmacy, and Morfit’s 
Chemical and Pharmaceutical Manipulation, which may be termed the hand- 
books of his profession. D. B. S. 
General Officinal Directions. 
As all the processes of the United States and British Pharmacopoeias are 
either described or fully detailed in the following pages, it is proper that the 
prefatory explanations in these works should be introduced in this place, in 
order that the reader may be prepared to understand the precise signification of 
the terms employed. 
Weights. The U. S. Pharmacopoeia recognises the troy or apothecaries’ pound, 
and its divisions of ounces, drachms, scruples, and grains, for the expression of 
weights, but actually employs, in its processes, only the grain and ounce. The 
following explanations are given on the subject of weights. 
“In order to avoid the danger of mistakes from confounding the troy and 
avoirdupois pounds, the term, pound, is disused in the formulas of this work, 
and the desired weight is expressed in ounces, each containing four hundred and 
eighty grains. This ounce is always printed troyounce, to guard against the 
error of substituting for it the avoirdupois ounce, consisting of four hundred and 
thirty-seven and a half grains. The drachm and scruple are also disused, and re- 
placed by their equivalents in grains. It is highly important that persons engaged 
in preparing medicines should be provided with troy weights. But those who are 
not so provided can make their avoirdupois weights available as substitutes for 
troy weights, by bearing in mind that 42 5 grains, added to the avoirdupois 904 
General Officinal Directions.—Measures. 
PART II. 
ounce, wW make it equal to the troy ounce; and that 1240 grains, deducted from 
the avoirdupois pound, will reduce it to the troy pound.” U. S. 
As the common weights of the country are the avoirdupois weights, and 
every apothecary is in possession of the lower denominations of the apotheca- 
ries’ weight, viz. grains, scruples, and drachms, there can be no difficulty in com- 
plying with the officinal directions. The British Council, in their recently pub- 
lished Pharmacopoeia, have abandoned the troy weights formerly employed by 
the London and Edinburgh Colleges, and substituted the avoirdupois pound and 
ounce, the former of 7000 grains, the latter of 437-5 grains ; conforming in this 
respect with the Dublin College, but adhering to the old grain, and rejecting all 
intermediate divisions. It is a subject for congratulation that the Dublin drachm 
and scruple, of 54'68 grains and 18-22 grains respectively, have been abandoned. 
Both in the United States and British Pharmacopoeias, with the exception, 
in the former, of the mineral acids, fixed oils, and chloroform, the quantity of 
fluids is generally indicated by the liquid measure, consisting of the gallon and its 
divisions of pints, fluidounces, fluidrachms, and minims. It is highly necessary 
that the apothecary should understand that this distinction is rigidly observed, in 
this work, in all the details which follow, and that, whenever the simple terms 
pound, ounce, and drachm are employed, they must be considered as belonging 
to the denomination of troy weight, unless when otherwise expressly intimated. 
This caution is the more necessary, as these terms are often confounded with the 
corresponding divisions of liquid measure, viz. the pint, fluidounce, and fluidrachm. 
(See Tables of weights and measures in the Appendix.) 
Measures. The TJ. S. Pharmacopoeia adheres to the old wine gallon and its 
divisions of pints, fluidounces, fluidrachms, and minims; but actually employs, in 
its processes, no denomination of measure higher than the pint. In the British 
Pharmacopoeia the Imperial gallon and its divisions, before used by all the British 
Colleges, have been retained. This discrepancy is very unfortunate, as no one de- 
nomination of the Imperial measure corresponds exactly with the same denomina- 
tion of the wine measure; and the formulas, therefore, of the British Council, so 
far as measures are concerned, when they agree in terms with those of the United 
States Pharmacopoeia, differ from them in reality; while, in other cases, though 
differing in terms,, they may be quite or very nearly identical. It is very im- 
portant that the apothecary should bear this distinction in mind; and, when he 
has occasion to carry into effect one of the foreign formulas, that he should 
make the due allowances. He will find, among the Tables in the Appendix of 
this work, a statement of the relative value of the several denominations of the 
Imperial and wine measures, and, by consulting this statement, will be enabled 
to convert the former into the latter without difficulty. We have endeavoured 
to obviate, as far as possible, this source of inconvenience, if not of danger, by 
indicating in our accounts of the British processes the kind of weight or mea- 
sure intended, whenever the discrepancy is such as to be a point of any import- 
ance. Though the Imperial fluidounce, fluidrachm, and minim differ somewhat 
from the wine measures of the same denomination, yet that difference is so small 
that we have not generally deemed it necessary to make them objects of special 
notice. At the temperature of 60° F., the U. S. pint of distilled water weighs 
7291-2 grains, and the fluidounce 455-7 grains; while the Imperial pint of dis- 
tilled water, at the same temperature, weighs 7000 grains, and the fluidounce 437 5 
grains. The measures kept in the shop should be graduated according to the 
divisions of the wine gallon; as this is recognised by our own officinal standard. 
Temperature. When there is occasion to indicate the temperature, Fahren- 
heit’s thermometer is employed in the U. S. and Br. Pharmacopoeias. In the 
former, the term gentle heat indicates any temperature between 90° and 100°. 
Specific Gravity. In both Pharmacopoeias, when the specific gravity of a 
body is given, it is considered to be at the temperature of 60° of Fahrenheit PART II. 
General Officinal Directions.—Percolation. 
905 
Saturation. The U. S. Pharmacopoeia states that “ when an acid or alkali i* 
directed to be saturated, the point of saturation is to be ascertained by means oi 
litmus and turmeric, in the way usually followed by chemists.” For this purpose 
litmus or turmeric paper is usually employed; the latter being rendered brown 
by the alkalies, the former being reddened by the acids, and having its blue colon, 
restored by the alkalies. (See Lacmus and Curcuma.) 
Containing Vessels. In the U. S. Pharmacopoeia it is ordered that, in al. 
cases in which bottles are directed to be well stopped, they must be closed witl 
glass stoppers. In the late London Pharmacopoeia it was directed that, when 
not otherwise ordered, glass, porcelain, or stoneware vessels should be used for 
preparing and preserving medicines, at the same time guarding especially against 
the employment of earthen vessels glazed with lead. The same College also 
directed that acid, alkaline, and metallic preparations, and salts of every kind, 
be kept in stopped glass bottles, which, for certain substances, should be of 
black or green glass. 
Percolation, or Filtration'by Displacement. In relation to this process, the 
following directions are given in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. 
“The kind of filtration, known as percolation or the process of displacement, 
directed in this Pharmacopoeia, consists in subjecting a substance or substances, 
in powder, contained in a vessel called a percolator, to the solvent action of suc- 
cessive portions of a menstruum, in such a manner that the licpiid, as it traverses 
the powder in its descent to the recipient, shall become charged with the soluble 
portion of it, and pass from the percolator free from insoluble matter. 
“ When the process is successfully conducted, the first portion of the filtered 
liquid, or percolate, will be nearly saturated with the soluble constituents of the 
substance treated; and, if the quantity of menstruum be sufficient for its ex- 
haustion, the last portion will be nearly destitute of colour, odour, and taste. 
“The percolator should be either conical, or nearly cylindrical with a conical 
termination at the smaller end, and provided internally with a porous or colander- 
like partition or diaphragm, resting transversely immediately above its neck, for 
the support of the powder. Ordinary glass funnels, varying in capacity from 
one to eight pints, are to be preferred for most of the operations requiring 
percolation in this Pharmacopoeia; but percolators may also be made of earthen- 
ware or tinned iron, especially of the latter material when required of large size. 
Tinned iron, however, should not be used when the liquid acts chemically on the 
material. In the several formulas in which percolators are used, their form and 
material will always be designated when there is a preference in these respects. 
In cases in wrhich these variations of the instrument are indifferent, the term 
percolator simply will be employed. When a funnel is used, a circular piece of 
muslin or of lint, pressed into the neck by means of a cork with notched sides, 
forms a good diaphragm; but in all cases a similar piece of muslin, moistened 
slightly with the menstruum, should be interposed between the diaphragm and 
the powder, to prevent the passage of the fine particles of the latter. 
“ The substance to be subjected to percolation, after having been reduced by 
sifting to a uniform powder, of the fineness indicated in the formula, is to be 
put into a basin with from one-fourth to one-half of its weight of the men- 
struum, and the two rubbed together until the powder is uniformly moistened. 
“A portion of the powder is now to be carefully placed upon the diaphragm, 
prepared as above directed, and pressed gently until the muslin, resting against 
the sides of the percolator just above the neck, is covered with a uniform layer. 
The remainder of the powder is then to be transferred to the percolator, and 
compressed evenly and firmly, and the levelled surface covered with a circular 
piece of moistened muslin, so that the liquid poured upon it may penetrate 
equably, and not disarrange the powder. 
“ The percolator being now properly supported, with its neck in a bottle pre- 906 
General Officinal Directions.—Percolation. 
PART II. 
viously marked for the quantity or quantities of liquid to be percolated, the 
menstruum is to be poured on the muslin until the space above is nearly filled; 
and a layer of it must be constantly maintained above the powder, so as to pre- 
vent the access of air to its interstices, until all has been added, or until the 
requisite quantity of percolate has been obtained. 
“If the fineness of the powder and its arrangement in the percolator have been 
properly attended to, the percolate will pass out, by drops, with greater or less 
rapidity, according to the size of the percolator; but, if, by reason of accidental 
imperfection in the powder, or in the packing, the liquid pass more rapidly than 
this, the neck of the percolator should be obstructed by means of a cork until 
the requisite slowness has been attained. 
“When the dregs of a tincture are to be subjected to percolation, after macera- 
tion with all the menstruum, the liquid portion should be drained off', the solid 
portion packed in a percolator as before described, and the liquid gradually 
poured on until all has passed the surface, when, immediately, sufficient of the 
original menstruum should be poured on to displace the absorbed liquid, until 
the prescribed quantity of the tincture has been obtained. 
“ Fineness of Powders. As different degrees of fineness are necessary in 
powders, according to their nature and mode of treatment, the special degree 
required is designated in the several formulas. For this purpose the terms very 
fine, fine, moderately fine, moderately coarse, and coarse are used;—the powder 
passed through a sieve of eighty or more meshes to the linear inch being desig- 
nated as very fine; through one of sixty meshes, fine; through one of fifty 
meshes, moderately fine; through one of forty meshes, moderately coarse; and 
through one of twenty meshes, coarseU. S. 
The principles of the process of percolation and the apparatus in which it is 
performed have already been presented in sufficient detail. (Seepage 894.) The 
advantages of the process are, that the active soluble principles of medicinal 
substances are in general extracted by it more speedily, thoroughly, and econo- 
mically than by any other mode; that concentrated solutions of these principles 
are more easily obtained; and that no portion of the impregnated menstruum 
need be lost by remaining in the solid mass. It is, however, liable to the objec- 
tion, that considerable experience and skill are necessary to carry it properly 
into effect, and that, if improperly performed, it must often result in preparations 
very different from those contemplated in the formulas. It should not, therefore, 
be resorted to in the fulfilment of officinal directions, when any alternative is 
given, unless by individuals who have acquired the requisite skill by practice. 
The sources of failure in this process are chiefly an improper degree of com- 
minution in the substance to be acted upon, and an improper condition of the 
mass after it has been introduced into the instrument. If the material be in too 
fine a powder, it resists or obstructs the passage of the fluid; if too coarse, it 
allows the fluid to pass too rapidly, and at the same time opposes its cohesion 
to the solvent power of the menstruum. If merely bruised, especially if fibrous 
pieces of some length are intermixed, it causes the fluid to make irregular chan- 
nels, and thus to act upon it partially. An improper packing of the material 
occasions similar inconveniences. If too compact it impedes, if too loose it 
injuriously facilitates the passage of the solvent, and if not uniform it produces 
an irregular flow, which necessarily vitiates the result. The liquid, finding an 
easier passage at one part than another, flows more rapidly in that direction, and 
thus makes channels by which it may in great measure or wholly escape, with 
little influence upon the mass. Besides, the uniform progression, by which each 
superadded portion displaces that immediately beneath it, is broken, the succes- 
sive layers become intermingled, and thus one of the peculiar advantages of the 
process is lost. The following observations may be of some use in assisting tho 
operator to avoid these consequences. PART II. 
General Officinal Directions.—Percolation. 
907 
The solid material should always be in the state of a uniform powder, to 
which when not required to be fine, it may be conveniently brought by grind 
ing in a common coffee-mill. If its texture be very hard, firm, and not easily per 
meable by moisture, as in certain barks, woods, and ligneous roots, it should bo 
finely powdered. If, on the contrary, the texture be loose and spongy, and 
especially if the material be disposed to swell up and form a viscid mass with 
water, so as to impede percolation, as in the case of gentian and squill, tho 
powder should be coarser; though the substances which require this treatment 
when water is used, may not require it with another solvent, as alcohol or ether. 
The difficulty, however, arising from the swelling of the material is now almost 
entirely obviated by the employment of conical percolators, such as glass fun- 
nels, which by their shape allow the free expansion of the material upward, and 
thus prevent compression. Though funnels have been long in use as percolators, 
the principle of their favourable action was, we believe, first suggested by Prof. 
Procter. To secure uniformity in the powder, it should always be passed through 
a sieve before being used; and the proper degree of fineness is secured by having 
the number of openings in the linear inch of the sieve duly regulated. According 
to Prof. Grahame, of Baltimore, the sieve should generally have 60 meshes to the 
linear inch, especially for tinctures; but for substances which must be used in 
coarse powder 40 meshes are preferable. In the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, the de- 
gree of fineness varies from 20 to 80 meshes to the linear inch, and, with great 
propriety, the precise degree of fineness adapted to each substance is indicated, 
in the several preparations, by the use of the terms very fine, fine, moderately 
fine, moderately coarse, and coarse; these terms having their exact value de- 
termined by the preliminary directions above quoted. 
It has generally been considered advisable, before introducing the material 
into the instrument, to mix it with a portion of the solvent, and allow it to stand 
for some time in another vessel. It thus becomes more penetrable and more 
easily acted on by the menstruum, admits of a more uniform packing, and, if 
liable to swell with water, undergoes this expansion where it cannot have the 
effect of checking percolation. Opinion, however, has considerably changed on 
this point. It is obvious that, when it is desirable to have the first portion of 
the percolate as concentrated as possible, it is necessary that the powder should 
be no further moistened than may be essential for proper packing in the instru- 
ment. When previously mixed with the powder, the portions of liquid which 
first pass will have only the strength acquired by the maceration ; whereas, when 
added to the powder but slightly moistened in the percolator, each particle of 
the menstruum passes successively, along the whole line of its descent, from par- 
ticle to particle of the powder in all its strength, taking something from each as 
it descends until completely saturated; and it is also obvious that the higher the 
column, that is the greater the depth of the packed powder, the greater will be 
the chance of complete saturation. Besides, since the introduction of conical per- 
colators into use, the disadvantages of compression from swelling have been so 
far obviated that the previous maceration is less needful on this account. Pro- 
fessor Grahame prefers that no more of the menstruum should be preliminarily 
employed than may be sufficient to dampen the powder, so as to enable it to be 
packed properly, and facilitate the passage of the liquid through the powder. 
The quantity must vary with the character of the powder, and is directed in 
each officinal preparation. As a general rule, it varies, as stated in the foregoing 
officinal directions, from one-fourth to one-half the weight of the powder. When 
concentrated solutions are not needed at first, as generally in the tinctures and 
infusions, the previous maceration with the menstruum cannot be of any mate- 
rial disservice. When employed, it may continue on the average about twelve 
hours: but a much shorter time will often answer. It has sometimes been re- 
commended to perform this preliminary maceration in the displacement filter, its (general Officinal Directions.—Percolation. 
PART II. 
lower orifice being closed for a time. With some substances this may be done 
without disadvantage; but, in all those instances in which the material is liable 
to swell considerably with water, and thus to choke the passage, if a cylindrical 
percolator be used, the maceration should take place in another vessel. 
The packing of the material in the instrument is that part of the process 
which most requires experience in the operator, and about which the least pre- 
cise rules can be given. When mixed with a considerable portion of fluid, it 
will often subside of itself into the proper state; but generally it requires some 
pressure, and the degree of the latter must be in proportion to the looseness of 
texture in the material; reference, however, being always had to its disposition 
to swell with water. Certain substances in which this property is found, such 
as gentian and rhubarb, must not be pressed compactly when water is the sol- 
vent. As the percolation advances, and portions of the substance acted on are 
dissolved, the mass often becomes too loose, and requires to be again pressed 
down. Substances which are apt to form with the menstruum an adhesive and 
impermeable mass, such as the resins and gum-resins, may be advantageously 
mixed, in the state of coarse powder, with about half their weight of perfectly 
clean white sand, as suggested by the late Mr. Duhamel. (See Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., x. 15.) The sand separates the particles of the mass, and allows the 
menstruum a readier access. 
After the moistened material has been properly packed, the upper surface 
should be made quite level, and then covered with a circular disk of tin pierced 
with numerous minute holes, or, what is probably better, a circular piece of mus- 
lin as directed in the Pharmacopoeia. If the disk be of filtering paper, as some 
have recommended, it should be kept in its place by pieces of glass rod. The 
solvent is thus made to enter into the mass equably, and prevented from forming 
partial passages by bearing upon one or a few points. The liquid is now to be 
introduced in successive portions, as stated in the officinal directions above given. 
If the lower diaphragm of the percolator be duly covered with a close filter- 
ing material, the percolate will always be clear from the beginning. The best 
material for the purpose is, perhaps, a piece of fine patent lint. Prof. Procter in- 
forms us that he finds advantage in covering the tissue which may be placed on 
the diaphragm by a thin layer of sand. Should the filtrate, however, be from 
any cause turbid, it should be returned into the instrument, before the addition of 
any displacing menstruum; and the same thing should continue to be done, until 
the liquid comes away perfectly clear. If the percolation be too rapid, pressure 
may be made upon the upper diaphragm so as to render the mass more com- 
pact; or the instrument may be closed below for a time, as stated in the officinal 
directions. Hence the advantage of having a stop-cock near the lower end for 
regulating the discharge. In the absence of a stop-cock, a soft cork may be used, 
with a small groove cut lengthwise for a short distance from its smaller end. By 
withdrawing the cork until the groove appears, a passage for the fluid can be 
opened at will. But if due attention be paid to the fineness of the powder and 
the proper packing of it, there will seldom be any occasion for this caution. Dr. 
Squibb states that the liquid should escape at the rate of about oue drop every 
two seconds, or about three fluidounces in an hour. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
March, 1858, p. 98.) When the percolation is too slow, it may be increased by 
the pressure of a column of liquid, and this plan may sometimes be advantage- 
ously resorted to when the powder is very fine, or large masses of material are 
operated upon. (See page 896.) When the object is to keep up a constant supply 
of the percolating fluid, it may be accomplished by filling a long-necked bottle 
or matrass with the fluid, and inverting it over the filtering instrument, with its 
mouth beneath the surface of the liquid in the latter. 
Hot liquids may be used in the process as well as cold, and are sometimes 
preferable when the substance yields its active principles more largely at an PART II. 
Percolation.—Pharmacopoeias. 
909 
elevated temperature. But there is often an inconvenience in employing hot 
water; as it dissolves or renders glutinous substances not affected by cold water, 
which are not requisite and may even be injurious in the preparation, and which 
tend to embarrass the process by filling up the interstices of the mass, and thus 
rendering it less permeable. An instrument has been invented by Mr. C. A. 
Smith, of Cincinnati, by which the menstruum is made to enter the contents of 
the percolator in the state of hot vapour, and, being condensed by means of a 
refrigerating vessel surrounding the percolator, passes out in the liquid form, 
highly impregnated with the soluble principles of the material operated on. 
(See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xviii. 98.) 
The first portion of filtered liquid is very strongly impregnated, and the por- 
tions which subsequently come away are successively less so. It is sometimes 
desirable to obtain the whole of the particular solvent employed. This end may 
be very nearly attained by adding, at the close of the process, enough of another 
liquid to supply the place of that retained in the mass. It was Boullay’s idea, 
that the whole of the liquid contained in the moist material might be thus 
driven out of it or displaced by the one added, without any admixture of the 
two. This, however, has been ascertained not to be exactly true; and, however 
carefully the process may be conducted, some mixture will take place. Hence, 
it is recommended, when one liquid is added in order to displace another, to in- 
troduce first a shallow layer of the same liquid with that contained in the mass. 
In some instances, the solvent, if consisting of two liquids, is resolved into these 
in the process. Thus, when myrrh is subjected to percolation with proof spirit, 
the first liquid which comes away is alcohol holding the oil and resin of the 
myrrh in solution. 
There are very few substances to which the mode of filtration by displacement 
will not be found applicable, if due attention be paid to the circumstances which 
require variations in the process.* 
Pharmacopeias. 
As the Pharmacopoeias of the United States and Great Britain constitute the 
basis of the present work, there would seem to be an obvious propriety in de- 
voting, in the present place, a few words to the explanation of their general 
character. Pharmacopoeias are authoritative codes for the regulation of the 
Materia Medica and Pharmacy within the limits where their authority is ad- 
mitted. Every fully civilized nation has one or more recognised Pharmacopoeias. 
In most countries they are prepared under the authority more or less direct of 
the government, and have the sanction of law. In the United States the Phar- 
macopoeia is the result of the voluntary action of the Professions of Medicine 
and Pharmacy, and has no other sanction than that of opinion. Nevertheless, 
within the limits of the two Professions referred to, it is probably quite as autho- 
ritative as though established by legal enactment. Works of this kind are neces- 
sarily compendious, as it is only by adhering to what is generally admitted to be 
essential, that they can expect to secure general acceptance. To give them full 
effect, explanations, comment, and various illustrations are necessary; and it is for 
this purpose that works called Dispensatories are written. Until recently there 
were three Pharmacopoeias in the British Dominions, under the sanction respec- 
tively of the three Colleges of London, Edinburgh, and Dublin. This created 
much confusion in Great Britain, which in some degree extended also to the 
United States, where these works were at one time our only pharmaceutical 
* Much is due for the improvements which have added to the efficiency of percolation, as 
practised in the United States, to Prof. Grahame of Baltimore, Prof. Procter of Philadelphia, 
and Dr. Squibb of New York, whose several papers on the subject are published in the Pro- 
ceedings of the Am. Pharm. Assoc. (A. D. 1858, p. 255), and in the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (March, 
1858, p. 97, and July, 1859, p. 317).—Note to the twelfth edition. 910 
Pharmacopoeias.—Aceta. 
PART II. 
codes, and, in consequence of the general use of British works on medicine, con- 
tinued to exert a considerable influence. By a very wise determination of the 
medical profession in Great Britain and Ireland, operating through the general 
Parliament, the three Pharmacopoeias have been succeeded by a single one for 
the Empire, prepared under the direction of the Medical Council, which is at 
present the legal representative of the whole profession. It is this work, styled 
the British Pharmacopoeia, that we comment upon in the present edition of the 
Dispensatory; the three former London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Pharmaco- 
poeias having been superseded by it. 
Both the U. S. and Br. Pharmacopoeias consist essentially of two parts, one 
called the Materia Medica, giving a list of the recognised medicines, with defi- 
nitions sufficient to establish their identity and purity, and the other entitled 
Preparations or Preparations and Compounds, giving processes for the prepa- 
ration of such medicines as may be supposed to be made by the apothecary. 
There is, however, some difference in the character of these two sections in the 
two Pharmacopoeias. While, in ours, the Materia Medica list includes only those 
substances purchased by the apothecary, and admits all substances, whether used 
as medicines or not, which are necessarily employed in making the preparations; 
the British list excludes all the latter substances unless strictly medicinal, and 
includes many of the preparations, for which it also gives processes in the se- 
cond part. There is a want of precision in this arrangement which gives, we 
think, a decided advantage to our national work. Another point in which the 
U. S. Pharmacopoeia has the advantage is the existence of a Secondary Cata- 
logue, which may receive doubtful medicines, upon the value of which all cannot 
agree, and in which may be placed new medicines yet on trial but not generally 
adopted, and others going out of use, but still not without advocates in the pro- 
fession. The British Materia Medica is also somewhat more elaborate than ours 
in its descriptions, which is a doubtful merit, as the work is thus liable to come 
into unnecessary conflict with opinion, and thus to provoke contradiction. The 
want in the British Materia Medica of the articles not strictly medicinal, which, 
however, play an essential part in the processes, is supplied by a supplementary 
list of such medicines, given in an Appendix; and there are two other lists in the 
Appendix, one of substances used as ordinary tests in determining the character 
and purity of medicines, and the other of certain preparations used in volumetric 
analysis, which we are disposed to consider as useful features of the work, and 
which will be given in the Appendix to the Dispensatory so far as the individual 
articles composing them may not be noticed elsewhere in the book. 
ACETA. 
Vinegars. 
Under this title, in the United States Pharmacopoeia, are included both Dis- 
tilled Vinegar, and those preparations usually denominated Medicated Vinegars. 
The latter are infusions or solutions of various medicinal substances in vinegar or 
acetic acid. The advantage of vinegar as a menstruum is that, in consequence 
of the acetic acid which it contains, it will dissolve substances not readily solu- 
ble, or altogether insoluble, in water alone. It is an excellent solvent of the 
organic alkalies, which it converts into acetates, thereby modifying, in some 
measure, though not injuriously, the action of the medicines of which they are 
ingredients. As ordinary vinegar contains principles which promote its decom- 
position, it should be purified by distillation before being used as a solvent. In- 
fusions prepared with it, even in this state, are apt to spoil in a short time; and 
a portion of alcohol is usually added to contribute to their preservation. A small 
quantity of acetic ether is said to result from this addition; and, on the continent PART II, 
Aeeta, 
911 
of Europe, the place of the alcohol is frequently supplied by an equal amount 
of concentrated acetic acid. At present diluted acetic acid is generally preferred 
as the menstruum to distilled vinegar, as being of more uniform strength. In 
consequence of their liability to change, the medicated vinegars should be made 
in small quantities, and kept but for a short time. W. 
ACETUM DESTILL ATUM. U.S. Distilled Vinegar. 
“Take of Yinegar eight pints. Distil, by means of a sand-bath, from a glass 
retort into a glass receiver, seven pints. Distilled Yinegar may be substituted 
for Diluted Acetic Acid in the preparation of the officinal vinegars.” IT. S. 
Distilled vinegar, though formerly among the London and Edinburgh offici- 
nals, has been omitted in the Br. Pharmacopoeia. 
Yinegar is a very heterogeneous liquid, containing colouring matter, gum, 
sugar, alcohol, &c.; and the object of the distillation is to purify it. (See Ace- 
tum.) The first portion that distils contains alcohol, aldehyd, and pyroacetic 
spirit (acetone), these being the most volatile ingredients; next the acetic acid 
comes over much purified, but weaker than it exists in the vinegar, on account of 
its being less volatile than water; and, if the distillation be stopped when the 
pure vinegar ceases to come over, there will be found in the retort a liquid of a 
deep-brown colour, very sour and empyreumatic, and containing free tartaric 
and malic acids, bitartrate of potassa, and other substances. This statement ex- 
plains why the last portion (one-eighth) is not distilled; the seven-eighths which 
first come over being alone preserved. The residuary liquid in the retort, if 
diluted with an equal bulk of hot water, may be made to yield, by a fresh dis- 
tillation, a quantity of weak acetic acid equal to the residuary liquid, and of 
about the strength and purity of officinal distilled vinegar. 
Wine vinegar furnishes a stronger and more aromatic distilled vinegar than 
malt or cider vinegar. The U. S. Pharmacopoeia does not give the density, on 
account of its being an uncertain criterion of strength. The saturating power is 
the proper test of the acid present. This, according to the Pharmacopoeia, is 
such that 100 grains of the Distilled Yinegar saturate not less than 7 6 grains 
of bicarbonate of potassa, so that it must have at least the strength of the offi- 
cinal Diluted Acetic Acid. The saturating power, thus given, indicates 5 per 
cent, as the proportion of monohydrated acetic acid contained in it. Consider- 
ing the ordinary pharmaceutical uses of distilled vinegar, variations in its strength, 
limited as they are by the qualities of different vinegars, are of no great conse- 
quence. Its purity is the point of importance. If, however, precision be attempt- 
ed, the saturating power and not the density must be indicated ; and directions 
should be given for bringing a distilled vinegar, which varies from the standard 
of saturating .power, to that standard by the addition either of pure acetic acid 
or of distilled water. The reason why density cannot be depended upon, is that 
the specific gravity is not in proportion to the strength. If the vinegar contain 
a good deal of alcohol and pyroacetic spirit, the distilled product will be light, but 
not necessarily weak. This remark applies particularly to distilled wine vinegar. 
The U. S. Pharmacopoeia directs the distillation of vinegar to be conducted 
in glass vessels; but it is generally distilled in a copper alembic furnished with 
a pewter worm. The use of these metals, however, is hazardous, on account of 
the danger of metallic impregnation. Mr. Brande has suggested that the con- 
denser might be made of very thin silver, a metal not acted on by acetic acid of 
any strength. If this cannot be procured, the head and worm should be of glass 
or earthenware. Empyreuma is effectually prevented by distilling by means of 
steam. 
Properties. Distilled vinegar is a limpid, colourless liquid, of a weak acetous 
taste and smell, less agreeable than those of common vinegar. It is wholly vola- 
tilized by heat. It is not a perfectly pure solution of acetic acid in water; but 
contains a small proportion of aldehyd, which rises in the distillation. It is on 912 
Aceta, 
PART IL 
account of the partial decomposition of this impurity that distilled vinegar, when 
saturated with an alkali, is liable to become of a reddish or brownish colour. 
The Pharmacopoeia, however, directs that it should not change colour upon the 
addition of ammonia. When distilled in metallic vessels, it is apt to contain 
traces of copper, lead, and tin. Copper is detected, after saturating with am- 
monia, by the addition of ferrocyanide of potassium, which produces a brown 
cloud; lead by iodide of potassium, which occasions a yellow precipitate; and 
tin by a solution of terchloride of gold, which causes a purplish appearance. 
The last two metals are discovered also by sulphuretted hydrogen, which occa- 
sions a dark-coloured precipitate. The non-action of this gas proves the ab- 
sence of metals generally. Distilled vinegar should not have an empyreumatic 
taste or a sulphurous smell. As usually prepared, however, it is somewhat em- 
pyreumatic. British malt vinegar is allowed by law to contain one-thousandth 
of sulphuric acid; but, when it is distilled, this acid does not come over. If, 
however, sulphuric acid should be accidentally present in distilled vinegar, it 
may be detected by chloride of barium or acetate of lead. If muriatic acid be 
present, it may be shown by a precipitate being formed with nitrate of silver; 
and if nitric acid be an impurity, the vinegar will possess the property, by diges- 
tion, of dissolving silver, which may be detected afterwards by muriatic acid. • 
Medical Properties and Uses. The medical properties of distilled vinegar are 
the same as those of common vinegar (see Acelum); but the former, being purer, 
and not liable to spontaneous decomposition, is preferable for pharmaceutical 
purposes. Still, distilled vinegar is less pure than the officinal diluted acetic 
acid, which has been substituted for it in the preparations. B. 
ACETUM COLCHICI. U. S. Vinegar of Colchicum. 
“Take of Colchicum Root, in fine powder, two troyounces; Diluted Acetic 
Acid a sufficient quantity. Moisten the powder with a fluidounce of Diluted 
Acetic Acid, allow it to stand for half an hour, pack it firmly in a conical glass 
percolator, and gradually pour upon it Diluted Acetic Acid until the filtered 
liquid measures two pints. 
“Vinegar of Colchicum may also be prepared by macerating the Colchicum 
Root, in moderately fine powder, with two pints of Diluted Acetic Acid, in a 
close glass vessel, for seven days; then expressing the liquid, and filtering 
through paper.” U. S. 
Vinegar is an excellent solvent of the active principle of colchicum; and the 
organic alkali of the latter loses none of its efficacy by combination with the 
acetic acid of the former. Of the two formulas above given, the first, directing 
percolation, is much preferable to the second, permitting maceration, if per- 
formed by competent hands; and the same remark will apply to all the medi- 
cated vinegars in which an alternative formula is given. 
Medical Uses. This preparation has been extolled as a diuretic in dropsy, 
and may be given in gout, rheumatism, and neuralgia; but the wines of colchicum 
are usually preferred. It is recommended by Scudamore to be given in connec- 
tion with magnesia, so as to neutralize the acetic acid of the menstruum. The 
dose is from thirty drops to two fluidrachms. W. 
ACETUM LOBELIiE. U. S. Vinegar of Lobelia. 
“Take of Lobelia, in moderately coarse powder, four troyounces; Diluted 
Acetic Acid a sufficient quantity. Moisten the powder with two fluidounces of 
Diluted Acetic Acid, pack it firmly in a conical glass percolator, and gradually 
pour upon it Diluted Acetic Acid until the filtered liquid measures two pints. 
“Vinegar of Lobelia may also be prepared by macerating the powder in two 
pints of Diluted Acetic Acid for seven days, expressing the liquid, and filtering 
through paper.” U. S. 
This is a good preparation of lobelia, and might well be formed into a syrup, PART II. 
Aceta. 
913 
by the addition of sugar, as in the syrup of squill. It has the advantage that 
acetic acid gives stability to the alkaloid, which is very liable to decomposition, 
especially under the influence of heat. It may be used for all the purposes for 
which lobelia is given either in substance or tincture; but is best adapted to cases 
in which the medicine is exhibited in small doses frequently repeated, with a view 
to its antispasmodic and expectorant action, as in asthma, spasmodic catarrh, and 
catarrhal croup, in which it may often be advantageously conjoined with the 
syrups of seneka and squill. For these purposes the dose for an adult is from 
thirty minims to a fluidrachm, repeated three or four times a day, or more fre- 
quently if required. In the paroxysm of spasmodic asthma one or two fluidrachms 
may be given every two or three hours till relief is obtained. The emetic dose 
would be half a fluidounce. W. 
ACETUM OPII. TJ. S. Vinegar of Opium. Black Drop. 
“Take of Opium, dried, and in moderately coarse powder, five troyounces ; 
Nutmeg,-in moderately coarse powder, a troyounce; Saffron, in moderately 
coarse powder, one hundred and fifty grains; Sugar eight troyounces; Diluted 
Acetic Acid a sufficient quantity. Macerate the Opium, Nutmeg, and Saffron 
with a pint of Diluted Acetic Acid for twenty-four hours. Put the mixture into 
a conical glass percolator, and return the liquid which first passes until the 
filtrate becomes clear. Then gradually pour on Diluted Acetic Acid until 
the filtered liquid measures twenty-six fluidounces. In this dissolve the Sugar, 
and, having strained the solution, add sufficient Diluted Acetic Acid to make 
the whole measure two pints.” U. S. 
The vinegar of opium was introduced into the Pharmacopoeias as an imita- 
tion of or substitute for a preparation, which has been long in use under the 
name of Lancaster or Quaker's black drop, or simply black drop. The form- 
ula of the first edition of the D. S. Pharmacopoeia was so deficient in preci- 
sion, and so uncertain in its results, that it was abandoned in the second edition; 
but, as these objections were obviated in a process by Mr. Charles Ellis, pub- 
lished in the American Journal of Pharmacy (vol. ii. page 202), and as the 
preparation continued to enjoy a considerable degree of professional and popu- 
lar favour, it was deemed proper to restore it to its officinal rank at the subse- 
quent revision of the Pharmacopoeia. The D. S. formula above given is essen- 
tially that of Mr. Ellis, but with improvements in the present edition, which 
obviate the necessity of evaporation. The preparation has, we think unfortu- 
nately, been omitted in the British Pharmacopoeia with all the other vinegars. 
The advantages of the black drop over laudanum are, probably, that disturbing 
principles contained in opium and soluble in alcohol are left behind by the aque- 
ous menstruum employed; while the meconate of morphia is converted by the 
acetic acid into the acetate. In the original process, published by Dr. Armstrong, 
who found it among the papers of a relative of the proprietor in England, ver- 
juice, or the juice of the wild crab, was employed instead of vinegar. Other 
vegetable acids also favourably modify the narcotic operation of opium; and 
lemon-juice has been employed in a similar manner with vinegar or verjuice, and 
perhaps not less advantageously.* 
* The following is the formula given in the first edition of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. 
“Take of Opium half a pound; Vinegar three pints; Nutmeg, bruised, one ounce and a half; 
Saffron half an ounce. Boil them to a proper consistence; then add Sugar four ounces; Yeast 
one fluidounce. Digest for seven weeks, then place in the open air until it becomes a syrup ; 
lastly, decant, filter, and bottle it up, adding a little sugar to each bottle.” The boiling to 
a proper consistence, the digestion in the open air until a syrup is formed, and the addition 
of a little sugar to each bottle, are all indefinite directions which must have led to uncer- 
tain results. Independently of this want of precision, the point in which the old process 
chiefly differs from that at present officinal is, that, in the former, fermentation is induced 
by the addition of yeast. But fermentation is of very doubtful value in the process; at 
'east its advantages have not been proved. 914 
Aceta. 
PART II. 
The vinegar of opium may sometimes be advantageously used when opium 
itself, or the tincture, in consequence of peculiarity in the disease or in the con- 
stitution of the patient, occasions so much headache, nausea, or nervous disor- 
der, as to render its employment inconvenient if not impossible. It exhibits all 
the anodyne and soporific properties of the narcotic, with less tendency to pro- 
duce these disagreeable effects, at least in many instances. The U. S. prepara- 
tion is of double the strength of laudanum, six and a half minims containing the 
soluble parts of about one grain of opium, supposing the drug to be completely 
exhausted by the menstruum. The dose may be stated at from seven to ten 
drops or minims. W. 
ACETUM SANGUINARIiE. U. S. Vinegar of Bloodroot. 
“Take of Bloodroot, in moderately coarse powder, four troyounces; Diluted 
Acetic Acid a sufficient quantity. Moisten the powder with two fluidounces of 
Diluted Acetic Acid, pack it firmly in a conical glass percolator, and gradually 
pour upon it Diluted Acetic Acid until the filtered liquid measures two pints. 
“ Vinegar of Bloodroot may also be prepared by macerating the powder with 
two pints of Diluted Acetic Acid for seven days, expressing the liquid, and fil- 
tering through paper.” U. S. 
This is one of the new officinals of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. It is no doubt 
an efficient preparation, and may be used for the same purposes as the powdered 
root. When first prepared, it has a deep-red colour, which is diminished by time; 
but through what chemical agency is unknown; as, according to Prof. Procter, 
the change is independent of the acetate of sanguinarina, which is formed in the 
process. (Am. Journ. of Pliarm., May, 1864, p. 210.) A syrup may be formed 
from this vinegar by the addition of sugar, as in the syrup of squill. The dose of 
the vinegar of bloodroot as an emetic is three or four fluidrachms; as an altera- 
tive and expectorant, from fifteen to thirty drops or minims. It has been used as 
a local remedy in ringworm and other cutaneous diseases, and has been found by 
Dr. R. G. Jennings efficient as a gargle in the sorethroat of scarlet fever. W. 
ACETUM SCILLiE. U. S. Vinegar of Squill 
“Take of Squill, in moderately coarse powder, four troyounces; Diluted 
Acetic Acid a sufficient quantity. Moisten the powder with a fluidounce of 
Diluted Acetic Acid, pack it in a conical glass percolator, and gradually pour 
upon it Diluted Acetic Acid until the filtered liquid measures two pints. 
“Vinegar of Squill may also be prepared by macerating the Squill with two 
pints of Diluted Acetic Acid for seven days, expressing the liquid, and filtering 
through paper.” U. S. 
A practical error occurred, in the late revision of the Pharmacopoeia, in the 
directions of this formula, which renders the whole process almost nugatory. 
Notwithstanding the coarseness of the powder as ordered, the disposition of 
squill to swell up and form an adhesive mass with the menstruum is such, that 
the percolation cannot be satisfactorily effected in strict compliance with the 
directions. The squill should be first mixed with a pint of the diluted acetic acid, 
as ordered in the Pharmacopoeia of 1850, and, when the swelling has taken 
place, the whole mass should be transferred to a conical percolator of glass, and 
properly packed by means of agitation and gentle pressure, after which the pro- 
cess is to be completed, as directed in the formula, by adding the diluted acid 
gradually until two pints of the vinegar have passed. (Procter, Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., July, 1864, p. 298.) 
In the British Pharmacopoeia this vinegar has been omitted as a distinct 
preparation, though the formula is retained as the first step in the preparation 
of the syrup. As vinegar of squill is apt to be injured by keeping, it should be 
prepared frequently, and in small quantities, as wanted for use. It is employed 
chiefly in the preparation of the syrup of squill. Upon standing, it deposits a 
precipitate, consisting, according to Vogel, of citrate of lime and tannic acid. PART II. 
Aceta.—Acida. 
915 
Medical Uses. This preparation has all the properties of the squill in sub- 
stance, and is occasionally prescribed as a diuretic and expectorant in various 
forms of dropsy and of pulmonary disease; but the syrup is usually preferred, 
as it keeps better, and is less unpleasant to the taste. The dose is from thirty 
minims to two fluidrachms; but the latter quantity would be apt to produce 
vomiting. It should be given in cinnamon water, mint water, or other aromatic 
liquid calculated to conceal its taste and obviate nausea.* 
Off. Prep. Syrupus Scillse, U. S. W. 
ACIDA. 
Acids. 
Acids are compounds which are capable of uniting in definite proportions with 
alkalies, earths, and ordinary metallic oxides, with the effect of producing a com- 
bination, in which the properties of its constituents are mutually destroyed. Such 
combinations are said to be neutral, and are denominated salts. Most acids have 
a sour taste, and possess the power of changing vegetable blues to red; and, 
though these properties are by no means constant, yet they afford a convenient 
means of detecting acids, applicable in practice to most cases. The above ex- 
planation of the nature of an acid is that usually given ; but, according to strict 
definition, acids are compounds having a strong electro-negative energy, and, 
therefore, possessing a powerful affinity for electro-positive compounds, such as 
alkalies, earths, and ordinary oxides. It is this antagonism in the electrical con- 
dition of these two great classes of chemical compounds that gives rise to their 
mutual affinity, which is so much the stronger as the contrast in this respect is 
* Acidum Aceticum Camphoratum. (Ed., Dub.) Camphorated Acetic Acid. This is an old offi- 
cinal of the Ed. and Dub. Pharmacopoeias, which, though omitted in the British, deserves 
to be retained in a note, if only from its old reputation. It was prepared as follows. 
“Take of Camphor one ounce [avoird.]; Rectified Spirit one fluidrachm; Strong Acetic 
Acid ten fluidounces. Reduce the camphor to powder by means of the Spirit; then add the 
Acid, and dissolve.” Dub. 
The use of the alcohol is simply to facilitate the pulverization of the camphor, and a 
few drops are sufficient. Acetic acid in its concentrated state readily dissolves camphor. 
In this preparation, the whole of the camphor is taken up by the acid. In consequence of 
the powerful chemical agency of the solution, and its extreme volatility, it should be kept 
in glass bottles accurately fitted with ground stoppers. Camphorated acetic acid is an ex- 
ceedingly* pungent perfume, which, when snuffed up the nostrils, produces a strongly ex- 
citant impression, and may be beneficially resorted to in cases of fainting or nervous 
debility. It was an officinal substitute for Henry’s aromatic spirit of vinegar. 
At Apothecaries’ Hall, in London, an aromatic vinegar is prepared by dissolving the oils 
of cloves, lavender, rosemary, and calamus, in highly concentrated acetic acid. It is used 
for the same purpose as the officinal camphorated acetic acid, being dropped on sponge, 
and kept in smelling bottles. A similar preparation may be made extemporaneously by 
adding to a drachm of acetate of potassa, contained in a stoppered bottle, three drops of 
one or more of the aromatic volatile oils, and twenty drops of sulphuric acid. (Pereira.) 
A preparation called Marseilles vinegar, or thieves' vinegar (vinaigre des quatres voleurs), con- 
sisting essentially of vinegar impregnated with aromatic substances, was formerly esteemed 
a prophylactic against the plague and other contagious diseases. It is said to have de- 
rived its name and reputation from the circumstance, that four thieves, who, during the 
plague at Marseilles, had plundered the dead bodies with impunity, confessed, upon the 
condition of a pardon, that they owed their safety to the use of it. The aromatic acetic acid 
of the former Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia was intended as a simplification of this nostrum. 
It was made by macerating for a week an ounce of rosemary, an ounce of sage, half an 
ounce of lavender, and half a drachm of cloves, with two pounds of distilled vinegar, 
then expressing the liquor and filtering. Origanum was afterwards substituted for sage, 
and thirty fluidounces of acetic acid for two pounds of distilled vinegar. In the last edi- 
tion of the Pharmacopoeia the preparation was abandoned. In the present state of know- 
ledge, it is hardly necessary to observe that neither the original nostrum, nor its substitute, 
has any other power of protecting the system against disease than such as may depend on 
its slightly stimulant properties, and its influence over the imagination. W 916 
Acida, 
PART II. 
greater. In the majority of cases, the electro-negative compound or acid is an 
oxidized body, but by no means necessarily so. When an acid does not contain 
oxygen, hydrogen is usually present. These peculiarities in composition have 
given rise to the division of acids by some writers into oxacids and hydracids. 
Vegetable acids, for the most part, contain both hydrogen and oxygen. 
The number of acids used in medicine is small; but among these are to be 
found examples of the three kinds above mentioned. B. 
ACIDUM ACETICUM DILUTUM. U. 8., Br. Diluted Acetic Acid. 
“ Take of Acetic Acid a pint; Distilled Water seven pints. Mix them.” The 
sp.gr. of this acid is 1-006, and 100 grains of it saturate 7'6 grains of crystal- 
lized bicarbonate of potassa. U. S. 
“Take of Acetic Acid one pint [Imp. meas.], Distilled Water seven pints 
[Imp. meas.]. Mix.” The sp.gr. of this acid is L006, and an Imperial fluid- 
ounce of it requires for neutralization 31 measures of the volumetric solution 
of soda. Br. 
The object of having this preparation is to possess a weak solution of pure 
acetic acid, which may be substituted for distilled vinegar in all formulas in which 
nicety is required. Distilled vinegar contains a little organic matter, which is 
always darkened or precipitated when its acid is saturated with an alkali, an 
occurrence which does not take place when the diluted acetic acid is employed. 
The saturating strength of the diluted acid of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia indicates 
the same proportion of monohydrated acetic acid as is contained in the officinal 
distilled vinegar, namely, 5 per cent. The British diluted acid has the same sp. gr. 
as our own, viz. 1 006. 
In making this preparation, whenever the apothecary is doubtful as to the 
strength of the acetic acid he employs, it will be his duty to ascertain its satu- 
rating power, and, if this should vary from the standard, to vary the dilution 
accordingly. 
Diluted acetic acid has been employed with advantage in scarlatina by Dr. I. 
B. Brown, of London, who published a treatise on its use in 1846. Dr. B. F. 
Schneck, of Lebanon, Pa., has imitated this practice, and with good results. (Am. 
Journ. of Med. Sci., July, 1857, p. 27.) 
Off. Prep. Acetum Colchici, U. S.; Acetum Lobelise, TJ. S.; Acetum Opii, 
U. S.; Acetum Sanguinariae, U. S.; Acetum Scillae, U. S.; Emplastrum Ammo- 
niaci, U. S.; Liquor Ammoniae Acetatis, U. S.; Syrupus Allii, U. S.; .Syrupus 
Scillae, Br. B. 
ACIDUM BENZOICUM. U. 8., Br. Benzoic Acid. 
“ Take of Benzoin, in coarse powder, twelve troyounces. Spread the Benzoin 
evenly over the bottom of an iron dish eight inches in diameter, cover the dish 
with a piece of filtering paper, and, by means of paste, attach it closely to the 
rim. Then, having prepared a conical receiver or cap of thick, well-sized paper, 
of rather larger diameter than the dish, invert it over the latter, so as to fit 
closely around the rim. Next apply heat by means of a sand-bath, or of the iron 
plate of a stove, until, without much empyreuma, vapours of Benzoic Acid cease 
to rise. Lastly, separate the receiver from time to time, and remove the Benzoic 
Acid from it and the paper diaphragm, as long as the Acid continues to be 
deposited.” U. S. 
“ Take of Benzoin four ounces. Place the Benzoin in a cylindric pot of sheet 
iron, furnished with a flange at its mouth; and, having fitted the pot into a 
circular hole in a sheet of pasteboard, interpose between the pasteboard and 
flange a collar of tow, so as to produce a nearly air-tight junction. Let a cylin- 
der of stiff paper, open at one end, eighteen inches high, and having a diameter 
at least twice that of the pot, be now inverted on the pasteboard, and secured 
to it by slips of paper aud flour paste. Pass two inches of the lower par* of the PART II. 
Adda. 
917 
pot through a hole in a plate of sheet tin, which is to be kept from contact with 
the pasteboard by the interposition of a few corks; and let a heat just sufficient 
to melt the benzoin (that of a gas-lamp answers well) be applied, and continued 
for at least six hours, that Benzoic Acid may be sublimed. Let the product 
thus obtained, if not quite white, be pressed firmly between folds of filtering 
paper, and again sublimed.” Br. 
The Pharmacopoeias now unite in procuring benzoic acid by sublimation. 
Formerly the benzoin was mixed with an equal weight of sand; but this has 
been omitted, as not only useless, but probably injurious by favouring the pro- 
duction of empyreumatic substances. The acid, which exists in the benzoin com- 
bined with resin, is volatilized by the heat, and condensed in the upper part of 
the apparatus. Unless the temperature is very carefully regulated, a portion of 
the resin is decomposed, and an oily substance generated, which rises with the 
acid, and gives it a brown colour, from which it cannot be entirely freed by 
bibulous paper; and this result sometimes takes place even with the greatest 
caution. The process for subliming benzoic acid may be conducted in a glazed 
earthen vessel, surmounted by a cone of paper, or by another vessel with a small 
opening at the top, and a band of paper pasted round the place of junction. 
After the heat has been applied for an hour, the process should be suspended 
till the condensed acid is removed from the upper vessel or paper cone, when it 
may be renewed, and the acid again removed, and thus alternately till coloured 
vapours rise. Mohr, after many experiments, recommends the following plan as 
unobjectionable. In a round cast-iron vessel, eight or nine inches in diameter 
and two inches deep, a pound or less of coarsely powdered benzoin is placed, 
and uniformly strewed over the bottom. The top of the vessel is closed by a 
sheet of bibulous paper, which is secured to the sides by paste. A cylinder of 
thick paper in the form of a hat, just large enough to fit closely around the sides 
of the pot, is then placed over it, and in like manner secured by paste. A mod- 
erate heat is now applied by means of a sand-bath, and continued for three or 
four hours. The vapours pass through the bibulous paper, which absorbs the 
empyreumatic oil, and are condensed within the hat in brilliant white flowers, 
having an agreeable odour of benzoin. (Annal. der Pharm., xxix. 178.) After 
a time the bibulous paper becomes so saturated with empyreumatic products 
as no longer to arrest them, and should then be replaced with a fresh piece. 
(Maisch.) The remaining acid of the benzoin may be extracted, if deemed ad- 
visable, by treating the residue of the balsam with lime or carbonate of soda. 
The process of Mohr has been adopted in the present edition of the U. S. Phar- 
macopoeia, and is probably preferable to any method heretofore proposed. From 
the mode of preparing benzoic acid by sublimation, it was formerly called flowers 
of benzoin. 
Another mode of separating the acid from benzoin is by combining it with a 
salifiable base, and precipitating with an acid. Such is the process of Scheele. 
It consists in boiling the powdered benzoin with hydrate of lime and water, fil- 
tering the solution of benzoate of lime thus obtained, and precipitating the ben- 
zoic acid with muriatic acid. Carbonate of soda or of potassa may be substituted 
for the lime, and sulphuric for the muriatic acid; and the precipitated benzoic 
acid may be purified by dissolving it in boiling water, which will deposit it upon 
cooling. The acid, however, requires to be still further purified by repeated 
crystallization from small portions of boiling water. A little animal charcoal 
may be employed to render the crystals quite colourless. These processes afford 
a purer product than that obtained by sublimation, but not preferable in a 
medicinal point of view; as the small quantity of oil present in the sublimed 
acid adds to its stimulant properties, and at the same time renders it pleasant 
to the smell. In order to get the benzoic acid in the form to which the eye is 
accustomed, it has been proposed to sublime the acid after its precipitation. 918 
Acida, 
PART II. 
Several other modes of extracting the acid have been recommended. The 
following is the process of Stolze. One part of the balsam is dissolved in three 
parts of alcohol, the solution filtered and introduced into a retort, and the acid 
saturated by carbonate of soda dissolved in a mixture of eight parts of water 
and three of alcohol. The alcohol is distilled off; and the benzoate of soda 
contained in the residuary liquid is decomposed by sulphuric acid, which pre- 
cipitates the benzoic acid.* This is purified by solution in boiling water, which 
lets fall the acid when it cools. By this process Stolze obtained 18 per cent, 
of acid from benzoin containing 19 425 per cent. By the process of Scheele he 
obtained 13 5 per cent.; by the agency of carbonate of soda, 12 per cent.; by 
sublimation only 7‘6 per cent. Nevertheless, Mr. Brande says that the last pro- 
cess is on the whole the most economical. According to this author, good ben- 
zoin affords by sublimation from 10 to 15 per cent, of the acid contaminated 
with empyreumatic oil, and about 9 per cent, of the purified acid. Professor 
Scharling has prepared benzoic acid by means of heated steam, and obtained 8 
per cent. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxiv. 236.) 
A considerable quantity of benzoic acid has, within a few years, been imported 
into the United States from Germany, said to have been prepared from the urine 
of cattle and horses. It is white, has a fine lustre, and is said to be very pure, 
but sometimes has a slight urinous odour indicative of its origin. (Am. Journ. 
of Pharm., xxvii. 23.) 
Properties. Sublimed benzoic acid is in white, soft, feathery crystals, of a 
silky lustre, and not pulverulent. From solution the acid crystallizes in trans- 
parent prisms. When quite pure it is inodorous; but, prepared by sublimation 
from the balsam, it has a peculiar, agreeable, aromatic odour, dependent on the 
presence of an oil, which may be separated by dissolving the acid in alcohol, 
and precipitating it with water. Its taste is warm, acrid, and acidulous. It is 
unalterable in the air, but at 230° melts, and at a somewhat higher temperature 
rises in suffocating vapours. It is inflammable, burning without residue. It is 
soluble in 200 parts of cold water (Annals of Pharmacy, i. 206), and in about ‘ 
24 parts of boiling water, which deposits it upon cooling. The addition of 
borax increases its solubility. It is readily dissolved by alcohol, and by con- 
centrated sulphuric and nitric acids, from which it is precipitated by water. The 
fixed oils also dissolve it. It is entirely soluble in solutions of potassa, soda, 
ammonia, and lime, from which it is precipitated by muriatic acid. Its solution 
reddens litmus paper, and it forms salts with salifiable bases; but its acid pro- 
perties are not powerful. Benzoic acid consists of benzyl and oxygen, and in 
the uncombined state usually contains water. The anhydrous acid has, however, 
been isolated by Gerhardt. (Chem. Gaz., x. 237.) Benzyl consists of fourteen 
eqs. of carbon 84„five of hydrogen 5, and two of oxygen 16 = 105. The crys- 
tallized acid contains one eq. of benzyl 105, one of oxygen 8, and one of water 
9=122, the formula being H0,C14H.03. It cannot be deprived of its water by 
heat, but sometimes loses it in combination. Benzoic acid is a characteristic 
constituent of the balsams, and has been found in various other vegetable, and 
some animal products.* When heated it should sublime without residue. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Benzoic acid is irritant to the alimentary mu- 
cous membrane, and stimulant to the system, and has been thought to be expec- 
torant; but it is seldom used internally, except as a constituent of one or two 
officinal preparations. It was proposed by Dr. Alexander Ure as a remedy for 
* Benzyl, which was at first hypothetical, has been isolated. When benzoate of copper is 
cautiously distilled without water, it yields a product which crystallizes on cooling. This 
substance has the smell of geranium, melts at 158° F., and has a composition represented 
by the formula C14H502. When heated with hydrate of potassa, it is converted into benzoic 
acid, with the escape of hydrogen. It is, therefore, benzyl. It was discovered by Ettling, 
and afterwards investigated by Stenhouse. (Fowncs’s Chemistry, Am. ed., 1851 p. 4.< 1 ) PART II. 
Acida. 
919 
uric acid deposits in the urine, and for the chalk-like concretions, consisting of 
urate of soda, in the joints of gouty individuals. He supposed it to operate by 
converting the uric into hippuric acid, and consequently the insoluble urates into 
soluble hippurates. It appears, however, from the observations of Dr. Garrod 
and Mr. Keller, that such a transformation of uric acid does not take place, but 
that the benzoic acid is itself converted into hippuric acid, which is always found 
in the urine, when the former acid is taken freely. The quantity of uric acid in 
the urine remains undiminished. But it has been shown by Kletzinsky that, though 
the uric acid is unaffected, the urea is decidedly diminished; and the quantity of 
nitrogen contained in the urea lost is almost exactly represented by the nitrogen 
of the hippuric acid formed ; so that the benzoic acid is probably converted into 
the hippuric by combination with a nitrogenous body, either derived from the urea 
or formed at the expense of it. (Ann. de Therap., 1860, p. 110.) In consequence 
of the acid state of urine produced by benzoic acid, it has been found useful in 
the phosphatic variety of gravel; though its beneficial influence, being purely 
chemical, continues only during its use. It is said to have cured nocturnal incon- 
tinence of urine. Mr. White Cooper has employed it with supposed advantage 
in a case of rheumatic sclerotitis. (See Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., N. S., xxv. 518.) 
A convenient mode of exhibition is to give the acid with four parts of phosphate 
of soda, or one part and a half of biborate of soda, which enables it to be readily 
dissolved by water. The dose is from 10 to 30 grains. It is an ingredient in 
some cosmetic washes, and has been employed by way of fumigation as a remedy 
in affections of the skin. It has also been employed as a local haemostatic, in 
connection with alum, with considerable asserted success; but there can be little 
doubt that alum is the more efficient ingredient. 
Off. Prep. Ammoniae Benzoas, Br.; Tinctura Opii Camphorata, U. S.; Tinct. 
Camphor® cum Opio, Br. W. 
ACIDUM GALLICUM. U.S.,Br. Gallic Acid. 
“ Take of Nutgall, in fine powder, thirty-six troyounces; Purified Animal Char- 
coal, Distilled Water, each, a sufficient quantity. Mix the Nutgall with sufficient 
Distilled Water to form a thin paste, and expose the mixture to the air, in a shal- 
low glass or porcelain vessel, in a warm place, for a month, occasionally stirring 
it with a glass rod, and adding from time to time sufficient Distilled Water to 
preserve the semi-fluid consistence. Then submit the paste to expression, and, 
rejecting the expressed liquor, boil the residue in eight pints of Distilled Water 
for a few minutes, and filter while hot through Purified Animal Charcoal. Set 
the liquid aside that crystals may form, and dry them on bibulous paper. If the 
crystals be not sufficiently free from colour, they may be purified by dissolving 
them in boiling Distilled Water, filtering through a fresh portion of Purified 
Animal Charcoal, and crystallizing.” U. S. 
The Dublin College gave two processes, of which the first has been retained, 
with a few verbal modifications, in the British Pharmacopoeia. It is essentially 
the same as the U. S. process; differing in requiring an exposure of six weeks 
instead of a month, in not expressing the paste before boiling in water, in ex- 
pressing the impure acid deposited from the filtered decoction before redissolv- 
ing it in boiling water, and in omitting the use of animal charcoal. The second 
process of the Dublin College, based on the influence of sulphuric acid in favour- 
ing the change of tannic into gallic acid, has the merit of requiring less time for 
completion. Notwithstanding its rejection in the late revision of the British 
Pharmacopoeia, we retain it in the form of a note.* 
* Process by Sulphuric Acid. “Take of powdered Galls one pound [avoirdupois]; Oil of 
Vitriol of Commerce twenty-six fiuidounces; Water five pints [Imp. meas.] and fourteen [fluid] 
ounces. Steep the galls for twenty-four hours in one part of the water, then transfer them 
to a glass or porcelain percolator, and pour on a pint and a half of the water in successive 
portions Dilute five ounces cf the oil of vitriol with an equal bulk of water, and, when Acida, 
PART II. 
Thjj XJ. 5. process is founded upon the fact that, when galls in infusion, or 
in the state of moistened powder, are exposed to the air, their tannic acid is 
gradually converted into gallic acid, with the absorption, as has been generally 
believed, of oxygen, and the escape of an equivalent quantity of carbonic acid. 
The gallic acid, being freely soluble in boiling but very sparingly in cold water, 
is extracted from the altered galls by decoction, and is deposited as the water 
cools. A repetition of the solution and deposition renders the acid more pure; 
but it cannot be obtained wholly colourless unless by the aid of animal charcoal. 
In the U. S. Pharmacopoeia of 1850 it was neglected to direct purified animal 
charcoal; an inadvertence which has been corrected in the present edition. There 
are few processes in which it is more necessary that this decolorizing agent should 
be purified. The presence of the slightest quantity of sesquioxide of iron inter- 
feres with the bleaching of the acid; and it is even advisable to examine the 
filtering paper employed, lest it may contain sufficient of this substance to vitiate 
the results of the process. The first crop of crystals in the U. S. process retains 
a very large proportion of water; and it will be found convenient to subject them 
to strong expression between folds of bibulous paper. 
Dr. C. Wetherill, believing that gallic acid differs from the tannic simply in 
containing water, conceived the idea of preparing the former from the latter by 
the fixation of water. This he effected through the agency of sulphuric acid. 
Having mixed 13 drachms of tannic acid with 22 fluidouuces of sulphuric acid 
and four times that bulk of water, he heated the mixture to the boiling point, 
and then allowed it to stand. In a few days an abundant precipitate of white gal- 
lic acid took place, amounting to 87‘4 per cent, of the tannic acid. (Am. Journ. 
of Pharm., xx. 112.) Upon the same principle is based the second process of 
the Dublin College above referred to. Dr. Christison, in his Dispensatory, states 
that the process was originally suggested by Liebig. It is now understood that 
tannic acid is a glueoside, convertible through exposure of galls to the air, and 
more rapidly by sulphuric acid, into glucose and gallic acid; and thus to a cer- 
tain extent is explained the rationale of both the processes here noticed. 
The elder Robiquet first suggested that galls contain a principle capable of 
converting tannic into gallic acid, with the presence of water, and in the absence 
of atmospheric air. M. Larocque proved that this principle acts as a ferment, 
and that the change referred to is the result of a gallic acid fermentation in the 
galls. M. Edmond Robiquet has shown that galls contain pectose and pectase, 
the former of which, according to the experiments of M. Fremy, is the principle 
out of which pectin is formed in plants, and the latter a peculiar ferment which 
effects the transformation. It appears that in galls the pectase, aided by a pro- 
per temperature and the presence of water, changes not only pectose into pectin, 
but also tannic into gallic acid. Strecker had previously advanced the opinion 
the mixture has cooled, add it to the infusion obtained by percolation, stirring well, so as 
to bring them into perfect contact. Let the viscid precipitate which forms be separated by 
a filter, and to the solution which passes through add five ounces more of the oil of vitriol, 
which will yield an additional precipitate. This being added to that previously obtained, 
let both be enveloped in calico, and subjected to powerful pressure. Dissolve the residue 
in the rest of the oil of vitriol, this latter being first diluted with what remains of the wa- 
ter; boil the solution for twenty minutes, then allow it to cool, and set it by for a week. 
Let the deposit which has formed at the end of this period be pressed, dried, and then dis- 
solved in three times its weight of boiling water, clearing the solution, if necessary, by 
filtration, and, when it has cooled down to 80°, decant the liquid from the crystalline sedi- 
ment which has formed, and wash the latter with three ounces of ice-cold water. Finally, 
let it be transferred to blotting paper, and, when deprived by this of adhering liquid, let 
it be dried perfectly at a temperature not exceeding 212°. The gallic acid obtained may 
be rendered nearly white by dissolving it in twenty times its weight of boiling distilled 
water, and causing the solution to traverse a stratum of prepared animal charcoal spr2ad 
upon a calico filter. When the liquid passes through colourless it should be evaporated to 
one-sixtli of its volume, and then suffered to cool in order to the separation of the crystal- 
lized acid.” (Dub. A. D. 1850.) i»ART II. 
Adda. 
921 
that tannic acid is a combination of gallic acid and sugar, the latter of which i 
destroyed in the process for procuring gallic acid, which is thus simply set free 
from the combination. It would seem, if this view is correct, that the pectase 
acts upon the saccharine matter of the tannic acid, causing its conversion into 
carbonic acid and alcohol, and liberating the gallic acid, and that the process is 
in fact an example of the vinous fermentation. M. E. Robiquet admits the occa- 
sional transformation of tannic acid into gallic acid and sugar, but does not 
believe that the sugar pre-exists as such in the tannin. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e 
ser., xxiii. 241.) Wittstein, in endeavouring to obtain gallic acid from Chinese 
galls (see page 403) by forming them into a paste with water, found that but a 
very small proportion of the acid was generated at the end of six weeks. Think- 
ing that this might have resulted from the want of the ferment in the Chinese 
galls, he added to these one-eighth of their weight of*common galls, and, at the 
end of three weeks, obtained an amount of gallic acid nearly equal to one-half 
the weight of the galls employed. The same result, though more slowly, fol- 
lowed the addition of yeast to the Chinese galls. Wittstein obtained both car- 
bonic acid and alcohol as products of this operation, thus favouring the views 
of Strecker as to the constitution of tannic acid. 
Properties. Gallic acid is in delicate, silky, acicular crystals, which, as ordi- 
narily found in the shops, are slightly brownish, but when quite pure are colour- 
less. It is inodorous, and of a sourish, astringent taste. It is soluble, according 
to Braconnot, in 100 parts of cold and 3 of boiling water, is very soluble in 
alcohol, and but slightly so in ether. Mr. Thomas Weaver, of Philadelphia, has 
found that it is soluble in glycerin in the proportion of 40 grains to the ounce, 
and that the solution may be diluted to any extent with water without affecting 
its transparency. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxix. 82.) It reddens litmus, and 
produces a deep bluish-black colour with solutions of the salts of sesquioxide of 
iron, which disappears when the solution is heated; a result which Dr. Mahla 
nas shown to depend on the conversion of the gallic into gallhumic or metagallic 
acid, by the loss of the constituents of carbonic acid and water. (Am. Journ. of 
Sci. and Arts, Nov. 1859.) It does not precipitate gelatin, or a solution of sul- 
phate of protoxide of iron. It should leave no residue when burnt, and is en- 
tirely dissipated when thrown on red-hot iron. On exposure to the air, its solu- 
tion undergoes spontaneous decomposition; but it is said that, by the addition 
of a drop of oil of cloves, it may be kept for a long time without change. (Pharm. 
Journ., xvi. 223.) The formula of gallic acid is CuHfiOI0 (Gmelin). Heated to 
420° it gives out carbonic acid, and is changed into pyrogallic acid. (See Part 
III.) Thrown on red-hot iron it is entirely dissipated. 
Medical Properties. Forming an ingredient in all astringent products con- 
taining gallo-tannic acid, gallic acid was at one time supposed to be the active 
principle of the vegetable astringents. This reputation it afterwards lost when 
the properties of tannic acid became well known. But it has recently again come 
into notice, and is now thought by many to be a very valuable astringent, having 
the property of arresting hemorrhages when taken internally, especially those 
from the uterus and urinary passages. In all cases of hemorrhage in which the 
bleeding vessels must be reached through the route of the circulation, it is be- 
lieved by some to be more efficient even than tannic acid, as its chemical affinities 
do not afford the same impediment to its absorption as those of the latter acid. 
But in hemorrhage from the alimentary mucous membrane, or from any other part 
with which tannic acid can be brought into direct contact, the latter astringent 
is by far the most effectual. Gallic acid has been employed also with advantage 
in pyrosis, and the night-sweats of phthisis. It is said not to constipate the 
bowels. The dose is from five to fifteen grains three or four times a day, and 
may be given in the form of pill or powder. The acid has been employed as a 
gargle in inflammatory affections of the fauces. The comparative facility with 92 2 
Acida 
PART II. 
which it is dissolved by glycerin, and the readiness with which the solution mixes 
with water, suggests the use of this menstruum when it may be desirable to em- 
ploy the medicine locally, as a gargle or injection. W. 
ACIDUM IlYDRIODICUM DILUTUM. U. S. Diluted Ilydriodic 
Acid. 
“Take of Iodine, in fine powder, a troyounce; Distilled Water a sufficient 
quantity. Mix thirty grains of the Iodine with five fluidounces of Distilled 
Water in a tall glass-stoppered bottle, having the capacity of half a pint, and 
pass into the mixture hydrosulphuric acid gas until the colour of the Iodine 
entirely disappears, and a turbid liquid remains. Detach the bottle from the 
apparatus employed for introducing the gas, and gradually add the remainder 
of the Iodine, stirring at the same time. Then reattach the bottle, and again 
pass the gas until the liquid becomes colourless. Decant the liquid into a small 
matrass which it is nearly sufficient to fill, boil it until it ceases to emit the 
odour of hydrosulphuric acid, and filter through paper. Then pass sufficient 
Distilled Water through the filter to bring the filtered liquid to the measure of 
six fluidounces. Lastly, keep the liquid in a well-stopped bottle. 
“The hydrosulphuric acid gas, required in this process, may be obtained by 
mixing, in a suitable apparatus, a troyounce and a half of sulphuret of iron, 
two troyounces of sulphuric acid, and six fluidounces of water.” U. S. 
This preparation was introduced into the U. S. Pharmacopoeia at its recent 
revision. The process consists essentially in passing hydrosulphuric acid (sul- 
phuretted hydrogen) through water in which iodine is suspended. The rationale 
is extremely simple. The operation takes place between single equivalents of 
the several elements concerned. One eq. of the hydrogen of the hydrosulphuric 
acid unites with one of iodine to form hydriodic acid (HI), while the eq. of sul- 
phur with which it was combined is isolated, and, being insoluble, renders the 
liquid turbid. The iodine is known to have been all combined by the disappear- 
ance of the colour. An excess of hydrosulphuric acid is of no disservice, as it 
is driven off by the boiling. By filtration the liberated sulphur is separated, and 
the clear diluted hydriodic acid remains. By taking fixed proportions of iodine 
and water, an acid of the desired strength is secured. 
In its pure state hydriodic acid is in the form of a gas, which fumes in the 
air, is colourless, and has an odour not unlike that of hydrochloric acid. It has 
a strong affinity for water, which, when saturated with it, forms liquid hydriodic 
acid. This has the sp. gr. 1*7, boils at 2G0° F. and may be distilled. It is offi- 
cinal only in the dilute state. 
The diluted acid, as prepared by the U. S. process, is colourless when recently 
prepared, of a sour taste, and of the sp. gr. IT 12. When exposed to the air it 
gradually darkens, in consequence of the separation of iodine, of which it ac- 
quires the characteristic odour. It is more rapidly decomposed, with the same 
result, by chlorine, by nitric, sulphuric, iodic, and sulphurous acids, and by proto- 
sulphate of iron. 
Diluted hydriodic acid was introduced into use as a medicine by Dr. Andrew 
Buchanan, of Glasgow, under the impression, that it is by passing into this form 
that iodine, when taken internally, is absorbed, and enters the circulation. He 
believed it capable of producing all the effects of that element on the system, 
while it is less unpleasant to the taste, and less apt to offend the stomach. Dr. 
Buchanan used an extemporaneous formula, which consisted in dissolving 330 
grains of iodide of potassium and 264 of tartaric acid, each in one and a half 
fluidounces of water, mixing the solutions, filtering to separate the bitartrate of 
potassa formed, and finally adding sufficient distilled water to make the solution 
measure fifty fluidrachms. Each fluidrachm of this preparation contained five 
grains of iodine. Beginning with a few drops, he gradually increased to a flui- 
drachm, and finally even half a fluidounce or a fluidounce three times a day. Th-« PART II. 
Acida 
923 
officinal acid contains ten grains of iodine in each fluidrachm, and is therefore 
twice as strong as Dr. Buchanan’s solution. There can be little doubt that hy- 
driodic acid is capable of producing the alterative effects of iodine; and it may 
be given in all cases to which that medicine is applicable. The dose may be half 
a fluidrachm three times a day, diluted with water. When the solution becomes 
discoloured it may be irritant through the liberated iodine; but this effect may be 
obviated by exhibiting it in any amylaceous liquid, as barley-water. W. 
ACIDUM HYDROCYANICUM DILUTUM. U. S., Br. Diluted 
Hydrocyanic Acid. Prussic Acid. Cyanohydric Acid. 
“Take of Ferrocyanide of Potassium two troyounces; Sulphuric acid a troy- 
ounce and a half; Distilled Water a sufficient quantity. Mix the Acid with 
four fluidounces of Distilled Water, and pour the mixture, when cool, into a 
glass retort. To this add the Ferrocyanide of Potassium, dissolved in ten fluid- 
ounces of Distilled Water. Pour eight fluidounces of Distilled Water into a 
cooled receiver, and, having attached this to the retort, distil, by means of a 
sand-bath, with a moderate heat, six fluidounces. Lastly, add to the product 
five fluidounces of Distilled Water, or as much as may be sufficient to render 
the Diluted Hydrocyanic Acid of such a strength, that 127 grains of nitrate of 
silver, dissolved in distilled water, may be accurately saturated by 100 grains of 
the acid. 
“ Diluted Hydrocyanic Acid, when wanted for immediate use, may be prepared 
in the following manner. 
“Take of Cyanide of Silver fifty grains and a half; Muriatic Acid forty-one 
grains; Distilled Water a fluidounce. Mix the Muriatic Acid with the Dis- 
tilled Water, add the Cyanide of Silver, and shake the whole together in a well- 
stopped vial. When the precipitate formed has subsided, pour off the clear liquid, 
and keep, it for use. Diluted Hydrocyanic Acid must be kept in well-stopped 
bottles protected from the light.” U. S. 
“Take of Ferrocyanide of Potassium two ounces and a quarter [avoirdu- 
pois] ; Sulphuric Acid seven fluidrachms [Imperial measure] ; Distilled Water 
thirty fluidounces, or a sufficiency. Dissolve the Ferrocyanide of Potassium in 
ten [fluid]ounces of the Water, then add the Sulphuric Acid previously diluted 
with four [9uid]ounces of the Water and cooled. Put them into a retort, and 
adapt this to a receiver containing eight [fluid]ounces of the Water, which must 
be kept carefully cold. Distil with a gentle heat, by the aid of a sand-bath, until 
the fluid in the receiver measures seventeen [fluid]ounces. Add to this three 
[fiuid]ounces of the Water, or as much as may be sufficient to bring the acid 
to the required strength of 2 per cent.”Br. 
Hydrocyanic acid was admitted into the French Codex in 1818, into the 
United States Pharmacopceia in 1820, into the Dublin in 1826, into the London 
in 1836, and into the Edinburgh in 1839. It is now made by one chief process; 
namely, from the ferrocyanide of potassium by the action of sulphuric acid. It is 
also obtained by an extemporaneous process, in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, by 
decomposing cyanide of silver. When ferrocyanide of potassium is decomposed 
by sulphuric acid, the residue in the retort is sulphate of potassa, mixed with an 
insoluble compound of two eqs. of cyanide of iron, and one of cyanide of potas- 
sium (EveriWs salt). According to Wittstein, the reaction takes place in two 
steps. In the first, three eqs. of ferrocyanide, 3(FeCy + 2KCy), react with six 
eqs. of hydrated sulphuric acid, 6(H0,S03), and produce six eqs. of sulphate of 
potassa, 6(K0,S03), and three eqs. of hydroferrocyauic acid, 3(FeCy + 2HCy). 
In the second step, when heat is applied, the three eqs. of hydroferrocyanic acid, 
3(FeCy + 2HCy), react with an additional eq. of ferrocyanide, FeCy -f- 2KCy, 
so as to produce six eqs. of hydrocyanic acid, 6HCy, which distil over, and two 
eqs. of Everitt’s salt, 2(2FeCy -f- KCy), which remain in the retort with the sul- 
phate of potassa (Pharm. Journ., March, 1856, p. 429.) Everitt’s salt, so named Acida, 
PART II. 
from its discoverer, is a yellowish-white powder. Like ferrocyanide of potassium, 
it is a double cyanide of iron and potassium; but the equivalent proportion of 
the two cyanides is reversed. As it appears in practice, it is apt to be greenish, 
owing probably to the presence of a little Prussian blue. 
According to the late Mr. Phillips, an excess of sulphuric acid would endan- 
ger the production of formic acid. The proportion of the acid should not exceed 
three-fourths of the weight of the ferrocyanide. In relation to the most conve- 
nient method of bringing the hydrocyanic acid to the standard strength, and to 
some other points in its preparation by the officinal formula, the reader is referred 
to a paper by Prof. Procter in the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (xix. 259). 
In the U. S. process for obtaining hydrocyanic acid extemporaneously, the 
reacting materials are single equivalents respectively of cyanide of silver and 
muriatic acid. These, by double decomposition, generate hydrocyanic acid which 
dissolves in the water, and chloride of silver which subsides, and from which the 
acid is poured off when clear. (See Argenti Cyanidum.) The extemporaneous 
process is useful to country practitioners; because the acid will not generally 
keep. A portion of hydrocyanic acid, if purchased by a practitioner, may spoil 
on his hands, before he has occasion to use it; but if he supply himself with 
cyanide of silver, he may readily at any moment prepare a small portion of the 
acid, by following the directions of the formula. 
The French Codex of 1831 gives the following process for hydrocyanic acid, 
in place of the three formerly contained in that work. Take of bicyanide of 
mercury thirty parts; muriatic acid (sp.gr. 1T7) twenty parts. Reduce th6 
bicyanide to powder, and introduce it into a small tubulated glass retort, placed 
over a furnace. Adapt to its neck a tube about 13 inches loug, and half an inch 
in diameter, and filled one-half with pieces of marble, and the remainder with 
chloride of calcium. To this tube, arranged nearly horizontally, adapt a smaller 
one, bent at a right angle, and plunging into a graduated tube, surrounded with 
a mixture of common salt and pounded ice. The apparatus being thus arranged, 
and the junctures well luted, add the muriatic acid; and, having allowed the 
action to take place for a few moments in the cold, apply the heat gradually. 
When the action is over, drive forward any acid which may have condensed in 
the large tube, by means of a live coal brought near to it, and passed along its 
whole length. The quantity of acid found in the graduated tube is mixed with 
either six times its bulk, or eight and a half times its weight of distilled water. 
In this process Gay-Lussac’s strong acid is first obtained in the graduated tube, 
and afterwards diluted to a given extent with water. The object of the marble 
and chloride of calcium is to detain, the former muriatic acid, the latter water. 
Another process for obtaining medicinal hydrocyanic acid, proposed by Dr. 
Clark, and adopted by Mr. Laming, is by the reaction of tartaric acid on cyanide 
of potassium in solution. Laming’s formula is as follows. Dissolve twenty-two 
grains of the cyanide in six fluidrachms of distilled water, and add fifty grains of 
crystallized tartaric acid, dissolved in three fluidrachms of rectified spirit. Crys- 
tallized bitartrate of potassa precipitates, and each fluidrachm of the clear de- 
canted liquor contains one grain of pure hydrocyanic acid. The reaction in this 
process takes place between two eqs. of tartaric acid, one of cyanide of potas- 
sium, and one of wrater. The water is decomposed, and the tartaric acid, potas- 
sium, and oxygen unite to form the bitartrate, and the cyanogen and hydrogen 
to form the hydrocyanic acid. Dr. Pereira considered this process to have several 
advantages, but very properly objected to it on account of the trouble and ex- 
pense of obtaining the cyanide of potassium pure, and its liability to undergo 
spontaneous decomposition. (See Potassii Cyanidum.) 
The processes, thus far given, are intended to furnish a dilute hydrocyanic 
acid for medicinal purposes. The methods of obtaining the anhydrous acid are 
different. Vauquelin’s process for the anhydrous acid is to pass a current of PART II. 
Adda, 
925 
hydrosulphuric acid gas over the bicyanide of mercury contained in a glass tube, 
connected with a receiver kept cold by a freezing mixture of ice and salt. The 
first third only of the tube is filled with the bicyanide; the remaining two-thirds 
being occupied, half with carbonate of lead, and half with chloride of calcium; 
the carbonate being intended to detain the hydrosulphuric acid gas, the chloride 
to separate water. Another process for the anhydrous acid is that of Gautier, 
thus described by Berzelius. Ferrocyanide of potassium is fused without access 
of air, whereby it is converted into a mixture of cyanide of potassium and carbu- 
ret of iron. The mass obtained, after having been pulverized and placed in a flask, 
is slightly moistened with water, and acted on with muriatic acid, added by small 
portions at a time. By a double decomposition between the cyanide and muriatic 
acid, chloride of potassium and hydrocyanic acid are formed. The flask is then 
plunged into hot water, which causes the hydrocyanic ad!d to be disengaged in 
form of vapour. This is passed through a tube containing chloride of calcium, 
and finally received in a small flask kept cool by a freezing mixture. 
The process of Wohler for the anhydrous acid is the following. The cyanide 
of potassium selected is a black cyanide, formed by fusing together, in a covered 
crucible, 8 parts of dry ferrocyanide, 3 of ignited cream of tartar, and 1 of char- 
coal in fine powder. The cyanide, while still warm, is exhausted by 6 parts of 
water; and the clear solution, placed in a retort, is decomposed by cold diluted 
sulphuric acid, gradually added. The hydrocyanic acid is condensed first in a 
TJ-tube, containing chloride of calcium, and surrounded with ice-cold water, and 
afterwards in a small bottle, connected with the U-tube by a narrow tube, and 
immersed up to the neck in a mixture of ice and salt. After the acid has been 
condensed and dehydrated in the IJ-tube, the cold water surrounding it is with- 
drawn by a syphon, and replaced by water at a temperature between 85° and 
90°, whereby the anhydrous acid is made to distil over into the small bottle. 
Properties of the Medicinal Acid. Diluted hydrocyanic acid, of the proper 
medicinal strength, is a transparent, colourless, volatile liquid, possessing a 
peculiar smell, and a taste at first cooling and afterwards somewhat irritating. 
It imparts a slight and evanescent red colour to litmus. If it reddens litmus 
strongly and permanently, the fact shows the presence of some acid impurity. 
It is not reddened by the iodo-cyanide of potassium and mercury. The non-ac- 
tion of this test shows the absence of contaminating acids, which, if present, 
would decompose the test, and give rise to the red iodide of mercury. It is 
liable to undergo decomposition if exposed to the light, but is easily kept in a 
bottle covered with black paint or black paper. From experiments carefully 
conducted by MM. Bussy and Buignet, it appears that, when the alteration in 
the acid under the influence of light has begun, it will afterward go on very ra- 
pidly in the dark; and that, after exposure for a certain time to the light, though 
no alteration may be apparent, an influence has nevertheless been exerted which 
disposes to change, and promotes decomposition even in the absence of light. 
Hence the necessity of immediately enclosing the acid in bottles from which the 
light is excluded. {Journ. de Pharm., Dec. 1863, p. 475.)* Its most usual im- 
* Anhydrous hydrocyanic acid sometimes undergoes an apparently spontaneous molecu- 
lar change, by which it is converted into a black solid body, supposed to be paracyanogen 
(2NC2 or N2C4), or its compounds. This change takes place more slowly in watery solutions 
of the acid, which are converted into a black liquid; and it is only in a state of extreme 
dilution, when, for example, water contains not more than one per cent, of the acid, that 
it is altogether prevented. It sometimes takes place in the officinal diluted acid; and Prof. 
Procter has shown us a bottle, which had been most carefully closed, and kept excluded 
from the light, and in which, nevertheless, the acid had become as black as ink. The cause 
of this phenomenon remained long unknown; but recently M. E. Millon has satisfied him- 
self, by experiment, that the real agency is the presence of ammonia, which may some- 
times operate even through the air. (Journ. de Pharm., Janv. 1862, p. 48.) The preservative 
influence of a little sulphuric acid in the diluted hydrocyanic acid is thus explained; and Acida, 
PART II. 
purities are sulphuric and muriatic acids; the former of which may be detected 
by chloride of barium, which will produce a precipitate of sulphate of baryta; 
and the latter, by precipitating with nitrate of silver, when so much of the pre- 
cipitate as may be chloride of silver will be insoluble in boiling nitric acid, while 
the cyanide of silver is readily soluble. The presence of these acids, in slight 
amount, is injurious only by rendering uncertain the strength of the medicinal 
acid, as ascertained by its saturating power. Indeed, Mr. Barry, of London, was 
in the habit of adding a small proportion of muriatic acid to all his medicinal 
hydrocyanic acid, in order to preserve it. But the presence of a mineral acid is 
not necessary for its preservation; for Dr. Christison has known the medicinal 
acid from ferrocyanide of potassium to keep perfectly well, although nitrate of 
baryta did not produce the slightest muddiness. If lead be present, it may be 
detected by hydrosuljJhuric acid gas, which will cause a blackish precipitate. 
Hydrocyanic acid is incompatible with nitrate of silver, the salts of iron and cop- 
per, and most of the salts of mercury. 
Formerly the medicinal acid was of different strengths, as ordered by the 
different pharmaceutical authorities; but happily the TJ. S. and Br. Pharmaco- 
poeias conform in this important point. At one time its strength was indicated 
by its specific gravity, which is lower in proportion as it is stronger; but this 
imprecise mode of estimate is not now relied on; and, though the Br. Pharma- 
copoeia gives the sp. gr. of its dilute acid at 0 997, yet both it and that of the 
United States give the saturating power as an index of the strength. Accord- 
ing to the United States formula, 100 grains of the acid must accurately saturate 
127 grains of nitrate of silver dissolved in distilled water, and produce a white 
precipitate (cyanide of silver), which, when washed and dried, at a temperature 
not exceeding 212°, shall weigh 10 grains, and be wholly soluble in boiling nitric 
acid. The Br. Pharmacopoeia directs that half a fluidounce [Imp. meas.] of the 
acid, when treated with solution of soda in excess, shall require the addition of 
80-66 measures of the volumetric solution of nitrate of silver, before a perma- 
nent precipitate begins to form. To explain this test it is necessary to notice that 
cyanide of silver, though itself insoluble, is rendered soluble by combining with 
cyanide of sodium, in the proportion of one eq. of each. When, therefore, the 
diluted hydrocyanic acid is converted, by the addition of soda, into cyanide of 
sodium, no permanent precipitate will begin to appear, upon the addition of ni- 
trate of silver, until more than sufficient cyanide of silver is produced to form the 
soluble compound referred to, which happens when one-half of the cyanide of 
sodium has been converted into cyanide of silver. An acid of the strength indi- 
cated by either of these methods, contains 2 per cent, of anhydrous acid. The 
test of entire solubility in boiling nitric acid, applied to the precipitate obtained 
by nitrate of silver, is intended to verify its nature; for, if the hydrocyanic acid 
contain muriatic acid, part of this precipitate would be chloride of silver, not 
soluble in the boiling acid. Scheele’s medicinal hydrocyanic acid contains about 
5 per cent, of anhydrous acid ; and, therefore, two minims of it are equal to five 
of the U. S. acid. The use of Scheele’s acid should be discouraged as unneces- 
sary, and as leading to dangerous mistakes. 
MM. Fordos and Gelis have proposed, as a test of the strength of the com- 
pounds containing cyanogen, an alcoholic solution of iodine of known strength ; 
as, for example, three grains to the fluidounce. The test solution is added, drop 
by drop, to the cyanogen compound, until a permanent yellowish tinge is pro- 
it is not impossible that the greater resistance offered to the change by the preparation 
made by the officinal process, in which sulphuric acid is used, than by the others, may be 
owing to the influence of this acid, either passing over with its vapour, or acting on *he 
acid vapour before it leaves the retort. An important practical inference from all this is the 
necessity of providing, as far as possible, that ammonia should in no manner have acoess 
to the acid, during or after its preparation. —Note to the twelfth edition. PART II. 
Acida. 
927 
duced. The iodine unites with the cyanogen, and with the substance in combina- 
tion with the cyanogen, in the ratio of their several equivalents; and hence the 
cyanogen present is easily calculated from the proportion of iodine expended in 
uniting with it. This test is commended for its accuracy by Mr. James Roberton, 
of Manchester. (See Am. Journ. ofPharm., Nov. 1853, p. 551.) 
Properties of the Anhydrous Acid. Hydrocyanic acid, perfectly free from 
water, is a colourless, transparent, inflammable liquid, of extreme volatility, boil- 
ing at 80°, and congealing at 5°. Its sp. gr. as a liquid is 0 6969, at the temper- 
ature of 64° ; and as a vapour 0 9423. Its taste is at first cooling, then burning,* 
with an after-taste in the throat like that of bitter almonds; but, from its ex* 
tremely poisonous nature, it must be tasted with the utmost caution. Its odour 
is so strong as to produce immediate headache and giddiness; and its vapour so 
deleterious that the smallest portion of it cannot be inhaled without the greatest 
danger. Both water and alcohol dissolve it readily. It is much more prone to 
undergo decomposition than the dilute acid. In the course of a few hours, it 
sometimes begins to assume a reddish-brown colour, which becomes gradually 
deeper, till at length the acid is converted into a black liquid, which exhales a 
strong smell of ammonia. It is a very weak acid in its chemical relations, and 
reddens litmus but slightly. It does not form solid compounds with metallic 
oxides, but a cyanuret of the metal, the elements of water being exhaled. Ac- 
cording to Sobero, hydrocyanic acid is generated, in sensible quantities, by the 
action of weak nitric acid on the volatile oils and resins. It has also been formed 
by the slow action of carbonate of potassa on tincture of hyoscyamus, given to- 
gether as a medicine. (Dr. J. T. Plummer, of Indiana, Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
xxv. 513.) Though a product of art, it exists in some plants, and is generated 
by reaction between the constituents of many vegetable products upon contact 
with water. (See Amygdala Amara.) 
Composition, &c. Hydrocyanic acid consists of one eq. of cyanogen 26, and 
one of hydrogen 1 = 27 ; or, in volumes, of one volume of cyanogen and one of 
hydrogen without condensation, its formula being HNC2 or HCy. Cyanogen 
(Cy) is a colourless gas, of a strong and penetrating smell, inflammable, and 
burning with a beautiful bluish-purple flame. Its sp. gr. is 1-8157. It was dis- 
covered in 1815 by Gay-Lussac, who viewed it as a compound radical, which, 
when acidified by hydrogen, becomes hydrocyanic acid. It consists of two eqs. of 
carbon 12, and one of nitrogen 14 = 26; or, in volumes, of two volumes of carbon 
vapour and one of nitrogen, condensed into one volume. The ultimate constituents 
of the acid are, therefore, two eqs. of carbon, one of nitrogen, and one of hydrogen. 
Hydrocyanic acid, in a dilute state, was discovered in 1780 by Scheele, who 
correctly stated its elements to be carbon, nitrogen, and hydrogen; but the pe- 
culiar way in which they are combined was first pointed out by Gay-Lussac, by 
whom also the anhydrous acid was first obtained. 
Medical and Toxical Properties. Hydrocyanic acid is one of the most deadly 
poisons known, proving, in many cases, almost instantaneously fatal. According 
to Dr. Christison, a grain and a half of the anhydrous acid is capable of pro- 
ducing death in the human subject. One or two drops of the pure acid are suffi- 
cient to kill a vigorous dog in a few seconds. The post-mortem appearances are 
glistening and staring expression of the eyes; gorged state of the venous system 
with fluid, dark, or bluish-black blood, especially of the veins of the brain and 
spinal marrow; and sometimes redness of the internal coat of the stomach. The 
lungs are sometimes natural, at other times turgid with blood. It is not true, or 
rarely true, that the muscles are insensible to the galvanic current. Notwith- 
standing the tremendous energy of this acid as a poison, it has been ventured 
upon in a dilute state as a sedative, anodyne, and antispasmodic. Though occa- 
sionally employed as a remedy prior to 1817, yet it did not attract much atten- 
tion until that year, when Magendie published his observations on its use in dis- 928 
Acida 
PART II. 
eases of the chest, and recommended it to the profession. When given in medi- 
cinal doses gradually increased, it produces the following symptoms in different 
cases : peculiar bitter taste; increased secretion of saliva; irritation of the 
throat; nausea; disordered respiration; pain in the head ; giddiness; faintness; 
obscure vision; and tendency to sleep. It appears to have a special action on 
the larynx and trachea. (Dr. Cogswell.) The pulse is sometimes quickened, at 
other times reduced in frequency. Occasionally salivation and ulceration of the 
mouth are produced. It has been extensively used in complaints of the respira- 
tory organs, and is supposed to exert a control over pulmonary inflammation, 
after the excitement has been diminished by blood-letting; and there is no doubt 
that, in some instances, it has proved beneficial under such circumstances. Dr. 
Joseph Johnson, of Charleston, S. C., found it useful in pneumonia. In phthisis 
it may be resorted to with advantage as a palliative for the cough. In various 
other affections of the chest, attended with dyspnoea or cough, such as asthma, 
hooping-cough, and chronic catarrh, it has often been decidedly beneficial, by 
allaying irritation or relaxing spasm. In hypertrophy of the heart and aneurism 
of the aorta, it has also been used with benefit. In certain affections of the stom- 
ach, characterized by pain and spasm, and sometimes attended with vomiting, 
but unconnected with inflammation, and in similar painful affections of the bowels, 
it has proved beneficial in the hands of several practitioners. It has also been ad- 
ministered as an anodyne in several painful affections, as cancer, tic douloureux, 
&c., but with doubtful advantage. Sometimes it is used externally, diluted with 
water, as a wash in cutaneous diseases. The late Dr. A. T. Thomson insisted 
particularly on its efficacy in allaying the itching of impetiginous affections. 
The dose of the diluted hydrocyanic acid is from two to six drops, dissolved 
in distilled water, or mixed with gum water or syrup. It should be administered 
with the greatest caution, on account of its minute dose, and variable strength 
as found in the shops. The proper plan, therefore, is to begin with a small dose, 
two drops for example, and gradually to increase the quantity until some ob- 
vious impression is produced. If giddiness, weight at the top of the head, sense 
of tightness at the stomach, or faintness come on, its use should be discontinued. 
In all cases in which a fresh portion of medicine is used, the dose should be low- 
ered to the minimum quantity, lest the new sample should prove stronger than 
that previously employed. When resorted to as a lotion, from thirty minims to 
a fluidrachm may be dissolved in a fluidonnce of distilled water. 
Toxicology. Hydrocyanic acid is so rapidly fatal as a poison that physicians 
have seldom an opportunity to treat its effects. When not immediately fatal, 
the symptoms produced are sudden loss of sense, trismus, difficult and rattling 
respiration, coldness of the extremities, smell of the acid proceeding from the 
mouth, though this is sometimes absent, smallness of the pulse, swelling of the 
neck, dilatation, immobility, and sometimes contraction of the pupils, convul- 
sions, &c. The antidotes and remedies, most to be relied on, are chlorine, am- 
monia, cold affusion, and artificial respiration. Chlorine in the form of chlorine- 
water, or weak solutions of chlorinated lime or soda, may be exhibited internally, 
or applied externally. When chlorine is not at hand, water of ammonia, largely 
diluted, may be given, and the vapour arising from it cautiously inhaled. A 
case is related, in the Dublin Med. Journal for Nov. 1835, of poisoning by this 
acid, in which the diluted aromatic spirit of ammonia applied to the mouth, and 
the solid carbonate assiduously held to the nostrils, produced speedy and bene- 
ficial effects. Cold affusion was first proposed in 1828 by Herbst., of Gottingen, 
and its utility was subsequently confirmed by Orfila. Its efficacy is strongly 
supported by experiments performed in 1839 by Dr. Robinson and M. Lonyet, 
who quickly resuscitated rabbits, apparently dead from hydrocyanic acid, by 
pouring on their head and spine a stream of water, artificially refrigerated. In 
a case of poisoning, reported by Dr. Christison in 1850, the patient recovered PART II. 
Acida. 
929 
under a stream of cold water, poured upon the head from a moderate height. In 
another case, reported in the Lancet in 1854, in which the largest recorded quan- 
tity was taken to be followed by recovery (2'4 grains of anhydrous acid), the 
cold water douche was the principal remedy. (See Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., 
July, 1854, p. 216.) Messrs. T. & II. Smith, of Edinburgh, have recommended, 
as an antidote for the medicinal acid, a mixture of the sulphates of the protoxide 
and sesquioxide of iron, swallowed after a solution of carbonate of potassa. So 
soon as the antidote comes in contact with hydrocyanic acid, sulphate of potassa 
is formed, and the poison is converted into Prussian blue. It may be prepared 
extemporaneously, by adding ten grains of sulphate of protoxide of iron, and a 
drachm of the tincture of chloride of iron, to a fluidounce of water contained in 
one vial, and twenty grains of carbonate of potassa to a fluidounce of water in 
another vial. The patient is made to swallow the solution of carbonate of potassa, 
and immediately afterwards the mixed ferruginous solution. This quantity is esti- 
mated to be sufficient to render insoluble nearly two grains of the anhydrous acid. 
Tests. After death from suspected poison, it is sometimes necessary to ascer- 
tain whether the event was caused by this acid. At a period long after death, 
it would be needless to search for so volatile a poison; but it has been recog- 
nised three weeks after death, in a case reported by M. Brame, in which about 
six drachms of acid, containing between 8 and 9 per cent, of anhydrous acid, had 
been swallowed. The best test is that proposed by Liebig in 1847, consisting 
in the conversion of the hydrocyanic acid into hydrosulphocyanate of ammonia, 
which salt is then tested with a sesquioxide salt of iron. Two drops of the acid, 
so dilute as not to afford the least blue tint with the salts of iron, upon being 
mixed with a drop of bihydrosulphate of ammonia, and heated upon a watch- 
glass until the mixture is colourless, yields a solution of hydrosulphocyanate of 
ammonia, which becomes of a deep blood-red colour upon the addition of the 
sulphate of sesquioxide of iron, in consequence of the formation of the sulpho- 
cyanide of iron. (Chem. Gaz., April 1, 1847, from Liebig’s Annalen.) This test 
is praised by Mr. A. S. Taylor, who found it to act characteristically on two 
grains of dilute hydrocyanic acid, containing only l-3930th of a grain of anhy- 
drous acid. To render the test thus delicate, Mr. Taylor deems it necessary to 
evaporate the liquid gently to dryness, after the addition of the bihydrosulphate 
of ammonia, in order to bring the hydrosulphocyanate to the solid state before 
adding the iron test, a fractional part of a drop of which will commonly suffice to 
produce the characteristic colour. Should the acid be mixed with organic mat- 
ters, Mr. Taylor proposes a modification of Liebig’s test as follows. Place it in a 
watch-glass, and invert over it another, holding in the centre a drop of bihydro- 
sulphate of ammonia. In from half a minute to ten minutes, without heat, the 
bihydrosulphate will be converted into the hydrosulphocyanate of ammonia; 
and, upon removing the upper glass, and evaporating its contents to dryness, 
the iron test will produce the blood-red colour. MM. 0. Henry, jun., and E. 
Humbert have proposed, as a test of hydrocyanic acid, first to convert it into 
cyanide of silver by distilling the suspected matters into a dilute solution of ni- 
trate of silver, and then to decompose the cyanide by iodine, so as to form iodide 
of cyanogen. The dried cyanide is added to half its estimated weight of pure 
’odine, contained in a test tube. Upon the application of a gentle heat, iodide 
of cyanogen is formed, and characteristic crystals of it are deposited on the cool 
surface of the tube. {Journ. de Pharm., Mars, 1857, p. 173.) B. 
ACIDUM MURIATICUM DILUTUM. U.S. Acidum IIydrochlo- 
ricum Dilutum. Br. Diluted Muriatic Acid. Dilute Hydrochloric Acid. 
“ Take of Muriatic Acid four troyounces; Distilled Water a*sufficient quan- 
tity. Mix the Acid, in a glass vessel, with sufficient Distilled Water to make the 
Diluted Acid measure a pint. The sp. gr. is 1'038.” U. S. 930 
Acida 
PART II. 
“ Take of Hydrochloric Acid three jluidounces; Distilled Water eight fluid- 
ounces. Mix, and preserve in a stoppered bottle. The sp. gr. is L05.” Br. 
The existing U. S. formula differs from that of 1850 in substituting four troy- 
ounces for four fluidounces. In both, the resulting diluted acid measures a pint. 
The present is somewhat weaker than the former diluted acid, having the sp. gr. 
L038, while that of 1850 was 1 046; but the difference is of no practical import- 
ance as regards the dose, the diminution in strength amounting only to about 
one-eleventh of the whole. We doubt, however, the expediency of changing mea- 
sures for weights in preparing the diluted acids; for, though the latter method 
may be practically somewhat more accurate, the former is more convenient, espe- 
cially for the large body of physicians practising in the country, who are not 
generally so well provided as the regular pharmaceutists with all requisite imple- 
ments. The British preparation is stronger even than ours of 1850, having the 
sp. gr. L05. “ Six fluidrachms of it require for neutralization 99 measures of the 
volumetric solution of soda.” Br. 
The medical properties and applications of muriatic acid have been detailed 
in Part I., under the head of Acidum Muriaticum. The dose of the diluted 
acid is from twenty minims or drops to a fluidrachm, and may be taken in water 
or other convenient vehicle, sweetened or not as may be deemed expedient. 
Pharm Uses. In preparing Ferri et Quiniae Citras, Br. 
Off. Prep. Liquor Stryehniae, Br.; Morphiae Hydroehloras, Br. B. 
ACIDUM NITRICUM DILUTUM. U. S., Br. Diluted Nitric Acid. 
“Take of Nitric Acid [sp. gr. 1-42] three troyounces; Distilled Water a 
sufficient quantity. Mix the Acid, in a glass vessel, with sufficient Distilled 
Water to make the Diluted Acid measure a pint. The sp. gr. of Diluted Nitric 
Acid is 1 068.” U. S. 
“Take of Nitric Acid [sp. gr. 1 50] two fluidounces; Distilled Water thir- 
teen fluidounces. Mix, and preserve in a stoppered bottle. Sp.gr. 1101.” Br. 
The U. S. acid, as now directed, varies little from the former officinal acid, 
which was made by mixing a fluidounce of the officinal nitric acidwdth six fluid- 
ounces of distilled water, and had the sp. gr. 10T; while the present prepara- 
tion contains three troyounces in a pint of the diluted acid, and has the sp. gr. 
1 '068; being only about one-thirty-eighth weaker, which is a difference of no 
practical importance. This cannot be said of the new British diluted acid, which, 
on account of the high sp. gr. of the officinal nitric acid (L5), is considerably 
stronger than our own in the same measure, or even than the. strongest diluted 
acid of the former Pharmacopoeias. The British preparation has the sp. gr. 
1-101; and “six fluidrachms require for neutralization 100 measures of the 
volumetric solution of soda.” Br. 
In making the U. S. diluted acid, the apothecary should be careful to use acid 
of the sp. gr. 142; or, if the acid used is weaker than this, to add proportion- 
ally less water; otherwise the diluted acid would be weaker than it is directed 
to be in the Pharmacopoeia. 
The medicinal properties of the diluted acid are the same as those of the 
strong acid. (See Acidum Nitricum.) The dose of the U. S. diluted acid is 
from twenty to forty drops or minims, that of the British, from fifteen to thirty, 
three times a day, sufficiently reduced with water at the time of taking it. B 
ACIDUM NITROMURIATICUM. U.S. Nitromuriatic Acid. 
“ Take of Nitric Acid [sp. gr. L42] three troyounces ; Muriatic troy- 
ounces. Mix the Acids in a glass vessel, and, when effervescence has ceased, 
keep the produet in a well-stopped bottle, in a cool place, protected from the 
light.” U. S. 
In the old formula four fluidounces of nitric acid were mixed with eight fluid- 
ounces of muriatic acid, or in the proportion of one to two ty measure. The PART II. 
Acida. 
difference between the old and new acid is insignificant, the muriatic acid being, 
according to the calculation of Mr. A. B. Taylor, one-forty-ninth increased. 
{Am. Journ. of Pharm., Sept. 1863, p. 410.) 
Nitromuriatic acid is the aqua regia of the earlier chemists, so called from its 
property of dissolving gold. Nitric and muriatic acids, when mixed together, 
mutually decompose each other. According to the researches of Gay-Lussac 
(June, 1848), the reaction gives rise to two compounds, in variable proportions, 
of nitric oxide and chlorine (N02Cl2and N02C1), mixed with free chlorine; the 
former being analogous in constitution to hyponitric, the latter to nitrous acid. 
The power, however, of nitromuriatic acid to dissolve gold, and similar metals 
having a weak affinity for oxygen, is owing exclusively to the free chlorine 
present, and is in nowise dependent on the compounds above referred to, which 
remain entirely passive during the solution of the metal. {Journ. de Pharm., 
Aout, 1848.) Adopting the views of Gay-Lussac, the proportion of the acids 
for total mutual decomposition would be two eqs. of nitric and six of muriatic 
acid ; and the products would be the two compounds of nitric oxide and chlorine, 
free chlorine, and water. Assuming this proportion, it follows that a large excess 
of nitric acid is employed in the U. S. formula. According to the same views, the 
proportion of free chlorine must be variable, dependent upon the relative propor- 
tion of the nitric oxide compounds to each other. For every eq. of N02C12 formed, 
one eq. of chlorine will be set free; while for every eq. of N02C1, two eqs. of 
chlorine will be evolved. The precise circumstances that determine the simul- 
taneous formation of the two nitric oxide compounds, and their constantly vary- 
ing proportion to each other, have not been pointed out by Gay-Lussac in the 
paper above referred to. When nitromuriatic acid is made from strong acids, 
there is always a loss of the nitric oxide compounds and of free chlorine by 
effervescence, in consequence of the acids not containing sufficient water to hold 
the gaseous products in solution. Hence, the substitution, in the U. S. Pharma- 
copoeia of 1850, of nitric acid of 142 for the acid of L5 was an improvement. 
Properties. Nitromuriatic acid has a golden-yellow colour, and the odour of 
chlorine. It possesses the power of dissolving gold and platinum. It should 
be kept in a cool dark place, on account of its liability to lose chlorine by heat, 
and to have it converted, by the action of light, into muriatic acid, through the 
decomposition of water. On account of its tendency to decomposition, it should 
not be made in large quantities, nor be very long kept by the apothecary; and 
care should be taken not to transfer it to the bottle in which it is to be dis- 
pensed, until effervescence has ceased, lest the pressure within should drive out 
the cork. Nitric and muriatic acids, as found in the shops, are sometimes so 
weak that when mixed they will not readily act on gold-leaf. In this case, their 
solvent power may be rendered effective by the addition of a little sulphuric acid, 
which, by its superior affinity for water, concentrates the other acid, and causes 
immediate action.* 
Medical Properties and Uses. Nitromuriatic acid was brought to the notice of 
the profession, in consequence of the favourable report of its efficacy as an exter- 
nal remedy in hepatitis, made by Dr. Scott, formerly of Bombay. When thus em- 
ployed, it produces a tingling sensation of the skin, thirst, a peculiar taste in the 
mouth, and occasional soreness of the gums and plentiful ptyalism; and at the 
same time stimulates the liver, as is evinced by an increased flow of bile. It is 
• used either by sponging, or in the form of a local or general bath. When applied 
by sponging, the acid is first diluted so as to have the sourness of strong vinegar. 
When used as a foot-bath, three gallons of water, contained in a deep narrow 
wooden tub, may be acidulated with six fluidounces of the acid. In this the feet 
and legs are to be immersed for twenty minutes or half an hour. The bath may 
K In relation to nitromuriatic acid, see a paper in the third volume of the Journal of the 
Philadelphia College of Pharmacy by Mr. Daniel B. Smith, of this city. 932 
Acida, 
PART II. 
be employed at first daily, and afterwards twice or thrice a week; and the 
sponging may be used at the same time. The bath is said to be effective in pro- 
moting the passage of biliary calculi. The solution, prepared for a bath as 
above mentioned, may be used for a week, adding to it daily a pint of water, 
acidulated with two fluidrachms of the acid, to make up for the waste by eva- 
poration. The bath should have a temperature of about 97°, which may be at- 
tained by heating part of the acid solution, and throwing it back into the remain- 
der. For some good directions for the preparation and use of the nitrorauriatic 
acid bath, by Mr. Ranald Martin, the reader is referred to the Pharmaceutical 
Journal for July, 1851, p. 38. 
Nitromuriatic acid is much used internally, and is an excellent remedy in chro- 
nic hepatic affections, and in oxaluria. It is sometimes given also in syphilitic 
diseases. The dose is three or four drops, largely diluted with water. B. 
ACIDUM NITROMURIATICUM DILUTUM. U.S. Acidum Ni- 
tro-hydrochloricum Dilutum. Br. Diluted Nitromuriatic Acid. Di- 
lute Nitro-hydrochloric Acid. 
“ Take of Nitric Acid a troyounce and a half; Muriatic Acid two troyounces 
and a half; Distilled Water a sufficient quantity. Mix the Acids in a well- 
stopped bottle, having the capacity of a pint. Shake them together occasionally 
during twenty-four hours, and then add sufficient Distilled Water to make the 
Diluted Acid measure a pint. Lastly, keep it in a cool place, protected from 
the light.” U. S. 
“Take of Nitric Acid two fuidounces; Hydrochloric Acid four fluidounces; 
Distilled Water twenty-six fluidounces. Add to the Water first the Nitric and 
then the Hydrochloric Acid. Mix, and preserve in a stoppered bottle. Sp. gr. 
1-074. Six fluidrachms require for neutralization 93-88 measures of the volume- 
tric solution of soda.” Br. 
This is a new officinal in both Pharmacopoeias, having been adopted in the 
British as a substitute for the stronger acid of the former Dublin Pharmaco- 
poeia. The strength of the TJ. S. and Br. diluted acids is about the same. 
Of the two processes we decidedly prefer that of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. In 
this, the acids, being mixed in their concentrated state, react on each other, pro- 
ducing changes with which the peculiar therapeutic virtues of nitromuriatic acid 
are essentially connected. In the British process, the acids are so much diluted 
as to interfere with their mutual reaction, and the result is little more than a 
mere mixture of nitric and muriatic acids, with their joint virtues, but destitute 
of the peculiar properties which give to the nitromuriatic acid any special im- 
portance. The strong acids should first be mixed, and allowed some time for 
mutual reaction, before being diluted. After reaction has sufficiently taken 
place, there is an advantage in diluting the acid, as the evolved products are 
better retained by the larger amount of menstruum, and the diluted acid is in a 
much better condition for being dispensed. 
This preparation may be given for all the purposes which the nitromuriatic 
acid is calculated to answer. The dose is from ten to twenty drops or minims, 
three times a day, and may be given in a large wineglassful of water, sweetened 
or not as may be deemed expedient. W. 
ACIDUM PHOSPHORICUM DILUTUM. U.S.,Br. Diluted Phos- 
phoric Acid. 
“Take of Phosphorus three hundred and sixty grains; Nitric Acid five 
troyounces, or a sufficient quantity; .Distilled Water a sufficient quantity. Mix 
five troyounces of Nitric Acid with half a pint of Distilled Water, in a porce- 
lain capsule, of the capacity of two pints. Add the Phosphorus, and invert over 
it a glass funnel of such dimensions that its rim may rest on the inside of the 
capsule, near the surface of the liquid. Place the capsule on a sand-bath, nnd part II. 
Adda. 
933 
apply a moderate heat until the Phosphorus is dissolved, and red vapours cease 
to rise. If the reaction become too violent, add a little Distilled Water; and 
if the red vapours cease to be evolved before the Phosphorus is all dissolved 
gradually add Nitric Acid, diluted to the same extent as before with DistilleG 
Water, until the solution is effected. Then, removing the funnel, continue the 
heat until the excess of nitric acid is driven off, and a syrupy liquid, free from 
odour and weighing two [troyjounces, remains. Lastly, mix this, when cold, 
with sufficient Distilled Water to make it measure twenty fluidounces, and filter 
through paper.” 
“Diluted Phosphoric Acid may also be prepared by dissolving a troyounce of 
Glacial Phosphoric Acid in three fluidounces of Distilled Water, adding to the 
solution forty grains of Nitric Acid, boiling it until reduced to a syrupy liquid, 
free from the odour of nitric acid, and then adding sufficient Distilled Water to 
make the Diluted Acid measure twelve fluidounces and a half.” TJ. S. 
“Take of Phosphorus four hundred and thirteen grains; Nitric Acid four 
fluidounces [Imperial measure]; Distilled Water one pint [Imp. meas.], or a 
sufficiency. Place the Nitric Acid, diluted with ten [fluidjounces of the Water, 
in a tubulated retort connected with a Liebig’s condenser, and, having added the 
Phosphorus, apply a very gentle heat until five fluidounces of liquid have dis- 
tilled over. Return this to the retort, and renew and continue the distillation 
until the phosphorus has entirely dissolved. Transfer the contents of the retort 
to a porcelain capsule, and evaporate the liquid, raising the heat a little, to- 
wards the close of the process, until bubbles of orange vapour cease to form, 
and a colourless liquid of syrupy consistence is obtained. Dissolve this when 
cool in such an amount of Distilled Water, that the volume shall become one 
pint [Imp. meas.].” Br. 
This is a new officinal of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia; and the first formula dif- 
fers only in its manipulations from the British, which is essentially that of the 
late London Pharmacopoeia. In both, phosphorus is oxidized at the expense of 
the nitric acid, which, in giving up a portion of its oxygen to the phosphorus, is 
converted into nitric oxide, becoming red hyponitric acid vapours as it escapes. 
Strong nitric acid acts too energetically on phosphorus, producing explosion 
and rapid combustion; but when diluted, as in the processes above given, it parts 
with its oxygen slowly, and it is even desirable to aid the operation with a gen- 
tle heat. Along with the nitrous fumes, a portion of the undecomposed nitric 
acid also rises in vapour, which, in the British process, to prevent loss, is col- 
lected by means of a distillatory apparatus, and returned into the retort. In the 
U. S. process, the same end is effected by placing over the liquid in the capsule a 
glass funnel, upon the inner surface of which the acid is condensed, and returns 
of itself into the capsule, so as considerably to simplify the operation. This 
modification was originally suggested by Mr. Geo. W. Andrews, of Baltimore, 
who, however, inverted a dish over the materials; the suggestion of the funnel 
being due to Prof. Procter. The operation being continued till the whole of the 
phosphorus is converted into phosphoric acid and dissolved, and the liquid 
having been deprived of any remaining acid, and reduced to a certain weight by 
concentration, the process is completed by adding a certain measure of water: 
so that an acid of definite strength is obtained. The U. S. diluted acid has the 
sp. gr. I‘056 ; and 100 grains of it are saturated by 234 grains of bicarbonate of 
potassa without precipitation. The British acid has the sp. gr. 1-08; and “ 6 flui- 
drachms of it poured on 180 grains of litharge in fine powder, leave after evapo- 
ration a residue, which, heated to dull redness, weighs 215 5 grains.” Br. 
The second U. S. formula consists in simply boiling glacial phosphoric acid 
in water, with the addition of a little nitric acid. By this process the glaciai 
acid, which is monobasic, is converted into the tribasic acid, which is the medi- 
iinal phosphoric acid. The nitric acid operates, in this instance, simply by its Acida. 
PART II. 
pres<nctj in favouring the change, without itself undergoing decomposition. (See 
Acidum Phosphoricum Glaciate, page 51.) The proportions of acid and water 
are so arranged that the diluted acid shall have the same strength as that pro- 
cured by the first process. 
It has been suggested that red phosphorus might be substituted for common 
phosphorus, as producing the same results, with less danger of explosion; but, 
when the officinal process is carefully followed in reference to the due dilution 
and to the use of a moderate heat, there is no danger to be apprehended. 
Properties. Diluted phosphoric acid is a colourless, inodorous, sour liquid, 
acting strongly on litmus, and possessing powerful acid properties. Although 
evaporated so as to become dense, it is not corrosive like the other mineral acids. 
Dr. Neubauer found that the strong acid, when pure and warm, was capable of 
dissolving oxalate of lime. The officinal acid is not precipitated by chloride of 
barium or nitrate of silver. If precipitates are produced, chloride of barium 
indicates sulphuric acid or a sulphate; nitrate of silver, muriatic acid or a chlo- 
ride. Strips of copper or silver are not affected by the acid, showing the absence 
of nitric acid; it is not coloured by sulphuretted hydrogen, proving the general 
absence of metals; and albumen produces no precipitate with it, indicating the 
non-existence of metaphosphoric acid. If carbonate of soda causes a precipitate, 
phosphate of lime, or some other phosphate insoluble in water, is probably held 
in solution. It has been supposed that one-tenth of phosphorous acid would 
render the diluted acid dangerous to life; but experiments go far to show that 
this was an erroneous opinion, as half a drachm of that acid given to a dog pro- 
duced no obvious poisonous effect. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., July, 1858, p. 
359.) Phosphorous acid may be detected by testing the medicinal acid with a 
solution of corrosive sublimate, which will be converted into calomel if this im- 
purity be present. (Pagels, Chem. Gaz., Jan. 15, 1857.) 
3Iedical Properties and Uses. Diluted phosphoric acid is deemed tonic and 
refrigerant. It is preferable in point of flavour to the diluted sulphuric acid, and 
is less apt to disturb the digestive functions. Yarious properties have been as- 
cribed to it; such as allaying pain and spasm, strengthening the sexual organs, 
preventing the morbid secretion of bony matter, and correcting phosphatic de- 
posits in the urine. The last two properties are supposed to depend upon its 
power of. dissolving phosphate of lime. It has been recommended in hysteria, 
diabetes, and in leucorrhoea when the secreted fluid is thin and acrid. Magnus 
Hus used it with advantage in the first stage of abdominal or petechial typhus 
In diabetes Dr. Paris found it to allay the thirst more effectually than any othei 
acid drink. The dose is from twenty drops to a teaspoonful, largely diluted with 
water. 
Off. Prep. Ammonite Phosphas, Br.; Syrupus Ferri Phosphatis, Br. B. 
ACIDUM SULPHURICUM AROMATICUM. U.S.,Br. Aromatic 
Sulphuric Acid. Elixir of Vitriol. 
“Take of Sulphuric Acid six tr oy ounces; Ginger, in coarse powder, a troy- 
ounce; Cinnamon, in coarse powder, a troyounce and a half; Alcohol a suffi- 
cient quantity. Add the Acid gradually to a pint of Alcohol, and allow the 
liquid to cool. Mix the Ginger and Cinnamon, and, having put them into a 
percolator, pour Alcohol gradually upon them until a pint of tincture is ob- 
tained. Lastly, mix the diluted acid and the tincture.” U. S. 
“Take of Sulphuric Acid (commercial) three Jluidounces; Rectified Spirit 
two pints [Imperial measure], or a sufficiency; Cinnamon, in coarse powder, 
two ounces [avoirdupois]; Ginger, in coarse powder, one ounce and a quarter 
[avoird.]. Mix the Acid gradually with thirty-five [fluid]ounces of the Spirit, 
then add the Cinnamon and the Ginger, and digest for seven days, agitating 
frequently. Filter, and add sufficient Rectified Spirit to make up She bulk of 
two pints. ”i?r. PART II. 
Acida. 
935 
Though a certain weight of acid has been substituted for a certain measure in 
the U. S. process, the result is for all practical purposes the same. The U. & 
acid is about one-third stronger than the British. The latter has the sp. gr. 
0'935; and “6 fluidrachms of it require for neutralization 84-*75 measures of 
the volumetric solution of soda.” 
Properties. Aromatic sulphuric acid is a reddish-brown liquid, of a peculiar 
aromatic odour, and, when sufficiently diluted, of a grateful acid taste. It has 
been supposed by some to be a kind of ether, its main ingredients justifying 
such a suspicion; but the late Dr. Duncan, of Edinburgh, who originally held 
this opinion, satisfied himself that the alcohol and sulphuric acid in the propor- 
tions here employed, do not generate a single particle of ether. It must, there- 
fore, be viewed merely as sulphuric acid diluted with alcohol, and containing 
the essential oils of ginger and cinnamon. 
Medical Properties and Uses. This valuable preparation, commonly called 
elixir of vitriol, is a simplification of MynsichVs acid elixir. It is tonic and 
astringent, and affords the most agreeable form of sulphuric acid for administra- 
tion. It is very much employed in debility with night-sweats, in loss of appetite, 
and in the convalescence from fevers, especially those of the intermittent type. 
It is often given in conjunction with cinchona, the taste of which it serves to 
cover, and the efficacy of which it increases by promoting the solubility of its 
febrifuge principles. In haemoptysis and other hemorrhages, when not attended 
with obvious inflammation, it frequently proves useful by stopping the flow of 
blood. It has been recommended in epidemic dysentery. (New Jersey Med. and 
Surg. Reporter, ix. 199.) The dose is from ten to thirty drops in a wineglassful 
of water, repeated two or three times a day. Care must be taken that the teeth 
are not injured by the acid. 
Off. Prep. Infusum Cinchonae Flavae, U. S.; Infusum Cinchonas Ilubrae, U. S 
B. 
ACIDUM SULPHURICUM DILUTUM. U. S., Br. Diluted Sul- 
phuric Acid. 
“Take of Sulphuric Acid two troyounces; Distilled Water a sufficient quan- 
tity. Add the Acid gradually to fourteen ff uidounces of Distilled Water, and 
mix them. Then filter through paper, and pass sufficient Distilled Water through 
the filter to make the Diluted Acid measure a pint. The sp. gr. of this acid is 
1-082.” U.S. 
“Take of Sulphuric Acid three ffuidounces; Distilled Water thirty-five 
ffuidounces. Mix gradually the Acid and the Water, and preserve the product 
in a stoppered bottle. Sp. gr. 1 -087. Six fluidrachms require for neutralization 
100 measures of the volumetric solution of soda.” Br. 
The direction to filter, in the U. S. process, woufd be unnecessary were the 
acid chosen with due attention to the officinal description in the Materia Meclica. 
But as the sulphuric acid of the shops often contains insoluble substances which 
are precipitated on its dilution, the caution is in practice often necessary to 
avoid impurity in the preparation. In the old formula a fluidounce of acid was 
added to thirteen fluidounces of water. The result is very nearly the same. 
This preparation is sulphuric acid, diluted to such an extent as to make it con- 
venient for prescription. It is not exactly coincident in strength as directed in 
the two Pharmacopoeias, the U. S. acid being somewhat weaker than the British: 
*out the difference is not so great as to be of practical importance. The strong acid 
is added gradually to the water, to guard against the too sudden production of 
heat, which might cause the fracture of the vessel. During the dilution, when 
commercial sulphuric acid is used, the liquid becomes slightly turbid, and in the 
course of a few days deposits a grayish-white powder, which is sulphate of lead, 
and from which the diluted acid should be poured off. This noxious salt is thus 
got rid of; but sulphate of potassa, another impurity in the strong acid, still Acida. 
PART II. 
remains To avoid these impurities, the sulphuric acid of the British formula is 
directed f o be distilled. The presence of a little sulphate of potassa will do no 
harm; bat, if it should be fraudulently introduced into the strong acid to in- 
crease its specific gravity, its amount may be ascertained by saturating the acid, 
after dilution, with ammonia, and expelling by a red heat the sulphate of am- 
monia formed. Whatever sulphate of potassa is present will remain behind. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Diluted sulphuric acid is tonic, refrigerant, 
and astringent. It is given in typhoid fevers, and often with advantage. In the 
convalescence from protracted fevers, it acts beneficially as a tonic, exciting the 
appetite and promoting digestion. As an astringent, it is employed in colliqua- 
tive sweats, passive hemorrhages, and diarrhoeas dependent on a relaxed state 
of the mucous membrane of the intestines. In calculous affections attended with 
phosphatic sediments it is the proper remedy, being preferable to muriatic acid, 
as less apt, by continued use, to disorder the stomach. Locally it is used as an 
ingredient in gargles for ulcerated sorethroat and for checking excessive ptya- 
lism, and as a wash for cutaneous eruptions and ill-conditioned ulcers. The dose 
is from ten to thirty drops, three times a day, in a wineglassful of plain or sweet- 
ened water. It is added with advantage to infusions of cinchona, the organic 
alkalies of which it tends to hold in solution. As it is apt to injure the teeth, it 
is best taken by sucking it through a quill. It is much less used in the United 
States than the elixir of vitriol, which possesses nearly the same medical proper- 
ties. (See Acidum Sulphuricum Aromaticurn.) An elegant form for giving it 
is the officinal Compound Infusion of Roses. 
In 1851, attention was called by Mr. Buxton, of London, to the remarkable 
efficacy of diluted sulphuric acid in several forms of diarrhoea, especially chole- 
raic diarrhoea. In October, 1853, Dr. H. W. Fuller, of St. George’s Hospital, 
published a paper in the London Medical Times and Gazette, in which he strongly 
recommends it in choleraic diarrhoea, from his own experience and that of his 
friends in more than ninety cases without a single failure. The dose employed 
was half a fluidrachm, diluted with wrater, given every twenty minutes in ordi- 
nary cases, every quarter of an hour in severe cases. The vomiting, purging, 
and cramps usually ceased after the third or fourth dose. For bilious diarrhoea 
the acid is not a suitable remedy. 
Pharm. Uses. In preparing Aconitia; Antimonium Sulphuratum; Aqua 
Acidi Carbonici, U. S.; Atropia; Ferri et Quinise Citras, U. S.; Potassse Bicar- 
bon®, U. S.; Potassae Permanganas, Br.; Quini® Valerianas, U. S.; Sod® Bi- 
carbonas, U. S.; and Strychnia, U. S. 
Off. Prep. Atropi® Sulphas; Beberi® Sulphas, Br.; Cinchoni® Sulphas, 
U. S.; Infusum Ros® Acidum, Br.; Infusum ilos® Compositum, U. S.; Mor- 
phi® Sulphas, U. S.; Potdfes® Sulphas, Br.; Quini® Sulphas, Br.; Strychni® 
Sulphas, U. S. B. 
ACIDUM SULPHUROSUM. U.S., Br. Sulphurous Acid. 
“Take of Sulphuric Acid eight troyounces; Charcoal, in coarse powder, a 
troyounce; Distilled Water thirty-six ffuidounces. Pour the Acid upon the 
Charcoal, previously introduced into a matrass, and shake them together. Con- 
nect the matrass with a washing bottle, and this, by means of a bent glass tube 
reaching nearly to the bottom of it, with a two-necked bottle containing the 
Distilled Water. To the other neck of this bottle attach another bent tube, and 
let it dip slightly into a solution of carbonate of soda. All the joints having 
been properly luted, apply heat to the matrass until gas ceases to be evolved, 
preventing the temperature of the Distilled Water from rising, by means of cold 
water applied to the bottle containing it. Lastly, pour the Sulphurous Acid into 
half-pint bottles, which must be well stopped, and kept in a cool place.” U. S. 
“ Take of Sulphuric Acid four ffuidounces; Wood Charcoal, recently burned, 
dry, and in coarse powder, one ounce; Water two ffuidounces; Dist lied PART II. 
Acida 
Water twenty fluidounces. Put the Charcoal and the Sulphuric Acid into a 
glass flask ; heat by a gas lamp; and pass the evolved gas first through a small 
wash bottle containing the two [fluid]ounces of Water, and afterwards to the 
bottom of a pint bottle [Imp. meas.] containing the Distilled Water, which must 
be kept cold. Continue the distillation until the bubbles of gas in the wasu 
bottle appear to be equaled by those passing through the fluid in the larger 
bottle. The product should be kept in a stoppered bottle, and in a cool place.” Br 
These are new formulas of the respective Pharmacopoeias; sulphurous acia 
being now for the first time officinally recognised. The processes are essentially 
the same, and both based upon that of Wittstein. The sp. gr. of the U. S. pre- 
paration is about T035, of the British, l-04. Of the latter, "one fluidrachm, 
mixed with a little mucilage of starch, does not acquire a permanent blue colour 
with the volumetric solution of iodine until 164 measures of the latter have 
been added to it.” Br. 
The rationale of the process is simple. When the sulphuric acid (S03) and 
charcoal are heated together, the former gives up an equivalent of its oxygen 
to the latter, and is thus converted into sulphurous acid gas, which, having been 
passed first through a wash bottle containing a little water to absorb impurities, 
is received into the distilled water, by which it is absorbed until the water’be- 
comes saturated. To prevent the escape of the noxious gas into the atmosphere, 
the excess, which escapes absorption, is in the TJ. S. process received into a solu- 
tion of carbonate of soda, and condensed. In the Br. process, the point of satu- 
ration is roughly indicated by the bubbles, formed by the escape of the gas from 
the distilled water, being equal in size to those formed in the wash bottle. The 
direction to keep the acid in well-stopped bottles, in a cool place, is necessary 
in consequence of the strong tendency of the gaseous acid to escape. An inci- 
dental advantage of the U. S. process is the production of sulphite of soda. 
Prof. F. C. Calvert gives a process for preparing this acid on a large scale, by 
which he avoids all the inconveniences usually attendant on its manufacture, and 
has prepared thousands of gallons daily of a saturated solution. It consists in 
burning sulphur in a small furnace, and conducting the acid gas, through earthen- 
ware tubes, surrounded with water so as to cool them. The gas is then made to 
ascend through a wooden tube 40 feet high and about 4 feet wide, filled with 
pumice stone previously washed first with muriatic acid and then with water. A 
certain amount of water is introduced into the tube from above, which, in its 
descent, meets and dissolves the gas, and runs out saturated from the bottom 
of the tube into an air-tight reservoir. (Pharm. Journ., xvii. 512.) 
Properties. The officinal sulphurous acid is a nearly saturated solution of 
sulphurous acid gas. That of the TJ. S. Pharmacopoeia cannot be quite satu- 
rated, if the sp. gr. of the two preparations is correctly stated. The pure acid is 
an irrespirable gas, of a suffocating odour familiar to every one as that of burn- 
ing sulphur, which is converted into it by combustion. If inhaled in the concen- 
trated state, it proves fatal. It consists of one eq. of sulphur and two eqs. of 
oxygen (S02), has the sp. gr. 2*21, liquefies at 14° F., has a strong acid reaction, 
extinguishes most burning bodies, has the power of bleaching many coloured sub- 
stances, and has a strong affinity for oxygen, with which it combines in the pre- 
sence of water, forming sulphuric acid. Water at 65° takes up about 50 volumes 
of the gas, and the solution has the sp. gr. I 04. (Brande and Taylor.) 
Officinal sulphurous acid (Acidum Sulphurosum) is a colourless liquid, hav- 
ing the smell of burning sulphur, and a sulphurous somewhat astringent taste. 
Its sp. gr. as indicated by the Pharmacopoeias has been mentioned. When ex- 
posed to the air it slowly absorbs oxygen, with the formation of sulphuric acid, 
and thus acquires a sour taste, and the property of changing vegetable blues to 
red. It should be entirely volatilized by heat. “ When saturated with ammonia, 
and treated with an excess of chloride of barium, it affords a clear or nearly Acida. 
PART II. 
clear solution on the addition of muriatic acid in excess.” ( U. S.) This shows the 
absence of sulphuric acid. It decolorizes iodine by forming with it hydriodic 
acid, and on this fact is based the test of .the Br. Pharmacopoeia before given. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Sulphurous acid has been introduced into use 
in consequence of its fatal influence upon the lower forms of animal and vege- 
table life. It is supposed to be thus destructive by its anti-oxygenizing influ- 
ence; suffocating organic beings by denying them the oxygen necessary to their » 
existence; but it probably acts also by a physiological property independently 
of its mere chemical effect. It is perhaps by the same property that it prevents 
fermentation, destroying the microscopic organisms essential to that process. In 
reference to its parasiticide property, it was brought before the notice of the pro- 
fession by Dr. Jeuner of London; though to Prof. Graham, we believe, belongs 
the first suggestion of its applicability to such purposes. In cases of sarcinae 
ventriculi it may be taken internally; but one of the sulphites, as sulphite of 
soda, is perhaps preferable for the purpose, as it yields the acid always by de- 
composition in the stomach. It is more used as an external application, in psora, 
the different forms of porrigo, trichosis of the scalp, pityriasis versicolor, and the 
thrush of children; all parasitic affections, either animalcular or crvptogamous, 
and all of which generally yield to it, if proper care be taken, by previous removal 
of the scabs or scales, to bring it into contact with the morbific cause. The dose 
for internal use is a fluidraclim, largely diluted with water. When locally used, 
it should be diluted with two or three measures of water or of glycerin, and ap- 
plied as a lotion, or by cloths wet with it, or in the form of cataplasm. W. 
ACIDUM TANNICUM. U.S., Br. Tannic Acid. 
“Take of Nutgall, in fine powder, Ether, each, a sufficient quantity. Expose 
the Nutgall to a damp atmosphere for twenty-four hours, and then mix it with 
sufficient Ether, previously washed with water, to form a soft paste. Set this 
aside, covered closely, for six hours; then, having quickly enveloped it in a 
close canvas cloth, express it powerfully between tinned plates, so as to obtain 
the liquid portion. Reduce the resulting cake to powder, and mix it with suffi- 
cient Ether, shaken with one-sixteenth of its bulk of water, to form again a soft 
paste, and express as before. Mix the liquids, and expose the mixture to spon- 
taneous evaporation, until if assumes a syrupy consistence; then spread it on 
glass or tinned plates, and dry it quickly in a drying closet. Lastly, remove the 
dry residue from the plates with a spatula, and keep it in a well-stopped 
bottle.” U. S. 
“ Take of Galls, in coarse powder, eight ounces [avoirdupois] ; Ether three 
pints [Imperial measure]; Distilled Water five fiuidounces. Mix the Water 
and Ether by agitation, and after a few minutes pour the ethereal solution in suc- 
cessive portions upon the Galls, previously introduced into a glass or porcelain 
percolator, with a receiver so attached as to prevent loss of ether from evapora- 
tion. The liquid which accumulates in the receiver consists of two distinct strata; 
separate the heavier liquid, evaporate it to dryness on a water-bath, and com- 
plete the drying in a hot-air chamber, the temperature of which should not 
exceed 212°. From the lighter liquid the ether may be recovered by distilla- 
tion.” Br. 
The present U. S. process, which is that of Leconnet, was substituted, at the 
late revision of the Pharmacopoeia, for that of M. Pelouze, which had been 
adopted in the former edition, and is still retained by the British Pharmacopoeia, 
copying that of the Dublin College. While the discarded process yields the tan- 
nic acid probably in a somewhat purer state than the present, it is less easy of 
performance, and much less productive, while the product of the existing formula 
is sufficiently pure for all practical purposes. The addition of a little alcohol, 
8 per cent, for example, to the ethereal menstruum still further increases the pro- 
duct, and, we are informed, is practised to a considerable extent; but w< douot PART IL 
Acida. 
939 
the propriety of this deviation from the officinal directions, as the resulting pro- 
duct may not be in all respects identical with the officinal. There appear to be 
two colouring principles inwalls, one soluble in ether and not in alcohol, the 
other in alcohol and not in ether. Hence, while the tannic acid, in whichever 
way procured, is yellowish, that obtained by ether has a greenish tint, while that 
by the addition of alcohol is slightly brownish. The U. S. process is the same 
with that proposed by a commission of distinguished French pharmaceutists for 
the edition of the Codex now in the course of preparation. In consequence of 
the mode in which the acid is dried, in thin layers, on tinned or glass plates, and 
equably exposed to heat above and below, it froths up on the escape of the ether, 
and concretes in a soft, cellular, friable form, which is strikingly characteristic 
of the preparation made in strict accordance with the formula. 
From a superficial examination of this process, it might appear that the re- 
sult can be nothing more than an ethereal extract; but it is necessary that tho 
ether employed should contain water, as it is directed to be washed; and yet 
the quantity of water is so small that it can hardly operate by its mere solvent 
power. The circumstances attendant upon the process of Pelouze afford the 
means of a satisfactory explanation, which was first suggested by M. Beral. In 
this, the powdered galls are submitted to percolation by watered ether, and the 
liquid which passes divides itself into two layers, a heavier which sinks to the 
bottom and a lighter which floats upon the surface. It is the heavier which con- 
tains the tannic acid, and from which it is obtained by evaporation. The most 
probable explanation is that ether, water, and tannic acid unite to form a definite 
compound, in which the affinities are too feeble to resist the tendency of the ether 
to rise in vapour, and which is, therefore, decomposed by its evaporation. The 
proportion of the menstruum to the galls is very small, much smaller than would 
be employed to obtain an extract; and the whole or nearly the whole of both 
liquids is probably occupied in the formation of the definite compound referred 
to, thus leaving little or none to act merely as solvents. Hence the exclusion 
from the resulting acid, in great measure, of the other soluble constituents of the 
galls; and the slight amount of impurity really present in the acid is probably 
owing to the action of that small quantity of the menstruum not occupied in 
forming the liquid compound. Opinion is not altogether united in this explana- 
tion ; but it is that which appears to the author best to account for the pheno- 
mena of the case. It has been stated that the tannic acid, obtained by either of 
the officinal processes, has a more or less yellowish tint. From this, according 
to F. Kummel, it may be freed by the percolation, through recently ignited ani- 
mal charcoal, of its solution in a mixture of ether and alcohol. It has, too, a slight 
odour, which, according to Prof. Procter, is derived from a volatile odorous prin- 
ciple existing in galls, which he has succeeded in separating from the acid by the 
action of benzole. From 30 to 35 per cent, of tannic acid is obtained from galls 
by Pelouze’s method; while that of Leconnet is said to yield 60 per cent. 
The term tannin was originally applied to a principle or principles existing in 
many vegetables, having a very astringent taste, and the properties of producing 
a white flocculent precipitate with solution of gelatin, and a black precipitate 
with the salts of sesquioxide of iron. As obtained, however, from different plants, 
it was found to exhibit some difference of properties; and chemists have recog- 
nised two kinds, one existing in oak bark, galls, &c., distinguished by producing 
a bluish-black precipitate with the salts of sesquioxide of iron, and the other ex- 
isting in Peruvian bark, catechu, &c., and characterized by producing a greenish- 
black or dark-olive precipitate with the same salts. The former is the one which 
has received most attention, and from an examination of which the characters 
of tannin have generally been given. It is the substance described in this article, 
it will probably be found that the latter is essentially distinct from the tannin 
of galls, and different in different vegetables. One striking peculiarity of the 940 
Acida, 
PART II. 
tannin of galls is its facility of conversion into gallic acid, which is wanting in 
the other varieties. Since the publication of the experiments of M. Pelouze in 
relation to tannin, this substance has been universally admitted to rank with the 
acids, and is now, therefore, denominated tannic acid. The ordinary variety pro- 
cured from galls is called, for the sake of distinction, by some gallolannic acid, 
and by others quercitannic acid. According to Pettenkofer, it is found only 
in perenuial plants, indicating some relation to the production of woody fibre. 
(Buchner's Neues Repert., iii. 74-76.) 
Properties. Pure tannic acid is solid, uncrystallizable, white or slightly yel- 
lowish, inodorous, strongly astringent to the taste without bitterness, very soluble 
in water, much less soluble in alcohol and ether, especially when anhydrous, and 
insoluble in the fixed and volatile oils. It may be kept unchanged in the solid 
state; but its aqueous solution, when exposed to the air, gradually becomes 
turbid, and deposits a crystalline matter, consisting chiefly of gallic acid. During 
the change, oxygen is absorbed, and an equal volume of carbonic acid disen- 
gaged. But, according to M. E. Robiquet, this change does not always take 
place, and, when it does happen, is ascribable to the presence of pectase in the 
tannin. (See page 920.) If the solution of tannic acid be boiled for a long time, 
the pectase loses its property of acting as a ferment, and the solution may be 
kept indefinitely without change. (Journ. de Pharm., Avril, 1853, p. 246.) 
Exposed to heat, tannic acid partly melts, swells up, blackens, takes fire, and 
burns with a brilliant flame. Thrown on red-hot iron, it is entirely dissipated. 
Its solution reddens litmus, and it combines with most of the salifiable bases. 
It forms with potassa a compound but slightly soluble, and is, therefore, precipi- 
tated by this alkali or its carbonates from a solution which is not too dilute, 
though a certain excess of alkali will cause the precipitate to be redissolved. 
Its combination with soda is much more soluble; and this alkali affords no pre- 
cipitate, unless with a very concentrated solution of tannic acid. With ammonia 
its relations are similar to those with potassa. Baryta, strontia, lime, and mag- 
nesia, added in the state of hydrates, form with it compounds of little solubility. 
The same is the case with most of the metallic oxides, when presented, in the 
state of salts, to a solution of the tannate of potassa. . Many of the metallic salts 
are precipitated by tannic acid even in the uncombined state, especially those of 
lead, copper, silver, uranium, chromium, mercury, teroxide of antimony, and 
protoxide of tin. With the salts of sesquioxide of iron it forms a black preci- 
pitate, which is a compound of tannic acid and the sesquioxide, and is the basis 
of ink. It does not disturb the solutions of the pure salts of protoxide of iron. 
Several of the alkaline salts precipitate it from its aqueous solution, either 
by the formation of insoluble compounds, or by simply abstracting the sol- 
vent. 
Tannic acid unites with all the vegetable organic alkalies, forming compounds 
which are for the most part of a whitish colour, and but very slightly soluble 
in water; though they are soluble in the vegetable acids, especially the acetic, 
and in alcohol, and in this latter respect differ from most of the compounds 
which tannic acid forms with other vegetable principles. On account of this 
property of tannic acid, it has been employed as a test of the vegetable alkalies ; 
and it is so delicate, that it will throw down a precipitate from their solution, 
even when too feeble to be disturbed by ammonia. 
It has an affinity for several acids, and when in solution affords precipitates 
with the sulphuric, nitric, muriatic, phosphoric, and arsenic acids, but not with 
the oxalic, tartaric, lactic, acetic, or citric. The precipitates are considered as 
compounds of tannic acid with the respective acids mentioned, and are soluble 
in pure water, but insoluble in water with an excess of acid. Hence, in order to 
insure precipitation, it is necessary to add the acid in excess to the solution ot 
tannic acid. Strecker, however, denies that the precipitates are compounds of PART II. 
Acida. 
941 
the tannin with the acid, and maintains that they are merely tannin imbued with 
free acid. (Chem. Gaz., No. 287, p. 370.) 
When tannic acid, iodine, and water are mixed, a reaction takes place, by 
which the water is decomposed ; its hydrogen forming with the iodine hydriodic 
acid, which combines with a portion of the tannic acid and remains in solution; 
while the oxygen of the water combines with another portion of the tannic acid, 
to form a compound, which, being insoluble, is precipitated. The iodized solu- 
tion thus obtained is capable of dissolving more iodine, and holding it in per- 
manent solution, however much diluted. (Socquet and Guilliermond, Journ. de 
Pharm., xxvi. 280.) 
Tannic acid precipitates solutions of starch, albumen, and gluten, and forms 
with gelatin an insoluble compound, which is the basis of leather. 
Its ultimate constituents are carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen; and its formula, 
according to Liebig, is C18H8012 or C18H509-f 3HO. Mulder, however, from re- 
cent investigations, considers it isomeric with gallic acid, and gives its formula 
Wn + HO. Strecker looks upon it as a compound of gallic acid and grape 
sugar, the latter of which is destroyed in the spontaneous change that mois- 
tened galls undergo by time. (See Acidum Gallicum, page 920.) He gives as 
its formula C54H19031 for the anhydrous acid, which, by the addition of 3 eqs. of 
water, becomes the hydrated acid C54H22034, differing from Liebig’s by 2 eqs. of 
water. (Chem. Gaz., No. 287, p. 370.) M. E. Robiquet denies the complex na- 
ture ascribed to tannic acid by Strecker, and maintains that, when transformed 
into gallic acid by the pectic ferment or by sulphuric acid, it is simply by a 
molecular change, and not by the destruction of one of its constituents. {Journ. 
de Pharm., xxvi. 31.) But, whether consisting of glucose and gallic acid, or sim- 
ply resolvable by certain agencies, through a new arrangement of its molecules, 
into these substances, it will equally rank among the glucosides; differing in this 
respect essentially from the varieties of tannic acid whieh precipitate the salts of 
iron greenish-black, as the tannin of rhatany and catechu.* 
Medical Properties and Uses. Tannic acid, being the chief principle of 
vegetable astringents, is capable of exerting on the system the same effects with 
this class of medicines, and may be given in the same complaints. It has an 
advantage over the astringent extracts in the comparative smallness of its dose, 
which renders it less apt to offend an irritable stomach. In most of the vege- 
table astringents, it is associated with more or less bitter extractive, or other 
principle which modifies its operation, and renders the medicine less applicable 
than it otherwise would be to certain cases, in which there is an indication for 
pure astringency without any tonic power. Such is particularly the case in the 
active hemorrhages; and tannic acid, in its separate state, is in these cases pre- 
ferable to the native combinations in which it ordinarily exists. Dr. Porta, an 
Italian physician, employed it with great success in the treatment of uterine 
hemorrhage, and published the results of his experience in 1827. M. Cavalier 
afterwards used it successfully in the same complaint, and found it effectual also 
in a case of bleeding from the rectum. It is, without doubt, a useful remedy in 
most forms of hemorrhage, after a sufficient reduction of arterial action by 
depletory measures. In diarrhoea it is probably more beneficial than ordinary 
astringents, as less liable to irritate the stomach and bowels. It has been found 
beneficial in colliquative sweats, in cases of chronic catarrh with excessive and 
debilitating expectoration, in the advanced stages of hooping-cough, and in 
eystirrhoea. The dose for ordinary purposes is from two to five grains, but in 
* Various plans have been proposed of estimating the quantity of tannic acid, which is 
an object of importance to tanners, as enabling them to judge of the value of their tan- 
ning materials; but on this point we must content ourselves, from want of space, with re- 
ferring to the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (Sept. 1859, p. 427; March, 1861, p. 164; Nov. 1863, 
p. 519; and July, 1864, p. 314). 942 
Acida. 
PART II. 
urgent cases it may be increased to ten grains. The only disadvantage which 
has been experienced from it, when taken in excess, is obstinate constipation. 
It has been used with advantage, by Dr. P. Gamier, in very large doses, in the 
dropsy of Bright’s disease. He gave from half a drachm to a drachm, in divided 
doses, through the day, and found its curative influence, beginning on the second 
day, to be manifested by copious diuresis with a return of the urine to a healthy 
state, by perspiration, ready alvine evacuation, and a restoration of appetite, with- 
out any unpleasant effect. {Arch. Gen., Janv. 1859, p. 36.) Locally,* it may be 
used for all the purposes to which galls or other vegetable astringents are appli- 
cable ; as for hemorrhages, relaxation of the uvula, chronic inflammation of the 
fauces, diphtheria, toothache, aphthae, excessive salivation, leucorrhoea, gleet, 
gonorrhoea, flabby and phagedenic ulcers, piles, chilblains, &c. As a wash it 
may be used in solution, in the proportion of five grains to a fluidounce of 
water. A Belgian surgeon, M. Hairion, recommends a strong solution, made in 
the proportion of one part of tannic acid to three of distilled water, for ap- 
plication to various ophthalmic affections; as acute and chronic inflammation, 
ulcers and specks on the cornea, swelling of the conjunctiva, &c. {Journ. de 
Pharm., xviii. 449.) An ointment may be made from it by rubbing two scruples 
first with twenty minims of water into a paste, and then with an ounce of lard. 
A solution in glycerin, which dissolves it freely, has been recommended by Dr. 
Wm. Bayes, of Brighton, England, as a powerful styptic, and an excellent local 
application in diseases of the mucous surfaces requiring an astringent impres- 
sion. In affections of the rectum it may be used in the form of a suppository. 
In diseases of the uterus it has been recommended in the form of a cylindrical 
pencil about an inch long and two lines thick, made with 4 parts of the acid to 
1 part of tragacanth, with a little crumb of bread to give the mixture due flexi- 
bility. {Pliarm. Journ., Fev. 1, 1860, p. 128.) 
Given largely to a dog, tannic acid caused the urine to become dark-brown 
and opaque; and the secretion gave evidences of the presence of gallic and 
pyrogallic acids. {Chem. Gaz., No. 136, p. 231.) Hence it is probable that, when 
absorbed, it undergoes a change into one or both these acids, and that it is 
through these that it produces its effects on the system. 
Pharm. Uses. In preparing Digitalinum, Br. 
Off. Prep. Suppositoria Acidi Tannici, Br.; Trochisci Acidi Tannici, Br.; 
TJnguentum Acidi Tannici, U. S. W. 
ACIDUM VALERIANICUM. U. S. Valerianic Acid. 
“Take of Valerianate of Soda, in coarse powder, eight troyounces; Sulphuric 
Acid, Water, each, a sufficient quantity. To the Valerianate of Soda add, first, 
three fluidounces of Water, and then three troyounces and a half of Sulphuric 
Acid. Mix them thoroughly, and from the mixture, after standing, separate the 
oily acid liquid which rises to the surface. Agitate this repeatedly with small 
portions of Sulphuric Acid until its specific gravity is reduced below 0-950. 
Then introduce it into a retort, and distil nearly to dryness, rejecting the distil- 
late so long as it has a specific gravity above 0 940, and keeping the remainder 
for use. The rejected portion of the distillate, after agitation with Sulphuric 
Acid, may be returned to the retort during the progress of the distillation.” U. S. 
The object of this process is merely to procure valerianic acid in a state 
adapted for the preparation of valerianate of ammonia. The sulphuric acid, 
uniting with the soda of the valerianate of soda, separates the valerianic acid, 
which rises to the surface with the appearance of an oil. In this state it is com- 
bined with more than one eq. of water, and as it is the monohydrated acid that 
is wanted, the direction is given to agitate it with sulphuric acid which deprives 
it of the excess of water. It is now distilled in order to separate any sulphuric 
acid and water that may be mixed with it. The process is that of Mr. B. J. 
Crew, published in the Am. Journ. of Pharm. for March, 1860 (p. 109). PART II. 
Adda. 
943 
For modes of preparing valerianic acid from the oil and roots of valerian, 
the reader is'referred to the article on Valerian at page 848. It is prepared 
also from fusel oil (amylic alcohol) by reaction with a mixture of bichromate of 
potassa and sulphuric acid, as the first step in the preparation of valerianate of 
soda. (See Sodae Valerianas, Part II.) 
Valerianic acid received its name from having been found in the oil distilled 
from the root of Valeriana officinalis. It is sometimes called also valeric acid. 
It was first obtained in 1817 by Chevreul from the oil of the dolphin, and re- 
ceived the name of delphinic acid, which, however, upon the discovery of its 
identity with the acid afterwards obtained by Pentz from valerian, was super- 
seded by its present title. It has been obtained also from the bark and fruit of 
Viburnum opulus, the sap-wood of the European elder (Sambucus nigra), the 
root of Angelica Archangelica, and from various organic products whether of 
the vegetable or animal kingdom. 
Properties. Valerianic acid is a colourless liquid, of an oily consistence, a re- 
pulsive odour, recalling, however, that of valerian, and a pungent, sour, acrid, dis- 
agreeable taste. Its sp. gr. is variously given from 0-930 at 55° to 0-944 at 50°. 
(Gmelin.) As stated in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, it is 0-933. It remains liquid 
at 8° below zero, and boils at 270° F. ( Trommsdorff.) It is soluble in 30 parts 
of cold water, and when agitated with water takes up about 20 per cent., without 
losing its oily consistence, and rises to the surface of the liquid. Alcohol and 
ether mix with it in all proportions. It is very soluble in strong acetic acid, and 
dissolves camphor and some resins. ( Trommsdorff.) It forms salts with the al- 
kalies, and reddens litmus paper strongly, but the blue colour gradually returns 
in a warm place. Its composition is represented by C10II10O4; but it is supposed 
to bear to fusel oil a similar relation with that between acetic acid and alcohol. 
Thus, the compound radical amyl (C10Hn) uniting with one eq. of oxygen and 
one of water forms fusel oil (C10HuO-f HO), which, by the loss of two eqs. of 
hydrogen and the gain of two of oxygen, becomes monohydrated valerianic acid 
(C10H9O3-f-IIO). In this state the acid is capable of uniting with two additional 
eqs. of water, forming the terhydrated acid (C10H9O3-f-3HO), or, if the eq. of 
water in the dry acid be considered as constitutional, the bihydrated acid (Cia 
Hi0O4-f 2HO). This has a much milder taste than the dry or monohydrated 
acid, and at the same time somewhat saccharine. According to Chiozza, the 
anhydrous acid (C10II9O3) may be prepared by treating valerianate of potash 
with oxychloride of phosphorus. (Gmelin’s Handbook, xi. 37.) The U. S. 
Pharmacopoeia gives the following tests of the officinal acid. “A solution of 
Valerianic Acid in 50 parts of hot water, saturated with hydrated carbonate of 
zinc, yields a liquid, which, when filtered and evaporated to 10 parts and cooled, 
affords white pearly crystals of valerianate of zinc. The mother-water, drained 
from these crystals, should not yield, by further evaporation and cooling, a salt 
crystallizing in six-sided tables, and very soluble in water. When the Acid is 
added to a concentrated solution of acetate of copper, the transparency of the 
solution is not disturbed.” The former of the last two tests indicates the ab- 
sence of acetic, the latter of butyric acid. 
Medical Properties and Uses. In the state in which it is obtained by this 
process, valerianic acid has not been used as a medicine. The acid distilled 
from the oil or root of valerian has been employed in nervous affections, and 
possesses properties similar to those of valerian. According to Landerer, the 
acid artificially produced does not operate therapeutically so satisfactorily as 
the native product. The dose would probably be about the same as that of the 
oil of valerian. It may be given in sweetened water. 
Off. Prep. Ammonia} Valerianas, U. S.; Quiniae Valerianas, U. S. W. 944 
Aconitia, 
PART II. 
ACONITIA. U. S., Br. 
Aconitia. 
“Take of Aconite Root, in moderately fine powder, forty-eight troyounces; 
Diluted Sulphuric Acid a fluidounce and a half; Alcohol, Stronger Water of 
Ammonia, Stronger Ether, Distilled Water, each, a sufficient quantity. Digest 
the powder in eight pints of Alcohol, in a close vessel, at the temperature of 
120°, for twenty-four hours. Introduce the mixture into a cylindrical perco- 
lator, and gradually pour Alcohol upon it until twenty-four pints of liquid have 
slowly passed. Distil off the alcohol from the filtered liquid until this is reduced 
to the measure of a pint. Then add to the concentrated liquid a pint of Dis- 
tilled Water, to which has been added the Diluted Sulphuric Acid, and mix 
thoroughly. Remove from the liquid the fixed oil and resin which separate on 
standing, and evaporate it to four fluidounces. When the liquid has cooled, 
pour it into a glass-stoppered pint bottle, and wash it, by agination and de- 
cantation, with six fluidounces of Stronger Ether, to remove the remainder of 
the fixed oil and resin. Now add Stronger Water of Ammonia until, after agita- 
tion, it remains in slight excess. Next, treat the resulting mixture with six 
fluidounces of Stronger Ether, and, having closed the bottle, agitate briskly for 
a few minutes. Allow the liquid to stand until it separates into two layers, the 
lighter being an ethereal solution of Aconitia. Decant this carefully, and treat 
what remains, twice successively, with the same quantity of Stronger Ether, 
decanting each time as before. Mix the several ethereal solutions in a porcelain 
capsule, and allow the mixture to evaporate spontaneously to dryness. Lastly, 
reduce the dry residue to powder, and keep it in a well-stopped bottle.” U. S. 
“Take of Aconite Root, in coarse powder, fourteen pounds (avoird.); Rec- 
tified Spirit, Distilled Water, Solution of Ammonia, Pure Ether, Dilute Sul- 
phuric Acid, each, a sufficiency. Pour upon the Aconite Root three gallons 
of the Spirit, mix them well, and heat until ebullition commences; then cool, 
and macerate for four days. Transfer the whole to a displacement apparatus, 
and percolate, adding more Spirit, when requisite, until the root is exhausted. 
Distil off the greater part of the spirit from the tincture, and evaporate the re- 
mainder over a water-bath until the whole of the alcohol has been dissipated. 
Mix the residual extract thoroughly with twice its weight of boiling Distilled 
Water, and, when it has cooled to the temperature of the atmosphere, filter 
through paper. To the filtered liquid add Solution of Ammonia in slight ex- 
cess, and heat them gently over a water-bath. Separate the precipitate on a 
filter, and dry it. Reduce this to coarse powder, and macerate it in successive 
portions of the Ether with frequent agitation. Decant the several products, mix, 
and distil off the ether until the extract is dry. Dissolve the dry extract in warm 
Distilled Water acidulated with the Sulphuric Acid; and, when the solution is 
cold, precipitate it by the cautious addition of Solution of Ammonia diluted with 
four times its bulk of Distilled Water. Wash the precipitate on a filter with a 
small quantity of cold Distilled Water, and dry it by slight pressure between 
folds of filtering paper.” Br. 
The process of the TJ. S. Pharmacopoeia, which is a modification of that of 
Headland, published in a note in the preceding edition of the U. S Dispensa- 
tory, was substituted for the former U. S. process, because, in consequence of the 
amount of water employed, and the use of animal charcoal, which absorbed much 
of the alkaloid, that formula had proved unproductive. In the present, the pow- 
dered root is exhausted with alcohol by percolation, most of the alcohol distilled 
off, and the residue treated with very dilute sulphuric acid, by which the native 
salt is converted into the sulphate. After the removal of the resinous and oily 
matters that separate, the solution of the sulphate is concentrated, and washed PART II. 
Aconitia. 
945 
with ether, which, without dissolving the sulphate, which is insoluble in that 
menstruum, removes the remaining oil and resin. The addition of ammonia now 
decomposes the sulphate, separating the alkaloid, which in this state is dissolved 
out by repeated agitation with ether; and the process is completed by mixing 
the ethereal solutions, and allowing them to evaporate spontaneously. The 
points in which this process differs from that of Headland, are the use of perco- 
lation to exhaust the root instead of boiling with alcohol, and the washing with 
ether before the addition of ammonia, by which the resin and colouring matter 
are removed. The latter modification originated in a suggestion of Prof. Procter 
in a communication to the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (March, 1861, p. 102). 
In the British process, the root is exhausted with alcohol by a combination of 
maceration and percolation, which experience has shown to be unnecessary; the 
resulting tincture is wholly deprived of its alcohol by distillation and evapora- 
tion ; and the residue thoroughly exhausted by boiling water. The solution thus 
obtained is treated with ammonia; and the precipitate, which contains the alka- 
loid, having been dried and powdered, is exhausted by ether. Lastly, the im- 
pure aconitia obtained by distilling off the ether, is purified by solution in water 
acidulated with sulphuric acid, and precipitation by ammonia. This process 
was given to the Pharmacopoeia Committee of the British Council by a manu- 
facturer who had been in the habit of preparing the alkaloid. (Garrod.)* 
It is highly probable that more or less of the aconella discovered by the Messrs. 
Smith of Edinburgh in aconite root, and now believed to be identical with nar- 
cotipa, is contained in most of the aconitia of commerce. It appears to us that 
it must contaminate the product of the British process, and, if not present in the 
U. S. aconitia, must have been removed by the preliminary washing with ether. 
If great care is taken, in the preparation of aconitia, to avoid the slightest ex- 
cess of sulphuric acid, beyond what is necessary for the solution of this alkaloid, 
the aconella will be left behind; and on the same principle it may be separated 
from aconitia when existing in it. Should a mixture of the two be decolorized 
by animal charcoal, the aconitia would be liable to be absorbed, and the aco- 
nella to be left. (Messrs. Smith, Pharm. Journ., Jan. 1864, p. 319.) Whichever 
process is used, care should be taken not to employ the ammonia in great excess, 
as it diminishes the product probably by dissolving the aconitia.•{■ 
* A process has recently been published by M. E. Ilottot, of France, which is believed 
by the author to yield the alkaloid pure. The powdered root is macerated for eight days 
in alcohol of 85°; the liquid is separated by percolation; slaked lime is added, and the 
mixture shaken from time to time; the liquid is filtered, precipitated by a slight excess of 
sulphuric acid, and evaporated to a syrupy consistence-; twice or three times its weight of 
water is added to the residue, the mixture allowed to rest, and the green oil which rises to 
the surface and solidifies at 68° F. removed; the liquid having been passed through-a 
moist filter to separate the last portion of oil, is treated with ammonia, and raised to the 
boiling point; the aconitia, which is deposited in a compact mass, and contains much 
resin, is washed, and treated with pure ether, and the ethereal solution allowed to evapo- 
rate; the residue is dissolved in water acidulated with sulphuric acid, and precipitated by 
ammonia; the coagulum which forms is collected on a filter, dried, and dissolved in ether; 
the ethereal solution is evaporated to dryness, the residue treated with a very little dilute 
sulphuric acid, and the solution precipitated by dilute solution of ammonia added drop by 
drop. The first portion deposited, being coloured, is separated, and the precipitation con- 
tinued till the ammonia is in slight excess. The precipitate now formed is washed until 
freed from ammoniacal odour, and dried at a low temperature. Ten kilogrammes (about 
26 lbs. troy) of the root yield a mean product of from 4 to 6 grammes to giss) of the 
alkaloid, which is perfectly white. [Ann. de Therap., 1864, p. 46.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 
f The root of Aconitum ferox, from the E. Indies, is preferable for procuring the alka- 
loid, in consequence of its greater yield. A specimen of this, which we have had the oppor- 
tunity of examining, was in single roots, fusiform, from two and a half to three and a half 
inches long, from half an inch to an inch and a half thick at the thickest part near the 
top, gradually tapering to a point, unequally wrinkled from drying, of a dark-brown colour 
externally, yellowish internally, hard, with a shining wax-like fracture, and the charac- 
teristic taste of the aconites in a high degree.—Note to the tenth edition. 946 
Aconitia. 
PART II. 
Properties. As procured by either of the officinal processes aconitia is slightly 
c iloured; but when pure it is perfectly white. As hitherto obtained it is amor- 
phous; and, though products have been sold as aconitia having a crystalline 
form, there can be little doubt of their impuyity. When obtained by precipita- 
tion from a watery solution of its salts, it is in the form of a hydrate, containing 
25 per cent, of water; but it yields its water when heated, and may be obtained 
anhydrous by the spontaneous evaporation of its solution in ether, or by precipi- 
tation by the alkalies from a boiling solution of its salts. In this case it forms 
a compact coagulum. (Hottot.) 
Aconitia probably exists in the plant combined with a vegetable acid, form- 
ing a soluble salt. It is inodorous, and of a bitter and acrid taste, producing 
a benumbing impression on the tongue. It is unalterable in the air, and fusible 
by a gentle heat. It is not volatile; but at a high temperature is decomposed, 
with the escape of ammonia, and by a continuance of the heat is entirely dis- 
sipated. It is sparingly soluble in water, requiring for solution 150 parts of cold 
and 50 of boiling water. (Phillips.) Alcohol, ether, and chloroform dissolve it 
readily. It restores the blue colour of litmus reddened by acids, and neutralizes 
the acids, forming crystallizable salts. The solution of these salts produces a 
white precipitate with bichloride of platinum, a yellowish with terchloride of 
gold, and a yellowish-brown with free iodine. Aconitia is precipitated from the 
solution by the caustic alkalies, but not by carbonate of ammonia, or the bicar- 
bonates of potassa and soda. (Br.) Its received formula is Cf)0H47NOu. A spu- 
rious substance has sometimes been sold under the same name, which is nearly or 
quite inert; and at best the alkaloid is apt to be of uncertain strength, as found 
in the shops. This can be accounted for, now that it is known that aconella must 
have largely contaminated the alkaloid as procured by the processes used, and 
sometimes may have been the chief ingredient. 
Medical Properties and Uses. This vegetable principle exercises a powerful 
influence over the animal economy. One-fiftieth of a grain dissolved in alcohol 
destroyed a sparrow in a few minutes; and the same quantity, administered to 
an elderly female, is said to have nearly proved fatal. Dr. Garrod has repeat- 
edly known large dogs to be killed by the 50th of a grain; more than half an 
hour usually elapsing before death. (Med. Times and Gaz., Feb. 1804, p. 146.) 
In a case of poisoning by aconitia, recorded by Dr. Golding Bird, though two 
grains and a half were taken, the patient ultimately recovered. But, as vomit- 
ing almost immediately ensued, there is reason to believe that much of the poi- 
son was thus discharged from the stomach. Besides extreme general prostration, 
indicated by a cold pale surface, and a scarcely perceptible action of the heart, 
the prominent symptoms were convulsive vomiting, recurring every minute or 
two, and fearful spasms of the throat, resembling those of hydrophobia, upon 
any attempt at swallowing. There was no paralysis, the pupils were sensible to 
light, and the intellect remained perfectly clear. The remedies were the hot 
bath, mustard to the epigastrium, and enemata of oil of turpentine, laudanum, 
and nutriment. (Lond. Med. Gaz., Jan. 1847.) Dr. Van Praag found, in his 
experiments with aconitia on the lower animals, that it lessens cerebral power, 
paralyzes the nerves of voluntary motion, dilates the pupil, retards respiration, 
is uncertain in its influence on the pulse, and destroys life either suddenly by 
asphyxia, or more slowly by exhaustion. 
The observations of M. Hottot, from experiments on himself, are deserving of 
notice, from the great care with which they appear to have been made. From 
doses gradually increased to 3 milligrammes (-046 gr.), M. Hottot experienced, 
immediately, over the whole mucous membrane of the mouth, a sensation of acri- 
mony and heat, which rapidly extended to the throat, and somewhat later to the 
stomach. This feeling became more and more intense, with burning and numb- 
ness of the lips, tongue, pharynx, and a profuse salivation. To these local effects PART II. 
litia.—PEtherea. 
947 
were soon added general phenomena, at first uneasiness, weakness, heaviness o. 
head, then nausea and frequent yawning, oppression, marked muscular debility, 
tingling over different parts of the body, but especially in the face and limbs, 
and a slightly excited pulse. After a time the weakness increased, headache anc 
often lancinating pains of the face supervened, and the nausea was attended with 
vomiting. These were followed by increased muscular prostration, still more 
manifest tinglings, numbness of the limbs, swollen features, reduced pulse, diffi- 
cult breathing, painful burning in the throat, and copious sweats. Later still, 
general prostration came on, the least effort produced exhaustion, the breathing 
became deep and slow, and the pulse was sensibly lowered. There was no sleep, 
and the pupil was moderately dilated; but the intelligence remained sound. 
These symptoms continued from ten to sixteen hours, and were then gradually 
relieved, the most persistent being irritation of the throat, heaviness of head, and 
general lassitude. The effects were precisely those of aconite itself. Aconitia is 
little used internally as a remedy. M. Hottot, however, has employed it to obtain 
the effects of aconite, giving it in the form of pills, each containing the fifth of 
a milligramme of a grain), or in a tincture containing one-sixteenth of a 
grain in the drachm. The quantity taken daily was of the pills from 2 to 10, of 
the tincture from 10 to 40 drops, in divided doses. But the internal use of so 
powerful a medicine is hazardous, and should not, we think, be encouraged, as 
very slight errors might lead to the most serious effects; and we can quite as 
conveniently use the tincture. 
Dr. Turnbull was the first to recommend the external use of aconitia; and his 
favourable report has been abundantly confirmed by others. By this writer it is 
said to produce in the skin a sensation of heat and prickling, followed by numb- 
ness; and the effect continues, according to the quantity applied, from two to 
twelve hours or more. He found it not to act as a rubefacient, or at least but 
slightly so. Applied much diluted and in minute quantity to the eye, it causes 
contraction of the pupil, with an almost intolerable sense of heat and tingling. 
Dr. Turnbull employed it with benefit in neuralgia, gout, and rheumatism. He 
recommends it either in alcoholic solution, in the proportion of a grain to a 
fluidrachm, or in the form of an ointment, made by rubbing two grains of the 
alkaloid first with six drops of alcohol, and then with a drachm of lard. These 
proportions are sufficiently large to begin with, but may be gradually increased 
to four or five, or even eight grains to the drachm. The application should be 
made by friction over the part affected, to be continued till the peculiar sensation 
above described is produced, and may be repeated three or four times, or more 
frequently, during the day. No good can be expected unless the sensation 
alluded to be experienced in a geater or less degree. Care should be taken not 
to apply the medicine to an abraded surface, or to a mucous membrane, for fear 
of dangerous constitutional effects. It has gradually come into extensive use, and 
has the advantages, as an external remedy, over other preparations of aconite, 
of greater neatness and precision. 
Off. Prep. Unguentum Aconitiae, Br. W. 
iETHEREA 
Ethers. 
Ethers are peculiar, fragrant, sweetish, very volatile, and inflammable sub- 
stances, generated for the most part by the action of acids on alcohol. Their 
composition varies with the acid employed in there formation. Sometimes this 
merely acts as a chemical agent on the alcohol, without entering into the com- 
position of the ether generated; in which case the ether may be supposed to 
consist, according to the views that may be adopted of its constitution, either of 
ethylen (etherine), C4H4, and water, or of ethyl, C4H5, and oxygen. Iu other 948 
JEtherea, 
PART II. 
instances, the ethylen theory being admitted for the present, the acid employed 
unites with ethylen and water (the ether just mentioned), or with ethylen only. 
On the basis of these differences of composition, the medicinal ethers may be 
divided into three kinds: 1. those consisting of ethylen and water; 2. those 
consisting of an acid, ethylen, and water; and 3. those composed of an acid and 
ethylen only. Hydric ether is the only medicinal ether of the first kind, nitrous 
ether is an example of the second, and muriatic ether of the third. In medicine, 
the hydric and nitrous ethers, and their modifications, are those most commonly 
employed; though occasionally the muriatic and acetic have been used. In con- 
formity with the new arrangement of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, we shall consider 
under this heading only the ethers themselves, transferring to the Spirits those 
Preparations which are formed by a mixture of the ethers and alcohol, and ofifi- 
cinally denominated Spirits ; as the Spirit and Compound Spirit of Ether, and 
the Spirit of Nitrous Ether. 
Ethers, from their extreme inflammability, should never be decanted in the 
vicinity of flame. Hence it is prudent not to pour them out near a lighted candle. 
They should be kept in accurately stopped bottles, in a cool place; otherwise 
they are liable to considerable loss by evaporation. B. 
jETHER. U. S., Br. Sulpiiuricus. Ed., Bub. Ether. Sul- 
phuric Ether. Hydric Ether. Hydrate of Ethylen. Oxide of Ethyl. 
“ Take of Stronger Alcohol six pints; Sulphuric Acid thirty-six troyounces ; 
Potassa three hundred and sixty grains; Distilled Water three fluidounces. 
To two pints of the Alcohol, contained in a six-pint tubulated retort, gradually 
add the Acid, stirring constantly during the addition. By means of a cork fitted 
to the tubulure, adapt a long funnel-shaped tube, with the lower end drawn out 
so as to form a narrow orifice, and reaching nearly to the bottom of the retort, 
and also a thermometer tube, graduated from 260° to 300°, with its bulb reaching 
to the middle of the liquid. Having placed the retort on a sand-bath, connect 
it wit!) a Liebig’s condenser, and this with a well-cooled receiver. Then raise 
the heat quickly until the liquid boils, and attains a temperature between 266° 
and 280°. By means of a flexible tube, connected with the stop-cock of an ele- 
vated vessel containing the remainder of the Alcohol, introduce that liquid into 
the retort, through the funnel-shaped tube, in a continuous stream; the quantity 
supplied being so regulated, that the temperature of the boiling liquid shall 
continue between the degrees mentioned. After all the Alcohol has been added, 
proceed with the distillation until the temperature rises to 286°, when the pro- 
cess should be discontinued. To the distilled liquid add the Potassa, previously 
dissolved in the Distilled Water, and shake them occasionally together. At the 
end of twenty-four* hours, pour off the supernatant liquid, introduce it into a 
retort, and, with a gentle heat, distil into a well-cooled receiver three pints, or 
until the liquid attains the specific gravity 0'750. * Lastly, keep the Ether in a 
well-stopped bottle.” U.S. 
“Take of Rectified Spirit fifty fluidounces; Sulphuric Acid ten fluidounces; 
Chloride of Calcium ten ounces [avoirdupois]; Slaked Lime half an ounce 
[avoird.]; Distilled Water thirteen fluidounces. Mix the Sulphuric Acid and 
twelve [tluidjounces of the Spirit in a glass matrass capable of containing at 
least two pints [Imperial measure], and, without allowing the mixture to cool, 
connect the matrass by means of a bent glass tube with a Liebig’s condenser, 
and distil with a heat sufficient to maintain the liquid in brisk ebullition. As 
soon as the ethereal fluid begins to pass over, supply fresh Spirit through a tube 
into the matrass in a continuous stream, and in such quantity as to equal the 
volume of the fluid which distils over. This is best done by using a tube fur- 
nished with a stop-cock to regulate the supply, connecting one end of the tube 
with a vessel containing the Spirit raised above the level of the matrass, and 
passing the other end through a cork fitted into the matrass. Wlun the wlolo PART II. 
JEtherea. 
949 
of the Spirit Pas Deen added, and forty-two fluidounces have distilled over, the 
process may be stopped. Dissolve the Chloride of Calcium in the Water, adc 
the Lime, and agitate the mixture in a bottle with the impure ether. Leave the 
mixture at rest for ten minutes, pour off the light supernatant fluid, and disti? 
it with a gentle heat until a glass bead of specific gravity 0-735 placed in the 
receiver begins to float. The ether and spirit retained by the chloride of cal- 
cium, and by the residue of each distillation, may be recovered by distillation 
and used in a subsequent operation.”Br. 
The preparation of ether embraces two stages; its generation, and its sub- 
sequent rectification to remove impurities. The formulas agree in obtaining it 
by the action of sulphuric acid on alcohol. In the United States process, which 
is adopted, with modifications, from that of the French Codex, one-third of the 
alcohol taken is mixed with the acid, and, while still hot from the reaction, dis- 
tilled from a glass retort, by a heat quickly applied, into a refrigerated receiver. 
When the heat of the mixture has risen to between 266° and 280°, the re- 
mainder of the alcohol is allowed to enter the retort in a continuous stream, the 
supply being so regulated that the heat shall be maintained between the degrees’ 
mentioned. By a complicated reaction which will be explained presently, the 
acid converts the alcohol into ether; and, were it not that the acid becomes 
more and more dilute as the process proceeds, it would be able to etherize an 
unlimited quantity of alcohol. Although the acid, before it becomes too dilute, 
is capable of determining the decomposition of a certain amount of alcohol, yet 
it is not expedient to add this amount at once; as a considerable portion of it 
would distil over undecomposed with the ether. The proper way of proceeding, 
therefore, is that indicated in the formula; namely, to commence the process 
with the use of part of the alcohol, and, when the decomposition is fully estab- 
lished, and a portion of ether has distilled, to add the remainder in a gradual 
manner, so as to replace that which, every moment of the progress of the dis- 
tillation, is disappearing by its conversion into ether. 
In the U. S. process of 1850, the point at which the distillation should cease 
was determined by the proportion of the ether distilled to that of the alcohol 
employed, or by the appearance of white vapours in the retort, which indicate 
the generation of other products beside the ether; but, in the present plan, ar- 
rangements having been made by which the temperature can be determined, the 
degree of heat has been adopted as a better criterion; as it is only when the 
temperature exceeds the point of 286° indicated, that the production of injurious 
impurities is to be apprehended. The modifications of the old process were made 
in conformity with suggestions by Dr. Squibb, contained in a paper published 
in the Proceedings of the American Pharmaceutical Association for the year 
1858 (p. 390). The direction in the former process to reserve a small portion 
of acid, to be added gradually with the reserved alcohol, upon the supposition 
that the acid in the retort might be too much weakened to perform its part 
duly, has been found upon trial to result in no practical advantage. As the 
proper proportion between the acid and alcohol is that which requires for ebul- 
lition a temperature somewhat above 266°, or that at which the ether is formed, 
there is an obvious propriety in supplying the alcohol just so rapidly as may be 
sufficient to maintain this temperature in the liquid of the retort. If the alcohol 
be supplied so rapidly as to reduce the temperature below the point mentioned, 
alcohol will distil over in undue proportion; if too slowly supplied, the tempera- 
ture will rise so high as to produce other reactions in the materials than that 
required for etherification, and various other products will result. The rising of 
tfhe temperature to 286°, after all the alcohol has been added, is, therefore, an in- 
dication that the process should be suspended. Nevertheless, the caution to check 
the process when white vapours appear in the retort is not amiss, as affording 
an additional security that it shall not be carried too far. At the temperature 950 
fEtherea, 
PART II. 
of 320°( there would be generated sulphurous acid, heavy oil of wine, olefiant 
gas, and a large quantity of resino-carbonaceous matter, blackening and render- 
ing thick the residuary liquid; all of them products arising from the decompo- 
sition of a portion of sulphuric acid, alcohol, and ether. 
The British process is that of the late Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia slightly 
modified. The principles are the same as those of the U. S. process; but the 
directions about temperature are wanting; and the regulation of the supply of 
alcohol, and the cessation of the operation are made to depend on the less reliable 
method of determining the measure of liquid, in the first place in the retort, and 
in the second place in the receiver; as in the U. S. process of 1850. 
In both processes, whatever care may be taken in conducting them, and to stop 
them in due time, yet the ether obtained is contaminated with sulphurous acid, 
heavy oil of wine, alcohol, and water; and hence its purification becomes neces- 
sary. This is conducted in different ways, according to the two Pharmacopoeias. 
The U. S. Pharmacopoeia directs for this purpose an aqueous solution of po- 
tassa, the British a saturated solution of chloride of calcium (muriate of lime), 
to which a portion of recently slaked lime has been added. In both cases, the 
crude ether is agitated with the purifying agent, and submitted to a new distil- 
lation at a gentle heat, called the rectification. 
The purifying substances are potassa for sulphurous acid and water, and water 
for alcohol in the U. S. formula; lime for acid, and a saturated solution of chlo- 
ride of calcium for alcohol and water, iii the British. The British substances for 
purifying are stated by Dr. Christison to be convenient, and to act perfectly 
and promptly. The chloride of calcium solution, after having been used, yields 
on distillation a further portion of ether of the officinal density; and, by con- 
centrating it, filtering while hot, and separating the crystals of sulphite of lime 
which form on cooling, the chloride may be recovered for future operations. 
The process for forming ether is conducted with most advantage on a large 
scale. At Apothecaries’ Hall, where the operation is performed in this way, the 
apparatus employed is thus described by Mr. Brande. It “consists of a leaden 
still, heated by means of high pressure steam carried through it in a contorted 
leaden pipe. A tube enters the upper part of the still for the purpose of suffer- 
ing alcohol gradually to run into the acid. The still-head is of pewter, and is 
connected, by about six feet of tin pipe, with a very capacious condensing appa- 
ratus, duly cooled by a current of water. The receivers are of pewter, with glass 
lids, and have a side tube to connect them with the delivering end of the con- 
densing pipe.” (Manual of Chemistry, edition of 1848.) For an account of the 
apparatus, used in the U. S. Naval Laboratory for obtaining ether by steam on 
a large scale, see an article by E. R. Squibb, M. D., U. S. Navy, contained in 
the Am. Journ. of Pharm. for Sept. 1856. 
Properties of Officinal Ether. Notwithstanding the officinal directions for 
purifying ether, it is not absolutely pure as obtained by either of the formulas 
here given. Both contain a considerable proportion of alcohol, the U. S , ac- 
cording to Dr. Squibb, 25 per cent, of 88 per cent, alcohol, the British, accord- 
ing to the Pharmacopoeia, 8 per cent, of alcohol by measure. In both there is a 
little of the light oil of wine. They should, however, be free from various impu- 
rities which are too often found in commercial ether, the result of careless ope- 
ration, or the employment of imperfect processes. As both Pharmacopoeias give 
special directions for the purification of ether, we shall postpone an account of 
the chemical and remedial properties of the medicine till the pure preparation 
is treated of. (See Mther Fortior.) In the mean time, it will be proper to indi- 
cate the means of determining the genuineness and purity of the proper officinal 
ethers. Commercial ether varies iu sp. gr. from 0 733 to 0T65. The impuritie* 
found in it are excess of alcohol, water, sulphurous and other acids, heavy oil of 
wine, and various fixed substances. PART II. 
AEtherea. 
951 
The U. S. ether should have the sp. gr. 0 750, and, if heavier than this, must 
contain too much alcohol or water. When shaken with an equal bulk of water 
it should not lose more than from one-fifth to one-fourth of its volume. The 
statement that water takes up only one-tenth has been shown by Dr. Squibb to 
be erroneous. If it take up more than one-fourth, the ether must contain too 
much of alcohol or of water, or both. If the alcohol be in excess, it may be re- 
moved by agitating the liquid with twice its bulk of water, which unites with the 
alcohol, forming a heavier stratum, from which the ether may be poured off. The 
ether, however, takes up about one-tenth of water, which may be removed by 
agitation with fresh-burned lime, and subsequent distillation. An easy method 
for detecting and measuring any alcohol present in ether, was given by the 
Edinburgh College; namely, to agitate it, in a minim measure, with half its 
volume of a concentrated solution of chloride of calcium. This will remove the 
alcohol; and the reduction of the volume of the ether, when it rises to the sur- 
face, will indicate the amount. Heavy oil of wine may be discovered by the ether 
becoming milky upon being mixed with water. If the ether is pure, it wholly 
evaporates in the air, leaving no solid residue. All non-volatile impurities are 
thus detected. It should not redden litmus, showing the absence of acids. The 
point of ebullition is also an indication of the strength of the ether. A test tube, 
full of ether, should, when held in the closed hand, begin to boil on the addi- 
tion of a piece of broken glass. (Squibb.) When evaporating from bibulous 
paper, it should offer only a slight degree of foreign odour, aromatic and free 
from pungency, and should leave the paper, when dry, nearly or quite odourless. 
This test proves the absence of volatile impurities, except a slight and not inad- 
missible proportion of light oil of wine. (Squibb.) 
The British ether should have the sp. gr. 0 735, and, if agitated with an equal 
bulk of water, should not lose more than 18 per cent. It boils below 105°. It 
is, therefore, considerably stronger than the U. S. ether. In other respects, it 
should answer to the tests above given. 
In the impure state in which ether is afforded by the IJ. S. Pharmacopoeia, 
though it may answer for external application, and may even be given by the 
mouth, yet for purposes of inhalation, which is now the chief use of ether, it is 
scarcely fitted without further purification; and the same is true, though in a less 
degree, of the English preparation. Hence the propriety of the adoption, in the 
U. S. Pharmacopoeia, of the Stronger Ether. 
Pharm.Uses. In preparing Acidum Tannicura ; Ceratum Sabin®, U. S.; Ex- 
tractum Ergot® Liquidum, Br.; Extract. Fiiicis Liquid., Br.; Morphi® Acetas, 
U. S.; Oleoresina Capsici, U. S.; Oleoresina Cubeb®, U. S.; Oleoresina Lupu- 
lin®, U. S.; Oleoresina Piperis, U. S.; Tinctura Opii Deodorata, U. S. 
Off. Prep. Aether Fortior, XJ. S.; Collodium, Br.; Linimentum Cantharidis, 
Br.; Spiritus .iEtheris, Br.; Spiritus Compositus, U. S. B. 
iETHER FORTIOR. U. S. Stronger Ether. Pure Ether. (Br. Ap- 
pendix.) 
“ Take of Ether, Water, each, three pints; Chloride of Calcium, in fine powder, 
Lime, in fine powder, each, a troy ounce. Shake the Ether and the Water 
thoroughly together, and, when the Water has subsided, separate the supernatant 
ether. Agitate this well with the Chloride of Calcium and the Lime in a well- 
stopped bottle, and allow the mixture to stand for twenty-four hours. Then de- 
cant the ether into a retort, and, having adapted thereto a Liebig’s condenser, 
distil a pint and a half of Stronger Ether into a receiver refrigerated with ice- 
/old water. Lastly, keep the liquid in a well-stopped bottle. By continuing the 
distillation, a portion of weaker ether may be obtained.” U. S. 
“Take of Ether, Distilled Water, each, two pints [Imperial measure]; Lime, 
recently burned, a quarter of an ounce [avoirdupois]; Chloride of Calcium, per- 
fectly dry, four ounces [avoird.]. Shake the Ether with one pint [Imp. meas.] FEtherea, 
PART II. 
ot the Water, and, after separation, decant the ether, and again shake it with 
the remainder of the Water. Decant again, and put the washed ether into a re- 
tort with the Lime and Chloride of Calcium, and, after digestion for 24 hours, 
distil with the aid of a gentle heat. Sp. gr. not exceeding 0'720.” Br. Appendix. 
These formulas are essentially the same; the U. S. limiting the amount dis- 
tilled by the measure, the British by the sp. gr. The ether is first shaken with 
the water, in order that the latter, by its superior affinity for alcohol, may take 
it from the former; and afterwards with the chloride of calcium and lime, to 
separate from the ether the water with which it has itself united in the first step 
of the process. Of course, the lime, for this purpose, must be in its freshly cal- 
cined state, so that it may have had no opportunity to absorb water from the air. 
The subsequent distillation is intended still further to strengthen the ether, the 
less volatile liquids being left in the retort. The lime answers the further pur- 
pose of neutralizing any sulphurous or other acid which the ether may have 
happened to contain. The weaker ether obtained at the end of the process may 
be kept for subsequent purification. It will be noticed that this separate process 
accomplishes more perfectly what is effected by the British formula for ether. 
Even thus prepared, however, the ether, though sufficiently pure for all phar- 
maceutical or remedial purposes, is not absolutely pure, still containing a little 
alcohol. To meet the intentions of the process, it must have the sp. gr. 0 728 
(U. S.), 0‘720 (Br.), must lose not more than from one-tenth to one-eighth of 
its bulk by agitation with water, and must boil actively when a test-tube, half- 
filled with it, is held enclosed in the hand, and a small fragment of glass is drop- 
ped into it. “ Half a fluidounce of it, evaporated from a porcelain plate by caus- 
ing it to flow to and fro over the surface, yields a faintly aromatic odour as the 
last portions pass off, and leaves the surface without taste or smell, but covered 
with a deposit of moisture.” (U. S.) This last is Dr. Squibb’s test to indicate 
the very minute proportion of light oil of wine that is still contained in the 
ether, and the absence of all other contaminating volatile impurities. The ether 
must not redden litmus; as the presence of acid matter would indicate that it 
had been badly prepared, or had been too long kept. 
Properties. Ether is a colourless, very limpid liquid, of a strong and sweet 
odour, and hot pungent taste. When perfectly pure it has the sp.gr. 0 713, boils 
at 95°, and forms a vapour which has the density of 2 586. It is not frozen by 
a cold of 166° below zero. {Faraday.) It is a very volatile liquid, and, when of 
the sp. gr. 0-720, boils at about 98°. Its extreme volatility causes it to evapo- 
rate speedily in the open air, with the production of considerable cold. Its in- 
flammability is very great, and the products of its combustion are water and car- 
bonic acid. In consequence of this property, the greatest care should be used 
not to bring it in the vicinity of flame, as, for example, a lighted candle. One 
of the great advantages of using steam as the source of heat is that it obvi- 
ates, in a great measure, the danger of its accidental inflammation. When too 
long kept it undergoes decomposition, and is converted in part into acetic acid. 
It dissolves iodine and bromine freely, and sulphur and phosphorus sparingly. 
Its power to dissolve corrosive sublimate makes it a useful agent in the manipu- 
lations for detecting that poison. It is also a solvent of volatile and fixed oils, 
many resins and balsams, tannic acid, caoutchouc, and most of the organic vege- 
table alkalies'. It does not dissolve potassa and soda, in which respect it differs 
from alcohol. Water dissolves a tenth of its volume of ether, and reciprocally 
ether takes up about the same proportion of water. When water dissolves more 
than a tenth of its volume, the ether is shown to contain an undue quantity of 
water or alcohol, or of both. Ether unites in all proportions with alcohol. 
Composition and Theory of its Production. Ether consists of four eqs. of 
carbon, five of hydrogen, and one of oxygen, and its empirical formula is 04H50. 
In volumes it consists of four volumes of carbon vapour, five volumes of hydro- 
A PART II. 
JEtherea. 
953 
gen, and half a volume of oxygen, condensed into one volume. Its proximate 
constituents may be considered to be one eq. of ethylen (etherine) and one of 
water; or, in volumes, one volume of ethylen vapour and one volume of aqueous 
vapour, condensed into one volume. This view makes it a hydrate of ethylen 
(C4H4-fHO). The sp.gr. of its vapour, calculated on this constitution in vo- 
lume, is 2-581I, which is very near 2*586, the number obtained by experiment. 
By most chemists, however, the constituents of the ethylen, together with the 
hydrogen of the alleged water, are supposed to form a peculiar radical, consist- 
ing of C4H5, to which the name of ethyl has been given. On this view, ether is 
an oxide of ethyl (C4H5-fO). The view is confirmed by Dr. E. Frarikland, who 
has isolated ethyl by acting on iodide of ethyl with zinc. As described by him, 
ethyl is a colourless, inflammable gas, of the sp. gr. 2, incondensible at zero, but 
condensible, under a pressure of 2-25 atmospheres at 37'5°, into a colourless, 
mobile liquid. Ether was formerly called sulphuric ether, in allusion to the sul- 
phuric acid employed in its preparation ; but it contains no sulphuric acid, and 
an identical ether may be obtained by the action of other substances on alcohol. 
Hence the epithet sulphuric is improperly applied to it; and, accordingly, its 
name was changed from JEther Sulphuricus to JEther in the U. S. and Br. 
Pharmacopoeias of 1850 ancj 1851. Those who consider ether as a compound 
of ethylen and water, call it hydric ether, or hydrate of ethylen; but its more 
probable constitution is expressed by the name, oxide of ethyl; and this view of 
its nature will be adopted in our subsequent remarks. 
With a view to determine in what manner sulphuric acid acts upon alcohol in 
order to convert it into ether, it is necessary that a comparison should be insti- 
tuted between the composition of the two latter fluids. Now alcohol is a hydrated 
oxide of ethyl, and ether is oxide of ethyl without water. It follows, therefore, 
that, to convert alcohol into ether, it is only necessary to abstract the water of 
the former. The agent in effecting this abstraction is evidently the sulphuric 
acid, which is known to have a strong affinity for water; but its action is not 
direct as originally supposed, but intermediate, as was first pointed out by the 
late Mr. Hennell. This chemist found that, when two eqs. of sulphuric acid and 
one of alcohol were merely mixed, the acid lost a portion of its saturating 
power, and a new acid was formed, to which he gave the name of sulphovinic 
acid (the etherosulphuric acid of Liebig). In view of its composition it may 
be called a bisulphate of alcohol, or, which is the same thing, a bisulphate of 
ether with one eq. of water, that is, a double sulphate of ether and water. When 
one eq. of this compound is heated it is decomposed; two eqs. of sulphuric acid 
with one eq. of water remain in the retort, while one eq. of ether distils over. 
If the original proportion of acid and alcohol continued the same .throughout 
the whole of the distillation, all the alcohol would be resolved into ether and 
water; but, during the progress of the process, the alcohol is constantly di- 
minishing, and of course the relative excess of the acid becoming greater; and 
at last a point of time arrives when the excess of acid is so great that the 
generation of ether ceases. As these results depend upon the relative deficiency 
of the alcohol, while the acid remains unchanged in amount, it is easy to under- 
stand why it is advantageous to introduce alcohol gradually into the distilling 
vessel during the progress of the distillation; for, by this addition, the proper 
proportion of the alcohol to the acid is maintained. But the decomposing power 
of the acid has its limit; as it becomes at last too dilute to act upon the alcohol, 
notwithstanding a considerable portion of water, towards the close of the dis- 
tillation, passes over with the ether. 
The above theory of etherification was called in question, in 1851, by Pro£ 
Graham, of London, who succeeded in producing ether without distillation, or 
the formation of sulphovinic acid, by using a larger proportion of alcohol than 
is ordinarily employed. The reaction was made to take place in sealed glass 954 
JEtherea 
PART II. 
tubes heated for a short time to a temperature between 284° and 352°. The 
sulphuric acid appeared to act by mere contact with the alcohol, in determining 
the production of ether, without combining with anything. For a new theory of 
etherification see an article by M. E. Robiquet, in the Journal de Pharmacie et 
de Chimie for Sept. 1854. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Ether is a powerful diffusible stimulant, pos- 
sessed also of expectorant, antispasmodic, and narcotic properties. In low fevers 
attended with subsultus tendinum, it proves beneficial as a stimulant and anti- 
spasmodic. In these cases it is frequently conjoined with laudanum. It is useful 
also in nervous headache unattended with vascular fulness, and generally in ner- 
vous and painful diseases which are unaccompanied by inflammation In nausea 
it is given as a cordial; and in cramp of the stomach and flatulent colic it some- 
times yields prompt relief. Given alone, or mixed with oil of turpentine, it re- 
lieves the pain and spasm caused by the passage of biliary calculi. According 
to Mr. Brande, a small teaspoonful of ether, mixed with a glass of white wine, 
is often an effectual remedy in sea-sickness. In a case of chronic functional vo- 
miting, Dr. Galante, of Arpino, found ether, given in capsules, of singular efficacy. 
When externally applied it may act either as a stimulant or refrigerant. Thus, 
it operates as a powerful rubefacient, and may even vesicate, when its evapora- 
tion is repressed; but, when this is allowed to take place freely, it is refrigerant 
in consequence of the cold which it produces. In the latter way it has been em- 
ployed in strangulated hernia, dropped on the tumour and allowed to evaporate. 
Dr. J. Nunn, of Savannah, Ga., praises its effect as a local anaesthetic in recent 
burns, applied, gutlatim, from a bottle, while the part is subjected to a stream of 
air. {Charleston Med. Journ., Sept. 1855.) It sometimes produces immediate 
relief when dropped into the ear in earache. For external use, the unrectified 
ether is sufficiently pure. The dose of ether is from fifty drops to a teaspoonful, 
to be repeated frequently when the full effect of the remedy is desired. When 
used habitually, the dose must be much increased to produce a given effect. It 
may be perfectly incorporated with water or any aqueous mixture, by first rubbing 
it up with spermaceti, employed in the proportion of two grains for each fluidrachm 
of the ether. {Durand.) 
Ether is conveniently administered in capsules, each containing four or five 
minims of pure ether, according to the plan of M. Clertan, of Dijon. These 
capsules are made of sugared gum. (See Capsules of Gelatin in Part III.) Cap- 
sules of ether, also called pearls of ether, are inodorous, will keep for a year 
at least without loss, and furnish the means of introducing ether into the stomach, 
without irritating the mouth and throat. In a few seconds after they arrive in 
the stomach, they burst and diffuse their effects with singular rapidity. Analo- 
gous effects are produced when they are introduced into the rectum or vagina. 
Ether may be gelatinized by the process of M. Grimault. This consists in briskly 
shaking, in a stoppered bottle, four measures of ether, free from alcohol and 
acid, with one measure of white of egg. Gelatinized ether is an opaline trem- 
bling jelly, which may be spread with the greatest facility. It may be used as 
a local anassthetic, applied to the seat of pain, spread on linen, and covered with 
a piece of cloth or of sheet caoutchouc. Gelatinized ether will not keep, but 
must be prepared at the time it is wanted. 
Etherization. Ether may be exhibited by inhalation. Many years ago, its 
use in this way was proposed by Drs. Beddoes, Pearson, and Thornton, of Eng- 
land, in certain diseases of the lungs. As early as 1805, the late Dr. Warren, 
of Boston, employed ethereal inhalation to relieve the distress attending the last 
stage'of pulmonary inflammation. About the year 1812, in Philadelphia, at a 
time when the nitrous oxide was the subject of popular lectures, the vapour of 
ether was frequently breathed from a bladder for experiment or diversion ; and 
its effects in producing transient intoxication, analogous to that canted tie PART II. 
JEtherea. 
955 
nitrous oxide, were observed. It was not, however, until October, 1840, that 
attention was particularly drawn to ethereal inhalation as a remedy for pain. 
In that month, Dr. Warren, of Boston, was. applied to by Dr. W. T. G. Morton, 
dentist of that city, to ascertain by trial whether an agent which he had suc- 
cessfully employed to render painless the extracting of teeth, would be equally 
successful in preventing the pain of surgical operations. This agent was the 
vapoHir of ether. Dr. Warren acceded to this request, and shortly afterwards, at 
the Massachusetts General Hospital, performed a severe operation, without pain 
to the patient, under the influence of ether, administered by Dr. Morton. A few 
days subsequently, Dr. C. T. Jackson, of Boston, in conversation with Dr. War- 
ren, claimed to have first made known to Dr. Morton the use of ethereal vapour 
for the prevention of pain in dental operations. 
From this beginning, the employment of ether by inhalation for the prevention 
and removal of pain, has spread throughout the civilized world. The effect pro- 
duced, called etherization, probably takes place through the medium of the blood. 
It is sometimes partial, suspending sensibility, without abolishing consciousness; 
so that the patient, without feeling pain, is aware of everything that is passing 
around him. At other times, a perfect unconsciousness is produced. 
Etherization is usefully resorted to in all severe operations, not merely as a 
remedy for pain, but as a means of preventing the shock which the system would 
otherwise suffer as a consequence of pain. Under full etherization, even the 
actual cautery may be extensively applied, without causing the least suffering. 
In many cases, the incidental power of ethereal vapour as a relaxing agent is 
usefully brought into play; as in the treatment of strictures of the urethra and 
oesophagus, strangulated hernia, retention of urine, dislocations, fractures, an- 
chylosis, &c. In all these cases, the necessary surgical manipulations are very 
much interfered with by the muscular contractions excited by pain. This is par- 
ticularly the case in dislocations, and in fractures attended with shortening of 
the limb. In partial anchylosis, etherization enables the surgeon in many cases 
to break up the adhesions, without pain to the patient, or resistance from the 
muscles. In lithotomy and lithotrity, the inordinate contraction of the muscular 
coat of the bladder is prevented or diminished. In short, in most cases in which 
the necessary surgical measures are likely to involve severe pain, or to encounter 
resistance, as in children, etherization may be usefully employed. 
Etherization has been employed for the detection of feigned diseases, by sus- 
pending the operation of the will; in neuralgia, as a palliative; in tetanus, and 
in the spasms produced by an overdose of strychnia, as an antispasmodie; in 
asthma and chronic bronchitis, as an expectorant; and in dysmenorrhcea, as an 
anodyne and relaxing remedy. Dr. Warren found it useful in relieving the ago- 
nizing sufferings which often attend the latter complaint. In midwifery it is 
extensively employed as a safe agent; and, while it does not seem materially to 
interfere with the due contraction of the uterus, it promotes the relaxation and 
lubricating secretions of the soft parts. In vivisections, humanity calls for the 
use of ether vapour, or other anaesthetic agent. 
Ethereal vapour is most conveniently inhaled through a soft sponge, hollowed 
ut on one side to receive the projection of the nose, and saturated with ether 
of the purest quality. The sponge, thus prepared, is applied over the nostrils, 
through which the inhalation should be made in preference to the mouth. When 
the inhalation is thus conducted through a sponge, the ethereal vapour is copi- 
ously mixed with air, and there is no fear of inducing asphyxia. At first a short 
cough is generally produced, but this soon disappears; and, after the lapse of 
from two to five minutes, and the expenditure of about two fluidounces of ether, 
Jie quantity being very variable in different cases, the patient becomes insensi- 
ble, and appears as if in a deep, almost apoplectic sleep. The usual signs 
of the full effect of the ether are the closure of the eyelids, muscular relaxation, 956 
JEtherea, 
PART II. 
and inability to answer questions. During the whole process of etherization, 
the fingers should be kept on the pulse; and, if it become feeble and very slow, 
the sponge should be removed until the circulation becomes more free. At first 
there is redness, afterwards paleness of the face and neck, succeeded by cold 
perspirations. Should the etherization prove excessive, or convulsions supervene, 
an event which rarely happens, the ether must be immediately withdrawn, and 
cold water freely applied. This is the mode of proceeding in surgical operations; 
in midwifery cases, partial etherization is often sufficient. In a few cases per- 
sons become unmanageable under the influence of the ethereal vapour; and 
hence the propriety of a preliminary trial of its effects on a patient, before sub- 
jecting him to a surgical operation. In a few instances etherization has produced 
alarming remote effects. Dr. F. D. Lente has reported three cases of this kind. 
(New York Journ. of Med., ~N ov. 1856.) Sometimes death has ensued; but 
the instances are extremely rare, in which a fatal result could be clearly traced 
to the direct influence of the ether. 
Pharm.Uses. In preparing Aconitia; Atropim Sulphas, U. S.; Digitalinum, 
Br.; Oleoresina Zingiberis, U. S. 
Off. Prep. Collodium, U. S.; Collodium cum Cantharide, U. S.; Oleum 
.iEthereum, U. S. B. 
CHLOROFORMUM PURIFICATUM. U. S. Chloroformum. Br., 
U. S1850. Purified Chloroform. 
“Take of Commercial Chloroform one hundred and two troyounces; Sul- 
phuric Acid seventeen troyounces; Stronger Alcohol six Jluidrachms; Carbo- 
nate of Potassa two troyounces. Add the Acid to the Chloroform, and shake 
them together occasionally during twenty-four hours. Separate the lighter 
liquid from the heavier, and mix it with the Stronger Alcohol. Then add the 
Carbonate of Potassa, previously heated to redness, and rubbed, while warm, 
into powder. Agitate the mixture thoroughly, and, by means of a water-bath, 
distil to dryness from a retort furnished with a condenser. Lastly, keep the dis- 
tilled liquid in well-stopped bottles.” U. S. 
“Take of Chlorinated Lime ten pounds [avoirdupois] ; Rectified Spirit thirty 
fluidounces [Imperial measure] ; Slaked Lime a sufficiency ; Water three gal- 
lons [Imp. meas.j ; Sulphuric Acid a sufficiency; Chloride of Calcium, in small 
fragments, two ounces [avoird.]; Distilled Water nine fluidounces [Imp. meas.]. 
Place the Water and the Spirit in a capacious still, and raise the mixture to the 
temperature of 100°. Add the Chlorinated Lime and five pounds [avoird.] of 
the Slaked Lime, mixing thoroughly. Connect the still with a condensing 
worm encompassed by cold water, and terminating in a narrow-necked receiver; 
and apply heat so as to cause distillation, taking care to withdraw the fire the 
moment the process is well established. When the distilled product measures 
fifty ounces, the receiver is to be withdrawn. Pour its contents into a gallon 
[Imp. meas.] bottle half filled with Water, mix well by shaking, and set at rest 
for a few minutes, when the mixture will separate into two strata of different 
densities. Let the lower stratum, which constitutes crude chloroform, be washed 
by agitating it in a bottle with three [fluid]ounces of the Distilled Water. Allow 
the Chloroform to subside, withdraw the water, and repeat the washing with the 
rest of the Distilled Water, in successive quantities of three [fluid]ounces at a 
time.' Agitate the washed Chloroform for five minutes in a bottle with an equal 
volume of Sulphuric Acid, allow the mixture to settle, and transfer the upper 
stratum of liquid to a flask containing the Chloride of Calcium mixed with half 
an ounce of Slaked Lime, which should be perfectly dry. Mix well by agita- 
tion. After the lapse of an hour connect the flask with a Liebig’s condenser, 
and distil over the pure Chloroform by means of a water-bath. Preserve the 
product in a cool place, in a bottle furnished with an accurately ground stopper. 
The lighter liquid which floats on the crude Chloroform after its agitation with PART II. 
JEtherea. 
957 
water, and the washings with Distilled Water, should be preserved, and employed 
in a subsequent operation.” Br. 
In the U. S. Pharmacopoeia of 1850 a process was given for preparing chlo- 
roform ; but as this is never made on a small scale by the apothecary, but pur- 
chased of the manufacturer, it was very properly transferred, at the late revision, 
to the Materia Medica Catalogue. But, as the chloroform of commerce is often 
impure, and, though fitted for external use, and for various pharmaceutical pur- 
poses, is, in this impure state, unfit for use as a respiratory anaesthetic agent, it, 
was deemed advisable to introduce a formula by which its purification, if re- 
quired, might be readily effected. This process is the first of those above given 
The process of the British Pharmacopoeia is for the preparation of the chloro- 
form ab initio, with directions which secure its purity if complied with. In this 
process, the reaction by which the chloroform is produced takes place between 
the chlorinated lime and the alcohol; the slaked lime, which is added in accord- 
ance with the directions in the late Dublin Pharmacopoeia, being intended pro- 
bably to lessen the production of the chlorinated pyrogenous oil, the amount of 
which is greater, according to Soubeiran and Mialhe, in proportion to the rela- 
tive excess of the chlorine to the lime employed. The use of this earth is stated 
by some chemists to give rise to Dutch liquid, C4H4C12, and to increase the pro- 
duct at the expense of its purity. As first distilled, the chloroform is very impure, 
and is directed to be washed first with ordinary water, and afterwards with dis- 
tilled water, which separates alcohol, chlorine, and probably other contaminating 
substances. In consequence of the density of the chloroform and its insolubility 
in water, it readily subsides, forming a distinct layer, which may be easily sepa- 
rated. The crude product, after having been freed from alcohol by the wash- 
ing with water, is purified from the chlorinated pyrogenous oil, which comes 
over with the chloroform, by agitation with an equal volume of sulphuric acid, 
which ought to be pure and colourless, and at least of the density 1-840. The 
oil is charred and destroyed by the acid, which becomes yellow or reddish-brown, 
and is partially changed into sulphurous acid. To remove the latter acid, as well 
as any water present, the chloroform, which floats on the surface of the acid, is 
removed and agitated well with chloride of calcium and slaked lime, and then 
again submitted to distillation. According to Gregory and Kemp, of Edinburgh, 
by whom the use of sulphuric acid for this purpose was proposed, chloroform 
is effectually purified from the pyrogenous oil by agitation with this acid if 
strong and pure. So long as a ring, darker than the rest of the acid, appears, 
after rest, at the line of contact between the acid and the chloroform, the agita- 
tion must be repeated; and the oil is known to be fully separated when the acid 
remains colourless. Deutoxide of manganese has been employed to separate the 
sulphurous acid; but, in this case, the chloroform is apt to become, after the 
lapse of a few weeks, of a delicate pink colour, which sometimes disappears and 
then returns. This coloration depends upon the presence of manganese, and 
forms an objection to the use of the deutoxide as a purifier. 
In the U. S. process the method of purification is somewhat different. Instead 
of equal measures of the impure chloroform and sulphuric acid and an agitation 
for only 5 minutes, the commercial chloroform is shaken occasionally for 24 
hours with but one-sixth of its weight of the acicT To remove any water and 
acid that may be present, instead of chloride of calcium and lime, a little stronger 
alcohol is mixed with the chloroform, and then carbonate of potassa previously 
heated to redness, and the mixture is distilled to dryness. 
It sometimes happens that the chloroform purified with sulphuric acid, though 
apparently pure at first, will not keep; but, after some time, becomes so loaded 
with chlorine and muriatic acid as to be altogether unfit for respiration. Dr. 
Christison ascertained that, if the sulphuric acid employed contains hyponi- 
tvic acid, the chloroform changes in less than 24 hours. The idea has been enter- 958 
JEtherea 
PART II. 
tained that it would be necessary to abandon sulphuric acid as a purifying agent; 
but experience has shown that, with certain precautions, it may be safely used; 
and its efficiency in getting rid of the empyreumatic impurity is so great that it is 
still much employed for the purpose. The British Council endeavours to escape 
the difficulty by using a large quantity of the acid, and allowing but very brief 
contact; while, in the U. S. process, the same end is arrived at by employing a 
comparatively small quantity of the acid, with a much longer period for its ope- 
ration. In any case, however, the acid should be strong and pure, and especially 
free from any of the nitrogen acids; and care should afterwards be taken to 
remove every particle of the sulphuric or sulphurous acid, as is done in the 
officinal processes, in one by lime, and in the other by carbonate of potassa. Dr. 
Squibb attributes the fact, that chloroform purified by concentrated sulphu- 
ric acid does not keep well, to the very purity attained. He believes that per- 
fectly pure chloroform is prone to decomposition, and is rendered more stable 
by the addition of a small proportion of alcohol, so as to reduce its density to 
the officinal standard, 1 49. This he effects by adding alcohol in the proportion 
of ten drops to each fluidounce of good chloroform of maximum density. (See 
his paper on Chloroform in the New York American Medical Monthly for 
July, 1857.) This recommendation is carried into effect in the U. S. process, 
and explains the addition of alcohol before distillation. Dr. Gregory also at- 
tributes the tendency to decomposition to its purity, and to the action of sun- 
light; having found that those portions which he had purified with the greatest 
care were soonest decomposed under the influence of light. 
As chloroform of great purity is often to be purchased in the market, it is 
not necessary for the apothecary to apply the officinal process of purification to 
every parcel that he may meet; but it is in the highest degree incumbent on 
him to sell none for inhalation which is not so pure as to stand the tests given 
in the Pharmacopoeia, and if he can obtain none so pure, then to purify it him- 
self. All pure specimens, moreover, should be kept distinct, and labelled with 
the officinal title of Purified Chloroform, for the sake of distinction. 
Chloroform may be made by the action of chlorinated lime on pyroxylic spirit 
(wood spirit); but when thus prepared it is largely contaminated with a chlo- 
rinated pyrogenous oil, analogous to that already mentioned as being found in 
small proportion in chloroform prepared from alcohol. Chloroform, thus pre- 
pared, called methylic chloroform, is purified with too much difficulty to be 
advantageously substituted for that made with alcohol, called by Soubeiran 
normal chloroform. In Great Britain chloroform is now obtained by the use 
of methylated spirit; and the preparation, when properly purified, is stated to 
answer every purpose to which it is applied equally well with that obtained by 
the use of alcohol. (See page 805.) 
Messrs. Duncan and Flockhart, druggists of Edinburgh, manufacture chloro- 
form on a large scale, in a peculiar apparatus, using the proportions of 20 parts 
of chlorinated lime, about 3 75 parts of rectified spirit, and 60 parts of water. 
They employ two large wooden barrels as a still, and a third as a receiver, and 
into the former throw steam, which furnishes both sufficient heat and water for 
the process. Sixty pounds of chlorinated lime are used by them at each distilla- 
tion ; and they are able to manufacture three hundred ounces of chloroform a 
day. The heavy layer of the distillate, constituting the impure chloroform, is 
purified by them by mixing it with half its measure of strong sulphuric acid, 
gradually added, and distilling the mixture, when cool, in a leaden retort, from 
as much carbonate of baryta by weight as of acid used by measure. The product 
is finally distilled from quicklime, after having stood over the earth, and been 
repeatedly shaken with it, for a day or two. Though sulphuric acid is used in 
this long-tried process, it may be presumed that the chloroform made by it is 
not liable to undergo the change which takes place in that prepared by Gre PART II. 
JEtherea. 
959 
gory’s process. It will be observed, however, that the product, after the action 
of the sulphuric acid, is successively distilled from baryta and lime.* 
Pettenkofer inferred, from numerous experiments on the manufacture of 
chloroform, that very different quantities are obtained, on different occasions, 
from the same amount of materials, and the same process. The yield is less, the 
longer the mixture is allowed to stand before distillation, and is greater when 
the heat of the mixture is between 135° and 167° F. than at either a lower or 
higher temperature. When the latter degree is exceeded, the chloroform con- 
tains more chlorine. (Buchner's Neues Repert., x. 103.) 
Discovery and History. Chloroform was discovered by Mr. Samuel Guthrie, 
of Sackett’s Harbor, N. Y., in 1831, and about the same time by Soubeiran in 
France, and Liebig in Germany. Guthrie obtained it by distilling a gallon from 
a mixture of three pounds of chlorinated lime and two gallons of alcohol of the 
sp. gr. 0 844, and rectifying the product by redistillation, first from a great ex- 
cess of chlorinated lime, and afterwards from carbonate of potassa. (Sillinian's 
Journal, vol. xxi., Jan. 1832, p. 64.) In a subsequent letter to Professor Silli- 
man, dated Feb. 15th, 1832, Mr. Guthrie states that the substance which he had 
obtained, “distilled off sulphuric acid, has the specific gravity of I 486, or a 
little greater, and may then be regarded as free from alcohol; and if a little 
sulphuric acid which sometimes contaminates it be removed by washing it with 
a strong solution of carbonate of potassa, it may then be regarded as absolutely 
pure.” (Ibid., vol. xxii., July, 1832, p. 105.) It is thus evident that Mr. Guthrie 
obtained, in a pure state, the substance now called chloroform; but he erroneously 
supposed his product to be the well-known oily.liquid of the Dutch chemists, 
which it greatly resembles, and for the preparation of which he believed he had 
fallen on a cheap and easy process. Under this impression, he called the sub- 
stance, in his communications, chloric ether, one of the names by which the 
Dutch liquid, or bichloride of ethylen, is designated. He was induced to make 
the preparation from noticing, in Professor Silliman’s Elements of Chemistry, a 
reference to the Dutch liquid as a grateful diffusible stimulant, when properly 
diluted with alcohol and water. In relation to the anticipated importance of 
chloroform, Mr. Daniel B. Smith, of this city, held the following language in 
July, 1832. “The action of this ether on the living system is interesting, and 
may hereafter render it an object of importance in commerce. Its flavour is de- 
licious, and its intoxicating qualities equal to or surpassing those of alcohol. 
It is a strong diffusible stimulus, similar to the hydrated ether, but more grate- 
ful to the taste.” {Journ. of the Philad. Col. of Pharm., iv. 118.) 
Properties. Chloroform is a limpid, colourless, volatile, neuter liquid, having 
a bland ethereal odour, and hot, aromatic, saccharine taste. It neither reddens 
nor bleaches litmus paper. It is but slightly soluble in water; one hundred 
parts of that liquid taking up but one part of chloroform. Its sp. gr. is from 
l-49 to L494 ( U. S.), 1496 {Br.)\ but when of this density it contains a small 
proportion of alcohol. Gregory has obtained it of the density l-5 at 60°. It boils 
at 140°. It is not inflammable, but renders the flame of an alcohol lamp yellow 
and fuliginous. It burns, however, with a smoky flame, when mixed with an 
equal volume of alcohol. When pure, it has no action on potassium, except to 
cover the surface of the metal with small bubbles of gas. Chloroform is a 
powerful antiseptic. It does not, like creasote, coagulate albumen. It is scarcely 
acted on by sulphuric acid in the cold, but dissolves readily in alcohol and ether. 
The alcoholic solution, when moderately diluted with water, forms an aromatic, 
saccharine liquid of a very grateful taste. A strong alcoholic solution is decom- 
posed by abundance of water, the chloroform separating and subsiding, and the 
* In the Am. Journ. of Pharm. for Jan. 1862 (p. 25), is an account by Prof. Procter of 
the method employed by Messrs. Rogers and Crew, of Philadelphia, wholesale manufac- 
turers of chloroform, and the apparatus used by them. 960 
JEtherea. 
PART 
alcohol uniting with the water. It is liable to decomposition by sunlight, or 
even diffused daylight; and hence the propriety of keeping it in bottles, covered 
with dark paper, in a rather dark place. Chloroform has extensive solvent 
powers, being capable of dissolving caoutchouc, gutta percha, mastic, elemi, 
tolu, benzoin, and copal. Amber, sandarac, lac, and wax are only partially 
soluble. It also dissolves iodine, bromine, the organic alkalies, the fixed and 
volatile oils, most resins, and fats. It dissolves sulphur and phosphorus spar- 
ingly. It possesses the power of dissolving a large quantity of camphor, and 
furnishes the means of administering that medicine in an elegant form. As a 
general solvent, it has the advantage over ether of not being inflammable; the 
inflammability of the latter being the cause of frequent accidents. For an ex- 
tensive list of substances, soluble, insoluble, and partly soluble in chloroform, see 
a paper by M. Lepage, of Gisors, France, copied into the Am. Journ. of Pharm. 
for April, 1852, p. 147.* 
Composition. Chloroform is composed of three eqs. of chlorine and one of 
formyl, and is, therefore, the terchloride of formyl. As formyl is a bicarburet of 
hydrogen, the formula of chloroform is C2IIC13. Its composition was first accu- 
rately determined by Dumas in 1835, by whom it was called chloroform from its 
relation to formic acid (C2II03), being formic acid with its three eqs. of oxygen 
replaced by three of chlorine. When first obtained by Liebig, he supposed it to 
consist exclusively of chlorine and carbon; and hence the origin of the erroneous 
name, sometimes applied to it, oi per chloride of carbon. 
The rationale of the formation of chloroform has not been well made out. If 
alcohol be considered a bihydrate of ethylen, C4H44-2HO, it may be presumed 
to be generated by the removal from the ethylen of two eqs. of carbon, and the 
substitution of three eqs. of chlorine for three of hydrogen. Thus C.II. — CH, 
+C18=C2HC1s. 
Impurities and Tests. Chloroform is liable to contain alcohol and ether, both 
of which lower its specific gravity. If it have a less density than 138, it will 
float instead of sinking in a mixture of equal weights of concentrated sulphuric 
acid and water, after it has cooled. M. Mialhe has proposed the following tests 
for the presence of alcohol. Drop into distilled water a small quantity of the 
chloroform. If pure, it will remain transparent at the bottom of the glass; but, 
if it contain even a small proportion of alcohol, the globules will acquire a milky 
appearance. Soubeiran’s method was to agitate almond oil and chloroform 
together in a tube. If the chloroform is pure it remains clear, if it contains as 
much as 5 or 6 per cent, of alcohol, it becomes milky. (Journ. de Pharm., Aout, 
1860, p. 95.) Prof. Procter detects alcohol by adding the suspected chloroform 
to an oxidizing mixture of bichromate of potassa and sulphuric acid. (Seepage 
667.) If alcohol be present, the deep-oratige colour of the chromic mixture will 
gradually become green; if absent, no change of colour will take place. (Am. 
Journ. of Pharm., May, 1856, p. 213.) Alcohol is detected also by potassium or 
sodium, which colours the chloroform containing this impurity, and gives rise to 
sharp acid fumes. But the most sensitive test is probably a compound newly dis- 
covered by M. Roussin, the binitrosulphuret of iron, a liftle of which agitated with 
* The following table of the solubility of the several alkaloids and their salts in chloro- 
form, prepared with great care by A. Schlimpcrt, may be of some practical use. At 64° F. 
100 parts of chloroform dissolve 
Morphia 1-66 
Acetate of morphia 1-66 
Quinia 1500 
Sulphate of quinia 0-00 
Muriate of quinia 11-10 
Cinchonia 2-50 
Sulphate of cinchonia. 3-00 
Quinoidin 25-30 
Ver atria 11-60 
Atropia 33-00 
Strychnia 14-10 
Nitrate of strychnia... 6-60 
Caffeina 11-00 
Digitaline 1-25 
Brucia 14-00 
Aconitia 22-00 
Santonin, pure 23 00 
Santonin, impure 33-30 
(Am. Journ. of Pharm., March, 1860, p. 160; from Archiv. der Pharrn., Nov. 1859, p. 151.) — 
Note to the twelfth edition. PART II. 
JEtherea. 
961 
chloroform and then allowed to stand, if there be the least proportion of alcohol, 
will produce a brown tint, deeper in proportion to the quantity, while the chlo- 
roform if pure will remain unchanged. To obtain this compound it is sufficient 
to mix nitrate of potassa and hydrosulphate of ammonia in solution, and to add a 
solution of protosulphate of iron, stirring constantly, until the liquid has but a 
slightly alkaline reaction, then evaporating to dryness, treating the residue with 
etherized alcohol on a filter, and evaporating the liquor so that it may crystallize. 
(Journ. de Pharm., Sept. 1858, p. 208.) The most injurious impurities are the 
chlorinated pyrogenous oils, already alluded to. These are different as obtained 
from methylic or normal chloroform. The oil, obtained by Soubeiran and Mialhe 
from methylic chloroform, is an oleaginous, yellow liquid, lighter than water, 
and of a peculiar nauseous empyreumatic odour, perceptible in the methylic 
chloroform itself. In commercial chloroform it is sometimes present to the 
amount of 6 per cent. It is easily set on fire, and burns with a smoky flame, 
chlorine being among the products of its combustion. The oil procured from 
normal chloroform, which contains it in the amount of about one-fifth of 1 per 
cent, only, is essentially different from the methylic chloroform oil. It is heavier 
than water, and has an acrid, penetrating odour, unlike that of the other oil. 
When the vapour of these oils is inspired or even smelt, it causes, according to 
Dr. Gregory, distressing sickness and headache. These pyrogenous oils are de- 
tected and removed by pure and strong sulphuric acid. Chloroform, when pure, 
upon being mixed with an equal volume of this acid, does not colour it; but, 
when contaminated with these oils, gives the acid a colour, varying from yellow 
to reddish-brown, according to the amount of impurity. Alcohol also is detected 
and removed by sulphuric acid. In applying this test, several fiuidounces of 
chloroform should be used; as a slight change of colour cannot be easily seen 
in a test tube. A still more delicate test of the oily impurities, according to Dr. 
Gregory, is the smell which they leave. If chloroform, thus contaminated, be 
poured upon the hand, it quickly evaporates, leaving the oily impurities, recog- 
nisable by their offensive odour, nowr no longer covered by that of the chloro- 
form. The pure substance, rubbed on the skin, quickly evaporates, and scarcely 
leaves any smell. Chloroform sometimes contains Dutch liquid, which may be 
discovered by adding an alcoholic solution of potassa; when the mixture, if this 
impurity be present, will heat, and give off a permanent gas, which is chloride 
of acetyl, C4I13C1. (Geuther.)* 
Officinal Tests. The IT. S. Pharmacopoeia directs that purified chloroform 
should have a sp. gr. not less than l-490 nor exceeding 1-494; should boil at 
140°; when dropped into water should sink in the form of transparent globules 
without milkiness; should produce no warmth, sensible to the hand at the mo- 
ment when mixed, in a bottle closed by a glass stopper, with an equal measure 
of officinal sulphuric acid, and that, when the liquids have separated on stand- 
ing, and have been allowed to remain in contact for 24 hours, no colour should 
be imparted to either, or but a faint yellowish tinge to the acid, forming the 
lower layer. The Pharmacopoeia directs, moreover, that when 3 or 4 fiuidrachms 
are evaporated from a porcelain plate, by causing them to flow to and fro over 
the surface, the last portions should have a slightly aromatic odour, without 
pungency or empyreuma, while the plate is covered with a film of moisture, with- 
out odour or taste. These tests imply the presence of but a minute proportion 
of alcohol, and the total absence of chlorine and those volatile and empyreumatic 
substances which constitute the most injurious impurities of chloroform. A heat 
that would be felt through the bottle, on the admixture of sulphuric acid with 
•hloroform, would evince the presence of too much alcohol or water. The want 
* In relation to chloroform, see the paper of Soubeiran and Mialhe, Journ. dePharm., 
July, 1849, copied into the Am. Journ. ofPharm., xxi. 313; also the paper of Dr. Gregory, 
Chem. Gaz., May 15, 1850. 962 
JEtherea. 
PART II. 
of discoloration from the contact of the two liquids shows the absence of empy- 
reumatlc oily matter; but a very slight discoloration might proceed from the 
alcohol present, and would not, therefore, be a material objection. A colour 
bordering on that of madeira wine would imply an objectionable amount of im- 
purities. The volatile impurities are less volatile than chloroform, and would 
therefore be the last to escape on the evaporation of the liquid. Chloroform, 
therefore, leaves a foreign odour behind it when allowed to evaporate from the 
hand, and especially when from a porcelain plate, in the amount and manner in- 
dicated; and if it stand this test well, it may be considered as free from any 
noxious volatile impurity. The slight foreign aroma without' pungency, which 
is given out under these circumstances, is of no injurious significance.* 
Medical Properties, &c. When taken internally, chloroform acts as a seda- 
tive narcotic, probably operating through the nervous system, independently of 
vascular action or congestion. It has been detected by Ragsky in the blood, 
and by Dr. Snow, of London, in different parts of the body after death.f In 
1848 Dr. H. Hartshorne tried its physiological effects in the dose of seventy- 
five drops on himself, and found it to produce drowsiness and a general dimi- 
nution of seusorial power, without exhilaration, or acceleration of the pulse. 
Since then he has used it internally in a number of cases, and finds it a safe ano- 
dyne and soporific, altogether free from the dangerous effects which sometimes 
follow the inhalation of its vapour. In the dose of a fluidrachm, its soporific 
effect is about equal to that of thirty-five drops of laudanum. Dr. Hartshorne 
has given it in doses of from fifty to seventy-five drops every half hour for several 
hours together. The vehicle used by him is orgeat syrup, in the proportion of 
two fluidounces to each fluidrachm of the chloroform. When mixed with muci- 
lage of gum arabic, the mixture inquires agitation immediately before swallow- 
ing each dose.J 
Chloroform, as prepared by Mr. Guthrie, was used internally as early as 1832 
by Professor Ives and Dr. Nathan B. Ives, of New Haven, in asthma, spasmodic 
cough, scarlet fever, and atonic quinsy, with favourable results. (Si l limans Jo urn., 
xxi. 406, 40T.) It was employed by Dr. Forraby, of Liverpool, in hysteria, in 
1838; by Mr. Tuson, of London, in cancer and neuralgic affections, in 1843; 
and by M. Guillot, of Paris, in asthma, in 1844. Dr. L. Dalton, of Logan, Ohio, 
has found it to possess antiperiodic powers, and employed it successfully in in- 
termittent diseases. Dr. Delioux, of Rochefort, has also proposed it as a remedy 
in intermittents, given, during the apyrexia, in cases in which the bark and 
quinia fail to effect a cure. Dr. Aran has employed it for four years with suc- 
cess in lead colic, administered by the mouth and rectum, and applied to the 
abdomen. In these cases it probably acts by relaxing the intestinal spasm. One 
of the authors of this work has frequently used it with advantage for the relief 
of neuralgic and other painful affections, in the dose of from forty to eighty 
drops, suspended in water by means of gum arabic or yolk of egg. This dose 
may be repeated, if necessary, at intervals of one or two hours, until some effect 
on the system is produced. Chloroform has been used internally, with benefit, 
by Dr. Osburn, of Dublin, in hypochondriasis, and by Dr. Gordon, physician to 
the Hardwicke Fever Hospital, to allay nervous irritation and procure sleep. 
* Much is due to Dr. Squibb for the precision given to the tests for chloroform; and the 
reader may profitably consult his remarks on the subject in a paper in the Proceedings oj 
the Pharmaceutical Association, A. D. 1858, p. 402. 
f In relation to the detection of chloroform in the body after death, see the paper of 
M. Duroy, of Paris, in the Journ. de Pharm., Avril, 1851. 
J The Society of Pharmacy, of Paris, has given its sanction to the following formula; 
the French weights being turned into the nearest English weights and measures Take of 
chloroform gss to 5jj; sugar giij; gum arabic gj to gij ; water Rub the chloro- 
form with the sugar in a mortar, then add the gum, and, lastly, by degrees, the water. In 
this recipe alcohol, which is often inadmissible, is avoided. JEtherca. 
PART II. 
963 
A disadvantage connected with the internal use of chloroform is its liability to 
sicken the stomach, an effect which may sometimes arise from the presence of 
pyrogenous oil. An incidental advantage is said to be, that it entirely covers the 
bitterness of other medicines. 
Externally, chloroform has been used by Mr. Tuson in cancer, senile gangrene, 
and sloughing ulcers, and, as an injection and gargle, in discharges from the 
uterus and foul ulcers of the throat, with the effect of relieving pain, destroying 
fetor, and promoting the separation of diseased parts. It has also been employed 
externally, with benefit, in a painful wound of the forearm implicating the radial 
nerve; by Dr, Legroux in a painful affection of one of the lower extremities, 
consequent to a cancerous tumour of the pelvis; by Mr. Higginson in labour, 
applied to the perineum when painfully stretched, and in dysmenorrhoea, brought 
in contact with the os uteri by means of a sponge; by Dr. Watson in swelled 
testicle and acute spinal tenderness; by Dr. Hays and Dr. Bond in neuralgia; 
by the late Dr. I. Parrish in the supra-orbitar pain of rheumatic ophthalmia, 
and in syphilitic ulceration at the root of the nail; by M. Devergie in papulous 
eruptions, made into an ointment in the proportion of a fluidrachm to ten drachms 
of lard; by Prof. Back in the itch; and by M. Chapell in fissure of the anus. 
It has also been used with success by Dr. Yenat, of Bordeaux, in the form of 
injection, in the commencement of acute gonorrhoea, as an abortive treatment. 
•Dr. Rauch, of Iowa, has employed chloroform topically with decided benefit in 
neuralgia, colic, and other painful affections. For some purposes he found it 
useful to incorporate it with olive oil and solution of ammonia, which formed a 
mixture having effects less transient than those of the uncombined substance. 
Incorporated in equal measure with the white of eggs, and applied on lint to the 
gums, it is said to afford great relief in toothache. As a wash, injection, and 
gargle, Mr. Tuson prepared chloroform diluted with water, in the proportion 
of one or two drachms to the pint; but, for application to the sound skin, it is 
generally used undiluted, by means of soft linen, covered with oiled silk to pre- 
vent evaporation. When employed in this state it should be pure; as, accord- 
ing to Mialhe, when mixed with absolute alcohol, it acquires caustic properties. 
M. Fournie has found that the vapour from a mixture of equal measures of 
glacial acetic acid and chloroform is even more effectual, as a local anaesthetic, 
than that of pure chloroform ; producing complete insensibility of the skin in five 
minutes, if applied from a bottle heated simply by the hand. (Pharm. Journ., 
Jan. 1862, p. 385, from Comptes Rendus.) 
Chloroform may be gelatinized by agitating it with an equal weight of white 
of egg in the cold. In three hours it takes the gelatinous form. A stronger 
preparation may be made by shaking together, in a bottle, four parts of chloro- 
form and one of white of egg, and placing the mixture in water at 140°. In 
four minutes the gelatinization is completed. Gelatinized chloroform may be 
applied to the skin, spread on linen, or by frictions. 
Chloroform, in vapour, may be used as a topical application to the rectum. 
M. Ehrenreich employed it with success in tenesmus. A drachm may be vapor- 
ized by the heat of warm water from a bottle, fitted with a flexible tube, inserted 
into the bowel. It may be applied to the skin in the form of a vapour douche, 
according to the method of Dr. Hardy, of Dublin. (See Ranking's Abstract, 
No. 19, 287.) Prof. Langenbeck, of Berlin, prefers chloroform to tincture of 
iodine, as an injection for the radical cure of hydrocele. 
A third method of using chloroform is by inhalation. The first case we have 
met with in which it was thus employed is related by Professor Ives, of New 
Haven, under date of the 2d of Jan. 1832. The case was one of pulmonic dis- 
ease, attended with general debility and difficult respiration, and was effectually 
relieved. (Silliman's Journ., vol. xxi., Jan. 1832, p. 406.) In March, 1847, the 
av tion of the pure substance by inhalation was tried on the lower animals, by 964 
JEtherea. 
PART II. 
M. Flourens, and its effects on the spinal marrow described. In November of 
the same year, Dr. Simpson, of Edinburgh, after experimenting with a number 
of anaesthetic agents in order to discover a substitute for ether, tried chloroform 
at the suggestion of Mr. Waldie, and, having found its effects favourable, 
brought it forward as a new remedy for pain, by inhalation, in surgery and mid- 
wifery. The advantages which he conceived it to possess over ether were the 
smallness of the dose, its more prompt action, more agreeable effects, less tena- 
cious odour, greater cheapness, and greater facility of exhibition. 
The usual effects produced by a full dose of chloroform, administered by in- 
halation, are the rapid production of coma, relaxation of the muscles, slow and 
often stertorous breathing, upturning of the eyes, and total insensibility to agents 
which ordinarily produce acute pain. The effect on the heart’s action is varia- 
ble. Sometimes frothing of the mouth takes place, and, more rarely, convulsive 
twitches of the face and limbs. The insensibility is generally produced in one 
or two minutes, and usually continues for five or ten minutes; but the effect may 
be kept up for many hours, provided the inhalation be cautiously renewed from 
time to time. The immediate effects of the agent are followed by a drowsy 
state, sometimes by quiet sleep. As a general rule, no recollection is retained 
of anything that occurred during the state of insensibility. Experience has 
shown that the effects, here described as those of a full dose of chloroform by 
inhalation, cannot be induced without danger to life. Hence all prudent sur-' 
geons will be content with an impression short of the abolition of all conscious- 
ness. It is generally admitted that, at a certain stage of anaesthesia, there is 
insensibility to pain, while consciousness to a certain extent remains; and it is 
this condition that the surgeon should aim to produce. According to Mr. Skey, 
chloroform had been administered up to 1854, in 9000 cases in St. Bartholo- 
mew’s Hospital, without a single accident, a fact which must be taken as proof 
of its careful employment in that institution. The delicate operation of extract- 
ing the cataract has been facilitated by its use, in the hands of Mr. Bowman, 
of London; and, in general, the performance of operations on the eyeball is 
greatly assisted by the insensibility produced, especially in children. In partial 
anchylosis, in which the surgeon proposes to break up the adhesions by force, 
chloroform, like ether, takes off the muscular resistance, and renders the mani- 
pulations painless. It is asserted to be an advantage of chloroform in surgical 
operations, that less blood is lost. If this assertion should prove to be true, there 
will be greater necessity of delaying the dressings until reaction shall have taken 
place. The question whether the use of chloroform in the major operations of 
surgery is favourable or otherwise to recovery, has been examined by an appeal 
to statistics. Dr. Simpson, of Edinburgh, thinks the percentage of recoveries 
has been increased by its use; while Dr. Arnott, basing his opinions on the re- 
sults of operations in the London hospitals, holds the contrary opinion. 
The advantages and disadvantages of chloroform, when compared with ether 
as an anaesthetic in operative surgery, have not been satisfactorily determined; 
but on one point the evidence appears to be conclusive, namely, that it is far 
more dangerous to life than ether. According to Dr. Snow, of London, the 
vapour in the air breathed by the patient should not exceed 6 per cent. Dr. Gil- 
man, of New York, thinks that chloroform has a more sudden and powerful effect 
than under ordinary circumstances, when inhaled immediately after bleeding; a 
fact which he explains by the increased power of absorption produced by the loss 
of blood. (N. Y. Med. Times, Oct. 1852.) 
Sometimes chloroform produces unpleasant remote effects; such as abolition 
of smell, perversion of taste, and loss of tonicity in the bladder and rectum. Two 
cases, illustrative of these effects, in which chloroform was inhaled in excess, are 
related by Dr. Happoldt in the Charleston Med. Journ. for Jan. 1856. 
In midwifery, chloroform has been extensively employed to relieve pain and PART II. 
JEiherea. 
965 
facilitate labour, since it was first recommended by Dr. Simpson. Its effects are 
similar to those of ether; and each agent has its exclusive advocates among those 
practitioners of midwifery who are willing to use anaesthetics. According to Dr. 
Atthill, of Dublin, the use of chloroform produces a teudency to post-partum 
hemorrhage. Dr. Robert Lee, of London, has cited seventeen cases, in which it 
was supposed to produce various pernicious effects in labour. (Lancet, Dec. 24, 
1853.) Notwithstanding exceptional cases of injury, it is every year growing 
in favour as an anaesthetic in parturition. The profession is unanimous as to its 
great utility in instrumental labours. 
The dose of chloroform for inhalation is a fluidraehm, equivalent to 220 drops 
or more, to be repeated in two minutes, if the desired effect should fail to be 
produced. The most convenient inhaler is a handkerchief, loosely twisted into 
the form of a bird’s nest, which, after having been imbued with the chloroform, 
is held to the mouth and nose. The use of this simple inhaler ensures a due ad- 
mixture of atmospheric air with the vapour of the chloroform. The moment 
insensibility is produced, which should be brought on gradually, the inhalation 
should be suspended; and, if consciousness return too soon, it should be cau- 
tiously renewed. In all cases an experienced assistant should attend to the ad- 
ministration of the chloroform and to nothing else, watching the state of the 
respiration and pulse. The moment there is the least snoring or failure of the 
pulse, the vapour should be withdrawn. Chloroform should not be administered 
to persons subject to epilepsy, affected with organic disease of the heart, or pre- 
disposed to syncope.* 
Chloroform, as ordinarily prepared, is apt to produce, when inhaled, headache, 
nausea, and even vomiting. Perfectly pure chloroform, according to Soubeiran 
and Mialhe, does not produce these disagreeable effects, which are plausibly 
attributed to the presence of the pyrogenous oils. Dr. Simpson, however, finds 
that the purest chloroform that he uses not unfrequently causes vomiting; but 
Dr. Gregory attributes this effect, when following the use of the pure substance, 
to its administration after a full meal, which should always be avoided. 
Chloroform having proved to be a relaxing agent and remedy for pain, when 
used by innalation in surgery and midwifery, it was natural that its effects should 
be tried in the same way in spasmodic and painful diseases. Accordingly, it 
has been inhaled in hiccough, chorea, hooping-cough, hysteria, the paroxysm 
of asthma, angina pectoris, nephritic colic, tetanus, poisoning from strychnia, 
hydrophobia, and the paroxysm of tic douloureux, and generally with decided 
advantage. In Germany it has been praised in bronchitis and pneumonia as an 
expectorant and calming remedy. It has been employed also with success for 
the reduction of strangulated hernia. Mr. R. J. Mackenzie, of Edinburgh, bears 
testimony to its goods effects, used by inhalation, in spasmodic stricture of the 
urethra, attended with retention of urine. Sometimes the urine is caused to flow 
at once; and, when this is not the case, the passage of the catheter is facilitated. 
Dr. Cain, of Charleston, found it very useful in spasmodic obstruction of the 
bowels, promptly relieving pain, and favouring the action of enemata. As a 
soporific it has been given beneficially in delirium tremens, and in the noisy 
forms of chronic insanity. 
Much has been said in relation to the dangers attendant upon the inhalation 
of chloroform, and, certainly, many more deaths have been reported from its use 
than from that of ether. The late Dr. Warren, of Boston, published, in 1849, 
the details of ten cases, in which death was caused by chloroform, all occurring 
in little more than a year, and many other fatal cases have since occurred; and 
he declared that, if he were compelled to substitute chloroform for ether in inha- 
* For rules laid down by M. Baudens for the administration of chloroform, see the Am. 
Jou-n. of Med. Sci. for Jan. 1854, p. 208; and for those given by M. Robert, surgeon to the 
HospJal Beaujon, see Ranking’s Abstract, hio. 19, p. 116. 966 
JEtherea. 
PART II. 
lation, he would do it with much anxiety. Chloroform is unquestionably a more 
powerful agent than ether, and acts not only differently, but in a much smaller 
dose. The comparative smallness of its dose is certainly a ground of danger, 
when its administration falls into reckless or incompetent hands. In view of the 
greater danger from the use of chloroform as an anaesthetic, the governors of the 
Massachusetts General Hospital have prohibited the use of any other agent than 
ether in surgical operations. 
When the effects of chloroform inhalation proceed too far, the remedies are a 
horizontal posture, cold air fanned upon the face, cold water poured upon the 
head, sinapisms to the feet, frictions and heat to the body and extremities, and 
ammonia to the nostrils. If respiration ceases, the tongue should be seized with 
the artery-forceps, and pulled forward from off the glottis, and artificial respira- 
tion attempted by blowing into the mouth, and by other appropriate measures. 
When the patient can swallow, strong coffee may be given with advantage. Gal- 
vanic electricity, passed through needles inserted in different parts of the body, 
is recommended by M. Abeille, of Ajaccio, as a powerful means of recalling sen- 
sibility; and it is highly probable that the electro-magnetic battery would prove 
useful. When an overdose is taken by the mouth, the same remedies may be 
employed, with the addition of the stomach-pump, when vomiting cannot be pro- 
duced. In a case of suicide by swallowing chloroform, in which death took place 
in about thirty-four hours, the lining membrane of the larynx and trachea were 
found inflamed, the bronchi were loaded with a dirty-gray purulent fluid, the 
lungs were inflamed as in the first stage of pneumonia, and the brain and its 
membranes congested. In another fatal case, reported by Dr. J. Williams, of 
the Philadelphia Hospital, Blockley, in which the patient survived thirty-seven 
hours, no morbid appearances were observed worthy of note. 
In relation to the preparations, consisting of chloroform and alcohol, which 
have been used under the name of “chloric ether,” the reader is referred to Spi- 
rit us Chloroformi in Part II * 
Pharm. Uses. In preparing Atropia. 
Off. Prep. Linimentura Chloroformi; Liquor Gutta-perchse, U. S.; Mistura 
Chloroformi, U. S.; Spiritus Chloroformi. 13. 
OLEUM yETHEREUM. U.S. Ethereal Oil. 
“Take of Stronger Alcohol two pints; Sulphuric Acid sixty-one troyounces; 
Distilled Water a jluidounce; Stronger hither a sufficient quantity. Add the 
Acid slowly to the Alcohol, mix them thoroughly, and allow the mixture to stand 
for twelve hours. Decant the clear liquid from the sediment into a tubulated re- 
tort, of such capacity that the mixture shall nearly fill it. Adapt a thermometer 
tube to the tubulure by means of a cork, so that the bulb shall be deeply im- 
mersed in the liquid, and, having attached a Liebig’s condenser, distil, by means 
of a sand-bath, at a temperature between 312° and 322°, until the liquid ceases 
to come over, or until a black froth begins to arise in the retort. Separate the 
yellow ethereal liquid from the distillate, and expose it for twenty-four hours, in 
a shallow capsule, to evaporate spontaneously. Then transfer the remaining 
liquid to a wet filter; and, when the watery portion has drained off, wash the 
oil which is left, while on the filter, with the Distilled Water. When this also 
has drained off, transfer the oil to a graduated measure, by perforating the point 
* Chlorodyn. An empirical preparation under this name has been extensively used in 
London, and has recently acquired some general notoriety from having been the reputed 
cause of death in a recent case of accidental poisoning in England, and as having produced 
very threatening symptoms in another case, in which the patient was saved. From a for- 
mula published in the Am. Journ. of Pharm., March, 1860 (p. 181), it would appear to con- 
sist of chloroform, chloric ether (so called), tincture of capsicum, oil of peppermint, mu- 
riate of morphia, hydrocyanic acid (Scheele’s), perchloric acid, tincture of Indian hemp, 
and molasses; and of these powerful medicines, moreover, in such proportions as t j n ak« 
one shudder at the idea of its unregulated use.—Note to the twelfth edition. PART II. 
JEiherea. 
967 
of the filter, and add to it an equal volume of Stronger Ether. The Ethereal 
Oil, obtained by this formula, measures about six fluidrachms.” U. 8. 
In the late consolidation of the British Pharmacopoeias, this valuable remedj 
was omitted, partly on account of the uncertainty as to its special antispasmodic 
virtues, partly from its expeusiveness when properly made and its liability to 
spontaneous change, and partly, moreover, because not only is it often adulte- 
rated, but other compounds are substituted for it. (Med, Times and Gaz., March, 
1864, p. 248.) It is, however, retained in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, with certain 
modifications in the process, which, it is hoped, may enable it to yield a larger 
and more reliable product. 
In the existing U. S. formula, the first change to be noticed is the direction, 
after the mixture of the acid and alcohol, to decant the clear liquid from the 
sediment, which is sulphate of lead, deposited by the acid on account of its dilu- 
tion. According to Dr. Squibb, the presence of the sulphate of lead in the retort 
causes the mixture to froth over, and thus necessitate a suspension of the process 
so much sooner, as greatly to lessen the amount of product the materials are 
capable of affording. The increase of oil resulting from this simple modification 
of the process is said to be one-third. Another new feature is the introduction 
of a thermometer into the retort, whereby the important point is obtained of 
properly regulating the temperature, which, in order to the due reaction of the 
materials, should not fall below 312° nor rise above 322°. Again, the washing 
of the oil with solution of potassa has been omitted, because the alkali was found 
to decompose a portion of the oil, and the sulphurous acid, which it was intended 
to neutralize, can be separated by the washing with distilled water now directed. 
By wetting the filter, the oil is prevented from passing along with the water. 
Finally, the oil is now ordered to be diluted with an equal measure of stronger 
ether, as this has been found to contribute greatly to its preservation. 
When alcohol is distilled with a large excess of sulphuric acid, the same pro- 
ducts are generated as those mentioned, in the article upon ether, as being formed 
towards the close of the distillation of that liquid. (See page 949.) These were 
stated to be sulphurous acid, heavy oil of wine, olefiant gas, and resino-carbonace- 
ous matter. In the TJ. S. process such an excess of sulphuric acid is employed for 
the purpose of obtaining the oil. The product of the distillation is generally in 
two layers, one, consisting of water holding sulphurous acid in solution, and the 
other, of ether containing the heavy oil of wine. According to the experience of 
Dr. Squibb, the sp. gr. of these two layers is so nearly equal, that sometimes one 
and sometimes the other is uppermost; so that the direction in the old formula 
to separate the supernatant liquor is incorrect, and has been superseded by the 
present, to separate the yellow ethereal liquid; the colour and other sensible 
properties being considered sufficiently distinctive. After separation, the liquid 
is exposed for twenty-four hours to the air, in order to dissipate the ether by 
evaporation; and the oil which is left is washed with water to deprive it of all 
traces of sulphurous acid. 
The nature and mode of formation of heavy oil of wine are not wrell under- 
stood. It has been explained, in a preceding article, that, in the early stage 
of the distillation of a mixture of sulphuric acid and alcohol, sulphovinic acid, 
or the double sulphate of ether and water, is formed. During its progress this 
is decomposed so as to yield ether. When, however, the alcohol is distilled with 
a large excess of sulphuric acid, the sulphovinic acid is decomposed so as to 
form a small quantity of the heavy oil of wine, now considered to be a double 
sulphate of ether and ethylen, having the formula C<H50,S034-C4H4,S03. It 
is conceived to be generated from two eqs. of sulphovinic acid (double sulphate 
of ether and water), which are resolved into one eq. of heavy oil of wine, two of 
sulphuric acid, and three of water. When the heavy oil is gently heated with 
four parts of water, sulphovinic acid is reproduced, and the separated ethylen JEtherea, 
PART II. 
floats gw /,he surface as an oily substance, called, when thus isolated, light oil of 
wine. Lnjht oil of wine, as thus obtained, is a pale-yellow oil, supposed to have 
the formula C4H4. As ordinarily procured in the process for preparing ether, it 
contains a portion of that substance. When the pure light oil of wine is kept, it 
deposits a stearoptene, isomeric with itself, called concrete oil of wine, or oil of 
wine camphor; after which the oil is changed, and takes the name of etherole. 
Etherole is a pale-yellow oily liquid, having an aromatic odour. Its is 
0*921, boiling point 536°, and freezing point 31° below zero. It communicates 
a greasy stain to paper. Concrete oil of wine, sometimes called etherine, crys- 
tallizes in long, transparent, brilliant, tasteless prisms, soluble in alcohol and 
ether, insoluble in water, fusible at 230°, boiling at 500°, and having the sp. gr. 
0*980. Dr. Squibb takes a different view of the composition of ethereal oil, and 
believes it, instead of a sulphate or double sulphate, to be a sulphovinate of a 
carbohydrogen base; and for this reason, that it fails, especially when pure and 
recent, to give any of the characteristic reactions of sulphuric acid or the sul- 
phates. {Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 1861, p. 58.) 
Properties. The undiluted ethereal oil {heavy oil of wine) is a yellowish neu- 
tral liquid, possessing an oleaginous consistency, a penetrating aromatic odour, 
and rather sharp and bitter taste.. It boils at 536°. Its sp. gr. is, according to 
the U. S. Pharmacopoeia of 1850,1 096; according to the London College, after 
Mr. Hennell’s results, 1-05. The density obtained by Dr. Squibb, U. S. Navy, 
by following the old formula of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia exactly, was PI29. 
By Dumas and Serullas its density is stated to be as high as P133, which is pro- 
bably the more correct number for the pure oil. When dropped into water it 
sinks, assuming the form of a globule. It dissolves sparingly in cold water, 
moderately in hot water, and readily in alcohol and ether. It is devoid of acid 
reaction, the sulphuric acid present in it being completely neutralized by the 
ether and ethylen united with it. The sulphuric acid present is not precipitated 
by the usual reagents for this acid; because they furnish a base, which, replacing 
the ethylen, gives rise to one of the salts of sulphovinic acid, all of which are 
soluble in water and hydrous alcohol. The U. S. ethereal oil of the existing 
Pharmacopoeia is the proper oil diluted with an equal volume of stronger ether. 
This gives it an ethereal odour in addition to that characteristic of the pure oil, 
and considerably reduces its sp. gr., which is now stated at 0*91. The process 
by which the officinal oil of wine is formed yields* but a small product, being, 
according to the Pharmacopoeia, only about six fluidrachms, or somewhat more 
than a fortieth, by measure, of the alcohol employed. 
In the officinal ethereal oil, the heavy oil of wine, that is, the double sulphate 
of ether and ethylen is not only diluted with an equal measure of ether, but is 
mixed also with variable proportions of free light oil of wine (ethylen), in addi- 
tion to that present in it as one of the essential constituents of the heavy oil. 
This fact accounts for the different densities assigned to the heavy oil. 
The heavy oil undiluted is liable to spontaneous change by time, being not 
only rendered brown, but chemically altered so as to separate into two layers. 
But this tendency is in great measure obviated, in the officinal ethereal oil, by 
the preservative influence of the ether. It may be kept long without other ap- 
preciable change than the acquisition of a brown hue, which does not interfere 
with its medical virtues. It should not, when tested by dry litmus paper, evince 
the presence of any free acid. 
The article, sold in our shops as ethereal oil, is too often a mixture of alcohol 
and ether, containing but a trace of the oil. Four samples of so-called ethereal 
oil, as imported from England, were examined by Mr. E. N. Kent, of New York, 
and found to have the composition above stated. {N. Y. Journ. of Pharm., i. 
65.) The ethereal oil is used only for the preparation of the Compound Spirit 
of Ether or Hoffmann’s anodyne, which, when properly made, is a very valuable PART II. 
Aloe.—Alumen. 
969 
medicine ; and it is much to be regretted that due attention has not been paid by 
the manufacturing chemists to the furnishing of a good ethereal oil to the apothe- 
cary. It is necessarily an expensive preparation; but this does not justify the 
substitution for it of a cheaper and nearly worthless article under the same name 
Off. Prep. Spiritus iEtheris Compositus, U. S. B. 
ALOE. 
Prepara t ion of Aloes. 
ALOE PURIEICATA. U.S. Purified Aloes. 
“Take of Socotrine Aloes twenty-four troyounces; Stronger Alcohol four 
Jluidounces. Heat the aloes, by mentis of a water-bath, until it is completely 
melted. Then add the Alcohol, and, having stirred the mixture thoroughly, 
strain it through a fine sieve, which has just been dipped into boiling water. 
Evaporate the strained mixture by means of a water-bath, constantly stirring, 
until a thread of the liquid becomes brittle on cooling. Lastly, break the pro- 
duct when cold into pieces of a convenient size, and keep it in a well-stopped 
bottle.” U. S. 
Aloes, even of good quality, is so often mixed as found in the market with 
various accidental impurities, such as fragments of wood, vegetable remains, 
pieces of leather, and earthy matter, that it has been thought advisable to have 
an officinal process by which it may be freed from these, should its purification 
be found necessary in any particular instance. This is especially the case with 
Socotrine aloes, which, from the want of proper supervision in its preparation, 
is probably more liable to these impurities than the Cape or Barbadoes aloes; 
but, as these are also sometimes impure, there seems to be no good reason why 
they should have been officinally excluded from the benefits of the process. 
The use of alcohol in the formula is simply to render the melted aloes more 
liquid, and thus facilitate the straining; and it is subsequently got rid of by 
evaporation : but.care should be taken not to use too great a heat, or to con- 
tinue it too long, for fear of impairing the virtue of the drug. 
Thus prepared, aloes is in angular fragments, brittle, of a brownish or red- 
dish-brown colour, and of the agreeable aromatic odour of Socotrine aloes. It 
is nearly all soluble in alcohol. W. 
ALUMEN. 
Preparations of Alum. 
ALUMEN EXSICCATUM. U.S., Br. Dried Alum. 
“Take of Alum, in coarse powder, four troyounces. Expose it, in a suitable 
vessel, to a temperature not exceeding 450° until the residue weighs two troy- 
ounces and one hundred and twenty grains; then reduce it when cold to fine 
powder.” U. S. 
“Take of Alum four ounces. Heat the Alum in a porcelain capsule till it 
liquefies, raise and continue the heat till aqueous vapour ceases to be disengaged, 
and then reduce the residue to powder.” Br. 
The object of these processes is to obtain the alum free from its water of 
crystallization, without otherwise in the least decomposing it. For this purpose 
a certain degree of heat is necessary; and yet, if the heat be too great, the salt 
itself is decomposed, and the desired end is not attained. If the alum employed 
be the potassa-alum, the old indefinite directions will generally be sufficient to 
secure the requisite result, as this salt will resist a heat short of redness; but 
this is not the case with the ammonia-alum, which, on account of its greater 
cheapness, has almost excluded the former salt from the market, and, there is 970 
Alumen. 
PART II. 
reason to apprehend, may sometimes be substituted for the potassa-alum, though 
this is the one officinally directed. To guard against failure from this cause, the 
present U. S. Pharmacopoeia prescribes 450° as the highest heat to be employed, 
and checks the operation when nearly all the water has been driven off, as indicated 
by the weight of the residue. Mr. John M. Maisch has satisfactorily determined 
by experiment that, whichever alum may be used, this temperature is quite high 
enough; and the direction of the Pharmacopoeia, as to the weight of the residue, 
ensures that a sufficient heat will be employed. By the officinal process half a 
drachm or about 4 per cent, of the water of crystallization, supposing the salt 
employed to be the potassa-alum, is left behind ; and Mr. Maisch has ascertained 
that this in no degree injures the properties of the dried salt. {Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., Jan. 1860, p. 21.) In the case of the ammonia-alum, as this salt con- 
tains a somewhat larger proportion of water, the limitation as to the quantity 
expelled still further secures against the employment of too great a heat. 
Properties. Dried alum, sometimes called alumen ustum or burnt alum, is 
in the form of an opaque white powder, possessing a more astringent taste than 
the crystallized salt. Before pulverization, it is a light, white, opaque, porous 
mass. During the exsiccation, alum loses from 41 to 46 per cent, of its weight 
in dissipated water. Dried alum resists the action of water fur a long time, 
showing its altered aggregation. It is, however, if properly prepared, at length 
wholly dissolved by cold water, while 6 parts of boiling water dissolve it in a 
short time; and this may be considered as a sufficient test that the salt has not 
been decomposed. {Maisch.) In composition it differs from crystallized alum 
merely in the absence of water. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Dried alum has been given in obstinate con- 
stipation, with the effect of gently moving the bowels, and affording great relief 
from pain. (See Alumen.) The dose is from five to ten grains or more. Its 
principal medical use is as an escharotic for destroying fungous flesh. B. 
ALUMINA SULPHAS. U.S. Sulphate of Alumina. 
“Take of Sulphate of Alumina and Ammonia, Carbonate of Soda, each, four 
troyounces; Sulphuric Acid a troyounce and one hundred and fifty grains; 
Water a sufficient quantity. Dissolve the salts separately, each in six fluid- 
ounces of boiling Water, and pour the solution of the Sulphate gradually into 
that of the Carbonate; then digest with a gentle heat until the evolution of 
carbonic acid ceases. Collect upon a filter the precipitate formed, and wash it 
with water until the washings are no longer affected by chloride of barium. 
Next, with the aid of heat, dissolve the precipitate in the Sulphuric Acid, pre- 
viously diluted with half a pint of Water, and, having filtered the solution, eva- 
porate it until a pellicle begins to form. Then remove it to a water-bath, and 
continue the evaporation, with constant stirring, until a dry salt remains. Lastly, 
preserve this in a well-stopped bottle.” U. 8. 
In the above process it is the ammonia-alum that is used. The soda of the 
carbonate unites with the sulphuric acid of the tersulphate of alumina, with the 
escape of the carbonic acid, and the precipitation of the alumina in the form of 
a hydrate; while the undecomposed sulphate of ammonia of the alum, and the 
newly formed sulphate of soda remain in solution. The alumina is then washed 
in order to separate any portion of the sulphates adhering to it, the absence of 
which is shown by the non-action of chloride of barium on the washings. It 
now remains to unite the hydrate of alumina and sulphuric acid, which is effected 
by heating them with water; and the salt, which is formed in solution, is ob- 
tained by evaporating the solution to dryness. It may also be obtained from the 
solution by the addition of alcohol, which precipitates it. In the process the 
several substances are used in very nearly saturating proportions. 
Sulphate of alumina may be prepared also by the process of MM. Huria and 
Brunei, which consists in exposing, in an iron cylinder, sulphate of alumim aud PART II. 
Alumen. 
971 
ammonia (ammonia-alum), first dried to separate its water of crystallization, to 
a cherry-red heat. Sulphate of alumina remains in the cylinder, and the vola- 
tilized products are collected in water. The chief of these is sulphite of ammo- 
nia, which serves for the preparation of a fresh portion of alum, after having 
been changed into the sulphate by oxidation in the air. (Ghent. Gaz., Sent 15. 
1852, p. 359.) 
Properties. As procured by the officinal process, sulphate of alumina is in 
the form of a white powder. It may, however, be obtained in lamellar crystals. 
As seen in commerce, it is usually in flattened crystalline cakes, which appear as 
though formed by the cooling of soft masses of minute crystals. It has a sour, 
as well as sweet and very astringent taste, is soluble in twice its weight of water, 
and has an acid reaction. It consists of one eq. of alumina, which is a sesqui- 
oxide of aluminium, and three eqs. of sulphuric acid (A1203,3S03), and, when 
crystallized, contains 18 eqs. of water. The salt is, therefore, a tersulphate of 
alumina. It is known to be a sulphate by giving a precipitate with chloride of 
barium insoluble in nitric acid, and a salt of alumina by forming octohedral crys- 
tals of alum when its solution is evaporated with sulphate of potassa or ammonia. 
In consequence of its strong affinity for potassa, it is coming into use in the arts 
as a means of separating that alkali. (Waltl.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. This salt is used only externally, as an astrin- 
gent and antiseptic. The salts of alumina generally have the property of op- 
posing animal putrefaction; but the sulphate is practically preferred. It has 
been used extensively in the Philadelphia Hospital, Blockley, at the suggestion 
of Dr. Dunglison, as an antiseptic and detergent application to ulcers, and with 
favourable results. The late Dr. Pennypacker reported several cases in which it 
proved useful. The strength of the solution employed varied from 5ijss to 3iij of 
the salt to f~;vi of water, according to the state of the ulcer. Dr. G. Johnson, of 
Georgia, found the solution attended with the happiest effects, used as an injec- 
tion in fetid discharges from the vagina. (Med. Exam., vi. 63 and 112.) M. 
Homolle employs a saturated solution with much advantage as a mild caustic 
iu enlarged tonsils, nasal polypi, naevi, scrofulous and cancerous ulcers, diseases 
of the os uteri, and various chronic enlargements. He applies it daily by means 
of a hair pencil. He has sometimes found the solution to answer still better by 
the addition of oxide of zinc. Solution of sulphate of alumina is capable of 
dissolving a considerable quantity of recently precipitated gelatinous alumina. 
Such a solution, impregnated with benzoin, has been proposed by M. Mentel as 
a hemostatic, under the name of benzinated solution of alumina. It resembles 
the styptic liquid of Pagliari. (See page 166.) It is prepared by saturating, 
with gelatinous alumina, a solution made of eight ounces of sulphate of alumina 
dissolved in a pint of water. To the saturated solution six drachms of bruised 
amygdaloid benzoin are added, and the whole is kept at a temperature of about 
150° for six hours, with occasional agitation ; so that the liquid, after filtration, 
may have about the density 1’26. This liquid, put in a cool place for several 
days, so as to deposit some crystals of alum, forms the benzinated solution, re- 
markable for its very sweet odour, and astringent balsamic taste. Benzinated 
solution of alumina, diluted in the proportion of from two to five fluidrachms 
to the pint of water, has been found useful as an injection in leucorrhcea, and in 
ulcerations of the neck of the uterus, accompanied by fetid discharges. (See Am. 
Journ. of Pharm., March, 1857, p. 128.) 
The aqueous solution of sulphate of alumina was found by M. Gannal to be 
effectual in preserving bodies for dissection, when injected into the blood-vessels. 
In summer the bodies were preserved fresh for twenty days or more; in winter, 
for three months. For use in winter, a quantity of the solution, sufficient for 
injecting one body, may be made by adding a pound, avoirdupois, of the salt to 
a quart of water; in warm weather, the solution must be stronger. B 972 
Ammonia- 
PART IL 
AMMONIA. 
In the present edition of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, all the liquid preparations 
of ammonia are arranged under other heads; and we follow the example of that 
work in making a similar disposition of them here. Hence, the reader will find 
the Water of Ammonia (Solution of Ammonia, TJ. S. 1850) under the or 
Waters; Solution of Acetate of Ammonia under the Liquores or Solutions; 
and the Spirit and Aromatic Spirit of Ammonia under the Spiritus or Spirits. 
AMMONI2E BENZOAS. Br. Benzoate of Ammonia. 
“Take of Solution of Ammonia three fluidounces [Imperial measure] ; Ben- 
zoic Acid two ounces [avoirdupois]; Distilled Water eight fluidounces. Dis- 
solve the Benzoic Acid in the Solution of Ammonia previously mixed with the 
Water; evaporate at a gentle heat; and set aside that crystals may form.” Br. 
Although the amount of ammonia ordered in the formula is in excess, yet, 
from the feeble affinity between the constituents, and the consequent escape of 
ammonia during the evaporation, a portion of the acid benzoate is formed, if 
the officinal directions are strictly complied with. This result, however, may be 
obviated by adding a little solution of ammonia from time to time during or 
near the close of the evaporation, so as to maintain the alkali in slight excess. 
The crystals, moreover, should be dried without heat. Professor Procter informs 
us that half the quantity of water directed in the formula, moderately heated, 
readily dissolves the acid after the addition of ammonia, and, on cooling, de- 
posits crystals of the benzoate. If slightly evaporated, and then allowed to cool, 
the solution becomes a mass of crystals, retaining so much water as to render it 
necessary to dry them by bibulous paper. 
Properties. A specimen of this salt, prepared at our request by Prof. Proc- 
ter, precisely in accordance with the directions of the Br. Pharmacopoeia, is in 
minute white, glistening, extremely thin four-sided laminae, having a slight odour 
of officinal benzoic acid, and a bitter, saline, somewhat balsamic taste, leaving a 
slight but persistent sense of acrimony on the tongue. The salt is soluble in 
water and alcohol, and when heated sublimes without residue; but is probably 
changed into the acid benzoate. Gmelin states that, if the solution be boiled, 
the salt is converted into the acid benzoate, which crystallizes in feathery tufts 
of needles. (Handbook, xii. 38.) According to Lichtenstein, it deliquesces in the 
air. It consists of one eq. of ammonia, one of benzoic acid, and two eqs. oi 
water; one of the eqs. of water being derived from the acid and the other from 
the base, so that its formula is NH3,CuH503-4-2HO. But the Br. Pharmacopoeia 
considering hydrated ammonia as oxide of ammonium, gives the formula NH40, 
CUIL03-1-H0. It gives a copious yellow precipitate with the salts of sesqui- 
oxide of iron; and is known to contain benzoic acid and ammonia, by deposit- 
ing the former when the solution is acidulated with muriatic acid, and giving 
off the latter when it is heated with potassa. (Br.) According to Mr. Squire, 
it is the acid salt that is commonly met with in the shops, which is less soluble 
than the officinal salt, requiring GO parts of water and 12 of alcohol for solution. 
This is a decided objection to it. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Benzoate of ammonia is a slightly stimulant 
diuretic, but acts chiefly through its benzoic acid, being decomposed by the 
gastric acids, which combine with the ammonia, while the benzoic acid is ab- 
sorbed, and passes out through the kidneys in the form of hippuric acid. Under 
benzoic acid, it has been stated that the proportion of urea is diminished at the 
same time, giving rise to the supposition that the nitrogen of the hippuric acid 
is derived from that source. Dr. Garrod suggests that, as the elements of hip- 
puric acid are the same as those of benzoic acid and glycocoll the hippuric 
Preparations of Ammonia. PART II. 
Ammonia. 
973 
acid may be formed by a direct combination of these substances. The salt has 
been found useful as a diuretic in defective action of the kidneys, as an altera- 
tive to the mucous membrane of the urinary passages in chronic inflammation of 
that tissue, and as a solvent of the phosphatic deposits, through the hippuric 
acid into which it is converted. It has been employed in gouty affections with 
a view to the removal of the deposits of urate of soda about the joints; but it 
lias been shown to have no effect on the elimination of uric acid. The salt does 
not appear to produce any injurious effects even in considerable quantities. 
(Garrod, Med. Times and Gaz., Feb. 1864, p. 146.) The dose is from 10 to 80 
grains, which may be taken dissolved in water. W. 
AMMONIiE PHOSPHAS. Br. Phosphate of Ammonia. 
“Take of Strong Solution of Ammonia eight fluidounces; Diluted Phos- 
phoric Acid twenty fluidounces. Add the Solution of Ammonia to the Phos- 
phoric Acid; dissolve by a gentle heat the crystalline precipitate which forms; 
and set the solution aside that crystals may again form. Remove the crystals, 
and, having dried them quickly on filtering paper placed on a porous brick, pre- 
serve them in a stoppered bottle. The mother liquor, if evaporated to half its 
bulk, will, upon being mixed with two fluidounces of Strong Solution of Am- 
monia, give additional crystals.” Br. 
This, like the preceding salt of ammonia, is a new officinal of the Br. Pharma- 
copoeia. According to the above process it is formed by a direct union of its 
constituents. The amount of water in the materials employed not being suffi- 
cient to hold in solution the whole of the phosphate formed, a portion of the 
salt crystallizes. This is redissolved by a gentle heat, which is probably intended 
to produce a more thorough union of the ingredients. Upon cooling, there is 
a copious deposition of crystals; but, as much of the salt remains in the mother- 
liquor, a new crop of crystals is obtained by concentrating the liquid, and add- 
ing a further quantity of solution of ammonia. This is necessary in order to 
supply the place of the ammonia lost by volatilization, and to secure the par- 
ticular salt intended. The variety of phosphoric acid employed in this formula 
is the tribasic, which forms three salts with ammonia, one containing 3 eqs. of 
ammonia without basic water, which may be called the subphosphate, the second, 
two eqs. of ammonia and one of basic water, forming the neutral phosphate, and 
the third, one eq. of ammonia and two of basic water, forming the acid phos- 
phate. The first of these is the one intended by the British Council, and is re- 
presented by the formula 3NH40,P05+5H0. To prepare it, a constant excess 
of ammonia must be maintained, and this is done by compliance with the pro- 
cess, if the materials are of due strength. Without such a precaution, more or 
less of one of the other salts would be generated, in consequence of the escape 
of the alkali. For the same reason, it is necessary to avoid heat in the concen- 
tration ; and hence the solutions of the acid and alkali employed are of such 
strength that the water they contain is insufficient to hold the resulting salt in 
solution, which, therefore, crystallizes without evaporation. Nevertheless, from 
the want of this precaution or from other cause, phosphate of ammonia of the 
shops is generally either the neutral or acid phosphate, or a mixture of the two. 
Properties. The officinal salt of the Br. Pharmacopoeia (3NH40,P0_-f 5 HO, 
or phosphate of the oxide of ammonium with 5 eqs. of water) is in large colour- 
less, transparent prisms, which have a slight ammoniacal odour, and, on expo- 
sure to the air, lose both ammonia and water, and become opaque. The salt is 
soluble in two parts of water {Squire), and its solution, if dilute, is not disagree- 
able to the taste. (Garrod.) It is insoluble in alcohol. When treated with caustic 
potassa it evolves ammonia, and with nitrate of silver gives a canary-yellow pre- 
cipitate, indicating that the acid is the tribasic phosphoric acid. “If 20 grains 
be dissolved in water, and t'he solution of ammonio-sulphate of magnesia be added, 
a crystalline precipitate falls, which, when well washed on a filter with solution of 974 
Ammonia. 
PART 
ammonia, diluted with an equal volume of water, dried, and heated to redness, 
leaves 11 44 grains.” (Br.) The residue is pyrophosphate of magnesia, and its 
amount indicates the quantity of phosphoric acid contained in the salt. 
But, as before stated, this is not the salt usually found in the shops, which is 
either the neutral or acid phosphate, or a mixture of the two. The neutral salt 
(2NII40,H0,P05-fH0) may be made by saturating the excess of acid in super- 
phosphate of lime by means of carbonate of ammonia. Phosphate of lime is 
precipitated, and phosphate of ammonia obtained in solution, which, being duly 
concentrated by a gentle heat, affords the salt in crystals upon cooling. The 
method of obtaining the superphosphate of lime is given under the head of 
phosphate of soda. (See Sodae Phosphas.) This variety of phosphate of ammonia 
is a white salt, crystallizing in six-sided tables, derived from oblique quadrangular 
prisms, efflorescent, soluble in alcohol, and in 4 parts of cold water. The solution 
has an alkaline somewhat saline taste, and an alkaline reaction, and gives out 
ammonia when heated. (Bridges, Foivnes’ Ghem., Am. ed., p. 234.) 
The acid phosphate (NH40,2II0,P05-j-4lI0) is obtained by boiling a solu- 
tion of either of the other salts so long as ammonia escapes, and then crystalli- 
zing. Its crystals are four-sided prisms, permanent in the air, of an acid taste and 
reaction, and soluble in 5 parts of cold water. (Bridges.) In a specimen of the 
common phosphate of ammonia of the shops which came under our notice, we 
recognised both the tabular crystals of the neutral phosphate with two eqs. of am- 
monia, having a saline slightly acrid taste, and neutral in reaction, and the prism 
of the acid salt, with a sour and saline taste and decided acid reaction. W. 
Medical Properties and Uses. This salt was first brought to the notice of the 
profession, as a remedy for gout and rheumatism, by Dr. T. II. Buckler, of Balti- 
more, in a paper published in the Am. Journal of the Medical Sciences for Jan. 
1846. In this paper a number of cases of these diseases are reported, which were 
treated mainly by this remedy by Dr. Buckler and several of his medical friends, 
and with apparently good effects. Dr. Buckler was led to employ the salt on 
theoretical grounds. He conceived that the “matter of gout” consisted of two 
salts, the urates of soda and lime, existing in the blood ; and that the phosphate 
of ammonia, by reacting with them, would give rise to soluble salts. The new 
salts formed, if the double decomposition should take place, would be urate of 
ammonia, and the phosphates of soda and lime. Unfortunately for this theory, 
as furnishing the means of eliminating uric acid, urate of ammonia is not more 
soluble than urate of soda. Nevertheless, apart from all theory, the therapeutic 
powers of phosphate of ammonia deserve to be investigated. Since the publi- 
cation of Dr. Buckler’s paper, several practitioners, both in this country and in 
Europe, have employed the remedy with apparently useful results in chronic 
gout, aud certain urinary diseases. The dose of the salt is from ten to forty 
grains, three or four times a day, dissolved in a tablespoonful of water. B. 
AMMONITE VALERIANAS. U.S. Valerianate of Ammonia. 
“Take of Valerianic Acid four fuidounces. From a mixture, placed in a 
suitable vessel, of Muriate of Ammonia, in coarse powder, and an equal weight 
of Lime, previously slaked and in powder, obtain gaseous ammonia, and cause 
it to pass, first through a bottle filled with pieces of Lime, and afterwards into 
the Valerianic Acid, contained in a tall, narrow, glass vessel, until the Acid is 
neutralized. Then discontinue the process, and set the vessel aside that the Va- 
lerianate of Ammonia may crystallize. Lastly, break the salt into pieces, drain 
it in a glass funnel, dry it on bibulous paper, and keep it in a well-stopped bot- 
tle.” U. S. 
This is a new officinal of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. Much difficulty was ex- 
perienced by manufacturing chemists in procuring crystallized valerianate of am- 
monia, until, after a series of experiments, Mr. B. J. Crew, of Philadelphia, 
ascertained that it was necessary to employ the monohydrated valerianic acid, PART II. 
Ammonia. 
975 
as the ordinary acid with three eqs. of water could not be successfully employed 
for the purpose. The officinal formula is based upon that of Mr. Crew, pub- 
lished in the Am. Journ. ofPharm. (March, 1860, p. 109). In this formula the 
monohydrated valerianic acid, procured by a special process (see Acidum Vale- 
rianicum, page 942), is saturated with gaseous ammonia obtained in the usual 
manner from a mixture of muriate of ammonia and lime. The saturation is known 
to have been effected when litmus paper is no longer acted on. During the ope- 
ration heat is developed sufficient to prevent premature crystallization, and, when 
the saturation is completed, nothing more is necessary than to allow the solu- 
tion to cool. Crystallization soon begins, and in a few hours the contents of the 
vessel become a nearly solid mass of crystals. 
Properties. Thus prepared, valerianate of ammonia is in snow-white, pearly, 
four-sided, tabular crystals, perfectly dry, of an offensive odour like that of va- 
lerianic acid, and a sharp sweetish taste. Instead of deliquescing, whenever 
exposed to the air, as happened to the salt formerly procured, it undergoes 
this change only in a moist atmosphere, and effloresces when the air is dry. 
It is very soluble both in water and alcohol. Exposed to heat it is in great 
measure volatilized unchanged; but a small portion, by giving off a part of its 
ammonia, is converted into the acid valerianate. Its formula, viewed as a salt 
of hydrated ammonia, is NII3HO,C10H9O3, as a salt of oxide of ammonium NH40, 
C10H9O3. It is known to be a salt of ammonia by giving off this gas when treated 
with potassa, and of valerianic acid by the separation of this acid, and its ap- 
pearance on the surface in the form of an oil, when the salt is decomposed in 
solution by a mineral acid. W. 
Medical Properties. Valerianate of ammonia is not poisonous. Given to dogs 
in the dose of 150 grains, it produced no inconvenience. As a therapeutic agent 
it was first brought to the notice of the profession, in 1856, by M. Declat, of 
Paris, who published a paper in that year, going to show its remarkable efficacy 
in the treatment of neuralgia. The preparation which he used was a solution of 
valerianate of ammonia of uniform strength, made according to the recipe of 
M. Pierlot, an apothecary of Paris, which had been extensively given to the 
epileptics of the Salpetrihre and the Bicetre. Since then it has been used in va- 
rious diseases, principally of the nervous system; such as hysteria, epilepsy, 
chorea, &c. The favourable report of its efficacy in neuralgia, made by M. De- 
clat, has been confirmed by practitioners in Paris, London, and Dublin. The 
dose of the salt is from two to eight grains, dissolved in water. As now pre- 
pared, it may be made into pills without inconvenience; and, properly coated 
so as to conceal their disagreeable odour, they are probably the best form for 
the administration of the salt. M. Pierlot made his solution, mentioned above, 
by dissolving a drachm of valerianic acid in thirty-two drachms of distilled 
water, saturating the solution with carbonate of ammonia, and adding to the salt 
formed, two scruples of the alcoholic extract of valerian. According to M. Pier- 
lot, the latter addition is necessary in order to preserve the preparation from 
change; for a simple solution of the ammoniacal salt is rapidly decomposed. 
It will keep still better if the extract, when added to the solution, be mixed with 
a fluidounce of diluted alcohol, while but 24 drachms of distilled water are used, 
so as to preserve the measure. The solution of M. Pierlot is neutral, of a brown 
colour, and a strong odour of valerian. It contains l-25th of its weight of the 
pure salt. The dose is from six to thirty drops, given in water or on a lump of 
sugar. (Ann. de Therap., 1857, p. 55.)* B. 
* Elixir of Valerianate of Ammonia. Various attempts have been made to prepare a for- 
mula for the exhibition of valerianate of ammonia, which shall in some measure cover its 
offensiveness. The following, which has been considerably used in this city, under the 
name above given, is perhaps as suitable as any that has been proposed. Take of Vale- 
rianate of Ammonia zi; Fluid Extract of Vanilla Compound Tincture of Cardamom 
Curaijoa fgij, Water Mix. Dose, a teaspoonful three times a day. 976 
Antimonium. 
PART n. 
ANTIMONIUM. 
Preparations of Antimony. 
In arranging the Preparations of Antimony, it has been deemed expedient to 
follow the example of the Pharmacopoeias, in placing them in a strictly alpha- 
betical order; and, as relates to the Solution of Terchloride of Antimony and 
the Wine of Antimony, to obey the same authority in transferring them, the one 
to the Solutions, the other to the Wines, where they properly belong through 
the character of their menstrua. 
ANTIMONII ET POTASSiE TARTRAS. U.S. Antimonium Tar- 
taratum. Br. Antimonium Tartarizatum. Ed., Pub. Tartrate of Anti- 
mony and Potassa. Tart arated Antimony. Tartarized Antimony. Tartar 
Emetic. 
“Take of Oxide of Antimony, in very fine powder, two troyounces; Bitar- 
trate of Potassa, in very fine powder, two troyounces and a half; Distilled 
Water eighteen fluidounces. To the Water, heated to the boiling point in a 
glass vessel, add the powders, previously mixed, and boil for an hour; then fil- 
ter the liquid while hot, and set it aside that crystals may form. Lastly, dry the 
crystals, and keep them in a well-stopped bottle. By further evaporation the 
mother-water may be made to yield more crystals, which should be purified by a 
second crystallization.” U. S. 
“ Take of Oxide of Antimony five ounces [avoirdupois]; Acid Tartrate of Pot- 
ash, in fine powder, six ounces [avoird.] ; Distilled Water two pints [Imperial 
measure]. Mix the Oxide of Antimony and Tartrate of Potash with sufficient 
Distilled Water to form a paste, and set aside for twenty-four hours. Then add 
the remainder of the Water and boil for a quarter of an hour, stirring frequently. 
Filter, and set aside the clear filtrate to crystallize. Pour off the mother-liquor, 
evaporate to one-third, and set aside that more crystals may form. Dry the 
crystals on filtering paper at the temperature of the air.” Br. 
This preparation is a double salt, consisting of tartrate of potassa, united with 
tartrate of teroxide of antimony. The principle of its formation is exceedingly 
simple, being merely the saturation of the excess of acid in the bitartrate (cream 
of tartar) with the teroxide. The officinal processes consist in boiling a mixture 
of cream of tartar and of pure teroxide obtained by a distinct process. (See An- 
timonii Oxidum.) This conforms with the formula of the late Dublin Pharma- 
copoeia, and is an improvement of the U. S. formula of 1850, in which the oxy- 
chloride of antimony, or powder of Algaroth, was the form of oxide used, and 
was prepared from the sulphuret as the first step of the process. 
In the late London formula the teroxide used was in the form of disulphate 
of antimony, which was originally proposed by the late Mr. Phillips, so early 
as 1811. It was prepared in the following manner. By gently heating sulphuric 
acid with tersulphuret of antimony, the metal was teroxidized at the expense of 
part of the acid, sulphurous acid was evolved, and sulphur set free. By gradu- 
ally increasing the heat until dryness was produced, the whole of the sulphurous 
acid was driven off, the free sulphur was burnt out, and nothing remained but 
the teroxide, united with sulphuric acid in the form of tersulphate of teroxide 
of antimony. This, by continued washing, was converted into the anhydrous 
disulphate of the teroxide (2Sb03,S03). {Phillips.) The disulphate was then 
mixed with cream of tartar in the proportion of nine parts by weight to ten, and 
the mixture boiled with wmter in the usual manner. This process is an eligible 
one, and has the merit of being economical. According to Mr. Phillips, it affords 
“a very pure and beautiful salt.” 
In the preparation of tartar emetic several circumstances should be taken into 
view. The cream of tartar should not be in excess; as in that case it is apt to FART II. 
Antimonium. 
977 
crystallize, upon cooling, with the tartar emetic. To avoid such a result it is 
better to have a slight excess of antimonial oxide. No rule is applicable to the 
determination of the proper proportion of water, except that it should be suffi- 
cient to dissolve the tartar emetic formed. The hot filtration, directed in the 
U. S. Pharmacopoeia, may be conveniently performed by means of the tin appa- 
ratus, devised by Dr. Hare for filtering liquids at the point of ebullition. (See pp. 
881, 882.) The U. S. Pharmacopoeia boils for an hour; the British for fifteen 
In all cases the salt should be obtained in well defined crystals, un- 
mixed with those of cream of tartar, as the best index of its purity. The prac- 
tice of some manufacturing chemists of boiling the filtered liquor to dryness, 
wdiereby an impure mass is obtained, consisting in part only of the antimonial 
salt, is very reprehensible. 
It is not easy to decide as to the relative eligibility of the different forms of 
antimonial oxide, used for preparing tartar emetic. The preference, however, 
was given to the oxychloride (powder of Algaroth) by Berzelius; and M. Henry, 
an eminent pharmaceutist of Paris, after a careful comparison of the different 
processes, declared also in its favour. This testimony in favour of the oxychloride 
induced the revisers of our national Pharmacopoeia, in 1830, to adopt it for 
making tartar emetic; but it was abandoned at the late revision, and the pure 
oxide was adopted in its place, in conformity with the Dublin formula, which is 
that of the Br. Pharmacopoeia; so that the two Pharmacopoeias are in accord- 
ance in the mode of preparing this important salt. 
M. Henry has given a process for preparing tartar emetic with the oxy- 
chloride on a large scale; and, as his formula may be useful to the manufacturing 
chemist, we subjoin it, turning the French weights into the nearest apothecaries' 
weights and measures. Take of prepared sulphuret of antimony, in very fine 
powder, three pounds four ounces; muriatic acid, marking 22° (sp.gr. 1T?8), 
eighteen pounds and a half; nitric acid, two ounces and a half. Introduce the 
sulphuret into a glass matrass, of a capacity double the volume of the mixture 
to be formed; and add to it from three to five pounds of the acids previously 
mixed, so that the sulphuret may be thoroughly penetrated by them; then add 
the remainder of the acids. Place the matrass on a sand-bath, and heat the 
mixture gradually to ebullition, avoiding the vapours, which are disengaged in 
large quantity. Continue the heat until the vapours given off are so far deprived 
of sulphuretted hydrogen as not to blacken white paper moistened with solution 
of acetate of lead; after which allow the liquor to cool, and to remain at rest 
until it has become clear. Decant the clear liquor, and, in order to procure the 
portion of liquid which may be retained by the moist residue, add to this a small 
portion of muriatic acid, and again decant. Mix the decanted liquids, which 
consist of a solution of terchloride of antimony, and add them to a large quan- 
tity of water, in order that the oxychloride may be precipitated; taking care, 
during their addition, to stir constantly in order that the precipitated powder 
may be more minutely divided, to facilitate its subsequent washing. To deter- 
mine whether the water has been sufficient to decompose the whole of the ter- 
chloride, a part of the supernatant liquid, after the subsidence of the powder, is 
to be added to a fresh portion of water; and, if a precipitate take place, more 
water must be added to the mixture, so as to obtain the largest possible product 
of oxychloride. The precipitation being completely effected, wash the powder 
repeatedly with water, until this no longer affects litmus, and place it on linen 
to drain for twenty-four hours. The quantity of oxychloride thus obtained will 
de about three pounds and a half in the moist state, or two pounds nine ounces 
when dry. Assuming it to be this quantity, mix it with three pounds eleven 
ounces of cream of tartar, in fine powder, and add the mixture to two gallons 
and five pints of boiling water, contained in an iron kettle. Concentrate the 
liquor rapidly until it marks 25° of Baume’s hydrometer for salts, and then fil- 978 
Antimonium. 
PART II. 
ter. By rppose the liquor furnishes a crop of very pure crystals, which require 
only to be dried. The mother-waters are treated in the following manner. Satu- 
rate the excess of acid with chalk, filter, and concentrate to 25°. By cooling a 
second crop of crystals will be obtained ; and, by proceeding in a similar manner, 
even a third crop. But these crystals are somewhat coloured, and must be puri- 
fied by recrystallization. 
In relation to the above process, it may be observed that the proportion of 
oxychloride and cream of tartar must be adjusted according to the numbers given, 
on the assumption that the former is dry; but it by no means follows that the 
whole of the oxide should be dried. To proceed thus would be a waste of time. 
The mode of proceeding is to weigh the whole of the moist oxide, and afterwards 
to weigh a small part of it, and ascertain how much this loses in drying. Then, 
by a calculation, it is easy to determine how much the whole of the moist oxide 
would weigh in the dry state. 
Tartar emetic is not usually prepared by the apothecary, but made on a large 
scale by the manufacturing chemist. Different processes are pursued in different 
manufactories; and it is not material what plan is adopted, provided the crys- 
tals of the antimonial salt are carefully purified. In an extensive manufactory 
in London, antimony ash (see page 122) is employed for boiling with the cream 
of tartar, and it is stated to form the cheapest material for making tartar emetic. 
(Pereira's Mat. Med.) Mohr prefers the use of a moist oxide, prepared by add- 
ing gradually an intimate mixture of one part, each, of tersulphuret of antimony 
and nitrate of potassa, to a boiling mixture of one part of sulphuric acid and 
two of water. The liquid is boiled down nearly to dryness and allowed to cool. 
The grayish-white mass, thus formed, is then wmshed thoroughly with water. 
The details of this process are given by Soubeiran, by whom it is praised, in 
the Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., iii. 327. 
Properties, &c. Tartrate of antimony and potassa was discovered in 1631 
by Adrian de Mynsicht. It is in the form of transparent, colourless crystals, 
which possess a nauseous, metallic, styptic taste, and have usually the form of 
rhombic octohedrons. When prepared from the oxychloride it crystallizes in 
tetrahedrons. As it occurs in the shops, it is in the form of a white powder, re- 
sulting from the pulverization of the crystals. The crystals, when exposed to 
the air, effloresce slightly, and become white and opaque. They are insoluble in 
alcohol, but dissolve in proof spirit or wine.* (See Vinum Antimonii.) They 
are soluble in about 15 parts of water at 60° (in 20 parts, U. S., Br.),' and in 
between 2 and 3 parts of boiling water. The late Dr. Perceval, of Dublin, 
alleged that good tartar emetic dissolves in twelve parts of water, and this state- 
ment agrees nearly with the results of Brandes, who found it to be soluble in 
12 65 parts of water at 70°. Its aqueous solution slightly reddens litmus, and 
undergoes decomposition by keeping. If one-fifth of its bulk of alcohol be added 
to the water, the decomposition is prevented. It is incompatible with acids, al- 
kalies and their carbonates, some of the earths and metals, chloride of calcium, 
and acetate and subacetate of lead. It is incompatible also with astringent infu- 
sions and decoctions, as of rhubarb, cinchona, catechu, galls, &c.; but these sub- 
stances, unless galls be an exception, do not render it inert, though they lessen 
its activity to a greater or less extent. 
Characteristics and Tests of Purity. Tartar emetic, when pure, exhibits its 
appropriate crystalline form. A crystal or two, dropped into a solution of hydro- 
sulphuric acid, will be covered with an orange-coloured deposit of tersulphuret 
of antimony; and hydrosulphuric acid gas causes an orange-red precipitate with 
* Alcohol precipitates it from its aqueous solution, and Mr. T. S. Wiegand proposes as 
a convenient method of obtaining it in fine powder, to boil an ounce of it in four times its 
weight of water, and to pour the solution into a pint ani a half of 95 per cent, alcohol. 
(Am. Journ. of Pharm., Sept. 1858, p. 407.) PART II 
Antimonium. 
979 
its solution. One hundred grains of-the salt, dissolved in water, yield forty-nine 
grains of tersulphuret with this test. (Lond. Pharm., 1851.) “An Imperial fluid 
ounce of distilled water (437 5 grains) dissolves 20 grains at 60° without resi- 
due; and the solution gives with sulphuretted hydrogen an orange precipitate, 
which, when washed and dried at 212°, weighs 9 91 grains.” (Br.) Entire solu 
bility in water is not a character belonging exclusively to the pure salt, for 
according to the late Mr. Hennell, tartar emetic may contain 10 per cent, ol 
uncombined cream of tartar, and yet be wholly soluble in the proper proportion 
of water. (Phillips.) This being the case, the character, given in the U. S. and 
Edinburgh Pharmacopoeias, of entire solubility in twenty parts of water, is not 
to be depended upon. A dilute solution is not precipitated by chloride of barium 
or nitrate of silver, nor rendered blue by ferrocyanide of potassium. A solution, 
containing one part of the salt in forty of water, is not disturbed by an equal 
volume of a solution of eight parts of acetate of lead in thirty-two of water and 
fifteen of acetic acid. This test is adopted in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia from the 
Edinburgh, and is intended to show the absence of uncombined bitartrate of po- 
tassa; for, when the acidulated acetate is used as here directed, it does not form 
the white tartrate of lead with the pure antimonial salt, but only with the bitar- 
trate, when this happens to be present. The acidulated acetate is said to be 
capable of detecting 1 per cent, of this impurity in tartar emetic; but Dr. Chris- 
tison finds difficulties in using this test which render it too precarious for prac- 
tice. Mr. Hennell’s method of detecting uncombined bitartrate, is to add a few 
drops of a solution of carbonate of soda to a boiling solution of the antimonial 
salt. If the precipitate formed is not redissolved, no bitartrate is present. 
The impurities found in tartar emetic are uncombined cream of tartar from 
faulty preparation or fraudulent admixture, tartrate of lime, iron, sulphates, and 
chlorides. The mode of detecting cream of tartar has been indicated above. 
Tartrate of lime is derived from the cream of tartar, which always contains this 
impurity. It is apt to form on the surface of the crystals of tartar emetic in crys- 
talline tufts, which are easily brushed off. Iron is sometimes present, especially 
when the antimonial salt has been prepared from glass of antimony. It is de- 
tected by a blue colour being immediately produced by ferrocyanide of potas- 
sium, added after a little acetic acid. If the blue colour be slowly produced, it 
may arise from reactions on the iron of the ferrocyanide itself. If much iron be 
present, the solution of the tartar emetic will be yellow instead of colourless. 
Sulphates are detected by chloride of barium. The presence of a chloride is 
shown by a precipitate being produced by nitrate of silver, added to a dilute 
solution. According to Serullas, tartar emetic, except when well crystallized, 
and all the other antimonial preparations usually contain a minute proportion 
of arsenic, derived from the native tersulphuret of antimony, which almost always 
contains this dangerous metal. For the mode of detecting it, see Acidum Arse- 
niosum. Tartar emetic should always be bought by the apothecary in good 
crystals, in which state the salt is pure, or very nearly so, and entirely free from 
arsenic. Its powder is perfectly white; and, when it is yellowish-white, iron is 
probably present. It is said that some druggists ignorantly prefer a tartar 
emetic which is yellowish-white in powder. 
It has been already stated, in general terms, that tartar emetic in solution is 
incompatible with acids and alkalies, and with some of the earths; but this salt 
»s so important, that some details in regard to the effects of particular reagents, 
included under these titles, seem to be necessary. Muriatic and sulphuric acids, 
added to a solution of the antimonial salt, not too dilute, throw down a white 
precipitate of terchloride or subsulphate of antimony, mixed with cream of tartar, 
which is redissolved by an excess of the precipitant. Nitric acid throws down a 
subnitrate, which is taken up by an excess of it. When caustic potassa is added 
to a tolerably concentrated solution, it produces at first no effect, then a precipi- 980 
Antimonium. 
PART II. 
tate of teroxide, and afterwards the solution’of this precipitate, if the addition of 
the alkali be continued. Lime-water acts in a weaker solution, and throws down 
a white precipitate, consisting of the mixed tartrates of lime and antimony. Car- 
bonate of potassa affects still weaker solutions, throwing down a white precipi- 
tate of teroxide; but this test does not act in solutions containing less than a 
quarter of a grain to the fluidounce. Ammonia, both pure and carbonated, pre- 
cipitates a solution of tartar emetic, throwing down the pure teroxide. To these 
reagents may be added infusion of galls, which, when fresh and strong, causes a 
dirty, yellowish-white precipitate of tannate of teroxide of antimony. 
Composition. Tartar emetic consists of two eqs. of tartaric acid 132, one of 
potassa 47 2, one of teroxide of antimony 153, and two of water 18 = 350 2. It 
is evident that it contains tartaric acid and potassa in the proportion to form 
bitartrate of potassa or cream of tartar; and, accordingly, it may be viewed as a 
compound of one eq. of cream of tartar, and one of antimonial teroxide. The 
excess of acid in the bitartrate may be considered as united with the teroxide; 
and on that view it is a double salt, composed of tartrate of potassa, with tar- 
trate of teroxide of antimony. The U. S. name assumes it to be a double salt. 
According to the view of the bibasic character of tartaric acid, which now begins 
to prevail, tartar emetic consists of one eq., each, of teroxide of antimony, po- 
tassa, and tartaric acid, with two eqs. of water (SbO3,KO,C8H4O10-f 2HO) ; the 
equivalent number of the acid being doubled. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Tartrate of antimony and potassa is the most 
important of the antiraonials, and is capable of fulfilling numerous indications 
in disease. Its general action is that of a sedative to the circulation; while, on 
the contrary, it excites most of the secretions. According to the dose, and the 
peculiar circumstances under which it is administered, it acts variously as an 
alterative, diaphoretic, diuretic, expectorant, purgative, and emetic. In minute 
doses it is employed with a view to its alterative effects, and has been found use- 
ful in diseases of the skin. In such doses it has been given with alleged benefit 
in various chronic pulmonary affections, but especially in phthisis. In phthisical 
cases it was prescribed in this way, in 1818, by Lanthois, of Montpellier, and 
sometimes with advantage.; and afterwards, with encouraging results, by others. 
In the beginning of phthisis, the remedy, in these minute doses, may have exer- 
cised a meliorating effect by its influence on the bronchial inflammation which so 
constantly attends this disease. In small doses, mostly associated with saline 
remedies, such as nitre or sulphate of magnesia, and assisted by copious dilution, 
it is frequently resorted to in febrile complaints, for the purpose of producing 
perspiration, which is often freely induced, especially if the remedy gives rise to 
nausea. If the surface be exposed to cool air, so as to constrict the pores, the 
tendency will be to the kidneys, with the effect of producing an increased flow of 
urine. It also proves useful, on many occasions, in pulmonary and bronchial dis- 
ease as an expectorant; and with a view to its action in this way, it is conjoined 
with squill, ammoniac, and similar remedies. In full doses it acts as an emetic, 
and is characterized by certainty, strength, and permanency of operation. It re- 
mains longer in the stomach than ipecacuanha, produces more frequent and longer 
continued efforts to vomit, and exerts a more powerful impression on the system. 
The nausea and attendant prostration are often very considerable. As an emetic 
its use is indicated where the object is not merely to evacuate the stomach, but 
to agitate and compress the liver and other abdominal viscera. By the extension 
of its action to the duodenum, it often causes copious discharges of bile, and may 
thus prove useful when there is a morbid excess of that secretion. It is employed 
as an emetic in jauiidice, hooping-cough, and croup, and in several diseases of 
the nervous system, such as mania, amaurosis, tic douloureux, &c. In efforts to 
reduce old dislocations, its relaxing power over the muscles when it nauseates, 
is taken advantage of, to facilitate the operation. Tartar emetic often incident PART II. 
Antimonium. 
981 
ally produces purging. In reference to this tendency, practitioners are in the 
habit of adding it to purgatives, the operation of which it promotes in a remark- 
able degree. It is contraindicated in diseases of great debility, in the advanced 
stages of febrile affections, and in fevers with irritability of stomach. 
Of late years, on the continent of Europe, and to some extent in Great Britain 
and this country, tartar emetic has been given in large doses, with a view to its 
sedative, or, as it is usually termed, contrastimulant operation. This practice 
originated with Rasori, professor of clinical medicine at Milan, who published 
his views in 1800. The principal diseases in which it has been thus used are 
pneumonia, pleurisy, bronchitis, acute rheumatism, especially of the joints, arti- 
cular dropsies, chorea, hydrocephalus, and apoplexy. The medicine is directed 
in doses, varying from a grain to two grains or more, every two hours, dissolved 
in a small quantity of water; the patient being restricted in the use of drinks 
whilst under its operation. It is stated that, when the remedy is thus given in 
diseases of high action, it seldom produces vomiting, an effect which the author 
of the practice wished to avoid. The power of the system to bear large doses 
of tartar emetic, during the existence of acute diseases, was considered by Rasori 
to depend upon the coexisting morbid excitement, and the capability of bearing 
them was expressed by the term tolerance. It is in pneumonia especially that 
the contrastimulant practice has most advocates. It is admitted to have the 
effect of lowering the force and frequency of the pulse, and the rapidity of the 
respirations; and, in not a few instances, produces marked remedial effects. In 
pleurisy and bronchitis, the advantages of the same practice are less decided. 
Though we are disposed to admit the controlling influence of tartar emetic, when 
thus exhibited, in the diseases named; yet we by no means think that its use 
should supersede blood-letting, or even form our chief reliance. In cases, how- 
ever, in which blood-letting, both general and local, has no effect, or has been 
carried as far as the circumstances of the case will warrant, tartar emetic, ad- 
ministered on the contrastimulant plan, may be found useful. In croup the 
remedy proves efficacious not merely by the free vomiting which it produces, 
but, if given in large doses, on the contrastimulant principle. If the tolerance 
cannot be otherwise established, laudanum may be conjoined with the antimonial, 
in order to bring it about. In the treatment of articular dropsies, the decided 
benefit derived from large doses of tartar emetic is fully shown by M. Gimelle, 
who has reported twenty-eight successful cases. The medicine was gradually 
increased from four grains to sixteen or twenty daily, and, generally, the toler- 
ance was established on the first day. The effusion was absorbed in a space of 
time varying from eight to sixteen days. Tartar emetic has been used with suc- 
cess in delirium tremens; the antimonial being sometimes given alone, at other 
times conjoined with opium or laudanum. This practice originated with the late 
Dr. Joseph Klapp, of this city. 
Tartar emetic, in the form of enema, has been used with great benefit, in rigidity 
of the os uteri, by Dr. James Young, and by Dr. H. R. Storer, of Boston. The 
formula employed by Dr. Young was one grain of the antimonial salt to six 
fluidouuces of warm water. 
Externally, tartar emetic is often employed as a counter-irritant, mixed 
with lard or cerate, or in the form of a plaster. (See Unguentum Antimonii and 
JEmplastrum Antimonii ) It causes, after a longer or shorter interval, a burning 
sensation, accompanied by a peculiar and painful pustular eruption. This mode 
of producing counter-irritation is serviceable in a number of diseases; but par- 
ticularly in deep-seated pains, spinal irritation, hooping-cough, and chronic in- 
dammatiou of the chest threatening consumption. Care must be taken, when the 
salt is applied by means of a plaster, that the pustular inflammation does not 
proceed too far; as, in that event, it produces deep and very painful ulcerations, 
difficult to heal. According to M. Guerin, inflamed parts exhibit a condition of 982 
Antimonium. 
PAItT II. 
tolerame to the local effects of tartar emetic, evinced by the absence of postula- 
tion. In support of this view, he asserts that he has treated hundreds of cases 
of acute arthralgia with tartar emetic ointment with the best effects, mostly 
without the production of any eruption ; and, when the pustules were produced, 
the benefit accrued before they appeared. When no pustulation follows, M. Guerin 
supposes that the antimony acts by absorption. 
Tartar emetic is generally given in solution, and in an amount which varies 
with the object in view in its administration. Its dose as an alterative is from 
the thirty-second to the sixteenth of a grain; as a diaphoretic or expectorant, 
from the twelfth to the sixth of a grain; and as a nauseating sudorific, from a 
quarter to half a grain ; repeated, according to circumstances, every hour, two, 
or four hours. With a view to its alterative effect, a pint of water, containing 
from one-quarter to half a grain, may be taken daily as drink. If required to act 
as a purgative, a grain may be dissolved in half a pint of water with an ounce 
of Epsom salt, and two tablespoonfuls of the solution given every two or three 
hours. As an emetic the full dose is from two to three grains; though it is 
usually given in the dose of a grain, dissolved in a tablespoonful of water, re- 
peated every ten or fifteen minutes till it vomits; the operation being aided by 
warm water or chamomile tea. It is often conjoined with ipecacuanha, in the 
proportion of one or two grains to twenty of that emetic. For convenient ad- 
ministration in small doses, the Pharmacopoeias direct it dissolved in wine. It is 
given very conveniently to children in dilute aqueous solution, which, being nearly 
tasteless, is readily taken by them. In all cases it should be used with caution; 
as it sometimes acts even in small doses with unexpected violence. 
Effects as a Poison. The symptoms of acute poisoning by tartar emetic are 
an austere metallic taste; nausea; copious vomiting; frequent hiccough; burn- 
ing pain in the stomach; colic; frequent stools and tenesmus; fainting; small, 
contracted, and accelerated pulse; coldness of the skin ; sometimes intense heat; 
difficult respiration ; loss of sense ; convulsive movements; very painful cramps 
in the legs; prostration, and death. Ten grains is the smallest dose reported* 
to have proved fatal. To the above effects is sometimes added difficulty of de- 
glutition. Occasionally vomiting and purging do not take place; and, when they 
are absent, the other symptoms are aggravated. Sometimes a pustular eruption 
is produced, like that caused by the external application of the antimonial; as 
in a case reported, by Dr. J. T. Gleaves, of Tennessee. These are the effects, 
observed in different cases, on the healthy economy; but doses which, taken in 
health, would prove fatal, are sometimes borne with safety in certain morbid 
states of the system, attended with acute inflammation. 
The effects of slow poisoning by tartar emetic on inferior animals have been 
carefully studied by Dr. B. W. Richardson, of London, and Dr. Nevins, of Liver- 
pool. All the surfaces absorb the solution of the salt, and the metal is found in 
all the tissues after death, except that of the brain ; but most abundantly in that 
of the liver. The elimination of the poison is effected by all the secreting organs, 
but especially by the kidneys. The tolerance of antimony is attributed by Dr 
Richardson to the eliminating action of these glands. The pathological appear 
ances are general congestion, marked fluidity of the blood,'and intense vascu 
larity of the stomach and sometimes of the rectum, but without ulceration. Nr 
other pulmonary lesion occurs but simple congestion. (See Am Joui'n. of Med 
Sci., Jan. 1857, p. 266 ) The general results obtained by Dr. Richardson are con- 
firmed by the experiments of Dr. Nevins. (Pkarm. Journ., Feb 1857, p. 415.) 
In treating a case of poisoning by tartar emetic, if it is found that the patient 
has not vomited, immediate recourse must be had to tickling the throat with a 
feather, and the use of abundance of warm water. Usually, however, the vomit- 
ing is excessive and distressing; and here it is necessary to use remed.es calcu- 
lated to decompose the poison, and to allay the pain and irritation. To (fleet the IT II. 
Antimonium. 
former object, astringent decoctions and infusions, such as of Peruvian bark 
and common tea, are recommended as antidotes. These, however, act but im- 
perfectly, according to M. Toulmouche, who found that a decoction of cinchona 
had usually no power in lessening the emetic effect of this antimonial. Similar 
observations had been made by Dr. Clutterbuck. {Pereira.) The decoction of 
galls acts more decidedly;' but M. Toulmouche accords the preference to the 
galls in substance. A case of poisoning with half an ounce of tartar emetic, suc- 
cessfully treated with copious draughts of green tea and large doses of tannin, is 
reported by Dr. S. A. McCreery, of the U. S. Navy. {Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., 
Jan. 1853, p. 131.) Galls no doubt act by their tannin, which forms, with the 
antimonial part of the salt, the insoluble and probably inert tannate of antimony. 
To stop the vomiting and relieve pain, laudanum should be given, either by the 
mouth or by injection, and to combat consecutive inflammation, leeches to the 
epigastrium and other antiphlogistic measures may be resorted to. 
After death from suspected poisoning by tartar emetic, it is necessary to search 
for the poison in the body. The contents of the stomach should be digested in 
water, acidulated with muriatic and tartaric acids. The former acid will serve to 
coagulate organic matter; the latter to give complete solubility to the antimony. 
The solution obtained, after having been filtered, should be subjected to a stream 
of sulphuretted hydrogen, which, if tartar emetic be present, will throw down 
the orange-red tersulphuret of antimony, distinguished from tersulphuret of 
arsenic and all other precipitates by forming with hot muriatic acid a solution, 
from which, when added to water, a white curdy precipitate of oxychloride of 
antimony (powder of Algaroth) is thrown down. Sulphuretted hydrogen is by 
far the most delicate test for tartar emetic. 
Sometimes the antimony cannot be found in the stomach and bowels, and yet 
may exist in other parts. When it leaves the alimentary canal, it has been found 
by Orfila especially in the liver and kidneys, and their secretions. The mode of 
extracting the antimony, recommended by Orfila, is to carbonize the dried vis- 
. cera with pure concentrated nitric acid in a porcelain capsule, to boil the char- 
red mass obtained for half an hour with muriatic acid, assisted with a little 
nitric acid, to filter the liquor, and introduce it into Marsh’s apparatus. Anti- 
moniuretted hydrogen will be formed, which, being inflamed, will deposit the 
antimony on a cold surface of porcelain as a black stain, distinguishable from 
the similar stain produced by arsenic by its less volatility, and by its forming, 
with hot muriatic acid, a solution which affords a white precipitate of oxychlo- 
ride of antimony when added to water. 
Reinsch’s process is a good one for separating antimony from the tissues, and 
was first used for that purpose by Dr. Alfred Taylor, of London. (See page 34.) 
The tissues are boiled in muriatic acid, and a bright slip of copper is immersed 
in the hot solution. The metallic film, deposited on the copper, must be proved 
to be antimony. This is done by Dr. Odling by first boiling the coated copper 
in a solution of permanganate of potassa, with a little excess of potassa, for a 
few minutes, whereby the antimony becomes oxidized and dissolved, and then 
passing sulphuretted hydrogen through the filtered and acidulated solution. 
The characteristic orange-red precipitate of tersulphuret of antimony is pro- 
duced, which may be tested for antimony as above mentioned. Mr. H. H. Wat- 
son has simplified Dr. Odling’s process by dispensing with the use of the per- 
manganate of potassa. He subjects the coated copper slip, in a tube, to a boiling 
very dilute solution of caustic potassa, the metal being alternately drawn out of 
and immersed in the solution, by the aid of a copper wire, until the whole of 
the coating is oxidized and dissolved. The solution is then treated as directed 
5y Dr. Odling. {Med. Times and Gaz , July, 1857, page 613.) 
Off. Prep. Emplastrum Antimonii, U. S.; Syrupus Scillae Compositus, U. S.; 
Unguentum Antimonii; Yinum Antimonii. B. 984 
Antimonium. 
PART II. 
ANTIMONII OXIDUM. TJ.S.,Br. Oxide of Antimony. 
“Take of Sulphuret of Antimony, in very line powder, four troyounces; 
Muriatic Acid eighteen troyounces; Nitric Acid a troyounce and one hundred 
and twenty grains; Water of Ammonia a fiuidounce and a half; Water, Dis- 
tilled Water, each, a sufficient quantity. Introduce the Sulphuret into a flask, 
of the capacity of two pints, and, having added the Muriatic Acid, digest, by 
means of a sand-bath, until effervescence ceases. Then, having removed the 
flask from the sand-bath, add the Nitric Acid gradually; and, when nitrous acid 
vapours cease to be given off, and the liquid has grown cold, add to it half a 
pint of Water, and filter. Pour the filtered liquid gradually into twelve pints 
of Water, constantly stirring, and allow the precipitate to subside. Decant the 
supernatant liquid, and wash the precipitate twice by decantation, using, each 
time, eight pints of Water. Then transfer it to a muslin filter to drain, and, 
after the draining is completed, wash it with Water until the washings cease to 
have an acid reaction. Next introduce it into a suitable vessel, and subject it to 
the action of the Water of Ammonia for two hours; at tile end of which time, 
transfer it to a moistened muslin filter, and wash it with Distilled Water as long 
as the washings produce a precipitate with nitrate of silver. Lastly, dry the 
precipitate upon bibulous paper with the aid of a gentle heat.” U.S. 
“Take of Solution of Terchloride of Antimony sixteen Jluidounces; Carbo- 
nate of Soda five ounces [avoirdupois] ; Water two gallons [imperial measure]; 
Distilled Water a sufficiency. Pour the Antimonial Solution into the Water, 
mix thoroughly, and set aside until the precipitate which forms shall have sub- 
sided. Remove the supernatant liquid by a siphon, add one gallon [Imp. meas.] 
of Distilled Water, agitate well, let the precipitate subside, again withdraw the 
fluid, and repeat the process of affusion of Distilled Water, agitation, and sub- 
sidence, until the fluid has only a feeble acid reaction on litmus paper. To the 
precipitate add the Carbonate of Soda previously dissolved in two pints [Imp. 
meas.] of Distilled Water, leave them in contact for half an hour, stirring fre- 
quently, collect the deposit on a calico filter, and wash with boiling distilled 
water uutil the washings cease to give a precipitate with a solutiou of nitrate of 
silver acidulated by nitric acid. Lastly, dry the product at a heat not exceeding 
212°.” Br. 
In the U. S. formula the solution of terchloride is prepared as the first step 
of the proceedings; in the British is taken already formed, as the result of 
a distinct process. When tersulphuret of antimony is digested with muriatic 
acid, an interchange of principles takes place; the hydrogen of the acid uniting 
with the sulphur of the antimonial, and escaping as sulphuretted hydrogen, 
while the chlorine and antimony combine to form terchloride of antimony which is 
held in solution. The effect of the nitric acid is supposed to be to render the 
oxide whiter, by decomposing any remaining sulphuretted hydrogen, and thus 
preventing it from contaminating the product. Though the result thus far is an 
aqueous solution of the terchloride, this cannot be diluted beyond a certain de- 
gree without decomposition. Hence, if largely diluted, as when poured into an 
excess of water, decomposition takes place, and a white powder is precipitated, 
formerly called powder of Algaroth (see Part III.), which is an oxychloride, hav- 
ing usually the formula 2Sb03,SbCl34-H0. The terchloride is in part decomposed 
by the water, the elements of which convert it into muriatic acid and teroxide. 
The muriatic acid remains in solution, while two eqs of teroxide fall in union 
with one eq. of terchloride, forming the oxychloride of the above formula. The 
composition of the powder, however, is not uniform; as it contains more ter- 
oxide, the greater the proportion of water used in the decomposition. (E. Bau- 
drimont, Journ. de Pharm.,Juin, 1856, p. 438.) The oxychloride is first washed 
with abundance of water to separate adhering muriatic acid, and then acted 
upon by a solution of alkali (ammonia, U. S., carbonate of soda, Br.) to decern- PART II. 
Antimonium. 
985 
pose the terchloride, with the effect of adding to the amount of teroxide; after 
which the teroxide only requires to be washed with water in order to render it 
pure. The last washing separates the muriate of ammonia or chloride of so- 
dium, resulting from the decomposition of the terchloride; and the water of this 
washing is tested, in both formulas, by nitrate of silver, until the presence of a 
chloride ceases to be indicated. 
Properties. Teroxide of antimony is a heavy, grayish-white powder, perma- 
nent in the air, insoluble in water, but readily soluble in muriatic or tartaric 
acid, or in a boiling solution of bitartrate of potassa. Heated in close vessels 
it becomes yellow, fuses at a full red heat, and finally sublimes in crystalline 
needles. When cooled from a state of fusion it forms a fibrous crystalline mass. 
Heated in open vessels it suddenly becomes red-hot, and, by the absorption ot 
oxygen, changes into antimonious acid, which differs from the teroxide in being 
insoluble in muriatic acid, less fusible, and not volatile. This oxide is the active 
ingredient of all the medicinal preparations of antimony. It is frequently impure 
from the presence of antimonious acid, in which case it is not entirely soluble in 
muriatic acid, if it contain terchloride, which it is apt to do from the imperfect 
action of the alkaline solutions employed in its purification, its solution in tar- 
taric acid will be precipitated by nitrate of silver. When antimonious acid is 
substituted for it, the fraud may be detected by the spurious preparation being 
entirely insoluble in muriatic acid. Teroxide of antimony consists of one eq. of 
antimony 129, and three of oxygen 24=153. 
Medical Properties. This oxide, which must not be confounded with the pow- 
der of Algaroth, has the general therapeutic properties of the antimonials. It 
deserves more attention than has beeu paid to it; and its effects, comparatively 
with those of tartar emetic, should be carefully studied. It is probable that its 
sedative operation would be found to be the same, with less nausea and disturb- 
ance of the stomach. Like antimonial powder, it is unequal in its effects, some- 
times vomiting, at other times being apparently inert. This inequality of action 
is plausibly explained by the state of the stomach as to acidity, the presence of 
acids giving the medicine activity; and this explanation is confirmed by the ex- 
periments of Dr. Osborne, of Dublin, with the Dublin oxide. As to the French 
Codex oxide, prepared by boiling the oxychloride with a solution of bicarbonate 
of potassa, the inequality is attributed by M. Durand, of Caen, to the presence 
of more or less terchloride, which is separated with difficulty. Objecting to the 
Codex oxide, M. Durand proposes to prepare the teroxide by precipitating tartar 
emetic with ammonia in excess. Thus obtained it contains no terchloride, and 
does not vomit. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., ii. 364 ) The dose of teroxide of 
antimony is three grains, every two or three hours, given in powder with syrup 
or molasses, or in pill made with confection of roses or other suitable excipient. 
It was introduced into the existing edition of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, to be 
used in the preparation of tartar emetic. 
Off. Prep. Antimonii et Potassae Tartras, U.S.; Antimonium Tartaratum, Br.; 
Pulvis Autimonialis, Br. B. 
ANTIMONII OXYSULPHURETUM. TJ.S. Oxy sulphur et of Anti- 
mony. Kerrnes Mineral. 
“ Take of Sulphuret of Antimony, in very fine powder, a troyounce ; Carbon- 
ate of Soda twenty-three troyounces; Water sixteen pints. Dissolve the Car- 
bonate of Soda in the Water previously heated to the boiling point, and, having 
added the Sulphuret of Antimony, boil for an hour. Then filter rapidly into a 
warm earthen vessel, cover this closely, and allow the liquid to cool slowly. At 
the end of twenty-four hours, decant the supernatant liquid, drain the precipitate 
on a filter, wash it with boiled water previously allowed to become cold, and dry 
it without heat. Lastly, preserve the powder in a well-stopped bottle, protected 
from the light.” U. S. Antimonium. 
PART II. 
Though very long in use as a medicine, and much employed on the Continent 
of Europe, it was only at the late revision that this preparation was admitted 
into the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, having been superseded by the precipitated sul- 
phuret, which was supposed to have very similar if not identical properties. 
Kermes mineral, according to Thenard, may be obtained by treating the ter- 
sulphuret of antimony in three ways; 1st with a boiling solution of the carbon- 
ated alkalies, 2d with a boiling solution of the caustic alkalies, and 3d with the 
carbonated alkalies at a red heat. These several processes give brown powders, 
which vary in their shade of colour, and which, though usually considered as 
identical, differ in composition. The kermes obtained by means of the carbonated 
alkalies in solution is an oxysulphuret, that is, a compound of hydrated tersul- 
phuret of antimony with the teroxide; while the product, when either the caustic 
alkalies in solution, or the carbonated alkalies at a red heat are used, is essen- 
tially a hydrated tersulphuret, though containing occasionally a little oxysul- 
phuret. It is the first of these methods that has been adopted in the U. S. pro- 
cess. It is in fact the formula of Cluzel, as published in former editions of the 
U. S. Dispensatory (see 11 ed. p. 926), and is substantially the same with that 
given in the French Codex of 1837. 
The rationale of the formation of kermes by this process is as follows. A 
portion of the carbonate of soda is converted, by a transfer of carbonic acid into 
caustic soda and sesquicarbonate. By a double decomposition taking place be- 
tween a part of the tersulphuret of antimony and the caustic soda, sulphuret of 
sodium and teroxide of antimony are formed. The undecomposed portion of 
the tersulphuret then dissolves in the solution of sulphuret of sodium, and the 
teroxide in that of the remaining carbonate of soda. The tersulphuret and ter- 
oxide, being both more soluble in these menstrua hot than cold, precipitate 
together as the liquid cools, and constitute this variety of kermes. Thus ob- 
tained it is light, velvety, of a dark reddish-purple colour, brilliant in the sun, 
and of a crystalline appearance. It consists, according to M. Henry, jun., of 
tersulphuret of antimony 62'5, teroxide 27‘4, water 10, and soda a trace; pro- 
portions which correspond most nearly with two eqs. of tersulphuret, one of 
teroxide, and six of water. From the presence of so large a proportion of 
teroxide of antimony in this variety of kermes, it must be far more active than 
the other kinds, and ought, therefore, to be preferred for medical use. 
Kermes, when obtained by means of the caustic alkalies, may be formed by the 
use of either potassa or soda. When the former alkali is selected, it may be pre- 
pared by boiling, for a quarter of an hour, two parts of the tersulphuret of anti- 
mony with one part of caustic potassa dissolved in twenty-five or thirty parts of 
water, filtering the liquor, and allowing it to cool; whereupon the kermes pre- 
cipitates. In this process one portion of the tersulphuret, by reacting with a part 
of the potassa, gives rise to teroxide of antimony and sulphuret of potassium. 
A second portion dissolves in the solution of sulphuret of potassium formed, and 
a third forms an insoluble compound with a part of the teroxide. The remain- 
der of the teroxide unites with the undecomposed potassa, forming a compound, 
which, being but sparingly soluble, is only in part dissolved. The hot filtered 
liquor, therefore, contains this compound dissolved in water, and tersulphuret of 
antimony dissolved in the solution of sulphuret of potassium. By refrigeration, 
the tersulphuret in a hydrated state falls down, free or nearly free from teroxide, 
this latter being still held in solution by means of the caustic alkali. 
Kermes may be obtained by the third method, that is, in the dry way, by the 
use of the carbonated alkalies at a red heat. If carbonate of potassa is selected, 
the process is as follows. Rub together two parts of tersulphuret of antimony 
and one of carbonate of potassa, fuse the. mixture in a crucible by a red heat, 
reduce the fused mass to powder, boil it with water, and strain. As the strained 
liquor cools the kermes is deposited. The rationale of its formation is nearly the PART II. 
Antimonium. 
987 
same with that of the formation of the second variety of kermes. An inferior 
kermes, prepared in the dry way, and intended for use in veterinary medicine, is 
directed in, the French Codex to be prepared by fusing together, well mixed, 
500 parts of tersulphuret of antimony, 1000 of carbonate of potassa, and 30 oi 
washed sulphur, reducing the fused mass to powder, and boiling it with 10,000 
parts of water. The liquor, upon cooling, lets fall the kermes, which must be 
washed with care and dried. 
The officinal oxysulphuret is an insipid, inodorous powder, of a purplish-brown 
colour, and soft and velvety to the touch. By the action of air and light it gradu- 
ally becomes lighter coloured, and at last yellowish-white. It is readily and 
wholly dissolved by muriatic acid, with escape of hydrosulphuric acid gas, and 
is partly soluble in a hot solution of potassa, leaving a residue soluble in tartaric 
acid. It is sometimes adulterated with sesquioxide of iron. In Paris, in 1849, 
a number of the shops contained a spurious kermes of very handsome appear- 
ance, which was little else than this oxide. Kermes mineral first came into use 
as a remedy in France about the beginning of the last century. Its mode of pre- 
paration was possessed as a secret by a French surgeon named La Ligerie. In 
1720, the recipe was purchased by the French government and made public. 
Its remedial properties will be considered under the following head. B. 
ANTIMONIUM SULPHURATUM. U.S.,Br. Antimonii Sulphu- 
retum U. S. 1850, Dub. Antimonii Oxysulphuretum. 
Bond. Antimonii Sulphuretum Aureum. Ed. Sulphurated Antimony. 
Precipitated Sulphuret of Antimony. 
“Take of Sulphuret of Antimony, in very fine powder, six troyounces; Solu- 
tion of Potassa four pints; Distilled Water, Diluted Sulphuric Acid, each, a 
sufficient quantity. Mix the Sulphuret of Antimony with the Solution of Po- 
tassa and twelve pints of Distilled Water, and boil the mixture over a gentle 
fire for two hours, constantly stirring, and occasionally adding Distilled Water 
so as to preserve the same measure. Strain the liquid immediately through a 
double muslin strainer, and drop into it, while yet hot, Diluted Sulphuric Acid 
so long as it produces a precipitate. Then wash the precipitate with hot water 
to remove the sulphate of potassa, dry it, and rub it into a fine powder.” tJ. S. 
“Take of Prepared Sulphuret of Antimony ten ounces [avoirdupois]; Solu- 
tion of Soda four pints and a half [Imperial measure]; Diluted Sulphuric 
Acid, Distilled Water, each, a sufficiency. Mix the Sulphuret of Antimony with 
the Solution of Soda, and boil for two hours with frequent stirring, adding Dis- 
tilled Water occasionally to maintain the same volume. Strain the liquor through 
calico, and, before it cobls, add to it by degrees the Diluted Sulphuric Acid till 
the latter is in slight excess. Collect the precipitate on a calico filter, wash with 
Distilled Water till the washings no longer precipitate with chloride of barium, 
and dry at a temperature not exceeding 212°.” Br. 
There are three forms of tersulphuret of antimony containing more or less ter- 
oxide ; the kermes mineral already described; the golden sutyhur, which is pro- 
duced when, after the spontaneous subsidence of kermes mineral in the process for 
obtaining it, an acid is added to the liquid; and thqprecipitated sulphuret, which 
is made by precipitating the liquid before it has begun to deposit the kermes, and 
may be considered as consisting of the other two combined in one. 
Golden sulphur (sulphur auratum antimonii) is prepared, according to the 
French Codex, by precipitating the solution remaining after the deposition of the 
kermes, in the formula in which one of the caustic alkalies is employed in the first 
stage of the process, as in the above formula, instead of a carbonate as in the one 
preceding it. The liquor, when caustic potassa has been used, consists at first 
chiefly of tersulphuret of antimony, dissolved in solution of sulphuret of potassium, 
but in part also of teroxide, dissolved in solution of potassa. By the action of the 988 
Antimonium. 
PART II. 
oxygen of the air on the liquor, however, the sulphuret of potassium has part of 
its potassium gradually converted into potassa, and thus passes to a higher state 
of sulphuration; and, consequently, the addition of an acid, while it throws down 
the tersulphuret and teroxide of antimony with disengagement of sulphuretted 
hydrogen, will separate at the same time the excess of sulphur which the sul- 
phuret of potassium has gained. This excess of sulphur, combining with a por- 
tion of the tersulphuret of antimony, produces the pentasulphuret of that metal 
(Gmelin); and the resulting golden sulphur is a mixture of tersulphuret and 
teroxide of antimony, with more or less of the pentasulphuret. It is in the form 
of a powder of a golden-yellow colour. As it is partially decomposed by light, 
it should be kept in opaque vessels. It may be worth while to mention that the 
so-called kermes liquor, left after the use of the carbonated alkalies in solution, 
gives but little golden sulphur; while the liquors resulting from the two other 
processes yield it in abundance. 
From the explanations above given, the reader is prepared to understand that 
the method of preparing sulphurated antimony of the U. S. and Br. Pharmaco- 
poeias, combines the process for forming kermes mineral by means of a caustic 
alkali, with that for obtaining golden sulphur; for, while the refrigeration of 
the solution acting alone would cause the precipitation of the variety of kermes, 
which contains little or no antimonial oxide, the sulphuric acid added would 
throw down more or less of the golden sulphur. But the question here arises, 
how far this golden sulphur would be identical with that obtained from the 
kermes liquor which has been kept for some time. From the explanations above 
given in relation to golden sulphur, it may be inferred as probable that the pre- 
cipitate by acids, if thrown down immediately, while the solution is hot, as di- 
rected by the Pharmacopoeias, and before the air has had time to act, would con- 
sist exclusively of tersulphuret and teroxide ; but, if thrown down from kermes 
liquor which had been kept, would contain more or less of the pentasulphuret, 
according to the length of time which had elapsed. If these views be admitted, 
it follows that the so-called golden sulphur must be variable as to the pentasul- 
phuret it contains, according to the greater or less change which the kermes liquor 
may have undergone by time, before being used for furnishing the precipitate. 
Formerly, all the Pharmacopoeias noticed in this work used a solution of caus- 
tic potassa in preparing precipitated sulphuret of antimony; but at present the 
British Council, following the Loudon College, employs a solution of caustic 
soda. The use of soda, however, does not alter the theory of the process. 
Properties of the Precipitated Sulphuret of Antimony. This substance is 
a reddish-brown insoluble powder, tasteless when pure, but having usually a 
slightly styptic taste. When treated with twelve timfes its weight of muriatic 
acid of the sp. gr. 116, with the aid of heat, it is nearly all dissolved, with effer- 
vescence of sulphuretted hydrogen. The residue burns with the characters of 
sulphur, and leaves a scanty ash. The solution obtained, when added to water, 
is decomposed, giving rise to a white powder of oxychloride of antimony (pow- 
der of Algaroth). The solution, filtered from the powder, yields an orange-red 
precipitate with bihydrosulphate of ammonia, proving the presence of a portion 
of antimony, not thrown down by the water. A dark-coloured precipitate, pro- 
duced by this test, shows the presence of contaminating metals, probably lead 
and copper. Water in which this preparation has been boiled, should not yield 
a white precipitate with chloride of barium or oxalate of ammonia. The non- 
action of these tests shows the absence of sulphuric acid and lime. When pure, 
precipitated sulphuret of antimony is completely soluble in a hot solution of po- 
tassa; but, as it is found in the shops, a white matter is usually left undissolved. 
When boiled with a solution of cream of tartar, about 12 per cent, of teroxide 
is dissolved ; but, according to II. Rose, this method of determining the piopor- 
tion of the teroxide cannot be relied on. Exposed to heat it takes fire, and burns PART II. 
Antimonium.—Aqua. 
989 
with a greenish-blue flame, giving off sulphurous acid; while the metal remains 
behind in the state of a grayish oxide. 
The London (British) precipitated sulphuret of antimony, as analyzed by Mr. 
Phillips, consists, in the 100 parts, of tersulphuret 76 5, teroxide 12, and water 
11 5; proportions corresponding nearly with five eqs. of tersulphuret, one of 
teroxide, and fifteen of water. It usually contains a portion of pentasulphuret, 
as shown by the action of muriatic acid, which, when heated with this antimp- 
nial, forms the terchloride with disengagement of sulphur. (Gmelin’s Handbook, 
iv. 989.) Its active ingredient is the teroxide; and, in reference to its presence, 
the London College called the preparation oxysulphuret of antimony. The 
Edinburgh College named it incorrectly golden sulphuret of antimony; this 
name being properly applicable to the precipitate produced by the sole action of 
acids, and not to that obtained by the action of acids and refrigeration conjointly. 
Medical Properties. Precipitated sulphuret of antimony is alterative, dia- 
phoretic, and emetic. It is, however, an uncertain medicine, as well from the 
want of uniformity in its composition, as from its liability to vary in its action 
with the state of the stomach. It is seldom given alone, but generally in com- 
bination with calomel and guaiac, in the form of Plummer’s pill, as an altera- 
tive in secondary syphilis and cutaneous eruptions, or with henbane or hemlock 
in chronic rheumatism. (See Pilulse Antimonii Composite.) During its use 
the patient should abstain from acidulous drinks. Its dose as an alterative is 
from one to two grains twice a day, in the form of pill; as an emetic, from five 
grains to a scruple. 
Kermes mineral, when prepared by means of the carbonated alkalies in the 
moist way, as it contains between two and three times as much teroxide as the 
precipitated sulphuret, is a more active preparation, and must be used in a 
smaller dose. It is sometimes given in large doses as an antiphlogistic remedy 
in peripneuraony and other inflammations of the chest. Prof. Meigs recommends 
it as an invaluable medicine in childbed fevers, to promote diaphoresis, and to 
reduce the force of the circulation. 
Golden sulphur acts like kermes mineral, but is much weaker, and must be 
given in a larger dose. 
Off. Prep. Pilulae Antimonii Composite, U. S.; Pilulse Calomelanos Com- 
posite, Br. B 
AQUA. 
Water. 
AQUA DESTILLATA. U.S., Br. Distilled Water. . 
“Take of Water eighty pints. Distil two pints, using a tin or glass condenser, 
and throw them away; then distil sixty-four pints, and keep them in glass bot- 
tles.” U. S. 
“Take of Water, free from taste and odour, ten gallons [Imperial measure]. 
Distil from a copper still, connected with a block-tin worm; reject the first half 
gallon, and preserve the next eight gallons.”Br. 
]STo natural water is sufficiently pure for certain pharmaceutical purposes; and 
hence the necessity of the above processes for its distillation. It is best to reject 
the first portion which comes over, as this may contain carbonic acid and other 
volatile impurities; and the last portion of the water ought not to be distilled, 
lest it should pass over with an empyreumatic taste. The distillation is usually 
performed with the ordinary still and worm; but, to avoid any impurity from the 
worm or the receiver, the condenser is directed in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia to be 
of tin or glass. In the British formula the worm is ordered to be of block-tin; 
and the same is undoubtedly contemplated in our officinal process; as the ordi- 
nary tin-coated sheet-iron, commonly called tin, would be wholly unfit for the 990 
Aqua.—Aquae. 
PART II. 
pnrpose. Mr. Brande states that distilled water often derives from the still a 
foreign flavour, which it is difficult to avoid. He, therefore, recommends that a 
still and condenser be kept exclusively for distilling water; or, where this cannot 
be done, that steam be driven through the worm for half an hour, for the pur- 
pose of washing it out before it is used, the worm-tub having been previously 
emptied. Mr. Mackay, of Edinburgh, cautions against distilling water in a still 
with a leaden head or leaden worm, for fear of contaminating the water with lead. 
Even the use of pure tin, which is generally considered unexceptionable, does 
not give perfect security against impurity; as water distilled from metallic alem- 
bics, with the head and worm of this metal, has a peculiar odour which it retains 
for some time. A portion of distilled water thus prepared, after having been 
kept for four months in a well-stopped bottle, was found by M. Flech, an apo- 
thecary of Kevelaer, to have deposited white flocculi, which proved on examina- 
tion to consist of oxidized tin ; and the water, besides, contained tin in solution 
and a little ammonia. M. Flech supposes that a part of the water was decom- 
posed ; its oxygen uniting with the tin, and its hydrogen in the nascent state with 
the nitrogen of the air to form ammonia; and he is disposed, moreover, to ascribe 
to this cause the peculiar odour referred to, which is never perceived when the 
distillation is performed in glass vessels. (Journ. de Pharm., Fev. 1860, p. 125.) 
Properties, &c. Distilled water, as usually obtained, has a vapid and dis- 
agreeable taste, and is not perfectly pure; water, to be rendered so, requiring 
to be distilled in silver vessels. The properties of pure water have already been 
given under the head of Aqua. Distilled water should undergo no change by 
sulphuretted hydrogen, or on the addition of tincture of soap, subacetate of 
lead, chloride of barium, oxalate of ammonia, nitrate of silver, or lime-water, 
and should evaporate without residue. It is uselessly employed in some formulas, 
but is essential in others. As a general rule, when small quantities of active 
medicines are to be given in solution, and in the preparation of collyria, distilled 
water should be directed. The following list contains the chief substances which 
require distilled water as a solvent: tartar emetic, corrosive sublimate, nitrate 
of silver, the chlorides of barium and calcium, acetate and subacetate of lead, 
permanganate of potassa, the sulphates of iron and zinc, sulphate of quinia, sul- 
phate, muriate, and acetate of morphia, and, in general terms, all the alkaloids 
and their salts. Distilled water is used in preparing the officinal diluted acids 
for absorbing gaseous ammonia, and for forming nearly all the officinal aqueous 
solutions. B. 
AQJJJE. U.S. 
Medicated Waters. 
Under this head are included, in the United States Pharmacopoeia, all prepa- 
rations, consisting of water holding volatile or gaseous substances in solution, 
many of which were formerly obtained by distillation, and some still continue to 
be so. They include the preparations formerly specially designated as “Distilled 
Waters,” having been made by distilling water from plants or parts of plants 
containing volatile oil. Distilled water is now placed in the Pharmacopoeia under 
the same head; but we have given it the distinct position which it held in the 
edition of 1850, and which it might very properly, we think, have continued to 
hold in the present. 
The Distilled Waters, as thus defined, hold a much more prominent position 
in the pharmacy of Europe, particularly of continental Europe, than in that of 
the United States; and a great deal of thought and elaborate investigation have 
been bestowed upon the various conditions calculated to furnish the best products 
in the most convenient method. It would be doing injustice to the subject not PART II. 
Aquse. 
991 
to give it a distinct consideration in a work like the present, though its relative 
want of importance with us will render our remarks comparatively brief. 
Many vegetables impart to water distilled from them their peculiar flavour, 
and more or less of their medical properties. The Distilled Waters chiefly used 
are those prepared from aromatic plants, the volatile oils of which rise with the 
aqueous vapour, and are condensed with it in the receiver. But, as water is capa- 
ble of holding but a small proportion of the oil in solution, these preparations 
are generally feeble, and are employed chiefly as pleasant vehicles or corrigents 
of other medicines. 
In the preparation of the Distilled Waters, dried plants are sometimes used, 
because the fresh are not to be had at all seasons; but the latter, at least in the 
instance of herbs and flowers, should be preferred if attainable. Flowers which 
lose their odour by desiccation may be preserved by incorporating them inti- 
mately with one-third of their weight of common salt, and in this state afford 
Distilled Waters of delicate flavour. Indeed, some pharmaceutists prefer the 
salted flowers in certain instances, believing that the Waters distilled from them 
keep better than when prepared from the fresh flowers. 
The idea at one time prevailed, to a considerable extent, that Waters kept 
better distilled from dried herbs than from fresh; and the opinion was true in 
regard to those prepared with the defective alembics of former times, and by a 
naked fire; but experiment has sufficiently established the fact, that, with a suit- 
able apparatus, and a regulated heat, the fresh herbs yield products which, while 
they have a more agreeable odour of the plant, keep quite as well as those from 
dried herbs. (Journ. de Pharm., Mai, 1861, p. 359.) 
It is necessary to observe certain practical rules in conducting the process of 
distillation. WThen the substance employed is dry, hard, and fibrous, it should 
be mechanically divided, and macerated in water for a short time previously to 
the operation. The quantity of materials should not bear too large a proportion 
to the capacity of the alembic, as the water might otherwise boil over iuto the 
receiver. The water should be brought quickly to the state of ebullition, and 
continued in that state till the end of the process. Care should be taken to 
leave sufficient water undistilled to cover the whole of the vegetable matter; lest 
a portion of the latter, coming in contact with the sides of the vessel, might be 
decomposed by the heat, and yield empyreuraatic products. Besides, when the 
operation is urged too vigorously, or carried too far, a slimy matter is apt to form, 
which adheres to the sides of the alembic above the water, and is thus exposed 
to igneous decomposition. To obviate these disadvantages, the heat may be 
applied by means of an oil-bath, regulated by a thermometer, or of a bath of 
solution of chloride of calcium, by which any temperature may be obtained be- 
tween 212° and 210°, according to the strength of the solution; or, when the 
process is conducted upon a large scale, by means of steam introduced under 
pressure into a space around the still. A convenient mode of applying heat by 
steam, is by means of a coil of leaden tube placed in the bottom of the still, 
having one end connected with a boiler, and the other passing out beneath or 
at the side, and furnished with a stop cock, by which the pressure may be in- 
creased, or the condensed water drawn off at will. If any volatile oil float upon 
the surface of the Distilled Water, it may be separated.* 
* This direction is generally given; but, in a communication to the Pharmaceutical 
Society of England, Mr. Haselden recommends the excess of oil to be well shaken with 
the water, and the whole to be transferred to the stock vessel, where it may be allowed 
to rest, and the oil to separate. He thinks the water keeps better when thus treated; 
and the full strength is always ensured. The stock vessel he prefers made of stone-ware, 
and furnished with a tap placed two inches from the bottom, whereby the water may be 
drawn off clear when wanted for the ordinary shop bottles; the oil either rising to the 
top, or sinking to the bottom of the vessel, according to its specific gravity. {Pharm. 
Journ., xvi. 14, 15.)—Note to the eleventh edition. 992 
Aquse. 
PART II. 
From a series of experiments made in Paris in reference to the best mode of 
applying heat, it was concluded that, as regards the great majority of aromatics, 
the direct application of steam was preferable, because the Distilled Waters pre- 
pared by means of it have a freshness of aroma that is wanting in the others, are 
always free from the odour of the still, are much more limpid, are less apt to de- 
posit mucilaginous matter, and keep better; but that exceptions to the general 
rule are afforded by bitter almonds, cherry-laurel leaves, mustard, and horserad- 
ish, in all which the oil does not pre-exist in the plant, but is formed upon con- 
tact with water, by woods, barks, and roots, the tissue of which cannot be suffi- 
ciently penetrated by steam, and by roses. (Journ. de Pharm., Mai, 1861, p. 364.) 
Later experiments have led to the conclusion that even these substances are most 
advantageously treated by distillation with steam; and that, in fact, there is no 
exception to the general rule. All inconvenience and danger in this process are 
avoided by care to have tubes of large diameter for the supply of the steam, 
which should be received into a free space reserved, at the bottom of the alem- 
bic, by means of a diaphragm pierced with holes. To prevent the loss of vapour, 
it is sufficient to lute the apparatus by strips of linen or muslin covered with glue 
or dextrin paste, making two or three turns around the alembic. {Ibid., Juin, 
1864, p. 520.)* 
But, however carefully the process may be conducted, the Distilled Waters pre- 
pared from plants always have at first an unpleasant smoky odour. They may- 
be freed from this by exposure for a short time to the air, before being enclosed 
in well-stopped bottles, in which they should be preserved. When long kept, 
they are apt to form a viscid ropy matter, and to become sour. This result has 
been ascribed to other principles, which rise with the oil in distillation, and pro- 
mote its decomposition. To prevent this decomposition, the Edinburgh College 
ordered rectified spirit to be added to the water employed in the process of dis- 
* Distillation by steam having been demonstrated, in France, to be the best method of 
preparing the Distilled Waters in all instances, we present, in the margin, the figure of a 
vertical section of Soubeiran’s apparatus for this purpose, somewhat modified. A cylin- 
drical tinned copper or iron boiler (A), three 
and a half feet high and two in diameter, is 
surmounted by an expanded head or capital 
(B) which is furnished with an inner ledge, 
forming a kind of gutter, intended to receive 
the liquid condensed on the inner surface of 
the capital, and opening into the exit tube (e). 
Across the boiler, about six inches from the 
bottom, is placed a horizontal sept um or dia- 
phragm, pierced with numerous small holes. 
Through the side of the boiler, near the top, 
a steam pipe (a d), provided with a stop-cock 
(a), enters, and, turning immediately down- 
wards, runs along the side of the boiler to 
the bottom, where it makes a horizontal 
bend, and, extending to the middle of the 
base, turns upwards, and opening by a per- 
forated expansion, like the end of the spout 
of a watering pot, terminates a little beneath 
the centre of the diaphragm. The material 
to be distilled, having been previously properly comminuted, and macerated when neces- 
sary, is introduced into the boiler, and rests on the diaphragm. The capital, having then 
been applied, and secured by a luting of linen bands coated with dextrin paste, steam from 
any convenient generator is admitted through the tube at its upper extremity, and passing 
down, escapes through the expanded termination (6) beneath the diaphragm, through the 
small openings of which it passes, and thus penetrates equably all parts of the material. 
Loaded with the volatile matters, it then rises into the capital, where a portion being con- 
densed falls into the gutter, and the remainder passes out, with the liquid condensed in the 
capital, through the exit pipe (/), whence it enters into a worm or other suitable condens- 
ing apparatus.—Note to the twelfth edition. PART II. 
Aquae. 
filiation. But this addition is inadequate to the intended object, and is in fact 
injurious, as the alcohol by long exposure to the air appears to undergo thy 
acetous fermentation. The London College, which had previously directed a 
spirituous addition, abandoned it in the last edition of their Pharmacopoeia; 
and it is not directed in any of the present U. S. or British formulas in which 
distillation is performed. A better plan is to redistil the Waters. When thus 
purified, it is said that they may be kept for several years unchanged. 
Robiquet considers the mucosity which forms in Distilled Waters as the result 
of a vegetative process, to which the presence of air is essential. He has found 
that, so long as the water is covered with a layer of essential oil, it undergoes 
no change; but that the oil is gradually altered by exposure to the air, and, as 
soon as it disappears, the water begins to be decomposed. He states that cam- 
phor exercises the same preservative influence over the Distilled Waters by resist- 
ing the vegetation, and that those in which the odour of camphor is developed 
keep better on that account. Finally, he has observed that the more Distilled 
Water is charged with volatile oil, the more abundant is the mucosity when it 
has begun to form. Robiquet unites with Henry and Guibourt, and with Yirey, 
in recommending that all these Waters, when intended to be kept for a consid- 
erable time, should be introduced, immediately after distillation, into bottles of a 
size proportionate to the probable consumption of the water when brought into 
use; and that the bottles should be quite filled, and then sealed or otherwise 
well stopped, so as entirely to exclude the air. It is best that they should be 
small, and be closed with well-fitting glass stoppers. Thus treated, the Waters 
may be preserved without change for many years. (Journ. de Pharrn., xxi. 402.) 
If this plan be not put into operation immediately, the Water should, after intro- 
duction into the bottle, be heated to about 212° by placing the bottle in boiling 
water, and, when it begins to run over, should be carefully enclosed.* 
Another mode of preparing the Distilled Waters is to substitute the volatile 
oil, previously separated from the plant, for the plant itself in the process. This 
mode is directed in the British Pharmacopoeia, in several instances. It is said to 
afford a more permanent product than the preceding; but does not always pre- 
serve the flavour of the plant. 
In relation to most of the aromatics, the IT. S. Pharmacopoeia discards alto- 
gether the process by distillation, and directs that water should be impregnated 
with the volatile oil by trituration with carbonate of magnesia, and subsequently 
filtered. This is by far the most simple and easy process. The resulting solution 
is pure and permanent, and is perfectly transparent, the carbonate of magnesia 
being separated by the filtration. Carbonate of magnesia is preferable to the 
pure earth; as the latter sometimes gives a brownish colour to the liquid, and 
requires to be used in larger proportion. But both these substances are dissolved 
in minute quantities, and are apt to occasion a slight flocculent precipitate. 
They may also possibly prove injurious by decomposing certain substances given 
in very small doses, as sulphate of morphia, bichloride of mercury, and nitrate 
of silver. The object of the magnesia or its carbonate is simply to enable the 
oil to be brought to a state of minute division, and thus presented with a larger 
surface to the action of the solvent. According to Mr. Robert Warington, this 
* It is of some importance to know the proportion which the aromatic submitted to dis- 
tillation ought to bear to the amount of distilled water obtained. The following statement 
upon this point, based upon experiments, is contained in the Journal de Pharmacie (Mai, 
1861, p. 367). Fresh aromatic plants requiring one part of the plant for one of product; 
wormwoqji, black cherry, scurvy-grass, hyssop, cherry-laurel, lavender, balm, mint, peach- 
leaves, roses, and sage;—fresh and dry aromatics requiring one part of the plant to two 
M product; bitter almonds, orange-flowers, melilot, horseradish, older, and tansy;—dry 
and very aromatic plants requiring one part to four of product; angelica, green anise, juni- 
per berries, chamomile, canella, casearilla, fennel, sassafras, linden flowei’s, and valerian. 
—Note to the twelfth edition. 994 
Aquse, 
PART IT. 
object may be better accomplished by porcelain clay, finely powdered "lass, or 
pumice stone, which are wholly insoluble (Chem. Gaz., March, 1845, p. 113); 
and the London College employed finely powdered silica for the purpose. Chalk 
and sugar answer the same end; but the latter, by being dissolved with the oil, 
renders the preparation impure. The Dublin College prepared its Waters by 
agitating an alcoholic solution of the oil with distilled water, and filtering. 
They consequently contained alcohol, and were liable to the objection, already 
mentioned, against the medicated waters thus impregnated. They were besides 
feeble in the properties of their respective oils. In the preparation of the aro- 
matic waters by these processes, it is very important that the water should be 
pure. The presence of a sulphate causes a decomposition of the oil, resulting 
in the production of sulphuretted hydrogen and a carbonate; and the aromatic 
properties are quite lost. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xix. 303.) Hence the 
propriety of the officinal direction to employ distilled water.* 
The Distilled Waters are liable to contain various metallic impurities, derived 
from the vessels in which they are prepared or preserved. The metallic salts 
which have been found in them are those of iron, zinc, copper, and lead. With 
ferrocyanide of potassium iron will give a blue colour, zinc and lead white 
precipitates, and copper a rose-colour followed by chestnut-brown. Sulphuret 
of sodium causes with the salts of iron, copper, and lead, a brown discolora- 
tion more or less deep, followed by precipitates varying from brown to black; 
with those of zinc, a white precipitate. The Distilled Waters may be freed from 
these impurities by animal charcoal, previously well purified. The charcoal 
should be strongly shaken, eight or ten times in the course of a day, with the im- 
pure Water, which should then be allowed to rest, and the next day be filtered. 
Five grains of the charcoal will be sufficient for a gallon of the Distilled Water. 
(Journ. de Pharm., Nov. 1862, p. 416.) The volatile oils may be recovered from 
the Waters containing them, or at least may be transferred to a spirituous men- 
struum, by mixing olive oil with the water, adding a little solution of potassa so 
as to form a soap, and a consequent emulsion with the liquid, and then neutraliz- 
ing by an acid. The fixed oil will rise to the surface, bringing the volatile oil 
along with it. The latter may then be separated from the former by agitation 
with alcohol. (T. B. Groves, Pharm. Journ., Feb. 1864.) W. 
AQUA ACIDI CARBONICI. U. S. Carbonic Acid Water. Artificial 
Seltzer Water. 
“By means of a proper apparatus, impregnate Water, contained in a suitable 
receiver, with a quantity of carbonic acid, equal to five times the bulk of the 
Water. Carbonic acid may be obtained from Bicarbonate of Soda or from Mar- 
ble by means of dilute sulphuric acid.” U. S. 
This preparation, which is peculiar to the United States Pharmacopoeia, con- 
sists of water highly charged with carbonic acid. Water is found to take up its 
volume of this acid under the pressure of the atmosphere; and Dr. Henry ascer- 
* Mr. Haselden prefers the process of distillation from the aromatic itself in the in- 
stances of dill, caraway, fennel, cinnamon, and pimento, which are not apt to afford to 
the distilled water such matter as may cause it to become sour; but he thinks that pep- 
permint, spearmint, and pennyroyal waters may be advantageously prepared by tritura- 
tion. He advises, however, that these waters should not be filtered, but prepared in quan- 
tity, allowed to settle, and drawn off as wanted. [Pharm. Journ., xvi. 14, 15.)—Note to the 
eleventh edition. 
Glycerin as a preservative of fresh plants. We have just seen, as this proof was about going 
to the press, in the London Pharmaceutical Journal for October, 1864 (p. 150), a potice by 
Mr. C. R. C. Tichborne, of Dublin, of a new method of preserving fresh plants for distilla- 
tion, which promises excellent results. If aromatic flowers are packed in jars with glycerin, 
their odorous principles are extracted by the glycerin, which, when expressed, afb rds by 
distillation Waters in all instances superior to those obtained from the same flov,e*\s pre 
served by means of salt. Mr. Tichborne has thus preserved flowers for two years.—No.'* 
to the twelfth edition. PART II. 
Aquae. 
995 
gained that precisely the same volume of the compressed gas is absorbed under 
a higher pressure. From this law, the bulk taken up is constant, the quantity 
being different in proportion as there is more or less driven into a given space. 
As the space occupied by a gas is inversely as the compressing force, it follows 
that the quantity of the acid forced into the water will be directly as the pres- 
sure. A double pressure will force a double quantity into a given space, and, 
therefore, cause a double quantity to be absorbed; a treble pressure will drive 
a treble quantity into the same space, and cause its absorption ; and so on for 
higher pressures, the bulk of the compressed gas absorbed always remaining the 
same. From the principles above laid down it follows that, to saturate water 
with five times its volume of carbonic acid, as directed in the formula, it must 
be subjected to a pressure of five atmospheres. 
Carbonic acid water is familiarly called in this country “ mineral water,” and 
“soda waterthe latter name, originally applied to the preparation when it 
contained a small portion of carbonate of soda, being from habit continued since 
the alkali has been omitted. As it is largely consumed both as an agreeable 
beverage and as a medicine, we give, in a note below, a sketch of an approved 
apparatus employed in this city for its preparation.* 
* The apparatus referred to in the text consists of a strong egg-shaped copper vessel, 
tinned on the inside, about eighteen inches long, called a generator, fixed upright in a 
wooden frame, and surmounted by another upright vessel of similar shape, about nine 
inches long, communicating with the generator by a short neck, and intended to contain 
the sulphuric acid. Connected with the generator by a copper tube, and placed by its side, 
is a strong cylindrical vessel for washing the gas, about fifteen inches long and three and 
a half in diameter, two-thirds filled with water, and to near the bottom of which the con- 
necting tube passes. Severally communicating with the washing vessel are a mercurial 
gauge to indicate the pressure, and a strong vessel, called the reservoir or fountain, of 
about the capacity of eighteen gallons, three-fourths filled with water, the connection of 
the latter being by a lead or gutta percha tube, commanded by a stop-cock. The charge of 
whiting or marble dust, say eight pounds, and the requisite water are added through an 
opening in the generator, in front of the sulphuric acid vessel, and closed by a screw stop- 
per. The communication between the acid vessel and generator is commanded by a verti- 
cal square rod, reaching within the vessel to about two-thirds of its height, and termina- 
ting at its lower end in a screw. This rod, when unscrewed, opens a communication between 
the acid vessel and the generator. The requisite sulphuric acid is added to the acid vessel 
through an opening at its top, capable of being closed by a screw stopper. Through the 
axis of this stopper, and revolving within it, but without having any vertical motion, passes 
the key, in the lower end of which there is a square hole to fit on the square rod. When 
ihe acid vessel is to be closed, the screw stopper, with its key, is placed over the opening, 
in which situation the lower end of the key reaches down a sufficient distance to embrace 
loosely the square rod. The stopper is now screwed in, and the key, without revolving 
with the stopper, descends so as duly to embrace the square rod. By turning the handle 
of the key in the proper direction, the rod is partially unscrewed, the passage to the gene- 
rator opened, and the acid gradually flows in. From time to time, when the acid is allowed 
to enter the generator, its contents are briskly mixed by means of an agitator, attached 
to a horizontal axis, passing air-tight through the short diameter of the generator, and 
turned by a crank. The stop-cock between the washing vessel and fountain is now par- 
tially opened, and the impregnation of the water with the gas begins. As it proceeds, the 
sulphuric acid is gradually allowed to enter the generator until it is expended, and the 
stop-cock is from time to time turned, until it is entirely opened. Finally, after the water 
.s fully charged with gas, and the whiting wholly decomposed, the fountain is detached, 
and the generator freed from the pulpy sulphate of lime by the assistance of water and 
the agitator, and its contents allowed to escape through an opening in its most depending 
part. In the apparatus of the size above described, a single fountain only is charged by 
one operation, and the carbonic acid water formed contains between nine and ten times its 
volume of the gas. In this mode of making carbonic acid water, it is perceived that the 
requisite pressure is obtained by generating the carbonic acid in a confined space. 
Numerous other forms of apparatus have been invented for making carbonic acid water. 
That of Bernhard is figured in the Am. Journ. of Pharmacy for Jan. 1856; the figure being 
taken from Parrish’s Pharmacy. In this apparatus, the generators and washing vessels are 
of thickly tinned copper, and the fountains, of cast iron lined with enamel. These foun- 
tains are free from objection except for their weight; as also are the stoneware fountains, Aquae. 
PART II. 
Carb' me acid water is dispensed in many of the apothecary shops in this 
country. The fountain is usually placed in the cellar, and the tube proceeding 
from the fountain is made to pass through the floor and counter of the shops, and 
to terminate in a stop-coek, by means of which the carbonic acid water may be 
drawn off at pleasure. In order to have the liquid cool in summer, the tube from 
the cellar generally terminates in a strong metallic vessel of convenient shape, 
placed under the counter and surrounded with ice, and from this vessel a sepa- 
rate tube penetrating the counter proceeds. 
Properties. Carbonic acid water is a sparkling liquid, possessing an agree- 
able, pungent, acidulous taste. It reddens litmus deeply from its state of con- 
centration, and is precipitated by lime-water. Being impregnated with a large 
quantity of the acid gas under the influence of pressure, it effervesces strongly 
when freed from restraint. Hence, to preserve its briskness, it should be kept 
in strong well-corked bottles, placed inverted in a cool place. Several natural 
waters are of a similar nature; such as those of Seltzer, Spa, and Pyrmont; 
but the artificial water has the advantage of a stronger impregnation with the 
acid gas. Carbonic acid water should be made with every precaution to avoid 
metallic impurity. Hence the necessity of having the fountain well tinned on 
the inner surface. Even with this precaution, a slight metallic impregnation is 
not always avoided, especially in the winter season, when the water is less con- 
sumed as a drink, and, therefore, allowed to remain longer in the tubes and 
stop-cocks. Glass fountains are sometimes used with advantage at this season; 
and a patent has been taken out for a stoneware fountain, enclosed in tinned 
copper, which is said to answer a good purpose. When leaden tubes are em- 
ployed to convey the water, it is liable to be contaminated with this metal, which 
renders it deleterious. A case of colica pictonum was treated by one of the 
authors, arising from the daily use of the first draught of carbonic acid water 
from a fountain furnished with tubes of lead. Tubes of pure tin, enclosed in lead 
ones to give them strength, are free from objection. 
Copper fountains, well tinned, are liable to the objections that the tin lining 
wears away by use, and that there is no convenient means of inspecting their 
interior, owing to the solder joint, which permanently unites the two sections of 
the fountain. To remove the latter objection, the improvement has been proposed 
by Dr. R. 0. Doremus, of New York, to have the two sections with flanges, se- 
curely bolted together, with intervening gutta-percha packing, in order to fur- 
nish facilities for examining the interior, to determine whether re-tinning is neces- 
sary. Sometimes drops of solder, and chips of copper are carelessly left in the 
fountain, and form an additional source of danger. There can be no doubt that 
carbonic acid water is not unfrequently rendered poisonous by metallic impreg- 
nation. Dr. Doremus has proved, by a chemical examination, that lead and cop- 
per are sometimes present. {Am. Journ. of Pharm., Sept. 1854, p. 422, from 
the Am. Med. Monthly.) Dr. John T. Plummer, of Richmond, Ind., has found 
lead. The latter metal is detected by sulphuretted hydrogen, which gives with 
it a black precipitate, and copper by ferrocyanide of potassium, which causes 
a brown precipitate. In testing for copper, a few drops of the reagent should 
be added to a glass of the suspected water, placed on a sheet of white paper; 
when, if even a minute proportion of copper be present, a brownish discolora- 
tion will be seen, upon looking down through the liquid. 
Carbonic acid, formerly called fixed air, is a colourless gas, of a slightly pun- 
gent odour and acid taste. It reddens litmus feebly, and combines with salifiable 
bases, forming salts called carbonates, from which it is expelled by all the strong 
strengthened with iron bands, which arc used in Boston. A less costly apparatus than the 
above is Nichol’s patent combination fountain, figured in the same Journal for March, 185t> 
In this, bicarbonate of soda is used instead of whiting, and the salt is added to the acid, 
instead of the acid to the salt. For an account of the small apparatus of Mr. R. Knight* 
which is made of tin and silver exclusively, see the Pharm. Journal for May, 1857. PART II, 
Aquae. 
997 
acids. It extinguishes flame, and is quickly fatal to animals when respired. All 
kinds of fermented liquors which are brisk or sparkling, such as champagne, 
cider, porter, &c., owe these properties to its presence. Its sp. gr. is 1 52. lit 
1823 it was liquefied by Faraday by a pressure of 36 atmospheres, and in 1836 
solidified by Thilorier, by taking advantage of the cold generated by the sudden 
gasefaction of the liquid acid, when freed from pressure. It is composed of one 
eq. of carbon 6, and two of oxygen 16 = 22 (C02). 
Medical Properties and Uses. Carbonic acid water is diaphoretic, diuretic, 
and anti-emetic. It forms a grateful drink to febrile patients, allaying thirst, 
lessening nausea and gastric distress, and promoting the secretion of urine. The 
quantity taken need only be regulated by the reasonable wishes of the patient. 
It also forms a very convenient vehicle for the administration of magnesia, the 
carbonated alkalies, sulphate of magnesia, and the saline cathartics generally; 
rendering these medicines less unpleasant to the palate, and, in irritable states 
of the stomach, increasing the chances of their being retained. When used for 
this purpose, six or eight fluidounees will be sufficient. 
Carbonic acid gas was observed to act as a local anaesthetic in ulcerated can- 
cer, so early as 1794, by Dr. John Evart, of Bath. In 1834 it was first used by 
Prof. Mojon, of Geneva, in dysmenorrhcea, and with the most soothing effect. 
Since then it has been employed with good effect, in certain painful affections 
of the uterus, by Prof. Simpson, of Edinburgh, and M. Follin, of Paris. M. 
Follin, M. Demarquay, and M. Monod have found it particularly useful in re- 
lieving the pain in cancer of the uterus and vagina. The first effect of the gas 
is a sensation of pricking and heat. Another application of carbonic acid by in- 
jection is for the production of premature labour. For this purpose it has been 
successfully employed by Prof. Scanzoni, of Wurzburg, and Prof. Simpson, of 
Edinburgh. According to Prof. Simpson, the gas is most conveniently generated 
by mixing, in a bottle, six drachms of crystallized tartaric acid with eight drachms 
of bicarbonate of soda, dissolved in six fluidounees of water. B. 
AQUA AMMONIiE. U.S. Liquor Ammonle. Br., U.S. 1850. Water 
of Ammonia. Solution of Ammonia. 
“ Take of Muriate of Ammonia, in small pieces, each, twelve troyounces; 
Water six pints; Distilled Water a sufficient quantity. Pour a pint of the 
Water upon the Lime, in a convenient vessel; and, after it has slaked, stir the 
mixture so as to bring it to the consistence of a smooth paste. Then add the 
remainder of the Water, and mix the whole thoroughly together. Decant the 
milky liquid from the gritty sediment into a glass retort, of the capacity of six- 
teen pints, and add the Muriate of Ammonia. Place the retort on a sand-bath, 
and adapt to it a receiver, previously connected with a two-pint bottle, contain- 
ing a pint of Distilled WTater, by means of a glass tube, reaching nearly to the 
bottom of the bottle. Surround the bottle with ice-cold water; and apply heat, 
gradually increased, until ammonia ceases to come over. Remove the liquid 
from the bottle, and add to it sufficient Distilled Water to raise its specific gra- 
vity to 0'960. Lastly, keep the liquid in small bottles, well stopped.” U. S. 
“Take of Strong Solution of Ammonia one pint [Imperial measure]; Dis- 
tilled Water two pints [Imp. rneas.]. Mix, and preserve in a stoppered bottle. 
Sp. gr. 0-959.” Br. 
The title of this preparation was changed, at the late revision of the U. S. 
Pharmacopoeia, from Liquor Ammoniae to Aqua Ammonias, that it might con- 
form in name as well as character with the Waters, among which all the officinal 
preparations consisting of aqueous solutions of gaseous bodies are included. 
The object of the above processes is to obtain a weak aqueous solution of the 
alkaline gas ammonia. In the U. S. process, the muriate of ammonia is decom- 
posed bv the superior affinity of the lime for its acid, ammonia is disengaged, 998 
Aquae. 
PART II. 
and the lime, combining with the acid, forms chloride of calcium and water. The 
process diflbrs from that of 1850 in introducing the materials into the retort with 
a large quantity of water, instead of in the dry state. In both cases the gas is 
driven over by heat, but in the moist plan is accompanied with more watery 
vapour than in the dry. If the object were to obtain the water of ammonia in 
the highest possible state of concentration, there might be some advantage in 
the dry method; but, as a weak solution is contemplated, the wet method is 
equally efficient, while in all respects more convenient, and productive of better 
results; for, according to Dr. Squibb, the water of ammonia made by the former 
officinal process has invariably an empyreumatic odour, from which that made 
by the present process is free. (Proceed. of the Am. Pharm. Assoc., 1858, p. 
401.) The receiver is intended to retain any water holding in solution undecom- 
posed muriate, or the oily matter sometimes contained in the salt, as well as 
other impurities, which may be driven over by the heat; while the pure gas 
passes forward into the bottle containing the distilled water, which should not 
fill it, on account of the increase in the bulk of the water during the absorption 
of the gas. The tube should extend to near the bottom of the bottle, and pass 
through a cork, loosely fitting its mouth. To prevent the regurgitation of the 
water from the bottle into the intermediate vessel, the latter should be furnished 
with a Welter’s safety tube. Large bottles are improper for keeping the water 
of ammonia; as, when they are partially empty, the atmospheric air within them 
may furnish a little carbonic acid to the ammonia. 
In preparing solution of ammonia, equal weights of muriate of ammonia and 
lime are used for generating the gaseous ammonia. This proportion gives a 
great excess of lime, compared with the quantity required if determined by the 
equivalents; but in practice it is found advantageous to have an excess, as well 
to ensure the full decomposition of the muriate of ammonia, as to make up for 
accidental impurities in the lime. 
The British Pharmacopoeia gives directions for diluting Liquor Ammonise 
Fortior, so as to reduce it to the strength of Liquor Ammonise. This is effected 
by mixing one measure of the stronger preparation with two measures of dis- 
tilled water. By dilution to this extent the stronger solution (Br.) is brought 
to the sp. gr. 0-959. 
Properties. The properties of Liquor Ammonise Fortior have already been 
given. (Seepage 98.) Those of the officinal solution of ammonia, described 
in this place, are the same in kind, but weaker in degree. It should be quite 
free from empyreuma. Its sp. gr. in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia is said to be 0 960 ; 
in the British, 0 959. When of the density 0‘960, 100 grains of it saturate 30 
grains of officinal sulphuric acid, and contain nearly 10 grains of ammonia. Of 
the British preparation “one fluidrachm requires for neutralization 30‘8 mea- 
sures of the volumetric solution of oxalic acid.” It is incompatible with acids, 
and with acidulous and many earthy and metallic salts; but it does not decom- 
pose the salts of lime, baryta, or strontia, and only partially decomposes those 
of magnesia. If precipitated by lime-water, the ammonia is partly carbonated. 
When saturated with nitric acid, it should give no precipitate with carbonate of 
ammonia, nitrate of silver, or chloride of barium. A precipitate with the first 
indicates earthy matter; with the second, muriatic acid or a chloride; with the 
third, sulphuric acid or a sulphate. Commercial solution of ammonia sometimes 
contains qjyrrol, naphtlialin, and other soluble impurities. These may be de- 
tected by the solution being reddened by nitric acid, and, after having been 
supersaturated with muriatic acid, by its tinging a slip of fir wood of a rich pur- 
ple colour, characteristic of pyrrol. (Maclagan.) The source of these impurities 
is coal-gas liquor, from which the ammoniacal compounds are largely obtained. 
Composition. Water is capable of absorbing 670 times its volume of ammo- 
niacal gas at 50°, and increases in bulk about two-thirds. But the officinal solu- PART II. 
Aquse 
999 
tion of ammonia is by no means a saturated one. Thus, the ammonia contained 
in the U. S. preparation is about 10 per cent. The following table gives the per- 
centage of aramoniacal gas in aqueous solutions of different densities. 
Spocific 
Gravity. 
Ammonia 
per cent.. 
Specific 
Gravity. 
Ammonia 
pc r cent. 
Specific 
Gravity. 
i 
Ammonia 
per cent. 
0 8750 
32-50 
0-932G 
17-52 
0-9545 
11-56 
0 8875 
29-25 
0-9385 
15-88 
0-9573 
10 82 
0-9000 
26-00 
0-9435 
14-53 
0-9597 
10-17 
0-9054 
25-37 
0-9476 
13-46 
0-9619 
9-60 
0-916G 
0-9255 
22-07 
19-54 
0-9513 
12-40 
0-9692 
9-50 
Medical Properties and Uses. Water of ammonia is stimulant, sudorific*, 
antacid, and rubefacient. It stimulates more particularly the heart and arteries, 
without unduly exciting the brain. As a stimulant it is occasionally employed 
in paralysis, hysteria, syncope, asphyxia, and similar affections. In the same 
complaints it is often applied to the nostrils with advantage; but, in cases of 
insensibility, care must be taken not to carry the application too far, for fear ol 
inducing dangerous and even fatal bronchitis. As an antacid, it is one of the 
best remedies in heartburn, and for the relief of sick headache when dependent 
on gastric acidity. In these cases it acts usefully also by stimulating the stomach. 
In* the bites of poisonous serpents, it has long been deemed a powerful antidote. 
A case, caused by the bite of a cobra de capello, was successfully treated by Dr. 
W. Chalmers, formerly of Bengal, in which solution of ammonia was chiefly 
relied on. A dose of this solution, given in drunkenness, is said to remove the 
intoxication in a short time. It has been recommended by Dr. Guerard as an 
application to burns, attended with rubefaction or vesication, in order to relieve 
the pain and hasten the cure. (Journ. de Pharm., Jan. 1849.) As a rubefacient 
it is employed united with oils in the form of volatile liniment. (See Linimentum 
Ammonise.) The dose is from ten to thirty drops, largely diluted with water to 
prevent its caustic effect on the mouth and throat. When swallowed in an over- 
dose, its effects are those of a corrosive poison. A case is recorded in the Jour- 
nal de Pharmacie (Avril, 1862, p. 324), in which about three fiuidounces were 
swallowed, with a fatal result in eight days, after great suffering, and various 
local and systemic disorder. Dissection exhibited signs of inflammation and 
corrosion of the oesophagus and stomach, with great enlargement and softening 
of the mesenteric glands and kidneys. The best antidotes are vinegar and lemon 
juice, which act by neutralizing the ammonia, and must be promptly applied to 
be useful. The consecutive inflammation must be treated on general principles. 
Pharm. Uses. To prepare Aconitia, Br.; Antimonii Oxidum, US.; Beberise 
Sulphas, P>r.; Bismuthi Subcarbonas, U. S.; Bismuthi Subnitras, U. S.; Calcis 
Phosphas Praecipitata; Digitalinum, Br.; Ferri et Quinim Citras; Ferri Oxi- 
dum Hydratum, U. S.; Ferri Pvrophosphas, U. S.; Liquor Ferri Citratis, U. S.; 
Morphia, U. S.; Morphias Hydrochloras, Br.; Quiniae Valerianas, U. S.; Santo- 
niuum, Br.; Strychnia; Yeratria. 
Off. Prep. Ammonias Benzoas, Br.; Ferri et Ammoniae Citras ; Hydrargyrum 
Ammoniatum; Linimentum Ammoniae; Linimentum Hydrargyri, Br.; Spiritus 
Ammoniae Aromaticus, Br. B. 
AQUA AMYGDALAE AMARiE. U.S. Bitter Almond Water. 
“ Take of Oil of Bitter Almonds sixteen minims; Carbonate of Magnesia 
sixty grains; Water two pints. Rub the Oil, first with the Carbonate of Mag- 
nesia, then with the Water, gradually added, and filter through paper.’1 U. S. 
This preparation has the effects of hydrocyanic acid on the system, and may 
be used as a vehicle of other medicines in nervous coughs, and various spasmodic 1000 
Aquae 
PART II. 
affections. It is, however, liable to spontaneous change, and is consequently 
more or less uncertain. A drop of sulphuric acid added to a pint of it will con- 
tribute to its preservation; as will also complete exclusion from the light and air. 
But the better plan is to prepare it in small quantities, as wanted for use. The 
dose of itf to begin with, when of- full strength, should not exceed half a fluid- 
ounce. Under the same name, a preparation has been much used on the conti- 
nent of Europe, prepared by distilling bitter almonds with water. This when 
fresh is much stronger than the preparation of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, con- 
taining, according to an analysis of Geiger, in 1000 parts, 1'2 parts of anhydrous 
hydrocyanic acid. But, in consequence either of circumstances in the manner of 
its preparation, or of changes upon being kept, it is of variable and uncertain 
strength, and cannot be relied on. It has been prescribed with fatal effects; 
and the greatest caution, therefore, should be observed by the apothecary not 
to put up the distilled water instead of the officinal.* W. 
AQUA ANETHI. Br. Dili Water. 
"Take of Dill [fruit], bruised, twenty ounces [avoirdupois]; Water two 
gallons [Imperial measure]. Distil one gallon.” Br. 
This is seldom if ever used in the United States. W. 
AQUA AURANTII FLORUM. U. S. Aurantii Aqua. Br. Orange 
Flower Water. 
"Take of Orange Flowers forty-eight troyounces; Water sixteen pints. Mix 
them, and distil eight pints.” U. S. 
This preparation is placed in the Materia Medica Catalogue of the British 
Pharmacopoeia, as an object of importation. According to this authority, it is 
obtained indiscriminately from the flowers of the bitter and those of the sweet 
orange tree; and the same is the case with our own officinal standard; though, in 
Italy and France, where it is largely made, the flowers of the bitter orange are 
preferred, as yielding the most fragrant product. It may be prepared in the most 
Southern districts of our country from the fresh flowers; and these might be 
brought to the North for the same purpose, if previously incorporated with one- 
third or one-quarter of their weight of common salt. The proper method is to 
arrange the flowers and salt in successive layers in jars of stoneware or glass. 
Notwithstanding, however, the facility of its preparation here, it is generally 
imported from the South of France, whence it often comes in cans of tinned copper. 
Orange flower water is nearly colourless, though usually of a pale yellowish 
* In an experiment performed by M. Mayet, one kilogramme (about two avoirdupois 
pounds) of bitter almond cake from which the fixed oil had been separated, having been 
finely powdered, and mixed with enough water to form a thin paste, was kept for a day 
at the temperature of 86° F., and then submitted to distillation by means of steam, with 
the following results. The products of distillation were collected in separate portions suc- 
cessively, each of 500 grammes (about a pint). The first portion was milky, immediately 
after distillation, but in two hours became clear, without the separation of oil; the others 
were limpid from the beginning. The first contained 0-250 per cent, of hydrocyanic acid, 
the second 0-070 per cent., the third 0-030, and the fourth 0 024 per cent. The mean of 
these (0-093) exceeded the percentage obtained by testing a mixture of the four in equal 
parts, which was only 0-088, owing to the necessity, in each examination, of slightly pass- 
ing the point of saturation before catching with the eye the blue tint that indicates it. M. 
Mayet thinks, from these premises, that 0-08 per cent., or 80 milligrammes for 100 grammes, 
would be the proper mean to establish in regulating the strength of the bitter-almond 
water, if two parts of product are to be obtained from one of the dry material employed. 
He would, however, prefer stopping the process when one and a half parts had been ob- 
tained, in which case a 0-110 per cent., product might be procured, and it would bo easy 
to fix the mean at 0-100 per cent. M. Mayet also satisfied himself that distillation by steam 
is decidadly preferable in this process to that by the naked fire, provided that linen ccated 
with dextrin be employed for luting the apparatus, instead of common paper luting, fokich 
does not sufficiently resist steam. (Journ. dc Pharm., Juillct, 1861, p. 13 )— Note to the 
twelfth edition. PART II. 
Aquae. 
1001 
tint. From being kept in copper bottles, it sometimes contains metallic impurity, 
which is said to be chiefly carbonate of lead, derived from the lead used as a 
solder in making the bottles. The means of detecting metallic impurity are 
mentioned under the general observations on distilled waters, page 994. If it 
contain lead, sulphuretted hydrogen will produce with it a dark precipitate. 
Much colour, offensive odour, or mouldiness indicates impurity derived from the 
flowers in distillation. 
Orange flower water is used exclusively on account of its agreeable odour, 
though it may possess slight powers as a nervous stimulant. 
Off. Prep. Syrupus Aurantii Florum, U. S.; Syrupus Aurantii Floris, Br. 
W. 
AQUA CAMPHORiE. U.S., Br. Camphor Water. 
“Take of Camphor one hundred and twenty grains; Alcohol forty minims. 
Carbonate of Magnesia half a troyounce; Distilled Water two pints. Rub the 
Camphor, first with the Alcohol, then with the Carbonate of Magnesia, ana 
lastly with the Water gradually added; then filter through paper.” U. S. 
“Take of Camphor, broken into pieces, half an ounce [avoirdupois]; Dis- 
tilled Water one gallon [Imperial measure]. Enclose the camphor in a muslin 
bag, and attach this to the stopper of ajar containing the Distilled Water. In- 
vert the jar ; allow it to stand for at least two days ; and pour off the solution 
when required.” Br. 
In these processes the object is to effect a solution of the camphor. Water is 
capable of dissolving but a small proportion of this principle; but the quantity 
varies with the method employed. The present British process is still more in- 
efficient than the old formulas of the different Colleges for their Mistura Cam- 
phoree, which has received in the late revision a much more appropriate name. 
In the London process the camphor was first rubbed with a little spirit to pow- 
der it, and then with water; in the Edinburgh, sugar and almonds were used as 
an intermedium by which the water might be induced to take up the camphor; in 
the Dublin, the spirit of camphor was shaken with water. All of them produced 
very weak preparations. In the present British process no trouble is taken even 
to comminute the camphor, or to shake it with the water, which is thus allowed 
to take up what it may be disposed to do by contact with the camphor contained 
in a bag ; though some ingenuity is exhibited in retaining the latter, which is 
lighter than water, beneath the surface of the liquid, by fastening it in a bag to 
the stopper, and inverting the vessel after introducing the water. The solution 
thus effected must be extremely feeble, containing probably less than one part in 
a thousand, which, according to Berzelius, is taken up by water when triturated 
with camphor. Our own officinal preparation, when properly made, contains 
about 50 grains to the pint, or more than 3 grains in each fluidounce. (Journ. 
of the Phil. Col. of Pharm.fv. 13.) Care should be taken to rub all the water, 
in successive portions, with the mixture of camphor and carbonate of magnesia. 
The comparative strength of the U. S. preparation is attributable, at least in 
part, to the minute division effected in the camphor by trituration with the car- 
bonate of magnesia, which is afterwards separated by filtration. The use of the 
alcohol is simply to break down the cohesion of the camphor, and enable it to 
be more easily pulverized. This process is much preferable to the British, as it 
affords a permanent solution, of sufficient strength to be employed with a view 
to the influence of the camphor on the system ; while the other has little more 
than the flavour of the narcotic, and is fit only for a vehicle of other medicines. 
The camphor is separated by a solution of pure potassa, and, according to Dr. 
Paris, by sulphate of magnesia and several other salts. Sir J. Murray proposes 
a solution of camphor and bicarbonate of magnesia, which contains three grajns 
of the former and six grains of the latter in each fluidounce. 
Camphor water is employed chiefly in low fevers and typhoid diseases, at- 1002 
Aquse. 
PART II. 
tended Hth restlessness, slight delirium, or other symptoms of nervous derange- 
ment or debility. It is used also to allay uterine after-pains. It has this advan- 
tage over camphor in substance, that the latter is with difficulty dissolved by 
the liquors of the stomach; but it is not applicable to cases where very large 
doses of the medicine are required. It is usually given in the dose of one or 
two tablespoonfuls repeated every hour or two hours. W. 
AQUA CARUI. Br. Caraway Water. 
“ Take of Caraway, bruised, twenty ounces [avoirdupois] ; Water two gallons 
[Imperial measure]. Distil one gallon [Imp. meas.].” Br. 
Distilled caraway water has the flavour and pungency of the seeds, but is seldom 
used in this country. The preparation employed here is usually made from the vo- 
latile oil, in the same manner as cinnamon water. (See Aqua Cinnamomi.) W. 
AQUA CIILORINII. U. S. Liquor Chlori. Br. Chlorine Water. 
Solution of Chlorine. 
“Take of Black Oxide of Mangauese, in fine powder, half a troyounce; 
Muriatic Acid three troyounces; Water four fluidounces ; Distilled Water 
ticenty fluidounces. Introduce the Oxide into a flask, add the Acid previously 
diluted with two fluidounces of the Water, and apply a gentle heat. Conduct 
the generated chlorine, by suitable tubes, through the remainder of the Water 
contained in a small intermediate vessel, to the bottom of a four-pint bottle con- 
taining the Distilled Water, and loosely stopped with cotton. When the air has 
been entirely displaced by the gas, disconnect the bottle from the apparatus, and, 
having inserted the stopper, agitate the contents, loosening the stopper from 
time to time, until the gas ceases to be absorbed. Lastly, pour the Chlorine 
Water into a bottle, of just sufficient capacity to hold it, stop it securely, and 
keep it in a cool place, protected from the light.” U. S. 
“ Take of Hydrochloric Acid six fluidounces [Imperial measure]; Black 
Oxide of Manganese, in fine powder, one ounce [avoirdupois] ; Distilled Water 
thirty-four fluidounces [Imp. meas.]. Introduce the Oxide of Manganese into 
a gas-bottle, and, having poured upon it the Hydrochloric Acid diluted with 
two [fluid]ounces of the Water, apply a gentle heat, and, by suitable tubes, 
cause the gas, as it is developed, to pass through two [fiuid]ounces of the Water 
placed in an intermediate small phial, and thence to the bottom of a three-pint 
bottle containing the remainder of the Water, the mouth of which is loosely 
plugged with tow. As soon as the chlorine ceases to be developed, let the bottle 
be disconnected from the apparatus in which the gas has been generated, corked 
loosely, and shaken until the chlorine is absorbed. Lastly, introduce the solu- 
tion into a green glass bottle furnished with a well-fitting stopper, and keep it 
in a cool and dark place.” Br. 
The U. S. and Br. processes are essentially the same; and both were copied 
from the late Dublin process. The only material variation iri the British formula 
is the somewhat larger proportion of the black oxide of manganese and muriatic 
acid, to the distilled water; an avoirdupois ounce of the oxide and six fluid- 
ounces of the acid having been substituted for half the quantity of each as di- 
rected by the Dublin College, while the distilled water used by the former is 
only thirty-four fluidounces to twenty-four by the latter, of which quantities four 
fluidounces are taken by each in the preliminary steps of the process, and the 
remainder used for the absorption of the chlorine. In the U. S. formula, the 
proportions differ from those of the Dublin, in the use of the troyounce both for 
the oxide of manganese and the acid, instead of the avoirdupois ounce for the 
former and the fluidounce for the latter. The British process differs from both 
in directing the disconnection of the apparatus for generating the gas, as soon 
as it ceases to be produced, instead of after the air in the receiving bottle has 
been displaced by it. Should there be any danger of deficiency of chloriue in PART II. 
Aquse. 
1003 
the resulting chlorine water, the British process would have the advantage, as 
it uses not only a larger proportion of the materials for making the gas, but ex- 
hausts them. 
In the U. S. process, four fluidounces of common water are used in the dilution 
of the muriatic acid, and for absorbing the impurities in the intermediate vial. 
The twenty fluidounces of distilled water are placed in a four-pint bottle, which 
it about one-third fills. In both processes, the chlorine gas is extricated from the 
muriatic acid by the deutoxide of manganese separating the hydrogen, and is 
passed, through an intermediate vessel containing a little water for purifying it, 
into the four-pint bottle, loosely stopped, until the vacant part of the bottle is 
filled with it to the exclusion of the atmospheric air. The bottle being then 
corked, is shaken so as to cause the absorption of the gas by the water. Of 
course the stopper must be from time to time loosened, in order to allow the 
entrance of air to supply the partial vacuum created by the absorption of the 
chlorine. The product is about a pint and a quarter of the chlorine water, which 
is transferred to a bottle just sufficient in capacity to hold it. The chlorine water 
is directed to be kept secluded from the light, because otherwise it would be apt 
to be converted partially iuto muriatic acid, through the union of the chlorine 
with the hydrogen of the water. In the Br. Pharmacopoeia it is ordered to be 
kept in a green glass bottle, for the purpose, probably, of protecting it from the 
light; but recent experiments have shown that it is an orange, and not a green 
colour, which appears to prevent the passage of the chemical rays. 
Properties. Chlorine water has a pale yellowish-green colour, an astringent 
taste, and the peculiar odour of the gas. Like gaseous chlorine it destroys 
vegetable colours. When cooled to about the freezing point, it forms deep-yellow 
crystalline plates, consisting of hydrate of chlorine. It is intended to contain at 
least twice its volume of the gas. It is decomposed by light, with the produc- 
tion of muriatic acid, and the evolution of oxygen, and hence must be kept in a 
dark place. According to MM. Riegel and Walz, chlorine water, containing 
two and a half volumes of the gas at 54°, keeps best. The U. S. Pharmacopoeia 
gives as a test of its strength in chlorine, that “ when a fluidounce of mixed 
with a solution of 10 grains of pure sulphate of protoxide of iron in two fiui- 
drachms of water, the mixture does not produce a blue precipitate with ferrid- 
cyanide of potassium (red prussiate of potassa).” This shows that there is suf- 
ficient chlorine in the Water to peroxidize the protoxide of iron of the proto- 
sulphate; as, though the protosalts of iron do, the persalts do not produce a 
blue precipitate with the ferridcyanide. The British solution consists of “chlo- 
rine gas dissolved in half its volume of water, and constituting 0 006 of the 
weight of the solution. It immediately discharges the blue colour of a dilute 
solution of indigo. Its sp. gr. is 1 003, and when evaporated it leaves no resi- 
due. When 20 grains of iodide of potassium, dissolved in a [fluidlounce of dis- 
tilled water, are added to a fluidounce of this preparation, the mixed solution 
acquires a deep-red colour, which requires for its discharge 75 measures of the 
volumetric solution of the hyposulphite of soda.” This indicates the quantity 
of chlorine in the solution, by the amount of the hyposulphite required to de- 
colorize an equivalent quantity of iodine, liberated from the iodide of potassium. 
Chlorine is an elementary gaseous fluid, of a greenish-yellow colour, and 
characteristic smell and taste. It is a supporter of combustion. Its specific 
gravity is 2-47, and equivalent number 35 5. When the attempt is made to 
breathe it, even much diluted, it excites cough and a sense of suffocation, and 
causes a discharge from the mucous membrane of the nostrils and bronchial 
tubes. Breathed in considerable quantities, it produces spitting of blood, vio- 
lent pains, and sometimes death. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Chlorine water is stimulant and antiseptic. 
Internally it has been used in typhus, and chronic affections of the liver; but 1004 
Aquae. 
PART II. 
the diseases in which it has been most extolled are scarlatina and malignant 
sorethroat. Externally it is employed, duly diluted, as a gargle in smallpox, 
scarlatina, and putrid sorethroat, as a wash for ill-conditioned ulcers and can- 
cerous sores, and as a local bath in diseases of the liver. It has been used with 
advantage as an application to buboes and large abscesses, to promote the ab- 
sorption of the matter. As it depends upon chlorine for its activity, its medical 
properties coincide with those of chlorinated lime, chlorinated soda, and nitro- 
muriatic acid, under which heads they are more particularly given. The dose 
of chlorine water is from one to four fluidrachms, properly diluted. 
Gaseous chlorine has been recommended by Gannal in chronic bronchitis and 
pulmonary consumption, exhibited by inhalation, in minute quantities, four or 
six times a day. Its first effect is to produce some dryness of the fauces, with 
increased expectoration for a time, followed ultimately with diminution of the 
sputa and amendment. Dr. Christison states that he has repeatedly observed 
these results in chronic catarrh; and both he and Dr. Elliotson have obtained, 
in consumption, a more decided improvement of the symptoms by the use of 
chlorine inhalations than by any other means. The liquid in the inhaler maybe 
formed either of water containing from ten to thirty drops of chlorine water, or 
of chlorinated lime dissolved in forty parts of water, to which a drop or two of 
sulphuric acid must be added, each time the inhalation is practised. The inhaler 
should be placed in water, heated to about 100° B. 
AQUA CINNAMOMI. U.S.,Br. Cinnamon Water. 
“ Take of Oil of Cinnamon hal f a fluidrachm ; Carbonate of Magnesia sixty 
grains; Distilled Water two pints. Rub the Oil first with the Carbonate of 
Magnesia, then with the Water, gradually added, and filter through paper. 
“Cinnamon Water may also be prepared by mixing eighteen troyounces of 
Cinnamon, in coarse powder, with sixteen pints of Water, and distilling eight 
pints.” U. S. 
“ Take of Cinnamon, bruised, twenty ounces [avoirdupois] ; Water two gal- 
lons [Imperial measure]. Distil a gallon.” Br. 
Of these processes, the first one of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia is the easier, 
though the second, which corresponds with the British, may yield a sweeter 
product. Cinnamon water is much used as a vehicle for other less agreeable 
medicines; but should be given cautiously in inflammatory affections. For ordi- 
nary purposes the U. S. preparation is sufficiently strong when diluted with an 
equal measure of water. 
Off. Prep. Mistura Cretse; Mistura Guaiaci, Br. W. 
AQUA CREASOTI. U.S. Creasote Water. 
“Take of Creasote a fluidraclim; Distilled Water a pint. Mix them, and 
agitate the mixture until the Creasote is dissolved.” U. S. 
This preparation contains 3'72 minims of creasote in each fluidounce, and 
affords a convenient method of administering that medicine. The dose is from 
one to four fluidrachms. It may also be used with advantage as a gargle, lo- 
tion, or mixed with cataplasms, to correct fetor, and gently stimulate indolent 
surfaces. W. 
AQUA FGENICULI. U.S.,Br. Fennel Water. 
“Take of Oil of Fennel half a fluidraclim; Carbonate of Magnesia sixty 
grains; Distilled Water two pints. Rub the Oil, first with the Carbonate of 
Magnesia, then with the Water, gradually added, and filter through paper. 
“ Fennel Water may be prepared by mixing eighteen troyounces of Fennel, in 
coarse powder, with sixteen pints of Water, and distilling eight pints.” U. & 
“Take of Sweet Fennel Fruit, bruised, twenty ounces [avoirdupois]; Water 
two gallons [Imperial measure]. Distil one gallon.” Br. PART II. 
Aquse. 
1005 
Fennel water is an agreeable vehicle for other medicines, and useful when a 
mild aromatic is indicated. W. 
AQUA LAURO-CERASI. Br. Cherry-laurel Water. 
“Take of Fresh Leaves of Common Laurel [cherry-laurel] one pound [avoir- 
dupois] ; Water two pints and a half [Imperial measure]. Chop the Leaves, 
crush them in a mortar, and macerate them in the Water for twenty-four hours. 
Distil one pint [Imp. meas.] of liquid, using a chloride of zinc bath and a Lie- 
big’s condenser; shake the product, filter through paper, and preserve in a stop- 
pered bottle.” Br. 
As the cherry-laurel is little cultivated in the United States, we have no 
officinal formula for the Water; but, from experiments by Prof. Procter, there 
is little or no room to doubt that a preparation, identical in its effects, might be 
made from the leaves of our common wild cherry, Cerasus Serotina, were a 
demand for the medicine to spring up among us. The imported cherry-laurel 
water, as found in our shops, is generally more or less impaired by age, and can- 
not, therefore, be relied on. 
The leaves yield a larger product of hydrocyanic acid when cut and bruised 
than when distilled whole. According to M. Gfarot, the proportion of the acid 
in cherry-laurel water depends upon the time of year at which the distillation is 
performed; the leaves yielding not more than half as much in April as in the 
middle of July. (Annuaire de Therap., 1843, p. 45.) In preparing this water, 
the best plan is to thoroughly bruise the leaves, and, having mixed them with at 
least three times their weight of water, to allow the mixture to stand at a tem- 
perature of about 86° F. for at least twelve hours, so that opportunity may be 
given for those reactions by which the hydrocyanic acid is produced, and then 
to distil them by means of a current of steam. Without the preliminary mace- 
ration the distillation by steam does not afford a satisfactory result; but properly 
performed, it yields the largest possible product. (Journ. de Pkarrn., Juillet, 
1861, p. 15; and Juin, 1864, p. 523.) The proportion of hydrocyanic acid in 
the water diminishes with time. It has been ascertained by M. Deschamps that, 
if a drop of sulphuric acid be added to a pint of the preparation, it will keep 
unchanged for at least a year. It is best preserved by the entire exclusion of 
air and light. M. Lepage found that, preserved in full and perfectly air-tight 
bottles, both this and bitter almond water remained unchanged at the end of a 
year; wrhile, if freely exposed to the air, they lost all their hydrocyanic acid and 
essential oil in two or three months. {Ibid., xvi. 346.) In view of the uncertain 
strength of the Water as obtained from the leaves, it is proposed in France, in 
reference to the forthcoming Codex, to fix upon a definite proportion of hydrocy- 
anic acid; and the percentage generally adopted is from 0-04 to 0 05.* Cherry- 
laurel water is employed in Europe as a sedative narcotic, identical in its pro- 
* The following conclusions, in reference to Cherry-laurel water, have been arrived at 
by a committee of pharmaceutists in Paris, appointed to examine the subject of the dis- 
tilled water with a view to the revision of the Codex. 1. The whole of the volatile oil and 
hydrocyanic acid furnished by cherry-laurel leaves, results from a reaction between two 
substances analogous to the emulsin and amygdalin of bitter almonds, which can take 
place only in the presence of water. 2. The quantity of volatile oil furnished by the leaves 
is always in direct relation to that of hydrocyanic acid. 3. The leaves furnish, by mere 
contact for 24 hours with cold water, only one-third of the quantity which they can be 
made to yield. 4. The fermentable matter of the leaves is liable to change, so that the 
leaves, after being picked, afford less and less of the acid the longer they are kept; and a 
moist heat favours change; so that complete decomposition takes place in a few hours. 
5. Difference in climate, soil, exposure to the sun, and age of the tree, have but a second- 
ary influence on the productiveness of the leaves. 6. The season of the year, however, 
has a great influence. The younger the leaf, the greater is its yield; so that, while 0150 
per cent, of the acid was obtained from the forming leaves in spring, those of the autumn 
yielded 0-132, and those of the winter 0-120, while leaves two years old gave only 0-112. 
7. Different plants, under apparently the same circumstances, differ greatly in productive- 1006 
Aquse 
PART II. 
perties with a dilute solution of hydrocyanic acid; but it is of uncertain strength, 
and should not be allowed to supersede the more definite preparation of the acid 
now in use. The dose is from thirty minims to a fluidrachm. W. 
AQUA MENTH2E PIPERITiE. U.S., Br. Peppermint Water. 
Take of Oil of Peppermint half a fluidrachm; Carbonate of Magnesia 
sixty grains; Distilled Water two pints. Rub the Oil, first with the Carbonate 
of Magnesia, then with the Water, gradually added, and filter through paper. 
“ Peppermint Water may also be prepared by mixing eighteen troyounces of 
Peppermint with sixteen pints of Water, and distilling eight pints.” U. S. 
“Take of English Oil of Peppermint one fluidrachm and a half; Water 
one gallon and a half [Imperial measure]. Distil one gallon.” Br. W. 
AQUA MENTIEE VIRIDIS. U. A., Br. Spearmint Water. 
Both in the U. S. and Br. Pharmacopoeias, this is prepared precisely as Pep- 
permint Water, the oil and herb of INI. viridis being substituted in the processes 
for those of M. piperita. 
The two mint waters are among the most grateful and most employed of this 
class of preparations. Together with cinnamon water, they are used in this 
country, almost to the exclusion of all others, as the vehicle of medicines given 
in the form of mixture. They serve not only to conceal or qualify the taste of 
other medicines, but also to counteract their nauseating properties. Peppermint 
water is generally thought to have a more agreeable flavour than that of spear- 
mint, but some prefer the latter. Their effects are the same. W. 
AQUA PIMENTJE. i?r. Pimento Water. 
“Take of Pimento, bruised, fourteen ounces [avoirdupois]; Water two gal- 
lons [Imperial measure]. Distil one gallon [Imp. meas.].” Br. 
Pimento water is brownish when first distilled, and upon standing deposits a 
brown resinous sediment. It is used as a carminative in the dose of one or two 
fluidounces. W. 
AQUA ROSJE. U.S.,Br. Rose Water. 
“Take of Pale Rose forty-eight troyounces; Water sixteen pints. Mix them 
and distil eight pints. 
“ When it is desirable to keep the Rose for some time before distilling, it may 
be preserved by being well mixed with half its weight of Chloride of Sodium.” 
U.S. 
“ Take of Fresh Petals of the Hundred-leaved Rose ten pounds [avoirdu- 
pois] ; Water two gallons [Imperial measure]. Distil one gallon [Imp. meas.].” 
Br. 
It should be observed that, in the nomenclature of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, 
ness, so that 0-176 per cent, was obtained from the most productive, only 0-092 from the 
least so. 8. The distillation by steam yields the greatest possible product. The committee, 
therefore, propose the adoption of this method; the bruised leaves being preliminarily 
mixed with at. least three times their weight of water, and exposed to a gradually in- 
creasing heat, not to exceed 140° F., when all reaction ceases. 9. Bruising is the best 
method of comminuting the leaves. 10. As it is impossible to obtain a Water always iden- 
tical from the leaves, the committee propose to fix a definite strength, and state that the 
proportion generally adopted is from 0-040 per cent, of acid as the minimum, to 0-060, or 
one-t.wentieth of one per cent, as the maximum, which is only one-half the strength pro- 
posed for bitter-almond water. 11. Though a change rapidly takes place in this and bitter- 
almond water exposed to the air, yet in bottles full, and perfectly closed by glass stoppers, 
the change at the end of a year is scarcely perceptible; and this observation applies to the 
distilled waters in general. (Journ. de Pharrn., Juin, 1864, p. 520.) 
For some remarks as to an easy volumetric method of estimating the hydrocyanic acid 
strength of cherry-laurel and bitter-almond waters, as well as other liquids containing this 
acid, together with the figure of a simple instrument for the purpose, see a paper by Dr. 
W. II. File, in the American Journal of Pharmacy, March, 1862, p. 130.—Note to the tv’pfth, 
edition. PART II. 
Aquse.—Argentum. 
1007 
the terra “Rose” implies only the petals of the flower. These are usually pre- 
ferred in the recent state; but it is said that, when preserved by being incorpo- 
rated with one-third of their weight of common salt, they retain their odour, 
and afford a water equally fragrant with that prepared from the fresh flower. 
Indeed, Mr. llaselden prefers the salted roses, believing that the water prepared 
from them is less mucilaginous, less apt to become sour, and preserves its odour 
better than that prepared from the fresh flowers. {Pharm. Journ., xvi. 15.) 
Hence the direction for preserving them in the present U. S. Pharmacopoeia. It 
is not uncommon to employ the whole flower including the calyx; but the pro- 
duct is less fragrant than when the petals only are used, as oflicinally directed.* 
Rose water is sometimes made by distilling together water and the oil of roses. 
When properly prepared, it has the delightful perfume of the rose in great 
perfection. It is most successfully made on a large scale. Like the other distilled 
waters it is liable to spoil when kept; and the alcohol which is sometimes added 
to preserve it is incompatible with some of the purposes to which the water is 
applied, and is even said to render it sour through acetous fermentation. It is 
best, therefore, to avoid this addition, and to substitute a second distillation. 
This distilled water is chiefly employed, on account of its agreeable odour, in 
eollyria and other lotions. It is wholly destitute of irritating properties, unless 
when it contains alcohol.']' 
Off. Prep. Confectio Rosae, U. S.; Mistura Ferri Composita; TJnguentum 
Aquas R,osae, U. S. W 
AQUA SAMBUCI. Br. Elder-flower Water. 
“Take of Fresh Elder Flowers, separated from the stalks, ten pounds [avoir- 
dupois] ; Water two gallons [Imperial measure]. Distil one gallon [Imp. 
meas.].” Br. 
Eldef flowers yield very little oil upon distillation; and, if the water be needed, 
it may be best prepared from the flowers. Mr. Haselden prefers the salted flowers 
to the fresh, for the reason stated above under Rose Water. The preparation is 
little used in this country. W. 
ARGENTUM. 
Preparations of Silver. 
ARGENTI CYANIDUM. U. S. Argenti Cyanuretum. U.S. 1850. 
Cyanide of Silver. Cyanuret of Silver. 
“Take of Nitrate of Silver, Ferrocyanide of Potassium, each, two troy- 
ounces; Sulphuric Acid a troyounce and a half; Distilled Water a sufficient 
quantity. Dissolve the Nitrate of Silver in a pint of Distilled Water, and pour 
the solution into a tubulated glass receiver. Dissolve the Ferrocyanide of Potas- 
sium in ten fluidounces of Distilled Water, and pour the solution into a tubu- 
lated retort, previously adapted to the receiver. Having mixed the Sulphuric 
* A. Monthus states that the petals of the hundred-leaved rose are more odorous, the 
nearer they are to the centre of the flower, and, contrary to what is said in the text, thinks 
that the calyx should not be rejected in preparing the distilled water. lie maintains that, 
so far from injuring the product, it in fact contributes to its preservation, and that the 
water obtained from the whole flower is less liable to that mucosity, which is the com- 
mencement of decomposition. This effect he ascribes to the astringent matter of the calyx, 
which coagulates the mucilaginous matter of the petals, and thus prevents it from passing 
over in the distillation. (Journ. de Pharm., Dec. 1863, p. 497.)—Note to the tivclfth edition. 
f Artificial Rose Water. Prof. Wagner, of Germany, prepares a distilled water from the 
oil of gaultheria, with an odour so closely resembling that of the rose as to be entitled to 
this designation. He boils the oil with solution of potassa, thereby obtaining salicylate 
of potassa, the mother liquor of which, when distilled with water, yields the preparation 
in question. (Chem. Gaz., No 382, p. 352, from Wagner's Jahresbericht, A. D. 1856, p. 260.)— 
Note to the twelfth edition. 1008 
Argentum. 
PART II. 
Acid with four fluidounces of Distilled Water, add tue mixture to the solution 
in the retort, and distil, by means of a sand-bath, with a moderate heat, until 
six fluidounces have passed over, or until the distillate no longer produces a pre- 
cipitate in the receiver. Lastly, wash the precipitate with Distilled Water, and 
dry it.” U. S. 
This preparation was introduced into the U. S. Pharmacopoeia for the pur- 
pose of being used in the extemporaneous preparation of diluted hydrocyanic 
acid. (See page 923.) By the formula adopted in the Pharmacopoeia of 1840, 
the officinal hydrocyanic acid was added to a solution of nitrate of silver. The 
expenditure in this way of the officinal acid, which is very weak, and at the same 
time nicely adjusted to a given strength, was injudiciously directed; and, accord- 
ingly, that formula was abandoned, and a new process adopted in the Pharma- 
copoeia of 1850, and continued in the present, in which all the silver contained 
in a given weight of nitrate of silver, placed in a receiver in solution, is converted 
into cyanide by hydrocyanic acid, extricated from ferrocyanide of potassium by 
the action of sulphuric acid. By a double decomposition between the oxide of 
silver of the nitrate and the hydrocyanic acid, water and cyanide of silver are 
formed in the receiver, the latter of which precipitates. The materials in the 
retort are sufficient to produce a little more hydrocyanic acid than is necessary 
to convert the whole of the silver in the receiver into cyanide; so that the com- 
plete decomposition of the nitrate of silver is ensured. 
According to Messrs. Glassford and Napier, the best way of obtaining cyanide 
of silver is to add cyanide of potassium to a solution of nitrate of silver so long 
as a precipitate is formed. 
Properties. Cyanide of silver is a tasteless white powder, insoluble in wrater 
and cold nitric acid, but readily soluble, with decomposition, in that acid when 
boiling hot. It is decomposed by muriatic acid, exhaling the odour of hydro- 
cyanic acid. It is not soluble in potassa or soda, but readily so in ammonia. 
Its best solvent is cyanide of potassium. When heated it is decomposed, cyan- 
ogen being evolved, and metallic silver left. It consists of one eq. of cyanogen 
26, and one of silver 108=134. It has no medical uses. 
Off. Prep. Aciduin Hydrocyanicum Dilutum, TJ. S. B. 
ARGENT! NITRAS. U.S.,Br. Nitrate of Silver. Nitrate of Silver 
in Crystals. 
“Take of Silver, in small pieces, two troyounces; Nitric Acid two troy ounces 
and a half; Distilled Water a sufficient quantity. Mix the Acid with a fluid- 
ounce of Distilled Water in a porcelain capsule, add the Silver to the mixture, 
cover it with an inverted glass funnel, resting within the edge of the capsule, and 
apply a gentle heat until the metal is dissolved, and red vapours cease to be pro- 
duced;. then remove the funnel, and, increasing the heat, evaporate the solution 
to dryness. Melt the dry mass, and continue the heat, stirring constantly with 
a glass rod, until free nitric acid is entirely dissipated. Dissolve the melted salt, 
when cold, in six fluidounces of Distilled Water, allow the insoluble matter to 
subside, and decant the clear solution. Mix the residue with a fluidounce of 
Distilled Water, filter through paper, and, having added the filtrate to the de- 
canted solution, evaporate the liquid until a pellicle begins to form, and set it 
aside in a warm place to crystallize. Lastly, drain the crystals in a glass fun- 
nel until dry, and preserve them in a well-stopped bottle. By evaporating the 
mother-water, more crystals may be obtained.” U. S. 
“Take of Refined Silver three ounces [avoirdupois]; Nitric Acid one fluid- 
ounce and three-quarters [Imperial measure] ; Distilled Water five fluidounces 
[Imp. meas.]. Add the Nitric Acid and the Water to the Silver in a flask, and 
apply a gentle heat till the metal is dissolved. Decant the clear liquor from any 
black powder which may be present, into a porcelain dish, evaporate, and set 
aside to crystallize. Let the crystals drain in a glass funnel, and dry them by PART II. 
Argentum. 
1009 
exposure to the air, carefully avoiding the contact of all organic substances 
Nitrate of Silver must be preserved in bottles furnished with accurately ground 
stoppers.” Br. 
The two formulas are essentially the same; but that of the U. S. Pharmaco- 
poeia is more detailed and precise, with two peculiarities which deserve notice. 
One of these is the direction to cover the materials in the capsule, during the 
continuance of the reaction, with a glass funnel. This is in order to economize 
the nitric acid, a portion of which rises in vapour, and, being condensed on the 
inner surface of the funnel, falls again into the capsule. The second peculiarity 
is the fusion of the salt before being dissolved. This would, from the phrase- 
ology of the directions, appear to have beeu intended to get rid of any uncom- 
bined nitric acid which might remain in the dry salt. But the effect is probably 
rather to decompose any nitrate of copper that might have been derived from 
the silver, which, if coin be employed, always contains it. This accounts for the 
e*scape of hyponitric acid vapour. The oxide of copper is got rid of in the sub- 
sequent solution. 
During the solution of silver in nitric acid, part of the acid is decomposed into 
nitric oxide which is given off and becomes red fumes by contact with the atmo- 
sphere, and oxygen which oxidizes the silver. The oxide formed then combines 
with the remainder of the acid, and generates the nitrate of silver in solution, 
which, by due evaporation, furnishes crystals of the salt. The silver should be 
pure, and the acid diluted for the purpose of promoting its action. If the silver 
contain copper, the solution will have a greenish tint, not disappearing on the 
application of heat; and if a minute portion of gold be present, it will be left 
uudissolved as a black powder. The acid also should be pure. The commercial 
nitric acid, as it frequently contains both muriatic and sulphuric acids, should 
never be used in this process. The muriatic acid gives rise to an insoluble chlo- 
ride, and the sulphuric, to the sparingly soluble sulphate of silver.* 
Properties. Nitrate of silver is in colourless transparent shining crystals, hav- 
ing the form of rhomboidal plates, sometimes of considerable size. Its taste is 
bitter and intensely metallic. It is soluble in its own weight of cold water, and 
in four parts of boiling alcohol. When perfectly pure, it is wholly soluble in dis- 
tilled water. The solution stains the skin of an indelible black colour, and is 
itself discoloured by the most minute portion of organic matter, of which it forms 
a delicate test. The affinity of this salt for animal matter is evinced by its form- 
ing definite compounds with albumen and fibrin. The solution also stains lineu 
and muslin in a similar manner; and hence its use in making the so-called in- 
delible ink. To remove these stains, Mr. W. B. Herapath advises to let fall on 
the moistened spots a few drops of tincture of iodine, which converts the silver 
into iodide of silver. The iodide is then dissolved by a solution of hyposulphite 
of soda, made with half a drachm to a fluidouuce of water, or by a moderately 
dilute solution of caustic potassa, and the spots are washed out with warm water. 
They are taken out also by a solution of two and a half drachms of cyanide of 
potassium, and fifteen grains of iodine, in three fluidounees of water. Stains on 
the skin may be removed by the same reagents. Nitrate of silver melts at 426°, 
and on concreting forms the fused nitrate, which is officinal under the name of 
Argenti Nitras Fusa. At about 600° it is decomposed, with evolution of oxy- 
gen and hyponitric acid, and the metal is revived. This explains the necessity of 
* It is desirable that pure silver, free from copper, should be used in this process. As 
silver coin always contains copper, it should be purified before being employed. For this 
purpose, according to the method of M. Lienau, it should be dissolved in nitric acid, and 
he solution precipitated by chlorine water, which throws down the silver only in the form 
of chloride. The precipitate is to be well washed with chlorine water, then dissolved in 
solution of ammonia, and precipitated by clean copper wire. The silver is deposited as a 
slack powder, which when washed with solution of ammonia, is perfectly pure. (See Am. 
Tourn. of Pharm., July, 1862, p. 368.) Argentum. 
PART II. 
guarding /gainst too high a heat during the fusion of the salt. Nitrate of silver 
is incompatible with almost all spring and river water, on account of a little 
common salt usually contained in it; with soluble chlorides; with sulphuric, 
liydrosulphuric, muriatic, and tartaric acids, and their salts; with the alkalies 
and their carbonates; with lime-water; and with astringent infusions. It is 
sometimes improperly prescribed in pill with tannic acid, by which it is decom- 
posed. Nitrate of silver is an anhydrous salt, consisting of one eq. of nitric acid 
54, and one of protoxide of silver 116=170 (AgO,NOs). 
Impurities and Tests. Muriatic acid or a solution of chloride of sodium, added 
in excess to one of nitrate of silver, should throw down the whole of the silver 
as a white curdy precipitate darkening on exposure to light, and nothing besides. 
This precipitate should be entirely soluble in ammonia. If not so, the insoluble 
part is probably chloride of lead. If the supernatant liquid, after the removal of 
the precipitate, be discoloured or precipitated by sulphuretted hydrogen, the fact 
shows the presence of metallic matter, which is probably copper or some remains 
of lead, or both. The solution, after precipitation by muriatic acid and filtration, 
should leave no residue when evaporated. A piece of the salt, heated on charcoal 
by the blowpipe, melts, deflagrates, and leaves behind a whitish metallic coating. 
After all, the best sign of the purity of nitrate of silver is the characteristic ap- 
pearance of the crystals. For other tests, see Argenti Niiras Fusa. 
Medical Properties. Nitrate of silver, as an internal remedy, is deemed tonic 
and antispasmodic. The principal diseases in which it has been employed are 
epilepsy, chorea, angina pectoris, and other spasmodic affections. In epilepsy it 
forms our most reliable remedy; but the kind of cases to which it is particularly 
applicable, and its modus operandi are not understood. It is said to produce 
most good in this disease when it acts upon the bowels. Wunderlich has found 
it specially useful in the affection named progressive locomotive ataxia. (Ann. de 
Therap., 1863, p. 210.) It is among our most efficient remedies in chronic gas- 
tritis, attended with pain and vomiting. Dr. J. F. Peebles, of Petersburg, Va., 
bore testimony to its efficacy in jaundice connected with gastric irritation, given 
preferably on an empty stomach. (Am. Journ. of the Med. Sciences, July, 1849.) 
Dr. Boudin, of Marseilles, employed it in typhoid fever as a remedy for the in- 
flammation and ulceration of the ileum, which constitute the most constant lesion 
in that disease. M. Delioux, of Rochefort, has proposed albuminous injections of 
nitrate of silver in diarrhoea, formed of half a pint of wrater, containing the white 
of one egg, from two to four grains of the nitrate, and an equal weight of common 
salt. Nitrate of silver is soluble in an excess of an albuminous solution, and when 
thus prepared is more readily absorbed than when dissolved in water. The com- 
mon salt promotes its solution without decomposing it. (Journ. de Pharm., xx. 
149.) In chronic diarrhoea, especially in that kind attendant on phthisis, Dr. Mac- 
greggor, of Dublin, has found the nitrate of silver, conjoined with opium, a valu- 
able remedy. It has also been used with supposed advantage in cholera infantum, 
in doses varying from one-sixteenth to one-fourth of a grain, at intervals of two, 
four, or six hours. Whatever may be the remedial value of this salt internally 
administered, its occasional effect of producing a slate-coloured discoloration of 
the skin, which is seldom removed, is a great objection to its use. This effect 
proves the absorption of the medicine, and is stated to show itself first on the 
tongue and fauces. According to Dr. Branson, an indication of the approach of 
discoloration is furnished by the occurrence of a dark-blue line on the edges of 
the gums, very similar to that produced by lead, but somewhat darker. For 
this discoloration of the skin a steady course of cream of tartar has been recom- 
mended. 
Externally, nitrate of silver is occasionally employed in solution as a stimu- 
lant and escharotic; but the fused nitrate, which is not so pure as the officinal 
nitrate (pure salt in crystals), is generally selected for making solutions. In cases requiring nicety, the officinal nitrate (crystals) should be directed to be 
dissolved, and distilled water should be selected as the solvent. A solution, made 
in the proportion of half a grain of the crystals to a fluidounce of distilled water, 
forms a good mouth-wash for healing ulcers produced by mercury. In tne in 
flammation of the mouth from mercurial salivation, M. Bouchacourt found a 
concentrated solution of the salt, applied to the gums, base of the tongue, &c.,. 
with a camel’s hair brush, very useful. A solution, containing from two to ten 
grains of the crystals to a fluidounce of distilled water, is an excellent applica- 
tion in ophthalmia with ulcers of the cornea, in fetid discharges from the ear, 
aphthous affections of the mouth, and spongy gums. 
The dose of nitrate of silver (crystals) is the fourth of a grain, gradually in- 
creased to four or five grains, three times a day. For internal exhibition, the 
physician should always prescribe the crystals, which are meant by the name 
Argenti Nitras in the revised nomenclature of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia of 1850, 
and never direct the fused nitrate (Argenti Nitras Fusa), which is often impure. 
Nitrate of silver should always be given in pill, in which form, according to Dr. 
Powell, the system bears a dose three times as large as when given in solution. 
In the treatment of epilepsy, this physician recommends the exhibition at first 
of grain doses, to be gradually increased to six grains, three times a day. Its 
effects vary very much, owing no doubt to the salt being more or less decom- 
posed by the substances used in preparing it in pill, or with which it comes in 
contact in the stomach. It should not be made up into pill with crumb of bread, 
as this contains common salt, but with some vegetable powder and mucilage. 
But, as all organic substances more or less decompose it, M. Vee proposes the 
use of inorganic matter, such as nitre, or preferably pure silica obtained by pre- 
cipitating one of the silicates by an acid, and washing it. The least possible 
proportion of tragacanth may be used to give adhesiveness to the mass. (Journ. 
de Pharm., Mai, 1864, p. 408.) In view of the fact that chloride of sodium is 
used with food, and exists, together with phosphates, in the secretions, and that 
free muriatic acid and albuminous fluids are present in the stomach, it is almost 
certain that, sooner or later, the whole of the nitrate of silver will be converted 
into the chloride, phosphate, and albuminate, compounds far less active than the 
original salt. The experiments of Keller, who analyzed the feces of patients 
under the use of this salt, confirm this view. Such being the inevitable result 
when the nitrate is given, the question arises how far it would be expedient to 
anticipate the change, and give the silver as a chloride ready formed. One of 
the authors of this work has tried the chloride in large doses, in two cases of 
epilepsy, but without advantage. According to Miallie, nitrate of silver upon 
entering the stomach is immediately changed into the chloride, and this is quickly 
converted into a soluble and readily absorbable double chloride, by combining 
with chloride of sodium or of potassium. 
Nitrate of silver, in an overdose, produces the effects of the corrosive poisons. 
The proper antidote is common salt, which acts by converting the poison into 
the insoluble chloride of silver. 
Off. Prep. Argenti Cyanidum, U. S.; Argenti Nitras Fusa, U. S.; Argenti 
Oxidum. B. 
ARGENTI NITRAS FUSA. U.S. Argenti Nitras. Br. Lapis In- 
fernalis. Fused Nitrate of Silver. Lunar Caustic. 
“ Take of Nitrate of Silver a convenient quantity. Melt it in a porcelain cap- 
sule, and continue the heat cautiously until frothing ceases; then pour the 
melted salt into suitable silver moulds.” U. S. 
“ To obtain the Nitrate in rods, fuse the crystals in a dark room in a capsule 
of platinum or thin porcelain, and pour the melted salt into proper moulds.” Br. 
Instead of forming the nitrate of silver, as in the process of 1850, the present 
U. S. Pharmacopoeia takes the salt already formed, and simply melts it with cer- 
part ii. 
Argentum. 
1011 1012 
Argentum. 
part n. 
lain precautions. The British process is merely the continuation of that by which 
the nitrate is obtained in crystals. As the salt while melting sinks into a com- 
mon crucible, the fusion is performed in one of porcelain or platinum, the size 
of which should be sufficient to hold five or six times the quantity of the salt 
operated on, in order to prevent its overflowing in consequence of the ebullition. 
Sometimes small portions of the liquid are spirted out, and the operator should 
be on his guard against this occurrence. When the mass flows like oil, it is com- 
pletely fused, and ready to be poured into the moulds. These should be warmed, 
but not greased, as organic matter would thus be furnished, which would par- 
tially decompose the fused salt.* 
Properties. Fused nitrate of silver, as prepared by the above process, is in 
the form of hard brittle sticks, of the size of a goose quill, at first translucent, 
but quickly becoming gray or more or less dark under the influence of light, 
owing to the reduction of the silver, effected probably by organic matter, or sul- 
phuretted hydrogen contained in the atmosphere. That the change does not de- 
pend on the sole action of light has been proved by Mr. Scanlan, who finds that 
nitrate of silver, in a clean glass tube hermetically sealed, undergoes no change 
by exposure to light. The sticks often become dark-coloured and nearly black 
on the surface, and, when broken across, exhibit a crystalline fracture with a 
radiated surface. Fused nitrate of silver, when pure, is wholly soluble in dis- 
tilled water; but even fair samples of the fused salt will not totally dissolve, a 
very scanty black powder being left of reduced silver, arising probably from the 
salt having been exposed to too high a heat in fusion. 
Impurities and Tests. Fused nitrate of silver is liable to contain free silver 
from having been exposed to too high a heat, the nitrates of lead and copper 
from the impurity of the silver dissolved in the acid, and nitrate of potassa from 
fraudulent admixture. Free silver will be left undissolved as a black powder, 
after the action of distilled water. A very slight residue of this kind is hardly 
avoidable; but, if there be much free silver, it will be shown by the surface of 
a fresh fracture of one of the sticks presenting an unusually dark-gray colour. 
(Ghristison.) The mode of detecting lead and copper is explained under nitrate 
of silver. (See Argenti Nitras.) In order to detect nitre, a solution of the sus- 
pected salt should be treated with muriatic acid in excess, to remove silver, and 
with sulphuretted hydrogen, to throw down other metals if they happen to be 
present. The filtered liquid, if the salt be pure, will entirely evaporate by heat; 
if it contain nitre, this will be left, easily known by its properties as a nitrate. 
This impurity sometimes exists in fused nitrate of silver in large amount, vary- 
ing, according to different statements, from 10 to 75 per cent. According to 
Dr. Christison, it may be suspected if the sticks present a colourless fracture. 
In the Br. Pharmacopoeia the following method is given for testing fused nitrate 
of silver for impurity, without determining its nature. “ Ten grains dissolved in 
two fluidrachms of distilled water give with hydrochloric acid a precipitate, 
which, when washed and thoroughly dried, weighs 8’44 grains; and the filtrate 
when evaporated by a water bath leaves no residue.” If the weight of the pre- 
cipitate be greater or less than here stated there must be some impurity in the 
nitrate; and any non-precipitable matter, if solid at the temperature of the 
water-bath, will be left behind when the filtrate is evaporated. In the IT. S. 
Pharmacopoeia, the following test, suggested by Dr. Squibb, is given to detect 
nitre or other saline impurity. “A small portion, rubbed into fine powder with 
* For certain purposes it is desirable to have the nitrate of silver less brittle than in its 
pure state. Prof. J. L. Smith, of Louisville, Ky., has found that this may be effected by 
adding a little chloride of silver, which renders the stick tough, without materially impair- 
ing its efficiency. Dr. Squibb proposes to accomplish the object by adding 40 grains of 
muriatic acid, with half a fluidounce of distilled water, to two ounces of nitrate of silver, 
heating the mixture by means of a sand-bath to dryness, and then melting an i canting 
into moulds. (Proceedings of the Am. Pharm. Assoc., 1858.)—Note to the twelfth edition PART II. 
Argentum. 
1013 
twice its weight of sugar, forms a mixture, which, when burned upon a surface 
of glass or porcelain, leaves a tasteless residue.” If the nitrate is pure, only the 
reduced metal is left, which is without taste. If it contain only as much as 1 per 
cent, of nitre, or other saline impurity, the residue will have the sharp alkaline 
taste of the base of the salt. {Am. Journ. of Pharm, Jan. 1859, p. 50.) 
Medical Properties. Fused nitrate of silver should be restricted to external 
use. The medical properties of the salt, as an internal remedy, are given under 
the head of the crystallized nitrate. (See Argenti Nitras.) Externally applied 
the fused nitrate acts variously as a stimulant, vesicant, and escharotic, and may 
be employed either dissolved in water, or in the solid state. Dissolved to the 
extent of from one to five grains in a fluidounce of water, it is used for the pur- 
pose of stimulating indolent ulcers, and as an injection for fistulous sores. A 
drachm of the fused salt, dissolved in a fluidounce of water, forms an escharotic 
solution, which may often be resorted to with advantage. When used in solution 
it is most conveniently applied by means of a camel’s hair brush. But fused 
nitrate of silver is most frequently employed in the solid state; and, as it is not 
deliquescent nor apt to spread, it forms the most manageable caustic that can be 
used. When thus employed, it is useful to coat the caustic, as recommended by 
M. Dumeril, by dipping it into melted engravers’ sealing-wax, which strengthens 
the stick, protects it from change, prevents it from staining the fingers, and af- 
fords facilities for limiting the action of the caustic to particular spots. If it is 
desired, for example, to touch a part of the throat with the caustic, it is pre- 
pared by scraping off the sealing-wax with a penknife, to a suitable extent from 
one end. Another way to strengthen the stick is to cast it around a plati- 
num wire, as recommended by M. Chassaignac; or around a wick of cotton, 
according to the plan of M. Blatin. By the latter plan, when the stick is broken, 
the fragments remain attached. If the fused nitrate be rubbed gently over the 
moistened skin until this becomes gray, it generally vesicates, causing usually less 
pain than is produced by cantharides. The fused nitrate is also employed to de- 
stroy strictures of the urethra, warts and excrescences, fungous flesh, incipient 
chancres, and the surface of other ulcers. Mr. Higginbottom considers its free 
application to ulcers, so as to cover them with an eschar, as an excellent means 
of expediting their cicatrization. He alleges that, if an adherent eschar be 
formed, the parts underneath heal before it falls off. It has also been used with 
good effect in the solid state, by Dr. Jewell in leucorrhcea, and by Ricord, Han- 
nay, and others in the gonorrhoea of women. In these cases the pain produced 
is much less than would be expected. Lunar caustic is frequently used in aque- 
ous solution as a topical remedy in various low forms of inflammation, but par- 
ticularly in erysipelas, applied both to the inflamed and to the surrounding 
healthy parts. In some cases it is sufficient to blacken the cuticle; in others it 
is best to produce vesication. In the treatment of these inflammations, Mr. 
Ward, of London, finds an ethereal solution, formed by dissolving eight grains of 
the salt in a fluidounce of common nitric ether, much more convenient and man- 
ageable than an aqueous solution. The ethereal solution is readily applied, and 
quickly dries. Dr. J. Wiltbank, of this city, uses an aqueous solution of nitrate 
of silver (from twenty to forty grains to the fluidounce) in the treatment of su- 
perficial burns and scalds, applied with‘a camel’s hair brush over the whole sur- 
face, first wiped dry, after opening the vesications. If the burn be deep, the en- 
tire surface of the ulcer should be touched with the stick. {Med. Exam., March, 
1856, p. 144.) In cases of prolapsus ani, Mr. Lloyd, of London, smears the whole 
surface of the protruded bowel with the solid caustic, and then returns it. Three 
or four applications, at intervals of a week or fortnight, are generally sufficient 
to effect a cure. Mr. Lloyd never knew this practice to be attended with bad 
consequences. Prof. Parker, of New York, uses nitrate of silver for the radical 
cure of hydrocele. After drawing off the liquid, he introduces, through the can- 1014 
Argentum. 
PART II. 
nula, a common probe, the end of which is coated, for half an inch or more, with 
the caustic. The probe is then carried lightly over the serous surface of the 
tunica vaginalis, and withdrawn. In smallpox it has been proposed by Breton- 
neau and Serres to cauterize each pustule, after its top has been removed, on the 
first or second day of the eruption, in order to arrest its development, and pre- 
vent pitting. The fused nitrate also forms an efficacious application to certain 
ulcerations of the throat, to different forms of porrigo of the scalp and other 
skin diseases, to punctured and poisoned wounds, and to chilblains, slowly rub- 
bed over the moistened part. If, unexpectedly, the paiu produced by its exter- 
nal use should be excessive, it may be immediately allayed by washing the parts 
witli a solution of common salt, which acts by decomposing the caustic. In the 
form of ointment, made by mixing one part of the caustic, in powder, with thirty 
of lard, it has been used in ozaena; a piece of lint, smeared with the ointment, 
being introduced into the nasal fossa. 
Nitrate of silver, in impalpable powder, mixed with an equal weight of lyco- 
podium, and used by inhalation, has been found beneficial in ulcerated sorethroat, 
laryngitis, bronchitis, and incipient phthisis, by Dr. W. M. Cornell, of Boston (Bos- 
ton Med. and Surg. Juurn., Sept. 25, 1850.) The salt, used in this way, has since 
been successfully employed in the treatment of chronic laryngitis by M. Trous- 
seau, of Paris, and others. The mixture employed consisted of three grains of 
the nitrate and a drachm of sugar of milk, intimately mixed in fine powder, of 
which as much as would fill the barrel of a steel pen was inhaled daily. The 
steel pen, charged with the powder, and attached to the barrel of a quill, is placed 
on the root of the tongue, and the patient compresses his lips around the quill. 
Then holding his nose, he makes a deep inspiration, which draws the powder 
into the larynx. (See Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., Oct. 1855, p. 515.) This plan 
of applying nitrate of silver to the larynx is much more sure and safe than that 
of introducing the solution by injection, or by means of a sponge. B. 
ARGENT! OXIDUM. U. X, Br. Oxide of Silver. 
“Take of Nitrate of Silver four troyounces; Distilled Water half a pint; 
Solution of Potassa a pint and a half, or a sufficient quantity. Dissolve the 
Nitrate of Silver in the Water, and to the solution add Solution of Potassa so 
long as it produces a precipitate. Wash this repeatedly with water until the 
washings are nearly tasteless. Lastly, dry the precipitate and keep it in a well 
stopped bottle, protected from the light.” U. S. 
“Take of Nitrate of Silver, in crystals, half an ounce [avoirdupois]; Solu- 
tion of Lime three pints and a half [Imperial measure] ; Distilled Water ten 
jluidounces. Dissolve the Nitrate of Silver in four [fluid]ounces of the Dis- 
tilled Water, and, having poured the solution into a bottle containing the So- 
lution of Lime, shake the mixture well, and set it aside to allow the deposit to 
settle. Draw off the supernatant liquid, collect the deposit on a filter, wash it 
with the remainder of the Distilled Water, and dry it at a heat not exceeding 
212°. Keep it in, a stoppered bottle.” Br. 
Oxide of silver was introduced into the U. S. Pharmacopoeia of 1850, and was 
adopted in the Br. Pharmacopoeia from the Dublin. In the processes for making 
it, nitrate of oxide of silver is decomposed by potassa or lime, the oxide being pre- 
cipitated, and nitrate of potassa or nitrate of lime, as the case may be, remaining 
in solution. When thus obtained the oxide is an olive-brown powder. If the 
potassa used be not wholly free from carbonic acid, the precipitated oxide will be 
contaminated with some carbonate of silver. According to Mr. Borland, of Lon- 
don, the carbonate is sometimes sold for the oxide. A third process for obtaining 
this oxide is that of Gregory, which consists in boiling the moist, recently pre- 
pared chloride of silver with a very strong solution of caustic potassa (sp gr. 
125 to 1 30). In this case, by double decomposition, oxide of silver and chlo- 
ride of potassium are formed. When thus prepared it is a very dense pure bla<k PART II. 
Argentum.—Arsenicum. 
1015 
powder. Oxide of silver is very slightly soluble in water. Exposed to heat it 
gives out oxygen, and is wholly converted into metallic silver; 29 grains of it 
yielding 27 of the metal. (Br.) It should not effervesce with acids. When its 
solution in nitric acid is precipitated by chloride of sodium in excess, the super- 
natant liquid is not discoloured by bihydrosulphate of ammonia. The non-action 
of this test shows the absence of most foreign metals, especially copper and lead. 
It parts with its oxygen with great facility, being decomposed by many organic 
substances, and even causing sulphur to take fire when the two are rubbed 
together, quite dry, in a mortar. (Chem. News, May 7, 1864, p. 217.) Oxide of 
silver consists of one eq. of silver 108, and one of oxygen 8 = 116. 
Medical Propet-ties. This oxide has been proposed as a substitute for nitrate 
of silver, as having the general therapeutic virtues of the latter, without its 
escharotic effect, and objectionable property of discolouring the skin. It was first 
tried as a medicine by Tan Mons and Sementini. In 1840 it was employed by 
Dr. Butler Lane, who considered it to act as a sedative. In 1845 the late Sir 
James Eyre strongly recommended it in his work on exhausting diseases. Dr. 
Lane used it with more or less success in nausea, cardialgia, pyrosis, various 
painful affections of the stomach without organic lesion, dysentery, diarrhoea, 
night-sweats without other obvious affection, dysraenorrhoea, menorrhagia, leucor- 
rhcea, chronic enlargements of the uterus attended with flooding, &c. The oxide 
appeared to exert a peculiar control over uterine fluxes. Some of the cases 
treated required the use of tonics, after the curative influence of the oxide had 
been exerted. The late Dr. Golding Bird also obtained favourable effects from 
the use of oxide of silver, and confirmed to a certain extent the results of Dr. 
Lane, especially as to its valuable powers in menorrhagia. Thus far no case 
of cutaneous discoloration is known to have occurred; though Dr. Lane gave 
the oxide repeatedly for two months, and Dr. Bird in more than a hundred cases, 
in one for four months. Dr. Lane observed one case in which repeated saliva- 
tion occurred, and Dr. Bird several in which the gums were affected. But, in 
order to draw any inference from these results, the prescriber should be certain 
that the medicine is not contaminated with black oxide of mercury. In stomach 
disease, characterized by a glairy instead of a watery discharge, Dr. Bird derived 
not the slightest benefit from the oxide, though he used it in thirty cases. In 
epilepsy it is supposed by some that the oxide will accomplish all that can be 
expected from the nitrate, with less risk to the stomach, and without incurring 
the danger of discolouring the skin. In taenia it has been used successfully in two 
cases by Mr. Whittel. The dose of oxide of silver is a grain, twice or thrice a 
day, given in pill. In no case did Dr. Lane carry the dose beyond six grains 
in the twenty-four hours. The pills should not be made with honey, conserve 
of roses, or other excipient containing glucose; and, indeed, most organic sub- 
stances, especially in a moist state, deoxidize the oxide, reviving the silver. Mr. 
Ambrose Smith recommends, as among the best excipients, gum arabic, or this 
with a little syrup. (Proceed. of Am. Pharm. Assoc., 1859, p. 308.) Oxide of 
silver has been used in the form of ointment, composed of from five to ten grains 
to the drachm of lard, as an application to venereal sores, and to the urethral 
membrane in gonorrhoea, smeared on a bougie. B 
ARSENICUM. 
Preparation of Arsenic. 
The officinal liquid preparations of arsenic are, in compliance with the Phar- 
macopoeias, considered under the head of Liquores or Solutions. (See Liquor 
Arsenici et Hydrargyri Iodidi, Liquor Potassse Arsenitis, and Liquor Sodas 
Arsenitis, in Part II.) It is only the Iodide of Arsenic that is treated of in 
this place. A rs enicu m. —A tropia. 
PART II, 
ARSENICI IODIDUM. U.S. Iodide of Arsenic. 
“ Take of Arsenic sixty grains; Iodine three hundred grains. Rub the Ar- 
senic in a mortar until reduced to a fine powder; then add the Iodine, and rub 
them together until they are thoroughly mixed. Put the mixture into a small 
flask or a test-tube, loosely stopped, and heat it very gently until liquefaction 
occurs. Then incline the vessel in different directions, in order that any portion 
of the 1 Ddine, which may have condensed on its surface, may be returned into 
the melted mass. Lastly, pour the melted Iodide on a porcelain slab, and, when 
it is cold, break it into pieces, and keep it in a well-stopped bottle.” U. S. 
This iodide was introduced into the U. S. Pharmacopoeia for the purpose of 
being used in preparing the solution of iodide of arsenic and mercury. It is made 
by the direct combination of its constituents, with the aid of a gentle heat. 
Properties, &c. Iodide of arsenic is an orange-red, crystalline solid, entirely 
soluble in water, and wholly volatilized by heat. In composition it is con- 
sidered to be ateriodide, consisting of one eq. of arsenic 75, and three of iodine 
378 9 = 453 9. It has been used by Biett as an external application in corrod- 
ing tubercular skin diseases. By the late Dr. A. T. Thomson it was given inter- 
nally with advantage in lepra, impetigo, and diseases resembling cancer. Dr. 
F. C. Crane cured a case of what he considered cancer of the breast by its use 
for nearly eight months. The ointment used by Biett was composed of three 
grains of the iodide to an ounce of lard. The dose for internal exhibition is an 
eighth of a grain three times a day, given in pill .or solution. 
Off. Prep. Liquor Arseniei et Hydrargyri Iodidi. B. 
ATROPIA. 
Preparations of Atropia. 
ATROPIA. U. 3., Br. Atropia. 
“Take of Belladonna Root, in line powder, forty-eight troyounces; Purified 
Chloroform four troyounces and a half; Diluted Sulphuric Acid, Solution of 
Potassa, Alcohol, Water, each/a sufficient quantity. Mix the powder with a 
pint of Alcohol, and, having introduced the mixture into a cylindrical percolator, 
pour Alcohol gradually upon it until sixteen pints have passed. From the liquid, 
thus obtained, distil off twelve pints of alcohol. To the residue add sufficient 
Diluted Sulphuric Acid to give it an acid reaction, and, having evaporated the 
liquid to half a pint, add an equal bulk of Water, and filter through paper. To 
the filtered liquid add, first a troyounce and a half of the Chloroform, and then 
Solution of Potassa in slight excess, and shake the whole together, at intervals, 
for half an hour. When the heavier liquid has subsided, separate it, and, having 
added a troyounce and a half of the Chloroform to the lighter liquid, again 
shake them together, and separate the heavier from the lighter liquid as before. 
Add to this lighter liquid the remainder of the Chloroform, and, after agitation, 
separate the heavier liquid for the third time. Mix the heavier liquids in a cap- 
sule, and set the mixture aside until, by spontaneous evaporation, the Atropia 
is left dry.” U. S. 
“ Take of Belladonna Root, recently dried and in coarse powder, tico pounds 
[avoirdupois]; Rectified Spirit ten pints [Imperial measure]; Slaked Lime 
one ounce [avoird.]; Water half a fluidounce; Distilled Water ten fluid- 
ounces; Chloroform three ffuidounces; Dilute Sulphuric Acid, Carbonate of 
Potash, and Purified Animal Charcoal, each, a sufficiency. Macerate the Root 
in two quarts [Imp. meas.] of the Spirit, for twenty-four hours, with frequent . 
stirring. Transfer to a displacement apparatus, and exhaust with the remainder 
of the Spirit by slow percolation. Add the Lime to the tincture placed in a 
bottle, and shake occasionally several times. Filter, add the Dilute Sulphuric part it. 
Atropia. 
1017 
Acid in very feeble excess, and filter again. Distil off three-fourths of the Spirit, 
add to the residue the Distilled Water, evaporate at a gentle heat, but as ra 
pidly as possible, until the liquid is reduced to one-third of its volume and nf 
longer smells of alcohol; then let it cool. Add very cautiously, with constant 
stirring, a solution of the Carbonate of Potash so as nearly to neutralize the 
acid, care, however, being taken that an excess is not used. Set to rest for six 
hours, then filter, and add Carbonate of Potash in such quantity that the liquid 
shall acquire a decided alkaline reaction. Place it in a bottle with the Chloro- 
form ; mix well by frequently repeated brisk agitation, and pour the mixed 
liquids into a funnel furnished with a glass stop-cock. When the Chloroform has 
subsided, draw it off by the stop-cock, and distil it on a water-bath from a retort 
connected with a condenser. Dissolve the residue in warm Rectified Spirit; digest 
the solution with a little Animal Charcoal; filter, evaporate, and cool until colour- 
less crystals are obtained.” Br. 
The U. S. process is a modification of the one proposed by Prof. Procter in a 
communication to the American Pharmaceutical Association, published in their 
Proceedings for the year 1860. The root is first exhausted by alcohol, by means 
of percolation, a large proportion of the alcohol is distilled off, and sulphuric acid 
is added in slight excess, so as to convert the atropia into the sulphate, and thus 
enable it to be held in solution in the next step of the process. The liquid is now 
further concentrated, so as to separate nearly all the alcohol, and then mixed with 
water to separate resinous and fatty matters. The sulphate of atropia is left in 
solution. This, after filtration, is treated with chloroform and solution of po- 
tassa in slight excess, the latter to separate the atropia from the sulphate, and the 
former to dissolve it when thus separated ; and the repeated agitation with the 
chloroform is in order that the whole of the atropia may be dissolved. Chloro- 
form is admirably adapted to this purpose, at once by its insolubility in water, 
and by its extraordinary solvent power over atropia, of which it is capable of 
taking up 33 per cent. The chloroformic solution sinks to the bottom in conse- 
quence of its density, and, having been separated, yields the atropia by sponta- 
neous evaporation. The alkaloid as thus obtained is not pure, still containing 
resinous and colouring matters; but it was deemed sufficiently so for medical 
use. This we think unfortunate; for it is impossible, unless the alkaloid be ob- 
tained pure or very nearly so, to determine, in any particular instance, unless 
by a complicated operation, the precise amount of impurity, and consequently 
the precise strength of the preparation. Had it been deemed advisable to follow 
the process of Mr. Procter, in all its steps, this result might have been avoided. 
Though atropia is very soluble in chloroform, the sulphate of that alkaloid is 
insoluble. Consequently, if the impure solution of the sulphate left after the 
precipitation of the resinous matter by water, be thoroughly agitated, as sug- 
gested by Mr. Procter, with a portion of chloroform, it is deprived of most of 
its remaining resinous, fatty, and colouring matters, still retaining the alkaloid 
in the form of sulphate, which, after the removal of the chloroform, it will yield 
in a comparatively pure state to the subsequent treatment by solution of potassa 
and chloroform. Though caustic potassa is believed to decompose atropia by 
prolonged contact, yet, in this instance, its opportunity for any injurious action 
would be too fugitive to justify apprehension on this score; for it speedily be- 
comes neutralized by the sulphuric acid, while the liberated alkaloid is as quickly 
seized by the chloroform, and carried out of its sphere of action. But, even with 
this improvement of the process, the alkaloid, as yielded by the spontaneous 
evaporation, is not quite free from impurity, and, to be obtained entirely pure and 
colourless, should be dissolved in alcohol, treated with a little animal charcoal, 
and then allowed to crystallize by the spontaneous evaporation of the alcoholic 
solution after filtration. Prof. Procter obtained only about one-third of 1 per 
cent, of pure atropia from the amount of root used. The use of chloroform as a 1018 
Atropia. 
PART II. 
solvent of atropia, in preparing that alkaloid, was, we believe, first suggested by 
M. Rabourdin, of Orleans, in France. The application of it to the purification 
of the impure sulphate originated with Prof. Procter. As chloroform is too valu- 
able to be lost when it can conveniently be saved, it would be advisable, when it 
is used in this process, instead of allowing it to escape by spontaneous evapora- 
tion, to recover it by distillation with a warm-bath, taking care, by using a tem- 
perature not exceeding 160° F., to shun any danger of decomposing the atropia. 
The British process, as will be seen by comparing it with the notes below, is 
a combination of the processes of Mein and Rabourdin, the former being fol- 
lowed until after the addition of carbonate of potassa, and the alkaloid thus 
liberated being taken up by chloroform as in the latter. The use of lime in the 
earlier stage of the proceedings is to cause a precipitation of various substances 
which would otherwise embarrass the subsequent operations.* 
Properties. Atropia is in silky, prismatic, acicular cystals, which, when quite 
pure, are colourless, but, as obtained according to our officinal formula, are yellow- 
* The following is the process employed by Mein for procuring atropia. The roots of 
plants two or three years old were selected. Of these, in extremely fine powder, 24 parts 
were digested, for several days, with 60 parts of alcohol of 86 or 90 per cent. The liquid 
having been separated by strong expression, the residue was treated anew with an equal 
quantity of alcohol; and the tinctures, poured together and filtered, were mixed with one 
part of hydrate of lime, and frequently shaken for 24 hours. The copious precipitate which 
now formed was separated by filtering; and diluted sulphuric acid was added drop by 
drop to the filtered liquor, till slightly in excess. The sulphate of lime having been sepa- 
rated by a new filtration, the alcoholic liquid was distilled to one-half, then mixed with 6 
or 8 parts of pure water, and evaporated with a gentle heat till the whole of the alcohol 
was driven off. The residual liquid was filtered, cautiously evaporated to one-third, and 
allowed to cool. A concentrated aqueous solution of carbonate of potassa was then gradu- 
ally added, so long as the liquid continued to be rendered turbid; and the mixture was 
afterwards suffered to rest some hours. A yellowish resinous substance, which opposes 
the crystallization of the atropia, was thus precipitated. From this the liquid was care- 
fully decanted, and a small additional quantity of the solution of the carbonate was dropped 
into it, till it no longer became turbid. A gelatinous mass now gradually formed, which, 
at the end of twelve or twenty-four hours, was agitated in order to separate the mother- 
waters, then thrown upon a filter, and dried by folds of unsized paper. The substance thus 
obtained, which was atropia in an impure state, was dissolved in five times its weight of 
alcohol; and the solution, having been filtered, was mixed with six or eight times its bulk 
of water. The liquor soon became milky, or was made so by evaporating the excess of 
alcohol, and, in the course of 12 or 24 hours, deposited the atropia in the form of light- 
yellow crystals, which were rendered entirely pure and colourless by washing with a few 
drops of water, drying on blotting paper, and again treating with alcohol. From 12 oz. of 
the root, Mein obtained 20 grs. of the alkaloid. (Journ. de Pharm., xx. 87.) 
M. Rabourdin, of Orleans, in France, prepares atropia by means of chloroform in the 
following manner. To each litre (about 2 pints) of the expressed juice of the fresh leaves, 
deprived of its albumen by heat and filtration, or to a filtered solution of 60 grammes 
(about 15 drachms) of extract in 200 grammes of distilled water, 4 grammes of potassa, 
and 30 grammes of chloroform are added, the whole is shaken for a minute, and then set 
aside, in half an hour, the chloroform, holding the atropia in solution, is seen at the 
bottom of the vessel, resembling a greenish oil. The supernatant liquor is decanted, and 
small portions of water successively added and removed, until no longer rendered turbid. 
The chloroformic solution is then distilled, by means of a salt-water bath, until all the 
chloroform has passed. The residue is treated with a little water acidulated with sulphuric 
acid, which dissolves the atropia, leaving a green resinous matter. The solution is then 
filtered, the atropia precipitated by carbonate of potassa in slight excess, and the precipi- 
tate dissolved in rectified alcohol, which, upon evaporation, yields it in beautiful groups 
of needles. (Gaz. Med. de Paris, Oct. 19, 1850.) 
Mr. W. T. Luxton obtains atropia by adding a little sulphuric acid to a strong decoction 
of the leaves so as to precipitate the albumen, filtering, and either passing gaseous am- 
monia through the clear liquor, or suspending in it a lump of carbonate of ammonia. 
Atropia slowly crystallizes, and in a day or two may be separated on a filter, and deprived 
of colour by washing with spirit of ammonia. Mr. Luxton obtained between 5 and 6 grains 
from 1000 of the leaves. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxvii. 156.) 
An account of the effects of numerous reagents upon the muriate of atropia, by Dr. A. 
Von Planta, may be found in the American Journal of Pharmacy (xxiii. 38). PART II. 
Atropia 
1019 
ish-white. It is inodorous, but has a bitter and acrid taste. It melts at 194° F., 
and at 284° is volatilized, a portion being unchanged, but the greater part de- 
stroyed. It is inflammable, giving off an odour like that of benzoic acid, and, when 
burned in the open air, leaving no residue. By distilling it with bichromate of 
potassa and sulphuric acid, Dr. B. Pfeiffer succeeded in obtaining crystals of ben- 
zoic acid. (Am. J. of Pharm., May, 1864, p. 226.) Dr. Kraut, by heating it with 
baryta-water, succeeded in obtaining an uncrystallizable salt, consisting of a 
peculiar acid and peculiar base, the former of which he calls atropic acid and the 
latter tropia. (Ibid., p. 232.) It is said, moreover, that when a little of it, dis- 
solved in a few drops of sulphuric acid, is heated, an odour is given out resem- 
bling that of orange flowers. (Ibid., March, 1864, p. 112.) It is soluble in 300 
parts of water at 60°, in 25 parts of ether, less so in alcohol, and, according to 
Schlimpert, in a little more than 3 parts of chloroform ; and in all these liquids 
it is more soluble hot than cold. It has a strong alkaline reaction, forms crvs- 
tallizable salts with acids, and, in solution, gives a lemon-yellow precipitate 
with terchloride of gold. Heated with potassa or soda it gives out ammonia, 
and is rendered inert by prolonged contact with the former alkalies. In very 
dilute solution, it produces, when applied to the eye, a speedy and durable dila- 
tation of the pupil. Its composition is represented by the formula C34H23N06. 
Medical Properties and Uses. The effects of atropia on the system are pre- 
cisely those of belladonna, whether locally or generally, whether in moderate 
doses as a remedy, or in excessive quantities as a poison. It is in general, how- 
ever, somewhat more speedy in its operation, probably in consequence of its 
easier absorption. Thus, the poisonous action of belladonna is seldom expe- 
rienced in less than half an hour, while that of atropia shows itself violently in 
fifteen or twenty minutes. The most prominent effects from the smallest reme- 
dial doses are dryness and stricture of the throat, and slight uneasiness of the 
head, with confusion or giddiness; from somewhat larger doses, dilatation of the 
pupil, some dimness of vision, frontal headache, slight delirium, flushed face, and 
sometimes a scarlet rash; from poisonous doses, the above symptoms in a more 
aggravated form, great dimness or total temporary loss of vision, excessive dila- 
tation of the pupil, intense headache or violent delirium fidlowed by stupor, 
paralytic sensations, intense redness of the face, neck, &c., at first acceleration but 
afterwards depression of the pulse, and finally great prostration, profound coma, 
coldness of the extremities, and death, if relief is not obtained. Sometimes nau- 
sea and vomiting are produced, and occasionally diarrhoea. There is often an 
increased disposition to micturate; and atropia has been detected in the urine 
of those who have taken it freely. In a case recorded by Dr. James Andrew 
two-thirds of a grain occasioned the most alarming symptoms, which continued 
for several days (Ed. Month. Journ. of Med. Sci., xiv. 34); and a lady, under 
the care of M. Roux, of Brignolles, took somewhat more than a grain, with 
the same threatening symptoms (Ann. deTherap., 1861, p. 14); though, in both 
cases, recovery took place under treatment. In a child of three years old less 
than half a grain was followed by the same alarming symptoms, and the same 
favourable result. (Med. Times and Gaz., Dec. 1850, p. 601.) A solution of 
atropia dropped into the eye produces dilatation of the pupil after ten or fifteen 
minutes, without causing congestion or inflammation; and the dilatation will usu- 
ally continue for two or three days. Sometimes it is said that the dilatation is 
followed by contraction of the pupil, especially when the dose is large. The al- 
kaloid also produces its characteristic constitutional effects when applied to the 
skin denuded of the epidermis, or to a mucous membrane, as of the rectum, va- 
gina, &e., and especially when injected into the subcutaneous areolar tissue. 
The remedies for its poisonous operation are the same as those for belladonna; 
;he most prominent being evacuation of the stomach, cold applications to the 
head, the preparations of opium internally, and stimulants when the strength is 1020 
Atropia. 
part ii. 
failing. The officinal compound solution of iodine has been given in poisoning 
by atropia, and with apparent advantage, in one or two cases, though other 
remedies were employed at the same time. It acts by forming an insoluble com- 
pound with the alkaloid. (See Belladonna.) 
Atropia may be used internally for all the purposes for which belladonna is 
given; but it is chiefly as a local remedy, for application to the eye, or to the 
surface of the body, or for subcutaneous injection that it is preferred; and for 
these purposes it has the advantage over the ordinary preparations of belladonna, 
of greater precision of dose, quicker action, and greater neatness and cleanliness. 
The dose to begin with, for internal use, is about one-thirtieth of a grain, which 
may be gradually increased till some effect is experienced; but it is almost too 
powerful for prudent employment in this way, especially as all the effects of bel- 
ladonna may be readily obtained from the extract. Dr. Sieveking found, in a 
trial upon himself, that one-hundredth of a grain produced brief vertigo fol- 
lowed by dryness of the throat, without affection of the viscera, but with ner- 
vous depression next day. (B. and F. Med.-Chir. Rev., July, 1858, Am. ed., p. 
H9 ) It may be given dissolved in diluted alcohol, in the proportion of two 
grains to half a fluidounce, of which four minims, or twice the number of drops 
may be given for a commencing dose. If given in pill, the greatest care should 
be taken to distribute the atropia equally in the pill-mass before dividing it. For 
application to the eye, one grain may be dissolved in four fluidrachms of distilled 
water by means of a few drops of acetic acid, of which no more should be used 
than is necessary to effect the solution. Of this, a single drop, applied to the 
inner surface of the lower lid, will produce dilatation of the pupil in 15 or 20 
minutes. The same solution may be used for subcutaneous injection in the quan- 
tity of 8 or 10 drops to commence with, and gradually increased. For applica- 
tion to the sound skin, the form of ointment is most convenient. This may be 
made by rubbing a grain of the alkaloid first with four minims of alcohol, and 
then with a drachm of lard. Glycerin and olein also have been recommended 
as vehicles of atropia for external use; and may be incorporated with it in the 
same proportion. 
When solution of atropia is used locally for dilating the pupil, it may be 
either dropped into the eye within the lower lid, or may be introduced on small 
slips of paper previously saturated with the solution and dried, or, what is 
still more convenient, by means of minute circular discs of gelatin, made by mix- 
ing the solution with gelatin and evaporating so as to procure a thin film, which 
is to be cut into circular pieces. These have the advantage over paper that they 
do not require to be subsequently removed from the eye. 
Off. Prep. Atropias Sulphas, U. S.; Liquor Atropise, Br.; Unguentum Atro- 
pise, Br. W. 
ATROPI2E SULPHAS. U. S. Sulphate of Atropia. 
“Take of Atropia sixty grains; Stronger Ether four fluidounces and a 
half; Sulphuric Acid six grains; Stronger Alcohol a ffuidrachm. Dissolve 
the Atropia in the Ether; then mix the Acid and Alcohol, and add the mixture, 
drop by drop, to the ethereal solution until the Atropia is saturated. Allow the 
liquid to stand until the precipitate formed is deposited. Then decant the ether, 
and expose the residue to spontaneous evaporation until the salt is dry. ”f7. S. 
This is essentially the process of M. Ch. Maitre, which is contained in a note 
in the 11th edition of the Dispensatory. Atropia being soluble in ether while its 
Bulphate is insoluble in that fluid, a convenient method is afforded for preparing 
the sulphate with little evaporation. By adding the mixed acid and alcohol to 
the ethereal solution, the sulphate is formed, and being insoluble in the ether is 
deposited; while the little left dissolved in the alcohol is obtained by spontaneous 
evaporation. The quantity of acid added is intended to saturate the alkaloid; 
but if the saturation should not be exact, it would be easy to render it so by PART II. 
Atropia. 
1021 
the addition of a little more of the alkaloid or a little more of the acid, as the 
case may be. 
From the great facility with which atropia undergoes change, much caution 
is necessary in preparing its salts; and the process was arranged in reference to 
this caution. Upon the addition of the mixed acid and alcohol to the ethereal 
solution, the liquid becomes milky, and deposits on the sides of the vessel a co- 
pious precipitate, of a viscid appearance, which soon dries upon the decantation 
of the ether, and the placing of the vessel in a drying room. To succeed with this 
process, it is necessary that the liquids employed should be carefully freed from 
water, the sulphuric acid being monohydrated, and that the temperature should 
be kept as low as possible. There should be no excess of acid; and, if such an 
excess should be found upon applying the test of litmus paper, the solution 
should be neutralized by a portion of reserved solution of atropia. (Am. Journ.. 
of Pharm., xxviii. 361, from Repert. de Pharm.) 
Sulphate of atropia, as thus obtained, is a white slightly crystalline powder, 
having the taste of atropia, very soluble in water and alcohol, but insoluble in 
ether and chloroform. It should be dissipated by heat, and neutral to test-paper. 
It is known to be a sulphate by giving a white precipitate writh chloride of 
barium, and a salt of atropia by its effect in dilating the pupil, when a drop of 
a weak solution is introduced into the eye. 
If it be required to procure the sulphate in the form of crystals, which may 
sometimes be desirable to avoid adulteration, the process of M. Laneau may be 
employed. A solution of crystallized atropia in absolute alcohol, in the propor- 
tion of 2 89 parts of the former to 4 parts of the latter by weight, having been 
made with the assistance of a gentle heat, 0*4 parts of sulphuric acid of the sp. 
gr. I-85, diluted with 3 parts of absolute alcohol, are to be gradually added, and 
stirred with a glass rod, until saturation, as shown by test-paper, is effected. 
The solution is then allowed to evaporate spontaneously, and the thinner the 
stratum the sooner will the process be completed. The crystals are in colourless 
needles more or less interlaced. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., July, 1863, p. 315.) 
The effects of the salt on the system are precisely the same as those of atropia, 
and it may be used in the same dose. Its only advantage over the alkaloid is its 
solubility in water. A solution of this salt in the proportion of one part to one 
hundred of the solvent has been found instantaneously efficacious in the relief of 
toothache, applied in the quantity of a drop or two to the denuded dental pulp; 
and it is said, in the same quantity, to produce complete insensibility of the 
dental nerves, in cases in which an artificial tooth is inserted in a living root. 
(Ann. de Therap., 1861, p. 19.)* W. 
* Valerianate of Atropia. This salt has been supposed to have peculiar virtues; though, 
in consideration of the very minute proportion of the valerianic acid in each dose, it is 
extremely doubtful whether it is capable, in any appreciable degree, of modifying the in- 
fluence of the alkaloid. It may be prepared by dissolving 38 parts of pure and dry atropia 
in 140 parts of alcohol of 85°, and mixing the solution with another made by dissolving 
12 parts of pure valerianic acid in 10 parts of alcohol of the same strength; and allowing 
the mixed liquids to evaporate spontaneously at a heat of from 86° to 100° F. (Journ. de 
Pharm., Mars, 1864, p. 236.) According to M. Mich6a, the valerianate of atropia produces 
.he effects of this alkaloid in smaller doses than the sulphate or even atropia itself. He 
nas often known half a milligramme (about gr.) to produce dryness of the throat and 
dilatation of the pupils the day after its exhibition, while it is generally not till the expira- 
tion of several days that he had been able to obtain the same effect from double the dose 
of the sulphate given daily. He also found less of the valerianate required than of the sul- 
phate to modify the paroxyms of epilepsy. [Ann. de Therap., 1864, p. 31.) In the Journal 
de Pharmacie for Nov. 1858 (p. 347) there is a particular account of the chemical properties 
and mode of procuring valerianate of atropia in the crystalline form, to which the reader 
is referred. It is probable that, as in the case of valerianate of ammonia, less difficulty 
will be found, if our officinal monohydrated valerianic acid is employed.—Note to the twelfth, 
edition. 1022 
Barium, 
PART II. 
BARIUM. 
Preparation of Barium. 
BARII CHLORIDUM. TJ. S. Chloride of Barium. Muriate of Ba- 
ryta. 
“Take of Carbonate of Baryta, in small pieces, Muriatic Acid, each, four 
troyounces; Water a pint. Mix the Acid with the Water, and gradually add 
the Carbonate of Baryta. Towards the close of the effervescence apply a gentle 
heat, and, when chemical action has ceased, filter the liquid, and evaporate so 
that crystals may form when it cools.” U.S. 
When carbonate of baryta is employed for obtaining chloride of barium, as in 
the officinal process, the reactions are very simple. The muriatic acid displaces 
+he carbonic acid with effervescence; and, by reacting with the baryta, forms 
('hloride of barium and water. The solution of chloride of barium, thus obtained, 
yields crystals of the chloride by concentration and cooling. Another plan is 
that which procures it from the sulphate, as directed in the late Edinburgh 
Pharmacopoeia. In this the sulphate, previously ignited and powdered, is mixed 
with charcoal and exposed to a low white heat, by which its constituents are 
deoxidized, and sulphuret of barium produced; the oxygen escaping in com- 
bination with the carbon as carbonic oxide and acid. The sulphuret of barium, 
after having been dissolved in water, is decomposed by the addition of muriatic 
acid; sulphuretted hydrogen being evolved, and chloride of barium formed in 
solution, from which, in the usual manner, the solid salt is obtained. 
Of these processes, that in which the native carbonate is used is the simplest 
and most convenient; but the carbonate is comparatively a rare mineral, and, 
as the sulphate in fine powder is a cheap article of commerce, being extensively 
employed for mixing with white lead, it is almost always used for obtaining 
chloride of barium and the other barium compounds. 
Properties. Chloride of barium is a permanent white salt, possessing a bitter 
and disagreeable taste. It crystallizes in rhombic tables with beveled edges. It 
dissolves in about two and a half times its weight of cold water, and in a little 
more than its own weight at 222°, the boiling point of a saturated solution. It 
is scarcely soluble in absolute alcohol, but dissolves in rectified spirit. Alcohol, 
impregnated with it, burns with a yellow flame. When exposed to heat, it de- 
crepitates and loses its water of crystallization, and at a red heat fuses. It is 
decomposed by the sulphates, oxalates, and tartrates, and the alkaline phosphates, 
borates, and carbonates; also by nitrate of silver, acetate and phosphate of mer- 
cury, and acetate of lead. When pure it does not deliquesce. Its solution is not 
affected by ammonia, which proves the absence of alumina and sesquioxide of 
iron, or by sulphuretted hydrogen, which shows that neither copper nor lead is 
present. Alter the whole of the barium has been precipitated by an excess of 
sulphuric acid, the supernatant liquid is shown to be free from lime by the non- 
action of carbonate of soda. Lime may be separated by the process of Dr. Wol- 
cott Gibbs, which consists in adding to the solution of the chloride a small por- 
tion of the solution of hydrate of baryta, and then passing through it a current 
of carbonic acid, when the whole of the lime will be thrown down as a car- 
bonate. (Wurtz, N. Y. Journ. of Ph.arm., i. 164.) If strontia be present, an 
alcoholic solution of the salt will burn with a red flame. Like all the soluble salts 
of barium it is poisonous. It consists of one eq. of chlorine 35 5, one of barium 
68 T, and two of water 18—122 2. It is used in medicine only in solution. The 
officinal solution, Liquor Barii Chloridi, is treated of among the Liquores, or 
Solutions. 
Off. Prep. Liquor Barii Chloridi TJ. S. B PART II. 
Beheria. 
1023 
BEBERIA. 
Preparation of Bebeeria. 
BEBERIiE SULPHAS. Br. Sulphate of Bebeeria. 
“Take of Bebeeru Bark [Nectandra, U. £.], in coarse powder, one j'-oii'id 
[avoirdupois]; Sulphuric Acid half a fluidounce; Slaked Lime three-quarters 
of an ounce, or a sufficiency; Rectified Spirit sixteen fluidounces, or a suffi- 
ciency ; Solution of Ammonia, Dilute Sulphuric Acid, Distilled Water, each, a 
sufficiency; Water one gallon [Imperial measure]. Add the Sulphuric Acid to 
the Water; pour upon the Bark enough of this mixture to moisten it thoroughly; 
let it macerate for twenty-four hours; place it in a percolator, and pass through 
it the remainder of the acidulated water. Concentrate the acid liquor to the bulk 
of one pint, cool, and add gradually the Lime in the form of milk of lime, agi- 
tating well, and taking care that the fluid still retains a distinct acid reaction. 
Let it rest for two hours; filter through calico; wash the precipitate with a 
little cold Distilled Water, and add to the filtrate Solution of Ammonia until 
the fluid has a faint ammoniacal odour. Collect the precipitate on a cloth, 
wash it twice with ten ounces of cold water, squeeze it gently with the hand, 
and dry it on the vapour bath. Pulverize the dry precipitate, put it into a flask 
with six ounces of the Rectified Spirit, boil, let it rest for a few minutes, and 
pour off the spirit. Treat the undissolved portion in a similar manner with fresh 
Spirit until it is exhausted. Unite the spirituous solutions, add to them four 
ounces of Distilled Water, and distil so as to recover the greater part of the 
spirit. To the residue of the distillation add by degrees, and with constant stir- 
ring, Dilute Sulphuric Acid till the fluid has a slight acid reaction. Evaporate 
the whole to complete dryness on the water-bath, pulverize the dry product, 
pour on it gradually one pint [Imp. meas.] of cold Distilled Water, stirring dili- 
gently, filter through paper, evaporate the filtrate to the consistence of syrup, 
spread it in thin layers on flat porcelain or glass plates, and dry it at a heat not 
exceeding 140°. Preserve it in stoppered bottles.”Br. 
This is a new officinal of the British Pharmacopoeia, scarcely deserving the 
prominence thus given to it from anything yet known of its powers, especially 
when it is considered how unsparingly not a few of the older remedies, still 
thought by many practitioners to be efficacious, have been swept out of the offi- 
cinal catalogue. 
In the above process the bark is exhausted by water acidulated with sulphuric 
acid; lime is added to separate various inert matters, still leaving the acid in 
excess, as otherwise it might precipitate the bebeeria itself; the filtered liquor 
is treated with ammonia which throws down the bebeeria; the precipitate is 
exhausted by alcohol which dissolves the alkaloid; and the solution, having 
been concentrated, is treated with sulphuric acid so as to form the sulphate, 
which is obtained by evaporation to dryness. It is obvious that the salt of be- 
beeria thus obtained must be very impure, and among other substances probably 
contains a portion of sipeeria, another alkaloid of the bark. It is in dark-brown 
translucent scales, yellow when reduced to powder, of a strongly bitter taste, and 
soluble in water and alcohol. According to the Br. Pharmacopoeia, “its watery 
solution gives with caustic soda a yellowish-white precipitate, which is dissolved 
by agitating the mixture with twice its volume of ether; and the ethereal solu- 
tion, separated by a pipette, and evaporated, leaves a yellow translucent residue, 
entirely soluble in diluted acids.” If the whole of the precipitate produced is 
dissolved by ether, it cannot contain sipeeria, which is insoluble in that men- 
struum. The officinal tests given are that it is “entirely destructible by heat,” 
and that “water forms wdth it a clear brown solution.” 
Sulphate of bebeeria is a tonic, supposed to possess antiperiodic powers, and 1024 
Beberia.—Bismuthum. 
PART II. 
has been given in intermittent fever and other periodical diseases. The dose is 
from two to five grains. (See Nectandra, in Part I.) W. 
BISMUTHUM. 
Preparations of Bismuth. 
BISMUTHI SUBCARBONAS. U.S. Subcarbonate of Bismuth. 
“Take of Bismuth, in pieces, two troyounces; Nitric Acid eight troyounces 
and a half; Water of Ammonia five fluidounces; Carbonate of Soda ten 
troyounces; Distilled Water a sufficient quantity. Mix four troyounces and a 
half of the Nitric Acid with four fluidounces of Distilled Water in a capacious 
glass vessel, and, having added the Bismuth, set the whole aside for twenty-four 
hours. Dilute the resulting solution with ten fluidounces of Distilled Water, stir 
it thoroughly, and, after twenty-four hours, filter through paper. To the filtered 
liquid, previously diluted with four pints of Distilled Water, slowly add the 
Water of Ammonia, with constant stirring. Transfer the whole to a strainer, 
and, after the precipitate has been drained, wash it with two pints of Distilled 
Water, drain it again, and press out as much of the liquid as possible. Then 
place the precipitate in a proper vessel, add the remainder of the Nitric Acid, 
and heat nearly to the boiling point. When the solution has become cold, slowly 
add to it Distilled Water, with constant stirring, until the further addition of 
this liquid begins to produce a permanent milkiness. Then set the solution 
aside, and, at the end of twenty-four hours, filter through paper. 
“Dissolve the Carbonate of Soda in twenty fluidounces of Distilled Water, 
with the aid of heat, and filter the solution through paper. To this, when cold, 
slowly add the solution of nitrate of bismuth, with constant stirring. Transfer 
the whole to a strainer, and, after the precipitate has been drained, wash it with 
Distilled Water until the washings pass tasteless. Lastly, press the precipitate 
so as to free it as far as possible from water, dry it on bibulous paper with a 
gentle heat, and rub it into powder.” U. S. 
This preparation was first made officinal in the existing edition of the U. S. 
Pharmacopafia. As metallic bismuth generally contains arsenic, it is very im- 
portant to provide that this should be left behind, in the processes for making its 
medicinal preparations. It is on this account that the present formula is so ela- 
borate. The bismuth is first dissolved in nitric acid, a portion of which oxidizes 
the metal, with the evolution of nitrous vapours, while another portion combines 
with the oxide produced to form nitrate of bismuth. At the same time the 
arsenic is also oxidized at the expense of the nitric acid, and unites with a por- 
tion of the oxidized metal so as to generate the arseniate of bismuth. Both of 
these salts, therefore, are contained in the solution, which is very concentrated. 
Both have the property, when their solution is diluted with water, to separate 
into two salts, one an insoluble subsalt which is deposited, and the other a soluble 
snpersalt which is held in solution. But the arseniate is more disposed to the 
change than the nitrate, and requires for the purpose a smaller amount of water 
of dilution. Hence, the first direction, after the metal has been dissolved, is to 
add a moderate quantity of distilled water, insufficient to cause the decomposi- 
tion of the nitrate. From this diluted solution the insoluble subarseniate is slowly 
deposited, so as, in the course of twenty-four hours, to free it almost if not en- 
tirely from the poisonous metal. This is separated by filtration, and the solution 
is now diluted with a much larger quantity of distilled water, which causes a co- 
pious deposition of subnitrate of bismuth. But, in order not to waste the super- 
nitrate remaining in solution, this is decomposed by ammonia, which takes most 
of the nitric acid, and precipitates the bismuth combined with the remainder in 
the form of subnitrate. The whole of the precipitated subnitrate, thus freed from PAKT II. 
Bismuthum. 
1025 
arsenic, is recl'issolved in nitric acid, and the solution of the nitrate now obtained, 
being diluted with just so much water as to produce a commencing precipitation 
of subnitrate, is freed by filtering from the small quantity formed, and slowly 
added to a solution of carbonate of soda. An interchange of principles takes 
place; nitrate of soda and carbonate of bismuth are formed, the former of which 
remains in solution, and the latter is deposited. This part of the process tends 
still further to get rid of the arsenic; for if any of the arsenic acid or arseniate 
of bismuth exist in the solution, the poisonous acid would combine with the soda, 
and thus forming a soluble salt, would be retained by the water. Nothing now 
remains but to wash, dry, and powder the precipitate. 
Subcarbonate of bismuth may also be obtained free from arsenic by first puri- 
fying the bismuth, then dissolving it in three times its weight of nitric acid, eva- 
porating the solution to t\yo-thirds, adding it drop by drop to a solution of car- 
bonate of soda, and carefully washing the precipitate. The bismuth may be freed 
from arsenic by two successive fusions with ten times its weight of nitre, or, as 
recommended by M. St. Pierre, by adding to it from 2-5 to 5 per cent, of zinc, 
and strongly heating the mixture for an hour in a crucible, with a piece of char- 
coal to prevent the oxidation of the zinc. Both the arsenic and zinc are driven 
off. (Chem. News, Jan. 16, 1861.) W. 
Properties. Subcarbonate of bismuth is a white or yellowish-white powder, 
without odour or taste, and insoluble in water, whether pure or impregnated with 
carbonic acid. (Berzelius.) Its sp. gr. is about 4. It effervesces with acids, and, 
when exposed to heat, loses 9 5 per cent, of its weight (U.S.), in consequence 
of the escape of carbonic acid, and is converted into the anhydrous teroxide, of 
a light-yellow colour. When mixed with sulphuric acid, and subjected to Marsh’s 
test, it should yield no arsenic, or merely a trace. Its formula is Bi03,C02. 
Medical Properties and Uses. This salt was brought into notice by M. Han- 
non, of Brussels, who recommends it as a substitute for the subnitrate. He 
considers it to act for the first few days of its employment as a sedative, and 
afterwards as a tonic. Like the subnitrate it is applicable to the treatment of 
gastralgia following the phlegmasias of the digestive organs, and attended with 
a red tongue, laborious digestion, acid eructations, and spasmodic vomitings. 
He conceives it, however, to have many advantages over the subnitrate, among 
which are its more ready tolerance by the stomach, its greater solubility in the 
gastric juice, its power to neutralize excess of acid in the stomach, and the want 
of any tendency to constipate. The dose is from 15 to 45 grains, given three 
times a day just before meals, and gradually increased. It may be taken in a 
little water. (Ann..de Therap., 1857, p. 214.) B. 
BISMUTHI SUBNITRAS. U.S. Bismuthum Album. Br. Subnitrate 
of Bismuth. White Bismuth. 
“Take of Bismuth, in pieces, two troyounces; Nitric Acid, Carbonate of 
Soda, each, ten troyounces; Water of Ammonia six fluidounces; Distilled 
Water a sufficient quantity. Mix four troyounces and a half of the Nitric Acid 
with four fluidounces of Distilled water, in a capacious glass vessel, and, having 
added the Bismuth, set the whole aside for twenty-four hours. Dilute the re- 
sulting solution with ten fluidounces of Distilled Water, stir it thoroughly, and, 
at the end of twenty-four hours, filter through paper. 
“ Dissolve the Carbonate of Soda in twenty fluidounces of Distilled Water 
with the aid of heat, and filter the solution through paper. To this, when cold, 
slowly add the solution of nitrate of bismuth, with constant stirring. Transfer 
the whole to a strainer, and, after the precipitate has been drained, wash it with 
Distilled Water until the washings pass tasteless, and drain again as completely 
as possible. Then place the moist precipitate in a capacious vessel, gradually 
add the remainder of the Nitric Acid, and heat nearly to the boiling point. 1026 
Bismuthum. 
PART IL 
When the solution has become cold, slowly add to it Distilled Water, with con- 
stant stirring, until the further addition of this liquid begins to produce a per- 
manent milkiness. Then set the solution aside, and, at the end of twenty-four 
hours, filter through paper. To the filtered liquid, previously diluted with four 
pints of Distilled Water, slowly add the Water of Ammonia, with constant stir- 
ring. Transfer the whole to a strainer, and, after the precipitate has been 
drained, wash it with two pints of Distilled Water, drain it again, and press out 
as much of the liquid as possible. Lastly, dry it upon bibulous paper with a 
gentle .heat, and rub it into powder.” U. S. 
“Take of Bismuth, in coarse powder, two ounces [avoirdupois]; Nitric 
Acid two Jluidounces and a half [Imperial measure]; Distilled Water one 
gallon [Imp. meas.]. Dilute the Nitric Acid with three [fluid]ounces of the 
Water, and add the Bismuth in successive When effervescence has 
ceased, apply for ten minutes a heat approaching that of ebullition, and decant 
the solution from any particles of metal which may remain undissolved. Evapo- 
rate the solution till it is reduced to twro fluidounces, and pour it into half a 
gallon of the Water. When the precipitate which forms has subsided, decant 
the supernatant liquid, and agitate the sediment with the remainder of the Water. 
After two hours, again decant, and, having placed the product on a filter, dry 
it at a temperature of 212°.” Br. 
TheTJ. S. process is new, the British that of the late Dublin Pharmacopoeia. 
The alterations from the old process, in the former, were based upon the wish to 
get rid of any arsenic that might be present in the bismuth used. This is accom- 
plished By first preparing the carbonate, by adding the nitric acid solution of bis- 
muth to a solution of carbonate of soda in excess, whereby most of the arsenic is 
retained in the solution probably as arseniate of soda, while the insoluble carbo- 
nate is precipitated. This is dissolved, with the aid of heat, in nitric acid, so as 
to make a very concentrated solution of the nitrate, to which, when cold, just so 
much water is added as to begin to produce a permanent turbidness. The object 
of this is to allow any arsenic that may be still present to be deposited, which 
happens for reasons stated in explaining the process for procuring the subcar- 
bonate. (See page 1024.) The deposited matter having been precipitated, only 
the pure nitrate remains in solution, which is made to yield the subnitrate by 
large dilution with water, and still more completely by the addition of ammonia. 
In the British formula, the old method is pursued of simply dissolving the 
bismuth in nitric acid somewhat diluted, concentrating the solution, and pre- 
cipitating by adding it to a large quantity of water. When bismuth is added to 
dilute nitric acid, red fumes are copiously given off, and the metal, oxidized by 
the decomposition of part of the nitric acid, is dissolved by the remainder so as 
to form a solution of the ternitrate of teroxide of bismuth. It is unnecessary to 
have the metal in powder; as it dissolves with great facility when added to the 
acid in fragments. When the solution is completed, the liquor should be added 
to the water, and not the water to the solution. Immediately on the contact of 
the solution with the water, four eqs. of the ternitrate are resolved into three 
eqs. of mononitrate of bismuth (subnitrate) which precipitates, and one eq. of 
the 9'-nitrate which remains in solution. 4(Bi03,3N05) = 3(Bi03,N05) and Bi03, 
9N05. In order to have a smooth light powder, which is most esteemed, the 
precipitate should be well washed to remove every trace of free nitric acid, and 
dried as speedily as possible. In the use of this formula it is taken for granted 
that the bismuth has been ascertained to be free from arsenic; and, if it prove 
upon the application of Marsh’s test to be otherwise, means should certainly be 
employed to purify before using it. Measures for this purpose have been men- 
tioned under subcarbonate of bismuth. Should the subnitrate or subcarbonate be 
ascertained to contain arsenic, it may, as suggested by Dr. Ilerapath, be purified 
by boiling it with solution of caustic soda or potassa, twice successively, then th jr- PART II. 
Bismuthum. 
1027 
oughly washing the residue, which will be yellow oxide of bismuth, dissolving it 
again in nitric acid, and precipitating by water as before. (Ghern. News, Feb. 14. 
1863, p. 17.) In the washing of subnitrate of bismuth, the salt is asserted to lose 
a portion of its nitric acid; and the change may be considerable, if the washing 
be persevered with so long as the liquid comes away in any degree acidulous. 
It has been ascertained by Julius Lowe that this effect may be avoided by wash- 
ing with a very dilute solution of nitrate of ammonia, containing one part in 500 
parts of water. ( Ghent. Gaz., March 15,1859, p. 119.) 
Properties. Subnitrate of bismuth is a heavy powder, of a pure-white co- 
lour, a faintly sour smell and taste, and the property of reddening moistened 
litmus paper. It is slightly soluble in water, and readily so in the strong 
acids, from which it is precipitated by water. The fixed alkalies dissolve it 
sparingly, and ammonia more readily. It is darkened by hydrosulphuric acid 
gas, but not by exposure to light, unless it contains a little silver, or is subjected 
to the influence of prganic matter. If it dissolves in nitric acid without effer- 
vescence, it contains no carbonate, and, if the nitric solution is not precipitated 
by dilute sulphuric acid, it is free from lead. It sometimes contains arsenic, 
which may be detected by acting on it with pure sulphuric acid, evaporating to 
dryness, dissolving in hot distilled water, and testing a pare of the solution by 
Marsh’s apparatus. By this method M. Lassaigne detected one-sixth of 1 per 
cent, of arsenic in a sample of subnitrate sold in Paris. The same chemist has 
found as much as 27 per cent, of chloride of bismuth in this preparation, when 
obtained by precipitating, with water, a solution of bismuth in a mixture of nitric 
and muriatic acids. The same impurity is introduced, to a small extent, by using 
common water containing chlorides; and subsulphate of bismuth renders the 
preparation impure, when the water used contains sulphate of lime. (Journ. de 
Glum. Med., Mai, 1855, p. 276.) These facts show the necessity of using dis- 
tilled water. As regards the origin of the chlorine sometimes existing in commer- 
cial subnitrate of bismuth, it is asserted by Mr. R. C. Tichborne to be a common 
practice with the manufacturer, in order to save the bismuth existing in the 
mother-liquor, after the deposition of the subnitrate, to precipitate it with chloride 
of sodium, thus obtaining an insoluble oxychloride of bismuth, which is then 
added to the previous product. (Pharm. Journ., Feb. 1860, p. 413.) The new 
metal thallium is said to be present in most specimens of the pharmaceutical pre- 
parations of bismuth. For the modes of detecting and separating it, the reader 
is referred to the Chemical News (March 7,1863, p. 109). Subnitrate of bismuth 
was called, by the earlier chemists, magistery of bismuth. It consists of one.eq. 
of nitric acid 54, one of teroxide of bismuth 237, and one of water 9 = 300. 
When heated to redness it loses 20 per cent, of its weight. U. S. 
Medical Properties. Subnitrate of bismuth is antispasmodic, absorbent, and 
slightly sedative and astringent. When its use is too long continued it produces 
scorbutic symptoms, a proof that it is absorbed. It was first used as a medicine 
by Dr. Odier, of Geneva. It is principally employed in painful affections of the 
stomach, such as cardialgia, pyrosis, and gastrodynia, in spasmodic diseases, 
and in dysentery and diarrhoea. Rayer employed it with advantage in the diar- 
rhoea of phthisis and typhus, and Aran recommended it in the obstinate form 
of the complaint which sometimes follows typhoid fever. It has been used also 
in dysentery. M. Monneret particularly insists upon the remarkable efficacy of 
the medicine, given in very large doses, in chronic gastro-intestinal affections, 
attended with diarrhoea; a plan of treatment which has been followed by several 
practitioners with advantage. M. Trousseau has successfully employed subnitrate 
of bismuth in the diarrhoea of children in the form of enema, in the dose of two 
scruples, mixed with thick flaxseed tea. M. Monneret uses it thus in much larger 
doses. He tbiuks that in diarrhoea its action is entirely local; but this view is 
combated by Dr. Lussanna, who believes that a part of the medicine enters the 1028 
Bismuthum. 
PART II. 
circulation, though it never passes into the urine. Its use always blackens the 
stools. The dose of subnitrate of bismuth, usually prescribed, is five grains, 
gradually increased to fifteen, twice or thrice a day, given in pill, or mixed with 
sweetened water. Upon the plan of large doses, recommended by M. Monneret, 
from half an ounce to an ounce is given daily, in divided doses, in the diarrhoea 
of adults; from half a drachm to a drachm in that of infants; and from a drachm 
to two drachms in painful affections of the stomach. In these large doses the 
medicine is said to be perfectly safe; and yet Orfila mentions, as resulting from 
an overdose, gastric distress, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea or constipation, colic, 
heat in the breast, slight rigors, vertigo, apd drowsiness. These effects are to 
be combated by mucilaginous drinks, enemata, and emollient fomentations, and, 
in case of inflammation, by bleeding, both general and local. The contradictory 
statements as to the safety of the preparation can be explained only on the sup- 
position that it is sometimes rendered poisonous by the presence of arsenic, 
chloride of bismuth, or free nitric acid; and a strong motive is thus furnished 
to the apothecary to prepare the medicine with the greatest care. 
M. Monneret recommends the external use of subnitrate of bismuth as a dry- 
ing application. In the treatment of ulcers, especially scrofulous ones, provided 
no risk would be incurred by stopping the discharge, he sprinkles the powder 
over the whole ulcerated surface. M. E. Caby has used it as a topical applica- 
tion in leucorrhoea, gonorrhoea, and gleet. When used in leucorrhoea, the entire 
surface of the vagina is dusted with the powder. The injection for gonorrhoea 
or gleet is made by mixing with water as much of the subnitrate as can be con- 
veniently suspended. Three parts of the salt to twenty of water have been re- 
commended. A portion of the mixture is injected thrice daily, and, each time, 
retained five minutes. The external use of subnitrate of bismuth is attended 
with no pain. (Ranking's Abstract, xx. 188.)* B. 
* Citrate of Bismuth and Ammonia. Liquor Bismuthi. Though the insolubility of the offici- 
nal preparations of bismuth is probably one of the causes of their efficiency in certain dis- 
eases of the alimentary mucous membrane, enabling them by deposition on the surface to 
protect it against irritation from the contents of the stomach and bowels, yet a soluble 
form of the metal has been sought for, in the hope that it might, in this condition, operate 
on the system in smaller doses, and with greater certainty and efficiency. This want has 
been to some extent supplied by a secret preparation, made and sold by Mr. Schacht, of 
Clifton, England, which, under the name of Liquor Bismuthi, has, for the last five or six 
years, been used to a considerable extent in Great Britain. Mr. Ch. It. C. Tichborne, hav- 
ing analyzed the liquid, and found it to contain oxide of bismuth, ammonia, and citric acid, 
announced the discovery at a meeting of the Pharmaceutical Society, when Mr. Schacht, 
being present, acknowledged the correctness of the analysis, stating, at the same time, that 
he had never made a secret of the composition of his solution to medical practitioners, and 
that a fluidrachm of his liquid contained one grain of the teroxide. (Pharm. Journ., Jan. 
1864, p. 301.) A formula for the preparation was given by Mr. Tichborne, which, however, 
on repeated trial by Mr. N. Gray Bartlett, of Chicago, proved to be impracticable. After 
numerous experiments, Mr. Bartlett has succeeded in making a solution which has all the 
desired qualities, and a formula for which he has published in the American Journal of 
Pharmacy for January, 1865. He first prepares a citrate of bismuth by dissolving a troy- 
ounce of the subcarbonate of bismuth in 720 grains of nitric acid, diluting the solution after 
effervescence has ceased with a fluidounce and a half of distilled water gradually introduced, 
and then adding this solution, slowly and with constant stirring, to another solution made 
by dissolving 600 grains of citrate of potassa in two pints of distilled water. By an inter- 
change of principles, nitrate of potassa and citrate of bismuth are formed, the latter of 
which, being insoluble, is precipitated, and is obtained by throwing the whole upon a filter, 
thoroughly washing the salt with distilled water, and then drying it on bibulous paper with 
a gentle heat. The next step is to prepare the citrate of bismuth and ammonia. This is done 
by rubbing the citrate of bismuth with sufficient distilled water to make a paste, and add- 
ing to this gradually, and with constant trituration, stronger water of ammonia until the 
citrate is dissolved, care being taken to avoid an excess of ammonia. The solution is now 
filtered, and spread on glass to dry. Citrate of bismuth and ammonia, thus obtained, is in 
fine, glossy, translucent, colourless scales, of a slightly acidulous, somewhat metallic, not 
disagreeable taste, very soluble in water, but not deliquescent, and of an acid reaction. PART II. 
Cadmium. 
1029 
CADMIUM. 
Preparation of Cadmium. 
CADMII SULPHAS. U. S. Sulphate of Cadmium. 
“Take of Cadmium, in small pieces, a troyounce; Nitric Acid two troyounces 
Carbonate of SodafAree troyounces; Sulphuric Acid four hundred and twenty 
grains; Distilled Water a sufficient quantity. To the Cadmium and two fluid- 
ounces of Distilled Water, introduced into a glass vessel, add by degrees the 
Nitric Acid, and, when the action slackens, apply a gentle heat until the metal 
is dissolved. Filter the solution, and, having dissolved the Carbonate of Soda 
in six fluidounces of Distilled Water, mix the solutions thoroughly. Wash the 
precipitate obtained until the water passes tasteless, and dissolve it in the Sul- 
phuric Acid, diluted with four fluidounces of Distilled Water. Then evaporate 
the solution to one-third, and set it aside to crystallize. Lastly, dry the crystals 
on bibulous paper.” U. S. 
A nitrate of cadmium is first formed, in consequence of the greater facility 
with which nitric acid acts upon that metal than sulphuric acid. The cadmium 
is oxidized at the expense of a part of the acid, with the production of hypo- 
nitric acid fumes, and the resulting oxide unites with the undecomposed part of 
the acid to form the nitrate. This is then decomposed in solution by carbonate 
of soda, with a mutual interchange of principles; the nitric acid of the nitrate 
of cadmium taking the soda of the carbonate, and forming nitrate of soda which 
is retained in solution, while the carbonic acid and oxide of cadmium combine 
to produce the insoluble carbonate of that metal, which is deposited. This, 
having been washed, is treated with dilute sulphuric acid, by which the carbonic 
acid is expelled, and the sulphate of cadmium generated in solution, from which 
it is obtained by concentration and crystallization. 
Properties. Sulphate of cadmium crystallizes in oblique prisms with rhom- 
boidal bases, which are transparent and colourless, and said to resemble those of 
sulphate of zinc. They have an astringent, slightly acidulous, and austere taste, 
effloresce on exposure to the air, and are very soluble in water. The solution, 
even though acidulated, gives with hydrosulphuric acid a yellow precipitate, be- 
coming orange-yellow, of sulphuret of cadmium, which is dissolved by strong 
muriatic acid, but is insoluble in solutions of potassa or ammonia, and is thus 
readily distinguished from the sulphuret of arsenic. With hydrosulphate of am- 
monia it gives a yellow precipitate insoluble in an excess of the hydrosulphate. 
Ammonia produces a white precipitate, soluble in an excess of the precipitant; 
carbonate of ammonia a white one insoluble in an excess; ferrocyanide of potas- 
sium a white precipitate not dissolved by muriatic acid; and the ferridcyanide a 
brownish-yellow one soluble in a large excess of that acid. (Brande & Taylor.) 
By these tests sulphate of cadmium is distinguished as a salt of that metal. As 
a sulphate it is known by yielding a precipitate with chloride of barium not 
From an analysis by Mr. Bartlett, it appears to consist of one eq. of teroxide of bismuth 
237, one of ammonia 2G, and one of citric acid 165, with 5 eqs. of water 45=473; and its 
formula is Bi03,NH^0,CV2II50n + 5H0. 
There is no occasion for a permanent solution of this salt, as it may at any time be dis- 
solved when wanted for use. But, as it is in the liquid form that it has obtained its present 
reputation, we give a formula for a permanent solution prepared by Mr. Bartlett. Dissolve 
260 grains of citrate of bismuth and ammonia in fourteen fluidounces of distilled water, neu- 
tralize the solution with water.of ammonia, and add two fluidounces of alcohol. The solu- 
tion of the salt without addition is liable to spontaneous decomposition; but, in the opinion 
of Mr. Bartlett, it is completely protected by the ammonia and alcohol, so that in this state 
it will keep indefinitely. The dose of the solid citrate is two grains, that of the solution a 
fiuidrachm. For further particulars in regard to the preparation of the salt and its solu- 
tion, the reader is referred to Mr. Bartlett’s paper in the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (Jan. 1865) 
Already noticed.—Note to the twelfth edition. 1030 
Cadmium.—Calx. 
PART II. 
soluble in nitric acid. Zinc precipitates cadmium in the metallic state from the 
solution. Cadmium suspended in a solution of sulphate of copper precipitates 
that metal, leaving sulphate of cadmium in solution; and this has been proposed 
as a method of obtaining the salt. The formula of sulphate of cadmium as com- 
monly given is Cd0,S03-(-4H0; but, according to M. de Hauer, it is said to 
have eight eqs. of water for every three of the salt, and its formula is 3(CdO, 
SO.,) + 8IIO. (Chem. News, Nov. 29, 1862, p. 268.) W. 
Medical Uses. Sulphate of cadmium is said to resemble sulphate of zinc as an 
astringent and emetic. Besides these properties, it possesses, according to M. 
Grimaud, valuable powers as a remedy in syphilis, rheumatism, and gout. As 
yet it has been used almost exclusively as an astringent and stimulating remedy 
in diseases of the eyes. In specks and opacities of the cornea, it has been em- 
ployed successfully by both American and European surgeons. It is used either 
in solution, in the proportion of from half a grain to four grains to the fluid- 
ounce of distilled water, or in the form of ointment, made by mixing two grains 
with four scruples of fresh lard. M. Fronmiiller has employed it, with excellent 
results, in specks of the cornea, dissolved in rose-water in the proportion of three 
grains to two fluidounces, conjoined with from half a fiuidrachm to a fluidrachm 
and a half of wine of opium. We have had no experience with sulphate of cad- 
mium as an internal remedy, and can give no authoritative statement as to the 
proper dose. Nor does this appear to have been well determined; for, while on 
the one hand we are told that it is ten times as strong as sulphate of zinc, on the 
other it is said to be used for the same purposes and in the same doses as that 
salt. (Bouehardat, Ann. de Therap., 1851, p. 231.) B. 
CALX. 
Preparations of Lime. 
The liquid preparations of lime, Liquor Galcis and Liquor Calcii Cliloridi, 
have, in conformity with the present edition of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, been 
transferred to the Solutions. (See Liquores.) 
CALCIS CARBONAS U.S., Br. Precipitated 
Carbonate of Lime. 
“Take of Solution of Chloride of Calcium five pints and a half; Carbonate 
of Soda seventy-two troyounces; Distilled Water a sufficient quantity. Dis- 
solve the Carbonate of Soda in six pints of Distilled Water. Heat this solution 
and the Solution of Chloride of Calcium, separately, to the boiling point, and 
mix them. After the precipitate has subsided, separate it from the supernatant 
liquid by decantation, and wash it with boiling Distilled Water until the wash- 
ings cease to be affected by a solution of nitrate of silver. Lastly, dry the pre- 
cipitate on bibulous paper.” U. S. 
“ Take of Chloride of Calcium Jive ounces [avoirdupois]; Carbonate of Soda 
thirteen ounces [avoird.]; Boiling Distilled Water a sufficiency. Dissolve the 
Chloride of Calcium and the Carbonate of Soda each in two pints [Imperial mea- 
sure] of the Water; mix the two Solutions; and allow the precipitate to subside. 
Collect this on a calico filter, wash it with boiling Distilled Water, until the 
washings cease to give a precipitate with nitrate of silver, and dry the product 
at the temperature of 212°.” Br. 
These processes do not essentially differ. In each a mutual interchange ot 
principles takes place, resulting in the production o‘f chloride of sodium which 
remains in solution, and carbonate of lime which is deposited. Any peculiar 
advantage of the preparation must depend on the minute division of its parti- 
cles. According to Dr. Bridges, this effect is best obtained by employing the 
solutions at the boiling temperature, a precaution which is observed in l»ofh the FART IT. 
Calx. 
1031 
present officinal processes. (Avier. Journ. of Pharm., xvi. 163.) When pro- 
perly made, it is a very pure carbonate of lime, in the form of a fine white pow 
der, free from grittiness, insoluble in water, but wholly soluble in dilute muri 
atic acid with copious effervescence. These properties serve io distinguish it 
from sulphate of lime, with which it is sometimes adulterated, and which has 
even been sold for it. It is known to be a salt of lime by giving a copious white 
precipitate with oxalate of ammonia, when this is added to its solution in muri- 
atic acid, previously neutralized by ammonia. It is dissolved by nitric acid, giv- 
ing a clear solution, which if perfectly neutral, and boiled to drive off carbonic 
acid, gives no precipitate with saccharated solution of lime in excess, or with 
nitrate of silver, showing the absence of phosphates and chlorides. Its formula 
is CaO,C02, and equivalent number 50. For ordinary use, it probably has no such 
superiority over prepared chalk as to counterbalance its greater expensiveness. 
It is preferred by some to chalk in the preparation of tooth-powders. It is fre- 
quently sold in the shops under the name of creta prsecipitata. The dose is from 
10 to 40 grains or more. W. 
CALCIS HYDRAS. Br. Slaked Lime. 
“Take of Lime, recently burned, two pounds [avoirdupois] ; Distilled Water 
one pint [Imperial measure]. Place the Lime in a metal pot, pour the AYater 
upon it, and when vapour ceases to be disengaged cover the pot with its lid, 
and set it aside to cool. When its temperature has fallen to that of the atmos- 
phere, remove its contents, pass the powder through an iron-wire sieve, and put 
it into a wide-mouthed bottle, which should be accurately closed with a well- 
fitted cork. Slaked Lime should be recently prepared.”Br. 
The U. S. Pharmacopoeia has no separate formula for this preparation, but 
directs it to be made when at any time it may be wanted. In the process of slak- 
ing, water combines with lime to form a solid hydrate, with the evolution of much 
heat and the escape of white vapours, which consist of steam holding particles 
of lime in suspension. By union with water the lime acquires a whiter colour, 
and if previously in masses, becomes much softer, swelling up, and breaking into 
a coarse soft powder or friable lumps. When perfectly dry, it consists of one eq. 
of each of its constituents, with the formula CaO,IlO. For the properties of 
lime the reader is referred to the head of Calx, in Part I. Hydrate of lime is 
used exclusively as a pharmaceutical agent. 
Pliarm. Uses. In preparing JEther, Br.; Atropia, Br.; Beberiae Sulphas, Br.; 
Chloroformum, Br.; Liquor Ammoni® Fortior, Br.; Liquor Potass®, Br.; Liquor 
Sodae, Br.; Potass® Chloras, Br.; Potass® Sulphas, Br.; Santoninum, Br. 
Off. Prep. Liquor Calcis, Br.; Liquor Calcis Saccharatus, Br. W. 
CALCIS PHOSPHAS PRABCIPITATA. U. S.t Br. Precipitated 
Phosphate of Lime. 
“ Take of Bone, calcined to whiteness, and in fine powder, four troyounces; 
Muriatic Acid eight troyounces; Water of Ammonia twelve ffuidounces, or a 
sufficient quantity; Distilled Water a sufficient quantity. Macerate the Bone 
with the Acid, diluted with a pint of Distilled Water, until it is dissolved, and 
filter the solution. Add another pint of Distilled Water, and then, gradually, 
Water of Ammonia until the liquid acquires an alkaline reaction. Mix the pre- 
cipitate obtained, while yet in the state of magma, with twice its bulk of boiling 
Distilled Water, and pour the whole upon a strainer. Wash the precipitate with 
boiling Distilled Water until the washings cease to be affected by a solution of 
nitrate of silver, acidulated with nitric acid. Lastly, dry the precipitate with a 
gentle heat.” U. S. 
“ Take of Bone Ash four ounces [avoirdupois] ; Hydrochloric Acid six fluid- 
ranees; Distilled AYater two pints [Imperial measure]; Solution of Ammonia 
twelve ffuidounces, or a sufficiency. Digest the Bone Ash in the Hydrochloric 1032 
Calx. 
PART II. 
Acid diluted with a pint of Water, until it is dissolved. Filter the solution, if 
necessary; add the remainder of the Water, and afterwards the solution of Am- 
monia, until the mixture acquires an alkaline reaction; and, having collected the 
precipitate on a calico filter, wash it with boiling Distilled Water as long as the 
liquid which passes through occasions a precipitate, when dropped into the solu- 
tion of nitrate of silver acidulated with nitric acid. Dry the washed product at 
a temperature not exceeding 212°”Br. 
This preparation, whatever opinion may be entertained of its real powrers, has 
been very properly introduced into the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, as it is considera- 
bly used, and is by some much esteemed. 
The muriatic acid dissolves the phosphate of lime of the bones, and lets it fall, 
on the addition of ammonia, in a state of minute division. The ablution is in- 
tended to free it from adhering muriate of ammonia. The salt thus obtained is, 
for the sake of distinction, called bone phosphate of lime. It is a white powder, 
without taste or smell, insoluble in water, but very soluble in nitric, muriatic, 
and acetic acids, from which it is precipitated unchanged by ammonia. By an 
intense heat it is fused, but is not otherwise changed. It consists, according to 
Mitscherlicb, of one equivalent of phosphoric acid and three of lime. 
The chemical characteristics of bone phosphate of lime, besides those men- 
tioned, are that with its solution in dilute nitric acid, oxalate of ammonia pro- 
duces a white precipitate of oxalate of lime, and acetate of lead a white pre- 
cipitate of phosphate of lead; and, if the nitric solution be neutralized as far 
as possible without causing a permanent precipitate of phosphate of lime, am- 
moniacal nitrate of silver throws down from it a lemon-yellow precipitate of 
phosphate of silver. (Christisoii’s Dispensatory.) 
Medical Uses. In the form of burnt hartshorn, phosphate of lime formerly 
enjoyed a brief popularity in the treatment of rickets and mollities ossium, in 
which its use seemed to be indicated upon obvious chemical grounds. It has 
recently been again brought into notice in consequence of the suggestion by 
Benecke (London Lancet, July, 1851), that, as it is essential in animals as well 
as plants to the formation of cells, it might be found useful in certain patholo- 
gical states of the system characterized by defective nutrition, such as the scro- 
fulous affections. Upon considerations of this kind, the late Dr. W. Stone, of 
New Orleans, was induced to employ it in cases of scrofulous ulceration, phthisis, 
&c., and with considerable supposed advantage. (See St. Louis Med. and Surg. 
Journ., x. 38.) Subsequently, it has been used by other practitioners, and, in 
connection with other phosphates, as those of iron, soda, and potassa, has ac- 
quired no little reputation in different forms of scrofula and phthisis. When, 
however, it is considered that, in ordinary food, there is more of the phosphates 
than the system has need of, so that they are constantly escaping with the stools; 
and that in those very disorders in which they are supposed to be indicated they 
are not uufrequently in excess in the blood and urine, in consequence, probably, 
of the rapid disintegration of the tissues, it would seem doubtful whether the 
want, in scrofulous cases, is so much that of materials for cells as of due power 
to appropriate those materials. In the reported cases, the phosphate of lime 
has generally been administered in connection with cod-liver oil or other tonics; 
to which, there is reason to believe, any benefit experienced is more truly ascri- 
bable than to the phosphate. In two of Dr. Stone’s cases the good effects began 
to be experienced at the period when they might have been expected from the 
oil alone. Phosphate of lime is thought to have proved useful by hastening the 
union of fractured bones; and M. Alphonse Milne-Edwards is said to have 
shown, by experiments upon dogs and rabbits, that, in these animals, the callus 
in fractured bones forms more quickly under its use than without it. (Med. Times 
and Gaz., May, 1856, p. 489.) Its use in curvature of the spine and rickety af- 
fections in general has also been revived by M. Piorry and others. Though PART II. 
Calx. 
insoluble in water, it is probably in general dissolved by the gastric liquids, in 
consequence of the acid present in them ; and, if desirable, it may readily be ad- 
ministered in solution by the addition of one of the acids mentioned in the above 
account of its chemical properties. The dose is from ten to thirty grains.* 
Off. Prep. Pulvis Antimonialis, Br. W. 
CRETA PRiEPARATA. TJ.S.,Br. Prepared Chalk. 
“ Take of Chalk a convenient quantity. Add a little water tq the Chalk, ana 
rub it into fine powder. Throw this into a large vessel nearly full of water, stir 
briskly, and, after a short interval, decant the supernatant liquor, while yet turbid, 
into another vessel. Treat the coarser particles of the Chalk, remaining in the 
first vessel, in a similar manner, and add the turbid liquid to that previously de- 
canted. Lastly, set the liquid by that the powder may subside, and, having 
poured off the water, dry the powder.” U. S. 
“ Take of Chalk one pound [avoirdupois]; Water a sufficiency. Reduce the 
Chalk to powder, and, having rubbed this in a mortar with as much Water as 
will give it the consistence of cream, fill the mortar with more Water, and stir 
well, giving the whole a circular motion. Allow the mixture to stand for fifteen 
seconds, and then decant the milky liquid into a large vessel. Rub what remains 
in the mortar, adding as much Water as was previously used, and, after allow- 
ing it to settle for fifteen seconds, again decant, and let this process be repeated 
several times, using, if necessary, additional Chalk. Transfer the fine sediment 
which subsides from the decanted liquids to a filter, and dry it at a temperature 
of 212°.” Br. 
The object of these processes is to reduce chalk to a very fine powder. The min- 
eral, previously pulverized, should be rubbed with a little water upon a porphyry 
slab, by means of a rnuller of the same material. Having been thus very minutely 
divided, it is agitated with water, which upon standing a short time deposits the 
coarser particles, and, being then poured off, slowly lets fall the remainder in an 
impalpable state. The former part of the process is called levigation, the latter 
elutriation. The soft mass which remains after the decanting of the clear liquor, 
is made to fall upon an absorbent surface in small portions, which when dried 
have a conical shape.f Practically, prepared chalk is generally made on the large 
scale from whiling by the manufacturer. For the particulars of the process the 
reader is referred to the Pharm. Journ. (viii. 416). 
* Syrup of Phosphate of Lime. Mr. T. S. Wiegand has proposed a syrup of phosphate of 
lime, to he made in the following manner. Take of the precipitated phosphate muriatic 
acid water sugar q. s. Mix the phosphate with a fiuidounce of the water; add 
the acid; filter the resulting solution; then add the remainder of the water, and enough 
sugar to make twelve fluidounces of syrup; and, finally, strain. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
xxvi. 297.)—Note to the eleventh edition. 
f Several insoluble substances, besides chalk, are brought habitually into the form of 
small cones, such as prepared oyster-shell, phosphate of lime, rust of iron, subnitrate of 
bismuth, &c. The mode by which this is effected is by the use of a simple implement, con- 
sisting of a funnel of tinned-iron, with the neck 
removed (a), fixed at the expanded extremity (6) 
of a piece of wood about a foot long (c), having 
its other end in the form of a handle (d), with a 
stout piece of wood about 4 inches long (c), at- 
tached perpendicularly to the lower side of it, so 
as to serve as a support when fixed in a socket. 
The material to be shaped is introduced in a very 
soft, almost diffluent state into the funnel, and 
the instrument, then raised in the hand by the 
handle, is brought down so that its support shall strike with a gentle shock against a flat 
surface of chalk stone (/), and these little shocks are rapidly repeated. At each one of 
them a small portion of the soft mass escapes from the mouth of the funnel, and falls on 
'.he stone, where it hardens into the shape of a cone; the chalk serving to absorb the moist- 
ure rapidly, and thus enabling it quickly to solidify.—Note to the twelfth edition. 1034 
Calx.—Carlo. 
PART II. 
Medical Properties and Uses. This is the only form in which chalk is used 
in medicine. It is an excellent antacid ; and, as the salts which it forms in the 
stomach and bowels, if not astringent, are at least not purgative, it is admirably 
adapted to diarrhoea accompanied with acidity. It is also sometimes used in 
acidity of stomach attending dyspepsia and gout, when a laxative effect is to be 
avoided; is one of the best antidotes for oxalic acid ; and has been recommended 
in rachitis. In scrofulous affections it may sometimes do good by forming solu- 
ble salts with aoid in the primse vim, and thus finding an entrance into the blood- 
vessels. It is frequently employed as an application to burns and ulcers, which 
it moderately stimulates, while it absorbs the ichorous discharge, and thus pre- 
vents it from irritating the diseased surface, or the sound skin. It is given inter- 
nally in the form of powder, or suspended in water by the intervention of gum 
arabic and sugar. (See Mistura Creise.) It is better fitted for the chalk mixture 
than the precipitated carbonate of lime, in consequence of its more impalpable 
character. The dose is from ten to forty grains or more. 
Pharm. Uses. In preparing Acidum Citricum, Br.; Acidum Tartaricum, Br.; 
Zinci Chloridum, U. S. 
Off. Prep. Hydrargyrum cum Creta ; Mistura Cretse; Pulvis Cretae Aroma- 
ticus, Br.; Trochisci Cretse, U. S. W. 
TESTA PRiEPARATA. U.S. Prepared Oyster.-shell 
“Take of Oyster-shell a convenient quantity. Free the Oyster-shell from 
extraneous matter, wash it with boiling water, and, having reduced it to a fine 
powder, treat this in the manner directed for Prepared Chalk.” U. S. 
Prepared oyster-shell differs from prepared chalk in containing animal matter, 
which, being very intimately blended with the carbonate of lime, is supposed by 
some physicians to render the preparation more acceptable to a delicate stom- 
ach. It is given as an antacid in diarrhoea, in the dose of from ten to forty grains 
or more, frequently repeated. A preparation has been introduced, within a few 
years, into use in this country, under the name of Castillon's powders, consist- 
ing of sago, salep, and tragacanth, each, in powder, a drachm, prepared oyster- 
shell a scruple, and sufficient cochineal to give colour to the mixture. A drachm 
of this is boiled in a pint of milk, and the decoction used ad libitum as a diet 
in chronic bowel affections. W. 
CARBO. 
Preparation of Charcoal. 
CARBO ANIMALIS PURIFICATUS. U. S., Br. Purified Animal 
Charcoal. 
“ Take of Animal Charcoal, in fine powder, Muriatic Acid, each, twelve troy- 
ounces ; Water twelve fiuidounces. Pour the Muriatic Acid, previously mixed 
with the Water, gradually upon the Charcoal, and digest with a gentle heat for 
two days, occasionally stirring the mixture. Having allowed the undissolved 
portion to subside, pour off the supernatant liquid, wash the Charcoal frequently 
with water until the washings cease to afford a precipitate with the nitrate of 
silver, and dry it.” U. S. 
“Take of Bone Black sixteen ounces [avoirdupois] ; Hydrochloric Acid ten 
fiuidounces; Distilled Water a sufficiency. Mix the Hydrochloric Acid with 
a pint of the Water, and add the Bone Black, stirring occasionally. Digest at 
a moderate heat for two days, agitating from time to time; collect the undis- 
solved charcoal on a calico filter, and wrash with Distilled Water till what passes 
through gives scarcely any precipitate with nitrate of silver. Dry the charcoal, 
and then heat it to redness in a covered crucible.” Br. 
Animal charcoal, as it is made by charring bones, necessarily contains bon*1- 
phosphate and carbonate of lime, the presence of which does no harm in some PART II. 
Carbe. 
1035 
decolorizing operations; but, in delicate chemical processes, these salts may bo 
dissolved or decomposed, and thus become a source of impurity. It is on this 
account that animal charcoal requires to be purified from its calcareous salts; 
and this is accomplished by dilute muriatic acid, which dissolves the phosphate 
and decomposes the carbonate. According to Dr. Stenhouse, aluminized vege 
table charcoal may be substituted for purified animal charcoal, and is equally 
efficacious as a decolorizer. (See page 215.) 
Purified animal charcoal is a dark brownish-black powder. If it contain car- 
bonate of lime, muriatic acid will cause effervescence, and the solution obtained 
will give a precipitate with carbonate of ammonia; and if phosphate or sulphate 
of lime be present, the acid will dissolve the salt, and yield it as a precipitate on 
the addition of ammonia. In the Br. Pharmacopoeia, it is stated that, when burned 
at a high temperature, with free access of air, it leaves scarcely any residue. 
It has been shown by Mr. Robert Warington that bitter vegetable substances, 
including the organic alkalies, are removed from solution by passing through 
purified animal charcoal, especially when the action is assisted by heat. M. 
Weppen finds that a similar effect is produced by it in removing resins from 
tinctures, tannic acid and bitter principles from astringent and bitter infusions, 
and certain metallic salts from their solutions. Purified animal charcoal, thus 
employed, has been resorted to by M. Lebourdais as an agent for obtaining the 
active principles of plants. A decoction or infusion of the plant is either boiled 
with or filtered through the charcoal, which takes up, more or less completely, 
the bitter and colouring principles. The charcoal, after having been washed 
and dried, is treated with boiling alcohol, which dissolves the principles taken 
up. Finally, the alcohol is distilled off, and the principles are obtained in a 
separate state. In this way digitaline, ilicin, scillitin, colombin, colocynthin, arni- 
cina, strychnia, quinia, and other principles have been obtained by M. Lebour- 
dais. (Chem. Gaz., Nov. 15, 1848.) In relation to the method of M. Lebourdais, 
see a paper by Mr. J. S. Cobb, in the Am. Journ of Pharm. for July, 1851, 
•from the London Pharmaceutical Journal. Dr. A. B. Garrod has proposed puri- 
fied animal charcoal as an antidote to vegetable and animal poisons, with which 
it appears to combine. According to his experiments, common bone-black has 
not one-fifth of the power possessed by the purified substance; and vegetable 
charcoal and lampblack are nearly or quite useless. The amount of the antidote 
proposed by Dr. Garrod is half an ounce for each grain of a vegetable organic 
alkali. Dr. Alfred Taylor deems the results of Dr. Garrod inconclusive. Prof. 
B. H. Rand, of this city, has made some interesting observations in relation to 
the antidotal powers of purified animal charcoal, and has proved that poisonous 
doses of the strongest vegetable poisons may be swallowed with impunity, if 
mixed with that substance, (filed. Exam., Sept. 1848.)* 
* Revivification of Animal Charcoal. To the large manufacturing chemist, and in a less de- 
gree to the pharmaceutist, it is an object of some importance to revivify the animal char- 
coal which has lost its absorbent property, and thus to fit it for future use. This has been 
done by exposing it to an intense heat, so as to decompose all the organic, and drive off all 
the volatile principles it may have absorbed; but this will not deprive it of fixed inorganic 
substances which may contaminate it. Messrs. Leplay and Cusinier, in a paper on the use 
of animal charcoal in the refining of sugar, offer certain principles and suggest certain 
practical processes in reference to this agent, which are of general interest, and which 
have appeared to us to merit a notice here. The absorbing powers of animal charcoal are 
different for different substances, and do not become exhausted simultaneously. For its 
revivification after use, different measures are required in accordance with the degree to 
which its powers may have been lost. There are, indeed, means of increasing these ab- 
sorbent powers even beyond the degree to which they may have been originally possessed. 
None of these revivifying measures require a heat above 212°. The following are the prac- 
tical principles. 1. When animal charcoal is employed in filtering, its first series of absorb- 
ing powers are exhausted at furthest in four hours. These are such as affect “viscid, nitro- 
geneous, ammoniacal, sapid, and cdorous matters.” In regard to these the original power 1036 
Carlo.—Cataplasmata. 
PART II. 
In using animal charcoal for decolorizing active vegetable principles, great 
caution should be observed, as much loss is often incurred by the absorption of 
those principles by the charcoal. 
Pharm. Uses. In preparing Acidum Gallicum, U. S.; Atropia, Br.; Digitali- 
num, Br.; Morphias Hydrochloras, Br.; Santoninum, Br.; Strychnia, U. S.; and 
Ye r atria. B. 
CATAPLASMATA. 
Cataplasms. 
Cataplasms or poultices are moist substances intended for external applica- 
tion, of such a consistence as to accommodate themselves accurately to the sur- 
face to which they are applied, without being so liquid as to spread over the 
neighbouring parts, or so tenacious as to adhere firmly to the skin. As they are 
in this country seldom made by the apothecary, they were not deemed by the 
compilers of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia proper objects for officinal direction. The 
ounce used in the following processes is the avoirdupois. W. 
CATAPLASMA CARBONIS. Br. Charcoal Poultice. 
“Take of Wood Charcoal, in powder, half an ounce; Bread two ounces; 
Linseed Meal one ounce and a half; Boiling Water ten Jluidounces. Macerate 
the Bread in the Water for a short time near the fire, then mix, and add the Lin- 
seed Meal gradually, stirring the ingredients, so that a soft poultice may be 
formed. Mix with this half the Charcoal, and sprinkle the remainder on the 
surface of the poultice.” Br. 
Charcoal, recently prepared, has the property of absorbing those principles 
upon which the offensive odour of putrefying animal substances depends. In the 
form of poultice, it is an excellent application to foul and gangrenous ulcers, 
correcting their fetor, and improving the condition of the sore. It should be 
frequently renewed. W. 
CATAPLASMA CONII. Br. Hemlock Poultice. 
“ Take of Hemlock Leaf, in powder, one ounce; Linseed Meal three ounces; 
Boiling Water ten Jluidounces. Mix the Hemlock and Linseed Meal, and add 
them to the water gradually, constantly stirring.” Br. 
This cataplasm may be advantageously employed as an anodyne application 
to cancerous, scrofulous, syphilitic, and other painful ulcers; but its liability to 
produce narcotic effects, in consequence of the absorption of the active principle 
of the hemlock, should not be overlooked. W. 
CATAPLASMA FERMENTI. Br. Yeast Poultice. 
“Take of Beer Yeast six Jluidounces; Flour fourteen ounces; Water, 
is entirely restored by passing a current of steam through the granulated animal charcoal 
contained in the filter; and it can be restored indefinitely. 2. The second series of absorb- 
ing powers concern free alkalies, as potash, soda, lime, and their salts; and require a much 
longer time for their exhaustion, to the extent of six or eight times the period required for 
the first series. These powers are revived by pouring muriatic acid largely diluted with 
water upon the charcoal in the filter, and afterwards by prolonged washing with water. 
3. The third series of absorbing powers embrace colouring principles, and continue thirty 
or forty times longer than the first. For the restoration of these powers the measure 
deemed most efficient is washing with weak boiling solutions of the caustic alkalies. All 
these measures may be applied to the charcoal still contained in the filter, or removed to 
a special apparatus for the purpose. 4. These methods restore the original properties. To 
give additional absorbent powers, a solution of biphosphate of lime is poured upon the 
animal charcoal still containing its original tribasic phosphate. When these salts meet, a 
new phosphate is produced with two eqs. of base, which is insoluble in water, has r acid 
reaction, and possesses very energetic powers of absorption. (See Am. Journ. of Tharm.. 
Nov. 1802, p. 552.)—Note to the twelfth edition. PART II. 
Cataplasmata. 
heated to 100°, six fluidounces. Mix the Yeast with the Water, and stir in 
the Flour. Place the mass near the fire till it rises.” Br. 
By exposing a mixture of yeast and flour to a gentle heat, fermentation thkes 
place, and carbonic acid gas is extricated, which causes the mixture to swell, 
and is the source of its peculiar virtues. The yeast cataplasm is gently stimu- 
lant, and is sometimes applied with- benefit to foul and gangrenous ulcers, the 
fetor of which it corrects, while it is supposed to hasten the separation of the 
slough. The carbonic acid may also act as an anaesthetic agent. W. 
CATAPLASMA LINI. Br. Linseed Poultice. 
“ Take of Linseed Meal four ounces; Olive Oil half a fluidounce; Boiling 
Water ten fluidounces. Mix the Linseed Meal with the Oil, then add the 
Water gradually, constantly stirring.” Br. 
The flaxseed meal which remains after the expression of the oil is here em- 
ployed; but that which has not been submitted to pressure is decidedly prefer- 
able, and answers an excellent purpose when mixed with boiling water, without 
other addition. Fresh lard or olive oil, spread upon the surface of the poultice, 
serves to prevent its adhesion to the skin, and to preserve its softness. 
The use of this and other emollient cataplasms is to relieve inflammation, or 
to promote suppuration. They act mainly by the sedative influence of their 
moisture, and by excluding the air. The one most extensively employed, perhaps 
because its materials are always at hand, is that prepared by heating together 
milk and the crumb of bread. The milk should be quite sweet, and fresh lard 
should be incorporated with the poultice. Mush made with the meal of Indian 
corn also forms an excellent emollient cataplasm. W. 
CATAPLASMA SINAPIS. Br. Mustard Poultice. 
“ Take of Mustard, in powder, Linseed Meal, each, two ounces and a half; 
Boiling Water ten fluidounces. Mix gradually the Linseed Meal with the Water, 
and add the Mustard, constantly stirring.”Br. 
The simplest and most effectual mode of preparing a mustard poultice, is to 
mix the powdered mustard of the shops with a sufficient quantity of warm water 
to give it a due consistence. When a weaker preparation is required, an equal 
portion or more of rye or wheat flour should be added. Yinegar never increases 
its efficiency, and, in the case of the black mustard seed, has been ascertained 
by MM. Trousseau and Blanc to diminish its rubefacient power. The same may 
be said of alcohol. A boiling temperature is also injurious by interfering with 
the development of the volatile oil or acrid principle. (See Sinapis.) 
These poultices are frequently called sinapisms. They are powerfully rube- 
facient, exciting a sense of warmth in a few minutes, and usually becoming in- 
supportably painful in less than an hour. When removed they leave the surface 
intensely red and burning; and the inflammation frequently terminates in de- 
squamation, or even blistering if the application be too long continued. Obsti- 
nate ulcers and gangrene also sometimes result from the protracted action of 
mustard, especially on parts possessed of little vitality. As a general rule, the 
poultice should be removed when the patient complains much of pain; and in 
cases of insensibility should not, unless greatly diluted, be allowed to remain 
longer than one, or at most two hours; as violent inflammation, followed by 
obstinate ulceration, is apt to take place upon the occurrence of reaction. In 
children particular care is necessary to avoid this result. The poultice should be 
thickly spread on linen, and may be covered with gauze or unsized paper in 
order to prevent its adhesion to the skin. If hairs are present they should be 
removed by the razor. Sinapisms may be employed in all cases in which it is 
desirable to produce a speedy and powerful rubefacient impression. W. 
CATAPLASMA SODE CHLORINATE.Br. Chlorine Poultice. 
“Take of Solution of Chlorinated Soda two fluidounces; Linseed Meal 
1037 Cerata 
PART II. 
four ounces; Boiling Water eight fluid ounces. Add the Linseed Meal gradu- 
ally to the Water, stirring constantly; then mix in the Solution of Chlorinated 
Soda. ”I?r. 
This is an excellent application to sloughing and other fetid ulcers, to correct 
the smell, and afford a moderate stimulation. W. 
CERATA. 
Cerates. 
These are unctuous substances consisting of oil or lard, mixed with wax, 
spermaceti, or resin, to which various medicaments are frequently added. Their 
consistence, which is intermediate between that of ointments and of plasters, is • 
such that they may be spread at ordinary temperatures upon linen or leather, 
by means of a spatula, and do not melt or run when applied to the skin. In 
preparing them, care should usually be taken to select the oil or lard perfectly 
free from rancidity. The liquefaction should be effected by a very gentle heat, 
which may be applied by means of a water-bath; and during the refrigeration 
the mixture should be well stirred, and the portions which solidify on the sides 
of the vessel should be made to mix again with the liquid portion, until the 
whole assumes the proper consistence. When a large quantity is prepared, the 
mortar or other vessel into which the mixture may be poured for cooling, should 
be previously heated by means of boiling water. It has been proposed to sub- 
stitute paraffin for wax in the preparation of the cerates; but there has yet been 
too little trial of it to justify a decision upon its merits. It is, we think, unfortu- 
nate that this class of preparations has been abandoned in the British Pharma- 
copoeia; the several cerates having been rejected, or transferred to the class of 
Ointments. Independently of the connection between the name and one of the 
characteristic constituents-of the cerates,there is aground of difference between 
them and the ointments in their consistence; that of the cerates being such as to 
render them especially suitable for spreading on linen, while that of ointments is 
peculiarly adapted to inunction. W. 
CERATUM ADIPIS. U.S. Ceratum Simplex. U. S. 1850. Cerate of 
Lard. Sim,pie Cerate. 
“Take of Lard eight troyounCes; White Wax four troyounces. Melt them 
together, and stir the mixture constantly until cool.” U. S. 
We regret the loss of the old name of simple cerate, which always seemed to 
us very appropriate. Wax was the essential ingredient, while the place of lard 
might be supplied by olive or almond oil, or any bland fatty matter of a very 
soft or liquid consistence. Lard, however, is, we think, preferable to olive oil, as 
it may always be had perfectly sweet, and is the mildest application which can be 
made to irritated surfaces. In the preparation of this cerate, peculiar care should 
be taken that the oleaginous ingredient be entirely free from rancidity, and that 
the heat employed be not sufficient to produce the slightest decomposition; for 
the value of the preparation depends on its perfect blandness. To avoid change, 
it should be put up in small jars, and covered closely with tin foil so as to exclude 
the air. It is used for dressing blisters, wounds, &c., in all cases in which the ob- 
ject is to prevent the contact of air and preserve the moisture of the part, and 
at the same time to avoid all irritation. It is sometimes improperly employed 
as the vehicle of substances to be applied by inunction. For this purpose lard 
should be used in winter, and simple ointment in summer; the cerate having toe 
firm a consistence. W. 
CERATUM CANTIIARIDIS. U.S. Emplastrum Cantharidis. Br. 
Cerate of Cantharides. Blistering Cerate. Cerate of Spanish Flies. Can- 
tharides Plaster. 1039 
PART II. 
Cerata. 
“Take of Cantharides, in very fine powder, twelve troyounces; Yellow Wax. 
Resin, each, seven troyounces; Lard ten troyounces. To the Wax, Resin, and 
Lard, previously melted together and strained through muslin, add the Can- 
tharides, and, by means of a water-bath, keep the mixture in a liquid state for 
half an hour, stirring occasionally; then remove it from the water-bath, and 
Btir it constantly until cool.” U. S. 
The British Pharmacopoeia directs of Cantharides, in very fine powder, 
twelve ounces (avoirdupois); Yellow Wax, and Prepared Suet, each, seven 
ounces and a half; Resin three ounces, and Prepared Lard six ounces; melts 
the Wax, Suet, and Lard together by a steam or water-bath, adds the Resin 
previously melted; then removes from the bath, and, a little before they solidify, 
sprinkles in the cantharides, and mixes by stirring briskly. 
This is the common blistering plaster of the shops. As it can be readily 
spread without the aid of heat, it is properly a cerate, and is, therefore, correctly 
named in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. It is essentially the same as prepared by 
the two processes; though the U. S. formula has a decided advantage over the 
British, in keeping the mixture of the flies and the other ingredients for some 
time at an elevated temperature, while, in the latter, they are not mixed with the 
fatty matters until these begin to become cool. Care was formerly considered 
requisite, in making the cerate, not to injure the flies by heat. It was, there- 
fore, recommended that they should not be added to the other ingredients until 
immediately before these begin to stiffen, after having been removed from the 
fire; and this direction is still continued in the British formula. But from the 
experiments of Mr. Donovan (Dublin Med. Press, Aug. 1840), and those of Pro- 
fessor Procter (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xiii. 302, and xxiv. 296), it may be in- 
ferred that the vesicating principle of Spanish flies is not injured or dissipated 
by a heat under 300° F., and that an elevated temperature, instead of being 
hurtful, is positively advantageous in the preparation of the cerate. The can- 
tharidin is thus more thoroughly dissolved by the oleaginous matter, and con- 
sequently brought more efficiently into contact with the skin, than when retained 
in the interior of the tissue of the fly. Another advantage, stated by Donovan, is 
that the moisture, usually existing to a certain extent in all the ingredients of the 
cerate, is thus dissipated, and the preparation is less apt to become mouldy, or 
otherwise to undergo decomposition. Instead, therefore, of waiting until the 
melted wax, resin, and lard begin to stiffen, it is better to add the powder before 
the vessel is removed from the fire. Mr. Donovan recommends that, as soon as 
the other ingredients are melted, the powdered flies should be added, and the mix- 
ture stirred until the heat is shown by a thermometer to have risen to 250°, when 
the vessel is to be removed from the fire, and the mixture stirred constantly until 
cool. At the heat mentioned, ebullition takes place in consequence of the escape 
of the moisture contained in the materials. In the cerate thus prepared, the 
active matter has been dissolved by the lard, and the powder may be separated, 
if deemed advisable, by straining the mixture before it solidifies. Care should 
be taken that the temperature be not so high as to decompose the ingredients; 
and it would be better to keep it within 212° by means of a water-bath, than to 
incur any risk from its excess. Violent irritation and even vesication of the face 
of the operator are stated to have resulted from exposure to the vapours of the 
liquid, at a temperature of 250°. (Pharm. Journ., ii. 391.) From an experiment, 
however, of Prof. Procter, it appears that, though cantharidin begins to volatilize 
slightly at 250°, and rapidly rises in vapour and sublimes at from 402° to 412°, 
yet it is not decomposed unless by increasing the heat considerably above the 
last mentioned point. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxiv. 296 and 298.) It is desira- 
ble that the flies should be very finely pulverized. Powdered euphorbium is said 
to be sometimes fraudulently added. 
The cerate will always raise a blister in ordinary conditions of the system, if 1040 
Cerata, 
PART II. 
the flies are good, apd not injured in the preparation. It should be spread on 
soft leather, though linen or even paper will answer the purpose when that is 
not to be had. An elegant mode of preparing it for use is to spread a piece of 
leather, of a proper size, first with adhesive plaster, and afterwards with the 
cerate, leaving a margin of the former uncovered, in order that it may adhere 
to the skin. Heat is not requisite, and should not be employed in spreading the 
cerate. Some sprinkle powdered flies upon the surface of the plaster, press them 
lightly with a roller, and then shake off the portion which has not adhered; but, 
if the flies originally employed were good, this addition is superfluous. Prof. 
Procter is in the habit of applying over the surface with a brush an ethereal 
tincture of cantharides, which leaves a thin coating of extract, and renders the 
preparation more certain. 
Upon the application of the plaster, the skin should be moistened with warm 
vinegar or other liquid; and a good rule is to cover the surface of the plaster 
closely with very thin gauze or uusized paper, which prevents any of the cerate 
from adhering to the cuticle, and is thought by some to diminish its liability to 
occasion strangury. In adults, when the full action of the flies is desired, and 
the object is to produce a permanent effect, the application should be continued 
for twelve hours, and on the scalp for twenty-four hours. In very delicate per- 
sons, however, or those subject to strangury, or upon parts of a loose texture, 
or when the object is merely to produce a blister to be healed as quickly as pos- 
sible, the plaster should remain no longer than is necessary for the production 
of full redness of the skin, which generally occurs in five or six hours, or even 
in a shorter time. It should then be removed, and followed by a bread and milk 
poultice, or some other emollient dressing, under which the cuticle rises, and a 
full blister is usually produced. By this management the patient will generally 
escape strangury, and the blister will very quickly heal after the discharge of the 
serum.* In young children, cantharides sometimes produce alarming and even 
fatal ulceration, if too long applied. From two to four hours are usually suffi- 
cient for any desirable purpose. When the head, or other very hairy part is to 
be blistered, an interval of ten or twelve hours should, if possible, be allowed 
between the shaving of the part and the application of the plaster; so that the 
abrasions may heal, and some impediment be offered to the absorption of the 
flies. After the blister has been formed, it should be opened at the most de- 
pending parts, and, the cuticle being allowed to remain, should be dressed with 
simple cerate; but, if it be desirable to maintain the discharge for a short time, 
resin cerate should be used, and the cuticle removed if it can be done without 
inconvenience. When it is wished that the blistered surface should heal as soon 
as possible, and with the least inconvenience to the patient, Dr. Maclagan re- 
commends a dressing of cotton wadding; an emollient poultice being first ap- 
plied for two hours after the removal of the blistering cerate, the cuticle then 
cut, and the surface afterwards covered with the cotton, with its raw surface 
next the skin. Should the dressing become soaked, so much of the cotton may 
be removed as can be done without disturbing the cuticle, and a new batch ap- 
plied. The cotton is to be allowed to remain until the old cuticle spontaneously 
* The late Dr. M. B. Smith, of Philadelphia, informed us that he had frequently employed 
uva ursi, as a preventive of strangury from blisters, and had never found it to fail. He 
gave a small wineglassful of the officinal decoction (see Decoctum Uvse Ursi) every hour, 
commencing two hours after the application of the blister. Camphor is sometimes incor- 
porated with the blistering cerate to prevent strangury, though with doubtful effect. A 
plan proposed by M. Vee is to spread over the surface of the plaster, when ready for deli- 
very, by means of the finger, a saturated solution of camphor in ether. The ether evapo- 
rates, leaving a thin coating of camphor uniformly diffused. (Journ. de Pharm., ?>e sir., viii. 
68.) The late Dr. Joseph Hartshorne, of Philadelphia, was in the habit, in cases where 
he apprehended strangury, of directing four grains of opium and twenty of camphor to be 
mixed with the cerate of a blister of large size, and experienced the happiest effects from 
the addition. PART II. 
Cerata 
1041 
separates. The effects of an issue may be obtained by employing savine oint- 
ment, or the ointment of Spanish flies, as a dressing. If much inflammation 
take place in the blistered surface, it may be relieved by emollient poultices, or 
weak lead-water. 'Where there is an obstinate indisposition to heal, we have 
found nothing so effectual as the cerate of subacetate of lead, mixed with an 
equal weight of simple cerate. When deep and extensive ulceration occurs in 
consequence of general debility, bark or sulphate of quinia should be used, with 
nutritious aliment. 
Various preparations of cantharides have been proposed and employed as 
substitutes for the cerate. They consist for the most part of cantharidin, more 
or less pure, either dissolved in olive oil and applied to the skin by means of a 
piece of paper saturated with it, or incorporated with wax and spread in a very 
thin layer upon fine waxed cloth, silk, or paper, constituting the blistering cloth, 
blistering paper, vesicating taffetas, &c., of the shops. The advantages of these 
preparations are that they occupy less space, are more portable, and, being very 
pliable, are more easily adapted to irregularities of the surface. Absolutely 
pure cantharidin is expensive and not requisite ; as extracts of cantharides, made 
with ether, alcohol, or boiling water, will answer every purpose. Henry and 
Guibourt give the following formula. Digest powdered cantharides in ether, 
distil off the ether, evaporate the residue by means of a salt-water bath, until 
ebullition ceases, melt the oily mass which remains with twice its weight of wax, 
and spread the mixture upon waxed cloth. The waxed cloth may be prepared 
by spreading upon linen or muslin a mixture composed of 8 parts of white wax, 
4 of olive oil, and 1 of turpentine, melted together. An extract of cantharides, 
of a buttery consistence, said to act very efficiently when applied by means of 
paper greased with it, is prepared by digesting 4 parts of flies with 1 part of 
strong acetic acid, and 16 of alcohol, straining, filtering, and evaporating at a 
moderate heat. A preparation which received the favourable report of a com- 
mittee of the Society of Pharmacy, at Paris, is the following, proposed by M. 
Dubuison. Four parts of a hydro-alcoholic extract of the flies, made by macera- 
tion, is mixed with an aqueous solution of one part of pure gelatin, so as to 
obtain a solution of suitable consistence, which is then applied upon a piece of 
extended waxed cloth, care being taken that the brush should always have the 
same direction. When the first layer has dried, a second and a third are to be 
applied in the same manner. The gelatin renders the cloth more adhesive and 
less deliquescent. The hydro-alcoholic extract is preferred to the alcoholic, be- 
cause it contains less of the green oil, which does not readily mix with the other 
ingredients. The committee, however, preferred the aqueous extract, as cheaper 
and more active. This taffeta has been tried, and found to raise blisters in four 
hours. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., viii. 67.) A strong decoction of the flies in 
olive oil, applied by means of paper, would probably answer a similar purpose 
with these more elaborate preparations; but none of them is likely to supersede 
the officinal cerate. For very speedy vesication, an infusion of the flies in strong 
acetic acid is sometimes employed. A preparation, called cantharidal collodion, 
has within a few years been introduced into use, and has acquired so great a 
popularity with the profession that it was deemed proper, at the recent revision 
of the Pharmacopoeia, to introduce a formula for its preparation. (See Gollo- 
dium cum Canthariae.) 
It is said that the flies, by ebullition with water, are deprived of their pro- 
perty of producing strangury, while their vesicating powers remain unaltered. 
(Paris’s Pharmacologia.) Dr. Theophilus Beesley, of Philadelphia, was in the 
nabit of employing a cerate made with cantharides prepared in this manner, and 
never knew it to produce strangury in more than two or three instances. {Journ. 
of the Phil. Col. of Pharm., iv. 185.) In a letter addressed to one of the au- 
thors by Dr. James Couper, of Newcastle, Delaware, a similar method of pre- 1042 
Cerata. 
PART II. 
paring the flies is recommended as an expedient against strangury, both from 
his own experience, and that of the late Dr. Groom, of Elkton, Maryland, from 
whom he derived his knowledge of the plan. Yet there can be no doubt that 
boiling water extracts cantharidin from the flies; and the cerate made as here 
recommended must be weaker in the blistering principle than the officinal. 
Off. Prep. Emplastrum Picis cum Cantharide, U. S. W. 
CERATUM CETACEI. U.S. Spermaceti Cerate. 
“Take of Spermaceti a troyounce; White Wax three troyounces; Olive Oil 
five troyounces. Melt together the Spermaceti and Wax; then add the Oil pre- 
viously heated, and stir the mixture constantly until cool.” U. S. 
The direction to heat the oil before adding it to the other ingredients is im- 
portant. If added cold, it is apt to produce an irregular congelation of the wax 
and spermaceti, and thus to render the preparation lumpy. This cerate is em- 
ployed as a dressing for blisters, excoriated surfaces, and wounds, and as the 
basis of more active preparations. When the ingredients are pure and sweet, it 
is perfectly free from irritating properties. From experiments made by Mr. J. B. 
Barnes, London, it appears that this cerate keeps much better when made of 
unbleached materials, than when prepared with olive oil and wax previously 
bleached. (Pharm. Journ., Jan. 1861, p. 352.) W. 
CERATUM EXTRACTI CANTIIARIDIS. U.S. Cerate of Extract 
of Cantharides. 
“ Take of Cantharides, in fine powder, five Iroyounces; Stronger Alcohol two 
pints and a half or a sufficient quantity ; Resin three Iroyounces; Yellow Wax 
six troyounces; Lard seven iroyounces. Moisten the Cantharides with Stronger 
Alcohol, pack them in a cylindrical percolator, and gradually pour on Stronger 
Alcohol until the liquid passes nearly colourless. Evaporate the filtered liquid, 
by means of a water-bath, to the consistence of a soft extract. Mix this with 
the Resin, Wax, and Lard, previously melted together, and keep the whole at 
the temperature of 212° for fifteen minutes. Lastly, strain the mixture through 
muslin, and stir it constantly until cool.” U. S. 
This is a new officinal of our Pharmacopoeia, adopted from a formula of Mr. 
Win. R. Warner, published in the American Journal of Pharmacy (Jan. 1860, 
p. II), and intended as a substitute for the old Ceralum Cantharidis, from which 
it differs mainly in containing an alcoholic extract of the flies instead of the flies 
themselves. If the percolation be well conducted, so as to exhaust the cantha- 
rides, of which the active matter is soluble in alcohol, this cerate ought theo- 
retically to be more effective than the old blistering cerate; as the active princi- 
ples are separated from the inert matter of the flies which envelops them in the 
natural state, and must in some measure interfere with their action; and it is 
Baid that its superior efficacy has been practically ascertained. It is to be used 
in the same manner as the cerate of cantharides. W. 
CERATUM PLUMBI SUBACETATIS. U.S. Unguentum Plumbi 
Subacetatis. Br. Cerate of Subacetate of Lead. Goulard's Cerate. 
“Take of Solution of Subacetate of Lead two fluidounces and a half; White 
Wax four troyounces; Olive Oil eight troyounces; Camphor thirty grains. 
Mix the Wax, previously melted, with seven troyounces of the Oil. Then re- 
move the mixture from the fire, and, when it begins to thicken, gradually pour 
in the Solution of Subacetate of Lead, stirring constantly with a wooden spatula 
till it becomes cool. Lastly, add the Camphor, dissolved in the remainder of the 
Oil, and mix them.” U. S. 
The British Pharmacopoeia takes six fluidounces of the Solution of Sub- 
acetate of Lead, eight ounces [avoirdupois] of White Wa$, a pint [Imperial 
measure] of Olive Oil, and sixty grains of Camphor, and proceeds in the man- PART II. 
Cerata. 
1043 
ner above directed, except that the wax and oil are melted by means of a steam 
or water bath, instead of over a fire; and in this respect its directions are more 
judicious than those of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. 
This cerate received the name by which it is commonly known from M. Gou- 
lard, by whom it was employed and recommended. It soon begins to assume 
a yellowish colour, and after a short time becomes so rancid as to be scarcely 
fit for use. Hence it should be prepared in small quantities at once. The late 
Mr. Jacob Bell found it more satisfactory when made with yellow wax. (Pharm. 
Journ., March, 1859, p. 459.) Eggenfels, a German pharmaceutist, recommends 
the following method of proceeding to prevent its change of colour. The wax 
and oil are melted in a water-bath; the solution of acetate of lead, previously 
heated, is added in small portions successively; and the mixture well stirred, and 
digested for some time; a partial saponification takes place, and an emulsion 
afterwards; and the cerate retains its white colour. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
Sept. 1861, p. 408.) It is used chiefly in excoriations, burns, scalds, and chil- 
blains, and in cutaneous eruptions. We have found it more effectual than any 
other application to blistered surfaces indisposed to heal; and, on the recom- 
mendation of the late Dr. Parrish, have used it in the following combination with 
advantage in various cutaneous eruptions of a local character. Take of cerate 
of subacetate of lead, simple cerate, each, half an ounce; calomel, powdered 
opium, each, a drachm; mix them. The same preparation, without the opium, 
was a favourite remedy with the late Dr. Wistar in similar complaints. W. 
CERATUM RESINiE. TJ. S. Unguentum Resina. Br. Resin Ce- 
rate. Ointment of Resin. Basilicon Ointment. 
“ Take of Resin ten troyounces ; Yellow Wax four troy ounces; Lard sixteen 
troyounces. Melt them together, strain the mixture through muslin, and stir it 
constantly until cool.” U. S. 
“ Take of Resin, in coarse powder, eight ounces ; Yellow Wax four ounces; 
Simple Ointment sixteen ounces. Melt with a gentle heat, strain the mixture 
while hot, and stir constantly until it cools.” Br. 
The straining is directed in consequence of the impurities which resin often 
contains. Resin cerate, commonly called basilicon ointment, is much used as a 
gently stimulant application to blistered surfaces, indolent ulcers, burns, scalds, 
and chilblains. We have found no application more effectual in disposing the 
ulcers which follow burns to heal. 
Off. Prep. Ceratum Sabin®, U. S.; Linimentum Terebinthin®, Br. W. 
CERATUM RESINiE COMPOSITUM. U. S. Compound Resin 
Cerate. 
“Take of Resin, Suet, Yellow Wax, each, twelve troyounces; Turpentine 
six troyounces; Flaxseed Oil seven troyounces. Mix them together, strain the 
mixture through muslin, and stir it constantly until cool.” U. S. 
This is somewhat more stimulating than the preceding, but is applicable to 
similar purposes, particularly to the treatment of indolent ulcers. Under the 
name of DeshlePs salve, it is popularly employed in some parts of the United 
States. It should be kept well protected from the air, in consequence of its lia- 
bility when exposed to acquire a tough consistence. W. 
CERATUM SABINiE. U.S. Unguentum Sabina:. i?r. Savine Ce- 
rate. Ointment of Savine. 
“ Take of Savine, in fine powder, three troyounces; Resin Cerate twelve troy- 
ounces; Ether a sufficient quantity. Moisten the Savine with Ether, pack it 
firmly in a cylindrical percolator, and pour on Ether until the filtered liquid 
passes nearly colqurless. Evaporate this spontaneously to the consistence of 
syrup, add the concentrated liquid to the Resin Cerate, softened by a gentle heat, 
and mix them thoroughly.” TJ. S. Cerata, 
PART n.' 
"‘Take of Fresh Savine, bruised, eight ounces; White Wax three ounces; 
Prepared Lard sixteen ounces. Melt the Lard and the Wax together on a 
water-bath, add the Savine, and digest for twenty minutes. Then remove the 
mixture, and express through calico.” Br. 
As the savine used in this country is generally brought from Europe in the 
dried state, we are compelled to resort to a mode of preparing the cerate differ- 
ent from that usually employed in Europe. In the Pharmacopoeia of 1850, the 
dried savine was simply mixed, in powder, with resin cerate previously softened; 
and the proportion used was one part of the powder to six parts of the cerate. 
Nor did we find the preparation thus made to be “intolerably acrid and almost 
caustic,” as Dr. Duncan described it. On the contrary, it answered very well the 
purpose for which it was used, that of maintaining the discharge from blistered 
surfaces. The process, however, of the present edition of the Pharmacopoeia is 
certainly more elegant than the former, and probably, if well executed, will yield 
a more effective product; as the active matter is extracted by the ether, and 
must operate more energetically than while entangled in the inert matter of the 
leaves. The only objection to it is its expensiveness. A cerate, prepared in the 
same manner as the former cerate, from the leaves of the red cedar (Juniperus 
Virginiana) is sometimes substituted for that of savine, but is less efficient. 
Prepared according to the process of the British Pharmacopoeia, savine cerate 
has a fine deep-green colour, and the odour of the leaves. It should be kept in 
closely covered vessels. 
Savine cerate is preferable to the ointment of Spanish flies as a dressing for 
perpetual blisters, from the circumstance that it has no tendency to produce 
strangury. The white coating which forms, during its use, upon the blistered 
surface should be occasionally removed, as it prevents the contact of the cerate. 
It is sometimes applied to seton cords, to increase the discharge. W. 
CERATUM SAPONIS. U. S. Soap Cerate. 
“Take of Soap Plaster two troyounces; White Wax two troyounces and a 
half; Olive Oil four troyounces. Melt together the Plaster and Wax, add the 
Oil, and, after continuing the heat a short time, stir the mixture until cool.” U.S. 
This is a much neater preparation than that of the Pharmacopoeia of 1850, 
which was made by boiling the solution of subacetate of lead with soap, and then, 
after concentration, adding the wax and oil melted together; nor is there any 
reason to suppose that it is less efficient. Soap cerate is thought to be cooling 
and sedative; and is used in scrofulous swellings and other instances of chronic 
external inflammation. It was formerly employed by Mr. Pott as a dressing 
for fractured limbs; but answers no other purpose in these cases than to yield 
mechanical support. W. 
CERATUM ZINCI CARBONATIS. U.S. Cerate of Carbonate of Zinc. 
11 Take of Precipitated Carbonate of Zinc two troyounces; Ointment of Lard 
ten troyounces. Mix them.” U. S. 
This preparation is an imitation of the cerate recommended by Turner, and is 
intended as a substitute for the former Ceratum Zinci Carbonatis and more re- 
cent Ceratum Calaminae of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, as more reliable, in conse- 
quence of the frequent falsification of calamine. It is mildly astringent, and is 
used in excoriations and superficial ulcerations, produced by the chafing of the 
skin, irritating secretions, burns, or other causes.* W. 
* Ceratum Calaminx. U. S. 1850. Though abandoned as an officinal preparation, '.n con- 
sequence of the frequent adulteration or substitution to which calamine is liable, the pre- 
paration is still considerably used, and a formula is, therefore, required. The following is 
the late officinal process. “Take of Prepared Calamine, Yellow Wax, each, three junces; 
Lard a pound. Melt the Lard and Wax together, and when on cooling they begin to thicken, 
add the Calamine, and stir the mixture constantly until cool.” The uses of this cerate are 
the same as those mentioned in the text, under Ceratum Zinci Carbonatis. PART II. 
Cinchonia. 
CINCHONIA. 
Preparation of Ginchonia. 
CINCHONINE SULPHAS. U. S. Sulphate of Ginchonia. 
“ Take of the mother-water, remaining after the crystallization of Sulphate of 
Quinia, in the process for preparing that salt, a convenient quantity ; Solution of 
Soda, Alcohol, Diluted Sulphuric Acid, Animal Charcoal, in fine powder, each, a 
sufficient quantity. To the mother-water add gradually, with constant stirring, 
Solution of Soda, until the liquid becomes alkaline. Collect on a filter the pre- 
cipitate formed, wash it with water, and dry it. Then wash it with successive 
small portions of Alcohol, to remove other alkaloids which may be present. Mix 
the residue with eight times its weight of water, and, having heated the mixture, 
add gradually Diluted Sulphuric Acid until it is saturated and becomes clear. 
Then boil the liquid with Animal Charcoal, filter it while hot, and set it aside 
to crystallize. Lastly, drain the crystals, and dry them on bibulous paper. By 
evaporating the mother-liquid, more crystals may be obtained.” U. S. 
Sulphate of Cinchonia is now for the first time officinally recognised, having 
been introduced into the U. S. Pharmacopoeia at the late revision; and this re- 
cognition is certainly justified by its great importance as a medicine. In conse- 
quence of its greater solubility it remains behind in the mother-waters, when 
sulphate of quinia crystallizes, in the process for preparing the latter salt. To 
separate it from other substances contained in the mother-waters, it is decom- 
posed by solution of soda, which is preferable to potassa, as it forms a very 
soluble salt with sulphuric acid, whereas the sulphate of potassa, being of diffi- 
cult solubility, might fall with the precipitated cinchonia. The precipitate may 
be safely washed with small portions of alcohol, as the alkaloid is almost insoluble 
in that liquid when cold. It is next reconverted into the sulphate, and, the solu- 
tion having been boiled with unpurified animal charcoal to decolorize it, and 
at the same time neutralize any possible excess of sulphuric acid which might 
interfere with the crystallization of the salt, is filtered while hot, and then allowed 
to stand. It is peculiarly important that there should be no excess of sulphuric 
acid while the solution is exposed to heat, as, under this influence, the alkaloid 
is much disposed to become uncrystallizable. Hence the advantage of using un- 
purified animal charcoal or bone black, as the carbonate of lime contained in it 
neutralizes any excess of the acid. The sulphate of cinchonia, held in solution 
by the liquid while hot, is deposited by it upon cooling in crystals. 
It may be prepared also by first obtaining cinchonia from one of the pale 
barks (see page 289); treating this with water acidulated with sulphuric acid, 
added gradually till the alkaloid is dissolved; then boiling with purified animal 
charcoal, filtering the solution while hot, and setting it aside to crystallize. By 
alternate evaporation and crystallization all the sulphate may be obtained. 
There are two sulphates of cinchonia. The officinal salt may be considered 
either as the neutral sulphate, consisting of one eq. of cinchonia 308, one of sul- 
phuric acid 40, and two of water of crystallization 18 = 366; or, according to 
the view of Liebig, as a disulphate, consisting of two eqs. of base 308, one of 
acid 40, and two of water. By the addition of the necessary quantity of acid, 
it passes into the higher sulphate (bisulphate, or neutral sulphate, according to 
the view that may be adopted), which is soluble in less than half its weight of 
water at 58°. We have always been inclined to the view which considers it a$ 
the neutral salt, and this probably now predominates with chemists, so that the 
salt is properly named sulphate of cinchonia in the Pharmacopceia. It crystal- 
lizes in short, oblique, shining prisms with dihedral summits, which melt at 212°, 
at a somewhat higher temperature lose their water of crystallization, and at a 
red heat are dissipated, without residue. Its taste is very bitter. It is soluble in Cinchonia.—Collodium. 
PART II. 
fifty-four parts of water at common temperatures, and in a smaller quantity of 
boiling water, and is readily dissolved by alcohol, but very sparingly by ether. 
The tests by which it may be known as a salt of cinchonia are mentioned under 
the head of Cinchona in Part I. (page 289). That it is a sulphate will be shown 
by the white precipitate produced with its solution by chloride of calcium.* 
Medical Properties and Uses. It is now pretty well determined that sulphate 
of cinchonia has the same remedial properties as sulphate of quinia. That it is 
equally efficient as an antiperiodie remedy, in a somewhat larger dose, has been 
established by abundant experience. (See a paper, by Dr. A. P. Turner, in the 
Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., April, 1864, p. 396.) As a tonic it may be given in 
the dose of a grain or two, three or four times a day; as an antiperiodie, fifteen 
grains to half a drachm may be given between the paroxysms. It may be taken 
in pill or solution. In the latter case, the solution of the salt may be aided by 
the addition of a little aromatic sulphuric acid, in the proportion, for example, 
of a minim or two drops for each grain of the salt, in a solution of eight grains 
to a fluidounce of water. VV 
COLLODIUM. 
Preparations of Collodion. 
COLLODIUM. U.S.y Br. Collodion. 
“Take of Cotton, freed from impurities, half a troyounce; Nitrate of Po- 
tassa, in fine powder, ten troxjounces; Sulphuric Acid fifteen troyounces and a 
half; Stronger Ether twenty-one fluidounces; Stronger Alcohol a sufficient 
quantity. Add the Sulphuric Acid to the Nitrate of Potassa in a glass or por- 
celain vessel, and stir them together until they are uniformly mixed. When the 
temperature of the mixture is below 122°, add the Cotton, and, by means of 
stout glass rods, imbue it thoroughly with the mixture. Then cover the vessel 
closely with a glass or porcelain lid, and allow it to stand for twenty-four hours. 
Transfer the Cotton to a larger vessel, and wash it, first with cold water until 
the washings cease to have an acid taste, and then with boiling water. Press it 
as dry as possible with the hand, pack it tightly in a conical percolator, and 
pour upon it Stronger Alcohol until the remaining water is displaced; then 
again press it as dry as possible with the hand. Mix the Stronger Ether with 
six fluidounces of Stronger Alcohol in a suitable bottle, aud, having added the 
moist Cotton to the mixture, agitate occasionally until it is dissolved. The 
Cotton, prepared for solution by this formula, and dried at 212°, weighs three 
hundred and thirty-six grains. 
“ Collodion may also be made by dissolving fifty-six grains of Cotton, pre- 
pared as above, and dried at 212°, in a mixture of three fluidounces and a half 
of Stronger Ether and a fluidounce of Stronger Alcohol.” U. S. 
“Take of Pyroxylin one ounce [avoirdupois]; Ether thirty-six fluidounces 
[Imperial measure]; Rectified Spirit twelve fluidounces [Imp. meas.]. Mix 
the Ether and the Spirit, and add the Pyroxylin. Set aside for a few days, and, 
should there be any sediment, decant the clear solution. Keep it in a stoppered 
bottle.” Br. 
Collodion is a solution of freshly prepared gun cotton in ether, assisted by a 
little alcohol. Gun cotton was originally obtained from cotton by steeping it 
in nitric acid, by the action of which it is converted into an explosive compound. 
* A new test, distinguishing between sulphates of quinia and cinchonia, has recently 
been announced by M. Palm, of Russia, in the polysulphuret of potassium prepared by 
boiling solution of potAssa with an excess of sulphur. When a solution of this sulphuret 
is added to a boiling solution of sulphate of quinia, the latter, however small the quantity 
present, is thrown down as a red terebinthinate mass, which hardens on cooling, and then 
assumes the appearance of a resin; while with sulphate of cinchonia a white powder is 
precipitated containing sulphur. (Journ. de Pharm., Mai, 1864, p. 459.) PART II. 
Collodium. 
1047 
(See Gun Cotton in Part III.) When gun cotton is intended for solution m 
ether, a better preparation for this purpose is made by the process of Dr. Ellet, 
of South Carolina College, which consists in steeping cotton in a mixture of nitre' 
and sulphuric acid. This mixture sets free the necessary nitric acid for effecting 
the change in the cotton. Gun cotton, thus prepared, more readily dissolves in 
ether than that made by direct reaction of nitric acid; and, for that reason, the 
process of Dr. Ellet was adopted in the U. S. formula. The present officinal 
preparation is somewhat stronger than that of the Pharmacopoeia of 1850, hav- 
ing a considerably smaller proportion of the ether and alcohol conjointly, though 
the proportion of alcohol is much increased. On account of the facility with 
which ether evaporates, it is the better menstruum for remedial purposes; but 
gun cotton will not dissolve in that liquid when quite pure, and the addition of 
a little alcohol is necessary. The existing proportion was adjusted by Dr. Squibb, 
who found by frequent trial some increase in the quantity of alcohol desirable; 
and the resulting preparation has been found to answer well in practice. The 
increase of alcohol, however, though the quantity directed is six times greater 
than before, is in reality much less than this; for the common ether directed in 
the formula of 1850 itself contains a very considerable proportion of alcohol, while 
the stronger ether now used has comparatively little. Other improvements in the 
process are the fixing of the temperature at which the cotton is to be introduced 
into the acid mixture, which was before left indefinite, and the more complete 
removal of water from the gun cotton by displacing it with alcohol after ex- 
pression. The process is now said to work well in practice, and yields a pre- 
paration more firm and adhesive than the old formula. Gun cotton, prepared as 
above directed, is not liable to decomposition, but continues fit for solution in 
ether for a considerable time. Hence the propriety of the alternative formula, 
in which the gun cotton, dried at 212°, may be dissolved in a due proportion of 
the two menstrua. In following the U. S. process, it is necessary that the sul- 
phuric acid be of the officinal strength. 
In the British process, gun cotton, denominated pyroxylin, is directed to be 
dissolved in a mixture of ether and alcohol; a formula for the preparation of 
pyroxylin being given in the Appendix to the Pharmacopoeia. It is asserted, 
however, that the pyroxylin made by that formula, though an excellent explosive 
compound, is not readily dissolved by the mixture of ether and alcohol. (Pharm. 
Journ., March, 1864, p. 416.) 
Collodion is a transparent, colourless liquid, of a syrupy consistence, and 
ethereal smell. When applied to a dry surface, the ether quickly evaporates, 
and a transparent film is left, having remarkable adhesiveness and contractility. 
On account of the great volatility of ether, collodion must be kept in bottles well 
stopped. When insecurely kept, the liquid thickens and becomes less fit for the 
use of the surgeon. The thickened liquid sometimes contains acicular crystals, 
a3 was first observed by Mr. Higginson, of London, and afterwards by Prof. 
Leidy, of this city, who examined it with the microscope. 
Collodion was first applied to the purposes of surgery by Mr. J. Parker May- 
nard, student of medicine, of Boston, in January, 1847. It is employed for hold- 
ing together the edges of incised wounds, for covering ulcers or abraded surfaces 
with an impervious film not acted upon by water, and for encasing parts which 
require to be kept without relative motion. It is applied, brushed over the part, 
or by means of strips of muslin. In whatever way applied, the solvent quickly 
evaporates, and leaves the solid adhesive material. According to Lepage, gun 
?otton will dissolve in equal parts of ether and alcohol, forming a solution quite 
as adhesive as that made with ether alone. As this solution dries more slowly, 
’t may prove preferable to the ethereal solution in certain cases. The strong 
'ontractile powder of the collodion coating is an objection to it for some purposes. 
This property is removed, according to Mr. C. S. Rand, of Philadelphia, by dis- 1048 
Collodium. 
PART II. 
solving first one part of gun cotton, and then one part of Venice turpentine, in 
twenty parts of ether. To give more flexibility to the film, M. Sourisseau, of 
-Kaiserberg, adds one part of elemi to twelve of collodion. According to Mr. 
Startin, of London, opacity and elasticity may be imparted at the same time, 
by adding from half a drachm to a drachm of lard, or some similar fatty matter, 
previously dissolved in ether, to an ounce of collodion. The qualities of softness 
and elasticity are given by combining collodion with castor oil, in the propor- 
tion of thirty parts to two, agreeably to the plan of M. Guersant, who found it 
useful, thus modified, in erysipelas; and the proportion of castor oil may be in- 
creased if thought desirable. An elastic collodion, somewhat similar, in which, 
besides castor oil, Venice turpentine and white wax are ingredients, has been pro- 
posed by E. Lauras. (Pharm. Journ., xii. 303.) A very pliable collodion may 
be made of thirty parts of collodion, twelve of Venice turpentine, and six of cas- 
tor oil. According to MM. Cap and Garot, the most successful way for obtain- 
ing an elastic collodion is to mix two parts of glycerin with one hundred of col- 
lodion. Glycerized collodion is exceedingly supple, does not crack and scale off 
from the skin, and accommodates itself to the motions of the part. In order to 
imitate the colour of the skin, an ethereal tincture of turmeric or saffron may be 
added, so as to produce the desired tint. Dr. Meller has proposed a solution of 
shell-lac in highly rectified alcohol, so as to have a gelatinous consistence, as a 
succedaneum for collodion. 
Collodion has been used with advantage by Dr. J. R. Mitchell, of Dublin, and 
by Dr. Aran, to form an artificial covering to ulcers of the os and cervix uteri, 
thereby allowing the healing process to go on underneath; by M. Wetzlar, of 
Aix-la-Chapelle, in chilblains; and by Dr. J. W. Freer, of Illinois, in erysipelas. 
According to Dr. Christen, of Prague, collodion is useful in erysipelas from local 
causes only, such as wounds, ulcers, burns, &c., but hurtful in the disease from 
an internal cause. The same writer condemns its use to prevent pitting in small- 
pox as positively injurious. In burns collodion has been found highly useful by 
several practitioners, especially in conjunction with castor oil. Its application 
produces sharp pain at first. It acts by affording a protective covering to the 
cutis, and, in superficial inflammation, probably, in part, by expelling the blood 
from the inflamed vessels through the contractile power of the film. This pro- 
perty of collodion has been taken advantage of in the treatment of chronic entro- 
pium, two cases of which, successfully treated by it, have been reported by Mr. 
William Batten. (Banking's Abstract, No. 23, p. 134.) Dr. J. II. Claiborne has 
used a thick coating of collodion with decided advantage as a compressing agent 
for the discussion of buboes. It is said to have proved useful in phlegmasia 
dolens, and is asserted even to have cured a case of puerperal peritonitis, spread 
over the surface of the abdomen. (Med. Times and Gaz., Oct. 1850,*p. 342.) 
Mr. Erasmus Wilson has used collodion with decided advantage in certain 
diseases of the skin. In chapped nipples it has an admirable effect. When ap- 
plied to ulcers, abrasions, or chaps of the skin, it requires to be diluted with 
ether, so as to render it nearly as limpid as water. Mr. J. H. Tucker found it 
useful in stopping the bleeding from leech-bites. M. Sourisseau and Mr. E. H. 
Durden have used it as a coating for pills, which are thereby deprived of taste, 
but not injured in medical properties. 
Collodion has been variously medicated, and thus made the vehicle of several 
important medicines for external application. Iodized collodion has been pro- 
posed by Dr. C. Fleming, for the purpose of obtaining the specific effects of iodine 
in a rapid manner, especially on tumours. It is made by dissolving from ten to 
twenty grains of iodine in a fluidounce of collodion. M. Aran has proposed a 
ferruginous collodion, made of equal parts of collodion and tincture of chloride 
of iron, as a remedy in erysipelas. A caustic collodion may be prepared by dis- 
solving 4 parts of corrosive sublimate in 30-of collodion. Dr. Macke, of So":au, part it. 
Collodium. 
1049 
has used this preparation for destroying nsevi materni. The eschar formed ia 
one or two lines in thickness, and separates in from three to six days, leaving but 
a trifling cicatrix. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., May, 1858, for formulas in which 
collodion is made the vehicle of iodine, belladonna, sulphur, &c.) All these medi 
cated collodions are most conveniently applied by means of a camel’s hair brush. 
Collodion has become an important agent iu various photographic processes. 
B. 
COLLODIUM CUM CANTHARIDE. U. S. Collodion with Cantha- 
rides. Cantharidal Collodion. 
“ Take of Cantharides, in fine powder, eight troyounces; Cotton, prepared by 
the process for Collodion, and dry, one hundred grains; Stronger Ether a pint 
and a half; Stronger Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Introduce the Cantharides 
into a cylindrical percolator, and, having pressed them firmly, gradually pour on 
the Ether. When fifteen fluidounces have passed, set aside the liquid in a close 
vessel, and continue the percolation with Stronger Alcohol until half a pint more 
of liquid is obtained. Set this in a warm place for spontaneous evaporation, 
and, when it is reduced to a fiuidounce, mix it with the reserved liquid. Then 
add the Cotton to the mixture, and agitate occasionally until it is dissolved. 
Lastly, keep the solution in a well-stopped bottle.” U. S. 
This was originally proposed by M. Ilisch, of St. Petersburg, Russia, and was 
introduced into our Pharmacopoeia at the late revision. The flies are exhausted 
successively by ether and alcohol, the ethereal solution is set aside, the alcoholic 
is allowed to evaporate till reduced from eight fluidounces to one, and the two 
liquids being then mixed are used as the menstruum for gun cotton. But, con- 
sidering the character of the menstruum, it appears to us that it must frequently 
fail to dissolve the cotton; as a larger proportion of alcohol is required for the 
purpose than will remain when the tincture has been reduced to one fiuidounce 
by evaporation. Had common ether, which always contains a considerable pro- 
portion of alcohol, been adopted instead of stronger ether, there would probably 
have been enough alcohol to render the process effectual, and economy would at 
the same time have been consulted. Should, therefore, the formula fail in the 
hands of the operator, we would suggest the substitution of the common ether. 
The original process of M. Ilisch was to exhaust, by percolation, a pound of can- 
tharides, with a mixture consisting of a pound of ether and three ounces of acetic 
ether; and in two ounces of this liquid dissolve 25 grains of gun cotton. Pro- 
fessor Procter states that it has been found more advantageous to exhaust the 
flies with ether, distil off the ether, and mix the oily residue with collodion al- 
ready prepared of the proper consistence (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxiv. 303); 
and this is probably a better formula than the officinal. Mr. Charles S. Rand, in 
a communication to the American Journal of Pharmacy (xxii. 18), states that 
Uiseh’s preparation, made with double the proportion of ether, vesicates equally 
well, and proposes the addition of about 1 per cent, of Venice turpentine, which 
he has found to prevent the disagreeable and sometimes painful contraction of 
the preparation upon drying. The preparation may be kept indefinitely, in an 
opaque glass-stoppered bottle, without change; but, on exposure to the light, the 
greenish colouring matter of the flies bleaches, and the liquid becomes yellowish. 
Cantharidal collodion is a very convenient epispastic remedy. It may be ap- 
plied to the surface by means of a camel’s hair brush, and, after the evaporation 
of the ether, which takes place in less than a minute, may be reapplied if the sur- 
face should not be well covered. It produces a blister in about the same time as 
the ordinary cerate, and has the advantages that it is applied with greater facility, 
is better adapted to cover uneven surfaces, and retains its place more certainly. 
According to Mr. Rand, if the evaporation of the ether be restrained by a piece 
of oiled silk immediately after its application, it will act much more speedily. 1050 
Confectioner 
PART II. 
CONFECTIONES. U.S.,Br. 
Confections. 
Under the general title of Confections, the Pharmacopoeias include all Ihose 
preparations having the form of a soft solid, in which one or more medicinal 
substances are incorporated with saccharine matter, with a view either to their 
preservation or more convenient administration. The old division into Con- 
serves and Electuaries has been abandoned; but, as there is some ground for 
the distinction, we shall make a few general remarks upon each division, before 
proceeding to the consideration of the individual preparations. 
Conserves consist of recent vegetable substances and refined sugar beat into 
a uniform mass. By means of the sugar, the vegetable matter is enabled to resist 
for some time the decomposition to which it would otherwise be exposed in the 
undried state, and the properties of the recent plant are thus retained to a cer- 
tain extent unaltered. But, as active medicines even thus treated undergo some 
change, and those which lose their virtues by desiccation cannot be long pre- 
served, the few conserves now retained are intended rather as convenient 
of other substances than for separate exhibition. The sugar used in their pre- 
paration should be reduced to a fine powder by pounding and sifting, as other- 
wise it will not mix uniformly with the other ingredients. 
Electuaries are mixtures consisting of medicinal substances, especially dry 
powders, combined with syrup or honey, in order to render them less unpleasant 
to the taste, and more convenient for internal use. They are usually prepared 
extemporaneously; and it is only when their complex nature renders it con- 
venient to keep them ready made in the shops, or some peculiarity in the mode 
of mixing the ingredients requires attention, that they become proper objects 
for officinal direction. Their consistence should not be so soft, on the one hand, 
as to allow the ingredients to separate, nor so firm, on the other, as to pre- 
vent them from being swallowed without mastication. Different substances re- 
quire different proportions of syrup. Light vegetable powders usually require 
twice their weight, gum-resins two-thirds of their weight, resins somewhat less, 
mineral substances about half their weight, and deliquescent salts not more than 
one-tenth. Should the electuary be found, after having been kept for a short 
time, to swell up and emit gas, it should be beat over again in a mortar, so that 
any portion of the sugar which may have crystallized may be again accurately 
incorporated with the other ingredients. Should it, on the contrary, become dry 
and hard from the mutual reaction of its constituents, more syrup should be 
added, so as to give it the requisite consistence. If the dryness result from the 
mere evaporation of the aqueous part, water should be added instead of syrup, 
and the same remark is applicable to the conserves. To prevent the hardening 
of electuaries, the French writers recommend the use of syrup prepared from 
brown sugar, which is less apt to crystallize than that made from the refined. 
Molasses would answer the same purpose; but its taste might be objectionable. 
Borne employ honey, but this is not always acceptable to the stomach. W. 
CONFECTIO AROMATIC A. U.S. Aromatic Confection. 
“Take of Aromatic Powder four troyounces; Clarified Honey four troy - 
ounces, or a sufficient quantity. Rub the Aromatic Powder with Clarified 
Honey until a uniform mass is obtained of the proper consistence.” U. S. 
The aromatic confection has been abandoned in the Br. Pharmacopoeia, pro- 
bably because readily prepared extemporaneously. It affords, nevertheless, a 
convenient means of administering the spices contained in it, and an agreeable 
vehicle for other medicines. The present U. S. formula differs favourably fiom 
that of 1850 in the omission of the saffron ; and the place of the syrup of orange 
peel has been economically supplied by using a larger proportion of hane/ part II. 
Confectiones. 
1051 
The confection is given in debilitated states of the stomach. The dose is from 
ten to sixty grains. W 
CONFECTIO AURANTII CORTICIS. U.S. Confection of Orange 
Peel. 
“Take of Sweet Orange Peel, recently separated from the fruit by grating, 
twelve troyounces; Sugar [refined] thirty-six troyounces. Beat the Orange Peel 
with the Sugar, gradually added, until they are thoroughly mixed.” U. S. 
This confection, like the preceding, has been dropped in the recent consolida- 
tion of the British Pharmacopoeias. It is sometimes used as a grateful aromatic 
vehicle or adjunct of tonic and purgative powders. W. 
CONFECTIO OPII. U.S. Confection of Opium. 
“Take of Opium, in fine powder, two hundred and seventy grains; Aromatic 
Powder six troyounces; Clarified Honey fourteen troyounces. Hub the Opium 
with the Aromatic Powder, then add the Honey, and beat the whole together 
until thoroughly mixed.” U. S. 
This confection was intended as a substitute for those exceedingly complex 
and unscientific preparations, formerly known by the names of theriaca and 
mithridate, which have been expelled from modern pharmacy. It was an offi- 
cinal of the London and Edinburgh Colleges; but has been discarded in the 
British Pharmacopoeia. The preparation is a combination of opium with spices, 
which render it more stimulant, and more grateful to a debilitated stomach. It 
may be given in atonic gout, flatulent colic, diarrhoea unattended with inflam- 
mation, and other diseases requiring the use of a stimulant narcotic. Added to 
Peruvian bark or sulphate of quinia, it increases the efficacy of this remedy in 
obstinate cases of intermittent fever. One grain of opium is contained in about 
thirty-six grains of the confection. W. 
CONFECTIO PIPER IS. Br. Confection of Black Pepper. 
“Take of Black Pepper, in fine powder, two ounces; Caraway, in fine pow- 
der, three ounces; Clarified Honey fifteen ounces. Rub them well together in 
a mortar.”Br. 
This preparation was intended as a substitute for Ward’s paste, which ac- 
quired some reputation in Great Britain as a remedy in piles and ulcers of the 
rectum. To do good, it must be continued, according to Mr. Brodie, for two, 
three, or four months. The dose is from one to two drachms repeated two or 
three times a day. Its stimulating properties render it inapplicable to cases 
attended with much inflammation. W. 
CONFECTIO ROSiE. U.S. Confectio Ros,® Gallics. Br. Confec- 
tion of Hose. Confection of Hoses. 
“Take of Red Rose, in fine powder, four troyounces; Sugar [refined], in 
fine powder, thirty troyounces; Clarified Honey six troyounces; Rose Water 
eight fluidounces. Rub the Rose with the Rose Water heated to 150°; then 
gradually add the Sugar and Honey, and beat the whole together until thor- 
oughly mixed.” U. S. 
“ Take of Fresh Red-Rose Petals one pound; Refined Sugar three pounds. 
Beat the Petals to a pulp in a stone mortar; add the Sugar, and rub them well 
together.” Br. 
In the British process the unblown petals only are used, and these should be 
deprived of their claws; in other words, the rose buds should be cut off a short 
distance above their base, and the lower portion rejected. In the last three edi- 
tions of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, dried roses have been substituted for the fresh, 
as the latter are not brought to our market. The process is very similar to that 
of the French Codex. We have been informed, however, that much of the con- 
fection of roses made in Philadelphia is prepared from the fresh petals of the Confectiones. 
PART II. 
handred-leaved rose and others, by beating them into a pulp with sugar, as in 
the British process. An excuse for this deviation from the officinal formula is, 
that the confection thus made has greater adhesiveness than the officinal, and is 
therefore better fitted for the formation of pills. 
This confection is slightly astringent, but is almost exclusively used as a vehicle 
of other medicines, or to impart consistence to the pilular mass. 
Off. Prep. Pilula Aloes Barbadensis, Br.; Pil. Aloes et Assafcetid®, Br.; Pil. 
Aloes et Myrrh®, Br.; Pil. Aloes Socotrin®, Br.; Pil. Ferri Carbonatis, Br.; 
Pilul® Hydrargyri; Pil. Plumbi cum Opio, Br. W. 
CONFECTIO ROSiE CANINiE. Br. Confection of Hips. 
“Take of Hips, carefully deprived of their seeds, one pound; Refined Sugar, 
two pounds. Beat the Hips to a pulp in a stone mortar, add the Sugar, and 
rub them well together.” Br. 
This preparation is acidulous and refrigerant, and is used in Europe for 
forming more active medicines into pills and electuaries. W. 
CONFECTIO SCAMMONII. Br. Confection of Scammony. 
“Take of Scammony, or Resin of Scammony, in fine powder, three ounces; 
Ginger, in fine powder, one ounce and a half; Oil of Caraway one fluidrachm ; 
Oil of Cloves half a fluidrachm; Syrup three fluidounces; Clarified Honey 
one ounce and a half. Rub the powders with the Syrup and the Honey into a 
uniform mass, then add the Oils and mix.” Br. The ounce used in this process 
is the avoirdupois ounce. 
The confection is actively cathartic in the dose of half a drachm or a drachm; 
but is very little used. It would seem that, according to the British Pharmaco- 
poeia, it was a matter of indifference whether scammony or its resin should be 
used. As this drug is generally found in the market, it has but little more than 
half the strength of the resin. It is true that the purest and best scammony is 
much stronger than this, yet it is decidedly weaker than its resin, and the Phar- 
macopoeia itself describes it as containing only from 80 to 90 per cent, of this 
ingredient. It appears to be a strange want of precision thus to confound the 
two, as if they were to be given in the same dose. W. 
CONFECTIO SENNiE. U.S., Br. Confection of Senna. Lenitive 
Electuary. 
“Take of Senna, in fine powder, eight troyounces; Coriander, in fine powder, 
four troyounces; Purging Cassia, finely bruised, sixteen troyounces; Tamarind 
ten troyounces; Prune, sliced, seven troyounces; Fig, bruised, twelve troy- 
ounces; Sugar, in coarse powder, thirty troyounces; Water a sufficient quan- 
tity. Digest, in a close vessel, by means of a water-bath, the Purging Cassia, 
Tamarind, Prune, and Fig in three pints of Water for three hours. Separate 
the coarser portions with the hand, and pass the pulpy mass, by rubbing, first 
through a coarse hair sieve, and then through a fine one, or a muslin cloth. Mix 
the residue with a pint of Water, and, having digested the mixture for a short 
tim6, treat it as before, and add the product to the pulpy liquid first obtained. 
Then, by means of a water-bath, dissolve the Sugar in the pulpy liquid, and 
evaporate the whole until it weighs ninety-six troyounces, or until it has been 
brought to the consistence of honey. Lastly, add the Senna and Coriander, and 
incorporate them thoroughly with the other ingredients while yet warm.” U.S. 
“Take of Senna, in fine powder, seven ounces; Coriander, in fine powder, 
three ounces; Figs twelve ounces; Tamarinds nine ounces; Cassia Pulp nine 
ounces; Prunes six ounces; Extract of Liquorice, three-quarters of an ounce ; 
Refined Sugar thirty ounces; Distilled Water twenty-four fluidounces. Boil 
the Figs gently in the Water in a covered vessel for four hours; then express 
and strain the liquor; and, having added more Distilled Water to make up the PART II. 
Confectiones.—Cuprum. 
1053 
quantity to twenty-four fluidounces, put into it the Prunes, and boil as before 
for four hours. Add the Tamarinds and the Cassia; macerate for a short time; 
and press the pulp through a hair sieve. Dissolve the Sugar and the Extract of 
Liquorice in the mixture with a gentle heat; and, while it is still warm, add to 
it gradually the mixed Senna and Coriander, and stir diligently until all the in- 
gredients are thoroughly combined. The resulting Confection should weigh sixty 
ounces.” Br. The ounce employed in the British process is the avoirdupois ounce. 
The confection of senna, when properly made, is an elegant preparation, and 
keeps well if properly secured. The present U. S. process differs from the old in 
preparing the pulps, as suggested in former editions of this Dispensatory, instead 
of taking them already prepared; and this is no doubt the best plan. The only 
material difference is the omission of the liquorice root in the present formula, 
and this is of no other consequence than that its taste may be missed in the con- 
fection. It is not uncommon to omit the cassia pulp in the preparation of the 
confection, as the pods are not always to be found in the market. But, as this is 
next to senna the most active ingredient, the omission is to be regretted; and 
there is no doubt that a steady demand for the fruit would be met by an abund- 
ant supply from the West Indies.* 
This is one of our best and most pleasant laxatives, being admirably adapted 
to cases of habitual costiveness, especially in pregnant women and persons affected 
with piles. It is also very useful in the constipation which is apt to attend con- 
valescence from fevers and other acute diseases. The mean dose is two drachms, 
to be taken at bedtime. W. 
CONFECTIO SULPHURIS. Br. Confection of Sulphur. 
“Take of Sublimed Sulphur four ounces [avoirdupois]; Acid Tartrate of 
Potassa one ounce [avoird.]; Syrup of Orange Peel four fluidounces. Rub 
them well together.” Br. 
This is merely a mode of administering the two laxatives sulphur and bitar- 
trate of potassa; and the relative proportion of the latter is so small that it can 
have little effect. The dose is from two to four drachms or more. W. 
CONFECTIO TEREBINTHINiE. Br. Confection of Turpentine. 
“Take of Oil of Turpentine one fluidounce ; Liquorice Root, in powder, one 
ounce [avoirdupois]; Clarified Honey two ounces [avoird.]. Rub the Oil of 
Turpentine with the Liquorice, add the Honey, and mix them together to a uni- 
form consistence.” Br. 
Confections might be multiplied indefinitely upon the principle which appears 
to have been adopted here, that, namely, of giving a convenient formula for the 
administration of medicines. The effects of this confection are those only of the 
oil of turpentine. The dose may be from a scruple to a drachm. W. 
CUPRUM. 
Preparation of Copper. 
CUPRUM AMMONIATUM. U. S. Ammoniated Copper. 
“ Take of Sulphate of Copper half a troy ounce; Carbonate of Ammonia three 
hundred and sixty grains. Rub them together in a glass mortar until efferves- 
* Senna lias been variously prepared to obtain the effects of this confection, in a more 
agreeable, or less complex form. Thus, under the name of medicated prunes a confection is 
prepared by mixing prunes with concentrated infusion of senna, and evaporating with a 
gentle heat to the proper consistence, a little sugar being added to improve the flavour; 
senna Jigs appear to be made by slitting figs, and impregnating the interior parts with ex- 
tract or powder of senna; and senna paste consists of figs and powdered senna, beaten thor- 
oughly together to the consistence of a confection, and then covered with granulated sugar. 
—Note to the eleventh edition. 1054 
Cuprum, 
part II. 
cence ceases. Then wrap the Ammoniated Copper in bibulous paper, dry it with 
a gentle heat, and keep it in a well-stopped glass bottle.” U. S. 
When the two salts above mentioned are rubbed together, a reaction takes 
place between them, attended with the extrication of the water of crystallization 
of the sulphate of copper, which renders the mass moist, and with the simulta- 
neous escape of carbonic acid gas from the carbonate (sesquicarbonate) of ammo- 
nia, which occasions an effervescence. The colour is at the same time altered, 
passing from the light blue of the powdered sulphate of copper to a beautiful 
deep azure. The nature of the chemical changes which take place is not pre- 
cisely known. One of the views which have been taken is, that the blue vitriol 
parts with a portion of its acid to the ammonia of the carbonate, thus forming 
a subsulphate of copper and sulphate of ammonia, which are either mixed to- 
gether, or chemically united in the form of a double salt, the sulphate of copper 
and ammonia. According to Phillips, the sulphuric acid of'the sulphate of.cop- 
per unites with the ammonia of a portion of the sesquicarbonate of ammonia; 
while the carbonic acid of the decomposed sesquicarbonate partly escapes, and 
partly combines with the oxide of copper; so that the resulting preparation con- 
sists of sulphate of ammonia, carbonate of copper, and undecomposed sesquicar- 
bonate of ammonia. It is highly probable that Cuprum Ammoniatum, inde- 
pendently of the excess of sesquicarbonate of ammonia which it may contain, is 
identical with the crystallized salt obtained by dropping a solution of pure am- 
monia into a solution of sulphate of copper till the subsalt first thrown down is 
dissolved, then concentrating, and precipitating by alcohol. Now, from the ana- 
lysis of this salt by Berzelius, it appears to contain one equivalent of sulphuric 
acid, one of oxide of copper, two of ammonia, and one of water, which may be 
supposed to be combined in the form of a double salt—the cupro-sulphate of 
ammonia—consisting of one eq. of sulphate of ammonia, one of cuprate of am- 
monia, in which the oxide of copper acts the part of an acid, and one of water 
of crystallization HO). But as half an ounce of sul- 
phate of copper would require for such a result somewhat less than the same 
weight of sesquicarbonate of ammonia, there must be a considerable excess of 
the latter salt, unless dissipated in the drying process. In the uncertainty which 
exists as to the precise nature of the preparation, the name of ammoniated cop- 
per appears to be the most appropriate as a pharmaceutical title. 
This salt has a beautiful deep azure-blue colour, a strong ammoniacal odour, 
and a styptic, metallic taste. It is soluble in water, and the solution has an alka- 
line reaction on vegetable colours; but, unless there be excess of sesquicarbonate 
of ammonia, the solution deposits subsulphate of copper if much diluted. When 
exposed to the air it parts with ammonia, and is said to be ultimately converted 
into sulphate of ammonia and carbonate of copper. This change is apt to occur, 
to a greater or less extent, while it is drying. It should not, therefore, be pre- 
pared in large quantities at a time, and should be kept in well-closed bottles. 
By heat the whole of it is dissipated, except the oxide of copper. Arsenious acid 
precipitates a green arsenite of copper from its solution. Potassa, soda, lime- 
water, and the acids are incompatible with it. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Ammoniated copper is tonic, and is thought 
to exercise an influence over the nervous system which renders it antispasmodic. 
It has been much employed in epilepsy, in which it was recommended by Cullen. 
There is good reason to believe that it has occasionally effected cures; but like 
all other remedies in that complaint it very frequently fails. It has also been 
used in chorea, hysteria, and worms; and by Swediaur as an injection in gonor- 
rhoea and leucorrhoea. In overdoses it produces vomiting, and the poisonous 
effects which result from the other preparations of copper. (See Cuprum.) It 
is said, however, to be less apt to excite nausea. The dose is a quarter or half 
a graiu, repeated twice a day, and gradually increased to four or five grains. It PART II. 
Deeocta. 
1055 
may be given in pill or solution. The medicine should not be very long continued 
without interruption; according to Cullen, not longer than a month. It has been 
discarded by the British Council; but surely it must be still used in Great Bri- 
tain to an extent, which would render expedient an officinal regulation of the 
mode of preparing it. W. 
DECOCTA. 
Decoctions. 
Decoctions are solutions of vegetable principles, obtained by boiling the sub- 
stances containing these principles in water. Vegetables generally yield theij' 
soluble ingredients more readily, and in larger proportion, to water maintained 
at the point of ebullition, than to the same liquid at a lower temperature. Hence 
decoction is occasionally preferred to infusion as a mode of extracting the vir- 
tues of plants, when the call for the remedy is urgent, and the greatest possible 
activity in the preparation is desirable. The process should be conducted in a 
covered vessel, so as to confine the vapour over the surface of the liquid, and 
thus prevent the access of atmospheric air, which sometimes exerts an injurious 
agency upon the active principle. The boiling, moreover, should not, as a gene- 
ral rule, be long continued; as the ingredients of the vegetable are apt to react 
on each other, and thus lose, to a greater or less extent, their original character. 
The substance submitted to decoction should if dry be either powdered or well 
bruised, if fresh, should be sliced, so that it may present an extensive surface to 
the action of the solvent; and previous maceration for some time in water is 
occasionally useful by overcoming the cohesion of the vegetable fibre. Should 
the physician not happen to prescribe this preliminary comminution, the apothe- 
cary should nevertheless not omit it. 
All vegetable substances are not proper objects for decoction. In many the 
active principle is volatile at a boiling heat, in others it undergoes some change 
unfavourable to its activity, and in a third set is associated with inefficient or nau- 
seous principles, which, though insoluble, or but slightly soluble in cool water, 
are abundantly extracted by that liquid at the boiling temperature, and thus en- 
cumber, if they do not positively injure the preparation. In all these instances, 
infusion is preferable to decoction. Besides, by the latter process, more matter 
is often dissolved than the water can retain, so that upon cooling a precipitation 
takes place, and the liquid is rendered turbid. When the active principle is thus 
dissolved in excess, the decoction should always be strained while hot; so that 
the matter which separates on cooling, may be mixed again with the fluid by 
agitation at the time of administering the remedy. 
In compound decoctions, the ingredients may be advantageously added at 
different periods of the process, according to the length of boiling requisite for 
extracting their virtues; and, should any one of them owe its activity to a vola- 
tile principle, the proper plan is, at the close of the process, to pour upon it the 
boiling decoction, and allow the liquor to cool in a covered vessel. 
As a general rule, glass or earthenware vessels should be preferred; as those 
made of metal are sometimes corroded by the ingredients of the decoction, which 
thus becomes contaminated. Vessels of clean cast-iron or common tin, or of 
block tin, are preferable to those of copper, brass, or zinc; but iron pots should 
not be used when astringent vegetables are concerned. 
Decoctions, from the mutual reaction of their constituents, as well as from the 
influence of the air, are apt to spoil in a short time. Hence they should be pre- 
pared only when wanted for use, and should not be kept, in warm weather, for a 
longer period than forty-eight hours. 
The new directions for decoctions in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia meet, as a gene- 
ral rule, all the requisitions above mentioned, and are remarkably neat and pre- 1056 
Decocta. 
PART IT. 
cise. It is, however, to be feared that, in the aim at uniformity, in itself very 
desirable, the peculiar qualities of the substances submitted to the process, re- 
quiring peculiar treatment, have, in some instances, been overlooked. The direc- 
tions, moreover, are adapted to the wants of the pharmaceutist, and cannot 
always be conveniently carried out in families, to whom the preparation of this 
class of medicines must often be confided. In such instances, it might be better 
for the physician simply to order the drug to be boiled in a covered vessel, for a 
certain length of time, or down to a certain amount, in a given quantity of water; 
as directed in former editions of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, and still directed, as a 
general rule, in that of Great Britain. Our list of officinal decoctions had been 
on former occasions so well freed from useless formulas that, at the recent revi- 
sion, there did not seem to be sufficient cause to dismiss a single one from the 
list; while, in the British Pharmacopoeia, not less than 17 of this class, formerly 
directed by the three Colleges, were discarded. These were the DecoctJqns of 
Pipsisseiva, Pale and Red Cinchona, Quince Seed, Bittersweet, Galls, Pome- 
granate Rind, Guaiacum Wood, Mezereon, Myrrh, Seneka, Tormenut, Elm 
Bark, and Uva Ursi, and the Compound Decoctions of Barley, Flaxiced, %ud 
Broom. W. 
DECOCTUM ALOES COMPOSITUM. Br. Compound Decoction of 
Aloes. 
“ Take of Extract of Socotrine Aloes ninety grains; Myrrh, bruised, Saffron, 
chopped fine, each, sixty grains ; Carbonate of Potash forty grains; Extract of 
Liquorice half an ounce [avoirdupois] ; Compound Tincture of Cardamom four 
fluidounces; Distilled Water a sufficiency. Triturate the Aloes, Myrrh, and 
Carbonate of Potash together; add the Saffron and Extract of Liquorice, and 
boil in fourteen [fluidjounces of the Water for ten minutes in a covered vessel. 
Cool, strain through flannel, and add the Tincture of Cardamom, witn as much 
water as may be necessary to make up the quantity of sixteen fluidounces.” Br. 
This is essentially the former process of the British Colleges. The direction 
is properly given to rub the aloes, myrrh, and carbonate of potassa together be- 
fore the addition of the other ingredients. The effect of the alkaline carbonate 
is, by combining with the resin of the myrrh, and the insoluble portion (apo- 
theme of Berzelius) of the aloes, to render them more soluble in water, while the 
liquorice assists in the suspension of the portion not actually dissolved. The 
tincture of cardamom is useful not only by its cordial property, but also by pre- 
venting spontaneous decomposition. This decoction is said not to filter clear 
when first made, but, if kept for some time, to deposit insoluble matter, and then 
to become bright and clear on filtering. (Pharm. Journ., xiv. 491.) 
Long boiling impairs the purgative property of aloes; and the same effect is 
thought to be produced, to a certain extent, by the alkalies, which certainly 
qualify its operation, and render it less apt to irritate the rectum. This decoc- 
tion, therefore, is milder as a cathartic than aloes itself, and not so liable to pro- 
duce or aggravate hemorrhoidal disease. At the same time it is more tonic and 
cordial from the presence of the myrrh, saffron, and cardamom, and derives ant- 
acid properties from the carbonate of potassa. It is given as a gentle cathartic, 
tonic, and emmenagogue; and is especially useful in dyspepsia, habitual consti- 
pation, and those complicated cases in which suppressed or retained menstrua- 
tion is connected with enfeebled digestion and a languid state of bowels. The 
dose is from half a fluidounce to two fluidounces. The decoction should not be 
combined in prescription with acids, acidulous salts, or other saline bodies which 
are incompatible with the alkaline carbonate. W. 
DECOCTUM CETRARIiE. U.S.,Br. Decoction of Iceland Moss. 
“ Take of Iceland Moss half a troyounce; Water a sufficient quantity. Boll 
the Iceland Moss in a pint of Water for fifteen minutes, strain with compression. PART II. 
Decocta. 
1057 
and add sufficient Water, through the strainer, to make the decoction measure 
a pint.” XJ. S. 
“Take of Iceland Moss one ounce [avoirdupois]. Distilled Water one pint 
and a half. Wash the Moss in cold water, to remove impurities; boil it with 
the Distilled Water for ten minutes in a covered vessel, and strain while hot. 
The product should measure about a pint.” Br. 
The directions of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia of 1850 were to boil half an ounce 
of the Moss with a pint and a half of Water down to a pint, and to strain 
with compression; and this process is preferable when the object is to extract 
not only the bitter principle, but also the whole of the demulcent and nutritive 
matter. As the bitter principle is dissolved along with the starch-like matter of 
the moss, this decoction unites an unpleasant flavour to its demulcent properties; 
but the plan which has been proposed of first extracting the bitterness by ma- 
ceration in water, or a very weak solution of an alkaline carbonate, and afterwards 
preparing the decoction, is inadmissible; as the peculiar virtues which distin- 
guish the medicine from the ordinary demulcents are thus entirely lost. (See Ce- 
traria.) A pint of the decoction may be taken during the day. W. 
* DECOCTUM CHIMAPHILiE. U.S. Decoction of Pipsissewa. De- 
coction of Winter G-reen. 
“ Take of Pipsissewa, bruised, a troy ounce; Water a sufficient quantity. Boil 
the Pipsissewa in a pint of Water for fifteen minutes, strain, and add sufficient 
Water, through the strainer, to make the decoction measure a pint.” TJ. S. 
Though, in our estimation, a very valuable medicine, this decoction does not 
appear to be much used abroad, and has been omitted in the British Pharmaco- 
poeia. The U. S. directions of 1850 were to boil an ounce of the bruised leaves 
with a pint and a half of water to a pint, and strain; and, having been much in 
the habit of using the decoction thus prepared, and found it to answer our pur- 
poses well, we must confess a wish that the same direction in reference to the 
amount of boiling had been retained. 
The medical properties and uses of pipsissewa have been detailed under the 
head of Chimaphila. One pint of the decoction may be given in the course of 
twenty-four hours. W. 
DECOCTUM CINCHONiE FLAV2E. U.S.,Br. Decoction of Yellow 
Cinchona. Decoction of Yellow Baric. 
“Take of Yellow Cinchona, bruised, a troy ounce; Water a sufficient quan- 
tity. Boil the Yellow Cinchona in a pint of Water for fifteen minutes, strain, 
and add sufficient Water, through the strainer, to make the decoction measure 
a pint.” U. S. 
“ Take of Yellow Cinchona Bark, in coarse powder, one ounce [avoirdupois]; 
Distilled Water one pint [Imp. meas.]. Boil for ten minutes in a covered vessel. 
Strain the decoction, when cold, through calico; and add sufficient Distilled Wa- 
ter through the filter to make up the quantity to sixteen fluidounces.” Br. W. 
DECOCTUM CINCHONA BUBBLE. U.S. Decoction of Red Cin- 
chona. Decoction of Red Bark. 
“Take of Bed Cinchona, bruised, a troyounce; Water a sufficient quantity. 
Boil the Bed Cinchona in a pint of Water for fifteen minutes, strain, and add 
sufficient Water, through the strainer, to make the decoction measure a pint.” 
U.S. 
The British Council has discarded this decoction, and there is no necessity for 
making distinct formulas for the several varieties. It would, we think, be better 
to have but one formula for all the varieties, with the general name of Decoctum 
Cinchonse, and to leave to the physician the special designation. 
The virtues of Peruvian bark, though extracted more rapidly by decoction 
a*7 Decocta. 
PART II. 
than by Infusion, are materially impaired by long boiling, in consequence of the 
changes effected in its constituents, either by their mutual reaction, or by the 
agency of atmospheric oxygen, or by both causes united. To prevent this result, 
the process should be performed in a covered vessel, and continued only ten or 
at the furthest fifteen minutes. But, even with these precautions, a considerable 
precipitate takes place in the decoction upon cooling, which is thus rendered 
turbid. According to Pelletier, besides the kinates of cinchonia and quinia, the 
water dissolves gum, starch, yellow colouring matter, kinate of lime, tannin, and 
a portion of cinchonic red, with a minute quantity of fatty matter. But the tan- 
nin and starch, at the boiling temperature, unite to form a compound insoluble 
in cold water; and, when the decoction is allowed to cool, this compound is pre- 
cipitated, together with a portion of the cinchonic red and fatty matter, which 
carry with them also a considerable quantity of the alkaline principles of the bark. 
(Jvurn. de Pliarm., vii. 119.) Hence, the decoction is ordered to be strained 
while hot, so that the portion of active matter precipitated may be mingled by 
agitation with the liquor, and not be lost. Pelletier recommends that a larger 
proportion of water, sufficient to retain the alkaloid in solution, be employed, that 
the decoction be filtered when cold, and then sufficiently concentrated by eva- 
poration. A better mode is to add to the liquid some acid which may form with 
the quinia and cinchonia compounds more soluble than the native salts. Lemon 
juice has been long employed as a useful addition to the decoction of cinchona, 
and we can now understand the manner in which it acts. Sulphuric acid in ex- 
cess answers the same purpose. By acidulating the pint of water employed in 
preparing the decoction with a fluidrachm of the aromatic or diluted sulphuric 
acid, we shall probably enable the menstruum to extract all the virtues of the 
bark. The propriety of such an addition is confirmed by the experiments of 
MM. Henry, jun., and Plisson, who have ascertained that portions of the alka- 
loids exist in the bark connected with the colouring matter in the form of insoluble 
compounds, and that it is impossible, therefore, completely to exhaust the bark 
by water alone. There may, however, be some diversity of action in the different 
salts of quinia and cinchonia; and the native kinates may, under certain circum- 
stances, be most efficient. 
Numerous substances produce precipitates with this decoction ; but compara- 
tively few affect its activity as a medicine. (See Infusum Cinchonse.) Tannic 
acid and the substances containing it should be excluded from the decoction; as 
it forms salts with the alkaline principles of the bark, which are either insoluble 
or but slightly soluble in water. The alkalies, alkaline earths, and salifiable 
bases generally should also be excluded; because, uniting with the kinic acid, 
they precipitate the alkaloids. 
The dose of the decoction is two fluidounces, to be repeated more or less fre- 
quently according to circumstances. Two drachms of orange peel, added to the 
decoction while still boiling hot, improve its flavour, and render it more accept- 
able to the stomach. W. 
DECOCTUM CORNUS FLORIDA. U.S. Decoction of Dogwood. 
“ Take of Dogwood, bruised, a troyounce; Water a sufficient quantity. Boil 
the Dogwood in a pint of Water for fifteen minutes, strain, and add sufficient 
Water, through the strainer, to make the decoction measure a pint.” U. S. 
This decoction has been proposed as a substitute for that of Peruvian bark; 
but, though possessed of analogous properties, it is much inferior in efficacy, 
and is not likely to be extensively employed so long as the Peruvian tonic is 
attainable. The dose is two fluidounces. W. 
DECOCTUM DULCAMARAS. U.S. Decoction of Bittersweet. 
“Take of Bittersweet, bruised, a troyounce; Water a sufficient quantity PART II. 
Decocta. 
1059 
Boil the Bittersweet in a pint of Water for fifteen minutes, strain, and add suffi- 
cient Water, through the strainer, to make the decoction measure a pint.” U. S 
This has been omitted in the British Pharmacopoeia, and an infusion substi 
tuted; but why, we are at a loss to say; for there is no reason to suppose that 
the virtues of bittersweet are materially impaired by boiling; and the twigs, 
having a somewhat ligneous texture, require a more thorough operation of the 
menstruum than many other substances. Indeed, this is one of the decoctions 
in which we are disposed to prefer the formula of 1850, which directed that an 
ounce of the twigs should be boiled with a pint and a half of water to a pint. 
The properties and uses of this decoction have been already detailed under 
the head of Dulcamara. The dose is from one to two fluidounces three or four 
times a day, or more frequently. W. 
DECOCTUM GRANATI RADICIS. Br. Decoction of Pomegranate 
Root. 
“ Take of Pomegranate Root, fresh or dry, sliced, tivo ounces [avoirdupois]; 
Distilled Water tivo pints [Imperial measure]. Boil down to a pint, and strain.” 
Br. 
For the uses and dose of this decoction, see Granati Radicis Cortex. W. 
DECOCTUM ILEMATOXYLI. U.S., Br. Decoction of Logwood. 
“ Take of Logwood, rasped, a troy ounce; Water a sufficient quantity. Boil 
the Logwood in a pint of Water for fifteen minutes, strain, and add sufficient 
Water, through the strainer, to make the decoction measure a pint.” U. S. 
“ Take of Logwood, in chips, one ounce [avoirdupois] ; Cinnamon, in powder, 
sixty grains; Distilled Water one pint. Boil the Logwood in the Water for ten 
minutes, adding the Cinnamon towards the end, and strain. The product should 
measure sixteen [fluid]ounces.” Br. 
We prefer the old tJ. S. formula, which ordered an ounce of the logwood to 
be boiled with two pints down to a pint, and doubt much whether the wood is 
exhausted by a boiling of ten or fifteen minutes. The cinnamon of the Br. for- 
mula is in general a very suitable addition; but there might be circumstances 
under which it would be better avoided; and in this case, as in others, any addi- 
tion to the simple decoction might be left to the judgment of the prescriber. 
This is an excellent astringent in diarrhoea; particularly in that form of it 
which succeeds the cholera infantum of this climate, or occurs as an original com- 
plaint in children during summer. The dose for an adult is two fluidounces, for 
a child about two years old, two or three fluidrachms, repeated several times a 
day. A little bruised cinnamon may often be added with advantage at the end 
of the boiling, as directed in the British process. W. 
DECOCTUM HORDEI. U.S., Br. Decoction of Barley. 
“ Take of Barley two troyounces; Water a sufficient quantity. Having washed 
away the extraneous matters which adhere to the Barley, boil it with half a pint 
of Water for a short time, and throw away the resulting liquid. Then, having 
poured on it four pints of boiling Water, boil down to two pints, and strain.” 
U.S. 
“ Take of Pearl Barley tivo ounces [avoirdupois]; Distilled Water one pint 
and a half [Imperial measure]. Wash the Barley in cold water, and reject the 
washings; boil with the Distilled Water for twenty minutes, in a covered vessel, 
and strain.” Br. 
Barley water, as this decoction is usually called, is much employed as a nutri- 
tive drink in febrile and inflammatory complaints, and, from the total absence 
of irritating properties, is peculiarly adapted to cases in which the gastric or 
intestinal mucous membrane is inflamed. As the stomach of those for whom it 
is directed is often exceedingly delicate, and apt to revolt against anything hav- 1060 
Decocta. 
PART II. 
ing the slightest unpleasantness of flavour, it is important that the decoction 
should be properly made; and, though the office of preparing it generally falls 
to nurses, yet the introduction of the process into the Pharmacopoeia is not with- 
out advantage, as a formula is thus ever before the physician, by which he may 
give his directions, with the certainty, if obeyed, of having a good preparation. 
The use of the washing with cold water, and of the first short boiling, is com- 
pletely to remove any mustiness, or other disagreeable flavour, which the barley 
may have acquired from exposure; and the British Pharmacopoeia has probably 
erred in abandoning the second of these precautions. W. 
DECOCTUM PAPAYERIS. Br. Decoction of Poppies. 
“ Take of Poppy Capsules, bruised, and freed from the seeds, four ounces 
[avoirdupois]; Distilled Water three pints [Imperial measure]. Boil for ten 
minutes, and strain. The product should measure thirty-two [fluid]ounces.” Br. 
This decoction is used as an anodyne fomentation in painful tumours, and 
superficial cutaneous inflammation or excoriation. It is recommended not to 
reject the seeds, as their oil, suspended in the water by the mucilage of the cap- 
sules, adds to the emollient virtues of the preparation. W. 
DECOCTUM PAREIRiE. Br. Decoction of Pareira. 
“ Take of Pareira, sliced, one ounce and a half [avoirdupois]; Distilled 
Water one pint and a half [Imperial measure]. Boil for fifteen minutes, and 
strain. The product should measure a pint [Imp. meas.].”5r. 
This is apt to remain turbid after straining, but, if allowed to stand, gradually 
deposits insoluble matter, and then filters perfectly clear. (Pharm. Journ., xiv. 
491.) The dose is from one to two fluidounces three or four times a day. W. 
DECOCTUM QUERCUS ALBiE. U. S. Decoction of White-oak 
Bark. Decoctum Quercus. Br. Decoction of Oak Bark. 
“ Take of White-oak Bark, bruised, a troyounce; Water a sufficient quantity. 
Boil the White-oak Bark in a pint of Water for fifteen minutes, strain, and add 
sufficient Water, through the strainer, to make the decoction measure a pint.” U. S. 
“Take of Oak Bark [bark of Quercus pedunculata], bruised, one ounce and 
a half [avoirdupois]; Distilled Water one pint and a half [Imperial measure]. 
Boil for ten minutes in a covered vessel, and strain.” Br. 
The U. S. Pharmacopoeia of 1850 directed to boil an ounce of the bruised bark 
with a pint and a half of water down to a pint; and we have little doubt that the 
result was a more complete exhaustion of the bark than by the present process. 
This decoction contains the tannin, bitter principle, and gallic acid of oak 
bark. It affords precipitates with the decoction of Peruvian bark and other 
substances containing vegetable alkaloids, with solution of gelatin, and with most 
metallic salts, particularly those of iron. Alkaline solutions diminish or destroy 
its astringency. Its uses have been already detailed. The dose is a wineglassful, 
frequently repeated. W. 
DECOCTUM SARSiE. Br. Decoction of Sarsaparilla. 
“Take of Jamaica Sarsaparilla, not split, two ounces and a half [avoirdu- 
pois] ; Boiling Distilled Water one pint and a half [Imperial measure]. Digest 
the Sarsaparilla in the Water for an hour; boil for ten minutes in a covered 
vessel, cool, and strain. The product should measure a pint.”Rr. 
An idea was long entertained that the virtues of sarsaparilla resided in its 
fecula, the extraction of which was, therefore, the main object of the decoction. 
Hence the long boiling formerly ordered by the London and Edinburgh Colleges. 
But this opinion is now admitted to have been erroneous. The activity of the root 
is believed to depend upon one or more acrid principles, soluble to a certain extent 
in water cold or hot, and either volatilized, or rendered inert by chemical change, 
at the temperature of 212°. This fact appears to be demonstrated by tl e expo PART II. 
Decocta. 
1061 
riments of Pope,* Hancock,f Soubeiran,J Beral, and others. Soubeiran mace- 
rated one portion of bruised sarsaparilla in cold water for twenty-four hours; 
infused another portion in boiling water, and digested with a moderate heat for 
two hours; boiled a third portion bruised, and a fourth unbruised, in water for 
two hours; and in each instance used the same relative quantities. Testing these 
various preparations by the taste, he found the cold and hot infusions scarcely 
different in this respect; and both possessed of a stronger odour and more acrid 
taste than the decoctions, of which that prepared with the bruised root was the 
strongest. Beral has proved that sarsaparillin, which is believed to be the active 
principle of the drug, is volatile. From these facts the inference is obvious, 
that the best method of imparting the virtues of sarsaparilla to water is either 
by cold or hot infusion. Digestion for some hours in water maintained at a tem- 
perature of 180°, or somewhat less, in a covered vessel, has strong testimony in 
its favour. Percolation in a displacement apparatus, if properly conducted, is a 
convenient and no doubt efficient mode of exhausting the root, so far as water 
will effect that object. Decoction is the worst method ; and the longer it is con- 
tinued, the weaker will be the preparation. Accordingly, in the edition of the 
U. S. Pharmacopoeia for 1850, an infusion of sarsaparilla was substituted for 
the simple decoction, though abandoned in the present edition as superfluous. 
It is probable that, as in the case of the Peruvian bark, a boiling of ten or fifteen 
minutes might be advantageously resorted to, when circumstances require the 
preparation to be made in less time than is requisite for infusion. In every in- 
stance the root should be thoroughly bruised, or reduced to a coarse powder, 
thus obviating the necessity for a long maceration, merely to overcome the cohe- 
sion of its fibres. These principles, so far as refers to the menstruum, have been 
recognised by the framers of the present British Pharmacopoeia, in which long 
boiling has been abandoned. The unsplit root, however, is ordered, from the 
conviction, probably, that the internal amylaceous part is inert; but there can 
be no doubt that the drug yields its virtues more readily when well bruised or 
otherwise comminuted than in the natural state. 
Precipitates are produced by various substances with this decoction; but it 
has not been ascertained how far such substances interfere with its activity. 
Those which merely throw down the fecula do not injure the preparation. 
The decoction of sarsaparilla may be administered in the dose of four or six 
fluidounces four times a day. W. 
DECOCTUM SARSAPARILLA COMPOSITUM. U.S. Decoctum 
Sarsa; Compositum. Br. Compound Decoction of Sarsaparilla. 
“ Take of Sarsaparilla, sliced and bruised, six troyounces; Bark of Sassafras 
Root, sliced, Guaiacum Wood, rasped, Liquorice Root, bruised, each, a troy- 
ounce; Mezereon, sliced, one hundred and eighty grains; Water a sufficient 
quantity. Macerate with four pints of Water for twelve hours; then boil for a 
quarter of an hour, strain, and add sufficient Water, through the strainer, to 
make the decoction measure four pints.” U. S. 
“ 'fake of Jamaica Sarsaparilla, not split, two ounces and a half; Sassafras, 
in chips, Guaiac Wood turnings, Fresh Liquorice Root, bruised, each, a quarter 
of an ounce; Mezereon sixty grains; Boiling Distilled Water one pint and a 
half [Imperial measure]. Digest all the ingredients in the Water for an hour; 
boil for ten minutes in a covered vessel; cool and strain. The product should 
measure a pint [Imp. meas.].” Br. The ounce employed in this process is the 
avoirdupois ounce. 
* Trans, of the Medico-Chirurg. Society of London, vol. xii. p. 344. 
f Trans, of the Medico-Botan. Society of London See also Journ. of the Philad. Col. of 
Pharm., vol. i. p. 295. The observations of Dr. Hancock are entitled to much credit, as 
he practised long in South America, in the neighbourhood of the best sarsaparilla regions. 
J Journ. de Pharmacie, tom. xvi. p. 38. Decocta. 
PART II. 
This decoction is an imitation of the celebrated Lisbon diet drink. The sar- 
saparilla and mezereon are the active ingredients; the guaiacum wood impart- 
ing scarcely any of its virtues, and the sassafras and liquorice serving little other 
purpose than to communicate a pleasant flavour. 
If prepared with good sarsaparilla, and with a due regard to the practical 
rules which may now be considered as established, the decoction may be used 
with great advantage as a gentle diaphoretic and alterative in secondary syphilis, 
either alone, or as an adjuvant to a mercurial course; also in certain scrofulous 
and other depraved conditions of the system, in chronic rheumatism, and in 
various obstinate cutaneous affections. The dose is from four to six fluidounces 
three or four times a day. The patient during its use should wear flannel next 
the skin, and avoid unnecessary exposure to changes of temperature.* W. 
DECOCTUM SCOPARII. Br. Decoction of Broom. 
“ Take of Broom-tops, dried, half an ounce [avoirdupois] ; Distilled Water 
half a pint [Imperial measure]. Boil for ten minutes in a covered vessel, and 
strain. The product should measure about eight [fluid]ounces.” Br. 
This decoction is used as an adjuvant to more powerful diuretics in dropsy. 
From half a pint to a pint may be taken during the day. W. 
DECOCTUM SENEGA. U.S. Decoction of Seneka. 
“Take of Seneka, bruised, a troyounce; Water a sufficient quantity. Boil 
the Seneka in a pint of Water for fifteen minutes, strain, and add sufficient 
Water, through the strainer, to make the decoction measure a pint.” U. S. 
In the British Pharmacopoeia the decoction of seneka has been superseded by 
the infusion. (See Infusum Senegse.) 
This is one of the decoctions in which experience has shown that long boiling 
impairs the activity of the medicine; and the substitution in our Pharmacopoeia 
of a moderate boiling, for the former direction to boil down from a pint and a 
half to a pint, was certainly judicious. 
It is customary to add to the seneka in decoction an equal weight of liquorice 
root, which serves to cover its taste, and in some measure to obtund its acri- 
mony. The virtues and practical application of seneka have been already treated 
of. (See Senega.) The dose of the decoction is about two fluidounces three or 
four times a day, or a tablespoonful every two or three hours. W. 
DECOCTUM TARAXACI. Br. Decoction of Taraxacum. 
“Take of Dried Dandelion Root, sliced and bruised, one ounce [avoirdu- 
pois]; Distilled Water one pint and a half [Imperial measure]. Boil for ten 
minutes, and strain. The product should measure one pint [Imp. meas.].” Br. 
This decoction is most efficient when prepared, as in the present British 
Pharmacopoeia, from the root alone. The dose is a wineglassful two or three 
times a day. (See Taraxacum.) W. 
* The Decoction of Zittmann (Decoctum Zittmanni) is a preparation of Sarsaparilla much 
used in Germany, for similar purposes with our compound decoction of sarsaparilla; and, 
as it has attracted some attention in this country as a remedy in obstinate ulcerative affec- 
tions, we give the formula of the Prussian Pharmacopoeia, which is generally followed 
in its preparation.—“Take of sarsaparilla twelve ounces; spring water ninety pounds. Digest 
for twenty-four hours; then introduce, enclosed in a small bag, an ounce and a half of sugar 
of alum (saccharum alumims seu saccharum aluminatum, consisting of equal parts of powdered 
alum and the whitest sugar), half an ounce of calomel, and a drachm of cinnabar. Boil to thirty 
pounds, and near tfye end of the boiling add of aniseed, fennel-seed, each, half an ounce, 
senna three ounces, liquorice root an ounce and a half. Put aside the liquor under the name 
of the strong dkcoction. To the residue add six ounces of sarsaparilla and ninety pounds 
of water. Boil to thirty pounds, and near the end add lemon peel, cinnamon, cardamom, 
liquorice, of each, three drachms. Strain and set aside the liquor under the name of tub 
weak decoction.” Mercury was detected by Wiggers in this decoction in very small pro- 
portion. It should not be prepared in metallic vessels, lest the mercurial in solution should 
be decomposed. The decoction may be drunk freely. PAET II. 
Dig it a Hum. —Emp lastra. 
1063 
DECOCTUM UViE URSI. U.S. Decoction of TJva TJrsi. 
“Take of Uva Ursi a troyounce; Water a sufficient quantity. Boil the TJva 
Ursi in a pint of Water for fifteen minutes, strain, and add sufficient Water, 
through the strainer, to make the decoction measure a pint.” U. S. 
The decoction of uva ursi has been superseded, in the British Pharmacopoeia, 
by the infusion. (See Infusum Uvse. Ursi.) 
The preparation contains the tannin, extractive, and gallic acid of the leaves. 
For an account of its uses, see Uva Ursi. The dose is from one to two fluid- 
ounces three or four times a day. W. 
DIGITALIUM. 
Digitaline. 
DIGITALINUM. Br. Digitaline. 
“Take of Digitalis, in powder, forty ounces [avoirdupois]; Rectified Spirit, 
two gallons and five fluidounces [Imperial measure]; Distilled Water one pint 
[Imp. meas.]; Acetic Acid half a jluidounce; Purified Animal Charcoal half 
an ounce [avoird.]; Solution of Ammonia a sufficiency; Tannic Acid one 
hundred and sixty grains; Litharge, in fine powder, a quarter of an ounce 
[avoird.] ; Pure Ether a sufficiency. Pour on the Digitalis two gallons [Imp. 
meas.] of the Spirit; digest at a heat of 120° for six hours; and separate the 
tincture by filtration and subsequent expression. Distil off the Spirit, and treat 
the extract with five [fluid]ounces of the Water, acidulated with the Acetic 
Acid. Digest with a quarter of an ounce of the Animal Charcoal, filter, and 
dilute the filtrate with the Water, so that it shall have the bulk of a pint. Now 
add the Ammonia nearly to neutralization, and afterwards the Tannic Acid dis- 
solved in three [fluid]ounces of the Water. Wash the precipitate thus obtained 
with a little of the water; mix it with a small quantity of the Spirit, and care- 
fully rub it in a mortar with the Litharge. Place the mixture in a flask, and add 
to it four [fiuid]ounces of the Spirit; raise the temperature to 160°, and main- 
tain it for about an hour. Then add the rest of the Animal Charcoal, filter, and 
remove the Spirit by distillation. Lastly, wash the residue repeatedly with the 
Ether.” Br. 
The above process is that of Homolle simplified by M. 0. Henry, which has 
long occupied a place in this Dispensatory, and has been continued in the pre- 
sent edition, under the head of Digitalis in Part I. Everything has been there 
said which the subject seems to require. It is, we think, unfortunate that the 
British Council should have given officinal authority to this preparation. It has 
been ascertained to be a complex body, containing more or less of one or two 
other substances besides the proper digitaline, and consequently of uncertain 
strength. It would have been better to postpone the officinal recognition until 
the character of the active principle or principles of digitalis should be more 
definitely determined. Nor do we think that the Council have been happy in their 
title, made by affixing a Latin termination to the French. Digitalium is the 
proper Latin name for the active principle of digitalis, unless found to be alka- 
line, as it probably some time will be, when it should be called digitalia. The 
dose to begin with should not exceed the fiftieth or sixtieth of a grain. W. 
EMPLASTRA. 
Plasters. 
Plasters are solid compounds intended for external application, adhesive at 
Me temperature of the human body, and of such a consistence as to render the 
aid of heat necessary in spreading them. Most of them have as their basis a JEmplastra. 
PART II. 
eompound of olive oil and litharge, constituting the Eraplastrura Plumbi of the 
U. S. Pharmacopoeia. Those plasters which contain none of the compound of 
oil and litharge owe their consistence and adhesiveness to resinous substances, 
or to a mixture of these with wax and oleaginous matter. 
In the preparation of the plasters, care is requisite that the heat employed be 
not sufficiently elevated to produce decomposition, nor so long continued as to 
drive off any volatile ingredient upon which the virtues of the Preparation may 
in any degree depend. After having been prepared, they are usually shaped into 
cylindrical rolls, and wrapped in paper to exclude the air. Plasters should be 
firm at ordinary temperatures, should spread easily when heated, and, after being 
spread, should remain soft, pliable, and adhesive, without melting, at the heat 
of the human body. When long kept, they are apt to change colour and to be- 
come hard and brittle: and, as this alteration is most observable upon their sur- 
face, it must depend chiefly upon the action of the air, which should therefore 
be as much as possible excluded. The defect may usually be remedied by melt- 
ing the plaster with a moderate heat, and adding a sufficient quantity of oil to 
give it the due consistence. 
Plasters are prepared for use by spreading them upon leather, linen, or muslin, 
according to the particular purposes they are intended to answer. Leather is 
most convenient when the application is made to the sound skin, linen or muslin 
when the plaster is used as a dressing to ulcerated or abraded surfaces, or with 
the view of bringing and retaining together the sides of wounds. The leather 
usually preferred is white sheep skin. A margin about a quarter or half an inch 
broad should usually be left uncovered, in order to facilitate the removal of the 
plaster, and to prevent the clothing in contact with its edges from being soiled. 
An accurate outline may be obtained by pasting upon the leather a piece of paper, 
so cut as to leave in the centre a vacant space of the required dimensions, and 
removing the paper when no longer needed. The same object may often be ac- 
complished by employing two narrow rulers of sheet tin graduated in inches, 
and so shaped that each of them may form two sides of a rectangle. (See the 
figure p. 899.) These may be applied in such a manner as to enclose within 
them any given rectangular space, and may be fixed by weights upon the leather 
while the plaster is spread. For any other shape, as in the instance of plasters 
for the breast, pieces of tin may be employed having a vacuity within, correspond- 
ing to the required outline. The spreading of the plaster is most conveniently 
accomplished by means of a peculiar iron instrument employed for the purpose; 
though a common spatula will answer.* This may be heated by means of a spirit 
* The common plaster spatula is too well known to need description. In the Am. Journ. 
of Pharm. (xxv. 29) are figures of a plaster spatula, with an instrument employed for heat- 
ing it, the invention of Mr. Stockton, of Brompton, England, which present certain advan- 
tages that render them worthy of notice. AVe introduce the figures here, with the following 
description, taken from the Lond. Pharm. Journ. for Nov. 1853. “The blade is a hollow 
case into which the heater is inserted, having a door (A) at one end, and connected at the 
other, by a hollow tube, with the handle. The heater (C) is supported on a lever, which 
passes through the hollow tube, and terminates in a thumb-button (B). By depressing the 
button the heater is raised so as not to be in contact with the lower part of the spatv la. On PART II. 
JEmplastra. 
1065 
jamp. Care must be taken that the instrument be not so hot as to discolour or 
decompose the plaster; and special care is requisite in the case of those plasters 
which contain a volatile ingredient. A sufficient portion of the plaster should 
first be melted by the heated instrument, and, having been received on a piece 
of coarse stiff paper, or in a shallow tin tray open on one side, should, when 
nearly cool, be transferred to the leather, and applied quickly and evenly ovei 
its surface. By this plan the melted plaster is prevented from penetrating the 
leather, as it is apt to do when applied too hot. Before removing the paper from 
the edge of the plaster, if this has become so hard as to crack, the iron should 
be drawn over the line of junction. When linen or muslin is used, and the di- 
mensions of the portion to be spread are large, as is often the case with adhe- 
sive plaster, the best plan is to pass the cloth “ on which the plaster has been 
laid through a machine, formed of a spatula fixed by screws at a proper distance 
from a plate of polished steel.” A machine for spreading plasters is described 
by M. Herent in the Journ. de Pharm. (Be ser., ii. 403).* W. 
EMPLASTRUM AMMONIACI. U.S. Plaster of Ammoniac. 
“ Take of Ammoniac five troyounces ; Diluted Acetic Acid half a pint. Dis- 
removing the thumb wrhen more heat is required, the heater is depressed, and produces the 
desired effect. The heater, which consists of a hollow tube of thick copper, slides on a pin 
which forms the termination of the lever, and which regulates its position in the box. 
Some heaters are perforated, to admit of their being easily heated by means of gas. The 
chief advantage of the spatula consists in the facility with which the heat may be regu- 
lated by means of the lever and button, which latter is quite under the control of the 
thumb. The box containing the heater is of brass, and, not being'inserted in the fire, may 
be more readily kept clean than the common spatula. When several plasters are required, 
the heater may be removed and another inserted with facility.” To the Am. Journ. oj 
Pharm. (xxvi. 15) the reader is referred for the figure of another spatula which may be 
found convenient.—Note to the twelfth edition. 
* Within a few years it has been cus- 
tomary with apothecaries to employ an 
apparatus, such as that here figured, for 
spreading quantities of plasters. An ob- 
long rectangular block of hard wood (a e) 
has its upper surface (c) gently convex. 
To this is attached by a movable joint 
(at r) a sheet iron frame (b), with an 
opening (n) of the dimensions of the 
plaster to be spread, and clasps (d) at the 
other end, by which this may be fixed to 
the block. Another portion of the appa- 
ratus is a wooden measure (m), by which 
the leather is cut out, and the margin 
marked. The leather thus prepared is 
laid on the convex surface of the block 
(c); the sheet iron frame is brought down 
on it evenly (as at h i); the plaster, pre- 
viously melted, is poured on the leather 
in the centre, and, by means of an iron 
instrument (y), previously heated by a 
spirit lamp, is spread uniformly over the 
Burface, the thickness being regulated by 
the frame against which the iron is press- 
ed. Any excess of plaster is thus pressed 
over upon the frame. The point of a 
sharp instrument (l) is then drawn along 
the interior edge of the frame so as to 
separate the plaster from it, after which 
the clasps are unfastened and the plaster 
removed. 1066 
jEmplastra. 
part n. 
solve the Ammoniac in the Diluted Acetic Acid, and strain; then evaporate 
the solution by means of a water-bath, stirring constantly until it acquires a 
proper consistence.” U. S. 
This plaster has been omitted in the British Pharmacopoeia. 
As ammoniac is not usually kept purified in our shops, the straining of the 
solution in the diluted acid is directed, as the most convenient method of sepa- 
rating impurities. Dr. Duncan remarked that the plaster, prepared in iron ves- 
sels, “acquires an unpleasant dark colour, from being impregnated with iroD • 
whereas, when prepared in a glass or earthenware vessel, it has a yellowish-white 
colour, and more pleasant appearance.” Care should also be used to avoid iron 
spatulas in its preparation, as the acetic acid acts on that metal, and discolours 
the plaster. The use of a moderate heat will facilitate the action of the diluted 
acid; and at best it is a thick creamy mass that is obtained, which requires the 
aid of the hand to strain it properly. 
Medical Properties. The ammoniac plaster is stimulant, and is applied over 
scrofulous tumours and chronic swellings of the joints, to promote their resolu- 
tion. It often produces a papular eruption, and sometimes occasions consider- 
able inflammation of the skin. W. 
EMPLASTRUM AMMONIACI CUM HYDRARGYRO. U.S., Br. 
Plaster of Ammoniac with Mercury. 
“Take of Ammoniac twelve troyounces; Mercury three troyounces; Olive 
Oil sixty grains; Sublimed Sulphur eight grains. Heat the Oil, and gradually 
add the Sulphur, stirring constantly until they unite; then add the Mercury, 
and triturate until globules cease to be visible. Boil the Ammoniac with suffi- 
cient water to cover it until they are thoroughly mixed ; then strain through a 
hair sieve, and evaporate, by means of a water-bath, until a small portion taken 
from the vessel hardens on cooling. Lastly, add the Ammoniac, while yet hot, 
gradually to the mixture of Oil, Sulphur, and Mercury, and thoroughly incor- 
porate all the ingredients.” U. S. 
“Take of Ammoniac twelve ounces [avoirdupois]; Mercury three ounces 
[avoird.]; Olive Oil one jluidrachm; Sulphur eight grains. Heat the Oil, 
and add the Sulphur to it gradually, stirring till they unite. With this mixture 
triturate the Mercury until the globules are no longer visible; and, lastly, add 
the Ammoniac, previously liquefied, mixing the whole carefully.” Br. 
The only use of the sulphur is to aid in the extinguishment of the mercury; 
as the compound formed by it with the metal is probably inert. When ammoniac 
not previously prepared is used, as it is not fusible by heat, it must be brought 
to the proper consistence by softening it in a small quantity of hot water, strain- 
ing, and evaporating. 
Medical Properties and Uses. This plaster unites with the stimulant power 
of the ammoniac the specific properties of the mercury, which is sometimes ab- 
sorbed in sufficient quantity to affect the gums. It is used as a discutient in en- 
largement of the glands, tumefaction of the joints, nodes, and other indolent 
swellings, especially when dependent on a venereal taint. It is also sometimes 
applied over the liver in chronic hepatitis. W. 
EMPLASTRUM ANTIMONII. U. S. Plaster of Antimony. 
“Take of Tartrate of Antimony and Potassa, in fine powder, a troyounce; 
Burgundy Pitch four troyounces. Melt the Pitch by means of a water-bath, 
and strain; then add the powder, and stir them well together until the mixture 
thickens on cooling.” U. S. 
This is a useful formula, as it will probably supersede the former irregular 
methods of preparing the antimonial plasier, of which the most primitivr was to 
sprinkle the tartar emetic in powder upon the surface of adhesive plaster, some- 
what softened with heat. It affords one of the most convenient methols of ob- PART II. 
Bmplastra. 
1067 
taining the local pustulating effects of tartar emetic. For its effects and uses, see 
Antimonii et Potassae Tartras, page 981. W. 
EMPLASTRUM ARNICA. U.S. Plaster of Arnica. 
“Take of Alcoholic Extract of Arnica a troyounce and a half; Resin Plas- 
ter three troyounces. Add the Extract to the Plaster, previously melted by 
means of a water bath, and mix them.” U. S. 
These ingredients incorporate readily, and form a good plaster. The prepa- 
ration was introduced into the Pharmacopoeia, to enable the apothecary to meet 
the demand for a convenient preparation of arnica for external use. It is sup- 
posed to be useful in sprains and bruises, and sometimes probably acts benefi- 
cially by its stimulant properties in chronic rheumatism and other chronic exter- 
nal inflammations. (See Arnica.) W. 
EMPLASTRUM ASSAFCETIDA. U.S. Plaster of Assafetida. 
“ Take of Assafetida, Plaster of Lead, each, twelve troyounces; Galbanum, 
Yellow Wax, each, six troyounces; Alcohol three pints. Dissolve the Assa- 
fetida and Galbanum in the Alcohol by means of a water-bath, strain the liquid 
while hot, and evaporate to the consistence of honey; then add the Plaster and 
Wax previously melted together, stir the mixture well, and evaporate to the 
proper consistence.” U. S. 
This plaster has been omitted in the British Pharmacopoeia, 
The directions of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia indicate the mode in which the 
gum-resins may be brought to the liquid state, before being incorporated with 
the other ingredients. Galbanum melts sufficiently by the aid of heat to admit 
of being strained; but this is not the case with assafetida, which must be pre- 
pared by dissolving it in a small quantity of hot water or alcohol, straining, 
and evaporating to the consistence of honey; and even galbanum may be most 
conveniently treated in the same way. Formerly these gum-resins were ordered 
merely to be melted and strained. 
This plaster may be advantageously applied over the stomach or abdomen, in 
cases of hysteria attended with flatulence, and to the chest or between the 
shoulders in hooping-cough. W. 
EMPLASTRUM BELLADONNA. U.S.fBr. Plaster of Belladonna. 
“Take of Alcoholic Extract of Belladonna a troyounce; Resin Plaster two 
troyounces. Add the Extract to the Plaster, previously melted by means of a 
water-bath, and mix them.” U. S. 
“ Take of Extract of Belladonna three ounces; Soap Plaster, Resin Plaster, 
each, one ounce and a half. Melt the Plasters by the heat of a steam or water- 
bath; then add the Extract of Belladonna, and mix intimately.” Br. 
The most convenient method of forming this plaster is to rub the ingredients 
together in an earthenware mortar, placed in hot water, and then, having re- 
moved the mortar from the water-bath, to continue the trituration till the mix- 
ture cools. It was formerly prepared with the extract made from the inspissated 
juice of the leaves; but, in the present edition of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, the 
alcoholic extract has been substituted with the effect of rendering the plaster 
easier to be spread and more adhesive. The preparation is a useful anodyne 
application in neuralgic and rheumatic pains, and in dysmenorrhoea. We have 
seen the constitutional effects of belladonna result from its external use. W 
EMPLASTRUM CALEFACIENS. Br. Warm Plaster. 
See EMPLASTRUM P1CIS CUM CANTIIARIDE. U. S. 
EMPLASTRUM CANTHARIDIS. Br. Cantharides Plaster. Blis- 
tering Plaster. 
See CERATUM CANTHARIDIS. U. S. 1068 
Emplastra. 
part ii. 
EMPLASTRUM FERRI. U. S., Br. Emplastrum Roborans. Plas- 
ter of Iron. Chalybeate Plaster. Strengthening Plaster. 
“ Take of Subcarbonate of Iron three troyounces; Plaster of Lead twenty- 
four troyounces; Burgundy Pitch six troyounces. Add the Subcarbonate of 
Iron to the Plaster and Burgundy Pitch, previously melted together, and stir 
them constantly until the mixture thickens on cooling.” U. S. 
“ Take of Peroxide of Iron, in fine powder, one ounce; Burgundy Pitch two 
ounces; Litharge Plaster eight ounces. Add the Peroxide of Iron to the Bur- 
gundy Pitch and Litharge Plaster, previously melted together, and stir the mix- 
ture constantly till it stiffens on cooling.” Br. 
This preparation has enjoyed some popular celebrity, under the impression 
that it strengthens the parts to which it is applied; whence it has derived the 
name of strengthening plaster. It is used in those conditions of the loins, larger 
muscles, and joints, which, though usually ascribed to debility, are in fact most 
frequently dependent on rheumatic or other chronic inflammatory affections, and, 
if relieved by the plaster, are so in consequence of the gentle excitation produced 
by it in the vessels of the skin, or of the exclusion of the air. It may also, in 
some instances, give relief by affording mechanical support; but neither in this, 
nor in any other respect can it be deemed very efficient. W. 
EMPLASTRUM GALBANI. Br. Galbanum Plaster. 
“Take of Galbanum, Ammoniac, Yellow Wax, each, one ounce; Litharge 
Plaster eight ounces. Melt the Galbanum and Ammoniac together, and strain. 
Then add them to the Litharge Plaster and Wax, also previously melted toge- 
ther, and mix the whole thoroughly.” Br. 
The galbanum and ammoniac are best prepared by dissolving them in a small 
quantity of hot water or diluted alcohol, straining the solution, and evaporating 
it to the proper consistence for mixing with the other ingredients. W. 
EMPLASTRUM GALBANI COMPOSITUM. U. S. Compound 
Plaster of Galbanum. 
“Take of Galbanum eight troyounces; Turpentine a troyounce; Burgundy 
Pitch three troyounces; Plaster of Lead thirty-six troyounces. To the Gfalba- 
num and Turpentine, previously melted together and strained, add first the Bur- 
gundy Pitch, and afterwards the Plaster melted over a gentle fire, and mix the 
whole together.” U. S. 
Before being employed in this process, the galbanum should be purified, as it 
often contains foreign matters which must injure the plaster. It may be freed 
from these by melting it with a little water or diluted alcohol, straining, and 
evaporating to the due consistence. 
This and the preceding plaster act as an excellent local stimulant in chronic 
scrofulous enlargements of the glands and joints. We have employed the com- 
pound plaster in obstinate cases of this kind, which, after having resisted gene- 
ral and local depletion, blistering and other measures, have yielded under its use. 
As a discutient it is also employed in the induration which sometimes remains 
after the discharge of abscesses. It is said to have been useful in rickets, applied 
over the whole lumbar region, and has been recommended in chronic gouty and 
rheumatic articular affections. It should not be used in the discussion of tumours 
in which any considerable inflammation exists. W. 
EMPLASTRUM HYDRARGYRI. U.S., Br. Mercurial Plaster. 
“Take of Mercury six troyounces; Olive Oil, Resin, each, two troyounces 
Plaster of Lead twelve troyounces. Melt the Oil and Resin together, and, when 
they have become cool, rub the Mercury with them until globules of the metal 
cease to be visible. Then gradually add the Plaster, previously melted, and mix 
the whole together.” U. S. PART II. 
Emplastra. 
1069 
“Take of Mercury three ounces; Olive Oil one fiuidounce; Resin one ounce; 
Litharge Plaster six ounces. Dissolve the Resin in the Oil with the aid of heat; 
let them cool; add the Mercury, and triturate till its globules disappear. Then 
add to the mixture the Litharge Plaster, previously liquefied, and mix the whole 
together.” Br. The ounce employed in this process is the avoirdupois ounce. 
The U. S. and British processes may be considered as identical in their results. 
The sulphuretted oil employed in the former process of the London College to 
facilitate the extinguishment of the mercury has been very properly abandoned. 
This plaster is employed to produce the local effects of mercury upon venereal 
buboes, nodes, and other chronic tumefactions of the bones or soft parts, depend- 
ent on a syphilitic taint. In these cases it sometimes acts as a powerful discu- 
tient. It is frequently also applied to the side in chronic hepatitis or splenitis. 
In peculiarly susceptible persons, it occasionally affects the gums. 
From observations made in France by M. Serres and others, it appears that 
the mercurial plaster of the Codex (Emplastrum de Vigo cum Mercurio) has 
the power, when applied over the eruption of smallpox, before the end of the 
third day from its first appearance, to check its progress, and prevent suppura- 
tion and pitting. This operation of the plaster, so far from being attended with 
an increase of the general symptoms, seems to relieve them in proportion to 
the diminution of the local affection. It is also thought that the course of the 
disease is favourably modified when the mercurial impression is produced upon 
the system. That the local effect is not ascribable to the mere exclusion of the 
air is proved by the fact, that the use of lead plaster was not followed by the 
same results. It is probable that other mercurial preparations would answer 
the same purpose; and the common mercurial ointment has, in our own hands, 
proved effectual in rendering the eruption upon the face to a considerable extent 
abortive, in one bad case of smallpox. But as the most successful results were 
obtained with the plaster above mentioned, we give the formula of the French 
Codex for its preparation. The weights mentioned are those of the French 
metrical pound. (See table in the Appendix.) 
Emplastrum de Vigo cum Mercurio. “ Take of simple plaster [lead plaster] 
two pounds eight ounces ; yellow wax two ounces; resin two ounces; ammoniac, 
bdellium, olibanum, and myrrh, each, five drachms; saffron three drachms; 
mercury twelve ounces; turpentine [common European] two ounces; liquid 
storax six ounces; oil of lavender two drachms. Powder the gum-resins and 
saffron, and rub the mercury with the storax and turpentine in an iron mortar 
until completely extinguished. Melt the plaster with the wax and resin, and add 
to the mixture the powders and volatile oil. When the plaster shall have been 
cooled, but while it is yet liquid, add the mercurial mixture, and incorporate 
the whole thoroughly.” This should be spread upon leather or linen cloths, and 
applied so as effectually to cover the part to be protected. W. 
EMPLASTRUM OPII. U.S., Br. Plaster of Opium. 
“ Take of Extract of Opium a troy ounce; Burgundy Pitch three troyounces ; 
Plaster of Lead twelve troyounces; Water a sufficient quantity. Mix the Ex- 
tract with three fluidounces of Water, and evaporate, by means of a water-bath, 
to a fiuidounce and a half. Add this to the Burgundy Pitch and Plaster, melted 
together by means of a water-bath, and continue the heat for a short time, stir- 
ring constantly, that the moisture may be evaporated.” U. S. 
“Take of Opium, in very fine powder, one ounce; Resin Plaster nine ounces. 
Melt the Resin Plaster by means of a steam or water-bath; then add the Opium 
by degrees, and mix thoroughly.”Br. 
We decidedly prefer the extract of opium, as employed in the present U. S. 
process, to the opium itself of the British formula. It not only forms a better 
plaster, but, being soluble, is more likely to produce the anodyne effect desired, 
by being brought by the perspiration to the liquid state necessary for its ab- 1070 
JEmplastra. 
PART II. 
sorption. The use of water in the former process is also an advantage, as it 
enables the opium to be more thoroughly incorporated with the other ingredi- 
ents; but care should be taken that the moisture be well evaporated. 
The opium plaster is thought to relieve rheumatic and other pains in the parts 
to which it is applied. W. 
EMPLASTRUM PICIS.' Br. Pitch Plaster. 
“Take of Burgundy Pitch, twenty-six ounces; Common Frankincense [Tere- 
binthina, U. S.] thirteen ounces; Resin, Yellow Wax, each, four ounces and a 
half; Expressed Oil of Nutmeg one ounce; Olive Oil two jiuidounces; Water 
two Jiuidounces. Add the Oils and the Water to the Frankincense, Burgundy 
Pitch, Resin, and Wax, previously melted together; then, constantly stirring, 
evaporate to a proper consistence.” Br. The ounce used in this process is the 
avoirdupois ounce. 
This is a rubefacient plaster, applicable to catarrhal and other pectoral affec- 
tions, chronic iriflapmation of the liver, and rheumatic pains in the joints and 
muscles. It often keeps up a serous discharge, which requires that it should be 
frequently renewed. The irritation which it sometimes excites is so great as to 
render its removal necessary. W. 
EMPLASTRUM PICIS U.S. Plaster of Bur- 
gundy Pitch. 
“Take of Burgundy Pitch seventy-two troyounces; Yellow Wax six troy- 
ounces. Melt them together, strain, and stir constantly until they thicken on 
cooling.” U. S. 
In this formula, the object of the wax is simply to give a proper consistence 
to the Burgundy pitch, and to prevent it from breaking in cold weather. W. 
EMPLASTRUM PICIS CANADENSIS. U.S. Plaster of Canada 
Pitch. Hemlock Pitch Plaster. 
“Take of Canada Pitch seventy-two troyounces; Yellow Wax six troy- 
ounces. Melt them together, strain, and stir constantly until they thicken on 
cooling.” U. S. 
The yellow wax, in this preparation, answers the same purpose as in the Bur- 
gundy Pitch Plaster, and is even more necessary, in order to give additional con- 
sistence to the Canada Pitch, which, when pure, is somewhat too soft, at the 
temperature of the body, for convenient application. W. 
EMPLASTRUM PICIS CUM CANTIIARIDE. U.S. Emplastrum 
Calefaciens. Br. Plaster of Pitch toith Cantharides. Warming Plaster. 
“ Take of Burgundy Pitch forty-eight troyounces ; Cerate of Cantharides four 
troyounces. Melt them together by means of a water-bath, and stir constantly 
until the mixture thickens on cooling.” U. S 
“Take of Cantharides, in coarse powder, four ounces; Boiling Water one 
pint [Imperial measure]; Expressed Oil of Nutmeg, Yellow Wax, Resin, each, 
four ounces; Soap Plaster three joounds and a quarter; Resin Plaster ‘two 
pounds. Infuse the Cantharides in the boiling Water for six hours; squeeze 
strongly through calico, and evaporate the expressed liquid by a steam or water- 
bath till reduced to one-third. Then add the other ingredients, and melt in a 
steam or water-bath, stirring well until the whole is thoroughly mixed.” Br. The 
weights employed in this process are the avoirdupois. 
This plaster is an excellent rubefacient, more active than Burgundy pitch, yet 
in general not sufficiently so to produce vesication. As prepared by the former 
U. S. process, it occasionally blistered; and the proportion of cantharides has, 
therefore, been considerably diminished in the present formula; but, while su< h 
a reduction may render the plaster insufficiently active in most cases, it does 
not entirely obviate the objection • as the smallest proportion of flies would vesi- PART II. 
Pmplastra. 
1071 
eate in certain persons, and even the Burgundy pitch alone sometimes produces 
the same effect. In whatever mode, therefore, this plaster may be prepared, it 
cannot always answer the expectations which may be entertained; and the only 
plan, when the skin of any individual has been found to be very susceptible, is 
to accommodate the proportions to the particular circumstances of the case. 
Much, however, may be accomplished by care in the preparation of the plaster, 
towards obviating its tendency to blister. If the flies of the Ceratum Cantha- 
ridis have been coarsely pulverized, the larger particles coming in contact with 
the skin, will exert upon the particular part to which they may be applied their 
full vesicatory effect, while, if reduced to a very fine powder, they would be more 
thoroughly enveloped in the other ingredients, and thus have their strength much 
diluted. Hence the cerate, when used as an ingredient of the warming plaster, 
should contain the cantharides as minutely divided as possible; and, if that usu- 
ally kept is not in the proper state, a portion should be prepared for this par- 
ticular purpose. A good plan, we presume, would be to keep the cerate used in 
this preparation, for a considerable time, at the temperature of 212°, and then 
strain it so as to separate the flies. (See Ceratum Cantharidis.) The mode fre- 
quently pursued of preparing the warming plaster by simply sprinkling a very 
small proportion of powdered flies upon the surface of Burgundy pitch is alto- 
gether objectionable. The TJ. S. process is that of the old Dublin Pharmacopoeia. 
We strongly approve of that portion of the British process which uses an inspis- 
sated infusion of the flies, as an equable distribution of these is thus ensured. 
The warming plaster is employed in chronic rheumatism, and varions chronic 
internal diseases attended with inflammation or an inflammatory tendency; such 
as catarrh, asthma, pertussis, phthisis, hepatitis, and the sequelae of pleurisy and 
pneumonia. W. 
EMPLASTRUM PLUMBL TJ. S. Emplastrum Lithargyri. Br. 
Plaster of Lead. Litharge Plaster. 
“ Take of Oxide of Lead [Litharge], in fine powder, thirty troyounces; Olive 
Oil fifty-six troyounces; Water a sufficient quantity. Sift the Oxide of Lead 
into the Oil, contained in a suitable vessel, of a capacity equal to twice the bulk 
of the ingredients. Then add half a pint of boiling Water, and boil the whole 
together until a plaster is formed ; adding from time to time, during the process, 
a little boiling Water, as that first added is consumed.” U. S. 
“ Take of Litharge, in very fine powder, four pounds: Olive Oil one gallon; 
Water three pints and a half. Boil all the ingredients together gently in a cop- 
per pan over a clear fire, and keep simmering for four or five hours, stirring con- 
stantly, until the Oil and Litharge acquire a proper consistence for a plaster, 
adding more Water during the process if necessary.” Br. The weights used in 
this process are the avoirdupois, and the measures the Imperial. 
The importance of this plaster, as the basis of most of the others, requires a 
somewhat detailed account of the principles and manner of its preparation. 
It was formerly thought that the oil and oxide of lead entered into direct 
union, and that the presence of water was necessary only to regulate the tem- 
perature, and prevent the materials from being decomposed by heat. The dis- 
covery, however, was afterwards made, that this liquid was essential to the pro- 
cess; and that the oil and oxide alone, though maintained at a temperature of 
220°, would not combine; while the addition of water, under these circumstances, 
would produce their immediate union. It was now supposed that the oil was 
capable of combining only with the hydrated oxide of lead, and that the use of 
the water was to bring the oxide into that state; and, in support of this opin- 
ion, the fact was advanced that the hydrated oxide of lead and oil would form 
a plaster, when heated together without any free water. But, since the general 
reception of Chevreul’s views in relation to oils, and their combinations with 
alkalies and other metallic oxides, the former opinions have been abandoned; 1072 
Emplastra. 
PART IL 
and it is now admitted that the preparation of the lead plaster affords a genuine 
example of saponification, as explained by that chemist. A reaction takes place 
between the oil and water, resulting in the development of a sweetish substance 
called glycerin, and of two acid bodies, the oleic and margaric acids, to which, 
when animal fat is employed instead of olive oil, a third is added, namely the 
stearic. The plaster is formed by a union of these acids with the oxide, and, 
prepared according to the directions of the Pharmacopoeias, is in fact an oleo- 
margarate of lead. The glycerin remains dissolved in the water, or mechanically 
mixed with the plaster. That such is the correct view of the nature of this com- 
pound is evinced by the fact, that, if the oxide of lead be separated from the 
plaster by digestion at a moderate heat in very dilute nitric acid, the fatty 
matter which remains will unite with litharge with the greatest facility, without 
the intervention of water. According to a more recent chemical view, the fixed 
oils are compounds of the oily acids mentioned and oxide of glyceryl. When 
boiled with the oxide of lead and water, the oily acids combine with the metallic 
oxide to form the plaster, and the oxide of glyceryl takes an equivalent of water 
and becomes glycerin. Glyceryl is a hypothetical compound of carbon and hy- 
drogen (C6H7), which unites with five equivalents of oxygen to form oxide of 
glyceryl (CfiII705), also a hypothetical substance, and additionally with an equi- 
valent of water to form glycerin (C6H705+H0). 
Other oleaginous substances and other metallic oxides are susceptible of the 
same combination, and some of them form compounds having the consistence of 
a plaster; but, according to M. Henry, of Paris, no oily matter except animal 
fat can properly be substituted for olive oil, and no metallic oxide, not even one 
of the other oxides of lead, for litharge. He ascertained, moreover, that the 
English litharge is preferable for the formation of lead plaster to the German. 
From more recent experiments of Soubeiran, it appears that massicot or even 
minium may be substituted for litharge, and a plaster of good consistence be ob- 
tained ; but that a much longer time is required for completing the process than 
when the officinal formula is followed. When minium is used, the necessity for 
its partial deoxidation renders a longer continuance of the process necessary 
than with massicot. According to M. Davallon, Professor in the School of Medi- 
cine and Pharmacy at Lyons, it is important that the olive oil employed should 
be pure; for when adulterated, as it frequently is in commerce, it yields an im- 
perfect product. Mr. N. S. Thomas prepared a good plaster by substituting lard 
for olive oil, in the proportion of eight pounds of lard to five of litharge {Am. 
Journ. of Pharm., xix. 175) ; and we are told that it is a common practice, in 
this country, to make lead plaster with a mixture of lard oil and olive oil. 
Lead plaster has also been prepared by double decomposition between soap 
and acetate or subacetate of lead; but the results have not been so advantage- 
ous as to lead to the general adoption of this process. For particular informa- 
tion on the subject, the reader is referred to the America,n Journal of Pharmacy 
(ix. 127), and to the Journal de Pharmacie (xxiii. 163 and 322.)* 
Preparation. The vessel in which the lead plaster is prepared should be of 
such a size that the materials will not occupy more than two-thirds of its capa- 
city. The oil should be first introduced, and the litharge then sprinkled in by 
means of a sieve, the mixture being constantly stirred with a spatula. The par- 
* M. de Mussy, physician of the hospital de la Pitii, having witnessed inconveniences 
from lead plaster in consequence of the absorption of the lead, substituted for it a plaster 
with a basis of oxide of zinc, which he has found to answer very well in practice. It can- 
not be made by direct combination of the oxide; and it is necessary to have recourse to 
the method of double decomposition. Solutions of white olive oil soap and of sulphate of 
zinc being mixed, a copious precipitate takes place of oleo-margarate of zinc, which, after 
being washed and dried, may be combined with resins, oil, and wax, to give it the neces- 
sary consistence. This preparation, however, is not likely to supersede the officinal. 
{Journ. de Pharm., xxvii. 100.)—Note to the eleventh edition. PART II. 
Umplastra. 
1073 
tides of the oxide are thus prevented from coalescing iu small masses, which 
the oil would not easily penetrate, and which would therefore delay the process. 
While the water exerts an important chemical agency in the changes which occur, 
it is also useful by preventing too high a temperature, which would decompose 
the oil, and cause the reduction of the oxide. The waste must, therefore, be sup- 
plied by fresh additions as directed in the process; and the water added for this 
purpose should be previously heated, as otherwise it would not only delay the 
operation, but by producing explosion might endanger the operator. During 
the continuance of the boiling, the material should be constantly stirred, and the 
spatula should be repeatedly passed along the bottom of the vessel, from side to 
side, so as to prevent any of the oxide, which is disposed by its greater density 
to sink to the bottom, from remaining in that situation. The materials swell up 
considerably, in consequence partly of the vaporization of the water, partly of 
the escape of carbonic acid gas, which is liberated by the oily acids from some 
carbonate of lead usually contained in the litharge. The process should not be 
continued longer than is sufficient to produce complete union of the ingredients, 
and this may be known by the colour and consistence of the mass. The colour 
of the litharge gradually becomes paler, and at length almost white when the 
plaster is fully formed. The consistence increases with the progress of the boil- 
ing, and is sufficiently thick, when a portion of the plaster, taken out and al- 
lowed to cool upon the end of a spatula, or thrown into cold water, becomes 
solid, without adhering in this state to the fingers. The portion thus solidified 
should not present, when broken, any red points, which would indicate the pre- 
sence of a portion of uncombined litharge. When the plaster is formed, it should 
be removed from the fire, and after a short time cold water should be poured 
upon it. Portions should then be detached from the mass, and, having been well 
kneaded under water, in order to separate ,the viscid solution of glycerin con- 
tained in the interior, should be formed into cylindrical rolls, and wrapped in 
paper. Such at least has been the course of proceeding usually recommended. 
But M. Davallon maintains that the presence of glycerin in the plaster is useful 
by keeping it in a plastic state, and that washing and kneading are injurious, the 
former by removing the glycerin, the latter by introducing particles of air and 
moisture into the mass, which is thus rendered more disposed to rancidity. (Am. 
Journ. of Pharm., xv. 274, from Journ. de Chim. Med.) By employing steam 
heat in the preparation of this plaster, the risk of burning it is avoided. For a 
good arrangement for this purpose, see Mohr and Redwood's Pharmacy, edited 
by Prof. Procter, p. 420. 
Medical Properties and Uses. This plaster, which has long been known under 
the name of diachylon, is used as an application to excoriated surfaces, and to 
slight wounds, which it serves to protect from the action of the air. It may also 
be beneficial by the sedative influence of the lead which enters into its composi- 
tion. A case is on record in which lead colic resulted from its long-continued 
application to a large ulcer of the leg. (Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., xxiii. 246.) Its 
chief use is in the preparation of other plasters. While in its yet incomplete 
state, it is used in the preparation of glycerin.* 
* Logan's Plaster. Take of Litharge, Carbonate of Lead, each, a pound; Castile Soap 
twelve ounces; Butter (fresh) four ounces; Olive Oil two and a half pints; Mastic, in powder, 
two drachms. It is to be understood that the pound and ounce are of the avoirdupois weight. 
Having mixed the Soap, Oil, and Butter, add the Litharge, and boil the mixture gently, 
constantly stirring, for an hour and a half, or until it shall assume a pale-brown colour; 
then increase the heat somewhat, and continue to boil, until a portion of the liquid, drop- 
ped on a smooth board, is found not to adhere to it on cooling; then remove it from the 
fire, and mix the mastic with it. Logan’s plaster has long been in popular use in Phila- 
delphia, and is considerably employed by regular practitioners, as a protective and diseu- 
tient application. 
Plaster of Carbonate of Lead. This was originally introduced into our Pharmacopoeia as a 1074 
Emplastra. 
part II. 
Off. Prep. Emplastrum Assafoetid®, U. SEmp. Ferri; Emp. Galbani, Br.; 
Emp. Galbani Compositum, TJ.S.; Emp. Hydrargyri; Emp. Opii, U.S.; Emp. 
Resin®; Emp. Saponis. W. 
EMPLASTRUM RESINaE. U. jS., Br. Resin Plaster. Adhesive 
Plaster. 
“ Take of Resin, in fine powder, six troyounces; Plaster of Lead thirty-six 
Iroyounces. To the Plaster, melted over a gentle fire, add the Resin, and mix 
them.” U. S. 
“Take of Resin, in powder, four ounces; Litharge Plaster two pounds; 
Hard Soap, in powder, two ounces. To the Litharge Plaster, previously melted 
with a gentle heat, add the Resin and Soap, first liquefied, and heat them until 
they are thoroughly mixed.” Br. The weights here referred to are the avoirdupois. 
This preparation differs from the lead plaster in being more adhesive and 
somewhat more stimulating. It is the common adhesive plaster of the shops, 
and is much employed for retaining the sides of wounds in contact, and for 
dressing ulcers according to the method of Baynton, by which the edges are 
drawn towards each other, and a firm support is given to the granulations. As 
prepared by the Dublin College it contained soap, which gave it greater plia- 
bility, and rendered it less liable to crack in cold weather, without impairing its 
adhesiveness; and the process of that College has been adopted in the British 
Pharmacopoeia. It is usually spread upon muslin; and the spreading is best 
accomplished, on a large scale, by means of a machine, as described in the gene- 
ral observations upon plasters. It is kept in the shops ready spread ; but, as the 
plaster becomes less adhesive by long exposure to the air, the supply should be 
frequently renewed. When the skin is very delicate, it occasionally excites some 
irritation, and, under these circumstances, a plaster may be substituted contain- 
ing a smaller proportion of resin. ’ That originally employed by Baynton con- 
tained only six drachms of resin to the pound of lead plaster. To obviate the 
same evil, M. Herpin recommends the addition of tannate of lead, the propor- 
tion of which, when adhesiveness is required in the plaster, should not exceed 
one-twentieth, but, under other circumstances, may be increased to one-twelfth. 
(Bullet. de Therap., xlviii. 155.) 
In order to render the plaster more adhesive, and less brittle in cold weather, 
it is customary with many apothecaries to employ a considerable proportion of 
Burgundy pitch or turpentine in its preparation; but these additions are objec- 
tionable, as they greatly increase the liability of the plaster to irritate the skin, 
and thus materially interfere with the purposes for which the preparation was 
chiefly intended.* 
substitute for Mahy's plaster, at one time much employed in some parts of the United States; 
but was omitted in the edition of 1840. It is a good application to surfaces inflamed or ex- 
coriated by friction; and may be resorted to with advantage in those troublesome cases of 
cutaneous irritation, and even ulceration, which are apt to occur upon the back and hips 
during long continued confinement to one position. We give the process as contained in the 
Pharmacopoeia of 1830. “ Take of Carbonate of Lead a pound; Olive Oil two pints; Yellow 
AVax/owr ounces; Lead plaster a pound and a half; Florentine Orris, in powder, nine ounces. 
Boil together the Oil and Carbonate of Lead, adding a little water, and constantly stirring, 
till they are thoroughly incorporated; then add the AVax and Plaster, and, when these are 
melted, sprinkle in the Orris, and mix the whole together.” By this process, a good plas- 
ter may be prepared, rather too soft at first, but soon acquiring the proper consistence. 
* An adhesive plaster, exempt from oxide of lead, is prepared by Pettenkofer. It con- 
sists of calcareous soap incorporated with turpentine and suet, and may be prepared in 
the following manner. A solution of soap is decomposed by a solution of chloride of cal- 
cium. The precipitate, having been expressed and dried, is powdered with half its weight 
of turpentine dried by heat; and the mixture is melted along with an eighth part of suet, 
in boiling water. The mixture is boiled until the mass melts into a homogeneous fluid, 
when it is worked by the hand, in the ordinary manner, in cold water. Should portions 
of the calcareous soap not melt, they should be separated by straining through flannel. 
(Journ. de Pharm., 3r ser., x. 358, from Reperlorium fur die Pharm., x'.ii. 40.) PART II. 
Emplastra.—Enemata 
1075 
Off. Prep. Emplastrum Arnicas, TJ. S.; Emplastrum Belladonnae; Emplastrum 
Calefaciens, Br.; Emplastrum Opii, Br. W. 
EMPLASTRUM SAPONIS. U.S., Br. Soap Plaster. 
“Take of Soap, sliced, four troyounces; Plaster of Lead thirty-six troy- 
ounces; Water a sufficient quantity. Rub the Soap with Water until brought 
to a semi-liquid state; then mix it with the Plaster previously melted, and boil 
to the proper consistence.” U. S. 
“ Take of Hard Soap, in powder, six ounces; Litharge Plaster two pounds 
and a quarter; Resin, in powder, one ounce. To the Litharge Plaster, melted 
by a gentle heat, add the Soap and the Resin, first liquefied; then, constantly 
stirring, evaporate to a proper consistence.” Br. The avoirdupois weights are 
used in this process. 
The present U. S. formula is an improvement upon that of a former edition 
of the Pharmacopoeia. The proportion of soap in the old process was so large 
as to render the plaster friable. It has been diminished from six to four ounces. 
Besides, by the present mode of proceeding, it is more thoroughly incorporated 
with the plaster. The same end of greater plasticity is accomplished, in some 
degree, in the British process by the resin. 
Soap plaster is considered discutient, and is sometimes used as an application 
to tumours. 
Off. Prep. Ceratum Saponis, U. S.; Emplastrum Calefaciens, Br.; Emplas- 
trum Belladonnas, Br. W. 
ENEMATA. 
Clysters. 
These can scarcely be considered proper objects for officinal direction; but, 
having been introduced into the former British Pharmacopoeias, and retained in 
the present, the plan of this work requires that they should be noticed. They 
are substances in the liquid form, intended to be thrown up the rectum, with the 
view either of evacuating the bowels, of producing the peculiar impression of a 
remedy upon the lower portion of the alimentary canal and neighbouring organs, 
or of acting on the system generally through the medium of the surface to which 
they are applied. They are usually employed to assist the action of remedies 
taken by the mouth, or to supply their place when the stomach rejects them, or 
is insensible to their impression. Sometimes they are preferably used when the 
seat of the disorder is in the rectum or its vicinity. As a general rule, three 
times as much of any remedy is required to produce a given impression by enema, 
as when taken into the stomach; but this rule should be acted on with caution, 
as the relative susceptibilities of the stomach and rectum are not the same in all 
individuals; and, with regard to all very active remedies, the best plan is to ad- 
minister less than the stated proportion. Attention should also be paid to the 
fact, that, by the frequent use of a medicine, the susceptibility of the stomach 
may be in some measure exhausted, without a proportionate diminution of that 
of the rectum. 
When the object is to evacuate the bowels, the quantity of liquid administered 
should be considerable; for'an adult from ten fluidounces to a pint; for a child 
of eight or ten years, half that quantity; for an infant within the year, from one 
to three fluidounces. Much larger quantities of mild liquids may sometimes be 
given with safety and advantage; as the bowels will occasionally feel the stimu- 
lus of distension, when insensible to irritating impressions. 
When the design is to produce the peculiar impression of the remedy upon 
the neighbouring parts, or on the system, it is usually desirable that the enema 
should be retained; and the vehicle should therefore be bland, and as small in 1076 
Enemata. 
PART IL 
quantity as is compatible with convenient administration. A solution of starch, 
flaxseed tea, or other mucilaginous fluid should be selected, and the quantity 
should seldom exceed two or three fluidounces. In every case, the patient should 
be instructed to resist any immediate disposition to discharge the injected fluid; 
and his efforts to retain it should be assisted, if necessary, by pressure with a 
warm folded towel upon the fundament. The best instrument for administering 
enemata is an accurate metallic syringe. W. 
ENEMA ALOES. Br. Enema of Aloes. 
“ Take of Aloes forty grains; Carbonate of Potash fifteen grains; Mucilage 
of Starch ten fluidounces. Mix, and rub together.” Br. 
This is intended as a formula for the use of aloes in cases of ascarides in the 
rectum, and of amenorrhoea attended with constipation. W. 
ENEMA ASSAFCETID2E. Br. Enema of Assafetida. 
“Take of Tincture of Assafetida sixfiuidrachms; Mucilage of Starch six 
fluidounces. Mi x” Br. 
This is carminative and antispasmodic as well as laxative. We should, how- 
ever, prefer a preparation consisting of the gum-resin rubbed up with water; as 
the alcohol of the tincture might in some instances prove injurious. The whole 
quantity directed may be administered at once. W. 
ENEMA MAGNESLZE SULPHATIS. Br. Enema of Sulphate of 
Magnesia. Enema Catharticum. Ed., Bub. Cathartic Clyster. 
“ Take of Sulphate of Magnesia one ounce [avoirdupois]; Olive Oil one 
fiuidounce; Mucilage of Starch fifteen fluidounces. Dissolve the Sulphate of 
Magnesia in the Mucilage, add the Oil, and mix.” i?r. 
The laxative enema, most commonly employed in this country, consists of a 
tablespoonful of common salt, two tablespoonfuls of lard or olive oil, the same 
quautity of molasses, and a pint of warm water. It has the advantage of con- 
sisting of materials which are always at hand in families, and is in all respects 
equal to the officinal preparation. W. 
ENEMA OPII. Br. Enema of Opium. Enema Opii vel Anodynum. 
Ed. Anodyne Enema. 
“Take of Tincture of Opium half a fluidrachm; Mucilage of Starch two 
fluidounces. Mix.” Br. 
This formula is unobjectionable. It must have happened to every one in the 
habit of prescribing opium in this way, to have seen a much greater effect pro- 
duced by a certain amount of laudanum injected into the rectum than by one- 
third of the quantity swallowed. The fluidrachm contains at least one hundred 
drops of laudanum of the ordinary size, and not less than one hundred and twenty 
as they are often formed. From twenty to twenty-five drops are usually consi- 
dered as a medium dose by the mouth; so that sixty drops, equivalent to about 
thirty minims, are abundantly sufficient by enema. As the object is that the 
enema should remain in the rectum, the smaller the quantity of the vehicle the 
better; and a mucilaginous fluid is preferable to water, as it involves the tinc- 
ture, and prevents the irritation of the alcohol before the opium begins to take 
effect. The ordinary anodyne enema, employed in this country, consists of about 
sixty drops of laudanum and one or two fluidounces of flaxseed tea or solution 
of starch, conforming precisely with the present British formula. 
This is an admirable remedy in obstinate vomiting, strangury from blisters, 
painful affections of the kidneys, bladder, and uterus, and in the tenesmus of 
dysentery. It may also frequently be employed to produce the effects of opium 
upon the system, when circumstances prevent the administration of that medi- 
cine by the mouth. W. PART II. 
Enemata.—Extracta. 
ENEMA TABACI. Br. Enema of Tobacco. 
“Take of Leaf Tobacco twenty grains; Boiling Water eight fluidounces 
Infuse in a covered vessel, for half an hour, and strain.” Br. 
The whole quantity is to be given at once. The dose is somewhat less that 
that usually employed in this country. (See Infasum Tabaci.) W. 
ENEMA TEREBINTIIINiE. Br. Enema of Turpentine. 
“Take of Oil of Turpentine one fluidounce; Mucilage of Starch fifteen 
fluidounces. Mix.”j?r. 
For the dose of this preparation, see Oleum Terebinthinx. W. 
EXTRACTA. 
Extracts. 
Extracts, as the term is employed in the Pharmacopoeias, are solid substances, 
resulting from the evaporation of the solutions of vegetable principles, obtained 
either by exposing the vegetable to the action of a solvent, or by expressing its 
juice in the recent state. A distinction was formerly made between those pre- 
pared from the infusions, decoctions, or tinctures, and those from the expressed 
juices of plants, the former being called Extracta, the latter Sued Spissali; but 
the distinction has been generally abandoned. There is no such essential difference 
between these two sets of preparations as to require that they should be sepa- 
rately classed; and something is gained in the simplicity of nomenclature, as 
well as of arrangement, which results from their union. We shall consider them 
underthe same head, taking care, however, to detail distinctly whatever is pecu- 
liar in the mode of preparing each. 
The composition of extracts varies with the nature of the vegetable, the cha- 
racter of the solvent, and the mode of preparation. The object is generally to 
obtain as much of the active principle of the plant, with as little of the inert 
matter as possible; though sometimes it may be desirable to separate two active 
ingredients from each other, when their effects upon the system are materially 
different; and this may be accomplished by employing a menstruum which, 
while it dissolves one, leaves the other untouched. The proximate principles 
most commonly present in extracts are gum, sugar, starch, tannin, extractive, 
colouring matter, salts, and the peculiar principles of plants; to which, when a 
spirituous solvent is employed, may usually be added resinous substances, fatty 
matter, and frequently more or less essential oil; gum and starch being excluded 
when the menstruum is pure alcohol. Of these substances, as well as of others 
which, being soluble, are sometimes necessarily present in extracts, we have 
taken occasion to treat under various heads in the Materia Medica. There is 
one, however, which, from its supposed almost uniform presence in this class ot 
preparations, and from the influence it is thought to exert upon their character, 
deserves particular consideration in this place. We allude to extractive, or, as 
it is sometimes called, extractive matter. 
It has long been observed that in most vegetables there is a substance, soluble 
both in water and alcohol, which, in the preparation of extracts, undergoes che- 
mical change during the process of evaporation, imparting to the liquid, even if 
originally limpid, first a greenish, then a yellowish-brown, and ultimately a deep- 
brown colour, and becoming itself insoluble. This substance, originally called 
saponaceous matter by Scheele, afterwards received the more expressive name 
of extractive, derived from its frequent presence in extracts. Its existence as a 
distinct principle is denied, or at least doubted by some chemists, who consider 
the phenomena supposed to result from its presence, as depending upon the mu- 
tual reaction of other principles; and, in relation to Peruvian bark, it appears 
to have been proved that the insoluble matter which forms during its decoction 1078 
Extracta. 
PART II. 
in watei ia a compound of starch and tannin. A similar compound must also be 
formed in other cases when these two principles coexist; but they are not always 
present in the same vegetable, nor can all the changes which have been attri- 
buted to extractive be accounted for by their union, even when they are present; 
so that, till further light is shed on the subject, it is best to admit the existence 
of a distinct substance, which, though not the same in all plants, possesses suf- 
ficient identity of character to be entitled, like sugar, resin, &c., to a distinctive 
name. The most interesting property of extractive is its disposition to pass, by 
the influence of atmospheric air at a high temperature, into an insoluble sub- 
stance. If a vegetable infusion or decoction be evaporated in the open air to the 
consistence of an extract, then diluted, filtered, and again evaporated, and the 
process repeated so long as any insoluble matter is formed, the whole of the 
extractive will be separated front the liquid, while the other ingredients may re- 
main. If chlorine be passed through an infusion or decoction, a similar precipi- 
tate is formed with much greater rapidity. The change is usually ascribed to 
the absorption of oxygen by the extractive, which has, therefore, been called, in 
its altered condition, oxidized extractive; but De Saussure ascertained that, 
though oxygen is absorbed during the process, an equal measure of carbonic acid 
gas is given out, and the oxygen and hydrogen of the extractive unite to form 
water in such a manner as to leave the principle richer in carbon than it was 
originally. The name of oxidized extractive is, therefore, obviously incorrect; 
and Berzelius proposed to substitute for it that of apotheme, synonymous with 
deposit. According to Berzelius, apotheme is not completely insoluble in water, 
but imparts a slight colour to that liquid when cold, and is rather more soluble 
in boiling water, which becomes turbid upon cooling. It is still more soluble in 
alcohol, and is freely dissolved by solutions of the alkalies and alkaline carbon- 
ates, from which it is precipitated by acids. It has a great tendency, when pre- 
cipitated from solutions, to unite with other principles, and to carry them along 
with it; thus acquiring properties somewhat different according to the source 
from which it is obtained. In this way, also, even when the extractive of a plant 
is itself medicinally inert, its conversion into apotheme may be injurious by caus- 
ing a precipitation of a portion of the active principle; and, in practical phar- 
maceutic operations, this change should always, if possible, be avoided. With 
these preliminary views, we shall proceed to the consideration of the practical 
rules necessary to be observed in the preparation of extracts. We shall treat of 
the subject under the several heads of, 1. the extraction of the soluble principles 
from the plant; 2. the method of Conducting the evaporation; 3. the proper 
condition of extracts, the changes they are liable to undergo, and the best me- 
thod of preserving them; and 4. the general directions of the several Pharma- 
copoeias in relation to them. 
1. Extraction of the Soluble Principles. 
There are two distinct modes of obtaining, in a liquid state, the principles 
which we wish to extract; 1. by expression alone; 2. by the agency of a sol- 
vent, with or without expression. 
1. By Expression. This method is applicable to recent vegetables. All plants 
cannot be usefully treated in this way, as many have too little juice to afford an 
appreciable quantity upon pressure, and of the succulent a considerable portion 
do not yield all their active principles with their juice. Succulent fruits, and 
various acrid and narcotic plants, are proper subjects for this treatment. The 
plants should be operated upon, if possible, immediately after collection. Mr. 
Battley, of London, recommends that, if not entirely fresh, they should lie re- 
vived by the immersion of the stalks in water for twelve or eighteen hour?, and 
those only used which recover their freshness by this management. They should PART II. 
Extracta, 
1079 
then be cut into pieces, and bruised in a stone mortar till brought to a pulpy 
consistence. When the plant is not very succulent, it is necessary to add a little 
water during this part of the process, in order to dilute the juice. After sufficient 
contusion, the pulp is introduced into a linen or canvas bag, and the liquid parts 
expressed. Mr. Braude states that light pressure only should be employed; as 
the extract is thus procured greener, of a less glutinous or viscid consistence, 
and, in his opinion, more active than when considerable force is used in the ex- 
pression. (Manual of Pharmacy.) The juice thus obtained is opaque and usu- 
ally green, in consequence of the presence of green wax or chlorophyll, and of 
a portion of the undissolved vegetable fibre in minute division. By heating the 
juice to about 160°, the albumen contained in it coagulates, and, involving the 
chlorophyll and vegetable fibre, forms a greenish precipitate. If the liquid is 
now filtered, it becomes limpid and nearly colourless, and is prepared for eva- 
poration. The clarification, however, is not absolutely necessary, and is gene- 
rally neglected. Sometimes the precipitate carries with it a considerable portion 
of the active principle; in which case it should be subsequently incorporated 
with the juice, when reduced by evaporation to the consistence of syrup. Ether 
added to the expressed juices of plants enables them to be kept long without in- 
jurious change. M. Lepage, of Gisors, France, has kept the juice of belladonna 
in this way more than 10 years, and found it, at the end of that time, to yield an 
extract, identical in physical, chemical, and physiological properties with that 
obtained from the fresh juice. If this fact is found to be of general applicability, 
it will be of considerable importance, as enabling the pharmaceutist to supply 
himself, at pleasure, with extracts to be relied on, without reference to the season. 
(Journ. de Ph.arm., Mai, 1863, p. 361.) 
2. By Solution. The active principles of dried vegetables can be extracted 
only by means of a liquid solvent. The menstruum usually employed is either 
water or alcohol, or a mixture of the two. Water, on account of its cheapness, 
is always preferred, when circumstances do not strongly call for the use of alco- 
hol. It has the advantage, moreover, that it may be assisted in its action, if 
necessary, by a higher degree of heat than the latter. Pump water is often unfit 
for the purpose, in consequence of the quantity of its saline matter, which, in 
some instances, may exert an unfavourable influence on the active principle, and 
must always be left in the extract. Bain, river, or distilled water should be pre- 
ferred. Alcohol is employed when the principles to be extracted are insoluble, 
or but slightly soluble in water, as in the case of the resins; when it is desirable 
to avoid in the extract inert substances, such as gum and starch, which are dis- 
solved by water and not by alcohol; when the heat required to evaporate the 
aqueous solution would dissipate or decompose the active ingredients of the plant, 
as the volatile oils and the active principle of sarsaparilla; when the reaction 
of the water itself upon the vegetable principles is injurious; and, finally, when 
the nature of the substance to be exhausted requires so long a maceration in 
water as to endanger spontaneous decomposition. The watery solution requires 
to be soon evaporated, as this fluid rather promotes than counteracts chemical 
changes; while an alcoholic tincture may be preserved unaltered for an indefi- 
nite period. An addition of alcohol to water is sufficient to answer some of the 
purposes for which the former is preferable; and the employment of both fluids 
is essential, when the virtues of the plant reside in two or more principles, all 
of which are not soluble in either of these menstrua. In this case it is usually 
better to submit the vegetable to the action of the two fluids successively, than 
of both united. Extracts obtained by the agency of water are called watery or 
aqueous extracts ; those by means of alcohol, undiluted or diluted, alcoholic or 
spirituous extracts. 
The method of preparing the solution is not a matter of indifference. The 
vegetable should be thoroughly bruised, or reduced to a coarse powder, so as to Extracta. 
PART II. 
allow th' access of the solvent to all its parts, and yet not so finely pulverized 
as to prevent a ready precipitation of the undissolved and inactive portion. 
W' <en water is employed, it has been customary to boil the medicine for a con- 
siderable time, and, if the first portion of liquid does not completely exhaust it, 
to repeat the operation with successive portions, till the whole of the active mat- 
ter is extracted. This may be known by the sensible properties of the liquid, 
and by its influence upon reagents. But the boiling temperature produces the 
decomposition of many vegetable principles, or at least so modifies them as to 
render them inert; and the extracts prepared by decoction are usually less effi- 
cient than those made with a less degree of heat. From numerous experi- 
ments upon extracts, Orfila concluded that their virtues were less in proportion 
to the heat employed. It has, therefore, been recommended to substitute for 
decoction the process of maceration, digestion, or hot infusion; in the first of 
which the liquid acts without heat, in the second is assisted by a moderately in- 
creased temperature sustained for a considerable time, and in the third is poured 
boiling hot upon the vegetable matter, and allowed to stand for a short period 
in a covered vessel. When the active principles are readily soluble in cold water, 
macei'aLion is often preferable to the other modes, as starch, which is inert, is 
thus left behind; but in many instances the preparation would spoil before the 
extraction w'ould be completed. By digestion, though the solvent power of water 
is moderately increased, the advantage is often more than counterbalanced by 
the increased disposition to spontaneous decomposition. Hot infusion, there- 
fore, is to be preferred where the vegetable does not readily yield its virtues to 
eold water. It has the advantage, moreover, in the case of albuminous sub- 
stances, that the albumen is coagulated, and thus prevented from increasing the 
bulk of the extract, without adding to its virtues. A convenient mode of per- 
forming this process, is to introduce the solid material into a vessel with an 
opening near the bottom temporarily closed, or into a funnel with its mouth 
loosely stopped, then to pour on the boiling water, and, having allowed it to re- 
main a sufficient length of time, to draw it off through the opening. This opera- 
tion may be repeated till the water comes away without any obvious impregna- 
tion. It is always desirable to obtain the solution in the first place as concen- 
trated as possible, so as to prevent the necessity of long-continued evaporation, 
which injures the extract. It is better, therefore, to incur the risk, both when 
decoction and infusion are employed, of leaving a portion of the active matter 
behind, than to obtain a very weak solution. When successive portions of water 
are employed, those which are least impregnated should be brought by evapora- 
tion to the strength of that first obtained before being mixed with it, as the latter 
thus escapes unnecessary exposure tg heat. 
Sometimes the filtering of a turbid infusion or decoction, before evaporation, 
causes the resulting extract to keep better, by removing substances, which, besides 
undergoing decomposition themselves, may act as a ferment, and thus occasion 
the decomposition of the active matter of the extract. 
When alcohol is employed as a menstruum, the vegetable should be macerated 
in it for one or two weeks, and care should be taken that the tincture be as 
nearly saturated as possible. The extraction may be hastened by substituting 
digestion for maceration ; as the moderate heat employed, while it facilitates 
the action of the alcohol, has in this case no effect in promoting decomposition, 
and the influence of the atmospheric air may be excluded by performing the 
process in close vessels. When alcohol and water are both used, it is best, as a 
general rule, to exhaust the vegetable with each separately, as the two menstrua 
require different modes of treatment. In whichever of these modes the extrac- 
tion is effected, it requires the assistance of occasional agitation; and, when the 
vegetable matter is- very porous, and absorbs a large quantity of the solvent, 
expression must be resorted to. PART II. 
Extracta. 
1081 
Acetic acid has been introduced into use as a menstruum m the preparation 
of extracts. It is supposed to be a better solvent of the active principles of 
certain substances than either water or alcohol alone. According to Girolamo 
Ferrari, the acrid narcotics, such as aconite, hemlock, hyoscvamus, and stramo- 
nium, yield much stronger extracts with distilled vinegar than with water, ana 
still stronger with alcohol to which strong acetic acid has been added. (Journ 
de Pharm., Be ser., i. 239.) This acid is used in the preparation of the acetic 
extract of colchicum. 
Ether also is now used to a considerable extent in the preparation of certain 
extracts. Having the property of dissolving volatile oil and resin, and of evapo- 
rating at a temperature insufficient to volatilize the oil, it is admirably adapted 
for the preparation of extracts from those substances, the virtues of which reside 
in the two principles referred to. An ethereal tincture is first prepared by the 
process of percolation or displacement, and the ether is then either allowed to 
escape by spontaneous evaporation, or is distilled off at a very moderate heat. 
The oleoresinous extracts thus obtained are usually of a thick fluid or semi-fluid 
consistence. For more precise information as to the mode of preparing them, 
the reader is referred to a paper by Prof. Procter, in the Am. Journ. of Pharm. 
(xxi. 114). Several of them are now ranked among the officinal preparations, in 
the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, under the title of Oleoresins. 
The process of percolation or displacement has within a few years been very 
advantageously applied to the preparation of extracts, both with water and spi- 
rituous menstrua. It has the following great advantages; 1. that it enables the 
soluble principles to be sufficiently extracted by cold water, thereby avoiding 
the injury resulting from heat in decoction and hot infusion; 2. that it effects 
the extraction much more quickly than can be done by maceration, thereby not 
only saving time, but also obviating the risk of spontaneous decomposition; and 
8. that it affords the opportunity of obtaining highly concentrated solutions, thus 
diminishing the injurious effects of the subsequent evaporation. While thus ad- 
vantageous, it is less liable in this particular case than in others to the objection 
of yielding imperfect results if not well performed ; for, though an inexpert or 
careless operator may incur loss by an incomplete exhaustion of the substance 
acted on, and the extract may be deficient in quantity, it may still be of the in- 
tended strength and quality, which is not the case with infusions or tinctures 
unskilfully prepared upon this plan. In the U. S. Pharmacopoeia., all the extracts 
to which the process is applicable are prepared by percolation, and, with a very 
few exceptions, without previous maceration or digestion, which, as a general 
rule, is useless if not injurious. In the British Pharmacopoeia, the process is 
applied, as it were, hesitatingly, to a portion of the extracts, and withheld in 
others to which it seems equally appropriate; and, as if there was an unwilling- 
ness to trust this exotic method entirely, previous maceration for a greater or less 
length of time, never less than twelve, and more generally for twenty-four hours, 
is with a single exception universally adopted, whenever percolation is employed. 
In this respect British pharmacy is, we think, behind that of the United States. 
For an account of the mode of operating in the process of displacement, and of 
the instruments used, the reader is referred to pages 894 and 905. 
Some prefer the mode of expression to that of displacement. This also is ap- 
plicable both to watery and alcoholic menstrua. The substance to be acted upon 
is mixed with the menstruum, cold or hot according to circumstances; and the 
mixture is allowed to stand from twelve to twenty-four hours. The liquid part 
is then filtered off, and the remainder submitted to strong pressure, in a linen 
bag, by means of a common screw press, or other convenient instrument. Another 
portion of the menstruum may then be added, and pressure again applied ; and, 
if the substance is not sufficiently exhausted, the same operation may be per- 
formed a third time. Frequently only a single expression is required, and very 1082 
Extracta, 
PART II. 
seldom a third. The quantity of menstruum added must vary with the solubility 
of the principles to be extracted. According to Mohr, the method of expression 
has the advantages over that of displacement, that it yields solutions of more 
uniform concentration, that it does not require the materials to be so carefully 
powdered, or otherwise so skilfully managed in order to ensure favourable re- 
sults, and finally that it occupies less time. 
2. Mode of conducting the Evaporation. 
In evaporating the solutions obtained in the modes above described, attention 
should always be paid to the fact, that the extractive matter is constantly be- 
coming insoluble at high temperatures with the access of air, and that other 
chemical changes are going on, sometimes not less injurious than this, while the 
volatile principles are expelled with the vapour. The operator should, there- 
fore, observe two rules; 1. to conduct the evaporation at as low a temperature 
as is consistent with other objects; 2. to exclude atmospheric air as much as 
possible, and, when this cannot be accomplished, to expose the liquid the shortest 
possible time to its action. According to Berzelius, the injurious influence of 
atmospheric air is much greater at the boiling point of water than at a less heat, 
even allowing for the longer exposure in the latter case; and, therefore, a slow 
evaporation at a moderate heat is preferable to the more rapid effects of ebulli- 
tion. Bearing these principles in mind, we shall proceed to examine the different 
modes in practice. First, however, it is proper to observe that decoctions gen- 
erally let fall upon cooling a portion of insoluble matter; and it is a question 
whether this should be rejected, or retained so as to form a part of the extract 
Though it is undoubtedly in many instances inert, as in that of the insoluble 
tannate of starch formed during the decoction of certain vegetable substances, 
yet, as it frequently also contains a portion of the active principle which a boil- 
ing saturated solution necessarily deposits on cooling, and, as it is difficult to 
decide with certainty when it is active and when otherwise, the safest plan, as a 
general rule, is to allow it to remain. 
The method of evaporation usually resorted to in the case of aqueous solu- 
tions is rapid boiling over a fire. The more quickly the process is conducted the 
better, provided the liquid is to be brought to the boiling point; for ihe tem- 
perature cannot exceed this, and the length of exposure is diminished. But, even 
where this method is employed, it should not be continued till the completion of 
the evaporation; for, when most of the water has escaped, the temperature can 
no longer be kept down to the boiling point, and the extract is burnt. The cau- 
tion, therefore, should always be observed of removing the preparation from the 
fire before it lias attained the consistence of thick syrup, and completing the 
evaporation, either by means of a water-bath, or in shallow vessels at a moderate 
heat. When large quantities of liquid are to be evaporated, it is best to divide 
them into portions, and evaporate each separately; for, as each portion requires 
less time for evaporation than the whole, it will thus be a shorter time exposed 
to heat. (Mohr.) But the mode of evaporation by boiling is always more or less 
objectionable, and should be employed only in cases where the principles of the 
plant are so fixed and unchangeable as to authorize their extraction by decoction. 
Evaporation by means of the water-bath, from the commencement of the pro- 
cess, is safer than the plan just .mentioned, as it obviates all danger of burning 
the extract; but, as the heat is not supplied directly from the fire, the volatili- 
zation of the water cannot go on so rapidly, and the temperature being nearly 
the same, when the water-bath is kept boiling, there is greater risk of injurious 
action from the air. The liquid should be stirred during the process. The use 
of the vapour-bath, as suggested by M. Henry, is perhaps preferable; as it re- 
quires a smaller consumption of fuel, and the heat imparted to the liqu/d, vvl/le PART II 
JExtracta. 
1083 
sufficient to evaporate it, is less than 212°. We take the following description 
of the apparatus, employed at the Central Pharmacy of Paris, from M. Cheval- 
lier’s highly useful Manual. It consists of a covered boiler, containing water, 
the vapour of which is conducted through a pipe into evaporating vessels, com- 
municating with each other by means of metallic tubes. These vessels have the 
form of an ordinary copper basin, over the top of which is soldered a shallow 
tin capsule, intended to contain the liquor to be evaporated. The vapour from 
the boiler circulates through these vessels, and the water into which it condenses 
is allowed to escape through a stop cock attached to the bottom of each vessel. 
From the last one of the series a tube passes into a vessel of water, so as to 
afford a slight pressure against the escape of any excess of vapour. The liquid 
to be evaporated is first distributed in two or three capsules, but, when consider- 
ably concentrated, is transferred to a single one, where it is stirred towards the 
close of the process to hasten the evaporation. The heat applied to the liquid, 
if there are four vessels, is in that nearest the boiler about 198° F., in the fourth 
or most remote, about 135°. An incidental advantage of this apparatus is, that 
it affords a large supply of distilled water. 
As the heat capable of being applied by a boiling water-bath to the evapo- 
rating liquid does not exceed 200° F., while that by steam can, by a moderate 
pressure, be increased to the boiling point or beyond it, the evaporation by the 
latter agency may be much more rapid than by the former, according to Mr. 
Redwood, twice as rapid, when the pressure is from ten to twenty pounds to the 
square inch; so that there is a temptation to raise the heat to a degree seriously 
injurious to the product. Evaporation, therefore, by steam heat always requires 
caution, while the water-bath is much less liable to be abused. In this respect, 
the latter method has the advantage. 
A good plan of evaporation, though slow, is to place the liquid in a broad, 
shallow vessel, exposed in a stove or drying room to a temperature of about 
100°, or a little higher, taking care that the air have free access in order to 
facilitate the evaporation. This mode is particularly applicable to those cases 
in which maceration or infusion is preferred to decoction for extracting the ac- 
tive principles. Berzelius says that we may thus usually obtain the extract in 
the form of a yellowish transparent mass, while those prepared in the ordinary 
way are almost black, and are opaque even in very thin layers. Even when the 
liquid is boiled at first, the process may often be advantageously completed in 
this manner. It has been proposed to effect the evaporation at the common 
temperature, by directing a strong current of air, by means of a pair of smith’s 
bellows, over the surface of the liquid; and, in reference to substances which 
are injured by heat and not by atmospheric air, the plan will be found useful. 
Plans have been proposed and carried into execution for performing evapo- 
ration without the admission of atmospheric air. The apparatus for evapora- 
tion in vacuo, invented by Mr. Barry, and described in the Lond. Journ. of 
Science and Arts (vol. viii. p. 360), is well calculated to meet this object, at 
the same time that, by removing the atmospheric pressure, it enables the water 
to rise in vapour more rapidly, and at a comparatively low temperature. The 
method of Barry consists in distilling the liquid into a large receiver, from which 
the air has been expelled by steam, and in which the vapour is condensed by 
cold water applied to the surface of the receiver, so as to maintain a partial 
vacuum. Mr. Redwood has modified this process by keeping an air-pump in 
action during the evaporation, thus removing not only the air, but the vapour 
as fast as it forms, and maintaining a more complete vacuum than can be done 
by the condensation of the vapour alone. {Journ. de Pharm., Se ser., i. 231.) 
Another method is to place the liquid under an exhausted receiver, together with 
some concentrated sulphuric acid or chloride of calcium, which, by its affinity for 
water, promotes the evaporation of the liquid. But, from the expense and trouble Extracta. 
PART II. 
of tnese mot’es of evaporation, they are not calculated for general use. Dr. Chris- 
tison recommends as probably the most perfect and convenient method, especially 
with watery infusions and decoctions, to evaporate the fluid in a vacuum to the 
consistence of syrup, and then to complete the process in shallow vessels, ex- 
posed to a current of air without heat.* 
A convenient plan of excluding the air, though it does not at the same time 
meet the object of reducing the requisite degree of heat, is to distil off the water 
in close vessels. Berzelius says that this is the best mode of concentration next 
to that in vacuo. Care, however, must be taken that the fire be not too long 
applied, lest the extract should be burnt. The process should, therefore, be com- 
pleted by means of the water-bath. 
In the concentration of alcoholic solutions, distillation should always be per- 
formed; as not only is the atmospheric air thus excluded, but the alcohol is 
recovered, if not absolutely pure, certainly fit for the purpose to which it was 
originally applied. Here also the water-bath should be employed, to obviate 
any possible risk of injury from the fire. When the decoction or infusion, and 
tincture of the same vegetable have been made separately, they should be sepa- 
rately evaporated to the consistence of syrup, and then mixed together, while 
they are of such a consistence as to incorporate without difficulty. The object 
of this separate evaporation is, that the spirituous extract may not be exposed 
to the degree of heat, or lengthened action of the air, which is necessary in the 
ordinary mode of concentrating the infusion or decoction. 
In every instance, care should be taken to prevent any portion of the extract 
from becoming dry and hard on the sides of the evaporating vessel, as in this 
state it will not readily incorporate with the remaining mass. The heat, there- 
fore, should be applied to the bottom, and not to the sides of the vessel. 
3. Condition and Preservation of Extracts. 
Extracts are prepared of two different degrees of consistence; soft so that 
they may be readily made into pills, and hard that they may be pulverized. In 
astringent extracts, the evaporation should be carried to dryness. Those obtained 
from the expressed juices of plants are apt to attract moisture from the air, in 
consequence of the deliquescent nature of the salts existing in the juice. They 
are thus rendered softer, and more liable to become mouldy upon the surface. 
Others, especially such as contain much chlorophyll, harden by time, in conse- 
quence of the escape of their moisture; and it not unfrequently happens that 
small crystals of saline matter are formed in their substance. Most extracts, 
especially those containing azotized principles, are capable, when left to them- 
selves, of producing nitrates. Mr. John Attfield, of Loudon, has made a che- 
mical examination of the crystals found in numerous extracts, and ascertained 
that, in a large number, they consisted of chloride of potassium, and, in a com- 
* M. Grandval has described an apparatus for evaporation in vacuo, for the preparation 
of extracts, in the Journ. de Pharm. (xv. 82). In the same journal (xxiii 1), MM. Soubeiran 
and Gobley have described and figured an apparatus, founded upon that of M. Grandval, 
Dut modified so as to be adapted to operations on a small scale, and to be within the reach 
of apothecaries who may desire to prepare their own extracts. Messrs. Tilden & Co., of 
New York, employ a vacuum apparatus analogous to that used in refining sugar. The va- 
cuum is obtained and continued by the constant action of a powerful steam-driven pump. 
Their apparatus includes two evaporating pans; one large, having a capacity of several 
hundred gallons, used to concentrate the solutions for extracts to a syrupy consistence; 
the other, holding about fifty gallons, in which the evaporation is finished. The latter is 
furnished witn an opening of such size as to permit the operator to remove the residual 
extract. The temperature during the evaporation is from 120° to 140° F., and is derived 
from steam pipes, placed within the boiler in the large evaporating pan, and a steam jacket 
beneath the smaller one. Very fine extracts are prepared in this way.—Note to the ninth 
and tenth editions. PART II. 
Extracta. 
1085 
paratively few, of the nitrate of potassa.* The air, moreover, exercises an un- 
favourable chemical influence over the softer extracts, which are enfeebled, and 
ultimately become nearly inert, by the same changes which they undergo more 
rapidly in the liquid state at an elevated temperature. If an extract be dissolved 
in water, and the liquid be saturated with common salt, or any other very solu- 
ble salt of difficult decomposition, the greater part of it will be precipitated, in 
consequence of the insolubility of this class of substances in saline solutions. 
The precipitate may be again dissolved in pure water. 
Extracts, in order that they may keep well, should be placed in glazed earthen- 
ware, glass, or porcelain jars, and completely protected from the access of the 
air. This may be effected by covering their surface with a layer of melted wax, 
or with a piece of paper moistened with strong spirit, then closing the mouth of 
the vessel with a cork, spreading wax or rosin over this, and covering the whole 
with leather, or a piece of bladder. {Duncan.) The dry extracts, being less 
liable-to be affected by atmospheric oxygen, do not require so much care. The 
application of alcohol to the surface has a tendency to prevent mouldiness. A 
method of protecting extracts from the action of the air, frequently resorted to, 
is to cover them closely with oiled bladder; but this, though better than to leave 
them uncovered, is not entirely effectual. Should the extract become too moist, 
i‘t may be dried by means of a water-bath; should it, on the contrary, be too 
dry, the proper consistence may be restored by softening it in the same manner, 
and incorporating with it a little distilled water. (Ghevallier.) 
Some extracts when powdered have a tendency to cohere again. According 
to Geiseler, this may be obviated by the addition of sugar of milk or powdered 
liquorice-root; two or three parts of the former, and one part of the latter to 
one of the extract being su&cient for the purpose. (Pharm. Gent. Blatt, A. D. 
1850, p. 238.) Mohr recommends the following plan of drying and preserving 
extracts. Take equal parts of powdered liquorice-root and of the extract, rub 
them well together in a mortar, put the resulting paste into an earthen vessel 
with a flat bottom, place this in another of iron, a little deeper, containing chlo- 
ride of calcium thoroughly dried by heat insufficient to melt it; then enclose the 
whole with a cover fitted to the iron vessel, and allow them to stand for a day 
or more. When the mixture is quite dry, powder it, and add so much of the 
powrdered root as to make the weight double that of the original extract. (Ibid., 
p. 719.) 
Extracts from recent plants should be prepared at the season when the plant 
is medicinally most active; and a good rule is to prepare them once a year.j" 
Mr. T. S. Wiegand considers glycerin as the best excipient for extracts given 
in the form of liquid mixture, or applied externally; 'equal parts being used in 
the former case, and a double proportion of glycerin in the latter. (Am, Journ. 
of Pharm., March, 1863, p. 117.) 
* Tlius, chloride of potassium was detected in the extracts of belladonna, hemlock, sar- 
saparilla (compound), colchicum seeds, stramonium seeds, and aconite; nitrate of potassa 
rn extracts of belladonna, hyoscyamus, and lettuce; and sulphate of soda in extract of 
stramonium seeds. (Pharrn. Journ., March, 1862, p. 448.) 
f M. Lepage, of Gisors, gives the following method of testing the quality of the narcotic 
.extracts, and determining whether they contain any of the alkaloids to which they owe 
their efficiency. Take a gramme (15-3 grs.) of the extract, dissolve it in twice its weight of 
distilled water, introduce the solution into a test-tube, and add from 25 to 30 centigrammes 
(4 or 5 grs ) of powdered bicarbonate of potassa. When effervescence has ceased, add to 
the mixture 5 or 6 times its bulk of pure ether, cork the tube, and shake briskly three 
times in 2 or 3 minutes. Then let the mixture rest; and, when the ether has become trans- 
parent, decant, and allow it to evaporate spontaneously. Dissolve the residue in 6 or 8 
grammes to of water, acidulated with a drop or two of muriatic acid. If the 
extract be good, the solution will be rendered very turbid by a few drops of a solution of 
the double iodide of mercury and potassium, and will give a flocculent precipitate with 
solution of tannic acid. (Journ. de Pharm., Mai, 1863, p. 362.) This test is applicable to 
the extracts of aconite, belladonna, hyoscyamus, and conium.—Note to the twelfth edition. jExtracta. 
PART ir. 
4. General Officinal Directions. 
“ In preparing the Extracts, unless otherwise directed, evaporate as quickly 
as possible, in a broad, shallow vessel, by means of a water-bath, until they have 
acquired the consistence proper for forming pills; and, towards the end of the 
process, stir them constantly with a spatula. Sprinkle upon the softer Extracts 
a small quantity of Alcohol.” U. S. 
EXTR ACTUM ACONITI. Br. Extract of Aconite. 
“Take of the fresh Leaves and Flowering Tops of Aconite one hundred and 
twelve pounds [avoirdupois]. Bruise in a stone mortar, and press out the 
juice; heat it gradually to 130°, and separate the green colouring matter by a 
calico filter. Heat the strained liquor to 200° to coagulate the albumen, and 
again filter. Evaporate the filtrate by a water-bath to the consistence of a thin 
syrup; then add to it the green colouring matter previously separated, and, 
stirring the whole together assiduously, continue the evaporation at a tempera- 
ture not exceeding 140°, until the extract is of a proper consistence.” Br. 
The extract from the fresh leaves of aconite has been abandoned in the TJ. S. 
Pharmacopoeia, probably because the plant is not generally cultivated in this 
country. It will be perceived that, in the British process, not the leaves only, 
but the flowering tops also are used, as experience has shown that these are at 
least equally efficient. The process consists essentially in the evaporation of the 
expressed juice; and the product, therefore, ranks with inspissated juices. 
In relation to the preparation of this extract, as well as of all others derived 
from the expressed juices of narcotic plants, the following summary of the plan 
pursued by Mr. Battley, an experienced apothecary of London, may be of ser- 
vice. Having passed the expressed juice through a fine hair sieve, he places it 
immediately upon the fire. Before it boils, a quantity of green matter rises to 
the surface, which in some plants is very abundant. This is removed by a per- 
forated tin dish, and preserved. It ceases to appear soon after the liquid begins 
to boil. The boiling is continued till rather more than half the fluid has been 
evaporated, when the decoction is poured into a conical pan and allowed to cool. 
An abundant dark-greeu precipitate forms, from which the supernatant liquid is 
poured off; and this, having been reduced one-half by a second boiling, is again 
allowed to stand. The precipitate which now falls is less green than the first. 
The remaining fluid is once more placed over the fire, and allowed to boil till it 
assumes the consistence of syrup, when it is removed. The matter at first col- 
lected by skimming, together with that precipitated, is now incorporated with 
it, and the whole placed in a metallic pan, and by means of a water-bath evapo- 
rated to the consistence of an extract. In the latter part of the process, care 
is necessary to prevent the extract from hardening on the sides of the vessel, as 
it thus loses its fine green colour, and becomes proportionably feeble. 
The superiority of this plan over a continuous boiling is, that the portions of 
active matter which are deposited at different stages of the process are subjected 
for a shorter time to heat than if allowed to remain in the liquor, and are con- 
sequently less deteriorated. The matter which coagulates before the fluid boils 
is chiefly albumen, embracing portions of chlorophyll and of the undissolved 
vegetable fibre. It might probably be thrown away without diminishing the vir- 
tues of the extract; but as chlorophyll, though itself inactive, has often associ- 
ated with it a portion of the active principle, it is the most economical plan to 
incorporate it with the other matters, and, besides, its presence in the mass is 
said to render it easier to be worked into pills. Mr. Brande states that one cwt. 
of fresh aconite yields about five pounds of extract. According to Geiger, one 
pound yields an ounce and a half. 
In the new process of the British Pharmacopoeia, it will be perceived that a PART II. 
Extracta. 
1087 
discrimination is made between the chlorophyll and albumen; the former, which 
coagulates at 130°, being at first separated in order to prevent the continuous 
action of heat upon it, and afterwards added to the extract; the latter, coagu- 
lating at 200°, is separated and rejected. The rejection of the albumen is alto- 
gether advisable, as it is not only inert, but renders the extract more liable to 
decomposition. The chlorophyll is retained for the reasons stated in the pre- 
ceding paragraph; and also to give a greenish colour to the extract, which has 
come to be associated in general opinion with its goodness of quality. 
When properly prepared, this extract has a greenish-brown colour, with a 
disagreeable narcotic odour, and the acrid taste of the plant. It may be given 
in the dose of one or two grains, night and morning, to be gradually increased 
till the system is affected. Twenty grains or more have been given in the course 
of a day. W. 
EXTRACTUM ACONITI ALCOHOLICUM. U.S. Alcoholic Ex- 
tract of Aconite. 
“ Take of Aconite Leaf, recently dried and in fine powder, twelve troyounces; 
Alcohol a pint; Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity, introduce the powder, 
previously mixed with one-third of the Alcohol, into a conical percolator, and 
pour upon it the remainder of the Alcohol. When the liquid has all been ab- 
sorbed by the powder, pour on Diluted Alcohol until a pint of tincture has been 
obtained. Set this aside in a warm place, and allow it to evaporate spontane- 
ously until reduced to three fluidounces. Continue the percolation with Diluted 
Alcohol until two pints more of tincture have passed, or until the powder is ex- 
hausted ; then evaporate, by means of a water-bath, at a temperature not ex- 
ceeding 160°, to the consistence of syrup, and add the three fluidounces of 
tincture first obtained. Lastly, continue the evaporation, at a temperature not 
exceeding 120°, until the whole is reduced to the proper consistence.” TJ. S. 
The exhaustion of the aconite in this process is indicated by the absence of 
its peculiar taste in the liquid which passes. 
By the former U. S. process the alcohol in the evaporation was recovered by 
distillation and saved. In the present, this is impossible at the low temperature 
at which the evaporation is directed, unless by the aid of a vacuum apparatus; 
but, at the present high price of alcohol, it would be advisable for every apo- 
thecary, who prepares these alcoholic extracts, to be provided with such an in- 
strument. The attempt to save the alcohol by ordinary distillation would imply 
an elevation of the heat above that officinally ordered, and thus endanger the 
decomposition of the active principle of the aconite; and views of economy 
should never be allowed to interfere with the efficiency of medicines. 
If made from recently dried leaves, which have not yet been impaired by time, 
this is a good preparation of aconite; and it is believed to be more powerful, and 
to keep better, than the inspissated juice. According to Prof. Schroff, of Vienna, 
it has four times the strength of that preparation. The dose is half a grain or a 
grain, to be gradually increased if necessary. 
An alcoholic extract prepared from the root is stronger, and may be given in 
the dose of one-sixth or one-quarter of a grain three times a day, to be gradually 
increased until its effects are experienced.* W. 
* Fluster of Aconite. It is often desirable to employ aconite externally in the form of a 
plaster, and for this purpose the alcoholic extract of the root may be advantageously re- 
sorted to. Professor Procter prepares such a plaster by the following process. Mix four 
ounces of the coarsely powdered root with six fluidounces of alcohol (sp. gr. 0-835), ma- 
cerate for 24 hours, then submit the mixture to percolation with alcohol, so as to obtain 
a pint of tincture. Froip this distil off three-fourths of the alcohol, and evaporate the 
residue by a water-bath a syrupy consistence. While it is still hot, add three ounces 
and a half of adhesive plaster, previously melted, and stir the mixture constantly till it 
cools. About four ounces of plaster are thus obtained. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxv. 202.) 
—No it to the tenth edition. Extracta. 
PART II. 
EXTRACTUM ALOES BARBADENSIS. Br. Extract of Barbadoes 
Aloes. 
“Take of Barbadoes Aloes, in small fragments, one y>ottnd[avoirdupois]; 
Boiling Distilled Water one gallon [Imperial measure]. Add the Aloes to the 
Water, and stir well until they are thoroughly mixed. Set aside for twelve hours; 
then pour off the clear liquor, strain the remainder, and evaporate the mixed 
liquors by a water-bath or a current of warm air to a proper consistence.” Br. 
EXTRACTUM ALOES SOCOTRIN2E. Br. Extract of Socotrine 
Aloes. 
This_ is prepared precisely as the Barbadoes Aloes. 
The object of these processes is to separate from aloes the resinoid matter, 
the apotheme of Berzelius, which is supposed to irritate the bowels, without pos- 
sessing purgative properties; but the truth appears to be, that, when deprived 
of a small proportion of adhering extractive, this matter is quite inert. It can- 
not, therefore, injuriously affect the virtues of the medicine; and, as it exists in 
comparatively small proportion, and during the process a part of the extractive 
becomes insoluble, ttfe preparation may be considered as at best unnecessary. 
The dose of the purified aloes is from five to fifteen grains.* 
Off. Prep. Decoctum Aloes Composition, Br. W. 
EXTRACTUM ANTIIEMIDIS. Br. Extract of Chamomile. 
“Take of Chamomile Flowers one pound [avoirdupois]; Oil of Chamomile 
fifteen minims; Distilled Water a sufficient quantity. Digest the Chamomile 
in six pints [Imperial measure] of the Water for twelve hours, pour off the clear 
liquor and press; again digest, and press as before. Evaporate the mixed liquors 
by a water-bath to a proper consistence, adding the Oil of Chamomile at the 
end of the process.” Br. 
According to Mr. Brande, one cwt. of dried chamomile flowers affords upon 
an average 48 pounds of extract. 
This extract has a deep-brown colour, with the bitter taste and aroma of cha- 
momile. It much better represents the chamomile than the old Edinburgh ex- 
tract, which, being obtained by decoction and inspissation, contained none of the 
volatile oil of the plant. In the present British process, not only is care taken to 
avoid boiling, but also to supply any possible loss of oil during the cautious 
evaporation, by the addition of a small portion near the close of the process. 
The extract may be given for the same purposes as the flowers, but is most used 
as a vehicle for other tonics in the pilular form. The dose is from ten to twenty 
* Glycerate of Aloes. Glycerols of Aloes. Under the latter name, M. Chausit brought to 
the notice of the profession a preparation consisting of an alcoholic extract of aloes dis- 
solved in glycerin. Mr. Ilaselden prepared this in the following method. Macerating half 
an ounce of aloes in four fluidounces of alcohol until dissolved, he filtered the tincture 
through bibulous paper, evaporated it to the consistence of molasses, and, while it was still 
warm, added enough glycerin to make four fluidounces. Finding that the aloes was wholly 
dissolved, with the exception of a little impurity, he concluded that the spirit might very 
well be dispensed with, and the aloes used directly in the process. Accordingly, he pro- 
poses to substitute the following method. Mix well in a mortar half an ounce of Socotrine 
aloes, in fine powder, and four fluidounces of glycerin; transfer the mixture to a bottle, 
and agitate occasionally for several days; if the aloes be not now dissolved, heat for fifteen 
minutes by a water-bath, and strain tln-ough linen to separate impurities. The resulting 
liquid is of a bright mahogany colour, and of the consistence of glycerin. The preparation 
has been recommended as an external remedy in lichen agrius and the excoriations of 
eczema, applied by means of a camel’s hair brush. [Pharm. Journ., Dec. 1859, p. 822.) It 
is unfortunate, we think, that the French name of glycerole has been employed to express 
solutions in glycerin, as this has been adopted as the termination of certain proximate 
principles. It appears to us that the term glycerate would be unexceptionable; as it is suf- 
ficiently expressive, and no confusion could result. For the mode of preparing a fluid ex- 
tract of aloes with the aid of glycerin, by Prof. Procter, see Proceed, of Am. Pharm. Assoc., 
1863, p, 240.—Note to the twelfth edition. PART II. 
Extracta. 
grains. An extract may be prepared, having the peculiar flavour as well as bit 
terness of chamomile, by macerating the flowers in water, and evaporating the 
infusion in vacuo. W. 
EXTRACTUM ARNICA ALCOIIOLICUM. U. S. Alcoholic Ex- 
tract of Arnica. 
“ Take of Arnica, in moderately coarse powder, twenty-four troyounces; Al- 
cohol four pints ; Water two pints ; Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Mix 
the Alcohol and Water, and moisten the powder with a pint of the mixture; 
then pack it firmly in a cylindrical percolator, and gradually pour on the re- 
mainder of the mixture. Continue the percolation with Diluted Alcohol until 
six pints of tincture have passed. Lastly, evaporate this, by means of a water- 
bath, to the proper consistence. ” U. S. 
This extract very well represents the virtues of arnica, and is a convenient 
form for its administration. According to Prof. Procter, it amounts, in the soft 
state, to 33 per cent, of the flowers. The dose is from five to ten grains. But 
the chief employment of the extract is in the preparation of the plaster. (See 
Emplastrum Arnicse.) 
Off. Prep. Emplastrum Arnicse, U. S. W. 
EXTRACTUM BELLADONNA. U.iS.,Br. Extract of Belladonna. 
“ Take of Belladonna Leaf, fresh, twelve troyounces. Bruise the Leaf in a 
stone mortar, sprinkling on it a little water, and express the juice; then, having 
heated this to the boiling point, strain, and evaporate to the proper consist- 
ence.” U.8. 
The British Pharmacopoeia takes the “fresh leaves and young branches of 
Belladonna,” and prepares the Extract from them in the same manner precisely 
as Extract of Aconite. (See Extractum Aconiti.) 
The U. S. Pharmacopoeia directs this extract to be prepared from the leaves 
of the plant, the British from the leaves and young branches. The latter direc- 
tion was probably based on experiments by Mr. Squire, of London, who found 
that an extract prepared from the soft herbaceous parts of the plant generally, 
including leaves, flowers, and young stalks, not only has a better consistence, 
and is less apt to become mouldy by keeping, than that made from the leaves 
exclusively, but is more effectual in the same quantity. (Pharm. Journ., Dec. 
1861, p. 300.) There is little doubt of the accuracy of these results, and it is to 
be hoped that, in a future edition of our officinal standard, should they be con- 
firmed by further observation, the same measure may be adopted. It is probable 
that these remarks are as applicable to other extracts prepared from fresh leaves 
as to that of belladonna, at least in relation to perennial plants. 
From the experiments of MM. Solon and Soubeiran, it appears that, in relation 
to this extract, the insoluble matter separated from the expressed juice by filter- 
ing, and that coagulated by heat, are nearly if not quite inert; so that advantage 
results from clarifying the juice by these means before evaporating it. So far as 
the albumen is concerned, there can be no doubt of the accuracy of this state- 
ment; but it is questionable whether the same remark is applicable to the chlo- 
rophyll which first separates, and which is reserved in the British process. (See 
Extractum Aconiti, page 1085.) Mr. Brande states that one cwt. of fresh bel- 
ladonna yields from 4 to 6 pounds of extract. According to M. Recluz, nearly 
ten parts may be obtained from one hundred. The best extract is brought chiefly 
from England; but Mr. Alfred Jones has found that it may be prepared of 
equally good quality from the plant grown in the United States. {Am. Journ. 
of Pharm., xxiv. 108.) It has usually a dark-brown colour, a slightly narcotic not 
mpleasant odour, a bitterish taste, and a soft consistence which it long retains. 
Asparagin has been found in this extract. {Journ. de Pharm., xxi. 178.) 
Its medical properties and uses have been detailed under the head of Bella- Extracta. 
PART n. 
donna. A few words in relation to its mode of application may be proper here. 
For the dilatation of the pupil, it is either mixed with water to the consistence 
of cream and rubbed on the brow and eyelids, or dissolved in water and dropped 
into the eye. In rigidity of the os uteri, it is applied at intervals to the neck of 
the uterus, mixed with simple ointment in the proportion of two drachms to an 
ounce; but care must be taken not too powerfully to affect the system; and the 
preparation, therefore, should be used in a small quantity at first. In irritability 
of the bladder, chordee, spasm of the urethra, and painful constriction of the 
rectum, it may either be rubbed in the form of ointment upon the perineum, along 
the urethra, &c., or may be used in the form of enema; but care is requisite not 
to introduce it too freely into the bowel. It is sometimes smeared upon the 
bougie, mixed with oil, in the treatment of stricture of the urethra. In the form 
of ointment it has been beneficially employed in phymosis and paraphymosis, and 
in that of plaster or ointment, in local neuralgic or rheumatic pains. (See Em- 
plastrum Belladonnas.) The dose of the extract is uncertain on account of its 
variable strength. The best plan is to begin with one-quarter or one half of a 
grain, repeated two or three times a day, and gradually to increase the dose till 
the effects of the medicine are experienced. To a child two years old not more 
than one-twelfth of a grain should be administered at first. 
Off. Prep. Emplastrum Belladonme, Br.; Unguentum Belladonna. W. 
EXTRACTUM BELLADONNA ALCOHOLICUM. U.S. Alco- 
holic Extract of Belladonna. 
“ Take of Belladonna Leaf, in fine powder, twenty-four troyounces; Alcohol 
four pints; Water two pints; Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Mix 
the Alcohol and Water, and moisten the powder with a pint of the mixture; 
then pack it firmly in a conical percolator, and gradually pour upon it the re- 
mainder of the mixture. Continue the percolation with Diluted Alcohol until 
six pints of tincture have passed. Lastly, evaporate this, by means of a water- 
bath, to the proper consistence.” U. S. 
This is a good preparation, though less necessary than some other spirituous 
extracts of the narcotic plants; as the inspissated juice, or common extract of 
belladonna, can generally be procured of good quality. It is one of the officinals 
of the French Codex. The dose to begin with is half a grain. 
Off. Prep. Emplastrum Belladonnae, U. S. W. 
EXTRACTUM CALUMBA. Br. Extract of Columbo. 
“ Take of Columbo, in powder, one pound [avoirdupois]; Proof Spirit four 
pints [Imperial measure]. Macerate the Columbo in two pints of the Spirit for 
twenty-four hours; pack in a percolator, and pass the remainder of the Spirit 
slowly through it; distil off the Spirit; and evaporate the residue to the proper 
consistence.” Br. 
As proof spirit takes up all the active matter of columbo, leaving the starch 
and albumen behind, the extract prepared according to this formula has, in a 
comparatively small bulk, all the powers of the root, except those of the small 
proportion of volatile oil which may be dissipated in the process. It may be 
given in the dose of from five to fifteen grains three times a day. W. 
EXTRACTUM CANNABIS PURIFICATUM. U.S. Extractum 
Cannabis Indic.ze. Br. Purified Extract of Hemp. Extract of Indian 
Hemp. 
“Take of Extract of Hemp two troyounces; Alcohol a sufficient quantity. 
Rub the Extract with two fluidounces of Alcohol until they are thoroughly 
mixed; and, having added twelve fluidounces of Alcohol, allow the mixture to 
macerate for twenty-four hours. Then filter the tincture through paper, passing 
sufficient Alcohol, through the filter, to exhaust the dregs completely. Lastly, PART II. 
Extracta. 
1091 
by means of a water-bath, at a temperature not exceeding 160°, evaporate to 
dryness.” U. S. 
“ Take of Indian Hemp, in coarse powder, one pound [avoirdupois]; Recti- 
fied Spirit four pints [Imperial measure]. Macerate the Hemp in the Spirit for 
seven days, and press out the tincture. Distil off the Spirit, and evaporate by a 
water-bath to a proper consistence.” Br. 
These are not identical preparations; the TJ. S. purified extract being made 
from the impure extract imported from India, the British extract from the dried 
plant. It is probable that the former would be found most efficient. 
Prof. Procter has investigated the subject of the tests for purified extract or resin 
of hemp, and come to the following conclusions. Its peculiar odour when mode- 
rately heated, its indifference to alkalies, and its solubility in alcohol, ether, chlo- 
roform, benzole, and oil of turpentine are characteristic though not entirely dis- 
tinctive properties. The best test, he thinks, is nitric acid (sp. gr. 1 -38), which acts 
slowly when cold, but with heat rapidly, evolving red fumes, and converting the 
resin into an orange-red resinoid substance, which, when washed and dried, closely 
resembles gamboge in colour. (Proceed. of the Am. Pharm. Assoc., A. D. 1864.) 
For remarks in relation to the uses and doses of this preparation, see Ex- 
tractum Cannabis, in Part I. (page 381). It is no doubt of more uniform 
strength than the crude extract, but cannot always be relied on as equable in this 
respect, and therefore should be prescribed with caution in relation to the dose. 
Off. Prep. Tinctura Cannabis, U.S.; Tinctura Cannabis Indicae, Br. W. 
EXTRACTUM CINCHONiE. U.S. Extract of Cinchona. 
“Take of Yellow Cinchona, in fine powder, twelve troyounces; Alcohol four 
pints; Water a sufficient quantity. Introduce the powder, previously mixed 
with three fluidounces of Alcohol, into a conical glass percolator, and gradually 
pour upon it the remainder of the Alcohol. When the liquid ceases to pass, pour 
upon tiie residue sufficient Water to keep its surface covered, until four pints of 
tincture have passed. Set this aside, and continue the percolation until six pints 
of infusion are obtained. Distil off the alcohol from the tincture, and evaporate 
the infusion until the liquids respectively are brought to the consistence of thin 
honey; then mix them, and evaporate to the proper consistence.” U. S. 
The yellow or Calisaya bark is selected for this preparation, as it can always 
be relied on as efficient. By this process all the virtues of the bark are extracted; 
the parts soluble in alcohol being first taken up, and afterwards those in water, 
and the tincture and infusion thus obtained separately. This proceeding has the 
great advantage that no more heat is necessary to evaporate the tincture than 
the alcoholic menstruum requires ; while, if the two liquid? were mixed, it would 
be necessarily subjected to a longer continuance if not a higher degree of the 
heat; and the advantage is the greater as most of the active matter is extracted 
in the first percolation with alcohol. If proper care be taken in executing the 
process, both in relation to the percolation, and the avoidance of too high a 
temperature, the extract will fully represent the virtues of the bark. 
The former extracts of cinchona of the British Colleges are all omitted in the 
new British Pharmacopoeia, which directs in their place a fluid extract, under 
the name of Extractum Cinchonx Liquidum, which will be treated of among 
the Fluid Extracts. 
A very good extract of bark was formerly prepared, in the shops of Philadel- 
phia, by macerating cinchona for a considerable length of time in a large pro- 
portion of water, and slowly evaporating the infusion, by a very moderate heat, 
in large shallow dishes placed upon the top of a stove. Before the use of sul- 
phate of quinia had superseded that of most other preparations of bark, we em- 
ployed this extract with success in the treatment of' intermittents, and found ten 
grains of it equivalent to nearly a drachm of the powdered cinchona. 
The extract should always be brought to the hard dry state in which it may be 1092 
Extracta. 
PART II. 
pulverized; as it is thus less apt to be injured by exposure, and in the state of 
powder may be more uniformly incorporated with other substances. Though 
directed officinally to be prepared from the yellow or Calisaya bark, it would 
no doubt be equally efficient if made from the red.* 
Medical Uses. The extract of Peruvian bark is at present much less employed 
than before the discovery of quinia. It is still, however, occasionally prescribed 
as a tonic in combination with other medicines; and, as it possesses, when pro- 
perly prepared with a spirituous menstruum, almost all the active principles as 
they exist in the bark itself, it may be used in preference to the sulphate of 
quinia, whenever it is supposed that the latter is incapable of exerting all the 
curative influence of cinchona. We are told, however, that, on account of the 
high price of Calisaya bark, much of the extract as at present in the shops is 
prepared from inferior varieties. The dose is from ten to thirty grains, equiva- 
lent to about a drachm of the powdered bark. W. 
EXTRACTUM COLCHICI. Br. Extract of ColcUcum. 
“ Take of Fresh Colchicum Corms, deprived of their coats, seven pounds 
[avoirdupois]. Crush the Corms; press out the juice; allow the feculence to 
subside, and heat the clear liquor to 212°; then strain through flannel, and 
evaporate by a water-bath, at a temperature not exceeding 160°, to a proper 
consistence.” Br. 
There scarcely seems to be occasion for both this and the following extract. 
The dose is one or two grains. 
In Great Britain a preparation called preserved juice of colchicum is given 
in the dose of five minims or more. It is made by expressing the fresh bulb, 
allowing the juice to stand for forty-eight hours that the feculent matter may 
subside, then adding one-quarter of its bulk of alcohol, allowing it again to stand 
for a short period, and ultimately filtering. W. 
EXTRACTUM COLCHICI ACETICUM. U.S., Br. Acetic Extract 
of Colchicum. 
“Take of Colchicum Root, in moderately fine powder, twelve troyounces; 
Acetic Acid four fluidounces; Water a sufficient quantity. To the Acetic 
Acid add a pint of Water, and mix the resulting liquid with the Colchicum 
Root. Transfer the mixture to a conical glass percolator, and pour Water 
gradually upon it until the liquid passes with little or no taste. Lastly, evapo- 
rate the liquid, in a porcelain vessel, to the proper consistence.” U. S. 
In the British Pharmacopoeia this extract is directed to be prepared precisely 
as the preceding, except that six fluidounces of Acetic Acid (Br.) are to be 
added to the crushed’corms before expression. 
As the fresh colchicum bulb is rarely to be had in this country, the U. S. 
Pharmacopoeia employs the dried bulb; and its process, if properly conducted, 
will afford a very efficient extract. Some inconveniences are experienced in 
preparing the extract, according to the London process, from the recent bulb 
by expression, which would seem to render the U. S. process under all circum- 
stances preferable. (Pharm. Journ., xiii. 62.) 
The use of the acetic acid, in this preparation, is to render more soluble the 
alkaline principle upon which the virtues of meadow-saffron are thought to de- 
* Quinium. Under this name a preparation has had some reputation in Europe, made by 
mixing quinia and cinchonia barks in such proportion that there should be about two 
parts of the former alkaloid to one of the latter, with half their weight of slaked lime, ex- 
hausting the mixture with alcohol, and then distilling and evaporating to dryness. The 
resulting quinium, should yield one-third of its weight of the two alkaloids. The dose is 
three grains. The disadvantage of this as of all the amorphous preparations of the cin- 
chona alkaloids, is the want of that protection against adulteration which is affe'ded by 
the crystalline form of the pure principles. (See Am. Journ. of Fharm., Sept. 185®, p 400.)— 
Note to the twelfth edition. PART II. 
Extracta. 
1093 
pend. The acetic extract of colchicum is highly commended by Sir C. Scuda- 
more, who prefers it made by evaporating, to the consistence of honey, a satu- 
rated acetic infusion of the dried bulb. (Lond. Med. Gazette, Dec. 10, 1841.) 
The dose of the extract is one or two grains, to be repeated two or three times 
a day, and increased if necessary. W. 
EXTRACTUM COLOCYNTHIDIS ALCOHOLICUM. U. S. Alco- 
holic Extract of Colocynth. 
“Take of Colocynth forty-eight troyounces; Diluted Alcohol a sufficient 
quantity. Dry the Colocynth, and, having removed the seeds, and reduced it to 
coarse powder by grinding or bruising, macerate it in eight pints of Diluted Al- 
cohol for four days, with occasional stirring; then express strongly, and strain 
through flannel. Pack the residue, previously broken up with the hands, firmly 
in a cylindrical percolator, cover it with the strainer, and pour Diluted Alcohol 
upon it, until the tincture and expressed liquid, taken together, measure sixteen 
pints. Mix the tincture with the expressed liquid, and, having recovered from 
the mixture ten pints of alcohol by distillation, evaporate the residue to dryness 
by means of a water-bath. Lastly, reduce the dry mass to powder, and keep it 
in a well-stopped bottle. The Extract obtained by this process weighs about 
seven troyounces.” XJ. S. 
Colocynth should be deprived of its seeds, as directed by the U. S. Pharma- 
copoeia, before being submitted to the action of the menstruum. Dr. Duncan 
found half a pound of colocynth to contain 2170 grains of seeds, which, boiled 
by themselves, yielded almost nothing to water. Dr. Squibb found selected fruits 
to yield from 25-8 to 34 per cent, of medullary part; and this, when well ex- 
hausted by diluted alcohol, to yield 60 T to 60‘8 per cent, of dry extract; while 
from the whole fruit, including pulp and seeds, from 15 69 to 20-6 per cent, was 
obtained according to the degree of dryness. (Am. Journ. ofPharm., Jan. 1857, 
p. 98.) Boiling water extracts so much pectic acid and mucilage from colocynth, 
that the decoction or hot infusion gelatinizes on cooling; and the extract made 
by means of it is loaded with inert matter, and, besides, is apt to become mouldy, 
or so tough and hard as to resist trituration and formation into pills. Hence the 
London College, following in this respect the French Codex, directed, in the last 
edition of its Pharmacopoeia, maceration with cold water; but diluted alcohol 
has been found to be a much better menstruum, and has been adopted in the 
U. S. process; while, in the British Pharmacopoeia, the simple extract has been 
discarded altogether. The chief, if not exclusive use of the alcoholic extract is 
in the preparation of the compound extract. 
Off. Prep. Extractum Colocynthidis Compositum, XJ. S. W. 
EXTRACTUM COLOCYNTHIDIS COMPOSITUM. U.S.,Br. 
Compound Extract of Colocynth. 
“ Take of Alcoholic Extract of Colocynth, in fine powder, three troyounces 
and a half; Socotrine Aloes, in fine powder, twelve troyounces; Resin of 
Scammony, in fine powder, three troyounces; Cardamom, in fine powder, a troy- 
ounce; Soap, in fine powder, three troyounces. Mix the powders thoroughly, 
and keep the mixture in a well-stopped bottle.” XJ. S. 
“Take of Colocynth, freed from the seeds, six ounces; Extract of Socotrine 
Aloes twelve ounces; Scammony or Resin of Scammony, in powder, four 
ounces; Hard Soap, in powder, three ounces; Cardamoms, freed from their 
capsules, in fine powder, one ounce; Proof Spirit one gallon [Imperial mea- 
sure]. Macerate the Colocynth in the Spirit for four days; press out the tincture, 
and add to it the Extract of Aloes, the Soap, and the Scammony. Distil off the 
spirit, and evaporate the residue by a water-bath to a pilular consistence, add- 
ing the Cardamoms towards the end of the process.” Br. The ounce employed 
in this process is the avoirdupois. Extracta. 
PART II. 
The present IT. S. formula differs from that of 1850, in taking the alcoholic 
extract of colocynth already prepared, instead of directing its preparation from 
the colocynth, and in substituting resin of scammony for the scammony itself. 
The former provision ensures uniformity of result so far as the colocynth is con- 
cerned; whereas, by the old formula, this was impossible, owing to the variable 
quality of the colocynth employed, unless an unusual amount of care was taken 
in its selection. The second change contributes to the same result of uniformity; 
because the resin of scammony is very nearly of equable strength, while scam- 
mony is notoriously otherwise; and it has the additional advantage of yielding 
a stronger extract, as the resin is much more energetic in an equal dose than 
the crude drug as ordinarily found in the market. The object of the soap in this 
formula is to improve the consistence of the mass, which, when hardened by time, 
it renders more soluble in the liquors of the stomach. It may possibly also serve 
the purpose of qualifying the action of the aloes. In the TJ. S. process the ex- 
tract is in the form of powder, which is very convenient for admixture with other 
substances; while, if given uncombined, it may be readily made into pills by suit- 
able additions. The alternative of using the scammony or its resin, in the British 
formula, appears to us very objectionable. 
This extract is an energetic and safe cathartic, possessing the activity of its 
three purgative ingredients, with comparatively little of the drastic character of 
the colocynth and scammony. It may be still further and advantageously modi- 
fied by combination with rhubarb, jalap, calomel, &c., with one or more of which 
it is often united in prescription. In such combination it is much employed 
whenever an active cathartic is desirable, particularly in the commencement of 
fevers and febrile complaints, in congestion of the liver or portal system, and in 
obstinate constipation. In small doses it is an excellent laxative in that state 
of habitual costiveness, depending on a want of the due irritability of the bowels, 
which often occurs in old people. The dose is from five to thirty grains, accord- 
ing to the effect to be produced, and the susceptibility of the bowels. A very 
eligible combination is the compound cathartic pill of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. 
We are informed that much of the extract sold in this country is made with in- 
ferior scammony and aloes, and an insufficient proportion of colocynth, so that 
it is comparatively inert. Cheap compound extract of colocynth should be looked 
on with suspicion, and the apothecary should prepare it for himself.* 
Off. Prep. Pilulrn Catharticse Composite, U. S. W. 
EXTRACTUM CONII. U.S., Br. Extract of Hemlock. 
“Take of Hemlock, fresh, twelve troyounces. Bruise the Hemlock in a stone 
mortar, sprinkling on it a little water, and express the juice, then, having heated 
this to the boiling point, filter it, and evaporate to the proper consistence, either 
in a vacuum with the aid of heat, or in shallow vessels, at the ordinary tempera- 
ture, by means of a current of air, directed over the surface of the liquid.” U. S. 
The directions of the British Pharmacopoeia for this extract are precisely 
the same as those for the extract of aconite, the fresh leaves and young branches 
of eonium being used. 
The most important point in the preparation of this extract is to evaporate 
the juice without an undue degree of heat. At a temperature of 212° or upwards, 
its active principle undergoes rapid decomposition, being converted into resinous 
matter and ammonia. This is detected by the operator by the ammoniacal odour 
mixed with that which is peculiar to the plant. The juice always to a certain 
extent undergoes this decomposition when evaporated over a fire, and is not ex 
empt from it even when the heat is regulated by a water-bath. Hence the pro- 
* Sec in tlie American Journal of Pharmacy for March, 1857 (xxix. 97), and in thn Pro- 
ceedings of the Am. Pharm. Assoc., 1858 (p. 411), some useful practical observations by Dr. 
E. It. Squibb, upon the best method of preparing this extract, so as to secure ue iformity 
and efficiency. PART II. 
Extracta. 
1095 
priety of the directions in the TJ. S. and British Pharmacopoeias. An excellent 
plan in the evaporation is to conduct it first in a vacuum, and afterwards in 
shallow vessels with a current of air at common temperatures. By the direction 
to heat the juice to the boiling point, or 200° (Br.), and then to filter, whereby the 
inert albumen is coagulated, aud, with the equally inert chlorophyll and vegetable 
fibre, is separated from the liquid before evaporation, the extract is procured in 
a more concentrated state, and, besides, deprived of substances which might 
favour its decomposition. Long-continued exposure to the air is productive of 
the same result as too much heat, so that old extracts are frequently destitute 
of activity. (Journ. de Pharm., xxii. 416.) No one of the extracts is more vari- 
able in its qualities than this. The season at which the herb is collected, the 
place and circumstances of its growth, the method of preparing the extract, are 
all points of importance, and are all too frequently neglected. (See Conti Folia.) 
In this country the process has often been carelessly conducted; and large quan- 
tities of an extract, prepared by boiling the plant in water and evaporating 
the decoction, have been sold as the genuine drug. The apothecary should 
always prepare the extract himself, or procure it from persons in whom he can 
have confidence. That imported from London has usually been considered the 
best; but we have seen and tried the extract prepared by the Messrs. Tilden 
& Co., of New York, by evaporation in vacuo at a low heat, and have found 
it superior to any that we had previously employed. It is not improbable that, 
as suggested to us by Professor Procter, the addition of a portion of acetic acid 
to the juice, before evaporation, might tend to fix the conia, and enable it better 
to resist the influence of heat than in its native combination. The activity of 
any specimen of the extract may be in some measure judged of by rubbing it 
with potassa, which, disengaging the conia and rendering it volatile, gives rise 
to the peculiar mouse-like odour of that principle. If no odour be evolved under 
these circumstances, the extract may be deemed inert. 
The extract of hemlock prepared without separating the chlorophyll has a 
fresh olive or green colour, but, according to the U. S. process, is brownish. It 
should have a strong narcotic, somewhat fetid odour, and a bitterish saline taste. 
According to Brande, from three to five pounds are obtained from one cwt. of 
the leaves. M. Recluz got rather more than an opnce from sixteen ounces. Of 
the medical properties and application of this extract, we have spoken under 
the head of Conii Folia. The dose is two grains two, three, or four times a 
day, to be gradually increased till evidences of its action upon the system are 
afforded. It may be administered in pill or solution. W. 
EXTRACTUM CONII ALCOHOLICUM. U.iS. Alcoholic Extract of 
Hemlock. 
“Take of Hemlock, recently dried and in fine powder, twelve troyounces; 
Alcohol a pint; Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Introduce the powder, 
previously mixed with one-third of the Alcohol, into a conical percolator, and 
pour upon it the remainder of the Alcohol. When the liquid has all been ab- 
sorbed by the powder, pour Diluted Alcohol upon it until a pint of tincture has 
been obtained. Set this aside in a warm place, and allow it to evaporate spon- 
taneously until reduced to three fluidounces. Continue the percolation with Di- 
luted Alcohol until two pints more of tincture have passed, or until the powder 
’s exhausted; then evaporate this liquid, by means of a water-bath, at a tem- 
perature not exceeding 160°, to the consistence of syrup. To this add the three 
fluidounces of tincture first obtained, and continue the evaporation, at a tem- 
perature not exceeding 120°, until the whole is reduced to the proper consist- 
ence.” U. S. 
This is one of the French officinal extracts, and, when well made from recently 
and carefully dried leaves, is a good preparation. The same caution is requisite 
in evaporating in this case as in that of the inspissated juice or common extract. 1096 
Extracta. 
PART II. 
It will be noticed that care is taken in the formula to prevent injury from too 
great a heat, by first passing alcohol, which forms a highly concentrated tinc- 
ture, and allowing this to evaporate spontaneously to three fluidounces, which is 
not added to the remainder until but little of the menstruum remains; and the 
process is completed at the low heat of 120°. This caution is necessary from the 
great facility with which conia is decomposed by heat. The proportion of ex- 
tract yielded by dried hemlock, by percolation with alcohol, is, according to 
Messrs. Yielguth and Nentwich, 21 3 per cent. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
May, 1859, p. 231.) The dose, to begin with, is one or two grains, to be in- 
creased if necessary. W. 
EXTRACTUM DIGITALIS ALCOIIOLICUM. U.S. Alcoholic Ex- 
tract of Digitalis. 
“Take of Digitalis, recently dried and in fine powder, twelve troyounces; 
Alcohol a pint; Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Introduce the powder, 
previously mixed with one-third of the Alcohol, into a percolator, and pour upon 
it the remainder of the Alcohol. When the liquid has all been absorbed by the 
powder, pour Diluted Alcohol upon it until a pint of tincture has been obtained. 
Set this aside in a warm place, and allow it to evaporate spontaneously until 
reduced to three fluidounces. Continue the percolation with Diluted Alcohol 
until two pints more of tincture have passed, or until the powder is exhausted; 
then evaporate this liquid, by means of a water-bath, at a temperature not ex- 
ceeding 160°, to the consistence of syrup. To this add the three fluidounces of 
tincture first obtained, and continue the evaporation, at a temperature not ex- 
ceeding 120°, until the whole is reduced to the proper consistence.” U. S. 
This is a new officinal of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, though less needed than 
many others, because the dose of digitalis itself is small; and nothing is gained 
on the point of equability of strength; as the really active part of digitalis con- 
stitutes but a small proportion even of the extract, and might be altogether 
wanting without observably affecting its bulk. The same caution is used, in pre- 
paring this extract, against the injurious effects of heat as in the instance of the 
extract of conium. The skill, exhibited by the revisers of the Pharmacopoeia 
in the application of the process of percolation to pharmaceutical purposes, is 
evinced nowhere more strongly than in the directions for preparing the extracts, 
fluid extracts, and oleoresins. The alcoholic extract of digitalis contains all the 
virtues and may be used for all the purposes of the powdered leaves. Accord- 
ing to Messrs. Yielguth and Nentwich, the amount of alcoholic extract obtained 
from dried digitalis by cold displacement is 21T per cent. (See Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., May, 1859, p. 231.) The dose, therefore, of this extract to begin with 
should not exceed one-fourth of a grain. W. 
EXTRACTUM DULCAMARAS. U.S. Extract of Bittersweet. 
“ Take of Bittersweet, in moderately fine powder, twelve troyounces; Diluted 
Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Moisten the Bittersweet with four fluidounces of 
Diluted Alcohol, pack it in a conical percolator, and pour Diluted Alcohol gra- 
dually upon it until the tincture passes but slightly impregnated with the pro- 
perties of the Bittersweet. Distil off the alcohol from the tincture until reduced 
to one-half; then strain, and, by means of a water-bath, evaporate to the proper 
consistence.” U. S. 
This preparation is well known on the continent of Europe, but comparatively 
little used in the United States or Great Britain. The substitution, in the late 
revision of the Pharmacopoeia, of diluted alcohol for water as the menstruum is 
a decided improvement. The dose is from five to ten grains; but much more 
may be given with safety. W. 
EXTRACTUM GENTIANiE. U.S., Br. Extract of Gentian. 
“Take of Gentian, in moderately coarse powder, twelve troyounces; Water PART II. 
Extracta. 
1097 
a sufficient quantity. Moisten the Gentian with four fluidounces of Water, pack 
it in a conical percolator, and gradually pour Water upon it until the infusion 
passes but slightly impregnated with the properties of the Gentian. Boil the 
liquid to three-fourths of its bulk; then strain, and, by means of a water-bath, 
evaporate to the proper consistence.” U. S. 
“ Take of Gentian, sliced, one pound [avoirdupois]; Boiling Distilled Water 
one gallon [Imperial measure]. Macerate the Gentian in the Water for two 
hours, boil for fifteen minutes; pour off, press, and strain. Then evaporate by 
a water-bath to a proper consistence.” Br. 
The U. S. plan of percolation with cold water is admirably adapted to the 
extraction of the active matter of gentian, and even the British method of ma- 
ceration with hot water is much better than the old method of decoction. By 
the use of cold water starch and pectic acid are left behind, while any albumen 
that may be taken up is got rid of by the boiling and straining. 
The extract, however, may be advantageously made by macerating the root 
in two parts of water for thirty-six hours, then expressing in a powerful press, 
again macerating with additional water, and in like manner expressing, and 
evaporating the united expressed liquors. MM. Guibourt and Cadet de Vaux 
obtained by maceration in cold water an extract not only greater in amount, 
but more transparent, more bitter, and possessing more of the colour and smell 
of the root than that prepared by decoction. Guibourt attributes this result to 
the circumstance that, as gentian contains little if any starch, it yields nothing 
to boiling which it will not also yield to cold water; while decoction favours 
the combination of a portion of the colouring matter with the lignin. But this 
opinion requires modification, now that it is understood that gentian contains 
pectic acid, which water will extract when boiling hot, but not when cold. For 
observations in relation to the best modes of evaporation in the formation of 
extracts, the reader is referred to page 1082. Gentian, according to Brande, 
yields half its weight of extract by decoction. 
As ordinarily procured, the extract of gentian is nearly inodorous, very bit- 
ter, of a dark-brown colour approaching to black, shining, and tenacious. It is 
frequently used as a tonic, in the form of pill, either alone or in connection with 
metallic preparations. The dose is from ten to thirty grains. W. 
EXTRACTUM HiEMATOXYLI. U.S., Br. Extract of Logwood. 
“Take of Logwood, rasped, twelve troyounces; Water eight pints. Boil 
down to four pints, and strain the decoction while hot; then evaporate to dry- 
ness.” U. $. 
“ Take of Logwood, in fine chips, one pound [avoirdupois]; Boiling Distilled 
Water one gallon [Imperial measure]. Macerate for twenty-four hours, then 
boil down to one-half, strain, and evaporate by a water-bath to a proper con- 
sistence, stirring with a wooden spatula.” Br. 
This is one of the few instances in which decoction in the preparation of ex- 
tracts is not considered objectionable. Iron vessels should not be employed in 
the process, in consequence of the presence of tannic acid. The evaporation 
should be carried so far that the extract may be dry and brittle when cold. 
About 20 lbs. of it are obtained from one cwt. of logwood. {Brande.) It is of 
a deep-ruby colour, and an astringent, sweetish taste, and has all the medical 
virtues of the wood. If given in pills, these should be recently made, as, when 
long kept, they are said to become so hard as sometimes to pass unchanged 
through the bowels. The extract, however, is best administered in solution. The 
dose is from ten to thirty grains. This extract is said to be prepared largely 
.-n Yucatan and other parts of Mexico. W. 
EXTRACTUM HELLEBORI ALCOHOLICUM. U.S. Extractum 1098 
Extracta. 
PART II. 
Hei-ll-bori. U. S. 1850. Alcoholic Extract of Black Hellebore. Extract 
of Hellebore. 
“ Take of Black Hellebore, recently dried and in fine powder, twelve troy- 
ounces; Alcohol a pint; Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Introduce the 
powder, previously mixed with one-third of the Alcohol, into a conical perco- 
lator, and pour upon it the remainder of the Alcohol. When the liquid has all 
been absorbed by the powder, pour on Diluted Alcohol until a pint of tincture ’ 
has been obtained. Set this aside in a warm place, and allow it to evaporate 
spontaneously until reduced to three fluidounces. Continue the percolation with 
Diluted Alcohol until two pints more of tincture have passed, or until the pow- 
der is exhausted; then evaporate, by means of a water-bath, at a temperature 
not exceeding 160°, to the consistence of syrup. To this add the three fluid- 
ounces of tincture first obtained, and continue the evaporation, at a temperature 
not exceeding 120°, until the whole is reduced to the proper consistence.” U. S. 
In consequence, probably, of the injurious influence of heat upon black helle- 
bore, the watery extract prepared by decoction is little if at all stronger than 
the root. The process of percolation with cold spirit was, therefore, adopted 
in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia of 1850, and has been retained with improvement 
in the present edition; and, if proper care be taken to conduct the evaporation 
at as low a temperature, and with as little exposure to the air as possible, an 
efficient extract will be obtained. Any resin which may be deposited during the 
evaporation should be separated from the sides of the vessel, and mixed with 
the rest. If the hellebore itself be of good quality, the extract will operate as a 
drastic purge in lose of from five to ten grains. 
The former Freiv contained a process for preparing the extract of 
hellebore, according to the method of Bacber. Two pounds of the root and half 
a pound of carbonate of potassa are digested, with a moderate heat, for twelve 
hours, in eight pounds of alcohol of 22° B.; the tincture is strained with ex- 
pression ; the residuum is again digested with eight pounds of white wine fo* 
twenty-four hours; the wine is expressed, and, having stood four hours to settle, 
is decanted; the liquors are then mixed, and with a gentle heat evaporated to 
the consistence of an extract. One ounce of this extract, mixed with the same 
quantity of myrrh, and with ten scruples of the powdered leaves of Centaurea 
benedicta, and made into pills of one grain each, constitutes the preparation 
known as the tonic pills of Bacher, formerly much used in amenorrhoea and 
dropsy, and probably not without advantage, especially in the former of these 
diseases. The dose is from ten to twenty pilis during the day. An additional 
quantity of diluted alcohol might, without disadvantage, be substituted for the 
wine in the preparation of this extract. W. 
EXTRACTUM HYOSCYAMI. U.S.,Br. Extract of Henbane. 
“ Take of Henbane Leaf, fresh, twelve troyounces. Bruise the Leaf in a stone 
mortar, sprinkling on it a little water, and express the juice ; then, having heated 
this to the boiling point, strain, and evaporate to the proper consistence.” U. S. 
In the British Pharmacopoeia this extract is prepared from “the fresh Leaves 
and young Branches of Hyoscyamus” in the same manner precisely as Extract 
of Aconite. (See Extractum Aconiti.) 
MM. Solon and Soubeiran have shown that the insoluble matter separated 
from the expressed juice of henbane by filtering, and that coagulated by heat, 
are nearly if not quite inert; so that the juice may be usefully clarified before 
evaporation. (Amer. Journ. of Pharm., viii. 228.) The retention of the chlo- 
rophyll, however, as provided for in the British formula, is thought to be advan- 
tageous. Extract of Henbane has been chiefly derived from England, but it is 
at present prepared by Messrs. Tilden & Co., of New York, by the vacuum pro- 
cess. Mr. Braude says that one cwt. of the fresh herb alfords between four and 
five pounds. M. Recluz obtained about one part from sixteen. PART II. 
Extracta. 
1099 
The extract is of a dark-olive colour, of a narcotic rather unpleasant odour, 
and a bitterish, nauseous, slightly saline taste. It retains its softness for a long 
time; but at the end of three or four years becomes dry, and exhibits, when 
broken, small crystals of nitrate of potassa and chloride of sodium. (Recluz.) 
Like all the inspissated juices it is of variable strength, according to its age, the 
care used in its preparation, and the character of the leaves from which it was 
procured. (See Hyoscyamus.)* In its use, therefore, it is advisable to begin with 
a moderate dose, two or three grains for instance, and gradually to increase the 
quantity till some effect is experienced, and the degree of efficiency of the par- 
ticular parcel employed is ascertained. It is usually given in pill. It is some- 
times used externally for the same purposes as extract of belladonna. 
Off. Prep. Pilula Colocynthidis et Hyoseyami, Br. W. 
EXTRACTUM HYOSCYAMI ALCOHOLICUM. U. S. Alcoholic 
Extract of Henbane. 
“ Take of Henbane Leaf, recently dried and in moderately fine powder, twenty- 
four troy ounces; Alcohol four pints; Water two pints; Diluted Alcohol a 
sufficient quantity. Mix the Alcohol and Water, and moisten the powder with 
a pint of the mixture; then pack it firmly in a conical percolator, and gradually 
pour upon it the remainder of the mixture. Continue the percolation with Diluted 
Alcohol until the tincture measures six pints. Lastly, evaporate this, by means 
of a water-bath, to the proper consistence.” U. S. 
The alcoholic extract of henbane, if prepared from recently dried leaves, is 
thought to be more uniform and powerful than the inspissated juice or common 
extract. It is one of the preparations of the French Codex. The dose is one or 
two grains, to be gradually increased until its effects are obtained. W. 
EXTRACTUM IGNATEE ALCOHOLICUM. U. S. Alcoholic Ex- 
tract of Ignatia. 
“Take of Ignatia, in fine powder, twelve troyounces; Alcohol a sufficient 
quantity. Mix the Ignatia with four fluidounces of Alcohol, and allow the mix- 
ture to stand for an hour. Then introduce it into a cylindrical percolator, press 
it firmly, and gradually pour Alcohol upon it until three pints of tincture have 
slowly passed. Distil off the Alcohol, by meansYh-a*water-bath, until the tincture 
is reduced to half a pint, and evaporate this to the proper consistence.” U. S. 
This was newly introduced into the present edition of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, 
not so much because the preparation is needed; for it is essentially the same in 
remedial properties and applications as the extract of nux vomica; as in order 
to give due officinal sanction to a preparation already in popular use, and, by 
* Much depends on the choice of the leaves; and too little attention is paid to this 
point. In reference to the biennial plant, there seems to be no doubt that the leaves of 
the second year are much more efficacious than those of the first, and should, therefore, 
always be selected. It is stated under Hyoscyamus, in the first part of this work, that 
the leaves should be gathei’ed soon after the plant has flowered. Mr. Charles Cracknell 
gives more particular directions. He thinks that the plant is in a fit state for collection 
only during a very short period; when the flowers at the top are blown, but have not 
yet begun to fade, and the seed-vessels and seeds which have been formed are still soft 
and juicy. For other observations on the preparation of this extract, see a paper by Mr. 
Cracknell in the Am. Journ. of Pharm, (xxiii. 245), from the Pharm. Journ., March, 1851. 
An important contribution to our knowledge, as to the proper choice of the parts of this 
plant to be expressed, has been made by Mr. T. B. Groves, of England. Whatever may be 
the case with those plants, such as aconite, the roots of which are active, and in which 
the juice, containing the active matter, on its way from the leaves to the root, might be 
supposed to exist in the young stems, this does not appear to be the case with the llyoscy- 
amus; and, accordingly, an extract obtained by inspissating the juice of the stems was 
found altogether inferior to another obtained in like manner from the leaves, being not 
only less in amount, but less bitter and odorous, and more saline, showing that it contained 
more of the ordinary salts of the plant, and less of its active matter. (Pharm. Journ., Jan. 
1862, p. 376.) 1100 
Extracta. 
part ii. 
regulating it duly, to prevent serious consequences from so powerful a medicine.* 
For the uses of the extract the reader is referred to the article on Ignatia in 
Part I. The dose is from half a grain to three times that quantity, to be repeated 
three times a day until its effects begin to be experienced. W. 
EXTRACTUM JALAPiE. U. 8., Br. Extract of Jalap. 
“ Take of Jalap, in moderately fine powder, twelve troyounces ; Alcohol four 
pints; Water a sufficient quantity. Introduce the powder, previously mixed 
with three fluidounces of Alcohol, into a conical percolator, and gradually pour 
upon it the remainder of the Alcohol. When the liquid ceases to pass, pour upon 
the residue sufficient water to keep its surface covered, until four pints of tinc- 
ture have passed. Set this aside, and continue the percolation until six pints of 
infusion have been obtained. Distil off the alcohol from the tincture, and eva- 
porate the infusion until the liquids respectively have been brought to the con- 
sistence of thin honey; then mix them, and evaporate to the proper consist- 
ence.” U.S. 
“ Take of Jalap, in coarse powder, one pound [avoirdupois]; Rectified Spirit 
four pints [Imperial measure]; Distilled Water one gallon [Imp. meas.]. Ma- 
cerate the Jalap in the Spirit for seven days; press out the tincture, then filter, 
and distil off the Spirit, leaving a soft extract. Again macerate the residual 
Jalap in Water for four hours, express, strain through flannel, and evaporate by 
a water-batli to a soft extract. Mix the two extracts, and evaporate, at a tem- 
perature not exceeding 140°, to a proper consistence.” Br. 
Jalap contains a considerable quantity of starch, which is extracted by decoc- 
tion, but left behind by cold water; and, as this principle serves only to impede 
the filtration or straining, and augment the bulk of the extract, without adding to 
its virtues, cold water is very properly used in both the U. S. and Br. processes. 
The use both of alcohol and water has been deemed necessary, in order to extract 
all the medicinal qualities of the drug; and they are employed successively, under 
the impression that the previous removal of the resin by the former facilitates 
the action of the latter. The use of percolation, as directed by the U. S. Phar- 
macopoeia, enables the cold water to extract the soluble parts without the long 
maceration which would otherwise be necessary. According to Cadet de Gassi- 
court, water at ordinary temperatures, and in the old mode, acts so slowly, that 
fermentation takes place before the active matter is all dissolved. Hence, if the 
extract be prepared without percolation, the residuum, after the tincture has 
been decanted, should be digested with water at a heat of about 90° or 100 F., 
which, while it is insufficient for the solution of the starch, enables the solvent 
to take up the active matter with sufficient rapidity. 
One cwt. of jalap affords, according to Mr. Brande, about fifty pounds of 
aqueous extract and fifteen of resin. The product of the former is somewhat 
less by infusiou than decoction; and the extract is proportionably stronger. 
There is reason to believe, as we have been informed on good authority, that 
what is sold for extract of jalap is sometimes prepared from tubers whicii had 
been previously exhausted of their resin by alcohol; and a spurious substance 
has been offered in considerable quantities in our markets for extract of jalap, 
which, on examination by Messrs. Ch. Bullock and Ed. Parrish, proved to owe 
its purgative property to 42 per cent, of gamboge. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
March, 1862, p. 113.) 
Extract of jalap is of a dark-brown colour, slightly translucent at the edges, 
and tenacious when not perfectly dry. It contains the resin and gummy extrac- 
* According to Prof. Procter, a portion of fixed oil is extracted by the alcohol, which 
separates when the concentrated tincture is allowed to stand, and, being in itself inert, 
might be rejected with advantage, care being taken to wash it first with alcohol, and add 
the washings to the liquid. The same result does not happen when diluted alcohol is used 
as the menstruum; as this does net take up the oil. PART II. 
Extracta. 
1101 
live, and, consequently, has all the medical properties of the root; but it is not 
often exhibited alone, being chiefly used as an ingredient of purgative pills, for 
which it is adapted by its comparatively small bulk. It is most conveniently 
kept for use in the form of powder, which, however, is apt to attract moisture 
and to aggregate into a solid mass, unless carefully excluded from the air. The 
dose is from ten to twenty grains, or rather more than half that of jalap.* 
Off. Prep. Pilulae Cathartic® Composite, U. S. W. 
EXTRACTUM JUGLANDIS. U.S. Extract of Butternut. 
“Take of Butternut, in moderately coarse powder, twelve troyounces; Water 
a sufficient quantity. Moisten the Butternut with four fluidounces of Water, 
pack it in a conical percolator, and gradually pour Water upon it until the in- 
fusion passes but slightly impregnated with the properties of the Butternut. 
Boil the liquid to three-fourths of its bulk; then strain, and, by means of a 
water-bath, evaporate to the proper consistence.'' U. S. 
This extract was formerly for the most part prepared by the country people, 
who are said to have used the bark of the branches and even the branches them- 
selves, instead of the inner bark of the root; and to have injured the prepara- 
tion by too much heat. That it should have proved uncertain in the hands of 
many physicians is, therefore, not a matter of surprise. It should be prepared 
by the apothecary, and from the inner bark of the root gathered in May or June. 
Experiments are yet wanting to prpve that water is the best solvent of the 
active principles of this bark. Prof. Procter informs us that he has found an 
extract of the fresh bark prepared with diluted alcohol to have much more of 
the pungency of the bark than the officinal. 
The extract of butternut is of a black colour, sweetish odour, and bitter astrin- 
gent taste. In the dose of twenty or thirty grains, it acts as a mild cathartic. 
(See Juglans.) W. 
EXTRACTUM KRAMERLE. U. S., Br. Extract of Rhatany. 
“Take of Rhatany, in moderately fine powder, twelve troyounces; Water a 
sufficient quantity. Moisten the powder with four fluidounces of Water, pack 
it in a conical percolator, and gradually pour Water upon it until the infusion 
passes but slightly impregnated with the astringent property of the Rhatany. 
Heat the liquid to the boiling point, strain, and, by means of a water-bath, at a 
temperature not exceeding 100°, evaporate to the proper consistence.” U. S. 
“ Take of Rhatany, in coarse powder, one pound [avoirdupois]; Distilled 
Water one gallon [Imperial measure]. Macerate the Rhatany in a pint and a 
half [Imp. meas.] of the Water for twenty-four hours; then pack in a perco- 
lator, and add more Distilled Water, until twelve pints [Imp. meas.] have been 
collected, or the Rhatany is exhausted. Evaporate the liquor by a water-bath 
to a proper consistence.” Br. 
In selecting a plan for the preparation of this extract, it was undoubtedly 
wise to adopt the mode of displacement, with cold water as the menstruum. (See 
page 502.) It is absolutely necessary to the success of the process, that the root 
should be well and uniformly comminuted ; and the “ moderately fine powder” 
of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia is, therefore, preferable to the “coarse powder” of 
* Fluid Extract of Jalap. The following process has been proposed by Prof. Procter. Take 
of jalap, in coarse powder, sugar 3-viij; carbonate of potassa jjss; alcohol, water, 
each, q. s. Add to the jalap one pint of a mixture consisting of two parts of alcohol and 
one of water, and set aside for 24 hours. Then put the mixture into a percolator, and pour 
on it diluted alcohol until half a gallon has passed. Evaporate the filtered liquid one-half, 
add the sugar and carbonate of potassa, and evaporate to 12 fluidounces. Put the liquid, 
while warm, into a pint bottle, add four fluidounces of alcohol, and mix. The carbonate of 
potassa renders the resin soluble in water, and probably favourably qualifies the irritating 
properties of the jalap. A fluidrachm of this extract would represent a drachm of jalap, so 
that the dose should be from 15 to 30 minims. (Am. Joum. of Pharm., xxix. 108.)—Note to 
the eleventh edition. 1102 
Extracta. 
PART II. 
the British The wood of the root yielded to Prof. Procter only 6 8 per cent, 
of extract, while the bark separated from the wood yielded 33 per cent. As the 
wood is of difficult pulverization, the inference is obvious, that, in powdering 
the roots, the ligneous portion may be rejected with advantage. (Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., xiv. 270.) As a prolonged exposure of the infusion to the air is at- 
tended with the absorption of oxygen, and the production of insoluble apotherae, 
it is desirable that the evaporation should be conducted rapidly or in a vacuum. 
There scarcely appears to be occasion, in the case of rhatany, for heating and 
filtering ttye infusion before evaporation, the only use of which is to get rid of 
albumen, which is not among the recognised ingredients of the root. 
Very inferior extracts of rhatany are often sold. Such is the South American 
extract, which has been occasionally imported. As the product obtained by de- 
coction is greater than that afforded by the officinal plan, the temptation to sub- ' 
stitute the former is not always resisted, although it has been shown to contain 
nearly 50 per cent, of insoluble matter. Some druggists prepare the extract 
with an alcoholic menstruum with a view to the greater product; but the extract 
thus prepared has from 20 to 30 per cent, less of the active principle than the 
officinal. A substance has been shown to us, said to have been imported as ex- 
tract of rhatany from Europe, which was nearly tasteless, and was plausibly con- 
jectured to be the dried coagulated matter of old tincture of kino. Indeed, we 
are informed that very little of the genuine extract, prepared according to the 
officinal directions, is to be found in the sh'ops. From a notice by Prof. Procter 
in the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (May, 1862, p. 209), it would appear that the rha- 
tany now imported is much inferior to that formerly in use, having a larger pro- 
portion of wood, and yielding much less extract; and, a specimen carefully ma- 
nipulated by himself, gave but 9T4 per cent. 
Extract of rhatany should have a reddish-brown colour, a smooth shining 
fracture, and a very astringent taste; and should be almost entirely soluble in 
water. Its virtues may be considered as in proportion to its solubility. It is much 
used for all the purposes for which the astringent extracts are employed. The 
dose is from ten to twenty grains. 
Off. Prep. Syrupus Kramerise, TJ. S. W. 
EXTRACTUM LUPULI. Br. Extract of Hop. 
“ Take of Hop one pound [avoirdupois]; Rectified Spirit one pint and a 
half [Imperial measure] ; Distilled Water one gallon [Imp. meas.]. Macerate 
the Hop in the Spirit for seven days; press out the tincture, filter, and distil off 
the spirit, leaving a soft extract. Boil the residual Hop with the Water for one 
hour, then express the liquor, strain, and evaporate by a water-bath to the con- 
sistence of a soft extract. Mix the two extracts, and evaporate at a temperature 
not exceeding 140° to a proper consistence.” Br. 
This is a great improvement on the old Lond. and Ed. process by maceration 
with water and evaporation. Alcohol is necessary for the exhaustion of the hop, 
and very cautious evaporation, to preserve the aroma in the extract. But since 
the discovery of the fact that the active properties of hops reside chiefly in the 
lupulin, the extract has been to a great extent superseded by that substance in 
this country, and has been little used. Lupulin may be advantageously substi- 
tuted for it in all cases in which it was formerly employed. Mr. Brande says 
that the average yield of one cwt. of hops is 40 lbs. of the extract. The dose is 
from ten to thirty grains. 
Under the inappropriate name of humuline, an extract has been prepared 
by first treating hops with alcohol and subsequently with water, evaporating the 
tincture and infusion separately, and mixing the products. (Pharm. Journ., xiii. 
231.) 
EXTRACTUM NUCIS VOMICiE ALCOIIOLICUM. U.S. Ex- Extracta. 
1103 
PART II. 
tractum Nucis Vomicae. Br., U.S. 1850. Alcoholic Extract of Nux Vo- 
mica. Extract of Nux Voviica. 
“Take of Nux Yomica, in fine powder, twelve Iroyounces; Alcohol a suffi- 
cient quantity. Mix the Nux Yomica with four fluidounces of Alcohol, and 
allow the mixture to stand for an hour. Then introduce it into a cylindrical 
percolator, and gradually pour Alcohol upon it until the tincture passes without 
bitterness. Distil olf the alcohol, by means of a water-bath, until the tincture is 
reduced to half a pint, and evaporate this to the proper consistence.” U. S. 
“Take of Nux Yomica one pound [avoirdupois]; Rectified Spirit a suffi- 
ciency. Apply steam to the Nux Yomica until it is thoroughly softened, then 
dry rapidly, and reduce to fine powder. Exhaust the powder by boiling it with 
successive portions of the Spirit until the latter comes off nearly free from bit- 
terness. Strain, distil off the spirit, and evaporate by a water-bath to the pro- 
per consistence.” Br. 
In both the U. S. and Br. Pharmacopoeias the nux vomica is directed in fine 
powder; but in the latter only are we told how to reduce it to that state. Another 
method, formerly employed by the Ed. College, was to grind it in a coffee-mill. 
The method of percolation in the U. S. process is preferable to that of decoc- 
tion in the British, for exhausting the drug. We prefer the simple British name, 
which was that of our Pharmacopoeia of 1850, to the more prolix one adopted 
in the late revision. As there is no other extract of nux vomica, it appears to 
us to have been an unnecessary precision to add the epithet alcoholicum, which 
renders the title more unwieldy, without making it more distinctive. This is one 
of the few instances in which the U. S. Pharmacopoeia deems a preliminary ma- 
ceration advisable. It is said that, when the extract is kept in powder, it is apt 
to agglutinate into a tough mass. According to Zippel, this may be prevented 
by adding a little water before the close of the evaporation, and then continuing 
the evaporation to dryness. {Arch, der Pharm., July 24, 1859.) 
This extract is an active preparation, though not always of uniform strength, 
owing to the variable proportion of strychnia in the nux vomica. M. Recluz 
obtained from sixteen ounces of nux vomica the average product of one ounce 
and a quarter. The dose of the extract is from half a grain to two grains, to be 
repeated three times a day.* W. 
EXTRACTUM OPII. U.S.,Br. Extract of Opium. 
“ Take of Opium twelve troyounces; Water five pints. Cut the Opium into 
small pieces, macerate it for twenty-four hours in a pint of the Water, and reduce 
it to a soft mass by trituration. Express the liquid, and treat the residue with 
each of the four remaining pints of water successively in the same manner. 
Having mixed the liquids, filter the mixture, and evaporate, by means of a water- 
bath, to the proper consistence.” U. S. 
“Take of Opium, in thin slices, one pound [avoirdupois]; Distilled Water 
six pints [Imperial measure]. Macerate the Opium in two pints of the Water 
for twenty-four hours, and express the liquor. Reduce the Opium to a uniform 
pulp, macerate it again in two pints of the Water for twenty-four hours, and 
express. Repeat the operation a third time. Mix the liquors, strain through 
flannel, and evaporate by a water-bath to a proper consistence.” Br. 
These processes are essentially the same. An advantage of the preparation is 
that, by the solubility of the extract in water, it affords a convenient method of 
* Professor Procter informs us, as the result of his own observation, that in the alco- 
holic extract of nux vomica there is a considerable proportion of fixed'oil (giij in gxvi 
of the seeds), which will not remain mixed with the other ingredients, becoming fluid in 
summer, and concreting in cold weather. This he thinks should be separated from the 
extract, and shaken with a little diluted alcohol which takes from it any adhering active 
matter. The washings should be evaporated, and the residuum mixed with the extract, 
the fatty mauer being thrown away.—Note to the tenth edition. 1104 
Extracta. 
PART II. 
obtaining quickly an aqueous solution of the active ingredients of opium. It is 
exceedingly doubtful whether anything is left behind after the opium has been 
exhausted by water, which materially modifies the action of its anodyne prin- 
ciple ; and the extract probably has no advantage on this account over opium. 
Nor has it the advantage of greater uniformity; as the gum, extractive, &c., 
taken up by the water, bear no fixed proportion to the active ingredients. But, 
as purely aqueous preparations of opium have been found to agree better with 
certain individuals than opium alone or its alcoholic preparations, there is reason 
to believe that there are in the crude drug one or more principles, capable of 
causing nausea, headache, nervous disturbance, &c., which are insoluble in water, 
though extracted by alcohol or ether. M. Guibourt states that this extract, when 
kept, is apt to swell up, owing, as he at first supposed, to the fermentation of 
glucose; but he now ascribes the phenomenon to the change of meconic acid 
into the parameconic, with the escape of carbonic acid. {Journ. de Pharrn., 
Aout, 1860, p. 138.) 
Denarcotized Extract of Opium. Under the impression that the stimulating 
and unpleasant effects of opium are owing to the narcotina, it has been proposed 
to separate that principle by treating the extract with ether, which dissolves the 
narcotina, and leaves the morphia with the other ingredients. Bobiquet em- 
ployed cold ether; but M. Dublanc, convinced that the whole of the narcotina 
was not thus extracted, proposed the following plan. “ Take of watery extract 
of opium 16 ounces; dissolve it in 8 ounces of distilled water; introduce the 
solution into the water-bath of a still; pour upon it 104 ounces of pure ether; 
distil off 24 ounces of the ether; take apart the apparatus, and decant the 
ether which floats on the top of the extract; wash the latter while hot with the 
distilled ether; concentrate the residual matter, dissolve it in distilled water, 
filter the solution, and evaporate to a proper consistence.” It is doubtful whe-. 
ther any useful end is gained by this operation commensurate with its costliness; 
as there is reason to think that narcotina does not in fact produce the unpleasant 
effects which have been ascribed to it; and the noxious principles in opium, of 
w'hich ether is capable of depriving it, are probably left behind, for the most part 
at least, in the formation of the aqueous extract. 
Ilecluz obtained from sixteen ounces of opium an average product of nine 
ounces by hot water and six by cold; and Prof. Procter informs us that the U. S. 
formula usually yields about seven and a half ounces from the same quantity. 
The dose of the extract of opium is about one-half that of opium itself.* 
* Extraction Papaveri's. Extract of Poppy Capsules. Though this has been discarded from 
the British Pharmacopoeia, its former extensive use, and supposed importance, entitle it to 
some notice. The following was the London process. “Take of Poppy [capsules], freed 
from their seeds and bruised, fifteen ounces; boiling Distilled Water a gallon [Imperial 
measure]. Macerate for twenty-four hours; then boil down to four pints, and strain the 
liquor while hot; lastly, evaporate to the proper consistence.” Lond. 
Mr. Brande observes, in relation to this extract, that if prepared over the open lire it is 
often nearly inert. He states, moreover, that it is apt to be of a troublesome consistence, 
too hard to be formed into pills, and too tough to be pulverized; and advises that it should 
always be carefully dried till it becomes sufficiently brittle to admit of being reduced to 
powder. One cwt. of the capsules, without the seeds, yields, according to this author, the 
average product of 35 pounds of extract. M. Meurein gives particular directions for making 
an alcoholic extract of poppy capsules, which may be consulted with advantage by those 
who may be called on to supply any demand for this preparation. (See Journ. de Pharrn., 
3e ser., xxiii. 341.) Mr. Joseph Ince recommends that the strained hot decoction, after 
having been brought to a syrupy consistence, should be diluted with eight times its quan- 
tity of water, then filtered, and afterwards evaporated. Made in this way the extract, will 
keep well. (Pharrn. Journ., xiv. 489.) We are told that an extract is prepared in this coun- 
try from the whole herb, cut after the fruit has formed, but while it is yet green. The 
capsules exclusively should be used; and the best time for collecting them is immediately 
after they have begun to begome yellowish. This extract possesses the virtues of opium, 
but is much inferior and less uniform in strength. The dose is from five to ten grains. part II. 
Extracta. 
1105 
Off. Prep. Emplastrum Opii, U. S.; Extractum Opii Liquidum, Br.; Tro- 
cbisci Opii, Br. W. 
EXTRACTUM PODOPHYLLI. U.S. Extract of May-apple. 
“ Take of May-apple, in moderately fine powder, twelve troyounces; Alcohol 
four pints; Water a sufficient quantity. Introduce the powder, previously 
mixed with three fluidounces of Alcohol, into a conical percolator, and pour 
upon it the remainder of the Alcohol. When the tincture ceases to pass, pour 
gradually upon the powder sufficient Water to keep its surface covered, until four 
pints of tincture have passed. Set this aside, and continue the percolation until 
six pints of infusion have been obtained. Distil off the alcohol from the tincture, 
and evaporate the infusion, until the liquids respectively have been brought to 
the consistence of thin honey; then mix them, and evaporate to the proper con- 
sistence.” U. S. 
This is possessed of the purgative properties of the root, and may be given in 
the dose of from five to fifteen grains. It might be substituted in all cases for 
the extract of jalap. 
From experiments made by Mr. John R. Lewis, it is probable that the alco- 
holic extract would be much more powerful as a purgative than the officinal pre- 
paration ; but it does not follow that it would be more serviceable. (See Am. 
Journ. of Pharm., xix. 170.) W. 
EXTRACTUM QUASSLZE. U.S.,Br. Extract of Quassia. 
“Take of Quassia, in moderately fine powder, twelve troyounces; Water a 
sufficient quantity. Moisten the Quassia with four fluidounces of Water, pack 
it in a conical percolator, and gradually pour Water upon it until the infusion 
passes but slightly impregnated with the properties of the Quassia. Boil down 
the liquid to three-fourths of its bulk; then strain, and, by means of a water- 
bath, evaporate to the proper consistence.” U. S. 
“Take of Quassia, in moderately fine powder, one pound [avoirdupois]; Dis- 
tilled Water a sufficiency. Macerate the Quassia in eight fluidounces of the 
Water for twelve hours; then pack in a percolator, and add Distilled Water 
until the Quassia is exhausted. Evaporate the liquor; filter before it becomes 
too thick; and again evaporate by a water-bath to a proper consistence.”Br. 
According to M. Recluz, sixteen ounces of Quassia yield by infusion in water 
seven drachms of extract; by maceration in alcohol of 19° Baume, two ounces 
five drachms and a half. The difference between these quantities is so great that 
we suspect some mistake in the table of the Dictionnaire des Drogues from which 
we quote. 
The extract of quassia is dark-brown or black, and excessively bitter. It is 
apt to become dry and disposed to crumble by time. It concentrates a greater 
amount of tonic power within a given weight than any other extract of the simple 
bitters; and may, therefore, be given with great advantage in cases in which it 
is desirable to administer this class of substances in as small a bulk, and with as 
little inconvenience to the patient as possible. The dose is about five grains, to 
be given in the form of pill. W. 
EXTRACTUM RHEI ALCOHOLICUM. U.S. Extractum Rhei. 
Br., U. S. 1850. Alcoholic Extract of Rhubarb. Extract of Rhubarb. 
“Take of Rhubarb, in moderately fine powder, twelve troyounces; Alcohol 
a pint; Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Moisten the powder with four 
fluidounces of the Alcohol, pack it in a conical percolator, and gradually pour 
upon it, first the remainder of the Alcohol, and afterwards Diluted Alcohol, 
until twelve fluidounces of tincture have been obtained. Set this aside in a warm 
place, and allow it to evaporate spontaneously until reduced to six fluidounces. 1106 
Extracta, 
PART II. 
Continue the percolation with Dilated Alcohol until the tincture passes nearly 
tasteiess. Evaporate this in a porcelain vessel, by means of a water-bath, at a 
temperature not exceeding 160°, to the consistence of syrup. With this mix the 
tincture first obtained, and continue the evaporation until the mixture is reduced 
to the proper consistence.” U. S. 
“ Take of Rhubarb, sliced or bruised, one pound [avoirdupois]; Rectified 
Spirit ten fluidounces [Imperial measure]; Distilled Water Jive pints [Imp. 
meas.]. Mix the Spirit and the Water, and macerate the Rhubarb in the mix- 
ture for four days; then decant, press, and set by that the undissolved matter 
may subside; pour off the clear liquor, filter the remainder, mix the liquors, and 
evaporate by a water-bath, at a temperature not exceeding 160°, to a proper 
consistence.” Br. 
Rhubarb yields all its active matter to water and alcohol; but, unless the 
evaporation is performed with great care and with a moderate heat, it is certain 
that the purgative principle is, to a greater or less extent, injured or dissipated 
in the process; and the extract may thus become even less efficient than the 
root. Among other consequences which result from the boiling temperature, is 
the formation of a compound of the tannin and starch, which is insoluble in cold 
water, and upon its precipitation probably carries with it a portion of the pur- 
gative principle. There is, moreover, reason to believe that this principle is 
volatilizable by heat, and that a portion of it escapes with the vapour. When 
properly prepared, the extract has decidedly the peculiar odour of rhubarb. The 
dose of the extract is from ten to thirty grains. W. 
EXTRACTUM SENEGiE ALCOHOLICUM. U.S. Alcoholic Extract 
of Seneka. 
“Take of Seneka, in moderately fine powder, twelve troyounces; Diluted Al- 
cohol a sufficient quantity. Moisten the powder with four fluidounces of Diluted 
Alcohol, pack it in a conical percolator, and gradually pour upon it Diluted 
Alcohol until three pints of tincture have passed. Evaporate this, by means of 
a water-bath, to the proper consistence.” U. S. 
This is a good preparation of Seneka, possessing all its virtues in a concen- 
trated form. There seems to have been no necessity for burdening the title with 
the epithet “ alcoholicum”; as there is no other officinal extract. For its uses, 
see Senega in Bart I. The dose is from one to three grains. W. 
EXTRACTUM STRAMONII. U.S. Extractum Stramonii Folio- 
rum. U. S. 1850. Extract of Stramonium. Extract of Stramonium Leaves. 
“Take of Stramonium Leaf hvelve troyounces. Bruise it in a stone mortar, 
sprinkling on it a little water, and express the juice; then, having heated this 
to the boiling point, strain, and evaporate, at a temperature not exceeding 160°, 
to the proper consistence.” U. S. 
Like all the other inspissated narcotic juices, this is an uncertain preparation, 
varying in strength according to the care used in conducting the process, and 
the season at which the leaves are collected. The reader will find at page 1086, 
and in the preliminary observations on the Extracts, some general rules which 
will prove useful in conducting this process. The insoluble matter separated 
from the expressed juice by filtering, and that coagulated by heat, may be ad- 
vantageously rejected ; as, according to the observations of MM. Solon and Sou- 
beiran, they are nearly or quite inert. This is done in the present process, which 
as well in this respect, as in directing the temperature not to exceed 160°, is an 
improvement of the old one. M. Recluz obtained half an ounce of extract from 
sixteen ounces of the leaves. The dose is a grain night and morning, to be 
gradually increased till it affects the system. 
Offi. Prep. Unguentura Stramonii, U. S. W. Extracta. 
1107 
PART II. 
EXTRACTUM STRAMONII. Br. Extp.actum Stramonii Seminis, 
U.S. 1850. Extract of Stramonium. Extract of Stramonium Seed. 
“Take of Stramonium Seeds, in coarse powder, one pound [avoirdupois]; 
Proof Spirit a sufficiency. Pack the powder in a percolator, and add the Spirit 
until the powder is exhausted. Distil off the Spirit, and evaporate the residue 
by a water-bath to a proper consistence.” Br. 
Though with the same name, this is a very different preparation from the pre- 
ceding one of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, which is the inspissated juice of the 
leaves; while the British is an alcoholic extract of the seeds. The latter was 
formerly officinal with us under the name of Extractum Stramonii Seminis, 
while that now named Extractum Stramonii in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, was 
then denominated Extractum Stramonii Foliorum. Two things are to be re- 
gretted in the changes, in reference to the extracts of stramonium, made in the 
revision of the Pharmacopoeia of 1850; first, that the extract of the seeds, which 
is perhaps the most efficient preparation of stramonium, should have been aban- 
doned, and, secondly, that the old name of Extractum Stramonii Foliorum should 
not have been retained; for as the nomenclature now stands, there must be in- 
evitable confusion, only to be guarded against by great care. 
This is an excellent preparation, not only stronger, but more uniform, and 
therefore more to be relied on than any other officinal extract of stramonium. 
As the seeds yield their virtues more freely to spirit than to water alone, the Br. 
Pharmacopoeia has very properly adopted proof spirit as the menstruum. Ac- 
cording to the table of Recluz, sixteen ounces of the seed afford two ounces and 
two drachms of extract by maceration in diluted alcohol, and one ounce and a 
half by decoction. The dose to begin with is the quarter or half of a grain, twice 
a day, to be gradually increased. W. 
EXTRACTUM STRAMONII ALCOHOLICUM. U.S. Alcoholic 
Extract of Stramonium. 
“ Take of Stramonium Leaf, recently dried and in fine powder, twelve troy- 
ounces; Alcohol a pint; Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Introduce the 
powder, previously mixed with one-third of the Alcohol, into a conical percola- 
tor, and gradually pour upon it the remainder of the Alcohol. When the liquid 
has all been absorbed by the powder, pour on Diluted Alcohol until a pint of 
tincture has been obtained. Set this aside in a warm place, and allow it to 
evaporate spontaneously until reduced to three fluidounces. Continue the per- 
colation with Diluted Alcohol until two pints more of tincture have passed, or 
until the powder is exhausted; then evaporate, by means of a water-bath, at a 
temperature not exceeding 160°, to the consistence of syrup. With this mix the 
three fluidounces of tincture first obtained, and continue the evaporation, at a 
temperature not exceeding 120°, until the mixture is reduced to the proper con- 
sistence.” U. S. 
There is no such superiority in this preparation over the inspissated juice as 
to have called for a separate process; especially as the Stramonium plant is so 
abundant that there can be nowhere any difficulty in obtaining the leaves fresh 
at the proper season. It is, we think, a poor substitute for the abandoned ex- 
tract of the seeds. The dose is a grain. W. 
EXTRACTUM- TARAXACI. U.S.,Br. Extract of Dandelion. 
“ Take of Dandelion, gathered in September, sixty troyounces. Slice the Dan- 
delion, and bruise it in a stone mortar, sprinkling on it a little water, until re- 
duced to a pulp. Then express and strain the juice, and evaporate it in a vacuum, 
or in a shallow dish over a water-bath, to the proper consistence.” U. S. 
“ Take of Fresh Dandelion Root four pounds [avoirdupois]. Crush the Root; 
press out the juice, and allow it to deposit; heat the clear liquor to 212°, and 1108 
Extracta.—Extracta Fluida. 
PART II. 
maintain the temperature for ten minutes; then strain, and evaporate by a water- 
bath, at a temperature not exceeding 160°, to a proper consistence.” Br. 
This extract is undoubtedly stronger, prepared from the root alone than from 
the whole plant. It is important that the root should be collected at the right 
season. The juice expressed from it in the spring is thin, watery, and of a feeble 
flavour; in the latter part of the summer, and in autumn, thick, opaque, cream- 
coloured, very bitter, and abundant, amounting to one-third or one-half its 
weight. It may be collected in August, and afterwards until severe frost. Ac- 
cording to Mr. Squire, frost has the effect of diminishing the bitterness and in- 
creasing the sweetness of the root. An extract prepared by inspissating the 
juice, as in the present U. S. and Br. processes, is much more efficient than that 
prepared in the old way by decoction. The inspissation should be effected by 
exposing the juice in shallow vessels to a current of warm dry air, or by evapo- 
ration in a vacuum, and should not be unnecessarily protracted. Long exposure, 
during evaporation, changes the bitterness of the juice into sweetness, which is 
a sign of inferiority. In the British process, it is wisely directed that, before the 
evaporation of the juice, it shall be exposed for a short time to a heat sufficient to 
coagulate the albumen, which is then separated and rejected as useless, and indeed 
injurious by favouring decomposition. As often found in the shops, the extract is 
dark-coloured, sweet, and in all probability nearly inert. Mr. Houlton took more 
than an ounce of it in a day, without any sensible effect. (Pharm. Journ., i. 
421.) When prepared from the root and leaves together, it has a greenish co- 
lour. Mr. Brande states that one cwt. of the fresh root affords from twenty to 
twenty-five pounds of extract by decoction in water. The expressed juice yields 
from 11 to 25 per cent, of extract, the greatest product being obtained in No- 
vember, and the least in April and May. 
This extract deteriorates by keeping, and should, therefore, be renewed annu- 
ally. It is most conveniently given dissolved in cinnamon or mint water. The 
dose is from a scruple to a drachm three times a day. W. 
EXTRACTUM VALERIANAE ALCOHOLICUM. U. S. Alcoholic 
Extract of Valerian. 
“Take of Valerian, in fine powder, twelve troyounces; Alcohol a pint; Di- 
luted Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Moisten the powder with four fluidounces 
of Alcohol, pack it in a percolator, and gradually pour upon it the remainder 
of the Alcohol. When the liquid has all been absorbed by the powder, pour on 
Diluted Alcohol until a pint of tincture has been obtained. Set this aside in a 
warm place, and allow it to evaporate spontaneously until reduced to three fluid- 
ounces. Continue the percolation with Diluted Alcohol until two pints more of 
tincture have passed, and evaporate this, by means of a water-bath, to the con- 
sistence of syrup. Lastly, mix the two liquids, and continue the evaporation, at 
a temperature not exceeding 120°, until the mixture is reduced to the proper 
consistence.” U. S. 
This extract contains most of the active matter of the root, though a portion 
of the volatile oil may be lost in the process. It may be used for obtaining the 
effects of valerian on the system. According to Vielguth and Nentwich, the root 
yields 23 per cent, of its weight to cold diluted alcohol by percolation. The dose 
of the extract is from ten to thirty grains. W. 
EXTRACTA FLUIDA. 
Fluid Extracts. 
These were first introduced into the IT. S. Pharmacopoeia of 1850, as a distinct 
class of preparations; the fluid extract of sarsaparilla being the only one pre- 
viously directed, either in our own officinal code, or by the British Colleges. PART II. 
Extracta Fluida. 
1109 
Their distinctive character is the concentration of the active ingredients of inedi 
cinal substances into a small bulk, in the liquid form. Independently of the 
greater convenience of administration, the advantage of this class of preparations 
is that, the evaporation not being carried so far as in the ordinary extracts, the 
active principles are less liable to be injured by heat. The main difficulty, in 
relation to them, is the liability of substances in the liquid state to undergo 
spontaneous decomposition. This is counteracted in some of the fluid extracts 
by means of sugar, in others by alcohol, and in others, again, by a mixture of 
the two. Formerly a class of preparations was united with the fluid extracts, 
which in the present edition of the Pharmacopoeia hold a distinct position, under 
the name of oleoresins. In these the extracted matter is in its own nature pre- 
servative ; but they will be considered elsewhere. In a few of the fluid extracts 
in which acetic acid is used as one of the menstrua, this also probably contributes 
to their preservation. In all of them alcohol or alcohol and water are employed 
as the menstruum, one being preferred to the other according to the character 
of the active principle or principles to be extracted. In all, moreover, the ex- 
traction is effected by percolation; and in the evaporation great care is taken 
not to injure the product by too great a heat. Though the greater portion of 
the alcohol is evaporated, a portion generally remains, which contributes towards 
the preservation of the preparation; but, as this alone is often insufficient, it is 
necessary to have recourse to sugar, which has the subsidiary advantage of im- 
proving the flavour. In the fluid extracts, however, instead of two pounds of sugar 
to each pint of the liquid, as in the case of the ordinary syrups, it is generally 
sufficient to add an ounce for every fluidounce. The British Pharmacopoeia has 
a few of these preparations, which it prefers to name Extracta Liquida. 
For valuable remarks upon the Fluid Extracts, and many important practical 
rules in the preparation of the several articles of the class, the reader is referred 
to reports by Prof. Procter in the Proceedings of the American Pharmaceu- 
tical Association for 1859 (p. 265), and for 1863 (p. 222). We would strongly 
impress on practical pharmaceutists the great importance of fulfilling carefully 
every officinal direction in the several formulas which follow, and especially of 
conducting most cautiously the process of percolation, upon the due perform- 
ance of which the efficiency of the product so much depends. Properly prepared, 
the fluid extracts are among the most efficacious, convenient, and elegant medi- 
cinal preparations; whereas, if carelessly or ignorantly made, there are probably 
none which would be more likely to deceive the hopes of the practitioner. W. 
EXTRACTUM BELiE LIQUIDUM. Br. Liquid Extract of Bael. 
“ Take of Bael one pound [avoirdupois]; Distilled Water twelve pints [Im- 
perial measure] ; Rectified Spirit two fluidounces. Macerate the Bael for twelve 
hours in one-third of the Water; pour off the clear liquor; repeat the macera- 
tion a second and third time for one hour in the remaining two-thirds of the 
Water; press the mass; and filter the mixed liquors through flannel. Evapo- 
rate to fourteen fluidounces; and, when cold, add the Rectified Spirit.” Br. 
This is a new officinal of the British Pharmacopoeia, of which very little is 
known in the United States. It is one of the forms in which the new India re- 
medy bael is employed, and the reader is referred to the article on that subject 
in Part I. Each fluidounce of the extract represents an avoirdupois ounce of 
the medicine, and the dose is from one to four fluidrachms. W. 
EXTRACTUM BUCIiU FLUIDUM. U.8. Fluid Extract of Buchu. 
“Take of Buchu, in moderately fine powder, sixteen troyounces; Alcohol a 
sufficient quantity. Moisten the Buchu with six fluidounces of Alcohol, intro- 
duce it into a cylindrical percolator, press it firmly, and gradually pour Alcohol 
upon it until twelve fluidounces of tincture have passed. Set this aside, and con- 
tinue the percolation until two pints more of tincture have been obtained. Eva- 1110 
Extracta Fluida. 
PART II. 
porate this, by means of a water-bath, at a temperature not exceeding 150°, to 
four fluidounces, and mix it with the reserved tincture. Allow the mixture to 
stand for twenty-four hours, and filter through paper.” U. S. 
In consequence of the tenacity of the leaves, it is somewhat difficult to pow- 
der them in a mortar, and it will be" convenient to resort to a mill for the pur- 
pose. As the most active ingredient of buchu is volatile, the direction in the 
formula to set aside the first portion of tincture obtained, which is a highly con- 
centrated solution, is peculiarly important; for, if it were subjected to evapora- 
tion, much of the volatile oil would necessarily escape. The facility of obtaining 
such concentrated solutions by means of percolation is one of the greatest re- 
commendations of the process, and is especially valuable in the preparation of 
the fluid extracts. The tincture subsequently obtained probably contains a large 
proportion of the fixed ingredients of the leaves, and will, therefore, allow of 
concentration without material loss. This is one of the fluid extracts in which 
alcohol acts at once as the menstruum and the preservative agent. The prepa- 
ration is, indeed, nothing more than a very concentrated tincture; and, as buchu 
is itself a stimulant agent, and generally exhibited in cases admitting or requir- 
ing stimulation, there is no medicinal incompatibility in the case. 
This fluid extract is clear, at first greenish, but at length of a dark reddish- 
brown colour, and possessed in a high degree of the sensible properties of the 
leaves. It is said to acquire the odour of mint when long kept, showing that 
some change takes place in its volatile oil. Each fluidounce of the fluid extract 
represents a troyounce of the leaves; and the dose is twenty or thirty minims, to 
be given diluted with water. W. 
EXTRACTUM CIMICIFUGA FLUIDUM. U.S. Fluid Extract of 
Cimicifuga. 
“Take of Cimicifuga, in fine powder, sixteen troyounces; Stronger Alcohol 
apint and a half; Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Moisten the Cimicifuga 
with four fluidounces of the Stronger Alcohol, introduce it into a conical perco- 
lator, pour upon it the remainder of the Stronger Alcohol, and, when the whole 
of this has entered the powder, gradually add Diluted Alcohol until a pint and 
a half of tincture have passed. Set this aside, in a shallow vessel, in a warm 
place, until reduced by spontaneous evaporation to twelve fluidounces. Con- 
tinue the percolation with Diluted Alcohol, until two pints more of tincture have 
been obtained Evaporate this, by means of a water-bath, at a temperature not 
exceeding 150°, to four fluidounces; then add the tincture first obtained very 
gradually so as to avoid precipitation, allow the mixture to stand for twenty-four 
hours, and filter through paper.” U. S. 
This is essentially the process of Prof. Procter, published in the eleventh edi- 
tion of the U. S. Dispensatory (page 226) ; stronger alcohol being subslituted as 
the first menstruum for a mixture of alcohol and ether. There can be little doubt, 
we think, that cimicifuga depends, for its remedial effects, in part upon a vola- 
tile principle. Hence the necessity for submitting the pint and a half of concen- 
trated tincture first obtained to spontaneous evaporation, without the aid of the 
warm bath subsequently employed. As cimicifuga is often given in cases requir- 
ing rather a sedative than a stimulant influence, it is desirable to have no more 
alcohol in the preparation than may be necessary for its preservation. On this 
account, the first tincture with alcohol is allowed to diminish one-half by spon- 
taneous evaporation; and the process is completed with diluted alcohol, which 
loses nearly all its spirit in the subsequent concentration. As the result, in the 
latter case, is little more than a strong aqueous solution, there is some precipi- 
tation of resin when the first alcoholic solution is added to it, unless care is taken 
to make the mixture very gradually. This fluid extract is of a very dense red- 
dish-brown colour, and clear, yet disposed to deposit a resinoid sediment on PART II. 
Extracta Fluida. 
1111 
standing. It has the peculiar odour and taste of cimicifuga. A fluidounce of it 
represents a troyounce of the root, and probably contains all or nearly all its 
virtues. The dose is from thirty minims to a fluidrachm. W. 
EXTRACTUM CINCHONiE FLUIDUM. U.S. Extractum Cin- 
chona Flava Liquidum. Br. Fluid Extract of Cinchona. Liquid Ex- 
tract of Yellow Cinchona. 
“Take of Yellow Cinchona, in moderately fine powder, sixteen troyounces; 
Sugar, in coarse powder, twenty troyounces; Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quan- 
tity. Moisten the Cinchona with ten fluidounces of Diluted Alcohol, allow it to 
stand for half an hour, pack it firmly in a cylindrical percolator, and gradually 
pour upon it Diluted Alcohol until four pints of tincture have been obtained. 
Evaporate this, by means of a water-bath, to two pints; then add the Sugar, 
evaporate again to two pints, and strain the liquid while hot.” U. S. 
“ Take of Yellow-Cinchona Bark, in coarse powder, one pound [avoirdupois]; 
Distilled Water a sufficient quantity; Rectified Spirit one fluidounce. Macerate 
the Bark in two pints [Imperial measure] of the Water for twenty-four hours, 
stirring frequently; then pack in a percolator, and add more Water, until twelve 
pints [Imp. meas.] have been collected, or a sufficient quantity to exhaust the 
bark. Evaporate the liquor at a temperature not exceeding 160° to a pint; 
then filter through paper, and continue the evaporation to three fluidounces, or 
until the sp. gr. of the liquid is 1-200. When cold, add the Spirit gradually, 
constantly stirring. The sp. gr. should be about 1100.” Br. 
Of these two formulas, the first is decidedly preferable. It is essentially that 
of Mr. Alfred B. Taylor, of Philadelphia, and was described in the eleventh edi- 
tion of this work (page 212). The British Pharmacopoeia uses water only as 
the menstruum, while it adds alcohol to the liquid to preserve it. In the U. S. 
process diluted alcohol is used as the menstruum, and the alcohol afterwards 
almost all driven off, sugar being used as the preservative agent. Now it is well 
known that Peruvian bark cannot be exhausted by water alone; and, though by 
its use as a menstruum the resin and cinchonic red are mainly left behind, so also 
is a considerable proportion of, the alkaloids. By using diluted alcohol the U. S. 
Pharmacopoeia extracts all the virtues of the bark, and, though it may also take 
up some of the resin and cinchonic red, it avoids any gummy matter that may be 
present, and gets rid of most of the other inert matters during the evaporation. 
The British preparation contains one-fourth of alcohol, and is in fact a tincture; 
the U. S. fluid extract is a highly concentrated infusion preserved by sugar. Of 
the former, four fluidounces are intended to represent an avoirdupois pound or 
sixteen ounces of the bark; but certainly fail to do so, and to an indefinite de- 
gree. Of the latter, two fluidounces actually represent an ounce of the bark, and 
may be relied on, if well prepared, to produce all its effects. The direction, in the 
U. S. process, to strain while hot is necessary; because a portion of the cincho- 
nic red and cinchotannates of the alkaloids, which are much more soluble in the 
hot than in the cold liquid, is deposited when it cools. The U. S. fluid extract 
is consequently somewhat turbid, at least deposits a sediment on standing, and 
should be shaken when administered. When shaken, it is opaque, and of a light 
brownish-red colour, as if prepared rather from red than Caiisaya bark. The 
dose equivalent to a drachm of the bark is two fluidrachms; and to produce an 
antiperiodic effect, at least two fluidounces should be taken between the parox- 
ysm* W. 
EXTRACTUM COLCHICI RADICIS FLUIDUM. U.S. Fluid 
Extract of Colchicum• Root. 
“ Take of Colchicum Root, in fine powder, sixteen troyounces; Alcohol, Wa- 
er, each, n sufficient quantity Mix two measures of Alcohol with one of Water, 
moisten tne Colchicum Root with six fluidounces of the mixture, press it mode- 1112 
Extracta Fluida. 
PART n. 
rawly in a conical percolator, and gradually ponr the mixture upon it until twelve 
fluidounces of tincture have passed. Set this aside, and continue the percolation 
until two pints more of tincture have been obtained. Evaporate this to four fluid- 
ounces, mix it with the reserved tincture, and filter through paper.” U. S. 
EXTRACTUM COLCHICI SEMINIS FLUIDUM. U. S. Fluid 
Extract of Colchicum Seed. 
“Take of Colchicum Seed, in moderately fine powder, sixteen troy ounces; 
Alcohol, Water, each, a sufficient quantity. Mix two measures of Alcohol with 
one of Water, moisten the Colchicum Seed with six fluidounces of the mixture, 
press it firmly in a conical percolator, and pour the mixture upon it until twelve 
fluidounces of tincture have passed. Set this aside, and continue the percolation 
until two pints more of tincture have been obtained. Evaporate this to four fluid- 
ounces, mix it with the reserved tincture, and filter through paper.” U. S. 
These two preparations, the one of the cormus, the other of the seeds of Col- 
chicum, are made precisely in the same manner, and are nothing more nor less 
than strong tinctures. Considering that we had one tincture, two wines, and two 
extracts of Colchicum, all efficient preparations, these additions to our pharmacy 
might have been spared, unless some peculiar advantage could have been gained 
from them. They are, however, well made, and no doubt concentrate the virtues 
of colchicum within a small space. The proportion of two measures of alcohol 
to one of water was preferred to that of equal measures, as in diluted alcohol, 
because the latter was found to extract an inert matter from the material ope- 
rated on, which is left behind by the former. The process is one of those pub- 
lished by Prof. Procter in the Proceedings of the American Pharmaceutical 
Association for 1859 (p. 269). 
The fluid extracts of colchicum are of a deep-brown colour, and somewhat 
turbid. In relation to that from the seeds, Mr. Maisch states that it cannot be 
obtained clear by filtration through either a dry or moist filter; but, on being 
allowed to stand for some days, it separates into two layers, the upper greenish- 
brown and of an oily nature, on the removal of which the lower layer is left per- 
manently clear. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., March, 1864, p. 97.) Supposing the 
root and seeds to be exhausted by the menstruum employed, and none of the 
active matter to be lost in the evaporation, a troyounce of each is represented 
by a fluidounce of the fluid extract, the dose of which, therefore, would be from 
two to eight minims. W. 
EXTRACTUM CONII FLUIDUM. U.S. Fluid Extract of Hemlock. 
“Take of Hemlock, recently dried and in fine powder, sixteen troyounces; 
Acetic Acid half a fluidounce; Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Mix 
the Acid with three pints of Diluted Alcohol, moisten the powder with half a 
pint of the mixture, pack it in a conical glass percolator, and gradually pour 
the mixture upon it until twelve fluidounces of tincture have passed. Set this 
aside, and continue the percolation, first with the remainder of the mixture, and 
afterwards with Diluted Alcohol, until three pints more of tincture have been 
obtained. Evaporate this, by means of a water-bath, at a temperature not ex- 
ceeding 150°, to four fluidounces, mix it with the reserved tincture, and filter 
through paper.” U. S. 
This process had the same origin as the preceding. It is scarcely possible 
that a liquid preparation of hemlock could be made, in which the virtues of the 
drug should be more satisfactorily concentrated. By the use of acetic acid we 
probably increase the solvent powers of the menstruum, contribute to protect 
the alkaloid against decomposition during the concentration, and aid the alcohol 
in preserving the fluid extract when completed. Prof. Procter states that the 
tendency of the alkaloid to decomposition is entirely controlled by acetic acid 
at any temperature below 150° F. (Proceedings of the Am. Pharm. Assoc. 1859, PART II. 
Extracta Fluida. 
1113 
p. 2T2.) From the great facility with which conia is destroyed by heat, it is ai 
important provision in the process, to make first as highly concenirated a tinc- 
ture as possible, containing most of the virtues of the leaves, to be reserved for 
admixture with the portion which has undergone evaporation. But the fluid 
extract must partake of the uncertainty of the leaves themselves, and hence the 
importance of using them immediately after they are dried, and of taking care 
that they should be properly dried. It is a thick but mobile, very dark liquid, 
with a yellowish tint in thin layers, and having in a decided degree the peculiar 
odour of the leaves. When treated with an alkali, it should give out strongly 
the mouse-like odour of the alkaloid conia; but too frequently this essential 
characteristic is wanting, either from defect in the leaves used, or some error in 
performing the process. In a specimen which came under our notice, having all 
the other qualities of the fluid extract in perfection, this mouse-like odour, on 
contact with potassa, was entirely wanting. One fluidounce contains the active 
matter of a troyounce of the leaves; and four or five minims may be given as a 
commencing dose, to be somewhat rapidly increased until its effects are felt. W. 
EXTRACTUM DULCAMARA FLUIDUM. U.S. Fluid Extract 
cf Bittersweet. 
“ Take of Bittersweet, in moderately fine powder, sixteen troyounces; Sugar, 
in coarse powder, ten troyounces; Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Moisten 
the Bittersweet with half a pint of Diluted Alcohol, pack it in a conical percola- 
tor, and pour upon it Diluted Alcohol until three pints of tincture have passed. 
Evaporate this, by means of a water-bath, to a pint, add the Sugar, evaporate 
again to a pint, and strain the liquid while hot.” XJ. S. 
In this fluid extract, as, in view of the sedative properties of the medicine, is 
obviously indicated, the alcohol employed in extracting the virtues of the twigs 
is almost entirely evaporated, and sugar is depended on for the prevention of 
spontaneous change. By straining while hot, the active matter deposited on 
cooling is retained in the preparation, which is therefore somewhat turbid, and 
should be shaken when administered. It is a thickish, almost syrupy liquid, of a 
dark-olive hue, with the sensible properties of the bittersweet in a concentrated 
state. One fluidounce represents a troyounce of the twigs. The dose is from 
thirty minims to a fluidrachm, three or four times a day, and gradually increased 
if necessary. W. 
EXTRACTUM ERGOTiE FLUIDUM. TJ. S. Extractum Ergots 
Liquidum. Br. Fluid Extract of Ergot. Liquid Extract of Ergot. 
“Take of Ergot, in fine powder, sixteen troyounces; Acetic Acid half a 
fluidounce; Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Mix the Acid with three 
pints of Diluted Alcohol, and, having moistened the Ergot with four fluidounces 
of the mixture, introduce it into a conical glass percolator, pressing moderately, 
and gradually pour the mixture upon it until twelve fluidounces of tincture have 
passed. Set this aside, and continue the percolation, first with the remainder of 
the mixture, and afterwards with Diluted Alcohol, until three pints more of 
tincture have been obtained. Evaporate this, by means of a water-bath, at a 
temperature not exceeding 150°, to four fluidounces, mix it with the reserved 
tincture, and filter through paper.” U. S. 
“ Take of Ergot, in coarse powder, one pound [avoirdupois] ; Ether one pint 
[Imperial measure]; Distilled Water threepints and a half [Imp. meas.]; Rec- 
tified Spirit eight fluidounces. Shake the Ether in a bottle with half a pint 
[Imp. meas.] of the Water, and after separation decant the ether. Place the 
Ergot in a percolator, and free it from its oil by passing the washed ether through 
it. Remove the marc, and digest it in three pints of the Water at 160° for 
twelve hours. Press out, strain, and evaporate the liquor to nine fluidounces; 1114 
Extracta Fluida. 
PART II. 
and, when cold, add the Spirit. Allow it to stand for an hour to coagulate, then 
filter. The product should measure sixteen fiuidounces.” Br. 
These are not identical preparations. The U. S. fluid extract is probably the 
best officinal preparation of ergot, having all the virtues of the medicine in a 
concentrated state. It was first suggested by Mr. Jos. Laidley, of Richmond, 
Ya,; but the process has since been variously modified by different writers, and 
in its present state was taken from the Proceedings of the American Pharma- 
ceutical Association before referred to. Diluted alcohol dissolves all the active 
matter of ergot, leaving its oil behind, and the tincture first obtained holding 
most of the active principles, is reserved without concentration; while the acetic 
acid has the effect of counteracting the injurious influence of the heat used in 
concentrating the tincture subsequently passed, probably by forming fixed salts 
with the alkaloids. In the British process, the first step is to dissolve out the 
oil with ether previously deprived of alcohol by washing with water; because 
ordinary ether, in consequence of the alcohol it contains, dissolves a portion of 
the active matter along with the oil. The remainder of the process consists sim- 
ply in forming an infusion with the residue of the ergot by digesting it with 
water, and then adding the spirit to preserve it. 
The U. S. fluid extract of ergot is a clear, very dark reddish-brown liquid, 
having the taste of ergot, but without its fishy odour, owing to the fixation of 
the alkaloid propylamia, upon which that odour depends. On the addition, how- 
ever, of solution of potassa, the odour is strongly developed, and the alkaloid 
escapes so largely that, if muriatic acid be held near it, a cloud of muriate of 
propylamia will be perceived. This may be considered as a good test of the effi- 
ciency of the preparation; for, though all the virtues of ergot do not depend on 
its volatile alkaloid, yet, if this is retained in the fluid extract, there can be little 
doubt that the other more fixed principles will be retained also. One fluidounce 
of the preparation, made by the U. S. process, represents a troyounce of the 
ergot, according to the British, an avoirdupois ounce. The dose is from ten to 
twenty minims. W. 
EXTRACTUM FILICIS LIQUIDUM. Br. Liquid Extract of Fern. 
This being properly an oleoresin, will be considered under the head of the 
Oleoresinse, to which the reader is referred. 
EXTRACTUM GENTIAKZE FLUIDUM. U. S. Fluid Extract of 
Crentian. 
“ Take of Gentian, in moderately fine powder, sixteen troyounces; Diluted 
Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Moisten the Gentian with six fiuidounces of Di- 
luted Alcohol, introduce it into a conical percolator, pressing moderately, and 
pour upon it Diluted Alcohol until twelve fiuidounces of tiucture have passed. 
Set this aside, and continue the percolation until two pints more of tincture 
have been obtained. Evaporate this, by means of a water-bath, to four fluid- 
ounces, mix it with the reserved tincture, and filter through paper.” U. S. 
This is a concentrated tincture of gentian, transparent, reddish-brown, with 
the smell and taste of the root, of which a troyounce is represented by a fluid- 
ounce of the preparation. It may be questionable whether it was needed, though 
it has the advantage that we may obtain from it the tonic effects of the drug, 
with less alcohol than in an equivalent quantity of the tincture ; and pharmaceu- 
tically it affords a convenient method of giving to mixtures the tonic properties 
of gentian when required. The dose is from ten to thirty or forty minims. W. 
EXTRACTUM HYOSCYAMI FLUIDUM. U.S. Fluid Extract of 
Henbane. 
“Take of Henbane Leaf, in fine powder, sixteen troyounces; Alcohol, Water, 
each, a sufficient quantity. Mix two measures of Alcohol with one of Water, PART II. 
Extracta Fluida. 
1115 
moisten the powder with six fluidounces of the mixture, pack it firmly in a coni- 
eal percolator, and gradually pour the mixture upon it until twelve fluidounces 
of tincture have passed. Set this aside, and continue the percolation with the 
same mixture until two pints and a half more of tincture have been obtained. 
Evaporate this, by means of a water-bath, at a temperature not exceeding 150°, 
to four fluidounces, mix it with the reserved tincture, and filter through paper.” 
U. S. 
Like the preceding fluid extract, this is a concentrated alcoholic tincture, in 
which the menstruum instead of being diluted alcohol, is somewhat stronger, 
consisting of two measures of alcohol to one of water. It is clear at first, though 
apt to become somewhat turbid, is of a dark-brown colour, and possessed of the 
taste and smell of the leaves in a high degree. It was first proposed by Mr. Ch. A. 
Smith of Cincinnati {Am. Journ. ofPharm., xxv. 410) ; but the formula is that 
of Prof. Procter, taken from the Proceedings of the American Pharmaceutical 
Association for 1859. The commencing dose is from five to ten minims. W. 
EXTRACTUM IPECACUANHA FLUIDUM. U. S. Fluid Ex- 
tract of Ipecacuanha. 
“Take of Ipecacuanha, in fine powder, sixteen troyounces; Acetic Acid a 
fiuidounce; Alcohol, Water, each, a sufficient quantity. Moisten the Ipecacu- 
anha with six fluidounces of Alcohol, introduce it into a conical percolator, 
press it firmly, and pour Alcohol upon it until three pints of tincture have 
slowly passed, or until the Ipecacuanha is exhausted. Distil off the alcohol 
from the tincture, by means of a water-bath, until a syrupy liquid is left. Mix 
this with the Acetic Acid and ten fluidounces of Water, boil the mixture gently 
until it is reduced to half a pint, and the resinous matter has separated. Filter 
the liquid when cold, and add sufficient Water, through the filter, to make the 
filtered liquid measure half a pint. Lastly, mix this with half a pint of Alcohol.” 
U. S. 
A strong tincture is first obtained with officinal alcohol, from which the spirit 
is afterwards distilled off; the object in using this menstruum being to obtain 
the active principle of the root, without the gum aud starch which give to its 
liquid preparations a tendency to decomposition. To separate the resinous 
matter water is then added, together with acetic acid to give stability to the 
alkaloid during the subsequent boiling. When this is accomplished, the liquid 
is filtered and diluted with water, and sufficient alcohol to preserve it. A for- 
mula for this fluid extract was originally proposed by Mr. Laidley, of Richmond, 
Ya., but was afterwards modified. The addition of acetic acid was suggested by 
Prof. Procter. 
The fluid extract is a thin, dark reddish-brown transparent liquid, of a bitterish 
slightly acrid taste, but without the nauseous flavour of the root. A fiuidounce 
of it represents an ounce of the root, and the emetic dose would therefore be from 
fifteen to thirty minims. It is a convenient preparation for adding to expecto- 
rant and diaphoretic mixtures, and'is used officinally in preparing the syrup of 
ipecacuanha. 
Off. Prep. Syrupus Ipecacuanhse, U. S. W. 
EXTRACTUM LUPULINA FLUIDUM. U.S. Fluid Extract of 
Lupulin. 
“Take of Lupulin sixteen troyounces; Stronger Alcohol a sufficient quan- 
tity. Introduce the Lupulin into a percolator, press it firmly, and, having covered 
it with a piece of muslin, pour upon it Stronger Alcohol very gradually until 
twelve fluidounces of tincture have passed. Set this aside in a close vessel, and 
continue the percolation until twenty fluidounces more of tincture have been ob- 
tained. Evaporate this, by means of a water-bath, at a temperature not exceed- 
ing 150°, to four fluidounces, and mix it with the reserved tincture.” U. S 1116 
Extracta Fluida. 
PART II. 
This is a concentrated tincture of lupulin, containing the virtues of an ounce 
of lupulin in a fluidounce. The dose is ten or fifteen minims, which may be con- 
veniently given mixed with syrup of gum arabic, afterwards diluted with water. 
W. 
EXTRACTUM OPII LIQUIDUM. Br. Liquid Extract of Opium. 
“ Take of Extract of Opium one ounce [avoirdupois] ; Distilled Water seven- 
teen fluidounces [Imperial measure] ; Rectified Spirit three fluidounces [Imp. 
ineas.]. Digest the Extract of Opium in the Water for an hour, stirring fre- 
quently ; filter, and add the Spirit. The product should measure one pint [Imp. 
meas.].” Br. 
This is a good preparation, one which has long been needed, and in the ab- 
sence of which from the Pharmacopoeias empirical preparations have obtained 
a certain vogue. It is well known that in opium there are principles, soluble in 
alcohol but not in water, which often produce various disagreeable effects, not 
experienced from the watery extract. What was wanted was a liquid prepara- 
tion meeting this demand. All that was required was to make an aqueous solu- 
tion of the watery extract, and to add something to preserve it. The British 
Pharmacopoeia uses alcohol for the purpose, in such proportion that an Impe- 
rial pint of the liquid shall contain three fluidounces of the spirit, or between 
one-sixth and one-seventh by measure. But this amount of alcohol, according to 
Mr. Squire, is insufficient for its preservation, and should be doubled. A prepa- 
ration similar to the British was made some years since by Mr. Eugene Dupuy 
of New York, an account of which is given in a note to Opium in Part I. of this 
work (page G30). In the new Deodorized Tincture of Opium of the U. S. Phar- 
macopoeia, the advantages of the preparation have, we think, been still better 
secured. (See Tinctura Opii Deodorata.) The dose of the liquid extract, equiva- 
lent to a grain of opium, would be about 10 minims. W. 
EXTRACTUM PAREIRAE LIQUIDUM. Br. Liquid Extract of 
Pareira. 
“Take of Pareira, in coarse powder, one pound [avoirdupois]; Boiling Dis- 
tilled Water one gallon measure], or a sufficiency. Macerate the 
Pareira in a pint [Imp. meas.] of the Water for twenty-four hours, then pack 
in a percolator, and add Distilled Water until the Pareira is exhausted. Evapo- 
rate the liquor by a water-bath to thirteen fluidounces, and, when it is cold, add 
the Spirit, and filter through paper.” Br. 
This is a concentrated infusion, preserved by adding somewhat less than one- 
fourth of its measure of alcohol, and is said by those who have used it to have 
all the virtues of the root. The fluid extract would probably be still more effi- 
cient if made with diluted alcohol. The dose is one or two fluidrachms. W. 
EXTRACTUM PRUNI VIRGINIANS FLUIDUM. U.S. Fluid 
Extract of Wild cherry Bark. 
“Take of Wild-cherry Bark, in fine powder, sixteen troyounces; Sweet Al- 
mond two troyounces; Sugar, in coarse powder, twenty-four troyounces; 
Alcohol, Water, each, a sufficient quantity. Introduce the Bark, previously 
mixed with four fluidounces of Alcohol, into a cylindrical percolator, press it 
firmly, aud gradually pour Alcohol upon it until three pints of tincture have 
slowly passed. From this distil off two pints and a half of alcohol, and, having 
mixed the residue with a pint of Water, evaporate, by means of a water-bath, 
to half a pint. 
“Beat the Almond into a paste, and rub this with successive portions of 
Water until, after straining through a coarse sieve or cloth, nearly all the sub- 
stance of the Almond has been converted into an emulsion, and twelve 
ounces of liquid have been obtained. Mix this with the liquid first obtained, in 
a suitable bottle, and, having closely stopped it, agitate occasionally during PART II. 
Fxtracta Fluida. 
1117 
twenty-four hours. Then express quickly and strongly through a cloth; and, 
if the expressed liquid measure less than eighteen fluidounces, add Water to the 
residue, and again express until that quantity is obtained. Filter the expressed 
liquid through cotton flannel, in a covered funnel, into a bottle containing the 
Sugar. Shake the bottle occasionally during the process until the Sugar is dis- 
solved, and continue the filtration until the syrupy liquid measures two pints. 
Lastly, mix the whole thoroughly together.” U. S. 
This is an ingenious and effectual method of obtaining the virtues of wild- 
cherry bark in a concentrated liquid form, adopted from a process originally de- 
vised and published by Prof. Procter. For various reasons it is expedient to use 
alcohol as the menstruum for extracting the soluble principles of the bark; the 
chief reasons being that substances are thus left behind, which if extracted would 
dispose the preparation to spontaneous change, and that less heat, or a shorter 
continuance of it, is required in the concentration than if water were the solvent. 
But by the use of alcohol we prevent those reactions which, by the production of 
volatile oil and hydrocyanic acid, give the medicine its peculiar value; and the 
addition of water to the tincture obtained, though in connection with the bark it- 
self it would give rise to the requisite reactions, fails to produce them because the 
emulsin of the bark, which is essential to the result, is not only not extracted by 
the alcohol, but is rendered inert by it. It is through the agency of this principle 
that the amygdalin of the bark reacts with water so as to generate volatile oil 
and hydrocyanic acid. The alcohol extracts the amygdalin but not the emulsin, 
nor can the latter principle be now procured from the bark, because it has been 
destroyed by the alcohol. If, therefore, we wish to obtain the characteristic re- 
medial principles of the bark, such as they exist in the infusion, we must seek for 
emulsin from another source; and the most convenient is sweet almond. Hence 
the direction to obtain an emulsion from almonds, which contain emulsin largely. 
But, if added to the alcoholic liquid first obtained, it would be wholly inopera- 
tive, and indeed would be rendered inert for future action. It is, therefore, neces- 
sary to separate all the alcohol from that liquid, and replace it with enough water 
to hold the amygdalin in solution. This is done by first distilling off two and a 
half of the three pints of alcohol, then adding water, and lastly evaporating all 
the remainder. This is an essential step of the operation, and success need not 
be expected unless the alcohol is got rid of. We now have an aqueous solution 
of amygdalin and whatever other bitter principles the bark may contain; and, 
when the almond emulsion is added, all the conditions exist requisite to the gene- 
ration of the oil of bitter almonds with hydrocyanic acid. Nothing now remains 
but to allow full time for the requisite reaction, then to strain the liquid, adjust 
the proportion of water necessary to give the desired measure of fluid extract, 
and add enough sugar to preserve it. Heat is contraindicated in the latter part 
of the process, as it must interfere with the action of the emulsin, and would 
certainly drive off a portion of the active volatile principles. Hence, all the re- 
quisite concentration must be effected before the almond emulsion is added. If 
properly made, the fluid extract is a clear syrupy liquid, of a light sherry-wine 
colour, having strongly the peculiar bitter taste and hydrocyanic acid flavour of 
the infusion, and capable of dilution to any extent with water, without becoming 
turbid. As two pints of fluid extract are produced, and the quantity of bark used 
is sixteen troyounces, it follows that an ounce of the bark is represented by two 
fluidounces of the fluid extract, the dose of which, therefore, is from one to two 
fluidrachms. W. 
EXTRACTUM RHEI FLUIDUM. U.S. Fluid Extract of Rhubarb. 
“Take of Rhubarb, in moderately fine powder, sixteen troyounces; Sugar, in 
coarse powder, eight troyounces; Alcohol a pint; Diluted Alcohol a sufficient 
quantity. Moisten the Rhubarb with four fluidounces of the Alcohol, introduce 
it into a conical percolator, press it gently, and pour upon it the remainder of 1118 
Extracta Fluida. 
PART II. 
the Alcohol. When the liquid has disappeared from the surface, gradually pour 
on Diluted Alcohol until a pint of tincture has passed. Set this aside in a warm 
place until reduced by spontaneous evaporation to six fluidounces, and continue 
the percolation until two pints more of tincture have been obtained. Evaporate 
this by a gentle heat to six fluidounces; then add the Sugar, and, when this is 
dissolved, the reserved tincture, and continue the heat until the whole is reduced 
to the measure of a pint.” U. S. 
The fluid extract of 1850 contained the aromatic oils of fennel and anise, which 
have been omitted in the new formula, probably for the good reason that they 
might not always be wanted, and that, should these or any similar oils be desired 
by any one, they might be readily added. In consequence of the use, in the for- 
mer process, of diluted alcohol as a menstruum, much of the gummy and other 
principles soluble in water were extracted, rendering the resulting fluid extract 
inconveniently thick. Hence, in the arrangement of the present formula, alcohol 
was substituted; but, unfortunately, care was not taken sufficiently to get rid of 
this liquid; and the consequence has been that, though the extract when freshly 
prepared is sufficiently liquid, yet it soon begins to deposit saccharine matter, 
and in the end becomes so loaded with granular sugar as to be unfit for use. To 
obviate this result, Prof. Procter proposes to modify the process by allowing the 
first tincture to be reduced by spontaneous evaporation to five instead of six 
fluidounces, and by evaporating the second tincture made with diluted alcohol 
only to eight instead of six fluidounces; thus diminishing the proportion of alco- 
hol and increasing that of water. (Proceed. of the Amer. Pharm. Assoc., 1863, 
p. 239.) At best, however, the preparation is inconveniently thick, though ex- 
cellent in other respects, having the flavour of the root in perfection. Its colour 
is a deep reddish-brown, and even in dilution, as we have seen it, does not ex- 
hibit the yellow hue which might have been expected. This fluid extract may be 
used directly for obtaining the effects of rhubarb, but it is probably more employed 
in the preparation of the syrup. A fluidrachm of it should contain the virtues 
of a drachm of the root; and the dose, therefore, for an adult may be twenty or 
thirty minims as a purgative, and from five to ten minims as a laxative. W. 
EXTRACTUM SARSAPARILLA FLUIDUM. U.S. Extractum 
SARSiE Liquidum. Br. Fluid Extract of Sarsaparilla. 
“Take of Sarsaparilla, in moderately fine powder, sixteen troy ounces ; Sugar, 
in coarse powder, ten troyounces; Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Moisten 
the Sarsaparilla with half a pint of Diluted Alcohol, pack it firmly in a cylin- 
drical percolator, and gradually pour upon it Diluted Alcohol until four pints 
of tincture have been obtained. Evaporate this, by means of a water-bath, to a 
pint; then add the Sugar, and continue the evaporation until the liquid is re- 
duced to the measure of a pint, and strain while hot.” U. S. 
“Take of Jamaica Sarsaparilla, not split, one pound [avoirdupois] ; Distilled 
Water, at 160°, fourteen pints [Imperial measure] ; Rectified Spirit one fluid- 
ounce. Macerate the Sarsaparilla in one-half of the Water for six hours, and 
decant the liquor. Digest the residue in the remainder of the Water for the same 
time, express, and filter the mixed liquors, and evaporate them by a water-bath 
to seven fluidounces, or until the sp.gr. of the liquid is 1T3. When cold, add 
the Spirit. The sp. gr. should be 1 095.” Br. 
Of these two processes, that of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, except in respect to 
the high price of alcohol, is greatly preferable; and this objection will be in great 
measure obviated by recovering the alcohol, which can be done by using a dis- 
tillatory apparatus in the evaporation. There can be no doubt that Sarsaparilla 
is more thoroughly exhausted when submitted, in the state of powder, to perco- 
lation with diluted alcohol, than it can be by maceration and subsequent diges- 
tion of the whole root in water, even though continued for twelve hours; the part ii. 
Extracta Fluida. 
subsequent evaporation of the tincture requires less heat than that of the infu- 
sion, and thus less danger of injury is incurred from this cause; and the sugar is 
preferable as a preservative to alcohol, even admitting, what is scarcely proba- 
ble, that the quantity of spirit directed in the Br. formula is sufficient to prevent 
decomposition, especially in our hot summer weather. There is some difficulty 
in properly mixing the powder with the menstruum, as it is apt to agglutinate 
in lumps; but this can be obviated by suitable manipulation, and a uniformly 
moistened mass obtained. If care be taken to have the powder of the due de- 
gree of fineness, to moisten it uniformly, and to pack it well in the percolator, it 
will be exhausted by a smaller amount of diluted alcohol than that indicated in 
the TJ. S. formula. The introduction of a simple fluid extract of sarsaparilla into 
our Pharmacopoeia was judicious; as it enables the physician to associate this 
medicine with others at his pleasure, and in such proportions as he may deem 
expedient. He may rely upon the efficiency of the preparation, if made with suf- 
ficient care and skill, and from good parcels of the root. The IT. S. fluid extract 
is a somewhat thickish, turbid, but sufficiently mobile liquid, of a dark reddish- 
brown colour, and of a sweet and a slightly though persistently acrid taste. The 
dose is from thirty to sixty minims, equivalent to the same number of grains of 
sarsaparilla in substance. W. 
EXTRACTUM SARSAPARILLA FLUIDUM COMPOSITUM. 
U. S. Extractum Sarsaparilla Eluidum. U.S. 1850. Compound Fluid 
Extract of Sarsaparilla. 
“Take of Sarsaparilla, in moderately fine powder, sixteen troyounces ; Liquo- 
rice Root, in moderately fine powder, Bark of Sassafras Root, in moderately fine 
powder, each, two troyounces; Mezereon, in moderately fine powder, three hun- 
dred and sixty grains; Sugar twelve troyounces ; Diluted Alcohol a sufficient 
quantity. Mix the powders, and, having moistened the mixture with ten fluid- 
ounces of Diluted Alcohol, pack it firmly in a cylindrical percolator, and gradu- 
ually pour upon it Diluted Alcohol until four pints of tincture have been ob- 
tained. Evaporate this, by means of a water-bath, to twelve fluidounces; then 
add the Sugar, and continue the evaporation until the liquid is reduced to the 
measure of eighteen fluidounces, and strain while hot.” U. S. 
This is the Extractum Sarsaparillse Fluidum of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia of 
1850, now necessarily entitled “ Compositum,” to distinguish.it from the simple 
fluid extract newly introduced. The present is a much neater formula than the 
old one by maceration, but more liable to miscarry unless skilfully executed. 
Everything depends upon having the several ingredients equably powdered, 
mixing them well and duly moistening them, and then packing them properly 
in the percolator. The moistening of the mixed powders is more easily effected, 
as they are less disposed to form lumps than the sarsaparilla powder alone. The 
preparation is intended to represent, in a concentrated state, the compound 
decoction of sarsaparilla, having all its ingredients with the exception of the 
guaiacum wood, which probably adds little to the efficacy of the decoction. It 
was originally proposed by Wrn. Hodgson, jun. (Journ. of the Philad, Col. of 
Pharm., ii. 285); and the officinal process differs from his mainly in the omis- 
sion of the guaiacum wood, the resin of which, separating during the evapora- 
tion, somewhat embarrassed the process, without adding to the virtues of the 
extract. The dose is from thirty minims to a fluidrachm, equivalent to half a 
drachm or a drachm of the root, three or four times a day. W. 
EXTRACTUM SENNA FLUIDUM. U.S. Fluid Extract of Senna. 
■ “Take of Senna, in moderately fine powder, sixteen troyounces; Sugar, in 
coarse powder, eight troyounces; Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Moisten 
the Senna with six fluidounces of Diluted Alcohol, introduce it into a conical 
percolator, press it firmly, and gradually pour upon it Diluted Alcohol until a 1120 
Extracta Fluida. 
PART II. 
pint of tincture has passed. Set this aside in a warm place until reduced by spon- 
taneous evaporation to half a pint. Continue the percolation until two pints 
more of tincture have been obtained. To this add the Sugar, and, having evapo- 
rated it, by means of a water-bath, to half a pint, mix it with the reserved tino- 
ture, and strain.” U.S. 
The present officinal fluid extract of senna differs materially from that of the 
Pharmacopoeia of 1850, containing neither the oil of fennel before used as a 
flavouring material, nor the Hoffmann’s anodyne which was added for its pre- 
servative influence. It was deemed better to leave to the prescriber the choice 
of the volatile oil; and to depend for the preservation of the fluid extract upon 
the sugar and what might remain of the alcohol after the evaporation. Another 
alteration, undoubtedly judicious, was to set aside the first strong tincture for 
spontaneous evaporation, thus avoiding the application of heat to the greater 
portion of the active matter. The fluid extract is a dark, reddish-brown, thick- 
ish and somewhat turbid liquid, with a strong flavour of senna. The dose is from 
one to four fluidrachms for an adult. In consequence of its griping tendency it 
should be mixed with one of the volatile oils, as of fennel, anise, or caraway, in 
the proportion of about two minims to the fluidounce; and is well adapted for 
exhibition with saline cathartics, such as Epsom salt or cream of tartar, which 
also obviate its griping. In this case not more than one-half of the full dose of 
the fluid extract should be given at once. 
Off. Prep. Extractum Spigelim et Sennas Fluidum, U. S. W. 
EXTRACTUM SERPENTARLZE FLUIDUM. U. S. Fluid Extract 
of Serpentaria. 
“Take of Serpentaria,in moderately fine powder, sixteen troyounces; Diluted 
Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Moisten the Serpentaria with five fluidounces of 
Diluted Alcohol, introduce it into a conical percolator, press it firmly, and 
gradually pour upon it Diluted Alcohol until twelve fluidounces of tincture have 
passed. Set this aside, and continue the percolation until two pints and a half 
more of tincture have been obtained. Evaporate this, at a temperature not ex- 
ceeding 150°, until it is reduced to four fluidounces, mix it with the reserved 
tincture, and filter through paper.” U. S. 
This is among the new officinal fluid extracts, and, though simply a concen- 
trated tincture, is a good preparation, containing the virtues of the root within 
a small bulk. The fluid extract of serpentaria originated with Mr. J. C. Savery, 
whose formula was published in the eleventh edition of the U. S. Dispensatory 
(page 713). It was afterwards modified by Mr. A. B. Taylor (Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., xxv. 206) ; and the formula ultimately adopted was that contained in 
Prof. Procter’s Report (A.D. 1859). The fluid extract is thin, reddish-brown, 
and transparent, with the peculiar bitterness of the root in perfection, but its 
odour less obviously. A fluidounce of it is equivalent to a troyounce of the pow 
der, and the dose is twenty or thirty minims, to be frequently repeated. W. 
EXTRACTUM SPIGELIiE ET SENNiE FLUIDUM- U. S. Fluid 
Extract of Spigelia and Senna. 
“ Take of Fluid Extract of Spigelia ten fluidounces; Fluid Extract of Senna 
six fluidounces; Carbonate of Potassa half a troyounce; Oil of Anise, Oil of 
Caraway, each, twenty minims. Mix the Fluid Extracts, and dissolve in the 
mixture the Carbonate of Potassa and the Oils, previously rubbed together.” 
U.S. 
This fluid extract was formerly made from powdered pinkroot and senna bv 
percolation and concentration ; but it is now more conveniently prepared by sim- 
ply mixing the two fluid extracts. It combines the cathartic property of senna with 
the anthelmintic virtues of pinkroot, and is a very good vermifuge, being gene- 
rally acceptable to the stomach, and, what is of no little importance in such medi- PART II. 
Extracta Fluida. 
1121 
cines, not offensive to the taste. It has been in use in Philadelphia for severa* 
years, and with satisfactory results. The use of the carbonate of potassa is to 
enable any resinous matter which may be deposited to be dissolved, and also to 
counteract the griping property of the senna. The dose is from two fluidrachms 
to half a fluidounce for an adult, from thirty minims to a fluidrachm for a child 
two years old. W. 
EXTRACTUM SPIGELIJE FLUIDUM. U.S. Fluid Extract of 
Spigelia. 
“ Take of Spigelia, in fine powder, sixteen troyounces; Sugar, in coarse 
powder, eight troyounces; Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Moisten the 
Spigelia with six fluidounces of Diluted Alcohol, introduce it into a conical per- 
colator, press it firmly, and gradually pour upon it Diluted Alcohol until a pint 
of tincture has passed. Set this aside in a warm place until it is reduced by 
spontaneous evaporation to half a pint. Continue the percolation until two pints 
more of tincture have been obtained. To this add the Sugar, and, having evapo- 
rated it, by means of a water-bath, to half a pint, mix it with the reserved tinc- 
ture, and strain.” U. S. 
This process is the same as that for the fluid extract of senna, and yields a 
dark-brown, translucent, syrupy liquid, with the flavour of the root. A fluid- 
ounce of it represents the virtues of a troyounce of spigelia, and the dose of it 
is one or two fluidrachms for an adult, from ten to twenty minims for a child two 
or three years old, to be repeated morning and evening for three or four days, 
and then followed by a brisk cathartic. It is, however, most used in connection 
with the fluid extract of senna. 
Off. Prep. Extractum Spigeliae et Sennse Fluidom, U. S. W. 
EXTRACTUM TARAXACI FLUIDUM. U.S. Fluid Extract of 
Dandelion. 
“Take of Dandelion, in moderately fine powder, sixteen troyounces; Diluted 
Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Moisten the Dandelion with four fluidounces of 
Diluted Alcohol, introduce it into a conical percolator, press it firmly, and 
gradually pour upon it Diluted Alcohol until half a pint of tincture has passed. 
Set this aside, and continue the percolation until two pints and a half more of 
tincture have been obtained. Evaporate this, at a temperature not exceeding 
120°, until it is reduced to half a pint, mix it with the reserved tincture, and 
filter through paper.” U. S. 
This is a concentrated tincture of dandelion, containing only about one-fourth 
by measure of officinal alcohol, and therefore weak in alcoholic strength, yet 
strong enough to keep well. The formula is based on sound principles, aud the 
fluid extract, if well prepared from the root in an efficient state, may be relied 
on for producing the effects of the medicine on the system. It is mobile, of a 
dark reddish-brown colour, translucent, and a sweet not disagreeable taste; and 
may be given in the dose of one or two fluidrachms three times a day. W. 
EXTRACTUM UViE URSI FLUIDUM. U.S. Fluid Extract of 
TJva Ur si. 
“ Take of Uva Ursi, in moderately fine powder, sixteen troyounces; Sugar, in 
coarse powder, eight troyounces; Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Moisten 
the Uva Ursi with six fluidounces of Diluted Alcohol, introduce it into a conical 
glass percolator, press it firmly, and gradually pour upon it Diluted Alcohol 
uutil half a pint of tincture has passed. Set this aside, and continue the perco- 
lation until two pints and a half more of tincture have been obtained. Evapo- 
rate this, by means of a wmter-bath, to four fluidounces, and, having dissolved 
the Sugar in it while hot, mix it with the reserved tincture, and strain. Lastly, 
evaporate the whole by a gentle heat until it is reduced to a pint.” U. S. 1122 
Extracta Fluida. 
PART II. 
Like the preceding, this is a concentrated tincture, in which the aid of sugar 
is called in apparently to contribute to its preservation, though scarcely required 
for the purpose, as it contains nearly 20 per cent, of officinal alcohol. The sac- 
charine constituent, however, unless it may granulate, is useful by improving 
the flavour of the medicine. It is a thickish, syrupy, dark-brown, somewhat 
translucent liquid, of a sweet, bitterish, astringent, but not very disagreeable 
taste. The dose of this preparation is from thirty minims to a fluidrachm three 
times a day. W. 
EXTRACTUM VALERIANJE FLUIDUM. TJ. S. Fluid Extract 
of Valerian. 
“Take of Valerian, in fine powder, sixteen troyounces; Alcohol a suffiqient 
quantity. Moisten the Valerian with six fluidounces of Alcohol, introduce it 
into a conical percolator, press it firmly, and gradually pour Alcohol upon it 
until twelve fluidounces of tincture have passed. Set this aside, and continue 
the percolation until two pints more of tincture have been obtained. Evaporate 
this to four fluidounces at a temperature not exceeding 120°, mix it with the 
reserved tincture, and filter through paper.” U.S. 
This is another concentrated tincture, strong both in alcohol and the virtues 
of valerian. It is probable that all or nearly all the volatile ingredients of the 
root are extracted by the twelve fluidounces of alcohol which first pass, and 
which, not being exposed to evaporation, lose none of the volatile oil and acid 
which they have dissolved ; while the soluble matter subsequently extracted, con- 
sisting chiefly of the fixed principles, will not be dissipated by the concentration 
ordered ; and, as this is directed to be made at a heat not exceeding 120°, even 
the volatile principles which may have escaped the first alcohol, will scarcely be 
driven off to an appreciable amount. The fluid extract may, therefore, be con- 
sidered as fully representing the virtues of the root. The formula is, with some 
modification, that of Prof. Grahame, of Baltimore, published in the Am. Journ. 
of Pharm. (xxxi. 879). The preparation is a dark soot-coloured liquid, trans- 
parent in thin layers, with the smell and taste of valerian. The dose is about a 
fluidrachm. "W. 
EXTRACTUM VERATRI VIRIDIS FLUIDUM. U.S. Fluid Ex- 
tract of American Hellebore. 
“Take of American Hellebore, in fine powder, sixteen troyounces; Alcohol 
a sufficient quantity. Moisten the Hellebore with six fluidounces of Alcohol, 
introduce it into a cylindrical percolator, press it firmly, and gradually pour 
Alcohol upon it until half a pint of tincture has passed. Set this aside, and con- 
tinue the percolation until two pints and a half more of tincture have been ob- 
tained. Evaporate this, by means of a water-bath, at a temperature not exceeding 
150°, to half a pint, mix it with the reserved tincture, and filter through paper.” 
U.S. 
It may be doubted whether this fluid extract is among those demanded by the 
wants of the profession. We have already a tincture, which, supposing none of 
the virtues of the medicine to be lost in preparing the fluid extract, will be at 
least half as strong, and at all events is quite strong enough. It is true that 
the proportion of alcohol is somewhat less in the fluid extract; but, in so power- 
ful a preparation, this is of little consequence. The tincture itself purports to 
be saturated; and, though it is probable that, by the concentration of the alco- 
holic solution, more of the active matter is held by it in the same measure of 
alcohol than by the tincture; yet a portion of this active matter may be depos- 
ited during the evaporation; and, as the deposit is separated by the filtration, 
no accurate ground of calculation is left as to the real strength of the fluid ex- 
tract. It may be but little stronger than the tincture, or may possibly be of double 
the strength; a point which can be determined only by analysis, or physiological PART II. 
Extracta Fluida.—Fel Bovinum.—Ferrum. 
experiment, to ascertain how much, if any, of the active matter may be contained 
in the separated deposit. In the mean time, it would be injudicious to prescribe 
more of it, as a commencing dose, than from two to four minims. W. 
EXTRACTUM ZINGIBERIS FLUIDUM. U. S. Fluid Extract of 
Ginger. 
“Take of Ginger, in fine powder, sixteen troyounces; Alcohol a sufficient 
quantity. Moisten the Ginger with four fluidounces of Alcohol, introduce it into 
a cylindrical percolator, press it firmly, and gradually pour Alcohol upon it until 
twelve fluidounces of tincture have passed. Set this aside, and continue the 
percolation until twenty fluidounces more of tincture have been obtained. Eva- 
porate this to four fluidounces, mix it with the reserved tincture, and filter 
through paper.” U. S. 
The fluid extract of ginger is a highly concentrated alcoholic solution of the 
active principles of ginger. It is transparent, and of a reddish-brown colour; 
and each minim represents a grain of the root. The dose, therefore, is from ten 
to twenty minims, or double the number of drops. W. 
FEL BOVINUM. 
Preparation of Ox-gall. 
In the British Pharmacopoeia crude Ox Bile is placed in the Appendix, as 
one of the substances used in preparing medicines; and, in the second part of 
the work, the following process is given for its purification. 
FEL BOVINUM PURIFICATUM. Br. Purified Ox Bile. 
“Take of Fresh Ox Bile one pint [Imperial measure]; Rectified Spirit two 
pints [Imp. meas.]. Mix the Bile and the Spirit by agitation in a bottle, and 
set aside for twelve hours until the sediment subsides. Decant the clear solution, 
and evaporate in a porcelain capsule on a water-bath, until the residue acquires 
the consistence of a vegetable extract.” Br. 
The properties and uses of Ox Bile are fully treated of in Part III. of this 
work (see Ox-gall). The purified bile is sometimes used in cases of debility of 
the alimentary canal in which the due proportion of bile is wanting. The dose 
is from two to five grains, and is best given in pill, as there is some chance that 
it may then pass unchanged into the bowels, where its effects are wanted. W. 
FERRUM. 
Preparations of Iron. 
In accordance with the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, we arrange all the preparations 
of iron under the several heads to which, by the character of the preparation, 
they appear to belong; the pills, for example, with the Pilulse or Pills, and the 
solutions with the Liquores or Solutions. Formerly some of them were distri- 
buted according to this plan of arrangement, others were treated of among the 
preparations of iron.5* The rule is now made uniform. The preparations of iron 
considered elsewhere than in the present place are Plaster of Iron, with the 
Emplastra or Plasters; Solutions of Citrate, Iodide, Nitrate, Perchloride, 
Persulphate, Subsulphate, and Persulphate of Iron, with the Liquores or So- 
lutions ; Pills of Carbonate of Iron, Compound Pills of Iron, and Pills of 
Iodide of Iron, with the Pilulse or Pills; Syrups of Iodide and Phosphate 
of Iron with the Syrupi or Syrups; Tincture of Chloride of Iron with the 
Tincture or Tinctures ; Troches of Carbonate of Iron, with the Trochisci or 
Troches; and the Wine of Iron with the Vina or Wines. The preparations 
contained in the old Pharmacopoeias, and omitted in the present, are the Ace- 1124 
Ferrum 
PART II. 
fated Tincture of Iron, Dub., the Sulphuret of Iron, Ed., Dub., the Valeria- 
nate of Iron, Dub., the Ammoniated Iron, TJ. S., Loud.; and the Tincture of 
Ammonio-chloride of Iron, Lond. 
EERRI ARSENIAS. Br. ■ Arseniate of Iron. 
“ Take of Sulphate of Iron nine ounces [avoirdupois]; Arseniate of Soda, 
dried at 300°, four ounces [avoird.] ; Acetate of Soda three ounces [avoird.]; 
Boiling Distilled Water a sufficiency. Dissolve the Arseniate and Acetate of Soda 
in two pints [Imperial measure], and the Sulphate of Iron in three pints [Imp. 
meas.] of the Water, mix the two solutions, collect the white precipitate which 
forms, on a calico filter, and wash until the washings cease to be affected by a 
dilute solution of chloride of barium. Squeeze the washed precipitate between 
folds of strong linen in a screw press, and dry it on porous bricks, in a warm 
chamber whose temperature shall not exceed 100°.” Br. 
This is a new officinal of the British Pharmacopoeia, which as yet is the only 
one that has adopted it. Of the salts used in the process, omitting their water 
of crystallization, the sulphate of iron consists of one eq. of protoxide of iron 
and one of sulphuric acid, the arseniate of soda of two eqs. of soda and one eq. 
of arsenic acid, and the acetate of soda of one eq. of base and one of acid; while 
the salt to be obtained consists of three eqs. of protoxide of iron and one of ar- 
senic acid. The reactions which result in the production of the last-mentioned 
salt take place between three eqs. of sulphate of iron and one eq. of each of the 
other salts. The three eqs. of protoxide of iron of the sulphate unite with the 
one eq. of arsenic acid of the arseniate to form one eq. of arseniate of iron, 
which is deposited; while the three eqs. of sulphuric acid, thus liberated, com- 
bine with the two liberated eqs. of soda of the arseniate of soda, and one eq. of 
soda of the acetate, to make three eqs. of sulphate of soda, which, with the sepa- 
rated acetic acid, remain in solution. The quantities of the several salts are very 
nearly in due equivalent proportion; the arseniate and acetate of soda, however, 
being very slightly in excess. 
Arseniate of iron is white when first formed, but quickly becomes green on 
exposure to the air. It is an amorphous powder, without smell or taste, in- 
soluble in water, but readily dissolved by muriatic acid. It consists of three eqs. 
of protoxide of iron and one of arsenic acid (3Fe0,As05), but, like other salts 
of protoxide of iron, absorbs oxygen, and probably, therefore, contains an in- 
definite proportion of sesquioxide of iron. The British Pharmacopoeia gives the 
following characters of the salt. Its solution in muriatic acid causes a copious 
light-blue precipitate with ferridcyanide of potassium, and a still more abundant 
one, of a deeper colour, with ferrocyanide of potassium. A small quantity, boiled 
with an excess of soda, and filtered, gives, when exactly neutralized by nitric 
acid, a brick-red precipitate on the addition of solution of nitrate of silver. The 
former test proves the presence both of protoxide and sesquioxide of iron, the lat- 
ter of arsenic acid. The solution in muriatic acid, when diluted, gives no precipi- 
tate with chloride of barium, showing the absence of any sulphate. “ Twenty 
grains dissolved in an excess of hydrochloric acid diluted with water continue to 
give a blue precipitate with ferridcyanide of potassium, until at least IT mea- 
sures of the volumetric solution of bichromate of potash have been added.” Br. 
This test proves that there is a due proportion of the protoxide of iron present; 
for the bichromate of potassa oxidizes the protoxide, and, until this is wholly 
converted into sesquioxide, a blue precipitate continues to be produced, ceasing, 
however, when the conversion is complete. 
Medical Properties. The arseniate of iron is said to unite the virtues of the 
two metals which enter into its composition; but the quantity of iron in any 
permissible dose is so small as to be nearly or quite insignificant; and the a/J- 
tivity of the medicine is in fact due to the arsenic alone. The complaints in 
which it has been found efficient are those in which arsenic in other forms has PART II. 
Ferrum. 
proved to be a most valuable remedy; and, judging from our own observation, 
there is no one of them in which the common solution of arsenite of potassa will 
not produce all the effects that can be obtained from the arsenical preparations 
with which this ought undoubtedly to be ranked rather than with the chalybe- 
ates. Should the coexistence of an anemic state of the system with any disease 
requiring the use of arsenic, indicate the joint use of iron, it would be unsafe to 
depend on the arseniate of iron alone. This remedy is peculiarly useful in chro- 
nic affections of the skin, especially those of a scaly character, as lepra, psori- 
asis, and the advanced stage of eczema and impetigo. It is useful also in lupus; 
and, mixed with twelve times its weight of simple cerate, may be employed ex- 
ternally in cancerous ulcers, though much caution is requisite. The dose is from 
the eighth to the tenth of a grain, of which about one-half only is protoxide of 
iron.* It may be given in pill, three times a day. W. 
FERRI CARBONAS SACCHARATA. Br. Saccharated Carbonate 
of Iron. 
“ Take of Sulphate of Iron two ounces [avoirdupois]; Carbonate of Soda 
two ounces and a half [avoird.] ; Boiling Distilled Water two gallons [Impe- 
rial measure]; Refined Sugar one ounce [avoird.]. Dissolve the Sulphate of 
Iron and the Carbonate of Soda each in half a gallon [Imp. meas.] of the Water, 
and mix the two solutions with brisk stirring in a deep cylindrical vessel, which 
is then to be covered as accurately as possible. Set the mixture by for twenty- 
four hours, and from the precipitate which has subsided separate the supernatant 
solution by a siphon. Pour on the remainder of the water, stir well, and, after 
subsidence, again remove the clear solution. Collect the resulting carbonate 
on a calico filter, and, having first subjected it to expression, rub it with the 
Sugar in a porcelain mortar. Finally dry the mixture at a temperature not ex- 
ceeding 212°.” Br. 
When solutions of sulphate of iron and carbonate of soda are mixed together, 
there are formed, by double decomposition, sulphate of soda which remains in 
solution, and carbonate of protoxide of iron which falls as a pale-blue precipi- 
tate. This precipitate begins immediately to alter in nature by the absorption 
of oxygen, and, if washed and dried in the ordinary way, becomes sesquioxide 
of iron, associated with a small quantity of the carbonate of the protoxide, which 
has escaped change; in other words, it is converted into the subcarbonate of 
iron of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. (See Ferri Subcarbonas.) As the preparations 
of iron containing the protoxide are most esteemed, the change which this pre- 
cipitate undergoes wrffe always matter of regret, and various attempts were made 
to prevent it. Now saccharine matter has been ascertained to possess the re- 
quired property; and, in the preparation under consideration, it is used to pre- 
vent the protoxide of iron of the carbonate as first precipitated from passing 
into sesquioxide, with loss of carbonic acid. 
Dr. Becker, a German physician, was the first to suggest the use of saccharine 
matter as a means of protection against the absorption of oxygen; and the idea 
was carried out by Klauer, a German chemist, who first made the saccharine car- 
bonate of iron. The use of boiling distilled water in the process is to avoid the 
* The statement as to the uses and dose of this arseniate is taken from the British au- 
thorities, as we have had no experience with the remedy; but, if the minuteness of the dose 
stated is rendered necessary by the great activity of the preparation, the explanation given, 
at page 28, of the mode in which hydrated sesquioxide of iron acts as an antidote to arseni- 
ous acid must be modified; for it is there represented that the hydrated sesquioxide acts 
by giving up a part of its oxygen to the arsenious acid, forming the arseniate of the pro- 
toxide of arsenic, which is said to be inert. It is more probable that it is the sesquiarseniate 
of the sesquioxide of iron that is formed in cases of poisoning (2F203,3As03); the arsenic 
acid, when formed at the expense of a portion of the sesquioxide, combining with another 
portion not decomposed.—Note to the twelfth edition. Ferrum. 
PART II. 
pction of the air contained in unboiled water. The washed precipitate is pressed 
so as to free it from water as far as possible, and then incorporated with the 
sugar in fine powder. The mode of treating the precipitate unnecessarily ex- 
poses it to the action of the air; and the late London method of incorporating 
it with the sugar immediately after washing was on this account preferable. The 
final drying heat should not exceed 130°. The protection from oxidation, how- 
ever, is more complete, when both the materials and product of the process are 
maintained constantly in contact with saccharine matter, by using weak syrup 
both for dissolving the salts and washing the precipitate, after the improved 
method of Yallet, of Paris. This improved method of proceeding is adopted for 
forming the U. S. pills of carbonate of iron, or Yallet’s ferruginous pills. (See 
PHalve Ferri Carbonatis, U. S.) 
Properties. Saccharine carbonate of iron is in small coherent lumps, of a gray- 
ish-brown colour, permanent in the air, having a sweet, styptic taste, and wholly 
and readily soluble in muriatic acid with brisk effervescence. According to the 
British Pharmacopoeia, it is a “carbonate of iron (FeO.COJ, mixed with per- 
oxide of iron and sugar, and forming 57 per cent, of the mixture.” The presence 
of sesquioxide of iron is a defect, which is avoided in Yallet’s ferruginous pills. 
Its solution in dilute muriatic acid is but slightly affected by ferrocyanide of 
potassium, showing the presence of the sesquioxide of iron in only small pro- 
portion, but yields a copious blue precipitate with the ferridcyanide, proving the 
abundance of the protoxide. The same solution should give but a very slight 
precipitate with chloride of barium, evincing that very little sulphate either of 
iron or soda has escaped the washing process. “ Twenty grains dissolved in ex- 
cess of hydrochloric acid, and diluted with water, continue to give a blue preci- 
pitate with ferridcyanide of potassium until at least 33 measures of the volume- 
tric solution of bichromate of potash have been added.” Br. This test deter- 
mines the quantity of protoxide of iron present, requiring the stated amount of 
the bichromate to convert it into sesquioxide. It would appear, from the data 
here given, that the preparation contains 27'72 per cent, of the protoxide. 
Medical Properties. This preparation is an excellent chalybeate, possessing 
the advantages of having nearly all the iron in it in the state of protoxide, and 
of being readily soluble in acids. Originally introduced into the officinal list-by 
the Edinburgh College, it appeared for the first time in the Dublin and London 
Pharmacopoeias of 1850 and 1851. It is probably more active than the subcar- 
bonate of iron, and must be used in a smaller dose. It is, however, inferior to 
Yallet’s ferruginous mass, in the preparation of which the anti-oxidizing influ- 
ence of saccharine matter is more fully applied. The dose of the saccharine car- 
bonate of iron is from five to thirty grains, given in the form of pill. 
Off. Pr.ep. Pilula Ferri Carbonatis, Br. B. 
FERRI CHLORIDUM. U.S. Chloride of Iron. Sesquichloride of 
Iron. Ferchloride of Iron. 
“Take of Iron, in the form of wire and cut in pieces, two troyounces; Muri- 
atic Acid twelve troyounces; Nitric Acid a troyounce, or a sufficient quantity. 
To eight troyounces of the Muriatic Acid, introduced into a two-pint flask, add 
the Iron, and apply a gentle heat, until the Acid is saturated and effervescence 
has ceased. Filter the solution, add to it the remainder of the Muriatic Acid, 
heat the mixture nearly to the boiling point in a four-pint porcelain capsule, 
and add Nitric Acid in successive portions until red fumes are no longer evolved, 
and a drop of the liquid ceases to yield a blue precipitate with ferridcyanide of 
potassium. Transfer the liquid to a smaller capsule, evaporate it by a gentle 
heat, on a sand-bath, until reduced to eight troyounces and three hundred and 
sixty grains, and set it aside, covered with glass, for several days, in order that 
it may form a solid, crystalline mass. Lastly, break this into pieces, and keep 
the fragments in a well-stopped bottle protected from the light.” U. &. PART II. 
Ferrum. 
1127 
This is a new formula of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, adopted with little altera- 
tion from that of Wittstein. (Pract. Pharm. Ghem., Darby's Transl. p. 265.) 
When iron is heated with muriatic acid, water is decomposed, the hydrogen 
escapes with effervescence, and the oxygen uniting with the iron forms the pro- 
toxide of that metal, which reacts with the muriatic acid to form water and pro- 
tochloride of iron. This is believed by the author to be the true rationale; 
though a simpler explanation is usually given, according to which the chlorine 
of the acid unites directly with the iron, and the hydrogen is set free. The next 
step of the process is to convert the protochloride into the sesquichloride of 
iron. This is effected by treating it with muriatic and nitric acids, and heating 
till red fumes no longer escape. The nitric acid is decomposed into nitric oxide, 
which, escaping, forms red hyponitric acid fumes by combining with the oxygen 
of the air, and into oxygen which sesquioxidizes a portion of the iron of the 
protochloride, thus converting the remainder into sesquichloride, while the ses- 
quioxide produced reacts with the additional muriatic acid to form an additional 
portion of sesquichloride; or the oxygen of the nitric acid may combine with 
the hydrogen of the muriatic acid, and thus liberate sufficient chlorine to form 
a sesquichloride with the iron. The solution is then evaporated, and, on cooling, 
concretes into a crystalline mass. The relative proportions of iron and the two 
acids are adjusted very nearly to the production of these results. 
Properties. Sesquichloride of iron (Ferri Chloridum, U. S.) is in fragments 
of a crystalline structure, an orange-yellow colour, inodorous, and of a strong 
chalybeate and styptic taste. It is deliquescent, very soluble in water, and solu- 
ble also in alcohol and ether. It consists of two eqs. of iron and three of chlo- 
rine (Fe2Cl3), with a variable proportion of water according to the crystalline 
forms it is made to assume, having about 40 per cent, or 12 eqs. when in fine 
acicular crystals, and only 22 per cent, or 5 eqs. when in the form of larger tables. 
(Brande and Taylor.) Its solution in water gives with ammonia a brown pre- 
cipitate of sesquioxide of iron, and does not yield a blue one with the ferrid- 
cyanide of potassium, proving the absence of protochloride or protoxide of 
iron. 
Internally the sesquichloride of iron is used almost exclusively in the form of 
tincture; and in reference to its effect and application we refer to the Tinctura 
Ferri Chloridi. Externally it is as generally used in the form of watery solu- 
tion ; and as the British Pharmacopoeia has an officinal solution, which it will 
be necessary to treat of under a special head, we shall postpone a further con- 
sideration of the subject till this preparation is treated of. (See Liquor Ferri 
Percliloridi.) It is kept in the solid state, because, when dissolved, it is apt to 
deposit sesquioxide of iron (oxychloride of iron, Brurin du Buissoii) in an in- 
soluble condition, whereby an excess of acid is produced, which renders the pre- 
paration too irritant for many of the purposes for which it is used. (Squibb, 
N. Y. Journ. of Med., March, 1860, p. 170.) As a solid, it keeps indefinitely 
without change. When used, it may be dissolved in water in such proportions 
as may be required. Six, three, two, and one and a half drachms to a fluidounce 
of water have been recommended ; the stronger solutions being used in the treat- 
ment of varices, the weaker for injection into aneurisms, and for application to 
bleeding surfaces, &c. Mr. J. Z. Lawrence, of England, has used it as a styptic 
in a semi-deliquesced state, aud found it extremely efficient. He keeps it in a 
bottle, in which it gradually deliquesces; and, while it is in this condition, he 
applies the thick liquid portion, by means of a brush of spun-glass, to the bleed- 
ing surface. He has employed it in arresting hemorrhage after excision of the 
tonsils, and from the deeper-seated gums. (Med. Times and Gaz., Aug. 1859, p. 
219.) Chloride of iron has been employed internally, by Messrs. Jodin and Au- 
orun, of Paris, and with great asserted success, in the treatment of pseudomem- 
branous croup, in quantities varying, according to the severity of the disease and 1128 
Ferrum. 
PART II. 
the age of the patient, from ninety grains to half an ounce, in divided doses, in 
the twenty-four hours, and continued for three or four days. (Ann. de Therap.. 
1861, p. 201.) W. 
FERRI CITRAS. U. S. Citrate of Iron. 
“ Take of Solution of Citrate of Iron a convenient quantity. Evaporate it to 
the consistence of syrup, and spread it on plates of glass, so that, ou drying, the 
salt may be obtained in scales.” U. S. 
Citrate of iron, as thus prepared, is in thin transparent pieces, of a beautiful 
garnet-red colour. It is an uncrystallizable salt, slowly soluble in cold, but readily 
soluble in boiling water, and possessing a mild chalybeate taste. It probably 
consists of one eq. of citric acid 165, and one of sesquioxide of iron 89 — 245. 
Citrate of iron was introduced to the notice of the profession, in 1831, by M. 
Beral, of Paris. It is a pleasant chalybeate, and is best given in solution. Prof. 
Procter finds that a solution of this salt in distilled water, containing 240 grains 
to the fluidounce, keeps perfectly, and is very convenient for dispensing. It may 
be given in the dose of ten minims, containing five grains of the salt, several 
times a day. (See Liquor Ferri Citratis.) B. 
FERRI ET AMMONITE CITRAS. U.iS., Br. Citrate of Iron and 
Ammonia. 
“Take of Solution of Citrate of Iron a pint; Water of Ammonia six fluid- 
ounces. Mix the Solution of Citrate of Iron with the Water of Ammonia, 
evaporate the mixture, at a temperature not exceeding 150°, to the consistence 
of syrup, and spread it on plates of glass, so that, on drying, the salt may be 
obtained in scales.” U. S. 
“Take of Solution of Persulphate of Iron eight fluidounces; Solution of 
Ammonia fourteen fluidounces, or a sufficiency; Citric Acid, in crystals, five 
ounces [avoirdupois]; Distilled Water half a gallon [Imperial measure]. Add 
the Persulphate of Iron to two pints [Imp. meas.] of the Distilled Water, and 
gradually pour the dilute solution into the Solution of Ammonia, stirring well 
for a few minutes; collect on a calico filter the hydrated peroxide of Iron which 
precipitates, and wash it with distilled water until the filtrate ceases to become 
turbid on the addition of chloride of barium. Dissolve the Citric Acid in the 
remainder of the Water, and digest the solution at a boiling heat on the oxide 
of iron. Make the liquid neutral by the addition of Solution of Ammonia, and 
evaporate it to dryness in thin layers, on flat porcelain or glass plates. Remove 
the dry salt in flakes, and keep it in stoppered bottles.” Br. 
In the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, the process consists simply in evaporating a 
mixture of solution of citrate of iron and water of ammonia. In the British, hy- 
drated sesquioxide of iron is first precipitated from a solution of the tersulphate, 
then digested at a boiling heat with a solution of citric acid, and lastly neutral- 
ized by ammonia. It has, however, been found by Dr. Squibb that a heat above 
180° acts injuriously in the preparation of the citrate of iron; and the boiling 
heat directed in the British Pharmacopoeia is, therefore, improper. (Am. Journ. 
of Pharm., xxvii. 291.) In the U. S. formula the citrate of iron is used already 
prepared, in the British is prepared in the process. The direction as to the eva- 
poration, at the close of the British process, is not sufficiently explicit. The solu- 
tion should be concentrated to a syrupy consistence, as ordered in the U. S. for- 
mula, before being poured out on porcelain or glass to dry; and it is important 
that the heat employed in the concentration should not exceed 150°. 
Properties, &c. Ammonio-citrate of iron is in garnet-red translucent scales, 
having a slightly chalybeate taste, and readily and wholly soluble in water, form- 
ing a solution of a clear ruby colour. It is much more readily soluble in water 
than the citrate of iron, described in the last article. It is almost insoluble in 
alcohol. It is neutral to test paper; and its solution in water, acidulated with part ii. 
Ferrum. 
1129 
muriatic acid, though not rendered blue by ferridcyanide of potassium, gives a 
copious blue precipitate with the ferrocyanide, at once proving the absence of prot- 
oxide of iron and the presence of the sesquioxide. In heated solution it is de- 
composed by potassa, soda, and lime-water, which throw down sesquioxide of 
iron and evolve ammonia; and the alkaline solution from which the iron has been 
thrown down, if acidulated with muriatic acid in slight excess, does not yield a 
crystalline deposit, showing that the acid is not the tartaric. When incinerated 
in the air, it leaves 26 5 per cent, of peroxide of iron. Its precise chemical con- 
stitution is not determined; but it probably consists of of each of its 
three constituents, besides water (Fe203,NH40,H0,C12H;.011--|-®II0). (Br.) This 
salt is a pleasant chalybeate. Its ready solubility gives it an advantage over the 
citrate. The dose is five grains, repeated several times a day, and given in solu- 
tion. According to Dr. Paris it may be mixed with the carbonated alkalies with- 
out decomposition, and given in a state of elfervescence with citric acid. B. 
FERRI ET AMMONI2E SULPHAS. U.S. Sulphate of Iron and 
Ammonia. Ammonio-ferric Alum. 
“Take of Solution of Tersulphate of Iron two pints; Sulphate of Ammonia 
four troy ounces and a half. Heat the Solution of Tersulphate of Iron to the 
boiling point, add the Sulphate of Ammonia, stirring until it is dissolved, and 
set the liquid aside to crystallize. Wash the crystals quickly with very cold 
water, wrap them in bibulous paper, and dry them in the open air.” U. S. 
This is an ammonia iron-alum, in which the place of the sesquioxide of alu- 
minium (alumina) is occupied by sesquioxide of iron. It is prepared by heating 
the solution of tersulphate of iron with sulphate of ammonia until the latter salt 
is dissolved, and then allowing the solution to cool. The two salts unite to form 
the sulphate of iron and ammonia, which, being insoluble in the amount of liquid 
employed, crystallizes when it cools. The process is based on one published by 
Wm. Hodgson, jun. in the Am. Journ. of Pharm. for July, 1856 (p. 305). The 
salt consists of one eq. of each of the two salts composing it, with probably 24 
eqs. of water of crystallization (F203,3S03 + NH40,S03 + 24HO). 
Ammonio-ferric alum is in octohedral crystals, of a pale violet colour, and sour 
astringent taste, slowly efflorescent on exposure, and soluble in 1-5 parts of wa- 
ter at 60°, and in less than their weight of boiling water. The sulphuric acid is 
recognised by giving a precipitate with chloride of barium insoluble in nitric 
acid; the sesquioxide of iron by being thrown down of a reddish-brown colour, 
by potassa; and the ammonia, by the emission, when the moistened salt is rub- 
bed with the same alkali, of its peculiar odour. According to H. Rose, the pure 
salt is white, aud gives a coloured solution with water, in consequence of the for- 
mation of a basic ferruginous salt. This decomposition is prevented by dissolving 
it in dilute sulphuric acid, when the solution is colourless. 
Instead of sulphate of ammonia, sulphate of potassa may be employed along 
with the tersulphate of iron, in which case a potassa iron-alum is produced, called 
potassio-fernc alum, which has all the properties, physical and remedial, of the 
ammonio-ferric salt; and the two appear to have been indiscriminately used. 
The formula of this salt would be Fe2Q3,3S03 + K0,S03 -f 24HO. 
The iron alums were brought to the notice of the Pharmaceutical Society of 
London, in Dec. 1853, by Mr. Lindsley Blyth, as a new remedy, prescribed in St. 
Mary’s Hospital. Dr. Tyler Smith found them to be more astringent than com- 
mon alum, and devoid of the stimulating effects of the other salts of iron. They 
have been used internally in leucorrhcea, with great asserted benefit, in diarrhoea 
and chronic dysentery, and in other affections requiring combined tonic and astrin- 
gent treatment. {Pharm. Journ., Jan. 1854, p. 306.) The dose is from three to 
twelve or fifteen grains, to be repeated twice or three times a day. B. 1130 
Ferrum. 
part ii. 
FERE f ET AMMONLZE TARTRAS. U.S. Tartrate of Iron and 
Ammonia. 
“ Take of Tartaric Acid twelve troyounces; Solution of Tersulpkate of Iron 
two pints and a half; Carbonate of Ammonia, Distilled Water, each, a suffi- 
cient quantity. Dissolve six troyounces of the Tartaric Acid in two pints of 
Distilled Water, and saturate it carefully by means of Carbonate of Ammonia; 
then add the remainder of the Acid, dissolved in half a pint of Distilled Water, 
and mix the solutions. With the Solution of Tersulphate of Iron, prepare the 
Hydrated Oxide of Iron according to the formula for that substance, and add it 
gradually to the solution of bitartrate of ammonia, kept at the temperature of 
150°, until it is no longer dissolved. Then fdter the solution, and evaporate to 
the consistence of syrup. Lastly, spread it on plates of glass, so that, on drying, 
the salt may be obtained in scales.” U. S. 
This is a new officinal of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, adopted from Prof. Proc- 
ter, whose process was published in the American Journal of Pharmacy, so 
long since as in 1841 (xii. 276.) Tartrate of ammonia is first prepared, which 
is converted into bitartrate by the addition of tartaric acid; and the excess of 
acid is then combined with hydrated sesquioxide of iron freshly prepared from 
the officinal solution of the tersulphate. A double salt of tartrate of ammonia 
and tartrate of iron is thus made in solution, which is obtained by filtering and 
concentrating the solution. The bibasic view of tartaric acid requires a different 
explanation. According to this, the salt must be considered as consisting of one 
eq. of tartaric acid, with a doubled equivalent number, and two eqs. of base, one 
consisting of ammonia and the other of sesquioxide of iron. In the first view, 
it would be represented by the formula F203,C4II205 -f- 1STH40,C4H205; in the 
second, by F203,NH40 -f C8H4O10, independently of the water, which has been 
estimated between four and five equivalents. 
This salt is in transparent garnet-red scales, which when powdered assume a 
rust-brown colour. It has a sweetish not disagreeable taste, and is very soluble 
in water though slowly, being taken up by somewhat more than its own weight. 
It is insoluble in alcohol and ether. Test paper is not affected by it. The fixed 
alkalies do not precipitate it from its solution, nor is it rendered blue by ferro- 
cyanide of potassium, showing that it contains no protoxide of iron. Incinerated 
in the air, it leaves 29 per cent, of sesquioxide of iron. It is a mild chalybeate, 
and may be given in a dose of from ten to thirty grains. W. 
FERRI ET POTASSiE TARTRAS. U. S. Ferrum Tartaratum. 
Br. Tartrate of Iron and Potassa. Tartarated Iron. 
“Take of Solution of Tersulphate of Iron a joint; Bitartrate of Potassa seven 
troyounces; Distilled Water four pints. With the Solution of Tersulphate of 
Iron, prepare the Hydrated Oxide of Iron according to the formula for that 
substance. Mix the Bitartrate of Potassa with the Distilled Water, heat the 
mixture to 140°, and, keeping it at that temperature, gradually add the Hydra- 
ted Oxide, frequently stirring, until it ceases to be dissolved. Then filter the 
solution, evaporate it by means of a water-bath to the consistence of syrup, and 
spread it upon plates of glass or porcelain, so that, on drying, the salt may be 
obtained in scales.” U. S. 
“Take of Solution of Persulphate of Iron four jfluidounces; Solution of Soda 
two pints [Imperial measure] or a sufficiency; Acid Tartrate of Potash, in pow- 
der, two ounces [avoirdupois] ; Distilled Water a sufficiency. Add the Persul- 
phate of Iron to a pint [Imp. meas. ] of Distilled Water, and gradually pour the 
dilute solution into the Solution of Soda, stirring well for a few minutes; then 
collect the precipitate on a calico filter, and wash it with Distilled Water until 
the filtrate ceases to become turbid on the addition of chloride of barium. To 
the Acid Tartrate of Potash and thirty ounces of Distilled Water placed in a PART II. 
Ferrum. 
1131 
capsule add the precipitate, and digest the mixture with repeated stirring for 
six hours, at a heat which must be carefully prevented from rising above 140°. 
After the solution has cooled down to the temperature of the atmosphere, decant 
it off any undissolved precipitate, and, having poured it in a thin layer on flat 
porcelain or glass plates, evaporate it to dryness at a temperature not exceeding 
140°. Lastly, remove the dried salt in flakes, and preserve it in stoppered bot- 
tles.” Br. 
The object of these processes is to combine the excess of acid in the bitartrate 
of potassa with sesquioxide of iron. In both, the plan of Soubeiran is adopted; 
namely, that of dissolving the moist hydrated sesquioxide to saturation in a mix- 
ture of the bitartrate and water, aided by a moderate heat. The sesquioxide is 
now obtained from the tersulphate of sesquioxide of iron, which is precipitated 
either by ammonia (U. S.), or by solution of soda (Br.). Potassa is not a good 
precipitant; because the alkali adheres obstinately to the precipitated sesqui- 
oxide, and cannot be completely separated even by repeated washings. The ses- 
quioxide should be gradually added to the bitartrate and water, heated to 140°, 
as recommended by Soubeiran, at which temperature the oxide dissolves more 
readily and in larger quantity than when a higher temperature is employed, lie- 
sides, in the latter case, a portion of the sesquioxide is converted into protoxide. 
(Ganelin's Handbook, x. 315.) In both formulas, the liquid is poured out on a 
plane surface, so as to dry in scales. When duly carried into effect, they yield a 
product at all times identical, and having all the required qualities of the salt.* 
The late Dr. Ure proposed the tartrate of protoxide of iron for medical use. 
He made it by acting on clean iron filings, or bits of iron wire, with a solution 
of tartaric acid. It is a pulverulent salt, insoluble in water, and possessing a 
mild chalybeate taste. 
Properties. Tartrate of iron and potassa, as obtained by the above formulas, 
is in transparent scales of a ruby-red colour, and wholly soluble in about four 
parts of water. It has a sweetish slightly chalybeate taste. Its solution does not 
* A new method of preparing thin salt. M. Roger, haying found the tartrate of iron and 
potassa, as existing in the shops of Paris, a very variable salt, seldom presenting perfect 
identity of composition in any two specimens, and ascribing this result to the imperfec- 
tion of the prevalent mode of preparing it, which requires a large amount of water, and 
consequently a prolonged evaporation, resulting in the reduction of the sesquioxide, and 
the production of a yellowish insoluble ferrous salt, and is attended besides with various 
other inconveniences, proposes the following method, which he conceives to be free from 
these objections, and to present in all instances an identical product. The newly proposed 
method consists in causing, as a first step, strongly hydrated sesquioxide of iron to be dis- 
solved in tartai'ic acid to complete saturation, for which purpose the water of hydration of 
the sesquioxide is sufficient at a temperature of 100° to 120° F. The solution takes place 
completely and quickly; and the point of saturation is known when the liquid, at first 
clear, becomes turbid, thickens, and at last concretes in the form of a jelly. No more of 
the sesquioxide, which is in slight excess, is now to be added. Upon this jelly is to be 
poured, little by little, a very concentrated solution of pure carbonate of potassa, of which 
the quantity to be used should be the equivalent of that of the tartaric acid employed. 
But this precision as to the quantity of the carbonate is not absolutely necessary; as the 
cessation of effervescence is a sufficient criterion of saturation. Should, however, the solu- 
tion, upon testing it, be found slightly acid, the solution of carbonate of potassa should 
be cautiously added till the reaction becomes slightly alkaline. The vessel is then to be 
removed from the water-bath, and the liquid allowed to cool. Twelve hours afterwards, 
the liquid is decanted, filtered, and evaporated by means of a water-bath, with constant 
agitation, to a syrupy consistence. It is then to be spread by means of a brush, in thin 
layers, on plates of glass, which are to be placed in the drying room. The salt is thus ob- 
tained in beautiful spangles, of a deep garnet red. Or it may be dried in moulds of tinned 
iron with a large surface; but in this case, instead of scales, it forms little black masses 
not unlike jet. Thus prepared, it always presents the same composition, dissolves in water 
without residue, and, besides, is little disposed to deliquescence, so that it may be readily 
employed in pills. The solution, however, is slow in forming, as the salt at first agglome- 
rates at the bottom of the vessel; but in half an hour it is complete, and may be kept long 
unchanged. (Journ. dePharm., Juin, 1861, p. 401.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 1132 
Ferrum, 
PART n. 
change the colour of litmus, and at common temperatures is not precipitated by 
potassa, soda, or ammonia. Ferrocyanide of potassium does not render it blue, 
unless an acid be added. The non-action of this test shows that the iron is in a 
peculiar state of combination. Acidulated with muriatic acid, the solution gives 
a copious blue precipitate with the ferrocyanide of potassium, but none with the 
ferridcyanide, showing the absence of protoxide of iron. In boiling solution, soda 
precipitates sesquioxide of iron, without evolution of ammonia; and the filtered 
solution, acidulated with muriatic acid, deposits a crystalline substance when it 
cools; the latter test showing the presence of tartrate of potassa, the former that 
of the sesquioxide of iron, and both together the character of the salt. According 
to the view of its nature taken in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, it is a double salt, con- 
sisting of one eq. of tartrate of sesquioxide of iron and one of tartrate of potassa 
(F208,C4H205 + K0,C4H206 -f HO); according to the bibasic view of tartaric 
acid, recognised in the Br. Pharmacopoeia, it is a tartrate with a double base 
(F2O3,KO,C8II4O10 + HO), the eq. of tartaric acid being doubled. By incinera- 
ting 50 grains at a red heat, and treating the residue with muriatic acid, a solu- 
tion is obtained, which, digested with a little nitric acid, then diluted with four 
fluidounces of water, and supersaturated with ammonia, yields a precipitate of 
sesquioxide of iron weighing 1492 grains. (Br.) The salt is incompatible with 
astringent vegetable infusions, which give rise to a dark-coloured precipitate. 
Medical Properties. Tartrate of iron and potassa is an agreeable chalybeate, 
and may be depended upon for activity and uniformity of composition. It has 
a somewhat laxative effect, which makes it suitable to the treatment of certain 
cases. It is the chalybeate preferred by M. Mialhe, who conceives that it is 
more readily absorbed than any other ferruginous preparation. It is also well 
borne by the stomach, whether taken fasting, or with the food. From its slight 
taste and ready solubility, it is one of the best ferruginous preparations for chil- 
dren. The dose for an adult is from ten grains to half a drachm, given preferably 
in solution. 
Off. Prep. Yinum Ferri, Br. B. 
FERRI ET QUINLE CITRAS. U. S., Br. Citrate of Iron and Quinta. 
“Take of Solution of Citrate of Iron ten fluidounces; Sulphate of Quinia a 
troyounce; Diluted Sulphuric Acid, Water of Ammonia, Distilled Water, each, 
a sufficient quantity. Triturate the Sulphate of Quinia with six fluidounces of 
Distilled Water, and, having added sufficient Diluted Sulphuric Acid to dissolve 
it, cautiously pour into the solution Water of Ammonia, with constant stirring, 
until in slight excess. Wash the precipitated Quinia on a filter, and, having 
added it to the Solution of Citrate of Iron, maintained at the temperature of 
120° by means of a water-bath, stir constantly until it is dissolved. Lastly, eva- 
porate the solution to the consistence of syrup, and spread it on plates of glass, 
so that, on drying, the salt may be obtained in scales.” U. S. 
“Take of Solution of Persulphate of Iron three fluidounces; Sulphate of 
Iron one ounce [avoirdupois] ; Distilled Water a sufficiency; Solution of Soda 
thirty-six fluidounces; Citric Acid, in crystals, two ounces and a quarter 
[avoird.]; Sulphate of Quinia, three hundred and eighty grains; Dilute Hy- 
drochloric Acid, Solution of Chloride of Barium, Solution of Ammonia, each, a 
sufficiency. Add the Solution of Persulphate of Iron to the Sulphate of Iron 
dissolved in ten fluidounces of the Water; mix well, and pour the mixture into 
the Solution of Soda with constant stirring. Collect the precipitate on a calico 
filter, and wash with Distilled Water, until the liquid which passes through ceases 
to give a precipitate with chloride of barium. Dissolve the Citric Acid in twenty 
fluidounces of the Distilled Water, and, having then added the washed precipi- 
tate, digest the mixture on a water-bath, with repeated stirring, until a solution 
is obtained. In eight fluidounces of the Water acidulated with a little of the 
Dilute Hydrochloric Acid dissolve the Sulphate of Quinia, add sufficient of the PART II. 
Ferrum 
1133 
Solution of Chloride of Barium to precipitate the sulphuric acid, and filter, and 
having treated the solution with a slight excess of Ammonia, collect the pre- 
cipitate on a paper filter, and wash it with Distilled Water, until nitrate of silver 
dropped into the filtrate gives but a very slight precipitate. Transfer the washed 
quinia to the capsule containing the citrate of iron, and digest on a water-bath 
until the alkaloid is dissolved. Lastly, let this solution be evaporated in thin 
layers, on flat porcelain or glass plates, at a temperature below 212°, and let the 
residue be removed in flakes, and preserved in stoppered bottles.” Br. 
The U. S. process is based on a published formula of Prof. Procter, described 
in the eleventh edition of this Dispensatory (page 1393). It consists simply in 
dissolving, at a temperature of 120°, in a definite measure of solution of citrate of 
iron (TJ. S.), the quinia obtained by precipitating a given weight of sulphate of 
quinia by.water of ammonia. The Br. process is more complicated. First, a 
mixture of sesquioxide and protoxide of iron is obtained by precipitating a mix- 
ture of the sesquisulphate and sulphate in solution by means of soda. Secondly, 
the mixed oxides thus obtained are digested with a solution of citric acid, so as 
to produce in solution a citrate of the two oxides. Thirdly, sulphate of quinia, 
dissolved by means of dilute muriatic acid, is precipitated by chloride of barium 
so as to separate the sulphuric acid, and from the solution of the muriate of 
quinia remaining, the quinia is thrown down by ammonia. Lastly, the quinia 
thus procured is digested with the solution of citrate of iron, and the resulting 
citrate of iron and quinia is obtained by evaporation. The direction to use ni- 
trate of silver as a test of sufficient washing is to indicate that the muriate of 
ammonia has been washed away. In both processes the salt is dried on glass or 
porcelain so as to be obtained in thin scales. 
The U. S. and Br. preparations are somewhat different; the former consist- 
ing of citric acid, sesquioxide of iron, and quinia; the latter, of citric acid, mixed 
sesquioxide and protoxide of iron, and quinia. No such analysis of either salt 
has been made as to determine precisely its equivalent composition; but the 
Lr. S. salt is probably a mixture of the proper citrate of iron and quinia with 
citrate of the sesquioxide. 
The characters of the TJ. S. salt, as given in the Pharmacopoeia, are the fol- 
lowing. “ In thin transparent scales, varying in colour from reddish-brown to 
yellowish-brown with a tint of green, according to the thickness of the scales. 
Its taste is ferruginous and moderately bitter. It is slowly soluble in cold water, 
more readily so in hot water, but insoluble in ether and officinal alcohol. Am- 
monia, added to the aqueous solution, deepens its colour to reddish-brown, and 
causes a whitish curdy precipitate of quinia; but no sesquioxide of iron is thrown 
down.” 
The British citrate is described as in scales of a greenish golden-yellow colour, 
of a bitter and chalybeate taste, somewhat deliquescent, which does not seem to 
be the case with the former salt, and entirely soluble in cold water. Mr. Squire, 
however, states that, if prepared according to the formula, the scales have a 
garnet colour (Compan. to Br. Pharm., p. 96); and Mr. Fleurot, after trying 
the process, has come to the conclusion that it is fallacious {Pharm,. Journ., 
July, 1864, p. 21). The solution is very slightly acid, and is precipitated reddish- 
brown by soda, white by ammonia, blue by the ferrocyanide and ferridcyanide of 
potassium, showing the presence of both oxides of iron, and grayish-black by 
tannic acid. The following tests are given in the Br. Pharmacopoeia. “ Fifty 
grains, dissolved in a fluidounce of water, and treated with a slight excess of 
ammonia, give a white precipitate [quinia] which, when dried, weighs 8 grains. 
The precipitate is entirely soluble in pure ether, leaves no residue when burned, 
and, when dissolved by the aid of an acid, forms a solution which, decolorized by 
a little purified animal charcoal, turns the plane of polarization strongly to the 
left [all characters of quinia].” 1134 
Ferrum 
PART II. 
The salt is said to be sometimes adulterated by cinehonia, which would be at 
once detected by the test of solubility in ether and the effect on polarized light, 
above given. As it occurs in the British market, it is of exceedingly variable 
composition, containing according to Mr. J. C. Braithwaite, who examined 15 
different specimens, a proportion of quinia varying from 1*5 to 15 84 per cent.; 
scarcely any two specimens being exactly alike. 
Citrate of iron and quinia combines the virtues of its two bases, and may be 
given in all cases in which iron and quinia are jointly indicated. It is, therefore, 
admirably adapted to the cases of anaemia, with enlarged spleen, which are so apt 
to accompany and follow our autumnal fevers. It may be given in pill or solu- 
tion, in the dose, as a tonic, of five or six grains, containing about a grain of 
quinia, three or four times a day. This dose may be greatly increased, if deemed 
advisable. W. 
FERRI FERROCY ANIDIJM. U. S. Ferri Ferrocyanuretum. U. S. 
1850. Ferrocyanide of Iron. Ferrocyanuret of Iron. Pure Prussian Blue. 
“Take of Ferrocyanide of Potassium nine troyounces; Solution of Tersul- 
phate of Iron a pint; Water three pints. Dissolve the Ferrocyanide of Potas- 
sium in two pints of the Water, and add the solution gradually to the Solution 
of Persulphate of Iron, previously diluted with the remainder of the Water, 
stirring the mixture during the addition. Then filter the liquid, and wash the 
precipitate on the filter with boiling water until the washings pass nearly taste- 
less. Lastly, dry it, and rub it into powder.” U. S. 
In the U. S. Pharmacopoeia of 1850, tersulphate of sesquioxide of iron was 
prepared as the first step of the process; in the present formula, it is taken al- 
ready prepared, in the form of the officinal solution. This salt is decomposed by 
the gradual addition of the solution of ferrocyanide of potassium. Three eqs. 
of ferrocyanide and two of tersulphate of sesquioxide of iron are mutually de- 
composed, with the result of forming one eq. of Prussian blue, or the 3-4 ferro- 
cyanide of iron, which precipitates, and six eqs. of sulphate of potassa, which 
remain in solution. Ferrocyanogen is a tercyanide of iron (FeCy3); and, repre- 
senting it by its symbol Cfy, we may compactly express the above reaction by 
the following equation: 3K2Cfy and 2(Fe203,3S03) = Fe4Cfy3 and 6(K0,S03). 
Prussian blue contains the elements of six eqs. of water, which cannot be sepa- 
rated without the destruction of the compound. Adding these elements, we may 
suppose it to become a hydroferrocyanate of the sesquioxide of iron, represented 
by the formula 2Fe2Os,3H2Cfy. From the formula given for the anhydrous com- 
pound (Fe4Cfy3), it is evident that it contains seven eqs. of iron and nine of cy- 
anogen. 
Preparation for Use in the Arts. Prussian blue is manufactured on the large 
scale as follows. A mixture made of equal parts of carbonate of potassa (pearl- 
ash of commerce) and of animal matter, such as dried blood, hair, the shavings 
of horn, &c., is calcined at a red heat, in an iron vessel, until it becomes pasty. 
The mass, when cold, is thrown, by portions at a time, into twelve or fifteen times 
its weight of water, with which it is stirred for half an hour. The whole is then 
put upon a linen filter; and the clear solution obtained is precipitated by a mixed 
solution of two parts of alum and one of sulphate of protoxide of iron. An ef- 
fervescence occurs, due principally to carbonic acid; and a very abundant pre- 
cipitate is thrown down of a blackish-brown colour. This precipitate is washed, 
by decantation, by means of a large quantity of water, which is removed every 
twelve hours. By these washings, which last from twenty to twenty-five days, 
the precipitate becomes successively greenish-brown, bluish, and finally deep- 
blue. When of the latter colour, it is collected and allowed to drain upon a 
cloth, after which it is divided into cubical masses and dried. In relation to the 
manufacture of Prussian blue, see the Pharmaceutical Journal (March, 1856, 
p. 423, and May, 1856, p. 511). PART II. 
Ferrum. 
1135 
Properties. Pure Prussian blue is a tasteless powder, insoluble in water and 
alcohol, and having a rich deep-blue colour. It is insoluble in dilute acids, de- 
composed by fuming nitric acid, and dissolved without decomposition by strong 
sulphuric acid, forming a white mass of the consistence of paste, from which the 
Prussian blue may be precipitated unchanged by water. Concentrated muriatic 
acid decomposes it, dissolving sesquioxide of iron, and liberating hydroferrocy- 
anic acid (II2Cfy). Boiled with red oxide of mercury, it generates bicyanide of 
mercury. (See Hydrargyri Cyanidum.) By the contact of a red-hot body, it 
takes lire and burns slowly, leaving a residue of sesquioxide of iron. When it is 
heated in close vessels, water, hydrocyanic acid, and carbonate of ammonia are 
evolved, and carburet of iron is left. Its composition has been given above. The 
Prussian blue of commerce was discovered by accident, in 1710, by Diesbach, a 
preparer of colours at Berlin. It has the same general properties as the pure 
substance. It occurs in small rectangirtar masses, which are heavier than water, 
and have a fracture presenting a bronzed appearance. Besides the constitu- 
ents of pure Prussian blue, it always contains uncombined sesquioxide of iron, 
and a portion of alumina, derived from the alum employed in its manufacture, 
which serves to give it body as a pigment. These substances may be detected 
by boiling the pigment with dilute muriatic acid, and precipitating the filtered 
solution with ammonia. Pure Prussian blue, treated in this manner, yields no 
precipitate. 
Medical Properties, &c. Prussian blue is deemed a tonic, febrifuge, and al- 
terative. Dr. Zollickoffer, of Maryland, recommended it in intermittent and 
remittent fevers, and deemed it to be particularly adapted to the cases of chil- 
dren, on account of the smallness of the dose and its want of taste. lie considers 
it more certain, prompt, and efficacious than the bark; while it has the advan- 
tage of being admissible in the state of pyrexia, and of not disagreeing with the 
most irritable stomach. It has also been used by Dr. Kirchoff, of Ghent, in epi- 
lepsy with advantage. Dr. Bridges, of this city, exhibited it in a case of severe 
and protracted facial neuralgia, with considerable relief, after the usual remedies 
for this complaint had been tried with little or no benefit. It is sometimes em- 
ployed as an application to ill-conditioned ulcers, mixed with simple ointment 
in the proportion of a drachm to the ounce. The dose of pure Prussian blue is 
from three to fi\e grains, repeated several times a day, and gradually increased 
until some obvious effect is produced. B. 
FERRI IODIDUM. Br. Iodide of Iron. 
“ Take of Fine Iron Wire one ounce and a half [avoirdupois] ; Iodine three 
ounces [avoird.]; Distilled Water fifteen fluidounces. Introduce the Iodine, 
Iron, and twelve [fluid]ounces of the Water into a flask, and having heated the 
mixture gently for about ten minutes, raise the heat and boil until the solution 
loses its red colour. Pass the solution through a small paper filter into a dish of 
polished iron, washing the filter with the remainder of the Water, and boil down 
until a drop of the solution taken out on the end of an iron wire solidifies on 
cooling The liquid should now be poured out on a porcelain dish, and, as soon 
as it has solidified, should be broken into fragments, and enclosed in a stoppered 
bottle.” Br. 
The solid iodide of iron is omitted in the present edition of the U. S. Pharma- 
copoeia, which directs it in the form of pills and syrup prepared immediately 
from the materials; the iodide itself being so liable to spontaneous change, as 
to render its preservation for any length of time unaltered almost impossible. 
In the Br. process, which is a modification of that of the late Dublin Pharma- 
copoeia, iron is made to unite with iodine by the intervention of water, and the 
combination takes place readily and'quickly. The liquid at first is red or orange- 
coloured, from the circumstance that all the iodine has not united with the iron; 
but. after the application of heat, it becomes fully saturated and limpid, and as- 1136 
Ferrum. 
PART n. 
snraes a greenish colour. It is now a solution of iodide of iron, and yields the 
solid salt by evaporation. The proportion of the iron taken is half the weight 
of the iodine. Fine iron wire, recently cleaned, is directed on account of its 
purity; but iron filings dissolve more readily, and, if carefully selected, will be 
sufficiently pure. It is exceedingly difficult to obtain this salt in the solid state 
perfectly pure, so great is the proneness of its solution to absorb oxygen, whereby 
the iodide becomes, in part, converted into sesquioxide. This change is prevented 
to a certain extent by evaporating to dryness in an iron vessel. 
The Messrs. T. & H. Smith, of Edinburgh, recommend the following improved 
process, which more effectually excludes atmospheric air. Boil, in a Florence 
flask, six drachms of pure iron filings with two ounces and a quarter of iodine, 
in four and a half ounces of distilled water, until the liquid loses its dark colour. 
Then filter the liquid rapidly into another flask, and evaporate it, at a boiling 
heat, until its green shade passes into black. After this period, the heat is kept 
up as long as the evaporation of moisture continues, which may be ascertained 
by its condensation on a cold piece of glass, placed, from time to time, over the 
mouth of the flask. When this ceases, the flask contains pure, anhydrous, spongy 
iodide of iron, which, when cold, is to be removed by breaking the flask, bruised 
coarsely in a warm dry mortar, and enclosed immediately in small well-corked 
bottles. If it is wished to obtain the iodide as a crystallized hydrate, the heat 
is to be withdrawn as soon as the liquid is sufficiently concentrated to congeal, 
in a dry and hard crust, on the end of an iron wire dipped into it. A modifica- 
tion of this process by Dr. Squibb will be found in the American Journal of 
Pharmacy for Jan. 1859 (p. 52). 
Properties. Iodide of iron is a crystalline substance, exceedingly deliquescent, 
of a greenish-black colour, and styptic, chalybeate taste. Its solution, by evapo- 
ration with as little contact of air as possible, affords transparent, green, tabular 
crystals. When heated moderately it fuses, and, on cooling, becomes an opaque 
crystalline mass, having an iron-gray colour and metallic lustre. At a higher 
temperature it emits violet-coloured vapours, and the iron is left in the state of 
sesquioxide. It is very soluble both in water and alcohol. When recently pre- 
pared it is wholly soluble in water, forming a pale-green solution; but, if made 
for some time, it almost unavoidably contains some sesquioxide of iron, from a 
partial decomposition, and will not entirely dissolve. M. Lecoq, of Saint-Quentin, 
has proposed to preserve it in a wide-mouthed, ground-stoppered bottle, covered 
with a layer of reduced iron, which cannot decompose it, and protects it from 
the action of the air. When the iodide is wanted, the iron is removed with a 
bone spatula, or a little brush. The aqueous solution is very liable to sponta- 
neous decomposition, becoming at last orange-red from the generation of free 
iodine, and depositing sesquioxide of iron. According to Mr. Richard Phillips, 
jun., the first step in this change is the formation of protoxide of iron and hy- 
driodic acid, from the decomposition of water. As the protoxide immediately 
begins to be converted into sesquioxide by absorbing oxygen from the air, and in 
this state is precipitated, the hydriodic acid is set free; and hence is explained 
the acidity of the solution from the first moment the sesquioxide is deposited. 
Afterwards, the hydriodic acid is decomposed by the air, and iodine liberated; 
When the solution is prevented from generating free iodine, by placing in it a 
coil of iron wire, according to the plan of Mr. Squire, the iron acts by combining 
with the iodine of nascent hydriodic acid, and not with nascent iodine. (Pharm. 
Journ., iv. 19.) The plan of Mr. Squire does not prevent the deposition of ses- 
quioxide, and has, therefore, been superseded by the use of saccharine matter, 
which affords a better protection to the solution. (See Syrupus Ferri Iodidi.) 
Iodide of iron is incompatible with alkalies and their carbonates, with lime- 
water, and with all other substances by which sulphate of iron is decomposed. 
When crystallized it consists of one eq. of iodine 126 3, one of iron 28, and five 
of water 45 = 199 3. PART II. 
Ferrum 
1137 
Medical Properties and Uses. Iodide of iron was first employed in medicine 
by Dr. Pierquin in 1824. It was first used in the United States in 1832 by Pro- 
fessor Samuel Jackson, of this city, at whose request it was prepared in solution 
by Mr. E. Durand. Its powers are those of a tonic, alterative, diuretic, and em- 
menagogue. It acts more like the preparations of iron than like those of iodine 
It sometimes sharpens the appetite and promotes digestion, and occasionally 
proves laxative. When it does not operate <jn the bowels, it generally augments 
the urine. Its use blackens the stools and lessens their fetor. It is chiefly em- 
ployed in scrofulous complaints, swellings of the cervical glands, visceral obstruc- 
tions attended with deficient action, chlorosis, atonic araenorrhoea, and leucorrhoea. 
In the two diseases last mentioned, Dr. Pierquin employed it with success. Dr. 
Burguet, of Bordeaux, cured a case of diabetes, of long standing, by the use of 
the remedy for several months. In obstinate syphilitic ulcers, M. Baumes, of 
Lyons, used it with satisfactory results. He gave it in the form of pill, conjoined 
with extract of opium, and sometimes increased the dose to 20 grains in the course 
of twenty-four hours. In secondary syphilis, occurring in debilitated and scro- 
fulous subjects, Ricord has found it a valuable remedy. The dose is a grain, 
gradually increased to eight grains or more. 
This salt, on account of its deliquescent property, and proneness to decom- 
position, should not be given in pill, unless protected from change by saccharine 
matter, or other means. (See Pilulse Ferri Iodidi.) The most convenient form 
of exhibition is that of syrup.* 
For forming enemata, injections for the vagina, and lotions for ulcers, one or 
two drachms of the iodide may be dissolved in a pint of water. B. 
FERRI LACTAS. U.S. Lactate of Iron. 
“Take of Lactic Acid a jluidounce; Iron, in the form of filings, half a troy- 
ounce; Distilled Water a sufficient quantity. Mix the Acid with a pint of Dis- 
tilled Water in an iron vessel, add the Iron, and digest the mixture on a water- 
bath, supplying Distilled Water, from time to time, to preserve the measure. 
When the action has ceased, filter the solution, while hot, into a porcelain cap- 
sule, and set it aside to crystallize. At the end of forty-eight hours, decant the 
liquid, wash the crystals with a little alcohol, and dry them on bibulous paper. 
By evaporating the mother-water in an iron vessel to one-half, filtering while 
hot, and setting the liquid aside, more crystals may be obtained.” U. S. 
In this process the iron is protoxidized by the water, and the lactic acid unites 
with the protoxide, forming lactate of iron, a part of which crystallizes when 
the solution cools, and the remainder is obtained by evaporation and crystalliza- 
tion. It may be more cheaply prepared, on the large scale, by digesting the im- 
pure acid first obtained in M. Louradour’s process (see page 39), with iron filings, 
or by reaction between sulphate of iron and the lactate of lime or lactate of 
zinc prepared as a step in obtaining lactic acid. (Ibid.) The following is M. 
Gobley’s process for making lactate of lime, preparatory to its conversion into 
lactate of iron. Add to 2 pints of skim-milk, diluted with twice its bulk of water, 
and contained in an earthen pan, 64 drachms of powdered lactin, and 51 drachms 
of powdered chalk. Allow the whole to ferment for eleven or twelve days, at a 
temperature of from 80° to 90°, supplying water as it evaporates. Transfer the 
liquor to a capsule, heat it gradually to boiling, and stir it constantly. Boil for 
a quarter of an hour to coagulate casein, allow the insoluble matters to subside, 
* Gtycerate of Iodide of Iron. Glycerin has the property at once of dissolving and pre- 
serving iodide of iron, and therefore makes an excellent excipient. M. Veza proposes the 
following formula.- “Take of Iodine 35 parts, Iron, in powder, 70 parts, and Glycerin 400 
parts. Mix them.” The colour of the solution is an emerald green; its taste is bitter and 
astringent; and tests do not detect in it the presence of free iodine. It may be used for 
preparing the syrup or pills. Five grains of it contain one of the iodide of iron. (Journ. de 
Octob. 1862, p. 338.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 1138 
Ferrum. 
PART n. 
and strain the liquid through flannel. The clear liquid is a solution of lactate 
of lime. In this process the casein of the milk, acting as a ferment, converts not 
only the lactin of the milk, but the lactin added, into lactic acid; a result which 
would not take place were it not for the presence of the chalk, which saturates 
the lactic acid as it is formed, and prevents it from uniting with the casein, where- 
by the power of the latter as a ferment would be destroyed. (Journ. de Pharm., 
3e ser., vi. 54.) Lactate of lime may be expeditiously converted into lactate of 
iron by the following process of M. Lepage. Dissolve 100 parts of lactate of 
lime, obtained by M. Gobley’s process, in 500 parts of boiling water; and 68 
parts of pure crystallized sulphate of protoxide of iron in 500 parts of cold dis- 
tilled water. Mix the filtered solutions in a matrass, acidulate slightly with lac- 
tic acid, and heat in a water-bath, stirring frequently until the double decompo- 
sition is completed. Then filter to separate the sulphate of lime, and evaporate 
rapidly to one-half, either in an iron vessel, or in a porcelain capsule containing 
a few turnings of iron. Filter again, and set aside to crystallize; and, having 
washed the crystals in a funnel with a little alcohol, dry them on bibulous paper, 
(iJourn. de Pharm., Se ser., ix. 272.) In relation to the precautions to be ob- 
served in preparing this lactate, so as to prevent the partial sesquioxidation of 
the iron, see the paper of M. C. J. Thirault in the Journal de Pharmacie, co- 
pied into the Am. Journ. of Pharm. for Nov., 1853 (p. 556). 
Lactate of iron is in greenish-white crystalline crusts or grains, undergoing little 
change in the air. When in the form of a yellowish or greenish-white powder 
it is impure. It is but sparingly soluble in water, requiring 48 parts of cold and 
12 of boiling water to dissolve it, and is insoluble in alcohol. It has an acid re- 
action, and possesses a mild, sweetish, ferruginous taste. The aqueous solution 
quickly becomes yellow, in consequence of the iron passing to a higher state 
of oxidation. M. Louradour has seen several samples of this lactate, variously 
adulterated ; as with effloresced sulphate of iron, starch, and lactin ; the sophis- 
tication being concealed by the sale of the salt in powder. These impurities may 
be detected by appropriate reagents; but M. Louradour recommends, as a sim- 
pler way of avoiding them, the rejection of the salt when not in crystalline crusts. 
“ Exposed to heat it froths up, gives out thick, white, acid fumes, and becomes 
black; sesquioxide of iron being left. If it be boiled for fifteen minutes with 
nitric acid of the sp. gr. 1 *20, a white granular deposit of mucic acid will occur on 
the cooling of the liquid.” (U. S.) These tests indicate that it is a lactate of iron. 
Medical Properties. Lactate of iron has the general medical properties of 
the ferruginous preparations. It has a marked effect in increasing the appetite. 
The disease in which it was principally tried in Paris was chlorosis, with or with- 
out amenorrhoea; and in this disease, Andral, Fouquier, Bouillaud, and others 
obtained very favourable results. The dose is one or two grains, repeated at in- 
tervals and gradually increased. As much as 12 or even 20 grains may be given 
in the course of a day. It may be administered in lozenge, pill, or syrup. The 
lozenge may be made of one grain of the lactate to twelve of sugar; and the 
pill, of one grain of the salt, with an equal weight of some inert powder free 
from astringent matter, and sufficient honey. The following is the formula for a 
syrup proposed by M. Cap, expressed in the nearest weights and measures used 
in this country. Take of lactate of iron a drachm; white sugar twelve ounces 
and a half; boiling distilled water six fluidounces and a half Rub the salt 
to powder with half an ounce of the sugar; and dissolve the mixture quickly in 
the boiling water. Pour the solution into a matrass placed on a sand-bath, and 
add to it the rest of the sugar in small pieces. When the sugar is dissolved, fil- 
ter the syrup, and, as soon as it is cold, transfer it to bottles which must be well 
stopped. This syrup has a very light amber colour, and contains about four 
grains of the salt to the fluidounce. The dose is from two to four fiuidraohms. 
Bread, called chalybeate bread, containing lactate of iron in the proportion of Ferrum. 
1139 
PART II. 
about a grain to the ounce, has been used with advantage by cniorotic patieuts 
in one of the hospitals of Paris. The bread is not injured in taste or quality. 
Prof. Brainard, of Chicago, has treated, with success, a large erectile tumour o.-. 
the orbit, by infiltrating it by injection with a fluidrachm of a solution of lactate 
of iron, containing eight grains of the salt. (Banking's Abstract, xviii. 253.') B. 
FERRI OXIDUM HYDRATUM. U.S. Ferri Peroxidum Hydra- 
tum . Br. Hydrated Oxide of Iron. Hydrated Peroxide of Iron. Hydrated 
Sesquioxide of Iron. 
“Take of Solution of Tersulphate of Iron a pint; Water of Ammonia, Water, 
each, a sufficient quantity. To the Solution of Tersulphate of Iron, previously 
mixed with three pints of Water, add Water of Ammonia, with constant stirring, 
until in slight excess. Then pour the whole on a wet muslin strainer, and wash 
the precipitate with water until the washings pass nearly tasteless. Lastly, mix 
the precipitate with sufficient Water to make the mixture measure a pint and a 
half, and transfer it to a wide-mouthed bottle, which must be well stopped. 
“ When Hydrated Oxide of Iron is to be made in haste for use as an anti- 
dote, the washing may be performed more quickly, though less perfectly, by 
pressing the strainer forcibly with the hands until no more liquid passes, and 
then mixing the precipitate with sufficient Water to bring the mixture to the 
measure of a pint and a half.” U. S. 
“Take of Solution of Persulphate of Iron four jiuidounces; Solution of 
Soda thirty-three fluidounces, or a sufficiency; Distilled Water one pint [Im- 
perial measure]. Add the Persulphate of Iron to the Distilled Water, and grad- 
ually pour the dilute solution into the Solution of Soda, stirring well for a few 
minutes; collect the precipitate on a calico filter, and wash it with distilled 
water, until the filtrate ceases to give a precipitate with chloride of barium. 
Lastly, enclose the precipitate, without drying it, in a porcelain pot whose lid is 
made tight by a luting of lard. This preparation should be recently made.” Br. 
This preparation was introduced into the officinal catalogues on account of 
its importance as an antidote to arsenious acid. In the former processes the 
first step was to convert the sulphate of protoxide of iron into the tersulphate 
of sesquioxide; but in the present the officinal solution of tersulphate of iron 
(persulphate, Br.) is taken already containing the iron in the proper state of 
oxidation. This is simply treated with water of ammonia (U. S.), or diluted 
solution of soda (Br.), which throws down the sesquioxide combined with water, 
constituting the hydrated sesquioxide required. After due washing, it is mixed 
with water in order to maintain its pulpy state, and then carefully enclosed in 
bottles, which should be wide-mouthed, in order to permit its ready extraction. 
Besides having this antidote ready formed in the pulpy state, it is the duty of 
the apothecary to be always prepared to make it, by keeping the necessary solu- 
tions for its precipitation; namely, the solution of tersulphate of sesquioxide of 
iron and solution of ammonia. In relation to this subject the reader is referred 
to a paper by Prof. Procter, in the American Journal of Pharmacy for March, 
1853 (p. 104). 
Properties. Hydrated oxide of iron, as directed to be kept by the U. S. for- 
mula, is a soft, moist, reddish-brown magma. If dried at a heat not exceeding 
180°, and afterwards pulverized, it forms a reddish-brown powder, not attracted 
by the magnet, being the sesquioxide in the state of hydrate, containing about 
18 per cent, of water. In this state it is wholly and readily soluble in muriatic 
acid without effervescence. If exposed to a red heat it loses the combined water, 
and becomes the anhydrous sesquioxide, less easily soluble in acids, improper 
for medicinal use, and altogether without effect as an antidote. Hydrated oxide 
of iron consists of one eq. of sesquioxide 80, and two of water 18 = 98, and is 
represented by the formula Fea03-f 2HO. Kept for some time in the pulpy state, 1140 
Ferrum, 
PART II. 
it. loses half its combined water, and becomes less soluble in acids, and less effi- 
cient as an antidote. 
Medical Properties and Uses. The hydrated oxide of iron is not an eligible 
ferruginous preparation for medical use. Its antidotal powers in poisoning by 
arsenic, the manner in which it acts, the circumstances which impair its efficiency, 
and the mode of using it are fully explained under arsenious acid (page 28). Its 
power of rendering arsenious acid insoluble is readily shown by agitating a solu- 
tion of the acid with a considerable excess of the moist oxide, filtering, and then 
testing the filtered solution for the acid ; not a trace of the metal can be detected, 
even by sulphuretted hydrogen. The hydrated oxide, as obtained by the U. S. 
formula, contains a little ammonia, which is thought by some to assist its anti- 
dotal powers. At least it has been ascertained that the sesquioxide, when pre- 
cipitated by potassa as formerly directed by the Dublin College, is less efficient 
than when precipitated by ammonia, and must be employed in quantities three 
or four times as large to produce the same effect. The dry hydrate, rubbed up 
with water, is in the same proportion weaker than the pulpy hydrate. It has 
already been mentioned, under arsenious acid, that the officinal subcarbonate of 
iron (formerly called precipitated carbonate) possesses antidotal powers to ar- 
senic, though in an inferior degree ; but this statement will not apply to it, after 
it has been exposed to a red heat, to which it is improperly subjected by some 
manufacturing chemists. By ignition it becomes anhydrous, and altogether in- 
efficient as an antidote. 
Off. Prep. Ferri Peroxidum, Br. B. 
FERRI OXIDUM MAGNETICUM. Br. Magnetic Oxide of Iron. 
Martial Ethiops. 
“ Take of Sulphate of Iron six ounces [avoirdupois] ; Sulphuric Acid three 
jluidraclims; Nitric Acid two ftuidrachms; Solution of Sods,fifty-eightfluid- 
ounces, or a sufficiency; Distilled Water a sufficiency. Add the Sulphuric 
Acid to five fluidounces of the Water, and with the aid of heat dissolve in the 
mixture four ounces [avoird.] of the Sulphate of Iron. Mix the Nitric Acid with 
two fluidounces of the Water, and, having added the dilute acid to the solution 
of sulphate of iron, concentrate by boiling until, on the sudden disengagement of 
ruddy vapours, the liquid passes from a dark to a red colour. To the solution 
thus obtained add the two remaining ounces of Sulphate of Iron, first dissolved 
in half a pint [Impei’ial measure] of Distilled Water. Mix well, add to the 
liquid the Solution of Soda, and, having boiled for five minutes in an iron vessel, 
collect the precipitate on a calico filter, and wash it with boiling Distilled Water, 
until the liquid which passes through ceases to give a precipitate when allowed 
to drop into a solution of chloride of barium. Lastly, dry the precipitate with- 
out heat in a confined portion of air over a capsule containing sulphuric acid, and 
enclose it in a stoppered bottle.” Br. 
In this formula, two-thirds of the sulphate of protoxide of iron taken are con- 
verted into tersulphate of sesquioxide. The remaining third of the sulphate is 
then dissolved in water, and mixed with the solution of the tersulphate. A com- 
pound solution is thus obtained, containing two-thirds of the iron in the state 
of sesquioxide, and one-third in that of protoxide. When this solution is treated 
with soda, a mixed precipitate of one eq. of protoxide and one of sesquioxide is 
thrown down (Fe0,Fe203). Now such a compound oxide corresponds in com- 
position with the native magnetic black oxide. The precipitate is washed to 
remove sulphate of soda, and the washings are known to be completed when the 
chloride of barium ceases to give a precipitate with them. 
Properties, &c. The artificial magnetic oxide of iron is a brownish-biack 
powder, without taste, and strongly magnetic. According to the Br. Pharma- 
copoeia, it consists of peroxide (sesquioxide) of iron (FeaOs) with about 9 per 
cent, of protoxide (FeO), and 22 per cent, of water. It dissolves without ?fl'er- PART II. 
Ferrum. 
1141 
vescenee in muriatic acid diluted with half its bulk of water; and the solution 
gives a blue precipitate both with the ferrocjanide and ferridcyanide of potas- 
sium, showing the presence both of the protoxide and sesquioxide of iron. 
The Br. Pharmacopoeia gives the following tests. “Twenty grains moistened 
with nitric acid, and calcined at a low red heat, leave 15*8 grains of peroxide 
[sesquioxide] of iron. Twenty grains dissolved in hydrochloric acid continue to 
give a blue precipitate with ferridcyanide of potassium until 8’3 measures of 
the volumetric solution of bichromate of potash have been added.” The former 
test measures the whole ferruginous strength of the preparation, the protoxide 
being sesquioxidized by the nitric acid and heat; the second the quantity of pro- 
toxide present, which must be such as to require the indicated quantity of the 
bichromate for its sesquioxidation. The dose is from five to twenty grains, given 
several times a day. 
Scales of iron \ferri squamae) were formerly officinal with the Dublin Col- 
lege under the name of black oxide. They were prepared from the scales, found 
at the blacksmith’s anvil, by washing them with water, separating them from 
impurities by means of a magnet, and reducing them to a fine powder. They are 
of variable composition ; being mixtures of the two oxides of iron with metallic 
iron. In view of their want of uniformity in composition, they were abandoned 
by the College for the magnetic oxide. B. 
FERRI PEROXIDUM. Br. Peroxide of Iron. Sesquioxide of Iron. 
“ Take of Hydrated Peroxide of Iron four ounces. Place the Peroxide of 
Iron in a stove or oven until it becomes dry to the touch, and then expose it to 
a heat of 212° until it ceases to lose weight. Lastly, reduce it to a fine powder, 
and preserve it in a bottle.” Br. 
This is the late Dublin process slightly modified. The hydrated oxide (Fe203. 
2HO) loses, by the process, one-half of its combined water, and is converted into 
the monohydrated sesquioxide (Fe203,H0), which is the present officinal prepa- 
ration. As prepared by the Dublin process, in which it was heated to redness, 
it lost the second eq. of water, and became the anhydrous sesquioxide (Fe203), 
identical with the colcothar of commerce. 
Properties, &c. This oxide is a reddish-brown, tasteless, insoluble powder, 
differing from colcothar in containing an eq. of water. It should not be deli- 
quescent, and should dissolve entirely in muriatic acid without effervescence. Its 
solution in diluted muriatic acid yields a copious blue precipitate with the ferro- 
cyanide of potassium, but none with the ferridcyanide; showing that it contains 
sesquioxide of iron but no protoxide. If it contain copper, its muriatic solution 
will deposit this metal on a bright piece of iron. This oxide is not used as a 
medicine. It is employed in making iron plaster and reduced iron, for which 
purposes other forms of oxidized iron would answer as well. The former Dublin 
rubigo ferri or rust of iron, formed by exposing moistened iron wire to the 
air till converted into rust, is essentially the sesquioxide, containing a little car- 
bonate of the protoxide. 
Off. Prep. Emplastrum Ferri, Br.; Ferrum Redactum, Br. B. 
FERRI PHOSPHAS. U.S.,Br. Phosphate of Iron. 
“Take of Sulphate of iron five troyounces; Phosphate of Soda six troy- 
ounces; Water eight pints. Dissolve the Salts separately, each in four pints of 
the Water; then mix the solutions, and set the mixture by that the precipitate 
may subside. Lastly, having poured off the supernatant liquid, wash the pre- 
cipitate with hot wrater, and dry it with a gentle heat.” U. S. 
“ Take of Sulphate of Iron three ounces [avoirdupois] ; Phosphate of Soda 
two ounces and a half [avoird.] ; Acetate of Soda one ounce [avoird.] ; Boil- 
ing Distilled Water four pints [Imperial measure]. Dissolve the Sulphate of 
Iron in one-half of the Water, and the Phosphate and Acetate of Soda in the 1142 
Ferrum. 
PART II. 
reraaii ing half. Mix the two solutions, and, after careful stirring, transfer the 
precipitate to a calico filter, and wash it with hot distilled water, till the filtrate 
ceases to give a precipitate with chloride of barium. Finally dry on porous 
bricks in a stove whose temperature does not exceed 100°. Preserve the dried 
salt in a stoppered bottle.” Br. 
The U. S. preparation is the result of a double decomposition between the 
saline materials employed. As the medicinal phosphate of soda is the middle 
tribasic phosphate, having the composition 2Na0,H0,P05, it follows that it re- 
quires two eqs. of sulphate of protoxide of iron for its decomposition, as shown 
by the following equation: 2(Fe0,S03) and 2Na0,II0,P05 = 2Fe0,II0,P05 
and 2(Na0,S03). The resulting salts, therefore, are one eq. of the middle tribasic 
phosphate of iron, the salt under notice, and two eqs. of sulphate of soda, which 
are washed away. If the ferruginous sulphate be a perfect sulphate of the pro- 
toxide, the precipitate as first thrown down will be white; but it quickly absorbs 
oxygen and becomes bluish-white. When perfect it consists of two eqs. of pro- 
toxide of iron, one of basic water, and one of phosphoric acid; but generally it 
contains some phosphate of the sesquioxide without basic water (Fe203.P05). 
The British phosphate of iron is a different salt; for, while the former has two 
eqs. of oxide of iron, this has three eqs. to one of the acid; the third eq. being 
supplied by the acetate of soda used in the process. Supposing the double de- 
composition to have occurred, as in the U. S. process, between two eqs. of the 
sulphate of iron and one of the double-based phosphate of soda, producing two 
eqs. of sulphate of soda and one of the double-based phosphate of iron; the 
reaction next takes place between the generated eq. of phosphate of iron, one 
eq. of sulphate of iron, and one of acetate of soda, resulting in the production 
of an additional eq. of sulphate of soda, an eq. of free acetic acid, and the addi- 
tion of a third eq. of oxide of iron to the phosphate, which, being insoluble, is 
precipitated. This latter result arises from the strong disposition of the tribasic 
phosphoric acid to combine with three bases, which could only be satisfied by the 
liberation of an eq. of the acetic acid of the acetate. This salt, when first formed, 
is represented by the formula 3Fe0,P05; but the strong affinity of its protoxide 
for oxygen causes the gradual production of sesquioxide, which, therefore, to a 
certain extent always exists in the preparation. 
Phosphate of iron, by whichever process procured, is in the form of a powder 
of a bright slate colour, insoluble in water, but soluble in acids. The solution in 
dilute muriatic acid gives a blue precipitate with both ferridcyanide and ferro- 
cyanide of potassium, but much the more copiously with the former, proving the 
presence both of protoxide and sesquioxide of iron, but a great preponderance 
of the protoxide. With ammonia the same solution yields a precipitate insoluble 
in an excess of the alkali. This is a test of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, probably 
intended to show that the salt, while containing a portion of phosphate of ses- 
quioxide of iron, has been quite freed by washing from phosphate of soda; for, 
though a precipitate is produced by ammonia with the phosphate of the protox- 
ide, it is redissolved by an excess of the precipitant, whereas, with the sesqui- 
oxide salt, the precipitate is not redissolved by such excess, unless by the aid of 
phosphate of soda or other salt of similar powers. If the preparation contain 
arsenic, it will be detected by producing a dark precipitate on the surface of a 
slip of pure copper introduced into the solution. 
Phosphate of iron, dissolved to saturation in a boiling solution of metaphos- 
phoric acid (1I0,P05), under the name of superphosphate of iron, was proposed 
as a new remedy, in j an. 1851, by Dr. Routh, of London. Mr. Thomas Greenish, 
of the same city, states that the solution of the salt, on cooling, hardens into a 
mass of a pilular consistence, soluble in water in all proportions, and free from 
any disagreeable or inky taste. He has prepared from it a syrup, contai ling five 
grains of the salt to the fiuidrachm. PART II. 
Ferrum. 
1143 
Medical Properties. Phosphate of iron possesses the general properties oi 
the ferruginous preparations, and has been given with advantage in amenorrhcea 
and some forms of dyspepsia. It was introduced into the U. S. Pharmacopoeia 
at the suggestion of the late Dr. Hewson, of this city, who found it, after an 
extensive experience, to be a valuable chalybeate. The dose is from live to ten 
grains.* B. 
FERRI PYROPHOSPHAS. U.S. Pyrophosphate of Iron. 
“Take of Phosphate of Soda seven troyounces and a half; Solution of Ter- 
sulphate of Iron seven fluidounces, or a sufficient quantity; Citric Acid two 
troyounces; Water of Ammonia five fluidounces and a half, or a sufficient 
quantity; Water a sufficient quantity. Heat the Phosphate of Soda, in a por- 
celain capsule, until it undergoes the watery fusion, and continue the heat until 
it becomes dry. Transfer the dry salt to a shallow iron capsule, and heat it to 
incipient redness, without fusion. Then dissolve it in three pints of Water, with 
the aid of heat, and, having fdtered the solution and cooled it to the tempera- 
ture of 50°, add Solution of Tersulphate of Iron until this ceases to produce a 
precipitate. Stir the mixture thoroughly, and pour it upon a muslin strainer, 
and, when the precipitate has drained,'wash it with water until the washings 
pass nearly tasteless, and transfer it to a weighed porcelain capsule. 
“ To the Citric Acid, contained in a suitable vessel, add Water of Ammonia 
until the Acid is saturated and dissolved. Then add the solution to the precipi- 
tate in the weighed capsule, stir them together, and evaporate until the liquid is 
reduced to sixteen troyounces. Spread this on plates of glass or porcelain, so 
* Compound Syrup of Phosphate of Iron. Chemical Food. For a formula for a compound 
syrup of phosphate of iron by Mr. Wiegand, made by introducing into it the phosphates 
of lime, potassa, and soda, and for remarks on the pharmacy of the phosphates by Prof. 
Procter, see the Am.Journ. of Pharm, for March, 1854 (pp. Ill and 112). A formula similar 
to Mr. Wiegand’s, communicated by Mr. Edward Parrish, as probably representing the pro- 
cess for a secret preparation considerably used in this city, may be found in the Am. Joum. 
of Pharm, for Nov. 1857 (p. 573). These formulas are too complicated to have any thera- 
peutic value. Nevertheless, as the preparations have had much vogue, under the name 
of chemical food, we give the formula of Mr. Parrish from the journal referred to. “Take 
of Protosulphate of Iron Phosphate of Soda gxii; Phosphate of Lime cjxii; Glacial 
Phosphoric Acid gxx; Carbonate of Soda 7)ij; Carbonate of Potassa gi; Muriatic Acid, 
Water of Ammonia, each, q. s.; Powdered Cochineal ; Water q. s. to make fj$xx; Sugar 
Ibiij (troy); Oil of Orange Tfyx. Dissolve the Sulphate of Iron in f Jij, and the Phosphate 
of Soda in of boiling Water. Mix the solutions, and wash the precipitated phosphate 
of iron till the washings are tasteless. Dissolve the Phosphate of Lime in of boiling 
Water with suthcient Muriatic Acid to make a clear solution, precipitate it with Water of 
Ammonia, and wash the precipitate. To the freshly precipitated phosphates add the Phos- 
phoric Acid previously dissolved in Water. When clear add the Carbonates of Soda and 
Potassa, and afterwards sufficient Muriatic Acid to dissolve the precipitate. Now add the 
Cochineal mixed with the Sugar, apply heat, and when the syrup is formed, strain and 
flavour it. Each teaspoonful contains about one grain of phosphate of iron and two and a 
half grains of phosphate of lime, with smaller quantities of the alkaline phosphates, all in 
perfect solution.” The objection to such preparations as this is not that each of the ingre- 
dients may not be useful; but that they are so numerous that a morbid state of system 
must be extremely rare in which they can all be indicated, and every medicine is more or 
less noxious if given when it is not needed. The probability is that the therapeutic value 
of the preparation depends mainly on its ferruginous ingredient, and that, as a general 
rule, its therapeutic effects may be equally as well, if not better obtained, from a simple 
Byrup of phosphate of iron. 
Simple Syrup of Phosphate of Iron. Subsequently, Mr. Wiegand gave a formula for a sim- 
ple syrup of phosphate of iron, made by dissolving the recently precipitated salt in muri- 
atic acid, and adding the requisite quantity of sugar. By a misprint the phosphate of soda 
taken is double -what it should be. The same writer has proposed to make a syrup of the 
phosphates of iron and lime, by dissolving in the above a definite quantity of recently pre- 
cipitated phosphate of lime, made by double decomposition between solutions of chloride 
of calcium and phosphate of soda. See his formulas in the Am. Joum. of Pharm. for March, 
1855 104; lo the tenth, eleventh and twelfth editions. 1144 
Ferrum 
PART n. 
that, on drying, the salt may be obtained in scales. Lastly, preserve it in a well- 
stopped bottle, protected from the light.” U. S. 
This formula appears to be based upon a method, proposed by M. E. Robi- 
quet to the Academy of Medicine at Paris, in Feb. 1857, of preparing pyro- 
phosphate of iron for use, by dissolving a gelatinous precipitate of the salt in 
a solution of citrate of ammonia, and forming a syrup with the solution. Prof. 
Procter devised a formula upon this plan, published in the Am. Journ. ofPharm. 
1857, p. 573), the result of which also was a syrup. The officinal formula, 
which provides for the preparation of the salt in the solid form, capable of being 
readily made into a syrup if desired, is that of Dr. Squibb published in the same 
journal (Jan. 1860, p. 37). 
The first step in the officinal process is to convert the common tribasic phos- 
phate of soda (2Na0,H0,P05 -f 24HO), by moderately igniting it, into the pyro- 
phosphate or bibasic phosphate of soda (2Na0,P06), which may be obtained 
crystallized by dissolving it in boiling water and evaporating, in which state it 
is represented by the formula 2NaO,POft + 10HO. The uncrystallized pyro- 
phosphate is dissolved and mixed with solution of tersulphate of iron, when the 
pyrophosphate of sesquioxide of iron is deposited. This, while in a pulpy state, 
is added to a solution of citrate of ammonia formed by a direct union of its 
constituents, by which it is dissolved. The process is completed by evaporating 
the solution sufficiently, and then spreading it out to dry on glass or porcelain 
so that the salt may be obtained in scales. The reactions which result in the 
formation of the ferruginous salt, contained in this compound, probably take 
place between three eqs. of the bibasic phosphate of soda 3(2NaO,PO.) and two 
eqs. of the tersulphate of iron 2(Fe203,3S03), forming six eqs. of sulphate of 
soda, and one eq. of sesquiphosphate of sesquioxide of iron, having (according 
to Gmelin) the equivalent composition represented by the formula 2Fe203,3P0i 
+ 9 HO. 
• The preparation is probably an intimate mixture of the ferruginous and am- 
moniacal salts in the solid form; at least such must be the view of the revisers 
of the Pharmacopoeia, who name it pyrophosphate of iron. It is in scales of an 
apple-green colour, and an acidulous somewhat saline taste. It is wholly and 
freely dissolved by water. Ferrocyanide of potassium occasions no precipitate 
with its solution, though it causes a pale-blue colour, showing that the iron is in 
the state of sesquioxide, and that there is a substance present (citrate of ammo- 
nia) capable of holding ferrocyanide of iron in solution. The salt contains 48 
per cent, of anhydrous pyrophosphate of iron. (U. S.) It is a very good chalybe- 
ate, mild yet efficient in its action on the system, without disagreeable taste, and, 
from its solubility, readily administered in any form that may be desirable, whe- 
ther that of pill, simple solution in water, or syrup. The dose is from two to five 
grains. A syrup may be readily prepared by dissolving it in water, and mixing 
the solution with simple syrup.* W. 
* This ferruginous pyrophosphate is soluble in pyrophosphate of soda; and hence, if an 
excess of pyrophosphate of soda is used in the double decomposition, the ferruginous 
pyrophosphate, first, thrown down, is redissolved. This solution was proposed as a medi- 
cine by M. Persoz in 1848, and by M. Leras in 1849. M. Leras conceives that pyrophos- 
phate of iron, rendered soluble by pyrophosphate of soda, is the only ferruginous prepara- 
tion which is not precipitated in the stomach by the agency of the food or gastric juice. 
Mr. Alex. Ure, of London, tried this solution, calling it soda-pyrophosphate of iron, in scro- 
fula, and found it a mild and efficient chalybeate. The same solution, as prepared by M. 
Leras, has been employed with marked success in anemic diseases, by MM. Follet and 
Baume, who found it easily administered and rapidly absorbed. In the preparation used 
by him, the sulphate of soda, resulting from the double decomposition, was allowed to re- 
main. The same solution, including the sulphate of soda, has been prepared as a syrup 
by M. Soubeiran. 
Syrup of Pyrophosphate of Iron. M. Soubeiran’s formula is as follows. Add 55 grains of 
tersulphate of sesquioxide of iron, dissolved by a gentle heat in 2 fluidounces of water, to PART II. 
jFerrum 
1145 
FERRI SUBCARBONAS. TJ. S. Subcarbonate of Iron. Sesquioxide 
of Iron. Red Oxide of Iron. Precipitated Carbonate of Iron. Aperitive 
Saffron of Mars. 
“Take of Sulphate of Iron eight troyounces; Carbonate of Soda nine troy- 
ounces; Water eight pints. Dissolve the salts separately, each in four pints 
of the Water; then mix the solutions, and, having stirred the mixture, set it by 
that the precipitate may subside. Having poured off the supernatant liquid, 
wash the precipitate with water until the washings pass nearly tasteless, and 
dry it on bibulous paper without heat.” U. S. 
When the solutions of carbonate of soda and sulphate of iron are mixed 
together, a hydrated carbonate of protoxide of iron, of a pale-blue colour,* is 
thrown down, and sulphate of soda remains in solution. The equivalent quan- 
tities of the crystallized salts for mutual decomposition are 139 of the sulphate 
and 143 3 of the carbonate. Taking the quantity of sulphate of iron at 8 parts, 
the TJ. S. Pharmacopoeia orders 9 parts of the carbonate of soda, which gives a 
slight excess of the latter. The precipitate, during the washing and drying, ab- 
sorbs oxygen, and loses nearly all its carbonic acid, whereby it is converted 
almost entirely into sesquioxide of iron. Hence, the London College gave it 
the name of Ferri Sesquioxidum; but, as this is applicable to the red oxide, 
obtaiued by calcining the sulphate, or igniting the hydrated sesquioxide, the 
U. S. name of Ferri Subcarbonas, adopted in allusion to the small quantity of 
carbonic acid present in it, is more distinctive. Carbonate of soda is preferred 
to carbonate of potassa for decomposing the ferruginous sulphate; because it 
produces in the double decomposition sulphate of soda, which, from its greater 
solubility, is more readily washed away than sulphate of potassa. The direction 
to dry the precipitate without heat is important; as even a moderate elevation 
of temperature has been shown, by the experiments of Mr. J. A. Rex, to modify 
the resulting product unfavourably, diminishing its solubility in muriatic acid in 
proportion to the heat employed. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., May, 1862, p. 193.) 
Properties. Subcarbonate of iron is a reddish-brown powder, of a disagree- 
able, slightly styptic taste; insoluble in water, and not readily dissolved by any 
acid except the muriatic, with which it effervesces slightly. When of a bright- 
red colour it should be rejected, as this colour shows that it has been injured 
by exposure to heat. After precipitation from its muriatic solution by ammo- 
nia or potassa, either of which throws down the sesquioxide of iron, the super- 
natant liquor should give no indications of containing any metal in solution by 
the test of sulphuretted hydrogen or ferrocyanide of potassium. It is incom- 
patible with acids and acidulous salts. In composition it is a hydrated sesquiox- 
ide of iron, containing a little carbonate of the protoxide. By exposure to a red 
462 grains of crystallized pyrophosphate of soda, dissolved in 7\fluidounces of water and 
fluidounces of mint water, and mix. So soon as the precipitate formed redissolves, filter 
the solution, and add to the filtrate 19 troy ounces of white sugar, which must be allowed 
to dissolve without heat. The dose of this syrup, which is easy to take, is a tablespoonful, 
containing about a third of a grain of iron. 
An equivalent preparation may be made from the U. S. pyrophosphate of iron by dis- 
solving 2-6 grains in a fluidounce of syrup; but this would be a feeble preparation; and, 
besides, the quantity of sugar might be embarrassing to the stomach. A better plan would 
probably be to dissolve 20 grains in a fluidounce of syrup, giving 2-5 grains of the salt to 
each fiuidrachm, and making the dose from one to two teaspoonfuls. The salt may be dis- 
solved in a little water before being incorporated with the syrup, care being taken that the 
resulting liquid should contain 20 grains to the fluidounce. 
Dr. Squibb prepares a syrup of the pyrophosphate by adding to 24 parts of the solution 
of the formula, after filtration, 248 parts of Syrup, and thus obtains a preparation contain- 
ing about two grains of the officinal salt, or one grain of the anhydrous pyrophosphate, in 
a fiuidrachm.—Notes to the eleventh and twelfth editions. 
* The carbonate of the protoxide of iron is white if perfectly pure; but as the sulphate 
of iron used is not absolutely pure, containing almost always a little sesquioxide, this is 
thrown down with the carbonate, giving it a bluish tinge. 1146 
Ferrum. 
PART n. 
heat, it absorbs oxygen, and loses water and carbonic acid, being converted into 
the astringent saffron of Mars of the French Codex. After ignition it is no 
longer a subcarbonate, but is converted into the pure sesquioxide, which is less 
soluble in acids, and less efficient as a medicine than the preparation in its ori- 
ginal state. Hence it is wrong to expose the subcarbonate to a red heat, as some 
manufacturing chemists are in the habit of doing, in order to give it a bright-red 
colour. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Subcarbonate of iron is tonic, alterative, aud 
emmenagogue, and is employed for all the purposes to which the preparations 
of iron are generally applicable. It was recommended by Mr. Carmichael in 
cancer, and is said sometimes to prove useful. Mr. Hutchinson brought it into 
notice as a remedy for neuralgia; and an extensive experience with it in that 
disease has established its value. It is also useful in chorea, chlorosis, and, gene- 
rally, in those diseases in which the blood is deficient in red corpuscles. It has 
been used by I)r. Woollam, Dr. Shearman, Dr. Elliotson, and others in traumatic 
tetanus, with success in twelve cases, and failure in three. In the second stage 
of hooping-cough, Dr. Steymann represents it to be a prompt and efficacious 
remedy. When prescribed as a tonic, the usual dose is from five to thirty grains 
three times a day, given in pill or powder, and frequently combined with aro- 
matics and vegetable tonics. In neuralgia, chorea, and tetanus, it is administered 
in doses of from one to two teaspoonfuls. No nicety need be observed in the 
dose; as its only obvious effect in very large doses is a slight nausea, and a sense 
of weight at the stomach. It blackens the stools. 
The subcarbonate of iron acts as an antidote to the poison of arsenious acid, 
provided it has not been exposed to a red heat; and, though not so powerful as 
the hydrated oxide in the form of magma, should always be used until the latter 
can be procured. (See page 30.) 
Off. Prep. Emplastrum Ferri, U. S.; Ferrum Redactum, U. S.; Trochisci 
Ferri Subcarbonatis, U. S. B. 
FERRI SULPHAS. U.S.,Br. Sulphate of Iron. G-reen Vitriol. 
“ Take of Iron, in the form of wire, and cut in pieces, twelve troy ounces; Sul- 
phuric acid eighteen troyounces; Water eight pints. Mix the Sulphuric Acid 
and Water, and add the iron; then heat the mixture until effervescence ceases. 
Pour off the Solution, and, having added thirty grains of Sulphuric Acid, filter 
through paper, allowing the lower end of the funnel to touch the bottom of the 
receiving vessel. Evaporate the filtered liquor in a matrass until sufficiently con- 
centrated ; then set it aside in a covered vessel to crystallize. Drain the crystals 
in a funnel, dry them on bibulous paper, and keep them in a well-stopped bottle.” 
U.S. 
“ Take of Iron Wire four ounces [avoirdupois]; Sulphuric Acid four fluid- 
ounces [Imperial measure] ; Distilled Water one pint and a half [Imp. meas.]. 
Pour the Water on the Iron placed in a porcelain capsule, add the Sulphuric 
Acid, and, when the disengagement of gas has nearly ceased, boil for ten mi- 
nutes. Filter now through paper, and, after the lapse of twenty-four hours, sepa- 
rate the crystals which have been deposited from the solution. Let these be dried 
on filtering paper placed on porous bricks, and preserved in a stoppered bottle.” 
Br. 
The object of these processes is to make a pure sulphate of protoxide of iron 
by direct combination. Sulphuric acid, in a concentrated state, acts but imper- 
fectly on iron; but when diluted, a vigorous action takes place, the oxygen of 
the water converts the metal into protoxide, with which the sulphuric acid unites, 
and hydrogen is evolved. The equivalent quantities for mutual reaction are 28 
of iron to 49 of acid. This proportion is one part of iron to one and three-quar- 
ters of acid. The U. S. proportion is one part of iron to one and a half ol acid, 
and gives a quantity of iron one-sixth more than the acid can dissolve. The PART II. 
Ferrum. 
1147 
British Council uses an excess of acid, the weight of acid taken being 7 38 
avoirdupois ounces, instead of 7. An excess of iron, however, is desirable; as it 
tends to secure the production of a perfect sulphate of the protoxide. The re- 
maining steps of the U. S. process are peculiar, and are intended to secure the 
formation of a salt, entirely free from sesquioxide, by the fnethod of Bonsdorff*. 
This chemist found that, when a perfect sulphate of protoxide of iron was formed 
in solution by heating dilute sulphuric acid with an excess of iron, it might be 
crystallized free from sesquioxide, provided a little excess of sulphuric acid were 
added to the liquid before filtration, in order to hold in solution any sesquioxide 
that may have been formed; at the same time avoiding, as much as possible, the 
contact of the air. Hence the directions in the U. S. formula to acidulate with 
sulphuric acid, to cause the funnel to touch the bottom of the receiving vessel, 
which avoids the dropping of the liquid through the air, and to c6ver the vessel 
containing the concentrated liquid, when it is set aside to crystallize. The Lon- 
don and Edinburgh Colleges prepared this officinal by purifying the impure 
commercial sulphate; but their plan was superseded by that of the Dublin Col- 
lege in the recent consolidation of the several pharmacopoeias in the British. 
Properties. Sulphate of iron is in the form of transparent crystals, efflores- 
cent in the air, of a pale bluish-green colour, and having the shape of oblique 
rhombic prisms. It has a styptic taste, and an acid reaction. As prepared by 
Bonsdorff’s method, it is blue verging to green. When it becomes more green 
than blue, or entirely green, an indication is afforded that it contains some ses- 
quioxide. By exposure to the air the crystals absorb oxygen, and become first 
green, and ultimately covered with a yellow efflorescence of monosulphate of the 
sesquioxide, insoluble in water. Sometimes the crystals are quite permanent 
when made by Bonsdorff’s method, owing to the slight excess of acid which they 
contain. Sulphate of iron is soluble in about twice its weight of cold water, and 
in three-fourths of its weight of boiling water, but is insoluble in alcohol. The 
aqueous solution is bluish-green; but by standing it attracts oxygen, and is ren- 
dered first green and then reddish, depositing, in the mean time, a portion of 
sesquisulphate of the sesquioxide, having the composition 2Fe20s,3S03 + 8IIO. 
(Wittstein, Chemical Gazette, May 15, 1849, from Buchner's Pepert.) When 
heated moderately, it parts with six-sevenths of its water of crystallization, 
and becomes grayish-white. (See Ferri Sulphas Exsiccata.) At a red heat it 
loses its acid, and is converted into the anhydrous sesquioxide of iron called 
colcothar. It is incompatible with the alkalies and their carbonates, soaps, lime- 
water, the chlorides of calcium and barium, the borate and phosphate of soda, 
nitrate of silver, and the acetate and subacetate of lead. It is decomposed also 
by astringent vegetable infusions, the tannic and gallic acids of which form, if 
any sesquioxide be present, a black compound of the nature of ink. The extent 
to which this change lessens the activity of the salt is not well ascertained. Sul- 
phate of iron, as kept in the shops, is often the impure commercial sulphate, 
which is not fit for medicinal use.* The perfectly pure salt is precipitated white 
* Commercial Sulphate of Iron. Ferri Sulphas Venalis. Lend. Green Vitriol. Copperas. 
This was formerly officinal in the London Pharmacopoeia, in which it was employed for 
preparing the pure sulphate. It is manufactured on a large scale for the purposes of the 
arts, from the native sulphuret of iron, or iron pyrites, by roasting, oxidation by exposure 
to air and moisture, and lixiviation. The constituents of the mineral become sulphuric 
acid and protoxide of iron, which, by their union, form the salt. Sulphate iron is also ob- 
tained in many chemical processes as a collateral product, as in the manufacture of alum, 
in the precipitation of copper from solutions of sulphate of copper by scraps of iron, &c. 
Commercial sulphate of iron is far from being pure. Besides containing some sesqui- 
oxide of iron, it is generally contaminated with metallic and earthy salts; such as those 
of copper, zinc, alumina, and magnesia. Two principal kinds occur in the market; one in 
large grass-green crystals, the surface of which is studded with ochreous spots; the other, 
of a bluish-green colour, and ordinarily mixed with the powder of the effloresced salt. The 
commercial sulphate should never be dispensed by the apothecary, until it has undergone 1148 
Ferrum. 
PART n. 
by ferrocyanide of potassium; but that of ordinary purity gives a greenish pre- 
cipitate, more or less deep, with this test, owing to the presence of some sesqui- 
oxide of iron. Copper may be detected by immersing in the solution a bright 
piece of iron, on which a cupreous film will be deposited. Both copper and zinc 
may be discovered by sesquioxidizing the iron by boiling the solution of the salt 
with nitric acid, and then precipitatirig the iron by an excess of ammonia. If the 
filtered solution is blue, copper is present; and if it contain zinc, this will be 
separated in flakes of white oxide, on expelling the excess of ammonia by ebul- 
lition. Sulphate of iron,'when crystallized, consists of one eq. of acid 40, one of 
protoxide 36, and seven of water 63 = 139, and its formula is FeO,S03-f-7HO. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Sulphate of iron is astringent and tonic. In 
large doses it .is apt to produce nausea, vomiting, griping, and purging; and its 
use, when long continued, injures the stomach. As its effect is chiefly that of an 
astringent, it cannot be used with advantage to improve the quality of the blood. 
As an astringent it is given in diseases attended with immoderate discharges; 
{such as passive hemorrhages, colliquative sweats, diabetes, chronic mucous ca- 
tarrh, leucorrhoea, gleet, &c. As a tonic it is used in dyspepsia, and in the de- 
bility following protracted diseases. In amenorrhoea with deficient action it is 
resorted to with supposed advantage, either alone or conjoined with the fetid 
and stimulant gums. Externally, the solution is used in chronic ophthalmia, leu- 
corrhcea, and gleet, made of various strengths, from one or two, to eight or ten 
grains of the salt to the fluidounce of water. M. Velpeau has found it an excel- 
lent remedy in erysipelas, applied topically in the form of solution or ointment 
In forty cases in which it was tried, it cut short the disease in from 24 to 48 
hours. The solution was made of three and a half drachms of the salt to a pint 
of water, and applied by compresses, kept constantly wet. In a few cases conve- 
nience required the application of the ointment, made of eight-parts of the salt 
to thirty of lard. An ointment, made of one or two parts of the sulphate to sixty 
of lard, was found by M. Devergie to be particularly efficacious in certain skin 
diseases, especially in the different forms of eczema. In scaly affections it had no 
effect. The dose is one or two grains, in the form of pill, which should be made 
from the dried sulphate. (See Ferri Sulphas Exsiccata.) When given in so- 
lution, the water should be previously boiled to expel the air, which, if allowed 
to remain, would partially decompose the salt. Taken in an overdose it acts as 
a poison. 
Off. Prep. Ferri Arsenias, Br.; Ferri Carbonas Saccharata, Br.; Ferri et 
Quinim Citras, Br.; Ferri Oxidum Magneticum, Br.; Ferri Phosphas; Ferri 
Subcarbonas, U. S.; Ferri Sulphas Exsiccata; Liquor Ferri Subsulphatis, U. S.; 
Liquor Ferri Tersulphatis, U. S.; Mister a Ferri Composita; Pilulse Ferri Car- 
bouatis, U. S.; Pil. Ferri Composite, U. S. B. 
FERRI SULPHAS EXSICCATA. U.S.,Br. Dried Sulphate of Iron. 
“ Take of Sulphate of Iron, in coarse powder, twelve troyounces. Expose it, 
in an unglazed earthen vessel, to a moderate heat, with occasional stirring, until 
it has effloresced; then increase the heat to 300°, and maintain it at about that 
temperature until the salt ceases to lose weight. Lastly, reduce the residue to 
fine powder, and keep it in a well-stopped bottle.” XJ. S. 
“ Take of Sulphate of Iron four ounces. Expose the Sulphate of Iron in a 
a careful purification. The following was the formula of the London College for effecting 
this object. 
“Take of Commercial Sulphate of Iron four ounces [troy]; Sulphuric Acid a fluidounce 
[Imperial measure]; Iron wire an ounce [troy'\; Distilled Water four pints [Imp. meas.]. 
Mix the Acid with the Water, and add to them the Sulphate and Iron, then apply heat, 
stirring occasionally, till the Sulphate is dissolved. Filter the solution while hot, and set 
aside to crystallize. Pour off the liquor, and evaporate it that crystals may again form. 
Dry all the crystals.”—Note to the twelfth edition. PART II. 
Ferrum 
1149 
porcelain capsule to a moderate heat, which may be finally raised to 400°, until 
aqueous vapour ceases to be given off. Reduce the residue to a fine powder, 
and preserve it in a stoppered bottle.v Br. 
In these processes six eqs. out of seven of the water of crystallization of the 
salt are driven off. The heat should not exceed 400°, otherwise the salt itself 
would suffer decomposition. Dried sulphate of iron is used for making pills, the 
crystallized sulphate not being adapted to that purpose. In prescribing the dried 
sulphate it is necessary to recollect that three grains are equivalent to five of the 
crystallized salt. B. 
FERRI SULPHAS GRANULATA. Br. Granulated Sulphate of 
Iron. 
“ Take of Iron Wire four ounces [avoirdupois] ; Sulphuric Acid four fluid- 
ounces [Imperial measure] ; Distilled Water one pint and a /?,o(/’[Imp. meas.] ; 
Rectified Spirit eight jluidounces [Imp. meas.]. Pour the Water on the Iron 
placed in a porcelain capsule, add the Sulphuric Acid, and, when the disengage- 
ment of gas has nearly ceased, boil for ten minutes, and then filter the solution 
into ajar containing the spirit, stirring the mixture so that the salt shall sepa- 
rate in minute granular crystals. Let these, deprived by decantation of adhering 
liquid, be transferred on filtering paper to porous bricks, and dried by exposure 
to the atmosphere. They should be preserved in a stoppered bottle.” Br. 
The directions given in the first part of this process are precisely the same as 
those laid down by the British Council for making Sulphate of Iron; but the 
hot solution of the iron in the sulphuric acid, instead of being allowed to filter 
into an empty vessel, is made to drop into a portion of rectified spirit, the mix- 
ture being stirred while it cools. The acid directed is in excess; and the filtrate 
is consequently an acid solution of sulphate of protoxide of iron, mixed with 
spirit. The stirring as the mixture cools finely granulates the salt, which sepa- 
rates perfectly pure; the spirit holding in solution any tersulphate of sesquioxide 
of iron which may have been formed, and the excess of acid dissolving any free 
sesquioxide. This process, in its main features, is the same as that of M. Ber- 
themot, given in the eighth edition of this work. It was adopted from the Dub- 
lin Pharmacopoeia. 
Properties, &c. Granulated sulphate of iron is a crystalline, granular, bluish- 
white powder. When carefully dried it undergoes no change by keeping. It ap- 
pears to have been introduced into the catalogue of the Dublin Pharmacopoeia 
of 1850, as-the best form of the sulphate for conversion into the officinal dried 
salt; and its peculiar state of aggregation would seem to fit it for that purpose; 
yet this intention, if it existed, seems to have been overlooked in the revision of 
the British Pharmacopoeia, in which the granulated salt is not directed in the 
formula for the dried sulphate. The only reason for its retention was probably 
that it is less liable to oxidation on exposure than the sulphate in its ordinary 
form. 
Off. Prep. Syrupus Ferri Phosphatis, Br. B. 
FERRUM REDACTUM. U.S.,Br. Ferri Pulvis. U.S. 1850. Re- 
duced Iron. Powder of Iron. 
“ Take of Subcarbonate of Iron thirty troyounces. Wash the Subcarbonate 
thoroughly with water until no traces of sulphate of soda are indicated by the 
appropriate tests, and calcine it in a shallow vessel until free from moisture. 
Then spread it upon a tray, made by bending an oblong piece of sheet-iron in 
the form of an incomplete cylinder, and introduce this into a wrought iron reduc- 
tion-tube, of about four inches in diameter. Place the reduction-tube in a char- 
coal furnace; and, by means of a self-regulating generator of hydrogen, pass 
through it a stream of that gas, previously purified by bubbling successively 
through solution of subacetate of lead, diluted with three times its volume of 1150 
Ferrum, 
PART II. 
water, and through milk of lime, severally contained in four-pint bottles, about 
one-third filled. Connect with the further extremity of the reduction-tube, a 
lead tube bent so as to dip into water. Make all the junctions air-tight by ap- 
propriate lutes; and, when the hydrogen has passed long enough to fill the 
whole of the apparatus to the exclusion of atmospheric air, light the fire, and 
bring that part of the reduction-tube, occupied by the Subcarbonate, to a dull- 
red heat, which must be kept up so long as the bubbles of hydrogen, breaking 
from the water covering the orifice of the lead thbe, are accompanied by visible 
aqueous vapour. When the reduction is completed, remove the fire, and allow 
the whole to cool to the temperature, keeping up, during the refrige- 
ration, a moderate current of hydrogen through the apparatus. Withdraw the 
product from the reduction-tube, and, should any portion of it be black instead 
of iron-gray, separate such portion for use in a subsequent operation. Lastly, 
having powdered the Reduced Iron, keep it in a well-stopped bottle. When 
thirty troyouuces of Subcarbonate of Iron are operated on, the process occupies 
from five to eight hours.” U. S. 
“ Take of Peroxide of Iron one ounce [avoirdupois] ; Zinc, granulated, Sul- 
phuric Acid of commerce, Chloride of Calcium, each, a sufficiency. Introduce 
the Peroxide of Iron into a gun-barrel, confining it to the middle part of the 
tube by plugs of asbestos. Pass the gun barrel through a furnace, and, when it 
has been raised to a strong red heat, cause it to be traversed by a stream of hy- 
drogen gas, developed by the action on the Zinc of some of the Sulphuric Acid 
diluted with eight times its volume of water. The gas before entering the gun- 
barrel must be rendered quite dry by being made to pass first through the remain- 
der of the Sulphuric Acid, and then through a tube eighteen inches long, packed 
with minute fragments of the Chloride of Calcium. The farther end of the gun- 
barrel is to be connected by a cork with a bent tube dipping under water; and 
when the hydrogen is observed to pass through the water at the same rate that 
it bubbles through the Sulphuric Acid, the furnace is to be allowed to cool down 
to the temperature of the atmosphere, the current of hydrogen being still con- 
tinued. The reduced iron is then to be withdrawn, and enclosed in a dry stop- 
pered bottle.'' Br. 
This preparation was introduced into the U. S. and Dublin Pharmacopoeias 
of 1850, and is retained in the present edition of our own, and in the British. 
It consists of metallic iron in fine powder, obtained by reducing the sesqui- 
oxide by hydrogen at a dull-red heat. The subcarbonate of the U. S. Pharma- 
copoeia, which is essentially the sesquioxide of iron, is deprived of water by cal- 
cination, and then subjected to the reducing influence of a stream of hydro- 
gen, purified from sulphuretted hydrogen and other acid by passing successively 
through a solution of subacetate of lead and milk of lime. The hydrogen unites 
with the oxygen of the sesquioxide to form water, and leaves the iron in the 
metallic state. The subcarbonate should be perfectly free from sulphate of soda, 
which it is apt to contain when imperfectly washed. If this salt be present it 
will be reduced by the hydrogen to the state of sulphuret of sodium, which will 
contaminate and spoil the metallic iron formed, and cause the preparation, when 
taken, to give rise to unpleasant eructations. The heat should be carefully regu- 
lated ; for if it fall below dull redness, part of the oxide will escape reduction; 
and, if it exceed that point considerably, the particles of reduced iron will ag- 
glutinate, and the preparation will be heavy and not readily pulverizable. The 
British process is not so well fitted for practical purposes as that of the U. S. 
Pharmacopoeia. The direction to dry the hydrogen is unnecessary. On the sub- 
ject of powder of iron, manufacturing chemists will find it useful to consult the 
paper of MM. Soubeiran and Dublanc, in which full directions are given for puri- 
fying the hydrogen, constructing the furnace, regulating the heat, and avoiding 
explosions. (Amer. Journ. of Pharm., xviii. 303, from the Journ. do Pharm., PART n, 
Ferrum. 
1151 
viii. 187.) Prof. Procter, of Philadelphia, has made some improvements in the 
process of Soubeiran and Dublanc, which he has communicated in a paper, em- 
bracing many useful details. (Amer. Journ. of Pharm., xix. 11.) 
Since the tenth edition of this work was published, several processes have 
been proposed for obtaining powder of iron. Mr. Arthur Morgan, of Dublin, 
recommends the use of dried ferrocyanide of potassium, thoroughly mixed with 
anhydrous red oxide of iron, and calcined with pure carbonate of potassa at a 
low red heat. The product contains all the iron in a reduced state, mixed with 
soluble matters, which are carefully washed away. (See Amer. Journ. of Pharm., 
Sept. 1854, p. 450.) A similar process to the above has been proposed by a 
German chemist, named Zangerle; the oxalate of protoxide of iron being sub- 
stituted for the red oxide. (See Pharm. Journ., May, 1857, p. 565.) Prof. 
Wohler recommends the use of the same oxalate, not in connection with ferro- 
cyanide of potassium; but as a suitable compound of iron for reduction by 
hydrogen. Oxalate of protoxide of iron is a salt of a lemon-yellow colour, and 
may be obtained by precipitating a concentrated solution of sulphate of iron 
with oxalic acid. Another eligible compound for reduction is the crystalline 
powder of oxide of iron, prepared by fusing, in a clay crucible, pure dried sul- 
phate of iron with three times its weight of chloride of sodium, and then wash- 
ing the melted mass when cold, until everything soluble is removed. {Wohler.) 
The process of M. Eugene Fegueux consists in reducing the oxide of iron by 
carbonic oxide, formed by passing a stream of carbonic acid over red-hot char- 
coal in the reduction tube, before it reaches the oxide of iron. The carbonic acid, 
thus reduced to carbonic oxide, is formed again by the deoxidizing of the ferru- 
ginous oxide. 
Properties. Powder of iron, called by the French, fer reduit, is a light, taste- 
less powder, soft to the touch, of an iron-gray colour, and without metallic lustre. 
If black the preparation is to be rejected as not being fully deoxidized. When 
thrown into a dilute acid, it causes a lively effervescence of hydrogen. A small 
portion of it, struck on an anvil with a smooth hammer, forms a scale, having a 
brilliant metallic lustre. On account of its great liability to oxidation, it should 
be kept in a dry bottle, well stopped. A black powder, having a composition 
corresponding with that of the magnetic oxide of iron, has been sold in London 
and Edinburgh under the name of Quevenne’s iron. The spurious powder may 
be known by its having a black instead of an iron-gray colour, and by its effer- 
vescing but slightly with acids. In the process for making reduced iron, part of 
the sesquioxide almost always escapes full deoxidation, and comes out of the 
tube of a black colour. This part should be rejected, instead of being sold as 
reduced iron, as appears to have been done by some manufacturing chemists. If 
the preparation has been very badly made, its solution in dilute sulphuric acid 
will produce an intensely red colour with sulphocyanide of potassium. 
Medical Properties. Powder of iron, reduced from the oxide by hydrogen, 
was first prepared for medicinal purposes by Quevenne and Miquelard, of Paris. 
The general therapeutic properties of the preparations of iron, and the mode 
in which they should be given, have been stated under another head. (See page 
193.) Of these, the preparation under consideration is among the most import- 
ant. It is that which introduces the largest proportion of iron into the gastric 
juice, according to Quevenne, and to M. Costes, of Bordeaux. The chief objec- 
tion to it is the difficulty of obtaining it well prepared. Much of the powder of 
iron found in the shops is not to be depended on, in consequence of imperfect 
reduction. The principal diseases in which it has been employed are anaemia, 
chlorosis, amenorrhcea, chorea, and enlargement of the spleen following inter- 
mittent fever. Its general mode of action is to improve the quality of impove- 
rished blood. Observations to determine its .therapeutic value, compared with 
that of the other ferruginous preparations, were made by M. Costes, for nearly 1152 
Hydrargyrum. 
PART IL 
tour years, at the hospital Saint-Andre, of Bordeaux, and with results highly 
favourable to it. The dose is from three to six grains several times a day, given 
in powder or pill. It is sometimes prepared with chocolate in the form of lo- 
zenges. B. 
HYDRARGYRUM. 
Preparations of Mercury. 
Of the mercurial preparations formerly officinal, the following have been dis- 
carded in the recent editions of the U. S. and British Pharmacopoeias; Pure 
Mercury, Dub., Solution of Bichloride of Mercury, Lond., Black Oxide of 
Mercury, U. S., Black Sulphuret of Mercury, U. S., and Mercury with Mag- 
nesia, Dub. The Solution of Nitrate of Mercury has been transferred to the 
Liquores or Solutions. 
HYDRARGYRI CIILORIDUM CORROSIYUM. U.S. Hydrargy- 
rum Corrosiyum Sublimatum. Br. Hydrargyri Biciiloridum. Bond. 
Corrosive Chloride of Mercury. Bichloride of Mercury. Corrosive Subli- 
mate. 
“Take of Mercury twenty-four troyounces; Sulphuric Acid thirty-six troy- 
ounces; Chloride of Sodium eighteen troyounces. Boil, by means of a sand- 
bath, the Mercury with the Sulphuric Acid until a dry white mass is left. Rub 
this, when cold, with the Chloride of Sodium in an earthenware mortar; then 
sublime with a gradually increasing heat.” U. S. 
“Take of Sulphate of Mercury twenty ounces [avoirdupois]; Chloride of So- 
dium, dried, ten ounces [avoird.]; Black Oxide of Manganese, in fine powder, one 
ounce [avoird.]. Reduce the Sulphate of Mercury and the Chloride of Sodium 
each to fine powder, and, having mixed them and the Oxide of Manganese 
thoroughly by trituration in a mortar, place the mixture in a tall matrass of green 
glass, and, by a regulated heat applied through the intervention of sand, let the 
corrosive sublimate be sublimed. The matrass must now be broken in order to 
remove the sublimate, which should be kept in jars or bottles impervious to the 
light.” Br. 
In order to understand the above processes, which are the same in principle, 
it is necessary to premise that corrosive sublimate is a bichloride of mercury, 
consisting of two eqs. of chlorine and one of mercury. By boiling sulphuric acid 
in excess with mercury to dryness, a white salt is formed, which is a bisulphate 
of the deutoxide of mercury. (See Hydrargyri Sulphas.) When this is mixed 
with chloride of sodium (common salt), and the mixture exposed to a subliming 
heat, a mutual decomposition takes place. The chlorine of the common salt 
combines with the mercury, and sublimes as bichloride of mercury; while the 
sodium, oxygen of the deutoxide of mercury, and sulphuric acid unite to form 
sulphate of soda, which remains behind. The quantities for mutual decomposi- 
tion are two eqs. of chloride of sodium, consisting of twro eqs. of chlorine and 
two of sodium; and one eq. of bisulphate of deutoxide of mercury, consisting of 
one eq. of mercury, two of oxygen, and two of sulphuric acid. The two eqs. of 
chlorine combine with the one eq. of mercury to form one eq. of corrosive subli- 
mate; arid the two eqs., severally, of sodium, oxygen, and sulphuric acid form, 
by their union, two eqs. of dry sulphate of soda. The British formula differs 
from ours in ordering the bisulphate of the deutoxide of mercury ready formed, 
under the name of sulphate of mercury, instead of preparing it as the first step 
of the process, and in the use of a small proportion of black oxide of manga- 
nese, intended to deutoxidize any portion of protoxide of mercury that may be 
contained in the sulphate, and thereby prevent the formation of protochloride of 
mercury or calomel. (See Hydrargyri Sulphas.) 
The names given in the two Pharmacopoeias to this important chloride, do pakt ii. 
Hydrargyrum. 
1153 
not exactly correspond. It is called the corrosive chloride of mercury in the 
U. S. Pharmacopoeia, and corrosive sublimate, irrespective of chemical nomen- 
clature, in the British. Thus far, no harm can arise from the want of conformity, 
as neither of these names can be mistaken; but, unfortunately, it has been deemed 
proper, in the Br. Pharmacopoeia, immediately after the officinal title, and in 
close connection with it, to define the salt as chloride of mercury, in conformity 
with the new view, adopted in that work, of the equivalent of mercury. Now 
this view is by no means universally accepted, and, with many, calomel is still 
the chloride of mercury; so that there is some chance that, should calomel be 
prescribed by this title, corrosive sublimate may be dispensed for it, with danger- 
ous if not fatal effects to the patient. Indeed, death has, at least in one recorded 
instance, occurred in consequence of this confusion of nomenclature; and our 
officinal guides should take especial care to guard against such mistakes, instead 
of contributing to them. 
Preparation on the Large Scale, &c. The first step is to form the bisulphate 
of the deutoxide of mercury, which is effected by heating the sulphuric acid and 
metal together in an iron pot, so arranged as to carry off the unwholesome fumes 
of sulphurous acid, which are copiously generated. The dry salt obtaiued is 
then mixed with the common salt, and the mixture sublimed in an iron pot lined 
with clay, and covered by an inverted earthen pan. The late Dr. A. T. Thomson, 
of London, took out a patent for forming corrosive sublimate, on the large scale, 
by the direct combination, by combustion, of gaseous chlorine with heated mer- 
cury. The prbduct is stated to be perfectly pure, and to be afforded at a lower 
price than the sublimate made in the usual way. In order that the combination 
may take place, the mercury need not be heated to its boiling point, but only to 
a temperature between 300° and 400°. According to Dr. Maclagan, corrosive 
sublimate, made by this process, is liable to the objection that a proportion of 
calomel is always formed, occasionally amounting to 10 per cent. 
It may sometimes be useful to know how to make a small quantity of corro- 
sive sublimate on an emergency. This may be done by dissolving deutoxide of 
mercury (red precipitate) in muriatic acid, evaporating the solution to dryness, 
dissolving the dry mass in water, and crystallizing. Here a double decomposi- 
tion takes place, resulting in the formation of water and the bichloride. 
Properties. Corrosive chloride of mercury, as obtained by sublimation, is in 
the form of colourless crystals, or of white, semi-transparent, crystalline masses, 
of the sp. gr. 5 2, permanent in the air, and of an exceedingly acrid, styptic, me- 
tallic, durable taste. It dissolves in 16 parts of cold water, and in 3 of boiling 
water. A boiling saturated solution, upon cooling, lets it fall in a confused mass 
of crystals. It is soluble also in 2 3 parts of cold alcohol, in about its own weight 
of boiling alcohol, and in 3 parts of ether. The latter solvent is capable of re- 
moving corrosive sublimate, to a considerable extent, from its aqueous solution, 
when agitated with it. According to M. Mialhe, ether will not dissolve it when 
accompanied by a considerable quantity of deutoxide of mercury, and a chloride 
of an alkalifiable metal. Sulphuric, nitric, and muriatic acids dissolve it without 
alteration. When heated it melts, and readily sublimes in dense, white, acrid 
vapours, which condense, on cool surfaces, in white shining needles. Its aqueous 
solution renders green the syrup of violets, and is precipitated brick-red, be- 
coming yellow, by the fixed alkalies and alkaline earths, and white by ammonia. 
(See Hydrargyrum Ammoniatum.) The former precipitate is the hydrated 
deutoxide of mercury, which has the property of emitting oxygen, and of being 
reduced to metallic globules when exposed to heat. This oxide is formed in the 
process for preparing aqua phagedsenica, called also lotio fiava or yellow wash, 
which is obtained by mixing half a drachm of corrosive sublimate with a pint of 
'lime-water. Corrosive sublimate forms with muriate of ammonia and chloride 
of sodium, compounds which are more soluble than the uncombined mercurial 
k C\ PART II. 
1154 
Hydrargyrum. 
salt. It is on thu account that aqueous solutions of sal ammoniac, or of com- 
mon salt, dissolve much more corrosive sublimate than simple water. The com- 
bination of corrosive sublimate with muriate of ammonia was formerly called sal 
alembroth or salt of wisdom. According to F. Hinterberger, corrosive sublimate 
is capable of combining with quinia and cinchonia. (Chem. Gaz.t ix. 211.) 
Corrosive sublimate has the property of retarding putrefaction. Animal mat- 
ters, immersed in its solution, shrink, acquire firmness, assume a white colour, 
and become imputrescible. On account of this property it is usefully employed 
for preserving anatomical preparations. 
Test of Purity and Incompatibles. Pure corrosive chloride of mercury sub- 
limes, when heated, without residue, and its powder is entirely and readily solu- 
ble in ether. Consequently, if a portion of any sample should not wholly dissolve 
in ether, or if it should not evaporate entirely, the presence of some impurity is 
proved. If calomel be present, it will not be wholly soluble in water. Corrosive 
sublimate is incompatible with many of the metals, the alkalies and their car- 
bonates, soap, lime-water, tartar emetic, nitrate of silver, the acetates of lead, 
the sulphurets of potassium and sodium, and all the hydrosulphates. It is de- 
composed by many vegetable and some animal substances. According to Dr. 
A. T. Thomson, it produces precipitates in infusions or decoctions of chamomile, 
horse-radish, coluinbo, catechu, cinchona, rhubarb, senna, simaruba, and oak- 
bark. MM. Mialhe and Lepage have shown that corrosive sublimate is slowly 
converted into calomel by syrup of sarsaparilla and syrup of honey, but is not 
changed by contact with pure syrup. B. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Corrosive sublimate is a very powerful pre- 
paration, operating quickly, and, if not properly regulated, producing violent 
effects. It is less apt to salivate than most other mercurials. In minute doses, 
suitably repeated, it may exert its peculiar influence without any obvious altera- 
tion of the vital functions, except, perhaps, a slight increase in the frequency of 
the pulse, and in the secretions from the skin and kidneys. Sometimes, however, 
it purges; but this effect may be obviated by combining it with a little opium. 
In larger doses it occasions nausea, vomiting, griping pain in the bowels, diar- 
rhoea, and other symptoms of gastric and intestinal irritation; and in still larger 
quantities produces all the effects of a violent corrosive poison. It has long 
been used as a remedy in syphilis, in all stages of which it has been highly 
recommended. It is said to remove the symptoms more speedily than other 
mercurials; whilst its action is less unpleasant, as the mouth is less liable to be 
made sore. For the latter reason it has been much employed by empirics, and 
is an ingredient in most of those nostrums which have at various periods gained 
a temporary popularity as anti-venereals. But, while it is extolled by some 
authors, others, among whom is Mr. Pearson, of London, deny its extraordinary 
merits, and maintain that, though occasionally useful in arresting the progress 
of the complaint, particularly in the secondary stage, it does not produce per- 
manent cures, and, in the primary stage, often fails altogether. On the whole it 
appears to be best adapted to secondary syphilis, in which it occasionally does 
much good. It is also used advantageously in some chronic cutaneous affec- 
tions, and in obstinate chronic rheumatism. It is usually associated with altera- 
tive or diaphoretic medicines, such as the antimonials, and the compound decoc- 
tion or syrup of sarsaparilla; and, in order to obviate the irritation it is apt to 
produce, it may often be advantageously united with opium, or extract of hem- 
lock. There is no doubt that many of the substances, in connection with which 
it is employed, alter its chemical condition; but it does not follow that, even in 
its altered state, it may not be very useful as a remedy. 
Externally employed, corrosive sublimate is stimulant and esoharotic. A 
solution in water, containing from an eighth to half a grain in the is 
employed as an injection in gleet, as a gargle in venereal sorethroat, and as a PART II. 
Hydrargyrum. 
1155 
collyrium in chronic venereal ophthalmia. A stronger solution, containing one 
or two grains in the fluidounce, is an efficacious wash in lepra, and other scalj- 
eruptions. Dissolved in water, in the proportion of five to ten grains to the 
fluidounce, it may be used with much benefit in venereal ulcers of the throat, to 
which it should be applied by means of a camel’s hair pencil. With lime-water 
it forms the aqua phagedsenica of the older writers, employed as a wash for ill- 
conditioned ulcers. The powdered chloride has been used as an escharotic; but 
is, in general, inferior to nitrate of silver or caustic potassa. In onychia ma- 
ligna, however, it is employed with great advantage, mixed with an equal 
weight of sulphate of zinc, and sprinkled thickly upon the surface of the ulcer, 
which is then to be covered with a pledget of lint saturated with tincture of 
myrrh. The whole diseased surface is thus removed, and the ulcer heals. This 
practice originated, we believe, with the late Dr. Perkins, of Philadelphia, and 
was highly recommended by Dr. Physick. We have often employed it with com- 
plete success. A solution of corrosive sublimate in collodion, in the proportion 
of four parts of the former to thirty of the latter, has of late been used as a 
caustic, for the destruction of nsevi materni, and for other purposes. It has the 
advantages that it may be applied to parts of inconvenient access for ordinary 
caustics, and forms a well defined boundary, without risk of spreading. It is 
applied by means of a camel’s hair pencil. 
The dose of corrosive sublimate is from the twelfth to the quarter of a grain, 
repeated three or four times a day, and given in pill, or dissolved in water or 
spirit. The pill, which is the preferable form, is usually prepared with crumb of 
bread; and care should be taken that the medicine be equally diffused through 
the pilular mass, before it is divided. Mucilaginous drinks are usually given to 
obviate the irritating effects of the medicine. 
Toxicological Properties. Swallowed in poisonous doses, it produces burn- 
ing heat in the throat, excruciating pain in the stomach and bowels, excessive 
thirst, anxiety, nausea and frequent retching with vomiting of bloody mucus, 
diarrhma and sometimes bloody stools, small and frequent pulse, cold sweats, 
general debility, difficult respiration, cramps in the extremities, faintings, insensi- 
bility, convulsions, and death. The mucous membrane of the stomach exhibits, 
on dissection, signs of the operation of a violent corrosive poison. These symp- 
toms are sometimes followed or conjoined with others indicating an excessive 
mercurial action upon the system, such as inflammation of the mouth and sali- 
vary glands, profuse salivation, fetid breath, &c. A case is on record of death, 
in an infant, from the constitutional effects of corrosive sublimate sprinkled upon 
an excoriated surface; and, in two instances of children, the one seven, and the 
other nine years old, death, with all the symptoms of internal poisoning, fol- 
lowed the application to the scalp of an ointment, said to consist of one part 
of the corrosive chloride to four parts of tallow. {Dub. Quarterly, Aug. 1854, 
p. 70.) In the inferior animals, in whatever mode introduced into the system, it 
is said to occasion irritation of the-stomach and rectum, inflammation of the 
lungs, oppression of the brain, and depression if not inflammation of the heart. 
{Chi'istison.) In the treatment of poisoning by corrosive sublimate, Orfila re- 
commends the free use of the white of eggs beat up with water. The albumen 
forms an insoluble and comparatively innocent compound with the corrosive 
sublimate; and the liquid by its bulk dilutes the poison, and distends the sto- 
mach so as to produce vomiting. It is, however, asserted by M. Lassaigne that 
this compound of albumen and corrosive sublimate, when recently precipitated, 
is soluble in acid and alkaline liquids, and in solutions of the chlorides of potas- 
sium sodium, and calcium. (See Journ. de Pharm.,xxiii. 510.) It is also soluble 
in an excess of albumen, whether introduced into the stomach, or previously ex- 
isting there. It is, therefore, important, at the same time that the antidote is 
used, to evacuate the stomach before the newly formed compound can be dissolved. 1156 
Hydrargyrum. 
PART n. 
If eggs cannot be procured, wheat flour may be substituted; gluten having, ac- 
cording to M. Taddei, the same effect as albumen. Milk has also been recom- 
mended, in consequence of the insoluble compound which casein forms with the 
poison. Besides the antidotes mentioned, Peruvian bark, meconic acid, proto- 
sulphuret of iron, and iron filings have been proposed, all of which have the 
property of decomposing corrosive sublimate. The protosulphuret of iron was 
found quite successful by M. Mialhe in experiments upon dogs, if given immedi- 
ately after the poison was swallowed, but failed when delayed for ten minutes. 
Dr. T. H. Buckler, of Baltimore, made some experiments on lower animals upon 
the antidotal properties of a mixture of gold dust and iron filings, which, prov- 
ing successful, were published in the Medical and Surgical Journal in 1843; and 
a case of poisoning by corrosive sublimate has recently been recorded by Dr. Ch. 
Johnston, of the same city, in which the antidote was employed with the appa- 
rent effect of saving life, after albumen had been used without effect. Dr. John- 
ston, however, employed the reduced iron of the Pharmacopoeia, and gold leaf, 
arranging them in alternate layers, so as to make boluses of convenient size. 
{Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., April, 1863, p. 340.) The method of operating of 
this antidote will be understood, when the action of gold and iron as a test for 
corrosive sublimate is explained in the succeeding paragraph. It is of the ut- 
most importance that whatever antidote is used should be given without delay, 
and in this respect the one nearest at hand may be considered the best. Should 
neither of the substances mentioned be attainable, mucilaginous drinks should 
be largely administered; and, in any event, the patient should be made to drink 
copiously, so long as vomiting continues, or till-the symptoms are relieved. 
Should he be unable to vomit, the stomach should be washed out by means of 
the stomach pump. The consecutive inflammation should be treated with general 
or local bleeding, fomentations, and cooling mucilaginous drinks; and the attend- 
ant nervous symptoms should be alleviated by opiates. W. 
Tests for Corrosive Sublimate. On account of the extreme virulence of this 
chloride as a poison, the reagents by which it may be detected form a subject of 
study of the utmost importance, as connected with medico-legal investigations. 
The best tests for determining its mercurial nature, mentioned in the order of 
their delicacy, are ferrocyanide of potassium, lime-water, carbonate of potassa, 
iodide of potassium, ammonia, sulphuretted hydrogen, and protochloride of tin. 
Ferrocyanide of potassium gives rise to a white precipitate (ferrocyanide of 
mercury), becoming slowly yellowish, and at length pale-blue. Lime-water 
throws down a yellow precipitate of hydrated deutoxide. Carbonate of potassa 
causes a brick-red precipitate of carbonate of mercury. Iodide of potassium 
produces a very characteristic pale-scarlet precipitate of biniodide of mercury. 
This precipitate frequently appears at first yellow, especially if the corrosive sub- 
limate be present in minute proportion. Ammonia gives rise to a white, floccu- 
lent precipitate, the officinal ammoniated mercury, or white precipitate. Sul- 
phuretted hydrogen occasions a black precipitate of bisulphuret of mercury; 
and the same precipitate is thrown down by hydrosulphuret of ammonia. Finally, 
protochloride of tin causes a grayish-black precipitate (mercury in a finely di- 
vided state), and, as a test, is not liable to any fallacy. Taking the results of 
Devergie, the relative delicacy of these tests may be expressed numerically as 
follows:—Ferrocyanide of potassium l£; lime-water 4; carbonate of potassa I; 
iodide of potassium 8; ammonia 36; sulphuretted hydrogen or hydrosulphuret 
of ammonia 60; and protochloride of tin 80. To the above the following tests 
may be added, easily applied even by one unacquainted with chemistry. A bright 
plate of copper, immersed in a solution containing corrosive sublimate, is in- 
stantly tarnished, and, after the lapse of half an hour, becomes covered with a 
grayish-white powder. A polished piece of gold, moistened with the clear mer- 
curial solution, and touched through the liquid with a piece of iron, cor tracts a PAET II. 
Hydrargyrum. 
1157 
white stain. This test, which was proposed by Mr. Sylvester and simplified by 
Dr. Paris, is conveniently applied by moistening, with the suspected solution, » 
gold coin or ring, and touching it through the moistened spot with the point of 
a penknife. The object of the iron is to form with the gold a simple galvanic 
circle, which enables the latter metal to precipitate the mercury on its surface. 
Nearly all the above tests merely prove the presence of mercury. To determine 
whether the metal is united with chlorine, the mercurial liquid may be precipi- 
tated by lime-water, and the filtered solution, acidulated with nitric acid, then 
tested with nitrate of silver. If the mercury is in the state of chloride, the fil- 
tered solution will be one of chloride of calcium, which, with nitrate of silver, 
will yield a heavy white precipitate (chloride of silver), insoluble in nitric acid, 
but soluble in ammonia. The nitrate of silver may be added directly to the 
mercurial liquid; and, if it contain corrosive sublimate, chloride of silver will 
fall, but probably mixed with calomel. 
By the combined indications of the foregoing tests, corrosive sublimate may 
be infallibly detected, unless it exists in very minute quantity, associated with 
organic substances, by which its presence is often greatly obscured. When it 
exists in organic mixtures, made by boiling the contents or substance of the 
stomach in distilled water, Dr. Christison recommends that a preliminary trial 
be made with the protochloride of tin, on a small portion filtered for the purpose. 
If this causes a grayish-black colour, he shakes the mixture, as recommended by 
Orfila, with a fourth of its bulk of cold ether, which dissolves the corrosive sub- 
limate, and rises to the surface. The ethereal solution is then evaporated to 
dryness, and the dry salt obtained is dissolved in hot water, whereby a pure so- 
lution is procured, in which the poison may be readily detected by the ordinary 
tests. In using ether, however, it must be borne in mind that, as ascertained by 
M. Mialhe, the presence of a considerable quantity of deutoxide of mercury, and 
of a chloride of an alkalifiable metal, prevents the solvent power of ether. If 
the trial test should produce a light-gray colour, the corrosive sublimate is indi- 
cated in still less quantity, and Dr. Christison recommends to proceed in the fol- 
lowing manner. Treat the unfiltered mixture with protochloride of tin, as long 
as any precipitate is formed, which will have a slate-gray colour. Collect, wash, 
and drain it on a filter, and, having removed it without being dried, boil it, in a 
glass flask, with a moderately strong solution of caustic potassa, until all the 
lumps disappear. The alkali will dissolve all animal and vegetable matter; 
and, on allowing the solution to remain at rest, a heavy grayish-black powder 
will subside, which consists chiefly of metallic mercury, and in which small 
globules of the metal may sometimes be seen with the naked eye, or by the aid 
of a magnifier. Probably advantage might be derived from the process of dia- 
lysis, in separating corrosive sublimate, among other crystallizable substances, 
from the colloidal matters contained in organic mixtures. (See Dialysis, p. 896.) 
Off. Prep. Hydrargyri Iodidum Rubrum; Hydrargyrum Ammoniatum. B. 
HYDRARGYRI CHLORIDUM MITE. U. S. Calomelas. Br. Mild 
Chloride of Mercury. Calomel. 
“ Take of Mercury forty-eight troyounces; Sulphuric Acid thirty-six troy- 
ounces; Chloride of Sodium eighteen troyounces; Distilled Water a sufficient 
quantity. Boil, by means of a sand-bath, twenty-four troyounces of the Mercury 
with the Sulphuric Acid, until a dry white mass is left. Rub this, when cold, 
with the remainder of the Mercury, in an earthenware mortar, until they are 
thoroughly mixed. Then add the Chloride of Sodium, and, having rubbed it 
with the other ingredients until globules of Mercury cease to be visible, sublime 
the mixture. Reduce the sublimed matter to a very fine powder, wash it with 
boiling Distilled Water, until the washings afford no precipitate with water of 
ammonia, and dry it.” U. S. 
“ Take of Sulphate of Mercury ten ounces [avoirdupois]; Mercury seven 1158 
Hydrargyrum. 
PART II. 
ounces [avoird.]; Chloride of Sodium, dried, five ounces [avc'rd.]; Boiling 
Distilled Water a sufficiency. Moisten the Sulphate of Mercury with the Water, 
and rub it and the Mercury together until globules are no longer visible; add 
the Chloride of Sodium, and thoroughly mix the whole by continued trituration. 
Sublime by a suitable apparatus into a chamber of such size that the Calomel, 
instead of adhering to its sides as a crystalline crust, shall fall as a fine powder 
on its floor. Wash this powder with boiling Distilled Water, until the washings 
cease to be darkened by a drop of hydrosulphuret of ammonia. Finally, dry at 
a heat not exceeding 212°, and preserve in a jar or bottle impervious to light.” 
Br. 
The object of the above processes is to obtain the protochloride of mercury. 
This chloride consists of one eq. of chlorine and one of mercury, and conse- 
quently contains precisely half as much chlorine as corrosive sublimate, combined 
with the same quantity of mercury. In the U. S. process, as in the case of cor- 
rosive sublimate, a bisulphate of the deutoxide is first formed; but, instead of 
being immediately sublimed with the chloride of sodium, it undergoes a prepa- 
ratory trituration with a quantity of mercury equal to that employed in forming 
it. This trituration may be conceived to take place between one eq. of bisul- 
phate of the deutoxide, and one of metallic mercury, which are thus converted 
into two eqs. of monosulphate of the protoxide. This change will be easily un- 
derstood, by adverting to the fact, that the bisulphate of the deutoxide consists 
of two eqs. of sulphuric acid, two of oxygen, and one of mercury; and, when 
rubbed up with one additional eq. of mercury, the whole becomes two eqs. of 
acid, two of oxygen, and two of mercury, evidently corresponding with two eqs. 
of monosulphate of the protoxide. The two eqs. of monosulphate thus formed, 
being heated with two of common salt, the two eqs. of chlorine in the latter sub- 
lime in union with the two of mercury in the former, and generate two eqs. of 
protochloride of mercury; while the two eqs. severally, of sulphuric acid, oxygen, 
and sodium, unite together to form two of dry sulphate of soda, which remain 
as a fixed residue. It is hence apparent that the residue of this process and of 
that for corrosive sublimate is the same. 
The calomel in mass, as sublimed, is liable to contain a little corrosive subli- 
mate; and hence the direction of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia to reduce the sub- 
limed matter to a very fine powder, and to wash it with boiling distilled water 
until ammonia produces no precipitate with the washings. Ammonia occasions 
a white precipitate (ammoniated mercury) so long as the washings contain cor- 
rosive sublimate; and, when it ceases to produce this effect, the operator may 
rest satisfied that the whole of the poisonous salt has been removed. According 
to M. Berthe, calomel, in contact with hot water, is converted, to a small extent, 
into corrosive sublimate; and hence he recommends that the portion of water 
to be tested should be cold when passed through the calomel. 
The British process is a modification of that of the late Dublin Pharmaco- 
poeia, including, like that, no directions for making the bisulphate of the deat- 
oxide of mercury; because this salt is made by a separate formula, being desig- 
nated as sulphate of mercury. It omits, however, as unnecessary, a partial pre- 
liminary sublimation, directed by the Dublin College, to test the production of 
corrosive sublimate, and, immediately after a thorough mixture of the materials, 
proceeds to the final sublimation. A special proceeding, in which the Dublin 
process is followed, is to cause the vapours to enter for condensation a chamber 
of considerable size, so that they may fall in powder, instead of condensing on 
the sides of the receiver in a crystalline mass. The necessity of pulverizing the 
calomel is thus avoided. As our own, the Br. Pharmacopoeia directs the powder 
to be washed; but, instead of using ammonia as a test of the absence of corro- 
sive sublimate in the washings, directs for the purpose hydrosulphuret of arnno- 
nia, which throws down a black precipitate if corrosive sublimate is present PART II. 
Hydrargyrum. 
1159 
Preparation on the Large Scale. The process for making calomel, by means 
of the bisulphate of deutoxide of mercury, was originally practised at Apothe- 
caries* Hall, London. The proportions taken and the mode of proceeding m 
that establishment are, according to Mr. Brande, as follows: 50 lbs. of mercury 
are boiled to dryness with 70 lbs. of sulphuric acid, in a cast-iron vessel; and 
62 lbs. of the dry salt formed are triturated with 40| lbs. of mercury till the 
globules disappear, and the whole is mixed with 34 lbs. of common salt. The 
mixture is sublimed from an earthenware retort into an earthenware receiver, 
and the product is from 95 to 100 lbs. of calomel in mass. This is then ground 
to an impalpable powder, and washed with a large quantity of distilled water. 
The object of bringing calomel into a state of minute division is more per- 
fectly accomplished by the method of Mr. Joseph Jewell, of London, improved 
by M. Ossian Henry. It consists in causing the calomel in vapour to come in 
contact with steam in a large receiver, whereby it is condensed into an impalpa- 
ble powder, and perfectly washed from corrosive sublimate in the same operation. 
Calomel made by this process, sometimes called Jewell’s or Howard’s hydrosub- 
limate of mercury, is free from all suspicion of containing corrosive sublimate, 
is much finer than when obtained by levigation and elutriation, and possesses 
more activity as a medicine. This kind of calomel is included in the French 
Codex under a distinct name (mercure doux d la vapeur). M. Soubeiran, of 
Paris, has perfected a process for obtaining calomel as an impalpable powder, 
by substituting the agency of cold air for that of steam for the purpose of con- 
densing it; a process which he believes to be precisely the same as that pursued 
by the English manufacturers, and which produces a calomel equal to the best 
English. A description of his apparatus may be found in the Journal de Phar- 
macie (3e ser., ii. 507), and of the English apparatus, as described by F. C. Cal- 
vert, in the same journal (3e ser., iii. 121). Both these papers are copied into 
the Am. Journ. of Pliarm. (xv. 89 and 93). 
Prof. Wohler has proposed to obtain calomel, in the humid way, by precipi- 
tating a solution of corrosive sublimate by a stream of sulphurous acid, taking 
advantage of a reaction first observed by Vogel. Calomel, obtained in the humid 
way, called precipitated calomel, was formerly officinal with the Dublin College, 
and is still retained in the French Codex. This form of calomel is of doubtful 
utility; and, when obtained by Prof. Wohler’s process, it is a crystalline powder, 
which is a fatal objection to it. 
Properties. Mild chloride of mercury is a tasteless, inodorous substance, in- 
soluble in water, alcohol, and ether, less volatile than corrosive sublimate, unal- 
terable in the air, but blackening by long exposure to the light. When in mass 
its form and appearance depend on the shape and temperature of the subliming 
vessel. In this state it is generally in the form of a white, fibrous, crystalline 
cake, the interior surface of which is often studded with shining transparent crys- 
tals, having the shape of quadrangular prisms, and a texture somewhat horny 
and elastic. When the mass is scratched it yields a yellow streak, which is very 
characteristic. Its sp. gr. is 7-2. The officinal form of this chloride is that of 
powder, in which state it is always kept in the shops. The powder has a light 
buff or ivory colour, if obtained by the levigation of sublimed masses; but if 
condensed at once in the form of an impalpable powder, as is the case with 
Jewell’s calomel, it is perfectly white. To protect it from the action of the light, 
it should be kept in a dark place, or in bottles painted black, or covered with 
black paper. By the action of the fixed alkalies or alkaline earths it immediately 
becomes black, in consequence of the formation of protoxide, reducible by heat to 
the metallic state. The preparation employed under the name of lotio nigra or 
black wash, as a local application to syphilitic ulcers, &c., is made by adding a 
drachm of calomel to a pint of lime-water. By double decomposition between 
the calomel and lime, the black protoxide precipitates, and chloride of calcium 1160 
Hydrargyrum. 
PART II. 
remake in solution, indicated by yielding a copious white precipitate with ni- 
trate g? silver. The oxide, however, is not pure, but associated with undecom- 
posed calomel. Before being applied, the wash should be well shaken. 
Tests of Purity and Incompatibles. Calomel, when pure, completely sub- 
limes on the application of heat, a property which detects all fixed impurities, 
such as carbonate, sulphate, and phosphate of lime, sulphate of baryta, and car- 
bonate of lead. Under the influence of an elevated temperature, especially in 
the presence of alcohol or water, it gives rise to a small quantity of corrosive 
sublimate. (M. Berthe.) Calomel strikes a black colour, free from reddish tinge, 
by the action of the fixed alkalies; and the black oxide thus produced is brought 
by heat to the metallic state. The buff colour indicates the absence of corrosive 
sublimate; but whiteness by no means shows the presence of this impurity. Its 
freedom from the corrosive chloride may be determined by washing a portion of 
it in warm distilled water, and then testing the water with ammonia, which will 
cause a white precipitate (ammoniated mercury), should the water have taken up 
any of the poisonous chloride. The presence of any chloride whatever in the 
calomel would be detected by the production of a precipitate with the washing 
by nitrate of silver. Soluble salts of mercury may be detected by rubbing the 
suspected calomel with ether on a bright surface of copper, when the metal will 
become amalgamated, and exhibit a white stain. When this test shows impurity, 
the soluble salt present is probably corrosive sublimate. Calomel, containing 
corrosive sublimate, acts violently on the bowels; and, when the impurity has 
been present in considerable amount, has been known to cause death. Besides 
being incompatible with the alkalies and alkaline earths, calomel is also decom- 
posed by the alkaline carbonates, soaps, hydrosulphates, and, according to some 
authorities, by iron, lead, and copper. By boiling with the alkaline formiates it 
is decomposed, and metallic mercury liberated. (H. Rose, Annal. der Physik und 
Ghem., cvi. 500.) According to M. Lebeaux, calomel should not be prescribed 
wilh iodine ; unless the prescriber intends to give biniodide (red iodide) of mer- 
cury, when the dose must be reduced accordingly. (Annuaire de Therap., 1857, 
p. 180.) It should not be given at the same time with nitromuriatic acid, for 
fear of generating corrosive sublimate. One of the authors has been informed 
of a case, in which death, with symptoms of violent gastro-intestinal irritation, 
followed their simultaneous use. Agreeably to the experiments of M. Deschamps, 
calomel is decomposed by bitter almonds and by hydrocyanic acid. In the former 
case corrosive sublimate, bicyanide of mercury, and muriate of ammonia' are 
formed; in the latter, corrosive sublimate and bicyanide only. Hence this writer 
considers it very dangerous to associate calomel with bitter almonds or hydro- 
cyanic acid in prescription. This conclusion has been confirmed by M. Mialhe 
and M. Prenleloup; and, more recently, it has been shown by Dr. E. lliegel 
that cherry-laurel water has the power of converting calomel into corrosive sub- 
limate. According to M. Mialhe, calomel is in part converted into corrosive 
sublimate and metallic mercury by muriate of ammonia, and by the chlorides of 
sodium and potassium, even at the temperature of the body; and hence he be- 
lieves that the conversion may take place in the prima3 vi®. Popular belief 
coincides with M. Mialhe’s views in regard to the power of common salt to in- 
crease the activity of calomel. More recently M. Mialhe has extended his ob- 
servations, and now believes that all the preparations of mercury yield a certain 
amount of corrosive sublimate by reacting with solutions of the chlorides of 
potassium, sodium, and ammonium. The deutoxide and similarly constituted 
compounds are most prone to undergo this change. Even metallic mercury, 
digested with the chlorides named, is partly converted, under the influence of 
the air, into corrosive sublimate. Dr. Gardner denies the assertion of M. Mialhe, 
that calomel is converted into corrosive sublimate by chlorides of the alkalifiable 
metals, maintaining that it is merely rendered soluble by their solutions. The part II. 
Hydrargyrum. 
1161 
results, however, of M. Mialhe have been confirmed experimentally by Dr. A. 
Fleming, of Pittsburg, Pa. {Am. Journ. of Pharm., Sept. 1857.) M. Bauwens 
of Ghent, recognising the conversion of calomel into corrosive sublimate in the 
body by these chlorides, explains by this fact the relatively less powerful action 
of large than of small doses of calomel. He also states that physicians near the 
sea, where the water is brackish, seldom prescribe calomel, and that naval sur- 
geons have been obliged to abstain from giving it to sailors who eat salt meat. 
Dr. H. Peake of Arkadelphia, Arkansas, has known many instances in which 
salivation has been induced by the joint use of calomel and vegetable acids, in 
the forms of sour fruit, vinegar, buttermilk, &c., where the mercurial alone would 
not have induced it. {N. 0. Med. and Surg. Journ., Nov. 1858, p. 724.) B. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Calomel unites to the general properties of 
the mercurials those of a purgative and anthelmintic. It is the most valuable 
of the mercurial preparations, and in extent of employment is inferior to few 
articles of the Materia Medica. Whether the object is to bring the system under 
the general influence of mercury, or to produce its alterative action upon the 
hepatic or other secretory function, calomel, on account both of its certainty 
and mildness, is preferred to all other preparations, with the single exception 
of the blue pill, which, though less certain, is still milder, and is sometimes pre- 
ferably employed. When used with the above objects, the tendency to purge 
which it sometimes evinces, even in very small doses, must be restrained by com- 
bining it with opium. In sialagogue or alterative doses, it is often prescribed 
with other medicines, which, while they give it a direction to certain organs, 
have their own peculiar influence increased by its co-operation. Thus it renders 
squill more diuretic, nitre and the antimonials more diaphoretic, and seneka 
more expectorant. 
As a purgative, calomel owes its chief value to its tendency to the liver, the 
secretory function of which it powerfully stimulates. It is usually slow and some- 
what uncertain in its cathartic effect, and, though itself but slightly irritating, 
sometimes occasions severe griping pain with bilious vomiting, attributable to 
the acrid character of the bile which it causes the liver to secrete. It is pecu- 
liarly useful in the commencement of bilious fevers, in hepatitis, jaundice, bilious 
and painters’ colic, dysentery, especially that of tropical climates, and all other 
affections attended with congestion of the portal system, or torpidity of the he- 
patic function. The difficulty with which it is thrown from the stomach, renders 
it highly useful in some cases of obstinate vomiting, when other remedies are 
rejected. In the cases of children it is peculiarly valuable from the facility of its 
administration ; and, in the febrile complaints to which they are subject, appears 
to exercise a curative influence, depending on some other cause than its mere 
purgative effect, and perhaps referrible to its action upon the liver. In the treat- 
ment of worms it is one of the most efficient remedies, acting probably not only 
as a purgative, but also as an irritant to the worms, either by its immediate in- 
fluence, or that of the acrid bile which it causes to flow. The slownes*s and un- 
certainty of its action, and its liability to salivate if too long retained in the 
bowels, render it proper either to follow or combine it with other cathartics, in 
order to ensure its purgative effect. When given alone, it should be followed, 
if it do not operate in six or seven hours, by a dose of castor oil or sulphate of 
magnesia. The cathartics with which it is most frequently combined are jalap, 
rhubarb, aloes, scammony, colocynth, and gamboge. It is often added in small 
quantities to purgative combinations, with a view to its influence on the liver. 
In very large doses, calomel is supposed by some to act directly as a sedative, 
and with this view has been given in yellow and malignant bilious fevers, vio- 
reut dysentery, malignant cholera, &c. The quantities which have been admi- 
nistered in such affections, with asserted impunity and even advantage, are 
almost incredible. A common dose is one or two scruples, repeated every half 1162 
Hydrargyrum. 
PART II 
hour, or hour, or less frequently, according to the circumstance of the case. We 
have had no experience in this mode of administering calomel. 
It is sometimes used as an errhine in amaurosis, mixed with twice its weight 
of sugar, or other mild powder; and in the same combination is occasionally 
employed to remove specks and opacity of the cornea. For the latter purpose, 
Dupuytren recommended particularly the calomel prepared according to the plan 
of Air. Jewell. Calomel is also sometimes employed externally in herpetic and 
other eruptions, in the shape of an ointment. 
The dose as an alterative, in functional derangement of the liver, is from half 
a grain to a grain every night, or every other night, followed in the morning, if 
the bowels are not opened, by a gentle saline laxative. When the stomach or 
bowels are very irritable, as in cholera and diarrhoea, from an eighth to a quarter 
of a grain may be given every hour or two, so as to amount to one or two grains 
in the course of the day. With a view to salivation, the dose is from half a grain 
to a grain three or four times a day, to be increased considerably in urgent 
cases. Sometimes, very minute doses, as the twelfth of a grain or less, given 
very frequently, so as to amount to the ordinary quantity in twenty-four hours, 
will operate more effectually as a sialagogue than larger doses. When large 
doses are given with this view, it is often necessary to combine them with opium. 
As a purgative, from five to fifteen grains or more may be exhibited. Calomel 
has the peculiarity that its cathartic action is not increased in proportion to the 
dose, and enormous quantities have been given with impunity. In yellow fever, 
tropical dysentery, &c., from twenty grains to a drachm have been given, and 
repeated at short intervals, without producing hypercatharsis; but this practice 
is justifiable only in cases of extreme urgency, in which the constitutional action 
of mercury as well as purgation is indicated. Even in very small doses of not 
more than one, two, or three grains, calomel purges some individuals briskly. 
In these persons, large doses, though they do not proportionably increase the 
evacuation, often occasion spasmodic pain in the stomach and bowels. For 
children larger doses are generally required in proportion than for adults. Not 
less than from three to six grains should be given as a purge to a child two or 
three years old ; and this quantity often fails to act, unless assisted by castor oil 
or some other cathartic. Calomel may be given in pill made with gum arabic 
and syrup, or in powder mixed with syrup or molasses. 
Off. Prep. Pilul® Antimonii Composite, U.S.; Pilula Calomelanos Com- 
posita, Br.; Pilul® Cathartic® Composit®, U. S.; Unguentum Calomelanos, Br. 
W. 
HYDRARGYRI CYANIDUM. U.S. IIydrargyri Cyanuretum. 
U. S', i860. Cyanide of Mercury. Cyanuret of Mercury. Bicyanide of 
Mercury. Brussiate of Mercury. 
“ Take of Ferrocyanide of Potassium five troyounces; Sulphuric Acid four 
troyounces and one hundred and twenty grains; Red Oxide of Mercury, in 
fine powder, Water, each, a sufficient quantity. Dissolve the Ferrocyanide of 
Potassium in twenty fluidounces of Water, and add the solution to the Sulphuric 
Acid, previously diluted with ten fluidounces of Water, and contained in a glass 
retort. Distil the mixture nearly to dryness into a receiver, containing ten fluid- 
ounces of Water and three troyounces of Red Oxide of Mercury. Set aside two 
fluidounces of the distilled liquid, and to the remainder add, with agitation, suffi- 
cient Red Oxide to destroy the odour of hydrocyanic acid. Then filter the 
solution, and, having added the reserved liquid, evaporate the whole in a dark 
place, in order that crystals may form. Lastly, dry the crystals, and keep them 
in a well-stopped bottle, protected from the light.” U. S. 
This is au entirely different formula from that of the Pharmacopoeia of 1850, 
in which the ferrocyanide of iron and red oxide of mercury were brought to- 
gether under circumstances favourable to reaction, with the result of produc- PART II. 
Hydrargyrum. 
1163 
mg bicyanide of mercury, the protoxide and sesquioxide of iron, ana an unde- 
termined compound of cyanogen. The present formula is based upon that of 
Winkler, given in the eleventh edition of the U. S. Dispensatory. Hydrocyanic 
acid is generated by the action of sulphuric acid on the ferrocyanide of potassium, 
and, being received in a vessel containing water and a portion of red oxide of 
mercury, reacts with the oxide, generating, by double decomposition, water, and 
bicyanide of mercury which is held in solution. The reaction takes place be- 
tween one equivalent of the red oxide of mercury which is a binoxide, and two 
eqs. of hydrocyanic acid. The two eqs. of oxygen of the binoxide take two eqs. 
of hydrogen of the acid to form two eqs. of water, and the two liberated eqs. 
of cyanogen combine with the single liberated eq. of mercury to form the biey- 
anide of that metal. Sufficient red oxide of mercury is not used at first to 
saturate the whole of the hydrocyanic acid generated, because, should there 
happen to be any excess of the red oxide, there would be produced on evapora- 
tion, instead of the substance wanted, a peculiar salt composed of bicyanide and 
red oxide of mercury, which would crystallize in small acicular crystals. Hence, 
a portion of the water still containing uncombined hydrocyanic acid is set aside, 
to be added to the liquid in which the acid had been completely saturated by the 
addition of red oxide, and thus at least neutralize any oxide of mercury that 
might be present in it in excess. A surplus of hydrocyanic acid would be of no 
disservice, except the loss of material incurred, as it is evaporated in the subse- 
quent concentration. 
Properties, &c. Cyanide of mercury is permanent in the air, and crystallizes 
in anhydrous right square prisms, which are sometimes transparent, but usually 
white and opaque. It has a disagreeable styptic taste. It is but sparingly 
soluble in alcohol, but dissolves readily in cold water, and much more abund- 
antly in hot. When acted on by muriatic acid, hydrocyanic acid is evolved, re- 
cognisable by its odour, and bichloride of mercury is left, which is wholly vola- 
tilizable by heat. When heated it yields cyanogen, and a black matter is left 
containing globules of mercury. 
In composition, according to the view taken in the TJ. S. Pharmacopoeia, it is 
a bicyanide of mercury, consisting of one eq. of the metal 200, and two of cyan- 
ogen 52 = 252; its formula being HgCy2. But with those who consider the eq. 
of mercury as 100, the salt is a protocyanide, with one eq. of each of its constit- 
uents (HgCy), and its combining number would be 126. The reader is already 
aware that the former opinion is still admitted in this work. 
Cyanide of mercury acts on the animal economy as a potent poison. In medi- 
cinal doses it sometimes causes ptyalism, but does not produce epigastric pain 
like corrosive sublimate. It has been occasionally used as a remedy in syphilis; 
and in the treatment of that disease it is preferred by some practitioners to cor- 
rosive sublimate, on account of its not giving rise to pain, and not being decom- 
posed by alkalies and organic substances. M. Desmartis, of Bordeaux, considers 
it superior to all the other preparations of mercury in the treatment of syphilitic 
complaints; particularly in cases in which the patients have suffered, for a long 
period, from obscure pains. The dose is from the sixteenth to the eighth of a 
grain, which should not be exceeded; as the medicine may meet with free mu- 
riatic acid in the stomach. B. 
IIYDRARGYRI IODIDUM RUBRUM. U.S.,Br. Red Iodide of 
Mercury. Biniodide of Mercury. 
“ Take of Corrosive Chloride of Mercury a troyounce'f Iodide of Potassium 
a troyounce and one hundred and twenty grains; Distilled Water a sufficient 
quantity. Dissolve the Chloride of Mercury in a pint and a half, and the iodide 
of Potassium in half a pint of Distilled Water, and mix the solutions. Collect 
the precipitate upon a filter, and, having washed it with Distilled Water, dry it 
with a gentle heat, and keep it in a well-stopped bottle.” U. S. Hydrargyrum,. 
PART II. 
'■ Take of Corrosive Sublimate four ounces [avoirdupois]; Iodide of Potas- 
sium five ounces [avoird.] ; Boiling Distilled Water four pints [Imperial mea- 
sure]. Dissolve the Corrosive Sublimate in three pints [Imp. meas.], and the 
Iodide of Potassium in the remainder of the Water, and mix the two solutions. 
When the temperature of the mixture has fallen to that of the atmosphere, de- 
cant the supernatant liquor from the precipitate, and, having collected the latter 
on a filter, wash it twice with cold distilled water, and dry it at a temperatnie 
not exceeding 212°.” Br. 
In the above processes for forming biniodide of mercury, which may be con- 
sidered as identical, a double decomposition takes place between corrosive subli- 
mate and iodide of potassium, resulting in the formation of chloride of potassium 
which remains in solution, and biniodide of mercury which precipitates. The 
precipitate is soluble in the reacting salts, and hence a loss of part of it is in- 
curred by an excess of either. It is best, however, to have a slight excess of the 
iodide of potassium, which is furnished by the proportion taken in the formulas; 
as then the decomposition of the whole of the corrosive sublimate is ensured, and 
any contamination of the biniodide by it prevented. The late process of the Ed- 
inburgh College consisted in a combination of the ingredients by trituration in 
due proportion with the aid of alcohol; but, after the red powder was obtained, 
it was treated with a boiling solution of common salt, which dissolved the bin- 
iodide to the exclusion of any contaminating protiodide; and the solution, thus 
obtained, on cooling, deposited the pure biniodide in crystals. 
Properties. Biniodide of mercury is a scarlet-red powder, of the sp. gr. 6 3, in- 
soluble in water, sparingly soluble in alcohol, freely so in ether, and soluble in 
muriatic acid and in solutions of iodide of potassium, chloride of sodium, and 
many of the mercurial salts. As obtained by the late Edinburgh process, it is in 
splendid crimson acicular crystals. When heated it fuses readily into a yellow 
liquid, and sublimes in yellow rhombic scales, which become red on cooling. 
Biniodide of mercury is a dimorphous substance, having a different crystalline 
form in its red and yellow states. According to Schiff, it is only in its yellow 
form that it is soluble in alcohol; and hence it is that, when separated by water 
from its alcoholic solution, it falls in this condition. {Ann. der Ghem. und Pharm., 
cix. 371.) It forms definite compounds with the iodides of the alkalifiable metals. 
The compound formed with iodide of potassium has been used as a medicine. 
(See Iodohydrargyrate of Potassium, in Part III.) Biniodide of mercury con- 
sists of one eq. of mercury 200, and two of iodine 252,6 = 452'6, and its formula 
is Hgl2. In the Br. Pharmacopoeia, which recognises 100 as the eq. of mercury, 
it is considered as the neutral iodide, with the formula Hgl. It combines with 
the protiodide, so as to form a yellow sesquiodide, represented by the formula 
Hgl-f Hgl2 or Hg2I3. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Biniodide of mercury is a powerful irritant 
poison. It has been used in similar diseases with the protiodide, namely, in scro- 
fula and syphilis, but is much more active. Dr. Fuller, physician to St. George’s 
Hospital, London, has found it a valuable remedy in rheumatism, dependent on 
a syphilitic taint, having cured several cases in which corrosive sublimate had 
been given in vain. He also employed it with good results in two cases of 
epilepsy, dependent on injuries to the head, in which he suspected thickening 
of the dura mater, or deposit between it and the bone. {Rankiny's Abstract, No 
25, p. 51.) The dose of this iodide is the sixteenth of a grain, gradually increased 
to the fourth, given in pill or dissolved in alcohol. A preferable mode of adrni 
nistering it, is dissolved in a solution of iodide of potassium. This mode was 
adopted by Dr. Fuller, who attributes his success with the remedy, in great 
•measure, to its having been given in this way. The preparation thus made is 
really a solution of iodohydrargyrate of potassium. 
M. Cazenave considers biniodide of mercury as the best topical application ia PART II. 
Hydrargyrum. 
1165 
lupus. He applies it in thin layers, every six or eight days, to small portions of 
the ulcerated surface at a time, in the form of a caustic ointment, made of equal 
parts of the iodide, oil, and lard. The application produces severe pain, and 
gives rise to a sharp inflammation which soon terminates, leaving the ulcer in 
an improved condition, with a tendency to cicatrize smoothly, and on a level 
with the surrounding skin. {Ann. de Therap., 1852, p. 175.) 
Off. Prep. Liquor Arseuici et Hydrargyri Iodidi, U. S.; Unguentum Hydrar- 
gyri Iodidi Ilubri, Br. B. 
HYDRARGYRI IODIDUM VIRIDE. U.S.,Br. Hydrargyri Io- 
didum. U.S. 1850. Green Iodide of Mercury. Protiodide of Mercury. 
Iodide of Mercury. 
“Take of Mercury a troy ounce; Iodine three hundred grains; Stronger 
Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Mix the Mercury and Iodine in a mortar, and, 
having added half a fluidounce of Stronger Alcohol, triturate the mixture until 
the ingredients are thoroughly incorporated. Stir the mixture occasionally, and, 
at the end of two hours, triturate again, with considerable pressure, until it is 
nearly dry. Then rub it up with Stronger Alcohol, gradually added, until it is 
reduced to a uniform thin paste; and, having transferred this to a filter, wash it 
with Stronger Alcohol until the washings cease to produce a permanent cloudi- 
ness when dropped into a large quantity of water. Lastly, dry the Iodide in the 
dark with a gentle heat, and keep it in a well-stopped bottle, protected from the 
light.” U. S. 
“ Take of Mercury, by weight, one ounce [avoirdupois] ; Iodine two hundred 
and seventy-eight grains; Rectified Spirit a sufficiency. Rub the Iodine and 
Mercury in a porcelain mortar, occasionally moistening the mixture with a few 
drops of the Spirit, and continue the trituration until metallic globules are no 
longer visible, and the whole assumes a green colour. The product thus obtained 
should be dried in a dark room, on filtering paper, by simple exposure to the 
air, and preserved in an opaque bottle. ” Br. 
This process for forming the protiodide of mercury is a case of simple combi- 
nation, the alcohol facilitating the union by dissolving the iodine. It may also 
be prepared by precipitation, by adding a solution of iodide of potassium to one 
of nitrate of protoxide of mercury; but, as it is difficult to prepare the nitrate 
of the protoxide, without being mixed with some binitrate of deutoxide, the 
protiodide, when thus obtained, is apt to be contaminated with biniodide. M. 
Roland Seeger suggests double decomposition between protacetate of mercury 
and iodide of potassium. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., May, 1859, p. 204.) M. Bou- 
tigny proposes to decompose calomel by iodide of potassium, and gives the fol- 
lowing formula. Twenty-nine drachms of calomel are mixed with twenty of pulve- 
rized iodide of potassium in a glass mortar, and twelve ounces of boiling distilled 
water poured upon the mixture. After cooling the liquid is decanted, and the 
precipitate washed on a filter with distilled water, and dried in the shade. (See 
Am. Journ. of Pharm., viii. 326.) This process did not succeed with Mr. Charles 
Bullock, of this city, when he used the reacting ingredients in quantities six times 
those recommended by M. Boutigny. Mr. J<5hn Canavan, of New York, ascribes 
the failure to insufficient trituration, which, to ensure complete reaction, must 
be long continued. If the reaction be imperfect, the water washes away not only 
chloride of potassium, but also iodide of potassium, holding in solution a part 
of the protiodide of mercury formed, which is ultimately decomposed into binio- 
dide and metallic mercury. The experiments of Mr. J. M. Maisch, of this city, 
tend to confirm this view. He further found that a boiling temperature enables 
chloride of potassium to decompose the protiodide perceptibly, and infers that 
the use of cold water would give a purer product. He, therefore, concludes that 
the process of Boutigny cannot be depended upon for giving a pure protiodide, 
and that we must fall back on the Pharmacopoeia process. As prepared by the 1166 
Hydrargyrum. 
PART II. 
TL S. formula of 1850, it was liable to contain a little biniodide; but this is ob- 
viated in the present edition by the direction to wash it, near the close of the 
operation, with stronger alcohol. It is known to be free from the biniodide when 
the alcoholic washings produce no permanent cloudiness with a large quantity 
of water. Even thus purified, however, it generally contains a little metallic mer- 
cury, and, according to Dr. Squibb, a considerable proportion of the yellow or 
subiodide; but these are of little consequence compared with the biniodide, which 
should always be carefully sought for, and separated if found. (See Mr. Maisch’s 
paper, Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 1857.) 
Properties. Iodide of mercury is in the form of a greenish-yellow powder, 
insoluble in water, alcohol, and solution of chloride of sodium, but soluble in 
ether. Its sp. gr. is 7'75. When exposed to the light it is partially decomposed, 
and becomes of a dark-olive colour. If quickly and cautiously heated, it sublimes 
in red crystals which afterwards become yellow. It is a protiodide of mercury 
Hgl, consisting of one eq. of mercury 200, and one of iodine 126-3 = 326-3. 
The Br. Pharmacopoeia considers it a subiodide, with the formula Hg2I; the eq. 
of mercury being 100. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Iodide of mercury has been given in scrofula 
and scrofulous syphilis. The dose is a grain daily, gradually increased to three 
or four grains. It should never be given at the same time with iodide of potas- 
sium, which converts it immediately into biniodide and metallic mercury. (Mialhe, 
Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., iv. 36.) B. 
IIYDRARGYRI OXIDUM RUBRUM. U. S., Br. Red Oxide of Mer- 
cury. Red Precipitate. 
“Take of Mercury thirty-six troyounces; Nitric Acid twenty-four troy- 
ounces; Water two pints; Dissolve the Mercury, with the aid of a gentle heat, 
in the Acid and Water previously mixed, and evaporate to dryness. Rub the 
dry mass into powder, and heat it in a very shallow vessel until red vapours 
cease to rise.” U. S. 
“ Take of Mercury, by weight, eight ounces [avoirdupois] ; Nitric Acid three 
jluidounces ; Water two Jluidounces. Dissolve half the Mercury in the Nitric 
Acid diluted with the Water, evaporate the solution to dryness, and with the 
dry salt thus obtained, triturate the remainder of the Mercury until the two are 
uniformly blended together. Heat the mixture in a porcelain capsule, with re- 
peated stirring, until acid vapours cease to be evolved, and, when cold, enclose 
the product in a bottle.” Br. 
In these processes the mercury is first oxidized at the expense of a portion of 
the nitric acid, the remainder of which unites with the oxidized metal to form 
either nitrate of deutoxide of mercury, or a mixture of this with nitrate of the 
protoxide. The resulting mass when exposed to a strong heat is decomposed, 
giving out red nitrous fumes, and assuming successively a yellow, orange, and 
brilliant purple-red colour, which becomes orange-red on cooling. These changes 
are owing to the gradual separation and decomposition of the nitric acid, by the 
oxygen of which the protoxide of mercury, if any be present, is converted into 
deutoxide, while nitric oxide gas escapes, and becomes hyponitric acid vapour 
on contact with the air. The deutoxide of mercury is left behind; but in general 
not quite free from the nitrate, which cannot be wholly decomposed by heat, 
without endangering the decomposition of the oxide itself, and the volatilization 
of the metal. The preparation is commonly called red precipitate. The name 
of red. oxide of mercury, by which it is now designated in most of the Pharma- 
copoeias, is appropriate, as nitrate of mercury exists in it merely as an accidental 
impurity; and there is no occasion to distinguish the preparation from the pure 
deutoxide obtained by calcining mercury, the latter not being officinal, and per- 
haps never employed. 
in the preparation of this mercurial, various circumstances influence the PART II. 
Hydrargyrum. 
1167 
nature of the product, and must be attended to, if we desire to procure the oxide 
with that fine bright orange-red colour, and shining scaly appearance, usually 
considered desirable. Among these circumstances is the condition of the nitrate 
of mercury submitted to calcination. According to Gay-Lussac, it should be 
employed in the form of small crystalline grains. If previously pulverized, as 
directed in the officinal processes, it will yield an orange-yellow powder; if it 
be in the state of large and dense crystals, the oxide will have a deep-orange 
colour. Care must also be taken that the mercury and acid be free from impuri- 
ties. It is highly important that sufficient nitric acid be employed fully to satu- 
rate the mercury. M. Paysse, who paid great attention to the manufacture of 
red precipitate, recommended 10 parts of nitric acid from 34° to 38° Baume, to 
50 parts of mercury. This, however, is an excess of acid. We have been told 
by a skilful practical chemist of Philadelphia that he has found, by repeated ex- 
periment, 7 parts of nitric acid of 35° Baume, to be sufficient fully to saturate 
6 parts of mercury. Less will not answer, and more would be useless. It is not 
necessary that the salt should be removed from the vessel in which it is formed; 
and it is even asserted that the product is always more beautiful when the cal- 
cination is performed in the same vessel. A matrass may be used with a large 
flat bottom, so that an extended surface may be exposed, and all parts heated 
equally. The metal and acid having been introduced, the matrass should be 
placed in a sand-bath, and covered with sand up to the neck. The solution of 
the mercury should be favoured by a-gentle heat, which should afterwards be 
gradually increased till red vapours appear, then maintained as equably as pos- 
sible till these vapours cease, and at last slightly elevated till oxygen gas begins 
to escape. This may be known by the increased brilliancy with which a taper 
will burn if placed in the mouth of the matrass, or by its rekindling if partially 
extinguished. Too high a temperature must be carefully avoided, as it decom- 
poses the oxide, and volatilizes the mercury. At the close of the operation, the 
mouth of the vessel should be stopped, and the heat gradually diminished, the 
matrass being still allowed to remain in the sand-bath. These last precautions are 
said to be essential to the fine red colour of the preparation. It is best to oper- 
ate upon a large quantity of materials, as the heat may be thus more uniformly 
maintained. The direction in the British, taken from the late Ed. Pharmaco- 
poeia, to rub a portion of mercury with the nitrate before decomposing it, ren- 
ders the process more economical; as the nitric acid, which would otherwise be 
dissipated, is thus employed in oxidizing an additional quantity of the metal. 
As the process is ordinarily conducted in laboratories, the nitrate of mercury 
is decomposed in shallow earthen vessels, several of which are placed upon a 
bed of sand, in the chamber of an oven or furnace, provided with a flue for the 
escape of the vapours. Each vessel may conveniently contain ten pounds of the 
nitrate. There is always loss in the operation thus conducted. 
Under the name of Hydrargyri Oxydum Bubrum, the Dublin College for- 
merly directed a preparation, called by the elder chemists hydrargyrum pre- 
cipitation per se, or precipitate per se, and sometimes calcined mercury, made 
by exposing the metal to a heat near its boiling point, or about 600° F., in a 
matrass with a broad bottom and uarrow mouth. The vapours rising were con- 
densed in the upper part of the vessel; and a circulation was thus kept up with- 
in it, during which the mercury slowly combined with oxygen, being converted 
first into a black and then into a red powder. But the process was very slow, 
requiring several weeks for the complete oxidization of the metal; and, as the 
product, which was pure deutoxide, had no peculiar virtues to recommend it 
over the oxide procured in the ordinary mode, it was properly discarded by the 
College. The oxide made in this way is in minute, sparkling, crystalline scales, 
of a deep-red colour, becoming still deeper by heat. 
The same oxide of mercury, prepared by precipitation, was recognised in a Hydrargyrum 
PART II. 
former London Pharmacopoeia by the name of Hydrargyri Binoxidum, or bin- 
oxide of mercury. It was made by adding solution of potassa in excess to a 
solution of bichloride of mercury, and differed from the preceding only in con- 
taining some water. It was an orange-red, impalpable powder, having the same 
properties essentially as the present officinal red oxide. 
Properties, &c. Red precipitate, well prepared, has a brilliant red colour, 
with a shade of orange, a shining scaly appearance, and an acrid taste. It is 
very slightly soluble in water, of which Dr. Barker found 1000 parts to take up 
0 62 of the oxide. Dr. Christison found 1 part of the oxide to be dissolved by 
about 1000 parts of boiling water, and the solution to give a black precipitate 
with sulphuretted hydrogen. Tannic acid precipitates metallic mercury from 
its aqueous solution, especially when heated. (Bullock, Proceed, of Am. Pharm. 
Assoc., 1858, p. 306.) It is insoluble in cold alcohol and ether. (Ibid.) Nitric 
and muriatic acids dissolve it without effervescence. It yields oxygen when 
heated, and at a red heat is decomposed and entirely dissipated. It is essentially 
the deutoxide (peroxide) of mercury, consisting of one equivalent of the metal 
200, and two of oxygen 16 = 216, or, according to the Br. Pharmacopoeia, the 
protoxide, consisting of one eq. of mercury 100, and one of oxygen 8 = 108; but, 
in its ordinary state, it always contains a minute proportion of nitric acid, pro- 
bably in the state of subnitrate. According to Brande, when rubbed and washed 
with a solution of potassa, edulcorated with distilled water, and carefully dried, 
it may be regarded as nearly pure deutoxide. It is said to be sometimes adul- 
terated with brickdust, red lead, &c.; but these may be readily detected, as the 
oxide of mercury is wholly dissipated if thrown upon red-hot iron. The disen- 
gagement of red vapours, when it is heated, indicates the presence of nitrate of 
mercury. The same or some other saline impurity would be indicated, should 
water, in which the oxide has been boiled, afford a precipitate with lime-water. 
Medical Properties and Uses. This preparation is too harsh and irregular in 
its operation for internal use; but is much employed externally as a stimulant 
and escharotic, either in the state of powder or of ointment. In the former state 
it is sprinkled on the surface of chancres, and indolent, flabby, or fungous ulcers; 
and, mixed with 8 or 10 parts of finely powdered sugar, is sometimes blown into 
the eye to remove opacity of the cornea. The powder should be finely levigated. 
The ointment is officinal.* 
Off. Prep. Hydrargyri Cyanidum, U. S.; TJnguentum Hydrargyri Oxidi 
Rubri. W. 
* Black Oxide of Mercury. Oxidum Ilydraryyri Nigrum. U. S. 1850. Though discarded from 
the Pharmacopoeia, this preparation still has claims to notice. It was obtained by the fol- 
lowing officinal process. 
“Take of Mild Chloride of Mercury [calomel], Potassa, each, four ounces; Water a pint. 
Dissolve the Potassa in the Water, and, when the dregs have subsided, pour off the clear 
solution. To this add the Mild Chloride of Mercury, and stir them constantly together till 
the Black Oxide is formed. Having poured off the supernatant liquor, wash the Black 
Oxide with distilled water, and dry it with a gentle heat.” U. S. 1850. 
The object of this process is to obtain the protoxide or black oxide of mercury, which 
was at one time believed to be the active constituent of those preparations in which the 
metal is minutely divided by trituration. The calomel is completely decomposed by the solu- 
tion of potassa; its chlorine uniting with potassium to form chloride of potassium, which 
remains in solution, and the mercury with the oxygen of the potassa to form protoxide of 
mercury, which subsides. More potassa is employed than by calculation would seem to be 
requisite; but it has been ascertained by experiment that a considerable excess is neces- 
sary for the complete decomposition of the calomel. The use of the officinal solution of 
potassa is preferable, on the score of economy, to that of a solution extemporaneously pre- 
pared from the caustic alkali. In order to ensure the success of the process, the calomel, 
very finely levigated, should be rubbed quickly with the alkaline solution in a mortar; and 
the resulting oxide should be dried in the dark with a very gentle heat, as it is decom- 
posed by the agency both of light and of an elevated temperature. For the same reason it 
should be preserved in an opaque bottle. This mode of preparing the black oxide of mer- 
cury originated with Mr. Donovan. PART II. 
Hydrargyrum. 
1169 
HYDRARGYRI SULPHAS. Sulphate of Mercury. Br. Appendix. 
“Take of Mercury, by weight, twenty ounces [avoirdupois]; Sulphuric Acid 
twelve fiuidounces [Imperial measure]. Heat the Mercury with the Sulphuric 
Acid iu a porcelain vessel until the metal disappears, then continue the heat 
until a dry white salt remains.” Br. Appendix. 
Mercury is not acted on by cold sulphuric acid; but, when boiled with an 
excess of this acid to dryness, it is deutoxidized at the expense of part of the acid, 
sulphurous acid being copiously evolved; and the deutoxide formed unites with 
the undecomposed portion of the sulphuric acid, so as to form bisulphate of 
deutoxide of mercury, which is the officinal sulphate. 
Sulphate of mercury, as obtained by a separate formula, is peculiar to the 
British Pharmacopoeia; but it is formed as the first step of the processes of the 
U. S. Pharmacopoeia for preparing corrosive sublimate, calomel, and turpeth 
mineral. The adoption of a separate formula and distinct officinal name for this 
salt is certainly a convenience; as it obviates the necessity of repeating the di- 
rections for obtaining the same substance in several formulas. On account of 
its various uses, it requires to be made on a large scale by the manufacturing 
chemist; and the process is generally performed in a cast-iron vessel, which 
The oxide may also be prepared by decomposing a solution of nitrate of protoxide of 
mercury by solution of potassa. This nitrate may be obtained by treating 20 parts of mer- 
cury with 18 parts of nitric acid of 25° Baumd, adding, when nitrous vapours cease to rise, 
10 parts of warm distilled water, boiling for a short time, decanting the clear liquor, and 
setting it aside to crystallize. The mother-waters by evaporation will furnish a new pro- 
duct of crystals of nitrate of protoxide. (Ratier, Pharm. Frang.) The London College form- 
erly prepared this oxide by decomposing calomel with lime-water; but it is extremely 
difficult to effect a complete decomposition in this way, and the preparation was conse- 
quently almost always mixed with calomel. The preparation, officinal in a former Dublin 
Pharmacopoeia under the name of Pulvis Hydrargyri Cinereus, made by adding carbonate of 
ammonia to a solution of mercury in heated nitric acid, was a mixture of subnitrate of 
mercury and ammonia with protoxide of mercury. Both the London and Dublin Colleges 
abandoned the protoxide in the latest editions of their Pharmacopoeias. 
Properties, As first prepared, this oxide is greenish-black; but, as found in the shops, 
it is almost always of an olive colour. It is inodorous, tasteless, and said to be insoluble 
in water and alkaline solutions; but, according to Mr. Charles Bullock, it is appreciably 
soluble in cold water, and to a greater extent in boiling water, but is insoluble in cold alcohol 
and ether. (Proceedings of the Am. Pharm. Assoc., 1858, p. 302). It consists of one eq. of 
mercury 200, and one of oxygen 8=208. On exposure to light or heat it is decomposed, 
one part assuming the metallic state, in consequence of the loss of its oxygen, which con- 
verts another part into the deutoxide. The preparation, therefore, becomes a mixture of 
the protoxide, deutoxide, and metallic mercury, with which calomel is sometimes associ- 
ated, in consequence of the incomplete decomposition of that employed in the process. By 
a strong heat it is completely dissipated, and metallic globules are sublimed. When pure 
it is soluble in acetic and nitric acids, and entirely insoluble in muriatic acid, which forms 
with it water and calomel. If it contain the deutoxide, this will be dissolved by muriatic 
acid, and may be detected in the solution by the production of a white precipitate with 
water of ammonia, and a yellow one with solution of potassa. Calomel, if present, may be 
discovered by boiling the powder with a solution of potassa, thus forming chloride of 
potassium, which, when the solution is saturated with nitric acid, will afford a white pre- 
cipitate of chloride of silver on the addition of nitrate of silver. [Phillips.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. The black oxide is alterative, sialagogue, and purgative. It 
may be employed for the same purposes as calomel, over which, however, it has not in our 
hands exhibited any superiority, while, from the occasional presence of the deutoxide, it 
must be liable to operate harshly. Dr. B. H. Coates, of this city, informed us some years 
since that he used it habitually as a mercurial, and found it to answer an excellent purpose. 
The idea under which it was introduced into use, that it was the basis of the blue pill, is 
erroneous. Made into an ointment with lard, according to the process of Donovan, it may 
be applied externally with good effect in bringing the system under the mercurial influence. 
(See Unguentum Hydrargyri.) Its dose as an alterative is one-fourth or half of a grain daily, 
as a sialagogue from one to three grains two or three times a day, given in the form of pill. 
It was used by Mr. Abernethy for mercurial fumigation; the patient being placed, covered 
with under garments, in a vapour-bath, and exposed for 15 or 20 minutes to the vapours 
arising from two drachms of the oxide, put upon heated iron within the bath. W. 1170 
Hydrargyrum. 
PART II. 
should be conveniently arranged for the escape and decomposition of the sul- 
phurous acid fumes, which otherwise become a serious nuisance to the neigh- 
bourhood. The best way to effect this purpose is to allow them to pass off 
through a very lofty chimney, mixed wdth abundance of coal smoke. 
Properties, dec. Sulphate of mercury is in the form of a white saline mass. 
It consists of two eqs. of acid 80 and one of deutoxide of mercury 216 = 296; 
or, according to the Br. Pharmacopoeia, of one eq. of acid 40 and one of pro- 
toxide of mercury 108=148. It has no medical uses. 
Off. Prep. Calomelas, Br.; Hydrargyrum Corrosivum Sublimatum, Br. B. 
HYDRARGYRI SULPHAS FLAVA. U.S. Yellow Sulphate of 
Mercury. Turpeth Mineral. 
“Take of Mercury four troyounces; Sulphuric Acid six troyounces. Mix 
them in a glass vessel, and boil, by means of a sand-bath, until a dry white mass 
remains. Rub this into powder, and throw it into boiling water. Pour off the 
supernatant liquor, wash the yellow precipitate repeatedly with hot water, and 
dry it.” U. S. 
By referring to the articles on corrosive sublimate and calomel, it will be 
found that the peculiar salt which is generated by boiling sulphuric acid with 
mercury to dryness, is directed to be made as the first step for obtaining these 
chlorides; and here the same salt is again directed to be formed in preparing 
turpeth mineral. We have already stated that this salt is the bisulphate of deut- 
oxide of mercury. When thrown into boiling or even warm water it is instantly 
decomposed, and an insoluble salt is precipitated, which is the turpeth mineral. 
According to Berzelius, turpeth mineral is a basic sesquisulphate of deutoxide 
of mercury, and the supernatant solution contains a supersulphate, consisting of 
six eqs. of acid and one of base. The same composition for turpeth mineral is 
given by Gay-Lussac; and its accuracy was verified by Sir Robert Kane, of 
Dublin. (See Pharm. Journ., August, 1842.) The composition above given of 
turpeth mineral implies the decomposition of four eqs. of bisulphate of deutox- 
ide, and the manner in which the reaction takes place is shown by the following 
equation; 4(Hg02,2S03) = turpeth mineral, 3Hg02,2S03, and supersulphate of 
mercury, Hg02,6S03. 
Properties, &c. Yellow sulphate of mercury is a lemon-yellow powder, of a 
somewhat acrid taste. It dissolves in 2000 parts of cold, and about 600 of boil- 
ing water. Exposed to a moderate heat, it becomes first red and afterwards 
brownish-red, but regains its original colour on cooling. (Barker.) At a red 
heat it is decomposed and dissipated, sulphurous acid being evolved, and metal- 
lic globules sublimed. It was originally called turpeth mineral, from its resem- 
blance in colour to the root of Ipomoea Turpethum. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Turpeth mineral is alterative, and powerfully 
emetic and errhine. As an alterative, it has been given in leprous disorders and 
glandular obstructions. It has been usefully employed as an emetic, repeated 
every few days, in chronic enlargement of the testicle. It operates with great 
promptness, and sometimes excites ptyalism. Dr. Hubbard, of Maine, considers 
it a valuable emetic, in cases requiring an equalizing and revulsive effect, apart 
from any cathartic operation, which he has never known it to produce. He 
recommends it highly as an emetic in croup, on the ground of its promptness and 
certainty, and of its not producing catharsis, or the prostration caused by anti- 
mony. The dose for a child two years old is two or three grains, repeated in 
fifteen minutes, if it should not operate. As an errhine, it has been used with 
benefit in chronic ophthalmia; but it sometimes produces salivation when thus 
employed. The dose as an alterative is from a quarter to half a grain; as an 
emetic from two to five grains. When employed as an errhine, one grain may 
be mixed with five of starch or powdered liquorice root. 
Turpeth mineral, in an overdose, acts as a poison. A case of death in a boy Hydrargyrum. 
PART II. 
1171 
aged sixteen, caused by swallowing a drachm, is reported by Dr. Letheby in the 
London Medical Gazette for March, 1847. B. 
IIYDRARGYRI SULPHURETUM RUBRUM. U.S. Cinnabaris. 
Ed. Red Sulphuret of Mercury. Bisulpkur e.t of Mercury. Cinnabar. 
“ Take of Mercury forty troyounces ; Sulphur eight troyounces. To the Sul- 
phur, previously melted, gradually add the Mercury, with constant stirring, and 
continue the heat until the mass begins to swell. Then remove the vessel from 
the fire, and cover it closely to prevent the contents from inflaming. When the 
mass is cold, rub it into powder, and sublime.” U. S. q 
This preparation has been discarded, we think somewhat prematurely, by the 
British Council. 
Mercury and sulphur, when heated together, unite with great energy, and a 
product is obtained, which by sublimation becomes the red or bisulphuret of 
mercury. In order to render the combination more prompt, the sulphur is first 
melted; and the addition of the mercury should be made gradually, while the 
mixture is constantly stirred. Dr. Barker recommends the addition of the metal 
by straining it upon the melted sulphur through a linen cloth, whereby it falls 
in a minutely divided state. When the temperature has arrived at a certain 
point, the combination takes place suddenly with a slight explosion, attended 
with the inflammation of the sulphur, which must be extinguished by covering 
the vessel. A black mass will thus be formed, containing generally an excess of 
sulphur, which, before the sublimation is performed, should be got rid of by 
gently heating the matter, reduced to powder, on a sand-bath. The sublimation 
is best performed, on a small scale, in a loosely stopped glass matrass, which 
should be placed in a crucible containing sand, and, thus arranged, exposed to a 
red heat. The equivalent quantities for forming this sulphuret are 32 of sulphur 
and 200 of mercury. 
Preparation on the Large Scale. Cinnabar is seldom prepared on a small 
scale, being made in large quantities for the purposes of the arts. In Holland, 
where it is principally manufactured, the sulphur is melted in a cast-iron vessel, 
and the mercury is added in a divided state, by causing it to pass through cha- 
mois leather. As soon as the combination has taken place, the iron vessel is 
surmounted by another, into which the cinnnbar is sublimed. The larger the 
quantity of the materials employed in one operation, the finer will be the tint 
of the product. It is also important in the manufacture to use the materials 
pure, and to drive off any uncombined sulphur which may exist in the mass, before 
submitting it to sublimation. 
Properties, &c. Red sulphuret of mercury is in the form of heavy, brilliant, 
crystalline masses, of a deep-red colour and fibrous texture. It is inodorous and 
tasteless, and insoluble in water and alcohol. It is not acted on by nitric, muri- 
atic, or cold sulphuric acid, or by solutions of the caustic alkalies; but is soluble 
in nitromuriatic acid, on account of the free chlorine which the mixed acid con- 
tains. When heated with potassa, it yields globules of mercury. In the open 
air it is decomposed by heat, the sulphur becoming sulphurous acid, and the 
mercury being volatilized. In close vessels at a red heat it sublimes without de- 
composition, and condenses in a mass, composed of a multitude of small needles. 
When duly levigated, it furnishes a brilliant red powder, which is the paint 
called vermilion. The same compound occurs native, being the sole ore from 
which mercury is extracted. The preparation, if purchased in powder, should 
be carefully examined; as, in that state, it is sometimes adulterated with red 
lead, dragon’s blood, or chalk. If red lead be present, acetic acid, digested with 
it, will yield a yellow precipitate (iodide of lead) with iodide of potassium. 
Dragon’s blood may be detected by alcohol, which will take up the colouring 
matter of that substance, if present; and, if chalk be mixed with it, effervescence 1172 
Hydrargyrum. 
PART II. 
will be excited on tbe addition of an acid. This sulphuret consists of one eq. of 
mercury 200, and two of sulphur 32 = 232. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Cinnabar was formerly thought to be altera- 
tive and anthelmintic, but is at present seldom given internally. It is sometimes 
employed by fumigation, as a rapid sialagogue, in venereal ulcers of the nose 
and throat, in cases in which it is important to bring the system under the in- 
fluence of mercury in the shortest possible time. The dose internally is from ten 
grains to half a drachm, in the form of electuary or bolus. When used by fumi- 
gation, half a drachm may be thrown on a red-hot iron, and the fumes inhaled 
as they arise. These consist of sulphurous acid gas and mercurial vapour, the 
former of which must prove highly irritating to the patient’s lungs. A better 
substance for mercurial fumigation is the black oxide of mercury.* B. 
HYDRARGYRUM AMMONIATUM. U.S.,BV. Hydrargyri Pre- 
cipitatum Album. Ammoniated Mercury. White Precipitate. 
“ Take of Corrosive Chloride of Mercury six troyounces ; Water of Ammonia 
eight jluidounces; Distilled Water eight pints. Dissolve the Corrosive Chloride 
of Mercury in the Distilled Water, with the aid of heat, and to the solution, 
when cold, add the Water of Ammonia, frequently stirring. Wash the precipi- 
tate with water until the washings become nearly tasteless, and dry it.” U. S. 
“ Take of Corrosive Sublimate three ounces [avoirdupois] ; Solution of Am- 
* Black Sulphuret of Mercury. Ethiops Mineral. Hydrargyri Sulphuretum Nigrum. Though 
very properly discarded from the Pharmacopoeias, this has too long occupied a place in the 
catalogue of the Materia Medica to be passed over entirely without notice. The following 
was the formula of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia of 1850, for its preparation. 
“Take of Mercury, Sulphur, each, a pound. Rub them together till all the globules dis- 
appear.” U.S. 
Mercury and sulphur have a strong affinity for each other, as is shown by the fact, that, 
when they are triturated together in quantities, the mixture grows hot, cakes, and exhales 
a sulphurous odour. During the trituration, the mixture should be sprinkled from time to 
time with a little water or alcohol, to prevent the dust from rising, which exposes the ope- 
rator to serious inconvenience. When rubbed together in equal weights, as directed in the 
formula, they are supposed to unite chemically; but the proportion of sulphur is much 
greater than is necessary to form a definite compound. Only two sulphurets of mercury 
have been admitted by chemists generally, the protosulphuret, and bisulphuret or cinnabar; 
but the quantity of sulphur directed in the process is much more than sufficient to form 
even the latter. It is still undetermined what is the exact nature of the officinal black sul- 
phuret, or ethiops mineral. Mr. Brande, from his experiments, considers it to be the bisul- 
phuret mixed with sulphur. Thus, he found that, when boiled repeatedly in solution of 
potassa, sulphur was dissolved, and a black insoluble powder was left, which sublimed 
without decomposition, and yielded a substance having all the characters of cinnabar. 
Ethiops mineral is sometimes obtained by melting sulphur in a crucible, and adding to 
it an equal weight of mercury; but, when thus prepared, the sulphur is apt to become 
acidified, and the preparation to acquire an activity which does not belong to it when ob- 
tained by trituration. 
Properties, §c. Black sulphuret of mercury is a heavy, tasteless, insoluble powder. When 
exposed to heat, it becomes of a dark-violet colour, emits the excess of sulphur in sulphur- 
ous acid fumes, and sublimes in brilliant red needles without residue. If charcoal be pre- 
sent it will remain behind. When well prepared, no globules of mercury are discernible in 
it when viewed with a magnifier; and, if rubbed on a gold ring, it should not communi- 
cate a white stain. Ivory black is detected in it by throwing a small portion on red-hot 
iron, when a white matter (phosphate of lime) will be left behind. Adulteration by sul- 
phuret of antimony is shown, if muriatic acid, boiled on a portion of the powder, acquires 
the property of causing a precipitate of oxychloride of antimony when added to water. Ac- 
cording to the views of Mr. Brande, ethiops mineral consists of one eq. of bisulphuret of 
mercury, mixed with about ten and a half eqs. of sulphur in excess. 
Medical Properties. Ethiops mineral is supposed to be alterative, and as such has been 
sometimes prescribed in glandular affections and cutaneous diseases, especially in the cases 
of scrofulous children, to which, from the mildness of its operation, it has been thought 10 
be well adapted. The dose generally given was from five to thirty grains, repeated several 
times a day; but it has often been administered in much larger doses, without producing 
any obvious impression on the system. At present it is very little used as a medicine. B. PART II. 
Hydrargyrum. 
monia four ounces [avoird.] ; Distilled Water three pints [Imperial measurt]. 
Dissolve the Corrosive Sublimate in the Water with the aid of a moderate heat* 
mix the Solution with the Ammonia, constantly stirring; collect the precipi- 
tate on a filter, and wash it well with cold Distilled Water until the liquid which 
passes through ceases to give a precipitate when dropped into a solution of 
nitrate of silver acidulated with nitric acid. Lastly, dry the product at a tem- 
perature not exceeding 212 °” Br. 
The Pharmacopoeias now agree in obtaining white precipitate by precipitating 
a solution of corrosive sublimate by ammonia. When ammonia, in slight excess, 
is added to a cold solution of corrosive sublimate, muriate of ammonia is formed 
in solution, and the white precipitate of the Pharmacopoeias is thrown down. 
The precipitate is washed, according to the U. S. formula, until the washings be- 
come nearly tasteless, according to the British, with greater precision, until they 
cease to give evidence of the presence of a chloride by producing a precipitate 
with nitrate of silver acidulated with nitric acid. The matter washed away is 
muriate of ammonia and the excess of ammonia employed; and hence the wash- 
ings, agreeably to the directions of the British formula, are tested with an acid 
solution of nitrate of silver. According to Sir Robert Kane, white precipitate 
has a composition corresponding to one eq. of bichloride of mercury, united with 
one eq. of a compound consisting of one eq. of mercury combined with two eqs. 
of a hypothetical body represented by one eq. of ammonia minus one eq. of hy- 
drogen. This hypothetical body, represented by NHS, he has named amidogen, 
the amide of some chemists. The reaction may be supposed to take place between 
four eqs. of ammonia and two of bichloride of mercury. Two eqs. of ammonia 
by parting with one eq., each, of hydrogen, become two eqs. of amidogen, which 
unite with the mercury of one eq. of the bichloride to form the binamide of mer- 
cury; while the two liberated eqs. of hydrogen of the ammonia combine with 
the two liberated eqs. of chlorine of the bichloride, forming two eqs. of muriatic 
acid; and the binamide then unites with the second eq. of the bichloride to pro- 
duce the insoluble chloro-amide of mercury or white precipitate, which falls. 
The two eqs. of muriatic acid combine with a like number of ammonia, and re- 
main in solution as two eqs. of muriate of ammonia. In symbols the reaction is 
thus denoted: 4NH3 and 2HgCl2=Hg,2NH2-fHgCl2 and 2(NH3,HC1). For 
an account of ammonium, see page 95. The analysis of Kane agrees virtually 
with those of Guibourt and Hennell. 
Properties, &c. Ammoniated mercury is in powder or pulverulent masses, 
perfectly white, insoluble in water and alcohol, decomposed by boiling water, 
and having a taste at first earthy, and afterwards metallic. It dissolves without 
effervescence in muriatic acid. When heated with a solution of caustic potassa, 
it yields ammonia and becomes yellow. Exposed to a strong heat it is entirely 
dissipated, and resolved into nitrogen, ammonia, and protochloride of mercury. 
Adulteration with white lead, chalk, or sulphate of lime may be detected by 
exposing a sample to a strong red heat, when these impurities will remain. 
Should starch be mixed with it, a charrv residue will be obtained on the appli- 
cation of heat. Lead or starch may be found by digesting it with acetic acid, 
and testing the acetic solution with the compound solution of iodine, which will 
give a yellow precipitate if lead, and a blue one if starch be present. The ab- 
sence of protoxide of mercury is shown by its not being blackened when rubbed 
with lime-water. Ammoniated mercury is used only as an external application. 
Ammoniated mercury has been swallowed by mistake. It is highly poisonous, 
producing gastric pain, nausea, and purging. A case of recovery, after taking 
what was estimated to be half a drachm, is reported in the London Lancet for 
July 4, 1857. The remedies employed were an emetic of sulphate of zinc, and 
milk to allay the gastro-intestinal irritation. 
Off. Prep. Unguentum Hydrargyri Ammoniati. B. 1174 
Sydrargyrum. 
PART II. 
HYDRARGYRUM CUM CRETA. U. S., Br. Mercury with Chalk. 
Gray Potvder. 
“ Take of Mercury three troyounces; Prepared Chalk five troyounces. Rub 
them together until the globules cease to be visible, and the mixture acquires a 
nuiform gray colour.” U. S. 
“ Take of Mercury, by weight, one ounce; Prepared Chalk two ounces. Rub 
the Mercury and Chalk in a porcelain mortar until metallic globules cease to be 
visible to the naked eye, and the mixture acquires a uniform gray colour.” Br. 
When mercury is triturated with certain dry and pulverulent substances, such 
as chalk or magnesia, it gradually loses its fluidity and metallic lustre, and be- 
comes a blackish or dark-gray powder. A similar change takes place when it is 
rubbed with viscid or greasy substances, such as honey or lard. The globules 
disappear, so as in some instances not to be visible even through a good lens; 
and the mercury is said to be extinguished. It was formerly thought that the 
metal was oxidized in the process. At present, the change is generally ascribed 
to the mechanical division of the metal, which in this state is supposed to be 
capable of acting on the system. There is good reason, however, to believe that 
in this, as in all the analogous preparations of mercury, in which the metal is 
extinguished by trituration, a very small portion is converted into protoxide, 
while by far the greater part remains in the metallic state. 
Mercury with chalk is a grayish powder, in which globules of mercury can 
generally be seen with the aid of a microscope; as the metal can scarcely be 
completely extinguished with chalk alone by any length of trituration. Mr. 
Jacob Bell found that, by powerfully pressing it, a considerable quantity of 
metal was separated in the form of globules. Mr. Phillips states that the extin- 
guishment of the mercury is greatly accelerated by the addition of a little water. 
Dr. Stewart, of Baltimore, proposed the following process, by which he stated 
that the preparation might be completed in a short time, so that no globules 
should be visible with a powerful lens. Three ounces of mercury and six ounces 
of resin are to be rubbed together for three hours; five ounces of chalk are to 
be added, and the trituration continued fot an hour; the mixture is then to be 
heated with alcohol so as to dissolve the resin; and the remaining powder is to 
be dried on bibulous paper, and well rubbed in a mortar. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
xv. 162.) But Professor Procter has shown that the preparation thus made con- 
tains deutoxide of mercury, and is, therefore, injuriously harsh in its operation. 
(Ibid., xxii. 113.) It is said that the precipitated black oxide is sometimes added 
with a view to save time in the trituration; but this must be considered as an 
adulteration, until it can be shown that the same oxide exists, in the same pro- 
portion, in the preparation made according to the officinal directions. Dr. Ed. 
Jenner Coxe, of New Orleans, has found that the extinguishment of the mercury 
may be effected much more speedily than in the ordinary manner, by putting 
the ingredients into a quart bottle, to be well corked, and kept in constant agi- 
tation till the object is attained. A portion of the chalk may be thus shaken 
with the metal until no globules can be seen, and the process completed by tritu- 
ration with the remainder of the chalk in a mortar. This mode of proceeding 
was suggested to Dr. Coxe by Mr. W. Ilewson, of Augusta, Ga. (Ibid., xxii. 3 IT.) 
Dr. S {uibb, having ascertained that the preparation cannot be satisfactorily made 
in this way on a large scale (Proceed, of Am. Pharm. Assoc., 1858, p. 424), has 
invented a machine for accomplishing the same object, by which the requisite 
motion is imparted to the materials contained in two large bottles, and which is 
said to answer the purpose well. By means of this apparatus, Dr. Squibb pre- 
pares mercury with chalk on a large scale, mixing the materials in the officinal 
proportions, but aiding the extinguishment of the metal by adding to it about 
one-seventh of its weight of honey, and making the chalk into a paste with 
water before introducing it into the bottles. (Ibid., 1859, p. 359.) As found in PART II. 
Hydrargyrum. —Infusa. 
1175 
commerce, mercury with chalk, instead of being the mild preparation it was in- 
tended to be, sometimes acts very harshly, producing vomiting, gastric pains, 
&c. This has been ascribed to the presence of antimony or arsenic, existing as 
impurities in the mercury employed; but this can seldom happen; and the ordi- 
nary cause of the harshness is no doubt peroxide of mercury, produced in minute 
proportion either by improper modes of preparation, or by too long a perseve- 
rance in trituration, or by the spontaneous change which occurs with time; the 
protoxide being converted into deutoxide by the influence of light. The only 
method to guard against such results is to make the preparation strictly accord- 
ing to the officinal process, or carefully to test before dispensing it. If the mer- 
cury contained in the preparation be volatilized by heat, and the remaining chalk 
be dissolved by dilute acetic acid, the solution should not be coloured by sul- 
phuretted hydrogen. The presence of any probable metallic impurity may be 
detected in this way. To detect peroxide of mercury, a portion of the powder 
may be treated with dilute muriatic acid with a moderate heat, and the solution 
tested by protochloride of tin, which if there be any peroxide in the preparation, 
will cause a precipitation of metallic mercury in the form of a black powder. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Mercury with chalk is a very mild mercurial, 
similar in its properties to the blue pill, but much weaker. It is sometimes used 
as an alterative, particularly in the complaints of children attended with deficient 
biliary secretion, indicated by white or clay-coloured stools. The chalk is antacid, 
and, though in small quantity, may sometimes be a useful accompaniment of the 
mercury in diarrhoea. Eight grains of the U. S. preparation contain three grains 
of mercury. The dose is from five grains to half a drachm twice a day. Two 
or three grains is the dose for a child. It should not be given in pill with sub- 
stances which become hard on keeping; as the contraction of the mass presses 
together the particles of mercury, which, in time, appear in globules in the inte- 
rior of the pill. W. 
INFUSA. 
Infusions. 
These are aqueous solutions obtained by treating with water, without the aid 
of ebullition, vegetable products only partially soluble in that liquid. The water 
employed may be hot or cold, according to the objects to be accomplished. In- 
fusions are generally prepared by pouring boiling water upon the vegetable sub- 
stance, and macerating in a lightly closed vessel till the liquid cools. The solu- 
ble principles are thus extracted more rapidly, and, as a general rule, in a larger 
proportion than at a lower temperature. Some substances, moreover, are dis- 
solved in this manner, which are nearly or quite insoluble in cold water. A pro- 
longed application of heat is in some instances desirable; and this may be effected 
by placing the vessel near the fire. Cold water is preferred when the active prin- 
ciple is highly volatile, when it is injured by heat, or when any substance of diffi- 
cult solubility at a low temperature exists in the vegetable, which it is desirable 
to avoid in the infusion. A longer continuance of the maceration is necessary 
in this case; and, in warm weather, there is sometimes danger that spontaneous 
decomposition may commence before the process is completed. When a strong 
infusion is required, the process of percolation may be advantageously resorted 
to. (See pages 894 and 905.) The water employed should be free from saline 
impurities, which frequently produce precipitates, and render the infusion tur- 
bid. Fresh river, rain, or distilled water is usually preferable to that of pumps 
or springs. 
The substance to be acted on should be sliced or bruised, or in the state of 
powder; but, unless when percolation is employed, this last condition is seldom 
requisite, and is always inconvenient, as it requires that the infusion should be 1176 
Infusa. 
PART II. 
filtered through paper in order completely to separate the undissolved portion. 
In other cases, it is sufficient to strain through fine linen or muslin. When per- 
colation is resorted to, the substance should be more or less finely powdered. 
Infusions are usually prepared in glazed earthenware or porcelain vessels fitted 
with covers. Mr. Brande suggests the use of clean metallic vessels, which, when 
finely polished, retain the heat for a longer time; but they are also more liable 
to chemical alteration, and may sometimes injuriously affect the preparaticn. 
Vessels of block-tin are generally well adapted for the purpose.* 
As infusions do not keep well, especially in warm weather, they should be made 
extemporaneously and in small quantities. In this country they are usually pre- 
pared in families, and the propriety of their introduction into the Pharmacopoeia 
has been doubted; but it is desirable to have certain fixed standards for the 
regulation of the medical practitioner; and it is sometimes convenient to direct 
infusions from the apothecary, for whose guidance officinal formulas are neces- 
sary. Physicians would, indeed, find their advantage in more frequently directing 
* Alsop's Infusion Jar. This presents a very neat and effectual method of making the hot 
infusions. It consists of an earthenware mug, represented in the marginal figure, with a 
spout (dj proceeding from the bottom, and placed 
closely to the side of the vessel to prevent fracture; 
a perforated plate or diaphragm (6), supported on 
a ledge (c), at about one-quarter or one-third of the 
height of the vessel from the top; and a lid (a), 
which may be fastened on by a string through holes 
(//). The material to be submitted to infusion is 
placed on the perforated plate, and the hot water 
poured in so as to cover it, the vessel having been 
previously warmed so as not to chill the liquid. As 
the water becomes impregnated, it acquires an in- 
creased specific gravity, and sinks to the bottom, 
its place being supplied by the unsaturated por- 
tion; and this circulation goes on until the whole 
of the soluble matter is extracted. In order to 
maintain a due warmth, the vessel may be placed 
upon a stove or an iron plate near the fire. The 
advantage of the process is that the material is 
subjected to the solvent power of the least impreg- 
nated portion of the menstruum. Such jars may 
now be had in Philadelphia. In order that the ves- 
sel may be adapted for the preparation of different 
quantities of infusions, it will be proper to have 
ledges arranged within at different heights, so that 
the diaphragm may be supported at any desirable point. The surface of the liquid (e) should 
of course always be above the medicinal substance placed upon the diaphragm. (See Am. 
Jottrn. of Pharm., viii. 89.) 
Squire's Infusion Jar. Mr. Squire, of London, has modified this jar by adding a colander 
of queensware, which is closely covered with a lid, and descends into the jar so as to form 
a diaphragm for the support of the substance to be 
infused. It has the advantage that the material, af- 
ter having been exhausted, may be lifted out without 
disturbing the infusion. In the margin is a figure 
of Squire’s implement. It consists of a queensware 
mug, of the capacity of two pints, into which a thim- 
ble-shaped colander descends to somewhat less than 
half its depth, supported on the rim of the mug by a 
projecting ledge, with a carefully fitted cover, which 
closes the whole. The substance to be submitted to 
infusion is introduced into the colander either before 
or after it has been fitted to the mug; the water, hot 
or cold, as the case may be, is then poured in so as 
to fill the lower vessel, and cover the materials in the upper; and, the cover having been 
applied, the vessel is set aside for the length of time required. The colander is then to be 
lifted out, and the infusion is ready for use. For preparing small quantities of infusion, 
a pint for example, the mug must be made of a smaller size. PART II, 
Infusa, 
1177 
them from the shops, instead of leaving their preparation to the carelessness or 
want of skill of attendants upon the sick. For a mode of preserving infusions, 
the reader is referred to the introductory observations, page 899. By making very 
concentrated infusions, as suggested by Mr. Donovan, with a mixture of three 
parts of water and one of alcohol, they may be long kept, and when used can be 
diluted with water to the proper strength. Thus, if made four times as strong 
as the officinal infusion, they may be diluted with three measures of water. The 
proportion of alcohol would thus be very small; but it might still be medically 
injurious; and infusions should not be prepared in this way unless with the 
cognizance of the prescriber. 
Mr. Battley, of London, has introduced a new set of preparations, which he 
calls inspissated infusions, the advantages of which are that the virtues are ex- 
tracted by cold water, are not injured by heat used in the evaporation, are in a 
concentrated state, and are not impaired by time. To prepare them he macerates 
the material, coarsely powdered, bruised, or finely sliced, in twice its weight of 
cold distilled water, pressing the solid matter into the liquid repeatedly by a 
rammer or the hand; then allows the liquid to drain out, or expresses it in the 
case of highly absorbent substances; and repeats the process, with an amount 
of water equal to that which has been separated, until the strength is exhausted. 
Four or six hours of maceration are usually sufficient. The infusion is then to 
be concentrated by evaporation at a temperature not exceeding 160° to the sp. 
gr. 1-200, and as much alcohol is to be added as will make its sp. gr. IT00. 
These preparations are very analogous to the fluid extracts already treated of. 
As a general rule it would probably be preferable to prepare the infusion by 
the process of percolation. The inspissated infusions must be diluted when ad- 
ministered. The presence of alcohol, though in small quantity, would in some 
instances be a serious objection. (Pharm. Journ., x. 129.) 
As we have already treated of the chemical relations and medical properties 
of the substances used in infusion, it would be useless repetition to enlarge upon 
these points in the following details. We shall touch upon them only in cases of 
peculiar interest, or where changes requiring particular notice may grow out of 
the nature of the process. 
The former officinal preparations of this class, omitted in the present U. S. 
and Br. Pharmacopoeias, are the Infusions of Horseradish, U. S., Lond., of 
Pale Peruvian Bark, Lond., Dub., Ed., and of Simaruba, Ed , Dub.; the In- 
spissated Infusions of Yellow and Pale Bark, Lond.; and the Compound In- 
fusion of Senna, Ed. The U. S. Infusions of Sassafras Pith and of Slippery- 
elm Bark have been transferred to the Mucilages. W. 
INFUSUM ANGUSTURiE. U.S. Infusum Cusparia. Br. Infusion 
of Angustura. Infusion of Cusparia. 
“Take of Angustura [Bark], in moderately coarse powder, half a troyounce; 
Water a sufficient quantity. Moisten the powder with two flnidrachms of Water, 
pack it firmly in a conical percolator, and gradually pour Water upon it until 
the filtered liquid measures a pint. 
“This Infusion may also be prepared by macerating the Angustura in a pint 
of Boiling Water, for two hours, in a covered vessel, and straining.” U. S. 
“ Take of Cusparia, in coarse powder, half an ounce [avoirdupois] ; Distilled 
Water, at 120°, ten fluidounces. Infuse in a covered vessel, for two hours, and 
strain.” Br. 
The dose of the infusion is two fluidounces, repeated every two, three, or four 
hours. W 
INFUSUM ANT HE MIDIS. U.S., Br. Infusion of Chamomile. 
“Take of Chamomile half a troyounce; Boiling Water a pint. Macerate for 
ten minutes in a covered vessel, and strain.” U. S. 1178 
Infusa. 
PART II. 
“Take of Chamomile Flowers half an ounce [avoirdupois]-; Boiling Distilled 
Water ten fluidounees. Infuse in a covered vessel, for fifteen minutes, and 
strain.” Br. 
The infusion of chamomile has the odour and taste of the flower's. It affords 
precipitates with gelatin, yellow Peruvian bark, sulphate of iron, tincture of 
chloride of iron, nitrate of silver, corrosive chloride of mercury, and the acetates 
of lead. (London Dispensatory.) As a tonic it is given cold, in the dose of two 
fluidounees several times a day. To assist the operation of emetic medicines it 
should be administered in the tepid state, and in large draughts. The infusion 
prepared by maceration in cold water is more grateful to the palate and stomach 
than that made with boiling water, but is less efficient as an emetic. W. 
INFUSUM AURANTII. Br. Infusion of Orange Peel. 
“Take of Bitter Orange Peel, cut small, half an ounce [avoirdupois]; Boil- 
ing Distilled Water ten fluidounees. Infuse in a covered vessel, for fifteen min- 
utes, and strain.” Br. 
This infusion is given as a grateful stomachic, in the dose of two or three 
fluidounees. W. 
INFUSUM BUCIIU. U.S. Infusum Bucco. Br. Infusion of BucJiu. 
“Take of Buchu a troyounce; Boiling Water a pint. Macerate for two hours 
in a covered vessel, and strain.” U. S. 
“Take of Buehu, bruised, half an ounce [avoirdupois]; Boiling Distilled 
Water ten fluidounees. Infuse in a covered vessel, for one hour, and strain ” Br. 
This is the Infusum Diosmae of former Pharmacopoeias. It has the odour, 
taste, and medical virtues of the leaves, and affords a convenient method of ad- 
ministering the medicine. The dose is one or two fluidounees. W. 
INFUSUM CALUMB2E. U.S.,Br. Infusum Colombo. U. 8.1850. 
Infusion of Columbo. Infusion of Calumbo. 
“Take of Columbo, in moderately coarse powder, half a troyounce; Water 
a sufficient quantity. Moisten the powder with two fluidrachms of Water, pack 
it firmly in a conical percolator, and gradually pour Water upon it until the fil- 
tered liquid measures a pint. 
“This Infusion may also be prepared by macerating the Columbo in a pint of 
boiling Water, for two hours, in a covered vessel, and straining.” U. S. 
“Take of Calumbo, in coarse powder, half an ounce [avoirdupois]; Cold 
Distilled Water ten fluidounees. Macerate for one hour, and strain.” Br. 
The infusion of columbo is apt to spoil very quickly, especially in warm wea- 
ther. It has been generally supposed that the cold infusion would keep better 
than the hot, because it contains no starch. Mr. Thomas Greenish, however, 
upon comparing specimens of the two infusions, found that the spontaneous 
change began sooner in the cold than the hot, though the former was clearer. 
Columbo contains starch and albumen. Cold water extracts the latter without 
the former; hot water the former with comparatively little of the latter, which 
is partially coagulated by the heat. Both starch and albumen are liable to 
spontaneous change; but the former is much the more permanent of the two. 
Hence it is, according to Mr. Greenish, that the hot infusion keeps best. Indeed, 
he ascribes the change which takes place in the starch of the hot infusion chiefly 
to the agency of a little albumen, which has escaped coagulation. According 
to these views, the best plan of preparing infusion of columbo is to exhaust the 
root with cold water, by which the starch is left behind, and then to heat the 
infusion to the boiling point in order to coagulate the albumen. (Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., xviii. 141, from Pharm. Journ.) Upon comparing specimens of the 
cold and hot infusion, we have not found the results of Mr. Greenish fully con- 
firmed. The cold infusion appeared to keep better than the hot. Nevertheless, 
the plan of preparing the infusion above proposed is probably the be.r:t. The PART II. 
Infusa. 
1179 
infusion of columbo is not disturbed by salts of iron, and may be conveniently 
administered in connection with them. The dose is two fluidounces three or four 
times a day. W. 
INFUSUM CAPSICI. U. S. Infusion of Capsicum. 
“ Take of Capsicum, in coarse powder, half a troyounce; Boiling Water a 
pint. Macerate for two hours in a covered vessel, and strain.” U. S. 
This infusion is used chiefly as a gargle. It may, however, be given internally 
in the dose of half a fluidounce. W. 
INFUSUM CARYOPIIYLLI. U.S., Br. Infusion of Cloves. 
“Take of Cloves, bruised, one hundred and twenty grains; Boiling Water 
a pint. Macerate for two hours in a covered vessel, and strain.” U. S. 
“Take of Cloves, bruised, a quarter of an ounce [avoirdupois]; Boiling 
Distilled Water ten fluidounces. Infuse in a covered vessel, for half an hour, 
and strain.” Br. 
The infusion of cloves affords precipitates with lime-water, and with the soluble 
salts of iron, zinc, lead, silver, and antimony. (Phillips.) The dose is about two 
fluidounces. W. 
INFUSUM CASCARILLiE. U. S., Br. Infusion of Cascarilla. 
“Take of Cascarilla, ip moderately coarse powder, a troyounce; Water a 
sufficient quantity. Moisten the powder with half a fluidounce of Water, pack 
it firmly in a conical percolator, and gradually pour Water upon it until the 
filtered liquid measures a pint. 
“ This Infusion may also be prepared by macerating the Cascarilla with a pint 
of boiling Water, for two hours, in a covered vessel, and straining.” U. S. 
“Take of Cascarilla, in coarse powder, one ounce [avoirdupois]; Boiling 
Distilled Water ten fluidounces. Infuse in a covered vessel, for one hour, and 
strain.” Br. 
This infusion affords precipitates with lime-water, infusion of galls, nitrate 
of silver, acetate and subacetate of lead, sulphate of zinc, and sulphate of iron, 
(London Dispensatory.) The medium dose is two fluidounces. W. 
INFUSUM CATECHU COMPOSITUM. U. S. Infusum Catechu. 
Br. Compound Infusion of Catechu. Infusion of Catechu. 
“Take of Catechu, in fine powder, half a troyounce; Cinnamon, in mode- 
rately fine powder, sixty grains; Boiling Water a pint. Macerate for an hour 
in a covered vessel, and strain.” U. S. 
“Take of Catechu, in coarse powder, one hundred and sixty grains; Cin- 
namon, bruised, thirty grains; Boiling Distilled Water ten fluidounces. Infuse 
in a covered vessel, for half an hour, aud strain.” Br. 
This is an elegant mode of administering catechu. The dose is from one to 
three fluidounces, repeated three or four times a day, or more frequently. W. 
INFUSUM CHIRATAE. Br. Infusion of Chiretta. 
“ Take of Chiretta, bruised, a quarter of an ounce [avoirdupois]; Distilled 
Water, at 120°, ten fluidounces. Infuse in a covered vessel, for half an hour, 
and strain.” i?r. 
The dose of this simple bitter is from one to three fluidounces. W. 
INFUSUM CINCHONAS FLAVAE. U.S., Br. Infusion of Yellow 
Cinchona. Infusion of Yellow Bark. 
“Take of Yellow Cinchona, in moderately fine powder, a troyounce; Aro- 
matic Sulphuric Acid a fluidrachm; Water a sufficient quantity. Mix the 
Acid with a pint of Water. Then moisten the powder with half a fluidounce 
of the mixture, and, having packed it firmly in a conical glass percolator, gradu- PART II. 
1180 
Infusa. 
ally pour upon it the remainder of the mixture, and afterwards Water, until the 
filtered liquid measures a pint.” XJ. S. 
“Take of Yellow Cinchona Bark, in coarse powder, half an ounce [avoirdu- 
pois] ; Boiling Distilled Water ten Jluidounces. Infuse in a covered vessel, for 
two hours, and filter through paper.” Br. 
Though the infusion with boiling water is more quickly prepared than the cold 
infusion, and therefore better adapted to cases of emergency, yet the latter is a 
more elegant preparation, not turbid like the former, and at least equally effi- 
cient. We, therefore, prefer the process of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, provided 
it be skilfully conducted. 
The U. S. infusion is an elegant and very efficient preparation. Water ex- 
tracts from bark the kinates of quinia and cinchonia, but leaves behind the 
compounds which these principles form with the cinchotauuic acid. The simple 
infusion, therefore, is rather feeble. But the addition of the acid ensures the 
solution of all or nearly all the active matter. We have been long in the habit 
of using this infusion, and have had reason to be satisfied with its efficacy. It 
would be best that the bark should be macerated with the acidulated water some 
time before being introduced into the instrument. 
The infusion of cinchona, made without acid, affords precipitates with the 
alkalies, alkaline carbonates, and alkaline earths; the soluble salts of iron, zinc, 
and silver; corrosive chloride of mercury, arsenious acid, and tartar emetic; 
gelatinous solutions; and various vegetable infusions and decoctions, as those 
of galls, chamomile, columbo, cascarilla, horse-radish, cloves, catechu, orange- 
peel, foxglove, senna, rhubarb, valerian, and simaruba. In some instances the 
precipitate occurs immediately, in others not for several hours. (London Dis- 
pensatory.) Few, however, of these substances diminish the efficacy of the in- 
fusion, as they do not affect the active principles. The alkalies, alkaline earths, 
and vegetable astringents are really incompatible. As gallic, tartaric, and oxalic 
acids form salts with quinia of somewhat difficult solubility, the neutral .and 
soluble gallates, tartrates, and oxalates produce in the infusion slight precipitates 
of corresponding salts of the alkaloids; but these are redissolved by an excess 
of the acid. Tartrate of antimony and potassa does not precipitate the alkaloids. 
Solutions of iodine are incompatible by forming with the alkaloids insoluble 
compounds. For an account of the chemical reactions of the infusions of different 
varieties of Peruvian bark, see the Am. Journ. of Pliarm. (ix. 128). 
The simple infusion of cinchona may be advantageously administered in cases 
which require tonic treatment, but do not call for the full powers of the bark. 
The acid infusion has, we believe, all the powers of cinchona itself, and may be 
given for the same purposes. The medium dose is two fluidounces, equivalent 
to a drachm of the bark, to be repeated three or four times a day as a tonic, 
but more frequently as an antiperiodic. W. 
INFUSUM CINCHONiE RUBRiE. U.S. Infusum Cinchona Com- 
positum. U.S. 1850. Infusion of Red Cinchona. Compound Infusion of 
Peruvian Bark. Infusion of Red Bark. 
“Take of Red Cinchona, in moderately fine powder, a troyounce; Aromatic 
Sulphuric Acid a Jluidrachm; Water a sufficient quantity. Mix the Acid with 
a pint of Water. Then moisten the powder with half a fluidounce of the mix- 
ture, and, having packed it firmly in a conical glass percolator, gradually pour 
upon it the remainder of the mixture, and afterwards Water, until the filtered 
liquor measures a pint.” U. S. 
The remarks made in relation to infusion of yellow bark are equally applicable 
to this. W. 
INFUSUM CUSSO. Br. Infusion of Kousso. 
“Take of Kousso, in coarse powder, a quarter of an ounce [avoirdupois]; PART II. 
Infusa. 
1181 
Boiling Distilled Water four Jluidounces. Infuse in a covered vessel, for fifteen 
minutes, without straining.” Br. 
The whole may be taken for a dose. W. 
INFUSUM DIGITALIS. U.S.,Br. Infusion of Digitalis. 
“Take of Digitalis [dried leaves], in coarse powder, sixty grains; Tincture 
of Cinnamon a fluidounce; Boiling Water half a pint. Macerate the Digitalis 
with the Water for two hours in a covered vessel, and strain; then add the Tinc- 
ture of Cinnamon, and mix.” XJ. S. 
“Take of Digitalis, dried, thirty grains; Boiling Distilled Water ten fluid- 
ounces. Infuse in a covered vessel, for one hour, and strain.” Br. 
The U. S. infusion is essentially the same as that employed by Withering. It 
affords precipitates with sulphate of iron, acetate of lead, tannic acid, and infu- 
sion of Peruvian bark. The dose is usually stated at half a fluidounce, repeated 
twice a day under ordinary circumstances, every eight hours in urgent cases 
until the system is affected. The proportion of digitalis is scarcely half as great 
in the British preparation, and the dose is proportionably larger. It will not 
escape the close observer, that the stated dose of digitalis in infusion is much 
larger than in substance, for which there does not appear to be a good reason. 
It might be safer to give only half the quantity, and increase if necessary. The 
British infusion has only about half the strength of ours. W. 
INFUSUM DULCAMARAS. Br. Infusion of Dulcamara. 
“Take of Dulcamara, bruised, one ounce [avoirdupois]; Boiling Distilled 
Water ten Jluidounces. Infuse in a covered vessel, for one hour, and strain.” Br. 
The dose is one or two fluidounces three or four times a day. W. 
INFUSUM ERGOTAG. Br. Infusion of Ergot. 
“ Take of Ergot, in coarse powder, a quarter of an ounce [avoirdupois]; Boil- 
ing Distilled Water ten fluidounces. Infuse in a covered vessel, for half an hour, 
and strain.” Br. 
The dose of this infusion is two fluidounces for a woman in labour. W. 
INFUSUM EUPATORII. U.S. Infusion of Thoroughwort. 
“Take of Thoroughwort [the dried herb] a troyounce; Boiling Water a pint. 
Macerate for two hours in a covered vessel, and strain.” XJ. S. 
As a tonic, this infusion should be taken cold in the dose of one or two fluid- 
ounces three or four times a day, or more frequently; as an emetic and diapho 
retie, in large tepid draughts. W. 
INFUSUM GENTIAN AG COMPOSITUM. U.S., Br. Compound In- 
fusion of Grentian. 
“Take of Gentian, in moderately coarse powder, half a troyounce; Bitter 
Orange Peel, in moderately coarse powder, Coriander, in moderately coarse pow- 
der, each, sixty grains; Alcohol two fluidounces; Water a sufficient quantity. 
Mix the Alcohol with fourteen fluidounces of Water, and, having moistened the 
mixed powders with three fluidrachms of the menstruum, pack them firmly in a 
conical percolator, and gradually pour upon them first the remainder of the men- 
struum, and afterwards Water, until the filtered liquid measures a pint.” XJ. S. 
“ Take of Gentian, sliced, a quarter of an ounce [avoirdupois]; Bitter-Orange 
Peel, bruised, Coriander, each, thirty grains; Proof Spirit two fluidounces; 
Cold Distilled Water eight fluidounces. Pour the Spirit upon the dry ingredi- 
ents, in a covered vessel; in two hours add the Water, and in two hours more 
strain through calico.” Br. 
The use of the alcohol is to assist in dissolving the bitter principle, and at the 
same time to contribute towards the preservation of the infusion, which, without 
this addition, is very apt to spoil. The dose is a fluidounce repeated three or 
four times a day. W. 1182 
Infusa. 
PART II. 
INFUSUM HTJMULI. U.S. Infusum Lupuli. Br. Infusion of Hops. 
“Take of Hops half a troyounce; Boiling Water a pint. Macerate for two 
hours in a covered vessel, and strain.” TJ. S. 
“Take of Hops half an ounce [avoirdupois]; Boiling Distilled Water ten 
fluidounces. Infuse in a covered vessel, for two hours, and strain.” Br. 
The dose of this infusion is one or two fluidounces. W. 
INFUSUM JUNIPEPJ. U.S. Infusion of Juniper. 
“ Take of Juniper, bruised, a troyounce; Boiling Water a pint. Macerate for 
an hour in a covered vessel, and strain.” TJ. S. 
The whole quantity made may be taken in twenty-four hours, in doses of two 
or three fluidounces. W. 
INFUSUM KRAMERI2E. U.S.,Br. Infusion of Rhatany. 
“Take of Rhatany, in moderately coarse powder, a troyounce; Water a suf- 
ficient quantity. Moisten the powder with half a fluidounce of Water, and, hav- 
ing packed it lirmly in a conical glass percolator, gradually pour Water upon it 
until the filtered liquid measures a pint.” U. S. 
“ Take of Rhatany, bruised, half an ounce [avoirdupois]; Boiling Distilled 
Water ten fluidounces. Infuse in a covered vessel, for one hour, and strain.” Br. 
The infusion of rhatany is probably most efficient, prepared by the mode of per- 
colation, with cold water, from the root in a state of moderately coarse powder, 
as directed in the U. S. process. The dose of the infusion is one or two fluid- 
ounces. W. 
INFUSUM LINI COMPOSITUM. U. S. Infusum Lini. Br. Com- 
pound Infusion of Flaxseed. Infusion of Linseed. 
“ Take of Flaxseed half a troyounce; Liquorice Root, bruised, one hundred 
and twenty grains; Boiling AVater a pint. Macerate for two hours in a covered 
vessel, and strain.” U. S. 
“Take of Linseed one hundred and sixty grains; Fresh Liquorice Root, 
sliced, sixty grains; Boiling Distilled Water ten fluidounces. Infuse in a cov- 
ered vessel, for four hours, and strain through calico.” Br. 
This is a useful demulcent drink in inflammatory affections of the mucous 
membrane of the lungs and urinary passages. It may be taken ad libitum. 
W. 
INFUSUM MATICiE. Br. Infusion of Matico. 
“Take of Matico, cut small, half an ounce [avoirdupois]; Boiling Distilled 
Water ten fluidounces. Infuse in a covered vessel, for half an hour, and strain.” 
Br. 
The dose of this infusion is two fluidounces. W. 
INFUSUM PAREIRiE. U.S. Infusion of Pareira Brava. 
“Take of Pareira Brava, bruised, a troyounce; Boiling Water a pint. Ma- 
cerate for two hours in a covered vessel, aud strain.” U. S. 
The infusion of pareira brava is highly esteemed by some English practitioners 
as a remedy in irritation and chronic inflammation of the urinary passages, and 
has been found useful in catarrh of the bladder. The dose is one or two fluid- 
ounces. Brodie employed a decoction of the root, which he prepared by boiling 
half an ounce in three pints of water dowu to a pint, and gave in the quantity 
of from eight to twelve fluidounces daily. The Br. Pharmacopoeia has substi- 
tuted the decoction for the infusion. W. 
INFUSUM PICIS LIQUIDS. U. S. Infusion of Tar. Tar Water. 
“ Take of Tar a pint; Water four pints. Mix them, and shake the mixture 
frequently during twTenty-four hours. Then pour off the infusion, and filter 
through paper.” U. S. 
Water takes from tar a small portion of acetic acid, empyreumatic oil includ- PART II. 
Infusa. 
1183 
ing creasote, and resinous matter, acquiring a sharp empyreumatic taste, the 
odour of tar, and the colour of Madeira wine. Thus impregnated it is stimulant 
and diuretic, and may be taken in the quantity of one or two pints daily. It is 
also used as a wash in chronic cutaneous affections, and is said to have proved 
benelicial, by injection into the bladder, in some cases of chronic cystitis. W. 
INFUSUM PRUNI VIRGINIANiE. U. S. Infusion of Wild-cherry 
Bark. . 
“ Take of Wild-cherry Bark, in moderately coarse powder, half a troyounce; 
WTater [cold] a sufficient quantity. Moisten the powder with six fiuidrachms of 
Water, let it stand for an hour, pack it gently in a conical glass percolator, and 
gradually pour Water upon it until the filtered liquid measures a pint.” U. S. 
This is a peculiarly suitable object for officinal direction, as, in consequence 
of the volatile nature of one of its active ingredients, and for another reason be- 
fore stated (see page 690), it is better prepared with cold water than in the ordi- 
nary mode. The infusion of wild-cherry bark is one of the preparations to which 
the process of percolation or displacement is well adapted. In this way the vir- 
tues of the bark can be more rapidly and thoroughly exhausted than by mace- 
ration alone. In order to allow time for the reaction necessary to the produc- 
tion of the hydrocyanic acid, an hour’s preliminary maceration is directed, which 
might perhaps be advantageously somewhat lengthened. When properly made, 
the infusion is beautifully transparent, has the colour of Madeira wine, and the 
agreeable bitterness and peculiar flavour of the bark. The dose is two or three 
fluidounces three or four times a day, or more frequently when a strong impres- 
sion is required. W. 
INFUSUM QUASSIiE. U.S.,Br. Infusion of Quassia. 
“Take of Quassia, rasped, one hundred and twenty grains; Water [cold] a 
pint. Macerate for twelve hours, in a covered vessel, and strain.” U. S. 
“Take of Quassia, in chips, sixty grains; Cold Distilled Water ten fluid- 
ounces. Infuse, in a covered vessel, for half an hour, and strain.” Br. 
The proportion of Quassia directed in the former London and Edinburgh 
Pharmacopoeias was much too small. The London infusion contained the 
strength of only two grains of quassia in a fluidounce, and the Edinburgh three 
grains; while the dose of quassia in substance is from twenty grains to a drachm, 
and of the extract not less than five grains. This error has been corrected in the 
British Pharmacopoeia. Boiling water may be employed when it is desirable to 
obtain the preparation quickly; but cold water affords a clearer infusion. The 
dose is two fluidounces three or four times a day. W. 
INFUSUM RHEI. U. S., Br. Infusion of Rhubarb. 
“ Take of Rhubarb, bruised, one hundred and twenty grains; Boiling Water 
half a pint. Macerate for two hours in a covered vessel, and strain.” U. S. 
“ Take of Rhubarb, in thin slices, a quarter of an ounce [avoirdupois] ; Boil- 
ing Distilled Water ten fluidounces.. Infuse in a covered vessel, for one hour, 
aud strain.” Br. 
In order that the rhubarb may be exhausted, it should be digested with the 
water near the fire, at a temperature somewhat less than that of boiling water. 
It is customary to add some aromatic, such as cardamom, fennel-seed, or nut- 
meg, which improves the taste of the infusion, and renders it more acceptable 
to the stomach. One drachm of either of these spices may be digested in con- 
nection witli the rhubarb. 
This infusion may be given as a gentle laxative, in the dose of one or two 
fluidounces, every three or four hours, till it operates. It is occasionally used as 
a vehicle of tonic, antacid, or more active cathartic medicines. The stronger 
acids and most metallic solutions are incompatible with it. W. 1184 
Infusa. 
part II. 
INFUSUM ROSiE COMPOSITUM. TJ. S. Infusum Rosje Acidum. 
Br. Compound Infusion of Rose. Acid Infusion of Roses. 
“ Take of Red Rose [dried petals] half a troyounce ; Dilated Sulphuric Acid 
three fluidrachms ; Sugar [refined], in coarse powder, a troyounce and a half; 
Boiling Water two pints and a half. Pour the Water upon the Rose in a cov- 
ered glass or porcelain vessel; then add the Acid, and macerate for half an hour. 
Lastly, strain the liquid, and in it dissolve the Sugar.” U. S. 
“ Take of Red-rose Petals a quarter of an ounce [avoirdupois]; Dilute Sul- 
phuric Acid one fluidrachm; Boiling Distilled Water ten fluidounces. Add 
the Acid to the Water, infuse the Petals in the mixture in a covered vessel, for 
half an hour, and strain.” Br. 
The red roses serve little other purpose than to impart a fine red colour and 
a slight astringent flavour to the preparation, which owes its medicinal virtues 
almost exclusively to the sulphuric acid. It is refrigerant and astringent, and 
affords a useful and not unpleasant drink in hemorrhages and colliquative sweats. 
It is much used by British practitioners as a vehicle for saline medicines, par- 
ticularly sulphate of magnesia, the taste of which it serves to cover. It is also 
employed as a gargle, usually in connection with acids, nitre, alum, or tincture 
of Cayenne pepper. The dose is from two to four fluidounces. W. 
INFUSUM SALVIiE. U.S. Infusion of Sage. 
“Take of Sage half a troyounce; Boiling Water a pint. Macerate for half 
an hour in a covered vessel, and strain.” U. S. 
This preparation is less used internally than as a gargle, or as a vehicle for 
other substances, such as alum, employed in this way. W. 
INFUSUM SENEGiE. Br. Infusion of SeneJca. 
“ Take of Senega, bruised, half an ounce [avoirdupois]; Boiling Distilled 
Water ten fluidounces. Infuse in a covered vessel for one hour, and strain.” Br. 
The efficacy of the officinal decoction of seneka has been proved by so long 
an experience, that we should be cautious in allowing it to be superseded by the 
infusion on hypothetical grounds. The dose of the preparation is from one to 
three fluidounces. W. 
INFUSUM SENNiE. TJ. S., Br. Infusion of Senna. 
“Take of Senna a troyounce; Coriander, bruised, sixty grains; Boiling 
Water a pint. Macerate for an hour in a covered vessel, and strain.” U. S. 
“ Take of Senna half an ounce [avoirdupois]; Ginger, sliced, thirty grains; 
Boiling Distilled Water ten fluidounces. Infuse in a covered vessel, for one 
hour, and strain.” Br. 
We prefer the coriander of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia to the ginger of the Bri- 
tish, though the reduction of the proportion of this ingredient formerly directed 
by the British Colleges is an improvement. This infusion deposits, on exposure 
to the air, a yellowish precipitate, which is said to aggravate its griping tend- 
ency; it should, therefore, not be made in large quantities. It is customary to 
connect with it manna and some one of the saline cathartics, which increase its 
efficacy, and render it less painful in its operation. The following is a good for- 
mula for the preparation of senna tea. Take of senna half an ounce; sulphate 
of magnesia, manna, each, an ounce; fennel-seed a drachm; boiling water half 
a pint. Macerate in a covered vessel till the liquid cools. One-third may be 
given for a dose, and repeated every four or five hours till it operates. Such a 
combination as this is called the black draught by English writers. The dose of 
the infusion of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia is about four fluidounces. 
The cold infusion, especially if made by percolation from the coarsely pow- 
dered leaves, while probably not inferior in strength to that prepared with boil- 
ing water, is said to be less unpleasant to the taste. W. PART II. 
Infusa. 
1185 
INFUSUM SERPENTARLZE. U. S., Br. Infusion of Serpentaria. 
“Take of Serpentaria, in moderately coarse powder, half a troy ounce; Wa- 
ter a sufficient quantity. Moisten the powder with two fluidrachms of Water, 
pack it firmly in a conical percolator, and gradually pour Water upon it until 
the filtered liquid measures a pint. 
“This Infusion may also be prepared by macerating the Serpentaria with a 
pint of boiling water, for two hours, in a covered vessel, and straining.” U. S. 
“Take of Serpentary a quarter of an ounce [avoirdupois]; Boiling Dis- 
tilled Water ten fluidounces. Infuse in a covered vessel for two hours, and 
strain.” Br. 
This is the ordinary form in which serpentaria is employed. The dose is one 
or two fluidouuces, repeated every two hours in low forms of fever, but less fre- 
quently iu chronic affections. W. 
INFUSUM SPIGELIzE. U.S. Infusion of Spigelia. 
“Take of Spigelia half a troyounce; Boiling Water a pint. Macerate for 
two hours in a covered vessel, and strain.” U. S. 
The dose of this infusion, for a child two or three years old, is from four flui- 
drachms to a fluidounce; for an adult, from four to eight fluidounces, repeated 
morning and evening. A quantity of senna equal to that of the spigelia is usu- 
ally added, in order to ensure a cathartic effect. W. 
INFUSUM TABACI. U.S. Enema Tabaci. Br. Infusion of To- 
bacco. 
“Take of Tobacco sixty grains; Boiling Water a pint. Macerate for an 
hour in a covered vessel, and strain.” U. S. 
For the mode of preparing the British Enema Tabaci, see page 1071. 
This is used only in the form of enema in strangulated hernia, obstinate colic, 
and retention of urine from spasm of the urethra. Only half of the pint of the 
U. S. infusion should be employed at once; and, if this should not produce re- 
laxation in half an hour, the remainder may be injected. Fatal consequences 
have resulted from too free a use of tobacco in this way. W. 
INFUSUM TARAXACI. U.S. Infusion of Dandelion. 
“ Take of. Dandelion, bruised, two troyounces; Boiling Water a pint. Mace- 
rate for two hours in a covered vessel, and strain.” U. S. 
This has been substituted in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia for the decoction. The 
dose is a wineglassful two or three times a day, or oftener. W. 
INFUSUM JJYM URSI. Br. Infusion of Bearberry. 
“ Take of Bearberry Leaves half an ounce [avoirdupois]; Boiling Distilled 
Water ten fluidounces. Infuse in a covered vessel, for two hours, and strain 
through calico.” Br. 
The dose is one or two fluidounces three or four times a day. W. 
INFUSUM VALERIANiE. U.S.,Br. Infusion of Valerian. 
“ Take of Valerian, in moderately coarse powder, half a troyounce; Water a 
sufficient quantity. Moisten the powder with two fluidrachms of Water, pack 
it firmly iu a conical percolator, and gradually pour Water upon it until the 
filtered liquid measures a pint. 
“ This Infusion may also be prepared by macerating the Valerian with a pint 
of boiling Water, for two hours, in a covered vessel, and straining.” U. S. 
“ Take of Valerian, bruised, one hundred and twenty grains; Boiling Dis- 
tilled Water ten fluidounces. Infuse in a covered vessel for one hour, and 
strain.” Br. 
The dose of this infusion is two fluidounces, repeated three or four times a 
day, or more frequently. W. 
r 1186 
Linimenta. 
PART n. 
INFUSUM ZINGIBERIS. U. S. Infusion of Ginger. 
“Take of Ginger, bruised, half a troyounce; Boiling Water a pint. Mace- 
rate for two hours in a covered vessel, and strain.” U. S. 
The dose of this infusion is two fluidounces. W 
LINIMENTA. 
Liniments. 
These are preparations intended for external use, of such a consistence as to 
render them conveniently applicable to the skin by gentle friction with the hand. 
They are usually thicker than water, but thinner than the ointments, and are al- 
ways liquid at the temperature of the body. The former officinal preparations, 
belonging to this class, which have been omitted in the present editions of the 
U. S. and Br. Pharmacopoeias, are the Liniments of Verdigris, Bond., and of 
Sesquicarbonate of Ammonia, Lond.; the Compound Liniment of Ammonia, 
Ed.; the Camphorated Soap Liniment, or Opodeldoc, U. S.; and the Simple 
Liniment, Ed. 
LINIMENTTTM ACONITE Br. Liniment of Aconite. 
“Take of Aconite Root, in powder, twenty ounces [avoirdupois] ; Camphor 
one ounce [avoird.]; Rectified Spirit thirty fluidounces,or a sufficiency. Moisten 
the Aconite Root with a portion of the Spirit, and macerate for seven days; then 
percolate into a receiver containing the Camphor, until the product amounts to 
one pint [Imperial measure].” Br. 
This is a very strong tincture of aconite root, intended only for external use.* 
(See Aconiti Radicis.) It may be applied alone by means of a camel’s hair pen- 
cil, or in connection with two parts or more of soap liniment or chloroform lini- 
ment, by rubbing it on the part affected. W. 
LINIMENTUM AMMONLZE. U. S., Br. Liniment of Ammonia. Vol- 
atile Liniment. 
“Take of Water of Ammonia a jluidounce; Olive Oil two troyounces. Mix 
them.” U. S. 
“ Take of Solution of Ammonia one jluidounce; Olive Oil three fluidounces. 
Mix together with agitation.” Br. 
The U. S. and British Pharmacopoeias agree at present very nearly in the 
strength of this liniment; the U. S. preparation being somewhat the stronger. 
In the process, the ammonia reacts with the oil to form a soap, which is partly 
dissolved, partly suspended in the water, producing a white, opaque emulsion. 
The liniment is an excellent rubefacient, frequently employed in inflammatory 
affections of the throat, catarrhal and other pectoral complaints of children, and 
in rheumatic pains. It is applied by rubbing it gently upon the skin, or placing 
a piece of flannel saturated with it over the affected part. Should it occasion 
too much inflammation, it must be diluted with oil. W. 
* A liniment of aconite has for some years been considerably employed in Philadelphia, 
prepared according to the following formula of Prof. Procter. Take of Aconite Root, in 
powder, four troyounces, Glycerin two fluidrachms, Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Macerate the 
Aconite with half a pint of Alcohol for twenty-four hours; then pack it in a small percolator, 
and gradually pour Alcohol upon it until a pint of tincture has passed. Distil otf twelve 
fluidounces, and evaporate the residue until it measures twelve fluidrachms, to which the 
glycerin and two fluidrachms of alcohol are to be added, making the resulting fluid extract 
measure two fluidounces. Each minim of this represents two grains of the root, and, if the 
aconite is exhausted in the process, and nothing lost during the evaporation, both of which 
conditions we understand to be fulfilled in the process, the preparation is twice as strong 
as the British liniment. It is intended, as its name implies, only for external use. It may 
be used in the same manner as the liniment described in the text. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
xxv. 293.)—Note to the twelfth edition. PART II. 
Linimenta. 
1187 
LINIMENTUM BELLADONNAS. Br. Liniment of Belladonna. 
This is prepared from Belladonna Root precisely as the Liniment of Aconite 
is prepared from Aconite Root; and the same remarks are applicable as to its 
strength and use. (See Linimentum Aconiti.) 
LINIMENTUM CALCIS. U. S., Br. Lime Liniment. 
“Take of Solution of Lime eight fluidounces; Flaxseed Oil seven troy- 
ounces. Mix them.” U. S. 
“Take of Solution of Lime two fluidounces; Olive Oil two fluidounces. 
Mix together with agitation.” Br. 
The lime forms a soap with the oil, of which there is a great excess, that sepa- 
rates upon standing. Olive oil, as directed by the British Pharmacopoeia, is 
often substituted for that of flaxseed, but possesses no other advantage than 
that of having a less unpleasant odour. This is a very useful liniment in recent 
burns and scalds. It is sometimes called Carron oil, from having been much 
employed at the Carron iron works in Scotland. It is recommended to be ap- 
plied upon some carded cotton. W. 
LINIMENTUM CAMPHORAB. U. Br. Liniment of Camphor. 
“ Take of Camphor three troyounces ; Olive Oil twelve troyounces. Dissolve 
the Camphor in the Oil.” U. S. 
“Take of Camphor one ounce [avoirdupois}; Olive Oil four fluidounces. 
Dissolve the Camphor in the Oil.”Rr. 
This is employed as an anodyne embrocation in sprains, bruises, rheumatic or 
gouty affections of the joints, and other local pains. It is also supposed to have 
a discutient effect when rubbed upon glandular swellings. 
Mr. Wm. B. Price, of Burlington, N. J., proposes a modification of this lini- 
ment, founded on the solvent power of chloroform over camphor, whereby the 
preparation is made stronger with camphor, and acquires also additional ano- 
dyne influence from the chloroform. The proposed liniment consists of an ounce 
and a half of camphor, two fluidrachms of chloroform, and two fluidounces of 
olive oil. It is useful in rheumatic and neuralgic pains. (N. J. Med. Reporter, 
ii. 21t.) 
Off. Prep. Linimentum Chloroformi, Br.; Linimentum Hydrargyri, Br.; Lini- 
mentura Terebinthinae Aceticum, Br. W. 
LINIMENTUM CAMPHORS COMPOSITUM. Br. Compound 
Liniment of Camphor. 
“ Take of Camphor two ounces and a half [avoirdupois]; English Oil of 
Lavender one fluidrachm; Strong Solution of Ammonia five fluidounces; 
Rectified Spirit fifteen fluidounces. Dissolve the Camphor and Oil of Lavender 
in the Spirit; then add the Solution of Ammonia gradually, with agitation, until 
the whole is dissolved.”Br. 
This is used as a rubefacient and at the same time anodyne embrocation in 
local pains, particularly of a rheumatic character. W. 
LINIMENTUM CANTHARIDIS. U.S., Br. Liniment of Cantha- 
rides. 
“Take of Cantharides, in fine powder, atroyounce; Oil of Turpentine half 
a pint. Digest the Cantharides with the Oil for three hours in a close vessel, by 
means of a water-bath, and strain.” U. S. 
“ Take of Cantharides, in powder, eight ounces [avoirdupois] ; Acetic Acid 
four fluidounces; Ether one pint [Imperial measure]. Macerate the Cantha- 
rides in the Acetic Acid for twenty-four hours; then place in a percolator, and 
allow the Ether to pass slowly through till twenty fluidounces are obtained. 
Keep it in a stoppered bottle.” Br. 
Oil of turpentine dissolves, especially with the aid of heat, the active principle 1188 
Linimenta. 
PART II. 
of cantharides, and, when impregnated with it, acquires in addition to its own 
rubefacient properties those of a powerful epispastic. The U. S. liniment was 
introduced into notice by the late Dr. Joseph Hartshorne, of Philadelphia, who 
employed it with advantage as an external stimulant in the prostrate states of 
typhus fever. Caution, however, is necessary in its use, both to graduate its 
strength to the circumstances of the case, and not to apply it very extensively, 
lest it may produce troublesome, if not dangerous vesication. If too powerful, 
it may be diluted with olive or linseed oil. The British preparation is a solution 
of the active matter of the flies in acetic acid and ether, and, as the ether must 
quickly evaporate, conjoins the influence of the cantharides and the acid. W. 
LINIMENTUM CHLOROFORMI. U.iS.,Br. Liniment of Chloroform. 
“ Take of Purified Chloroform three troyounces; Olive Oil four troy ounces. 
Mix them.” U. S. 
“Take of Chloroform two fluidounces; Liniment of Camphor two fluid- 
ounces. Mix.” Br. 
This is an excellent local application in painful affections, though the common 
commercial chloroform would have answered quite as well as the purified, di- 
rected in the TJ. S. formula. As the chloroform rapidly evaporates, it is desira- 
ble, in order to obtain its full anodyne effect, to guard against this by oiled silk 
or some other impermeable covering. As some object to the greasy residue left 
on the skin by the evaporation of the chloroform, the soap liniment, which can 
readily be removed with a little warm water, may be substituted for the olive oil 
of the U. S., or the camphor liniment of the British preparation. W. 
LINIMENTUM CROTONIS. Br. Liniment of Croton Oil. 
“ Take of Croton Oil half a fluidounce ; Olive Oil three fluidounces and a 
half. Mix.” Br. 
This is a pustulating preparation, operating somewhat slowly. From ten to 
thirty minims or more may be rubbed upon a limited surface, and repeated twice 
a day or oftener till an eruption is produced. W. 
LINIMENTUM HYDRARGYRI. Br. Liniment of Mercury. 
“Take of Ointment of Mercury one ounce [avoirdupois]; Solution of Am- 
monia, Liniment of Camphor, each, one fluidounce. Liquefy the Ointment of 
Mercury in the Liniment of Camphor, with a gentle heat, then add the Solution 
of Ammonia, and mix with agitation.” Br. 
This is a stimulating liniment, employed for the discussion of chronic gland- 
ular enlargements, swellings of the joints, and venereal tumours, and to promote 
the absorption of collections of fluid. It is said to be more apt to salivate than 
mercurial ointment. One drachm of it may be rubbed upon the affected part 
night and morning. W. 
LINIMENTUM IODI. Br. Liniment of Iodine. 
“Take of Iodine one ounce and a quarter [avoirdupois]; Iodide of Potas- 
sium half an ounce [avoird.]; Rectified Spirit five fluidounces. Dissolve the 
Iodine and Iodide of Potassium in the Spirit. ”i?r. 
This is a very strong alcoholic solution of iodine, in which the iodide of po- 
tassium acts by increasing the solubility of the active ingredient. See for its 
effects the article on Iodine in the first part of this work. W. 
LINIMENTUM OPII. Br. Liniment of Opium. Anodyne Liniment 
“ Take of Tincture of Opium, Liniment of Soap, each, two fluidounces. 
Mix.” Br. 
This is commonly called anodyne liniment, and is employed as an anodyne 
and gently rubefacient embrocation in sprains, bruises, and rheumatic and gouty 
pains. We are informed that the preparation which has commonly been used, 
under the name of anodyne liniment, in this city, is that of the late London PART II. 
Linimenta. 
1189 
Pharmacopoeia, as given in former editions of the TJ. S. Dispensatory, consist 
ing of one part by measure of tincture of opium and three of soap liniment, and 
consequently having only half the opiate strength of the present British lin. 
ment. W. 
LINIMENTUM SAPONIS. TJ. S., Br. Soap Liniment. Tinctura 
Saponis Campiiorata. TJ. S. 1850. Camphorated Tincture of Soap. 
"Take of Soap, in shavings, four troyounces; Camphor tivo troyounces; 
Oil of Rosemary half a fluidounce ; Water four fluidounces; Alcohol two 
pints. Mix the Alcohol and Water, digest the Soap with the mixture, by means 
of a water-bath, until it is dissolved; then filter, and, having added the Camphor 
and Oil, mix the whole thoroughly together.” TJ. S. 
"Take of Hard Soap two ounces and a half [avoirdupois]; Camphor one 
ounce and a quarter [avoird.]; English Oil of Rosemary three fluidrachms; 
Rectified Spirit eighteen fluidounces; Distilled Water two fluidounces. Mix 
the Water with the Spirit, and add the Oil of Rosemary, the Soap, and the 
Camphor. Digest at a temperature not exceeding 70°, with occasional agita- 
tion, until all are dissolved.” Br. 
It is necessary, in preparing this liniment, that the soap employed should not 
have been made with animal oil, as otherwise the preparation will not be fluid at 
ordinary temperatures. The soap indicated by the TJ. S. Pharmacopoeia is that 
"prepared from soda and olive oil,” commonly called Castile soap. Made ac- 
cording to the directions of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia of 1840, the tincture was 
unable to retain the soap in solution, and therefore coagulated more or less on 
cooling. This defect was corrected in the edition of 1850, by the addition of 
water; and a similar reformation has been made in the British process. 
In former editions of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, this preparation, though com- 
monly called Soap liniment, received the name of Tinctura Saponis Campho- 
rata, to distinguish it from a similar preparation called Opodeldoc, which, hav- 
ing a soft semi-solid consistence, was introduced with the title of Linimentum 
Saponis Camphoratum. This, having been discarded at the late revision, the 
Tincture reverted to its place among the liniments, and is now called simply 
Linimentum Saponis. But, as the old Camphorated Soap Liniment or Opodeldoc 
is an excellent preparation, and still somewhat in use, we give here the process of 
the Pharmacopoeia of 1850 for its preparation, with some remarks on the subject. 
“Take of Common Soap, sliced, three ounces; Camphor an ounce; Oil of 
Rosemary, Oil of Origanum, each, a fluidrachm; Alcohol a pint. Digest the 
Soap with the Alcohol, by means of a sand-bath, till dissolved; then add the Cam- 
phor and Oils, and when they are dissolved, pour the liquor into broad-mouthed 
bottles. This liniment has, when cold, the consistence of a £oft ointment.” 
This preparation differs from the officinal Linimentum Saponis chiefly in being 
prepared with common white soap, made with animal fat, instead of Castile soap, 
which is made of olive oil. The former is peculiarly adapted to the purposes of 
this formula, in consequence of assuming, when its alcoholic solution cools, the 
consistence characteristic of the liniment. It is customary, after the solution of 
the soap has been effected, to pour the liquor into small wide-mouthed glass 
bottles, containing about four fluidounces, in which it concretes into a soft, trans- 
lucent, uniform, yellowish-white mass. This liniment melts with the heat of the 
bod)', and therefore becomes liquid when rubbed on the skin. 
The Soap liniment is much used, as an anodyne and gently rubefacient embro- 
cation, in sprains, bruises, and rheumatic or gouty pains. 
Off. Prep. Linimentum Opii, Br. W. 
LINIMENTUM TEREBINTHINiE. U.S.,Br. Liniment of Turpen- 
tine. 
"Take of Resin Cerate twelve troyounces; Oil of Turpentine half a pint. 
Add the Oil to the Cerate previously melted, and mix them.” U. S. 1190 
Linimenta.—Liquor es. 
PART II. 
“Take of Oil of Turpentine five Jluidounces; Ointment of Resin eight 
ounces [avoirdupois]. Melt the Ointment of Resin, then add the Oil of Turpen- 
tine gradually, and stir until a uniform liniment is obtained.” Br. 
This preparation is the liniment originally proposed by Dr. Kentish, and sub- 
sequently so highly lauded as a remedy in burns and scalds. It should be applied 
as soon after the occurrence of the accident as possible, and should be discon- 
tinued when the peculiar inflammation excited by the fire is removed. The best 
mode*of application is to cover the burnt or scalded surface with pledgets of 
patent lint saturated with the liniment. It should not be allowed to come in 
contact with the sound parts. This liniment may also be successfully applied in 
other cases of cutaneous inflammation requiring stimulation, as in certain condi- 
tions of erysipelas. W. 
LINIMENTUM TEREBINTHINiE ACETICUM. Br. Liniment of 
Turpentine and Acetic Acid. 
“Take of Oil of Turpentine one jiuidounce; Acetic Acid one jiuidounce; 
Liniment of Camphor one jiuidounce. Mix.” Br. 
This is a powerful rubefacient liniment, combining the irritant properties of 
the oil of turpentine and acetic acid, though somewhat diluted by the camphor 
liniment. W. 
LIQUORES. 
Solutions. 
The U. S. Pharmacopoeia includes, in this class of preparations, all aqueous 
solutions in which the substance acted on is wholly soluble in water, excluding 
those in which the dissolved matter is gaseous or very volatile, as in the Aquae 
or Waters. The Solution of Gutta-percha is the only one in which water is not 
used as the menstruum ; and that seems to have been placed in the present cate- 
gory, because no better position could be found for it. 
In the British Pharmacopoeia it has been deemed expedient, in almost all in- 
stances in which the substance to be dissolved is an isolated solid body, to make 
the solutions of uniform strength, without regard to the physiological powers of 
the medicine, or its ordinary dose. The solutions of this kind contain four grains 
of the medicine to an Imperial fluidounce of the menstruum, or half a grain in a 
fluidrachm. There is a convenience in this plan to the prescriber, in relation to 
all medicines which habitually present themselves to his mind in the solid state; 
but to alter the strength of a solution which has been long known, and the dose 
of which is familiar, in order to make it conform with others, is to endanger fre- 
quent serious errors for the sake of an idea. In such medicines, for example, as 
Fowler’s solution, the dose is fixed in the mind of the practitioner in reference 
to the solution, and not to the solid medicinal substance it may contain. On the 
whole, therefore, we prefer the method of the TJ. S. Pharmacopoeia, which regu- 
lates the strength of its solutions in regard to the properties of the medicine, 
and not in accordance with an ideal standard. 
Though several of the solutions have long been officinal, it is now for the first 
time that, in both Pharmacopoeias, they have been dislocated from their old at- 
tachments, and arranged together as a distinct class of preparations. W. 
LIQUOR AMMONLE ACETATIS. U. S., Br. Spiritus Mindereri. 
Solution of Acetate of Ammonia. Spirit of Mindererus. 
“Take of Diluted Acetic Acid two pints; Carbonate of Ammonia a suffi- 
cient quantity. Add the Carbonate gradually to the Acid until this is saturated, 
and filter. This preparation, when dispensed, should be freshly made.” If. S. 
“Take of Strong Solution of Ammonia three Jluidounces and a half, or a 
sufficiency; Acetic Acid ten jluidounces, or a sufficiency. M ix gradually, at il, PART II. 
Liquores. 
1191 
if the product is not neutral to test paper, make it so by the addition of the pro- 
per quantity of either liquid.” Br. 
This preparation is an aqueous solution of acetate of ammonia. The XT. S. 
process by which it is formed constitutes a case of single elective affinity. The 
acetic acid combines with the ammonia of the carbonate, forming the acetate of 
ammonia, and disengages the cai-bonic acid with effervescence. Distilled vinegar 
was formerly used, but has been abandoned for diluted acetic acid, which is much 
to be preferred ; because, besides furnishing a solution of the acetate of uniform 
strength, a result which cannot be attained by the employment of distilled vine- 
gar, it avoids the production of a brownish solution, which uniformly follows 
the use of the latter, especially wh,en it has been condensed in a metallic worm. 
The quantity of carbonate of ammonia, necessary to saturate a given weight of 
the acid of average strength, cannot be laid down with precision, on account of 
the variable quality of the salt. The preparation, when made with the diluted 
acetic acid of the IT. S. Pharmacopceia, contains about 6 per cent, of acetate of 
ammonia. It is more convenient to add the salt to the acid than the acid to the 
salt; as the point of saturation is thus more easily attained. In ascertaining 
this point by test-paper, the alkaline reaction will begin, though a portion of 
free acetic acid may still remain; a little of it being insufficient to overcome the 
natural alkaline reaction of the salt. (See page 21.) A complication is caused 
by the presence of free carbonic acid, which may be expelled from the liquid 
towards the end of the saturation by warming it. Supposing the carbonic acid 
got rid of, the best rule, perhaps, is to cease adding the carbonate of ammonia, 
upon the occurrence of the least sign of alkalinity. 
In the British process the ammonia combines directly with the acetic acid, 
without other reaction. The solution is much stronger than that of the IT. S. 
Pharmacopoeia, or of the former Pharmacopoeias of Great Britain, being made 
with stronger solution of ammonia and undiluted acetic acid, probably because 
it keeps better when thus made. To reduce it to the strength of the TJ. S. pre- 
paration, it would require to be diluted with about four measures of distilled 
water. There is an advantage in the British process in the use of ammonia in- 
stead of its carbonate; as the difficulty of ascertaining the precise point of satu- 
ration arising from carbonic acid is avoided; but in this solution, as in the neu- 
tral mixture, a great benefit remedially is gained by the presence of that acid, 
which reconciles the stomach to the medicine, and sometimes even allays vomit- 
ing in febrile diseases. With this view of the subject, it is better to use the car- 
bonate of ammonia, and to prepare the solution without heating it in order to 
drive off the acid, even though thereby there might be some risk of a slight ex- 
cess of one of the constituents. 
Properties. Solution of acetate of ammonia, when made of pure materials, is 
a limpid and colourless liquid without smell. Its taste is saline, and resembles 
that of a mixture of nitre and sugar. When it contains an excess of alkali, its 
taste is bitterish. It should be freshly prepared at short intervals; as its acid 
becomes decomposed, and a portion of carbonate of ammonia is generated. As 
formerly prepared, under the name of spiritus Mindereri, it was made from the 
impure carbonate of ammonia containing animal oil, which modified the prepa- 
ration by giving rise to a portion of ammoniacal soap. When pure it is not 
coloured by hydrosulphuric acid, nor precipitated by chloride of barium. Nitrate 
of silver precipitates crystals of acetate of silver, soluble in water, and especially 
in nitric acid. An insoluble precipitate with this test is chloride of silver, and 
snows the presence of muriatic acid. Potassa disengages ammonia; sulphuric 
acid, acetous vapours. When evaporated to dryness, the residue is wholly dis- 
sipated by heat with the smell of ammonia. It is incompatible with acids, the 
fixed alkalies and their carbonates, lime-water, magnesia, sulphate of magnesia, 
corrosive sublimate, the sulphates of iron, copper, and zinc, and nitrate of silver. Liquores. 
PART n. 
When it jontains free carbonic acid, it produces with the acetate or subacetate 
of lead a precipitate of carbonate of lead, which, being mistaken for the sulphate, 
has sometimes led to the erroneous conclusion that sulphuric acid was present 
in the distilled vinegar, when this has been employed. Acetate of ammonia is a 
salt of difficult crystallization, and very deliquescent. When perfect it probably 
has an alkaline reaction, like the acetates of potassa and soda. It may be obtained 
by sublimation from a mixture of equal parts of dry acetate of potassa or of lime, 
and muriate of ammonia. It consists of one eq. of acetic acid 51, and one of am- 
monia 17 = 68, with seven eqs. of water 63, when crystallized. It may be viewed 
as acetate of oxide of ammonium, containing six eqs. of water. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Solution qf acetate of ammonia is a valuable 
diaphoretic, much employed in febrile and inflammatory diseases. According to 
the indications to be answered by its use, it is variously combined with nitre and 
antimonials, camphor and laudanum. If, instead of promoting its determination 
to the skin by external warmth, the patient walk about in a cool air, its action 
will be directed to the kidneys. In large doses, it is said to relieve painful men- 
struation. It is sometimes used externally as a discutient. Mr. Brande speaks 
of it as very useful in mumps, applied hot upon a piece of flannel. In the hydro- 
cele of children, it is strongly recommended by Dr. Maushner, applied by means 
of compresses kept constantly moist. Mixed in the quantity of a fluidounce with 
seven fluidounces of rose-water, and two fluidrachras of laudanum, it forms a use- 
ful collyrium in chronic ophthalmia. The late Dr. A. T. Thomson used it as a 
lotion with good effect in porrigo affecting the scalp. The dose of the U. S. pre- 
paration is from half a fluidounce to a fluidounce and a half, every three or four 
hours, mixed with water and sweetened with sugar. It proves sometimes very 
grateful to febrile patients, when prescribed with an equal measure of carbonic 
acid water. 
Of the Br. solution the sp. gr. is 1'06; and one fluidounce treated with excess 
of muriatic acid, and evaporated to dryness by a water-bath, leaves a residue of 
muriate of ammonia weighing 100 grains. It is directed in the Pharmacopoeia 
to have no action on litmus, and not to be rendered turbid by lime-water; the 
former test indicating its neutrality, the latter the absence of free carbonic acid 
or a carbonate. It is very important not to confound the British solution with 
our own, as the dose is much smaller, being only, for ordinary purposes, from 
thirty minims to a fluidraehm, which should be largely diluted with water. B. 
LIQUOR ANTIMONII TERCIILORIDI. Br. Solution of Terchloride 
of Antimony. 
“Take of Prepared Sulphuret of Antimony one pound [avoirdupois] ; Com- 
mercial Hydrochloric Acid four pints [Imperial measure]. Place the Sulphuret 
of Antimony in a porcelain vessel, pour upon it the Hydrochloric Acid, and, 
constantly stirring, apply to the mixture, beneath a flue with a good draught, a 
gentle heat, which must be gradually augmented as the evolution of gas begins 
to slacken, until the liquid boils. Maintain it at this temperature for fifteen 
minutes; then remove the vessel from the fire, and filter the liquid through calico 
into another vessel, returning what passes through first, that a perfectly clear so- 
lution may be obtained. Boil this down to the bulk of two pints [Imp. rneas.], 
and preserve it in a stoppered bottle.” Br. 
When tersulphuret of antimony is dissolved with the aid of heat in muriatic 
acid, a double decomposition takes place, resulting in the formation of terchloride 
of antimony and hydrosulphuric acid (sulphuretted hydrogen), which gives rise 
to effervescence. As this gas is exceedingly offensive and deleterious, the ma- 
terials, during the reaction, are directed to be placed under a flue with a good 
draught. When the reaction is over, the resulting aqueous solution of terchlo- 
ride, after having been strained, is boiled down to a determinate volume. 
Properties. Solution of terchloride of antimony is a transparent, pale-yellow. PART II. 
Liquores. 
1193 
dense liquid, possessing caustic properties. When of a deep-red colour, it i» 
impure from the presence of iron. Its sp. gr., concentrated to the extent directed 
in the Br. Pharmacopoeia, is 1-410. “A little of it dropped into water gives a 
white precipitate, and the filtered solution lets fall a copious deposit on the ad- 
dition of nitrate of silver. If the white precipitate formed by water be treated 
with sulphuretted hydrogen it becomes orange.” (Br.) These reactions show that 
it contains antimony and chlorine. A fluidrachm of it, mixed with four fluid- 
ounces of water in which are dissolved 110 grains of tartaric acid, forms a clear 
solution, from which sulphuretted hydrogen throws down an orange precipitate 
(tersulphuret of antimony), weighing, when washed and dried at 212°, at least 22 
grains. (Br.) When it is distilled, water, the excess of muriatic acid, and any 
tersulphuret of arsenic that may happen to be present, are first expelled, and 
afterwards the terchloride volatilizes. The pure terchloride may be obtained by 
changing the receiver, as soon as the distilled product concretes on cooling 
Pure terchloride of antimony, called by the earlier chemists butter of antimony, 
is a white, readily fusible solid, of the consistence of butter, deliquescent and 
powerfully caustic, and volatilizable under an obscure red heat. It was formerly 
used in medicine as a caustic. It usually acts without causing much pain or in- 
flammation ; and, after the separation of the eschar, a clean, healthy ulcer is left. 
Solution of terchloride of antimony was a new officinal of the Dublin Pharma- 
copoeia of 1850, and is probably retained in the British not as a therapeutic 
agent, but simply as a source of the officinal oxide of antimony. 
Off. Prep. Antimonii Oxidum, Br. ' B. 
LIQUOR ARSENICI ET HYDRARGYRI IODIDI. U.S. Solution 
of Iodide of Arsenic and Mercury. Solution of Hydriodate of Arsenic 
and Mercury. Donovan’s Solution. 
“ Take of Iodide of Arsenic, Red Iodide of Mercury, each, thirty-five grains; 
Distilled Water half a pint. Rub the Iodides with half a fluidounce of the 
Water, and, when they have dissolved, add the remainder of the Water, and 
filter through paper.” U. S. 
This solution was introduced to the notice of the medical profession in 1839, 
by Mr. Donovan, of Dublin, as a therapeutic agent combining the medical virtues 
of its three ingredients, and was adopted as an officinal preparation in the U. S. 
and Dublin Pharmacopoeias of 1850. The former has retained >it in the present 
edition ; but, on the absorption of the latter in the British Pharmacopoeia, it was 
discarded. The formula of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia is the simplified one of 
Prof. Procter, which consists essentially in dissolving equal weights of the terio- 
dide of arsenic and biniodide (red iodide) of mercury in a measured quantity of 
distilled water. The proportion of equal weights corresponds nearly to single 
equivalents of the component iodides. The Dublin formula was more compli- 
cated. In it the proper quantities of arsenic, mercury, and iodine were caused 
to unite by first rubbing them together with alcohol, and then boiling the pro- 
duct with distilled water, which was afterwards added, so as to give the whole a 
determinate bulk. The iodides of arsenic and mercury, formed by the tritura- 
tion, were assumed by Mr. Donovan to become, by solution, hydriodates seve- 
rally of arsenious acid (white oxide of arsenic), and of detftoxide of mercury 
(red precipitate). 
Properties. This solution has a pale-yellow colour, and a slightly styptic taste. 
Sometimes, however, the colour is orange-yellow, owing to the presence of free 
iodine. This may be neutralized by rubbing the solution with a little metallic 
mercury or arsenic, in fine powder, and the proper hue thus restored. The solu- 
tion is incompatible with laudanum, and the soluble salts of morphia. On the 
supposition that it is an aqueous solution of iodides, it will contain them in the 
proportion of one eq. of teriodide of arsenic 453 9 to one of biniodide of mer- 1194 
Liquores. 
PART II. 
cury 452 6, which are nearly equal weights. On the theory of their conversion 
into hydriodates by solution, five eqs. of water 45 would be required, three for 
the arsenical teriodide, and two for the mercurial biniodide; and the result would 
be one eq. of arsenious acid 99, one of deutoxide of mercury 216, and five of 
hydriodic acid 636 5, the latter containing five eqs. of iodine 631 5. The solution 
here supposed would contain about two and one-sixth times as much deutoxide 
of mercury as of arsenious acid. 
Medical Properties. This preparation has been found decidedly useful as an 
alterative in various diseases of the skin, such as the different forms of psoriasis, 
impetigo, porrigo, lepra, pityriasis, lupus, and venereal eruptions, both papular 
and scaly. In support of its efficacy in these affections, Mr. Donovan has ad- 
duced the testimony of a number of respectable practitioners, who have com- 
municated to him the results of their experience. The disease in some of the 
cases cured had existed for several years. Many American physicians also have 
used it advantageously in cutaneous diseases, and found more marked and prompt 
effects from it than from the remedies usually resorted to. The dose is from five 
to twenty drops three times a day, given preferably in distilled water. The latter 
dose contains the twenty-fourth of a grain of arsenious acid, a little over the 
twelfth of a grain of deutoxide of mercury, and about a quarter of a grain of 
iodine. Dr. E. I. Taylor, of New York, who has employed it in many cases, never 
exceeded five drops, three times a day. Sometimes the medicine deranges the 
stomach, confines the bowels, and causes headache, giddiness, and confusion of 
mind. When these effects are produced, it must be laid aside, and a purgative 
administered. After an interval varying from ten days to three weeks, it may 
be resumed, but in a smaller dose. The treatment must often be persevered in 
for several months. Sometimes the medicine produces moderate salivation. The 
solution, diluted with an equal bulk of water, has occasionally been used with ad- 
vantage as an application to the ulcers or eruptions, at the same time that it was 
given internally. (See three papers by Mr. Donovan, contained in the Dublin 
Journal of Medical Science for Nov. 1839, Sept. 1840, and Nov. 1842.) B. 
LIQUOR ATROPLZE. Br. Solution of Atropia. 
“Take of Atropia, in crystals, four grains; Rectified Spirit one fuidrachm ; 
Distilled Water seven fluidrachms. Mix the Spirit and the Water, and dis- 
solve the Atropia in the mixture.” Br. 
For the effects of this solution, see Atropia. If given internally the dose to 
begin with should not exceed four minims. But, as we have in the extract of 
belladonna a preparation which may generally be depended ou for obtaining the 
effects of the medicine, it seems hardly advisable to make use internally of so 
powerful and dangerous a preparation. It may be applied to the eye for dilating 
the pupil, or injected into the subcutaneous tissue for obtaining the effects of 
Belladonna on the system. W. 
LIQUOR BARII CHLORIDI. U.S. Solution of Chloride of Barium. 
Solution of Muriate of Baryta. 
“Take of Chloride of Barium a troyounce; Distilled Water three fluid- 
ounces. Dissolve the Chloride in the Distilled Water, and filter through paper.” 
U.S. 
This has been omitted from the list of preparations in the British Pharma- 
copoeia, but is contained in the Appendix as a test solution. 
Chloride of barium, not being used in the solid state, is here dissolved for con- 
venience in prescribing. The solution is nearly saturated, and is probably too 
strong for convenient use. It should be limpid and colourless; and, to make it 
so, the salt in crystals, and not in powder, should be employed. 
Medical Properties and Uses. This solution is deobstruent and anthelmintic, 
and in large doses poisonous; its action, according to some, being analogous to PART II. 
Liquores. 
1195 
that of arsenic. It was introduced into practice by Dr. Crawford as a remedy 
for cancer and scrofula. Its value in the latter disease has been insisted on by 
Hufeland. This physician considers it to act more particularly on the lymphatic 
system, in the irritated states of which he esteems it a valuable remedy. Hence 
he recommends it in the scrofulous affections of delicate and irritable organs, 
such as the eyes, lungs, &c. In the commencement of scrofulous phthisis, he 
views it as one of the best remedies to which we can have recourse. It is also 
employed in diseases of the skin, in ulcers, and ophthalmia. The dose for an 
adult of the U. S. solution is about five drops, given twice or thrice a day, and 
gradually but cautiously increased, until it produces nausea, or some other sen- 
sible impression. When taken in an overdose it causes violent vomiting and 
purging, vertigo, and other dangerous symptoms. To combat its poisonous 
effects, recourse must be had immediately to a weak solution of sulphate of mag- 
nesia, which acts by converting the poison into the insoluble sulphate of baryta. 
If vomiting does not come on, it should be induced by tickling the fauces, or 
by the administration of an emetic. A case of poisoning by three drachms of the 
solid salt, taken by mistake for sulphate of magnesia, was successfully treated 
with dilute sulphuric acid and castor oil, by Dr. C. Wolf, a German physician. 
The chief symptoms were tormina and vomiting, weak|*nd irregular pulse, cold 
extremities, weak voice, want of muscular power in the hands and feet, and 
paralysis of the left eyelid. 
Pharm. Uses. In preparing Ferri et Quinise Citras, Br. B. 
LIQUOR CALCII CHLORIDI. U. S. Solution of Chloride of Cal- 
cium. Solution of Muriate of Lime. 
“ Take of Marble, in small pieces, six troyounces; Muriatic Acid twelve troy- 
ounces; Distilled Water a sufficient quantity. Mix the Acid with half a pint 
of Distilled Water, and gradually add the Marble. Towards the close of the 
effervescence apply a gentle heat, and, when the action has ceased, pour off-the 
clear liquid and evaporate to dryness. Dissolve the residue in one and a half 
times its weight of Distilled Water, and filter through paper.” U. S. 
This is not included among the preparations of the British Pharmacopoeia, 
but is placed in the Appendix as a test solution. 
By the above process chloride of calcium is first formed, and then dissolved 
in a certain proportion of water. The solution contains 1 part of the chloride in 
about 2 5 parts. 
The solution of chloride of calcium has a disagreeable, bitter, acrid taste. It 
is decomposed by sulphuric acid and the soluble sulphates ; by potassa, soda, and 
their carbonates; by carbonate of ammonia, tartrate of potassa and soda, nitrate 
of silver, nitrate and acetate of mercury, and acetate of lead. The mode of pre- 
paring chloride of calcium, and its chemical properties, are detailed under the 
head of Calcii Ghloridum in the first part of this work. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Chloride of calcium is considered tonic and 
deobstruent, and is said to promote the secretion of urine, perspiration, and mu- 
cus. It was first brought into notice as a remedy by Fourcroy, and was at one 
time much used in scrofulous diseases and goitre. It still continues in favour 
with some physicians, but is less employed than formerly. It has been especially 
recommended in tabes mesenterica. Cazenave has employed it advantageously 
in chronic eczema and impetigo, connected with a lymphatic temperament. When 
too largely taken it sometimes occasions nausea, vomiting, and purging, and in 
excessive doses may even produce fatal effects; but it is a much safer remedy 
than chloride of barium, Which has been recommended in the same complaints. 
The dose of the solution is from thirty minims or drops to a fluidrachm, to be 
repeated twice or three times a day, and gradually increased to two, three, or 
even four fluidrachms. It may be given in milk or sweetened water. 
Off. Prep. Calcis Carbonas Praecipitata, U. S. W. Liquores. 
PART n. 
LIQUOR CALCIS. U. S., Br. Solution of Lime. Lime-ivater. 
“Take of Lime four troxjounces; Distilled Water eight pints. Upon the 
Lime, first slaked with a little of the Distilled Water, pour the remainder, and 
stir them together. Then immediately cover the vessel, and set it aside for 
three hours. Keep the solution, together with the undissolved Lime, in a well- 
stopped bottle, and pour off the clear liquor when wanted for use. Water free 
from saline or other obvious impurity, though not distilled, may be employed 
in this process.” U. S. 
“ Take of Slaked Lime two ounces [avoirdupois] ; Distilled Water one gal- 
lon [Imperial measure]. Introduce the Lime into a stoppered bottle containing 
the Water; and shake well for two or three minutes. After twelve hours the 
excess of lime will have subsided, and the clear solution may be drawn off with 
a syphon as it is required for use, or transferred to a green-glass bottle furnished 
with a well-ground stopper. When the whole of the solution has been with- 
drawn from the bottle in which it was made, a fresh solution may be obtained 
by shaking the sediment at the bottom of the bottle with another gallon of Dis- 
tilled Water; and, if the lime be pure, and the bottle accurately stopped, the 
process may be repeated four or five times.” Br. 
A solution of lime in' water is the result of these processes. By the slaking 
of the lime it is reduced to powder, and rendered more easily diffusible through 
the water. According to both Pharmacopoeias, the solution is to be kept in 
bottles with a portion of undissolved lime, which causes it always to be satu- 
rated, whatever may be the temperature, and to whatever extent it may be ex- 
posed to the air. If care be taken to have a considerable quantity of the solution 
in the bottle, and to avoid unnecessary agitation, the upper portion will always 
remain sufficiently clear for use. The repetition of the process, suggested in the 
Br. Pharmacopoeia, cannot, of course, be carried into effect indefinitely. By the 
absorption of carbonic acid, the lime is gradually converted into the carbonate, 
and thus rendered insoluble. The employment of distilled water as the solvent 
may seem a useless refinement; and it certainly is unnecessary when pure spring 
or river water is attainable; but in many places the common water is very im- 
pure, and wholly unfit for a preparation, one of the most frequent uses of which 
is to allay irritation of stomach. Water dissolves but a minute proportion of 
lime, and, contrary to the general law, less when hot than cold. Hence the 
propriety of employing cold water in the process. According to Mr. Phillips, a 
pint of water (the wine pint of the U. S. Pharm.) at 212° dissolves 56 grains 
of lime, at 60°, 9'7 grains, and at 32°, IDO grains. When a cold saturated 
solution is heated, a deposition of lime takes place. 
Properties. Lime-water is colourless, inodorous, and of a disagreeable alka- 
line taste, changes vegetable blues to green, and forms an imperfect soap with 
oils. Exposed to the air it attracts carbonic acid, and becomes covered with a 
pellicle of insoluble carbonate of lime, which, subsiding after a time, is replaced 
by another, and so on successively till the whole of the lime is exhausted. Hence 
the necessity of keeping lime-water either in closely corked bottles which should 
be full, or, what is more convenient, in bottles with an excess of lime. “ Ten fluid- 
ounces of it require for neutralization at least twefity measures of the volumetric 
solution of oxalic acid.” Br. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Lime-water is antacid, tonic, and astringent, 
and is very usefully employed in dyspepsia with acidity of stomach, diarrhoea, 
diabetes, and gravel attended with superabundant secretion of uric acid. Mixed 
with an equal measure of milk, which completely covers its offensive taste, it is 
one of the best remedies in our possession for nausea and vomiting dependent 
on irritability of stomach. We have found a diet exclusively of lime-water and 
milk to be more effectual than almost any other plan of treatment in dyspepsia 
accompanied with vomiting of food. In this case, one part of the solution to PART II. 
Liquores. 
1197 
two or three parts of milk is usually sufficient. Lime-water is also thought to 
be useful by dissolving the intestinal mucus in cases of worms, and in other com- 
plaints connected with an excess of this secretion. Externally it is employed as 
a wash in tinea capitis and scabies, as an application to foul and gangrenous 
ulcers, as an injection in leucorrhoea and ulceration of the bladder or urethra, 
and, mixed with linseed or olive oil, as a liniment in burns and scalds. The dose 
is from two to four fluidounces several times a day. When employed to allay 
nausea, it is usually given in the dose of a tablespoonful mixed with the same 
quautity of new milk, and repeated at intervals of half an hour, an hour, or two 
hours. If too long continued it debilitates the stomach. 
Pharm. Uses. In preparing Argenti Oxidum, Br. 
Off. Prep. Linimentum Calcis. W. 
LIQUOR CALCIS CHL0RATA3. Br. Solution of Chlorinated Lime. 
“Take of Chlorinated Lime one pound [avoirdupois]; Distilled Water one 
gallon [Imperial measure]. Mix well the Water and the Chlorinated Lime by 
trituration in a large mortar, and, having transferred the mixture to a stoppered 
bottle, let it be well shaken several times for the space of three hours. Pour 
out now the contents of the bottle on a calico filter, and let the solution which 
passes through be preserved in a stoppered bottle. The sp. gr. of this liquid is 
1-035.” Br. 
For the properties and uses of this preparation, see Calx Chlorinata, page 
185. The British Pharmacopoeia gives the following test of its strength. “One 
fluidrachm mixed with twenty grains of iodide of potassium dissolved in four 
fluidounces of water, when acidulated with two fluidrachms of hydrochloric acid, 
gives a red solution, which requires for the discharge of its colour forty-six mea- 
sures of the volumetric solution of hyposulphite of soda.” This determines its 
strength in chlorine, by determining the quantity of iodine which the chlorine 
contained in it is capable of separating from iodide of potassium. Notwithstand- 
ing, however, that a test of its character is thus given by the Pharmacopoeia, its 
strength must vary according to the quality of the chlorinated lime employed. 
It is one of the best antidotes for hydrosulphuric acid, hydrosulphate of ammo- 
nia, sulphuret of potassium, and hydrocyanic acid. The dose for internal use is 
from twenty minims to a fluidrachm. For external application the solution may 
be diluted with twice its bulk of water, or may be used of the full strength in 
some cutaneous affections. W. 
LIQUOR CALCIS SACCILARATUS. Br. Saccharated Solution of 
Lime. 
“ Take of Slaked Lime one ounce [avoirdupois]; Refined Sugar, in powder, 
two ounces [avoird.]; Distilled Water one pint [Imperial measure]. Mix the 
Lime and the Sugar by trituration in a mortar. Transfer the mixture to a bottle 
containing the Water, and, having closed this with a cork, shake it occasionally 
for a few hours. Finally separate the clear solution with a siphon, and keep it in 
a stoppered bottle. The sp. gr. is 1 052. One fluidounce requires for neutrali- 
zation 25‘4 measures of the standard solution of oxalic acid, which corresponds 
to T il grains of lime.” Br. 
Lime appears to form a combination with sugar which is much more soluble 
than the lime itself, so that in this way we can obtain a much stronger solution 
of lime than by the instrumentality of water alone. This preparation may be 
used in diarrhoea with acidity, in vomiting, in affections of the urinary organs 
requiring antacid treatment, and for all other therapeutical purposes to which 
lime is applied. The dose equivalent to a fluidounce of lime-water is about a 
fluidrachm.* W 
* Syrup of Lime. Saccharate of Lime. Under the latter name a preparation has been 
introduced into notice, made by saturating pure syrup with lime, and filtering. The sugar 1198 
Liquor es. 
PART IL 
LIQ1 j OR FERRI CITRATIS. U. 8. Solution of Citrate of Iron. 
“ Take of Citric Acid, in coarse powder, five troyounces and three hundred 
and sixty grains; Solution of Tersulphate of Iron a pint; Water of Ammonia, 
Distilled Water, each, a sufficient quantity. Dilute the Solution of Tersulphate 
of Iron with two pints of Distilled Water, add a slight excess of Water of Am- 
monia, with constant stirring, transfer the precipitate formed to a muslin strainer, 
and wash it with water until the washings are nearly tasteless. When the preci- 
pitate is drained, put half of it in a porcelain capsule on a water-bath, heated to 
150°, add the Citric Acid, and stir the mixture until the precipitate is nearly 
dissolved. Then add so much of the reserved precipitate as may be necessary 
fully to saturate the Acid. Lastly, filter the liquid, and evaporate it, at a tem- 
perature not exceeding 150°, until it is reduced to the measure of a pint.” U. S. 
In this process, the hydrated sesquioxide of iron is first obtained by treating 
solution of the tersulphate with ammonia, and is then combined, with the aid 
of heat, with the citric acid, thus forming a solution of the citrate of the sesqui- 
oxide of iron, consisting of one eq. of acid and one of sesquioxide. It might 
appear, from the phraseology of the process, that, in the direction to add the 
citric acid to the precipitated sesquioxide, the addition of water to hold the re- 
sulting citrate in solution had been omitted; but the fact is, that the precipitate, 
even after draining, retains mechanically quite sufficient water for the purpose, 
so much, indeed, that evaporation is necessary at the end of the process to re- 
duce the bulk to the required standard. The temperature is limited to 150°, be- 
cause, though a moderate heat promotes the solution, a high degree of it dimi- 
nishes the solubility of the oxide, and thus interferes with the process. 
The solution has a deep reddish-brown colour, and a slight not unpleasant 
chalybeate taste. It keeps for a long time without change, and answers admira- 
bly well for preparing solid citrate of iron, and the chalybeate salts containing 
it, and for introducing it into extemporaneous mixtures. Each fluidounce of it 
contains half a troyounce of citrate of iron. It may be given, for the general 
purposes of the ferruginous preparations, in the dose of ten minims, equivalent 
to five grains of the salt, several times a day. 
Off. Prep. Ferri Citras, U. S.; Ferri et Ammonise Citras, U. S.; Ferri et 
Quinise Citras, U. S. W. 
LIQUOR FERRI NITRATIS. U.S. Liquor Ferri Pernitratis. Br. 
Solution of Nitrate of Iron. Solution of Pernitrate of Iron. Solution oj 
Ternitrate of Sesquioxide of Iron. 
“ Take of Iron, in the form of wire, and cut in pieces, two troyounces and a half; 
Nitric Acid [sp. gr. 1-42]five troyounces ; Distilled Water a sufficient quantity. 
Mix the Iron with twelve fluidounces of Distilled Water in a wide-mouthed bottle, 
and add to the mixture, in small portions at a time, with frequent agitation, three 
troyounces of the Nitric Acid, previously mixed with six fluidounces of Distilled 
Whiter, moderating the reaction- by setting the vessel in cold water, in order to 
prevent the occurrence of red fumes. When the effervescence has nearly ceased, 
agitate the solution with the undissolved Iron until a portion of the liquid, on 
being filtered, exhibits a pale-green colour. Then filter the liquid, and, having 
forms a soluble compound with the lime, large quantities of which are dissolved by the 
syrup. The syrup remains perfectly transparent, and is in no degree disturbed by dilu- 
tion with water. It has a decidedly alkaline and even caustic taste, and should always be 
largely diluted when administered. It was first prepared by M. Beral; and its practical 
use was originally suggested by Dr. Capitaine, of Paris. Trousseau has employed it in the 
chronic diarrhoea of infants, and recommends it as an addition, in very small proportion, 
to the milk employed as a diet for children liable to this complaint. For this purpose he 
adds about eight grains of the syrup to the quart of milk. He gives the saturated syrup 
of lime to a child in the quantity of fifteen or thirty grains in the course of the day; to 
an adult, in five times the quantity. (Trait, de Therap., 4e ed., i. 317 and 321.)—Note to the 
tenth edition. PART II. 
Liquores. 
1199 
poured it into a capacious porcelain capsule, heat it to the temperature of 130°, 
and add the remainder of the Nitric Acid. When the effervescence has ceased, 
continue the heat until no more gas escapes, and .then add sufficient Distilled 
Water to bring the liquid to the measure of thirty-six fluidounces.” U. S. 
“Take of fine Iron Wire, free from rust, one ounce [avoirdupois]; Nitric 
Acid [sp. gr. 1-5] three fluidounces [Imperial measure] ; Distilled Water a suf- 
flciency. Dilute the Nitric Acid with sixteen [fluid]ounces of the Water, in- 
troduce the Iron Wire into the mixture, and leave them in contact until the 
metal is dissolved, taking care to moderate the action, should it become too vio- 
lent, by the addition of a little more Distilled Wrater. Filter the solution, and 
add to it as much Distilled Water as will make its bulk one pint and a half 
[Imp. meas.]. The specific gravity is l Br. 
The above U. S. formula has been substituted for the one adopted in the second 
edition of the Pharmacopoeia, published in Dec. 1855, which upon trial was found 
by Prof. Procter to have defects, which, it' is believed, have been corrected in the 
present. In the existing formula, nitric acid (sp. gr. 1'42), diluted, is gradu- 
ally added to an excess of iron, mixed with water, so as to ensure the produc- 
tion of the mononitrate of protoxide of iron, which is filtered from the excess of 
iron. To this is added a quantity of nitric acid, equal to two-thirds of that ori- 
ginally directed, which converts the mononitrate of the protoxide into the terni- 
trate of the sesquioxide, attended with a violent effervescence of red hyponitric 
acid vapours. The preparation is finished by giving it a determinate bulk by the 
addition of water. In this process, the two portions of nitric acid used are cor- 
rectly adjusted to produce the intended result. Thus, six eqs. of mononitrate, 
containing six eqs. of nitric acid, require exactly four additional eqs. of acid to 
effect the conversion; one eq. of the additional acid being expended in convert- 
ing the six eqs. of protoxide into three eqs. of sesquioxide, and the three remain- 
ing eqs. in completing three eqs. of ternitrate.* 
The peculiarity of the above process is the addition of the nitric acid in two 
portions at different times; the first portion not larger than is necessary to form 
the nitrate of the protoxide, and the second sufficient to convert this into the 
ternitrate of the sesquioxide. The object gained by this procedure seems to be 
to obviate the tendency which nitric acid has to sesquioxidize a larger portion 
* Prof. Procter has proposed the following formula for a syrup of the nitrate of protoxide 
of iron, a preparation considerably used, in Philadelphia, as an astringent in chronic diar- 
rhoea. Take of Iron Wire, in pieces (card teeth), two ounces; Nitric Acid (sp. gr. 1-42) three 
fluidounces ; Water thirteen fluidounces; Sugar, in powder, two pounds. Put the iron in a wide- 
mouthed bottle, kept cool by standing in cold water, and pour upon it three fluidounces of 
water. Then mix the acid with ten fluidounces of water, and add the mixture in portions 
of half a fluidounce to the iron, agitating frequently until the acid’ is saturated, using 
litmus paper. When the saturation is complete, filter the solution into a bottle containing 
the sugar, and marked to contain thirty fluidounces. If the whole does not measure that 
bulk, pass water through the filter to make up the deficiency. When all the sugar is dis- 
solved, strain if necessary, and introduce the syrup into suitable vials, and seal them. 
This syrup is thick, permanent, of a light-greenish colour, perfectly transparent, neutral, 
and yields a greenish precipitate with ammonia. {Am.. Journ. of Pharm., Oct. 1851, p. 314.) 
Mr. W. W. D. Livermore has given a formula for a similar syrup. {Ibid., p. 315.) A third 
formula has been proposed by Mr. Thomas Lancaster, of this city, in which the nitrate of 
protoxide of iron is obtained by double decomposition between nitrate of lime and sul- 
phate of protoxide of iron. {Ibid., Sept. 1854, p. 400.) These syrups should not contain an 
excess of acid; for if they do, they are apt to deposit, after keeping, white granular masses 
of grape sugar, as observed by Mr. W. Tozier, of Kingstown, Ireland, in consequence of the 
action of the acid upon the cane sugar. According to Mr. Joseph Laidley, of Richmond, 
Va., the so-called syrup of the nitrate of sesquioxide of iron is an unscientific preparation, 
containing protoxide if an excess of acid is avoided, and liable to let fall a precipitate of 
oxalate of iron when the acid is in excess. Hence Mr. Laidley believes that the only ni- 
trate, proper to be formed into a syrup, is the nitrate of the protoxide, where alone the 
protective influence of sugar is required. {Ibid., March, 1853, p. 97.)—Note to the tenth and 
eleventh editions. v 1200 
Liquores. 
PART II. 
of iron than can be neutralized by what remains of the acid, unless this be em- 
ployed in such a proportion as to endanger an excess in the resulting solution. 
By this excess of sesquioxide, a subsalt is formed, which is not readily held in 
solution with the neutral sesquinitrate, and is therefore apt to be slowly depos- 
ited from the officinal preparation, unless care is taken to prevent its production. 
The II. S. solution of nitrate of iron has a sp. gr. between 10G0 and 1070, a 
pale-amber colour, and a strong astringent acid taste. It contains no protoxide 
of iron, and does not give a blue precipitate with ferrideyanide of potassium. A 
fluidounce of it, on the addition of an excess of ammonia, yields a reddish-brown 
precipitate, which, when washed, dried, and ignited, weighs between eight and ten 
grains. (U. S.) The British preparation is of a reddish-brown colour, of the sp. gr. 
1107, and gives no precipitate with ferrideyanide of potassium. The precipitate 
obtained from a fluidrachm of it by the addition of an excess of ammonia, when 
washed, dried, and ignited, weighs 2 6 grains. (Br.) It is, therefore, about twice 
as strong as the U. S. solution. 
Ternitrate of sesquioxide of iron, as described by Mr. J. M. Ordway, of Mas- 
sachusetts, is in the form of oblique rhombic prisms, which are either colourless, 
or of a delicate lavender colour. It is somewhat deliquescent, very soluble in 
water, and sparingly soluble in nitric acid. It consists of three eqs. of nitric 
acid, one of sesquioxide of iron, and eighteen of water. (Silliman's Journ., Jan. 
1850.) S. Hausmann found only twelve eqs. of water. (Chem. Gaz., June 1,1854.) 
Medical Properties. This solution was introduced to the notice of the pro- 
fession by Mr. William Kerr, in 1832. Its virtues are those of a tonic and astrin- 
gent. Dr. R. J. Graves, of Dublin, praises it as a remedy in chronic diarrhoea, 
especially when occurring in delicate and nervous women, in which there is no 
thirst, redness of tongue, tenderness of the abdomen on pressure, or other indi- 
cation of inflammation. Mr. Kerr attributed to it the property of diminishing 
the irritability of the intestinal mucous membrane. It is particularly applicable 
to the treatment of mucous diarrhoea, attended with pain, but not to cases in 
which ulcerations of the intestines exist. Dr. T. C. Adams, of Michigan, also re- 
ports favourably of this remedy in chronic diarrhoea, considering it, like Mr. 
Kerr, to act as a sedative as well as astringent. He employed it, likewise with 
good effect, in menorrhagia, and both internally and by injection in leucorrhoea, 
when occurring in pale, exsanguine, and feeble subjects. The dose, according to 
Dr. Graves, is seven or eight drops, gradually increased to fifteen, sufficiently di- 
luted, given in the course of the day. Dr. Adams gave it in doses often drops, 
two, three, or four times a day, and sometimes increased it to twenty-five drops. 
Dr. Garrod and Mr. Squire, the two most prominent expounders of the British 
Pharmacopoeia, state the dose of the British preparation, though twice as strong 
in iron as our own, at from thirty minims to a fluidrachm. Considering that a 
fluidrachm of the British solution contains 7‘865 grains of the salt, this appears 
to us a very large dose; and the doses recommended by Drs. Graves and Adams 
would probably be safer. As an injection Dr. Adams employed it sufficiently 
diluted to cause only a slight heat and smarting in the vagina. B. 
LIQUOR FERRI PERCHLORIDI. Br. Solution of Pcrchloride of 
Iron. 
“Take of Iron Wire two ounces [avoirdupois] ; Hydrochloric Acid ten fluid- 
ounces ; Nitric Acid six jluidraehms; Distilled Water seven fui'dounces. 
Dilute the Hydrochloric Acid with five [fluidjounces of the Water, and pour 
the mixture on the Iron Wire in successive portions, applying a gentle heat 
when the action becomes feeble, so that the whole of the metal may be dissolved. 
To the Nitric Acid add the two remaining ounces of Water, and, having poured 
the mixture into the solution of iron, evaporate the whole until the bulk is re- 
duced to ten fluidounces. ”i?r. 
By the reaction between the muriatic acid and iron a chloride of that metal PART II. 
Liquores. 
1201 
is produced, which by the subsequent agency of the nitric acid is converted into 
the sesquichloride, or, as denominated in the Br. Pharmacopoeia, the perchlo- 
ride, which is held in solution by the water. 
It was intended that the conversion of the protochloride into sesquichloride 
should be complete; and hence the solution is described as having an orange- 
brown colour, and as not being precipitated by ferridcyanide of potassium, which 
throws down a blue precipitate with the protochloride. But it is stated by Mr. 
Squire that, if made in accordance with the officinal directions, the solution is 
almost black in consequence of the presence of protochloride, and besides con- 
tains free nitric acid; the whole of that directed in the formula not being de- 
composed. According to the Pharmacopoeia, it mixes with water and alcohol 
in all proportions; and it is by the addition of alcohol to it that the British 
tincture of the chloride is formed; whereas, in reality, if mixed with alcohol in 
the proportion ordered for the tincture, it yields a considerable deposit. The error 
of the Pharmacopoeia consists in an insufficient concentration, after the addition 
of the nitric acid, so that the nitric acid has not been completely decomposed, 
and failed of course to change the protochloride completely into the sesquichlo- 
ride. But, should the evaporation be continued, a large quantity of basic chlo- 
ride is thrown down because the proportion of muriatic acid directed in the 
formula is insufficient to sesquichloridize the whole of the protochloride. The 
formula, therefore, requires revision in both these respects. The muriatic acid 
must be increased to twelve fluidounces, and the evaporation continued to five 
fiuidounces. Then by adding sufficient water to make the measure of the solu- 
tion ten fluidounces, a preparation will be obtained such as was contemplated, 
though its sp. gr. will be 1-410, instead of l-338 as given in the Pharmacopoeia. 
(Gompan. to Br. Pharm., p. 100.) 
The solution of perchloride of iron, properly made, is of an orange-colour, 
and a strongly astringent, chalybeate taste. Water and alcohol unite with it in all 
proportions. When diluted with water, it gives a white precipitate with nitrate 
of silver, and a blue one with the ferrocyanide of potassium, but not with the 
ferridcyanide. The Pharmacopoeia gives as a test that “ a fluidrachm of it diluted 
with two fluidounces of water gives, upon the addition of an excess of solution 
of ammonia, a reddish-brown precipitate, which, wffien well washed and incinerated, 
weighs 15-62 grains.” Br. Were this test to be relied on, the solution would be 
about four times as strong in iron as the U. S. Tincture of the Chloride.* 
Medical Uses. This preparation was brought prominently into notice by M. 
Pravaz, a surgeon of Lyons, who found that a few drops of a strong solution, 
injected into a blood-vessel, produced coagulation of all the blood in the vessel 
for the extent of an inch or more. Its use as a styptic was the necessary result 
* This solution, when kept, has a disposition to deposit the insoluble oxychloride of iron, 
and the resulting excess of muriatic acid is apt to render it injuriously irritating. To obvi- 
ate this disadvantage, M. Burin du Buisson recommends the following mode of prepara- 
tion. “Saturate as quickly as possible pure and colourless muriatic acid with [gelatinous] 
hydrated peroxide of iron; evaporate the solution to somewhat less than one-half over a 
gentle fire; and then continue the evaporation by means of the salt-bath, taking care to 
remove the aqueous vapours, which would cause the formation of muriatic acid, and a 
deposition of insoluble oxychloride. When the solution has attained the consistence of 
thick syrup (in which state it curdles on cooling, without, however, becoming a solid 
mass), cease evaporating, add an excess of the gelatinous hydrate diluted with a little 
water, agitate for a quarter of an hour, and afterwards allow the liquor to rest for several 
hours. Next add distilled water sufficient to bring the solution to the density of 30° Baunffi, 
and allow it to stand for eight days in contact with an excess of the hydrate; after which 
filter, and again allow it to stand for two weeks.” This strength of the solution is required 
for the cure of varices. For injection into aneurismal tumours, it is sufficient to employ a 
solution of 20° or even 15°. These degrees of Baum6 are equivalent, 30° to 29-70 per cent, 
of the dry salt, 20° to 17-05 per cent., and 15° to 1210 per cent. (See Ferri Chloridum, 
U. Spage 1 ’26.) 1202 
Liquor es. 
PART II. 
of this observation. In this capacity it has been used in the cure of varices, and 
has even been recommended as an injection in ordinary aneurisms. In arresting 
hemorrhages from cut surfaces or wounded vessels it has proved remarkably suc- 
cessful. It has also been found advantageous as an application to nasal polypi, 
in ulcers about the nails, and in various cutaneous affections. (See Chloride of 
Iron.) It may be used internally, properly diluted, for the general purposes of 
the chalybeates, and especially as a substitute for the tincture of the chloride of 
iron, when the alcohol of that preparation may be objectionable. The dose would 
be from two to ten minims. In the Br. Pharmacopoeia it is used in the prepa- 
ration of the tincture of the chloride. 
Off. Prep. Tinctura Ferri Perchloridi, Br. W. 
LIQUOR FERRI SUBSULPHATIS. U.S. Solution of Sub sulphate 
of Iron. Solution of Persulphate of Iron. MonseVs Solution. 
“ Take of Sulphate of Iron, in coarse powder, twelve troyounces ; Sulphuric 
Acid a troyounce and thirty grains; Nitric Acid a troyounce and three hun- 
dred grains; Distilled Water a sufficient quantity. Mix the Acids with half 
a pint of Distilled Water, in a capacious porcelain capsule, and, having heated 
the mixture to the boiling point, add the Sulphate of Iron, one-fourth at a time, 
stirring after each addition until effervescence ceases. Then keep the solution 
in brisk ebullition until nitrous vapours are no longer perceptible, and the colour 
assumes a deep ruby tint. Lastly, when the liquid is nearly cold, add sufficient 
Distilled Water to make it measure twelve fluidounces.” U. S. 
This process is essentially that of Dr. Squibb, published in the American 
Journal of Pharmacy for January, 1860 (p. 33). The object is to obtain in 
solution MonseVs persulphate of iron, improperly so called, as it differs both 
in composition and properties from the salt of iron properly named persulphate. 
This consists of one eq. of sesquioxide of iron qnd three of sulphuric acid (Fe203, 
3SOs), and is a neutral salt, while Monsel’s persulphate consists of two eqs. of 
the sesquioxide and five of the acid (2Fe203,5S03), and, having one-half of an 
eq. less than is necessary for saturation, is properly a subsalt, as it is very appro- 
priately designated in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. With this preliminary explana- 
tion, the process will be easily understood. 
In its preparation the protoxide of iron of the protosulphate is sesquioxi- 
dized at the expense of the nitric acid; but the sulphuric acid, mixed with the 
nitric, is in quantity insufficient to the increased demand by the sesquioxide for 
neutralization. Thus, for each equivalent of the sesquioxide produced an addi- 
tional eq. of acid would be necessary to constitute the neutral tersulphate of the 
sesquioxide, while the quantity added is only the half of one equivalent. The 
sesquioxide is therefore but partially saturated and a subsalt results, having 
the constitution above mentioned. 
The solution of subsulphate of iron is of a syrupy consistence, a ruby-red 
colour, inodorous, of an extremely astringent but not acrid taste, without caus- 
ticity, and of the sp. gr. 1552. It mixes with water and alcohol in all propor- 
tions without decomposition. With ammonia it yields a copious reddish-brown 
precipitate of sesquioxide of iron. A little sulphuric acid decolorizes the liquid 
in a considerable degree, and an excess of the same acid converts it into a white, 
soft, pasty solid, resembling plaster of Paris when it has begun to solidify after 
mixture with water. This test, according to Dr. Squibb, is quite characteristic. 
( Transact, King's Co. Med, Soc., in N. Y. Journ. of Med., March, 1860, p. 173.) 
By evaporation, upon a glass surface, with a moderate heat, the solution yields 
the subsulphate of the sesquioxide of iron in the form of thin transparent scales, 
of a light reddish-brown colour, deliquescent, and readily soluble in water. 
Attention was first called to the special styptic virtues of sulphate of per- 
oxide of iron by M. Monsel in 1852; but it was not till a later period chat he 
discovered the peculiar salt which now goes by his name, and the solution of PART II. 
Liquor es. 
which is the subject of the present article. It was in 1851 that he published 
a formula for the salt. (See Journ. de Pharm., Sept. 1857, and Juillet, 1859.) 
The remedy soon became generally known in Europe; and a paper on the sub- 
ject was published by Dr. Hutchison in the New York Journal of Medicine for 
January, 1859; but it seems to have come into more general use in this coun- 
try, through the published experience of Dr. H. H. Toland and others in the 
Pacific Medical and Surgical Journal of California. 
In consequence of its deficiency of sulphuric acid, this salt is less irritant than 
the tersulphate of the sesquioxide, while it has at least equal if not greater ai- 
tringency. It is therefore very efficacious as a styptic, and peculiarly adapted, 
through the power of coagulating the blood, to cases of hemorrhage from in- 
cised wounds, or surfaces in which it is specially desirable to avoid irritation. 
It is said also to have been found peculiarly efficacious in chancre. The solution 
may be applied by means of a small sponge or pencil of spun-glass to the bleed- 
ing surface or vessel. It has also been used internally ; and there is little doubt 
that it would prove efficacious as a styptic in hemorrhage from the stomach and 
bowels, and by injection into the rectum in bleeding from that part. It may be 
given in a dose of from five to fifteen grains. W. 
LIQUOR FERRI TERSULPIIATIS. U.S. Solution of Tersulphate 
of Iron. Solution of Persulphate of Iron. Br. Appendix. 
“Take of Sulphate of Iron, in coarse powder, twelve troyounces; Sulphuric 
Acid two troyounces and sixty grains; Nitric Acid a troyounce and three hun- 
dred and sixty grains; Water a sufficient quantity. Mix the Acids with half 
a pint of Water in a capacious porcelain capsule, and, having heated the mix- 
ture to the boiling point, add the Sulphate of Iron, one-fourth at a time, stirring 
after each addition until effervescence ceases. Then continue the heat until the 
solution acquires a reddish-brown colour, and is free from nitrous odour. Lastly, 
when the liquid is nearly cold, add sufficient Water to make it measure a pint and 
a half.” U. S. 
This solution is placed in the Appendix of the British Pharmacopoeia, under 
the name of Solution of Persulphate of Iron, among the substances used in pre- 
paring medicines, with the following directions for making it. 
“ Take of Sulphate of Iron eight ounces [avoirdupois] ; Sulphuric Acid six 
fluidrachms; Nitric Acid four fluidrachrns; Distilled Water twelve fluid- 
ounces, or a sufficiency. Add the Sulphuric Acid to ten [fluid]ounces of the 
Water, and dissolve the Sulphate of Iron in the mixture, with the aid of heat. 
Mix the Nitric Acid with the remaining two [fluidjounces of Water, and add 
the dilute acid to the solution of Sulphate of Iron. Concentrate the whole by 
boiling, until, upon the sudden disengagement of ruddy vapours, the liquid ceases 
to be black and acquires a red colour. A drop of the solution is now to be tested 
with ferridcyanide of potassium, and if a blue precipitate forms, a few additional 
drops of Nitric Acid should be added, and the boiling renewed, in order that the 
whole of the protosulphate may be converted into persulphate of iron. When the 
solution is cold, make the quantity eleven fluidounces by the addition, if neces- 
sary, of Distilled Water.” Br. 
The sulphate of iron used in these formulas is a sulphate of the protoxide of 
iron. The nitric acid in the process gives up enough of its oxygen to convert 
the protoxide entirely into sesquioxide, and the effervescence is owing to the 
escape of nitric oxide becoming red hyponitric acid by contact with the air. The 
conversion of protoxide into sesquioxide is incomplete until the effervescence 
ceases, and the colour, from black, as it was at first, has become reddish-brown. 
Indeed, in order to sesquioxidize the whole of the protoxide of the sulphate, it 
is necessary to continue the heat until nitrous odour ceases to be evolved; and 
thus, moreover, the entire absence of nitric or nitrous acid from the solution is en- 
sured. But in consequence of the higher oxidation of the iron the sulphuric acid Liquores. 
PART II. 
of the sulphate is insufficient to saturate it, and just in proportion to the addi- 
tional oxygen. Enough sulphuric acid, therefore, is added to meet this demand, 
that is, in such proportion as to give an eq. of the acid for each additional eq. of 
oxygen in the oxide. The process is completed by adding enough water to make 
a definite measure. The TJ. S. and British formulas are the same in principle; 
but in the latter, the additional precaution is taken, in order to ensure the com- 
plete change of protoxide into sesquioxide, of testing the liquid with ferridcya- 
nide of potassium, which will produce a blue precipitate so long as any of the 
protoxide remains. 
This solution, prepared according to the U. S. formula, is a perfectly clear and 
mobile liquid, in no degree viscid, of a reddish-brown colour, almost inodorous, 
of a sour, extremely astringent and somewhat acrid taste, and miscible in all pro- 
portions, without decomposition, with water and alcohol. The sp. gr. of the U. S. 
solution is 1320; and a jluidounce of it yields, on the addition of ammonia in 
excess, a bulky precipitate, of a reddish-brown colour, and without blackish tinge, 
which, when washed, dried, and ignited, weighs 69 grains. The solution, diluted 
with water, gives a white precipitate with chloride of barium, showing that it 
contains a sulphate, and a blue precipitate with ferrocyanide of potassium, but 
none with the ferridcyanide, showing that the sulphate is that of sesquioxide of 
iron. It keeps well; and we have seen a specimen three or four years old, which 
retained all its properties unchanged, and had deposited nothing. The British 
solution is considerably stronger than ours, having the sp.gr. 1 *441, and yield- 
ing from a ffuidrachm, on precipitation by ammonia, a precipitate, which, when 
washed and incinerated, weighs 11*44 grains. It is described in the Br. Phar- 
macopoeia as viscid, and of a dark-red colour. Prof. Procter has found that a 
preparation containing 120 grains of sesquioxide to the fluidounce is apt to de- 
posit the anhydrous sulphate on standing. 
This solution, though possessed of astringent properties rendering it useful 
as a styptic, is inferior remedially to that of the subsulphate of iron, which is less 
irritant, and certainly not less efficacious. The chief use of it is in making other 
ferruginous preparations, in which the sesquioxide of iron is wanted; and it 
should always be kept on hand, if for nothing else, for the quick preparation of 
the hydrated sesquioxide of iron, to be used as an-antidote in cases of arsenical 
poisoning. 
Off. Prep. Ferri et Ammonia Citras, Br.; Ferri et Ammonia Sulphas, TJ. S.; 
Ferri et Ammonia Tartras, TJ. S.; Ferri et Potassa Tartras, TJ. S.; Ferri et 
Quinia Citras, Br.; Ferri Ferrocyanidum, TJ. S.; Ferri Oxidum Hydratum, 
TJ. S.; Ferri Peroxidum Hydratum, Br.; Ferri Pyrophosphas, TJ. S.; Ferrum 
Tartaratum, Br.; Liquor Ferri Citratis, U. S. W. 
LIQUOR GUTTA-PERCILZE. U.iS. Solution of GTutta-percha. 
“ Take of Gutta-percha, in thin slices, a troyounce and a half; Purified Chlo- 
roform seventeen troyounces; Carbonate of Lead, in fine powder, two troyounces. 
To twelve troyounces of the Chloroform, contained in a bottle, add the Gutta- 
percha, and shake occasionally until it is dissolved. Then add the Carbonate of 
Lead, previously mixed with the remainder of the Chloroform, and, having several 
times shaken the whole together, at intervals of half an honr, set the mixture 
arnde. and let it stand for ten days, or until the insoluble matter has subsided, 
and the solution become limpid, and either colourless or of a pale-straw colour. 
Lastly, decant the liquid, and keep it in a well-stopped bottle.” TJ. S. 
Difficulty is often experienced in obtaining a clear solution of gutta-percha in 
chloroform of the proper consistence for use, in consequence of its viscidity, and 
the strong affinity with tvhicli it holds on to the colouring matter. It cannot be 
clarified by filtration; and the carbonate of lead is therefore resorted to, which 
unites with the colouring matter, and, in consequence of its weight, gradually 
subsides, carrying uudissolved substances along with it, and leaving a Gear and PART II. 
Liquores. 
1205 
colourless or nearly colourless solution behind. The use of carbonate of lead 
for the purpose was first suggested by Mr. Wm. Hodgson, jun., of Philadelphia. 
* Something in the success of the process appears to depend on the quality of the 
gutta-percha used. Should the operator be unable to procure a clear solution 
by acting in precise accordance with the formula, he would be justifiable in add- 
ing more chloroform, filtering if necessary, and evaporating by a very moderate 
heat to the due consistence. When the preparation becomes too viscid in con- 
sequence of the spontaneous evaporation of the menstruum on exposure, we 
have always found that the addition of a little chloroform, with agitation, re- 
stores it without difficulty to the due condition. The ordinary commercial chlo- 
roform may be used in the process, as the preparation is exclusively for external 
use. It should be kept in small glass vials, with accurately fitting glass stoppers, 
and not containing more than may be wanted at once, say a fluidounce. 
We have nothing, on the whole, so convenient and effective as this prepara- 
tion, as a protective to the surface, in slight cases of superficial inflammation 
and abrasion. By the rapidity with which the chloroform evaporates, a thin 
elastic nearly colourless film is left after its application, sufficient to prevent in- 
jurious influence from the air, wholly without irritating properties, not shrinking 
inconveniently, and, in consequence of its softness, not mechanically disturbing the 
part, as sometimes happeus with collodion. A little of it applied by the end of 
the finger, or by means of a small brush, or a glass rod, over eruptive affections, 
abrasions or slight excoriations, inflammation from friction, chaps on the lips or 
hand, and slight superficial wounds that have ceased bleeding, will often enable 
the parts beneath to heal almost immediately, while, if unprotected, they might go 
on for an indefinite period, giving annoyance, and often increasing. Surfaces, yet 
sound, that are liable to irritation and abrasion from contact, pressure, friction, 
and the application of acrid substances, may often be protected by a coating of 
this material. The agreeable odour of chloroform is another recommendation 
over other preparations, of a similar character, made with ether or benzole. We 
have so often experienced its advantages that we wish to press it upon the atten- 
tion of the profession, which it has not yet received to the degree that it merits. 
One cause of this, perhaps, is the difficulty of obtaining it in the shops, a large 
proportion of which, either from the difficulties in its preparation, or want of de- 
mand, are insufficiently supplied. W. 
LIQUOR HYDRARGYRI NITRATIS. U. S. Liquor IIydrargyri 
Nitratis Acidus. Br. Solution of Nitrate of Mercury. Acid Solution of 
Nitrate of Mercury. 
“Take of Mercury three troyounces; Nitric Acid five troyounces; Distilled 
Water six fluidrachms. Dissolve the Mercury, with the aid of a gentle heat, 
’n the Acid previously mixed with the Distilled Water. When reddish vapours 
cease to arise, evaporate the liquid to seven troyounces and a half, and keep it 
:u a well-stopped bottle.” U. S. 
“Take of Mercury four ounces [avoirdupois] ; Nitric Acid [sp. gr. D5] three 
fluidounces and a quarter [Imperial measure]; Distilled Water three fluid- 
ounces. Mix the Nitric Acid with the Water in a flask; and dissolve the Mer- 
cury in the mixture without the application of heat. Boil gently for fifteen i 
minutes, cool, and preserve the solution in a stoppered bottle.” Br. 
In the process for making this new officinal of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, mer- 
cury is dissolved, with the assistance of heat, in an excess of nitric acid, and 
there is formed an acid binitrate of deutoxide of mercury, which is brought to 
a determinate bulk by evaporation. The nitric acid taken weighs five ounces. 
This proportion is sufficient not only to deutoxidize the mercury and generate 
a bisalt, but to furnish a large excess of acid. The solution is a dense, trans- 
narent, nearly colourless liquid, of a strongly acid taste, of the sp.gr. 2T65 as 1206 
Liquores. 
PART II. 
prepared by the U. S. process, and 2 246 by the British. Its distinguishing 
properties, as given in the U. S. and Br. Pharmacopoeias, are that it is not pre- 
cipitated by distilled water; gives when diluted a dull yellow precipitate with 
potassa and a bright red one soluble in an excess of the precipitant with iodide 
of potassium ; does not produce a precipitate when dropped into muriatic acid 
diluted with twice its bulk of water; when dropped on a bright surface of cop- 
per instantly occasions a mercurial coating; and, finally, causes a crystal of 
sulphate of iron dropped into it, as well as the liquid around the salt, to assume 
a dark colour. These tests show that the salt contained in it is a nitrate and 
not a sulphate, and that its base is deutoxide of mercury, without the presence 
of any protoxide of that metal. The rather loose direction, at the close of the 
British process, to boil for fifteen minutes, cannot but lead to somewhat uncer- 
tain results, unless care is taken by the operator to bring the sp. gr. of the solu- 
tion to the point indicated in the description of the solution, given in another 
part of the Pharmacopoeia. 
Binitrate of deutoxide of mercury (the salt present in this preparation) is un- 
crystallizable, unless when exposed in a freezing mixture to a temperature of 
5°, when it crystallizes with the formula Hg02,2N05-t-16H0. (H. S. Ditten.) 
According to the new view of the equivalent of mercury, adopted in the Br. 
Pharmacopoeia, the salt is a nitrate of protoxide of mercury, and is represented 
by the formula, independently of water of crystallization, HgO,N05. 
Medical Properties. This preparation is frequently used in Europe, and has 
been employed to some extent in this country, as a caustic application to malig- 
nant ulcerations and cancerous affections. It has been used by Biett in lupus, 
by Bennett and others in ulceration of the neck of the uterus, and by Recamier 
in cancer. It is applied to the diseased surface by a camel’s hair brush, or pre- 
ferably by a brush made of spun-glass. The parts touched immediately become 
white, the surrounding parts inflame, and in a few days a yellow scab is formed, 
which gradually falls off. Sometimes the application produces salivation. When 
it is desirable to avoid this result, the cauterized part should be washed with 
water immediately after the application of the caustic. 
Acid nitrate of mercury is extensively used by Mr. Startin in the Hospital 
for Cutaneous Diseases, London.* He has employed it with advantage in acne, 
boils, carbuncle, lupus, sloughing ulcers, and other external affections. In acne, 
a very minute drop of the solution is placed, by means of a finely pointed glass 
brush, on the top of each indolent tubercle. The application, if carefully made, 
leaves no scar. In treating boils, a full-sized drop is applied to the apex of the 
furuncle. (Med. Times and Gaz., Jan. 1855, p. 9.) B. 
LIQUOR IODINII COMPOSItUS. U.S. Compound Solution of 
Iodine. 
“Take of Iodine three hundred and sixty grains; Iodide of Potassium a 
troyounce and a half; Distilled Water a pint. Dissolve the Iodine and Iodide 
of Potassium in the Distilled Water.” U. S. 
In this solution iodine is dissolved in water with the assistance of iodide of 
potassium. Iodine dissolves sparingly in water, but freely in a solution of that 
salt. In using iodide of potassium to render iodine more soluble in water, the 
iodide is.generally taken in a quantity twice the weight of the iodine; and this 
is the proportion adopted in the II. S. formula. The preparation is a concen- 
trated solution of iodine with iodide of potassium, and is intended to facilitate 
the administration of the combination in drops. A solution of the same kind, 
though weaker, was directed in the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia, but has been 
omitted in the British. The medicinal properties of the solution depend mainly 
* The acid nitrate, used by Mr. Startin, does not correspond, in the proportions em- 
ployed, with the British preparation. It is made by dissolving two ounces of merci try in 
four ounces of nitric acid (sp. gr. 1-5). PART II. 
Liquores. 
1207 
on the free iodine contained in it, by which the dose must be regulated, and not 
by the iodide of potassium. According to Mr. Lloyd, of St. Bartholomew’s Hos- 
pital, London, it acts differently from iodide of potassium, which, when given 
alone, does not produce the same effects. In a case of constitutional syphilis 
under his care, the compound solution of iodine effected a rapid cure, after the 
iodide of potassium had been taken in large doses, for several months, without 
benefit. The dose is six drops, containing about a quarter of a grain of iodine, 
three times a day, given in four tablespoonfuls of sweetened water, and gradually 
increased. The dilution should always be large, in order to favour the absorp- 
tion of the medicine, and to avoid any irritation of the stomach. For children 
the dose to begin with is two drops. B. 
LIQUOR MAGNESIaE CITRATIS. U.S. Solution of Citrate of 
Magnesia. 
“Take of Magnesia one hundred and twenty grains; Citric Acid four hun- 
dred and fifty grains; Syrup of Citric Acid tico fluid ounce s; Bicarbonate of 
Potassa forty grains; Water a sufficient quantity. Dissolve the Citric Acid 
in four fluidounces of Water, and, having added the Magnesia, stir until it is 
dissolved. Filter the solution into a strong twelve-ounce bottle containing the 
Syrup of Citric Acid. Then add the Bicarbonate of Potassa, and sufficient Water 
to nearly fill the bottle, which must be closed with a cork secured with twine. 
Lastly, shake the mixture occasionally until the Bicarbonate is dissolved.” U. S. 
This is a revised formula for solution of citrate of magnesia, which first ap- 
peared in the second edition of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia of 1850. The original 
formula was soon found to have several defects. It called for the use of car- 
bonate of magnesia, which often contains gritty impurities. Four-fifths of the 
carbonate was dissolved iu the citric acid, and the solution filtered into a bottle 
containing the syrup of citric acid ; and then the reserved fifth, mixed with water, 
was added to the acid citrate, and the bottle tightly corked. The addition of 
the reserved carbonate was intended to impregnate the preparation with carbonic 
acid by its solution in the excess of citric acid. To effect the solution of this re- 
served carbonate required at least half an hour. But the chief objection to the 
formula, as originally framed, was that the citrate of magnesia, when the solu- 
tion was kept for some days, underwent a molecular change, resulting in the 
formation of a white granular precipitate, which rendered the solution unfit for 
medical use. This precipitate was found by Prof. Procter to consist of one eq. 
of citric acid, three of magnesia, and fourteen of water. In the revised formula, 
now adopted, magnesia, which is generally purer than the carbonate, is substi- 
tuted for it; and the impregnation of the solution with carbonic acid is effected 
by adding, just before the closing of the bottle, a small quantity of bicarbonate 
of potassa in crystals, which dissolve immediately, instead of consuming half an 
hour. Solution of citrate of magnesia, made by this formula, is not liable to the 
objection of letting fall a granular precipitate, and may be prepared in a short 
time. The use of bicarbonate of potassa, it is true, introduces citrate of potassa, 
but in too small a proportion to be of any consequence. 
Properties, &c. This officinal solution is founded on a preparation proposed 
by M. Roge Delabarre, and improved by M. Rabourdin, of Paris. It is an 
aqueous solution of citrate of magnesia, containing an excess of citric acid, im- 
pregnated with carbonic acid, and sweetened with syrup. When properly pre- 
pared, it is a clear liquid, having an agreeable taste like that of lemonade. Over- 
looking- the excess of acid which it contains, the salt present is that tribasic 
citrate, in which the three eqs. of basic water in the crystallized acid are re- 
placed by three eqs. of magnesia. Accordingly it consists of one eq. of citric 
aqid and three of magnesia. In the revised formula, this salt does not precipi- 
tate by keeping, as in the superseded one, probably because the solution contains 
a greater excess of acid. Liquores. 
PART II. 
Dorvault makes a solid citrate of magnesia which is perfectly and readily solu- 
ble, by melting on a sand-bath 100 parts of crystallized citric acid in its water 
of crystallization, and thoroughly incorporating with it 29 parts of calcined 
magnesia. A pasty mixture is formed, which soon hardens, and may be pulverized 
for use. Citrate of magnesia, thus prepared, is soluble in twice its weight of 
water. When in saturated solution it soon precipitates as a nearly insoluble hy- 
drate ; but with eight or ten times its weight of water, it forms a permanent 
solution. See the report on the solid citrate, made by E. Parrish and A. Smith 
to the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy (Am. Journ. of Pharm., April, 1852, 
p. 113). See also M. E. Robiquet’s paper on lemonades of citrate of magnesia 
(Journ. de Pharm., April, 1852, p. 295), and his formula for preparing a solu- 
ble citrate of magnesia (Am. Journ. of Pharmacy for July, 1855). M. Simonin 
finds that an insoluble citrate of magnesia may be restored to solubility in boil- 
ing water, by being thoroughly rubbed up with water so as to form a paste. 
The necessary trituration is abridged, if a little citric acid be added. (Ann. de 
Therap., 1857, p. 124.) Mr. Charles Ellis, of this city, prepares a soluble citrate 
of magnesia with sugar, citric acid, bicarbonate of soda, and oil pf lemons, in 
the form of a powder, which effervesces when mixed with water. For the details 
of the formula, the reader is referred to his paper in the Am. Journ. of Phar- 
macy for July, 1854.* 
Medical Properties. This solution is a cooling cathartic, and operates mildly. 
It has come into extensive use in the United States, on account of the facility 
with which it may be taken, and its acceptability to the stomach. The dose as 
a full purge is the whole quantity directed in the formula, or twelve fluidounces; 
as a laxative, half that quantity or less. B. 
LIQUOR MORPHLZE HYDROCHLORATIS. Br. Liquor Mor- 
pniiE Muriatis. Dub. Solution of Hydroclilorate of Morphia. Solution 
of Muriate of Morphia. 
“Take of Hydrochlorate of Morphia four grains; Dilute Hydrochloric Acid 
eight minims; Rectified Spirit two fluidrachms; Distilled Water six flui- 
drachms. Mix the Hydrochloric Acid, the Spirit, and the Water, and dissolve 
the Hydrochlorate of Morphia in the mixture.”Br. 
The use of the alcohol is to prevent spontaneous decomposition, that of the 
* Solid Citrate of Magnesia. This salt as heretofore prepared, though soluble at first, is 
apt to become more or less insoluble, when kept, in consequence of molecular change. The 
following process, by M. de Letter, of Brussels, yields a salt which is said to retain its 
solubility indefinitely. “Take of Citric Acid 20 parts, and of Carbonate of Magnesia 12 
parts. Powder the acid finely, and mix it intimately with the carbonate, also in fine pow- 
der. Allow the mixture to stand, at the ordinary temperature, for four or five days, or 
until it ceases to manifest reaction when a little is thrown into water. During this time 
the powder slowly swells up, and gradually assumes the appearance of a spongy mass. 
Dry this at 86° F., pulverize it, and keep the powder in closely stopped vials.” According 
to M. de Letter, water, in a certain quantity, favours the formation of an insoluble hy- 
drate; and hence the success of his process, in which no other water is present, than that 
which is solidified in the dry materials. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., July, 1863, p. 312.) 
M. Hager has been unable to prepare a soluble salt by the process of M. de Letter. He 
considers citrate of magnesia as presenting itself in three forms; 1. crystallizable, soluble 
in from 80 to 90 parts of water, with the formula 3MgO,Ci -f- 14HO; 2. amorphous, soluble 
in two parts of water; and 3. metamorphous, soluble in 8 or 10 parts of water, with a strong 
tendency to crystallize. It is the crystalline variety, presenting the form of microscopic 
needles, that occasions the difficulty; and its production should be avoided. M. Hager 
proceeds in the following manner. Hub 40 parts of citric acid and 25 of carbonate of mag- 
nesia, both in powder, with sufficient alcohol of -833 to make a thick mixture; and, having 
allowed this to stand for several days, at a medium temperature, dry it at a heat of 113° F. 
The product is the amorphous salt, soluble in 2-5 parts of water, in half an hour at 60°, im- 
mediately at 86°. Its solution, whether made with hot or cold water, retains its clearness 
after long standing. The salt is neutral, and contains about 13 eqs. of water. To succeed 
certainly it is necessary that the carbonate of magnesia be free from dust and impurities. 
[Ibid., Jan. 1864, p. 19.)—Mote to the twelfth edition. PART II. 
Liquores. 
1209 
acid probably to assist in the solution of the salt. It is unfortunate that, in the 
solutions of the salts of morphia, the same degree of strength should not have 
been directed by the U. S. and Br. Pharmacopoeias. As they now are, the medi- 
cal practitioner and apothecary must be on their guard to avoid serious results 
The strength of this solution is four times that of our officinal solution of sul- 
phate of morphia, one fluidounce of the former containing four grains, of the lat- 
ter only one grain of their respective salts. The full dose of the British solution 
for an adult is from fifteen to thirty minims or drops, containing from an eighth 
to a quarter of a grain of the hydrochlorate, and about equivalent to as many 
drops of laudanum. W. 
LIQUOR MORPHLZE SULPHATIS. U.S. Solution of Sulphate oj 
Morphia. 
“Take of Sulphate of Morphia eight grains; Distilled Water half a pint. 
Dissolve the Sulphate of Morphia in the Distilled Water.” U. S. 
Sulphate of . morphia, as found in the shops, is not always entirely soluble in 
water. This sometimes, perhaps, arises from adulterations; but more frequently, 
in all probability, from the mode of making the sulphate. As this salt was for- 
merly prepared, the quantity of water employed for the suspension of the mor- 
phia was sometimes insufficient to hold the resulting sulphate in solution; and 
the consequence was that, upon the addition of sulphuric acid, the crystallization 
of the sulphate took place before the whole of the morphia was saturated by the 
acid. A portion of uncombined morphia was therefore necessarily mixed with 
the salt. Under such circumstances, the addition of a little sulphuric acid usually 
remedied the defect, and rendered the whole soluble. Pure sulphate of morphia 
is readily and entirely soluble in water. 
This solution is very convenient, by enabling the physician to prescribe a mi- 
nute dose, which, in consequence of the great energy of the preparations of mor- 
phia, is often necessary. It has the advantage that it may be kept for a very 
considerable length of time unchanged. The full dose for an adult is from one 
to two fluidrachms, containing from an eighth to a quarter of a grain of the 
sulphate. 
Unfortunately, in some parts of the Union, the formula of Magendie for this 
solution, containing 16 grains in a fluidounce, is habitually employed under the 
name of solution of sulphate of morphia. This is the proper name of the offi- 
cinal solution, which is much weaker; and the most dangerous results may ensue 
from the confusion. Magendie’s solution should never be prescribed or sold, 
unless under some special designation. W. 
LIQUOR PLUMBI SUBACETATIS. U.S.,Br. Solution of Subace- 
tate of Lead. 
“Take of Acetate of Lead sixteen troyounces; Oxide of Lead [Litharge], in 
fine power, nine troyounces and a half; Distilled Water a sufficient quantity. 
Boil the Acetate and Oxide with four pints of Distilled Water, in a glass or 
porcelain vessel, for half an hour, occasionally adding Distilled Water to pre- 
serve the measure, and filter through paper. Lastly, keep the liquid in a well- 
stopped bottle.” U. S. The sp. gr. of this solution is 1267. 
“Take of Acetate of Lead five ounces [avoirdupois]; Litharge, in powder, 
three ounces and a half [avoird.]; Distilled Water one pint [Imperial mea- 
sure], or a sufficiency. Boil the Acetate of Lead and the Litharge in the Water 
for half an hour, constantly stirring; then filter, and, when the liquid is cold, add 
to it more Distilled Water, until the product measures twenty fluidounces. Keep 
the clear solution in stoppered bottles.” Br. The sp. gr. of the solution is D260. 
Crystallized acetate of lead consists of one equivalent of acetic acid 51, one 
of protoxide of lead 111-6, and three of water 27 = 189 6. Litharge, as usually 
found in the shops, is an impure protoxide of lead. When the solution of the 1210 
Liquore8. 
PART n. 
former is boiled with the latter, a large quantity of the protoxide is dissolved, 
and a subacetate of lead is formed which remains in solution. The precise com- 
position of the subacetate varies with the proportion of acetate of lead and of 
litharge employed. When the quantity of the latter exceeds that of the former 
by one-half or more, the acetic acid of the acetate unites, according to the high- 
est chemical authorities, with two additional equivalents of protoxide, forming 
a trisacetate; when the two substances are mixed in proportions corresponding 
with their equivalent numbers, that is, in the proportion of 189 6 of salt to 
11T6 of oxide, or 10 to 6 nearly, only one additional equivalent of protoxide 
unites with the acid, and a diacetate of lead is produced. In the officinal pro- 
cess, the proportions appear to have been arranged in reference to this result. 
In executing the process, the litharge should be employed in very fine powder, 
and, according to Thenard, should be previously calcined in order to decompose 
the carbonate of lead, which it always contains in greater or less proportion, 
and which is not dissolved by the solution of the acetate. 
In former editions of the London and Dublin Pharmacopoeias, a different 
process was directed, consisting in boiling litharge with distilled vinegar, the 
former being in much larger proportion than necessary to form the neutral ace- 
tate. A diacetate was thus produced; but, as the vinegar was of uncertain 
strength, there was necessarily more or less inequality of strength in the pre- 
paration. This process, therefore, has been abandoned. The solution prepared 
from litharge and distilled vinegar has a pale greenish-straw colour, owing to 
impurities in the vinegar. Made with common vinegar it is brown. 
Properties. The solution of subacetate of lead of the Pharmacopoeias is 
colourless, and of a sweetish, astringent taste. "When concentrated by evapora- 
tion, it deposits on cooling crystalline plates, which, according to Dr. Barker, 
are flat, rhomboidal prisms, with dihedral summits. It has an alkaline reaction, 
tinging the syrup of violets green, and reddening turmeric paper. One of its most 
striking properties is the extreme facility with which it is decomposed. Carbonic 
acid throws down a white precipitate of carbonate of lead; and this happens 
by mere exposure to the air, or by mixture even with distilled water, if this has 
had an opportunity of absorbing carbonic acid from the atmosphere. It affords 
precipitates also with the alkalies, alkaline earths, and their carbonates, with 
sulphuric and muriatic acids free or combined, with hydrosulphuric acid and the 
hydrosulphates, with the soluble iodides and chlorides, and, according to The- 
nard, with solutions of all the neutral salts. Solutions of gum, tannin, most 
vegetable colouring principles, and many animal substances, particularly albu- 
men, produce with it precipitates consisting of the substance added and oxide 
of lead. It should be kept in well-stopped bottles. It is known to contain a salt 
of acetic acid by emitting an acetous smell when treated with sulphuric acid; 
and a salt of lead, by yielding a white precipitate with an alkaline carbonate, 
a yellow one with iodide of potassium, and a black one with hydrosulphuric 
acid. It is distinguished from the solution of acetate of lead by being precipi- 
tated by gum arabic. Two fluidrachms of the Br. solution require for perfect pre- 
cipitation twenty-seven measures of the volumetric solution of oxalic acid. (Br.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. This solution is astringent and sedative, but 
is employed only as an external application. It is highly useful in inflammation 
arising from sprains, bruises, burns, blisters, &c., to which it is applied by means 
of linen cloths, which should be removed as fast as they become dry. It always, 
however, requires to be diluted. From four fluidrachms to a fluidouuce, added 
to a pint of distilled water, forms a solution sufficiently strong in ordinary 
cases of external inflammation. When applied to the skin denuded of the cuti- 
cle, the solution should be still weaker; as constitutional effects might result 
from the absorption of the lead. Paralysis is said to have been produced by 
its local action. The solution has the common name of Goulard's extract, de- PART II. 
Liquores. 
1211 
rived from a surgeon of Montpellier, by whom it was introduced into general 
notice, though previously employed. 
Off. Prep. Ceratum Plumbi Subacetatis, TJ. S.; Liquor Plumbi Subacetatis 
Dilutus; Unguentum Plumbi Subacetatis, Br. W. 
LIQUOR PLUMBI SUBACETATIS DILUTUS. TJ. S., Br. Di- 
luted Solution of Subacetate of Lead. Lead-water. 
“Take of Solution of Subacetate of Lead three Jluidrachms; Distilled 
Water a pint. Mix them.” U. S. 
“ Take of Solution of Subacetate of Lead two Jluidrachms; Rectified Spirit 
two Jluidrachms ; Distilled Water nineteen jluidounces and a half. Mix, and 
filter through paper. Keep the clear solution in a stoppered bottle.” Br. 
This preparation is convenient; as, in consequence of the subsidence of the 
carbonate of lead usually formed on the dilution of the strong solution, it en- 
ables the apothecary to furnish clear lead-water when it is called for. In our 
comments on the IT. S. process of 1850, it was stated that the strength of our 
officinal preparation, though double what it formerly was, might be still further 
increased with propriety. In the present edition of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia the 
proportion has been increased from two to three fluidrachms to the pint. The 
Br. preparation, though stronger than the old one of the London College, is 
still feeble. The old French Codex directed two drachms of the strong solution 
to a pound of distilled water, and an ounce of alcohol of 22° Baume, and thus 
formed the vegeto-mineral water of Goulard. The minute proportion of proof 
spirit in the British solution can have little effect. The preparation should be as 
much as possible excluded from the air. W. 
LIQUOR POTASSiE. TJ. S., Br. Solution of Potassa. 
“Take of Bicarbonate of Potassa fifteen troyounces; Lime nine troyouncesy 
Distilled Water a sufficient quantity. Dissolve the Bicarbonate in four pints of 
Distilled Water, and heat the solution until effervescence ceases. Then add Dis- 
tilled Water to make up the loss by evaporation, and heat the solution to the 
boiling point. Mix the Lime with four pints of Distilled Water, and, having 
heated the mixture to the boiling point, add it to the alkaline solution, and 
boil for ten minutes. Then transfer the whole to a muslin strainer, and, when 
the liquid portion has passed, add sufficient Distilled Water, through the 
strainer, to make the strained liquid measure seven pints. Lastly, keep the 
liquid in well-stopped bottles of green glass. Solution of Potassa, thus prepared, 
has the sp. gr. 1 065, and contains 5‘8 per cent, of hydrate of potassa. 
“ Solution of Potassa may also be prepared in the following manner. 
“Take of Potassa a troyounce; Distilled Water a pint. Dissolve the Po- 
tassa in the Distilled Water, and allow the solution to stand until the sediment 
subsides. Then pour off the clear liquid, and keep it in a well-stopped bottle 
of green glass.” TJ. S. 
“Take of Carbonate of Potash one pound [avoirdupois]; Slaked Lime twelve 
ounces [avoird.] ; Distilled Water one gallon [Imperial measure]. Dissolve the 
Carbonate of Potash in the Water; and, having heated the solution to the 
boiling point, in a clean iron vessel, gradually mix with it the Slaked Lime; and 
continue the ebullition for ten minutes with constant stirring. Then remove the 
vessel from the fire; and, when by the subsidence of the insoluble matter the 
superuatant liquor has become perfectly clear, transfer it by means of a siphon to 
a green-glass bottle furnished with an air-tight stopper. The sp. gr. is 1 058.” Br. 
The object of the first U. S. and of the British process is to separate carbonic 
acid from the carbonate or bicarbonate of potassa, so as to obtain the alkali in a 
caustic state. This separation of the carbonic acid is effected by hydrate of lime; 
and the chemical changes which take place are most intelligibly explained by 
supposing the occurrence of a double decomposition. The lime of the hydrate of 1212 
Liquores, 
PART II. 
lime, by its superior affinity, combines with the carbonic acid, and precipitates 
as carbonate of lime; while the water of the hydrate of lime unites with the 
potassa and remains in solution as hydrate of potassa. The proportion indicated 
by theo/.y for this decomposition would be 69 2 of the dry carbonate to 28 of 
lime, or one equivalent of each ; but in practice it is found necessary to use an 
excess of lime. The bicarbonate is preferred in the IT. S. process, as affording 
a purer product, being itself free from the contaminations usually found in the 
carbonate; and the application of heat to the solution of the bicarbonate is to 
drive off a portion of the carbonic acid and thus bring the salt to the state of a 
carbonate. The proportion of water employed has a decided influence on the 
result. If the water be deficient in quantity, the decomposing power of the lime, 
on account of its sparing solubility, will be lessened; and more of it will be 
required to complete the decomposition of the carbonate than if the solutions 
were more dilute. Straining must not be used; as it causes a prolonged contact 
with the air, and risk of the absorption of carbonic acid, and is apt, moreover, 
to introduce organic matter from the strainer into the solution. The direction 
to keep the solution in green glass bottles is judicious; as white flint glass is 
slightly acted on, and contaminates the solution with lead.* 
As the solution of potassa is made by the manufacturing chemist in considera- 
ble quantities, the following details, taken from Berzelius, of the best mode of 
conducting the process, may not be without their use. Dissolve one part of car- 
bonate of potassa in from seven to twelve parts of water in a bright iron vessel, 
and decant the solution after it has become clear by standing. Boil the solution 
in an iron vessel, and, while it is boiling, add at intervals small quantities of 
slaked lime, reduced to a thin paste with water; allowing the solution to boil a 
few minutes after each addition. One and a half parts of pure lime will be more 
than sufficient to decompose one part of the carbonate. When about half the 
hydrate of lime has been added, take out about a teaspoonful of the boiling so- 
lution, and, after dilution and filtration through paper, test it by adding it to 
some nitric acid, or by mixing it with an equal bulk of lime-water. If the solu- 
tion has not been completely freed from carbonic acid, the first reagent will cause 
an effervescence, and the second a milky appearance; in either of which events 
the addition of the lime must be continued as before, until the above-mentioned 
tests give negative indications. In conducting the process, several advantages 
are gained by keeping the solution constantly boiling. One is that the carbonate 
of lime formed is in this way rendered granular and heavy, and more disposed 
to subside; another, that it prevents the precipitated carbonate from coalescing 
into a mass at the bottom of the vessel, an occurrence which causes the ebulli- 
tion, when subsequently renewed, to take place imperfectly and by jerks; and a 
third, that any silica present is precipitated in combination with lime and po- 
tassa. The process here described is essentially the same with those introduced 
into the last editions of the Edinburgh and Dublin Pharmacopoeias. 
According to Prof. Wohler, solution of pure hydrate of potassa for analytic 
purposes may be conveniently obtained by exposing for half an hour to a mode- 
rate red heat, in a copper crucible, one part of pure nitre, and two or three 
parts of copper cut into small pieces. The resulting mas3, consisting of hydrate 
of potassa and black oxide of copper, is treated with water, and the solution 
* For remarks by Prof. Redwood, of London, in relation to the preparation of this Solu- 
tion, and for a new process for which various advantages are claimed, the reader is refer- 
red to the London Pharmaceutical Journal for March, 1861, p. 450. The following are the 
outlines of the process. Into a stoppered bottle of green glass is introduced a mixture of 
gviiss of slaked lime and three Imperial pints of distilled water; and to this mixture is 
added, in small quantities at a time, a solution of of carbonate of potassa in one Im- 
perial pint of distilled water, the bottle being shaken for some minutes after each addition. 
After the last addition, continue the shaking until a portion of the filtered liquid no longer 
gives out carbonic acid, upon adding an excess of muriatic acid through calico.—Note to 
the twelfth edition. PART II. 
Liquores. 
1213 
poured into a narrow cylindrical vessel, where it is left until it gets perfectly 
clear by the deposition of the oxide of copper. It is then drawn off, and kept in 
well-stopped bottles. (Cliem. Gaz., Nov. 15,1853, p. 429.) Graf and Riegel as- 
sert that hydrate of potassa, thus obtained, contains nitrate and nitrite of po- 
tassa; but Dr. A. Geuther found it perfectly pure, when the process was properly 
conducted. (Ghem. Gaz., June 1, 1856.) A pure hydrate may also be obtained 
by the process of Dr. Mohr, of Coblentz, which consists in precipitating solution 
of sulphate of potassa with caustic baryta, obtained from the nitrate. Thus pro- 
cured, the alkali is entirely free from chlorine, silica, and sulphuric acid. (Pharm. 
Journ., xvi. 310.) 
Properties, dec. Solution of potassa is a limpid, colourless liquid, without 
smell, of an acrid caustic taste, and alkaline reaction. It acts rapidly on animal 
and vegetable substances, and, when rubbed between the fingers, produces a soapy 
feel, in consequence of a partial solution of the cuticle. It dissolves gum, resins, 
and extractive matter, and forms soap, with oily and fatty bodies. The Br. solu- 
tion is never pure, but contains either undecomposed carbonate, or free lime, 
in addition to minute portions of sulphate of potassa, chloride of potassium, 
silica, and alumina; impurities usually present in the carbonate of potassa used 
in their preparation. The IT. S. solution, being obtained from the bicarbo- 
nate of potassa, is purer. Undecomposed carbonate may be detected in the 
manner explained in a preceding paragraph, and free lime by the produc- 
tion of a milky appearance on the addition of a few drops of carbonate of po- 
tassa, which precipitates the lime as a carbonate. When saturated with nitric 
acid, the solution should give little or no precipitate with carbonate of soda, 
chloride of barium, or nitrate of silver. The presence of lead is detected by a 
black precipitate produced by hydrosulphuret of ammonia. When solution of 
potassa is used as a test for diabetic urine, it should be free from lead, the pre- 
sence of which renders the indications of the test ambiguous. (See Wood's Prac- 
tice of Med., 4th ed., ii. 586.) With bichloride of platinum it produces a yellow 
precipitate, showing that the alkali present is potassa. It is incompatible with 
acids, acidulous salts, and all metallic and earthy preparations held in solution 
by an acid; also with all ammoniacal salts, and with calomel and corrosive sub- 
limate. The two officinal solutions of potassa vary in strength; the U. S. solu- 
tion having the sp. gr. 1-065 and the Br. 1-058. These solutions are quite dilute; 
that of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, which is the strongest, containing only 5-8 per 
cent, of hydrate of potassa. On account of its strong attraction for carbonic 
acid, solution of potassa should be carefully preserved from contact with the air. 
In consideration of the change to which it is liable by keeping, it may sometimes 
be advantageously prepared extemporaneously, according to the second U. S. 
process, by dissolving the hydrate in water. B. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Solution of potassa is antacid, diuretic, and 
antilithic. It has been much employed in calculous complaints, under the im- 
pression that it has the property of dissolving urinary concretions in the kidneys 
and bladder; but experience has proved that the stone once formed cannot be 
removed by remedies internally administered, and the most that the alkaline 
medicines can effect, is to correct that disposition to the superabundant secretion 
of uric acid, or the insoluble urates, upon which gravel and stone often depend. 
For this purpose, however, the carbonated alkalies are preferable to caustic po- 
tassa, as they are less apt to irritate the stomach, and to produce injurious effects 
when long continued. It has been proposed to dissolve calculi by injecting im- 
mediately into the bladder the solution of potassa in a tepid state, and so much 
diluted that it can be held in the mouth; but this mode of employing it has not 
been found to answer in practice. This solution has also been highly recom- 
mended in lepra, psoriasis, and other cutaneous affections; and is said to have 
proved peculiarly useful in scrofula; but in all these cases it probably acts sim- 1214 
Liquores. 
PART II. 
ply by its antacid property, and is not superior to the carbonate of potassa or 
of soda. Externally it has been used, in a diluted state, as a stimulant lotion in 
rachitis and arthritic swellings, and, concentrated, as an escharotic in th.e bite of 
rabid or venomous animals. The dose is from ten to thirty minims, repeated two 
or three times a day, and gradually increased in cutaneous affections to one or 
two fluidrachms; but the remedy should not be too long continued, as it is apt 
to debilitate the stomach. It maybe given in sweetened water or some mucila- 
ginous fluid. Yeal broth and table beer have been recommended as vehicles; 
but the fat usually present in the former would be liable to convert the alkali 
into soap, and the acid in the latter would neutralize it. In dyspeptic cases it 
may be associated with the simple bitters. In excessive doses it irritates, in- 
flames, or corrodes the stomach. Oils and the milder acids, such as vinegar and 
lemon-juice, are the antidotes to its poisonous action. They operate by neutral-' 
izing the alkali. 
Pha.rm. Uses. In preparing Atropia, -U. S.; Sulphurated Antimony, U. S.; 
and Oxide of Silver, U. S. 
Off. Prep. Potassa; Potassii Bromidum, Br.; Potassii Iodidum, Br. W. 
LIQUOR POTASSiE ARSENITIS. U. S. Liquor Arsenicalis. Br. 
Solution of Arsenite of Potassa. Arsenical Solution. Fowler s Solution. 
“ Take of Arsenious Acid, in small pieces, Bicarbonate of Potassa, each, 
sixty-four grains; Compound Spirit of Lavender half a fluidounce; Dis- 
tilled Water a sufficient quantity. Boil the Arsenious Acid and Bicarbonate of 
Potassa, in a glass vessel, with twelve fluidounces of Distilled Water, until the 
Acid is entirely dissolved. To the solution, when cold, add the Compound Spirit 
of Lavender, and afterwards sufficient Distilled Water to make it measure a 
pint.” U. S. 
“Take of Arsenious Acid, Carbonate of Potash, each, eighty grains; Com- 
pound Tincture of Lavender five fluidrachms [Imperial measure]; Distilled 
Water a sufficiency. Place the Arsenious Acid and Carbonate of Potash in a 
flask with ten [fluid]ounces of the Water, and apply heat until a clear solution 
is obtained. Allow this to cool. Then add the Compound Tincture of Lavender, 
and as much Distilled Water as will make the bulk one pint [Imp. meas.].” Br. 
The sp. gr. of this solution is 1-009. 
This preparation originated with the late Dr. Fowler, of Stafford, England, 
and was intended as a substitute for the celebrated remedy, known under the 
name of “the tasteless ague drop.” It is an arsenite of potassa dissolved iu 
water, and is formed by the combination of the arsenious acid with the potassa of 
the bicarbonate or carbonate, the carbonic acid being evolved. In the present U. S. 
process, the bicarbonate has been substituted for the carbonate, probably because 
more readily obtained pure. Its eq. corresponds so nearly with that of arsenious 
acid that, practically, the equal quantities directed will serve the purposes of the 
formula. According to M. H. Buignet, ebullition disengages the carbonic acid 
slowly; so that, after four hours’ boiling, the solution still retains about one- 
sixth of this acid. (Journ. de Pharm., Dec. 1856, p. 440.) The name by which 
the preparation is designated in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia is the most correct. 
It has, however, been denied that the carbonate of potassa is decomposed by 
the arsenious acid, which is supposed to be merely held by it in solution; and, 
in this view of the nature of the preparation, the British name of Arsenical So- 
lution would be appropriate. The spirit of lavender is added to give it tasto, 
and prevent its being mistaken for water. The U. S. preparation is of about 
the same strength as the British; for, although one-fourth more acid and alkali 
is taken in the latter formula, yet the Imperial pint is nearly one-fourth larger 
than the wine pint. 
In making this preparation, care should be taken that the arsenious acid is PART II. 
Liquores. 
1215 
pure. This object is best secured by using the acid in small pieces instead of in 
powder. Sulphate of lime is a common impurity in the powdered acid, and if 
present will remain undissolved, and cause the solution to be weaker than it 
should be. Another insoluble impurity in the powdered acid is arsenite of lime, 
which is sometimes present to the amount of 25 per cent. (Buignet.) Hence, if 
the arsenious acid does not entirely dissolve, the solution must be rejected. 
Properties. Solution of arsenite of potassa is a transparent liquid, having the 
colour, taste, and smell of the spirit of lavender. It has a strong alkaline reac- 
tion. It is decomposed by the usual reagents for arsenic, such as nitrate of sil- 
ver, the salts of copper, lime-water, and sulphuretted hydrogen; and is incom- 
patible with infusions and decoctions of cinchona. Before sulphuretted hydrogen 
will act, the solution must be acidulated with some acid, as the muriatic or acetic. 
If very long kept in flint glass, it is apt to suffer partial decomposition, exhal- 
ing a garlicky odour, and giving the inner surface of the bottle a metallic lustre, 
owing to the lead of the glass being revived. (Canavan, N. Y. Journ. of Pharm., 
i. 131.) According to Dr. R: Fresenius, solutions of alkaline arsenites, by keep- 
ing, absorb oxygen from the air, and are in part converted into arseniates. 
Hence the propriety of keeping this solution in small bottles quite filled. Mohr 
states that the alkaline reaction of the officinal solution delays the change. 
Medical Properties and Uses. This solution has the general action of the 
arsenical preparations on the animal economy, already described under the head 
of Arsenious Acid. Its liquid form makes it convenient for exhibition and 
gradual increase; and it is the preparation generally resorted to, when arsenic 
is given internally. It has been much employed in intermittent fever. Prof. 
Thomas D. Mitchell, of Jefferson Medical College, has given the result of his 
experience, as to its efficacy and safety in this disease, when exhibited in the large 
dose of fifteen or twenty drops three times a day. It is a valuable resource in 
the intermittents of children, who are with difficulty induced to swallow bark or 
even sulphate of quinia. The late Dr. Dewees related the case of a child only 
six weeks old, affected with a severe tertian, in which this solution was given 
with success. A fluidrachm was diluted with twelve fluidrachms of water; and 
of this six drops were given every four hours. 
Fowler’s solution is useful in many diseases. It has been employed with great 
success in lepra and other inveterate cutaneous affections. The late Dr. S. Cal- 
houn published an account of five cases of nodes successfully treated by it; and 
Dr. Baer, of Baltimore, and the late Dr. Eberle afterwards gave it a trial in this 
affection, and obtained satisfactory results. Several cases of chorea, cured by it, 
are reported by Mr. Martin, Mr. Slater, and Dr. Gregory, in the Medico-Chi- 
rurgical Transactions of London. Two interesting cures of periodical head- 
ache, performed by the solution, were related by the late Dr. Otto, of Philadel- 
phia, in the North American Med. and Surg. Journal (vols. iv. and v.). Mr. H. 
Hunt found it useful in menorrhagia, but prefers arsenious acid, as less apt to 
produce unpleasant effects. Dr. Fuller, of London, praises its effects in rheuma- 
tic gout, attended with turbid urine, in the dose of from eight to fifteen minims, 
conjoined with solution of potassa, or acetate of potassa. For an account of the 
successful use of Fowler’s solution in five cases of snake bite, see page 25. A 
diluted solution, in the proportion of a fluidrachm to the fluidounce of water, 
has been used with advantage as a topical application to foul ulcers. 
Each fluidrachm of the solution contains half a grain of arsenious acid. The 
average dose for an adult is ten drops two or three times a day. For the pecu- 
liar effects which it produces in common with the other arsenical preparations, 
the reader is referred to the article Arsenious Acid. 
Duflos’s antidote to the poisonous effects of Fowler’s solution, and of the salts 
of the acids of arsenic generally, is the acetate of the sesquioxide of iron with 
excess of base, made by dissolving freshly precipitated sesquioxide in acetic acid 1216 
Liquores. 
PART II. 
to saturation, adding an equal quantity of the oxide to the solution, and diluting 
the whole with water to the consistence of cream. B. 
LIQUOR POTASSiE CITRATIS. U. S. Solution of Citrate of Po- 
tassa. 
"Take of Citric Acid half a tr oy ounce; Bicarbonate of Potassa three hun- 
dred and thirty grains; Water half a pint. Dissolve the Acid and Bicarbonate 
in the Water, and strain the solution through muslin.” U. S. 
MISTURA POTASS2E CITRATIS. U.S. Liquor Potassa Citra- 
tis. U. S. 1850. Mixture of Citrate of Potassa. Solution of Citrate of Po- 
tassa. Neutral Mixture. 
“ Take of Lemon-juice, fresh, half a pint; Bicarbonate of Potassa a sufficient 
quantity. Add the Bicarbonate gradually to the Lemon-juice until the acid is 
completely saturated; then strain through muslin.” U. S. 
We regret that two preparations so nearly identical in character, and asso- 
ciated in the Pharmacopoeia of 1850, should have been separated in the present 
edition. We consider them here together, because essentially connected in prac- 
tice ; one being substituted for the other according to circumstances unconnected 
with their real remedial effects, as the presence or absence of fresh lemons or 
limes in the market, the taste of the patient, &c. In the present formula for 
solution of citrate of potassa the volatile oil of lemons has been omitted; which 
we should also regret, were it not easy to supply the omission extemporaneously 
if required. Two minims of the oil, rubbed up with the citric acid before it is 
dissolved, will materially improve the flavour, and give the preparation a closer 
resemblance to the original neutral mixture made from lemon-juice, from which it 
was copied. In both the above preparations, the potassa of the bicarbonate unites 
with the citric acid, and the carbonic acid is liberated. A portion of the latter re- 
mains in the solution, and a portion escapes with effervescence. The result, there- 
fore, is a solution of citrate of potassa in water impregnated with carbonic acid. 
When lemon-juice is employed, the solution has a greenish colour; but prepared 
with the pure acid it is colourless. In the U. S. Pharmacopoeia of 1850, bicar- 
bonate of potassa was substituted for the carbonate before used. As the pre- 
paration was formerly made, a flocculent precipitate wTas apt to exhibit itself in 
small quantity, owing to the silicate of potassa generally present as an impurity 
in the carbonate. This gave up its base to the citric acid, and the silica was de- 
posited in the state of a hydrate. The bicarbonate is free from this impurity, and 
consequently hydrated silica is not throwm down; nevertheless, the solution is 
still directed to be filtered; a direction which may be useful, when fresh lemon- 
juice is used, by separating the undissolved matters of the juice, and in other in- 
stances is only surplusage. About 48 grains of the crystals of the bicarbonate, 33 
grains of the pure and perfectly dry carbonate, or 45 grains of the hydrated car- 
bonate found in the shops, are sufficient to saturate a fluidounce of good lemon- 
juise; but the strength of the juice is variable, and the carbonate is apt to ab- 
sorb moisture from the air, so that precision as to quantities cannot be readily 
attained. Hence the propriety of the direction in the process for the neutral 
mixture, to add the alkaline carbonate to saturation. The point of saturation 
maybe determined by the cessation of effervescence, the absence of either an acid 
or alkaline taste, and still more accurately by litmus paper, which should not be 
rendered bright-red by the solution, nor blue if previously reddened by an acid. 
The inequality of strength in the lemon-juice renders the neutral mixture pre- 
pared with it more or less uncertain; though, if the apothecary select ripe and 
sound fruit, and express the juice himself, the preparation will be found to ap- 
proach sufficiently near a uniform standard for all practical purposes. Never- 
theless, if the physician wish absolute precision, he may order the neutral mixture 
to be made with crystallized citric acid, as directed in the first officinal formula; PART II. 
Liquores, 
1217 
or he may pursue the following plan suggested in former editions of this work. 
Dissolve two drachms of bicarbonate of potassa in two fluidounces of water; satu 
rate the solution with good fresh lemon-juice, and strain ; and, lastly, add enough 
water to make the mixture measure six fluidounces. A fluidounce of this solu- 
tion may be given for a dose. 
Another mode of preparing the neutral mixture, officinal in 1850, but omitted 
in the present edition of the Pharmacopoeia, is simply to dissolve citrate of po- 
tassa in water, in the proportion of six drachms to half a pint. The preparation 
may be improved in flavour, and rendered more agreeable to the stomach, by rub- 
bing a drop or two of oil of lemons with the six drachms of citrate before dis- 
solving it, and substituting carbonic acid water for water as the menstruum. 
Effervescing Draught. Under this name, the citrate of potassa is often pre- 
pared extemporaneously, and given in the state of effervescence. The most 
convenient mode of exhibition is to add to a fluidounce of a mixture consisting 
of equal parts of lemon-juice and water, half a fluidounce of a solution contain- 
ing fifteen grains of carbonate of potassa, or twenty grains of the bicarbonate. 
Should effervescence not occur, as sometimes happens, when the carbonate is 
used, in consequence of the weakness of the lemon-juice, more of the juice should 
be added; as, unless sufficient acid is present to neutralize the potassa, part of 
the carbonate passes into the state of bicarbonate, and the gas is thus prevented 
from escaping. A solution of citric acid of the strength of that directed in the 
officinal formula maybe substituted for lemon-juice, if this isnot to be had. The 
fifteen grains of carbonate of potassa above mentioned are scarcely sufficient to 
saturate the lemon-juice, if of ordinary strength; but a little excess of the acid 
renders the preparation more agreeable to the taste. Some prefer the bicarbo- 
nate in the preparation of the effervescing draught, because it will always effer- 
vesce with lemon-juice, no matter what may be the strength of the latter. But 
this is an objection. The carbonate serves, by the absence of effervescence, to 
indicate when the lemon-juice is very weak in acid; and the defect may then be 
easily remedied by the addition of more juice. When the bicarbonate is used, if 
there should be a deficiency of acid, it is not discovered; and the patient takes 
a considerable portion of undecomposed bicarbonate, instead of the full quantity 
of citrate intended. 
Medical Properties and Uses. The solution of citrate of potassa has long 
been used under the name of neutral mixture, saline mixture, or effervescing 
draught. It is an excellent refrigerant diaphoretic, adapted to almost all cases 
of fever with a hot dry skin, and especially to the paroxysms of our remittent 
and intermittent fevers. The effervescing draught is peculiarly useful. The 
carbonic acid serves to cover the taste of the citrate of potassa, and adds to the 
diaphoretic powers of the salt its own cordial influence upon the stomach. No 
preparation with which we are acquainted is equally efficacious in allaying irri- 
tability of stomach and producing diaphoresis in our remittent fevers. It is 
usually also very grateful to the patient. In order to increase the sedative and 
diaphoretic properties of the neutral mixture, it is customary to add to it a 
portion of tartar emetic; and a little sweet spirit of nitre will be found an ex- 
cellent adjuvant in fevers with nervous disturbance. Should thq solution irritate 
the bowels, as occasionally happens, it may be combined with a little laudanum 
or solution of sulphate of morphia. Sugar may be added if desired. 
The dose of the officinal solution is a tablespoonful or half a fluidounce, which 
should be somewhat diluted when taken. The whole of each effervescing draught, 
prepared as above stated, is to be taken at once. Each dose should be repeated 
every hour, two, or three hours, according to the urgency of the symptoms. W. 
LIQUOR POTASSA PERMANGANATIS. Br. Solution of Perman- 
ganate of Potassa. 1218 
Liquores. 
PART II. 
“ Take of Permanganate of Potash four grains; Distilled Water one fluid- 
ounce. Dissolve.” Br. 
This is a simple solution of permanganate of potassa, -in the proportion, as 
nearly as may be, of one part by weight to 110 parts of water; and is intended 
to be of standard strength. But, while for some purposes it is too strong, for 
others it is too feeble; and we prefer M. Reveil’s normal solution of 10 parts 
to 90, so that the solution shall contain 10 per cent, of the salt, which may be 
used of its full strength when required, or diluted more or less according to 
circumstances. For details on this point the reader is referred to the article on 
permanganate of potassa {page 684). The London solution is used as a gargle 
in fetid affections of the throat, and for washing the hands after dissections, in 
the proportion of one part to forty of water. W. 
LIQUOR SODiE. U.S.,Br. Solution of Soda. 
“ Take of Carbonate of Soda twenty-six troyounces; Lime eight troyounces; 
Distilled Water a sufficient quantity. Dissolve the Carbonate in three pints and 
a half of Distilled Water, and heat the solution to the boiling point. Mix the 
Lime with three pints of Distilled Water, and, having heated the mixture to the 
boiling point, add it to the solution of the Carbonate, and boil for ten minutes. 
Then transfer the whole to a muslin strainer, and, when the liquid portion has 
passed, add sufficient Distilled Water, through the strainer, to make the strained 
liquid measure six pints. Lastly, keep the liquid in well-stopped bottles of green 
glass. Solution of Soda has the sp. gr. LOTI, and contains 5 7 per cent, of hy- 
drate of soda.” U. S. 
The British Pharmacopoeia takes of Carbonate of Soda twenty-eight ounces 
[avoirdupois]; Slaked Lime twelve ounces [avoird.] ; Distilled Water one gal- 
lon [Imperial measure], and prepares the Solution in the manner directed for 
Liquor Potassae. The sp. gr. of the British solution is L04T; and the propor- 
tion of hydrated soda contained in it is 4 41. 
Solution of soda is prepared in the same way as solution of potassa. By a 
double decomposition between carbonate of soda and hydrate of lime, there are 
formed hydrate of soda in solution, and carbonate of lime which precipitates. In 
both the processes an excess of lime is used, which is necessary to ensure a full de- 
composition of the carbonate. “One fluidounce [of the British solution] requires 
for neutralization 47 measures of the volumetric solution of oxalic acid.” Br. 
Properties, &c. Solution of soda, sometimes called solution of caustic soda, is 
a colourless liquid, having a caustic taste and alkaline reaction. Its properties 
and tests are the same as those of solution of potassa, with the exception that 
no precipitate is produced by bichloride of platinum or tartaric acid. The alkali 
dissolved must be viewed as hydrate of soda, consisting of one eq. of soda 31 3, 
and one of water 9 = 40 3. 
Pharm. Uses. In preparing Antimonium Sulphuratum, Br.; Cinchoni® Sul- 
phas, U. S.; Ferri et Quini® Citras, Br.; Ferri Oxidum Magneticum; Ferri 
Peroxidum Ilydratum, Br.; Ferrum Tartaratum, Br.; Quini® Sulphas, Br. 
Off. Prep. Soda Caustica, Br.; Sod® Yalerianas, U. S. B. 
LIQUOR SPDiE ARSENIATIS. Br. Solution of Arseniate of Soda. 
“ Take of Arseniate of Soda (rendered anhydrous by a heat not exceeding 
300°) four grains; Distilled Water one fluidounce. Dissolve.” Br. 
This is simply an officinal form for the administration of arseniate of soda. 
(See Sodse Arsenias.) The salt is directed to be dried, in order, we presume, that 
the solution may be of a uniform strength; as, from the mode in which the ar- 
seniate of soda is ordered to be prepared, it is scarcely possible that it should 
always contain precisely the same quantity of water of crystallization. It is im- 
portant in drying it to limit the heat to 300°, lest a portion of the arsenic should 
be volatilized. The commencing dose is from three to five minims or drops, to PART II. 
Liquores, 
1219 
be very cautiously increased if necessary. Its arsenical strength is about the 
same as that of the British solution of arsenite of potassa. W 
LIQUOR SODE CHLORINATE. U.S. Liquor Ciiloram:. 
Br. Solution of Chlorinated Soda. Solution of Chloride of Soda. Labar- 
raque’s Disinfecting Liquid. 
“Take of Chlorinated Lime twelve troyounces; Carbonate of Soda twenty- 
four troyounces; Water twelve pints. Dissolve the Carbonate of Soda in three 
pints of the Water, with the aid of heat. Triturate the Chlorinated Lime, a little 
at a time, with small portions of the Water, gradually added, until a smooth, 
uniform mixture is obtained. Mix this intimately with the remainder of the 
Water, and set the mixture aside for twenty-four hours. Then decant the clear 
liquid, and, having transferred the residue to a muslin strainer, allow it to drain 
until sufficient liquid has passed to make, with the decanted liquid, eight pints. 
Mix the liquid thoroughly with the Solution of Carbonate of Soda, transfer the 
mixture to a muslin straiuer, and allow it to drain, adding water, if necessary, 
towards the close, until eleven pints and a half of liquid have passed. Lastly, 
keep the liquid in well-stopped bottles, protected from the light.” U. S. The sp. 
gr. of this solution is 1 045. 
“ Take of Carbonate of Soda twelve ounces [avoirdupois]; Chloride of So- 
dium four ounces [avoird.]; Black Oxide of Manganese, in powder, three 
ounces [avoird.]; Sulphuric Acid two fiuidounces and a half [Imperial mea- 
sure]; Distilled Water forty-four fiuidounces [Imp. meas.]. Reduce the Car- 
bonate of Soda to powder, dissolve it in thirty-six [fluid]ounces of the Water, 
and put the solution into a glass vessel. Mix the Chloride of Sodium and the 
Oxide of Manganese, place them in a retort, and add to them the Sulphuric 
Acid, previously mixed with three [fluid]ounces of the Water, and allow to cool. 
Heat the mixture gradually, and pass the evolved chlorine through a wash bottle 
containing five [fluid]ounces of the Water, and afterwards into the solution of 
carbonate of soda. When the disengagement of chlorine has ceased, transfer the 
solution to a stoppered bottle, and keep it in a cool and dark place.” Br. The 
sp. gr. of this solution is 1T03. 
This solution was first brought into notice as a disinfecting agent by Labar- 
raque, an apothecary of Paris. It was afterwards found to possess valuable the- 
rapeutic properties. The U. S. process is that of Payen, adopted in the French 
Codex of 1837. It consists in decomposing a solution of carbonate of soda by 
one of chlorinated lime. Carbonate of lime is precipitated and the chlorinated 
soda remains in solution. The proportion employed gives an excess of carbonate 
of soda, the presence of which renders the solution more permanent. The British 
process is that of Labarraque. All the chlorine generated from the prescribed 
quantity of materials for forming that gas, is passed into the solution of carbon- 
ate of soda; and, when the chlorine is limited to this quantity, no carbonic acid 
is disengaged. The chlorine is first passed through water to free it from muriatic 
acid, which, if suffered to come over, would convert the alkali into common salt. 
Properties. The XJ. S. solution is transparent, of a greenish-yellow colour, 
a faint smell of chlorine, a sharp saline taste, and an alkaline reaction. With 
lime-water it yields a precipitate of carbonate of lime, known to be a carbonate 
by its dissolving with effervescence in an acid. This precipitate is caused by 
the excess of carbonate of soda. Owing to the presence of loosely combined 
chlorine, it rapidly destroys the colour of sulphate of indigo. It produces a 
copious, light-brown precipitate, with the sulphate of iron. The British solution 
is a colourless alkaline liquid, of an astringent taste, and a feeble smell of chlo- 
rine. With muriatic acid it effervesces, and evolves chlorine and carbonic acid, 
and forms a solution which is not precipitated by bichloride of platinum, thus 
showing the absence of potassa. It is not precipitated by oxalate of ammonia, 1220 
jLiquores. 
PART II. 
showing that it contains no lime. "One fluidrachm, added to a solution of 20 
grains ol iodide of potassium in four fluidounces of water, and acidulated with 
two fluidiachms of hydrochloric acid, requires for the discharge of the brown 
colour which the mixture assumes, forty-three measures of the volumetric solu- 
tion of hyposulphite of soda.” (Br.) This testis intended to determine the 
chlorine strength of the solution. The hydrochloric acid liberates the chlorine, 
which then separates from the iodide of potassium an equivalent quantity of 
iodine, by which the solution is rendered brown ; and the iodine being con- 
verted into hydriodic acid by the hyposulphite of soda, the solution again be- 
comes colourless. The quantity of the solution of the latter salt required to 
bleach the liquid measures the proportion of iodine, and this that of the chlo- 
rine which separates it. The colour of turmeric is first rendered brown, and 
afterwards destroyed. When it is boiled, chlorine is not given off, nor is its 
bleaching property sensibly impaired; and, when carefully evaporated, a mass 
of damp crystals is obtained, which, when redissolved in water, possess the pro- 
perties of the original liquid. Both solutions,when exposed to the air, absorb car- 
bonic acid and slowly evolve chlorine. It is on this property of gradually evolv- 
ing chlorine that their disinfecting power depends. 
Nature and Composition. The chemical nature of these solutions is differ- 
ent. Assuming the chlorinated lime to be essentially hypochlorite of lime with 
chloride of calcium (see page 186), the U. S. solution, after decantation from 
the precipitated carbonate of lime, will contain hypochlorite of soda with chlo- 
ride of sodium. Ca0,C10-fCaCl and 2(Na0,C02) = Na0,C10-f-NaCl and 
2(Ca0,C02). Besides these there will be present more or less carbonate of soda, 
according as there happens to be in the chlorinated lime less or more chlorine 
to decompose it. In all cases, however, there will be an excess of carbonate of 
soda; as the best chlorinated lime does not contain sufficient chlorine to effect 
its entire decomposition, in the proportion in which it is taken in the formula. 
The constitution of the British preparation is more complicated. As it is a pe- 
culiarity in its formation that no carbonic acid is evolved, it is necessary to as- 
sume the presence of all the carbonic acid of the carbonate of soda; and hence 
it is considered to be a combination of hypochlorite of soda, chloride of sodium, 
and bicarbonate of soda. The reaction is supposed to take place between four 
eqs. of carbonate of soda and two of chlorine. By a transfer of carbonic acid 
from two eqs. of carbonate to the remaining two eqs. of the same salt, two eqs. 
of bicarbonate are formed, and two of soda left. The sodium and oxygen of one 
eq. of soda unite, each, with one eq. of chlorine, so as to form one eq. of chlo- 
ride of sodium, and one of hypochlorous acid. This acid then unites with the 
remaining eq. of soda to form hypochlorite of soda. The view here taken makes 
the U. S. and British solutions analogous in constitution; but differing in one 
containing the carbonate, the other the bicarbonate of soda. In the latter, half 
the soda is bicarbonated; in the former, from a half to a third is monocarbon- 
ated, according to the quality of the chlorinated lime used. According to Mil- 
Ion’s view, both solutions contain oxychloride of sodium, Na , or, which is 
the same thing, bichloride of soda (NaO,Cl2); thus making the compound as- 
similate in constitution to the teroxide of sodium (NaOs). On Millon’s view, 
one eq. of carbonate of soda would decompose two of chloride of lime, with the 
result of forming one eq. of bichloride of soda, one of carbonate of lime, and one 
of free lime. 2(CaO,Cl) and NaO,C02—NaO,Cl2 and CaO,C02and CaO. M. 
Millon’s view doubles the proportion of the chlorine to the soda. Mr. B. Ka- 
vanagh, of Dublin, finds that a solution of alum has its alumina precipitated upon 
being added to the British chlorinated soda liquid, without effervescence of car- 
bonic acid, but with the evolution of chlorine on the application of heat. Hence 
he infers that the soda, not combined with carbonic acid in the preparation is PART II. 
Biquores. 
1221 
united with chlorine and not with hypochlorous acid, and, accordingly, conceives 
that he has proved the correctness of Millon’s views. Upon the whole, analyses 
are wanting before we can determine the true constitution of the officinal solu- 
tions of chlorinated soda. The British solution, though made on Labarraque’s 
plan, is considerably stronger than his preparation; for in the British process 
the carbonate is dissolved in about three times its weight of water, before the 
chlorine is transmitted ; whereas Labarraque dissolved it in four times its weight. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Solution of chlorinated soda is stimulant, 
antiseptic, and resolvent. Internally it has been employed in diseases termed 
•putrid or malignant, as typhus fever, scarlatina maligna, &e. The conditions 
which indicate the propriety of its use are great prostration of strength, fetid 
evacuations, and dry and furred tongue. Under these circumstances it promotes 
urine, creates a moisture on the skin, and improves the secretions and evacua- 
tions. It has also been given in dysentery accompanied with peculiarly fetid 
stools, in dyspepsia attended with putrid eructations, and in glandular enlarge- 
ments and chronic mucous discharges. Other diseases in which it has been re- 
commended, are secondary syphilis, scrofula, bilious disorders, and chronic dis- 
eases of the skin. M. Chailly speaks in praise of it in suppressed or deficient 
menstruation. In asphyxia from sulphuretted hydrogen it forms, like chlori- 
nated lime, an efficacious antidote. The dose is from thirty drops to a teaspoon- 
ful, given in a cupful of water or mild aqueous liquid, and repeated every two 
or three hours. 
As a local remedy it is found useful in all affections attended with fetor, such 
as gangrenous, cancerous, scrofulous, and syphilitic ulcers, ulceration of the gums, 
carbuncle, ozeena, mortification, putrid sorethroat, &c. In these cases it is ap- 
plied as a gargle, wash, ingredient of poultices, or imbibed by lint. In the slough- 
ing of the fauces occurring in severe cases of scarlatina, Dr. Jackson, late of 
Northumberland, Pa., found it efficacious, used as a gargle, or injected into the 
throat. In small-pox Mr. John Gabb employed this solution with great benefit, 
as a wash and gargle for the mouth and throat, and as an application to the skin 
to allay itching. In the sore-mouth from ptyalism, it forms a good mouth-wash, 
when diluted with eight parts or more of water. In fetid discharges from the 
vagina, uterus, and bladder, it has been employed with advantage as an injec- 
tion, diluted with from fifteen to thirty parts of water for the vagina and uterus, 
and with sixty parts when the object is to wash out the bladder by means of a 
double cannula. The solution of chlorinated soda has also been applied suc- 
cessfully to burns, and to cutaneous eruptions, particularly psoriasis, tinea capi- 
tis, scabies, and obstinate herpetic affections. In these cases it is diluted with 
from ten to thirty parts of water, the strength varying according to circumstances. 
For the cure of sore nipples, Dr. Chopin found nothing so successful as fre- 
quently repeated lotions with this solution. 
Solution of chlorinated soda is a powerful disinfectant, better suited for dis- 
infecting operations on a small scale than chlorinated lime. In the chambers of 
the sick, especially with infectious diseases, it is highly useful, sprinkled on the 
floor or bed, and added to the vessels intended to receive the excretions. 
Off. Prep. Cataplasma Sod® Chloratse, Br. B. 
LIQUOR STRYCHNINE. Br. Solution of Strychnia. 
“Take of Strychnia, in crystals, four grains; Dilute Hydrochloric Acid six 
minims; Rectified Spirit two fluidrachms; Distilled Water six fluidrachms. 
Mix the Hydrochloric Acid with four [fluijdrachms of the Water, and dissolve 
the Strychnia in the mixture by the aid of heat. Then add the Spirit and the 
remainder of the Water.” Br. 
This is in fact a solution of the muriate of strychnia. The spirit is added for 
its preservation. Two fluidrachms of it contain a grain of strychnia, and the com- 
mencing dose is ten minims, equal to one-twelfth of a grain of the alkaloid. W. 1222 
Lithia.—Magnesia. 
PART II. 
LITHIA. 
Preparation of Litlda. 
L1TI1L® CITRAS. Br. Citrate of LitJiia. 
“Take of Carbonate of Lithia fifty grains; Citric Acid, in crystals, ninety 
grains; Warm Distilled Water one fuidounce. Dissolve the Citric Acid in the 
Water, and add the Carbonate of Lithia, in successive portions, applying heat 
until effervescence ceases, and a perfect solution is obtained. Evaporate by a 
steam or sand-bath till water ceases to escape, and the residue is converted into 
a viscid liquid. This should be dried in an oven or air-chamber at the tem- 
perature of about 240°, then rapidly pulverized, and enclosed in a stoppered 
bottle.” Br. 
The British Pharmacopoeia gives, as the composition of citrate of lithia, three 
eqs. of lithia and one of citric acid (3LO,C12II5On); this acid being tribasic. The 
eq. of carbonate of lithia being 37, and three eqs. entering into the constitution 
of the salt, 111 parts of the carbonate will of course require 201 parts or one eq. 
of crystallized citric acid for saturation. Consequently, to saturate the 50 grains 
of carbonate of lithia directed by the Pharmacopoeia, 90 54 grains of the crystal- 
lized acid will be required ; so that there is a slight deficiency on the part of the 
acid; whereas it should be in slight excess, and, according to Mr. Squire, 100 
grains of the acid should be used instead of 90 grains. 
Citrate of Lithia, thus prepared, is in the form of a white powder, deliques- 
cent, and soluble, without residue, in 2 5 parts of water. (Squire.) Heated to 
redness it blackens, evolving inflammable gases; and the residue, neutralized 
by hydrochloric acid, yields with rectified spirit a solution which burns with a 
crimson flame. (Br.) This test proves that the base is lithia, and the acid or- 
ganic. That the salt is a citrate will be shown by its solution becoming turbid 
when boiled with lime-water, but clear again on cooling. (Brande and Taylor.) 
“ Twenty grains of it, burned at a low red heat, with free access of air, leave 
106 grains of white residue.” (Br.) In other words, 20 grains of the salt yield 
10 6 grains of carbonate of lithia; for all the acid with its carbon must be con- 
sumed in the process. If the salt consist, as stated in the Pharmacopoeia, of 3 
eqs. of lithia == 45, and oneeq. of citric acid (ClaH5On) = 165, without water, 210 
parts of it should yield 111 parts of the carbonate, which is almost exactly the 
result given by the Pharmacopoeia; so that the citrate must be considered as 
anhydrous. 
Medical Properties and Uses. These are essentially the same as those of the 
carbonate, as, before entering the circulation, the citric acid is decomposed, and 
the lithia circulates with the blood, and passes out with the urine in the form 
of carbonate. While thus capable of producing the antacid, antilithie, and diu- 
retic effects of the carbonate, it has the advantages over that salt of having a 
less disagreeable taste, and of being less disposed to irritate the stomach; the 
same advantages that, in many instances, the citrate of potassa has over the 
carbonate of that alkali. The dose is stated at from five to ten grains; but pro- 
bably much more might sometimes be given with advantage, especially when 
employed with the object of dissolving depositions of urate of soda. W. 
MAGNESIA. 
Preparations of Magnesia. 
MAGNESIA. U. S. Magnesia Levis. JBr. Magnesia. 
“Take of Carbonate of Magnesia a convenient quantity. Put it into aD 
earthen vessel, and expose it to a red heat for two hours, or until the carbonic 
acid is entirely expelled.” U. S. PAKT II. 
Magnesia. 
1223 
In the British Pharmacopoeia directions are given for preparing two forms of 
magnesia, one called Magnesia Levis, or Light Magnesia, from the Light Car- 
bonate, and the other simply Magnesia from the heavy carbonate, which it de- 
signates simply as Carbonate of Magnesia. It is the former which corresponds 
with our ordinary magnesia. 
“ Take of Light Carbonate of Magnesia four ounces. Introduce the Carbo- 
nate of Magnesia into a Cornish or Hessian crucible closed loosely by a lid, and 
let this be exposed to a low red heat as long as a little of the powder, taken 
from the centre of the crucible, when cooled and dropped into dilute sulphuric 
acid, gives rise to effervescence. The product should be preserved in corked 
bottles.” Br. 
Magnesia. Br. This is directed, in the British Pharmacopoeia, to be prepared 
precisely in the same manner as magnesia, using, however, the heavy carbonate, 
named by it Carbonate of Magnesia. 
By exposure to a red heat, the water and carbonic acid of the carbonate of 
magnesia are expelled, and the earth is obtained pure. According to Dr. Black, 
the carbonate loses seven-twelfths of its weight by calcination. Brande says that 
the loss varies from 50 to 60 per cent., of which from 15 to 20 per cent, is water. 
About the close of the process the earth exhibits a luminous or phosphorescent 
appearance, which is said to be a good criterion of its freedom from carbonic 
acid. (Duncan.) A more certain indication, however, is the absence of efferves- 
cence when muriatic acid is added to a little of the magnesia, previously mixed 
with water. It is an error to suppose that a very intense heat is requisite in the 
calcination. The temperature of ignition is sufficient for the expulsion of the 
water and carbonic acid, and any increase serves only to render the magnesia 
harder, denser, less readily soluble in acids, and consequently less useful as a 
medicine. In order to ensure a pure product, care should be taken that the car- 
bonate employed be free from lime. It should be rubbed to powrder before being 
introduced into the pot or crucible; and, as in consequence of its levity it occu- 
pies a very large space, the plan has been proposed of moistening and compress- 
ing it in order to reduce its bulk; but the French pharmaceutical writers direct 
that the vessels employed should be sufficiently large to contain a considerable 
quantity of the carbonate, without the necessity of resorting to compression.* 
The officinal direction, to keep the magnesia, after it has been prepared, in well- 
stopped glass vessels, is founded on the fact that it absorbs carbonic acid and 
water from the air; but, as the absorption of the acid goes on very slowly, and 
that of w'ater does not injure the preparation, the caution is often neglected in 
the shops. The great bulk of the earth renders its introduction into small bot- 
tles inconvenient. A four ounce bottle holds only about an ounce of the purest 
and finest magnesia. But its specific gravity is greatly increased by trituration; 
and four times the quantity may be thus got into the same space. The density of 
Henryk magnesia, which is at least four times that of the earth prepared in the 
ordinary way, has been ascribed to this cause. It has also been attributed to the 
influence of intense heat employed in the calcination. The conjecture has even 
been advanced, that this magnesia, which has enjoyed so great a popularity in 
* In a paper by M. A. V6e (Journ. c/e Pharm., Avril, 1860, p. 84), it is stated that the mag- 
nesia of commerce, in consequence of imperfect preparation, is often found dense, granu- 
lar, harsh, and of difficult solubility in the acids. To remedy this inconvenience the only 
method heretofore known was to prepare it in small quantities, and to stir the magnesia 
during calcination with an iron spoon. The difficulty in preparing it properly on the large 
scale depends upon the unequal action of the heat on large masses, so that the outer part 
becomes heated in excess before the inner is sufficiently so. To remedy this inconvenience 
M. Vee uses a furnace and crucible of a peculiar shape, so arranged that the magnesia may 
not be in layers thicker than seven centimetres (2-7 inches), may be exposed equably to 
heat, and not longer exposed than may be necessary for its decomposition. For an account 
of the apparatus, and of the proper method of managing the process, the reader is referred 
to the Am. Journ. of Pharm., Nov. 1862, p. 522.—Note to the twelfth edition. 1224 
Magnesia. 
PART II. 
England and this country, is prepared by precipitating a solution of sulphate of 
magnesia by caustic potassa; as the earth afforded by this plan is comparatively 
dense. It is asserted that the magnesia, prepared from the carbonate procured 
by precipitating the sulphate of magnesia with carbonate of soda, is softer to the 
touch, and bears a closer resemblance to Henry’s than that prepared from the 
ordinary carbonate. The fact is explained by the presence in common magnesia 
of a little sulphate of potassa, from which it is difficult entirely to free it in con- 
sequence of the sparing solubility of this salt, and of a portion of silica, which 
originally existed in the carbonate of potassa employed to decompose the sul- 
phate of magnesia, and of which the carbonate of soda is destitute. According 
to Mr. Richard Phillips, jun., if equivalent quantities of crystallized sulphate of 
magnesia aud crystallized carbonate of soda be boiled together in water, the 
mixture evaporated to dryness, the residual salts calcined, and the sulphate of 
soda dissolved out by water, the magnesia obtained will be dense. (See Am. 
Journ. of Pharm., xvi. 118.) By packing the carbonate closely in the crucible, 
or by moistening and then compressing it strongly in a cloth, before calcination, 
a heavy magnesia is obtained. The advantages of Henry’s magnesia, independ- 
ently of the convenience of its less bulk, are its greater softness, and more ready 
miscibility with water. Preparations similar to Henry’s are made by T. J. Hus- 
band and by Charles Ellis, of Philadelphia, and sold under the names respec- 
tively of Husband’s and of Ellis’s Magnesia A 
* The three kinds of heavy magnesia sold in our market have been examined by Prof. 
Procter, with the following results. All are heavier than common magnesia, more readily 
miscible with water, smoother upon the tongue, and of a less quickly developed taste; but 
they differ in these respects, Henry’s standing first, Husband’s second, and Ellis’s last. 
But the two latter are much more readily acted on by acids than Henry’s, differing in this 
respect little from each other. Both, moreover, though less readily miscible with water 
than Henry’s, are longer retained in suspension, and Ellis’s exceeds Husband’s in this 
quality. In reference, therefore, to mere facility of administration and to taste, it appears 
that the imported magnesia has the advantage; but for forming liquid mixtures, and for 
rapidity of antacid action, the American are preferable. Husband’s contained 7 per cent, 
of combined water; the two others lost at a red heat only seven-tenths of one per cent. 
[Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxii. 383.) 
Dr. Pereira found light magnesia, under the microscope, to exhibit the same forms ob- 
served in the light carbonate; namely, one portion was amorphous and of a flocculent or 
granular consistence, and another was composed of fragments of prismatic crystals; while 
the heavy magnesia was homogeneous, exhibiting no traces of crystals, and consisting of 
minute granules more or less cohering into small soft balls or masses. (Pharm. Journ., viii. 
235.)—Note to the ninth edition. 
In reference to the preparation of heavy magnesia, Mr. T. II. Barr, after trying various 
methods, obtained the best results either by precipitating a hot concentrated solution of 
sulphate of magnesia with a like solution of carbonate of soda, or by decomposing chloride 
of magnesium by heat. [Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxvi. 193.) 
Mr. Thomas Weaver proposes the following ready method of preparing a heavy magne- 
sia, which, as we have been informed, yields a good product, having not only the recom- 
mendation of density, but that also of smoothness, which is a no less desirable quality. 
“Take of sulphate of magnesia J-iv, gij; bicarbonate of soda giij. Dissolve the sulphate 
in six ounces of water, add a few drops of nitric acid, and boil for 15 or 20 minutes; then 
add sufficient carbonate of soda, dissolved in a little water, to produce a slight precipitate, 
and continue boiling for some time; filter, and set aside to cool. Triturate the bicarbonate 
of soda with about eight ounces of cold water, and add it to the cold solution of sulphate 
of magnesia. After frequent agitation, filter, transfer to a porcelain capsule, and boil 
quickly till reduced to a small bulk. Collect the precipitate on a filter, wash thoroughly, 
and, when nearly dry, transfer to a crucible free from iron, and calcine, bearing in mind 
the suggestion of Mr. Barr, that a low heat just approaching redness, and long continued, 
will ensure a much finer product than a high heat for a short time.” The object of the 
nitric acid is to peroxidize any iron present in the sulphate, and the subsequent addition 
of carbonate of soda, followed by ebullition, is to precipitate the ferruginous oxide. Cold 
solutions cf bicarbonate of soda and sulphate of magnesia do not react on each other; but, 
when the excess of carbonic acid is driven off by boiling, a precipitation takes place of 
carbonate of magnesia, which affords a denser magnesia by calcination than can be ob- 
tained by the use of carbonate of soda. [Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxviii. 214.)—Nue to the 
eleventh edition. • PART II. 
Magnesia. 
1225 
Properties, &c. Magnesia is a very light, white, inodorous powder, of a feeble 
alkaline taste. Its sp.gr. is commonly stated at 2 3. It was deemed infusible, 
till melted by means of the compound blowpipe of Dr. Hare. Water sprinkled 
upon it is absorbed to the extent of about 18 per cent., but with scarcely any in- 
crease of temperature. It is almost insoluble, requiring, according to Dr. Fyfe, 
5142 parts of water at 60°, and 36,000 parts of boiling water for solution. 
Water thus impregnated has no effect on vegetable colours; but magnesia itself 
produces a brown stain by contact with moistened turmeric paper. Magnesia is 
a metallic oxide, consisting of one equivalent of magnesium 12, and one of oxy- 
gen 8 = 20. Magnesium is a white, very brilliant metal, resembling silver, mal- 
leable, fusible at a low temperature, and convertible into magnesia by the com- 
bined action of air and moisture. There is a hydrate of magnesia consisting of 
one equiv. of the earth and one of water. Magnesia forms with nitric and mu- 
riatic acids, salts which are soluble in alcohol, and very deliquescent. It is pre- 
cipitated from its saline solutions by the pure alkalies in the state of a hydrate, 
and by the carbonates of potassa and soda as a carbonate; but it is not precipi- 
tated by the alkaline bicarbonates, nor by common carbonate of ammonia. 
Magnesia is liable to contain, as impurities, carbonate of magnesia, lime, 
alumina, silica, and small quantities of the soluble salts employed or produced 
in the preparation of the carbonate from which it is procured. The presence of 
carbonate of magnesia is indicated by effervescence when the earth is dissolved 
in muriatic acid. Lime, which is a very frequent impurity, and imparts to the 
magnesia a more strongly alkaline and more disagreeable taste, is detected by 
oxalate of ammonia or bicarbonate of potassa. Neither of these salts disturbs 
a neutral solution of pure magnesia in a dilute acid; but, if lime is present, 
both produce a precipitate, the former of oxalate, the latter of carbonate of lime. 
As magnesia is completely dissolved by muriatic acid, silica and other impurities 
insoluble in that acid would be left behind. Alumina is indicated by the produc- 
tion of a precipitate when ammonia is added in excess to a solution of fifty 
grains of magnesia in a fluidounce of muriatic acid. (Christison’s Dispensatory.) 
If the magnesia contain a soluble sulphate or carbonate, chloride of barium will 
reveal it by producing a precipitate with water digested on the magnesia. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Magnesia is antacid and laxative; and is 
much used, under the name of calcined magnesia, in dyspepsia, sick headache, 
gout, and other complaints attended with sour stomach and constipation. It is 
also a favourite remedy in the complaints of children, in which acidity of the 
primse vise is often a prominent symptom. Its antacid properties render it use- 
ful in gravel attended with an excessive secretion of uric acid. Its advantages 
over carbonate of magnesia are that it may be given in a smaller dose, and does 
not occasion flatulence. The dose as a laxative is from thirty grains to a drachm ; 
as an antacid merely, or antilithic, from ten to thirty grains twice a day. When 
it meets with no acid, it is apt to linger in the stomach or bowels, and may in 
that case be followed by lemonade. It should be administered in water or milk, 
and thoroughly triturated so as to render the mixture uniform. If mixed with 
iess than 14 or 15 times its weight of water, and allowed to stand for a day or 
two, magnesia is apt to form a more or less concrete mass, owing to the produc- 
tion of a hydrate of the earth, and the solidification of a portion of the water. 
This change does not take place, or at least takes place much less readily, when 
magnesia already saturated with moisture is employed instead of that freshly cal- 
cined. It has been conjectured that anhydrous magnesia might prove injurious 
in the stomach by solidifying its liquid contents; and the earth which has be- 
(ome saturated with moisture by exposure to a damp air is preferably recom- 
mended. Freshly precipitated hydrate of magnesia will serve as an antidote to 
arsenious acid, though less efficient than hydrated sesquioxide of iron. 
Pharm. Uses. In preparing Veratria, U. S. 1226 
Mellita. 
PART II. 
Off. Prep. Liquor Magnesiae Citratis, U. S.; Pilulae Copaibae, U. S.; Pulvis 
Rhei Compositus; Trochisei Magnesiae, U. S. W. 
MELLITA. 
Preparations of Honey. 
Iloney is used in pharmacy chiefly as the vehicle of more active medicines. It 
is said to have this advantage over syrup, that its preparations are less apt to 
become candied; but, as it contains principles which disagree with the stomach 
in many persons, and as its variable consistence prevents the same exact precision 
in regard to proportion as is attainable with a solution of pure sugar, it is at 
present little employed. The preparations in which honey and vinegar are com- 
bined are called Oxymels. The Oxymel of Squill, of the former U. S. and Lon- 
don Pharmacopoeias, has been omitted in the existing editions of the two national 
codes. 
Medicated honeys are of a proper consistence, if, when a small quantity, al- 
lowed to cool upon a plate, is divided by the edge of a spoon, the portions do 
not readily coalesce. A more accurate criterion, however, is their specific gravity, 
which should be 1 319 (35° B.) at ordinary temperatures, and 1261 (30° B.) 
at the boiling point of water. The specific gravity is most readily determined 
by means of the saccharometer. • W. 
MEL DESPUMATUM. U. S. Mel Depuratum. Br. Clarified Honey. 
“ Take of Honey a convenient quantity. Melt it by means of a water-bath, 
and then remove the scum.” U. S. 
“Take of Honey five pounds. Melt the Honey in a water-bath, and strain, 
while hot, through flannel previously moistened with warm water. ” Br. 
Honey, by the heat of the water-bath, becomes so fluid that the wax and other 
lighter impurities which it contains rise to the surface, and may be skimmed off; 
while the heavier substances which may have been accidentally or fraudulently 
added, such as sand or other earth, sink to the bottom. 
The following method of clarifying honey has been practised in France. Take 
of white honey 3000 parts; water 150 parts; carbonate of lime, powdered and 
washed, 96 parts. Mix them in a suitable vessel, and boil for three minutes, stir- 
ring constantly. Then add 96 parts of animal charcoal, previously washed, 
heated to redness, powdered, and sifted, and boil for a few minutes. Lastly, add 
the whites of two eggs beat up with 500 parts of water, and bring the liquid to 
the boiling point. Withdraw the vessel from the fire, and, after the mixture has 
cooled for 15 minutes, strain it through flannel, and repeat the straining till the 
liquid passes perfectly clear. Should it not have a due consistence, it should be 
concentrated sufficiently by a quick boiling. The carbonate of lime serves to 
saturate any acid in the honey, which might favour the formation of glucose, and 
thus increase the tendency to granulation. 
The French Codex simply directs six pounds of white honey to be heated with 
two pounds of water, skimmed, concentrated to 30° B. while boiling hot, and 
then strained through flannel. 
The following method of clarifying honey is recommended by Andre von 
Hirschberg. Boil 25 lbs. of honey, to which half the quantity of water has been 
added, with a pulp obtained by stirring three sheets of white blotting-paper with 
water, over a slow fire, till the paper is reduced to minute fibres. When the 
mixture cools, put it into a woollen filtering bag, previously moistened, and 
allow the honey to pass. It comes away quite clear. The paper pulp may then 
be washed, and the dark liquid which passes, evaporated by a water-bath to the 
proper consistence. (See Pharm. Journ., ix. 543.) 
Another process, recommended by A. Hofmann, is to dissolve 28 lbs. of honey PART II. 
Mellita. 
1227 
in twice its weight of water, heat the solution to the boiling point, and then add 
a solution of three drachms of gelatin in three times its weight of water, and 
afterwards an aqueous solution of one drachm of tannin, or an infusion of two 
drachms of galls. The mixture is to be well stirred, and kept hot for an hour 
Lastly, seven-eighths of the honey may be drawn off clear, the remainder til 
tered through flannel, and the whole evaporated, (Ibid., xv. 121.) 
Honey clarified with carbonate of lime and animal charcoal, as in the first 
process described, is as clear and colourless as syrup made with sugar, but still 
retains a peculiar flavour. It is less disposed to ferment than crude honey, and 
is said not to be so liable to produce griping pain when swallowed. 
Off. Prep. Confectio Aromatica, U. S.; Confectio Opii, U. S.; Confectio Pi- 
peris, Br.; Confectio Rosae, U. S.; Confectio Scammonii, Br.; Confectio Tere- 
binthinm, Br.; Mel Boracis, Br.; Mel Rosse, U. S.; Mel Sodas Boratis, U. S.; 
Oxymel, Br.; Pilulae Ferri Carbonatis, U. S.; Pilulae Quiniae Sulphatis, U. S.; 
Tinctura Cardamomi Composita, U.S.; Tinctura Opii Camphorata, U.S. W. 
MEL ROSiE. U. S. Honey of Roses. 
“Take of Red Rose, in moderately fine powder, two troyounces; Clarified 
Honey twenty-five troyounces; Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Moisten 
the powder with half a fluidounce of Diluted Alcohol, pack it firmly in a coni- 
cal glass percolator, and gradually pour Diluted Alcohol upon it until six flui- 
drachms of filtered liquid have passed. Set this aside, and continue the perco- 
lation until half a pint more of liquid is obtained. Evaporate this, by means of 
a water-bath, to ten fluidrachms, add the reserved liquid, and mix the whole with 
the Clarified Honey.” U. S. 
Though one of the officinals in the late London and Edinburgh Pharma- 
copoeias, the Honey of Roses has been dropped in the British. 
The U. S. formula is based on that of Prof. Grahame, of Baltimore. (See Am. 
Journ. of Pliarm., Sept. 1859, p. 443.) The object in reserving a portion of the 
first tincture, in the process, is to avoid the evaporation of the volatile oil in the 
concentration of the infusiou, and thus to preserve the flavour as well as the as- 
tringency of the roses. Honey of roses forms a pleasant addition to the gargles 
employed in inflammation and ulceration of the mouth and throat. W. 
MEL SODiE BORATIS. U. S. Mel Boracis. Br. Honey of Borate 
of Soda. Honey of Borax. 
“ Take of Borate of Soda, in fine powder, sixty grains; Clarified Honey a 
troyounce. Mix them.” U. S. 
“Take of Borax, in fine powder, sixty-four grains; Clarified Honey an 
ounce. Mix.”J5r. 
This preparation might well be left to extemporaneous prescription. It is 
used in the thrush of infants, and aphthous ulcerations of the mouth. W. 
OXYMEL. Br. Oxymel 
“Take of Clarified Honey forty ounces [avoirdupois]; Acetic Acid five 
fluidounces; Distilled Water five ftuidounces. Liquefy the Honey by heat, 
and mix with it the Acetic Acid and Water.” Br. 
This mixture of honey and vinegar forms a pleasant addition to gargles, and 
is sometimes used as a vehicle of expectorant medicines, and to impart flavour 
to drinks in febrile complaints.* W. 
* Oxymel of Squill. Oxymel Scillse. There may be some, who notwithstanding the omis- 
sion of this preparation by the Pharmacopoeias, may still continue to prescribe it, and the 
pharmaceutist should be prepared to fulfil their prescription. We therefore retain, in the 
form of a note, what was formerly said in the text in reference to this oxymel. The fol- 
lowing was the U. S. formula of 1850. 
“Take of Vinegar of Squill two pints; Clarified Honey a pint and a half. Mix them, and 
evaporate by means of a water-bath to the proper consistence. The specific gravity of the 
Oxymel of Squill should be 1-32.” 
This preparation has the virtues of squill, but is in no respect superior to the syrup. 1228 
Misturae. 
PART n. 
MISTURAE. 
This term should be restricted, in the language of pharmacy, to those prepara- 
tions in which insoluble substances, whether solid or liquid, are suspended in 
watery fluids, by the intervention of gum arabic, sugar, the yolk of eggs, or other 
viscid matter. When the suspended substance is of an oleaginous nature, the 
mixture is sometimes called an emulsion. The object of these preparations is 
usually to facilitate the administration, to conceal the taste, or to obviate the 
nauseating effects of unpleasant medicines; and their perfection depends upon 
the intimacy with which the ingredients are blended. Some skill and care are 
requisite for the production of a uniform and perfect mixture. As a general 
rule, the body to be suspended should be thoroughly mixed by trituration with 
the substance intended to act as the intermedium, before the watery vehicle is 
added. In the case of the liquid balsams and oils, if gum arabic be employed as 
the intermedium, it should be previously brought to the state of mucilage of the 
consistence directed in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia.* The white of eggs has been 
frequently ordered by physicians as the suspending substance; but it is inferior 
for this purpose to the yolk, or to gum arabic. When the white is used it should 
be well beaten, and incorporated with the oleaginous or balsamic substances be- 
fore the water is added. Mixtures are generally the objects of extemporaneous 
prescription; but a few have been deemed of sufficient importance to merit a 
place in the Pharmacopoeias. They should be prepared only when wanted for 
use. The Mixtures, formerly officinal, which have been discarded in the recent 
revision of the Br. Pharmacopoeia, are Mistura Acacise, Ed., Mistura Althaeas, 
Ed., Mistura Camphorae cum Magnesia, Ed., Mistura Ferri Aromatica, Dub., 
Mistura Gentianae Gomposita, Lond., and Mistura Spiritiis Vini Gallici, Lond. 
W. 
MISTURA AMMONIACI. U.S.,Br. Mixture of Ammoniac. 
“ Take of Ammoniac one hundred and twenty grains; Water half a pint. 
Rub the Ammoniac with the Water, gradually added, until they are thoroughly 
mixed, and strain.” U. S. 
“ Take of Ammoniac, in coarse powder, a quarter of an ounce [avoirdupois] ; 
Distilled Water eight fluidounces. Triturate the Ammoniac with the Water, 
gradually added, until the mixture assumes a milky appearance, then strain 
through muslin. ” Br. 
In this mixture the insoluble part of the ammoniac is suspended by means of 
the gum, imparting a milky appearance to the preparation, which, from this cir- 
cumstance, was formerly called lac ammoniaci or milk of ammoniac. The greater 
portion of the resin subsides upon standing. The mixture is slightly curdled by 
acids. The dose is from one to two tablespoonfuls. W. 
MISTURA AMYGDALiE. U.S. Mixture of Almond. Ahn'ond Emul-' 
sion. 
“Take of Sweet Almond half a troyounce; Gum Arabic, in fine powder, 
It is chiefly used as an expectorant in chronic catarrh, humoral asthma, hooping-cough, 
and generally in those states of the pulmonary organs in which the bronchial tubes are 
loaded with a viscid mucus of difficult expectoration. The dose is from one to two flui- 
drachms. In large doses it is emetic, and as such may sometimes be given with advantage 
in infantile croup and catarrh. 
* The proportion of gum and water necessary to make a good emulsion with the fixed 
oils varies with the oil. Thus, while castor oil requires only two drachms of the gum and 
three drachms of water to the ounce, most other fixed oils require half their weight of 
gum, and a weight of water equal to half that of the oil and gum united. These quan- 
tities being well rubbed together, any desirable amount of water may afterwards be gra- 
dually added, and will readily incorporate with the other ingredients. (Overberk, PhariK. 
Cent. Blatt, A. I). 1851, p. 95.) 
Mixtures. PART II. 
3Iisturse. 
thirty grains; Sugar one hundred and twenty grains; Distilled Water eight 
fluidounces. Having blanched the Almond, beat it with the Gum Arabic and 
Sugar, in a mortar, until they are thoroughly mixed; then rub the mixture with 
the Distilled Water gradually added, and strain.” U. S. 
“ Take of Compound Powder of Almonds two ounces and a 7m(/’[avoirdupois]; 
Distilled Water one pint [Imperial measure]. Rub the Powder with a little of 
the Water into a thin paste, then add the remainder of the Water, and strain 
through muslin.” Br. 
These preparations are essentially the same; the gum and sugar, which enter 
into the IJ. S. formula directly, being ingredients of the compound powder of 
almonds of the British. The processes are both preferable to that of the old 
London Pharmacopoeia, in which a confection of almonds was employed ; as this 
preparation was liable to spoil quickly "when kept. The gum arabic in these for- 
mulas is introduced, not so much for its demulcent properties, as to assist in the 
suspension of the insoluble ingredients of the almonds. The same formula will 
answer for the preparation of an emulsion of bitter almonds, which may be pre- 
ferred to the present when a slight influence of hydrocyanic acid is desired. 
The oleaginous matter of the almonds is suspended in the water by means of 
their albumen, gum, and sugar, forming a milky emulsion. When the almonds 
themselves are employed, as in the U. S. process, care should be taken to reduce 
them to the consistence of a paste previously to the addition of the water; and 
with each successive portion of fluid a uniform mixture should be formed before 
another portion is added. Common water, when not very impure, may be pro- 
perly substituted for the distilled. Great care should be taken to select the al- 
monds perfectly free from rancidity. The mixture is not permanent. Upon stand- 
ing, the oil rises like thick cream to the surface, and the separation is effected 
more quickly by heat, alcohol, and the acids, which coagulate the albumen. The 
preparation is closely analogous to milk in chemical relations and appearance. 
In warm weather it soon becomes sour, and unfit for use. 
The almond mixture has a bland taste, and may be used as an agreeable, nu- 
tritive demulcent in catarrhal and dysenteric affections, and irritation of the 
urinary passages. To be of service it must be freely employed. From two to 
eight fluidounces may be taken at once. It is occasionally employed as the 
vehicle of less agreeable medicines; but should not be used in connection with 
any considerable quantity of tinctures, acidulous salts, or other substances con- 
taining an excess of acid. W. 
MISTURA ASSAFCETID2E. U.S. Assafetida Mixture. 
“Take of Assafetida one hundred and twenty grains; Water half a pint. 
Rub the Assafetida with the Water, gradually added, until they are thoroughly 
mixed.” U. S. 
This mixture, from its whiteness and opacity, is frequently called lac assafce- 
tidse or milk of assafetida. It is, as a general rule, the best form for the admi- 
•nistration of this antispasmodic, being less stimulant than the tincture, and more 
prompt in its action than the pill. Its excessively disagreeable smell and taste 
are, however, objections, which induce a frequent preference of the last-mentioned 
preparation. It is very often employed as an enema. The dose is from one to 
two tablespoonfuls frequently repeated. From two to four fluidounces may be 
given by the rectum.* W. 
* Syrup of Assafetida. Such a preparation has been proposed by Mr. Richard Peltz. He 
has found the following formula to answer the purpose best. Take of assafetida §j, boiling 
water Oj, sugar Ibij. Rub the assafetida with a part of the water so as to make a uniform 
paste, then gradually add the remainder of the water, strain, and add the sugar, heating 
moderately till it is dissolved. This has a less disagreeable taste than the mixture, and 
keeps much better, remaining several months without change, while the latter is often al- 
tered in a short time. The dose is the same as that of the mixture. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
xxiv. 313.)—Note to the tenth edition. 1230 
Misturse. 
PART II. 
MISTURA CIILOROFORMI. TJ.S. Mixture of Chloroform. 
“ Take of Purified Chloroform half a troyounce; Camphor sixty grains; the 
yolk of one Egg; Water six Jluidounces. Rub the yolk in a mortar, first by 
itself, then with the Camphor, previously dissolved in the Chloroform, and lastly, 
with the Water, gradually added, so as to make a uniform mixture.” U. S. 
In consequence of the great facility with which camphor dissolves in chloro- 
form, and the ready miscibility of the solution, by the intervention of the yolk 
of eggs, with water, this mixture affords an easy and agreeable method of ad- 
ministering these medicines jointly. Besides, in consequence of the preservative 
influence of the chloroform, it will keep long unchanged. The dose is one or 
two tablespoonfuls. 
MISTURA CREASOTI. Br. Creasote Mixture. 
“Take of Creasote sixteen minims; Glacial Acetic Acid sixteen minims; 
Spirit of Juniper half a jluidrachm ; Syrup one fluidounce ; Distilled Water 
fifteen Jluidounces. Mix the Creasote with the Acetic Acid, gradually add the 
Water, and lastly the Syrup and Spirit of Juniper.” Br. 
The dose of this mixture is a fluidounce, containing a minim of Creasote. W. 
MISTURA CRETiE. U.S.,Br. Chalk Mixture. 
“Take of Prepared Chalk half a troyounce; Sugar [refined], Gum Arabic, 
in fine powder, each, one hundred and twenty grains; Cinnamon Water, Water, 
each, four Jluidounces. Rub them together until they are thoroughly mixed.” 
U. S. 
“ Take of Prepared Chalk a quarter of an ounce [avoirdupois] ; Gum Arabic, 
in powder, a quarter of an ounce [avoird.] ; Syrup half a fluidounce ; Cinna- 
mon Water seven Jluidounces and a half. Triturate the Chalk and Gum Arabic 
with the Cinnamon Water, then add the Syrup, and mix.” Br. 
This mixture is a convenient form for administering chalk, and is much em- 
ployed in looseness of the bowels accompanied with acidity. Laudanum and 
kino or catechu are very often added to increase its astringency. The dose is a 
tablespoonful frequently repeated. W. 
MISTURA FERRI COMPOSITA. U.S.,Br. Compound Mixture of 
Iron. 
“Take of Myrrh, Sugar [refined], each, sixty grains; Carbonate of Potassa 
twenty-five grains; Sulphate of Iron, in coarse powder, twenty grains; Spirit 
of Lavender half a fluidounce; Rose Water seven Jluidounces and a half. 
Rub the Myrrh, Sugar, ami Carbonate of Potassa with the Rose Water, gra- 
dually, added, then with the Spirit of Lavender, and, lastly, with the Sulphate of 
Iron; and pour the mixture immediately into a bottle, which must be well stop- 
ped.” U. S. 
“Take of Sulphate of Iron thirty grains; Carbonate of Potash twenty-five 
grains; Myrrh, in powder, Sugar, each, sixty grains; Spirit of Nutmeg one 
Jluidrachm; Rose Water eight Jluidounces. Triturate the Myrrh and Carbo- 
nate of Potash with the Sugar, the Spirit of Nutmeg, and seven [fluid]ounces 
of the Rose Water, the latter being gradually added, until a uniform mixture is 
obtained. To this add the Sulphate of Iron, previously dissolved in the remain- 
ing [fluid]ounce of Rose Water, and enclose the mixture at once in a bottle 
which should be tightly corked.” Br. 
Wine of Assafetida. Mr. H. N. Rittenkouse proposes a concentrated wine of assafetida, as 
affording an easy method of preparing the mixture, which, when called for in haste, can- 
not always be furnished in due time, from the amount of trituration required. He rubs 
half an ounce of the gum-resin with ten fluidrackms of white wine until the former is sus- 
pended. Two ounces of the wine are thus obtained; and, as each drachm contains fifteen 
grains of assafetida, it is easy to prepare the mixture of the officinal strength, by simply 
mixing the wine in due proportion with water. [Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxyii. 216.)—Note to 
the eleventh edition. PART II. 
Misturse. 
1231 
This is very nearly the same with the celebrated tonic or antihectic myrrh 
mixture of Dr. Griffith. The sulphate of iron is decomposed by the carbonate 
of potassa, with the production of sulphate of potassa and carbonate of prot- 
oxide of iron; while the excess of the alkaline carbonate forms a saponaceous 
compound with the myrrh. The mixture is at first of a greenish colour, which 
it loses upon exposure to the air, in consequence of the conversion of the prot- 
oxide of iron of the carbonate into the red or sesquioxide. It may, however, be 
kept for some time without change, if the vessel in which it is contained be well 
closed; but the best plan is to prepare it only when wanted for use. The sugar 
contained in it contributes somewhat to retard the further oxidation of the prot- 
oxide of iron, and, if considerably increased in amount, would act still more effi- 
ciently. The finest pieces of myrrh in lump should be selected, and rubbed down 
for the occasion with a little of the rose water; as the powdered myrrh of the 
shops is often impure, and does not make a good mixture. 
This mixture is a good tonic in debility of the digestive organs, especially 
when attended with derangement of the menstrual function. Hence it is used 
with advantage in chlorosis and hysterical affections. It has been also much 
employed in the hectic fever of phthisis and chronic catarrh. It is contraindi- 
cated by the existence of inflammation of the gastric mucous membrane. The 
dose is one or two fluidounces two or three times a day. W. 
MISTURA GLYCYRRIIIZiE COMPOSITA. U.S. Compound Mix- 
ture of Liquorice. Brown Mixture. 
“Take of Liquorice [extract], in fine powder, Sugar, in coarse powder, Gum 
Arabic, in fine powder, each, half a troyounce; Camphorated Tincture of Opium 
two fluidounces; Wine of Antimony a Jluidounce; Spirit of Nitrous Ether 
half a fluidounce ; Water twelve fluidounces. Rub the Liquorice, Sugar, and 
Gum Arabic with the Water, gradually added; then add the other ingredients, 
and mix the whole together.” U. S. 
This is an exceedingly popular cough mixture, which was made officinal in 
the U. S. Pharmacopoeia of 1850. The spirit of nitrous ether is probably useful 
by somewhat retarding decomposition. The preparation is applicable to the 
advanced stages of catarrhal affections, after expectoration has become estab- 
lished. The dose is a tablespoonful for an adult; a teaspoonful for a child two 
years old. It should be well shaken when administered. W. 
MISTURA GUAIACI. Br. Gruaiac Mixture. 
“Take of Guaiac Resin, in powder, half an ounce [avoirdupois]; Sugar half 
an ounce [avoird.] ; Gum Arabic, powdered, a quarter of an ounce [avoird.] ; 
Cinnamon Water one pint [Imperial measure]. Triturate the Guaiac with the 
Sugar and the Gum, adding gradually the Cinnamon Water.” Br. 
For the changes of colour which the guaiac in this mixture undergoes, and 
produces in other substances, see Guaiaci Resina, p. 429. From one to three 
tablespoonfuls may be given for a dose, and repeated two or three times a day, 
or more frequently. W. 
MISTURA POTASSJE CITRATIS. U. S. Liquor Potassa Citra- 
tis. U.S. 1850. Mixture of Citrate of Potassa. Neutral Mixture. 
“Take of Lemon Juice, fresh, half a pint; Bicarbonate of Potassa a suffi- 
cient quantity. Add the Bicarbonate gradually to the Lemon Juice until the 
acid is completely saturated; then strain through muslin.” U. S. 
For remarks on this preparation, see Liquor Potassse Citratis, page 1207. 
The dose is a tablespoonful or half a fluidounce, which, when taken, may be 
somewhat diluted with water. W. 
MISTURA SOAMMONII. Br. Scammony Mixture. 
“Take of Resin of Scammony four grains; Milk two [fluid^ounces. Tri Morphia. 
PART II. 
turate the Resin of Seammony with a little of the Milk, and continue the tritu- 
ration, gradually adding the remainder of the Milk, until a uniform emulsion is 
obtained.” Br. 
This officinal is an imitation of a mixture recommended by Planche. The 
resin of seammony mixes admirably with the vehicle, and forms an emulsion 
scarcely distinguishable in appearance or taste from rich milk. Of course, it 
should be prepared only when wanted for immediate use. The whole is to be 
taken for a dose. W. 
MORPHIA. 
Preparations of Morphia. 
MORPHIA. U.S. Morphia. 
“Take of Opium, sliced, twelve troyounces; Water of Ammonia six fluid- 
ounces ; Animal Charcoal, in fine powder, Alcohol, Distilled Water, each, a 
sufficient quantity. Macerate the Opium with four pints of Distilled Water for 
twenty-four hours, and, having wTorked it with the hand, again macerate for 
twenty-four hours, and strain. In like manner, macerate the residue twice suc- 
cessively with the same quantity of Distilled Water, and strain. Mix the infu- 
sions, evaporate to six pints, and filter; then add five pints of Alcohol, and 
afterwards three fluidounces of the Water of Ammonia, previously mixed with 
half a pint of Alcohol. After twenty-four hours, pour in the remainder of the 
Water of Ammonia, mixed, as before, with half a pint of Alcohol; and set the 
liquid aside for twenty-four hours that crystals may form. To purify these, boil 
them with two pints of Alcohol until they are dissolved, filter the solution, while 
hot, through Animal Charcoal, and set it aside to crystallize.” U. S. 
This process will be better understood by a previous acquaintance with the 
properties and chemical relations of the substance in question. 
Morphia crystallizes from alcohol in the form of small, colourless, shining 
crystals. It is inodorous and bitter. Exposed to a moderate heat, it loses its 
water of crystallization and the crystalline form, becoming white and opaque. 
At a higher temperature it melts, forming a yellowish liquid, which becomes 
white and crystalline upon cooling. Heated in the open air, it burns with a 
bright flame, and at a red heat is wholly dissipated. In the products resulting 
from the combustion of opium or morphia, this alkaloid may be detected, proving 
that it is partly volatilized, when burned. (Descharmes, Arch. Gen., Fev. 1855, 
p. 240.) It is insoluble or nearly so in cold water, soluble in rather less than 
100 parts of water at 212°, slightly soluble in cold alcohol, and freely so in boil- 
ing alcohol, which deposits it upon cooling. It is dissolved also by the fixed 
and volatile oils, but very slightly if at all by ether. Both morphia and its salts 
are insoluble in chloroform. (Lepage, Journ. de Pharm., xxv. 258.) Morphia 
in solution is to a considerable extent absorbed by animal charcoal, which, 
though it will part with most of the alkaloid to alcohol, cannot be wholly de- 
prived of it by repeated washings with that liquid, whether cold or hot. (Lefort, 
Journ. de Pharm., Aout, 1861, p. 98.) Its solution restores the blue colour of 
litmus paper reddened by acids, and turns the yellow of turmeric to brown. 
With the acids it forms salts, which are generally soluble, and are decomposed 
by the alkalies. The solutions of potassa and soda also dissolve morphia, which 
is precipitated slowly from them on exposure to the air, in consequence of the 
absorption of carbonic acid. Solution of ammonia has to a certain extent the 
same solvent power; and hence the necessity, in precipitating morphia by this 
alkali, not to employ it in great excess. Solution of iodine with iodide of potas- 
sium precipitates the salts of morphia in aqueous solution. With chlorine water 
morphia and its salts assume an orange colour, and the same effect is produced 
on them by solution of chlorinated soda. (Fairthorne, Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
xxviii. 9.) By the contact of nitric acid, they assume a blood-red colour, which PART II. 
Morphia. 
1233 
ultimately changes to yellow; and this is one of the tests of morphia; but, as the 
same change of colour is produced with brucia and impure strychnia, it cannot be 
relied on in the absence of other evidence. When added to a solution of iodic 
acid, or an acidulous iodate, morphia and its salts redden the liquid and set 
iodine free. (Serullas.) This is a very delicate test, but is not conclusive, as 
various other organic substances act in a similar manner. M. J. Lefort, however, 
has found that the colour produced by these substances is removed by ammonia, 
while the redness produced with morphia is greatly intensified by the addition 
of that alkali. This test, thus modified by the addition of ammonia, is so delicate 
that, according to M. Lefort, it will detect one part of morphia in 10,000 parts of 
a liquid holding it in solution. {Journ. de Pharm., A out, 1861, p. 113.)* Mor- 
phia and its salts assume a fine blue colour with the sesquichloride of iron, and the 
salts of the sesquioxide; at least this is true of the alkaloid, its sulphate, acetate, 
and oxalate ; and the same effect will be produced by the other salts, if previously 
decomposed by an alkali; but that this test should be satisfactory, it is neces- 
sary to operate on morphia either in powder or concentrated solution. {Lefort.) 
Water, acids, and alkalies, added in large quantity to the blue compound formed, 
destroy its colour. According to Pelletier, moreover, there occasionally exists in 
opium a principle called by him pseudomorphia, which becomes red under the 
action of nitric acid, and changes the salts of sesquioxide of iron blue, and yet is 
destitute of poisonous properties; so that the occurrence of these phenomena, in 
any medico-legal case, cannot be considered as certain evidence of the presence 
of morphia. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., v iii. 77.) The terchloride of gold pre- 
cipitates morphia first yellow, then bluish, and lastly violet. {Larocque and 
Thibierge.) Peroxide of copper and oxide of silver are precipitated by morphia 
from their aramoniacal solutions, and ferridcyanide of potassium in solution is 
reduced by it to the ferrocyanide. {Chem. Gaz., No. 367, p. 54.) A solution of 
acetate or sulphate of morphia, containing only one part of the salt in 100, pre- 
cipitates silver from a solution of the nitrate of that metal. {Horsley.) Morphia 
is precipitated from its solutions by potassa or soda, and redissolved by an ex- 
cess of the alkali. Infusions of galls and other vegetable substances containing 
tannic acid precipitate morphia in the state of a tannate, which is soluble in 
acetic acid; but, according to Dublanc, the alkali is not precipitated by pure 
* When a mixture of a little morphia and iodic acid with a few drops of water is gently 
heated in a capsule, a series of explosions is produced, with the evolution of gas. The 
same thing happens with other vegetable alkaloids treated in the same manner; and Dr. 
Brett proposes this reaction of iodic acid, which takes place with no other organic sub- 
stance that he has tried, as a test of the alkaloids. (Pharm. Journ., xvi. 211.) 
Unsized Paper in testing for Morphia. Most of the tests of morphia will act more satisfac- 
torily if the alkaloid or its salts be fixed in unsized paper, which will then exhibit the char- 
acteristic changes of colour when exposed to the agents employed. Paper may be prepared 
for this purpose by dipping slips of perfectly white filtering paper several times in the 
liquid to be examined, and, after each immersion, drying the paper by a moderate heat. 
(Lefort, Journ. de Pharm., Aout, 1861, p. 106.)—Mote to the twelfth edition. 
Stas’s method of extracting the Alkaloids from Mixtures. To separate the alkaloid from 
foreign matters, the mixture is treated alternately with water and alcohol in different de- 
grees of concentration; the liquors thus obtained are filtered; tartaric or oxalic acid, but 
preferably the former, is added in excess; the mixture is heated to 160° or 170° F.; the 
whole is placed upon a filter; the deposited matter is washed with concentrated alcohol; 
the alcoholic solution is evaporated at a temperature not exceeding 95° F.; the residue is 
introduced into a small bottle; a solution of caustic potassa or soda is added, little by lit- 
tle, and afterwards four or five times the measure of ether; the mixture is shaken and then 
allowed to stand; and, finally, the ether is decanted, and yields the alkaloid by spontaneous 
evaporation. Stas included morphia among the alkaloids thus separable, though known 
to be nearly insoluble in ether; but Lefort has shown that the process is not applicable to 
that alkaloid. [Journ. de Pharm., Aout, 1861, p. 99.) M. Alfred Valser, however, has ascer- 
tained that, if acetic ether be substituted for ether, the process is equally applicable to 
morphia. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., Sept. 1864, p. 439.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 1234 
Morphia, 
PART II. 
gallic acid If ammonia be added to a mixture of the solutions of chlorine and 
morphia, a dark-brown colour is produced, which is destroyed by a further ad- 
dition of chlorine. The proportion of the constituents of morphia is somewhat 
differently given by different writers. According to the most recent authorities, 
anhydrous morphia consists of thirty-four eqs. of carbon 204, nineteen of hydro- 
gen 19, one of nitrogen 14, and six of oxygen 48 = 285, to which in the crystals 
,are added two eqs. of water 18, or about 5-8 per cent. (C34H19N06,2II0). 
Various processes for preparing morphia have been employed. In most of 
them the morphia is extracted from opium by maceration with water either pure 
or acidulated, is then precipitated by ammonia, and afterwards purified by the 
agency of alcohol, or by repeated solution in a dilute acid and precipitation. 
Sertiirner, the discoverer of morphia, made an infusion of opium in distilled 
water, precipitated the morphia by ammonia in excess, dissolved the precipitate 
in dilute sulphuric acid, precipitated anew by ammonia, and purified by solution 
in boiling alcohol, and crystallization. 
The process of the French Codex is a modification of that of Sertiirner. It 
is as follows. “Take of opium 1000 parts, solution of ammonia a sufficient 
quantity. Exhaust the opium, by means of cold water, of all its parts soluble 
in that menstruum. For that purpose, it is sufficient to treat the opium, four 
times consecutively, with ten parts of water to one of the drug, provided care be 
taken to macerate the opium for some hours, and to work it with the hands. 
Filter the liquors, and evaporate them to a quarter of their volume. Then add 
sufficient ammonia to render the liquor very sensibly alkaline. Boil for some 
minutes, always maintaining a slight excess of ammonia. Upon cooling, the 
morphia, impure and much coloured, will be precipitated in granular crystals, 
which are to be washed with cold water. Reduce this coloured morphia to 
powder, macerate it for twelve hours in alcohol of 24° Cartier [sp. gr. about 
0'900] ; then decant the alcoholic liquid; dissolve the residuary morphia, already 
in great measure deprived of colour by the cold alcohol, in boiling alcohol of 33° 
Cartier [sp. gr. about 0 850]; add to the solution a little animal charcoal and 
filter. Upon cooling, the morphia crystallizes in colourless needles. In this state 
the morphia always retains some narcotina, to free it from which, boil it with 
sulphuric ether in a matrass with a long neck surmounted by a refrigerator.” 
The process of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia is an improvement upon the above, 
and is essentially the same as that of Dr. Edward Staples, published in the 
Journal of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy (i. 15). Without repeating 
a description of the process, we shall make such remarks upon its several steps, 
as appear to us likely to be of practical advantage. The employment of water 
as the.solvent is justified by the almost universal practice. It is true that dilute 
acetic acid has sometimes been employed, and Vogel states that the product 
thus obtained is much greater than when water alone is used. But, when the 
opium is properly comminuted, either by being reduced to a coarse powder when 
dry, or by being finely sliced in its ordinary state, water alone will be found suf- 
ficiently to extract the morphia, by a protracted maceration or digestion in suc- 
cessive portions of water, assisted by kneading, as directed in the Pharmaco- 
poeia. The acids have this disadvantage, that they dissolve more of the narco- 
tina than pure water, and thus render the ultimate product more impure; for 
the narcotina which is originally taken up continues associated with the morphia 
in all the subsequent steps of the process. It has been proposed to expose the 
opium to fermentation with water and yeast, in order to facilitate the extraction 
of the morphia. By this plan M. Blondeau succeeded in procuring more of the 
alkaline principle than he could obtain by the ordinary mode; and his results 
were confirmed by the experiments of MM. Robiquet and Guibourt. According 
to these latter chemists, no alcohol is produced during the fermentation, which 
appears to act merely by disengaging the morphia from the combinations in PART II. 
Morphia. 
1235 
which it naturally exists, and which tend to counteract the solvent power of the 
menstruum. Alcohol was proposed as the solvent by M. Guillermond, but is lia- 
ble to the objection that it dissolves also the resin, a portion of which is after- 
wards precipitated with the morphia, and embarrasses the process. Much of the 
resin, however, may be separated by distilling most of the alcohol from the tinc- 
ture, and then adding water. The resin is precipitated, and the liquor may now 
be treated in the same manner as the aqueous infusion.* On the whole, however, 
the officinal mode of extraction will probably be found most satisfactory; and 
Mohr states that opium thus exhausted yields no more morphia even to muri- 
atic acid; but he recommends that each maceration should be followed by strong 
expression. The infusion of opium having been prepared, the next object is to 
decompose the meconate or other salt of morphia contained in it. For this pur- 
pose solution of ammonia is added, which seizes the acid, and precipitates the 
organic alkali; but much colouring matter is thrown down along with the lat- 
ter, occasioning some trouble to separate it, unless measures are taken to obvi- 
ate this effect. The object is gained by mixing the infusion with alcohol, pre- 
viously to the addition of the ammonia, and by employing the solution of am- 
monia itself in connection with alcohol, as directed in the Pharmacopoeia. This is 
the peculiarity and chief merit of the process of Dr. Staples. By the presence 
of the alcohol in all parts of the liquor, the colouring matter is dissolved as soon 
as it is separated by the ammonia, and the morphia is thus precipitated in a 
much purer state. The advantage of adding the ammonia in separate portions 
is, that the morphia, being thus more slowly disengaged, can be more completely 
deprived of its impurities by the alcohol of the mixture, than if the whole were 
liberated at once. It is necessary to be careful that the ammonia be not in great 
excess; as it has the property, under these circumstances, of dissolving the mor- 
phia in some degree, and will therefore lessen the product, while waste is in- 
curred by its own unnecessary consumption. Yery little more should be added 
than is sufficient to saturate the acid present. The solution of ammonia of the 
shops is often much below the officinal standard, and this should always be at- 
tended to in the process. Alcohol is mixed with the ammonia before it is added, 
in order that every particle of the separated morphia may come in contact with 
the particles of this fluid, and thus have the opportunity of being deprived of 
colouring matter. The crystals of morphia obtained by this first operation have 
a light-yellowish colour, and are much purer than when no alcohol is added to 
the infusion before the precipitation by ammonia. According to Dr. Staples, 
opium yields from 10 to 12 5 per cent, of the crystals. Their purification by so- 
lution in boiling alcohol is the concluding step of the operation. The liquid, on 
cooling, deposits the morphia crystallized, and nearly free from colour. As cold 
alcohol retains a portion of morphia, it should not be employed too largely. 
Alcohol somewhat reduced by water is preferable to highly rectified spirit; as 
it is less capable of holding the morphia in solution when cold. It is sufficiently 
strong at 25° Baume (sp. gr. 0-9032). The impure morphia remaining in the 
alcohol may be obtained by distilling off the latter, and, when sufficiently accu- 
mulated, may be purified by a separate operation. The crystals of morphia may 
* By a modification of the process of Guillermond, MM. Desmedt have succeeded in ex- 
tracting all the morphia from opium, perfectly free from narcotina. Of crude opium 60 
parts were treated with 240 of alcohol at 71° centigrade (100° F.), and expressed when 
cold; the residue was then treated in the same manner with 160 parts of alcohol; the 
liquor was introduced into a bottle well stopped; next day a copious crystallization of 
narcotina appeared, without the least morphia; the liquid was decanted, and, on the ad- 
dition of 4 parts of ammonia, furnished a considerable quantity of morphia, free from 
narcotina. To the mother-liquor a little distilled water was added, and the mixture was 
kept at the temperature of 24° C. In two days an additional quantity of the crystals of 
morphia was obtained equally free from narcotina. The opium was completely exhausted, 
and the 60 parts employed furnished 6 parts of morphia. (Annuaire de Therap., 1852, p. 
31.)—Note to the tenth, edition. 1236 
Morphia. 
PART II. 
also be purified by solution in dilute sulphuric acid, digestion with purified ani- 
mal charcoal, filtration, and precipitation by ammonia. If alcohol he added to 
the solution previously to the ammonia, the digestion with animal charcoal may 
be dispensed with, as the alcohol retains the colouring matter. Morphia pro- 
cured in this way always contains narcotina, from which it may be freed by ether, 
or in some of the modes hereafter to be indicated. 
Magnesia was employed by Robiquet instead of ammonia. But his process 
was soon abandoned; as it was found to occupy more time, to require a greater 
consumption of alcohol, and to be attended with a greater loss of morphia in 
consequence of the previous washing, than the processes in which ammonia was 
employed as the precipitant. For an account of it the reader is referred to former 
editions of this work. 
A process for extracting morphia without the employment of alcohol was de- 
vised by MM. Henry, jun., and Plisson. The opium was exhausted by water 
acidulated with muriatic acid; the resulting solution was sufficiently concentrated, 
then filtered, and decomposed by ammonia; the precipitate was washed and 
treated with muriatic acid to saturation; and the muriatic solution was boiled 
with animal charcoal, filtered, and evaporated to the point of crystallization. 
The crystals of muriate of morphia thus obtained were pressed, purified by re- 
peated solution and crystallization, and finally decomposed by ammonia. (Journ. 
de Chim. Med., Mars, 1828.) 
Somewhat similar to this is the process of Gregory, of Edinburgh, by which 
muriate of morphia is obtained by double decomposition between chloride of 
calcium and the meconate of morphia of the opium, and the muriate thus ob- 
tained is decomposed by ammonia. This process was adopted by the Ed. College 
for the preparation of muriate of morphia; and is retained in the present Br. 
Pharmacopoeia. It will be sufficiently explained under Muriate of Morphia. 
Mohr has proposed a process founded on the solubility of morphia in water 
mixed with lime, which he recommends as the shortest and easiest method of 
procuring the alkaloid, without the use of alcohol, and without the possibility of 
contamination from narcotina. Opium is three or four times successively mace- 
rated with three parts of water, and each time strongly expressed. The liquors 
are then added to a boiling-hot milk of lime, containing a quantity of lime equal 
to about a sixth or a quarter of the opium used; and the mixture is boiled for 
a few minutes. It is then strained through linen, and the residue washed with 
boiling water and expressed. The whole of the narcotina is left behind, as not 
a trace of it can be discovered in the filtered liquor. The liquor thus obtained 
is evaporated till reduced to double the weight of the opium, then quickly fil- 
tered through paper, and heated to ebullition. Muriate of ammonia is now 
added to it in the proportion of 1 part to 16 of the opium used; and the mor- 
phia is abundantly precipitated. The use of animal charcoal is unnecessary in 
the process, as the lime acts even more powerfully as a decolorizing agent. The 
crystallized morphia obtained is somewhat coloured, but may be rendered pure 
by solution in dilute muriatic acid, boiling with milk of lime, filtration, and pre- 
cipitation by muriate of ammonia. (Annal. der Pharm., xxxv. 119.) 
Various other processes, or modifications of those above described, have been 
proposed; but, for the preparation of small quantities of morphia by the apo- 
thecary, none are probably better adapted than that of the TJ. S. Pharmacopoeia. 
It has been already stated that morphia, obtained in the ordinary manner, 
contains a considerable proportion of narcotina. It is highly probable that this 
ingredient exercises no influence, either beneficial or injurious, upon the opera- 
tion of the morphia; but, as the contrary has been supposed, various methods 
have been employed for separating it. The simplest and easiest is to submit the 
mixture to the action of ether, which dissolves the narcotina and leaves the mor- 
phia. The agency of acetic acid may also be resorted to. Distilled vinegar, or PART II. 
Morphia. 
1237 
diluted acetic acid of the same strength, will dissolve the morphia and leave the 
narcotina, and the former may be recovered from the acetic solution by saturating 
the acid with ammonia. Another mode is to dissolve the mixed bases in strong 
acetic acid (of 7° Baume, or sp.gr. 1-0511, for example), and expose the solu- 
tion to heat. The narcotina is deposited, and the morphia, remaining in solution, 
may be precipitated by diluting the liquid and adding ammonia. (Journ. de 
Pharm., xvii. 640.) Wittstock advises one of the following modes. Dissolve 
the impure morphia in dilute muriatic aeid, evaporate to the point of crystalliza- 
tion, and strongly express the crystals, which consist solely of the muriate of 
morphia, the narcotina being retained in the mother-waters:—or saturate the 
muriatic solution with common salt, which will render the liquor milky, and 
cause the narcotina to separate after some days; then precipitate the morphia 
by ammonia:—or pour into the diluted muriatic solution a weak ley of caustic 
potassa, which, if in slight excess, will dissolve the morphia at the moment of its 
separation, while the narcotina is precipitated; then immediately filter the liquor, 
and separate the morphia by neutralizing the alkali. If the potassa is in great 
excess, a little of the narcotina is redissolved. (Berzelius, Traite de Ghim.) 
Mohr recommends to dissolve the morphia in dilute muriatic acid, and to boil 
the solution with lime, which throws down the narcotina and holds the morphia 
dissolved. The liquid being filtered yields the morphia upon the addition of 
muriate of ammonia. (Anna!. der Pharm., xxv. 123.) 
The proportion of pure morphia which Turkey opium is capable of affording 
varies from 9 per cent, or less to 14 per cent., according to the quality of the 
drug; but much less than the least quantity mentioned is often obtained, in con- 
sequence of the incomplete exhaustion of the opium, the loss in the process for 
preparing it, or inferiority in the quality of the drug. 
Medical Properties. There can be no doubt that morphia is the chief nar- 
cotic principle of opium, from which, however, it differs somewhat in its mode of 
action. Whether the difference arises from the peculiar state of combination in 
which morphia exists in opium, or from other narcotic principles being associated 
with it, is somewhat uncertain; but the former would seem to be in part the 
cause, from the circumstance that, long before the discovery of this alkaloid, pre- 
parations of opium were habitually used, in which the properties of the medicine 
were somewhat similarly modified by the agency of vinegar, lemon-juice, or other 
vegetable acid. In consequence of its insolubility in water, morphia in its pure 
state is less certain in its effects than some of its saline compounds; as the mode 
and degree of its action must, in some measure, depend on the presence or ab- 
sence of acid in the stomach, and perhaps on the peculiar character of the acid. 
Its salts are therefore always preferred. The acetate, sulphate, and muriate have 
been employed. Between these there is a great similarity of action, and what 
may be said of one, in regard to its therapeutical effects, will equally apply to the 
others. They have the anodyne, soporific, and diaphoretic properties of opium, 
but are less stimulant, less disposed to constipate the bowels, and less apt to leave 
behind them headache, nausea, or other unpleasant effect. They are usually also 
more acceptable to an irritated stomach, and may be retained, when opium or its 
tincture would be rejected. That they operate by entering the circulation is 
proved by the detection of morphia in the urine, though it is said not to be elimi- 
nated by the skin. (Lefort.) They are applicable to all cases where the object is 
to relieve pain, quiet restlessness, promote sleep, or allay nervous irritation in 
any shape; but are less efficient than opium in the suppression of morbid dis- 
charges, and as stimulants in low forms of disease. A great advantage which 
they possess is the convenience of their external application to blistered surfaces, 
and the certainty of their effects when thus applied. In cases which do not ad- 
mit of the internal use of opium or its preparations, the acetate or sulphate of 
morphia, sprinkled, in triple the ordinary dose, upon a blistered surface denuded 1238 
Morphia. 
PART II. 
of the cuticle, will be found to exercise upon the system all the influence it is 
capable of exerting when taken into the stomach. Applied in this manner, these 
salts are peculiarly useful in relieving violent neuralgic pains, and controlling ob- 
stinate sickness of the stomach. When intended to act on the system through 
the medium of the skin, they should be applied preferably to the epigastrium; 
when to act locally, as near the affected part as possible. Solutions of the salts 
of morphia also sometimes operate very favourably, both generally and locally, 
when injected, by means of a sharp-pointed syringe, adapted to the purpose, into 
the areolar tissue beneath the skin. Given in doses nearly, but not quite suffi- 
cient to produce sleep, they sometimes occasion a very troublesome condition of 
the brain, amounting almost to delirium ; but this always subsides spontaneously, 
or vanishes immediately upon the increase of the dose. An embrocation for ex- 
ternal use may be made by dissolving muriate or acetate of morphia in glycerin, 
which takes up about 5 per cent, of these salts at common temperatures, and 
more with the aid of heat. (Journ. de Pharm., xxvi. 90.) Oleic acid has also 
been proposed as a vehicle for morphia externally used, as it dissolves both the 
alkaloid and its salts perfectly in considerable proportion. A liniment has been 
proposed, consisting of 300 parts of oleic acid and 1 of morphia, scented with a 
little oil of bergamot. {Ibid., xxvi. 302.) 
In overdoses, morphia and its salts produce the effects of narcotic poisons, 
though not perhaps equally with a quantity of opium equivalent in anodyne ef- 
fect. An instance of death from the injection of three grains of morphia into the 
rectum is recorded by Dr. Anstie, of England, but the age of the patient is not 
mentioned. {Med. Times and Gaz., Dec. 1862, p. 317.) The toxicological treat- 
ment is precisely the same as in the case of laudanum. (See Opium.) Strong 
coffee has been employed with great apparent advantage as an antidote. 
As the proportion of acid necessary to neutralize morphia is very small, the 
dose of the alkaloid is the same as that of its salts. One-sixth of a grain may be 
considered about equivalent to a grain of opium of the medium strength. 
Off. Prep. Morphise Acetas, U. S.; Morphiae Murias, U. S.; Morphias Sul- 
phas, U. S. W. 
MORPHLZE ACETAS. U.iS. Acetate of Morphia. 
“ Take of Morphia, in fine powder, freed from narcotina by the action of Ether, 
a troyounce; Distilled Water half a pint; Acetic Acid a sufficient quantity. 
Mix the Morphia with the Distilled Water; then carefully drop in Acetic Acid, 
constantly stirring, until the Morphia is saturated and dissolved. Evaporate the 
solution, by means of a water-bath, to the consistence of syrup. Lastly, dry the 
salt with a gentle heat, and rub it into powder.” U. S. 
In this process, morphia is saturated with acetic acid, which is employed in 
preference to vinegar for saturating the alkaloid, because it can leave no im- 
purity in the resulting salt. The solution of the morphia in the water is an indi- 
cation that it is saturated. A small excess of acid is attended with no incon- 
venience, as it is subsequently driven off by the heat. Care is required not to 
employ too much heat in the evaporation; as the acetate is easily decomposed, 
a portion of the acetic acid escaping, and leaving an equivalent portion of un- 
combined morphia. With attention to arrest the evaporation at a certain point, 
the acetate may be obtained in the state of crystals; but the crystallization is 
attended with some difficulty, and evaporation to dryness is almost univerally 
preferred. Some recommend to dissolve the morphia in boiling alcohol, instead 
of suspending it iu water, previously to the addition of the acetic acid. A less 
heat is thus required in the evaporation, and impurities in the morphia may 
often be detected, as they are apt to be insoluble in alcohol. To ascertain, in 
this case, whether the morphia is saturated, it is necessary to employ litmus 
paper, the blue colour of which should not be restored, if previously reddened 
by an acid. If the morphia used in preparing the acetate contain nart'otina, it PART II. 
Morphia. 
1239 
will be best to employ as the solvent distilled vinegar, or diluted acetic acid of 
the same strength, and to favour its solvent power by heat. Under these circum- 
stances it dissolves only the morphia, leaving the nareotina nearly or quite un- 
touched. (Hodgson, Journ. of the Pliilad. Col. of Pharm., v. 85.) 
Acetate of morphia crystallizes in the form of slender needles united in fasci- 
culi. It is readily dissolved by water, and less easily by alcohol. As ordinarily 
obtained, however, by evaporation to dryness, it is not entirely soluble in water 
a portion of it being uncombined morphia. To render it soluble, all that is 
necessary is to add a little distilled vinegar. The U. S. Pharmacopoeia gives the 
following tests of its character. “ From its solution potassa throws down a pre- 
cipitate which is dissolved by an excess of the alkali. It is affected by heat, 
nitric acid, and sesquichloride of iron, in the same manner as morphia. When 
sulphuric acid is added to the salt, acetous vapours are evolved.” In addition 
to these tests, the London College, in its late Pharmacopoeia, referred to the pro- 
perty possessed by this and other salts of morphia, when treated first with chlo- 
rine and then with ammonia, of presenting a brown colour, which disappears on 
the further addition of chlorine. The Edinburgh College gave the following 
mode of testing its purity : “ One hundred measures of a solution of ten grains 
in half a fluidounce of water and five minims of acetic acid, heated near to 212°, 
and decomposed by a faint excess of ammonia, yield by agitation a precipitate 
which in 24 hours occupies 155 measures of the liquid.” 
From an eighth to a quarter of a grain may be given for a dose, and repeated, 
if necessary, in order to obtain the anodyne and soporific effects of the medicine. 
One-sixth of a grain is about equivalent to a grain of opium. It may be given 
in pill or solution. It is frequently employed externally, sprinkled on blistered 
surfaces, to obtain its effects upon the system. W. 
MORPHIiE MURIAS. TJ. S. Morphia IIydrociiloras. Br. Muriate 
of Morphia. Hydrochlorate of Morphia. 
“Take of Morphia, in fine powder, atroyounce; Distilled Water half a pint; 
Muriatic Acid a sufficient quantity. Mix the Morphia with the Distilled Water; 
then carefully drop in Muriatic Acid, constantly stirring, until the Morphia is 
saturated and dissolved. Evaporate the solution, by means of a water-bath, so 
that on cooling it may crystallize. Lastly, drain the crystals, and dry them on 
bibulous paper.” U. S. 
“Take of Opium, sliced, one pound [avoirdupois]; Distilled Water a suffi- 
ciency; Chloride of Calcium three-quarters of an ounce [avoird.]; Solution 
of Ammonia a sufficiency; Purified Animal Charcoal a quarter of an ounce 
[avoird.]; Dilute Hydrochloric Acid two fluidounces, or a sufficiency. Ma- 
cerate the Opium for twenty-four hours with two pints [Imperial measure] of 
the Water, and decant. Macerate the residue for twelve hours with two pints 
[Imp. meas. ] of the Water, decant, and repeat the process with the same quan- 
tity of the Water, subjecting the insoluble residue to strong pressure. Unite the 
liquors, evaporate on a water-bath to the bulk of one pint [Imp. meas.], and 
strain through calico. Pour in now the Chloride of Calcium previously dissolved 
in four fluidounces of Distilled Water, and evaporate until the solution is so far 
concentrated that, upon cooling, it becomes solid. Envelope the mass in a double 
fold of strong calico, and subject it to powerful pressure, preserving the dark 
fluid which exudes. Triturate the squeezed cake with about half a pint [Imp. 
meas.] of boiling Distilled Water, and, the whole being thrown upon a paper 
filter, wash the residue well with boiling Distilled Water. The filtered fluids hav- 
ing been evaporated as before, cooled, and solidified, again subject the mass to 
pressure; and, if it be still much coloured, repeat this process a.third time, the 
expressed liquids being always preserved. Dissolve the pressed cake in six fluid- 
ounces of boiling Distilled Water; add the Animal Charcoal, and digest for 1240 
Morphia. 
PART II. 
twenty minutes; filter, wash the filter and charcoal with boiling Distilled Water, 
and to the Solution thus obtained add the Solution of Ammonia in slight ex- 
cess. Let the pure crystalline Morphia which separates as the liquid cools, be 
collected on a paper filter, and washed with cold Distilled Water until the wash- 
ings cease to give a precipitate with solution of nitrate of silver acidulated by 
nitric acid. 
“ From the dark liquids expressed in the above process an additional product 
may be obtained by diluting them with distilled water, precipitating with solu- 
tion of potash added in considerable excess, filtering, and supersaturating the 
filtrate with hydrochloric acid. This acid liquid digested with a little animal 
charcoal, and again filtered, gives upon the addition of ammonia a small quan- 
tity of pure morphia. 
“Diffuse the pure morphia obtained as above, through two fluidounces of boil- 
ing Distilled Water placed in a porcelain capsule kept hot, and add, constantly 
stirring, the Dilute Hydrochloric Acid, proceeding with caution, so that the 
morphia may be entirely dissolved, and a neutral solution obtained. Set aside 
to cool and crystallize. Drain the crystals, and dry them on filtering paper. By 
further evaporating the mother-liquor, and again cooling, additional crystals are 
obtained.” Br. 
In relation to the process of the IJ. S. Pharmacopoeia, the remarks made upon 
the preparation of the sulphate of morphia are equally applicable here. (See 
Morphias. Sulphas.) The troyounce of morphia, directed in the formula, is not 
soluble, even when converted into the muriate, in half a pint of cold water; and 
the process, if exactly followed, could not be carried out. By inadvertence, the 
direction was omitted to use the water of solution boiling hot, in which condi- 
tion it will readily dissolve the whole of the muriate produced. The British pro- 
cess is based upon the plan, originally suggested by Wittstock, improved by Dr. 
Wm. Gregory, and adopted in the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia, of obtaining mu- 
riate of morphia immediately from opium without the use of alcohol. The meco- 
nate and a little sulphate of morphia extracted by water from opium are decom- 
posed by chloride of calcium, yielding muriate of morphia in solution, and meco- 
nate and sulphate of lime as precipitates. The next step consists in purifying the 
solution of the muriate by repeated evaporation, crystallization, expression, and 
re-solution, and finally the action of animal charcoal; the dark expressed liquors 
being set aside for future operation. The third step in the process is to obtain 
the morphia separate by precipitation by means of ammonia from the solution 
of the muriate. Lastly, the crystallized morphia is reconverted, by treatment 
with muriatic acid and hot water, into the muriate of morphia, which crystallizes 
from the solution as it cools. The reserved expressed liquors are united, and 
made to give up their morphia by the reagency of potassa in excess, which at 
once separates and dissolves the alkaloid. The solution yields it in a crystalline 
state on the addition of muriatic acid in excess, and afterwards of ammonia. 
The morphia thus obtained is added to that first procured, and with it again 
converted into the muriate. Dri Christison says, in favour of Dr. Gregory’s pro- 
cess, that the Edinburgh manufacturers, who follow it, produce a salt of unrivalled 
purity and cheapness. But it is much better calculated for the large laboratory 
of the manufacturing chemist, than for the smaller operations of the apothecary, 
who will probably find the U. S. process more convenient. 
Muriate of morphia procured by the old Edinburgh process is free from narco- 
tina; but always contains a portion of muriate of codeia, which, however, is scarcely 
sufficient to affect its operation upon the system. Dr. Christison found the pro- 
portion to vary between a 60th in the muriate prepared from good Turkey opium, 
a 30th in that from inferior samples of the same variety, and a 12th in that from 
the East Indian. This impurity may be separated by precipitating the morphia 
by means of ammonia; the codeia being left in solution; and this no doubt is PART II. 
Morphia. 
1241 
the object of the last step of the present British process, previously to the final 
conversion of the morphia into the muriate. 
The late Dr. A. T. Thomson published a process for procuring muriate of mor- 
phia, which he found considerably more productive than that of the Edinburgh 
College. After macerating the opium in water, as directed by the College, for 
thirty hours, and expressing, he rubbed it in a mortar with an equal weight of 
pure white sand, and enough water to form the mixture into a paste, which he 
placed in a percolator, and subjected to the action of distilled water till the fluid 
passed without colour and taste. He then concentrated the liquor to the consist- 
ence of a thin syrup, added diacetate of lead, diluted the solution with twice its 
bulk of distilled water, allowed it to stand for twenty-four hours, decanted the 
supernatant liquid, washed the precipitate with warm water, added the washings 
to the decanted solution, and concentrated to one-half. To free the liquid from 
any remaining acetate of lead, he added diluted sulphuric acid in slight excess, 
decanted the liquid from the precipitate, washed the latter, added the washings 
to the solution, and boiled for some minutes to drive off acetic acid. To convert 
the sulphate of morphia now contained in the solution into muriate, he added a 
saturated solution of chloride of barium, washed the precipitate, evaporated the 
conjoined washings and solution to the point of crystallization, pressed the crys- 
tals, diluted and again evaporated the mother-liquor so long as it afforded crys- 
tals, which were purified by means of animal charcoal, and by repeated solution, 
evaporation, and crystallization. (Pharm. Journ., i. 459.) 
Muriate of morphia crystallizes in tufts of feathery acicnlar crystals. It is 
white, inodorous, bitter, soluble iu 16 parts of water at 60°, and its own weight 
at 212°, and soluble also in alcohol. A saturated solution in boiling water forms 
a solid crystalline mass on cooling. The crystals are said to consist of one equi- 
valent of morphia 285, one of muriatic acid 36 5, and six of water 54. Dr. Chris- 
tison constantly found the crystals, when dried at 150°, to contain 12‘7 percent, 
of water; and the Edinburgh College stated that the loss of weight at 212° is 
ret above 13 per cent. The salt may be known to be a muriate by yielding in 
solution, with nitrate of silver, a precipitate insoluble in nitric or muriatic acid, 
but dissolved by an excess of ammonia. Potassa throws down from its solution 
a precipitate which is redissolved by an excess of the alkali. The salt is affected 
by heat, nitric acid, iodic acid, sesquichloride of iron, and chlorine followed by am- 
monia, in the same manner as morphia. Sugar is said to have been used largely 
in the adulteration of this salt. It may be detected by the test of fermentation 
“ Twenty grains of the salt dissolved in half a [fluidjounce of warm water 
with ammonia added in the slightest possible excess, give on cooling a crystal- 
line precipitate, which, when washed with a little cold water, and dried by ex- 
posure to the air, weighs 15T8 grains.”Br. 
This preparation of morphia is much used in Great Britain, but, in this coun- 
try, less than either the sulphate or acetate. The dose, equivalent to a grain of 
opium, is about one-sixth of a grain. 
Off. Prep. Liquor Morphia? Ilydrochloratis, Br.; Suppositoria Morphioe, Br.; 
Trochisci Morphise, Br.; Trochisci Morphise et Ipecacuanhse, Br. W. 
MORPIIIiE SULPHAS. U.S. Sulphate of Morphia. 
“Take of Morphia, in fine powder, a troyounce; Distilled Water half a pint; 
Diluted Sulphuric Acid a sufficient quantity. Mix the Morphia with the Distil- 
led Water, then carefully drop in Diluted Sulphuric Acid, constantly stirring 
until the Morphia is saturated and dissolved. Evaporate the solution, by means 
of a water-bath, so that on cooling it may crystallize. Lastly, drain the crystals, 
and dry them on bibulous paper.” U. S. 
In this process the morphia is known to be saturated when it is wholly dis- 
solved by the water. To ascertain whether the acid is added in excess, litmus 
paper may be resorted to. If the morphia employed contain narcotina, this will 1242 
Morphia.—Mucilagines. 
part II. 
remain in the mother-liquor, and will not contaminate the product. The mother- 
liquor, remaining: after the first crystallization, may be evaporated so as to afford 
a fresh supply of the sulphate; but, if the morphia was not originally quite pure, 
the second product will contain the impurities, and should not be used till it 
has undergone further preparation. When impure morphia is employed, the 
mother-liquor should be mixed with alcohol, or boiled with purified animal char- 
coal and filtered, and then decomposed by ammonia, which will precipitate the 
morphia. This may be converted into the sulphate in the manner directed by the 
Pharmacopoeia. 
Another mode of obtaining sulphate of morphia, is to dissolve the alkaloid in 
boiling alcohol of 36° Baume (sp. gr. (P8428), saturate it while hot with sul- 
phuric acid, add purified animal charcoal, boil for a few minutes, and filter the 
solution at the boiling temperature. Upon cooling, it deposits most of the sul- 
phate; and the remainder may be obtained by evaporating the mother-liquor. 
In the evaporation of the solution of this salt, care should be taken not to 
carry the heat too far; for, when pushed to incipient decomposition with an 
excess of acid, a new substance is formed containing no morphia. (See Am. 
Journ. of Pharm., xvii. 286.) 
Sulphate of morphia crystallizes in beautifully white, minute, feathery crys- 
tals, which are soluble in cold water, and in twice their weight of boiling water. 
They contain, according to Liebig, in 100 parts, 10 33 of sulphuric acid, Y5-38 
of morphia, and 14 29 of water. By exposure to a heat of 248° F. they lose 
9‘66 parts of the water, but cannot be deprived of the remainder without de- 
composition. They are said to consist of one equivalent of morphia 285, one of 
sulphuric acid 40, and six of water 54, of which five are water of crystallization, 
and may be expelled by heat. The tests for it are those for sulphuric acid and 
for morphia. The dose is from an eighth to a quarter of a grain, which may be 
given in pill or solution. 
Off. Prep. Liquor Morphiae Sulphatis. W. 
MUCILAGINES. 
Mucilages. 
Mucilage, in the ordinary acceptation of the term, and in the sense in which 
it is employed in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, is an aqueous solution of gum, or of 
substances closely allied to it. In the British Pharmacopoeia it is applied also 
to the semi-liquid, jelly-like substance, resulting from the cooling of a hot solution 
of starch. W. 
MUCILAGO ACACI2E. TJ.S.. Br. Mucilage of Gf-um Arabic. 
“ Take of Gum Arabic, in pieces, four troyounces; Water half a pint. Add 
the Water to the Gum Arabic, agitate occasionally until it is dissolved, and 
strain.” U. S. 
“Take of Gum Arabic, in small pieces, four ounces [avoirdupois]; Distilled 
Water six fuidounces. Suspend the Gum in a muslin bag under the surface of 
the Water, in a deep vessel; after thirty six hours, squeeze out the fluid remain- 
ing in the bag, and mix.” Br. 
The gum used for this purpose should be in small fragments, or coarse pow- 
der, as it is more readily dissolved in this state than when finely pulverized. 
Straining is necessary to separate the foreign substances which are often mixed 
with gum arabic. This mucilage is semi-transparent, almost colourless if pre- 
pared from good gum, viscid, tenacious, of a feeble peculiar odour, and nearly 
tasteless. If the solution of gum should be coloured, it may be rendered colour- 
less by the addition of a concentrated solution of chlorine; and, by boiling for 
about half an hour so as to drive off the chlorine and muriatic acid, it may be 
rendered fit for use. (Guerin.) By keeping, mucilage becomes sour, in couse PART II. 
Mucilagines. 
1243 
quence of the spontaneous generation of acetic acid; and this happens even 
though it be enclosed in well-stopped bottles. But, according to Guerin, the 
solution of pure gum undergoes no change in vacuo. Heat in its preparation is 
said to favour the production of acid; and hence cold has been substituted for 
boiling water in the present formulas. Mucilage is employed chiefly in the for- 
mation of pills, and for suspending or diffusing insoluble substances in water. 
Physicians, in prescribing mucilage in mixtures, should always recollect that it 
is a solution of definite strength, containing, according to the U. S. formula, half 
an ounce of the gum to each fluidounce of menstruum. The British mucilage is 
a little stronger. Half a fluidounce is usually sufficient for a six or eight ounce 
mixture. 
Off. Prep. Trochisci Acidi Tannici, Br.; Troch. Morphiae, Br.; Troch. Mor- 
phise et Ipecacuauhse, Br. W. 
MUCILAGO AMYLI. Br. Mucilage of Starch. 
“Take of Starch one hundred and twenty grains; Distilled Water ten fluid- 
ounces. Triturate the Starch with the Water gradually added ; then boil for a 
few minutes, constantly stirring.” Br. 
This mucilage has an opaline appearance, and gelatinous consistence, and is 
much used as a vehicle for laudanum and other active medicines given in the 
form of enema. In consequence of its demulcent properties, it may be usefully 
employed as an enema in irritation and inflammation of the mucous coat of the 
rectum and large intestines. Its unpleasant flavour, when it is prepared from 
ordinary starch, precludes its employment by the mouth. 
Off. Prep. Enema Aloes, Br.; Enema Assafcetidse, Br.; Enema Magnesise 
Sulphatis, Br.; Enema Opii, Br.; Enema Terebinthinse, Br. W. 
MUCILAGO SASSAFRAS. U.S. Infusum Sassafras Medulla. 
U. S. 1850. Mucilage of Sassafras. Infusion of Sassafras Pith. 
“Take of Sassafras Pith one hundred and twenty grains; Water [cold] a 
pint. Macerate for three hours, and strain.” U. S. 
This infusion is much used as an application to the eye in inflammation of the 
conjunctiva. It may be taken as a drink, ad libitum, in inflammatory and febrile 
diseases, particularly inflammations of the mucous passages. W. 
MUCILAGO TRAGACANTIIiE. U.S.,Br. Mucilage of Tragacanth. 
“Take of Tragacanth a troyounce; Boiling Water a pint. Macerate the 
Tragacanth with the Water for twenty-four hours, occasionally stirring; then 
rub them together so as to render the mixture uniform, and strain forcibly 
through linen.” U. S. 
“Take of Tragacanth one hundred grains; Boiling Distilled Water ten 
fluidounces. Macerate for twenty-four hours, then triturate, and express 
through calico.” Br. 
A part only of tragacanth is soluble in water. The remainder swells up and 
forms a soft tenacious mass, which may be mechanically mixed with water, but 
does not form a proper solution. Hence trituration is necessary to complete the 
incorporation of the ingredients. This mucilage is thick and very viscid, but not 
permanent, as the water separates from the insoluble portion of the tragacanth 
on standing. It is chiefly used in making pills and troches. From its great te- 
nacity, it may be advantageously employed for the suspension of heavy insoluble 
substances, such as the metallic oxides, in water. When kept long it is apt to 
undergo decomposition, and to become offensive. Mr. Maisch has found a paste of 
tragacanth to keep perfectly well by the addition of enough creasote to impart 
its cnaracteristic odour faintly. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., March, 1864, p. 97.) 
Off. Prep. Trochisci Ferri Subcarbonatis, U. S.; Trochisci Ipecacuauhse, U. S.; 
Trochisci Magnesise, U. S.; Trochisci Menthse Piperitse, U. S.; Trochisci Sodas 
Bicarbonatis, U. S. W. 1244 
Mucilagines.—Olea Destillata. 
part ii 
MUCILAGO ULMI. U.S. Infusum Ulmi. U. S. 1850. Mucilage of 
Slippery Elm Bark. Infusion of Slippery Elm Bark. 
* Take of Slippery Elm Bark, sliced and bruised, a Iroyounce; Boiling Water 
a pint. Macerate for two hours in a covered vessel, and strain.” U. S. 
This may be used ad libitum as a demulcent and nutritious drink in catarrhal 
and nephritic diseases, and in inflammatory affections of the intestinal mucous 
membrane. It is much employed locally as a demulcent in inflammation of the 
skin, as in erysipelas, &c. W. 
OLEA DESTILLATA. 
Distilled Oils. 
For an account of the general properties of the volatile or distilled oils, the 
reader is referred to the head of Olea Volatilia in the first part of this work. 
The following are the IJ. S. general directions for preparing them. 
OLEA DESTILLATA. U. S. 
“ Most of the Distilled Oils are prepared by the following general formula. Put 
the substance from which the Oil is to be extracted into a retort, or other vessel 
suitable for distillation, and add enough water to cover it; then distil by a regu- 
lated heat into a large refrigeratory. Separate the Distilled Oil from the water 
which comes over with it.” 
In this manner are prepared Oil of Anise, from Anise, bruised; Oil of Ca- 
raway, from Caraway, bruised; Oil of Cloves, from Cloves, bruised; Oil of 
Wormseed, from Wormseed; Oil of Cubeb, from Cubeb, bruised ; Oil of Ca- 
nada Fleabane, from Canada Fleabane; Oil of Fennel, from Fennel, bruised; 
Oil of Gaultheria, from fresh Gaultheria [leaves]; Oil of IIedeoma, from 
Hedeoma; Oil of Juniper, from Juniper [berries], bruised; Oil of Lavender, 
from Lavender [flowers] ; Oil of Peppermint, from fresh Peppermint; Oil of 
Spearmint, from fresh Spearmint; Oil of Horsemint, from fresh Horsemint; 
Oil of Pimento, from Pimento, bruised; Oil of Rosemary, from Rosemary 
[tops]; Oil of Savine, from Savine, bruised; Oil of Sassafras, from Bark 
of Sassafras Root, bruised; and Oil of Yalerian, from Yalerian, bruised. 
The British Council gives no directions for the preparation of the volatile 
oils, but places such as it recognises in the Materia Medica catalogue. The fol- 
lowing general directions of the late Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia, published in 
former editions of the Dispensatory, are retained in the present. 
“Substances yielding volatile oils must be distilled with water, the proper 
proportion of which varies for each article, and for the several qualities of each. 
In all instances, the quantity must be such as to prevent any of the material 
from being empyreumatized before the whole oil is carried over. In operations 
where the material is of a pulpy consistence, other contrivances must be resorted 
to for the same purpose. These consist chiefly of particular modes of applying 
heat, so as to maintain a regulated temperature not much above 212°. On the 
small scale, heat may be thus conveniently applied by means of a bath of a strong 
solution of muriate of lime, or by means of an oil-bath, kept at a stationary tem- 
perature with the aid of a thermometer. On the large scale, heat is often applied 
by means of steam under regulated pressure. In other operations it is found 
sufficient to hang the material within the still in a cage or bag of fine net-work; 
and sometimes the material is not mingled with the water at all, but is subjected 
to a current of steam passing through it. 
“ The best mode of collecting the oil is by means of the refrigeratory described 
in the preface [see page 889], from which the water and oil drop together into 
a tall narrow vessel, provided with a lateral tube or lip near the top, and another PART II. 
Olea Destillata. 
1245 
tube rising from the bottom to about a quarter of an inch below the level of the 
former. It is evident that, with a receiver of this construction, the water will 
escape by the lower tube; while the volatile oil, as it accumulates, will be dis- 
charged by the upper one, except in the very few instances where the oil is 
heavier than the water.” 
Under the general observations on the Aquae or Waters (page 992) will be 
found remarks upon the use of steam in preparing the Distilled Waters, which 
are to a considerable extent applicable also to the volatile oils. 
The substances from which the volatile oils are extracted may be employed 
either in the recent or dried state. Certain flowers, however, such as orange 
flowers and roses, must be used fresh, or preserved with salt, as they afford little 
or no oil after exsiccation. Most of the aromatic herbs, also, as peppermint, 
spearmint, pennyroyal, and marjoram, are usually distilled while fresh; although 
it is thought by some that, when moderately dried, they yield a larger and more 
grateful product. Dried substances, before being submitted to distillation, re- 
quire to be macerated in water till they are thoroughly penetrated by this fluid; 
and, to facilitate the action of the water, it is necessary that, when of a hard or 
tough consistence, they should be properly comminuted by slicing, shaving, 
rasping, bruising, or other similar mechanical operation. 
The water which is put with the subject of distillation into the alembic, an- 
swers the double purpose of preventing the decomposition of the vegetable mat- 
ter by regulating the temperature, and of facilitating the volatilization of the 
oil, which, though in most instances it readily rises with the vapour of boiling 
water, requires, when distilled alone, a considerably higher temperature, and is 
at the same time liable to be partially decomposed. Some oils, however, will not 
ascend readily with steam at 212°; and in the distillation of these it is cus- 
tomary to use water saturated with common salt, which does not boil under 
230°. Recourse may also be had to a bath of strong solution of chloride of cal- 
cium, or to an oil-bath, the temperature of which is regulatecbby a thermometer, 
as suggested by the Edinburgh College in their general directions. (See page 
1244.) Other oils again may be volatilized with water at a temperature below 
the boiling point; and, as heat exercises an injurious influence over the oils, it 
is desirable that the distillation should be effected at as low a temperature as 
possible. To prevent injury from heat, it has been recommended to suspend the 
substance containing the oil in a basket, or to place it upon a perforated shelf, 
in the upper part of the alembic, so that it may be penetrated by the steam, 
without being in direct contact with the water. Another mode of effecting the same 
object is to distil it in vacuo. Dr. Duncan stated that the most elegant volatile 
oils he had ever seen were prepared in this manner by Mr. Barry, the inventor 
of the process. The employment of steam heat also prevents injury; and the 
best volatile oils are now prepared in Philadelphia in this way. Steam can be 
very conveniently applied to this purpose by causing it to pass through a coil 
of leaden tube of an inch or three-quarters of an inch bore, placed in the bot- 
tom of a common still. The end at which the steam is admitted enters the still 
at the upper part, and the other end, at which the steam and condensed water 
escape, passes out laterally below, being furnished with a stop-cock, by which 
the pressure of the steam may be regulated, and the water drawn off if neces- 
sary. In some instances, it is desirable to conduct the steam immediately into 
the still near the bottom, by which the contents are kept in a state of brisk 
ebullition. This method is used in the preparation of the oil of bitter almonds 
and the oil of mustard. The same method is applicable to the preparation of the 
distilled waters. 
The quantity of water added is not a matter of indifference. An excess above 
what is necessary acts injuriously by holding the oil in solution, when the mixed 
vapours are condensed; and, if the proportion be very large, it is possible that 1246 
Olea Destillata, 
PART II. 
no oil whatever may be obtained separate. On the contrary, if the quantity be 
too small, the whole of the oil will not be distilled; and there will be danger of 
the substance in the alembic adhering to the sides of the vessel, and thus becom- 
ing burnt. Enough water should always be added to cover the solid material, 
and prevent the latter accident. Dried plants require more water than the fresh 
and succulent. The whole amount of materials in the alembic should not exceed 
three-fourths of its capacity; as otherwise there would be danger of the liquor 
boiling over. The form of the alembic has an influence over the quantity of 
water distilled, which depends more upon the extent of surface than the amount 
of liquid submitted to evaporation. By employing a high and narrow vessel, we 
may obviate the disadvantage of an excess of water. The broad shallow alembic, 
suitable for the distillation of alcohol and spirituous liquors, will not answer so 
well in this case. Sometimes the proportion of oil in the substance employed is 
so small that it is wholly dissolved in the water distilled, even though the pro- 
portion of the liquid in the alembic is not greater than is absolutely essential. 
In this case it is necessary to redistil the same water several times from fresh 
portions of the plant, till the quantity of oil which comes over exceeds its sol- 
vent power. This process is called cohobation. 
The more volatile of the oils pass with facility along with the steam into the 
neck of the common still; but some which are less volatile are apt to condense 
in the head, and thus return into the alembic. For the distillation of the latter, 
a still should be employed with a large and very low head, having a rim or gutter 
around its internal circumference, into which the oils may be received as they 
condense, and thence pass into the neck. (Seepage 992.) As, after the distillation 
of any one oil, it is necessary that the apparatus should be thoroughly cleansed 
before being used for the preparation of another, it is better that the condensing 
tube should be straight, than spiral as in the ordinary still. It should be recol- 
lected, moreover, that certain oils, such as those of anise and fennel, become solid 
by a comparatively slight reduction of temperature; and that, in the distillation 
of these, the water employed for refrigeration should not be below 42° F. 
The mixed vapours are condensed into a milky liquid, which is collected in a 
receiver, and, after standing for some time, separates into the oil and a clear so- 
lution of it; the former floating on the surface, or sinking to the bottom, accord- 
ing as it is lighter or heavier than water. The distillation should be continued 
bo long as the fluid which comes over has this milky appearance. 
The last step in the process is to separate the oil from the water. For this 
purpose the Florence receiver may be used. This is a conical glass vessel, 
broad at the bottom and narrow towards the top, and very near its base fur- 
nished with a tubulure or opening, to which is adapted, by means of a pierced 
cork, a bent tube so shaped as to rise perpendicularly to seven-eighths of the 
height of the receiver, then to pass off from it at right angles, and near the end 
to bend downwards. The condensed liquid being admitted through the opening 
at the top of the receiver, the oil separates, and rising to the top occupies the 
upper narrow part of the vessel, while the water remains at the bottom, and en- 
ters the tube affixed to the receiver. When the surface of the liquid attains in the 
receiver a higher level than the top of the tube, the water will necessarily begin 
to flow out through the latter, and may be received in bottles. The oil thus ac- 
cumulates so long as the process continues; but it is evident that the plan is 
applicable only to the oils lighter than water. For the heavier oils, cylindrical 
vessels may be employed, to be renewed as fast as they are filled. But, as all the 
water cannot be removed by these plans, it is necessary to resort to some other 
method of effecting a complete separation. An instrument called a separatory 
is usually employed for this purpose. It consists of a glass funnel, bulging at 
the top, where it is furnished with a stopper, and prolonged at the bottom into 
a very narrow tube. (See figure, page 884.) The lower opening being closed, FART II. 
Olea Destillata. 
1247 
the mixed liquids are introduced and allowed to stand till they separate. The 
orifice at the bottom is then opened, and, the stopper at the top being a little 
loosened so as to admit the air, the heavier liquid slowly flows out, and may be 
separated to the last drop from the lighter, which floats above it. If the oil is 
heavier than the water, it passes out of the separatory; if lighter, it remains 
within. Another mode of separating the oil is to introduce into the vessel con- 
taining the two liquids one end of a cord of cotton, the other end hanging out, 
and terminating in a suitable receptacle beneath the level of that immersed in 
the liquid. The oil at top passes through the cord, and may thus be wholly re- 
moved. The last drops may be collected by pressing the cord between the fingers. 
The water saturated with oil should be preserved for future distillations; as 
it can dissolve no more of the oil. One or more volatile acids are frequently 
found in the distilled water, as the acetic, butyric, or valerianic; and Wunder 
has detected all three of these acids in the water distilled from chamomile 
flowers. (Journ. fur Prakt. Chem., lxiv. 499.) 
According to Overbeck, all the volatile oils may be freed from colouring mat- 
ter by distilling them from an equal weight of poppy-seed oil, and a saturated 
solution of common salt. (Ai'cliiv. der Pharm., lxxxiv. 149.) 
When first procured, the oils have a disagreeable empyreumatic odour, from 
which they may be freed by allowing them to stand for some days in vessels 
loosely covered with paper. They should then be introduced into small opaque 
bottles, which should be well stopped so as to exclude the air. When altered 
by exposure to air, they may sometimes be restored to their original appear- 
ance and quality, by agitation with a little recently heated animal charcoal; and 
the same method may be employed for freeing them from adhering water. 
The volatile oils have the medical properties of the plants from which they 
are derived; and, as their remedial application has been mentioned under the 
heads of these plants respectively, it will be unnecessary to treat of it in this 
place. They may be administered upon a lump of sugar; or triturated with at 
least ten times their weight of sugar, forming an oleosaccharum, and then dis- 
solved in water; or made into an emulsion with water, sugar, and gum arabic. 
In making emulsions with volatile oils, it has been recommended first to dissolve 
them in one of the fixed oils, the oil of almonds for example, and then to emul- 
sionize the oleaginous solution with syrup and gum arabic. For 100 parts of 
water, 15 of the almond oil in which the volatile oil is to be dissolved, 10 of 
powdered gum arabic, and 25 of syrup may be taken. {Journ. de Pharm., Juin, 
1864, p. 461.) The volatile oils are often kept dissolved in alcohol under the 
name of essences * ■ W. 
* It is often important to know how many drops a volatile oil will yield to the flui- 
drachm; in other words, the relation of a drop of the oil to a minim. This varies extremely 
according to the circumstances elsewhere noticed as influencing the size of the drop; so 
that any results obtained are only approximate and relative. At our request, Professor 
Procter tried the following oils, with the results stated in the table below. The columns 
of figures represent the number of drops in a fluidrachm of the oils respectively, the first 
column giving those obtained by dropping the oils from the bottles in which they are com- 
monly kept, the second by dropping them from a minim measure. 
Oleum Anisi 85- 86 
“ Carui 106—108 
“ Caryophylli 103—103 
“ Chenopodii 97-100 
“ Cinnamomi 100-102 
“ Cubebse 86- 96 
Oleum Foeniculi 103-103 
“ Gaultheriae 102-101 
“ Hedeomae 91- 91 
“ Menthae Pipe- 
ritae 103-109 
“ Menthae Viri- 
dis 89- 94 
Oleum Rosmarini 104-105 
“ Sabinas 102-108 
“ Sassafras 102-100 
“ Tanaceti 92-111 
“ Valerianae 116-110 
Creasotum 95— 91 
Enfteurage. This term is applied by the French to the impregnation of fixed oils and 
fatty matters with the odour of certain sweet-scented plants, such as jasmine, tuberose, 
and mignonette, the oils of which are so delicate and fugitive that they cannot well be 
separated by distillation. The process consists in exposing the fatty matter, placed in 1248 
Olea Bestillata. 
PART II. 
OLEUM ANISI. U.S.,Br. Oil of Anise. 
The British Pharmacopoeia refers the oil of anise not only to Pimpinella Ani- 
Bum. but also to Ulicium anisatum. 
The product of oil from anise is variously stated from 1-56 to 3T2 per cent. 
The oil employed in this country is imported. It is colourless or yellowish, with 
the peculiar odour and taste of the seed. At 50° it crystallizes in flat tables, 
and does not melt under 62°. Its sp. gr. increases with age, and is variously 
given from 0-9768 to 0 9903. It is soluble in all proportions in alcohol of 0'806; 
but alcohol of 0‘840 dissolves at 77° only 42 per cent. Ether dissolves it in all 
proportions. (Gmelin.) It consists of two oils, one solid at ordinary tempera- 
tures and heavier than water (stearoptene, anise camphor, solid anethol), the 
other liquid and more volatile (eleoptene, liquid anethol), both of which are said 
to have the same atomic constitution, and to consist of carbon, hydrogen, and 
oxygen Anethol is a name given to the solid and liquid oils, all 
having the composition above stated, but differing in properties, which mainly 
constitute the oils of anise, of star aniseed, and of fennel. (Gmelin1 s Handbook, 
xiv. 192.) By oxidation, by means of nitric or chromic acid, the different forms 
of anethol yield a peculiar acid denominated anisic acid. {Ibid., xiii. 123.) Oil 
of anise absorbs oxygen from the air, and becomes less disposed to concrete. In 
consequence of its high price, it is frequently adulterated with spermaceti, wax, 
or camphor. The first two may be detected by their insolubility in cold alcohol, 
the last by its odour. In one instance, as much as 35 per cent, of spermaceti was 
found. Prof. Procter has met with a parcel, of which not less than five-sixths 
were alcohol. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxvii. 513.) The dose of the oil is from 
five to fifteen drops. Its comparative mildness adapts it to infantile cases. We 
are informed that the oil of anise has, in this country, been almost entirely super- 
seded by the oil of star aniseed (oleum badiani), which closely resembles it in 
flavour, and which is recognised in the Br. Pharmacopoeia under the same name. 
(See page 119.) 
Off. Prep. Extractum Spigeliae et Sennae Fluidum, U. S.; Spiritus Anisi, 
U. 8.; Syrupus Sarsaparillae Compositus, U. S.; Tinctura Camphorse cum Opio, 
Br.; Tinctura Opii Camphorata, U. S.; Trochisci Glycyrrhiz® et Opii, U. S. 
W. 
OLEUM CARL U. S. Oleum Carui. Br. Oil of Caraway. 
“The Oil distilled in England from Caraway.” Br. 
This oil is prepared to a considerable extent by our distillers. The fresh fruit 
yields on an average about 4-7 per cent. (Recluz); but the product is very va- 
riable. The oil of caraway is somewhat viscid, of a pale-yellow colour becom- 
ing brownish by age, with the odour of the fruit, and an aromatic acrid taste. 
Its sp. gr. is differently given at 0-946 (Baume), 0 931 (Brande), and 0-916 
(Buignet). It is dextrogyrate in its relation to polarized light. (Buignet, Journ. 
de Pharm., Oct. 1861, p. 261.) It consists of two liquid oils, of different boib 
ing points, and separable by distillation; one, a carbohydrogen called carvene 
Volkel), of the sp. gr. 0-861, and boiling point 343° F.; the other com- 
posed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen and named carvol, of the sp. 
gr. 0 953, and boiling point 482° F. Oil of caraway is much used to impart 
flavour to medicines, and to correct their nauseating and griping effects. The 
dose is from one to ten drops. 
When oil of caraway is distilled from hydrated phosphoric acid, the distilled 
layers, in suitable frames, to the exhalations from the flowers, which are absorbed, and 
give their characteristic odour to the fat. Another plan is to expose alternate layers of the 
flowers, and of cotton impregnated with bland fixed oil, to the sun, and afterwards to ex- 
press the oil from the cotton. For remarks on this process, as conducted in the South of 
France, see a communication from Mr. Daniel Ilanbury in the London Pharm. Journ., co 
pied into the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (xxix. 551).—Note to the eleventh edition. part II. 
Olea Bestillata. 
1249 
liquor being poured back into the retort until it ceases to have the smell of cara- 
way, an oily liquid is obtained, having a very disagreeable odour, and a strong 
taste. This product, to which the name of carvacrol has been applied, has been 
found to give immediate relief to toothache, when inserted on cotton into the 
cavity of a carious tooth. (See Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., N. S., xv. 532.) 
Of. Prep. Confectio Scammonii, Br.; Extractum Spigelim et Sennas Fluid- 
urn, U. S.; Pilula Aloes Barbadensis, Br.; Spiritus Juniperi Compositus, U. S. 
W. 
OLEUM CARYOPIIYLLI. TJ.S.,Br. Oil of Gloves. 
“The Oil distilled in England from Cloves.”Br. 
This oil is obtained by distilling cloves with water, to which it is customary 
to add common salt, in order to raise the temperature of ebullition; and the 
water should be repeatedly distilled from the same cloves, in order completely 
to exhaust them. Professor Scharling has found advantage from the applica- 
tion of super-heated steam to the distillation of this oil. (Pharm. Journ., xi. 
469.)* The product of good cloves is said to be about one-fifth or one-sixth of 
their weight. The oil was formerly brought from Holland or the East Indies; 
but, since the introduction of the Cayenne Cloves into our markets, the reduced 
price and superior freshness of the drug have rendered the distillation of oil of 
cloves profitable in this country; and the best now sold is of domestic extrac- 
tion. We have been informed that from seven to nine pounds of cloves yield to 
our distillers about one pound of the oil. 
Properties. Oil of cloves, when recently distilled, is very fluid, clear, and 
colourless, but becomes yellowish by exposure, and ultimately reddish-brown. It 
has the odour of cloves, and a hot, acrid, aromatic taste. Its sp. gr. is vari- 
ously stated at from 1-034 to 1-061; the latter being given by Bonastre as the 
sp. gr. of the rectified oil. It is one of the least volatile of the essential oils, 
and requires for congelation a temperature from zero of Fahrenheit to —4°. It 
is completely soluble in alcohol, ether, and strong acetic acid. Nitric acid changes 
its colour to a deep red, a,nd converts it by the aid of heat into oxalic acid. 
When long kept it deposits a crystalline stearoptene. It is frequently adulte- 
rated with fixed oils, and sometimes with oil of pimento and with copaiba. 
When pure it sinks in distilled water. According to Zeller, its character of con- 
gealing entirely into a crystalline mass with the alcoholic solution of potassa, 
losing at the same time its peculiar odour, affords a sufficient criterion of its 
purity. It appears to be indifferent in its effects on polarized light, as regards 
rotatory power. (Buignet.) 
According to Ettling, the oil of cloves consists of two distinct oils, one lighter, 
the other heavier than water* They may be obtained separate by distilling the 
oil from a solution of potassa. The lighter comes over, the heavier remains com- 
bined with the potassa, from which it may be separated by adding sulphuric acid, 
and again distilling. Light oil of cloves is colourless, has the sp. gr. 0-918, and 
consists exclusively of carbon and hydrogen, being isomeric with pure oil of 
turpentine. It is said not to possess active properties. (Kane.) Heavy oil of 
cloves is colourless at first, but darkens with age, has the odour and taste of 
cloves, is of the sp. gr. LOT9, boils at 470°, and forms soluble and crystallizable 
salts with the alkalies. Hence it has been called eugenic or caryophyllic acid. 
It consists of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen; the formula, according to Ettling, 
being C24II1503; according to Gerhardt, who is probably correct, C^H^O,. 
(Chem. Gaz., No. 373, p. 170.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. The medical effects of the oil are similar to 
those of cloves, and it is used for the same purposes; but its most common era- 
* For an account of the apparatus employed, and the method pursued by Messrs. Rogers 
and Crew, of Philadelphia, in the distillation of this oil, see Am. Journ of Pham., Jan. 
1862, p. 27. Olea JDestillata. 
PART II. 
ploymenl is as a corrigent of other medicines. Like other powerful irritants, it 
is sometimes effectual in relieving toothache, when introduced into the cavity of 
a carious tooth. The dose is from two to six drops. 
Off. Prep. Confectio Scamraonii, Br.; Pilula Colocynthidis Composita, Br.; 
Pil. Colocynthidis et Ilyoscyami, Br. W. 
OLEUM CHENOPODII. U.S. Oil of Wormseed. 
This oil is peculiar to the United States. The best is prepared in the vicinity 
of Baltimore. (See page 245.) It is of a light-yellow colour when recently dis- 
tilled, but becomes deeper yellow and even brownish by age. It has in a high 
degree the peculiar flavour of the plant. When freshly prepared, it has the sp. 
gr. 0 908, which, according to Mr. S. S. Garrigues, is increased by time to 0‘960. 
A portion examined by him, which was of a brownish-yellow colour, had the sp. 
gr. 0 959 at 61° F., boiled at 374°, and was freely soluble in alcohol and ether. 
He found it to consist of two distinct oils, separable by distillation; one of which 
consists of carbon and hydrogen exclusively, and reacts with muriatic acid in a 
manner analogous to oil of turpentine; the other is heavier, and consists of car- 
bon, hydrogen, and oxygen. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxvi. 405.) Wormseed oil 
is used as an anthelmintic, in the dose of from four to eight drops for a child, 
repeated morning and evening for three or four days, and then»followed by a 
brisk cathartic. The case of a child, six years old, is recorded in the Boston Med. 
and Surg. Journ. (xlv. 373), in which death is supposed to have resulted from 
the use of overdoses. W. 
OLEUM COPAIBiE. U. S., Br. Oil of Copaiba. 
“The Oil distilled from Copaiva.” Br. 
“ Take of Copaiba twelve troyounces; Water sixteen pints. Add the Copaiba 
to the Water in a tinned still, and, having adapted a proper refrigeratory, distil 
twelve pints. Separate the Oil which comes over from the Water, return this 
latter to the still, and again distil twelve pints. Lastly, separate the Oil procured 
in the second distillation, add it to that first obtained, and keep the whole in a 
well-stopped bottle.” TJ. S. 
The oil constitutes from one-third to one-half or more of the copaiba. From 
one specimen of recent copaiba as much as 80 percent, has been obtained. (Am. 
Journ. of Pharm., xxii. 289.) It is prepared largely in Philadelphia by the 
application of steam heat. As it first comes over it is colourless, but the later 
product is of a fine greenish hue. By redistillation it may be rendered wholly 
colourless. It has the odour and taste of copaiba, boils at about 470° (Christi- 
son), solidifies, partly crystalline, at —15° F. (Gmelin), is soluble in ether and 
alcohol, absorbs muriatic acid gas, and forms with itycrystals of artificial camphor, 
and when pure consists exclusively of carbon and hydrogen, being isomeric with 
pure oil of turpentine. From its want of oxygen, it answers even better than 
naphtha for preserving potassium, a fact first observed by Mr. Durand, of Phila- 
delphia. It dissolves sulphur and phosphorus. (Gmelin's Handbook, xiv. 288.) 
Its effects on the system are those of copaiba. From the experiments of C. 
Mitscherlich, it is one of the least injurious to the animal system of the volatile 
oils; six drachms of it having been introduced into the stomach of a rabbit 
without causing death. Externally it produces much less irritation than oil of 
turpentine. It may be used for the same purposes as copaiba in the dose of ten 
or fifteen drops, given in emulsion, or simply dropped on sugar. W. 
OLEUM CORIANDRI, Br. Oil of Coriander. 
“The Oil distilled in England from Coriander.” Br. 
This is obtained by distillation with water from the bruised seeds in the man- 
ner directed in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia for the other volatile oils. Forty-two 
grains of it are stated by Zeller to be derived from a pound of the fruit. It is 
pale-yellow and colourless, and has the characteristic smell and taste of corian- TART II. 
Olea Destillata. 
1251 
der. Its sp. gr. is from 0*859 to 0 871; and its boiling point 302° F. It is an 
oxygenated oil, with the formula CMH1802. Oil of coriander has the medical pro- 
perties of the fruit, and, like the aromatic oils generally, may be used to cover 
the taste, or correct the nauseating or griping properties of other medicines. 
Off. Prep. Syrupus Sennas, Br. W. 
OLEUM CUBEB/E. U.S.,Br. Oil of Cubeb. 
“The Oil distilled in England from Cubebs.” Br. 
This oil is obtained from cubebs by grinding them, and then distilling with 
water. From ten pounds Sckonwald procured eleven ounces of oil; and this result, 
very nearly coincides with the experiments of Christison, who obtained ” per 
cent. When recently distilled from the fruit, the oil is somewhat greenish, be- 
coming yellowish by age; but when carefully redistilled it is colourless. It has 
the smell of cubebs, and a warm, aromatic, camphorous taste; is of a consistence 
approaching that of almond oil; is lighter than water, having the sp. gr. 0*929; 
and, when exposed to the air, is said to thicken without losing its odour. Upon 
standing, it.sometimes deposits crystals, which are thought to be a hydrate of 
the oil. It consists of carbon and hydrogen, with the formula C15II12. 
The oil has the medicinal properties of cubebs; but it is probably not the sole 
active ingredient; as it is much less pungent than the fluid extract or oleo-resin. 
It may, however, often be advantageously substituted for the powder, in the 
commencing dose of ten or twelve drops, to be gradually increased until its 
effects are obtained, or until it proves offensive to the stomach. It may be given 
suspended in water by means of sugar, or in the form of emulsion, or enclosed 
in capsules of gelatin. . W. 
OLEUM ERIGERONTIS CANADENSIS. U.S. Oil of Canada 
Fleabane. 
The oil of fleabane is limpid, of a light-straw colour, a peculiar aromatic 
persistent odour, and a mild characteristic taste. Its sp. gr., according to Prof. 
Procter, is 0*845. It probably consists of two distinct oils, as it begins to boil 
at 310° F.; and its temperature continues to rise to 365°. When distilled with- 
out water, it comes over colourless, and a little resinous matter is left behind, 
probably resulting from the oxidation of one or both of the constituent oils. It 
consists of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. It is slowly reddened by potassa, com- 
bines with iodine without explosion, is instantly decomposed by sulphuric acid, 
and is acted on by strong nitric acid, slowly at ordinary temperatures, but with 
heat explosively. (Procter, Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxvi. 502.) 
It was first brought into notice by the so-called eclectic physicians, who use 
it in diarrhoea, dysentery, and the hemorrhages. In a communication by Dr. 
Wilson, of Philadelphia, to the College of Physicians (Nov. 1,1854), it is stated 
that the oil of Philadelphia fleabane had been employed with great advantage 
by Dr. Bournonville and himself in uterine hemorrhage. {Trans, of Col. of 
Phys., N. S., ii. 330.) There can be little doubt, from the account of the oil at 
the same time given, that it was the oil of E. Ganadense, or that now under con- 
sideration, which was really used; as E. Philadelphicum yields merely a trace 
of volatile oil when distilled; Mr. J. F. John having obtained only half a flui- 
drachm of it from 45 avoirdupois pounds of the herb. {Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
xxvii. 105.) It probably acts very much as the oil of turpentine as a haemostatic. 
The dose is from five to ten drops, which should be repeated every hour or two. 
W. 
OLEUM FCENICULI. U.S. Oil of Fennel. 
Fennel seeds yield about 2*5 per cent., or, according to Zeller, from 3*4 to 3*8 
per cent, of oil. That used in this country is imported. It is colourless or yel- 
lowish, with the odour and taste of the seeds. Its sp. gr. is 0 984 to 0*997. It 
congeals below 50° into a crystalline mass, separable by pressure into a solid 1252 
Olea Destillata. 
PART II. 
and liquid oil (stearoptene and eleoptene); the former heavier than water, and 
less volatile than the latter, which rises first when the oil is distilled. As found 
In the shops, therefore, the oil of fennel is not uniform; and a specimen exam- 
ined by Dr. Montgomery did not congeal at 22°. It consists of carbon, hydro- 
gen, and oxygen; its formula being, according to Blanchct and Sell, C13H802. 
Its two component oils are now distinguished by the names of liquid and solid 
anethol, isomeric with the similar constituents of oil of anise. (See Oleum Anisi.) 
It is slightly dextrogyrate. The dose is from five to fifteen drops. 
Off. Prep. Aqua Fceniculi, U. S.; Spiritus Juniperi Compositus, U. S. W. 
OLEUM GAULTHERIiE. U.S. Oil of Gaultheria. 
This oil is a product of the United States, and is prepared chiefly in New 
Jersey. It is directed by the Pharmacopoeia to be prepared from the leaves of 
Gaultheria procumbens; but the whole plant is usually employed. It has been 
obtained by Prof. Procter from the bark of Betula lenta or sweet birch, and has 
been supposed to exist also in the root of Polygala paucifolia, and the roots 
and stems of Spiraea ulmaria, Spiraea lobata, and Gaultheria hispidula, which 
have its peculiar flavour. 
Oil of partridge-berry when freshly distilled is nearly colourless, but as found 
in the shops has a brownish-yellow or reddish colour. It is of a sweetish, slightly 
pungent, peculiar taste, and a very agreeable characteristic odour, by which it 
may be readily distinguished from all other officinal oils. It is the heaviest of 
the known essential oils, having the sp. gr. 1T73. Its boiling point is 412°. 
(Am. Journ. of Pharm., iii. 199, and xiv. 213.) Its unusual weight affords a 
convenient test of its purity. Another distinguishing property is that, in watery 
solution, it gives a purple colour with the salts of sesquioxide of iron. Prof. 
Procter proved it to possess acid properties, and to be closely analogous to sali- 
cylous acid, one of the results of the decomposition of salicin by sulphuric acid 
and bichromate of potassa, and an ingredient in the oil of Spiraea ulmaria. (See 
Salix.) M. Cahours has since corroborated this view, and shown that one-tenth 
of the oil consists of a peculiar carbohydrogen, which is called gaultherilen, aud 
the remaining nine-tenths of salicylate of oxide of methyl, or methylsalicylic 
acid; and a product having the properties of the latter compound was obtained 
by distilling a mixture of pyroxylic spirit, salicylic acid, and sulphuric acid. 
(Ibid., xiv. 211, and xv. 241.) Methylsalicylic acid forms with bases crystalline 
salts, which are resolved by heat into salicylic acid and wood spirit. Dr. T. J. 
Gallaher, of Pittsburg, Pa., records the case of a boy, nine years old, who took 
about half an ounce of this oil, with the effect of producing severe vomiting, 
purging, epigastric pain, hot skin, frequent pulse, slow and laboured respiration, 
dulness of hearing, and, notwithstanding excessive gastric irritability, an uncon- 
trollable desire for food. After two or three days of great danger, he began to 
improve, and in two weeks was entirely restored to health. (Med. Examiner, 
N. S., viii. 347.) Oil of gaultheria is chiefly used, on account of its pleasant 
flavour, to cover the taste of other medicines. 
Off. Prep. Syrupus Sarsaparill® Compositus, U. S. W. 
OLEUM HEDEOMiE. U.S. Oil of Hedeoma. Oil of American Pen- 
nyroyal. 
This, though analogous in properties to the oil of European pennyroyal, is de- 
rived from a distinct plant (Hedeoma pulegioides) peculiar to North America. 
It has a light-yellow colour, with the odour and taste of the herb. Its sp. gr. is 
0-948. It may be used as a remedy in flatulent colic and sick stomach, to correct 
the operation of nauseating or griping medicines, and to impart flavour to mix- 
tures. It is also much employed as a domestic remedy in amenorrhoea. The dose 
is from two to ten drops. W PART II. 
Olea Destillata. 
OLEUM JUNIPERI. U. S., Br. Oil of Juniper. 
“ Juniperus communis. The Oil distilled in England from the unripe fruit. ” Br. 
The proportion of oil which juniper berries afford is stated very differently by 
different authors. Trommsdorff obtained one per cent. The highest quantity 
given in the table of Recluz is 2-34, the lowest 0 31 per cent. Zeller gives as 
the product of the fresh ripe fruit 13 percent., of that a year old 0-86 percent 
(Gent. Blatt, Miirz, 1855, p. 207.) The berries are most productive when bruised 
The oil of juniper consumed in this country is brought from Europe, and is be- 
lieved to be procured chiefly from the tops of the plant, being sold for a price 
which is altogether incompatible with the idea that it is prepared from the fruit- 
alone. It is colourless, or of a light greenish-yellow, with a terebinthinate odour, 
and hot acrid taste. Oil of Juniper has a sp.gr. from 0 879 to 0 911, and is 
moderately lmvogyrate. (Buignet.) It is not very soluble in alcohol. According 
to Blanchet, it contains two isomeric oils, of which one is colourless, and the other 
coloured and less volatile. It is, when pure, a carbohydrogen, and is said to have 
the same composition as oil of turpentine (C10H8); but it does not form a solid 
compound with muriatic acid. (Journ. de Pharm., xxvi. 80.) Oil of turpentine 
is often fraudulently added, but may be detected by the specific gravity of the 
mixture, which is considerably less than that of the unadulterated oil of juniper. 
The oil is stimulant, carminative, and diuretic; and may be employed advan- 
tageously in debilitated dropsical cases, in connection with other medicines, espe- 
cially digitalis. It is this oil which imparts to Holland gin its peculiar flavour 
and diuretic power. The dose is from five to fifteen drops two or three times a 
day, and may be considerably increased. 
Off. Prep. Spiritus Juniperi, Br.; Spiritus Juniperi Compositus, U. S. W. 
OLEUM LAVANDULAE. TJ. S., Br. Oil of Lavender. 
“Lavandula vera. The Oil distilled in England from the flowers.” Br. 
This oil is usually distilled from the flowers and flower-stems conjointly, 
though of finer quality when obtained from the former exclusively. Dried lav- 
ender flowers are said to yield from 1 to 15 per cent, of oil. According to Zel- 
ler, the fresh flowers yield 1-03, the dried 4‘3, the whole fresh herb in flower 0-76 
per cent. It is stated that the lavender produced by an acre of ground under 
cultivation will yield from 10 to 12 pounds of the oil. (Pharm. Journ., Nov. 
1864, p. 257.) The oil is very fluid, of a lemon-yellow colour, with the fragrance 
of the flowers, and an aromatic, burning taste. That met with in commerce has 
the sp. gr. 0-898 at 68° F., which is reduced to 0*877 by rectification (Berzelius), 
or 0-886 (Buignet). It is lmvogyrate. According to Brande, the sp. gr. of the oil 
obtained from the whole herb is 0 9206. Alcohol of 0 830 dissolves oil of lavender 
in all proportions; that of 0'877, only 42 per cent. (Berzelius.) Proust states 
that, when allowed to stand in imperfectly stopped bottles, it lets fall a crystal- 
line deposit, which often amounts to one-fourth of its weight. This has been 
found by M. Dumas to have the same point of volatilization and the same com- 
position as the true camphor, but differs in the total want of rotatory power. 
(Ibid., Juillet, 1863, p. 30.) It is said that the portion of oil first distilled is 
most fragrant, and is often kept separate, and sold at a higher price. Accord- 
ing to M. Lallemand, oil of lavender consists chiefly of an oil isomeric with pure 
oil of turpentine, but contains acetic acid in combination, probably in the state 
of amylacetic ether. (Journ. de Pharm., Avril, 1860, p. 290.) It is used chiefly as 
a perfume, though possessed of carminative and stimulant properties, and some- 
times useful in cases of nervous languor and headache. The dose is from one 
to five drops.* * * 
* Cologne Water. One of the Farinas, the noted manufacturers of Cologne water, the 
composition of which has been carefully kept secret by that family, is said recently to have 
published the following formula, as being that of the genuine perfume. “Take of Oil or 1254 
Olea Bestillata. 
PART II. 
Oil of Spike is procured from the broad-leaved variety of lavender which 
grows wild in Europe, the Lavandula Spica of De Candolle. Its odour is less 
fragrant than that of common oil of lavender, and is somewhat analogous to that 
of oil of turpentine, with which it is said to be often adulterated. It is used by 
artists in the preparation of varnishes. 
Off. Prep. Linimentum Camphor® Compositum, Br.; Spiritus Ammoniae 
Aromaticus, U. S.; Spiritus Lavandulae; Spiritus Lavandulae Compositus, 
U. S.; Tinctura Lavandulae Composita, Br. W. 
OLEUM MENTITiE PIPERITA. U.S.,Br. Oil of Peppermint. 
“Mentha piperita. The Oil distilled from the fresh herb in flower.” Br. 
Peppermint varies exceedingly in the quantity of oil which it alfords. Four 
pounds of the fresh herb yield, according to Baume, from a drachm and a half 
to three drachms of the oil. Zeller gives as the product of the fresh herb from 
0 37 to 0-68 per cent., of the dried 1T4 per cent. The yield is generally less 
than 1 percent. This oil is largely distilled in the United States. It is of a 
greenish-yellow colour or nearly colourless, but becomes reddish by age. Its 
odour is strong and aromatic, its taste warm, camphorous, and very pungent, but 
succeeded, when air is admitted into the mouth, by a sense of coolness. Its sp. 
gr. is stated differently from 0902 to 0 920; its boiling point at 365°. It is con- 
siderably l®vogyrate. (Buignet.) Upon long standing it deposits a stearoptene, 
which, according to Kane, has the same composition as the oil, viz., 
Berzelius states that at 8° below zero the oil deposits small capillary crystals. 
These, which are called peppermint camphor, melt at 95° F., volatilize un- 
changed, and, when distilled with anhydrous phosphoric acid, yield a peculiar 
aromatic product, denominated menthene. (Gmelin’s Handbook, xiv. p. 445.) 
This oil is frequently adulterated with alcohol, and occasionally, there is reason 
to believe, with oil of turpentine. This is detected by its odour, by its deficient 
solubility in cold alcohol, and by imparting the property of exploding with iodine. 
It is stated by the Messrs. Hotchkiss that, in much of the land under culture 
with peppermint in this country, other oil-producing plants are carelessly 
allowed to grow, which, being gathered and distilled with the peppermint, 
contaminate the product. {Am. Journ. of Pliarm., xxvii. 222.) Such impuri- 
ties may be detected by the altered odour of the oil. When freshly prepared, it 
should volatilize completely from paper without leaving a mark, and, when 
dropped into alcohol of 85 per cent., should completely dissolve without agita- 
tion. (Bullock, Ibid., Nov. 1859, p. 553.) Much of the oil used in the United 
States is produced in Michigan. (Ibid., xxix. 312.) 
Oil of peppermint is stimulating and carminative, and is much used in flatu- 
lence, nausea, spasmodic pains of the stomach and bowels, and as a corrigent or 
adjuvant of other medicines. The dose is from one to three drops, and is most 
conveniently given rubbed with sugar and then dissolved in water. The oil is 
frequently employed, dissolved in alcohol, in the form of essence of peppermint, 
which is an officinal preparation. (See Spiritus Menthse Piperitee.) 
Off. Prep. Aqua Meuth® Piperit®; Pilul® Rhei Composit®; Spiritus Men- 
th® Piperit®; Trochisci Menth® Piperit®, U. S. W. 
OLEUM MENTHiE VIRIDIS. U.S.,Br. Oil of Spearmint. 
“ Mentha viridis. The Oil distilled in England from the fresh herb in flower ” 
Br. 
Lavender 4 ounces; Purified Benzoin, Oil of Rosemary, each, 2 ounces; Stronger Alcohol 9 
gallons. Dissolve the oils and benzoin in the alcohol; and to the solution add successively, 
of Oil of Neroli, Oil of the young orange cfenominated by the French Iluile de Petits Grains, 
Oil of Lemons, each, 10-4 ounces; Oil of the Sweet Orange, Oil of the Lime, an.I Oil of Ber- 
gamot, each, 20-8 ounces; Tincture of the Flowers of the Rose Geranium a s'efficient quan- 
tity. Macerate for some weeks, and introduce into flasks.” (See Am. Journ. ofPh»<*m , July, 
1864, p. 376.)—Note to the twelfth edition. PART 11. 
Olea Destillata: 
1255 
According to Lewis, ten pounds of spearmint yield an ounce of oil; by others 
the product is stated not to exceed one part from five hundred. The oil is largely 
distilled in this country. It is pale-yellow or greenish when recently prepared, 
but becomes red with age, and ultimately almost of a mahogany colour. Its fla- 
vour is analogous to that of the oil of peppermint, but less agreeable and less 
pungent. Its sp.gr. is stated differently from 0-914 to 0 975; its boiling point 
at 320°. Kane gives the formula as representing its composition. It 
is used for the same purposes as the oil of peppermint, in the dose of from two 
to five drops. An essence of spearmint, prepared by dissolving the oil in alco- 
hol, is officinal. (See Spiritus Menthse Viridis.) 
Off. Prep. Aqua Menthse Viridis; Spiritus Menthse Viridis, U. S. W. 
OLEUM MONARDiE. II. S. Oil of Horsemint. 
This is prepared by our distillers from the fresh herb of Monarda punctata. 
It has a reddish-amber colour, a fragrant odour, and a warm, very pungent taste. 
At 40° F., or lower, especially in the presence of moisture, it is gradually trans- 
formed by oxidation into a crystalline body, having the odour and taste of the 
oil. This appears to be analogous in constitution to camphor, being the oxide 
of a carbohydrogen radical (C10H7), three eqs. of which with one eq. of oxygen 
form the liquid oil. (C. T. Bonsall, Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxv. 200.) It is now 
considered as identical with thymol, or camphor of the oil of thyme. (See Oleum 
Thymi, in Part I.) Applied to the skin, monarda oil is powerfully rubefacient, 
quickly producing heat, pain, redness, and even vesication. It has been employed 
externally in low forms of fever, cholera infantum, chronic rheumatism, and other 
affections in which rubefacients are indicated. In ordinary cases it should be 
diluted before being applied. It may be given internally as a stimulant and car- 
minative, in the dose of two or three drops mixed with sugar and water. W. 
OLEUM ORIGANI. TJ. S. 1850, Ed. Oil of Origanum. Oil of Mar- 
joram. 
This is obtained from the common marjoram, Origanum vulgare, and is fre- 
quently called oil of marjoram. Though it has been satisfactorily determined 
by Mr. Planbury that the oil circulating in commerce by the name of oil of ori- 
ganum is really obtained from Thymus vulgaris growing in the south of France, 
and on this account the proper oil of marjoram has been expunged from our 
Pharmacopoeia, and its place supplied by the oil of thyme (see Oleum Thymi iu 
Part I.), yet, as Origanum vulgare is a common plant, possessed of valuable aro- 
matic properties, and readily yields its oil by distillation in the ordinary mode, 
aud as there is no reason to suppose that the descriptions given by authors from 
whom we have quoted are not those of the genuine oil, it is deemed expedient 
to retain the oil in its old position, and to continue the description given of it in 
former editions. The plant varies exceedingly in the proportion of oil which it 
affords. The mean product may be stated at from four to six parts from a thou- 
sand. The recent oil, when properly prepared, is yellow; but, if too much heat 
is used in the distillation, it is said to be reddish, and it acquires the same tint 
by age. It may be obtained colourless by rectification. It has the odour of the 
plant, and a hot acrid taste. Kane gives its sp. gr. 0-867, its boiling point 354°, 
and its composition C50H40O. According to Lewis, its sp. gr. is 0-940, according 
to Brande 0 909. It is sometimes used as an external irritant, and to allay the 
pain of toothache, by being introduced, on lint or cotton, into the cavity of a 
carious tooth. It is little employed internally. 
The oil of sweet marjoram (Origanum Majorana) is obtained from the plant 
by distillation, in the quantity of from 2-5 to 6 parts from 1000. It is of a lemon- 
yellow colour, light, and camphorous, and is said upon long standing to deposit 
a substance resembling camphor. It is not used in this country. W. Olea Bestillata. 
PART II. 
OLEUM PIMENTiE. U. S.t Br. Oil of Pimento. 
“The Oil distilled in England from Pimento.” Br. 
The berries yield from 1 to more than 4 per cent, of oil, which, as found in 
the shops, is brownish-red, and has the odour and taste of pimento, though 
warmer and more pungent. It is said, when freshly distilled, to be colourless or 
yellowish. Nitric acid reddens it. Its sp. gr. is stated at 1021, but varies. It 
consists, like oil of cloves, of two distinct oils, a lighter and heavier, the former 
of which comes over first in distillation. They may be separated by distilling 
the oil from caustic potassa. The light oil comes over, and the heavy remains 
combined with the potassa. The latter may be obtained by distilling the residue 
with sulphuric acid. The light oil is lighter than water, and is a pure carbohy- 
drogen. The heavy has the acid property of forming crystalline compounds 
with the alkalies. They are analogous to the light and heavy oils of cloves. 
Indeed, the heavy has been found to be identical with the eugenic acid of that 
oil. (See Oleum Caryophylli.) The oil of pimento is given for the same purposes 
as the other stimulant aromatic oils. The dose is from three to six drops. W. 
OLEUM ROSMARINI. U.S.,Br. Oil of Rosemary. 
“Rosmarinus officinalis. The Oil distilled in England from the flowering 
tops.” Br. 
The fresh leaves of rosemary yield, according to Baume, 0-26 per cent, of oil; 
but the product is stated much higher by others. According to Brande, a pound 
of the fresh herb yields about a drachm of the oil, which is about 1 per cent.; 
and Zeller gives very nearly the same product for the dried herb. This oil is 
colourless, with an odour similar to that of the plant, though less agreeable. Its 
sp. gr. is said to be 0*911, but reduced to 0 8886 by rectification. Buignet gives 
the sp. gr. of the rectified oil 0*896, and states that it is moderately dextrogy- 
rate. It is soluble in all proportions in alcohol of 0*830; but requires for solu- 
tion at 64° forty parts of alcohol of 0*887. (Berzelius.) Kane gives its sp.gr. 
0*897, its boiling point 365°, and its composition Kept in bottles im- 
perfectly stopped, it deposits a slearoptene analogous to camphor, sometimes 
amounting, according to Proust, to one-tenth of the oil. Bucholz states that it 
affords camphor when digested with from one-half its weight to an equal weight 
of potassa, and distilled. It is said to be sometimes adulterated with oil of tur- 
pentine, which may be detected by mixing the suspected liquid with an equal 
volume of pure alcohol. The oil of rosemary is dissolved, and that of turpentine 
left. This oil is stimulant, but is employed chiefly as an ingredient of rubefacient 
liniments. The dose is from three to six drops. 
A case of death is recorded, in a child four or five years old, from a mixture 
of six measures of this oil, and two of oil of wormseed, given in repeated doses 
of a tablespoonful. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxiii. 286.) 
Off. Prep. Linimentum Saponis; Spiritus Lavandulae Compositus, U. S.; 
Spiritus Rosmarini, Br.; Tinctura Lavandulae Composita, Br. W. 
OLEUM RUT2E.Br. Oil of Rue. 
“Ruta graveolens. The Oil distilled in England from the fresh leaves and 
unripe fruit.” Br. 
Rue yields a very small proportion of a yellow or greenish oil, which becomes 
brown with age. According to Zeller, the product of the fresh herb is 0*28 per 
cent., of the seeds about 1 per cent. The oil has the strong unpleasant odour 
of the plant, and an acrid taste. Kane gives its sp. gr. 0*837, its boiling point 
446°, and its composition Gregory considers it as hydrated oxide of 
rutyl or rutylic aldehyd associated with a carbohy- 
drogen. (Handbook of Organic Chemistry, 4th ed., pp. 275 and 342.) Accord- 
ing to Williams, the composition of the pure oxygenated oil is C22H2202, which 
is confirmed by Harbordt, who, by oxidizing it by means of chromic acid, ob- PART II. 
Olea Destillata. 
1257 
tained caprinic acid, and concludes that its proper title is methylo-caprinol, and 
its rational formula (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 1863, p- 
34.) When treated with nitric acid, it yields, among other products, pelargonic 
acid, which is used in the preparation of a fruit essence, denominated pelargonic 
ether. (See Fruit Essences, in Part III.) It is stimulant and antispasmodic, 
and has been given in hysteria, convulsions, and amenorrhcea. The dose is from 
two to five drops. W. 
OLEUM SABIN2E. U. S., Br. Oil of Savine. 
“The Oil distilled in England from fresh Savin.” Br. 
According to the more recent authorities, the proportion of volatile oil ob- 
tained from savine varies from less than 1 to 2 5 per cent. The oil is nearly 
colourless or yellow, limpid, strongly odorous, and of a bitterish, extremely acrid 
taste. Kane gives its sp.gr. 0’915, its boiling point 315°, and its composition 
C10II8, equivalent to that of oil of turpentine. According to Winckler, it is con- 
verted by sulphuric acid into an oil not distinguishable from that of thyme. 
(Ghem. Gaz., Jan. 1841, p. 11.) With iodine it becomes heated, detonates, and 
gives off yellow and violet-red vapours. (Flaschoff.) Distilled with 24 parts of 
water and 8 of chloride of lime, it evolves carbonic acid with effervescence, and 
yields chloroform. (Gmelin’s Handbook, xiv. 310.) The oil of savine is stimu- 
lant, emmenagogue, and actively rubefacient, and may be given for the same 
purposes as the plant in substance. It has been much employed empirically in 
amenorrhcea, and with a view to produce abortion, and in some instances with 
fatal effects. The dose is from two to five drops. W. 
OLEUM SASSAFRAS. U. S. Oil of Sassafras. 
The proportion of oil yielded by the root of sassafras is variously stated from 
less than 1 to somewhat more than 2 per cent. The bark of the root, directed 
by the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, would afford a larger amount. Very large quantities 
of the oil are distilled in Maryland, and sent to Baltimore for sale. The usual 
yield is said by Mr. Sharp to be one pound from three bushels of the root. From 
fifteen to twenty thousand pounds were sent annually, before the war, to the Bal- 
timore market. (A. P. Sharp, Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 1863, p. 53.) The oil 
is of a yellow colour, becoming reddish by age. It has the fragrant odour of sas- 
safras, with a warm, pungent, aromatic taste. It is among the heaviest of the vola- 
tile oils, having the sp. gr. 1 *094, or 1 087 on the authority of Buignet, who states 
also that it is very slightly dextrogyrate. According to Bonastre it separates, by 
agitation with water, into two oils, one lighter, the other heavier than water. 
Berzelius states that the first is often nothing more than oil of turpentine exist- 
ing as an adulteration in the oil of sassafras. Nitric acid colours it red, and 
fuming nitric acid inflames it more readily than most other oils. It has the pro- 
perty of dissolving caoutchouc. When kept for a long time it deposits transparent 
crystals, having the same odour as the liquid oil. By treating the oil with chlo- 
rine, neutralizing with lime, and distilling, a product is obtained identical in 
properties and composition with common camphor. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
xxvi. 166.) Mr. E. S. Wayne, of Cincinnati, has shown that the oil forms an 
insoluble compound with lead; a property which renders leaden vessels, or those 
containing lead, unsuitable recipients for it. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxviii. 521.) 
Oil of sassafras is stimulant, carminative, and supposed to be diaphoretic; and 
may be employed for the same purposes as the bark from which it is derived. 
The dose is from two to ten drops. 
Off. Prep. Syrupus Sarsaparillae Comp., TJ. S.; Trochisci Cubebae, U. S. W. 
OLEUM SUCCINI RECTIFICATUM. U. S. Rectified Oil of Amber. 
“Take of Oil of Amber a pint; Water six pints. Mix them in a glass re- 
tort, and distil until four pints of water have passed with the Oil into the re- 1258 
Olea Bestillata. 
PART II. 
ceiver; then separate the Oil from the Water, and keep it in a well-stopped 
bottle.” U. S. 
For an account of the crude oil (Oleum Succini) the reader is referred to Part 
I. (page 578). By successive distillations oil of amber is rendered thinner and 
more limpid, till at length it is obtained colourless. The first portions which distil 
are less coloured than those which follow, and may be separated for keeping, while 
the remainder is submitted to another distillation. For practical purposes, how- 
ever, the oil is sufficiently pure when once redistilled, as directed in the U. S. 
Pharmacopoeia. As usually found in the.shops, the rectified oil is of a light yel- 
lowish-brown or amber colour. When quite pure it is colourless, as fluid as 
alcohol, of the sp. gr. 0758 at 15°, and boils at 186°. It has a strong, peculiar, 
unpleasant odour, and a hot, acrid taste. It imparts these properties in some 
degree to water, without being perceptibly dissolved. It is soluble in eight parts 
of alcohol of the sp. gr. 0847 at 55°, in five parts of the sp. gr. 0‘825, and in 
all proportions in absolute alcohol. The fixed oils unite with it. On exposure 
to the light and air, it slowly changes in colour and consistence, becoming ulti- 
mately black and solid. It appears, when quite pure, to be a carbohydrogen, 
consisting, according to Dr. Dopping, of 88‘46 parts of carbon and 1154 of hy- 
drogen in 100. (Ghem. Ga,z.t Nov. 1845, p. 447.) It is said to be sometimes 
adulterated with oil of turpentine, which may be detected by passing muriatic 
acid gas through the suspected oil. If pure it will remain wholly liquid; while 
oil of turpentine, if present, will give rise to the formation of solid artificial 
camphor. (Pharm. Journ., xiii. 292.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Rectified oil of amber is stimulant and anti- 
spasmodic, and occasionally promotes the secretions, particularly that of urine. 
It has been employed with advantage in amenorrhoea, and in various spasmodic 
and convulsive affections, as tetanus, epilepsy, hysteria, hooping-cough, and in- 
fantile convulsions from intestinal irritation, &c. The dose is from five to fifteen 
drops, diffused in some aromatic water by means of sugar and gum arabic. Ex- 
ternally applied the oil is rubefacient, and is considerably employed as a lini- 
ment in chronic rheumatism and palsy, and in certain spasmodic disorders, as 
hooping-cough and infantile convulsions. In the latter affection it should be 
rubbed along the spine, and was highly recommended by the late Dr. Joseph 
Parrish, mixed with an equal measure of laudanum, and diluted with three or 
four parts of olive oil and of brandy. W. 
OLEUM TABACI. U.S. Oil of Tobacco. 
“Take of Tobacco, in coarse powder, twelve troyounces. Put it into a re- 
tort of green glass, connected with a refrigeratory, to which a tube is attached 
for the escape of the incondensible products. Then, by means of a sand-bath, heat 
the retort gradually to dull redness, and maintain it at that temperature until 
empyreumatic oil ceases to come over. Lastly, separate the dark, oily liquid in 
the receiver from the watery portion, and keep it in a well-stopped bottle.” U. S. 
This is a black, thickish liquid, of a strong characteristic odour, identical with 
that of old tobacco pipes, and in no degree resembling that of undecomposed 
tobacco. It may be obtained colourless by rectification, but soon becomes yel- 
lowish and ultimately brown. It probably contains a portion of nicotia volatil- 
ized unchanged, and is a powerful poison, unfit for internal use, and when em- 
ployed externally requiring much caution. Mixed with simple ointment or lard, 
in the proportion of twenty drops to an ounce, it has been used as an applica- 
tion to indolent tumours, buboes, ulcers, and obstinate cutaneous eruptions; but, 
in all cases where the cuticle is wanting, it should be employed with reserve, and 
its effects carefully watched. W 
OLEUM VALERIANAE. U.S. Oil of Valerian. 
This was introduced for the first time as an officinal into the U. S Pharma- PART II. 
Olea Destillata.—Oleoresinse. 
1259 
copoeia of 1850. It is obtained from the root of Valeriana officinalis by the usual 
process of distillation with water. According to Zeller, the dried root of the 
best quality yields 1*64 percent, of the oil. Yerygood oil has been distilled 
from the root cultivated in this country. As first procured, it is of a pale-green- 
ish colour, of the sp. gr. 0 934, with a pungent odour of valerian, and an aro- 
matic taste. Upon exposure, it becomes yellow and viscid. It is a complex sub- 
stance, containing 1. a carbohydrogen isomeric with pure oil of turpentine ; 2. a 
small proportion of stearoptene, of an odour resembling that of camphor and 
pepper, and formed probably by the combination of water with the preceding con- 
stituent; 3. a peculiar oxygenated oil, called valerol (C20H]2O, Kane’s Chemis- 
try), which, by the agency of the air, is converted into valerianic (valeric) acid 
and a resinous matter; and 4. valerianic acid, which always exists in the oil iD 
small proportion, but is increased by exposure. The conversion of valerol into 
valerianic acid, through the agency of atmospheric oxygen, is very much pro- 
moted by the presence of caustic alkalies, which combine with the acid, when 
formed, to produce valerianates. Somewhat different views of the oil are given 
by M. Pierlot, who has investigated its nature. According to this chemist, the oil, 
whether fresh or old, always contains about 5 hundredths of valerianic acid, and, 
besides this, the two oils above referred to, namely, the carbohydrogen, which he 
names valerene, and the valerol, the formula of which he gives as C24H20O2, and 
which becomes resinified by exposure to the air. He has concluded, moreover, 
that valerol cannot be changed into an acid by any known process. (See Am. 
Journ. of Pharm., March, 1860, p. 142.) The oil of valerian exercises the same 
influence as the root on the nervous system, and is frequently administered as a 
substitute for it in the dose of four or five drops. W. 
OLEORESINiE. 
Oleoresins. 
The oleoresins, as a class of Preparations, were newly introduced into the 
U. S. Pharmacopoeia at the late revision, having been previously considered 
with the Fluid Extracts. Their peculiarity is that they consist of principles, 
which, when extracted by means of ether, retain a liquid or semi-liquid state 
upon the evaporation of the menstruum, and at the same time have the property 
of self-preservation; differing in this respect from the fluid extracts, which re- 
quire the presence of alcohol or sugar to prevent decomposition. They consist 
chiefly, as their name implies, of oil either fixed or volatile, holding resin and 
sometimes other active matter in solution. Their preparation is very simple, 
consisting in the exhaustion of the medicine employed with ether, by means of 
percolation, and the subsequent evaporation of the menstruum. In consequence 
of the great volatility of ether, it may in great measure be recovered by distilla- 
tion, thus very materially diminishing the costliness of the process. It is proper 
not to continue the heat necessary for the distillation till the whole of the ether 
is driven over, lest, towards the close, a portion of the volatile matters also should 
pass, and the strength of the oleoresin be impaired. Hence, in every instance, 
the last portions of the menstruum are allowed to separate by spontaneous eva- 
poration. W. 
OLEORESINA CAPSICI. Z7. $. Oleoresin of Capsicum. 
“Take of Capsicum, in fine powder, twelve troyounces; Ether a sufficient 
quantity. Put the Capsicum into a cylindrical percolator, press it firmly, and 
gradually pour Ether upon it until twenty-four fluidounees of filtered liquid have 
passed. Recover from this, by distillation on a water-bath, eighteen fluidounees 
of etaer, and expose the residue, in a capsule, until the remaining ether has 1260 
Oleoresinse, 
PART IL 
evaporated. Lastly, remove, by straining, the fatty matter which separates on 
standing, and keep the Oleoresin in a well-stopped bottle.” U. S. 
The active principle of capsicum, called capsicin, is very soluble in ether, and 
is wholly extracted in the process. Its precise nature has not been determined ; 
but, in. the purest form in which it has been obtained, it is of a semi-liquid olea- 
ginous consistence. After the concentration of the ethereal solution, a solid fatty 
matter separates on standing, but a portion of fixed oil probably still remains. 
The preparation is a very thick liquid, capable, however, of being dropped, of a 
dark reddish-brown colour, and, though opaque in mass, yet transparent in thin 
layers. It has not very decidedly the odour of capsicum, but to the taste is in- 
tensely pungent. It may be usefully employed to give locally stimulant proper- 
ties to substances administered internally in a pilular form, in cases of gastric 
insensibility and excessive flatulence. Not more than a drop should be given at 
once, and that very much diluted, whether mixed with solids in the pill mass, or 
in liquid mixtures. It may be used also as a powerful rubefacient, diluted with 
olive oil or soap liniment. W. 
OLEORESINA CUBEBiE. U.S. Extractum Fluidum. 
U. S. 1850. Oleoresin of Cubeb. Fluid Extract of Cubebs. 
“ Take of Cubeb, in fine powder, twelve troyounces; ~Eit\iQV a sufficient quan- 
tity. Put the Cubeb into a cylindrical percolator, press it moderately, and grad- 
ually pour Ether upon it until twenty-four fluidounces of filtered liquid have 
passed. Recover from this, by distillation on a water-bath, eighteen fluidounces 
of ether, and expose the residue, in a capsule, until the remaining ether has 
evaporated. Lastly, keep the Oleoresin in a well-stopped bottle.” U. S. 
This oleoresin consists mainly of the volatile oil and resin, with a portion of 
the cubebin and waxy matter of the cubebs. The consistence differs with the cha- 
racter of the cubebs employed; its degree of fluidity being proportionate to the 
amount of volatile oil contained in the medicine. The colour is usually black- 
ish-brown, with more or less of a greenish hue, according to the quantity of chlo- 
, rophyll present, which varies with the character of the cubebs, and with that of 
the menstruum; pure ether extracting the green colouring matter preferably, 
while ordinary alcoholic ether extracts also the brown. Cubebs yield from one- 
eighth to one-fifth of their weight of fluid extract. The preparation deposits 
waxy matter and crystals of cubebin on standing; but its efficacy is probably 
not impaired. It was first introduced into use by Prof. Procter, (dm, Journ. of 
Pharm., xviii. 168.) The dose is from five to thirty minims, which may be given 
suspended in water, or mixed with powdered sugar. 
Off. Prep. Troehisci Cubebae, U. S. W. 
OLEORESINA FILICIS. Extractum Filicis Liquidum. Br. Oleo- 
resin of Fern. Liquid Extract of Fern Root. 
“ Take of Fern Root, in coarse powder, two pounds [avoirdupois]; Ether 
four pints [Imperial measure], or a sufficiency. Mix the Fern Root with two 
pints [Imp. meas.] of the Ether; pack closely in a percolator; and add the re- 
mainder of the Ether at intervals, until it passes through colourless. Let the 
ether evaporate on a water-bath, or recover it by distillation, and preserve .the 
oily extract.” Br. 
This is a new officinal of the British Pharmacopoeia, and ought to have a place 
in our own. Though introduced in the Pharmacopoeia among the Extracts, it 
yet by its character belongs so decidedly to the oleoresins, that wre have deemed 
it expedient to give it this position, and to name it, in chief, Oleoresin of 
Fern. It is an ethereal extract of the Fern Root, consisting mainly of oily and 
resinous matter, and has been long known and much used on the Continent of 
Europe, under the name of oil of fern, in the treatment of the tape-worm. It 
is a thick, dark liquid, with the odour of fern, and a nauseous, bitterish, some- PART II. 
Oleoresinse. 
1261 
what acrid taste. (See Filix Mas, in Part I.) It is believed to have all the an- 
thelmintic powers of the male fern, and may be given in the dose of half a flui- 
drachm. W. 
OLEORESINA LUPULINiE. U.S. Oleoresin of Lupulin. 
“Take of Lupulin twelve troy ounces; Ether a sufficient quantity. Put the 
Lupulin into a narrow cylindrical percolator, press it firmly, and gradually pour 
Ether upon it until thirty fluidounces of filtered liquid have passed. Recover 
from this, by distillation on a water-bath, eighteen fluidounces of ether, and ex- 
pose the residue, in a capsule, until the remaining ether has evaporated. Lastly 
keep the Oleoresin in a wide-mouthed bottle, well stopped.” U. S. 
Lupulin yields its volatile oil and resin, as well as any other active principle it 
may contain, to ether, and the resulting oleoresin constitutes about three-eighths, 
or somewhat less than one-half of the original drug. It is of a very thick semi- 
fluid consistence, so thick indeed that it cannot be conveniently administered by 
drops. Its colour is almost black in mass, but a rich reddish-brown in thin layers. 
It has the odour and taste of lupulin, and possesses all its medical properties. 
The dose is from two to five grains, and may be most conveniently administered 
in the form of pill, made with powdered liquorice root, or other proper exci- 
pient. W. 
OLEORESINA PIPERIS. U.S. Extractum Piperis Fluidum. U. S. 
1850. Oleoresin of Black Pepper. Fluid Extract of Black Pepper. 
“Take of Black Pepper, in fine powder, twelve troyounces; Ether a suffi- 
cient quantity. Put the Black Pepper into a cylindrical percolator, press it 
firmly, and gradually pour Ether upon it until twenty-four fluidounces of filtered 
liquid have passed. Recover from this, by distillation on a water-bath, eighteen 
fluidounces of ether, and expose the residue, in a capsule, until the remaining 
ether has evaporated, and the deposition of piperin in crystals has ceased. Lastly, 
separate the Oleoresin from the piperin by expression through a muslin strainer, 
and keep it in a well-stopped bottle.” U. S. 
A substance has long been in use under the name of oil of black pepper, con- 
sisting mainly of the volatile oil and resin of the pepper, and belonging, there- 
fore, to the oleoresins. As usually found, it is almost black, and of a thickish 
consistence, and is a residue of the process for preparing piperin. The officinal 
oleoresin has the same general character, but is more fluid, and of more uniform 
strength, and should, therefore, be preferred. It contains almost all the volatile 
oil and acrid resin of black pepper, with little of the piperin; and, as the last- 
mentioned principle, when quite pure, is of doubtful efficacy, the extract may be 
considered as representing the virtues of the fruit. The colour is greener than 
that of the common oil of black pepper, and not so dark, owing to the fact that 
ether dissolves the green more readily than the brown colouring matter. A pound 
of black pepper yields about six drachms of the fluid extract, the dose of which, 
proportionate to the ordinary dose of pepper, would be one or two minims. It 
may be given in emulsion, or may be combined in small proportion with other 
substances in the form of pill. W 
OLEORESINA ZINGIBERIS. U.S. Oleoresin of G-inger. 
“Take of Ginger, in fine powder, twelve troyounces; Stronger Ether twelve 
fluidounces; Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Put the Ginger into a cylindrical 
percolator, press it firmly, and pour upon it the Stronger Ether. When this has 
been absorbed by the powder, add Alcohol until twelve fluidounces of filtered 
liquid have passed. Recover from this, by distillation on a water-bath, nine fluid- 
ounces of ether, and expose the residue, in a capsule, until the volatile part has 
evaporated. Lastly, keep the Oleoresin in a well-stopped bottle.” U. S. 
In the preparation of this oleoresin alcohol is used in connection with ether, 
but solely on the score of economy; as it is added in order to displace the ether, 1262 
Oleoresinse.—Pilulse. 
PART II 
and thus save an unnecessary expenditure of this more costly fluid. A little of 
the alcohol, no doubt, mixes with the ether at their surface of contact, but only 
a little; and the liquid which passes is mainly the ether loaded with the oleore- 
sinous matter of the ginger. The whole of the virtues of the root are extracted 
In this preparation, as the residuary ginger is nearly or quite tasteless. The 
oleoresin constitutes about 5 per cent, of the dried root. It is the piperoid of 
ginger of M. Beral. (Soubeirari’s Trait, de Pharm., i. 371.) It is a clear dark- 
brown liquid, of a thick consistence, though capable of being dropped, with the 
flavour of ginger, and intensely pungent. Its dose should not exceed a minim, 
and should be much diluted when administered. W. 
PILULE. 
Pills. 
These are small globular masses of a size convenient for swallowing. They 
are well adapted for the administration of medicines which are unpleasant to the 
taste or smell, or insoluble in water, and do not require to be given in large 
doses. Deliquescent substances should not be made into pills; and those which 
are efflorescent should be previously deprived of their water of crystallization. 
Care should also be taken not to combine materials, the mutual reaction of which 
may result in a change of form. 
Some substances have a consistence which enables them to be made immedi- 
ately into pills. Such are the softer extracts and certain gum-resins; and the 
addition of a little water to the former, and a few drops of spirit to the latter, 
will give them the requisite softness and plasticity, if previously wanting. Sub- 
stances which are very soft, or in the liquid state, are formed into the pilular 
mass by incorporation with dry and inert powders, such as wheat flour, starch, 
and powdered gum arabic, or with crumb of bread. Powders must be mixed with 
soft, solid bodies, as extracts, confections, soap, &c., or with tenacious liquids, as 
syrup, molasses, honey, mucilage, or glycerin ; and the last-mentioned substance 
has been especially recommended in connection with a little alcohol. (Tick- 
borne.) Heavy metallic powders are most conveniently made into pills with the 
former; light vegetable powders with the latter. Mucilage is very often used; 
but pills made with it are apt when kept to become hard, and of difficult solu- 
bility in the liquids of the stomach,, and, if metallic substances are mixed with 
it, the mass does not work well. A mixture of syrup and powdered gum arabic 
is not subject to the same inconveniences, and is an excellent material for the 
formation of pills. Honey has been highly recommended. Confection of roses 
and molasses are among the best excipients, when the pills are to be long kept. 
For the same purpose of keeping the pill soft, the addition of a small portion of 
some fixed oil or deliquescent salt has been recommended; and glycerin will pro- 
bably answer still better. Many powders require only water. Such are all those 
which contain ingredients capable of forming an adhesive or viscid solution with 
that liquid. Care should always be taken that the matter added be not incom- 
patible with the main constituents of the pill. 
The materials should be accurately mixed together, and beat in a mortar till 
formed into a perfectly uniform and plastic mass. This should be of such a 
consistence that the pills may preserve their form, without being so hard as to 
resist the solvent power of the gastric liquors. As pills frequently become very 
hard by time, it is often convenient to keep the mass in a state fit to be divided 
when wanted for use. This may be done by wrapping it in bladders, putting it 
in covered pots, and occasionally moistening it as it becomes dry; or, more 
effectually, by keeping it in glass or well-glazed jars, accurately closed with 
varnished bladder. 
The mass, having been duly prepared, is made into pills by rolling it with a part II. 
Pilulse. 
1263 
spatula, or with a flat, smooth piece of hard wood, into a cylinder of precisely the 
same thickness throughout, and of a length corresponding to the number of pills 
required. It is then divided as equally as possible by the hand, or more accurately 
by a machine made for the purpose.* The pills receive a spherical form by being 
rolled between the fingers. M. Miahle describes a little instrument for rolling 
pills, composed of two circular plates, one about 12, the other 6 inches in diam- 
eter ; the former having a ledge at the border one-third of an inch high, the 
latter with a similar ledge, varying, according to the size of the pills, from less 
than a line to nearly two lines, and with a strap on the back by which it can be 
fitted to the hand. This is to be moved in a rotary manner upon the larger plate, 
holding the divided portions of the pill mass. (Journ. de Pharm., Se ser., xvii. 
218.) In order to prevent the adhesion of pills to one another, or to the sides 
of the vessel in which they may be placed, it is customary to agitate them with 
some dry powder, which gives them an external coating, that serves also to con- 
ceal their taste. For this purpose, carbonate of magnesia, powdered liquorice 
root, or starch may be used. Carbonate of magnesia is sometimes incompatible 
with one of the ingredients of the pills; and liquorice root is generally prefera- 
ble, though it sometimes becomes mouldy with very damp pills. The powder of 
lycopodium, which has been long in use in Europe, is now considerably em- 
ployed in this country, and is perhaps the best substance for the purpose; and 
it was formerly the custom to give the pill a coating of gold or silver leaf.f 
It has been proposed by M. Garot to cover pills with gelatin, which answers 
the purpose of concealing their taste and odour, and counteracting deliquescence 
or chemical change from exposure to the air, without interfering with their solu- 
bility in the stomach. He dips each pill, sustained on the point of a pin, into 
melted gelatin, withdraws it with a rotary motion, then fixes the pin in a paste so 
as to allow the coating to dry in the air, and, having prepared about fifty pills 
in this way,' proceeds to complete the operation by holding the pin in the flame 
of a taper so as to melt the gelatin near its point, and then withdrawing it from 
the pill so as to close up the orifice. The purest glue should be selected for this 
purpose, melted with the addition of two or three drachms of water to an ounce 
of the glue, and kept liquid by means of a salt-bath. 
Another plan for attaining the same objects, less effectual, but more conve- 
nient than the above, is to introduce the pills into a spherical box, to drop on 
them enough syrup simply to moisten their surface, then to give a rotary move- 
ment to the box until the pills are uniformly covered, and finally to add by de- 
grees a powder consisting of equal parts of gum, sugar, and starch, shaking the 
box with each addition, and continuing the process until nothing more will 
adhere to the pills. The investing material may be rendered agreeable to the 
taste and smell by aromatic additions, if deemed advisable. (Journ. de Pharm., 
x. 32.) M. Calloud has found that a better powder for the purpose, because 
less disposed to attract moisture, is made by boiling one part of flaxseed and 
three parts of white sugar with sufficient water till a thick mucilage is formed, 
evaporating this carefully to dryness, and then pulverizing. (Ibid., xxiii. 301.) 
The same writer has since suggested, as still more effective, a powder made 
by forming a mucilage with one part of tragacanth and two of water, press- 
ing this through linen, mixing it with twenty parts of sugar of milk, spreading 
* The common pill-machine is too well known to require description. In the Am. Journ. 
of Pharm. (xxiv. 315) the reader will find the description of a rotary pill-machine, calcu- 
lated to prepare large numbers of pills in a short time; and in the same journal (xxvi. 
118) of another, which is considered an improvement on the first. 
•j* This mode of protecting pills is still practised to some extent; and Messrs. Parrish and 
Bakes have published their method of proceeding. It consists in agitating the pills, pre- 
pared without dusting powder, and with their surface still damp, along with gold or silver 
leaf, in a hollow spherical wooden box, made by turning two hemispheres out of hard 
wood, fitting each other, and provided with a short handle. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 
1861, p. 2.) 1264 
JPiluloe. 
PART II. 
the paste thus made in thin layers to dry, and then powdering. The pills may 
he simply moistened with water, and then shaken in the powder. M. Lhermite 
proposes first to agitate the pills in a mortar with a little concentrated solution 
of gum, and afterwards to put them into a box containing dry and very finely 
powdered sugar, to which a rotary motion is given. If the coating be not suffi- 
ciently thick, the process may be repeated. (Ibid,, xxv. 460. )* Still another me- 
thod, proposed by Mr. E. K. Durden, is to cover the pills with collodion, which 
completely conceals the taste. The solution employed by Mr. Durden had the 
sp. gr. 0 810; and two dippings give a sufficient coating. (See Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., xxi. 183.) It is, however, yet to be determined whether a coating of 
collodion would yield readily to the solvent powers of the gastric juice. M. Blan- 
card covers pills with a solution of Tolu balsam in ether; but Mr. H. C. Bail- 
don objects to this, that it takes too long to dry, and suggests as a substitute a 
solution of a drachm of the balsam in three drachms of chloroform, which dries 
sufficiently in twenty minutes. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxix. 350.) If old and 
solid Tolu balsam be selected, it will be less liable to the objection of drying 
slowly. A solution of mastic in ether has also been used, and is officinally em- 
ployed in coating the XL S. pills of iodide of iron. The white of egg has been 
recommended for the same purpose. (Ibid., March, 1862, p. 137.) 
Pills which are to be long kept should be well dried, and put into bottles with 
accurately fitting stoppers. Though the IT. S. Pharmacopoeia, in almost every 
instance, orders the mass to be divided into pills; yet it should be understood 
rather as indicating the number of pills to be made from a certain quantity of 
the mass, when particular directions are not given by the physician, than as re- 
quiring the division to be made immediately after the materials have been mixed. 
It will be found convenient by the apothecary to retain a portion of the mass 
undivided, especially when it is desirable to keep the pills soft. 
The Pills formerly officinal, which have been omitted in the present XI. S. and 
Br. Pharmacopoeias, are the Compound Pills of Aloes, Lond., Dub.; the Pills 
of Calomel and Opium, Ed.; the Compound Pill of Hemlock, Lond.; the Pills 
of Sulphate of Iron, Ed.; those of Mild Chloride of Mercury, U. S., and of Ipe- 
cacuanha with Squill, Lond.; the Opiate Pills of Lead, Ed.; Pills of Rhubarb 
and Iron, Ed.; and the Compound Pills of Storax, Lond., Ed. W. 
* The sugar coating of pills is now conducted upon a great scale by manufacturers, who 
send large quantities both of popular and officinal pills into the market thus protected. 
The process employed is similar to that of the confectioners in coating almonds. After 
having been thoroughly dried, the pills are put into a hemispherical tinned copper basin, 
which is suspended from the ceiling, and moved quickly backward and forward with an 
eccentric motion, so as to cause a constant attrition among the pills. First a little very 
thick syrup, or syrup of gum, is introduced in order to give a thin coating to their sur- 
face; and afterwards very finely powdered and very dry white sugar is sifted or thrown 
over them; the motion being constantly maintained. The sugar is fixed by the moist sur- 
face of the pills, and the coating made compact and smooth by the attrition. The process 
is aided by a gentle heat, arising from an open charcoal fire beneath; but the heat must 
be guarded, lest the pills be much softened, and thus lose their shape, and even discolour 
the coating. Dextrous manipulation is necessary in order that the process may succeed 
satisfactorily.—Note to the twelfth edition. 
| Granules. Minute pills, scarcely larger than a pin’s head, have been recently popular 
in France, under the name of granules; and their use has of late been introduced to some 
extent in the United States. They are generally used for the administration of very pow- 
erful medicines, as digitaline for instance, which is given in the dose of one-fiftieth of a 
grain. An objection to them is the great difficulty of securing an exactly equal amount 
of the medicine in each granule; and great care, therefore, is necessary, in their prepara- 
tion, to guard against this danger. Like the pills, these also are prepared on the large 
scale, and like them are sugar coated. The process moreover for making them is somewhat 
similar. The mass is first divided by a hand machine so as to ensure uniformity of size, 
and the little particles are then coated. The details, however, of the proceeding, as well 
as of the apparatus employed, are kept secret.—Note to the twelfth edition PART II. 
Pilulse. 
1265 
PILUL2E ALOES. U. S. Pjlula Aeoes Barbadensis. Br. Pilula 
Aloes Socotrinje. Br. Pills of Aloes. Pill of Barbadoes Aloes. Pill 
of Socotrine Aloes. 
“ Take of Socotrine Aloes, in fine powder, Soap, in fine powder, each, a troy 
ounce. Beat them together with water so as to form a pilular mass, to be divided 
into two hundred and forty pills.” U. S. 
“ Take of Barbadoes Aloes, in powder, two ounces [avoirdupois]; Hard Soap, 
in powder, one ounce [avoird.]; Oil of Caraway one fluidrachm; Confection 
of Roses one ounce [avoird.]. Beat all together until thoroughly mixed.” Br. 
The British process for pill of Socotrine Aloes is the same, except that So- 
cotrine is substituted for Barbadoes Aloes, and the volatile Oil of Nutmeg for 
that of Caraway. 
The soap, in this formula, not only serves to impart a proper consistence to 
the aloes, but is thought to qualify its operation, and diminish its liability to ir- 
ritate the rectum. Five of the U. S. pills, containing ten grains of aloes, may be 
given with a view to their purgative effect; but the preparation is usually em- 
ployed as a laxative in habitual costiveness, in the quantity of one, two, or three 
pills, taken before breakfast or dinner, or at bedtime. The British pill is of very 
nearly the same strength. W. 
PILULiE ALOES ET ASSAFCETIDiE. U. S., Br. Pills of Aloes and 
Assafetida. 
“ Take of Socotrine Aloes, in fine powder, Assafetida, Soap, in fine powder, 
each, half a troyounce. Beat them together with water so as to form a pilular 
mass, to be divided into one hundred and eighty pills.” U. S. 
“ Take of Socotrine Aloes, in powder, Assafetida, Hard Soap, in powder, 
Confection of Roses, each, an ounce. Beat all together until thoroughly 
mixed.” Br. 
These pills are peculiarly adapted, by the stimulant and carminative proper- 
ties of the assafetida, to cases of costiveness attended with flatulence and de- 
bility of the digestive organs. Each pill contains about four grains of the mass. 
From two to five may be given for a dose. W. 
PILULiE ALOES ET MASTICIIES. U.S. Pills of Aloes and Afas- 
tic. 
“ Take of Socotrine Aloes, in fine powder, a troyounce and a half; Mastic, 
in fine powder, Red Rose, in fine powder, each, half a troyounce. Beat them 
together with water so as to form a pilular mass, to be divided into four hun- 
dred pills.” U. S. 
Each of these pills contains about four grains of the mass, including the water 
employed, and nearly two grains of aloes. They are an imitation of Lady Web- 
ster’s dinner pills, and one of them may be given as a laxative at bedtime, or 
before a meal. The mastic has probably little other effect than to impair the 
solubility of the aloes, and thus give it a still greater tendency to act on the 
lower bowels.* W. 
* The following is the formula for the aloetic pills, usually called dinner pills, or Lady 
Webster's pills. They are the pilulse stomachicse of the fifth edition of the Paris Codex, 
A. D. 1758. Take of the best aloes six drachms; mastic and red roses, each, two drachms; 
syrup of wormwood sufficient to form a mass, to be divided into pills of three grains each. 
Common syrup may be substituted for syrup of wormwood. One or two of these pills, 
taken shortly before a meal, will usually produce one free evacuation. 
The Philadelphia College of Pharmacy has adopted the following formulas for the com- 
pound aloetic preparations commonly called Hooper's and Anderson's pills. 
“Hooper's female pills. R. Aloes Barbadensis !|viij, Ferri Sulphatis Exsiccati gij, giss, 
vel Ferri Sulphatis Crystal. S;iv, Extracti Hellebori Myrrlise 3ij, Saponis Canellaa 
in pulv. tritse gj, Zingiberis in pulv. trit. §j.—Beat them well together into a mass with 1266 
Pilulse. 
PART n. 
PILffLiE ALOES ET MYRRH2E. U.S., Br. Pills of Aloes and 
Myrrh * 
“Take of Socotrine Aloes, in fine powder, two troyounces; Myrrh, in fine 
powder, a troyounce; Saffron, in fine powder, half a troyounce; Syrup a suffi- 
cient quantity. Beat the whole together so as to form a pilular mass, to be 
divided into four hundred and eighty pills.” U. S. 
“Take of Socotrine Aloes two ounces; Myrrh one ounce ; Saffron, dried, 
half an ounce; Confection of Roses two ounces and a half. Triturate the 
Aloes, Myrrh, and Saffron together, and sift; then add the Confection of Roses, 
and beat together into a uniform mass.” Br. 
This composition has been long in use, under the name of Rufus's pills. It 
is employed, as a warm stimulant cathartic, in general debility attended with 
constipation, and retention or suppression of the menses. From three to six 
pills, or from ten to twenty grains of the mass may be given for a dose. W. 
PILULJE ANTIMONII COMPOSITE. U.S. Pilula Calomelanos 
Composita. Br. Compound Pills of Antimony. Compound Calomel Pill. 
Plummer's Pills. 
“ Take of Sulphurated Antimony, Mild Chloride of Mercury, each, one hun- 
dred and twenty grains; Guaiac, in fine powder, Molasses, each, half a troy- 
ounce. Emb the Sulphurated Antimony first with the Mild Chloride of Mer- 
cury, and afterwards with the Guaiac and Molasses, so as to form a pilular 
mass, to be divided into two hundred and forty pills.” U. S. 
“Take of Calomel, Sulphurated Antimony, each, one ounce [avoirdupois]; 
Guaiac Resin, in powder, two ounces [avoird.]; Castor Oil one fuidounce. 
Triturate the Calomel with the Antimony, then add the Guaiac Resin and Cas- 
tor Oil, and beat the whole into a uniform mass.” Br. 
We prefer the title “compound calomel pill” of the British Pharmacopoeia; 
as, though not scientific, it is not liable to any mistake, and is most expressive 
of the quality of the medicine. The antimonial employed, though under a dif- 
ferent name, is identical with the old U. S. precipitated sulphuret. According 
to Yogel, a reaction takes place between the calomel and sulphuret of antimony, 
resulting in the production of chloride of antimony and sulphuret of mercury. 
{Annul, der Pharm., xxviii. 236.) The preparation was originally introduced 
to the notice of the profession by Dr. Plummer, who found it useful as an altera- 
tive, and upon whose authority it was at one time much employed under the 
name of Plummer's pills. The combination is well adapted to the treatment of 
chronic rheumatism, and of scaly and other eruptive diseases of the skin, espe- 
cially when accompanied with a syphilitic taint. Six grains of the U. S. prepara- 
tion, and five of the British contain about one grain of calomel, and each U. S. 
pill about half a grain. One to two pills or more may be given morning and 
evening. W. 
PILULiE ASSAFCETID2E. U.S. Pills of Assafetida. 
“Take of Assafetida a troyounce and a half; Soap, in fine powder, half a 
troyounce. Beat them together with water so as to form a pilular mass, to be 
divided into two hundred and forty pills.” U. S. 
Each of these pills contains three grains of the gum-resin. They are a con- 
venient form for administering assafetida, the unpleasant odour and taste of 
which render it very offensive in the liquid state. W. 
water, and divide into pills, each containing two and a half grains.” (Journ. of the Phil. 
Col. of Phartn., v. 25.) 
“Atiderson’s Scots’ pills. R. Aloes Barbadensis gxxiv, Saponis Colocynthidis 
Gambogise Olei Anisi Let the aloes, colocynth, and gamboge be reduced to a very 
fine powder; then beat them and the soap with water into a mass, of a proper consistence 
to divide into pills, each containing three grains.” (Ibid.) PART II. 
Pilulse. 
1267 
PILULA CAMB0GI2E COMPOSITA. Br. Compound Pill of Gam 
loge. 
“Take of Gamboge, Barbadoes Aloes, Aromatic Powder, each, one ounce. 
Hard Soap, in powder, two ounces; Syrup a sufficiency. Pulverize the Gam- 
boge and Aloes separately, mix them with the Aromatic Powder, add the Soap 
and afterwards the Syrup; and beat the whole into a uniform mass.” Br. 
This is an active purgative pill, and may be given in the dose of ten or fifteen 
grains. The formula is that of Dr. George Fordyce simplified. W. 
PILULiE CATHARTICS COMPOSITE. U.S. Compound Cathar- 
tic Pills. 
“Take of Compound Extract of Colocynth half a troyounce; Extract of 
Jalap, in fine powder, Mild Chloride of Mercury [calomel], each, one hundred 
and eighty grains; Gamboge, in fine powder, forty grains. Mix the powders 
together; then with water form a pilular mass, to be divided into one hundred 
and eighty pills.” U. S. 
This cathartic compound was first made officinal in the second edition of the 
TJ. S. Pharmacopoeia. It was intended to combine smallness of bulk with effi- 
ciency and comparative mildness of purgative action, and tendency 
to the biliary organs. Such an officinal preparation was much wanted in this 
country, in which bilious fevers, and other complaints attended with congestion 
of the liver and portal circle generally, so much abound. The object of small- 
ness of bulk is accomplished by employing extracts and the more energetic 
cathartics; that of a peculiar tendency to the liver, by the use of calomel; and 
that of efficiency with mildness of operation, by the union of several powerful 
purgatives. It is a fact, abundantly proved by experience, that drastic cathar- 
tics become milder by combination, without losing any of their purgative power. 
Nor is it difficult, in this case, to reconcile the result of observation with physi- 
ological principles. Cathartic medicines act on different parts of the aliment- 
ary canal and organs secreting into it. In small doses, both the irritation which 
they occasion and their purgative effect are proportionably lessened. If several 
are administered at the same time, each in a diminished dose, it is obvious that 
the combined purgative effect of all will be experienced; while the irritation, 
being feeble in each part affected, and diffused over a large space, will be less 
sensible to the patient, and will more readily subside. In the compound cathar- 
tic pills, most of the active purgatives in common use are associated together 
in proportions corresponding with their respective doses, so that an excess of 
any one ingredient is guarded against, and violent irritation from this cause 
prevented. The name of the preparation may at first sight seem objectionable, 
as it might be applied to any compound pills possessing cathartic properties; 
but, when it is considered that the ingredients cannot all be expressed in the 
title, that no one is sufficiently prominent to give a designation to the whole, 
and that the preparation is intended as the representative of numerous cathar- 
tics, and calculated for a wride range of application, the name will not be con- 
sidered an inexcusable deviation from ordinary medical nomenclature. It is 
highly important, for the efficiency of these pills, that they be prepared in exact 
compliance with the directions, and that the compound extract of colocynth 
and the extract of jalap used be of good quality. When they fail, the result is 
generally ascribable to the substitution of jalap for the extract, or to the use of 
a compound extract of colocynth made with nearly inert scammony, inferior 
aloes, and insufficient colocynth, and altogether badly prepared. 
Three of the pills, containing lOf grains of the mass, are a medium dose for 
an adult. In this quantity are four grains of compound extract of colocynth, 
three of extract of jalap, three of calomel, and two-thirds of a grain of gamboge. 
A single pill will generally be found to operate as a mild laxative. In a full Pilulse. 
PART II. 
dose, the preparation acts vigorously on the bowels, producing bilious stools, 
generally without much pain or disorder of the stomach. It may be employed 
in most instances where a brisk cathartic is required; but is particularly appli- 
cable to the early stages of bilious fevers, to hepatitis, jaundice, and all those 
derangements of the alimentary canal, or of the general health, which depend 
on congestion of the portal circle. W. 
PILULA COLOCYNTHIDIS COMPOSITA. Br. Compound Pill of 
Colocynth. 
“Take of Colocynth, in powder, one ounce; Barbadoes Aloes, in powder, two 
ounces; Scammony, in powder, two ounces; Sulphate of Potash, in powder, a 
quarter of an ounce; Oil of Cloves two fluidrachms; Distilled Water a suffi- 
ciency. Mix the Powders, add the Oil of Cloves, and beat into a mass with the 
aid of Water.” Br. The ounce employed is the avoirdupois ounce. 
This is not, like the late London pills of the same name, merely another form 
of the compound extract of colocynth, though containing essentially the same 
materials; one great difference being that colocynth and aloes are used in sub- 
stance in the pill, instead of in the state of extract. The present British prepa- 
ration is that of the late Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia slightly altered. Sulphate 
of potassa is used to promote the more complete division of the aloes and scam- 
mony. The preparation is actively cathartic in the dose of from five to twenty 
grains. W. 
PILULA COLOCYNTHIDIS ET IIYOSCYAMI. Br. Pill of Colo- 
cynth and Hyoscyamus. 
This is directed in the British Pharmacopoeia to be prepared in the same 
manner as the Compound Pill of Colocynth, except that three ounces of Ex- 
tract of Hyoscyamus are taken in addition to the other ingredients, and added 
along with the oil of cloves to the mixed powders. 
This is an old officinal of the Edinburgh College. It is asserted that the com- 
pound pill and compound extract of colocynth are almost entirely deprived of 
their griping tendency by combination, as above, with extract of hyoscyamus, 
without losing any of their purgative power. The dose is from five to twenty 
grains. W. 
PILULiE COPAIBiE. U.S. Pills of Copaiba. 
“ Take of Copaiba two troyounces; Magnesia, recently prepared, sixty grains. 
Mix them together, and set the mixture aside until it concretes into a pilular 
mass, to be divided into two hundred pills.” U. S. 
When copaiba is mixed with pure magnesia, it gradually loses its fluidity, 
forming at first a soft tenacious mass, and ultimately becoming dry, hard, and 
brittle. The quantity of magnesia, and the length of time requisite for this 
change, vary with the condition of the copaiba; being greater in proportion to 
the fluidity of this substance, or, in other words, to its amount of volatile oil. 
The quantity of magnesia directed by the Pharmacopoeia, one-sixteenth of the 
weight of the copaiba, is sufficient to solidify the latter, as it is often found in 
the shops, in the course of six or eight hours; but, when the copaiba is fresh, 
or has been kept in closely stopped bottles, and retains, therefore, nearly the 
whole of its oil, it is necessary either to augment the proportion of magnesia, 
or to expose the mixture for a much longer time, or to diminish the volatile oil 
of the copaiba by evaporation. The magnesia combines chemically with the 
capaivic acid or hard resin, but, in relation to the volatile oil, acts merely as 
an absorbent; for, when the solidified mass is submitted to the action of boiling 
alcohol, a part is dissolved, abandoning the magnesia with which it was mixed, 
while the resin, combined with another portion of the earth, remains undissolved. 
Varieties of copaiba, therefore, are solidifiable by magnesia, directly in propor- 
tion to the hard resin they contain, and inversely in proportion to the volatile PART II. 
Pilulse, 
1269 
oil; the soft resin being indifferent. According to Guibourt, copaiba, not solidi 
fiable by magnesia, may be made so by adding one-sixth of Bordeaux or com- 
mon European turpentine. The magnesia employed should not have been 
allowed to become hydrated by exposure to a moist air or otherwise. In the 
preparation of the pills of copaiba, care should be taken to divide the mass 
before it has become too hard. The advantage of this preparation is, that the 
copaiba is brought to the state of pill with little increase of bulk. Each pill 
contains- nearly five grains of copaiba, and from two to six may be taken for a 
dose twice or three times a day. 
Hydrate of lime produces the same effect as magnesia, and, as stated by M. 
Thierry, in a shorter time, if employed according to his formula. He takes 15 
parts of copaiba and 1 part of slaked lime, mixes them in a marble mortar, trans- 
fers the mixture to an open vessel, places this upon a sand-bath, and sustains the 
heat for four hours, occasionally stirring. The hydrate of lime must have been 
freshly prepared from recently burnt lime. The mixture loses only a twenty- 
fourth of its weight, which is chiefly the water of the hydrate. (Journ. de Pharm., 
3e ser., i. 310.) 
Pills may also be made by incorporating vegetable powders with copaiba so 
as to bring it to the proper consistence; but this method has the inconvenience 
of greatly increasing the bulk. Spermaceti and wax have been proposed as ex- 
cipients ; and the latter, which was originally suggested by J. F. Simon, is recom- 
mended by Mr. Maisch as retaining all the volatile oil, and, with some vegetable 
powder, forming a mass that will retain its plasticity for years. One part, each, 
of wax, copaiba, and vegetable powder will answer the purpose, when the copaiba 
does not contain more than 50 per cent, of volatile oil; but if richer than this, 
it will require more of the excipient. To prepare the pills, melt the wax at the 
lowest possible heat, then gradually add the copaiba, and lastly incorporate some 
vegetable powder, as pulverized liquorice root, for example, with the other ingre- 
dients. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 1863, p. 17.) W. 
PILULiE FERRI CARBONATIS. U.S.,Br. Pills of Carbonate of 
Iron. Vallet’s Ferruginous Pills. 
“ Take of Sulphate of Iron eight troyounces; Carbonate of Soda nine troy- 
ounces; Clarified Honey three troyounces; Sugar, in coarse powder, two troy- 
ounces ; Boiling Water two pints; Syrup a sufficient quantity. Dissolve the 
salts separately, each in a pint of the Water, a fluidounce of Syrup having been 
previously added to each pint. Mix the two solutions, when cold, in a bottle 
just large enough to hold them, close it accurately with a stopper, and set it by 
that the carbonate of iron may subside. Pour off the supernatant liquid, and, 
having mixed water, recently boiled, with Syrup in the proportion of a pint to 
the fluidounce, wash the precipitate with the mixture until the washings no 
longer have a saline taste. Place the precipitate on a flannel cloth to drain, and, 
having expressed as much of the water as possible, mix it immediately with the 
Clarified Honey and Sugar. Lastly, by means of a water-bath, evaporate the 
mixture, constantly stirring, until it is brought to the weight of eight troy- 
ounces.” U. S. 
“Take of the Saccharated Carbonate of Iron one ounce; Confection of Red 
Roses a quarter of an ounce. Beat them into a uniform mass.” Br. 
The effect of saccharine matter in protecting iron from oxidation has been 
■>xplained under the heads of Ferri Carbonas Saccharata and Syrupus Fern 
lodidi. The U. S. pill of carbonate of iron is another example of a ferruginous 
preparation, in which the iron is protected from further oxidation by the same 
means. The salts employed are the same as those used for obtaining the officinal 
subcarbonate of iron; but, in forming that preparation, the carbonate which is 
at first precipitated absorbs oxygen, and loses nearly all its carbonic acid in the 
processes of washing and drying. When, however, as in the U. S. formula above 1270 
Pilulse. 
PART II. 
given, the reacting salts are dissolved in weak syrup instead of water, and the 
washing is performed with weak syrup also, the absorption of oxygen and loss 
of carbonic acid, during the separation of the precipitate, are almost completely 
prevented. It only remains, therefore, to preserve it unaltered, and to bring it 
to the pilular consistence, and this is effected by admixture with honey and 
sugar, and evaporation by means of a water-bath. It is essential to the success 
of this process, that the sulphate of iron should be pure; otherwise some ses- 
quioxide will be present in the product. The process is that of M. Yallet, of 
Paris, after whom the preparation is popularly called. The present U. S. pro- 
cess differs from that of 1850, in boiling the water for washing so as to expel the 
air, and in evaporating to a definite weight at the close, instead of to a proper 
consistence as before directed; both of which changes are improvements sug- 
gested by Dr. Squibb. (Proceed. of Am. Pharm. Assoc., 1858, p. 426.) The Bri- 
tish pill of carbonate of iron is made from the saccharine carbonate, which is 
brought to the pilular consistence by being mixed with conserve of roses. This 
mode of making it is inferior to that of Yallet; for, in the first place, the saccha- 
rine carbonate is admitted to contain sesquioxida of iron, and, secondly, conserve 
of roses, while it is a less efficient preservative of the pilular mass than honey 
and sugar, will, through its tannic acid, form an inky compound with the ferru- 
ginous sesquioxide. (See Ferri Garbonas Saccharata.) 
Properties. The U. S. preparation is in the form of a soft pilular mass, of a 
dark greenish-gray colour, becoming black on exposure, and with a strong ferru- 
ginous taste. When carefully prepared, it is wholly and readily soluble in acids. 
It contains nearly half its weight of carbonate of protoxide of iron. The cor- 
responding pill, obtained from the saccharine carbonate, may be supposed to 
contain one-third of ferruginous matter. 
Medical Properties. The U. S. pill of carbonate of iron, or Yallet’s ferru- 
ginous mass, is admirably adapted to cases in which chalybeate preparations are 
indicated. It is considered particularly useful in chlorosis, amenorrhoea, and 
other female complaints, and appears to act favourably by increasing the colour- 
ing matter of the blood, causing the capillary system to become more fully in- 
jected, and the lips to assume a redder colour. It may be given in divided doses 
to the extent of from ten to thirty grains in the course of the day, and continued 
for a month or six weeks, if improvement take place. As the mass is not divided 
in the U. S. formula, it is necessary in prescription to indicate the weight of each 
pill, which may vary from three to five grains, according to the views of the pre- 
scriber. There is little doubt that, when the alterative effects of iron are indi- 
cated, Yallet’s preparation is one of the best that can be employed. Its chief 
merits are its unchangeableness and ready solubility in acids. For further in- 
formation respecting it, see the favourable report made on Yallet’s pills to the 
French Royal Academy of Medicine, in 1837, by M. Soubeiran, republished in 
thq Am. Journ. of Pharm. (x. 244), and the paper on carbonate of iron by 
Professor Procter, in the same journal (x. 272). 
Blaud's ferruginous pills, celebrated in France as a remedy in chlorosis, are 
prepared from equal weights of sulphate of iron and carbonate of potassa, made 
into a pilular mass with mucilage of tragacanth and powdered liquorice root. 
They contain, as the result of the double decomposition, carbonate of protoxide 
of iron and sulphate of potassa. B. 
PILULiE FERRI COMPOSITE. U.S. Compound Pills of Iron. 
“ Take of Myrrh, in fine powder, one hundred and twenty grains; Carbonate 
of Soda, Sulphate of Iron, each, sixty grains; Syrup a sufficient quantity. Rub 
the Myrrh, first with the Carbonate of Soda, and afterwards with the Su.phate 
of Iron, until they are thoroughly mixed; then beat them with Syrup so us to 
form a pilular mass, to be divided into eighty pills.” U. S. 
This preparation is closely analogous to the Mistura Ferri Cooiposita in pro- PART II. 
Pilulse. 
1271 
perties and composition. It is a good emmenagogue and antihectic tonic. As 
its peculiar advantages depend upon the presence of carbonate of protoxide of 
iron, which speedily changes into the sesquioxide on exposure, it is proper that 
only so much of the mass should be prepared as may be wanted for immediate 
use. It is said that the iron will be better preserved in the state of protoxide, if, 
instead of mixing the ingredients as directed in the Pharmacopoeia, the operator 
should first dissolve the sulphate of iron, finely powdered, in the syrup, with a 
moderate heat, then add the carbonate of soda, stirring till they are thoroughly 
mixed, and lastly incorporate the myrrh. From two to six pills may be given at 
a dose three times a day. W. 
PILULiE FERRI IODIDE U.S. Pilula Ferri Iodidi. Br. Pills 
of Iodide of Iron. 
“Take of Iodine half a troyounce; Iron, in the form of wire and cut in 
pieces, one hundred and twenty grains; Sugar, in fine powder, a troyounce; 
Marshmallow, in fine powder, half a troyounce; Gum Arabic, in fine powder, 
Reduced Iron, each, sixty grains; Water ten fluidrachms. Mix the Iodine 
with a fluidounce of the Water in a thin glass bottle, add the Iron, and shake 
them together until a clear, green solution is obtained. Mix the Powders in a 
small porcelain capsule, and filter upon them, through a small filter, first the 
solution previously heated, and afterwards the remainder of the Water in order 
to wash the filter. Then, by means of a water-bath, with constant stirring, evapo- 
rate the whole to a pilular consistence, and divide the mass into three hundred 
pills. 
“Dissolve sixty grains of Balsam of Tolu in a fluidrachm of Ether, shake the 
pills with the solution until they are uniformly coated, and put them on a plate 
to dry, occasionally stirring them until the drying is completed. Lastly, keep the 
pills in a well-stopped bottle. 
“ These pills are devoid of the smell of iodine; and distilled water, rubbed 
with them and filtered, does not colour solution of starch, or gives it only a 
slight blue tint.” U. S. 
“Take of Fine Iron Wire forty grains; Iodine eighty grains ; Refined Sugar, 
in powder, seventy grains; Liquorice Root, in powder, one hundred and forty 
grains; Distilled Water fifty minims. Agitate the Iron with the Iodine and 
Water in a strong stoppered ounce phial, until the froth becomes white. Pour 
the fluid upon the Sugar in a mortar, triturate briskly, and gradually add the 
Liquorice.” Br. 
The pills of iodide of iron were introduced, as a new officinal, into the U. S. 
Pharmacopoeia at the revision of 1850. The U. S. pills are formed on the plan 
proposed by Prof. Procter, in imitation of Blancard's pills (Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., May, 1860), and are much superior to those made by the IT. S. pro- 
cess of 1850, or by that of the British Pharmacopoeia. The iodine and iron 
unite directly to form the iodide of iron in solution, which is protected against 
the oxidizing influence of the air by the sugar and reduced iron into which the 
solution is dropped, while the marshmallow and gum serve to give due consist- 
ence and plasticity to the pilular mass. The pills are still further protected from 
the air by the impervious coating of balsam of Tolu, which readily yields to the 
softening and solvent properties of the gastric liquids. The great disadvantage 
of the pill of iodide of iron, as ordinarily prepared, is that it will not keep; crum- 
bling by time and exposure, and evolving iodine in consequence of the oxidation 
of the iron. The preparation, made according to the U. S. formula, has stood the 
test of time; and we have seen pills prepared four years since, which exhibit no 
signs of change. Each pill contains about a grain of iodide of iron and one-fifth 
of a grain of reduced iron. The therapeutic uses of this preparation are the 
same as those of iodide of iron. (See Ferri Iodidum.) B. 1272 
Pilulse. 
PART II. 
PILULE GALBANI COMPOSITE. U.S. Pilula Assafostidjs 
Comtosita. Br. Compound Pills of G-albanum. Compound Pill of Assa- 
fetida. 
“Take of Galbanum, Myrrh, each, three hundred and sixty grains; Assa- 
fetida one hundred and twenty grains ; Syrup a sufficient quantity. Beat them 
together so as to form a pilular mass, to be divided into two hundred and forty 
pills.” U. S. 
“Take of Assafetida, Galbanum, and Myrrh, each, two ounces; Treacle an 
ounce. Heat all together in a capsule by means of a steam or water bath, and stir 
the mass until it assumes a uniform consistence.” Br. 
This compound is given as an antispasmodic and emmenagogue in chlorosis 
and hysteria. The dose is from ten to twenty grains. W. 
PILULiE HYDRARGYRI. U.S. Pilula Hydrargyria. Pills of 
Mercury. Blue Pill. 
“ Take of Mercury a troyounce; Confection of Rose a troyounce and a half; 
Liquorice Root, in fine powder, half a troyounce. Rub the Mercury with the 
Confection until the globules cease to be visible; then add the Liquorice Root, 
and beat the whole into a pilular mass, to be divided into four hundred and 
eighty pills.” U. S. 
The British process is the same with the above, one-half only of the quan- 
tity of materials being used, and no division of the mass into pills directed. 
This preparation is generally known by the name of blue pill or blue mass. 
The mercury constitutes one-third of the mass; and consequently the pill of our 
Pharmacopoeia, weighing three grains, contains one grain of the metal. 
The precise condition of the mercury in this preparation is somewhat uncer- 
tain. By far the greater portion is in a state of minute mechanical division, 
and not chemically altered. Some maintain that the whole of the metal is in 
this state, others, that a small portion is converted during the trituration into 
the protoxide, and that this is the ingredient upon which the activity of the pill 
depends. The supposed oxidation is attributed partly to the influence of the 
air upon the surface of the metal, greatly extended by the separation of its par- 
ticles, partly to the action of the substance used in the trituration. If the mer- 
cury be not oxidized during the trituration, there can be little doubt that it be- 
comes so to a slight extent by subsequent exposure. The obvious changes which 
the mass undergoes by time can be explained in no other way; and protoxide 
of mercury is asserted to have been actually extracted from old mercurial pill. 
Nevertheless, it scarcely admits of dispute, that the metal, quite independently 
of oxidation out of the body, is capable of producing the peculiar mercurial 
effects when introduced into the stomach, probably undergoing chemical changes 
there. According to M. Mialhe, mercury is slowly converted into corrosive sub- 
limate in the stomach, under the combined agency of air and chloride of sodi- 
um. All agree that the efficacy of the preparation is proportionate to the ex- 
tinction of the mercury, in other words, to the degree in which the metallic 
globules disappear. This extinction may be effected by trituration with various 
substances; and manna, syrup, honey, liquorice, mucilage, soap, guaiac, and 
extract of dandelion have been recommended, among others, for this purpose; 
but the confection of roses has been adopted in all the Pharmacopoeias, as less 
liable to objection than any other. The mercury is known to be completely ex- 
tinguished, when, upon rubbing a small portion of the mass with the end of the 
finger upon a piece of paper or glass, no globules appear. Powdered liquorice 
root is added in order to give due consistence to the mass. Some prefer for the 
purpose powdered marshmallow root. Mr. W. W. Stoddart has found that the 
extinguishment of the mercury, in the officinal process, is very much hastened 
by rubbing it first with the poivdered liquorice root, moistened with a little dis- PART II. 
Pilulx. 
1273 
tilled water or rose water, and afterwards incorporating the confection. (Am 
Journ. of Pharm.,xx\iii. 162.) As the trituration requires to be long continued, 
and renders the process very laborious, it is customary to prepare the mass by 
machinery. At Apothecaries’ Hall, in London, the trituration is effected by the 
agency of steam. The machine there employed consists of “a circular iron 
trough for the reception of the materials, in which revolve four wooden cylin- 
ders, having also a motion on their axis.” A machine for preparing blue mass, 
capable of being worked by the hand or by steam-power, has been invented by 
Mr. J. W. W. Gordon, of Baltimore, and, having been found to answer well, is 
in extensive use. It is described and figured in the American Journal of Phar- 
macy (xxi. 6). We have already referred, under Hydrargyrum cum Greta, to 
another ingenious apparatus invented by Dr. Squibb, by which the extinguish- 
ment of mercury is very satisfactorily effected.* Formerly much of the blue mass 
used in this country was imported; but at present the market is chiefly supplied 
by our own druggists. The preparation slowly changes colour upon being kept, 
assuming an olive and sometimes even a reddish tint, in consequence, probably, 
of the further oxidation of the mercury, f 
Medical Properties and Uses. These pills are among the mildest of the mer- 
curials, being less liable than most others to act upon the bowels, and exercising 
the peculiar influence of the remedy upon the system with less irritation. They 
are much employed for producing the sialagogue and alterative action of mer- 
cury. For the former purpose, one pill may be given two or three times a day; 
and in urgent cases the dose may be increased. Even this preparation some- 
times disturbs the bowels. It should then be given combined with a little opium, 
or in very minute doses, as half a grain or a grain of the mass, repeated every 
hour or two through the day, so as to allow of its absorption before a sufficient 
quantity has been administered to act as an irritant. With a view to the altera- 
tive effect upon the digestive organs, one pill may be given every night, or every 
other night, at bedtime, and followed in the morning, if the bowels should not 
be opened, by a small dose of laxative medicine. From five to fifteen grains of 
the mass are occasionally given as a cathartic, in cases requiring a peculiar im- 
pression upon the liver; but, when used for this purpose, it should always either 
be combined with or speedily followed by a more certain purgative. The blue 
mass may often be administered with advantage, suspended in water by the in- 
tervention of thick mucilage; and it forms an excellent addition to the chalk 
* Mr. James Beatson, apothecary of the U. S. Naval Hospital at New York, found great 
advantage in the following mode of preparing the mercurial pill, which, while much easier 
than the officinal method, yields the same results. Instead of mixing the mercury with 
the confection, he first rubs it with the honey directed in the preparation of the confection, 
until the globules disappear, then adds the heated rose water and sugar, and lastly the 
powdered red roses and liquorice root in succession, all in the officinal proportions. For 
the quantity of the material directed in the U. S. process for confection of roses, he em- 
ploys 32 ounces of mercury. (Am. Journ. of Pharrn., xxiv. 204.) 
f The mercurial pill is very apt to contain less than the due proportion of the metal. 
This was frequently the case with the mass as formerly imported. The fraud may be de- 
tected by the following plan of estimating the proportion of mercury, suggested by Prof. 
Keid, of New York, and modified by a committee of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy. 
A certain weight of the mercurial pill, say fifty grains, is mixed with about one-fourth of 
its weight of iron filings, and introduced into a small green glass bulb, at the end of a 
somewhat curved tube, the open extremity of which is inserted, through a cork, into al- 
cohol, contained in a broad-mouthed glass vial; another tube, open at both ends, passing 
through the cork in order to permit the escape of uncondensed gases. Heat is then ap- 
plied to the bulb by means of a spirit-lamp, is gradually increased until the glass becomes 
red hot, and continued for an hour. The alcohol in the vial dissolves the empyreumatic 
products, and, by being allowed to rise in the tube, and then expelled, serves to wash out any 
mercury that may be condensed upon its sides. The alcohol is poured off from the con- 
densed mercury, which is then washed with fresh alcohol, dried, and weighed. (See Am. 
Journ. o/Pharm., xvii. 151 and 309.) 1274 
Pilulse. 
PART II. 
mixture in diarrhoea, particularly that of children, when the biliary secretion is 
dcficien*,, or otherwise deranged.* W. 
PILULiE OPII. U. S. Pills of Opium. 
“Take of Opium, in fine powder, sixty grains; Soap, in fine powder, twelve 
grains. Beat them together with water so as to form a pilular mass, to be di- 
vided into sixty pills.” IT. S. 
This process is designed merely to furnish a convenient formula for putting 
opium into the pilular form, preferable to the mode sometimes practised of mak- 
ing the pills directly from the unpowdered mass of opium as found in commerce. 
The soap answers no other purpose than to give a due consistence, and is there- 
fore in small proportion. Each pill contains a grain of opium. 
As hard old opium pills are sometimes preferred, in cases of irritable stomach, 
in consequence of their slow solution, it is proper for the apothecary to keep 
some in this state to meet the prescription of the physician. 
Of either of the officinal pills above directed, one is a medium dose in refer- 
ence to the full effects of opium. W. 
PILULA PLUMBI CUM OPIO. Br. Pill of Lead and Opium. 
“Take of Acetate of Lead, in fine powder, thiriy-six grains; Opium, in fine 
powder, six grains; Confection of Roses six grains. Beat them into a uniform 
mass.” Br. 
This pill would be better left to extemporaneous prescription; the requisite 
proportion of opium to the acetate varying in different cases. The tannic acid 
of the confection of roses decomposes a portion of the acetate; but the result- 
ing tannate of lead is not inert. The mass contains six parts of the acetate of 
lead in eight, and may be given in the dose of two or three grains to begin 
with. W. 
PILUL2E QUINLZE SULPIIATIS. U. S. Pills of Sulphate of Quinia. 
“Take of Sulphate of Quinia a troyounce ; Gum Arabic, in fine powder, one 
hundred and twenty grains; Clarified Honey a sufficient quantity. Mix the 
Sulphate of Quinia and Gum Arabic; then beat them with Clarified Honey so 
as to form a mass, to be divided into four hundred and eighty pills.” U. S. 
As the pills made as here directed are apt to become hard, and of difficult 
solubility when long kept, various other excipients have been recommended to 
obviate this disadvantage, as honey alone, and confection of roses. Mr. Edward 
Parrish has long been in the habit of preparing pills of sulphate of quinia, by 
taking 20 grains of the salt, adding 15 drops of aromatic sulphuric acid, and 
triturating until the mixture assumes a pilular consistence. Though at first 
liquid, the mixture soon thickens, and finally becomes quite solid. The officinal 
sulphate is thus rendered more soluble by combining with an additional eq. of 
sulphuric acid. The advantages of this process are the solubility of the result- 
ing pill, and the smallness of its bulk. A five-grain pill made in this way is not 
inconveniently large. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxv. 292.) 
Each of the officinal pills contains a grain of the sulphate of quinia, and twelve 
are equivalent to an ounce of good Peruvian Bark. W. 
* The blue pill is sometimes wanted in the state of powder; but, from its peculiar con- 
stitution, is not eligible for reduction to this form; as the mercury is disposed to aggre- 
gate during pulverization, and, from the honey it contains, it is apt, when pulverized, to 
attract moisture from the air. Mr. Ch. Bullock, therefore, recommends the following me- 
thod of preparing a powder, which shall, as nearly as possible, represent the blue pill, in 
reference to its therapeutic effects. Take of finely powdered Elm-bark, finely powdered 
Sugar, and Mercury, equal parts, and of Alcohol a sufficiency. Rub the mercury with the 
powdered bark, adding from time to time enough alcohol to maintain a pasty consistence, 
till the mercury is completely extinguished; then spread the mass on paper to dry. When 
dry, powder it, add the sugar, and rub the mixture thoroughly until the powder will pass 
through a sieve of fine bolting cloth. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., May, 1859, p. 271.)—Nate to 
the twelfth edition. PART II. 
Pilulse, 
1275 
PILULEE RHEI. U.S. Pills of Rhubarb. 
“Take of Rhubarb, in fine powder, three hundred and sixty grains; Soap, 
in fine powder, one hundred and twenty grains. Beat them together with water 
so as to form a pilular mass, to be divided into one hundred and twenty pills.” 
U.S. 
Rhubarb is so often given in the pilular form, that it is convenient both for 
the physician and apothecary to have an officinal formula, indicating the mode 
of preparing the pills, as well as the quantity of rhubarb to be contained in 
each. Soap, as directed by the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, has stood the test of long 
experience as a good excipient for rhubarb. We have found rhubarb pills, made 
with compound tincture of cardamom, without other ingredient, to answer an 
excellent purpose. Each officinal pill contains three grains of rhubarb. W. 
PILULES RIIEI COMPOSITES. U.S. Pilula Rhei Composita. Br. 
Compound Pills of Rhubarb. Compound Rhubarb Pill. 
“Take of Rhubarb, in fine powder, a troyounce; Socotrine Aloes, in fine pow- 
der, three hundred and sixty grains; Myrrh, in fine powder, half a troyounce; 
Oil of Peppermint half a Jluidrachm. Beat them together with water so as to 
form a pilular mass, to be divided into two hundred and forty pills.” U. S. 
“Take of Rhubarb, in fine powder, three ounces; Socotrine Aloes, in fine 
powder, two ounces and a quarter; Myrrh, in fine powder, one ounce and a half; 
Hard Soap one ounce and a half; English Oil of Peppermint one fluid rachm 
and a half; Treacle, by weight, four ounces. Reduce the Soap to a fine pow- 
der, and triturate it with the Rhubarb, Aloes, and Myrrh, then add the Treacle 
and Oil of Peppermint, and beat the whole into a uniform mass.”Rr. 
This is a warm tonic laxative, useful in costiveness with debility of stomach. 
From two to four pills, or from ten to twenty grains of the mass, may be taken 
twice a day. W. 
PILULES SAPONIS COMPOSITES. U.S. Pilula Opii. Br. Com- 
pound Pills of Soap. 
“Take of Opium, in fine powder, sixty grains; Soap, in fine powder, half a 
troyounce. Beat them together with water so as to form a pilular mass.” U. S. 
“Take of Opium, in fine powder, half an ounce; Hard Soap two ounces; 
Distilled Water a sufficiency. Reduce the Soap to a fine powder, add the Opium 
with the Water, and beat into a uniform mass.”Rr. 
This preparation is useful by affording the opportunity of conveniently ad- 
ministering opium, in a pilular and readily soluble form, in small fractions of a 
grain. The name used in the former British Pharmacopoeias, and adopted in our 
own, was probably intended to conceal the nature of the preparation from the 
patient. Both the name, however, and the object have been abandoned by the 
British Council. One grain of opium is contained in five of the mass. W. 
PILULES SCILLES COMPOSITE. U.S. Pilula Scillas Compo- 
sita. Br. Compound Pills of Squill. Compound Squill Pill. 
“Take of Squill, in fine powder, sixty grains; Ginger, in fine powder, Am- 
moniac, in fine powder, each, one hundred and twenty grains; Soap, in fine 
powder, one hundred and eighty grains; Syrup a sufficient quantity. Mix 
the powders together; then beat them with Syrup so as to form a pilular mass, 
to be divided into one hundred and twenty pills.” U. S. 
“Take of Squill, in fine powder, one ounce and a quarter; Ginger, in fine 
powder, Ammoniac, in powder, Hard Soap, each, one ounce; Treacle two 
ounces, or a sufficiency. Reduce the Soap to powder, and triturate it with the 
Squill, Ginger, and Ammoniac; then add the Treacle, and beat into a uniform 
mass. ” Br. 
This is a stimulant expectorant compound, depending for its virtues chiefly 1276 
Plumbum. 
PART II. 
on the squill, and applicable to the treatment of chronic affections of the bron- 
chial mucous membrane. From five to ten grains may be given three or four 
times a day. The preparation should be made when wanted for immediate use, 
as the squill which it contains is liable to be injured by keeping. AY. 
PLUMBUM. 
Preparations of Lead. 
Of the Preparations formerly considered under this head, Solution of Subace- 
tate of Lead and Diluted Solution of Subacetate of Lead have been trans- 
ferred to the Liquores or Solutions; and Iodide of Lead, of the U. S. Pharma- 
copoeia, is the only one remaining. 
PLUMBI IODIDUM. U.S. Iodide.of Lead. 
“Take of Nitrate of Lead, Iodide of Potassium, each, four troyounces; 
Distilled AVater a sufficient quantiy. AYith the aid of heat, dissolve the Nitrate 
of Lead in a pint and a half, and the Iodide of Potassium in half a pint of Dis- 
tilled AVater, and mix the solutions. Allow the precipitate formed to subside, 
and, having poured off the supernatant liquid, wash it with Distilled Water, and 
dry it with a gentle heat.” U. S. 
In this process the nitrate of lead gives up its metal to the iodine, from which 
it receives the potassium ; the operation taking place between single equivalents 
of the several ingredients. The nitrate of potassa thus formed remains in solu- 
tion, while the iodide of lead is precipitated.. The saturating proportions of ni- 
trate of lead and iodide of potassium are 165'6 of the former and 165 5 of the 
latter, or almost precisely equal quantities. The proportions should be as nearly 
as possible those of exact saturation. An excess of the iodide of potassium, in- 
dependently of the waste, has the disadvantage of holding a portion of the iodide 
of lead in solution; while, according to Christison, an excess of lead over the 
iodine disposes to the formation of the lemon-yellow insoluble oxyiodide of lead. 
By the use of equal quantities of the two salts, these disadvantages are avoided. 
As iodide of lead is slightly soluble in cold water, it is desirable to use as little 
of the menstruum as will answer; and hence the comparatively small proportion 
of water employed. 
Iodide of lead has been omitted in the present British Pharmacopoeia; though 
all the three Colleges, the London, Edinburgh, and Dublin, gave processes for it. 
In the London process acetate of lead was employed instead of the nitrate; but 
M. Depaire, of Brussels, ascertained that, in this process, a considerable amount 
of iodine remains in solution after the precipitation of the iodide of lead; and 
M. F. Boudet states that the quantity of the iodide resulting from the process 
is 10 per cent, less than theory would indicate. By the addition of nitric acid to 
the solution, after precipitation, an additional quantity of iodide of lead is ob- 
tained. M. Boudet ascribes this result to the formation of a portion of soluble 
iodide of potassium and lead, whenever iodide of lead and acetate of potassa are 
in contact. By substituting nitrate for acetate of lead, he found that a quantity 
of iodide of lead was obtained, as near that required by theory as the solubility 
of the iodide of lead permits. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., xi. 274.) 
From the above remarks it would appear that the process of the U. S. Phar- 
macopoeia is on the whole to be preferred, and especially over that in which the 
acetate of lead is used, as the nitrate is more easily obtained pure. Some inter- 
esting experiments have been made by M. T. Iluraut, of Paris, on the different 
methods of preparing iodide of lead. It may be obtained by the reaction between 
any of the soluble iodides and the soluble salts of lead. It resulted from his ob- 
servations that of the two salts of lead employed, the nitrate was to be preferred, 
and of the various iodides, though iodide of potassium yielded a very handsome part II. 
Plumbum.—Potassa. 
1277 
product, yet iodide of calcium afforded one not inferior in quality, and somewhat 
greater in quantity. Upon a small scale, as the process is performed by the 
apothecary, the difference would be of little or no consequence; but it might be 
important to the manufacturer. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxi. 228.) 
As obtained by the U. S. process, iodide of lead is in the form of a bright- 
yellow, heavy, tasteless, inodorous powder. It is soluble in 1235 parts of cold 
water (Soubeiran, Trait, de Pharm.), and 194 of boiling water, which, on cool- 
ing, deposits it in minute, shining, golden-yellow, crystalline scales. It melts by 
heat, and is dissipated in vapours, which are at first yellow, and ultimately violet 
in consequence of the disengagement of the iodine. It consists of one equivalent 
of iodine 126 3, and one of lead 103-6 = 229'9. As a test of its purity, the 
Edinburgh College stated that five grains are entirely dissolved, with the. aid of 
heat, by a fluidrachm of pyroligneous acid, diluted with a fluidounce and a half 
of distilled water; and golden crystals are copiously deposited when the solution 
cools. According to the late London Pharmacopoeia, 100 grains of it, dissolved 
at a boiling heat in nitric acid diluted with two parts of water, will, after the ex- 
pulsion of the iodine, yield with sulphate of soda, a precipitate of sulphate of lead 
weighing 66 grains. It should be kept excluded from the light. It is stated by 
Engelhardt that iodine is separated from iodide of lead by the perchlorides of 
iron and copper; while the other metallic chlorides, whether bichlorides, sesqui- 
chlorides, or protochlorides, have no such effect, producing compounds of iodides 
of the metal employed with chlorides of lead. ( Chew.. Gaz., Jan. 15,1856, p. 24.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. This compound is supposed to have the re- 
solvent properties of iodine, combined with those which are peculiar to lead, and 
was at one time recommended in tuberculous diseases, in which, however, it has 
proved wholly inefficient. It is said to have been usefully employed in the dis- 
cussion of scrofulous tumours and other indolent swellings, and in the cure of 
obstinate ulcers; and for these purposes has been used both internally, and lo- 
cally in the form of an ointment. According to Dr. Cogswell, if given for some 
time in small doses, it produces the effects of lead, but not those of iodine, upon 
the system. (Christison’s Dispensatory.) The dose is from half a grain to three 
or four grains. Dr. O’Shaughnessy states that ten grains are borne without in- 
convenience. W. 
POTASSA. 
Preparations of Potassa. 
Of the Preparations formerly embraced in this category, the Solution of Po- 
tassa, and the Solution of Citrate of Potassa have been transferred to the Li- 
quores or Solutions; Pure Nitrate of Potassa, Dub., has been treated of in 
Part I. of this work; and the following preparations, at one time officinal, have 
been omitted in the existing Pharmacopoeias; namely, Solution of Carbonate 
of Potassa, U. S., Lond., I)ub., Effervescing Water of Potassa, Ed., Sulphate 
of Potassa with Sulphur, Ed., Bisulphate of Potassa, Ed., Dub., and Compound 
Solution of Iodide of Potassium, Lond., Dub. 
POTASSA. U. S. Potassa Caustica. Br. Potassa. Caustic Potassa. 
Hydrate of Potassa. 
“Take of Solution of Potassa eight pints. Evaporate it rapidly in an iron 
vessel, over the fire, until ebullition ceases, and the Potassa melts. Pour this 
into suitable moulds, and keep it, when cold, in a well-stopped bottle.” U. S. 
“Take of Solution of Potash two pints [Imperial measure]. Boil down the 
Solution rapidly in a silver or clean iron vessel, till all ebullition ceases, and a 
fluid of oily consistence remains. Pour this into proper moulds, and when it 
has solidified, and while it is still warm, put it into stoppered bottles.” Br. 
The concrete alkali, obtained by these processes, is the hydrate of potassa, 1278 
Potassa. 
PART II. 
sufficiently pure for medicinal purposes. The solution of the alkali freed from 
carbonic acid having t«en obtained by another formula (see Liquor Potassse), 
the formation of the present preparation requires merely the evaporation of this 
solution, until the whole of its uncombined water is driven off. The evapora- 
tion must be performed in metallic vessels, as those of glass or earthenware are 
acted on by the alkali; and it should be completed as quickly as possible, in 
order to abridge the period during which the solution would be liable to absorb 
carbonic acid from the atmosphere. When poured out on a metallic plate or 
dish, the cake, just as it concretes, may be marked with a knife in the directions 
in which it is to be divided, and when cold it readily breaks in those directions. 
A better plan, however, is to run the fused alkali into suitable moulds, as directed 
in the U. S. and British formulas. These should be made of iron and have a 
cylindrical shape, which is the most convenient form of the alkali for surgical 
use. Green glass bottles with ground stoppers are best adapted for preserving 
this preparation, as white flint glass is slightly acted on. 
Properties, &c. In its officinal form, potassa is in sticks having a fibrous frac- 
ture, and, when properly prepared from pure materials, white and somewhat trans- 
lucent; but, as often found in the shops, they have a dingy gray or greenish co- 
lour, with occasionally a bluish tint, and the peculiar odour of slaking lime. It is 
extremely caustic and very deliquescent, and dissolves in less than its weight of 
water, leaving but a slight residue. Its aqueous solution agrees in properties with 
Liquor Potassm. It is also readily soluble in alcohol. When exposed to a low red 
heat it melts, and at bright redness is volatilized. On account of its deliquescent 
property, and its strong attraction for carbonic acid, it requires to be kept in very 
accurately stopped bottles. In the state here described, the alkali is united with 
water, forming hydrate of potassa. As formerly obtained by the U. S., London, 
and Edinburgh formulas, from solution of potassa derived from an impure carbo- 
nate, it contained various impurities, which, however, did not interfere with its 
medicinal value; such as chloride and teroxide of potassium, sesquioxide of iron, 
lime, silica, alumina, sulphate of potassa, and a portion of the alkali still in a 
carbonated state. As our officinal solution of potassa, from which the alkali i3 
now prepared, is made from the bicarbonate, the resulting potassa is purer than 
as formerly obtained. According to the IT. S. Pharmacopoeia, it is dissolved by 
water and alcohol, with the exception of a slight residue, which probably con- 
sists chiefly of undecomposed carbonate, as this is insoluble in alcohol. Officinal 
potassa may be rendered nearly pure by digestion in alcohol, which takes up 
only the hydrated alkali, evaporating the solution to dryness, and fusing the dry 
mass obtained. Hydrate of potassa, when thus procured, is called alcoholic po- 
tassa. It is generally in flat white pieces, which are dry, hard, brittle, and ex- 
tremely caustic. Its other properties are similar to those of the impure hydrate 
above described. According to Mr. H. Wurtz, of New York, alcoholic potassa 
usually contains a trace of silicate of potassa, which appears to be taken up by 
the alcohol. The source of this is the carbonate of potassa employed, which 
may be freed from this impurity by evaporating its aqueous solution, in a sheet- 
iron dish, to dryness, and adding, from time to time, lumps of carbonate of am- 
monia. The silicate is thus converted into the carbonate; and, on dissolving 
the residue, the silica appears in flakes, which may be separated by filtration. 
(N’. V Journ. of Pharm., Feb. 1852.) Potassa may be discriminated from the 
other fixed alkalies (soda and lithia) by affording, when in solution, a crystalline 
precipitate (cream of tartar) with an excess of tartaric acid, and a yellow one 
with bichloride of platinum. Potassa imparts to the flame of burning alcohol 
in which it is dissolved a reddish tint; soda colours it yellow even in the presence 
of potassa; and thus a method is afforded of detecting an admixture of the latter 
with the former alkali. According to Bunsen, when the flame is regarded through 
a glass of a cobalt blue colour, only the colour imparted by potassa is seen, that PART II. 
Potassa. 
1279 
peculiar to soda not being able to penetrate through blue glass. {Journ. de 
Pharm., Oct. 1860, p. 319.) The officinal potassa, apart from impurities, consists 
of one eq. of dry potassa 47'2, and one of water 9 = 56-2. Dry potassa is com- 
posed of one eq. of potassium 39-2, and one of oxygen 8 = 47'2. (See Potas- 
sium.') B. 
Medical Properties and Uses. This is the old causticum commune acerrimum 
or strongest common caustic. It is a powerful escharotic, quickly destroying 
the life of the part with which it comes in co-ntact, and extending its action to 
a considerable depth beneath the surface. In this latter respect, it differs from 
nitrate of silver or lunar caustic, to which it is, therefore, preferred in forming 
issues and opening abscesses. It has been used for removing stricture of the 
urethra; but, in consequence of its tendency to spread, it may, unless carefully 
applied, produce such a destruction of the lining membrane, as to open a pas- 
sage for the urine into the cellular tissue. The most convenient mode of employ- 
ing the caustic for the formation of an issue, is to apply to the skin a piece of 
linen spread with adhesive plaster, having a circular opening in its centre cor- 
responding with the intended size of the issue, and then to rub upon the skin, 
within the opening, a piece of the caustic previously moistened at one end. The 
application is to be continued till the life of the part is destroyed, when the 
caustic should be carefully washed off with a wet sponge or wet tow, or neutral- 
ized by vinegar. The preparation is also employed for forming solutions of 
potassa of definite strength, whether for medicinal or pharmaceutic use. A 
solution of one drachm and a half of caustic potassa in two fluidounces of dis- 
tilled water was highly recommended by the late Dr. Ilartshorne, of Philadelphia, 
as an application to the spine in tetanus. It may be applied by means of a 
sponge attached to the end of a stick, which should be drawn quickly along the 
back from the nape of the neck to the sacrum. It produces a powerful rubefa- 
cient effect.* 
Pharm. Uses. In the preparation of Ether, U. S. 
Off. Prep. Liquor Potass®, U.S.; Potassa cum Calce, U. S.; Potass® Per- 
manganas, Br.; Potassii Iodidum, U. S. W. 
POTASSA CUM CALCE. U. S. Potassa with Lime. 
“ Take of Potassa, Lime, each, a troyounce. Rub them together so as to form 
a powder, and keep it in a well-stopped bottle.” U. S. 
This preparation is a grayish-white powder, sometimes called Vienna caustic. 
It should not effervesce on the addition of an acid. It is prepared for use by 
being made up into a paste with a little alcohol. The paste is applied to the 
part to be cauterized for ten or fifteen minutes, and is conveniently limited in its 
operation by a piece of adhesive plaster, in the manner explained under potassa. 
The former Edinburgh preparation, made by evaporating the solution of potassa 
to one-third, and adding lime enough to bring it to the state of a firm paste, was 
often called causticum commune mitius or milder common caustic. Potassa 
with lime is a more manageable caustic than the officinal potassa, on account of 
the presence of the lime, which renders it milder, slower in its operation, and 
less deliquescent, and causes it to spread less beyond the part intended to be 
affected. Dr. Filhos has improved this caustic by forming it in sticks. To pre- 
pare it thus, the potassa is perfectly fused in an iron spoon, and one-third of its 
* At the suggestion of Dr. Maunoury, of Chartres, M. E. Robiquet has prepared a paste 
consisting of gutta percha and caustic potassa, which offers many advantages of manipula- 
tion, in the application of the latter substance. It is prepared by simply melting together 
equal weights of the two substances. The resulting paste can be moulded into any form 
that may be thought desirable, either of cylinders, plates, or lozenges, and retains its form 
indefinitely, even when introduced into cavities. All that is necessary, before applying it, 
is to dip it into alcohol for a few seconds. The resulting eschars are very precise in theii 
form. (Journ. de Pharm., xxx. 275.)—Note to the eleventh edition. 1280 
Potassa. 
PART II. 
weight of quicklime is added in divided portions; the whole being stirred with 
an iron rod. The fused mass is then run into lead tubes, closed at one end, about 
three inches long, and from a quarter to half an inch in diameter in the clear. 
The sticks are kept, still enclosed in the lead tubes with the open end down- 
wards, in thick glass tubes, containing some powdered quicklime, and closed 
with a cork, between which and the stick some cotton is put to steady the caus- 
tic. When employed, as much of the caustic is uncovered at the end, by scrap- 
ing off the lead, as it is proposed to use. This form of caustic is particularly 
recommended for cauterizing the neck of the uterus. M. E. Robiquet has modi- 
fied the caustic, by fusing the potassa and lime at a higher heat, running the 
fused mass into iron moulds, and quickly coating the sticks, when cold, with 
melted gutta percha. The higher heat employed renders the caustic harder and 
more homogeneous.* B. 
POTASSiE ACETAS. U. S., Br. Acetate of Potassa. 
“Take of Acetic Acid a joint; Bicarbonate of Potassa a sufficient quantity. 
Add the Bicarbonate gradually to the Acid until this is saturated; then filter 
the solution, and evaporate cautiously, by means of a sand-bath, until a dry salt 
remains. Lastly, keep this in a well-stopped bottle.” U. S. 
“Take of Carbonate of Potash twenty ounces [avoirdupois]; Acetic Acid 
[sp. gr. D044] two pints [Imperial measure], or a sufficiency. To the Acetic 
Acid, placed in a thin porcelain basin, add gradually the Carbonate of Potash, 
filter, acidulate, if necessary, with a few additional drops of the Acid, and, 
having evaporated to dryness, raise the heat cautiously so as to liquefy the pro- 
duct. Allow the basin to cool, and, when the salt has solidified, and while it is 
still warm, break it in fragments, and put it into stoppered bottles.” Br. 
The process for forming this acetate is a case of single elective affinity. The 
substitution in the present Pharmacopoeia, of the bicarbonate of potassa for the 
carbonate used in the formula of 1850, is an improvement, as it ensures a purer 
product. The form of acid for generating the salt directed in both Pharmaco- 
poeias is officinal acetic acid. Distilled vinegar should never be employed, on 
account of organic impurity, which gives the solution, when concentrated, a red- 
dish or brownish colour. When acetic acid is used, a colourless solution is ob- 
tained. This is evaporated to dryness, according to the U. S. and British Phar- 
macopoeias ; but the latter, following the late Dublin Pharmacopoeia, directs the 
dry salt to be melted, so that it may be obtained as a solid mass on cooling. 
When fusion is resorted to, great care must be taken not to use too high a heat; 
as otherwise part of the acetic acid will be decomposed, and the resulting salt 
will be discoloured. For drying the acetate of potassa, Dr. Christison considers 
the heat of a vapour-bath too low, and that of a sand-bath apt to become too 
high. lie, therefore, recommends the use of a bath of chloride of calcium when 
operating on a small scale. In conducting the evaporation, it is best to have the 
solution always slightly acid; for if the alkali predominate, it will react upon the 
acetic acid when the solution is concentrated, and give rise to discoloration. 
Acetate of potassa may also be obtained by double decomposition between 
acetate of lead and sulphate of potassa. When thus procured it is very white 
and pure, but liable to the objection, for medical use, that it may possibly contain 
a little lead. Another method by double decomposition is between acetate of lime 
and sulphate of potassa. 
Properties, &c. Acetate of potassa when pure is a white salt, perfectly neutral 
* M. Piedagnel lias found that by mixing the Vienna powder with muriate of morphia, in 
the proportion of three parts of the former to one of the latter, a caustic is obtained, which 
will produce an eschar without causing pain. He first mixes them intimately in the dry 
state, and then with alcohol, chloroform, or water, makes a paste, which may be applied 
by means of adhesive plaster. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e s<?r., xxxiii. 469.)—Note to the twelfth 
edition. PART II. 
Potassa. 
1281 
to test paper, unctuous to the touch, and of a warm, pungent, saline taste. When 
unskilfully prepared it is apt to be more or less coloured. Its state of aggrega- 
tion differs with the manner in which it is prepared. As obtained by evaporating 
the solution to dryness, agreeably to the directions of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, 
it is in the form of soft fibrous masses. As usually prepared and found in the 
shops, it has a foliated texture, which is given to it by fusion and cooling. On 
account of this appearance it was formerly called foliated earth of tartar. This 
salt is extremely deliquescent, and, if exposed to the air, becomes converted into 
a liquid of an oleaginous appearance. It is on account of this property that it 
must always be preserved in well-stopped bottles. It dissolves in about half its 
weight of water, and twice its weight of alcohol. Anything remaining undis- 
solved by these menstrua is impurity. Heated above its point of fusion, it is de- 
composed into acetone and carbonate of potassa; the acetic acid being resolved 
into that volatile liquid and carbonic acid. When treated with sulphuric acid, 
acetous vapours are copiously evolved, and sulphate of potassa is formed; and 
a blood-red colour is produced by a solution of sesquichloride of iron. One hun- 
dred grains of the salt, decomposed by sulphuric acid, furnish a salt (sulphate of 
potassa), which, after exposure to a strong heat, weighs 88-8 grains. (Lond. 
Pharm.) The most usual impurities contained in it are sulphate and tartrate of 
potassa, chloride of potassium, and the salts of lead and copper. A soluble sul- 
phate may be detected by chloride of barium; and chloride of potassium, or 
other soluble chloride, by nitrate of silver added to a dilute solution. If the ni- 
trate be added to a concentrated solution, crystals of acetate of silver will be 
precipitated, soluble in water or dilute nitric acid. With bichloride of platinum 
it yields a yellow, and with tartaric acid a crystalline precipitate, showing it to 
be a salt of potassa. If tartate of potassa be present, it will remain undissolved 
when the salt is acted on by alcohol. Lead and copper may be detected by sul- 
phuretted hydrogen and ferrocyanide of potassium; the former test producing 
with the lead a blackish, and the latter with the copper a brown precipitate. 
Since the introduction of the cheap method of obtaining pure acetic acid from 
wTood, this salt has scarcely been subjected to adulteration. Acetate of potassa 
is incompatible with the mineral acids, w7hich expel the acetic acid; with the sul- 
phates of soda and magnesia; with corrosive sublimate and nitrate of silver; and 
with several other earthy and metallic salts. This salt exists in the juices of many 
plants, and especially in the sap of trees, and is the principal source of the car- 
bonate of potassa existing in the ashes of wood. It consists of one eq. of acetic 
acid 51, one of potassa 47'2, and two of water 18 = 116'2. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Acetate of potassa acts as a diuretic in doses 
of from a scruple to a drachm, and as a mild cathartic when given to the extent 
of two or three drachms. It is employed in dropsies, and often with good effect. 
The late Dr. Duncan, of Edinburgh, considered it to be a medicine of great 
efficacy, and one of our best saline deobstruents. Dr. J. A. Easton, of Glasgow, 
has found it useful in several skin diseases, such as psoriasis, eczema, and lepra. 
Cases which had resisted the ordinary remedies were cured, after a treatment 
occupying from three weeks to twro months. The dose given by Dr. Easton was 
half a drachm, three times a day, dissolved in water. The remedy seemed to 
act through the kidneys, the urine being remarkably increased, both in its aque- 
ous and solid contents. The late Dr. Golding Bird treated a large number of 
cases of acute rheumatism with remarkable success with this salt. The pain of 
the disease declined as soon as the urine became alkaline and rose in specific 
gravity. The quantity given, in twenty-four hours, was half an ounce in divided 
doses, largely diluted with water. (Braithwaite’s Retrospect, Am. ed., July, 1854, 
p. 43.) It has been highly recommended by Ambrosoli in large doses as a remedy 
in acute and subacute urethritis with mucous or puruloid discharge, and in simi- 
lar affections of the vagina and uterus. (Ann. de Therap., 1863, p. 115.) Ac©- 1282 
Potassa, 
PART II. 
tate of potassa may be made extemporaneously in the liquid form by saturating 
distilled vinegar with carbonate of potassa. Two drachms of the carbonate, 
saturated with vinegar, will sometimes produce in hydropic cases ten or twelve 
stools, and a copious discharge of urine. (Duncan.) Acetate of potassa, like the 
other alkaline salts containing a vegetable acid, may be given in the uric acid 
diathesis, to render the urine alkaline; for the experiments of Wohler have 
shown that the acid of these salts undergoes decomposition in the digestive and 
assimilating processes, while the alkali enters the current of the circulation. From 
the decided property which this salt possesses of increasing the secretion of the 
kidneys, it was formerly called sal diureticus or diuretic salt. B. 
POTASSiE CARBONAS. U. S., Br. Carbonate of Potassa. Carbon- 
ate of Potassa from Pearlash. 
“Take of Impure Carbonate of Potassa [pearlash] thirty-six troyounces; 
Water two pints and a half. Dissolve the Impure Carbonate in the Water, and 
filter the solution; then pour it into an iron vessel, and evaporate over a gentle 
fire until it thickens. Lastly, remove it from the fire, and stir constantly with an 
iron spatula until it forms a granular salt.” U. S. 
In the British Pharmacopoeia this salt is placed in the catalogue of the Materia 
Medica, without any process for its preparation, or intimation of its source, but 
with the following account of its characters, from which we may infer that it may 
possibly be obtained, like the IJ. S. carbonate, from pearlash. “ When supersatu- 
rated with nitric acid, and evaporated to dryness, the residue is almost entirely 
soluble in water, only a little remaining undissolved. It is precipitated only 
faintly by chloride of barium and nitrate of silver. Eighty-seven grains require 
for neutralization at least ninety-eight measures of the volumetric solution of 
oxalic acid.” 
The object of the above process is to purify the impure carbonate of potassa, 
or pearlash. This generally contains certain insoluble impurities, as well as small 
portions of sulphate and silicate of potassa, and chloride of potassium, as ex- 
plained under another head. (See Potassse Carbonas Impurus.) By dissolving 
it in a due proportion of water, and filtering the solution, the insoluble impuri- 
ties are got rid of, as well as the greater part of the foreign salts, which, being 
much less soluble than the carbonate of potassa, are excluded by the superior 
affinity of this salt for the water. The proper way of conducting the purifica- 
tion is to mix the impure carbonate with an equal weight of cold water, and to 
allow the mixture to stand for a day or two, stirring it frequently to promote the 
action of the water. The clear liquor obtained by decantation or filtration is 
then evaporated to dryness. The officinal process is conducted very much in this 
way; cold water being employed, and about equal weights of alkali and water 
being used. The prolonged contact of the water with the salt, and the occa- 
sional stirring of the mixture, formerly ordered by the Dublin College, were use- 
ful directions. In no case should the undissolved residue be washed with a fresh 
portion of water; as, by such a proceeding, the foreign salts, which it is the ob- 
ject of the process to separate, would be dissolved. Iron vessels are directed, 
because this metal is not acted on by the alkali, while glass is attacked by it. In 
granulating'the salt by stirring, it is better, when the solution is brought nearly 
to dryness, to keep it on the fire at a reduced heat until the process is finished, 
than to remove it the moment it thickens. 
According to Berzelius, a more productive process for purifying pearlash, 
though the resulting salt is not so pure as when obtained in the way just de- 
scribed, is to dissolve the pearlash in more than its weight of water, to evapo- 
rate the solution till it has the sp. gr. 152, and then to put it in a cool place, that 
the foreign salts, principally sulphate of potassa and chloride of potassium, may 
crystallize. The solution is then decanted, and evaporated to dryness. 
To get rid of the silica, Rieckher proposes to evaporate the solution, exempt PART II. 
Potassa. 
1283 
from sulphate, to dryness, to moisten the residue with solution of carbonate of 
ammonia, and again evaporate. The silica separates, aha passes into the insolu- 
ble state at the temperature necessary for evaporation. By again dissolving and 
evaporating, the carbonate is obtained free from this impurity. (Chem. Central 
Blatt, 1863. p. 158.) 
Properties, &c. Carbonate of potassa, as found in the shops, is in the form 
of a coarse, granular, white powder, having a nauseous, alkaline taste, and acting 
as an alkali on vegetable colours. It is very soluble in water, dissolving in its 
weight of that liquid, but is insoluble in alcohol. It is extremely deliquescent; 
and hence a portion of it, exposed to the air for some time, attracts so much 
water as completely to dissolve into an oily liquid, called by the older chemists, 
oleum tartari per deliquium. On account of this property, carbonate of potassa 
should be kept in bottles with accurately ground stoppers. If exposed in its 
usual state to-a red heat, it retains its carbonic acid, but loses 16 per cent, of 
water; and, when decomposed by dilute sulphuric acid, evolves 263 per cent, 
of carbonic acid. (Lond. Pharm.) It should be completely soluble in water; but, 
generally, a small insoluble portion is left of earthy matter. The usual impurities 
are earthy matter, sulphate of potassa, chloride of potassium, and silica in the 
state of silicate of potassa. When dissolved in water and treated with nitric 
acid in excess, it affords a faint cloudiness with chloride of barium, and a slight 
precipitate with nitrate of silver; effects showing the presence of minute por- 
tions of a sulphate and of a chloride. The nitric solution is also precipitated 
by carbonate of soda, if earthy matter be present. If the indications of these 
tests are decided, the salt is below the officinal standard of purity. Its aqueous 
solution, saturated by an acid, slowly deposits a slight flocculent precipitate of 
hydrated silica. It is incompatible with acids and acidulous salts, muriate and 
acetate of ammonia, lime-water, chloride of calcium, sulphate of magnesia, 
alum, tartar emetic, nitrate of silver, ammoniated copper and ammoniated iron, 
sulphate of iron, tincture of chloride of iron, calomel and corrosive sublimate, 
acetate and subacetate of lead, and sulphate of zinc. It is not decomposed by 
tartrate of iron and potassa. 
Composition. Carbonate of potassa, after exposure to a red heat, is anhy- 
drous, consisting of one eq. of carbonic acid 22, and one of potassa 47 2 = 
69‘2. Obtained by the officinal formulas, it is, according to Mr. Phillips, a ses- 
quihydrate, containing two eqs. of carbonate and three of water. According to 
the Br. Pharmacopoeia, each eq. of the salt denominated by it carbonate of po- 
tassa contains two eqs. of water; its formula being K0,C02-(- 2HO ; but this is 
not precisely the salt under consideration; nor does the Pharmacopoeia indicate 
its source. When exposed to the air, carbonate of potassa absorbs sufficient wa- 
ter, before losing its solid form, to give it three equivalents ; with more it begins 
to deliquesce. (Dr. Pohl. See Am. Journ. of Pharm., Nov. 1861, p. 532 ) B. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Purified pearlash is the form of carbonate of 
potassa usually employed in this country, where it is frequently, though incor- 
rectly, called salt of tartar; the latter name being strictly applicable to the 
purer carbonate obtained by decomposing cream of tartar. It is occasionally 
used as an antacid in dyspepsia, a diuretic in dropsy, and antilithic in gravel at- 
tended with red deposits in the urine; but the purpose to which it is most com- 
monly applied is the formation of the neutral mixture and effervescing draught. 
(See Liquor Potass as Citratis.) It is also used with advantage in some cases of 
jaundice, in which it probably operates by entering the circulation, and directly 
exciting the hepatic function. It has enjoyed considerable popular reputation 
mixed with cochineal in hooping-cough, and is supposed by some, in common 
with other alkaline remedies, to operate favourably in pseudo-membranous in- 
flammations of the mucous tissues. It is considered among the most effectual 
remedies in obstinate cutaneous eruptions, in which it is employed both inter- 1284 
Potassa. 
PART II. 
nally and externally. The dose is from ten to thirty grains, given in some aro- 
matic water sweetened with sugar. In large quantities it acts as a corrosive 
poison, and is capable of producing death in a few hours. The antidotes are the 
fixed oils and vegetable acids. 
As a local remedy in cutaneons affections, carbonate of potassa is used in the 
form of bath, of lotion, and of ointment. From eight to sixteen ounces may 
be used for a single bath, the quantity being gradually increased. Lotions may 
be made by dissolving two or three drachms in a pint of water; and ointments, 
by rubbing from ten grains to a drachm with an ounce of lard. 
• A solution of the salt, on exposure to the air, or on the addition of an acid, 
deposits flocculi consisting of hydrate of silica, resulting from the decomposition 
of silicated potassa, which is always present as an impurity. The spontaneous 
deposition of silica is owing to the absorption of carbonic acid. 
Pliarm. Uses. In preparing Atropia, Br.; Chloroformum Purificatum, U. S.; 
Spiritus JBtheris Nitrosi, U. S. 
Off. Prep. Decoctum Aloes Compositum, Br.; Enema Aloes, Br.; Extractum 
Spigeli®et Senn® Fluidum, U. S.; Liquor Arsenicalis, Br.; Liquor Potass®, Br.; 
Mistura Ferri Composita; Potassa Sulphurata, Br.; Potass® Acetas, Br.; Po- 
tass® Bicarbonas; Potass® Chloras, Br.; Potass® Citras, Br.; Potass® Sul- 
phas, Br.; Potass® Tartras; Potassii Sulphuretum, U. S. W. 
POTASS.ZE CARBONAS PURA. U.S. Pure Carbonate of Potassa. 
Salt of Tartar. 
“ Take of Bicarbonate of Potassa, in coarse powder, twelve troyounces. Put 
it into a capacious iron crucible, heat gradually until the water of crystalliza- 
tion is driven off; then raise the heat to redness, and maintain that tempera- 
ture for half an hour. Having taken the crucible from the fire, and allowed it 
to cool, dissolve its contents in Distilled Water, and filter the solution. Then 
pour it into an iron vessel, and evaporate over a gentle fire until it thickens. 
Lastly, remove it from the fire, and stir constantly with an iron spatula, until it 
forms a granular salt.” U. S. 
In this process the bicarbonate of potassa is ignited, whereby it loses its water 
of crystallization and second equivalent of carbonic acid, and is reduced to the 
state of carbonate. As the bicarbonate is a very pure salt, so the carbonate ob- 
tained from it is also very pure. 
The pure carbonate was formerly obtained from bitartrate of potassa, by first 
purifying it by solution and crystallization, and then incinerating it; and this 
was one of the processes of the late Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia. The tartaric 
acid, which consists of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, is decomposed, and gives 
rise, among other products, to carbonic acid, which combines with the potassa. 
The matter, after ignition, contains, besides carbonate of potassa, certain impu- 
rities derived from the bitartrate. These are carbonate of lime arising from the 
decomposition of tartrate of lime, alumina, and minute portions of the oxides of 
iron and manganese; but, being all insoluble in water, they are left behind when 
the mass is acted on by that liquid, the alkaline carbonate being taken up. Some 
silicate of potassa is sometimes dissolved, derived from silica, either originally 
in the bitartrate, or derived from the earthenware or porcelain crucible in which 
the ignition is performed. 
Pure carbonate of potassa may also be obtained by deflagrating a mixture of 
two parts of bitartrate of potassa, and one of nitrate of potassa. This process 
has been objected to on the ground that it gives a carbonate, apt to contain a 
little of the poisonous cyanide of potassium. But this objection is unfounded. 
It is true, as Engelhardt and Wicke have proved, that the deflagrated mass con- 
tains cyanate of potassa; but this is entirely decomposed into ammonia and car- 
bonate of potassa by the subsequent operations of solution and evaporation to 
dryness, to which the mass is subjected. PART II. 
Potassa. 
1285 
It was this origin from bitartrate of potassa, called in its impure state tartar, 
that gave rise to the name of salt of tartar, still frequently applied to the purer 
forms of the carbonate. It may, indeed, be very much doubted whether the real 
salt of tartar is often kept in our shops; the ordinary carbonate, as purified from 
pearlash, being generally substituted for it, and answering, in most cases, every 
medicinal purpose that could be expected from the use of the purer salt. 
Properties, &c. Pure carbonate of potassa, obtained from the bicarbonate 01 
cream of tartar, differs from the same salt procured from pearlash, in containing 
no impurities. With the tests mentioned under the carbonate it gives negative 
indications, showing the entire absence of foreign substances. The U. S. Phar- 
macopoeia gives the following characters of the salt. It is white, deliquescent, 
and wholly soluble in water; effervesces with acids, and has an alkaliue reac- 
tion ; yields, in solution, a yellow precipitate with bichloride of platinum, and a 
white one effervescing with acids, with sulphate of magnesia; when saturated 
with an acid deposits nothing upon standing, and, when treated with pure nitric 
acid in excess, is not precipitated by carbonate of soda, chloride of barium, or 
nitrate of silver. It loses 16 per cent, of its weight at a red heat. 
Medical Properties and Uses. These are the same with those of the carbon- 
ate of potassa described in the preceding article. The pure carbonate, on account 
of its freedom from silica, furnishes the best material for forming the solution of 
citrate of potassa, or neutral mixture. 
Off. Prep. Potassii JBromidum, U. S.; Potassii Cyanidum, U. S. B. 
POTASSiE BICARBONAS. U.S.,Br. Bicarbonate of Potassa. 
“Take of Carbonate of Potassa forty-eight troyounces; Distilled Water ten 
pints. Dissolve the Carbonate in the Distilled Water, and pass carbonic acid 
through the solution till it is fully saturated. Then filter the liquid, and evapo- 
rate that crystals may form, taking care that the heat does not exceed 160°. 
Lastly, pour off the supernatant liquid, and dry the crystals upon bibulous paper. 
Carbonic Acid may be obtained from marble by the addition of dilute sulphuric 
acid.” U. S. 
“Take of Carbonate of Potash one pound [avoirdupois]; Distilled Water 
two pints [Imperial measure]; Hydrochloric Acid of Commerce one pint and a 
half [Imp. meas.]; Water three pints [Imp. meas.]; White Marble, in frag- 
ments, one pound [avoird.], or a sufficiency. Dissolve the Carbonate of Potash 
in the Distilled Water, and filter the solution into a three-pint bottle, capable of 
being tightly closed by a cork, traversed by a glass tube sufficiently long to pass 
to the bottom of the fluid. Introduce the Marble into another bottle, in the bot- 
tom of which a few small holes have been drilled, and the mouth of which is 
closed by a cork, also traversed by a glass tube, and place the bottle in a jar, of 
the same height as itself, but of rather larger diameter. Connect the two glass 
tubes, air-tight, by a caoutchouc tube. The cork of the bottle containing the 
Carbonate of Potash having been placed loosely, and that of the bottle contain- 
ing the marble tightly, in its mouth, pour into the jar surrounding the latter 
bottle the Hydrochloric Acid, previously diluted with the Water. When the 
carbonic acid gas has passed through the potash solution for two minutes so as 
to expel the whole of the air of the apparatus, fix the cork tightly in the neck 
of the bottle, and let the process go on for a week. At the end of this time nu- 
merous crystals of Bicarbonate of Potash will have formed, which are to be 
removed, shaken in a capsule with twice their bulk of cold Distilled Water, and, 
after decantation of the water, drained, and dried on filtering paper by exposure 
to the air. The mother-liquor, filtered, if necessary, and concentrated to one-half, 
at a temperature not exceeding 110°, will yield more crystals. The tube im- 
mersed in the solution of carbonate of potash, which should have as large a dia- 
meter as possible, may require the occasional removal of the crystals formed 
within it, in order that the process may not be interrupted.” Br Potassa. 
PART II. 
In tV.su processes, the carbonate'of potassa, consisting of one eq. of acid and 
one of base, is combined with an additional equivalent of carbonic acid. The 
combination is effected by passing a stream of this acid through a solution of 
the carbonate, so long as it is absorbed. In the U. S. formula the distilled water 
taken is about three times the weight of the carbonate. As the bicarbonate of 
potassa requires four times its weight of water to dissolve it, the quantity of 
water ordered in the U. S. formula would seem not to be sufficient to dissolve 
the new salt; unless it be assumed that the solution becomes heated in conse- 
quence of the reaction. The solution of the whole of the new salt is not intended 
in the British process, which proceeds on the plan of forming crystals of bicar- 
bonate at once in the original solution, without concentration by heat. The fil- 
tration directed in the U. S. formula is ordered on the presumption that the 
whole of the bicarbonate formed is dissolved ; and is intended to separate silica, 
which is always deposited during the progress of the saturation, when carbonate 
of potassa from pearlash is employed. On a small scale the saturation of the 
carbonate is best conducted in a Wolfe’s apparatus of three bottles; the first 
containing water to wash the carbonic acid gas, the two others, solutions of the 
carbonate. The bottles should be connected by means of wide tubes, to prevent 
their being obstructed by the crystals formed. On a large scale the saturation 
is performed in strong vessels, into which the carbonic acid is driven under pres- 
sure. Sulphuric acid is always used by the manufacturing chemist for generating 
the carbonic acid; but in small operations, muriatic acid, diluted with twice its 
bulk of water, is more convenient; inasmuch as it generates with the marble or 
chalk a soluble salt (chloride of calcium), which does not interfere with the ex- 
trication of the carbonic acid, as the insoluble sulphate of lime does. In the 
British process dilute muriatic acid is used for the extrication of the carbonic 
acid, which is effected in a self-regulating generator of that gas. 
In the process of the late Ed. Pharmacopoeia, carbonate of ammonia was incor- 
porated with carbonate of potassa, by the assistance of a little water, so as to form 
a uniform pulp, which was dried by a gentle heat. By the combined influence of 
the volatility of the ammonia, and the affinity of the carbonate of potassa for 
Garbonic acid, the carbonate of ammonia was totally decomposed; its carbonic 
acid generating the bicarbonate by uniting with the carbonate, and its ammonia 
being evolved during the drying of the pulp, which was then reduced to a fine 
powder. This process is alleged by Dr. Christison to be superior to the other 
“in point of economy, dispatch, and certainty in small operations.” 
Mr. Braude gives the following proportions for the preparation of bicarbo- 
nate of potassa on the large scale: “100 lbs. of purified carbonate of potassa 
are dissolved in 17 gallons of water, which, when saturated with carbonic acid, 
yield from 35 to 40 lbs. of crystallized bicarbonate; 50 lbs. of carbonate of po- 
tassa are then added to the mother-liquor, with a sufficient quantity of water to 
make up 17 gallons, and the operation repeated.” 
Wohler states that charcoal, when mixed with the carbonate, facilitates by its 
porosity, in a remarkable degree, the formation of the bicarbonate. Thus he 
found that, when crude tartar was charred in a cohered crucible, and the carbo- 
naceous mass, after having been slightly moistened with water, was subjected to 
a stream of carbonic acid, the gas was absorbed with great rapidity, and heated 
the mass so considerably, as to render it necessary to surround the vessel with 
cold water, to prevent the decomposition of the bicarbonate formed. When the 
temperature diminished, the saturation was known to be completed. The mass 
was lixiviated in the smallest quantity of water at the temperature of from 85° 
to 100°, and the solution, after filtration and cooling, deposited the greater 
part of the bicarbonate in fine crystals. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., x. 82.) 
M. Behrens has proposed to obtain bicarbonate of potassa by partially satu- 
rating the carbonate, dissolved in an equal weight of water, with acetic acid PART II. 
Potassa. 
1287 
gradually added. Up to a certain point, no carbonic acid is extricated, and a 
precipitate takes place of pure bicarbonate of potassa, equal to half the weigh, 
of the carbonate employed. After the bicarbonate is separated, the saturation 
may be completed, and acetate of potassa obtained. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e sen., 
iv. 464.) The bisalt is also produced when the carbonate is treated with weak 
lemon-juice in forming the citrate. (See page 1217.) 
According to Berzelius, the cheapest method of'obtaining the bicarbonate of 
potassa is to suspend a concentrated solution of the purified carbonate, contained, 
in a stoneware dish, within a cask, over a liquid undergoing the vinous fermenta- 
tion. The alkali is thus surrounded by an atmosphere of carbonic acid, and, by 
absorbing it, crystallizes into bicarbonate in the course of five or six weeks. 
Distillers and brewers may prepare this salt with great facility by suspending 
the alkaline solution in the fermenting tun. The salt in powder called sal aera- 
tus, made principally in New England, is, we believe, prepared in this way. In 
composition it is between a carbonate and bicarbonate. 
Properties, &c. Bicarbonate of potassa is in transparent, colourless crystals, 
slightly alkaline to the taste and to test paper, permanent in the air, and having 
the shape of irregular eight-sided prisms with two-sided summits. It dissolves 
in four times its weight of cold water, and in five-sixths of its weight of boiling 
water, by which it is partially decomposed, and converted into sesquicarbonate. 
It is insoluble in alcohol. Exposed to a red heat, it loses 30'7 per cent., com- 
prising half its carbonic acid and the whole of its water of crystallization, and 
returns to the state of carbonate, which, when thus obtained, is free from silica, 
and otherwise very pure. This method is now adopted in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia 
for obtaining the pure carbonate. Treated with nitric acid in excess, it should 
give a clear solution, the transparency of which is not disturbed by chloride of 
barium, and but slightly by nitrate of silver. When a perfect bicarbonate, its solu- 
tion, unless heated, does not precipitate a solution of sulphate of magnesia. This 
negative indication, however, cannot be depended upon as showing the absence 
of carbonate; for, according to Dr. Christison, no precipitate will be occasioned, 
even when 50 per cent, of this impurity is present. Bicarbonate of potassa does 
not decompose calomel. When dissolved in 40 parts of water, it produces a white 
haze merely with a solution of corrosive sublimate; but if it contain so much as 
a hundredth part of carbonate, a brick-red precipitate is immediately produced. 
(Christison.) Another way of detecting the presence of carbonate is to add 
starch sugar to a heated solution of the suspected bicarbonate. If any carbonate 
be present, the mixture turns yellow or brown. (Ghevallier.) Bicarbonate of 
potassa consists of two eqs. of carbonic acid 44, one of potassa 47‘2, and one 
of water 9 = 100-2. “Fifty grains exposed to a low red heat, leave 345 grains 
of a white residue, which requires for exact saturation fifty measures of the 
volumetric solution of oxalic acid.” Br. 
Medical Properties. The medical properties of this salt are similar to those 
of the carbonate, to which it is preferable from its milder taste, and greater ac- 
ceptability to the stomach. The dose is from twenty grains to a drachm. Dr. 
Garrod, of London, has had great success in the treatment of acute rheumatism 
by the use of two-scruple doses of this salt, given in weak solution, every two hours, 
day and night, and continued for a few days after the articular affection and febrile 
disturbance have subsided. The salt probably acts by rendering the secretions 
alkaline, and by increasing the alkalinity of the blood. For this purpose it is 
much better than the carbonate, which is not well borne by the stomach when 
continued for any length of time. 
Off. Prep. Liquor Magnesite Citratis, U. S.; Liquor Potass®, TJ. S.; Liquor 
Potass® Arsenitis, TJ. S.; Liquor Potass® Citratis, U. S.; Mistura Potass® Ci- 
tratis, U. S.; Potass® Acetas, TJ. S.; Potass® Carbonas Pura, TJ. S.; Potass® 
Citras, U. S. B. 1288 
Potassa. 
PART II. 
POTASSiE CITRAS. U. S., Br. Citrate of Potassa. 
“Take of Citric Acid ten Iroyounces; Bicarbonate of Potassa fourteen troy- 
ounces ; Water a sufficient quantity. Dissolve the Citric Acid in two pints of 
Water, add the Bicarbonate gradually, and, when effervescence has ceased, strain 
the solution and evaporate to dryness, stirring constantly, after a pellicle has 
begun to form, until the salt granulates. Then rub it in a mortar, pass it through 
a coarse sieve, and keep it in a well-stopped bottle.” U. S. 
“Take of Carbonate of Potash eight ounces [avoirdupois], or a sufficiency; 
Citric Acid, in crystals, six ounces [avoird.], or a sufficiency; Distilled Water 
two pints [Imperial measure]. Dissolve the Citric Acid in the Water, add the 
Carbonade of Potash gradually, and, if the solution be not neutral, make it so 
by the cautious addition of the Acid or the Carbonate of Potash. Then filter, 
and evaporate to dryness, stirring constantly, after a pellicle has begun to form, 
till the salt granulates. Triturate in a dry, warm mortar, and preserve the pow- 
der in stoppered bottles.” Br. 
Citrate of potassa was first recognised as officinal in the IT. S. Pharmacopoeia 
of 1850. It was known formerly by the name of salt of Riverius. In the above 
U. S. formula, mutually saturating proportions of the acid and bicarbonate were 
intended to be employed; the latter ingredient being preferred to the carbonate 
on account of its greater purity. The potassa of the bicarbonate unites with the 
citric acid, to form the citrate of potassa, and the carbonic acid escapes, produc- 
ing effervescence. The resulting solution is directed to be evaporated to dryness, 
as affording the most convenient form for use. The granulation ordered has a 
tendency to retard the deliquescence of the citrate. The British process differs 
only in the use of the carbonate instead of bicarbonate, and by providing more 
carefully for an exact neutralization. 
Citrate of potassa is crystallizable, but, as procured by the above process, is 
in the form of a white granular powder. It is inodorous, of a saline, slightly bit- 
terish, not unpleasant taste, deliquescent, very soluble in water without residue, 
and insoluble in alcohol. It is stated in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia that its solution 
does not change the colour of litmus; but we have found a carefully prepared 
specimen slightly to redden the paper; and the acid used in the process is theo- 
retically in slight excess. By a red heat, with exposure to the air, the salt is 
decomposed, leaving a residue of pure carbonate of potassa. The presence of 
tartaric acid would be indicated by a precipitate of bitartrate of potassa on the 
addition of muriatic acid. 
The British Pharmacopoeia gives the following tests of its character. Heated 
with sulphuric acid it forms a brown fluid, and gives off inflammable vapours 
with the odour of acetic acid. Its solution, mixed with a solution of chloride 
of calcium, remains clear till it is boiled, when a white precipitate is formed 
readily soluble in acetic acid. This is a character of citric acid, which, in 
saline combination, unites with lime to form the insoluble citrate only when 
heated. Acidulated with hydrochloric acid, the solution gives a yellow precipitate 
with bichloride of platinum; showing that the base of the salt is potassa. When 
102 grains are heated to redness till gas is no longer evolved, an alkaline residue 
(carbonate of potassa) is left, which requires for exact saturation 100 measures 
of the volumetric solution of oxalic acid. 
As citric acid is tribasic, this salt consists of three eqs. of potassa and one of 
acid ; its formula being 3KO,C12H5On. 
Medical Properties. Citrate of potassa is a grateful refrigerant diaphoretic, 
and has long been used in the fevers of this country, in the extemporaneous forms 
of ueutral mixture and effervescing draught. As these require time and a some- 
what careful manipulation in their preparation, it has been found more conve- 
nient to keep the citrate of potassa ready made, and dissolve it in water when 
wanted for use. This solution will no doubt produce the essential diaphoretir PART II. 
Potassa. 
1289 
and refrigerant effects of the neutral mixture or effervescing draught; but is less 
agreeable to the stomach and palate, because destitute of the carbonic acid con- 
tained in these preparations. The dose of the citrate is from twenty to twenty- 
five grains. (See Liquor Potassse Citratis, p. 1216.) W. 
POTASSiE ET SODiE TARTRAS. U.S. Sodas et Potassje Tar 
tras. Br., U.S. 1850. Tartrate of Potassa and Soda. Tartrate of Soda 
and Potash. Tartarized Soda. Rochelle Salt. 
“Take of Carbonate of Soda twelve Iroyounces; Bitartrate of Potassa, in fine 
powder, sixteen troyounces; Boiling Water five pints. Dissolve the Carbonate 
of Soda in the Water, and gradually add the Bitartrate of Potassa. Filter the 
solution, and evaporate until a pellicle begins to form; then set it aside to crys- 
tallize. Pour off the mother-water, and dry the crystals on bibulous paper. 
Lastly, evaporate the mother-water, that it may furnish more crystals.” U. S. 
“Take of Acid Tartrate of Potash, in powder, sixteen ounces [avoirdupois], 
or a sufficiency; Carbonate of Soda twelve ounces [avoird.], or a sufficiency; 
Boiling Distilled Water four pints [Imperial measure]. Dissolve the Carbonate 
of Soda in the Water, add gradually the Acid Tartrate of Potash, and, if after 
being boiled for a few minutes the liquid has an acid or alkaline reaction, add a 
little Carbonate of Soda or Acid Tartrate of Potash till a neutral solution is 
obtained. Boil and filter; concentrate the liquor till a pellicle forms on the sur- 
face, and set it aside to crystallize. More crystals may be obtained by again 
evaporating as before. ” Br. 
This is a double salt, consisting of tartrate of potassa combined with tartrate 
of soda ; or, if the bibasic view of tartaric acid is accepted, a tartrate of potassa 
and soda, as its name imports, consisting of one eq. of tartaric acid with one of 
each of the alkalies. The theory of its formation is very simple, being merely the 
saturation of the excess of acid in the bitartrate.of potassa by the soda of the 
carbonate of soda, the carbonic acid of which escapes with effervescence. The 
quantities of the materials for mutual saturation are 1433 parts of carbonate 
and 188’2 of bitartrate, or one eq. of each. This gives the ratio of 3 to 3-95. 
The proportion adopted in the U. S. and Br. Pharmacopoeias is as 3 to 4, which 
is very near the theoretical quantities. As the salts employed are apt to vary in 
composition and purity, the carbonate from the presence of more or less water 
of crystallization, and the bitartrate from containing tartrate of lime, it is, per- 
haps, best in all cases, after indicating the nearest average proportion as a gene- 
ral guide, to present to the operator the alternative of using the cream of tartar 
to the point of exact saturation. 
Properties. Tartrate of potassa and soda is in the form of colourless, trans- 
parent, slightly efflorescent crystals, often very large, and having the shape, when 
carefully prepared, of right prisms, with ten or twelve unequal sides. As ordi- 
narily crystallized, they are generally in half prisms, as if split in the direc- 
tion of their axis. The salt has a saline and slightly bitter taste. It dissolves 
in 25 parts of cold water, and in much less boiling water. Any undissolved 
residue is impurity, probably tartrate of lime or bitartrate of potassa, or both. 
Its solution is neutral to test paper, and yields no precipitate with chloride of 
barium, or a dilute solution of nitrate of silver. The non-action of these tests 
shows the absence of sulphates and chlorides. When the salt is exposed to a 
strong heat, it blackens, and gives out inflammable gases with the odour of burnt 
sugar; the tartaric acid being destroyed, and a mixture of the carbonates of 
potassa and soda left. It sometimes contains tartrate of lime, which may be re- 
moved by solution and crystallization; but, when the crystals are large and 
well defined, it may be assumed to be pure. It is incompatible with most acids, 
and with all acidulous salts except bitartrate of potassa. It is also decomposed 
by the acetate and subacetate of lead, by the soluble salts of lime, and by those 1290 
Potassa. 
PART II. 
of baryta, unless the solution of the tartrate be considerably diluted. The way 
in which adds act in decomposing it, is by combining with the soda, and throw- 
ing down bitartrate of potassa as a crystalline precipitate. This double salt was 
discovered by Seignette, an apothecary of Rochelle, and hence is frequently 
called Seignetle's salt, or Rochelle salt. 
Composition. Tartrate of potassa and soda consists of two eqs. of tartaric 
acid 132, one of potassa 47'2, one of soda 31 3, and eight of water 72 = 282 5; 
or, considered as a double salt, of one eq. of tartrate of potassa 113 2, and one 
of tartrate of soda 97 3, with the same quantity of water. If tartaric acid is 
bibasic, it must be considered as consisting, the eight eqs. of water being left 
out of the question, of one eq. of each of its other three constituents, the equiva- 
lent of the acid being doubled. Forty-seven grains of it, thoroughly incinerated, 
leave sufficient of the two alkaline carbonates to neutralize 30 measures of the 
volumetric solution of oxalic acid. (Br.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. This salt is a mild, cooling purgative, well 
suited to delicate and irritable stomachs, being among the least unpalatable of 
the neutral salts. As it is not incompatible with tartar emetic, it may be asso- 
ciated with that salt in solution. It is an ingredient in the effervescing aperient 
called Seidlitz powders. (See Pulveres Ejfercescentes Aperientes.) The dose 
as a purge is from half an ounce to an ounce. Given in small and repeated doses 
it does not purge, but is absorbed, and renders the urine alkaline. (Millon and 
Laveran, Journ. de Pliarm., 3e ser., vi. 222.) 
Tartrate of potassa and magnesia, formed by saturating cream of tartar with 
carbonate of magnesia, has been proposed by M. Maillier as a safe and pleasant 
purgative. (Journ. de Pharm., xiii. 252.) 
Off. Prep. Pulveres Effervescentes Aperientes, U. S. B. 
POTASSiE TARTRAS. U. 8., Br. Tartrate of Potassa. Soluble 
Tartar. 
“Take of Carbonate of Potassa sixteen troyounces; Bitartrate of Potassa 
[cream of tartar], in fine powder, thirty-six troy ounces, or a sufficient quantity ; 
Boiling Water eight pints. Dissolve the Carbonate of Potassa in the Water; 
then gradually add Bitartrate of Potassa to the solution until it is completely 
saturated, and boil. Filter the liquid, evaporate it until a pellicle forms, and 
set it aside to crystallize. Lastly, pour off the mother-water, and, having dried 
the crystals on bibulous paper, keep them in a well-stopped battle.” U. S. 
“Take of Acid Tartrate of Potash twenty ounces [avoirdupois], or a suffi- 
ciency ; Carbonate of Potash nine ounces and a quarter [avoird.], or a suffi- 
ciency ; Boiling Distilled Water two pints and a half [Imperial measure]. 
Dissolve the Carbonate of Potash in the Water; add by degrees the Acid Tar- 
trate of Potash, and if, after a few minutes’ boiling, the liquid is not neutral to 
test paper, make it so by the careful addition of more of the Carbonate or of 
the Acid Tartrate. Then filter, concentrate till a pellicle forms on the surface, 
and set it aside to cool and crystallize. More crystals may be obtained by eva- 
porating and cooling the mother-liquor. Drain the crystals, dry them by ex- 
posure to the air in a warm place, and preserve them in a stoppered bottle.” Br. 
In these processes, the excess of acid in the bitartrate is saturated by the 
potassa of the carbonate, the carbonic acid is extricated with effervescence, and 
the neutral tartrate of potassa is formed. On account of the greater solubility 
of the carbonate than of the bitartrate, the former is first dissolved, and the 
latter added to the solution to lull saturation. As the bitartrate is gradually 
added, the mutual action of the salts should be promoted by constant stirring, 
and the addition continued so long as effervescence takes place, which is a better 
mode of proceeding than to add any specified quantity of the bisalt; since, from 
its variable quality, it is impossible to adjust precisely the proportions appli- 
cable io all cases. It is necessary that the solution should be exactly neutral, PART II. 
Potassa. 
1291 
or a little alkaline; and hence, if inadvertently too much bitartrate has been 
used, the proper state may be restored by adding a little of the alkaline car- 
bonate. When the saturation has been completed, the solution is filtered in 
order to separate tartrate of lime, which appears in white flocks, and which is 
always present in cream of tartar as an impurity. The evaporated liquor 
should then be placed in warm earthenware vessels, to ensure a slow refrigera- 
tion ; and, after remaining at rest for several days, the crystals begin to form. 
In order that the crystallization should proceed favourably, it is necessary, 
according to Baume, that the solution should be somewhat alkaline. Iron vessels 
should not be used in any part of the process; as this metal is apt to discolour 
the salt. 
Tartrate of potassa is sometimes made in the process for preparing tartaric 
acid. When thus obtained, the excess of acid of the bitartrate is neutralized by 
means of carbonate of lime. This generates an insoluble tartrate of lime, and 
leaves the neutral tartrate in solution, from which it may be obtained by evapo- 
ration and crystallization. (See Acidum Tartaricum.) 
Properties, &c. Tartrate of potassa, prepared according to the officinal pro- 
cesses, is in white crystals, which are neutral to test paper, slightly deliquescent, 
and usually in the form of irregular six-sided prisms with dihedral summits. Its 
taste is saline and bitter. It dissolves in its own weight of cold, and in half its 
weight of boiling water ( Wittstein), and is nearly insoluble in alcohol. Exposed 
to heat it undergoes fusion, swells up, blackens, and is decomposed; being con- 
verted into carbonate of potassa. For medical use it should be crystallized; but, 
as it ordinarily occurs in the shops, it is a white granular powder, obtained by 
evaporating the solution to dryness, while it is constantly stirred. In this state 
it is said to require four times its weight of water for solution. It is not known 
to be purposely adulterated; but, if obtained by evaporation to dryness, it is 
liable to contain an excess of carbonate or bitartrate of potassa, when it will have 
either an alkaline or acid reaction. It is decomposed by all the strong acids, and 
by many acidulous salts, which cause the precipitation of minute crystals of bitar- 
trate of potassa, by abstracting one eq. of alkali from two of the salt. Chloride 
of barium or acetate of lead occasions a white precipitate of tartrate of baryta or 
lead, distinguishable from the sulphate of those bases by being wholly soluble in 
dilute nitric acid. Tartrate of potassa is composed of one eq. of potassa 47'2, and 
one of tartaric acid 66=113-2, or, if tartaric acid be considered as bibasic, of 
two eqs. of base 94'4 and one of acid 132 = 226 4. According to Berzelius, the 
crystals contain no water of crystallization. 
Medical Properties. Tartrate of potassa is a mild, cooling purgative, operat- 
ing, like most of the neutral salts, without much pain, and producing watery 
stools. It is applicable to febrile diseases, and is occasionally combined with 
senna, the griping effects of which it has a tendency to obviate. The dose is from 
a drachm to an ounce, according to the degree of effect desired. B. 
POTASSII BROMIDUM. TJ. S., Br. Bromide of Potassium. 
“ Take of Bromine two troyounces ; Iron, in the form of Filings, a troyounce ; 
Pure Carbonate of Potassa two troyounces and sixty grains; Distilled Water 
four pmts. Add the Iron, and afterwards the Bromine, to a pint and a half of 
the Distilled Water, stirring the mixture frequently with a glass rod for half an 
hour. Apply a gentle heat, and, when the liquid assumes a greenish colour, add 
gradually the Pure Carbonate of Potassa, previously dissolved in a pint and a 
half of the Distilled Water, until it ceases to produce a precipitate. Continue 
the heat for half an hour, and then filter. Wash the precipitate with the remain- 
der of the Distilled Water, boiling hot, and again filter. Mix the filtered liquids, 
and evaporate that crystals may form. Lastly, pour off the mother-water, and, 
having dried the crystals on bibulous paper, keep them in a well-stopped bottle.” 1292 
Potassa. 
PART IL 
“Take of Solution of Potash two pints [Imperial measure]; Bromine four 
ffuidounces [Imp. meas.], or a sufficiency; Wood Charcoal, in fine powder, 
two ounces [avoirdupois]; Boiling Distilled Water one pint and a half [Imp. 
meas.]. Put the Solution of Potash into a glass or porcelain vessel, and add the 
Bromine in successive portions, with constant agitation, until the mixture has ac- 
quired a permanent brown tint. Evaporate to dryness; reduce the residue to a 
fine powder, and mix this intimately with the Charcoal. Throw the mixture in 
small quantities at a time into a red-hot iron crucible, and, when the whole has 
been brought to a state of fusion, remove the crucible from the fire, and pour out 
its contents. When the fused mass has cooled dissolve it in the Water, filter the 
solution through paper, and set it aside to crystallize. Drain the crystals, and 
dry them with a gentle heat. More crystals may be obtained by evaporating the 
mother-liquor and cooling. The salt should be kept in a stoppered bottle.” Br. 
In the first step of the U. S. process, a solution of bromide of iron is formed; 
and this, by the addition of the solution of carbonate of potassa, is decomposed 
so as to generate carbonate of the protoxide of iron which precipitates, and bro- 
mide of potassium in solution. By straining, the precipitated carbonate is sepa- 
rated, and from the strained liquor crystals of bromide of potassium are obtained 
by due evaporation. In the Br. process, by reaction between potassa and bro- 
mine, the bromide of potassium and bromate of potassa are produced in solution, 
and, having been obtained dry by evaporation, are exposed with the powder of 
charcoal to a red heat, whereby the bromate of potassa is converted into bro- 
mide of potassium by the separation of its oxygen. The remainder of the pro-, 
cess consists in obtaining the bromide in crystals by solution in boiling water, 
which deposits it on cooling. 
Properties, &c. Bromide of potassium is a permanent, colourless, anhydrous 
salt, crystallizing in cubes or quadrangular prisms, and having a pungent, saline 
taste, similar to that of common salt, but more acrid. It is very soluble in cold 
water, more so in hot, and but slightly soluble in alcohol. When heated it de- 
crepitates, and, at a red heat, fuses without decomposition. If its aqueous solu- 
tion be mixed with a little chlorine water, and then shaken with ether, the bro- 
mine, separated by the chlorine, will be dissolved by the ether, which will rise 
to the surface of a red colour. The salt may thus be known to be a bromide. 
That the base is potassium may be known by the white crystalline precipitate pro- 
duced by tartaric acid added to its solution. The following characters are given 
of the salt in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. “ Its aqueous solution does not affect the 
colour of litmus or turmeric, and is not precipitated by chloride of barium. When 
mixed with starch and treated with sulphuric acid, it becomes yellow. The salt, 
when subjected to heat, does not lose weight. Ten grains of it require, for com- 
plete precipitation, 1430 grains of nitrate of silver; and the precipitate formed 
has a yellowish colour.” The object of adding sulphuric acid with the starch, is 
to set the bromine free. If iodine be set free at the same time, the starch will 
assume a violet or feeble blue colour. To test for iodine in this salt, Lassaigne 
recommends to add to its solution a few drops of chlorine water, and then to in- 
troduce a piece of starched white paper. If iodine be present, the starch will 
become violet, or faintly blue; and iodide of potassium, which is not an unfre- 
queut impurity, may thus be detected. If the salt decomposes more nitrate of 
silver than is above stated, its saturating power is greater than it should be, and 
the presence of a chloride, probably of potassium or sodium, may be suspected. 
Chlorides may be more certainly detected by precipitating the salt with nitrate 
of silver, and treating the precipitate with a slight excess of ammonia. If there 
be a chloride, the chloride of silver will be thrown down, to be dissolved by the 
ammonia; and the solution thus obtained, if treated with nitric acid in excess, 
will throw down a white precipitate of chloride of silver. (Journ. de Pharm., 
Dec. 1863, p. 514.) An iodide of an alkaline metal will be detected by adding PART II. 
JPotassa, 
1293 
to the solution of the bromide the chloride of palladium, which will precipitate 
all the iodine in the form of iodide of palladium, wThile the bromide of that metal 
will remain in solution. (Ibid.) Bromide of potassium consists of one eq. of bro- 
mine 18'4, and one of potassium 39-2 = lll'6. 
Medical Properties. Bromide of potassium is alterative and resolvent, and is 
thought to be sedative to the nervous system and powerfully antaphrodisiac. In 
1828, Pourche used it with benefit, both internally and in the form of ointment, 
in the treatment of broncliocele and scrofula. Favourable results were obtained 
by late Dr. T. Williams, of London, from its use as an internal remedy in 
enlarged spleen, and it has been given advantageously in goitre. According 
to Bicord, it produces effects in secondary syphilis similar to those of iodide 
of potassium, but acts more slowly. The same view is taken of its slow action 
in syphilis by Dr. John Egan. This surgeon, after experimenting with bromide 
of potassium for four years in the Westmoreland Lock Hospital, found its ef- 
fects, in secondary and tertiary syphilis, slow and unsatisfactory, when compared 
with those of the iodide. While the latter generally increased the appetite and 
improved digestion, the bromide not unfrequently produced nausea and derange- 
ment of the digestive organs. M. Huette, from extensive trials of the remedy in 
the same stages of syphilis, found it inefficacious; exhibiting, in its effects, a 
marked contrast to iodide of potassium, which rapidly relieved the cases in 
which the bromide had failed. (Ann. de Therap., 1851, p. 216.) Given in large 
doses (from two to five drachms daily), it produces headache, followed by a pe- 
culiar intoxication, with torpor and drowsiness, slowness of the pulse, temporary 
dulness of sight and hearing, and weakness of the intellectual faculties. In one 
case, observed by M. Rames, the insensibility was so complete that the puncture 
of the skin with a suture needle was not felt, and the titillation of the conjunctiva 
and fauces with a feather produced neither winking nor desire to vomit. (Journ. 
de Pharm., Dec. 1849.) Anaesthesia of the fauces, produced by the bromide, was 
subsequently observed by M. Huette, who also noticed in it the property of in- 
ducing more or less torpidity of the genital organs. Its powers as an antaphro- 
disiac have been confirmed by Dr. Thielmann, of St. Petersburg, M. Trousseau, 
of Paris, and subsequently by many others. Sir Charles Locock has used it ad- 
vantageously in hysterical epilepsy, and other nervous affections connected with 
uterine disorder. Dr. Garrod has found it powerfully sedative to the sexual 
function, and recommends it strongly in nymphomania, priapism, certain forms 
of menorrhagia, and even in ovarian tumours. (Med. Times and Gaz., March, 
1864, p. 216.) It is efficacious in the painful erections occurring in gonorrhoea; 
and has been much used, with supposed advantage, in spermatorrhoea. Dr. J. 
Jones, of London, has found it very effectual in certain infantile convulsions, 
given in the dose of two or three grains every four or six hours. (Ibid., p. 254.) 
By M. Ozanam, of Paris, it has been successfully used in fourteen cases of pseudo- 
membranous affections, two of which were croup. It has been given with good 
effect by Mr. Spencer Wells, of London, in cancerous tumours, in the dose of 
from five to ten grains, with one, two, or three drachms of cod-liver oil, three 
times a day. (Ibid. July, 1851, p. 31.) In reference to its anaesthetic action on 
the fauces, it has been usefully employed in examination of these parts, and in 
operations upon them. 
Bromide of potassium may be given in the form of pill, or dissolved in water, 
in doses of from three to ten grains three times a day. When used as an anta- 
phrodisiac, the dose is two or three grains every two hours. The ointment 
may be made by mixing from a scruple to two drachms of the bromide with an 
ounce of lard. Of this from half a drachm to a drachm may be rubbed on a 
scrofulous tumour, or other part where its local action is desired, once in twenty- 
four hours. Sometimes bromine is added to this ointment in the proportion of 
thirty minims to the ounce of lard. B. 1294 
Potassa. 
PART II. 
POTASSII CYANIDUM. U. S. Potassii Cyanuretum. U. S. 1850. 
Cyanide of Potassium. Qyanuret of Potassium. 
“ Take of Ferrocyanide of Potassium, dried, eight troyounces; Pure Car- 
bonate of Potassa, dried, three troyounces. Mix the salts intimately, and throw 
the mixture into a deep iron crucible previously heated to redness. Maintain 
the temperature until effervescence ceases, and the fused mass concretes, of a 
pure white colour, upon a warm glass rod dipped into it. Then pour out the 
liquid carefully into a shallow dish to solidify, ceasing to pour before the salt 
becomes contaminated with the precipitated iron. Break up the mass while yet 
warm, and keep the pieces in a well-stopped bottle.” U. S. 
The above process for obtaining this cyanide, which is that of F. & E. Rodgers, 
though generally known under the name of Liebig, was substituted, in the U. S. 
Pharmacopoeia of 1850, for the process in which the ferrocyanide is ignited 
without addition. It furnishes a large product, but a considerable part of it is 
the impurity, cyanate of potassa. The reaction takes place between two eqs. of 
ferrocyanide of potassium and two of carbonate of potassa. The iron is set 
free, the carbonic acid evolved, and a compound of five eqs. of cyanide of po- 
tassium and one of cyanate of potassa is formed. The iron occupies the lower 
part of the fused liquid; and, if the latter be carefully poured out to solidify, 
the portion contaminated with the iron may be left behind. The reaction is ex- 
plained by the following equation : 2(2KCy,FeCy) and 2(K0,C02) = 5KCy and 
KO,CyO and 2Fe and 2C02. Dr. Wittstein gives the reaction differently, to 
explain the larger proportion of cyanate of potassa formed than the above 
equation calls for. He conceives that the product consists of seven eqs. of cya- 
nide of potassium, and three of cyanate of potassa. MM. Fordos and Gelis, in 
an able paper contained in the Journ. de Pliarmacie for Aug. 1857, have pointed 
out numerous causes which concur in rendering the salt, as obtained by the use 
of carbonate of potassa, impure. The commercial cyanide, which is obtained 
by this process, was found by these writers to be very impure, only containing 
from 36 to 55 per cent, of the pure salt. The cyanate of potassa may be readily 
detected by saturating the product with an acid, which will cause an efferves- 
cence of carbonic acid, and the generation of a salt of ammonia. According to 
Dr. Schwarz, it may be freed from cyanate and carbonate of potassa, by treat- 
ing the impure cyanide with bisulphuret of carbon, which dissolves it, and may 
be recovered in great measure by distillation. (Cliem. News, No. 190, p. 41.) 
In the process in which the ferrocyanide of potassium is ignited alone (former 
TJ. S. process), the salt is first deprived of its water of crystallization by exposure 
to a moderate heat, and then calcined at a red heat for two hours, in order to 
decompose the cyanide of iron. The product of the calcination is a black, porous 
mass, consisting of cyanide of potassium, mixed with carburet of iron and char- 
coal. As the cyanide is very prone to absorb oxygen, especially when hot, 
whereby it is decomposed, atmospheric air is excluded from the retort while it 
is cooling, by luting its orifice. When the whole is cold, the black mass is re- 
duced to coarse powder, and exhausted by cold distilled water, which dissolves 
the cyanide of potassium, and leaves the carburet of iron and charcoal behind. 
The filtered liquor, therefore, is an aqueous solution of cyanide of potassium, 
which is obtained in a solid state by a rapid evaporation to dryness. During 
the evaporation, a small portion of the cyanide is decomposed, attended with 
the evolution of ammonia, and the production of foriniate of potassa. A portion 
of this salt, therefore, contaminates the cyanide, as obtained by this process; 
but the quantity is too small to interfere with its medicinal action. The decom- 
position here referred to takes place between one eq. of cyanide of potassium 
and four of water, and is represented by the following equation, in which the 
cyanogen is expressed by its full symbol NC2, and formic acid by C2II03: K,N02 
and 4HO = NHs and KO,C2HOa. This decomposition is avoided by exhausting PART II. 
Potassa. 
1295 
the black mass with boiling alcbhol of 60 per cent. (sp. gr. 0 896) instead of 
with water. The alcoholic solution, by evaporation to a pellicle, lets fall the 
salt upon cooling, as a crystalline precipitate, perfectly white and pure. 
According to the process of the French Codex, which is that of Robiquet, 
this cyanide is obtained in the dry way, without the use of any solvent. The 
calcination is performed in a coated stoneware retort, half-filled with the ferro- 
cyauide, to which a tube is attached for collecting the gaseous products. When 
these cease to be disengaged, the heat is gradually raised to a very high tem- 
perature, at which it is kept for a quarter of an hour; after which the tube is 
closed with luting, and the whole left undisturbed until quite cold. When the 
calcination is thus conducted, the retort, upon being broken, will be found to 
contain a black matter, covered with a fused layer of pure cyanide of potassium, 
resembling white enamel. This is detached by means of a knife, and immedi- 
ately transferred to a bottle, with an accurately fitting stopper. The black mat- 
ter, under the name of black cyanide of potassium, is also kept for medicinal 
use; but the dose of this cannot be accurately fixed, on account of its contain- 
ing, at different times, more or less impurity. 
According to MM. Fordos and Gelis, the French Codex process should su- 
persede the carbonate of potassa process; as it gives a product far purer, and 
in larger proportion to the materials employed, estimated by the pure product. 
The same process is preferred by Mr. Donovan, who has modified it by substi- 
tuting, for the stoneware retort, an iron mercury bottle, which, when cold, must 
be cut in two by a chisel and hammer to get out the product. The same recom- 
mendation of iron in preference to stoneware vessels, is made by Fordos and 
Gelis, who found that the latter, at the high heat employed, were acted on. 
The process of Wiggers consists in disengaging hydrocyanic acid from a mix- 
ture of ferrocyanide of potassium and sulphuric acid, and passing it into a cooled 
receiver, containing an alcoholic solution of hydrate of potassa. The contents 
of the receiver ultimately form a solid magma of the cyanide, which is drained, 
washed several times with strong alcohol, pressed between folds of bibulous 
paper, and dried as quickly as possible. 
Cyanide of potassium may be formed by passing a current of strongly heated 
nitrogen over charcoal, impregnated with carbonate of potassa, and heated to 
white redness. (See page 686.) 
Properties. Cyanide of potassium, as prepared by the IT. S. formula, is in 
white, opaque, amorphous masses, having a sharp, somewhat alkaline and bitter- 
almond taste, and an alkaline reaction. If yellow it contains iron. It is deliques- 
cent in moist air, readily soluble in water when reduced to powder, and sparingly 
soluble in strong alcohol. Its solution effervesces with acids. The salt and its 
solution, when exposed to the air, exhale the odour of hydrocyanic acid, and be- 
come weaker; but the change takes place slowly. Orfila found that the salt, after 
fourteen days’ exposure, by which it was almost entirely liquefied, still possessed 
energetic poisonous properties. He thinks, therefore, that the bad effects of open- 
ing the containing bottle, in dispensing the medicine, have been exaggerated. 
Unfortunately, the salt varies in quality, independently of the effects of time and 
exposure. Dr. David Stewart, of Baltimore, examined six samples of this cya- 
nide, on sale, and found them to vary considerably in purity. Besides water, the 
usual impurities are hydrate, carbonate, cyanate, and formiate of potassa. They 
sometimes amount to half the weight of the cyanide, consisting principally of 
the carbonate. From the extensive use at present made of cyanide of potassium in 
electro-metallurgy and photography, it is of importance to have a reliable test of 
its purity. Such a test has been discovered by MM. Fordos and Gelis, founded 
on the fact that two eqs. of iodine rapidly react with one of the cyanide, so as 
to form a colourless compound, consisting of one eq. of iodide of potassium, and 
one of iodide of cyanogen: KCy and 2I = KI and Cyl. Accordingly, a tincture Potassa. 
PART II. 
of iodine of known strength is gradually added to an aqueous solution of a given 
weight of the cyanide to be tested, until it assumes a permanent yellowish tinge ; 
and the amount of iodine expended indicates the proportion of cyanide in the 
specimen. A necessary preliminary step, before using the tincture, is to add suf- 
ficient carbonic acid water to the solution of the cyanide, to convert any hydrate 
or carbonate of potassa present into bicarbonate, in which state neither has any 
action on the iodine. (Chem. Gaz., Oct. 15, 1852, p. 387.) This test is applicable 
to other cyanogen compounds. (See page 926.) Mr. Thornton J. Ilerapath’s 
test for commercial cyanide of potassium is a standard solution of ammonio- 
sulphate of copper, the blue colour of which is destroyed by a solution of the 
cyanide. The copper solution is added to one of the cyanide of known strength, 
until a faint blue coloration is produced; and the richness of the sample in pure 
cyanide is in proportion to the quantity of the copper solution required. (Che- 
mist, April, 1856, and Feb. 1857.) Applying this test to five samples, Mr. llera- 
path found the proportion of pure cyanide to vary from 41 to 65 per cent. Cyan- 
ide of potassium yields with nitrate of silver a precipitate of cyanide of silver, 
which is wholly soluble in ammonia. It consists of one eq. of cyanogen 26, and 
one of potassium 39-2=65'2. 
Medical Properties. Cyanide of potassium is pre-eminently poisonous, act- 
ing precisely like hydrocyanic acid as a poison and as a medicine. (See Acidum 
Hydrocyanicum Dilutum.) Since the tenth edition of this work was published, 
three fatal cases of poisoning by this salt have occurred in the United States. 
The first case, reported by Dr. C. E. Ware, of Boston, was that of a woman who 
took, by mistake, a teaspoonful of a solution, containing about seven grains of 
the salt. The second and third cases occurred in Baltimore, and arose from the 
mistake of an apothecary in putting up cyanide of potassium for chlorate of po- 
tassa in a mixture. A dose of the mixture destroyed a child, and, likewise, the 
apothecary, who, to show his confidence in the correctness with which it had 
been compounded, swallowed a portion of it himself. Hydrocyanic acid has been 
detected in the blood of a person who had been fatally poisoned by the cyanide 
(Yenghauss, Arch, der Pharm., clii. 138.) The grounds on which this cyanide 
was proposed as a substitute for hydrocyanic acid by Robiquet and Villerme, 
were its uniformity as a chemical product, and its less liability to undergo de- 
composition. The dose is the eighth of a grain, dissolved in half a fluidounce of 
distilled water, to which may be added half a fluidrachm of syrup of lemons, if 
the prescriber wish to set the hydrocyanic acid free. The spurious cyanide, 
formed by calcining dried muscular flesh with potash, consists principally of car- 
bonate of potassa, and is but slightly poisonous. ( Orfila.) A solution of cyanide 
of potassium, made with from one to four grains to the fluidounce of water, has 
been recommended in neuralgic and other local pains, applied by means of pieces 
of linen. Mr. Guthrie found that a solution of from three to six grains to the 
fluidounce of distilled water, formed an admirable remedy, applied by drops 
every other day, for removing the olive-coloured stains of the conjunctiva caused 
by nitrate of silver. B. 
POTASSII IODIDUM. U.S.,Br. Iodide of Potassium. 
“Take of Potassa six troyounces; Iodine, in fine powder, sixteen troy- 
ounces, or a sufficient quantity; Charcoal, in fine powder, two troyounces; Dis- 
tilled Water a sufficient quantity. To the Potassa, dissolved in three pints of 
Distilled Water, boiling hot, gradually add the Iodine, stirring after each addition 
until the solution becomes colourless, and continue the additions until the liquid 
remains slightly coloured from excess of Iodine. Evaporate the solution to dry- 
ness, stirring in the Charcoal towards the close of the operation, so that it may 
be intimately mixed writh the dried salt. Rub this to powder, and heat it to dull 
redness in an iron crucible, maintaining that temperature for fifteen minutes; then, 
after it has cooled, dissolve out the saline matter with Distilled Water, filter the PART II. 
Potassa. 
1297 
solution, evaporate, and set it aside to crystallize. An additional quantity of 
crystals may be obtained from the mother-water by evaporating and crystalliz- 
ing as before.” U. S. 
“Take of Solution of Potash one gallon [Imperial measure]; Iodine, in 
powder, twenty-nine ounces [avoirdupois], or a sufficiency; Wood Charcoal, 
in fine powder, three ounces [avoird.]; Boiling Distilled Water a sufficiency. 
Put the Solution of Potash into a glass or porcelain vessel, and add the Iodine 
in small quantities at a time with constant agitation, until the solution acquires 
a permanent brown tint. Evaporate the whole to dryness in a porcelain dish, 
pulverize the residue, and mix this intimately with the Charcoal. Throw the 
mixture, in small quantities at a time, into a red-hot iron crucible, and, when 
the whole has been brought to a state of fusion, remove the crucible from the 
fire and pour out its contents. When the fused mass has cooled, dissolve it in 
two pints [Imp. meas.] of boiling Distilled Water, filter through paper, wash 
the filter with a little boiling Distilled Water, unite the liquids, and evaporate 
the whole till a film forms on the surface. Set it aside to cool and crystallize. 
Drain the crystals, and dry them quickly with a gentle heat. More crystals may 
be obtained by evaporating the mother-liquor and cooling. The salt should be 
kept in a stoppered bottle.” Br. 
In these processes, which are essentially the same, an aqueous solution of 
potassa is treated with iodine in slight excess. The result of thus saturating 
potassa with iodine is the formation of two salts, iodide of potassium and iodate 
of potassa. Six eqs. of iodine react with six of potassa, and there are formed 
five eqs. of iodide of potassium, and one of iodate of potassa (6KO and 61 — 5KI 
and K0,105). By evaporating the solution to dryness the mixed salts are ob- 
tained ; and, if the dry mass be exposed to a red heat, the iodate will be con- 
verted into iodide of potassium, thus removing this impurity from the iodide. 
In the formula the mixed salts, towards the close of their evaporation to dry- 
ness, are directed to be mixed with powdered charcoal, according to the plan of 
Mr. Scanlan, which facilitates the deoxidation of the iodate. This being accom- 
plished by a dull red heat, the iodide of potassium is dissolved out of the mass, 
and the solution set aside to crystallize. 
In the late Ed. and Dub. processes the first step was to form iodide of iron in 
solution, precisely as is done in the formula for that compound; and the second 
to decompose it by carbonate of potassa, which gave rise to iodide of potassium 
in solution, and a precipitate of carbonate of protoxide of iron. The solution of 
iodide of potassium was separated by filtration and washing from the precipitated 
carbonate, and evaporated to dryness. The dry salt was then freed from iron 
and other impurities by solution in boiling water or alcohol, filtration, and crys- 
tallization. Messrs. T. and H. Smith, of Edinburgh, instead of washing the pre- 
cipitate, prefer the plan of pressing it strongly in a cloth, in order to extract the 
remains of the solution. The mass left is broken up in a portion of distilled 
water equal to about two-thirds of the weight of the iodine employed, and pressed 
a second time. Proceeding thus, less water is used, and less evaporation is neces- 
sary. The solution obtained by them is evaporated to dryness, and the dry salt 
is carefully fused in an iron pot, in order to free it from colour. It is then dis- 
solved, and the solution, by filtration, concentration, and cooling, furnishes a 
perfectly pure iodide nearly to the last.* 
* For formulas by Prof. Mayer, of New York, for the preparation of the iodides and 
bromides, based on the reaction between iodine or bromine on the one hand, and iron and 
bicarbonate of potassa or the carbonate of soda, lithium, or lime, according to the parti- 
cular iodide wanted, on the other, see the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (July, 1862, p. 292). An- 
other process of Liebig, as detailed by Mr. Squire, will be found in the same journal for 
Sept. 1862 (p. 437). To 1 part of phosphorus covered with 40 parts of water, 20 parts of 
'odine are gradually added; the solution of phosphoric and hydriodic acids thus obtained 1298 
Potassa. 
PART II. 
Properties, &c. Iodide of potassium, sometimes incorrectly called liydrio- 
date of potassa, is in opaque, white or transparent crystals, permanent in a dry 
air, slightly deliquescent in a moist one, and having a sharp saline taste. It 
does not change the colour of litmus, and has little or no effect on turmeric. 
According to the Messrs. Smith, of Edinburgh, it is not at all deliquescent when 
perfectly pure. It generally crystallizes in cubes. It is soluble in about two- 
thirds of its weight of cold water, and in from six to eight parts of rectified 
spirit. If solution of iodide of potassium be mixed with solution of starch, and 
a minute quantity of solution of chlorine be added, a blue colour will be pro- 
duced ; the chlorine combining with the potassium and thus liberating the iodine 
which forms a blue compound with starch. Its solution is decomposed by the 
addition of a few drops of sulphuric acid, hydriodic acid being generated, which 
speedily undergoes decomposition, with evolution of iodine ; and, if starch be 
added after the lapse of a few minutes, a blue colour is produced. The starch 
test will not give the characteristic blue colour immediately, if added simulta- 
neously with the acid, unless the iodide of potassium contains iodate of potassa, 
which impurity causes an immediate liberation of iodine. The blue colour being 
produced by the starch and acid, if simultaneously added, is, therefore, a sign 
of impurity. A very delicate test of iodide of potassium, and other soluble 
Iodides, is that of M. Grange. It consists in pouring a little of the liquid to be 
examined into a test tube, adding a few drops of solution of starch, and passing 
through the mixture a few bubbles of fuming nitrous acid. The liquid immedi- 
ately assumes a pale-rose colour, inclining to violet, when containing 1-200,000th 
of its weight of the iodide, and a bright-blue colour, if 1-100,000th is present. 
{See pjage 411.) “When tartaric acid is freely added to a strong solution of the 
iodide, it occasions a white crystalline precipitate; and the supernatant liquid, 
if mixed with starch, becomes first purple, and finally blue. Bichloride of pla- 
tinum colours its solution reddish-brown, without causing a precipitate ; chloride 
•of barium but slightly affects it; and sulphate of iron occasions no change.” 
{£7. &) The non-action of the last test shows the absence of carbonate of 
pota-sea. The aqueous solution is capable of taking up a large quantity of iodine, 
forming a liquid of a deep-brown colour. 
Exposed to a dull red heat iodide of potassium fuses, and on cooling con- 
cretes into a crystalline pearly mass, without loss of weight; but at a full red 
beat it is slowly volatilized without decomposition. The most usual impurities 
'Contained in this salt are the chlorides of potassium and sodium, bromide of 
potassisum, and carbonate and iodate of potassa. The presence of a chloride 
may be determined by nitrate of silver. This test will throw down nothing from 
the pure salt but iodide of silver, which is scarcely soluble in ammonia; while 
chloride of silver is readily soluble in it. If then a solution of the iodide be 
precipitated by an excess of nitrate of silver, and agitated with ammonia, the 
latter will dissolve any chloride which may have been thrown down, and will 
yield if again as a white precipitate on being saturated with nitric acid. If, on 
the other hand, the iodide of potassium be pure, the ammonia will take up only 
a minute quantity of iodide of silver, and the addition of nitric acid will scarcely 
disturb the transparency of the solution. The iodide of silver precipitated from 
10 grains of iodide of potassium weighs, when washed and dried, 14T grains. 
is poured off, and milk of lime added in slight, excess; the whole is placed upon a filter, 
and the precipitate, consisting of phosphate of lime, is pressed and washed;- the filtrate, 
containing only iodide of calcium, is boiled down, with 12 parts of powdered sulphate of 
potassa, to about one-half; the whole, after standing six hours, is filtered, and the pre- 
cipitate pressed as before; a little pure carbonate of potassa is added to the filtrate to re- 
move evei’y trace of lime; and the filtered solution, containing only iodide of potassium, 
yields that salt in crystals by concentration. By slight modifications of the process, the 
iodides of sodium, lithium, and various other metals may be obtained.—Note to the twelfth 
edition. PART II. 
Potassa. 
1299 
When acetate of lead is added to a solution of iodide of potassium, a yellow 
precipitate of iodide of lead is thrown down, soluble in boiling water. The low 
price of bromide of potassium, compared with that of the iodide, has caused the 
former to be used to adulterate the latter. When bromide of potassium is sold 
for the iodide, the fraud may be detected by the fact that the addition of sul- 
phuric acid produces copious reddish fumes, instead of the purple ones, arising 
from the iodide. In order to detect bromine, M. Personne first precipitates from 
an aqueous solution of the suspected iodide, the whole of the iodine as protiodide 
of copper, by successively adding, in excess, a solution of sulphate of copper, 
and aqueous sulphurous acid; and then treats the filtered liquid with ether and 
chlorine water, the whole being shaken together and left at rest. If bromine be 
present, the ether which rises to the surface will be tinged of a reddish-yellow 
colour. Carbonate of potassa may be discovered by lime-water, which causes a 
milkiness (carbonate of" lime), and by tincture of iodine, the colour of which is 
destroyed. The Br. Pharmacopoeia admits a slight degree of this impurity, 
directing that lime-water should only faintly precipitate the solution. The iodate 
may be detected by adding a solution of tartaric acid to a solution of the sus- 
pected iodide. Bitartrate of potassa will be precipitated, and, if the iodide be 
pure, a yellow colour is soon developed by the action of the air on the liberated 
hydriodic acid; but, if any iodate be present, the test will give rise to both iodic 
and hydriodic acids, which, by their mutual action, will instantly develope iodine. 
Mr. William Copney has pointed out an excellent test for detecting carbonate 
and iodate of potassa, in the use of protiodide of iron, in the form of syrup of 
iodide of iron, recently prepared. (See Syrupus Ferri Iodidi.) A drop of the 
syrup is added to a solution of the suspected iodide of potassium. A bluish pre- 
cipitate indicates the carbonate; a red one, the iodate; and a blue precipitate, 
followed by a red one, both impurities. Carbonate of potassa is generally pre- 
sent in the proportion of from 1 to 10 per cent. Dr. Christison has detected 
per cent., and Dr. Pereira as high as 77 per cent. An adulteration by the car- 
bonate under 10 percent, does not alter the crystalline appearance of the iodide, 
but gives it an increased tendency to deliquesce. When it is greater it renders 
the salt granular and highly deliquescent. As iodide of potassium is soluble iu 
rectified spirit, anything left undissolved by that menstruum is impurity. The 
amount of impurity in this salt, without ascertaining its nature, may be deter- 
mined by the method of Marozeau, which consists in adding a solution of cor- 
rosive sublimate to one of the iodide to be examined, the salts being taken in 
the proportion of four eqs. of the iodide to one of the bichloride. If the iodide 
be pure, its excess will be just competent to redissolve all the red iodide of mer- 
cury formed by the addition of the corrosive sublimate solution. If impure, a 
reddish colour from undissolved red iodide will appear before the whole of the 
latter solution is added. Accordingly, if a solution of one eq. of corrosive sub- 
limate be gradually added to a solution of four eqs. of the iodide, until the red- 
dish colour ceases to disappear upon stirring, the proportion expended will 
represent the pure iodide, and that unexpended, the impurity in the specimen 
examined. (See the paper of Mr. J. M. Maisch, in the Am. Journ. of P harm., 
xxvi. 293.) Iodide of potassium consists of one eq. of iodine 126 3, and one of 
potassium 39 2= 165-5. It contains no water of crystallization. 
Prof. Procter has given a paper on the incompatibles of iodide of potassium 
in relation to the mercurial preparations. He finds it incompatible with calomel, 
the black and red oxides of mercury, turpeth mineral, white precipitate, blue 
mass, and metallic mercury. These experiments serve to confirm the observa- 
tion of M. Melsens, that iodide of potassium, given in connection with the in- 
soluble preparations of mercury, renders them soluble and much more active. 
(See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxvi. 222.) With nitrous ether iodide of potas- 
sium reacts, yielding, among other products, hydriodic ether and a little ordinary 1300 
Potassa. 
PART II. 
ether. (Juncadella, Comptes Rendus, Fev. 1859, p. 345.) At ordinary tempera- 
tures iodide of potassium is slowly decomposed, with evolution of iodine, by ni- 
trate of ammonia and boracic acid; and, at high temperatures, in a glass test 
tube, with escape of violet vapours, not only by the two substances just named, 
but also by sulphate, oxalate, carbonate, and muriate of ammonia, sulphate, phos- 
phate, nitrate, and borate of soda, sulphates of potassa and magnesia, nitrate of 
lime, chlorides of sodium, potassium, and calcium, and silicic acid. (Ubaldini, 
Journ. de Pharm., Oct. 1859, p. 292.) 
Medical Properties, &c. The general therapeutic properties of the prepara- 
tions of iodine, of which iodide of potassium is the most important, have been 
given under the head of iodine. By most practitioners the preparation under 
notice is preferred for producing the constitutional effects of iodine. It certainly 
produces very marked effects on the secretions, which it uniformly increases, and 
into which it readily passes. It has a tendency to irritate the mucous membrane 
of the air-passages, as shown by its sometimes occasioning an affection like cold 
in the head. When long continued in large doses, it occasionally produces a 
tender, enlarged, lobulated, and fissured tongue, constituting a true chronic glos- 
sitis. Mr. Langston Parker, of England, has reported several cases of this kind, 
in which the iodide had been taken for years. Its obvious effects on the system 
are. very variable, arising probably either from peculiarities of constitution, or 
from the unequal quality of the medicine itself. Thus it produces nausea, pain 
in the stomach, and diarrhoea, in moderate doses, in some cases; and is borne in 
large doses without inconvenience in others. It generally increases the appetite 
and flesh. The general character of its action is to remove abnormal tissue, 
eliminating the material for the most part by the channel of the kidneys. There 
are but few diseases in which it has not been tried. Its use in scrofulous affec- 
tions, combined with iodine, has been explained under the head of iodine. It 
has been recommended by M. Oke in chorea, after the preparations of iron have 
failed; by M. Gendrin, Dr. Clendenning, and Mr. Spencer Wells in gout; by M. 
Arrigan in albuminuria; by Mr. Sankey in ague, given in large doses; and by 
MM. Demarquay and Gustin in stomatitis. The latter writers think it more effi- 
cacious in this disease than chlorate of potassa. 
Dr. Williams, of London, considers it applicable to the treatment of various 
forms of secondary syphilis. He used it with success, in a majority of cases, 
in removing hard periosteal nodes, and found it beneficial in the treatment of 
tubercular forms of venereal eruptions. It is also considered as one of the best 
alterative remedies in mercurio-syphilitic sorethroat. Ricord bears testimony to 
its valuable powers in the treatment of secondary syphilis. Dr. Handheld Jones 
found it particularly efficacious in that form of rheumatism characterized by wan- 
dering pains in the bones. According to the clinical observations of Dr. W. R. 
Basham, iodide of potassium is well suited to the treatment of chronic periosteal 
rheumatism in subjects who have previously taken mercury to salivation; while 
it is not applicable to the disease when occurring in patients who have not un- 
dergone a mercurial course, but have suffered from syphilis, which has been ne- 
glected, or treated only locally. In the latter cases he conceives that corrosive 
sublimate and sarsaparilla are the proper remedies. It is probably useful in the 
former cases on the principle of eliminating mercury from the system, agreeably 
to the views of M. Melsens, given below. In 1843 MM. Guillot and Melsens 
gave iodide of potassium with advantage, in doses of from a drachm to a drachm 
and a half daily, in mercurial tremors and lead poisoning. In a memoir pub- 
lished in 1849, M. Melsens gives a full account of his experiments with it as a 
remedy for the affections caused by mercury and lead. He effected a number of 
cures of mercurial tremors and lead palsy ; and, during the progress of the cure, 
these metals were found in the urine. The manner in which the remedy acts, ac- 
cording to M. Melsens, is by rendering the poisonous metal, which ha«s become PART II. 
Potassa 
1301 
fixed in the tissues, soluble, first converting it into an iodide, and theu dissolving 
the iodide formed. This view is supported by the fact that all the compounds of 
mercury and lead are soluble in iodide of potassium.* 
The views and results of M. Melsens have been confirmed by therapeutic trials 
in lead poisoning by M. Malherbe, of Nantes, and by Drs. Parke and Sieveking, 
of London. An important fact observed by M. Melsens was that iodide of po- 
tassium, given at the same time with certain compounds of mercury, rendered 
them more active; and, when given after them, developed an activity not pre- 
viously manifested, and sometimes to such an extent as to occasion serious acci- 
dents. This fact he explained by referring it to the power of the iodide to render 
the mercurial compounds soluble, in which state only are they capable of being 
eliminated with the urine. During the use of iodide of potassium, ptyalism 
sometimes occurs. This has been usually considered a primary effect of the 
remedy; but the light shed on the subject by M. Melsens leads to the belief, 
that it may be a secondary effect, resulting from the liberation from the tissues 
of mercury previously taken, which is thereby enabled, by becoming soluble, to 
produce its constitutional effects. Dr. Budd relates several cases, in which mer- 
curial ptyalism came on, during the use of iodide of potassium, in persons who 
had not taken mercury for weeks or months before. It is probable that, in these 
cases, the mercury had been long lying fixed in the system, and was rendered 
soluble and active by the iodide. 
The late Dr. Isaac Parrish, of this -city, employed iodide of potassium suc- 
cessfully in strumous inflammation of the eye, given in the compound syrup of 
sarsaparilla. It appeared promptly to relieve the severe neuralgic, circumorbital 
pain. Dr. Griscom, also of this city, cured a case of supposed membranous croup 
in a child by the use of this remedy, after leeches, sinapisms, warm baths, and eme- 
tics had failed. {Trans, of the Coll. ofPhys. of Philad., N. S.,ii. 164.) Dr. De 
Renzy, of Carnew, Ireland, found it efficacious in haemoptysis. Dr. G. L. Upshur, 
of "Virginia, recommends its use in the suppurative stage of pneumonia. 
The dose of iodide of potassium is from two to ten grains or more, three 
times a day, given in dilute solution. Ricord rarely exceeded three scruples a 
day. Some practitioners have employed enormous doses, such as two, four, and 
even six drachms daily without inconvenience. Dr. Buchanan, of Glasgow, as- 
sures us that he has given the pure salt in doses of half an ounce, without any 
precaution being observed by the patient, except to drink freely of diluents. 
Notwithstanding this testimony, Dr. Lawrie, of the same city, reports several 
cases of dryness and irritation of the throat, ending in severe spasmodic croup, 
and one case of death following the sudden occurrence of dyspnoea, caused by 
the use of this iodide, even when given in small doses. According to Dr. Gull, 
of London, the efficiency of the remedy is much increased by uniting it with 
carbonate of ammonia, in the proportion of two or three grains of the iodide to 
four or five of the carbonate. 
Iodide of potassium passes quickly into the urine, in which it may be detected 
by first adding to the cold secretion a portion of starch, and then a few drops 
of nitric acid, when a blue colour will be produced. It has been detected in six 
minutes after having been swallowed. According to Schottin it passes slowly 
into the sweat. Taken in half-drachm doses daily, it did not appear in that 
secretion until five days had elapsed. 
According to Ricord, this salt produces in some constitutions peculiar effects ; 
such as eruptions of the skin, excessive diuresis, vascular injection of the con- 
junctiva and tumefaction of the eyelids, cerebral excitement like that produced 
by alcoholic drinks, and discharges from the urethra and vagina, resembling 
* See the Memoir of M. Melsens, translated by Dr. Budd, of Bristol, England, in the 
Brit, and For. Medico-Chir. Review, Am. ed., for Jan. 1853, p. 157; also a paper by Dr. J. W 
Corson, in the N. Y. Journ. of Med. for Sept. 1853. 1302 
Potassa. 
PART II. 
blennorrhoea. Eruptions of the skin were also observed by Dr. A. Van Buren, 
as a very common effect of large and long-continued doses of iodide of potas- 
sium, given to patients in the Bellevue Hospital, N. Y. Dr. John O’Rielly, of 
New York, reports several cases, in which, after the use of this iodide, spots 
like purpura were produced, invading first the face, and then the trunk and ex- 
tremities. These became bullee, sometimes an inch in diameter, filled with a 
purple liquid, and finally sphacelated spots ending in ulcers. Great constitutional 
disturbance coexisted, with swollen tongue, fetor, and salivation. The remedies 
found successful were nutritious diet, tonics, and stimulants. From the facts 
above mentioned, showing the power of iodide of potassium to render active 
mercury that is latent in the system, it is not improbable that the cases of Dr. 
O’Rielly were mercurial salivation, modified by a cachectic condition of the 
system, which caused the coincident eruption. 
Iodide of potassium is employed as an external application in the form of 
ointment, either alone or mixed with iodine. (See Unguentum Potassii Iodidi 
and Unguentum Iodinii Compositum.) 
Off. Prep. Hydrargyri Iodidum Rubrum; Linimentum Iodi, Br.; Liquor 
Iodinii Compositus, U. S.; Plurabi Iodidum, U. S.; Tinctura Iodi, Br.; Tinctura 
Iodinii Composita, U. S.; Unguentum Iodi Compositum, Br.; Unguentum Iodinii, 
U. S.; Unguentum Iodinii Compositum, U. S.; Unguentum Potassii Iodidi. B. 
POTASSII SULPIIURETUM. U.S. Potassa Sulphurata. Br. Sul- 
phuret of Potassium. Sulphurated Potassa. Liver of Sulphur. 
“Take of Sublimed Sulphur a troyounce; Carbonate of Potassa two troy- 
ounces. With the Sulphur rub the Carbonate, previously dried, and heat the 
mixture gradually in a covered crucible until it ceases to swell, and is completely 
melted. Then pour out the liquid on a marble slab, and, when the mass is cold, 
break it into pieces, and keep these in a well-stopped bottle of green glass.” U. S. 
“Take of Carbonate of Potash, in powder, ten ounces; Sublimed Sulphur 
four ounces and a half. Mix the Carbonate of Potash and the Sulphur in a 
warm mortar, and, having introduced them into a Cornish or Hessian crucible, 
let this be heated, first gradually, until effervescence has ceased, and finally to 
deep redness, so as to produce perfect fusion. Let the liquid contents of the 
crucible be then poured out on a clean flagstone, and covered quickly with an 
inverted porcelain basin, so as to exclude the air as completely as possible, while 
solidification is taking place. The solid product thus obtained should, when 
cold, be broken into fragments, and immediately enclosed in a green-glass bottle, 
furnished with an air-tight stopper.” Br. 
These processes are essentially the same, except that a greater heat is used 
in the Br. process, which somewhat modifies the result. When carbonate of po- 
tassa is melted with half its weight of sulphur, as in the U. S. process, the car- 
bonic acid is expelled. The explanation heretofore given is as follows. Four 
eqs. of potassa and ten of sulphur may be supposed to react on each other. 
Three eqs. of potassa are decomposed into three eqs. of potassium and three of 
oxygen. The three eqs. of potassium unite with nine eqs. of sulphur to form 
three eqs. of tersulphuret of potassium. The three eqs. of oxygen, by uniting 
with the remaining eq. of sulphur, form one eq. of sulphuric acid, which combines 
with the undecomposed eq. of potassa to form sulphate of potassa. Thus, the 
preparation may be considered to be a mixture of tersulphuret of potassium 
with sulphate of potassa; and the French Codex sulphuret, made from the same 
proportion of carbonate and sulphur, is stated in that work to have the same 
composition. The fact is, however, that the composition varies with the heat 
employed. If the heat do not exceed 365° F., the resulting preparation will con- 
tain hyposulphite of potassa; if above 572° F., sulphate of potassa. (Fordos 
and Gelis.) The U. S. preparation, therefore, which is made at the temperature 
of fusion, probably contains hyposulphite of potassa, and may be represented f>ART II. 
Potassa. 
1303 
by the formula 2KS3-fKO,S,iOa; three eqs. of COa escaping: while the British, 
being prepared at a red heat, contains sulphate of potassa, with the formula 
3KS3+K0,S03; four eqs. of C02 escaping. 
The Pharmacopoeias use the carbonate of potassa from pearlash; but in the 
process of M. Henry, which is stated to be the best yet devised, the pure carbon- 
ate of potassa is employed. His formula is as follows. Mix two parts of real salt 
of tartar with one of roll sulphur reduced to powder, and put the mixture into 
flat-bottomed matrasses, which should be only two-thirds filled. These are placed 
on a sand-bath, and the fire is applied so as, at first, to produce only a gentle 
heat, which is afterwards increased. Care must be taken that the necks of the 
matrasses do not become obstructed. The heat is continued, until the matter is 
brought to the state of tranquil fusion, when it is allowed to cool. The mass 
obtained, which is compact, smooth, and of a fine yellow colour, is broken into 
pieces, and preserved in well-stopped bottles. 
Properties, &e. Sulphuret of potassium, when properly prepared, is a hard, 
brittle substance, having a nauseous, alkaline, and bitter taste. Its colour is 
liver-brown, and hence its name of hepar sulphuris or liver of sulphur. The 
colour of the surface of a fresh fracture is brownish-yellow. It is inodorous when 
dry, but emits a slightly fetid smell when moist, owing to the extrication of a 
little sulphuretted hydrogen gas. It is soluble in water, forming an orange-yel- 
low liquid, and exhaling the smell of sulphuretted hydrogen. By exposure to 
the air it attracts oxygen, and the sulphuret of potassium is gradually changed 
into sulphate of potassa, when the preparation becomes inodorous, and white on 
the surface. The solution is decomposed by the mineral acids, which extricate 
sulphuretted hydrogen, and precipitate the excess of sulphur. It is also incom- 
patible with solutions of most of the metals, which are precipitated as sulphurets. 
When boiled with an excess of muriatic acid and filtered, it gives a yellow pre- 
cipitate with bichloride of platinum, and a white one with chloride of barium. 
The preparation of the Br. Pharmacopoeia yields about three fourths of its 
weight to alcohol; the portion dissolved being sulphuret of potassium, and the 
undissolved portion sulphate of potassa. B. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Sulphuret of potassium is a local irritant, and, 
in small and repeated doses, is said to increase the frequency of the pulse, heat 
of the skin, and different secretions, especially the mucous. Occasionally it vomits 
and purges. It acts, moreover, as an antacid, and produces the alterative effects 
of sulphur. By some it is maintained to be sedative, and directly to reduce the 
action of the heart. It probably does so, when taken in considerable quantities, 
by the development of sulphuretted hydrogen. In overdoses it acts, according 
to Orfila, as a violent poison, corroding the stomach, and depressing the powers 
of the nervous system. Acetate of lead or acetate of zinc may be used as an 
antidote; but the latter is preferable, as less likely to act injuriously in an over- 
dose, and having besides emetic properties. The complaints in which it has been 
most advantageously employed are chronic rheumatism and gout, and various 
cutaneous affections. It has been given also in painters’ colic, asthma, and 
chronic catarrh, and acquired a short-lived reputation as a remedy in croup, 
after the publication of the essay in which the prize offered by Napoleon for 
the best dissertation on that disease was awarded. It is said, in some cases of 
cancer, to have assisted the palliative operation of hemlock. In consequence of 
forming insoluble sulphurets with the metallic salts, it has been proposed as an 
antidote for some mineral poisons; but Orfila has shown that it does not prevent 
their effects. Dissolved in water it has proved efficacious as an external applica- 
tion in cutaneous diseases, and in scabies is an almost certain remedy. It may 
be used for this purpose in the form of lotion, bath, or ointment. Tor a lotion 
it may be dissolved in water in the proportion of from fifteen to thirty grains to 
the fluidounce, and for a bath the same quantity or rather more may be added Potassa.—Pulveres. 
part n. 
t) a gallon of water. A very small proportion of muriatic or sulphuric acid may 
in either case be added to the solution. The ointment is made by mixing half a 
drachm of the sulphuret with an ounce of lard. The dose of sulphuret of potas- 
sium is from two to ten grains, repeated several times a day, and given in pill 
with liquorice, or in solution with syrup. In infantile cases of croup, from one 
to four grains were given every three or four hours. W 
PULVERES. 
Powders. 
The form of powder is convenient for the exhibition of substances wdiich are 
not given in very large doses, are not very disagreeable to the taste, have no cor- 
rosive property, and do not deliquesce rapidly on exposure. As the effect of 
pulverization is to expose a more extended surface to the action of the air, care 
should be taken to keep substances which are liable to be injured by such ex- 
posure iu closely-stopped bottles. In many instances it is also important to ex- 
clude the light, which exercises a deleterious influence over numerous medicines 
when minutely divided. This may be done by coating the bottles with black 
varnish. In relation to substances most liable to injury from these causes, the 
best plan is to powder them in small quantities as wanted for use.* 
Powders may be divided into the simple, consisting of a single substance, and 
the compound, of two or more mixed together. The latter only are embraced 
under the present head. In the preparation of the compound powders, the in- 
gredients, if of different degrees of cohesion or solidity, should be pulverized 
separately and then mixed. An exception, however, is when one substance is 
employed to facilitate by its hardness the minute division of another, as in the 
powder of ipecacuanha and opium. Deliquescent substances, and those con- 
taining fixed oil in large proportion, should not enter into the composition of 
powders intended to be kept; the former because they render the preparation 
damp and liable to spoil; the latter, because they are apt to become rancid, and 
impart an unpleasant odour and taste. When deliquescent substances are ex- 
temporaneously prescribed, the apothecary should enclose them before delivery 
in tin foil or other impervious covering; and the same remark is applicable to 
volatile powders, as carbonate of ammonia and camphor. 
The lighter powders may in general be administered in water or other thin 
liquid; the heavier, such as those of metallic substances, require a more con- 
sistent vehicle, as syrup, molasses, honey, or one of the confections. Resinous 
powders, if given in water, require the intervention of mucilage or sugar. 
The whole substance in the mortar should not be beaten till completely pul- 
* In contradiction to what has been stated in the text in relation to keeping powders in 
well-stopped bottles, it is asserted by M. a French pharmaceutist, that this plan, 
instead of preserving powders, tends in fact to their more speedy and certain change. What- 
ever pains may be taken in drying medicines previously to powdering them, most of them 
during the process attract moisture, so as to put themselves in this respect in equilibrium 
with the surrounding air; and, if enclosed in this state in air-tight vessels, they are ex- 
posed to injurious influence from their own absorbed water, which, vaporized in hot wea- 
ther, is in the colder seasons condensed on the inner surface of the vessel, and determines 
a movement of fermentation; and even cryptogamic growths appear. The best method of 
preservation, the author thinks, is to enclose the powders in strong paper bags of a blue 
or gray colour, so as to exclude the light, while the air has exit or entrance through the 
porous walls. But whatever may be our theoretical opinions on the point, M. Hdrouard 
asserts the fact, as the result of observation, that powders keep best in this way. They 
may be more likely to cake or harden into aggregate masses; but this disadvantage is 
easily counteracted by a new pulverization when required. There is probably much truth 
in these statements; and the inference may at least be drawn, that, where powders are kept 
in air-tight bottles, they should be thoroughly dried, after pulverization, before being en- 
closed. (Journ. de Pharm., Aout, 1862, p. 98.)—Note to the twelfth edition. Pulveres. 
1305 
PART 11, 
verized ; as the portion already powdered interferes with the action of the pestle 
upon the remainder, while the finer matter is apt to be dissipated ; so that there 
is a loss both of time and material. The proper plan is to sift off the fine pow 
der after a short trituration, then to return the coarser parts to the mortar, and 
to repeat several times this alternate pulverization and sifting, until the process 
is completed. Care should be taken to mix thoroughly the several portions 
fine powder thus obtained.* 
The preparations of this class, which have been dismissed at the recent re- 
vision of the Pharmacopoeias, are the Compound Powder of Aloes, Lond., the 
Compound Powder of Alum, Ed.; and the Citrated Effervescing Powders, 
Ed. " W. 
PUL VERES EFFERVESCENTES. U. S. Effervescing Powders. 
Soda Powders. 
“ Take of Bicarbonate of Soda, in fine powder, three hundred and sixti 
grains; Tartaric Acid, in fine powder, three hundred grains. Divide each oi 
the powders into twelve equal parts, and keep the parts, severally, of the Bicar- 
bonate and of the Acid in separate papers of different colours.” U. S. 
This is a formula, introduced into the present edition of our national Pharma- 
copoeia, for a preparation which has been long in use under the name of soda 
powders. The powders consist, severally, of twenty-five grains of the acid in 
one paper, and thirty of the bicarbonate in the other. They are administered 
in solution. An acid and an alkaline powder may be dissolved in separate por- 
tions of water and then mixed ; or they may be thrown together, or successively 
into the same portion of water. The whole draught should be half a pint or 
somewhat less. It may be rendered more agreeable by adding two or three flui- 
drachms of syrup of ginger or orange peel to the water, before dissolving the 
* Granulated Powders. A new method of preparing powders for use has lately been in- 
troduced, consisting in converting them into minute granules, such as those of which salt 
of tartar consists, and of which there have long been a few examples, in which the object 
was to obviate change from atmospheric influence by diminishing the surface of exposure. 
In the new granulated powders, not only is the advantage arising from mere aggregation 
of particles gained, but the granules are further protected against change by receiving a 
distinct coating, which, being generally saccharine, has the additional advantage that it 
covers the taste of the powders, and much facilitates their administration. Placed on the 
tongue in quantities, less or'more, they may be swallowed without difficulty, by simply 
washing them down with a little water; or they may be stirred up with water in a wine- 
glass, and then swallowed. 
Dr. Thos. Skinner, in a paper contained in the Pharmaceutical Journal (May, 1862, p. 572), 
gives the following plan of preparing these granulated powders, suggested by Mr. S. Ban- 
ner, of Liverpool. The powder to be granulated should be freshly prepared. In general it is 
not at all necessary that it should be so fine as to be impalpable. The powder is first mixed 
in a mortar with enough mucilage of gum arabic to make a mass that will easily crumble; 
or it may be made into a plastic mass, which is to be rolled into thin cakes, and dried. 
The material is then to be broken up in a mortar, and sifted. For this purpose three sieves 
are required, with 12, 16, and 20 meshes, respectively, to the inch; which are to be fitted 
together, one over the other, the coarsest at top and the finest at bottom. The broken up 
mass is put in the upper sieve, and rubbed through by the open hand; the conjoined sieves 
are then shaken as in sifting; and, this part of the process being completed, they are 
separated. The larger granules are found in the middle sieve, the smaller in the lower- 
most, and the waste powder on a leather or parchment drum beneath. This waste is to be 
worked over again. The two sizes of granules are kept apart. If not already dry, as they 
always are when the material is first made into cakes, they are to be carefully dried; and 
are next put into a mortar, and, a strong tincture of tolu to f,fi), aromatized if de- 
sired, having been added, are stirred constantly till their surface appears glossy; after 
which they are again dried, and thus prepared for use. The proportion of gum used is 
about one-sixteenth of the weight of the granules, that of Tolu balsam too small to- be 
worth estimating. 
In France the granular powders are usually made with the addition of sugar, which, if 
in fixed proportion, as one to one, or one to two, can be of no inconvenience in relation to 
the estimation of the dose.—Note to the twelfth edition. 1306 
Pulveres. 
PART II. 
powders. The rationale is simple. The tartaric acid seizes the alkali of the bi- 
carbonate, forming a tartrate of soda, while the carbonic acid escapes with effer- 
vescence. The effervescing powders are refrigerant and slightly laxative; and 
afford an agreeable and refreshing drink, suitable to febrile complaints, and 
generally very acceptable to the stomach. W. 
PULVERES EFFERVESCENTES APERIENTES. U.S. Aperient 
Effervescing Powders. Seidlitz Powders. 
“Take of Bicarbonate of Soda, in fine'powder, a troyounce; Tartrate of 
Potassa and Soda, in fine powder, three troyounces; Tartaric Acid, in fine pow- 
der, four hundred and twenty grains. Mix intimately the Bicarbonate of Soda 
with the Tartrate of Potassa and Soda, and divide this mixture into twelve equal 
parts. Then divide the Tartaric Acid into the same number of equal parts. 
Lastly, keep the parts, severally, of the mixture and of the Acid in separate 
papers of different colours.” U.S. 
These powders, so long and so usefully employed under the name of Seidlitz 
powders, have for the first time found a place among officinal preparations in 
the present edition of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. Though named from the saline 
springs of Seidlitz, in Bohemia, they do not correspond in composition with 
those famous waters. Of each pair of powders, one, much the smaller of the 
two, contains thirty-five grains of tartaric acid, the other forty grains of bicar- 
bonate of soda mixed with two drachms of Rochelle salt. The acid powder is 
usually put into a white, the alkaline into a blue paper ; and a number of them 
are enclosed in a paper or tin box. They should not be kept in a damp place, 
as the tartaric acid is liable to be dissolved by the moisture, and absorbed into 
the substance of the paper; thus altering the due proportion of the ingredients. 
We have known the whole of the contents of the white paper thus to disappear 
in the course of two or three years. In such a case, however, the paper itself 
may be torn up and put into the water, to which it soon imparts the acid. The 
Rochelle salt is the ingredient upon which the aperient property mainly depends. 
In their administration, each powder is dissolved separately, the smaller in a 
fluidounce or more of water, the larger in twice or three times the quantity; and 
the two solutions are mixed gradually. A reaction takes place between the tar- 
taric acid and the bicarbonate of soda, by which tartrate of soda is produced, 
adding somewhat to the laxative property of the draught, and carbonic acid 
escapes, causing a brisk effervescence. The acid is in slight excess, and thus 
causes an agreeable acidity in the solution. These powders are refrigerant and 
aperient, and generally very acceptable to the stomach in consequence of the car- 
bonic acid eliminated. They are especially adapted to febrile cases with a some- 
what irritable stomach. One pair of them will generally operate slightly; but, if 
required, two may be given at once; or the dose may be repeated every three or 
four hours till the desired effect is produced. The flavour may sometimes be ad- 
vantageously improved by adding syrup of ginger, orange peel, or lemon to one 
of the solutions before admixture. W. 
PULYIS ALOES ET CANELLiE. U.S. Powder of Aloes and Ca- 
nella. Hiera Picra. 
“Take of Socotrine Aloes, in fine powder, twelve troyounces; Canella, in 
fine powder, three troyounces. Rub them together nutil they are thoroughl} 
mixed.” U. S. 
This preparation has long been known under the name of hiera jncra. The 
canella serves to correct the griping property, and imperfectly to cover the taste 
of the aloes; but the bitterness of the latter is still very obvious in the mix lure, 
which would be better given in the form of pill. It is a popular remedy in ame- 
norrhcea, and may be used for all the purposes to which aloes is applied. *t is Pulveres. 
PART II. 
sometimes administered in domestic practice, infused in wine or spirit. The dose 
is from ten to twenty grains. W. 
PULVIS AMYGDALAE COMPOSITUS. Br. Coneectio Amygdala. 
Bond. Conserva Amygdalarum. Ed. Compound Powder of Almonds. 
“Take of Jordan Almonds eight ounces; Refined Sugar, in powder, four 
ounces; Gum Arabic, in powder, one ounce. Steep the Almonds in cold water 
until their skins can be easily removed ; and, when blanched, dry them thor- 
oughly with a soft cloth, and rub them lightly in a mortar to a smooth consist- 
ence. Mix the Gum and the Sugar; and, adding them to the pulp gradually, 
rub the whole to a coarse powder. Keep it in a lightly-covered jar A Br. 
This is nothing more than the old Almond Confection under a new name. It 
is intended to afford a speedy method of preparing the almond mixture, which, 
when made immediately from the almonds, requires much time, and which can- 
not be kept ready made in the shops. But, from its liability to be injured by 
keeping, it was omitted from our Pharmacopoeia, which directs the almond mix- 
ture to be made immediately from the ingredients. 
Off. Prep. Mistura Amygdalae, Br. W. 
PULVIS ANTIMONIALIS. Br. Antimonial Poivder. 
“Take of Oxide of Antimony one ounce; Precipitated Phosphate of Lime 
two ounces. Mix them thoroughly.” Br. 
This preparation has been introduced into the British Pharmacopoeia as a 
substitute for the different forms of antimonial powder formerly officinal with 
the British Colleges. In order that the subject may be properly understood, it 
will be necessary to introduce a notice of the powder as formerly directed to be 
prepared by the London and Dublin Colleges; the process of the Edinburgh 
College having been so similar to the London, that it does not require special 
consideration. 
Antimonial Powder of the London College. The following was the London 
process. “ Take of Tersulphuret of Antimony, powdered, a pound; Horn Shav- 
ings two pounds. Mix, and throw them into a red-hot crucible, and stir con- 
stantly until vapour ceases to arise. Rub the residue to powder, and put it into 
a crucible. Then apply heat, and raise it gradually to redness, and keep it so 
for two hours. Rub the remaining powder until it is as fine as possible.” Bond. 
This preparation consists mainly of bone-phosphate of lime, or calcined bone, 
mixed with antimonious acid, and is intended to furnish a substitute for the cele- 
brated nostrum of Dr. James, an English physician who died in 1176, and after 
whom the original preparation was called James's powder. Dr. Pearson, of 
London, found the genuine powder, on analysis, to consist of phosphate of lime 
and oxidized antimony, and, guided by his results, devised the formula adopted 
by the London College. By burning the materials directed by the College, the 
sulphur is expelled in the form of sulphurous acid, and the antimony oxidized; 
while the horn, which is of the nature of bone, has its animal matter converted 
into charcoal. By the subsequent calcination the charcoal is dissipated, leaving 
only the phosphate of lime of the horn mixed with the oxidized antimony. 
The antimonial powder made by this formula is a tasteless, inodorous, gritty 
powder, of a dull-white colour. As often prepared it is insoluble in water; but 
usually a small portion, consisting of antimonite and superphosphate of lime, dis- 
solves in boiling distilled water. Its composition varies exceedingly, a circum- 
stance which forms a strong objection to it as a medicine. When entirely in- 
in boiling water, it probably contains nothing but antimonious acid and 
oliosphate of lime; for, when its soluble constituents are absent, the teroxide is 
absent also. The best samples consist of “a mixture chiefly of antimonious acid 
and phosphate of lime, with some sesquioxide [teroxide] of antimony, and a little 
antimonite of lime.” {Ed.) To these ingredients may be added superphosphate 1308 
Pulvercs. 
PART IT. 
of lime, which was found in small quantity by Dr. D. Maclagau, of Edinburgh. 
This writer obtained in his experiments about 50 per cent, of antimonious acid, 
45 of phosphate of lime, nearly 4 of teroxide, and not quite one of antimonite and 
superphosphate of lime. The antimonial powder, sold by the representatives of 
Dr. James, is more active, and more uniform in its effects, than the imitation pow- 
der of the Pharmacopoeias; its greater activity being explained by the presence 
of a greater proportion of teroxide, which Dr. Maclagan found to vary from 4 to 
10 per cent. In analyzing the London antimonial powder, the first step is to act 
on it with boiling distilled water. If any antimonite should be dissolved, the solu- 
tion will form with sulphuretted hydrogen an orange-coloured precipitate of quad- 
risulphuret of antimony; if superphosphate be present, nitrate of silver will throw 
down phosphate of silver. What remains of the powder, unacted on by the dis- 
tilled water, is next digested with muriatic acid, which will dissolve the phosphate 
of lime, and also teroxide of antimony if present, and leave a residue which is the 
antimonious acid. If teroxide be present in the muriatic solution, it will be pre- 
cipitated by sulphuretted hydrogen, as an orange-coloured tersulphuret, and from 
the filtered solution, water of ammonia will throw down the phosphate of lime. In 
this way all the ingredients of antimonial powder may be detected and separated. 
It might be supposed that the muriatic solution would be more readily tested for 
teroxide by means of water, which causes a white precipitate of oxychloride in this 
solution; but there seems to be some ambiguity in relation to the action of water. 
The Edinburgh College, in its formula of tests, stated that the muriatic solution 
of the residue, left after the exhaustion by water, does not become turbid by di- 
lution ; but, according to Dr. Barker and Dr. Pereira, this effect sometimes takes 
place. These different results may be explained by the different qualities of the 
preparation. A small quantity of teroxide may be in the muriatic solution, and 
yet not be precipitated by water as oxychloride; while a larger quantity will be 
so precipitated. On the other hand a precipitate may be produced with water, 
without proving the presence of teroxide ; for, unless the antimonial powder be 
most carefully exhausted by the distilled water before being subjected to the acid, 
the muriatic solution may contain antimonite of lime, which, like the teroxide, 
gives it the property of becoming turbid with water. 
The Dublin Antimonial Powder. Influenced, apparently, by considerations 
such as above presented, the Dublin College contrived the following process, 
with the object of having a preparation of definite constitution, and of an activ- 
ity to be depeuded on. “ Take of Tartarized Antimony, Phosphate of Soda, 
each, four ounces [avoirdupois]; Chloride of Calcium two ounces [avoird.j; 
Solution of Ammonia four fuidounces [Imperial measure]; Distilled Water 
one gallon and a Aa(/'[Iinp. meas.], or a sufficient quantity. Dissolve the Tar- 
tarized Antimony in half a gallon, and the Phosphate of Soda and Chloride of 
Calcium, each, in a quart of the Water. Mix the solutions of the Tartarized An- 
timony and Phosphate of Soda when cold, and then pour in the solution of 
Chloride of Calcium, having first added to the latter the Water of Ammonia. 
Boil now for twenty minutes, and, having collected the precipitate, which will 
have then formed, on a calico filter, wash it with hot distilled water until the 
liquid which passes through ceases to give a precipitate with a dilute solution 
of nitrate of silver. Finally, dry the product by a steam or water heat, and re- 
duce it to a fine powder.” Dub. 
This formula was a new one of the Dublin Pharmacopoeia of 1850, and was 
an improvement on the process of Mr. Chenevix, proposed in 1801, for obtaining 
antimonial powder in the humid way. By this formula the liquid, resulting from 
mixing aqueous solutions of tartar emetic and phosphate of soda, is precipitated 
by a solution of chloride of calcium, previously mixed with water of ammonia. 
The water of ammonia throws down teroxide of antimony from the tartar emetic; 
and the chloride of calcium, phosphate of lime from the phosphate of soda ; and PART II. 
Pulveres. 
1309 
the mixed precipitate, washed, dried, and reduced to fine powder, constitutes what 
was the Dublin antimonial powder. It is quite a different preparation from that 
previously described; inasmuch as all the antimony present is in a state of ter- 
oxide. It should not have been called antimonial powder, but designated by a 
distinct name. The process by which it is obtained is certainly a great improve- 
ment on that usually followed. It is doubtful whether the phosphate of lime adds 
anything to its efficacy; and, if not, the preparation is equivalent to teroxide of 
antimony, used in a smaller dose. 
British Antimonial Powder. The formula for this is the one given at the 
head of the present article. It is the preparation now officinal in Great Britain 
to the exclusion of the others. The only essential difference between it and the 
Dublin powder is that its ingredients are taken already prepared and mixed in 
, fixed proportion, while those of the latter result simultaneously from one opera- 
tion. It is of course much more easily prepared, and less liable to uncertainty 
from any error in the process. 
Medical Properties and Uses. This preparation is stated to be alterative, 
diaphoretic, purgative, or emetic, according to the dose in which it is given. 
Until within a few years it was often prescribed in febrile diseases, with a view 
to its diaphoretic effect. According to Dr. A. T. Thomson, it is advantageously 
given in acute rheumatism, conjoined with camphor, calomel, and opium, and 
with calomel and guaiac in several cutaneous affections. The estimation in 
which this preparation is held is very various. The late Dr. Duncan, referring 
to the preparation of the Loud, and Ed. Colleges, characterized it as one of the 
best antimonials we possess; yet he acknowledged that its effects are very un- 
equal, either from idiosyncrasy in the patient, or variations in its composition. 
Dr. Thomson found it sometimes to answer his expectations, but as often to dis- 
appoint them. Mr. Brande admits its activity sometimes, and entire inertness at 
others, which he attributes to the presence or absence of teroxide of antimony. 
Of course these observations had reference to the former antimonial powder of 
the British Colleges; and it was this uncertainty of its action that led to its 
omission from the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, upon the revision of 1830. 
The antimonial powder at present officinal in Great Britain is exempt from 
the objection of irregularity of composition. Nevertheless, as it depends for its 
greater or less energy on the presence or absence in the alimentary canal of an 
acid which may form a salt with the antimonial oxide, it cannot always be relied 
on for a definite effect, being sometimes mild, and sometimes more active than 
might be desirable. The dose, as a diaphoretic, is from three to eight grains 
every third or fourth hour, given in the form of pill. In larger doses it is purga- 
tive and emetic. It is impossible to give precise directions as to the dose of the 
former London powder; as it sometimes proved violently emetic in moderate 
doses, and at other times produced no obvious effect even in doses of one hun- 
dred grains. 
The late Dublin antimonial powder, which may be considered as essentially 
identical with the British, was tried therapeutically in twenty cases of disease, 
chiefly rheumatism, pneumonia, and bronchitis, by Dr. Jonathan Osborne, of 
Dublin. In five-grain doses, given 'evening and night, it produced, variously, 
nausea, vomiting, and perspiration. In half the cases it acted gently on the 
- bowels. The teroxide, given separately in three-grain doses, evening and night, 
produced similar effects. (Pharrn. Journ., Jan. 1855, p. 331.) Practitioners who 
may wish to prescribe the antimonial powder, in its present more certain form, 
should add (Br. or Dub.) to its name; so as to be secured against the old Bond. 
and Ed. preparation. B. 
PULYIS AROMATICUS. U.S.,Br. Aromatic Powder. 
“Take of Cinnamon, in fine powder, Ginger, in fine powder, each, two troy- 
ounces; Cardamom, deprived of the capsules and in fine powder, Nutmeg, in 1310 
Pulveres. 
part II. 
fine powder, each, a troy ounce. Rub them together until they are thoroughly 
mixed. ” U. S. 
“Take of Cinnamon four ounces; Nutmeg, Saffron, each, three ounces; 
Cloves one ounce and a half; Cardamoms, freed from their capsules, one 
ounce; Refined Sugar tiventy-five ounces. Reduce the ingredients separately 
to fine powder; mix them thoroughly, and pass the powder through a fine 
sieve. Keep it in a stoppered bottle” Br. 
These powders, though each composed of the finer spices, differ not only in 
the choice of the spices, ginger being used in the U. S. and cloves in the Br. for- 
mula, but essentially in the circumstance that, in the latter, sugar constitutes 
two-thirds of the mixture, while in the former there is no sugar ; so that the two 
powders cannot be substituted one for the other in equal quantities. In the Bri- 
tish Pharmacopoeia, the aromatic confection having been omitted, it is proba- 
ble that the sugar was added in order that, by the addition of a little water to 
the powder, the confection might be readily prepared, without the necessity of 
keeping it. 
The cardamom seeds should always be separated from their capsules before 
being weighed; and the powder, when prepared, should be kept in well-stopped 
bottles. The aromatic powder is stimulant and carminative, and the U. S. pre- 
paration may be given in the dose of from ten to thirty grains, in cases of 
enfeebled digestion with flatulence; but it is chiefly used as a corrigent and 
adjuvant of other medicines. A mixture of aromatic powders in the form of a 
cataplasm is much used as a mild rubefacient, especially in nausea and vomiting, 
being applied over the epigastrium. Such mixtures are commonly called spiced 
plasters. The following is a good formula. Take of ginger, cloves, cinnamon, 
and black pepper, each, in powder, an ounce; tincture of ginger half a fluid- 
ounce; honey a sufficient quantity. Mix the powders, and then add the tincture 
and honey, so as to form a stiff cataplasm. 
Off. Prep. Confectio Aromatica, U. S.; Confectio Opii, U. S.; Pilula Cam- 
bogiae Composita, Br.; Pulvis Cretae Aromaticus, Br. W. 
PULVIS CATECHU COMPOSITUS. Br. Compound Powder of 
Catechu. 
“Take of Catechu four ounces; Kino, Rhatany, each, two ounces; Cin- 
namon, Nutmeg, each, one ounce. Reduce them separately to a fine powder; 
mix them thoroughly, and pass the powder through a fine sieve. Keep it in a 
stoppered bottle.” Br. 
This is an agreeable form for the administration of kino or catechu ; but we 
do not see the propriety of mixing two substances so similar in their properties, 
at least in relation to taste and medicinal effect, that they may be considered 
identical. The dose is from fifteen to thirty grains. W. 
PULVIS CRETiE AROMATICUS. Br. Aromatic Powder of Chalk. 
“ Take of Prepared Chalk one pound; Aromatic Powder three pounds. Mix 
them thoroughly, and pass the powder through a fine sieve. Keep it in a stop- 
pered bottle.” Br. 
This powder is a warm stimulant and astringent, as well as antacid; and is 
well calculated for diarrhoea connected with acidity, and without inflammation. 
In such a combination, however, the due proportion, and even the choice of the 
ingredients, vary so much with the symptoms, that they might with propriety 
be left to extemporaneous prescription. The dose is from thirty to sixty grains, 
given in mucilage or sweetened water, and frequently repeated. 
Off. Prep. Pulvis Cretae Aromaticus cum Opio. W. 
PULVIS CRETiE AROMATICUS CUM OPIO. Br. Aromatic 
Powder of Chalk and Opium. 
“Take of Aromatic Powder of Chalk nine ounces and three-quarters; PART II. 
Pulveres. 
1311 
Opium, in powder, a quarter of an ounce. Mix them thoroughly, and pass the 
powder through a fine sieve. Keep it in a stoppered bottle.” Br. 
The addition of the opium greatly increases the efficacy of the compound 
powder of chalk in diarrhoea; and its equal diffusion through the powder pre- 
sents this advantage, that it may be conveniently given in minute doses appli 
cable to infantile cases. Two scruples of the powder contain a grain of opium. 
In the diarrhoea of adults from ten to twenty grains may be given for a dose, and 
repeated several times a day, or after each evacuation. W. 
PULYIS IPECACUANHA COMPOSITUS. U.S. Pulvis Ipeca- 
cuanha cum Opio. Br. Pulvis Ipecacuanha et Opii. TJ. S. 1850. Com- 
pound Powder of Ipecacuanha. Powder of Ipecacuanha and Opium. 
Dover s Powder. 
“ Take of Ipecacuanha, in fine powder, Opium, dried and in fine powder, each, 
sixty grains; Sulphate of Potassa a troyounce. Rub them together into a very 
fine powder.” U. S. 
The British Pharmacopoeia directs the same ingredients in the same propor- 
tions, and orders them to be well rubbed together, the powder to be passed 
through a fine sieve, and to be kept in a stoppered bottle. 
It is unfortunate that, in the recent revisions of our own and the British Phar- 
macopoeias, the name of this preparation should have been changed in each so 
as to conform with the old name of the other. 
The sulphate of potassa in this preparation serves, by the hardness of its 
particles, to promote that minute division and consequent thorough intermix- 
ture of the opium and ipecacuanha upon which the peculiar virtues of the com- 
pound depend. It also serves to dilute the active ingredients, and thus allow 
of their division into minute doses adapted to the complaints of children. This 
composition, though called Dover’s powder, does not precisely correspond with 
that originally recommended by Dr. Dover, which was prepared as follows. Four 
ounces of nitrate of potassa and the same quantity of sulphate of potassa were 
mixed in a red-hot crucible, and afterwards very finely powdered; one ounce of 
opium, sliced, was then added, and ground to powder with the saline mixture; 
lastly, an ounce of ipecacuanha and an ounce of liquorice root, in powder, were 
mixed with the other ingredients. This process was adopted in the former French 
Codex, and has been retained with little change in the present. 
This powder is an admirable anodyne diaphoretic, not surpassed, perhaps, by 
any other combination in the power of promoting perspiration. Opium itself 
has a strong tendency to the skin, evinced both by the occasional diaphoresis, 
and by the itching and tingling sensation which it excites. While the vessels 
of the skin are stimulated by this ingredient, the secreting pores are relaxed by 
the ipecacuanha, and the combined effect is much greater than that which results 
from either separately. At the same time, the general stimulating influence of 
the opium, and its tendency to operate injuriously on the brain, are counter- 
acted, so that the mixture may be given with safety in cases which might not 
admit of the use of opium alone. The preparation is applicable to all cases, 
not attended with much fever, cerebral disease, or sick stomach, in which there 
is an indication for profuse diaphoresis, especially in painful affections, or those 
connected with unhealthy discharges. It is admirably adapted to the phlegma- 
sise, particularly rheumatism and pneumonia, when complicated with a typhoid 
tendency, or after sufficient depletion. Under similar circumstances, it is useful 
in dysentery, diarrhoea, and the various hemorrhages, especially that from the 
uterus. It is sometimes also given in dropsy. In bowel affections, and when- 
ever the hepatic secretion is deranged, it is frequently combined with small 
doses of calomel. 
Ten grains of the powder contain one grain of opium. The dose is from five 1312 
Pulveres 
PART II. 
to fifteen grains, given diffused in water, or mixed with syrup, or in the form of 
bolus, and repeated at intervals of four, six, or eight hours, when it is desirable 
to maintain a continued diaphoresis. Its action may be promoted by warm 
drinks, such as lemonade or balm tea, which, however, should not be given im- 
mediately after the powder, as they might provoke vomiting. W. 
PULYIS JALAPJE COMPOSITES. U.S., Br. Compound Powder 
of Jalap. 
“Take of Jalap, in fine powder, a troyounce; Bitartrate of Potassa, in fine 
powder, two troyounces. Rub them together until they are thoroughly mixed.” 
U.S. 
“Take of Jalap, in powder, five ounces; Acid Tartrate of Potash nine 
ounces; Ginger, in powder, one ounce. Rub them well together, and pass the 
powder through a fine sieve. ” Br. 
The bitartrate, by being rubbed with the jalap, is thought to favour its more 
minute division, while it increases its hydragogue effect. A combination of these 
two ingredients, though with a larger proportion of cream of tartar (see Jalapa), 
forms a good cathartic in dropsy, and scrofulous diseases of the joints and glands. 
The dose of the powder is from thirty grains to a drachm. W. 
PULYIS KINO CUM OPIO. Br. Pulvis Kino Compositus. Bond. 
Powder of Kino and Opium. 
“Take of Kino, in powder, three ounces and three-quarters; Opium, in 
powder, a quarter of an ounce; Cinnamon, in powder, one ounce. Mix them 
thoroughly, and pass the powder through a fine sieve. Keep it in a stoppered 
bottle.” Br. 
This is an anodyne astringent powder, useful in some forms of diarrhoea, but 
of which the composition would be better left to extemporaneous prescription; 
as the proportion of the ingredients should vary with the circumstances of the 
case. Twenty grains contain one grain of opium. The dose is from five grains 
to a scruple. W. 
PULYIS RHEI COMPOSITUS. U. S., Br. Compound Powder of 
Rhubarb. 
“ Take of Rhubarb, in fine powder, four troyounces; Magnesia twelve troy- 
ounces; Ginger, in fine powder, two troyounces. Rub them together until they 
are thoroughly mixed.” U. S. 
“Take of Rhubarb, in powder, two ounces; Light Magnesia six ounces; 
Ginger, in powder, one ounce. Mix them thoroughly, and pass the powder 
through a fine sieve.” Br. 
This is a good laxative antacid, well adapted to bowel complaints, especially 
in children. The dose for an adult is from half a drachm to a drachm; for a 
child two or three years old, from five to ten grains. W. 
PULYIS SCAMMONII COMPOSITUS. Br. Compound Poivder of 
Scammony. 
“Take of Scammony four ounces; Jalap three ounces; Ginger one ounce. 
Reduce them separately to fine powder; mix them thoroughly, and pass the 
powder through a fine sieve.”Br. 
This does not appear to us a very eligible preparation. Though the gingei 
may tend to correct the griping property of the purgative ingredients, the jalap 
too closely resembles the scammony in its operation to exert any important 
modifying influence upon it. The dose is from ten to twenty grains. W. 
PULYIS TRAGACANTIIiE COMPOSITUS. Br. Compound Pow- 
der of Tragacanth. 
“Take of Tragacanth, in powder, Gum Arabic, in powder, Starch, each, one FART II. 
Quinia. 
1313 
ounce; Refined Sugar, in powder, three ounces. Rub them well together.” 
Br. 
This is applicable to the general purposes of the demulcents; but is chiefly 
employed in Great Britain as a vehicle for heavy insoluble powders. The dose 
is from thirty grains to a drachm. W. 
QUINIA. 
Preparations of Quinia. 
QUINIiE SULPHAS. TJ.S.,Br. Sulphate of Quinia. 
“ Take of Yellow Cinchona, in coarse powder, forty-eight troyounces; Mu- 
riatic Acid three troyounces and a half; Lime, in fine powder, five troyounces ; 
Animal Charcoal, in fine powder, Sulphuric Acid, Alcohol, Water, Distilled Wa- 
ter, each, a sufficient quantity. Boil the Cinchona in thirteen pints of Water 
mixed with one-third of the Muriatic Acid, and strain through muslin. Boil the 
residue twice successively with the same quantity of Water and Acid as before, 
and strain. Mix the decoctions, and, while the liquid is hot, gradually add the 
Lime, previously mixed with two pints of Water, stirring constantly, until the 
quinia is completely precipitated. Wash the precipitate with Distilled Water, 
and, having pressed, dried, and powdered it, digest it in boiling Alcohol. Pour 
otf the liquid, and repeat the digestion several times, until the Alcohol is no 
longer rendered bitter. Mix the liquids, and distil off the Alcohol until a brown 
viscid mass remains. Upon this, transferred to a suitable vessel, pour four pints 
of Distilled Water, and, having heated the mixture to the boiling point, add as 
much Sulphuric Acid as may be necessary to dissolve the quinia. Then add a 
troyounce and a half of Animal Charcoal, boil the liquid for two minutes, filter 
while hot, and set it aside to crystallize. Should the liquid, before filtration, be 
entirely neutral, acidulate it very slightly with Sulphuric Acid ; should it, on the 
contrary, change the colour of litmus paper to a bright red, add more Animal 
Charcoal. Separate the crystals from the liquid, dissolve them in boiling Dis- 
tilled Water slightly acidulated with Sulphuric Acid, add a little Animal Char- 
coal, filter the solution, and set it aside to crystallize. Lastly, dry the crystals on 
bibulous paper with a gentle heat, and keep them in a well-stopped bottle. The 
mother-water may be made to yield an additional quantity of Sulphate of Quinia 
by precipitating the quinia with Water of Ammonia, and treating the precipi- 
tated alkaloid with Distilled Water, Sulphuric Acid, and Animal Charcoal, as 
before.” U. S. 
“ Take of Yellow Cinchona Bark, in coarse powder, one pound [avoirdu- 
pois] ; Hydrochloric Acid three fuidounces [Imperial measure]; Distilled 
Water a sufficiency; Solution of Soda four pints [Imp. meas.]; Dilute Sul- 
phuric Acid a sufficiency. Dilute the Hydrochloric Acid with ten pints [Imp. 
meas.] of the Water. Place the Cinchona Bark in a porcelain basin, and add to 
it as much of the Dilute Sulphuric Acid as will render it thoroughly moist. 
After maceration, with occasional stirring for twenty-four hours, place the bark 
in a displacement apparatus, and percolate with the Dilute Hydrochloric Acid, un- 
til the solution which drops through is nearly destitute of bitter taste. Into this 
liquid pour the Solution of Soda, agitate well, let the precipitate completely 
subside, decant the supernatant fluid, collect the precipitate on a filter, and wash 
it with cold Distilled Water, until the washings cease to have colour. Transfer 
the precipitate to a porcelain dish containing a pint [Imp. meas.] of Distilled. 
Water, and, applying to this a steam heat, gradually add Dilute Sulphuric Acid 
until very nearly the whole of the precipitate has been dissolved, and a neutral 
liquid has been obtained. Filter the solution while hot through paper, wash the 
filter with boiling Distilled Water, concentrate till a film forms on the surface of 1314 
Quinia. 
PART II. 
the solution, and set it aside to crystallize. The crystals should be dried on 
likening paper without the application of heat.”i?r. 
ri he present U. S. process, which is essentially that of the French Codex, is the 
same as that of the Puarmaeopoeia of 1850, but differs from the one originally 
adopted in the edition of 1880, in the use of muriatic instead of sulphuric acid 
for acidulating the water first employed, and in the greater minuteness of the 
details. Both this and the French Codex process are modifications of the plan 
originally proposed by M. Henry, jun., of Paris, which has been almost univer- 
sally employed where alcohol is not too expensive. Henry’s process, with all its 
details, may be found in former editions of this work. An explanation of the 
several directions given in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia will be useful to the student, 
by enabling him to comprehend each step of the process. 
The yellow bark (Calisaya, or royal yellow) is the variety selected, because this 
contains quinia in the largest proportion, and most free from admixture with 
cinchonia. The alkaloid exists in the bark combined with kinic acid, and pro- 
bably also with one or more of the colouring principles, as suggested by M. 
Henry. As in this latter state it is of difficult solubility, if it be not insoluble in 
water, the whole of the quinia cannot be extracted from the bark by means of 
that liquid alone. Berzelius, however, attributes the difficulty of exhausting the 
bark to the circumstance that water converts the native neutral kinates into solu- 
ble superkinates which are dissolved, and insoluble subkinates which remain. By 
adding muriatic or sulphuric acid to the water in such quantities as to be in ex- 
cess in relation to the quinia, the whole of the alkaloid combines with the acid to 
form a very soluble muriate or sulphate, in which state it exists, together with 
various impurities, in the decoctions procured by the first steps of the process. 
By the addition of lime to the filtered and mixed decoctions, the salt of quinia is 
decomposed, giving up its acid to the lime, while the quinia is liberated, and, 
being insoluble in water, is precipitated; the water retaining most of the im- 
purities. If sulphuric acid was employed in the commencement of the process, 
sulphate of lime is deposited along with the quinia; but if muriatic acid was 
employed, the resulting chloride of calcium is retained in solution ; and a reason 
is thus afforded for the preference of the latter acid. But, in either case, the ex- 
cess of lime, and a compound formed of the lime and colouring matter, which is 
insoluble both in water and alcohol, are thrown down with the alkaloid. The pre- 
cipitate having been washed in order to remove from it everything soluble in 
water, then pressed, dried, and powdered ; the next step is to separate the quinia 
from the insoluble impurities. This is accomplished by the repeated actiun of 
alcohol, which dissolves the former, and leaves most of the latter behind. The 
whole of the alkaloid having been abstracted, the alcoholic solution of quinia is 
then concentrated so as to afford a brown viscid mass, which is impure quinia. 
Portions of this may be reserved, if thought advisable, for the preparation of other 
salts of quinia. The mass is treated with boiling distilled water acidulated with 
sulphuric acid, which forms the officinal sulphate (disulphate of many chemists) 
with the quinia, and, being somewhat in excess, enables the salt to be readily dis- 
solved. The animal charcoal now added should be the unpurijied bone-black, 
the carbonate of lime contained in which neutralizes a portion of the sulphuric 
acid, and thus facilitates the crystallization of the sulphate of quinia when the so- 
lution cools. Should the quantity of the bone-black added be sufficient to render 
the solution quite neutral, so as in no degree to affect litmus paper, as much sul- 
phuric acid should be added as will give the paper a slightly vinous tint; for other- 
wise the crystallization may commence before the liquor is completely filtered. 
If, on the contrary, the bone-black has been deficient, and the solution colours 
litmus paper cherry-red, more of that substance is to be added. This, however, 
is merely an incidental advantage of the animal charcoal; its chief use being to 
decolorize the liquid. The second crystallization is necessary to obtain the salt PART II, 
Quinia 
of quinia free from colour; and sometimes it cannot be rendered perfectly white 
without a third. It is essential that the heat employed in drying the crystals 
should be gentle, in order to prevent their efflorescence. The small quantity of 
cinchonia contained in Calisaya bark is extracted along with the quinia; but, 
as the sulphate of the former is more soluble than that of the latter, it remains 
in the mother-liquors.* 
According to M. Calvert, the proportion of sulphate of quinia obtained from 
bark is never certain when muriatic acid is employed as the solvent, and lime 
as the precipitant; for quinia is dissolved by a solution of chloride of calcium, 
and by lime-water; and a portion, therefore, remains in the liquid unprecipi- 
tated, which is greater when the lime employed is in excess. Having ascertained 
by trial that quinia is not dissolved by a solution of soda, and in scarcely appre- 
ciable proportion by chloride of sodium, he proposes to substitute this alkali for 
lime; first neutralizing the excess of acid by the carbonate, and then precipita- 
ting the quinia by caustic soda. (Journ. de Pharm., Be ser., ii. 388.) 
The British process seems to be based on that of M. Rabourdin, of Orleans, 
published in the Journal de Pharmacie (Join, 18G1, p. 408), for which the ad- 
vantages are claimed, that it does not require the use of alcohol, escapes the loss 
incurred in the ordinary process by the solvent property of lime, and is enabled, 
by the use of soda as the precipitant, to dispense with animal charcoal, and 
thereby avoid the waste incurred through its absorbent property. The soda in 
this process is employed not only as a precipitant, for which purpose a much 
smaller quantity would suffice, but in order to hold in solution the tannin, cin- 
chonic red, and colouring and resinous matters, which it does without in the 
least dissolving the quinia. The precipitated quinia is thus obtained so far ex- 
empt from foreign matters, that it may be immediately converted into the sulphate 
without the necessity of using animal charcoal. From the precipitate by soda, 
M. Rabourdin obtains the quinia white and pure by treating it with a quantity 
of dilute muriatic acid insufficient to dissolve the whole of the alkaloid, whereby 
impurities are left behind, then filtering, and precipitating by ammonia. The 
same end is accomplished in the Br. process by the use of sulphuric acid. The 
residue of the precipitate may be reserved for future operations. 
Pelletier proposed to substitute oil of turpentine for alcohol in the prdinary 
process for procuring sulphate of quinia. The impure quinia, precipitated by 
lime from the acidulous decoctions, after being washed, pressed, and dried, is 
digested with the oil, which dissolves the quinia. The solution thus obtained 
is agitated with water acidulated with sulphuric acid, by which the sulphate of 
quinia is formed. The oil separating, rises to the top, and is removed for future 
use; and the watery solution of the salt is evaporated, and treated as in the 
original process. A disadvantage, however, of this method is said to be, that 
the oil does not completely exhaust the precipitate of its quinia. 
A similar process has been employed in England, fusel oil or benzole being 
substituted for oil of turpentine. In this instance, however, the new solvent is 
added to the impure quinia, without separation from the acidulated decoction 
from which it was precipitated by lime. The mixture being well agitated, the 
fusel oil or benzole dissolves the alkaloids, and, rising to the surface of the 
* Mr. Weightman, of the firm of Powers & Weightman, manufacturing cliemists of this 
city, informs us that the following modification of the above process has been found prac- 
tically advantageous in their laboratory. The tincture, obtained by acting with alcohol 
on the impure precipitated quinia, is neutralized with sulphuric acid in the distilling ves- 
sel; and the alcohol is then distilled off, leaving a viscid mass of impure sulphate, which 
is drawn off, and crystallizes on cooling. The mass thus obtained, having been expressed, 
is dissolved in boiling water, to which purified animal charcoal has been added. The 
solution is filtered while hot, and then allowed to cool and crystallize. Another solution 
and crystallization are required to get the sulphate of quinia quite pure and white.— 
Note to the tenth edition. 1316 
Quinia, 
PART II. 
liquid, is drawn off by a syphon. The solution thus drawn off is treated as above 
with water acidulated with sulphuric acid, and the process is completed in the 
same manner. (See Pharm. Journ., xiv. 29, 92, and 139.) 
According to the French Codex, 1000 parts of yellow bark ought to yield 
from 29 to 30 parts of sulphate of quinia, when treated by the process first de- 
scribed. Messrs. Powers & Weightman, who are probably among the largest 
manufacturers of sulphate of quinia in the world, inform us that they have usually 
obtained from 2-5 to 3 per cent, as an average product. 
Sulphate of quinia may be obtained from other varieties of Peruvian bark by 
the above processes; and from some in considerable quantity; but most of them 
yield a much larger proportion of sulphate of cinchonia than the Calisaya ; and 
this, being much more soluble than the sulphate of quinia, will remain dissolved 
in the residuary liquor after the crystallization of the latter. To obtain the 
cinchonia separate, the following method, originally suggested by Pelletier and 
Caventou, may be employed. Magnesia, lime, or a solution of potassa is added 
to the mother-waters in excess.* The cinchonia is precipitated, together with 
a portion of quinia which has remained in the solution, and with the excess of 
magnesia or lime, if one of these earths has been employed. The precipitate 
is collected on a filter, washed with hot water, then dried, and treated with boil- 
ing alcohol, which dissolves the organic alkalies. The alcoholic solution is fil- 
tered while hot, and the residue afterwards treated in the same manner with 
successive portions of alcohol, till quite exhausted. The solutions, having been 
mixed, are concentrated by the distillation of the alcohol, and allowed to cool, 
when they deposit cinchonia in the crystalline state. Successive evaporations 
and refrigerations afford new crops of crystals, and the process should be con- 
tinued till no more can be obtained. The cinchonia thus procured, if impure, 
should be reconverted into a sulphate and treated as before, animal charcoal 
being employed to free it from colour. The quinia remaining in the mother- 
liquors, as it will not crystallize from alcohol, may be obtained by evaporation 
to dryness. To obtain the sulphate o f cinchonig., mix the alkaloid with a small 
quantity of water, heat the mixture, and add gradually dilute sulphuric acid 
sufficient to saturate it; then boil with animal charcoal previously washed with 
muriatic acid, and filter the liquid while hot. Upon cooling it will deposit crys- 
tals of the sulphate, and, by repeated evaporation and crystallization, will yield 
all the salt which it holds in solution, f 
* Soda is a better precipitant, as it is probably incapable of dissolving any of the alka- 
loid when employed in excess. In the U. S. formula for procuring sulphate of cinchonia 
from the mother-waters advantage has been taken of this fact. Hence the process differs 
from the one given in the text, both in using soda as the precipitant, and in forming the 
sulphate immediately from the precipitate, which is sufficiently pure for this treatment in 
consequence of the use of soda, instead of first separating the alkaloid by means of alcohol, 
and afterwards combining it with sulphuric acid. (See Cinchonine Sulphas, page 1046.) We 
retain the account of Pelletier and Caventou’s process in the text, in order that the reader 
may have an opportunity of comparing them. 
f A new mode of extracting quinia and other active vegetable principles has been pro- 
posed, which, if found as successful on trial as it is said to have been in the hands of its 
proposer, promises to supersede many of the processes now in use. From the experi- 
ments of M. Lebourdais, it would appear that purified animal charcoal has the property 
of abstracting from many vegetable products not only their colouring, but their sapid prin- 
ciples also, and afterwards of yielding the active matter uncombined to boiling alcohol, 
from which it is obtained by evaporation. M. Lebourdais deprived Peruvian bark of all 
its soluble principles by repeated maceration in alcohol of 0-923, filtered the resulting 
liquors, removed the alcohol by distillation, and mixed the liquid residue with a decoction 
made by boiling the same bark twice in distilled water. Acetate of lead was added to 
precipitate the resinous matter; and the liquor, having been filtered, was made to pass 
slowly through purified animal charcoal, by which it was deprived of colour and taste. The 
charcoal was then washed, dried, and treated with alcohol of 0-848. The alcoholic solution 
thus obtained, upon being evaporated, yielded the quinia perfectly pure. (Am J-wm. oj PART II. 
Quinia. 
1317 
When barks containing the newly discovered alkaloids cinchonidia and qui 
nidia (see page 290) are used, as their sulphates are much more soluble than that 
of quinia, it follows that, in the mother-waters left after the crystallization o) 
sulphate of quinia, there will be found a portion of sulphate of cinchonidia or 
Pharm., xxi. 92, from Ann. de Chim. et de Phys.) A chemist, however, who has tried this 
process, informs us that he has not found it to answer well in practice. 
Mr. Clark proposes to prepare quinia by means of the fatty acids as follows. Having 
exhausted the bark as usual by acidulated water, he treats the solution with an alkaline 
carbonate so long as a precipitate is produced, then adds a little stearic acid, and boils the 
whole. The fatty acid melts, floats on the surface, and there attracts the quinia and cin- 
chonia, forming a kind of insoluble soap, while the precipitate and liquid become black. 
On cooling, the fatty matter coagulates, and, on being withdrawn and boiled in water so 
long as this remains limpid, and then treated with boiling acidulated water, yields the 
quinia and cinchonia to the acid. The hot solution, being neutralized by an alkali, depo- 
sits a brown matter, which is to be separated by filtration, and on cooling yields the sul- 
phate of the two alkaloids in a crystalline state. The quinia and cinchonia can then be 
separated in the ordinary mode. (See Joum. de Pharm , Dec. 1861, p. 463.) 
We have been told that considerable quantities of a preparation have been imported 
from South America, consisting of a mixture of the alkaloids of bark in an impure state; 
obtained by forming acidulated decoctions of bark, precipitating with lime, treating the 
precipitate with alcohol, and evaporating the alcoholic solution. From this material the 
sulphates of quinia and cinchonia have been prepared on a large scale. It has sometimes 
yielded 25 per cent, of quinia converted into sulphate, and more than an equal quantity 
of cinchonia.—Note to the eighth and tenth editions. 
Quinoidine. Precipitated Extract of Bark. Amorphous Quinia. Cinchonicia and Quinicia of 
Pasteur. Upon the evaporation of the mother-liquor left after the crystallization of sul- 
phate of quinia in the preparation of that salt, a dark-coloured substance is obtained, hav- 
ing the appearance of an extract. This was habitually employed by the late Dr. Emlen 
and one of the authors of this work, so early as about the year 1824, in the cure of inter- 
mittent fever, in which it proved equally effectual with the pure sulphate, though only 
about half as strong. It was adopted in the edition of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia for 1830, 
under the name of 11 impure sulphate of quinia,” but was abandoned in the edition of 1840, 
on account of the difficulty of ascertaining its purity. Sertiirner supposed that he had dis- 
covered a new alkaline principle in this product; but his conclusions were invalidated by 
the experiments of MM. Henry and Delondre, which went to prove that the alkaline mat- 
ter contained in it consisted of quinia and cinohonia, obscured by admixture with a yel- 
lowish substance that interfered with their crystallization. Nevertheless, under the name 
of quinoidine or chinoidine, given to the supposed new alkaloid by Sertiirner, there has been 
long employed in Europe a substance precipitated from the mother-liquor of sulphate of 
quinia by means of an alkaline carbonate, having a yellowish-white or brownish colour 
and, when moderately heated, agglutinating into a mass of a resinous appearance. This 
substance was found by Dr. F. L. Winckler to contain an uncrystallizable alkaline prin 
ciple, having the same combining weight as quinia, and differing from that alkaloid onP 
in the want of the property of crystallization, and in forming uncrystallizable salts witi 
the acids. [Pharm. Cent. Blatt, May, 1847, p. 310.) Liebig afterwards proved it to be iden- 
tical in composition with ordinary quinia, to which he considered it as bearing the same 
relation that uncrystallizable sugar bears to the crystallizable. Pasteur has found that 
ordinary quinoidine, or amorphous quinia, consists of two alkaloids, derivatives from 
quinia and cinchonia, with which they are respectively isomeric, though differing in being 
uncrystallizable, and named, in view of their origin, quinicia and cinchonicia. The pure 
amorphous quinia of Liebig is the former of these alkaloids. (See page 291.) This substance 
has been found equally effectual with quinia in the cure of iutermittents. In an economi- 
cal point of view, it is highly important that it should be employed. It is sometimes sold 
under the name of precipitated extract of bark, and there can be little doubt that it enters 
into other preparations, which, under the name of extract of bark, have been put forth as 
peculiarly valuable for the cure of iutermittents. It must not be confounded with the sub- 
stance obtained by evaporating the mother-liquors, which is of uncertain composition and 
strength. The chief objection to it is its liability to adulteration. The amorphous quinia, 
as Liebig calls it, is entirely soluble in dilute sulphuric acid and in alcohol; and, if its 
solution in a dilute acid yield upon the addition of ammonia exactly as much precipitate 
as there was of the original substance dissolved, it may be considered pure. (See Am. 
Journ. of Pharm., xviii. 181.) We have been informed that, in an extensive chemical manu- 
facturing establishment in Philadelphia, since the introduction of steam heat, the loss by 
quinoidine in the preparation of sulphate of quinia has much diminished, showing the 
agency of heat in converting the crystallizable into the uncrystallizable salt. 1318 
Quinia. 
PARI IJ 
quinidia, or of both. In fact, there is generally, under these circumstances, more 
or less of the sulphates of the four alkaloids, quinia, cinchonia, quinidia, and cin- 
chonidia, all of which are contained in many barks; and, besides these, a portion 
of amorphous alkaloid, incapable of crystallization, probably resulting, in part at 
least, from*the heat employed in the process. These may in a great degree be 
separated through their different solubilities in water. Sulphate of quinia being 
least soluble will first crystallize, afterwards the salt of cinchonidia or quinidia, 
and finally that of cinchonia, which is the most soluble of the four; while the 
ur.crystallizable salt will remain in solution, and may be obtained in the amor- 
phous state by evaporation to dryness. 
Properties. Sulphate of quinia is in fine silky, slightly flexible, needle-shaped 
crystals, interlaced among one another, or grouped in small star-like tufts. Its 
taste is intensely bitter, resembling that of the yellow bark. It effloresces slightly 
on exposure to the air, and, at a moderate heat, loses its crystalline form in con- 
sequence of the escape of its water of crystallization. At the temperature of 
212° it becomes luminous, especially when rubbed. At about 240° it melts, as- 
suming the appearance of wax. It is very slightly soluble in cold water, requir- 
ing, according to M. Baup, 740 parts at 54° F. for solution; while at the boiling 
point it is dissolved in 30 parts of water, which deposits it upon cooling.* Its 
cold solution is opalescent. It is soluble in about 60 parts of cold alcohol of 0 835, 
but only to a very small extent in ether. The diluted acids, even tartaric and 
oxalic acids in excess, dissolve it with great facility. With an additional equiva- 
lent of sulphuric acid it forms another sulphate, which is more soluble in water 
than the officinal salt, and crystallizes from its solution with much greater diffi- 
culty. This is now considered by many as strictly neutral, and therefore entitled 
to the name of sulphate of quinia; while the officinal salt is thought to contain 
two equivalents of base to one of acid, and is therefore a subsulphate or disul- 
phate of quinia. The latter name was adopted by the London College, and is 
much used by chemical writers. In the U. S., Dublin, and Edinburgh Pharmaco- 
poeias, as well as in the French Codex, the name of sulphate of quinia, originally 
given to the officinal salt, under the impression that it was neutral, was retained; 
and it has been assumed in the new British Pharmacopoeia. Hence has arisen a 
confusion of nomenclature, which must be embarrassing to the student. Our own 
impressions are in favour of the higher number of the equivalent of quinia, and 
consequently of the view which considers the officinal name of sulphate of quinia 
as properly representing the composition of the salt. According to M. Baup, 
the higher sulphate, formerly called super sulphate, and still considered by some 
chemists as the bisulphate, is soluble in 11 parts of water at 54° F., and in its 
own water of crystallization at a boiling point. It is very soluble in diluted, and 
somewhat less so in absolute alcohol. It may be obtained by adding to a boiling 
concentrated solution of the ordinary sulphate, as much sulphuric acid as already 
exists in the salt, and then evaporating the solution. 
Composition. The officinal sulphate of quinia, the disulphate of most che- 
mists, is the only one used in medicine, and to this we have allusion in the pre- 
sent work, whenever sulphate of quinia is mentioned without any distinguishing 
epithet. In the crystalline form it consists, if regarded as neutral, of one eq. of 
quinia 324, one of sulphuric acid 40, and eight eqs. of water 72 = 436; but if 
considered, in accordance with Liebig’s views, as a subsulphate or disulphate, 
of two eqs. of quinia (each 162), one of sulphuric acid, and eight of water; the 
whole eq. of the salt being, of course, the same in either case. On exposure to 
the air, or to a heat of 212°, it effloresces, losing one-half of its water of cmtal 
* M. Calloud has ascertained that the solubility of sulphate of quinia is much affected 
by certain salts. While it is increased by muriate of ammonia, nitrate of potassa, and 
chloride of sodium, it is diminished by the sulphates of soda and magnesia. Sulphate of 
quinia is decomposed wholly or in part by bicarbonate and phosphate of soda. (i'A*’"#!. 
Journ., June, 1860, p. 609.) PART II, 
Quinia, 
1319 
lization; and at 240° it loses one-half of the remainder, retaining two eqs. or 
about 4 per cent, of water, of which it cannot be deprived without decomposition. 
{Phillips.)* 
* Iodide of Sulphate of Quinia, fyc. This remarkable compound of officinal sulphate 01 
quinia was discovered by Dr. Wm. Bird Herapath, of Bristol, England, who also investi- 
gated its singular optical properties. If to a solution of sulphate of quinia in a mixture of 
acetic acid and diluted alcohol, tincture of iodine be added by drops, and the mixture kept 
at 130° F. until perfect solution takes place, upon the cooling of the liquid, crystals will 
gradually form, which Dr. Herapath has found to consist of iodine, quinia, and sulphuric 
acid, probably combined in the state of sulphate of iodo-quinia. To obtain fine crystals 
various precautions are necessary, for which the reader is referred to the paper of Dr. 
Herapath. The crystals are of a brilliant emerald-green when viewed by reflected light, 
but almost colourless by transmitted light, and present a curious play of colours under 
varying circumstances of position. Their shape is very diversified, but traceable to the 
rhombic prism. They are dissolved by heated acetic acid and heated alcohol, and deposited 
on cooling. Their most remarkable property is that of polarizing light, in which they are 
equal if not superior to the tourmaline, for which they may be substituted with advantage 
in experiments in this branch of optics. (Pharm. Journ., xi. 448 and 449, and xiii. 378. See 
also Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxvi. 18.) From subsequent experiments of Dr. Herapath, it 
appears that the other cinchona alkaloids form similar salts with iodine; so that crystals 
may be obtained of the sulphates of iodo-quinidia, iodo-cinchonia, and iodo-cinchonidia, as well 
as of iodo-quinia. But the reader will note that the nomenclature of the alkaloids adopted 
by Dr. Herapath differs from that of Pasteur, and unfortunately we think, as that of Pas- 
teur is based on the analogies of the alkaloids. The quinia and cinchonia are the same with 
both, but the quinidia of Pasteur is the cinchonidia of Herapath, and vice versa. In the 
following observations the nomenclature of Dr. Herapath is used, in justice to that writer. 
It appears that, of these different compounds, there is a close analogy in crystalline forms 
between the iodo-quinia and iodo-cinchonidia salts on the one hand, and the iodo-cinchonia 
and iodo-quinidia salts on the other, while between the two twin sets there is a decided 
difference ; so that there is no difficulty in deciding whether a quinia salt contains quinidia 
or cinchonia, or a cinchonia salt cinchonidia or quinia, yet it may not be so easy to dis- 
criminate between the salts of analogous forms. Nevertheless there are sufficient points of 
dissimilarity to enable a correct diagnosis to be made. It is not by their chemical charac- 
ters that these iodo-salts can be discriminated; though the cinchonia and quinidia salts 
dissolve with greater difficulty than the others in consequence of their greater thickness, 
and less extent of surface. The crystals of the cinchonidia salt (quinidia, Pasteur), like those 
of the sulphate of iodo-quinia, are derived from the rhombic prism, but differ in certain 
points which we have not space to detail, and in reference to which we must be content to 
refer to Dr. Herapath’s paper. They are distinguishable to the practised eye by their dif- 
ferent tint with reflected and transmitted light. But these salts differ greatly from the 
iodo-cinchonia and iodo-quinidia (iodo-cinchonidia, Pasteur) sulphates. The crystals of the lat- 
ter of these salts are long quadrilateral acicular prisms, of a deep-ruby or garnet-red colour, 
with bluish-violet or light-purplish reflection tints, or they have the form of thin plates, or 
long, flat, acicular prisms, which, when thin, transmit a pure yellow, but if thicker, a red- 
dish colour tinged with brown. The analogous iodo-cinchonia sulphate is in long, acicular, 
quadrilateral prisms, of a deep purplish-black colour; and in relation to transmitted light 
also closely resembles the preceding. All these iodo-salts have double refractive proper- 
ties. Dr. Herapath gives the following as their composition; 1. sulphate of iodo-quinia, C57H33 
N205,I2 + 2S03H0 -j- 5HO = 840; 2. sulphate of iodo-cinchonidia (iodo-quinidia, Pasteur), C67H.;3 
N205.l3-j-2S03II0-l~ 5110 = 967; 3. sulphate of iodo-cinchonia, C35H19N202,I3-{-S03II0-|-6Hb 
= 757; 4. sulphate of iodo-quinidia (iodo-cinchonidia, Pasteur), C35H19N204,I,-j-S03HO-j-5IIO 
= 637. When the acid sulphates of the mixed alkaloids, quinia, quinidia, cinchonia, and 
cinchonidia, are dissolved in dilute alcohol, and the solution heated to from 80° to 120°, 
tincture of iodine readily separates the quinia salt; further treatment in the same manner 
separates the cinchonidia (quinidia, Pasteur) salt, more or less mixed with the preceding; 
still further treatment, the quinidia (cinchonidia, Pasteur) salt with its well-marked cha- 
racters; and the cinchonia salt, being by far the most soluble, is the last to appear, but. if 
in large proportion will be mixed with the quinidia (cinchonidia) salt. Cinchonidia (qui- 
nidiaj may thus be readily detected in cinchonia, which might otherwise be considered 
pure. In like manner a mixture of quinidia (cinchonidia) with quinia is easily made evi- 
lent. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., May, 1858, p. 246, from Pharm. Journ., March, 1858.) 
The rotating powers of the cinchona salts in reference to polarized light also afford 
means of distinguishing them, to those who may possess the requisite apparatus. Allusion 
ha« fioen ma'le to these properties under the several alkaloids in the first part of the work. 
It may be proper to say here that quinia and cinchonidia (Pasteur) are strongly lmvogy- 1320 
Quinia. 
PART II. 
Incompatibles and Tests. Sulphate of quinia is decomposed by the alkalies, 
their carbonates, and the alkaline earths. In solution, it affords white precipi- 
ces with potassa, soda, and ammonia, which are partly soluble in an excess of 
alkali. It is also precipitated by astringent infusions, the tannic acid of which 
forms a white insoluble compound with quinia. The soluble salts of lead and of 
baryta occasion precipitates; and that produced by the salts of baryta is insolu- 
ble in the acids. The soluble salts of oxalic, tartaric, and gallic acids occasion 
more or less precipitation with solution of sulphate of quinia without excess of 
acid; and Mr. J. M. Maisch has ascertained the same to be true of the acetates. 
(Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxvii. 97.) A freshly prepared solution of chlorine, 
added to a solution of sulphate of quinia, and followed by the addition of water 
of ammonia, occasions an emerald-green colour, and, in certain proportions, the 
deposition of a green precipitate. If, previously to the use of ammonia, a con- 
centrated solution of ferrocyanide of potassium be added, a dark-red colour is 
produced, which persists for several hours, but ultimately passes into green. This 
does not take place with cinchonia. Sulphate of quinia gives a reddish-brown 
precipitate with iodine dissolved in a solution of iodide of potassium. 
Adulterations. Sulphate of quinia has often been adulterated. The effects of 
adulteration may be produced by the variable quantity of water which sulphate 
of quinia may contain, without any observable alteration in its sensible properties. 
MM. Millon and Commaille, having exposed sulphate of quinia to a very moist 
atmosphere, at the temperature of about 62° F., found it always to increase in 
weight; so that a specimen of the salt, previously deprived of all its water capable 
of being separated by heat, had in five days absorbed 28'77 per cent, of water, and 
another specimen dried after its precipitation simply by draining, and supposed to 
contain 18 per cent, of water, had in ten days absorbed 14 per cent, more, making 
its whole percentage of water 32, or about one-third of its weight. (Journ. de 
Pharm., Nov. 18(52, p. 379.) This is an important fact, and will explain, to 
some extent, the frequently variable effects from apparently the same quantity 
of the salt. It is easy to detect and to obviate this natural sophistication by ex- 
posing a suspected specimen to a heat of 212°. The loss of weight will indi- 
cate the quantity of water, not essential to the salt. Sulphate of lime, and 
other alkaline or earthy salts, gum, sugar, mannite, starch, stearin or margarin, 
eaffein, salicin, phloridzin, and the sulphates of cinchonia and other cinchona 
alkaloids, are among the substances which are said to have been fraudulently 
added. By attending to the degree of solubility of the sulphate in different 
menstrua, and to its chemical relations with other substances already described, 
there can be little difficulty in detecting these adulterations. The presence of 
any mineral substance, not readily volatilizable, may be at once ascertained 
by exposing the salt to a red heat, which will completely dissipate the sul- 
phate of quinia, leaving the mineral behind. A volatile ammoniacal salt may 
rate, while cinchonia and quinidia (Pasteur) are strongly dextrogyrate, and quinicia and 
cinchonicia slightly dextrogyrate. 
We may here, however, refer to another test., requiring instrumental aid, offered by Mr. 
W. Walter Stoddart. If a drop of a solution of sulpkocyanide of potassium be added to a 
saturated and neutral solution of a suspected specimen of sulphate of quinia, and the mix- 
ture be observed, by means of the microscope, if cinchonia or quinidia (cinchonidia, Pas- 
teur) be present, characteristic crystals of sulpliocyanide of these alkaloids will be noticed, 
wholly distinct in shape from those of sulphocyanide of quinia formed at the same time. 
(Pharm. Journ., Oct. 1864, p. 155, and Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 1865, p. 41.) 
Still another newly discovered mode of distinguishing between quinia and cinchonia, 
suggested by M. Palm, is one based on the influence of polysulphuret of potassium on those 
alkaloids. If a solution of this reagent be added to a boiling solution of a salt of quinia, 
this, however small may be its proportion, will be thrown down as a red, viscid mass, 
which hardens upon cooling, and assumes a resinous appearance; whereas cinchonia is 
separated as a white powder containing sulphur. The polysulphuret is prepared by boil- 
ing a solution of potassa with an excess of sulphur. [Journ. de Pharm., Mai, 1864, p. 459.) 
— A'otes to the eleventh and twelfth editions. ’ART II. 
Quinia. 
1321 
be detected by the smell of ammonia emitted upon the addition of potassa. 
The absence of organic substances may be inferred, if pure cold concentrated 
sulphuric acid forms a colourless solution. Gum and starch are left behiim 
by alcohol, and fatty matters by water acidulated with sulphuric acid. Sugai 
and mannite cause a solution of the salt in acidulated water to have a sweet 
taste, after the precipitation of the quinia by an alkaline carbonate. Sali- 
cin imparts the property of becoming red upon the contact of sulphuric acid; 
but, according to Pelletier, this change of colour does not take place, unless 
the proportion of salicin exceeds one-tenth. If only in this proportion, the 
saliein must be isolated. To 1 part of the suspected salt, 6 parts of concentrated 
sulphuric acid may be added, and to the brown liquid which results, 125 parts of 
water. The salicin is thus separated, and may be obtained by filtration, in the 
form of a bitter, white powder, becoming bright red with sulphuric acid. (See 
Am. Journ. of Pharm., xvii. 156.)* Caffein alters the solubility of the medicine 
in different menstrua. According to M.- Calvert, a saturated solution of sulphate of 
quinia in cold water gives, with a solution of chloride of lime, a precipitate soluble 
in an excess of the latter; while a solution of sulphate of cinchonia of the same 
strength, treated in the same manner, gives a precipitate which is insoluble in a 
great excess of the reagent. The same effect is produced with lime water, and 
solution of ammonia; and solution of chloride of calcium, while it furnishes a 
precipitate with a solution of sulphate of cinchonia, yields none with a solution 
of sulphate of quinia. {Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., ii. 394.)f The Edinburgh 
* For a method of detecting the presence of salicin by the saliretin produced, and of 
determining the proportion of salicin, by means of the glucose resulting, when the salicin 
is decomposed by muriatic acid, see a communication by M. Bourlier in the Journal de Phar- 
xnacie (Juillet, 1859, p. 34). 
j- Liebig’s test of the presence of cinchonia is perhaps the simplest. Rub together fifteen 
grains of the suspected salt and two ounces of solution of ammonia, put the mixture into 
a flask, add two ounces of ether, and shake frequently. The quinia liberated by the am- 
monia is dissolved by the ether, while any cinchona that may be present remains undis- 
solved, floating between the ethereal solution above and the ammoniacal beneath. But 
M. 0. Henry has shown that cinchonia is slightly soluble in ammonia, so that a small por- 
tion might escape detection. It has, therefore, been proposed to modify the test by heating 
the mixture of the suspected salt and ammonia, so as almost entirely to drive off the excess 
of this alkali, and then to add the ether. If the liquid now remain quite transparent, with- 
out any turbid layer between the upper and lower stratum, it may be inferred that no 
cinchonia is present. For papers on this subject, see Journ. de Pharm. (3e ser., xiii. 102, 
xvi. 327, and xxi. 284), and Am. Journ. of Pharm. (xx. 231, and xxiv. 1G6). 
| The precise quantities originally proposed in Liebig’s test were one gramme of sulphate 
of quinia, ten grammes of ether, and two grammes of caustic ammonia. But M. Roger has 
proved that, with these proportions, in order that the test may succeed, it is necessary to 
use ether containing alcohol, which is the case with commercial ether. Of pure ether 25 
grammes would be requisite for the perfect solution of the quinia from a gramme of the 
sulphate, while 10 grammes of ether containing but two per cent, of alcohol will produce 
the same effect. In these proportions the presence of quinidia as well as of cinchonia would 
be detected. (Roger, Journ. de Pharm., Mars, 18ti2, p. 204.) For a method of detecting the 
presence of quimdia in sulphate of quinia, the reader is referred to a note in the first part 
of this work, page 296. 
| For an elaborate account by Dr. G. Kerner of the cinchona alkaloids, of which he be- 
lieves that there are several not yet fully determined, and of the method of testing com- 
mercial sulphate of quinia for the other alkaloids with which it is apt to be contaminated, 
we must be content with referring to the paper itself, which appeared in the Zeitschrift fur 
Analytische Chemie, but a translation of which will be found in the Pharm. Journ. for July, 
1862, and in the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (Sept. 1862, p. 417). Perhaps the most important 
practical result of these investigations is the suggestion of a new test by which the alkaloids 
may be distinguished; their solubilities, namely, in water of ammonia of given strength, 
which, according to Dr. Kerner, are more fixed and reliable than their solubilities respec- 
tively in water, or other ordinary solvent. The mode of application is by taking a certain 
quantity of the sulphate of the alkaloid dissolved in a certain quantity of water, and then 
lelding the water of ammonia gradually until the alkaloid precipitated is redissolved; and 
the quantity of the ammoniacal liquid necessary to produce this effect indicates inversely 1322 
Quinia. 
PART II. 
College gave the following mode of testing the purity of sulphate of quinia. “A 
solution of ten grains in a fluidounce of distilled water and two or three drops 
of sulphuric acid, if decomposed by a solution of half an ounce of carbonate of 
soda in two waters Ttwice its weight of water], and heated till the precipitate 
shrinks and fuses, yields on cooling a solid mass, which when dry weighs 7'4 
grains, and in powder dissolves entirely in solution of oxalic acid.” According 
to the London College, “100 grains dissolved in diluted hydrochloric acid, yield, 
on the addition of chloride of barium, 26'6 grains of sulphate of baryta, dried at 
a red heat.” Though sulphate of quinia, as prepared for use, frequently contains 
a portion of one or more of the recently discovered cinchona alkaloids, the salt 
is probably not less efficacious on that account; as these alkaloids have been 
shown to possess identical therapeutical properties with those of quinia, and to 
be little inferior in strength, if at all, in relation to most of them. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Sulphate of quinia produces upon the system, 
so far as we are enabled to judge by observation, the same effects as Peruvian 
bark, without being so apt to nauseate and oppress the stomach. (See Cinchona.) 
Its effects upon the brain are even more striking than those of cinchona, proba- 
bly because it is given in larger proportional doses. Even in ordinary doses, it 
often produces considerable cerebral disturbance, evinced by a feeling of tight- 
ness or distension in the head, ringing, buzzing, or roaring in the ears, hardness 
of hearing, &c. Some individuals are more liable to these effects than others, 
and in some even small doses produce them. A certain degree of this observable 
action on the brain is rather desirable than otherwise, as an evidence that the 
medicine is affecting the system. In very large quantities, as from a scruple to a 
drachm or more, besides the phenomena mentioned, it has been observed to occa- 
sion severe headache, vertigo, deafness, diminution or loss of sight, dilated and 
immovable pupil, loss of speech, general tremblings, intoxication or delirium, 
coma, and great prostration. In some instances the pulse has been remarkably 
diminished in frequency, down to fifty or even less in the minute. In an instance 
recorded by Giacomini, in which a man took by mistake about three drachms, 
the patient became insensible, and some hours afterwards was found by the 
physician in a state of general prostration, from which he recovered under the 
use of laudanum and aromatic waters. (Ann. de Therap., A. D. 1843, p. 176.) 
Besides its effects on the brain, sulphate of quinia sometimes occasions great 
gastric and intestinal irritation, marked by oppression of stomach, nausea, ab- 
dominal pains, vomiting, and purging. In general these effects of excessive 
doses gradually pass off, although partial deafness often continues for several 
days, and sometimes much longer. It is even said that permanent deafness has 
resulted. Though sulphate of quinia has been proved by the experiments of 
Dr. Baldwin, of Montgomery, Alabama, to be fatal to dogs, if prevented from 
vomiting by a ligature round the oesophagus, in quantities varying from fifteen 
or twenty grains to two drachms, with the symptoms of narcotic poisoning; yet 
we have seen no well authenticated case of death from its direct action on the 
perfectly healthy human subject. Given largely in disease, it has repeatedly 
caused'fatal results, not so much however by its peculiar action, as by co-operat- 
ing with the disease in establishing intense local irritation or inflammation, espe- 
cially in the brain. Though capable, therefore, of doing mischief if improperly 
used, sulphate of quinia can scarcely be ranked among the poisons. 
Erom its occasional effect in diminishing the frequency of the pulse and the 
general strength, it has been supposed to be essentially sedative in large doses. 
Such an opinion, unless well founded, might lead to hazardous practice. The 
tlie solubility of the .alkaloid. Quinidia requires from 10 to 11 times more of the arumoni- 
acal liquid than quinia, cinchonidia from !2 to 13 times more; while cinchonia is not dis- 
solved by a much larger proportion than is required by either of the others, and though, 
when mixed in very small proportion with quinia it ishlissolved at first, yet it aftei >vaids 
separates on standing.—Note to the twelfth edition. PART II. 
Quinia. 
1323 
probability is that the apparently sedative effect upon the circulation arises 
from an overwhelming stimulant influence upon the cerebral centres, whereby 
the system is deprived of the support of these centres, and the heart’s action is 
depressed with other organic functions. Similar effects may be obtained from 
excessive doses of most of the cerebral stimulants. Examination of the brain in 
the lower animals, after death from quinia, has shown great congestion of that 
organ and its membranes, and even meningitis. (See Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., 
xix. 197.) In the present state of our knowledge, therefore, it is safest to con- 
sider sulphate of quinia as a direct and powerful stimulant to the brain. It pro- 
bably operates through the circulation, as there is no doubt that it is absorbed, 
the alkaloid having been found unchanged in the urine. 
Sulphate of quinia may be substituted for cinchona in all diseases to which 
the latter is applicable ; and, in the treatment of intermittents, has almost entirely 
superseded the bark. It has the advantage over that remedy, not only that it is 
more easily administered in large doses, and more readily retained by the stomach, 
but that, in cases which require an impression to be made through the rectum or 
the skin, it is much more effectual; because, from the smallness of its bulk, it is 
more readily retained in the former case, and more speedily absorbed in the lat- 
ter. Still we cannot be certain that there are not other active principles in bark 
besides the alkaloids, which are closely analogous in their effects, nor that the 
mode of combination in which these principles exist may not in some measure 
modify their therapeutic action. Until this question is solved, we may resort to 
the bark if the sulphate of quinia should not answer the ends in view; and in- 
stances have occurred, under our own notice, in which it has proved successful 
in intermittents after the salt had failed. 
Sulphate of quinia may be given in pill or solution, or suspended in water by 
the intervention of syrup and mucilage. The form of pill is usually preferred. 
(See Filulse Quinise Sulphalis.) The solution may be readily effected by the 
addition of a little acid of almost any kind to the water. Eight grains of the 
sulphate will dissolve in a fluidounce of water, acidulated with about twelve 
minims of the diluted sulphuric acid, or aromatic sulphuric acid of the Pharma- 
copoeias; and this is the most eligible mode of exhibiting the medicine in the 
liquid form. The addition of a small proportion of sulphate of morphia or of 
laudanum will often be found advantageous, when the stomach is disposed to be 
sickened, or the bowels to be disturbed by the quinia. Mr. J. S. Blockey ascer- 
tained that glycerin will, if gently heated, dissolve eight grains of the sulphate 
in each fluidrachm, and may therefore be conveniently used as a vehicle. ( Lond. 
Chemist, Sept. 1857.) Dr. 11. H. Thomas, of Baltimore, found that one part of 
tannic acid will deprive five parts of sulphate of quinia of bitterness, without 
impairing its medicinal efficacy. (Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., N. S., xix. 541.) It 
is obvious that tannate of quinia is thus formed; and as this, though insoluble 
in water, is readily dissolved in dilute acids, and consequently in the gastric 
liquor when acid, there can be no doubt that it will generally prove efficacious. 
It may, however, happen that the stomach may be quite free from acid, and that 
the operation of this salt may prove less certain than that of the sulphate; and 
such is asserted to have been the case in some instances; but a little lemonade 
taken after the medicine would probably obviate the difficulty. 
Twelve grains of sulphate of quinia are equivalent to about an ounce of good 
bark. The dose varies exceedingly, according to the circumstances of the patient, 
and the object to be accomplished. As a tonic simply, a grain may be given 
three or four times a day, or more frequently in acute cases. In intermittents, 
from twelve to twenty-four grains should be given between the paroxysms, di- 
vided into smaller or larger doses according to the condition of the stomach, or 
the length of the intermission. From one to four grains may be given at once, 
and some even advise the whole amount. In maliguant intermittents and remit- Quinia. 
PART II. 
tents, the quantity may be increased to thirty grains or even a drachm between 
the paroxysms. M. Maillot gave one hundred and twenty-eight grains, in the 
course of a few hours, in a case of malignant fever occurring in Northern Africa, 
with the happiest results. The caution, however, is necessary, not to employ 
this heroic practice against easily conquerable diseases. Yery large doses of the 
sulphate have recently been given in acute rheumatism, and with great asserted 
success; but the occurrence of at least one fatal case from inflammation of the 
brain should lead to some hesitation in this employment of the remedy. When 
the stomach will not retain the medicine, it may be administered with nearly as 
much efficacy by enema; from six to twelve grains, with two fluidounces of 
liquid starch, and from twenty to forty drops of laudanum, being injected into 
the rectum, in ordinary cases, every six hours. Should circumstances render 
this mode of application impracticable, an equal quantity, diluted with arrow- 
root or other mild powder, may be sprinkled, at the same intervals, upon a blis- 
tered surface denuded of the cuticle. The epigastrium, or the inside of the thighs 
and arms, would be the proper place for the blister. The sulphate has also been 
employed by friction in the form of ointment, in cases of malignant intermittent. 
The ointment should be made by incorporating a saturated alcoholic solution 
of the salt with lard, and should be applied to the inside of the thighs and arms. 
It is said that quinia is more readily absorbed when united with a fatty acid. 
This union may be effected by mixing solutions of soap and of a salt of quinia. 
The quinia soap is precipitated. Purified oleic acid will dissolve one-tenth of 
its weight of sulphate of quinia, if aided by a gentle heat; and this solution may 
be used as a liniment. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxvii. 73.) 
Solutions of sulphate of quinia have been advantageously employed as local 
applications to indolent ulcers, and chronic mucous inflammations. (Wedderburn 
and Fearn, New Orleans Med. and Surg. Journ., iii. 161 and 341.) 
Off. Prep. Ferri et QuiniiE Citras; Pilulm Quiniae Sulphatis, U. S.; Quiniae 
Yalerianas, U. 8.; Tinctura Quiniae Composita, Br. W. 
QUINIZE YALERIANAS. U.S. Valerianate of Quinia. 
“Take of Yalerianic Acid half a troyounce; Sulphate of Quinia two troy- 
ounces; Diluted Sulphuric Acid, Water of Ammonia, Water, each, a sufficient 
quantity. Dissolve the Sulphate of Quinia in a pint of Water, with the aid of 
Diluted Sulphuric Acid ; then add Water of Ammonia in slight excess, and wash 
the precipitated quinia with water until freed from sulphate of ammonia. Dis- 
solve the Yalerianic Acid in five pints of Water, heated to 180°, add the quinia 
to the solution, and, when it is dissolved, set the whole aside for several days to 
crystallize. Decaut the mother-water from the crystals, dry them on bibulous 
paper, and keep them in a well-stopped bottle. By evaporating the mother-water 
at a temperature not exceeding 120°, more crystals may be obtained.” U. S. 
In this process quinia is first obtained by decomposing sulphate of quinia, by 
means of ammonia, and then combined directly with valerianic acid, to form va- 
lerianate of quinia, which crystallizes from the solution when it cools, because 
much less soluble in cold than in hot water. By the late Dublin formula, which, 
with the salt itself, has been omitted in the British Pharmacopoeia, the valerian- 
ate was obtained by double decomposition between muriate of quinia and vale- 
rianate of soda, resulting in the production of chloride of sodium, which remained 
in solution, and valerianate of soda, which crystallized. 
Valerianate of quinia is a colourless salt, crystallizing in rhomboidal plates. It 
has a bitter taste, and the strong, adhesive odour of valerianic acid, which is 
very repulsive, and quite distinct from that of oil of valerian. It is soluble in 
110 parts of cold and 40 parts of boiling water, and is deposited from its warm 
solution in fine crystals on cooling. It is dissolved by 6 parts of cold, and by au 
equal weight of boiling alcohol, and is soluble also in ether. In boiling water it 
melts into oily globules, and undergoes decomposition, with the escape of vale- PART II. 
Resinse, 
1325 
rianic acid; and hence the direction in the formula not to exceed 120° in eva- 
porating the mother-water. Even at common temperatures it is probably under- 
going a constant, though slow loss of the acid, of which it smells so strongly. 
Exposed to a dry heat, it melts and gives off white vapours. It may be given in 
the dose of a grain or two repeated several times a day, in cases of debility at- 
tended with nervous disorder. A combination of Peruvian bark and valerian hap- 
long been known as peculiarly efficacious in hemicrania. Perhaps the valerianate 
of quinia may be used advantageously in the same affection. W. 
RESINA. 
Resins. 
The Resinae or Resins of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia constitute a peculiar class 
of preparations, made by exhausting the substances from which they are obtained 
by alcohol, and then precipitating the resinous matter from the tincture, by the 
addition of water, which abstracts the alcohol by its stronger affinity. It is ob- 
vious that the resins thus prepared are different substances from the alcoholic 
extracts, which contain all the ingredients of the medicine which alcohol is able 
:o take from it. 
RESINA JALAPiE. TJ. S. Jalaps Resina. Br. Resin of Jalap. 
“Take of Jalap, in fine powder, sixteen troy ounces; Alcohol, Water, each, 
a sufficient quantity. Moisten the Jalap with four fluidounces of Alcohol, pack 
it firmly in a cylindrical percolator, and gradually pour Alcohol upon it until 
four pints have passed, or until the filtered liquid ceases to occasion turbidness 
when dropped into water. Reduce the tincture to half a pint by distilling off the 
alcohol, mix the residue with four pints of Water, separate the precipitate formed, 
wash it thoroughly with Water, and dry it with a gentle heat.” U. S. 
“Take of Jalap, in coarse powder, eight ounces [avoirdupois]; Rectified 
Spirit, Distilled Water, each, a sufficiency. Macerate the Jalap with sixteen 
fluidounces of the Spirit in a covered vessel, at a gentle heat, for twenty-four 
hours; then transfer to a percolator, and, when the tincture ceases to pass, pour 
into the percolator successive portions of Spirit until the Jalap is exhausted. 
Add to the tincture four fluidounces of the Water, and distil off the Spirit by a 
water bath. Remove the residue while hot to an open dish, and allow it to be- 
come cold. Pour off the supernatant fluid from the resin, wash this two or three 
times with hot water, and dry it on a porcelain plate by a stove or water bath.” Br. 
The two processes probably do not differ very materially in the result; though, 
if jalap yield anything to alcohol that is insoluble in water besides resin, it will 
be necessarily found in the British preparation, while that of the TJ. S. Pharma- 
copoeia consists of resin almost exclusively. The difference arises from the cir- 
cumstance that, in the Br. process, probably to enable the whole of the alcohol 
to be saved by distillation, the water for precipitation is added before the spirit 
is distilled off, while, in the U. S. process, it is not added until so much of the al- 
cohol has been distilled as to leave only enough to hold the extracted matters in 
solution. It is obvious, therefore, that the resin of the former contains everything 
insoluble in water that the alcohol had extracted; while that of the latter con- 
tains nothing which water was unable to precipitate from the half pint of con- 
centrated tincture. The U. S. resin is probably, therefore, a purer product than 
the British. 
The TJ. S. resin, though tolerably pure, and quite sufficiently so for practical 
purposes, is still coloured. To obtain it colourless, if this be desired, the pow- 
dered jalap should be mixed, before percolation, with an equal quantity of finely 
powdered animal charcoal, and, previously to the introduction of this mixture 
into .the percolator, half the quantity of animal charcoal, similarly powdered, Resinse. 
PART II. 
should be packed in the bottom of the instrument. The colouring matter is thus 
left behind; and the resulting tincture, treated as directed in the process, yields 
the resin as white as starch. 
Resin of jalap consists of two portions, one of which is hard and insoluble in 
ether, the other is soft and soluble in that menstruum ; the former constituting 
about VO per cent. It is insoluble in oil of turpentine. {Squire.) For an account 
of its chemical properties the reader is referred to the article on jalap, in Part 
I. It was at one'time supposed that the purgative properties of the resin re- 
sided chiefly if not exclusively in the hard resin; but experiments by Mr. John 
C. Long appear to prove that the soft is equally energetic. {Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., Nov. 1861, p. 489.) 
Guaiac, rosin, and other resinous substances are said to be sometimes fraudu- 
lently added to the resin of jalap. Guaiac may be detected by the green colour 
it produces, when a few drops of solution of chloride of soda or of lime are added 
to an alcoholic solution of the suspected resin. {Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., x. 
35V.) According to G. A. Kaiser, jalap resin may be distinguished from all other 
resins by being gradually dissolved by concentrated sulphuric acid, and deposit- 
ing, after some hours, a brown soft viscid matter. {Ghem. Gaz., Jan. 1845, from 
Liebig's Annalen.) A better test is probably that proposed by A. Buchner. 
When pure jalap resin is dissolved in an alkaline solution, it is not precipitated 
by the addition of sulphuric or muriatic acid, having been converted, through 
the agency of the alkali, into an acid soluble in water. All the adulterating 
resins yield precipitates under the same circumstances. The resins of scammony 
and of fusiform jalap act in this respect like the true jalap resin, but are distin- 
guishable by being wholly soluble in ether, which jalap resin is not. {Neues Re- 
pert, fur Pharm., No. 1, 1854.) 
It is now generally believed that the resin of jalap is its sole purgative prin- 
ciple, the gummy extractive being either simply diuretic or wholly inert. Never- 
theless, the extract of jalap probably better represents the whole virtues of the 
root, its specially hydragogue as well as simply purgative property; or at least 
contains the resin so involved with other ingredients, as in some measure to qua- 
lify its irritant and griping properties, and thus favourably modify its cathartic 
action. To obviate the occasional harshness of the resin, it has been advised to tri- 
turate it with loaf-sugar, sulphate of potassa, almond emulsion, or other substance 
calculated to separate its particles. The dose is from two to five grains. W. 
RESINA PODOPIIYLLI. U. S. Podopiiylli Resina. Br. Resin of 
May-apple. Resin of Podophyllum. 
“Take of May-apple, in fine powder, sixteen troyounces; Alcohol, Water, 
each, a sufficient quantity. Moisten the May-apple with four fluidounces of 
Alcohol, pack it firmly in a cylindrical percolator, and gradually pour Alcohol 
upon it until four pints have passed, or until the filtered liquid ceases to occa- 
sion turbidness when dropped into water. Reduce the tincture to half a pint by 
distilling off the alcohol, mix the residue with four pints of Water, separate the 
precipitate formed, wash it thoroughly with Water, and dry it with a gentle 
heat.” U. S. 
“ Take of Podophyllum, in coarse powder, one pound [avoirdupois] ; Recti- 
fied Spirit, three pints, or a sufficiency; Distilled Water, Hydrochloric Acid, 
each, a sufficiency. Exhaust the Podophyllum with the Spirit by percolation ; 
place the tincture in a still, and draw off the spirit. Acidulate the Water with 
one twenty-fourth of its bulk of Hydrochloric Acid, and slowly pour the liquid 
which remains after the distillation of the tincture into three times its volume 
of the acidulated water, constantly stirring. Allow the mixture to stand for 
twenty-four hours to deposit the resin. Wash the resin on a filter with Distilled 
Water, and dry it on a stove.” Br. 
There is a considerable difference between the preparations resulting from PART II. 
Resin se, 
1327 
these two processes The TJ. S. preparation is obtained simply by precipitating 
a concentrated tinciure of the root by water, and consists mainly of the pecu- 
liar resin of podophyllum; the British, by precipitating with water acidulated 
by muriatic acid, whereby berberina, an alkaloid recently found to exist in podo- 
phyllum, is thrown down in the state of an insoluble muriate. As berberina ex- 
ists in the may-apple, it is so combined as to be soluble both in alcohol and water, 
and is therefore contained in the concentrated tincture. But, having the remark- 
able property of forming an insoluble salt with muriatic acid, it is thrown down 
along with the resin; so that the resulting preparation is a mixture of the pro- 
per resin of podophyllum with this salt. Hence the British resin is of a yellow 
colour, given to it by the muriate of berberina, while the U. S. resin is drab- 
coloured. It follows that the British resin is a more exact representation of the 
virtues of the root than ours, while the latter is perhaps preferable simply as a 
purgative. Mr. Maisch has found some berberina in the resin precipitated by 
water from the concentrated tincture, which is removed by washing with hot 
water, and probably also by the thorough washing with cold water directed by 
the Pharmacopoeia. {Am. Journ. of Pharm., July, 1863, p. 303.) The percent- 
age of resin obtained from the root, as given by different operators, varies from 
3'12 to 5 25 per cent. 
Resin of podophyllum has a light-brown colour, an acrid bitter taste, and a 
slight odour of the root. It consists of two resins, one soluble both in ether 
and alcohol, the other in alcohol only. The resin extracted by ether constitutes, 
according to Mr. John W. Cadbury, 75 per cent, of the whole (Am. Journ. of 
Pliarm., July, 1858, p. 301), according to Mr. Harvey Allen, 80 per cent. (Ibid., 
May, 1859, p. 206). The officinal resin is soluble in alkaline solutions, from 
which it is precipitated by acids, in this respect differing strikingly from the 
resins of jalap and seammony. It is insoluble in oil of turpentine. The name of 
podophyllin, given to it by the practitioners calling themselves eclectics, who 
have long been in the habit of using this resin, is inappropriate, and should be 
abandoned. 
Resin of podophyllum is a powerful cathartic, occasionally producing some 
griping and nausea, but capable of being favourably modified by combination, 
ami of being very usefully employed in connection with other cathartics, to give 
them increased energy. It is supposed by some to be specially cholagogue; 
but though, like all other active cathartics, it may occasionally produce bilious 
stools by emptying the gall-bladder, there is no sufficient proof that it increases 
especially the secretory function of the liver. There has been much difference of 
opinion as to the relative activity of the two resins composing it, some main- 
taining that both are active, others that the activity resides mainly, if not ex- 
clusively, in the resin soluble in ether. It is difficult to resist the evidence of the 
experiments of Mr. Cadbury, who states in the paper above referred to that, 
while half a grain of the ethereal resin acted energetically, and a cathartic ef- 
fect was produced by even one-fourth of a grain, the portion insoluble in that 
menstruum was given in the dose of one grain without any effect whatever. The 
dose of the officinal resin is from one-fourth of a grain to a grain. It should 
generally be given in combination. A small proportion of extract of belladonna 
or hyoscyamus is said much to mitigate its irritant action. W. 
RESINA SCAMMONII. TJ. S. Scammonle Resina. Br. Resin of 
Seammony. 
“ Take of Seammony, in fine powder, six troyounces; Alcohol, Water, each, 
a sufficient quantity. Digest the Seammony with successive portions of boiling 
Alcohol until exhausted. Mix the tinctures, and reduce the mixture to a syrupy 
consistence by distilling off the alcohol. Then add the residue to a pint of Wa- 
ter, separate the precipitate formed, wash it thoroughly with Water, and dry it 
with a gentle heat.” U. S. Resinx.—Santoninum. 
PART II. 
“Take of Scammony Root, in coarse powder, eight ounces [avoirdupois]; 
Rectified Spirit, Distilled Water, each, a sufficiency. Macerate the Scammony 
Root with sixteen fluidounces of the Spirit in a covered vessel, at a gentle heat, 
for twenty-four hours; then transfer to a percolator, and, when the tincture 
ceases to pass, pour into the percolator successive portions of Spirit until the 
root is exhausted. Add to the tincture four fluidounces of the Water, and distil 
off the Spirit by a water bath. Remove the residue while hot to an open dish, 
and allow it to become cold. Pour oft' the supernatant fluid from the resin, wash 
this two or three times with hot water, and dry it on a porcelain plate by a stove 
or water bath.” Br. 
The U. S. and British resins, though procured, the former from the gum-resin, 
the latter from the root of the plant, are nearly identical in their effects. The ad- 
vantage of the preparation is that the resin is obtained free from the inert mat- 
ters with which it is so often associated in the scammony of commerce. When 
pure virgin scammony can be procured any preparation is unnecessary. Ob- 
tained according to the IT. S. process, the resin is of a dirty greenish-brown 
colour, with a feeble odour and taste of scammony, and is very soluble in ether, 
alcohol, and boiling proof spirit. When purified with animal charcoal it has a 
pale brownish-yellow colour, and is without odour or taste; but retains its pur- 
gative property. The Br. resin is in brownish translucent pieces, with a resinous 
fracture, and of a sweetish, fragrant odour derived from the root, and wholly 
different from that of scammony. 
The resin of scammony is liable to adulteration. Jalap resin may be detected 
by its partial insolubility in rectified ether, which dissolves that of scammony in 
all proportions. Sulphuric acid is the best test of common rosin or colophony, 
producing instantaneously with this substance an intense red colour; while in the 
resin of scammony it causes no immediate change. For the tests of guaiac, the 
reader is referred to that article in the Materia Medica. (See also Am. Journ. 
of Pharm., xxiv. 158.) In regard to this sophistication, the Br. Pharmacopoeia 
directs that the tincture shall not render the fresh-cut surface of a potato blue. 
The presence of other resins, besides those of the Convolvulacese, may be known 
by yielding precipitates when sulphuric acid is added to their alkaline solution; 
the resin of scammony agreeing with that of jalap in not affording a precipitate 
under such circumstances. Mr. Ch. Bullock has found this resin, as well as that 
of jalap and of podophyllum, to be insoluble in benzole, thus enabling any resin 
soluble in this liquid, which may be employed in their sophistication, to be 
readily detected. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., March, 1862, p. 114.) When rubbed 
with unskimmed milk, the resin of scammony forms a uniform emulsion, undis- 
tinguishable from rich milk itself. This is an excellent mode of administration. 
The resin should always be given either rubbed up with some mild powder, or 
in emulsion. The dose is from four to eight grains. 
Off. Prep. Confectio Scammonii, Br.; Extractum Colocynthidis Composi- 
tum; Mistura Scammonii, Br. W. 
SANTONINUM. 
Santonin. 
SANTONINUM. U. S., Br. Santonin. 
“Take of Santonica, in moderately coarse powder, forty-eight troyounces; 
Lime, recently slaked and in fine powder, eighteen troyounces; Animal Char- 
coal, in fine powder, Diluted Alcohol, Acetic Acid, Alcohol, each, a sufficient 
quantity. Digest the Santonica and Lime with twelve pints of Diluted Alcohol 
for twenty-four hours, and express. Repeat the digestion and expression twice 
with the residue, using the same quantity of Diluted Alcohol. Mix the tinctures, 
and reduce the mixture to eight pints by distilling off the alcohol. Then, having PART II. 
Santoninum. 
1329 
filtered, and evaporated to one-half, gradually add Acetic Acid until in slight 
excess, stirring during the addition, and set the whole aside for forty-eight 
hours. Place the resulting crystalline mass upon a funnel loosely stopped, wash 
it with water, and dry it. Next, boil the dry residue with ten times its weight 
of Alcohol, and, having digested the tincture for several hours with Animal 
Charcoal, filter it while hot, and add sufficient hot Alcohol, through the filter, 
to wash the Charcoal thoroughly; then set it aside in a dark place to crystal- 
lize. Lastly, dry the crystals on bibulous paper in the dark, and keep them in 
a well-stopped bottle, protected from the light. By evaporating the mother- 
water, more crystals may be obtained.” U. S. 
“Take of Santonica, bruised, one pound [avoirdupois]; Slaked Lime seven 
ounces [avoird.] ; Hydrochloric Acid a sufficiency; Solution of Ammonia half 
a fluidounce; Rectified Spirit fourteen fluidounces; Purified Animal Char- 
coal sixty grains; Distilled Water a sufficiency. Boil the Santonica with a 
gallon [Imperial measure] of the Water and five ounces [avoird.] of the Lime, 
in a copper or tinned iron vessel, for an hour, strain through a stout cloth, and 
express strongly. Mix the residue with half a gallon [Imp. meas.] of the Water 
and the rest of the Lime, boil for half an hour, strain and express as before. 
Mix the strained liquors, let them settle, decant the fluid from the deposit, and 
evaporate to the bulk of two pints and a half [Imp. meas.]. To the liquor while 
hot, add, with diligent stirring, the Hydrochloric Acid until the fluid has be- 
come slightly and permanently acid, and set it aside for five days that the pre- 
cipitate may subside. Remove by skimming any oily matter which floats on the 
surface, and carefully decant the greater part of the fluid from the precipitate. 
Collect this on a paper filter, wash it first with cold Distilled Water till the 
washings pass colourless and nearly free from acid reaction, then with the Solu- 
tion of Ammonia previously diluted with five fluidounces of the Water, and 
lastly with cold Distilled Water till the washings pass colourless. Press the 
filter containing the precipitate between folds of filtering paper, and dry it with 
a gentle heat. Scrape the dry precipitate from the filter, and mix it with the 
Animal Charcoal. Pour on them nine ounces of the Rectified Spirit, digest for 
half an hour, and boil for ten minutes. Filter while hot, wash the charcoal with 
an ounce of boiling Spirit, and set the filtrate aside for two days in a cool dark 
place to crystallize. Separate the mother-liquor from the crystals, and concen- 
trate to obtain a further product. Collect the crystals, let them drain, redissolve 
them in four ounces of boiling Spirit, and let the solution crystallize as before. 
Lastly, dry the crystals on filtering paper in the dark, and preserve them in a 
bottle protected from the light.” Br. 
By the IT. S. process, which was taken from Wittstein’s Pharmaceutical Che- 
mistry (page 563), the santonica is first exhausted by digestion with diluted 
alcohol, in connection with slaked lime; the latter substance being employed to 
saturate the santonin, and remove colouring matter which might subsequently 
embarrass the proceedings. The tincture thus obtained, having been reduced by 
the distillation of the alcohol to little more than an aqueous solution, is filtered 
and treated with acetic acid, in slight excess, by which the santonin is separated 
from the lime which holds it in solution, and, being itself insoluble, is gradually 
deposited in a crystalline state. The remainder of the process is intended simply 
to obtain the crystals free from colouring matter, and otherwise pure. 
The British process, which is that of M. Mialbe somewhat modified (Pharm. 
Journ., June, 1864, p. 635), spares the expenditure of alcohol in the exhaustion 
of the santonica, by boiling it originally with water in connection with lime; and 
differs also from the preceding in precipitating the santonin by muriatic instead 
of acetic acid. The purification is effected in the same manner, except that solu- 
tion of ammonia is employed in the washing, probably to remove the last trace 
«>f acid. W ormseed of Aleppo yields from 1 -2 to 1 -4 per cent, of santonin. {Journ. 
O A 1330 
Santoninum. 
PART II. 
de Pharm., Mars, 864, p. 241.) It has been intimated to us that the large 
manufacturers of santonin, abroad, first distil off from the santonica its volatile 
oil, which has some commercial value in Europe; and that, so far from being 
injured by the operation, the process for preparing santonin is probably facili- 
tated, in consequence of an affinity of the oil for the santonin, which may render 
it more difficult to obtain that principle pure. 
Properties. Santonin is in colourless crystals, which have the form of flat 
rhombic prisms. It is inodorous, and at first nearly tasteless, but after a time 
produces a sense of bitterness. It is fusible by a moderate heat, and assumes the 
form of a crystalline mass on cooling. At a somewhat higher heat, it rises in 
dense, white, irritating vapours, and condenses unchanged. The air has no effect 
upon it, but it becomes yellow on exposure to sunlight. According to M. Ses- 
tini, the santonin is changed, through the influence of light, into formic acid, an 
uncrystallizable substance much more soluble in alcohol and ether than santonin 
itself, which he calls photo-santonic acid, and a red resinous substance. (See Am. 
Journ. of Pharm., Nov. *1864, p. 521.) It is nearly insoluble in cold water, or 
in weak acid solutions, but is dissolved by 250 parts of boiling wrater, by 43 parts 
of cold and 3 parts of boiling alcohol, and by 75 parts of ether; and its alco- 
holic and ethereal solutions are extremely bitter. (£7. S.) It is also freely solu- 
ble in chloroform. Though neuter to test paper, it unites with alkaline bases to 
form crystallizable and soluble salts. In its relations to polarized light, it is very 
strongly lasvogyrate, more so than any other body previously noticed, and retains 
this property with acids, though losing it entirely when combined with salifiable 
bases. (Buignet, Journ. de Pharm., Janv. 1862, p. 26.) When exposed to red 
heat, with access of air, it is entirely dissipated. It consists of carbon, hydrogen, 
and oxygen ; its formula being C30II]8OB. In chemical character it appears to be 
analogous to the stearoptenes, or concrete principles of the volatile oils. Under 
the influence of sulphuric acid and heat, it is resolved into glucose and a new 
body, for which the name of santonirelin has been proposed, and must therefore 
rank with the glucosides. (Kosmann, Journ. de Pharm., Aout, 1860, p. 81.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. The effects of santonin on the system do not 
appear to have been very precisely determined. Without any very obvious effects 
on the circulation or digestive organs, it seems to produce some impression of 
a slightly narcotic character on the brain, and occasionally operates feebly as a 
diuretic. A singular effect on vision which has often been observed from santo- 
nica, is probably owing to the santonin, as similar effects have been produced by 
that principle. To persons under the influence of santonin, it often happens that 
all objects appear discoloured, generally yellow, but frequently also green, and 
sometimes blue. At the same time the urine is tinged of a yellow or green colour; 
and so rapidly does the santonin pass, that the change of colour in the urine has 
been observed at the end of 16 minutes. (Journ. de Pharm., Aout, 1863, p. 161.) 
These effects are ascribed to a change in the santonin in the system analogous to 
that which takes place by its exposure to light; the yellow substance circulating 
with the blood, and passing out of the circulation with the urine. Santonin has 
been found to possess the vermifuge properties of santonica, and is probably its 
exclusive anthelmintic principle; as the volatile oil, to which this property was 
at one time ascribed, has little or no effect, being probably absorbed from the 
stomach before it reaches the worms in the bowels, while the santonin, being in- 
soluble, or only becoming so by partial conversion into the santonate of soda 
when it reaches the bile in the duodenum, passes into the small intestines and 
poisons the worms. Besides, the volatile oil is poisonous to the system in large 
doses, while santonin is innocent in any quantity in which it is likely to be admin- 
istered. (Edm. Rose, of Berlin.) A case of poisoning ascribed to santonin was 
found to be owing to strychnia mixed with it. (Chem. News, No. 230, p. 212.) 
Santonin has also been found advantageous in amaurosis by M. Martin and M. Soda. 
1331 
PART II. 
Guepin, the latter of whom recommends it especially in cases which have suc- 
ceeded acute choroiditis and iritis, with plastic exudation, after all symptoms of 
inflammation have ceased. (Ann. de Therap., 1862, pp. 179, 183.) Santonin may 
be given in doses of two or three grains twice or three times a day. Some have 
recommended its salts, but Rose objects to these as being soluble, aftd therefore 
net so likely to reach the worm, in consequence of absorption; and, besides, in 
large doses they are injurious. In amaurosis, M. Guepin uses it in the form of 
syrup; its solubility being, in this case, a recommendation. The syrup may be 
made by mixing a drachm of santonin, dissolved in a little alcohol, with eight 
fiuidouuces of syrup, of which two teaspoonfuls may be given for a dose. Santo- 
nin may also be given in the form of lozenge with sugar and tragacanth. A for- 
mula will be found in the Am. Journ. of Ph arm. (vi. N. S., p. 124). W. 
SODA. 
Preparations of Soda. 
SODA CAUSTICA. Br. Caustic Soda. 
“Take of Solution of Soda two pints. Boil down the Solution rapidly, in a 
silver or clean iron vessel, until there remains a fluid of oily consistence, a drop 
of which when removed on a warmed glass rod solidifies on cooling. Pour the 
fluid on a clean silver or iron plate, and, as soon as it has solidified, break it in 
pieces, and preserve it in stoppered green-glass bottles.” Br. 
The solution of soda, being a solution of the caustic alkali, yields it on eva- 
poration in the solid state. Metallic vessels are used in consequeuce of the che- 
mical action of soda on earthenware or porcelain, and the product is directed 
to be kept in green glass bottles, because these resist its action better than 
those of white glass. Instead of being poured into cylindrical moulds to harden, 
as caustic potassa, this is allowed to solidify in mass, and is broken into irregular 
fragments. 
As prepared by the above process, caustic soda is in grayish-white fragments, 
opaque, brittle, and extremely corrosive. It is deliquesceut, very soluble in 
water, soluble in alcohol, and possessed of all the alkaline properties of potassa, 
from which it differs in imparting a yellow colour to flame, and in not giving in 
solution a yellow precipitate with bichloride of platinum, or a crystalline precipi- 
tate with tartaric acid in excess. When heated it melts, and at an intense heat 
evaporates. In composition, it is the hydrated oxide of sodium (NaO,HO), and 
cannot be deprived of its water by heat. Though deliquescent like potassa, it 
does not like that alkali become permanently liquid, but forms a paste, which 
after a time effloresces. The difference in this respect between the two alkalies 
is owing to the circumstance that, while both are converted into carbonates by 
uniting with the carbonic acid of the air, potassa forms a deliquescent, and soda 
an efflorescent salt. It is apt to contain impurities originating from the carbonate 
of soda used in preparing the solution from which it is made ; and the presence of 
these is recognised by the Br. Pharmacopoeia, when it states that the aqueous so- 
lution, acidulated with nitric acid, gives a scanty white precipitate with nitrate of 
silver and chloride of barium, indicating the existence of a chloride and sulphate 
or carbonate. According to the same authority, it leaves scarcely any sediment 
when dissolved in water, and 40 grains require for neutralization 90 measures 
of the volumetric solution of oxalic acid, corresponding to 27‘9 grains of soda. 
If the solution be coloured brown by sulphuretted hydrogen or hydrosulphate ot 
ammonia, the presence of lead may be suspected, derived probably from the 
glass vessels in which it has been kept. It may be used externally as a caustic 
in the same manner as potassa, for which purpose it may be melted and cast 
into sticks. It has the advantage of being less deliquescent, and probably milder. 1332 
Soda. 
PART II. 
It may be used also for making the solution of soda extemporaneously, for which 
purpose a drachm may be dissolved in three and a half fluidounces of distilled 
water. W. 
SODiE ARSENIAS. Br. Arseniate of Soda. 
“ Take of Arsenious Acid ten ounces [avoirdupois]; Nitrate of Soda eight 
ounces and a half [avoird.] ; Dried Carbonate of Soda five ounces and a 
half [avoird.]; Boiling Distilled W ater thirty-five fluidounces. Reduce the 
dry ingredients separately to fine powder, and mix them thoroughly in a por- 
celain mortar. Put the mixture into a large clay crucible, and cover it with the 
lid. Expose to a full red heat, till all effervescence has ceased, and complete 
fusion has taken place. Pour out the fused salt on a clean flagstone, and as soon 
as it has solidified, and while it is still warm, put it into the boiling Water, stir- 
ring diligently. When the salt has dissolved, filter the solution through paper, 
and set it aside to crystallize. Drain the crystals, and, having dried them rapidly 
on filtering paper, enclose them in stoppered bottles.” Br. 
This is a new officinal of the Br. Pharmacopoeia. In the process, the arseni- 
ous acid is converted into arsenic acid at the expense of the nitric acid of the 
nitrate of soda, and then combines with the soda of both salts, carbonic acid 
and nitrous fumes being given off. As the salt consists of two eqs. of base to one 
of acid, each eq. of arsenious acid, having been converted into arsenic acid by 
two eqs. of oxygen from one eq. of the nitric acid of the nitrate, combines with 
the separated eq. of soda of that salt, and with another eq. of soda of the car- 
bonate ; and the three substances employed are therefore required in the pro- 
portion of their equivalents. This is almost exactly the case in the formula, the 
nitrate being very slightly in excess, and the carbonate about in the same pro- 
portion deficient. 
Arseniate of soda is in colourless, transparent crystals, soluble in two parts of 
water (Squire), of a somewhat saline taste leaving a slight sense of acrimony, 
and with an alkaline reaction. Heated to 300° it melts, and loses its water of 
crystallization and 40'38 percent, of its weight. “A solution of 10 grains of the 
residue, treated with 5'3 measures of the volumetric solution of soda, continues 
to give a precipitate with the volumetric solution of nitrate of silver until 
161‘3 measures of the latter have been added.” (Br.) In this test the soda is 
added in order that, by the decomposition of the nitrate of silver, one additional 
eq. of oxide of silver may be furnished, so as, with the two eqs. given up in ex- 
change for the two eqs. of soda of the arseniate of soda, to make up the three 
eqs. necessary for the formation of the arseniate of silver (3Ag0,As05). The 
precipitate is arseniate of silver, and the quantity precipitated should be equiva- 
lent to 6T6 grains of arsenic acid. Its aqueous solution gives white precipitates 
with chloride of barium, chloride of calcium, and sulphate of zinc (arseniates of 
baryta, lime, and zinc), and a brick-red precipitate with nitrate of silver (arseni- 
ate of silver). 
Arseniate of soda is composed of two eqs. of soda 62, one eq. of basic water 
9, one eq. of arsenic acid 115, and fourteen eqs. of water of crystallization 126=s 
312; arsenic acid being tribasic. Its formula, therefore, is 2NaO,HO,AsO.-f- 
14KO. 
In medical properties this salt agrees with the other preparations of arsenic 
(see Acidum Arseniosum), and may be employed for the same purposes. It is 
preferred by some, under the impression that it is milder than the arsenious 
acid or the arsenites; and, in the same dose, it certainly contains somewhat less 
metallic arsenic. The dose of the crystallized salt is stated at from one-twelfth 
to one-third of a grain ; but it is generally prescribed in the form of solution. 
(See Liquor Sodae Arseniatis.) This may be made extemporaneously by dis- 
solving 4 grains of the anhydrous or 6'5 grains of the crystallized salt in a fluid- 
ounce of distilled water. Pearson's arsenical solution is an aqueous solution PART II. 
Soda, 
1333 
of arseniate of soda, containing one grain of the salt in a fluidounce, and there- 
fore much weaker than the officinal solution. 
Off. Prep. Liquor Sodm Arseniatis, Br. W. 
SODiE BICARBONAS. U.S., Br. Bicarbonate of Soda. 
“Take of Carbonate of Soda a convenient quantity. Put the Carbonate, pre- 
viously broken in pieces, into a wooden box, having a horizontal partition near the 
bottom pierced with numerous small holes, and a cover which can be tightly fitted 
on. To a bottle having two tubulures, and half filled with water, adapt two tubes, 
the first passing from an apparatus for generating carbonic acid, through one tubu- 
lure, to a point below the surface of the water in the bottle ; the second reaching 
from the other tubulure to an opening near the bottom of the box, beneath the 
partition. Then lute all the joints, and cause a stream of carbonic acid to pass 
through the water into the box until the Carbonate is fully saturated. Lastly, 
remove the product from the box, and, having dried it, rub it into powder. Car- 
bonic acid may be obtained from Marble by the addition of dilute Sulphuric 
Acid.” U. S. 
“Take of Carbonate of Soda two pounds [avoirdupois]; Dried Carbonate 
of Soda three pounds [avoird.]; White Marble, in fragments, four pounds 
[avoird.]; Hydrochloric Acid of Commerce one gallon [Imperial measure]; 
Water two gallons [Imp. meas.] ; Distilled Water a sufficiency. Fill with the 
Marble a tubulated glass bottle having a few small holes drilled in the bottom, 
connect the tubulure tightly by a bent tube and corks with an empty two-necked 
bottle, and connect this with another bottle filled with the Carbonates of Soda 
well triturated together, and let the tube be long enough to reach the bottom of 
the bottle. Before fixing the cork in the bottle containing the Carbonate of 
Soda, partially immerse the bottle containing the Marble in the Hydrochloric 
Acid previously diluted with the Water and placed in any convenient vessel. 
When the whole apparatus is filled with carbonic acid gas, fix in tightly the 
cork of the bottle containing the carbonate of soda, and let the action go on 
until the gas ceases to be absorbed. Agitate occasionally for half an hour the 
damp salt which is formed, with half its weight of cold Distilled Water, drain 
the undissolved portion, and dry it by exposure to the air on filtering paper 
placed on porous bricks.” Br. 
The object of these processes is to unite the soda with an additional equiva- 
lent of carbonic acid, whereby it becomes converted into the bicarbonate. 
The process adopted in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, since 1840, is that which 
has been practised for many years in the United States, and was described in 
1830, by Dr. Franklin R. Smith, in the first volume of the Journal of the Phila- 
delphia College of Pharmacy. This process is attributed to Dr. Smith by Sou- 
beiran, who characterizes it as the best that can be employed. It was adopted in 
the French Codex on its revision of 1831. A stream of carbonic acid, freed from 
any accompanying impurity by passing through water in the intervening bottle, 
is conducted into a suitable vessel, containing the crystallized carbonate placed 
on a diaphragm, pierced with numerous holes. As the bicarbonate combines 
with much less water of crystallization than is contained in the carbonate, it fol- 
lows that, during the progress of the saturation of the carbonate, a considerable 
quantity of water is liberated. This water would finally dissolve a portion of the 
bicarbonate formed, were it not for the pierced diaphragm, through which it is 
allowed to drain off holding in solution a part of the carbonate. When the satu- 
ration is completed, the pieces of crystals, still supported on the diaphragm, are 
found to have retained their original form, but to have become opaque and of a 
porous texture. The necessary carbonic acid for forming the bicarbonate may 
be economically obtained from other processes in which this acid is evolved; as, 
for example, from the process for making tartaric acid, in which tartrate of lime 
is formed from cream of tartar by the addition of carbonate of lime. Soda. 
PART II. 
The British process is that of Berzelius. In the TJ. S. process, the excess of 
water over the quantity necessary for the bicarbonate is allowed to drain off; but 
it holds a certain portion of carbonate in solution, which thus escapes the action 
of the carbonic acid. To avoid this result it is only necessary to prepare a car- 
bonate containing just sufficient water of crystallization to accommodate the bi- 
carbonate; and the process recommended by Berzelius accomplishes that pur- 
pose. Thus, the salt which he prepares to be submitted to the carbonic acid, is 
an intimate mixture, in fine powder, of four parts of effloresced carbonate, with 
one of the crystallized salt. The proportion adopted by the Br. Pharmacopoeia 
is different, namely, three parts of the dried carbonate to two of the crystallized 
carbonate; and is such as to afford an excess of water over that required to 
constitute the bicarbonate. Hence this process furnishes a damp salt, which is 
first washed with a small portion of water to free it from any remaining carbo- 
nate, and then dried in the air without heat. The apparatus employed for ob- 
taining the carbonic acid is precisely the self-regulating generator, devised by 
Dr. Hare on the principle of Gay-Lussac’s. The empty bottle, placed between 
the generating apparatus and that containing the salt, is intended, as in the U. S. 
process, to detain any impurity which may be carried over with the stream of 
carbonic acid. 
Artus has given a process for obtaining bicarbonate of soda, similar to that of 
Wohler for forming the corresponding salt of potassa. (See Potassae Bicar- 
bonas.) In this process, the effloresced carbonate, mixed with half its weight of 
freshly ignited and finely powdered charcoal, is saturated by a stream of car- 
bonic acid, derived from the fermentation of sugar. The presence of the char- 
coal greatly promotes the absorption. (Pharm. Gent. Blatt, 1843, p. 254.) 
We are informed that much bicarbonate of soda is now prepared in breweries, 
in the same manner as bicarbonate of potassa or sal aeratus, by placing the car- 
bonate in suitable vessels over the fermenting beer in the vats, so as to be con- 
stantly immersed in an atmosphere of carbonic acid. It is sold under the same 
name as the analogous salt of potassa; but is sometimes distinguished as the 
soda sal aeratus. 
Properties, &c. As obtained by the TJ. S. formula, bicarbonate of soda is in 
opaque, porous masses, made up of numerous, aggregated crystalline grains, hav- 
ing a snow-white colour. For the convenience of the apothecary these masses 
are reduced to powder. As procured by the Br. process, it is in small, white, 
opaque, irregular scales. Bicarbonate of soda is permanent in the air, aud slightly 
alkaline to the taste and to turmeric paper. It is soluble in thirteen parts of cold 
water. When the solution is exposed to heat, the salt gradually parts with car- 
bonic acid, and, at the temperature of 212°, is converted into sesquicarbonate. 
At a red heat, the water of crystallization and the second equivalent of carbonic 
acid, amounting together to 37 percent., are expelled, and the anhydrous carbon- 
ate is left. One eq., or 84'3 parts of the crystallized bicarbonate, should lose, on 
complete decomposition by dilute sulphuric acid, two eqs. or 44 parts of carbonic 
acid, equal to 52 1 per cent. The salt is seldom so perfect as to satisfy this 
test; as good commercial samples generally contain from 2 to 3 per cent, of car- 
bonate. “Eighty-four grains, exposed to a red heat, leave 53 of an alkaline 
residue, which require for neutralization 100 measures of thq volumetric solution 
of oxalic acid.” Br. This is almost the precise proportion of carbouate of soda, 
which the bicarbonate should yield when deprived of its water and one eq. of 
carbonic acid. The presence of carbonate may be known by a decided alkaline 
taste and reaction, by a cold solution of the salt yielding a precipitate with sul- 
phate of magnesia, and by a solution in 40 parts of water, affording, without 
agitation, an orange-coloured or reddish-brown precipitate with corrosive sub- 
limate. The pure bicarbonate is not precipitated by bichloride of platinum, nor, 
when treated with nitric acid in excess, by chloride of barium or nitrate of silver. PAUT II. 
Soda. 
1335 
The non-action of these tests shows the absence of salts of potassa, and of sul- 
phates and chlorides. The incompatibles of this salt are the same as those else- 
where mentioned of the carbonate, except sulphate of magnesia in the cold, which 
decomposes the carbonate, but not the bicarbonate. 
Composition. Bicarbonate of soda, when perfect, consists of two eqs. of car- 
bonic acid 44, one of soda 31 3, and one of water 9=843. The London College 
formerly prepared this salt by a faulty process, and gave it the name of sesqui- 
carbonate. In its Pharmacopoeia of 1851, it placed the salt, under the correct 
name of bicarbonate, in the catalogue of Materia Medica; where, perhaps, it 
would properly stand, as it is now prepared in great perfection on a large scale. 
Medical Properties. This salt has the general medical properties of the 
carbonate ; but, from its mild taste and less irritating qualities, proves more 
acceptable to the palate and stomach. It is often resorted to in calculous cases, 
characterized by excess of uric acid. The continued use of the carbonate, in 
these cases, is liable to induce phosphatic deposits, after the removal of the uric 
acid. According to D’Arcet, who made the observation at the springs of Vichy, 
this objection does not apply to the bicarbonate, especially when taken in car- 
bonic acid water; for this salt, by its superabundant acid, has the power of 
maintaining the phosphates in solution, even after the alkali has caused the uric 
acid to disappear. The same remark is applicable to the bicarbonate of potassa. 
Bicarbonate of soda has been given in infantile croup, with apparent advantage 
in promoting the expulsion of the false membrane, in the dose of a grain every 
five minutes, dissolved in milk and water. Dr. Lemaire has proposed it as an 
antiphlogistic remedy in the treatment of pneumonia, membranous angina, and 
croup, supposing it to act on the principle of removing from the blood the ex- 
cess of fibrin, which exists in that liquid in inflammation. Its utility in mem- 
branous angina has been confirmed by M. Marchal (de Calvi). According to 
M. Jeannel, the use of bicarbonate of soda lessens the sugar in the urine of dia- 
betic patients. The dose for an adult is from ten grains to a drachm, and is 
taken most conveniently in a glass of carbonic acid water. When given in an- 
gina, fifteen grains may be administered every half hour in a tablespoonful of 
water. This salt is principally consumed in making soda and Seidlitz powders. 
(See pages 1305, 1306.) It is sometimes made into lozenges. (See Trochiscr 
Sodee Picarbonatis.) 
Pharm. Uses. In the preparation of Aqua Acidi Carbonici, U. S. 
Off. Prep. Pulveres Effervescentes, U. S.; Pulveres Effervescentes Aperientes, 
U. S.; Trochisci Sodae Bicarbonatis, U. S. B. 
SOD2E CARBONAS EXSICCATA, U.S.,Br. Dried Carbonate of 
Soda. 
“Take of Carbonate of Soda a convenient quantity. Expose it to heat in an 
iron vessel, until it is thoroughly dried, stirring constantly with an iron spatula ; 
then rub it into powder.” U. S. 
“ Take of Carbonate of Soda eight ounces. Expose the Carbonate of Soda 
in a porcelain capsule to a rather strong sand heat, until the liquid which first 
forms is converted into a dry cake, and, having rubbed this to powder, enclose it 
in a stoppered bottle.” Br. 
Carbonate of soda contains ten equivalents of water of crystallization, and, 
when heated, readily undergoes the watery fusion. Upon continuing the heat, 
the water is dried off, and a white porous mass remains, which is easily reduced 
to powder. Dried carbonate of soda is in the form of a white powder, and dif- 
fers iu nothing from the crystallized, except in being devoid of water of crystal- 
lization. (See Sodae Carbonas.) When decomposed by dilute sulphuric acid, it 
evolves 40 A per cent, of carbonic acid. (Lond. Pharm.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. This preparation was introduced into practice 
by Dr. Beddoes, who extolled its virtues in calculous complaints. It is applica Soda. 
PART II. 
b.e to the cure of such affections, only when dependent on a morbid secretion 
uric acid. Its advantage over the common carbonate is that it admits of being 
made into pills, in consequence of being in the dried state. As the water of crys- 
tallization forms more than half of the carbonate, the dose of the dried salt must 
be reduced in proportion. From five to fifteen grains may be given three times 
a day, in the form of pill prepared with soap and aromatics. For the medical 
properties of this salt see Sodas Carbonas. 
Off. Prep. Sodae Arsenias, Br.; Sodae Bicarbonas, Br. B. 
SODiE PIIOSPHAS. U. S., Br. Phosphate of Soda. Medicinal Tri- 
basic Phosphate of Soda. 
“ Take of Bone, calcined to whiteness and in fine powder, one hundred and 
twenty troyounces; Sulphuric Acid seventy-two Iroyounces; Carbonate of Soda, 
Water, each, a sufficient quantity. Mix the powder with the Sulphuric Acid in 
an earthen vessel; then add eight pints of Water, and, having stirred the mixture 
thoroughly, digest for three days, occasionally adding a little Water to replace 
that which is lost by evaporation, and frequently stirring the mixture. At the 
expiration of that time, pour in eight pints of boiling Water, and strain through 
muslin, gradually adding more boiling Water until the liquid passes nearly taste- 
less. Set by the strained liquor that the dregs may subside, and, having poured 
©ff the clear solution, boil it down to eight pints. To the concentrated liquid, 
poured off from the newly formed dregs and heated in an iron vessel, add by 
degrees Carbonate of Soda, previously dissolved in hot Water, until effervescence 
ceases, and the phosphoric acid is completely saturated; then filter the liquid, 
and set it aside to crystallize. Having removed the crystals, add, if necessary, 
a small quantity of Carbonate of Soda to the liquid, so as to render it slightly 
alkaline ; then alternately evaporate and crystallize, so long as crystals are pro- 
duced. Lastly, keep the crystals in a well-stopped bottle.” U. S. 
“ Take of Bone Ash, in powder, ten pounds [avoirdupois]; Sulphuric Acid 
of Commerce fifty-six fluidounces; Distilled Water four gallons and a half 
[Imperial measure], or a sufficiency; Carbonate of Soda sixteen pounds 
[avoird.], or a sufficiency. Place the Bone Ash in a capacious earthenware 
or leaden vessel, pour on the Sulphuric Acid, and stir with a glass rod until the 
whole powder is thoroughly moistened. After twenty-four hours, add gradually 
and with constant stirring a gallon [Imp. meas.] of the Water; digest for forty- 
eight hours, adding Distilled Water from time to time to replace what has evapo- 
rated. Add another gallon [Imp. meas.] of the Water, stirring diligently, digest 
for an hour, filter through calico, and wash what remains on the filter with suc- 
cessive portions of Distilled Water, till it has almost ceased to have an acid re- 
action. Concentrate the filtrate to a gallon, let it rest for twenty-four hours, 
and filter again. Heat the filtrate to near the boiling point, add the Carbonate 
of Soda previously dissolved in two gallons [Imp. meas.] of the Water, till it 
ceases to form a precipitate, and the fluid has acquired a feeble alkaline reaction. 
Filter through calico, evaporate the clear liquor till a film forms on the surface, 
and set it aside to crystallize. More crystals will be obtained by evaporating the 
mother-liquor, a little Carbonate of Soda being added if necessary to maintain 
its alkalinity. Dry the crystals rapidly, and without heat, on filtering paper 
placed on porous bricks, and preserve them in stoppered bottles.” Br. 
The incombustible part of bones is obtained by burning them to whiteness, 
and consists of a peculiar phosphate of lime, called bone-phosphate, associated 
with some carbonate of lime, &c. (See Os.) When this is mixed with sulphuric 
acid, the carbonate of lime is entirely decomposed, giving rise to effervescence. 
The phosphate of lime undergoes partial decomposition; the greater part of the 
lime, being detached, precipitates as sulphate of lime, while the phosphoric acid, 
set free, combines with the undecomposed portion of the phosphate, and remains 
in solution as a superphosphate of lime, holding dissolved a small portion of the PAKT II. 
Soda. 
1337 
sulphate of lime. In order to separate the superphosphate from the precipitated 
mass of sulphate of lime, boiling water is added to the mixture, the whole is 
strained, and the sulphate washed as long as superphosphate is removed, which 
is known by the water passing through in an acid state. The different liquids 
which have passed the strainer, consisting of the solution of superphosphate oi 
lime, are mixed and allowed to stand; and by cooling a portion of sulphate oi 
lime is deposited, which is got rid of by decantation. The bulk of the liquid is 
now reduced by evaporation, and, in consequence of the diminution of the 
water, a fresh portion of sulphate of lime is deposited, which is separated by 
subsidence and decantation as before. The superphosphate of lime solution, 
being heated, is now saturated by means of a hot solution of carbonate of soda. 
The carbonic acid is extricated with effervescence, and the alkali, combining 
with the excess of acid of the superphosphate, generates one variety of the tri- 
basic phosphate of soda; while the superphosphate of lime, by the loss of its 
excess of acid, becomes the neutral phosphate and precipitates. The phosphate 
of lime is separated by a new filtration; and the filtered liquor, which is a solu- 
tion of phosphate of soda, is evaporated so as to crystallize. 
In the U. S. process, the calcined bone is to the acid as 10 to 6; in the Br. 
process as 10 to 6| nearly. The proportion recommended by Berzelius is as 1C 
to 666. The acid, in the officinal processes, is added to the calcined bone in 
the concentrated state, and afterwards diluted with more or less water. In the 
process given by Berzelius it is first diluted with twelve times its weight oi 
water. All the writers state that phosphate of soda crystallizes more readily by 
allowing its solution to be slightly alkaline; and a remarkable fact is that a 
neutral solution, when it crystallizes, leaves a supernatant liquid which is slightly 
acid and uncrystallizable. Hence it is necessary, after getting each successive 
crop of crystals, to render the mother-water neutral or slightly alkaline, before 
it will furnish an additional quantity. 
M. Funcke, a German chemist, has given the following cheap and expeditious 
method for obtaining phosphate of soda. To the powdered calcined bone, dif- 
fused in water, sufficient dilute sulphuric acid is added to decompose all the car- 
bonate of lime which it contains. When the effervescence ceases, the matter is 
treated with nitric acid, which dissolves the phosphate of lime, and leaves the 
sulphate. The nitric solution of the phosphate is then treated with sulphate of 
soda, equal in quantity to the bone employed; and, after the reaction is com- 
pleted, the nitric acid is recovered by distillation. In consequence of a double 
decomposition, sulphate of lime and phosphate of soda are formed, the latter of 
which is separated by water, and crystallized in the usual manner. 
Properties, &c. The medicinal phosphate of soda is in large colourless crys- 
tals, which have the shape of oblique rhombic prisms. They are transparent at 
first, but speedily effloresce and become opaque when exposed to the air. It 
possesses a pure saline taste, resembling that of common salt. With tests it dis- 
plays an alkaline reaction. It dissolves in four parts of cold, and in two of boil- 
ing water, but is insoluble in alcohol. Before the blowpipe it first undergoes 
the aqueous fusion, and afterwards, at a red heat, melts into a globule of limpid 
glass, which becomes opaque on cooling. It is not liable to adulteration, but 
sometimes contains carbonate of soda, from this salt having been added in excess 
in its preparation; in which case it will effervesce with ac.ids. If it contain sul- 
ohate of soda, or any other soluble sulphate, the precipitate caused by chloride 
of barium will be a mixture of sulphate and phosphate of baryta, and will not 
be totally soluble in nitric acid. Chloride of barium will detect carbonate of 
soda also, by producing a precipitate (carbonate of baryta), soluble with effer- 
vescence in nitric acid. If a chloride be present, the yellow precipitate caused 
by nitrate of silver will be a mixed one of chloride and phosphate of silver, not 
entirely soluble in the same acid. The salt is incompatible with soluble salts of 1338 
Soda. 
part ii. 
lime, vdth which it gives a precipitate of phosphate of lime, and with neutral 
metallic solutions. It is found in several of the animal secretions, particularly 
the urine. 
The medicinal phosphate of soda is one of the three tribasic phosphates of 
soda, characterized by having its three bases, made up of two eqs. of soda and 
one of*water. When crystallized, it consists of two eqs. of soda 62 6, one of ba- 
sic water 9, one of phosphoric acid 12, and twenty-four of water of crystalliza- 
tion 216 = 359 6. Its formula is, therefore, 2Na0,H0,P05-f 24HO. When 
gently heated it loses its water of crystallization; and at a red heat its basic 
water is driven off, and the salt is converted into pyrophosphate of soda, or that 
variety of bibasic phosphate which has the formula 2NaO,POs. This bibasic 
phosphate is characterized by giving a white precipitate with nitrate of silver. 
When the medicinal salt is thus dried and ignited, it loses 63 per cent, of its 
weight; and the residue, dissolved in water, gives with chloride of barium a pre- 
cipitate entirely soluble in dilute nitric acid. (Br.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Phosphate of soda was introduced into prac- 
tice, about the year 1800, by the late Dr. Pearson, of Loudon. It is a mild pur- 
gative, and, from its pure saline taste, is well adapted to the cases of children, 
and of persons of delicate stomach. The dose is from one to two ounces, and is 
best given in gruel or weak broth, to which it gives a taste, as if seasoned with 
common salt. 
Off. Prep. Ferri Phosphas; Ferri Pyrophosphas, U. S.; Syrupus Ferri Phos- 
phatis, Br. B. 
SODiE YALERIANAS. U.S. Valerianate of Soda. Br. Appendix. 
“ Take of Bichromate of Potassa, in fine powder, ten troyounces; Sulphuric 
Acid fourteen troyounces; Amylic Alcohol four fluidounces; Water four 
pints; Solution of Soda a sufficient quantity. Dissolve the Bichromate, with 
the aid of heat, in three pints of the Water, and add to the solution seven troy- 
ounces of the Sulphuric Acid, previously diluted with the remainder of the 
Water. Pour the liquid into a tubulated retort, to which a receiver is attached 
without luting. Mix the Amylic Alcohol with the remainder of the Sulphuric 
Acid, gradually added, and, by means of a funnel-shaped tube, passing through 
a cork in the tubulure of the retort and dipping into the liquid, introduce the 
mixture, when cool, into the retort, in small portions at a time, until it is all 
added. Return to the retort any liquid which may have spontaneously distilled 
over, and agitate the whole until the reaction has subsided, and the temperature 
has fallen to about 100°. Then, by means of a sand-bath, distil the liquid neany 
to dryness. Introduce the distilled liquid into a capacious glass matrass, and 
add to it Solution of Soda, with frequent agitation, until it is accurately satu- 
rated. Separate the oil that floats on the liquid, and evaporate the latter until 
aqueous vapour ceases to escape, and nothing remains but the salt in a state 
of fusion. Lastly, pour the fused salt on a porcelain slab, and, after it has 
concreted, break the mass while yet warm in pieces, and keep these in a well- 
stopped bottle.” U. S. 
“Take of Solution of Soda a sufficiency; Fousel Oil four fluidounces [Im- 
perial measure]; Bichromate of Potash nine ounces [avoirdupois] ; Sulphuric 
Acid six fluidounces and a half [Imp. meas.] ; Distilled Water half a gallon. 
Dilute the Sulphuric Acid with ten fluidounces of the Water, and dissolve the 
Bichromate of Potash in the remainder with the aid of heat. When both liquids 
are cold, mix them with the Fousel Oil in a matrass with occasional brisk agita- 
tion until the temperature of the mixture has fallen to about 90°. Connect the 
matrass with a condenser, and distil until about half a gallon of liquid has passed 
over. Saturate the distilled liquid accurately with the Solution of Soda, remove 
any oil which floats on the surface, evaporate till watery vapour ceases to escape, 
and then raise the heat cautiously so as to liquefy the salt. When the product PART II. 
Soda.—Spiritus. 
1339 
has cooled and solidified, break it into pieces, and immediately put it into a 
stoppered bottle.” Br. 
These processes are essentially the same as that of the late Dublin Phar- 
macopceia, into which the preparation was introduced in 1850. They consist of 
two steps; first, the artificial formation of valerianic acid, and secondly, the 
saturation of this acid with caustic soda. By distilling fusel oil with a mix- 
ture of sulphuric acid and bichromate of potassa, valerianic acid is formed, and 
passes over with water. The change is effected by the oxidizing agency of the 
chromic acid of the bichromate; for when fusel oil loses two eqs. of hydrogen 
by oxidation, and gains two of oxygen, it is converted into valerianic acid. 
Thus, C10HnO-f HO and 40 = C10H9O3-f.HO and 2HO. (See Potassee Bi- 
chromas and Alcohol Amylicum.) The distillate, by exact saturation with the 
solution of caustic soda, is converted into a solution of valerianate of soda, 
which, by the application of heat until the water is driven off, and the residual 
matter is partially liquefied, furnishes, on cooling, the concrete salt. The small 
portion of oil that floats on the surface of the solution is valerianate of amylic 
ether (C10HuO,C10H9O3). 
Properties, &c. Valerianate of soda is a deliquescent, very soluble salt, in 
snow-white masses, having the disagreeable odour of valerianic acid, and a taste 
at first styptic, but afterwards sweetish. When heated to 285°, it fuses without 
loss of acid, and, upon cooling, concretes into a white solid. The salt, as offici- 
nally ordered, is in the form produced by fusion. It consists of one eq. of vale- 
rianic acid and one of soda (NaO,C10H9O3). It has no medical applications, 
having been introduced into the Dublin officinal catalogue for the sole purpose 
of forming, by double decomposition, the valerianates of iron, quinia, and zinc, 
and retained in the U. S. and Br. Pharmacopoeias for the preparation of the 
last-mentioned salt. 
Off. Prep. Zinci Valerianas. B. 
SPIRITUS. 
/Spirits. 
Spirits, as the term is here used, are alcoholic solutions of volatile principles, 
formerly in general procured by distillation, but now frequently prepared by 
simply dissolving the volatile principle in alcohol or diluted alcohol. The dis- 
tilled spirits are prepared chiefly from aromatic vegetable substances, the essen- 
tial oils of which rise with the vapour of alcohol, and condense with it in the 
receiver. Some of the oils, however, will not rise at the temperature of boiling 
alcohol, but may be distilled with water. In this case, it is necessary to employ 
proof spirit or diluted alcohol, with the water of which the oil comes over in the 
latter part of the process. As the proof spirit of the shops is often impregnated 
with foreign matters, which give it an unpleasant flavour, it is better to use al- 
cohol which has been carefully rectified, and to dilute it with the due proportion 
of water, as directed by the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. In preparing the spirits, care 
should be taken to avoid the colour and empyreumatic flavour arising from the 
decomposition of the vegetable matter by heat. Sufficient water must, therefore, 
be added to cover the vegetable matter after the alcohol shall have been distilled; 
and, as a general rule, the heat should be applied by means of a water-bath, or 
of steam. The aromatic should be macerated for some days with the alcohol, 
before being submitted to distillation ; as the oil, being thus dissolved, rises more 
readily with the spirituous vapour than when confined in the vegetable tissue. 
It is necessary, during the process, frequently to renew the water in the refrige- 
ratory; as otherwise much of the vapour will escape condensation. A good 
apparatus for the purpose is described and figured in page 889. 1340 
Spiritus. 
PART II. 
The aromatic spirits are used chiefly to impart a pleasant odour and taste to 
mixtures, and to correct the nauseating and griping effects of other medicines. 
They serve also as carminatives in flatulent colic, and agreeable stimulants in 
debility of stomach; but their frequent use may lead to the formation of intem- 
perate habits, and should, therefore, be avoided. 
We follow the example of the Pharmacopoeias, in considering in the present 
class several articles, which, though with the title of spirit, were formerly ar- 
ranged with the substances which constitute their active ingredients, as the 
spirits of ammonia, ether, and nitrous ether. The Spirits, formerly officinal, which 
have been omitted in the present U. S. and Br. Pharmacopoeias, are Spiritus 
Garui, Lond., Ed., Spiritus Cassise, Ed., and Spiritus Pulegii, Lond. W. 
SPIRITUS JETHERIS. Br. Spirit of Ether. 
“Take of Ether ten fluidounces; Rectified Spirit one pint [Imperial mea- 
sure]. Mix. The specific gravity 0'809.” Br. 
This preparation is merely ether, diluted with twice its volume of alcohol. 
When prepared with materials of proper strength, its sp. gr. is 0’809. Its medi- 
cal properties are similar to those of ether. The dose is from one to three flui- 
drachms, given with a sufficient quantity of sweetened water. 
Off. Prep. Tinctura, Lobelias iEtherea, Br. B. 
SPIRITUS iETHERIS COMPOSITUS. U.S. Compound Spirit of 
Ether. Hoffmanns Anodyne Liquor. 
“Take of Ether half a pint; Alcohol a pint; Ethereal Oil six fluidrachms. 
Mix them.” U. S. 
This preparation is an alcoholic solution of ether, impregnated with heavy oil 
of wine. In the formula, determinate measures of ether, alcohol, and oil are taken, 
the ether having half the volume of the alcohol. The proportion of ethereal oil 
has been doubled in the present edition of the IT. S. Pharmacopoeia; but as the 
oil, as now prepared, is diluted with its bulk of ether, the oleaginous strength 
of the compound spirit is really the same. In the late revision of the British 
Pharmacopoeias, and their consolidation into one, this preparation has been 
omitted; unfortunately, we think, as there is scarcely a doubt that the influence 
of the ether, as a composing medicine in nervous disorder, is much increased by 
the oil of wine. 
Compound spirit of ether is a colourless, volatile liquid, having a burning, 
slightly sweetish taste, and the peculiar odour of ethereal oil. If it has an em- 
pyreumatic odour, it has been badly prepared. Its sp. gr. is 0-815, according to 
the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. When pure it is wholly volatilized by heat, and devoid 
of acid reaction. It becomes milky on being mixed with water, owing to the 
precipitation of the ethereal oil; but this change does not prove its goodness, 
as the same property may be given to the spirit of sulphuric ether by the addi- 
tion of various fixed oils. This sophistication may be detected, according to 
Prof. Procter, by mixing the suspected preparation with water, drawing a piece 
of paper over the surface of the liquid to absorb the oily globules, and exposing 
the paper to heat. If the globules are fixed oil, the greasy stain will remain ; if 
ethereal oil, the stain will disappear. When fixed oils are used to adulterate 
this preparation, the milkiness is generally too great, and not like the transpa- 
rent, leaden milkiness of the genuine article. {Dr. Squibb.) “It gives only a 
slight cloudiness with chloride of barium; but when a fluidounce of it is evapo- 
rated to dryness with an excess of this test, it yields a precipitate [residue] of 
sulphate of baryta, which, when washed and dried, weighs 6 25 grains. When 
a few drops are burned on glass or porcelain, there is no visible residue, but the 
surface will be left with an acid taste and reaction. A pint of water, by the ad 
mixture of forty drops, is rendered slightly opalescent.” U. S. 
It is much to be regretted that our manufacturing chemists do not follow the Spiritus. 
PART II. 
Pharmacopoeia in making Hoffmann’s anodyne. In rectifying crude ether, the 
distillation is continued as long as the ether comes over of the proper specific 
gravity; after which, the manufacturer has been in the habit of changing the 
receiver, and obtaining an additional distillate, consisting of ether and alcohol, 
impregnated with a little ethereal oil. Now it is this second distillate, variously 
modified by the addition of alcohol, ether, or water, so as to make it conform in 
taste, smell, opalescence, &c. to a standard preparation, kept by the manufac- 
turer, that is sold as Hoffmann’s anodyne. (See Prof. Procter’s paper on Hoff- 
mann’s anodyne in the Am. Journ. ofPharm. for July, 1852, p. 213.) Nothing 
could be more uncertain in its results than a proceeding like this; and we can- 
not be surprised that the medicine, as obtained from different apothecaries, varies 
very much in properties, and often disappoints the expectations of the physician. 
The chief excuse for the departure from the officinal directions is the costliness 
of the ethereal oil; but were this much greater than it really is, the excuse would 
not be valid ; and it cannot be justified, on any principle of morality, to sell under 
the officinal title a preparation which has no claim to it whatever. 
Medical Properties. This preparation is intended as a substitute for the ano- 
dyne liquor of Hoffmann, which it closely resembles when properly prepared. In 
addition to the stimulating and antispasinodic qualities of the ether which it con- 
tains, it possesses anodyne properties, highly useful in nervous irritation, and 
want of sleep from this cause. These additional virtues are probably derived 
from the officinal oil of wine, which is a more important substance than is gene- 
rally supposed. Mr. Braude believes that the only effect of it, in the preparation 
under notice, is to alter the flavour of the ether. In this opinion he is certainly 
in error. The late Drs. Physick and Dewees of this city found the officinal oil 
of wine, dissolved in alcohol, very efficacious in certain disturbed states of the 
system, as a tranquillizing and anodyne remedy. Such indeed are the generally 
admitted effects of Hoffmann’s anodyne, when made with a due admixture of the 
ethereal oil. This preparation is on many occasions a useful adjunct to lauda- 
num, to prevent the nausea which is excited by the latter in certain habits. The 
dose is from thirty minims to one or two fluidrachms, given in water sweetened 
with sugar. B. 
SPIRITUS iETIIERIS NITROSI. U.S.,Br. Spiritus JEtheris 
Nitrici. U. S. 1850. Spiritus Nitri Dulcis. Spirit of Nitrous Ether. 
Sweet Spirit of Nitre. 
“ Take of Nitric Acid nineteen troyounces and a half; Stronger Alcohol 
nine pints; Carbonate of Potassa a troyounce. Introduce four pints of the 
Alcohol into a retort, having the capacity of eight pints, aud containing some 
pieces of glass, and add the Nitric Acid. Adapt the retort to Liebig’s con- 
denser, and apply heat by means of a water-bath so arranged that the water 
may be drawn off during the process. When the mixture boils briskly, draw off 
almost all the water of the bath, and allow the distillation to proceed sponta- 
neously until it begins to slacken. Then cautiously reapply heat by means of the 
water-bath, and continue the distillation until four pints of the distilled liquid 
have passed over. Having thrown away the residue, rinse the apparatus thor- 
oughly, return the liquid to the retort, add the Carbonate of Potassa to it, 
agitate the mixture, and again distil by means of a water-bath, slowly at first, 
until three pints and a half of distilled liquid have been obtained. With this 
mix thoroughly the remainder of the Alcohol, and transfer the mixture to half- 
pint bottles, which must be well stopped, and protected from the light. Spirit 
of Nitrous Ether has the sp. gr. 0 837, and contains from 4 3 to 5 per cent, of 
its peculiar ether. It should not be kept long, as it becomes strongly acid by 
age.” U.S. 
“Take of Nitrite of Soda five ounces [avoirdupois] ; Sulphuric Acid four 1342 
Spiritus. 
PART II. 
fluid'mnces; Rectified Spirit two pints. Introduce the Nitrite of Soda into a 
matrass connected with a condenser; pour upon it the Spirit and the Sulphuric 
Acid, previously mixed; and distil thirty-five fluidounces, the receiver being 
kept very cool.” Br* 
The officinal spirit of nitrous ether is a mixture, in variable proportions, of ni- 
trous ether (C4H50,N03) and alcohol (rectified spirit). Nitrous ether is always 
generated by the reaction of nitric acid with alcohol; and it matters not whether 
the alcohol be mixed with nitric acid directly, or with the materials for gene- 
rating it, namely, nitre and sulphuric acid. In the former TJ. S. Pharmacopoeia 
the requisite nitric acid was obtained by using the materials for generating it; 
nitrate of potassa, namely, and sulphuric acid. The formula was modelled after 
a recipe communicated by Mr. John Carter, manufacturing chemist, to the Phila- 
delphia College of Pharmacy, and recommended for adoption by a committee 
of that body.f The nitre and alcohol being mixed in the retort, the sulphuric 
acid was gradually added, and a gentle heat applied. Nitric acid was set free, 
and by reacting with a part of the alcohol produced the nitrous ether. Upon 
the subsequent increase of the heat, the ether and the remainder of the alcohol 
distilled over as sweet spirit of nitre. The distilled product, however, contained 
some acid, and hence was rectified by a distillation from carbonate of potassa. 
Diluted alcohol was added before commencing this distillation, to enable the ope- 
rator to obtain a quantity of distilled product equal to that procured at first, 
without distilling to dryness, which would endanger the production of empy- 
reuma. The alcohol was first mixed with the nitre, in the retort, and the sul- 
phuric acid afterwards gradually added. Had the alcohol and sulphuric acid 
been previously mixed, the risk would have been run of generating ether before 
their addition to the nitre. In repeating this process the retort employed should 
be capable of holding twice the amount of the materials. The sweet spirit of 
nitre, obtained by the old formula, was estimated to contain 4 per cent, in vo- 
lume of nitrous ether. 
The above process, as conducted by Mr. Carter on a large scale, was performed 
in a copper still of about twenty gallons capacity, and furnished with a pewter 
head and worm. The materials for the first distillation were 18 pounds of puri- 
fied nitre, 12 gallons of alcohol of 34° Baume (0'847), and 12 pounds of sulphu- 
ric acid; and 10 gallons were drawn off. The distilled product was then mixed 
with a gallon of diluted alcohol, and rectified by a new distillation from lime or 
a carbonated alkali ; the same quantity being distilled as at first. When large 
* Nitrite of Soda. (Br.) The nitrite of soda used in this formula is directed in the Ap- 
pendix of the Br. Pharmacopoeia among the substances used in the preparing of medicines, 
with the following formula for its preparation. “ Take of Nitrate of Soda one pound 
[avoirdupois]; Charcoal, recently burned, and in fine powder, one ounce and a quarter 
[avoird.]. Mix the Nitrate and the Charcoal thoroughly in a mortar, and drop the mix- 
ture in successive portions into a clay crucible heated to dull redness. When the salt has be- 
come quite white, raise the heat so as to liquefy it, pour it out on a clean flagstone, and, 
when it has solidified, break it into fragments, and keep it in a stoppered bottle.” By this 
process, in theory, the nitric acid of the nitrate of soda, through the influence of charcoal 
aud heat, loses two out of its five eqs. of oxygen, and is thus converted into the nitrous 
acid, which remains in combination with the soda forming the nitrite of soda (NaO,NOs) ! 
used in the process for spirit of nitrous ether. The Pharmacopoeia gives various tests of 
this salt; but, as produced by the Br. process, it is of uncertain composition, containing a 
variable proportion of the proper nitrite, never more than 25 per cent., mixed with un- 
certain quantities of nitrate and carbonate of soda and caustic soda. (Squire, Comp, to Br. 
Pharm., p. 16.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 
y The following is the formula of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia of 1850. “ Take of Nitrate 
of Potassa, in coarse powder, two pounds; Sulphuric Acid a pound and a half; Alcohol nine 
pints and a half; Diluted Alcohol a pint; Carbonate of Potassa an ounce. Mix the Nitrate 
of Potassa and the Alcohol in a large glass retort, and having gradually poured in the 
Acid, digest with a gentle heat for two hours; then raise the heat and distil a gallon. To 
the distilled liquor add the Diluted Alcohol and Carbonate of Potassa, and again distil a 
gallon.” U.S. part II. 
Spiritus. 
1343 
quantities of this preparation are made, the several portions require to be mixed 
in a large glass vessel, to render the whole of uniform strength ; as the por- 
tion which first comes over in the rectification is strongest in hyponitrous ether. 
Previously to the redistillation, the head and worm must be washed thoroughly 
with water, to remove a little acid which comes over in the first distillation 
(Journ. of the Phil. Col. of Pharm., i. 308.) 
In the present U. S. process, which was modelled after the plan of Dr. Squibb, 
the nitric acid and alcohol are directly mixed in a retort containing pieces of 
glass to facilitate ebullition and prevent concussion, and arrangements are made 
for applying heat by means of a water-bath, so that it may be diminished when 
necessary to repress the violence of the reaction, and increased when this requires 
invigoration. The liquid condensed in the receiver is mixed with carbonate of 
potassa, and again distilled in order to free it from the acid which has come over 
with the nitrous ether; and, being too strong with ether to meet the purposes 
required, is diluted with alcohol, and thus brought to the state of spirit of ni- 
trous ether. It is a great improvement over the old formula, and has the merit 
of ensuring a preparation of definite strength. 
The British process is a new one. Instead of using nitric acid either directly 
or by the decomposition of nitre, it substitutes nitrous acid from the nitrite of 
soda, separating it by means of sulphuric acid in the presence of alcohol, and thus 
bringing together the materials for forming the ether more nearly in the condition 
in which they are to exist in the ether when formed. But the intended results are 
not obtained by the process; for the nitrite of soda, as prepared by the British 
formula, is a mixture containing only a small relative proportion of the propel 
nitrite, which, according to Mr. Squire, exists in it in variable quantities from 5 
to 25 per cent., and never exceeding the latter amount; so that the resulting 
spirit of nitrous ether must necessarily be of uncertain strength. Mr. A. J. Ro- 
berts, however, prepared a specimen, in accordance with the Br. formula, using 
the impure nitrite made according to the directions of the Pharmacopoeia, and 
found it to have the sp. gr. 0-840, which approaches closely to that of the offici- 
nal spirit. (Pharm. Journ., Jan. 1865, p. 355.) 
Theory of the Production of Nitrous Ether, &c. One eq. of nitric acid, by 
reacting with one eq. of alcohol, forms one eq. of nitrous acid (formerly byponi- 
trous), one eq. of aldehyd (C4H402), and two eqs. of water. Thus, N05 and C4II, 
02= N03 and C4H402 and 2HO. The nitrous acid, as soon as formed, reacts with 
a second eq. of alcohol, so as to form one eq. of nitrous ether, with separation of 
one eq. of water. It has, however, been shown by Dr. Golding Bird that, when an 
excess of alcohol is used, oxalhydric (saccharic) acid is first formed, and that, 
when the formation of the nitrous ether has nearly ceased, aldehyd appears in the 
distilled product, and simultaneously oxalic acid in the contents of the retort, be- 
fore which time the latter cannot be discovered. All these products result from the 
oxidizing action of the nitric acid upon the alcohol, increasing the proportion of 
oxygen in the substances formed, either by removing the hydrogen, or by ab- 
stracting this element and adding oxygen at the same time. 
Properties of Nitrous Ether. Pure nitrous (hyponitrous) ether is pale-yellow, 
has the smell of apples and Hungary wines, boils at 62° (below 65° Hare), and 
has the sp gr. 0 947 at 60°. The density of its vapour is 2-627. Litmus is not 
affected by it. When it is mixed with an alcoholic solution of potassa, hypo- 
nitrite of potassa and alcohol are formed, without producing a brown colour, 
showing the absence of aldehyd. It is soluble in 48 parts of water, and in all 
proportions in alcohol or rectified spirit. It is highly inflammable, and burns 
with a white flame without residue. The impure ether, as furmerly obtained 
by the Edinburgh and Dublin processes for subsequent dilution to form sweet 
spirit of nitre, boiled at 70°, and had the density of 0 886 at 40°. The specific 
gravity assigned to it by the Edinburgh College was 0-899. Mixed with an 1344 
Spiritus. 
PART II. 
alcoholic solution of potassa, it became dark-brown, with production of aldehyd 
resin. (Seepage 14.) This discoloration showed the presence of aldehyd. When 
kept it became acid in a short time, as shown by litmus; and nitric oxide was 
given off, which often caused the bursting of the bottle. Its tendency to become 
acid was rendered greater by the action of the air, and depended on the absorp- 
tion of oxygen by the aldehyd, which thereby became acetic acid. These facts 
evince the propriety of preserving this ether in small, strong bottles, kept full 
and in a cool place. Nitrous ether consists of one eq. of nitrous acid and one 
of ether, and its formula is C4H50,N03. It was, therefore, improperly called nitric 
ether. Considered as a salt, its proper name is nitrite of ether. In its pure and 
concentrated state it is never used in medicine. 
Properties of Spirit of Nitrous Ether. This is a pale-yellow, volatile liquid, 
of a fragrant ethereal odour, and pungent, aromatic, sweetish, acidulous taste. 
As usually prepared it slightly reddens litmus, but does not cause effervescence 
with carbonate of soda. Its officinal sp. gr. is 0'837, U. S.; 0-843, Br. The 
U. S. preparation contains from 4 3 to 5 per cent, of the proper nitrous ether. 
It keeps well in half-pint bottles, securely stopped with waxed glass stoppers, 
and covered with dark paper; as Dr. Squibb proved by examining some bottles 
thus put up, after the lapse of two years. High density is not necessarily an in- 
dex of deficient strength; since it may arise from the presence of a large pro- 
portion of nitrous ether. When heated by means of a water-bath, the U. S. 
sweet spirit of nitre begins to boil at about 145°. If a test tube, half filled with 
the U. S. spirit, be plunged into water heated to 145°, and held there until its 
contents acquire that temperature, the spirit will begin to boil distinctly on the 
addition of a few small pieces of glass. (U. S.) Sweet spirit of nitre mixes with 
water and alcohol in all proportions. It is very inflammable, and burns with 
a whitish (lame. It should not be kept long, as it always becomes strongly acid 
with age. 
Impurities and Tests. Sweet spirit of nitre is never quite free from aldehyd; 
and, if the distillation be too long continued, it is apt to contain a good deal of 
this substance, which afterwards becomes acetic acid by absorbing oxygen. The 
change goes on rapidly if the preparation be insecurely kept. Aldehyd, if in 
considerable proportion, may be detected by imparting a pungent odour and 
acrid flavour, and by the preparation assuming a brown tint on the addition of 
a weak solution of potassa, owing to the formation of aldehyd resin. The po- 
tassa test, with the best specimens, produces a straw-yellow tint within twelve 
hours. “When mixed with half its volume of officinal solution of potassa, pre- 
viously diluted with an equal measure of distilled water, it assumes a yellow 
colour, which slightly deepens without becoming brown, in twelve hours.” U. S. 
Another test for aldehyd, less reliable, is the addition of an equal volume of sul- 
phuric acid to the sweet spirit of nitre. If the sample be good, the change of 
colour will be slight, and the mixture will be considerably viscid; but if it con- 
tain much aldehyd, it will become dark-coloured. If water or spirit be present 
in undue proportion, the viscidity will be less. (Phillips.) Acetic acid, as well 
as other acids (usually nitrogen acids) that may happen to be present, may be 
discovered by the taste, by their acting on litmus strongly, and by their decom- 
posing the alkaline carbonates or bicarbonates with effervescence. Nitrogen 
acids are known by colouring blue a piece of paper previously dipped into tinc- 
ture of guaiac. These acids operate injuriously by their chemical reactions with 
other substances, when sweet spirit of nitre is prescribed in mixtures. Thus, they 
liberate iodine from iodide of potassium, gradually decolorize compound infusion 
of roses, and, in the compound mixture of iron, hasten the conversion of protox- 
ide of iron into sesquioxide. To obviate these effects, Mr. Harvey, of Leeds, 
keeps sweet spirit of nitre standing on crystals of bicarbonate of potassa, and 
states that, if the preparation be of full strength, no appreciable portion of the PART II. 
Spiritus. 
1345 
alkali will be dissolved.. (Pharm. Journ., Jan. 1842.) When acid sweet spirit of 
nitre is rectified from calcined magnesia, it becomes acid again in a short time; 
but, according to M. Klauer, when rectified from neutral tartrate of potassa, it 
continues unchanged for months. A deep-olive colour with sulphate of protox- 
ide of iron shows the presence of a nitrogen oxide or acid. 
According to Mr. Bastiek, sweet spirit of nitre contains about one-fifth of one 
per cent, of anhydrous hydrocyanic acid, when made from nitrous (hyponitrous) 
ether, formed by impregnating alcohol with nitrous acid, evolved by the action of 
starch on nitric acid, according to the process of Liebig. In making sweet spirit of 
nitre on a large scale, Dr. Squibb found that hydrocyanic acid vapours were pro- 
duced if the heat happened to rise too high, and the ether ceased to be formed. 
Alcohol and water‘are often fraudulently added to sweet spirit of nitre. When 
in undue proportion, they may be detected in the British preparation, as stated 
in the Pharmacopoeia, by agitating it with twice its volume of a saturated solu- 
tion of chloride of calcium. If the sweet spirit of nitre be of the full strength, 
one and a half per cent, of ether will slowly separate, and rise to the surface. 
If less ether or none separate, the presence of too much alcohol and water will 
be indicated. This test is hardly applicable to the U. S. preparation, which is 
weaker than the British. Specific gravity is no criterion of the goodness of the 
preparation as obtained by any formula. The addition of water will raise its 
density; and the same effect will be produced by adding nitrous ether. A high 
density, in connection with deficient ethereal qualities, would of course indicate 
free acids, or an excess of water, or both. A specific gravity lower than the U. S. 
and Br. standard would show the presence of alcohol, either stronger than it 
should be, or in too large a proportion. 
The fraudulent dilution of sweet spirit of nitre with alcohol and water is a 
great evil, considering its extensive use, and valuable remedial properties. Water 
is injurious, not merely as a diluent, but as the most efficient promoter of chemi- 
cal changes. We have been informed that the medicine is variously diluted with 
twice, thrice, and even four times its weight of alcohol and water. In this way 
its ether strength is often reduced to less than half what it should be. Dr. Squibb 
examined six samples of sweet spirit of nitre, five of which were obtained from 
respectable wholesale druggists; and of these one sample contained 3 16 per 
cent, of hyponitrous ether, four between one and two per cent., and one under 
one per cent.; while a standard preparation, made according to the U. S. Phar- 
macopoeia, contained at least 4‘3 per cent. In some shops a strong and a weak 
preparation are kept, to suit the views of customers as to price. Some druggists 
are said to dilute their sweet spirit of nitre, upon the plea that the physician’s 
prescriptions are written in view of the use of a weak preparation ! All these 
evils would be corrected, if the manufacturing chemists of the Union would pre- 
pare it by the formula of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, at the same time adopting 
measures necessary to preserve it from change. A uniform preparation being 
thus furnished to the druggists, all that would be necessary on their part, would 
be to refrain from weakening it by the admixture of alcohol and water. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Sweet spirit of nitre is diaphoretic, diuretic, 
and antispasmodic. It is deservedly much esteemed as a medicine, and is exten- 
sively employed in febrile affections, either alone or in conjunction with tartar 
emetic, for the purpose of promoting the secretions, especially those of sweat and 
urine. It often proves a grateful stimulus to the stomach, relieving nausea and 
removing flatulence, and not unfrequently quiets restlessness and promotes sleep. 
On account of its tendency to the kidneys, it is often conjoined with other 
diuretics, such as squill, digitalis, acetate of potassa, nitre, &c., for the purpose 
of promoting their action in dropsical complaints. Dr. Duncan, of Edinburgh, 
praised a combination of it with a small proportion of aromatic spirit of ammo- 
nia, as eminently diaphoretic and diuretic, and well suited to certain states of Spiritus. 
PART II. 
febrile disease The dose is from thirty minims to a fluidrachm, every two or 
three hours, mixed with a portion of water. When used as a diuretic, it should 
be given in larger doses. 
When the vapour of sweet spirit of nitre is inhaled, it produces, according to 
Mr. D. R. Brown, of Edinburgh, among other symptoms, a leaden-purple colour 
of the lips, mouth, hands, &c., and extreme muscular debility, enduring for hours. 
In his own case, these symptoms were unaccompanied with the slightest effect 
on the brain; but in others the effects were different; headache being invariably 
produced. {Pharm. Journ., March, 1851, p. 456.)* 
Off. Prep. Mistura Glycyrrhizae Composita, XJ. S. B. 
SPIRITUS AMMONITE. U.S. Spirit of Ammonia. 
“ Take of Muriate of Ammonia, in small pieces, Lime, each, twelve troyounces; 
Water six pints; Alcohol twenty fluidounces. Upon the Lime, in a convenient 
vessel, pour a pint of the Water, and stir the mixture so as to bring it to the 
consistence of a smooth paste. Then add the remainder of the Water, and mix 
it well with the Lime. Decant the milky liquid from the gritty sediment into a 
glass retort, of the capacity of sixteen pints, and add the Muriate of Ammonia. 
Place the retort on a sand-bath, and adapt to it a receiver, previously connected 
with a two-pint bottle containing the Alcohol, by means of a glass tube reach- 
ing nearly to the bottom of the bottle. Surround the bottle with ice cold water; 
and apply a gradually increasing heat until ammonia ceases to be given off. 
Lastly, remove the liquid from the bottle, and introduce it into small bottles, 
which must be well stopped.” U. S. 
Spirit of ammonia is now officinal in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia only; the British 
Pharmacopoeia not having adopted it. It is a solution of caustic ammonia in 
rectified spirit. As prepared by the U. S. process of 1850, the ammoniacal gas 
was received in the alcohol and condensed by it; and the proportions of the 
ingredients were so adjusted as to give a preparation containing between 10 and 
11 per cent, of ammonia, and capable of saturating about 30 per cent, of officinal 
sulphuric acid. Accordingly it agreed, as it was intended it should, in ammoni- 
acal strength, with the U. S. Liquor Ammonioe. Its sp. gr. was 0-831, or there- 
abouts. But, in the present officinal process, the materials for the generation 
of ammonia are mixed with a large proportion of water, the vapour of which 
comes over to some extent with the gas, and is condensed along with it. The 
resulting spirit is, therefore, somewhat diluted with water, and to an indefinite 
extent, so that the preparation can have no precise sp. gr.; and, though the whole 
amount obtained contains all the ammonia generated, we have no accurate cri- 
terion of its relative strength. 
Properties. The U. S. spirit of ammonia, formerly called ammoniated alco- 
hol, is a transparent colourless liquid, having a strong ammoniacal odour, and 
acrid taste. When good it does not effervesce with dilute muriatic acid; but, if 
old, or carelessly kept, it is apt to be partially carbonated, as shown by this test 
It, however, absorbs carbonic acid more slowly than Liquor Ammoniae. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Spirit of Ammonia is stimulant and antispas- 
modic, and is given in hysteria, flatulent colic, and nervous debility. It is, how- 
ever, little used internally; the aromatic spirit, which is pleasanter and has simi- 
lar properties, being preferred. The dose of the U. S. preparation is from ten to 
thirty drops in a wineglassful of water. Spirit of ammonia dissolves resins, gum- 
resins, camphor, and the volatile oils; and is a very convenient addition to spi- 
rituous liniments, intended to produce a rubefacient effect. Not more than one 
* In relation to sweet spirit of nitre, the reader is referred to the paper of D. R. Brown, 
of Edinburgh, contained in the Pharm. Journ. (March, 1856, p. 400); also to an instructive 
practical paper by Dr. E. R. Squibb, U. S. Navy, published in the Am. Journ. of Pharm. 
(July, 1856, p. 289), from which we have freely drawn in revising this article. PART II. 
Spiritue. 
1347 
part of the Spirit should, as a general rule, be added to six or eight parts, by 
measure, of the liniment. It enters into no officinal preparation. R. 
SPIRITUS AMMONITE AROMATICUS. U.S., Br. Aromatic Spirit 
of Ammonia. 
“Take of Carbonate of Ammonia a tr oy ounce; Water of Ammonia three 
fluidounces; Oil of Lemons two fluidrachms and a half; Oil of Nutmeg forty 
minims; Oil of Lavender fifteen minims; Alcohol a pint and a half; Water 
a sufficient quantity. Dissolve the Carbonate in the Water of Ammonia, pre- 
viously mixed with four fluidounces of Water. Dissolve the Oils in the Alcohol, 
mix the two solutions, and add sufficient Water to make the whole measure two 
pints.” U. S. 
“ Take of Carbonate of Ammonia eight ounces [avoirdupois]; Strong Solu- 
tion of Ammonia four fluidounces; Volatile Oil of Nutm eg four fluidrachms ; 
Oil of Lemon six fluidrachms; Rectified Spirit six jnnts [Imperial measure] ; 
Water three pints [Imp. meas.]. Mix, and distil seven pints [Imp. meas. ]. 
Sp. gr. 0-870.” Br. 
In both of these formulas carbonate of ammonia and uncombined ammonia 
are used; but they differ in the relative proportion of the materials and the mode 
of conducting the process. The U. S. spirit is a mere solution of the ingredients 
in alcohol diluted with a small proportion of water; while the British contains 
such and so much of the ingredients as may rise in distillation, and be condensed 
with the seven pints of spirit that result. The former is of definite strength, the 
latter more or less indefinite, as a portion of the materials must be left behind. 
The proportion of ammonia to the carbonate (sesquicarbonate) is such as to pro- 
duce a neutral carbonate. The sp. gr. of the Br. preparation is 0'870. 
Medical Properties and. Uses. Aromatic spirit of ammonia is fitted to fulfil 
the same indications as the simple spirit; but is much more used on account of 
its grateful taste and smell. It is advantageously employed as a stimulant ant- 
acid in sick headache. The dose of the U. S. spirit is from thirty drops to a flui- 
drachm, sufficiently diluted with water. Aromatic spirit of ammonia may be use- 
fully added to aperient draughts, to render them less offensive to the stomach; 
but care must be taken not to mix it with incompatible substances; and, in order 
that these may be avoided, it must be recollected that most of the ammonia con- 
tained in it is probably in the state of the neutral carbonate. 
Off.Prep. Tinctura Guaiaci Ammoniata; Tinctura Valerianae Ammoniata. B. 
SPIRITUS ANISI. U. S. Spirit of Anise. 
“Take of Oil of Anise a fluidounce ; Stronger Alcohol fifteen fluidounces. 
Dissolve the Oil in the Stronger Alcohol.” U. S. 
The dose of this preparation, as a stomachic and carminative, is one or two 
fluidrachms. W. 
SPIRITUS ARMORACLZE COMPOSITUS. Br. Compound Spirit 
of Horse-radish. 
“Take of Horse-radish [root], sliced, Bitter Orange Peel, dried, each, twenty 
ounces [avoirdupois] ; Nutmeg, bruised, half an ounce [avoird.]; Proof Spirit 
one gallon [Imperial measure]; Water two pints [Imp. meas.]. Mix, and distil 
a gallon [Imp. meas.] with a moderate heat.” Br. 
This may be used advantageously as an addition to diuretic remedies, in dropsy 
attended with debility, especially in the cases of drunkards. The dose is from one 
to four fluidrachms. W. 
SPIRITUS CAJUPUTI. Br. Spirit of Cajuput. 
“Take of Oil of Cajuput one fluidounce; Rectified Spirit nine fluidounces. 
Dissolve.” Br. 
For an account of the medical properties and uses of oil of cajeput, of which 1348 
Spiritus. 
part n. 
this is simply an alcoholic solution, see Oleum Cajuputi, in Part I. The dose of 
the spirit is from 10 minims to a fluidrachm. W 
SPIRITUS CAMPIIORJE. U.S.,Br. Spirit of Camphor. Tinctura 
CampiiortE. U. S. 1850. Tincture of Camphor. 
“Take of Camphor four troyounces; Alcohol two pints. Dissolve the Cam- 
phor in the Alcohol, and filter through paper.” TJ. S. 
“Take of Camphor one ounce [avoirdupois]; Rectified Spirit nine fluid- 
ounces. Dissolve.” Br. 
This is precisely the U. S. Tincture of Camphor of 1850, with a changed 
name. It is used chiefly as an anodyne embrocation in rheumatic and gouty 
pains, chilblains, arid the inflammation resulting from sprains and bruises. It 
may also be employed internally, due regard being paid to the stimulant proper- 
ties of the alcohol. The camphor is precipitated by the addition of water, but 
may be suspended by the intervention of sugar. The dose is from five drops to 
a fluidrachm, first added to sugar, and then mixed with water. W. 
SPIRITUS CHLOROFORMI. U.S.,Br. Spirit of Chloroform. 
“Take of Purified Chloroform a troyounce; Stronger Alcohol six fluid- 
ounces. Dissolve the Chloroform in the Stronger Alcohol.” U. S. 
“Take of Chloroform one Jluidounce; Rectified Spirit nineteen fluidounces. 
Dissolve. Sp. gr. 0’871.” Br. 
The chloroform strength of these preparations is very different, the U. S. spirit 
having one measure of cldoroform to between eight and nine of alcohol, the Bri- 
tish one to nineteen. Solution of chloroform in alcohol in variable proportions 
was at one time erroneously called chloric ether, and was used as a respiratory 
anaesthetic agent in the place of chloroform, under the impression that it would 
be safer; the stimulant properties of the alcohol obviating the sedative action of 
the chloroform. It is at present, however, little if at all used in this way; they 
who employ chloroform, and yet wish to guard against its depressing effects, 
preferring ether to alcohol as the corrigent. The spirit of chloroform is a con- 
venient form for internal exhibition, as it is more readily incorporated in mix- 
tures than chloroform itself. The dose of the IT. S. spirit is from half a flui- 
drachm to a fluidrachm; of the British, much more, in order to produce an equal 
effect; so much more, indeed, that the effect of the alcohol would neutralize in 
great measure that of the chloroform. The dose, however, as mentioned by Bri- 
tish writers, is from ten to sixty minims; in which quantity, judging from our 
own experience, the chloroform would be of little use except for its flavour.* 
W. 
* Alcoholic Solution of Chloroform. The following observations formed a part of the article 
on chloroform in the eleventh edition of the Dispensatory; but, with the changes in rela- 
tion to this substance in the new U. S. Pharmacopoeia, they find a more appropriate place 
here in the present edition. A preparation for inhalation, composed of one-third pure 
chloroform and two-thirds nearly absolute alcohol, was recommended by Dr. Warren, under 
the name of strong chloric ether. Dr. Snow has since employed a similar mixture, using 
equal parts of chloroform and alcohol. The mixture, made in the proportion adopted by Dr. 
Snow, is commended by M. Robert as the best anaesthetic agent yet proposed. As the 
name chloric ether was originally applied by the late Dr. T. Thomson, of Glasgow, to the 
Dutch liquid, it would be well to abandon the same appellation to designate chloroform, 
or its mixture with alcohol. A correct name for the latter would be alcoholic solution of 
chloroform, or tincture of chloroform. Dr. Warren used his preparation in fifty cases with 
success, and considered it safer than chloroforifi, and more agreeable than ether. Further 
observation is required to determine the value of “strong chloric ether” as an anesthetic. 
The alcohol may prove useful by obviating, through its stimulant properties, the depress- 
ing influence of the chloroform; and ether has been occasionally mixed with chloroform, 
with the same view. The preparation, sold in London and elsewhere under the name of 
“chloric ether,” is a weak tincture of chloroform of variable quality, containing at most 
but 16 or 18 per cent, of chloroform, and sometimes not more than 5 or 6 per ceut. B PART II. 
Spiritus. 
1349 
SPIRITUS CINNAMOMI. U.S. Spirit of Cinnamon. 
“Take of Oil of Cinnamon a jluidounce; Stronger Alcohol fifteen fluid- 
ounces. Dissolve the Oil in the Stronger Alcohol.” U. S. 
The spirit of cinnamon is an agreeable aromatic cordial, and may be given in 
debility of the stomach in the dose of from ten to twenty drops. W. 
SPIRITUS JUNIPERI. Br. Spirit of Juniper. 
“ Take of English Oil of Juniper one jluidounce; Rectified Spirit nine fluid- 
ounces. Dissolve. This Spirit contains about ninety-five times as much Oil ol 
Juniper as the London Spiritus Juniperi.” Br. 
The spirit of juniper is used chiefly as an addition to diuretic infusions. The 
dose may be from twenty to sixty minims. 
Off. Prep. Mistura Creasoti, Br. W. 
SPIRITUS JUNIPERI COMPOSITUS. U.S. Compound Spirit of 
Juniper. 
“Take of Oil of Juniper a fluidrachm and a half; Oil of Caraway, Oil of 
Fennel, each, ten minims; Diluted Alcohol eight pints. Dissolve the Oils in 
the Diluted Alcohol.” U. S. 
This spirit is a useful addition to diuretic infusions and mixtures in debilitated 
cases of dropsy. The dose is from twro to four fluidrachms. W. 
SPIRITUS LAVANDULAE. U.S.,Br. Spirit of Lavender. 
“Take of Lavender [flowers], fresh, twenty-four troyounces; Alcohol eight 
pints; Water two pints. Mix them, and with a regulated heat, distil eight 
pints.” U. S. 
“Take of English Oil of Lavender one Jluidounce; Rectified Spirit nine 
Jluidounces. Dissolve.” Br. 
Mr. Brande asserts that the dried flowers produce as fragrant a spirit as the 
fresh. Spirit of Lavender is used chiefly as a perfume, and as an ingredient in 
other preparations. The perfume usually sold under the name of lavender water 
is not a distilled spirit, but an alcoholic solution of the oil, with the addition of 
other odorous substances. The following is given by Mr. Brande as one of the 
most approved recipes for preparing it. “Take of rectified spirit five gallons, 
essential oil of lavender twenty ounces, essential oil of bergamot five ounces, 
essence of ambergris [made by digesting one drachm of ambergris and eight 
grains of musk in half a pint of alcohol] half an ounce. Mix.” 
Off. Prep. Mistura Ferri Composita, U. S. W. 
SPIRITUS LAVANDULAE COMPOSITUS. U.S. Tinctura La- 
vandulae Composita. Br. Compound Spirit of Lavender. Compound 
Tincture of Lavender. 
“Take of Oil of Lavender a Jluidounce; Oil of Rosemary two Jluidrachms; 
Cinnamon, in moderately fine powder, two troyounces; Cloves, in moderately 
fine powder, half a troy ounce; Nutmeg, in moderately fine powder, a troyounce; 
Red Saunders, in moderately fine powder, three hundred and sixty grains; Al- 
cohol six pints; Water two pints; Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Dis- 
solve the Oils in the Alcohol, and add the Water. Then mix the powders, and, 
having moistened the mixture with a fluidounce of the alcoholic solution of the 
Oils, pack it firmly in a conical percolator, and gradually pour upon it the re- 
mainder of the alcoholic solution, and afterwards Diluted Alcohol, until the fil- 
tered liquid measures eight pints.” U. S. 
The British Pharmacopoeia directs a fluidrachm and a half of oil of laven- 
der, ten minims of oil of rosemary, one hundred and fifty grains of bruised 
cinnamon, the same quantity of bruised nutmeg, three hundred grains of red 
saunders, and two pints (Imperial measure) of rectified spirit; macerates the 1350 
Spiritus. 
PART II. 
solids in (he spirit for seven days; then expresses, filters, dissolves the oils, and 
• adds sufficient rectified spirit to make two pints. 
When properly made, this is a delightful compound of spices. It is much em- 
ployed as an adjuvant and corrigent of other mediciues, and as a remedy for 
gastric uneasiness, nausea, flatulence, and general languor or faintness. The 
dose is from thirty drops to a fluidrachm, and is most conveniently administered 
on a lump of sugar, or mixed with sugar and water in a wineglass. 
Off. Prep. Liquor Arsenicalis, Br.; Liquor Potass® Arseuitis, U. S. W. 
SPIRITUS LIMONIS. U. S. Spirit of Lemon. Essence of Lemon. 
“ Take of Oil of LemoD two jiuidounces; Lemon Peel, freshly grated, a troy- 
ounce; Stronger Alcohol two pints. Dissolve the Oil in the Stronger Alcohol, 
add the Lemon Peel, macerate for twenty-four hours, and filter through paper.” 
U.S. 
This spirit is used chiefly for flavouring mixtures. W. 
SPIRITUS MENTHJE PIPERITJE. U.S., Br. Tinctura Olei 
Mentha? Piperita:. U.S. 1850. Spirit of Peppermint. Tincture of Oil 
of Peppermint. Essence of Peppermint. 
“Take of Oil of Peppermint a Jluidounce; Peppermint, in coarse powder, 
one hundred and twenty grains; Stronger Alcohol fifteen Jiuidounces. Dis- 
solve the Oil in the Stronger Alcohol, add the Peppermint, macerate for twenty- 
four hours, and filter through paper.” U. S. 
“Take of English Oil of Peppermint one Jluidounce; Rectified Spirit nine 
Jiuidounces. Dissolve. This spirit contains about forty-seven times as much Oil 
of Peppermint as Spiritus Menthas Piperitse, Lond.” Br. 
The distilled spirit has no advantage over a simple solution of the oil in al- 
cohol, and this mode of preparing it has been adopted both in the TJ. S. and 
British Pharmacopoeias. The present officinal spirit is the Tincture of Oil of 
Peppermint of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia of 1850; and is much stronger than the 
old distilled spirit. It has long been popularly used under the name of essence 
of peppermint. The present preparation is only about half as strong as the for- 
mer tincture, and differs in having a little of the dried herb added to the oil, the 
object of which, as we are informed, is to impart colour to the spirit. The spirit 
of peppermint affords a convenient method of administering a dose of the vola- 
tile oil; being of such a strength that, when dropped on loaf-sugar, it may be 
taken without inconvenience. The dose is from twenty to thirty drops, which 
may be given as just mentioned, or mixed with sweetened water. W. 
SPIRITUS MENTILZE VIRIDIS. U.S. Tinctura Olei Mentiiaj 
Yiridis. U.S. 1850. Spirit of Spearmint. Tincture of Oil of Spearmint. 
Essence of Spearmint. 
“Take of Oil of Spearmint a Jluidounce; Spearmint, in coarse powder, one 
hundred and twenty grains; Stronger Alcohol fifteen Jiuidounces. Dissolve 
the Oil in the Stronger Alcohol, add the Spearmint, macerate for twenty-four 
hours, and filter through paper.” U. S. 
The remarks made on the Spirit of Peppermint are equally applicable to this. 
Both are usually employed as carminatives. The spirit of spearmint may be given 
in the dose of thirty or forty drops. W. 
SPIRITUS MYRISTTCJE. U.S.,Br. Spirit of Nutmeg. 
“Take of Nutmeg, bruised, two troyounces; Diluted Alcohol eight pints; 
Water a pint. Mix them, and with a regulated heat, distil eight pints.” U S. 
“Take of volatile Oil of Nutmeg one Jluidounce ; Rectified Spirit nine Jiuid- 
ounces. ” Br. PART II. 
Spiritus.—Strychnia. 
1351 
The spirit of nutmeg is used chiefly for its flavour, as an addition to other 
medicines. The dose is one or two fluidrachms. 
Off. Prep. Mistura Ferri Composita, Br. W. 
SPIRITUS ROSMARINI. Br. Spirit of Rosemary. 
“Take of English Oil of Rosemary one fluidounce; Rectified Spirit nine 
fluidounces. Dissolve. This spirit contains about thirty-one times as much Oil 
of Rosemary as Spiritus Rosmarini, LondP Br. 
Spirit of rosemary is a grateful perfume, and is used chiefly as an ingredient 
in lotions and liniments. W. 
STRYCHNIA. 
Preparations of Strychnia. 
STRYCHNIA. U.S., Br. Strychnia. 
“ Take of Nux Yomica, rasped, forty-eight troyounces; Lime, in fine powder, 
six troyounces; Muriatic Acid three troyounces and a half; Alcohol, Diluted 
Alcohol, Diluted Sulphuric Acid, Water of Ammonia, Purified Animal Char- 
coal, Water, each, a sufficient quantity. Macerate the Nux Yomica for twenty- 
four hours in sixteen pints of Water, acidulated with one-third of the Muriatic 
Acid; then boil for two hours, and strain with expression through a strong 
muslin bag. Boil the residue twice successively in the same quantity of acidu- 
lated Water, each time straining as before. Mix the decoctions and evaporate 
to the consistence of thin syrup; then add the Lime previously mixed with a 
pint of Water, and boil for ten minutes, frequently stirring. Pour the whole 
into a double muslin bag, and, having thoroughly washed the precipitate, press, 
dry, and powder it. Treat the powder repeatedly with Diluted Alcohol, in order 
to remove the brucia, until the washings are but faintly reddened by nitric acid. 
Then boil it repeatedly with Alcohol until deprived of its bitterness, mix the 
several tinctures; and distil off the Alcohol by means of a water-bath. Having 
washed the residue, mix it with a pint of Water, and, applying a gentle heat, 
drop in sufficient Diluted Sulphuric Acid to neutralize and dissolve the alkaloid. 
Then Add Purified Animal Charcoal, and, having boiled the mixture for a few 
minutes, filter, evaporate, and set aside to crystallize. Dissolve the crystals in 
Water, and add sufficient Water of Ammonia to precipitate the Strychnia. 
Lastly, dry this on bibulous paper, and keep it in a well-stopped bottle.” U. S. 
“Take of Nux Yomica one pound [avoirdupois]; Acetate of Lead one hun- 
dred and eighty grains; Solution of Ammonia, Rectified Spirit, Distilled Water, 
each, a sufficiency. Subject the Nux Yomica for two hours to steam in any 
convenient vessel; chop or slice it; dry it by the vapour bath or hot-air cham- 
ber, and immediately grind it in a coffee mill. Digest the powder at a gentle 
heat for twelve hours with two pints [Imperial measure] of the Spirit and one of 
the Water, strain through linen, express strongly and repeat the process twice. 
Distil off the spirit from the mixed fluid, evaporate the watery residue to about 
sixteen ounces and filter when cold. Add now the Acetate of Lead, previously 
dissolved in Distilled Water, so long as it occasions any precipitate; filter; wash 
the precipitate with ten ounces of cold Water, adding the washings to the fil- 
trate; evaporate the clear fluid to eight [fluid]ounces, and when it has cooled 
add the Ammonia in slight excess, stirring thoroughly. Let the mixture stand 
At the ordinary temperature for twelve hours; collect the precipitate on a filter, 
wash it once with a few ounces of cold Distilled Water, dry it on the vapour 
bath, and boil it with successive portions of Rectified Spirit, till the fluid scarcely 
tastes bitter. Distil off most of the Spirit, evaporate the residue to the bulk of 
about half an ounce, and set it aside to cool. Cautiously pour off the yellowish 
mother-liquor (which contains the Brucia of the seeds) from the white crust of 1352 
Strychnia. 
part il 
Strychnia which adheres to the vessel. Throw the crust on a paper filter, wash 
it with a mixture of two parts of Rectified Spirit and one of the Water, till the 
washings cease to become red on the addition of nitric acid; finally, dissolve it 
by boiling it with an ounce of Rectified Spirit, and set it aside to crystallize. 
More crystals may be obtained by evaporating the mother-liquor.” Br. 
In preparing strychnia, the first step is properly to comminute the nux vomica. 
This may be done by rasping the seeds, or, as directed in the British Pharma- 
copoeia, by first softening them by steam, then sliciug, drying, and grinding 
them. The next object is to extract the strychnia. For this purpose, in the U. S. 
process, water is employed acidulated with muriatic acid; in the British, rec- 
tified spirit diluted with half its bulk of water. In the latter, the native igasurate 
of strychnia is taken up ; in the former, the muriate, which is a very soluble salt 
In the U. S. process, after a concentration of the infusion, the salt of strychnia 
is decomposed by lime, which precipitates the strychnia along with the excess of 
lime employed and impurities. The strychnia is extracted from the precipitate 
by boiling alcohol, and may be obtained in crystals by the concentration of the 
solution. But in this state it is much coloured and impure. To obviate these 
impurities in some degree, the British Pharmacopoeia directs that the concen- 
trated liquid should be treated with acetate of lead, which precipitates much of 
the contaminating matter, and then that the liquor, previously filtered, should be 
treated with ammonia, by which the strychnia is thrown down less impure than 
in the U. S. process. At this stage of the proceedings, the present U. S. Phar- 
macopoeia directs that the precipitate, which, besides strychnia, contains also 
brucia and various impurities, should be freed from the latter alkaloid by re- 
peated washing with cold diluted alcohol, in which brucia is much more soluble 
than strychnia. This is a great improvement upon the U. S. formula of 1850, in 
which the brucia was allowed to accompany the strychnia to the end of the pro- 
cess. In the U. S. process, the impure strychnia is converted into a sulphate by 
the addition of sulphuric acid, and precipitated again by ammonia; being, while 
in the state of the sulphate, decolorized by means of animal charcoal. The Br. 
Pharmacopoeia completes the process by washing the precipitate produced by 
ammonia with cold water, drying it, then exhausting it with alcohol, and con- 
centrating the alcoholic solution. The strychnia now crystallizes, leaving most 
of the brucia in the mother-liquor. But, as some of the latter alkaloid still con- 
taminates the product, the Pharmacopoeia directs this to be washed with cold 
alcohol somewhat diluted, until the washings cease to give evidence of the pre- 
sence of brucia by being reddened by nitric acid; thus accomplishing at the end 
of the process what was done in the U. S. formula at an earlier stage. To free 
the strychnia entirely from brucia requires repeated crystallizations, and a little 
of the latter principle is consequently almost always retained ; but it is not in- 
jurious, as the effects of the two alkalies upon the system are very similar. The 
bean of St. Ignatius yields strychnia more easily and more largely than nux 
vomica, but is less plentiful.* 
* M. J. F. Molyn proposes, previously to the extraction of strychnia, to subject nux vomica 
to fermentation, by which the saccharine and gummy matters of the seeds are decomposed, 
and lactic acid is formed, which decomposes the igasurates of strychnia and brucia, pro- 
ducing with these bases very soluble lactates. For the particulars of his process, see the 
Am. Journ. of Pharm. (xix. 99). 
We are informed that none of the officinal processes are followed exactly by the large 
manufacturers, in reference to the preliminary comminution of the nux vomica. The plan 
most approved is to macerate the whole seeds in dilute sulphuric acid, and to pass steam 
through them, under pressure, in a covered vat, lined with lead. The seeds softened in 
this way are then ground, and the pulp lixiviated or expressed. One advantage of the 
sulphuric acid, employed in this way, is thought to be the conversion of the bassorin, 
which impedes the process, into soluble dextrin. The liquors are precipitated with lime, 
and the process completed as officinally directed.—Note to the tenth edition. 
Mr. John Horsley, of Cheltenham, England, proposes a new process for preparing PART n. 
Strychnia, 
1353 
If thought desirable, brucia may be in great measure separated from the 
strychnia of the shops, by dissolving the latter in very dilute nitric acid, filter- 
ing, and concentrating. Nitrate of brucia crystallizes in short, thick, dense prisms 
grouped together; nitrate of strychnia in radiated tufts of long, light, capillarj 
needles. By gentle agitation with the liquid, the latter salt is suspended and 
may be poured off, leaving the former. The alkalies may be obtained by dis- 
solving the salts in water, and precipitating with ammonia. ( Christison.) 
As usually kept in the shops, strychnia is a white or grayish-white powder. 
When rapidly crystallized from its alcoholic solution, it has the form of a white, 
granular powder; when slowly crystallized, that of elongated octohedra, or quad- 
rilateral prisms with quadrilateral terminations. It is permanent in the air, in- 
odorous, but excessively bitter, with a metallic after-taste. So intense is its bit- 
terness, that one part of it is said to communicate a sensible taste to 600,000 
parts of water. It melts like a resin, but is not volatile, being decomposed at a 
comparatively low temperature, and entirely dissipated at a red heat. It is solu- 
ble in 6661 parts of water at 50°, and about 2000 at the boiling point. Boiling 
officinal alcohol dissolves it without difficulty, and deposits it upon cooling. In 
absolute alcohol and in ether it is very sparingly soluble. According to the ex- 
periments of Messrs. Plummer and Kelly, strychnia is soluble, at the ordinary 
temperature, in 387 parts of officinal alcohol (sp.gr. 0'835), 179 parts of abso- 
lute alcohol, and 682 parts of ether. (Am. Journ. of Pha?%m., Jan. 1859, p. 25.) 
The volatile oils dissolve it freely. It has an alkaline reaction on test paper, and 
forms salts with the acids. Nitric acid does not redden it if perfectly pure, but 
almost always reddens it as found in the shops, in consequence of the presence of 
brucia. M. Eugene Marchand proposes the following test, by which a very minute 
proportion of strychnia may be detected. If a little of the alkaloid be rubbed with 
a few drops of concentrated sulphuric acid containing one-hundredth of nitric acid, 
it will be dissolved without change of colour; but if the least quantity of per- 
strychnia, which has the advantage of dispensing wdth alcohol. One-quarter of a pound 
of nux vomica is kneaded with an equal weight of commercial acetic acid, the pulpy mass 
thus obtained is diluted with two or three pints of cold water, and the mixture is digested 
for a few days. The clear liquor is then decanted, an equal quantity of cold water poured 
on the mass, and digestion continued for a day or two longer, or till everything soluble 
has been extracted. The clear liquor is again decanted, and the residue filtered through 
flannel. The clear liquors are mixed, and evaporated to a syrupy consistence. The residue, 
when cold, is diluted with an equal quantity of water, ammonia is added in excess, and 
the mixture set aside for a day or two, that the strychnia may crystallize. This forms 
little white tufts in the liquid, and on the sides of the vessel. When the crystallization is 
complete, the supernatant liquid is filtered through calico, and the residue, with the im- 
pure crystals collected from the vessel added to it, is allowed to drain, then collected, and 
dried by means of a water-bath. The substance thus obtained, consisting of strychnia, 
brucia, and various impurities, is digested in hot diluted acetic acid, and the solution fil- 
tered. The strychnia and brucia may be precipitated from the filtered liquid by potassa; 
or, if the strychnia alone be wanted, a solution of chromate of potassa may be added, 
which will throw down chromate of strychnia, free from brucia, if the liquid be tolerably 
acid. The chromate of strychnia, being well drained on a filter, may be digested in solu- 
tion of ammonia, by which the alkaloid will be precipitated of a more or less snowy white- 
ness. Mr. Horsley thus obtained about 1 per cent, of strychnia from nux vomica, which is 
at least twice the ordinary yield. (Pharrn. Journ., xvi. 179.) 
Mr. John Williams proposes the use of benzole in the preparation of strychnia. Having 
extracted the soluble matters of nux vomica by repeated decoction with water acilulated 
with sulphuric acid, he evaporates the liquid to the consistence of thin treacle, and adds 
a concentrated solution of caustic potassa, so as to render the liquid strongly alkaline. 
He then adds an equal bulk of benzole, shakes the mixture well, and keeps it in a warm 
place for 12 hours. The benzole, holding the alkaloids in solution, rises, and is poured off; 
a new portion is added, and after similar treatment is also decanted; the mixed benzole 
solutions are distilled; and the residue treated with acetic acid, filtered, and precipitated 
with caustic soda. The precipitate is white, and consists of strychnia and brucia, which 
may be separated in the ordinary methjd. (See Am. Journ. of Fharm., xxvi. 839.)—Note to 
the eleventh edition. 1354 
Strychnia. 
PART II. 
oxide of lead le added to the mixture, a magnificent blue colour will be instantly 
developed, which will pass rapidly into violet, then gradually to red, and ulti- 
mately become yellow. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., iv. 200.) Professor Otto 
recommends as a test a minute quantity of solution of bichromate of potassa, 
which, added to the solution of strychnia in concentrated sulphuric acid, pro- 
duces a splendid violet colour. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xix. T7.) A similar 
change of colour is produced, according to I)r. E. W. Davy, by substituting a 
strong solution of ferrideyanide of potassium (red prussiate of potassa) for that 
of bichromate of potassa. (Ibid., xxv. 414.) It appears that any substance capa- 
ble of yielding nascent oxygen readily will serve to develop the characteristic 
violet colour, wdien applied after the addition of sulphuric acid. Landerer has 
found that solid iodic acid or iodate of potassa, heated gently with strychnia, 
gives rise to a beautiful violet colour, gradually passing to red, which remains 
unchanged for many days. (Ibid., March, 1861, p. 110.) According to Mr. Wm. 
Copney, the least efficacious agent is chlorate of potassa, a much better is deu- 
toxide of lead, a still better is deutoxide of manganese, and the best of all is bi- 
chromate of potassa; and the general result of numerous experiments, recently 
made, is that the last-mentioned reagent is the most effective. The sulphuric 
acid must be of not less sp. gr. than l-84; and that of l-85 is better. The play 
of colours, according to Mr. Copney, is first blue, then purple, then crimson, 
which is followed by red and green, the latter sometimes giving place to yellow. 
It is stated that the 1-500,000 part of a grain may be detected. (See Am. Journ. 
of Pharm., xxviii. 459.)* The usual mode of proceeding is to drop the solution 
* This subject requires a more detailed consideration than space can be afforded for in 
the text. The questions have been discussed whether strychnia, taken in poisonous quan- 
tities, is decomposed after a short period in the system, so that it cannot be detected by 
chemical reagents either in the secretions or in the body; and whether, allowing it to re- 
main in the system, the quantity required to produce death may not be so small, and so 
diffused, as,to afford no evidence of its presence to chemical tests. The general results of 
the experiments upon these points are, that strychnia is found unaltered in the urine 
after being swallowed; that it strongly resists decomposition in the system; and that, in 
cases of poisoning, even though it may have been absorbed from the stomach, and not to 
be found there, it may be detected in the blood and solid tissues of the body, if taken 
largely enough to cause death. 
But to succeed in detecting the alkaloid when mixed, in small proportion, -with organic 
matters, it is necessary first so to disintegrate the organic matter that the action of a 
solvent of the strychnia should not be impeded, and that, the alkaloid should be com- 
pletely separated from the foreign matter. The process of Messrs. Rogers & Girdwood, 
by which these objects are effected, is the following. Digest the substance, supposed to 
contain the strychnia, with a mixture of 1 part of muriatic acid and 10 of water, until it 
becomes apparently fluid. Filter, and evaporate the liquid to dryness by a water-bath. 
Treat the residue with alcohol as long as anything is dissolved, filter, and evaporate. Dis- 
solve the residue in water and filter. Add solution of ammonia in excess to the aqueous 
solution, and agitate in a bottle or long tube with half an ounce of chloroform. Upon re- 
pose the chloroform subsides, holding the alkaloid in solution. Draw it off by a pipette, 
and evaporate the chloroform over a water-bath. Moisten the dry residue with concen- 
trated sulphuric acid, and expose the mixture for some hours to the temperature of a 
water-bath, by w'hich means all the organic matter besides the strychnia is decomposed. 
Treat the charred mass with wrater, filter, add excess of ammonia, and shake the mixture 
with a drachm of chloroform. Separate the chloroform as before; and, if the matter left 
after the evaporation of a small portion of it is charred by concentrated sulphuric acid, 
the whole of it must be treated in the same manner as the previous chloroform solution. 
The last chloroform solution obtained is then to be tested for strychnia. Take up a little 
of it in a capillary tube, and drop it on the smallest space of a warm porcelain capsule, so 
that each successive drop may be evaporated. When the capsule is quite cold, moisten tho 
spot with concentrated sulphuric acid, and add a minute fragment of bichromate of potassa. 
Should the characteristic colour not be developed, it is said that, if there be the minutest 
quantity of strychnia present, the colour will become visible by adding sulphuric acid ren- 
dered slightly yellow by chromic acid. In conducting the process, care must be taken nc* 
to stir the spot moistened by sulphuric acid with a rod before the addition of the bichro- 
mate, and not to expose the spot to a very strong light, which interferes with the chemical PART II. 
Strychnia. 
1355 
Buspected to contain strychnia upon a clean surface of porcelain, evaporate to 
dryness, then apply the sulphuric acid to the spot, and afterwards a minute 
fragment of a crystal of the bichromate, which will immediately produce the 
change of colour. Some doubt was thrown upon the value of this test by ex- 
periments, which seemed to prove that the presence of morphia in excess, es 
pecially in connection with organic matter, so far modified or disguised the 
action of the test upon strychnia as to prevent the appearance of the char- 
acteristic colour; but subsequent and carefully conducted experiments, by the 
late Dr. Robert P. Thomas, satisfactorily determined that the conclusions in re- 
lation to the effects of morphia were erroneous, and that, whether alone or as- 
sociated with organic matters, iu small or in large quantity, it does not prevent 
the operation of this colour-test if carefully applied. (Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., 
Oct. 1861, p. 414; and April, 1862, p. 340.) Strychnia consists of carbon, hy- 
drogen, nitrogen, and oxygen; but the proportion of its constituents is very 
differently given by different authors. Liebig states the composition to be 
N204; in the British Pharmacopoeia, it is given as C42H22N204, which is the for- 
mula inferrible from the analysis of Gerhardt. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
March, 1859, p. 135.) The salts of strychnia are for the most part soluble and 
crystallizable. Their solution is decomposed by the alkalies and their carbon- 
ates, and by tannic, but not by gallic acid; and is not affected by the salts of 
sesquioxide of iron. They are precipitated by the solution of iodine in iodide 
of potassium, and the precipitate, though soluble in alcohol, is insoluble in the 
diluted acetic and muriatic acids of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. (Bairthorne, Am. 
Journ. of Pharm., xxvii. 212.)* 
reactions. (Lond. Med. Times and Gaz., June, 1857, p. 620.) It is probable that the process 
of dialysis might be advantageously applied to the separation of strychnia from the or- 
ganic matters containing it, when brought to the liquid state. (See Dialysis, page 896.) 
Diluted acetic acid may be used for extracting the alkaloid with other soluble substances 
from the contents of the stomach. 
It is stated by Mr. C. W. Bingbsy that, if much tartar emetic be contained in a solution 
with a little strychnia, a pale-greenish colour is produced instead of the violet; and, in 
like manner, if chloride of antimony be present, the sulphuric acid and bichromate of po- 
tassa test fails altogether. (Chem. Gaz., June 16, 1856, p. 229.) Mr. Richard Ilagen, having 
been induced, by the assertion of Yon Sicherer that this test fails when the strychnia is 
mixed with tartar emetic or other tartrates, or even tartaric acid, to investigate the sub- 
ject, ascertained that this statement, as a general rule, is erroneous; for the reaction takes 
place with strychnia or its muriate, though mixed with 20 or 30 parts of tartrate of anti- 
mony; yet when nitrate of strychnia is used with 20 parts of the antimonial tartrate, the 
mass almost instantly acquires a green colour with the reagents mentioned. But even with 
nitrate of strychnia, the test succeeds if peroxide of lead is used instead of chromic acid 
as the oxidizing agent. [Ibid., Oct. 15, 1857, p. 398.) 
For a particular account of the results produced by the reaction of a large number of 
substances with strychnia, the reader is referred to a paper by Dr. T. G. Wormley, in the 
Chemical News for April 14th and 28th, 1860 (pp. 218 and 242). Among other trials made 
by him was that of the action of this alkaloid on frogs, proposed as a test by the late Dr. 
Marshall Hall. The poison was injected into the stomach of the animals through a pipette. 
A solution containing 1 per cent, of strychnia immediately produced rigidity and violent 
tetanic spasms, and death in 8 minutes. With 1 part of strychnia to 1O00 of the menstruum, 
the spasmodic symptoms were induced in 3 or 4 minutes; with 1 in 10,000, in from 10 to 
24 minutes; with 1 in 20,000, and 1 in 30,000, the symptoms were less unequivocal, though 
tetanic spasms were noticed in some of the animals. 
Experiments by Mr. W. A. Guy on the effects of sulphuric and nitric acids on strychnia 
and many other alkaloids, published with tabulated results, show that in no one out of 66 
proximate principles, chiefly alkaloids, was the same change of colour produced as in 
strychnia by concentrated sulphuric acid, followed by a crystal of bichromate of potassa. 
(See Am. Journ. of Pharm., Nov. 1861, p. 517.) In the same number of the same journal 
(p. 527) is a paper by Mr. T. E. Jenkins, giving the result of experiments with sulphuric 
acid and bichromate of potassa on numerous alkaloids, all tending to prove the delicacy 
and certainty of this colour-test of strychnia.—Note to the eleventh and twelfth editions. 
* When an aqueous solution of sulphate of strychnia and nitrite of potassa is boiled, an 
effervescence take3 placw owing to the escape of nitrogen, and the solution becomes yellow. 1356 
Strychnia. 
PART IL 
Strychnia is apt to contain impurities, of which the chief, besides brucia, are 
colouring matter, and lime or magnesia. The two latter impurities are left be- 
hind when the adulterated alkaloid is incinerated in the open air. Pure strych- 
nia leaves no ashes under these circumstances. Brucia is detected by the red 
colour which it yields with nitric acid. Neither this nor sulphuric acid colours 
strychnia; a test which serves to distinguish it from several other alkaloids. 
Medical Properties and Uses, &c. The effects of strychnia upon the system 
are identical in character with those of nux vomica, and it is employed for the 
Same purposes as a medicine. (See Nux Vomica, page 561.) It operates in the 
came way by whatever avenue it may enter into the circulation; but is said to 
act most powerfully when injected into the veins, or applied to a fresh wound. 
The blood of an animal under its influence produces similar effects in another, if 
transfused into its veins. There is no doubt that it is absorbed ; as, after having 
been swallowed, it has been found in the urine, the blood, and the tissue of va- 
rious organs. In overdoses it is a most violent poison. Pelletier and Caventou 
killed a dog in half a minute with one-sixth of a grain of the pure alkaloid. One 
grain or even less might prove fatal in the human subject. A case, however, is 
recorded in which recovery took place after seven grains had been swallowed; 
but the medicine was probably impure. (See Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., N. S., 
xxx. 562.) Its most striking and characteristic effect, when taken in poisonous 
doses, is violent tonic spasms of the muscles, like those of tetanus, which some- 
times continue after death. According to M. Duclos, the poisonous effects of 
strychnia upon animals subside under the application of negative electricity, 
while they are aggravated by the positive. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xvi. 154.) 
M. Boudet has found that chlorine water alternated with tartar emetic, so as to 
produce vomiting, obviates these effects in dogs. (Arch. Gen., Feb. 1853, p. 222.) 
Kermes mineral has been recommended by M. Thorel as an antidote, being 
thought by him to form with strychnia an insoluble sulphuret, at the same 
time aiding any other emetic which may be administered for its expulsion. In 
cases of poisoning with strychnia he recommends*fifteen grains of kermes, and 
one and a half grains of tartar emetic. MM. Bouchardat and Gobley state that, 
out of the body, the ioduretted iodide of potassium acts far more powerfully in 
producing an absolutely insoluble compound. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxiii. 
84.) Animal charcoal has been employed with a view to absorb the poison; 
being thrown in by means of a stomach-tube. (Land. Med. Times and Gaz., 
April, 1855, p. 423.) Tannic acid, chlorine, and the tinctures of iodine and bro- 
mine are recommended as the best antidotes by Prof. Bellini. (See Am. Journ. 
of Med. Sci., July, 1863, p. 276.) The indications are to evacuate the stomach, 
using at the same time any chemical antidote that may be at hand, and to relieve 
the spasms by opiates, ether, or other narcotics. Of the emetics sulphate of zinc 
would be among the most efficient; and powdered mustard has been highly re- 
commended. They should be aided by the very free use of warm water. But it 
often happens that, before aid arrives, enough of the poison has been absorbed 
to produce death; so that vomitiug, even aided by chemical antidotes, cannot 
If ammonia be now added, a precipitate takes place, which has been found to consist of 
two new alkaloids, resulting from the oxidation of the strychnia in different degrees. One 
of these the discoverer, P. Schutzenberger, proposes to name oxystrychnia, and the other 
binoxystrychnia. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., March, 1859, p. 133.) 
Methyl-strychnia.'Methyl-brucia. These alkaloids are formed by replacing one of the eqs. 
of hydrogen in strychnia by methyl (C2II3), which is effected by acting on the alkaloids 
by iodide of methyl. A singular and, if verified, very important statement in relation to 
these modifications of strychnia and brucia, made by Stahlschmidt (Ann. der Phys. und 
Chem.), is that they are not poisonous. He gave to a rabbit five grains of methyl-strychnia, 
without any bad symptoms, though the same animal was afterwards killed in five minutes 
by one-twentieth of a grain of strychnia placed upon its tongue. The important practical 
inference is that iodide of methyl ought to be an antidote to strychnia. (See Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., May, 1860, p. 220.)—Note to the twelfth edition. PART II. 
Strychnia. 
1357 
be relied on. To relieve the spasm, besides opium and ether, camphor has been 
used with supposed success; and several cases are on record in which the inha 
lation of chloroform has not only afforded great relief, but appears to have been 
the means of saving life. Chloroform has been used also with seeming advan- 
tage by the stomach. In a case recorded by Dr. Dresbach, of Tiffin, Ohio, two 
drachms, swallowed by a patient alarmingly ill from the effects of three grains of 
strychnia, produced complete relief in less than fifteen minutes. (Am. Journ. of 
Med. Sci., xix. 546, from Western Lancet, Feb. 1850.)* A case occurring at St. 
Louis, Missouri, is on record, in which a patient, who had taken six grains of 
strychnia, was, after having been vomited, apparently saved by the internal use 
of infusion of tobacco, administered by Drs. Byrne and O’Reilly. 
Abstract, No. 29, p. 287.) Aconite has been shown by experiments on dogs, per- 
formed by Dr. Woakes, to have a similar physiological antagonism with strych- 
nia, and has been recommended in poisoning by this alkaloid, after evacuation 
of the stomach. (British Med. Journ., Oct. 26, 1861.) Different persons are 
very differently susceptible to the action of strychnia, and some are powerfully 
affected by the smallest doses. Besides, being more or less impure as kept in the 
shops, it cannot be relied on with certainty. Hence the necessity of great caution 
in prescribing it, and of carefully watching the patient during its use. The best 
plan is always to begin with very small doses, and gradually increase till its ef- 
fects are observed. From one-sixteenth or even one-twenty-fourth to one-twelfth 
of a grain internally, and from an eighth to one-third of a grain externally, 
upon a blistered surface, may be employed at first; and afterwards increased if 
necessary. It is most conveniently administered in the form of pill. It may be 
given also in the saline state, which is produced by dissolving it in water acidu- 
lated with sulphuric, muriatic, nitric, or acetic acid. For its therapeutical appli- 
cations, see Nux Vomica in Part I. Dr. Isaac Hays, of Philadelphia, has found 
a solution of acetate of strychnia, dropped into the eye, to possess powers similar 
to those of the Calabar bean, in producing contraction of the pupil, and influ- 
encing .the muscles of accommodation, and has been for several years in the habit 
of using it for this purpose. (Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., July, 1863, p. 266.) 
Off. Prep. Strychnise Liquor, Br.; Strychniae Sulphas, U. S. W. 
STRYCHNINE SULPHAS. U.S. Sulphate of Strychnia. 
“Take of Strychnia a troyounce; Dilute Sulphuric Acid nine ffuidrachms, 
or a sufficient quantity; Distilled Water a pint. Mix the Strychnia with the 
Distilled Water, heat the mixture gently, and gradually add Diluted Sulphuric 
Acid until the alkaloid is neutralized and dissolved. Filter the solution, and 
evaporate with a moderate heat, so that crystals may form on cooling. Lastly, 
having drained the crystals, dry them rapidly on bibulous paper, and keep them 
in a well-stopped bottle.” U. S. 
This salt is in colourless prismatic crystals, efflorescent on exposure, inodor- 
ous, extremely bitter, freely soluble in water, sparingly soluble in alcohol, and 
insoluble in ether. It melts with a moderate heat, losing nearly 14 per cent, of 
water of crystallization, and by a strong heat is completely dissipated. The chief 
advantage of this preparation over strychnia is its solubility in water, by which 
it is better adapted to external use, as for application to blistered surfaces, or 
for subcutaneous injection, should this at any time be deemed advisable, or as 
an ingredient in collyria. But even these advantages may be so easily gained by 
* In a letter to the authors, from Dr. Wm. D. Barclay, dated Muscatine, Iowa, May 4th, 
1863, the case of a robust young man is described, who, after taking four grains of strych- 
nia, was seized with the most violent tetanic spasms, accompanied with intense suffering, 
and recovered under the use of chloroform, given both internally and by inhalation. It 
was necessary to keep him under the influence of the medicine for thirteen consecutive 
hours, during which two pounds of chloroform were consumed by inhalation. Two drops 
were given every five minutes, by the stomach, when the mouth could be opened.—Note 
to the twelfth edition. 1358 
Sued. 
PART II. 
adding a few drops of an acid, the acetic, for example, to strychnia, as much to 
diminish the value of this as a distinct officinal preparation. The dose is the 
same as that of the alkaloid itself. W. 
SUCCI. Br, 
Juices. 
Though introduced to professional notice by Mr. Squire, so long since as in 
the year 1835, and subsequently used by many practitioners, the Juices have 
now for the first time been made officinal, as a distinct class of preparations. 
They consist of the expressed juices of fresh plants, preserved by the addition of 
one-third of their bulk of alcohol. Considering the great inequality in strength, 
and of course uncertainty in operation of the fresh juices themselves, according 
to soil, climate, mode of cultivation, season, and age of the plant, it may be ques- 
tioned whether they merit the prominence which has been given them in the Bri- 
tish Pharmacopoeia. Only three of them have been made officinal. 
SUCCUS CONII. Br. Juice of Hemlock. 
“Take of Fresh Leaves of Hemlock seven pounds; Rectified Spirit a suffi- 
ciency. Bruise the Hemlock in a stone mortar; press out the juice; and to 
every three measures of juice add one of the Spirit. Set aside for seven days, 
and filter. Keep it in a cool place.” Br. 
The albumen is probably coagulated under the influence of the alcohol; and 
hence the propriety of directing filtration. The dose of this preparation is from 
30 to 90 minims. It is probably quite as reliable as the tincture. W. 
SUCCUS SCOPARII. Br. Juice of Broom. 
“Take of Fresh Broom Tops seven pounds; Rectified Spirit a sufficiency. 
Bruise the Broom Tops in a stone mortar; press out the juice; and to every 
three measures of juice add one of the Spirit. Set aside for seven days, and 
filter. Keep it in a cool place. ” Br. 
The dose of this preparation as a diuretic is from 30 minims to a fluidrachm. 
In large doses it would be apt to disturb the stomach and bowels. It is more 
appropriately used as an adjuvant to other diuretics than alone. W. 
SUCCUS TARAXACI. Br. Juice of Taraxacum. 
“Take of Dandelion Root seven pounds; Rectified Spirit a sufficiency. 
Bruise the Dandelion Root in a stone mortar; press out the juice; and to every 
three measures of juice add one of the Spirit. Set aside for seven days, and filter. 
Keep it in a cool place.” Br. 
The dose of this juice is from two fluidrachms to half a fluidounce.* W. 
* Preserved Juice of Taraxacum. Mr. Donovan proposes the following plan, by which the 
juice of taraxacum may be obtained and preserved throughout the year, with nearly all 
its native efficiency. The whole herb, immediately after collection, is to be washed, bruised, 
and expressed; and the residue, having been mixed with as much water at 200° as will 
bring it to the consistence of a pulp, is to be allowed to stand for two hours, and then 
again expressed. The liquids thus obtained are to be mixed, and very slowly evaporated, 
in a wide earthen vessel, and with constant agitation, to one-half. The salts are thus ob- 
tained, though with little of the bitter principle. To supply this, a quantity of the roots 
equal to the weight of the herb first employed, is to be bruised and expressed. The result- 
ing juice, which is in small quantity and bitter, is to be set aside; while the residual marc 
is to be mixed with the concentrated juice already prepared, previously brought to a boil- 
ing heat. When cold, the mixture is to be strongly expressed, and the liquor obtained to 
be mixed with one-sixth of its measure of alcohol. The liquor is then to be poured into 
quart bottles, but so as not to fill them. These are to be immersed in a vessel containing 
water as high as the liquid within them, and placed over a fire; the water is to be slowly 
heated to 180°; the bottles are to be withdrawn; and the reserved juice of the root is to 
be added to each in equal quantities. The space at first left in the bottles should be such 
that, after the addition of the juice, and the driving in of the cork, as little as possiblj PART II. 
Sulphur. 
1359 
Reparations of Sulphur. 
SULPHUR. 
SULPHUR PR2ECIPITATUM. U.S.,Br. Lac Sulphuris. Precipi- 
tated Sulphur. Milk of Sulphur. 
“Take of Sublimed Sulphur twelve troyounces; Lime eighteen troyounces; 
Muriatic Acid, Water, each, a sufficient quantity. Pour sufficient Water on the 
Lime to slake it, and, having mixed the Sulphur with it, add fifteen pints of Water 
to the mixture; then boil for two hours, occasionally adding Water to preserve 
the same measure, and filter. Dilute the filtered liquid with an equal bulk of 
Water, and drop into it Muriatic Acid so long as a precipitate is produced. 
Lastly, wash the precipitated Sulphur repeatedly with Water until the washings 
are nearly tasteless, and dry it.” U. S. 
“Take of Sublimed Sulphur five ounces [avoirdupois]; Slaked Lime three 
ounces [avoird.]; Hydrochloric Acid eight fluidounces, or a sufficiency; Dis- 
tilled Water a sufficiency. Heat the Sulphur and Lime, previously well mixed, 
in a pint [Imperial measure] of the Water, stirring diligently with a wooden 
spatula, boil for fifteen minutes, and filter. Boil the residue again in half a pint 
[Imp. meas.] of the Water, and filter. Let the united filtrates cool, dilute with 
two pints [Imp. meas.] of the Water, and, in an open place or under a chimney, 
add in successive quantities the Hydrochloric Acid previously diluted with a 
pint [Imp. meas.] of the Water, until effervescence ceases and the mixture ac- 
quires an acid reaction. Allow the precipitate to settle, decant off the super- 
natant liquid, pour on fresh Distilled Water, and continue the purification by 
affusion of Distilled Water and subsidence, until the fluid ceases to have an acid 
reaction and to precipitate with oxalate of ammonia. Collect the precipitated 
sulphur on a calico filter, wash it once with Distilled Water, and dry it at a tem- 
perature not exceeding 120°.” Br. 
In the U. S. process three eqs. of lime react with six of sulphur, so as to form 
two eqs. of bisulphuret of calcium, and one of hyposulphite of lime (3CaO and 
6S = 2CaS2 and Ca0,S203). On the addition of the muriatic acid, six eqs. of 
sulphur are precipitated (four from the two eqs. of bisulphuret of calcium and 
two from the one eq. of hyposulphite of lime), and the calcium and oxygen unite 
with the muriatic acid, so as to form chloride of calcium and water. This ration- 
ale is not exactly applicable to the British process, in which the proportion of 
the sulphur to the lime employed is much greater than in that of the U. S. Phar- 
macopoeia. The muriatic acid is the most eligible precipitant for the sulphur; 
as it gives rise to chloride of calcium, which is a very soluble salt, and easily 
washed away. Sulphuric acid is wholly inadmissible; as it generates sulphate 
of lime, which, from its sparing solubility, becomes necessarily intermingled with 
the precipitated sulphur. According to Schweitzer, the best material from which 
should remain. The corks, being now cut off close to the glass, are to be covered with 
hard sealing-wax; and the bottles set by, inverted, in a cool place. The alcohol used is 
alone insufficient for the preservation of the juice; and hence the necessity of heating the 
bottles, and sealing them when quite full, according to Appert’s process. Each ounce will 
contain about a drachm of the alcohol. (See Am. Journ. of Phartn., xxiv. 65.) 
Professor Procter proposes the following plan. Of the fresh roots collected in September 
or October, twenty pounds avoirdupois are to be sliced transversely, reduced to a pulpy 
mass by grinding or contusion, then thoroughly incorporated with four pints of alcohol 
of 0-835, and set aside in stoneware jars. After a week, or a longer time, the pulpy mass 
is to be subjected to strong pressure, and the liquid filtered and bottled for use. Even 
after six months the pulp thus treated preserves the sensible properties of the dandelion 
in a marked degree. Should the alcohol in the expressed liquor be objected to, it may be 
partially removed by a gentle evaporation by means of a water-bath until the bulk of the 
juice has been diminished one-sixth, and then adding eight ounces of sugar for every pint. 
[Ibid., xxv. 408.)—Note to the tenth edition. 1360 
Sulphur. 
PART IL 
to precipitate the sulphur is the sulphuret of potassium, formed by boiling sul- 
phur with caustic potassa. Dr. Otto, of Brunswick, finds that sulphuret of potas- 
sium is apt to contain sulphuret of copper, and therefore prefers sulphuret of 
calcium. (Pharm. Cent. Blatt, Jan. 1845.) 
Properties, &c. Precipitated sulphur is in friable lumps, having a white colour, 
with a pale yellowish-green tint, and consisting of finely divided particles slightly 
cohering together. It is entirely dissipated by heat. Water boiled upon it should 
not redden litmus. When recently prepared, it is devoid of taste, but possesses 
a peculiar smell. When long exposed, in a moist state, to the air, it becomes 
strongly contaminated with sulphuric acid. From its colour it was formerly called 
lac sulphuris or milk of sulphur. It is insoluble in water, but dissolves in a 
boiling solution of caustic potassa, and in oil of turpentine by the aid of heat 
When of a brilliant white colour, the presence of sulphate of lime may be sus- 
pected ; in which case the preparation will not be wholly volatilized by heat. If 
pure it communicates a harsh feel when rubbed between the fingers, owing to the 
friction of the crystalline particles. {Dr. Bridges.) We have seen a sample of 
so-called precipitate of sulphur, which consisted almost entirely of sulphate of 
lime. Precipitated sulphur differs from sublimed sulphur in being in a state of 
more minute division, and in presenting, after fusion, a softer and less brittle 
mass. Its peculiarities are supposed to depend upon the presence of water, which, 
however, is found in too small a quantity to constitute a regular hydrate. Ac- 
cording to Rose, its white colour is occasioned by the presence of a small pro- 
portion of bisulphuretted hydrogen." Soubeiran states that it always contains 
some sulphuretted hydrogen, which causes it to differ as a therapeutic agent 
from sublimed sulphur. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Precipitated sulphur possesses similar medical 
properties to those of sublimed sulphur. It is the form of sulphur used by Dr. 
Fuller, of London, as an external application in sciatica and chronic rheumatism. 
(See Sulphur, Part I.) Its state of extreme division renders it more readily 
suspended in liquids; but its liability to become acid by keeping is an objection 
to it. It is sometimes selected for forming ointments, which have the advantage 
of being of a lighter colour than when made with sublimed sulphur. The dose 
is from one to three drachms. B. 
SULPHURIS IOD1DUM. TJ. S. Iodide of Sulphur. Bisulphuret of 
Iodine. 
“Take of Iodine four troyounces; Sublimed Sulphur a troy ounce. Rub 
them together until they are thoroughly mixed. Introduce the mixture into a 
flask, close the orifice loosely, and apply a gentle heat so as to darken the mass 
without, melting it. When the colour has become uniformly dark throughout, 
increase the heat so as to produce liquefaction. Then incline the flask in different 
directions, in order to return into the liquid any portions of Iodine which may 
have been condensed on the inner surface of the vessel. Lastly, withdraw the 
heat, and, when the liquid has congealed, remove the mass by breaking the flask, 
reduce it to pieces, and keep these in a well-stopped bottle.” U. S. 
This preparation, though formerly’officinal with the London and Dublin Col- 
leges, does not retain a place in the British Pharmacopoeia. 
The U. S. process is that of the French Codex. It simply effects a combina- 
tion of the two ingredients. 
Properties, &c. Iodide of sulphur has a grayish-black colour, and radiated 
crystalline appearance like that of sulphuret of antimony. Its smell resembles 
that of iodine, and it stains the cuticle in a similar manner. It dissolves in sixty 
parts of glycerin, forming a solution which would probably prove useful, in some 
cases, as a substitute for the ointment of this iodide. It is rapidly decomposed, 
w7hen in a state of powder, upon the addition of several of the volatile oils, violet 
vapours of iodine being evolved, and the smell of sulphur perceived. {Dr. G. W. PART II. 
Sulphur.—Suppositoria 
1361 
Patterson.) It is entirely volatilized by heat, and by continued boiling with 
water is wholly decomposed, iodine escaping with the steam, and sulphur being 
left nearly pure. The proportion of sulphur thus obtained is about 20 per cent 
(Lond. Pharm.) This result shows that the compound is a bisulphuret. Iodide 
of sulphur has been very usefully employed as an external remedy in various 
skin diseases, such as tinea capitis, lupus, lepra, &c., applied in the form of oint- 
ment. (See Unguentum Sulphuris loaidi.) It has been used internally, asso- 
ciated with iodide of potassium and senna, in the form of a syrup, in scrofulous 
and cutaneous diseases. (E. Levrat.) This syrup contains ioduretted iodide of 
potassium, and free sulphur, in consequence of a reaction which takes place 
between the two iodides. In a case of glanders in the human subject, which ter- 
minated in recovery under the care of M. Bourdon, of Paris, the iodide of sul- 
phur was used internally, and was thought to have exercised a favourable influ- 
ence. (Ann. de Therap., 1858, p. 239.) 
Off. Prep. Unguentum Sulphuris Iodidi. B. 
SUPPOSITORIA. Br. 
Sujppositories. 
As a class of officinal preparations, suppositories have been introduced into 
the British Pharmacopoeia; and they would seem to have a claim to this position 
quite as strong as the Enemata, which have long been officinally recognised. In- 
deed, provision has been made in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia for such a class, by 
the introduction into the Materia Medica Catalogue of the butter of cacao (Oleum 
Theobromae), which, beyond all other substances, is peculiarly calculated for their 
preparation. Suppositories are solid bodies intended to be introduced into the 
rectum, with the view either of evacuating the bowels by irritating the mucous mem- 
brane of the rectum, or of producing a specific effect on the neighbouring parts, or 
on the system at large. They fulfil the same indications as enemata, and are some- 
times preferable from the facility of their application, and, when the object is to 
produce the peculiar effect of a medicine, from the smallness of their bulk, which 
facilitates retention. Their form may be cylindrical, conical, or spherical; the 
last being preferable when the bulk is small. They should be of such a consist- 
ence as to retain their shape, but so soft as to incur no risk of wounding the 
rectum. For laxative purposes the suppository may be from one to three inches 
long, and about as thick as a common candle; with a view to the specific effects 
of medicines, it should be considerably smaller, as in this case it is important that 
the medicines should be retained, and the irritative influence of distention avoided. 
Soap is not unfrequeutly employed in this way as a laxative. A piece of solidi- 
fied molasses (molasses candy) is sometimes preferred. To increase the purga- 
tive effect, and at the same time act on the uterine function, aloes may be added 
to the soap. Mr. A. B. Taylor, of Philadelphia, some years since called atten- 
tion to cocoa butter, already familiar to French pharmacy, as the best excipient 
for solids administered by the rectum, having more exactly the requisite degree 
of consistence and fusibility than any combination of suet, spermaceti, wax, &c., 
that could be employed. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., July, 1852, p. 211.) Experi- 
ence has shown that the consistence of cacao butter for this purpose may be 
improved by incorporating it with a little wax, from one-fifth to one-eighth of 
its weight. This may be done by melting the two together at the time of pre- 
paring the suppositories; or the mixture may be kept ready-made on hand. In 
oreparing the suppository, the excipient should be liquefied by a gentle heat, the 
medicine then incorporated with it, and the mixture poured into suitable moulds 
to harden. A convenient weight for each suppository is about twenty-five grains; 
but this may be much lessened or increased as circumstances may seem to de- Suppositoria. 
PART II. 
mand.* It has been recommended to form the excipient into the required shape, 
and then, while it is still soft, make an excavation from the base upward, into 
which the medicine may be introduced, and afterwards enclosed by a little of the 
cacao butter. But as one of the objects of the excipient is an equable diffusion 
of the medicine to prevent irritation, this method would be altogether inappli- 
cable to substances in any degree locally irritant. Opium, or some one of its pre- 
parations, is very advantageously administered in the form of a suppository, in 
cases of irritation of the rectum, urinary passages, or genital apparatus. The other 
narcotics may be used in the same way; and indeed any other medicine, in refer- 
ence to its effects on the system, provided the quantity be not too large, and the 
local effects not too irritant. Tannic acid or other astringent substance may also 
very appropriately be employed in this way in cases of prolapsus, or other affection 
depending on relaxation of the rectum or anus. The dose may in general be three 
times that of the medicine given by the mouth. W. 
SUPPOSITORIA ACIDI TANNICI. Br. Suppositories of Tannic 
Acid. Tannin Suppositories. 
“Take of Tannic Acid twenty-four grains; Glycerine twenty minims; Pre- 
pared Lard, White Wax, each, a sufficiency. Melt eighty grains of the Lard 
and forty grains of the Wax in a water-bath, and, when nearly cold, add the 
Tannic Acid previously well mixed with the Glycerine. When the mixture has 
solidified, divide the mass into twelve equal portions, to be formed into cones, 
which are to be allowed to stand till they acquire sufficient firmness. Dip each 
cone into a mixture of three parts of the Wax and eight of the Lard, kept 
melted in a water-bath, and set aside in a cool place, that the coating may be- 
come hard.” Br. 
Though the British Pharmacopoeia has only two suppositories, it is to be sup- 
posed that the intention of its framers was not to limit the number employed so 
narrowly, but to present a model form, after which others might be prepared. It 
is certain that a good choice has been made; for, omitting the mere laxative 
suppository, none are perhaps so frequently used as those of tannic acid, and 
some one of the preparations of opium. The last part of the process is proba- 
bly to give a coating to the suppository somewhat firmer than its interior sub- 
stance, which must be softened by the glycerin. It is doubtful whether, in our 
hot summer weather, the formula could be conveniently carried into effect; at 
least, it would probably be found advisable to increase the proportion of wax. 
The weight of each suppository is about 20 grains, and the quantity of tannic 
acid in each 2 grains. The remedy is especially applicable to piles and prolapsus 
of the rectum from relaxation. W. 
SUPPOSITORIA MORPHINE. Br. Morphia Suppositories. 
“Take of Hydrochlorate of Morphia three grains; Refined Sugar thirty 
grains; Prepared Lard, White Wax, each, a sufficiency. Melt thirty grains of 
* It has been customary to give shape to the suppository by pouring the material pre- 
viously melted into small paper moulds of a conical form, which may readily be made by 
rolling up an oblong slip of strong glazed paper with the fingers. The hollow cones may 
be an inch or more in length, and about half an inch in diameter at the base. A more con- 
venient method, however, is to cast the suppository in metallic moulds. Mr. A. B. Taylor, 
who has paid special attention to the subject, recommends that their shape, instead of being 
strictly conical, should be somewhat incurved towards the base, where there may be a small 
cylindrical projection for the purpose of fitting into the end of a very convenient instrument, 
invented by him for the introduction of the suppository into the rectum. This instrument, 
which he calls a Suppositer, consists of a slender handle a few inches long, with a ring at 
one end for the finger, and an expansion at the other, having a cavity for the reception of 
the cylindrical base of the suppository. The metallic mould should be very cold at the 
time of introducing the melted mixture, so as quickly to solidify it, and thus prevent the 
suspended medicine from sinking to the bottom, and becoming unequally distributed [Am. 
Journ. of Fharm , May, 1801, p. 202.)—Note to the twelfth edition. PART II. 
Suppositoria.—Syrupi. 
1363 
the Lard and the same quantity of the Wax in a water bath, and, having re- 
moved the vessel, mix them thoroughly with the Hydrochlorate of Morphia and 
the Sugar previously rubbed together. When the mixture has solidified, divide 
the mass into twelve equal portions, to be formed into cones, which are to be al- 
lowed to stand till they acquire sufficient firmness. Dip each cone into a mixture 
of three parts of Wax and eight of Lard, melted together in a water bath, and 
set aside in a cool place, that the coating may become hard.” Br. 
The sugar in this mixture is probably intended to give bulk to the salt of 
morphia, and thereby ensure its more equable diffusion. This is an excellent 
remedy in strangury, tenesmus, and other cases of irritation in the lower bowels 
and urinary passages. It may also be used to control vomiting, and to produce 
the general effects of opium on the system. Each suppository contains one- 
fourth of a grain of muriate of morphia, and is sufficient for many of the pur- 
poses for which the medicine is given in this form, but scarcely sufficient to pro- 
duce the full effects of morphia on the system in the adult. W. 
SYRUPI. 
Syrups. 
Syrups are concentrated solutions of sugar in watery fluids, either with or 
without medicinal impregnation. When the solution is made with pure water, 
it is named syrup or simple syrup, when with water charged with one or more 
medicinal agents, it is called in general terms a medicated syrup, and receives 
its particular designation from the substance or substances added. 
Medicated syrups are usually prepared by incorporating sugar with vegetable 
infusions, decoctions, expressed juices, fermented liquors, or simple aqueous 
solutions. When the active matter of the vegetable is not readily soluble in water, 
is associated with soluble matter which it is desirable to avoid, or is volatilized 
or decomposed by a heat of 212°, it is sometimes extracted by diluted alcohol, 
the spirituous ingredient of which is subsequently driven off. Medicated syrups 
are also occasionally prepared by adding a tincture to simple syrup, and evapo- 
rating the alcohol. Another and better mode of effecting the same object, when 
aromatic or other volatile substances are concerned, is to mix the tincture with 
sugar in coarse powder, expose the mixture to a very gentle heat or in the sun 
till the alcohol has evaporated, and then prepare the syrup from the impregnated 
sugar by dissolving it in the requisite proportion of water. Since the introduc- 
tion in,to use of the process of percolation, or liltration by displacement, it has 
been applied very advantageously to the preparation of various syrups, especi- 
ally those made from vegetables of which the active principle is injured or dis- 
sipated by decoction. But, unless the operator be at once skilful and careful, 
there will be danger of imperfectly extracting the active matters, and thus mak- 
ing a feeble preparation. One important practical rule is, when the liquid ob- 
tained by percolation requires concentration, to set aside the first portions of 
filtered liquor, which are usually strongly impregnated, and to subject only the 
subsequent weaker portions to evaporation. For the mode of properly conduct- 
ing this process the reader is referred to pages 894 and 905. 
The quality and quantity of the sugar employed are points of importance. 
Refined sugar should always be preferred, as it often saves the necessity of clari- 
fication, and makes a clearer and better flavoured syrup than the impure kinds. 
The U. S. Pharmacopoeia simply directs sugar, but explains that it is the purified 
or refined sugar which is indicated by that term. In relation to the quantity of 
sugar, if in too small proportion, fermentation is apt to occur; if too abundant, 
crystallization. The proper proportion is about two parts to one of the liquid. 
A somewhat smaller quantity will answer, where an acid, such as lemon juice or 
vinegar, is used. 1364 
Syrupi. 
part ii. 
As it is desirable, in many instances, that the active matters should be in as 
concentrated a state as possible in the syrup, it is often necessary to evaporate 
a large proportion of the watery fluid in which they are dissolved. This may 
be done either before the addition of the sugar or afterwards. In either case, 
care is requisite not to apply a heat too great or too long continued, lest the 
active principles should be injured. When these are very volatile or easily de- 
composed by heat, it is expedient to dispense with concentration altogether. 
Some substances which are volatilized or decomposed at the temperature of 
boiling water remain fixed and unaltered at that which is necessary for the eva- 
poration of alcohol. These, as before observed, may be dissolved in diluted alco- 
hol, and the concentration effected by evaporating the spirituous part of the sol- 
vent. Independently of the injury which the medicinal ingredient of the syrup 
may sustain, the syrup itself is apt to become brown by a long-continued appli- 
cation of heat, even when the degree is not excessive. It is recommended, there- 
fore, that syrups which admit of concentration should be boiled briskly over a 
lively fire, so as to accomplish the object as quickly as possible. It is important 
to be able to ascertain positively when they have attained the due consistence. 
An operator skilled in their preparation can judge with sufficient accuracy by 
various familiar signs; such as the slowness with which the parts of a drop of 
syrup coalesce, when previously separated by the edge of a blunt instrument; 
and the receding of the last portion of each drop, when the syrup, after being 
cooled, is poured out drop by drop. A pellicle forming upon the surface of the 
syrup when it cools, indicates that it has been too much boiled. But these signs 
are not to be relied on, except by those who have acquired much experience. 
The easiest method of ascertaining the proper point of concentration is by the 
use of that variety of Baume’s hydrometer called a saccharometer; an instru- 
ment almost indispensable to the apothecary. This should stand at 30° in boil- 
ing syrup (30| in hot weather), and at 35° in the syrup when it is cool. An- 
other very accurate, though less ready method, is to ascertain the sp. gr. by weigh- 
ing a portion of the liquid. Syrup when boiling should have a sp. gr. of about 
1-261; when cold, of about 1-319. Thomson and Duncan are mistaken in giving 
the proper sp. gr. of cold syrup as 1 385. We found that of a specimen of simple 
syrup, made with two pounds and a half of sugar to a pint of water, as directed 
in former editions of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, to be 1-326 at 68° F.; and this 
consistence is rather too great for practical convenience in cold weather. In the 
syrup now officinal it is only 1-311 at 60°, which is an improvement. A third 
method of ascertaining the proper point of concentration is by the thermometer, 
which, in boiling syrup of the proper consistence, stands at 221° F. This in- 
dication is founded on the fact, that the boiling point of syrup rises with the 
increase of its density. 
When carefully prepared with the best double refined sugar, syrups usually 
require no other clarification than to remove any scum which may rise to their 
surface upon standing, and to pour them off from any dregs which may subside. 
But, as the sugar employed is seldom free from impurities, it may be best, as a 
general rule, to remove the scum as it rises during the heating process, and to 
strain them while hot through muslin or flannel. Should they at any time want 
the due degree of clearness, they may be filtered through flannel, or, when not 
likely to be injured by the treatment, may be clarified by means of the white of 
eggs or animal charcoal, as mentioned under the head of Syrupue. But the 
active vegetable principles are so apt to be absorbed by the charcoal along with 
impurities, that this agent should be used with caution. 
The medicated syrups are liable to undergo various alterations, according to 
their nature and mode of preparation. The acid syrups, when too much boiled, 
often let fall a copious white deposit, which is a saccharine matter analogous to 
the sugar of grapes, produced by the reaction of the acid upon the sugar. Even PART II. 
Syrupi. 
1365 
at ordinary temperatures, acids slowly convert common sugar into the sugar of 
grapes, which, being less soluble than the former, is gradually deposited in the 
form of crystalline grains. Syrups containing too little sugar are apt to pass 
into the vinous fermentation, in consequence of the presence of matters which 
act as a ferment. Those which contain too much deposit a portion in the crys- 
talline state; and the crystals, attracting the sugar remaining in solution, gradu- 
ally weaken the syrup, and render it liable to the same change as when originally 
made with too little sugar. The want of a due proportion of saccharine matter 
frequently also gives rise to mouldiness, when air has access to the syrup. It is 
said that syrups, enclosed while they are still hot in bottles, are apt to ferment; 
because the watery vapour, rising to the surface and there condensing, diminishes 
the proportion of sugar, so as to produce a commencement of chemical action, 
which gradually extends through the whole mass; but, if the bottles are well 
shaken, this result is obviated; and the syrups will generally keep better when 
thus treated. When syrups undergo the vinous fermentation, they become covered 
at the surface with froth, produced by the disengagement of carbonic acid, and 
acquire a vinous odour from the presence of alcohol; while their consistence is 
diminished by the loss of a portion of the sugar, which has been converted into 
that liquid. When the quantity of alcohol has increased to a certain point, the 
fermentation ceases, or goes on more slowly, owing to the preservative influence 
of that principle; and, as the active ingredient of the syrup has frequently un- 
dergone no material change, the preparation may often be recovered by boiling 
so as to drive off the alcohol and carbonic acid, and concentrate the liquid suffi- 
ciently. A syrup thus revived is less liable afterwards to undergo change, be- 
cause the principles which acted as ferments have been diminished or consumed. 
It is obvious that syrups which depend for their virtues upon a volatile ingre- 
dient, or one readily changeable by heat, cannot be restored to their original 
condition. 
At best, syrups are too apt to change, and various measures have been pro- 
posed for their preservation. According to Dr. Macculloch, the addition of a 
little sulphate of potassa, or chlorate of potassa which is tasteless, prevents their 
fermentation. M. Chereau has found sugar of milk effectual to the same end, in 
the instance of the syrup of poppies; and it may prove useful in others. The 
proportion employed by him is 32 parts of sugar of milk to 1000 of syrup. Mr. 
E. Durand has found that 1'3 per cent, of Hoffmann’s anodyne has the effect of 
completely arresting or preventing fermentation, probably through the agency 
chiefly of the oil of wine contained in it. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xiii. 185.) 
But the best plan is to make small quantities of syrups at a time, and to keep 
them, unless when wanted for immediate use, in bottles quite full and well 
stopped, which should be put in the cellar or other cool place. 
The Syrups, formerly officinal, which have been omitted in the present IJ. S. 
and Br. Pharmacopoeias, are Syrupus Aceti, Ed., Syrupus Althaeas, Lond., Ed., 
Syrupus Cocci, Lond., Syrupus Croci, Lond., Ed., Dub:, Syrupus Rhamni, 
Lond., Ed., Syrupus Rosse (Gentifolise), Lond., Ed., Syrupus Sarzas, Lond., 
Ed., and Syrupus Violee, Ed. W. 
SYRUPUS. TJ. /S'., Br. Syrupus Simplex. Syrup. Simple Syrup. 
“ Take of Sugar [refined], in coarse powder, thirty-six troyounces; Distilled 
Water a sufficient quantity. Dissolve the Sugar, with the aid of heat, in twenty 
fluidounces of Distilled Water, raise the temperature to the boiling point, and 
strain the solution while hot. Then add sufficient Distilled Water, through the 
strainer, to make the Syrup measure two pints and twelve fluidounces, or weigh 
fifty-five troyounces. Lastly, incorporate the Water, added through the strainer, 
with the solution. Syrup, thus prepared, has the specific gravity 1-317.” U. S. 
“ Take of Refined Sugar five pounds [avoirdupois]; Distilled Water two 
pints [imperial measure]. Dissolve the Sugar in the Water with the aid of heat; t 
Syrupi. 
PART II. 
and add, after cooling, as much Distilled Water as may be necessary to make 
the weight of the product seven pounds and a half [avoirdupois]. The sp. gr. 
should be 1'330P Br. 
This syrup, when properly prepared, is inodorous, of a sweet taste without 
peculiar flavour, thick, viscid, nearly colourless, and perfectly transparent. If 
somewhat turbid, as it is apt to be when made with sugar not well refined, it may 
be clarified by beating the white of an egg to a froth with three or four ounces 
of water, mixing this with the syrup, boiling the mixture for a short time that 
the albumen may coagulate, and taking off the scum which rises to the surface, 
or separating it by filtration through paper or flannel. Two gallons of the syrup 
may be thus clarified. Any colour and peculiar flavour which it may possess may 
be removed by treating it, at the same time, with a small proportion (about 5 per 
cent.) of animal charcoal. 
The white of egg is beaten to a froth in order that, when it coagulates, it may 
be rendered by the air which it contains specifically lighter than the syrup, and 
thus rise to the surface. If not thus treated, it floats, when coagulated, in the 
syrup, or sinks to the bottom. Now it is obvious that, if the syrup and albumen 
be heated together, the latter must be deprived of a portion of the air which it 
contains before the point of coagulation is attained, and thus become less dis- 
posed to rise to the surface. Guibourt, therefore, recommends that it should not 
be added till the syrup is boiling hot, and should then be poured in from a height, 
in order to increase the quantity of air entangled in it. 
M. Salles, an apothecary of Clermoud-Ferrand, in France, recommends that 
syrups which require clarification should be treated in the following manner. 
Allow the liquor with which the syrup is to be prepared, without previously de- 
canting or filtering it, to become quite cold; then mix with it the white of eggs 
unbeaten, in the proportion of one egg for every five or six pounds (avoirdu- 
pois) of sugar employed; and, having added the sugar or honey, boil the whole 
for half an hour, or until a portion of the syrup upon cooling exhibits flocculi 
of albumen floating in a transparent medium. During the ebullition care must 
be taken to agitate the syrup in such a manner as to prevent the formation of 
foam upon its surface. When allowed to cool, the coagulated albumen with the 
impurities subsides, and the clear syrup floats above, and may be drawn off or 
decanted. In this process the albumen sinks, because not incorporated with air. 
M. Salles calls it clarification per descensum, and states that it is applicable to 
all syrups of a density below 30° Baume at the boiling point. (Journ. dePharm., 
xxiv. 490.) 
From the observations of M. Maumene, it appears that a solution of pure cane 
sugar, when long kept, undergoes a molecular change analogous to that pro- 
duced by the reaction of weak acids; the saccharine liquid becoming brown 
when boiled with potassa. But, as this phenomenon is exhibited alike by uncrys- 
tallizable sugar and by glucose, the experiment does not determine which of those 
forms of saccharine matter has been produced. (Comptes Rendus, xxxix. 914.) 
Prof. Procter has observed a similar change in simple syrup which had been 
kept in his cabinet for six years. (Am. Journ. ofPharm., xxvii. 430.) 
Syrup is very useful in the formation of pills and mixtures, and in various 
other pharmaceutical operations in which sugar in solution is required. 
The U. S. syrup has the sp. gr. 3 317, which is as near as may be the true 
standard in our climate. That of the Br. syrup is 1'330, probably adapted to 
the climate of Great Britain, which is not so cold in winter as ours, at least in 
the Northern and Middle States. 
Pharm. Uses. In preparing Pilula Aloes et Myrrh®, U. S.; Pil. Cambogiae 
Composita, Br.; Pil. Galbani Comp., U. S.; Pil. Scilla? Comp., U. S. 
Off. Prep. Coufeetio Scammonii, Br.; Mistura Creasoti, Br.; Mistura Cfet®, 
Br.; Pilulse Ferri Carbonatis, U.S.; Pilulse Ferri Composites, U.S.; Syrupua 
ft part II. 
Syrupi. 
1367 
Acidi Citrici, U. S.; Syrupus Aurantii, Br.; Syrupus Ferri Iodidi, 17. S.; Sy- 
rupus Ipecacuanha, U. S.; Syrupus Lactucarii, U. S.; Syrupus Rhei, U. S., Sy- 
rupus Rhei Aromaticus, U. S.; Syrupus Rubi, U. S.; Syrupus Zingiberis, Br. W. 
SYRUPUS ACACIiE. U.S. Syrup of Gum Arabic. 
“Take of Gum Arabic, in pieces, two troyounces; Sugar [refined], in coarse 
powder, fourteen troy ounces; Water eight fluidounces. Dissolve in the Wa- 
ter, first the Gum Arabic without heat, then the Sugar with a gentle heat, and 
strain.” U. S. 
The gum should be carefully selected; and, if its solution contain impurities, 
it should be strained before the addition of the sugar. On the whole, taking into 
consideration the great liability to the use of materials not quite pure, it might 
be advisable, in all cases, to heat momentarily to the boiling point, skim off what 
may rise to the surface, and then strain. This syrup is useful in the preparation 
of mixtures, pills, and troches, and is a good demulcent; but unfortunately the 
proportion of the gum to the sugar is too small to meet all the indications call- 
ing for the conjoint use of these two substances, and could not be much increased 
without endangering the stability of the preparation. W. 
SYRUPUS ACIDI CITRICI. U. S. Syrup of Citric Acid. 
“Take of Citric Acid, in fine powder, one hundred and twenty grains; Oil 
of Lemon four minims; Syrup two pints. Rub the Citric Acid and Oil of 
Lemon with a fluidounce of the Syrup; then add the mixture to the remainder 
of the Syrup, and dissolve with a gentle heat.” U. S. 
This is more uniform in its character, keeps better, and is more readily pre- 
pared than lemon syrup, but does not equal it in flavour, if the latter is well 
made. If long kept it is apt to acquire a musty taste, and to deposit grape sugar 
copiously, in consequence of the action of the acid on the cane sugar. It is much 
employed as an agreeable and refrigerant addition to drinks, especially carbonic 
acid water. Tartaric acid, on account of its greater cheapness, has not unfre- 
quently been substituted for the citric; but the syrup made with it does not keep 
so well, and, moreover, is more apt to irritate the stomach. 
Off. Prep. Liquor Magnesiae Citratis, U. S. W. 
SYRUPUS ALLII. U.S. Syrup of Garlic. 
“Take of Garlic, sliced and bruised, six troyounces; Sugar [refined], in 
coarse powder, twenty-four troyounces; Diluted Acetic Acid a pint. Macerate 
the Garlic with ten fluidounces of the Diluted Acetic Acid, in a glass vessel, for 
four days, and express the liquid. Then mix the residue with the remainder of 
the Acid, and again express until sufficient additional liquid has been obtained 
to make the whole, when filtered, measure a pint. Lastly, introduce the Sugar 
into a two-pint bottle, pour upon it the filtered liquid, and agitate until it is 
dissolved.” U. S. 
This preparation is made upon correct principles; as vinegar is a better sol- 
vent of the active matter of garlic than water. The syrup is given in chronic 
catarrhal affections of the lungs, and is particularly beneficial in infantile cases, 
by the stimulus which it affords to the nervous system. A teaspoonful may be 
given for a dose to a child a year old. W. 
SYRUPUS AMYGDALiE. U.S. Syrup of Almond. Syrup of Orgeat. 
“Take of Sweet Almond twelve troyounces ; Bitter Almond four troyounces; 
Sugar [refined], in coarse powder, seventy-two troyounces; Water three pints. 
Having blanched the Almonds, rub them in a mortar to a very fine paste, add- 
:ng, during the trituration, three fluidounces of the Water and twelve troyounces 
of the Sugar. Mix the paste thoroughly with the remainder of the Water, strain 
with strong expression, add to the strained liquid the remainder of the Sugar, 
and dissolve it with the aid of a gentle heat. Lastly, strain the solution through Syrupi. 
PART II. 
muslin, and, having allowed it to cool, keep it in well-stopped bottles in a cool 
place.” XJ. S. 
This process corresponds closely with that of the French Codex. Orange- 
flower water, however, which is an ingredient of the French preparation, is 
wanting in ours. It may be added to the syrup, in the quantity of half a pint, 
immediately after the sugar is dissolved. 
For a modified formula for preparing syrup of orgeat, by M. Capdeville, the 
reader is referred to the American Journal of Pharmacy (xxvii. 450), in which 
it is copied from the Repert. de Pharm. of January, 1855. 
This is an elegant syrup, much employed in Europe, and occasionally in this 
country. It is demulcent, nutritive, and, in consequence of the hydrocyanic acid 
of the bitter almonds, somewhat sedative. It is said to impair greatly the odour 
of musk and assafetida, when mixed with them. It may be added to cough mix- 
tures, or used for flavouring drinks in complaints of the chest. W. 
SYRUPUS AURANTII CORTICIS. U.S. Syrupus Aurantii. Br. 
Syrup of Orange Peel. 
“ Take of Sweet Orange Peel, recently dried and in moderately fine powder, 
two troyounces; Carbonate of Magnesia half a troyounce; Sugar [refined], 
in coarse powder, twenty-eight troyounces; Alcohol, Water, each, a sufficient 
quantity. Moisten the Orange Peel with half a fluidounce of Alcohol, introduce 
it into a conical percolator, and pour Alcohol upon it until six fluidounces of 
tincture have passed. Evaporate this, at a temperature not exceeding 120°, to 
two fluidounces, add the Carbonate of Magnesia and a troyounce of the Sugar, 
and rub them together, gradually adding half a pint of Water during the tritu- 
ration. Then filter, and having added sufficient Water to make the liquid mea- 
sure a pint, dissolve in it the remainder of the Sugar with the aid of a gentle 
heat, and strain.” U. S. 
“ Take of Tincture of Orange Peel one fluidounce; Syrup seven fluidounces. 
Mix.” Br. 
The present U. S. formula is a great improvement over that of 1850, in which 
water was used as the menstruum, and consequently but little relatively of the 
volatile oil of the resin was extracted. Not only is alcohol used, but afterwards, 
when, the greater part of the alcohol having been evaporated as no longer 
needed, water is added, care is taken, by rubbing this and the concentrated tinc- 
ture with carbonate of magnesia, to enable the water to take up and hold in 
solution the oil extracted by the alcohol. The present syrup is consequently 
much more highly flavoured than the one which it has superseded. In the eva- 
poration it is important that the heat should not exceed 120°, in consequence of 
the volatile nature of the active principle of the peel; and, to facilitate the solu- 
tion of the sugar, it should be previously powdered. The British preparation, 
which is a mere mixture of the tincture with syrup, is in all respects inferior. 
The U. S. formula is that of Prof. Procter, which was published in the eleventh 
edition of the U. S. Dispensatory (page 1274). The use of carbonate of mag- 
nesia was first suggested by Mr. John D. Finley. 
The syrup has an agreeable flavour, for which alone it is employed. Prepared 
according to the IT. S. process of 1850, it was apt to ferment in warm weather; 
an objection to which the present syrup is not liable. 
Off. Prep. Confectio Sulphuris, Br. W. 
SYRUPUS AURANTII FLORUM. U. S. Syrupus Aurantii Flo- 
ris. Br. Syrup of Orange Flowers. 
“Take of Orange Flower Water five fluidounces; Sugar [refined], in coarse 
powder, thirty-six troyounces; Distilled Water fifteen fluidounces. Disso.ve 
the Sugar in the Distilled Water, with the aid of a gentle heat, and raise the . PART II. 
Syrupi. 
1369 
temperature to the boiling point. When the solution is nearly cold, mix thor 
oughly with it the Orange Flower Water, and strain.” U. S. 
“Take of Orange-flower Water eight fluidounces; Refined Sugar three 
pounds [avoirdupois]; Distilled Water sixteen fluidounces, or a sufficiency. 
Dissolve the Sugar in the Distilled Water, by means of heat; strain, and when 
nearly cold add the Orange-flower Water, with a sufficient quantity of Distilled 
Water, if necessary, to make the product four pounds and a half [avoird.]. The 
sp. gr. should be P330.” Br. 
This is used for flavouring mixtures. W. 
SYRUPUS FERRI IODIDI. U.S.,Br. Liquor Ferri Iodidi. U.S. 
1850. Syrup of Iodide of Iron. Solution of Iodide of Iron. 
“Take of Iodine two troyounces; Iron, in the form of wire and cut in pieces, 
three hundred grains; Distilled Water three fluidounces; Syrup a sufficient 
quantity. Mix the Iodine, Iron, and Distilled Water in a flask of thin glass, 
shake the mixture occasionally until the reaction ceases, and the solution has 
acquired a green colour and lost the smell of iodine. Then, having introduced 
a pint of Syrup into a graduated bottle, heat it by means of a water-bath to 212°, 
and, through a small funnel inserted in the mouth of the bottle, filter into it the 
solution already prepared. When this has passed, close the bottle, shake it thor- 
oughly, and, when the liquid has cooled, add sufficient Syrup to make the wholo 
measure twenty fluidounces. Lastly, again shake the bottle, and transfer its 
contents to two-ounce vials, which must be well stopped.” U. S. 
“ Take of fine Iron Wire one ounce [avoirdupois] ; Iodine two ounces 
[avoird.]; Refined Sugar twenty-eight ounces [avoird.] ; Distilled Water thir- 
teen fluidounces. Prepare a syrup by dissolving the Sugar in ten [fluid]ounces 
of the Water with the aid of heat. Digest the Iodine and the Iron Wire in a 
flask, at a gentle heat, with the remaining three [fluid]ounces of the Water, till 
the froth becomes wddte; then filter the liquid, while still hot, into the syrup, 
and mix. The product should weigh two pounds eleven ounces [avoird.], and 
should have the sp. gr. 1-3851 Br. 
These preparations furnish solutions of iodide of iron, rendered more perma- 
nent by sugar. The mode of making the iodide is precisely the same as that 
given under the head of Ferri lodidum. The gentle heat employed in the Bri- 
tish process is unnecessary. The iodine should be quite dry; as, if moist, as 
British iodine often is, less iodide of iron will be formed, and the syrup will be 
proportionably weaker. In both processes a large excess of iron is taken, being 
greatest in the British. A moderate excess is useful in preventing the solution 
of iodide of iron from undergoing any change from the absorption of oxygen 
during filtration, before it comes in contact with the sugar. Assuming that the 
iodine without loss is all converted into iodide of iron, it is easy to calculate the 
strength of the officinal solutions. Thus, it will be found that the U. S. solution 
contains 7-33 grains, and that of the British Pharmacopoeia about 4‘30 grains 
of the dry iodide to the fluidrachm. In both preparations there is sufficient sugar 
t*o constitute a syrup; the present U. S. process differing in this respect from 
that of 1850, which was denominated a solution, because containing insufficient 
sugar to be entitled to the name of a syrup. Indeed, the proportion of sugar in 
the old formula was insufficient duly to protect the iodide, and was therefore in- 
creased. In the solution of 1850, a coil of iron wire, or a strip of bright iron, 
immersed in the solution, was found to assist in preserving it from change. 
The plan of protecting the solution of iodide of iron from change by saccha- 
rine matter originated with M. Frederking, of Riga, who published a formula 
for the purpose in Buchner's Repertorium in 1839. The same plan was pro- 
posed in a paper by Prof. Procter, contained in the Amer. Journ. of Pharmacy 
for April, 1840. In the Journal de Pharmacie for March, 1841, Dr. Dupasquier, 
of Lyons, claims to have made a pure iodide of iron, protected by syrup of gum, 1370 
Syrupi, 
PAIiT II. 
as early as 1838. In the Pharm. Journ. for August, 1841, the late Dr. A. T. 
Thomson published a paper in which he confirmed the results of Frederking and 
Procter, and proposed a formula for a strong syrup, which is the basis of that 
adopted in the British Pharmacopceia. 
Properties. The U. S. syrup of iodide of iron is a transparent liquid, of a 
pale-green colour, and deposits no sediment on being kept; nor does it tinge a 
solution of starch blue, showing that it is well protected. In regard to the for- 
mer U. S. preparation, Mr. E. S. Wayne observed that, when kept for some time, 
it occasionally deposited grape sugar, into which the cane sugar was converted, 
probably through the agency of hydriodic acid. According to Mr. J. M. Maisch, 
of this city, the solution was decomposed not only by light, but also by the ac- 
tion of atmospheric oxygen in bottles partly filled and frequently opened. The 
oxidation of the iron and the evolution of the iodine were accelerated by the 
action of light, when the solution was thus insecurely kept; but, when the altered 
solution was transferred to air-tight bottles, completely filled, and exposed to the 
direct light of the sun, it resumed its transparency; and its original colour was 
restored, or rendered much lighter. After this restoration the solution could not 
be the same; and Mr. Maisch thought it probable that it contained some iodate 
of sesquioxide of iron. (See his papers in the Am. Journ. of Pharm. for Sept. 
1854, and May, 1855.) The removal of the apparent defects of a solution of 
iodide of iron by the action of sunlight is, therefore, not an admissible expedi- 
ent; because it changes the nature of the solution. Mr. Maisch discovered cop- 
per in a sample of this preparation. It may be detected by putting into the 
solution a piece of bright iron, which, by a prolonged contact, will be covered 
with copper, if that metal be present. Syrup of iodide of iron is rendered brown 
by sulphuric acid, and emits violet vapours when heated. It should not contain 
any free iodine, which, if present, may be detected by the production of a blue 
colour with starch. 
These observations of Mr. Maisch in reference to the former Liquor Ferri 
Iodidi, so far as concerns the influence of light, are probably true of the pre- 
sent syrup, though the greater proportion of sugar contained gives it, no doubt, 
additional protection against the oxidizing influence of the air. 
When the syrup is concentrated it becomes brown, and, when evaporated to 
dryness, forms a mass which may be called saccharine iodide of iron, and which 
is not entirely soluble again, a little sesquioxide of iron being left. This saccha- 
rine iodide, being protected by the sugar it contains, is not liable to the objections 
which apply to the pure solid salt, and may be made into pills. 
Medical Properties. These have been detailed under the head of Ferri Io- 
didurn. The dose of the syrup is from 20 to 40 minims, diluted with water. The 
dilution should be made at the moment it is taken ; and, in order to guard against 
injury to the teeth, the mouth should be carefully washed after each dose. 
Solution of iodide of iron is sometimes used as an external application; and 
when so employed, the necessary dilution should be made at the moment of ap- 
plying it. B. « 
SYRUPUS FERRI PHOSPIIATIS. Br. Syrup of Phosphate of Iron. 
“Take of Granulated Sulphate of Iron two hundred and twenty-four grains ; 
Phosphate of Soda two hundred grains; Acetate of Soda seventy-four grains ; 
Diluted Phosphoric Acid five fiuidounces and a half; Refined Sugar eight 
ounces [avoirdupois] ; Distilled Water eight fiuidounces. Dissolve the Sul- 
phate of Iron in four [fluidjounces of the Water, and the Phosphate and Ace- 
tate of Soda in the remainder; mix the two solutions, and, after careful stirring, 
transfer the precipitate to a calico filter, and wash it with Distilled Water, till 
the filtrate ceases to be affected by chloride of barium. Then press the pre- 
cipitate strongly between folds of bibulous paper, and add to it the Dilute Phos- 
phoric Acid. As soon as the precipitate is dissolved, filter the solution, add the part II. 
Syrupi. 
1371 
Sugar, and dissolve without heat. The product should measure exactly twelve 
fluidounces.” Br. 
The first part of this process is almost precisely a repetition of that of the 
Br. Pharmacopoeia for phosphate of iron. (See Ferri Phosphas.) But after 
that salt has been prepared, instead of being dried, it is first strongly pressed, 
and then dissolved in the dilute phosphoric acid, and made into a syrup with 
sugar. As the phosphate of iron is insoluble in water, it was necessary to have 
recourse to an acid to effect its solution, and the phosphoric acid was selected as 
therapeutically co-indicated. Each fluidrachm contains 3-5 grains of the pho« 
phate of iron, and about 27 5 minims of dilute phosphoric acid. For its pro- 
perties and uses, see Ferri Phosphas (page 1143). The dose is one or two 
fluidrachrus. W. 
SYRUPUS HEMIDESMI. Br. Syrup of Hemidesmus. Syrup of 
Indian Sarsaparilla. 
“ Take of Hemidesmus, bruised, four ounces [avoirdupois]; Refined Sugar 
twenty-eight ounces [avoird.]; Boiling Distilled Water onk pint [Imperial 
measure]. Infuse the Hemidesmus in the Water, in a covered .vessel, for four 
hours, and strain. Set it by till the sediment subsides; then decant the clear 
liquor, add the Sugar, and dissolve by means of a gentle heat. The product 
should weigh two pounds ten ounces, and should have the specific gravity 1-335.” 
This is a very weak preparation. The dose is stated at from one to four flui- 
drachms, but the syrup may be taken almost ad libitum. (See Hemidesmus.) 
W. 
SYRUPUS IPECACUANHA. U.S. Syrup of Ipecacuanha. 
“ Take of Fluid Extract of Ipecacuanha two fluidounces; Syrup thirty fluid- 
ounces. Mix them.” U. S. 
By the former U. S. process of 1850, a tincture of ipecacuanha was first 
formed with diluted alcohol, then reduced by evaporation so as to drive off the 
alcohol, and afterwards diluted with water and made into a syrup with sugar. 
The present process simply mixes the fluid extract, which is an officinal prepara- 
tion, with syrup. The French Codex dissolves the alcoholic extract of ipecacu- 
anha in water, and then mixes it with syrup; but it is obvious that the U. S. 
plan is preferable, as it spares the continued heat requisite to reduce the tincture 
to dryness. The present U. S. syrup, which is twice as strong as that of 1850, 
is made in accordance with the suggestions of Mr. Laidley, of Richmond, Ya., 
who found the syrup, as ordinarily prepared, to spoil by keeping. (Am. Journ. 
of Pharm., xxvi. 103.) 
This syrup is chiefly applicable to the cases of children. One fluidounce of it, 
prepared according to the U. S. formula, should contain the virtues of thirty 
grains of ipecacuanha. The dose of it, as an emetic, is for an adult from four 
fluidrachms to a fluidounce, for a child a year or two old, from thirty minims to 
a fluidrachm, repeated every fifteen or twenty minutes till it acts. As an ex- 
pectorant, the dose for an adult is thirty minims or a fluidrachm, for a child from 
two to ten minims. W. 
SYRUPUS KRAMERIM.U.S. Syrup of Bhatany. 
“Take of Rhatany, in moderately fine powder, twelve troyounces; Sugar 
[refined], in coarse powder, thirty troyounces; Water a sufficient quantity. Mix 
the Rhatany with half a pint of Water, and, having allowed the mixture to stand 
for two hours, introduce it into a glass percolator, and gradually pour Water 
upon it until four pints of filtered liquor are obtained. Evaporate this, by means 
of a water-bath, to seventeen fluidounces, and, having added the Sugar, dissolve 
it with the aid of a gentle heat, and strain the solution while hot. This Syrup 
may also be prepared in the following manner. 
“ Take of Extract of Rhatany two troyounces ; Sugar in coarse powder, thirty 1372 
Syrupi. 
part ii. 
troyounces; Water a pint. Dissolve the Extract in the Water, and filter; then, 
having added the Sugar, dissolve it with the aid of a gentle heat, and strain the 
solution while hot.” U. S. 
As rhatany yields a variable proportion of extract, it follows that the syrup 
resulting from these two modes of preparation must differ. To obviate this qvil 
as far as possible, care should be taken, in following the first process, to select 
the best rhatany, and preferably the small roots, as it is these only which will 
yield two ounces of good extract to the pound. 
In the second process, extract of rhatany as free as possible from insoluble 
matter should be chosen; and that prepared according to the U. S. directions 
will be found the best. (See Extractum Kramerise.) This preparation affords a 
convenient mode of exhibiting rhatany to infants. The dose for an adult is half 
a fluidounce, for a child a year or two old, twenty or thirty minims. W. 
SYRUPUS LACTUCARII. U.S. Syrup of Lactucarium. 
“Take of Lactucarium a troyounce; Syrup fourteen fiuidounces; Diluted 
Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Rub the Lactucarium with sufficient Diluted 
Alcohol, gradually added, to bring it to a syrupy consistence. Then introduce 
it into a conical percolator, and, having carefully covered the surface with a 
piece of muslin, gradually pour Diluted Alcohol upon it until half a pint of tinc- 
ture has passed. Evaporate this, by means of a water-bath, at a temperature not 
exceeding 160°, to two fiuidounces, mix it with the Syrup, previously heated, 
and strain while hot.” U. S. 
This syrup has the virtues of lactucarium, free from its inert albuminous mat- 
ter. The dose of it is two or three fluidrachms. W. 
SYRUPUS LIMONIS. U. S., Br. Syrup of Lemon. 
“Take of Lemon Juice, recently expressed and strained, a pint; Sugar [re- 
fined], in coarse powder, forty-eight troyounces; Water a pint. Mix the Lemon 
Juice and Water, and, having added the Sugar to the mixture, dissolve it with 
the aid of a gentle heat, and strain the solution while hot.” U. S. 
“Take of Fresh Lemon Peel two ounces [avoirdupois] ; Lemon Juice, 
strained, one pint [Imperial measure] ; Refined Sugar two pounds and a quarter 
[avoird.]. Add the Sugar and the Lemon Peel to the Lemon Juice in a covered 
vessel, and dissolve the Sugar with the aid of a steam or water bath, then strain. 
The product should weigh three pounds and a half [avoird.], and should have 
the sp.gr. 1340.”Rr. 
The British preparation has an advantage over that of the U. S. Pharmaco- 
poeia in possessing more of the aromatic flavour of the rind; and it would be 
an improvement to our formula to add a little grated fresh lemon-peel to the 
other ingredients. In the present U. S. syrup, the juice, instead of being used 
undiluted, as in the process of 1850, is mixed with an equal measure of water, 
which is an improvement. 
This syrup forms a cooling and grateful addition to beverages in febrile com- 
plaints, and serves to conceal the taste of saline purgatives in solution. W. 
SYrRUPUS MORI. Br. Syrup of Mulberries. 
“Take of Mulberry Juice one pint [Imperial measure]; Refined Sugar two 
pounds [avoirdupois]; Rectified Spirit two fiuidounces and a half. Dissolve 
the Sugar in the Juice, by a gentle heat, and set aside for twenty-four hours. 
Then remove the scum, and pour off the clear liquid from the dregs, if any ap- 
pear. Lastly, add the Spirit. The product should weigh three pounds six 
ounces [avoird.], and should have the sp.gr. 1 330.” Br. 
This may be used for the same purposes with lemon syrup. In like manner 
syrups may be prepared from various succulent fruits, such as strawberries, 
raspberries, blackberries, currants, pineapples, &c. When the juice is thick, 
it may be diluted with from one-third of its bulk to an equal bulk of water pre- part II. 
Syrupi. 
viously to the addition of the sugar. In the preparation of raspberry syrup, 
which, as ordinarily made, is apt to gelatinize, M. Blondeau recommends that 
the strained juice be allowed to stand from eight to fifteen hours, according to 
the temperature, in order to ferment. The juice separates into two portions, the 
upper thick, the lower clear. The latter is to be separated by straining, and 
made into a syrup with the usual proportion of sugar. The process of the Lon- 
don College for Syrupus Mori, retained in the British Pharmacopoeia, is in ac- 
cordance with this recommendation. These syrups are employed to flavour drinks, 
and are much used as grateful additions to carbonic acid water.* W. 
SYRUPUS PAPAVERIS. Br. Syrup of Poppies. 
“ Take of Poppy Capsules, bruised and freed from seed, thirty-six ounces 
[avoirdupois] ; Boiling Distilled Water twenty pints [Imperial measure] ; Rec- 
tified Spirit sixteen Jiuidounces; Refined Sugar four pounds [avoird.]. Ma- 
cerate the Poppy Capsules in the Water, in a water bath, kept hot, for twelve 
hours. Then evaporate all the water except that absorbed by the capsules, press 
strongly, and strain. Reduce the strained liquor to three pints [Imp. meas.], 
and, when quite cold, add the Spirit. Mix and filter. Distil off the spirit, eva- 
porate the remaining liquor to two pints [Imp. meas.], and then add the Sugar. 
The product should weigh six pounds and a half [avoird.], and should have the 
sp. gr. 1-320.” 
As the capsules contain variable proportions of the narcotic principle, the 
syrup prepared from them is necessarily of variable strength. It was, moreover, 
as formerly prepared, very apt to spoil. It is, we presume, to correct this tend- 
ency, that the direction is given in the Pharmacopoeia to add alcohol to the in- 
fusion, by which coagulable matter may be separated; the alcohol itself being 
* Some practical remarks in relation to these syrups, so much used with artificial mineral 
water, may prove useful to the inexperienced pharmaceutist. Care should be taken that 
the fruit employed should be fully ripe, and freed from all its natural attachments, as 
calyx, stem, &c., and from all other impurities. Without being previously crushed, it 
should be put into canvass or woollen bags, which should be about two-thirds full when 
placed under the press. The expressing force should be gradually increased, so as effectu- 
ally to remove the juice with as little of the tissue of the fruit as possible. It is customary 
to make a pint of syrup from a pint measure of fruit, and, if the expressed juice is insuffi- 
cient for the purpose, to dilute it with water; but this is obviously an arbitrary rule, which 
cannot be universally applied without injuriously affecting the character of the product. 
The rule in the text is better; viz., to dilute the juice when too thick. In dissolving the 
sugar, as short an exposure to heat as possible is desirable. Some dissolve the sugar in a 
portion of the juice with heat, and add the remainder a few minutes before removal from 
the fire. Some fruits contain so much pectin that their syrups are apt to gelatinize. This 
is particularly the case with currants and raspberries. A mode of preventing this result 
has been mentioned in the text. Another method is to add to the juice, after expression, 
one-tenth of its bulk of the juice of sour cherries, allow the mixture to stand for fifteen 
hours, and then separate the coagulated pectin by very gentle pressure in a cloth. Pine- 
apple syrup may be made either in the ordinary mode, or by slicing the fruit, alternating 
the slices with layers of powdered sugar, permitting them to stand twenty-four hours, and 
then expressing the syrup formed. Each pound of the pared fruit, with thirty ounces of 
sugar, should yield with the requisite quantity of water two pints of syrup. For some 
further practical remarks on the preparation of particular syrups, the reader is referred 
to a paper by Mr. Ambrose Smith, in the American Journal of Pharmacy (xxii. 212). 
Cream Syrups. Under this name, there has come into use, in Philadelphia, a variety of 
syrups, given with carbonic acid water, to which they impart an agreeable richness of 
flavour. To prepare them, a gallon of fresh sweet cream is made to dissolve, without heat, 
14 pounds (avoird.) of powdered sugar; and the solution, having been immediately bottled, 
is placed on ice, in a cold cellar. It will keep from three to eight days, according to cir- 
cumstances. It is added to other syrups, given with carbonic acid water, equal measures 
being employed. The use of cream syrups is said to have originated with Mr. C. A. Smith, 
of Cincinnati. Mr. A. B. Taylor, of Philadelphia, prepares cream vanilla syrup by mixing 
together three fluidrachms of strong fluid extract of vanilla, a pint of simple syrup, and 
a pint of cream syrup. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxvii. 407.)—Notes to the ninth and eleventh 
editions. 1374 
Syrupi. 
part ii. 
subsequent!}7 removed by distillation. The place, however, of this syrup, might, 
with great propriety, be supplied by a syrup prepared from-one of the salts of 
morphia, which would keep well, and have the advantage of uniform strength. 
Four grains of the sulphate of morphia dissolved in a pint of syrup, would afford 
a preparation at least equal to the average strength of the syrup of poppies, and 
much more certain in its operation. Mr. Southall recommends that the syrup of 
poppies should be prepared with a cold infusion made by percolation ; the same 
proportions being employed as directed by the late London Pharmacopoeia. The 
virtues of the capsules are thus extracted without those principles which cause the 
syrup to ferment speedily. (See Am. Journ. of Pliarm., xv. 140.) Mr. Southall, 
after preparing the infusion, evaporates it to the proper measure before adding 
the sugar. Mr. Stocken prefers adding the sugar before the concentration is 
completed, and afterwards evaporating to 32° of the saccharometer. (Pharm. 
Journ., xi. 299.) It is probable that a syrup, prepared with diluted alcohol as 
the menstruum, would keep better than that made on either of the above plans.* 
The syrup of poppies is employed, chiefly in infantile cases, to allay cough, 
quiet restlessness, relieve pain, and promote sleep. The dose is from half a flui- 
drachm to a fluidrachm for an infant, from half a fluidounce to a fluidounce for 
an adult. W. 
SYRUPUS PRUNI VIRGINIANS. U.S. Syrup of Wild-cherry 
Bark. 
“Take of Wild-cherry Bark, in coarse powder, five ti'oyounces; Sugar [re- 
fined], in coarse powder, twenty-eight troyounces; Water a sufficient quantity. 
Moisten the Bark thoroughly with Water, and allow it to stand for twenty-four 
hours in a close vessel; then pack it firmly in a glass percolator, and gradually 
pour Water upon it until a pint of filtered liquor is obtained. To this, trans- 
ferred to a bottle, add the Sugar, and agitate occasionally until it is dissolved.” 
U.S. 
This process affords a handsome syr-up, with the virtues of the bark unim- 
paired by the injurious effects of heat. It is based upon a formula proposed by 
Messrs. Procter and Turnpenny in the American Journal of Pharmacy (xiv. 
21). It probably more precisely represents the bark than is done by the fluid 
extract, which contains a smaller proportion of the tannic acid than the bark, in 
consequence of the removal of a part of that principle by combination with the 
albumen of the almonds used in the process. In some cases, this want of tannic 
acid may specially recommend the fluid extract; while in others, as in the diar- 
rhoea of phthisis, for example, the syrup or infusion might be preferable from 
retaining it. The dose is half a fluidounce. W. 
SYRUPUS RHEI. U.S. Syrup of Rhubarb. 
“Take of Fluid Extract of Rhubarb three Jluidounces ; Syrup twenty-nine 
fluidounces. Mix them thoroughly.” U. S. 
This formula is an improvement on that of 1850, as being more precise. The 
syrup is a mild cathartic, adapted to the cases of infants, to whom it may be 
given in the dose of a fluidrachm. W. 
SYRUPUS RIIEI AROMATICUS. U.S. Aromatic Syrup of Rhu- 
barb. 
* Prof. Procter lias furnished us with the following formula, which he has used for many 
years, and found to yield a good syrup, that will keep well. “Take of Poppy Capsules, de- 
prived of their seeds, and ground into coarse powder, eight troy ounces; Sugar fifteen troy- 
ounces; Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Moisten the powder with four fluidounces of 
the Diluted Alcohol, pack it firmly in a percolator, and pour Diluted Alcohol upon it until 
three pints have slowly passed Distil off the alcohol until the residual liquid is reduced 
to half a pint, and filter. Allow sufficient Distilled Water to pass through the filter to make 
the filtrate measure half a pint; then add the Sugar, dissolve with heat, and strain.”— 
Note to the twelfth edition. PART II. 
Syrupi 
1375 
“ Take of Rhubarb, in moderately fine powder, two troyounces and a half; 
Cloves, in moderately fine powder, Cinnamon, in fine powder, each, half a troy- 
ounce; Nutmeg, in moderately fine powder, one hundred and twenty grains; 
Syrup six pints ; Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Mix the powders, and, 
having moistened the mixture with two fluidounces of Diluted Alcohol, intro- 
duce it into a conical percolator, and pour Diluted Alcohol upon it until a pint 
of tincture has passed. Add this to the Syrup, previously heated, and mix them 
thoroughly.” U. S.* 
The aromatic syrup of rhubarb is a warm stomachic laxative, too feeble for 
adult cases, but well calculated for the bowel-complaints of infants which are 
so frequent in our cities during the summer season, and as a remedy for which 
this preparation, or one analogous to it, has been long in use under the name of 
spiced syrup of rhubarb. The dose for an infant with diarrhoea is a fluidrachm, 
repeated every two hours till the passages indicate by their colour that the 
medicine has operated. It should be borne in mind that the syrup, as prepared 
by the present formula, contains one-seventh of diluted alcohol, which, though 
not injurious in most of the cases in which this syrup is used, might render it 
too stimulant in some instances of diarrhoea in the very young infant. W. 
SYRUPUS RIKEADOS. Br. Syrup of Red Poppy. 
“ Take of Red-poppy Petals thirteen ounces [avoirdupois] ; Refined Sugar 
two pounds and a quarter [avoird.] ; Distilled Water one pint [Imperial mea- 
sure], or a sufficiency; Rectified Spirit two fluidounces and a half. Add the 
Petals gradually to the Water heated in a water-bath, frequently stirring, and 
afterwards, the vessel being removed, macerate for twelve hours. Then press out 
the liquor, strain, add the Sugar, and dissolve by means of heat. When nearly 
cold, add the Spirit, and as much Distilled Water as may be necessary to make 
up for loss in the process, so that the product shall weigh three pounds ten 
ounces, and should have the sp. gr. 1-330.” Br. 
The object of introducing the petals into water heated by a water-bath is 
that they may shrink by being scalded; as otherwise they could not be com- 
pletely immersed in the quantity of water directed. After this has been accom- 
plished, they should be immediately removed from the fire, lest the liquor become 
too thick and ropy. The fine red colour of this syrup is its only recommendation. 
It is very liable to. ferment. W. 
SYRUPUS ROSiE GALLICiE. U. S., Br. Syrup of Red Rose. 
“Take of Red Rose, in moderately fine powder, two troyounces; Sugar 
[refined], in coarse powder, eighteen troyounces; Diluted Alcohol, Water, each, 
a sufficient quantity. Moisten the Rose with Diluted Alcohol, pack it firmly in 
a conical glass percolator, and gradually pour Diluted Alcohol upon it until a 
fluidounce of tincture has passed. Set this aside, and continue the percolation 
until five fluidounces more of tincture are obtained. Evaporate this with a gen- 
tle heat to a fluidounce and a half, and mix it with seven fluidounces of Water. 
Then, having added the Sugar, dissolve it with the aid of a gentle heat, and 
strain the solution while hot. Lastly, when the solution is cold, add the fluid- 
ounce of reserved tincture, and mix them thoroughly.” U. S. 
“ Take of dried Red-rose Petals two ounces [avoirdupois] ; Refined Su- 
gar thirty ounces [avoird.]; Boiling Distilled Water one pint [Imperial mea- 
* The following is the preferred formula of the Pharmacopoeia of 1850, omitted in the 
present edition, in which the syrup is prepared by maceration. “ Take of Rhubarb, bruised, 
two ounces and a half; Cloves, bruised, Cinnamon, bruised, each, half an ounce; Nutmeg, 
bruised, two drachms; Diluted Alcohol two pints; Syrup six pints. Macerate the Rhubarb 
and Aromatics in the Diluted Alcohol for fourteen days, and strain; then, by means of a 
water-bath, evaporate the liquor to a pint, and, while it is still hot, mix it with the Syrup 
previously heated.” Care should be taken, in evaporating the tincture, not to let the heat 
exceed that of a water-bath, lest the aromatic oils should be driven off. 1376 
Syrupi 
PART II. 
sure ]. Infuse the Petals in the Water for two hours, squeeze through calico, 
and filter. Dissolve the Sugar in the liquor by means of heat. The product 
should weigh two pounds fourteen ounces [avoird.], and should have the sp. gr. 
1-335.” Br. 
The syrup of red roses is mildly astringent; but is valued more for its fine 
red colour, on account of which it is occasionally added to mixtures. W. 
SYRUPUS RUBI. U.S. Syrup of Blackberry Root. 
“ Take of Blackberry Root, in moderately fine powder, eight troyounces; Syrup 
apint and a half; Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Introduce the powder, 
previously moistened with four fluidounces of Diluted Alcohol, into a glass per- 
colator, and pour Diluted Alcohol upon it until a pint and a half of tincture 
have passed. Evaporate this, by means of a water-bath, at a temperature not 
exceeding 160°, to half a pint; then mix it while hot with the Syrup previously 
heated, and strain.” U. S. 
This process might perhaps be improved by filtering the concentrated tinc- 
ture before the addition of the sugar. The Syrup is a new officinal of the U. S. 
Pharmacopoeia, called for by the popularity of similar preparations. It is very 
useful in diarrhoea of relaxation, and in the chronic forms of that complaint. 
The dose is one or two fluidrachms. W. 
SYRUPUS SARSAPARILLA COMPOSITUS. U. S. Compound 
Syrup of Sarsaparilla. 
“ Take of Sarsaparilla, in moderately coarse powder, twenty-four troyounces; 
Guaiacum Wood, in moderately coarse powder, three troyounces; Pale Rose, 
in moderately coarse powder, Senna, in moderately coarse powder, Liquorice 
Root, in moderately coarse powder, each, two troyounces; Oil of Sassafras, 
Oil of Anise, each, five minims; Oil of Gaultheria three minims; Sugar, in 
coarse powder, ninety-six troyounces; Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity. 
Mix the solid ingredients, except the Sugar, with three pints of Diluted Alco- 
hol, and allow the mixture to stand for twenty-four hours; then transfer it to 
a cylindrical percolator, and gradually pour Diluted Alcohol upon it until ten 
pints of tincture have passed. Evaporate this, by means of a water-bath, to four 
pints, filter, and, having added the Sugar, dissolve it with the aid of heat, and 
strain the solution while hot. Lastly, rub the Oils with a small portion of the 
solution, and mix them thoroughly with the remainder.” U. S. 
In the original edition of the TJ. S. Pharmacopoeia published in 1820, a pro- 
cess for a syrup of sarsaparilla was adopted, intended to represent the famous 
French sirop de Cuisinier. This was very much improved in the revised edi- 
tion published in 1830; and the amended process has been retained with little 
alteration in the subsequent editions; the process of percolation having been 
substituted in the present Pharmacopoeia for simple maceration directed in the 
first of the two formulas of 1850. In the original process, the sarsaparilla was 
subjected to long decoction with water. Now it has been proved that diluted 
alcohol more thoroughly extracts the acrid principle of the root, upon which its 
activity probably depends, than water, and that this principle is either dissipated 
or destroyed by the long-continued application of a boiling heat.* In the pre- 
sent formula, therefore, which employs diluted alcohol as the menstruum, the 
root is more completely exhausted of its active matter; while the heat applied 
to the concentration, being no higher than is requisite for the evaporation of 
the alcohol, is insufficient to injure the preparation. The spirituous menstruum 
has, moreover, the advantage of not dissolving the inert fecula, which encumbers 
* See a paper by J. Hancock, M. D., republished in the Journal of the Philadelphia Col- 
lege of Pharmacy (i. 295); a communication by M. Bdral to the Journal de Pharmacie (xv. 
057); another by M. Soubeiran in the same journal (xvi. 38); and a paper by T. J. Hus- 
band in the American Journal of Pharmacy (xy. 6). PART II. 
Syrupi. 
the syrup prepared by decoction, and renders it liable to spoil. In the Pharma- 
copoeia of 1840, the pale or hundred-leaved roses were very properly substituted 
for the red; as their slightly laxative property accords better with the character 
of the preparation. The operator should be careful to comply exactly with the 
directions of the Pharmacopoeia, not only those of the present formula, including 
the use of the water-bath, but also the general rules given for the management 
of the process of percolation. The essential oils, being intended solely to com- 
municate an agreeable flavour, are used in very small proportion. The only ob- 
jection to this process is that a portion of the resin, extracted by the alcohol 
from the guaiacum wood, is deposited during the evaporation of the tincture; 
but this is separated by the filtration directed, and is therefore of no disadvan- 
tage to the preparation. But the practitioner should be aware that much of the 
sarsaparilla, as it exists in the market, is nearly or quite inert, and should be 
prepared to meet with disappointment in the use of this or any other prepara- 
tion, unless satisfied of the good quality of the drug from which it is made. 
Corrosive sublimate, which is often given in connection with this syrup, is 
said to be completely decomposed by it, being converted into calomel. M. Le- 
page, of Gisors, proposes as a substitute the iodohydrargyrate of potassium 
(see Part III.), which he has found not to undergo decomposition. (Journ. de 
Pharm., 3e ser., viii. 63.) 
The dose of the syrup is half a fluidounce, equivalent to somewhat less than 
a drachm of the root, to be taken three or four times a day. W. 
SYRUPUS SCILL2E. U.S., Br. Syrup of Squill. 
“ Take of Yinegar of Squill a pint; Sugar [refined], in coarse powder, twenty- 
four troyounces. Dissolve the Sugar in the Vinegar of Squill, with the aid of 
a gentle heat, and strain the solution while hot.” U. S. 
“Take of Squill, bruised, two ounces and a half [avoirdupois]; Dilute Ace- 
tic Acid one pint [Imperial measure]; Refined Sugar two pounds [avoird.]; 
Proof Spirit one fluidounce and a half. Digest the Squill in the Dilute Acetic 
Acid for three days, with a gentle heat; express, add the Spirit, and filter; 
then mix in the Sugar, and dissolve with the aid of heat. The product should 
weigh three pounds two ounces [avoird.], and should have the sp. gr. 1 330.” Br. 
This syrup is much employed as an expectorant, especially in combination 
with a solution of tartarized antimony. The dose is about a fluidrachm. In in- 
fantile cases of catarrh and other pectoral complaints, it is sometimes given, in 
the same dose, as an emetic. W. 
SYRUPUS SCILLJE COMPOSITUS. U.S. Compound Syrup of 
Squill. Hive Syrup. 
“Take of Squill, in moderately coarse powder, Seneka, in moderately fine 
powder, each, four troyounces ; Tartrate of Antimony and Potassa forty-eight 
grains; Sugar [refined], in coarse powder, forty-two troyounces; Diluted Al- 
cohol, Water, each, a sufficient quantity. Mix the Squill and Seneka, and, hav- 
ing moistened the mixture with half a pint of Diluted Alcohol, allow it to stand 
for an hour. Then transfer it to a conical percolator, and pour Diluted Alcohol 
upon it until three pints of tincture have passed. Boil this for a few minutes, 
evaporate it by means of a water-bath to a pint, add six fluidounces of boiling 
Water, and filter. Dissolve the Sugar in the filtered liquid, and, having heated 
the solution to the boiling point, strain it while hot. Then dissolve the Tartrate 
of Antimony and Potassa in the solution while still hot, and add sufficient boil- 
mg Water, through the strainer, to make it measure three pints. Lastly, mix 
the whole thoroughly together.” U. S. 
This is intended as a substitute for the popular preparation called Coxe's 
hive-syrup, from which it differs chiefly in containing sugar instead of honey. 
Prepared as originally directed in the Pharmacopoeia, it invariably fermented 1378 
Syrupi. 
PART II. 
from the want of sufficient concentration. This defect was corrected at the re- 
vision of 1840, when also sugar was substituted for honey, in consequence of 
the uncertain consistence and constitution of the latter. In the Pharmacopoeia 
of 1850 two formulas were given for this syrup ; in the first of which the virtues 
of the squill and seneka were extracted by long boiling with water, in the second, 
by percolation with water to which a small portion of alcohol was added. The 
latter was preferable when skilfully performed; as it avoided in great measure 
the injurious influence of boiling upon the seneka, exhausted both this and the 
squill more readily in consequence of the addition of alcohol to the menstruum, 
and afforded a solution of their active principles, less embarrassed with inert 
matters calculated to favour fermentation. In this process, the filtered liquor 
was raised to the boiling point in order to coagulate the albumen, after which 
the evaporation was conducted at a lower temperature. The present formula is 
a decided improvement upon the one just described; as, diluted alcohol being 
employed as the menstruum, less of the albuminous and mucilaginous matter is 
extracted; while any disadvantage from the spirituous addition is obviated by 
the subsequent evaporation of the alcohol and the addition of water; the pro- 
vision being retained to boil the tincture for a short time to get rid of any albu- 
men that may have been taken up.* 
The compound syrup of squill combines the virtues of seneka, squill, and tartar 
emetic, of the last of which it contains one grain in every fluidounce. It is emetic, 
diaphoretic, expectorant, and frequently cathartic, and may be given with ad- 
vantage in mild cases of croup, in the latter stages of severe cases when the object 
is to promote expectoration, and in other pectoral affections in which the same 
indication is presented. As an emetic, however, in croup, we prefer a simple 
solution of tartar emetic in water. The dose of this syrup is, for children, from 
ten drops to a fluidrachm, according to the age, and should be repeated in cases 
of croup every fifteen or twenty minutes till it vomits. As an expectorant for 
adults the dose is twenty or thirty drops. W. 
SYRUPUS SENEGA. U.S. Syrup of Seneka. 
“Take of Seneka, in moderately fine powder, four troyounces; Sugar [re- 
fined], ia coarse powder, fifteen troyounces; Diluted Alcohol two pints. 
Moisten the Seneka with two fluidounces of the Diluted Alcohol; then transfer 
it to a conical percolator, and gradually pour upon it the remainder of the Di- 
luted Alcohol. When the tincture has ceased to pass, evaporate it, by means of 
a water-bath, at a temperature not exceeding 160°, to half a pint; then filter, 
and, having added the Sugar, dissolve it with the aid of a gentle heat, and strain 
the solution while hot.” U. S. 
This is essentially the second of the two formulas given in the Pharmacopoeia 
of 1850; the first having been omitted in the present edition, as quite super- 
annuated. There is no doubt that, if the existing formula be carried duly into 
* Great difficulty has been experienced in making this preparation so as to keep well. Va- 
rious improvements upon the former officinal formula have been suggested. Dr. Cummings, 
of Portland, Maine, proposed to use diluted acetic acid as the menstruum for squill, and di- 
luted alcohol for seneka; and thought that a syrup might thus be made which would not 
ferment. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxviii. 397.) Mr. A. P. Sharp, of Baltimore, has found great 
satisfaction from the following method of proceeding. As soon as one portion of the syrup 
has been made for use, he begins to prepare another in the following manner. Coarsely 
powdered seneka and squill, of each viij, are macerated with a gallon of a mixture of 
one part of alcohol and two of water, and allowed to stand till the first portion is nearly 
consumed, sometimes for two or three months, when the mixture is expressed or submitted 
to percolation. The tincture is then evaporated, till the alcohol has been driven off, the 
residue is filtered cold, Ibvij of sugar are added, the liquid is evaporated without boiling 
to Ovj, is strained if necessary, and a grain of tartar emetic added for each f Hjj. (Ibid., 
xxvii. 220.) But the improvement in the officinal formula, it is hoped, will obviate all 
necessity for substituted formulas in future.—Note to the eleventh and twelfth editions. PART II. 
Syrupi. 
1379 
execution, it will yield an excellent preparation. But, in consequence of the 
abundance of a pectin-like matter in seneka, it is difficult to get the syrup quite 
clear without clarification with albumen. The syrup affords a very convenient 
mode of exhibiting seneka in pectoral complaints. It may be given as a stimu- 
lant expectorant in the dose of one or two fluidrachms. W. 
SYRUPUS SENNiE. Br. Syrup of Senna. 
“Take of Senna, broken small, sixteen ounces [avoirdupois]; Oil of Cori- 
ander three minims; Refined Sugar twenty four ounces [avoird.]; Distilled 
Water five pints [Imperial measure], or a sufficiency; Rectified Spirit two 
fiuidounces. Digest the Senna in seventy [fluid]ounces of the Water for twenty- 
four hours; press and strain. Digest the mark in thirty [fluid]ounces of the 
Water for six hours; press and strain. Evaporate the mixed liquors to ten 
fiuidounces, and, when cold, add the Rectified Spirit, previously mixed with the 
Oil of Coriander. Clarify by filtration, aud wash what remains on the filter with 
Distilled Water, until the washings make up the filtrate to sixteen fiuidounces. 
Then add the Sugar, and dissolve by means of a gentle heat. The product should 
weigh two pounds ten ounces [avoird.], and should have the sp. gr. 1-310.” Br. 
The present British syrup, which has superseded the former syrups of the Lon- 
don and Edinburgh Colleges, differs from them, as well as from that of the U. S. 
Pharmacopoeia of 1850, very greatly in strength ; so that, in prescribing it, phy- 
sicians accustomed to the doses of the former syrups must be on their guard not 
very seriously to overdose their patients. The syrup, as made by the above for- 
mula, contains the strength of about thirty grains of senna in each fluidrachm, 
and should rank with the Fluid Extracts rather than the Syrups. The dose for 
an adult would be one or two fluidrachms; but for children, for whom it was 
originally intended, not more than from one-eighth to one-quarter of that quan- 
tity, according to the age. It has been omitted in the present edition of the 
U. S. Pharmacopoeia, under the impression, we presume, that its place might be 
supplied by the fluid extract. W. 
SYRUPUS TOLUTANUS. U.S.,Br. Syrup of Tolu. 
“Take of Tincture of Tolu two fiuidounces; Carbonate of Magnesia one 
hundred and twenty grains; Sugar [refined], in coarse powder, twenty-six 
troyounces; Water a pint. Rub the Tincture of Tolu first with the Carbonate 
of Magnesia and two troyounces of the Sugar, then with the Water gradually 
added, and filter. To the filtered liquid add the remainder of the Sugar, and, 
having dissolved it with the aid of a gentle heat, strain the solution while hot.” 
U. S. 
“Take of Balsam of Tolu one ounce and a quarter [avoirdupois]; Refined 
Sugar two pounds [avoird.] ; Distilled Water one pint [Imperial measure], or 
a sufficiency. Boil the Balsam in the Water for half an hour in a lightly covered 
vessel, stirring occasionally. Then remove from the fire, and add Distilled Water, 
if necessary, so that the liquid shall measure sixteen [fluid]ounces. Filter the 
solution when cold, add the Sugar, and dissolve with the aid of a steam or water- 
bath. The product should weigh three pounds [avoird.], and should have the 
sp. gr. 1-330.” Br. 
In the U. S. process, the tincture of tolu is rubbed with the carbonate of mag- 
nesia and a little sugar, and afterwards with the water, in order to enable this 
fluid to take from the tincture all that it is capable of dissolving; the carbonate 
of magnesia and the precipitated resin of the tincture being separated by filtra- 
tion. The process is then completed by forming a syrup with the filtered liquid. 
It is in accordance with a formula proposed by Mr. J. D. Finley, and published 
in a note in the eleventh edition of the U. S. Dispensatory. The resulting syrup is 
beautifully and permanently clear, and has very decidedly the flavour of the bal- 
sam. In the British process the soluble principles of the balsam are extracted by 1380 
Syrupi.—Tincturse. 
PART II. 
boiling it with water, but with great waste of the material, as the water dissolves 
but a small portion of the active matter of the balsam. To obviate this waste, 
the same portion of balsam is, according to Mr. Brande, usually employed in 
successive operations; and it long continues to impart odour and taste to boiling 
water. The British syrup may have an equal and possibly a finer flavour, but is 
less efficient medicinally than that of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. At best, how- 
ever, the syrup of tolu is a feeble preparation, and is used chiefly to impart its 
agreeable flavour to mixtures. 
Off. Prep. Trochisci Cubebae, U. S. W. 
SYRUPUS ZINGIBERIS. U.S.,Br. Syrup of Ginger. 
“Take of Tincture of Ginger six fluidounces; Carbonate of Magnesia half 
alroyounce; Sugar [refined], in coarse powder, one hundred and eight troy- 
ounces; Water four pints. Evaporate the Tincture to three fluidounces with a 
gentle heat; then rub it first with the Carbonate of Magnesia and two troy- 
ounces of the Sugar, and afterwards with the Water gradually added, and filter. 
To the filtered liquid add the remainder of the Sugar, and, having dissolved it 
with the aid of a gentle heat, strain the solution while hot.” U. S. 
“Take of Tincture of Ginger one fluidounce; Syrup seven fluidounces. 
Mix with agitation.” Br. 
The U. S. process for syrup of ginger is upon the same amended plan as that 
adopted for Syrup of Tolu, and yields a fine preparation entirely free from tur- 
bidness. As the active principles of ginger are soluble in water, nothing is lost 
by the precipitation of the concentrated tincture by means of water, and the 
separation of the resinous matter by filtration. The British syrup being made 
by the simple incorporation of the tincture with syrup, has of course all the 
strength of the ginger, but is inferior to the U. S. preparation in appearance 
and flavour. The old plan of using water as the menstruum has been entirely 
abandoned, as the syrup thus made is encumbered with mucilage and starch, and 
consequently rendered more liable to decomposition. 
In order that the preparation may be of the proper strength, it is necessary 
that the tincture should have been made with the best Jamaica ginger. The 
syrup of ginger is much used as a warm stomachic addition to tonic and purga- 
tive infusions or mixtures, and to impart flavour to drinks, particularly to car- 
bonic acid water. 
Off. Prep. Trochisci Zingiberis, U. S. W. 
TINCTURE. 
Tinctures. 
Tinctures, in the pharmaceutical sense of the term, are solutions of medicinal 
substances in alcohol or diluted alcohol, prepared by maceration, digestion, or 
percolation. Solutions in spirit of ammonia and ethereal spirit are embraced 
under the same denomination, but are severally distinguished by the titles of 
ammoniated tinctures and ethereal tinctures. The advantages of alcohol as a 
menstruum are, that it dissolves principles which are sparingly or not at all solu- 
ble in water, and contributes to their preservation when dissolved; while it leaves 
behind some inert substances which are dissolved by water. In no instance, how- 
ever, is absolute alcohol employed. The U. S. Pharmacopoeia directs it of the 
sp. gr. 0'835 ; the British, 0 838. When of these densities it contains water, and 
is capable of dissolving more or less of substances which are insoluble in anhy- 
drous alcohol; while its solvent power, in relation to bodies soluble in that fluid, 
is sufficient for all practical purposes. Diluted alcohol or proof spirit is often 
preferable to officinal alcohol; as it is capable of extracting a larger proportion 
of those active principles of plants which require an aqueous menstruum, at the /•ART II. 
Tincturse. 
1381 
same time that it is strong enough, in most instances, to prevent spontaneous 
decomposition, and has the advantages of being cheaper and less stimulating.* 
The diluted alcohol of the different Pharmacopoeias is not of the same strength , 
that of the United States consisting of equal measures of officinal alcohol and 
water, and having the sp. gr. 0 941; while that of the British, called Spiritus 
Tenuior or Proof Spirit, has the sp. gr. 0 920. The difference, however, is not 
very material. Alcohol or rectified spirit is preferred as the solvent, when the 
substance to be extracted or dissolved is nearly or quite insoluble in water, as 
in the instances of the resins, guaiac, camphor, and the essential oils. The pre- 
sence of water is here injurious, not only by diluting the menstruum, but by ex- 
ercising an affinity for the alcohol which interferes with its solvent power. Thus, 
■water, added to an alcoholic solution of one of these bodies, produces a precipi- 
tate by abstracting the alcohol from it. Diluted alcohol or proof spirit is em- 
ployed, when the substance is soluble both in alcohol and water; or when one 
or more of the ingredients are soluble in the one fluid, and one or more in the 
other, as in the case of those vegetables which contain extractive or tannin, or 
the native salts of the organic alkalies, or gum united with resin or essential oil. 
As these include the greater number of medicines from which tinctures are pre- 
pared, diluted alcohol is most frequently used. 
In the preparation of the tinctures, the medicine should be in the dry state, 
and properly comminuted by being bruised, sliced, or pulverized. It is usually 
better in the condition of a coarse than of a very fine powder; as in the latter 
it is apt to agglutinate, and thus present an impediment to the penetration of 
the menstruum. When several substances differing in solubility are employed, 
they should be added successively to the spirit, those least soluble first, those 
most so last; as otherwise the menstruum might become saturated with the in- 
gredient for which it has the strongest affinity, and thus be rendered incapable 
of dissolving a due proportion of the others. 
Until recently, tinctures have been universally prepared by maceration or 
digestion. The Edinburgh College directed digestion to be continued usually 
for seven days. Our own Pharmacopoeia formerly directed maceration at ordi- 
nary temperatures, and extended the period to two weeks. The latter plan was 
preferable, as it was more convenient and equally effectual, the lower temper- 
ature being compensated by the longer maceration. In several instances in 
which maceration is ordered in our Pharmacopoeia, it is still continued for two 
weeks; but the period is very properly altered to suit the character of the sub- 
stance acted on, being sometimes shortened to a week when the medicine readily 
yields its virtues to the menstruum, and sometimes continued no longer than is 
necessary for its solution, when it is wholly soluble, as in the tiuctures of iodine 
and tolu. When circumstances require that the tincture should be speedily pre- 
pared, digestion may be resorted to. Care should always be taken to keep the 
vessels well stopped, in order to prevent the evaporation of the alcohol. The 
materials should be frequently shaken during the digestion or maceration; and 
this caution is especially necessary when the substance acted on is in the state 
of powder. The tincture should not be used till the maceration is completed; 
when it should be separated from the dregs either by simply filtering it through 
paper, or, when force is requisite, by first expressing it through linen, and sub- 
sequently filtering. 
The plan of preparing tinctures by percolation has recently been extensively 
* Mr. ffm. Bastick, in a communication to the Pharmaceutical Journal and Transactions, 
states, as the result of his experience, that most of the tinctures prepared with proof spirit 
or diluted alcohol undergo deterioration by time, in consequence of acetous fermentation 
taking place in the alcoholic fluid. The tinctures most prone to this change are those of 
senna, rhubarb, columbo, henbane, digitalis, bark, hops, aloes, and the compound tincture 
of cinnamon. The best preventive is to keep them in full and well-closed bottles, at a low 
temperature. {Am. Journ. of Pharm., xx. 47.) Tincturse. 
PART II. 
adopted; and has been found to answer well when skilfully executed. In the 
U. S. Pharmacopoeia of 1850, and in the late Ed. Pharmacopoeia, this mode of 
preparation was given as an alternative in numerous instances; and would pro- 
bably have been exclusively recommended in some, except for its liability to fail 
in inexperienced hands. In the present edition of our national standard, per- 
colation has been adopted as the rule; maceration being directed in a few in- 
stances in which it was deemed preferable, and the alternative expressly allowed 
only in a single tincture, that, namely, of aloes and myrrh. The British Pharma- 
copoeia, preferring maceration or digestion in several instances, has adopted 
percolation as a general rule; but, as if unprepared to trust this process alone, 
has combined with it a preliminary maceration of forty-eight hours, and a final 
expression, so as to separate the last remains of the tincture from the dregs. 
Perhaps these modifications may be desirable in instances where the operator is 
insufficiently skilful; but percolation, properly managed, is of itself adequate to 
all the desired purposes, even to the removal of almost the last drop of impreg- 
nated menstruum from the dregs; and, in our Pharmacopoeia, it is taken for 
granted that the apothecary has acquired the requisite skill. Where the operator 
cannot trust himself in this respect, it would be better to recur to the old method 
of maceration for two weeks. The reader will find rules for the proper manage- 
ment of the process of percolation at pages 894 and 905. It has been objected 
to this process that it yields tinctures of variable strength, according to the skill 
with which it is conducted; but, from numerous experiments performed, in 
reference to this point, by M. H. Buignet, of Paris, it appears that the tinctures 
made by percolation are quite as equable in strength as those prepared by ma- 
ceration, while they uniformly contain more of the soluble matter of the drug 
in proportion to the quantity of menstruum. The same writer states that he has 
constantly found three parts of alcohol, used in this method, to one of the material 
acted on, sufficient almost wholly to exhaust drugs of their soluble matter. He 
has derived no advantage from the preliminary maceration usually practised. 
(Journ.de Pharm., Sept. 1857, p. 172.) M. Personne, however, has inferred, 
from his own observation, that five parts of alcohol are required by most sub- 
stances. (Ibid., Avril, 1860, p. 274.) Our own Pharmacopoeia generally exceeds 
this. It has been contended in opposition to percolation, applied to the prepa- 
ration of tinctures, that the menstruum in this process is apt to load itself with 
substances, which, after the preparation of the tincture, are deposited, carrying 
down with them more or less of the active matter; but M. Vauflart asserts that 
more than twenty years of observation has demonstrated to him, that tinctures 
by displacement, properly filtered, deposit no more than, at the end of a certain 
period, those deposit prepared by maceration. (Ibid., Avril, 1862, p. 262.) Fi- 
nally, all agree that the percolated tinctures are apt to contain more of the 
soluble matter of the drug; and the objections all resolve themselves into a 
question of skill on the part of the operator. 
Another mode of exhausting medicines by spirit has been proposed by Dr. II. 
Burton. It consists in suspending in the solvent, immediately under its surface, 
the solid matter contained loosely in a bag. The liquid in contact with the bag, 
becoming heavier by impregnation with the matters dissolved, sinks to the bot- 
tom; its place is supplied with afresh portion, which in its turn sinks; aud thus 
a current is established, which continues until the solid substance is exhausted, 
or the liquid saturated. During the maceration, the bag should be occasionally 
raised above the surface of the liquor in the bottle, allowed to drain, and then 
again immersed. It is asserted that the period of maceration is much shortened 
in this way. (Lond. Med. Gaz., Aug. 30, 1844.)* 
* For this mode of preparing tinctures, Mr. Samuel Gale has proposed the use of a cylin- 
drical stoneware vessel, with a diaphragm capable of being supported at different heights 
by projections from the inner surface of the jar, with corresponding notches iu tiiw dia- PART II. 
Tincturse. 
Tinctures, prepared by adding alcohol to the expressed juice of plants, have 
been long in use on the Continent of Europe, and have been brought into notice 
in Great Britain. They are sometimes called in England preserved vegetable 
juices. The tinctures of some of the narcotic plants might no doubt be advan- 
tageously prepared in this way, as those of conium, hyoscyamus, and belladonna. 
Mr. Squire and Mr. Bentley have paid particular attention to these preparations. 
According to Mr. Squire, the leaves only of the plants should be used, and, in 
the case of biennial plants, those exclusively of the second year; and they should 
be preferably collected when the plant is in full flower. Mr. Bentley recommends 
the following mode of preparation. To the expressed juice, after it has stood 
for 24 hours, and deposited its feculent matter, alcohol of 0-838 is to be added 
in the proportion of one part by measure to four of the juice; and, after another 
period of 24 hours, the liquor is to be filtered. This proportion of alcohol has 
been found sufficient for the preservation of the juice, while it causes the preci- 
pitation of the suspended mucilaginous matter. But, though these preserved 
juices are often energetic, yet it is obvious that tinctures prepared from the fresh 
plant must be still more so; as they contain necessarily not only the soluble 
active matter of the juice, but that also which, when the juice is expressed, is 
left in the solid residue of the plant. Three of them have been introduced into 
the British Pharmacopoeia, under the name simply of Sued or Juices. 
Tinctures should be kept in bottles accurately stopped, in order to prevent 
evaporation, which might, in some instances, be attended with serious inconve- 
nience, by increasing their strength beyond the officinal standard. 
Medicines are most conveniently administered in tincture, which act in small 
doses; as the proportion of alcohol in which they are dissolved is insufficient to 
produce an appreciable effect. Those which must be given in large doses should 
be cautiously employed in this form, lest the injury done by the menstruum 
should more than counterbalance their beneficial operation. This remark is par- 
ticularly applicable to chronic cases, in which the use of tinctures is apt to lead 
to the formation of habits of intemperance. The tinctures of the weaker medi- 
cines are more frequently given as adjuvants of other remedies than with the 
view of obtaining their own full effects upon the system. 
The following general directions are given in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. 
“When tinctures are prepared by percolation, great care should be taken to 
observe the directions given at page 8 [page 905 of this Dispensatory], so that 
the substances treated may be, as far as possible, exhausted of their soluble prin- 
ciples, and a perfectly clear tincture obtained. When prepared by maceration, 
they require to be frequently shaken during the process, which should be con- 
ducted in glass bottles well stopped.” 
phragm, to permit its easy passage to the lower ledges. The material is to be placed upon 
the diaphragm, and kept covered with the menstruum. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxii. 
381, from Pharm. Journ.) The infusion jars described and figured in a note in page 1176 
may be used also for preparing tinctures by maceration. 
The following is a table, showing the mode in which the tinctures of the medicines enu- 
merated should be prepared, in the opinion of the Society of Pharmacy at Paris, as given 
at their session on June 25, 1862. 
By Percolation 
with 
alcohol of 60°. 
Belladonna. 
Conium. 
Hyoscyamus. 
Stramonium. 
Digitalis. 
Quassia. 
Pale Cinchona. 
Rhatany 
Senna. 
By Percolation 
with 
alcohol of 80°. 
Valerian. 
Cinnamon. 
Red Cinchona. 
Yellow Cinchona. 
By Maceration 
with 
alcohol of 60°. 
Aloes. 
Arnica flowers. 
Catechu. 
Colchicum bulbs. 
Gentian. 
Ipecacuanha. 
Musk. 
Rhubarb. 
Squill. 
By Maceration 
with 
alcohol of 80°. 
Castor. 
Columbo. 
Colchicum Seed. 
Cloves. 
Ginger. 
Jalap. 
Nux Vomica. 
Saffron. 
Vanilla. 
By Maceration 
with 
alcohol of 90°. 
Assafetida. 
Balsam of Peru. 
Balsam of Tolu. 
Benzoin. 
Ammoniac. 
Myrrh. 
Scammony. Tincturae. 
PART II. 
The officinal Preparations formerly belonging to this class, which have been 
omitted in the present U. S. and Br. Pharmacopoeias, are Tinctura Ammonise 
Composita, Lond., Essentia Garni, Dub., Tinct. Cassiae, Ed., Tinct. Castorei 
Ammoniata, Ed., Tinct. Cinchonae Pallidae, Lond., Tinct. Cinnamomi Comp., 
TJ. S., Lond., Ed., Dub., Tinct. Golchici Comp., Lond., Tinct. Cuspariae, Ed., 
Essentia Fceniculi, Dub., Tinct. Lactucarii, Ed., Tinct. Matico, Dub., Essen- 
tia Myristicse Moschatae, Dub., Essentia Pulegii, Dub., Tinct. Opii Ammoni- 
ata, Ed., Essentia Pimentae, Dub., Tinct. Qnassiae Comp., Ed., Tinct. Rhei 
Comp., Lond., Dub., Tinct. Rhei et Gentianae, U. S., Ed., Essentia Rosmarini, 
Dub., Tinct. Sennas Comp., Ed., and Tinct. Sennae et Jalapas, U. S. Essentia 
Anisi, Dub., and Essentia Cinnamomi, Dub., have been transferred to the Spi- 
rits with changed names, and some change of strength; as also have the Tinct. 
Camphorae, U. S., Ed., Dub., the Tinct. Olei Menthae Piperitae,U. S., and the 
Tinct. Olei Menthae Viridis, U. S.; while the Tinct. Saponis Camphorata, U. S., 
has been placed among the Liniments with the altered name of Linimentum 
Saponis. 
TINCTURA ACONITI FOLII. U.S. Tincture of Aconite Leaf. 
“ Take of Aconite Leaf, recently dried and in fine powder, four troyounces; 
Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Moisten the powder with two fluid- 
ounces of Diluted Alcohol,, pack it firmly in a conical percolator, and gradually 
pour Diluted Alcohol upon it until two pints of Tincture are obtained.” U. S. 
This is a good preparation of aconite when made from the recently dried 
leaves, and may be given in the dose of twenty or thirty drops. A saturated 
tincture prepared from the root is now more used. It is much stronger than the 
tincture of the leaves, and great care should be taken not to confound them in 
prescription. (See Tinctura Aconiti Radicis.) W. 
TINCTURA ACONITI RADICIS. U.S. Tinctura Aconiti. Br. 
Tincture of Aconite Root. 
“Take of Aconite Root, in fine powder, twelve troyounces; Alcohol a suffi- 
cient quantity. Moisten the powder with six fluidounces of Alcohol, pack it 
firmly in a cylindrical percolator, and gradually pour Alcohol upon it until two 
pints of tincture are obtained.” U. S. 
“Take of Aconite Root, in fine powder, two ounces and a half [avoirdu- 
pois]; Rectified Spirit one pint [Imperial measure]. Macerate the Aconite 
Root for forty-eight hours, with fifteen [fluid]ounces of the Spirit, in a close 
vessel, agitating occasionally; then transfer to a percolator, and, when the fluid 
ceases to pass, pour into the percolator the remaining five [fluid]ounces of the 
Spirit. As soon as the percolation is completed, subject the contents of the per- 
colator to pressure, filter the product, mix the liquids, and add sufficient Rec- 
tified Spirit to make one pint [Imp. meas.]. This tincture has half the strength 
of Tinctura Aconiti, Dub., and one-third of the strength of Tinctura Aconiti, 
Lond. ” Br. 
The tincture of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia has three times the strength of the 
British. It is much stronger than that of the leaves, and too much caution can- 
not be observed to avoid mistaking one for the other. In preparing it, each step 
of the process must be carefully attended to. The root should be thoroughly 
comminuted, and very carefully packed in the percolator, and the displacing 
menstruum very gradually added. As annoyance is often occasioned in powder- 
ing aconite by the irritating dust which is apt to rise, it is best prepared by grind- 
ing in a mill; and, if the operator does not happen to have such an instrument at 
his command, Prof. Procter suggests that sufficient alcohol should be added to 
the root in a mortar, to prevent the rising of the dust. {Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
March, 1861, p. 103.) The dose to begin with is from five to ten drops, which 
may be repeated three times a day, and gradually increased, if necessary, uuti. its PART II. 
Tincturse. 
1385 
peculiar effects are experienced. That of the British tincture is three times as much 
We would here repeat the caution, already given when treating of Aconite in the 
first part of this work, that physicians should be careful, in prescribing either oJ 
the tinctures of aconite, to give the whole name of the one they intend, as other 
wise serious consequences may ensue.* W. 
TINCTURA ALOES. TJ.S.,Br. Tincture of Aloes. 
“Take of Socotrine Aloes, in fine powder, a troyounce; Liquorice [extract] 
three troyounces; Alcohol half a pint; Distilled Water a pint and, a half. 
Macerate for fourteen days, and filter through paper.” U. S. 
“Take of Socotrine Aloes, in coarse powder, half an ounce [avoirdupois]; 
Extract of Liquorice one ounce and a half [avoird.]; Proof Spirit one pint 
[Imperial measure]. Macerate for seven days, filter the liquor, and add suffi 
cient Proof Spirit to make one pint [Imp. meas.].” Pr. 
The original tincture of aloes of the IJ. S. Pharmacopoeia was prepared with 
the officinal diluted alcohol, without the addition of water. At present it is little 
more than an infusion, with the addition of sufficient alcohol to prevent sponta- 
neous decomposition. But, while this change has been made in the U. S. for- 
mula, so as to produce conformity with the British Colleges, in the late construc- 
tion of the British Pharmacopoeia, their old formula has been abandoned, and 
the one forsaken by us adopted. The liquorice is in both formulas added to 
cover the taste of the aloes; but it answers the end imperfectly, and the prepa- 
ration, on account of its unpleasant bitterness, is little used, aloes being gene- 
rally administered in the form of pill. M. Menibre says of the tincture of aloes 
that it deposits crystals of aloin, which adhere to the sides of the bottle, and in 
the upper part of it a yellow resinous matter. (Journ. de Pharm., Avril, 1861, 
p. 289.) The dose is from half a fluidounce to a fluidounce and a half. Tincture 
of aloes is highly recommended by M. Delioux as a local remedy in old atonic 
ulcers, bed-sores, and suppurating wounds, to which it may be applied on lint. 
{Pharm. Journ., July, 1864, p. 38.) W. 
TINCTURA ALOES ET MYRRH2E. U.S. Tinctura Aloes Com- 
POSITA. Lond. Tincture of Aloes and Myrrh. 
“ Take of Socotrine Aloes, in moderately fine powder, Myrrh, in moderately 
fine powder, each, three troyounces; Satfron, in moderately coarse powder, a 
troyounce ; Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Mix the powders, and, having moist- 
ened the mixture with two fluidounces of Alcohol, pack it moderately in a coni- 
cal percolator, and gradually pour Alcohol upon it until two pints of tincture are 
obtained. This Tincture may also be prepared by macerating the powders with 
two pints of Alcohol for fourteen days, and filtering through paper.” U. S. 
This tincture is a modification of the elixir proprietatis of Paracelsus. The 
saffron, which has been retained in compliance with former prejudices, can add 
little to the efficacy of the preparation; and, being very expensive, has with 
great propriety been much reduced in the U. S. formula. It serves, however, to 
impart a richness to the tincture, the want of which might be considered a defect 
by those accustomed to its use. 
* The tincture proposed by Dr. Fleming should always be expressly designated when 
proscribed. It is considerably stronger than the officinal; and several deaths have oc- 
curred from the use of it. The following is his formula. Take of the root, carefully dried 
and finely powdered, sixteen (troj)ounces; Alcohol sixteen fluidounces. Macerate for four 
days, put into a percolator, and add alcohol until twenty-four fluidounces are obtained. 
Not more than five drops of this should be given as a commencing dose, to be increased 
till its peculiar effects are experienced. 
Prof. Procter proposes, in order to obtain a strong tincture, and at the same time com- 
pletely to exhaust the root, to continue the percolation until 50 or 100 per cent, more of 
the filtered liquor is obtained than is wanted, and then to reduce this to the proper mea- 
sure by means of a water-bath.—Note to the eleventh edition. 1386 
Tincturse. 
PART II. 
The tincture is purgative, tonic, and emmenagogue, and is considerably em 
ployed in chlorosis, and other disordered states of health in females, connected 
with suppressed, retained, or deficient menstruation, and with a constipated state 
of bowels. It may also be used as a stomachic laxative in cold, languid habits, 
independently of menstrual disorder. The dose is from one to twro fluidrachms. 
W. 
TINCTURA ARNICiE. U.S.,Br. Tincture of Arnica. 
“ Take of Arnica [flowers] six troyounces; Alcohol a pint and a half; Water 
half a pint; Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Mix the Alcohol and Water, 
and, having moistened the Arnica slightly with the mixture, bruise it thoroughly 
in a mortar. Then pack it firmly in a cylindrical percolator, and pour upon it, 
first the remainder of the mixture, and afterwards sufficient Diluted Alcohol to 
make the tincture measure two pints.” U. S. 
The British Pharmacopoeia gives directions for preparing this Tincture from 
an avoirdupois ounce of Arnica Root, in fine powder, and an Imperial pint of 
Rectified Spirit, precisely the same as those for preparing Tincture of Aconite 
Root. (See Tinctura Aconiti, page 1.384.) 
Either alone, or diluted with water, soap liniment, &c., tincture of arnica is 
often applied popularly to bruises, sprains, tumours, and local rheumatic pains, 
under the impression that it has extraordinary healing powers. It probably 
acts favourably in some instances as a gentle irritant. If given internally, the dose 
would be from thirty minims to two fluidrachms. W. 
TINCTURA ASSAFCETIDJE. U.S,Br. Tincture of Assafetida. 
“Take of Assafetida, bruised, four troyounces; Alcohol two pints. Macerate 
for fourteen days, and filter through paper.” U. S. 
“ Take of Assafetida, in small fragments, two ounces and a half [avoirdupois] ; 
Rectified Spirit one pint [Imperial measure]. Macerate for seven days, strain, 
filter, and add sufficient Rectified Spirit to make one pint [Imp. meas.].” Br. 
This tincture becomes milky on the addition of water, in consequence of the 
separation of the resin. It possesses all the virtues of assafetida. The medium 
dose is a fluidrachm. 
Off. Prep. Enema Assafoetidae, Br. W. 
TINCTURA AURANTII. Br. Tincture of Orange Peel. 
The British Pharmacopoeia directs this Tincture to be prepared from two 
avoirdupois ounces of Bitter Orange Peel, “cut small and bruised,” andjone Im- 
perial pint oi Proof Spirit, in the same manner precisely as the Tincture of 
Aconite Root. (See Tinctura Aconiti, page 1384.) 
It is the peel of the Seville orange which is directed in this process; and the 
outer part only should be used, the inner whitish portion being inert. The tinc- 
ture of orange peel is employed as a grateful addition to infusions, decoctions, 
and mixtures. 
Off. Prep. Syrupus Aurantii, Br.; Tinctura Quinae Composita, Br. W. 
TINCTURA BELLADONNiE. U.S., Br. Tincture of Belladonna. 
“ Take of Belladonna Leaf, recently dried and in fine powder,fourtroyounces; 
Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Moisten the powder with two fluidounces 
of Diluted Alcohol, pack it firmly in a conical percolator, and gradually pour 
Diluted Alcohol upon it until two pints of tincture are obtained.” U. S. 
The Bi'itish Pharmacopoeia directs this Tincture to be prepared from one 
avoirdupois ounce of Belladonna Leaves, in coarse powder, and one Imperial 
pint of Proof Spirit, in the same manner precisely as the Tincture of Aconite 
Boot. (See Tinctura Aconiti, page 1384.) “This Tincture has about half toe 
strength of Tinctura Belladonnae, Lond., Dub.” Br. 
According to Meniere, this tincture deposits on standing a gray pulverulent 
substance, starch and gum, and cubical crystals of an undetermined character PART ir. 
Tincturse. 
{Journ. de Pharm., Avril, 1861, p. 289.) The U. S. tincture is an efficient pre- 
paration when made from the recently dried leaves; but the imported leaves 
are of very uncertain strength, and a tincture prepared from them is to be less 
relied upon than the extract. The dose is from fifteen to thirty drops. That of 
the British tincture is at least twice as much. W. 
TINCTURA BENZOINI COMPOSITA. U. S., Br. Compound Tinc- 
ture of Benzoin. 
“Take of Benzoin, in coarse powder, three troyounces; Socotrine Aloes, in 
coarse powder, half a troyounce; Storax two troyounces; Balsam of Tolu a 
troyounce; Alcohol two pints. Macerate for fourteen days, and filter through 
paper.” U. S. 
“Take of Benzoin, in coarse powder, two ounces [avoirdupois]; Prepared 
Storax one ounce and afraZ/*[avoird.] ; Balsam of Tolu half an ounce [avoird.] ; 
Socotrine Aloes one hundred and sixty grains; Rectified Spirit one pint [Im- 
perial measure]. Macerate for seven days, filter, and add sufficient Rectified 
Spirit to make one pint [Imp. meas.].” Br. 
This tincture is a stimulating expectorant, occasionally used in chronic catar- 
rhal affections. It has been recommended also in chronic dysentery, with a view 
to its alterative action on the ulcerated surface of the colon; but it is most em- 
ployed as a local application to indolent ulcers, chapped nipples, &c. It has 
been lound useful injected into the nostrils in obstinate epistaxis. (Braitliwaite, 
No. 37, p. 58.) It is the balsamum traumaticum of the older Pharmacopoeias, 
and may be considered as a simplified form of certain complex compositions, 
such as baume de commandeur, Wade's balsam, Friar's balsam, Jesuits' drops, 
&c., which were formerly in repute, and are still esteemed among the vulgar as 
pectorals and vulneraries. It is also an ingredient in Turlington's balsam, which 
is a popular remedy in this country for the same purposes.* It is scarcely neces- 
sary to state that the application of these preparations to fresh wounds must 
frequently prove injurious, by inducing too much inflammation, and thus pre- 
venting union by the first intention. The compound tincture of benzoin is de- 
composed by water. The dose is from thirty minims to two fluidrachms. A va- 
riety of court plaster is made by applying to black silk, by means of a brush, first 
a solution of isinglass, and afterwards an alcoholic solution of benzoin. W. 
TINCTURA BUCCO. Br. Tincture of Buchu. 
This Tincture is directed, in the British Pharmacopoeia, to be prepared from 
two and a half avoirdupois ounces of Buchu, bruised, and one Imperial pint 
of Proof Spirit, in the same manner precisely as Tincture of Aconite Root. (See 
Tinctura Aconiti, page 1384). 
This tincture has the virtues of buchu leaves, and may be given in the dose 
of from one to four fluidrachms, either simply diluted with water, or as an ad- 
dition to the infusion of the leaves. W. 
TINCTURA CALUMBiE. U.S., Br. Tincture of Columbo. Tincture 
of Columbo. Br. 
“Take of Columbo, in moderately fine powder, four troyounces; Diluted 
Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Moisten the powder with a fluidounce of Diluted 
Alcohol, transfer it to a conical percolator, and gradually pour Diluted Alcohol 
upon it until two pints of tincture are obtained.” U. S. 
The British Pharmacopoeia directs this Tincture to be prepared from two 
and a half avoirdupois ounces of bruised Columbo, and one Imperial pint of 
* The following is the formula for Turlington's balsam adopted by the Philadelphia Col- 
lege of Pharmacy. “Take of Alcohol Oviij, Benzoin gxij, Liquid Storax giv, Socotrine 
Aloes §j, Peruvian Balsam i§ij, Myrrh Angelica Root ijss, Balsam of Tolu 3;iv, Extract 
of Liquorice Root Digest for ten days, and strain.” (Journ. of the Phil. Col. of Pharm., 
V. 28.) 1388 
Tincturse. 
PART II. 
Proof Spirit, in the same manner precisely as directed for the Tincture of Aco- 
Dite Root. (See Tinctura Aconiti, page 1384.) 
The tincture of coluinbo of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia was, with great pro- 
priety, considerably increased in strength at the revision of 1840. The larger 
the proportion of the tonic is to the alcohol in these bitter tinctures, the better 
are they calculated to meet the indications for which they are usually prescribed. 
When the proportion is very small, the tonic power of the bitter is lost in the 
stimulant influence of the alcohol. Mr. Jos. Ince recommends that the tincture 
should be prepared from the root as found in the shops, without further slicing 
or powdering it. Made as he proposes, the tincture is clear and bright; while 
if the powdered root is used it will be very turbid, even after filtration. (Pharm. 
Journ., xiv. 491.) The tincture of columbo may be added to tonic infusions or 
decoctions, to increase their stimulant power; but, like all the other bitter tinc- 
tures, should be used with caution. The dose is from one to four fluidrachms. W. 
TINCTURA CANNABIS. JJ. S. Tinctura Cannabis Indict. Br. 
Tincture of Hemp. Tincture of Indian Hemp. 
“Take of Purified Extract of Hemp three hundred and sixty grains; Alco- 
hol a pint. Dissolve the Extract in the Alcohol, and filter through paper.” U. S. 
“ Take of Extract of Indian Hemp one ounce [avoirdupois] ; Rectified Spirit 
one pint [Imperial measure]. Dissolve the Extract of Hemp in the Spirit.” Br. 
The American reader must take care not to confound the Indian Hemp, here 
alluded to, with Apoeynum Cannabinum, known by the same name in this coun- 
try. The dose, equivalent to a grain of the extract, is twenty-two minims or about 
forty drops, to be gradually increased till its effects are experienced. W. 
TINCTURA CANTHARIDIS. U.S., Br. Tincture of Cantharides. 
Tincture of Spanish Flies. 
“Take of Cantharides, in fine powder, a troyounce; Diluted Alcohol a suf- 
ficient quantity. Moisten the powder with half a fluidounce of Diluted Alcohol, 
pack it in a conical percolator, and gradually pour Diluted Alcohol upon it 
until two pints of tincture are obtained.” U. S. 
The British Pharmacopoeia directs this Tincture to be prepared from a quar- 
ter of an avoirdupois ounce of Cantharides, in coarse powder, and one Impe- 
rial pint of Proof Spirit, in the same manner precisely as directed for Tincture 
of Aconite Root. (See Tinctura Aconiti, page 1384.) 
This tincture is one of the most convenient forms for the internal use of 
Spanish flies, the virtues of which it possesses to their full extent. (See Can- 
tharis.) When long kept it deposits fatty matter, cantharidin in rhomboidal 
tables, and other crystals of a quite different form. (Meniere, Journ. de Pliarm., 
Avril, 1861, p. 289.) It is occasionally employed externally as a rubefacient; 
but its liability to vesicate should be taken into consideration. The British tinc- 
ture is too feeble; containing the virtues of only 0-68 of a grain of cantharides 
in a fluidrachm. The dose of the U. S. tincture is from twenty drops to a flui- 
draclun, repeated three or four times a day. W. 
TINCTURA CAPSICI. U. S., Br. Tincture of Capsicum. Tincture of 
Cayenne Pepper. 
“ Take of Capsicum, in fine powder, a troyounce; Diluted Alcohol a suffi- 
cient quantity. Moisten the powder with half a fluidounce of Diluted Alcohol, 
pack it in a conical percolator, and gradually pour Diluted Alcohol upon it 
until two pints of tincture are obtained.” U. S. 
The British Pharmacopoeia directs this Tincture to be prepared from three- 
quarters of an avoirdupois ounce of bruised Capsicum, and one Imperial pint 
of Rectified Spirit, in the same manner precisely as directed for the Tincture of 
Aconite Root. (See Tinctura Aconiti, page 1384.) PART II. 
Tincturse 
1389 
This preparation of capsicum is a useful stimulant in very low states of the 
system with great gastric insensibility, as in malignant scarlet and typhus fevers, 
and in the cases of drunkards. It may also be used as a gargle, diluted with 
rose-water or some mucilaginous fluid. (See Capsicum.) Applied by means of 
a camel’s hair pencil to the relaxed uvula, it sometimes produces contraction, 
and relieves prolapsus of that part. The dose is one or two fluidrachms. 
Off. Prep. Trochisci Catechu, Br. W. 
TINCTURA CARDAMOMI. U. S. Tincture of Cardamom. 
“ Take of Cardamom, in fine powder, four troyounces; Diluted Alcohol a 
sufficient quantity. Moisten the powder with two fiuidounces of Diluted Al- 
cohol, pack it firmly in a cylindrical percolator, and gradually pour Diluted 
Alcohol upon it until two pints of tincture are obtained.” U. S. 
This tincture is an agreeable aromatic, and may be advantageously added to 
tonic and purgative infusions. The dose is one or two fluidrachms. W. 
TINCTURA CARDAMOMI COMPOSITA. U.S., Br. Compound 
Tincture of Cardamom. 
“ Take of Cardamom, in moderately fine powder, three hundred and sixty 
grains; Caraway, in moderately fine powder, one hundred and twenty grains ; 
Cinnamon, in moderately fine powder, three hundred grains; Cochineal, in 
moderately fine powder, sixty grains; Clarified Honey two troyounces; Di- 
luted Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Mix the powders, and, having moistened the 
mixture with half a fluidounce of Diluted Alcohol, pack it in a cylindrical per- 
colator, and gradually pour Diluted Alcohol upon it until two pints and six 
fiuidounces of tincture are obtained. Lastly, mix this with the Clarified Honey, 
and filter through paper.” U. S. 
The British Pharmacopoeia takes of Cardamom, bruised, and Caraway, 
bruised, each, a quarter of an avoirdupois ounce; Raisins, freed from their 
seeds, two avoirdupois ounces; Cinnamon, bruised, half an avoirdupois ounce ; 
Cochineal, in powder, sixty grains; and Proof Spirit one Imperial pint; and 
directs that the tincture should be prepared in the manner directed for Tincture 
of Aconite Root. (See Tinctura Aconiti, page 1384.) 
This is a very agreeable aromatic tincture, occasionally used as a carminative 
in the dose ofi one or two fluidrachms, but more frequently as an addition to 
mixtures, infusions, &c., which it renders pleasant to the taste, and acceptable to 
the stomach. The substitution of honey in the present U. S. formula for the 
raisins in that of 1850, may be regarded as an improvement, at least in a phar- 
maceutical point of view, as it facilitates the process, and, considering the un- 
equal quality of raisins, gives more precision to the result. 
Off. Prep. Decoctum Aloes Compositum, Br. W. 
TINCTURA CASCARILLiE. Br. Tincture of Cascarilla. 
The British Pharmacopoeia directs this Tincture to be prepared from two and 
a half avoirdupois ounces of bruised Cascarilla, and one Imperial pint of Proof 
Spirit, in the same manner precisely as directed for the Tincture of Aconite Root. 
(See Tinctura Aconiti, page 1384.) 
This tincture has the properties of cascarilla, but is seldom if ever used in this 
country. W. 
TINCTURA CASTOREI. U.B,Br. Tincture of Castor. 
“Take of Castor, bruised, two troyounces; Alcohol two pints. Macerate for 
seven days, express, and filter through paper.” U. S. 
“Take of Castor one ounce [avoirdupois]; Rectified Spirit one pint [Impe- 
lial measure]. Macerate for seven days, strain, express, filter, and add sufficient 
Rectified Spirit to make one pint [Imp. meas.].”Rr. 
As castor yields little if any of its virtues to water, alcohol is a better solvent 1390 
Tincturse. 
PART II. 
than proof spirit. It is said also to form a more grateful preparation. The 
Russian castor should always be preferred when attainable. It deposits on 
standing a yellow organic substance, which, when moistened with water, exhibits 
animalcules under the microscope. (Meni&re.) This tincture is used for the 
same purposes as castor in substance. The dose is from thirty minims to two 
fluidrachms. W. 
TINCTURA CATECHU. U.iS.,Br. Tincture of Catechu. 
“Take of Catechu, in moderately coarse powder, three troyounces; Cinna- 
mon, in moderately coarse powder, two troyounces; Diluted Alcohol a suffi- 
cient quantity. Mix the powders, and, having moistened the mixture with a 
fluidounce of Diluted Alcohol, pack it in a conical glass percolator, and gradu- 
ally pour Diluted Alcohol upon it until two pints of tincture are obtained.” U. S. 
The British Pharmacopoeia, in the process for this Tincture, takes of Catechu, 
in coarse powder, two and a half avoirdupois ounces, of Cinnamon, bruised, 
one avoirdupois ounce, and of Proof Spirit one Imperial pint, and proceeds 
precisely in the manner directed for Tincture of Aconite Root. (See Tinctura 
Aconili, page 1384.) 
This is a grateful astringent tincture, useful in all cases to which catechu is 
applicable, and in which small quantities of spirit are not objectionable. It may 
often be advantageously added to cretaceous mixtures in diarrhoea. The dose is 
from thirty minims to three fluidrachms, which may be given with sweetened 
water or some mucilaginous liquid, or in port wine when this is not contraindi- 
cated. Like the tincture of kino, this is said sometimes to gelatinize when kept. 
In this state it is unfit for use. W. 
TINCTURA CHIRAT2E. Br. Tincture of Cliiretta. 
The British Pharmacopoeia takes two and a half avoirdupois ounces of 
bruised Cliiretta, and one Imperial pint of Proof Spirit, and proceeds in the man- 
ner directed for Tincture of Aconite Root. (See Tinctura Aconiti, page 1384.) 
This is a tonic tincture, and may be given in the dose of one or two flui- 
drachms, three or four times a day. W. 
TINCTURA CINCHONiE. U. S. Tinctura Cinchona Flavje. Br. 
Tincture of Cinchona. Tincture of Yellow Cinchona. Tincture of Peru- 
vian Bark. 
“Take of Yellow Cinchona, in moderately fine powder, six troyounces; Di- 
luted Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Moisten the powder with two fluidounces 
of Diluted Alcohol, pack it firmly in a glass percolator, and gradually pour 
Diluted Alcohol upon it until two pints of tincture are obtained.” U. S. 
The British Pharmacopoeia takes four avoirdupois ounces of Yellow Cin- 
chona Bark, in coarse powder, and one Imperial pint of Proof Spirit, and pro- 
ceeds in the manner directed for Tincture of Aconite Root. (See Tinctura Aco- 
niti, page 1384.) 
This tincture is very properly made with a large proportion of bark; as, in 
the bitter tinctures, it is important that the alcohol should bear as small a pro- 
portion to the tonic principle as possible. Even when strongest, however, it can- 
not, in ordinary cases, be given in doses sufficiently large to obtain the full effect 
of the bark, without stimulating too highly. Tincture of cinchona is used chiefly 
as an adjunct to the infusion or decoction of bark, or the solution of sulphate 
of quinia, to a dose of which it may be added in the quantity of from one to 
four fluidrachms. W. 
TINCTURA CINCHONA COMPOSITA. V.S., Br. Compound 
Tincture of Cinchona. Compound Tincture of Peruvian Bark. 
“Take of Red Cinchona, in moderately fine powder, four troyounces; Bitter 
Orange Peel, in moderately fine powder, three troyounces; Serpentaria, in mode- part ii. 
Tincturse. 
1391 
rately fine powder, three hundred and sixty grains; Saffron, in moderately 
coarse powder, Red Saunders, in moderately fine powder, each, one hundred 
and twenty grains; Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Mix the powders, 
and, having moistened the mixture with four fluidounces of Diluted Alcohol, 
pack it firmly in a glass percolator, and gradually pour Diluted Alcohol upon it 
until two pints and a half of tincture are obtained.” U. S. 
The British Pharmacopoeia takes of Pale Cinchona Bark, in coarse powder, 
two avoirdupois ounces, Bitter-Orange Peel, cut small and bruised, one avoird. 
ounce, Serpentaria, bruised, half an avoird. ounce, Saffron sixty grains, Cochi- 
neal, in powder, thirty grains, and Proof Spirit one Imperial pint; and pro- 
ceeds, with these ingredients, in the manner directed for Tincture of Aconite 
Root. (See Tinctura Aconiti, page 1384.) 
This is the preparation commonly known by the name of Huxham’s tincture 
of bark. It is unfortunate that the British Council, following the London and 
Dublin Colleges, should have selected the feeblest of the officinal varieties of bark 
for this important tincture. The compound tincture of bark is an excellent sto- 
machic cordial, and, though too feeble in the principles of cinchona to serve as 
a substitute for that tonic when its full effect is required, may be very usefully 
employed as an addition to the decoction or infusion, or to the salts of quinia, in 
low forms of fever, particularly in malignant intermittents and remittents. Hux- 
ham was in the habit of uniting with it the elixir of vitriol, the aromatic sul- 
phuric acid of the Pharmacopoeias. The dose is from one to four fluidrachms. 
Under the name of tinctura cinch on se f errata, a preparation has been con- 
siderably employed in Philadelphia, for which the following formula is given 
by Mr. Samuel Simes, in the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (xxv. 402). With one gal- 
lon of the compound tincture of bark, one ounce of hydrated sesquioxide of 
iron, dried at a temperature not exceeding 130° F., is digested, and the liquor 
filtered. The tannic acid is removed by the iron forming an insoluble tannate, 
which with the excess of oxide is separated by the filtration. In order not to 
lose any portion of the alkaloids which may adhere to the precipitate, this is to 
be well washed with boiling alcohol, the solution evaporated to dryness, the pro- 
duct dissolved in a little water acidulated with citric acid, and added to the 
filtered liquor. Lastly, sixteen grains of ammonio-citrate of iron are to be added 
to each fluidounce of the tincture. The dose is a fluidrachm.* W. 
TINCTURA CINNAMOMI. U.S.,Br. Tincture of Cinnamon. 
“Take of Cinnamon, in fine powder, three troyounces; Alcohol, Water, each, 
a sufficient quantity. Mix Alcohol and Water in the proportion of two measures 
* Prof. Procter observes of this preparation that, in consequence of the cincho-tannic 
acid not being entirely removed by the dry sesquioxide, the preparation blackens upon 
standing. Pie proposes to substitute for the sesquioxide in a dried state, the same freshly 
precipitated, washed, and pressed strongly between folds of bibulous paper.—Note to the 
eleventh edition. 
Ferrated Elixir of Cinchona. A formula, by Mr. J. T. Shinn, for a preparation under this 
name, said to be in considerable use, will be found in the American Journal of Pharmacy for 
May, 1862 (p. 204). 
Elixir Cinchonse Flavse. The following preparation has been much used in this city, and 
other parts of the U. States. The formula is that of Mr. A. B. Taylor, and is taken from 
the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (Jan. 1859, p. 18). “Take of Yellow Cinchona 4 ounces; Orange 
peel, recently dried, 2 ounces; Ceylon Cinnamon, Coriander seeds, each, an ounce; Anise, 
Caraway, Cardamom, Cochineal, each, 120 grains; Brandy two pints and a half; Syrup two 
pints and a half; Alcohol and Water, each, a sufficient quantity. Reduce the dry substances 
to moderately fine powder; mix the Brandy with its bulk of water; moisten the powder 
with four fluidounces of the mixture; and pack it in a conical percolator. Pour on the 
remainder of the liquid, and continue the percolation with a mixture of one part of alco- 
hol to three parts of water, until six and a half pints of tincture are obtained; then add 
the syrup and mix them.” This is an elegant aromatic tonic, extensively used as an adju- 
vant of other medicines, and alone as a mild stimulant aromatic tonic. The dose is from 
one to three fluidounces.—Note to the twelfth edition. 1392 
Tincturse. 
PART II. 
of the former to one of the latter. Then moisten the powder with a fluidounce 
of the mixture, pack it moderately in a conical percolator, and gradually pour 
the mixture upon it until two pints of filtered liquor are obtained.” U. S. 
The British Pharmacopoeia takes two and a half avoirdupois ounces of Cin- 
namon, in coarse powder, and one Imperial pint of Proof Spirit, and proceeds 
in the manner directed for Tincture of Aconite Root. (See Tinctura Aconiti, 
page 1384.) 
This tincture has the aromatic and astringent properties of cinnamon, and may 
be used as an adjuvant to cretaceous mixtures, and astringent infusions or de- 
coctions. The dose is from one to three or four fluidrachms. 
Off. Prep. Infusum Digitalis, U. S. W. 
TINCTURA COCCI. Br. Tincture of Cochineal. 
“Take of Cochineal, in powder, two ounces and a half [avoirdupois]; Proof 
Spirit one pint [Imperial measure]. Macerate for seven days, strain, express, 
filter, and add sufficient Proof Spirit to make one pint [Imp. meas.].” Br. 
This is valued chiefly for imparting colour to liquid preparations. It may, 
nowever, be given internally in nervous affections in doses varying from twenty 
drops to a fluidrachm. W. 
TINCTURA COLCHICI. TJ.S. Tinctura Colchici Seminis. Br., 
U. S. 1850. Tincture of Colchicum. Tincture of Colchicum Seed. 
“Take of Colchicum Seed, in moderately fine powder, four troyounces; Di- 
luted Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Moisten the powder with a fluidounce of 
Diluted Alcohol, pack it in a cylindrical percolator, and gradually pour Diluted 
Alcohol upon it until two pints of tincture are obtained.” U.S. 
The British Pharmacopoeia takes two and a half avoirdupois ounces of 
bruised Colchicum Seed, and one Imperial pint of Proof Spirit, and proceeds 
in the manner directed for Tincture of Aconite Root. (See Tinctura Aconiti, 
page 1384.) 
It was at one time supposed that the tincture was quite as effective made from 
the unbruised as the bruised seeds, and corresponding advice was given under 
Colchici Semen, in the first part of this work; but the opinion has been shown 
to be erroneous. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxvi. 120.) Mr. Maisch recommends, 
as a convenient method of comminuting the seeds, to macerate them for two or 
three days in a portion of the menstruum, then to remove them and bruise them 
in a clean iron mortar; taking care that none of the menstruum or the seeds 
should be wrasted. (Ibid., xxviii. 514.) 
This tincture possesses the active properties of colchicum, and may be given 
whenever that medicine is indicated; but the wine, which contains less alcohol, 
is generally preferred. The dose is from half a fluidrachm to two fluidrachms. 
The tincture is sometimes used as an embrocation in rheumatic, gouty, and neu- 
ralgic pains. W. 
TINCTURA CONII. U. S. Tinctura Conii Fructus. Tincture of 
Hemlock. Tincture of Hemlock Fruit. Tincture of Conium. 
“Take of Hemlock [leaves], recently dried and in fine powder, four troy- 
ounces; Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Moisten the powder with two 
fluidounces of Diluted Alcohol, pack it firmly in a conical percolator, and gradu- 
ally pour Diluted Alcohol upon it until two pints of tincture are obtained.” U. S. 
The British Pharmacopoeia takes two and a half avoirdupois ounces of 
bruised Hemlock Fruit, and one Imperial pint of Proof Spirit, and proceeds 
as directed for Tincture of Aconite Root. (See Tinctura Aconiti, page 1384.) 
The tincture of hemlock necessarily partakes of the uncertainty of the dried 
leaves from which it is prepared. There can be little doubt that the tincture o* 
the British Pharmacopoeia, made from the recent fruit, is the most efficient. A PART II. 
Tincturse. 
1393 
preparation made by adding one measure of alcohol to three of the expressed 
juice, has been used in England under the name of preserved juice of hemlock, 
and has been adopted in the British Pharmacopoeia with the title of Succuo 
Conii or Juice of Hemlock. (See page 1384.) The Pharmacopoeias have very 
properly excluded cardamom from the preparation; as it can have little influ- 
ence upon its medical effects, and tends to obscure the odour which is an indi- 
cation of the activity of the tincture. A strong odour of conia should be emitted 
by the tincture upon the addition of potassa. M. Meniere states that it lets fall, 
on standing, a yellow miliary deposit, resembling drops of oil, the form of which 
is modified under pressure. The dose is from thirty minims to a fluidrachm. 
W. 
TINCTURA CROCI. Br. Tincture of Saffron. 
The British Pharmacopoeia takes one avoirdupois ounce of Saffron, and one 
Imperial pint of Proof Spirit, and proceeds as directed for the Tincture of 
Aconite Root. (See Tinctura Aconiti, page 1384.) 
This tincture possesses all the properties of saffron; but is of little othei 
use than to give colour to mixtures. The dose is from one to three fluidrachms 
W. 
TINCTURA CUBEBiE. U. S. Tincture of Cuheh. 
“Take of Cubeb, in moderately fine powder, four troyounces; Diluted Al- 
cohol a sufficient quantity. Moisten the powder with a fluidounce of Diluted 
Alcohol, pack it in a conical percolator, and gradually pour Diluted Alcohol 
upon it until two pints of tincture are obtained.” U. S. 
This may be used as a carminative, and has been given with advantage in 
gonorrhoea in the advanced stages. The late London tincture was nearly three 
times as strong as the Dublin, and more than twice as strong as the U. S. tinc- 
ture; but the preparation has been dropped in the British Pharmacopoeia. The 
dose is from half a fluidrachm to two fluidrachms or more, the larger doses being 
used in gonorrhoeal affections. W. 
TINCTURA DIGITALIS. U.S\,Br. Tincture of Digitalis. Tincture 
of Foxglove. 
“Take of Digitalis, recently dried and in fine powder, four troyounces; Di- 
luted Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Moisten the powder with two fluidounces of 
Diluted Alcohol, pack it firmly in a conical percolator, and gradually pour Di- 
luted Alcohol upon it until two pints of tincture are obtained.” U. S. 
The British Pharmacopoeia takes two and a half avoirdupois ounces of 
bruised Digitalis, and one Imperial pint of Proof Spirit, and proceeds in the 
manner directed for Tincture of Aconite Root. (See Tinctura Aconiti, p. 1384.) 
In preparing this tincture, great attention should be paid to the selection of 
the leaves, according to the rules laid down under the head of Digitalis. From 
a neglect of these, it is apt to be weak or inefficient. The expressed juice of the 
leaves, preserved by means of alcohol, would probably be found a powerful pre- 
paration. (See page 1383.) The tincture of foxglove possesses all the virtues of 
that narcotic, and affords a convenient method of administering it, especially in 
mixtures. It is said by M. Meniere to deposit on standing a green oily matter, 
and some white lance-shaped crystals soluble in an excess of acid. (Journ. de 
Pharm., Avril, 1861, p. 289.) The dose is from ten to twenty drops, repeated 
two or three times a day, and increased if necessary, but with caution. W. 
TINCTURA ERGOTiE. Br. Tincture of Ergot. 
The British Pharmacopoeia takes five avoirdupois ounces of bruised Ergot, 
and one Imperial pint of Proof Spirit, and proceeds in the manner directed for 
Tincture of Aconite Root. (See Tinctura Aconiti, page 1384.) 
The dose of this tincture is one or two fluidrachms. , W. 1394 
Tincturse. 
part lr. 
TINCTURA FERRI CHLORIDE U.S. Tinctura Ferri Perciilo- 
ridi. Br. Ferri Muriatis Tinctura. Ed. Tincture of Chloride of Iron. 
Tincture of JPerchloride of Iron. Tincture of Muriate of Iron. 
“Take of Iron, in the form of wire and cut in pieces, three troyounces; Mu- 
riatic Acid seventeen troyounces and a half; Alcohol three pints; Nitric Acid, 
Distilled Water, each, a sufficient quantity. Introduce the Iron into a flask of 
the capacity of two pints, pour upon it eleven troyounces of the Muriatic Acid, 
and allow the mixture to stand until effervescence has ceased. Then heat it to the 
boiling point, decant the liquid from the undissolved Iron, filter it through paper, 
and, having rinsed the flask with a little boiling Distilled Water, add this to it 
through the filter. Pour the filtered liquid into a capsule of the capacity of four 
pints, add the remainder of the Muriatic Acid, and, having heated the mixture 
nearly to the boiling point, add a troyounce and a half of Nitric Acid. When 
effervescence has ceased, drop in Nitric Acid, constantly stirring, until it no 
longer produces effervescence. Lastly, when the liquid is cold, add sufficient 
Distilled Water to make it measure a pint, and mix it with the Alcohol.” U. S. 
“Take of Solution of Perchloride of Iron five fluidounces; Rectified Spirit 
fifteen fluidounces. Mix, and preserve in a stoppered bottle. Sp.gr. 0‘992. 
This Tincture has one-fourth the strength of Tinctura Ferri Sesquichloridi, 
Dub." Br. 
As directed in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia of 1850, this preparation was made 
with the subcarbonate of iron of the Pharmacopoeia, which is a hydrated sesqui- 
oxide, containing a small but uncertain proportion of carbonate of the protoxide. 
This was treated with muriatic acid, which caused some effervescence in conse- 
quence of the escape of the carbonic acid of the carbonate, and the result was a 
solution of the sesquichloride of iron with a little protochloride. As the propor- 
tions of subcarbonate and of acid were so arranged in the formula as to leave a 
slight excess of the former, provided that the acid were duly saturated, there 
could of course be no excess of acid in the tincture, when completed by the ad- 
dition of the alcohol. But, in consequence of the presence of a small proportion 
of protochloride, absorption of oxygen from the air took place, and this proto- 
chloride was converted into sesquichloride and sesquioxide of iron, the latter of 
which, not finding any free muriatic acid to dissolve it, was precipitated. Hence 
the officinal tincture was apt to deposit a little sesquioxide, with the effect of 
losing somewhat of its chalybeate strength; and this was an objection to the 
U. S. formula, though a slight one, as it was easily obviated, if thought advisable, 
by the addition of a little more of the acid. But there were other difficulties in- 
cident to the formula, which led to its frequent partial failure, not only in incom- 
petent hands, but even with skilful pharmaceutists. In the first place, the mu- 
riatic acid could not always be obtained of the due officinal strength (sp. gr. 
1*16), and this often proved th'e cause of a comparatively feeble preparation. 
In the second place, difficulty was often experienced in effecting th-e solution of 
the subcarbonate of iron. Properly prepared, and in its recent state, this is 
easily dissolved in muriatic acid; but it is exceedingly liable to undergo changes, 
either in its molecular condition, or state of hydration, which impair its solu- 
bility, or even render it partially insoluble. The use of heat in preparing or 
drying it, and the simple influence of time and exposure, have this effect in a 
greater or less degree; and hence the operator often found great difficulty in 
dissolving it in the muriatic acid. The consequence was. incessant complaints of 
the imperfection of the formula; and, though these might not be theoretically 
well founded, as the formula properly executed might yield the due result, yet 
practically they were so, and it was certainly desirable to have a formula which 
would be less liable to miscarriage. Accordingly, at the late revision of the 
V. S. Pharmacopoeia, a new process was introduced, in which the objections to 
the old one appear to be in great measure obviated, though no.hing will secure PART II. 
Tinctarse. 
1395 
the operator against failure, who does not take care that the materials he era 
ploys are of the proper character. 
The present U. S. formula so far imitates that of the late Dublin Pharma 
copoeia as to prepare directly the necessary sesquichloride by the reaction be 
tween muriatic acid and metallic iron; and the proportion of acid and iron 
is almost the same in both; yet they differ somewhat in the manipulations; 
and the TJ. S. formula appears, in respect to the precise method of proceed- 
ing, to be copied from that of Dr. Squibb, published in the Am. Journ. of 
Pharm. (July, 1857, p. 290).* Iron wire is chosen as the form of iron to be 
used because it is generally the purest. This, which is in very slight excess, 
is first treated with a portion of the muriatic acid which forms with it the proto- 
chloride of iron, with the escape of hydrogen, producing effervescence. The 
action is allowed to go on spontaneously until effervescence ceases, and is then 
aided by heat, which causes the saturation of the acid used. The solution being 
filtered, the remainder of the muriatic acid is added, and afterwards the nitric 
acid gradually, the liquid having been heated to the boiling point before the 
latter addition. - The nitric acid is decomposed, with the escape of nitrous fumes 
producing effervescence, while through the influence of a portion of its oxygen 
and the additional portion of muriatic acid, the protochloride is converted into 
the sesquichloride; the conversion being completed when the effervescence ceases, 
and the previously green colour has been changed to a reddish-brown. The pre- 
cise reactions by which these changes are effected have been explained elsewhere. 
(See Ferri Chloridum, page 1127.) The process is completed by adding first 
enough water to make the measure of a pint, and afterwards the alcohol; thus 
giving precision to the product. The alcohol reacts gradually with the acid pro- 
ducing a small proportion of muriatic ether, which gives a peculiar flavour to 
the tincture, and probably modifies in some degree its influence on the system. 
As the additional quantity of muriatic acid necessary to sesquichloridize the 
protochloride of iron first formed is just one-half of the quantity of acid first 
used, that is 55 troyounces, and as the amount added is 6’5 otfnces, a slight ex- 
cess of acid must be contemplated in the preparation, which may be useful in 
preventing precipitation, and in reacting with the alcohol to produce ether. 
The British formula consists simply in the mixture of a previously prepared 
solution of the sesquichloride (Liquor Ferri Perchloridi, Br.) with three times 
its bulk of rectified spirit or alcohol; but as its formula for the solution of the 
perchloride is defective, the present must be equally so. (See Liquor Ferri Per- 
chloridi.) It is intended to make a tincture which shall have the sp. gr. 0 992. 
Properties. Tincture of chloride of iron is of a reddish-brown, somewhat yel- 
lowish colour, a sour and very styptic taste, and an odour resembling that of 
muriatic ether. The sesquichloride of iron which it holds in solution, and on 
which its properties mainly depend, has been described among the preparations of 
iron. (See Ferri Chloridum, page 1126.) According to the TJ. S. Pharmacopoeia, 
it has the sp. gr. 0 990; and the quantity of sesquioxide of iron which a fluidouuce 
of it will yield, when the precipitate obtained by diluting it with water, and add- 
ing ammonia in excess, is washed, dried, and ignited, is 29 grains. The tincture 
is decomposed by the alkalies, alkaline earths and their carbonates, astringent 
vegetable infusions, and the mucilage of gum arabic, which produces with it a 
brown semi-transparent jelly. All these substances are, therefore, incompatible 
with it in prescriptions, f 
* This process of Dr. Squibb was given in a note in the eleventh edition of the U. S. Dis- 
pensatory, page 1052. 
j- Bestuchefs tincture, which is much used in Europe, is simply a solution of sesquichloride 
of iron in a mixture of one measure of ether and three or four measures of alcohol. Fr. 
Mayer recommends that the sesquichloride should be prepared by passing chlorine through 
a solution of the protochloride, until a solution of the feyridcyanide of potassium no longer 
produces a blue precipitate, and then evaporating by a water-bath. In this mode crystals 1396 
Tincturse, 
PART II. 
Medical Properties and Uses. This is one of the most active and certain 
preparations of iron, usually acceptable to the stomach, and much employed for 
the purposes to which the chalybeates generally are applied. It has been par- 
ticularly commended as a tonic in scrofula, in which it was formerly often given, 
jointly with the solution of chloride of calcium, or chloride of barium. It is sup- 
posed to be diuretic, and to have a peculiar influence on the urinary passages. 
Hence it has been employed in gleet, old gonorrhoea, and leucorrhoea; and is 
said to be useful in dysury dependent on spasmodic stricture of the urethra, in 
the dose of ten drops repeated every ten minutes, till some effect is experienced. 
In hemorrhages from the uterus, kidneys, and bladder, it is thought to act ad- 
vantageously, but should be confined to those of a passive character, or em- 
ployed only after sufficient depletion. Upon the recommendation of Dr. Bell, of 
Edinburgh, it has recently been much employed in erysipelas, with great sup- 
posed advantage; and, upon the same principle, that of improving the condition 
of the blood, has been used in various other diseases, as scarlatina, diphtheria, and 
purulent infection of the blood. Externally it is sometimes used for the destruction 
of venereal warts, and as a styptic in cancerous and fungous ulcers. It has re- 
cently been employed, with success, as an injection in aneurismal tumours. (See 
Ranking's Abstract, xviii. 120.) The dose of the U. S. tincture is from ten to 
thirty minims, which may be gradually increased to one or even two fluidrachms, 
two or three times a day. In acute febrile diseases, as erysipelas, the dose should 
be repeated every two hours. It is given dilated with water. W. 
TINCTURA GALLAE. U.S., Br. Tincture of Nutgall. Tincture of 
Grails. 
“ Take of Nutgall, in moderately fine powder, four troyounces; Diluted Al- 
cohol a sufficient quantity. Moisten the powder with a fluidounce of Diluted 
Alcohol, pack it in a glass percolator, and gradually pour Diluted Alcohol upon 
it until two pints of tincture are obtained.” U. S. 
The British Pharmacopoeia takes two and a half avoirdupois ounces of 
bruised Galls, and one Imperial pint of Proof Spirit, and proceeds in the man- 
ner directed for Tincture of Aconite Root. (See Tinctura Aconiti, page 1384.) 
The tincture of galls is powerfully astringent; but is more used as a test than 
as a medicine. When long kept it ceases to evince the reactions of tannic acid, 
in consequence of the conversion of this into gallic acid. The dose is from one 
to three fluidrachms. W. 
TINCTURA GENTIANiE COMPOSITA. U. S., Br. Compound 
Tincture of Grentian. 
“Take of Gentian, in moderately fine powder, two troyounces; Bitter Orange 
Peel, in moderately fine powder, a troyounce; Cardamom, in moderately fine 
powder, half a troyounce; Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Mix the 
of the sesquichloride are obtained, one ounce of which is to be dissolved in twelve ounces 
of ether, mixed with four times its bulk of alcohol. The solution may be rendered colour- 
less, if desired, by exposure to the direct rays of the sun. (N. Y. Journ. of Pharm., i. 233.) 
This decolorization, however, is effected by a chemical change which somewhat alters the 
character of the preparation. The sesquichloride becomes protochloride by the loss of a 
portion of its chlorine, which, by abstracting hydrogen from the alcohol, becomes muriatic 
acid; and this reacts with unaltered alcohol to form muriatic ether. 
Mr. A. Cushman recommends the following process for the above tincture. He first pre- 
pares the crystals of the sesquichloride by dissolving two ounces of iron filings in a mix- 
ture of eight fluidounces of muriatic acid and four of distilled water, then adding four 
fluidrachms of nitric acid, evaporating to a pellicle, and setting aside to crystallize. The 
crystals, having been washed in alcohol, and afterwards redissolved and crystallized, are 
to be dissolved in a mixture of two parts of alcohol and one of ether; the proportion being 
an ounce of the crystals to twelve fluidounces of the mixture. After solution, the liquid is 
to be filtered, and exposed for 48 hours to the direct rays of the sun. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
xxix. 461, from Am. Med. Gaz.)—Note to the eleventh edition. PART IT. 
Tinctures. 
1397 
powders, and, having moistened the mixture with a fluidounce and a half of Di- 
luted Alcohol, pack it in a conical percolator, and gradually pour Diluted Al- 
cohol upon it until two pints of tincture are obtained. ” U. S. 
The British Pharmacopoeia takes one and a half avoirdupois ounces of 
bruised Gentian, three-quarters of an avoird. ounce of Bitter Orange Peel, cut 
small and bruised, a quarter of an avoird. ounce of bruised Cardamoms, and one 
Imperial pint of Proof Spirit, and proceeds with these ingredients in the manner 
directed for Tincture of Aconite Root. (See Tinctura Aconiti, page 1384.) 
This is an elegant bitter, much used in dyspepsia, and as an addition to tonic 
mixtures in debilitated states of the digestive organs, or of the system generally. 
There is, however, much danger of its abuse, especially in chronic cases. The 
dose is one or two fiuidrachms. W. 
TINCTURA GUAIACI. U. S. Tincture of Guaiac. 
“Take of Guaiac, in moderately coarse powder, six troyounces; Alcohol a 
sufficient quantity. Mix the powder thoroughly with an equal bulk of dry sand, 
pack the mixture moderately in a conical percolator, and, having covered it with 
a layer of sand, gradually pour Alcohol upOn it until two pints of tincture are 
obtained.” U. S. 
This tincture is given in chronic rheumatism and gout, in the dose of from one 
to three fiuidrachms three or four times a day. As it is decomposed by water, it 
is most conveniently administered in mucilage, sweetened water, or milk, by 
which the separated guaiac is held in temporary suspension. The following is a 
form of tincture of guaiac which the late Dr. Dewees found very efficient in the 
cure of suppression of the menses and dysmenorrhcea. “ Take of the best Guaiac, 
in powder, four ounces; Carbonate of Soda or of Potassa one drachm and a 
half; Pimento, in powder, an ounce; Diluted Alcohol a pound. Digest for a 
few days.” Dr. Dewees directed a drachm or two of the spirit of ammonia to be 
added, “pro re nalaf to four fluidounces of the tincture. {Treat, on Diseases 
of Females, A. D. 1826, p. 81.) The dose is a teaspoonful three times a day, 
to be gradually increased if necessary. Within our own experience, this remedy 
has seemed highly useful in painful menstruation, given in the intervals of the 
attacks. The quantity of alkaline addition is too small to produce any sensible 
effect, and the pimento can act only as a spice; so that the virtues of the tinc- 
ture reside in the guaiac, and the officinal tiucture would probably be found 
equally effectual. W. 
TINCTURA GUAIACI AMMONIATA. U.S.,Br. Tinctura Guai- 
aci Composita. Lond. Ammoniated Tincture of Guaiac. 
“Take of Guaiac, in moderately coarse powder, six troyounces; Aromatic 
Spirit of Ammonia two pints. Macerate for seven days, and filter through 
paper.” U. S. 
“Take of Guaiac Resin, in fine powder, four ounces [avoirdupois]; Aro- 
matic Spirit of Ammonia one pint [Imperial measure]. Macerate for seven days 
in a well-closed vessel and filter, then add sufficient Aromatic Spirit of Ammonia 
to make one pint [Imp. meas.].”Z?r. 
This tincture is celebrated in the treatment of chronic rheumatism, and is fre- 
quently also used in amenorrhcea. It is more stimulating, and is thought to be 
more effectual than the preceding. Like that, it is decomposed by water, and 
should be administered in some viscid or tenacious vehicle which may hold the 
guaiac in suspension. The dose is one or two fiuidrachms. W. 
TINCTURA IIELLEBORI. U.S. Tincture of Black Hellebore. 
“ Take of Black Hellebore, in moderately fine powder, four troyounces; 
Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Moisten the powder with a fluidounce of 
Diluted Alcohol, pack it in a cylindrical percolator, and gradually pour Diluted 
Alcohol upon it until two pints of tincture are obtained.” U. S. Tincturse. 
PART II. 
Thiv tincture, formerly called tinctura Melampodii, possesses the properties 
of black hellebore, and, upon the recommendation of Dr. Mead, has been much 
used in suppression of the menses. It is said to be peculiarly applicable to cases 
in which the grade of action is too high for the use of chalybeates. At best, 
however, it is an uncertain remedy, and, though frequently almost inert from the 
bad quality of the root, should always be administered with caution, as it is 
sometimes violent in its action. The dose is from thirty minims to a fluidrachm, 
to be taken night and morning. W. 
TINCTURA HUMULI. U. S. Tinctura Lupuli. Br. Tinctuie of 
Hops. 
“Take of Hops, in moderately coarse powder, five troyounces; Diluted Al- 
cohol a sufficient quantity. Moisten the powder with two fluidounces of Diluted 
Alcohol, pack it very firmly in a cylindrical percolator, and gradually pour Di- 
luted Alcohol upon it until two pints of tincture are obtained.” U. S. 
The British Pharmacopoeia takes two and a half avoirdupois ounces of 
Hops, and one Imperial pint of Proof Spirit, and proceeds in the manner di- 
rected for Tincture of Aconite Root. (See Tinctura Aconiti, page 1384.) 
Hops are so light and bulky that, in the proportion directed, and as pre- 
pared by the U. S. process of 1850, they absorbed almost all the spirit, which, 
after the requisite maceration, could be separated only by strong pressure. As 
this absorption of the spirit obstructed its proper action on the hops, it was 
necessary that the mixture should be frequently stirred during the maceration. 
This remark is not applicable to the present U. S. process, but continues so to 
that of the Br. Pharmacopoeia. By thoroughly drying the hops and rubbing 
them between the hands, or by cutting and bruising them, they may be brought 
to a state of division which will in a great measure obviate the disadvantages 
alluded to. As the virtues of hops depend chiefly on the lupulin, and as the quan- 
tity of this substance is different in different parcels, the tincture is necessarily 
unequal in strength; and the tincture of lupulin itself is preferable. (See Tinc- 
tura Lupulinee.) According to M. Meniere tincture of hops deposits, on stand- 
ing, a yellow precipitate, and a large quantity of a white crystalline substance, 
which he thinks may be malate of lime. 
Tincture"" of hops is tonic and narcotic, and has been proposed as a substitute 
for laudanum when the latter disagrees with the patient; but little reliance 
can be placed upon it. The condition of disease to which it appears to be best 
adapted, is the wakefulness, attended with tremors and general nervous derange- 
ment, to which habitual drunkards are liable, and which frequently precedes au 
attack of delirium tremens. The dose is from one to three fluidrachms. W. 
TINCTURA IIYOSCYAMI. U. S., Br. Tincture of Henbane. Tinc- 
Jure of Hyoscyamus. 
“Take of Henbane Leaf, in fine powder, four troyounces; Diluted Alcohol 
a sufficient quantity. Moisten the powder with two fluidounces of Diluted Al- 
cohol, pack it firmly in a conical percolator, and gradually pour Diluted Alcohol 
upon it until two pints of tincture are obtained.” U. S. 
The British Pharmacopoeia takes two and a half avoirdupois ounces of 
Hyoscyamus Leaves, dried and bruised, and one Imperial pint of Proof Spirit, 
and proceeds in the manner directed for Tincture of Aconite Root. (See Tinc- 
tura Aconiti, page 1384.) 
This tincture may be advantageously substituted, as an anodyne and sopo- 
rific, for that of opium, when the latter disagrees with the patient, or is objec- 
tionable on account of its property of inducing constipation. When the tincture 
of henbane purges, as it sometimes does, it may be united with a very small pro- 
portion of laudanum. The dose is a fluidrachm. The expressed juice preserved 
by means of alcohol may be used for the same purposes as the tinctura W. PART II. 
Tincturse. 
139SJ 
TINCTURA IODINII. U.S. Tincture of Iodine. 
“Take of Iodine a troyounce; Alcohol a pint. Dissolve the Iodine in the 
Alcohol.” U. S. 
This tincture has very nearly the strength of the tincture of Coindet, which 
contained one part of iodine to twelve of alcohol by weight; while the U. S. 
tincture contains one part of the former to about 12 t parts of the latter. It is 
best to prepare the tincture in small quantities at a time; as the iodine reacts 
with the alcohol, especially when exposed to solar light, giving rise to chemical 
changes. The iodine should be thoroughly dried before being weighed out. The 
tincture should be kept in well-stopped bottles, in order to prevent the evapora- 
tion of the alcohol, and the consequent crystallization of the iodine. 
The tincture of iodine has a deep-brown colour. Sixteen minims, equal to 
about thirty-five drops, contain one grain of iodine. It is at present less used 
internally than it formerly was, in consequence of an impression that it is apt 
to irritate the stomach. Water decomposes the tiucture, and, when this is swal- 
lowed, it is supposed that the iodine is precipitated upon the mucous membrane. 
Besides, the tincture undergoes a gradual change when kept, owing, according 
to Guibourt, to a reaction between the alcohol and iodine. A portion of the 
latter is supposed to take hydrogen from the former, producing hydriodic acid, 
which combines with another portion of the iodine to form ioduretted hydriodic 
acid; while the place of the hydrogen in the alcohol is thought to be supplied 
by iodine, giving rise to another ioduretted compound. The new products are 
soluble in water; and consequently the tiucture gradually loses by time the pro- 
perty of being precipitated on dilution. (Journ. de Pharm., 3eser.,x. 113.) Yet, 
from the experiments of Dr. A. Gopel, it would appear that the change is slow 
if the tincture is kept in the dark and at a low temperature; for in three months 
a specimen thus treated had lost but one per ceut. of iodine. {Pharm. Central 
Blatt, No. 13, A. D. 1850.) On account of its liability to precipitation in the 
stomach, the tincture of iodine is now almost exclusively employed locally. Un- 
diluted, it acts as a powerful irritant to the skin, producing inflammation, des- 
quamation of the cuticle, &c. Nevertheless, it is much used in this state in ery- 
sipelas, chilblains, and other cases of cutaneous and subcutaneous inflammation, 
and with happy effects. But its application requires some caution; and, in ery- 
sipelas, we are in the habit rather of surrounding the inflamed surface with a 
border of the tincture, embracing a portion of both the sound and the diseased 
skin, so as to prevent the progress of the inflammation, than of attempting a 
complete cure by covering the whole surface affected. It has been found useful 
in rendering the variolous eruption abortive. It has also been employed exter- 
nally in croup, the bites of serpents, and local rheumatism. It is most conveni- 
ently applied by means of a camel’s hair pencil. Dilated with camphorated tinc- 
ture of soap, or other alcoholic liquid, it is sometimes employed as an embroca- 
tion in scrofulous tumours and other affections requiring the use of iodine. It 
is much used in the radical cure of hydrocele, as an injection into the sac; and 
a similar employment of it has been extended to other serous cavities morbidly 
distended with fluid, as in ovarian dropsy, ascites, and empyema ; but in these 
latter affections it should be resorted to, if at all, with great caution. In hy- 
drocele, M. Yelpeau employed it diluted with double its volume of water. In 
the other cases referred to, it has been variously diluted with from thi;ee to ten 
times its bulk of water, or some demulcent liquid. To prevent the precipitation 
of the iodine, iodide of potassium is generally added in the proportion of from 
two scruples to a drachm to each fluidounce of the tincture. 
The dose of the tincture is from ten to twenty drops, which may be gradually 
increased to thirty or forty drops, three times a day. It may be given in sweet- 
ened water, and still better in wine, when this is not contraindicated. M. De- 
bauque, an apothecary of Mons, has ascertained that tannic acid has the property 1400 
Tincturse. 
PART II. 
of rendering iodine soluble in water, and states tliat an ounce of syrup of orange 
peel, in four or six ounces of water, will form a clear solution with a quantity of 
tincture of iodine containing five or six grains of the medicine. (Journ. de 
Pharm., 3e ser., xx. 34.) W. 
TINCTURA IODINII COMPOSITA. U. S. Tinctura Iodi. Br. 
Compound Tincture of Iodine. 
“ Take of Iodine half a trqyounce; Iodide of Potassium a troyounce; Alco- 
hol a pint. Dissolve the Iodine and Iodide of Potassium in the Alcohol.” U. S. 
“ Take of Iodine half an ounce [avoirdupois] ; Iodide of Potassium a quar- 
ter of an ounce [avoird.]; Rectified Spirit one pint [Imperial measure]. Dis- 
solve the Iodine and the Iodide of Potassium in the Spirit.” Br. 
The U. S. tincture is rather stronger than the British, the troyounce being hea- 
vier than the avoirdupois; while the wine pint employed in the former contains 
about one-fifth less than the Imperial pint employed in the latter. The differ- 
ence, however, is of no great practical importance. The advantage of this tinc- 
ture over the simple tincture above described is, that the former may be diluted 
with water without decomposition ; so that, when it is swallowed, iodine is not 
precipitated upon the mucous coat of the stomach, and will not, therefore, be so 
likely to produce gastric irritation. This is a good theoretical recommendation; 
but we are by no means confident that the difference of the two preparations in 
irritating properties will be found very striking in practice. The compound 
tincture of iodine may be given internally for all the purposes which iodine is 
capable of answering. The dose is from fifteen to thirty drops, to be gradually 
increased if necessary. W. 
TINCTURA JALAPiE. Tincture of Jalap. 
“Take of Jalap, in fine powder, six iroyounces; Alcohol, Water, each, a 
sufficient quantity. Mix two measures of Alcohol with one of Water. Then 
moisten the powder with two fluidounces of the mixture, pack it moderately in 
a cylindrical percolator, and gradually pour the mixture upon it until two pints of 
tincture are obtained.” U. S. 
The British Pharmacopoeia takes two and a half avoirduptois ounces of Jalap, 
in coarse powder, and one Imperial pint of Proof Spirit, and proceeds in the 
manner directed for Tincture of Aconite Root. (See Tinctura Aconiti, p 1384.) 
In the present U. S. process the alcoholic strength of the menstruum has been 
considerably increased, which is an improvement in view of the resinous charac- 
ter of the purgative principle of jalap. The tincture possesses the medical vir- 
tues of jalap, and is sometimes added to cathartic mixtures in the quantity of 
one or two fluidrachms, to increase their activity. W. 
TINCTURA KINO. U.S., Br. Tincture of Kino. 
“Take of Kino, in fine powder, three hundred and sixty grains; Alcohol, 
Water, each, a sufficient quantity. Mix two measures of Alcohol with one of 
Water. Then mix the powder thoroughly with an equal bulk of dry sand, and, 
having introduced the mixture into a conical glass percolator, gradually pour 
the menstruum upon it until half a pint of tincture is obtained.” U. S. 
“Take of Kino, in moderately fine powder, two ounces [avoirdupois]; Recti- 
fied Spirit one pint [Imperial measure]. Macerate for seven days, filter, and add 
sufficient Rectified Spirit to make one pint [Imp. meas.].”j3r. 
When maceration is employed, a good plan is to suspend the kino, confined 
in a bag, in the menstruum; as, when allowed to stand, in the ordinary method, 
the powder is apt to agglutinate, and adhere to the sides and bottom of the bot- 
tle. The tincture very frequently becomes gelatinous if kept, and at length almost 
entirely loses its astringency. The character of the chemical reaction which takes 
place remains to be investigated. The air has some effect; for if this is eutir jly 
excluded the tincture keeps for a long time without undergoing the change. The PART II. 
Tincturse. 
1401 
apothecary should introduce it, when prepared, into very small bottles, which 
should be kept well corked, and only opened when wanted for use. It is in con- 
sequence of its tendency to gelatinize, that the U. S. Pharmacopoeia directs it 
to be frequently renewed. The dose is one or two fluidrachms. It is used chiefly 
as an addition to cretaceous and other astringent mixtures in diarrhoea.* W. 
TINCTURA KRAMERLZE. TJ. S., Br. Tincture of Rhatany. 
“ Take of Rhatany, in moderately fine powder, six troyounces; Diluted Alco- 
hol a sufficient quantity. Moisten the powder with two fluidounces of Diluted 
Alcohol, pack it in a cylindrical glass percolator, and gradually pour Diluted 
Alcohol upon it until two pints of tincture are obtained.” U. S. 
The British Pharmacopoeia takes two and a half avoirdupois ounces of 
bruised Rhatany, and one Imperial pint of Proof Spirit, and proceeds as di- 
rected for Tincture of Aconite Root. (See Tinctura Aconiti, page 1384.) 
According to F. Boudet, the tincture of rhatany sometimes gelatinizes like that 
of kino (Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., i. 338); and the same observation has been 
made by others. The same precaution, therefore, should be observed, in relation 
to the mode of keeping it, as recommended in reference to tincture of kino. This 
is a good preparation of rhatany in cases which admit of the use of small quan- 
tities of alcohol. The dose is one or two fluidrachms. W. 
TINCTURA LIMONIS. Br. Tincture of Lemon Peel 
The British Pharmacopoeia prepares this Tincture in the same manner as 
Tincture of Aconite Root, using two and a half avoirdupois ounces of fresh 
Lemon Peel, “sliced thin,” and one Imperial pint of Proof Spirit. (See Tinc- 
tura Aconiti, page 1384.) 
This tincture forms a grateful aromatic addition to tonic and purgative in- 
fusions, mixtures, &c. It may be used in the dose of one or two fluidrachms. 
W. 
TINCTURA LOBELLE. U.S.,Br. Tincture of Lobelia. 
“Take of Lobelia, in fine powder, four troyounces; Diluted Alcohol a suffi- 
cient quantity. Moisten the powder with two fluidounces of Diluted Alcohol, 
pack it firmly in a conical percolator, and gradually pour Diluted Alcohol upon 
it until two pints of tincture are obtained.” U. S. 
The British Pharmacopoeia prepares this Tincture from two and a half 
avoirdupois ounces of Lobelia, dried and bruised, and one Imperial pint of 
Proof Spirit, in the same manner as Tincture of Aconite Root. (See Tinctura 
Aconiti, page 1384.) 
This tincture possesses the emetic and narcotic properties of lobelia, and is 
much used in asthma, in the dose of one or two fluidrachms, repeated every two 
or three hours till its effects are experienced. The emetic dose is half a fluid- 
ounce. A saturated tincture is strongly recommended by Dr. A. Livezey, as a 
local application in erysipelas, and the external poisonous effect of Rhus Toxi- 
codendron. (Bost. Med. and Surg. Journ., lv. 262.) W. 
TINCTURA LOBELUE iETHEREA. Br. Ethereal Tincture of Lo- 
belia. 
“Take of Lobelia, dried and bruised, two ounces and a half [avoirdupois]; 
* We have received the following letter, which speaks for itself, and for which we owe 
our thanks to the writer. 
“Louisville, Ky., June 14, 1864. Bear Sir,—I transmit you herewith a process for pre- 
paring Tr. Kino, which will not gelatinize, and appears to retain its qualities unimpaired. 
Take of Kino one ounce and a half; Ground Logwood half an ounce; Diluted Alcohol a suffi- 
aivnt quantity. Moisten the Logwood with a portion of the Diluted Alcohol, and introduce 
it into a displacement apparatus. Dissolve the Kino by triturating with successive portions 
of Dil. Alcohol, and percolate the solution through the Logwood until a pint of tincture 
is obtained. Yours, &c., P. P. Smith.” 1402 
PART II. 
Tincturse. 
Spirit of Ether one pint [Imperial measure]. Macerate for seven days, then 
press and strain, and add sufficient Spirit of Ether to make one pint [Imp. meas.].” 
Br. 
The stimulant operation of the ether in this preparation can scarcely favour 
the relaxing and nauseating action for which lobelia is usually employed. The 
dose is the same as that of the alcoholic tincture. W. 
TINCTURA LUPULINiE. U. B. Tincture of Lupulin. 
“Take of Lupulin four troyounces; Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Pack the 
Lupulin in a narrow cylindrical percolator, and gradually pour Alcohol upon it 
until two pints of tincture are obtained.” U. S. 
This is much superior to the tincture of hops of the first U. S. Pharmacopoeia, 
in the place of which it was introduced into the second edition. In the original 
preparation, a certain quantity of hops was directed, from which the lupulin was 
to be separated by beating, and then digested in alcohol. As hops contain a va- 
riable proportion of lupulin, the tincture thus made must be of unequal strength ; 
an objection to which the tincture of hops, even as now prepared, is in some 
measure liable. Besides, the amount of lupulin, contained in any quantity of hops 
upon which alcohol can conveniently act, is too small in proportion to the alco- 
hol, to afford a tincture of the due strength. The tincture of lupulin is, therefore, 
greatly preferable. The dose is one or two fluidrachms, to be given in sweetened 
water or some mucilaginous fluid. W. 
TINCTURA MYRRILZE. U.S.,Br. Tincture of Myrrh. 
“Take of Myrrh, in moderately coarse powder, three troyounces; Alcohol a 
sufficient quantity. Introduce the powder into a conical percolator, press it 
moderately, and gradually pour Alcohol upon it until two pints of tincture are 
obtained.” U. S. 
The British Pharmacopoeia takes two and a half avoirdupois ounces of 
Myrrh, in coarse powder, and one Imperial pint of Rectified Spirit, and pro- 
ceeds in the manner directed for Tincture of Aconite Root. (See Tinctura Aco- 
niti, page 1384.) 
Officinal alcohol is preferable, as a solvent of myrrh, to that fluid mixed with 
water; because it forms a perfectly clear solution, which is not attainable with 
the latter menstruum. The addition of water to the tincture renders it turbid. 
The tincture of myrrh is scarcely ever used internally. As a local application it 
is employed to stimulate indolent and foul ulcers, and promote the exfoliation 
of bones, and, diluted with water, is applied to spongy gums, aphthous sore- 
mouth, and ulcerations of the throat. The dose, as a stimulant expectorant and 
emmenagogue, is from thirty minims to a fluidrachm. 
Off. Prep. Tinctura Aloes et Myrrhse. W. 
TINCTURA NUCIS YOMICiE. U. S., Br. Tincture of Nux Vomica. 
“Take of Nux Yomica, in fine powder, eight troyounces; Alcohol a suffi- 
cient quantity. Mix the powder with a pint of Alcohol, and digest for twenty-four 
hours, in a close vessel, with a gentle heat; then transfer the mixture to a cylin- 
drical percolator, and gradually pour Alcohol upon it until two pints of tincture 
are obtained.” U. S. 
The British Pharmacopoeia takes two avoirdupois ounces of Nux Yomica, 
and one Imperial pint of Rectified Spirit, and, having softened by steam, 
quickly dried, and then powdered the Nux Yomica, proceeds in the manner di- 
rected for Tincture of Aconite Root. (See Tinctura Aconiti, page 1384.) 
It is of the greatest importance, in this process, that the nux vomica should 
be well powdered; and, in consequence of the difficult action of solvents on this 
substance, probably from the presence of bassorin, a preliminary digestion is desi- 
rable. The tincture is not an eligible form for administering nux vomica ; as it 
is equally uncertain with the medicine in substance, and has the disadvantage of PART II. 
Tincturse. 
1403 
excessive bitterness. The alcoholic extract, or strychnia, is preferable. The dose 
of the tincture is twenty minims, to be increased if necessary. It is sometimes 
employed externally, in cases of local paralysis. W. 
TINCTURA OPII. U. S , Br. Tincture of Opium. Laudanum. 
“Take of Opium, dried, and in moderately fine powder, two troyounces ana 
a half; Water, Alcohol, each, a pint; Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity. 
Macerate the Opium with the Water for three days, with frequent agitation; 
then add the Alcohol, and continue the maceration for three days longer. In- 
troduce the mixture into a percolator, and, when the liquid has ceased to pass, 
pour Diluted Alcohol upon it until two pints of tincture are obtained.” U. S. 
“Take of Opium, in coarse powder, one ounce and a half [avoirdupois]; 
Proof Spirit one pint [Imperial measure]. Macerate the Opium for seven days, 
strain, express, and filter; then add sufficient Proof Spirit to make one pint 
[Imp. rueas.].” Br. 
The proportion of opium in these formulas is so nearly the same that the re- 
sulting tinctures may be considered identical. The apparent difference between 
the British formula and ours will vanish, when the relative value of the avoir- 
dupois weight and Imperial measure, which they employ, and of the troy weight, 
and wine measure of our Pharmacopoeia is estimated. The drying and powder- 
ing of the opium is clearly a useful provision; as it ensures greater uniformity 
in the strength of the tincture. Crude opium contains variable proportions Oi 
water; and laudanum prepared from a moist specimen will be weaker than tha* 
from an equal weight of the dried. The pulverization ensures the previous dry- 
ing of the drug, and is thus useful independently of the greater facility whicl 
it gives to the action of the menstruum. It is troublesome, however, and is often 
neglected. Innovation in so important a preparation, and one in which uniform- 
ity is so desirable, should be avoided, unless shown to be necessary. There can 
be little doubt, we think, that the present somewhat elaborate method of the 
TJ. S. formula ensures a more complete exhaustion of the opium than the former 
simple procedure of maceration for two weeks, and still more so than the British 
process, which macerates for only one week. 
In the United States and Great Britain, this tincture is universally known by 
the name of laudanum. As this term was formerly applied to other preparations 
of opium, and still continues to be so on the continent of Europe, the tincture 
is sometimes distinguished by the epithet liquidum, which, however, is seldom 
used in this country. Tinctura Thebaica is another title by which the prepara- 
tion is known. 
About two-thirds of the opium used in the preparation of the tincture are dis- 
solved, the residue consisting chiefly of inert matter. Allowing the opium to be 
wholly exhausted of its active principles, one grain would be represented by 12'8 
minims, according to the U. S. formula; but a minute quantity of morphia has 
been detected in the residuary matter, so that the tincture is rather weaker than 
the proportion of opium employed would indicate. The difference, however, is 
insufficient to be of any practical importance. 
The tincture of opium is used for all the purposes to which opium itself is 
applied. (See Opium.) The dose, equivalent to a grain of opium, is about thir- 
teen minims, or twenty-five drops. Mr. Phillips, in his translation of the London 
Pharmacopoeia of 1836, states that, by evaporating the tincture, and also by de- 
termining the quantity of opium left undissolved, he found the preparation to 
contain one grain of opium in 19 minims; and this quantity, therefore, is given 
as the dose equivalent to a grain of opium. But this mode of calculation is ob- 
viously fallacious; as the portion of the drug dissolved is much more active 
ffian that left behind by the menstruum. Indeed, so feeble is the latter, that Dr. 
Garrod gave thirty grains of the residue to a healthy adult without effect. 
(Fharm. Journ., xi. 252.) It should be recollected that a fluidraehm or tea- 1404 
Tincturse. 
PART II. 
spoonful of laudanum (60 minims) will yield, on an average, about 120 drops. 
Laudanum when long kept, with occasional exposure to the air, becomes thick 
from the evaporation of a portion of the alcohol, and the deposition of opium. 
If given in this state, it often acts with unexpected energy; and death has re- 
sulted in infants from its use in doses which would have been entirely safe if the 
tincture had been clear. 
Denarcotized laudanum may be prepared by substituting the extract of 
opium in half the quantity for the opium itself, and, previously to the macera- 
tion in diluted alcohol, exhausting it of the narcotina by ether.* 
Off. Prep. Enema Opii, Br.; Linimentum Opii, Br. W. 
TINCTURA OPII ACETATA. U.S. Acetated Tincture of Opium. 
11 Take of Opium, dried, and in moderately fine powder, two troy ounces; Vin- 
egar twelve jluidounces; Alcohol half a pint. Rub the Opium with the Vin- 
egar; then add the Alcohol, and, having macerated for seven days, express, and 
filter through paper.” U. S. 
This preparation was introduced into the second edition of our Pharmaco- 
poeia as a substitute for the Acetum Opii or black drop of the original work, 
the advantages of which it was supposed to possess, without being liable to the 
same objection of uncertainty of strength. The Acetum Opii, however, having 
maintained its standing in the estimation of the profession, and of the public, 
* Elixir of Opium. Under this name have been sold different liquid preparations of opium, 
consisting mainly, in all probability, of an aqueous solution, with sufficient alcohol to pre- 
serve it. A formula of this kind was published by Mr. Eugene Dupuy, of New York, in the 
Am. Journ. of Pharm, (xxiii. 211). Professor Procter in the same place gave a formula, 
differing from that of Mr. Dupuy in the employment of ether, so as to obtain at one ope- 
ration a preparation analogous to the denarcotized laudanum mentioned in the text. This 
formula of Prof. Procter has been adopted, with some slight change, in the present edition 
of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, under the title of Tinctura Opii Deodorata, which will be found 
in the text. 
Since the publication of the eleventh edition of the U. S. Dispensatory, the suppose 1 
composition of the nostrum, long noted and much used under the name of McMunn's Elixir 
of Opium, has been published in the Medical and Surgical Reporter of this city; the formula 
having been furnished to that journal as found among the papers of the late Dr. Chilton, 
of New York, who is supposed to have received it from the proprietor. The following is 
an abstract of the formula. Five pounds of opium were first exhausted by ether of every- 
thing soluble in that menstruum, including the narcotina and the odorous principle. The 
drug was then introduced into water heated short of the boiling point, which caused a 
strong ebullition through the escape of the ether remaining in the mass. After the expul- 
sion of the ether, it was macerated to exhaustion with water sufficient to make, when 
strained, four gallons of infusion; and if the quantity fell short of this, enough boiling 
water was added to complete the measure. After standing for live or six days in a cool 
cellar, the clear liquor was removed, and, the residue having been filtered, was mixed with 
the filtrate. To the four gallons of watery infusion thus prepared five and a half gallons 
of alcohol were added, and the mixture set aside for a few days, when the clear part was 
ladled out and the dregs filtered as before. The strength was intended to be the same as 
that of laudanum. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., May, 1804, p. 262.) 
In the same journal (March, 1860, p. 120) Dr. Squibb published the formula of what he 
denominates “Liquor Opii Compositus,” of which the outline is, first, the exhaustion of the 
opium with water; secondly, after concentration of the infusion, the addition of alcohol so 
as to dissolve everything soluble in that liquid; thirdly, after concentration of the clear 
alcoholic solution, the washing of the residue with ether, the ethereal washings being re- 
jected; fourthly, the solution of the washed extract in water, with subsequent filtration; 
fifthly, the assaying of the watery solution to ascertain the proportion of morphia; and 
lastly, adding to the solution so much compound spirit of ether (Hoffmann’s anodyne) as 
to make each fluidounce of the resulting compound solution of opium contain four grains 
of morphia and fifty-six grains of the compound spirit, of ether, representing the average 
morphia strength of the officinal tincture of opium. For particulars the reader is referred 
to the communication of Dr. Squibb, in the above-mentioned journal. Most of these extra- 
officinal preparations of opium will probably be superseded by the excellent officinal in- 
troduced into the present edition of our Pharmacopoeia, under the name of Tinctura Opii 
Deodorata.—Note to the twelfth edition. PART II. 
Tincturse. 
1405 
was restored, in the edition of 1840, to its officinal rank, but so modified as to 
ensure a preparation as uniform as is consistent with the variable quality of the 
opium used. (See page 913.) At the same time the formula for the acetated 
tincture was retained, as affording a useful preparation. It was originally em- 
ployed by the late Dr. Joseph Ilartshorne, of Philadelphia. 
The acetated tincture of opium may often be advantageously used in cases in 
which laudanum or opium itself produces unpleasant effects, such as nausea and 
vomiting, intense headache, great nervous disorder, &c\; but the introduction of 
the salts of morphia into use has in a great measure superseded the necessity of 
this preparation. The dose is ten minims, or about twenty drops, equivalent to 
a grain of opium. W. 
TINCTURA OPII CAMPHORATA. U.S. Tinctura Camphors 
cum Opio. Br. Camphorated Tincture of Opium. Paregoric Elixir. 
“ Take of Opium, dried, and in moderately fine powder, Benzoic Acid, each, 
sixty grains; Camphor forty grains; Oil of Anise a fluidrachm; Clarified 
Honey tioo troyounces; Diluted Alcohol two pints. Macerate for seven days, 
and filter through paper.” U. S. 
“ Take of Opium, in coarse powder, forty grains; Benzoic Acid forty grains ; 
Camphor thirty grains; Oil of Anise half a fluidrachm; Proof Spirit one 
pint [Imperial measure]. Macerate for seven days, strain, express, and filter, 
then add sufficient Proof Spirit to make one pint [Imp. meas.].”7ir. 
This is the well-known paregoric elixir. It is a very pleasant anodyne and 
antispasmodic, much used to allay cough in chronic catarrh, asthma, consump- 
tion, pertussis, &c.; to relieve nausea and slight pains in the stomach and bowels ; 
to check diarrhoea; and, in infantile cases, to procure sleep. Half a fluidounce 
of the II. S. and British tincture contains rather less than a grain of opium. 
Liquorice, which was directed in a former edition of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, 
was omitted in that of 1840, in consequence of giving to the preparation the 
dark colour of laudanum, and thus leading to mistake. The dose for an infant 
is from five to twenty drops, for an adult from one to two fluidrachms.* 
Off. Prep. Mistura Glycyrrhizse Composita, U. S. W. 
TINCTURA OPII DEODORATA. U.S. Deodorized Tincture of 
Opium. 
“Take of Opium, dried, and in moderately fine powder, two troyounces and 
a half; Ether, Alcohol, each, half a pint; Water a sufficient quantity. Ma- 
* The following formulas have been adopted by the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy 
for the preparation of the two compound tinctures of opium, so much used under the 
names of Bateman's drops and Godfrey's cordial. So long as these nostrums are employed, 
it is important that they should be prepared in a uniform manner, and of a certain 
strength; as serious consequences may happen from diversity in the formulas, when so 
active a substance as opium is the chief ingredient. Such diversity has existed to a very 
great, extent; so much so that in one formula for Bateman’s drops the quantity of opium 
was seven and a half grains to the pint, while in another it exceeded one hundred grains. 
It was in order to remedy this evil that the College was induced to adopt the formulas here 
presented. 
‘CBateman'spectoral drops. Take of Diluted Alcohol Cong, iv, Bed Saunders, rasped, gij. 
Digest for twenty-four hours, filter, and add of Opium, in powder, Catechu, in powder, 
j§ij, Camphor S-ij, Oil of Anise fgiv. Digest for ten days.” This preparation is about equal 
in strength to the camphorated tincture of opium or paregoric elixir of the U. S. Pharma- 
copoeia, containing about two grains of opium to the fluidounce. 
“ Godfrey's cordial. Take of Tincture of Opium Oiss, Molasses (from the sugar refiners) 
Oxvj, Alcohol Oij, Water Oxxvj, Carbonate of Potassa giiss, Oil of Sassafras Dissolve 
the Carbonate of Potassa in the Water, add the Molasses, and heat over a gentle fire till 
they simmer; take oft’ the scum which rises, and add the Laudanum, Alcohol, and Oil of 
Sassafras, having previously mixed them well together.” This preparation contains the 
strength of rather more than one grain of opium in a fluidounce. (Journ. of the Phil. Col. 
of Pharm., v. 26 and 27.) 1406 
Tincturse. 
PART II. 
cerate the Opium with half a pint of Water for twenty-four hours, and express; 
then repeat the operation twice with the same quantity of Water. Mix the ex- 
pressed liquids, and, having evaporated the mixture to four fluidounces, shake it 
when cold, in a bottle, repeatedly with the Ether. Pour off the ethereal solution 
when it has separated by standing, and evaporate the remaining liquid until all 
traces of ether have disappeared. Mix this with twenty fluidounces of Water, 
and filter the mixture through paper. When the liquid has ceased to pass, add 
sufficient Water, through the filter, to make the filtered liquid measure a pint 
and a half. Lastly, add the Alcohol, and mix them together.” U. S. 
This is an excellent preparation of opium, calculated to supersede various ex- 
tra-officinal elixirs or solutions, which have had more or less vogue, based upon 
the real advantages they afforded, in offering liquid preparations of opium exempt 
from certain noxious ingredients in the crude drug and in the officinal tinctures, 
which rendered them so offensive to some constitutions, and in some conditions 
of disease, as almost to forbid their use. A liquid watery extract is first made, in 
which are left behind all the ingredients of opium soluble in alcohol and not in 
water; and this being well shaken with ether, is further deprived of all the prin- 
ciples soluble in this fluid, including narcotina, and the noxious odorous matter, 
which is probably one of the most offensive and least useful constituents of opium. 
The ether is then entirely separated, and the residue having been dissolved in 
water, the solution is filtered, and mixed with enough alcohol to preserve it. 
The name is, we think, unfortunate, as the preparation is really not a tincture ; 
the alcohol being used in no degree as a menstruum, but only in reference to its 
preservative influence. We should have preferred Infusum Opii Beodoratum, 
or some other title expressive of the fact that it is effectively a watery solution of 
an extract of opium, deprived of the odorous and other injurious ingredients of 
that drug. It may be used in all cases in which laudanum is indicated, but in 
which it cannot be used in consequence of idiosyncrasy of the patient, or peculi- 
arity in the disease. The dose is the same as that of the officinal tincture of 
opium. W. 
TINCTURA QUASSIiE. TJ.S. Tincture of Quassia. 
“Take of Quassia, in moderately fine powder, two troyounces; Diluted Alco- 
hol a sufficient quantity. Moisten the powder with a fluidounce of Diluted Al- 
cohol, pack it in a percolator, and gradually pour Diluted Alcohol upon it until 
two pints of tincture are obtained.” U. S. 
This tincture has been omitted in the British Pharmacopoeia. 
In the edition of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia of 1840, the proportion of the quas- 
sia to the menstruum was very judiciously doubled. A tonic tincture can scarcely 
contain too large a proportion of the active ingredient. The tincture may be 
employed as an addition to tonic infusions or mixtures in the dose of one or two 
fluidrachms. It is a pure and intense bitter. W. 
TINCTURA QUINLZE COMPOSITA. Br. Compound Tincture of 
Quinia. 
“Take of Sulphate of Quinia one hundred and sixty grains; Tincture of 
Orange Peel one pint [Imperial measure]. Digest for seven days, and strain.” 
Br. 
A fluidrachm of this preparation, containing a grain of sulphate of quinia, 
may be given for a dose. W. 
TINCTURA RIIEI. U.S., Br. Tincture of Rhubarb. 
“Take of Rhubarb, in moderately coarse powder, three troyounces; Carda- 
mom, in moderately fine powder, half a troyounce; Diluted Alcohol a sufficient 
quantity. Mix the powder, and, having moistened the mixture with a fluidounce 
of Diluted Alcohol, pack it moderately in a conical percolator, and gradually 
pour Diluted Alcohol upon it until two pints of tincture are obtained.” U. S. PART II. 
Tincturse. 
1407 
The British Pharmacopoeia takes of bruised Rhubarb two avoirdupois 
ounces; of bruised Cardamoms, of bruised Coriander, and of Saffron, each, a 
quarter of an avoirdupois ounce, and one Imperial pint of Proof Spirit; and 
with these ingredients proceeds in the manner directed for Tincture of Aconite 
Root. (See Tinctura Aconiti, page 1384.) 
TINCTURA RIIEI ET ALOES. U.S. 1850, Ed. Tincture of Rhu- 
barb and Aloes. Elixir Sacrum. Sacred Elixir. 
“Take of Rhubarb, bruised, ten drachms; Aloes, in powder, six drachms; 
Cardamom [seeds], bruised, half an ounce; Diluted Alcohol two pints. Mace- 
rate for fourteen days, express, and filter through paper.” U. S. 1850. 
The Ed. College took a troyounce and a half of Rhubarb, six drachms of 
Socotrine or E. India Aloes, both in moderately fine powder, five drachms of 
bruised Cardamom seeds, and hvo Imperial pints of Proof Spirit, moistened the 
solid materials with a little of the Spirit, and, having allowed the mass to stand 
for ten or twelve hours, packed it in a percolator, and poured on the remainder 
of the Spirit. 
TINCTURA RIIEI ET GENTIANiE. U.S. 1850, Ed. Tincture of 
Rhubarb and Gentian. 
“ Take of Rhubarb, bruised, two \troy~]ounces; Gentian, bruised, half a ['troy] 
ounce; Diluted Alcohol two pints. Macerate for fourteen days, express, and 
filter through paper.” U. S. 1850. 
The Ed. College took two troyounces of Rhubarb, in moderately fine powder, 
half a troyounce of Gentian, finely cut or in coarse powder, and two Imperial 
pints of Proof Spirit, and proceeded in the same manner as above indicated for 
Tincture of Rhubarb and Aloes. 
The foregoing tinctures of Rhubarb, of which the first only is now officinal, 
are all in a greater or less degree purgative, stomachic, and tonic; but, except 
in low states of the system, or in cases of individuals accustomed to the use of 
ardent spirits, they are too feebly cathartic in proportion to their stimulant 
power, to be advantageously employed, unless as adjuvants to other medicines. 
Combined with the neutral salts or other laxatives, or with tonic and stomachic 
infusions, mixtures, &c., they serve to render them warmer and more cordial to 
the stomach, and often prove beneficial in flatulent colic, dyspepsia, the costive- 
ness of cold and irritable habits, diarrhoea, and other analogous complaints. One 
of them is to be preferred to another, according as its peculiar composition may, 
in the judgment of the practitioner, appear to adapt it to the circumstances of 
the case under treatment. In low forms of fever, when the indication is to evacu- 
ate the bowels, and at the same time stimulate the patient, the simple tincture 
(Tinctura Rhei) may be advantageously used in doses of two or three flui- 
drachms, repeated at proper intervals till it operates. The ordinary dose of 
these tinctures, as purgatives, is from half a fluidounce to a fluidounce; as stom- 
achics, from one to two or three fluidrachms. According to Meniere, the tinc- 
ture of rhubarb yields on standing an abundant greenish precipitate, containing 
starch,* and consisting of two parts, one soluble and the other insoluble in alco- 
hol, the latter having the form of long needles. {Journ. de Pharm., Avril, 1861, 
p. 290.) From the statements of De la Rue and Muller it appears that much of 
the deposit in tincture of rhubarb consists of chrysophanie acid, suggesting the 
* How starch should have found its way into the tincture it is difficult to understand. 
The observations of M. Meniere were made with the microscope. He states that the depo- 
sits are made generally with extreme slowness. Whenever he noticed starch or gum, these 
substances were never deposited alone. In the midst of the deposits, he has often found a 
white pearly matter, uncrystallized, insoluble in water, which he believes to be hydrated 
silica, and certain salts, such as the sulphate and carbonate of lime, proceeding probably, 
as well as the silica, from the water used in diluting the alcohol. (Journ. dePharm., Avril, 
1861, p. 288.) 1408 
Tincturoe. 
PART II. 
propriety, at least in a pharmaceutical point of view, of increasing the alcoholic 
strength of the menstruum. W. 
TINCTURA RIIEI ET SENNiE. U.S. 'Tincture of Rhubarb and 
Senna. 
“Take of Rhubarb, in moderately coarse powder, a troyounce; Senna, in 
moderately coarse powder, Red Saunders, in moderately coarse powder, each, 
one hundred and twenty grains ; Coriander, in moderately coarse powder, Fen- 
nel, in moderately coarse powder, Liquorice [extract], in moderately coarse pow- 
der, each, thirty grains; Raisins, deprived of their seeds, six troyounces; Di- 
luted Alcohol three pints. Macerate for fourteen days, express, and filter through 
paper.” U. S. 
This is the stomachic so well known, and so much used in this country, under 
the name of Warner's gout cordial. It is a feeble purgative, usually acceptable 
to the stomach, and well adapted to cases of costiveness, with gastric uneasi- 
ness, in persons of a gouty habit, and accustomed to the free use of alcoholic 
drink. The dose is from half a fiuidounce to two fiuidounces. W. 
TINCTURA SABINAS. Br. Tincture of Savin. 
The British Pharmacopoeia directs this Tincture to be prepared from two 
and a half avoirdupois ounces of Savin, dried and bruised, and one Imperial 
pint of Proof Spirit, in the manner directed for Tincture of Aconite Root. (See 
Tinctura Aconiti, page 1384.) 
This is a new officinal of the British Pharmacopoeia. It is a convenient form 
for the exhibition of savin. The dose is from twenty minims to a fluidrachm. 
W. 
TINCTURA SANGUINARIM.U.S. Tincture of Bhodroot. 
“Take of Bloodroot, in moderately fine powder, four troyounces; Diluted 
Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Moisten the powder with a fiuidounce of Diluted 
Alcohol, pack it in a conical percolator, and gradually pour Diluted Alcohol 
upon it until two pints of tincture are obtained.” U. S. 
This will prove emetic in the dose of three or four fluidrachms; but it is rather 
intended to act as a stimulant to the stomach, expectorant, or alterative, for 
which purpose from thirty to sixty drops may be given. W. 
TINCTURA SCILLA3. U. S., Br. Tincture of Squill. 
“Take of Squill, in moderately coarse powder, four troyounces; Diluted 
Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Moisten the powder with a fiuidounce of Diluted 
Alcohol, pack it in a conical percolator, and gradually pour Diluted Alcohol 
upon it until two pints of tincture are obtained.” U. S. 
The British Pharmacopoeia directs this Tincture to be prepared from two 
and a half avoirdupois ounces of bruised Squill, and one Imperial pint of 
Proof Spirit, in the manner directed for Tincture of Aconite Root. (See Tinc- 
tura Aconiti, page 1384.) 
This tincture yields a grayish, rose-coloured, very bitter, and acrid deposit, 
consisting of silky tufts {Meniere), possesses all the virtues of squill, and may 
be given for the same purposes, whenever the spirituous menstruum is not objec- 
tionable. The dose as an expectorant or diuretic is from ten to twenty minims 
(twenty to forty drops), and the latter quantity frequently nauseates. W. 
TINCTURA SENEGAL Br. Tincture of Seneka. 
The British Pharmacopoeia prepares this Tincture from two and a half 
avoirdupois ounces of bruised Seneka, and one Imperial pint of Proof Spirit, 
in the same manner as directed for Tincture of Aconite Root. (See Tinctura 
Acor.iti, page 1384.) 
The tincture of senega has been newly introduced into the British Pharma- 
copoeia. It is no doubt an efficient preparation, but hardly needed while recourse part ii. 
Tincturse. 
1409 
can be bad to the extract, syrup, and decoction. The dose is from thirty minims 
to two fluidrachms. W. 
TINCTURA SENNiE. Br. Tinctura Sennas Composita. Load 
Tincture of Senna. Compound Tincture of Senna. 
“Take of Senna, broken small, two ounces and a half [avoirdupois]; Rai 
sins, freed from seeds, two ounces [avoird.]; Caraway, Coriander, each, half 
an ounce [avoird.]; Proof Spirit one pint [Imperial measure].” With these 
ingredients the British Pharmacopoeia directs the tincture to be prepared in the 
manner directed for Tincture of Aconite Root. (See Tinctura Aconiti, page 
1384.) 
This tincture is the elixir salutis of the old Pharmacopoeias. It is a warm 
cordial, purgative, useful in costiveness attended with flatulence, and in atonic 
gout, especially when occurring in intemperate persons. It is also added to 
cathartic infusions and mixtures. The dose is from two fluidrachms to a fluid- 
ounce or more. Tincture of senna gives a yellow deposit, disposed in plates, 
containing starch and white crystals of calcareous salts. {Meniere.) W. 
TINCTURA SERPENTARLE. U.S., Br. Tincture of Serpentaria. 
Tincture of Virginia Snakeroot. 
“Take of Serpentaria, in moderately fine powder, four troyounces; Diluted 
Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Moisten the powder with a fluidounce of Diluted 
Alcohol, pack it in a conical percolator, and gradually pour Diluted Alcohol 
upon it until two pints of tincture are obtained.” XJ. S. 
The British Pharmacopoeia takes two and a half avoirdupois ounces of 
bruised Serpentaria, and one Imperial pint of Proof Spirit, and prepares the 
Tincture in the manner directed for Tincture of Aconite Root. (See Tinctura 
Aconiti, page 1384.) 
This tincture possesses the tonic and cordial properties of the root, and may- 
be advantageously added to the infusion of Peruvian bark in low states of the 
system. The dose is one or two fluidrachms. W. 
TINCTURA STRAMONII. TJ. S., Br. Tincture of Stramonium. 
“Take of Stramonium Seed, in moderately fine powder, four troyounces ; 
Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Moisten the powder with a fluidounce of 
Diluted Alcohol, pack it in a percolator, and gradually pour Diluted Alcohol 
upon it until two pints of tincture are obtained.” U. S. 
The British Pharmacopoeia takes two and a half avoirdupois ounces of 
bruised Stramonium Seeds, and one Imperial pint of Proof Spirit, and prepares 
the Tincture as directed for the Tincture of Aconite Root. (See Tinctura Aco- 
niti, page 1384.) 
This tincture may be used for all the purposes for which stramonium is given, 
iu the dose of from ten to twenty minims (twenty to forty drops), repeated 
twice or thrice a day, and gradually increased till it affects the system. W. 
TINCTURA TOLUTANA. U.S.,Br. Tincture of Tolu. 
“ Take of Balsam of Tolu three troyounces; Alcohol two pints. Macerate the 
Balsam with the Alcohol until it is dissolved; then filter through paper.” U. S. 
“Take of Balsam of Tolu two ounces and a 7ia//[avoirdupois]; Rectified 
Spirit one pint [Imperial measure]. Macerate for six hours, or until the Balsam 
is dissolved, then filter, and add sufficient Rectified Spirit to make one pint 
"Tmp. meas.].” i?r. 
The tincture of tolu has the properties of the balsam, and may be employed 
as an addition to expectorant mixtures in chronic catarrhal affections; but the 
proportion of alcohol is too large to allow of its advantageous use in ordinary 
cases. The dose is one or two fluidrachms. In smaller quantities it is often em- 
nloyed to flavour cough mixtures. It is decomposed by water. 1410 
Tincturse. 
PART II. 
Off. Prep. Syrupus Tolutanus, U. S.; Trochisci Acidi Tannici, Br.; Trochisci 
Morphiae, Br.; Trochisci Morphias et Ipecacuanhae, Br.; Trochisci Opii, Br. 
W. 
TINCTURA VALERIANS. U.S.,Br. Tincture of Valerian. 
“Take of Valerian, in moderately fine powder, four troyounces; Diluted 
Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Moisten the powder with a fluidounce of Diluted 
Alcohol, pack it in a conical percolator, and gradually pour Diluted Alcohol 
upon it until two pints of tincture are obtained.” TJ. S. 
The British Pharmacopoeia takes two and a half avoirdupois ounces of bruised 
Valerian, and one Imperial pint of Proof Spirit, and proceeds in the manner 
directed for Tincture of Aconite Root. (See Tinctura Aconiti, page 1384.) 
This tincture possesses the properties of valerian, but cannot be given in or- 
dinary cases, so as to produce the full effects of the root, without stimulating 
too highly, in consequence of the large proportion of spirit. The dose is from 
one to four fluidrachms. It deposits on standing a black, very cohesive precipi- 
tate,‘with starch, and a yellow extractive matter. {Meniere.) 
TINCTURA VALERIANAE AMMONIATA. U.S., Br. Tinctura 
ValerianvE Composita. Bond. Ammoniated Tincture of Valerian. 
“ Take of Valerian, in moderately fine powder, four troyounces; Aromatic 
Spirit of Ammonia two pints. Macerate for seven days, express, and filter 
through paper.” U. S. 
“ Take of Valerian; bruised, two ounces and a half [avoirdupois] ; Aromatic 
Spirit of Ammonia one pint [Imperial measure]. Macerate the Valerian for 
seven days in a well-closed vessel, then filter, and add sufficient Aromatic Spirit 
of Ammonia to make one pint [Imp. meas.].” Br. 
The ammonia in this preparation is thought to assist the solvent powers of the 
alcohol, while it co-operates with the valerian in medical action. The tincture is 
employed as an antispasmodic in hysteria and other nervous affections. The dose 
is from thirty minims to a fluidrachm, and should be given in sweetened water, 
milk, or some mucilaginous fluid. W. 
TINCTURA VERATRI VIRIDIS. U.S. Tincture of American Hel- 
lebore. 
“ Take of American Hellebore, in moderately fine powder, sixteen troyounces ; 
Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Moisten the powder with four fluidounees of Al- 
cohol, pack it firmly in a cylindrical percolator, and gradually pour Alcohol 
upon it until two pints of tincture are obtained.” U. S. 
The U. S. tincture of American hellebore is of the same strength as Dr. Nor- 
wood’s tincture, w'hich, when prepared by its author, was supposed to be satu- 
rated. This may be true of certain ingredients of the root, though probably not 
in reference to the veratria, or to other active principle or principles which it 
may contain. The commencing dose should not exceed eight or ten drops. W. 
TINCTURA ZINGIBERIS. U.S,Br. Tincture of Gringer. 
“Take of Ginger, in fine powder, eight troyounces; Alcohol a sufficient 
quantity. Moisten the powder with two fluidounees of Alcohol, pack it firmly 
in a cylindrical percolator, and gradually pour Alcohol upon it until two pints 
of tincture are obtained.” U. S. 
The British Pharmacopoeia prepares this Tincture from two and a half avoir- 
dupois ounces of bruised Ginger, and one Imperial pint of Rectified Spirit, in 
the manner directed for Tincture of Aconite Root. (See Tinctura Aconiti, page 
1384.) 
The tincture of the British Pharmacopoeia, though more than twice as strong 
as was that of the London and Edinburgh Colleges, is still too weak with ginger 
to be used advantageously for other purpose than to impart flavour. We greatly PART II. 
Tincturse.—Trochisci. 
1411 
prefer the U. S. process, which yields a preparation in which the virtues ot tnc 
ginger are not completely swallowed up in the menstruum. In consequence of 
the mucilaginous matter contained in ginger, the tincture made with diluted al- 
cohol or proof spirit is apt to be turbid. Alcohol or rectified spirit is, therefore, 
properly preferred. Good Jamaica ginger should be used. 
The tincture of ginger is a useful carminative, and may often be beneficially 
added to tonic and purgative infusions or mixtures, in debilitated states of the 
alimentary canal. It is, however, in this country, chiefly used for the prepara- 
tion of syrup of ginger, for which purpose it is necessary to employ the strong 
tincture of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. 
Off. Prep. Syrupus Zingiberis. W. 
TROCHISCI. 
Troches. 
Troches or lozenges are small, dry, solid masses, usually of a flattened shape, 
consisting for the most part of powders incorporated with sugar and mucilage. 
They are designed to be held in the mouth, and dissolved slowly in the saliva, 
and are, therefore, adapted for the administration of those medicines only which 
do not require to be given in large quantities, and are destitute of any very 
disagreeable flavour. They are much more used, and more skilfully prepared 
in Europe than in this country. Tragacanth, from the*greater tenacity of its 
mucilage, is better suited for their formation than gum arabic. The following 
directions for preparing them are taken from the Dictionnaire des Drogues. A 
mucilage of tragacanth is first prepared with cold water and strained. With 
this the powders, including sugar, are thoroughly mixed by rubbing upon a 
marble slab, and are thus formed into a paste, which is spread out by means of 
a roller upon the surface of the marble, previously powdered over with a mix- 
ture of sugar and starch. The thickness of the extended mass is rendered uni- 
form by a frame upon which the ends of the roller rest. The upper surface is 
now covered with a thin layer of sugar and starch, and the mass is divided into 
small cakes of a particular shape by means of a punch. These cakes are placed 
upon paper, and, having been exposed to the air for twelve hours, are carried 
into a drying room moderately heated. When perfectly dry, they are thrown 
upon a sieve to separate the sugar and starch, and are then enclosed in bottles. 
In this way lozenges may be prepared from almost any medicine which the 
physician may deem it advisable to administer in that form. The following for- 
mula will serve as a guide. Take of citric acid, in powder, a drachm; refined 
sugar eight ounces; oil of lemons twelve minims; mucilage of tragacanth a 
sufficient quantity. Form them in the manner above directed into troches of 
twelve grains each. A species of lozenge is made by uniting the aromatic essen- 
tial oils with sugar alone; but their preparation belongs to the confectioner 
rather than to the apothecary. 
The troches, formerly officinal, which are omitted in the present Pharmaco- 
poeias, are those of Tartaric Acid, Gum Arabic, Lactucarium, and Liquorice, 
all of the late Ed. Pharmacopoeia. W. 
TROCHISCI ACIDI TANNICI. Br. Troches of Tannic Acid. Tan- 
nin Lozenges. 
“Take of Tannic Acid three hundred and sixty grains; Tincture of Tolu 
half afluidounce; Refined Sugar, in powder, twenty-five ounces [avoirdupois]; 
Gum Arabic, in powder, one ounce [avoird.]; Mucilage of Gum Arabic two 
duidounces; Boiling Distilled Water one fluidounce. Dissolve the Tannic 
Acid in the Water, add this solution to the Tincture of Tolu, previously mixed 
with the Mucilage; and with the Gum and the Sugar, also previously well Trochisci. 
PART II. 
mixed, form a proper mass. Divide into 720 lozenges, and dry these in a hot- 
air chamber with a moderate heat. Each lozenge contains half a grain of Tan- 
nic Acid.” Br. 
These are useful in relaxation of the uvula, and chronic inflammation of the 
fauces, being held in the mouth and allowed slowly to dissolve. W. 
TROCHISCI BISMUTHI. Br. Troches of Bismuth. Bismuth Lo- 
zenges. 
“Take of White Bismuth [Bismuthi Subnitras, U.S.~\ fourteen hundred and 
forty grains; Carbonate of Magnesia four ounces [avoirdupois]; Precipitated 
Carbonate of Lime six ounces [avoird.]; Refined Sugar thirty ounces [avoird.] ; 
Gum Arabic, in powder, one ounce [avoird.] ; Distilled Water six fluidounces; 
Oil of Cinnamon half a fluidrachm. Add the dry ingredients to the Water; 
mix thoroughly, and boil till the mixture is reduced to a proper consistence. 
Then remove it from the fire, add the Oil of Cinnamon, and again mix thoroughly. 
Divide the mass into 720 square lozenges, and dry these in a hot-air chamber 
with a moderate heat. Each lozenge contains two grains of White Bismuth.” Br. 
These may be used to obtain the effects of subnitrate of bismuth on the sys- 
tem, two or more being administered for a dose. They may also be found useful 
in chronic inflammation of the throat and oesophagus, by giving the mucous 
membrane a coating as the insoluble ingredients pass. W. 
TROCHISCI CATECHU. £/•. Troches of Catechu. Catechu Lozenges. 
“ Take of Pale Catechu [Gambir], in powder, two ounces [avoirdupois] ; Re- 
fined Sugar, in powder, one pound [avoird.] ; Gum Arabic, in powder, one ounce 
[avoird.]; Tincture of Capsicum half a Jluidounce; Distilled Water a suffi- 
ciency. Add to the Catechu, Sugar, and Gum Arabic, previously mixed, the 
Tincture of Capsicum, and sufficient Distilled Water to make a proper mass. 
Mix thoroughly, divide the mass into 720 lozenges, and dry these in a hot-air 
chamber with a moderate heat.”Rr. 
These, like the troches of tannic acid, are useful in prolapsus of the uvula, 
and other forms of relaxation of the fauces; and may also be used, in the num- 
ber of three or more at a dose, to obtain the effects of catechu on the primae vi® 
and on the system. Each troche contains about 1-2 grains of catechu. W. 
TROCHISCI CRETJE. U.S. Troches of Chalk. 
“Take of Prepared Chalk four troyounces; Gum Arabic, in fine powder, a 
troyounce; Nutmeg, in fine powder, sixty grains; Sugar, in fine powder, six 
troyounces. Rub them together until they are thoroughly mixed; then with 
water form a mass, to be divided into Troches, each weighing ten grains.” U. S. 
These are used as a gently astringent antacid in diarrhoea. W. 
TROCHISCI CUBEBiE. U. S. Troches of Caleb. 
“Take of Oleoresin of Cubeb a Jluidounce; Oil of Sassafras a fluidrachm; 
Liquorice, in fine powder, Gum Arabic, in fine powder, Sugar, in fine powder, 
each, three troyounces; Syrup of Tolu a sufficient quantity. Rub the powders 
together until they are thoroughly mixed; then add the Oleoresin and Oil, and 
incorporate them with the mixture. Lastly, with Syrup of Tolu form a mass, 
to be divided into troches, each weighing ten grains.” U. S. 
Each lozenge contains about a drop of the oleoresin of cubeb. The prepara- 
tion is intended rather for effect upon the fauces and other parts of the upper 
alimentary passages than on the system; and may be used advantageously in 
some cases of chronic cough, and in ulceration or chronic inflammation of the 
fauces, being held in the mouth and allowed slowly to dissolve. W. 
TROCHISCI FERRI SUBCARBONATIS. U.S. Troches of Subcar- 
bonate of Iron. 
“Take of Subcarbonate of Iron five troyounces ; Yanilla sixty grains; Sugar, PART II. 
Troehisci. 
in fine powder, fifteen Iroyounces; Mucilage of Tragacanth a sufficient quan- 
tity. Rab the Vanilla first with a part of the Sugar into a uniform powder, and 
afterwards with the Subcarbonate of Iron and the remainder of the Sugar until 
they are thoroughly mixed. Then with Mucilage of Tragacanth form a mass, 
to be divided into troches, each weighing twenty grains.” U. S. 
Each lozenge contains somewhat less than five grains of the subcarbonate, and 
from one to six may be given, according to the effects desired. (See Ferri Sub- 
carbonatis.) W. 
TROGHISCI GLYCYRRHIZA ET OPII. U. S. Tboghisci O'pii. 
Br. Troches of Liquorice and Opium. Opium Lozenges. 
“Take of Opium, in fine powder, half a troy ounce ; Liquorice, in fine powder, 
Gum Arabic, in fine powder, Sugar, in fine powder, each, ten troyounces ; Oil 
of Anise a Jiuidrachm. Rub the powders together until they are thoroughly 
mixed; then add the Oil of Anise, and incorporate it with the mixture. Lastly, 
with water form a mass, to be divided into Troches, each weighing six grains.” 
U. S. 
“Take of Extract of Opium seventy-two grains; Tincture of Tolu half a 
fluidounce; Refined Sugar, in powder, sixteen ounces [avoirdupois]; Gum 
Arabic, in powder, two ounces [avoird.]; Extract of Liquorice six ounces 
[avoird.] ; Boiling Distilled Water a sufficiency. Add the Extract of Opium, 
first softened by means of a little Water, and the Tincture of Tolu, to the Ex- 
tract of Liquorice heated in a water-bath. When the mixture is reduced to a 
proper consistence remove it to a slab, add the Sugar and Gum, previously 
rubbed together, and mix thoroughly. Divide the mass into 720 lozenges, and 
dry these in a hot-air chamber with a moderate heat. Each lozenge contains 
one-tenth of a grain of Extract of Opium.” Br. 
A preparation equivalent to the above is much used in Philadelphia under 
the name of Wistar's cough lozenges. Sometimes sulphate of morphia is sub- 
stituted in equivalent proportion for the opium, and occasionally a little tartar 
emetic is added; but these modifications of the qfficinal formula are not admis- 
sible without a change of title. The British preparation is preferable on one 
account, that it uses, namely, the extract of opium instead of the crude drug. 
These troches are demulcent and anodyne, and useful in allaying cough, when 
the case admits the employment of opium, of which each of them, prepared 
according to the TJ. S. formula, contains about one-tenth of a grain. W. 
TROCHISCI IPECACUANHA. U.S. Troches of Ipecacuanha. 
“Take of Ipecacuanha, in fine powder, half a troy ounce; Arrow-root, in fine 
powder, four troyounces; Sugar, in fine powder, fourteen troyounces; Muci- 
lage of Tragacanth a sufficient quantity. Rub the powders together until 
they are thoroughly mixed; then with Mucilage of Tragacanth form a mass, to 
be divided into Troches, each weighing ten grains.” U. S. 
These are useful expectorant lozenges in catarrhal complaints. Each of them 
contains about one-quarter of a grain of ipecacuanha. W. 
TROCHISCI MAGNESIA. U.S. Troches of Magnesia. 
“Take of Magnesia four troyounces; Nutmeg, in fine powder, sixty grains; 
Sugar, in fine powder, twelve troyounces; Mucilage of Tragacanth a sufficient 
quantity. Rub the Magnesia and the powders together until they are thoroughly 
mixed;-then with Mucilage of Tragacanth form a mass, to be divided into 
Troches, each weighing ten grains.” U. S. 
These are useful in acidity of stomach, especially when attended with consti- 
pation. W. 
TROCHISCI MENTHA PIPERITA. U.S. Troches of Peppermint 
“Take of Oil of Peppermint a fluidrachm; Sugar, in tine powder, twelve Trochisci. 
PART II. 
troyounces; Mucilage of Tragacanth a sufficient quantity. Rub the Oil of 
Peppermint with the Sugar until they are thoroughly mixed; then with Mu- 
cilage of Tragacanth form a mass, to be divided into Troches, each weighing 
ten grains.” U. S. 
Useful in slight gastric or intestinal pains, nausea, and flatulence; but em- 
ployed more for their agreeable flavour than for their medicinal effects. W. 
TROCHISCI MORPHINE. Br. Troches of Morphia. Morphia Lo- 
zenges. 
“Take of Hydrochlorate of Morphia twenty grains; Tincture of Tolu half 
a, ftuidounce; Refined Sugar, in powder, twenty-four ounces [avoirdupois]; 
Gum Arabic, in powder, one ounce [avoird.]; Mucilage of Gum Arabic two 
fluidounces, or a sufficiency; Boiling Distilled Water half a ftuidounce. Dis- 
solve the Hydrochlorate in the Water; add this solution to the Tincture of Tolu, 
previously mixed with the Mucilage; and, with the Gum and the Sugar, also 
previously wTell mixed, form a proper mass. Divide into 720 lozenges, and dry 
these in a hot-air chamber with a moderate heat. Each lozenge contains one- 
thirty-sixth of a grain of Hydrochlorate of Morphia.” Br. 
Useful for alleviating cough, and for other purposes which are answered by 
minute doses of morphia, of the muriate of which each lozenge contains about 
one-thirty-sixth of a grain. W. 
TROCIIISCI MORPHIA ET IPECACUANHA. Br. Troches of 
Morphia and Ipecacuanha. Morphia and Ipecacuan Lozenges. 
“Take of Hydrochlorate of Morphia twenty grains; Ipecacuan, in fine 
powder, sixty grains; Tincture of Tolu half a ftuidounce; Refined Sugar, in 
powder, twenty-four ounces [avoirdupois] ; Gum Arabic, in powder, one ounce 
[avoird.] ; Mucilage of Gum Arabic two fluidounces, or a sufficiency; Boiling 
Distilled Water half a ftuidounce. Dissolve the Hydrochlorate of Morphia in 
the Water; add this solution to the Tincture of Tolu, previously mixed with the 
Mucilage; and, with the Ipecacuan, the Gum, and the Sugar, also previously 
well mixed, form a proper mass. Divide into 720 lozenges, and dry these in a 
hot-air chamber with a moderate heat.” Br. 
Expectorant and anodyne, useful especially in allaying cough. Each lozenge 
contains about one-thirty-sixth of a grain of muriate of morphia, and one-twelfth 
of a grain of ipecacuanha. W. 
TROCHISCI SODA BICAllBONATIS. U.S. Troches of Bicar- 
bonate of Soda 
“ Take of Bicarbonate of Soda four troyounces; Sugar, in fine powder, twelve 
troyounces; Mucilage of Tragacanth a sufficient quantity. Rub the Bicar- 
bonate of Soda with the Sugar until they are thoroughly mixed; then with 
Mucilage of Tragacanth form a mass, to be divided into Troches, each weigh- 
ing ten grains.” U. S. 
Antacid and antilithic, useful in heartburn and uric acid gravel. W. 
TROCHISCI ZINGIBERIS. U.S. Troches of Ginger. 
“Take of Tincture of Ginger a ftuidounce; Tragacanth, in fine power, one 
hundred and twenty grains; Sugar, in fine powder, twelve troyounces; Syrup 
of Ginger a sufficient quantity. Mix the Tincture of Ginger with the Sugar, 
and, having exposed the mixture to the air until dry, reduce it to fin ; powder; 
to this add the Tragacanth, and mix them thoroughly. Lastly, with Syrup of 
Ginger form a mass, to be divided into troches, each weighing twenty grains.” 
U.S. 
Each lozenge contains between one and two minims of the tincture, and they 
may be taken as required, being especially calculated to relieve ga»'ric pains 
from flatulence. W. PART II. 
Unguenta. 
1415 
UNGUENTA. 
Ointments. 
These are fatty substances, softer than cerates, of a consistence like that of 
butter, and such that they may be readily applied to the skin by inunction 
When ointments are prepared by merely mixing medicinal substances with sim- 
ple ointment or lard, care should be taken, if the added substance be a powder 
that it be brought to the finest possible state of division, before being, incorpo- 
rated with the unctuous matter. If soluble in water or alcohol, it may often be 
advantageously rubbed with a little of one of these liquids. Gritty matter should 
not be allowed to enter these preparations. When an extract is added, if not 
uniformly soft, it should be made so by trituration with a little water or alcohol 
according to its nature. Many of the ointments become rancid if long kept, and 
should, therefore, be prepared in small quantities at a time, or only when wanted 
for use. The tendency to rancidity may be in a considerable degree counteracted 
by imbuing the unctuous vehicle with benzoin, or with poplar buds, as recom- 
mended by M. Deschamps (see Am. Journ. of Pharrn., xv. 260); but care should 
be taken that there be no therapeutical objection to the admixture.* Slippery 
elm bark is said to have the same elfect. (See page 779.) According to Dr. 
Geisler, ten drops of spirit of nitric ether, incorporated with an ounce of oint- 
ment, obviates the disagreeable fatty odour of these preparations. (Pliarm. 
Cent. Platt, A.D. 1847, p. 927, from Arch, der Pharm.) It has been proposed 
to substitute glycerin for oils and fats in the preparation of ointments; but, when 
these are to be applied by inunction, it is altogether unfit for the purpose, as it 
remains upon the skin, producing a rough sensation of adhesiveness, very dif- 
ferent from the softness caused by oleaginous matter under similar circumstances. 
The Cerates having been abolished as a class in the British Pharmacopoeia, a 
few of the individual articles have been transferred to the Ointments, making 
the definition of the latter class of preparations, as given above, not exactly 
applicable to all the individual substances at present included among them in 
that Pharmacopoeia. We consider no substance as strictly entitled to the name 
of ointment, which is not of such a consistence as to adapt it to application 
to the skin by friction or inunction. The ointments formerly officinal, which 
have been omitted in the present U. S. and Br. Pharmacopoeias, are Adeps 
Suillus Prseparatus, Dub., Unguentum Conii, Loud., Ung. Capri Subacetatis, 
IT. S., Ed., Dub., Ung. Hydrargyri Iodidi, Bond.,Ung. Hydrarg. Nitratis Mitius, 
Lond., Ung. Opii, Bond., Ung. Picis, Bond., Ung. Plumbi Acetatis, Ed., Dub., 
Ung. Plumbi Iodidi, Bond., Dub., and Ung. Sulphuris Compositum, U.S., 
Bond. W. 
UNGUENTUM ACIDI TANNICI. U.S. Ointment of Tannic Acid. 
“Take of Tannic Acid thirty grains; Water half a fluidrachm; Bard a troy- 
ounce. Rub the Acid first with the Water, and then with the Bard, until they 
are thoroughly mixed, avoiding the use of an iron spatula.” U. S. 
Ointment of tannic acid is an excellent application in many cases of piles and 
prolapsus aui, and has been highly recommended in inflammation of the vagina 
* Benzinated Lard. M. Emile Mouchon gives the following method of applying to lard 
the preservative influence of poplar buds and benzoin. Having prepared, by percolation, 
a tincture of poplar buds from one part of the dried buds in powder and four of alcohol, he 
adds by degrees to 1000 parts of melted lard 60 parts of the tincture, so that all the alco- 
hol may be driven off, then strains, and agitates the mixture till it concretes on cooling. 
The same method is pursued with the tincture of benzoin, in the same proportions; and 
the tincture of guaiac will answer the same purpose. Lard thus prepared keeps perfectly 
well for a very long time. (-Journ. de Pharm., xxv. 458.) 
Mr T B. Groves has shown that the oil of pimento and balsam of Peru have, in a power- 
ful degree, me same preservative influence on lard. (.Pharm. Journ., Nov. 1864, p. 249.) 1416 
Unguenta. 
PART II. 
witn puruloid discharge, to which it is most conveniently applied spread thickly 
upon the surface of a tampon of linen. It may be used also in flabby ulcers. W. 
UNGUENTUM ACONITE®. Br. Ointment of Aconitia. 
“Take of Aconitia eight grain*; Rectified Spirit half a Jluidrachm; Pre- 
pared Lard one ounce [avoirdupois]. Dissolve the Aconitia in the Spirit, add 
the Lard, and mix thoroughly.” Br. 
For the uses of this preparation, the reader is referred to the articles on 
Aconitum and Aconitia. Care must be taken not to apply it to an abraded or 
ulcerated surface, lest it might produce serious constitutional effects. W. 
UNGUENTUM ADIPIS. U.S. Unguentum Simplex. Br., U.S. 1850. 
Ointment of Lard. Simple Ointment. 
“Take of Lard eight troyounces; White Wax two troyounces. Melt them 
together with a moderate heat, and stir the mixture constantly while cooling.” 
US. 
“Take of White Wax two ounces [avoirdupois] ; Prepared Lard three ounces 
[avoird.]; Almond Oil three Jluidounces. Melt the Wax and Lard in the Oil 
on a water-bath; then remove the mixture, and stir until it becomes solid. ” Br. 
This is emollient, and is occasionally employed as a mild dressing to blistered 
or excoriated surfaces, but more frequently as a vehicle for more active sub- 
stances. It is the basis of several officinal ointments. 
Off. Prep. Ceratum Zinci Carbonatis, U. S.; Unguentum Antimonii Tarta- 
rati, Br.; Ung. Creasoti, Br.; Ung. Elemi, Br.; Ung. Gall®, Br.; Ung. Hv- 
drargyri Ammoniati; Ung. Ilydrarg. Iodidi Rubri, Br.; Ung. Hydrarg. Oxidi 
Rubri; Ung. Plumbi Carbonatis ; Ung. Resin®, Br.; Ung. Zinci Oxidi, Br. W. 
UNGUENTUM ANTIMONII. U.S. Unguentum Antimonii Tar- 
TARATI. Br. Ointment of Antimony. Antimonial Ointment. Tartar Eme- 
tic Ointment. Ointment of Tartarated Antimony. 
“Take of Tartrate of Antimony and Potassa, in very fine powder, one hun- 
dred and twenty grains; Lard a troy ounce. Rub the powder with a little of 
the Lard, then add the remainder, and thoroughly mix them.” U.S. 
“Take of Tartarated Antimony, in fine powder, a quarter of an ounce; Sim- 
ple Ointment one ounce. Mix thorougldy. This Ointment contains nearly twice 
as much Tartarated Antimony as Unguentum Antimonii Tartarizati, Dub.” Br. 
This may be most conveniently prepared with simple ointment, as lard is too 
soft to be spread on linen, and simple ointment is sufficiently so to be applied by 
inunction. 
The peculiar eruptive effects of tartar emetic may be procured by means of a 
strong solution, or of the powder sprinkled upon the surface or incorporated in 
the substance of some adhesive plaster, or of the ointment as above directed. 
The last method is, perhaps, the most convenient, and most generally resorted to. 
The proportion of tartar emetic may vary from one drachm with the ounce of lard 
to two drachms, as in the U. S. officinal formula, or even to three drachms when 
a speedy effect is required, or the skin is not very susceptible to its action. A 
small portion of the ointment may be rubbed twice a day, or more frequently, 
upon the surface to be affected, or it may be applied spread on a piece of linen. 
Care should be taken that the cuticle be entire, and that the application be not 
too long continued; ns otherwise severe inflammation, and even gangrenous 
ulceration, may result. We have, however, in some instances of great urgency, 
applied the ointment to a surface recently scarified in the operation of cupping; 
but, under such circumstances, it should be used with much caution. \V. 
UNGUENTUM AQU® II OS®. U.S. Ointment of Rose Water. 
“Take of Oil of Sweet Almonds three troyounces and a half; Sj ermaceti a 
troyounce; White Wax one hundred and twnety grains; Rose Water two PART II. 
Unguenta, 
1417 
fiuidounces. Melt together, by means of a water-bath, the Oil, Spermaceti, 
and Wax ; then add gradually the Rose Water, and stir the mixture constantly 
while cooling.” U. S. * 
This preparation is much employed under the name of cold cream. It is a 
white, very soft, and elegant unguent, deriving a grateful odour from the rose 
water, which remains incorporated with the other constituents if kept enclosed 
in glazed vessels. It is a pleasant, cooling application to irritated and excoriated 
surfaces; and may be used with great advantage for chapped lips and hands, so 
frequent in cold weather. As the ointment is liable to become rancid when long 
kept, and the water to separate upon exposure, Mr. Joseph Laidley has proponed 
the substitution for the rose water of oil of roses and glycerin, the former in the 
proportion of two drops, the latter in that of four fluidrachms, the quantity ot 
spermaceti being increased by two drachms. (Am. Journ. of Ph.arm., xii. 119.) 
For some purposes the substitution is useful; but the officinal preparation is 
preferable for chapped hands, as the glycerin, not being absorbed, leaves an un- 
pleasant sensation of stickiness on the skin. W. 
UNGUENTUM ATROPLZE. Br. Ointment of Atropia. 
“Take of Atropia eight grains; Rectified Spirit half a fluidrachm; Pre- 
pared Lard one ounce [avoirdupois]. Dissolve the Atropia in the Spirit, add 
the Lard, and mix thoroughly.” Br. 
For the uses of this ointment, see Belladonna and Atropia. Great caution 
must be observed that the ointment shall not come in contact with abraded, ul- 
cerated, or wounded surfaces; and that the cuticle of the part to which it may 
be applied shall be entire. W. 
UNGUENTUM BELLADONNA. U. S., Br. Ointment of Belladonna. 
“Take of Extract of Belladonna sixty grains; Water half a fluidrachm; 
Lard a troyounce. Rub the Extract first with the Water, until rendered uni- 
formly soft, then with the Lard, and thoroughly mix them.” U. S. 
“Take of Extract of Belladonna eighty grains; Prepared Lard one ounce 
[avoirdupois]. Rub the Extract smooth with a few drops of distilled water, then 
add the Lard, and mix thoroughly.” Ac. 
This is a convenient form for the external application of the extract of bella- 
donna. Care must be taken in preparing it that the extract employed have the 
due consistence; and, if dry and lumpy, it may be restored to the proper state 
by rubbing it with a little water in a heated mortar. W. 
UNGUENTUM BENZOINI. U.S. Ointment of Benzoin. 
“Take of Benzoin, in moderately coarse powder, a troyounce; Lard sixteen 
troyounces. Heat them together, by means of a water bath, for two hours, with 
occasional stirring; then strain without pressure, and stir the product constantly 
while cooling.” U.S. 
Benzoin has the property of obviating the rancidity to which lard and other 
unctuous substances are liable. Hence, the ointment under consideration is pecu- 
liarly useful as the vehicle of medicines used in this form; and may often be 
substituted for pure lard in the preparation of other unguents, of which lard is 
an ingredient, when it is desired to preserve them from change. It is recom- 
mended, mgreover, by its agreeable odour; while there are very few ointments 
or cerates with the uses of which it w'ould interfere. Balsam of Peru, rubbed 
with an ointment in the proportion of five drops to a fluidounce, will have the 
same effect. W. 
UNGUENTUM CALOMELANOS. Br. Ointment of Calomel. 
“Take of Calomel eighty grains; Prepared Lard one ounce [avoirdupois]. 
Mix thoroughly.” Br. 
There is little occasion for such a preparation as this. Calomel is much infe- Unguenta. 
PART II. 
rior for affecting the system by inunction to the mercurial ointment; and as an 
application to ulcerated surfaces the form of cerate would be better. It may, how- 
ever, be useful in certain cutaneous eruptions by being rubbed upon the part. W. 
UNGUENTUM CANTHARIDIS. Br. Ointment of Cantharides. 
Ointment of Spanish Flies. 
“Take of Cantharides, Yellow Wax, each, one ounce [avoirdupois]; Olive 
Oil six fluidounces. Digest the Cantharides in the Oil, in a covered vessel, for 
twelve hours, then place the vessel in a water-bath at 212° for fifteen minutes, 
strain through muslin with strong pressure, add the product to the Wax pre- 
viously melted, and stir constantly until the mixture solidifies.” Br. 
In the former officinal processes the virtues of the flies were extracted by boil- 
ing them with water; but olive oil is a good solvent of their active principle, 
and has been very properly substituted in the present British formula. 
By this process, the active matter of the flies is more uniformly diffused 
through the ointment than when they are directly incorporated, in the state of 
powder, with the other ingredients. The preparation is thus better calculated 
to meet the end proposed of maintaining the discharge from blistered surfaces, 
without producing undue irritation. It has been said that the virtues of the 
flies are impaired by boiling; but the contrary has been proved to be the case; 
the cantharidin being neither altered nor volatilized at 212°. (See Cantharis.) 
It should be recollected that this ointment is intended as a dressing for blisters, 
not to produce vesication. We regret its omission in the present U. S. Pharma- 
copoeia, as there is no preparation capable of answering the purpose for which 
it was intended so well on the whole as this. Dupuytren's ointment, employed 
as a local application to prevent the loss of hair, was made by macerating a 
drachm of flies in a fluidounce of alcohol, and incorporating one part of the 
tincture thus formed with nine parts of lard. W. 
UNGUENTUM CETACEI. Br. Spermaceti Ointment. 
“Take of Spermaceti five ounces [avoirdupois]; White Wax two ounces 
[avoird.]; Almond Oil one pint [Imperial measure], ora sufficiency. Melt 
together with a gentle heat, remove the mixture, and stir constantly until it 
solidifies.” Br. 
This ointment is employed as a mild dressing for blisters, wounds, and exco- 
riated surfaces. It should be made in small quantities at a time, as it is apt to 
become rancid when long kept. W. 
UNGUENTUM COCCULI. Br. Ointment of Cocculus. 
“Take of the Seeds of Cocculus Indices eighty grains; Prepared Lard one 
ounce [avoirdupois]. Beat the Seeds well in a mortar, and rub them with the 
Prepared Lard.”Br. 
This ointment is used for the destruction of vermin, and in the cure of scabies 
and ringworm of the scalp. In the latter complaint it was found very useful by 
the late Dr. Hamilton, sen., of Edinburgh. W. 
UNGUENTUM CREASOTI. U S., Br. Ointment of Creosote. 
“Take of Creasote half a, fiuidrachm; Lard a troyounce. Mix them.” U. S. 
“ Take of Creasote one fiuidrachm; Simple Ointment one ounce [avoirdu- 
pois]. Mix thoroughly.” Br. 0 
The British ointment is more than twice as strong as ours; but this is hardly 
a recommendation. 
For the use of this ointment, see Creasotum. It may sometimes be advan- 
tageously diluted with lard when found to irritate. W. 
UNGUENTUM ELEMI. Br. Ointment of Elemi. 
“Take of Elemi a quarter of an ounce; Simple Ointment one ounce. Me’t, 
strain through flannel, and stir constantly until the Ointment solidifies.” Br. PART II. 
Unguenta. 
1419 
This ointment is applied as a gentle stimulant to weak ulcers, and may be 
used for maintaining the discharge of issues and setons. It is the linimentum 
arcsei of the older pharmacy. W. 
UNGUENTUM GALLiE. U. S., Br. Ointment of Nutgall. Ointmem 
of Galls. 
“Take of Nutgall, in very fine powder, a troyounce; Lard seven troy- 
ounces. Mix them.” U. S. 
“Take of Galls, in very fine powder, eighty grains; Simple Ointment one 
ounce [avoirdupois]. Mix thoroughly.”Br. 
This is used chiefly in piles and prolapsus ani, though it may also be advan- 
tageously applied to flabby and indolent ulcers. W. 
UNGUENTUM GALLiE CUM OPIO. Br. Ointment of Galls and 
Opium. 
“ Take of Ointment of Galls one ounce [avoirdupois]; Opium, in powder, 
thirty-two grains. Mix thoroughly ” Br. 
This combination of galls and opium is sometimes employed, preferably to the 
simple ointment of galls, in cases of irritable piles. From half a drachm to a 
drachm of camphor is sometimes added to the London ointment. W. 
UNGUENTUM HYDRARGYRI. U.S., Br. Mercurial Ointment. 
“Take of Mercury twenty four troyounces; Lard, Suet, each, twelve troy- 
ounces. Rub the Mercury with a troyounce of the Suet and a small portion of 
the Lard until the globules cease to be visible; then add the remainder of the 
Lard and of the Suet softened with a gentle heat, and thoroughly mix them.” 
U. S. 
“Take of Mercury, Prepared Lard, each, one pound [avoirdupois]; Pre- 
pared Suet one ounce [avoird.]. Rub them together until metallic globules 
cease to be visible.” Br. 
The Pharmacopoeias unite at present in recognising but one mercurial oint- 
ment, which contains equal weights of mercury and fatty matter. When the phy- 
sician wishes a weaker preparation, he may direct the ointment to be diluted 
with such a proportion of lard as may answer his purposes. 
In the preparation of mercurial ointment, care is requisite that the mercury 
should be completely extinguished. The trituration is best performed in a marble 
mortar; as it is difficult to keep iron so clean as not to impart more or less 
oxide to the ointment. The mercury is known to be extinguished, when a por- 
tion of the mass, rubbed upon paper or the back of the hand, exhibits no metallic 
globules under a magnifying glass of four powers. The operation cannot be 
considered as satisfactorily accomplished when the globules are invisible merely 
to the naked eye. To facilitate the process, which is very tedious, the addition 
of various substances has been proposed, calculated to hasten the disappearance 
of the metal. Turpentine and sulphur have been employed, but are inadmissible ; 
the former because it renders the ointment too irritating, the latter because it 
forms with the mercury an inactive siilphuret. Their presence in the ointment 
may be detected by the peculiar odour which they respectively emit when ex- 
posed to heat. Sulphur, moreover, gives the ointment a darker colour than it 
has when pure. The addition of a little sulphuric ether, at intervals, during the 
trituration, is said greatly to abbreviate the process. (Am. Journ. of Pilin'in., 
xvii. 80.) Rancidity in the lard employed facilitates the extinguishment of the 
mercury, but is liable to the same objection as turpentine, though in a much less 
degree. M. Fossembras found that the addition of rancid fat was required in 
the proportion of only ten drachms to a pound of the ointment, in order to 
enable eight pounds to be prepared in an hour. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., v. 
to. j M Guibourt- recommends the addition of one-sixteenth of old mercurial 1420 
Unguent a. 
ointment.* M. Simonin proposes the use of lard which has been exposed in 
thin layers to a damp air for fifteen days. This facilitates the extinguishment of 
the metal, but it probably renders the preparation more irritant by the chemical 
alteration of the lard. The following plan of preparing the ointment was pro- 
posed by M. Chevallier. A pound of mercury, and half a pound of fresh lard 
previously melted, are introduced into a stone or glass bottle, shaken till the 
mixture acquires the consistency of very thick syrup, then poured into a mortar, 
and incorporated by constant stirring with an additional half pound of lard. In 
this manner, according to Chevallier, a perfect ointment may be made in half 
an hour. When prepared with lard alone, the ointment is apt, in hot weather, 
to become so soft as to allow the metal to separate. Hence the addition of suet 
in the processes of the U. S. and British Pharmacopoeias; and even a larger 
proportion might be employed, when the ointment is prepared for use in the 
summer season. 
Upon the whole, it may be considered doubtful whether any of the expedients 
for saving labour and time in the preparation of the ointment are wholly unob- 
jectionable. Dr. Christison states that the better plan is not to complete the 
process by a continuous trituration, but to operate for a short time every day, 
and allow the ointment in the mean time to be exposed to the air. But so much 
labour is required in the process, that the ointment is preferably made by ma- 
chinery on the large scale. The fatty matters, kept in the fluid state by a heat 
of about 100°, are triturated with the metal by means of two iron balls, which 
are driven rapidly round in a circular iron trough by steam power. The extin- 
guishment of the mercury is thus effected in about twelve hours. 
A new method of preparing mercurial ointmeut, proposed by Orosi, is to pre- 
cipitate metallic mercury, in the pulverulent form, from a solution of corrosive 
sublimate, by an excess of protochloride of tin, with the addition of muriatic 
acid; and, having poured off the supernatant fluid, washed the precipitate with 
warm water, and dried it between bibulous paper, to incorporate it*with the pre- 
scribed proportion of lard. To prevent the precipitated mercury from running 
into globules, it is recommended to cover with fat the interior of the vessel in 
which the precipitation takes place. 
Mercurial ointment has when newly prepared a bluish colour, which becomes 
darker by age. It has been thought to contain the mercury in the state of prot- 
oxide; but most of the metal can be separated by methods not calculated to 
reduce the oxide; and it is now generally admitted that by far the greater part 
of it exists in a state of minute division, not of chemical combination. It has 
been shown, however, that the metal is slightly oxidized; and the change of 
colour which the ointment undergoes with age is attributable to further oxida- 
tion. If the ointment be kept long melted in a narrow vessel, metallic mercury 
subsides, and an oily liquid floats upon the surface. After this has been filtered 
so as to separate everything undissolved, it is blackened by sulphuretted hydro- 
gen, and yields oxide of mercury to acetic acid. Dr. Christison states that he 
has examined various samples of the ointment, and never failed to detect oxide 
of mercury; and he has inferred from his observations that the oxide amounts 
* It. appears that Mr. J. Higginbottom made known, so long ago as the year 1814. this 
mode of extinguishing mercury. He recommends that equal weights of the old ointment 
mercury should be rubbed together, till the globules quite disappear, and the requi- 
site proportion of lard then added It is not necessary that the mercurial ointment should 
be rancid. (Pharm. Journ., xvi. 215.) For a process recommended by Mr. J. M. Maiscli, of 
which the peculiarity is the use of mercury passed through chamois leather, so as to be 
sprinkled in minute division over the fat, see the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (xxviii. 107); and 
for another by Mr. E. H. Ilance, in which melted spermaceti is employed as the extinguish- 
ing material, and which is said to answer well for small quantities, see the same journal 
(xxix. 15). M. E. Mouclion uses wax or stearin to facilitate extinguishment, and recom- 
mends benzinated lard as the vehicle. (Journ. de Chim. Med., Nov. 1856, p. 652 )—ATote to 
the eleventh edition. PART II. 
Unguenta. 
1421 
to rather more than 1 per cent. (Christ,ison's Dispensatory.) But the propor- 
tion is variable, according to the age and mode of preparation of the ointment 
It scarcely admits of a doubt, that the oxide of mercury formed enters into che 
mical combination with the lard, or one of its oily acids. Mr. Donovan advanced 
the idea, that the medicinal activity of the ointment depended exclusively on 
this compound of the lard with the mercurial oxide. An ointment made by 
merely mixing lard and black oxide of mercury has not the same effect; because 
there is no chemical union between the ingredients. But, upon exposing such 
a mixture to a temperature of 350°, and continually agitating it for two hours, 
he found that every ounce of lard dissolved and combined with twenty-one 
grains of oxide, and the resulting compound was proved to be equally effectual 
with the common ointment, and capable of being introduced into the system in 
one-third of the time. It has been proposed to substitute an ointment thus pre- 
pared for that made according to the officinal directions, as being more manage- 
able, and of more uniform strength. Care, however, would be required in pre- 
paring it to avoid a temperature either too high or too low; as the former might 
decompose the oxide, and the latter would be insufficient to effect its union with 
the lard. There would be danger, also, that the lard might be rendered irritant 
by the influence of the heat. Dr. F. Yon Bmrensprung has rendered it extremely 
probable that metallic mercury, no matter in what state of division it may be, is 
unable to enter the blood-vessels, and that whatever effects on the system are 
produced by the ointment, or any similar preparation, or even by the vapours of 
mercury, are owing to the previous oxidation of the metal. (See Chem. Gaz., 
Sept. 1, 1850, p. 321.) 
From experiments by a committee of the College of Pharmacy, of New York, 
it appears that the ointment, contained in jars, becomes somewhat unequal in 
consequence of the settling of the metallic ingredient. The inference is that, 
after long standing, the contents of the jar should be triturated so as to restore 
an equable strength before being dispensed. (Am. Journ. ofPharm., xvi. 2.) 
Medical Uses. Mercurial ointment, when rubbed upon the surface of the body, 
produces, in consequence of its absorption, the general effects of mercury upon 
the system. It is resorted to either alone, when circumstances prevent or dis- 
courage the internal use of mercury, or conjointly with the internal use of the 
medicine, to produce a more speedy or powerful effect in urgent cases. It may 
also be advantageously employed as a resolvent in local affections; as in the case 
of venereal buboes, and of chronic glandular swellings, upon which it may be 
made to operate directly by being applied in the course of the absorbents passing 
through the enlarged glands. The proper quantity to be employed at one time, 
with a view to salivation, is about a drachm, which should be applied night and 
morning, by means of friction, to the inner surface of the thighs, legs, or arms, 
and continued till the system is affected. 
In urgent cases, or in local affections, it may also be rubbed on other parts of 
the body, or applied to blistered surfaces. The friction should on each occasion 
be continued till the whole of the ointment is absorbed. When frequently rubbed 
upon the same part, it is apt to produce a disagreeable eruption, which inter- 
feres with its continued application. Camphor is sometimes added, in order to 
render it more easy of absorption; but, without producing this effect, it increases 
the liability of the ointment to irritate the skin, and is of no other advantage 
than to soften its consistence when too firm from a large proportion of suet. 
Mercurial ointment has been employed, with some success, to prevent the ma- 
turation of the smallpox pustule, and the consequent pitting. For this purpose 
it may be applied to the face or other part, thickly spread on patent lint or 
muslin, care being taken to prevent the access of the air to the covered part. 
To be successful it must be applied before the third or fourth day of the erup- 
tion. The ointment has been recommended also in erysipelas and chilblains. 1422 
Unguenta, 
PART II. 
Iodide of potassium, rubbed with mercurial ointment, is said to promote the 
separation of the mercury in the form of globules (Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., 
x. 350); but the effect does not take place if the iodide is thoroughly dried and 
well powdered, and the ointment added to it by small portions at a time. (Ibid., 
x. 421.) The ointment, diluted with twice or three times its weight of lard, is 
sometimes applied to ulcers, and to certain cutaneous eruptions. 
Off. Prep. Linimentum Ilydrargyri, Br. W. 
UNGUENTUM IIYDRARGYRI AMMONIATI. U. S., Br. Unguen- 
tum PftiECiPiTATi Albi. Br. Ointment of Ammoniated Mercury. Oint- 
ment of White Precipitate. 
“Take of Ammoniated Mercury, in very fine powder, forty grains ; Ointment 
of Lard a troyounce. Mix them.” U. S. 
“Take of Ammoniated Mercury sixty-four grains; Simple Ointment one 
ounce [avoirdupois]. Mix thoroughly.” Br. 
This ointment is employed chiefly in cutaneous eruptions, such as psora, por- 
rigo, and herpes. W. 
UNGUENTUM IIYDRARGYRI IODIDI RUBRI. Br. Ointment 
of Red Iodide of Mercury. 
“ Take of Red Iodide of Mercury, in very fine powder, sixteen grains; Sim- 
ple Ointment one ounce [avoirdupois]. Mix thoroughly.” Br. 
This ointment contains only one-fourth as much of the red iodide as the oint- 
ment of the Dublin College, which it supersedes. It is employed as a dressing to 
scrofulous ulcers, especially when they are very indolent. W. 
UNGUENTUM IIYDRARGYRI NITRATIS. U.S.,Br. Unguen- 
TUM Citrinum. Ed. Ointment of Nitrate of Mercury. Citrine Ointment. 
“Take of Mercury a troyounce and a half; Nitric Acid three troyounces 
and a half; Neats-foot Oil twelve troyounces; Lard four troyounces and a 
half. Dissolve the Mercury in the Acid; then heat together the Oil and Lard 
in an earthen vessel, and, when the temperature reaches 200°, remove the mix- 
ture from the fire. To this add the mercurial solution, and with a wooden spa- 
tula stir constantly, so long as effervescence continues, and afterwards occa- 
sionally until the ointment stiffens.” U. S. 
“Take of Mercury four ounces [avoirdupois]; Nitric Acid eight fluid- 
ounces; Prepared Lard fifteen ounces [avoird.]; Olive Oil thirty-two fluid- 
ounces. Dissolve the Mercury in the Nitric Acid wdth the aid of a gentle heat; 
melt the Lard in the Oil, by a steam or water bath, in a porcelain vessel capable 
of holding six times the quantity; and, while the mixture is hot, add the Solu- 
tion of Mercury, also hot, mixing them thoroughly. If the mixture do not froth 
up, increase the heat till this occurs.” Br. 
The chemical changes which take place in the preparation of this ointment 
are not precisely knowm. They differ somewhat according to the circumstances 
under which the operation is performed; for example, according to the propor- 
tion and strength of the acid, the nature of the fatty matter, and the degree of 
heat employed. The mercury, in the first step of the process, is oxidized at the 
expense of a portion of the acid, nitrous fumes escape, and the undecomposed 
acid unites writh the oxidized metal, forming binitrate of deutoxide of mercury 
if heat be employed, and a mixture of this with nitrate of the protoxide, if 
the process be conducted at a low temperature. When the mercurial solution is 
added to the fatty matter, a reaction takes place, which probably results in the 
production of the yellow subnitrate of the deutoxide of mercury, of one or more 
of the fatty acids, as the oleic, margaric, and stearic, and of ela'idin or ela'idio 
acid, or both. (See page 568.) It is also highly probable that portions of these 
fatty acids combine with the oxide of mercury. Rut the degree to which these PART II. 
Unguenta. 
1423 
changes take place is influenced greatly by the temperature to which the mix- 
ture is exposed. If this be low, there is little or no escape of gas; if elevated, 
there is a copious evolution of nitrous fumes. In the former case the changes 
are obviously less considerable than in the latter. 
As formerly prepared, this ointment, though at first beautifully yellow and of 
the proper consistence, soon began to change, acquiring in time a dirty greenish 
and mottled colour, and becoming so hard and friable as to be unfit for use un- 
less mixed with lard. These results were ascribed to various causes, and as many 
different modifications of the process were proposed in order to obviate them. 
The U. S. process is based upon the fact, that the olive oil of the former British 
processes is hardened by nitrous acid or the nitrate of mercury, while the same 
effect is not produced upon neats-foot oil. As at first published, the process was 
defective in the direction to add the mercurial solution to the mixed oleaginous 
fluid when it begins to stiffen on cooling. When this direction was complied 
with, at least with the acid of the ordinary strength, the preparation had a brown 
colour and semi-liquid consistence; but, with some modifications such as were 
introduced into the revised formula of the Pharmacopoeia of 1850, the process 
yields an excellent ointment, which, though it sometimes assumes a greenish 
colour on exposure, retains permanently a soft unctuous consistence. We have 
had specimens of the ointment in our possession for several years, which have 
retained a uniform yellowish colour, and a perfectly good unctuous consistence. 
It is said that the three ounces of lard of this formula may be advantageously 
replaced by the same quantity of neats-foot oil. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., iv. 
197.) It is probable that other animal oils will answer the same purpose; and 
it is asserted that a good preparation may be made with lard or butter alone. 
The drying vegetable oils do not appear, like olive oil, to be converted by nitrous 
acid or the nitrate of mercury into ela'idin ; and it was a fair inference that they 
might be employed advantageously in the preparation of citrine ointment. Ac- 
cordingly, Dr. Fessenden, of North Carolina, states, in his inaugural essay, that 
he substituted linseed oil for the neats-foot oil of the IT. S. process, and succeeded 
in obtaining a perfectly good and durable ointment. It is now stated that the 
failure of many operators who have followed the former British officinal pro- 
cesses, has been owing not so much to the character of the particular oil employed, 
as to deficiency of strength in the nitric acid, and the want of a due degree of 
heat. Mr. Alsop asserts that, if the nitric acid be of the sp. gr. 1 5, or if the 
quantity of a weaker acid be increased so as to compensate for its deficiency in 
strength, and if the fatty matters be mixed with the mercurial solution at an 
elevated temperature, a permanently soft and golden-coloured ointment will 
result. (Pharm. Transact., Sept. 1841.) It is probable that the discoloration 
which is so apt to take place in the preparation is owing to the deoxidizing in- 
fluence of the fatty matter upon the mercurial oxide. Now if, by a sufficient 
excess of acid and an elevated temperature, the fats be well oxidized during the 
process, they will have less affinity for oxygen afterwards, and consequently less 
ability to take it from the oxide of mercury. That they are oxidized at the ex- 
pense of the nitric acid, when heat is used, is proved by the abundant extrica- 
tion of nitrous fumes during the operation. 
But, when the fatty matter and mercurial solution are mixed, care must be taken 
that the heat applied be not too great. Gas is extricated at 180°, and at 212° 
escapes so abundantly that the mixture boils over unless the vessel is very large. 
(Aiaop.) Besides, if the heat is too great, a portion of the mercury is reduced, 
and the colour of the ointment impaired. When large quantities of materials 
are operated upon, the reaction which occurs produces of itself a sufficient heat; 
but in ordinary cases the temperature should be kept at about 190° by means 
of a tvater-bath, and if it exceed 205° should be reduced. It should always be 
sufficient to produce a copious extrication of gas. The ointment should be pre- 1424 
Unguent a, 
PART II. 
pared in a glass, porcelain, or well-glazed earthen vessel; and a glass rod or 
wooden spatula should be employed for stirring the mixture. 
In the present U. 8. and British formulas, the provision in relation to the ap- 
plication of heat is incorporated ; and either of them will yield a good ointment 
with due care in the manipulations. For some useful practical hints upon this 
point, the reader is referred to a communication by Mr. Joseph Laidlaw in the 
Am. Journ. of Pharm. (xxii. 119). It is due to Mr. Duncan, a chemist and 
druggist of Edinburgh, to state that he appears to have been the first to ascer- 
tain the value of heat in the preparation of this ointment. 
Medical Uses. This ointment is much and very advantageously employed, as 
a stimulant and alterative application, in porrigo or tinea capitis, impetigo lar- 
valis or crusta lactea., psoriasis and pityriasis, certain forms of chronic eczema, 
psorophthalmia and inflammation of the eye and eyelids connected with porrigo 
of the face or scalp, and various other ulcerative and eruptive affections. It 
should be diluted with lard, unless in cases which require a very stimulant ap- 
plication. Some care is requisite in its use, to avoid the risk of salivation. When 
hard and friable, it must be rubbed up with fresh lard before it can be applied. 
An ointment prepared with lard and nitric acid, called Alyon's ointment, after 
the person who first prepared it, was formerly much used in cases similar to 
those in which the citrine ointment is now employed. The ointment of nitric 
acid of the former Edinburgh and Dublin Pharmacopoeias, discarded in the last 
edition of those works, was of this character. W. 
UNGUENTUM HYDRARGYRI OXIDI RUBRI. U. S., Br. Oint- 
ment of Red Oxide of Mercury. 
“Take of Red Oxide of Mercury, in very fine powder, sixty grains; Oint- 
ment of Lard a troyounce. Add the Oxide of Mercury to the Ointment pre- 
viously softened with a gentle heat, and thoroughly mix them.” U. S. 
“Take of Red Oxide of Mercury, in very fine powder, sixty four grains; 
Simple Ointment one ounce [avoirdupois]. Mix thoroughly.” Br. 
The red oxide of mercury here referred to is that prepared from the nitrate, 
and usually called red precipitate. It is important that the oxide should be 
thoroughly pulverized before being mixed with the lard; as otherwise it might 
prove injurious in cases of ophthalmia, in which it is sometimes used. 
This ointment loses its fine red colour when long kept, probably in conse- 
quence of the conversion of the red oxide into the black, or its reduction to the 
metallic state. It is best to prepare it only in small quantities at a time. We 
have been informed that, if the preparation be made by mixing the red oxide 
with poplar-bud ointment, it will keep a long time without change. According 
to R. II. Stabler, of Alexandria, Va., an equally effectual method is to mix two 
drops of Liquor Potassse with each ounce of the ointment when prepared. (Am. 
Journ. of Pharm., xxiii. 123.) It is a highly useful stimulating ointment, much 
employed in indolent and foul ulcers, in porrigo of the scalp, psorophthalmia, 
and chronic conjunctival ophthalmia, especially when attended with thickening 
of the inner membrane of the eyelids, or with specks upon the cornea. It may 
be diluted with lard if found too stimulating. W. 
UNGUENTUM IODINII. U. S. Ointment of Iodine. 
“Take of Iodine twenty grains; Iodide of Potassium four grains; Water 
six minims; Lard a troyounce. Rub the Iodine and Iodide of Potassium first 
with the Water, and then with the Lard until they are thoroughly mixed.” U. 8. 
The object of the iodide of potassium and water is simply to bring the iodine 
into a state in which it may be thoroughly and equably incorporated with the 
lard. They have been found to answer better in practice than the alcohol for- 
merly used. 
This ointment, when rubbed upon the skin, imparts to it an orange colour, PART II. 
Unguenta, 
1425 
which, however, slowly disappears with the evaporation of the iodine. It is 
useful as a local application in goitre, scrofulous swellings of the glands and 
other chronic tumefactions, internal or external, operating probably through the 
medium of absorption. When continued for some time it occasionally produces 
a pustular eruption upon the portion of skin to which it is applied. Dr. Cerchi 
ari strongly recommends it in cases of enlarged tonsils, after the disappearance 
of inflammation. It should be applied to the tonsils morning and evening by 
means of a camel’s hair pencil. In two months, according to the author, the en- 
largement disappears. {Am. Journ. of Pharm., viii. 83.) It has also been recom- 
mended in chilblains. The ointment should be prepared only when wanted for 
use; for it undergoes change if kept, losing its deep orange-brown colour, and 
becoming pale upon the surface. W. 
UNGUENTUM IODINII COMPOSITUM. U.S. Ukguentum Iodi 
Compositum. Br. Compound Ointment of Iodine. 
“Take of Iodine fifteen grains; Iodide of Potassium thirty grains; Water 
thirty minims; Lard a troyounce. Rub the Iodine and Iodide of Potassium first 
with the Water, and then with the Lard until they are thoroughly mixed.” U. S. 
“Take of Iodine, Iodide of Potassium, each, thirty-two grains; Proof Spirit 
one fluidrachm; Prepared Lard two ounces [avoirdupois]. Rub the Iodine 
and the Iodide of Potassium well together, with the Spirit, in a glass or porce- 
lain mortar, add the Lard gradually, and mix thoroughly.” Br. 
This preparation is employed for the same purposes as the preceding, from 
which it differs chiefly in being somewhat stronger with iodine; as the iodide of 
potassium is probably not peculiar in its effects, and the spirit is employed only 
to facilitate the admixture. W. 
UNGUENTUM MEZEREI. U. S. 1850. Ointment of Mezereon. 
“Take of Mezerecn, sliced transversely, four [troy~\ounces; Lard fourteen 
[troy~\ounces; White Wax two [troy~]ounces. Moisten the Mezereon with a 
little Alcohol, and beat it in an iron mortar until reduced to a fibrous mass; then 
digest it, by means of a salt-water bath, with the Lard and Wax previously 
melted together, for twelve hours; strain with strong expression, and allow the 
strained liquid to cool slowly, so that any undissolved matters may subside. 
From these separate the medicated ointment.” TJ. S. 
Though discarded from the Pharmacopoeia at the recent revision of that work, 
we retain the formula, because the ointment is, in our estimation, valuable for 
the purposes for which it was intended. It is equivalent to the pommade epis- 
pastique au garou of the French Codex, which is prepared from the bark of 
Daphne Gnidium. The ointment may also be made, as proposed by Guibourt, 
by mixing two drachms of the alcoholic extract of mezereon with nine ounces of 
lard and one of wax. It is used as a stimulating application to blistered surfaces 
in order to maintain the discharge, and to obstinate, ill-conditioned, and indo- 
lent ulcers. W. 
UNGUENTUM PICIS LIQUIDS. U.S. Tar Ointment. 
“Take of Tar, Suet, each, twelve troyounces. Mix the Tar with the Suet 
previously melted with a moderate heat, and, having strained the mixture through 
muslin, stir it constantly while cooling.” U. S. 
This ointment is highly useful as a stimulant application in various scaly and 
scabby eruptions, particularly in psoriasis and lepra, and in that form of porrigo 
usually called tinea capitis, or scald-head. In the last-mentioned affection, it 
should be applied night and morning; and in bad cases the patient should con- 
stantly wear a cap, thickly coated internally with the ointment. W. 1426 
Ungucnta. 
part n. 
UNGUENTUM PLUMBI CARBONATIS. U.S.,Br. Ointment of 
Carbonate of Lead. 
“Take of Carbonate of Lead, in very fine powder, eighty grains; Ointment 
of Lard a troyounce. Add the Carbonate of Lead to the Ointment previously 
softened with a gentle heat, and thoroughly mix them.” U. S. 
“Take of Carbonate of Lead, in fine powder, sixty-four grains; Simple 
Ointment one ounce [avoirdupois]. Mix thoroughly.” Br. 
This ointment is used as a dressing to blistered or excoriated surfaces, burns, 
&c. . W. 
UNGUENTUM PLUMBI SUBACETATIS. Br. Ointment of Sub- 
acetate of Lead. 
See CERATUM PLUMBI SUBACETATIS. 
UNGUENTUM POTASSII IODIDI. U.S.,Br. Ointment of Iodide 
of Potassium. 
“Take of Iodide of Potassium, in fine powder, sixty grains; Water a fiui- 
drachm; Lard a troyounce. Dissolve the Iodide of Potassium in the Water, 
and mix the solution with the Lard.” U. S. 
“Take of Iodide of Potassium sixty four grains; Distilled Water one jluir 
drachm; Prepared Lard one ounce [avoirdupois]. Dissolve the Iodide of Po- 
tassium in the Water, and mix thoroughly with the Lard.”Rr. 
The preparation is apt to become discoloured by time in consequence of the 
liberation of iodine. It is said that this may be prevented by mixing two drops 
of Liquor Potassse with each ounce of the freshly prepared oiutment. {Am. 
Journ. of Pliarm., xxiii. 123.) 
This ointment is employed for the discussion of goitres, scrofulous tumours, 
and other indolent swellings; and is sometimes preferred to the ointment of 
iodine, as it does not, like that, discolour the skin.* . W. 
UNGUENTUM RESIN A3. Br. Ointment of Resin. 
See CERATUM RESINA3. 
UNGUENTUM SABINiE. Br. Ointment of Savin. 
See CERATUM SABINA3. 
UNGUENTUM STRAMONII. U.S. Ointment of Stramonium. 
“Take of Extract of Stramonium sixty grains; Water half a fluidrachm ; 
Lard a troyounce. Rub the Extract first with the Water until rendered uni- 
formly soft, then with the Lard, and thoroughly mix them.” U. S. 
This is a more certain preparation than that of the former editions of the 
U. S. Pharmacopoeia, which was made by boiling the fresh leaves in lard. For 
remarks by Mr. A. P. Sharp, of Baltimore, on the preparation of this ointment, 
see the American Journal of Pharmacy (xxvii. 391). 
The ointment of Stramonium is a useful anodyne application in irritable 
ulcers, painful hemorrhoids, and in some cutaneous eruptions. W. 
* Elder Ointment. Unguentcm Sambuci, Lond. Though omitted in the British Pharma- 
copoeia, we retain this preparation in its present position from its long popularity. The 
following was the London formula. “Take of Elder [flowers], Lard, each, tivo pounds. 
Boil the Elder in the Lard till it becomes crisp; then express through linen.” Elder flowers 
impart odour to lard without adding to its virtues. An ointment, prepared in like manner 
from the leaves, has a green colour, and is popularly employed as a cooling application 
in England. Mr. Joseph Ince says of the ointment prepared according to the ofLcinal direc- 
tions, that it is apt to be somewhat brownish, and to become hard and rancid; but if, after 
the straining through linen, it be set aside for a few days, and, after deposition and con- 
cretion, bo filtered through a funnel kept hot with steam, these disadvantages will be obvi- 
ated. (Pharm. Journ., xiv. 489A PART II. 
Unguenta, 
UNGUENTUM SULPHURIS. U.S.,Br. Ointment of Sulphur. 
“Take of Sublimed Sulphur atroyounce; Lard two troyounces. Mix them.” 
U. S. 
“Take of Sublimed Sulphur one ounce; Prepared Lard four ounces. Mix 
thoroughly.” Br. 
The U. S. ointment is twice as strong as the British. Sulphur ointment is a 
specific for the itch. It should be applied every night till the complaint is cured; 
and it is recommended that only one-fourth of the body should be covered at a 
time. We have usually directed it to be applied over the whole surface, and have 
found no inconvenience to result. Four applications are generally sufficient to 
effect a cure. It is thought by some that powdered roll sulphur is more effica- 
cious than the sublimed. Sulphur ointment, applied freely over the variolous 
eruption, in its early stage, is said to prevent the maturation of the pustules and 
consequent pitting. The disagreeable odour of the ointment may be in some 
measure concealed by a little oil of lemons, or oil of bergamot. W. 
UNGUENTUM SULPHURIS IODIDI. U.S. Ointment of Iodide of 
Sulphur. 
“Take of Iodide of Sulphur thirty grains; Lard a troyounce. Rub the Io- 
dide of Sulphur, first reduced to a fine powder, with a little of the Lard, then add 
the remainder, and thoroughly mix them.” U. S. 
This is admirably adapted, as a local remedy, to the treatment of chronic cuta- 
neous eruptions, unattended with inflammation; and is especially useful in pso- 
riasis, lepra, porrigo, and the very advanced stages of eczema and impetigo, 
when they have become dry. W. 
UNGUENTUM TABACI. U. S. Ointment of Tobacco. 
“ Take of Tobacco, in fine powder, half a troyounce; Lard eight troyounces ; 
Water a sufficient quantity. Moisten the Tobacco with a little Water, introduce 
it into a conical glass percolator, and, having pressed it firmly, pour Water upon 
it until four fluidounces of filtered liquid have passed. Evaporate this to the con- 
sistence of a soft extract, and mix it thoroughly with the Lard.” U. S. 
In the first edition of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, this ointment, under the name 
of “ Tobacco Liniment,” was directed to be prepared by boiling together lard and 
common dried tobacco; but in this condition the leaves do not yield their virtues 
to lard. The error was corrected in the second edition, in which fresh tobacco 
was directed. Though the tobacco plant is not an object of general culture in 
the Northern States, it may readily be produced in gardens, in quantities suffi- 
cient to supply any demand for the fresh leaves. 
Fresh narcotic vegetables yield their active principles, and chlorophyll or green 
colouring matter to oleaginous substances, when heated with them; and oint- 
ments have long been prepared in this manner. In the pharmacy of the conti- 
nent of Europe, olive oil is frequently employed as the solvent, and the resulting 
preparations are called olea infusa. Several of these are ordered by the French 
Codex, as the oils of henbane, stramonium, tobacco, &c. Lard is preferred iu 
British and American pharmacy, as affording preparations of a more convenient 
consistence. The boiling takes place at a lower temperature than that necessary 
for the evaporation of the lard or oil, and is owing to the escape of the watery 
parts of the plants. It should be continued till all the water is driven off; as 
this, if allowed to remain, would render the ointment more liable to spontaneous 
decomposition; and, besides, the colouring matter of the narcotic is not freely 
extracted till after the dissipation of the water. In the recent revision, however, 
of the Pharmacopoeia, it was thought expedient to discard this method of pre- 
paring the ointment altogether, and to substitute a concentrated infusion of the 
dried leaves mixed with lard. The new preparation is probably quite as efficient 
as the old, if not more so, while pharmaceutically it is much neater. 1428 
Unguent a. — Veratria. 
PART II. 
Tobacco ointment is useful in irritable ulcers, and various cutaneous eruptions, 
particularly tinea capitis; but great care must be taken, especially in children, 
not to employ it in such quantities as to endanger the production of the consti- 
tutional effects of the narcotic. W. 
UNGUENTUM TEREBINTIIINiE. Br. Ointment of Turpentine. 
“Take of Oil of Turpentine one jiuidounce; Resin, in coarse powder, sixty 
grains; Yellow Wax, Prepared Lard, each, half an ounce [avoirdupois]. Mix 
the ingredients together by the heat of a steam or water bath. When they are 
melted, remove the vessel, and stir until the mixture becomes solid.” Br. 
This is a somewhat stronger preparation than the British Linimentum Tere- 
binthinse, but is probably intended for the same purpose, as a dressing, namely, for 
burns, for which it is sometimes more convenient by its firmer consistence. W. 
UNGUENTUM VERATRLZE. U.S.,Br. Ointment of Veratria. 
“ Take of Yeratria twenty grains; Lard a troyounce. Rub the Yeratria with 
a little of the Lard; then add the remainder, and thoroughly mix them.” U. S. 
“Take of Yeratria eight grains; Prepared Lard one ounce [avoirdupois]; 
Olive Oil half a fluidrachm. Rub the Yeratria and the Oil together; then mix 
them thoroughly with the Lard.”Rr. 
This ointment has been substituted for the Ointment of White Hellebore of 
the former edition of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, which was made by rubbing to- 
gether two ounces of the powdered root, twenty minims of the Oil of Lemons, 
and eight ounces of Lard, and which has sometimes been employed with ad- 
vantage in the itch. It is less disagreeable, but also less certain than the sulphur 
ointment. For the uses of veratria ointment see the article on Veratria. It 
should be noticed that the IJ. S. ointment is more than twice as strong as the 
British. It should be employed with caution in children. W. 
UNGUENTUM ZINCI OXIDI. U.S.,Br. Ointment of Oxide of Zinc. 
“ Take of Oxide of Zinc eighty grains; Lard a troyounce. Mix them.” U. S. 
“Take of Oxide of Zinc, in very fine powder, eighty grains; Simple Oint- 
ment one ounce [avoirdupois]. Add the Oxide to the Ointment, previously 
melted with a gentle heat, and stir the mixture constantly until it becomes 
cold.” Br. 
This is employed as a mild astringent application in chronic ophthalmia with 
a relaxed state of the vessels, in cutaneous eruptions, and in sore nipples and 
other instances of excoriation or ulceration. It has taken the place of the dis- 
carded unguentum tutise, or tutty ointment, prepared from tutty or the impure 
oxide of zinc, by mixing it with five parts of simple ointment. W. 
VERATRIA. 
Veratria. 
YERATRIA. U. S.y Br. Veratria. 
“Take of Cevadilla, in moderately fine powder, twenty-four troy ounces; 
Alcohol, Sulphuric Acid, Magnesia, Water of Ammonia, Purified Animal Char- 
coal, Water, each, a sufficient quantity. Digest the Cevadilla with eight pints 
of Alcohol for four hours, in a distillatory apparatus, with a heat approaching 
to boiling, and pour off the liquid. To the residue add eight pints more of Alco- 
hol, mixed with the portion distilled, and having digested for an hour, pour off 
the liquid as before. Digest for a third time with the same quantity of Alcohol, 
together with the portion last distilled, and again pour off. Press the remains of 
the Cevadilla, mix and strain the liquids, and, by means of a water-bath, distil off 
the Alcohol. Boil the residue three or four times in Water acidulated with Sul- 
phuric Acid, mix and strain the liquids, and evaporate tc tie consistence of PART II. 
Veratria. 
1429 
syrup. Add Magnesia in slight excess, shake the mixture frequently, then ex 
press, and wash what remains. Repeat the expression and washing two or three 
times, and, having dried the residue, digest it with a gentle heat several times in 
Alcohol, and strain after each digestion. Distil off the Alcohol from the mixed 
liquids, boil the residue for fifteen minutes in water mixed with a little Sulphuric 
Acid and Purified Animal Charcoal, and strain. Having thoroughly washed 
what remains, mix the washings with the strained liquid, evaporate with a mode- 
rate heat to the consistence of thin syrup, and drop in sufficient Water of Am- 
monia to precipitate the Veratria. Lastly, wash the alkaloid with Water, and 
dry it with a gentle heat.” U. S. 
“Take of Cevadilla two pounds [avoirdupois]; Distilled Water, Rectified 
Spirit, Solution of Ammonia, Hydrochloric Acid, each, a sufficiency; Purified 
Animal Charcoal sixty grains. Macerate the Cevadilla with half its weight of 
boiling Distilled Water, in a covered vessel, for twenty-four hours. Remove the 
Cevadilla, squeeze it, and dry it thoroughly with a gentle heat. Beat it now in 
a mortar, and separate the seeds from the capsules by brisk agitation in a deep 
narrow vessel, or by winnowing it gently on a table with a sheet of paper. Grind 
the seeds in a coffee mill, and form them into a thick paste with Rectified Spirit. 
Pack this firmly in a percolator, and pass Rectified Spirit through it till the 
Spirit ceases to be coloured. Concentrate the spirituous solution by distillation, 
so long as no deposit forms; and pour the residue, while hot, into twelve times 
its volume of cold Distilled Water. Filter through calico, and wash the residue 
on the filter with Distilled Water, till the fluid ceases to precipitate with Am- 
monia. To the united filtered liquids add the Ammonia in slight excess, let the 
precipitate completely subside, pour off the supernatant fluid, collect the pre- 
cipitate on a filter, and wash it with Distilled Water till the fluid passes colour- 
less. Diffuse the moist precipitate through twelve fluidounces of Distilled Water, 
and add gradually with diligent stirring sufficient Hydrochloric Acid to make the 
fluid feebly but persistently acid. Then add the Animal Charcoal; digest at a gen- 
tle heat for twenty minutes, filter, and allow the liquid to cool. Add Ammonia 
in slight excess, and, when the precipitate has completely subsided, pour off the 
supernatant liquid, collect the precipitate on a filter, and wash it with cold Dis- 
tilled Water till the washings cease to be affected by nitrate of silver acidulated 
with nitric acid. Lastly, dry the precipitate first by imbibition with filtering paper, 
and then on the steam bath.” Br. 
In the U. S. process the first step is to obtain a tincture of cevadilla. In the 
British process, which is mainly that of the late Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia, the 
use of alcohol is preceded by measures calculated to bring the seeds into a pro- 
per state for its action. This is not satisfactorily effected by mere bruising. The 
seeds are not thus separated from the capsules; and, on account of their elasticity, 
they cannot be conveniently comminuted in a mortar. The mode of proceeding 
given in the British Pharmacopoeia was suggested by Christison, and is said by 
him to answer the purpose. In the U. S. process, the tincture, when made, is 
evaporated to the consistence of an extract. This contains the veratria combined 
with a vegetable acid, probably the gallic, as it exists in the seeds. From the ex- 
tract the alkaloid is dissolved by the acidulated water, which at the same time 
converts it in great measure into a sulphate, a small portion possibly remaining 
in the solution combined with an excess of the native acid. The magnesia com- 
bines with the acids and throws down the veratria, which is then taken up by 
alcohol, and again yielded in a purer state by evaporation. To purify it still fur- 
ther, it is redissolved in water by the agency of sulphuric acid, is submitted to 
the action of animal charcoal, and is finally precipitated by ammonia. In the 
British process, the tincture is concentrated until it begins to let fall a precipi- 
tate, and is then poured into water, which throws down the resin and oil with a 
portion of the colouring matter, and retains the salt of veratria. This is then 1430 
Veratria. 
PART II. 
decomposed by ammonia, and the precipitated veratria is slightly washed with 
cold water to free it from adhering impurities. If much water is employed in the 
washing, a considerable portion of the veratria is lost, in consequence of being 
in some degree soluble in that menstruum in its ordinary impure state. The re- 
maining steps of the British process consist in the purification of the veratria by 
forming a muriate in solution, decolorizing this by animal charcoal, and again 
precipitating by ammonia.* 
* Mr. James Beat-son, manufacturing chemist of the U. S. Naval Laboratory at New York, 
recommends the following method of preparing veratria as less complicated and trouble- 
some than the officinal, and quite satisfactory in its results. Take 73 pounds (avoirdupois) 
of cevadilla, rub it upon a coarse wire sieve so as to separate the seeds from the capsules, 
and reduce the former to a coarse powder by a Swift’s drug mill. Pass the capsules also 
through the mill, separate the finer portion, and mix it with the ground seeds. Moisten the 
mixture with alcohol, and allow it to stand 12 hours; then introduce it into a displacement 
apparatus, and pour upon it 30 gallons of alcohol. When a convenient quantity of the 
liquid has passed, submit it to distillation, and return the distilled alcohol to the displace- 
ment apparatus; and proceed in the same way until the cevadilla is thoroughly exhausted. 
Collect all the alcoholic liquor from the exhausted seeds, and continue the distillation until 
the tincture has a syrupy consistence. Pour this while hot into eight times its volume of 
cold water, throw the whole on a calico filter, and wash until the washings cease to indi- 
cate the presence of veratria. Mix the washings with what first passed through the filter, 
and add aqua ammonife in excess (about 4 pounds). Wash the precipitated veratria with 
cold water, and dry it with a very gentle heat. Mr. Beatson obtained by this process eleven 
and a quarter ounces of pure veratria, but faintly tinged with colouring matter. (Am. 
Journ. of Pharm., xxvi. 5.)—Note to the tenth edition. 
M. Auguste Delondre, in a paper upon veratria in the Journ. de Pharm. for June, 1855 
(p. 417), having stated that he had found the veratria of commerce to contain only from 
75 to 85 per cent, of the pure alkaloid; that in the ordinary modes of obtaining it with 
the aid of heat, much is lost in consequence of its extreme facility of volatilization; and 
that the operator is from the same cause exposed to excessive irritation of the air-passages, 
eyes, &c., from its vapours; proposes the following plan of preparing it as the result of 
many experiments and long attention to the subject. 
The powdered cevadilla is treated, by means of percolation, with cold water slightly 
acidulated with muriatic acid until the liquid which passes strongly reddens litmus paper, 
when the percolation is finished with pure water. It is known that the cevadilla has been 
exhausted, when the last liquid which passes gives no precipitate with ammonia. The 
liquid thus obtained is pi-ecipitated by a slight excess of the ammoniacal solution; the 
grayish precipitate formed is drained and washed; and the washings as well as the de- 
canted liquid are set aside. The precipitate, having been carefully dried and powdered, 
is treated, in a well-closed bottle, with twice its weight of ether for four hours, with oc- 
casional agitation; and the ethereal solution is filtered upon shallow porcelain vessels, 
and allowed to evaporate. A second treatment with half the quantity of ether serves to 
extract all the alkaloid. The veratria is allowed to dry, and is then carefully detached 
from the plates so as to avoid unpleasant consequences to the operator, and kept for use. 
M. Delondre considers his process more productive, cheaper, and less Inconvenient than 
the one generally employed; as the injurious effects of heat are avoided, and there are 
less frequent solutions. 
The alkaloid, veratrin, being insoluble in ether, is left behind after the operation of that 
liquid. It is extracted by alcohol, which, on evaporation, yields a brown resinous matter, 
from which the veratrin may be obtained by heating it with water acidulated with sulphuric 
acid, and precipitating by ammonia. It exists, however, in very minute proportion, and 
is difficult to obtain pure. Its effects have not been determined; but its powder produces 
sneezing, though much less violently than veratria. 
The washings and decanted fluid, which had been set aside, yield on evaporation an ex- 
tract, which, when dried, and treated with ether, gives a little additional veratria; the saba- 
dillin and resini-gum of M. Couerbe remaining behind. If the residue be dissolved iu cold 
water, and the solution filtered and slowly evaporated, a mixture of crystals of sabadillin 
and resini-gum is obtained, which it is very difficult to separate. 
Commercial veratria may be purified with great facility by means of ether, which dis- 
solves the pure alkaloid, leaving the impurities.—Note to the eleventh edition. 
Dr. Murray Thomson, of Edinburgh, operates in a similar manner with M. DelonCre in 
exhausting the seeds with water, acidulated with muriatic acid, and in precipitating with 
ammonia; but, instead of exhausting the precipitate with ether, he uses hot alcohol for 
the purpose, and then proceeds by evaporating the tincture, treating the residue with PART II. 
Veratria. 
1431 
The U. S. process is essentially that of M. Couerbe. The veratria obtained 
by it, though not pure, is sufficiently so for medical use. A drachm of it, iu 
this state, may be procured from a pound of cevadilla. Besides veratria, M. 
Couerbe states that principles, which he calls respectively sabadillin (sabadillia) 
and veratrin, are also contained in this product. These are separated in the 
following manner. Into the solution of impure sulphate of veratria obtained in 
the above process, nitric acid is to be introduced by drops. This occasions an 
abundant precipitate, from which the clear liquor is to be decanted. A weak 
solution of potassa is then to be added to the liquor, and the precipitate which 
it produces is to be washed with cold water, and treated with boiling alcohol. 
The substance obtained by evaporatiug the alcohol yields the sabadillia to boil- 
ing water, which deposits it upon cooling; a substance, called by M. Couerbe 
resini-gum of sabadilla, remaining in solution. If the residue of the substance, 
treated as just mentioned with boiling water, be submitted to the action of ether, 
it yields to this liquid the proper veratria, which may be obtained entirely pure 
by the spontaneous evaporation of the ether. The matter remaining undissolved 
is the resinous substance which M. Couerbe called veratrin. Sabadillia is white, 
crystallizable, insupportably acrid, fusible by heat, readily soluble in hot water, 
which deposits it upon cooling, very soluble in alcohol, and wholly insoluble in 
ether. It is capable of saturating the acids. {Journ. de Pharm., xix. 527.) Ac- 
cording to Simon, sabadillia is a compound of resinate of soda and resinate of 
veratria. Fr. Iliibschmann qpnfirms the views of Couerbe as to the separate ex- 
istence of sabadillia. He obtained it by treating the matter considered as vera- 
tria with ether, which removed the pure veratria, aud left the sabadillia. The 
latter does not irritate the nostrils like veratria. {Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxv. 
133.) 
Properties, &c. In the impure state in which it is obtained by either of the 
above officinal processes, veratria is a grayish or brownish-white powder, with- 
out odour, and of a bitter, acrid taste, producing a sense of tingling or numb- 
ness in the tongue, and exciting violent sneezing and coryza, when admitted into 
the nostrils. When pure, it is white, pulverulent, inodorous, extremely acrid, 
fusible by heat, inflammable, scarcely soluble in cold water, soluble in a thou- 
sand parts of boiling water which it renders sensibly acrid, in eleven parts 
of alcohol of 0-847, and in six parts of ether (Delondre, Journ. de Pharm., 
xxvii. 421), and capable of neutralizing acids, with several of which, particu- 
larly the sulphuric and muriatic, it forms crystallizable salts. As commonly ob- 
tained, it is uncrystallizable; but Gr. Merck, by dissolving it in highly rectified 
alcohol, and allowing the solution to evaporate spontaneously, obtained line 
crystals in the form of rhombic prisms. The quantity obtained in crystals was 
but a small proportion of the veratria used, which Merck considered to be a 
mixture of resin with the pure alkaloid, and on this account to be uncrystalliz- 
able. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxviii. 134.) The composition of veratria is 
expressed, according to Couerbe, by the formula C3,tH22N06; but Merck, who 
obtained it crystallized, and therefore pure, gives the formula C641I.2N201G. 
{Ibid., p. 135.) It may be recognised by its sensible properties, incapacity of 
crystallization as ordinarily procured, combustibility, fusibility, peculiar solu- 
bilities, alkaline reaction, the intense red colour it assumes upon contact with 
■*oncentrated sulphuric acid, the yellow solution it forms with nitric acid, and 
*he white precipitates which its solution in dilute acetic acid yields with am- 
monia and the infusion of galls. Chlorine at first colours a solution of its salts 
acidulated water, decolorizing with a little animal charcoal, and precipitating with am- 
monia. The alkaloid thus obtained may be rendered purer by again dissolving and pre- 
cipitating as before. Dr. Thomson has thus obtained veratria in the proportion of 20 grains 
to an avoirdupois ounce of the seeds. (Pharm. Journ., May, 1861, p. 548.) It is, however, 
obvious, from what is said in the preceding note, that the veratria of Dr. Thomson con- 
tains veratrin. —Note to the twelfth edition. 1432 
Veratria. 
PART II. 
yellow, and afterwards produces a white precipitate. (Cent. Blatt, June 28,1856, 
p. 4 54.) Compound solution of iodine causes a reddish-brown precipitate, solu- 
ble in alcohol. (Fairthorne, Am. Journ. of Pharm., xviii. 212.) According to 
Trapp, of St. Petersburg, the smallest trace of veratria, if dissolved in highly 
concentrated muriatic acid, gives a solution which, though colourless at first, 
becomes red by boiling, and intensely red like permanganate of potassa if the 
boiling be long continued. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., Nov. 1863, p. 556 ) It 
is entirely dissipated by a red heat. It is said sometimes to be sophisticated 
with lime, which is easily detected by incineration, and may be separated by dis- 
solving the powder in diluted alcohol, precipitating by sulphuric acid, filtering, 
evaporating the alcohol, and precipitating the veratria by ammonia. (Chem. 
Gaz , Feb. 1845, p. 13.) Mr. John E. Carter, of Philadelphia, found a specimen 
which he examined to contain 38 per cent, of magnesia. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
Jan. 1858, p. 16.) It may be used either in the uncombined state, or united with 
acids; as in both forms it produces essentially the same effects. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Yeratria is locally irritant, and exercises a 
peculiar influence on the nervous system. Rubbed upon the skin it excites a 
sensation of warmth and a peculiar tingling. Sometimes an evanescent blush is 
produced, and still more rarely an eruption upon the skin; but, in general, no 
decided signs of inflammation are evinced. Upon the denuded cutis, however, 
veratria and its salts are powerfully irritating; in the mouth and fauces produce 
an almost insupportable sense of acrimony; and snuffed up the nostrils excite 
violent sneezing. Magendie states that, when taken internally in the dose of a 
quarter of a grain, they promptly produce abundant alvine evacuations, and in 
larger doses provoke more or less violent vomiting. Other experimenters have 
observed similar effects. Dr. Turnbull, on the contrary, says that he has very 
seldom found them to purge, even when largely administered. According to 
this author, their first effect, when given in moderate doses, is a feeling of warmth 
in the stomach, gradually extending itself over the abdomen and lower part of 
the chest, aud ultimately to the head and extremities. If the medicine is con- 
tinued, this feeling of warmth is followed by a sense of tingling, similar to that 
produced by the external use of the medicine, which manifests itself in different 
parts of the body, and sometimes over the whole surface, and is frequently ac- 
companied by perspiration and some feeling of oppression. Occasionally also 
diuresis is produced. A still further continuance of the medicine, or the use of 
large doses, excites nausea and vomiting. It occasions no narcotic effects. In 
overdoses it is a violent poison. Dr. J. L. Yan Praag has experimented with 
veratria on the lower animals, and gives as the result of his observations, that 
it lowers the circulation and respiration, diminishes the irritability of many of 
the nerves, especially the cutaneous, and produces muscular relaxation ; while, 
at the same time, it frequently vomits, and in large doses purges. The secretion 
of saliva is much increased, but that of urine little affected. In poisonous doses, 
before producing the depressing effects above referred to, it accelerates the pulse 
and respiration, occasions tonic and clonic spasms of the muscles, and exalts the 
nervous irritability generally. Tetanic stiffening of the limbs, followed by a 
dancing movement, is a characteristic symptom of poisoning with this alkaloid. 
Death seems to result from paralysis of the spinal cord. (B. and F. Medico- 
Chirurg. Rev., July, 1855, Am. ed., p. 185, from Virchow's Archiv.) 
The diseases in which veratria has been employed are chiefly gout, rheuma- 
tism, and neuralgia. M. Piedagnel has used it with great supposed advantage in 
acute articular rheumatism, which he has found generally to get well under its 
use in seven or eight days. (See Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., N. S., xxvi. 496.) 
Dr. Turnbull has found it useful also in dropsy, and in diseases of the heart, 
particularly those of a functional character, lie thinks he has also seen it do 
good in structural diseases of that organ, but chiefly by acting as a diuretic, and PART II. 
Veratria. — Vina Medicata. 
1433 
thereby removing effusion in the pericardium. Prof. Yogt, of Berne, employs it 
in pneumonia, giving 5 milligrammes (about the thirteenth of a grain) every 
two hours, and five or six times that amount during the day, increased in insus- 
ceptible persons to ten or twelve times the quantity; the dose being continued 
or increased till vomiting and reduction of the pulse are produced. (See Am. 
Journ. of Pharm., May, 1860, p. 222.) Veratria has also been employed in 
dysmenorrhoea, and in various nervous affections, as paralysis, hooping-cough, 
epilepsy, hysteria, and disorders dependent upon spinal irritation. From one- 
twelfth to one-sixth of a grain may be given in the form of pill, and repeated 
every three hours till the effects of the medicine are experienced. Some prefer 
the salts for internal use. I)r. Turnbull states that the tartrate is least disposed 
to irritate the stomach. The sulphate or acetate, however, may be used. Any 
one of these salts may be prepared by treating veratria with water acidulated 
with the acid to perfect neutralization, and then carefully evaporating to dry- 
ness. 
But veratria is much more employed externally than by the stomach, and is 
applicable in this way to all the complaints already mentioned. It has been 
highly praised as a local application in chronic swellings, stiffening, and indura- 
tion of the joints, whether from rheumatism, scrofula, or simply from local inju- 
ries, as sprains. It may be used either dissolved in alcohol, or rubbed up with 
lard or other unctuous substance, in the proportion of from five to twenty grains 
to the ounce. It is advisable that the alkaloid should be dissolved in a little 
alcohol before being mixed with the lard. Of the ointment thus prepared, a por- 
tion of the size of a filbert may be rubbed upon the skin over the part affected, 
night and morning, from five to fifteen minutes, or until the more urgent symp- 
toms are relieved. Yeratria may be used in this way to the amount of from four 
to eight grains in the day. Care must be taken that the cuticle is so»J1d over the 
parts to which it is applied. When the skin is irritable, smaller quantities than 
those above mentioned must be used. 
Off. Prep. TJnguentum Yeratrise. W 
VINA MEDICATA. 
Medicated Wines. 
The advantages of wine as a pharmaceutic menstruum are that, in conse- 
quence of the alcohol it contains, it dissolves substances insoluble in water, and, 
to a certain extent, resists their tendency to spontaneous change; while, at the 
same time, it is less stimulant than rectified or proof spirit, both from its smaller 
proportion of alcohol, and from the modified state in which this fluid exists in 
its composition. The acid wrhich it usually contains serves in some instances to 
increase its solvent power. But most wines, particularly the light varieties, are 
liable to undergo decomposition ; and even the strongest acquire such a liability 
from the principles which they extract from vegetable substances; so that medi- 
cated wines, though they keep much better than infusions or decoctions, are in- 
ferior in this respect to the tinctures. The proportion of alcohol, moreover, is 
not constant; and the preparations, therefore, made with them, are of unequal 
strength. From these causes, few medicated wines are at present retained. In 
the choice of wine, the purest and most generous should be selected. Sherry, as 
directed by the U. S. and British Pharmacopoeias, Teneriffe, or Madeira should 
be preferred. The medicated wines, in consequence of their liability to change, 
should be prepared in small quantities, without heat, and should be kept in well- 
stopped bottles in a cool place. 
The Wines, formerly officinal, which have been omitted in the present Pharma- 
copoeias, are Vinum Gentianse, Ed., and Vinum Veratri Albi, U. S., Loud. W 1434 
Vina Medicata. 
PART II. 
VINUM ALOES. U.S.,Br. Wine of Aloes. 
“Take of Socotrine Aloes, in fine powder, a troyounce; Cardamom [seeds], 
in moderately fine powder, Ginger, in moderately fine powder, each, sixty grains; 
Sherry Wine a pint. Macerate for seven days, with occasional agitation, and 
filter through paper.” U. S. 
“Take of Socotrine Aloes one ounce and a half [avoirdupois] ; Cardamoms, 
ground, Ginger, in coarse powder, of each, eighty grains; Sherry two pints 
[Imperial measure]. Digest for seven days, and strain through calico.” Br. 
The wine of aloes is a warm stomachic purgative, useful in constipation de- 
pendent on a want of due irritability of the alimentary canal, and in complaints 
connected with this state of the bowels. It has long been used in chlorosis, ame- 
norrlioea, dyspepsia, gout, paralysis, &c. It fs said to leave behind it a more lax 
condition of the bowels than most other cathartics. The dose as a stomachic 
is one or two fiuidraehms, as a purgative from half a fluidounce to a fluid- 
ounce. W. 
VINUM ANTIMONII. U.S. Vinum Antimoniale. Br. Antimonial 
Wine. Wine of Antimony. 
“Take of Tartrate of Antimony and Potassa thirty-two grains; Boiling Dis- 
tilled Water a fluidounce; Sherry Wine a sufficient quantity. Dissolve the 
Salt in the Distilled Water, and, while the solution is hot, add sufficient Sherry 
Wine to make it measure a pint.” U. S. 
“Take of Tartarated Antimony forty grains; Sherry one pint [Imperial 
measure]. Dissolve.” Br. 
In the first edition of the United States Pharmacopoeia, the proportion of 
tartar emetic was four grains to the fluidounce of wine. In the revision of 1830, 
the quantity was reduced to two grains, and, as this was very nearly the propor- 
tion directed by the British Colleges, the highly important object was accom- 
plished, of uniformity in the strength of this very popular preparation. The 
seeming discrepancy between the British formula, and that of the U. S. Phar- 
macopoeia will disappear, when it is considered that the Imperial pint, employed 
in the former, contains twenty fluidounces, each very nearly equal to the fluid- 
ounce of the ordinary apothecaries’ measure. The U. S. officinal name was 
adopted as most convenient, sufficiently expressive, and in accordance with the 
nomenclature of several other metallic preparations, such as Emplastrum Ferri, 
Mistura Ferri Gomposita, <Scc. 
Difficulty is often experienced in effecting a solution of tartar emetic in wine; 
and precipitation is apt to occur after the solution has been effected. These re- 
sults are attributable either to impurity in the antimonial salt, which frequently 
contains bitartrate of potassa and various insoluble substances, or to inferiority 
in the character of the wine, which holds in solution vegetable principles that 
form insoluble compounds with the teroxide of antimony. Dr. Paris states that 
he has seen the decomposition of the tartar emetic so complete, that no traces 
of the salt could be detected in the supernatant liquid. The difficulty is not 
avoided by the plan adopted in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, of first dissolving the 
antimonial in water, and then adding the wine; for, even allowing that the solu- 
tion may be accomplished, the same ingredients are present, and their mutual 
reaction must ultimately result in the same effects. The proper course is to select 
perfectly pure crystallized tartar emetic, and sound Sherry or Teueriffe wine, 
which make a permanent solution. To obviate the risk of decomposition, the 
Dublin College directed water and x’ectified spirit in about the proportion in 
which these exist in the wines just mentioned. The only objection to this men- 
struum is the want of colour, which renders the preparation liable to be con- 
founded with less active liquids. 
The advantages of antimonial wine are, that it affords the means of adminis- i>ART II. 
Vina Medicata, 
1435 
tering minute doses of tartar emetic, and is more permanent than an aqueous 
solution of that salt, which is liable to spontaneous decomposition, it is usually 
administered in small doses as a diaphoretic or expectorant, or as an emetic in 
infantile cases. When a considerable quantity of tartar emetic is requisite, it. 
should always be given in extemporaneous aqueous solution. The dose of the 
wine, as an expectorant or diaphoretic, is from ten to thirty drops, given fre- 
quently ; as an emetic for children, from thirty drops to a fluidrachm, repeated 
every fifteen minutes till it operates. 
Off. Prep. Mistura Glycyrrhizae Composita, U. S. W. 
VINUM COLCHICI RADICIS. U.S. Vinum Colchici. Br. Wine 
of Colchicum Hoot. 
“Take of Colchicum Root, in moderately fine powder, twelve troy ounces; 
Sherry Wine a sufficient quantity. Moisten the powder with four fluidounces of 
Sherry Wine, pack it firmly in a conical percolator, and gradually pour Sherry 
Wine upon it until two pints of filtered liquid are obtained.” U. S. 
“Take of Colchicum Corm, dried and sliced, four ounces [avoirdupois]; 
Sherry one pint [Imperial measure]. Macerate the Colchicum in the Wine for 
seven days, press and strain through calico; pour on the marc sufficient Sherry 
to make up one pint [Imp. meas.], and, having pressed and strained as before, 
mix the fluids.” Br. 
This is intended to be a saturated vinous tincture of colchicum. As the col- 
chicum bulb imported into the United States is of variable strength, the only 
method by which an active preparation can be ensured, is to employ a large 
quantity of it in proportion to that of the menstruum. If the former should 
happen to be in excess, no other injury could result than a slight pecuniary 
loss; while a deficiency in the strength of the preparation would frequently be 
of serious detriment in urgent cases of disease. A wine made from the fresh 
bulb is occasionally imported from England, and is thought by some to be more 
efficacious than our officinal preparation; but we have seldom been disappointed 
in obtaining the effects of colchicum from the wine prepared according to the 
directions of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. The dose of the officinal wine is from 
ten minims to a fluidrachm, repeated three or four times a day, or more fre- 
quently in severe cases, till its effects are experienced. In gout it is frequently 
given in connection with magnesia and its sulphate; and in neuralgic cases we 
have found much advantage from combining it with the solution of sulphate of 
morphia, especially when we have desired to give it a direction rather to the skin 
than the bowels. It has been employed externally with asserted advantage in 
rheumatism. In overdoses it may produce fatal effects. Death is said to have 
occurred in one instance from two drachms and a half of the wine; but much 
more would probably in general be requisite to produce this result. W. 
VINUM COLCHICI SEMINIS. U. S. Wine of Colchicum Seed. 
“Take of Colchicum Seed, in moderately coarse powder, four troyounces; 
Sherry Wine two pints. Macerate for fourteen days, with occasional agitation ; 
then express, and filter through paper.” U. S. 
As the seeds of colchicum are less liable to injury than the bulb, and are, 
therefore, of more uniform strength, there is not the same necessity for prepar- 
ing a saturated tincture. Dr. Williams, who introduced the seeds into use, sup- 
posed that their active properties resided in their coating, and that it was, there- 
fore, not advisable to bruise them in preparing the wine or tincture. But this 
has been shown to be an error by the experiments of Mr. Bonnewyn, who found 
a larger proportion of colchicia in a tincture of the bruised than in one of the 
unbruised seeds. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxvi. 120.) In order that the 
seeds may be properly comminuted, Mr. Maisch recommends that they should 
be macerated for two or three days in a portion of the wine, before being bruised. 1436 
Vina Medicata. 
PART II. 
{[bid., xxviii. 514.) The dose is from thirty minims to two fluidrachms. Two 
fluidounces have proved fatal. W. 
VINUM ERGOT2E U.S. Wine of Ergot. 
“Take of Ergot, in moderately fine powder, four troyounces; Sherry Wine 
a sufficient quantity. Moisten the powder with half a fiuidounce of Sherry 
Wine, pack it in a conical percolator, and gradually pour Sherry Wine upon it 
until two pints of filtered liquid are obtained.” TJ. S. 
In a certain number of copies of the existing edition of the U. S. Pharmaco- 
poeia first issued from the press, two troyounces of the ergot were, no doubt in- 
advertently, directed instead of four; the intention being that the Wine should 
continue to have the same strength as that of 1850, in the preparation of which 
two ounces were directed; but the fact being overlooked that the quantity of 
the menstruum was only one pint, while in the present formula it is two pints. 
The error, however, was corrected ; and in the copies now issued four ounces are 
ordered, as above stated. The large proportion of fixed oil in ergot interferes 
with the solvent action of the menstruum, unless the grains are finely powdered. 
It is, therefore, best to employ the ergot in this process well powdered, instead 
of merely bruised, as was formerly officinally directed. 
The dose of this wine is for a woman in labour two or three fluidrachms; for 
other purposes, one or two fluidrachms, to be repeated several times a day, and 
gradually increased if necessary. W. 
VINUM FERRI. Br. Wine of Iron. 
“Take of Tartarated Iron one hundred and sixty grains; Sherry one pint 
[Imperial measure]. Dissolve.”Br. 
This is simply a vinous solution of tartrate of iron and potassa, and is the 
most convenient form of this preparation. It is in fact this salt which is formed 
when wine is made to react on metallic iron; the metal being oxidized and then 
uniting with the excess of acid of the bitartrate, which is the characteristic salt 
of wines. The dose of the wine of iron is one or two fluidounces. W. 
VINUM IPECACUANHA. U.S., Br. Wine of Ipecacuanha. 
“Take of Ipecacuanha, in moderately fine powder, two troyounces; Sherry 
Wine a sufficient quantity. Moisten the powder with half a fiuidounce of Sherry 
Wine, pack it moderately in a conical percolator, and gradually pour Sherry 
Wine upon it until two pints of filtered liquid are obtained.” U. S. 
“ Take of Ipecacuan, bruised, one ounce [avoirdupois] ; Sherry one pint [Im- 
perial measure]. Macerate for seven days, with occasional agitation, express 
and filter. ” Br. 
The preparations of the two Pharmacopoeias are not of the same strength ; 
the U. S. wine containing the virtue of 30 grains, the British of only somewhat 
more than 20 grains in a fiuidounce. In the preparation of the British Pharma- 
copoeia, the strength of this wine was reduced almost one-third. Wine of ipecacu- 
anha possesses all the medical properties of the root, and may be used as a sub- 
stitute when it is desirable to administer the medicine in the liquid form. As 
it is milder, without being less efficacious than antimonial wine, it is in some 
instances preferable as an emetic for infants, especially when the antimonial, as 
not unfrequently happens, is disposed to irritate the bowels. It is much used 
as an expectorant and diaphoretic; and the effects of the Dover’s powder may 
be obtained by combining it with laudanum, or other liquid preparation of 
opium. The dose as an emetic for an adult is a fiuidounce; as an expectorant 
and diaphoretic, from ten to thirty minims. A fluidrachm may be given as an 
emetic to a child one or two years old, and repeated every fifteen minutes till it 
operates. W. 
VINUM OPII. U.S.,Br. Wine of Opium. Sydenham s Laudanum 
“ Take of Opium, dried, and in moderately fine powder, two troyounces; Cin PART II. 
Vina Medicata.—Zincum. 
namon, in moderately fine powder, Cloves, in moderately fine powder, each, sixty 
grains; Sherry Wine a sufficient quantity. Mix the powders with fifteen fluid- 
ounces of Sherry Wine, and macerate for seven days, with occasional agitation ; 
then transfer the mixture to a conical percolator, and, when the liquid has passed 
the surface, gradually pour on Sherry Wine until a pint of filtered liquid is ob- 
tained.” U. S. 
“ Take of Opium, in powder, one ounce and a half [avoirdupois] ; Sherry 
one pint [Imperial measure]. Macerate for seven days, strain, express and 
filter; then add sufficient Sherry to make one pint [Imp. meas.].” Br. 
The wine made according to the directions of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia is a 
saturated vinous tincture of opium. It contains about the same proportions of 
the ingredients as the laudanum of Sydenham, from which it differs only in 
wanting a drachm of saffron. The aromatic additions are thought to adapt it 
to certain states of the stomach or system, in which laudanum is found to pro- 
duce unpleasant effects. On being long kept it deposits insoluble matter, a sam- 
ple of which M. Bihot, of Malines, has shown to consist mainly of narcotina, 
with possibly a little codeia, without any discoverable trace of morphia. (Journ. 
de Pharm., xxx. 200.) Mr. Ware recommended it as a local application to the 
eye, in the latter stages of ophthalmia, when the vessels of the conjunctiva still 
remain turgid with blood. Two or three drops are introduced into the eye every 
morning till the redness disappears. The dose of the wine of opium is the same 
as that of the tincture.* W. 
VINUM RHEI. U.S. Wine of Rliubarh. 
“Take of Rhubarb, in moderately coarse powder, two troyounces; Canella, 
in moderately fine powder, sixty grains; Sherry Wine fourteen fluidounces ; 
Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Mix two fluidounces of Diluted Alcohol 
with the Sherry Wine, and moisten the powders, previously rubbed together, 
with half a fluidounce of the mixture ; then transfer them to a conical perco- 
lator, and gradually pour upon them the remainder of the mixture, and after- 
wards Diluted Alcohol until a pint of filtered liquid is obtained.” U. S. 
This is a warm cordial laxative, applicable to debilitated conditions of the 
system or alimentary canal requiring evacuation of the bowels. The dose is 
from one to four fluidrachms or more, according to the amount of effect required, 
and the condition of the patient. W. 
VINUM TABACI. U.S. Wine of Tobacco. 
“ Take of Tobacco, in moderately fine powder, a troyounce; Sherry Wine a 
pint. Macerate for seven days, with occasional agitation; then express, and 
filter through paper.” U. S. 
The dose of the wine of tobacco, as a diuretic, is from ten to thirty minims. 
It is very seldom used. W. 
ZINCUM. 
Preparations of Zinc. 
Of tne officinal Preparations of Zinc formerly treated of under this head, 
Sulphate of Zinc has been transferred to the Materia Medica, and Prepared 
* Rousseau’s laudanum is a tincture of opium made with very weak alcohol, which may 
be classed with propriety along with the above preparation. It is made according to the 
following formula. “Take of white honey twelve ounces ; warm water three pounds. Hav- 
ing dissolved the honey, set the solution aside in a warm place; and, as soon as fermenta- 
tion begins, add of selected opium four ounces, previously dissolved in twelve ounces of wa- 
ter. Allow the mixture to stand for a month at the temperature of 24° Reaumur (86°F.); 
then strain, filter, and evaporate to ten ounces; finally strain, and add four ounces and a 
half of alcohol of 20° 13. Seven drops contain about a grain of opium.” (Pharmacop. 
Univers., ii. 265.) 1438 
Zincum 
PART II. 
Calamine, TT. S., Lond., Ed., and Solution of Chloride of Zinc, Dub., have been 
omitted in the present Pharmacopoeias. 
ZINCI ACETAS. U.S., Br. Acetate of Zinc. 
“Take of Acetate of Lead twelve troyounces; Zinc, granulated, nine troy- 
ounces; Distilled Water a sufficient quantity. Dissolve the Acetate of Lead 
in three pints of Distilled Water, and filter. Then add the Zinc to the solution, 
and agitate the mixture occasionally, in a stopped bottle, for five or six hours, 
or until the liquid yields no precipitate with a solution of iodide of potassium. 
Filter the liquid, evaporate it with a moderate heat to one-fifth, acidulate it 
slightly with acetic acid, and set it aside to crystallize. Pour off the liquid, and 
dry the crystals on bibulous paper. Should the crystals be coloured, dissolve 
them in a pint and a half of Distilled Water, and, having heated the solution to 
ebullition, drop into it, while boiling, recently precipitated carbonate of zinc, in 
successive portions, until a small quantity of the liquid, being filtered, passes 
colourless. Then filter the liquid, acidulate it slightly with acetic acid, and 
evaporate that crystals may form.” U. S. 
“ Take of Carbonate of Zinc two ounces [avoirdupois]; Acetic Acid five 
fluidounces, or a sufficiency; Distilled Water six fluidounces. Add the Car- 
bonate of Zinc in successive portions to three [fluid'jounces of the Acetic Acid, 
previously mixed with the Water in a flask ; heat gently, add by degrees the 
remainder of the Acid till the carbonate is dissolved ; boil for a few minutes, 
filter while hot, and set it aside for two days to crystallize. Decant the mother- 
liquor ; evaporate to one-half, and again set it aside for two days to crystallize. 
Place the united crystals in a funnel to drain, then spread them on filtering paper 
on. a porous brick, and dry them by exposure to the air at ordinary tempera- 
tures.” Br. 
in the U. S. process the lead is wholly precipitated by the zinc, which forms 
with the acetic acid the acetate of zinc in solution. In order to be sure that the 
solution is entirely free from lead, it is tested with iodide of potassium, which 
will produce a yellow precipitate if any of the lead remain unprecipitated. The 
crystals of acetate of zinc, as first obtained, are apt to be coloured with iron. 
Should this be the case, a boiling solution of them in distilled water is to be 
treated by the addition of successive portions of precipitated carbonate of zinc, 
until a small quantity of the liquid, being filtered, passes colourless. The zinc 
of the carbonate of zinc precipitates the iron, and takes its place in the solu- 
tion ; and the iron is known to be all removed, when a portion of the solution 
is found, upon trial, to filter colourless. This mode of purifying the acetate of 
zinc from iron was suggested by Professor Procter, and was adopted in the U. S. 
Pharmacopoeia of 1850, in place of the mode by means of a solution of chlori- 
nated lime, which he found to separate the iron imperfectly. The necessary 
carbonate of zinc may be obtained extemporaneously, by converting one-thir- 
tieth of the coloured solution of the acetate into carbonate by precipitating it 
with carbonate of potassa in slight excess, as originally proposed by Prof. Proc- 
ter. The precipitated carbonate, first wrashed from acetate of potassa, is added 
in the state of magma to the coloured solution, boiling hot. During the evapo- 
ration of the solution of the acetate of zinc, a small portion of the acetic acid 
is lost; and hence the necessity of acidulating writh a few drops of acetic acid 
before crystallizing. In the British process, there is simply a decomposition of 
the carbonate of zinc by acetic acid, with the formation of acetate of zinc in 
solution, and the escape of carbonic acid. Though not an economical process, 
it has the recommendation of being easily performed, and of yielding a pure 
product. In relation to the acetate of zinc, see a paper by Mr. Ambrose Smith, 
contained in the Amer. Journ. ofPharm. (vii. 14). 
Properties, die. Acetate of zinc, when carefully crystallized, is in colourless 
hexagonal plates, which effloresce in a dry air. As found in the shops it is in PART II. 
Zincum. 
1439 
white micaceous crystals. It is very soluble in water, moderately so in rectified 
spirit, and has an astringent, metallic taste. The solution yields white precipi- 
tates with ferrocyanide of potassium and hydrosulphuret of ammonia. The pre- 
cipitate thrown down by ammonia from the pure salt is entirely redissolved by 
an excess of the precipitant; but, if sesquioxide of iron be present, it will be left 
undissolved. Acetate of zinc is decomposed by the mineral acids, with the escape 
of acetous vapours. It consists of one eq. of acetic acid 51, one of protoxide of 
zinc 40 3, and two of water 18 = 109 3 (Zn0,C4H303 + 2IIO). 
Medical Properties. Acetate of zinc is used almost exclusively as a local 
remedy. It is employed principally as an astringent collyrium in ophthalmia, 
and as an injection in gonorrhoea, after the acute stage in these affections has 
passed. The strength of the solution, usually prescribed, is one or two grains 
to a fluidounce of distilled water. 13. 
ZINCI CARBONAS U. S. Zinci Carbonas. Br. 
Precipitated Carbonate of Zinc. Carbonate of Zinc. 
“ Take of Sulphate of Zinc, Carbonate of Soda, each, twelve troyounces; Wa- 
ter eight pints. Dissolve the salts separately, with the aid of heat, each in four 
pints of the Water. Then mix the solutions, and, having stirred the mixture, 
set it by that the powder may subside. Lastly, having poured off the superna- 
tant liquid, wash the precipitate with hot water until the washings are nearly 
tasteless, and dry it with a gentle heat.” U. S. 
“Take of Sulphate of Zinc ten ounces [avoirdupois]; Carbonate of Soda 
ten ounces and a half [avoird.]; Boiling Distilled Water a sufficiency. Dis- 
solve the Carbonate of Soda with a pint [Imperial measure] of the Water in a 
capacious porcelain vessel, and pour into it the Sulphate of Zinc also dissolved 
in a pint [Imp. meas.] of the Water, stirring diligently. Boil for fifteen minutes 
after effervescence has ceased; and let the precipitate subside. Decant the super- 
natant liquor, pour on the precipitate three pints of boiling Distilled Water, agi- 
tating briskly; let the precipitate again subside; and repeat the processes of 
affusion of hot Distilled Water and subsidence, till the washings are no longer 
precipitated by chloride of barium. Collect the precipitate on calico, let it drain, 
and dry it with a gentle heat.” Br. 
In view of the impurities and frequent falsification of the native carbonate of 
zinc, the revisers of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia conceived that it would be best to dis- 
card altogether the old preparation, which in the edition of 1850 was still retained 
under the changed name of Calamina, and to recognise exclusively the new one 
first adopted in 1850. In the U. S. formula a double decomposition takes place be- 
tween the salts employed, resulting in the formation of sulphate of soda in solu- 
tion, and carbonate of zinc which precipitates. Carbonate of soda is preferable 
to carbonate of potassa for decomposing the sulphate; since the former gives 
rise to sulphate of soda, which is more easily washed away than sulphate of po- 
tassa, derived from the latter. Boiling water is properly used in the process, in 
order to obtain a pulverulent precipitate, which is readily washed. If cold solu- 
tions are used, a gelatinous precipitate is formed, which is washed with difficulty. 
The present British formula is essentially the same with that of the U. S. Pharm., 
having superseded the Dublin process, in which the reacting salts were chloride 
of zinc and carbonate of soda. 
Properties, &c. Precipitated carbonate of zinc is in the form of a very soft, 
loose, white powder, resembling magnesia alba. It dissolves in dilute sulphuric 
acid with effervescence, forming a solution having the characters of a solution of 
sulphate of zinc. If adulterated with chalk, it will be only partly soluble in this 
acid. Precipitated carbonate of zinc is often sold under the incorrect name of 
flowers of zinc, a name which properly belongs only to the oxide, as obtained 
by combustion. When obtained from boiling solutions of sulphate of zinc and 
carbonate of soda, it has the composition, according to Schindler and Lefort, 1440 
Zincum. 
PART II. 
8ZnO,3C00 -f 6H0. (Journ. de Pharm., Se ser., xi. 329.) According to the Br. 
Pharmacopoeia, it consists, as thus prepared, of one eq. of carbonate and two eqs. 
of oxide of zinc, with three eqs. of water (ZnO,C02 -f HO) -f 2(ZnO,HO). The 
basic character of the salt is explained by the fact that effervescence of carbonic 
acid takes place on mixing the solutions. It is employed for the same purposes 
as prepared calamine, and is gradually superseding the spurious article usually 
sold under that name. The U. S. Pharmacopoeia orders a cerate made from it as 
a substitute for calamine cerate. (See Ceratum Zinci Carbonotis.) 
Off. Prep. Zinci Acetas, Br.; Ceratum Zinci Carbonatis, U.S.; Zinci Chlo- 
ridum, Br.; Zinci Oxidum ; Zinci Sulphas, Br. B. 
ZINCI CHLORIDUM. U. S., Br. Chloride of Zinc. Butter of Zinc. 
“ Take of Zinc, in small pieces, tivo troyounces and a half; Nitric Acid, Pre- 
pared Chalk, each, sixty grains; Muriatic Acid, Water, each, a sufficient quan- 
tity. To the Zinc, in a glass or porcelain vessel, add gradually sufficient Muriatic 
Acid to dissolve it; then strain the solution, add the Nitric Acid, and evaporate 
to dryness. Dissolve the dry mass in five fluidounces of the Water, add the Chalk, 
and allow the mixture to stand for twenty-four hours. Then filter into an eva- 
porating basin, and again evaporate to dryness. Lastly, fuse the dry mass in the 
basin, pour out the liquid on a flat stone, and, when it has. congealed, break the 
mass in pieces, and keep the fragments in a well-stopped bottle.” U. S. 
“ Take of Granulated Zinc sixteen ounces [avoirdupois]; Hydrochloric Acid 
forty-four fluidounces [Imperial measure] ; Solution of Chlorine a sufficiency; 
Carbonate of Zinc half an ounce [avoird.], or a sufficiency; Distilled Water 
one pint [Imp. meas.]. Put the Zinc into a porcelain basin, add by degrees the 
Hydrochloric Acid previously mixed with the Water, and aid the action by 
gently warming it on a sand-bath until gas is no longer evolved. Boil for half 
an hour, supplying the water lost by evaporation, and allow it to stand on a cool 
part of a sand-bath for twenty-four hours, stirring frequently. Filter the product 
into a gallon bottle, and pour in the Solution of Chlorine by degrees, with fre- 
quent agitation, until the fluid acquires a permanent odour of chlorine. Add the 
Carbonate of Zinc, in small quantities at a time, and with renewed agitation, 
until a brown sediment appears. Filter through paper into a porcelain basin, 
and evaporate until a portion of the liquid, withdrawn on the end of a glass rod 
and cooled, forms an opaque white solid. Pour it out now into proper moulds, 
and when the salt has solidified, but before it has cooled, place it in closely 
stoppered bottles.” Br. 
In the U. S. process the chloride of zinc is first formed in solution by dissolv- 
ing zinc in muriatic acid. The nitric acid added sesquioxidizes any iron which 
may have existed as an impurity in the zinc. By evaporating to dryness and re- 
dissolving in water, most of the sesquioxide of iron is left behind. Lastly, in 
order to remove any remains of iron, a small portion of chalk is added, which 
precipitates it as a sesquioxide; and the mixture, after standing, is filtered and 
evaporated to dryness. This process is the same as that of the French Codex. 
The British agrees with the U. S. process in first preparing the chloride of 
zinc in solution; but differs in the mode of getting rid of the iron. Instead of 
nitric acid it uses chlorine, which combines with the iron to form a chloride; 
and, carbonate of zinc being then added, the zinc combines with the chlorine to 
increase the product of chloride of zinc, while the oxygen of the oxide of zinc, 
the carbonic acid, and the iron unite as the carbonate of iron, which is depo- 
sited. As this preparation is used chiefly as a caustic, it is melted and cast into 
moulds as the last step in both processes. In relation to this chloride, the reader 
is referred to a paper by Mr. B. J. Crew in the Am. Journ. of Pharm., May, 
1853, p. 203. 
M. Rhighini prepares this chloride by double decomposition between solu- 
tions of chloride of barium and sulphate of zinc. Sulphate of baryta is precipi- PART II. 
Zincum. 
1441 
tated, and chloride of zinc remains in solution, from which it is obtained in white 
flaky crystals by due evaporation. 
Properties. Chloride of zinc is a grayish-white, translucent, deliquescent sub- 
stance having the softness of wax. When pure, it is wholly soluble in water 
alcohol, and ether; but, as prepared by the U. S. formula, it contains some 
oxychloride, which is left undissolved by water. According to M. Lassaigne, 
commercial chloride of zinc sometimes contains as much as 12 per cent, of arse- 
niate of zinc, which, being insoluble in solution of chloride of zinc will be left 
undissolved, when the chloride is treated with water. (Phillips's Trans, of the 
Lond. Pharm., 1851, p. 375.) Its solution yields with nitrate of silver a white 
precipitate (chloride of silver) insoluble in nitric acid; and with ammonia and 
potassa a w’hite precipitate, soluble in those reagents when added in excess. The 
carbonates of potassa and soda also throw down a white precipitate, which is 
not dissolved by an excess of the precipitants. When exposed to heat chloride 
of zinc flrst melts and then sublimes. When pure it gives white precipitates with 
ferrocyanide of potassium and hydrosulphuret of ammonia. A blue precipitate 
with the former test would indicate iron, a black one with the latter, lead. It 
consists of one eq. of zinc 32’3, and one of chlorine 35-5 = 67'8. 
Medical Properties and Uses. This chloride was introduced into medicine 
by Dr. Papenguth, of St. Petersburg, and subsequently recommended by Prof. 
Hancke, of Breslau, and Dr. Canquoin, of Paris. Internally it has been given 
as an alterative and antispasm odic in scrofula, epilepsy, chorea, and, combined 
with hydrocyanic acid, in facial neuralgia. Its chief use, however, has been as 
an escharotic, applied to cancerous affections, and to ulcers of an anomalous and 
intractable character. When thus used, it not only destroys the diseased struc- 
ture, but excites a new action in the surrounding parts. As a caustic it has the 
advantage of not causing constitutional disorder from absorption, an effect which 
is sometimes produced by the arsenical preparations. 
Dr. Canquoin prepares the chloride of zinc, as an escharotic, by thoroughly 
and quickly mixing it with wheat flour and water into a paste of four different 
strengths, containing severally an ounce of the chloride, incorporated with two, 
three, four, and five ounces of flour; fifteen drops of water being added for every 
ounce of flour, or sufficient to form the paste. It is applied in cakes from a 
twelfth to a third of an inch in thickness, and produces an eschar more or less 
deep (from a line to an inch and a half), according to the thickness of the paste, 
the length of the application, and the nature of the part acted on. The strongest 
paste is applied to lardaceous and fibro-cartilaginous structures; the second to 
carcinomatous tumours, and very painful cancers which have not much thickness, 
and the third to cancerous affections in persons who have a dread of the use of 
the knife. These preparations, applied to the skin denuded of its cuticle by means 
of a blister, excite in a few minutes a sensation of heat, and afterwards violent 
burning pain. The eschar, which is white, thick, and very hard, falls off, with 
the aid of an emollient poultice, between the eighth and twelfth days. To de- 
stroy thick cancerous tumours, having an uneven surface, and situated in fleshy 
parts, Dr. Canquoin uses a caustic formed of one part of chloride of zinc, half a 
part of chloride of antimony, and two and a half parts of flour, made into a 
paste with water. In all cases, the caustic is to be reapplied, after the falling 
off of the eschar, until the whole morbid structure is destroyed. When the skin 
is unbroken, it is now usual to destroy, not merely the cuticle, but the true skin 
also, by means of the acid nitrate of mercury, to the extent desired for the chlo- 
'ide to operate. This is applied, spread on lint, and the dressing is covered with 
a portion of cotton wadding, to absorb any discharge, and to preserve a uniform 
temperature. The surrounding skin should be protected from the caustic by a 
thickly spread dressing of simple cerate, containing as much chloroform as it 
will take up, as recommended by Dr. E. S. Haviland, of London. M. Bonnet Zincum 
PART II. 
has applied the paste of chloride of zinc to the treatment of aneurism. He has 
reported the complete cure of one case of subclavian aneurism from a penetrat- 
ing wound, by a continued series of applications of the paste. Every two or three 
days, the superficial layers of the slough were removed by a bistoury. At the 
end of the second month, the eschar began to detach itself without any hemor- 
rhage, and the clot came away with the eschar. Chloride of zinc has also been 
used successfully by MM. Bonnet and Gensoul in the treatment of aneurism by 
anastomosis. (Med. Times and Gaz., July 23,1853.) Instead of flour, Dr. Alex. 
Ure, of Glasgow, mixes the chloride with pure anhydrous sulphate of lime in 
impalpable powder. He states that this has the advantages of furnishing a 
porous medium from which the escharotic gradually exudes into the morbid 
structure, and of forming afterwards, by acquiring a firmer consistence, an im- 
pervious case for the eschar. Mr. Cock, of Guy’s Hospital, has imitated this 
mode of preparing the chloride, so as to form a caustic which may be limited in 
its action, and does not run. It may be prepared as a caustic seton, by thickly 
covering a waxed cotton wick with Dr. Canquoin’s caustic paste, and then roll- 
ing it out in the form of a cylinder, according to the plan of M. Ancrenis, of 
Lyons. A thread is wound spirally round the cylinder to give it firmness. Mr. 
Calloway, of Guy’s Hospital, has employed the chloride of zinc with considera- 
ble success in the treatment of nsevi materni. He rubs it, at intervals, on the part 
until the skin becomes slightly discoloured. The late Mr. Guthrie used it with 
advantage for penetrating the hard case of new bone which forms over a seques- 
trum, in order to expose the latter, and permit its convenient extraction. * 
Chloride of zinc is an ingredient in the complex caustic formed of chlorides, 
employed by Prof. Landolfi, of Naples, in the treatment of cancer. For his 
formula, see page 173. This treatment was reported on unfavourably, in 1856, 
by a committee of the French Academy of Medicine, headed by M. Broca. (See 
Banking's Abstract, No. 24, p. 100.) The cancer caustic of Dr. J. W. Fell con- 
sists of chloride of zinc, mixed with bloodroot, and made into a paste with flour 
and water. It is not supposed that the bloodroot has any decided caustic effect; 
so that the local treatment of cancer by Dr. Fell is virtually the same as that 
recommended in certain cases by Dr. Canquoin. 
Chloride of zinc, with a view to its escharotic effect, may be formed extempo- 
raneously by means of galvanism, on the plan recommended by an English phy- 
sician, Dr. Thomas Smith. A simple galvanic circle is formed by riveting a disc 
of zinc, of the size of the eschar desired, to a disc of silver of equal size; the 
pair being excited by a piece of spongio-piline, placed on the silver, and moist- 
ened with a solution of common salt. The little battery is then fixed upon the 
skin by means of strips of adhesive plaster. Once in twelve hours it must be 
removed, and washed in salt and water, and then reapplied. By the electrolysis 
of the common salt chlorine is liberated, which, combining with the zinc, converts 
it to a certain extent into the chloride. This, acting on the skin, exercises its 
caustic effect; and at the end of twelve days a white eschar is formed. This 
mode of forming an issue has, according to Dr. Smith, the advantage of being 
less painful than those usually employed. 
According to M. E. Robiquet, chloride of zinc may be made into a very mal- 
leable, pliable caustic, susceptible of taking any shape desired by the surgeon, 
by melting it writh an equal weight of gutta percha. (See page 433.) 
For internal exhibition, the most convenient form is a solution in the spirit 
of ether, in the proportion of half an ounce to three fluidounces. Of this from 
four to eight drops may be given twice a day. Dr. Lloyd, of London, has found 
chloride of zinc useful as an injection in the acute stage of gonorrhoea, made of 
the strength of about two grains to three fluidounces of distilled water, and em- 
ployed once in five or six hours. A solution of one grain to the fluidounce is 
used by Mr. Critchett, of the Royal Ophthalmic Hospital, London, as a colly- PART II. 
Zincum. 
1443 
rium in cases of vascular and thickened conjunctiva, forming a sort of gleet of 
the eye. 
In overdoses chloride of zinc acts as a corrosive poison, producing burning 
pain in the gullet and stomach, nausea and vomiting, cold sweats, depression 
of the pulse, and cramps of the legs. According to Dr. T. Stratton, surgeon. 
It. N., who treated two cases of poisoning with this cldoride at Montreal, the 
best antidotes are the carbonated alkalies, which act by converting the poison 
into carbonate of zinc. Should the alkalies not be at hand, a solution of common 
soap should be immediately and freely given. {Med. Exam., Feb. 1849, from the 
Brit. Am. Journ. of Med. and Phys. Sci.) Dr. Letheby reports a fatal case of 
poisoning by this chloride occurring in a child. The form of chloride swallowed 
was Burnett’s disinfecting fluid. (See the next article.) Its local effect was that 
of a corrosive on the lips, mouth, and fauces. Among the constitutional effects 
were paralysis of the voluntary muscles, coldness of the surface dilated pupil, 
and coma.* B. 
* Solution of Chloride of Zinc. Zinci Ckloridi Liquor. This was officinal in the late Dublin 
Pharmacopoeia, with the following formula. 
“Take of Sheet Zinc one pound [avoirdupois]; Muriatic Acid of Commerce, Water, of 
each, two pints and a half [Imperial measure], or as much as map be sufficient; Solution of 
Chlorinated Lime one fluidounce [Imp. meas.] ; Prepared Chalk one ounce [avoird.]. To the 
Zinc, introduced into a porcelain capsule, gradually add the Muriatic Acid, applying heat 
until the metal is dissolved. Filter the liquid through calico, and, having added to it the 
Solution of Chlorinated Lime, concentrate at a boiling temperature, until it occupies the 
bulk of one pint [Imp. meas.]. Permit the solution now to cool down to the temperature 
of the air, place it in a bottle with the Chalk, and, having first added Distilled Water, so 
that the bulk of the whole may be a quart [two pints, Imp. meas.], shake the mixture 
occasionally for twenty-four hours. Finally, filter, and preserve the product in a well- 
stopped bottle. The specific gravity of this liquor is 1-593.” Dub. 
The chloride of zinc is made, in the usual way, by dissolving zinc in muriatic acid. The 
chlorinated lime is added in order to convert any iron present into sesquichloride, from 
which it is afterwards precipitated by the chalk. The use of this precipitant introduces 
into the preparation a little chloride of calcium, which is of no consequence. The two 
pints and a half of water, ordered in the formula, are not used in the process. They were 
probably intended to be added to the muriatic acid, which acts better on the zinc when 
diluted. The preparation is completed by bringing it to a certain bulk by the addition of 
distilled water, and by filtration to separate the precipitated iron and any excess of chalk. 
Solution of chloride of zinc is a dense, colourless liquid, having a burning, nauseous 
taste even when dilute. It contains 175 grains of zinc in the Imp. fluidounce, and has the 
sp. gr. 1-593. This solution is equivalent to Burnett’s disinfecting fluid noticed below. It 
is a powerful disinfectant, and, when applied, duly diluted with water, to cancerous and 
other offensive ulcers, destroys their fetor so long as the dressings are kept moist with it. 
The solution is recommended by M. Gaudriot in gonorrhoea in both sexes, as having re- 
markable remedial powers. For men he uses an injection, composed of from twenty-four 
to thirty-six drops in four fluidounces of water. A small quantity only is injected about 
an inch up the urethra, two or three times a day. For women he employs a vaginal sup- 
pository, formed of five drops of the solution, half a grain of sulphate of morphia, and 
three drachms of a paste consisting of a drachm and a half of starch, a drachm of mucilage 
of tragacanth, and half a drachm of sugar. The suppository is introduced every day, or 
every second day. 
Burnett's disinfecting fluid, like the Dublin officinal solution, is an aqueous solution of 
chloride of zinc. It contains 200 grains of zinc in each Imperial fluidounce, and has the 
sp. gr. 2. It is, therefore, considerably stronger than the Dublin solution. It is so called 
after Sir William Burnett, who introduced it into use, in 1840, as a powerful deodorizing 
and disinfecting agent in neutralizing noxious effluvia, and in arresting animal and vege- 
table decomposition. Diluted with water it forms Sir William’s patent preservative against 
the dry rot The concurrent testimony of a number of observers shows that it acts as an 
excellent disinfectant for ships, hospitals, dissecting rooms, water-closets, privies, &c. 
(See Extracts from the British Navy Reports on chloride of zinc as a disinfectant, in the 
Lond. Med. Times and Gaz., Oct. 1853, p. 341.) Injected into the blood-vessels, it preserves 
oodies for dissection, without impairing their texture, and is said not to injure the knives 
employed; but the accuracy of the latter statement is doubtful. The advantage is claimed 
for it, that, while it destroys putrid odours, it has no smell of its own. For preserving 1444 
Zincum. 
PART II. 
ZINCI OXIDUM. U.S.,Br. Oxide of Zinc. 
“Take of Precipitated Carbonate of Zinc twelve troyounces. Expose it, in a 
shallow vessel, to a low-red heat until the water and carbonic acid are wholly 
expelled.” U. S. 
“ Take of Carbonate of Zinc six ounces. Place the Carbonate of Zinc in a 
loosely covered Hessian crucible, and expose it to a dull red heat until a por- 
tion, taken from the centre of the contents of the crucible and cooled, no longer 
effervesces when dropped into dilute sulphuric acid. Let the crucible cool, and 
transfer the product to stoppered bottles.” Br. 
Both the Pharmacopoeias prepare the oxide of zinc from the carbonate al- 
ready formed. By referring to the article on precipitated carbonate of zinc, 
page 1439, it will be found that it is obtained in the U. S. and Br. processes 
from sulphate of zinc, by the decomposing influence of carbonate of soda. 
Other methods of obtaining the carbonate of zinc are by the mutual decom- 
position of the chloride and carbonate of soda and of the sulphate and carbon 
ate of ammonia ; but the officinal plan is to be preferred. M. Lefort found it 
to furnish a carbonate which is washed with facility, and is convertible by calci- 
nation into a pure oxide, readily reduced to an impalpable and very light pow- 
der. (Joura. de Pharm., Se s&r., xi. 329.) It is, besides, more economical. The 
carbonate of zinc, in whatever way obtained, is exposed to heat to drive off the 
carbonic acid and water, in order to obtain the oxide. According to Mohr, a 
full red heat is not necessary; a temperature between 536° and 512° being suf- 
ficient. It is probable that an unnecessarily high heat injures the oxide as a the- 
rapeutic agent. 
Oxide of zinc may be obtained by the combustion of the metal; and in this 
way it was formerly prepared by the Dublin College. Zinc melts at 173°, and 
immediately becomes covered with a film of gray oxide. When the temperature 
reaches nearly to redness, it takes fire and burns with an intense white light, 
generating the oxide in the form of very light and white flocculi, resembling 
carded wool, which quickly fill the crucible, and are in part driven into the atmo- 
sphere by the current of air. The late Mr. G. D. Midgely, of London, several 
years ago, called attention to the production of oxide of zinc by combustion, and 
gave a description of the apparatus, by which he was enabled to prepare from 
one to two hundred weight of the oxide at one operation. It consisted of a large 
muffle, heated to redness in a suitable furnace, and supplied with zinc from time 
to time as the combustion proceeded. The necessary draught of air was conveyed 
from the muffle by a tube, passing through the top of the furnace, and terminating 
in a vessel of water, in which the portion of oxide carried up by the current was 
retained. The resulting oxide was freed from particles of metallic zinc by being 
passed through a sieve. 
Properties. The officinal oxide of zinc is an inodorous, tasteless, yellowish- 
white powder, insoluble in water and alcohol, and anhydrous. As obtained by 
combustion it is perfectly white. It dissolves readily in acids without efferves- 
cence; and in potassa and soda, but not in their carbonates. Being anhydrous, 
it is insoluble in ammonia; but the impure oxide found in the shops, being gene- 
rally hydrated, is soluble in that alkali. At a low white heat it fuses, and at 
full whiteness sublimes. When prepared by combustion it was formerly called 
pompholix, nihil album, lana philosophica, and flowers of zinc. Its neutral 
solution in acids should give a white precipitate with ferrocyanide of potassium 
and hydrosulphuret of ammonia. If the precipitate with the former test is blu- 
ish-white, iron is indicated; if black with the latter, lead is shown. Prepared 
by the old officinal process, namely, by precipitating sulphate of zinc with am- 
anatomical subjects, one part of the disinfecting fluid to eighteen of Water will form a 
solution of the proper strength. For disinfecting operations on a large scale, a pint of the 
fluid may be mixed with four gallons of water. PART II. 
Zincum. 
1445 
monia, it contains the subsulphate, the acid of which may be detected by dis- 
solving the oxide in nitric acid, and precipitating by nitrate of baryta. Some- 
times it is obtained by precipitating chloride of zinc with ammonia, in which 
case the oxide contains subchloride, easily detected by nitrate of silver. If it 
contain white lead or chalk, it will not be entirely soluble in dilute sulphuric 
acid, but an insoluble sulphate of lead or of lime will be left. If iron be pre- 
sent, brownish-red flocks of sesquioxide of iron will remain undissolved, when 
the muriatic solution of the oxide is treated with ammonia in excess. Oxide Oi 
zinc consists of one eq. of zinc 323, and one of oxygen 8 = 40-3. 
The powder sold in the shops as oxide of zinc is often very impure. Some- 
times the carbonate is substituted for it, showing that the exposure to a red heat 
has been omitted. In this case the preparation will effervesce with acids. Most 
samples contain a large proportion of subsulphate, showing that the discarded 
but productive process of precipitating the sulphate of zinc solution by ammo- 
nia has been employed. Again, other samples contain subchloride. These spu- 
rious oxides are pointed out by Mr. Redwood, of London, as occurring in the 
English market, and, no doubt, are sold in the shops of the United States. (See 
Pharm. Journ., Jan. 1855, p. 301.) Unfortunately, a white oxide is preferred 
by purchasers, though whiteness is generally a sign of impurity; the officinal 
oxide being vellowish-white. 
Medical Properties and Uses. This oxide is tonic and antispasmodic. It has 
been given in chorea, epilepsy, hooping-cough, spasm of the stomach dependent 
on dyspepsia, and other similar affections. Externally it is employed as an ex- 
siccant to excoriated surfaces, sometimes by sprinkling it on the affected part, but 
generally in the form of ointment. (See Unguentum Zinci Oxidi.) The dose i3 
from two to eight grains or more, repeated several times a day, and given in 
the form of pill. 
Oxide of zinc, prepared by combustion, is extensively used in painting as a 
substitute for white lead, over which it has the advantage of not being disco- 
loured by sulphuretted hydrogen. It has, moreover, the merit of not producing 
injurious effects on the workmen at all comparable to those caused by white lead. 
The oxide thus prepared, even though pure, should not be substituted for the 
officinal, as its state of aggregation is probably different. 
Off. Prep. Unguentum Zinci Oxidi. B. 
ZINCI VALERIANAS. U.S.,Br. Valerianate of Zinc. 
“Take of Yalerianate of Soda two troyounces and a half; Sulphate of Zinc 
two troyounces and four hundred and twenty grains; Distilled Water a suffi- 
cient quantity. Dissolve the salts separately, each in twenty fluidounces of Dis- 
tilled Water, and, having heated the solutions to 212°, mix them, and set the 
mixture aside to crystallize. Decant the mother-water from the crystals, and 
put them upon a filter in a funnel to drain. Mix the mother-water and the 
drainings, evaporate at a heat not exceeding 200° to four fluidounces, and again 
set aside to crystallize. Add the crystals, thus obtained, to those in the funnel, 
wash the whole with a little distilled Water, and, having removed them with the 
filter, spread them on bibulous paper, and dry them with a heat not exceeding 
200°.” U.S. 
“Take of Sulphate of Zinc five ounces and three-quarters [avoirdupois]; 
Yalerianate of Soda five ounces [avoird.]; Distilled Water a sufficiency. Dis- 
solve the Sulphate of Zinc and the Yalerianate of Soda, each in two pints [Im- 
perial measure] of the Water; raise both solutions to near the boiling point, 
mix them, cool, and skim off the crystals which are produced. Evaporate the 
mother-liquor at a heat not exceeding 200°, till it is reduced to four [fluidj 
ounces; cool again, remove the crystals which have formed, and add them to 
those which have been already obtained. Drain the crystals on a paper filter, 
and wash them with a small quantity of cold Distilled Water, till the washings Zincum.—Tests. 
PART II. 
give but a very feeble precipitate with Chloride of Barium. Let them now be 
again drained, and dried on filtering paper at ordinary temperatures.” Br. 
These formulas are essentially the same as that of the late Dublin Pharmaco- 
poeia. In the formation of the salt a double decomposition takes place between 
the reacting salts, resulting in the production of valerianate of zinc and sulphate 
of soda. Upon mixing the hot solutions, crystals of the sparingly soluble vale- 
rianate of zinc form on the surface of the liquid; and, during the progress of 
its concentration to one-tenth, more of them are successively produced. These 
are then washed with cold distilled water to separate adhering sulphate of soda, 
drained on a filter, and dried. 
Properties. This salt is in white, pearly scales, having a faint odour of vale- 
rianic acid, and a metallic, styptic taste. It dissolves in 160 parts of cold water, 
and in 60 of alcohol of 0-833. The solutions, which have an acid reaction, become 
turbid on the application of heat, but clear again on cooling. The salt, as obtained 
by the officinal formulas, is anhydrous; but, when formed by exactly saturating 
carbonate of zinc, made into a paste with water, with valerianic acid, it contains 
twelve eqs. of water, and, when dried at 122°, perfectly resembles the anhydrous 
salt. {G. G. Wittstein.) Sometimes acetate of zinc, impregnated with oil of vale- 
rian, is fraudulently substituted for this salt. The butyrate of zinc has been sold 
in Paris for the valerianate, and is so similar to it as not to be distinguished by 
its physical properties. The two salts, however, may be discriminated, by adding 
a concentrated solution of the acid of the suspected salt, obtained by distilla- 
tion with sulphuric acid, to a concentrated solution of acetate of copper. If the 
acid is the butyric, its addition to the solution of the acetate disturbs the trans- 
parency of the latter, by the formation of a bluish-white precipitate; while, if the 
valerianic, no change is produced. (Larocque and Huraut, Journ. de Pharm., 
3e ser., ix. 430.) 
Medical Properties. Valerianate of zinc was proposed as a remedy, on theo- 
retical grounds, by Prince Louis-Lucien Bonaparte. Upon trial it was found to 
possess antispasmod'ic properties. By some of the Italian physicians it has been 
extolled as a remedy in neuralgic affections. Dr. Naraias, of Venice, employed 
it with advantage in anomalous nervous affections, attended with palpitation of 
the heart, constriction of the throat, and pain in the head. Dr. Francis Devay, 
of Lyons, found it useful in epilepsy, and in the nervous affections which acconw- 
pany chlorosis. The dose is one or two grains, repeated several times a day, and 
given in the form of pill. (See a paper on this valerianate by Prof. Procter, in the 
Am. Journ. of Pharm. for April, 1845.) B. 
TESTS. 
In the Appendix of the British Pharmacopoeia, two series of tests are given, 
one qualitative, the other quantitative, to which frequent reference is made 
throughout that work, and which, so far as they are not incidentally described 
in the Dispensatory, require a special notice in this place; as, otherwise, much 
that has been stated in regard to the British Preparations would be unintelligible. 
1. Qualitative Tests. 
Those here given are all fn the state of solution, and are used for determining 
the character of particular substances, whether isolated or in composition; thus 
enabling us to ascertain the identity of medicines, their purity or inpurity, and PART II. 
Test 8. 
1447 
the character of the foreign ingredients which may be mixed with them acci- 
dentally, or with a view to adulteration. 
Solution of Acetate of Copper. Formula of acetate of copper Cu0,C4H303-j-H0. “Take 
of Subacetate of Copper of Commerce, in fine powder, half an ounce [avoirdupois] ; Acetio 
Acid one jiuidounce [Imperial measure] ; Distilled Water a sufficiency. Dilute the Acid with 
half a fiuidounce [Imp. meas.] of the Water; digest the Subacetate of Copper in the mix- 
ture at a temperature not exceeding 212° with repeated stirring, and continue the heat 
until a dry residue is obtained. Digest this in four [fluid]ounces of boiling Distilled Water, 
and by the addition of more of the Water make up the solution to five fluidounces.” 
Solution of Acetate of Potassa. Dissolve half an avoirdupois ounce of Acetate of Po 
tassa in five fluidounces of Distilled Water. 
Solution of Acetate of Soda. Dissolve half an avoirdupois ounce of Acetate of Soda 
in five fluidounces of Distilled Water. 
Solution of Albumen. Mix, with trituration, in a mortar the White of one Egg and four 
fluidounces of Distilled Water, and filter through clean tow previously moistened with 
Distilled Water. The solution should be prepared when wanted for use. 
Solution of Ammonio-nitrate of Silver. Formula of the salt Ag0,N05-j-2NH3. “Take 
of Nitrate of Silver, in crystals, a quarter of an ounce [avoirdupois] ; Solution of Ammonia 
half a fiuidounce, or a sufficiency; Distilled Water a sufficiency. Dissolve the Nitrate in eight 
fluidounces of the Water, and to the solution add the Ammonia until the precipitate first 
formed is nearly dissolved. Filter, and add Distilled Water, so that the bulk may be ten 
fluidounces.” 
Solution of Ammonio-sulphate of Copper. Formula of the salt Cu0,S03-f-2NH3,H0. 
“Take of Sulphate of Copper, in crystals, half an ounce [avoirdupois] ; Solution of Am- 
monia, Distilled Water, each, a sufficiency. Dissolve the Sulphate in eight fluidounces of 
the Water, and to the solution add the Ammonia until the precipitate first formed is nearly 
dissolved. Filter, and then add Distilled Water, so that the bulk may be ten fluidounces.” 
Solution of Bichloride of Platinum. Formula of the salt PC12. “Take of thin Pla- 
tinum foil a quarter of an ounce [avoirdupois] ; Nitric Acid, Hydrochloric Acid, each, a 
sufficiency ; Distilled Water seven fluidounces. Mix half a fiuidounce of the Nitric Acid with 
three fluidounces of the Hydrochloric Acid and two fluidounces of the Water; pour the 
mixture into a small flask containing the Platinum, and digest at a gentle heat, adding* 
more of the Acids mixed in the same proportion, should this be necessary, until the metal 
is dissolved. Transfer the solution to a porcelain capsule, add to it a fluidraehm of Hydro- 
chloric Acid, and evaporate on a water-bath until acid vapours cease to be given off. Let 
the residue be dissolved in the remaining five [fluid]ounces of Distilled Water, and pre- 
serve in a stoppered bottle.” 
Solution of Boracic Acid. Dissolve fifty grains of Boracic Acid in one fiuidounce of 
Rectified Spirit. 
Solution of Bromine. Upon ten minims of Bromine, in a bottle furnished with an accu- 
rately fitting glass stopper, pour five fluidounces of Distilled Water, and shake repeatedly. 
Solution of Carbonate of Ammonia. “Take of Carbonate of Ammonia, in fine powder. 
half an ounce [avoirdupois]; Distilled Water a sufficiency. Shake the Carbonate in a bottle 
with eight fluidounces of the Water until it is dissolved, and by the addition of more of 
the Water make up the bulk of the solution to ten fluidounces.” 
Saturated Solution of Chloride of Calcium. Dissolve three hundred and thirty-six grains 
of Chloride of Calcium in one fiuidounce of Distilled Water. 
Solution of Chloride of Tin. Formula SnCl. “ Take of Granulated Tin one ounce 
[avoirdupois] ; Hydrochloric Acid three' fluidounces; Distilled Water a sufficiency. Dilute 
the Acid in a flask with one fiuidounce of the Water, and, having added the Tin, apply a 
moderate heat until gas ceases to be evolved. Add as much of the Water as will make up 
the bulk to five fluidounces, and transfer the solution, together with the undissolved tin, 
to a bottle with an accurately ground stopper.” 
Solution of Corrosive Sublimate. Dissolve one hundred grains of Corrosive Sublimate 
‘in. five fluidounces of Distilled Water, and keep the solution in a bottle impervious to light. 
Solution of Ferridctanide of Potassium. Dissolve a quarter of an ounce [avoirdupois] 
of crystallized Ferridcyanide of Potassium in five fluidounces of Distilled Water, and keep 
the solution in a stoppered bottle. 
Solution of Ferroctanide of Potassium. Dissolve a quarter of an oivnee [avoirdupois] 1448 
Tests. 
part ii. 
of crystallized Ferrocyanide of Potassium in five fluidounces of Distilled Water, and keep 
the solution in a stoppered bottle. 
Solution of Geoatin. “Take of Isinglass [Ichthyocolla], in shreds, fifty grains; Warm 
Distilled Water on; fluidounce. Mix and digest for half an hour on a water-bath with re- 
peated shaking, and filter through clean tow moistened with Distilled Water.” 
Solution of Hydrochlorate of Ammonia. Dissolve one avoirdupois ounce of Hydro- 
chlorate of Ammonia in eight fluidounces of Distilled Water, and with Distilled Water make 
up the bulk to ten fluidounces. 
Solution of IIydrosulphuret of Ammonia. Formula of the salt NII4S,HS. “Take of 
Solution of Ammonia one fluidounce. Conduct into this a stream of Sulphuretted Hydrogen 
so long as this gas continues to be absorbed, and then transfer the solution to a green-glass 
bottle furnished with a well-ground stopper.” 
Solution of Iodate of Potassa. Formula K0,I05. “ Take of Iodine, Chlorate of Potash, 
each, fifty grains; Nitric Acid five minims; Distilled Water ten fluidounces and a half. Hub 
the Iodine and Chlorate of Potash together to a fine powder; place the mixture in a Flo- 
rence flask, and, having poured upon it half a [fluidjounce of the Water acidulated with 
the Nitric Acid, digest at a gentle heat until the colour of the iodine disappears. Boil for 
one minute, then transfer the contents of the flask to a capsule, and evaporate to perfect 
dryness at 212°. Finally dissolve the residue in the remaining ten [fluidjounces of Dis- 
tilled Water, filter the solution, and keep it in a stoppered bottle.” 
Solution of Iodide of Potassium. Dissolve one avoirdupois ounce of Iodide of Potassium 
in eight fluidounces of Distilled Water, and, by the addition of Distilled Water, makeup the 
bulk of the solution to ten fluidounces. 
Solution of Oxalate of Ammonia. Formula of the salt NH40,C203-(-HO. “Take of 
Purified Oxalic Acid one ounce [avoirdupois] ; Boiling Distilled Water eight fluidounces; Car- 
bonate of Ammonia, in powder, a sufficiency. Dissolve the Oxalic Acid in the Water, neu- 
tralize the solution with the Carbonate of Ammonia, filter, cool, and crystallize. Take of 
the crystals of Oxalate of Ammonia thus obtained, first dried on filtering paper by simple 
exposure to air, and free from efflorescence, half an ounce [avoird.]; Warm Distilled Water 
one pint [Imperial measure]. Dissolve.” 
Solution of Phosphate of Soda. Dissolve one avoirdupois ounce of crystallized Phosphate 
of Soda in eight fluidounces of Distilled Water, and add as much Distilled Water as will 
make the bulk of the solution ten fluidounces. 
Solution of Sulphate of Indigo. Formula HO,C16H4NO,2SOs. “Take of Indigo five 
grains; Pure Sulphuric Acid one fluidrachm; Distilled Water ten fluidounces. Mix the Indigo 
and Acid in a small test tube, and apply the heat of a water-bath for an hour. Pour the 
blue liquid into the Distilled Water, agitate the mixture, and, when the undissolved indigo 
has subsided, decant the clear liquid into a stoppered bottle.” 
Solution of Sulphate of Iron. Dissolve ten grains of Granulated Sulphate of Iron in 
one fluidounce of boiling Distilled Water. This solution should be prepared when wanted. 
Solution of Sulphate of Lime. “ Take of Plaster of Paris a quarter of an ounce [avoir- 
dupois] ; Distilled Water one pint [Imperial measure], llub the Plaster of Paris in a porce- 
lain mortar for a few minutes with two [fluid]ounces of the Water, introduce the white 
mixture thus obtained into a pint bottle [Imp. meas.] containing the rest of the Water, 
shake well several times, and allow the undissolved sulphate to subside. When this has 
occurred, filter, and preserve the clear solution in a stoppered bottle.” 
Solution of Tartaric Acid. Dissolve one avoirdupois ounce of crystallized Tartaric Acid 
in eight fluidounces of Distilled Water, add two fluidounces of Rectified Spirit, and keep the 
solution in a stoppered bottle. The spirit is added to preserve the solution. 
Solution of Terchloride of Gold. Formula of the salt AuC13. “Take of fine Gold, re- 
duced by a rolling machine to a thin lamina, sixty grains; Nitric Acid one fluidounce [Im- 
perial measure]; Hydrochloric Acid seven fluidounces [Imp. meas.]; Distilled Water nine 
fluidounces [Imp. meas.]. Place the Gold in a flask with one fluidounce of the Nitric and six 
fluidounces of the Hydrochloric Acid, first mixed with four fluidounces of the Water, and 
digest until it is dissolved. Add to the solution an additional fluidounce of Hydrochloric 
Acid, “vaporate at a heat not exceeding 212° until acid vapours cease to be given off, and 
dissolve the Tei’ddoride of Gold thus obtained in five fluidounces of Distilled Water. The 
solution should be kept in a stoppered bottle.” PART II. 
Tests. — Volumetric Solutions. 
1449 
2. Quantitative Tests. 
The quantitative tests are intended to estimate the quantity of any particular 
substance in the mixture or compound submitted to examination. They are all 
liquid, being denominated in the British Pharmacopoeia Volumetric Solutions, 
and have individually been frequently referred to, throughout the Dispensatory, 
when it was deemed proper to indicate a method of determining the strength of 
medicines or their preparations recognised in the British Pharmacopoeia. The 
method of operating in volumetric analysis is simple. A tube is to be provided, 
capable, when filled up to a point marked 0, of containing 1000 grains of dis- 
tilled water at 60° F., and beneath this point graduated into 100 equal parts. 
Into this tube the volumetric solution is to be introduced of a certain strength, 
so that the quantity of the substance dissolved which may be consumed in the 
application of the test is at once known, by observing the number of hundredths 
of the volumetric solution which have disappeared. This quantity, being known, 
measures the quantity of the substance acted on by the test, supposing the 
nature of the reactions to be understood, and the equivalents of the several 
substances well ascertained. The volumetric solution, before being used, should 
be well shaken, in order that it may be uniform throughout. 
Volumetric Solution of Bichromate of Potassa. Formula of the salt K0,2Cr03 = 
147-5. Dissolve 129 grains of Pure Bichromate of Potassa in one Imperial pint of Distilled 
Water. “The quantity of this solution which fills the volumetric tube to 0, contains one 
tenth of an equivalent, in grains, of the Bichromate of Potash, and, when added to a solu 
tion of a protosalt of iron acidulated with hydrochloric acid, is capable of converting one- 
tenth of six eqs. of iron (16-8 grains) from the state of a protosalt to that of a persalt [ses- 
quisalt]. In practising this volumetric process, it is known that the whole of the protosalt 
has been converted into a persalt, when a minute drop of the solution, placed in contact 
with a drop of the solution of ferridcyanide of potassium, on a white plate, ceases to strike 
with it a blue colour.” 
It is obvious, therefore, that, by means of this test, it is possible to estimate the quan- 
tity of protoxide, protochloride, protiodide, or protobromide of iron in any mixture or 
compound in which it may exist. The rationale, in reference to the protoxide of iron, is 
that two eqs. of the bichromate, containing two eqs. of chromic acid (2Cr03), and of course 
six eqs. of oxygen, give up three eqs. of oxygen, whereby the acid becomes sesquioxide of 
chrome (Cr203), to six eqs. of the protoxide of iron (6FeO), converting them into three 
eqs. of the sesquioxide (3Fe203); and, in reference to haloid salts, it is only necessary that 
each of them should be preliminarily converted, through the instrumentality of the water 
present, into the protoxide and. the acid corresponding with its other element, in order that 
the same reaction should be exerted upon it as on the protoxide. 
Volumetric Solution of Hyposulphite of Soda. Formula of the crystallized salt NaO, 
S202 -|-5110 = 124. “Take of Hyposulphite of Soda, in crystals, 2G0 grains; Distilled 
Water a sufficiency. Dissolve the Hyposulphite in one pint [Imperial measure] of the Water, 
and drop the solution cautiously from the volumetric tube into 100 measures of the volumetric 
solution of iodine, until the brown colour of the iodine is just discharged. Note the num- 
ber of measures (N) which have been used to produce this effeot; and, having then taken 
sixteen fluidounces of the same solution, augment this quantity by the addition of Distilled 
Water until it amounts to fluidounces. If, for example, N = 96, the sixteen [fluid] 
ounces of the solution of the hyposulphite should be diluted with distilled water so as to 
become --—- — 16-66 fluidounces. 
9 6 
“This solution is used for estimating free iodine, an object which it accomplishes by 
forming with the iodine, iodide of sodium and tetrathionate of soda. One hundred measures 
of it include one-tenth of two eqs. of the hyposulphite in grains, and therefore correspond 
to 12-7 grains of free iodine.” 
Tetrathionic acid consists of four eqs. of sulphur and five of oxygen; and tetrathionate 
of soda would be represented by the formula Na0,S405. When the hyposulphite (dilhio- 
nate) of soda (Na0,S202) reacts with iodine, two eqs. of the salt are called into action, and, 
by the substitution of one eq. of iodine for one eq. of oxygen of the soda, become one eq. 
of iodide of sodium, one of soda, and one of tetrathionate of soda; as represented by the 
following equation, I-j-2(Na0,S202) = NaI-|-Na0,S405. Two eqs. of the test salt are there- 
fore capable of neutralizing and rendering invisible one eq. of iodine; and, as the eq. of 1450 
Tests. 
PART II. 
the salt iz 124 and that of iodine 127, it follows that 248 grains of it should neutralize 127 
grains oi iodine, or every grain of the former consumed would indicate the neutralization 
of *512 grain of the latter as nearly as may be. 
Volumetric Solution of Iodine. Formula 1 = 127. “Take of Pure Iodine, in powder, 
111-125 grains; Iodide of Potassium 150 grains; Distilled Water a sufficiency. Mix the 
Iodide of Potassium and Iodine in a bottle with eighteen [fluidjounces of the Water, agi- 
tate until both are dissolved, and, when the solution is complete, add as much more Dis- 
tilled Water as will make the total bulk exactly one pint [Imperial measure]. 
“This solution may be employed for determining the amount of sulphuretted hydrogen 
or of a metallic sulpburet in a fluid, but is chiefly used for the estimation of sulphurous 
and arsenious acids. It is dropped from the volumetric tube into the liquid to be tested 
until free iodine begins to appear in the solution. One hundred volumetric measures of it 
include 12-7 grains (one tenth of an eq.) of iodine, and therefore correspond to 1*7 grains 
of sulphuretted hydrogen, 3-2 grains of sulphurous, and 4-95 grains of arsenious acid.” 
Volumetric Solution of Nitrate of Silver. Formula of the salt AgO,NO5=170, 
Dissolve 148-75 grains of Nitrate of Silver in one Imperial pint of Distilled Water, and 
keep the solution in an opaque stoppered bottle. “The quantity of this solution which 
fills the volumetric tube to 0, includes 17 grains of nitrate of silver, or one-tenth of an eq. 
of the salt in grains. Upon dropping it into dilute hydrocyanic acid rendered alkaline by 
soda, the precipitate first formed is upon agitation redissolved, and continues to be so 
until the whole of the cyanogen of the acid has united with the sodium and silver, form- 
ing the double cyanide of sodium and silver. In such experiments 100 volumetric mea- 
sures of the solution correspond to 5-4 grains of absolute hydrocyanic acid.” 
Volumetric Solution of Oxalic Acid. Formula of crystallized oxalic acid IIO,C, 
03-|r 2110 = 63. “Take of Purified Oxalic Acid, in crystals, quite dry, but not effloresced, 
551-25 grains; Distilled Water a sufficiency. Dissolve the Oxalic Acid in eighteen fluidounces 
of the Water, and when the solution is complete, add as much Distilled Water as will make 
its bulk exactly twenty fluidounces at 60°. 
“The quantity of this solution which fills the volumetric tube to 0, includes exactly 
63 grains of crystallized oxalic acid, and is therefore capable of neutralizing an eq. in 
grains of any alkali, or alkaline carbonate.” 
Volumetric Solution of Soda. Formula of soda NaO = 31. “Take of Solution of Soda, 
Distilled Water, each, a sufficiency. Fill the volumetric tube to 0, with the Solution of 
Soda, and drop this into 63 grains of purified oxalic acid dissolved in two fluidounces of 
the Water, until the acid is exactly neutralized as indicated by litmus. Note the number 
of measures (N) of the Solution used, and having then taken forty fluidounces of the Solu- 
tion of Soda, augment this quantity by the addition of Distilled Water, until it becomes 
fluidounces. If, for example, N = 93, the 40 ounces of Solution of Soda should be 
diluted so as to become =43-01 fluidounces. The quantity of this Solution which 
fills the volumetric tube to 0, includes 31 grains of Soda, and will therefore neutralize an 
eq. in grains of any monobasic acid.” PART III. 
DRUGS AND MEDICINES NOT OFFICINAL* 
In the progress of the medical art, numerous remedies have at different times 
risen into notice and employment, which, by the revolutions of opinion incident 
to our science, or by the discovery of more efficient substitutes, have so far fallen 
into disrepute as to have been discarded from general practice, and no longer to 
hold a place in the officinal catalogues. Of these, however, some are still occa- 
sionally employed by practitioners and referred to by writers, and many retain* a 
popularity as domestic remedies, or among empirics, which they have lost with 
the medical profession generally. The attention of physicians must, therefore, 
frequently be called to them in the course of practice; and it is highly desirable 
to possess some knowledge of their properties and effects, in order to be enabled 
to judge of their agency in any particular case, and at the same time to avoid the 
suspicion of incompetence which might attach to the exhibition of entire igno- 
rance in relation to them. The remark is true also of other substances, which, 
though at no time ranked among regular medicines, are yet habitually employed 
in families, and the influence of which, either remediate or otherwise, must often 
enter into our estimate of the causes which produce or modify disease. New medi- 
cines, moreover, are frequently brought forward, which, without having obtained 
the sanction of the medical authorities, are occasionally prescribed, and therefore 
merit notice. To supply, to a certain extent, the requisite means of information 
in regard to these extra-officinal remedies, is the object of the following brief no- 
tices, among which are also included accounts of substances not employed as 
medicines, but usually kept in the drug stores for various purposes connected 
with the arts, or with domestic convenience. In a work intended for the use as 
well of the apothecary and druggist as of the physician and medical student, the 
introduction of such accounts is obviously proper, if kept in due subordination 
to the more important object of teaching the properties of medicines, and the 
modes of preparing them. The authors regret that the limits, which practical 
convenience appears to require in a Dispensatory, do not admit of a more com- 
plete enumeration of the various drugs and medicines of the kind above alluded 
to, or of ampler details in relation to those actually treated of, than will be found 
in the following pages. They have endeavoured, however, in the selection of ob- 
jects, to choose those which are likely most frequently to engage the attention 
of the medical and pharmaceutical professions, and, in the extent of the descrip- 
tions, to consult as far as possible the relative importance of facts, of which they 
could not detail the whole. In relation to the nomenclature employed, it may be 
proper to observe that all those vegetable remedies, which, not being generally 
kept in the shops, have no current commercial name, are described under the 
scientific title of the plant producing them; while other substances are desig- 
nated by the names which ordinary usage has assigned them. W. 
* By the term officinal medicines, here as well as elsewhere in this work, are meant 
such as are embraced in the United States and British Pharmacopoeias. 1452 
Acetate of Alumina.—Acetic Ether. 
PART III. 
ACETATE OF ALUMINA. This salt may be obtained by the direct combination of hy- 
drated alumina with acetic acid, or by reaction between sulphate of alumina and acetate of 
lead. According to Crum, when pure tersulphate of alumina and neutral acetate of lead 
are mixed, the resulting salt is apparently biacetate of alumina, which remains in solution 
with one eq. of pure acetic acid, as there is no teracetate of alumina. The solution, filtered 
to separate the sulphate of lead and evaporated, yields a gummy mass, which reddens 
litmus, and has an astringent taste. But if means are used to evaporate the solution 
quickly, at a low temperature, the salt is obtained dry and in a perfectly soluble state 
(Al203,2C4II303-(-4II0). (Gmelin’s Handbook, \iii. 303.) It is deliquescent. Acetate of alu- 
mina is valuable only as a disinfectant, operating in this way like the sulphate of alumina, 
and employed in the same manner. (See Aluminas Sulphas in Part II., page 970.) W. 
ACETATE OF COPPER. Cupri Acetas. Crystals of Venus. This salt is prepared by dis- 
solving verdigris, with the assistance of heat, in vinegar or dilute acetic acid. The solu- 
tion, after having been sufficiently concentrated, is transferred to suitable vessels, where 
it, crystallizes on cooling. Acetate of copper is a slightly efflorescent salt, crystallizing in 
rhomboidal prisms, and having a rich deep-blue colour and strong styptic taste. It dis- 
solves in water without residue, a character which serves to distinguish it from verdigris. 
It consists of one eq. of acetic acid, one of protoxide of copper, and one of water. Its 
popular name of distilled verdigris is inappropriate; as no distillation is practised in its 
preparation. This salt is used for colouring maps. It was formerly the chief source of 
acetic acid. It has been used in the form of tincture by Dr. Rademacher in fevers; but 
with no very definite object. B. 
ACETATE OF IRON, TINCTURE OF. Tinctura Ferri Acetatis. The following is the for- 
mula of the late Dublin Pharmacopoeia for this preparation, which, not having been adopted 
in the British Pharmacopoeia, is no longer officinal. “Take of Sulphate of Iron eight ounces 
[avoirdupois] ; Distilled Water half a pint [Imperial measure] ; Pure Sulphuric Acid six flui- 
drachms [Imp. meas.]; Pure Nitric Acid half a fluidounee [Imp. meas.] ; Acetate of Potash 
eight ounces [avoird.] ; Rectified Spirit half a gallon [Imp. meas.]. To nine [fluid]ounces of 
the Water add the Sulphuric Acid, and in the mixture, with the aid of heat, dissolve the Sul- 
phate of Iron. Add next the Nitric Acid, first diluted with the remaining [fluid]ounce of 
Water, and evaporate the resulting solution to the consistence of a thick syrup. Dissolve 
this in one quart [two pints, Imp. meas.], and the Acetate of Potash in the remainder of 
the Spirit, and, having mixed the solutions, and shaken the mixture repeatedly in a large 
bottle, let the whole be thrown upon a calico filter. When any further liquid ceases to 
trickle through, subject the filter, with its contents, to expression, and, having cleared the 
turbid tincture thus procured by filtration through paper, let it be added to that already 
obtained. The sp.gr. of this tincture is 0-891.” IJub. 
This preparation is a tincture of the teracetate of sesquioxide of iron. The first step in 
making it is to convert the sulphate of protoxide of iron into the tersulphate of the sesquiox- 
ide by the action of sulphuric and nitric acids, with the aid of heat, in the usual way. The 
salt thus formed is then dissolved in half the rectified spirit, the acetate of potassa in the 
other half. The spirituous saline solutions having been mixed, a double decomposition of 
the salts takes place, resulting in the formation of teracetate of sesquioxide of iron which 
dissolves in the spirit, and sulphate of potassa which precipitates, being insoluble in that 
menstruum. By filtration, therefore, the sulphate of potassa is removed, and the clear liquid 
constitutes the tincture under notice. As there is an excess of sulphate of protoxide of iron 
taken, the tersulphate of the sesquioxide into which it is converted, is more than sufficient 
to decompose all the acetate of potassa. Accordingly, the portion of the tersulphate not 
expended in the double decomposition, being soluble in rectified spirit, remains in f.olu- 
tion along with the teracetate in the tincture. This tincture is a transparent liquid, of a 
deep-red colour, and strong ferruginous taste. It is said to be an agreeable chalybeate. 
The dose is from twenty drops to a teaspoonful, sufficiently diluted with water. B. 
ACETATE OF MAGNESIA. Magnesise Acetas. This salt has been proposed as a purga- 
tive by M. Renault, of Paris. It is deliquescent, and cannot be crystallized without diffi- 
culty. (Carl von Hauer.) It has the merit of extreme solubility both in water and alcohol. 
Though without much taste, it is inferior in that respect to citrate of magnesia, for which 
it is proposed as a substitute. It is prepared for therapeutic use by saturating 120 parts of 
carbonate of magnesia with acetic acid, and evaporating the resulting liquid, after filtra- 
tion, to 300 parts. The product is a syrupy acetate of magnesia, which is to be mixed with 
three times its weight of syrup of oranges, to form the preparation of M. Renault. Of this 
about four ounces is the dose. An objection to the liquid acetate is, that, owing to its at- 
traction for moisture, it cannot be preserved of uniform strength for mixing with the syrup 
of oranges. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., xiii. 2G0.) B. 
ACETIC ETHER. Hither Aceticus. This ether may be formed by several processes, the 
chief of which are the following.—1. Mix 100 parts of alcohol (sp.gr. 0-83) with 03 parts 
of concentrated acetic acid, and 17 parts of strong sulphuric aciu, and distil 125 parts into PART III. 
Actsea Spicata.—JEsculus Hippocastanim. 
1453 
a receiver, kept cold with wet cloths. 2. Distil to dryness a mixture of three parts of 
acetate of potassa, three of alcohol, and two of sulphuric acid, mix the distilled product 
with one-fifth of sulphuric acid, and distil second time an amount of ether equal to the 
alcohol employed. 3. Distil two parts of effloresced acetate of lead with one pai-t of alco- 
hol, and a little more than one part of sulphuric acid. In the last two processes, the acetic 
acid is set free by the action of the sulphuric acid on the acetate employed. Acetic ether 
is colourless, of a grateful odour, and a peculiar, agreeable taste. Its sp. gr. is 0-866, and 
its boiling point 160°. It undergoes no change by keeping. By contact with flame it burns 
readily, diffusing an acid odour. It dissolves in 7-5 parts of water, and unites in all pro- 
portions with alcohol. It consists of one eq. of acetic acid 51, and one of oxide of ethyl 
(ether) 37=88 (C4H50,C4H303). 
Acetic ether is occasionally used in medicine as a stimulant and antispasmodic. The 
dose is from fifteen to thirty drops, sufficiently diluted with water. It is sometimes em- 
ployed externally, by friction, as a resolvent, and for rheumatic pains. B. 
ACTiEA SPICATA. Baneberry. Herb Christopher. This is a perennial, herbaceous, Euro- 
pean plant, growing in the woods of mountainous regions, and attaining a height of two 
feet or more. The root is of a dark-brown colour, and bears some resemblance to that of 
Helleborus niger, for which it is said to be occasionally substituted. Its odour, in the re- 
cent state, is sweetish and rather nauseous, but is in great measure dissipated by drying. 
The taste is bitterish and somewhat acrid. In its operation on the system, the root is pur- 
gative and sometimes emetic, and is capable, in overdoses, of producing dangerous effects. 
It is unknown in this country. We have, however, a native species of Actaea, A. Americana 
of Pursh, of which there are two varieties — alba and rubra—distinguished by the colour 
of their berries, which in the former are white, and in the latter red. They are sometimes 
called white and red cohosh, a name derived from the language of the Aborigines. By some 
botanists they are treated of as distinct species, under the names of Actsea alba and Actsea 
rubra. They grow in the rich deep mould of rocky woods, from Canada to Virginia. They 
are said to have been much esteemed by the Indians. Their medical properties are probably 
similar to those of A. spicata. The name baneberry, given to different species of Actasa, was 
derived from the reputed poisonous properties of their berries. Mr. Frederick Stearns, in 
his account of the medical plants of Michigan, speaks of the rhizoma of Actsea alba as being 
violently purgative. (Proceed. of the Am. Pharm. Assoc., 1858, p. 240.) W. 
ADANSONIA DIGITATA. Baobab. A tree of enormous magnitude, belonging to the 
Linnsean class and order Monadelphia Polyandria, and to the natural family Sterculiaceae 
(Bindley). It is a native of Africa, extending quite through that continent from Senegal 
to Abyssinia, and has been introduced into the West Indies. The leaves and bark of this 
tree abound in mucilage, and have little smell or taste; yet extraordinary virtues have 
been ascribed to them. Adanson found the leaves very useful as a preventive of fevers, 
and they are employed habitually by the native Africans with a view to their diaphoretic 
property. Dr. Duchassaing, of Guadaloupe, has published a statement of his experience 
with the bark, in the miasmatic diseases of the West Indies. Out of 93 cases, chiefly of 
intermittent fever, he failed only in three. M. Pierre has subsequently employed the remedy 
with success in intermittent fever at Bourgogne, in France. (Arch. Gen., 3e ser., xxiii. 535.) 
The bark has the advantage over cinchona of being almost without taste, and quite accept- 
able to the stomach. It produces no other observable physiological effect than increase of 
appetite, increased perspiration, and perhaps diminished frequency of pulse. An ounce 
may be boiled in a pint and a half of water to a pint, and the whole taken in a day. (Journ. 
de Pharm., 3e ser., xiii. 412 and 421.) The fruit, which contains a subacid not disagreeable 
pulp, is used by the Africans in dysentery and other bowel complaints. W. 
ADIANTUM PEDATUM. Maidenhair. An indigenous fern, the leaves of which are bit- 
terish and aromatic, and have been supposed to be useful in chronic catarrhs and other 
pectoral affections. A European species, known by the same vulgar name, is the A. Capil- 
lus Veneris, which has similar properties, though feebler, and has been much used as a 
pectoral, on the continent of Europe, from very early times. It is given in the form of in- 
fusion, sweetened with sugar or honey; and a syrup prepared from it is popular in France, 
under the name of sirop de capillaire. The name of maidenhair has also been given to As- 
plenium Trichomanes, the leaves of which have a mucilaginous, sweetish, somewhat astrin- 
gent taste, and have been used for the same purposes with those of the plants above men- 
tioned. Another species of Asplenium, A. Adiantum nigrum, has been substituted for the 
genuine maidenhair; but neither of them has the aromatic flavour of that fern. W. 
AESCULUS HIPPOCASTANUM. Ilorsechestnut. The horsechestnut is a native of Asia, 
and was introduced about the middle of the sixteenth century into Europe, where, as well as 
in this country, it is now extensively cultivated as an ornamental tree. Quercitrin has 
been found by Rochleder in very small proportion in the leaves. (Journ. de Pharm., Mai, 
1859, p. 393.) Fraxin, a peculiar principle of the bark of Fraxinus excelsior, lias been de- 
tected also, by Mr. Stokes, in the bark of the horsechestnut; and Ruchleder has discovered 1454 
JEsculus Hippocastanum.—Agaric. 
PART III. 
in the capsules of the fruit a peculiar acid, which he names capsulccscic acid. {Ibid., Aofit, 
1860, p. 151.) The fruit and bark have been used in medicine. The fruit abounds in starch, 
but has a rough, disagreeable, bitter taste, which renders it unfit for food, though it is 
said to be eaten with avidity by horses, oxen, hogs, and sheep. It may be deprived, in 
great measure, of the bitter principle by maceration in an alkaline solution. The starch 
may be readily obtained in a state of purity, and is said to excel as an article of diet that 
procured from the potato. {Diet, de Mat. Med.) Considerable quantities have recently been 
prepared in France for use; the nut being reduced to a pulp, washed, and treated like the 
potato. {Am. Journ. o/Sci. and Arts, Sept. 1856, p. 264.) The bitter principle is denominated 
tsculin, and, according to Ilochleder, may be obtained by precipitating with acetate of lead 
a decoction of the rind, filtering, treating the filtered liquor with sulphuretted hydrogen, 
again filtering, evaporating to the consistence of syrup, and setting the residue aside in a 
cool place. In a few days, the liquid is converted into a mass of crystals, which are to be 
expressed, and purified by repeated crystallization from alcohol, and afterwards from boil- 
ing water. If now washed on a filter with cold water till they have lost one-third of their 
weight, they are rendered as pure as it is possible to obtain them. Esculin is in shining, 
white, prismatic crystals, inodorous, bitter, but slightly soluble in cold water, more soluble 
in boiling water, and very readily so in boiling alcohol, and in alkaline solutions. Its solu- 
tion is precipitated by subacetate of lead. It consists of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen; 
and its formula, according to liochleder, is C60H3SO37. {Journ. de Fharm., 8e sir., xxiii. 474, 
and xxiv. 292.) When treated with dilute sulphuric acid, it is converted into grape sugar, 
and a peculiar substance called esculetin. {Chem. Gaz., Jan. 15, 1857, p. 27.) The pow- 
dered kernel of the fruit, snuffed up the nostrils, produces sneezing, and has been used 
with advantage as a sternutatory in complaints of the head and eyes. A fixed oil ex- 
tracted from the kernels by percolation with ether, and obtained separate by evaporating 
the ether, has recently been used in France as a topical remedy in gout and rheumatism, 
being applied by means of a hair brush to the part affected, which is then covered with 
waxed paper, cotton wadding, or flannel. The kernels yield only one tenth of 1 per cent, 
of the oil. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., May, 1859, p. 231.) The bark of the horsechestnut 
has attracted much attention on the continent of Europe, as a substitute for cinchona. 
That of the branches from three to five years old is considered best. It should be collected 
in the spring. It has little odour, but an astringent and bitter, though not very disagreeable 
taste. It contains, among other ingredients, a bitter principle and tannin, and imparts its 
virtues to boiling water. By many physicians it has been found very efficacious in the 
treatment of intermittent fever; but it has entirely failed in the hands of many others, 
and certainly cannot be considered comparable to the Peruvian bark in its power over 
that complaint. It is at present seldom used, and never in this country. It has been given 
in substance, decoction, and extract. From half an ounce to an ounce of the powder may 
be given in the course of twenty-four hours. The decoction is prepared and administered 
in the same manner as that of Peruvian bark. Esculin was given, with complete success 
by M. Monvenoux, in four cases of periodical neuralgia, in one of which quinia had failed, 
lie gave 30 grains, at two doses, mixed with sweetened water. {Ann. de Thirap., 1859, p. 
160.) At a later period the same principle has been found useful in neuralgia of the uterus, 
6tomach, and bowels, and in periodical fevers, by M. Vicaire, in doses varying from seven 
to thirty grains. {Ibid., 1860, p. 198.) W. 
AGARIC. Touchwood. Spunk. Tinder. This is the product of different species of a genus 
of mushrooms denominated Boletus. Several species are used as food, several are poisonous, 
and two at least have been' ranked among officinal medicines in Europe. Boletus lands, 
which grows upon the larch of the old world, is the white agaric or purging agaric of medical 
writers. It is of various sizes, from that of the fist to that of a child’s head, or even larger, 
hard and spongy, externally brownish or reddish; but, as found in commerce, it is de- 
prived of its exterior coat, and consists of a light, white, spongy, somewhat farinaceous, 
friable mass, which, though capable of being rubbed into powder upon a sieve, is not easily 
pulverized in the ordinary mode, as it flattens under the pestle. It has a sweetish very 
bitter taste, and consists, according to Braconnot, of 72 parts of resinous matter, 2 of 
bitter extractive, and 26 offungin, a nutritious animalized principle, constituting the base 
of the fleshy substance of mushrooms. It contains also benzoic acid and various saline 
compounds. In the dose of four or six grains, it is said to act powerfully as a cathartic; 
but Lieutaud asserts that it may be given in the quantity of thirty grains or a drachm 
without sensibly purging. M. Andral has found it useful in checking the night-sweats of 
phthisis. He uses it in doses of eight grains, and gradually increases to a drachm during 
the day, without any observable inconvenience to the digestive functions. In this country 
it is scarcely employed, though we have met with it in the shops. That which is most 
esteemed is said to be brought from Siberia; but it is probably produced wherever the 
European larch grows. Hr. Wm. M. McPlieeters has published, in the St. Louis Med. and 
Surg. Journ. (x. 421), an account, of several cases, in which he tried a specimen of Boletus 
laricis, brought from the Rocky Mountains, in almost all of which it proved decidedly PART III. 
Agave Americana.—Agrimonia Eapatoria. 
1455 
cathartic. The dose was 25 grains, which it was sometimes necessary to repeat. A tinc- 
ture of the agaric of the Canadian larch has been used successfully in rheumatism by Dr. 
J. A. Grant. {British-Am. Joum., April, 1862.) 
Boletus igniarius, or agaric of the oak, like the species just described, is compared in shape 
to the horse’s hoof. Its diameter is from six to ten inches. It is soft like velvet when 
young, but afterwards becomes hard and ligneous. It usually rests immediately upon the 
bark of the tree, without any supporting footstalk. On the upper surface it is smooth, but- 
marked with circular ridges of different colours, more or less brown or blackish; on the 
under, it is whitish or yellowish, and full of small pores; internally it is fibrous, tough, 
and of a tawny-brown colour. It is composed of short tubular fibres compactly arranged 
in layers, one of which is added every year. The best is that which grows on the oak, and 
the season for collecting it is August or September. It has neither taste nor smell. Among 
its constituents, according to Bouillon-Lagrange, are extractive, resin in very small pro- 
portion, azotized matter also in small quantity, chloride of potassium, and sulphate of 
lime; and in its ashes are found iron, and phosphate of lime and magnesia. It is prepared 
for use by removing the exterior rind or bark, cutting the inner part into thin slices, and 
beating these with a hammer until they become soft, pliable, and easily torn by the fingers. 
In this state it was formerly much used by surgeons for arresting hemorrhage, being ap- 
plied immediately, with pressure, to the bleeding vessel. It probably acts mechanically, 
like any other soft porous substance, by absorbing the blood and causing it to coagulate, 
and is not relied on in severe cases. In the obstinate hemorrhage which occasionally takes 
place from leech bites, especially those of the European leech, it may be used advan- 
tageously, though perhaps not more so than well-prepared lint. It has been sometimes 
applied to the purposes of moxa. 
When prepared agaric is steeped in a solution of nitre, and afterwards dried, it becomes 
very readily inflammable, and is employed as tinder. Some recommend the substitution of 
chlorate of potassa for nitre. The preparation is usually known by the name of spunk, and 
is brought to us from Europe. Spunk or tinder, the amadou of the French, is in flat pieces, 
of a consistence somewhat like that of very soft, rotten buckskin leather, of a brownish- 
yellow colour, capable of absorbing liquids, and inflammable by the slightest spark. It is 
said to be prepared from various other species of Boletus, as B. ungulatus, B. fomentarius, 
B. ribis, §c. W. 
AGAVE AMERICANA. American Agave. American Aloe. Maguey. An evergreen succu- 
lent plant, indigenous in Florida, Mexico, and other parts of tropical America, and largely 
cultivated, chiefly for hedges, in the South of Europe, especially in Spain. This and other 
species of Agave bear a considerable resemblance, in appearance, to the plants of the genus 
Aloe, with which they are sometimes confounded. From the root and leaves of the Ameri- 
can agave, when cut, a saccharine juice flows out, which may be converted by evaporation 
into syrup and even sugar, and by fermentation into a vinous liquor. According to M Leno- 
ble, this juice when fresh has an herbaceous somewhat nauseous odour and acrid taste, and 
reddens litmus paper. It is said to be laxative, diuretic, and emmenagogue. Dr. G. Perin, 
of the U. S. army, has found the juice an admirable remedy in scurvy, being more prompt 
and efficacious even than lime-juice. He gave two fluidounces three times a day. {N. Y. 
Joum. of Med., N. S., vii. 181.) The expressed juice, evaporated to the consistence of a 
soft extract, forms a lather with water, and is employed as a substitute for soap. The fibres 
of the old leaves, separated by bruising and maceration in water, are used for forming 
thread. In the vicinity of Cordova, in Spain, the author had an opportunity of seeing the 
preparation of those fibres by the peasantry. Hung up to dry, they appeared at a little 
distance like bundles of silk. M. Lenoble found in the leaves an acrid volatile oil, a gum- 
resinous principle, lignin, salts of potassa and lime, and silica; and thinks that a vinegar 
or ointment of the leaves might be advantageously used as an epispastic. {Joum. de Tharm. 
et de Chim., xv. 350.) Agave Virginica, which grows in our Southern States, and is known 
in South Carolina by the name of rattlesnake's master, has a very bitter root, which is used, 
in the form of tincture, in flatulent colic, and as a counter-poison in the bites of serpents. 
(Robert King Reid, Inaug. Thes., A. D. 1849.) W. 
AGRIMONIA EUPATORIA. Common Agrimony. This species of agrimony is a peren- 
nial herb, inhabiting Asia, Europe, and North America, and, in this country, found in fields 
and on the borders of woods, and flowering during the summer months. Its stem, which 
rises from one to three feet in height., is hairy, furnished with interruptedly pinnate leaves, 
and terminated by a long simple spike of yellow flowers. Both the herb and root have been 
employed. The former has a weak but agreeable aromatic odour, and a rough, bitterish, 
somewhat aromatic taste. The fragrance is strongest in the flowers. The root has similar 
properties; but its taste is more bitter and astringent. A volatile oil may be obtained from 
the plant by distillation. Agrimony is a mild corroborant and astringent. The herb has 
been employed in relaxed conditions of disease, as in passive hemorrhages, and chronic af- 
fections of the mucous membranes. It has been recommended, also, as a deobstruent in 1456 
Ailanthus Crlandulosa.—Albuminate of Iron and Potassa. 
part hi. 
jaundice and visceral obstructions, and as an alterative in diseases of the skin. In Europe 
it is popularly used, in the form of gargle, in affections of the throat. The Indians of North 
America and the Canadians are reported to have employed the root with advantage in fe- 
vers. The plant may be given in substance, infusion, or decoction. The dose of the powder 
is a drachm or more. W. 
AILANTIlUS GLANDULOSA. This tree is well known in the United States, where it has 
within a few years been extensively cultivated as a shade tree, for which purpose it would 
be admirably adapted by its rapid growth and abundant foliage, as well as by its exemption 
from the attacks of insects, were it not for the offensive odour emitted by it in its flowering 
period. The tree belongs to Polygamia Monoecia in the Linnman system, and to the natural 
order of Rutacese, Juss., Xanthoxylaceae, Lindley. In its general aspect and the character 
of its foliage, it appears like a gigantic sumach, and it was at one time considered as a 
Rhus. The name of Japan varnish (vernis du Japon), by which it is known in France, arose 
from its having been mistaken for the true Japan varnish tree, which is a species of Sumach. 
Attention has recently been called to this tree in France by M. Htstet, Professor in the Ma- 
rine Medical School at Toulon, who has found it to possess properties which promise to ren- 
der it of great use in medicine, especially as a vermifuge. Before it had engaged his no- 
tice as a medical plant, it had begun to assume considerable importance in an economical 
point of view; its leaves having been found to be suitable food for a species of silk worm, 
Bombyx cinthia, imported from China. The bark is the part in which its anthelmintic virtues 
have been shown to reside. This, in powder, is of a greenish-yellow colour, a strong, nar- 
cotic, nauseating odour, in its recent state, and of a strongly bitter taste. When chewed, be- 
sides the bitterness, it appears, through its influence on the gustatory nerves, to produce in 
a few moments a general uneasiness, a sense of increasing weakness, dazzling, cold sweats, 
with shivering and nauseous sensations, which are very remarkable, but seem to be well 
attested. The inference from these effects is that it has probably a powerful depressing 
agency on the nervous system, similar to that of tobacco. Examined chemically, the bark 
has been found to contain lignin, chlorophyll, a yellow colouring principle, a gelatinous 
substance (pectin), a bitter substance, an odorous resin, traces of a volatile oil, an azotized 
fatty matter, and several salts. An oleorcsin is obtained from the bark by the action of al- 
cohol, which has the consistence of tar, a very dark greenish-brown colour, and in a high 
degree the smell and taste of the bark. M. H6tet experimented upon dogs with the pow- 
dered bark, powdered leaves, and various preparations of the bark. As a general result, 
they were found to produce a purgative effect, with copious stools and the discharge of 
worms. The resin purged, but rarely acted as an anthelmintic. The depressing effects 
on the nervous system in man were found to depend on the volatile oil, as the resin alone 
had no such influence. The oil is so powerful that persons exposed to the vapours, in 
preparing the extract, are liable to be seized with vertigo, cold sweats, and vomiting. The 
powdered bark has been given in several cases of tape-worm in the human subject, and 
proved remarkably successful in its expulsion, at the same time operating on the bowels. 
The oleoresin produced the same effect in a somewhat smaller dose, and has the advantage 
that it keeps better than the bark, which loses its powers with age. A fact worthy of remark 
is that neither the bark nor its preparation, taken internally, produce vomiting in man, 
while this effect is determined by the inhalation of its vapours, when it is boiled. The ca- 
thartic operation is not violent. The dose of the powder which was found sufficient for the 
expulsion of the tape-worm was from seven or eight to thirty grains. (Journ. de Pharm., Mars, 
1859, p. 163.) W. 
AJUGA CIIAM./EPITYS. Ground Vine. Chamsepitys. A low, creeping, annual, labiate 
plant, a native of Europe, and found also in some parts of the United States. The leaves, 
which bear some resemblance to those of the pine in shape, have a strong, peculiar, resin- 
ous, not disagreeable odour, and a bitter, balsamic taste. They yield by distillation with 
water a small proportion of volatile oil, resembling that of turpentine. They are said to be 
stimulant, diuretic, and aperient; and have been given in rheumatism, gout, palsy, and 
amenorrhoea. The dose of the leaves in powder is one or two drachms; but their infusion 
in wine is considered the best preparation. 
Ajuga rcptans or common bugle, and A.pyramidalis, perennial plants of Europe, have also 
been used in medicine. They are nearly inodorous, but have a somewhat astringent, bit- 
terish, and saline taste. Their virtues are probably those of a mild astringent and tonic. 
They have been recommended in pulmonary consumption, haemoptysis and other hemor- 
rhages, and in hepatic obstructions, and have enjoyed considerable reputation as vulnera- 
ries; but they are at present nearly obsolete. W. 
ALBUMINATE OF IRON AND POTASSA, SYRUP OF. This syrup, proposed by M. 
Lassaigne, is made as follows. Dissolve 100 parts of the white of eggs in 100 of distilled 
water, and precipitate the filtered solution with 36 parts of a solution of the tersulphate 
of sesquioxide of iron, marking 5° of the areometer. Then add 2 parts of alcoholic potassa, 
previously dissolved in 50 parts of water. This, by agitation, will gradually dissolve the part hi. 
Albuminate of Iron and Soda.—Aleurites Triloba. 
precipitate caused by the ferruginous solution, forming a deep orange-yellow liquid. Tbs 
liquid is then converted into a syrup by dissolving in it one and a half times its weight of 
coarsely powdered sugar, and iiltered. The syrup has a slightly alkaline and sweetish 
taste, totally devoid of inky flavour. Each fluidounce contains about six grains of anhy- 
drous sesquioxide of iron. Mr. A. J. Cooley has proposed to make a simple albuminate of 
iron by dissolving the freshly precipitated oxides of iron in a filtered solution of albumen. 
ALBUMINATE IRON AND SODA. Angelico Fabri, observing that simple contact 
of the white of eggs with a salt of iron and soda was sufficient to produce a soluble albu- 
minate of iron and soda, the composition of which is so stable that it is not disturbed by 
fevrocyanide of potassium unless with the presence of an acid, and inferring that this is 
the condition in which the several ingredients of the compound exist in the blood, pro- 
poses this salt as likely to meet better than any other those wants of the system which 
call for the use of chalybeates. He prepares the salt by pouring upon the whites of 
four eggs, previously beaten up, solutions separately made of 112 grains of caustic soda, 
and 104 of sulphate of iron in sufficient distilled water; shaking the mixture, and placing 
it on a filter to separate the excess of hydrated oxide of iron which has precipitated; add- 
ing lime-water to the filtrate to separate the sulphuric acid of the sulphate of soda which 
exists in the solution; again filtering, and precipitating the lime held in the solution by 
passing through it a stream of carbonic acid; filtering a third time to separate the car- 
bonate of lime; and finally reducing the liquid with a moderate heat to the measure of a 
pint. A transparent orange-yellow solution is thus obtained, having a slightly saltish and 
chalybeate taste, and unaffected by ferrocyanide of iron unless with the presence of an 
acid. Each fluidounce contains 4 grains of the albuminate, with an excess of albumen and 
soda, which gives it an alkaline reaction, and renders it conformable to the state in which 
the compound exists in the blood. The albuminate of iron and soda is represented by the 
formula C30II50O10 -}- HO -f- Fe203-|- NaO -|- 2110 = Al,Fe203,Na0 -)-2HO. It may be obtained 
in radiated crystals by evaporating the salt to dryness. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 1863, 
p. 69; from Journ. of Rational Medicine, May, 1862.) W. 
ALCHEMILLA VULGARIS. Ladies' Mantle. A perennial European herb, growing in 
meadows, on the banks of rivulets, and in the borders of woods. The whole plant has an 
astringent, bitterish taste, which is strongest in the root. It was formerly employed in 
diarrhoea, and other complaints requiring the use of astringents. By the ancients it was 
highly esteemed; and extraordinary powers were ascribed to it by the alchemists, from 
whom, according to Linnaeus, it derived its generic title. W. 
ALCORNOQUE. Under this name, a bark was introduced into Europe from South 
America, more than fifty years since, and for a short time attracted considerable attention. 
It has been conjecturally referred by different writers to different plants, but its precise 
origin is unknown. It is in large thick pieces, composed of two layers, of which the ex- 
ternal is reddish, cracked, granular, spongy, and two or three lines in thickness, the in- 
ternal lamellated, woody, and possessed of the property of imparting a yellow colour to 
the saliva when chewed. It is inodorous. The outer layer is of an astringent, somewhat 
bitter taste, and was thought to have febrifuge powers; the inner is much more bitter, and 
is decidedly emetic. The bark was brought into notice chiefly as a remedy in phthisis; 
but, having been found useless in that complaint, has fallen into entire neglect. It was 
given in the form of powder, in the dose of thirty grains; or half an ounce of it was boiled 
in a pint of water down to half a pint, and two or three tablespoonfuls of the decoction 
were administered every two hours. In these doses it acted as an emetic. The bark knotvn 
in Spain by the name of alcornoque is obtained from the cork tree (Quercus Suber), and has 
sometimes been confounded in European pharmacy with that derived from South America. 
It has the properties of the ordinary oak barks. W. 
ALEURITES TRILOBA, OIL OF. This is a small tree belonging to the Linnman Class 
and Order Monoecia Monadelphia, and the Natural Order Euphorbiacete. It is widely 
diffused through the tropics, being indigenous in the East Indies and Islands of the Pa- 
cific, and naturalized in the West Indies. The fruit is a nut nearly as large as a walnut, 
consisting of a thick shell enclosing a kernel, which is rich in oil, and yields it readily by 
expression. The nuts, strung together on the fibres of the palm-leaf, are used in the South 
Pacific Islands as a substitute for candles. The oil has been long known in the various 
countries inhabited by the plant, being called in Jamaica Spanish walnut oil, in India 
Belgaum walnut oil, in Ceylon kekune oil, and in the Sandwich Islands kukui oil. It may be 
obtained by boiling with water the kernels previously beaten in a mortar, or by expres- 
sion. Sixteen pints of kernels yield about three pints of oil. The yearly product of 
the Sandwich Islands is said to be 10,000 gallons. (M. C. Cooke, Pharm. Journ., Nov. 1860, 
p. 282.) The oil has been used in the arts; but it is only of late that attention has been 
railed to its medicinal qualities by Mr. O’Rorke. The following account of its properties 
and uses we take from Bouchardat’s Annuaire (1859, p. 117). The oil is very fluid, of an 1458 
Alisma Plantago.—Alnus Glutinosa. 
part hi. 
amber colour, without taste or smell, congealing at 32° F., insoluble in alcohol, readily 
saponifiable, “and very strongly drying.” As a medicine it acts as a prompt and efficient 
but mild cathartic, without any tendency to produce nausea, vomiting, or griping pains, 
and destitute of any other medical property. It seems to be admirably adapted to cases 
in which castor oil is used, but has the great advantage over that cathartic that it does 
not nauseate, and is very easily administered. The dose is from one to two ounces; the 
smaller quantity generally answering. The cake left after the expression of the oil, given 
to a dog in the dose of about half an ounce, produced no vomiting, but acted strongly as 
a purgative. Should all that has been said of the oil prove correct upon further trial, it 
would be likely to supersede castor oil to a considerable extent. W. 
ALISMA PLANTAGO. Water Plantain. A perennial herbaceous plant, common to 
Europe and the United States, and growing in streams, pools, ditches, and other standing 
waters. The root has w’hen fresh an odour like that of Florentine orris, but loses it when 
dried. Its taste is acrid and nauseous. It acquired at one time considerable credit as a 
preventive of hydrophobia, for which purpose it was said to have been used with great 
advantage in Russia; but subsequent experiments have proved its total inefficacy. The 
Calmucks are said to use it for food. The leaves are rubefacient, and will sometimes even 
blister when applied to the skin. They have been recommended in gravel and complaints 
of the bladder, in the dose of a drachm. The root has recently been used in chorea and 
epilepsy with asserted advantage. The dose of the powdered root, at first about 8 or 10 
grains morning and evening, is rapidly increased to a teaspoonful and in the end carried 
to three or four spoonfuls in the course of the day. (Ann. de Therap., 1859, p. 62.) W. 
ALKANET. This is the root of Anchusa tinctoria or dyers' alkanet, an herbaceous per- 
ennial plant, growing in the Grecian Archipelago and the south of Europe. It is said in 
some medical works to be cultivated abundantly in the south of France; but another plant 
is probably referred to—Lithospcrmum iinctorium of Linnaeus and De Candolle, Anchusa 
tinctoria of Lamarck—which is a native of that country, and the root of which is con- 
sidered as the true alkanet by the French writers. Alkanet, as found in the shops, is in 
pieces three or four inches long, from the thickness of a quill to that of the little finger, 
somewhat twisted, consisting of a dark-red, easily separable bark, and an internal ligne- 
ous portion, which is reddish externally, whitish near the centre, and composed of numer- 
ous distinct, slender, cohering fibres. As it comes to us it is usually much decayed inter- 
nally, very light, and of a loose, almost spongy texture. The fresh root has a faint odour, 
and a bitterish, astringent taste; but when dried it is nearly inodorous and insipid. Its 
colouring principle, which abounds most in the cortical part, is soluble in alcohol, ether, 
and the oils, to which it imparts a fine deep red: but is insoluble in water. It may be 
obtained by first exhausting the root with water, and then treating it with a weak solution 
of the carbonate of potassa or soda, from which the colouring principle may be precipi- 
tated by an acid. According to Pelletier, by whom it was discovered, it possesses acid 
properties, forming with the alkalies and earths neutral compounds, which are of a blue 
colour, and soluble in alcohol and ether. He calls it anchusic acid, and states that it may 
be sublimed unchanged. (Journ. dePharm., xix. 105.) The tincture of alkanet has its colour 
deepened by acids, changed to blue by alkalies, and again restored by neutralizing the 
latter substances. It may, therefore, be used as a test. The extract obtained by evaporat- 
ing the tincture is dark-brown. Alkanet is somewhat astringent, and was formerly used 
in several diseases; but it is now employed exclusively for colouring oils, ointments, and 
plasters, which are beautifully reddened by one-fortieth of their weight of the root. It is 
said also to be used in the preparation of spurious port -wine. W. 
ALLIARIA OFFICINALIS. Erysimum Alliaria. Linn. Hedge Garlic. A perennial Eu- 
ropean herb, having an alliaceous odour when rubbed, and a bitterish, somewhat acrid 
taste. When eaten it communicates its smell to the breath. Mr. Wertheim obtained from 
the root a volatile oil, apparently identical with that of mustard. (Ann. der Chem. and 
Pharm., liii. 52.) The herb and seeds are esteemed diuretic, diaphoretic, and expectorant, 
and have been given in humoral asthma, chronic catarrh, and other complaints in which 
garlic is useful. The herb has also been recommended as an external application in gan- 
grenous affections, and to promote suppuration. W. 
ALNUS GLUTINOSA. Common European Alder. A European tree, twenty-five feet or 
more in height, growing in swamps, on the sides of streams, and in other damp places 
The bark and leaves are very astringent, and somewhat bitter. The former has been used 
in intermittent fever, the latter as a topical remedy in wounds and ulcers. The bruised 
leaves are sometimes applied to the breast for the purpose of repelling the milk. The cones 
also arc astringent, and form a useful gargle in complaints of -the throat. All these parts 
of the tree are used in dyeing, and the leaves and bark in tanning. The tannic acid, how- 
ever, appears to differ from that of galls and oak bark, as, according to Dr. Stenliouse, it 
does not yield glucose when acted on by sulphuric acid. (Pharm. Journ., Dec 1861, p. 331.) 
Alnus serrulata, or common American alder, has analogous propertie s. W. PART hi. 
Amaranthus ITypochondriacus.—Ammoniated Iron. 
1459 
AMARANTHUS HYPOCIIONDRIACUS. Prince's Feather. An annual plant, growing 
spontaneously though sparingly in the Middle States, but believed to have been derived from 
tropical America. (Gray's Manual, p. 3b8.) It is cultivated in our gardens on account ot 
its tiowers, which are in densely crowded spikes, and of a deep-red colour. The leaves 
are said to be astringent, and to be used internally and topically in the complaints to which 
the astringents generally are applicable. \V. 
AMBERGRIS. Ambra Grisea. This substance, which is found floating on the sea, or 
thrown by the waves upon the shores of various countries, particularly in the southern 
hemisphere, is now generally believed to be produced in the intestines of the Physeler ma- 
crocephalas, or spermaceti whale, and perhaps in those of some other fish. It is in roundish 
or amorphous pieces, usually small, but sometimes of considerable magnitude; and masses 
have been found weighing 50, 100, and even 200 pounds. These pieces are often composed 
of concentric layers. They are of various colours, usually gray, with brownish, yellow, 
and white streaks, often dark-brown or blackish on the external surface. They are opaque, 
lighter than water, and of a consistence like that of wax. Ambergris has a peculiar aro- 
matic agreeable odour, is almost tasteless, softens with the warmth of the hand, melts 
under 212°, is almost completely volatilizable by heat, and is inflammable. It is insoluble 
in water, but is readily dissolved, with the aid of heat, by alcohol, ether, and the volatile 
and fixed oils. It consists chiefly of a peculiar fatty matter analogous to cholesterin, and 
denominated by Pelletier and Caventou ambrein. This may be obtained by treating amber- 
gris with heated alcohol, filtering the solution, and allowing it to stand. Crystals of am- 
brein are deposited. It is incapable of forming soaps with the alkalies. When pure it has 
little or no odour. Ambergris is often adulterated; but does not then exhibit its ordinary 
fusibility and volatility. It was long regarded as a cordial and antispasmodic, somewhat 
analogous to musk; and has been recommended in typhoid fevers, and various nervous 
diseases. It formerly entered into many officinal preparations, and is still retained in some 
European Pharmacopoeias. It is, however, feeble as a remedy, and is much more used in 
perfumery than in medicine. The dose is from five grains to a drachm. W. 
AMBROSIA TRIFIDA. Ragweed. (Gray's Manual, p. 212.) This and another indigenous 
species, A. artemisise/olia, both annual plants, and usually ranked among worthless weeds, 
have found a place in the Materia Medica of the Eclectics, by whom they are deemed as- 
tringent and somewhat exciting, and are given in low forms of fever, and other conditions 
of the system in which the vital actions are enfeebled. W. 
AMMONIATED IRON. Ferrum Ammoniatum. Ammoniated Iron. Ammonia-chloride of Iron. 
Though discharged from the officinal lists at the late revision of the Pharmacopoeias, this 
preparation has too long occupied a conspicuous place in the Materia Medica to justify its 
omission in a work of this kind. It was recognised until recently both by the U. 8. and 
London Pharmacopoeias, which contained formulas for its preparation. The following was 
the U. S. process. “ Take of Subcarbonate of Iron three ounces; Muriatic Acid ten fluidounces; 
Muriate of Ammonia two pounds and a half; Distilled Water four pints. Mix the Subcarbonate 
of Iron with the Muriatic Acid in a glass vessel, and digest for two hours; then add the 
Muriate of Ammonia, previously dissolved in the Distilled Water, and, having filtered the 
liquor, evaporate to dryness. Rub the residue to powder.” [U. S.) The process of the London 
College was essentially the same as the above, of which, in fact, it was the original. By 
the mutual action of muriatic acid and the sesquioxide of iron of the subcarbonate, water 
and sesquichloride of iron are formed; and the solution of the latter, being evaporated 
along with that of the muriate of ammonia, yields a mixture of the two salts. If any car- 
bonate of iron be present in the subcarbonate, a portion of protochloride of iron must 
also be formed, which, however, would probably be converted into sesquichloride during 
the operation. The preparation was formerly made by subliming a mixture of red oxide 
(sesquioxide) of iron and muriate of ammonia. A portion of the muriate of ammonia was 
decomposed, the ammonia escaping, and the muriatic acid reacting upon the sesquioxide of 
iron so as to form water and sesquichloride of iron, the latter of which was sublimed with 
the undecomposed muriate of ammonia. By this mode of preparation the proportion be- 
tween the two salts was variable. The late officinal plan has the double advantage of 
uniformity in the result, and greater facility in the process, 'there is no reason to believe 
that the sesquichloride of iron and muriate of ammonia are chemically combined in the 
preparation. According to Mr. Phillips, they are in the proportion of 15 parts of the ses- 
quichloride to 85 of the muriate. 
Properties. Ammoniated iron, thus prepared, is in crystalline grains, of a fine reddish- 
orange colour, and a sharp, styptic, saline taste. It is entirely soluble in water and diluted 
alcohol, is deliquescent, and should be kept in well-stopped bottles. By the alkalies and 
elieir carbonates, and by lime-water it is decomposed, with the precipitation of about 7 per 
cent, of sesquioxide of iron; and potassa in excess occasions the evolution of ammonia. 
Like the other chalybeates, it is incompatible with yegetable astringents. As procured by 
sublimation, it is of a yellow colour and feeble odour, and is probably the result of a che- 
mical reaction between the ingredients. Ampelopsis Quinquefolia.—Anacahuite Wood. 
PART nr. 
Medical Properties and Uses. This preparation unites aperient properties with those be- 
longing to the chalybeates generally, and is said to have been used with advantage in arae- 
norrhoea, epilepsy, scrofula, rickets, &c.; but it is at best uncertain, and is now very seldom 
prescribed. The sublimed preparation was formerly employed under the names of flores 
martiales and ens martis. From four to twelve grains may be given in the form of pill, elec- 
tuary, or solution, several times a day. W. 
AMPELOPSIS QUINQUEFOLIA. Virginia Creeper. American Ivy. (Gray's Manual, p. 78.) 
This woody creeper, which is a common indigenous plant, and conspicuous in autumn by 
its bright crimson leaves, has been used by the “eclectics” as an alterative, tonic, and ex- 
pectorant. The bark and twigs are the parts employed. The remedy has recently been re- 
commended by Dr. J. McCall, in the Memphis Journal of Medicine, in the treatment of dropsy. 
He believes it to act rather by stimulating absorption than as a diuretic. Dr. McCall em- 
ploys the bark collected late in the fall, and exhibits in the state of decoction or infusion. 
[Penins. and Independ. Med. Journ., June, 1858, p. 169.) W. 
AMYLEN. Valeren. This compound was alluded to under amylic alcohol, page 78. It is 
an iso-equivalent carbohydrogen, having the formula C10II10. Amyl is C10HU, and amylic 
alcohol (fusel oil) is the hydrated oxide of amyl C10Hn or the bihydrate of amylen 
Ci„Hio+2HO. Amylen was discovered by M. Balard, of Paris, in 1844. It is prepared by 
distilling amylic alcohol with a concentrated solution of chloride of zinc. The product is 
redistilled, and that which comes over first, constituting the more volatile part, is separately 
collected, and agitated with concentrated sulphuric acid, when the amylen, freed from water, 
will rise to the surface. Amylen is a colourless, very mobile liquid, having the density 
0-695 at 56°. Its boiling point is 102° (95° Duroy), and the density of its vapour 2-45. Its 
smell is peculiar and disagreeable. It is soluble in alcohol and ether, in all proportions, but 
very sparingly so in water. When pure it does not act on potassium, and is not coloured by 
a prolonged contact with caustic potassa. 
Amylen was proposed as a new anaesthetic by Dr. Snow, in a paper read before the Lon- 
don Medical Society on the 10th of Jan. 1857. The advantages claimed for it, compared 
with other anaesthetics, were that its vapour is less pungent; that it abolishes pain with a 
stupor less deep; and that there is no struggling on the part of the patient, and no sick 
stomach after its administration. Its bad smell was admitted as an objection. These alleged 
advantages have not been found to counterbalance the dangers of its use. Dr. Snow admits 
“the absolute safety which seems to attend sulphuric ether under all circumstances;” an 
admission which makes it less necessary to seek for a new anaesthetic. Already, within the 
brief period during which it has been tried, two deaths have occurred, although the amylen 
was administered by Dr. Snow himself. The French Academy of Medicine, after a delibe- 
rate examination of its alleged advantages, have condemned it as dangerous. From a che- 
mical examination of various specimens of commercial amylen, as well as of the purest 
form of it as prepared by the process of M. Balard, Dr. Schauenstein has found that they 
all contain chlorine; and the uncertainty thus thrown upon the nature of the compound 
adds to the motives, previously existing, for abandoning the use of it as an anaesthetic agent. 
(See B. and F. Med.-Chir. Rev., Am. ed., Jan. 1858, p. 193.) 
Ilydruret of Amyl (hydride of amyl), C10HUH, is another new anaesthetic, proposed by Prof. 
Simpson, of Edinburgh. It was discovered by Dr. E. Franklin, of Manchester, who obtained 
it by a complicated process, which has been rendered more easy of execution by Messrs. 
T. & II. Smith, of Edinburgh, who prepared the substance at the request of Prof. Simpson. 
(See T. & II. Smith’s paper, in thePharm. Journ., June, 1857.) Hydruret of amyl is a colour- 
less, volatile, mobile liquid, possessing a grateful fruity odour, but no taste. It is the 
lightest liquid known, having the sp. gr. 0-638 at 57°. It boils at 86°, and the density of its 
vapour is 2-5. It is very inflammable, and burns with a brilliant white flame. It is readily 
soluble in alcohol and ether, but insoluble in water. “It is a very stable compound, resist- 
ing the action of fuming sulphuric acid and the most powerful oxidizing agents.” We have 
not seen any precise account of its mode of action as an anaesthetic. B. 
Nitrite of amyl has recently been examined experimentally by Dr. B. W. Richardson, in 
reference to its physiological effects, and found when inhaled to act immediately as a pow- 
erful stimulant to the heart, more powerful, indeed, than any other known agent; and a 
little of it applied to the nostrils causes an instantaneous and extraordinary flushing of the 
face. Given to animals by iuhalation, and in considerable quantities, it produced death. 
Dr. Richardson was disposed to think, from the instantaneousness of its effects, that it pro- 
bably acted through the nerves. It has not yet been used as a therapeutic agent, and does 
not appear to be tit for amesthetic inhalation; but its extraordinarily rapid and powerful 
action on the heart suggests important applications of it in threatening cases of syncope, 
and others of great failure in the heart’s actions. W. 
ANACAHUITE WOOD. Under this name, in the year 1860, considerable quantities of 
a peculiar wood were imported from Tampico, in Mexico, into Germany, where for a short 
time it attracted great attention as a supposed remedy in phthisis. The ci’ crmstance PART III. 
Anacardium Occidentale.—Anchusa Officinalis. 
1461 
that the wood was destitute of taste and smell naturally suggested that it could possess 
little remedial power; and frequent trials of it in consumptive atfections have ended in 
failure; so that the wood is likely to be forgotten almost as speedily as brought into tem- 
porary notoriety. In the mean time the question of its botanical origin attracted the at- 
tention of pharmacologists; and the question has been at length determined by the im- 
portation of a living specimen of the tree into Germany, which partially flowered in the 
botanical garden of Gottingen. This, with dried specimens received from Mexico, enabled 
the botanists to decide that the wood was the product of the Cordia Boissieri of Alphonse 
De Candolle.*(See Pharm. Journ., Dec. 1862, p. 272, where the plant is figured.) W. 
ANACARD1UM OCCIDENTALE. Linn. Cassuvium pomiferum. Lam. Cashew-nut. A small 
and elegant tree, growing in the West Indies, and other parts of tropical America. A gum ex- 
udes from the bark, which bears some resemblance to gum arabic, but is only in part soluble 
in water, and consists of true gum and bassorin. It is the gomme d'acajou of the French 
writers. The fruit is a fleshy, pear-shaped receptacle, supporting at its summit a hard, 
shining, ash-coloured, kidney shaped nut, an inch or more in length, and three-quarters of 
an inch broad, consisting of two shells, with a black juice between them, and of a sweet oily 
kernel. The receptacle is red or yellow, and of an agreeable subacid flavour with some 
astringency. It is edible, and affords a juice which has been recommended in uterine com- 
plaints and dropsy. This juice is converted by fermentation into a vinous liquor, which yields 
a spirit by distillation, used in making punch, and said to be powerfully diuretic. The nuts 
are well known under the name of cashew-nuts. The black juice, contained between their 
outer and inner shell, is extremely acrid and corrosive, producing, when applied to the skin, 
severe inflammation, followed by blisters or desquamation. It has been examined chemically 
by Stoedeler, who found in it two peculiar principles, one having acid properties, which he 
calls anacardic acid, and the other a yellow, oleaginous liquid, named cardol. (See Journ. de 
Pharm., 3e ser., xiii. 459.) The juice is used in the West Indies for the cure of corns, warts, 
ringworms, and obstinate ulcers, and is said to be sometimes applied to the face by females, 
in order to remove the cuticle, and produce a fresher and more youthful aspect. In a case 
of external poisoning which came under our notice, in a lady who was exposed to the fumes 
of the nut while roasting, the face was so much swollen that for some time not a feat ure was 
discernible. A similar case, occurring in a boy who had cut open one of the nuts, eaten a 
small portion raw, and by handling it had spread the juice over different parts of the body, 
is recorded by Dr. Monkur in the N. J. Med. Reporter (April, 1855, p. 187). The tongue, face, 
neck, hands, forearms, scrotum, &c. were red and enormously swollen, and very painful. 
The tincture of iodine was found useful as a local application to the parts affected. The 
kernel has a sweet, agreeable taste, and is eaten like chestnuts, either raw or roasted. It is 
also used as an ingredient of puddings, &c., and forms an excellent chocolate when ground 
with cocoa. By age it becomes rancid. The black juice of the nut, and a milky juice which 
flows from the tree by incision, are sometimes used for marking linen, upon which they leave 
a nearly indelible brown or black stain. W. 
ANAGALLIS ARVENSIS. Scarlet Pimpernel. An annual plant, growing in Europe and 
this country, with small, delicate, procumbent stems, furnished with opposite branches, 
opposite ovate leaves, and small scarlet flowers, which are supported upon axillary, soli- 
tary peduncles, and appear in June and July. It has little smell, but a bitterish, somewhat 
acrid taste. The ancients esteemed it a counter-poison, and in modern times it has been 
used as a preventive of.hydrophobia; but at present no faith is placed in its alexipharmic 
powers. It is, nevertheless, not wholly inactive; as Orfila found three drachms of an ex- 
tract prepared from it sufficient to destroy a dog, with marks of inflammation of the 
bowels. It has been recommended as a local application to old and ill-conditioned ulcers, 
and has been given internally in visceral obstructions, consumption, dropsy, epilepsy, 
mania, &c. But too little is known of its precise properties, to authorize its indiscriminate 
employment in these complaints. Mr. J. A. Heintzelman obtained a small quantity of vola- 
tile oil from the dried herb, and found it of a strong peculiar odour, a pungent and some- 
what acrid taste, and the sp.gr. 0-987. Four drops of it produced intense headache and 
nausea, which continued for 24 hours, with pains throughout the body. Another species, 
considered by Linnoeus as a variety of A. arvensis, is A. ccerulea, distinguished by its blue 
flowers. The medical properties of the two, so far as is known, are the same. W. 
ANCIIUSA OFFICINALIS. Bugloss. This species of Anchusa is a native of Europe, and 
unknown in the United States. It is a biennial plant, from one to three feet high, and was 
formerly much esteemed as a medicine. The root, leaves, and flowers were officinal. These 
are inodorous and nearly tasteless. The root is mucilaginous and slightly sweetish, and the 
flowers very feebly bitter. The plant has no claim whatever to the credit, formerly attached 
to it, of possessing cordial and exhilarating properties. It was used by the ancients in hy- 
pochondriacal affections; but, as it was given in wine, the elevation of spirits was probably 
due to the vehicle. In France, the Anchusa Italica, which is there known as buglossc, is 
employed for the same purposes and in the same manner as Borago officinalis. (See Bo- 
rago officinalis in Part III.) W. 1462 
Andromeda Arborea.—Anilin. 
PART III 
ANDROMEDA ARBOREA. Sorrel-tree. A beautiful indigenous tree, growing in the val- 
leys of the Alleghanies, from Pennsylvania to Florida. The leaves have a pleasant acid 
taste, which has given rise to the common name of the tree. They are used by hunters to 
allay thiist, and form in decoction a grateful refrigerant drink in fevers. The other species 
of Andromeda are shrubs, and some of them ornamental. Dr. Barton, in his “Collections,” 
states that a decoction of A. Mariana is employed in the Southern States, as a wash in a 
disagreeable ulceration of the feet to which the negroes are liable. The powder upon the 
leaves and buds of A. speciosa is said to be a powerful errhine. W. 
ANEMONE PllATENSIS. Meadow Anemone. This plant enjoyed at one time considerable 
credit from the recommendation of Stdrck, who believed that, he had found it useful in 
amaurosis and other complaints of the eye, in secondary syphilis, and in cutaneous erup- 
tions. Dr. J. de Ramm found it also very useful in hooping-cough. A. Pulsatilla (pulsatdla), 
an analogous species, has been employed for similar purposes: and favourable reports have 
been made of its efficacy in obstinate diseases of the skin, and in hooping-cough. The pre- 
paration employed was an extract of the herbaceous part of the plant, which was given by 
Stdrck in the dose of one or two grains daily, gradually increased to twenty grains or more. 
In large doses it was found frequently to produce nausea and vomiting, or griping and loose- 
ness of the bowels, and sometimes acted as a diuretic. It is, we believe, a favourite remedy 
Avith the homoeopathists. The species of Anemone above mentioned are European plants, 
and are not cultivated in this country. We have several native species. One of them, A. 
nemorosa, Avliich is common to Europe and the United States, is said to act as a poison to 
cattle, producing bloody urine and convulsions. It is stated also to have proved, when ap- 
plied to the head, a speedy cure for tinea capitis. Most of the species are, in the recent 
state, acrid and rubefacient, resembling in this respect other Ranunculacese. They contain 
a peculiar crystallizable principle, named anemonin. convertible into anemonic acid by the 
action of alkalies. [Ann. der Pharm., xxxii. 270.) It is deposited by Avater distilled from the 
fresh herb upon standing, and resembles camphor. According to J. Muller, it is formed by 
a metamorphosis of the acrid matters Avhich are distilled with the water. [Pharm. Cent. 
Platt, Sept. 11, 1850, p. 018.) The A. Ludoviciana, an American species, growing in Minne- 
sota and other parts beyond the Mississippi, has been employed with supposed advantage 
by Dr. W. II. Miller, of St. Paul, in chronic diseases of the eyes, in cutaneous eruptions, and 
syphilitic affections. Mr. A. W. Miller, having submitted the plant to chemical examination, 
succeeded in obtaining anemonin from it. [Am. Journ. of Pharm., July, 1802, p. 300.) W. 
ANILIN. Aniline. Anilia. This is an organic alkaloid obtained from coal tar. It was 
first discovered by Unverdorben, in 1820, among the products of the dry distillation of in- 
digo, and was named by him crystalline. Fritzshe, who obtained it afterwards from indigo 
by another process, seems to have been the first to give it the name of auilin. In 1837 
Iiunge obtained three volatile principles from coal tar, which he named kinol, leucol, su\&pyr- 
rhol. Of these, kinol was afterwards found by Hoffmann to be identical with anilin, and 
leucol has been ascertained to be the same as quinolin (cincholin). (Seejwye 290 ) Nitro- 
benzole has also been made to yield anilin by various processes; and this and coal tar are its 
chief practical sources. When coal tar is distilled, a set of the more volatile principles first 
come over, and, Avhen condensed in the liquid form, constitute the light oil of tar. This 
includes benzole. Afterwards, another set come OArer, heavier, and with a higher boiling 
point, and these are all embraced under the name of the heavy oil of tar. Among these are 
anilin, quinolin, creasote, phenol, &c. After these follow other substances having when con- 
densed a buttery consistence, among Avliich are paraffin, &c. The heavy oil comes over be- 
tween the temperatures of 300° and 450° F. At a higher heat than about 480° F. anilin is 
no longer found among the results of distillation. Hoffmann procures anilin in the follow- 
ing manner. The heavy oil already referred to is agitated Avith muriatic acid, and set aside 
for 12 or 14 hours. The liquid separates into an oily and an acid layer. The latter is se- 
parated and agitated Avith another portion of oil, though not to full saturation. The acid 
liquid containing the alkaloids in the form of muriates, having been filtered to separate all 
the oil, is mixed with an excess of lime and distilled. A milky liquid comes over containing 
the alkaloids, and anilin among them. These are again saturated with diluted muriatic acid, 
and the solution, after being concentrated by a Avater-bat.h, is treated with a slight excess of 
soda or potassa. The bases then set free float on the surface of the liquid, and, having been 
removed by a pipette, are rectified by distillation. The distillate Avhich first comes over, at 
a heat short of 400° to 420° F., is anilin sufficiently pure for commercial purposes. Beyond 
the latter heat it is principally quinolin that comes over. To get anilin chemically pure, 
oxalic acid in alcoholic solution is added to the impure alkaloid. Oxalate of anilin is thrown 
doAvn as a mass of white crystals. This is Avashed with alcohol, pressed, arid then dis- 
solved in water with a little alcohol, from which the oxalate crystallizes on concentration. 
The oxalate is decomposed by a caustic alkali, and the anilin, thus set tree, is distilled once 
more. Water first comes over, then water Avith some anilin, and lastly pure anilin. (See 
Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. and March, 1861, p'p. 39 and 129, for the abstract of a paper by PART III. 
Anilin.—AnimS. 
1463 
M. E. Kopp, abridged from tlie Moniteur Scientifique, t. ii. liv. 86.) For tne mode of preparing 
anilin from nitrobenzole, the reader is referred to a paper by Prof. Procter in the Am. 
Journ. of Pharm., July, 1862, p. 296. 
Properties. Pure anilin is a thin colourless fluid, of an oily appearance; but as found in 
the shops it is generally more or less coloured, and sometimes of a deep reddish-brown. It 
has a peculiar not disagreeable odour, and a pungent, aromatic, burning taste, and the sp. 
gr. 1-020 [Hoffmann), 1-028 [Fritzshe). It is not solidified at —4° F., boils at 360°, and its 
vapours are condensed unchanged. It is slightly soluble in water. Though possessed ot 
strong basic powers, it does not restore the colour of reddened litmus, nor does it redden 
turmeric. It changes, however, the violet colour of dahlias to green. With the acids it forms 
soluble and readily crystallizable salts. It is inflammable, and absorbs oxygen from the air, 
becoming at first yellowish, afterwards reddish, and ultimately brown. A characteristic 
property is that it produces instantly a deep-blue or purple colour when brought into con- 
tact with chlorinated lime or other hypochlorite. Dr. Letheby has described a very deli- 
cate test for this alkaloid If a drop of a very weak solution of the sulphate be placed on a 
piece of clean platinum foil, and touched with the negative pole of a galvanic battery, the 
solution acquires a bluish, then a violet, and ultimately a pink colour. [Pharm. Journ., Sept. 
1862, p. 128.) It consists of carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen; its formula being Cj.,H7N. 
The chief value of anilin at present is for the colouring matters derived from it. Beautiful 
reds, purples, yellows, and blues, and various other tints are obtained from it, some of them 
truly magnificent. (See Am. Journ. of Sci. and Arts, May, 1863, p. 417.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Anilin is said by Wohler and Frerichs to have no poisonous 
action on dogs. Some exp>eriments have been made which show that it has a deleterious in- 
fluence on leeches and frogs, and young rabbits were killed by it; but these prove nothing 
as to its effects on man. A case is on record in which a workman having been exposed 
strongly to the vapours of anilin, in consequence of a vessel containing it having broken 
and spilled the contents over his person, was seized with symptoms of great prostration, 
from which, however, he recovered under stimulating treatment. [Med. Times and Gaz., 
June 7, 1862.) Dr. Turnbull, of Liverpool, has employed the sulphate remedially, and speaks 
favourably of its effects in chorea. A remarkable effect which he found it to produce was a 
transient blueness of the skin and lips, which he ascribed to the oxidation of anilin in the 
blood. [Pharm. Journ., Nov. 1861, p. 284.) In some instances headache and symptoms of 
general depression were experienced, which, however, disappeared without leaving any un- 
pleasant effect. The sulphate is made by simply saturating the alkaloid with the acid. Prof. 
Procter gives the following formula. Take 500 grains of pure anilin, 250 grains of sulphuric 
acid, and 4 fluidounces of distilled water. Mix the acid and water, add the anilin, and agi- 
tate till a thick mass is formed, and the odour of anilin is lost. Wash this with strong alco- 
hol till the acid and colouring matter are removed, press the salt in bibulous paper, and dry 
it in the dark. [Am. J. of Pharm., July, 1862, p. 298.) The salt is liable to be decomposed, 
and to change colour when exposed to air and light. AVater at 60° dissolves about 6 per cent. 
It is only sparingly soluble in cold, but freely in hot absolute alcohol. It is more soluble in 
diluted alcohol, and insoluble in ether. The limits of the dose have not been satisfactorily 
determined. It has been given in the dose of three-fourths of a grain gradually increased 
to four or even seven grains, without any derangement of the functions, except the change 
of colour above referred to ; but how far the latter dose may be exceeded with impunity has 
not been ascertained. [Ann. de Therap., 1864, p. 101.) From trials which have been made 
of the remedy by Drs. Fraser and Davis, it has been inferred that the sulphate is much 
less powerful than the free alkaloid; and it is even stated that, while anilin itself is a 
powerful poison, the sulphate has little effect on the system. [Pharm. Journ., Sept. 1863, 
p. 133.) AV. 
AN1ME. Gum Anime. The substance known at present by the name of anime is a resin 
supposed to be derived from the Ilymensea Courbaril, a tree of South America; though this 
origin is defied by Hayne. According to Dr. AV. Hamilton, the resin exudes from wounds 
in the bark, and is found also underneath the surface of the ground, between the princi- 
pal roots. [Pharm. Journ., vi. 522.) It is in small, irregular pieces, of a pale lemon-yellow 
colour, sometimes inclining to reddish, more or less transparent, covered with a whitish 
powder, brittle, and pulverizable, with a shining fracture, a weak but agreeable odour, 
and a mild, resinous taste. It softens in the mouth, adheres to the fingers when in pow- 
der, and readily melts with heat, diffusing its agreeable odour in an increased degree. 
\t consists of two resins, one soluble, the other insoluble in cold alcohol, and of a small 
Proportion of volatile oil. There is a variety of a darker colour, less transparent, and with 
small cavities in the interior; in other respects resembling the preceding. Another variety 
is the East Indian, supposed to be derived from Vateria Indica; but this never reaches us 
as a distinct article of commerce. Animd formerly entered into the composition of various 
ointments and plasters; but is now used only as incense, or in the preparation of varnishes 
The Brazilians are said to employ it internally in diseases of the lungs. AV. 1464 
Annotta.—Antimoniated Hydrogen. 
TART III. 
ANNOTTA. Orleana. The colouring substance called annotta, arnotta, or roucou, is the 
reddish pulp surrounding the seeds in the fruit of Bixa Orellana, a middling-sized tree 
growing in Guiana,1 and other parts of South America. For a paper on the cultivation of 
i.his tree and the mode of preparing the annotta, by Mr. Th. Peckolt, see Am. Journ. of 
Pharm. (July, 1859, p. 360). The pulp is separated by bruising the fruit, mixing it with 
water, then straining through a sieve, and allowing the liquid to stand till the undissolved 
portion subsides. The water is then poured off, and the mass which remains, having been 
sufficiently dried, is formed into flat cakes or cylindrical rolls, and sent into the market. 
Another mode is to bruise the seeds, mix them with water, and allow the mixture to fer- 
ment. The colouring matter is deposited during the fermentation, after which it is removed 
and dried. In commerce there are two kinds of annotta, the Spanish or Brazilian, and 
French; the former coming in baskets from Brazil, the latter in casks from French Guiana. 
The French, which is also called./fay annotta, has a disagreeable smell, probably from having 
been prepared by the fermenting process; but is superior, as a dye-stuff, to the Spanish, 
which is without any disagreeable odour. Annotta is of a brownish-red colour, usually 
rather soft, but hard and brittle when dry, of a dull fracture, of a sweetish peculiar odour, 
and a rough, saline, bitterish taste. It is inflammable, but does not melt with heat. It 
softens in water, to which it imparts a yellow colour, but does not dissolve. Alcohol, ether, 
the oils, and alkaline solutions dissolve the greater part of it. It contains a peculiar crys- 
tallizable colouring principle, to which M. Preisser, its discoverer, gave the name of bixin. 
(See Journ. de Pharm., 3c ser., v. 258.) The chief uses to which annotta is applied are for 
dyeing silk and cotton orange-yellow, and for colouring cheese. The colour, however, 
which it imparts to cloth, is fugitive. It has been given internally as a medicine; but is 
not now used, and probably exercises little influence upon the system. In pharmacy it is 
used to colour plasters, and has occasionally been substituted for saffron. It is said to be 
sometimes largely adulterated; and red ochre, powdered bricks, colcothar, farinaceous 
substances, chalk, sulphate of lime, turmeric, etc. have been employed for the purpose. 
The mineral substances, if present, will be left behind when the annotta is burned. (See, 
in reference to its adulteration, Pharm. Journ., xv. 199, 299, and 323.) W. 
ANTENNARIA MARGAR.ITACEA. This is one of our indigenous plants which are 
known commonly by the name of life everlasting. It is an herbaceous plant, a foot or two 
in height, and grows everywhere in the U. States northward of N. Carolina. For a de- 
scription of the plant, see Gray’s Manual of Botany (p. 229). The flowers are of a pearly 
whiteness, and slightly fragrant. The leaves are the part used, having the credit, with the 
“eclectics,” of being somewhat astringent and expectorant. W. 
ANTIIRAKOKALI. This preparation, introduced by Dr. Polya, is of two kinds, the sim- 
ple and the sulphuretted. The simple anthrakokali is formed by adding 160 parts of por- 
phyrized mineral coal to 192 parts of a concentrated and boiling solution of caustic po- 
tassa, contained in an iron vessel, the whole being well stirred together. When the mixture 
is completed, the vessel is taken from the fire, and the stirring continued until the whole 
is converted into a homogeneous black powder. The sulphuretted anthrakokali is prepared 
in a similar manner, 16 parts of sulphur being mixed with the mineral coal before it is 
added to the caustic potassa solution. Dr. Polya recommends these preparations, both in- 
ternally and externally, in scrofula, chronic rheumatism, rheumatic tumours of the joints, 
and certain herpetic affections. The dose is a grain and a half three or four times a day, 
mixed with two or three times its weight of powdered liquorice root. For external use, 
sixteen grains may be rubbed with an ounce of lard, to form an ointment, to be used by 
friction night and morning. B. 
ANTIIRISCUS CEREFOLIUM. De Cand. Chserophyllum sativum. Lam. Scandix Certfo- 
lium. Linn. Chervil. An annual European plant, cultivated in gardens as a potherb, and 
supposed by some physicians to possess remedial powers. It has a strong agreeable odour, 
especially when rubbed, and a pungent, slightly bitterish taste. These properties it owes 
to a volatile oil, which may be separated by distillation with water. It is said to be deob- 
struent, diuretic, and emmenagogue, and has been recommended by different authors in 
consumption, scrofula, dropsy, cutaneous and scorbutic affections, and as an external ap- 
plication to swollen breasts, bruises, and other local complaints or injuries. It is, however, 
very feeble, and is more used as an addition to broths than as a medicine. W. 
ANTIMONIATED HYDROGEN. This is a gaseous substance, and, being taken by in- 
halation, is prepared at the moment of administration. A drachm of pure antimrny and 
twice the quantity of pure zinc formed into an alloy, and a drachm of tartar emetic or 
chloride of antimony, are mixed, and introduced into a bottle with a large tubulure; and 
from time to time, as the gas is wanted for inhalation, from half a drachm to a drachm of 
muriatic acid is added, of which the whole quantity must not exceed about eight drachms 
Muriatic acid gas is evolved at the same time with the antimoniated hydrogen; and to pre- 
vent the inhalation of the former, a sponge wet with an alkaline solution ;s made to close 
the respiratory orifices. This arrests the acid gas, but allows the other to pass into the part hi. 
Antirrhinum Linaria.—Argemone Mexicana. 
1465 
lungs. The patient is to breathe the atmosphere impregnated in this manner for five mi 
nutes every hour. Besides, the bottle may be left unstopped in the mean time, so that the 
air of the chamber may become more or less affected. It is asserted that few therapeutical 
agents are more powerful than this in pneumonia and capillary bronchitis with fever. The 
gas is inodorous and unirritating, and the respiration is in no degree oppressed. The pulse 
diminishes in frequency and force, without nausea or vomiting; the expectoration is facili- 
tated and increased; and a cure is effected more quickly than by any other known method 
of treatment. Such are the statements made by M. J. Hannon, an abstract of which may 
be seen in Bouchardat’s Annuaire (1860, p. 143). W. 
ANTIRRHINUM LINARIA. Linn. Linaria Vulgaris. (Lindley.) Common Toadflax. This 
is a perennial herbaceous plant, from one to two feet high, with numerous narrow linear 
leaves, and a terminal crowded spike of large yellow flowers. It is a native of Europe, 
but has been introduced into this country, and now grows in great abundance along 
the road-sides, through the Middle States. It is readily distinguishable by the shape ot 
its leaf, and its conspicuous yellow flowers, tvhich appear in succession from June to Oc- 
tober. The herb is the part used. It should be collected when in flower, dried quickly, 
and kept excluded from the air. When fresh it has a peculiar, heavy, rather disagreeable 
odour, which is in a great measure dissipated by drying. The taste is herbaceous, weakly 
saline, bitter, and slightly acrid. This plant is said to be diuretic and cathartic, and has 
been used in dropsy, jaundice, and cutaneous eruptions. It is most conveniently employed 
in infusion. The fresh plant is sometimes applied, in the shape of poultice or fomentation, 
to hemorrhoidal tumours; and an ointment made from the flowers has been employed for 
the same purpose, and also locally in diseases of the skin. The flowers are used in Ger- 
many for dyeing yellow. W. 
AQUA BINELLI. An Italian nostrum, named after a physician of Turin, which at one 
time enjoyed great reputation in Europe as a styptic; but has been proved to possess 
very little efficacy. It is a transparent liquid, with little taste and an empyreumatic odour, 
and, after the discovery of creasote, ivas conjectured to contain a small proportion of that 
principle. It is now out of use. A recipe for its preparation is given in the Annuaire de 
Therapeutique, 1843, p. 227. W. 
AQUILEGIA VULGARIS. Columbine. A perennial herbaceous plant, indigenous in 
Europe, but cultivated in our gardens as an ornafliental flower. All parts of it have been 
medicinally employed. The root, leaves, and flowers have a disagreeable odour, and a 
bitterish, acrid taste. The seeds are small, black, shining, inodorous, and of an oleaginous 
sweetish taste, followed by a sense of acrimony. Columbine has been considered diuretic, 
diaphoretic, and antiscorbutic, and has been employed in jaundice, in small-pox to pro- 
mote the eruption, in scurvy, and externally as a vulnerary. It is not used at present, and 
is even suspected to possess dangerous properties, like most other Ranunculaceae. W. 
ARECA NUT. Betel Nut. This is the product of Areca Catechu, an East India tree be- 
longing to the family of palms. The fruit, which is about the size and shape of a small 
egg, and of an orange-yellow colour, contains the nut embedded in a fibrous, fleshy en- 
velope, and invested with a brittle shell which adheres to the exterior flesh. The kernel, 
which is the betel-nut of commerce, is of a roundish conical shape, rather larger than a 
chestnut, externally of a deep-brown, diversified with a fawn colour, so as to present a 
reticular appearance, internally brownish-red with whitish veins, very hard, of a feeble 
odour when broken, and of an astringent, somewhat acrid taste. It abounds in tannin, and 
contains also gallic acid, a fixed oil, gum, a little volatile oil, lignin, and various saline 
substances. It yields its astringency to water; and, in some parts of Hindostan, an ex- 
tract is prepared from it having the appearance and properties of catechu. Immense 
quantities of the nut are consumed in the East, mixed with the leaves of the Piper Betel, 
and with lime, forming the masticatory so well known by the name of Betel. The red 
colour which this mixture imparts to the saliva and the excrements is owing to the areca 
nut, which is also powerfully astringent, and, by its internal use, tends to counteract the 
relaxation of bowels to which the heat of the climate so strongly predisposes. The nut is 
used, in this country, almost exclusively in the preparation of tooth-powder, for which 
purpose it is first reduced by heat to the state of charcoal. The superiority of this form of 
charcoal over that from other sources is probably owing to its hardness. The nut has been 
used successfully in Great Britain, by Hr. Edwin Morris, in the treatment of the tape- 
worm, in doses of from four to six drachms. (See Am. Jnurn. of Med. Sci., April, 1862, p. 
496.) ‘ W. 
ARGEMONE MEXICANA. Prickly Poppy. An annual plant, belonging to the Papave- 
tacese, growing in our Southern and Western States, Mexico, the West Indies, Brazil, and 
In many parts also of Africa and Southern Asia. It has an erect, somewhat glaucous, 
bristly stem, with alternate sessile leaves, sinuated and prickly at the angles, and usually 
marked with white spots. The flowers are solitary, yellow or white, with two or three 
priakly deciduous sepals, four or six large petals, about twenty stamens, and four to six 1466 
Arseniate of Ammonia.—Asclepias Curassavica. 
PART IIL 
reflected si gmas. The whole plant abounds in a milky, viscid juice, which becomes yel- 
low on exposure to the air. From the statements of different authors, it may be inferred 
that the plant is emetic and purgative, and possesses also narcotic properties. The juice, 
which is acrid, has been used internally in obstinate cutaneous eruptions, and as a local 
application to warts and chancres, and in diseases of the eyes. The flowers are stated by 
De Candolle to have been employed as a soporific. But the seeds are most esteemed. They 
are small, round, black, and roughish. In the dose of two drachms, infused in a pint of 
water, they are said to act as an emetic. In smaller doses they are purgative. An oil may 
be obtained from them by expression, which has the cathartic property of the seeds, and, 
according to M. Lepine, might be advantageously used in the arts. [Journ. de Pharm., Juil- 
let, 1861, p. 16.) According to Dr. W. Hamilton, the seeds unite an anodyne and soporific 
with the cathartic property; and, in the hands of Dr. Affleck, of Jamaica, have proved use- 
ful in flatulent colic, given in emulsion, in the dose of about eight grains, repeated every 
half hour till three (loses were taken. The pain was relieved, and the bowels opened. 
(Pharm. Journ., xiii. 642.) W. 
AllSENIATE OF AMMONIA. Ammonise Arsenias. This salt is obtained in crystals by 
saturating a concentrated solution of arsenic acid with ammonia or carbonate of ammonia, 
and allowing it to evaporate spontaneously. It has been used with advantage by Biett in 
several inveterate diseases of the skin. It is administered in solution, formed by dissolving 
a grain of the salt in a fluidounce of distilled water. Of this the dose is from twenty to 
twenty-five drops, given in the course of the day, and gradually increased. B. 
ARSENIC ACID. Acidurn Arsenicum. This acid is described at page 141. It has similar 
therapeutic effects to those of arsenious acid, but is more poisonous. The dose is the 
twentieth of a grain, given in aqueous solution. B. 
ASARABACCA. This is the product of Asarum Europseum, an herbaceous perennial 
plant, growing in Europe, between 37° and 60° north latitude, in woods and shady places, 
and flowering in May. All parts of the plant are acrid. The leaves were specially directed 
by the London College, when the plant was recognised as officinal; but the whole plant, 
including the root, stem, leaves, and flowers, is usually kept in the shops. The root is 
about as thick as a goose-quill, of a grayish colour, quadrangular, knotted and twisted, 
and sometimes furnished with radicles at each joint. It has a smell analogous to that of 
pepper, an acrid taste, and affords a gfayish powder. The leaves, which have long foot- 
stalks, are kidney-shaped, entire, somewhat hairy, of a shining deep-green colour when 
fresh, nearly inodorous, with a taste slightly aromatic, bitter, acrid, and nauseous. Their 
powder is yellowish-green. Both parts rapidly lose their activity by keeping, and ulti- 
mately become inert. Geiger, however, asserts that they keep well if perfectly dry. Their 
virtues are imparted to alcohol and water, but are dissipated by decoction. According to 
MM. Feneulle and Lassaigne, the root contains a concrete volatile oil, a very acrid fixed 
oil, a yellow substance analogous to cytisin, starch, albumen, mucilage, citric acid, and 
saline matters. The latest analysis is by Griiger, who found in the root a liquid volatile 
oil, two concrete volatile substances called respectively asarum camphor or asarone, and 
asarite, a peculiar bitter principle called asarin, tannin, extractive, resin, starch, gluten, 
albumen, lignin, citric acid, and various salts: in the leaves, asarin, tannin, extractive, 
chlorophyll, albumen, citric acid, and lignin. The active principles appear to be the vola- 
tile oil, which is lighter than water, glutinous, yellow, of an acrid and burning taste, and 
a smell like that of valerian, and the asarin, which is soluble in alcohol and very bitter, 
and is probably the same as the cytisin of Feneulle and Lassaigne. (See Cytisus Laburnum, 
in Part III.) The root and leaves of asarabacca, either fresh or carefully dried, are pow- 
erfully emetic and cathartic, and were formerly much used in Europe with a view to these 
effects. The dose is from thirty grains to a drachm. But as an emetic they have been en- 
tirely superseded by ipecacuanha; and they are now used chiefly, if not exclusively, as an 
errhine. One or two grains of the powdered root, snuffed up the nostrils, produce much 
irritation, and a copious flow of mucus, which is said to continue sometimes for several 
days. The leaves are milder, and generally preferred. They should be used in the quan- 
tity of three or four grains, repeated every night until the desired effect is experienced. 
They have been strongly recommended in headache, chronic ophthalmia, and rheumatic 
and paralytic affections of the face, mouth, and throat; and are in great repute in Russia, 
as a remedy for the deranged state of health consequent on habits of intoxication. W. 
ASCLEPIAS CUR ASS AV1CA. Bastard Ipecacuanha. Redhead. Blood Weed. This is a very 
pretty species of Asclepias, from one to three feet high, and bearing umbels of bright-red 
flowers. It is a native of the West Indies, abounding especially in Nevis and St. Kitts, where 
it is considerably used as a medicine. Both the root and expressed juice are emetic, the 
former in the dose of one or two scruples, the latter in that of a fluidounce or more. They 
are also cathartic in somewhat smaller doses; and the expressed juice, made into a syrup 
with sugar, has been strongly recommended as a remedy in worms. The medicine, howeser, 
is somewhat uncertain in its'operation. According to Dr. W. Hamilton, the plant m vv a ,so PART III. 
Asclepias Incarnata.—Asparagus Officinalis. 
1467 
be usefully employed in arresting hemorrhages, and in obstinate gonorrhoea, in which it has 
been found very efficient by Dr. Barham. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xix. 19.) W 
ASCLEPIAS INCARNATA. Flesh-coloured Asclepias. [Gray's Manual, p.353.) This spe- 
cies of Asclepias held formerly a place in the secondary catalogue of the U. S. Pharmaco 
pceia, from which, however, it was dismissed at the recent revision of that work. It. has an 
erect downy stem, branched above, two or three feet high, and furnished with opposite, 
nearly sessile, lanceolate, somewhat downy leaves. The flowers are red, sweet-scented, and 
disposed in numerous crowded erect umbels, which are generally in pairs. The nectary is 
entire,'with its horn exserted. In one variety the flowers are white. The plant grows in all 
parts of the United States, preferring a wet soil, and flowering from June to August. Upon 
being wounded it emits a milky juice. The root was the officinal portion. Its properties are 
probably similar to those of A. Syriaca; but they have not, so far as we know, been fully 
tested. Dr. Griffith states that it has been employed by several physicians, who speak of it 
as a useful emetic and cathartic. [Journ. of the Phil. Col. of Pharm., iv. 283.) Dr. Tully, of 
New Haven, has found it useful in catarrh, asthma, rheumatism, syphilis, and worms. W. 
ASCLEPIAS SYRIACA. A. Syriaca. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1265. A. Comuli (Decaisne, Gray's 
Manual, p. 351). Common Silk-weed. Common Milk-weed. This, like the preceding species, was 
discharged from the secondary catalogue of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, but, we think, on in- 
sufficient grounds, considering the extent to which it has been used by regular practitioners, 
to say nothing of its reputation with others. The silk-weed has simple stems, from three 
to five feet high, with opposite, lanceolate-oblong, petiolate leaves, downy on their under 
surface. The flowers are large, of a pale-purple colour, sweet-scented, and arranged in two 
or three nodding umbels. The nectary is bidentate. The pod or follicle is covered with sharp 
prickles, and contains a large quantity of silky seed-down, which has been used as a substi- 
tute for fur in the manufacture of hats, and for feathers in beds and pillows. 
This species of Asclepias is very common in the United States, growing in sandy fields, 
vn the road-sides, and on the banks of streams, from New England to Virginia. It flowers 
in July and August. Like the preceding species, it gives out a white juice when wounded, 
and has hence received the name of milk-weed, by which it is frequently called. This juice 
has a faint smell, a sub-acrid taste, and an acid reaction. According to Shultz, 80 parts of 
it contain 69 of water, 3-5 of a wax-like fatty matter, 5 of caoutchouc, 0-5 of gum, 1 of sugar 
with salts of acetic acid, and 1 of other salts. [Pharm. Central Blatt, 1844, p. 302.) Dr. C. 
List has found the chief solid ingredient of the juice to be a peculiar crystalline substance, 
of a resinous character, closely allied to lactucone, and which he proposes to call asclepione. 
To obtain it, the juice is coagulated by heat, filtered so as to separate the liquid portion, 
and then digested with ether, which dissolves the asclepione, and yields it by evaporation. 
To purify it, the residue must be treated repeatedly with anhydrous ether, which leaves an- 
other substance undissolved. It is white, crystalline, tasteless, inodorous, fusible, insoluble 
in water and alcohol, soluble in ether, oil of turpentine, and concentrated acetic acid. A 
strong hot solution of potassa does not affect it. Its constituents are carbon, hydrogen, and 
oxygen, and its formula C40H34OG. (List, Liebig's Annalen, Jan. 1849.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Dr. Richardson, of Massachusetts, found the root possessed 
of anodyne properties. He gave it with advantage to an asthmatic patient, and in a case of 
typhus fever attended with catarrh. In both instances it appeared to promote expectoration, 
and to relieve pain, cough, and dyspnoea. He gave a drachm of the powdered bark of the 
root, in divided doses, during the day, and employed it also in strong infusion. In a letter 
to one of the authors, dated Jan. 22d, 1850, Dr. A. E. Thomas, of Rocky Spring, Mississippi, 
stated that he had employed the root in scrofula with great success, and in dyspepsia with 
advantage. He found it cathartic and alterative, but observed no anodyne property. He 
was induced to try it by having noticed that it was much used by the planters in scrofula 
and other diseases, and by the recommendation of Dr. McLean, of Kentucky, who had em- 
ployed it in scrofula for twenty years, with the most satisfactory results. In a letter subse- 
quently received from Dr. McLean himself, this account of the virtues of the asclepias root 
has been confirmed. Dr. McLean has also found it an excellent alterative in hepatic affec- 
tions; but he seems to be of the opinion that the root he employed was from a different spe- 
cies of Asclepias, and one not described in this Dispensatory. Mention may here be made 
of another indigenous species of Asclepias, A.verticillata [Gray's Manual, p. 354), which has 
reputation in some parts of the Southern States as a remedy in snake-bites and the bites of 
venomous insects. It is given in the form of a saturated decoction of the fresh plant (root, 
stem, and leaves), of which three gills are said to have been taken at a draught, with the 
effect of producing an anodyne and sudorific effect, followed by a gentle sleep. (See Va. 
Med. Journ., Dec. 1858, p. 458.) W. 
ASPARAGUS OFFICINALIS. Asparagus. This well-known garden vegetable is a native 
of Europe. It is perennial and herbaceous. The root, which is inodorous, and of a weak, 
sweetish taste, was formerly used as a diuretic, aperient, and purifier of the blood; and it 
is stated to be still employed to a considerable extent in France. It is given in the form of Asplenium Filix Foemina.—Balm of Grilead. 
PART III. 
decoction, made in the proportion of one or two ounces of the root to a quart of water. 
Hayne asserts that, in the dried state, it is wholly inert. The young shoots are much used 
as food. Before being boiled they have a disagreeable taste; and their juice was found by 
Ilobiquet and Vauquelin to contain a peculiar crystallizable principle, called asparagin. (See 
page 90.) This has been thought not to exert any special influence on the system; but Dr. 
Allen Dedrick, of New Orleans, has found it to be sedative to the circulation; eight grains 
of it having reduced his own pulse from 72 to 56 in the minute, while, at the same time, 
brief frontal headache, a sense of fulness of the eyes, and a feeling of muscular weakness 
were experienced. The effect on the pulse was perceived at the end of five minutes, was at 
its height in an hour, and continued so for half an hour, when it gradually subsided. The 
pulse was also rendered intermittent. (N.. 0. Med. and Surg. Journ., xi. 198.) Asparagin is 
Baid to be obtained with facility by the process of dialysis. If the thick viscid mucilage of 
the marshmallow (Althaea ojfidnalis) be put into a dialyser, with distilled water outside, the 
asparagin passes into the water, and may be obtained in crystals by evaporating the solu- 
tion. (See Pharm. Journ., May, 1862, p. 572.) It might probably be obtained in the same 
way from an infusion of asparagus. 
The sprouts themselves are not without effect; as the urine acquires a disagreeable odour 
very soon after they have been eaten. They have been accused of producing irritation, with 
a morbid flow of mucus, of the urinary passages. (Ann. de Therap., 1861, p. 107.) They 
are considered by some writers as diuretic, aperient, and deobstruent, and as constituting a 
very wholesome and useful article of diet, early in the spring, when vegetables are scarce. 
Broussais thought that they were sedative to the heart, and recommended them especially 
in hypertrophy, and other diseases of that organ attended with excessive action, and with- 
out phlogosis of the stomach. M. Gendrin, however, after much experience with asparagus, 
affirms that he never knew it to exercise the slightest influence over the heart, and ascribes 
its palliative effects, in diseases of that organ, to a diuretic action. lie found it, in all the 
cases in which he administered it, to increase the quantity of urine, which, in some in- 
stances, was quintupled. The most convenient forms for exhibition are those of syrup and 
extract, prepared from the shoots. The former may be given in the dose of one or two fluid- 
ounces, the latter, of half a drachm or a drachm. The syrup may be made by adding a suf- 
ficient quantity of sugar to the expressed juice of the shoots, previously deprived of its albu- 
men by exposure to heat and by filtration; the extract, by evaporating the same juice to the 
consistence of a pilular mass. Dr. S. J. Jefferson, of England, has employed a tincture of 
asparagus for 16 years with great benefit, as an adjuvant of other diuretics. lie prepares 
the tincture either by macerating 5 ounces of the dried tops in 2 pints of proof spirit; or 
by taking 5 pounds of the fresh tops, expressing the juice, evaporating it to a pint, strain- 
ing, and adding a pint of rectified spirit. He gives from half a drachm to two drachms with 
each dose of the diuretic employed. (Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., N. S., xxx. 490, from ihe Assoc. 
Med. Journ.) The berries are capable of undergoing the vinous fermentation, and affording 
alcohol by distillation. In their unripe state they possess the same properties as the shoots, 
and probably in a much higher degree. We have employed a syrup prepared from them, 
with apparent advantage, in a case of diseased heart. The seeds have been tried as a sub- 
stitute for coffee, which, when treated in the same way, they are said to resemble in flavour. 
(See Boston Med. and Surg. Journ., July 19, 1854.) W. 
ASPLENIUM FILIX FCEMINA. R. Brown. Female Fern. This is the Polypodium Fdix 
foemina of Linn., the Aspidium Filiz foemina of Swartz, and the Athyrium Fdix feemina of 
Roth. It has a root analogous in character to that of the male fern (Aspidium Fdix mas), 
and has been supposed to possess similar vermifuge properties. At present, however, it is 
not used. The vulgar name of female fern is also given to the Pteris aquilina, or common brake, 
which is said by some authors to have the property of destroying the tape-worm. The leaves 
of two species of Aspleniuin, A. Trichomanes, or common spleenwort, and A. Adiantum-nigrum, 
or black spleenwort, are mucilaginous, and have been used as substitutes for the maidenhairs 
(Adiantum Capillus Veneris and A. Pedatum) as pectorals, though destitute of the aromatic 
flavour which is the chief recommendation of these plants. W. 
ASTER FUNICEUS. (Gray's Manual, p. 195.) This species of Aster is a very common 
indigenous plant, growing from three to six feet high, in low’ swampy places. The rootlets 
are said to be aromatic, bitterish, and astringent, and have been employed in domestic 
and irregular practice as a stimulating diaphoretic, in rheumatic and catarrhal affections. 
Other species also of Aster have attracted attention for supposed remedial powers. W. 
ATHEROSPERMA MOSCHATA. Australian Sassafras. The bark of this tree contains 
a volatile oil which is obtained by distillation, and has gained some reputation in Australia 
as a remedy. It is said to be diaphoretic and diuretic, and at the same time sedative in its 
action on the heart. The dose is a drop every 6 or 8 hours. A new alkaloid called athero- 
spermin has been extracted from the bark by M. Zeyer, of Munich. (Pharm. Journ., April- 
1863, p. 447.) ’ W. 
BALM OF GILEAD. Balsam of Gilead. Balsamum Gileadense. Baume de la Mccque, Fr PART nr. 
Balsam of Sulphur.—Barbadoes Nuts. 
Tlie genuine balm of Gilead is the resinous juice of the Amyris Gileadensis of Linn., the 
Balsamodendron Gileadense of Kunth, a small evergreen tree, growing on the Asiatic and 
African shores of the Red Sea. It was in high repute with the ancients, and still retains 
its value in the estimation of the eastern nations, among whom it is employed both as a 
medicine and cosmetic. In western Europe and in this country, it is seldom found in a 
state of purity, and its use has been entirely abandoned. It is described as a turbid_ 
whitish, thick, gray, odorous liquid, becoming solid by exposure. It possesses no medical 
properties which do not exist in other balsamic or terebinthinate juices. It was formerly 
known by the name of opobalsamum; while the dried twigs of the tree were called xylobal- 
samum, and the dried fruit, carpobalsamum. W. 
BALSAM OF SULPHUR. This name was formerly given to a substance resulting from 
the reaction of sulphur upon olive oil at a high temperature. It was directed in the old 
Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia, under the name of Oleum Sulphuratum; but was discharged 
from that work at the last revision. The directions of the College were to boil eight parts 
of olive oil and one part of sublimed sulphur together, with a gentle tire, in a large iron 
pot, stirring them constantly till they united. The iron pot was directed to be large enough 
to hold three times the quantity of the materials employed; as the mixture might other- 
wise boil over. As the vapours which rose were apt to take fire, a lid was to be at hand to 
cover the pot, and thus extinguish the flame if necessary. Sulphur is soluble to a consid- 
erable extent in heated oil, from which, if the solution be saturated, it is deposited in a 
crystalline state on cooling. But it is not a mere solution which this process was intended 
to effect. The oil was partly decomposed, and the resulting preparation was an extremely 
fetid, acrid, viscid, reddish-brown fluid. In order that it might be obtained, it was neces- 
sary to heat the oil to the boiling point. Sulphurated oil, or balsam of sulphur, was formerly 
thought useful in chronic catarrh, consumption, and other pectoral complaints; but incon- 
venience arose from its acrid properties, and its internal use was abandoned. It is said to be 
sometimes applied as a stimulant to foul ulcers. The dose is from five to thirty drops. W. 
BALSAMUM TRANQUILANS. Baume Tranquille. This is a preparation of some note, 
directed by the French Codex, and consisting essentially of olive oil holding in solution 
the active matters of certain narcotic and aromatic plants. The fresh plants are boiled 
with the oil until all their water is driven off; the oil is then expressed and poured upon 
the dried plants properly comminuted; and the mixture, having been allowed to stand for 
a month, is strained, and the oil decanted. The preparation is used by friction as an ano- 
dyne in local pains. A formula for it is contained in the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (Jan. 1862, 
p. 22), and in the Journ. de Pharm. (Aout, 1862, p. 121). W. 
BAPTISIA TINCTORIA. Sophora tinctoria. Linn. Podalyria tinctoria. Michaux. Wild In- 
digo. This is an indigenous perennial plant, found in all parts of the United States, grow- 
ing abundantly in woods and dry barren uplands. It is from one to three feet high, with 
a smooth, very branching stem, small, ternate, cuneate-obovate, bluish-green leaves, and 
yellow flowers, which appear in July and August, and, like the whole plant, become black 
when dried. The root, which is the part most highly recommended, is of a dark-brown 
colour, of a slight peculiar odour in the dried state, and of a nauseous, bitter, somewhat 
acrid taste. Its virtues appear to reside chiefly in the cortical portion. Mr. B. L. Smedley 
has rendered it probable that it contains a peculiar alkaloid. [Am. Journ. of Pharm., July, 
1862, p. 311.) In large doses, it is said to operate violently as an emetic and cathartic; in 
smaller, to produce only a mild laxative effect. It is said to have proved useful in scarla- 
tina, typhus fever, and in that state of system which attends gangrene or mortification. 
Dr. Thacher spoke highly of its efficacy as an external application to obstinate and pain- 
ful ulcers; and Dr. Comstock, of Rhode Island, found it extremely useful, both as an 
internal and external remedy, in threatened or existing mortification. By the latter phy- 
sician it was given in decoction, made in the proportion of an ounce of the root to a pint 
of water, of which half a fluidounce was administered every four or eight hours, any ten- 
dency to operate on the bowels being checked with laudanum. Dr. Stevens, of Ceres, 
Pennsylvania, has employed a decoction of the root advantageously in epidemic dysentery. 
(/V. Y. Journ. of Med., iv. 358.) It may be used externally in the form of decoction or cata- 
plasm. The stem and leaves possess the same virtues as the root, though in a less degree 
A pale-blue colouring substance has been prepared from the plant as a substitute for indigo, 
but is greatly inferior. Another species, B. Alba, or prairie indigo, which is abundant in our 
N. W. prairies, is said to have similar properties, and to be sometimes used as a substitute 
for B. tinctoria. W. 
BARBADOES NUTS. Purging Nuts. Physic Nuts. These are the seeds of the Curcas 
purgans of Adanson (Jatropha Curcas of Linnaeus), growing in Brazil, the West Indies, and 
on the western coast of Africa. The fruit is a three-celled capsule, containing one seed in 
each cell, and is about the size of a walnut. The seeds are blackish, oval, about eight lines 
tong, flat on one side, convex on the other; and the two sides present a slight longitudinal 
prominence. They yielded to Soubeiran fixed oil, an acrid resin, sugar, gum, a fatty acid, 1470 
Bassora Grum.—Bedeguar. 
part hi. 
gluten, a free acid and salts. The oil may be separated by expression. When fresh it is 
without smell or colour, but becomes yellowish and slightly odorous by time. When cold it 
deposits a white substance, which is probably margarin. Alcohol does not readily dissolve 
it. Some call it jalropha oil. For an account of the chemical properties of this oil, see the 
Chemical Gazette (Dec. 15, 1854, p. 469). From three to five of the seeds, slightly roasted 
and deprived of their envelope, operate actively as a cathartic, and not unfrequently pro- 
duce nausea and vomiting, with a sense of burning in the stomach. The oil purges in the 
dose of twelve or fifteen drops, and is analogous in its action to croton oil, though less pow- 
erful. The cake left after the expression of the oil is an acrid emeto-cathartic, operating in 
the dose of a few grains. Either of these substances may produce serious consequences in 
overdoses. The leaves of the plant are rubefacient, and the juice is said to have been use- 
fully employed as a local remedy in piles. 
The seeds of Curcas multifidus (Jatropha multifida, Linn.) have similar properties, and 
yield a similar oil. This species also grows in Brazil and the West Indies. W. 
BASSORA GUM. The plant which yields this substance is unknown. It came into com- - 
merce originally from the neighbourhood of Bassora, on the Gulf of Persia; but is fre- 
quently found mixed with gum brought from other countries, and is probably not the pro- 
duct of one plant exclusively. It is in irregular pieces, of various sizes, never very large, 
white or yellow, intermediate in the degree of its transparency between gum arabic and 
tragacanth, inodorous, tasteless, and possessed of the property of yielding a slight sound 
when broken under the teeth. But a small portion of it is soluble in water, whether hot or 
cold. The remainder swells up considerably, though less than tragacanth, and does not, like 
that substance, form a gelatinous mass, as it consists of independent granules which have little 
cohesion. The soluble portion is pure gum or arabin, and, according to M. Guerin, consti- 
tutes 11-2 per cent. The insoluble portion consists of a peculiar principle called bassorin, 
associated with a small proportion of saline substances, which yield, when the gum is burnt, 
5-6 per cent, of ashes. The gum is useless both in medicine and pharmacy, and is described 
here only as containing a principle which enters into the composition of several medicinal 
substances. 
Bassorin is insoluble in water, alcohol, and ether, but softens and swells up in hot or cold 
water. Diluted nitric and muriatic acids, with the aid of heat, dissolve it almost entirely. 
The acidulous solution, concentrated by evaporation, and treated with alcohol, lets fall a 
flocculent precipitate which has all the characters of pure gum, into which the bassorin ap- 
pears to have been converted by the action of the acid. This does not, however, constitute 
more than a tenth part of the bassorin dissolved. By gradually evaporating the alcoholic 
acidulous solution, a thick bitterish liquid is obtained, which exhales a strong odour of am- 
monia when treated with potassa. Strong nitric acid converts bassorin into mucic and ox- 
alic acids; and, treated with sulphuric acid, it yields a sweet crystalline substance which 
is incapable of the vinous fermentation. (Guerin.) Vauquelin was the first to call attention 
to this principle, upon which he conferred its present name, from having first observed it 
in the Bassora gum. Bucholz afterwards discovered the same, or a closely analogous prin- 
ciple, in tragacanth; and John, a principle which was supposed to be the same, in the gum 
of the cherry tree. Hence it has sometimes been called tragacanthin and cerasin. M. Gue- 
rin, however, has demonstrated that the insoluble principle of the cherry gum is essen- 
tially different from bassorin. Berzelius considered the latter as belonging to the class of 
substances which he associated under the name of mucilage, and of which the mucilages of 
flaxseed and quince seed are examples. (See Linum, p. 514.) W. 
BDELLIUM. This name has been given to two different gum-resins, distinguished as 
Indian and African bdellium. Dr. Royle was informed that the former was obtained from the 
Amyris Commiphora of Roxburgh, growing in India and Madagascar. The latter is said to 
be the product of Ileudelotia. Africana, which grows in Senegal. Bdellium sometimes comes 
mixed with gum arabic and gum Senegal. It is either in small roundish pieces, of a reddish 
colour, semi-transparent, and brittle, with a wax-like fracture, or in large irregular lumps, 
of a dark brownish-red colour, less transparent, somewhat tenacious, and adhering to the 
teeth when chewed. It has an odour and taste like those of myrrh, but weaker. It is in- 
fusible and inflammable, diffusing while it burns a balsamic odour. According to Pelletier 
it consists of 59 per cent, of resin, 9-2 of gum, 30-6 of bassorin, and 1-2 of volatile oil, in- 
cluding loss. In medical properties it is analogous to myrrh, and was formerly used for the 
same purposes; but it is now scarcely ever given internally. In Europe, it is still occa- 
sionally employed as an ingredient of plasters. The dose is from ten to forty grains. W. 
BEDEGUAR. Fungus Rosarum. An excrescence upon the siveetbrier or eglantine, and other 
species of Rosa, produced by the puncture of insects, especially by one or more species of 
Cynips. It is of irregular shape, usually roundish, about an inch in diameter, with numer- 
ous cells internally, in each of which is the larva of an insect. It has little smell, and a 
slightly astringent taste. Though formerly considered diuretic, anthelmintic, and lithon- 
triptic, and employed as a remedy for toothache, it has fallen into disuse. It was given in 
doses of from ten to forty grains. W. PART III. 
Benzoate of Soda.—Benzole. 
1471 
BENZOATE OF SODA. Sodse Benzoas. This salt lias been employed by MM. Socquet 
and Bonjean, in conjunction with silicate of soda and other substances, as a remedy in 
gout and rheumatism, for the purpose of eliminating uric acid. It is prepared by saturat- 
ing a solution of benzoic acid with a solution of carbonate of soda. For the complicated 
formula proposed, including colchicum and aconite, see Am. Journ. of Pharm., July, 1857, 
p. 814. B. 
BENZOIN ODORIFERUM. Nees. Laurus Benzoin. Linn. Spice-wood. Spice-bush. Fever- 
bush. An indigenous shrub, from four to ten feet high, growing in moist, shady places, in 
all parts of the United States. Its flowers appear early in spring, long before the leaves, 
and are succeeded by small clusters of oval berries, which, when ripe, in the latter part of 
September, are of a shining crimson colour. All parts of the shrub have a spicy, agree- 
able flavour, which is strongest in the bark and berries. The small branches are some- 
times used as a gently stimulating aromatic, in the form of infusion or decoction. They 
are said to be employed in this way by the country people as a vermifuge, and an agree- 
able drink in low fevers; and the bark has been used in intermittents. The berries, dried 
and powMered, were sometimes substituted, during the revolutionary war, for allspice. 
According to Dr. Drake, the oil of the berries is used as a stimulant. W. 
BENZOLE. Benzin. Benzene. Phene. Jlydruret of Phenyl. This substance must not be 
confounded with a commercial article sometimes sold as benzine, which is a mixture of 
various carbohydrogens of light sp.gr., obtained in the distillation of coal gas and petro- 
leum. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., July, 1861, p. 867.) Benzole is a distinct carbohydrogen, 
with a definite constitution. It was originally obtained by distilling benzoic acid with 
lime. It was afterwards discovered by Faraday as a constituent of coal-gas tar. This tar, 
when distilled, furnishes coal-naphtha (the commercial benzine above referred to), a com- 
plex substance, containing a number of carbohydrogens, among which is benzole. Upon 
distilling this naphtha from a metallic still, surmounted by an open vessel filled with water, 
and containing a worm terminating in a refrigerated receiver, the benzole will pass over 
and condense in the receiver; while the other substances associated with it, having higher 
boiling points, will condense in the worm, and fall back into the still. The benzole is then 
purified by distillation at a heat between 176° and 194°, and by subjecting the product to 
a new distillation from one-fourth of its volume of sulphuric acid. A method of obtaining 
it pure is described by Mr. A. II. Church, consisting in the dry distillation of a compound 
made by treating the ordinary benzole of commerce with fuming sulphuric acid, then add- 
ing carbonate of ammonia, evaporating the whole to dryness, and exhausting the residue 
with alcohol. The alcoholic solution is distilled to dryness, and the remaining mass dis- 
tilled at a higher heat. The distillate is washed with solution of potassa, and then rectified 
from caustic potassa. The product is perfectly pure benzole. (SeeAza. Journ. of Pharm., 
March, 1860, p. 144.) M. E. Kopp purifies benzole by taking advantage of its high congeal- 
ing point. He exposes the impure mixture containing it to a degree of cold sufficient to 
solidify it (5° F.), presses the congealed mass to separate the liquid carbohydrogens, al- 
lows it to become fluid, then again freezes and presses it, and thus obtains it almost entirely 
pure. The mixed fluids treated in this way he obtains by decomposing the heavier tar oils 
by a high degree of heat. (Chcm. News, May 14, 1864, p. 229.) 
Prof. Calvert, of Manchester, purifies coal-naphtha, so as to render it a sufficiently pure 
benzole to be usefully applied to the purpose of removing fatty and oily matters from ani- 
mal and vegetable substances, by subjecting it to the action of sulphuric acid, added in 
small quantities, so long as coloration is produced, then washing it with pure water, and 
afterwards subjecting it to distillation in an ordinary still. The sulphuric acid destroys 
the less volatile carbohydrogens present, which interfere with the solvent power of the 
benzoic. 
In consequence of the great, volatility and extreme inflammability of benzole and its 
attendant carbohydrogens, much care is necessary both in their preparation and subse- 
quent use to avoid any possible exposure to flame. Very serious results have taken place 
from want of caution in this respect. 
Benzole is a colourless oleaginous liquid, possessing an agreeable odour. Its sp.gr. is 
(>•85, congealing point 32°, and boiling point 176°. Its formula is C12H6. Its powers as a 
solvent are very extensive. Among the substances soluble in it are sulphur, phosphorus, 
and iodine. It dissolves quinia, but not cinchonia, with which it forms a bulky gelatinous 
mass. Morphia and strychnia are sparingly soluble. Its solvent power over some of the 
organic alkalies led Mr. John Williams, of London, to employ it in extracting them from 
the vegetables in which they are found; and he succeeded in obtaining them in several 
instances on a small scale. In this way he extracted quinia, quinidia, and amorphous 
quinia, together, from cinchona bark, but not cinchonia. In like manner he separated 
strychnia and brucia from nux vomica, and handsome crystals of cantharidin from can- 
tharides. Mr. Wdlliams supposes that benzole might form a good test of the value of Peru- 
vian barks. Benzole is also a solvent of many of the resins, of mastic, camphor, wax, fatty 
ana oily substances, essential oils, caoutchouc, and gutta percha. The last two substance* 1472 
Benzole. 
PART III. 
may be obtained, without alteration of properties, in tough sheets of any desired tenuity, 
by spreading their benzole solutions on glass or other polished surface, and allowing the 
solvent to evaporate. The same solutions, brushed over the skin, form artificial cuticles, 
which have been found useful as coverings to wounds and burns. The vapour of benzole, 
when inhaled, acts as an anaesthetic. In relation to this substance, see the paper of C. B. 
Mansfield, in the Chem. Gaz (No. 159, p. 224), from which many of the facts of this article 
have been taken. A case is on record showing that, taken internally in a considerable 
quantity, it has a decided narcotic action, apparently intermediate between that of ardent 
spirit and opium. Swallowed accidentally, to the amount probably of one or two fluid- 
ounces, it produced vertigo with a sensation as of intoxication, followed by sleep for two 
hours, from which the patient awoke with a gay delirium, attended with bursts of laughter, 
and some impediment of speech, continuing for four hours. The pulse was slightly quick- 
ened, the surface warm, and the expression of face animated. Sleep then came on, from 
which the patient awoke next day, still feeling some dizziness. The breath had a strong 
smell of benzole. (See Journ. de Pharm., Mars, 1861, p. 222.) 
M. Reynal, of the Veterinary School at Alfort, has long been in the habit of destroying 
parasites occurring in domestic animals by benzole, and proposes its employment in the 
parasitic diseases of man. It has the advantage of not affecting the skin. For this pur- 
pose a mixture may be used, consisting of 10 parts of benzole, 5 of soap, and 85 of water. 
Nitrobenzole. Benzole, by the action of fuming nitric acid, is converted into nitrobenzole, 
also called nitrobenzule and nitrobenzide, having the formula C12I15,N04. The product, after 
having been washed w'ith water, forms an oily, yellowish, intensely sweet liquid, with an 
odour like that of oil of bitter almonds. Its density is 1-209, and boiling point 415°. Lat- 
terly, it has become of commercial importance under the name of artificial oil of bitter 
almonds, being employed in confectionery, for scenting soaps, and for flavouring articles 
of diet. Nitrobenzole may be viewed as benzole, in which one eq. of hydrogen is replaced 
by one of hyponitric acid. For some observations on nitrobenzole, especially for a test of 
it by Mr. Maisch, see Part 1. page 573. Dr. F. Mahla, of Chicago, considers the commercial 
nitrobenzole as a different compound from the proper chemical article, which he has found 
to have an odour between that of cinnamon and of bitter almond oils, but more closely 
analogous to the former. [Am. Journ. of Pharm.., May, 1859, p. 202.) B. 
A very interesting paper by Mr. II. Letheby, on the physiological and toxicological 
properties of nitrobenzole, is contained in the Pharmaceutical Journal (Sept. 1863, p. 130). 
In manufactories where the fluid is prepared, the workmen are often affected with head- 
ache and sleepiness from exposure to the vapour which escapes; but the effects are quickly 
relieved by fresh air and a mild stimulant. Two fatal cases, however, are-recorded, one 
from the inhalation of the vapour, proceeding from the poison spilled upon the person of 
the individual affected, the other from the accidental swallowing of a small portion. The 
effects were the same. For some time there was no feeling of discomfort; but gradually 
symptoms of stupor came on, with flushed face, ending in profound coma, in which state the 
patients died, about 9 hours from the time of taking the poison, the coma having come on 
in 4 hours. The brain was found congested, the heart full, and the blood black and fluid. 
Chemical examination detected both nitrobenzole and anilin in the blood, showing that the 
former had been converted into the latter. Mr. Letheby also made experiments with the 
poison on domestic animals, and obtained some extraordinary results. From 30 to 60 drops 
were given by the mouth to cats and dogs. There was rarely vomiting or other sign of gas- 
tric irritation. Two classes of effects were observed, either rapid coma, or a slow occurrence 
of palsy and coma after a period of apparent inaction of the poison. Even in the rapidly 
comatose cases, paralytic symptoms were noticed in the earlier stage. The time varied in 
these cases from 25 minutes to 12 hours between the exhibition of the poison and death. In 
the slower cases there was no visible effect for hours and sometimes for days. Suddenly, 
however, the animal would be attacked with vomiting, followed by convulsions, which, on 
their subsidence, left more or less paralysis, first of the hinder and then of the fore limbs. 
After this the animal generally lay for days, more or less conscious, with now and then epi- 
leptic attacks, and at length died of exhaustion or gradually recovered. The time from the 
exhibition of the poison to the first epileptic fit was from 19 to 72 hours, in most cases 
about two days, and to the period of death was from 4 to 9 days. This apparent inaction 
of the poison at first is very extraordinary, almost justifying the belief in those cases of 
poisoning said to have occurred in ancient times, in which the substance given exerted no 
effect till a considerable time after it was exhibited. The explanation is that the nitro- 
benzole undergoes changes in the system into a more violent poison, and as anilin is found 
after death, this may be the real agent. 
Notwithstanding these statements of Mr. Letheby, we find it positively asserted by M. 
Collas that nitrobenzole is not poisonous; as M. Lassaigne had made numerous trials with 
it on dogs, to which he had given from one to two drachms without other effect than to 
perfume their evacuations. [Ann. de Thcrap., 1861, p. 35.) It is obvious that either the 
substances with which Mr. Letheby and M. Lassaigne experimented were not the same; PART III. 
Betonica Officinalis.—Bistort. 
or that the causes which in some of Mr. Letheby’s cases operated to prevent action for a 
time, were of permanent operation in the cases of M. Lassaigne. W. 
BETONICA OFFICINALIS. Wood Belong. A perennial European herb, belonging to 
the labiate plants. It has a pleasant but feeble odour, and a warm, somewhat astringent, 
and bitterish taste. By the ancients it was much esteemed, and employed in numerous 
diseases; but it is at present little used. It is slightly warming and corroborant, but is 
inferior in this respect to many other plants of the same family. The root has been con- 
sidered emetic and pui’gative. W. 
BETULA ALBA. Common European Birch. Various parts of this tree have been applied 
to medical uses. The young shoots and leaves secrete a resinous substance, having acid 
properties, which, combined with soda, is said to produce the effects of a tonic laxa- 
tive. (Journ. de Fharm., xxvi. 208.) The inner bark, which is bitterish and astringent, has 
been employed in intermittent fever. The epidermis is separable into thin layers, which 
may be employed as a substitute for paper, and are applied to various economical uses. 
The bark contains a peculiar principle, called betulin, which is ranked among the sub- 
resins. When the bark is distilled, it yields an empyreumatic oil, having the peculiar odour 
of Russia leather, in the preparation of which it is employed. This oil has been found very 
useful as a local application in chronic eczema. The leaves, which have a peculiar, aromatic, 
agreeable odour, and a bitter taste, have been employed, in the form of infusion, in gout, 
rheumatism, dropsy, and cutaneous diseases. The same complaints, particularly dropsy, 
are said to have been successfully treated by enveloping the body in the fresh leaves, which 
thus applied excite perspiration. When the stem of the tree is wounded, a saccharine juice 
flows out, which is considered useful in complaints of the kidneys and bladder, and is sus- 
ceptible, with yeast, of the vinous fermentation. A beer, wine, spirit, and vinegar are pre- 
pared from it, and used in some parts of Europe. 
Of the American species of birch, Betula lenta, variously called sweet birch, black birch, cherry 
birch, and mountain mahogany, is remarkable for the aromatic flavour of its bark and leaves, 
which have the odour and taste of Gaultheria procumbcns, and are sometimes used in in- 
fusion, as an agreeable, gently stimulant, and diaphoretic drink. An oil is obtained by 
distillation from the bark, which has been proved by Prof. Procter to be identical with oil 
of gaultheria. As in the case of the oil of bitter almonds, this oil does not pre-exist in the 
dried bark of the birch, but is formed by reaction between water and a neuter principle 
in the bark, analogous to amygdalin, to which Prof. Procter has given the name of gaulthe- 
rin. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xv. 248 and 246.) This species also affords a saccharine liquor, 
which, indeed, appears to be common to all the birches. The bark of B. papyracea is em- 
ployed by the Northern Indians for making canoes; and thin layers of the epidermis are 
placed inside of boots to prevent the access of moisture. W. 
BEZOAR. This name has been given to concretions formed in the stomach or intestines 
of animals, which were formerly thought to possess extraordinary medical virtues. Many 
varieties have been noticed; but they were all arranged in two classes, the oriental bezoar 
(lapis bezoar orientalis), and western bezoar (lapis bezoar occidentals), of which the former 
was most esteemed. They have fallen into merited neglect. W. 
BIDENS BIPINNATA. (Cray's Manual, p. 222.) Spanish Needles. An herbaceous indi- 
genous plant, of which the root and seeds, as well as those of other species of the same 
genus, have a popular reputation as emmenagogue, and are given by the “eclectics” in 
laryngeal and bronchial diseases as expectorants. W. 
BIRD-LIME. A viscid substance, existing in various plants, particularly in the bark of 
Viscum album and Ilex aquifolium or European holly, from the latter of which it is usually 
procured. The process for preparing it consists in boiling the middle bark for some hours 
in water, then separating it from the liquid, and placing it in proper vessels in a cool 
situation, where it is allowed to remain till it becomes viscous. It is then washed to sepa- 
rate impurities, and constitutes the substance in question. Bird-lime thus prepared is 
greenish, tenacious, glutinous, bitterish, and of an odour analogous to that of flaxsqed 
oil. Exposed to the air in thin layers it becomes dry, brown, and pulverizable, but reac- 
quires its viscidity upon the addition of water. It is a complex body, but is thought to 
owe its characteristic properties to a proximate principle, identical with that which exudes 
spontaneously from certain plants, and is called glu by the French chemists. This principle 
js without odour or taste, extremely adhesive, fusible by heat, inflammable, insoluble in 
water, nearly insoluble in alcohol, but dissolved freely by ether and oil of turpentine. Ac- 
cording to M. Macaire, it is insoluble in the fixed oils, either hot or cold; a property which 
distinguishes it from the resins. M. Macaire proposes for it the name of viscin. (Journ. de 
Pharm., xx. 18.) Bird-lime is so tenacious that it may be employed to catch small birds, 
which, when they alight on a stick thickly covered with it, are unable to escape. W. 
BISTORT. This is the root of Polygonum Bistorta, a perennial herbaceous plant, grow- 
ng in Europe and the north of Asia. The root is cylindrical, somewhat flattened, about 1474 
Bistort.—Bisulphate of Potassa 
PART III. 
as thick as the lit/le finger, marked with annular or transverse wrinkles, furnished with 
numeious fibres, and folded or bent upon itself, so as to give it the tortuous appearance 
from which its name was derived. When dried, it is solid, brittle, of a deep-brown colour 
externally, reddish within, inodorous, and of a rough, astringent taste. It contains much 
tannin, some gallic acid and gum, and a large proportion of starch. It resembles the other 
vegetable astringents in medical properties, and is applicable to the same complaints; but 
is less efficient than catechu or kino, and in this country is seldom used. It may be em- 
ployed in powder, decoction, or extract. The dose of the powder is 20 or 30 grains. 
Besides the bistort, some other plants belonging to the genus Polygonum have been used 
as medicines. Among these are P. aviculare, or knot grass, a mild astringent, formerly em- 
ployed as a vulnerary and styptic; P. Persicaria (Persicaria mitis), of a feebly astringent 
saline taste, and at one time considered antiseptic; and P. Ilydropiper or water-pepper 
(Persicaria urens), the leaves of which have a burning and biting taste, inflame the skin 
when rubbed upon it, and are esteemed diuretic. The water-pepper or smart-weed of this 
country—P. punctatum (Elliott), P. hydropiperoides (Michaux)—which grows abundantly 
in moist places, possesses properties similar to those of the European water-pepper, and 
is occasionally used as a detergent in chronic ulcers, and internally in gravel. Dr. Ebcrle 
very strongly recommended it in amenorrhoea, in which complaint he found no other 
remedy equally effectual. He gave a fluidrachm of the saturated tincture of the plant, or 
from four to six grains of the extract, three or four times a day. He found it to produce 
a warmth and peculiar tingling sensation throughout the system, with slight aching pains 
in the hips and loins, and a sense of weight and tension within the pelvis. (Eberles Mat. 
Med., 4th cd., i. 441.) Dr. Wilcox, of Elmira, New York, has found advantage from a de- 
coction of the dried leaves, made in the proportion of an ounce to the pint, and applied 
locally, in mercurial salivation, and the sore-mouth of nursing women. (Am. Journ. of 
Med. Set., N. S., xvi. 248.) P. Fagopyrum is common buckwheat. The leaves of this plant 
have been found by Mr. Ed. Schunck to contain a crystallizable colouring principle, identi- 
cal with the rutin or rutic acid previously discovered by Weiss in the leaves of the common 
rue, and probably with the ilixanthin of Moldenhaus, existing in the leaves of Ilex aquifo- 
lium or common holly. Buckwheat leaves yielded to Mr. Schunck somewhat more than one 
part of rutin in a thousand. (Chem. Gaz., No. 399, p. 201.) W. 
BISTJLPIIATE OF POTASSA. Potassse Bisulphas. This salt, though formerly officinal in 
the Ed. and Dub. Pharmacopoeias, has been omitted in the British. The following are the 
formulas of the two Colleges. “Take of the residuum of the preparation of Pure Nitric Acid 
two pounds; Sulphuric Acid (commercial) seven fiuidounces and one fluidrachm [Imperial mea- 
sure]; boiling Water six pints [Imp. meas.]. Dissolve the salt in the Water, add the Acid, 
concentrate the solution, and set it aside to cool and form crystals.” (Ed.) “Take of Sul- 
phate of Potash, in powder, three ounces [avoirdupois]; Pure Sulphuric Acid onefluidounce 
[Imperial measure]. Place the Acid and Salt in a small porcelain capsule, and to this apply 
a heat capable of liquefying its contents, and which should be continued until acid vapours 
cease to be given otf. The Bisulphate, which concretes as it cools, should be reduced to a 
fine powder, and preserved in a well-stopped bottle.” (Dub.) 
In explaining the Edinburgh formula, it is only necessary to recall to the reader’s atten- 
tion a part of the explanations given under the head of Acidum Nitricum, in Part h It is 
there stated that, for the decomposition of nitre on the small scale for the purpose of ob- 
taining nitric acid, it is necessary to use two eqs. of sulphuric acid to one of the salt. Con- 
sequently, the salt which remains after the distillation of nitric acid is really a bisulphate, 
and would seem only to require to be dissolved, and the solution filtered and duly evaporated, 
in order to obtain the salt in crystals. But Mr. Phillips states that, when bisulphate of po- 
tassa is dissolved in water, and the solution is allowed to crystallize, some sulphate and 
much sesquisulphate are obtained instead of bisulphate, owing to the wrnter retaining a part 
of the excess of acid in solution. This result is prevented by the sulphuric acid directed to 
be added, and, consequently, the real bisulphate is obtained in crystals. In the Dublin pro- 
cess, sulphate of potassa is mixed with more sulphuric acid than is necessary to convert it 
into bisulphate, and the mixture is exposed to a liquefying heat, which is continued so long 
as acid vapours are given otf. The portion of acid, more than sufficient to form a bisulphate, 
is thus driven otf; so that the saline matter left is the salt under consideration, which, after 
concreting, is reduced to fine powder. 
Properties, Bisulphate of potassa is a white salt, having the form of a right rhombic 
prism, so flattened as to be tabular, and a bitter and extremely acid taste. It is soluble in 
twice its weight of cold, and in less than its weight of boiling water. Alcohol does not dis- 
solve it, but, when added to an aqueous solution, precipitates the neutral sulphate. Ex- 
posed to the air, it effloresces slightly on the surface, and when moderately heated readily 
melts, and runs like oil. At a red heat it loses water and the excess of acid, and is reduced 
to the neutral sulphate. From its excess of acid, it acts precisely as an acid on the carbon- 
ates, causing them to effervesce. It is incompatible with alkalies, earths, and their carbon- PART ill. 
Bisulphuret of Carbon.—Bittera Febrifuga. 
ates, with many of the metals, and most oxides. This salt was formerly called sal enixum. Ii 
consists of two eqs. of sulphuric acid 80, one of potassa 47-2, and two of water 18 = 146-2. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Bisulphate of potassa unites the properties of an aperient ane 
tonic, and may be given in constipation with languid appetite, such as often occurs in con- 
valescence. Dr. Paris states that it forms a grateful adjunct to rhubarb. It answers, also, 
according to Dr. Barker, for preparing an aperient effervescing draught at little expense. 
Equal weights, a drachm for instance, of the bisulphate and of carbonate of soda, may be 
dissolved separately, each in two fluidounces of water, then mixed, and taken in the state 
of effervescence. The dose of the bisulphate is one or two drachms. B. 
BISULPHURET OF CARBON. Sulphuret of Carbon. Carburet of Sulphur. This compound 
is formed by passing the vapour of sulphur over charcoal, heated to redness in a porcelain 
tube. Prepared on the large scale, the charcoal may be heated in a cast-iron cylinder, as 
recommended by M. Chandelon. It is a transparent, colourless, exceedingly volatile liquid, 
having a pungent, somewhat aromatic taste, and a very fetid smell. Its sp.gr. is 1-272. 
In composition it is a bisulphuret. Taken internally, it acts as a diffusible stimulant, accele- 
rating the pulse, augmenting the animal heat, and exciting the secretions of the skin, kid- 
neys, and genital organs. It has been employed in obstinate rheumatic and arthritic affec- 
tions, paralysis, and cutaneous eruptions, and more recently as a resolvent in indolent 
tumours. It is used both internally and externally. For exhibition in gout and rheumatism, 
Dr. Otto, of Copenhagen, employed an alcoholic solution, in the proportion of t wo drachms 
to the fluidounce, of which four drops were given every two hours. At the same time the 
affected parts were rubbed with a liniment, made by dissolving the bisulphuret in the same 
proportion in olive oil. Dr. Krymer applied it successfully to an indolent tumour by allow- 
ing forty or fifty drops to fall upon it three times a day. In this case it may be supposed ta 
have acted by the cold produced. He also succeeded in reducing several strangulated her- 
nias, by applying some drops of the bisulphuret to the hernial tumour. Dr. Turnbull found 
the.vapour useful in the resolution of indurated lymphatic glands. It is applied by means 
of a bottle with a proper sized mouth, containing a fluidrachm of the bisulphuret, imbibed 
by a piece of sponge. The skin over the gland is first well moistened with water. He em- 
ployed the vapour also with benefit in deafness, when dependent on want of nervous energy, 
and a deficiency of wax. For this purpose, the bottle containing the bisulphuret is made 
with a neck to fit the meatus, and, being applied to the ear, is held there until considerable 
warmth is produced. Dr. C. 6. Page, of Boston, has used the vapour with advantage for the 
alleviation of local pains. Mr. James Schiel, of St. Louis, Mo., recommends the bisulphuret, 
mixed with an equal measure of alcohol, in neuralgia of the face, toothache, and similar 
affections. The mixture, poured upon some raw cotton, is to be rubbed vigorously on the 
part affected for five or six seconds. (Si. Louis Med. and Surg. Journ., Jan. 1857.) 
Bisulphuret of carbon possesses diversified solvent powers, and is extensively used in the 
arts, the demand for it having made it a cheap product. It has been proposed by M. Lepage, 
of Gisors, for extracting the fixed oils of nutmegs, bay berries, and croton seeds. M. Deiss, 
of Paris, employs it for extracting the fat of bones. (See page 623.) In India-rubber manu- 
factories, it is used as a solvent of the caoutchouc. The extensive employment of it in this 
way has shown that air, loaded with its vapour, is poisonous. According to M. Delpech, the 
workmen exposed to the fumes of the bisulphuret are affected with headache, vertigo, and 
over-excitement of the nervous system, as evinced by voluble talking, incoherent singing, 
or immoderate laughter, or sometimes by weeping; and a continuance of the exposure is 
apt to cause at length a state of cachexia, characterized by general weakness, loss of sexual 
appetite, dulness of sight and hearing, and impairment of the memory. 
Proto sulphuret of carbon (CS) was discovered in May, 1857, by M. E. Baudrimont, of Paris. 
It is conveniently obtained by passing the vapour of the bisulphuret over spongy platinum, 
or over pumice heated to redness. It is a colourless gas, a little heavier than carbonic acid, 
having an odour like that of the bisulphuret. It burns with a blue flame, producing carbonic 
acid, sulphurous acid, and sulphur. By water it is decomposed, so as to form carbonic oxide 
and sulphuretted hydrogen. When breathed it appears to act as an anoestlietic. B. 
BITTERA FEBRIFUGA. Bitter Ash. The name Byttera febrifuga was given by M. Bdlan- 
ger to a tree growing in Martinico, in the West Indies, the wood of which has tonic pro- 
perties closely analogous to those of quassia. It appears to be one of the Simarubacese; 
but differs from the plants of the genus Simaruba of De Candolle, in having hermaphro- 
dite flowers, resembling in this respect the Quassia of that author. A bitter principle has 
been separated from the wood by M. Gerardias, which is closely analogous if not identical 
with quassin, the active principle of quassia. The wood has long been used in the West. 
Indies in the cure of intermittents, and probably has all the remedial properties of the sim- 
ple bitters. (Journ. de Pharm., xxxi. 110.) It seems, however, at present to be admitted 
that this Byttera of M. Belanger is really the Quassia excelsa of Linn., the Simaruba ex- 
celsa c* De Candolle, from which quassia is generally obtained (Ann. de Therap., 1858, p. 
190); and a specimen of the wood of this supposed Byttera, said to be from the Island of 1476 
BlacJc Sulphuret of Mercury.—Brazil Nuts. 
PART IIL 
Guadeloupe or Martinique, which the author had an opportunity of seeing at the Palais 
d’Indcsirie in Paris, certainly bore a very close resemblance to the billets of quassia. W. 
BLACK SULPIIURET OF MERCURY. Ilydrargyri Sulphuretum Nigrum. U. S. 1850. 
Ethiops Mineral. This preparation of mercury has at length been dismissed from the offi- 
cinal catalogue, and is retained here chiefly out of consideration for its former position. The 
following was the U. S. formula for its preparation. “Take of Mercury, Sulphur, each, a 
pound. Rub them together till all the globules disappear.” (U. S.) Mercury and sulphur have 
a strong affinity for each other, as is shown by the fact, that, when they are thus tritu- 
rated together, the mixture grows hot, cakes, and exhales a sulphurous odour. During the 
trituration, the mixture should be sprinkled from time to time with a little water or alco- 
hol, to prevent the dust from rising, which exposes the operator to serious inconvenience. 
When rubbed together in equal tveights, as directed in the formula, they are supposed to unite 
chemically; but the proportion of sulphur is much greater than is necessary to form a defi- 
nite compound. Only two sulphurets of mercury have been admitted by chemists generally, 
the protosulphuret, and bisulphuret or cinnabar; but the quantity of sulphur directed in the 
process is much more than sufficient to form even the latter. It is still undetermined what is 
the exact nature of the officinal black sulphuret, or ethiops mineral. Mr. Brande, from his ex- 
periments, considers it to be the bisulphuret mixed with sulphur. Thus he found that, when 
boiled repeatedly in solution of potassa, sulphur was dissolved, and a black insoluble powder 
was left, which sublimed without decomposition, and yielded a substance having all the cha- 
racters of cinnabar. Ethiops mineral is sometimes obtained by melting sulphur in a cruci- 
ble, and adding to it an equal weight of mercury; but, when thus prepared, the sulphur is 
apt to become acidified, and the preparation to acquire an activity which does not belong 
to it when obtained by trituration. 
Properties, Sfc. Black sulphuret of mercury is a heavy, tasteless, insoluble powder. When 
exposed to heat, it becomes of a dark violet colour, emits the excess of sulphur in sulphurous 
acid fumes, and sublimes in brilliant red needles without residue. If charcoal be present, it 
will remain behind. When well prepared, no globules of mercury are discernible in it when 
viewed with a magnifier; and, if rubbed on a gold ring, it should not communicate a white 
stain. Ivory black is detected in it by throwing a small portion on red-hot iron, when a white 
matter (phosphate of lime) will be left behind. Adulteration by sulphuret of antimony is 
shown, if muriatic acid, boiled on a portion of the powder, acquires the property of causing 
a precipitate of oxychloride of antimony when added to water. According to the views of 
Mr. Brande, ethiops mineral consists of one eq. of bisulphuret of mercury, mixed with about 
ten and a half eqs. of sulphur in excess. 
Medical Properties. Ethiops mineral is supposed to be alterative, and as such has been 
sometimes prescribed in glandular affections and cutaneous diseases. It has been given in 
scrofulous swellings occurring in children; and from the mildness of its operation is con- 
sidered well suited to such cases. The dose generally given is from five to thirty grains, re- 
peated several times a day; but it has often been administered in much larger doses, without 
producing any obvious impression on the system. It is at present very little used. B. 
BOLE ARMENIAN. The term bolus or bole was formerly applied to various forms of ar- 
gillaceous earth, differing in colour, or place of origin. Such were the Armenian, Lemnian, 
and French boles, and the red and white boles. Some of these substances were so highly 
valued as to be formed into small masses and impressed with a seal, and hence received the 
name of terrse sigillatse. They were all similar in effect, though the small proportion of oxide 
of iron contained in the coloured'boles may have given them greater activity. The only one 
at present kept in the shops is that called bole Armenian, from its resemblance to the sub- 
stance originally brought from Armenia. It is prepared, by trituration and elutriation, 
from certain native earths existing in different parts of Europe. It is in pieces of various 
sizes, reddish, soft, and unctuous, adhesive to the tongue, and capable of forming a paste 
with water. It consists chiefly of alumina and silica, coloured with oxide of iron. The boles 
were formerly employed as absorbents and astringents, and were undoubtedly useful in some 
cases of acidity of the stomach and relaxed bowels. Bole Armenian is used chiefly as a 
colouring ingredient in tooth powders. W. 
BORAGO OFFICINALIS. Borage. This is an annual, hairy, succulent European plant, 
one or two feet high, with fine blue flowers, on account of which it is sometimes cultivated 
in our gardens. All parts of it abound in mucilage, and the stem and leaves contain nitrate 
of potassa with other salts. To these constituents the plant owes all its virtues. It is much 
used in France. An infusion of the leaves and flowers, sweetened with honey or syrup, is 
employed as a demulcent, refrigerant, and gently diaphoretic drink in catarrhal affections, 
rheumatism, diseases of the skin, &c. The expressed juice of the stem and leaves is also 
given in the dose of from two to four ounces. The flowers are sometimes applied externally 
as an emollient. A distilled water, extract, and syrup were formerly used, but have fallen 
into neglect. Borage is scarcely known in this country as a medicinal plant. W 
BRAZIL NUTS. Cream Nuts. These are edible nuts imported from Brazil, and some- PART III. 
Brazil Wood.—Bromides of Mercury. 
1477 
times employed in making cream syrups for giving flavour to carbonic acid water. In Bra 
ail an expressed oil is obtained from them, which is said to be used for burning, making oint- 
ments, and adulterating copaiba. Dr. Edward Donnelly, of Philadelphia, states, in a com 
munication to the American Pharmaceutical Association (Proceedings, 1858, p. 827), that 
the nuts are the product of the Bertholletia excelsa (Humboldt and Bonpland), a large and 
beautiful tree, growing over extensive regions in South America. The leaf and fruit are 
figured in the work just referred to. W. 
BRAZIL WOOD. A red dye-wood, the product of different species of Csesalpina, growing 
in the West Indies and South America. Two varieties are known in commerce:—1. The 
proper Brazil wood, said to be derived from Csesalpina echinata, and sometimes called Per- 
nambuco or Fernambuco wood, from the province of Brazil, where it is collected; 2. the brasi- 
letto, produced by C. Brasiliensis and C. Crista, which grow in Jamaica and other parts of 
the West Indies. The former is the most highly valued. The sappan or samp/en wood may 
be referred to the same head, being obtained from the Csesalpina Sappan, and possessing 
properties analogous to those of the brasiletto. The Nicaragua or peach, wood is also analo- 
gous to the brasiletto, and is said by Bancroft to be derived from a species of Ctesalpina. It 
is produced in the East Indies. Brazil wood is nearly inodorous, has a slightly sweetish taste, 
stains the saliva red, and imparts its colouring matter to water. It. was formerly used in 
medicine; but has been abandoned as inert. In pharmacy it serves to colour tinctures, &c.; 
but its chief use is in dyeing. A red lake is prepared from it, and it is an ingredient in a red 
ink. Its dyeing properties are owing to a crystallizable colouring principle, named breselin. 
W. 
BROMIDE OF AMMONIUM. Hydrobromate of Ammonia. Attention has recently been 
called by Dr. Gibb to the value of this compound as a therapeutic agent. He has found it pecu- 
liarly applicable to functional nervous diseases, more especially those of the ganglionic sys- 
tem, and considers it also as having some influence over affections of the mucous membranes 
and the skin. In epilepsy he has experienced decided advantage from it; and in the milder 
forms of ovaritis it sometimes acts almost 'as if by magic. He has also found it remark- 
ably beneficial in strumous ophthalmia in the young, and believes that it in some degree pro- 
motes the absorption of fatty matter. He gave it in doses varying from two to ten grains 
three times a day. (Lancet, Jan. 3, 1863, p. 12.) It may be prepared by dissolving bromine 
in water of ammonia. The liquid becomes heated, nitrogen escapes with effervescence, and 
the solution assumes a yellow colour in consequence of a slight excess of bromine after satu- 
ration. By evaporation the bromide is obtained in the form of four-sided prisms, which 
sometimes cross one another at right angles. On exposure to the air they gradually become 
yellowish, in consequence of a partial decomposition, by which some hydrobromic acid ap- 
pears to be liberated, as they now change litmus red. The salt may be sublimed unchanged. 
(Berzelius.) A better mode, according to Prof. Procter, of obtaining bromide of ammonium 
is by acting on bromide of iron with carbonate of ammonia, as in the U. S. officinal pro- 
cess for bromide of potassium; and a still better, by adding to bromine and water suffi- 
cient solution of hydrosulpliate of ammonia (sulpkuret. of ammonium) to discharge the 
colour, filtering to separate the sulphur, and then evaporating to dryness. W. 
BROMIDE OF IRON. Ftrri Bromidum. This bromide is obtained by heating gently, in 
thirty parts of water, two parts of bromine, and one of iron filings. When the liquid has 
become greenish, it is filtered and evaporated to dryness in an iron vessel; and the dry 
mass, again dissolved and evaporated to dryness, furnishes the bromide. Bromide of 
iron is a brick red, deliquescent salt, very soluble, and extremely styptic. For medical 
employment it should be in aqueous solution, protected by sugar. Mr. Dillwyn Parrish has 
proposed the following formula. Take of bromine two hundred grains; iron filings eighty-five 
grains; distilled water four and a half fiuidounces; sugar three ounces. Make a solution in 
the manner directed for preparing solution of iodide of iron. (Med. Exam., vii. 162.) This 
solution is deemed tonic and alterative. It has been used with advantage by Dr. E. Gillespie, 
of Brady’s Bend, Pa., in tetter, scrofulous tumours, inflammation of the glands both acute 
and chronic, erysipelas, and amenorrhcea. In tumours and erysipelas, Dr. Gillespie, besides 
giving the solution internally, applies it to the parts affected, by means of a feather, two or 
three times a day. Dr. David Alter, of Freeport, Pa., has employed it with seeming benefit u 
in phthisis and other tuberculous diseases. It has also been found useful in bronchocele. 
The dose of Mr. Parrish’s solution is twenty drops, three times a day, gradually increased 
until its effects are manifested. Bromide of iron is formed as the first step of the process 
for preparing the officinal bromide of potassium. (Seepage 1291.) B. 
BROMIDES OF MERCURY. The protobromide is formed by adding bromide of potas- 
sium to nitrate of protoxide of mercury. It falls as a white curdy precipitate. The bibro- 
mide may be obtained by digesting the protobromide in water containing bromine. It 
ts in the form of colourless crystals, soluble in water and alcohol. Exposed to heat it 
melts and sublimes. These bromides are analogous in composition and medical properties 
to the corresponding iodides of mercury. (Seepages 1163 and 1165.) The protobromide is Bryony.—Cabbage-tree Bark. 
PART TIL 
given in 'he dose of a grain daily, gradually increased. The bibromide, like corrosive 
sublimate, is an irritant poison, and may be administered in doses of the sixteenth of a 
grain, gradually increased to the fourth, either in the form of pill, or in ethereal solution, 
made by dissolving a grain in a fluidrachm of ether. li. 
BRYONY. White Bryony. This is the root of Bryonia alba, or white bryony, a perennial, 
climbing, herbaceous plant, growing in thickets and hedges in different parts of Europe. 
It bears rough, heart-shaped, five-lobed leaves, small yellow monoecious flowers, arranged 
in racemes, and roundish black berries about the size of a pea. Another species called 
B. dioica, with dioecious flotvers and red berries, bears so close a resemblance in character 
and properties to the preceding, that it is considered by some botanists merely a variety. 
The roots of both plants are gathered for use. When fresh they are spindle-shaped, some- 
times branched, a foot or two in length, as thick as the arm, or even thicker, externally 
yellowish-gray and circularly wrinkled, within white, succulent and fleshy, of a nauseous 
odour, which is lost in great measure by drying, and of a bitter, acrid, very disagreeable 
taste. The peasants are said sometimes to hollow out the top of the root, and to employ 
the juice which collects in the cavity as a drastic purge. (Herat et De Lens.) The berries 
are also purgative, and are used in dyeing. 
As kept in the shops, the root is in circular transverse slices, externally yellowish-gray 
and longitudinally wrinkled, internally of a whitish colour, becoming darker by age, con- 
centrically striated, light, brittle, and readily pulverizable, yielding a whitish powder. 
Besides a peculiar .bitter principle called bryonin, the root contains starch in considerable 
proportion, gum, resin, sugar, a concrete oil, albumen, and various salts. It yields its 
active properties to water. Bryonin may be obtained by mixing the powdered root with 
one-sixth of its weight of purified animal charcoal, in fine powder, putting the mixture 
into a percolator, already containing a quantity of animal charcoal equal to that mixed 
with the bryony, and then percolating successively with strong alcohol, diluted alcohol, 
and sufficient, water to displace the alcoholic liquid. The tincture thus obtained yields the 
bryonin by spontaneous evaporation. This is extremely bitter, soluble in -water and alco- 
hol, insoluble in ether, unaltered by the alkalies, and dissolved by sulphuric acid, wTith 
the production of a blue colour. It purges actively in the dose of two grains. (Am. Journ. 
of Fharm., xxviii., from Reperl, dc Fharm., Nov. 1855.) When treated with acids bryonin 
is resolved into sugar and two peculiar substances, one soluble in ether, called bryoretin, 
the other insoluble in that liquid, and named hydro-bryoretin. It is therefore a glucoside. 
(G. F. Walz. See Am. Journ. of Fharm., May, 1859, p. 251.) 
Bryony is an active liydragogue cathartic, in large doses sometimes emetic, and dis- 
posed, if too largely administered, to occasion inflammation of the alimentary mucous 
membrane. A fatal case is recorded by Mr. Wm. Herapath, in which narcotic symptoms 
with vomiting and purging were produced in a woman by an overdose of bryony with 
jalap, ending in death in thirty-six hours. On dissection, the brain was found congested, 
the heart, empty, and the gastric and intestinal mucous membrane inflamed. (Fharm. Journ., 
April, 1858, p. 542.) The recent root is highly'irritant, and is said, when bruised and ap- 
plied to the skin, to be capable of producing vesication. The medicine was well known to 
the ancients, and has been employed by modern physicians; but is now nearly superseded 
by jalap, which is more certain, and less liable to lose its strength by age. The dose of the 
powdered root is from a scruple to a drachm. W. 
BUXUS SEMPERYIRENS. Box. This evergreen shrub is too well known to require 
description. Though much cultivated in this country as an ornamental plant, it is a native 
of Europe and Western Asia. The wood is considered diaphoretic in its native, countries, 
and is used in decoction in rheumatism, secondary syphilis, &c. The leaves, which have a 
peculiar odour and a bitter and disagreeable taste, are said to be purgative in the dose of 
a drachm. A volatile oil distilled from the wood has been given in epilepsy. A tincture 
formerly enjoyed some reputation as antiperiodic. (Merat et Dc Lens.) W. 
CABBAGE-TREE BARK. The bark of Andira inermis (De Cand.), Geoffroya inermis 
(Willd.), figured in Woodville’s Medical Botany, p. 416, t. 151. This is a leguminous tree, 
with a stem rising to a considerable height, branched towards the top, and covered with 
a smooth gray bark. The leaves are pinnate, consisting of six or seven pairs of ovate- 
lanceolate, pointed, veined, smooth, pctiolate leaflets, with an odd one at the end. The 
flowers are rose-coloured, and in terminal panicles, with very short, pedicels. The tree is 
a native of Jamaica and other West India Islands. The bark, which is the part used, is 
in long pieces, thick, fibrous, externally of a brownish-ash colour, scaly, nnd covered 
with lichens, internally yellowish, of a resinous fracture, a disagreeable smell, and a 
sweetish, mucilaginous, bitterish taste. Its powder resembles that of jalap. Huttenschmidt 
obtained from it a crystallizable, very bitter substance, having the composition and neu- 
tralizing properties of the vegetable alkaloids, and named it jamaicina. Two grains of it 
produced violent purging in pigeons. 
Theodore Peckolt says of the wood of the tree, which he calls Andira a' Ihcixnintica, PART HI. 
Cabbage-tree Bark.—Cahinca. 
1479 
that the workmen engaged in sawing it are apt to be affected with inflammation of the 
eyes, constriction of the throat, excessive thirst, a bitter, burning taste, a troublesome 
itching over the body, and sometimes eruptions on the skin. By treating a concentrated 
decoction of the wood with hydrate of lime, filtering after 48 hours, evaporating to the 
consistence of syrup, and exhausting the residue with alcohol, l’eckolt obtained a yel- 
lowish-brown colouring matter which he called aniUrin, and which may prove serviceable 
in painting. lie also obtained a peculiar resin by treating the wood with alcohol, filtering, 
distilling off most of the alcohol, and then precipitating by water. The resin is inodorous, 
of a bitter, acrid taste, soluble in alcohol, and but partially soluble in ether. This resin, 
and peculiarly the portion soluble in ether, is the ingredient which gives its irritating 
properties to the sawdust. (Chem. Cent. Blatt, Nov. 17, 1858, p. 813.) 
On the continent of Europe, the bark of Andira return (Geoffroga Surinamensis), which 
grows in Surinam, has also been used. It is considered more powerfully vermifuge, and 
less liable to produce injurious effects. It has a grayish epidermis, beneath which it is 
reddish-brown, laminated, compact, and very tenacious, and, when cut transversely, ex- 
hibits a shining and variegated surface. In the dried state it is inodorous, but has an 
austere bitter taste. The powder is of a pale-cinnamon colour. 
Cabbage-tree bark is cathartic, and, in large doses, apt to occasion vomiting, fever, and 
delirium. It is said that these effects are more liable to result if cold water is drunk during 
its operation, and are relieved by the use of warm water, castor oil, or a vegetable acid. 
In the West Indies it is esteemed a powerful vermifuge, and is much employed for expel- 
ling lumbrici; but it is dangerous if incautiously administered, and instances of death 
from its use have occurred. It is almost unknown in this country, and does not enter into 
our officinal catalogues. The usual form of administration is that of decoction, though the 
medicine is also given in powder, syrup, and extract. The dose of the powder is from a 
scruple to half a drachm, of the extract three grains, of the decoction two fluidounces. W. 
CAHINCA. This medicine attracted at one time considerable attention. The name of 
cahinca or caincavtas adopted from the language of the Brazilian Indians. The Portuguese 
of Brazil call the medicine raiz pretta or black root. When first noticed in Europe, it was 
supposed to be derived from the Chiococca raccmosa of Linnceus, wThich was known to bota- 
nists as an inhabitant of the West Indies. But Martius, in his “Specimen Materi® Medic® 
Brasiliensis,” describes two other species of Chiococca, C. anguifuga and C. densifulia, which 
afford roots having the properties of the root ascribed to C. racemosa; and, as the medicine 
was brought from Brazil, there seemed to be good reason for referring it to one or both 
of the plants named by that botanist. A. Richard, however, received from Brazil specimens 
of C. racemosa as the cahinca plant. 
A specimen brought into this market consisted of cylindrical pieces, varying in size 
from the thickness of a straw to that of the little finger, somewhat bent or contorted, 
slightly wrinkled longitudinally, with occasional small asperities, internally ligneous, ex- 
ternally covered with a thin, brittle, reddish-brown bark, having a light-brown or brown- 
ish asli-coloured epidermis. The cortical portion, which was of a resinous character, had 
a bitter disagreeable taste, somewhat acrid and astringent; the ligneous part was quite 
tasteless. The virtues of the root reside almost exclusively in its bark. They are extracted 
by water and alcohol. Cahinca has been analyzed by several chemists. Four distinct 
principles were discovered in it by Pelletier and Caventou:—1. a crystallizable bitter 
substance, believed to be the active principle, and called cahincic acid; 2. a green fatty 
matter of a nauseous odour; 3. a yellow colouring matter; and 4. a coloured viscid sub- 
stance. Rochleder and Hlasiwetz found also caffeotannic acid. By these chemists a tinc- 
ture, obtained by boiling the bark in alcohol, was precipitated first with a spirituous solu- 
tion of acetate of lead, and afterwards, having been previously filtered, with the tribasic 
acetate of lead. The first precipitate consisted chiefly of caffeotannate and a portion of 
cahincate of lead, the second of cahincate of lead exclusively. To obtain the caffeotannic 
acid separate, the first precipitate was treated with sulphuretted hydrogen, and afterwards 
with neutral acetate of lead, and in like manner several times, until at length a pure 
caffeotannate of lead remained, which, on decomposition, yielded an acid identical with 
the tannic acid of coffee. The cahincic acid was obtained by treating the second precipi- 
tate with sulphuretted hydrogen, and concentrating the resulting liquid. The chemists 
last mentioned gave as its formula C16H]3Or [Chem. Gaz , ix 121.) Cahincic acid is white, 
vitliout smell, of a taste at first scarcely perceptible, but aftemvards extremely bitter and 
slightly astringent, of difficult solubility in water, but readily soluble in alcohol, perma- 
nent in the air* and unaltered at 212°. It reddens vegetable blues, and unites with the 
alkalies, but does not form crystallizable salts. It is thought to exist in the root as sub- 
cahincate of lime. 
Medical Properties. Cahinca is tonic, diuretic, purgative, and emetic. In moderate doses, 
it gently excites the circulation, increases the discharge of urine, and produces evacua- 
tions from the bowels; but is rather slow in its operation. It may be made to act also as a 
diaphoretic, by keeping the skin warm, using warm drinks, and counteracting its purga- Cahinca.—Calabar Bean. 
PART III. 
tive ten ienc". In some patients it occasions nausea and griping, and in very large doses 
always acts powerfully both as an emetic and cathartic. In Brazil it has long been used 
by the natives as a remedy for the bites of serpents; and its Indian name is said to have 
been deiived from this property. According to Martius, the bark of the fresh root is rubbed 
with water till the latter becomes charged with all its active matters; and the liquid, while 
yet turbid, is taken in such quantities as to produce the most violent vomiting and purging, 
preceded by severe spasmodic pains. Patrick Brown speaks of the root of C. racemosa as 
very useful in obstinate rheumatisms. But the virtues of cahinca in dropsy, though well 
known in Brazil, were first made known to the European public in the year 1826, by M. 
Langsdorf, Russian Consul at Rio Janeiro. Achille Richard afterwards published a few 
observations in relation to it in the Journal de Chimie Medicale; and its properties were subse- 
quently investigated by numerous practitioners. M. Francis, of Paris, contributed more 
than any other physician to its reputation. It was considered by him superior to all other 
remedies in dropsy. But general experience has not confirmed the partial estimate of Dr. 
Francis; and, having been found at least equally uncertain with other diuretics, the 
medicine is now little used. It was employed in substance, decoction, extract, and tinc- 
ture. The powdered bark of the root was given as a diuretic and purgative, in a dose 
varying from a scruple to a drachm; but the aqueous or spirituous extract was preferred. 
The dose of either of these is from ten to twenty grains. Dr. Francis recommended that, 
in the treatment of dropsy, a sufficient quantity should be given at once to produce a de- 
cided impression, which should afterwards be maintained by smaller doses, repeated three 
or four times a day. W. 
CALABAR BEAN. Ordeal Bean of Calabar. It has been long known that certain poison- 
ous substances were used as an ordeal, to determine the guilt or innocence of accused in- 
dividuals, among the Negroes of Western Africa. One of these, called the ordeal bean of 
Calabar, from the region where it is used, was brought to the notice of the scientific public 
by Dr. Daniell, in a paper read before the Ethnological Society of Edinburgh in 1846. 
Considerable attention was attracted to the subject; and specimens of the bean were ob- 
tained by Dr. Christison from the Gold Coast. These were planted in the Botanical Garden 
at Edinburgh, and produced a plant, which proved to be a perennial creeper, belonging to 
the natural family Leguminosse; but at the date of the publication of the last edition of this 
work, early in 1858, the precise botanical position of the plant had not been determined. In 
the year 1859, specimens of the plant were sent from Calabar, which came under the observa- 
tion of Dr. Balfour, of Edinburgh, who was thus enabled to ascertain its botanical character. 
He communicated the results of his examination to the Royal Society of Edinburgh; and 
his paper is published, with a particular description of the plant, in its Transactions (vol. 
xxii. p. 305). Having found that the plant belonged to a yet undescribed genus, he estab- 
lished a new one with the title of Physostigma, suggested by a peculiar inflation of the stigma; 
and designated the species as venenosum, from the notorious qualities of the fruit. The Physo- 
stigma venenosum is a climbing plant with a ligneous stem, mounting on trees and shrubs, and 
frequenting especially the banks of streams, into which it often drops its fruit when ripe; 
and it is said that the people of Calabar obtain their supply principally from the borders of 
the river down which the fruits are carried. A description of the plant, taken from that by 
Dr. Balfour in the Philosophical Transactions, may be seen in the Edinburgh Medical Jour- 
nal (July, 1863). In the same journal (p. 36) is an essay by Dr. Thos. R. Fraser, containing 
a summary of what was known on the subject of the bean up to that date, with a particular 
description of the bean, and an account of experiments made with it on animals. The plant 
is the only known species of the genus. The seed is about the size of a large horse-bean, 
being somewhat more than an inch in length by three-fourths of an inch in breadth, with a 
very firm, hard, brittle, shining integument of a brownish-red, pale-chocolate, or ash-gray 
colour. The shape is irregularly kidney-form, with a longer convex and a shorter concave 
edge, two flat sides, and a furrow running longitudinally along its convex margin, and 
ending in an aperture near one of the extremities of the seed. Within the shell is a kernel 
consisting of two cotyledons, weighing on an average about 46 grains, hard, white, and 
pulverizable, of a taste like that of the ordinary edible leguminous seeds, without bitter- 
ness, acrimony, or aromatic flavour. The bean yields its virtues to alcohol, and imper- 
fectly to water. Jobst and Hesse are said to have succeeded in isolating the active princi- 
ple, which they found exclusively in the cotyledons. They obtained it by exhausting an 
alcoholic extract of the seeds with water, adding magnesia to neutralization, which is indi- 
cated by the liquid becoming brown, then concentrating, and treating with ether. The 
ethereal solution is shaken with a little weak sulphuric acid. The liquid separates into two 
layers; the upper, ethereal, containing no alkaloid, and the lower, a solution of the sul- 
phate in water. The latter is separated, treated with magnesia, and afterwards with ether, 
which yields the alkaloid on evaporation. The substance thus obtained they propose to 
namephysostigmm. It is brown, amorphous, soluble in ammonia, soda, ether, benzole, and 
alcohol, and less so in cold water. Its watery solution has an alkaline reaction, and form* PART III. 
Calabar Bean. 
1481 
Balts with the acids. Iodide of potassium precipitates it of a dark-brown colour. Melted 
with potassa it yields alkaline vapours. (Journ. de Pharm., Mars, 1864, p. 277.) 
The beau is the only part known to possess medicinal properties. The shell is not withou. 
Some influence on the animal system, as shown by experiments upon rabbits made by Dr- 
Fraser, who found it to purge, increase the flow of urine, and produce temporary paralysis 
of the extremities, but without loss of consciousness; and, though a quantity of extract 
equivalent to a drachm of the shell was given, it did not cause death. The kernel, how- 
ever, is by far the most active part, as a rabbit was killed by five and a half grains of it 
The most prominent effects of this part of the bean were obviously on the spinal marrow, 
and, as believed by Dr. Fraser, of a depressing character. They were paralysis, loss of 
reflex action, contraction of the pupil, occasionally evacuation of the bowels, with reten- 
tion of consciousness until all power of expression ceased. Immediately after death the 
pupils dilated. No changes of structure were discoverable which could explain the pheno- 
mena. The brain and spinal marrow were apparently normal, and the heart full of blood. 
Similar effects were produced by topical application. The function of the part was sus- 
pended. The cardiac action and the vermicular movements of the bowels ceased by con- 
tact with the poison; and a little of it applied to the eye, produced contraction of the pupil 
of that eye, but not of both. The general conclusions of Dr. Fraser were, that the kernel 
has a depressing action on the spinal cord, causing death by paralysis in some instances 
of the respiratory muscles, in others of the heart. One of the most interesting results of 
his experiments appears to be, that the integument of the seed, though possessing in a 
slight degree the powers of the kernel over the nervous system, differs from it in being 
actively cathartic. 
In reference to the effects of the medicine upon the human system, precise results have 
not been obtained. It was known that the beans used by the natives as an ordeal, when 
given in a certain quantity, generally proved fatal, and the individual only escaped when 
they provoked vomiting, which was rare. A draught containing 19 seeds pounded and in- 
fused in water killed a man in an hour. It would be a subject of interesting inquiry, whe- 
ther the integuments might not, in certain quantities, act energetically as an emetic as well 
as cathartic; and whether the escape of the accused person, in some instances, might not 
be owing to the accidental or contrived exhibition of a larger than ordinary proportion of 
this part of the seeds. Dr. Christison took about 12 grains of the kernel, which in 15 mi- 
nutes produced giddiness and a feeling of torpidity, followed by great weakness and faint- 
ness, paleness of the surface, extreme weakness and irregularity of the pulse, and indispo- 
sition or inability to make voluntary muscular effort. There was no pain or other uneasiness, 
except the feeling of prostration and some nausea, and the intellect was normal. In two hours 
after the poison was swallowed, drowsiness occurred, but no stupor. Dr. Fraser experienced 
from smaller doses effects of a similar character, with temporary dimness of vision. The 
heart appears to be somewhat variously affected, sometimes acting irregularly or tumult- 
uously, and sometimes less frequently. A peculiar epigastric sensation is generally expe- 
rienced as the first symptom, about five minutes after the taking of the medicine, gradually 
increasing, and becoming at length almost painful. This continues at intervals for a con- 
siderable time, is after a little while attended with some dyspnoea; and then dizziness and 
feebleness of the extremities are experienced. 
The most interesting effect of the calabar bean, so far as its practical application is con- 
cerned, is that of contracting the pupil: an effect resulting whether from its internal or 
local use. It is most conveniently obtained by introducing a drop of watery solution of 
the alcoholic extract into the eye. Only the eye operated on is in this case affected. It 
is highly probable that the effect is produced by a debilitating or paralyzing influence on 
the spinal centres, whereby the action of the expanding fibres is suspended, and the con- 
tractile influence from the cerebral centres is left unimpeded. Another effect on the eye, 
more recently noticed, is the contraction of the ciliary muscle, which regulates the accom- 
modating power of the organ. Credit is especially due to Dr. D. A. Robertson, of Edinburgh, 
for calling attention to this influence of the calabar bean. (Ed. Med Journ., March, 1863, p 
815.) By this influence on the accommodation of the eye, distant objects become indistinct, 
are apparently magnified, and seem nearer; and Dr. Robertson noticed that this effect was 
produced sooner and ceased sooner than that upon the pupil. The eye in its normal state 
thus becomes near-sighted under the influence of the bean. In both these respects there is a 
strong contrast between the actions of the calabar bean and belladonna; one being exactly 
antagonistic of the other; as belladonna produces dilatation of the pupil, probably by re- 
laxing the contractile power from the cerebral centres, and at the same time relaxes the 
ciliary muscles. It does not follow that the operation of the bean is positively stimulant any 
more upon the ciliary muscles than upon the contractile muscles of the iris. It may in both 
cases be considered as diminishing or paralyzing a power which in the normal state balances 
the stimulant influence of the brain. The practical application of these properties of the 
calabar bean is obvious; and it is now considerably used whenever the indication is pre- 
sented either for producing contraction of the pupil, or increasing the power of accommo- 
dation of the eye to distances. 1482 
Calabar Bean.—Calamina. 
PART III. 
In regard to the general therapeutic application of the calabar bean less has been deci- 
dedly determined. But it would seem to be indicated, if the above views of its mode of action 
are correct, in all cases of abnormal excitement or irritation of the spinal marrow, espe- 
cia ly in tetanus and the poisonous effects of strychnia. 
The bear* may be used in the form of tincture or alcoholic extract. The dose of the kernel 
would be vwo or three grains, to begin with, and increased if necessary. But it is seldom 
used in this way. A strong tincture may be made by percolation with alcohol, in which five 
minims shall represent three grains of the bean, and a tincture of this strength is recom- 
mended by Dr. Fraser. The same writer obtained about 4 per cent, of extract by exhausting 
the kernel with alcohol. The dose, therefore, of alcoholic extract should not exceed one- 
twenty-fourth of that of the kernel, or one-eighth of a grain. 
For application to the eye Dr. Robertson employed an alcoholic extract mixed with water 
so as to make liquid preparations of different strengths, one minim representing half a grain, 
two grains, or four grains. He found these begin to affect the power of accommodation in 
10 minutes, and to produce the full effect in 20 or 30 minutes. They were also wholly unir- 
ritating to the eye. But they did not keep well, and he afterwards abandoned them for pre- 
parations made by suspending the extract in simple syrup. But it would seem best to keep 
the extract perfectly dry and mix it with a little wrater when wanted. 'This extract dissolves 
freely in glycerin; and a solution of two and a half grains in 100 minims of that liquid per- 
fectly pure has been found to answer in practice. (Pharm. Journ., July, 1863, p. 26.) An- 
other method of application is to impregnate paper by immersing it three or four times in 
a concentrated tincture of the bean, allowing it to dry after each immersion, and placing 
within the lower lid a piece of the paper thus prepared, about one-eighth of an inch square. 
W. 
CALAMINA. Calamine. Lapis Calaminaris. Calamine is introduced into this part of the 
Dispensatory, because dismissed from the Pharmacopoeias. The term calamine is applied 
by mineralogists indiscriminately to two minerals, scarcely distinguishable by their ex- 
ternal characters, the carbonate and silicate of zinc. The term, however, in the pharmaceu- 
tical sense refers to the native carbonate only. The silicate is sometimes called electric cala- 
mine. Calamine is found in the United States, but more abundantly in Germany and England. 
It usually occurs in compact or earthy masses, or concretions, of a dull appearance, readily 
scratched by the knife, and breaking with an earthy fracture; but sometimes it is found 
crystallized. Its colour is very variable; being, in different specimens, grayish, grayish- 
yellow, reddish-yellow, and, when very impure, brown or brownish-yellow. Its sp gr. varies 
from 3-4 to 4-4. Before the blowpipe it does not melt, but becomes yellow and sublimes. 
When of good quality, it is almost entirely soluble in the dilute mineral acids; and, unless 
it has been previously calcined, emits a few bubbles of carbonic acid. If soluble in sulphuric 
acid, it can contain but little carbonate of lime, and no sulphate of baryta. Ammonia, added 
to the sulphuric solution, throws down the oxide of zinc, mixed with the subsulphate, and 
takes it up again when added in excess. If copper be present, the ammonia will give rise 
to a blue colour; if iron, the alkali will throw down the sesquioxide, not soluble in an 
excess of the precipitant. The officinal calamine is distinguished from the electric calamine, 
which is a silicate of zinc, by dissolving in warm nitric acid without gelatinizing, and by 
not being rendered electric by heat. 
Impurities. Accoi'ding to Mr. Robert Brett, calamine, as sold in the English shops, is fre- 
quently a spurious mixture containing only traces of zinc. He analyzed six specimens, and 
found (hem to contain from 78 to 87-5 per cent, of sulphate of baryta, the rest consisting of 
sesquioxide of iron, carbonate of lime, sulphate (sulphuret) of lead, and mere traces of zinc. 
When acted on by muriatic acid, the spurious calamine, in powder, evolved sulphuretted 
hydrogen, and was only in small part dissolved, the great bulk of it remaining behind as 
sulphate of baryta. (Amer. Journ. of Pharm., ix. 173.) The results of Mr. Brett have been 
confirmed by Dr. R. D. Thomson, Mr. D. Murdock, and Mr. E. Moore. Dr. Thomson thinks 
the spurious calamine is made of sulphate of baryta and chalk, coloured with Armenian bole. 
The late Mr. Jacob Bell, of London, held the more probable opinion that it is the native sul- 
phate of baryta, deriving its colour from iron, which is a mineral having some resemblance 
to calamine. Mr. Midgley, indeed, states that the miners in England distinguish two cala- 
mines, brass calamine, which is sold to the makers of brass, and baryta calamine, which is 
really the native amorphous sulphate of baryta, and which is furnished to the druggists in 
the place of the genuine native carbonate of zinc. Even the genuine calamine of the shops 
is impure, usually containing iron and copper, and various earthy matters. That which has 
been calcined, to render it more readily pulverized, contains little or no carbonic acid. In 
view of these facts, the revisers of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia of 1850 deemed it proper to in- 
troduce, as a new officinal, thq pure carbonate of zinc, obtained by precipitation. (See Zinci 
Carbonas Prsecipitata.) The crystallized variety is anhydrous, and consists of one eq. of 
carbonic acid 22, and one of protoxide of zinc 40-3 = 62-3. The compact and earthy varie- 
ties are said to contain one eq. of water. 
Prepared Calamine. Calamine must be reduced to an impalpable powder before being used PART III. 
Calendula Officinalis.—Canary Seed. 
1483 
:n medicine. In this state it forms prepared calamine, which, though but recently an officinal 
preparation, has shared the fate of its original, and been discarded from the Pharmaco- 
poeias. The following is the U. S. formula of 1850. “Take of Calamine a convenient quantity. 
Heat it to redness, and afterwards pulverize it; then reduce it to a very fine powder in the 
manner directed for Prepared Chalk.” ( U.S.) The object of this process is to bring ilie native 
carbonate of zinc, or calamine, to the state of an impalpable powder. It is first calcined, to 
render it more readily pulverizable, and then levigated and elutriated. During the calcina- 
tion, water and more or less carbonic acid are driven uff: so that little else remains than 
the oxide of zinc, and the earthy impurities originally existing in the mineral. Calamine, 
as sold in England, is almost always spurious, consisting wholly or principally of native 
sulphate of baryta, coloured with sesquioxide of iron. The same remark applies to the 
calamine in the shops of the United States. Of six samples analyzed by Mr. F Bringhurst, 
of Wilmington, Del., five were totally devoid of zinc, and the sixth contained only 2 per 
cent, of the oxide. [Am. Journ. of Pharm., July, 1857 ) Prepared calamine is in the form 
of a pinkish or flesh-coloured powder, of an earthy appearance. Sometimes it is made up 
into small masses. It is used only as an external application, being employed as a mild 
astringent and exsiccant in excoriations and superficial ulcerations. For this purpose it 
is usually dusted on the part, and hence the necessity for its being in very fine powder. 
It is often employed in the form of cerate. (See Ceratum Calaminx, page 1044.) The evi- 
dence being conclusive that the powder almost universally sold as prepared calamine is 
a spurious article, consisting chiefly of sulphate of baryta, whatever therapeutic effects it 
may have exerted, must be attributed to that salt. 13. 
CALENDULA OFFICINALIS. Marygold. This well-known garden plant was formerly 
much employed in medicine. It has a peculiar, rather disagreeable odour, which is lost 
by drying, and a bitter, rough, saline taste. Among its constituents is a peculiar principle, 
called caltndulin, discovered by Geiger most abundantly in the flowers, and considered by 
Berzelius as analogous to bassorin, though soluble in alcohol. The plant was thought anti- 
spasmodic, sudorific, deobstruent, and emmenagogue, and was given in low forms of fever, 
scrofula, jaundice, amenorrhoea, &c. Both tho leaves and flowers were used; but the latter 
were preferred, and were usually administered in the recent state, in the form of tea. An 
extract was also prepared, and employed in cancerous and other ulcers, sick stomach, &c. 
At present marygold is very seldom if ever used in regular practice. W. 
CALLITRICHE VERNA. [Gray's Manual, p. 384 ) Water Starwort. This is a small, 
herbaceous, indigenous water plant, growing in shallow streams, ditches, or ponds, with a 
long stem under water, and leaves floating on the surface. This and several other species 
of the same genus are supposed to have diuretic properties, and are given in decoction in 
dropsical affections and complaints of the urinary organs. IV. 
CALOTROPIS GIGANTEA. Brotvn. Asclepias gigantea. Linn. Under the name of madar 
or mudar, a medicine has been employed in the East Indies, with great asserted advantage. 
It is the bark of the root of a species of Calotropis, generally considered as C. gigantea, 
but asserted by Dr Casanova to be a distinct species, and named by him C. Madam Indico- 
orientalis. C. gigantea is a native of Hindostan, and has been introduced int o the West 
Indies, where it is now naturalized. The bark, as employed, is without epidermis, of a 
whitish colour, nearly or quite inodorous, and of a bitter somewhat nauseous taste. It ap- 
pears to have the general properties of many other acrid medicines; in small doses, in- 
creasing the secretions, and in larger, producing nausea and vomiting. According to Dr. 
Casanova, who published an essay upon the subject at Calcutta, it is especially directed to 
the skin, the capillaries and absorbents of which it stimulates to increased action. It is 
chiefly recommended as a remedy in the obstinate cutaneous diseases of tropical climates, 
such as elephantiasis and leprosy. It has been employed also in syphilis, dropsy, rheu- 
matism, and hectic fever. It is given in substance in the dose of from three to twelve 
grains, three times a day, and gradually increased till it affects the system. The plant 
has of late years been applied to various economical purposes in India, independently of 
its medical use. The most important of these is the manufacture of cords, ropes, &c. from 
the fibres of its branches, which are said to possess many of the properties of flax, and to 
be applicable to the making of cloth. (C/iem. News, No. 167, p. 76.) W. 
CAM WOOD. A red dye-wood, procured from the Baphia nitida of De Candolle, a legu- 
minous tree, growing on the Western Coast of Africa. The wood is usually kept in the 
aaops in the ground state. It yields its colouring matter scarcely at all to cold water, 
slightly to boiling water, and readily to alcohol and alkaline solutions. This colouring 
matter is thought to be identical with santalin. W. 
CANARY SEED. The seeds of Phalaris Canariensis, an annual plant belonging to the 
grasses, originally from the Canary Islands, but now growing wild in Europe and the 
United States, and cultivated in many places. The seeds are ovate, somewhat compressed, 
about two lines long, shining, and of a light yellowish-gray colour externally, and brown- 
ish within. Their chief constituent is starch. They were formerly esteemed medicinal, but 1484 
Caoutchouc. 
PART III. 
are nt w used on1* j for emollient cataplasms. They are nutritive, and their meal is said to 
be mixed, in some places, with wheat flour, and made into bread. They are used as food 
for Canary birds. W. 
CAOUTCHOUC. Gum Elastic. Indian Rubber. Many lactescent plants belonging to the 
natural orders Artocarpese, Apocynacesc, and Euphorbiacese, and growing in hot countries, 
yield products analogous to caoutchouc; but, as found in general commerce, this substance 
is the concrete juice of different species of Siphonia, especially the Siphonia Cakuchu of 
Schreber and Willdenow, identical with Siphonia elastica of Persoon, the Jalropha elastica 
of the younger Linnaeus, and the Hevea Guianensis of Aublet. This is a large tree, grow- 
ing in Brazil, Guiana, and probably also in Central America (Journ. of Phil. Col. of Pharm., 
iii. 292); but the product is brought chiefly from the port of Para, in Brazil. On being 
wounded, the tree emits a milky juice, which concretes on exposure, and constitutes the 
substance in question. Caoutchouc comes to us in large flat pieces, or moulded into various 
shapes. The latter are formed by applying successive layers of the juice upon moulds of 
clay, which are broken and removed when the coating has attained a sufficient thickness 
and consistence. In the drying of these layers, they are exposed to smoke, which gives 
to the concrete mass a blackish colour. The juice, when it concretes by exposure to the 
air, assumes on the outer surface a yellowish-brown colour, while the mass remains white 
or yellowish-white within. It is said that a little alum facilitates the coagulation, while 
ammonia retards it; so that a little of the latter may be advantageously added, when it is 
desired to keep the milky juice in the liquid state, (li. Spruce, Pharm. Journ., xv. 118.) The 
recent juice contains, according to Faraday, 1-9 per cent, of vegetable albumen, traces of 
wax, 7-13 per cent, of a bitter azotized substance soluble in water and alcohol, 2-9 of a 
substance soluble in water but insoluble in alcohol, 56-37 of water with a little free acid, 
and only 31-7 of the pure elastic principle to which chemists have given the name of caout- 
chouc. Besides these principles the concrete juice, as it reaches us, generally contains soot 
derived from the smoke used in drying it. Pure caoutchouc is nearly colourless, and in thin 
layers transparent. It is highly elastic, lighter than water, without taste and smell, fusible 
at about 248°, remaining unctuous and adhesive upon cooling, inflammable at a higher 
temperature, insoluble in water, alcohol, the w-eak acids, and alkaline solutions, soluble in 
ether when entirely freed from alcohol, soluble also in chloroform and most of the fixed 
and volatile oils, though, in the latter, at the expense of its elasticity. It is said, however, 
that the oils of lavender and sassafras dissolve it without change, and that, w-hen precipi- 
tated by alcohol from its solution in cajeput oil, it is still elastic. But its best solvents, 
for practical purposes, are coal-naphtha or benzine, the empyreumatic oil obtained by dis- 
tilling caoutchouc itself, and pure oil of turpentine. According to Dr. Bolley, the best 
method of effecting its solution, for the preparation of a varnish, is first to digest it, cut 
in small pieces, in bisulpliuret of carbon, which converts it into a jelly, and then to treat 
this jelly with benzine. A larger proportion is thus taken up than by any other method. (See 
Am. Journ. of Pharm., Sept. 1862, p. 414.) Caoutchouc is not affected by atmospheric air, 
chlorine, muriatic or sulphurous acid gas, or ammonia. It consists, according to Faraday, 
of 87-2 parts of carbon, and 12-8 of hydrogen. 
By the action of sulphur caoutchouc acquires properties which greatly increase its value 
in the arts. It becomes of a black colour and horny consistence, preserves its elasticity 
under the influence both of heat and cold, is compressible with great difficulty, and resists 
the ordinary solvents, such as petroleum and oil of turpentine. In this state it is said to 
be vulcanized. The discovery of the process of vulcanization is ascribed to Mr. Charles Good- 
year, of New York. (Chem. Gaz., x. 193.) It consists in submitting caoutchouc in thin 
sheets to the action of a mixture, composed of 40 parts of bisulphuret of carbon and 1 of 
chloride of sulphur. For fuller details the reader is referred to the Journ. de Pharm. (3e 
ser., xvii. 205). But the same object may be effected in other methods. When thin layers 
of caoutchouc are immersed for two or three hours in melted sulphur at the heat of 240° 
F., they are penetrated by the sulphur, but undergo no change of properties. If now 
heated in an inert medium to a temperature of from 275° to 320°, a chemical reaction takes 
place, and the vulcanized product is obtained. The same result takes place if the caout- 
chouc be first pounded with from 12 to 20 per cent, of finely powdered sulphur, and then 
heated to the temperature requisite for vulcanization. In either case a portion of uncom- 
bined sulphur remains mechanically mixed with the vulcanized caoutchouc, from which it 
may be separated by various solvents, such as solutions of caustic soda or potassa, bisul- 
phuret of carbon, oil of turpentine, anhydrous ether, &c. The dtsulphurated product thus 
obtained, while exempt from the disadvantages arising from the reaction of free sulphur, 
is more porous than before. (Ibid., xxi. 366.) 
Caoutchouc is used for erasing pencil marks; in the formation of flexible tubes for the 
laboratory, and of catheters, bougies, pessaries, dilaters, and other instruments for sur- 
gical purposes; in the melted state, as a luting to the joints of chemical apparatus; in the 
shape of thin layers, for covering the mouths of bottles, and for other purposes in which 
the exclusion of air and moisture is requisite; in the manufacture of water-proof cloth; PART ill. 
Capparis Spinosa.—Caramania Cum. 
1485 
as a varnish, and for numerous other purposes, to -which’ its elasticity, and the resistance 
which it offers to the ordinary solvents, and to other powerful chemical agents, peculiarly 
adapt it. It may be brought to the state of thin layers, by softening the small flasks of it 
in ether containing alcohol, or boiling them in water for fifteen minutes, and then dis 
tending them by means of air forced into them; and the same end may be attained by 
spreading its naphtha or ethereal solution upon a smooth surface, and allowing the solvent 
to evaporate. Tubes of caoutchouc may be made from its solution, or from the juice im- 
ported in the liquid state. A court-plaster prepared with caoutchouc has been considerably 
used, and from its impermeability by moisture is sometimes valuable. (See Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., xv. 38.) A convenient sticking plaster may be prepared by spreading the liquid 
caoutchouc, by a stiff brush, upon calico, soft leather, or thin sheets of vulcanized Indian 
rubber as found in the shops. Small thin pieces of caoutchouc may be very advantageously 
employed to suppress hemorrhage from leech-bites, &c., by first softening one surface of the 
piece by a taper, and when cool applying it firmly over the bleeding point. The cavity of 
a decayed tooth may be lined with caoutchouc, so as to prevent the access of air, and thus 
relieve pain, by fastening a piece firmly around the end of a rod, liquefying the surface by 
heat, then introducing it with pressure into the cavity, and again withdrawing it. The 
milky juice obtained from the plant, and prevented from coagulating in the bottle by a 
little solution of ammonia, has been recommended as a local application in cutaneous 
eruptions, burns, erysipelas, &c., in which it proves useful by concreting, and forming an 
elastic covering, impermeable to moisture and the air. A solution of caoutchouc in chlo- 
roform is used for the same purpose; the menstruum evaporating quickly, and leaving a 
thin layer of the elastic substance on the surface. Caoutchouc has been given internally 
in phthisis, in the dose of one or two grains, gradually increased. W. 
CAPPARIS SPINOSA. Caper-bush. A low, trailing shrub, growing in the south of Eu- 
rope and north of Africa. The buds or unexpanded flowers, treated with salt and vinegar, 
form a highly esteemed pickle, which has an acid, burning taste, and is considered useful 
in scurvy. The dried bark of the root was formerly officinal. It is in pieces partially or 
wholly quilled, about one-third of an inch in mean diameter, transversely wrinkled, grayish 
externally, whitish within, inodorous, and of a bitterish, somewhat acrid, and aromatic 
taste. It is considered diuretic, and was formerly employed in obstructions of the liver 
and spleen, amenorrhoea, and chronic rheumatism. W. 
CARAMANIA GUM. Under this name a large quantity of a peculiar product was a 
short time since brought into this market for sale, a specimen of which, kindly sent us by 
Mr. 13. R. Smith, we have had the opportunity of examining. No history of its origin came 
with it, but, judging from its name and character, we have little doubt that it is identical 
with the Caramania gum, noticed under the head of tragacanth, as one of the substances 
used in the adulteration of that drug. It is in pieces differing in size from that of a small 
pea to that of a Spanish chestnut, of various shapes, sometimes irregularly spherical, some- 
times elongated, often bent or somewhat contorted, occasionally appearing as if several 
smaller pieces had adhered longitudinally, smoothish on the surface, generally pale, but 
in some pieces brown, and in most of a faint reddish hue, and translucent in all. The gum 
is very hard yet brittle, without smell, nearly tasteless, and very gradually softening when 
held in the mouth. At our request, Professor Procter subjected a portion to examination, 
and found it, when macerated in cold water, gradually to swell up like tragacanth, and 
like it, to give up a part of its substance to water, but less than tragacanth. After four or 
five days it ceased to swell, and the bulky hydrated masses formed appeared like clouded 
calf’s-feet jelly, and with little cohesiveness, in this respect resembling Bassora gum. The 
dissolved portion was mucilaginous but not thick. It was precipitated by subacetate of 
lead, but less decidedly than arabin. Oxalate of ammonia caused a white precipitate, indi- 
cating the presence of lime. It was not coagulated by borax or sesquichloride of iron, nor 
was it precipitated by alcohol in flakes like arabin. The undissolved portion, boiled with 
diluted sulphuric acid, was broken down, assuming a syrupy consistence, and yielded to 
Trommer s test evidence of the presence of glucose, which must have been formed under 
the influence of the acid, as the first, watery solution contained none. Prof. Procter failed 
to find any signs of lead on the surface, so that the statement made by Mr. Maltass in re- 
lation to the Caramania gum used to adulterate tragacanth is not applicable to this. But 
there was no reason to expect it, as this was offered in the market under its own and not 
a false name. It is very obviously the concrete exuded juice of a tree, but the particular 
plant which yields it is unknown. So far as examined it corresponds to a considerable 
extent with Bassora gum; and as it probably comes from Caramania, a province in the 
eastern part of Asia Minor, it is not impossible that the two are of the same origin, the 
Bassora gum being carried down to the Persian Gulf.* W. 
* After the article upon Caramania gum had been sent to the press, a specimen was shown us, labeled false tra- 
gacantli, which had been kept for many years in a materia medica cabinet, and had probably been separated from 
a parcel of adulterated tragacanth, and which so closely resembled the gum described in the text, that we have no 
doubt of their identity in character and origin. According to Mr. Maltass, Caramania gum is used in the adultera- 
tion of tragacanth to the extent, in different varieties, of from 25 to 100 per cent. (Pharm. Journ., xv. 20.) Caranna.—Carbolic Acid. 
PART III. 
CAR .\NNA. Gum Caranna. A resinous substance, in pieces of a blackish-gray colour ex- 
ternally, dark-brown internally, somewhat shining and translucent, brittle and pulveriza- 
ble when dry, but, in the recent state, soft and adhesive like pitch, easily fusible, of an 
agreeable balsamic odour when heated, and of a bitterish resinous taste. {Geiger.) It is 
said to be derived from the Amyris Caranna of Humboldt, a tree growing in Mexico and 
South America. Geiger refers it also to Bursera gummifera of the West India Islands; but 
the resin obtained from this tree is described by the French writers under the name of 
resine de Gomart, or rcsine de cliilou, or cachibou, and is said to bear a close resemblance to 
the resin lacamahac. W. 
CAR BAZOTIC ACID. Picric Acid. Nitropicric Acid. This acid is obtained by the action 
of nitric acid on indigo, silk, and other substances. It may be cheaply prepared from coal 
tar creasote (impure phenylic acid), or from Australian gum. It is in pale-yellow shining 
scales, soluble in water, to which it gives a strong yellow colour and very bitter taste. 
Its salts crystallize readily, and explode when heated. The potassa salt is so sparingly 
soluble, that an alcoholic solution of the acid may be used as a test for this alkali. Its for- 
mula is Cj2(II.,3N04)0 -f- IIO; being phenylic acid, with three eqs. of hydrogen replaced 
by three of hyponitric acid. 
From the therapeutic trials, made with carbazotic acid, it is inferred to be tonic and astrin- 
gent. In large doses it is poisonous; 10 grains of it having been sufficient to kill a dog in 
less than two hours. (Taylor on Poisons, p. 793.) It was first used in intermittent fever by 
Dr. Bell, of Manchester, who thought it might be employed as a cheap substitute for quinia. 
Its salts are preferred to the free acid, which is apt to cause cramps of the stomach; and 
those most approved are the carbazotates of ammonia and iron. Dr. T. Moffat cured several 
cases of cephalalgia by the iron salt, and cases of intermittent fever and anaemia by the am- 
monia salt. Mr. Alfred Aspland has given an ample trial to the acid and the salt of ammo- 
nia, and confirms the statements previously made of their efficacjq having found them espe- 
cially useful in intermittent fever, and applicable to all cases in which quinia is indicated. 
{Med. Times and Gaz., Sept. 1802, p. 289.) The dose of either, administered in pills, is from 
a quarter to half a grain, three times a day. Mr. Aspland began with a grain three times a 
day, and increased to 4 grains for a dose. A curious effect of these salts, first observed by 
Dr. Moffat, is to produce, in many cases, a temporary yellowness of the skin and conjunc- 
tiva, as in jaundice. The effect is generally induced when about 15 grains of the acid have 
been taken. The urine also becomes orange-coloured. The colour disappears in two or three 
weeks after ceasing to use the medicine. 
Carbazolate of iron may be prepared by digesting pure crystallized carbazotic acid with an 
excess of recently precipitated sesquioxide of iron and water at a gentle heat, till the acid 
has disappeared, filtering, and evaporating the filtrate at a temperature not exceeding 212°. 
Thus prepared it is amorphous, reddish-brown in mass, lighter-coloured in powder, of an 
astringent and intensely bitter and persistent taste, and readily soluble in water. On account 
of its bitterness, it is best given in pill. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., March, 18G3, p. 169.) 13. 
CARBOLIC ACID. Phenic Acid. Phenylic Acid. Phenol. Hydrated Oxide of Phenyl. This 
substance bears so close a resemblance to creasote, that the two have by some been consid- 
ered identical; and, though they have been proved to be distinct bodies, yet they are often 
mixed in commerce, and we have been informed that much of what is sold as creasote is 
really carbolic acid. This name was given to the substance under consideration by liunge, 
who discovered it, in 1834, in the tar of coal. In 1841, it wras thoroughly investigated by 
Laurent, who, considering it as a hydrated oxide of a peculiar compound radical which he 
named phenyl (C12II5), described it under the name of hydrated oxide of phenyl (C12H5,0 -j~ IIO). 
Its acid properties having been subsequently recognised, it received the name of phenic acid; 
but chemists appear disposed, out of justice to its original discoverer, to adhere to the title 
he gave it of carbolic acid. It exists in that portion of coal tar which distils over between 
300° and 400° F. This, when mixed with a hot concentrated solution of hydrate of potassa, 
Is resolved, on the addition of water, into a light oil, and a heavier alkaline liquid. If the 
latter be separated and neutralized with muriatic acid, carbolic acid will be disengaged in 
an impure state, and will float on the surface in the form of a light oil. By distilling this 
from chloride of calcium to separate water, and exposing the distillate to a low temperature, 
carbolic acid congeals in the form of a colourless crystalline mass disposed to deliquescence, 
which is to be separated from the accompanying liquid by pressure in bibulous paper. This 
remains solid at a higher temperature than that required to congeal it; but at 95° it melts, 
and constitutes the acid in its liquid form. It has been already stated that the congealed 
acid is disposed to deliquesce. If exposed to the air, it attracts moisture, and rapidly be- 
comes liquid, and continues in this form at ordinary temperatures. As commonly kept in 
the shops, carbolic acid is a colourless liquid, of an oily aspect, a peculiar empyreumatic 
odour recalling that of creasote, yet quite distinct, and an acrid burning taste. Its sp gr. 
is 1 062, and its boiling point 370°. According to M. Lemaire, it is soluble in 20 parts of 
water. It is freely dissolved by alcohol; and its solubility in water is much increased by 
the addition of from 5 to 10 per cent, of alcohol or acetic acid. {Lemaire.) Though neutral PART Hi. 
Carbolic Acid.—Carburet of Iron.' 
1487 
to test-paper, it combines feebly with salifiable bases; its salts being decomposed by car- 
bonic acid, and those with the alkalies having an acid reaction. Heated with ammonia, it 
yields anilip and water. In antiseptic power, as well as in physiological effects, it has a close 
analogy with creasote; yet is sufficiently distinguished by its greater sp. gr., its much higher 
congealing and lower boiling point, and by the result of the action of strong nitric acid, 
which with carbolic acid produces pure picric or trinitrophenic acid, while with creasote it 
gives rise to oxalic acid, resinous matter, and but a small proportion of picric acid. (F. Grace 
Calvert, Lancet, Oct. 31,1863, p. 523.) Its aqueous solution coagulates albumen, arrests fer- 
mentation, instantly destroys the lower'forms of vegetable and animal life, and in very small 
proportion prevents mouldiness in vegetable juices, and protects animal substances against 
putrefaction. In consequence of this property, also, it is believed by M. Lemaire to have the 
power of destroying miasms, and even of modifying the matter of contagion. Injected into 
the rectum it destroys the thread-worm, and thus favours its evacuation. Applied in a pure 
state to the skin it causes sharp pain, lasting for about an hour; a white appearance is pro- 
duced, consequent on the coagulation of the albumen, and this is followed by intense inflam- 
mation, with exfoliation of the epidermis, continuing for many days. On the mucous sur- 
face its action is similar. (Lemaire. See Chern. News, No. 192, p. 66, also No. 194, p. 89.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Much is due to Prof. F. Crace Calvert, of Manchester, England, 
for bringing into notice this valuable medicine, which was formerly merely one of the refuse 
matters in the utilization of coal tar. Not only did he first call attention to it; but he has 
also taken the trouble to collect accounts of its various practical applications, which he has 
published in the journals, and of which we give a brief abstract. Its most important use 
hitherto has been as an external remedy. But it has also been used internally with benefi- 
cial results. Dr. Henry Browne, of Manchester, has used it advantageously in diarrhoea, 
and Dr. Roberts has checked vomiting with it, given in the dose of a drop in the form of 
pill, after creasote had failed. It has been found to give relief in cases of dyspepsia accom- 
panied with pain in the stomach after meals. Dr. Goddard, of Burslem, has cured a severe 
case of spasmodic asthma by the acid given with decoction of sarsaparilla. Locally, it may 
be applied of full strength as a caustic, or variously diluted for different purposes. With 
reference to its caustic effect, it is peculiarly valuable as affecting only a superficial layer 
of the surface to which it is applied. Hence it is especially adapted to cases of diphtheritis 
and malignant angina. It may be used also in anthrax, unhealthy suppuration, and gan- 
grenous or cancerous ulcers, in which its influence in correcting fetid odours renders it 
peculiarly useful. In hemorrhoidal affections and fistulas it has also proved efficacious. 
When required to be diluted, it may be dissolved in glycerin, which takes it up in all pro- 
portions. Diluted in this way it has been used in lepra with very good effects. To the same 
affection it may be applied in the form of ointment, made with 4 parts of carbolic acid to 
56 of spermaceti. An emulsion of it may be prepared by mixing one part of the acid with 
8 parts of sweetened water containing 17-5 per cent, of sugar. A watery solution, made with 
one part of the acid to 40 parts of hot water, well shaken and then filtered, may be used as 
an alterative and disinfectant in all fetid ulcers and abscesses, gangrenous wounds, and 
cases of caries or necrosis, in which it may be injected through the fistulous openings. In 
many cutaneous eruptions, as lepra, porrigo, and the advanced stages of eczema and impe- 
tigo. it has proved efficacious. Should the acid be in the solid state, it may readily be melted 
by placing the bottle containing it in hot water. (Pharrn. Journ., Dec. 1861, p. 319, and Journ. 
de Pharm., Mars, 1863, p. 250.) M. Bazin employs, with great success, a solution of 1 part 
of carbolic acid in 40 parts of acetic acid of 8° 13. and 100 of water, against tetter and the 
itch, in the former applying a compress wet with the solution daily, in the latter using it 
simply as a lotion. One application is sufficient to destroy ihe psora insect. Carbolic acid 
has also been used to prevent putrefaction in organic substances; and, accoi’ding to M. Le- 
maire, the corpse of a man can be preserved by less than 50 centimes (7 5 grains) of the 
acid. For internal use the dose may be a drop. (Journ. de Pharm., Juillet. 1861, p. 67.) M. 
Boboeuf prefers the salts of carbolic acid to the acid itself. He has found the carbolate of 
soda or potassa, in a solution of from 5° to 10° B., applied by means of compresses to bleed- 
ing wounds, to suppress the hemorrhage instantly. {Ann. de Therap., 1862, p. 62.) W. 
CARBONIC OXIDE. Dr. Ozanam has proposed this gas as an anaesthetic; his opinion of 
its fitness being founded on twenty-five experiments on rabbits, and five on man; but his 
results show it to be dangerous, on account of the sudden manner in which it sometimes 
acts, and its supposed advantages are problematical. (See B. and F. Medico-Chir. Rev., Am. 
ed., July, 1857, p. 176.) B. 
CARBURET OF IRON. Ferri Carburetum. Plumbago. Black Lead. This substance has 
been used both internally and externally in cutaneous affections. For medicinal use it is re- 
duced to very fine powder, and purified by being boiled in water, and digested with dilute 
nitromuriatic acid. The dose is from five to fifteen grains or more, three or four times a day, 
given in the form of powder or pill. The ointment is made by mixing from two to six drachms 
with an ounce of lard. B. 1488 
Cardamrne Pratemis.—Caulophyllum Thalictroides. 
fart iii. 
CARD AMINE PRATENSIS. Cuckoo-flower. This is a perennial herbaceous plant, with a 
simple, smooth, erect stem, about a foot in height. The leaves are pinnate; the radical, 
composed of roundish irregularly toothed leaflets, those of the stem alternate, with leaflets 
which become narrower, more entire, and pointed as they ascend. The flowers are purplish- 
white or rose-coloured, and terminate the stem in a raceme approaching the character of a 
corymb. The plant is a native of Europe, and is found in the northern parts of our continent, 
about Hudson’s Bay. It is a very handsome plant, abounding in moist meadows, which it 
adorns with its flowers in the months of April and May. The leaves are bitterish, and 
slightly pungent, resembling in some measure those of water-cresses, and like them sup- 
posed to be possessed of antiscorbutic properties. In Europe they are sometimes added to 
salads. The flowers have the same taste as the leaves, and, when fresh, a somewhat pungent 
odour. When dried they become inodorous and nearly insipid. They formerly possessed the 
reputation of being diuretic, and, since the publication of a paper by Sir George Baker, 
more than half a century ago, have been occasionally used as an antispasmodic in various 
nervous diseases, such as chorea and spasmodic asthma, in which they were successfully 
employed by that physician. They produce, however, little obvious effect upon the system, 
and are not employed in this country. W. 
CARY A. Hickory. Juglam, Linn. Several species of the genus Carya, of Nuttall, sepa- 
rated by that botanist from the Juglam of Linnaeus, grow within the limits of the United 
States, of which C. olivseformis bears the pecan-nut of the South-West, C. alba, the fruit so 
well known by the name of shell-bark, derived probably from the ragged state of the bark 
of the stem, C. sulcata, another variety of shell-bark, and C. tomentosa, the common thick- 
shelled hickory nut. Other indigenous species are C. amara, C. glabra, and C. microcarpa. 
The leaves of most if not all of these trees are somewhat aromatic and astringent, and the 
bark astringent and bitter; and both no doubt possess medical virtues. Attention has re- 
cently been called to them by Mr. Frederick Stearns, of Detroit, in a paper on the medical 
plants of Michigan, read before the American Pharmaceutical Association, and published in 
their Proceedings (1859, p. 249). Mr. Stearns bases his opinion of the probable virtues of 
these products upon a communication made to him by Mr. Cafiinbury, of the same State, 
who had found great advantage from chewing the inner bark of the hickory in dyspepsia, 
and has used a tincture made from the same bark with great success in the treatment of 
intermittent fever. The use of the remedy had extended in his neighbourhood, and many 
employ it habitually in the same complaint, some of whom very wisely prefer the infusion 
to the tincture, as it has been found equally effectual. W. 
CASTANEA. Chinquapin. This held a place in the secondary catalogue of our Pharmaco- 
poeia, until the late revision, when it was discarded. It is the bark of Castanea pumila, or 
chinquapin, of our Atlantic States. We present here the short account of it formerly con- 
tained in the first part of this work. The genus Castanea belongs to Monoecia Polyandria of the 
Linnsean system, and to the natural order Cupuliferae, with the following generic character: 
—“Male. Ament naked. Calyx none. Corolla five-petaled. Stamens ten to twenty. Female. 
Calyx five or six leaved, muricate. Corolla none. Germs three. Stigmas pencil formed. Nuts 
three, included in the echinated calyx.” ( Willd.)—The chinquapin is a shrub or small tree, 
which, in the Middle States, rarely much exceeds seven or eight feet in height, but, in the 
Carolinas, Georgia, and Louisiana, sometimes attains an elevation of thirty or forty feet, with 
a diameter of trunk equal to twelve or fifteen inches. The leaves are oblong, acute, mucro- 
nately serrate, and distinguished from those of the chestnut, which belongs to the same 
genus, by their whitish and downy under surface. The barren flowers are grouped upon 
axillary peduncles, three or four inches long; the fertile aments are similarly disposed, but 
less conspicuous. The fruit is spherical, covered with short prickles, and encloses a brown 
nut, which is sweet and edible, but differs from the chestnut in being much smaller, and 
convex on both sides. The tree extends from the banks of the Delaware southward to the 
Gulf of Mexico, and south-westward to the Mississippi. It is most abundant in the southern 
portions of this tract of country. The bark is the part used. It is astringent and tonic, and 
has been employed in the cure of intermittents. W. 
CATALPA CORDIFOLIA. Bignonia Catalpa. Linn. Catalpa tree, or Catawba tree. This 
is a beautiful indigenous flowering tree, occasionally cultivated for ornamental purposes. 
It is reputed to be poisonous. The seeds have been employed by several practitioners of con- 
tinental Europe in asthma. M. Automarchi recommends a decoction, made by boiling twelve 
ounces of water with three or four ounces of the seeds down to six ounces, the whole to be 
given morning and night; but, if there be any foundation for the prevalent opinion as to 
the poisonous character of the tree, this might be a hazardous dose; and it would be ad- 
visable, in any one who might be disposed to imitate the practice, to begin with much 
smaller doses, and to increase until the effects of the medicine on the system are ascer- 
tained. W 
CAULOPIIYLLUM THALICTROIDES. (Michaux.) Leontice thalictroides. Linn. Blue Co- 
hosh. Pappoose Root. (Gray's Manual, p. 20.) An indigenous, perennial, herbaceous plant, PART ill. 
Ceanothus Americanus.—Cedron 
■with matted, knotty rhizomas, from winch rises a single, smooth stem, about two feet high, 
naked till near the summit, where it sends out a large triternately compound leaf, and end* 
ing in a small raceme or panicle of greenish-yellow flowers, at the base of which is often a 
smaller biternate leaf. The whole plant when young, as well as the seeds, which are about 
as large as peas, is glaucous. It is the only known species of the genus. It is found in most 
parts of the United States, growing in moist rich woods. The root is the part used. This has 
a sweetish, pungent taste, and yields its virtues to water and alcohol. It is deemed especially 
emmenagogue, and is thought also to promote the contractions of the uterus, for which pur- 
pose, we learn, it is much employed by the “eclectic” practitioners, who consider it also 
possessed of diaphoretic and various other remedial properties. It is given in decoction, in- 
fusion, or tincture; the first two being made in the proportion of an ounce to a pint of water, 
the last of four ounces to a pint of spirit. The dose of the decoction or infusion is one or 
two fluidounces, of the tincture one or two fluidrachms. W. 
CEANOTHUS AMER1CANUS. New Jersey Tea. Red-root. A small indigenous shrub, 
growing throughout the United States. The root is astringent, and imparts a red colour to 
water. It is said to be useful in syphilitic complaints, in which it is given in the form of 
decoction, made with two drachms of the root to a pint of water. Schoepf states that it is pur- 
gative The leaves were used during the revolutionary war as a substitute for tea. Dr. Hub- 
bard recommends a strong infusion of the dried leaves and seeds, as a local application in 
aphthous affections of the mouth and fauces, and the sorethroat of scarlatina, and as an 
internal remedy in dysentery. (Boston Med. and Surg. Journ., Sept. 30, 1835.) B. 
CEDRON. The seeds of a tree growing in New Granada and Central America, and de- 
scribed by M. Planchon under the name of Simaba Cedron, in the London Journal of Botany 
tv. 566), from specimens sent by Mr. Win. Purdie, curator of the Botanical Garden at Trini- 
dad, to Sir Wm. J. Hooker. Mr. Purdie had received the first intimation of the value of this 
medicine from Dr. Cespedes, a physician of Bogota. The first account of it, however, which 
reached Europe appears to have been that of Dr. Luigi Rotellini, a physician of St. Domingo, 
who had previously resided in New Granada. It was published in an Italian journal so early 
as the year 18.46. In France it appears to have been made known through M. Jamord, who 
received information of its effects from M. Herran, Charg6 d’Affaires in France of the Re- 
public of Costa Rica. The fullest account that we have seen of the plant and its product is 
from the pen of Sir Wm. J. Hooker. (See Pharm. Journ., Jan. 1851, x. 344.) 
Simaba Cedron belongs to the natural family of Simarubaceae. It is a small tree, with 
an erect stem, not exceeding six inches in diameter, branching at top in an umbellate 
form, with large, glabrous, pinnate leaves, and pale-brown flowers, in long, branching 
racemes. The fruit is a large, solitary drupe, containing a single seed. The whole plant 
appears to be impregnated with a bitter principle, but it is the seed only that is used. A 
specimen of the dried fruit was kindly sent to the author from Cartago, in Costa Rica, by 
Dr. Guier, formerly of Philadelphia. It is light, of a yellowish-ash colour, flattish-ovate, 
with one edge convex and the other nearly straight, the convex outline terminating at each 
end in an obtuse point, of which that at the apex is most prominent. It is about two inches 
long, and sixteen lines in its greatest breadth. Within, the seed is loose and movable. The 
seed itself is about an inch and a half long, ten lines broad, and half an inch thick. It is 
convex on one side, flat or slightly concave on the other, and presents an oval scar near one 
extremity of the flat surface. It is hard and compact, but may be readily cut with a knife. 
Cedron seed is inodorous, but of a pure and intensely bitter taste, not unlike that of 
quassia. It yields its virtues to water and alcohol. M. Lewry obtained from it a crystal- 
line substance, intensely bitter, freely soluble in boiling water, and neutral to test paper, 
which he supposes to be the active principle, and proposes to name cedrin. He obtained it 
by first exhausting the cedron with ether, then treating it with alcohol, and crystallizing 
from the tincture. [Journ. de Pharm., xix. 335.) 
This medicine has long had great reputation in New Granada and Central America, as 
a remedy for the bite of serpents, being mentioned in the History of the Buccaneers, pub- 
lished in 1699, as useful for this purpose; and such continues to be the confidence of the 
natives in its virtues, that they have no fears of the poisonous bite of these reptiles, if 
provided with the antidote. It is also highly esteemed for the prevention of hydrophobia, 
and in the treatment of intermittent fever, spasm of the stomach and bowels, and dyspep- 
tic affections. Dr. Guier informed us that lie had seen it once apparently successful in 
curing the bite of a poisonous serpent, and had used it effectually in cholera morbus, colic, 
and neuralgia of the face. In the hands of Dr. J. B. Thompson, of London, it has proved 
useful in gout. [Med. Times and Gaz., April, 1852.) Dr. S. S. Purple, of New York, has found 
it promptly effectual in a number of cases of intermittent fever, and believes it to possess 
valuable antiperiodic properties. [N. Y. Journ. of Med., N. S., xiii. 173.) To us the medicine 
appears to be closely analogous to quassia, with which it is botanically allied. The dose 
used in Central America is one or two grains. M. Herran states that he had employed the 
remedy in eight cases of poisoning, and that his mode of using it was to administer five 1490 
Celastrus Scandens.—Centaury. 
PART III. 
fc-i- sis. grains with a spoonful of brandy, and to dress the bite with the tincture. He had 
rarely occasion to repeat the dose to effect a cure. Dr. Rotellini says that it is poisonous 
in overdoses, and has occasioned death in the quantity of twenty-five or thirty grains. A 
vinegar has been prepared in London by macerating for seven days two scruples of the 
ceiron in an ounce of distilled vinegar. The dose is from twenty minims to a fluidrachm. 
(Pharm. Journ., xii. G3.) From the statements of Dr. Purple, it appears that the doses above 
stated are too small, and that, from any ordinary quantity, no fear of injurious conse- 
quences need be entertained. He gave from ten to thirty grains every four hours, and 
states that though, in very large doses, it may produce griping and diarrhoea, these effects 
are easily controlled. W. 
CELASTRUS SCANDENS. Climbing Staff-tree. A climbing indigenous shrub, growing 
from Canada to Carolina, and said to possess emetic, diaphoretic, and narcotic properties. 
The bark is the part employed. It has been used iu chronic affections of the liver and 
secondary syphilis. For a full description of the plant, see Darlington’s Flora Ccstrica, p. 
149. Other species of Celastrus, growing in various parts of the world, have been employed 
in medicine, though with little reputation. W. 
CENTAUREA BENEDICTA. Blessed Thistle. Carduus benedictus. Cnicus benedictus. (De 
Cand.) This is an annual herbaceous plant, the stem of which is about two feet high, branch- 
ing towards the top, and furnished with long, elliptical, rough leaves, irregularly toothed, 
barbed with sharp points at their edges, of a bright-green colour on their upper surface, 
and whitish on the under. The lower leaves are deeply sinuated, and stand on footstalks; 
the upper are sessile, and in some measure decurrent. The flowers are yellow, and sur- 
rounded by an involucre of ten leaves, of which the five exterior are largest. The calyx 
is oval, woolly, and composed of several imbricated scales, terminated by rigid, pinnate, 
spinous points. The plant is a native of the south of Europe, and is cultivated in gardens 
in other parts of the world. It has become naturalized in the United States. The period 
of flowering is June, when its medicinal virtues are in greatest perfection. The leaves aro 
the officinal portion. They should be gathered when the plant is in flower, quickly dried, 
and kept in a dry place. The herb has a feeble unpleasant odour, and an intensely bitter 
taste, more disagreeable in the fresh than the dried plant. Water and alcohol extract its 
virtues. The infusion with cold water is a grateful bitter; the decoction is nauseous, and 
offensive to the stomach. The bitterness remains in the extract. The active constituents 
are volatile oil, and a peculiar principle for which the name of cnicin has been proposed. 
This is crystallizable, inodorous, very bitter, neither acid nor alkaline, scarcely soluble 
in cold water, more soluble in boiling water, and soluble in all proportions in alcohol. It 
consists of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, and is analogous to salicin in composition. In 
the dose of 4 or 5 grains, it is said often to vomit, and in that of 8 grains, to be useful in 
intermittent fevers. [Ann. de Therap., 1843, p. 200.) The blessed thistle may be so admin- 
istered as to prove tonic, diaphoretic, or emetic. The cold infusion, made with half an 
ounce of the leaves to a pint of water, has been employed as a mild tonic in debility of 
the stomach. A stronger infusion, taken warm while the patient is confined to bed, pro- 
duces copious perspiration. A still stronger infusion or decoction, taken in large draughts, 
provokes vomiting, and has been used to assist the operation of emetics. The herb, how- 
ever, is at present little employed, as all its beneficial effects maybe obtained from chamo- 
mile. The dose of the powder as a tonic is from a scruple to a drachm, that of the infusion 
two fiuidounces. 
Attention has recently been called to another species, Carduus or Cnicus marianus, which 
was of old used for the same purposes as the C. benedictus, under the impression that its 
seeds have valuable haemostatic properties. Rademacher is stated to have found a decoc- 
tion of the seeds of great use in hemorrhages, particularly when connected with diseased 
liver or spleen. Dr. Lobacli considers no other remedy so efficacious in uterine hemorrhage 
and meltena. He has also found it useful in amenorrlioea when connected with derange- 
ment of the portal circulation. He gives the seeds in decoction, made in the proportion of 
two ounces to the pint of water, of which the dose is a tablespoonful every hour. (See Am. 
Journ. of Med. Sci., April, 1859, p. 537.) W. 
CENTAURY. Common European Centaury. Centaurivm. This long used remedy, which 
held a place in the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia even to its latest edition, has been omitted 
in the British Pharmacopoeia. It consists of the herb, and more especially of the flowering 
heads of Erythriea Ceniauriurn (Persoon), Chiroma Cenlaurium (Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 10G8). It 
is a small, annual, herbaceous plant, rising about a foot in height, with a branching 6tem, 
which divides above into a dichotomous panicle, and bears opposite, sessile, ovate-lanceo- 
late, smooth, and obtusely pointed leaves. The flowers are of a beautiful rose colour, 
standing without peduncles in the axils of the stems, with their calyx about half as long 
as the tube of the corolla. The plant grows wild in most parts of Europe, adorning the 
woods and pastures, towards the close of summer, with its delicate flowers. 
The herb, though without odour, has a strong bitter taste, which it imparts to water and PART III. 
Cephalanthus Occidentalis.—Chelidonium. Majus. 
1491 
alcohol. The flowering summits are the officinal part. We have seen no satisfactory ana- 
lysis of this plant. Among its constituents is a bitter extractive matter, for which the 
name of centaurin has been proposed. But it can scarcely be considered as a pure proxi- 
mate principle. The fresh herb yields by distillation an odorous watery product, of sharp 
taste (Geiger, ii. 482), in which M. M6ha, a French pharmaceutist, has detected valerianic 
acid. The same chemist claims to have discovered a peculiar colourless crystallizable, 
non-nitrogenous substance, which he names erythrocentaurin. He obtained it by exhausting 
the tops with water, evaporating a portion of the water, allowing the residue to stand, sepa- 
rating the precipitated matter or apotlieme, adding alcohol to the remaining liquid which 
now deposited a bitter substance, and, after the separation of this by decantation, evapo- 
rating the liquid to the consistence of syrup, and treating the residue with ether. The ethe- 
real solution, upon evaporation, yielded the erythrocentaurin in crystals These are needle- 
shaped, soluble in the ordinary menstrua, and possessed of the remarkable property of being 
strongly reddened by exposure to solar light, and reacquiring their colourless character 
upon being again dissolved and crystallized. The bitter substance above mentioned may 
be separated by menstrua into two, one soft and the other dry, the former of which it is 
that gives its strong smell to the distilled water. Beside these principles, M. Meha found 
also in centaury a wax-like substance, and saline matter. (Journ. de Pharm., xliii. 88.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. The common centaury of Europe has tonic properties very 
closely resembling those of gentian, with which it is associated in the same natural family. 
It is employed on the other side of the Atlantic in dyspeptic complaints, and formerly had 
considerable reputation in the treatment of fever. It was one of the ingredients of the 
Portland powder. In the United States it has been superseded by Sabbatia angularis, or 
American centaury. The dose of the powder is from thirty grains to a drachm. Another 
species of Erythraea (E. Chilensis) possesses similar properties, and is employed to a con- 
siderable extent in Chili as a mild tonic. An elaborate account of it may be seen in the 
Journal de Pharmacie (Be ser., xxv. 434). W. 
CEPHALANTHUS OCCIDENTALIS. Button-bush. (Gray's Manual, p. 172.) Avery com- 
mon indigenous shrub, which received both its generic title and common name from the 
arrangement of its flowers in dense spherical heads (y.£<fa?.yj, head, and avdoq, flower). 
It prefers moist places, as along streams or in the edges of swamps. Its bark is bitter, is 
said to be laxative as well as tonic, and has been given in periodical fevers, in decoction 
or infusion. W. 
CERIUM. The salts of this metal have within a few years been brought under notice as 
medicines by Prof. Simpson, of Edinburgh. The only ones as yet tried are the nitrate and 
oxalate of the protoxide. For a paper by Prof. F. F. Mayer, of N. York, on the oxalate, de- 
scribing the method of preparing it from the mineral ceri/e, which contains the metal in the 
form of oxide, the reader is referred to the Am Journ. of Pharm. for Jan. 1860 (p. 1). As 
obtained by Prof. Mayer, it is the oxalate of the protoxide, and is in the form of a white 
granular powder, without smell or taste, insoluble in water, alcohol, or ether, but readily 
dissolved by sulphuric acid. Prof. Simpson conceives that the nitrate of cerium acts as a 
sedative tonic, resembling in its operation the subnitrate of bismuth and the nitrate of 
silver. He has given it with decided advantage in cases of general chronic intestinal erup- 
tion, in irritable dyspepsia with gastrodynia and pyrosis, and in chronic vomiting and the 
vomiting of pregnancy. He has found the oxalate of cerium more successful in this last 
affection than any other remedy that he has employed. [Med. Times and Gaz., Sept. 1859, 
p. 280.) It has been used also by Dr. Charles Lee, of N. York, who has found it successful 
not only in the vomiting of pregnancy, but in that attendant on various other affections, 
as phthisis, hysteria, pyrosis, and atonic dyspepsia. (Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., Oct. 1860, 
p. 393.) When in Edinburgh in the autumn of 1860, we were informed by Prof. Simpson, 
that he considered oxalate of cerium as a good nervine tonic, and almost a specific in cho- 
rea. The dose is a grain, given twice or thrice a day, dissolved in water. B. 
CHELIDONIUM MAJUS. Celandine. A perennial herbaceous plant, growing wild in 
this country, about old houses and in rocky places; but supposed to have been introduced 
from Europe, where it is indigenous. It is one or two feet high, bears pinnate leaves and 
small peduncled umbels of yellow flowers, and, when wounded, emits a yellow, opaque 
juice. The whole plant is used. It has a faint unpleasant odour, and a bitter, acrid, 
durable taste, which is stronger in the roots than in the leaves. The odour is nearly lost 
by drying, but the taste remains. The yellow juice is bitter and exceedingly acrid, and 
when applied to the skin produces inflammation and even vesication. The plant, analyzed 
by MM. Clievallier and Lassaigne, afforded a bitter resinous substance of a deep-yellow 
colour; a kind of gum-resin of an orange-yellow colour, and bitter, nauseous taste; mu- 
cilage; a'bumen; and various saline substances, besides free malic acid and silica. Dr. 
Probst, of Heidelberg, afterwards found in it a peculiar acid denominated chtlidonic acid; 
two alkaline principles, one of which forms neutral salts with the acids, and is called 
chelerythrin (chelerythria) in consequence of the intense redness of its salts, the other unites 1492 
Clielone Grlabra.—Chloride of Arsenic. 
PART III. 
with hut does not neutralize the acids, and is named chelidonin (chelidonia); and lastly a 
neuter, crystallizable, bitter principle, which from its yellow colour he calls chelidozanthin. 
Chelerythrin appears to be an acrid narcotic poison. (Annal. der Pharrn., xxix. 113.) It has 
been shown by Dr. James Schiels, of St. Louis, to be identical with sanguinarina, and may 
be prepared in the same manner. (See Sanguinaria, page 739.) Zwenger has lately iso- 
lated another acid, which he names chelidoninic acid. (See a paper by Mr. J. M. Maiscb, in 
the Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 1861, p. 7.) 
Celandine is an acrid purgative, possessed also of diuretic, and perhaps diaphoretic and 
expectorant properties. In overdoses, it produces unpleasant effects, and is by some con- 
sidered poisonous. By the ancients it was much esteemed as a remedy in jaundice; and 
it has been found useful in the same complaint by some modern physicians. It was the 
chief ingredient of the old decoctum ad ictericos of the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia. It has 
been given also in other complaints, especially those of a scrofulous character, affecting 
the mesenteric and lymphatic glands, the skin, and the eyes. The yellow juice is often 
applied to corns and warts, which it destroys by stimulating them beyond their vital 
powers, and is said to be very useful in eczema, urticaria, and other itching eruptions. 
The fresh herb is also applied locally about the pelvis, with asserted benefit, in amenor- 
rhoea, and is much used in the south of Europe as a vulnerary. The dose of the dried 
root or herb is from thirty grains to a drachm, that of the fresh root one or two drachms; 
and the same quantity may be given in infusion. The watery extract and expressed juice 
have also been employed. The dose of the former is from five to ten grains, of the latter 
from ten to twenty drops, to be gradually increased. W. 
CHELONE GLABRA. Snake-head. Turtle-head. (Gray's Manual, p. 285.) This is a very 
common indigenous, perennial, herbaceous plant, a foot or two in height, readily distin- 
guished by its conspicuous closely clustered flowers, the shape of which, from their resem- 
blance to the head of a snake or tortoise, has given origin both to the common and scientific 
names of the plant. It prefers low wet places. The leaves have a bitter taste, and are said 
to be tonic and aperient, with a supposed peculiar action on the liver. The decoction, made 
in the proportion of two ounces of the fresh herb to the pint, may be given in the dose of 
one or two fluidounces. W. 
CHELTENHAM SALT, ARTIFICIAL. Several artificial mixtures have been prepared, 
professing to be exact imitations of the saline ingredients in the chalybeate Cheltenham 
water; but the only ones which appear worthy of confidence are those prepared by Robert 
Alsop, chemist, of London, and W. Hodgson, jun., druggist, of this city. The composition of 
the natural Cheltenham chalybeate is given at page 131. The imitation of Mr. Alsop, as 
analyzed by Dr. Faraday, contains the same solid and gaseous constituents as the natural 
water, except the sulphate of lime, which is very properly omitted; and in the same pro- 
portions precisely, with the exception that there is about twice as much free carbonic acid 
in the artificial preparation. The iron is present in the state of protoxide, and is imme- 
diately dissolved by the free carbonic acid, upon adding a sufficient quantity of water. 
The carbonic acid probably exists in a free state in a dry mixture; as there is no obvious 
agent present to cause it to be disengaged in the mere act of solution. 
Mr. Alsop’s artificial mixture is in the form of a powder, nearly white, possessing a saline 
and slightly ferruginous taste. It forms a good combination, in which the aperient pro- 
perty of the salts present is combined with the tonic virtue of the iron. It is considered 
to be useful in glandular obstructions, especially of the liver, and in scrofulous affections, 
attended with feeble digestion, sluggish bowels, and pallidness of skin. It is employed, 
also, with advantage in sick headache, habitual costiveness, and hemorrhoids. The dose is 
a teaspoonful, quickly dissolved by brisk stirring in half a pint of cold water, and swal- 
lowed immediately, before the iron has time to separate in an insoluble state. This quantity 
may be taken in the morning, fasting, and repeated once or twice after an interval of twenty 
minutes, or in the course of the day. To obtain its full tonic and alterative effects, it shoul i 
be persevered with for a month or six weeks. The artificial Cheltenham salt of Mr. Hodgson 
is identical with that of Mr. Alsop, and may be used with entire confidence for all the pur 
poses to which the latter is applied. B. 
CHLORIDE OF ARSENIC, SOLUTION OF. Liquor Arsenici Chloridi. DeValangin's Ar- 
senical Solution. The following formula was given for this preparation in the late London 
Pharmacopoeia. “Take of Arsenious Acid, broken into small pieces, half a drachm; Hydro- 
chloric Acid a fluidrachm and a half [Imperial measure]; Distilled Water a pint [Imp. 
rneas.]. Boil the Arsenious Acid with the Hydrochloric Acid, mixed with a fluidounce 
[Imp. meas.] of the Water until it is dissolved; then add sufficient Water to make the 
solution accurately fill the measure of a pint [Imp. meas.].” This is an imitation of De 
Yalangin’s arsenical solution, called by the inventor, who was a practitioner in London, 
eolutio solventis mineralis. It was originally made by subliming-three parts of arsenious acid 
with eight of common salt, and dissolving the product in a determinate quantity ot dilute 
muriatic acid. The sublimation directed by De Valangin with common salt had no effect PART III. 
Chloride of Bromine.—Chloride of Silver. 
1493 
on the arsenious acid; and, accordingly, his preparation may be considered to have been 
a solution of arsenious acid in muriatic acid, becoming terchloride of arsenic by the mu- 
tual decomposition of the acids. In the London formula thirty grains of arsenious acid are 
dissolved in twenty Imperial fluidounces of the menstruum, that being the measure to which 
the preparation is ultimately brought. Hence each fluidounce contains a quantity of ter- 
chloride, equivalent to a grain and a half of arsenious acid. Terchloride of arsenic is a 
colourless anhydrous liquid of the sp.gr. 2-18. It is strongly acid to litmus, completely 
soluble in alcohol and ether, and possesses the power of dissolving a considerable propor- 
tion of arsenious acid. (Dr. Penny and Mr. W. Wallace, Philos. Mag., xli. 365.) 
Medical Properties. This arsenical solution has considerable reputation in London as an 
alterative. It is chiefly employed in the treatment of chorea and lepra vulgaris. Dr. Farre, 
of London, states, as the result of his observation, that it effectually cures the worst forms 
of chorea. (Pereira, Mat. Med., 3d ed., p. 670.) The late Dr. Pereira, who used this solu- 
tion on numerous occasions, found it efficacious in the treatment of chorea and lepra, but 
was not convinced of its superiority to Fowler’s solution. It is said to be less apt to dis- 
turb the stomach; but it must be recollected that De Valangin’s solution is only three- 
eighths as strong as that of Fowler, and yet is not given in a larger dose. The average dose 
is five drops three times a day. Dr. Farre begins with three drops three times a day, in- 
creasing one drop each day, until the dose reaches ten drops three times daily. Whenever 
the stomach becomes disordered, the medicine should be suspended; and, when renewed, 
it must be given in the original dose. Dr. Fuller, of London, praises this solution as a re- 
medy in rheumatic gout, if the urine be clear and of low sp. gr. In such cases he gives it 
in the large dose of from ten to twenty drops, either alone or combined with cinchona. If 
mineral acids are indicated, muriatic acid is added. B. 
CHLORIDE OF BROMINE. Brominii Chloridum. This chloride is prepared by passing 
chlorine gas through bromine, and condensing the vapours which form by a freezing mix- 
ture. It is a reddish-yellow, very mobile and volatile liquid, emitting dark yellow fumes, 
which have a very powerful odour, and cause a flow of tears. Its taste is hot and unplea- 
sant. Chloride of bromine is used by Prof. Landolfi, of Naples, in the treatment of cancer 
and malignant tumours, both internally, and as an ingredient in his caustic. For the com- 
position of the caustic, and his formula for administering the chloride of bromine, seepage 
173, and the article on Zinci Chloridum in Part II. B. 
CHLORIDE OF MAGNESIUM. Magnesii Chloridum. Muriate of Magnesia. When a con- 
centrated solution of this salt is evaporated to dryness, it is partially decomposed intc 
magnesia and muriatic acid, the latter being evolved. By a careful evaporation, stopping 
it so soon as the vapour begins to redden litmus paper, the chloride may be obtained in the 
state of a fused hydrate, having the composition MgCl,6IIO. (Casaseca, Chem. Gaz., Oct. 15, 
1853, p. 381.) The physiological action of this bitter and very deliquescent salt is the sub- 
ject of a memoir by Dr. Lebert. He finds it to act mildly and favourably as a purgative, 
producing a flow of bile, and an increase of appetite. On account of its extreme deliques- 
cence, he recommends it in the liquid form, prepared by dissolving the salt in its weight of 
water. Of this solution he gives an ounce sufficiently diluted to an adult, and half an ounce 
to a child from 10 to 14 years of age. (Arch. Gen., 4e ser., iii. 448.) B. 
CHLORIDE OF MERCURY AND QUINIA. Ilydrargyri et Quinise Chloridum. This com- 
pound has been prepared by Mr. McDermott, of Dublin, by uniting chemically corrosive 
sublimate with quinia. The corrosive sublimate was found to be reduced to the state of 
calomel; and, hence, it may be inferred that half the chlorine of the former united with 
the quinia.' This preparation has been found useful in the treatment of obstinate skin dis- 
eases, given in the dose of a grain two or three times a day. B. 
CHLORIDE OF POTASSA, SOLUTION OF. Liquor Potassx Chlorinatse. Javelle's Water. 
Eau de Javelle. This is prepared from carbonate of potassa precisely as the solution of 
chlorinated soda from carbonate of soda, and probably has an analogous composition. (See 
Liquor Sodx Chlorinatx ) It is employed for taking out fruit stains, &c. from linen. B. 
CHLORIDE OF SILVER. Argenti Chloridum. This has been already referred to as being 
inevitably formed when nitrate of silver is given internally. (See page 1011.) It is readily 
prepared by adding a solution of common salt to one of nitrate of silver, as long as it pro- 
duces a precipitate. As first thrown down it is a white curdy substance, but it soon becomes 
discoloured when exposed to the light. It is decomposed by solutions of the caustic alkalies, 
which convert it into oxide, but not by their carbonates. After the formation of the oxide 
in this way, the addition of sugar reduces it, and revives the silver. (Levol.) Chloride of 
silver has been used, rubbed on the tongue, in syphilis, and internally in epilepsy, chronic 
dysentery and diarrhoea, and other diseases in which nitrate of silver has been given. The 
dose is from one to three grains or more, four or five times a day. Dr. Perry administered 
it at the Philadelphia Hospital, Blockley, in chronic dysentery, with the immediate effect of 
diminishing the number of stools. The crystallized ammonio-chloride of silver has been given 
m syphilitic affections, in the dose of the fourteenth of a grain. It is formed by saturating Chlorinated Anaesthetic Compounds.—Chrome. 
part ill. 
solution of ammonia, by tbe aid of heat, with chloride of silver, and allowing the liquid to 
cool in a stopped bottle. It crystallizes in cubes, and is very liable to decomposition. B. 
CHLORINATED ANAESTHETIC COMPOUNDS. By the mutual action of chlorine and 
olefiant gas, an oily liquid is obtained, discovered by the associated Dutch chemists, and 
called Dutch liquid. The empirical formula of this compound is C4H4C12, which makes it the 
bichloride of ethyten; the rational formula is C4H3C1,HC1. When it is acted on by an alco- 
holic solution of potassa, muriatic acid is separated by the formation of chloride of potas- 
sium. and a compound represented by C4H3C1 is set free. By the aetion of additional chlorine, 
the Dutch liquid is susceptible of having each equivalent of hydrogen successively replaced 
by one of chlorine, forming four new compounds; namely, C4H2C12,HC1—C4HC13.HC1— 
C4C14.HC1 — C4C16. The last compound here is evidently a 6-4 chloride of carbon; and the 
others are called by Regnault, in allusion to the replacing chlorine, without noting the dis- 
appearing hydrogen, monochlorinated, bichlorinated, and trichlorinated Dutch liquid. The 
Dutch liquid has been tried as an anaesthetic by Prof. Simpson and Mr. Nunnely. Prof. 
Simpson was not satisfied with its effects; but Mr. Nunnely, having administered it fre- 
quently in practice, found it perfectly agreeable in every respect. Its use, he alleges, is not 
attended by the troublesome excitement produced by ether, or by the tendency to collapse 
caused by chloroform. Two forms of Dutch liquid have been recently experimented with 
by Dr. Arau, of Paris; and one of them furnished satisfactory clinical results. The liquid 
which gave favourable results has been ascertained by Mialhe and Flourens to be the mono- 
chlorinated Dutch liquid; but its cost proved to be too high to allow of its general use as a 
therapeutic agent. In consequence of this objection to the monochlorinated liquid, Mialhe 
and Flourens were induced to search for a substitute in the corresponding compound of a 
parallel series of ethers, formed by the action of chlorine on muriatic ether. When muri- 
atic ether (C4H5C1) is acted on by successive portions of chlorine, the hydrogen is replaced 
by the latter, equivalent for equivalent, ami there are formed the five following compounds: 
C4II4C12 — C41I3C13 — C4H2C14— C41IC15 — C4C16. Of this series,.the first member is isomeric 
with the Dutch liquid; the second, third, and iourth with the mono- bi- and trichlorinated 
Dutch liquid, and the fifth is the 6-4 chloride of carbon, the terminating compound of the 
other series. The first member, though identical with the Dutch liquid in elementary com- 
position, and having a vapour of the same density, has, nevertheless, a lower boiling point, 
and is different in chemical properties. Thus, it is not decomposed by an alcoholic solution 
of potassa, as the Dutch liquid is, and is not acted on by potassium, while the Dutch liquid 
is immediately attacked by it. These facts show that the atomic constitution of these two 
substauces must be different. In like manner the second, third, and fourth members of this 
series are different in chemical properties from their isomeric representatives in the Dutch 
liquid series. In denoting the different degrees of chlorination of the muriatic ether series, 
llegnault indicates merely (as in the Dutch liquid series) the number of eqs. of chlorine 
supposed to replace hydrogen. Accordingly, he calls the first member of the series mono- 
chlorinated muriatic ether, corresponding to the Dutch liquid; and the second, third, and 
fourth, bi- tri- and quadrichlorinated muriatic ethers, corresponding to the mono- bi- and 
trichlorinated Dutch liquids. This confusion of nomenclature arises from the fact that the 
replacement by chlorine sets out from five eqs. of hydrogen in the muriatic ether series, 
and from four eqs. in the Dutch liquid series. 
From the explanations above given, it will be understood that the compound of the mu- 
riatic ether series, corresponding to the monochlorinated Dutch liquid, is the bichlorinated 
muriatic ether. This compound proved too volatile to act advantageously as a local anaes- 
thetic. The tri- and quadrichlorinated ethers are denser and less volatile, and acted more 
favourably. The conclusion arrived at by Mialhe and Flourens appears to be that the four 
chlorinated muriatic ethers all possess anaesthetic properties; and, as it would be difficult 
to separate them, they propose the use of the mixed ethers, consisting principally of the 
tri- and quadrichlorinated compounds, as an anaesthetic, under the indefinite name of chlo- 
rinated muriatic ether. 
Chlorinated muriatic ether (chlorinated chlorohydric ether) is a colourless, very mobile, neu- 
ter liquid, having an aromatic ethereal odour, and hot saccharine taste. It is sparingly 
soluble in water, but readily soluble in alcohol, ether, and most of the fixed and volatile 
oils. It is not inflammable, in which respect it agrees with chloroform. Being a mixture of 
different liquids, its sp. gr. is not uniform. Its boiling point varies from 230° to 266°. Ac- 
cording to the experiments of Flourens, it has a similar action to chloroform, the most im- 
portant of the chlorinated anaesthetics. (See Chloroformum.) Its local action is that of a 
powerful sedative. (B. Cucuel, Ann. de Therap., 1853, 102.) B. 
CHROME. Chromium. As it has been customary, in this work, to notice more or less fully 
the metals of which one or more compounds are officinal, even though the metal may not 
hold the same position, it is proper to give a brief notice in this place of the metal chrome, 
of whicli two compounds, chromic acid and bichromate of potassa, are contained in the 
Materia Medica Catalogue of our Pharmacopoeia. Chrome was discovered by Vaquelin in 
1797. Its most common ore is the chromite of iron, consisting of protoxide of iron and PART III. 
Chrome Yellow.—Cicuta Virosa. 
1495 
sesquioxide of chromium. This is not an abundant mineral; and one of the most copious 
sources of it is in the chrome mines of south-eastern Pennsylvania. Chrome is obtained by 
igniting its oxide intensely in contact 'with charcoal. It is a brittle metal, of a grayisli-wnite 
colour like platinum, with some lustre, aud very hard, so that it scratches glass. Its sp. 
gr. is 5-9, equivalent 26 3, and symbol Cr. It does not change by exposure to the air, and 
is with difficulty attacked by the acids. It forms with oxygen five compounds: 1. the pro- 
toxide (CrO), 2. the sesquioxide (Cr2()s), 3. chromic acid (Cr03). Of the two others, one may 
be considered as a compound of the protoxide and sesquioxide (Cr0,Cr203), and the other, 
called perchromic acid, is said to consist of two eqs. of chrome and seven of oxygen (Cr207). 
Chrome combines with chlorine in two proportions, forming the protochloride and sesqui- 
chloride. The chief value of chrome in the arts is as the source of bichromate of potassa, 
extensively used in dyeing and valuable for the facility with which it parts with oxygen, 
aud as the base of certain beautiful pigments. W. 
CHROME YELLOW. This is the neutral chromate of lead, prepared by precipitating a 
solution of the nitrate of lead with chromate of potassa. It is of a beautiful lemon-yellow 
colour. The subchromate of lead, consisting of one eq. of acid and two eqs. of base, is of a 
red colour, and is sometimes used as a pigment. Chrome green is a mixture of chrome yel- 
low and Prussian blue. W. 
CICHORIUM INTYBUS. Chicory. Succory. A perennial herbaceous plant, indigenous in 
Europe, but naturalized in this country, where it grows in fields, and in roads along the 
fences, in neighbourhoods which have been long settled. It is one or two feet high, with 
large, compound, beautifully blue flowers, which appear in July and August?, and serve to 
distinguish the plant at first sight. The whole plant, has a bitter taste, without acrimony', 
or any very peculiar flavour. The taste is strongest in the root, and weakest in the flowers. 
The leaves, when young and tender, are said to be sometimes eaten as salad in Europe. 
Succory is gently tonic without being irritating, and is considered by some authors as 
aperient and deobstruent. It is said to be useful, if freely taken, in hepatic congestion, 
jaundice, and other visceral obstructions in the early stages; and is affirmed to have done 
good even in pulmonary consumption. The usual form of administration is that of decoc- 
tion, w'hich is prepared by boiling one or two ounces of the root, or a handful of the herb, 
in a pint of water. The root, dried and roasted, is much used in certain parts of Europe as 
a substitute for coffee, and is said also to be mixed fraudulently with ground coffee for sale. 
In preparing it for coffee, Dausse recommends that the dried root should be cut into rajher 
large and equal pieces, which are to be roasted until they lose 110 out of 500 parts. The 
pieces are then easily ground in a mill, and afford a yellowish-browrn powder. (Pharm. Cent. 
Blait, Oct. 1850, p. 688.) The plant is now largely cultivated both in England and on the 
Continent, to supply the demand for its root, which has grown out of its use for admixture 
with coffee, or as a substitute. In France alone the annual consumption is said to be 16 
millions of pounds. (Pharm. Journ., Aug. 1860, p. 125.) The garden endive is a species of 
Cicliorium, denominated C. Endivia. IV. 
CICUTA VIROSA. Water Hemlock. Cowbane. A perennial, umbelliferous European plant, 
growing on the borders of pools and streams. It is very poisonous, proving fatal to most 
animals which feed upon it, though said to be eaten with impunity by goats and sheep. 
Several instances are on record of children who have died from eating the root by mistake 
for parsnep. It operates as an acrid narcotic, producing inflammation of the stomach, to- 
gether with symptoms which indicate cerebral disturbance, such as vertigo, intoxication, 
and convulsions. Infusion of galls is recommended as an antidote, but should not be relied 
on to the exclusion of emetics. When the plant vomits, as it frequently does, fatal effects 
are less apt to ensue. It is said to be less poisonous dried than fresh; and it has been in- 
ferred that the active principle is volatile. But the volatile oil, obtained by distillation, 
was found by Simon, of Berlin, not to be poisonous. Indeed, from the experiments of M. 
Julius Trapp, of St. Petersburg, it appears to be identical with the volatile oil of cummin 
seeds (Cuminum Cyminum), which rank among the aromatics. (Chem. Central Blatt, June 9, 
1858, p. 414.) On the other hand, the alcoholic extract of the dried root operated as a 
violent poison upon animals. (Annal. der Pharm., xxxi. 258.) At present the plant is never 
used internally, having been superseded by Coniam maculatum. Externally it is sometimes 
employed as an anodyne poultice in local pains, particularly those of a rheumatic or gouty 
nature. 
Cicuta maculata or American water hemlock, which grows in meadows and on the borders of 
streams throughout the United States, is closely analogous, in botanical character and in 
effects, to the European species. In several instances, children have been fatally poisoned 
be eating its root. This consists of several oblong, fleshy tubers, sometimes as long as the 
finger, spreading out from the base of the stem, and having a smell and taste not unlike 
those of parsnep. Until recently it has not been used in medicine; but we are told in Mr, 
Stearns’ account of the medical plants of Michigan, that Dr. Norton, of Minnesota, highly 
recommends it as a specific in nervous and sick headache. (Proceed, of Am. Pharm. Assoc., 1496 
Citrate of Iron and Magnesia.—Coal Tar. 
PART III. 
1858, p. 253.) For a full account of the plant, see Bigelow's Medical Botany (i. 125). The 
seeds have been analyzed by Mr. J. E. Young, who found in them albumen, tannic acid, 
gum, fixed oil, resin, volatile oil, chlorophyll, colouring matter, a peculiar acid, and an 
organic alkaloid supposed to be identical with conia. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxvii. 294.) 
In cases of poisoning by either of these species of Cicuta, vomiting should be induced 
as speedily as possible, and maintained till the stomach is thoroughly evacuated, after 
which the system must be supported. W. 
CITRATE OF IRON AND MAGNESIA. Ferri et Magnesise Citras. This double salt, has 
been introduced to the notice of the profession by M. Van der Corput. It is made by dis- 
solving two ounces of freshly precipitated hydrated oxide of iron in a moderately heated 
solution of three ounces of citric acid, and saturating the liquor with carbonate of magnesia. 
The solution, after filtration, is evaporated by means of a water-bath to a syrupy con- 
sistence, and spread on glass to dry in scales. The quantity of carbonate required is nearly 
an ounce. Three and a quarter ounces of sulphate of iron will furnish by decomposition 
the necessary hydrated oxide for three ounces of the acid. (See formula for Ferri Oxidum 
Ilydratum.) This salt is in transparent, greenish-yellow scales, having a slightly ferru- 
ginous, somewhat acid taste. It is very soluble in water, but insoluble in alcohol and ether. 
It may be given in doses of from five to ten grains, in the form of solution, syrup, or pill. 
See the remarks of Prof. Procter on this preparation, contained in the American Journal oj 
Pharmacy (Oct. 1850, p. 315). B 
CITRATE OF SODA. Sodse Citras. This salt may be formed by saturating a solution of 
citric acid with bicarbonate of soda, evaporating the liquid, and setting it aside to crystal- 
lize. It is a white salt, crystallized in six-sided pyramids, and having a saline taste with- 
out any bitterness. Citrate of soda has been proposed by M. Guichon, of Lyons, as a plea- 
sant purgative, having properties similar to those of citrate of magnesia, and, though 
possessing a taste more decidedly saline than the latter, having the advantages of cheap- 
ness, and of a constant solubility, which permits it to be associated with other medicinal 
preparations. The dose is from ten to fourteen drachms, given in simple aqueous solution, 
or acidulated with citric acid and sweetened. B. 
CIVET. Zibethum. This is an odorous substance, obtained from two animals of the ge- 
nus Viverra; V. Civctta or civet cat of Africa, and the V. Zibetha, which inhabits the East 
Indies. It is secreted into a cavity opening between the anus and external genitals, and 
is collected from animals confined for the purpose. It is semi-liquid, unctuous, yellowish, 
becoming brown and thicker by exposure to the air, of a very strong, peculiar odour, simi- 
lar to that of musk, though less agreeable and less diffusible, and of a bitterish, subacrid, 
disagreeable fatty taste. When heated it becomes quite fluid, and at a higher tempera- 
ture takes fire, and burns with a clear flame, leaving little residue. It is insoluble in water, 
and only slightly soluble in ether and cold alcohol; but heated alcohol dissolves it almost 
entirely, depositing it again upon cooling. It contains, among other ingredients, a volatile 
oil, fat, and free ammonia. In medicine it was formerly employed as a stimulant and anti- 
spasmodic, like castor and musk; but it is now used exclusively as a perfume. W. 
CLEMATIS ERECTA. Upright Virgin's Bower. A perennial European plant. The leaves 
and flowers have an acrid, burning taste. When bruised in a mortar they irritate the eyes 
and throat, giving rise to a flow’ of tears and to coughing; and applied to the skin they 
produce inflammation and vesication. Hence the name of flammuta Jovis, by which the 
plant was known in older pharmacy. The acrimony is greatly diminished by drying. 
Storek found this species of Clematis useful in secondary syphilis, cancerous and other 
foul ulcers, and severe headaches. He gave it internally, and at the same time applied the 
powdered leaves to the surface of the sore. It acted as a diuretic and diaphoretic. Two 
or three drachms of the leaves were infused in a pint of water, of which he administered 
four ounces three times a day. He also employed an extract, in the dose of a grain or two 
in the course of a day. At present the plant is not used. 
Other species -of Clematis have the same acrid properties. Among these are C. Flammula 
or sweet-scented virgin's bower, which, though a native of Europe, is cultivated in our gar- 
dens, C. Vitalba or traveller's joy, also a native of Europe, and several indigenous species, 
of which C. Virginica or common virgin's bower, C. Viorna or leather flower, and C.crispa have 
been particularly cited by authors as proper substitutes for the C. erecta used by Storek. 
All these are climbing plants. C. Vitalba has been used in Europe with success in the 
cure of itch. For this purpose the roots and stems, bruised, and boiled for a short time to 
diminish their acrimony, were infused in boiling oil, which, thus impregnated, was applied 
to the skin several times a day. Tw’elve or fifteen applications were usually sufficient. W. 
COAL TAR. When bituminous coal is subjected to dry distillation, besides the inconden- 
sible gases which serve for lighting, and the charcoal left behind as coke, which is a valuable 
fuel, there are formed, through the reactions between the disengaged principles of the coal, 
numerous other products, necessarily more or less varying in character and amount, not 
only according to the kind of coal used, but also with the varying circumstances of the PART ill. 
Coal Tar, 
1497 
decomposing process. Most of these newly-formed bodies, all of which are volatile, are con- 
densed into a dark thick liquid or semi-liquid substance called coal tar. Formerly this was 
considered as refuse matter, and the most embarrassing problem for the manufacturer was 
how to get rid of it most conveniently. But science and industry have combined to wrest 
from this seemingly useless mass many substances of great value in the arts, and severa. 
which have entered into the catalogue of remedies. In an excellent paper by M. E. Kopp, 
an abridgment of which is published in the American Journal of Pharmacy (1801, Jan., p. 39, 
March, p. 129, and May, p. 245), a general view is given of the constituents of coal tar, to 
which we wish to acknowledge our indebtedness for most of the statements which follow. 
Our purpose is to give a condensed view of these substances, and, when found of import- 
ance in their therapeutical relations, to treat of them more fully, should they not have been 
already commented on under distinct heads. When coal tar is submitted to distillation and 
rectification, it yields the following products in variable proportion. They may be arranged 
in the three divisions of solids, liquids, and gases. 
1. Solids. Carbon, naphthalin, paranaphthalin or anthracein, paraffin, chrysene, and pyrene. 
2. Liquids. These may be subdivided into acid, neutral, and basic substances. The acids 
are rosolic, brunolic, carbolic or phenic, acetic, and butyric. The neutral bodies are water, 
essence of tar, light oil of tar, heavy oil of tar, benzole, toluole, cumole, cymole, propyl, 
butyl, amyl, caproyl, hexylene, and heptylene. The bases are ammonia, methylamin, ethy- 
lamin, anilin, quinolin, picolin, toluidin, lutidin, cumidin, pyrrhol, and phmtin. 
3. Gases. Hydrogen, carburetted hydrogen, bicarburetted hydrogen, various other car- 
bohydrogens, carbonic oxide, sulphuret of carbon, carbonic acid, liydrosulphuric acid, and 
hydrocyanic acid. 
Of the above substances a considerable number have not yet been individually applied to 
any important practical purpose. Some are so well known to the reader as to require no 
further notice. The remainder we shall endeavour to consider more or less fully as their 
novelty and importance may seem to demand. 
Before submitting the tar to distillation, it is to be freed as far as possible from the am- 
monia it may contain, which is mixed up with the mass in impure watery solution, chiefly 
probably as the carbonate. For this purpose it is heated to a point between 170° and 
212° F., by which it is rendered more liquid, so that the water holding the ammonia in so- 
lution can be drawn off. This impure ammoniacal liquid is afterwards treated with sulphuric 
acid, by which the sulphate of ammonia is obtained, and this, by sublimation with chloride 
of sodium, yields muriate of ammonia; and from this source almost exclusively the market 
is at present supplied with the different ammoniacal compounds. 
Having been thus freed from ammonia, the tar is next distilled at a relatively low tempera- 
ture, which is most conveniently regulated by means of steam. The object is to obtain first the 
lighter liquids, of which the boiling point is comparatively low. The heat employed should not 
exceed 390° F.; and, when the sp. gr. of the condensed products reaches 0-850, the process 
is suspended. The product of this first distillation is very complex, containing, among other 
substances, three carbohydrogens of special interest to the physician; viz., benzole (C12I16), 
which has already been treated of, amyl (C10HU), the radical of fusel oil or amylic alcohol, 
also before considered, and propyl (CGH7), the radical of the alkaloidpropylomia, of which 
we propose to treat in the following pages. This lighter oil is known as light oil of tar or 
coal naphtha. It is purified by first agitating it with 5 per cent, of concentrated sulphuric 
acid, allowing it to rest for a day or two in order that the acid and impurities may subside, 
then washing it with water, and afterward with 2 per cent, of a solution of caustic soda of 
the sp. gr. 1-382, to separate adhering acid, and finally distilling with a current of steam. 
Thus purified, it has the sp. gr. 0-815 to 0-820, and is not unfrequently sold under the name 
of benzine, which it would be well to restrict to this product, reserving the name of benzole 
for the pure carbohydrogen. Benzine is used for various purposes in the arts, generally 
connected with its great solvent power. 
When the distillation of the tar is suspended, the steam is withdrawn, and the heat being 
increased to between 390° and 410° F., the distillation recommences; and the mixed oils that 
now come over and condense have a sp. gr. from 0-880 to 0-885, instead of 0 850, the sp. gr. of 
the lighter oil. This heavier product is distinguished by the name of the heavy oil of tar. It 
contains the acids and organic bases already enumerated, from which it is freed by treatment 
with sulphuric acid and one of the fixed alkalies and redistillation, in the same manner as above 
described for the light oil, using 10 per cent, of sulphuric acid instead of 5, and 6 per cent, 
of solution of soda instead of 2. The heavy oil thus purified is used as lamp oil, and is very 
largely consumed. Before distillation this oil has a disagreeable sulphurous odour, owing 
to the decomposition of the sulphuric acid used in purifying it, from which it is freed by 
shaking it with solution of sulphate of iron before distillation, or, after distillation, with 
addition of caustic soda to the sulphate. A blackish deposit of sulphuret of iron takes place, 
and the oil loses its odour. (Kopp.) 
The solid or semi-solid mass, which forms out of the last products of the distillation upon 
cooling, is also complex; but consists largely of the two concrete bodies, naphthalin and par- 1498 
Coal Tar. 
PART III. 
affin, the proportion of each of -which to the other varies according to the kind of coal used, 
and to the degree of heat employed. According to Mr. Joseph Taylor, the product of naph- 
tlialin is very great when the coal has been decomposed at a high temperature. He states that 
it is easily obtained from the latter portions of the light oil, which, if collected separately and 
set aside, become semi-solid on cooling. This concrete mass is pressed to separate the liquid 
portion, and may be purified by crystallization from naphtha or sublimation. Paraffin, accord- 
ing to the same authority, exists in small quantity in coal tar, being destroyed by the high 
temperature necessary in decomposing the coal in the manufacture of gas. (Pharm. Journ., 
Jan. 1 SGI, p. 364.) M. Kopp, on the contrary, sfates that the tar from Boghead coals is rich 
in paraffin. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 1861, p.'41.) When the last products of distillation 
cool, this separates as a buttery mass, while naphthalin, under similar circumstances, assumes 
a crystalline character. The paraffin and the heavy oil which drains from it, and which 
is called paraffin oil, are purified in the same manner as the lighter and heavier oils above 
referred to by sulphuric acid, which, how'ever, is sometimes aided by oxidizing agents such 
as bichromate of potassa, peroxide of manganese, or hypermanganate of potassa, and sub- 
sequent washing with solution of caustic soda. After this the paraffin is either redistilled, 
or purified by a second treatment with sulphuric acid and washing. It is now mixed with 
1 per cent, of stearic acid, which, on the addition of the caustic soda, forms a soap which, 
when the paraffin is melted, envelopes the impurities, and separates in flocculi, leaving the 
paraffin pure. Paraffin having been already described under the head of Crcasotum, in Part I. 
(page 331), requires no further consideration here; and naphthalin will be considered in its 
proper alphabetical position in the present part of this work. 
The acid and alkaline washings resulting from the purifying processes to which the oils 
have been subjected contain all the acids and alkaloids already mentioned as among the 
products of the distillation of coal tar. It has become important to obtain these separate, as 
some of them have recently acquired great value in the arts as the source of colouring sub- 
stances used in dyeing, and others are employed as medicines. M. Kopp proposes the follow- 
ing method of obtaining them. Collect separately the acid and the alkaline liquors, deter- 
mine how much of the latter would suffice to neutralize a given portion of the former, then 
mix the alkaline solution with twice the quantity of acid sufficient to saturate it. If the 
mixture be quickly made a heat will be generated near to the boiling point; and a concen- 
trated solution of bisulphate of soda will be formed, holding in solution the bisulphates of 
the organic alkaloids, w’hile the carbolic acid and creasote will separate in the form of a 
brown oil. If this be removed and distilled, a light neutral oil will first pass, and then the 
creasote and carbolic acid nearly pure; and it is probably this mixture or some one like it 
that is now improperly sold in the market under the name of creasote. The acid solution, 
being now allowed to cool, deposits bisulphate of soda in crystals. The portion of acid solu- 
tion, not used to saturate the alkaline, may now be added, the mixture heated to 150° or 
180° F., chalk or lime added short of complete saturation, and the liquor concentrated. 
After the deposit: of sulphate of lime has been separated, the concentrated solution of the 
acid sulphates is to be mixed with an excess of quicklime, and distilled from an iron retort. 
Sulphate of lime is left behind, and the liberated alkaloids pass over and condense with 
water. If the water be sufficient to hold them in solution, muriatic acid is to be added to satu- 
ration, and the liquid evaporated, first over the naked fire, but towards the close ttpon a 
water-bath, nearly to dryness. The muriates thus formed are mixed with an excess of lime 
and distilled, and an oily liquid is thus obtained, consisting chiefly of the alkaloids, anilin 
(anilia), quiuolin (quinolia), and toluidin (toluidia), sufficiently pure to be used in prepar- 
ing the various colouring substances, which constitute all their value in the arts. Of the 
different products resulting from the above process, all that are used in medicine, namely 
creasote, carbolic acid, and anilin, have been treated of under distinct heads in this work, to 
which the reader is referred. (See Crcasotum in Part I., and Anilin and Carbolic Acid, in 
their proper alphabetical positions in Part III.) 
This is not the place to treat of the methods in which the several beautiful and magnifi- 
cent. colours are prepared from anilin and the other coal-tar alkaloids; as the subject be- 
longs exclusively to the arts. It will be sufficient to refer to the fine anilin violet, produced 
by reaction with bichromate of potassa; the magnificent purple called fuchsin or magenta, 
resulting from the reaction between anilin and chloride of tin; and the splendid anilin red 
obtained by treating the same alkaloid with bichloride of mercury or perchloride of tin. 
Yellows, greens, and various other tints are prepared either with anilin or the other coal- 
tar alkaloids, which appear to share its wonderful colouring powers. 
The residue of coal tar left after its distillation, commonly called pitch, has also been 
applied to various useful purposes; being mixed with coal dust or small fragments of 
coal, otherwise useless, to fit them for fuel; or used as a paint to wood in order to preserve 
it; or employed in the preparation of what are called asphaltum pavements and for cover- 
ing roofs. (Taylor.) 
Coal tar itself has been ascertained to answer admirably well, in certain instances, the 
purposes of a disinfectant. MM. Corue and Dcmeaux prepared a mixture of coal tar and PART ill. 
Cobalt Blue.—Cochlearia Officinalis. 
1499 
plaster of Paris, in tlie proportion of from one to three parts of the former to one hundred 
of the latter, which, having been submitted for trial to a committee of the Academy of Sci- 
ences of Paris, was reported on favourably by the committee, of which M. Velpeau was at 
the head. The mixture should be made of the best modelling plaster, and should have a 
gray colour after the ingredients have been well rubbed together. It is in the form of pow- 
der, and may be applied on lint, or mixed with cataplasms, or sprinkled thickly on ulcer- 
ated surfaces. It is applicable to fetid, sloughing, or gangrenous ulcers, to offensive sup- 
purating surfaces, sanious wounds, &c., and may be used also to correct disagreeable 
odours, in autopsies, about the beds of dirty patients, and wherever there are fetid dis- 
charges. (Journ. de Pharm., Oct. 1859, p. 296.) W. 
COBALT BLUE. This beautiful pigment is a compound of oxide of cobalt and alumina, 
obtained by precipitating the mixed solutions of a salt of alumina and of cobalt by means 
of an alkali, and washing, drying, and strongly calcining the precipitate. (Berzelius.) The 
cobalt blue of Thenard is made by heating together the hydrated subphosphate of cobalt 
and hydrate of alumina. It is used in painting. An oxide of cobalt, prepared by precipi- 
tating the chloride with potassa, has been employed in rheumatism. It is emetic in the 
dose of 10 or 20 grains. The salts of the metal are irritant poisons. W. 
COBWEB. Spider’s Web. Tela Aranese. The genus Aranea of Linn, has been divided by 
subsequent naturalists into several genera, of which the Tegeneria of Walkenaer is the one 
that includes the medicinal species of spider. The T. domeslica of Europe, and T. medicinalis 
of this country (Ilenz, Journ. Acad, of Nat. Sci., ii. 53), are the particular species which 
have attracted most attention. They inhabit cellars, barns, and other dark places, and 
are of a brown or blackish colour. It is affirmed that the web of the field spider is ineffi- 
cacious, while that collected in the cellars of houses, &c. has extraordinary medical vir- 
tues. Several authors speak in very decided terms of its powers as a febrifuge and anti- 
spasmodic. According to Dr. Robert Jackson, it is superior even to bark and arsenic in 
the cure of intermittents, and is, moreover, highly useful in various spasmodic and nervous 
diseases, controlling and tranquillizing irregular nervous action, exhilarating the spirits, 
and disposing to sleep, without producing any of the narcotic effects of opium on the brain. 
Among the complaints in which it has been found useful, besides intermittent fever, are 
periodical headache, hectic fever, asthma, hysteria, and nervous irritations attended with 
morbid vigilance and irregular muscular action. It will be observed that these are, for 
the most part, affections over which the imagination has much control. The dose of spi- 
der’s web is five or six grains, to be given in the form of pill, and repeated every three or 
four hours. Dr. Jackson states that its influence is not in proportion to the quantity ad- 
ministered, and that he obtained the same effects from ten as from twenty grains. This 
might well be, if the supposition be allowed that its chief operation is through the ima- 
gination. Spider’s web has also been used, with asserted advantage, as a styptic in 
wounds, and a healing application to superficial ulcers. Spiders themselves were formerly 
employed in the treatment of intermittent fever, and this application of the web is not of 
recent origin. W. 
COCIILEARIA OFFICINALIS. Common Scurvy-grass. This is an annual or biennial 
plant, sending up early in the spring a tuft of radical leaves, which are heart-shaped, 
roundish, of a deep shining-green colour, and supported on long footstalks. The leaves of 
the stem are alternate, oblong, somewhat sinuate, the lower petiolate, the upper sessile. 
The stem is erect, branched, angular, six or eight inches high, and bears, at the extremity 
of the branches, numerous white cruciform peduncled flowers, in thick clusters. The fruit 
is a roundish two-celled pod, containing numerous seeds. The whole plant is smooth and 
succulent. It is a native of the northern countries of Europe, where, as well as in the 
United States, it is occasionally cultivated in gardens. The whole herb is officinal. It has, 
when fresh, a pungent, unpleasant odour if bruised, and a warm, acrid, bitter taste. These 
properties are lost by drying. They are imparted to water and alcohol by maceration, are 
retained by the expressed juice, and probably depend on a peculiar volatile oil, which is 
separable in very small quantity by distillation with water. Dr. Geiseler has shown that, 
when the dried herb is mixed with water and a little myrosin (see Sinapis), the taste and 
smell of the fresh plant are developed; proving that, as in black mustard, the volatile oil 
is produced by reaction between a fixed principle in the plant and water, under the influ- 
ence of myrosin acting as a ferment. (Chem. Cent. Platt, Feb. 20, 1856, p. 124.) The oil 
was at one time supposed to be identical with the oil of mustard, but M. Geiseler has shown 
it to have a different composition; its formula being C6H50,S, which is oil of garlic plus 
tne eq. of oxygen. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., Sept. 1859, p. 416.) 
Common scurvy-grass is gently stimulant, aperient, and diuretic. It is highly celebrated 
as a remedy in sea-scurvy, and has been recommended in chronic obstructions of the vis- 
tera, and certain forms of chronic rheumatism. The fresh plant may be eaten as a salad, 
or used in the form of infusion in water or wine, or of the expressed juice. Alcohol and 
water are impregnated with its virtues by distillation; and the distilled spirit has been 1500 
Coco-nut Oil.—Collinsonia Canadensis. 
PART III. 
found useful in paralysis, in the dose of thirty drops several times a day. The expressed 
juice may be used as a local application in scorbutic affections of the gums. W. 
COCO-NUT OIL. Cocoa-nut Oil. Cocoa-nut Butter. This must not be confounded with 
the fixed oil of the chocolate nut, which is often called cocoa butter, and which has been 
described in Part I. (page 604). The substance here considered is the fixed oil of the 
coco-nut, which is the fruit of a species of palm, denominated botanically Cocos nucifera, 
and universally known by the name of coco-nut tree, or, as it is frequently spelled, cocoa- 
nut tree. The oil is obtained either by expression nr decoction. It is of a fine white colour, 
of the consistence of lard at ordinary temperatures, becoming solid like suet between 40° 
and 50°, and liquid at about 80°, of a bland taste, and a peculiar, not disagreeable odour. 
It is readily dissolved by alcohol. According to Brandes, it consists mainly of a peculiar 
fatty principle called cocin, which yields cocinic acid by saponification. (Journ. de Pharm., 
xxiv. 652.) It has since been found to contain several solid and volatile acids, as caproic, 
caprylic, capric, and pichuric acids. (Ibid., Se ser., xv. 69.) 
This oil has been used for various purposes in medicine and pharmacy. Dr. Theopliilus 
Thomson has found it to possess virtues similar to those of cod-liver oil, and has used it 
with advantage in consumption. In some instances it appeared to arrest the progress of 
phthisis as decisively as that oil, over which it has the advantages of being cheaper, more 
palatable, and less apt to produce nausea. (Clin. Led. on Pulmonary Consumption, Am. ed., 
p. 128.) Dr. J. 11. Warren, of Boston, gives similar testimony in its favour. (Post. Med. and 
Surg. Journ., lii. 377.) In Germany it has been used in pharmacy, to a considerable extent, 
as a substitute for lard, to which, according to Pettenkofer, it is preferable on account of 
its less tendency to rancidity, its more ready absorption when rubbed on the surface of 
the body, and its less liability to produce chemical changes in the substances with which 
it is associated. Thus, the ointmeut of iodide of potassium, when made with lard, becomes 
yellow in a few days; while, if made with coco-nut oil, it remains unchanged for two 
months or more. Vegetable substances also keep better in ointment prepared with this 
oil than with lard. Besides, it takes up one-third more water, which is a useful quality, 
when it is desirable to apply saline solutions externally. To prepare it for use, nothing 
more is ordinarily necessary than to melt it at a moderate heat, and strain it through 
linen. If coloured, it may be digested with powdered animal charcoal, and subsequently 
filtered through paper. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxix. 331, from Buchner's Repertorium, 1856, 
485-8.) Coco-nut oil has been used in the manufacture of soap; but we are told that the 
soap acquires a very offensive odour when long kept. A preparation has been shown to 
us, said to be the liquid part of coco-nut oil, prepared in London, and, under the name of 
coco-olein, used, instead of the oil itself, as a substitute for cod-liver oil. The dose of this, 
as well as of the oil, is half a liuidounce three times a day. If the oil is used, it may be 
readily brought to the liquid state by a gentle heat. W. 
CCELOCLINE POLYCARPA (Alphonse De Candolle). Unona polycarpa (De Cand.). 
Bcrberin Tree. Yellow-dye Tree of Soudan. This is a small tree, growing in Soudan, Sierra 
Leone, and other parts of Western Africa, the bark of which has recently come into notice, 
through the researches of Dr. Wm. F. Daniell, who has described both the tree and its bark 
in a paper, published in the Pharmaceutical Journal for Feb. 1857 (p. 398). AVhen wounded 
the tree exudes a juice which produces a yellow stain upon linen, that cannot be washed 
out. The epidermis of the bark is greenish-gray, interrupted by occasional blackish 
patches; the inner layers are of a golden yellow, and very fibrous, so that they can be 
separated in riband-like bands. The bark is moderately but disagreeably bitter, and stains 
the saliva yellow. Water extracts its colour and bitterness. Dr. Stenhouse has ascertained 
that it contains berberina, found also in columbo, and in Bcrberis vulgaris. The bark is 
much used in Africa for dyeing yellow. In Sierra Leone it is employed topically, with 
asserted advantage, in the treatment of obstinate ulcers, being applied both in the state 
of powder and in decoction. W. 
COLLINSONIA CANADENSIS. Horse-weed. Horse-balm. Bichweed. Ileal-all. Stone-root. 
Knot-root. An indigenous plant, with a perennial, knotty root, and an herbaceous simple 
stem, about two feet high, furnished with two or three pairs of broad cordate-ovate, smooth 
leaves, and terminating in a pannicle of yellow flowers in branched racemes. The flowers 
are diandrous and monogyuous, with a labiate calyx and corolla, the latter of which has the 
lower lip fringed. The plant grows in woods from Canada to the Carolinas, and flowers from 
July to September. The whole plant has a strong disagreeable odour, and a warm pungent 
taste. It is considered tonic, astringent, diaphoretic, and diuretic; and the root, in sub- 
stance, is said to irritate the stomach, and produce vomiting, even in small doses. The plant 
is used in numerous complaints in domestic practice. It is preferred in the fresh state, as 
the active principle is volatile. A decoction of the fresh root is said to have been used with 
advantage in catarrh of the bladder, leucorrlioea, gravel, dropsy, and other complaints; 
and the leaves are applied by the country people, in the form of cataplasm or fomentation, 
to wounds, bruises, and sores, and in cases of internal abdominal pains. W part in. 
Colutea Arlorescens.—Convallaria Majalis. 
1501 
COLUTEA ARBORESCENS. Bladder Senna. A shrub growing spontaneously in the 
southern and eastern parts of Europe, and cultivated in gardens as an ornamental plant. 
Its leaves are pinnate, consisting of from three to five pairs of leaflets, with an odd one at 
the end. The leaflets are obovate, slightly emarginate, smooth, and of a deep-green colour 
on the upper surface, grayish-green and somewhat pubescent beneath. The flowers aro 
yellow, and the fruit vesicular, whence the plant derived its vulgar name. The leaflets are 
purgative, and, in some parts of Europe, are used as a substitute for senna, which is said 
to be sometimes adulterated with them. Bladder senna is comparatively very feeble. It is 
administered in infusion or decoction, of which the dose is about half a pint, containing the 
virtues of from one to three ounces of the leaves. W. 
COMPTONIA ASPLENIFOLIA. Sweet Fern. A shrubby, indigenous plant, named from 
the resemblance of its leaves to the spleenwort fern, and belonging to the Linnasan class and 
order Monoecia Triandria. It grows in thin sandy or stony woods, from New England to Vir- 
ginia. All parts of it possess a resinous spicy odour, which is increased when the plant is 
rubbed. It is said to be tonic and astringent, and to be occasionally used in domestic prac- 
tice as a remedy in diarrhoea, and various other complaints. It is employed in the form of 
decoction. W. 
CONTRAYERVA. Contrayerva. This is the root of Dorstenia Contrayerva, and formerly 
held a place in the secondary catalogue of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, but was dismissed at the 
late revision, and has now ceased to be officinal. The plant belongs to Tetrandria Monogy- 
nia of the Linnsean system, and to the natural order Urticacese. The following is its generic 
character:—“Receptacle common, one-leafed, fleshy, in which solitary seeds are nestled.” 
( Willd.) This plant has a perennial, fusiform, branching, rough, compact root or rhizoma, 
which sends up several leaves of an irregular shape, about four inches in length, lobed, ser- 
rated, pointed, and placed upon long radical footstalks, which are winged towards the leaves. 
The scapes or flower-stems are also radical, rise several inches in height, and support irre- 
gular quadrangular receptacles, which contain male and female flowers, the former having 
two stamens, the latter a single style. The capsule, when ripe, possesses an elastic power, by 
which the seeds are thrown out with considerable force. The plant grows in Mexico, the 
West Indies, and Peru. The root (rhizoma) is the officinal portion. According to Pereira, 
however, the contrayerva of the shops is the product of D. Brasiliensis, and is brought 
from Brazil. The term contrayerba, in the language of the Spanish Americans, signifies 
counterpoison or antidote, and was applied to this root under the impression that it had the 
property of counteracting all kinds of poison. The probability is that the root sold as contra- 
yerva is derived from several species of Dorstenia, among which, besides D. Contrayerva, 
two others are mentioned by Dr. Houston, D. Iloustonia and D. Drakena, the former growing 
near Campeachy, the latter near Vera Cruz. It is referred by Dr. Martius also to D. Bra- 
siliensis, growing in Jamaica, Trinidad, and Brazil. D. Contrayerva was the only one recog- 
nised in the Pharmacopoeia. 
Properties. The root, as found in our shops, is oblong, an inch or two in length, of vary- 
ing thickness, very hard, rough, and solid, of a reddish-brown colour externally, and pale 
within; and has numerous long, slender, yellowish fibres attached to its inferior part. The 
odour is aromatic; the taste warm, slightly bitterish, and pungent. The fibres have less 
taste and smell than the tuberous portion. The sensible properties are extracted by alco- 
hol and boiling water. The decoction is highly mucilaginous. The tincture reddens infu- 
sion of litmus, and lets fall a precipitate on the addition of water. The root has not yet 
been analyzed, but contains starch and a volatile oil. Contrayerva is a stimulant tonic and 
diaphoretic, and has been given in low states of fever, malignant eruptive diseases, some 
forms of dysentery and diarrhoea, and other diseases requiring gentle stimulation. It is very 
seldom used in this country. The dose of the powdered root is about half a drachm. W. 
CONVALLARIA MAJALIS. Lily of the Valley. This charming little garden flower is a 
native of Europe, and is found growing wild in the United States, upon the highest moun- 
tains of Virginia and Carolina. Tlxe flowers have a strong, delightful odour, which is in a 
great measure lost by drying. Their taste is nauseous, bitter, and acrid. G. F. Walz has 
found in the herb and root two peculiar principles, one crystalline and acrid, which he calls 
convallarin, the other amorphous and bitter, and named convallamarin. For the mode of 
preparing them the reader is referred to the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (Nov. 1859, p. 577). 
Convallarin is in colourless rectangular prisms, scarcely soluble in water, but sufficiently 
so to render the solution acrid, and to cause it when shaken to foam like soap and water. 
It is easily dissolved by alcohol. Its composition is represented by the formula C34II31Ou. 
It is a glucoside. Convallamarin is a white powder, very bitter and afterwards sweetish, 
soluble in water and alcohol, but not in ether. This also is a glucoside. Its composition is 
Taken internally the flowers are said to be emetic and cathartic, and their ex- 
tract purges actively in the dose of half a drachm. They were formerly used in epilepsy 
and against worms. At present they are employed only as a sternutatory, for which pur- 
nose they are dried and reduced to a coarse powder. The root, which is also bitter, has 1502 
Convallaria Polygonatum.— Copal. 
PART III. 
similar purgative properties, and, reduced to powder, is said to be sternutatory. From the 
analysis of Mr. Walz, it is probable that the virtues reside in the whole plant, and that it 
combines emetic and cathartic with tonic properties. W. 
OONVALLARIA POLYGONATUM. Linn, rolygonatum uniflorum. Desfontaines.—Solo- 
mon's Seal. A perennial, herbaceous, European plant, the root of which is horizontal, joint- 
ed, white, and marked, at short intervals, with small circular impressions, which bear a re- 
mote resemblance to those made by a seal, and have served to give a name to the plant. 
The root is inodorous, and of a sweetish mucilaginous taste, followed by a slight degree 
of bitterness aDd acrimony. It is said to be emetic. In former times it was used exter- 
nally in bruises, especially those about the eyes, in tumours, wounds, and cutaneous 
eruptions, and was highly esteemed as a cosmetic. At present it is not employed, though 
recommended by Hermann as a good remedy in gout and rheumatism. The berries and 
flowers are said to be acrid and poisonous. C. multiflora (Polygonatum multiflorum, Desf.), 
which grows both in this country and Europe, is analogous to the preceding in properties. 
Dr. John II. Rauch found two fluidounces of a decoction, made by boiling two ounces of 
the root in a pint of milk, to produce nausea, a cathartic effect, and either diaphoresis or 
diuresis. He used it advantageously as an internal remedy in piles, and externally in the 
form of decoction, in the affection of the skin resulting from the poisonous exhalations of 
certain plants. (Inaugural Essay, March, 1849.) W. 
CONVOLVULUS PANDURATUS. Wild Potato. Under this name, the root of Convolvulus 
panduratus was formerly recognised in the secondary list of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, from 
which, however, it was dismissed at the recent revision. The wild potato plant (for a figure 
of which see Barton's Med. Bot. i. 249) has a perennial root, and a round, purplish, pro- 
cumbent or climbing stem, which twines around neighbouring objects, and grows some- 
times twelve feet in length. The leaves, which stand alternately on long petioles, are broad, 
heart-shaped at the base, entire, or lobed on the sides like a guitar or violin, somewhat acu- 
minate, deep-green on the upper surface, and paler beneath. The flowers are in fascicles, 
upon long axillary peduncles. The calyx is smooth and awnless; the corolla, tubular, cam- 
panulate, very large, white at the border, but purplish-red at the base. The plant is indi- 
genous, growing throughout the United States in sandy fields and along fences, and flower- 
ing from June to August. A variety with double flowers is cultivated in the gardens for the 
sake of ornament. The root, which was the officinal part, is very large, two or three feet in 
length, about three inches thick, branched at the bottom, externally of a brownish-yellow 
colour, and full of longitudinal fissures, internally whitish and milky, and of a somewhat 
acrid taste. The wild potato is feebly cathartic, and has been proposed as a substitute for 
jalap, but is scarcely used. It is thought also to be diuretic, and has been employed, with 
supposed advantage, in strangury and calculous complaints. Dr. G. M. Maclean considers 
it one of the best diuretics he has used, when given in infusion. (iV. Y. Journ. of Med., x. 
375.) Forty grains of the dried root are said to purge gently. W. 
COPAL. A resinous substance, brought from the East Indies, South Americ%, and the 
western coast of Africa, but most abundantly from the first mentioned source. It is the 
concrete juice oil-different trees, and is furnished by exudation. The East India copal has 
been ascribed by some writers to the Vateria Indica of Linn., the Elseocarpus copaliferus of 
Retzius; and the Brazilian, by Martius and Ilayne, probably with justice, to different 
species of Hymensea. There is some reason to believe that, the East India copal is also the 
product of a Ilymenasa; at least a specimen of this resin was collected by M. Perottet 
from the Ilymenseu verrucosa, which he found growing in the Isle of Bourbon. This tree is 
a native of Madagascar, and probably of the neighbouring parts of Africa; and M. Pe- 
rottet was informed that the copal of India is taken thither by the Arabs of Muscat, who 
obtain it from the east coast of Africa. [Journ. de Pharm., 3e sir., i. 406.) It is stated by 
Mr. James Vaughan, who was stationed as army surgeon at Aden in Arabia, that copal 
is taken to that port from the African coast opposite the island of Zanzibar, where it 
is said to be dug up from the earth. [Pharm. Journ., xii. 385.) In papers contained in 
the Pharm. Journ. (xvi. 369 and 423), Dr. W. F. Daniell has given an account of seve- 
ral varieties of copal produced on the coast and interior parts of Western Africa, from 
Sierra Leone to Angola and Benguela, and exported in large quantities. Those from 
Sierra Leone, which are most highly valued for their superior hardness and transparency, 
are said by Dr. Daniell to be derived from the Guibourtia copallifera of Bennett, a large 
tree, growing preferably in mountainous regions, and very nearly related, botanically, to 
the Ilymenasae, which produce copal in other regions. The drug is mostly collected, not 
from the tree itself, but from the beds and borders of streams, into which it is washed 
down, dui’ing the rains, from the hill-sides, in the soil of which it had been deposited. 
Copal varies in appearance and properties, as procured from different sources. It is in 
roundish, irregular, or flattish pieces, colourless, yellowish, or brownish-yellow', more or 
less transparent, very hard, with a shining, conchoidal fracture, inodorous and taste- 
less, of a sp.gr. varying from 1-045 to 1-139, insoluble in alcohol, soluble in ether and PART III. 
Copper, Black Oxide of.—Coriaria Myrtifolia. 
1503 
slightly so in oil of turpentine. Some varieties unite with alcohol, if suspended in its vapour 
while boiling. By heat it melts and is partially decomposed, becoming thereby soluble in 
alcohol and oil of turpentine. It is not a proximate principle, but consists of various resins 
united in different proportions. The East India or African copal is described by Mr. Schin- 
dler as of a globular form, softer and more transparent than the other varieties, with a 
surface always clear, and having an agreeable smell when heated. It is readily and freely 
dissolved by the oils of turpentine and rosemary when pure, but not by these fluids when 
rendered resinous by age. It is more readily fusible than the others, and makes the best 
varnish. The West India copal is in flat pieces, seldom weighing more than three ounces, 
rarely containing insects, very hard, of a rough appearance, of a yellowish colour, and 
without smell or taste. It is much less readily dissolved by oil of turpentine than the East 
India variety, swells, but does not dissolve in oil of rosemary, and is slightly soluble in 
absolute alcohol. A third kind, probably also American, is in convex or concave pieces, 
about a pound in weight, often containing insects and other impurities. In solubility it 
resembles the last mentioned variety, in fusibility is intermediate between it and the East 
Indian, and is altogether inferior. (Pharm. Journ., Aug. 1850.) The African or Sierra Leone 
copal is described by Dr. Daniell as occurring “in small round tears, or irregular conical 
and smooth nodulated masses, seldom exceeding in size an ordinary duck egg. They are 
covered, to a greater or less extent, by a peculiar white efflorescence, which increases by 
age. Their colour graduates from a pale-green to a lemon or dull yellow.” [Ibid., xvi. 869.) 
Crude and scraped copal are also known in the market; the former of a dull opaque appear- 
ance externally, the latter much clearer and more transparent, in consequence of being 
deprived of its outer coat. The process of scraping is said to consist in the removal of the 
exterior portion by means of an alkaline solution, which readily dissolves copal. This resin 
is used chiefly in making varnishes. For a paper by M. H. Violette on the preparation of 
copal varnish, see the American Journal of Pharmacy (March, 1863, p. 140). W. 
COPPER, BLACK OXIDE OF. This is the protoxide of copper, CuO, obtained most con 
veniently by heating to redness the nitrate. This oxide, in the form of ointment, made bj 
mixing four parts with thirty of lard, has been used in frictions, practised twice a day, 
for the removal of chronic indurations of the glands. (Hoppe, Ann. de Therap., 1855, p. 
251.) B. 
CORAL. A substance found at the bottom of the Mediterranean and other seas, for- 
merly considered as a plant, but now universally admitted to belong to the animal king- 
dom. This red coral (Corallium rubrum of Lamarck, Isis nobilis of Linn.) is in the form of a 
small shrub, a foot or two in height, with a stem sometimes an inch or two in thickness, 
fixed to the rock by an expansion of the base, divided above into branches, and covered 
with a pulpy membrane, which is properly the living part, and which is removed when the 
coral is collected. The central portion is extremely hard, of various shades of red, sus- 
ceptible of a brilliant polish, longitudinally striated, and formed of concentric layers, 
which are rendered obvious by calcination. Its chief constituent is carbonate of lime, 
which is coloured by oxide of iron, and united, as in similar calcareous products, with 
more or less animal matter. It was formerly highly esteemed as a remedy, but is in no 
respect superior to prepared oyster-shell, or other form of carbonate of lime, derived from 
the animal kingdom. It was employed in fine powder, or in different preparations, such 
as troches, syrups, conserves, &c. At present it is valued chiefly as an ornament. W. 
CORALLORHIZA ODONTORIIIZA. (Gray's Manual, p. 453.) Coral-root. This is a leaf- 
less' herb, sending up from a coral-like rhizoma, a simple scape or flower-stem, from 6 to 
16 inches high, furnished with sheaths instead of leaves, of a light-brown or purplish 
colour, and bearing small, greenish-brown flowers in a long spike. The plant grows 
throughout the United States east of the Mississippi. It is supposed by some to be para- 
sitic, attaching itself to the roots of trees, and nourished from them. The root or rhi- 
zoma is the part used. It is much branched and toothed, and of a brown colour, and from 
its resemblance to coral in appearance gave name to the plant. It has a strong pecu- 
liar odour, and an astringent bitterish taste. It holds a high place in the Materia Medica 
of the “eclectics,” being considered by them as an energetic diaphoretic, and, as it is des- 
titute of general stimulant properties, is given in fevers and inflammatory affections. It i3 
administered in powder, in the dose of thirty grains, every two hours. W. 
CORIARIA MYRTIFOLIA. Redoul, Fr. This is a shrub indigenous in the south of 
France, and growing also wild in Spain, Italy, and Barbary. It is sometimes cultivated 
in gardens on account of its handsome foliage. The leaves, which are used for dyeing black, 
were at one time employed to a considerable extent in France in the adulteration of senna. 
The fruit, resembling berries in form, are black, and about the size of a pea. Both these and 
the leaves are poisonous in large doses, and several instances of death are on record from 
eating the fruit. They are supposed to act as a narcotic, as a child under their influence 
appeared, half an hour after taking them, as if in a state of drunkenness, with loss of 
speech, foaming at the mouth, livid face, and convulsive movements, and died at the end 1504 
Cork.—Cortex Caryophyllata. 
PART III. 
of 17 hours. The stomach upon examination showed scarcely any signs of phlogosis. 
(Mcrat et De Lens.) M. lliban has discovered in the fruit a peculiar principle, on which he 
believes their poisonous properties depend, and to which he has given the name of cori- 
amyrtin. This is in the form of white crystals, inodorous, excessively bitter, and extremely 
poisonous. It is but slightly soluble in water hot or cold, but freely so in alcohol, ether, 
chloroform, and benzole. Its composition is represented by the formula C40II28O16. It 
ranks with the glucosides. About three grains of it killed a dog, first vomiting, then caus- 
ing severe convulsions, and death in an hour and a quarter. M. Itiban obtained it by treat- 
ing the juice of the fresh or an infusion of the dried fruit and leaves first with acetate of 
lead, then with sulphuretted hydrogen to throw down the lead, concentrating the filtered 
liquid to a syrupy consistence, and agitating this with ether, which extracted the poison, 
and yielded it on evaporation. (Journ. de Pharm., Juin, 1864, p. 487.) 
Toot-poison. In New Zealand a poisonous plant, known as the toot-plant, has proved very 
destructive to the domestic animals of the settlers. Dr. W. Lauder Lindsay, in a journey 
through New Zealand, had an opportunity of examining the plant and its effects. He found 
it to be the Coriaria ruscifolia of Linnaeus ((7. sarmenlosa, Forst.), and in its action on the 
system to be an irritant narcotic. W. 
CORK. Suber, Lat. Liege, Fr. The great use made of this substance by the apothecary 
will justify a brief notice of it here. Though in general ascribed exclusively to the Quer- 
cus Suber, a large oak growing in Spain, the south of France, north of Italy, Algeria, and 
some of the Mediterranean islands, it is said by M. Casimer de Candolle to be obtained also 
for commercial purposes from another species, the Q. occidentals, growing in the south-west 
of France and in Portugal. It consists of the exterior layers of the bark beneath the epi- 
dermis, which acquire in these species an extraordinary development, becoming thick, and 
of that peculiar spongy consistence which characterizes cork. The tree begins to yield 
cork when fifteen or sixteen years old, and every six or eight years furnishes a fresh sup- 
ply, even for a century and a half, before it perishes; that interval of time being required 
for the renewal of the suberose layers by the living portions of the bark beneath. There 
are four constituent layers of the bark, the epidermis, within this the cork, next the cel- 
lular envelope, and lastly the liber which lies upon the wood. Each of these increases 
year by year; but the cork thus naturally produced is not valued. The commercial pro- 
duct is obtained by an artificial process. The exterior layers are removed, and the liber 
exposed. In the interior of this, at a variable distance from the surface, a layer of the 
proper cork is now formed, apparently by a change in the substance of the liber, the outer 
portions of which perish, while annually a new layer is added to the cork already ex- 
isting, until it acquires a thickness which will justify its removal. Incisions are made in 
such a way that the cork is removed in large concave plates, which are then flattened 
under pressure, and dried very slowly. From ordinary accounts, it might be supposed 
that the cork-tree was very common in Spain; but in a long journey through that country 
from the North to the extreme South, the author had no opportunity of seeing the trees 
from which the cork was obtained except in the Eastern Pyrenees, where it appeared to 
be abundant. 
In selecting cork for use, those parts should be preferred which are soft and of uniform 
consistence; and in the choice of the larger plates those should be selected which are 
thick, flexible, elastic, and finely porous, and of a reddish colour. (Guibourt.) Cork con- 
sists mainly of a peculiar proximate principle analogous to lignin, but differing from it in 
this respect, that, when treated with nitric acid, it yields a peculiar acid, which has been 
denominated the suberic acid. According to M. Chevreul, who has analyzed cork, it con- 
tains, besides the principle mentioned, a little volatile oil and acetic acid which it yields 
by distillation; a yellow colouring substance, an astringent principle, an animalized sub- 
stance, gallic acid, another acid, gallate of iron and lime, all of which it yields to water; 
a wax-like crystallizable matter, a soft resin, and two other undetermined bodies, which 
were extracted by alcohol after having been exhausted by water; altogether constituting 
about 30 per cent., while the characteristic ingredient mentioned, which may bo called 
suberin, amounts to 70 per cent. W. 
CORTEX CARYOPIIYLLATA. Cassia Caryophyllata. Clove Bark. These names have been 
given to a bark, brought from the West Indies, and derived from a tree belonging to the 
family of Myrtaceae, supposed to be the Myrtus acris of Schwartz. It is usually in cylinders 
from one to two feet long by an inch in diameter, composed of numerous separate pieces 
rolled around one another, having a dark-brown colour, a pungent taste, and an odour 
similar to that of cloves. It is sometimes in fragments, of a similar colour, taste, and 
smell, but softer and lighter, and supposed to be derived from older branches. A similar 
bark is said to be derived from the Myrtus caryophyllata of Linn., which grows in Ceylon. 
The clove bark has aromatic properties not unlike those of the spice from which it derived 
its name; but it is much inferior, and is not used in this country. Some authors have con- 
founded with it a different bark, produced in the Moluccas, and known by the Indian name 
of culilawan. (See Culilauan.) . W. PART III. 
Corydalis Formosa.—Crabs’ Claws. 
1505 
CORYDALIS FORMOSA. (Pursh.) Turkey Corn. Turkey Pea. This pretty little indigenous 
plant, growing in the Middle and Western States, is one of those employed by the practi- 
tioners calling themselves eclectics, and is highly esteemed by them. The root is the part 
used. It is a small roundish tuber, having a slight peculiar smell, and a bitterish somewhat 
pungent and persistent taste. It is said to yield its active properties to water and alcohol. 
According to Mr. W. T. Wenzell, who examined the root chemically, and made it the subject 
of an inaugural essay presented to the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, it contains an 
alkaloid denominated corydalia, fumaric acid, bitter extractive, an acrid resin with volatile 
oil, a tasteless resin, brown colouring matter, starch, albumen, arabin, bassorin, cellulose, 
and various inorganic salts. The alkaloid was obtained by making a hydro-alcoholic tinc- 
ture, distilling off the alcohol, filtering, precipitating with ammonia in slight excess, washing 
the precipitate, treating it with boiling alcohol, evaporating the solution to dryness, treating 
the residue with dilute muriatic acid, precipitating with ammonia, dissolving the precipi- 
tate in boiling alcohol, concentrating the tincture, and allowing it to stand. The corydalia 
was deposited in crystals, and was purified by repeated solution in alcohol and crystalliza- 
tion. The crystals, which are slender four-sided prisms, are inodorous, tasteless, insoluble 
in water, soluble in alcohol, ether, and chloroform, reddened by nitric acid, and capable 
of forming soluble salts with the acids. It appears to be identical with the alkaloid found 
in European species of Corydalis. This has been examined by G. Leube, who gives, as 
the result of his analysis, the formula as representing its composition. 
The root is supposed to be tonic, diuretic, and alterative, and is given in syphilitic, 
scrofulous, and cutaneous affections, in the dose of from ten to thirty grains. It is also 
used in the form of tincture and decoction. We are indebted for the above abstract of the 
properties and uses of this plant to the essay of Mr. Wenzell, above referred to, published 
in the American Journal of Pharmacy for May, 1855, p. 205. The “eclectics” use a prepara- 
tion which they call corydalin or corydalia made by precipitating a tincture of the root with 
water, in the dose of half a grain or a grain. It is of course not the active principle, and 
therefore has no claim to the title; yet it no doubt contains more or less of the proper 
alkaloid. W. 
CORYLUS ROSTRATA. Beaked Hazel. This is a small indigenous shrub, growing espe- 
cially in mountainous districts. The nut is invested with a scaly involucre, projecting be- 
yond it like a beak, and thickly covered with short spicula like those of Mucuna pruriens. 
These spicula have been employed by'Dr. Heubener, of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, as an 
anthelmintic, and found to be efficacious. They operate in the same way as cowhage, and 
may be administered in the same manner and dose. (See a communication by the late Mr. 
Duhamel, in the Am. Journ. of Pharm., xiv. 280.) W. 
COTYLEDON UMBILICUS. Navel-wort. Penny-wort. This is a perennial, herbaceous, 
succulent plant, belonging to the class and order Decandria Pentagynia, and the natural 
family of Crapulaceae. It is about six inches high, with fleshy, peltate, crenate leaves, and 
a flower-stem bearing, in the form of a spike, pale-yellow, bell-shaped, pendulous flowers, 
which appear in June and July. The plant is a native of England, where it grows upon 
old walls and rocks, and dry sandy banks. It was first brought before the profession, as 
a remedy in epilepsy, by Mr. Thos. Salter, of Poole, who had found its expressed juice very 
efficient in that disease, and published the results of his observations in the London Medi- 
cal Gazette for March, 1849 (page 367). In the following May, Dr. Joseph Bullar, of South- 
ampton, communicated the results of his observations on the same subject to the Prov. 
Med. and Surg. Journ., which were confirmatory of those of Mr. Salter. Since that period, 
other testimony has been advanced in favour of the remedy; among which is that of Dr. 
Graves, of Dublin, who considers it a valuable aid in the treatment of epilepsy, and states 
that it has long been known in Ireland as a popular remedy, not only in that disease, but 
in asthma. (Dublin Quart. Journ. of Med. Sci., xiv. 264.) It is, however, proper to say that 
Dr. Ranking, of Norwich, England, in a letter published in the Lond. Med. Times and Gaz. 
for April, 1854 (page 328), declares that, so far as his experience goes, he considers the 
medicine utterly worthless, having employed it perseveringly in more than thirty cases of 
epilepsy, without the smallest benefit in a single instance. 
The medicine is said to have no other observable effect than that of a gentle tonic to the 
nervous system. The part used is the expressed juice, which should be obtained when the 
leaves are most succulent, before the appearance of the flowers. An extract, and a fluid 
extract have also been employed. The juice has been given in doses varying from a flui- 
drachm to a fluidounce twice or three times a day, and should be long persevered with. 
The dose of the fluid extract is stated at a fluidrachm, that of the dry extract at five 
grains, to be increased if necessary. W. 
CRABS’ CLAWS. Chelx Cancrorum. These, in a prepared state, were formerly included 
in the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia, but were very properly omitted upon the last revision 
of that work. Supposing them identical with the crust of the lobster, they consist, in the 
100 parts, of 60 parts of carbonate of lime, 14 of phosphate of lime, and 26 of animal mat- Crabstones.—Cucumber Ointment. 
PART III. 
ter. They are prepared by levigation and elutriation, so as to bring them to a fine powder. 
They were formerly used as an absorbent and antacid; but the animal matter in their 
composition confers on them no peculiar virtues. They are given in the same dose with 
prepared chalk. B. 
CRABSTONES. Lapilli Cancrorum. Crabs' Eyes. These are concretions found in the 
stomach, one on each side, of the European crawfish, at the time the animal is about to 
change its shell. They are most abundantly procured in the province of Astracan, in 
Asiatic Russia. The crawfish are bruised with wooden mallets and laid up in heaps to 
putrefy. The animal remains are then washed away, and the stones picked out. They are 
inodorous, insipid bodies, somewhat hemispherical in shape, of a white or reddish colcur, 
hard and stony consistence, and laminated texture. They are very variable in size, weigh- 
ing from one to twelve grains each. They effervesce with acids, and, without dissolving, 
become converted, owing to the animal matter which they contain, into a soft transparent 
mass, retaining the original shape of the stone. By this character they are distinguished 
from counterfeit stones, which are sometimes fabricated of chalk, mixed with mucilaginous 
substances. They consist of carbonate and phosphate of lime, cemented together by animal 
matter. Crabstones have been used as an absorbent and antacid, given in the same dose 
with prepared chalk. They were prepared by being levigated in the usual manner; but 
they are now no longer officinal, having been expunged from the Edinburgh Pharma- 
copoeia. B. 
CROCUS OF ANTIMONY. Saffron of Antimony. This compound is formed during the 
deflagration of a mixture of equal weights of tersulphuret of antimony and nitrate of po- 
tassa, to which one-twelfth of muriatic acid has been added. The nitric acid of the nitre 
is decomposed, nitrogen and nitric oxide being given off, and, by furnishing oxygen to part 
of the tersulphuret, converts its constituents into sulphuric acid and teroxide of antimony. 
The sulphuric acid combines with the potassa of the nitre, to form sulphate of potassa; 
while the teroxide unites or mixes with the undecomposed tersulphuret to constitute the 
crocus. The muriatic acid prevents the formation of sulphuret of potassium and free po- 
tassa, by giving rise to chloride of potassium. The product of the deflagration is reduced 
to powder, washed with boiling water to separate sulphate of potassa and chloride of po- 
tassium, and then fused. When crocus of antimony is intended to be employed for making 
tartar emetic, it should not be fused; because it requires, for preparing this antimonial, to 
be reduced to a very fine powder, and the fused substance is pulverized with difficulty. The 
deflagrated mass, instead of being fused, should be reduced to very fine powder, and 
washed with boiling water. In this state it more readily dissolves in the solution of cream 
of tartar. Fused crocus is in masses of a liver-brown colour. As obtained without fusion, 
it is a saffron-brown insoluble powder, containing about four-fifths of its weight of terox- 
ide, the remaining fifth being tersulphuret. In the London Pharmacopoeia of 1836, the un- 
fused crocus was adopted for preparing tartar emetic; but in the edition of 1851 it was 
abandoned, and the subsulphate of antimony substituted for it. B. 
CUCUMBER OINTMENT. An emollient ointment, prepared from the common cucumber 
(fruit of Cucumis salivus), has been considerably employed in irritated states of the skin. 
The following is the mode of preparing it, recommended by Prof. Procter. Take of green 
cucumbers 7 pounds avoirdupois, pure lard 24 ounces, veal suet 15 ounces. Grate the 
washed cucumbers to a pulp, express, and strain the juice. Cut the suet into small pieces, 
heat it over a water-bath till the fat is melted out from the membrane; then add the 
lard, and, when melted, strain through muslin into an earthen vessel capable of holding a 
gallon, and stir until thickening commences, when one-third of the juice is to be added, 
and the whole beaten with a spatula till the odour has been almost wholly extracted. The 
portion which separates is to be decanted, and the remaining two-thirds of the juice are to 
be consecutively incorporated and decanted in the same manner. The jar is then closely 
covered and placed in a water-bath, until the fatty matter entirely separates from tho 
juice. The green coagulum floating on the surface is now removed, and the jar put in a 
cool place that the ointment may solidify. The crude ointment is then separated from tho 
watery liquid on which it floats, melted and strained, and placed in glass jars, which must 
be kept closely sealed. A layer of rose water upon its surface will favour its preservation. 
A portion may be triturated with a little rose water until white and creamy, and put into 
a separate jar for present use. [Am. Journ. of Eli arm., xxv. 409.) 
M. Emile Mouchon prepares the ointment by obtaining the juice mixed with a little alco- 
hol, and incorporating this with benzinated lard and stearin. He directs 16 parts of the 
cucumber to be reduced to a pulp, 1 part of alcohol of 36° B. to be added, and the mixture 
to be placed on the diaphragm of a percolator. Twenty-four hours afterwards 10 parts of 
the liquid are obtained of 19° B. Of this liquid 6 parts are to be incorporated with 37-5 
parts of benzinated lard and 12-5 of stearin; the fatty matters having been previously 
melted together by means of a water-bath, and beaten vigorously on cooling. The liquid 
is to be added before the completion of the beating, which should then be continui d, until part III. Cucurbita Citrullus.—Cuttle-fish Bone. 
1507 
the whole becomes as light and white as possible. The benzoin and alcohol enable the 
ointment to keep a long time. (Journ. de Pharm., Juillet, 1854, p. 41.) W 
CUCURBITA CITRULLUS. Watermelon. The seeds of the watermelon are employed, te 
a considerable extent, as a domestic remedy in strangury and other affections of the urin- 
ary passages. They have similar properties with the seeds of the other Cucurbitaceae, of 
which four different kinds were formerly officinal under the name of the greater cold seeds 
—viz., those of the Cucurbita Pepo or pumpkin, the Cucurbita Lagenaria or- gourd, the Cu- 
cumis Melo or muskmelon, and the Cucumis sativus or cucumber. These, when bruised and 
rubbed up with water, form an emulsion, which was formerly thought to possess considera- 
ble virtues, and was much used in catarrhal affections, disorders of the bowels and urinary 
passages, fever, &c.; but they have been superseded by other more agreeable demulcents. 
Watermelon seeds are also esteemed by some diuretic. They are given in infusion, made 
with one or two ounces of the bruised seeds to a pint of water, and taken ad libitum. The 
juice of the melon itself is undoubtedly diuretic, and might be very properly recommended 
as an adjuvant to other remedies in many cases of dropsy. 
The pulp of the root of Cucurbita Lagenaria or gourd is said by Dr. Chapin to be a 
powerful and even drastic purgative, and to be used by the natives of the Sandwich Islands 
successfully in dropsy; though in the large quantities in which it is used by them, it some- 
times proves fatal through hypercatharsis. (See a paper by Dr. Luther II. Gulick, in the 
N. Y. Journ. of Med. for March, 1855, p. 203.) W. 
CULILAWAN. Cortex Culilaban. An aromatic bark, produced by Cinnamomum Culilawan 
(Laurus Culilawan, Linn.), a tree of considerable size, growing in the Molucca Islands, 
Cochin China, and other parts of the East. It is usually in flat or slightly rolled pieces, 
several inches long, an inch or more in breadth, and one or two lines thick. Sometimes 
the bark is thinner and more quilled, bearing considerable resemblance to cinnamon. The 
epidermis is for the most part removed, but when present is of a light brownish-gray colour, 
soft to the touch, and somewhat spongy. The colour of the bark itself is a dull dark cin- 
namon-brown, the odour highly fragrant, the taste agreeably aromatic, and not unlike 
that of cloves. The active constituent is a volatile oil, which may be separated by distilla- 
tion. Culilawan has the medical properties common to the aromatics, but is scarcely used 
at present. W. 
CUMIN SEED. Cyminum, Lond. Cuminum, Ed. Cumin seeds have been omitted in the 
British Pharmacopoeia, and, having no place in our own, and consequently none in Part I. 
of this work, require a brief notice here. They are the fruit of the Cuminum Cyminum, an 
umbelliferous plant, belonging to Pentandria Digynia of the Tinmen n system, with the 
following generic character. “Fruit ovate, striated. Partial umbels four. Involucres four- 
cleft.” ( Willd.) It is an annual plant, about six or eight inches high, having a round, slen- 
der, branching stem, with numerous narrow, linear, pointed, smooth, grass-like leaves, of 
a deep-green colour. The flowers are white or purple, and disposed in numerous terminal 
umbels, which have very few rays, and are attended with general and partial involucres, 
consisting of three or four linear leaflets. The fruit consists of two oblong plano-convex 
half-fruits, commonly called seeds, united by their flat sides. The plant is a native of 
Egypt, but is cultivated for its fruit in Sicily, Malta, and other parts of Europe. 
The cumin seeds of the shops are elliptical, flat on one side, convex, furrowed, and rough 
on the other, about one-sixth of an inch in length, and of a light-brown colour. Each has 
seven longitudinal ridges. Two seeds are sometimes united together as upon the plant. 
Their odour is peculiar, strong, and heavy; their taste warm, bitterish, aromatic, and dis- 
agreeable. They contain much essential oil, which is lighter than water, yellowish, and has 
the sensible properties of the seeds. It consists of two distinct oils, one a carbohydrogen, 
called cymene (C20HU), the other consisting of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen (C20H12O2), 
which may be regarded as hydruret of cumyl (Gregory’s Organic Chemistry, 4th 
ed., pp. 158 and 341.) In medical properties cumin seeds resemble the other aromatic fruits 
of umbelliferous plants, but are more stimulating. They are seldom used in the United 
States, and appear to have been retained by the London College merely as an ingredient 
in a stimulant and diseutient plaster (Emplastrum Cymini), now no longer officinal. The 
dose is from fifteen grains to half a drachm. W. 
CUNILA MARIANA. American Dittany. A small indigenous perennial herb, growing on 
dry, shady hills, from New England to Georgia, and flowering in June and July. The 
whole herb has a warm pungent taste, and a fragrant odour, dependent on an essential 
oil. Its medical properties are those of a gently stimulant aromatic, analogous to the 
mints, pennyroyal, &c. In warm infusion, it is popularly employed to excite perspiration 
in colds and slight fevers, to promote suppressed menstruation, to relieve flatulent colic, 
and for various other purposes to which the aromatic herbs are thought applicable. W. 
CUTTLE-FISH BONE. Os Sepise. This is a calcareous body, situated underneath the 
skin, in the back of the Sepia officinalis, or cuttle-fish, which inhabits the seas of Europe, 
especially the Mediterranean, in the waters of which the bone is not unfrequentlv found 1508 
Cyanide of Zinc.—Cynanclium Vincetoxicum. 
PART III. 
floating. It is oblong-oval, from five to ten inches long, and from one and a half to three 
inches broad, somewhat convex on both sides, with thin edges, of a rather firm consistence 
upon the upper surface, very friable beneath, and composed of numerous layers, loosely 
connected, so as to give to the mass a porous consistence. It is lighter than water, of a 
white colour, a feeble odour of sea plants, and a saline taste. It contains, according to 
JoJan, from 80 to 85 per cent, of carbonate of lime, besides animal matter, a little common 
salt, and traces of magnesia. Reduced by levigation and elutriation to a fine powder, it may 
be given as an antacid like chalk or oyster-shell. It is sometimes used as an ingredient of 
tooth-powders. Small pieces of it are often put into bird-cages, that the birds may rub 
their bills against them; and the powder is employed for polishing. Another product of the 
cuttle-fish is a blackish-brown liquor, secreted by a small gland into an oval pouch, com- 
municating externally near the rectum by a long excretory duct, through which the animal 
is said to have the power of ejecting it at will. This, when taken from the fish, is dried, 
and used in the preparation of the water colour called sepia. W. 
CYANIDE OF ZINC. Zinci Cyanidum. Cyanuret of Zinc. This cyanide is precipitated as 
a white insoluble powder, by adding cautiously, until it ceases to produce a precipitate, a 
recently filtered solution of cyanide of potassium, obtained from the impure black cyanide, 
to a solution of sulphate of zinc. It is used in Germany as a substitute for hydrocyanic 
acid, and is said to be anthelmintic. It has been employed in epilepsy, chorea, and neu- 
ralgia, in several painful affections of the stomach, and in the colics attendant on difficult 
menstruation. The dose is a quarter of a grain, gradually increased to a grain and a half, 
given in mixture. It is included in the officinal list of the French Codex. B. 
CYCLAMEN EUROPiEUM. Pain de Porceau, Fr. Sow-bread. This is an herbaceous per- 
ennial, stemless plant, indigenous in the south of Europe, and cultivated in gardens for 
the beauty of its purple flowers, with reflected petals. It belongs to Pentandria Monogynia 
of the Linnaean system, and to the natural order Primulacese. The root is globular, with 
many branched fibres, almost black without, and white within, inodorous, and, when 
fresh, of a bitter, acrid, burning taste. By drying it loses much of its acrimony, and is 
said to be rendered edible by roasting. Hogs are said to root it up from the ground and to 
eat it with impunity; and hence its common French name. The root is a drastic cathartic, 
and is thought to have the power of producing abortion, for which purpose it is sometimes 
employed among the peasantry, who habitually use it as a cathartic. Sometimes, however, 
it has produced very serious effects, as inflammation of the alimentary canal, with bloody 
stools, cold sweats, and convulsive movements, which have even ended fatally. It is sup- 
posed to be capable of acting on the bowels when applied to the skin; and, in the form 
of ointment, is said to be rubbed on the surface of the abdomen in children for the ex- 
pulsion of worms. (MSrat et De Lens.') The root probably owes its acrimony, if not all its 
medicinal properties, to an active principle, first discovered many years since by Saladin, 
and named by him arthanitin, and more recently by S. De Luca, who has given it the more 
appropriate name of cyclamin. It is white, amorphous, inodorous, and when held a short 
time in the mouth intensely acrid, extending its action even to the throat. With cold 
water it swells and becomes gelatinous, but is readily dissolved, and forms a solution 
which froths like soap and w-ater, and is coagulated by a heat of about 150° F. Alcohol 
dissolves it with difficulty when cold, but freely when hot; it is soluble in glycerin with 
the aid of heat; and is insoluble in ether, chloroform, bisulphuret of carbon, and the es- 
sential oils. It contains no nitrogen; its formula being, according to an analysis by Dr. 
Klinger, C28II16012. Dr. T. W. C. Martius recommends the following method of preparing it. 
The tubers, collected in the autumn, dried, and powdered, are mixed with animal charcoal, 
and exhausted at a boiling heat by alcohol of 0-825; the tincture is filtered, concentrated, 
and set aside for six or eight weeks, when the cyclamin is deposited. This should be 
washed on a filter with alcohol till it passes colourless; and if the filtrate be concentrated, 
and set aside, it will deposit a further quantity in a few weeks. The whole is then mixed 
with animal charcoal, and treated with boiling alcohol, which will slowly deposit the pure 
cyclamin on cooling. This principle was found by M. De Luca, by experiments on animals, 
to be poisonous, and he supposed it to resemble curari in its action, though less violent. 
(See Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 1858, p. 21, and March, 1860, p. 154.) The dose of the pow- 
dered root is said to be from 20 to 40 grains. W. 
CYNANCIIUM VINCETOXICUM. R. Brown. Asclepias Vincetoxicum. Linn. White Swal- 
low-wort. Vincetoxicum. A perennial herbaceous European plant, the root of which was 
formerly esteemed a counterpoison, and hence gave origin to the officinal name. It has a 
bitterish acrid taste, and, when fresh, a disagreeable odour which is diminished by dry- 
ing. Taken internally, especially in the recent state, it excites vomiting, and is capable, 
in large quantities, of producing dangerous if not fatal inflammation of the stomach. Its 
former reputation as an alexipliarmic was without foundation. It is said to be useful in 
cutaneous diseases, scrofula, &e., but is little employed. The leaves of the plant also are 
emetic. Feneulle found in the root a peculiar principle analogous to emetin. >Y PART ill. 
Cynara Scolymus.—Dianthus Caryophyllus. 
CYNARA SCOLYMUS. Garden Artichoke. This is a perennial plant, indigenous in the 
south of Europe, and cultivated in our gardens as a culinary vegetable. The flowers, con- 
stituting what are commonly called the heads, are the parts used. The receptacle and the 
lower portion of the fleshy leaflets of the calyx are eaten, and the other parts rejected. 
When young, the heads are cut up raw and eaten as salad; when older, they are boiled, 
and dressed variously. The flowers are said to curdle milk, and the plant to yield a good 
yellow dye. The leaves and their expressed juice are very bitter, and have been thought 
to be actively diuretic. They have long had some reputation in the treatment of dropsies. 
Dr. Badely, of Chelmsford, England, recommends a tincture and extract, prepared from 
the leaves, in rheumatic, gouty, and neuralgic affections. He gives a drachm of the tinc- 
ture, with five grains of the extract, three times a day, with or without other remedies as 
circumstances seem to require. The leaves should be fresh, and the preparations mads 
from them quickly used. (Lond. Lancet, 1843, p. 556.) W. 
CYNOGLOSSUM OFFICINALE. Hound's Tongue. A biennial plant, common both in 
Europe and this country, and named from the shape of its leaves. The leaves and root 
have been employed, but the latter has been generally preferred. The fresh plant has a 
disagreeable narcotic odour resembling that of mice, which is dissipated by drying. The 
taste is nauseous, bitterish, and mucilaginous. Different opinions as to its powers have 
been entertained, some considering it nearly inert, others as a dangerous poison. Hound’s 
tongue has been used as a demulcent and sedative in coughs, catarrh, spitting of blood, 
dysentery, and diarrhoea; and has been applied externally in burns, ulcers, scrofulous 
tumours, and goitre. The pilulse de cynoglosso, which are officinal in some parts of Europe, 
though they contain the root of hound’s tongue, owe their properties chiefly to opium. W-. 
CYTISUS LABURNUM. Laburnum. The laburnum is a small tree, indigenous in the 
higher mountains of Europe, and cultivated, throughout the civilized world, in gardens 
and pleasure grounds for the beauty of its flowers, which appear early in the spring in 
rich pendent yellow clusters. The young shoots and probably the leaves, indeed all parts 
of the plant are purgative, and in excessive doses poisonous. Caventou found in the flowers 
an odorous fixed oil, gum, lignin, gallic acid, and traces of sulphate and muriate of lime. 
MM. Chevallier and Lassaigne discovered in the seeds a peculiar principle, to which they 
gave the name of cytisin. This was a yellowish-white, neuter, amorphous, deliquescent, 
non-nitrogenous substance, of a bitter nauseous taste, soluble in water and weak alcohol, 
and insoluble in ether. In small doses it produced, in several animals of different species, 
vomiting, convulsions, and death; and eight grains taken by Chevallier himself caused 
threatening symptoms, which disappeared under the free use of lemonade. Five grains ap- 
peared equal to three of tartar emetic. (Herat et DeLens.) Dr. Th. Scott Gray has recently 
undertaken the examination of the laburnum, and has found three distinct principles, an 
acid which he names laburnic, and two other substances, both of them bitter and neuter, 
which he proposes to call laburnin and cystinea. These are contained in variable proportions 
in all parts of the plant, but most largely in the bark and seeds. As all of them are soluble 
in water and only a portion of them in alcohol, the former is the proper menstruum for 
extracting the virtues of the plant. In reference to the effects on the system, Dr. Gray 
found that, after a slight excitement of the nervous and circulatory systems, there was a 
diminution of the pulse and a disposition to sleep. Decided narcotic effects were produced, 
with a moderate increase of urine, and a tendency to increased action of the liver. Dr. 
Gray employed the preparations of the plant therapeutically, and found them useful in 
bilious dyspepsia, with periodical vomiting and alternations of constipation and diarrhoea; 
in infantile vomiting; in allaying the cough in bronchitis, and the violence of the paroxysms 
of hooping-cough and asthma; in the vomiting of pregnancy; and, finally, given in large 
doses four times a day, in the treatment of prurigo; the decoction being at the same time 
applied externally. (Pharm.. Journ., Aout, 1862, p. 160, from the Ed. Med. Journ.) Several 
cases of poisoning from laburnum seeds have recently been recorded. In a child about six 
years old, taken to the Cork Infirmary, the symptoms were giddiness and pain in the head, 
dryness and constriction of the throat, afterwards very painful sensations in the stomach, 
followed by nausea and vomiting, with rapid and fluttering pulse, laboured breathing, 
convulsive twitchings of the face, and wide dilatation of the pupils and insensibility to light, ft 
He recovered, however, under treatment. (J. Popham, Dub. Quart. Journ., Feb. 1863, p. 
248.) Another case is reported as having occurred at Canterbury, England, in which very 
similar symptoms resulted from the same cause, and with a similar result. (Med. Times and 
Gaz., Sept. 13, 1862. ) W. 
DIANTHUS CARYOPIIYLLUS. Clove Pink. The clove pink or carnation is too well known 
to require minute description. It is a perennial, herbaceous plant, belonging to the family 
of Caryophyllaceae, and characterized as a species by its branching stem, its solitary 
flowers, the short ovate scales of its calyx, its very broad beardless petals, and its linear, 
subulate, channeled, glaucous leaves. Indigenous in Italy, it is everywhere cultivated in 
gardens for the beauty of its flowers, of which numerous varieties have been produced by 1510 
Diaphoretic Antimony.—Dippel's Animal Oil. 
PART III. 
horticulturists. Those are selected for medicinal use which have the deepest red colour, 
and the most aromatic odour. The petals should not be collected till the flower is fully 
blown, and should be employed in the recent state. They have a fragrant odour, thought 
to resemble that of the clove. Their taste is sweetish, slightly bitter and somewhat astrin- 
gent. Both water and alcohol extract their sensible properties, and they yield a fragrant 
essential oil by distillation. In Europe they are employed to impart colour and flavour to 
a syrup, which serves as a vehicle for other less pleasant medicines. According to the 
direction of the former Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia, this was prepared by macerating one 
part of the flowers, without their claws, with four parts of boiling water for twelve hours, 
then filtering, and adding seven parts of sugar. W. 
DIAPHORETIC ANTIMONY. Antimonium Diaphoreticum. Potassse Biantimonias. This 
compound is directed, in the French Codex, to be formed by deflagrating in a red-hot cruci- 
ole, and keeping red-hot for half an hour, a mixture of pure antimony with twice its weight 
of nitrate of potassa, both being in fine powder. The product is washed with water and dried, 
and forms the washed diaphoretic antimony. As thus prepared, M. Oscar Figuier has shown 
that it contains, besides antimouic acid, both teroxide of antimony and antimonious acid; 
the nitre not being in sufficient quantity completely to peroxidize the antimony. When, how- 
ever, the antimony is deflagrated with three times its weight of nitre, and the matter is kept 
at a red heat for an hour and a half, the whole of the antimony is converted into antimonic 
acid; and, when the product is thoroughly exhausted by boiling water, the resulting solu- 
tion contains a large quantity of neutral antimoniate of potassa, and the insoluble residue 
is impure biantimoniate. M. Figuier rejects this residue, which forms the diaphoretic anti- 
mony of the ordinary process, and obtains the preparation from the solution of the neutral 
antimoniate, by passing through it a stream of carbonic acid gas, which removes one eq. of 
potassa from two of the antimoniate, and throws down the biantimoniate in the form of a 
white powder. By this process he obtained a quantity of the preparation, equal to three- 
fourths of the weight of the materials employed. Diaphoretic antimony is a perfectly white 
powder. When properly prepared, as by the process of M. Figuier, it consists of two eqs. of 
antimonic acid, one of potassa, and six of water. The dose is two or three drachms. On ac- 
count of its weak and variable nature, it has been generally laid aside in practice. B. 
DICTAMUS ALBUS. White Fraxinella. Bastard Dittany. This is a perennial European 
plant, the root of which is bitter and aromatic, and has been used as an anthelmintic, em- 
menagogue, and stomachic tonic; though at present little employed in Europe, and not at 
all in this country. Storck gave it in intermittents, worms, amenorrhoea, hysteria, epilepsy, 
and other nervous diseases. The bark of the root is the most active part. The dose is from 
a scruple to a drachm. W. 
DIERVILLA TRIFIDA. (Moench, Gray's Manual, p. 166.) D. Canadensis. (Muhl.) Bush 
Honeysuckle. A low, erect, indigenous shrub, growing especially in rocky places throughout 
the Northern States. The whole plant, including root, branches, and leaves, is supposed to 
be possessed of diuretic and astringent properties, which render it useful, given in the form 
of infusion, in diseases of the urinary passages. It is one of the eclectic remedies. W. 
DIOSCOREA VILLOSA. (Gray's Manual, p. 480.) Wild Yam-root. Colic-root. An indi- 
genous perennial creeper, with long, branching, contorted, fibrous, ligneous roots. It grows 
from Maine to Wisconsin, and southward also. The roots are used by the “eclectics,” who 
consider them efficacious in bilious colic. They are administered in decoction and tincture; 
and a substance called improperly dioscorein, obtained by precipitating the tincture with 
water, is used for the same purpose in a dose of from one to four grains. W. 
DIPPEL’S ANIMAL OIL. Oleum Cornu Cervi. This oil is obtained during the distillation 
of bones, in the processes for obtaining ammoniacal products on a large scale. The portion 
which first comes over is pale-yellow; but, in the progress of the distillation, the distillate 
becomes gradually deeper coloured and thicker, and at last black and viscid. It is purified 
and rendered colourless by redistillation, a pyrogenous resin being left behind. Thus rec- 
tified it is a colourless liquid, very limpid and volatile, with a penetrating extremely fetid 
odour and burning taste. By repeating the distillation till a dark residuum is no longer left 
in the retort, it may be obtained free from fetor, and of an agreeable, aromatic odour; and 
in this mode it is said to have been prepared by Dippel. Four or five distillations are neces- 
sary. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., ix. 244.) The oil is soon altered by the action of air and light, 
becoming thick, yellow, brown, and finally black. It has an alkaline reaction, and probably 
contains the various principles which have been discovered by Reichenbach in the products 
of the distillation of organic substances. 
This oil was originally obtained from hartshorn, and was a product of the decomposition 
of the gelatinous tissue, the horn containing no fat. When obtained from bones, it is & pro- 
duct of the same tissue; as these are boiled with a large quantity of water, and dried, be- 
fore they are submitted to destructive distillation. The oily product of this distillation, after 
rectification, forms the bone-oil of commerce. Bone-oil has a dark-brown almost Mack colour, 
with a greenish shade. It is perfectly opaque in the mass, but brown when viewed by trans- PART III. 
Dirca Palustris.—Emery. 
1511 
mitted light in a thin layer. Its sp. gr. is about 0-970. Its smell is peculiarly disagreeable 
aud somewhat ammoniacal. A piece of fir-wood, moistened with muriatic acid, and held 
over the mouth of a vessel containing it, acquires a dark reddish-purple colour, character- 
istic of pyrrol. It contains several organic bases, such as petinin, picolin, #c., which have 
been examined by Dr. Thomas Anderson, of Scotland. (See his paper on the products of the 
distillation of animal substances, in the Philos. Mag., 3d series, six. 174; and for a notice 
of picolin, see the note in page 648.) 
Animal oil was foimerly much used in medicine; but its repulsive odour and taste, as it 
is ordinarily prepared, have caused it to be almost entirely laid aside. It is given in the dose 
of a few drops, mixed with water, and acts as a stimulant and antispasmodic. Its presence 
in the spirit and salt of hartshorn gives to these preparations medicinal properties different 
from those of the pure spirit and of carbonate of ammonia. B. 
DIRCA PALUSTRIS. Leather Wood. An indigenous shrub, usually very small, but 
sometimes attaining the height of five or six feet, growing in boggy woods, and other low 
wet places, in almost all parts of the United States. The berries, which are small, oval, and 
of an orange colour, are said to be narcotic and poisonous. The bark has attracted most 
attention. It is extremely tough, and of very difficult pulverization. In the fresh state it 
has a peculiar rather nauseous odour, and an unpleasant acrid taste, and when chewed ex- 
cites a tiow of saliva. It yields its acrimony completely to alcohol, but imperfectly to 
water even by decoction. In the dose of six or eight grains, the fresh bark produces vio- 
lent vomiting, preceded by a sense of heat in the stomach, and often followed by purging. 
Applied to the skin it excites redness and ultimately vesicates; but its epispastic operation 
is very slow. It appears to be analogous in its properties to mezereon, to which it is botani- 
cally allied. W. 
DRAGON’S BLOOD. Sanguis Draconis. This is a resinous substance obtained from the 
fruit of several species of Calamus, especially C. Rotang, and C. Draco, small palms, grow- 
ing in Siam, the Molucca Islands, and other parts of the East Indies. On the surface of the 
fruit, when ripe, is an exudation, which is separated by rubbing, or shaking in a bag, or 
by exposure to the vapour of boiling water, or finally by decoction. The finest resin is pro- 
cured by the two former methods. It comes in two forms: sometimes in small oval masses, 
of a size varying from that of a hazelnut to that of a walnut, covered with the leaves of the 
plant, and connected together in a row like beads in a necklace; sometimes in cylindrical 
sticks, eighteen inches long and from a quarter to half an inch in diameter, thickly covered 
with palm leaves, and bound round with slender strips of cane. In both these forms, it is 
of a dark reddish-brown colour, opaque, and readily pulverizable, affording a fine scarlet 
powder. It sometimes comes also in the form of a reddish powder, and in small irregular 
fragments or tears. An inferior kind, said to be obtained by boiling the fruit in water, is 
in jlat circular cakes, two or three inches in diameter and half an inch thick. This also 
yields a fine red powder. A fourth variety, much inferior even to the last mentioned, is in 
large disks, from six to twelve inches in diameter, by an inch in thickness, mixed with 
various impurities, as pieces of the shell, stem, &c., and supposed to be derived from the 
fruit by decoction with expression. A substance known by the name of dragon’s blood is 
derived by exudation from the trunk of Dracxna Draco, a large tree inhabiting the Canary 
Islands and the East Indies, and another from Pterocarpus Draco, a tree of the West Indies 
and South America, by incision into the bark. These last, however, are little known in 
commerce. According to Lieut. Wellstead, much dragon’s blood is obtained in the island 
of Socotra, by spontaneous exudation from a large tree, growing at a considerable eleva- 
tion on the mountains. 
Dragon’s blood is inodorous and tasteless, insoluble in water, but soluble in alcohol, 
ether, and the volatile and fixed oils, with which it forms red solutions. According to Her- 
berger, it consists of 90-7 parts of a red resin, which he calls draconin, 2-0 of fixed oil, 3-0 
of benzoic acid, 1-6 of oxalate of lime, and 3-7 of phosphate of lime. It was formerly em- 
ployed in medicine as an astringent, but is nearly or quite inert, and is now never given 
internally. It is sometimes used to impart colour to plasters, but is valued chiefly as an 
ingredient of paints and varnishes. W. 
DUTCH PINK. A yellow or brownish-yellow paint, consisting of clay, or a mixture of 
clay and chalk, or carbonate of lime in the form of whiting, coloured by a decoction of 
woad, French berries, or birch leaves, with alum. W. 
EMERY. A very hard mineral, the powder of which is capable of wearing down all other 
substances except, the diamond. As existing in commerce, it is said to be derived chiefly from 
the island of Naxos, in the Grecian Archipelago; but, according to Landerer, it has been 
found also in Asia Minor and the Morea. It is pulverized by grinding it in a steel mill, 
and the powder is kept in the shops of different degrees of fineness. It is used for polish- 
ing metals and hard stones. The method, adopted in Smyrna, of ascertaining its purity, 
is to rub a plate of glass of known weight with a certain quantity of the suspected mineral 1512 
Epigaea Repens.—Erythronium Americanum. 
PART III. 
until it ceases to have any effect. The loss of weight in the glass is the measure of the 
value of the emery. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., March, 1862, p. 187.) AY. 
EPIC AS A REPENS. Trailing Arbutus. Ground Laurel. May-flower. This is a small trail- 
ing plant, with woody stems from six to eighteen inches long, entire, cordate-ovate leaves, 
and small, very fragrant flowers, which appear early in the spring. It is found in the woods, 
and afFects the sides of hills with a northern exposure. Dr. Darlington states that the plant 
has been supposed to be injurious to cattle, when eaten by them. (Flora Cestrica, p. 259.) 
The late Dr. Eli Ives, of New Haven, Connecticut, furnished us with the following account of 
its virtues and uses, founded on his own observation. “The Epigaea repens has been freely 
used for some years in diseases of the urinary organs, and of the pelvic viscera generally, 
particularly of irritated action, in those cases in which the uva ursi and buchu are indicated. 
The leaves and stems are prepared in the same manner, and administered in the same dose 
as the uva ursi. The Epigaea has given relief in some cases where the uva ursi and buchu 
have failed. May 4th, 1849.” W. 
EPILOBIUM ANGUSTIFOLIUM. (Grafs Manual, p. 130.) Willow-herb. There are seve- 
ral species of Epilobium, which have the common name of willow-herb from the resemblance 
of their leaves to the willow, and probably have nearly identical properties. They are all 
perennial and indigenous. The E. angustifolium is the largest of them, having a simple stem, 
from four to seven feet high. It is common in the Northern States, frequenting low, or 
newly-cleared grounds. It bears showy purple flowers, which appear in July and August. 
The leaves and roots are said to be demulcent, tonic, and astringent, and yield their virtues 
to water and alcohol. They are used by the “eclectics,” generally and locally, in decoction, 
infusion, or cataplasm, in cases which call for the use of astringent remedies. W. 
EQUISETUM I1YEMALE. (Gray’s Manual, p. 585.) Horsetail. Scouring Rush. An indi- 
genous cryptogamous plant, with slender annual stems from 18 inches to 3 feet high, grow- 
ing abundantly in the Northern States, and preferring wet places, as the banks of streams, 
&c. The plant derives its name of scouring rush from its use in scouring, for which it is 
fitted by the siliceous character of the stems. It has the reputation of being diuretic, and is 
used sometimes in dropsical diseases and those of the urinary passages. The whole plant is 
employed, usually in the form of infusion. W. 
ERECTHITES IIIERACIFOLIA. (Gray's Manual, p. 230.) Fireweed. An annual indige- 
nous plant, growing in moist woods and recent clearings, and having a rank odour, though 
somewhat aromatic, which probably called attention to the plant in reference to its use in 
medicine. Its taste is bitterish, slightly acrid, and disagreeable. It yields these and what 
medical virtues it may possess to water. It has been especially recommended in dysen- 
tery. This plant is apt to infest the peppermint fields of Michigan; and its oil is said 
sometimes to deteriorate the oil of peppermint from that region. W. 
ERYNGIUM AQUATICUM. Button Snakeroot. The root of Eryngium aquaticum was re- 
cognised as officinal in the Secondary Catalogue of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, until the recent 
revision, when it was dismissed. The plant belongs to Pentandria Digynia of the Linntean 
system, and to the natural order Apiaceae or Umbelliferae. The following is its generic cha- 
racter. “Flowers capitate. Involucrum many-leaved. Proper calyx five-parted, superior, per- 
sistent. Corolla of five petals. Receptacle foliaceous, segments acute or cuspidate. Fruit bi- 
partite.” (Nuttall.) The button snakeroot or water cryngo is an indigenous herbaceous plant, 
with a perennial tuberous root, and a stem two or three feet high, sometimes, according to 
Pursh, six feet, generally branching by forks, but trichotomous above. The leaves are very 
long, linear-lanceolate on the upper part of the stem, sword-shaped below, with bristly 
spines at distant intervals upon their margin. The floral leaves are lanceolate and dentate. 
The flowers are white or pale, and in globose heads, with the leaflets of the involucrum 
shorter than the head, and, like the scales of the receptacle, entire. This plant is found in 
low wet places, as far south as Virginia and N. Carolina. Its period of flowering is August. 
The root, which is the medicinal portion, has a bitter, pungent, aromatic taste, provoking, 
when chewed, a flow of saliva. It is diaphoretic, expectorant, in large doses occasionally 
emetic; and is used by some physicians in decoction as a substitute for seneka. (Bigelow.) 
AVe are told in Barton’s Collections, that it is nearly allied to the contrayerva of the shops. 
AY. 
ERYTIIRONIUM AMERICANUM. (Muhl. Catalogue, 84; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot., iii. 
151.)—E.lanceolatum. (Pursh, p. 320.) The root and herb of this plant were officinal in the 
U. S. Pharmacopoeia, in which they occupied a place in the Secondary Catalogue until the 
late revision. The plant belongs to Hexandria Monogynia in the Linnman system, and to 
the natural order of Liliaceae. The following is the generic character. “Calyx none. Corolla 
inferior, six-petaled; the three inner petals with a callous prominence on each edge near 
the base.” (Bigelow.) This is an indigenous perennial bulbous plant, sometimes called, after 
the European species, dog's tooth violet. The bulb (cormus), which is brown externally, white 
and solid within, sends up a single naked slender flower-stem, and two smooth, lancecl&te, 
nearly equal leaves, sheathing at their base, with an obtuse callous point, and of a brownish- PART III. 
jEWythroxylon Coca. 
1513 
green colour diversified by numerous irregular spots. The flower is solitary, nodding, yellow, 
with oblong-lanceolate petals obtuse at the point, a club-shaped undivided style, and a 
three-lobed stigma. The Erythronium grows in woods and other shady places throughout 
the Northern and Middle States. It flowers in the latter part of April or early in May. 
All parts of it are active. In the dose of twenty or thirty grains, the recent bulb operates 
as an emetic. The leaves are said to be more powerful. The activity of the plant is dimin- 
ished by drying. W. 
ERYTHROXYLON COCA (Lamarck). Coca. This is a shrub growing wild in South Ame- 
rica, and largely cultivated in Bolivia for the sake of its leaves, which are much used in that 
country as a masticatory. The plant is propagated from the seed in nurseries, which begin 
to yield in eighteen months, and continue productive for half a century. The leaves, on being 
picked, are dried in the sun, and then packed in bags. They are known in South America 
by the name of coca. This was in general use among the natives of Peru at the time of the 
conquest, and has continued to be much employed to the present time. 
The leaves resemble in size and shape those of tea, being oval-oblong, pointed, two inches 
or more in length by somewhat over an inch in their greatest breadth, and furnished with 
short delicate footstalks; but they are not, like the tea leaves, dentate, and are distinguished 
from most other leaves by a slightly curved line on each side of the midrib, running from the 
base to the apex. When well dried, they have an agreeable odour resembling that of tea, and 
a peculiar taste, which, in decoction, becomes bitter and astringent. Some attempts were 
made to analyze coca before the publication of the eleventh edition of this Dispensatory, of 
which the main result was, that the leaves contained a peculiar very bitter principle on which 
their virtues probably depended. M. Stanislas Martin afterwards made a hasty examination, 
from which it appeared that they contain a peculiar bitter principle, resin, tannin, an aro- 
matic principle, extractive, chlorophyll, a substance analogous to thein, and salts of lime. 
(Journ. de Pharrn., Avril, 1859, p. 283.) Dr. Albert Niemann, of Goslar, has made a more 
thorough investigation of the leaves, and succeeded in isolating a peculiar alkaloid, to which 
he gives the name of cocaina. The following was his process. The leaves were exhausted 
with 85 per cent, alcohol acidulated with 2 per cent, of sulphuric acid; the tincture was 
treated with milk of lime and filtered; the filtrate was neutralized with sulphuric acid, and 
the alcohol distilled off. The syrupy residue was treated with water to separate resin, and 
then precipitated by carbonate of soda. The deposited matter was exhausted by ether, and 
the ethereal solutioa, after most of the ether had been distilled, was allowed to evaporate 
spontaneously. The cocaina was thus obtained in colourless crystals, mixed with a yellow- 
ish-brown matter of a disagreeable odour, Avhich was separated by washing with cold alco- 
hol. Pure cocaina is in colourless transparent prisms, inodorous, of a bitterish taste, soluble 
in 704 parts of cold water, more soluble in alcohol, and freely so in ether. The solution has 
an alkaline reaction, and a bitterish taste, leaving a peculiar numbness on the tongue, fol- 
lowed by a sensation of cold. The alkaloid melts at 208° F., and on cooling congeals into a 
transparent mass, which gradually becomes crystalline. Heated above this point it changes 
colour, and is decomposed. It is inflammable, burning with a bright flame, and leaving char- 
coal With the acids it forms soluble and crystallizable salts, which are more bitter than 
the alkaloid itself. It was found to consist of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen; and 
the formula as given by Dr. Niemann is C32H20NO3. He also obtained wax, a variety of tannic 
acid (cocatannic acid), and a concrete volatile odorous substance. (See Am. Journ. ofPharm., 
March, 1861, p. 122.) Mr. Maisch, of Philadelphia, succeeded in obtaining from the leaves 
an uncrystallizable alkaloid, having so nearly the properties of cocaina that he considered 
it merely as the result of the action of heat on the crystallizable principle. [Ibid., Nov. 1861, 
p. 500.) Still more recently M. Lossen has examined cocaina, and ascertained that, when 
heated with muriatic acid, it splits into benzoic acid and a new base which he calls ecgonin. 
The mutability of cocaina with acids, explains why the attempts to extract the alkaloid with 
acid liquids have failed. M. Lossen therefore recommends the omission of acid in operating 
on the leaves, and proposes the following modification of Niemann’s plan. An infusion is 
first made; this is precipitated with acetate of lead; the lead is removed by sulphate of soda; 
the liquid is concentrated, carbonate of soda added, and the whole shaken with ether. The 
ether extracts the alkaloid, and yields it in a crude state by evaporation. It is then purified 
as in the process of Dr. Niemann. (Journ. de Pharm., Juin, 1862, p. 522.) 
According to Dr. Weddell, coca produces a gentle excitant effect, with an indisposition to 
sleep; in these respects resembling tea and coffee. It is asserted to support the strength 
for a considerable time in the absence of food; but it does not supply the place of nutri- 
ment, and probably, in this respect also, acts like the two substances referred to. The In- 
dians, while chewing it, pass whole days in travelling or working without food; but they 
nevertheless eat freely in the evenings. Weddell states that persons, unused to it, are liable 
to unpleasant effects from its abuse; and he has known instances of hallucinations appa- 
rently resulting from this cause. The natives chew with it some alkaline substance, as the 
ashes of oertain plants, or lime. (Weddell, Voyage dans le Nord de la Bolivia.) In large quan- 
tities, it is said to produce a general excitation of the circulatory and nervous systems, im • 1514 
Euphorbium.—Ferridcyanide of Potassium. 
PART III. 
parting increased vigour to the muscles as well as to the intellect, with an indescribable 
feeling of satisfaction, amounting altogether sometimes to a species of delirium; and what 
is most singular, if true, this state of exaltation is asserted not to be followed by any feelings 
of languor or depression. (Mantegazza, JV. Am. Med.-Chir. Rev., March, I860, p. 340.) A 
medium dose is from three to four drachms, taken in infusion. For the result of experiments 
on the physiological action of coca by M. Reis, see Ann. de Thirap. (1864, p. 118). W. 
EUPHORBIUM. This was contained in the materia medica catalogue of the late Edin- 
burgh Pharmacopoeia; but, having been omitted in the British, it is no longer officinal. It 
is the concrete resinous juice of one or more species of Euphorbia; but its precise source is 
uncertain. It has been ascribed to E. officinarum, growing in the north of Africa and at the 
Cape of Good Hope, E. Canariensis, a native of the Canary Islands and Western Africa, and 
E. antiquorum, inhabiting Egypt, Arabia, and the East Indies, and supposed to be the plant 
from which the ancients derived this resinous product. These species of Euphorbia bear 
some resemblance in form to the Cactus, having leafless, jointed, angular stems, divided into 
branches of a similar structure, and furnished with double prickles at the angles. When 
wounded, they yield an acrid milky juice, which concretes on the surface, and, being re- 
moved, constitutes the euphorbium of commerce. 
This occurs in the shape of tears, or in oblong or roundish masses, about the size of a 
pea or larger, often forked, and perforated with one or two small conical holes, produced 
by the prickles of the plant, around which the juice has concreted, and which sometimes 
remain in the holes. The masses are occasionally large and mixed with impurities. The 
surface is dull and smooth, bearing some resemblance to that of tragacamh; the consist- 
ence somewhat friable; the colour light yellowish or reddish; the odour scarcely per- 
ceptible; the taste at first slight, but afterwards excessively acrid and burning. The 
colour of the powder is yellowish. The sp. gr. of euphorbium is 1-124. Triturated with 
water it renders the liquid milky, and is partially dissolved. Alcohol dissolves a larger 
portion, forming a yellowish tincture, which becomes milky on the addition of water. Its 
constituents, according to Pelletier, are resin, wax, malate of lime, malate of potassa, 
lignin, bassorin, volatile oil, and water. Brandes found caoutchouc. It contains no soluble 
gum. The proportions of the ingredients are variously stated by different chemists, and 
probably vary in different specimens. The most abundant is resin, and the remainder 
consists chiefly of wax and malate of lime. The resin is excessively acrid, is soluble in 
alcohol, and, when exposed to heat, melts, takes fire, and burns with a brilliant flame, 
diffusing an agreeable odour. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Euphorbium taken internally is emetic and cathartic, often 
acting with great violence, and in large doses producing severe gastric pain, excessive heat 
in the throat, and symptoms of great prostration. In consequence of the severity of its 
action, its internal use has been entirely abandoned. Applied to the mucous membrane of 
the nostrils, it excites violent irritation, attended with incessant sneezing and sometimes 
bloody discharges. They who powder it are under the necessity of guarding their eyes, 
nostrils, and mouth against the fine dust which rises. Largely diluted with wheat flour or 
starch, it may be used as an errhine in amaurosis, deafness, and other obstinate affections 
of the head. Externally applied, it inflames the skin, often producing vesication; and on 
the continent of Europe is sometimes used as an ingredient of epispastic preparations. It 
is employed in veterinary practice, with a view to its vesicating power. W. 
EUPHRASIA OFFICINALIS. Eyebright. A small annual plant, common to Europe and 
the United States, without odour, and of a bitterish, astringent taste. It was formerly used 
in various complaints, and among the rest in disorders of the eyes, in -which it was thought 
to be very efficacious, and in the treatment of which it is still popular in some countries. 
The probability is that it is nearly inert. W. 
FEltRIDCYANIDE OF POTASSIUM. Red Prussiate of Potassa. This is formed by pass- 
ing a current of chlorine through a solution of ferrocyanide of potassium, until the liquid 
ceases to form a precipitate with a solution of sesquichloride of iron, a proof that the whole 
of the ferrocyanide has been converted into the ferrideyamide. The solution, by due eva- 
poration, yields the compound in question. It may also be prepared, in the dry way, by 
agitating chlorine with the finely powdered ferrocyanide, as long as it is absorbed. The 
theory of the formation of this compound is that one eq. of chlorine withdraws from two 
eqs. of the ferrocyanide, one eq. of potassium, forming chloride of potassium which re- 
mains in the mother-water. The reaction is explained by the following equation: 2(K2Cfy) 
and Cl=KsCfy2 and KC1. The radical ferrideyanogen is supposed to be formed by the 
coalescence of two eqs. of ferrocyanogen, and is represented by the symbol, Cfdy. Accord- 
ingly, the formula of ferrideyanide of potassium is lv3Cfdy. This salt, discovered by Gmo- 
lin, is in beautiful deep hyacinth-red anhydrous crystals, which are soluble in four parts 
of water. Its solution forms a delicate test of the salts of protoxide of iron, with which it 
produces a blue precipitate; but with the salts of the sesquioxide, it only strikes a green 
or brown colour. Ferrideyanide of potassium is directed by the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, in part III. 
Ferrocyanide of Zinc.—Fruit Essences, Artificial. 
1515 
conjunction with sulphate of protoxide of iron, as a test of the chlorine strength of chlo- 
rinated lime. (See page 187.) It is used in dyeing and calico-printing. B. 
FERROCYANIDE OF ZINC. Zinci Ferrocyanidum. This compound is formed by double 
decomposition between hot solutions of ferrocyanide of potassium (ferroprussiate of po 
tassa) and sulphate of zinc. It is thrown down as a white powder. It has similar medical 
properties to those of the cyanide, and is used in the same diseases. The dose is from one 
to four grains, given in pill. (See Cyanide, of Zinc.) B. 
FLAVOURING EXTRACTS. Under this name, preparations from various aromatics are 
considerably used for culinary purposes. They are in the liquid form, and are generally 
alcoholic solutions of the sapid and odorous principles of substances having an agreeable 
flavour, such as orange peel, bitter almonds, roses, cinnamon, mace, ginger, and celery. 
Formulas for their preparation, given by Prof. Procter, may be found in the Am. Journ. of 
Pharm. for May, 1856, p. 215. W. 
FRAXINUS EXCELSIOR. Common European Ash. It has been stated, in the first part 
of this work, that, in the south of Europe, this tree yields manna by incisions in its trunk. 
In this place, however, it is noticed only in reference to its bark and leaves. The bark is 
bitter and astringent, and, before the introduction of cinchona into use, was employed in 
the treatment of intermittent fever; but has since fallen into neglect. Keller believed that 
he had found in the bark a peculiar crystallizable organic alkali, which Buchner denomi- 
nated fraxinin; but Rochleder and Schwartz have since shown that the crystals, formed 
along with the bitter substance obtained by the process of Keller, were nothing but man- 
nite. {Pharm. Cent. Blatt, May, 1853, p. 312.) Since that period, however, a crystallizable 
bitter principle has been discovered by Prince Salm-Ilorstman, which has been named 
fraxinin. It is obtained by precipitating the decoction with acetate of lead, washing the 
precipitate, decomposing it by sulphuretted hydrogen, and concentrating the solution, 
which deposits the fraxinin in needle shaped crystals. These are four-sided prisms, shining, 
white with a tinge of yellow, feebly bitter and astringent, inodorous, soluble with difficulty 
in cold but readily in hot water. The concentrated warm solution has an acid reaction. 
When much diluted, it exhibits a clear blue fluorescence by daylight, especially if a trace 
of ammonia is present. Alkalies, alkaline earths, and the carbonates colour it yellow; and 
chloride of iron first colours it green, and then throws down a yellow precipitate. {Chem. 
Cent. Blatt, Juli 8, 1857, p. 452.) The leaves have been at different times recommended as 
an antidote to the poison of serpents, and as a remedy in scrofula. Within a few years 
they have been introduced into use in Germany in the treatment of gout and rheumatism, 
in which they have acquired considerable reputation. Drs. Pouget and Peyraud, of France, 
have spoken in the highest terms of their efficacy in these diseases; and, upon the authority 
of the former, it is stated that they have been used for forty years by the peasants of Au- 
vergne as a specific in gout. M. Garot has shown that they contain 16 per cent, of malate 
of lime, to which it is thought their anti-arthritic virtues may be ascribed. {Journ. de Pharm., 
3e ser., xxiv. 311.) By some authors the leaves are said to be purgative, which is, how- 
ever, contradicted by Drs. Pouget and Peyraud. An ounce may be infused in half a pint of 
boiling water, and taken three times during the day. (See Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., N.S., 
xxv. 492.) W. 
FRENCH CHALK. A variety of indurated talc. It is compact, unctuous to the touch, 
of a greenish colour, glossy, somewhat translucent, soft and easily scratched, and leaves 
a silvery line when drawn over paper. It is used chiefly for marking cloth, &c., and for 
extracting grease spots. W. 
FRUIT ESSENCES, ARTIFICIAL. Several of the compound ethers have been, found 
to possess the odour and flavour of certain fruits, a property which has led to their em- 
ployment as flavouring materials for confectionery and desserts, under the name of fruit 
essences. The simple ethers, present in these compounds, so far as they have become of 
commercial importance, are common ether or oxide of ethyl, which should be called ethy- 
lic ether, and oxide of amyl or amylic ether. Each of these ethers possesses basic proper- 
ties, and has its alcohol; common or ethylic ether corresponding to common or ethylic 
alcohol, and amylic ether to amylic alcohol or fusel oil. These alcohols are hydrated oxides 
of ethyl and amyl respectively. (See Alcohol Amylicum, p. 78, and Alcohol, p. 73.) 
Butyrate of Ethylic Ether. Butyric Ether. (C4H50,C8H703 ) This ether is readily prepared 
by mixing 100 parts of butyric acid with 100 of alcohol, and 50 of concentrated sulphuric 
acid, and agitating the mixture for a short time. The ether forms a layer on the surface, 
and may be purified by washing it with water, and subjecting it to the action of chloride 
of calcium. Butyric ether is sparingly soluble in water, but very soluble in alcohol, and 
boils at 230°. It is said to be much used to communicate a pine-apple flavour to rum. Dis- 
solved in 8 or 10 parts of alcohol it forms the pine-apple essence. From 20 to 25 drops of 
this essence, added to a pound of sugar containing a little citric acid, imparts to the mix- 
ture a strong taste of pine-apple. Butyric acid is formed during what is called the butyric 
fermentation, which usually consumes two or three months before it is completed, and 1516 
Fruit Essences, Artificial.—Fucus Vesiculosus. 
part hi. 
which is preceded by the lactic fermentation. To prepare it a solution of grape sugar is 
mixed with half its weight of chalk, and with about one-tenth of its weight of cheese to 
act as a ferment, and the whole is kept at the temperature of 90°. The sugar is first trans- 
formed into a viscous substance, and afterwards into lactic acid, which is gradually con- 
verted into butyric acid, with the disengagement of hydrogen and carbonic acid. At the 
end of the fermentation, the liquid contains principally a mixture of butyrate and lactate 
of lime, from which the butyric acid may be obtained by precipitating the lime as a car- 
bonate by carbonate of soda, and decomposing the resulting butyrate of soda with sulphu- 
ric acid. Butyric acid is a colourless liquid, having a very disagreeable odour and a ran- 
cid taste. It dissolves in all proportions in water and alcohol, boils at 327°, and has the 
density 0-963. It is a hydrated acid, having the formula C8II703. HO. 
Pelargonate of Ethylic Ether. Pclargonic Ether. (Enanthic Ether. (C4H50,Cj8H1703.) A 
preliminary step in forming this ether is to prepare the pelargonic acid. This is most con- 
veniently obtained, according to Dr. R. Wagner, by the action of nitric acid on oil of rue. 
Treat the oil with double its weight of very dilute nitric acid, and heat the mixture until 
it begins to boil. Two layers are formed in the liquid; the upper one being brownish, 
and the lower consisting of the products of the oxidation of the oil, with the excess of 
nitric acid. The lower layer, having been separated, is freed from the greater part of the 
nitric acid by evaporation in a chloride of zinc bath, and then filtered. The filtrate is a 
solution of pelargonic acid, and may be converted into pelargonic ether by a prolonged 
digestion, at a gentle heat, with alcohol. The ether, as thus prepared, has the agreeable 
odour of quince, and, when dissolved in alcohol in due proportion, forms the quince essence. 
(See Am. Journ. of Pharm., July, 1853, p. 320.) Pure pelargonic ether (oenanthic ether) is 
a colourless liquid, having a peculiar, vinous, stupefying odour, and a taste, at first slight, 
but afterwards acrid. Its sp. gr. is 0-872, and boiling point, when constant, 433°. (Delffs.) 
It is insoluble in water, but dissolves readily in alcohol and ether. Pelargonic acid, so 
called from its having been first obtained from Pelargonium roseum, or rose geranium, is a 
hydrated acid, and has the formula CJ8H1703,II0. Deltfs’s analysis of oenanthic acid gives 
it the same composition; and, accordingly, he considers the two acids as undoubtedly iden- 
tical. (Chcm. Gaz., April 15, 1852, p. 144.) Gregory adheres to the old formula for oenan- 
thic acid, CmH1303,H0. 
Acetate of Amy lie Ether. (C10HuO,C4H3O3.) This is prepared by distilling a mixture of 
one part of amylic alcohol (fusel oil), two of acetate of potassa, and one of concentrated 
sulphuric acid. The distilled liquid is purified from free acid by washing with a weak 
alkaline solution, and from water by distillation from chloride of calcium. It is a colour- 
less, limpid liquid, lighter than water, boiling at 272°, insoluble in water, but soluble in 
alcohol. It possesses the odour, in a remarkable degree, of the Jargonelle pear, and is 
manufactured on a large scale for flavouring syrups and confectionery. An alcoholic solu- 
tion of this ether forms the Jargonelle pear essence. Fifteen parts of acetate of amylic ether, 
with half a part of acetic ether, dissolved in 100 parts of alcohol, form what may be called 
the bergamot pear essence, which, when employed to flavour sugar acidulated with a little 
citric acid, imparts the odour of the bergamot pear, and a fruity, refreshing taste. Acetate 
of amylic ether, mixed with butyric ether, forms another fruity compound, which recalls the 
odour of the banana, and forms, in alcoholic solution, the banana essence. 
Valerianate of Amylic Ether. (C10HjjO,CJ0H9O3.) This is made by carefully mixing four 
parts of pure amyWc alcohol (fusel oil) with four of sulphuric acid, and adding the mix- 
ture, when cold, to five parts of valerianic acid. The whole is warmed for a few minutes 
in a water-bath, and then mixed w-ith a little water, which causes the ether to separate. 
Lastly, it is purified by w-ashing it with water and a w-eak solution of carbonate of soda. 
An alcoholic solution of this ether, in the proportion of one part to six or eight of alcohol, 
forms a flavouring liquid under the name of apple essence. For the mode of obtaining vale- 
rianic acid, see Acidum Valerianicum (page 942). 
It is thus perceived that the bases of the fruit essences are certain ethereal compounds 
of organic acids with the oxides of ethyl and amyl. Besides the essences here described, 
there are found in commerce the strawberry, raspberry, apricot, greengage, mulberry, and 
black currant essences, all of which may be viewed as various mixtures of the ethers of the 
ethyl and amyl series, modified by the addition of pure nitrous ether, tincture of orris, 
vanilla, volatile oils, &c., to bring about a resemblance to the fruit, the odour and taste of 
which it is the object to imitate. In making these essences, it is important that the mate- 
rials should be pure, especially the fusel oil and alcohol. The alcohol, used as a solvent, 
should be rectified and deodorized. 
These fruit essences are extensively employed for flavouring ices, jellies, lozenges, and 
drops, and for making fruit syrups and effervescent beverages. They are manufactured 
on a large scale by Messrs. Mander, Weaver & Co., of Wolverhampton, England; and the 
more useful ones are prepared by Messrs. Powers & Weightman, of Philadelphia. B. 
FUCUS VESICULOSUS. Sea-wrack. Bladder-wrack. This was omitted as an officinal in 
the edition of the Dublin Pharmacopoeia of 1850. It belongs to Cryptogamia Algse »o the PART III. 
Fucus Vesiculosus.—Fuligolcali. 
1517 
sexual system, and to the natural order Algaceae. The following is the generic character. 
“Male. Vesicles smooth, hollow, with villose hairs within, interwoven. Female. Vesicles 
smooth, filled with jelly, sprinkled with immersed grains, prominent at tip. Seeds solitary.” 
This sea-weed is perennial, with the frond or leaf flat, smooth and glossy, from one to four 
feet long, from half an inch to an inch and a half broad, furnished with a midrib through- 
out its length, dichotomous, entire upon the margin, and of a dark olive-green colour. 
Small spherical vesicles, filled with air, are immersed in the frond near the midrib. The 
fruit consists of roundish, compressed receptacles, at the ends of the branches, filled with 
a clear tasteless mucus. The plant grows upon the shores of Europe and of this continent, 
attaching itself to the rocks by its expanded woody root. On the coasts of Scotland and 
France, it is much used in the preparation of kelp. It is also employed as a manure, and 
is mixed with the fodder of cattle. It has a peculiar odour, and a nauseous saline taste. 
Several chemists have undertaken its analysis, but the results are not satisfactory. It con- 
tains much soda in saline combination, and iodine, according to Gaultier de Claubry, in 
the state of iodide of potassium. These ingredients remain in its ashes, and in the charcoal 
resulting from its exposure to heat in close vessels. 
This charcoal, which is sometimes called vegctabilis or vegetable cthiops, has long 
had the reputation of a deobstruent, and been given in goitre and scrofulous swellings. Its 
virtues were formerly ascribed chiefly to carbonate of soda, in -which it abounds; but, since 
the discovery of the medical properties of iodine, this has been considered as its most ac- 
tive ingredient. The mucus contained in the vesicles was applied externally, with advan- 
tage, by Dr. Russell, as a resolvent in scrofulous tumours. M. Duchesne Duparc, having 
given a trial to this fucus in inveterate psoriasis, in which it had considerable reputation 
as a remedy, found it of little value; but he observed an unexpected effect, that of dimin- 
ishing fat, without in other respects injuring the health; and was thus induced to try it 
as a remedy for morbid obesity. His anticipations of its efficacy in this affection were not 
disappointed. He employs the whole plant, either in substance in the form of pill, in decoc- 
tion, or in extract. It is not till two or three weeks after beginning with the remedy that 
its effects in diminishing the obesity begin to be perceived, and one of the first signs of its 
favourable action in this respect is the increase of the urine, and the appearance of a black 
pellicle on its surface. Dr. Godsfrey tried the experiment on himself with satisfactory re- 
sults, confirming the statements of M. Duchesne. (Pharm. Journ., Juillet, 1862, p. 65.) M. 
Dannecy prepares the extract from the plant, collected at the period of fructification about 
the end of June, in the neighbourhood of Bordeaux, and rapidly dried in the sun. This mode 
of desiccation is important, as, when dried by artificial heat, the plant never becomes fria- 
ble, and always retains its hygroscopic qualities. When sufficiently dry to be friable, he 
treats it, in the state of coarse powder, for three days, with four times its weight of alcohol 
of 86°, expresses at the end of this time, and subjects the residue twice successively to a 
similar treatment with alcohol of 54°. The tinctures are then mixed, the alcohol distilled 
off, and the remainder evaporated to the consistence of an extract. Of this extract, which 
is one-fifteenth of the plant, three pills, each containing 25 centigrammes (3-75 grains), 
may be taken daily in the beginning, and increased gradually to twenty-four pills, a quan- 
tity which has often been attained without the slightest derangement of the stomach. The 
commencing dose would be about equivalent to twenty grains of the powder three times a 
day. (Journ. de Pharm., Nov. 1862, p. 434.) A syrup may be readily prepared by dissolving 
the extract in a little diluted alcohol, and mixing this with syrup, in such proportion that 
a teaspoonful of the syrup shall contain a dose of the extract. 
Other species of Fucus are in all probability possessed of similar properties. Many of 
them contain a gelatinous matter, and a sweet principle analogous to mannite; and some 
are used as food in times of scarcity. Large quantities of a sea-weed, named in the East 
agar-agar, are gathered on the rocky coasts of the East India Islands, and sent to China, 
where it is valued for making jellies, and as a size for stiffening silks. The Ceylon moss is a 
delicate fucus (Gigartina lichenoides), growing on the coast of Ceylon, where it is gathered 
by the natives. It abounds in starch and vegetable jelly, which render it applicable to the 
same purposes as the carrageen or Irish moss. (Pharm. Journ., xiii. 355.) F. Helmintho- 
corton (Gigartina Hclminthocorton of Greville) has some reputation in Europe as an anthel- 
mintic, and is said also to be febrifuge. It is an ingredient in the mixture of marine plants 
sold in Europe under the name of Corsican moss or helminthocorton. This is used in decoction, 
from four to six drachms being boiled in a pint of water, and a wineglassful given three 
times a day. W. 
FULIGOKALI. This preparation, proposed by M. Deschamps, is formed by boiling for 
an hour, 20 parts of caustic potassa, and 100 of shining soot, in powder, in a sufficient 
quantity of water. The solution, when cold, is diluted, filtered, and evaporated to dry- 
ness. Fuligokali is in the form of a black powder, or of scales, very soluble in water, 
and having an empyreumatic odour and mild alkaline taste. It is used in the same affec- 
tions as anthrakokali. The dose is two or three grains, repeated several times a day. An 
ointment, containing from 16 to 32 grains to the ounce of lard, was found by Dr. Gibert, of Fumaria Officinalis.—Galium Aparine. 
PART in. 
Paris, to be detersive, resolvent, and gently stimulant. (See a paper by A. Dubamel, in the 
Am. Joum. of Pham., xiv. 284.) B. 
FUMARIA OFFICINALIS. Fumitory. A small annual European plant, naturalized in 
this country, growing in cultivated grounds, and flowering from May to August. It was 
formerly considerably employed as a medicine, and is still used in Europe. The leaves are 
the officinal part. They are inodorous, have a bitter saline taste, and are very succulent, 
yielding by expression a juice which has the sensible and medicinal properties of the plant. 
An extract, prepared by evaporating the expressed juice or a decoction of the leaves, throws 
out upon its surface a copious saline efflorescence. The plant, indeed, abounds in saline 
substances, and to these, in connection with its bitter extractive, its medical virtues have 
been ascribed. Recently, however, M. Hannon, of Belgium, has ascertained the presence 
in fumitory of an alkaloid, called fumarin (.fumarina), to which he ascribes the effects of 
the plant. He obtained it by treating the pulp of the leaves with concentrated acetic acid, 
with the aid of heat, filtering, evaporating the liquid, treating the extract with boiling 
alcohol, filtering the alcoholic solution, and, finally, decolorizing, and evaporating so that ' 
crystals might form. The acetate thus procured was decomposed by the alkalies, and 
yielded the fumarina. Fumitory has been considered gently tonic, alterative, and, in 
large doses, laxative and diuretic. But M. Hannon considers it mainly sedative, and states 
that its prolonged use diminishes plethora, and may even produce anaemia. He has found 
fumarina, in the dose of about one-third or one-fourth of a grain, to be moderately exci- 
tant; in that of three grains, to be at first irritant and afterwards sedative. [Ann. de Thfrap., 
1854, p. 78.) Both in ancient and modern times fumitory has been esteemed a valuable 
remedy in visceral obstructions, particularly those of the liver, in scorbutic affections, and 
in various troublesome eruptive diseases. Cullen speaks favourably of it in these last com- 
plaints. He gave two ounces of the expressed juice twice a day. Others have prescribed 
it in much larger quantities. The leaves either fresh or dried may be used in decoction, 
without precise limitation as regards the dose. The inspissated juice, and an extract of 
the dried leaves have also been employed. W. 
FUSTIC. A yellow dye-wood, obtained from Morns linctoria (Broussonetia tinctoria, Kunth), 
a tree growing in the West Indies and South America. It is not used in medicine or phar- 
macy. According to Bancroft, two different woods bear in England the name of fustic, 
one the product of the tree just mentioned, distinguished as old fustic, probably from the 
greater magnitude of the billets in which it is imported; the other derived from the Rhus 
Cotinus or Venice sumach, and called young fustic. The wood of M. tinctoria owes its colour- 
ing properties to two principles, which have been isolated by R. Wagner; one denominated 
morin, and the other moritannic acid, from its resemblance to tannin. (See Chem. Gaz., ix. 
1, 21, and 241.) W. 
GALANGAL. Galanga. Two varieties are described by authors, the galanga major and 
galanga minor, or large and small galangal. They are considered by some as the roots of 
different plants; but there is reason to believe that they are both derived from Maranta 
Galanga of Linn. (Alpina Galanga of Willd.), and that they differ in consequence of the 
different stages of growth at which they are collected. They are brought from the East 
Indies. The larger variety is cylindrical, three or four inches long, as thick as the thumb 
or thicker, often forked, reddish-brown externally, slightly striated longitudinally, marked 
with whitish circular rings, orange-brown internally, rather hard and fibrous, difficultly 
pulverizable, of an agreeable aromatic odour, and a pungent, hot, spicy, permanent taste. 
The small galangal resembles the preceding in shape, but is smaller, not exceeding the 
little finger in thickness, of a darker colour, and of a stronger taste and smell. According 
to Morin, galangal contains a volatile oil, an acrid resin, extractive, gum, bassorin, and 
lignin. A. Vogel, jun., found also starch and fixed oil. [Pharm. Cent. Blatt, 1844, p. 158.) 
R. Brandes discovered a peculiar crystallizable substance called kempferid. [Annal. der 
Pharm., xxxii. 311.) The active principles are the volatile oil and acrid resin. The medi- 
cal effects of galangal are those of a stimulant aromatic. It was known to the ancient 
Greeks and Arabians, and formerly entered into numerous compound preparations. At 
present it is seldom employed. Its dose is from fifteen to thirty grains in substance, and 
twice as much in infusion. W. 
GALEGA OFFICINALIS. Goat's Rue. A perennial herb, growing in the south of Europe, 
and sometimes cultivated in gardens. It is without smell unless bruised, when it emits a 
disagreeable odour. Its taste is unpleasantly bitter and somewhat rough, and when chewed 
it stains the saliva yellowish-brown. In former times it was much employed as a remedy 
in malignant fevers, the plague, the bites of serpents, worms, &c.; but it has fallen into 
merited neglect. The roots of Galega Virginiana, a native of the United States, are said 
to be diaphoretic and powerfully anthelmintic. They are given in decoction. W. 
GALIUM APARINE. Cleavers. Goose-grass. This is an annual, succulent plant, common 
to Europe and the United States, growing in cultivated grounds, and along fences and 
hedges. It is inodorous, and has a bitterish, herbaceous, somewhat acrid taste. Analyzed PART III. 
Galium Verum.— Glass of Antimony. 
by Schwartz, it was found, besides chlorophyll, starch, and other principles common to 
all plants, to contain three distinct acids, viz., a variety of tannic acid, which he names 
galitannic acid, citric acid, and a peculiar acid, previously discovered by Schwartz and 
Rochleder, and named rubichloric acid. (Pharm. Journ., xii. 190.) The expressed juice is 
said to be aperient, diuretic, and antiscorbutic, and has been used in dropsy, conges- 
tion of the spleen, scrofula, and scorbutic eruptions. In the last complaint it has been 
thought peculiarly useful. Three ounces of the juice may be taken twice a day. Dr. Winn, 
of Truro, Cornwall, has called the attention of the profession to this medicine. Several 
persons in his neighbourhood had been cured of lepra by a decoction of the plant; and he 
had himself employed it with great advantage not only in this but other cutaneous dis- 
eases. At first he gave it in the form of decoction made by boiling a handful of the recent 
herb in a quart of water for twenty minutes, of which a tumblerful was given three times 
a day; but he afterwards preferred the inspissated juice, in the form of a fluid extract, of 
which should represent half a pint of the decoction. (London Med. Times and Gaz., Feb. 
1854, page 144.) The fresh herb, in the form of ointment or decoction, has been applied 
externally to scrofulous swellings with supposed advantage. W. 
GALIUM VERUM. Yellow Ladies' Bedstraw. Cheese rennet. This species of Galium is 
perennial, and a native of Europe. The flowers, which are yellow, have a peculiar, agree- 
able odour, and have been given in nervous affections, with a view to their supposed anti- 
spasmodic powers. The herb is inodorous, but has an astringent, acidulous, bitterish taste. 
The property of coagulating milk was formerly ascribed to it, but is certainly not constant, 
as the experiment has been frequently tried without success. The bruised plant is some- 
times used to colour cheese yellow, being introduced into the milk before coagulation. It 
is also used for dyeing yellow. The roots of this and of most other species dye red; and 
the plant, eaten by animals, colours the bones like madder. This plant was analyzed by 
Schwartz, and found to contain the same principles as G. Aparine, mentioned above. It was 
formerly highly esteemed as a remedy in epilepsy and hysteria, and was applied exter- 
nally in cutaneous eruptions. It may be employed in the form either of the recently ex- 
pressed juice, or of a decoction prepared from the fresh plant. Its medical properties, how- 
ever, are feeble. Testimony has recently been given, in France, to the special efficacy of 
Galium palastre in epilepsy. (Ann. de Therap., 1863, p. 77.) 
Of the American species, G. tinctorium is closely allied in properties to G. verum. It is 
said to be useful in cutaneous diseases; and the root is employed by the Indians for stain- 
ing their feathers and other ornaments red. W. 
GARDENIA GRANDIFLORA. A Chinese tree, the fruit of which is employed in dyeing 
the yellow robes of the mandarins. It has acquired some additional interest from a recent 
chemical examination of the fruit by Lorenz Mayer, in the laboratory of Rochleder, the 
result of which was the discovery of a colouring substance, which proved to be identical 
with that of saffron, and to which, therefore, the name of crocin was given. In powder, it 
is of a bright-red colour, and is soluble in water and alcohol. By treatment with muriatic 
acid, it yields another colouring substance called crocetin, which is a true dye-stuff. (Chem. 
Gaz., Sept. 1, 1858, p. 331.) The fruit of another species, G. campanulata, growing in the 
forests of Chittagong, in India, is said to be used by the natives as a cathartic and anthel- 
mintic. (Lindley, Flor. Med., p. 434.) W. 
GENISTA TINCTORIA. Dyers’ Broom. Dyers’ Weed. Green Weed. A low shrub, grow- 
ing wild in Europe, and sometimes cultivated in this country in gardens. The flowering 
tops of the plant are employed to dye yellow, whence its name was derived. Both these 
and the seeds have been used in medicine. They are said to be purgative and even emetic, 
especially the seeds, which were formerly given as a cathartic in the dose of a drachm and 
a half. By some authors they are said to be diuretic, and to be useful in dropsy. The plant 
has been long used as a preventive of hydrophobia by the peasants of Fodolia, the Ukraine, 
and other provinces of Russia. They employ it in the form of strong decoction, both inter- 
nally and locally, in connection with Rhus coriaria, and persevere with it for six weeks. 
The trials made with it in other parts of Europe have failed. W. 
GERANIUM ROBERTIANUM. Herb Robert. This species of Geranium grows wild both 
in Europe and the United States, but is rare in this country; and Pursh states that the 
American plant is destitute of the heavy smell by which the European is so well known, 
though the two agree in all other respects. The herb has a disagreeable, bitterish, astrin- 
gent taste, and imparts its virtues to boiling water. It has been used internally in inter- 
mittent fever, consumption, hemorrhages, nephritic complaints, jaundice, &c., has been 
employed as a gargle in affections of the throat, and has been applied externally as a re- 
solvent to swollen breasts and other tumours. W. 
GLASS OF ANTIMONY. Vitrum Anlimonii. This is prepared from the tersulphuret of 
antimony by a partial roasting and subsequent fusion. The tersulphuret, reduced to coarse 
powder, is strewed upon a shallow, unglazed earthen vessel, and heated gently and slowly, 
being continually stirred to prevent it from running into lumps. White vapours of sulphur- 1520 
Globularia Alypum.—Glue. 
PART III. 
ous acid arise; and, when these cease, the heat is increased a little to reproduce them. 
The roasting is continued in this manner until, at a red heat, no more vapours are given 
off. The matter is then melted in a crucible with an intense heat, and kept in a state of 
fusion until it assumes the appearance of melted glass, when it is poured out on a heated 
brass plate. In this process, part of the sulphur of the tersulphuret is driven off by the 
roasting; while the portion of antimony which loses its sulphur becomes teroxidized. The 
roasted matter, therefore, consists of teroxide of antimony and undecomposed tersulphuret; 
and these, by uniting during the fusion, form the glaes. Glass of antimony is in thin irre- 
gular pieces, exhibiting a vitreous fracture, and having a metallic steel-gray lustre. When 
well prepared it is transparent, and, upon being held between the eye and the light, ap- 
pears of a rich orange-red or garnet colour; but if of inferior quality it is black and opaque. 
It is hard and brittle, and rings when struck with a hard substance. It is insoluble in water, 
but soluble in acids and cream of tartar, with the exception of a few red flocculi. Its essen- 
tial constituents are the teroxide and tersulphuret, united in variable proportions. When 
of good quality it consists of about eight parts of teroxide to one of tersulphuret. It usually 
contains about 5 per cent, of silica, and three of sesquioxide of iron, which are derived 
from the crucible, and to the former of which the vitrification of the product is owing. 
When good it is dissolved, with the exception of a few red flocculi, in strong muriatic acid. 
An excess of the silica is shown by the acid leaving a gelatinous residue, and the iron may 
be detected by ferrocyanide of potassium, and its amount judged of by the bulk of the 
precipitate and the depth of its blue colour. Sometimes glass of lead is sold for glass of 
antimony, a fraud readily detected by the difference between the two substances in specific 
gravity; glass of lead having a density of nearly seven, while that of glass of antimony is 
not quite five. 
Medical Properties, $c. Glass of antimony is an active antimonial; but, owing to its 
variable composition and unequal operation, it is at present very seldom used. When the 
levigated powder is mixed with one-eighth of its weight of melted yellow wax, and the 
mixture roasted over a slow fire, with constant stirring, until it ceases to exhale vapours, 
a coal-like pulverizable mass is formed, which is the cerated glass of antimony, a prepara- 
tion formerly included in the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia. B. 
GLOBULARIA ALYPUM. Wild Senna of Europe. This is a small shrub, growing on the 
European shores of the Mediterranean, the leaves of which have been occasionally used 
as a cathartic since the middle ages. Dr. Gustave Planchon, of Montpellier, France, in 
an essay on the plants of this genus, published in 1859, states that the leaves of this spe- 
cies are a mild and efficient cathartic, without the griping properties of senna, and with- 
out, leaving behind a tendency to constipate like rhubarb, which, however, it resembles in 
tonic power. One ounce is given for a dose in decoction. It is unknown in this country. 
(See Pharm. Journ., xvi. 426.) W. 
GLECHOMA IIEDERACEA. Nepeta Glechoma. Ground-ivy. A small perennial herb, 
indigenous in Europe and the United States, and growing in shady grassy places, as in 
orchards and along fences and hedges. It belongs to the family of labiate plants, and shares 
their general properties. The herb was formerly officinal, and still enjoys some credit as 
a domestic remedy. It has a peculiar disagreeable odour, and a bitterish, somewhat aro- 
matic taste, and imparts its properties to boiling water. It is said to be gently stimulant 
and tonic, with, perhaps, a peculiar direction to the lungs and kidneys. It has also been 
considered aperient. It has been most used in chronic affections of the pulmonary and 
urinary organs, and at one time had considerable reputation as a remedy in consumption. 
It has also been employed as a vulnerary and errhine. The usual form for exhibition was 
that of infusion, of which a dose was given containing the virtues of half a drachm or a 
drachm of the herb. W. 
GLUE. An impure form of gelatin, obtained from various animal substances by boiling 
them in water, straining the solution, and evaporating it till upon cooling it assumes the 
consistence of jelly. The soft mass which results is then divided into thin slices, which 
are dried in the open air. Glue, when of good quality, is hard and brittle, of a colour vary- 
ing from light-yellow to brown, and equally transparent throughout. It softens and swells 
very much in cold water, without dissolving; but is readily dissolved by hot water. It is 
employed chiefly for cementing pieces of wood, being generally too impure for the pur- 
pose of a test, or as an article of food. An elastic and imputrescible preparation of glue, useful 
for various purposes in the arts and in medicine, may be made by dissolving glue in water 
by means of a water-bath, concentrating the solution, then adding a weight of glycerin 
nearly equal to that of the glue employed, thoroughly mixing, evaporating the residue of 
the water, and finally pouring into moulds, or on a marble slab. It is especially applicable 
to the preparation of artificial anatomical specimens. [Journ. de Pharm., Jan. J857, p. 23.) 
Capsules of Gelatin. Glue has within a few years been applied to an important practical 
purpose in pharmacy. Certain medicines are so offensive to the taste, and consequently 
so apt to sicken the stomach, that it is highly desirable to administer them in such a way PART III. 
Gelatin Capsules.—Gold. 
1521 
as to prevent their contact with the tongue and palate. This object is fully accomplished, 
so far as regards many disagreeable liquid medicines, by the use of the capsules of gelatin, 
invented by M. Dublanc, of Paris. These are prepared from the purest glue in the follow- 
ing manner. Small pouches made of fine skin, of an oval form, are attached by a waxed 
thread to the smaller extremity of a hollow elongated metallic cone, which is bent toward* 
its point, and has its base closed by a cover, which is screwed so as to make the instru- 
ment air-tight. Into this conical tube sufficient mercury is poured to fill the pouch, which, 
thus distended, is dipped into a concentrated solution, made by heating six parts of pure 
glue with one of sweetened water, and is afterwards exposed to heat in a vertical posi- 
tion, so as to dry the layer of gelatin which it has received. In the same manner a second 
coating may be given, and the process again repeated till a sufficient thickness has been 
obtained. The cone being then reversed, the mercury flows out of the pouch, which col- 
lapses, and allows the capsule of gelatin to be removed. Into this the medicine may now 
be introduced, care being taken to avoid any contact with the outer surface of the capsule. 
The opening is next to be closed by means of a thin lamina of gelatin previously softened 
by steam; and a solution of the same substance should be applied to the edges by means 
of a camel’s hair pencil. Another mode of preparing the capsules is as follows. Take a 
cylinder of iron or hard wood, four lines in diameter and a few inches long, and smoothly 
rounded at one end. Dip half an inch of this end first into a saturated warm alcoholic 
solution of soap, and afterwards, when the soap has concreted upon the surface, into a 
concentrated hot solution of gelatin, and repeat the latter immersion once or oftener, if it 
be desired to have a firm capsule. When the glue has concreted, remove the capsule. A 
top for it may be made in the same way, and, after the body has been filled with the liquid 
to be given, is to be applied, and secured by rubbing a camel’s hair pencil moistened with 
hot water over the line of junction. (Med. Exam., N. S., i. 441.) M. Motli&s considers the fol- 
lowing plan of preparing the capsules the most convenient. He has a number of assorted 
“copper olives” prepared, covers their surface with a layer of something to prevent oxi- 
dation, immerses them in a sweetened and aromatized concentrated solution of gelatin, 
then places them vertically on boards to cool, and before complete desiccation removes the 
capsules, places them on sieves, and dries them by a stove-heat. (Journ. de Pharm., xvii. 
204.) Mr. Redwood gives the following process, which is a modification of the second me- 
thod above described. A polished bulb of iron, ivory, or bone, of the size and shape of 
the capsules required, and connected by a slender rod with a handle, is first greased by 
rubbing with an oiled cloth, and then dipped into a solution of gelatin made as above 
directed. Upon being withdrawn, it is held for a short time so as to allow the excess of 
the solution to run off, and then fixed with the handle in a board, the coated bulb being 
upward, until the coating becomes cold and firm. The capsule is now removed by the 
fingers, and further dried by exposure on a tray. A number of capsules having been pre- 
pared, they are placed each in a small cell upon a board, with their mouths upward; and 
the liquid they are to contain is introduced by means of a syringe with a fine point. Their 
mouths are then closed with a drop of the solution of gelatin applied by means of a camel’s 
hair pencil, which is afterwards strengthened by an additional coating, given by dipping 
the mouth of the capsule into the solution diluted with a little water. (Redwood's Supple- 
ment, p. 664.) The capsules may be made of such a capacity as to contain from ten to 
fifteen grains of copaiba. W. 
GNAPHALIUM MARGARITACEUM. Cudweed. Life-everlasting. An indigenous herba- 
ceous perennial, growing in fields and woods, and flowering in August. The herb of this 
species and of G.polycephalum, or sweet-scented life-everlasting, is sometimes used, in the form 
of tea, by the country people, in diseases of the chest and of the bowels, and in hemorrhagic 
affections, and externally, in the way of fomentation, in bruises, languid tumours, and 
other local complaints; but it probably possesses little medical virtue. Shoepf says that 
it is anodyne. In Europe different species of Gnaphalium are also occasionally employed 
for similar purposes. W. 
GOLD. Aurum. The preparations of this metal were introduced to the notice of physi- 
cians by Dr. Chrestien, of Montpellier, in 1810. They are employed both internally, and by 
friction on the tongue and gums. The principal affections in which they have been recom- 
mended are secondary syphilis, syphilitic ulcerations, scrofula, and inveterate eruptions, 
particularly those of a leprous character. The chief preparations which have been em- 
ployed, up to the present time, are metallic gold in a finely divided state, the oxide (terox- 
ide or auric acid), the chloride (terchloride), the iodide, the double chloride of gold and 
sodium, the cliloroaurate of ammonia (a compound of terchloride of gold and mui'iate of 
ammonia), and the cyanide (tercyanide) of gold. Gold in powder may be obtained by rub- 
bing up gold-leaf with 10 or 12 times its weight of sulphate of potassa until brilliant particles 
are no longer visible, and then washing away the sulphate with boiling water. The oxide may 
he procured by treating the nitromuriatic solution of gold with an excess of magnesia, and 
washing the precipitate, first with water, and afterwards with dilute nitric acid. This pro- 1522 
Gold. 
PART III. 
cess bung tedious, M. L. Figuier prefers to obtain the oxide by precipitating the cold solu- 
tion of chloride of gold, rendered strongly alkaline by caustic potassa, with a solution of 
chloride of barium. The precipitate, consisting of aurate of baryta, is then treated with 
dilute nitric acid, which dissolves the baryta and leaves the oxide of gold pure. Ten parts 
of gold, thus treated, produced 11-75 parts of oxide; while the same quantity of gold by the 
magnesia process only yielded 9 parts. (Journ. de Pharm., Dec. 1847.) The chloride is ob- 
tained by dissolving pure gold in three times its weight of nitromuriatic acid, with the aid 
of a moderate heat. The solution is evaporated by a gentle heat nearly to dryness, being 
at the same time stirred with a glass rod. It is in the form of a crystalline mass of a deep- 
red colour. Its solution has a fine yellow tint. Being deliquescent, it requires to be kept 
in ground-stoppered bottles. The iodide may be made by precipitating a solution of ter- 
chloride of gold by one of iodide of potassium, and washing the precipitate with alcohol 
to remove the excess of iodine. It is of a greenish-yellow colour, and, when heated in a 
porcelain crucible, is resolved into iodine vapours and a residue of pure gold. Chloride of 
gold and sodium is prepared by dissolving four parts of gold in nitromuriatic acid, evapo- 
rating the solution to dryness, and dissolving the dry mass in eight times its weight of dis- 
tilled water. To this solution one part of pure decrepitated common salt is added, previously 
dissolved in four parts of water. The mixed solution is then evaporated to dryness, being 
in the mean time constantly stirred with a glass rod. The salt is of a golden-yellow colour, 
and, when crystallized, is in the form of long prismatic crystals, unalterable in the air. 
The chloroaurate of ammonia is formed by dissolving one part of the terchloride of gold and 
two parts of muriate of ammonia in distilled water, assisted by a few drops of nitromuri- 
atic acid, and evaporating the solution to dryness by a gentle heat, The cyanide is best 
obtained, according to M. Oscar Figuier, as follows. Prepare the chloride of gold as neu- 
tral as possible by repeated solutions and crystallizations; and to the solution of this salt 
add, very cautiously, avoiding any excess, a solution of pure cyanide of potassium, so long 
as any precipitate falls. (See Potassii Cyanidum..) The precipitate, consisting of cyanide 
of gold, is to be washed with pure water, and dried in the dark. Gold in powder, and the 
oxide, chloride, iodide, sodio-chloride, and cyanide are officinal in the French Codex. 
The preparations of gold are decidedly poisonous, though in different degrees. The chlo- 
ride is most virulent, and, according to Dr. Chrestien, is even more active than corrosive 
sublimate. In an overdose, it produces pain, inflammation, and even ulceration of the 
stomach and bowels, and otherwise acts as a corrosive poison. The general effect of these 
preparations, in moderate doses, is to produce increased fulness and frequency of the pulse, 
and to augment the urine and insensible perspiration, without, interfering with the appetite 
or the regular action of the bowels; but, if the dose be pushed too far, general irritation is 
apt to be produced, inflammation seizes upon some organ, according to the predisposition 
of the individual, and fever is developed. 
Gold in powder, the oxide, chloride, and iodide are not as much used as the double chloride 
of gold and sodium. The oxide may be given in the form of pill, in the dose of the tenth of 
a grain, in scrofula and lymphatic swellings, beginning with one pill daily, and afterwards 
gradually increasing to seven or eight in 24 hours. The chloride has been used with ad- 
vantage as a caustic in lupus, and in syphilitic tubercles and ulcers by M. Chavannes. The 
iodide may be given in the same cases with the other preparations. The dose is from the 
fifteenth to the tenth of a grain. 
Chloride of gold and sodium is the preparation of gold most commonly employed. It may 
be given in lozenges, each containing the twelfth of a grain, by mixing immediately five 
grains of the salt with an ounce of powdered sugar, and making the whole with mucilage 
of tragacantli into a proper mass, to be divided into sixty lozenges. Pills, containing the 
same dose, may be formed by dissolving ten grains of the dried salt in a drachm of dis- 
tilled water, and forming the solution into a pilular mass with a mixture of four drachms 
of potato starch and one drachm of gum arabic, to be divided into one hundred and twenty 
pills. (Journ. de Pharm., xx. 648.) For frictions on the gums and tongue, Chrestien recom- 
mends the following formula: Crystallized chloride of gold and sodium one grain; pow- 
dered orris root, deprived of its soluble parts by alcohol and water, and dried, two grains. 
Mix. At first the fifteenth part of this powder is used daily by frictions; afterwards the 
fourteenth, the thirteenth, &c., until, increasing gradually, the tenth or eighth part is em- 
ployed. The use of four grains of the salt in this way is said commonly to cure bad cases 
of recent syphilis; such, for example, as are characterized by the coexistence of chancres, 
warts, and buboes. In preparing this powder, lycopodium may be substituted for the orris. 
MM. Rouault and Debreque have used this preparation of gold with success, in daily fric- 
tions for some minutes to the tongue, gums, and inside of the cheeks, for the resolution of 
chronic glandular tumours, especially those which occur in the neck in the form of a chain. 
The patient should swallow his saliva, while the frictions are practised, (if. and F. Medico- 
Chir. Rev., Am. ed., July, 1857, p. 172.) 
Chloroaurate of ammonia has been recommended by Bouchardat in amenorrhoea, and dys- 
mcnorrhoea in debilitated subjects, in the dose of about the tenth of a grain. A grain may PART III. 
G-ratiola Officinalis.—Gruaco. 
1523 
be dissolved in five teaspoonfuls of alcohol and five of water, and a teaspoonful given 
morning and evening, mixed with sweetened water. 
Cyanide of gold is employed, like the chloride of gold and sodium, mixed with inert pow- 
ders by friction, and in the form of pill. The fifteenth of a grain may be rubbed into the 
, gums daily for fifteen days, next the fourteenth of a grain for fourteen days, and so on, 
increasing until the dose amounts to the ninth or eighth of a grain. The dose for internal 
exhibition is the eighteenth of a grain, gradually increased to the eighth. Cyanide of gold 
has been found useful in the treatment of syphilis and scrofula by M. I’ourche, and is said 
to be less exciting than the double chloride, when used in those diseases. 
The ditferent medicinal compounds of gold should not be prepared in pill, powder, or 
otherwise, until they are wanted for use; as they are liable to undergo decomposition when 
kept. They should be carefully secluded from the light. B. 
GRATIOLA OFFICINALIS. Hedge-hyssop. This is a perennial herb, indigenous in the 
south of Europe, where it flourishes in meadows and other moist grounds. The whole herb 
is used. It is nearly inodorous, but has a bitter nauseous taste. Both water and alcohol 
extract its active properties. Its chemical constitution has been investigated by Dr. F. G. 
Walz, who found the following constituents; 1. gratiolin, 2. graliosolin, 3. gratiolacrin, 4. 
fixed oil, 5. a brown resin, 6. tannic acid, and 7. a volatile acid, the antirrhinic acid, which 
exists in many of the Scrofularinesc. Each of the peculiar substances mentioned consists of 
carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen; the formula of gratiolin being C40H34O14, that of gratioso- 
lin and that of gratiolacrin C31H2904. For the mode of preparing them the reader 
is referred to the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (July, 1859, p. 340), and, for a fuller account of 
them, to the Chemisches Central Blatt, Oct. 6, 1858, p. 689). Hedge-hyssop is a drastic ca- 
thartic and emetic, possessing also diuretic properties, and is employed on the continent 
of Europe in dropsy, jaundice, worms, chronic hepatic affections, scrofula, and various 
other complaints. With us it is almost unknown as a remedy. The dose of the powdered 
herb is from fifteen to thirty grains; of the infusion, made in the proportion of half an 
ounce to the pint of boiling water, half a fluidounce. W. 
GROUND NUTS. Pea Nuts. The fruit of Arachis hypogsea, a leguminous, annual plant, 
indigenous probably in Africa and South America, and abundantly cultivated in our 
Southern States, and elsewhere. A remarkable property of the plant is that its fruit ripens 
under the surface of the ground, into which the pods penetrate in the progress of their 
growth. The seeds constitute the well known ground-nuts of our markets, which consist 
of a dry, brittle envelope, and a yellowish-white kernel. These when roasted constitute 
for many a very agreeable article of food, and in the South are said to be much used as a 
substitute for coffee. They are, however, chiefly valuable on account of their richness in 
a fixed oil, which amounts to more than 20 per cent., and which is largely prepared in 
this country as an article of commerce. It is obtained by expression; the nuts being ground 
into a paste, and moderately heated before being submitted to pressure. As described by Mr. 
Jonas Winter, the oil has a bright-yellow colour, the characteristic odour of the fruit, and a 
mild not unpleasant taste. It is soluble in all proportions in ether, chloroform, and benzine, 
but insoluble in alcohol. Its sp. gr. is 0-918 at 60° F. At 38° it thickens, at 32° congeals 
imperfectly, and at 620° is decomposed, giving out spontaneously inflammable vapours. 
Mr. Winter made experiments to ascertain how far it might be employed with advantage 
in pharmacy, and found that it answered well in the preparation of the cerates and oint- 
ments generally; but would not serve as a substitute for olive oil in the preparation of the 
lead-plaster. It is a non drying oil, and will not therefore answer for painting; but it is 
used for various purposes in the arts, as for lubricating machinery, and in the manufac- 
tures of w-oollen cloths; and would serve for burning in lamps, giving even a better light 
than sperm oil. [Am. Journ. of Pharm., July, 1860, p. 292.) W. 
GUACO. This name is given in Central and South America, and the West Indies, to 
various plants having supposed alexipharmic properties, and belonging to the genera 
Mikania and Aristolochia; but it is to the ditferent species of the former genus that the ap- 
pellative properly belongs, and especially to Mikania Guaco, described by Humboldt and 
Bonpland. [PI. JEq. ii. 84.) The genus Mikania belongs to the Linnoean class and order 
Syngenesia JEqualis, and to the natural order Asteracise. The plants are closely allied to 
the Eupatoria. For their generic character, see Lindlcy's Flora Medica, and Griffith's Medical 
Botany. Mikania Guaco is described as having tw’ining stems, with round, sulcate, and 
hairy branches; ovate, subacuminate, remotely dentate leaves, somewhat narrowed at the 
base, rough above, and hairy beneath; and flowers in opposite axillary corymbs. The 
Diant is a native of intertropical America, and has been introduced into the W. India 
islands from the continent. The leaves are the part used. In the recent state they have a 
bitter taste, and a strong disagreeable odour; but their sensible properties and medical 
virtues are impaired by drying. 
This and other plants have long been employed by the natives as a preventive and cure 
of the bites of poisonous serpents. This application of them was first made knowui by Guano.—Gun Cotton. 
PART III. 
Mutis: and liis account was confirmed by Humboldt and Bonpland. The medicine has 
also be jn employed as a febrifuge and anthelmintic, and a few years since attracted con- 
siderable attention for its supposed prophylactic and remedial powers in epidemic cholera 
and chronic diarrhoea. It has, moreover, been recommended in chronic rheumatism, both 
internally and locally, and as a direct application in bites of insects, bruises and sprains, 
and atonic deafness. The probability, however, is that, like eupatorium, it has simply the 
virtues of a mild tonic, and gentle stimulant to the secretions. It is best employed in the 
recent state. The natives, when employing it as a counterpoison, apply the bruised leaves 
and expressed juice to the bite, and at the same time drink of the infusion. It is highly 
recommended by Dr. E. W. Pritchard in the gouty paroxysm, in which he has seldom known 
it to fail giving more or less relief. He gives from half a drachm to a drachm of the tinc- 
ture every four hours, and applies it locally at the same time. (Pharm. Journ , Nov. 1861, 
p. 288.) The preparations recommended for internal use are chiefly an infusion and tinc- 
ture, the former made in the proportion of an ounce of the leaves to a pint of boiling water, 
the latter of about a pound to the gallon of proof spirit. The dose may be about the same 
as that of analogous preparations of eupatorium. (See Lond. Med. Times and Gaz., Dec. 1852, 
p. 651, and Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., xx. 357.) W. 
GUANO. Bird-manure. This is a valuable manure, consisting of the decomposed excre- 
ment of countless aquatic birds, which has accumulated for ages on certain barren and 
uninhabited islets of the wmstern coast of South America, and in other localities through- 
out the world. The best comes from Peru, and will be here described. It is a coarse dry 
powder of a brown colour. Exposed to the air it absorbs moisture, and becomes somewhat 
sticky. Its .smell is offensive, and slightly ammoniacal. With the powder are intermingled 
friable lumps, which exhibit in their inside whitish specks, and which, when exposed to 
the air, fall to powrder, exhaling an ammoniacal smell. It is soluble in great part in water, 
and the solution formed contains chiefly oxalate of ammonia. When exposed to heat it 
blackens, burns wTith a slight flame, exhales the smell of ammonia, and leaves a whitish 
ash, varying in amount from 27 to 35 per cent. The guanos of commerce vary very much 
in composition, from the best Peruvian to the inferior sorts, which have scarcely any value 
as fertilizers. A good specimen of guano, analyzed by Fownes, consisted of about two- 
thirds oxalate of ammonia, and one-third earthy and alkaline phosphates, &c. The source 
of oxalate of ammonia is undoubtedly the uric acid, originally in the excrement, and which 
is often found undecomposed in the guano. The value of guano as a fertilizer depends 
chiefly upon the proportion of the organic ingredients; the phosphates being of secondary 
importance. M. E. Baudrimont infers, from the analysis of seventeen samples of Peruvian 
guano, that the proportion of nitrogen may be obtained approximatively by dividing the 
amount of the organic matters by five. The samples varied greatly in value. [Journ. de 
Pharm., Oct. 1857.) Crystals of carbonate of ammonia have been observed in guano. Co- 
lumbian guano was found by Dr. C. Morfit of Baltimore, to be rich in phosphoric acid and 
lime. [Chem. Gaz., Dec. 1,1855.) Unger obtained from Peruvian guano, in 1845, a peculiar 
substance, analogous to uric (zanthic) oxide, called guanin. It forms crystallizable salts 
with acids, and has the formula Ci0H5N5O2. The accuracy of this formula has been con- 
firmed by MM. Neubauer and Kerner. 
In South America, guano has been used with benefit, internally and externally, as a 
remedy in the different forms of lepra. . The late Prof. Horner, of Philadelphia, employed 
it as a cataplasm, mixed with an equal quantity of potters’ clay, in a case of chronic inflam- 
mation of the knee-joint. In this proportion it blistered the surface; and cataplasms were 
afterwards adopted, containing one-third and one-fourth of guano. [Med. Exam-., Feb. 1852, 
p. 69.) Prof. Horner attributed the revulsive effect of the guano to urate of ammonia; but 
the best authorities state that oxalate of ammonia is the characteristic salt of this substance. 
Since 1852, guano has been a good deal used in cutaneous diseases, especially in ecthyma, 
eczema, and tinea capitis. It is employed in the form of bath, lotion, and ointment. Rdca- 
mier prescribed baths in these diseases, each bath containing sixteen ounces of guano; and 
the practice has been imitated with success by M. Desmartis, and by M. Van der Abeele, 
of Belgium. The lotion may be made by exhausting an ounce of guano with a pint of boil- 
ing water, and filtering the solution. The ointment is formed of various strengths, from 
one to five parts of guano to fifteen of lard. M. C. Girardin prepares an extract of guano 
by exhausting it with alcohol, diluted with twice its bulk of water, and evaporating the 
solution to dryness. Of this extract he makes an ointment, useful in eruptions, by mixing 
it with three parts of lard, and also a syrup, flavoured with vanilla, of which the dose is a 
fluidrachm, containing a grain of the extract, to be given in scrofula. The variable com- 
position of guano must always form a serious objection to its therapeutic use. B. 
GUN COTTON. Pyroxylin. This substance, discovered by Schonbein, of Bale, in Switz- 
erland, is conveniently prepared by the following process, given by Mr. Thomas Taylor, 
of London. Mix, in a glass vessel, fluidounces of nitric acid (sp. gr. 1-45) with an equal 
bulk of sulphuric acid, and, when the mixture has cooled, pour it upon 100 grains of fine 
cotton contained in a Wedgwood mortar, and, with a glass rod, imbue the cotton as quickly PART III. 
Geynocardia Odorata.—Hamamelis Virginica. 
1525 
as possible with the acids. As soon as the cotton is completely saturated, pour off the su- 
perabundant liquid, and, with the aid of the pestle, quickly press out as much of it from 
the cotton as possible. Then throw the cotton into a basin of water, wash it until it ha» 
not the slightest acid taste, and dry it with a gentle heat. Gun cotton may be made witk 
Btrong nitric acid alone; but, as this acid is not always of full strength, it is better to mix 
with it sulphuric acid, which acts by strengthening the nitric acid, from its affinity for wa- 
ter. It may also be formed by immersing the cotton in a mixture of nitre and sulphuric acid, 
and this is the mode adopted in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. (See Gollodium, page 1046.) 
Properties, $c. Gun cotton has the appearance of ordinary cotton, but is harsh to the 
touch. It is perfectly insoluble in water, and nearly so in strong alcohol; but dissolves in 
large quantity in acetic ether. As ordinarily made for the purpose of explosion, it is insolu- 
ble in ether; but, when carefully and freshly prepared, with proper precautions, it dissolves 
in that menstruum, forming a powerfully adhesive liquid. (See Collodium.) According to Dr. 
J. H. Gladstone, of England, it is subject to spontaneous decomposition, if kept for some time. 
The same fact has been observed by Mr. James Beatson, of New York, and Prof. Procter, of 
Philadelphia. The specimen, observed by Prof. Procter to undergo decomposition, had not 
been well washed. The change is shown by the bottle, in which the gun cotton is kept, be- 
coming full of nitrous acid vapour; and the substance is so far altered that it is no longer 
explosive, or soluble in ether. M. Bouet states that the decomposition from exposure to 
light takes place sooner in that which has been prepared with nitre and sulphuric acid, than 
where the mixed acids have been used. He says that, with both, the sides and bottom of the 
bottle are nearly covered with crystals of oxalic acid. (See Hot. Journ. ofPharm., March, 
1862, p. 187.) According to M. Bdchamp, of Strasburg, the product is soluble in ether, if 
the cotton be immersed in a mixture of nitre and sulphuric acid, while still hot from their 
reaction; but not soluble, if the cotton be added to the mixture when cold. By treating 
gun cotton with protochloride of iron, M. Bdchamp caused the disengagement of nitrous 
oxide gas, and gave the filaments a coating of oxide of iron, which was readily dissolved 
by muriatic acid. After this treatment the gun cotton was restored to its original state of 
cotton. (Chem. Gaz., Jan. 1, 1854, p. 11.) When kindled, gun cotton flashes off like gun- 
powder, burning without residue. Its inflaming point is at 370° F. Dr. Marx makes it lower. 
It has been tried as a substitute for gunpowder in fire-arms; but, from its strong bursting 
power, it has not been found to answer for this purpose. It appears, however, to be well 
adapted to rock blasting. Its composition has not been satisfactorily determined. Mr. Wal- 
ter Crum, of Glasgow, makes its composition correspond with that of cellulose (cotton) C12 
II10O10. in which three eqs. of water are replaced with three of nitric acid. On this suppo- 
sition its formula is C12II707-j-3N05. Porret and Teschemacher are of opinion that the cot- 
ton loses two eqs. of water, and gains four of nitric acid; so as to make its formula C12U8 
08-f-4N05. Another view is that three eqs. of the hydrogen are replaced by three eqs. of 
hyponitric acid, the oxygen which forms water with the hydrogen being derived from the 
nitric acid; so that the formula will be C12Il73NO4O10-f-3HO. For some interesting observa- 
tions by MM. Pelouze and Maurey on the subject of gun cotton, and particularly in refer- 
ence to the modifications in the mode of preparing it, introduced by General Lenk, of Aus- 
tria, the reader is referred to an article contained in the American Journal of Pharmacy 
(Jan. 1865, p. 36). One of these modifications consists in giving to each fibre a coating of 
soluble glass, by dipping the gun cotton into a solution of silicate of soda. On exposure to 
the air, sufficient soda combines with carbonic acid to bring the silicate to the insoluble state, 
so that each fibre is enclosed in an impermeable covering, which is supposed to protect it 
from change. But MM. Pelouze and Maurey consider this coating less beneficial than sup- 
posed by General Lenk. B. 
GYNOCARDIA ODORATA. Chaulmoogra. This is an East India plant, the fruit of which 
has been employed, with asserted benefit, in elephantiasis or the leprosy of the East. The 
fruit is a succulent indehiscent pericarp, which yields a fixed oil by expression. The seeds 
are used internally, and the oil applied to the ulcers. Dr. Mouat has used it advantageously 
in leprosy, ichthyosis, scrofulous enlargements, and constitutional syphilis. He gave the 
seeds in the dose of six grains three times a day. (Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., N. S., xxx. 493, 
from Association Med. Journ., Aug. 17, 1855.) W. 
HAMAMELIS VIRGINICA. Witch-hazel. An indigenous shrub, from five to fifteen feet 
high, growing in almost all sections of the United States, usually on hills or in stony places, 
and frequently on the banks of streams. It is remarkable for the late appearance of its yel- 
low flowers, which expand in September or October, and continue till the weather becomes 
very cold in winter. The fruit, which is a nut-like capsule not unlike the hazel-nut, ripens 
in the following autumn, and is often mingled on the same plant with the new blossoms. 
The bark has a bitter, astringent, somewhat sweetish, and pungent taste. It probably first 
attracted notice as a remedy of the Indians, who are said to have used it as a sedative and 
diseutient in painful tumours, and other cases of external inflammation. It is used in the 
shape of poultice, or as a wash in the form of decoction, in hemorrhoidal affections and oph- 
thalmia. The leaves are said to possess similar properties, and, in the state of infusion, to 1526 
Hartshorn.—Iledera Helix. 
PART III. 
be given internally in bowel complaints and hemorrhages. Dr. James Fountain, of Peekskill, 
N. Y., speaks in strong terms of the efficacy of the bark in hemorrhage of the lungs and 
stomach, and also highly recommends, as one of the best applications in external piles, an 
ointment prepared from lard and a decoction of equal parts of this bark, white-oak bark, 
and that of the apple-tree. He believes the witch-hazel to possess anodyne properties. (2Y. 
Y. Journ. of Med., x. 208.) Dr. N. S. Davis agrees with Dr. Fountain in his estimate of this 
remedy, which he has employed usefully in incipient phthisis. He gives it in decoction, made 
with an ounce of the bark to a pint of water, of which the dose is a wineglassful every three, 
six, or eight hours. (Transact. of Am. Med. Assoc., i. 350.) The seeds are black and shining 
externally, white, oily, and farinaceous within, and edible like the hazel-nut. W. 
HARTSHORN. Cornu. Lond., Ed. This ancient medicine, having been dismissed in the re- 
cent revision of the British Pharmacopoeia, and not having had a place in our own, requires 
to be treated of here. It was the horn of Cervus Elaphus, the stag or hart, that was directed 
by the British Colleges. This species of deer inhabits Europe, Asia, and the north of Africa. 
The horns of our own common deer—Cervus Virginianus—though employed in the arts, were 
not officinal. Hartshorn has been usually imported into this country from Germany, in the 
form of shavings. These are without smell and taste, pliable, and of an ivory yellow colour. 
According to M. Merat-Guillot, they contain in 100 parts, 27 of gelatin, 57'5 of phosphate 
of lime, 1 of carbonate of lime, and 14-5 of water including the loss. Boiling water extracts 
their gelatin, forming a transparent, colourless jelly, which may be rendered palatable by 
the addition of sugar, lemon or orange-juice, and a little wine. To prepare it, two pints of 
water are boiled with four ounces of the shavings to a pint, and the residue strained while 
hot. The liquid gelatinizes upon cooling. By destructive distillation, the shavings yield an 
impure solution of carbonate of ammonia, which was formerly called spirit of hdrtshorn; and 
the same name has been applied to similar ammoniacal solutions from other sources. 
Cornu Ustum. (Land.) Burnt Hartshorn. The directions formerly given by the London Col- 
lege for the preparation of this substance were, to “burn pieces of Hartshorn in an open 
vessel until they are thoroughly white; then powder them, and prepare them in the manner 
directed for Chalk.” The horn must not only be heated, but also burnt, in order that the 
animal matter may be entirely consumed. The operation may be performed in a common 
furnace or stove, the air being freely admitted. Care should be taken that the heat be not 
too great; as otherwise the external surface of the horn may become vitrified, and prevent 
the complete combustion of the interior portion, while it is itself rendered less fit for use. 
Burnt hartshorn consists of bone-phosphate of lime, with about 1 per cent, of free lime, 
derived from the carbonate contained in the horns. Calcined bone is usually sold in the 
shops for burnt hartshorn. For the chemical characters of bone-phosphate of lime, see 
Calcis Phosphas Prsecipitata. 
Medical Properties and Uses. The opinion formerly entertained, that burnt hartshorn was 
antacid, has been abandoned since the discovery of its chemical nature. Its composition 
suggested its application to the cure of rachitis and mollities ossium, of which the prominent 
character is a deficiency of phosphate of lime in the bones; and it is said to have been em- 
ployed in some cases, in connection with phosphate of soda, with apparent success. It is 
probably, however, inert. The dose is twenty grains or more. The jelly prepared from the 
shavings of hartshorn has been thought to possess medical virtues; but it is only nutritive 
and demulcent, and is in no respect superior to calfs-foot jelly. The shavings themselves 
were formerly used in the preparation of Pulvis Antimonialis. W. 
HEDELIA HELIX. Ivy. This well-known evergreen creeper is a native of Europe. The 
fresh leaves have a balsamic odour, especially when rubbed, and a bitterish, harsh, unplea- 
sant taste. They are used for dressing issues, and, in the form of decoction, have been 
recommended in sanious ulcers and cutaneous eruptions, particularly tetter and the itch. 
Dried and powdered, they have been employed in the atrophy of children, and in complaints 
of the lungs, in the dose of a scruple or more. The berries, which have an acidulous, resin- 
ous, somewhat pungent taste, are said to be purgative and even emetic. MM. Vandamme 
and Chevallier discovered in ivy seeds a peculiar alkaline principle, which they called he- 
derin (hederia). It is very bitter, and appears to be closely allied to quinia in febrifuge pro- 
perties. It is obtained by treating the seeds with hydrate of lime, dissolving the precipitated 
alkaloid in boiling alcohol, and evaporating the alcoholic solution. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
xiii. 172.) Prof. Posselt has discovered two acids in the seeds, one cf which has their taste 
in a high degree, and was named by him hederic acid, the other he did not obtain quite pure. 
(See Chem. Gaz., March 1, 1849, p. 93.) From the trunks of old ivy plants, growing in the 
south of Europe and the north of Africa, a resinous substance exudes through incisions in 
the bark, which has been employed in medicine under the name of ivy gum. It is in pieces 
of various sizes, of a dark yellowish-brown colour sometimes inclining to orange, more or 
less transparent, sometimes of a deep ruby-red colour internally, of a vitreous fracture, pul- 
verizable, yielding a lively orange-yellow powder, of a peculiar not disagreeable odour when 
heated or iufiamed, and of a bitterish resinous taste. Its chief constituent is re.'.in, though 
some pieces contain a considerable proportion of bassorin, and others large qranlities PART III. 
Selenium Autumnale.—Sermodaetyls. 
1527 
ligneous matter. It was formerly used as a stimulant and emmenagogue, but is now scarcely 
employed. Placed in the cavities of carious teeth, it is said to relieve toothache. The wood 
of the ivy, which is light and porous, is sometimes used for making issue-peas. W. 
IIELENIUM AUTUMNALE. False Sunflower. Sneez'wort. An indigenous perennial herb, 
from three to seven feet high, with large, golden-yellow, compound flowers, which appeal 
in August. It grows in all parts of the United States, flourishing best in meadows, moist 
fields, and other low grounds. All parts of it are bitter and somewhat acrid, and, when 
snuffed up the nostrils in the state of powder, produce violent sneezing. The leaves and 
flowers have been recommended as an excellent errhine. Clayton says that the plant is 
thought to be useful in intermittent fever. W. 
IIELLEBORUS FCETIDUS. Bear's-foot. This is a perennial European plant, growing in 
shady places, and flowering in March and April. It derived its botanical designation from 
its offensive odour. The leaves, which are the part used, have a bitterish, pungent, and 
acrid taste, and when chewed excoriate the mouth. The foot-stalks are still more acrid. 
This species of hellebore is said by Allioni to be the most acrid and energetic of the plants 
belonging to the genus. It is powerfully emetic and cathartic, and in very large doses pro- 
duces dangerous effects. It has long been used in Great Britain as a domestic remedy for 
worms, and was brought to the notice of the profession by Dr. Bisset, who found it an 
efficacious anthelmintic, and prescribed it also in asthma, hysteria, and hypochondriasis. 
M. Decerfs has known it to cause the expulsion of taenia. It is given in powder or decoc- 
tion. The dose for a child from two to six years old is from five grains to a scruple of the 
dried leaves, or a fluidounce of the decoction, made by boiling a drachm of the dried 
leaves in half a pint of water. This quantity should be repeated, morning and night, for 
two or three days in succession. A syrup made from the juice of the green leaves is used 
in England. \V. 
IIELONIAS DIOICA. False Unicorn Plant. Slar-wort. This is a small perennial herbace- 
ous plant, growing in most parts of the United States, in shady and hilly situations. The 
root, which is the part used, is bulbous. Pursh says that it is used as a remedy in colic. 
Dr. Braman has found it peculiarly efficacious in atony of the generative organs, and has 
obtained great advantages from it in leucorrhcea. He states the dose of the powdered root 
at a drachm and a half, three times a day. It may also be given in the forms of syrup and 
tincture. [Dost. Med. and Surg. Journ., xl. 416 ) W. 
IIERACLEUM LANATUM. (Michaux, Flor. Boreal. Am. i. 166.) Masterworl. This is one 
of our largest indigenous umbelliferous plants. It belongs to Pentandria Digynia in the 
Linnaean system, with the following generic character. '■'■Fruit elliptical, emarginate, com- 
pressed, striated, margined. Corolla difl'orm, inflexed, emarginate. Involucre caducous.” 
( Willd.) The root is perennial, sending up annually a hollow pubescent stem, from three 
to five feet high, and often more than an inch thick. The leaves are ternate, downy be- 
neath, and supported on downy footstalks; the leaflets petiolate, roundish-cordate, and 
lobed. The flowers are white, in large umbels, and followed by orbicular seeds. Like the 
European species this is sometimes called cowparsnep. It grows in meadows and along 
fences and hedges, from Canada to Pennsylvania, and flowers in June. The root, which 
is the officinal part, bears some resemblance to that of common parsley. It has a strong 
disagreeable odour, and a very acrid taste. Both the leaves and root excite redness and 
inflammation when applied to the skin. Dr. Bigelow considers the plant poisonous, and 
advises caution in its use, especially when it is gathered from a damp situation. Master- 
wort appears to be somewhat stimulant and carminative, and was used successfully by 
Dr. Orne, of Salem, Massachusetts, in cases of epilepsy, attended with flatulence and gas- 
tric disorder. He directed two or three drachms of the pulverized root to be taken daity, 
for a long time, and a strong infusion of the leaves to be drunk at bedtime. W. 
IIERMODACTYLS. Ilermodactyli. Under this name are sold in the shops of Europe the 
roots or bulbs of an uncertain plant, growing in the countries about the eastern extremity 
of the Mediterranean. By some botanists the plant is considered a species of Colchicum; 
and C. variegalum, a native of the south of Europe and the Levant, is particularly indicated 
by F6e, Geiger, and others; while by authors no less eminent, the roots are confidently re- 
ferred to Iris tuberosa. They certainly bear a considerable resemblance to the bulb of Col- 
chicum autumnale, being heart-shaped, channeled on one side, convex on the other, and 
from half an inch to an inch in length, by nearly as much in breadth. As found in the 
shops, they are destitute of the outer coat, of a dirty yellowish or brownish colour ex- 
ternally, white and amylaceous within, inodorous and nearly tasteless, though sometimes 
slightly acrid. They are often worm-eaten. Their chief constituent is starch, and they 
contain no veratria or colchicia. From this latter circumstance, and from their insipidity, 
it has been inferred that they are probably not derived from a species of Colchicum; but 
Geiger observes that they may have lost their acrimony by age. They are in fact almost 
without action upon the system, and are now seldom used; never, we believe, in this coun- 
try. It is doubted whether they are the hermodactyli of the ancients, which were certainly Hibiscus Abelmoschus.—Hydrangea Arborescens. 
part hi. 
a powerful medicine, operating very much in the same manner as our colchicum, and like 
it proving useful in gout and rheumatism. Pereira describes a bitter variety of hermodactyls, 
which was brought from India by Dr. Royle. The bulbs are smaller and darker than the 
others, and have externally a striped or reticulated appearance. From their bitter taste 
they are probably more active. W. 
HIBISCUS ABELMOSCHUS. Abelmoschus moschatus. Wight and Arnott. An evergreen 
shrub, growing in Egypt, and in the East and West Indies, and yielding the seeds known 
under the names of semen Abelmoschi, alcese JEgyptiacse, and grana moschata. These are of 
about the same size as flaxseed, kidney-shaped, striated, of a grayish-brown colour, of an 
odour like that of musk, and of a warm somewhat spicy taste. They were formerly con- 
sidered stimulant and antispasmodic; but are now used only in perfumery. The Arabs 
flavour their coffee with them. They are said to be employed in the adulteration of musk. 
Another species, Hibiscus esculentus, or Abelmoschus esculentus of Wight and Arnott, is culti- 
vated under the name of okra, bendee, or gombo, in various parts of the world, for the sake 
of its fruit, which abounds in mucilage, and is used for thickening soup. The leaves are 
sometimes employed for preparing emollient poultices. The roots, which are a foot or two 
long, are said also to abound in mucilage, of which they yield twice as much as the althaea 
root from the same weight, free from any unpleasant odour. Their powder is perfectly 
white, and superior also to that of the marshmallow. The plant is largely cultivated near 
Constantinople, where it is much used as a demulcent. [Am. Journ. of Pharm., May, 1860, 
p. 224.) W. 
HIERACIUM VENOSUM. Rattlesnake Weed. (Gray's Manual, p. 237.) The plants belong- 
ing to the genus Ilieracium are generally called haivkweed; but the H. venosum has been 
distinguished by a special name, derived from its supposed efficiency as an antidote to the 
bite of the rattlesnake. They are all perennial herbs belonging to the natural family of the 
Composite. The rattlesnake weed has a smooth slender flower-stem, one or two feet high, 
either naked or furnished with but a single leaf, and dividing at top into a loose spreading 
corymb of yellow flowers. The plant is common, growing in dry places and open woods, 
in most of the eastern and northern parts of the United States. The leaves and root are 
thought to possess medical virtues, and, being deemed astringent, have been used in hem- 
orrhagic diseases. The juice is supposed by some to have the power of removing warts. 
The medicine may be given in infusion, made in the proportion of two ounces to the pint, 
of which the dose is a wineglassful. W. 
HURA BRASILIENSIS. Assacou. Hura Brasiliensis of Martius is a Brazilian tree be- 
longing to the family of Euphorbiacem, and known to the natives of the country it inhabits 
by the name of assacou. Another species of the same genus, II. crepitans, growing in the 
West Indies, and characterized by the tendency of its fruit to break when ripe with violence 
into several pieces, and thus scatter the seeds, has long been known as an acrid emeto- 
cathartic, capable in large doses of acting as a violent poison. The fresh juice, the seeds, 
and a decoction of the bark, all have these properties, which, in fact, belong in a greater 
or less degree to most of the Euphorbiacece; and, as in other members of the same family, 
an oil expressed from the seeds is actively purgative. It is highly probable that the Hura 
Brasiliensis is similar in all these respects to its congener. Martius states that the juice is 
anthelmintic, and employed to intoxicate fish. But attention has recently been especially 
attracted to the plant, in consequence of reports favourable to its efficacy in that terrible 
scourge of Brazil, the elephantiasis or leprosy of the country. These reports were received 
by the Academy of Medicine, of Paris, from the French Consul in one of the towns of Para, 
of which province the natives are said to regard the remedy as a specific in the complaint 
referred to. Experiments have been made by the Brazilian physicians, and it is said with 
favourable results, though complete cures have not been obtained. The fact is that various 
acrid emeto-cathartic medicines, capable also of producing diaphoresis, have been more or 
less useful in elephantiasis, as the Calotropis gigantea, and one or more species of Ionidium; 
and it is probable that the assacou acts in a similar manner, and with similar results. The 
milky juice of the plant, and an infusion or decoction of the bark are used. The juice is 
extremely acrid, producing on the skin, when applied to it, an erysipelatous redness and 
a pustular eruption; and the natives are said to employ it. in the preparation of a poison. 
A grain of the juice made into a pill, or a scruple of the bark infused in a pint of water, 
is given every day, and gradually increased as the stomach and bowels will bear it. Every 
week an emetic preparation is administered, made by boiling half an ounce of the bark in 
a pint of water to half a pint, to which twelve drops of the juice are added. Every second 
or third day the patient takes a bath, consisting of a saturated infusion of the bark. (Journ. 
de Pharm., xiv. 424.) W. 
HYDRANGEA ARBORESCENS. Common Hydrangea. Seven Barks. This species of Hy- 
drangea is indigenous, growing in shady places, in the woods and on the banks of streams 
throughout the Middle and Southern States. It is a shrub from four to eight feet high, 
with ovate or cordate leaves, from three to six inches long, generally acuminate, serratoly PART III. 
Hydriodic Ether.—Hydrocotyle Asiatica. 
1529 
toothed, and slightly pubescent, or nearly glabrous. The flowers are in fastigiate cymes, 
and appear in July. For a particular botanical description of the plant, the reader is re- 
ferred to Torrey and Gray’s Flora of North America (i. 591). The root, which is the part 
used, consists of a caudex, from which proceed numerous radicles, from the thickness of a 
quill to that of the finger or more. For use it should be cut into transverse pieces when 
fresh, and then dried. The taste is aromatic, pungent, and not unpleasant. The root was 
analyzed by Mr. Laidley, of Richmond, Va., who found in it gum, albumen, starch, resin, 
and various salts, among which was a protosalt of iron. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxiv. 20.) 
Attention was first called to it as a remedy in the New Jersey Med. Reporter for Oct. 1850 
(p. 44), by Dr. S. W. Butler, whose father, Dr. E. Butler, long residing as a missionary 
among the Cherokee Indians, employed it with great apparent advantage in their calculous 
complaints. Reports of cases, tending to confirm the opinion of its utility in “sabulous or 
gravelly deposits” in the urine, have since been published by Drs. W. L. Atlee, D. Horsley, 
and John C. S. Monkur. [Ibid., Sept. 1854, pp. 393 and 416, Oct. 1854, p. 426, and March, 
1855, p. 115.) Dr. Butler used it in the form of decoction, or of a syrup made from the 
decoction with sugar or honey. A strong syrup may be given in the dose of a teaspoonful 
three times a day. In overdoses it occasions vertigo, oppression of the chest, &c. W. 
HYDRIODIC ETHER. JEther Ilydriodicus. Iodide of Ethyl. This ether may be obtained 
by gradually and cautiously mixing five parts of alcohol, ten of iodine, and one of phos- 
phorus, and distilling. The residue of the distillation, as ascertained by D. Iv. Tuttle, is 
phosphovinic acid. The best mode of proceeding, in order to avoid danger, according to 
Soubeiran, is to melt the phosphorus with a gentle heat under the alcohol, contained in a 
wide-mouthed matrass, and to add the iodine gradually through a tube, sealed at the lower 
end, but perforated at the same end with a number of small holes. The tube is made to 
pass through a grooved cork, to give exit to the vapours, and is so adjusted as to reach 
nearly to the surface of the melted phosphorus. The matter in the matrass is distilled to 
the extent of four-fifths, the distillate is washed with water to separate alcohol, and the 
decanted ether is dried by the addition of a few pieces of chloride of calcium. Dr. deVrij 
recommends the following method for procuring this ether on a large scale. Absolute 
alcohol is to be saturated with dry muriatic acid gas, the liquid being kept well cooled; 
and the amount of the acid is to be determined by a sample. The liquid thus saturated is 
to be put into a retort with as much iodide of potassium as may be necessary to form chlo- 
ride of potassium; the mixture is to stand for a day; and is then to be submitted to distil- 
lation. Finally, the ether which comes over is to be washed and rectified. (See Am. Journ. 
of Pharm., March, 1859, p. 170.) Hydriodic ether is a colourless non-inflammable liquid, 
insoluble in water, with a penetrating ethereal odour and pungent taste. Its density is 1-92, 
and boiling point 158°. When exposed to the air it becomes red from the liberation of iodine, 
a change which is prevented by adding to the bottle containing it, a globule of mercury. 
Being an iodide of ethyl, its formula is C4II5I. M. Huette has proposed this ether as a medi- 
cine, to be used by inhalation, placed under a layer of water. Fifteen or twenty inspira- 
tions suffice to impregnate the system with iodine. Its physiological effects appear to be 
those of an antispasmodic and general stimulant. It acts also as a powerful anaesthetic, 
when sufficiently long inhaled. It increases the appetite, renders the pulse fuller, and 
gives vivacity to the feelings and activity to the intellect. M. Huette considers it a suitable 
preparation for bringing the system rapidly under the influence of iodine, and by any de- 
sired dose. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxiii. 156.) Since the therapeutic trials of M. Huette 
were made, Mr. James Turnbull, of Liverpool, and Dr. Henry Fisher, of New York, have 
used this ether by inhalation in chronic pulmonary diseases with satisfactory results. Dr. 
Fisher specifies chronic bronchitis and phthisis as the diseases in which he has found it 
useful. The dose is 15 drops, three or four times a day, inhaled from a handkerchief. 
Hydriodic ether often has an unpleasant smell from the presence of foreign substances, 
which render it offensive to patients. Phosphorus is a common and injurious impurity. B. 
HYDROCOTYLE ASIATICA. Thick-leaved Pennywort. Pevilacqua. Boileau. This is a 
small umbelliferous plant, with a trailing stem, and, from the shape of its leaves, bearing 
some resemblance to the violet. It grows in moist grounds in India, Southern Africa, and the 
islands of the Indian Ocean. It has long been ranked among the medicinal plants of India, 
where it has been used as an alterative to purify the blood. An elaborate analysis has been 
made of it by M. Jules Lupine, who discovered in it a peculiar oleaginous substance which 
he calls vellarine, and in which he supposes the active properties to reside. It has a strong 
odour recalling that of the plant, and a bitter, pungent, and persistent taste. [Journ. de 
Pharm., Juillet, 1855, p. 49.) 
The plant has been supposed to possess diuretic properties; and, according to Ainslie, is 
employed in infusion with fenugreek in fever and bowel complaints. But it has recently 
attracted attention, from the claims strongly urged in its favour as a remedy in that most 
obstinate affection often called leprosy, but more correctly elephantiasis of the Greeks. It 
Vas first employed in this complaint by Dr. Boileau, of the Island of Mauritius, who was 
himself a victim of the disease, and had resorted to this remedy under the false impression 1530 
Hydrocyanic Ether.—Hypericum Perforatum. 
PART III. 
that it night be identical or analogous with the cuichunchulli. He was so much pleased with 
its effects that he was induced to try it upon others; and a great many lepers were put 
under its influence. All the cases were arrested, many were benefited, and in some the dis- 
ease almost disappeared. The statements of Dr. Boileau have been supported by those of M. 
Lupine, of Pondicherry, and the medicine would certainly seem lo merit a thorough inves- 
tigation. Dr. Boileau, probably at first in ignorance of its botanical title, gave it the name 
of bevilacqua. He used it in powder, infusion, and syrup. An ounce of the dried plant may 
be given daily, in the form of infusion made with a pint of water. This should be continued 
for several weeks, combined witli baths, and attention to the state of the bowels. After 
this preparation, the syrup is to be given in spoonful doses three times a day, to be gradu- 
ally increased after three weeks, if no improvement has taken place, to eight spoonfuls daily. 
The powder may be added to the syrup, if deemed necessary, in the dose at first of fifteen 
grains, to be increased cautiously to a drachm. (Journ. de Eharm., 3e ser., xxiv. 424, and 
xxv. 153.) This account of the remedy has been in some measure confirmed by the testi- 
mony of Mr. E. J. Waring, of the Madras Medical Service, and Dr. Hunter, who have found it 
especially useful in secondary syphilis and scrofulous ulcers. (Pharm. Journ., Aug. 1860, p. 
143.) M. Lecocq, however, has been led by his experience and observation to the conclu- 
sion, that no sufficient evidence exists of any case of leprosy cured by this remedy, and that 
it is equally inefficient in other diseases of the skin. (Ann. de Therap., 1859, p. 79.) W. 
HYDROCYANIC ETHER. JEther Ilydrocyanicus. Hydrocyanate of Ethylen. Cyanide of 
Ethyl. Cyanuret of Ethyl. This ether was discovered by Pelouze. It is formed by distilling 
a mixture of sulphovinate of baryta and cyanide of potassium. It is a colourless liquid, 
of a penetrating garlic odour, soluble in alcohol and ether, sparingly soluble in water, boil- 
ing at 180°, and weighing specifically 078. It is very poisonous, but less so than hydro- 
cyanic acid, with which it agrees in therapeutic action and dose. B. 
HYDROSULPHATE OF AMMONIA, SOLUTION OF. Ammonia Hydbosulphuretum. 
Dub. Solution of Hydro sulphur et of Ammonia. Br. Appendix. This former officinal of the 
Dublin Pharmacopoeia was prepared in the following manner. “Take of Solution of Am- 
monia four fluidounces [Imperial measure] ; Sulphuret of Iron one ounce and a half [avoir- 
dupois]; Oil of Vitriol of Commerce one fluidounce and a Aa//[Imp. meas.]; Water fifteen 
ounces [avoird.]; Distilled Water two ounces [avoird.]. Place the Sulphuret of Iron and 
Water in a two-necked bottle, and, adding the Oil of Vitriol by degrees through a safety 
funnel, conduct by suitable tubes the sulphuretted hydrogen which is disengaged, first 
through the Distilled Water placed in a small intermediate vial, and then to the bottom of 
a bottle containing the Ammonia, the neck of the latter, through which the glass tube con- 
veying the gas passes, being loosely plugged with tow. If, when the development of gas 
has ceased, a drop of the ammoniacal liquid, added to a saturated solution of sulphate of 
magnesia, gives no precipitate, the preparation is completed; but, should a precipitate 
occur, the hydrosulpliuret still contains free ammonia, and must, therefore, be again sub- 
jected to the action of a stream of sulphuretted hydrogen. The Hydrosulpliuret of Ammo- 
nia must be kept in a green glass bottle, furnished with an accurately ground stopper. The 
specific gravity of this solution is 0'999.” (Dub.) This preparation is a solution of bihy- 
drosulphate of ammonia in water, and is formed by passing a stream of liydrosulphuric 
acid gas (sulphuretted hydrogen) through water of ammonia, contained in a Woulfe’s bot- 
tle. Considered as a biliydrosulphate, its formula is NH3,2HS; but it is probably a sulpho- 
salt, with the formula NH4S,HS, and is so considered in the British Pharmacopoeia, where 
it holds a place among the test solutions in the Appendix. The liydrosulphuric acid is ob- 
tained by acting with dilute sulphuric acid on sulphuret of iron. The water yields its oxy- 
gen to the iron forming protoxide of iron, with which the sulphuric acid combines; while 
the hydrogen of the water, uniting with the sulphur, generates liydrosulphuric acid. 
Hydrosulpliuret of ammonia is a liquid of a greenish-yellow colour, very fetid smell, and 
acrid, disagreeable taste. It is characterized by giving coloured precipitates with neutral 
metallic solutions, for which it is much used as a test. It is decomposed by acids, which 
cause the escape of hydrosulphuric acid with effervescence, and the deposition of sulphur. 
This preparation is sedative, lessening the action of the heart in a remarkable degree, and 
producing, when given in large doses, nausea, vomiting, vertigo, and drowsiness. It was 
proposed as a remedy in diabetes mellitus, by Dr. Cruickshank, for the purpose of lessen- 
ing the morbid appetite in that disease, and has been employed by Dr. Hollo and others. 
The dose is five or six drops in a tumblerful of water three or four times a day, to be gradu- 
ally increased until giddiness is produced. B. 
HYPERICUM PERFORATUM. St. John's Wort. A perennial herb, abundant both in 
Europe and this country, often covering whole fields, and proving extremely troublesome 
to farmers. It is usually from one to two feet high, with leaves which, from the presence 
of numerous transparent vesicles, appear as if perforated, and have hence given origin to 
the botanical designation of the plant. The flowers, which are numerous and of a deep- 
yellow colour, appear during the summer from June to August. The floweeing summits are PART III. 
Hypericum Perforatum.—Hypophosphites. 
1531 
the parts used, though the unripe capsules are possessed of the virtues of the plant in an 
equal degree, and the seeds are said to be even stronger. St. John’s wort has a peculiar 
balsamic odour, which is rendered more sensible by rubbing or bruising the plant. Its fast? 
is bitter, resinous, and somewhat astringent. It imparts a yellow colour to cold water, ana 
reddens alcohol and the fixed oils. Its chief constituents are volatile oil, a resinous sub- 
stance, tannin, and colouring matter. As a medicine it was in high repute among the an- 
cients, and the earlier modern physicians. Among the complaints for which it was used 
were hysteria, mania, intermittent fever, dysentery, gravel, hemorrhages, pectoral com- 
plaints, worms, and jaundice; but it was, perhaps, most highly esteemed as a remedy in 
wounds and bruises, for which it was employed both internally and externally. It is diffi- 
cult to ascertain its exact value as a remedy; but, from its sensible properties, and from 
the character of the complaints in which it has been thought useful, it may be considered, 
independently of its astringency, as somewhat analogous in medical power to the turpen- 
tines. It formerly enjoyed great reputation for the cure of demoniacs; and the superstition 
still lingers among the vulgar in some countries. At present the plant is scarcely used ex- 
cept as a domestic remedy. The summits were given in the dose of two drachms or more. 
A preparation was at one time officinal, under the name of oleum hyperici, made by treating 
them with a fixed oil. It has a red colour, and is still used in many families as a sovereign 
remedy for bruises. It is commonly called red oil. W. 
HYPOPHOSPHITES. Attention has been called to these salts, in consequence of their 
recommendation by Dr. Churchill, of Paris, in the treatment of phthisis, in which they are 
thought to be useful by furnishing phosphorus to the tissues. A paper on their mode of 
preparation and qualities was communicated by Prof. Procter to the American Journal of 
Pharmacy (March, 1858, p. 118), to which we are indebted for much of what follows on the 
chemistry of the subject. Hypophosphorous acid consists of one eq. of phosphorus and one 
of oxygen, and always contains two or three eqs. of water. It has a strong affinity for 
oxygen, and acts therefore as a powerful deoxidizing agent, and carries this property as 
well as water with it into composition. When heated it is resolved into phosphuretted 
hydrogen and phosphoric acid. Its salts are generally soluble in water and deliquescent, 
and many of them are soluble in alcohol. They are converted into phosphates by heat, 
with the escape of phosphuretted hydrogen; and some of them are explosive. 
Hypophosphite of Lime has attracted most attention, and would meet the views of those who 
wish to supply phosphate of lime to the system, as the hypophosphorous acid is converted 
into the phosphoric by its deoxidizing power. To prepare it Prof. Procter gives the following 
formula. Slake 4 lbs. avoird. of lime with a gallon of water, add it, in a deep boiler, to 4 
gallons of boiling water, and mix thoroughly. To the mixture add a pound avoird. of 
phosphorus, and continue the boiling, adding hot water from time to time to keep up the 
measure, until the combination is complete, and phosphuretted hydrogen is no longer 
evolved. It is necessary that provision should be made for the escape of the gas, which 
takes fire spontaneously in contact with the air. There are formed in the liquid phosphate 
and hypophosphite of lime, the phosphorus having become oxidized at the expense of the wa- 
ter, the hydrogen of which has escaped in combination with another portion of phosphorus, 
which is therefore lost. The liquid is filtered to separate the insoluble phosphate and re- 
siduary lime, then concentrated, and refiltered to separate the carbonate of lime formed by 
the action of the air on a little lime held in solution, and lastly evaporated till a pellicle 
appears; after which the salt may be allowed to crystallize by setting the liquid aside, or 
may be obtained in the granular form by continuing the heat, and stirring. The salt should 
be introduced into bottles. It is white, of a somewhat pearly lustre, and crystallizes in flat- 
tened prisms. It is soluble in 6 parts of cold water, little more so in boiling water, and 
slightly soluble in diluted, but insoluble in officinal alcohol. Its formula is CaO,2HO,PO. 
Hypophosphite of soda is prepared by mixing solutions of hypophosphite of lime and 
crystallized carbonate of soda, in the proportion of 6 ounces of the former dissolved in 4 
pints of water, to 10 of the latter in one and a half pints. Double decomposition takes 
place, with the formation of carbonate of lime and hypophosphite of soda, of which the 
latter is held in solution, and the former precipitated. After filtration to separate the car- 
bonate of lime, the solution is evaporated to a pellicle, and then stirred constantly till the 
salt granulates, the heat being continued. If required quite pure, the granulated salt is 
dissolved in officinal alcohol; and the liquid, having been evaporated to a syrupy consist- 
ence, is set aside to crystallize. Sometimes the hypophosphite of soda explodes with vio- 
lence during the evaporation of its solution. This was ascribed to the use- of too high a 
heat; but the same accident has occurred when the heat was applied by means of a water- 
bnth. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 1860, p. 87.) In a communication of Mr. Tuson to the 
Chemical News (No. 31, p. 46), it is stated that, though he had superintended the manufac- 
ture of large quantities of the hypophosphites of lime and of soda, he had never witnessed 
anything like an explosion; but the heat employed in evaporation had never approached 
212°; and this is probably the true explanation. Caution, therefore, should be observed 
to evaporate at a low temperature. Hypophosphite of soda crystallizes in rectangular 1532 
Hyposulphite of Lime.—Hyraceum. 
PART III. 
tables of a pearly lustre, deliquesces on exposure, and is soluble both in water and alco- 
hol. Its formula is NaO,2IIO,PO. 
Hypophosphite of potassa is prepared in the same manner as the salt of soda; 5-75 ounces 
of granulated carbonate of potassa, dissolved in half a pint of water, being substituted for 
the carbonate of soda. This salt is still more deliquescent than the preceding, and there- 
fore less eligible. Its formula is KO,2IIO,PO. 
Hypophosphite of ammonia may be obtained in like manner from hypophosphite of lime 
and sulphate or sesquicarbonate of ammonia; and the hypophosphite of sesquioxide of iron 
from solution of hypophosphite of soda or ammonia with solution of sulphate of sesquioxide 
of iron. A hypophosphite ofquinia has also been proposed. (Chem. Oaz., No. 43, p. 186.) Prof. 
Procter gives a formula for preparing hypophosphorous add, which consists in decomposing 
hypophosphite of lime in solution by oxalic acid, which precipitates the lime, leaving the 
hypophosphorous acid in solution. The quantities are so proportioned that a fluidrachm 
shall contain 6 grains of the acid, equivalent to about 2-25 grains of phosphorus. The dose 
of the acid is therefore from ten minims to a fluidrachm. 
As the soluble salts of mercury and silver are reduced by the hypophospliites, they are 
of course incompatible with it in prescriptions. With the hypophosphite of lime, all the 
soluble sulphates and carbonates produce precipitates. The hypophosphite of iron may 
be given with the preparations of cinchona, as, though blackened by the tannic acid of 
galls, it is not so by cincho-tannic acid. As these salts are insoluble in cod-liver oil, 
they should be dissolved in syrup before being added to the oil. Prof. Procter prepares a 
syrup of hypophosphite of lime by dissolving a troyounce of the salt in 9-5 fluidounces of 
water, then adding 12 troyounces of sugar and dissolving with a gentle heat, and finally 
adding half a fluidounce of the fluid extract of vanilla. The dose of the syrup is from one 
to four fluidrachms, three times a day. A compound syrup is prepared by the same writer, 
containing the hypophosphites of lime, soda, potassa, and iron, with hypophosphorous 
acid, a formula for which will be found in the same communication to which reference 
has been made above. 
The author does not wish to be understood as recommending these remedies in con- 
sumption. The weight of testimony appears to him to be opposed to the first favourable 
impressions; and, though some cases may have seemed to be benefited, yet great care must 
be taken not to allow a reliance on the hypophosphites to interfere with the use of reme- 
dies known to be efficient, as cod-liver oil and supporting measures generally. The dose 
of either of the hypophosphites may be from ten to thirty grains, three times a day. W. 
HYPOSULPHITE OF LIME. Calcis Hyposulphis. Under the head of Sodse Hyposulphis, 
page 792, reference is made to hyposulphite of lime, as possessing with other hyposul- 
phites, useful properties in the destruction of the lower forms of animal and vegetable 
life, by which the human system is often seriously infested; and the hope is even indulged 
that it may become a most useful agent in the prevention and relief of a class of diseases 
depending on infection of the blood. The following mode of preparing it is recommended 
by M. J. Laneau, of Paris. Take 1000 parts of sulphur, 400 of lime, and 4000 of rain- 
water; slake the lime with sufficient of the water, add the sulphur and the residue of the 
water, and boil for an hour and a half, adding water to keep up the measure; ■when cool 
filter the liquid through linen covered with filtering paper; and wash the residue with 1000 
parts of water. A solution is thus obtained of polysulphuret of calcium of the sp. gr. 
1‘141. Into this pass a current of washed sulphurous acid gas until the solution becomes 
colourless; separate the sulphur precipitated (which may be used for the officinal Precipi- 
tated Sulphur); and evaporate the clear solution at a heat not exceeding 140° F., until it 
begins to crystallize, when it is to be set aside. The product is 700 parts of hyposulphite 
of lime. This is in six-sided crystals, which effloresce in a dry air. M. Laneau prepares a 
syrup of the hyposulphite by dissolving 10 parts of the crystallized salt in 20 part? of dis- 
tilled water, and mixing with the solution 170 parts of syrup of orange flowers. (See Am. 
Journ. of Pharm., May, 1803, p. 223.) The dose of the salt is from ten to twenty grains 
three times a day, of the syrup from two to four fluidrachms. W. 
HYPOSULPHITE OF SODA AND SILVER. Sodse et Argenti Hyposulphis. This double 
salt may be prepared by dissolving freshly precipitated oxide of silver in a solution of 
hyposulphite of soda, and evaporating the solution. It is in the form of minute crystals, 
very soluble in water, but insoluble in alcohol, and possessing a very sweet taste. Its 
solution, pi’otected from the light, undergoes no change, and, when quite pure, does not 
discolour the skin or linen. M. Delioux, of Rochefort, has tried this salt externally only, 
and thinks it acts like nitrate of silver, but more mildly. He used it with advantage, 
especially in urethral discharges, dissolved in the proportion of one or two parts in two 
hundred of water. (B. and F. Medico-Cliir. Rev., Am. ed., April, 1853, p. 447, from the Bull, 
de Thirap.) 13. 
HYRACEUM Under this name, a substance from the Cape of Good Hope has been in- 
troduced to the notice of the profession, in Europe, as a substitute for castor. It is tie PART III. 
Hyssopus Officinalis.—Hex. 
1533 
product of Hyrax Capensis, an animal of South Africa, about the size of a large rabbit. It 
is said to be collected in small pieces on the rugged sides of mountains, and is probably 
the excrement of the animal. It is rather hard, tenacious, of a blackish-brown colour, 
and in taste and smell not unlike castor. It is inflammable, and yields portions of its con- 
stituents to water and alcohol. Examined with the microscope, it has been found to con- 
tain vegetable tissues, animal hairs, sand, and globular particles, either resinous or oily. 
Schrader has found it to contain stearin, a gum-resin soluble in absolute alcohol, an 
odorous yellow substance soluble in ordinary alcohol and in water, a brown substance 
fkduble in water, and insoluble residue. Dr. Pereira, from whose paper the above account 
is extracted, considered it worthless as a therapeutical agent, though in physiological 
effects it is said exactly to resemble American castor. (Pharrn. Journ., x. 123.) For an 
elaborate paper on this substance by M. J. L6on Soubeiran, see Journ. de Pharm. (xxix. 
378). W. 
HYSSOPUS OFFICINALIS. Hyssop. This is a labiate plant, belonging to the class and 
order Didynamia Gymnospermia of the sexual system. It is perennial, with numerous 
erect, quadrangular, somewhat branching stems, which are woody in their interior por- 
tion, about two feet high, and furnished with opposite, sessile, lanceolate-linear, pointed, 
punctate leaves. The flowers are violet-coloured or blue, sometimes white, turned chiefly 
to one side, and arranged in half verticillated, terminal, leafy spikes. The upper lip of the 
corolla is roundish and notched at the apex, the lower is divided into three segments, of 
which the undermost is -obovate. 
Common hyssop is a native of Europe, where, as well as in this country, it is cultivated 
in gardens. The flowering summits and leaves are the parts used. They have an agree- 
able aromatic odour, and a warm, pungent, bitterish taste. These properties they owe to 
an essential oil, which may be separated by distillation with water, and rises also with 
alcohol. Hyssop is a warm, gently stimulant aromatic, applicable to the same cases as 
the other labiate plants. Its infusion has been much employed in chronic catarrhs, espe- 
cially in old people, and those of a debilitated habit of body. It acts by facilitating the 
expectoration of mucus when too abundantly secreted. In this country, however, it is 
seldom used by regular practitioners. W. 
IBERIS AMARA. Bitter Candytuft. A small herbaceous plant, indigenous in Europe, 
where it is cultivated in gardens on account of its bright milk-white flowers. The leaves, 
stem, and root are said to possess medicinal properties; but the seeds are the most effica- 
cious. The plant appears to have been employed by the ancients in rheumatism, gout, and 
other diseases. It was again brought into notice by Dr. Silvester, who ascribed to the late 
Dr. Williams, of St. Thomas’s Hospital, London, the merit of having first ascertained its 
real therapeutic value. In large doses it produces giddiness, nausea, and diarrhoea; but 
its virtues do not seem to be associated with any perceptible physiological effect. It is 
thought to exercise a happy influence over the excited actions of the heart, and is especially 
useful in hypertrophy. Much advantage is also said to have accrued from it in asthma, bron- 
chitis, and dropsy. The dose of the seeds is from one to three grains. (Prov. Med. and Surg. 
Journ., July 28, 1847.) W. 
ILEX. Holly. Several species of Ilex are employed in different parts of the world. The 
I. Aquifolium, or common European holly, has attracted much attention in France. It is 
usually a shrub, but in some places attains the magnitude of a middling-sized tree. Differ- 
ent parts of it are used. The viscid substance called birdlime is prepared from the inner bark. 
The leaves, which are of a bitter, somewhat austere taste, were formerly much esteemed as a 
diaphoretic, and in the form of infusion were employed in catarrh, pleurisy, small-pox, 
gout, &c. A few years since they gained some reputation in France as a cure for intermit 
tents, and were considered by some as equal to Peruvian bark; but the first reports in 
their favour have not been fully confirmed. They were used in powder, in tho dose of a 
drachm two hours before the paroxysm; and this dose was sometimes repeated frequently 
during the apyrexia. Their febrifuge virtues are said to depend on a bitter principle, for 
which the name of ilicin has been proposed. M. Labourdais obtained this principle by 
boiling a filtered decoction of holly leaves with animal charcoal, allowing the charcoal to 
subside, washing it, then treating it with alcohol, filtering off the alcoholic solution, and 
evaporating it to a syrupy consistence. The liquid thus obtained was very bitter, and, on 
feeing allowed to evaporate spontaneously, yielded an amorphous substance, having the ap- 
pearance of gelatin, which was the principle in question. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm. ,xxi. 89.) 
A yellow colouring substance, called ilexanthin, and a peculiar acid, called ilicic acid, have 
been obtained by Dr. F. Moldenhauer. Ilexanthin is obtained in the following manner. 
The leaves are exhausted with alcohol, the alcohol is distilled off, and the residue set aside 
for several days. A sediment forms, which is separated from the mother-liquor, treated 
with ether to remove the chlorophyll, and then purified by repeated solution in alcohol 
and crystallization. The composition of ilexanthin is C34H22022. It crystallizes in yellow 
needles, which change colour at 365° F., melt at 388°, and at 417° boil with decomposi- 1534 
Illicium Floridanum.—Imperatoria OstrutJiium. 
PART III. 
Ikon, and are not sublimable. It is insoluble in ether, but soluble in alcohol. In cold -water 
it is aimost insoluble; but hot water dissolves it freely, and deposits it in crystals on cool- 
ing. (Chem. Cent. Blatt, Oct. 21, 1857, p. 766.) The berries are about the size of a pea, red 
and bitter, and are said to be purgative, emetic, and diuretic. Ten or twelve of them will 
usually act-on the bowels, and sometimes vomit. Their expressed juice has been used in 
jaundice. 
The Ilex opaca, or American holly, is a middling-sized evergreen tree, growing throughout 
the Atlantic section of the United States, and especially abundant in New Jersey. It is so 
similar to the European plant, that it is, by some writers, considered as the same species. 
The berries, examined by Mr. D. P. Pancoast, were found to contain tannin, pectin, two 
crystallizable organic principles, and salts of potassa, lime, and magnesia One of the 
crystallizable principles was inodorous and tasteless, the other inodorous but intensely 
bitter. The latter was obtained by a treatment similar to that of M. Labourdais, above 
described; but, after the evaporation of the tincture to a syrupy consistence, the process 
was continued by adding carbonate of potassa and afterwards ether, and agitating briskly. . 
The ethereal solution, rising to the surface on repose, was separated, and allowed to evapo- 
rate spontaneously. Crystals of the bitter principle were deposited. This is probably pure 
ilicin. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxviii. 314.) This species is said to possess the same medical 
properties as I. Aquifolium. 
Ilex Paraguaiensis, the I. Mate of St. Hilaire, yields the celebrated Paraguay tea, so ex- 
tensively consumed as a beverage in the interior of South America. It is a small tree or 
Bhrub growing wild along the streams in Paraguay, and also cultivated for the sake of its 
leaves, which are the part used. These are stripped from each plant every two or three 
years. (Parodi, Revista Farmaccutica de Buenos Aires, Jan. 1861.) They have a balsamic 
odour and bitter taste, and are usually at first disagreeable to the palate. They have a 
pleasant corroborant effect upon the stomach; but, when very largely taken, are said to 
purge and vomit. They are used in the form of infusion. According to Stenhouse, these 
leaves contain a principle identical with the caffein of tea and coffee; and like them con- 
tain also tannic acid; so that a close analogy exists in composition as well as effects be- 
tween these three products, so little allied botanically, and so far separated in place of 
growth. 
The Ilex vomitoria of Aiton and Linn., the I. Cassina of Michaux, is a handsome evergreen 
shrub, growing in our Southern States, and especially abundant along the southern coast 
of Florida. It is the cassina of the Indians, who formerly employed a decoction made from 
the toasted leaves, called black drink, both as a medicine, and as a drink of etiquette at 
their councils. It acts as an emetic. The leaves of the Ilex Dahoon of Walter and Michaux 
have similar properties, and are also said to have entered into the composition of the black 
drink. W. 
ILLICIUM FLORIDANUM. Florida Anise-tree. This is an evergreen shrub or small tree, 
growing in Florida, along the coast which bounds the Gulf of Mexico. The bark, leaves, 
and probably also the seed vessels, are endowed with a spicy odour and taste, analogous 
to those of anise, and might, perhaps, be used for the same purpose as that aromatic. It 
is a question worthy of investigation, whether the capsules of this plant might not be sub- 
stituted for those of the Illicium anisatum or star aniseed, which yield much of the oil used 
in this country under the name of oil of anise. (See Anisum.) Another species, I. parvi- 
florum, a shrub found by Michaux in the hilly regions of Georgia and Carolina, has a 
flavour closely resembling that of sassafras root. W. 
IMPATIENS FULVA and IMPATIENS PALLIDA. Touch-me-not. Jewel-weed. Balsam- 
weed. These two species of Impatiens are indigenous, annual, succulent plants, from two 
to four feet high, growing in low moist grounds in all parts of the Union, and flowering 
in July and August. They may be known by their tender, juicy, almost transparent stems; 
by their yellow flowers, which in one species are pale and sparingly punctate, in the 
other, are deeper coloured and crowded with dark spots; and by their capsules, which 
burst elastically, and curl up with the slightest pressure. They probably possess proper- 
ties similar to those of the I. Noli-me-tangere of Europe, which has an acrid burning taste, 
and, when taken internally, acts as an emetic, cathartic, and diuretic, though considered 
dangerous, and therefore little used. The late Dr. Kuan, of Philadelphia, informed us that 
he had employed with great advantage, in piles, an ointment made by boiling the American 
plants, in their recent state, in lard. The flowers may be used for dyeing yellow. The 
1. Balsamina or balsam-weed, touch-me-not, §c. of the gardens, resembles the other species 
in its effects. W. 
IMPERATOltlA OSTRUTIIIUM. Masterwort. An umbelliferous plant, indigenous in the 
south of Europe. The root has a strong odour, similar to that of angelica, and a pungent, 
biting, aromatic taste, attended with a flow of saliva, and followed by a glowing warmth 
which remains long in the mouth. A crystallizable, tasteless principle, called imperatorin, 
was extracted from the root by Wackenroder, by allowing the ethereal tincture to evapo- PART ill. 
Indelible InTc.—Indian Yellow. 
1535 
rate, and recrystallizing the residue from ether and alcohol. It was purified by com- 
bining it with lime, and decomposing the lime compound by acetic acid. R. Wagner has 
ascertained that this principle is identical with peucedanin, obtained from the root of Peuce- 
danum officinale, which was formerly employed in medicine, but is now quite out of use. 
The principle is composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, and is probably inert. (Chem. 
Gaz., Nov. 1, 1854.) The root of masterwort. was formerly considered alexipharmic, sto- 
machic, corroborant, emmenagogue, diuretic, and diaphoretic; and was used in a wide 
circle of complaints with so much supposed success as to have gained for it the title of 
divinum remedium. The fact, however, appears to be, that it is merely a stimulant aromatic, 
analogous but inferior to angelica, which has nearly superseded it in European practice. 
In this country it is unknown as a remedy, and its vulgar name has been applied to 
another plant. W. 
INDELIBLE INK. This is prepared by dissolving two drachms of nitrate of silver and 
a drachm of gum arabic in a fluidounce of distilled water, coloured with a little Indian 
ink. It is used for writing with a pen on linen and muslin. The place to be marked is 
prepared by being moistened with a solution of two ounces of crystallized carbonate of 
soda and two drachms of gum arabic in four fluidounees of water, and then dried. The 
alkaline solution decomposes the nitrate, and protects the cloth from the action of the 
free nitric acid. At the end of 24 hours, the spot is to be washed. 
Mr. Redwood, of London, proposes the following indelible ink, not requiring the use of 
a mordant. Dissolve an ounce of nitrate of silver, and an ounce and a half of crystallized 
carbonate of soda, separately, in distilled water, and mix the solutions. Wash the pre- 
cipitated carbonate of silver, and, having introduced it, still moist, into a Wedgwood mor- 
tar, rub it with eight scruples of tartaric acid, until effervescence ceases. Then add strong 
solution of ammonia, just sufficient to dissolve the tartrate of silver formed (about two 
fluidounees). Lastly, having mixed in half a fluidounce of archil, half an ounce of white 
sugar, and an ounce and a half of powdered gum arabic, add sufficient distilled water to 
make the whole measure six fluidounees. M. Soubeiran has given the following formula 
for indelible ink, which he considers simpler than Mr. Redwood’s. Dissolve 8 parts of 
crystallized nitrate of silver, 3 of nitrate of copper, and 4 of carbonate of soda, in 100 of 
water of ammonia, and add to the solution a little gum. The marks, produced by nitrate 
of silver on linen or muslin, may be completely removed by moistening them with a solu- 
tion of corrosive sublimate in 30 parts of distilled water, and afterwards washing them 
with ordinary water. 
M. Jules Guiller has devised the three following formulas for marking-inks for linen. 
1. Nitrate of silver 11 parts; distilled water 85; powdered gum arabic 20; carbonate of 
soda 22; solution of ammonia 20. Dissolve the carbonate of soda in the water, rubbing 
the solution with the gum, and the nitrate of silver in the ammonia. Mix the solutions, 
and gradually heat the mixture in a flask until it boils. This ink flows readily from a pen. 
2. Nitrate of silver 5 parts; distilled water 12; powdered gum arabic 5; carbonate of 
soda 7; solution of ammonia 10. The ingredients are treated as in the preceding formula, 
with the exception that the mixed solution is heated until it becomes of a very dark colour, 
and is reduced about one-twentieth in volume by evaporation. This ink is suitable for 
marking on linen with stamps. 3. Nitrate of silver 17 parts; distilled water 85; powdered 
gum arabic 20; carbonate of soda 22; solution of ammonia 42; sulphate of copper 33. 
Dissolve the nitrate of silver in the ammonia, the carbonate of soda in 25 parts of the 
water, and the gum in the remaining 60. Then mix with the soda solution, first the gum 
solution, and afterwards the silver solution. Lastly, add the sulphate of copper. This ink 
has a blue, instead of the dark-brown colour of the others. (See Am. Jvurn. of Pharm., 
Jan. 1853, p. 33.) 
Ilerberger recommends the following indelible ink for other purposes than marking 
linen. Dissolve wheat gluten, carefully freed from starch, in a little weak acetic acid, and 
dilute the solution with rain water, so as to have about the strength of wine vinegar. For 
every four ounces of the solution, add ten grains of the best lampblack, two grains of in- 
digo, and a little oil of cloves. This ink has a beautiful black colour, and cannot be re- 
moved by chlorine or dilute acids. (Chem. Gaz., No. 70, p. 394.) B. 
INDIAN RED. A purplish-red pigment, brought from the island of Ormus in the Per- 
sian Gulf. It is a red ochre, and owes its colour to the red oxide of iron. W. 
INDIAN YELLOW. This is a pigment manufactured from a yellow substance from 
India, called purree. Purree occurs in commerce in balls, of from three to four ounces in 
weight, which are dark-brown externally, and deep-orange within. It has a peculiar 
smell, closely resembling that of castor. This circumstance gave rise to the belief that it 
was of animal origin; but Dr. Stenhouse, wTho examined it chemically, finds that it con- 
tains no nitrogen, and from this and other facts is led to the opinion that it is a vegetable 
substance. Upon analysis he found it to consist of magnesia, united with a peculiar acid, 
which he names purreic (euxanthic acid of Erdmann), and which forms nearly one-half of 1536 
Indigo. 
PART III. 
the crude substance. Purreic acid is in small crystals of a light-yellow colour, dissolving 
sparingly in cold water, pretty readily in boiling water, and abundantly in hot alcohol. 
It has at first a sweetish and then a slightly bitter taste, and possesses, in appearance, 
considerable resemblance to berberina. When acted upon by boiling nitric acid, it is finally 
converted into a new acid, crystallizing in yellow needles, called by Erdmann, oxypicric 
acid. Purreic acid has the formula C40II,6O21. From his examination of purree, Dr. Sten- 
house concludes that it is probably the juice of some plant, saturated with magnesia, and 
boiled down to a solid consistence. (See his paper in the Philos. Mag., xxv. 321.) Other 
authorities conjecture that it is obtained from the deposit of camels’ urine, after the ani- 
mals have eaten the fruit of Mangostana mangi/er. (Chem. Gaz., April, 1855, p. 134.) B. 
INDIGO. This well-known and highly important dye-stuff is obtained from various 
species of Indigofer a, especially I. tinctoria, /. Anil, and I. argentea; and is said to be afforded 
also by other plants, such as Wrightia tinctoria, Polygonum tinctorium, Galega tinctoria, &c. 
It does not exist ready formed, but is generated, during fermentation, from another prin- 
ciple existing in the plant. This principle appears to have been isolated from Isatis tinc- 
toria by Ed. Schunck, who has named it indican. Through the agency of the mineral acids, 
it is resolved into indigo and sugar; and perhaps the same result may take place in fer- 
mentation. Indican is yellow, amorphous, of a nauseous bitter taste, with an acid re- 
action, and readily soluble in water, alcohol, and ether. It contains nitrogen. (Pharm. 
Journ., xv. 166.) In the process of preparing indigo, the plant is macerated in water; 
fermentation takes place; the liquor becomes of a greenish colour, and in due time is de- 
canted ; the colouring principle dissolved by the water absorbs oxygen from the air, and 
assumes a blue colour, becoming at the same time insoluble; a gradual precipitation takes 
place, favoured by the addition of lime-water or an alkaline solution; and finally the pre- 
cipitated matter, having been washed upon linen filters, is dried, shaped usually into cubi- 
cal masses, and sent into market. Most of the indigo consumed in dyeing is brought from 
the East Indies, though considerable quantities are imported also from Guatemala, and 
the northern coast of South America. It was formerly produced in our Southern States, 
especially Florida, where the plant grows luxuriantly; and it still appears to be prepared 
there for local use. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxvii. 473.) It is of an intensely blue colour, 
but assumes a coppery or bronze hue when rubbed by a smooth hard body, as the naiL 
Heated to 550°, it emits a reddish-violet vapour, which condenses in minute crystals. It 
is insoluble in water or alcohol, but is readily dissolved by sulphuric acid, which, without 
destroying its blue colour, so far alters its nature as to render it freely soluble in -water, 
and thus affords a convenient method of applying it to the purposes of dyeing. The solu- 
tion in sulphuric acid is kept in t he shops under the name of sulphate of indigo. According 
to Berzelius, indigo contains, among other ingredients, four distinct principles:—1. a 
substance resembling gluten; 2. a brown colouring substance; 3. a red colouring sub- 
stance; and 4. a blue colouring substance, which is the principle upon which its value as 
a material for djming depends, and which seldom constitutes so much as one-half of the 
indigo of commerce. This blue colouring matter is called indigotin. By deoxidizing agents 
it is deprived of its blue colour, which it recovers by exposure to the air, in consequence 
of the absorption of oxygen. Such is the case with the acid sulphites, and in a less degree 
with sulphurous acid. Certain volatile oils are said to have the same effect when boiled 
with tincture of indigo, as the oil of turpentine, peppermint, lavender, juniper, savine, or 
sage. [Journ. de Pharm., Nov. 1859, p. 399.) Chlorine also destroys the blue colour. M. 
Preisser has concluded, from an elaborate examination of the colouring principles of plants, 
1. that these principles are colourless in the young plants; 2. that they acquire colour by 
combination with oxygen; 3. that all the colouring matters, extracted from any one plant, 
are produced by the oxidation in different degrees of a single principle; 4. that they are 
deprived of colour by substances having a strong affinity for oxygen, and reacquire it by 
Contact with oxidizing bodies; and 5. that these colouring principles are acids, and the 
lakes which they form genuine salts. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., v. 263.) For modes of test- 
ing the value of any specimen of indigo, see the Chemical Gazette (vii. 463, viii. 443, and 
x. 159); the Chem. News (Dec. 12, 1862, p. 284); and the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (xxv. 223). 
Indigo has been proposed by E. Mulder as a test for glucose and fruit sugar, which have 
the property of changing the blue colour of indigo to white in the presence of the alkalies. 
To the solution to be examined he adds sulphate of indigo, previously treated with an excess 
of carbonate of potassa or soda. The addition of the carbonated alkali to the sulphate of 
indigo scarcely affects the blue colour even at a boiling heat; but if the solution contain 
glucose or fruit sugar, the blue colour disappears even in the cold, but more rapidly with 
heat. Common sugar has no such effect. (Journ. de Pharm., Sept. 1860, p. 179; from Archiv. 
der Pharm., civ. 268.) 
Indigo has been introduced to the notice of the profession as a remedial agent. It was at 
first employed chiefly by the German physicians, from whose statements our knowledge of 
its physiological action and therapeutical application was derived. Though without odour 
and taste, it is said, in most individuals, to produce nausea and vomiting, frequently to ope- PART III. 
Insect Powder.—Iodide of Ammonium. 
rate upon the bowels, giving a bluish-black colour to the stools, to render the urine of a dark- 
violet or dark-green colour, without increasing its quantity, and sometimes to stimulate th® 
secretory function of the uterus. From these statements it would appear to act as an irri- 
tant to the alimentary mucous membrane. The character of its general influence upon the 
system has not been well ascertained. In some instances, it is asserted to have been given 
in very large doses without any obvious effect. In connection with its influence, the curious 
fact may be stated, that a colouring matter has been occasionally found in the urine, either 
spontaneously deposited, or separated by the addition of strong muriatic acid, which in 
colour and other properties, especially that of being sublimable, bears a close resemblance 
to indigo, if it be not identical with it. (Chem. Gaz., July 15, 1854, p. 267.) The complaints 
in which indigo has been employed, with supposed advantage, are epilepsy, infantile con- 
vulsions, chorea, hysteria, and amenorrhoea. It is given, usually in connection with some 
aromatic powder, in the dose of a scruple three times a day, which may be increased to a 
drachm or more; and from half an ounce to an ounce has been employed daily for months 
together without disadvantage. (See Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., xx. 487.) The general failure 
of indigo to produce the desired effects in epilepsy, in which it had at one time consider- 
able credit as a remedy, has been ascribed to the use of too small doses. M. Ideler, of 
Berlin, began with about two drachms daily, and increased gradually to two ounces; but 
there was great difficulty in reconciling the patient to such doses, on account of the intense 
nausea produced. (B. and F. Medico-Chirurg. Rev., Am. ed., Jan. 1856, p. 198.) W. 
INSECT POWDER. Under the name of Persian or Caucasian Insect powder, a substance 
has recently attracted attention in Western Europe, which has long been in extensive use 
among the people of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, for the destruction of vermin. 
Among the people south of the Caucasus, it is called guirila. It consists of the flowers of 
the Pyrcthrum carneum, and P.roseum, growing upon the Caucasian mountains, at an eleva- 
tion of about a mile. It is a coarse powder, of a greenish colour, and pungent odour. It 
does not appear to be poisonous to man, though it is said to cause some confusion of head 
in those who sleep in close apartments where much of it is used. Upon the insects, how- 
ever, which are apt to infest the person of man and animals, as well as bedding and sleep- 
ing apartments, it acts very destructively, first stupefying and then killing them. It is 
scattered over the person, upon the beds, about apartments, &c., and is even employed as 
a dressing for ulcers and wounds to prevent the formation of maggots. It also answers to 
preserve dried insects and plants in cabinet collections. The demand for the powder having 
much increased of late, it is said to be adulterated with the leaves and stems of the plant. 
(Noodt, Buchner's Neues Repert., vii. 562.) W. 
IODATE OF POTASSA. This salt has been proposed as a substitute for the chlorate 
of potassa. MM. Demarquay and Custin propose the following mode of preparation. Take 
of iodine and chlorate of potassa, each, one part, and mix them with five or six parts of 
water, previously acidulated with a few drops of nitric acid, and heated to ebullition. As 
soon as chlorine ceases to escape, treat the liquid with a concentrated solution of chloride 
of barium. Wash with distilled water, and decompose with dilute sulphuric acid the iodate 
of baryta precipitated; filter to separate the sulphate of baryta; and slowly evaporate the 
solution. Wash with distilled water the crystals of iodic acid that are formed, dissolve 
them in boiling distilled water, and saturate with bicarbonate of potassa. On cooling, the 
iodate is deposited in small crystals. The authors above mentioned have employed the 
iodate of potassa in all those cases of ulcerated and otherwise diseased mucous membrane 
of the mouth and fauces, in which the chlorate is usually prescribed, and have found it to 
produce the same curative effects more quickly, more energetically, and in smaller dose. 
In the healthy state, it acts remarkably on the pharyngeal and buccal mucous membrane, 
producing, in the quantity of 20 or 30 grains, a peculiar sense of constriction, and appear- 
ing considerably to diminish the mucous secretion. The diseases in which they have found 
it specially beneficial are diphtheria, mercurial affection of the mouth, and gangrenous 
stomatitis. The dose used by them was from four to eight grains. (Dorvault’s Rev. Pharm., 
1858, p. 25.) W. 
IODIDE OF AMMONIUM. Ammonii lodidum. Hydriodate of Ammonia. This salt is pre- 
pared in the following method by Mr. John A. Spencer, of London. Add to a portion of 
iodine, placed in a flask with a little water, a solution of hydrosulphuret of ammonia, 
until the mixture loses its red colour, and is turbid from the separation ©>f sulphur only. 
Shake the flask, which causes the sulphur, for the most part, to agglomerate; and, having 
poured off the liquid, boil it until all odour of sulphuretted hydrogen and of ammonia is 
ost. Then filter the liquid, and, constantly stirring, evaporate it, first with a naked 
flame until it becomes pasty, and then in a water-bath until it forms a dry salt. Dr. Ja- 
cobson prepares the salt by dissolving equiv. weights of pure iodide of potassium and 
pure sulphate of ammonia, severally, in the smallest quantity of boiling distilled water, 
mixing and stirring the solutions, and, after the liquid has cooled, adding water con- 
taining 15 per cent, of alcohol, and setting it aside for 12 hours. Sulphate of potassa is 1538 
Iodide of Antimony.—Iodide of Sodium. 
PART III. 
precipitate J; and the liquor, containing iodide of ammonium in solution, is filtered and 
evaporated to a pellicle. The crystals of the iodide which form are drained; and the 
mother-liquor and sulphate of potassa may be made to yield a further supply by treating 
them with dilute alcohol and evaporating. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm , May, 1864, p. 240.) 
Iodide of ammonium is a crystalline powder, soluble in water, and of a taste like that 
of iodide of potassium, but a little more pungent. It is beautifully white at first, but 
becomes, in a few weeks, yellowish, and at last brown. It may, however, be easily re- 
stored by dissolving the coloured salt in water, treating the solution with a little sulphu- 
retted hydrogen water, until it is rendered colourless, filtering, and evaporating to dryness. 
(SeeMw. Journ. of Pharm., March, 1853, p. 134.) This salt has been used externally as a 
substitute for iodide of potassium, lly Dr. Pennock it is considered as a good remedy in 
certain cases of lepra and psoriasis, in the form of ointment, applied by friction in the 
quantity of half an ounce, morning and evening. The proportions employed are from a 
scruple to a drachm of the salt to an ounce of lard; the weaker preparation being used 
when the disease is recent, the stronger when it is chronic. As the iodide is decomposed by 
the air, the ointment should be kept in well-stopped bottles. Iodide of ammonium may be 
used internally; in which case it acts as a resolvent, and sometimes as a diuretic; its effects 
resembling those of iodide of potassium. Dr. B. AV. Richardson, of London, has prescribed 
it, in the dose of from one to three grains, with considerable success, in secondary syphilis, 
chronic rheumatism, incipient phthisis, and in a variety of forms of scrofulous disorder, 
attended with glandular enlargements. Dr. Richardson found a liniment, made by dis- 
solving half a drachm of the iodide in an ounce of glycerin, very efficacious in enlarged 
tonsils, applied every night with a large camel’s hair brush. B. 
IODIDE OF ANTIMONY. Antimonii Iodidum. Teriodide of Antimony. According to Mr. 
AY. Copney, of London, this iodide may be conveniently prepared by gently heating, in a 
Florence flask, metallic antimony and iodine, in the proportion of one eq. to three. The 
elements combine with sudden heat and liquefaction, and, upon the withdrawal of the 
heat, the iodide formed solidifies, and is removed from the flask by breaking it. Iodide of 
antimony, as thus prepared, forms a somewhat crystalline, foliated mass, which, when pul- 
verized, yields a deep orange-red powder. By the action of water it is decomposed. It has 
been tried as an alterative in a dose varying from a quarter of a grain to a grain, given in 
the form of pill. B. 
IODIDE OF BARIUM. Barii Iodidum. This compound may be formed by double de- 
composition, by adding native carbonate of baryta in powder to a boiling solution of 
iodide of iron. M. Henry, jun., obtained it by decomposing a solution of sulphuret of ba- 
rium (seepage 1022) by a concentrated alcoholic solution of iodine. Sulphur is precipitated, 
which is separated by filtration, and iodide of barium formed in solution, from which it is 
obtained in the solid state by rapid evaporation to dryness. Iodide of barium crystallizes 
in small, colourless needles, which deliquesce slightly, and are very soluble in water. The 
solution promptly undergoes decomposition by exposure to the air, carbonate of baryta 
being precipitated, and iodine set free, which colours the solution. It has been used with 
advantage by Jahn, as an alterative, in scrofulous affections and morbid growths. Lugol 
employed it in scrofulous enlargements. The dose is the eighth of a grain three times a 
day, gradually increased to three grains. Biett applied it to scrofulous swellings in the 
form of ointment, made with four grains of the iodide to an ounce of lard. B. 
IODIDE OF SILVER. Argenti Iodidum. This compound is formed by double decomposi- 
tion, by adding a solution of iodide of potassium to one of nitrate of silver. It is a green- 
ish-yellow powder, nearly insoluble in ammonia. It possesses the general medical proper- 
ties of nitrate of silver, and, according to Dr. Charles Patterson, of Dublin, may be used 
without any danger of producing the discoloration of skin which sometimes follows the 
use of that salt. Dr. Patterson found it generally successful in curing the stomach affec- 
tions of the Irish peasantry, in the treatment of which nitrate of silver had previously 
proved useful. He succeeded with it in curing several cases of hooping-cough in a short 
time, and in greatly relieving a case of dysmeuorrhoea of three years’ standing. Its effects 
in epilepsy were least satisfactory. The dose is one or two grains, three times a day, given 
in the form of pill; for children, from the eighth to the fourth of a grain, according to 
the age. * B. 
IODIDE OF SODIUM. Sodii Iodidum. This iodide may be prepared either by saturating 
a solution of caustic soda with iodine, or by double decomposition between iodide of iron 
and carbonate of soda, precisely as iodide of potassium is obtained by the corresponding 
processes for that salt. [See page 1296.) As only small quantities are likely to be wanted 
as a medicine, the latter process is preferable; being more easily conducted on a small 
scale. It is a very soluble white salt, crystallizing in anhydrous cubes from a hot solution, 
and in oblique rhombic prisms, with four eqs. of water, by spontaneous evaporation. Io- 
dide of sodium has the same therapeutic effects, and is used in the same diseases as iodide 
of potassium. It is said to be better borne than the latter iodide. In Italy it has been used PART HI. 
Iodide of Starch.—Iodide of Zinc. 
with remarkable success in constitutional syphilis. The dose is twenty grains, gradually 
increased to forty, three times a day, dissolved in three fluidounces of water. (See Prof. 
Procter’s paper on the preparation of this iodide, in the Am. Journ. of Pharm., July, 1854, 
p. 305.) B. 
IODIDE OF STARCH. Dr. Andrew Buchanan, of Glasgow, proposed this compound as 
a means of administering iodine in large doses without causing irritation of the stomach. 
He prepares it by triturating twenty four grains of iodine with a little water, adding gra- 
dually an ounce of very finely powdered starch, and continuing the trituration until the 
compound assumes a uniform blue colour. The iodide is then dried by a gentle heat, and 
kept in a well-stopped bottle. The dose is a heaped teaspoonful, given in water gruel, three 
times a day, and afterwards increased to a tablespoonful. No nicety is necessary in ap- 
portioning the dose. In some cases Dr. Buchanan has given half-ounce doses of the iodide 
three times a day, immediately increased to an ounce. Thus administered iodine produces, 
according to this writer, little or no irritation of the alimentary canal, but is freely ab- 
sorbed, as is proved by its detection in large quantity in the secretions. Dr. Buchanan 
thinks that, by means of the starch, the iodine is converted into hydriodic acid, and in 
this state enters the circulation. Prof. John C. Dalton, of New York, found that nearly all 
the animal fluids decompose iodide of starch, and destroy its blue colour. (Am. Journ. of 
Med. Sci., April, 1856, p. 327.) This result is owing, no doubt, to the alkaline nature of 
most of the animal fluids, especially those of the duodenum. The iodine, being saturated 
with the alkali of the fluids, is no longer in the free state, the condition necessary to en- 
able the starch to form the blue compound with it. In other words, the starch compound 
is decomposed, and the starch set free. He prefers the iodide of starch to any other pre- 
paration of iodine for obtaining the alterative apart from the irritant effects of this sub- 
stance. (Ibid , xx. 213 and 217.) See Diluted Hydriodic Acid, page 922. 
It is a point of importance to have the iodide of starch soluble in water. M. Magnes- 
Lahens, of Toulouse, gained this advantage by his original process of roasting the starch 
moderately, whereby it is converted into dextrin, before it is mixed with the iodine. Sub- 
sequently he abandoned the use of torrefied starch, and now contents himself with making 
an intimate mixture of iodine and starch, slightly moistened, Avhich he subjects to the heat 
of a water-bath, until it is converted into the iodide of starch, forming a solution with wa- 
ter of a magnificent blue colour. The heat, thus regulated, disaggregates the starch, with- 
out completely transforming it into dextrin, and gives a preparation, in the form of a black 
powder, resembling the soluble iodide of starch, prepared by M. Quesneville by a secret 
process. M. Seput, of Constantinople, has also given a formula for this soluble iodide, and 
for a syrup to be made from it. (See Journ. de Pharm., Mars, 1852, p. 202.) M. Soubeiran 
reported upon these preparations to the Paris Society of Pharmacy, and deemed them 
ineligible on account of their variable strength in iodine, arising from the greater or less 
loss of this element during the necessary exposure to heat. Nevertheless, as the syrup is 
called for, he recommended the following process for making it, availing himself of the ob- 
servations of his predecessors, which he had occasion to cite in his report. The quantities 
of the ingredients are here stated in French grammes, each of which weighs about fifteen 
grains. Triturate thoroughly, in a porcelain mortar, 36 grammes of nitric starch with 
grammes of iodine, dissolved in three times its weight of ether, and added in successive 
portions, until, after the evaporation of the greater part of the ether, a blue powder re- 
mains. Introduce this into a weighed, stoppered flask, and, having added 520 grammes of 
water, expose the whole to the heat of a water-bath, with the stopper at first removed, in 
order to complete the dissipation of the ether. Afterwards the stopper is replaced, being 
loosely tied with a packthread, so as to permit of its being raised without being driven out; 
and the heat is continued for about an hour and a half, when the iodide of starch will be 
completely formed. The flask is then weighed, and a quantity of water added to it, equal 
to that lost by evaporation. Lastly, 1040 grammes of sugar are added to the liquid, and 
dissolved by a gentle heat. By this formula a syrup is prepared, containing a quarter of 
one per cent, of iodine, a small part of which is in the state of hydriodic acid. The nitric 
starch is used by M. Soubeiran, because it unites with the iodine in much less time than the 
ordinary starch. It is made by mixing ordinary starch, in the cold, with 150 parts of wa- 
ter, to which 1 part of nitric acid has been added, and allowing the whole to dry in the 
open air. Three grains of this syrup, diluted with a pint of water, communicate to the 
liquid a sensible blue tint. This test may serve to determine whether the preparation is of 
full strength. (Journ. de Pharm., May, 1852, p. 329.) The dose of the syrup is from one to 
four tablespoonfuls a day. B. 
IODIDE OF ZINC. Zinci Iodidum. This iodide may be formed by digesting an excess 
of zinc, in small pieces, with iodine diffused in water. Combination takes place, and, by 
evaporation, a deliquescent, very soluble saline mass is obtained, having a metallic styptic 
taste, resembling that of sulphate of zinc. It may also be obtained by heating in a matrass 
a mixture of 20 parts of zinc and 170 of iodine, and subliming into a vial. When thus pre- 1540 
Iodo-chlorides of Mercury.—Iodoform. 
PART III. 
pared, it is in the form of white needles. This salt is very liable to undergo spontaneous 
decomposition 
Iodide of zinc is tonic, astringent, and antispasmodic. In 1853, Dr. Barlow tried it in 
Guy’s Hospital, in cases of chorea, scrofula, cachexia, and some forms of hysteria, with 
favourable results. {Med. Times and Gaz., Nov. 1853, p. 501.) Since then a further expe- 
rience has confirmed him in his first estimate of its value. He considers it particularly ap- 
plicable to the treatment of chorea, when complicated with scrofula. {Ibid., August, 1857, 
p. 195.) The best form of administration is syrup, to protect it from change, originally pro- 
posed by the late Dr. A. T. Thomson, and made on the same plan as the syrup of iodide of 
iron. (See page 1369.) Mr. A. B. Taylor, of Philadelphia, proposes to form it by gently 
heating, in an evaporating dish, twelve drachms and two scruples of iodine, and an ounce of 
finely granulated zinc, with nine fluidounces of water, until they unite, filtering the solution, 
while hot, on a pound (avoird.) of sugar, contained in a wide-mouthed bottle holding a little 
more than a pint, and adding, through the filter, sufficient water to make the whole measure 
a pint. This syrup is perfectly clear and colourless, is styptic to the taste, and contains a 
drachm of iodide of zinc in each fluidounce. {Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 1852, p. 33.) The 
dose of this syrup is from 20 to 50 drops, sufficiently diluted with water, three times a day. 
Iodide of zinc has been used for many years as an external application. Dr. J. J. Ross, 
of Scotland, employed a solution, containing from 10 to 30 grains to the fluidounce of water, 
with great advantage in enlarged tonsils, applied by means of a piece of sponge tied to a quill. 
After the use of the solution for some time, he applied the iodide, rendered liquid by de- 
liquescence, by means of a camel’s hair brush. A solution containing one or two grains to 
the fluidounce of water has been used as an astringent injection ip gonorrhoea. An oint- 
ment, made with a drachm of the iodide to an ounce of lard, has been substituted by Dr. 
Ure for the ointment of iodide of potassium in the treatment of tumours, applied in the 
quantity of a drachm twice a day. B. 
IODO-CHLORIDES OF MERCURY. Iodides of Calomel. These compounds, called sub- 
iodide and protiodide of calomel, were brought forward as remedies by M. Boutigny in 
1847. To prepare the former, one eq. of iodine and two eqs. of calomel are taken; the calo- 
mel is introduced into a matrass, and gradually heated, with agitation, till it begins to sub- 
lime; then the iodine is added in small quantities at a time. The combination takes place 
with some sound, but without sensible loss of iodine. The second compound is prepared 
in the same mode precisely, one eq. of calomel only being used. {Arch. G6n., Janv. 1857, 
p. 91.) M. J. Perrens proposes to make them, without the assistance of heat, by rubbing 
up, in a mortar, the constituents, taken in the proper equivalent quantities. Though called 
iodides of calomel, the protiodide is a mixture or combination of biniodide and bichloride 
of mercury, and the subiodide the same, with an excess of calomel. Both these substances 
are active preparations, and have been employed with success in syphilitic, scrofulous, and 
cancerous affections. The subiodide may be given in pill, in the dose of the twenty-fifth of 
a grain. The ointment is formed of one part of the subiodide to eighty of lard. It has been 
used by M. Rocliard with advantage in acne rosacea, applied by daily frictions, and as a 
local application in engorgements of the neck of the uterus. The protiodide is used exter- 
nally only, and should be applied with caution. It acts as a caustic, and may be cast into 
sticks, like nitrate of silver. An ointment may be made of it, by rubbing one part with 
twenty of fresh lard. A portion of the ointment, the size of a large pea, may be rubbed 
daily on a scrofulous tumour, in the armpits, or on the inner part of the thigh. B. 
IODOFORM. Iodoformum. Teriodide of Formyl. (C2HI3.) This compound, discovered by 
S6rullas in 1822, was introduced as a remedy, about the year 1837, by Dr. R. M. Glover, of 
London, and M. Bouchardat, of Paris. It may be obtained, according to the process of MM. 
Corn61is and Gille, of Liege, by adding to an alcoholic solution of iodide of potassium, 
heated to 104°, chlorinated lime, in successive portions, stirring after each addition, until 
the liquid ceases to assume a dark-red colour. On cooling a confused mass of crystals is 
deposited, consisting of iodoform and iodate of lime. By treating these with boiling alco- 
hol of 90 per cent., the iodoform alone is dissolved; and the alcoholic solution, as it cools, 
deposits the iodoform in crystals. {Journ. de Pharm., Sept. 1852, p. 196.) It is in the form 
of small, pearly, yellow crystals, having a strong saffron-like odour, and sweet taste, in- 
soluble in water, but readily soluble in alcohol and ether. It is a volatile substance, soft 
to the touch, and totally devoid of corrosive properties. Given to the inferior animals it 
destroys them in a smaller dose than iodine does, producing depression, followed by a 
stage of excitement, with convulsions, contractions, &c. Though containing 29 parts in 30 
)f its weight of iodine, it has not the least local irritant action. In the form of vapour, it 
possesses ansesthetic properties, but inferior to those of chloroform. On account of its large 
proportion of iodine, it is supposed to be capable of replacing that element and the iodides 
as a remedy, with the advantages of being non-irritant, and of having an organic nature, 
qualities which favour its absorption and assimilation. Besides the virtues it possesses in 
common with iodine, it is capable of acting as an anodyne, and is useful in neuralgic af- 
fections. The principal diseases in which it has been tried are goitre, rickets, scrofula, PART III. 
Iodohydrargyrate of Potassium. 
1541 
phthisis, amenorrhcea, syphilis, glandular tumours, and cutaneous eruptions. In chronic 
enlargements of the prostate gland, M. Moretin recommends the employment of iodoform 
as a suppository, made of a scruple of iodoform to an ounce of cocoa butter. The dose of 
iodoform is from one to three grains, three times a day, given in the form of pill. In th« 
treatment of cutaneous diseases and tumours, it is applied in the form of ointment, made 
by mixing from half a drachm to a drachm with an ounce of lard. _ B. 
IODOH YDRAltGYRATE OF POTASSIUM. It has been found by chemists that different 
iodides will unite together in different proportions, forming compounds which are called 
by Berzelius double iodides. Bonsdorff, of Finland, and Dr. Hare, of this city, with greater 
reason, have viewed these combinations as a peculiar kind of salts, in which one of the 
iodides performs the p-art of an acid, the other of a base. The substance, the name of which 
is placed at the head of this article, is one of these compounds, and was presented to the 
notice of the profession, as a new remedy of remarkable powers, in February, 1834, by 
Dr. William Channing, of New York. (Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., xiii. 388.) It consists of bin- 
iodide of mercury acting as an acid, and iodide of potassium as a base. But as these iodides 
combine in at least two proportions, it is necessary to indicate the particular combination 
employed by Dr. Channing. 
In a difficult case of pectoral disease, in which the ordinary remedies had failed, Dr. 
Channing determined to make trial of one of the iodides of mercury. He selected the bin- 
iodide; and, in order to have it in the liquid form, as it is insoluble in water, he dissolved 
it in a solution of the iodide of potassium. He was struck with the chemical changes which 
the compound solution underwent; and, on pursuing his observations, found that the two 
iodides- really united by the intervention of the water; for, with the aid of an operative 
chemist, he was enabled by evaporation to obtain them in union, in the form of straw- 
coloured, needleform, deliquescent crystals. He next found, upon consulting the European 
authorities, that Bonsdorff, who had taken the lead in investigating similar compounds, 
had discovered the salt in 1826. 
Dr. Channing analyzed the salt with which he experimented, and found that it consisted 
of one eq. of biniodide of mercury, and two of iodide of potassium. This he determined by 
ascertaining that an aqueous solution of a little more than eight grains of iodide of potas- 
sium would dissolve, and combine with, eleven grains of biniodide of mercury, without being 
liable to decomposition when largely diluted with water. The combination here indicated 
corresponds with one of the double iodides of mercury and potassium, described by The- 
nard. (Traite de Chimie, 6&me ed., iii. 493.) The other is represented by this author as con- 
sisting of a single eq. of each iodide. When copiously diluted with water, every two eqs. of 
this iodide let fall one eq. of the mercurial iodide; thus converting the salt into the medi- 
cinal double iodide. The same decomposition by means of water is noticed by Dr. Channing. 
For remarks on these double iodides see a paper by Mr. Ambrose Smith, Am. Journ. oj 
Pharm. (xii. 265). 
Dr. Channing attributes to this preparation the effects of diffusing excitement, and equal- 
izing the circulation. In the different cases in which he tried it, he thought he saw evidence 
of its favourable influence on the lungs, in allaying cough and improving expectoration; ou 
the alimentary canal, in restoring the healthy secretions; on the kidneys, in reviving their 
activity; on the skin and cellular tissue, in cicatrizing superficial ulcerations; and on the 
absorbent and exhalant systems, in causing the disappearance of effused fluid. The prin- 
cipal diseases in which he found it useful were chronic bronchitis, hooping cough, tonsillitis, 
chronic gastro-enteritis, dyspepsia, ascites, anasarca, amenorrhoea, leucorrhcea, eruptions, 
and scrofula. In some cases of phthisis, it mitigated the symptoms, and appeared to prolong 
life. Dr. Hildreth, of Ohio, has tried the preparation, and reports favourably of its effects 
in functional dyspepsia, enlargement of the spleen, amenorrhoea, dysmenorrhoea, leucorrhoea, 
scrofulous affections, ascites, and general dropsy. (Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., xxvi. 312.) 
The average dose of the remedy may be stated at the twelfth of a grain three times a 
day; but in peculiar constitutions, not more than the forty-eighth, the ninety-sixth, or the 
two hundredth of a grain daily can be borne. For the convenience of physicians who may 
wish to make trial of the remedy, we give the following formula, deduced from the state- 
ments in Dr. Channing’s paper.—Take of iodide of potassium three and a half grains; bin- 
iodide of mercury (red iodide) four and a half grains; distilled water a fluidounce. Dissolve 
first the iodide of potassium and then the biniodide of mercury in the water. The compound 
salt in this solution may be assumed to amount to eight grains, though there is a small ex- 
cess of the iodide of potassium. Of this solution, from two to five drops, containing from 
the thirtieth to the twelfth of a grain, may be given three times a day. It may be adminis- 
tered in the compound syrup of sarsaparilla, which does not decompose it. B. 
The iodo-hydrargyrate of potassium was suggested by F. L. Winckler as a qualitative test 
of the organic alkaloids, with which it produces insoluble precipitates; and subsequently it 
has been used by Prof. F. F. Mayer, of New York, for determining the quantity of these alka- 
loids in any mixture containing them. Prof. Mayer employs, for volumetric analysis, a 
solution made with 13 546 grammes of corrosive sublimate, 49-8 grammes of iodide of po- 1542 
Iodo- Tannin.—Jeffersonia Diphylla. 
PART III. 
tassium and a litre of distilled water. For the value, in our own weights and measures, of 
the gramme and litre, the reader is referred to Tables in the Appendix of this work. Of the 
solution thus made one cubic centimeter precipitates, of 
Aconitia 0 0267 grammes. 
Atropia 0 0145 “ 
Narcotina... 0-0213 “ 
Strychnia... 0-0167 “ 
Brucia 0 0233 grammes. 
Veratria.... 0-0269 “ 
Morphia.... 0-0200 “ 
Conia 0-00416 “ 
Nicotia.... 0-00405 grammes. 
Quinia 0 0108 “ 
Cinchonia 0 0102 “ 
Quinidia... 0 0120 “ 
The resulting precipitates are hydriodates of the alkaloids, respectively, with iodide of 
mercury. They form in acid, neutral, and feebly alkaline liquids, except with the presence 
of alcohol and acetic acid, by which they are dissolved. For those who may not possess the 
requisite instruments. Prof. Mayer gives the following table, having reference to ordinary 
officinal weights. The solutiou is now made with 16-25 grains of corrosive sublimate, 100 
grains of iodide of potassium, and enough distilled water to make altogether 12-5 troy- 
ounces, or 6000 grains. Of this solution 10 grains will precipitate, of 
Aconitia 0-0534 grains. 
Atropia 0-0289 “ 
Sulphate ofl 0.0389 „ . 
atropia... J 
Strychnia 0-0334 “ 
Brucia 0-0466 “ 
Morphia 0-0400 “ 
Sulphate ofl 0.0500 ins. 
morphia. J e 
Conia 0-0083 “ 
Nicotia 0-0081 “ 
Quinia 0-0216 “ 
Sulphate ofl 0.0296 « 
quinia.... / 
Cinchonia 0-0204 grains. 
Sulphate ofl 0.025{) M 
cinchonia j 
Quinidia 0-0240 “ 
Sulphate of 1 0.0984 «< 
quinidia . / 
Veratria 0 0538 “ 
For further observations upon Prof. Mayer’s method of effecting the assay of the alka- 
loids, the reader is referred to the American Journal of Pharmacy (Jan. 1863, p. 20). W. 
IODO-TANNIN. The solution of iodine in water, made with the assistance of tannic acid, 
called iodo-tannin, has been noticed elsewhere in this work. (Seepages 470 and 941.) M. 
Guilliermond, of Lyons, makes a syrup of this solution, containing about a grain of iodine 
to the fluidounce, of which the dose is a tablespoonful, gradually increased. B. 
IONIDIUM MARCUCCI. This name has been conferred by Dr. Bancroft upon a South 
American plant, supposed to be the source of a medicine used with great asserted advantage 
in Maracaibo and elsewhere, in some of the horrible cutaneous affections, especially ele- 
phantiasis, to which the inhabitants of the tropical regions of this continent are subject. 
A specimen, however, received from Dr. Bancroft, was found by Sir W. Hooker to be identi- 
cal with the Ionidium parviflorum of Ventinat.. The medicine is called by the Indians cuichun- 
chulli, and grows in the neighbourhood of Riobamba, a small town at the foot of the great 
mountain of Chimborazo. It is said to be diaphoretic, diuretic, occasionally sialagogue, and in 
large doses emetic and cathartic. The root is the part used. It is highly probable that other 
vegetable emeto-cathartics, having the same property of stimulating the secretions, would 
be found equally effectual. For an account of what is known in relation to this medicine, 
the reader is referred to a paper by Dr. Bancroft, republished in the Am. Journ. of Tharm. 
(iii. p. 125). W. 
ISATIS TINCTORIA. Wood. Pastel. A biennial plant, indigenous in Europe, where it is 
also cultivated. The leaves have a fugitive pungent odour, and an acrid very durable taste, 
and have been used in scorbutic affections, jaundice, and other complaints; but the plant 
is valuable only as the source of a blue dye-stuff’, called woad, which has been long employed 
in Europe, though at present nearly superseded by indigo. The leaves are prepared by 
grinding them to a paste, which is made into balls, placed in heaps, and allowed to ferment. 
When the fermentation is at an end, the mass falls into a coarse powder, which is the dye- 
stuff in question. W. 
JEFFERSONIA DIPIIYLLA. Twin-leaf. This is a small, indigenous, herbaceous, peren- 
nial plant, belonging to the class and order Octandria Monogynia, and natural order Ber- 
beridaceae. From a knotty rhizoma, furnished with long radicles, arise a naked one-flowered 
scape about a foot in height, and leaves which stand in pairs on long footstalks. The flower 
is white, with a four-leaved coloured calyx, and eight petals; and the fruit is a one-celled, 
obovate, substipitatc capsule, dehiscent near the top, with many oblong seeds, united at the 
base. The plant grows in the Middle and Western States. The rhizoma, which, with the 
rootlets attached, is the part used, has a brownish-yellow colour, and a bitter, acrid taste, 
which resides in its cortical part, the inuer portion being nearly tasteless. It has been ana- 
lyzed by Mr. E. S. Wayne, of Cincinnati, and found to contain albumen, gum, tannic acid, 
starch, pectin, a fatty resin, hard resin, sugar, lignin, and a peculiar acrid principle, having 
acid properties and resembling polygalic acid, in which it is supposed that the virtues of the 
root reside. The root is said to be emetic in large doses, tonic and expectorant in smaller 
doses, and not unlike seneka, as a substitute for which it is sometimes used. (Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., xxvii. 1.) According to Prof. Mayer, of N. York, the rhizoma of this plant contains 
a small quantity of berberina, and another alkaloid which is white and in large proportion, 
as may be inferred from the reactions noticed by Mr. Bentley, of London. The pe tin of 
Mr. Wayne he considers to be saponin. (Am. Journ. of Pharm.. March, 1863, p. 39.) W. PART III. 
Jellies.—Labdanum. 
1543 
JELLIES. The form of Jelly is sometimes a convenient method of administering medi- 
cines, especially the fixed oils, as cod-liver oil and castor oil, which are thus rendered lest* 
adhesive to the mouth and fauces, and less liable to leave that disagreeable impression on 
the palate behind them, which rertders such medicines often so offensive that it becomes 
difficult to administer them. While preparing the jelly, opportunity is also offered for incor- 
porating sugar and aromatics so as very much to cover the offensive taste and odour of the 
oil. The same remarks are applicable to the resinous juices, as copaiba and some varieties 
of turpentine, liquid balsam of tolu, &c. The following is a formula recommended by Messrs. 
Ed. Parrish and Wm: C. Bakes. “Take of the fixed oil or liquid resin a troy ounce; honey, 
syrup, each, half a troyounce; gum arabic, in powder, two drachms; Russian isinglass forty 
grains; orange-fiower water six Jiuidrachms. Dissolve the isinglass, with the aid of heat, in 
half a fluidounce of the orange-flower water, replacing the water as it evaporates. Triturate 
the other ingredients, with the remainder of the orange-flower water, into a homogeneous 
mass in a warmed mortar, then add the hot solution of isinglass, stir the mixture as it cools, 
and set it aside to gelatinize.” [Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 1861, p. 4.) Any other aromatic 
water may be substituted for that of the orange flower, and cinnamon water diluted xVith an 
equal measure of pure water would probably better cover the offensive taste. In refer- 
ence to cod-liver oil, the bitter-almond or cherry-laurel water would be still more effectual; 
care, however, being taken in this case, that the water is duly diluted, lest too large a dose 
of it might be administered. W. 
KALMIA LATIFOLIA. Laurel. Mountain Laurel. Broad-leafed Laurel. Calico-bush. This 
well-known evergreen inhabits all sections of the United States, being especially abundant 
on the sides of hills and mountains, which it adorns in summer with its elegant flowers. It 
is from three to ten feet in height. The leaves are possessed of poisonous, narcotic pro- 
perties, and have been used in medicine. They have been analyzed by Mr. Charles Bullock, 
of Philadelphia, and found to contain gum, tannic acid, resin, chlorophyll, fatty matter, a 
substance resembling mannite, an acrid principle, wax, extractive, albumen, yellow colour- 
ing matter, lignin, and salts of pot.assa, lime, and iron. [Am. Journ. of Pharm., xx. 264.) 
They are said to prove fatal to sheep and some other animals, but are eaten with impunity 
by deer, goats, and partridges. Dr. Barton states, in his “Collections,” that the Indians 
sometimes use a decoction of the leaves to destroy themselves. It is said that death has 
been occasioned by eating the flesh of partridges and pheasants which have fed upon them 
during winter. Dr. N. Shoemaker published, in the North American Medical and Surgical 
Journal, two cases of poisoning which resulted from eating a pheasant, in the craw of 
which laurel leaves were found. The symptoms were nausea, temporary blindness, pain 
in the head, dyspnoea, pallid countenance, cold extremities, and a very feeble pulse, which 
in one case was for some time absent at the wrist, in the other beat only forty strokes in 
the minute. In both cases relief was afforded by vomiting, produced by a tablespoonful 
of flour of mustard mixed with warm water. A case of similar poisoning is related in the 
Edinburgh Medical Journal (May, 1856, p. 1014), in which epigastric tension and uneasi- 
ness, glowing heat of the head, loss of sight, coldness of the extremities, general prostra- 
tion, and twitchings of the muscles were the prominent symptoms, followed by nausea 
and full vomiting, which afforded some relief. But feelings of formication and weakness 
of the limbs, with great prostration of the circulation, remained for several hours, requir- 
ing the use of stimulants. 
Dr. Barton was informed that the powdered leaves were employed by an empiric with 
success in certain stages of fever; and Dr. Thomas, in an inaugural dissertation, published 
at Philadelphia, A. D. 1802, states that an obstinate case of diarrhoea was cured by a decoc- 
tion, made by boiling an ounce of the leaves in eight ounces of water down to four ounces. 
Thirty drops were given six times a day; but this quantity produced vertigo, and the dose 
was afterwards repeated only four times daily. The leaves are said to have been used 
advantageously in syphilis. Externally applied, in the shape of ointment or decoction, 
they have been found useful in tinea capitis, psora, and other cutaneous affections; but 
caution is necessary in their application, as, according to Dr. Barton, nervous symptoms 
have resulted from the external use of the decoction. Dr. Bigelow has seen the recently 
powdered leaves given in doses of from ten to twenty grains, without perceptible effect. 
It is probable that other species of Kalmia, as K. angustifolia or sheep-laurel, and K.glauca 
or swamp-laurel, have properties identical with those of K. latifolia. A decoction of the 
leaves of K. angustifolia is used by the negroes of North Carolina as a wash for an ulcer- 
ative affection between the toes. W. 
LABDANUM. Jjadanum. A resinous substance, obtained from various species of Cistus, 
especially C. Creiicus, C. ladaniferus, and C. laurifolius, small evergreen shrubs, inhabiting 
the islands of the Grecian Archipelago, and the different countries bordering on the Medi- 
terranean. tipon the leaves and branches of these shrubs a juice exudes, which is collected 
by means of an instrument resembling a rake, with leather thongs instead of teeth, which 
is drawn over the plant. The juice adheres to the pieces of leather, and is afterwards 
separated. It is said that labdanum was formerly collected by combing the beards of goats Labdanum.—Lac. 
PART III. 
which bad been browsing upon the leaves of the cistus; and Landerer states tliat it is at 
the present time gathered in the same way in Cyprus from sheep, whose fleeces become 
loaded with it while they are pasturing. (See Pharm. Journ., xi. 6.) It comes chiefly 
from the Grecian Islands. Two varieties exist in commerce. The purest labdanum is in 
masses of various sizes, sometimes weighing several pounds, enclosed in bladders, dark- 
red almost black externally, grayish internally when first broken, of the consistence of 
a plaster, softening in the hand and becoming adhesive, of an agreeable balsamic odour 
like that of amber, and of a bitter, balsamic, somewhat acrid taste. It is very inflamma- 
ble, burning with a clear flame. On exposure it becomes dry, porous, and brittle. Little 
of this variety is found in the markets. Common labdanum is in contorted or spiral pieces, 
light, porous, blackish-gray, hard and brittle, not softening between the fingers, similar 
in odour and taste to the preceding variety, but less inflammable, and mixed with sand 
and other earthy matters, which are obvious to the sight. A specimen exhibited at the 
International Exhibition of 1862, at London, was in flattish pieces, an inch or more thick, 
with remains of leaves on one side, of a very dark greenish-brown colour, and a granular 
somewhat shining fracture. Guibourt found in 10U parts of the labdanum in masses, 86 
parts of resin with a little volatile oil, 7 of wax, 1 of watery extract, and G of earthy sub- 
stances and hair. In the contorted variety, Pelletier found 20 per cent, of resin, 3-6 of 
gum with malate of lime, 0-6 of malic acid, 1-9 of wax, 1-9 of volatile oil including loss, 
and 72 of ferruginous sand. 
Labdanum is a stimulant expectorant, and was formerly given in catarrhal and dysen- 
teric affections. At present it is employed in plasters, but seldom even for that purpose 
in the United States. It is sometimes used in fumigation. W. 
LAC. A resinous substance obtained from several trees growing in the East Indios, 
particularly from Croton lacciferum, and two species of Ficus, F. religiosa, and F. Indica. It 
is found in the form of a crust, surrounding the twigs or extreme branches, and is gen- 
erally supposed to be an exudation from the bark, owing to the puncture of an insect, be- 
longing to the genus Coccus, and denominated C. Lacca. By some it is thought to be an 
exudation from the bodies of the insects themselves, which collect in great numbers upon 
the twigs, and are embedded in the concreted juice, through which the young insects eat 
a passage and escape. Several varieties are known in commerce. The most common are 
stick-lac, seed-lac, and sliell-lac. 
Stick-lac is the resin as taken from the tree, still encrusting the small twigs around 
which it originally concreted. It is of a deep reddish-brown colour, of a shining fracture, 
translucent at the edges, inodorous, and of an astringent, slightly bitterish taste. Its ex- 
ternal surface is perforated with numerous minute pores, as if made by a needle; and 
when broken it exhibits many oblong cells, often containing the dead insect. When chewed 
it colours the saliva beautifully red, and, when burnt, diffuses a strong, agreeable odour. 
It is in great measure soluble in alcohol. 
Seed-lac consists of minute irregular fragments, broken from the twigs, and partially 
exhausted by water. It is of a light or dark-brown colour, inclining to red or yellow, 
feebly shining, almost tasteless, and capable of imparting to water less colour than the 
stick-lac, sometimes scarcely colouring it at all. It is occasionally mixed with small frag- 
ments of the twigs. 
Shell-lac is prepared by melting the stick-lac or sced-lac, previously deprived of its soluble 
colouring matter, straining it, and pouring it upon a flat smooth surface to harden. It is 
in thin fragments of various sizes, from half a line to a line thick, often somewhat curved, 
of a lighter or darker brown colour inclining more or less to red or yellow, shining, more 
or less transparent, hard and brittle, inodorous and insipid, insoluble in water, but easily 
and almost entirely soluble in alcohol, especially with the aid of heat. According to Obor- 
dorffer, cold ether takes from shell-lac only about 5 per cent., consisting of wax; and 
adulteration with resins soluble in ether is thus readily detected. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
July, 1861, p. 313.) 
A variety of lac is mentioned by writers in the form of cakes, called cake-lac or lump- 
lac (lacca inplacentis); but this is at present rare in commerce. 
According to John, lac consists of resin, colouring matter, a peculiar principle insoluble 
in alcohol, ether, or water, called laccin, a little wax, and various saline matters in small 
proportion. The resin, according to Unverdorben, consists of several distinct resinous 
principles differing in their solubility in alcohol and ether. The laccin is nearly or quite 
wanting in shell-lac, which also contains scarcely any of the colouring principle. Mr. 
Hatchett found in stick-lac 68 per cent, of resin, and 10 of colouring matter; in seed-lac 88*5 
per cent, of resin, and 2-5 of colouring matter; in shell-lac 90-9 per cent, of resin, and 0 5 
of colouring matter. The other constituents, according to this chemist, are wax and gluten, 
besides foreign matters. 
Lac in its crude state is slightly astringent, and was formerly used in medicine; but at 
present it is not employed. Shell-lac is wholly inert. Stick-lac and seed-lac ave used on 
aocount of the colouring principle which they contain. Shell-lac, as well a:, the other LT ill. 
Lactate of Zinc.—Laurus Nobilis. 
1545 
varieties deprived of their colouring matter, is applied to numerous purposes in the arts. 
It is the chief constituent of sealing wax. The best red sealing wax is made by melting to- 
gether, with a very gentle heat, 48 parts of shell-lac, 19 of Venice turpentine, and 1 of 
balsam of Peru, and mixing with the melted mass 32 parts of finely powdered cinnabar. 
But common resin is often substituted in part for the lac, and a mixture of red lead and 
chalk for the cinnabar. The best black sealing wax consists of 60 parts of lac, 10 of tur- 
pentine, and 30 of levigated bone-black; the best yellow sealing wax, of 60 parts of lac, 12 
of turpentine, and 24 of chromate of lead. (Berzelius.) Lac is also used as a varnish, and 
forms an excellent cement for broken porcelain and earthenware. It has been highly re- 
commended as an adhesive material for the dressing of wounds, ulcers, &c. It is prepared 
for use by dissolving, with the aid of a gentle heat, in alcohol contained in a glass bottle, 
sufficient lac to give it a gelatinous consistence, and then closing the bottle. It is used by 
simply spreading it on the bandages. W. 
LACTATE OF ZINC. Zinci Ladas. This salt may be prepared by first obtaining lactate 
of potassa by double decomposition between lactate of lime and carbonate of potassa, and 
then adding the solution of the alkaline lactate, filtered from the carbonate of lime, to one 
of acetate of zinc. By a new double decomposition, lactate of zinc, on account of its sparing 
solubility in cold water, is deposited in crystals, and acetate of potassa remains in solution. 
The crystals may be purified by dissolving them in boiling water, and recrystallizing. This 
salt is in the form of white plates,' soluble in sixty parts of cold water, and six at the boil- 
ing temperature. It is insoluble in alcohol. Its taste is highly saccharine, with a styptic 
after-taste. Exposed to heat it bears a temperature of 392° without decomposition. 
Lactate of zinc has been brought forward by M. Herpin as a remedy in epilepsy; and, 
after a trial of it in this disease for nearly two years, he concludes that it is at least as effi- 
cacious as the oxide, with the advantages of being better borne, and more easily taken. 
The dose is two grains three times a day, given in pill, and gradually increased until it 
amounts to ten grains. The best time for taking it is about an hour after meals. In M. 
Herpin’s cases it was continued for from five to twelve months. B. 
LAKES. These are compounds of vegetable or animal colouring principles with alumina 
or other metallic oxide, and are usually obtained by adding alum or bichloride of tin to the 
solution of the colouring matter in water, and precipitating by means of an alkali. The 
alumina or oxide of tin unites with the colouring matter at the moment of separation, and 
forms an insoluble compound. Lakes are obtained in this way from cochineal, madder, 
Brazil wood, seed-lac, French b’erries, &c. They are used in painting. W. 
LAURUS NOBILIS. The Bay Tree. The fruit of this tree, commonly called bay berries, 
was one of the officinals of the late London Pharmacopoeia, but has been omitted in the 
British. The tree belongs to Enneandria Monogynia in the Linnsean system, and to the 
natural order Lauracese. The following is the generic character of Laurus as given by 
Bindley in his Flora Medica. “Flowers dioecious or hermaphrodite, involucrated. Calyx 
four-parted; segments equal, deciduous. Fertile stamens twelve in three rows; the outer 
alternate with the segments of the calyx; all with two glands in the middle or above it. 
Anthers oblong, two-celled, all looking inwards. Fertile flowers with two to four castrated 
males surrounding the ovary. SUgma capitate. Fruit succulent, seated in the irregular base 
of the calyx. Umbels axillary, stalked.” Laurus nobilis is an evergreen tree, attaining in 
its native climate the height of twenty or thirty feet. Its leaves are alternate, on short 
petioles, oval-lanceolate, entire, sometimes wavy, veined, of a firm texture, smooth, shin- 
ing, deep-green upon their upper surface, paler beneath. The flowers are dioecious, of a 
yellowish-white colour, and placed, in small clusters of three or four together, upon a com- 
mon peduncle in the axils of the leaves. The corolla is divided into four oval segments. 
The fruit is an oval berry, of the size of a small cherry, and when ripe of a dark-purple, 
nearly black colour. The bay tree, so famous among the ancients, is a native of the coun- 
tries bordering on the Mediterranean. Its leaves and fruit, and an oil expressed from the 
latter, are the parts used. 
The leaves have a fragrant odorur, especially when bruised, and a bitter, aromatic, some- 
what astringent taste. They yield by distillation a greenish-yellow volatile oil, upon which 
their properties chiefly depend. Water distilled from them has their peculiar odour. The 
berries when dried are black and wrinkled, and contain two oval fatty seeds, within a thin, 
friable envelope; or they may be considered as drupes, with a kernel divisible into two 
lobes. They have the same aromatic odour and taste as the leaves, but are more pungent. 
Besides an essential oil, they contain also a fixed oil, which may be separated by expres- 
sion or decoction. The expressed oil, which is obtained from the fresh fruit, is concrete, of 
a greenish colour, and retains a portion of the volatile oil, which renders it agreeably aro- 
matic. Lard, impregnated with the odorous principle of the berries, and coloured green, is 
said to be often substituted for the genuine expressed oil. The sophistication may be de- 
tected by means of boiling alcohol, which dissolves the laurel oil. The leaves, berries, and 
oil of the bay tree are excitant and narcotic; but at present are never used internally as Lawsonia Inermis.—Ligusticum Levisticum. 
PART III. 
medicines, and in this country are scarcely employed in any manner. Their chief use is 
to communicate a pleasant odour to external remedies. Dr. A. T. Thomson says that he has 
found an infusion of the berries useful in impetigo. W. 
LAWSONIA INERMIS. Henna Plant. This belongs to Octandria Monogynia in the Lin- 
nman system, and to the natural family of Salicarim. It is a shrub growing in the Levant, 
Egypt, Persia, and India, and well known as the source of a dye-stuff denominated henna, 
much used throughout the Makomedan countries of the East. It is largely cultivated in 
Egypt. The flowers have a strong pungent odour; and a distilled water is prepared from 
them, used by the women as a cosmetic. The fruit is thought to have emmenagogue pro- 
perties. But the leaves are the part which constitute the henna of commerce. They are 
used by the females to give an orange colour to their feet and hands, and a golden hue 
to their hair. They are also employed to stain common wood in imitation of mahogany. 
Henna is in the form of powder, which is strongly astringent. It has been chemically exam- 
ined by Abd-el-Aziz, of Cairo, Egypt, a former pupil in the laboratory for dyeing, connected 
with the famous manufacture of the Gobelins at Paris. He found in it a brown substance, 
of a resinoid fracture, having the chemical properties which characterize the tannins, and 
therefore named by him hcnnotannic acid. (Journ. de Pharm., Janv. 1863, p. 35.) Henna is 
used in medicine, both internally and locally, as a remedy in leprosy and other affections 
of the skin. The fresh juice of the plant is said by Ainslie to be applied to the same pur- 
pose. (Merat ct De Lens.) W. 
LEDUM PALUSTRE. Marsh Tea. Rosmarinus Sylveslris. A small evergreen shrub, grow- 
ing in swamps and other wet places in the northern parts of Europe, Asia, and America, 
and in the mountainous regions of more southern latitudes. The leaves have a balsamic 
odour, and an aromatic, camphorous, bitter taste; and contain, among other ingredients, 
volatile oil and tannin. They are thought to possess narcotic properties, and have been 
employed in exanthematous diseases to allay irritation, in hooping-cough, in dysentery, 
and in various cutaneous affections, particularly leprosy and scabies. In complaints of the 
skin, they are used both internally and externally in the form of decoction. When placed 
among clothes, they are said to prevent the attacks of moths. In Germany they are some- 
times substitut ed for hops in the preparation of beer. Ledum latifolium, or Labrador tea, which 
is a larger plant than the preceding, is a native of North America, growing in damp places 
in Canada and the northern parts of the United States. The leaves have an agreeable odour 
and taste, and are esteemed pectoral and tonic. They are said to have been used as a sub- 
stitute for tea during the war of independence. W. 
LEEK. Porrum. The Bulb of Allium Porrum. The leek is a biennial bulbous plant, grow- 
ing wild in Switzerland, and cultivated in the gardens of Europe and this country for culi- 
nary purposes. All parts of it have an offensive pungent odour, and an acrid taste, de- 
pendent on an essential oil, which is in a great measure dissipated by decoction, and may 
be obtained separate by distillation. The bulb, which is the medicinal portion, consists of 
concentric layers, like the onion, which it resembles in medical properties, though some- 
what milder. It is gently stimulant, with a peculiar direction to the kidneys. The expressed 
juice may be given in the dose of a fluidrachm, mixed with syrup. This species of Allium 
is not used medicinally in the. United States. W. 
LEONURUS CARDIACA. Common Motherwort. {Gray's Manual, p. 317.) A perennial labi- 
ate herb, thought to be of foreign origin, but growing wild in this country in waste places, 
around dwellings, &c. The whole plant is used. It has a peculiar aromatic odour and a 
bitterish somewhat pungent taste, wrhich it no doubt owes to a volatile oil. Its vernacular 
name implies its possession, in common estimation, of some influence over the uterine 
functions; and, in the form of infusion or decoction, it is sometimes used in amenorrlioea, 
suppression of the lochia, and in hysterical affections. W. 
LIATRIS SPICATA. Gay-feather. Button Snakeroot. An indigenous perennial plant, 
growing in natural meadows and moist grounds throughout the Middle and Southern States. 
It has a tuberous root, and an erect annual stem, which terminates in a spike of beautiful, 
purple, compound flowers, appearing in August. The root is said by Schoepf to have a 
terebinthinate odour, and a warm, bitterish, terebinthinate taste : to be possessed of diure- 
tic properties; and to be useful in gonorrhoea and soretkroat; being employed internally 
in the shape of decoction in the former complaint, and as a gargle in the latter. Pursh in- 
forms us that L. scariosa and L. squarrosa are known in Virginia, Kentucky, and the Oaro- 
linas, by the name of rattlesnake's master; and that their roots are employed to cure the bite 
of the rattlesnake, being bruised and applied directly to the wound, while their decoction 
in milk is taken internally. According to Dr. William P. C. Barton, all the tuberous rooted 
species of Liatris are active plants, and appear to be diuretic. W 
LIGUST1CUM LEVISTICUM. Lovage. An umbelliferous plant, growing -wild irv the 
Boutk of Europe, and cultivated in gardens. The whole plant has a strong, sweetish, aro- 
matic odour, and a warm, pungent taste. When wounded it emits a yellow opaque juice, 
which concretes into a brownish resinous substance, not unlike opopanax. The roots, stems, PART III. 
Ligustrum Vulgare.—Lint. 
leaves, and seeds have all been employed ; but the last have the aromatic properties of the 
plant in the highest degree. They are small, ovate-oblong, somewhat flattened, curved, 
strongly ribbed, and of a yellowish-brown colour. The medical properties of lovage are 
closely analogous to those of angelica. It is a stimulant aromatic, and has been employed 
as a carminative, diaphoretic, and emmenagogue. The best form for administration is that 
of infusion. The colouring principle has been isolated by M. J. Nicklbs, who gives it the 
name of ligulin, and suggests an important application of it that may be made in testing 
drinking water. If a drop of its alcoholic or aqueous solution is made to fall into distilled 
water, it imparts to the liquid its own fine crimson red colour, which undergoes no change; 
but if limestone water be substituted, the red colour disappears in a few seconds, and is 
followed by a beautiful blue. (Journ de Pharrn., Mai, 1859, p. 329.) W. 
LIGUSTRUM VULGARE Privet. A shrub from four to ten feet in height, growing wild 
both in Europe and the United States, usually in hedges and by the roadside. The leaves, 
which have an astringent, bitter taste, and the flowers, which are small, snow-white, and of 
an agreeable odour, have been used in the form of decoction, in sorethroat, and aphthous 
and scorbutic ulceration of the mouth. The berries are black, have a sweetish, bitter taste, 
and are said to possess purgative properties, and to colour the urine brown. They are some- 
times used for dyeing. The bark was analyzed by M. G. Potex, who found a peculiar sub- 
stance which he denominated ligustrin, besides mannite, sugar, muco-saccharine matter, 
starch, chlorophyll, bitter extractive, bitter resin, tannin, albumen, and salts. (Am. Journ. 
of Pharm., xii. 347.) W. 
LILIUM CANDIDUM. Common White Lily. This well-known plant is a native of Syria 
and Asia Minor, but has been long cultivated in gardens. The bulb, which consists of im- 
bricated fleshy scales, is without odour, but has a peculiar, disagreeable, somewhat bitter, 
and mucilaginous taste. It contains much mucilage, and a small proportion of an acrid 
principle, which is dissipated or destroyed by roasting or boiling. In the recent state, it is 
said to have been employed with advantage in dropsy. Boiled with water or milk, it forms a 
good emollient cataplasm, more used in popular than in regular practice. The flowers have 
an agreeable odour, which they impart to oil or lard; and an ointment or liniment is some- 
times prepared from them, and used as a soothing application in external inflammations. 
A case is recorded by Dr. Jeffries Wyman, of Boston, in which a little girl appeared.to have 
been poisoned by the pollen of the tiger-lily (Lilium bulbiferum?), which the child had intro- 
duced into her nostrils and probably swallowed. She was affected with vomiting, purging, 
drowsiness, &c., from which, however, she recovered. (Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., Jan. 18G3, 
p. 271.) ■ W. 
LINT. As an object of great importance to the surgeon, and a necessary article of sale 
to the apothecary, this seems not only to admit, but to require a brief notice in the present 
place. The term lint strictly speaking is applicable, as its name implies, to a substance 
prepared from linen. It is in fact linen made soft and somewhat fleecy by various me- 
chanical processes, so as to render it suitable for the dressing of wounds. The qualities 
required in good lint are 1. perfect softness to prevent mechanical irritation to the wound, 
2. looseness of texture to render it capable of absorbing the secretions from the surfaces 
to which it is applied, 3. a certain tenacity so that it may receive unctuous dressings, yet 
with a facility of being torn in one direction, and 4. sufficient firmness of fibre to prevent 
small portions from being easily separated, and remaining as foreign bodies in the wound. 
As formerly and still frequently made for domestic purposes, it consists of old linen scraped 
by means of a knife with the hand, and thus brought into a soft flocculent state, almost des- 
titute of visible fibres. It is obvious that, though this answers some of the above requisi- 
tions, it entirely fails to answer others, and is unfit for general surgical use. It will not 
readily admit of the application of cerates, and must very often leave portions of its sub- 
stance in the wound, to serve as future sources of irritation. Much better is the old-fash- 
ioned lint, made by machines worked by the hand. This was formerly, and may still be 
made, in large quantities. Old linen was used for the purpose, such as shirts, sheets, table- 
cloths, &c., and generally in irregular pieces. This was first cleansed thoroughly by wash- 
ing with soap and water, or by boiling with a weak ley of soda or pearlash. Sometimes, 
when coloured, it was bleached before being washed. Thus prepared, it was operated on 
by a simple machine, in which the rag, wrapped round a cylinder, was submitted to the 
interrupted action of a knife, made to descend upon it at intervals of one-eighth of an inch, 
so as to cut the thread in one direction. On being removed from the machine, the cut ends 
of the thread became untwisted and loose, so as to give a flossy character to the fabric. 
T-'* render it smooth, it was passed through rollers, and its ragged edges were trimmed. Of 
course it had different degrees of fineness according to the character of the rags used; 
and this diversity rendered it fit for different purposes; the finer pieces being used merely 
as a dressing with unctuous matter to exclude the air, while the thicker were better adapted 
to the absorption of the liquid secretions. 
In the progress of improvement, machines were invented and patented for manufacturing 1548 
Linum Catharticum.—Liquidambar Styracijlua. 
PART III. 
lint on the large scale. Thus made, it is distinguished in the shops as patent lint. This is 
generally prepared out of cloth manufactured for the purpose, and therefore has what- 
ever advantage may be derived from uniformity of shape and consistence. In other re- 
spects, it is doubtful whether it has any superiority over the old-fashioned article; espe- 
cially, as, in consequence of competition, cotton, being the cheaper article, has frequently 
been in part or altogether substituted for linen. It is said that lint may be rapidly pre- 
pared, by attaching a piece of linen to the toothed cylinder of the common carding machine. 
(Med. and Surg. Reporter, Oct. 4, 1862.) 
Cotton is in several respects inferior to linen for the preparation of lint; and, unless its 
presence in any manufactured article sold by this name be made known, it should be looked 
on as a fraudulent substitution. Its fibre is less soft and therefore more likely to irritate; 
it has much less absorbing power; and it conveys heat less rapidly. The following are 
methods by which it may be distinguished. (Dr. Eisner.) 1. A linen thread when held erect, 
and set on fire, appears, after the flame is extinguished, in a smooth continuous form, while 
cotton thread similarly treated has a tufted aspect. 2. Under a microscope which magni- 
fies 300 diameters, the linen fibre appears to be a straight nearly solid cylinder, with a 
slender central canal; the cotton, flattened as a piece of tape, with a wide canal, and 
often twisted like a corkscrew. 3. The potassa test, proposed by Bottger, consists in ex- 
posing the doubtful substance to the action of a boiling concentrated solution of potassa. 
If made of linen, it will in two minutes assume a deep-yellow colour; if of cotton, it will 
either remain colourless, or will become very faintly yellow; and if the texture be com- 
posed of both, it will exhibit a streaked or mottled aspect. The examination must be quickly 
made, as the yellow colour of the potassa becomes faint with time. 4. Sulphuric acid dis- 
solves the linen fibre, while it leaves that of cotton little changed. 5. Linen thoroughly 
oiled has the transparent appearance of oiled paper; cotton remains white and opaque. 
6. Tinctures of all organic red dye-stuffs, as cochineal, madder, &c., give a much deeper 
colour to linen than to cotton, and cause a mottled appearance when the two are mixed. 
Tow, and hemp in the state of oakum, have been employed for dressing wounds; but they 
are only applicable as exterior dressings to absorb the pus, when the discharge of this is 
very copious. Charpie, so much used by French surgeons in dressing wounds from the 
bottom, generally consists of bundles of straight threads, each four or five inches long, 
made by unravelling old rather coarse linen. It is much inferior as a dressing for wounds 
to our best forms of lint. On the subject of lint, we would refer the reader to an article 
in the Pharmaceutical Journal (x. 241); and to another in the American Journal of Pharmacy 
(July, 1861, p. 359). W. 
LINUM CATIIARTICUM. Purging Flax. This has been brought hither from the first part 
of the work, because, though formerly one of the Edinburgh officinals, it was discarded 
in the preparation of the present British standard. The character of the genus to which 
this plant belongs will be found under Linum, in Part I. Purging flax is an annual plant, 
six or eight inches high, having erect, slender sterns, dichotomous near the summit, fur- 
nished with opposite, obovate lanceolate, entire leaves, and bearing minute white flowers, 
the petals of which are obovate and acute. It is a native of Europe, and not found in the 
United States, where it is never employed as a medicine. The whole plant is very bitter 
and somewhat acrid, and imparts its virtues to water, which acquires a yellow colour. It 
appears to owe its activity to a peculiar drastic principle, which has received the name of 
linin, and which is afforded most largely by the plant after the flower has fallen. (Pharm. 
Central Blatt, 1844, p. 110.) Purging flax formerly enjoyed some reputation in Europe as 
a gentle cathartic, but fell into disuse. Attention has been again called to it as an excellent 
remedy in muscular rheumatism, catarrhal affections, and dropsy with disease of the liver. 
From four to eight grains of the extract, given twice or thrice daily, are said to operate as 
a purgative and diuretic, without inconvenience to the patient. (Medical Times, July, 1850.) 
A drachm of the powder, or an infusion containing the virtues of two or three drachms of 
the herb, may be taken for a dose. W. 
LIQUIDAMBAIt STY11AC1FLUA. Sweet Gum. An indigenous tree, growing in different 
parts of the United States from New England to Louisiana, and flourishing also in Mexico, 
where, as well as in our Southern States, it sometimes attains a great magnitude. In warm 
latitudes a balsamic juice flows from its trunk when grounded. This has attracted some 
attention in Europe, where it is known by the name of liquidamber, or copalm balsam, and 
is sometimes, though erroneously, called liquid storax. It is not afforded by the trees which 
grow in the Middle Atlantic States, but is obtained in the Western States bordering on the 
Ohio, and in those further south, as far as Mexico. It is a liquid of the consistence of thin 
honey, more or less transparent, of a yellowish colour, of a peculiar, agreeable, balsamic 
odour, and a bitter, warm, and acrid taste. By cold it becomes thicker and less transpa- 
rent. It concretes also by time, assuming a darker colour. It is sometimes collected in the 
form of tears, produced by the spontaneous concretion of the exuded juice. According to 
M. Bonastre, it contains a colourless volatile oil, a semi-concrete substance which rises in 
distillation and is separated from the water by ether, a minute proportion of benzoic acid, PART ill 
Litliospermum Officinale.—Litmus. 
1549 
a yellow colouring substance, an oleo-resin, and a peculiar principle, insoluble in water 
and cold alcohol, for which M. Bonastre proposes the name of styracin. The proportion of 
benzoic acid is greatly increased by time. Mr. Hodgson obtained from a specimen which 
he examined 4-2 per cent. (Journ. of the Phil. Col. of Pharm., vi. 190.) According to Mr. 
Daniel Hanbury, the acid contained in it is the cinnamic, as is the case in all the products 
of the liquidambar trees. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxix. 478.) Examined by Mr. W. P. Creecy, 
of Mississippi, it was found, besides a volatile odorous principle, and 80 per cent, of a hard 
resin, to contain cinnamic acid as the prominent acid ingredient, yet associated with a small 
proportion of benzoic acid. (Ibid , May, 1860, p. 199.) 
Another product is said to be obtained from the same tree by boiling the young branches 
in water, and skimming off the fluid which rises to the surface. It is of a thicker consist- 
ence and darker colour than the preceding, is nearly opaque, and abounds in impurities. 
This also has been confounded with liquid storax, which it resembles in properties, though 
derived from a different source. It is said to be used in Texas in coughs. (Gammage, N. 0. 
Med. and Surg. Journ., xii. 636.) 
Liquidamber may be employed for the same purpose as storax, but is very seldom used, 
and is almost unknown in the shops of the United States. The concrete juice is said to be 
chewed in the Western States in order to sweeten the breath. Dr. Gammage states that the 
juice is employed popularly in Texas as an addition to excitant ointments. According to 
C. W. Wright, of Louisville, Ky., the bark of the tree is used with great advantage in the 
Western States in the diarrhoea and dysentery of summer, especially in children. It is taken 
in the form of syrup, which may be prepared from the bark in the same manner as the syrup 
of wild-cherry bark, according to the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. The dose is a fluidounce for an 
adult, repeated after each stool. (Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., N. S., xxxii. 126.) The editor of 
the Va. Medical Journal (Aug. 1856, p. 143) states that the use of a decoction of the bark in 
milk is common in many parts of Virginia, as a remedy in the diarrhoea of children. 
Liquidambar Altingia is said to exude a balsam in the Tennasserim Provinces of India, 
somewhat resembling liquid storax. (See Pharm. Journ., viii. 243.) W. 
LITHOSPERMUM OFFICINALE. Cromwell. Milium Solis. A European perennial, the 
seeds of which are ovate, of a grayish-white or pearl colour, shining, rather larger than 
millet seeds, and of a stony hardness, from which the generic name of the plant originated. 
From an opinion formerly prevalent, that nature indicates remedies adapted to certain dis- 
eases by some resemblance between the remedy and the character of the complaint or of 
the part affected, the seeds of this plant were applied to the treatment of calculous disor- 
ders ; and they retained their ground in the estimation of physicians as a diuretic, useful in 
complaints of the urinary passages, long after the fanciful notion in which their use ori- 
ginated had been abandoned. But they are at present considered nearly inert, and are not 
employed. W. 
LITMUS. Lacmus. Ed. Turnsole. Tournesol, Orseille, Fr. This is a peculiar colouring 
matter derived from Roccella tinctoria and other lichens. Three purple or blue colouring 
substances are known in commerce, obtained from lichenous plants. They are called seve- 
rally litmus, orchil, and cudbear. The lichens employed are different species of Roccella, Le- 
canora, Variolaria, and others. They grow on alpine or maritime rocks, in various parts of 
the world, and for commercial purposes are collected chiefly upon the European and African 
coasts, and the neighbouring islands, as the Azores, Madeira, Canaries, and Cape de Verds. 
The particular species most employed are probably Lecanora tartarea or Tartarean moss, 
growing in the north of Europe, and Roccella tinctoria or orchilla weed, which abounds upon 
the African and insular coasts, and is called commercially, in common with other species 
of the same genus, Angola weed, Canary weed, &c., according to the place from which it may 
be brought. 
The principles in these plants upon which their valuable properties depend, are them- 
selves colourless, and yield colouring substances by the reaction of water, air, and ammonia. 
They are generally acids, and are named lecanoric, orsellic, erythric, &c., according to their 
use or origin. What is the exact chemical change by which the colouring matters are deve- 
loped is not determined; but the original body, in some instances at least, undergoes a 
series of changes, before the ultimate result is obtained. Dr. Stenhouse proposes that the 
principles should be extracted from the plants at their place of collection, so as to diminish 
the cost of carriage. For this purpose the lichens, having been finely divided, are to be ma- 
cerated with milk of lime, the infusion thus obtained to be precipitated with muriatic or 
acetic acid, and the precipitate to be dried with a gentle heat. Almost the whole of the co- 
louring principles are thus extracted, and obtained in a small bulk. To test the value of the 
plants as dye-stuffs, they may be macerated in a weak solution of ammonia, or a solution 
of hypochlorite of lime may be added to their alcoholic tincture. In the former case, a rich 
violet-red colour is produced; in the latter, a deep blood-red colour instantly appears, but 
soon fades. All the three colouring substances above referred to may be obtained from the 
same plant. 
Lacmus or litmus is prepared chiefly if not exclusively in Holland. The process consists 1550 
Lolium Temulentum.—Lycium Barlarum. 
PART III. 
in macerating the coarsely powdered lichens, in wooden vessels under shelter, for several 
weeks, with occasional agitation, in a mixture of urine, lime, and potash or soda. A fer- 
mentation ensues, and the mass, becoming first red and ultimately blue, is after the last 
change removed, mixed with calcareous or siliceous matter to give it consistence, and with 
indigo to deepen the colour, and then introduced into small moulds, where it hardens. It 
comes to us in rectangular cakes, from a quarter of an inch to an inch in length, light, fri- 
able, finely granular, of an indigo-blue or deep-violet colour, and scattered over with white 
saline points. It has the combined odour of indigo and violets, tinges the saliva of a deep- 
blue, and is somewhat pungent and saline to the taste. From most vegetable blues it differs 
in not being rendered green by alkalies. It is reddened by acids, and restored to its original 
blue colour by alkalies. * 
Its chief use in medicine is as a test of acids and alkalies. For this purpose it is employed 
either in infusion, or in the form of litmus-paper. The infusion, usually called tincture of 
litmus, may be made in the proportion of one part of litmus to twenty of distilled water, 
and two parts of alcohol may be added to preserve it. Litmus-paper is prepared by first • 
forming a strong clear infusion with one part of litmus to four of water, and dipping slips 
of white unsized paper into it, or applying it by a brush to one surface only of the paper 
The paper should then be carefully dried, and kept in well-stopped vessels, from which the 
light is excluded. It should have a uniform blue or slightly purple colour, neither very light 
nor very dark. As a test for alkalies, the paper may be stained with an infusion of litmus 
previously reddened by an acid. 
Orchil or archil, as prepared in England, is in the form of a thickish liquid, of a deep 
reddish-purple colour, but varying in the tint, being in one variety redder than in another. 
The odour is ammoniacal. It is made by macerating lichens, in a covered wooden vessel, 
with an ammoniacal liquor, either consisting of stale urine and lime, or prepared by distill- 
ing an impure salt of ammonia with lime and water. [Pereira.) It is occasionally adulterated 
with the extracts of coloured woods, as logwood, sappan-wood, &c. A mode of detecting these 
adulterations is given by Mr. F. Leeshing in the Chemical Gazette of June 1, 1855 (p. 219). 
Cudbear is in the form of a purplish-red powder. It is procured in the same manner as 
orchil; but the mixture, after the development of the colour, is dried and pulverized. 
The point in which the preparation of these colouring substances differs from that of lit- 
mus appears to be, that potash or soda is added, in the latter, to the ammoniacal liquid used 
Orchil and cudbear are employed as dye-stuffs, and sometimes, in like manner with litmus, 
as a test of acids and alkalies. W. 
LOLIUM TEMULENTUM. Darnel. Tvraie, Fr. One of the Graminacese or grasses, be- 
longing to the Linnsean class and order Triandria Digynia, indigenous in the old world, but 
introduced into the U. States, and owing its chief importance to the circumstance that it is 
apt to grow among wheat and other grains, and thus sophisticate the product with its seeds. 
From ancient times, these have been supposed to be deleterious to the human system, pro- 
ducing symptoms analogous to intoxication from alcoholic drinks, whence the plant derived 
its specific name of Temulentum, and the French name of ivraie. The seeds have a sweetish 
taste, and are said to contain gluten, starch, and sugar; and there is nothing in their sen- 
sible properties which would suggest the idea that they might be poisonous. Indeed, De 
Candolle states that they are often eaten in bread without inconvenience; and that a beer 
into which they enter as an ingredient is drank with impunity. (Herat ct De Lens, iv. 141.) 
The testimony, however, to the fact, that they have a narcotic effect on the system, evincing 
itself by vertigo, dizziness, headache, sleepiness, and a species of drunkenness, is too strong' 
to be resisted; though very few instances, so far as we know, have been recorded of posi- 
tively fatal effects from their use. MM. Rivihre and Maizifere have each recorded a fatal 
case, which occurred in peasants who had for several days lived upon bread, consisting 
to the extent of two-thirds or five-sixths of darnel. (Journ. de Pharm., Oct. 1863, p. 280.) 
Though thus acting on man, dogs, sheep, and horses, the seeds are said to be wholly innox- 
ious to hogs, cows, and ducks; and poultry have even been fattened by them. The remedy 
in case of poisoning would be as soon as possible to evacuate the stomach. Lindley states 
that this is the only one of the grasses which has been satisfactorily proved to have dele- 
terious properties. [Med. and Economic Bot., p. 27.) W. 
LONICERA CArRIFOLIUM. Honeysuckle. This ornament of our gardens is a native of 
the south of Europe. Its sweet-scented flowers are sometimes used in perfumery; and a 
syrup prepared from them has been given in asthma and other pectoral affections. The ex- 
pressed juice of the plant has been recommended for the stings of bees, being rubbed 
directly on the injured spot. The fruit of all the species of Lonicera is said to be emetic 
and cathartic. [Merat et De Lens.) W. 
LYCIUM BARBARUM. Matrimony Vine. The genus Lycium belongs to the Linnoean 
class and order I’entandria Monogynia and to the natural order Solanacese. Different 
species have been used in various parts of the world in reference to supposed medical vir- 
tues. Lycium barbarum, which is indigenous in the south of Europe and in Asia, is • PART III. 
Lythrum Salicaria.—Malva Sylvestris. 
1551 
thorny shrub, with long flexible branches, and is cultivated for hedges and arbours. The 
leaves and stems were examined chemically by Drs. Husemann and Marme, who succeeded 
in extracting from them an alkaloid by means of phospliomolybdate of soda. For the mode 
of proceeding, as well as for the method of preparing the phosphomolybdate used by them, 
the reader is referred to the American Journal of Pharmacy (May, 18(34, p. 226). The alka- 
loid, which they name hycin (lycina, or more properly, lycia), is characterized by its strong 
affinity for water, which causes it to deliquesce in a few minutes after exposure, and ren- 
ders it very soluble in that liquid. It is also readily soluble in alcohol, but nearly insolu- 
ble in ether. It is crystallizable, of a qfiarp but not bitter taste, and forms crystallizable 
salts with the acids. The young shoots of one of the species of Lycium are eaten in Spain 
as asparagus, and its leaves as salad; and the aborigines of New Granada use another spe- 
cies against erysipelas. The leaves of L. barbarum, as well as the fruit, are said to be used 
by the physicians of Japan. {Herat et De Lens.) W. 
LYTHIIUM SALICARIA. Loosestrife. Purple Willow-herb. This is an elegant perennial 
plant, two or three feet high, with an erect, quadrangular, hexagonal, downy, herbaceous 
stem, bearing opposite, ternate, sessile, lanceolate leaves, cordate at the base, and downy 
on the under surface and at the margin. The flowers are axillary, forming a leafy verti- 
cillate spike. The calyx is red, with unequal segments, the petals purple and undulate, 
the fruit a small elliptical capsule. The plant grows wild in all parts of Europe, and is 
found in New England and Canada. It prefers meadows, swamps, and the banks of streams, 
which it adorns in July and August with its showy purple flowers. The whole herbaceous 
part is medicinal, and is dried for use. In this state it is inodorous, and has an herbaceous 
somewhat astringent taste. It renders boiling water very mucilaginous, and its decoction 
is blackened by the sulphate of iron. Loosestrife is demulcent and astringent, and may 
be advantageously given in diarrhoea and chronic dysentery, after due preparation by 
evacuating treatment. It has long been used in Ireland in these complaints, and is said 
to be a popular remedy in Sweden. The dose of the powdered herb is about a drachm, 
two or three times a day. A decoction of the root, prepared by boiling an ounce in a pint 
of water, may be given in the dose of two fluidounces. W. 
MALAMBO or MATIAS BARK. A bark received from South America by Dr. Alex. Ure, 
under the name of matias bark, was found to have the characters of the malambo bark, 
which is held in high esteem in New Granada where it is produced, and has been long 
known to the French pharmacologists. Though conjecturally ascribed by some to a Drimys, 
and by others to a Croton, its botanical source was unknown till within a few years. 
It has been ascertained by H. Ivarston, of Berlin, to be derived from a hitherto unde- 
scribed species of Croton, which he names Croton Malambo, and which is described in his 
recent work entitled “Florse Columbise Terrarumque adjacenlium Specimina Selecta.” This 
is a small tree or shrub, growing on the coast of Venezuela and New Granada. (Pharm. 
Journ., Dec. 1859, p. 321.) The bark is described by Dr. Ure as being three or four lines 
thick, brittle though somewhat fibrous, of a brown colour, and covered with an ash- 
coloured tuberculous epidermis. It has an aromatic odour, and a bitter pungent taste, 
and yields these properties to water and alcohol. Its active ingredients appear to be a 
volatile oil, and a bitter extractive matter. According to Dr. Mackay, it has been used 
successfully in intermittents, convalescence from continued fever, hemicrania, dyspepsia, 
and other cases in which tonic repnedies are useful, and also as an adjuvant to diuretics. 
It is probably nothing more than an aromatic tonic. Dr. Ure has administered it with 
good effect as a substitute for Peruvian bark. [Pharm. Journ., iii. 169.) 
Under the name of Winter's bark, a considerable quantity of bark was a short time since 
imported into the United States from South America, which Mr. E. S. Wayne, of Cincin- 
nati, has identified with the malambo bark above described, having found it to correspond 
with that product both in sensible characters and composition. [Am. Journ. of Pliarm., xxix. 
1.) We can confirm this decision of Mr. Wayne; as a specimen in our possession answers 
precisely to the description given by Dr. Ure. The malambo bark, analyzed by Cadet de 
Gassicourt, yielded volatile oil, bitter resin, and extractive; but no tannic nor gallic acid, 
and no alkaloid; and the same was the case with the so-called Winter’s bark examined by 
Mr. Wayne. [Ibid.) The same bark has been analyzed by Mr. F. B. Dancy, who found in 
it volatile oil, gum, starch, albumen, resin, extractive, fixed oil, wax, and several inorganic 
substances. [Ibid., p. 219.) W. 
MALVA SYLVESTRIS. Common Mallow. This herb was recognised by the Edinburgh Col- 
lege, but has been discarded by the British Council, and is no longer officinal. It belongs 
to the Linnaean class and order Monadelphia Polyandria, and the natural family Malvaceae. 
The following is its essential generic character. “Calyx double, the exterior three-leaved. 
Capsules very many, one seeded.” ( Willd.) It is a perennial, herbaceous plant, with a round, 
hairy, branching, usually erect stem, from one to three feet high, bearing alternate, peti- 
olate, cordate, roughish leaves, which are divided into five or seven crenate lobes, and on 
the upper part of the stem are almost palmate. The flowers are large, purplish, and placed, 1552 
Mandragora Officinalis.—Manganese. 
PART III. 
from three to five together, at the axils of the leaves, upon long slender peduncles, which, 
as well as the petioles, are pubescent. The petals are five, inversely cordate, and three 
times as long as the calyx. The capsules are disposed compactly in a circular form. This 
species of mallow is a native of Europe, growing abundantly on waste grounds and by the 
way-sides, and flowering from May to August, it is sometimes cultivated in our gardens. 
Other species, indigenous or naturalized in this country, are possessed of the same proper- 
ties, which are in fact common to the genus. Malva rotundifolia is one of the most com- 
mon, and may be substituted for M. sylvestris. The herb and flowers have a weak, herba- 
ceous, slimy taste, without odour. They abound in mucilage, which they readily impart to 
water; and the solution is precipitated by acetate of lead. The infusion and tincture of 
the flowers are blue, and serve as a test of acids and alkalies, being reddened by the for- 
mer, and rendered green by the latter. The roots and seeds also are mucilaginous. Com- 
mon mallow is emollient and demulcent. The infusion and decoction are sometimes em- 
ployed in catarrhal, dysenteric, and nephritic complaints; and are applicable to all other 
cases which call for the use of mucilaginous liquids. They are also used as an emollient 
injection; and the fresh plant forms a good suppurative or relaxing cataplasm in external 
inflammation. It was formerly among the culinary herbs. W. 
MANDRAGORA OFFICINALIS. Atropa Mandragora. Linn. Mandrake. Mandragora. A 
perennial European plant, with spindle-shaped root, which is often forked beneath, and is 
therefore 'compared, in shape, to the human figure. In former times this root was sup- 
posed to possess magical virtues, and was used as an amulet to promote fecundity, &c.; 
and the superstition is still cherished by the vulgar in some parts of Europe. The plant is 
a poisonous narcotic, somewhat similar in its properties to belladonna, to which it is 
botanically allied. It was much used by the ancients with a view to its narcotic effects; 
and the root has been recommended by some eminent modern physicians, as an external 
application to scrofulous, scirrhous, and syphilitic tumours. It is said to have been used 
by the ancients as an anaesthetic agent before surgical operations. (Journ. de Pharm., xv. 
290.) It is unknown as a remedy in the United States. W. 
MANGANESE. Manganesium. This metal and its compounds with oxygen (three regular 
oxides and two acids) have been already described. (See Manganesii Oxidum Nigrum.) Seve- 
ral of its combinations have been proposed as medicines, and the therapeutic trials, thus 
far made with them, place them alongside of those of iron as tonic and anti-anemic reme- 
dies. It will be recollected that manganese as well as iron is always present, in minute pro- 
portion, in healthy blood, and has been detected in various solids and fluids of the body. 
530.) According to an analysis by M. Burin-Dubuisson, the amount of manganese 
in the blood corpuscles is about one-twentieth that of the iron. It is stated as an advantage 
of the preparations of manganese, that they may be prescribed in conjunction with tannic 
acid and the various astringent medicines, which are all incompatible with the preparations 
of iron. Of the oxides of manganese, the protoxide only is strongly salifiable; and this is 
the oxide present in the ordinary salts of the metal. It may be obtained by precipitation, 
as a white hydrate, from any of the soluble salts of manganese by the addition of a caustic 
alkali. This, according to M. Hannon, is a good medicinal preparation; but a strong objec- 
tion to it is that it rapidly absorbs oxygen, and passes to the state of the brown hydrated 
sesquioxide. The officinal deutoxide (native black oxide) is described at page 629, where its 
medical properties are also noticed. The sulphate of manganese, having been adopted as an 
officinal medicine at the late revision of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, is also described in the 
first part of this work {page 531). The same is the case with hypermanganate or permanganate 
of potassa, which is fully treated of under the head of Potassse Permanganas (page 681). 
Iodide of Manganese. This iodide may be administered in syrup or pill. Professor Procter 
has proposed the following formula for the syrup. Dissolve sixteen drachms of sulphate of 
manganese, and nineteen drachms of iodide of potassium, separately, in three fluidounces of 
water, each portion of water being previously sweetened with two drachms of syrup. Mix 
the solutions in a glass-stoppered bottle, and, when the crystals of sulphate of potassa have 
ceased to precipitate, throw the liquor on a strainer of fine muslin, and allow it to filter into 
a pint bottle, containing twelve ounces of pow’dered sugar. When the solution has ceased to 
pass, wash the filter with a little sweetened water, and add sufficient of that, liquid to make 
the whole pleasure a pint. Lastly, agitate the liquid until the sugar is dissolved. Prof. 
Procter states that this syru£ contains about a drachm of iodide of manganese in each fluid- 
ounce, and corresponds in strength to the officinal solution of iodide of iron. The small pro- 
portion of sulphate of potassa which remains dissolved in the syrup, does not interfere with 
its medicinal efficacy. The dose is from ten to thirty drops, repeated several times a day. 
(Am. Journ. of Pharm., Oct. 1850.) M. Hannon makes a pill of iodide of manganese by double 
decomposition between equal weights of iodide of potassium and crystallized sulphate of 
manganese. The salts are perfectly dried, accurately mixed in powder, and then rubbed up 
with honey, so as to reduce the whole to a pilular mass, which may be divided into four- 
grain pills. Assuming that the honey added compensates for the loss of water in drying, 
each pill will consist of about two grains of iodide of manganese, one of sulphate of potassa, PART III. 
Manganese. 
1553 
and one of honey and sulphate of manganese in excess. The dose is one pill daily, gradually 
increased to six. According to M. Hannon, iodide of manganese is particularly useful in the 
anaemia attendant on scrofula, phthisis, and cancer, and in syphilitic cachexy. Given in 
conjunction with cinchona, it rapidly removes the enlargement of the spleen often following 
protracted fevers. 
Carbonate of Manganese. This salt may be obtained by the following formula, which is that 
of M. Hannon, accommodated to the weights and measures of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. 
Dissolve seventeen ounces of crystallized sulphate of manganese, and nineteen ounces of car- 
bonate of soda, separately, in two pints of water, a Jluidounce of syrup having been pre- 
viously added to each pint; and, having mixed the solutions in a well-stopped bottle, allow 
the precipitate to subside. Decant the supernatant liquid, wash the precipitate with sweet- 
ened water, allow it to drain from a cloth saturated with syrup, express, mix with ten ounces 
of honey, and evaporate rapidly to form a pilular mass, which is to be divided into four- 
grain pills. By a double decomposition between the sulphate of manganese and carbonate 
of soda, carbonate of manganese is precipitated, and sulphate of soda remains in solution. 
The sulphate is washed away, and the carbonate is brought to a pilular consistence with 
honey, which, together with the syrup, prevents the protoxide of manganese in the pill from 
rising to a higher stage of oxidation. The dose is from two to ten pills daily. Carbonate of 
manganese was tried by M. Hannon as a medicine on himself. After its use for fifteen days 
he found his appetite improved, and his pulse increased in force; and he experienced a 
feeling of sanguineous plethora. He afterwards exhibited the remedy in several anemic 
cases, with the effect of exciting the functions to a more healthy action, increasing the 
strength and improving the blood. 
Phosphate, tartrate, and mutate of manganese have also been proposed by M. Hannon as 
useful remedies. The phosphate is prepared by double decomposition between sulphate of 
manganese and phosphate of soda. A syrup of phosphate of manganese has been made by Mr. 
T. S. Wiegand, of this city. (See his formula in tli&*Am. Journ. of Pharm. for July, 1854.) 
Dr. Simpson, of Edinburgh, informed one of the authors that a syrup made with two grains 
of phosphate of iron and one grain of the phosphate of manganese in a fluidrachm of syrup, 
was much and advantageously used by himself and others in Edinburgh. This may be easily 
prepared by adding to the two ingredients mentioned five grains of glacial phosphoric acid 
for each grain of the phosphate of iron. (Pharm. Journ., Nov. 1859, p. 288.) Lactate of man- 
ganese has been given, associated with lactate of iron, in chlorosis, in the dose of a grain, 
increased to five grains. 
Ferro-manganic Preparations. M. Hannon conceives that manganese is peculiarly suited 
to the treatment of anemic cases in which iron has failed, or acts very slowly; but, instead 
of passing at once from the use of iron to that of manganese, he prefers to give interme- 
diately a mixture of the two metals. For this purpose he recommends the following formula. 
Take of crystallized sulphate of iron six drachms and a half; crystallized sulphate of man- 
ganese two drachms; carbonate of soda nine drachms; honey five drachms. Bub together, 
and with syrup make a mass, to be divided into four-grain pills. In this pill both the 
metals are present as carbonates; and, as the sulphate of soda is not washed away, it con- 
tains that salt also. The dose is from two to ten pills daily. (See the paper of M. Hannon, 
Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., xvi. 41 and 189; also a note of the favourable results obtained by 
M. Petrequin, of Lyons, Ibid., xvi. 381.) Further experience has confirmed the favourable 
opinion of M. Petrequin in relation to the therapeutic value of the ferro-manganic prepara- 
tions. A number of formulas have been devised by M. Burin-Dubuisson, of Lyons, for 
making them, containing the metals variously combined; but the most important of them 
is the syrup of iodide of iron and manganese, for the preparation of which we prefer the fol- 
lowing formula by Prof. Procter. Take of iodide of potassium 1000 grains; sulphate of 
protoxide of iron 630; sulphate of protoxide of manganese 210; iron filings 100; sugar, in 
coarse powder, 4800. Powder the iodide and sulphates separately, and, having mixed 
them with the filings, add half a fluidounce of distilled water, and triturate to a uniform 
paste. Then add another half fluidounce of distilled water to the paste, and triturate 
again; and, after an interval of fifteen minutes, add a third half fluidounce, and mix. 
Next transfer the magma of salts to a moistened filter, supported on a funnel, and allow 
them to drain into a bottle, holding a little more than twelve fluidounces, and containing 
the sugar. After they have drained, add cold boiled water by small portions at a time, 
until the solution of the iodides has been displaced and washed from the crystalline magma 
of sulphate of potassa. Finally, add sufficient cold boiled water to make the whole mea- 
sure twelve fluidounces. The object of the iron is to prevent the liberation of iodine. This 
syrup has a very pale straw colour. It contains a little sulphate of potassa, which does 
not injure it as a therapeutic agent. If the salts have not been all decomposed during their 
reaction, it will be greenish. Each fluidounce contains 50 grains of the mixed iodides, in 
the proportion of 3 parts of iodide of iron to 1 of iodide of manganese. The dose is from 
ten drops to half a fluidrachm. [Am. Journ. of Pharm., May, 1853, p. 198.) Syrup of iodide 
of iron and manganese is considered by M. Petrequin to be particularly suited to the treat- Meat Biscuit.—Medeola Virginica. 
PART III. 
ment of ans&mia, resrlting from obstinate intermittent fevers, prolonged suppuration, and 
scrofulous, syphilitic, and cancerous affections. 
Dr. T. S. Speer, of Cheltenham, in imitation of the practice of M. Ilannon and M. P6tre- 
quin, has employed the combined carbonates of iron and manganese with excellent effects; 
but, instead of using the carbonate in pill, protected by honey and syrup, as M. Hannon 
has done, he prefers a saccharine carbonate of the two metals, in imitation of the London 
saccharine carbonate of iron, made by the following formula. Dissolve three ounces and one 
drachm of sulphate of iron, one ounce and one scrypte of sulphate of manganese, and five 
ounces of carbonate of soda, each, in thirty Imperial fiuidounces of water, and thoroughly 
mix the solutions. Collect the precipitated carbonates on a cloth filter, and wash them 
immediately with cold water, to separate the sulphate of soda. Then press out as much 
water as possible, and, without delay, triturate the pulp with two and a half ounces of finely 
powdered sugar. Lastly, dry the mixture at a temperature not exceeding 120°. The sac- 
charine carbonate of iron and manganese, as thus prepared, is a reddish-brown powder, devoid 
of all taste, except that imparted by the sugar. The dose is five grains, gradually increased 
to a scruple, three times a day, given with the meals, or immediately after them. (See Am. 
Journ. of Pharm., March, 1854, p. 127, from Med. Times and Gaz.) B. 
MEAT BISCUIT. This alimentary substance, containing much nutriment in a small 
bulk, is the invention of Mr. Gail Bordon, jun., of Texas. It is made by mixing a concen- 
trated fluid extract of flesh, strained through wire-cloth, and freed from fat, with good 
wheat flour, or other meal, and baking the dough into a biscuit, which must be preserved, 
in mass or coarse powder, free from moisture, in gutta percha bags, or air-tight casks or 
cases. To make the dough, about two parts of the extract are mixed with three of the 
flour; and about 20 per cent, is lost in baking. The extract contains the soluble ingredi- 
ents of the flesh, not coagulable by heat.; namely, gelatin, kreatin, kreatinin, the phos- 
phoric, lactic, and inosinic acids, and certain salts. Of course it contains no albumen nor 
fibrin, unless in some altered state in which they are rendered soluble at a boiling tem- 
perature. In this nutritious biscuit, the absence of albumen and fibrin is supposed to be 
supplied by the gluten of the flour. To prepare a pint of palatable soup, an ounce of the 
powdered biscuit, first made into a thin paste with cold water, is added, with constant stir- 
ring, to sufficient boiling water, and the whole boiled for twenty minutes. Salt and pepper 
are then added to suit the taste. The meat biscuit forms an important resource in all cases 
in which food must be carried on long journeys for daily consumption. 
Preserved meat-juice is a nutritive liquid, prepared by Mr. Gillon, a manufacturer of pre- 
served meats, at Leith, in Scotland. The process for making it, as described by Prof. 
Christison, is as follows. A number of cylindrical cases of tinned iron, each containing 
six pounds and a half of beef, and closed by soldering with a lid, having a hole half an 
inch wide in the middle of it, are placed in an iron cylinder, surrounded with an iron 
jacket so as to leave an interstice, and heated by steam, admitted into the interstice, to 
the temperature of 220° for about three hours. The cases are then withdrawn, and the 
juice is poured out, amounting to a few ounces for each case, and, after cooling, is entirely 
freed from fat. It is next poured into four-ounce tin cases, which are closed as before, 
with a small aperture in the lid secured with solder. These are subjected to a tempera- 
ture of 220° in a chloride of calcium bath for some time, and, when removed from the 
bath, are opened by melting the solder which secures the aperture; whereupon steam 
rushes out, and carries with it the air which may have collected in the upper part of the 
case. As soon as the gaseous matter ceases to be expelled, the aperture is resoldered. 
The process of heating in the bath, tapping, and resoldering is then repeated; and the 
cases are finally painted, to preserve them from rust. Dr. Christison states that he has 
repeatedly opened cases, eighteen mouths in his possession, and found the contents to 
possess the rich delicate aroma and taste of fresh beef-juice. Mr. Gillon’s meat-juice con- 
tains only 6*5 per cent, of solids, consisting of osmazome, with the salts, and sapid and 
odorous principles of meat. It contains neither fibrin, albumen, nor gelatin. It may be 
taken in the concentrated form, but is generally best diluted. The contents of a case (four 
ounces) will make sixteen ounces of strong beef tea, by the addition of the requisite quan- 
tity of boiling water. (See Med. Exam., March, 1855.) 
Pemmican is an alimentary substance, containing much nutriment in a small bulk, which 
is used by fur-traders and others, as their exclusive food, on long journeys in the north- 
west of this continent. It is made, according to Dr. C. C. Keeney, U. S. Army, by mixing 
equal weights of buffalo meat and buffalo tallow. The meat, thoroughly dried in the sun, 
is reduced to powder, and the tallow in the melted state is added to it, and the whole well 
stirred. The melted mixture is then poured into sacks of untanned buffalo hide, capable of 
containing from twenty to forty pounds. No salt is used, and yet the mixture keeps per- 
fectly well. (Med. Statistics, U. S. Army, p. 56.) B. 
MEDEOLA VIRGINICA. Gyromia Virginica. Nuttall. Indian Cucumber. An indigenous 
perennial herb, growing in all parts of the United States. The root, which in shape and 
flavour bears a strong resemblance to a small cucumber, is said by Pursh to be e-*ten by PART ill. 
Melilotus Officinals.—Menyanthes Trifoliata. 
the Indians. According to the late Professor Barton, it has been thought useful in dropsies, 
and probably possesses diuretic properties. It is figured and described by Dr. William P. <J. 
Barton in his Medical Botany. W. 
MELILOTUS OFFICINALS. Melilot. An annual or biennial plant, indigenous in Europe, 
and growing also in this country. We have two varieties, one with yellow, the other with 
white flowers, which are considered by some as distinct species. The plant, when in flower, 
has a peculiar sweet odour, which, by drying, becomes stronger and more agreeable, some- 
what like that of the tonka bean. Indeed, according to M. Guillemette, the odorous prin- 
ciple of the two substances is identical. (Journ. de Pharm., xxi. 172.) The taste of melilot 
is slightly bitterish. It has little medical power, and, though formerly recommended in 
various diseases, is at present not employed internally. As a local application, it is used, 
in decoction or cataplasm, in moderate inflammations, though probably with little other 
advantage than such as results from the combination of warmth and moisture. W. 
MENISPERMUM CANADENSE. Moonseed. Yellow Parilla. This is a climbing plant, 
growing in various parts of the United States, from the northern boundary to the Gulf of 
Mexico. It is described in the Flora of North America by Torrey and Gray (i. 48), and in 
Gray’s Manual of the Botany of the U. States (p. 18). The root or rhizoma is long, of a yel- 
low colour, and a bitter taste. Considerable quantities of a root were some time since 
brought to the market of Philadelphia from New Orleans, and offered for sale as Texas 
sarsaparilla. This was satisfactorily shown by Prof. Robert P. Thomas to be the root of 
Menhspermum Canadense. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxvii. 7.) In an unpublished inaugural dis- 
sertation by Dr. Geo. F. Terrell (Feb. 1844), it is stated that the root of this plant is con- 
siderably employed in Virginia, both in domestic practice and by physicians, as a substi- 
tute for sarsaparilla, in scrofulous affections. It has a bitter taste, and is said to be a 
gently stimulating tonic. Its natural affinity with the columbo plant, both belonging to 
the family of Menispermaceas, and the sensible properties of its root, naturally suggested 
that this might contain the same or similar active principles with columbo; and Mr. 
Maisch, in a recent examination, has determined that among its constituents are berbe- 
rina in small proportion, and a white or colourless alkaloid in larger quantity, which has 
an alkaline reaction on litmus and turmeric paper, is precipitated by tannin, pkospliomo- 
lybdic acid, and iodohydrargyrate of potassium, and is soluble in ether, alcohol, and a 
large proportion of water. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., July, 1863, p. 302.) W. 
MENYANTIIES TRIFOLIATA. Buckbean. Marsh Trefoil. The leaves of this plant were 
recognised in the late Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia, but, having been omitted in the British, 
are noticed in this place, in accordance with our plan of introducing into the third part of 
the work all the medicines which have ceased to be officinal. Menyanthes trifoliata belongs 
to the Linnsean class and order Pentandria Monogynia, and the natural order Gentianaceas, 
with the following generic character. “Corolla hirsute. Stiyma bifid. Capsule one-celled.” 
( Willd.) The plant has a perennial, long, round, jointed, horizontal, branching, dark-coloured 
root or rhizoma, about as thick as the finger, and sending out numerous fibres from its un- 
der surface. The leaves are ternate, and upon long stalks, which proceed from the end of 
the root, and are furnished at their base with sheathing stipules. The leaflets are obovate, 
obtuse, entire or bluntly denticulate, very smooth, beautifully green on their upper surface, 
and paler beneath. The flower-stalk is erect, round, smooth, from six to twelve inches high, 
longer than the leaves, and terminated by a conical raceme of whitish, somewhat rose-coloured 
flowers. The calyx is five-parted; the corolla funnel-shaped, with a short tube, and a five- 
cleft, revolute border, covered on the upper side with numerous long, fleshy fibres. The 
anthers are red and sagittate; the germ ovate, supporting a slender style longer than the 
stamens, and terminating in a bifid stigma. The fruit is an ovate, two-valved, one-celled 
capsule, containing numerous seeds. This beautiful plant is a native both of Europe and 
North America, growing in boggy and marshy places, always moist, and occasionally over- 
flowed with water. It prevails, in the United States, from the northern boundary to Vir- 
ginia. In this country the flowers appear in May, in England not till June or July. All 
parts of it are efficacious, but the leaves only are officinal. 
The taste of buckbean is intensely bitter and somewhat nauseous, the odour of the leaves 
faint and disagreeable. Its virtues depend on a bitter principle, denominated menyanthin, 
which may be obtained sufficiently pure for use by treating the spirituous extract of the 
plant with hydrated oxide of lead, removing the lead by hydrosulphuric acid, filtering and 
evaporating the liquor, exhausting the residue with alcohol, and again evaporating with a 
gentle heat. It has a pure bitter taste, is soluble in alcohol and water, but not in pure ether, 
and is chemically neuter. (Pharm. Cent. Blatt, A.D. 1843, p. 24.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. With the ordinary properties of the bitter tonics, menyanthes 
unites a cathartic power, and in large doses is apt to vomit. It was formerly held in high 
esteem in Europe as a remedy in numerous complaints, among which were intermittent s, 
rheumatism, scrofula, scurvy, dropsy, jaundice, and various cachectic and cutaneous affec- 
tions. In most of these it was administered under a vague impression of its alterative 1556 
Mercurialis Annua.—Mesquite Gfum. 
PART III. 
powers. It is little employed in tliis country; but, as it is a native plant, and applicable 
to cases where a combined tonic and purgative effect is demanded, it is desirable that 
country practitioners should be aware of its properties. The dose of the powdered leaves 
or root as a tonic is from twenty to thirty grains; of an infusion, prepared with half an 
ounce to a pint of boiling water, from one to two fluidounces; and of the extract ten or 
fifteen grains, to be repeated three or four times a day. A drachm of the powder, or a gill 
of the strong decoction generally purges, and often occasions vomiting. AV. 
MERCURIALIS ANNUA. An herbaceous European plant, of the family of Euphor- 
biacea;, which has been employed, from the most ancient times, as a purgative and em- 
menagogue. It has also been considered by some as diuretic, and has been used in the 
treatment of syphilitic affections. When boiled, it loses its acrid properties, and in this 
condition has been used as an emollient. Another species, M. perennis, also a native of Eu- 
rope, is ranked among poisonous plants. [Herat et De Lens.) But what has recently recalled 
attention to the annual species is the discovery in it, by Reichardt, of a new volatile alka- 
loid, which he proposes to name mercurialin [mercurialia). This is a liquid, of an oily ap- 
pearance, narcotic odour, and alkaline reaction; boils at 284° F.; forms salts with the 
acids; absorbs carbonic acid; has a strong affinity for water; on exposure to the air is 
changed into a resin of a buttery consistence; and is very poisonous in its action on man. 
For the mode of procuring it, see Annuaire de Therapcutique (1864, p. 44). The existence 
of a volatile alkaloid in the Mercurialis, suggests that other Euphorbiacese may owe their 
acrid properties to a similar constituent. W. 
MESEMBRYANTHEMUM CRYSTALLINUM. Ice-plant. A biennial plant, growing spon- 
taneously in the south of Europe, and cultivated as a curiosity in colder countries, by the 
aid of artificial warmth. The stem and under surface of the leaves are covered with crys- 
talline drops, which give the plant the appearance of being coated with ice. The herb is 
without smell, and has a saline somewhat nauseous taste. It is considered demulcent and 
diuretic, and has been commended as a remedy in various complaints, especially those of 
the mucous membrane of the lungs and urinary passages. It has also been used in dropsy. 
The expressed juice is the form in which it has been generally employed. W. 
MESENNA. Musenna. Bisenna. Under these different names has been brought into notice, 
as a powerful taeniafuge, the bark of an Abyssinian tree, the botanical character of which has 
recently been determined by M. Brongniart from dried specimens brought to Paris by M. 
Courbon. The tree is leguminous, and belongs to the family of the Mimoseae. M. Brong- 
niart names it Albizzia anthelmintica. The bark is in flat pieces from five to ten inches long, 
smooth, slightly fissured, of a rusty-gray colour exteriorly, and pale-yellow and fibrous 
within. It consists of four layers, one of which contains very large cells, with thick coats, 
and is supposed to be the active part. MM. E. Caventou and Legendre have examined the 
bark, and found in it no alkaloid, but a peculiar, acid, resinous substance, having an acrid 
taste, analogous to that of the bark, of which it is probably the active principle. The Abys- 
sinians employ the powdered bark, in the dose of about two ounces, which they take in va- 
rious ways, suspended in water or other liquid, or mixed with flour in the form of bread, 
or made into a confection with honey, butter, &c. It is taken in the morning, three or four 
hours before breakfast, and no other precautions are used. It produces no pain nor any 
disturbance of the functions, not even purging actively. Fragments of the worm are voided 
the same evening, and the greater portion of it the next day. Successful trials of the remedy 
have been made elsewhere than in Abyssinia, though M. Rayer has collected cases which 
tend to discountenance the opinion of its vermifuge powers. But the bark may in these in- 
stances have been injured by time. (See Ann. de Therap., 1862, p. 161.) W. 
MESQUITE GUM. Gum Mesquite. GumMezquite. This is the product of Algarobia glandu- 
losa (Torrey and Grajr, Flor. of N. Amer., i. 399), a small thorny tree or shrub, belonging to 
the family of Mimosese, and growing in New'Mexico, Texas, and other neighbouring regions, 
where it covers vast extents of country. Captain R. B. Marcy, of the U. S. Army, who com- 
manded an expedition sent by our government into that region, gives a particular account 
of the tree, in a letter to Messrs. Rusliton & Co., of New York. He states that it was first 
described by Dr. Edwin James, who attended Colonel Long’s exploring expedition to the 
Rocky Mountains upwards of forty years since. The specimens collected by Dr. James were 
submitted to Dr. Torrey, by whom the botanical character of the plant was determined. Ac- 
cording to Captain Marcy, the tree is found between 26° and 36° of N. latitude, and extends 
from 97° to 103° of longitude, over a region containing more than 500,000 square miles. In 
its botanical affinities and habits, it is closely analogous to the Acacias, which yield gum 
arabic. The fruit is a long, compressed pod, filled with a sweet pulp, which is said to be 
used as food. A gum exudes from the stem and branches, especially when wounded, which 
hardens in the dry season, sometimes in masses as large as a hen’s egg. 
Specimens of this gum were collected, and sent for examination to various persons in the 
Atlantic cities, by Dr. Geo. G. Shumard. of the U. S. Army, who.was attached to Cantain 
Marcy’s expedition. A portion received by one of the authors was in irregular, romndish PART III. 
Mitchella Mepens.—Monesia. 
1557 
pieces, of various sizes, and of different hues, from colourless transparency to a dark amber- 
brown. Some of them had the fissured appearance of the best Turkey gum. Examined by 
Professor Procter, the gum was found to resemble gum arabic in its solubilities, but to diffei 
from it essentially in some of its chemical reactions. The most striking points of difference 
are that solution of guin iuesquite is not precipitated by subacetate of lead, and a strong 
solution is not coagulated by borax. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxvii. 224.) Dr. Campbell Morfit, 
of Baltimore, found it to approximate very closely to gum arabic in ultimate composition, 
its constituents being carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, with three per cent, of inorganic mat- 
ter. He found also a very little bassorin (0-206 per cent.), which did not exist in the speci- 
mens examined by Prof. Procter. (Am. Journ. of Sci. and Arts, March, 1855, p. 264.) 
There can be little doubt that this gum has all the valuable medicinal properties of gum 
arabic, and might be substituted for it in all cases, with this considerable advantage, that 
it may be added to diluted solution of subacetate of lead, so as to communicate to that pre- 
paration demulcent properties, in addition to those of a sedative and astringent, for which 
it is so much used as a local application. W. 
MITCHELLA REPENS. (Gray's Manual, p. 172.) Partridge-berry. Checker-berry. Winter 
Clover. This must not be confounded, in consequence of its common name, with Gaultheria 
procumbens. It is a small, evergreen, trailing indigenous plant, creeping about the roots 
of trees, with fragrant flowers, and a berry-like, edible fruit, of a scarlet colour, which lasts 
through the winter. The whole plant is supposed to possess remedial properties, and is 
6aid to be employed, in decoction, by the Indian squaws to facilitate parturition. It appears 
to be diuretic, tonic, and astringent, resembling in these respects the pipsissewa, and may 
be used for the same purposes, and in the same manner as that plant. W. 
MOMORDICA BALSAMINA. Balsam Apple. Balsamina. An annual climbing plant, a 
native of the East Indies, but cultivated in our gardens for the sake of the fruit. This is 
ovate, attenuated towards each extremity, angular, warty, not unlike a cucumber in ap- 
pearance, of a lively red or orange-yellow colour, easily falling when touched, aud spon- 
taneously separating into several pieces. It was formerly highly esteemed as a vulnerary, 
and is still in use among the common people. A liniment formed by infusing the fruit, de- 
prived of its seeds, in olive or almond oil, is applied to chapped hands, burns, old sores, 
piles, prolapsus ani, &c.; and the fruit itself is sometimes mashed, and used in the form 
of poultice. According to M. Descourtlitz, it is poisonous when taken internally, having 
proved fatal to a dog in the quantity of two or three drachms. An extract prepared from 
it is said to be useful in dropsy, in the dose of from six to fifteen grains. W. 
MONESIA. Under this name, a vegetable extract from South America was, a few years 
since, introduced to the notice of the medical profession in France by M. Bernard Derosne, 
and for a time attracted much attention. Its origin was for some time uncertain; but at 
present it is believed to be derived from the bark of Chrysophyllum glycyphlxum, a tree of 
middling size, growing in the forests near Rio Janeiro, and elsewhere in Brazil. (Journ. de 
Pharm., 3e ser., vi. 63.) Specimens of the bark were obtained along with the extract. 
The bark is in pieces, some of which are three or four lines thick, is very compact and 
heavy, of a deep brown or chocolate colour, contrasting strongly with the grayish colour of 
the epidermis when this remains, and of smooth fracture. The extract was received from 
S. America in cakes weighing rather more than a pound, from three-quarters of an inch to 
an inch in thickness, of a dark-brown almost black colour, very brittle, of a fracture nei- 
ther very dull nor very shining, and of a taste at first sweet, then astringent, and ulti- 
mately acrid; the acrimony being very persistent, and especially felt in the fauces. It is 
entirely soluble in water. The bark was analyzed by MM. Derosne, Henry, and Dayen, and 
found to contain, in 100 parts, 1-2 of stearin, chlorophyll, and wax, 1-4 of glycyrrliizin, 
4-7 of an acrid principle analogous to saponin, called monesin, 7-5 of tannic acid, 9-2 of a red 
colouring substance, 13 of malic acid and malate of lime, 3-0 of various salts, including 
silica and oxides of iron and manganese, and 71-7 of pectic acid or pectin and of lignin, 
including loss, besides traces of an aromatic principle and of gum. Monesin was obtained 
by treating the bark or extract with alcohol, adding to the tincture an excess of hydrate of 
lime in fine powder, filtering, evaporating the clear liquor to dryness, treating the residue 
with water and animal charcoal, filtering, and agaiu evaporating to dryness. Thus pro- 
cured it was in transparent yellowish scales, which were easily pulverized, forming a white 
powder. It was uncrystallizable, readily soluble in alcohol and water, to the latter of which 
it gave the property of frothing, and insoluble in ether. It had no power to saturate acids, 
was without odour, but had a slightly bitterish taste, followed by a decided and permanent 
acrimony in the posterior mouth and fauces. (Journ. de Pharm., Janvier, 1841.) Monesia 
owes its activity probably to this principle and to tannic acid. 
The effects of this medicine upon the system appear to be those of a moderate stomachic 
excitant, a general alterative, and a feeble astringent. In overdoses it is said to produce 
heat in the epigastrium, with obstinate constipation and tenesmus. It has been used inter- 
nally with asserted advantage in diarrhoea, htemoptysis, menorrhagia, scrofula, scurvy, the 1558 
Monesia.—Moxa. 
PAET III. 
chronic catarrh of old people, and dyspepsia. As a local remedy it has been found useful 
in leueorrhoea, ulcerations of the mouth and fauces, spongy and scorbutic gums, carious 
teeth, and obstinate scrofulous and otherwise unhealthy ulcers upon the surface. The ex- 
tract may be given in pill or powder, in aqueous solution, in tincture, or in syrup. The dose 
of it is from two to ten grains, repeated every hour, two, or three hours, or less frequently. 
From ten grains to a drachm* may be given daily. In scrofulous affections, it must be given 
in large quantities, and persevered in for several weeks, in order to obtain its curative 
effects. Monesia is applied to ulcers either by being sprinkled in powder upon the surface, 
or in the form of ointment made with one part of the extract and seven parts of simple oint- 
ment. Monesin, or the acrid principle, has been given internally in the dose of about half 
a grain, and has also been applied to ulcers. 
Mr. Dupuy, of New York, states that specimens of an extract sold as monesia, which have 
come under his notice, bear so close a resemblance to extract of logwood as to suggest the 
inquiry, whether they might not really have been the product of the same plant. (iY. Y. 
Journ. of Pharm., i. 167.) W. 
MOXA. The term moxa is employed to designate small masses of combustible matter, in- 
tended, by being burnt in contact with the skin, to produce an eschar. They are of various 
forms, and made of different materials. The Chinese moxa is in small cones from eight to 
twelve lines in height , and is prepared from the leaves of one or more species of Artemisia. A. 
Chinensis and A. Indica were indicated by the Dublin College; but Lindley states that it is the 
A. Moxa of De Candolle which is employed. According to Some authors, the part used is 
the down wThich bovers the leaves and stems; but others, with greater probability, assert 
that it is a fine lanuginous substance, prepared from the leaves by beating them in a mortar. 
A coarser and a finer product are obtained, the former of which is used for tinder, the latter 
worked up into moxa. A similar moxa has been made in France, by a similar process, from 
the leaves of A. vulgaris. 
Various substitutes have been proposed for the Chinese moxa. all composed of some light, 
porous, soft, inflammable substance, which burns slowly, and thus allows the heat to be 
regulated according to the effect desired. Linen rolled into a cylinder, cotton formed into 
the same shape and enclosed in a piece of linen, cords of cotton in small masses of various 
shapes, and even common spunk made from the agaric of the oak, have been employed by 
different persons with the desired effect. But all these bodies are subject to the inconve- 
nience of requiring to be constantly blown upon, in order that their combustion may be 
sustained. To remedy this defect, cotton impregnated with nitre has been recommended; 
and the moxa usually employed is prepared from that substance. It is important that the 
impregnation should be uniform; as otherwise different parts of the cylinder, burning with 
different degrees of rapidity, would produce unequal effects upon the skin. The following 
process is recommended. One pound of cotton is introduced into a vessel containing two 
ounces of nitre dissolved in half a gallon of water, and a moderate heat applied till all the 
liquid is evaporated. The cotton when perfectly dry is formed into thin, narrow sheets, 
which are rolled round a central cord of linen, so as to form a cylinder from half an inch to 
an inch in diameter, and several inches long. This is enclosed in a covering of silk or linen 
sewed firmly around it: and, when used, may be cut by a razor into transverse slices a few 
lines in thickness. By leaving a hole in the centre of the cylinder, the combustion will be 
rendered more vigorous, and a deeper eschar produced. 
The pith of Ilelianthus annuus, or the common sun-flower, has been proposed by M. Percy 
for the preparation of moxa, for which it is wrell adapted by the nitre which it contains, and 
wdiicli enables it to burn without insufflation. The stem, when perfectly mature, is cut 
into transverse sections about half an inch in thickness, which must be carefully dried, 
and kept in a perfectly dry place. They have this advantage, that, in consequence of the 
retention of the cortical portion, they may be held with impunity, while burning, between 
the fingers of the operator. They are, however, often defective in consequence of an insuf- 
ficiency of nitre in the pith, or of the unequal inflammability of different parts. 
M. ltobinet has perfected the preparation of moxa, by combining the advantages of the 
two kinds last described. He rolls cotton round a small central cylinder of pith, and en- 
velopes the whole in a piece of muslin, which is more or less firmly applied, according to 
the degree of compactness required. The cylinders, thus made, burn without assistance, 
uniformly, and with a rapidity proportionate to their firmness. 
Dr. Jacobson, of Copenhagen, has proposed, as a substitute for the ordinary forms of 
moxa, small cylinders formed out of strips of paper imbued with a solution of chromate of 
potassa; and cotton, impregnated with the solution of chlorate of potassa instead of nitre, 
is said to answer an excellent purpose. [Journ. de Pharm., xix. 608.) Small cylinders made 
out of strips of coarse muslin saturated with the same solution are also employed. M. 
Guepratt proposes paper or cotton dipped into the solution of subacetate of lead, and 
afterwards dried. [Med. Exam., N. S., iii. 455.) 
Lime in the act of slaking has been employed by Dr. Osborne. A portion of powdered 
quicklime, half an inch in thickness, and of suitable lateral dimensions, is applw l to tho PART III. 
Moxa.—Muriatic Ether. 
1559 
skin, and confined by some convenient arrangement. A few drops of water are then added, 
and a degree of heat is soon evolved sufficient for a caustic effect, if the lime is allowed to 
remain as long as the heat continues. This may be increased or diminished by increasing 
or diminishing the quantity of lime employed. The eschar formed is somewhat more than 
double the extent of the base of the moxa. (Dublin Journ., Jan. 1842 ) 
Medical Uses. Cauterization by fire, in the treatment of disease, has been commonly 
practised among savage and half civilized nations from the earliest periods of history, and 
has not been unknown as a remedy in the most polished communities. The ancient Egyp- 
tians and Greeks were acquainted with the use of moxa; and in China, Japan, and other 
countries of Asia, it appears to have been employed from time immemorial. From these 
countries the early Portuguese navigators introduced it into Europe; and the term moxa 
is said to have been derived from their language, though supposed by some to be of Chinese 
origin. The true Chinese name is said to be kiew. (Percy and Laurent.) Some years since, 
the remedy became very popular in France, and attracted some attention in this country. 
It acts on the principle of revulsion; relieving deep-seated infiamniation, and local irrita- 
tion whether vascular or nervous, by inviting the current of excitement to the skin. In 
some cases it may also operate advantageously by the propagation of a stimulant im - 
pression to neighbouring parts. 
The celebrated Larrey was among those who contributed most to bring this remedy intc 
repute. The diseases in which it wras recommended by this author were amaurosis, loss of 
taste, deafness, paralytic affections of the muscular system, asthma, chronic catarrh and 
pleurisy, phthisis, chronic engorgement of the liver and spleen, rachitis, diseased spine, 
coxalgia, and other forms of scrofulous and rheumatic inflammation of the joints. It has 
also been used advantageously in neuralgia, and is applicable to chronic complaints gene- 
rally in which powerful external revulsion is indicated. 
The parts of the body upon which, according to Larrey, it should not be applied, are the 
cranium where protected only by the skin and pericranium; the eyelids, nose, and ears; 
the skin over the larynx, trachea, and mammary glands; over superficial tendons, project- 
ing points of bones, and articular prominences in which the capsular ligament might be 
involved; the anterior surface of the abdomen; and the genitals. 
As a general rule it should be applied as near as possible to the seat of the disease; and, 
in neuralgic or paralytic cases, at the origin or over the course of the nerves proceeding 
to the part affected. Some advise that the cylinder be attached to the skin by some adhe- 
sive liquid; but a more general practice is to retain it in the proper position by a pair of 
forceps or other instrument. Larrey recommends that the skin around it be covered with 
a piece of moistened lint, having a hole in the centre to admit the base of the cylinder. 
The moxa should be set on fire at the summit, and the combustion sustained if necessary 
by the breath, the blow-pipe, or the bellows. The size of the cylinder should vary, accord- 
ing to the effect desired, from half an inch to an inch or more in diameter, and from a few 
lines to an inch in height. Any degree of effect may be obtained, from a slight inflamma- 
tion to the death of the skin, by regulating the time during which the moxa is allowed to 
burn. When a slough is required, it should be suffered to burn until consumed. The first 
sensation experienced is not disagreeable; but the operation becomes gradually more pain- 
ful, and towards the close is for a short time very severe. W. 
MUREXIDE. A fine purple dye-stuff, made by the reaction of nitric acid on uric acid. As 
resulting from the action of nitric acid on urine, it was supposed by Mr. Prout to consist 
of purpuric acid and ammonia, and hence was named purpurate of ammonia; but chemists 
are not agreed as to its precise composition. It is now’ made from guano. This is first 
treated with muriatic acid to remove foreign substances, and then with soda to dis- 
solve the uric acid, which is separated by neutralizing the soda with muriatic acid. The 
uric acid is dissolved in nitric acid, the solution is heated, and after it cools ammonia or 
its carbonate is added, which developes the purple colour. Murexide is obtained in crys- 
tals, which have a square form, and are of a rich green colour by reflected, but of a purple- 
red by transmitted light. They are slightly soluble in cold water, more so in boiling water, 
and insoluble in alcohol and ether. With potassa they form a rich purple solution. (Brande 
and Taylor.) See for an article on the subject of murexide the Pharmaceutical Journal (xviii. 
328). W. 
MURIATIC ETHER. JEther Muriatints. Muriate of Ethylen. Chloride of Ethyl. This ether 
was discovered by Rouelle, but first obtained in sufficient quantities to permit the exa- 
mination of its properties by Basse. It may be procured by several processes, but the fol- 
lowing is the best. Distil a mixture of equal measures of concentrated muriatic acid and 
alcohol, and receive the product, by means of a curved glass tube, in a tubulated bottle, half 
filled with water at a temperature between 70° and 80°, and connected by means of a second 
tube with another bottle, loosely corked, and surrounded by a mixture of common salt with 
snow or pounded ice. The ether, as it enters the first bottle, is mixed with alcohol and acid, 
which are retained by the water; while the pure ether passes forward, and is condensed in Muriatic Ether.—Mushrooms. 
PART III. 
the refrigerated bottle. It must be kept in strong bottles, well secured with ground stoppers 
covered with leather. Before being opened, the bottle should be cooled to the freezing point. 
Muriatic ether is a colourless liquid, having a strong, slightly saccharine, alliaceous taste, 
and a penetrating, ethereal, alliaceous smell. Its sp. gr. at the temperature of 41° is 0-774. 
It is extremely volatile, entering into ebullition at 54°; so that in summer it may be col- 
lected in the gaseous state, in bell-glasses over water. Its density in the state of vapour is 
2-22. When kindled as issuing from a fine orifice, it burns with an emerald green flame with- 
out smoke, diffusing a strong odour of muriatic acid; but, when set on fire in quantities, it 
burns with a greenish-yellow, smoky flame. Water dissolves one-fiftieih of its weight of this 
ether, and acquires a sweetish, ethereal taste: and alcohol unites with it in all proportions. 
These solutions are not precipitated by nitrate of silver, showing that the chlorine present 
is in a peculiar state of combination. Like hydi ic and nitric ether, it dissolves sulphur and 
phosphorus, the fat and volatile oils, and many other substances. It consists of one eq. of 
muriatic acid 36-5, and one of ethylen 28 = 64-5; or, in volumes, of two volumes of the acid, 
and one volume of the vapour of ethylen, condensed into two volumes. Its formula is 
C4H4,HC1. ATewed as the chloride of ethyl, it is represented by C4H5,C1. 
Muriatic ether is a diffusible stimulant; but, owing to its extreme volatility, cannot be 
kept in the shops. It may, however, be preserved in a cool cellar, the temperature of which 
does not rise above 45° or 50°, being well secured in bottles, which should be placed re- 
versed. When used as a medicine, it is generally mixed with an equal bulk of alcohol, form- 
ing what is called alcoholic muriatic ether. The dose is from five to thirty drops, given in 
sweetened water, or other convenient vehicle. B. 
MUSHROOMS. Fungi. This extensive family of cryptogamous plants is interesting to the 
physician, from the consideration, that, while some of them are very largely consumed as 
food, others are deleterious in their nature, and capable, when eaten, of producing poisonous 
effects. Their substance is made up of a cellular tissue, which is usually of that soft consist- 
ence denominated fungous, but is sometimes corky, ligneous, or even gelatinous. Many of 
them have an agreeable odour and taste, while others are unpleasant or offensive both to 
the nostrils and palate. Their juice generally exhibits an acid reaction. According to Bra- 
connot, most of them contain, among other substances, a peculiar principle denominated 
fungin, a peculiar acid called fungic acid usually combined with potassa, and a saccharine 
matter, less sweet than most other varieties of sugar, less soluble in alcohol and water than 
that of the cane, and distinguished by some writers as the sugar of mushrooms. M. Bolby 
found mannitc in two different species, with oxalic acid in one, an acid which he supposed 
to be the fumaric in a second, and lichstearic acid in a third. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e scr., xxiv. 
236.) M. Dessaignes has ascertained the identity of the fumaric and fungic acids. (Ibid., 
xxvi. 133.) Fungin constitutes the basis of these vegetables, and is the principle upon which 
their nutritive properties chiefly depend. It is the fleshy substance which remains after 
they have been treated with boiling water holding a little alkali in solution. It is whitish, 
soft, and insipid; inflammable; insoluble in water, alcohol, ether, weak sulphuric acid, and 
weak solutions of potassa and soda; soluble in heated muriatic acid; decomposed by nitric 
acid, and by concentrated alkaline solutions; and converted by destructive distillation into 
substances resembling those which result from the distillation of animal matters. MM. 
Payen and Fromberg affirm that the fungin of Braconnot is nothing but cellulose; and this 
assertion is confirmed by M. Gobley, who attributes the animal properties ascribed to it, to 
the presence of unseparated albumen. M. Gobley also found the supposed peculiar saccha- 
rine matter to be mannite. He gives, as the result of his analysis of the edible mushroom, 
water, albumen, cellulose, mannite, extractive matters, salts, and fatty matter consisting of 
olein, margarin, and a peculiar concrete fatty substance analogous to cliolesterin, and called 
by him agaracin. (Ibid., xxix. 91.) Mushrooms are very largely cultivated in Europe for the 
table. They require a rich soil; but the discovery is asserted to have been recently made, 
that they will flourish better, and attain a much greater size, in artificial beds of sulphate of 
lime, in which the spores are buried mixed writli powdered nitrate of potassa to the depth of 
about one-third or one-half of an inch; at least this is said to be true of a variety of the 
Agaricus campestris, called by the French “!agaric de couche." (Journ. de Pharm., Sept. 1861, 
p. 196.) 
It is highly important for those who employ mushrooms as food, to be able to distinguish 
those which are wholesome from the poisonous. The following general rules are given by 
M. Richard in the Dictionnaire des Drogues. Those should be rejected which have a narcotic 
or fetid odoui', or an acrid, bitter, or very acid taste; which occasion a sense of constric- 
tion in the throat when swallowed; which are very soft, liquefying, changing colour, and 
assuming a bluish tint upon being bruised; which exude a milky, acrid, and styptic juice; 
which grow in very moist places, and upon putrefying substances; in fine, all such as 
have a coriaceous, ligneous, or corky consistence. The last, however, are injurious in 
consequence rather of their indigestible than of their poisonous nature. Even mushrooms 
which are usually edible may prove poisonous, if collected too late, or in places which are 
too moist. It is said, moreover, that the poisonous species sometimes become innocent PART m. 
Mushrooms.—Musk, Artificial. 
■when they grow under favourable circumstances. It is affirmed, for example, that mush 
rooms which prove poisonous in England are eaten with impunity in Russia, a fact which 
Mr. W. Hamilton is disposed to ascribe less to difference in the plant, than in the mode o> 
preparation; salt being much more largely used with them by the Russian than the Eng- 
lish cooks. (Pharm. Journ., xiv. 67.) In the autumn of 1859, out of six officers of the French 
army stationed at Corte, who partook of mushrooms, five died. In consequence of this 
event, the Army Board of Health drew up instructions for the use of the army as to the 
mode of distinguishing the poisonous from edible mushrooms. We have no space for them 
here; and must content ourselves -with referring to the Journal de Pharmacie (Nov. 1860, p. 
889); and the Pharmaceutical Journal (Jan. 1861, p. 387). Immense quantities of mushrooms 
are eaten in France, Germany, Italy, and other parts of continental Europe; and they are 
said to constitute the chief food of the people in certain provinces. 
Some experiments of M. Gerard would tend to show that poisonous mushrooms may be 
rendered innocent, by treating them with water slightly acidulated with vinegar, before 
cooking them. About a pound avoirdupois of poisonous mushrooms, cut into pieces, are 
to be macerated for two hours in a quart of water, acidulated with two or three spoonfuls 
of strong vinegar, and afterwards to be washed with a large quantity of water. Next day 
they are to be put into cold water, boiled for half an hour, then taken out, washed, and 
dried. They are now fit for food. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxv. 274.) But subsequent 
experiments by MM. Demartis and Corne, of Bordeaux, have proved that this method is 
not always to be relied on; as certain mushrooms, after having been treated in the manner 
suggested, have nevertheless produced fatal effects on animals; and, as the same mush- 
rooms may be poisonous at one season or in one situation, and innocent in another, the 
inference is that those experimented on by M. Gerard, though ordinarily poisonous, may 
not have been so in that particular instance. (Journ. dc Pharm., 3e ser., xxi. 468.) 
The symptoms produced by the poisonous mushrooms are anxiety, vertigo, nausea, faint- 
ness, vomiting, and, if they are not rejected from the stomach, somnolence, stupor, small 
and intermittent pulse, tension of the abdomen, cold extremities, livid skin, and death in 
thirty-six or forty-eight hours. Sometimes violent pains in the stomach and bowels are 
experienced; and occasionally severe vomiting and purging occur, and save the patient. 
Blackish or bloody dejections, with tenesmus, sometimes attend the action of the poison. 
The symptoms are not generally experienced until some hours after the mushrooms have 
been eaten, showing that their deleterious effects depend upon the entrance of the poisonous 
principle into the circulation. The remedies are emetics, if the physician is called in time, 
accompanied with the free use of warm drinks, and followed by cathartics. After the 
evacuation of the alimentary canal, demulcent and nutritive beverages should be given, 
and the strength of the patient sustained by mild tonics or stimulants. Ether is particu- 
larly recommended; and opiates would no doubt prove serviceable in the absence of coma, 
should any irritability of the st omach and bowels remain. 
Some of the poisonous species have been used as medicines; but in this country they 
are never employed; and too little seems to be precisely known of their modes of action, 
and their qualities, even in the same species, vary too much, according to the circum- 
stances of their growth and situation, to justify their introduction into the materia medica, 
without further investigation. A species of Lycoperdon or puff-ball, L. proleus, was thought 
to have been proved by Dr. B. W. Richardson, of London, to have remarkable narcotic 
and anaesthetic properties. Having noticed that the smoke of this fungus was used in the 
country for stupefying bees, he experimented with the fumes upon various animals, which, 
wThen caused to inhale them, became insensible, and could be operated on without evincing 
any signs of pain. When carried far, they caused death. lie had himself inhaled the 
fumes clarified by passing them through water, and experienced symptoms of intoxication 
and drowsiness. They were procured by burning the fungus. (Lond. Med. Times and Gaz., 
June, 1853, p. 610.) Mr. Thornton Ilerapath, however, maintains, as the result of his ex- 
periments, that these anaesthetic effects are in reality not owing to any narcotic principle 
present in the fungus, but to the carbonic oxide gas generated during their combustion. 
(.Philosoph. Magaz., July, 1855.) W. 
MUSK, ARTIFICIAL. Moschus Factitius. This is prepared, according to M. Eisner, by 
adding, by small portions at a time, one part of rectified oil of amber to three parts of fum- 
ing nitric acid. The resulting resin is washed with water to separate acid, and brought to 
the consistence of a firm extract in a water-bath. Thus prepared it is a dark brownish-red 
substance, having a burning, bitter, aromatic taste, and a musky odour. It is very soluble 
in alcohol, ether, and the volatile oils', and its alcoholic solution reddens litmus. Triturated 
with caustic potassa, it gives off ammonia. When set on fire, it burns with a very smoky 
flame, and leaves a shining porous charcoal. Its formula, deduced from its combination with 
protoxide of lead, is C15I18N207. Comparing its composition with that of the oil of amber, 
the action of the nitric acid evidently consists in eliminating a portion of carbon and hydro- 
gen, adding to the oxygen, and furnishing nitrogen. M. Eisner found oil of amber to con- 
sist of several oily principles, having different boiling points, one of which, resembling 1562 
Mush, Artificial.—Myrica Cerifiera. 
PART III. 
eup’on, lie calls amber eupion. As this substance yields artificial musk by the action of fum- 
ing nitric acid, he believes the property possessed by oil of amber yielding the same sub- 
stance to be due to its presence. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., ii. 144.) During the reaction of 
nitric acid with oil of amber, Dr. John T. Plummer, of Indiana, has observed that oxalic 
acid is generated. 
Dr. S. W. Williams gives the following formula for the preparation of artificial musk. Add 
gradually, drop by drop, three drachms and a half of concentrated nitric acid to a drachm of 
rectified oil of amber, contained in a glass tumbler or very large wineglass. The mixture 
grows hot, and emits offensive fumes, which the operator must avoid. When the ordinary 
nitric acid is employed, which is not of full strength, the reaction must be assisted by heat; 
in which case Dr. Williams recommends that the vessel containing the mixed ingredients be 
placed in a plate before the fire, they being, meanwhile, continually stirred with a glass rod. 
After the mixture has remained at rest for 24 hours, it acquires a resinous appearance, and 
divides into two portions, an acid liquid below, and a yellow resin above, resembling musk 
in smell. This being thoroughly washed, first with cold and then with hot water, until all 
traces of acid are removed, is the artificial musk. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., viii. 14.) 
Artificial musk is an antispasmodic and nervine, and possesses the general therapeutic 
properties of the natural substance, though in a weaker degree. It is praised by Dr. Wil- 
liams in the treatment of hooping-cough, typhoid states of fever, and nervous diseases 
generally. When combined with water of ammonia, compound spirit of lavender, or lauda- 
num, he found no remedy so efficient in the sinking faintness occurring in the last stage of 
pulmonary consumption. The average dose for an adult is ten grains; for a child of two 
years old, from half a grain to a grain, repeated, in each case, every two or three hours. It 
may be prepared as the musk mixture, or with almonds in the form of emulsion. According 
to Berzelius, tincture of artificial musk is formed by dissolving a drachm of the musk in an 
ounce of alcohol, equivalent to ten ftuidrachms, of the sp. gr. 0-835. Of this the dose for an 
adult is a teaspoonful. This tincture has been employed by Prof. Hauner, chief physician of 
the Children’s Hospital at Munich, in uncomplicated spasm of the glottis, with invariable 
success in more than thirty cases. Though artificial musk is not equal in power to the na- 
tural substance, when genuine, yet it is in all probability superior to the adulterated article, 
so frequently sold under the name of musk. B. 
MYRICA CEllIFERA. Wax-myrtle. Bay-berry. This is an indigenous shrub, growing in 
great abundance in the sandy soil along the sea-shore, and even on the shores of our north- 
ern lakes. It belongs to Dicecia Tetrandria in the Linnasan system, and the natural order 
Myricaceae. The genus is characterized by its sterile flowers in cylindrical, and its fertile 
in ovoidal closely imbricated catkins, without calyx or corolla, solitary under a scale-like 
bract with a pair of bractlets; the stamens 2 to 8, with filaments somewhat united below; 
the ovary with 3 scales at its base, and 2 thread-like stigmas; the fruit a small spherical 
nut. (Gray's Manual.) The leaves of the wax-myrtle are oblong-lanceolate, narrower at their 
base, entire or somewhat toothed near the apex, shining, with resinous dots on both sides, 
and very fragrant when rubbed. The fruit is covered with a coating of white wax, and some- 
times continues on the plant for two years or more. The shrub is from three or four to ten 
feet high, often thickly crowded, and, under such circumstances, scenting the air with its spicy 
odour. The coating of wax upon the surface is collected, and known in commerce as myrtle 
wax. (See Vegetable Wax, page 241.) A volatile oil might probably be collected by distillation 
from the leaves, and used for purposes similar to those to which oil of pimento is applied. 
The bark of the stem and root is supposed to possess valuable remedial properties, and has 
been employed to a considerable extent. In the dried state it is in quilled pieces of variable 
length, covered with a thin epidermis of a grayish colour somewhat mottled, and marked 
with slight, circular fissures. Within the epidermis the colour is reddish-brown. The bark is 
brittle, and of a peculiar, astringent, bitterish, and pungent taste, followed by a slight sense 
of acrimony. Its powder has a peculiar aromatic odour, and irritates the nostrils and throat 
when inhaled. It yields its virtues to water and alcohol. Chemically examined by Mr. Geo. 
M. Hambright, it was found to contain volatile oil, starch, lignin, gum, albumen, extractive, 
a red colouring substance, tannic and gallic acids, an acrid resin soluble in alcohol and 
ether, ajj astringent resin soluble in alcohol and not in ether, and a peculiar acrid principle 
having acid properties, analogous to saponin, for which the name of myricinic acid is pro- 
posed. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., May, 1863, p. 193.) 
In relation to its effects on the system, the bark appears to be moderately tonic and astrin- 
gent, with probably expectorant properties connected with its acrid principle, and in large 
doses emetic. It has been considerably used by the “eclectics,” in diarrhoea, jaundice, scro- 
fula, &c. Externally the powdered bark is used as a stimulant to indolent ulcers; and the 
decoction as a gargle and injection in chronic inflammation of the throat, leucorrhoea, &c. 
The dose of the powder is twenty or thirty grains, of a decoction made with an oum-e to 
the pint of water, one or two fluidounces. An alcoholic extract, very inappropriately named 
myricin, is given in the medium dose of about five grains. W„ part in. 
Myrobalans.—Narcissus Pseudo-Narcissus. 
1563 
MYROBALANS. Myrobalani. These are the fruits of various East India trees, particu- 
larly of different species of Terminalia. They are noticed here partly on account of their 
ancient reputation, partly because they are still occasionally to be found in the shops, 
though seldom if ever used in medicine. Five varieties are distinguished by authors. 1. 
Myrobalani belliricse. These are obtained from Terminalia Bellirica. They are roundish or 
ovate, from the size of a hazelnut to that of a walnut, of a grayish-browu colour, smooth, 
marked with five longitudinal ribs, and sometimes furnished with a short, thick footstalk. 
They consist of an exterior, firm, resinous, brown, fleshy portion, and an interior kernel, 
which is light-brown, inodorous, and of a bitterish very astringent taste. 2. Myrobalani che- 
bulse. This variety is produced by Terminalia Chebula. The fruit is oblong, pointed at each 
extremity, from fifteen to eighteen lines in length, of a dark-brown colour, smooth and 
shining, with five longitudinal wrinkles, but without footstalks. In their internal arrange- 
ment and their taste, they resemble the preceding. 3. Myrobalani citrinx \e\Jiavse. These 
are from a variety of the same tree which affords the last-mentioned myrobalans, from which 
they differ only in being somewhat smaller, of a light-brown or yellowish colour, and of a 
taste rather more bitter. They were formerly sometimes sold in the shops of Philadelphia, 
under the name of white yalls, to which, however, they bear no other resemblance than in 
taste. 4. Myrobalani Indicse vel niyrse. These are thought to be the unripe fruit of 'Terminalia 
Chebula, or T. Bellirica. They are ovate-oblong, from four to eight lines long, and from two 
to three lines thick, of a blackish colour, wrinkled longitudinally, and presenting, when 
broken, a thick brown mass, without kernel, but with a small cavity in the centre. They 
are sourish and very astringent. 5. Myrobalani emblicse. This variety is wholly different from 
tiie preceding, and derived from a plant having no affinity to the Terminalise, namely, the 
Fhyllanthus Emblica of Linnaeus. It is often in segments, as kept in the shops. When the 
fruit is entire, it is blackish, spherical, depressed, of the size of a cherry, presenting six 
obtuse ribs with as many deep furrows, and separating into six valves, and has a strongly 
astringent and acidulous taste. 
These fruits were in high repute with the Arabians, and were long employed by European 
practitioners, as primarily laxative and secondarily astringent, in various complaints, par- 
ticularly diarrhoea and dysentery. Their dose was from two drachms to an ounce. They 
are not now employed as medicines. We have been told that they have been used as a sub- 
stitute for galls in the preparation of ink-powder. W. 
NAPIITHALIN. This may be obtained by subjecting coal tar to distillation, when it 
passes over after the coal naphtha. It is a white, shining, crystalline substance, fusible at 
17(5° and boiling at 423°. According to Kopp, its sp.gr. in the liquid state is 0-9774, ac- 
cording to Alluard, at 210° F., 0-9628. ( Journ. dc Pharm., Avril, 1860, p. 318.) It is solublo 
in alcohol, ether, naphtha, and the oils, but insoluble in water. Notice has already been 
taken of the artificial preparation of alizarin, a colouring principle of madder, from naph- 
thalin, by M. Roussin. (See Rubia, page 716.) It has been proposed by Dupasquier as an 
expectorant, and has been found, on trial, to act decidedly as such. In the impending 
suffocation, sometimes occurring in the chronic pulmonary catarrh of old persons, and in 
humoral asthma, it facilitated expectoration in a remarkable degree. Being a stimulating 
remedy, it is not proper in acute bronchitis, or where pulmonary inflammation exists. The 
dose is from eight to thirty grains, given in emulsion or syrup, and repeated at intervals 
of a quarter of an hour, until an abundant expectoration takes place. (Journ. de Pharm., 
3eser., ii. 513.) M. Ptossignon considers naphthalin to act like camphor, and to be capable 
of replacing it on many occasions as a remedy. It produces excellent effects in verminose 
affections. It has been found useful by M. Emery, in the form of ointment, made by mix- 
ing a scruple of naphthalin with five drachms of lard, in dry tetter, psoriasis., and lepra 
vulgaris. (Annuaire de Therap., 1843, pp. 64 and 66.) B. 
NAPLES YELLOW. A yellow pigment prepared by calcining a mixture of lead, sul- 
phuret of antimony, dried alum, and muriate of ammonia, or a mixture of carbonate of 
lead, diaphoretic antimony, dried alum, and muriate of ammonia. [Gray.) W. 
NARCISSUS PSEUDO-NARCISSUS. Daffodil. This well-known bulbous plant is a native 
of 'Eui-ope, but very common in the gardens of this country, where it attracts attention by 
the early appearance of its conspicuous yellow flowers. Both the bulb and flowers have 
been used in medicine. The latter have a feeble peculiar odour, and both have a bitter 
mucilaginous taste. They are emetic, though uncertain in their operation. It is probable 
that the flowers of the wild plant are more powerful than those of the cultivated. They 
may be given dried and powdered, or in the form of extract. The dose of the powder, to 
produce an emetic effect, varies, according to the statements of different physicians, from 
a scruple to two drachms; while the extract is said to vomit in the dose of two or three 
grains. It is conjectured that the emetic property is developed by the agency of water. 
The bulb is most powerful in the recent state, and, within our own knowledge, is occa- 
sionally used as an emetic in domestic practice in the country. When dried and powdered, 
it has been given in the dose of thirty-six grains without vomiting. The author, when a 1564 
Nard.—Nitrate of Copper. 
PART III. 
ptudent of medicine, wishing to ascertain whether this root might not, like ipecacuanLa, 
possess diaphoretic properties, took a dose of it suspended in some warm water at bed- 
time, and on awaking in the morning found himself bathed in a copious sweat, and freed, 
at the same time, from the symptoms of a severe attack of catarrh under which he was at 
the time labouring. The flowers are said also to possess antispasmodic powers, and have 
been used in France, with supposed advantage, in hooping-cough, epilepsy, and other con- 
vulsive affections. It is probable, however, that they operated in these cases by their nau- 
seating or emetic property. They have, moreover, been advantageously employed in diar- 
rhoea, dysentery, and intermittent fever. Other species of Narcissus are said to possess the 
same properties, though they have not been so much used. W. 
NAltD. Spikenard. Several aromatic roots were known to the ancients under the name 
of nardus, distinguished, according to their origin or place of growth, by the names of 
nardus Indica, nardus Celtica, nardus montana, &c. They are supposed to have been derived 
from different species of Valeriana. Thus the nardus Indica is referred to V. Jatamensi of 
Bengal, the nardus Celtica to V. Celtica, inhabiting the Alps, Apennines, &c., and the nardus 
montana to V. tuberosa, which grows in the mountains of the south of Europe. The Indian 
nard, or spikenard, sometimes also called Syrian nard, is still occasionally to be found in 
the shops. It is a small delicate root, from one to three inches long, beset with a tuft of 
soft, light-brown, slender fibres, of an agreeable odour, and a bitter, aromatic taste. It 
was formerly very highly esteemed as a medicine, but is now almost out of use. Its pro- 
perties are analogous to those of the officinal valerian. W. 
NASTURTIUM OFFICINALE. R. Brown. Sisymbrium Nasturtium. Linn. Water-cress. A 
small, perennial, herbaceous, succulent plant, growing in springs, rivulets, and ponds, in 
North America, Europe, and some parts of Asia. The fresh herb has a quick penetrating 
odour, especially when rubbed, and a bitterish, pungent taste, but loses both when dried. In 
sensible and medical properties it bears some resemblance to scurvy grass, though milder, 
and on this account is preferred for the table. It is thought to be useful in scorbutic affec- 
tions, and visceral obstructions. The expressed juice is sometimes given in the dose of one 
or two ounces; - but the herb is more frequently used in the form of a salad. Other species 
of Nasturtium, as N. Palustre or marsh water- cress, and N. amphibium or water-radish, grow 
in similar situations with the N. officinale, and possess similar virtues. W. 
NER1UM OLEANDER. A notice of the oleander, so well known as an ornamental shrub 
of our conservatories, is introduced here mainly on account of its presumed poisonous pro- 
perties. The peasantry in the south of France, where the plant grows wild, employ the 
powdered bark as a poison for rats, and death is said to have occurred from eating food 
roasted by the oleander wood. (Mir at et De Lens.) The leaves, boiled in lard or oil, yield an 
ointment which is said to be very efficacious, rubbed on the skin, against insects that infest 
the person. A case has been recently recorded in which a man, in Ilindostan, swallowed 
somewhat more than an ounce of the juice of Nerium odorum, with the effect of producing 
the most violent narcotic symptoms, as stupor, stertorous breathing, and convulsions, fol- 
lowed by great prostration, with involuntary evacuations, from which, however, after two 
days of danger, he recovered under the use of emetics, followed by supporting treatment. 
(?■ and F. Med.-Chir. Rev., Ant. ed., April, 1860, p. 387 ) M. Latour has made a careful 
chemical examination of oleander, from which he obtained the following results. 1. The 
poisonous principle exists in the leaves, bark, and flowers, but most largely in the bark. 
2. This principle is of a resinous nature, and not volatile, and is found more largely in the 
wild than the cultivated plant. 3. The solubility of this resin in water is much facilitated 
by the alkaline salts, and hence it exists in the watery extract. 4. The distilled water of 
the bark and leaves possesses some activity, which it owes to a small portion of the resin 
carried over with the steam. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., March, 1858, p. 172.) W. 
NIGELLA SATIVA. Nutmeg-flower. Small Fennel-flower. A small annual plant, growing 
wild in Syria and the south of Europe, and cultivated in various parts of the world. The 
seeds, which are sometimes kept in the shops under the name of semen nig elite, are ovate, 
somewhat compressed, about a line long and half as broad, usually three-cornered, with two 
Eides flat and one convex, black or brown externally, white and oleaginous within, of a 
strong, agreeable, aromatic odour, like that of nutmegs, and a spicy, pungent taste. Their 
chief constituents are a volatile and fixed oil, and a peculiar bitter principle denominated 
nigellin, which exists in the seeds in very minute proportion. [Journ. de Pharm., 3e sir., iL 
128.) In India they are considered as stimulant, diaphoretic, and emmenagogue, and are 
believed to increase the secretion of milk. They are also used as a condiment and as a eor- 
rigent or adjuvant of purgative and tonic medicines. W. 
NITRATE OF COPPER. Cupri Nitras. This well-known salt has been employed with 
advantage, as a caustic, in a severe case of ulceration of the throat and tongue, and in 
several similar cases, by Dr. William Moore, of Ballymoney, Ireland. The application is 
attended with no danger, provided the ulcer or part is dried before applying the caustic, 
and afterwards smeared with oil. (See Braithwaite’s Retrospect, xxv. 201.) B. PART III. 
Nitrate of Soda.—Nitrosulphate of Ammonia. 
1565 
NITRATE OF SODA. Cubic Nitre. This salt may be formed by treating carbonate of 
soda with nitric acid. It is found naturally in the desert of Atacama and elsewhere in Peru, 
where it forms beds of vast extent. Attempts were made between 1820 and 1830 to export 
it to England and the United States; but the cargoes were unsalable. Soon afterwards, 
however, its value became known; so that at present large quantities are exported from 
Peru, being consumed in the manufacture of sulphuric and nitric acids, and as a fertil- 
izer. The salt has also been found largely in Brazil, in the Province of Bahia, near the 
river San Francisco. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., Nov. 1861, p. 502. For a particular account of 
the nitrate of soda deposits of Peru, in a commercial point of view, see Ibid., March, 1862, 
p. 263.) 
The crude salt, as it comes from Peru, is in saline lumps, rather soft and friable, and 
damp on the surface. It is distinguished into varieties according to its colour and state of 
aggregation, as ivhite compact, yellow, gray compact, gray crystalline, and white crystalline, and 
varies very much in purity, containing from 85 to only 20 per cent, of the pure salt. Some 
of the varieties contain iodine. (See page 47.) The impurities consist of common salt, sul- 
phate and carbonate of soda, and chloride of calcium. Occasionally borate of lime, asso- 
ciated with borate of soda, is found under the beds of the nitrate. (Seejsaye 784.) 
Nitrate of soda, when pure, is a white salt, crystallizing in rhomboidal pi’isms, and hav- 
ing a sharp, cooling, and bitter taste. It attracts moisture slightly from the air, and dis- 
solves in about twice its weight of water, at 60°. It has been praised as a remedy in dys- 
entery by two German physicians, Drs. Velsen and Meyer, given in the quantity of from 
half an ounce to an ounce in the course of the day, dissolved in gum water, or other mu- 
cilaginous liquid. It has been used with success in the same disease by Dr. Rademaeher, 
of Vienna, who recommends it in a number of other diseases having nothing in common. 
(Ann. de Tlierap., 1854.) Dr. J. B. Brown also bears very emphatic testimony to the value 
of nitrate of soda as a speedy and safe remedy in dysentery and dysenteric diarrhoea. 
(Charleston Med. Journ., May, 1854, p. 398, from North- Western Med. and Surg. Journ.) 
As nitrate of soda has been imposed upon our merchants for nitre, it may be useful to 
mention that the former salt may be distinguished by its giving rise to an orange-yellow 
flame when thrown on burning coals, and by the rhomboidal shape of its crystals; those 
of nitre being long six-sided prisms. B. 
NITROPRUSSIDE OF SODIUM. This is the most interesting of a series of salts, dis- 
covered by Dr. Playfair, called nitroprussides, which are produced, for the most part, by 
saturating nitroprussic acid, formed by the action of nitric acid on ferrocyanide of potas- 
sium, with different bases. The sodium salt is best obtained by the process of A. Overbeck, 
as follows. Dissolve four parts of powdered ferrocyanide of potassium, contained in a flask, 
in five and a half parts of commercial nitric acid, diluted with an equal weight of water. 
After the action is completed, which generally occupies about ten minutes, and is accom- 
panied by a copious evolution of gases, heat the resulting coffee-brown liquid in a water- 
bath, until a drop of it gives a dingy green, instead of a blue precipitate, with a solution 
of sulphate of protoxide of iron. Then allow the liquid to cool; whereupon the larger part 
of the nitrate of potassa generated will be deposited in crystals. Pour off the green mother- 
liquor from these, and separate the remaining nitrate of potassa by repeated concentrations. 
Next neutralize the liquid, while heated in a water-bath, with carbonate of soda, taking 
care to add the carbonate so long only as a pure blue precipitate is produced. Lastly, filter 
the solution, and set it aside for the formation of crystals, which must be washed with wa- 
ter, and dried between blotting-paper. (Chem. Gaz., July 15, 1853, p. 271.) This salt is in 
the form of large, ruby-coloured, prismatic crystals, very much resembling those of ferrid- 
cyanide of potassium (red prussiate of potassa). It is soluble in two and a half parts of 
cold water, and in a less quantity of hot water. Its solution, exposed to sunshine, is decom- 
posed, with evolution of nitric oxide gas, and deposition of Prussian blue, at the same time 
acquiring a green colour. Nitroprusside of sodium, as well as the other soluble nitroprus- 
sides, is a most delicate test for the alkaline sulphurets, with which it strikes a beautiful 
violet colour. Its composition is not certainly known; but the following formula, given by 
Gerhardt, is probably the correct one: Na2,Fe2Cy5NOa-(-4HO. Nitroprussic acid is the nitro- 
prusside of hydrogen, with the formula H2,Fe2Cy5N02. B. 
NITROSULPIIATE OF AMMONIA. This compound, discovered by Pelouze in 1835, 
may be formed by passing nitric oxide through a solution of sulphate of ammonia in five 
or six times its volume of water of ammonia. A large number of crystals are formed, 
which must be quickly washed with water of ammonia previously refrigerated, and dried 
without heat. Nitrosulphate of ammonia has been used at the Hotel-Dieu in Paris, in 
doses of twelve grains, with apparent advantage, in typhoid fever. Its composition cor- 
responds with one eq. of nitric oxide, one of sulphurous acid, and one of ammonia; but as 
i.he salt is not precipitated by barytic water, Pelouze conceives that the nitric oxide and 
sulphurous acid, together, form a peculiar acid which he calls nitrosulphuric acid, consist- 
ing of one eq. of nitrogen, one of sulphur, and four of oxygen (NS04). B. Nitrons Oxide.—Ocymum Basilicum. 
PART ill. 
NITROUS OXIDE. This gas, well known from its power to cause a transient intoxica- 
tion when breathed, is capable of producing anaesthetic effects; but, even if these were 
as safely induced as by ether, the comparative expense of the gas would be an objection 
to its employment. The late Mr. Horace Wells, dentist, of Connecticut, tried to introduce 
it as an anaesthetic; but his first experiments were unsuccessful, and further attempts were 
superseded by the discovery of etherization. Recently, however, it is said to have been used 
to a considerable extent by the dentists, and with satisfactory results. It is alleged in its 
favour, that its operation, while equally effectual, is more pleasant and transitory than 
that of ether or chloroform, and that no serious consequences have been experienced. 
{Bost. Med. and Surg. Journ., Oct. 15, 1863, p. 226.) As a remedial agent it is probably 
capable of beneficial application in cases requiring the use of a powerful nervous and 
cerebral stimulant; and some trials have been made with it in low forms of fever, in which 
it appeared to act favourably. 
Water, impregnated by pressure with about five times its volume of this gas, forms the 
nitrous oxide water, known in England under the name of Searle's patent oxygenous aerated 
water, which has been used to some extent as an internal remedy. Sir II. Davy tried the 
aqueous solution, made without pressure, and thought it acted as a diuretic, and promoted 
digestion; and Serullas used it in Asiatic cholera with apparent advantage. The patent 
water is asserted to be suited to the treatment of torpor, debility, depression of spirits, 
asthma, and dyspepsia; but to be contraindicated in inflammatory and plethoric states 
of the system. Dr. George J. Ziegler, of Philadelphia, has made a number of therapeutic 
trials with nitrous oxide water, charged with five times its volume of the gas, and finds it 
to possess tonic, resolvent, exhilarant, and diuretic properties. He has observed, however, 
that its free and prolonged use is apt to produce emaciation. Dr. Ziegler has also made 
some interesting experiments, tending to show the antidotal and revivifying properties of 
nitrous oxide In these experiments, dogs were asphyxiated or poisoned with carburetted 
hydrogen, chloroform, carbonic acid, hydrocyanic acid, and other agents, and, when in a 
state of suspended animation more or less complete, were generally revived by the nitrous 
oxide water, injected into the bowels in the quantity of from two to three pints. When ad- 
ministered by the stomach, the dose of the water is from half a pint to a pint and a half, 
taken in the course of the day. Dr. Ziegler concludes from his observations and experi- 
ments that nitrous oxide is a powerful arterial, nervous, and cerebral stimulant, possess- 
ing, at the same time, valuable antidotal powers. (Bost. Med. and Surg. Journ., xlvi. 453 
and xlvii. 383.)* B. 
NYMPI1AEA ODORATA. Sweet-scented Water-lily. An indigenous herbaceous perennial, 
growing in most parts of the United States, in fresh water ponds and on the borders of 
streams, and distinguished by the beauty and delicious odour of its large, white, many- 
petaled flowers. Its root is large and fleshy in the recent state, but becomes light, spongy, 
and friable by drying. It is very astringent and bitter, and, according to Dr Bigelow, 
contains much tannin and gallic acid. It is sometimes employed, in the form of poultice, 
as a discatient application. The root of the Nymphsea alba, or European white water-lily, 
was esteemed antaphrodisiac by the ancients, but has long lost this reputation. Like that 
of the American plant, it is bitter and styptic, and may have been useful by its astringency 
in some cases of leucorrhoea, gonorrhoea, dysentery, &c., in which it was formerly em- 
ployed for its reputed sedative virtues. W. 
OCHRES. These are native mixtures of argillaceous or calcareous earth and oxide of 
iron, employed in painting. They are prepared for use by agitating them with water, de- 
canting the turbid liquor after the coarser particles have subsided, then allowing it to rest 
in order that the finer parts may be deposited, and, lastly, drying the sediment which forms. 
The colour of the ochres varies with the state of oxidation of the iron, and with the propor- 
tion which it bears to the other ingredients, and is sometimes artificially modified by the 
agency of heat. Several varieties are kept in our shops under different names, according to 
their colour or place of origin. Such are the brown ochre, the yellow ochre, the red ochre, the 
Roman ochre of a brownish-yellow changing by heat to a purple-red, the Oxford ochre of a 
brownish-yellow colour less deep than the Roman, and the French ochre which is yellow. 
The Indian red from the Persian Gulf, and the Spanish brown may also be ranked in this 
class of pigments. Sometimes ochres come in a powdery state, and sometimes in hard 
masses; in the latter state they are called stone ochres. W. 
OCYMUM BASILICUM. Basil. An annual plant, a native of India and Persia, and cul- 
tivated in Europe and in this country in gardens. The whole plant has a strong, peculiar, 
agreeable, aromatic odour, which is improved by drying. The taste is aromatic, and some- 
what cooling and saline. It yields by distillation a yellowish-green volatile oil, lighter 
than water, which on being kept solidifies into a crystalline camphor, isomeric if not iden- 
tical with turpentine-camphor. (Gmelin’s Handbook, xiv. 359.) Basil has the ordinary pro- 
* In a letter addressed to one of the authors by Mr. R. C. Clark, it is stated that the writer had been effectually 
cured of severe neuralgia by taking a fluidounce of the nitrous oxide water every six hours. part ill. 
(Enanthe Croeata.—Oil of Anda. 
perties of the aromatic plants, and is in some places considerably used as a condiment. The 
seeds are said by Ainslie to be used in India, in the form of infusion, as a remedy in gonor- 
rhoea and nephritic affections. W. 
(ENANTHE CROCATA. Hemlock Water-dropwort. A perennial, umbelliferous, aquatic 
European plant, exceedingly poisonous both to man and inferior animals. The root, which 
has a sweetish not unpleasant taste, is sometimes eaten by mistake for other roots, with tho 
most dangerous effects; and numerous instances of fatal results are on record. The symp- 
toms produced are such as attend irritation or inflammation of the stomach, united with 
great cerebral disturbance, indicated by giddiness, convulsions, and coma. Externally ap- 
plied, the root produces redness and irritation of the skin, with an eruptive affection. It is 
said to be sometimes used empirically as a local remedy in piles; and a case is recorded in 
which an obstinate leprosy was cured by the continued use of the juice of the plant. 
species of (Enanthe are poisonous, and the whole genus should be regarded among the sus- 
pected plants. We have two or three indigenous species. The proper remedies, in cases of 
poisoning from these plants, are emetics, followed, after the stomach has been thoroughly 
evacuated, by demulcent drinks. A peculiar resi.noid principle, denominated cenanthin, has 
been found by Mr. Gerding in (Enanthe fistulosa, of which half a grain, given to an adult, 
produced long-continued irritation of the fauces, with hoarseness, and a grain occasioned 
vomiting. (See Am. Journ. of Fharm., xxi. 68.) W. 
(ENANTHE PHELLANDRIUM. (Sprengel.) Phellandrium aquaticum. Linn. Fine-leaved 
Water-hemlock. A biennial or perennial, umbelliferous, European water-plant, the fresh 
leaves of which are said to be injurious to cattle, producing a kind of paralysis when eaten. 
By drying, they lose their deleterious properties. The seeds have been used in Europe to a 
considerable extent in the treatment of disease. They are from a line to a line and a half 
in length, ovate-oblong, narrow above, somewhat compressed, marked with ten delicate ribs, 
and crowned with the remains of the calyx, and with the erect or reverted styles. Their 
colour is yellowish-brown; their odour peculiar, strong, and disagreeable; their taste acrid 
and aromatic. Among their constituents is a volatile oil, upon which their aromatic flavour 
depends. By Mr. C. Fronfield it has been rendered probable that they contain a volatile al- 
kaloid, analogous to conia, if it be hot conia itself; for if the powdered seeds are rubbed 
with solution of potassa, the peculiar mouse-like odour of that alkaloid is exhaled. Tho 
powder was submitted to distillation with caustic potassa, the alkaline liquid obtained was 
neutralized with sulphuric acid and evaporated to a syrupy consistence, alcohol was added 
to precipitate the sulphate of ammonia, the liquid was then filtered, treated with caustic 
potassa, and again distilled. On the surface of the distillate a yellow oily fluid floated, which 
was only slightly soluble in water but readily so in ether and alcohol, evinced an alkaline 
reaction with turmeric paper, and neutralized the alkalies. [Am. Journ. of Fharm., May, 
1860, p. 211.) By different writers the seeds are described as aperient, diuretic, emmena- 
gogue, expectorant, and sedative. They probably unite mild narcotic properties with the 
stimulant powers which are common to most of the aromatics, and may be directed, accord- 
ing to circumstances, to different secretory organs. In overdoses they produce vertigo, in- 
toxication, and other narcotic effects. They appear to have been used most successfully in 
chronic pectoral affections, such as bronchitis, pulmonary consumption, and asthma. They 
have been given also in dyspepsia, intermittent fever, obstinate ulcers, &c. The dose of the 
seeds, to commence with, is five or six grains, so repeated as to amount to a drachm in 
twenty-four hours. They should be given in powder. A tincture and alcoholic extract have 
been prepared, of which the former, containing the virtues of half a drachm of the seeds in 
a fluidounce, is given in a dose varying from half a fluidrackm to a fluidrachm, and the latter 
in that, of three to five grains. [Fharm. Journ., xii. 591.) W. 
(ENOTHER.A BIENNIS. Tree Primrose. A biennial indigenous plant, growing in flelds 
and along fences from Canada to the Carolinas. It is from two to five feet high, with a 
rough stem, alternate, ovate-lanceolate leaves, and fine yellow flowers, which make their 
appearance in July and August. Schoepf states that, it is esteemed useful as a vulnerary. 
The late Dr. R. E. Griffith found a strong decoction of the small branches, with the leaves 
and cortical part of the stem and larger branches, very beneficial in eruptive complaints, 
especially tetter. He applied the decoction several times a day to the affected part. He be- 
lieved the virtues of the plant to reside in the cortical part, which has a mucilaginous taste, 
and leaves a slight sensation of acrimony in the fauces. W. 
OIL OF ANDA. A fixed oil procured by expression from the seeds of Anda Brasilicmis 
(Radde), Anda Gomesei (Ad. Jussieu), a tree of Brazil, belonging to the family of Euphor- 
biacese. The bark yields on being wounded a milky juice, which is said to be poisonous, 
and to be used for stupefying fish. The fruit, which is about as large as an apple, ash- 
coloured, with two larger and two smaller angles, encloses a two-celled nut, containing two 
seeds, about the size of a chestnut. Like the seeds of other Euphorbiaceous plants, these 
are actively purgative; one seed, according to Martius, being the dose for a man. By ex- 
pression these seeds yield a pale-yellow, transparent dil, with little smell of taste, which 1568 
Oil of Ben.— Oil of Jasmine. 
PART III. 
is said to be used in Brazil for burning and painting. Dr. Norris, wbo tried tbe oil at the 
Pennsylvania Hospital, found it to operate on the bowels moderately in the dose of fifty 
drops, and copiously, when more largely given. (Cyclopaedia of Prac. Mod. and Surg., i. 470.) 
Dr. Alexander Ure, who has experimented with it in several cases, states that, in the ave- 
rage dose of twenty drops, it usually operates mildly, without producing heat or pain in 
the throat, and seldom causing nausea or vomiting. W. 
OIL OF BEN. This is a fixed oil extracted from the seeds of the Moringa pterygosperma 
and M. aptera of Gsertner, confounded by Linnmus under the name of Guilandina Moringa. 
Ilyperanlhera Moringa (Vahl) is a synonyme of the former species. These are trees belong- 
ing to the family of Leguminosx, inhabiting different parts of India, Arabia, Syria, &c., and 
introduced into the W. Indies. The leaves and other parts have an acrid property, which 
has probably given the name of horse-radish tree to M. pterygosperma. The oil of the seeds 
has long been known, though used rather in the arts than in medicine. Most of it is pre- 
pared in Europe from the seeds brought from Egypt (Merat et Be Lens); but it is said also 
to be extracted in the W. Indies. It is inodorous, clear, and nearly colourless, and keeps 
long without becoming rancid. It is employed for similar purposes with olive oil. Mdrat 
and De Lens say that it is purgative; but most of the fixed oils are so in sufficient doses. 
According to Vdlcker, the oil contains margarin, olein, and a peculiar fatty matter yield- 
ing an acid by saponification, which he names benic acid. {Journ. de Pharm., xvi. 77.) W. 
OIL OF CADE. Oleum Cadinum. Iluile de Cade. French. This is a kind of tar, obtained 
by distillation, per descensum, from the interior reddish wood of Juniperus communis, or more 
strictly of J. Oxycedrus, which grows in the south of France, where the substance is pre- 
pared. It is a thick liquid, black, and of a smell analogous to that of common tar. It has 
long been employed in the treatment of the cutaneous diseases of horses, sheep, &c.; and is 
also applied by the peasantry to their own skin affections. Recently it has acquired much 
reputation in these complaints, in consequence of its extensive and successful use in the 
hospitals of Paris. M. Bazin has employed it with success in psora, lichen agrius, the dif- 
ferent scaly affections, the advanced stage of eczema, and favus. In most of these com- 
plaints we have long been in the habit of employing common tar ointment, and with proba- 
bly equal success. A kind of soap is prepared from tluj oil of cade, which affords a con- 
venient method of applying it. In the Ed. Monthly Journ. for July, 1852 {page 66), it is 
stated that the soap is made by distilling the tar, incorporating the volatile oil obtained 
with a fixed oil, and then saponifying this with soda. It is in the form of black balls, 
readily unites with water, and may be applied to the surface like any other soap. The best 
plan is probably to apply it at bedtime, and wash it off next morning. A glycerale of the tar 
has recently been recommended for external use, made by mixing, with the aid of heat, an 
ounce of glycerin, half a drachm of the purified oil of cade, and half an ounce of pow- 
dered starch. (See Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., Jan. 1859, p. 228.) W. 
OIL OF EUPHORBIA. A fixed oil, obtained from the seeds of Euphorbia Lathyris, a 
biennial plant growing wild in this country, though believed to have been introduced from 
Europe. It is often found near gardens and in cultivated fields, and is generally called 
mole plant, under the impression that moles avoid the grounds where it grows. (Pursh.) 
It is the caper plant of England. {Loudon's Encyc. of Plants.) Like the other species of Eu- 
phorbia, it contains a milky juice, which is extremely acrid; and the whole plant possesses 
the properties of a drastic purge; but the oil of the seeds is the only part used in regular 
practice. This may be extracted by expression, or by the agency of alcohol or ether. In 
the first case, the bruised seeds are pressed in a canvass or linen bag, and the oil which 
escapes is purified by decanting it from the whitish flocculent matter which it deposits 
upon standing, and by subsequent filtration. By the latter process, the bruised seeds are 
digested in alcohol, or macerated in ether, and the oil is obtained by filtering and evapo- 
rating the solution. According to Soubeiran, however, the oils obtained by these different 
processes are not identical. That procured by expression is probably the purest. 
Oil of euphorbia is colourless, inodorous, and, when recent, nearly insipid; but it speed- 
ily becomes rancid, and acquires a dangerous acrimony. Soubeiran has ascertained that 
it has a complex composition, containing, besides the pure oil, four distinct proximate 
principles. {Journ. de Pharm., xxi. 259.) From 40 to 44 parts are obtained by expression 
from 100 of the seed. It is a powerful purge, operating with much activity in a dose vary- 
ing from five to ten drops. It was, some years since, much used by certain Italian and 
French physicians, who did not find it to produce inconvenient irritation of the stomach 
and bowels. Its want of taste, and the smallness of the dose, recommended it especially 
in the cases of infants. It was said to be less acrid and irritating than the croton oil, over 
which it also has the advantage of greater cheapness. Some trials made with it on this 
side of the Atlantic have not confirmed these favourable reports. It was found uncertain 
in its cathartic effect, and very liable to vomit. (Scattergood, Journ. of the Phil. Col. of 
Pharm., iv. 124.) It may be given in pill with the crumb of bread, or in emulsion. W. 
OIL OF JASMINE. This oil is obtained from the flowers of Jasminum officinale or com- PART III. 
Olibanum.—Onion. 
1569 
mon white jasmine, and from those also of J. Sambac and J. grandiflorum. Alternate layers 
of the fresh flowers, and of cotton saturated with the oil of ben (seepage 1568), or perhaps 
other fixed oil, are exposed in a covered vessel to the warmth of the sun; the flowers being 
occasionally renewed till the oil becomes impregnated with their odour, when it is sepa- 
rated from the cotton by pressure. This method is necessary, as the flowers do not yield 
their aroma by distillation. The oil is used only as a perfume. W. 
OLIBANUM. Olibanum, the frankincense of the ancients, was erroneously ascribed by 
Linnaeus to Juniperus Lycia. There appears to be two varieties, one derived from the coun- 
tries bordering on the Red Sea, and taken to Europe by way of the Mediterranean, the 
other brought directly from Calcutta. In reference to the tree producing the former there 
is some uncertainty. Captain Kempthorne, of the E. India Company’s Navy, saw it grow- 
ing upon the mountains, on the African coast, between Bunder Maryah and Cape Guarda- 
fui. According to his statement, it grows on the bare marble rocks composing the hills of 
that region, without any soil or the slightest fissure to support it, adhering by means of a 
substance thrown out from the base of the stem. This rises forty feet, and sends forth near 
the summit short branches, covered with a bright-green, singular foliage. The juice, which 
exudes through incisions made into the inner bark, has at first he colour and consistence 
of milk, but hardens on exposure. (Pharm. Journ., iv. 37.) Sir M n. J. Hooker says that the 
African olibanum is derived fr .m Plosslea floribunda of Endlicher (Boswellia, Royle); but 
thinks it highly probable that L is furnished by more than one species. (Ibid., Oct. 1859, 
p. 217.) The India olibanum has been satisfactorily ascertained to be the product of Bos- 
wellia serrata of Roxburgh, a large tree growing in the mountains of India, and found by 
Mr. Colebrook abundant in the vicinity of Nagpur. The tree belongs to the class and order 
Decandria Monogynia, and the natural order Terebintacese of Kunth. 
The Arabian or African frankincense is in the form of yellowish tears, and irregular 
reddish lumps or fragments. The tears are generally small, oblong or roundish, not very 
brittle, with a dull and waxy fracture, softening in the mouth, and bearing much resem- 
blance to mastic, from which, however, they differ in their want of transparency. The 
reddish masses soften in the hand, have a stronger taste and smell than the tears, and are 
often mixed with fragments of bark, and small crystals of carbonate of lime. 
The Indian frankincense, or olibanum, consists chiefly of yellowish, somewhat translu- 
cent, roundish tears, larger than those of the African, and generally covered with a whitish 
powder produced by friction. It has a balsamic resinous smell, and an acrid, bitterish, 
somewhat aromatic taste. When chewed it softens in the mouth, adheres to the teeth, and 
partially dissolves in the saliva, which it renders milky. It burns with a brilliant flame, 
and a fragrant odour. Triturated with water, it forms a milky imperfect solution. Alco- 
hol dissolves nearly three-fourths of it, and the tincture is transparent. From 100 parts, 
Braconnot obtained 8 parts of volatile oil, 56 of resin, 30 of gum, and 5-2 of a glutinous 
matter insoluble in water or alcohol, with 0-8 loss. Various saline substances were found 
in its ashes. The oil may be separated by distillation, and resembles that of lemons in 
colour and smell. According to Stenhouse, it is isomeric with oil of peppermint, having 
the formula and consists of an oxygenous and non-oxygenous oil. (Gmelin’s Hand- 
book, xiv. 390.) 
Dr. W. F. Daniell has described an odorous product, used as frankincense in Sierra Leone, 
and obtained from a large tree, growing in the mountainous districts of that region. The 
tree has been described by Mr. John J. Bennett in the Pharmaceutical Journal for Decem- 
ber, 1854 (p. 251), under the name of Daniellia thurifera. According to Dr. Daniell, the juice 
exudes through openings made by an insect, and, concreting in connection with the woody 
particles resulting from the boring of the insect, falls at length to the ground, where it is 
collected by the negroes. (See Aw. Journ. of Pharm., xxvii. 338.) 
Olibanum is stimulant like the other gum-resins; but is now very seldom used internally, 
M. Delioux, of Toulon, however, is in the habit of using it for the same purposes as the 
balsams of Tolu and Peru, having satisfied himself by much experience that it produces 
similar effects, while it is less costly. He gives it, in the form of pills, in the medium dose 
of fifteen grains, which may be increased to a drachm or more. It appears to act more fa- 
vourably when combined with a little soap. He has also obtained advantage from the inha- 
lation of its fumes, when heated, in chronic bronchitis and laryngitis. (Bullet. Gen. de The'rap., 
Feb. 28, 1861.) It is chiefly employed for fumigations, and enters into the composition of 
some unofficinal plasters. W. 
ONION. Cepa. The bulb of Allium Cepa. This is a perennial bulbous plant, with a naked 
scape, swelling towards the base, exceeding the leaves in length, and terminating in a sim- 
ple umbel of white flowers. The leaves are hollow, cylindrical, and pointed. The original 
country of the onion is unknown. The plant has been cultivated from time immemorial, 
and is now diffused over the whole civilized world. All parts of it have a peculiar pungent 
odour, but the bulb only is used. This is of various size and shape, ovate, spherical, or 
fia.tened, composed of concentric fleshy and succulent layers, and covered with dry mem- 1570 
Opopanax.—Origanum Vulgare. 
PART III. 
branous coats, which are reddish, yellowish, or white, according to the variety. It has, m 
a high degree, the characteristic odour of the plant, with a sweetish and acrid taste. Four- 
eroy and Vauquelin obtained from it a white acrid volatile oil containing sulphur, albumen, 
much uncrystallizable sugar and mucilage, phosphoric acid both free and combined with 
lime, acetic acid, citrate of lime, and lignin. The expressed juice is susceptible of the 
vinous fermentation. 
The onion is stimulant, diuretic, expectorant, and rubefacient. Taken moderately it in- 
creases the appetite and promotes digestion, and is much used as a condiment; but in large 
quantities it is apt to cause flatulence, gastric uneasiness, and febrile excitement. The juice 
is occasionally given, made into syrup with sugar, in infantile catarrhs and croup, in the 
absence of much inflammatory action. It is also recommended in dropsy and calculous 
disorders. Deprived of its essential oil by boiling, the onion becomes a mild esculent; and 
it is much more used as food than as medicine. Roasted and split, it is sometimes applied as 
an emollient cataplasm to suppurating tumours. W. 
OPOPANAX. The concrete juice of Pastinaca Opopanax (Willd.), Opopanax Chironium 
(De Candolle). This species of parsnep, usually called rough parsnep, has a thick, yellow, 
fleshy, perennial root, which sends up annually a strong branching stem, rough near the 
base, about as thick as a man’s thumb, and from four to eight feet in height. The leaves 
are variously pinnate, with long sheathing petioles, and large, oblong, serrate leaflets, of 
which the terminal one is cordate, others are deficient at their base upon the upper side, 
and the whole are hairy on their under surface. The flowers are small, yellow, and form 
large flat umbels at the termination of the branches. The plant is a native of the Levant, 
and grows wild in the south of France, Italy, and Greece. When the base of the stem is 
wounded, a juice exudes, which, when dried in the sun, constitutes the opopanax of com- 
merce. Some authors state that it is obtained from the root. A warm climate appears ne- 
cessary for the perfection of the juice; as that w7hich has been collected from the plant in 
France, though similar to opopanax, is of inferior quality. The drug is brought from Tur- 
kej\ It is said to come also from the East Indies; but Ainslie states that he never met 
with it in any Indian medicine bazaar. 
It is sometimes in tears, but usually in irregular lumps or fragments, of a reddish-yellow 
colour, speckled with white on the outside, paler within, and, when broken, exhibiting white 
pieces intermingled with the mass. Its odour is strong, peculiar, and unpleasant, its taste 
bitter and acrid. Its sp. gr. is 1 622. It is inflammable, burning with a bright, flame. In 
chemical constitution it is a gum-resin, with an admixture of other ingredients in small 
proportion. The results of its analysis by Pelletier were from 100 parts, 33-4 of gum, 42 of 
resin, 4-2 of starch, 1-6 of extractive, 0-3 of wax, 2’8 of malic acid, 9-8 of lignin, 5-9 of vola- 
tile oil and loss, with traces of caoutchouc. Water by trituration dissolves about one-half 
of the gum-resin, forming an opaque milky emulsion, which deposits resinous matter on 
standing, and becomes yellowish. Both alcohol and water distilled from it retain its fla- 
vour; but only a very minute proportion of oil can be obtained in a separate state. 
Opopanax was formerly employed, as an antispasmodic and deobstruent, in hypochon- 
driasis, hysteria, asthma, and chronic visceral affections, and as an emmenagogue in sup- 
pression of the menses; but it is now generally regarded as a medicine of very feeble pow- 
ers, and in this country is scarcely ever used. The dose is from ten to thirty grains. W. 
ORANGE RED. Orange Mineral. Sandix. Red oxide of lead, prepared by calcining car- 
bonate of lead. It is of a brighter colour than minium, and is used as a pigment. W. 
ORIGANUM VULGARE. Common Marjoram. Origanum. This plant was officinal in the 
former U. S. and Ed. Pharmacopoeias; but as the volatile oil which was ascribed to it, and 
for which it was chiefly valued, has proved to be really the oil of thyme, it has been omitted 
both in the present U. S. and the Rr. Pharmacopoeias, though, in consideration of its aro- 
matic properties, it might well have been introduced into the Secondary Catalogue of the 
former. The genus Origanum belongs to Didynamia Gymnospermia in the Linnsean system, 
and to the natural family Lamiacem or Labiatae, and is characterized as follows. “Strobile 
four cornered, spiked, collecting the calyces. Corolla with the upper lip erect and flat, the 
lower three-parted, with the segments equal.” ( fl’t/W.) Two species have been used in me- 
dicine, 0. Majorana, or sweet marjoram, and 0. vulgare, or common marjoram. The former 
grow3 wild in Portugal and Andalusia, and is cultivated as a garden herb in other parts of 
Europe, and in the United States. Some authors, however, consider 0. Majoranoides, which 
is a native of Rarbary, and closely allied to 0. Majorana, as the type of the sweet marjoram 
of our gardens. Sweet marjoram has a pleasant odour, and a warm, aromatic, bitterish taste, 
which it imparts to water and alcohol. Ry distillation with water it yields a volatile oil, 
which was directed by the Edinburgh College among their preparations. It is tonic and 
gently excitant, but is used more as a condiment in cookery than as a medicine. In domestic 
practice, its infusion is much employed by the vulgar to hasten the tardy eruption in mea- 
sles and other exanthematous diseases. 
Origanum vulgare or common marjoram is a perennial herb, with erect, purplish, downy, PART III. 
Orobanche Virginiana.—Oxalic Acid. 
1571 
four-sided, trichotomous stems, about eighteen inches high, and opposite, ovate, entire, 
somewhat hairy leaves, of a deep yellowish-green colour. The flowers are of a pinkish-purple 
or rose colour, disposed in roundish, panicled spikes, and accompanied with ovate reddish 
bractes, longer than the calyx. This is tubular and live-toothed, with nearly equal segments. 
The corolla is funnel-shaped, with the upper lip erect, bifid, and obtuse, the lower trifid, 
blunt, and spreading. The anthers are double, the stigma bifid and reflexed. The plant is a 
native of Europe and America. In this country it grows along the road-sides, and in dry 
stony fields and woods, from Pennsylvania to Virginia, and is in flower from June to Oc- 
tober; but it is not very abundant, and is seldom collected for use. It has a peculiar, agree- 
able, aromatic odour, and a warm, pungent taste. These properties it owes to a volatile oil, 
which was formerly employed, but has been superseded, in great measure, if not altogether, 
by the oil of thyme. It may be separated by distillation with water. Origanum is gently 
tonic and excitant, and has been used in the form of infusion as a diaphoretio and emmena- 
gogue, and externally as a fomentation; but it is at present little employed. W. 
OROBANCHE VIRGINIANA. Epifagus Americanus. Nuttall. Beech-drops. Cancer-root. 
This is a parasitic, fleshy plant, with a tuberous, scaly root, and a smooth stem, branched 
from the base, from twelve to eighteen inches high, furnished with small ovate scales, of a 
yellowish or purplish colour, and wholly destitute of verdure. It is found in all parts of 
North America, growing upon the roots of the beech tree, from which it obtained its popular 
name. It is in some places very abundant. The plant has a bitter, nauseous, astringent 
taste, which is said to be diminished by drying. It has been given internally in bowel affec- 
tions; but its credit depends mainly upon the idea that it is useful in obstinate ulcers of a 
cancerous character, to which it is directly applied in the state of powder. The late Professor 
Barton conjectured that it was an ingredient of a secret remedy, at one time famous as Mar- 
tin’s cancer powder, of which, however, the most active constituent was arsenious acid. 
Other species of Orobanche, growing in America and Europe, have been employed. They 
are all parasitic, fleshy plants, without verdure, and of a bitter, nauseous taste. In Europe 
they are called broom-rape. The 0. Americana and 0. uniflora, of this country, are said to 
be used for the same purposes as the species above noticed, and like it are called cancer- 
root. W. 
ORPIMENT. King's Yellow. A native tersulphuret of arsenic, consisting of one eq. of 
metal 75, and three eqs. of sulphur 48 = 123. It is in masses of a brilliant lemon yellow 
colour, composed of flexible laminae, and slightly translucent. It exists in various parts of 
the world, but is obtained for use from Persia and China. (Guibourt.) It is sometimes mixed 
with realgar, which gives it a reddish or orange hue. A similar sulphuret may be made arti- 
ficially by passing sulphuretted hydrogen through a solution of arsenious acid in muriatic 
acid. There is reason to believe that neither the native sulphuret, nor the artificial, when 
prepared in the manner just mentioned and well washed, is poisonous, at least in a degree 
at all comparable to other arsenical compounds. 
Artificial orpiment is prepared for use by fusing together equal parts of arsenious acid 
and sulphur. (Turner.) In Germany, according to Guibourt, it is prepared by subliming a 
mixture of these two substances. In this case, however, it retains a large portion of the acid 
undecomposed, and is therefore highly poisonous. Guibourt found a specimen which he ex- 
amined to contain 94 per cent, of arsenious acid, and only 6 per cent, of the tersulphuret. 
Orpiment is an ingredient of certain depilatories. Atkinson's depilatory is said to consist of 
one part of orpiment and six parts of quicklime, with some flour and a yellow colouring 
matter. (Ann. der Pharm., xxxiii. 348.) But this arsenical sulphuret is chiefly used in fire- 
works, and as a pigment. W. 
ORYZA SATIVA. Rice. This is an annual plant, originally, perhaps, derived from the 
East Indies, but now cultivated in all parts of the globe where the climate and soil are 
adapted to its growth. Barth says, in his Travels (Am. ed., 1857, ii. 345), that it grows wild 
in Central Africa. The rice of commerce consists of the seeds of the plant deprived of their 
husk. Carolina rice was found by Braconnot to contain 85-07 per cent, of starch, 3-60 of 
gluten, 0-71 of gum, 0-29 of uncrystallizable sugar, 0-13 of fixed oil, 4-80 of vegetable fibre, 
5 00 of water, and 0 40 of saline substances. This grain is highly nutritious, and of easy 
digestion, and constitutes the almost exclusive diet of whole nations. Being entirely free from 
laxative properties, it is admirably adapted to cases of weak bowels, in which there is a 
strong tendency to diarrhoea. Care, however, should be taken that it be boiled till it be- 
comes soft. A decoction of rice, usually called rice-water, is a good nutritive drink in fevers, 
and inflammatory affections of the bowels, lungs, and kidneys. There appears to be no ground 
for the opinion, entertained by some, that a diet of rice is injurious to the eyes. W. 
OXALIC ACID. Acidum Oxalicum. This acid is found both in animals and vegetables. It 
is generated occasionally in consequence of a diseased action in the kidneys, and deposited 
in the bladder as oxalate of lime, forming a peculiar concretion, called the mulberry calculus. 
In vegetables, it occurs in a free state in the bristles of the chick-pea (Cicer arietinum), com- 
bined with notassa as a supersalt in Rumez acetosa or common sorrel, and Oxalis Acetosella 1572 
Oxalic Acid. 
PART IIL 
or wood-sorrel, and united with lime in several species of lichen, and in the roots of rhu- 
barb, valerian, and several other plants. It is from the generic appellation Oxalis that it 
takes its name. 
Preparation. The usual process for obtaining oxalic acid consists in decomposing sugar by 
nitric acid. Four parts of sugar are acted upon by twenty-four of nitric acid of the sp. gr. 
1 -24, and the mixture is heated so long as any nitric oxide is disengaged. A part of the 
carbon of the sugar is converted into carbonic acid by oxygen derived from the nitric acid, 
which is thereby partially converted into nitric oxide. The undecomposed nitric acid, react- 
ing with the remaining elements of the sugar, generates oxalic and saccharic (oxalhydric) 
acids, the former of which crystallizes as the materials cool, while the latter remains in 
solution. The crystals being removed, a fresh crop may be obtained by further evaporation. 
The thick mother-water which now remains is a mixture of saccharic, nitric, and oxalic 
acids; and, by treating it with six times its weight of nitric acid, the greater part of the 
saccharic acid will be converted into oxalic acid. The new crop of crystals, however, will 
have a yellow colour, and contain a portion of nitric acid, the greater part of which may be 
got rid of by allowing them to .effloresce in a warm place. From the experiments of Mr. L. 
Thompson, of Newcastle-on-Tyne, it appears probable that, in the reaction occurring be- 
tween nitric acid and sugar, half the carbon of the latter is converted into carbonic acid, 
and the other half into oxalic acid. 
The manufacturing chemists are said to obtain oxalic acid on a large scale by heating a 
mixture of 112 lbs. of sugar, 560 lbs. of nitrate of potassa, and 280 lbs. of sulphuric acid. 
The products are 135 lbs. of oxalic acid, and 490 lbs. of supersulphate of potassa, or sal 
enixum. (L. Thompson.) 
Many substances, besides sugar, yield oxalic acid by the action of nitric acid; as mo- 
lasses, rice, potato starch, gum, wool, hair, silk, and many vegetable acids. In every case 
in which it is thus generated, the proportional excess of oxygen which it contains, com- 
pared with every other organic compound, is furnished by the nitric acid. When the acid 
is obtained from potato starch, this is first converted into starch sugar by the action of 
sulphuric acid. The following is an outline of the process, as conducted on a large scale. 
The pulp of potatoes, obtained by rasping or other suitable means, is washed two or three 
times by stirring it well with water, allowing it to subside, and running off the water. It 
is then boiled for some hours with water in wooden boilers, lined with lead and heated by 
steam; a quantity of sulphuric acid being stirred in the mixture, equal to 2 per cent, of 
the weight of the potatoes employed. By this treatment the starch of the potatoes is con- 
verted into starch sugar; and the change is known to be completed, when a drop of tinc- 
ture of iodine, added to a little of the boiling liquor, placed on a piece of glass, ceases to 
produce a purple colour. The product is then filtered through a horse-hair cloth, and the 
liquid which passes is carefully evaporated until a gallon of it weighs about fourteen 
pounds. This liquid consists of a concentrated solution of starch sugar, and is now ready 
for conversion into oxalic acid by the action of nitric acid. For this purpose it is placed 
in wooden boilers, lined with lead, eight feet square and three deep, and, having been 
mixed with the requisite proportion of nitric acid, is heated to a temperature of about 125° 
by means of steam, passed through a coil of lead pipe, until the decomposition is effected. 
The liquor is then drawn off by a syphon or cock into shallow lead-lined wooden coolers 
to crystallize. The crystals having formed, the mother-waters are drawn off for use in a 
subsequent operation. When the manufacture of the acid is conducted in vessels of the 
size just indicated, the density of the nitric acid should not be less than 1-20 nor higher 
than 1-27. If the nitric acid is used of undue strength, a part of the oxalic acid at first 
formed becomes converted into carbonic acid, to the no small diminution of the desired 
product. (Chern. Gaz., March 15, 1852, p. 112.) The product of oxalic acid from a given 
quantity of saccharine material has been much understated. If properly treated with 
nitric acid, 100 lbs. of good sugar will yield from 125 to 130 lbs. of oxalic acid, and the 
same weight of molasses, from 105 to 110 lbs. 
Certain organic substances yield oxalic acid when heated with potassa. Thus shavings 
of wood, if mixed with a solution of caustic potassa, and exposed to a heat considerably 
higher than 212°, will be partially decomposed, and converted into oxalic acid, which then 
combines with the alkali. At present much of the oxalic acid of commerce is obtained by 
heating saw-dust with a mixture of caustic soda and potassa. Soda alone will not generate 
the acid, and potassa is too costly to be used by itself for the purpose; but Mr. Dale ascer- 
tained that, by mixing the two in the proportion of two eqs. of soda to one of potassa, the 
same result was obtained as from the latter alone. The following is an outline of Mr. Dale’s 
process. A watery solution of the mixed alkalies is evaporated to the sp. gr. 1-35, and then 
mixed with saw-dust to the consistence of a paste. This is heated on iron plates to 400° F., 
and kept at this temperature, with constant stirring, for an hour or two. The mass is now 
dai'k-coloured, and contains from 1 to 4 per cent, of oxalic acid, with about 0-5 per cent, of 
formic acid. The heat is continued and extended till the mass becomes quite dry, care being 
taken that it is not charred. It now contains from 28 to 30 per cent, of oxalic acid, com- FART III. 
Oxalic Acid. 
1573 
bined with potassa and soda. By washing the powder on a filter with solution of carbo- 
nate of soda, the oxalate of potassa is converted into oxalate of soda, and all traces of 
potassa are washed out. The oxalate of soda is decomposed by heated milk of lime, and 
the resulting oxalate of lime, by sulphuric acid. The solution of oxalic acid is now evapo 
rated, and yields the acid in crystals. Two pounds of saw-dust afford one of oxalic acid 
(See Am. Journ. of Pharm., July, 1863, p. 360.) 
As the oxalic acid of commerce often contains more or less of foreign matter, it requires 
for certain purposes to be purified. M. E. J. Maumend gives the following process for the 
purpose, which he says answers better than the method generally recommended. The acid 
is dissolved in sufficient hot water to give on cooling only from 10 to 20 for 100 of 
the crystals, according to the degree of impurity. The first crystals are put aside. The 
mother-water is then concentrated; and, if the resulting crystals be submitted to two 
or three successive crystallizations, the acid will be obtained quite free from all alkaline 
oxalate. [Journ. de Pharm., Fev. 1864, p. 154.) 
Properties. Oxalic acid is a colourless crystallized solid, possessing considerable vola- 
tility, and a strong, sour taste. Its crystals have the shape of slender, flattened, four or 
six-sided prisms, with two-sided summits; and, when expdsed to a very dry atmosphere, 
undergo a slight efflorescence. It dissolves in about- nine times its weight of cold, and in 
its own weight of boiling water. The solution of the crystals takes place with slight crepi- 
tation. It dissolves also, but not to the same extent, in alcohol. The presence of nitric 
acid renders it more soluble in water. It combines with salifiable bases, and forms salts 
called oxalates. The most interesting of these are the three oxalates of potassa, severally 
called oxalate, binoxalate, and quadroxalate, and the oxalate of lime. The binoxalate and 
quadroxalate, both popularly called essential salt of lemons, are employed fo* removing iron 
moulds from linen, and act by their excess of acid, which forms a soluble salt with the 
sesquioxide of iron constituting the stain. Oxalic acid is used for removing ink stains 
and iron moulds, for cleaning the leather of boot-tops, and for discharging colours in 
calico-printing. 
This acid has a very strong affinity for lime, and forms with it an insoluble precipitate 
consisting of oxalate of lime, whenever the acid and earth are brought into contact in 
solution. It is even capable of decomposing fluoride of calcium, evolving hydrofluoi’ic acid. 
[J. W. Slater.') Oxalic acid and its soluble combinations are the best tests for lime; and, 
conversely, a soluble salt of lime for oxalic acid. When lime is searched for, oxalate of 
ammonia forms the most convenient test. So strong is the mutual attraction between this 
acid and lime, that the former takes the latter even from sulphuric acid. Hence, the addi- 
tion of a soluble oxalate disturbs the transparency of a solution of sulphate of lime. 
Oxalic acid is distinguished from all other acids by the form of its crystals, and by its 
solution yielding a precipitate with lime-water, insoluble in an excess of the acid. 
Composition. Oxalic acid consists of two eqs. of carbon 12, and three of oxygen 24=36. 
Some chemists consider it a bibasic acid, and double these numbers. When crystallized, 
three eqs. of water 27 must be added, making the eq. of the crystals 63. Two eqs. of this 
water may be driven off by a regulated heat, by which the acid is made to effloresce, but 
the third cannot be expelled without destroying the acid itself. Accordingly, anhydrous 
oxalic acid is not known to exist. From the constitution of oxalic acid thus given, it is 
plain that this acid corresponds in composition to carbonic acid and carbonic oxide taken 
together. Notwithstanding that it contains less oxygen than carbonic acid, it is incompa- 
rably stronger as an acid, owing probably to some peculiarity in the mode in which its 
elements are combined. The composition of the acid not only corresponds with the united 
constituents of carbonic acid and oxide, but there is reason to believe that these two com- 
pounds are actually its proximate constituents; for, if treated with strong sulphuric acid, 
the whole of the water will be abstracted, and the elements of the dry oxalic acid are in- 
stantly resolved into equal volumes of carbonic acid and carbonic oxide. Oxalic acid, in 
combining with salifiable bases, sometimes drops its essential equivalent of water, at other 
times retains it. Thus the oxalate of lead is a compound of the dry acid and protoxide of 
lead; while the oxalate of lime retains one equivalent of water. 
Medical and Toxical Properties. Oxalic acid, in small doses, largely diluted with water and 
sweetened to the taste, forms an agreeable, cooling beverage, which may be used in febrile 
diseases as a substitute for lemonade. M. Nardo recommends it as an antiphlogistic and 
anodyne remedy in inflammation of the mucous membranes, given in the dose of a grain 
and a half dissolved in eight fluidounces of liquid. It has been given in phthisis, with the 
asserted effect of lessening the night-sweats and expectoration, in the dose of half a grain, 
three or four times a day, increased to a grain. Notwithstanding the safety of its employ- 
ment in medicinal doses, it is a virulent poison in larger quantities, producing death with 
great rapidity and certainty. Instances are on record of its proving fatal in ten minutes, and 
few survive the effects of a poisonous dose beyond an hour. As this acid is generally kept in 
the shops, and not a few instances are on record of its fatal effects when taken by design, 
or by mistake for Epsom salt, it is necessary to be somewhat full on its toxical relations. 1574 
Oxalic Acid.— Oxalis Aeetosella. 
PART III. 
Oxalic acid was first noticed as a poison by Mr. Royston in 1814; since which time it 
been investigated in this relation principally by the late Dr. A. T. Thomson, of London, 
Dr. Percy, of Lausanne, Dr. Coindet, of Geneva, and Dr. Christison, of Edinburgh. Since 
its pro oerties of certainty and rapidity as a poison have been more generally known, its 
employment for committing suicide has become more frequent. 
From the general resemblance which the crystallized oxalic acid bears to Epsom salt, 
many fatal mistakes have occurred in consequence of its being sold for that saline purga- 
tive. Nothing, however, can be easier than to distinguish them by tasting a minute portion 
of the suspected substance, which, if oxalic acid, will be found strongly sour, whereas the 
salt in question is bitter. Unfortunately, however, in the instances of these fatal mistakes, 
no suspicions being awakened, the solution is swallowed with haste, and the mischief is done 
before the victim is aware of his danger. 
Oxalic acid acts on the economy in two principal ways, according as its solution is con- 
centrated or dilute. When concentrated it causes exquisite pain, followed by violent efforts 
to vomit, then sudden dulness, languor, and great debility, and finally death without a 
struggle. When dissolved in twenty times its weight of water, it possesses no corrosive and 
hardly any irritating power, and is yet a fatal poison, causing death by acting on the brain, 
spinal marrow, and heart. This stateihent, however, does not accord with the observations 
of Dr. Letheby, who asserts that the acid, whether in strong or weak solution, always exer- 
cises a corroding or softening power on the animal tissues. 
The morbid appearances caused by oxalic acid are various. In a dissection reported by 
Dr. Christison, the mucous coat of the throat and gullet had an appearance as if scalded, 
and that of the gullet could be easily scraped off. The inner coat of the stomach was pul- 
taceous, in maffy points black, in others red, and that of the intestines, similarly but less 
violently affected. In another case, the whole villous coat of the stomach was either soft- 
ened or removed, as well as the inner membrane of the oesophagus; so that the muscular 
coat was exposed, and this coat exhibited a dark gangrenous appearance, being much 
thickened and highly injected. The stomach usually contains a dark fluid, resembling 
coffee-grounds, consisting chiefly of altered blood. Dr. Herbert Barker reports a fatal case 
of poisoning by this acid, in a boy aged sixteen years, in which about a drachm of the 
acid had been taken in the solid state. During life the tongue and lips were unusually pale, 
but not excoriated. The tongue, after death, was found dotted with white spots. (B. and 
F. Medico-Chir. Reo., Am. ed., April, 1856, p. 402.) Dr. Snow, of London, has seen a case, 
in which, after death, the tongue and lips were very white, while the stomach was black. 
In a few cases no morbid appearances have been discovered. 
In the treatment of poisoning by oxalic acid, the l'emedial measures must be employed 
with great promptitude. If the antidotes are not at hand, and vomiting is not free, emetics 
will be proper, 't he stomach pump would be useful, but no delay in the application of other 
remedies is admissible in the expectation of its use Dr. Christison objects to the use of 
warm water to facilitate vomiting, from a fear that it would increase the danger by favour- 
ing the absorption of the poison; but it may be a question whether this evil, considering 
the incidental benefit of the water in promoting vomiting, is not less than that of the cor- 
rosion of the stomach, which copious dilution has a tendency to prevent. The proper anti- 
dote is chalk or magnesia, mixed with water; and as soon as either can be procured, it 
must be administered in large and repeated doses. These substances act by neutralizing 
the poison, forming with it an insoluble oxalate of lime or of magnesia, both of which are 
inert. The soluble salts of oxalic acid, as the oxalate of ammonia, and the oxalate of po- 
tassa, are likewise poisonous, and the antidotes for them are the same as for the acid. 
The best tests for the detection of oxalic acid in the contents of the stomach, or in the 
vomited matter, in cases of suspected poisoning by this acid, are chloride of calcium, sul- 
phate of copper, and nitrate of silver. The first causes a white precipitate of oxalate of 
lime, known by its being soluble in nitric acid; the second, a bluish-white precipitate of 
oxalate of copper; and the third, a dense white precipitate of oxalate of silver, which, 
when dried and heated, becomes brown and detonates faintly. When the antidotes have 
been freely used during life, the poison will be in the state of oxalate either of lime or 
magnesia. In this case, the oxalate found is to be boiled with a solution of carbonate of 
potassa, whereby an oxalate of potassa will be generated; and this must then be examined 
with the reagents above indicated. B. 
OXALIS ACETOSELLA. Wood-sorrel. Aeetosella. The wood-sorrel is a small, perennial, 
herbaceous, stemless plant, with numerous radical leaves, which are all ternate, and sup- 
ported upon slender hairy petioles. The leaflets are obcordate, entire, hairy, of a yellow- 
ish-green colour, but frequently purplish on their under surface. The scape or flower-stalk, 
which usually exceeds the petioles in length, is furnished with two scaly bractes near the 
middle, and terminates in a large white, or flesh-coloured flower, marked with red streaks. 
The styles are of the same length as the inner stamens. This plant is a native both ot 
Europe and North America. In this country it is found chiefly in the mountainous regions 
of the interior. It selects shady places, such as woods, groves, and hedges, and flowers in PART III. 
Oxalis Acetosella.—Ox-gall. 
1575 
May. Other indigenous species of Oxalis, more widely diffused than 0. Aceiosella, might bo 
substituted for it without disadvantage; as they possess similar properties. They all havo 
ternate leaves with obcordate leaflets, and, with the single exception of O. violacea, bear 
yellow flowers. The whole herbaceous portion may be used. 
Wood-sorrel is without smell, and has an agreeable sour taste. It owes its acidity to 
binoxalate of potassa, which is sometimes separated for use, and sold under the name of salt 
of sorrel. This is prepared in Switzerland and Germany, from different species of Oxali* 
and Rumex, by the following process. The plants, previously bruised, a»e macerated for 
some days in water, and then submitted to pressure. The liquid thus obtained is mixed 
with clay, and occasionally agitated for two days. At the end of this time, the clear liquor 
is decanted, and evaporated so that crystals may form when it cools. These are purified by 
solution and a new crystallization. Five hundred parts of the plant afford four parts of the 
acidulous salt. The same salt may be prepared by exactly neutralizing with potassa one 
part of oxalic acid in solution, then adding one part more of the acid, and evaporating the 
solution so that it may crystallize upon cooling. Binoxalate of potassa is in rhomboidal crys- 
tals, of a sour, pungent, bitterish taste, soluble in forty parts of cold and six parts of boil- 
ing water [Kane), and unalterable in the air. It contains 72 parts or two equivalents of 
oxalic acid, 47-2 parts or one eq. of potassa, and 27 parts or three eqs. of water. Quad- 
rozalate of potassa is often substituted for the binoxalate. It is prepared in the same man- 
ner, except that, instead of one part, three parts of the acid are added to the original 
portion neutralized by potassa. Both salts are kept in the shops under the names of salt of 
sorrel and essential salt of lemons, and are employed for removing iron mould and ink stains 
from linen, and sometimes as a test for lime. Both are poisonous, though in a less degree 
than uncombined oxalic acid. 
This and other species of sorrel are refrigerant; and their infusion, or a whey made by 
boiling'them in milk, may be used as a pleasant drink in febrile and inflammatory affec- 
tions. A solution of the binoxalate of potassa is used, on the continent of Europe, as a sub- 
stitute for lemonade. The fresh plant, eaten raw, is said to be useful in scurvy. Oxalis cras- 
sicaulis, a Peruvian species, yields an edible root, and, by expression from its leaves, a very 
sour and astringent juice, which is employed in the form of syrup, in hemorrhages, chronic 
catarrh, bowel affections, and gonorrhoea, with asserted advantage. W. 
OX-GALL. Fel Bovinum. The bile of the ox is a viscid fluid, of a green or greenish-yel- 
low colour, a peculiar nauseous odour, and a bitter taste. The exact composition of bile is 
not yet settled. According to Berzelius, it contains, 1. bilin, 2. cholepyrrhin, to which the 
bile owes its colour, 3. mucus, 4. extractive matters, 5. a peculiar fatty matter, origi- 
nally found in biliary calculi, called cholesterin, 6. oleate, margarate, and stearate of soda, 
with a little fatty matter not saponified, 7. chloride of sodium, sulphate, phosphate, and lac- 
tate of soda, and phosphate of lime. Of these substances, the most abundant, and essen- 
tial is bilin. This, when pure, is uncrystallizable, colourless, translucent, inodorous, of an 
acrid and bitter taste with an after-taste of sweetness, inflammable, soluble in all propor- 
tions in water and anhydrous alcohol, insoluble in ether, neither alkaline nor acid, and com- 
posed partly of nitrogen. One of its most striking properties is the great facility with 
which it undergoes decomposition; and hence the numerous principles which different che- 
mists have found in bile, many of which are nothing more than metamorphoses of bilin. 
Under the action of acids, it is changed into two resinous acids called respectively fellinic 
acid and cholinic acid, into taurin and ammonia. The colouring principle or cholepyrrhin is 
also readily changed, and gives rise to various new products, among which are biliverdin, a 
green colouring matter resulting from the absorption of oxygen, and bilifulvin, a yellow co- 
louring matter, which is a double salt, of lime and soda with a peculiar azotized acid. (Journ. 
dePharm., Seser., iii. 177, from the Journ. far praktische Chemie.) E. A. Plainer succeeded in 
separating the chief constituent of bile in a crystalline form, and considered at a compound 
of soda with a peculiar organic body. Liebig denominated this compound bilate of soda. 
Among the most recent and authoritative analyses of bile is that of Strecker, whose views 
differ essentially from those of Berzelius. According to Strecker, the bile of the ox, inde- 
pendently of the colouring, fatty, and saline matters above mentioned, consists essentially 
of a mixture of a nitrogenous acid free from sulphur, which he calls cholic acid (glycocholic 
acid), and an uncrystallizable, sulphuretted acid also containing nitrogen, denominated 
choleic acid (taurocholic acid), both of which are combined with soda, constituting a mixture 
of cholate and choleate of that alkali. These two salts may be separated in the following 
manner. Dry ox-bile is treated with absolute alcohol, and the tincture precipitated by ether 
in excess. Both salts are deposited, and the cholate crystallizes upon standing, the chole- 
ate remaining in an amorphous form, resembling oily or resinous matter. They may be 
separated more completely by taking advantage of their different relations to the acetate 
and subacetate of lead Both the acids are precipitated by the subacetate, the cholic only 
by the acetate. If the deposit above referred to be dissolved in water, solution of acetate 
f lead will throw down a cholate of lead, while the addition of the subacetate of lead to 
,he remainder will precipitate the choleate. The acids may be separated from the salts of Ox-gall.— 
part III. 
lead by sulphuric acid, and then recombined with soda. Both of the acids are decomposed 
by the alkalies, with the aid of heat, into cholalic acid, which contains neither nitrogen nor 
sulphur, and into another complex body, which, in the case of cholic acid, is a nitrogenous 
basic substance named glycocine (the glycocoll or sugar of gelatin of other chemists), and in 
that of choleic acid, a neuter substance called taurine, which contains both nitrogen and 
sulphur, the latter in the extraordinary proportion of 24 per cent. Acids with a boiling heat 
have an analogous effect, though the nature of the acid produced is different, the cholic 
acid being resolved into choloidic acid and glycocine, and the choleic into the same acid and 
taurine. Hence, it has been inferred that the characteristic acids of bile consist of one acid, 
associated in the cholic with glycocine, and in the choleic with taurine; so that they have 
now received the more distinctive names of glycocholic and taurocholic acids, the former ni- 
trogenous, the latter containing nitrogen and additionally two eqs. of sulphur. (See Gre- 
gory’s Organic Chemistry, 4th ed., Lond., p. 513; also a paper by Dr. J. C. Dalton in the 
Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., N S., xxxiv. 305.) Since the examination of bile by Strecker, which 
ended in these results, further researches have led him to the discovery of other new prin- 
ciples in that part of bile which is soluble both in alcohol and ether. Independent of the 
fatty matters (glycerides) and cholesterin, he has detected 1. lecithin, a substance previously 
noticed by M. Gobley, which is resolved under the influence of baryta water into fatty acids, 
and phosphoglyceric acid, 2. sarcolactic acid, and 3. an energetic base which he calls cholin. 
For the methods of isolating these substances, we must content ourselves with referring to 
the Journal de Pharmacie (Nov. 1861, p. 374). Besides soda, it is said that there are small 
but variable quantities of potassa and ammonia combined with the glycocholic and tauro- 
cholic acids. In relation to the fatty matters of bile, M. Gobley has shown that they con- 
sist of olein, margarin, cholesterin, and especially lecithin, a fatty principle the characters 
of which were made known by M. Gobley, and that the oleic and margaric acids, generally 
supposed to exist in bile combined with soda, are the results of the decomposition'of the 
last-mentioned principle, through the influence of putrefaction or chemical reagents. (Journ. 
de Pharm., xxx. 246.) 
Bile was formerly highly valued as a remedy in numerous complaints, and was considered 
peculiarly applicable to cases attended with deficient biliary secretion. It is supposed to 
be tonic and laxative. It is prepared for use by evaporating it to the consistence of an 
extract. The dose is from five to ten grains. Dr. Bonorden has found the most extraordi- 
nary effects, in the resolution of hypertrophies, from bile applied directly to the parts af- 
fected. Hypertrophy of the mamma and that of the tonsils are particularly mentioned as 
yielding with surprising facility to this application; but good may be expected from it in all 
cases of the affection, in which the part can be reached. He employs a mixture of 3 parts 
of inspissated bile, 1 part of extract of coniurn, 2 of soda soap, and 8 of olive oil, to be rubbed 
on the part four times a day. He has also found advantage in similar affections of the eye, 
as opacity of the cornea, pannus, and staphyloma, from bile dropped into the eye, or ap- 
plied by a hair pencil, several times a day. (Med. Times and Gaz., Oct. 1858, p. 353.) Re- 
fined ox-gall, much used by limners and painters, is prepared, according to Gray, in the 
following manner. Take of “fresh ox-gall one pint; boil, skim, add one ounce of alum, and 
keep it on the fire for some time; to another pint, add one ounce of common salt, in the 
same manner; keep them bottled up for three months, then decant off the clear; mix them 
in an equal proportion; a thick yellow coagulum is immediately formed, leaving the refined 
gall clear and colourless.” A formula is given in the Br. Pharmacopoeia for purifying bile. 
(See Pel Bovinum Purificatum, page 1123.) W. 
P2EONIA OFFICINALIS. Peony. This well-known plant is a native of Southern Europe, 
but is everywhere cultivated in gardens for the beauty of its flowers. The root, flowers, and 
seeds were formerly officinal. The root consists of a caudex about as thick as the thumb, 
which descends several inches into the ground, and sends off in all directions spindle-shaped 
tubers, which gradually taper into thread-like fibres, by which they hang together. It has 
a strong, peculiar, disagreeable odour, and a nauseous taste, which is at first sweetish, and 
afterwards bitter and somewhat acrid. The odour is lost, or much diminished by drying. 
Peony root was in very great repute among the ancients, who used it both as a charm and 
as a medicine in numerous complaints, particularly epilepsy. In modern times it has also 
been given in epilepsy and various nervous affections, but is at present seldom used. Dr. 
A. Livezey, of Lumberville, Penn., states that it is much used in the convulsions of children 
in his neighbourhood, and bears testimony to its possession of decided nervine powers. 
(Bost. Med. and Surg. Journ., lv. 467.) The dose of the fresh root is from two drachms to an 
ounce, boiled in a pint of water down to half a pint, which should be taken daily. It is said 
to be less active when dried. The expressed juice of the recent root is recommended in the 
dose of an ounce. It is milky, of a strong odour, and very disagreeable tast e. The flowers 
are usually of a deep-red colour, though in some varieties of a light-red, and even whitish. 
They have, when fresh, an odour similar to that of the root, but feebler, and an astringent, 
sweetish, herbaceous taste. When dry they are inodorous. As a medicine they have little 
power. The seeds are roundish-oval, about as large as a pea, externally smooth, shining, PART III. 
Palm Oil.—Paullinia. 
and nearly black, internally whitish, inodorous when dry, and of a mild, oleaginous taste 
By some authors they are said to be emetic and purgative, by others antispasmodic. They 
may be given in the same dose with the root, but are not used in regular practice. W. 
PALM OIL. This highly valuable fixed oil is the product of Elais Guiniensis, a palm 
growing on the western coast of Africa, and cultivated in the West Indies and South Ame- 
rica. It is among the handsomest trees of its graceful family which flourish in the tropicai 
regions of Africa. The oil is obtained by expression from the fruit. It is brought to this 
country chiefly from Liberia and other places on the African coast, though prepared also 
in the West Indies, Cayenne, and Brazil. It is not improbable that various species of palms 
contribute to the supply of this article of commerce. 
Palm oil has the consistence of butter, a rich, orange-yellow colour, a sweetish taste, and 
an agreeable odour, compared by some to that of violets, by others to that of the Florentine 
orris. By age and exposure it becomes rancid and of a whitish colour. It melts with the 
heat of the hand, and when perfectly fluid passes readily through blotting paper. Highly 
rectified alcohol dissolves it at common temperatures, and in ether it is soluble in all pro- 
portions. According to M. Henry, it consists of 31 parts of stearin and 69 of olein. But, 
from the experiments of Fr6my and Stenhouse, it appears that the stearin has peculiar pro- 
perties entitling it to be considered as a distinct principle; and it has accordingly received 
the name of palmitin. This is converted into palmitic acid by saponification. (Kane's Chemis- 
try.) It appears also that a considerable proportion of this acid, together with some glycerin, 
exists uncombined in the oil, as ascertained by MM. Pelouze and Boudet; so that the 
changes which are effected in oils, through the agency of alkalies, in the process of saponi- 
fication, take place, to a certain extent, spontaneously in palm oil. (Journ. de Pharm., xxiv. 
389.) Hence it is more easily saponified than any other fixed oil. Preparatory to saponifi- 
cation, it may be bleached rapidly, according to J. J. Pohl, by heating it quickly to 464° F., 
and keeping it for ten minutes at that temperature. It loses for a time its peculiar odour by 
the process, acquiring an empyreumatic smell; but this after a while ceases to be perceived, 
and the characteristic odour returns. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxvii. 346.) Palm oil is 
said to be frequently imitated by a mixture of lard and suet, coloured with turmeric, and 
scented with Florentine orris. It is much employed in the manufacture of a toilet soap, 
which retains its pleasant odour. Palm oil is emollient, and has sometimes been employed 
in friction or embrocation, though not superior for this purpose to many other oleaginous 
substances. W. 
PARIETARIA OFFICINALIS. Wall Pellilory. A perennial European herb, growing on 
old walls and heaps of rubbish. It is inodorous, has an herbaceous, somewhat rough and 
saline taste, and contains nitre derived from the walls where it flourishes. It. is diuretic 
and refrigerant, and is said also, but without good reason, to be demulcent and emollient. 
The ancients employed it in various complaints, and it is still considerably used on the 
continent of Europe, especially in domestic practice. It is given in complaints of the 
urinary passages, dropsy, and febrile affections, usually in the form of decoction. The 
expressed juice is also used, and the fresh plant is applied in the shape of a cataplasm to 
painful tumours. W. 
PARTHENIUM INTEGRIFOLIUM. Prairie Dock. This is an herbaceous perennial, 
growing abundantly in the prairies of our South-western States. It is recommended by 
Dr. Mason Houlton as a powerful antiperiodic. The flowering tops are the part used. 
They have an intensely bitter taste; and two ounces of them in the dried state, given in 
the form of infusion, are thought by Dr. Houlton to be equivalent to twenty grains of sul- 
phate of quinia. Thirty successive cases of periodic fever were cured by this remedy, 
without any unpleasant effect on the nervous system. [Med. Exam., N. S., ix. 719, from 
Memphis Med. Recorder; and Pharm. Journ., xii. 602, from N. Y. Journ. of Pharm.) W. 
PATENT YELLOW. Mineral Yellow. A pigment, consisting of chloride combined with 
protoxide of lead. It is prepared by mixing common salt and litharge with a sufficient 
quantity of water, allowing the mixture to stand for some time, then washing out the 
liberated soda, and exposing the white residue to heat. W. 
PAULLINIA. Guarana. This is a new medicine introduced into Europe from Brazil, 
which has attracted some attention from the asserted fact, that it contains a principle iden- 
tical with caffein. The name of paullinia has been bestowed upon it from the generic title 
of the plant from which it is obtained. That of guarana, by which it was previously 
known, was derived from a tribe of aborigines, called Guaranis, who are said to use it 
extensively as a corrigent of their vegetable diet. It is prepared from the seeds of the 
Paullinia sorbilis of Martius, a climbing shrub, belonging to the class and order Octandria 
Trigynia of the Linnsean system, and the natural family of the Sapindacese. Another 
species, the P. Cupana, growing on the banks of the Orinoco River, is also said to yield 
it. {Ann. de Therap., 1858, p. 70.) The seeds, which are contained in a three-celled, three- 
valved, coriaceous capsule, are lenticular and almost thorny, and invested with a flesh- 
coloured arillus, which is easily separable when dry. They are prepared by powdering 1578 
Paullinia.—Peach Leaves. 
PART III. 
them in a mortar, or upon a chocolate stone previously heated, mixing the powder with a 
little Mater, exposing it for some time to the dew, then kneading it into a paste, mixing 
with tliis some of the seeds either whole or merely bruised, and finally forming the mix- 
ture into cylindrical or globular masses, which are dried and hardened in the sun, or by 
the smoke of a fire. These masses are of a reddish-brown colour, rugose on the surface, 
very hard, and of a marbled appearance when broken. Paullinia is of a somewhat astrin- 
gent and bitterish taste, and, in this as well as in its odour, bears some resemblance to 
chocolate, though not oleaginous. It swells up and softens in water, which partially dis- 
solves it. Martius found in it a crystallizable principle, which he named guaranm, but 
which has been proved by MM. Berthemot and Dechastelus to be identical with caffein. 
The discovery of catfein in four plants belonging to distinct natural families, namely, the 
coffee and tea plants, the Paraguay tea, and the Paullinia, is a highly interesting result of 
recent chemical investigations. It is said to be more abundant in the Paullinia than in 
either of the other vegetables; 5-07 per cent, having been found by Dr. Stenhouse in 
paullinia, while he got only 2-13 from good black tea, 1-00 per cent, from coffee, and 1-2 
from Paraguay tea (Pharm. Journ., xvi. 213.) According to Berthemot and Dechastelus, 
It exists in the seeds united with tannic acid, with which it appears to form two com- 
pounds, one crystallizable and soluble in water, the other of a resinoid appearance and 
insoluble. Besides these ingredients, the seeds contain also free tannic acid, gum, albumen, 
starch, and a greenish fixed oil. (Journ. de Fharm., xxvi. 514.) More recently M. Fournier 
has found in paullinia, besides tannate of caffein, the following principles; gum, starch, 
an acrid green fixed oil, a concrete volatile oil, an aromatic liquid volatile oil soluble in 
water with a little alcohol, another liquid volatile oil scarcely soluble in water, a peculiar 
principle not precisely determined, and tannic acid. (Ibid., Avril, 1861, p. 291.) 
It is said to have been by mistake that paullinia and guurana have been considered identi- 
cal; the former term being applicable exclusively to the product of the two species of Paul- 
linia above referred to, while the latter belongs properly to a preparation made by the 
aborigines, which, though it contains the seeds of the Paullinia, is a mixture of various 
substances, among them chocolate and farina, but the precise composition of which is most 
carefully kept secret by the natives. (Ann. de Therap., 1858, p. 70.) 
The effects of paullinia upon the system are said to be those of a tonic; but they do not 
appear to have been very accurately investigated. It is highly probable, both from its com- 
position and the use made of it by the natives of Brazil, that it has an intluence over the 
nervous system similar to that of tea and coffee. It is habitually employed by the Indians, 
either mixed with articles of diet, as with cassava or chocolate, or in the form of drink, 
prepared by scraping it, and suspending the powder in sweetened water. It is considered 
by them useful in the prevention and cure of bowel complaints. Dr. Gavrelle, who was 
formerly physician to Don Pedro, in Brazil, and there became acquainted with the virtues 
of this medicine, called the attention of the profession to it some years since in France. He 
had found it advantageous in the diarrhoea of phthisis, sick-headache, paralysis, tedious 
convalescence, and generally as a tonic. By Dr. Ititchie, Surgeon in the British navy, it 
is highly recommended in irritation of the urinary passages. (Ed. Month. Journ. of Med. 
Sci., N. S., v. 467.) Dr. Ilervd has been in the habit of using it daily for five or six years, 
and has never failed to derive advantage from it in idiopathic diax-rhoea, even in the most 
obstinate cases. (B. and F. Med.-Chir. Rev., Jan. 1858 p. 192.) It may be given in sub- 
stance, in the quantity of one or two di-achms, scraped into powder and mixed with sweet- 
ened water; but the most convenient form of administration is that of spirituous extract. 
According to M. Dechastelus, alcohol is the only agent which extracts its virtues; 
ether and water effecting this object but partially. Of the extract eight or ten grains may be 
given during the day in the form of pill. Paullinia may also be taken along with chocolate 
as a drink. W. 
PEACH LEAVES. Leaves of Amygdalus Persica. (Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 982.) Fersica vul- 
garis. (Miller, Lamarck.) Every one is familiar with the appearance of the common peach 
tree. It is characterized specifically by having all the serratures of the leaves acute, and 
by its sessile solitary flowers.” Though its native country is not certainly known, it is gen- 
erally supposed to have been brought originally from Persia. In no country, perhaps, does 
it attain gi’eater perfection, as regards the character of its fruit, than in the United States. 
Peaches are among the most grateful and wholesome of our summer fruits. They abound 
in saccharine matter, which renders their juice susceptible of the vinous fermentation; and 
a distilled liquor prepared from them has been much used, in some parts of the country, un- 
der the name of peach brandy. The kernels of the fruit bear a close resemblance in appear- 
ance and properties, and probably in chemical nature, to bitter almonds, for which they are 
frequently, and without inconvenience, substituted in our shops. They are employed by 
distillers in the preparation of liqueurs, and by cake-bakers to give flavour to various pro- 
ductions of their ovens; and are said to yield as much amygdalin as bitter almonds. The 
flowers, leaves, and bark also have the peculiar odour and taste of bitter almonds, and 
yield hydrocyanic acid. The leaves afford a volatile oil by distillation. The dist'lled watc-v PART III. 
Pearl White.—Peroxide of Hydrogen. 
1579 
prepared from them was found, in one instance, to contain 1407 parts of hydrocyanic acid 
in 1000, and in another only.0-437 parts in the same quantity. From some experiments it 
may be inferred that the proportion of acid is greatest where there is the least fruit. (See 
Am. Journ. of Fharm., xxiv. 172.) 
Medical Properties. Peach leaves are said to be laxative; and they probably exert, to a 
moderate extent, a sedative influence over the nervous system. They have been used as an 
anthelmintic with great reported success. More recently their infusion has been recom- 
mended in irritability of the bladder, in sick stomach, and hooping cough. Half an ounce 
of the dried leaves may be infused in a pint of boiling water, and half a fluidounce given 
for a dose three times a day, or more frequently. Dr. Dougos gives, in hooping-cough, a 
pint of the strong infusion, in small doses, in the course of the day. {Journ. de Fharm., 
xxiii. 35b.) The flowers are also laxative; and a syrup prepared from them is considerably 
used, in infantile cases, upon the continent of Europe. Woodville states that a drachm of 
the dried flowers, or half an ounce in their recent state, given in infusion, is the dose as a 
vermifuge. Cases of fatal poisoning from their use in children are on record. The kernels 
have more of the peculiar powers of hydrocyanic acid, and therefore require to be used 
with some caution. Blanched, and rubbed up with hot water, they form an emulsion well 
adapted to coughs depending on or associated with nervous irritation. The bruised leaves, 
flowers, or kernels may be used by the apothecary for cleansing his vessels from disagreeable 
odours. (Seepage 109.) The dried fruit, stewed with sugar, is an excellent laxative article 
of diet, suitable to cases of convalescence attended with torpid bowels. W. 
PEARL WHITE. Pearl Powder. This is identical with the subnitrate of bismuth, described 
at page 1025, and is made by adding a solution of the ternitrate of teroxide of bismuth to 
distilled water. It is used as a cosmetic. B. 
PELARGONIUM ODORATISSIMUM. Rose Geranium. This well-known plant, so much 
a favourite for its odour in our dwellings and conservatories, is a native of the Cape of 
Good Hopp, but is said to be cultivated extensively in the south of France and in Turkey 
for the sake of its volatile oil, which is much employed for the adulteration of the oil of 
roses. According to Guibourt, three species of Pelax-gonium yield a volatile oil by distilla- 
tion, closely analogous in smell to that of the rose; the species above named, P. capitatum, 
and P. roseum. (Hist. Nat. des Drogues, 4e ed., iii. 52.) The oil is obtained from the leaves. 
M. Recluz obtained from 35 ounces of P. odoratissimum two drachms of a volatile, crystal- 
lizable oil. (Merat et De Lens, Diet, de Mat. Med., iii. 368.) According to Septimus Piesse, 
1 cwt. yields about two ounces. (See Am. Journ. of Fharm., xxvi. 368.) As we have seen 
the oil in our shops, purporting to be the oil of P. odoratissimum, it is perfectly fluid at 
ordinary temperatures, of a pale brownish-yellow colour, and the characteristic smell of 
the plant, recalling merely that of the rose. Gregory states that pelargonic acid was first 
obtained from the oil of P. roseum, which is probably the same as that under consideration. 
(Organic Chem., 4th ed., Lond., p 274.) This oil is now much used in perfumery, and, dis- 
solved in alcohol in the proportion of three ounces to the gallon, forms the preparation 
called '■'■extract of rose-leaf geranium.” Mr. Piesse states that, as this oil is used to adulterate 
that of roses, so is it in its turn adulterated with the cheaper oil of Andropagon nardus, culti- 
vated in the Moluccas. (Am. Journ. of Fharm., xxvi. 368.) W. 
PEROXIDFi OF HYDROGEN. This substance, though long known to chemists, has but 
recently been brought into notice as a remedy. It consists of water in which, by the present- 
ing to it of oxygen in a nascent state, an additional equivalent of this element has com- 
bined with the hydrogen forming the deutoxide (H02). It was discovered by Thenard in 
1818. To prepare it, peroxide of barium is rubbed with distilled water so as to form a 
liquid paste, which is added gradually, with constant stirring, to distilled water acidu- 
lated with one-third of its weight of muriatic acid, contained in a vessel immersed in a 
freezing mixture. The peroxide of barium (Ba02) gives up one of its eqs of oxygen to 
one eq. of the water (HO), forming an eq. of deutoxide or peroxide of hydrogen (H02); 
while the protoxide of barium left reacts with an eq. of muriatic acid to form one eq. of 
chloride of barium and one of water. When the muriatic acid is saturated, a fresh quan- 
tity of the acid in a concentrated state is added, and then more of the peroxide of barium; 
and the operation is repeated till the solution will hold no more chloride of barium. It is 
then immersed in a mixture of ice and salt, and the greater part of the chloride of barium 
is deposited. The portion remaining in solution may be got rid of by the cautious addition 
of sulphate of silver, which precipitates sulphate of baryta and chloride of silver. The 
liquid being now filtered, is concentrated by exposing it in vacuo in a shallow vessed placed 
over another containing sulphuric acid. The water rises in vapour which is absorbed by 
the acid, afid at last the peroxide of hydrogen is left nearly pure. (Regnault.) Thus pro- 
cured it is a colourless liquid of a fluid consistence, of the sp.gr. 1-452, remaining liquid 
at zero, beginning to give out oxygen when heated above 60°, and at a higher heat rapidly 
and sometimes explosively resolved into water and oxygen. But when diluted with water, 
with which it unites in all proportions, it is not decomposed under 100°. The great facility 1580 
Peroxide of Hydrogen.—Petroleum. 
PART III. 
wit.li which it parts with oxygen renders it a powerful oxidizer; and the simple contact with 
various substances, as platinum, gold, and silver, causes it to. be resolved into oxygen and 
water. On the contrary, certain other substances, even though ordinarily evincing a strong 
affinity for oxygen, as phosphorus, for example, are unaffected by it, and there is a large 
number of bodies, as ammonia, hydrocyanic acid, tobacco, aconite, and most other narcotic 
substances, which have the property not only of being unaffected by it, but of restraining its 
oxidizing influence on other bodies. Its relations to ozone are peculiar; and at one time it 
was conjectured that ozone was nothing else than peroxide of hydrogen. At present the 
oxygen in it is considered by some as in the positive state and called antozone, while ozone 
itself is oxygen in the negative state, and the two mixing produce oxygen in its ordinary 
State or neutral oxygen. When this neutral condition of oxygen is disturbed, giving rise 
to the phenomena of ozone, antozone is also liberated. Hence, according to Schbnbein, 
whenever, upon the contact of phosphorus with water, ozone appears, the water is found 
to contain peroxide of hydrogen. These facts may at some future time prove to have an 
important bearing on peroxide of oxygen as a physiological or remedial agent; but at 
present they may be left out of view in treating of it medicinally. 
The profession is indebted to Dr. B. W. Richardson, of London, for what is known of the 
physiological operation and therapeutical effects of peroxide of hydrogen. In relation to 
its influence on organic bodies, Dr. Richardson found that to venous blood, deprived of its 
fibrin, it imparts oxygen, with an increase of heat, and a change of the colour to red. 
Fibrin and cellular tissue cause it to evolve oxygen. Sugar and starch are decomposed by 
it, giving out carbonic acid. Albumen, gelatin, urea, and cutaneous tissue have no effect on 
it. Injected into the left cavities of the heart of an animal, it restores the irritability of that 
organ, but has an opposite effect in the right cavities. Thrown into the arteries, immedi- 
ately after death, it restores for a time the contractile power of the muscles, and suspends 
cadaveric rigidity, while it counteracts the influence of various medicinal substances that 
cause muscular spasm. Dr. Richardson inferred from his experiments that the peroxiue 
might be found useful as an antidote to the narcotic poisons, as a local application to gan- 
grenous ulcers, and as an internal remedy in low forms of fever. Subsequently, from nu- 
merous therapeutical trials of the remedy, he came to the conclusion, that it is of great value 
in chronic and subacute rheumatism; acts in the removal of scrofulous tumours like iodine; 
relieves the paroxysms of hooping-cough, and cuts short the disease more effectually than 
any other medicine; affords great relief in chronic bronchitis with dyspnoea; and, in phthi- 
sis, operates favourably in the early stage by improving digestion and giving increased ac- 
tivity to chalybeate remedies, while, in the advanced stages, it afforded great relief to the 
dyspnoea and oppression, acting, indeed, in this respect, like opium without its narcotic 
effects. In general, it seemed to him to improve digestion, and therefore to be useful in 
cases complicated with dyspepsia. Sometimes, when freely employed, it produced profuse 
salivation, suggesting the idea that it might in other respects resemble mercury, and possi- 
bly be found capable of replacing this remedy to a certain extent in the treatment of dis- 
ease. Dr. Richardson recommends that a solution of the peroxide should be used charged 
with ten volumes of oxygen, the dose of which may be from one to four fluidrachms, freely 
diluted with water. There are so many substances which decompose the peroxide, that, as 
a general rule, it is best given without addition; at least nothing should be allowed to re- 
main long in contact with it. There can be no difficulty in obtaining the desired strength 
of ten volumes of oxygen to one of the solution, by estimating the quantity of oxygen con- 
tained in the peroxide of barium employed in the process. (See Lancet, Oct. 20, 1860, and 
April 12, 1862.) W. 
PETROLEUM. Rock Oil. This was recognised by the late London and Edinburgh Col- 
leges, but has been omitted in the British Pharmacopoeia, and, as it holds no place in that 
of the United States, takes rank among the extra-officinal medicines. Petroleum belongs 
to the class of native inflammable substances, called bitumens. These are liquids or readily 
fusible solids, which emit, when heated, a peculiar smell, burn easily, and leave a very 
small carbonaceous residue. They exist in nature either isolated., or combined with car- 
bon in various proportions, forming the different kinds of bituminous coal. Formerly the 
lighter coloured, purer, and more liquid forms of petroleum were distinguished by the name 
of naphtha, which was defined to be a transparent, yellowish-white, very light and inflam- 
mable, limpid liquid, of the bituminous character; but as this name has been conferred of 
late upon the lighter liquid resulting from the distillation of coal tar or petroleum at a com- 
paratively low temperature, and as there is no sufficient line of distinction between the na- 
tive naphtha and the impure forms of rock oil, it is, we think, desirable that the name should 
be confined to the artificial product, while the term petroleum is considered as embracing 
all the native liquid substances belonging to this class. When the bitumen is in the solid 
state it is called asphaltum. This is black, dry, friable, and insoluble in water or alcohol. 
Not unfrequently asphaltum exists in nature mixed with more or less of the liquid sub- 
stance; and this semi-solid mixture is distinguished by the name of maltha or mineral lar. 
Exposed to the air, petroleum gradually passes into the state of asphaltum. PART ill. 
Petroleum. 
1581 
Petroleum has been known from the earliest historical period. Herodotus refers to wells 
of it existing in Zante, and from time immemorial it has been known in Persia, where it 
was probably connected with the origin and ceremonies of fire-worship. Till recently the 
best-known sources of it were the borders of the Caspian Sea in Persia, at Amiano in Italy, 
at Gabian in France, the island of Trinidad in the West Indies, and in the Burman Empire 
near Rangoon, where vast quantities have been annually raised for many centuries, with- 
out any apparent exhaustion of the wells from which it was drawn. Within the limits of 
the United States it has long been known to exist in a few localities. On the borders of 
Seneca Lake in the State of New York, small quantities of it were collected, and to some 
extent used in medicine under the name of Seneca oil. In Western Pennsylvania, on Duck 
Creek in Ohio, near Scottsville in Kentucky, and on the Kenhawa in Virginia, it attracted 
some local attention; and a certain locality in Western Canada had acquired some notoriety 
by its burning spring. But little attention was paid to it until about eight years since; 
when, the preparation of oil for burning, distilled from coal tar, having proved very pro- 
fitable, and a strong resemblance if not identity having been proved to exist between this 
and petroleum, enterprise was directed towards some of the known sources of the latter 
liquid, which was greatly stimulated by success, and soon led to further and astonishing 
discoveries. Hitherto the most productive locality of rock oil has been in Western Penn- 
sylvania ; but it has been found to exist in great quantities elsewhere, and in fact occupies 
great portions of a region commencing in Western Canada, and extending, through New 
York and Pennsylvania, westward into Ohio and Kentucky, and far southward into Western 
Virginia. From the latest accounts it appears that petroleum exists also abundantly in Cali- 
fornia, and promises to vie with gold as a source of wealth to that country. Establishments 
for purifying the petroleum have multiplied with great rapidity, and the quantity of oil 
collected, and either exported or consumed at home, would be incredible, considering the 
short time since the trade in it may be said to have begun, were it not attested by positive 
returns. The quantity of petroleum exported, either crude or refined, independently of that 
consumed in this country, from the ports of Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, 
amounted in 1862 to 10,887,761 gallons; in 1863, to 28,250,721; and in 1864, to 31,772,972. 
(iY. Y. Times, Feb. 16, 1865.) 
Petroleum sometimes exists in overflowing springs, as in Canada, N. W. Virginia, and 
very largely in California, issuing along with the water, and spreading itself over the sur- 
face of streams for a considerable distance. It is, however, much more abundantly obtained 
by digging or boring wells. In this case, if the point struck be below some underground re- 
servoir of the oil, it may rise, as in artesian wells, to the surface. Sometimes it is driven up 
with considerable though variable force, probably by the expansive power of compressed 
gas, which not unfrequently escapes along with the oil, and in some places so copiously and 
steadily as to be used for lighting purposes in the immediate vicinity: the gas being some 
form of carburetted hydrogen. But in most instances it is necessary to raise the oil by 
pumps. The distance at which it is found beneath the surface is very different, the depth 
of boring in Western Pennsylvania varying from 71 to 600 feet. (D. Murray, Trans. Albany 
Instit., iv. 149.) It is necessary to bore through an overlying rock before reaching it. The 
oil is generally collected in the fissures and pores of some spongy rock as sandstone or 
shale. Its original source was probably an underground distillation of vegetable matter, 
carried on upon a vast scale by nature, by means of subterranean heat. Its close resem- 
blance to the tar resulting from destructive distillation of organic matter can be explained 
only upon this supposition. 
Crude petroleum is variable in character, being sometimes transparent and of an amber 
colour, but more generally brown or almost black and opaque in mass, or of various shades 
between the two, in some instances very thin and mobile, in others thicker, and occasionally 
almost semi-solid, of a peculiar characteristic odour, always lighter than water, and in great 
measure volatilizable by heat. A specimen of Pennsylvania petroleum, fresh from the wells, 
was found by Mr. E. S. Wayne, of Cincinnati, to have the sp. gr. 0-815, which, however, after 
the petroleum had been exposed to the air for 24 hours, rose to 0-825. When subjected to 
fractional distillation, it yielded liquid products varying in sp. gr. from 0-668 to 0-825; the 
lightest coming over first. The paraffin obtained from this petroleum Mr. Wayne believes 
to be very different from that obtained from coal tar, having both a lower boiling point 
and lower sp. gr., and,Resides, differing in chemical constitution. (The Druggist, Cincin- 
nati, June 15,1860.) In the purer form of naphtha, petroleum is a carbohydrogen, and, on 
account of the absence of oxygen, has been used for the preservation of potassium. The 
crude oil consists of a large number of distinct substances, generally carbohydrogens, of 
various sp. gr. and boiling points, which may be separated by distillation, and by the ac- 
tion of sulphuric acid and soda or potassa. Mr. Schorlemmer states, as the result of his 
examination of refined American petroleum, the product of the first rectification, that it 
contains benzol and toluol in small proportion, but consists mainly of hydrides (hydrurets) 
of the alcohol radicals, of which he isolated four; namely, hydride of amyl, C10ll12, boiling 
at 92° F.; hydride of hexyl, C12H14, boiling at 154° F.; hydride of heptyl, CU1I16. boiling at 1582 
Petroleum. 
PART III. 
208° F., and hydride of octyl, C]6H,8, boiling at 236°. (Chem. News, April 4,18G3, p. 157.) MM. 
Pelouze and Cahors have isolated seven distinct carbohydrogens from rectified American 
petroleum, of a lower boiling point than 392° F.; viz., butyl hydride C8II10, amyl hydride 
€10Hi2, caproyl hydride C121IU, cenanthyl hydride CUH16. capryl hydride C16U1S, pelargonyl hy- 
dride C18H20, and rutyl hydride C20H22. (Ibid., April 25, 18ti3, p. 197.) W. 
Barbadoes petroleum is a black, nearly opaque, inflammable liquid, of the consistence of 
molasses, unctuous to the touch, and possessing a bituminous taste, and strong and tena- 
cious odour. Its sp. gr. varies from 0 730 to 0-878. When subjected to distillation it yields 
naphtha, and leaves a solid residue of asphaltum. It is little affected by alcohol, acids, or 
alkalies, but dissolves in ether and in the fixed and volatile oils. It consists chiefly of carbon 
and hydrogen, associated with a little nitrogen and oxygen. Rangoon petroleum, also called 
Rangoon tar and Burmese naphtha, has a greenish-brown colour, a peculiar, rather fragrant 
odour, and the consistence of goose-fat. It is lighter than water. Heated to 90° it becomes 
a very mobile liquid. By distilling it in a current of steam, first at 212°, and afterwards 
super-heated, Drs. W. De la Rue and H. Muller obtained 96 per cent, of volatile products, 
solid and liquid. The solid product (varaffin) amounted to from 10 to 11 per cent., and 
was found resolvable by these chemists, by fractional crystallization from hot alcohol, into 
at least two polymeric carbohydrogens, having the probable formula CnIIn. The liquid 
product, usually called naphtha, is separable by sulphuric and nitric acids into two sets 
of carbohydrogens; one set removable by these acids, the other resisting their action. The 
former set contain fewer eqs. of hydrogen than of carbon, and embrace, among other car- 
bohydrogens, benzole and toluole. The latter, which form by far the larger portion of the 
liquid product, are perfectly colourless, almost inodorous, very mobile liquids, not congeal- 
able by intense cold. Their probable formula, according to l)rs. De la Rue and Muller, is 
C„Hn + 1. (See Chem. Gaz., Oct. 1, 1856, p. 375.) B. 
The method of purifying petroleum is very nearly the same as that already described 
for purifying coal tar. The following description is taken chiefly from a communication 
of Mr. David Murray to the Albany Institute, Dec. 1862, and published in its Transactions 
(vol. iv. p. 149). Much water is often pumped up with the petroleum, but separates from 
it on standing, the oil rising to the surface. The crude oil is put into large retorts of cast 
or wrought iron and exposed to a heat between 600° and 800°, by which all the volatile in- 
gredients are distilled, leaving 10 or 12 per cent, of solid residue, constituting a sort of 
coke. The liquid thus obtained is comparatively colourless, though still retaining the 
strong odour of the crude oil. To separate various organic alkaloids and acids with which 
it is mixed, the distilled petroleum is agitated first with sulphuric acid, and afterward?" 
with a strong solution of soda or potassa; the sulphuric acid with its dissolved impurities 
being drawn off, and the oil well wqshed with water, before the addition of the alkali, and 
afterwards again washed when the alkali has performed its function. The purified petro- 
leum is now submitted to another distillation, but at first at a temperature not exceeding 
120° (Murray), in order that only the more volatile carbohydrogens may be driven over, 
which are unsuitable for lamp-oil. These, being condensed, constitute wdiat is now commonly 
called naphtha, which is used as a solvent for varnishes and caoutchouc, and for mixture 
with paints, a purpose which it answers as well as oil of turpentine, except for its offen- 
sive smell. It is unsuitable for lamps from its extreme volatility, its liability to smoke 
when burned, and the danger of explosion from the admixture of its vapour with atmo- 
spheric air. After the naphtha, which is equivalent to the benzine of coal tar, has all come 
over, the heat is increased and the distillation continued until the distilled liquid attains 
the sp. gr. 0-820. This is the part sold for lighting, and is by far the most important pro- 
duct of petroleum. The quantity of it obtained varies greatly, sometimes not exceeding 
30 per cent., sometimes amounting to 80 or 90. It is clear, and of a fine deep amber colour, 
and answers admirably for lighting, yielding a brighter and purer flame than perhaps any 
other kind of lamp-oil. If the distillation be now continued, a darker and heavier product 
comes over, which upon cooling deposits paraffin. The part remaining liquid, which is too 
impure for burning, is employed for lubricating machinery. W. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Petroleum is accounted a stimulating antispasmodic, expec- 
torant, and diaphoretic. It is occasionally given in disorders of the chest, when not at- 
tended with inflammation. In Germany it has been extolled as a remedy for tape-worm. 
Schwartz’s formula in such cases was a mixture of one part of petroleum with one and a 
half parts of tincture of assafetida, of which forty drops were given three times a day. 
Externally, petroleum is employed in chilblains, chronic rheumatism, affections of the 
joints, paralysis, and diseases of the skin. It is an ingredient in the popular remedy called 
British oil. (See note, p. 602.) The dose of Barbadoes petroleum is from thirty drops to a 
small teaspoonful, given in any convenient vehicle. Rangoon petroleum is probably more 
active, and should be given in a smaller dose. The New York petroleum, called Seneca otl, is 
used to a considerable extent as an external application in domestic practice. It is lighter 
coloured, thinner in consistence, and less sapid and odorous than the Barbadoes petroleum, 
and probably contains more naphtha. The finer kinds of petroleum, called naphtha, have PART III. 
Ph loridzin. —Physalis A Ikekengi. 
1583 
been used with advantage in epidemic cholera by Dr. Andreosky, of the Russian army, by 
M. Cloquet, physician to the Shah of Persia, and by M. Moretin, of France. They gave 
from ten to twenty drops in half a glass of white wine or mint water. B. 
PHLORIDZIN. This is a bitter principle, discovered by Dr. Konink, of Germany, in the 
bark of the apple, pear, cherry, and plum trees. It is most abundant in the bark of tha 
root, and derived its name from this circumstance (from two Greek words, <p\oic bark, and 
'fi£ot a root). It is light, white, crystallizable in silky needles, of a bitter taste, soluble in 
about 1000 parts of cold and in all proportions in boiling water, very soluble in alcohol, 
scarcely soluble in ether cold or hot, dissolved without change by solutions of the alkalies, 
especially by ammonia, deprived of its water of crystallization at 212°, and fusible at a 
somewhat higher temperature. It is without acid or alkaline reaction, and consists of car- 
bon, hydrogen, and oxygen; its formula being, according to G. Roser, when dry, C42H25O20, 
with the addition of 4 eqs. of water when crystallized. AVhen heated with dilute muriatic 
or sulphuric acid, it is converted into sugar and a peculiar substance calledphloretin. (See 
Chem. Gaz., viii. 392.) To obtain it, the fresh bark of the root of the apple tree should be 
selected, as the dried bark is said to contain it in much smaller proportion. The bark is to 
be boiled for an hour or two successively in two separate portions of water, each sufficient 
to cover it, and the decoction set aside. At the end of thirty hours they will have deposited 
a considerable quantity of coloured phloridzin, which may be purified by boiling for a few 
minutes with distilled water and animal charcoal, filtering, repeating this process two or 
three times, and then allowing the solution to cool slowly. The phloridzin is deposited in 
the crystalline state. An additional quantity may be obtained by evaporating the decoction 
to one-fifth of its bulk, allowing it to cool, and purifying the substance deposited in the 
same manner as before. 
Phloridzin is said to possess the anti-intermittent property in a high degree, and to have 
proved successful where quinia had failed. It was employed by Dr. Konink in the dose of 
10 or 15 grains, and effected cures in several cases of intermittent fever. Dr. De Ricci re- 
commends it very strongly as a tonic in the dyspepsia of delicate females, in the debility of 
children requiring a supporting treatment, and in all cases in which quinia is indicated 
but is not well borne. He has never known it to disagree with patients in the dose of 10 
grains three or four times a day. As a tonic, 5 grains of it may be given at a dose. Though 
nearly insoluble in water alone, it may be readily exhibited in solution by adding to the 
water a few drops of spirit of ammonia. (Dub. Quart. Journ., Aug. 1862.) W. 
PHOSPHATE OF POTASSA. Potassse Phosphas. The phosphate of potassa, which has 
of late come into use as a medicine, is the neutral tribasic phosphate, having the formula 
2KO,H0,P05, and, therefore, a composition precisely analogous to that of the medicinal 
phosphates of soda and ammonia. It is derived from the variety of phosphoric acid con- 
taining three eqs. of water, by the substitution of two eqs. of potassa for two of water, 
and, notwithstanding its slight alkaline reaction, is called neutral, in order to distinguish 
it from the decidedly alkaline tribasic phosphate, 3K0,P05. It may be formed precisely 
as phosphate of soda is prepared (see page 1336); or by saturating, by means of carbonate 
of potassa, glacial phosphoric acid (HO,P05), changed by solution in water and ebulli- 
tion into common phosphoric acid (3H0,P05). The medicinal phosphate of potassa is a 
white, amorphous, deliquescent salt, incapable of crystallization. It has been given as an 
alterative in scrofula and phthisis, nnd in some other diseases, with supposed advantage. 
The dose is from ten to thirty grains three times a day, dissolved in a tablespoonful of 
water. B. 
PHOSPHATE OF ZINC. Zinci Phosphas. Dr. Barnes, of London, has brought forward 
this salt of zinc, as having special advantages over other salts of the same metal in the 
treatment of nervous diseases. The theoretical ground of preference is that, in diseases 
of the brain there is apt to be a waste of phosphorus in the cerebral substance, and the 
phosphoric acid offers the means of supplying the deficiency. Phosphate of zinc may be 
prepared by the mutual reaction of sulphate of zinc and an alkaline phosphate. It is white, 
insoluble in water, but soluble in an excess of phosphoric acid. Dr. Barnes has found it 
peculiarly useful in the insanity occurring in the convalescence from fevers, in which he 
associates it with quinia, and in epilepsy attended with disorder of the uterine functions. 
He also uses it preferably to the sulphate of zinc in the sweats of phthisis. He finds it 
less liable to disturb the stomach than the sulphate. It may be given in pill, or dissolved 
in water acidulated with phosphoric acid, in the dose of from one to three grains. W. 
PHYSALIS ALKEKENGI. Alkekengi. Common Winter Cherry. A perennial herbaceous 
plant, growing wild in the south of Europe, and cultivated in our gardens. The fruit is a 
round red berry, about as large as a cherry, enclosed in the calyx, and containing numer- 
ous flat kidney-shaped seeds. All parts of the plant are bitter, especially the leaves and 
the capsules enveloping the fruit. The berries are very juicy, and have an acidulous, bit- 
terish taste. By drying they shrink, and become of a brownish-red colour. The bitter 
principle has been isolated by MM. Dessaignes and Chautard, and named by them physahn. 1584 
Pichurim Beans.—Pimpinella Saxifraga. 
PART III. 
It is obtained by agitating an infusion of the plant with chloroform, which extracts the 
bitter principle, and yields it by evaporation. To purify it, dissolve it in hot alcohol, add 
a little animal charcoal, filter, precipitate by water, and wash the precipitate with the same 
liquid. It is a light powder, white with a shade of yellow, of a taste slight at first, but in 
the end permanently bitter, very slightly soluble in cold water, somewhat more soluble in 
boiling water, and very soluble in alcohol and chloroform, especially with the aid of heat. 
It consists of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. (Journ. de Pharm., Setter., xxi. 24.) The ber- 
ries are said to be aperient and diuretic, and have been recommended in suppression of 
urine, gravel, and other complaints of the urinary passages. M. Gendron recommends them 
very highly as a febrifuge. He thinks they are most effective when allowed to ripen and 
begin to dry on the stem. He usually administers about three drachms daily in two doses. 
[Arch. Gen., xxiii. 536 ) A French physician has lately published a pamphlet on gout, in 
which he strongly recommends alkekengi as more efficacious even than colchicum. He 
takes the flowers and unripe fruit, dries and powders them, makes the powder into a paste 
with water and a little slaked lime, treats the mixture with boiling alcohol, and finally 
filters and evaporates the alcoholic liquid. The residue is given in the form of pill, made 
with solution of silicate of soda and powdered Teucrium Chamscdrys. Five or six of the 
pills are taken daily. {Braithwaite's Retrospect, Am. ed., No. 46, p. 214.) From six to twelve 
berries, or an ounce of the expressed juice, may be taken for a dose; and much larger 
quantities are not injurious. They are consumed to a considerable extent in some parts 
of Europe as food. The berries of the Physalis viscosa, of this country, are said by Clayton 
to be remarkably diuretic. W. 
PICHURIM BEANS. The seeds of an uncertain tree growing in Brazil, Guiana, Vene- 
zuela, and other parts of South America. The tree has been supposed to be the Ocotea 
Pichurim of Kunth (Laurus Pichurim, Richard, Aydendron Laurel, Nees); but its position in 
either of these genera is denied by F. Nees von Esenbeck; and the plant is now referred 
to the genus Nectandra with the specific name Puchury. There appear to be two varieties 
of Nectandra Puchury, one bearing larger and the other smaller fruit, and distinguished as 
the major and minor. Professor Carson, of the University of Pennsylvania, has had spe- 
cimens of the fruit and other parts of the tree sent him, sufficient to verify the ascription 
of the Pichurim beans to this source. {Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxvii. 385.) The beans are 
the kernels of the fruit separated into halves. They are ovate-oblong or elliptical, flat on 
one side, convex on the other, of a grayish-brown colour externally, chocolate-coloured 
within, of an aromatic odour between that of nutmegs and sassafras, and of a spicy pun- 
gent taste. There are two kinds, one about an inch and a half long by half an inch in 
breadth, the other little more than half as large, rounder, and of a dark-brown colour. The 
former are said by Dr. Carson to come from Brazil, the latter from Venezuela, and may 
be severally the product of the varieties of the tree above referred to. (Ibid., p. 387.) 
Bonastre has found them to contain a concrete volatile oil, a fatty matter of the consist- 
ence of butter, stearin, resin, brown colouring matter, fecula, gum, sugar, and lignin. 
Their virtues depend on the volatile oil. In the American Journal of Pharmacy for Jan. 
1851 (p. 1); Prof. Procter describes a liquid product brought from South America, known 
as “the native oil of laurel or sassafras,” or “aceyte de sassafras,” said to be obtained by 
making incisions in the trunk of a tree growing on the Orinoco. As described by Prof. 
Procter, it is an oleo-resin, of the sp.gr. 0-898, of a auburn colour, a peculiar pene- 
trating odour, and an aromatic, bitterish, pungent, and somewhat camphorous taste. On 
distillation, almost the whole passes over in the shape of a colourless volatile oil; a small 
proportion only of resinous matter being left behind. This oleo-resin is conjectured to be 
the same as that employed for adulterating the copaiba exported from Maracaibo. It may 
be distinguished from copaiba by its ready solubility in alcohol of 0-838, and by the fact 
that its volatile oil is acted on by potassium. It is believed to be the same product as the 
“native oil of laurel” described by Pereira, which was obtained from Demerara, and by 
incisions in a large tree. Prof. Carson, on comparing with it a specimen of oil presented 
to him as obtained from the same tree with the fruit above mentioned, has no hesitation in 
considering them as identical, and, therefore, in referring the so-called native oil of laurel 
to Nectandra Puchury. In medical properties the pichurim beans resemble the common 
aromatics, and may be employed for the same purposes. In South America they are said 
to be used as a substitute for nutmeg, and have even been called by that name. They are 
rare in this country. The oil obtained from the tree is said to impart its odour to the 
perspiration and urine, and to be useful in rheumatism, gout, &c. The bark is sometimes 
employed as a tonic and febrifuge. W. 
PIMPINELLA SAXIFRAGA. Small Burnet Saxifrage. Saxifraga. A perennial umbellife- 
rous European plant, growing on sunny hills, and in dry meadows and pastures. The root 
is officinal in some parts of Europe. It has a strong, aromatic, yet unpleasant odour, and 
a sweetish, pungent, biting, aromatic, bitterish taste. Its active constituents are volatile oil 
and an acrid resin. It is considered diaphoretic, diuretic, and stomachic; and has been 
used in chronic catarrh, asthma, dropsy, amenorrhcea, &c. The dose in substance is about PART III. 
Pinclcneya Pubens.—Platinum. 
1585 
half a drachm, and in infusion two drachms. The root is used also as a masticatory in 
toothache, as a gargle in pals}7 of the tongue and in collections of viscid mucus in the 
throat, and externally to remove freckles. W. 
PINCKNEYA PUBENS. Michaux. A large shrub or small tree, growing in South Caro- 
lina, Georgia, and Florida, in low and moist places along the sea-coast. It is closely allied, 
in botanical characters, to the Cinchonse, with which it was formerly ranked by some bota- 
nists. The bark is bitter, and has been used with advantage in intermittent fever. Dr. Law, 
of Georgia, cured six out of seven cases in which he administered it. The dose and mode 
of preparation are the same with those of cinchona. The chemical composition and medical 
properties of this bark deserve a fuller investigation than they have yet received. W. 
PISCIDIA ERYTIIIUNA. Jamaica Dogwood. Dr. William Hamilton, of Plymouth, Eng- 
land, in a communication to the Pharmaceutical Journal (iv. 76, August, 1844), speaks of this 
plant as a powerful narcotic, capable of producing sleep and relieving pain in an extraordi- 
nary manner. He had noticed, when resident in the West Indies, the use of the bark of the 
root in the taking of fish, upon which, even when of a large size, it exercised a very strong 
narcotic effect. He was induced to try it as an anodyne in toothache, and found a saturated 
tincture exceedingly efficacious, not only affording relief when taken internally, but uni- 
formly curing the pain when introduced upon a dossil of cotton into the carious tooth. The 
bark of the root, to be effectual, should be gathered during the period of inflorescence in 
April. When chewed it has an unpleasant acrimony like that of mezereon. It yields its vir- 
tues to alcohol, but not to water. The formula employed by him in preparing the tincture 
was to macerate an ounce of the bark, in coarse powder, in four fluidounces of rectified 
spirit, for twenty-four hours, and then to filter. The dose is a fluidrachm. He first tried it 
on himself, when labouring under severe toothache, taking the quantity mentioned in cold 
water on going to bed. He first felt a violent sensation of heat internally, which gradually 
extended to the surface, and was followed by profuse perspiration, with profound sleep for 
twelve hours. On awaking, he was quite free from pain, and without the unpleasant sensa- 
tions which follow a dose of opium. W. 
PLANTAGO MAJOR. Plantain. A well-known perennial herb, growing in fields, by the 
roadsides, and in grass-plots, and abounding both in Europe and in this country. The 
leaves are saline, bitterish, and austere to the taste; the root saline and sweetish. The plant 
has been considered refrigerant, diuretic, deobstruent, and somewhat astringent. The an- 
cients esteemed it highly, and employed it in visceral obstructions, hemorrhages, particu- 
larly from the lungs, consumption, dysentery, and other complaints. In modern times it 
has been applied to similar purposes, and the root is said to have proved useful in intermit- 
tents. At present, however, it is generally believed to be very feeble, and is little used in- 
ternally. As an external application it has been recommended in ulcers of various kinds, 
and in indolent scrofulous tumours. Among the vulgar it is still much used as a vulnerary, 
and as a dressing for blisters and sores. The dose of the expressed juice is from one to four 
fluidounces. Two ounces of the fresh root or leaves may be boiled in a pint of water, and 
given during the day. Externally the leaves are applied whole, or in decoction. Plantago 
media and P. lancifolia or rib-grass, which are also indigenous, possess properties similar to 
those of P. Major, and may be used fcr the same purposes. 
Under the name of semen psyllii, the seeds of several Species of Plantago, growing in Eu- 
rope, are sometimes kept in the shops. The best are those of Plantago Psyllium or fleawort, 
which grows in the south of Europe and Barbary. They are small, about a line long by half 
a line in breadth, convex on one side, concave on the other, flea-coloured, shining, inodorous, 
and nearly tasteless, but mucilaginous when chewed. They are demulcent and emollient, 
and may be used internally and externally in the same manner as flaxseed, which they 
closely resemble in medical properties. W. 
PLATINUM. In 1826 Prof. Gmelin, of Tubingen, made experiments to determine the 
action of this metal on the economy. In 1841 Dr. Ferdinand Hoefer published some obser- 
vations on the same subject. The latter experimented chiefly with the bichloride, and the 
double chloride of platinum and sodium. They are both poisonous; the bichloride in the 
dose of 15 grains, the double chloride in that of 30 grains. When a concentrated solution 
of the bichloride is applied to the skin, it produces violent itching, followed by an eruption. 
Administered internally it irritates the mucous membrane of the stomach and occasions 
headache. The double chloride has no action when externally applied, and, when given in- 
ternally, operates on the system in a less sensible manner than the bichloride. It possesses 
the power of augmenting the urine. Dr. Hoefer ranks the preparations of platinum with the 
alteratives, by the side of those of iodine, arsenic, and gold. He considers them particularly 
suited to the treatment of syphilitic diseases; the bichloride to cases of long standing and 
inveterate, the double chloride to those which are recent. The dose of the bichloride is from 
half a grain to two grains twice a day, given in pill. Eight grains may be made into sixteen 
Pil's, with a drachm of the extract of guaiacum wood of the French Codex, and sufficient 1586 
Plumbago Puropaea.—Populus. 
PART III. 
powdered liquorice root. Of these, one, two, or three may be taken morning and evening. 
The double chloride may be prepared by dissolving five grains of the bichloride and eight 
of pure chloride of sodium in seven fluidounces of gum-water; and the whole may be taken 
by tablespoonfuls in the course of twenty-four hours. For frictions on indolent ulcers, Dr. 
Iloefer used an ointment composed of sixteen grains of the bichloride, thirty-two graiis of 
extract of belladonna, and an ounce of lard. (Journ. de Pharm., xxvii. 213.) B. 
PLUMBAGO EUROPiEA. Leadwort. Denlellaria. A perennial, herbaceous plant, grow- 
ing in the south of Europe. It has an acrid taste, and, when chewed, excites a flow of sa- 
liva. This is particularly the case with the-root, which has been long used to relieve tooth- 
ache. Hence the plant derived the name of dentelaire, by which it is known in France. A 
decoction of the root in olive oil has been highly recommended for the cure of the itch. 
Writers differ much in their statements in relation to the activity of the plant, some speak- 
ing of it as a rubefacient, vesicatory, and caustic, and, when swallowed, as violently emetic, 
and liable to produce dangerous irritation of the alimentary canal; while others consider it 
nearly inert. Perhaps the difference may be ascribed in part to the use of the plant in the 
recent state in one case, and dried or long kept in the other. A crystallizable, acrid princi- 
ple, called plumbagin, has been extracted from the root by Dulong. W. 
POLYPODIUM VULGARE. Common Polypody. A fern belonging both to the old and new 
continents, and growing in the clefts of old walls, rocks, and decayed trunks of trees. The 
root, which is the part considered medicinal, is rather long, about as thick as a goose-quill, 
somewhat contorted, covered with brown, easily separable scales, furnished with slender 
radicles, and marked by numerous small tubercles. As found in the shops, it is sometimes 
destitute of the scales and radicles. Its colour is reddish-brown with a tinge of yellow, its 
odour disagreeably oleaginous, its taste peculiar, sweetish, somewhat bitter, and nauseoous. 
The root of the variety growing upon the oak has been preferred, though without good 
reason. It was deemed purgative by the ancients, who employed it for the evacuation of bile 
and pituitous humours in melancholic and maniacal cases. Modern physicians have used it 
in similar complaints, and as a pectoral in chronic catarrh and asthma. At present, how- 
ever, it is scarcely ever employed, being considered nearly inert. It was given in doses 
varying from a drachm to an ounce, usually in connection with cathartics. W. 
POLYTRICHUM JUNIPERINUM. Hair-cap Moss. Robin's Rye. This moss is a native of 
the United States, and abounds in New England. For a particular description of it, the 
reader is referred to a communication in the Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., N. S. (xxvii. 2G7), by 
Dr. Wm. Wood, of East Windsor Hill, Connecticut, who speaks in very strong terms of its 
efficacy as a diuretic, having found it the most successful remedy which he has employed in 
the treatment of dropsy. He infuses a large handful of the whole plant in water, and allows 
the patient to drink freely of the tea, “the more so the better.” Dr. Ariel Hunter, of Hyde 
Park, Vermont, has subsequently given additional testimony in its favour as a diuretic, 
doing good service in dysury. (iV. J. Med. and Surg. Reporter, ix. 417;) W. 
POPULUS. Poplar. Several trees belonging to this genus have attracted some attention 
in a medical point of view. In most of them the leaf-buds are covered with a resinous exu- 
dation, which has a peculiar, agreeable, balsamic odour, and a bitterish, balsamic, some- 
what pungent taste. This is abundant in the buds of Populus nigra or the black poplar of 
Europe, which are officinal in some parts of that continent. They contain resin and a pecu- 
liar volatile oil. The buds of P.balsamifera, growing in the northern parts of N. America 
and Siberia, are also highly balsamic; and a resin is said to be furnished by the tree, which 
is sometimes, though erroneously, called tacamahac. The virtues cf the poplar buds are 
probably analogous to those of the turpentines and balsams. They have been used in pec- 
toral, nephritic, and rheumatic complaints, in the form of tincture; and a liniment, made 
by macerating them in oil, has been applied externally in local rheumatism. The unguentum 
populeum of European pharmacy is made, according to the directions of the French Codex 
of 1837, by bruising in a marble mortar, and boiling in 2000 parts of lard, with a gentle 
fire, till the moisture is dissipated, 250 parts, each, of the fresh leaves of the black poppy, 
deadly nightshade, henbane, and black nightshade; then adding of the dried buds of the 
black poplar, bruised, 875 parts; digesting for 24 hours; straining with strong expression; 
and finally allowing the ointment to cool after defecation. This is an anodyne ointment, oc- 
casionally employed in Europe in painful local affections. It has been ascertained that poplar 
buds are capable of imparting a principle to ointments, which in a considerable degree ob- 
viates their tendency to rancidity. 
The bark of certain species of poplar is possessed of tonic properties, and has been used 
in intermittent fever with advantage. Such is the case with that, of P. tremuloides or Ame- 
rican aspen, and of P. tremula or European aspen. In the bark of the latter Braconnot found 
salicin, and another crystallizable principle which he named popnlin. It is in these, pro- 
bably, that the febrifuge properties of the bark reside. They may be obtained by preci- 
pitating a saturated decoction of the bark with solution of subacetate of lead, filtering, pre- 
cipitating the excess of lead by sulphuric acid, again filtering, evaporating, adding animal PART III. 
JPortulaoa Oleracea.—Prenanthes Serpentaria. 
1587 
charcoal towards the end of the evaporation, and filtering the liquor while hot. Salicin gra- 
dually separates, upon the cooling of the liquor, in the form of crystals. If, when this prin- 
ciple has ceased to crystallize, the excess of sulphuric acid in the liquid be saturated by a 
concentrated solution of carbonate of potassa, the populin will be precipitated. If this be 
pressed between folds of blotting paper, and redissolved in boiling water, it will be depo- 
sited, upon the cooling of the liquid, in the crystalline state. The leaves also of P. tremula 
afford populin, and more largely even than the bark. It is probable that both principles 
exist in the bark of P. tremuloides, and other species. Salicin is described under Saliz. 
Populin is very light, purely white, and of a bitter, sweetish taste, analogous to that of 
liquorice. When heated it melts into a colourless and transparent liquid. It is soluble in 
2000 parts of cold, and about 70 parts of boiling water; and is more soluble in boiling al- 
cohol. Acetic acid and the diluted mineral acids dissolve it, and, upon the addition of an 
alkali, let it fall unchanged. Piria regards it as a complex body, consisting of benzoic acid, 
saligenin, and glucose. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxiv. 240.) Of these principles saligenin 
and glucose have been found in salicin; and it was inferred that, by separating benzoic 
acid, populin might be converted into salicin. This has been effected by Piria. When populin 
is boiled with baryta water or milk of lime, the benzoic acid precipitated by sesquichloride 
of iron, the excess of iron removed by lime, and the excess of lime by carbonic acid, the 
remaining liquid yields salicin on evaporation. The same conversion may be effected by 
heating populin with an alcoholic solution of ammonia to 212°. Piria obtained from populin 
28 9 per cent, of benzoic acid. [Pharm. Journ., xv. 378.) Dr. T. L. Phipson, basing his ex- 
periments upon the results of Piria, has succeeded in preparing populin artificially by com- 
bining salicin and benzoic acid. Nothing more is necessary than to dissolve the two sub- 
stances in alcohol, and to concentrate the solution. Crystals are formed having all the 
characters of populin, and consisting of salicin and benzoic acid combined in the proportion 
of their equivalents. [Chem. News, Dec. 6, 1862, p. 278.) W. 
PORTULACA OLERACEA. Garden Purslane. An annual succulent plant, growing in 
gardens and cultivated grounds, in the United States, Europe, and most other parts of the 
globe. It has an herbaceous, slightly saline taste, and is often used as greens, being boiled 
with meat, or other vegetables. It is considered a cooling diuretic, and is recommended in 
scurvy, and affections of the urinary passages. The seeds have been thought to be anthel- 
mintic ; but they are tasteless and inert. • W. 
POTENTILLA REPTANS. Cinquefoil. A perennial, creeping, European herb, with leaves 
which are usually quinate, and have thus given origin to the ordinary name of the plant. 
The root has a bitterish, styptic, slightly sweetish taste, and was formerly used in diar- 
rhoea, and other complaints for which astringents are usually prescribed. W. 
POWDER OF ALGAROTII. Pulvis Algarolhi. Oxychloride of Antimony. Nitromuriatic 
Oxide of Antimony. This powder is formed by dissolving tersulphuret of antimony in mu- 
riatic acid, assisting the action, at first, by a gentle heat, which must be gradually in- 
creased to ebullition; and then pouring the resulting solution, when cold, into a large 
quantity of water. By a double decomposition between the tersulphuret and acid, sulphu- 
retted hydrogen is given off copiously by effervescence, and a solution of terchloride of 
antimony is formed. When this is thrown into water, the greater part of the terchloride is 
converted, by the elements of that liquid, into muriatic acid, which remains in solution, 
and teroxide of antimony, which precipitates in union with the remainder of the terchlo- 
ride as the powder of Algaroth. 
Properties, §c. This is a white powder, having a crystalline appearance if left long in 
contact with the solution from which it is precipitated. When exposed to a red heat it 
fuses, and forms a yellow liquid, which, on cooling, concretes into a grayish crystalline 
mass of a pearly aspect. Its usual composition is represented by the formula 2Sb03.SbCls 
-j-HO. It was formerly used in the preparation of tartar emetic, but has been superseded 
for this purpose by the pure teroxide. It has also been used in medicine; but, owing to 
its unequal operation, has been properly laid aside. It is liable to contain tersulphuret of 
arsenic (orpiment), unless when obtained from the distilled concrete terchloride of anti- 
mony. (Larocque, Journ. de Pharm., March, 1849.) B. 
PRENANTHES SERPENTARIA. Lion's Foot. This is a perennial indigenous herb, 
growing in the mountainous districts of Virginia and North Carolina. It belongs to Syn- 
genesia JEqualis in the sexual system, and to the natural family of Chicoracese. The genus 
is characterized by its “four-flowered nodding heads, its cylindric involucre calyculate at 
the base, its subterete unbeaked akenes, its scabrous pappus in several series, and its naked 
receptacle." This particular species has rough dentate leaves, of which the radical are 
palmate, the cauline with long footstalks, sinuate pinnatifid, disposed to be three-lobed, 
with the middle lobe three-parted, the upper lanceolate. The racemes are terminal, some- 
what panicled, short, and nodding, with an eight-cleft calyx, and twelve florets. (Pursh.) 
Dr. Darlington considers this a variety of Prenanlhes alba. It is about two feet high, with 
purple flowers. Pursh speaks of it as in great repute among the inhabitants of the re- 1588 
Propylamia. 
PART III. 
gions il inhabits as a remedy for the bite of poisonous serpents, and relates a case in 
which he had seen it used effectively. The milky juice of the plant was taken internally, 
and the leaves steeped in water were applied to the wound and frequently changed. In 
October, 1849, the author received a specimen of a plant from Dr. Newsom J. Pittman, of 
N. Carolina, with the information that he had employed it in ten or twelve cases of the 
bite of the rattlesnake with uniform success. He gave internally a decoction of the root, 
which is extremely bitter. This plant was the Prenanthes Scrpentaria of Pursh. W. 
PROPYLAMIA. Propylamin. Secalia. Secalin. Under the head of Ergota (page 368) allu- 
sion has been already made to a volatile alkaloid discovered by Winckler in the ergot of rye, 
and therefore denonynated by him secalin. This has since been identified with propylamia 
previously discovered in herring pickle; a fact which explains the fishy odour long known 
as one of the characteristics of ergot. The same alkaloid has been obtained as an artificial 
product from narcotina (see page 619), codeia, cod-liver oil, and other substances, and has 
been found in saline combination in the flowers of Craetagus oxycantha, Sorbus aucupa- 
ria, and one or more species of Chenopodium. The mode of obtaining it from ergot has 
been described in Part I. (page 368). The following method of procuring it from herring 
pickle has been published by Prof. Procter in the American Journal of Pharmacy (March, 
1859, p. 127). Herring pickle procured from the dealers in salt fish, having been mixed 
with sufficient potassa to render the liquid strongly alkaline, is introduced into a retort or 
alembic, and heated. The vapours are condensed in a receiver containing distilled water 
duly refrigerated, and the heat is continued until the distillate, as it forms, ceases to have 
the odour of herrings. The condensed liquid, which contains the propylamia separated by 
the potassa from its saline combination in the pickle, is now neutralized with muriatic 
acid, and carefully evaporated to dryness. Ammonia, which comes over and is condensed 
with the propylamia, combines like it with the muriatic acid, and the dry salt obtained is 
a mixture of the muriates of both these bases. This is exhausted with absolute alcohol, 
which dissolves the muriate of propylamia, and leaves the muriate of ammonia. If the 
alcoholic solution be treated with hydrate of lime, propylamia in vapour is given out 
abundantly with very little heat, and may be condensed in a receiver, which should be kept 
well cooled. The process may be simplified, as suggested by Prof. Procter in a subsequent 
number of the journal (May, 1859, p. 222), by acidulating the liquid in the receiver with 
muriatic acid, added gradually as the acid becomes neutralized, thus directly forming the 
muriate, which may be obtained crystallized by subsequent concentration, and, if necessary, 
freed from the accompanying muriate of ammonia in the manner already mentioned. In 
consequence of the volatility of propylamia, it is better kept in the state of the muriate; 
and this may either be used by the physician, or extemporaneously converted into propy- 
lamia, should it be wanted, by adding an equivalent of solution of potassa. The pure 
muriate may be obtained by the concentration of the alcoholic solution, formed as one of 
the steps of the preceding process. Propylamia is a colourless transparent liquid, of a 
characteristic odour, usually attended with some pungency, which may possibly be ascribed 
to the ammonia frequently mixed with it. It is soluble in water and alcohol, has a strong 
alkaline reaction, and forms crystallizable salts with the acids. If the end of a glass rod, 
previously dipped into muriatic acid, be held over the open mouth of a vial containing it, 
a white cloud of the muriate will be seen, as in the case of ammonia. Though most of the 
salts of propylamia are soluble in water and alcohol, the sulphate is wholly insoluble in 
the latter of these menstrua. (Winckler.) Propylamia consists of carbon, hydrogen, and 
nitrogen; and its formula is C6H9N, which is represented by one eq. of propylene and one 
of ammonia C6H6,NII3, or one of propyl and one of amidogen NII2,C6Hr 
Dr. Awenarius of St. Petersburg, Russia, first called attention to the use of propyla- 
mia in rheumatism, for which he considered it as a specific; so much so that a case of 
doubtful rheumatism might be diagnosticated by the successful use of this remedy in the 
course of a few days. Between March, 1854, and June, 1856, he treated in the Hospital 
Kalinkin, in St. Petersburg, 250 cases of rheumatism with success. Some of the cases were 
acute, some chronic, many metastatic, with pericardial, pleuritic, and meningeal compli- 
cations; and hemiplegic and paraplegic cases were not wanting; but all recovered. In 
the acute cases the pain and fever disappeared in a day or two. He mixed 25 drops of 
propylamia with six fluidounces of distilled water, flavoured if necessary with sugar and oil 
of peppermint, and gave a tablespoonful every two or three hours, taking care that the 
alkaloid was pure and freshly prepared. (Ann. de Thirap., 1859, p. 74.) Confirmatory state- 
ments from various sources have since been published; and the remedy has been found ser- 
viceable in other painful affections. Dr. B. F. Eaton, of Barnet, Vermont, has given in the 
Boston Medical and Surgical Journal an account of a severe case of neuralgia of the face, in 
which the pain appeared to have been entirely subdued by it in less than 24 hours. After 
using it for about three days, the patient was seized with vomiting, accompAnied with faint- 
ness, and excessive thirst; but whether these phenomena were the effects of the propyla- 
mia could not be determined. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., May, 1862, p. 277.) Experiments 
are wanting to show the precise physiological properties of this alkaloid: and how far or PART III. 
Prunella Vulgaris.—Pyroacetic Spirit. 
1589 
in what manner it may prove deleterious in overdoses. There is probably no better pla» 
of administering the remedy than that recommended by Dr. Awenarius; namely in watery 
solution. A solution of 24 drops in six fluidounces of peppermint water, with two drachms 
of sugar, may be given in the dose of half a fluidounce, equivalent to two drops of the 
alkaloid, every two hours in the more acute cases. Or 36 grains of the muriate may be 
substituted in the mixture for the 24 drops of the alkaloid, and 6 fiuidrachms of the solu- 
tion of potassa added. This would give, with each dose of the propylamia, three or four 
grains of chloride of potassium, which could have no material effect, and certainly none 
of an injurious character. . W. 
PRUNELLA VULGARIS. Self-heal. Heal-all. A small perennial labiate plant,"common 
both in Europe and the United States, growing especially by the waysides. It is inodorous, 
but has an austere bitterish taste. The herb in flower was formerly used, in the state of 
infusion or decoction, in hemorrhages and diarrhoea, and as a gargle in sorethroat. In 
this country it is not employed in regular practice. W. 
PULMONARIA OFFICINALIS. Lungwort. An herbaceous perennial, European plant, 
sometimes cultivated in this country in gardens. The leaves are inodorous, and have an 
herbaceous, somewhat mucilaginous, and feebly astringent taste. They have been consid- 
ered pectoral and demulcent, and employed in catarrh, haemoptysis, consumption, and other 
affections of the chest; but their virtues are doubtful, and they were probably used in pec- 
toral complaints as much on account of the supposed resemblance of their speckled surface 
to that of the lungs, as from the possession of any positively useful properties. W. 
PUMICE STONE. Pumex. A very light porous stone, found in the vicinity of active and 
extinct volcanoes, and believed to have been thrown up during their eruption. The pumice 
stone of commerce is said to be obtained chiefly from Lipari. It is used whole, in the man- 
ner of a file, for removing the outer surfaces of bodies, or for rubbing down inequalities, 
and, in the state of powder, for polishing glass, metals, stones, &c.; purposes to which it 
is adapted by the hardness of its particles. W. 
PYRETHRUM PARTIIENIUM. (Willd.) Matricaria Parthenium. (Linn.) Chrysanthemum 
Parthenium. (Persoon.) Feverfew. A perennial herbaceous plant, about two feet high, with an 
erect, branching stem, pinnate leaves, oblong, obtuse, gashed, and dentate leaflets, and 
compound flowers in a corymb upon branching peduncles. It is a native of Europe, but 
cultivated in our gardens. The whole herbaceous part is used. The plant has an odour and 
taste analogous to those of chamomile, which it resembles also in the appearance of its flow- 
ers, and in its medical virtues. According to Zeller, a pound of it yields 4-8 grains of vola- 
tile oil. (Cent. Blatt, 1855, p. 205.) Though little employed, it is undoubtedly possessed of 
useful tonic properties. .The flowers of this and of a closely resembling species, Matricaria 
parihenoides (Desf.), are said to be used in France, to a considerable extent, indiscriminately 
with those of the true chamomile plant, Anthemis nobilis, which they closely resemble, espe- 
cially when double. They may, however, be distinguished, in this state, by their peculiar 
odour, their smaller receptacle, which is, moreover, rounded and flattened above, instead of 
being conical and somewhat pointed as in the Anthemis, and by the tubular five-toothed 
central florets, which in the chamomile are small, few, and scarcely visible, but, in the two 
species of Parthenium, are large, very numerous, and very long. Two other species of Par- 
thenium, P. roseum and P. carneum, have recently come into notice, as the source of the 
Persian insect powder. (See Insect Powder, page 1537.) W. 
PYROACETIC SPIRIT. Pyroacetic Ether. Acetone. This substance may be obtained by 
carefully distilling acetate of lime, and rectifying the product by repeated distillations from 
quicklime in a water-bath, until the boiling point becomes stationary, whereby it is freed 
from water and empyreumatic oil. It is a colourless, volatile, inflammable liquid, having a 
peculiar penetrating smell, and a pungent taste like that of peppermint. Its specific gravity 
is 0-792, and boiling point 132°. As found in the shops its density is not generally lower 
than 0-820. It is miscible in all proportions with water, ether, and alcohol, without disturb- 
ing its transparency If it becomes turbid jvhen mixed with water, the fact shows that it 
contains empyreumatic oil. It has been confounded with pyroxylic spirit, from which it is 
distinguished by its inability to dissolve a saturated solution of chloride of calcium, which 
is instantly dissolved in pyroxylic spirit. (Scanlan.) Its formula is CsII30; while that of py- 
roxylic spirit is C2H402. In constitution it bears considerable resemblance to alcohol. Thus, 
its formula doubled is C6H602, and that of alcohol is C4H602. It was thought at one time 
that the substance brought to the notice of the profession by Dr. John Hastiugs, of London, 
under the name of naphtha, as a remedy for pulmonary consumption, was pyroacetic spirit; 
but it now appears to be settled that what he intended was pyroxylic spirit. (See Spiritus 
Pyroxilicus Rectificatus, page 803.) There is no doubt that these spirits were used indiscrimi- 
nately in the therapeutic trials which grew out of the publication of Dr. Hastings’ book; 
but no exact experiments have been made, so far as we know, to determine the precise 
physiological action of pyroacetic spirit. B. 1590 
Pyrogallic Acid.—Rennet. 
PART ill. 
PYROGALLIC ACID. Pyrogalline or Galline (Rosing). This substance has recently ac- 
quired some importance as an agent in photography. It is one of the results of the igneous 
decomposition of gallic acid, and may be obtained by submitting extract of galls to the same 
treatment as that used for preparing benzoic acid from benzoin. The vapours of pyrogallio 
acid rise, and condense on the upper surface of the paper diaphragm. The chief difficulty 
in the process is properly to regulate the heat; as at a high temperature this acid passes 
rapidly into metagallic acid, and thus the product is diminished. According to Lowig, it is 
best prepared by heating gallic acid, previously dried at 212° F., in a glass retort, by means 
of a chloride of zinc bath, to 410° F., when the pure acid sublimes. Liebig recommends 
another method, calculated especially to obviate the effects of heat, which, with all the de- 
tails, may be seen in the Am. Journ. of Pharm, for July, 1857 (p. 388). In the same journal 
(July, 1854, p. 362) are the details of a process by H. Gruneberg, of the character of the 
one first referred to above, by which he obtained from 50 pounds of Chinese galls 2 pounds 
of ihe acid. 
Pyrogallic acid is in white, shining scales, inodorous, very bitter, soluble in three and a 
half parts of water, readily dissolved by alcohol and ether, fusible at 239° F., and sublima- 
ble at 410° in irritating vapours. According to Rosing, of Christiania, it is always partially 
converted, when sublimed, into metagallic acid, to which probably it owes its acid reaction 
as generally found in commerce; for, when quite pure, it has no influence on litmus paper. 
Rosing denied altogether its claims to be considered as an acid, and proposed to call py- 
rogalline or galline. (Journ. de Pharm., Juillet, 1857, p. 53.) In a subsequent memoir, how- 
ever, he admits its neutralizing power, and gives as its formula C12Il60g. One of its charac- 
teristic properties is its strong affinity for oxygen, in consequence of which it instantly un- 
dergoes change by contact with chlorine, iodine, bromine, and the acids which readily yield 
oxygen. Through the same property it rapidly reduces some of the metallic oxides; and its 
use in photography is based on this effect exercised on the salts of silver. Though unaltera- 
ble in the air when quite dry, it is rapidly changed in solution by the absorption of oxygen, 
so that it may be used for ascertaining the proportion of this gas in a mixture of gases. W. 
REALGAR. This is the bisulphuret of arsenic, consisting of one eq. of arsenic 75, and 
two of sulphur 32 = 107. It is found native in Saxony, Bohemia, Transylvania, and in 
various volcanic regions. Realgar is artificially made by melting arsenious acid with 
about half its weight of sulphur. [Turner.) Thus prepared, it is of a crystalline texture, 
of a beautiful ruby-red colour, of a uniform conchoidal fracture, somewhat transparent in 
thin layers, and capable of being sublimed without change. Native realgar is said to be 
innocent when taken internally, while that artificially prepared is poisonous, in conse- 
quence, according to Guibourt, of containing a little arsenious acid. Realgar is used only 
as a pigment. W. 
RED CHALK. Reddle. A mineral substance of a deep-red colour, of a compact texture, 
dry to the touch, adhering to the tongue, about as hard as chalk, soiling the fingers when 
handled, and leaving a lively red trace when drawn over paper. It consists of clay and 
oxide of iron, and is intermediate between bole and red ochre, containing more oxide of iron 
than the former, and less than the latter. It is used for drawing lines upon wood, &c., and 
is sometimes made into crayons by levigating and elutriating it, then forming it into a 
paste with mucilage of gum arabic, moulding this into cylinders, and drying it in the 
shade. It has been used internally as an absorbent and astringent. W. 
RENNET. GASTRIC JUICE. PEPSINE. As a remedial agent, the gastric juice of 
the inferior animals has been used in three forms; 1. that of the fresh liquid taken from 
the stomach, 2. that of rennet, or an infusion of the dried stomach, in wine or water, and 
3. that of a preparation called pepsine. 
1. Gastric juice is a liquid secretion of the mucous membrane of the stomach, whereby 
nitrogenous food is rendered soluble and capable of being absorbed, and other changes 
are ett’ected essential to healthful digestion. Various methods have been employed for ex- 
tracting it from the stomach for experiment, which it is unnecessary here to describe For 
use in medicine, the most convenient method is to collect it from the stomachs of animals 
killed fasting, as the hog, sheep, and calf, and then deprive it, by filtration, of the mucus 
and undigested alimentary matters mingled with it. In this state it is a limpid liquid, 
slightly yellowish or brownish-yellow, heavier than water, of a somewhat saltish taste, 
and a characteristic odour, which, when the juice is heated, resembles that of soup. It 
usually has an acid reaction. At the temperature of 100° or lower, it has the property 
of dissolving nitrogenous articles of food, and, without affecting starch, of changing glu- 
cose or the sugar of grapes into lactic acid. When separated from its attendant acid, it 
loses in a greater or less degree this solvent power, which it recovers upon the addition of 
lactic or muriatic acid. The idea has been advanced that., in normal digestion, it supplies 
itself with the requisite lactic acid, by converting into that substance the glucose taken 
into the stomach, or resulting from the reaction of saliva or the gastric mucus upon starch. 
But in cases where no starch is taken, there must be other means of supplying tha *ieces- PART III, 
Rennet. 
1591 
sary acid. When the juice is heated to the boiling point, it becomes turbid, and loses 
the solvent property. The same change takes place more slowly at the temperature of 122* 
F. Strong alcohol causes a deposition of solid matter, and impairs the digestive power. 
'Tannin produces a precipitate which has no influence on food. Some of the metallic salts, 
as bichloride of mercury and acetate of lead, also produce a precipitate; but this, when 
deprived of the metallic oxide, regains the characteristic solvent property. Pure gas- 
tric juice contains about 97 per cent, of water, 1-75 of salts, a free acid, and 1-25 of a 
substance, which has been considered by some chemists as a distinct organic principle, 
and has received the name of pepsin. (Boudault, Journ. de Pharm., Sept. 1859, p. 192.) This 
principle is nitrogenous, and is believed to have the properties of a ferment, whereby 
the gastric juice is enabled, with the assistance of an acid, to exercise its peculiar power 
over food. It may be separated from the gastric juice by first precipitating this with a 
metallic salt, as the acetate of lead, and then decomposing the metallic precipitate by sul- 
phuretted hydrogen, which throws down the metal as a sulphuret, and leaves the pepsin 
in solution. The liquid is then evaporated at a very gentle heat, and the pepsin is left 
in the form of a soft, viscous substance, which can with difficulty be brought to a dry state 
without addition. But it is very doubtful whether the substance thus procured, though it 
has the digestive power of the gastric juice, is a pure proximate principle; as, in the purest 
state in which it has been obtained, it does not yield identical results on analysis. When 
gastric juice is completely protected from the air, it may be kept unchanged for a long 
time; but, on exposure, it speedily undergoes decomposition, acquires a very offensive 
odour, and loses its characteristic digestive property. The juice itself is almost never used 
internally; but, more than forty years ago, it was employed by Dr. P. S. Physick, the 
celebrated surgeon of Philadelphia, with considerable success, as a local application to 
cancers and sloughing ulcers, with the view of removing the dead bone and flesh, cor- 
recting the offensive odour, and yielding a healthful stimulus to the diseased surface. It 
has also been used with success, by Dr. Ellsworth, of Hartford, Connecticut, for dissolving 
a portion of tough animal food, which had become impacted in the oesophagus of a lad 
affected with stricture of that passage. The gastric juice of a pig was used. (.Post. Med. 
and Surg. Journ., April 17, 1856.) 
2. Rennet. This is an aqueous or vinous infusion of the dried stomach of the calf, 
though that of the sheep or other animal would probably answer the same purpose. It 
is much used, as every one knows, for curdling milk; a property which it owes to a por- 
tion of the gastric secretion, retained and dried in the mucous tissue of the stomach. To 
the same material it probably owes the property which it possesses of converting glucose 
into lactic acid; and there is little doubt that it is capable, in greater or less degree, of 
exercising the solvent property of gastric juice over albuminous and fibrinous food. The 
first of the properties just referred to suggested to Dr. James Gray, of Glasgow, the use of 
rennet in diabetes, with the object of promoting the conversion of any sugar of grapes that 
might be formed in the stomach into lactic acid, and thus preventing its entrance into the 
circulation in its unchanged state. He met with considerable success in this use of the 
remedy; and it has since been employed by others, in the same disease, with supposed ad- 
vantage. Dr. Gray gave a teaspoonful of the rennet after each meal. To be efficient it 
must be recently prepared, and of such strength that a teaspoonful will coagulate a pint 
of milk in five minutes. (Ed. Monthly Journ. of Med. Sci., Jan. 1853, p. 31.) Rennet seems 
also to have been popularly employed for promoting defective digestion, in the west of 
England. (Med. Times and Gaz., April, 1857, p. 411.) It is highly probable that the prepa- 
ration, usually employed to curdle milk, may contribute to the ready digestibility of the 
curds and whey, so favourite an article of diet among children in this country. Dr. Geo. 
Ellis gives the following method of preparing rennet-wine, from which he has obtained the 
most satisfactory results, when pepsin from inadequate preparation had failed him. Take 
the stomach of a calf immediately after death, cut off and reject about three inches of the 
upper or cardiac portion, slit the stomach longitudinally, wipe it gently with a dry napkin 
so as to remove as little of the clean mucus as possible, then cut it into small pieces, the 
smaller the better, put it into a common wine bottle, fill the bottle with good sherry, and 
let it stand corked for three weeks. The dose is a teaspoonful, in a wineglassful of water, 
immediately after each meal. It is known to be good if a teaspoonful will coagulate half 
a pint of milk in two minutes at 100° F. (Dub. Med. Press, July 10, 1862.) 
Pepsine. Various attempts have been made to concentrate, and bring to a convenient 
form for administration, the peptic principle of the gastric juice. It must not be supposed 
that the substances prepared with this object, and sold under the name of pepsine, have 
any claim to be considered as the pure principle, which, for the sake of distinction, may be 
called pepsin. The one which approaches nearest that condition is the pepsine prepared by 
M. Boudault His process is as follows. The rennet bags of sheep, quite fresh, are opened, 
turned inside out, and washed by a gentle stream of water; the mucous membrane is then 
scraped off, bruised in a mortar so as to rupture the cells, and digested for twelve hours 
*n pure water. The infusion thus obtained is precipitated by acetate of lead, and the pre- 1592 
Reseda Luteola.—Rhamnus Catliarticus. 
PART III. 
eipitate, consisting of pepsin and oxide of lead, is mixed with water and decomposed by 
sulphuretted hydrogen, which throws down the lead, leaving the pepsin in solution. The 
liquid, having been filtered, is evaporated, at about 100 F., to a syrupy consistence; after 
which sufficient perfectly dry starch is added to absorb the semi-liquid matter, and bring 
it to the state of a dry powder. Lactic acid is sometimes added in small proportion to the 
liquid before evaporation, and no doubt contributes to its efficiency. An attempt to evapo- 
rate to dryness might injure the preparation; and at best a matter would be obtained, 
strongly disposed to absorb moisture, and consequently to undergo putrefaction. Starch 
is chosen for the solidification of the syrupy mass, on account of its absorbent property, 
and because it is not affected by the digestive power of the pepsin. If properly prepared, 
15 grains of Boudault’s pepsine, with the aid of a little lactic or muriatic acid if the for- 
mer was not employed in the process, will cause the solution in water of four times its 
weight of fibrin at the temperature of the human body; and the amount of starch added 
in the process is proportioned to this result. (Pharm. Journ., xvi. 472.) Much care is re- 
quisite to use fresh rennet bags, before they have begun to undergo decomposition, and 
not to allow the temperature used in evaporation to exceed 100 F. It is asserted, of the 
pepsine of Boudault, that it has the reactions of the gastric juice above referred to, and 
is fully capable of replacing that liquid for the purposes of digestion. It may be given 
either with or without lactic or muriatic acid; the addition being unnecessary when there 
is already sufficient acid in the stomach. A spurious substance has been sold for it; but 
may be distinguished by the difference of its reactions, and agency in dissolving fibrin. 
The genuine pepsine, dissolved in water, is precipitated by acetate of lead, tannic acid, 
and strong alcohol; and 15 grains of it should, in 12 hours, effect the solution of a drachm 
and a half of boiled white of egg, or chopped meat, in half a fluidounce of water, at 100° 
F. (Ballard, Med. Times and Gaz., Feb. 1857, p. 177.) The spurious substance is destitute 
of these properties. 
The idea of employing the gastric juice, or some representative of it, in order to promote 
digestion, is not new; and it would be difficult to determine to whom the original use of 
this remedy is to be ascribed. According to Boudault, however, the application of the 
principle pepsin to this purpose wTas first suggested by Dr. Corvisart, of Paris. [Journ. dt 
Pharm., xxx. 169.) Boudault’s preparation has been used in England by many practitioners 
with good effects, if we may judge from the reports made in the journals. The particular 
condition to which it is applicable is that debility of stomach, from whatever cause arising, 
in which gastric juice is not produced in sufficient quantity, or of sufficient power, to 
enable the requisite amount of food to be digested. In such cases, the debility of the sto- 
mach is kept up by the want of due nutrition of the organ, originating in its own defective 
function; and it has, therefore, no power of recovering its healthy condition. Artificial 
digestion supplies the deficient nutriment ; and the stomach, being now duly nourished, 
resumes its proper function. Dyspepsia, the debility of stomach following chronic gas- 
tritis, and that attendant upon convalescence, and certain exhausting diseases, such as 
phthisis, afford suitable occasions for its use. It is thought to have proved useful in the 
vomiting of pregnancy. The dose of Boudault’s preparation is 15 grains before each meal, 
to be taken in powder, or suspended in soup or syrup. Boudault recommends specially 
the syrup of cherries, as well calculated to cover its disagreeable taste. There is no in- 
compatibility between it and other remedies usually employed in similar cases, such as 
the simple bitters, quinia, nux vomica, the chalybeates, and opiates. W. 
RESEDA LUTEOLA. Weld. Dyers' Weed. An annual European plant, naturalized in 
the United States. It is inodorous, and has a bitter taste, which is very adhesive. Chev- 
reul obtained from it by sublimation a peculiar yellow colouring matter, which he called 
luteolin. In medicine it has been employed as a diaphoretic and diuretic, but is now 
neglected. On the continent of Europe it is much employed for dyeing yellow, and, before 
the introduction of quercitron into England, was extensively applied to the same purpose 
in that country. The whole plant is used. W. 
RHAMNUS CATHARTICUS. Buckthorn. The Edinburgh College recognised the berries 
of this plant, and the London, the juice of the fruit; but neither has been admitted into 
the U. S. Pharmacopoeia or into that of the British Council. The plant belongs to Pentan- 
dria Monogynia of the Linnman system, and to the natural family Rhamnacem. The fol- 
lowing is the essential generic character. “ Calyx tubular. Corolla scales defending the 
st amens, insert ed into the calyx. Berry." ( Willd.) The purging buckthorn is a shrub seven 
or eight feet high, with branches terminating in a sharp spine. The leaves are in fascicles, 
on short footstalks, ovate, serrate, veined. The flowers are usually dioecious, in clusters, 
small, greenish, peduncled, with a four-cleft calyx, and four very small scale-like petals, 
placed in the male flower, behind the stamens, which equal them in number. The fruit is 
a four-seeded berry. The shrub is a native of Europe, and has been found growing wild 
in this country. It was first discovered in the Highlands of New York by Dr. Barratt. 
(Baton's Manual.) It flowers in May and June, and ripens its fruit in the latter part of 
September. The berries and their juice are used. When ripe they are of the sUe of a pea, PART in. 
Rhododendrum Crysanthum.—Riga Balsam. 
1593 
round, somewhat flattened at top, black, smooth, shining, with four seeds in a green, juicy 
parenchyma. Their odour is unpleasant, their taste bitterish, acrid, and nauseous. The 
expressed juice has the colour, odour, and taste of the parenchyma. It is reddened by the 
acids, and from deep-green is rendered light-green by the alkalies. Upon standing it soon 
begins to ferment, and becomes red in consequence of the formation of acetic acid. Eva- 
porated to dryness, with the addition of lime or an alkali, it forms the colour called by 
painters sap-green. The dried fruit of another species, R. infectorius, yields a rich yellow 
colour, for which it is employed in the arts under the name of French berries. 
Vogel obtained from the juice of the berries a peculiar colouring matter, acetic acid, 
mucilage, sugar, and a nitrogenous substance. Hubert found green colouring matter, 
acetic and malic acids, brown gummy matter, and a bitter substance which he considered 
as the purgative principle. M. Fleury obtained a peculiar crystallizable principle, which 
is contained both in the expressed juice and the residue remaining after expression, and 
for which he proposed the name of rhamnin; but he did not ascertain whether it possessed 
cathartic properties. (See Journ. de Pharrn., xxvii. 666.) Winckler obtained from the ripe 
fruit a principle which he called cathartin, and believes that the rhamnin of Fleury, which 
was obtained from the unripe berries, is converted into that principle and grape sugar as 
the fruit matures. (Chem. Gaz., viii. 232.) The cathartin of Winckler, which must not be 
confounded with the substance of the same name at one time supposed to be the purga- 
tive principle of senna, may be procured by evaporating the expressed juice of the berries 
to the consistence of syrup, treating this repeatedly with boiling absolute alcohol till it 
ceases to yield bitterness to the menstruum, mixing the tinctures, allowing the liquor to 
become cold, filtering, adding a large excess of ether, allowing the mixed liquids to stand, 
then filtering, evaporating in a water-bath, and repeating the process with the residue. 
The cathartin thus obtained is a pale-yellow powder, very bitter, soluble in water and 
alcohol but not in ether, and actively cathartic in the dose of from one to three grains. 
(Fee N. Y. Journ. of Pharrn., April, 1853, and Am. Journ. ofPharm., xxv. 526.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Both the berries and the expressed juice are actively pur- 
gative ; but, as they are apt to occasion nausea and severe griping, with much thirst and 
dryness of the mouth and throat, they are now little employed. They formerly enjoyed 
considerable reputation as a hydragogue cathartic in dropsy; and were given also in rheu- 
matism and gout. The only shape in which they are used in this country is that of syrup, 
which is sometimes, though rarely, added to hydragogue or diuretic mixtures. The syrup 
was formerly officinal, and was prepared by adding to a pint (Imp. meas.) of the juice, 
allowed to stand for three days, and then filtered, six drachms of sliced ginger, and six 
drachms of powdered pimento, macerating for four hours with a gentle heat and again 
straining; then boiling down three other pints of the juice, allowed to stand and filtered 
as the first pint, to a pint and a half, and finally mixing the liquors, and dissolving in the 
mixture four pounds of refined sugar. The dose of the recent berries is about a scruple, 
of the dried a drachm, of the expressed juice a fluidounce, and of the syrup from four to 
eight fluidrachms. Under the name of cortex frangulse, the bark of Rhamnus Frangula is used 
in Germany as a cathartic. Buchner found in this bark a peculiar yellow volatile colour- 
ing principle, which he called rhamnoxanthin, and which may be obtained by subjecting the 
alcoholic and ethereal extract to distillation. {Journ. de Pharm., 3e sir., xxiv. 293.) W. 
RHODODENDRUM CRYSANTHUM. Yellow-flowered Rhododendron. This is a beautiful 
evergreen shrub, about a foot high, with spreading branches, and oblong, obtuse, thick 
leaves, narrowed towards their footstalks, reflexed at the margin, much veined, rugged 
and deep-green upon their upper surface, ferruginous or glaucous beneath, and surround- 
ing the branches upon strong petioles. The flowers are large, yellow, on long peduncles, 
and in terminal umbels. The corolla is wheel-shaped, with its border divided into five 
roundish, spreading segments. The plant is a native of Siberia, delighting in mountain- 
ous situations, and flowering in June and July. The leaves are the part used. When fresh, 
they have a feeble odour, said to resemble that of rhubarb. In the dried state, they are 
inodorous, but have an austere, astringent, bitterish taste. They yield their virtues to water 
and alcohol. They are stimulant, narcotic, and diaphoretic, producing, when first taken, in- 
crease of heat and arterial action, subsequently a diminished frequency of the pulse, and, in 
large doses, vomiting, purging, and delirium. They have been long employed in Siberia as a 
remedy in rheumatism; and their use has extended to various parts of Europe. Their action 
is said to be accompanied with a sensation of creeping or pricking in the affected part, 
which subsides in a few hours, leaving the part free from pain. They have been recom- 
mended also in gout, lues venerea, and palsy. In Siberia they are prepared by infusing 
two drachms of' the dried leaves in about ten ounces of water, in a close vessel, and keep- 
ing the liquid near the boiling point during the night. The strained liquor is taken in the 
morning; and a repetition of the dose three or four days successively generally effects a 
eure. The remedy is not used in this country. W. 
RIGA BALSAM. Balsamum Carpaticum. Balsamum Libani. This is a product of Pinus 
Gtrnbra, a large tree growing in the mountainous regions and northern latitudes of Europe 1594 
Robinia Pseudo-acacia.—Salep. 
part in. 
and Asia. The juice exudes from the extremities of the young twigs, and is collected in 
flasks suspended from them. It is a thin, white fluid, having an odour analogous to that 
of juniper, and possessing the ordinary terebinthinate properties. In this country it is 
very rare; but it is occasionally brought from Riga or Cronstadt in bottles. A similar 
product, called Hungarian balsam, is obtained in the same manner from Pinus Pumilio, 
growing on the mountains of Switzerland, Austria, and Hungary. It is scarcely known in 
the United States. AV. 
ROBINIA PSEUDO-ACACIA. Locust Tree. This well-known indigenous tree, so much 
valued by the farmers for fence-posts in consequence of the great durability of its wood, 
and so much a favourite for the beauty of its foliage and the sweetness of its flowers, is 
also supposed by some to possess remedial properties, and has a place in the Materia Medica 
of the “eclectics.” The bark of the root is the most active part, and is said to be tonic, 
and in large doses purgative gnd emetic. Three cases of poisoning in children, who had 
eaten of the root by mistake, have been recently recorded. The symptoms were like those 
produced by an overdose of belladonna; but all the children recovered. One of them, who 
happened to be labouring under intermittent fever at the time, had no return of the parox- 
ysms afterwards. [Ann. de Thirap., 1860, p. 64.) These facts render caution advisable in 
the use of the root, yet are also well calculated to stimulate inquiry. W. 
ROTTEN STONE. Terra Cariosa. An earthy mineral, occurring in light, dull, friable 
masses, dry to the touch, of a very fine grain, and of an ash-brown colour. It is obtained 
from Derbyshire in England, and is used for polishing metals. A particular account of it 
may be found in the American Journal of Pharmacy (Sept. 1860, p. 463). W. 
SAGAPENUM. Though one of the officinals of the late London Pharmacopoeia, Sagapenum 
has been omitted in the British. It belongs to the category of gum-resins. All that is known 
in relation to its source is, that, it is the concrete juice of a plant, probably umbelliferous, 
growing in Persia. The plant is conjectured to be a species of Ferula, and AVilldenow sup- 
posed it to be A1. Persica, but without sufficient evidence. The drug is brought from Alexandria, 
Smyrna, and other parts of the Levant. It is in irregular masses, composed of agglutinated 
fragments, slightly translucent, of a brownish-yellow, olive, or reddish-yellow colour ex- 
ternally, paler internally, brittle, of a consistence somewhat resembling that of wax, and 
often mixed with impurities, especialty with seeds more or less entire. An inferior variety 
is soft, tough, and of uniform consistence. It has an alliaceous odour, less disagreeable 
than that of assafetida, and a hot, nauseous, bitterish taste. It softens and becomes tena- 
cious by the heat of the hand. The effect of time and exposure is to harden and render it 
darker. It is inflammable, burning with a white flame and much smoke, and leaving a light 
Bpongy charcoal. Pure alcohol and water dissolve it partially, diluted alcohol almost entirely. 
Distilled with water it affords a small quantity of volatile oil; and the water is strongly im- 
pregnated with its flavour. According to Pelletier, it contains 64-26 per cent, of resin, 31-94 
of gum, 1-0 of bassorin, 0 60 of a peculiar substance, 0-40 of acidulous malate of lime, and 
11-80 of volatile oil including loss. Brandes found 3-73 per cent of volatile oil. This is 
pale-yellow, very fluid, lighter than water, and of a disagreeable alliaceous odour. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Sagapenum is a moderate stimulant, resembling assafetida, 
but much inferior, and usually considered as intermediate between that gum-resin and 
galbanum. It has been given as an emmenagogue and antispasmodic in amenorrhoea, hys- 
teria, chlorosis, &c., but is now seldom used. It was known to the ancients; and Diosco- 
rides speaks of it as being derived from Media. The dose is from ten to thirty grains, and 
may be given in pill or emulsion. Sagapenum is also considered discutient, and has been 
occasionally applied externally, in the form of plaster, to indolent tumours. AY\ 
SALEP. Though not recognised either in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia or in the British, this 
substance deserves a brief notice, as it is frequently mentioned by writers on the materia 
medica, and is occasionally to be found in the shops. The name is given to the prepared 
bulbs of Orchis mascula and other species of the same genus. The male orchis is a native of 
Europe, the Levant, and northern Africa. Its bulbs, which are two in number, oval or 
roundish, internally white and spongy, are prepared by removing their epidermis, plung- 
ing them into boiling water, then stringing them together, and drying them in the sun or 
by the fire. By this process they acquire the appearance and consistence which distinguish 
them as found in the shops. Landerer, however, denies that, as prepared in Greece or Mace- 
donia, they are dipped in boiling water, and ascribes their horny character to their being 
quickly dried in a baking oven. (Pharm. Journ., March, 1850.) They were formerly pro- 
cured exclusively from Macedonia, Asia Minor, and Persia, but are now said to be pre- 
pared in France, and perhaps other parts of Western Europe. 
Salep is in small, oval, irregular masses, hard, horny, semi-transparent, of a yellowish 
colour, a feeble odour, and a mild mucilaginous taste. It is sometimes kept in the state of 
powder. In composition and relation to water it is closely analogous to tragacan'.h, con- 
sisting of a substance insoluble, but swelling up in cold water (bassorin), of ancthcx in 
much smaller proportion, soluble in cold water, and of minute quantities of saline ma'ttrs. PART III. 
Sandarach.—Saponaria Officinalis. 
1595 
It also occasionally contains a little starch. It is highly nutritive, and may be employed 
for the same purposes as tapioca, sago, &c. The reputation which it enjoyed among the 
ancients, and still enjoys in the East, of possessing aphrodisiac properties, is wholly with- 
out foundation. On account of its hardness, salep, in its ordinary state, is of difficult pul- 
verization; but the difficulty is removed by macerating it in cold water until it becomes 
soft, and then rapidly drying it. W. 
SANDARACH. Sandaraca. This is a resinous substance obtained from Thuya articulata, 
an evergreen tree growing in the north of Africa. It is in small, irregular, roundish- 
oblong grains or tears, of a pale-yellow colour, sometimes inclining to brown, more or less 
transparent, dry and brittle, breaking into a powder under the teeth, of a faint agreeable 
odour increased by warmth, and of a resinous, slightly acrid taste. It melts with heat, 
diffusing a strong balsamic odour, and easily inflames. It is almost entirely soluble in or- 
dinary alcohol, and entirely so in that liquid when anhydrous, and in ether. Heated oil of 
turpentine also dissolves the greater part of it, but very slowly. According to Unverdorben, 
it consists of three resins, varying in their relations to alcohol, ether, and oil of turpentine. 
The sandaracin of Geise, which remains after sandarach has been exposed to the action of 
ordinary alcohol, is a mixture of two of these resins. Sandarach was formerly given inter- 
nally, and entered into the composition of various ointments and plasters. At present it is 
used chiefly as a varnish, and as incense; and its powder is rubbed upon paper to prevent 
ink from spreading, after letters have been scratched out. W. 
SANICULA MARILANDICA. Sanicle. An indigenous, umbelliferous, perennial, herba- 
ceous plant, two or three feet in height, growing in woods and thickets, in almost all parts 
of the United States, as far south as South Carolina. For its botanical character, see Eaton’s 
Botany, and Torrey and Gray’s N. Am. Flora (vol i. p. 601). The root is the part used, and 
is popularly known in some parts of the country by the name of black snakeroot. It is fi- 
brous and of an aromatic taste, and has been used as a domestic remedy in intermittent 
fever. Dr. J. B. Zabriskie has found it highly effectual in chorea. He considers it most 
efficient in substance, and gives the powder to children of eight or ten years old in the dose 
of half a drachm three times a day. [Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., N. S'., xii. 374.) W. 
SANTALUM ALBUM et CITRINUM. Sandalwood. Saunders. There are three kinds of 
wood known by the name of santalum or saunders;—1. santalum rub rum, or red saunders, 
from Pterocarpus santalinus, already described in this work [page 742) under the officinal 
name of Santalum; 2 santalum album, or white saunders, from the Santalum album of Lin- 
naeus, growing in the East Indies, the S. Pacific Islands, and South America; and 3. san- 
talum citrinum, or yellow saunders, formerly supposed to be the inner wood of the tree of 
which the outer constituted white saunders, but now stated to be from a different tree, the 
S. freycinetianum of M. Gaudichaud, growing in the Sandwich Islands, the Feejee Islands, 
the Marquesas, on the coast of Malabar, &c. It is the last-mentioned species which sup- 
plies the sandal wood so highly valued by the Chinese. Both kinds have a very agreeable 
aromatic odour. The white is thought by the East India physicians to be refreshing, and 
useful in remittent fevers, gonorrhoea, and other complaints. It was formerly used in Eu- 
ropean pharmacy, and still enters into certain compound syrups, confections, &c. The 
Chinese employ the yellow saunders chiefly as a perfume, burning it in their temples, sick 
chambers, &c., and obtain from it a volatile oil by distillation, which they mix with oil of 
roses. This variety was also formerly used in Europe, and praised as cordial and alexi- 
pharmic. The three saunders were not unfrequently combined in the same preparation. 
[Merat et De Lens.) W. 
SAPONARIA OFFICINALIS. Soapwort. A perennial, herbaceous plant, growing wild 
in this country in the vicinity of cultivation, but probably introduced from Europe. It is 
commonly kn»wn by the vulgar name of bouncing bet. It is one or two feet high, with smooth, 
lanceolate leaves, and clusters of conspicuous whitish or slightly purplish flowers, which 
appear in July and August. The root and leaves are employed. They are inodorous, and 
of a taste at first bitterish and slightly sweetish, afterwards somewhat pungent, continuing 
long, and leaving a slight sense of numbness on the tongue. They impart to water the 
property of forming a lather when agitated, like a solution of soap, whence the name of 
the plant was derived. This property, as well as the medical virtues of the plant, resides 
in a peculiar proximate principle, obtained from the root by Bucholz, and called by him 
saponin. This principle constitutes, according to Bucholz, 34 per cent, of the dried root, 
which contains also a considerable quantity of gum and a little bassorin, resin, and altered 
extractive, besides lignin and water. Saponin is obtained, though not absolutely pure, by 
treating the watery extract with alcohol and evaporating. It is brown, somewhat translu- 
cent, hard and brittle, with a sweetish taste, followed by a sense of acrimony in the fauces. 
It is soluble in water and officinal alcohol, but is insoluble in anhydrous alcohol, ether, and 
Hie volatile oils. Its watery solution froths when agitated. This principle has been found 
also in various other plants, as different species of Silene, Dianthus, Lychnis, and Ana- 
gallis. [Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., x. 339.) It is said to possess poisonous properties. Soap- Sarcocolla.—Sassy Bark. 
PART III. 
wort has keen used in Germany as a remedy in venereal and scrofulous affections, cuta- 
neous eruptions, and visceral obstructions. It appears to act as an alterative, like sarsa- 
parilla, to which it has been deemed superior in efficacy by some physicians. The plant is 
given in the form of decoction and extract, which may be freely taken. From two to four 
pints of the decoction daily are recommended in lues. The inspissated juice, given in the 
quantity of half an ounce in the course of a day, is said by Andry generally to cure go- 
norrhoea in about two weeks, without any other remedy. According to Dr. Bonnet and M. 
Malapert, this and other plants containing saponin are capable of producing poisonous 
effects. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e sSr., x. 339.) W. 
SARCOCOLLA. A peculiar vegetable product, exuding spontaneously from the Penxa 
Sarcocolla, P. mucronata, and other species of Penaea, small shrubs growing at the Cape of 
Good Hope, in Ethiopia, Arabia, &c. It is in the form of small, roundish, irregular grains, 
sometimes agglutinated in masses, friable, opaque or semi-transparent, of a yellowish or 
brownish-red colour, inodorous unless heated, when they have an agreeable smell, and of 
a peculiar, bitter, sweetish, and acrid taste. Sarcocolla, according to Pelletier, consists of 
65-3 per cent, of a peculiar substance, considered by Dr. Thomson as holding an interme- 
diate place between gum and sugar, and called sarcocollin or pure sarcocolla, 4-6 of gum, 
3-3 of a gelatinous matter having some analogy with bassorin, and 26-8 of lignin, &c. It is 
said to be purgative, but at the same time to produce serious inconvenience by its acrid 
properties. The Arabian physicians used it internally; and by the ancients it was employed 
as an external application to wounds and ulcers, under the idea that it possessed the pro 
perty of agglutinating the flesh, whence its name was derived. It is out of use. W. 
SARRACENIA. Side-saddle Plant. Flyrtrap. Two Southern species of this curious indige- 
nous genus of plants, S.flava and S. variolaris, were brought into notice by Dr. F. P. Porcher, 
in a communication published in the Charleston Medical Journal and Review. Dr. Porcher 
states that the roots (rhizomes) of these plants have long been used as a domestic remedy by 
the inhabitants of the lower portions of South Carolina. The medicine is believed in that 
region to possess extraordinary powers in dyspepsia; and he received reports, from persons 
entirely deserving of confidence, of its efficacy in sick-headache, waterbrash, gastralgia, ab- 
dominal distension, &c. In trying the remedy upon himself, he found it to be bitter and as- 
tringent to the taste, and, in its effects on the system, stimulant to the stomach, the circu- 
lation, and in some degree to the brain, and at the same time to a certain extent diuretic, 
and disposed to operate mildly on the bowels. From the results stated by Dr. Porcher, we 
should infer that the medicine is a stimulating tonic, with some tendency to act on the brain; 
and probably well suited to cases of dyspepsia dependent on debility of stomach. Professor 
Sheppard submitted the root to chemical examination, and found it to contain lignin, co- 
louring matter, resin, an acid salt of lime, and a salt probably of an organic alkali. The 
best mode of administration seems not to have been well determined. Invalids chew it as 
they would chew tobacco; and from Dr. Porcher’s statements we should infer that it might 
be appropriately given in powder, in the dose of half a drachm three or four times a day. 
(See Wood's Quarterly Retrospect, ii. 78.) Much attention has recently been paid to another 
species of Sarracenia, the S.purpurea, in the treatment of smallpox, under the impression 
that it had the power of very favourably modifying that disease, and, indeed, of materially 
shortening its course. The claims made in favour of this remedy were so much in opposi- 
tion to all that we knew, whether of the medicine or the disease, that we had no hesitation 
in expressing our conviction, that the apparent efficacy of the remedy was simply owing to 
its employment in those cases of modified smallpox, which, in consequence of a partial pro- 
tection of the system, either through vaccination or a previous attack of smallpox, generally 
run a short, and almost always a favourable course; and subsequent experience has fully 
determined its entire want of any curative influence over the disease. The root was exhib- 
ited in infusion or decoction, made in the proportion of half an ounce to a pint of water, 
and given in the dose of a wineglassful every three hours. The whole herbaceous part of 
the plant, having been found to possess the same bitter taste, was afterwards used in the 
same manner and dose. For a description of this 6pecies of Sarracenia, in all its relations, 
see a paper by Prof. Bentley, in the Pharmaceutical Journal for Jan. 1863 (p. 294). \V. 
SASSA GUM. This name has been applied by Guibourt to a gum, occasionally brought 
into market from the East, and answering so exactly to Bruce’s description of the product 
of a tree which he calls sassa, that there is reason to believe in their identity. According to 
Guibourt’s description, it is in mammillary masses, or in convoluted pieces resembling an 
ammonite, of a reddish colour and somewhat shining surface, and more transparent than 
tragacanth. Its taste is like that of tragacanth, but slightly acrid. When introduced into 
water, it becomes white, softens, and swells to four or five times its original bulk; but it 
preserves its shape, neither like tragacanth forming a mucilage, nor like Bassora gum sepa- 
rating into distinct flocculi. It is rendered blue by iodine. W. 
SASSY BARK. This bark is interesting chiefly from its employment by the natives of 
Western Africa as an ordeal in their trial for witchcraft or sorcery. Specimens sent to this PART III. 
Satureja Hortcnsis.—Scrophularia Nodosa. 
1597 
country from Liberia were first examined by Mr. C. A. Santos, who published his observa- 
tions in the Am. Journ. ofPharm. (xxi. 97, April, 1849). Other specimens, both of the bark 
and the plant producing it, afterwards came under the notice of Professor Procter, who 
was thus enabled to determine as well the chemical characters as the botanical source of the 
product. His papers on the subject are contained in the same journal (xxiii. 301, and xxiv. 
195); and in the last is given a botanical description of the tree. To these papers the reader 
is referred for particular information on the subject. The bark was thought to be the product 
of a previously undescribed species of Erythrophleum, for which Prof. Procter proposed the 
name of E. judiciale. It appears, however, from a note of Prof. Lindley, published in the 
Pharmaceutical Journal for January, 1857 (p. 373), that the tree had been previously de- 
scribed under two specific names, having been noted in Hooker’s Niger Flora (p. 329) as the 
Erythrophleum Guineense of Don, and the Fillsea suaveolius of Guillemin and Perottet’s Flora 
of Senegal; facts, of course, unknown to Prof. Procter when his papers were written. It is 
a large tree with spreading branches, doubly pinnated leaves, flowers in spike-like racemes, 
and leguminous fruit. The bark is in pieces more or less curved, with or without epidermis, 
in the former case somewhat fissured externally, of a dull-red colour diversified by whitish 
spots, brittle, presenting when cut transversely numerous fawn-coloured spots surrounded 
by reddish-brown tissue, nearly inodorous, of an astringent taste, and, according to Mr. 
Santos, of the sp.gr. 1-054. Prof. Procter found it to contain tannic acid, insoluble apo- 
theme analogous to that of rhatany, a red colouring matter formed by a combination of the 
two preceding constituents, gallic acid, gum, a little resin, fatty matter, various salts, and 
a peculiar substance precipitable by tannic acid, and soluble in alcohol and chloroform. He 
did not. isolate the active principle. The bark yields its virtues to water. In reference to 
its effects on the system it has been considered as emetic and cathartic, with some influence 
over the cerebral functions; but little was certainly known. Professor Procter found three 
grains of the aqueous extract, given to a cat, to produce prostration, frothing at the mouth, 
dilatation of the pupils, and total loss of inclination to eat. Largely taken the bark was known 
often to cause death. The powder snuffed up the nostrils occasions violent sneezing. Some 
experiments made with it by Drs. S. Weir Mitchell and W. A. Hammond have given us 
more precise knowledge in regard to its properties. From these it appears to be nausea- 
ting and emetic, narcotic, and astringent, but without any cathartic power. The same 
writers give the following as the result of the observation of Dr. Savage made in Africa, 
and communicated to them. When the bark is chewed, it causes a feeling of constriction 
in the fauces, attended with prickling, and followed by numbness. A strong infusion or 
decoction occasions stricture across the brow, severe pain in the head, coma, and death. 
Independently of its use by the natives as an ordeal poison, it is sometimes employed by 
them as a remedy in dysentery, diarrhoea, and colic. Dr. Savage himself has known it to 
be successful in intermittent fever, dysentery, and diarrhoea. A grain of the watery extract 
was given for a dose every three hours. (Charleston Med. Journ., Nov. 1859, p. 735.) W. 
SATUREJA HORTENSIS. Summer Savory. An annual labiate plant, growing spon- 
taneously in the south of Europe, and cultivated in gardens as a culinary herb. It has an 
aromatic odour and taste, analogous to those of thyme, and was formerly used as a gentle 
carminative stimulant; but is now employed only to give flavour to food. S. montana or 
winter savory, which is also cultivated in gardens, has similar properties. W. 
SCOLOPENDRIUM OFFICINARUM. Smith. Asplenium Scolopendrium. Linn. Ilarts- 
tongue. A fern indigenous in Europe and America. Its vulgar name was derived from the 
shape of its leaves, which were the part formerly used in medicine. They have a sweetish, 
mucilaginous, and slightly astringent taste, and, when rubbed, a disagreeable oily odour. 
They were used as a deobstruent in visceral affections, as an astringent in hemorrhages 
and fluxes, and as a demulcent in pectoral complaints; but their properties are feeble, 
and they have fallen into neglect. W. 
SCROPHULARIA NODOSA. Figwort. The root of the knotty-rootedfigwort is perennial, 
tuberous, and knotty; the stem is herbaceous, erect, quadrangular, smooth, branching, 
and from two to three feet high; the leaves are opposite, petiolate, ovate-cordate, pointed, 
sharply toothed, veined, and of a deep-green colour; the flowers are small, dark-purple, 
slightly drooping, and borne on divided peduncles in erect terminal branches. The plant 
is a native of Europe, where it grows in shady and moist places, and flowers in July. 
The leaves, which are the part used, have when fresh a rank fetid odour, and a bitter 
somewhat acid taste; but these properties are diminished by drying. Water extracts their 
virtues, forming a reddish infusion, which is blackened by the sulphate of the sesquioxide 
of iron. Walz has obtained from them two proximate principles, which he names respect- 
ively scrophularin and scrophularosmin. (Mayer, Am. Journ. of Pharm., July, 1863, p. 295.) 
Figwort leaves are said to be anodyfle and diuretic, and to have repellent properties when 
externally applied. They were formerly considered tonic, diaphoretic, discutient, anthel- 
mintic, &c., and were thought to be useful in scrofula. They are at present very little em- 
ployed ; but in Europe are sometimes applied, in the form of ointment or fomentation, to 
piles, painful tumours and ulcers, and cutaneous eruptions. W. 1598 
Scutellaria Lateriflora.—Sedum Acre. 
PART III. 
SCUTELLARIA LATERIFLORA. Scullcap. This is an indigenous perennial herb, be- 
longing to the Linnaean class and order Didynamia Gymnospermia, and to the natural order 
Labiatse. Its stem is erect, much branched, quadrangular, smooth, and one or two feet 
high. The leaves are ovate, acute, dentate, subcordate upon the stem, opposite, and sup- 
ported upon long petioles. The flowers are small, of a pale-blue colour, and disposed in 
long, lateral, leafy racemes. The calyx has an entire margin, which, after the corolla has 
fallen, is closed with a helmet-shaped lid. The tube of the corolla is elongated, the upper 
lip concave and entire, the lower three-lobed. The plant grows in moist places, by the 
sides of ditches and ponds, in all parts of the Union. To the senses it does not indicate, by 
any peculiar taste or smell, the possession of medicinal virtues. It is even destitute of the 
aromatic properties which are found in many of the labiate plants. When taken internally, 
it produces no very obvious effects. Notwithstanding this apparent inertness, it obtained, 
at one period, extraordinary credit throughout the United States, as a preventive of hy- 
drophobia, and was even thought to be useful in the disease itself. A strong infusion of 
the plant was given in the dose of a teacupful, repeated several times a day, and continued 
for three or four months after the bite was received; while the herb itself was applied to 
the wound. Strong testimony was adduced in favour of its prophylactic powers; but it 
has already shared the fate, which in this case is no doubt deserved, of numerous other 
specifics against hydrophobia, which have been brought into temporary popularity, only 
to be speedily abandoned. Nevertheless, it is thought by some practitioners to have valu- 
able therapeutic properties; and Drs. Ariel Hunton and G. II. Cleaveland, of Vermont, 
speak in strong terms of its efficacy as a nervine. They have employed it in neuralgic and 
convulsive affections, chorea, delirium tremens, and nervous exhaustion from fatigue or 
over-excitement, and have found it highly advantageous. Dr. Cleaveland says that he pre- 
fers it to all other nervines or antispasmodics, except where an immediate effect is de- 
sirable. He prefers the form of infusion, which he prepares by adding half an ounce of the 
dried leaves to a teacupful of water, and allows the patient to drink ad libitum. (Am. Journ. 
of J’harm., xxiii. 870, from Ar. Y. Register of Med. and Fharm., also N. J. Med. Reporter, v. 
13.) Two preparations are now used; one called scutellarine, though erroneously, as it has 
no claim to be considered a pure proximate principle, the other a fluid extract. The so- 
called scutellarine is prepared by mixing a concentrated tincture with water, precipitating 
by alum, and then washing and drying. Dr. Cleaveland gives it in a dose varying from 
one to three or four grains, and finds very happy effects from it in quieting nervous dis- 
orders. (M. J. Med. Reporter, viii. 121.) The fluid extract, prepared by the Messrs. Tilden, 
is used in the dose of one or two fluidrachms. Dr. Joseph Bates, of New Lebanon, N. Y., 
speaks highly of it as a nervine. (Rost. Med. and S. Journ., lii. 337.) The Scutellaria galeri- 
culata, or common European scullcap, which also grows wild in this country, has a feeble, 
somewhat alliaceous odour, and a bitterish taste. It has been employed in intermittent8, 
and externally in old ulcers, but is now out of wse. Dr. R. W. Evans, of Canada West, has 
found it useful in epilepsy; but to effect a cure it must be continued, he says, for five or 
six months. He makes an infusion with two ounces of the herb and eight ounces of water, 
and gives a fluidounce every eight hours, doubling the quantity after a week. (See Am. 
Journ. of Med. Sci., xvii. 495.) Another indigenous species, the S. integrifolia, of which S. 
hyssopifolia, Linn., is considered by some as a variety, is intensely bitter, and might pro- 
bably be found useful as a tonic. W. 
SECALE CEREALE. Rye. Syria, Armenia, and the southern provinces of Russia have 
been severally indicated as the native country of rye. The plant is now cultivated in all 
temperate latitudes. The grains consist, according to Einhof, of 24-2 per cent, of envelope, 
65-6 of flour, and 10-2 of water. The flour, according to the same chemist, consists of 
61-07 per cent, of starch, 9-48 of gluten, 3-28 of albumen, 3-28 of uncrystallizable sugar, 
11-09 of gum, 6-38 of vegetable fibre, besides 5-62 of loss, comprising an acid, the nature 
of which was not determined. Rye flour has been much used, in the dry state, as an ex- 
ternal application to erysipelatous inflammation, and other eruptive affections, the burning 
and unpleasant tingling of which it tends to allay, while it absorbs the irritating secre- 
tions. In the form of mush, it is an excellent laxative article of diet, and, mixed with 
molasses, it may be given with great advantage in hemorrhoids and prolapsus ani, con- 
nected with constipation. Rye carbonized by heat, with exclusion of the air, has been 
highly recommended as a tooth-powder. W. 
SEDUM ACRE. Biting Stone-crop. Small Ilouseleek. A small, perennial, succulent Euro- 
pean plant, growing on rocks and old walls, with stems about as long as the finger, and 
numerous very minute leaves. It is inodorous, and has a taste at first cooling and herba- 
ceous, afterwards burning and Surably acrid. Taken internally it vomits and purges, and, 
applied to the skin, produces inflammation and vesication The fresh herb and the ex- 
pressed juice have been used as an antiscorbutic, emetic, cathartic, and diuretic, and have 
been applied locally to old ulcers, warts, and other excrescences; but the plant is at pre- 
sent little employed. It has recently been recommended in Germany as a remedy in epi- 
lepsy. Other species are less acrid, and are even eaten as salad in some parts of Europe. PART III. 
Selmum Palustre.—Silene Virginica. 
1599 
Such are Sedum rupestre and S. album. S. Telephium was formerly employed externally to 
cicatrize wounds, and internally as an astringent in dysentery and haemoptysis; and is 
still esteemed by the common people in France as a vulnerary. W. 
SELINUM PALUSTRE. {Linn.) Peucedanum monlanum. (Lindley, Flor. Med.) Marsh Pars- 
ley. Persil de marais. (Fr.) This is an umbelliferous plant, belonging to Pentandria Digy- 
nia in the Linnaean system. It is herbaceous, with a fleshy, lactescent root, from which 
rises annually a single fistulous stem, about four feet high, furnished with large, soft, 
smooth, bipinnate or tripinnate leaves, and branching at top, with terminal umbels, each 
consisting of thirty small white flowers. The plant frequents low wet grounds in the 
north of Europe. The root is the part used. This, when dried, is of a brown colour exter- 
nally, of a strong aromatic odour, and an acrid, pungent, aromatic taste. The powder is 
of a light grayish-yellow colour. Analyzed by Peschier, it was found to contain a volatile 
oil, a fixed oil soluble in ether and alcohol, gum, a yellow colouring substance, a nitroge- 
nous, mucoso-saccharine principle, a peculiar acid which he calls selinic, phosphate of lime, 
and lignin. The root of Selinum palustre has long been a popular remedy for epilepsy in 
the Russian Province of Courland; and, having in 1806 attracted the attention of Dr. Trinius, 
a Russian physician, was by him in 1818 brought before the notice of the profession, and 
afterwards acquired some reputation in the treatment of that disease. It did not, however, 
long retain this reputation, and in a few years seems to have been quite forgotten. Recently, 
its use has been revived by Dr. Th. Herpin, who published a memoir upon the subject in 
1869, speaking in decidedly favourable terms of its efficiency. In relation to its physio- 
logical effects, it seems to exercise no very obvious influence on the system, sometimes 
acting as an aperient, in a very few instances causing temporary nausea or gastric uneasi- 
ness, but in many cases passing through the alimentary canal without apparent effect, and 
never, however long continued, producing any derangement of the general health. It seems 
to act favourably on the menstrual function, restoring its regularity, and relieving the 
pains often attendant on it. In speaking of its use in epilepsy, Dr. Herpin ranks it as the 
fourth in value, estimating oxide of zinc, sulphate of copper, and valerian, in the order of 
their succession, and next Selinum. lie has also used it with apparent advantage in hoop- 
ing-cough, and recommends its trial in other nervous affections. The commencing dose in 
epilepsy is from 20 to 30 grains three times a day, taken before breakfast and dinner, and 
at bedtime, and increased by one-half every week, until the original dose is quadrupled; 
after which it may be continued for six weeks or longer. For children the dose is to be 
diminished according to the age. (Journ. de Pharm., Juillet, 1859, p. 16.) W. 
SEMPERVIVUM TECTORUM. Common llouseleek. A perennial, succulent, European 
plant, growing on rocks, old walls, and the roofs of houses, and remarkable for its tenacity 
of life. It is occasionally cultivated in this country as an ornament to the walls of houses, 
or as a domestic medicine. The leaves, which are the part used, are oblong, pointed, from 
half an inch to two inches in length, thick, fleshy, succulent, flat on one side, somewhat 
convex on the other, smooth, of a light-green colour, inodorous, and of a cooling, slightly 
saline, astringent, and sourish taste. They contain a large proportion of supermalate of 
lime. They are employed, in the recent state and bruised, as a cooling application to burns, 
stings of bees, hornets, &c., ulcers, and other external affections attended with inflamma- 
tion. The juice is said to cure warts. W. 
SENECIO VULGARIS. Common Groundsel. An annual European plant, introduced into 
this country, and growing in cultivated grounds. The whole herb is used, and should be 
gathered while in flower. It has, when rubbed, a peculiar rather unpleasant odour, and a 
disagreeable, herbaceous, bitterish, and saline taste, followed by a sense of acrimony. It 
is emetic in large doses, and has been given in convulsive affections, liver complaints, spit- 
ting of blood, &c., but is now very little used. The bruised herb is sometimes applied ex- 
ternally to painful swellings and ulcers. The plant is employed also as food for birds, which 
are fond of it. Other species of Senecio have been medicinally used; and an indigenous 
species, the S. aureus or ragwort, is said by Schoepf to be a favourite vulnerary with the 
Indians. The “eclectics” consider it emmenagogue, and use it not only to stimulate the 
function, but to regulate it when in excess or otherwise deranged. They also believe it to 
possess diuretic properties, and to be useful in disorders of the urinary organs. They give 
the name of senecin to a preparation made by precipitating the tincture with water; but 
this name should be reserved for the active principle when discovered. The whole plant 
is used in decoction or infusion, which may be taken freely. W. 
SIENNA. Terra di Sienna. An argillaceous mineral, compact, of a fine texture, very light, 
smooth, and glossy, of a yellowish-brown or coffee-colour, leaving a dull-orange trace when 
moistened and drawn over paper. By calcination it assumes a reddish-brown colour, and 
is then called burnt sienna. In both the raw and burnt states it is used in painting. The 
best sienna is brought from Italy, but an inferior kind is found in England. W. 
SILENE VIRGINICA. Catchfly. Wild Pink. An indigenous perennial plant, growing in 
'Western Virginia, the Carolinas, and in the States beyond the Alleghany mountains. Dr. 1600 
Silex, Pulverized.—Sium Nodijlorum. 
PART III. 
Barton, in his “Collections,” states that a decoction of the roots is said to be efficacious as 
an anthelmintic. We are told that it is considered poisonous by some of the Indians. S. 
Pennsylvania, which grows in the Eastern section of the Union, from New York to Vir- 
ginia, probably possesses similar properties. W. 
SILEX, PULVERIZED. Silex Conteitus. Lond. In operations of pharmacy, sub- 
stances are sometimes employed whose action is exclusively mechanical. Thus, in the U. S. 
Pharmacopoeia, sand was used in preparing oil of amber and the fluid extract of rhubarb, 
and carbonate of magnesia is now used in forming several of the medicated waters. The 
use of the same carbonate was also directed in the London Pharmacopoeia of 1836, in al- 
ternative processes for preparing several of these waters. Mr. R. Warington objected to 
the use of this carbonate, as being dissolved to an injurious extent, and proposed to sub- 
stitute porcelain clay, or pulverized silica, glass, or pumice stone. The London College, 
probably influenced by this objection, abandoned, in its Pharmacopoeia of 1851, the use 
of carbonate of magnesia, and substituted finely pulverized silex, under the name of Silex 
Contritus. This powder may be conveniently obtained from colourless quartz or rock-crystaL 
In order to render the mineral more easily pulverizable, it is advantageous to heat it to red- 
ness, and quench it in water. It may then be reduced to fine powder in a porphyry or agate 
mortar. The London College prepared all the medicated waters, except two, from the vola- 
tile oils of the plants, in addition to the method of distillation with water from the plants 
themselves. When the volatile oils were used, pulverized silex was directed as a mechani- 
cal agent. The oil was rubbed up first with the silex and then with the water, and the whole 
was filtered. The silex acted by minutely dividing the oil and diffusing it through water, 
and, by the subsequent filtration, was entirely removed. 
Pulverized silex is a harsh, white, tasteless powder, insoluble in water and most other 
solvents. Its sp.gr. is 2-66. In composition it is a teroxide of silicon, Si03. A protoxide 
(SiO) has been discovered by Wohler. (Chem. Gaz , May 15, 1857.) Silicon is a non-metallic 
element, which has been obtained in three allotropic states, called amorphous, graphitoidal, 
and octohedral silicon; the first corresponding to charcoal, the second to graphite, and the 
third to diamond. The octohedral crystallizes like diamond with curved facets, is hard 
enough to scratch glass but not topaz, and has the sp. gr. 2-49. B. 
SILICATE OF SODA. Sodx Silicas. Soluble Glass. This is the salt employed by MM- 
Socquet and Bonjean, in conjunction with benzoate of soda, in the treatment of gout and 
rheumatism, for the purpose of eliminating uric acid by the urine. (See page 1471.) It is 
made by fusing one part of silica and two of dried carbonate of soda, mixed in powder, in 
an earthenware crucible, and pouring out the fused mass on a stone slab to cool. This is 
pulverized, and treated with boiling water, to dissolve the soluble part. The solution is 
filtered and concentrated, so as to form crystals on cooling. These are then pmdfied by dis- 
solving them in water heated to 100°, filtering the solution, and concentrating it so that it 
may recrystallize. Silicate of soda is supposed to promote the discharge of uric acid by 
the kidneys; while the benzoate of soda transforms the same acid into liippuric acid. This 
action of the latter salt is doubtful; as it is well known that benzoic acid, when taken, is 
always changed into hippuric acid, the presence of which in the urine is more plausibly 
attributed to the medicine than to the transformation of uric acid. B. 
SISYMBRIUM OFFICINALE. Scopoli. Erysimum officinale. Linn. Hedge Mustard. A small 
annual plant, growing in the United States and Europe, along the roadsides, by walls and 
hedges, and on heaps of rubbish. It has an herbaceous somewhat acrid taste, which is 
strongest in the tops and flower-spikes, and resembles that of mustard, though much 
weaker. The seeds have considerable pungency. The herb is said to be diuretic and ex- 
pectorant, and has been recommended in chronic coughs, hoarseness, and ulceration of the 
mouth and fauces. The juice of the plant may be used mixed with honey or sugar, or the 
seeds may be taken in substance. Sisymbrium Sophia, or the flix weed, was formerly offi- 
cinal. It is of a pungent odour when rubbed, and of an acrid biting taste. The herb has 
been used externally in indolent ulcers, and the seeds internally in worms, com- 
plaints, &c. Sisymbrium muralis (Ditoplaxis muralis, P. Robert) has been recently used in 
France in scurvy, scrofula, and other cachectic affections, especially associated, in the 
form of syrup, with iodide of potassium. (Ann. de Therap., 1864, p. 126.) W. 
SIUM NODIFLORUM. Water-parsnep. A perennial, umbelliferous, aquatic European 
plant, growing also in the southern section of the United States, where it is supposed to 
have been introduced. It is commonly considered poisonous; but the expressed juice, given 
by Withering in the dose of three or four ounces every morning, was not found to affect 
the head, stomach, or bowels. He found it, in this quantity, very advantageous in obstinate 
cutaneous diseases; and the plant has been usefully employed by others in similar com- 
plaints, and in scrofulous swellings of the lymphatic glands. It is considered diuretic. 
Slum latifolium, which grows in Europe and the United States, and is the common water* 
parsnep of this country, is positively asserted to be poisonous; and madness and even death 
are said to have followed the use of the root. The S. Sisarum or skirret, a plant of Chinese PART III. 
Smalt.—Soot. 
1601 
origin, cultivated in Europe, has a sweetish, somewhat aromatic root, which is employed 
as food in the form of salad, and is supposed to be a useful diet in complaints of the chesk 
W. 
SMALT. Azure. When the impure oxide of cobalt, obtained by roasting the native arse- 
niuret of that metal, is heated with sand and potassa, the mixture melts, and a beautiful 
blue glass results, which, when reduced to powder, receives the name of smalt or azure. 
It is used chiefly in painting. W. 
SOAP BARK. This is the product of Quillaya Saponaria, an evergreen tree, growing in. 
the mountains of Chili, in South America, and known to the inhabitants by the name of 
quillay, said to be derived from the Chilian word quillean, which signifies to wash. It is the 
liber or inner bark that is employed, the outer dead layers being rejected. When bruised, 
and macerated in water, it imparts to that liquid the property of frothing like soap, when 
agitated. This has been found by MM. Fleury jun. and Boutron Chalard to be owing to the 
existence of saponin in the bark, the same principle as that which gives a similar property 
to Saponaria officinalis. The bark contains neither tannic acid nor any bitter principle. It 
is much used along the western coast of South iVmerica, where it constitutes an article of 
commerce; and we are informed that it is also imported into this country; being employed 
for cleansing cloth from grease. According to Mr. Charles Raymond, the people of Chili 
use it in washing silken and woollen stuffs, when it is desirable not to change their colour, 
and still more for cleansing the hair, which it is supposed to beautify and preserve. On 
the same authority, it is stated to be sometimes given as a febrifuge, and as a remedy in 
colds in the head. For the latter purpose, its powder is snuffed up the nostrils. It causes 
sneezing and profuse nasal discharge. (Journ. de Pharm., xxxii. 220; also Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., xxix. 104.) W. 
SOLUBLE MERCURY OF HAHNEMANN. This is prepared by adding, drop by drop, 
a dilute solution of ammonia to an equally dilute solution of nitrate of protoxide of mer- 
cury, until the precipitate begins to be paler than at first. It is a black powder, which has 
usually the composition, expressed by the formula NH40,3Ilg0-|-N05. It is, therefore, an 
ammoniated nitrate of protoxide of mercury. When it has a gray colour, the fact shows 
that too much ammonia has been employed in its precipitation. This preparation is in- 
cluded in the French Codex. It has been used in syphilitic diseases. B. 
SOOT. Fuligo Ligni. This well-known substance has a peculiar smell, and a bitter, em- 
pyreumatic, and disagreeable taste. Its composition is very complex. Reduced to powder, 
and treated with water, it affords an infusion of a deep-yellow or brown colour, which is 
deeper if heat is employed. The insoluble portion amounts to about 44 per cent. The solu- 
ble part consists chiefly, according to Berzelius, of a pyrogenous resin united with acetic 
acid (acidpyretin), saturated with potassa, lime, and magnesia. It also contains sulphate 
of lime, chloride of potassium, acetate of ammonia, and traces of nitric acid. When the 
solution is evaporated to dryness, it furnishes a black extract. This forms with water a 
blackish-brown solution, which, when treated with any free acid except the acetic, lets 
fall the acid pyretin, in the form of a black mass resembling pitch; while the acid em- 
ployed remains in solution with the bases previously in combination with the pyretin. 
Braconnot thought he had discovered in pyretin a peculiar principle, which he named as- 
bolin; but Berzelius believed he was mistaken. Besides these substances, Braconnot ascer- 
tained the existence in soot of an azotized extractive matter to the amount of 20 per cent. 
This matter, when submitted to dry distillation, afforded a considerable proportion of py- 
rogenous oil. Soot itself, when subjected to a similar distillation, furnishes one-fifth its 
weight of empyreumatic oil. To the above ingredients of soot must be added creasote, to 
the presence of which it is supposed to owe its medicinal properties. 
Soot was formerly officinal with the Edinburgh College, and the Scotch physicians were 
in the habit of frequently prescribing it as a tonic and antispasmodic in the form of tinc- 
ture. It went very much out of use in regular practice; but came again into vogue after 
the discovery of creasote, which is one of its ingredients. At present it is chiefly used 
as an external remedy in the form of decoction or ointment. In the Revue Med. for June, 
1884, M. Blaud details a number of cases of various affections, such as obstinate tetters, 
porrigo favosa, psora, fistula, cancerous and venereal ulcers, chronic irritations of the 
lining membrane of the mouth, exudations from the mucous membrane of the nose, her- 
petic eruptions of the genital organs, and pruritus of the vulva, in which the use of soot 
effected cures. The decoction is made by adding two handfuls of soot to a pint of water, 
boiling for half an hour, and filtering. It is applied as a lotion to the affected parts, or 
injected into the fistulas several times a day; and, in the intervals, the part, if accessible, 
is dressed with an ointment, made by rubbing up a drachm of finely powdered soot with an 
ounce of lard. In cases of porrigo, the crusts must be removed by poultices before the soot 
is applied, In treating obstinate cases of chronic eczema, M. Bougnrd, of Belgium, has 
been very successful with the use of a mixture of equal parts of soot and glycerin. In 
scrofulous ophthalmia, M. Caron Duvillards and M. Baudelocque have found a collyrium, Sorbus Aucuparia.—Sorghum Saccharatum. 
part hi. 
made according to the following formula, very useful. Infuse two ounces of soot in boiling 
wa'er, filter the solution, and evaporate it to dryness. Dissolve the dry residue, with the 
assistance of heat, in strong white wine vinegar, and add extract of roses in the proportion 
of twenty-four grains to twelve fluidounces of the liquid. It is prepared for use by adding a 
few drops of the liquid to a glass of water. (Bull. Gen. de Therapeutique, March, 1834.) 
This formula is not very satisfactory; as it does not indicate the proportion of vinegar to 
be employed. In a case of severe and extensive burn, in which, after the separation of the 
sloughs, the patient began to sink from the profuse discharge, Dr. Ebers, of Bordeaux, 
found advantage from the application, to the granulating surface, of lint soaked in a decoc- 
tion of soot. It reduced the discharge in a surprising manner, and promoted cicatrization. 
The late Dr. Hewson, of this city, found an infusion of soot an efficacious remedy, em- 
ployed by injection, in cases of ascarides. In one case of long standing in an adult, in which 
a number of remedies had been tried unsuccessfully, injections of soot daily, persevered in 
for two weeks, effected a complete cure. The injection was made by adding a cupful of soot 
to a pint of boiling water, and straining the solution. An infusion of hickory ashes and soot is 
used in this city as a popular remedy for dyspepsia. It is made by infusing a pint of clean 
hickory ashes and a gill of soot in half a gallon of boiling water, allowing the liquor to 
stand for twenty-four hours, and then decanting. Of this a small wineglassful is taken three 
or four times a day. No doubt this infusion has been useful in acidity of stomach; but its 
indiscriminate use in the various gastric affections, popularly confounded under the name 
of dyspepsia, is calculated to do much harm. Soot is decidedly antiseptic. A few shovelfuls 
of it, thrown into privies or drains, effectually destroy their foul exhalations. B. 
SORBUS AUCUPARIA. Mountain Ash. A small European tree, of the family of llosaceae, 
distinguished by its pinnate leaves, somewhat resembling that of the ash, and by its beau- 
tiful clusters of scarlet fruit, about as large as peas, which give it a striking appearance, 
and have caused it to be cultivated in gardens and ornamented grounds. We have an Ame- 
rican species, S. Americana, which is similarly characterized, and is highly ornamental to 
our mountain regions in autumn and winter by its bright scarlet fruit. The fruits of the 
European plant, and the same is probably the case with our own, contain a peculiar kind 
of sugar called sorbin, susceptible of the vinous fermentation; and an alcoholic drink has 
been prepared from them. They seem to have been used for preparing malic acid; and Dr. 
Hofmann has recently discovered in them two new acids, which he designated as sorbic and 
parasorbic acids. (See Pharm. Journ., May, 1859, p. 573.) They have been used in scurvy, 
and, in infusion, as a remedy in hemorrhoids and strangury. All parts of the tree are 
astringent, and may be employed in tanning, and dyeing black. W. 
SORGHUM SACCIIARATUM. Sorghum. Chinese Sugar-cane. This most valuable plant., 
indigenous in India, China, and other parts of the East, has within a few years been intro- 
duced into Europe and the United States. It was not till 1851 that the seeds were first sent 
to France from China; and so late as 1855 only a few acres were cultivated. In 1854 some 
seeds were brought to the United States by Mr. D. Jay Browne, for the Patent Office, from 
France, and were distributed to different persons through the country. (H. S. Olcott.) The 
sorghum is now very largely cultivated in this country and in France, and there has proba- 
bly been no instance in which a plant has more rapidly grown into general favour, as an 
object of agriculture, than this. Barth, in his Travels in Africa (Am. ed , ii. 339), states that 
it is extensively cultivated in the interior of that continent. It ranks botanically with the 
Graminacese, and belongs to Polygamia Monoecia in the Linnsean system. It is an annual 
plant, with a jointed stem from eight to fifteen feet or more in height, furnished with alter- 
nate, sheathing, ensiform leaves, two or three feet long by about two inches or more in 
breadth, and ending in a panicle of flowers arranged in spikelets, each composed of from 
three to five flowers, of which one only is fruitful. The glumes, which envelope the fruit 
at maturity, are of a deep-brown colour, which is characteristic of the species. The seeds, 
which are about as large as millet seeds, are planted in the spring in rows, like Indian corn, 
and the plant attains maturity in September or October. It is valued chiefly for the saccha- 
rine product of its stems, but other parts also are used. The seeds, though not fitted as food 
for man, answer well for poultry and domestic animals generally; the leaves, stripped from 
the stem and dried, make an excellent winter fodder for cattle; and we have been informed 
that the stems, when deprived of their juice, are sold to the paper-makers. Prof, lletet, of 
the Medical School of Toulon, has found in the glumes of the seeds two colouring prin- 
ciples, one red, only slightly soluble in water, but readily dissolved by alcohol, ether, and 
acid and alkaline solutions, the other yellow, very soluble in water and the other menstrua 
mentioned, both of which may be used in dyeing, and might be substituted for madder 
[Journ. de rharm., Avril, 1859, p. 262.) The stem abounds in juice, which becomes more 
and more saccharine with the growth of the plant. The proportion of juice is 80 or 90 
per cent., and of sugar on the average about 7, though it may reach 10 or 15 per cent. 
(II6tet, Ibid., p. 258.) According to M. Leplay, who has been largely concerned in the 
manufacture of alcohol and sugar from the sorghum, the period at which the stem yields 
most sugar is when the seeds are quite ripe yet not hardened, and before the stem has PART III. 
Spartium Junceum.—Sponge. 
lost its green colour. He also determined by bis experiments that, though the juice befor# 
this period is less rich in proper sugar of cane or crystallizable sugar, which in solution 
turns the plane of polarization to the right, yet it contains uncrystallizable sugar capable 
of conversion into alcohol, and may be profitably employed for this purpose. M. Leplay 
thinks that the whole of the saccharine matter of the juice, when the seeds are perfectly 
ripe, is crystallizable, and exists in a proportion often exceeding 15 per cent. Another 
important fact stated by M. Leplay, is that the sorghum stalks, if carefully dried, lose 
none of their sugar, and may thus be advantageously carried from various points of pro- 
duction to central manufacturing establishments. (Ibid., Be ser., xxxiii. p. 342.) If these 
facts shall be found applicable to the sorghum as cultivated in this country, there is little 
doubt that the plant will some time be largely employed for the preparation of sugar, 
should the supply of that from the cane be from any cause insufficient to meet the demand. 
From experiments by Dr. C. M. Wetherill. the results of which are published in the official 
U. S. Pat ent Office Report for 1862 (p. 523), it appears that 17 different specimens of juice, 
from different parts of the U. States, yielded an average of 4-82 per cent, of crystallizable 
sugar, 6-46 per cent, of uncrystallizable sugar, and 11 25 per cent, of both kinds. But we 
are not informed at what period, precisely, in reference to the maturity of the seeds, the 
juice was expressed; so that there are no grounds for comparison with the results obtained 
by M. Leplay. At present the sorghum is used almost exclusively in the preparation of mo- 
lasses, vast quantities of which are made in the United States, sufficient in many instances 
to meet the wants of the whole neighbourhood. The molasses is prepared by expressing 
the stems, between rollers, in a machine worked either by the hand, or by horse or steam 
power, and submitting the juice to ebullition, in order to concentrate it sufficiently, and 
at the same time coagulate any albuminous matters that may happen to be contained in it. 
The addition of a little lime to the juice before boiling will prove useful, both by neutral- 
izing acid, which would give a tendency to the saccharine matter to pass into glucose, and 
by combining with organic principles which interfere with clarification. From what has 
been above stated, it will be inferred that, when molasses merely is wanted, or when the 
object is to obtain alcohol or vinegar, it will not be necessary to wait till the seeds are 
perfectly ripe; and thus a late crop may be made useful, though insufficiently advanced 
to ripen before frost. For the manufacture of sugar, the stems should not be pressed until 
the maturity of the fruit. 
Another plant, called imphee or African sugar-cane, has been recently cultivated to a con- 
siderable extent for the same purposes as the sorghum. It is a native of Africa, where it 
is said to be cultivated by the Kaffirs. Its botanical characters do not seem to be well de- 
termined, though considered by Mr. Leonard Wray as a Holcus, and specifically designated 
as Holcus saccharatus. (Olcott, Sorgho and Imphee, 6th ed., p. 201.) This, however, as defined 
by Linnaeus, is considered by some botanists as a mere synonyme of Sorghum saccharatum ; 
and it is highly probable that the two plants are mere varieties of the same species. 
The seeds of the imphee were brought to this country in 1856 or 1857, and first planted in 
South Carolina; but we have not learned how far its cultivation has extended, nor what 
relative proportion it bears to that of the Chinese plant. Still another variety of porghum 
has recently beeh introduced from the islands of the South Pacific, under the name of Ota- 
heitan sugar-cane, and cultivated to some extent in the West. It is distinguished by its long 
heads, from 7 to 12 inches in length, and from 1 to 2 in thickness. This variety, however, 
has not yet become generally diffused. (Patent Office Report, 1862, p. 515.) 
Credit is due to Mr. J. S. Lovering, of Philadelphia, for first demonstrating, in this coun- 
try, that sugar might be advantageously made from the Chinese sugar-cane; and his 
pamphlet on the subject will be found useful by those who may purpose to engage practi- 
cally in its manufacture. W. 
SPART1UM JUNCEUM. Spanish Broom. A small shrub, indigenous in the south of Eu- 
rope, and cultivated in our gardens as an ornamental plant. The flowers are large, yellow, 
and of an agreeable odour. The seeds are in moderate doses diuretic and tonic, in large 
doses emetic and cathartic, and have been used advantageously in dropsy. The dose is from 
ten to fifteen grains three times a day. They may also be given in tincture. W. 
SPONGE. Spongia. Spongia officinalis. U. S. 1850. This, being no longer recognised in 
the Pharmacopoeias, is transferred to this place from Part I. The sponge is now generally 
admitted to be an animal. It is characterized as “a flexile, fixed, torpid, polymorphous ani- 
mal, composed either of reticulate fibres, or masses of small spires interwoven together, and 
clothed with a gelatinous flesh, full of small mouths on its surface, by which it absorbs and 
ejects water.” More than two hundred and fifty species have been described by naturalists, 
of which several are probably employed, though Spongia officinalis is the only one designated 
in the Pharmacopoeias. Sponges inhabit the bottom of the sea, where they are fixed to rocks 
or other solid bodies; and are most abundant within the tropics. They are collected chiefly 
in the Mediterranean and Red Seas, and in those of the East and West Indies. In the Gre- 
cian Archipelago many persons derive their support altogether from diving for sponges. 
When collected they are enveloped in a gelatinous coating, which forms part of the animal, 1604 
Sponge.—Staphisagria. 
PART III. 
and is separated by first rubbing them with fine sand (Landerer), and then washing them 
with water. Large quantities of the coarser kinds are imported from the Bahamas; but the 
fines* and most esteemed are brought from the Mediterranean. 
Sponge, as found in commerce, is in yellowish-brown masses of various shapes and sizes, 
light, porous, elastic, and composed of fine, flexible, tenacious fibres, interwoven in the 
form of cells and meshes. It usually contains numerous minute fragments of coral or stone, 
or small shells, from which it must be freed before it can be used for ordinary purposes. 
Sponge is prepared by macerating it for several days in cold water, beating it in order to 
break up the concretions which it contains, and dissolving what cannot thus be separated 
of the calcareous matter by muriatic acid diluted with thirty parts of water. By this process 
it is rendered perfectly soft, and fit for surgical use. It may be bleached by steeping it in 
water impregnated with sulphurous acid, or by exposure in a moist state to the action of 
chlorine. When intended for surgical purposes, the softest, finest, and most elastic sponges 
should be selected; for forming burnt sponge, the coarser will answer equally well. Accord- 
ing to Mr. Hatchett, the chemical constituents of sponge are gelatin, coagulated albumen, 
common salt, and carbonate of lime. Magnesia, silica, iron, sulphur, and phosphorus have 
been detected in it; as also have iodine and bromine, combined with sodium and potassium. 
From the experiments of Mr. Croockewit, it would appear that sponge is closely analogous 
to, if not identical with the fibroin of Mulder, differing from it only in containing iodine, 
sulphur, and phosphorus. [Annul, der Chem. und Pham., xlviii. 43.) Fibroin is an animal 
principle, found by Mulder in the interior of the fibres of silk. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Sponge, in its unaltered state, is not employed as a medicine; 
but, in consequence of its softness, porosity, and property of imbibing liquids, it is very 
useful in surgical operations. From the same qualities it may be advantageously applied 
over certain ulcers, the irritating sanies from which it removes by absorption. Compressed 
upon a bleeding vessel, it is sometimes useful for promoting the coagulation of the blood, 
especially in hemorrhage from the nostrils. In the shape of sponge tent it is employed for 
dilating sinuses. This is prepared by dipping sponge into melted wax, compressing it be- 
tween two flat surfaces till the wax hardens, and then cutting it into pieces of a proper form 
and size. By the heat of the body the wax becomes soft, and the sponge, expanding by the 
imbibition of moisture, gradually dilates the wound or sinus in which it may be placed. 
After having been partially charred by heat, sponge has long been used as a remedy in 
goitre. Its efficacy in this complaint, formerly considered doubtful by many physicians, has 
been generally admitted since the discovery of iodine. 
Spongia Usla. U. S. 1850. Burnt Sponge. This was an officinal preparation of the U. S. 
Pharmacopoeia. The following was the formula for its preparation. “Take of Sponge a con- 
venient quantity. Cut it into pieces, and beat it that any extraneous matters may be sepa- 
rated; then burn it in a close iron vessel until it becomes black and friable; lastly, rub it 
into very fine powder.” U.S. The sponge is decomposed, the volatile matters being driven 
off by the heat, and a black friable coal remaining. Preuss found that, of 1000 parts of 
sponge submitted to calcination, 343-848 were dissipated; and the residue consisted of 327 
parts of. carbon and insoluble matters, 112-08 of chloride of sodium, 16-43 of sulphate of 
lime, 21-422 of iodide of sodium, 7-57 of bromide of magnesium, 103-2 of carbonate of lime, 
35-0 of phosphate of lime, 4-73 of magnesia, and 28*72 of protoxide of iron. (Pharm. Cent. 
Blatt, 1837, 169.) Herberger found in burnt sponge 1 per cent, of iodide of potassium, 
and 0-5 per cent, of bromide of potassium. [Annal. der Pharm., xx. 204.) As the remediate 
value of burnt sponge depends chiefly upon the presence of iodine, it cannot be esteemed 
good unless it afford purple fumes when acted on by sulphuric acid assisted by heat. It is 
said that the preparation is most efficient as a remedy, when the sponge is kept on the fire 
no longer than is necessary to render it friable. The powder is then of a much lighter 
colour. Guibourt recommends that the sponge selected for burning should be unwashed, of 
a strong odour, firm, and compact, that it should be put into a roaster like that used for 
coffee, and heated over a moderate fire till it becomes of a blackish-brown colour, that it 
should then be removed, powdered, and enclosed in a well-stopped glass bottle. It is best 
when recentty prepared; as the iodine is dissipated by time, and the specimens, at first 
richest in this principle, contain little of it at the end of a year. (Journ. de Chim. Med., 
Dec. 1831.) According to Herberger, the fine and coarse sponges do not materially differ in 
the proportion of their organic constituents; so that the coarse may be selected for this ope- 
ration. Burnt sponge has been highly recommended in goitre, glandular swellings of a scro- 
fulous character, and obstinate cutaneous eruptions. It is most conveniently administered 
mixed with syrup or honey, in the form of an electuary, with the addition of some aromatic, 
as powdered cinnamon. The dose is from one to three drachms. W. 
STAPHISAGRIA. Stavesacre. The seeds of Delphinium Staphisagria. This officinal of the 
late London and Edinburgh Pharmacopoeias has been discarded in the British. For the cha- 
racters of the genus Delphinium, the reader is referred to Delphinium Consolida, in Part I. 
Delphinium Staphisagria, or stavesacre, is a handsome annual or biennial plant, one or two 
feet high, with a simple, erect, downy stem, and palmate, five or seven-lobed leaves, 'uip- PART III. 
Sterculia Acuminata.—Succinic Acid. 
1605 
ported on hairy footstalks. The flowers are bluish or purple, in terminal racemes, with 
pedicels twice as long as the flower, and bracteoles inserted at the base of the pedicel. The 
nectary is four-leaved and shorter than the petals, which are five in number, the uppermost 
projected backward so as to form a spur, which encloses two spurs of the upper leaflets 01 
the nectary. The seeds are contained in straight, oblong capsules. The plant is a native of 
the south of Europe. Stavesacre seeds are about as large as a grain of wheat, irregularly 
triangular, wrinkled, externally brown, internally whitish and oily. They have a slight but 
disagreeable odour, and an extremely acrid, bitter, hot, nauseous taste. Their virtues ar» 
extracted by water and alcohol. Analyzed by MM. Lassaigne and Feneulle, they yielded a 
brown and a yellow bitter principle, a volatile oil, a fixed oil, albumen, an azotized sub- 
stance, a mucilaginous saccharine matter, mineral salts, and a peculiar organic alkali called 
delphine or delphinia, which exists in the seeds combined with an excess of malic acid. It is 
white, pulverulent, inodorous, of a bitter acrid taste, fusible by heat and becoming hard 
and brittle upon cooling, slightly soluble in cold water, very soluble in alcohol and ether, and 
capable of forming salts with the acids. It is obtained by boiling a decoction of the seeds 
with magnesia, collecting the precipitate, and treating it with alcohol, which dissolves the 
delphinia, and yields it upon evaporation. According to M. Couerbe, it is impure as thus 
obtained, consisting of three distinct principles; one of a resinous nature, separated from 
its solution in diluted sulphuric acid by the addition of nitric acid; another distinguished 
by its insolubility in ether, and named by M. Couerbe staphisain; and the third soluble both 
in alcohol and ether, and considered as pure delphinia. (Journ. de Pharm., xix. 519.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. The seeds were formerly used as an emetic and cathartic, but 
have been abandoned in consequence of their violence. Powdered and mixed with lard, they 
are employed in some cutaneous diseases, and to destroy lice in the hair. An infusion in 
vinegar has been applied to the same purpose. A preparation made by mixing three parts 
of the seeds in fine powder with five parts of lard, and maintaining the mixture at the tem- 
perature of 212° for twenty-four hours, is recommended by Dr. Bourguignon as very effica- 
cious in the itch. {Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., xviii. 421.) M. Bazin has obtained good effects 
from the external and internal use of stavesacre in eczema. He gave the extract in the dose 
of a grain and a half from four to twelve times a day. [Ann. de Therap., 1851, p. 18.) A 
strong tincture has been employed as an embrocation in rheumatism. In some countries the 
seeds are used to intoxicate fish in the same manner as Cocculus Indicus. 
Delphinia is highly poisonous, exerting its effects chiefly on the nervous system. Experi- 
ments made by Drs. Falck and Rorig on the lower animals show that, introduced into the 
rectum, the cellular tissue, or the veins, it produces death by asphyxia, preceded by symp- 
toms of local irritation, convulsive movements, and extreme anaesthesia, without apparent 
disturbance of the cerebral functions until the moment before death. Introduced into the 
stomach, it caused salivation, vomiting, and diarrhoea, without other signs of absorption. 
{Arch. G6n., 4e ser., xxx. 482.) Similar results were subsequently obtained by Dr. Van 
Praag. who found also that the nerves of motion were paralyzed as well as those of sensa- 
tion. After death, congestion of the cerebral membranes, heart, great veins, and liver was 
observed. Dr. Turnbull, in his work “On the Medical Properties of the Ranunculacese,” states 
that pure delphinia may be given to the extent of three or four grains a day, in doses of 
half a grain each, without exciting vomiting, and without producing much intestinal irrita- 
tion, though it sometimes purges. In most instances it proves diuretic, and gives rise to 
sensations of heat and tingling in various parts of the body. Externally, it acts like vera- 
tria; but, according to Dr. Turnbull, produces more redness and burning, and less tingling 
than that substance. He has employed it in neuralgia, rheumatism, and paralysis. It may 
be applied by friction, in the form of ointment or alcoholic solution, in proportions varying 
from ten to thirty grains of the alkaloid to an ounce of the vehicle; and the friction should 
be continued till a pungent sensation is produced. W. 
STERCULIA ACUMINATA. This is a large African tree, known as the source of the 
kola nuts of Guinea. As this page was going to the press, we saw the announcement, in the 
Pharmaceutical Journal (Feb. 1865, p. 407), that Dr. Daniell has discovered in these nuts a 
crystallized alkaloid, which he believes to be thein, or as it is now generally called caffein. 
He was induced to make the examination by noticing that, after taking a decoction of the l 
seeds, he was affected with long-continued loss of sleep. W. 
SUCCINIC ACID. Acidum Succinicum. This acid is obtained by distilling amber. (See 
Succinum.) The product is an aqueous solution of impure succinic acid, associated with 
empyreumatic oil. (See Oleum Succini.) By filtering the liquor the solution of the impure 
acid passes through, while the oil is absorbed by the paper. The acid may be purified by 
boiling the solution with nitric acid, diluted with twice its bulk of water, and then evapo- 
rating to crystallize. Should the crystals not be colourless, the treatment with nitric acid 
must be repeated until they are so. Succinic acid is formed artificially by the action of 
nitric acid on the fatty acids, and under various other circumstances. M. Desaignes ob- 
tained it from malate of lime, subjected to fermentation excited by casein. The malate was 
converted into succinate of lime, which was then decomposed by sulphuric acid, so as to Sulphate of Alumina andiron.—Sulphate of Nickel, 
part hi. 
/ieYl succinic acid. For the details of the process for obtaining succinic acid from malate 
)f line, see the paper of E. J. Kohl, in the American Journal of Pharmacy for July, 1866. 
Buccinic acid, when pure, is a white, transparent solid, crystallizing in prisms, and hav- 
ing a somewhat acrid taste. It dissolves in five times its weight of cold, and twice its weight 
of boiling water. It is soluble also in alcohol, but very sparingly so in ether. Nitric acid 
is without action on it. It melts at 366°, and boils without alteration at 473°. It sublimes, 
however, at a much lower temperature. According to Waekenroder, it is sometimes adul- 
terated with tartaric acid, soaked in oil of amber. Crystallized from its solution in water, 
its formula is C4ll.203-f- 110. The sublimed acid has the formula 110. Some che- 
mists double the equivalent of this acid, and make its formula Cgl^Og. 
Succinic acid, though formerly officinal, is at present seldom used in medicine. It has 
been ascertained'to be a product of vital action, having been detected by M. Heintz in the 
colourless liquid found in hydatid cysts of the liver. (See Journ. de Pharm., Sept. 1850.) 
One of its salts, succinate of ammonia, has been used with great alleged success in delirium 
tremens. This salt is occasionally used as a precipitant of sesquioxide of iron. 13. 
SULPHATE OF ALUMINA AND IRON. This double salt was brought forward by Sir 
Janies Murray, of Dublin, as an astringent, styptic, and vermifuge, llis method of pre- 
paring it is not very clearly expressed; but it may be presumed to be formed by dissolving 
alumina and carbonate of iron, both recently precipitated, in sulphuric acid, and duly eva- 
porating the solution. Sir James recommends it in chronic dysentery, diarrhoea, tiuoralbus, 
and the colliquative sweats and diarrhoea which attend hectic fever and consumption. 
Externally he found it a powerful styptic, useful as a gargle in relaxation of the tonsils 
and uvula, and in salivation, as an injection in hemorrhages, and as a wash for foul and 
flabby ulcers. The dose for internal exhibition is from five to ten grains, dissolved in some 
aromatic water. This salt probably consists of tersulphate of alumina, combined with ter- 
sulphate of sesquioxide of iron. It is, therefore, not an alum. 13. 
SULPHATE OF BARYTA. Barytje Sulphas. Ed., Dub. Having been omitted in the 
British Pharmacopoeia, this salt is no longer officinal; but, from its former position, re- 
quires a brief notice here. The native sulphate of baryta is used in pharmacy with the 
same view as the native carbonate; namely, to obtain chloride of barium. The U. S. 
Pharmacopoeia directs for this purpose the carbonate of baryta; but the Ed. and Dub. 
Colleges gave a separate formula for the use of either the carbonate or sulphate, at the 
option of the operator. (See Barit Chloridum.) Sulphate of baryta is a heavy, lamellar, brit- 
tle mineral, varying in sp.gr. from 4-4 to 4-6. It is generally translucent, but sometimes 
transparent or opaque, and its usual colour is white or flesh-red. When crystallized, it is 
usually in very flat rhombic prisms. Before the blowpipe it strongly decrepitates, and melts 
into a white enamel, which, in the course of ten or twelve hours, falls to powder. It is thus 
partially converted into sulphuret of barium, and, if applied to the tongue, will give a taste 
like that of putrid eggs, arising from the formation of sulphuretted hydrogen. It consists 
of one eq. of acid 40, and one of baryta 76-7 = 116-7. This salt, on account of its great 
insolubility, is not poisonous. Ground to fine powder, it is sometimes mixed with white 
lead, but impairs the quality of that pigment. The artificial sulphate of baryta, under the 
name of permanent u-lute or blanc-fix, is much used in the arts as a water-colour. It is made from 
both the native sulphate and carbonate. It forms a dazzling white colour, unalterable by 
light, heat, air, or sulphuretted hydrogen. It is used by the manufacturers of paper hang 
ings, and for mixing with other colours, the tone of which it does not impair. B. 
SULPHATE OF NICKEL. Niccoli Sulphas. This salt is formed by dissolving carbonate 
of nickel in dilute sulphuric acid, concentrating the solution, and setting it aside to crys- 
tallize. The carbonate is procured by dissolving the impure arseuiuret of nickel, sold un- 
der the name of speiss, coarsely powdered and mixed with half its weight of iron filings, in 
nitromuriatic acid. The solution is evaporated to dryness, and the residue treated with 
water, which takes up the impure chloride of nickel, and leaves the arsenic in the form of 
the insoluble arseniate of iron. The liquid is then acidulated with muriatic acid, treated 
with sulphuretted hydrogen in excess, which precipitates the copper, and, after filtration, 
boiled with a little nitric acid to sesquioxidize any remaining iron. The cold liquid, largely 
diluted with water, is next treated with a solution of bicarbonate of soda, gradually added, 
which throws down the iron in the state of sesquioxide. Lastly, the filtered solution, contain- 
ing the chloride of nickel nearly pure, is boiled with carbonate of soda, which, by double 
decomposition, throws down a pale-green precipitate of carbonate of nickel. Sulphate of 
nickel is in the form of emerald-green crystals, efflorescent in the air, soluble in three 
parts of cold water, but insoluble in alcohol and ether. It has a sweet, astringent taste. 
When crystallized in rhombic prisms, it consists of one eq. of sulphuric acid 40, one of 
protoxide of nickel 37*6, and seven of water 63 = 140 5. (Ni0,S03 -f- 7HO.) 
Prof. Simpson, of Edinburgh, has made some therapeuiie trials with this salt, and found 
it to act as a gentle tonic, like the preparations of iron and quinia, yet somewhat differ- 
ently. lie used it successfully in a case of severe and obstinate periodic headache The PART III. 
Sulphocyanide of Potassium.—Sulphuret of Iron. 
1607 
dose is from half a grain to a grain three times a day, given in the form of pill, or of sim 
pie solution. In large doses it is liable to produce nausea and vomiting, especially on an 
empty stomach. (See Braitlnvaite's Retrospect, xxvii. 44ti.) B. 
SULPHOCYANIDE OF POTASSIUM. Polassii Sulphocyanidum. This salt is prepared 
by fusing in an iron vessel, at a low red heat, a mixture of two parts of dried ferrocyanide 
of potassium, and one part of flowers of sulphur. The mass, when cold, is dissolved in boiling 
water; and, to decompose some sulphocyanide of iron, the solution is treated with car- 
bonate of potassa, which throws down the iron as a carbonate, and gives rise to the forma- 
tion of a fresh portion of sulphocyanide of potassium. The whole is then boiled for a quar- 
ter of an hour, filtered to separate the precipitated iron, and evaporated that crystals may 
form. These are purified from carbonate of potassa by being dissolved in alcohol, which 
takes up the sulphocyanide and leaves the carbonate. The alcoholic solution is then al- 
lowed to crystallize. Sulphocyanide of potassium is in long, striated, anhydrous prisms, 
deliquescent in a moist atmosphere, very soluble in alcohol, and having a cooling, some- 
what biting taste. It has been proposed as a medicine by Soemmering, as a substitute for 
hydrocyanic acid and cyauide of potassium, on the ground that it possesses the same the- 
rapeutic properties, without their inconveniences. B. 
SUL PHUKET OF CALCIUM. Calcii Sulphuretum. Hydrosulphate of Lime. This com- 
pound is formed by passing sulphuretted hydrogen, so long as it is absorbed, through water 
holding lime in suspension. It is in the form of a paste of a greenish-gray colour, and 
exhaling a strong odour of sulphuretted hydrogen. It is used as a depilatory, and is applied 
in a layer on the part which is to be deprived of hair. At the end of fifteen minutes it is 
removed with a wet sponge, which at the same time detaches the hairs. On account of this 
preparation giving out sulphuretted hydrogen, it must not be applied near the mouth or 
nose. .An impure aqueous solution of sulphuret of calcium, necessarily containing hypo- 
sulphite of lime from the manner of its preparation, is used with great, success, in Belgium, 
in itch, the cure of which it effects in a few hours. It is made by boiling together one of 
sublimed sulphur, two of lime, and ten of water. The liquid is allowed to cool, and the clear 
part poured off, and kept in well-stopped bottles. For an explanation of the reaction 
which takes place, see Sulphur Prsecipitatum, page 1359. The patient, after having been 
well washed with soap and tepid water in a bath, is rubbed over with the liquid, which is 
allowed to dry on the skin for a quarter of an hour. A second bath is then tak> n, which 
completes the cure. The preparation, when it dries, leaves on the skin a thin layer of the 
sulphur compound, which destroys the itch insect and its eggs. B. 
SULPHURET OF IPiON. Ferri Sulphuretum. Ed., Dub. This former officinal of the 
Edinburgh and Dublin Colleges, merits and ought to have a place in the Pharmacopoeias, as 
the source whence sulphuretted hydrogen, so much used both in the preparation and testing 
of medicines, is most conveniently obtained. The following is the late Dublin process for 
preparing it. “Take of rods of Iron, of the size employed in the manufacture of nails, 
any convenient number. Having raised them to a strong red or white heat, apply them in 
succession by their heated extremities to sticks of Sulphur, operating so that the melted 
Sulphuret, as it is formed, may drop into a stone cistern filled with water, and be thus 
protected from oxidation. The water being poured off, let the product be separated from 
the Sulphur with which it is mixed, and, when dried, let it be enclosed in a well-stopped 
bottle.” (Dub.) Iron and sulphur form a number of sulphurets, among which the most im- 
portant are the protosulphuret and sesquisulphuret, corresponding with the protoxide and 
sesquioxide of iron, the bisulphuret or cubic pyrites, and magnetic pyrites, which is a com- 
pound of five eqs. of-protosulphuret, and one of bisulphuret. When the sulphuret is ob- 
tained by the application of solid sulphur to white-hot iron, the product corresponds with 
magnetic pyrites; but, when procured by heating flowers of sulphur with an excess of 
iron filings, as directed in a former Edinburgh process, a protosulphuret is formed mixed 
with metallic iron. When sulphur is applied to white-hot iron over water, the metal ap- 
pears to become hotter, burns with scintillations in the vapour of the sulphur, and forms 
instantly the sulphuret, which, being comparatively fusible, melts into globules, and drops 
into the water, which serves to extinguish them. 
The sulphuret of iron, made according to the late Dublin process, has a yellowish colour 
and the metallic lustre. When obtained over water it is in the form of brownish-yellow glo- 
bules, having a somewhat crystalline texture. When pure it furnishes a yellow powder, and 
dissolves in dilute sulphuric or muriatic acid without leaving a residue of sulphur, and with 
the production of hydrosulphuric acid gas (sulphuretted hydrogen), free from admixture of 
hydrogen. It is not entirely soluble in dilute sulphuric acid, a portion of uncombiued sul- 
phur being left The fused globules have the composition 5FeS-f-FeS2, or, according to some, 
5FeS-|-Fe2S3. This sulphuret is employed solely as a pharmaceutical agent for the produc- 
tion of hydrosulphuric acid. It yields this gas by reaction with diluted sulphuric acid. Wa- 
ter is decomposed; its hydrogen combines with the sulphur to form hydrosulphuric acid, 
while the oxygen converts the iron into protoxide, with which the sulphuric acid unites Sumbul.—Swietenia Febrifuga. 
PART III 
Hydrosulphuric acid is a colourless gas, having a smell like that of putrid eggs. Its sp. gr. is 
It saturates bases, with which it forms salts called hydrosulphates, su/phohydrates, or 
hydrosulphurets. It consists of one eq. of sulphur 10, and one of hydrogen 1 = 17. B. 
SUMBUL. Jatamansi. Musk-root. Under the name of sumbul or jatamansi, a root has 
long been used in India, Persia, and other parts of the East, as a perfume, an incense in 
religious ceremonies, and medicinally. It is the product of an unknown plant,, supposed to 
be umbelliferous, and, from the character of the root, to grow in low wet places. The plant 
is said to inhabit no part of British India, but the regions to the north and east of it, as 
Nepaul, Bootan, Bucharia, &c. The root is taken northward to Russia, and reaches the rest 
of Europe through St. Petersburg. The physicians of Moscow and St. Petersburg were the 
first to employ it on the continent of Europe. Dr. Granville first introduced it to the notice 
of the profession in Great Britain and this country. It has recently also been imported into 
England from India, whither it was brought from a great distance in the interior, 
The medicine comes in transverse sections, from two to four inches in diameter, and from 
an inch to an inch and a half in length, with a dusky, light-brotvn, wrinkled epidermis, and 
an interior porous structure, consisting of coarse, irregular, easily separable fibres. The 
fresh cut surface of a transverse section presents, within the epidermis, an exterior white 
and spotted layer, and an inner yellow substance which forms the greater part of the root. 
Examined by means of a microscope, it exhibits translucent points which probably repre- 
sent starch granules. Sumbul has a strong odour, very much resembling that of musk, 
which it retains even when long kept. The taste, at first feebly sweetish, becomes after a time 
bitterish and balsamic, but not disagreeable; and a strong aroma is developed under mas- 
tication, diffusing itself with a sensation of warmth through the mouth and throat, and ren- 
dering the breath fragrant. This effect, however, is much diminished by time. That brought 
from India differs somewhat from the Russian, being of closer texture, more dense and firm, 
and of a reddish tint. (Am. Journ. of Pharrn., xxiv. 174, from Pharm. Journ.) 
The root has been analyzed by Reinsch and other German chemists, and found to contain 
volatile oil, two balsamic resins, one soluble in alcohol, the other in ether, wax, gum, starch, 
a bitter substance soluble in water and alcohol, a crystallizable acid, which lteinsch pro- 
poses to call sumbulic acid, and saline matter. The musk-like odour seems to be connected 
with the balsamic resins, and probably depends on some principle associated with them not 
yet isolated. The volatile oil yielded by distillation has a taste like that, of peppermint. 
The virtues of the drug appear to be those of a nervous stimulant. It is used lay the Rus- 
sian physicians in low fevers of a typhous character, and in asthenic cases of dysentery 
and diarrhoea. It has also been employed by them with asserted success in malignant cho- 
lera. The authors, on the occasion of a visit in the summer of 1853 to St. Petersburg, were 
informed by Dr. Thielmann, physician to the Hospital of St. Peter and St. Paul, that he 
depended mainly on this remedy in the treatment of delirium tremens, having found it su- 
perior in its composing influence over that complaint even to opium. Dr. Granville recom- 
mends it in gastric spasms, hysteria, chlorosis, amenorrhoea, dysmenorrhoea, palsy of the 
limbs, epilepsy, and other nervous disorders. It is given in substance, infusion, decoction, 
and alcoholic and ethereal tincture. There seems to be no great precision in relation to the 
dose; but it is inferrible, from the accounts of the drug, that it may be used very much as 
we use valerian. The facts above stated are taken chiefly from a pamphlet by Dr. Granville, 
published in London, A. D. 1850. 
Dr. Murawieff, of Russia, prepares the resin, which he considers as the active principle, 
by macerating the root first in water, and then in a solution of carbonate of soda, washing 
it well with cold water, drying it, treating it with alcohol, filtering the tincture, adding a 
little lime and again filtering, separating the lime by sulphuric acid, agitating with animal 
charcoal, again filtering, distilling off nearly all the alcohol, mixing the residuum with w'ater, 
driving off the remaining alcohol, and, finally, washing the precipitate with cold water, and 
drying it. The resin thus obtained is whitish, translucent, softening between the fingers, 
combustible without residue, of an acid taste, and an aromatic smell, like that of the root. 
Dr. Murawieff gives it in the dose of a grain or two, in the form of pill, three or four times 
a day, with or without opium, and has found it useful in chronic bronchitis and pneumonia 
slow of resolution, in the moist asthma of old, anemic, and scorbutic patients, in atonic 
dysentery, leucorrhoea, hypochondriasis, and hysteria. (Dub. Quart. Journ., Feb. 1855, p 
252, from Med. Zeit. Russland.) Prof. Procter has published a formula for a fluid extract, of 
which the dose is from 15 minims to a fluidraclim. (Am. Journ. of T harm., xxvii. 233.) 
W. 
SWIETENIA FEBRIFUGA. A largo tree growing in the East Indies. The bark is the 
part employed. It is smooth and red internally, rough and gray on the outer surface, of 
a feeble aromatic odour, and an astringent bitter taste. Water extracts its virtues by infu- 
sion or decoction. It is said to have been much used in India as a substitute for Peruvian 
bark, to which it is somewhat analogous in medical properties. The dose of the powder is 
from thirty grains to half a drachm. The watery extract has the virtues of the bark. 
The Sicictcnia Mahagoni, or mahogany tree, which grows in the West Indies and other parts part hi. • 
Symphytum Officinale.—Tannate of Alumina. 
1609 
of tropical America, has also a bitter astringent bark, which resembles that of S. febrifugs 
in virtues as well as in sensible properties. The wood of this tree is the mahogany so mucl 
used in ornamental wood-work. The bark of S. Senegalensis is used on the coast of Africa 
in the cure of intermittents; and M. Caventou has extracted an alkaloid from it, which 
has been suggested as a cheap substitute for quinia. (See Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., N. S., 
xx. 168.) W. 
SYMPHYTUM OFFICINALE. Comfrey. A perennial European plant, cultivated in our 
gardens for medical, use. Its root, which is the part used, is spindle-shaped, branched, 
often more than an inch thick and a foot long, externally smooth and blackish, internally 
white, fleshy, and juicy. By drying it becomes wrinkled, of a firm horny consistence, and 
of a dark colour within. It is almost inodorous, and has a mucilaginous, feebly astringent 
taste. Among its constituents are mucilage in great abundance, and a small quantity of 
tannin. It was formerly highly esteemed as a vulnerary, but has lost its credit in this re- 
spect. Its virtues are chiefly those of a demulcent, and it may be advantageously used for 
all the purposes to which the marshmallow is applied. It is a very common ingredient in 
the domestic cough mixtures, employed in chronic catarrh, consumption, and other pecto- 
ral affections. The most convenient form of administration is that of decoction, which may 
be made either from the fresh or dried root. According to Lewis, comfrey root yields to 
water a larger proportion of mucilage than the root of Althasa. W. 
SYRINGA VULGARIS. Common Lilac. The leaves and fruit of this common garden plant 
have a bitter and somewhat acrid taste, and have been used as a tonic and febrifuge. In 
some parts of France, they are said to be employed habitually by the country people in 
the cure of intermittent fever; and they were recommended by Cruveilhier in the treat- 
ment of that complaint. The fruit was examined by MM. Petroz and Robinet, who found 
a sweet and a bitter principle. The latter was afterwards obtained pure by M. Meillet, who 
gave it the name of lilacin. The green capsules, which yield it in largest proportion, are 
boiled in water, the decoction is concentrated, subacetate of lead is added, the liquor is 
evaporated to the consistence of syrup, magnesia is added in excess, and the whole is 
evaporated to dryness. The residuum is powdered, digested in water at 90° or 100°, and 
then treated with boiling alcohol and animal charcoal. The alcoholic solution, being 
filtered and concentrated, yields lilacin upon cooling. This principle, though not alkaline, 
is thought by M. Meillet to exist in the fruit combined with malic acid. It is crystallizable, 
bitter, and insoluble in water. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xiv. 139, from Journ. de Pharm.) W. 
TACAMAIIAC. Tacamahaca. The resinous substance, commonly known by this name, is 
supposed to be derived from the Fagara octandra of Linn. (Elaphrium tomentosum, Jacq., 
Amyris tornentosa, Spreng.), a tree of considerable size, growing in the island of Curacjoa, 
and in Venezuela. The juice exudes spontaneously, and hardens on exposure. As brought 
into the market, it is in irregularly shaped pieces of various sizes, some not larger than a 
mustard seed, others as much as an inch or two inches in diameter. The colour is usually 
light-yellowish or reddish-brown; but in the larger masses is more or less diversified. The 
pieces are in general translucent, though frequently covered with powder upon their sur- 
face, so as to render them apparently opaque. They are heavier than water, brittle, and 
pulverizable, yielding a pale-yellow powder. Their odour is resinous and agreeable, their 
taste bitter, balsamic, and somewhat acrid. Exposed to heat they melt and exhale a 
stronger odour. Tacamahac is partially soluble in alcohol, and completely so in ether and 
the fixed oils. It consists of resin with a little volatile oil. 
Another variety is obtained from the East Indies, and called tacamahaca orientale, or taca- 
mahaca in testis. It is supposed to be derived from the Calophyllum Inophyllum, and comes 
into the market in gourd-shells covered with rush leaves. It is of a pale-yellow colour in- 
clining to green, slightly translucent, soft, and adhesive, of an agreeable odour, and an 
aromatic bitterish taste. It is at present very rare in commerce. The tree which yields 
this resin produces a drupe, about as large as a plum, from the seeds of which 50 per cent, 
of a greenish-yellow fixed oil is obtained by expression, used in India for lamps, and as a 
local application in the itch. (Journ. de Pharm., Juillet, 1861 p. 23.) 
Guibourt describes several other varieties of tacamahac, which, however, are little known 
Among them is a soft, adhesive, dark-green resin, said to be procured from the Calophyllum 
Tacamahaca, growing in the islands of Bourbon and Madagascar. 
Tacamahac was formerly highly esteemed as an internal remedy, but is now employed 
medicinally only in the composition of ointments and plasters, and little even for this 
purpose. Its properties are analogous to those of the turpentines. It is sometimes used 
as incense. W. 
TANNATE OF ALUMINA. Aluminx Tannas. Mr. Rogers Harrison, of London, has em- 
ployed an aqueous solution of a substance which he calls by this name, as an injection in 
gonorrhoea, after the acute symptoms have passed. He makes it of such a strength as to 
produce smarting. The substance is described to be in crystals, about the size of those of 
Coarse sugar, of a dirty-yellowish colour, and readily soluble in hot water. (Lond. Med, 1610 
Tannate of Iron.—Tea. 
. PART III. 
Gaz , xiii. 853.) It is not easy to conjecture wliat is the substance employed by Mr. Har- 
rison. Tannate of alumina is nearly insoluble in water. Prof. Procter tried to make a 
soluble tannate of this earth, but without success; and, from the description of the sub- 
stance used by Mr. Harrison, he is inclined to think that it was a mixture of tannic acid 
ai.d alum. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 1853, p. 25.) B. 
TANNATE OF IRON. Ferri Tannas. This salt is prepared by dissolving 44 parts of 
precipitated subcarbonate of iron, moderately dried, in a boiling solution of 9 parts of pure 
tannic acid, evaporating the solution at.the temperature of 170°, in a porcelain vessel, until 
it becomes thick, pouring it out on a glass or porcelain plate, and drying it with a gentle 
heat.. As thus obtained, tannate of iron is in flat pieces, of a crimson colour, without taste, 
and insoluble in water. It acts as an astringent and tonic, and may be given in chlorosis, 
in the dose of from eight to thirty grains, in the course of a day, made into pills. Ink is 
an aqueous solution of the tanno-gallate of iron, and probably possesses similar medical 
properties. It is a popular application to ringworm. B. 
TANNATE OF LEAD. Flumbi Tannas. This is obtained by precipitating a concentrated 
infusion of oak bark with acetate of lead, added drop by drop. It has been used as an 
external application with success by Dr. Fantonetti in two cases of white swelling of the 
knee-joint. He employed it at first mixed with a third of its weight of lard, and after- 
wards pure, the fresh precipitate admitting of application as an ointment. Autenrieth 
recommends it as a dressing to gangrenous ulcers; and it is probably peculiarly effica- 
cious in bed-sores. With this intention, the precipitate, either uncombined, or mixed in 
its dry state with simple ointment in the proportion of two drachms to the ounce, may bo 
spread on linen, and applied to the sore. The preparation here described is a bitannate. 
Other tannates of lead exist. B. 
TARTRATE OF SODA. Sodse Tartras. This salt, in crystals, has been recommended by 
M. Delioux as an agreeable purgative, almost without taste, and acting with power equal 
to that of the sulphate of magnesia, in the dose of ten drachms. The soda powders, so much 
used in the United States, form an extemporaneous tartrate of soda, somewhat aerated 
with carbonic acid. (Seepage 1305.) B. 
TEA. The plant which furnishes tea—Thea Chinensis—is an evergreen shrub, belonging 
to the class and order Monadelphia Polyandria of the sexual system (Polyandria Mono- 
gynia, Linn.), and to the natural order Ternstromiacem. It. is usually from four to eight 
feet high, though capable, in a favourable situation, of attaining the height of thii-ty feet. 
It has numerous alternate branches, furnished with elliptical-oblong or lanceolate, pointed 
leaves, which are serrate except at the base, smooth on both sides, green, shining, marked 
with one rib and many transverse veins, and supported alternately upon short footstalks. 
They are two or three inches long, and from half an inch to an inch in breadth. The flowers 
are either solitary, or supported, two or three together, at the axils of the leaves. They 
are of considerable size, not unlike those of the myrtle in appearance, consisting of a short 
green calyx with five or six lobes, of a corolla with from four to nine large unequal snow- 
white petals, of numerous stamens with yellow anthers and connected at their base, and of 
a pistil with a three-parted style. The fruit is a three-celled and three-seeded capsule. It 
has not been certainly determined whether more than one species of the tea-plant exists. 
Linnaeus admitted two species—T. Bohea and T. viridis—differing in the number of their 
petals; but. this ground of distinction is untenable, as the petals are known to vary very 
much in the same plant. Ilayne makes three species—T. stricta, T. Bohea, and T. viridis— 
which are distinguished severally by the shape of their leaves and fruit, and the direction 
of the footstalk. De Candolle admits but one species, with two varieties—the viridis or 
green tea, with “lanceolate flat leaves, three times as long as they are broad,” and the 
Bohea, with “elliptical oblong, subrugose leaves, twice as long as broad.” Lindley recog- 
nises the two Linnsean species, distinguishing them by the leaves, which in T. viridis are 
acuminate, and emarginate at the apex, and in T. Bohea are smaller, flatter, darker green, 
with small serratures, and terminate gradually in a point,, but are not at all acuminate or 
emarginate. (Flora Medica, 120.) 
The tea-plant is a native of China and Japan, and is cultivated in both countries, but 
most abundantly in the former. In Japan it forms hedgerows around the rice and corn- 
fields; in China, whence immense quantities of tea are exported, whole fields are devoted 
to its culture. It is propagated from the seeds, which are planted in holes at certain dis- 
tances, six or eight seeds being placed in each hole, in order to ensure the growth of one. 
In three years the plant yields leaves for collection, and in six attains the height of a man. 
When from seven to ten years old it is cut down, in order that the numerous shoots which 
issue from the stump may afford a large product of leaves. These are picked separately 
by the hand. Three harvests, according to Ivoempfer, are usually made during the year; 
the first at the end of February, the second at the beginning of April, and the third in 
June. As the .youngest leaves are the best, the product of the first collection is most 
valuable, while that of the third, consisting of the oldest leaves, is comparatively littlo PART III. 
Tea. 
1611 
esteemed. Sometimes only one or two harvests are made; but care is always takeD to 
assort the leaves according to their age; and thus originate numerous commercial varie- 
ties of tea. The character of the plant, dependent upon the soil, situation, climate, and 
endure, has also a great influence upon the value of tlie leaves. It is said that the best 
tea is procured from the shrubs which grow upon the sides of steep hills with a southern 
exposure. Though the plant grows both about Pekin in the north and Canton in the south 
of China, it is said to attain greater perfection in the intermediate country, in the neigh- 
bourhood of Nankin, for instance, where the climate is neither so cold as in the first-men- 
tioned vicinity, nor so hot as in the second. Some of the commercial varieties have their 
origin in this cause; and it is highly probable, though the fact has not been certainly proved, 
that difference in species may be another source of diversity. After having been gathered, 
the leaves are dried by artificial heat in shallow iron pans, from which they are removed 
while still hot, and rolled with the fingers, or in the palm of the hand, so as to be brought 
into the form in which they are found in commerce. The odour of the tea leaves themselves 
is very slight; and it is customary to mix with them the flowers of certain aromatic plants, 
as those of the orange, difi'erent species of jasmine, the rose, Olea fragrant, and Camellia 
Sasanqua, in order to render them pleasant to the smell. The flowers are afterwards sepa- 
rated by sifting or otherwise. (See Pharm. Journ., xv. 112.) The cultivation of tea has 
been successfully introduced into Brazil, and into the British possessions in India. In 
1861, about 20,000 acres of land were under cultivation in Assam, and are said to have 
yielded 1,705,180 pounds of tea in that year. (Gallignani’s Messenger, Jan. 20th, 1862, from 
the London Times.) Mrs. Ida Pfeiffer states, in her “Second Journey round the World1” (Am. 
ed., 18:»7, p. 127), that tea cultivated in Java is occasionally sent to Europe. Attempts have 
been made, under the auspices of the Government, to introduce the tea-culture into the 
U. States. Large numbers of the seeds were, through arrangements made by the Patent 
Office, imported from China, and, having been planted in the propagating garden at Wash- 
ington, germinated satisfactorily. At the time of publication of the Patent Office report, 
in 1859, the young plants continued to flourish, and there was every reason to hope that 
the experiment would eventuate successfully. 
Tea is brought to this country from Canton and other ports of China. Numerous varieties 
exist in commerce, differing in the shape communicated by rolling, in colour, in flavour, or 
in strength; but they may all be arranged in the two divisions of green and black teas, which, 
at least in their extremes, differ so much in properties, that it is difficult to conceive that 
they are derived from the same species. 
Properties. Green tea is characterized by a dark-green colour, sometimes inclining more 
or less to blue or brown. It has a peculiar, refreshing, somewhat aromatic odour, and an 
astringent, slightly pungent, and agreeably bitterish taste. Its infusion has a pale green- 
ish-yellow colour, with the odour and taste of the leaves. According to Mr. Warington, who 
examined numerous varieties of tea carefully both by the microscope and chemical tests, 
many of the green teas imported into Great Britain owe their colour to a powdery coating, 
consisting of sulphate of lime and Prussian blue; others to a mixture of these with a yel- 
lowish vegetable substance; and others, again, to sulphate of lime alone. [Pharm. Journ., 
iv. 37.) Black tea is distinguished by a dark-brown colour. It is usually less firmly rolled, 
and lighter than the green, and contains the petioles of the plant mingled with the leaves. 
Its odour is fainter, and of a somewhat different character, though still fragrant. Its taste, 
like that of green tea, is astringent and bitterish; but is less pungent, and to many persons 
less agreeable. To hot water it imparts a brown colour, with its sensible properties of taste 
and smell. These vary exceedingly in degree in the different varieties; and some black 
teas are almost wholly destitute of aromatic or agreeable flavour. According to Mr. War- 
ington, the difference between green and black tea, in reference to their chemical and 
physical condition, arises from a kind of fermentation which the latter is made to undergo, 
before being roasted. [Ibid., x. 618.) A sophisticated tea is largely exported from China, 
consisting of powdered tea mixed with sand and other earth, and agglutinated with gum; 
that which is to pass for black being coloured with plumbago, and the green with the coat- 
ing above referred to. On analysis, these teas were found to afford from 35 to 45 per cent, 
of ashes, while the genuine yields only 5 per cent. They may be detected by not unfolding 
when steeped in boiling water. [Ibid.) 
Analyzed by G. J. Mulder, 100 parts of green Chinese tea afforded 0-79 of volatile oil, 
2-22 of chlorophyll, 0-28 of wax, 2-22 of resin, 8-56 of gum, 17-80 of tannic acid of the 
variety contained in galls, 0-43 of thein (caffein), 22-80 of extractive, traces of apotheme, 
23-60 of muriatic extract, 3-00 of albumen, 17 68 of lignin, and 5-56 of salts. The mu- 
riatic extract was the matter taken up by diluted muriatic acid from tea, previously ex- 
hausted successively by ether, alcohol, and water, and consisted of artificial tannin. The 
same chemist obtained from 100 parts of black Chinese tea 0-60 of volatile oil, 1-84 of 
chlorophyll, 3 64 of resin, 7/28 of gum, 12-88 of tannic acid, 0-46 of thein (caffein), 19-88 
of extractive, 1-48 of apotheme, 19-12 of muriatic extract, 2-80 of albumen, 28-32 of lignin, 
and 5-24 of salts. [Annul, der Pharm., xxviii. 317.) Dr. Itochleder has found also a peculiar 1612 
Tellurium.— Tephrosia Virginiana. 
PART III. 
acirl, -which he calls boheic acid. According to Stenhouse, the tannin of toa, though always 
accompanied with a little gallic acid, differs essentially from that of galls; not being like 
it a glucoside, but yielding, under the influence of sulphuric acid, a dark-brown substance, 
almost insoluble in water. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., May, 1802, p. 254.) M. Eug. Peligot 
obtained a much larger proportion of thein or caffein than was found by Mulder, the lowest 
quantity from green tea being 2-4 per cent, and the highest 4-1 per cent.; but even this quan- 
tity is too small to represent all the nitrogen contained in tea. (Journ. de Pharm., 3eser., iv. 
224.) M. Puccetti found about twice as much in black as in green tea. [Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
xxviii. 234.) The volatile oil is probably one of the principles upon which the effects of tea 
upon the nervous system depend. Hence old teas are less energetic than those recently im- 
ported; and it is said that the fresh leaves have often produced dangerous effects in China. 
Nevertheless, the tannic acid is not without influence upon the system; and it is not impro- 
bable that both the extractive and thein contribute to the peculiar influence of this valuable 
product. Of these active ingredients, the volatile oil, tannic acid, and extractive are found 
most largely, according to the analysis of Mulder, in the green tea. Thein is a crystallizable 
principle discovered by Oudry. It was afterwards proved by Jobst to have the same compo- 
sition as caffein, and is now generally considered as in all respects identical with that prin- 
ciple. It is also said to exist in the leaves of the Ilex Paraguaiensis or Paraguay tea, and in 
the seeds of Paullinia sorbilis. (See Coffee, Ilex, and Paullinia.) According to Mulder, thein 
exists in tea combined with tannic acid. Peligot obtained it by adding to a hot infusion of 
tea, first subacetate of lead, and then ammonia, filtering the liquid, passing sulphuretted 
hydrogen through it, again filtering, and evaporating with a moderate heat. On cooling, 
the liquid deposited thein abundantly, and yielded an additional quantity by a careful 
evaporation. [Journ. de Pharm., 3e sir., iv. 224.) It may be cheaply prepared by putting 
some old spoiled tea in an iron pot covered with filtering paper, enclosing the whole in a 
cylindrical paper cap, and cautiously applying heat. Thein rises in vapour, and condenses 
on the paper. (See Chem. Gaz., No. 178, p. 119.) Thein has a feebly bitter taste; is, in the 
etate of crystals, dissolved by 93 parts of water, 158 of alcohol, and 298 of ether; melts 
at about 350° F., and at 723° sublimes in white vapours, which condense in minute nee- 
dles. From its watery solution few reagents precipitate it. Infusion of galls causes a de- 
posit of tannate of thein, which is again, however, dissolved by heating the water. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Tea is astringent and gently excitant, and in its finer vari- 
eties exerts a decided influence over the nervous system, evinced by the feelings of comfort 
and even exhilaration which it produces, and the unnatural wakefulness to which it gives 
rise, when taken in unusual quantities, or by those unaccustomed to its use. Its properties, 
however, are not of so decided a character as to render it capable of very extensive appli- 
cation as a medicine; and its almost exclusive use is as a grateful beverage at the evening 
and morning meals. Taken moderately, and by healthy individuals, it may be considered 
as perfectly harmless; but long continued, in excessive quantity, it is capable of inducing 
unpleasant nervous and dyspeptic symptoms, the necessary consequences of over-excitement 
of the brain and stomach. Green tea is decidedly more injurious in these respects than black, 
and should be avoided by dyspeptic individuals, and by those whose nervous systems are 
peculiarly excitable. As a medicine, tea may sometimes be given advantageously in diar- 
rhoea; and a strong infusion will often be found to relieve nervous headache. The mode of 
preparing it for use is too well known to require description. An extract is made from it in 
China, which is said to be useful in fevers. Though the effects of tea and coffee upon the 
system are probably in part owing to the thein or caffein they contain, there must be some 
other active ingredient; as the effects produced by different varieties are not proportionate 
to the amount of that principle contained in them. Thus coffee, which exerts a more power- 
ful influence on the system than tea, in any of its varieties, contains less caffein. W. 
TELLURIUM. Several of the combinations of this metal have been tried on the living 
organism by M. Hansen. Five grains of the tellurite of potassa, given to dogs, produced stu- 
pefaction and vomiting, and the garlic-like odour of tellurium in the breath. The same salt, 
tried upon himself for seven successive days, in a dose daily o’f half a grain, afterwards in- 
creased to a grain, caused drowsiness at first, followed, after the seventh day, by a sense of 
oppression in the cardiac region, nausea, an increased flow of saliva, and loss of appetite. 
The breath had a garlic like odour throughout the experiment. [Chem. Gaz., March 1, 1854, 
p. 90.) Prof. Simpson, of Edinburgh, relates the case of a student, who inadvertently took 
a dose of tellurium, and exhaled so persistent an odour that he had to sit apart from his fel- 
low students. (See Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., April, 1855, p. 496.) This disagreeable effect of 
tellurium precludes its employment in medicine. B. 
TEPHROSIA VIRGINIANA. Turkey Pea. Goat's Rue. Several species of Tephrosia are 
employed in different parts of the world, though unknown in general commerce. They are 
leguminous plants, shrubby or herbaceous, with leaves unequally pinnate, and flowers in 
axillary or terminal racemes. They are generally possessed of cathartic properties; their 
leaves or roots being employed. Tephrosia Virginiana grows in most parts of the United 
States. It is a foot or two high, with pubescent stems and leaves, and handsome lerminaa part hi. 
Teucrium Chamsedrys.— Thlapsus Bursa Pastoris. 
flowers. (See Griffith's Med. Bot., p. 237.) The roots, which are slender, long, and matted, 
are tonic and aperient, and are said to have been used by the Indians as a vermifuge, given 
in the form of decoction. Dr. B. 0. Jones, of Atlanta, Geo., has used the plant with advan- 
tage, as a mild stimulating tonic and laxative, having a tendency to increase most of the 
secretions, and has found it specially useful in typhoid fever. He prepares it by boiling 
eight ounces of the plant with two ounces of liumex acutus in four quarts of water to a quart, 
and straining; adding, when the preparation is to be kept, an equal bulk of diluted alcohol 
or brandy, and half its weight of sugar, and macerating for several days. The dose is one 
or two tablespoonfuls. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxviii. 218.) W. 
TEUCRIUM CHAMiEDRYS. Germander. Chamxdrys. A small, didynamous, labiate, pe- 
rennial European plant, the leaves and tops of which have an agreeable aromatic odour, 
diminished by drying, and a bitter, somewhat astringent, aromatic, durable taste. They 
have been employed as a mild corroborant, in uterine, rheumatic, gouty, and scrofulous 
affections, and intermittent fevers; but are at present little used, and never in this country. 
Germander was an ingredient in the Portland powder, noted as a remedy in gout. This pow- 
der, according to the original prescription, consisted of equal parts of the roots of Aristo- 
lockia rotunda and Gentiana lutea, of the tops and leaves of Teucrium Chamxdrys and Ery- 
thrxa Centaurium, and of the leaves of Ajuga Chamxpytis, or ground pine. The dose was a 
drachm every morning before breakfast, for three months, then two scruples for three 
months, afterwards half a drachm for six months, and finally half a drachm every other day 
for a year. [Parr.) Two other species of Teucrium have been used in medicine;—T. Marum, 
cat thyme, or Syrian herb mastich, indigenous in the south of Europe, and T. Scordium, or water 
germander, growing in the higher latitudes of the same continent. The former is a warm, sti- 
mulating, aromatic bitter, and has been recommended in hysteria, amenorrhcea, and nervous 
debility; the latter has the odour of garlic, and a bitter, somewhat pungent taste, and was 
formerly highly esteemed as a corroborant in low forms of disease; but neither of them 
is now much employed. T. Marum, however, has been revived somewhat of late; having 
been given successfully, by Dr. Lucanus, in pertussis and other cases of spasmodic cough, 
in the forms of syrup and confection. (Revue Pharmaceut., 1858, p. 32.) This species also 
acts as an errhine, and was formerly an ingredient in the Pulvis Asari Composilus. The dose 
of either of the three species is about half a drachm. A plant said to have been used ad- 
vantageously in cholera in the Levant, a specimen of which was sent to Paris, proved to be 
Teucrium Polium. [Journ. de Pharm., xv. 352.) W. 
THALLIUM. This is one of the metals recently discovered by means of the spectrum 
analysis, and has been found to prevail widely in nature, and to yield itself readily to 
chemical agencies. The point about it principally interesting to the physician at pre- 
sent is, that it has been ascertained to act energetically as a poison. M. Laury, having 
experienced, while making chemical investigations in reference to thallium, extreme gene- 
ral lassitude, with pains in the lower extremities, -was disposed to consider these symp- 
toms as the result of a poisonous influence of the metal. To determine the point, he dis- 
solved 75 grains of sulphate of thallium in some milk, intending to try its effects on a 
couple of puppies, which, however, after tasting it, refused to swallow more. Accidentally 
it was placed where other animals had access to it; and the consequences were that the 
milk disappeared, and a middle-sized dog, a hen, and six ducks died from having drank it. 
There was no vomiting or purging, but violent intestinal pains, and spasm of the posterior 
limbs, followed by paralysis; and this last seemed to be the most characteristic effect of 
the poison. Death took place in two or three days; and, what is of much importance, the 
two puppies which had only tasted of the milk, were seized with similar symptoms, and 
died at the end of four days. The poison, therefore, must be very energetic; and a cir- 
cumstance worthy of remark in relation to it is, that, even in a fatal dose, it may produce 
no sensible effect for a considerable time. M. Laury afterwards gave about a grain and a 
half to a puppy, which died in forty hours. There seems to be a remarkable coincidence 
between the poisonous effects of thallium and those of lead. Connected with its deleterious 
action, it is an interesting circumstance that thallium is not unfrequently associated with 
metals used in medicine, as with copper and bismuth for example. Spectrum analysis 
affords an easy method of detecting the poison. M. Laury readily recognised it in the tis- 
sues of animals which perished with it, by subjecting small pieces to examination in the 
spectroscope. A sharply defined green line in the spectrum gave undoubted evidence of 
-he presence of the poison. [Journ. de Pharm., Oct. 1863, p. 285.) W. 
THLAPSUS BURSA PASTORIS. Shepherd’s Purse. Thlapsus is a genus of Cruciferous 
plants, of which several species grow in this country. In Europe, the T. bursapastoris is a 
very common plant, growing everywhere upon walls, by the roadsides, in gardens, &c., and 
flowering nearly all the year. Like others of the same natural family, it yields by contact 
with water a volatile oil, which may be obtained by distillation. The plant is bitter and pun- 
gent, and is supposed to possess astringent properties; being employed with asserted ad- 
vantage in hoematuria and other hemorrhages. It is also thought to be specially antiscor- Thuya Occidentals.— Tin. 
PART III. 
butic, and Las been used in cases demanding expectorants and diuretics, as in Immoral 
asthma, dropsy, &c. The expressed juice is used in the dose of from two to four fluidounces. 
A tincture, extract, syrup, &c. have also been prepared, for which formulas may be found 
in the Annuaire de TMrapeutique for 1854 (p. 216). The fresh herb, bruised, is employed as 
a topical remedy in rheumatism. W. 
THUYA OCCIDENTALIS. Thuja Occidentals. Arbor Vitae. An indigenous evergreen tree, 
growing wild from Canada to the Carolinas, and cultivated for ornament in gardens. The 
leaves, or small twigs invested with the leaves, are the parts used. They have an agree- 
able balsamic odour, especially when rubbed, and a strong, balsamic, campliorous, bitter 
taste. They were analyzed by A. Kawalier, of Vienna, and found to contain volatile oil, a 
bitter principle calledpinipicrin, found also in Pinus sylvestris, sugar, gelatinous matter, a 
variety of wax, resin, and tannic acid. (See Chem. Gaz., Feb. 1, 1855, p. 45.) In a more re- 
cent analysis, Kawalier discovered in the leaves a peculiar crystallizable colouring prin- 
ciple, which he names thujine. It is of a citron-yellow colour and astringent taste, soluble 
in alcohol, inflammable, and separable, through the agency of sulphuric acid, into glucose, ' 
and another yellow substance, w'hich he calls thvjetin. A third substance, thujegenine, was 
also obtained, apparently a result of some change in thujine. The formula of thujine is 
C4oHm0.24. The same chemist determined that the tannic acid of this plant is identical with 
that which he had previously obtained from the leaves of Pinus sylvestris, and to which he 
had given the name of pinitannic acid. (See, for the mode of preparing these principles, and 
a full account of their properties, the Chemical Gazette, Nos. 392 and 393, pp. 01 and 88, A. D. 
1859.) In the form of decoction the leaves have been used in intermittent fever, and, ac- 
cording to Schoepf, in coughs, fevers, scurvy, and rheumatism. I)r. J. R. Learning, of New 
York, has employed a tincture of the leaves internally, with supposed advantage, in affec- 
tions believed to be cancerous; and the same remedy has been used locally with prompt effect 
in venereal excrescences. (Ar. Y. Journ. of Med., &c., N. S , xiv. 406.) Dr. Benedict has found 
a saturated tincture useful as an emmenagogue, given in the dose of a teaspoonful three 
times a day. [Ibid., Nov. 1856, p. 395.) Made into an ointment with lard or other animal 
fat, the leaves are said to form a useful local application in rheumatic complaints. The dis- 
tilled water is praised by Boerhaave as a remedy in dropsy. [Schoepf.) A yellowish-green 
volatile oil, which may be obtained from the leaves by distillation, has been used with suc- 
cess in worms. AY. 
TIN. Stannum. This was recognised in the late Ed. and Dub. Pharmacopoeias, and in 
the U. S. of 1850; but is no longer officinal. It has, however, too long ranked among re- 
cognised remedies to be passed without notice. Tin is one of the metals which have been 
known from the earliest ages. It exists generally as an oxide (tin stone and wood tin), rarely 
as a sulphuret (tin pyrites), and is by no means generally diffused. It is found in England, 
Spain, Germany, Bohemia, and Hungary, in Europe; in the island of Banca and the Penin- 
sula of Malacca, in Asia: and in Chili and Mexico. Tin mines are particularly abundant 
and rich in the Tenasserim provinces of British India. (Dr. Royle.) A valuable tin ore has 
been discovered in the United States, at Jackson, New Hampshire. The Cornwall mines are 
the most productive, but those of Asia furnish the purest tin. The metal is extracted from 
the native oxide. AVhen this occurs in its purest state, in detached roundish grains, called 
stream tin, the reduction is effected by heating with charcoal. AVhen the common oxide, 
called mine tin, is melted, it requires to be freed, by pounding and washing, from the ad- 
hering gangue; after which it is roasted to drive off sulphur, arsenic, and antimony, and 
finally reduced in furnaces by means of stone coal. The metal, as thus obtained, is called 
block tin, and is not pure. The purest kind of tin, known in commerce, is called grain tin. 
Properties. Tin is a malleable, rather soft metal, of a silver-white colour. It may be beaten 
out into thin leaves, called tin fail. It undergoes a superficial tarnish in the air. Its taste is 
slight, and when rubbed it exhales a peculiar smell. Its ductility and tenacity are small; 
when bent to and fro, it emits a crackling noise, which is characteristic. Its sp. gr. is 7’29, 
melting point 442°, equivalent number 59, and symbol Sn. It forms three oxides, a prot- 
oxide, sesquioxide, and deutoxide. The protoxide is of a grayish-black colour. AVhen per- 
fectly pure it has, according to Dr. Roth, a red colour. The sesquioxide is gray. The deut- 
oxide acts as an acid, and exists in two isomeric states, called stannic and metastannic acid. 
Stannic acid may be prepared by decomposing bichloride of tin with water. The metastannic 
acid is formed by acting on tin with nitric acid, which converts it into a white powder. The 
native crystallized oxide is metastannic acid. These acids, though having the same compo- 
sition, Sn02, are perfectly distinct in chemical properties. The stannic acid is soluble, the 
metastannic insoluble in nitric acid and dilute sulphuric acids. One eq of potassa requires 
for saturation one eq. of stannic acid, but five of metastannic acid. Hence the latter is some- 
times represented by Sn6O]0. 
The tin of commerce is often impure, being contaminated with other metals, introduced 
by fraud, or present in consequence of the mode of extraction from the ore. A high specific 
gravity is an indication of impurity. AVhen its colour has a bluish or grayish cast, the pre- 
sence of copper, lead, iron, or antimony, may be suspected. Arsenic renders it whiter, but part ill. 
Ton'ka Bean.—Trigonella Foenumgrsecum. 
1615 
at the same time harder; and lead, copper, and iron cause it to become brittle. Pure tin is 
converted by nitric acid into a white pow'der (metastannic acid), without being dissolved. 
Boiled with muriatic acid, it forms a solution which gives a white precipitate with ferro- 
cyanide of potassium. A blue precipitate with this test indicates iron, a brown one copper, 
and a*violet-blue one both iron and copper. If lead be present, a precipitate will be pro- 
duced by sulphate of magnesia. The Malacca and Banca tin, and the English grain tin are 
the purest kinds found in commerce. Banca tin, from recent analyses by Mulder, appears 
to be particularly pure, containing only one-twenty-fifth of 1 per cent of foreign metals. 
Block tin and the metal obtained from Germany are always of inferior quality. 
Uses. Tin enters into the composition of bronze, bell-metal, pewter, and plumber’s solder. 
It is used also in making tin-plate, which is sheet-iron coated with tin, in silvering looking- 
glasses, and in forming the solution of bichloride of tin, a combination essential to the per- 
fection of the scarlet dye. It is employed in fabricating various vessels and instruments, 
useful in domestic economy and the arts. Being unaffected by weak acids, it forms a good 
material for vessels i ntended for boiling operations in pharmacy. We are told that a false 
tin foil is considerably used at present, made by coating lead with tin, and then rolling it 
out into thin sheets. As tin foil is employed for enclosing medicinal powders, and in other 
ways is brought into contact with medicinal substances, care should be taken not to use this 
substituted preparation, lest the patient might be exposed to the poisonous action of lead. 
Stanni Pulvis U. S. 1850. Powder of Tin. The following directions were given for preparing 
powder of tin in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia of 1850. “Take of Tin a convenient quantity. Melt 
it in an iron vessel over the fire, and, while it is cooling, stir it until it is reduced to a pow- 
der, which in to be passed through a sieve.” U. S. Tin, being very fusible, is easily granu- 
lated by fution, and subsequent agitation while solidifying. On a small scale, the granu- 
lation is most conveniently performed in a wooden box, the inside of which has been well 
rubbed with chalk. This should be afterwards washed away with water; and, as the granu- 
lated povtder is of unequal fineness, the coarser particles must be separated by a sieve. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Powder of tin is used exclusively as an anthelmintic, and is 
supposed to act by its mechanical properties. It is considered particularly adapted to the 
expulsion of Ascaris lumbricoides, and is also employed to expel the tapeworm. For internal 
exhibition it should be free from oxidation. The dose is half an ounce, mixed with molasses, 
given for several successive mornings, and then followed by a brisk cathartic. 'Dr. Alston 
was in the habit of administering larger doses for the expulsion of the tapeworm. He began 
by giving an ounce on an empty stomach, which was followed, for two successive days, by 
half an ounce each day, and finally by a brisk purge. B. 
TONKA BEAN. The seed of Dipterix odorata of Willd., the Coumarouna odorata of Aublet, 
a large tree growing in Guiana. The fruit is an oblong-ovate pod, enclosing a single seed, 
from an inch to an inch and a half long, from two to four lines broad, usually somewhat 
compressed, with a dark-brown, wrinkled, shining, thin, and brittle skin, and a light-brown 
oily kernel. The bean has a strong, agreeable, aromatic odour, and a bitterish, aromatic 
taste. Its active constituent is a crystallizable, odorous substance, analogous to the vola- 
tile oils and camphor, and called coumarin by Guibourt. This substance is sometimes found 
in a crystalline state, between the two lobes of the kernel. It has been shown by M. Bleib- 
treu to be identical with the odorous principle of Asperula odorata, Trifolium melilotus, and 
Anthoxanthum odoratum. (See Chem. Gaz., Feb. 16, 1852, p. 61.) Mr. W. H. Lippitt, of Wil- 
mington, N. C., having noticed a crystalline exudation upon the leaves of Liatris odoratis- 
sima, growing in that neighbourhood, sent a specimen to Prof. Procter, of Philadelphia, 
who ascertained that it consisted of coumarin. According to Mr. Lippitt, this product of 
the Liatris was collected for the purpose of protecting woollens against moths. (Am. 
Journ. of Pharm., Nov. 1859, p. 556.) Dr. Gossmann obtains coumarin in the following man- 
ner. The beans, cut finely, are heated for a long time Avith an equal bulk of alcohol of 
0 868, nearly to boiling; and, the tincture being decanted, the residue is treated in the 
same manner. The tinctures are mixed, the alcohol distilled off until turbidness appears, 
when four times the bulk of water is added, which precipitates coumarin and fatty matter. 
The precipitate is then heated to boiling, and the liquid passed through a moistened filter. 
The fatty matter remains on the filter, and the hot solution which passes deposiis the cou- 
marin on cooling. More may be obtained by concentrating the liquid, and may be purified 
by animal charcoal. One pound of the beans yielded 108 grains of coumarin. (Ibid., June 1, 
1856, p. 211 ) The tonka bean is used to flavour snuff, being either mixed with it in the 
state of powder, or put entire into the snuff-box. W. 
TR1GONELLA FCENUMGRiECUM. Fenugreek. An annual plant, growing spontaneously 
in different parts of the south of Europe, and cultivated in France and Germany for the 
sake of its seeds. These are oblong-cylindrical, somewhat compressed, obliquely truncated 
at each extremity, one or two lines in length, brownish yellow externally, yellow internally, 
and marked with an oblique furrow running half their length. They have a strong peculiar 
odour, and an oily, bitterish, farinaceous taste, and contain fixed and volatile oil, mucilage, 
bitter extractive, and a yellow colouring substance. An ounce of the seeds, boiled in a pint 1616 
Trillium.—Tussilago Far jar a. 
PART IIL 
of water, renders it thick and slimy. They yield the whole of their odour and taste to alco- 
hol. Their virtues depend chiefly upon their oil and mucilage. On the continent of Europe 
they are employed in the preparation of emollient cataplasms and enemata, and enter into 
some officinal ointments and plasters. They are never used internally. W. 
TRILLIUM. This is an indigenous genus of pretty, little, herbaceous plants, growing 
generally in woods and shady places. The roots are reputed to possess valuable remedial 
properties. .They were employed by the aborigines, have been long used in domestic prac- 
tice in some parts of the country, and were noticed as medicinal in Henry’s Herbal, pub- 
lished in 1812. Dr. S. W. Williams published a paper upon them in the New England Journ. 
of Med. and Surg., in the year 1820, and afterwards another in the N. Y. Journ. of Med. (viii. 
94). The roots have a somewhat balsamic odour and taste, and produce, when chewed, a 
sense of heat and irritation, with an increased flow of saliva. A root received by Mr. E. S. 
Wayne, of Cincinnati, is described by him as an “oblong rhizome, with numerous rootlets 
attached to it, and of a yellowish-brown colour.” Upon the removal of the epidermis, it is 
white and starchy, and gives a deep blue with tincture of iodine. Mr. Wayne found in the 
root an acrid principle, analogous to senegin and saponin in the property of frothing with 
water; half a grain in two ounces of water being sufficient to show this property. He ob- 
tained it by treating the powdered root with alcohol by percolation, distilling off the alco- 
hol and adding water as the alcohol escaped, separating an oleo-resin which floated on the 
surface of the remaining watery liquid, treating the latter with acetate and subacetate of 
lead so long as a precipitate was produced, filtering, separating the excess of lead by sul- 
phuric acid, again filtering, and setting the clear liquid aside. In the following day a gela- 
tinous precipitate had formed, which, being collected on a filter, washed, and dried, was 
redissolved in dilute alcohol, and recovered by spontaneous evaporation of the menstruum. 
A white, amorphous powder was thus obtained, of an acrid taste, soluble in alcohol, and, 
as above stated, giving in a high degree the frothing property to water. (Proceed. of Am. 
Pharm. Assoc, for 1856, p. 36, also Am. Journ. of Pharm.. xxviii. 512.) Besides this acrid 
principle, the Trillia roots are said to contain volatile oil, gum, starch, extractive, resin, 
and tannic acid. They are astringent; and tonic, expectorant, and alterative properties have 
been ascribed to them. They have been used by the vulgar to hasten parturition. The com- 
plaints in which they are said to have proved most advantageous are the hemorrhages; but 
they have been used also in cutaneous affections, and externally in obstinate ulcers. Dr. 
Williams gave a drachm of the powdered root three times a day. Of the different species. 
T.erectum is generally esteemed most active. T.pendulum is referred to, in the Peninsulat 
and Independent Med. Journ. (Jan. 1859, p. 187), as among the most valued indigenous plants 
of Michigan; being used especially in menorrhagia. W. 
TRIPOLI. Terra Tripolitana. An earthy mineral, of a whitish, yellowish, or pale straw 
colour, sometimes inclining to red or browm, usually friable, often adhesive to the tongue, 
and presenting the aspect of argillaceous earth, though differing from clay by the rough- 
ness and hardness of its particles, and by not forming a paste with water. The Venice 
tripoli is said to come from Corfu. Tripoli is sometimes artificially prepared by calcining 
certain argillites. It is used for cleaning and polishing metals. W. 
TRITICUM REPENS. Couch-grass. Dog-grass. Quickens. Chiendent, Fr. A perennial Eu- 
ropean plant, very common in gardens and cultivated grounds, wdiere it is considered a 
troublesome weed. The root, which is the part medically used, is horizontal, creeping, 
jointed, about as thick as a straw or thicker, inodorous, and of an agreeable, sweetish, 
slightly pungent taste. It is used in some parts of Europe, in the form of decoction, as a 
slightly aperient and nutritive drink; and has been recommended of late in irritable blad- 
der. Great quantities of it are said to be consumed in the hospitals of Paris. The infusion 
or decoction, in consequence of the sugar which it contains, is susceptible of the vinous 
fermentation, and alcohol has been obtained from it by distillation. W. 
TUSSILAGO FARFARA. Coltsfoot. Coltsfoot is a perennial herb, with a creeping root, 
which early in the spring sends up several leafless, erect, simple, unifloral scapes or flower- 
stems, five or six inches high, and bearing oppressed scale-like bractes of a brownish-pink 
colour. The flower, which stands singly at the end of the scape, is large, yellow, com- 
pound, with hermaphrodite florets in the disk, and female florets in the ray. The latter 
are numerous, linear, and twice the length of the former. The leaves do not make their 
appearance until after the flowers have blown. They are radical, petiolate, large, cordate, 
angular, and toothed at the margin, bright-green upon their upper surface, white and 
downy beneath. The plant grows spontaneously both in Europe and North America. In 
this country it is found upon the banks of streams in the Middle and Northern States, and 
flowers in April. The whole of it is employed, but the leaves most so. They should be 
gathered after their full expansion, but before they have attained their greatest magnitude. 
The flowers have an agreeable odour, which they retain after desiccation. The dried root 
and leaves are inodorous, but have a rough, bitterish, mucilaginous taste. Boiling water 
extracts their virtues. Coltsfoot exercises little sensible influence upon the human system. Tutty.— Upas Antiar. 
PART III. 
1617 
It is, however, demulcent, and is sometimes used in chronic coughs, consumption, and 
other affections of the lungs. The expectorant properties which it was formerly thought 
to possess are not obvious. The leaves were smoked by the ancients in pulmonary com- 
plaints; and in some parts of Germany they are at the present time said to be substituted 
for tobacco. Cullen states that he found the expressed juice of the fresh leaves, taken to 
the extent of some ounces every day, beneficial in several cases of scrofulous sores; and a 
decoction of the dried leaves, as recommended by Fuller, answered a similar purpose, 
though it often failed to effect a cure. The usual form of administration is that of decoc- 
tion. An ounce or two of the plant may be boiled in two pints of water to a pint, of which 
a teacupful may be given several times a day. W. 
TUTTY. Tutia. Impure Oxide of Zinc. This oxide is formed during the smelting of lead 
ores containing zinc. It is deposited in the chimneys of the furnaces, in the form of in- 
crustations, moderately hard and heavy, and studded over with small protuberances, of a 
brownish colour on the outside, and yellowish within. As it occurs in commerce, the 
pieces occasionally present a bluish cast, from the presence of small particles of metallic 
zinc. Sometimes a spurious substance is sold for tutty, consisting of a mixture of blue 
clay and copper filings, made into a paste with water, and dried on an iron rod. It is dis- 
tinguished from the genuine tutty by its diffusing in water and exhaling an earthy smell, 
and by its greater friability. Tutty is used as an external application only, being em- 
ployed as a desiccant in excoriations. To fit it for medicinal use it must be reduced to fine 
powder, which is dusted over the affected part, or applied in the form of ointment. It has 
been very properly dismissed from the Edinburgh officinal list; its use being superseded 
by that of the pure oxide. B. 
ULTRAMARINE. This fine blue pigment was formerly obtained from lapis lazuli, or lazu- 
lite, a mineral of Siberia. It is now prepared artificially by mixing equal parts of sulphur, 
carbonate of soda, and silica, adding enough solution of soda to dissolve the silica, and 
rapidly igniting the mixture. A bluish-green mass results, which becomes blue by ignition 
in contact with air. It is thought to be a compound of the silicates of alumina and soda 
with sulphuret of sodium. (Pharm. Journ., xi. 230.) It is very largely manufactured at 
Nuremberg, in Germany. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxviii. 416.) W. 
TJMBER. Terra Umbria. A mineral of a fine compact texture, light, dry to the touch, 
shining when rubbed by the nail, and of a fine pale-brown colour, which changes to a 
peculiar beautiful deep-brown by heat. According to Klaproth, it contains 13 parts of 
silica, 5 of alumina, 48 of oxide of iron, 20 of manganese, and 14 of water in 100. Burnt 
umber, as well as the mineral in its unaltered state, is used in painting. The umber of com- 
merce is said to be brought chiefly from the island of Cyprus. W. 
UPAS ANTIAR and UPAS TIEUTE. Under these names, two poisons have long been 
used by the natives of Java and other East India islands for poisoning their arrow heads; 
and very exaggerated notions have prevailed among the people of the Western World in 
relation to the tremendously destructive power over animal life of the upas tree in Java, 
from which it was supposed that the poison was derived. The tale was told that birds 
and animals perished when within the influence of its exhalations, and that man came 
into its near vicinity at the peril of life. All such accounts have proved to be fabulous; 
but there is no doubt as to the exceedingly poisonous character of the arrow poison to 
which reference has been made. It seems now to be pretty well determined that the active 
ingredient of the upas antiar is a gum-resinous exudation proceeding from incisions in the 
trunk of the Antiaris toxicaria, a large tree belonging to the Urticacese, growing in Java, 
Celebes, and the neighbouring islands, and described in Lindley’s Flora Medica (p. 301). 
Like certain species of Rhus, this plant exhales an aeriform matter, which very unplea- 
santly affects many of those who approach it, causing eruptions upon the skin and exte- 
rior swelling, while others seem altogether insensible to its influence. The juice is mixed 
with various substances which probably have little other effect than to give a due consist- 
ence to the poison. This, whether taken internally or introduced into the system through 
a wound, acts with extreme violence, producing vomiting, with great prostration, a feeble 
irregular pulse, involuntary evacuations, and convulsive movements, which are soon fol- 
lowed by death. Brodie, who made experiments with the poison on animals, could observe 
no sign of special action on the brain, and believed that death was produced by its action 
upon the heart, which ceased to beat before respiration ceased, and after death was found 
full of blood, differing in both these respects from its condition under ordinary narcotic 
poisoning. In other words, the poison seems to rank with digitalis, tobacco, and aconite, 
rather than with opium, belladonna, &c. From a chemical examination by Pelletier and 
Caventou, it appears that the antiar owes its activity to a peculiar principle which they 
named antiarin, crystallizable, soluble in water and alcohol, but scarcely so in ether, and 
consisting of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, with the formula CuII10O3. (See Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., Sept. 1863, p. 474.) XJrate of Ammonia.— Urea. 
PART III. 
Tlie upas tieute is even more poisonous than the antiar. This is said to be obtained from 
a climbing woody plant, growing exclusively in Java, and belonging to the genus StrycMnos, 
specially designated by Leschenault. as Strychnos Tieute. It is from the bark of the root, 
according to this author, that the poison is prepared. A decoction of the bark is concen- 
trated to the consistence of syrup, then mixed with onions, garlic, pepper, &c., and allowed 
to stand till it becomes clear. Leschenault, having dipped the point of an arrow in the poison 
and allowed it to dry, pricked a chicken with it, which died in a minute or two in violent 
convulsions. MM. Delille and Magendie found that the poison had not lost its strength 
in four years. (Hammond, Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., Oct. I860, p. 366.) A gentleman of Ber- 
lin took 3 grains of the poison, apparently for the relief of headache. This disappeared, 
but a feeling of oppression of the stomach came on, with stiffness along the spine, in half 
an hour, succeeded by a feeling as of a violent shock through the system, spasmodic con- 
traction and rigidity of the muscles, loss of speech, difficulty of deglutition; in short, with 
all the symptoms of a poisonous dose of nux vomica. He recovered under the use of eme- 
tics followed by opiates. (Chemist and Druggist, May 15, 1863.) In fact the poison has upon 
analysis been found to contain strychnia, as might have been suspected from its origin. 
Dr. Wm. A. Hammond made some experiments with a poisonous substance brought by 
Dr. Ruschenberger from Singapore, which proved to have the combined effects of the two 
poisons above mentioned, both diminishing directly the power of the heart, and causing 
tetanic spasms of the muscles; suggesting the idea that it might be a mixture of the 
antiar and tieute; but Dr. Hammond seems, from other considerations, to have been led 
to the opinion that it had a different origin from either. (Am. Journ. of Med. Set., Oct. 1860, 
p. 371.) W. 
URATE OF AMMONIA. Ammonice Uras. (NH40,I10 -|-N4C10H?O4.) This is an acid salt, 
and may be formed by digesting uric acid in solution of ammonia. Uric acid is generally 
obtained from the dried and powdered excrement of the boa serpent, and of other large 
snakes, by dissolving it in a weak solution of potassa with the aid of heat, and precipi- 
tating the uric acid from the filtered solution by muriatic acid, added in excess. Urate of 
ammonia is a white, amorphous, very sparingly soluble salt. It is a constituent of some 
varieties of guano; and the medicinal properties of that substance are attributed by some 
to its presence. T his salt has been used with good effects by Dr. Bauer, of Germany, as an 
external application, in the form of ointment, in chronic cutaneous eruptions, and in tuber- 
culous diseases of the lungs. The ointment is made of a scruple of the salt to an ounce of 
lard, and is applied to the eruptions night and morning, and, in the pectoral disease, by fric- 
tion, night and morning, alternately to the back and front of the chest. (Medico-Chirurg. 
Review, July, 1852, p. 207, from Buchner's Reperl.) The urates should be given with caution 
internally, for fear of producing oxalic acid in the urine. When uric acid was given to 
rabbits in the dose of from thirty to forty-five grains in their daily food, Dr. Neubauer found 
that the urea in the urine was considerably increased, showing that the acid was trans- 
formed into urea in the economy. When, however, a large quantity of uric acid was given, 
the urine, in addition to an increased amount of urea, contained some uric acid, and traces 
of oxalic acid. (Ranking's Abstract, July to Dec. 1857, p. 298.) B. 
UREA. (C2H4N202.) This substance, the characteristic organic constituent of urine, was 
shown by Wohler to be identical with the hydrated cyanate of ammonia (NIJ3,NC20 -f- HO), 
which furnishes the first example of a complex organic product artificially formed. When 
obtained from urine, the most convenient process is that proposed by Dr. Gregory, which 
aonsists in saturating concentrated urine with oxalic acid, dissolving in water the oxalate 
of urea formed, decolorizing the solution with animal charcoal, digesting it with carbon- 
ate of lime, separating the precipitated oxalate of lime by filtration, and concentrating the 
filtrate that crystals may form. For the mode of obtaining artificial urea, the reader is re- 
ferred to chemical treatises. 
Urea is in the form of four-sided prismatic crystals, colourless and free from odour when 
pure, somewhat resembling nitre in appearance, and having a similar saline, cooling taste. 
It is soluble in its weight of cold water, and in every proportion in hot water. Though 
without acid or alkaline reaction, it is capable of uniting with several acids, forming crys- 
tallizable compounds, having all the characters of salts. Its action on the inferior animals 
has recently been investigated by M. Gallois. Given to rabbits in the dose of five drachms, 
it acted as a poison, producing accelerated respiration, weakness of the limbs, tremblings, 
convulsions, tetanus, and death. Administered in the daily dose of 75 grains for three days, 
it passed unaltered into the urine, appearing in the secretion in 30 or 40 minutes. (Chem. 
Gaz., July 1, 1857.) 
Urea was proposed many years ago by the French physicians as a diuretic; and its use 
in this way has been revived by Dr. T. H. Tanner, of London. In the few cases in which 
Dr. Tanner tried the remedy, it acted as a powerful diuretic, without giving rise to any 
unpleasant symptom whatever. Prof. Mauthner, of Vienna, also bears testimony to its 
diuretic properties, having found it, in two cases occurring in children, promptly to re- 
move the anasarca following scarlet fever. The dose for an adult to begin with is ten PART III. 
Urtica Dioica.— Verbascum Thapsus. 
1619 
grains every six hours, dissolved in water, flavoured with syrup; the a«uon of the medi- 
cine being aided by the free administration of diluents, and by keeping the skin moderately 
cool. (See Braithwaite's Retrospect, xxv. 161.) 13. 
URTICA DIOICA. Common nettle. A well-known perennial herbaceous plant, growing 
both in Europe and the United States, by the roadsides, in hedges, and gardens. The 
leaves, seeds, and roots were formerly officinal. They were deemed diuretic and astrin- 
gent, and were employed in nephritic complaints, hemorrhages, consumption, jaundice, 
worms, &c. The young shoots are boiled and eaten by the common people as a remedy in 
scurvy; and the fresh plant is sometimes used to excite external irritation in cases of tor- 
por and local palsy, the part being beaten with it till the requisite degree of action is pro- 
duced. The irritant effect of the nettle, applied to the skin, is said to be owing to the 
presence of free formic acid in the sharp hairs. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxii. 181.) U. urens, 
or dwarf nettle, which is an annual plant, and smaller than the former species, has similar 
properties, and is used for the same purposes. This species also grows wild both in 
America and Europe. The two plants were formerly distinguished by the names of urtica 
major, applied to U. dioica, and of urtica minor to U. urens. Dr. U. B. Johnson, of Marion, 
Alabama, has found U. urens very efficacious in uterine hemorrhage. [N. Orleans Med. and 
Surg. Journ., vi. 452.) W. 
VALERIANATE OF BISMUTH. Bismuthi Valerianas. This salt is formed by double de- 
composition between solutions of ternitrate of bismuth and valerianate of soda. Valerianate 
of bismuth precipitates as a white powder, which is washed with water, and dried with a 
gentle heat. It has been recommended by Righini in neuralgia, and in painful affections 
of the stomach. The dose is from half a grain to two grains, repeated several times a day, 
and given in the form of pill. B. 
VALERIANATE OF IRON. Ferri Valerianas. Dub. This officinal of the late Dublin 
Pharmacopoeia has not been retained in the British. The following was the Dublin pro- 
cess. “ Take of Valerianate of Soda five ounces and 164 grains [avoirdupois] ; Sulphate of Iron 
four ounces [avoird.] ; Distilled Water one pint [Imperial measure] Let the Sulphate of Iron 
be converted into a persulphate, as directed in the formula for Ferri Peroxydum Hydratum, 
and, by the addition of distilled water, let the solution of the persulphate be augmented to 
the bulk of eight [fluid]ounces [Imp. meas.]. Dissolve the Valerianate of Soda in ten 
[fluid]ounces of the Water, then mix the two solutions cold, and, having placed the pre- 
cipitate which forms upon a filter, and washed it with the remainder of the Water, let it be 
dried by placing it. for some days rolled up in bibulous paper on a porous brick. This pre- 
paration should be kept in a well-stopped bottle.” The first step in this process is to con- 
vert the sulphate of protoxide of iron into the tersulphate of sesquioxide. Then by a dou- 
ble decomposition between this salt and valerianate of soda, sulphate of soda is formed in 
solution, and tervalerianate of sesquioxide of iron is precipitated. The proper proportion 
of the reacting salts is three equivalents of valerianate of soda, and one of tersulphate of 
sesquioxide of iron; and the resulting salts are three eqs. of sulphate of soda, and one of 
tervalerianate of sesquioxide of iron. 
Properties, §c. This salt is in the form of a dark tile-red, loose, amorphous powder, hav- 
ing a faint odour and taste of valerianic acid. It is insoluble in cold water, and decomposed 
by boiling water, which extracts all its acid, and leaves the sesquioxide of iron behind. It 
is soluble in alcohol. Citrate and tartrate of iron, impregnated with oil of valerian, have 
been fraudulently sold for valerianate of iron. The genuine salt may be distinguished from 
these substitutions by being insoluble in water and soluble in alcohol, and by the action of 
a little dilute muriatic acid, which sets free the valerianic acid, readily recognised by its 
disagreeable odour, which is quite distinct from that of the oil of valerian. In relation to 
the modes of distinguishing the true from the spurious valerianates, see Pharm. Journ. (viii. 
577) Valerianate of iron has been given in hysterical affections, complicated with chlorosis. 
The dose is about a grain, repeated several times a day. B. 
VENETIAN RED. Bolus Veneia. A dull red ochrey substance used in painting. 
VERBASCUM TIIAPSUS. Mullein. This is a biennial plant, with an erect, round, rigid, 
hairy stem, which rises from three to six feet in height, and is irregularly beset with large, 
sessile, oblong or oval, somewhat pointed leaves, indented at the margin, woolly on both 
sides, and decurrent at the base. The flowers are yellow, and disposed in a long, close, 
cylindrical, terminal spike. The mullein is common throughout the United States, growing 
along the roadsides and in neglected fields, and springing up abundantly in newly cleared 
places, at the most remote distance from cultivation It is, however, generally considered 
as a naturalized plant, introduced originally from Europe, where it is also abundant. It 
flowers from June to August. The leaves and flowers have been employed. Both have a 
slight, somewhat narcotic smell, which in the dried flowers becomes agreeable. Their taste 
is mucilaginous, herbaceous, and bitterish, but very feeble. They impart their virtues to 
water by infusion. Mullein leaves are demulcent and emollient, and are thought to pos- 
sess anodyne properties, which render them useful in pectoral complaints. On the Conti- 1620 
Verbena Officinalis. — Viscum Album. 
PART III. 
nent of Euro] e, an infusion of the flowers, strained in order to separate the rough hairs, 
is considerably used in mild catarrhs. Dr. Home found a decoction of the leaves useful in 
diarrhoea. The infusion or decoction may be prepared in the proportion of an ounce of 
the leaves to a pint of water, and given in the quantity of four fluidounces. Dr. N. R. New- 
kirk, of Bridgeton, N. J., informed the author that he had found the smoking of dried mul- 
lein leaves useful in aphonia from irritation of the larynx. The leaves are also employed 
externally, steeped in hot water, as a feebly anodyne emollient. An ointment is prepared 
from them in the recent state, and used for the same purposes. It may be made in the 
same manner as ointment of stramonium, by boiling the leaves in lard. It will be found 
advantageous to moisten them with water previously to the boiling. W. 
VERBENA OFFICINALIS. Vervain. This is a common European weed, growing on the 
roadsides, in the vicinity of towns and villages. Its sensible properties do not indicate the 
possession of medical virtues; as it is nearly inodorous, and has only a slightly astringent, 
bitterish taste. By the ancients it was highly esteemed both as a medicine, and as a sacred 
plant employed in certain religious rites. In modern times, superstitious notions in rela- 
tion to its virtues are still entertained; and the suspension of the root around the neck by 
a white riband, has been gravely recommended for the cure of scrofula. The leaves, bruised 
and made into a cataplasm, are used by the vulgar as a remedy in severe headache, and 
other local pains. The plant, however, is probably inert. An American species, V. hastata, 
is more bitter than the European, and is said to be emetic. It is not, however, used in 
regular practice. Schoepf states that the root of V. urticifolia, another indigenous species, 
has been advantageously used in poisoning from the Rhus Toxicodendron. It is prepared 
by boiling it in milk and water along with the inner bark of the white oak. W. 
VERDITER. Two preparations of copper, employed as pigments, are known by this name 
in commerce, and are distinguished by the epithets of blue and green. Blue verditer is pre- 
pared in London from the solution of nitrate of copper obtained in precipitating silver by 
copper. According to Gray, this solution is poured hot upon whiting (carbonate of lime), 
and the mixture stirred every day till the liquor loses its colour, when it is decanted, and 
fresh portions added till the proper colour is obtained. By a process for procuring this pig- 
ment, invented by Pelletier, the solution of nitrate of copper is decomposed by quicklime, 
and the precipitate, after being washed, is incorporated intimately with another portion of 
quicklime. By the former process, a carbonate of copper is obtained; by the latter, a mix- 
ture of the hydrated oxide of copper and hydrate of lime. Green verditer is prepared by pre- 
cipitating a solution of nitrate of copper by chalk or a white marl, and consists of carbonate 
of copper mixed with an excess of the calcareous carbonate. W. 
VERONICA OFFICINALIS. Speedwell. Several species of Veronica, common to Europe 
and this country, have been medicinally employed. Of these V. officinalis, and V. Becca- 
bunga or brooklimc, are the most conspicuous. V. officinalis has a bitterish, warm, and some- 
what astringent taste. Examined by Enz, it was found to contain, in the fresh juice and 
an extract from the herb, a bitter principle soluble in water and alcohol, but scarcely so 
in ether, and precipitated by the salts of lead but not by tannic acid; an acrid principle; 
red colouring matter; a variety of tannic acid producing a green colour with tlie salts of 
iron; a crystallizable fatty acid, with malic, tartaric, citric, acetic, and lactic acids; a soft, 
dark-green bitter resin; and mannite. Prof. Mayer, of N. York, in an examination of the 
herb, found evidences of the existence of an alkaloid, and a small quantity of a saponaceous 
principle. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., July, 1863, p. 209.) The plant has been considered diapho- 
retic, diuretic, expectorant, tonic, &c.; and was formerly employed in pectoral and nephritic 
complaints, hemorrhages, and diseases of the skin, and in the treatment of wounds. The 
beccabunga, which is very succulent, was used in the fresh state with the view of purifying 
the blood, and as a remedy in scurvy. Both plants, however, are at present out of use. W. 
VISCUM ALBUM. Mistletoe. A European evergreen parasitic shrub, growing on various 
trees, particularly the apple and other fruit trees, and forming a pendent bush from two to 
five feet in diameter. The plant is famous in the history of druidical superstition. In the 
religious rites of the Druids, the mistletoe of the oak was employed, and hence was after- 
wards preferred when the plant came to be used as a remedy; but it is in fact identical in 
all respects with those which grow upon other trees. The fresh bark and leaves have a pe- 
culiar disagreeable odour, and a nauseous, sweetish, slightly acrid and bitterish taste. The 
berries, which are white, and of about the size of a pea, abound in a peculiar viscid princi- 
ple, and are sometimes used in the preparation of bird-lime, of which this principle is the 
basis. Mistletoe is said to be capable of vomiting and purging when largely taken. A case 
has been recorded by M. Gampert, in France, in which a child three years old was poi- 
soned by eating the berries. Vomiting and prostration were produced, and on the arrival 
of the physician the patient was found insensible, with a fixed and somewhat contracted 
pupil, coldness of the skin, and convulsive movements of the extremities. An emetic brought 
.away a considerable quantity of the berries, and the child recovered. (Ann. de Therap., 1859, 
p. 36.) The plant was formerly looked upon as powerfully antispasmodic, and was LiglDy PART hi. 
Whiting. — Winter's Bark. 
1621 
esteemed as a remedy in epilepsy, palsy, and other nervous diseases; but it is now out of 
use. The leaves and wood were given in the dose of a drachm in substance, and of an ounce 
in decoction. One or more species of Viscum grow in the United States, but are little used. 
Dr. Henry Dye, of Texas, records several cases of children poisoned by eating the berries ot 
a species growing on the elm, probably Viscum flavescens of Pursh, Phoradendron flavescens 
of Nuttall. (See Gray's Manual, p. 382.) The prominent symptoms were vomiting and great 
thirst, followed by frequent discharges of bloody mucus from the bowels, with tenesmus. 
One of the children was found in a collapsed state, in which death took place. Dr. Dye 
states also that, in other instances, as he had been informed, children had eaten the berries 
without any ill effect. (Memphis Med. Recorder, iv. 344.) W. 
WHITING. This is essentially the same as prepared chalk, being made by the pulveriza- 
tion and elutriation of crude chalk. It is used as a coarse paint, and for various purposes 
in the arts, for which carbonate of lime is requisite. Paris white is a variety of the same 
material. W. 
WINE, AROMATIC. Aromatic Wine. The following formula for an aromatic wine, handed 
to us by Prof. Procter, merits notice, if only for its extensive use. “Take of Sage, Thyme, 
Hyssop, Spearmint, Wormwood, Origanum, each, in coarse powder, half a troy ounce; Alcohol 
a fluidounce; Claret Wine two pints. Mix the Alcohol and Wine, and, having moistened the 
powders with a portion of the mixture, pack the mass in a percolator, and pour upon it the 
remainder of the menstruum. When the liquid has disappeared, add Alcohol diluted with 
three times its bulk of water, until a pint of filtered liquid has passed.” The alcohol is added 
to the claret wine to give it greater stability. Though not officinal, we are informed that this 
wine, the formula for which was introduced from France, is much employed in this neigh- 
bourhood, and to some extent elsewhere in the U. States. It no doubt possesses strong tonic 
and aromatic properties, and may be used in cases of enfeebled digestion, especially when 
accompanied with gastric pains and flatulence; but its chief employment is externally by 
way of fomentation, and as a stimulant to feeble and unhealthy ulcers. It possesses the 
advantage over the aromatic and tonic tinctures that it is less stimulating. The dose may 
be from one to four fluidrachms. W. 
WINTER’S BARK. Wintera. U. S. 1850. The Bark of Drimys Winleri. The following is 
introduced from Part I., because the medicine is no longer recognised in the U. S. Pharma- 
copoeia. The genus Drimys belongs to Polyandria Tetragynia in the Linnaoan system, and to 
the natural order Magnoliacese (Juss.), Winteraceas (Lindley). The following is the generic 
character. '■‘■Calyx with two or three deep divisions. Corolla with two or three petals, some- 
times more numerous. Stamens with the filaments thickened at the summit, and anthers 
having two separate cells. Ovaries from four to eight, changing into the same number of 
small, many-seeded berries.” (A. Richard.) This plant, which is figured in Carson's Illustra- 
tions of Medical Botany (i. 11, pi. 5), is an evergreen tree, varying very much in size, some- 
times rising forty or fifty feet in height, sometimes not more than six or eight feet. The 
bark of the trunk is gray, that of the branches green and smooth. Its leaves are alternate, 
petiolate, oblong, obtuse, somewhat coriaceous, entirely smooth, green on their upper sur- 
face, of a pale-bluish colour beneath, with two caducous stipules at their base. The flowers 
are small, sometimes solitary, but more frequently in clusters of three or four, upon the 
summit of a common peduncle about an inch in length, simple, or divided into as many 
pedicels as there are flowers. The tree is a native of the southern parts of South America, 
growing along the Straits of Magellan, and extending as far north as Chili. According to 
Martius, it is found also in Brazil. The bark of the tree was brought to England, in the 
latter part of the sixteenth century, by Captain Winter, who attended Drake in his voyage 
round the world, and while in the Straits had learned its aromatic and medicinal properties. 
Since that period, a bark has been occasionally employed in medicine under the name of 
Winter’s bark; but it is now believed not to have been derived from Drimys Winteri; as 
it does not correspond with the specimens of the bark derived from that tree, still preserved 
in the cabinets of Europe. The origin of the commercial Winter’s bark is unknown. The fol- 
lowing is the description of a specimen which came into our possession many years since. It 
corresponds closely with Guibourt’s description of commercial Winter’s bark. It is in quilled 
pieces, usually a foot in length, and an inch or more in diameter, appearing as if scraped 
or rubbed on the outside, where the colour is pale-yellowish or reddish-gray, with red el- 
liptical spots. On the inside the colour is that of cinnamon, though sometimes blackish. 
The pieces are sometimes flat and very large. The bark is two or three lines in thickness, 
hard and compact, and when broken exhibits on the exterior part of the fracture a grayish 
colour, which insensibly passes into reddish or yellowish towards the interior. The powder 
resembles in colour that of Peruvian bark. The odour is aromatic, the taste spicy, pungent, 
and even burning. Winter’s bark was found by M. Henry to contain resin, volatile oil, 
colouring matter, tannic acid, several salts of potassa, malate of lime, and oxidized iron. 
The presence of tannic acid and oxide of iron serves to distinguish it from canella alba, 
with which it has often been confounded. The bark above described as commercial Win- Woorari. 
PART III. 
ter’s baftt is destitute both of tannic acid and oxide of iron, and cannot, therefore, be the 
bark examined by M. Ilenry.* 
Medical Properties and Uses. Winter’s bark is a stimulant aromatic tonic, and was em- 
ployed by Winter as a remedy for scurvy. It may be used for similar purposes with cin- 
namon or canella alba, but is scarcely known in the medical practice of this country. The 
dose of the powder is about half a drachm. Another species, the Drimys Chilensis of He Can- 
dolle, growing in Chili, yields a bark having similar properties. (Carson, Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., xix. 81.) W. 
WOORARI. Woorara. Woorali. Urari. Curare. This is a powerful poison, prepared by 
the aborigines in the interior of British Guiana, and used for arming the points of their 
weapons. Various opinions have been advanced in relation to its source and preparation; 
but the most probable account is that of Dr. Hancock, who states, from information derived 
from the natives, that it is a watery extract from the bark of a gourd-like plant. It has been 
stated that the plant producing it is a Strychnos, and Sir R. H. Schomburgk, who claims to 
have seen the plant, proposes to name it Strychnos toxifera. But the facts, that the poison 
acts in a mode directly opposite to that of strychnia in destroying life, ai d that chemists 
have been unable to detect that alkaloid in it, are, we think, sufficient proof that Schotn- 
burgk must have been mistaken on this point. (See Pharm. Journ., xvi. 502.) It has also 
been conjectured that the poison from the fangs of serpents is mingled with, if it does not 
constitute the active ingredient of the woorari. But this is contradicted by those who have 
had the best opportunities of ascertaining its mode of preparation; and is also opposed by 
the fact, that, unlike the venom of snakes, this poison does not occasion local inflammation 
when inserted into a wound, but appears to act exclusively on the nervous system, through 
the medium of the blood. In order that it may act, it must find entrance into the circulation; 
and hence, when swallowed, it does not in general prove poisonous, either because it cannot 
penetrate the mucous membrane, or because it is altered in the stomach. It would not, how- 
ever, be altogether safe to rely on its innoxiousness when swallowed; for, in an empty con- 
dition of the stomach, and taken in large doses, it has b en found by Dr. John W. Green aud 
others to cause death in some animals. (Am. Med. Gaz., vi. 299.) It appears also, from the 
experiments of MM. Pelouze and Bernard, to be absorbed as quickly from the air-passages 
as when inserted into the cellular tissue, and. when thrown into the rectum, produces its 
peculiar effects, though very slowly. (Journ. de Pharm., Aout. 1856, p. 150.) 
When the poison is inserted in a wound, the animal speedily falls into stupor, and dies 
iii a few minutes, the heart continuing to act for some time after respiration has ceased. 
If artificial respiration is resorted to before the heart has ceased to act, and is sustained, 
the animal recovers. From numerous experiments, performed by different persons, there 
is reason to believe that woorari acts by paralyzing the nervous centres of respiration and 
motion, without producing essentially any discoverable alteration in the blood or solid 
tissues. Its action is, therefore, directly opposite to that of strychnia; and it is said to 
serve as an antidote to that poison by producing relaxation of the contracted muscles. Its 
peculiar mode of action has even suggested its remedial use in tetanus. A horse suffering 
tinder tetanus was inoculated by Mr. Sewell with woorari. In ten minutes apparent death 
was produced, when the animal was revived by artificial respiration; and the symptoms 
of tetanus did not return, though death occurred next day, as was supposed, from over- 
eating. (Pharm. Journ., xvi. 506.) In several cases of tetanus in which it was tried by M. 
L. Vella, in an hospital at Turin, it appeared to afford relief in all, and in one instance 
recovery took place. (Arch. G6n., Oct. 1850, p. 1.) But as we have other medicines at least 
equally effectual, and of which the precise strength is better known, it would not be ad- 
visable to trust a case to this remedy. It is said that chlorine and bromine neutralize en- 
tirely the effects of the poison (Ibid., p. 504); and, from the experiments of Drs. Brainard 
and Green, there can be little doubt that iodine has the same effect. It was ascertained by 
them that woorari, mixed with solution of iodine and iodide of potassium, had no effect 
when introduced into a wound; and that, if introduced alone, its effects were quite neu- 
tralized by subsequent injection of the solution; a cupping-glass being applied so as to 
prevent the absorption of the poison before the iodine could be brought into contact with 
*M. Ouibourt, in the third edition of his “Drogues Simples,” published in 1850, gives the following description 
of a specimen of the true Winter’s bark, presented to him by llobert Brown, and labelled “ Port Famine, Captain 
P. King, Drimys Winteri.” The bark is 3 millimetres (1-18 of an inch) thick, and covered with a grayish-white, 
very thin, and rather smooth epidermis. It is of a deep reddish-brown colour internally, and has a spongy ap- 
pearance, especially in the part in contact with the wood, where it appears to be formed of longitudinal, radiating, 
ligneous layers, isolated one from the other. It has a strong odour, somewhat analogous to that of canella and 
Blightly cmnphorous, and a taste in like manner very aromatic, with considerable acrimony. Another specimen 
brought from the Straits of Magellan, in 1840, boars a close resemblance to the above, being in quills as large as the 
little finger, with a thickness of 2 millimetres, and an epidermis thin, smooth, and of a whiteness strongly contrasting 
with the reddish-brown colour of the interior. Beneath the epidermis there is a certain number of very compact con- 
centric layers; but most of the thickness of the bark is formed of radiating and distinct ligneous layers, altogether 
like those of the preceding specimen. Guibourt also describes the barks of two other species of Drimys, those of D. 
Mexicana and D. Granatmsis, growing respectively in Mexico and New Granada, both of which have considerable 
resemblance to the preceding.—(Tom. iii. pp. 681, 682.) PART III. 
Wrightia Antidysenterica.—Zea Mays. 
1623 
it. (Am. Med. Gaz., vii. 305.) Attempts have heen made to isolate the poisonous principle 
of woorari, but without satisfactory results. Dr. Ileintz succeeded in obtaining the poison 
in an exceedingly concentrated form, but does not appear to have separated the pure active 
principle. (Ibid., vii. 6.) 
Since the publication of the eleventh edition of the Dispensatory, elaborate and highly 
interesting experiments have been made by Drs. Wm. A. Hammond and S. Weir Mitchell 
on the woorari poison, of which we give a brief abstract, referring for a full account of 
them to a communication by those gentlemen to the American Journal of the Medical Sci- 
ences (July, 1859, p. 13). The specimens operated on were of two kinds, named respect- 
ively corroval and vao, and were brought by Drs. lluschenberger and Caldwell, of the U. S. 
Navy, from New Granada, S. America. 1. Woorari, variety Corroval. This was in dark- 
brown lumps, having the appearance of a vegetable extract, and of an intensely bitter and 
persistent taste. Under the microscope it presented the appearance of vegetable remains, 
but nothing animal. It yielded its active properties to water and alcohol, and was found 
to contain a peculiar alkaloid, which they propose to call corrovalia, and which they ascer- 
tained to produce on the system the same effects as corroval itself. These were to some 
extent similar to those obtained from woorari by preceding experimenters, yet with so 
much difference as to lead to the conclusion, that the poison was derived from a different 
source. In a few minutes after the introduction of the poison through a wound, paralytic 
phenomena became obvious, and the animal soon died, without preliminary spasm or con- 
vulsions. But the heart, instead of continuing to act after apparent death, had entirely 
ceased to beat, and had quite lost its irritability, so that it could not be excited by galva- 
nism. They inferred that the action of the poison is directly and primarily on the heart, 
possibly through the ganglia contained in its tissue. The capillary circulation was always 
arrested a minute or two before the heart’s actions, which the authors ascribe to paralysis 
of the sympathetic. There was no evidence whatever, whether chemical or physiological, 
of the presence of strychnia in the poison. 2. Woorari, variety Vao or Bao. This, like the 
preceding, had the characters of a vegetable extract, with a large proportion of vegetable 
but none of animal remains. It contained the same alkaloid as the corroval but in smaller 
proportion; and its effects on the system, though much feebler than those of the other va- 
riety, were of the same general character. They inferred from their observations that it 
was the same poison, but in a diluted state. AY. 
AVRIGIITIA ANTIDYSENTERICA. (R. Brown.) Nerium antidysentericum. (Linn.) An 
East India tree, belonging to the Apocynacese, the bark of which was, about a century 
since, in some repute in Europe as a remedy in dysentery, diarrhoea, and febrile diseases. 
Though no longer used in Europe, it still retains its reputation in India among the native 
practitioners. Dr. Stenhouse has recently examined the seeds of this plant, and obtained 
from them, besides a fixed oil which they contain in large quantity, a peculiar principle 
called by him wrightine, which though uncrystallizable, and forming uncrystallizable com- 
pounds with the acids, has claims to be ranked with the alkaloids. Both wrightine and 
its salts have an extremely persistent bitterness. For further particulars in reference to it, 
the reader is referred to the Pharmaceutical Journal (April, 1864, p. 493). AY. 
XANTIIORRIICEA RESINS. Two resinous substances, the products of different species 
of Xanthorrhoea, have been introduced into England from New Holland. They are obtained 
by spontaneous exudation from the stems of the plants, which are usually shrubs. One 
of the resins is yellow and the other red. The yellow variety is in tears, in flattish pieces 
having on one side the mark of the stem, or in masses of various size and irregular shape. 
It has a reddish-yellow colour, resembling gamboge when broken, and when heated emits 
a fragrant odour like that of Tolu balsam. It contains resin, cinnamic and benzoic acids, 
and a trace of volatile oil, and may therefore be ranked among the balsams. AVhen heated 
with nitric acid, it yields a large product of carbazotic acid. In medical properties it is 
said to bear a close resemblance to storax and the balsam of Tolu. A tincture, made in 
the proportion of two ounces to a pint of alcohol, may be given in the dose of one or two 
fluidrachms. The red variety resembles dragon’s blood in colour, and appears to be ana- 
logous to the other variety in properties. The above account has been abridged from that 
of Dr. Pereira in the third edition of his Materia Medica. AY. 
ZEA MAYS. Indian Corn. Maize. The common Indian corn of this country, analyzed 
by Mr. Archibald Poison, of Paisley, Scotland, yielded as the average result from three 
varieties, 12-16 per cent, of water, 1-67 of ashes, 8-83 of gluten, 54-37 of starch, 15-77 of 
husk and vegetable fibre, 4-50 of fat, and 2-70 of gum and sugar. (Chem. Gaz., June 1, 
1855, p. 211.) The late Dr. Gorham, of Boston, found 1-50 per cent, of sulphate and phos- 
phate of lime. The meal, in the form of mush, makes an excellent emollient poultice, 
much used in hospitals; and a gruel may be prepared from it, which is sometimes more 
grateful to the sick than that made from oatmeal. A fungous product sometimes attends 
the growth of Indian corn, commonly known as the smut, which was submitted to exami- 
nation by Mr. C. H. Cressler, and found to contain the alkaloid discovered by AYinckler in Zedoary.—Zizyphus Vulgaris. 
PART III. 
ergot, and named by him secalin, now considered as a mere synonyme of propylamia. Be- 
sides the alkaloid, there were obtained a thick, viscid, fixed oil, a resin soluble in ether 
but not in alcohol, pectin, gluten, and a species of sugar. The morbid product may, there- 
fore, be considered as the ergot of maize. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., July, 1861, p. 306.) The 
fungus has received the title of TJstilago maidis. It is said to produce abortion in cows, 
when the diseased grain is eaten by them; and six drachms of this ergot produced the 
same effect on two pregnant bitches to which it was given to test its abortefacient property. 
[Ibid., Sept. 1861, p. 413; from Annal. Med. Vet. Beige.) W. 
ZEDOARY. Radix Zedoarise. There are two kinds of zedoary, the long and the round, 
distinguished by the old officinal titles of radix zedoarise longse, and radix zedoarise rotundse; 
the former produced by the Curcuma Zedoaria of Roxburgh, the latter, as some suppose, 
by the Ksempferia rotunda of Linn., but, according to others, by the Curcuma Zerumbet of 
Roxburgh. Both kinds come from the East Indies. The long zedoary is in slices, from an 
mch and a half to three inches in length, and from half an inch to an inch thick, obtuse 
at the extremities, and exhibiting the remains of the radical fibres. The round is also 
usually in slices, which are the sections of a roundish root, ending-in a point beneath, and 
divided longitudinally into two parts, each of which is flat on one side, convex on the 
other, and heart-shaped in its outline. Sometimes the root of the latter variety is entire, 
and sometimes in quarters instead of halves. It is marked with circular rings on the con- 
vex surface, and, like the former, with small projecting points which are the remains of 
radical fibres. Both are grayish-white on the outside, yellowish-brown within, hard, com- 
pact, of an agreeable aromatic odour, and a bitterish, pungent, campliorous taste. The 
round, however, is less spicy than the long. They yield a volatile oil when distilled with 
water. Zedoary is a warm, stimulating aromatic, useful in flatulent colic and debility of 
the digestive organs. It is not now employed, as it produces no effects which cannot be as 
well or better obtained from ginger. The dose is from ten grains to half a drachm. W. 
ZERUMBET. Cassumuniar. Under these names an East India root was formerly used, 
having some analogy in sensible and medical properties to ginger, and ascribed to the 
Zingiber Zerumbet of lloscoe. Some consider the cassumuniar as a distinct root, and refer 
it to the Zingiber Cassumuniar of Roxburgh. The difference of opinion is of little importance, 
as neither of the roots, supposing them not to be the same, is at present to be found in the 
markets. By some authors the zerumbet has been erroneously confounded with the round 
zedoary. Geiger describes it as in pieces of the size of a fig or larger, externally grayish- 
brown and wrinkled, internally yellowish, hard and tough, of a biting aromatic taste, and 
a spicy odour. W. 
ZIZYPIIUS VULGARIS. Lamarck. Rhamnus Zizyphus. Linn. A shrub, or small tree, 
growing on the shores of the Mediterranean, and cultivated in Italy, Spain, and the south 
of France. The fruit is the part used. This consists of oval drupes, of the size of a large 
olive, with a thin, coriaceous, red or reddish-brown skin, a yellowish, sweet, acidulous 
pulp, and an oblong, pointed stone in the centre. These have the officinal name of jvjubse. 
By drying, their pulp becomes softer and sweeter, and acquires a vinous taste, evincing the 
commencement of fermentation. They are nutritive and demulcent, and are used in the 
form of decoction in pectoral complaints. Jujube paste consists, properly, of gum arabic 
and sugar, dissolved in a decoction of this fruit, and evaporated to the proper consistence. 
As a demulcent, it is in no respect superior to a paste made with gum arabic and sugar 
alone; and the preparation commonly sold in this country under the name, contains in 
fact none of the fruit. 
The fruits of two other species of Zizyphus, Z. Lotus, growing in the north of Africa, 
and Z. Jujuba, a native of the East Indies, possess properties similar to those of the first- 
mentioned species, and are used as food by the inhabitants of the countries where they 
grow. W. APPENDIX. 
I. ART OF PRESCRIBING MEDICINES. 
The physician should be acquainted not only with the properties of medicines, 
and the diseases to which they are respectively applicable, but also with the art 
of prescribing them, so that they may be adapted to the peculiarities of individuaj 
patients, and, by the mode in which they are administered, may produce the 
greatest curative effect with the least possible inconvenience. In relation to these 
points, a few general rules will be useful for the guidance of the young prac- 
titioner, although much must be left to his own judgment and discretion. We shall 
compress the remarks which we have to offer, under the two heads of the quantity 
or dose in which medicines may be given, and the mode of their exhibition. 
1. Dose op Medicines.—In the body of the work, the quantity has been 
stated in which each medicine must ordinarily be given to produce its peculiar 
effects in the adult patient. But there are various circumstances which modify 
the dose, and demand attention on the part of the practitioner. 
The age of the patient is the most important of these circumstances. The 
young require a smaller dose than those of maturity, to produce an equal effect; 
and the old, though their systems are, perhaps, less susceptible to the action of 
medicines than those of the middle-aged, cannot bear an equally forcible impres- 
sion. The following table of Gaubius, exhibiting the doses proportioned to the 
age, is frequently referred to. 
The dose for a person of middle age being 1 or 1 drachm, 
That of a person from 14 to 21 years will be f or 2 scruples, 
T to 14 “ “ . \ or a drachm, 
4 to 7 “ 11 | or 1 scruple, 
of 4 years 11 or 15 grains, 
3 “ “ or 10 grains, 
2 “ “ or 8 grains, 
1 year “ yW or 5 grains- 
We prefer the following simple scheme of Dr. Young, extracted from Paris’s 
Pharraacologia. 
“For children under twelve years, the doses of most medicines must be di- 
minished in the proportion of the age to the age increased by twelve ; thus, at two 
2 
years to viz., = |. At twenty-one the full dose may be given.” 
2 -j-12 
To the above rule some exceptions are offered in particular medicines, which 
require to be given to children in much larger proportional doses than those 
above stated. Such are castor oil and calomel, a certain quantity of which will 
in general not produce a greater effect in a child two or three years old than 
double the quantity in an adult. 
Sex, temperament, and idiosyncrasy have also an influence upon the dose, and 
should be kept in view in prescribing. Females usually require somewhat smaller 
doses than males, and persons of sanguine temperament than the phlegmatic. 
Constitutional peculiarities, called idiosyncrasies, often exist in individuals, ren- 
dering them more than usually susceptible or insusceptible to the action of cer* 1626 
Appendix. 
tain remedies, the dose of which must be modified accordingly. Thus, in some 
persons a grain or two of calomel will excite salivation, while in others scarcely 
any quantity which can be safely administered will produce this effect. Some- 
times, moreover, a medicine operates on an individual in a manner wholly differ- 
ent from its ordinary mode. In all such cases experience is the only sure guide; 
but the occasional existence of these peculiarities indicates the propriety of 
making particular inquiries in relation to the idiosyncrasies of those patients, for 
whom we may be called for the first time to prescribe. 
Habit is another important circumstance which modifies the dose of medicines. 
Generally speaking, the susceptibility to the action of medicines is diminished 
by their frequent and continued use; and, in order to maintain a given impres- 
sion, the quantity must be regularly increased. This is especially true in regard 
to the narcotics, which are sometimes borne in enormous doses by those habit- 
uated to their use. It is a good practical rule in prescribing, when circumstances 
demand the continuance, for a considerable length of time, of some particular 
effect, to vary the medicine, and employ successively several with the same gen- 
eral powers, so as not too rapidly to exhaust the susceptibility to the action of 
any individual remedy. Another important practical rule connected with the in- 
fluence of habit is, when any medicine, which from its nature is of variable 
strength, has been employed for some time in increasing doses, to reduce the 
dose upon resorting to a new parcel, until its relative strength has been ascer- 
tained. A neglect of this precaution, in cases where the last parcel happened 
to be more powerful than that previously employed, has sometimes been followed 
by very serious consequences. 
2. Mode of Administering Medicines.—This has reference both to the com- 
bination of medicines with one another, and the form in which they are exhibited. 
Simplicity in prescription is always desirable, when no object is to be gained 
by deviating from it. Remedies should never be mixed together without a defi- 
nite purpose, nor with the vague hope that, out of the number prescribed, some 
one may perchance produce a salutary impression. Those exceedingly complex 
prescriptions, formerly so much in vogue, of which the ingredients were so 
numerous as to render altogether impossible a reasonable estimate of their bear- 
ing on each other, or their effects on disease, have been generally abandoned by 
modern practitioners. The only ground upon which any of them can be justifiably 
retained is that, by very frequent trials, through a long course of years, and in 
various states of disease, their influence on the system may have been fully ascer- 
tained, so that they may be considered rather in the light of a single remedy than 
a compound of many. Upon this ground, however, no prudent physician would 
attempt to originate such combinations. In mixing medicines, we ought to pro- 
ceed no further than we may be justified in doing by a clear knowledge of the 
properties and mutual relations of the several ingredients, and their fitness to 
answer some particular indication in the treatment of disease. There are certain 
principles upon which medicines may be advantageously combined, and which it 
may not be amiss to mention for the benefit of the young practitioner. 
Remedies of the same general character may be given in connection, in order 
to increase their energy, or to render their action more certain. It has been well 
ascertained that substances thus combined will often act vigorously, when, sever- 
ally, they would produce comparatively little effect; and it sometimes happens 
that, while their activity is augmented, they are at the same time rendered less 
irritating, as in the case of the drastic cathartics. (See Pilulx Catharticx Com- 
posit x.) 
Different medicines are very often mixed together, in order to meet different 
and coexisting indications, without any reference to the influence which they 
may reciprocally exert on each other. Thus, in the same patient we not unfre- 
quently meet with debility of stomach and constipation of the bowels, connected Appendix. 
with derangement of the hepatic function. To answer the indications presented 
by these morbid conditions, we may properly combine, in the same dose, a tonic, 
cathartic, and mercurial alterative. For similar reasons we often unite tonics, 
purgatives, and emmenagogues, anodynes and diaphoretics, emetics and cathar- 
tics, antacids, astringents, and tonics; and scarcely two medicines can be men- 
tioned, not absolutely incompatible with each other, which may not occasionally 
be combined with advantage to counteract coexisting morbid conditions. 
Another very important object of combination, is the modification which is 
thereby effected in the actions of medicines differing from each other in proper- 
ties. In this way new powers are sometimes developed, and those previously 
existing are greatly increased. Examples of such a result are afforded in the 
officinal powder of ipecacuanha and opium, and in the combination of squill and 
calomel; the former operating as a diaphoretic, the latter as a diuretic, beyond 
the capabilities of either of their constituents. The effects of one medicine are, 
in numerous instances, increased by the influence of another in augmenting the 
natural susceptibility of the system to its action. Thus, bitters enable cathartics 
to operate in smaller doses; purgatives awaken the dormant susceptibility to 
the action of mercury; and stimulants excite the torpid stomach, so that it will 
receive impressions from various medicines before inoperative. In some instances, 
the action of one medicine is promoted by that of another apparently of a nature 
wholly opposite. Thus, when calomel and opium are given in colic, the purga- 
tive operation of the former is facilitated by the relaxation of intestinal spasm 
produced by the latter. Medicines, in addition to the effects for which they are 
administered, very frequently produce disagreeable symptoms, which may be 
moderated or altogether prevented by combination with other medicines; and 
this object may usually be accomplished, without in the least degree interfering 
with the remediate influence desired. Thus, the griping produced by cathartics, 
and the nausea by these and various other medicines, may often be corrected by 
the simultaneous use of aromatics. To cover the disagreeable taste or odour of 
1 certain medicines, and to afford a convenient vehicle for their administration, 
are also important objects of combination; as upon these circumstances often 
depend the acceptability of the medicine to the stomach, and even the possibility 
of inducing the patient to swallow it. Substances should be preferred as vehi- 
cles which are calculated to render the medicind acceptable to the palate and 
stomach, and in other ways to correct its disagreeable effects; as syrups for 
powders, the aromatic waters for medicines given in the form of mixture, and 
carbonic acid water for the neutral salts. 
But, in the mixing of medicines, care should be taken that they are neither 
chemically nor physiologically incompatible; in other words, that they are not 
such as will react on each other so as to produce new and unexpected combi- 
nations, nor such as will exert contrary and opposite effects upon the system. 
Thus, when the operation of an acid is desired, an alkali should not be given at 
the same time, as they unite to form a third substance entirely different from 
either; nor should a soluble salt of lime, baryta, or lead be given with sulphu- 
ric acid or a soluble sulphate, as decomposition would ensue, with the produc- 
tion of an inert compound. So, also, in relation to physiological incompatibility, 
diaphoretics and diuretics should not, as a general rule, be united with a view 
to their respective effects; as these are to a certain extent incompatible, one 
being diminished by whatever has a tendency to increase the other. There are 
cases, however, in which we may advantageously combine medicines with a view 
to cneir chemical reaction, as in the instance of the effervescing draught; and 
circumstances sometimes call for the union of remedies apparently opposite, as 
in the case of colic before alluded to, in which opium may be advantageously 
combined with purgatives. Still, such combinations should never be formed, 
unless with a full understanding of their effects, and a special reference to them. 1628 
Appendix, 
The form in which medicines are exhibited is often an object of consider- 
able importance. By variation in this respect, according to the nature of the 
medicine, the taste of the patient, or the condition of the stomach, we are fre 
quently enabled to secure the favourable operation of remedies, which, without 
such attention, might prove useless or injurious. Medicines may be given in 
the solid state, as in the form of powder, pill, troche, or electuary; in the state 
of mixture, in which a solid is suspended in a liquid, or one liquid is mechani- 
cally mixed with another in which it is insoluble; or in the state of solution, 
under which may be included the various forms of infusion, decoction, tincture, 
wine, vinegar, syrup, honey, and oxymel. Of these different forms we have 
already treated sufficiently at large, under their respective heads, in the second 
part of this work. 
In writing extemporaneous prescriptions, neatness, order, and precision should 
always be observed; as, independently of the pleasing moral effect inseparable 
from these principles in all things, a positive practical advantage results, in the 
greater accuracy which the habit of attending to them gives to the prescriber, 
and the comparative certainty which they afford that his directions will be strictly 
complied with. As a general rule, when medicines are combined in prescription, 
that should come first in order which is considered as the most prominent and 
important, next the adjuvant or corrigent, and lastly the vehicle. Sometimes, 
however, it is important to indicate to the apothecary the succession in which 
the substances should be combined, in reference to the perfection of the mix- 
ture ; and this may render convenient a deviation from the order above men- 
tioned. The physician should always be careful either to write out the full name 
of the medicine, or to employ such abbreviations as are not likely, by the mis- 
understanding of an ill-formed letter, to lead into error. Very serious and even 
fatal mistakes have been occasioned by a neglect of this precaution. The for- 
mulas of the several Pharmacopoeias which are detailed in this work, will serve 
as good examples for the guidance of the young practitioner. The following table 
explains the signs and abbreviations habitually used in prescriptions. The for- 
mulas afterwards given will serve to illustrate the ordinary mode of prescribing, 
while they exhibit combinations of medicines frequently employed in practice. W. 
R 
Recipe. 
Take. 
Collyr. 
Collyrium. 
An eye-water. 
aa 
Ana. 
Of each. 
Cong. 
Congius vel 
A gallon or gaJ- 
lb 
Libra vel librae. 
A pound or 
congii. 
Ions. 
pounds. 
Decoct. 
Decoctum. 
A decoction. 
5 
Uncia vel unciae. 
An ounce or 
Ft. 
Fiat. 
Make. 
ounces. 
Garg. 
Gargarysma. 
A gargle. 
s 
Drachma vel 
A drachm or 
Gr. 
Granum vel 
A grain or 
drachmae. 
drachms. 
grana. 
grains. 
3 
Scrupulus vel 
A scruple or 
Gtt. 
Gutta vel guttae. 
A drop or drops. 
scrupuli. 
scruples. 
Haust. 
Haustus. 
A draught. 
0 
Octarius vel oc- 
A pint or pints. 
Infus. 
Infusum. 
An infusion. 
tarii. 
M. 
Misce. 
Mix. 
fg 
Fluiduncia vel 
A fluidounce or 
Mass. 
Massa. 
A mass. 
fluidunciae. 
tiuidounces. 
Mist. 
Mistura. 
A mixture. 
f3 
Fluidrachma vel 
A fluidrachm or 
Pil. 
Pilula vel 
A pill or pills. 
fluidrachmae. 
fluidrachms. 
pilulse. 
"1 
Minimum vel 
A minim or 
Pulv. 
Pulvis vel pul- 
A powder or 
minima. 
minims. 
veres. 
powders. 
Chart. 
Chartula vel 
A small paper 
Q. S. 
Quantum suffi- 
A sufficient 
chartulae. 
or papers. 
cit. 
quantity. 
Coch. 
Cochlear vel 
A spoonful or 
S. 
Signa. 
Write. 
cochlearia. 
spoonfuls. 
Ss. 
Semis. 
A half. 
Table of Signs and Abbreviations. Appendix, 
1629 
Examples of Common Extemporaneous Prescriptions. 
R Antimonii et Potassae Tartratis gr. i. 
Pulveris Ipecacuanhae 
Fiat pulvis. 
S. To be taken in a wineglassful of 
sweetened water. 
An active emetic. 
R Hydrargyri Chloridi Mitis, 
Pulveris Jalapse, aa, gr. x. 
Misce. 
S. To be taken in syrup or molasses. 
An excellent cathartic in the commence- 
ment of bilious fevers, and in hepatic con- 
gestion. 
R Pulveris Jalapae gr. x. 
Potassae Bitartratis gii. 
Misce. 
S. To be taken in syrup or molasses. 
A hydragogue cathartic, used in drop- 
sy, and in scrofulous inflammation of the 
joint's. 
R Sulphuris gi. 
Potassae Bitartratis gii. 
Misce. 
S. To be taken in syrup or molasses. 
A laxative used in piles and cutaneous 
diseases. 
R Pulveris Rhei gr. x. 
Magnesiae gss. 
Fiat pulvis. 
S. To be taken in syrup or molasses. 
A laxative and antacid, used in diarrhoea, 
dyspepsia, &c. 
Powders. 
R Pulveris Scillae gr. xii. 
Potassae Nitratis gi. 
Fiat pulvis, in chartulas sex dividendus. 
S. One to be taken twice or three times a 
day in syrup or molasses. 
A diuretic employed in dropsy. 
R Potassae Nitratis gi. 
Antimonii et Potassae Tartratis gr. i. 
Hydrargyri Chloridi Mitis gr. vi. 
Fiat pulvis, in chartulas sex dividendus. 
S. One to be taken every two hours in 
syrup or molasses. 
A refrigerant, diaphoretic, and alterative, 
used in bilious fevers; usually called nitrous 
powders. 
R Pulveris Guaiaci Resinae, 
Potassae Nitratis, aa, gi. 
Pulveris Ipecacuanhae gr. iii. 
Opii gr. ii. 
Fiat pulvis, in chartulas sex dividendus. 
S. One to be taken every three hours in 
syrup or molasses. 
A stimulant diaphoretic, used in rheu- 
matism and gout after sufficient depletion. 
R Ferri Subcarbonatis, 
Pulveris Colombae, 
Pulveris Zingiberis, aa, gi. 
Fiat pulvis, in chartulas sex dividendus. 
S. One to be taken three times a day in 
syrup or molasses. 
A tonic, used in dyspepsia and general 
debility. 
Pills. 
R Pulveris Aloes, 
Pulveris Rhei, aa, gss. 
Saponis £)i. 
Misce, et cum aqufi fiat massa in pilulas 
viginti dividenda. 
S. Two or three to be taken daily, at 
bedtime, or before a meal. 
An excellent laxative in habitual consti- 
pation. 
R Massae Pilularum Hydrargyri, 
Pulveris Aloes, 
Pulveris Rhei, aa, Qi. 
Misce, et cum aqua fiat massa in pilulas 
viginti dividenda. 
S. Three to be taken at bedtime. 
An alterative and laxative, useful in con- 
stipation with deranged or deficient hepatic 
secretion. 
R Pulveris Aloes, 
Extracti Quassiae, aa, gi. 
Olei Anisi nix. 
Syrupi q. s. 
Misce, et fiat massa in pilulas triginta 
dividenda. 
S. Two to be taken once, twice, or three 
times a day. 
A laxative, tonic, and carminative, useful 
in dyspepsia. 
R Pulveris Scillae 
Hydrargyri Chloridi Mitis gr. x. 
Pulveris Acaciae, 
Syrupi, aa, q. s. 
Misce, et fiat massa in pilulas decern divi- 
denda. 
S. One to be taken twice or three times a 
day. 
A diuretic and alterative, much used in 
dropsy, especially when complicated with 
organic visceral disease. 
R Pulveris Opii gr. iv. 
Pulveris Ipecacuanhas gr. xviii. 
Pulveris Acaciae, 
Syrupi, aa, q. s. 
Misce, et fiat massa in pilulas duodecim 
dividenda. Appendix, 
S. One to be taken after each stool. 
An anodyne diaphoretic, useful in dysen- 
tery and diarrhoea after the use of laxatives. 
R Pulveris Opii, 
Pulveris Ipecacuanhas, aa, gr. iii. 
Hydrargyri Chloridi Mitis gr. vi. 
Pulveris Acaciae, 
Syrupi, aa, q. s. 
Misce, et fiat massa in pilulas tres divi- 
denda. 
S. One or more to be taken at bedtime, 
or according to circumstances. 
An anodyne, diaphoretic, and alterative, 
very useful in diarrhoea, dysentery, typhoid 
pneumonia, and various other diseases. 
R Plumbi Acetatis, in pulv. triti, gr. xii. 
Pulveris Opii gr. i. 
Pulv. Acaciae, 
Syrupi, aii, q. s. ut fiat massa in pilulas 
sex dividenda. 
S. One every two, three, or four hours. 
An astringent much employed in haemo 
ptysis and uterine hemorrhage. 
Mixtures. 
R Magnesiae 51. 
Syrupi fji. 
Tere simul, et affunde 
Aquae Acidi Carbonici, f^iv. 
Fiat haustus. 
S. To be taken at a draught, the mixture 
being well shaken. 
An agreeable mode of administering mag- 
nesia. 
R Mannas ||i. 
Foeuiculi contusi zi. 
Aquae hullientis f^iv. 
Fiat infusum et cola; dein adjice 
Magnesiae Carbonatis gii. 
' Ft. mist. 
S. One-third to be taken every three or 
four hours till it operates, the mixture being 
shaken. 
An excellent carminative and mild laxa- 
tive in flatulence and pain in the bowels. 
R Olei Ricini f^i. 
Pulveris Acaciae, 
Sacchari. aa, gii. ( 
Aquae Menthae Piperitae fjfiii. 
Acaciam et saccharum cum fluiduncia di- 
midia aquae menthae tere; dein oleum adjice, 
et contere; denique aquam reliquam paula- 
tim infunde, et omnia misce. 
S. To be taken at a draught, the mixture 
being well shaken. 
R Olei Ricini f jji. 
Vitellum ovi unius. 
Tere simul, et adde 
Syrupi fjjss. 
Aquae Menthae Piperitae f^ii. 
Ft. haus’t. 
S. To be taken at a draught, the mix- 
ture being well shaken. 
This and the preceding formula afford 
convenient modes of administering castor 
oil, when the stomach is irritable. Any 
other fixed oil may be given in the same 
way. Half the quantity will often answer. 
R Olei Ricini f^iss. 
Tincturae Opii hhxxx. 
Pulv. Acaciae, 
Sacchari, ua, gii. 
Aquae Menthae Viridis f^iv. 
Ac«aciam et saccharum cum paululo aqua* 
menthae tere; dein oleum adjice, et iterum 
tere; denique aquam reliquam paulatim in- 
funde, et omnia misce. 
S. A tablespoonful to be taken every 
hour or two hours till it operates, the mix- 
ture being each time well shaken. 
Used as a gentle laxative in dysentery 
and diarrhoea. It is usually known by the 
name of oleaginous mixture. 
R Elaterii gr. i. 
Spiritus iEtheris Nitrosi f^ii. 
Tincturae Scillae, 
Vini Colchici Had., aa, f^ss. 
Syrupi fgi. 
Ft. mist. 
S. A tablespoonful to be taken three or 
four times a day in a little water. 
Diuretic, used by Ferriar in dropsy. 
R Copaibae, 
Spiritus Lavandulae Comp., aa, fsjii. 
Mucilaginis Acacias f^ss. 
Syrupi fgiii. 
Simul tere; dein paulatim affunde 
Aquae f 3;iv. 
Misce. 
S. A tablespoonful to be taken four times 
a day, or more frequently. 
Given in chronic catarrh, and chronic ne- 
phritic affections. The dose must be larger 
in gonorrhoea. 
Neutral Mixture. 
R Acidi Citrici gii. 
Olei Limonis flLi. 
Simul tere, et adde 
Aquae fj^iv. 
Liqua, et adde 
Potassae Carbonatis q. s. ad saturand. 
Misce, et per linteum cola. 
Or, 
R Succi Limonis recentis f i^iv. 
Potassae Carbonatis q. s. ad saturandum. 
Misce, et cola. 
S. A tablespoonful to be given, with an 
equal quantity of water, every hour or two 
hours. 
An excellent diaphoretic in fever. Appendix, 
1631 
Effervescing Draught. 
R Potassae Carbonatis 
Aquae f Jiv. 
Liqua. 
Or, 
R Potassae Bicarbonatis 
Aquae f ijiv. 
Liqua. 
S. Add a tablespoonful of the solution 
to the same quantity of lemon or lime-juice, 
previously mixed with a tablespoonful of 
water; and give the mixture in the state of 
etfervescence, every hour or two hours. 
An excellent diaphoretic and anti-emetic 
in fever with nausea or vomiting. 
Brown Mixture. 
R Pulv. Extract. Glycyrrhizae, 
Pulv. Acaciae, aa, sjii. 
Aquae ferventis fjiv. 
Liqua, et adde 
Vini Antimonii fgii. 
Tinciurae Opii fl^xx. 
Ft. mist. 
S. A tablespoonful to be taken occasion- 
ally. 
Expectorant, demulcent, and anodyne, 
useful in catarrhal affections. 
R Antimonii et Potassae Tartratis gr. i. 
Syrupi Scillae, 
Liquoris Morphiae Sulphatis, aa, 
Pulveris Acaciae gii. 
Syrupi f^ss. 
Aquae f^iv. 
Ft mist. 
S. A tablespoonful to be taken occasion- 
ally. 
An expectorant and anodyne cough mix- 
ture. 
R Acidi Nitrosi fcji. 
Tinciurae Opii gtt. xl. 
Aquae Camphorae f3viii. 
Misce. 
S. One-fourth to be taken every three oi 
four hours. 
Hope’s mixture, used in dysentery, diar- 
rhoea, and cholera. 
R Camphorae tji. 
Myrrhae tjss. 
Pulv. Acaciae, 
Sacchari, aa, gii. 
Aquae f^vi. 
Camphoram cum alcoholis paululo in pul- 
verem tere; dein cum myrrha, acacia, et 
saccharo contere; denique cum aqua paula- 
tim instillata misce. 
S. A tablespoonful to be taken for a,dose, 
the mixture being well shaken. 
A convenient form for administering cam- 
phor. 
R Cretae Praeparatae Qiv. 
Massae Pil. Hydrarg. gr. viii. 
Tincturae Opii gtt. viii. 
Pulveris Acaciae, 
Sacchari, aa, gi. 
Aquae Cinnamomi, 
Aquae, aa, f?i. 
Solida simul tere, dein liquida paulatim 
inter terendum adjice, et omnia misce. 
S. A teaspoonful to be taken for a dose, 
the mixture being well shaken. 
An antacid and alterative mixture, well 
adapted to infantile diarrhoea, with white 
stools. The dose mentioned is for a child a 
year or two old, and may be repeated four 
or six times in twenty-four hours. 
R Pulveris Kino gii. 
Aquae bullientis f^vi. 
Fiat infusum et cola; dein secundum 
artem admisce, 
Cretae Praeparatae 
Tincturae Opii fgss. 
Spiritffs Lavandulae Compositi f^ss. 
Pulveris Acaciae, 
Sacchari, aii, 
S. A tablespoonful to be taken for a dose», 
the mixture being well shaken. 
Astringent and antacid, useful in diar- 
rhoea. 
Solutions. 
R Magnesiae Sulphatis 
Syrupi Limonis f^i. 
Aquae Acidi Carbonici fljvi. 
Misce. 
S. To be taken at a draught. 
An agreeable mode of administering sul- 
phate of magnesia. 
R Potassae Nitratis gi. 
Antimonii et Potassae Tartratis gr. i. 
Aquas fjiv. 
Li qua. 
S. A tablespoonful to be taken every two 
hours 
A refrigerant diaphoretic, used in fevers. 
R Magnesite Sulphatis gi. 
Antimonii et Potassae Tartratis gr. i. 
Succi Limonis recentis f^i. 
Aquas f^iii. 
Misce. 
S. A tablespoonful to be taken every two 
hours till it operates upon the bowels. 
Useful in fevers. 
R Quiniae Sulphatis gr. xii. 
Acidi Sulphurici Aromatici gtt. xxiv. 
Syrupi f^ss. 
Aquae Menthae Piperitae fji. 
Misce. 1632 
Appendix. 
S. A teaspoonful to be taken every hour 
or two hours. 
A good mode of administering sulphate 
of quinia in solution. 
Infusions. 
R Sennae 5jiii. 
Magnesim Sulphatis, 
Mannae, aa, :jss. 
Foeniculi gi. 
Aquae bullientis Oss. 
Macera per koram in vase leviter clauso, 
et cola. 
S. A teacupful to be taken every four or 
five hours till it operates. 
An excellent purgative in febrile com- 
plaints. 
R Colombae contusae, 
Zingiberis contusi, aii, 
Sennae gii. 
Aquae bullientis Oi. 
Macera per horfim in vase leviter clauso, 
et cola. 
S. A wineglassful to be taken morning, 
noon, and evening, or less frequently if it 
operate too much. 
An excellent remedy in dyspepsia with 
constipation and flatulence. 
R Spigeliae 3ss. 
Sennae gii. 
Mannae 
Fceniculi 
Aquas bullientis Oi. 
Macera per lioram in vase leviter clauso, 
et cola. 
S. A wineglassful to be given to a child 
from two to four years old, three or four 
times a day. 
A powerful anthelmintic. 
R Pulveris Cinch onae Itubrae 
Acidi Sulphurici Aromatici f^i. 
Aquae Oi. 
Macera per horas duodecim, subinde agi- 
tans. 
S. A wineglassful of the clear liquid to 
be taken for a dose. 
A good method of administering Peruvian 
bark in cold infusion. Appendix. 
1633 
II. TABLES OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. 
APOTHECARIES’ WEIGHT. U. S. 
Pound- Troyounces. 
Drachms. 
Scruples. 
Troy Grains. 
ft) 1 = 12 = 
96 = 
288 
= 5760 
l 1 = 
8 = 
24 
= 480 
3 1 = 
3 
= 60 
9 1 
= gr. 20 
The Imperial Standard Troy weight, at present recognised by the British 
laws, corresponds with the Apothecaries’ weight in pounds, ounces, and grains, but 
differs from it in the division of the ounce, which, according to the former scale, 
contains twenty pennyweights, each weighing twenty-four grains. 
Pound. Ounces. 
Drachms. 
Troy Grains. 
ft 1 = 16 
= 256 
= 7000 
oz. 1 
= 16 
= 437-5 
dr. 1 
= gr. 27-34375 
AVOIRDUPOIS WEIGHT. Br. 
Pound. 
1 Troy = 
Pounds. Pound. 
0-822857 Avoirdupois = 0 
Ounces. 
13 
Grains. 
72-5 
1 Avoirdupois = 
1-215277 Troy = 1 
2 
280 
Relative Value of Troy and Avoirdupois Weights. 
APOTHECARIES’ OR WINE MEASURE. U. S. 
Gallon. Pints. 
Fluidounces. 
Fluidrachms. 
Minims. 
Cubic Inches. 
Cong. 1 = 8 
= 128 
= 1024 = 
61440 = 
231 
0 1 
= 16 
= 128 = 
7680 = 
28-875 
fS l 
= 8 = 
480 = 
1-8047 
f3 l = 
"l 60 = 
•2256 
IMPERIAL MEASURE 
Adopted by the British Pharmacopoeia. 
Gallon. 
Pints. 
Fluidounces. 
Flui drachms. 
Minims. 
1 
= 8 
= 160 = 
1280 = 
76800 
1 
= 20 = 
160 = 
9600 
1 = 
8 = 
480 
1 = 
60 
Relative Value of Apothecaries' and Imperial Measure. 
apothecaries’ measure. 
IMPERIAL MEASURE. 
Pints. Fluidounces. 
Flnidrachms. 
Minims. 
1 gallon 
= 
6 13 
2 
23 
1 pint 
= 
16 
5 
18 
1 fluidounce 
= 
1 
0 
20 
1 fluidrachm 
= 
1 
2-5 
1 minim 
= 
104 
IMPERIAL MEASURE. 
APOTHECARIES’ 
MEASURE 
Gallon. Pints. Fluidoz. 
Fluid r. 
Minims. 
1 gallon 
= 
1 1 9 
5 
8 
1 pint 
= 
1 . 3 
1 
38 
1 fluidounce 
7 
41 
1 fluidrachm 
= 
58 
1 minim 
= 
0-96 
103 1634 
Appendix. 
Relative Value of Weights and Measures in Distilled Water at 
60° Fahrenheit. 
1. Value of Apothecaries’ Weight in Apothecaries’ Measure. 
Pints. 
Flnidoz. 
fluidr. 
Minims. 
1 pound = 
07900031 pints 
= 
0 
12 
5 
7-2238 
1 ounce = 
1 0533376 fluidounces 
— 
0 
1 
0 ' 
25-6020 
1 drachm = 
1-0533376 fluidrachms 
= 
0 
0 
1 
3-2002 
1 scruple = 
0 
0 
0 
21-0667 
1 grain = 
0 
0 
0 
1 0533 
2. Value of Apothecaries’ Measure in Apothecaries’ Weight. 
lb 
l 
3 
9 
Gr. 
Grains. 
1 gallon = 10-12654270 pounds = 10 
1 
4 
0 
8-88 = 58328'886 
1 pint = 1-26581783 pounds = 1 
3 
1 
1 
11-11 = 7291 1107 
1 fluidounce = 0-94936332 ounces = 0 
0 
7 
1 
15-69 = 
455-6944* 
1 fluidrachm = 0-94936332 drachms = 0 
1 minim = 0-94936332 grains = 
0 
0 
2 
16-96 = 56-9618 
•9493 
3. Value of Avoirdupois Weight in Apothecaries’ Measure. 
1 pound = 
= 0-9600732 pints 
Pints. 
= 0 
Fluidounces. Fluid rachms. Minims. 
15 2 53 3622 
1 ounce = 
= 0-9600732 fluidounces 
= 0 
0 7 40-8351 
4. Yalue of Apothecaries’ Measure in Avoirdupois Weight. 
1 gallon = 8‘33269800 pounds. 
1 pint = 1-04158725 pounds. 
1 fluidounce = 1‘041587 25 ounces. 
5. Value of Imperial Measure in Apothecaries’ and Avoirdupois Weights. 
Imperial Measure. 
Apothecaries’ Weight. 
Avoirdupois Weight. Grains. 
Cubic Inches. 
1 gallon = 
12 lb 15 
65 2 5 0 gr. 
= 101b 0 oz. = 70,000 
= 277-27384 
1 pint = 
1 6* 
1 2 10 
= 14 = 8,750 
= 34-65923 
1 fluidounce = 
7 0 17-5 
= 1 = 437-5 
= 1-73296 
1 fluidrachm = 
2 14-69 
= 54-69 
= 021662 
1 minim = 
•91 
= 0-00361 
In converting the weights of liquids heavier or lighter than water into mea- 
sures, or conversely, a correction must be made for specific gravity. In convert- 
ing weights into measures, the calculator may proceed as if the liquid was water, 
and the obtained measure will be to the true measure inversely as the specific 
gravity. In the converse operation, of turning measures into weights, the same 
assumption may be made, and the obtained weight will be to the true weight 
directly as the specific gravity. 
FORMER FRENCH WEIGHTS. 
Pound. Marc. 
Onces. 
Gros. Deniers. 
Grains. 
Troy Grains. 
Grammes. 
1 Poida de Marc = 2 
== 16 == 
128 = 384 
— 
9216 
7661 = 
489-5058 
1 Apothecary = 1-5 
= 12 = 
96 = 288 
= 
6912 
= 
6670-5 = 
367 1294 
1 
t= 8 = 
64 = 192 
= 
4608 
■—r 
3780-5 = 
244-7529 
1 = 
8 = 24 
= 
676 
ss 
472-5 = 
80-5941 
1 = 3 
= 
72 
S5- 
69-1 = 
3-8242 
1 
= 
24 
= 
19-7 = 
1-2747 
1 
= 
0-8 = 
•0530 
* Dr. W. H. Pile, in a communication to the American Jovrnal of Pharmacy, gives the fol- 
lowing weights of the fluidounce of water, on different authorities, at 60° F.: U. State* 
standard456-6216 grains; Sir G. Shuckburg (U. S. D.) 455-6944; Dritish standard 455-6910; 
average weight 455-6690. Appendix, 
1635 
Relative Value of Old French and English Weights. 
Poids de Marc. 
1 pound 
1 once (ounce) 
1 gros (drachm) 
1 grain 
Troy Weight. Avoirdupois. 
=a 1-312680 ft = 1 080143 ft 
= -984504 3 = 1-080143 oz. 
= -954504 5 — 
Troy Grains. 
= 7561 
= 472 5625 
59-0703125 
•820421 
Troy. 
1 pound 
1 ounce 
1 drachm 
1 grain 
Poids de Marc. 
= 0-76180 ft == 
= 1-01574 onces = 
= 1-01574 gros = 
French Graius. 
7561 
585-083 
73135 
1-219 
Avoirdupois. 
1 pound 
1 ounce 
Poids de Marc. 
= 0-925803 ft = 
= 0-925803 once = 
French Grains. 
8532-3 
533-27 
To convert French grains into Troy grains, divide by ) j.9^oq 
Troy grains into French grains, multiply by j 
French ounces into Troy ounces, divide by 1-015734 
Troy ounces into French ounces, multiply by j 
French pounds (poids de marc) into Troy ) 
pounds, multiply by >■ 1-31268. 
Troy pounds into French pounds, divide by ) 
FRENCH DECIMAL WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. 
The French metrical system is based upon the idea of employing, as the unit 
of all measures, whether of length, capacity, or weight, a uniform unchangeable 
standard, adopted from nature, the multiples and subdivisions of which should 
follow in decimal progression. To obtain such a standard, the length of one- 
fourth part of the terrestrial meridian, extending from the equator to the pole, 
was ascertained. The ten-millionth part of this arc was chosen as the unit of 
measures of length, and was denominated metre. The cube of the tenth part of 
the metre was taken as the unit of measures of capacity, and denominated litre. 
The weight of distilled water, at its greatest density, which this cube is capable 
of containing, was called kilogramme, of which the thousandth part was adopted 
as the unit of weight, under the name of gramme. The multiples of these mea- 
sures, proceeding in the decimal progression, are distinguished by employing the 
prefixes, deca, hecto, kilo, and myria, taken from the Greek numerals; and the 
subdivisions, following the same order, by deci, centi, milli, from the Latin nu- 
merals. 
The metre, or unity of length, at 32°, = 39-371 English inches at 62°. 
The litre, or unity of capacity, = 61-028 English cubic inches. 
The gramme, or unity of weight, = 15-434 Troy grains. 
Upon this basis the following tables, taken with some slight alterations from 
the Edinburgh New Dispensatory, have been constructed. It was ascertained by 
accurate examination at the London Mint, that the gramme is only 15-434 Troy 
grains, though sometimes stated at 15-444 grains. 1636 
Appendix. 
MEASURES OF LENGTH. 
The metre being at 32°, and the foot at 62°. 
Millimetre 
Centimetre 
Decimetre 
= 
English Inches. 
•03937 
•39371 
3-93710 
Miles. 
Fnr. 
Yards. 
Feet. 
Inches. 
Metre 
— 
39-37100 
= 0 
0 
1 
0 
3-371 
Decametre 
= 
393-71000 
= 0 
0 
10 
2 
9-710 
Hectometre 
— 
3937-10000 
= 0 
0 
109 
1 
1-100 
Kilometre 
= 
39371-00000 
= 0 
4 
213 
1 
11000 
Myriametre 
= 
393710 00000 
= 6 
1 
156 
1 
2 000 
MEASURES OP CAPACITY. 
Millilitre 
English Cubic Inches. 
•061028 = 
Apothecaries’ Measure 
16 2318 minims. 
Centilitre 
= 
•610280 = 
2-7053 fluidrachms, 
Decilitre 
= 
6-102800 = 
3-3816 fluidounces. 
Litre 
— 
61-028000 == 
21135 pints. 
Decalitre 
= 
610-280000 = 
2-6419 gallons. 
Hectolitre 
= 
6102-800000 
Kilolitre 
= 
61028 000000 
Myrialitre 
= 
610280 000000 
MEASURES OP WEIGHT. 
Milligramme = 
Centigramme = 
Decigramme = 
Gramme = 
Troy grains. 
•0154 
•1543 
1-5434 
15-4340 
!b 
X 
Gr. 
Decagramme = 
154-3402 = 
0 
0 
2 
34-3 
Hectogramme = 
1543-4023 = 
0 
3 
1 
43 4 
Kilogramme = 
15434-0234 = 
2 
8 
1 
14 
Myriagramme = 
154340-2344 = 
26 
9 
4 
20 
Though the decimal system of weights and measures was established by law in 
France, it was found impossible to procure its general adoption by the people, 
who obstinately adhered to the old poids de marc and its divisions; or, if they 
adopted the new weights, gave them the names of the old weights to which they 
most nearly approached. Thus, the kilogramme, which is equal to 18, 
French grains, or 2 pounds 5 gros grains poids de marc, was divided into 
two parts, and the half of it called a pound. One reason for this adherence to 
the old weights was the convenience of division into halves, quarters, &c., of 
which the new were not susceptible. To obviate this difficulty the Imperial gov- 
ernment legalized the employment of the half kilogramme as the unit of weight, 
under the name of pound, and allowed this to be divided into half pounds, quar- 
ters, eighths, ounces, &c., as in the old poids de marc. The new pound is dis- 
tinguished by the name of metrical pound, and has been adopted to a consider- 
able extent; while the old weights are retained by some, particularly by the 
apothecaries and goldsmiths; so that three systems are now more or less in use 
in France—the original poids de marc, the decimal system, and the metrical 
pound with its divisions. The following table represents the relative value of 
these different weights. Appendix. 
1637 
Decimal System. 
Poids de Marc. 
Metrical Pound. 
lb 
OZ. 
dr. 
gr- 
lb 
OZ. 
dr. 
gr. 
1 centigramme = 
0 
0 
0 
019 
= 
0 
0 
0 
0-18 
1 decigramme = 
0 
0 
0 
1-88 
= 
0 
0 
0 
1-84 
1 gramme = 
0 
0 
0 
18-83 
= 
0 
0 
0 
1843 
1 decagramme = 
0 
0 
2 
4427 
= 
0 
0 
2 
40-32 
1 hectogramme = 
0 
3 
2 
10-71 
= 
0 
3 
1 
43-2 
1 kilogramme = 
2 
0 
5 
3515 
= 
2 
0 
0 
0 
Poids de Marc. 
Grammes. 
Metrical Pound. 
Grammes. 
1 grain = 
0 0531 
1 grain 
== 0 054 
24 grains or 9i = 
1-2747 
24 grains or 9i 
= 1-302 
72 grains or 3i = 
3-8242 
72 grains or 5i 
= 3906 
1 ounce = 
30-5941 
1 ounce 
= 31-25 
1 pound = 
489-5058 
1 pound 
= 500 
Value of Avoirdupois Weights, and Imperial Measures, in Metrical Weights 
and Measures, as stated in the British Pharmacopoeia. 
Avoirdupois Weights. 
Metrical Weights. 
Imperial Measures. 
Metrical Measures. 
1 pound = 
453*5925 grammes. 
1 gallon = 
4*543487 litres. 
1 ounce = 
28*3495 
1 pint = 
0*567936 “ 
1 grain = 
0*0648 “ 
1 fluidounce = 
0*028396 “ 
1 fluidrachm = 
0*003599 “ 
1 minim = 
0*000059 “ 
The following table is taken from Christison’s Dispensatory, and was calcu- 
lated chiefly from data contained in Soubeiran’s Traite de Pharmacie. 
Table of certain foreign Apothecaries’ Weights, exhibiting the Value of 
their different Denominations in Troy Grains. 
French (old) - 
_ 
Pound. 
5670 5 
Ounce. 
472-50 
Drachm. 
59-10 
Scruple. 
19-70 
Grain. 
0-820 
Spanish 
- 
- 
5320-4 
443-49 
55"44 
18-47 
0769 
Tuscan 
- 
- 
5240-3 
436 67 
54-58 
18-19 
0-758 
Roman 
- 
- 
5235 0 
436-25 
54-53 
18-17 
0-757 
Austrian 
- 
- 
6495T 
541-25 
67-65 
22-55 
1-127 
German or} 
Nuremberg > 
5524-8 
460-40 
57-55 
1918 
0-960 
Russian ) 
Prussian 
. 
. 
54151 
451-26 
56-40 
18-80 
0-940 
Dutch ) 
Belgian ) 
Swedish 
- 
- 
5695-8 
474-64 
59-33 
19-78 
0-988 
. 
. 
5500-2 
458-34 
57-29 
19-09 
0-954 
Piedmontese 
- 
- 
4744-7 
395-39 
49-45 
16-48 
0-824 
Venetian 
- 
- 
4661-4 
388-45 
48-55 
16-18 
0-809 
Of these weights, all except the French, Spanish, Tuscan, and Roman (first 
named in the table), are divided into parts corresponding with those of the Eng- 
lish Apothecaries’ weight. In these four, the drachm contains 12 instead of 60 
grains, and the scruple 24 instead of 20 grains; but, as in the English, there are 
3 scruples in the drachm, 8 drachms in the ounce, and 12 ounces in the pound. 1638 
Appendix 
APPROXIMATE MEASUREMENT. 
For the sake of convenience, in the absence of proper instruments, we often 
make use of means of measurement, which, though not precise nor uniform, 
afford results sufficiently accurate for ordinary purposes. Of this kind are cer- 
tain household implements, of a capacity approaching to uniformity, and cor- 
responding to a certain extent with the regular standard measures. Custom has 
attached a fixed value to these implements, with which it is proper that the 
practitioner should be familiar; although their capacity, as they are now made, 
with the exception of the wineglass, generally somewhat exceeds that at which 
they were originally and still continue to be estimated. 
A tea-cup is estimated to contain about four fluidounces, or a gill. 
A wineglass ----- two fluidounces. 
A tablespoon (cochlear magnum) - half a fluidounce. 
A teaspoon (cochlear parvum) - - a fluidrachm. 
Small quantities of liquid medicines are often estimated by drops, each of 
which is usually considered equivalent to a minim, or the sixtieth part of a 
fluidrachm. The drop of water and of watery fluids is, on an average, about 
that size; but the same is by no means the case with all medicinal liquids, and 
the drop even of the same liquid varies much in bulk, according to the circum- 
stances under which it is formed. This is, therefore, an uncertain mode of esti- 
mating the quantity of liquids, and should be superseded where minim measures 
can be had. 
The results stated in the following table were obtained by Mr. E. Durand, of 
Philadelphia. (See Journ. of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, i. 169.) 
They may be relied on &s accurate, but should be considered as indicating only 
the relative number of drops afforded by the several liquids mentioned; for, 
under other circumstances than those of Mr. Durand’s experiments, entirely dif- 
ferent results might, be obtained as relates to each liquid. The preparations ex- 
perimented with were those of the first edition of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. 
Table, exhibiting the Number of Drops of different Liquids equivalent to a 
Fluidrachm. 
Drops. 
Acid, acetic (crystallizable) 120 
Acid, hydrocyanic (medicinal) 45 
Acid, muriatic 54 
Acid, nitric 84 
Acid, nitric, diluted (1 to 7) 51 
Acid, sulphuric 90 
Acid, sulphuric, aromatic 120 
Acid, sulphuric, diluted (1 to 7) 51 
Alcohol (rectified spirit) 138 
Alcohol, diluted (proof spirit) 120 
Arsenite of potassa, solution of 57 
Ether, sulphuric 150 
Oil of aniseed, of cinnamon, of 
cloves, of peppermint, of 
sweet almonds, of olives 120* 
Drops. 
Tincture of assafetida, of fox- 
glove, of guaiac, of opium 120 
Tincture of chloride of iron 132 
Vinegar, distilled 78 
Vinegar of colchicum 78 
Vinegar of opium (black drop) 78 
Vinegar of squill i'8 
Water, distilled 45 
Water of ammonia (strong) 54 
Water of ammonia (weak) 45 
Wine (Teneriffe) 78 
Wine, antimonial 72 
Wine of colchicum 75 
Wine of opium 78 
* See page 1247 for the results obtained by Professor Procter with the volatile oils, which 
give a considerably smaller number of drops to the fluidrachm than here stated, showing 
how different may be the results under different circumstances. Appendix. 
1639 
III. ALPHABETICAL TABLE OF PHARMACEUTICAL 
EQUIVALENTS.* 
Kami. Symbol or Formula.f Equivalent. 
Acid, acetic C4H30, 51 
crystallized C4H303-f-II0 60 
amylic. See Acid, valerianic. 
antimonic ------ Sb05 169 
antimonious ----- Sb04 161 
arsenic AsOs 115 
arsenious ------ As03 99 
benzoic - ' - - - - - C14H503 113 
crystallized CuH.O,+HO 122 
boracic BO, 34 9 
crystallized ----- B03-f3H0 61 9 
camphoric (hydrated) - - - * - Ca0HuOfi+2HO 200 
carbonic - C02 22 
chloric ------ C105 15-5 
chlorous C104 67‘5 
chromic Cr03 50-3 
citric ClaH6On 165 
crystallized C12HsOu4-lHO 201 
cyanic ------ CyO 34 
gallic (dried at 212°) - - - - C7II305 85 
hydriodic ------ HI 127 3 
hydrocyanic (prussic acid) - - - HCy 27 
hydrosulphuric (sulphuretted hydrogen) - HS 17 
hypochlorous CIO 435 
hyponitric (formerly nitrous) - - - N04 46 
hypophosphorous ----- PO 40 
hyposulphuric S205 72 
hyposulphurous ----- S202 48 
iodic ------- I05 166'3 
kinic (crystallized) - - - - C7II6Ofi 96 
lactic (monohydrated) - - - - C6H506+H0 90 
margaric H0,C34H3303 270 
meconic (dried under 212°) - - - C14HOu-f 3HO 200 
metaphosphoric (glacial) ... HO,P05 81 
muriatic (hydrochloric acid) - - - HC1 36 5 
* This table includes all the elements, although several of them are not used in medicine. 
It also embraces a few compounds which are not used in pharmacy, but which are inserted 
on account of their general importance. Excluding aridium and donarium, which have not 
maintained their claim to be considered as distinct metals, the present number of the ele- 
ments is 66; three new metals having been discovered since the eleventh edition of the 
Dispensatory was published. 
f By modern chemists the elements are designated by letters, called symbols. The initial 
letter of the name is the symbol, whenever it is distinctive; but, when several elements 
have names beginning with the same letter, the plan adopted is to represent one of them 
by the initial letter, and the rest by the initial lett er with some other associated with it. 
Thus C stands for carbon, Ca for calcium, Cd for cadmium, Ce for cerium, Cl for chlorine, 
Co for cobalt, Cr for chromium, Cu for copper, &c. The use of these symbols saves time 
and space in designating the composition of compounds. Where a single equivalent is in- 
tended to be designated, the symbol of the element is simply given; but where several 
equivalents are to be represented, the symbol is preceded by a figure indicating the num- 
ber. Thus C means one equivalent of carbon, 2C two equivalents, and so on. The number 
of equivalents is now generally denoted by a small depressed figure following the symbol; 
and this plan has been adopted in the above table. The group of letters and figures, thus 
used to denote the composition of any compound, is called the formula of such compound, 
The symbols given are those of Berzelius, and should not be varied from, for fear of de- 
stroying their usefulness by creating confusion. 1640 
Appendix. 
Name. Symbol or Formula. Equivalent, 
Acid, nitric N0R 54 
monohydrated (nitrate of water) HO,NOs 63 
quadrihydrated (sp. gr. 142) HO,NOR-f3HO 90 
nitrous (formerly hyponitrous) - NOs 38 
oleic 273 
oxalic C203 36 
crystallized - - - CaOs-f 3HO 63 
sublimed .... C2d:i-f-HO 45 
permanganic - - M207 111 4 
phosphoric - POR 72 
phosphoric (tribasic) ... 3IIO,POs 99 
monohydrated (glacial acid) - H0,P06 81 
phosphorous .... P08 56 
prussic. See Acid, hydrocyanic. 
pyrophosphoric .... 2HO,POs 90 
stearic HO.CjgHjJOj 284 
succinic C4H203-fH0 59 
sulphuric S03 40 
monohydrated (sulphate of water) H0,S03 49 
(Nordhausen acid) - - HO,2SOs 89 
sulphurous .... S02 32 
tannic (tannin from galls) - - C64H19031-J-3H0 618 
tartaric C4H20R 66 
crystallized ... C4H20R-filQ 75 
uric (lithic acid) ... N4C10H2O4 150 
hydrated .... N4C10H2O4-f 2HO 168 
valerianic (amylic acid) - - CinH903 93 
hydrated .... C10H9O34-HO 102 
Aconitia C60H47NO]4 533 
Alcohol C4HrO + HO 46 
amylic C10HuO-fHO 88 
cetylic 242 
methylic C2H30-fH0 32 
Aldehyd C4H402 44 
Alum, potassa- (common alum) - - Al203,3S08-f-KO,S03-f 24HO 474 6 
ammonia Al203,3S08-f NH40,S03-j-24H0 453*4 
ammonio-ferric ... - Fe203,3S08-f NlI40,S03-f 24HO 482 
potassio-ferric .... Fe908,3S08-fK0,S08-|-24II0 503*2 
Alumina ------ A1203 51*4 
tersulphate (salt in alum) - - Al20s,3S08 171*4 
Aluminium A1 13*7 
Amidogen (amide) - NHf 16 
Ammonia Nil, 17 
acetate ..... NH40,C4H808 77 
crystallized ... NH40,C4H303-f 6HO 131 
benzoate - NH40,C14HR03+H0 148 
bicarbonate .... NH40,2C08 70 
bihydrosulphate.... NHs,2HS 51 
carbonate .... - NH40,CO, 48 
hydrosulphate (hydrosulphuret) - NH3,HS 34 
muriate (sal ammoniac) - - NH3,HC1 53*5 
nitrate N1I40,N06 80 
phosphate (alkaline) ... 3NH40,P0R-f5H0 195 
(neutral) - . - 2NH40,H0,P05+4H0 169 Appendix. 
1641 
Name. Symbol or Formula. Equivalent. 
Ammonia, sesquicarbonate (medicinal carbonate) 2NH40,3C02 118 
sulphate NH40,SOs 66 
urate NH4O,HO+N4C10H2O4 185 
valerianate .... NH4O,C10HaO3 119 
Ammonium NH4 18 
C;?HU 71 
acetate of oxide (acetate of amylic ether) C10HuO,C4H3Os 130 
oxide (amylic ether) ... C10HuO 79 
Antimony (Stibium) ... Sb 129 
oxychloride (powder of Algaroth) 2Sb03,SbCls+H0 550-5 
oxysulphuret, U. S. (kermes mineral) Sb03+2SbS3+6H0 561 
tartrate of teroxide - - - Sb03,C4H205 219 
terchloride (butter of antimony) - SbCls 235-5 
teroxide (medicinal oxide) - - Sb03 153 
tersulphuret (medicinal sulphuret) SbS3 177 
Arabin (pure gum) .... C12HuOn 171 
Arsenic As 75 
bisulphuret (realgar) - AsS2 107 
terchloride ----- AsCla 181 5 
teriodide Asl3 453 9 
tersulphuret (orpiment) - - AsS3 123 
Atropia CS4H23N06 289 
sulphate C34li23N08,S0s 329 
Barium 13a 68-7 
chloride BaCl * 104-2 
crystallized - - - - BaCl+2HO 122 2 
Baryta ------ BaO 76*7 
carbonate ----- BaO,C02 98*7 
hydrate BaO,HO 85-7 
muriate. See Barium, chloride. 
nitrate - BaO,NOs 1307 
sulphate ----- BaO, SO, 116*7 
Benzole C12Hfi 78 
Benzyl C14H502 105 
Bismuth Bi 213 
carbonate of teroxide - - - Bi03,C02 259 
nitrate of teroxide ... BiO,,N05 291 
ternitrate of teroxide - - - Bi03,3N0s 399 
teroxide BiO, 237 
Black oxide of manganese. See Manganese, deutoxide. 
Blue vitriol. See Copper, sulphate of protoxide. 
Borax. See Soda, biborate. 
Boron B 10 9 
Bromine Br 784 
Brucia 394 
Cadmium Cd 55-8 
carbonate CdC02 85 8 
protoxide CdO 63-8 
sulphate of protoxide - CdO,SO, 103-8 
Caesium Cae 123 
Caffein (thein and guaranin) - - C18H N404 194 
Calcium Ca 20 
chloride CaCl 55*5 
crystallized - - - - CaCl-J-6HO 109-5 1642 
Appendix. 
Name. Symbol or Formula. Equivalent 
Calomel See Mercury, protochloride. 
Camphe.ie 136 
Camphor 152 
Carbon C 6 
bisulphuret .... CS2 38 
Caustic potassa. See Potassa, hydrate, 
soda. See Soda, hydrate. 
Cerium Ce 46 
Ceruse. See Lead, carbonate of protoxide. 
Cetin C83n330 233 
Chalk. See Lime, carbonate. 
Chlorine Cl 35-5 
Chloroform ..... C2HC13 1195 
Chromium Cr 263 
sesqujoxide .... Cr2Os 7 6‘6 
hydrated .... Cr203+10HO 1666 
Cinchonia 308 
bisulphate ----- 388 
sulphate ----- Ci0H24N2O2,SO3 348 
crystallized - - - - C40H24N2O2,SO,-j-2HO 366 
Cinchonidia (isomeric with cinchonia) 308 
Cinnabar. See Mercury, bisulphuret. 
Cobalt Co 29 5 
Codeia - 299 
Columbium Tantalum)* - - Ta 185 
Common salt. See Sodium, chloride. 
Conia ------ C16H15N 126 
Copper (Cuprum) ... - Cu 31-7 
acetate of protoxide - - - Cu0,C4H303 90 7 
ammonio-sulphate ... CuO,SO;i-}-2]SH3,HO 1227 
black or protoxide ... OuO 397 
diacetate of protoxide (verdigris) 2Cu0,C4H303 130 4 
nitrate of protoxide - - - CuO,N05 93 7 
crystallized - - - - Cu0,N05+3H0 120 7 
red or dioxide ... - Cu20 71 4 
sulphate of protoxide (blue vitriol) CuO.SO, 79 7 
crystallized - - - - CuO,SOs+5HO 124*7 
Corrosive sublimate. See Mercury, bichloride. 
Cream of tartar. See Potassa, bitartrate. 
Creasote ------ C14II802 108 
Cyanogen ----- 1STCa or Cy 26 
Didymium Di 48 
Emetia C17H27O10 329 
Epsom Salt. See Magnesia, sulphate. 
Erbium E ? 
Ethal. See Alcohol, cetylic. 
Ether C4II50 37 
acetic C4H50,C41Ij0s 88 
hydriodic ----- C4II5I 155 3 
hyponitrous - - - . C4H 0,NO„ 75 
muriatic C4H5C1 64 5 
* According to M. H. Rose, the columbium of Hatchett, and the tantalum of Ekebei g 
are distinct metals. Appendix. 
1643 
Name. Symbol or Formula. Equivalent. 
Ether, sulphuric. See Ether. 
Ethereal oil. See Sulphate of ether and ethylen. 
Ethyl C4H5 29 
Ethylen (etherine) - - - C4H4 28 
Ferridcyanogen .... 2FeCy3 or Cfdy 212 
Ferrocyanogen ----- FeCy3 or Cfy 106 
Flowers of zinc. See Zinc, protoxide. 
Fluorine F 18 t 
Formyl C3H 13 
Fusel oil. See Alcohol, amylic. 
Glauber’s salt. See Soda, sulphate. 
Glucina G203 38 
Glucinium G 7 
Glucose (grape-sugar) ... C12H14Ou 198 
Glycerin C6H7Os-f-HO 92 
Glyceryl C6II7 43 
Gold (Aurum) Au 199 
Goulard’s extract of lead. See Lead, diacetate of protoxide. 
Grape sugar. See Glucose. 
Green vitriol. See Iron, sulphate of protoxide. 
Heavy oil of wine. See Sulphate of ether and ethylen. 
Hydrogen H 1 
protoxide (water) ... HO 9 
Ilmenium 11 60 2 
Iodine. I 126-3 
Iodoform C2HI3 391-9 
Iridium Ir • 98-8 
Iron (Ferrum) Fe 28 
arseniate of protoxide - - - 3FeO,AsOa 223 
bitartrate of sesquioxide - - Fe203,2C4H205 212 
bromide ----- FeBr 106-4 
carbonate of protoxide - - FeO,C02 58 
citrate of sesquioxide - - - Fe203,C12H60n 245 
ferrocyanide (pure Prussian blue) - Fe4Cfy3 43C 
iodide Pel 154-3 
crystallized - FeI + 5HO 199*3 
lactate of protoxide ... Fe0,CBH505-f 3HO 144 
medicinal black oxide - 2Fe0-fFe203 152 
native black oxide ... FeO-f Fe203 116 
phosphate of protoxide (tribasic) - 3Fe0,P05 180 
phosphate of protoxide (neutral) - 2FeO,HO,POa 153 
protocyanide .... FeCy 54 
protosulphuret - - - - FeS 44 
protoxide FeO 36 
pyrophosphate of sesquioxide - 2Fe203,3P0s 376 
red or sesquioxide ... Fe203 80 
hydrated .... Fea03-f2H0 98 
sesquichloride .... Fe2Cl3 162-5 
subarseniate of protoxide - - 4FeO,AsOa 259 
sulphate of protoxide (green vitriol) FeO,SOs 7 6 
crystallized - - - - Fe0,S03-f-7H0 139 
tartrate of protoxide ... Fe0,C4H20. 102 
tartrate of sesquioxide - - - Fe203,C4H205 146 
teracetate of sesquioxide - - Fe203,3C4H303 233 1644 
Appendix. 
Name. Symbol or Formula. Equivalent. 
Iron, ternitrate of sesquioxide - - Fea0s,3N05 242 
tersulphate of sesquioxide - - Fe203,3S03 200 
tervalerianate of sesquioxide - FeaO3,3C10H#O3 359 
Lantanium La 44-3 
Lead (Plumbum) .... Pb 103 6 
acetate of protoxide (sugar of lead) Pb0,C4H303 162 6 
crystallized - PbO,C4HsOs-|-3HO 189 6 
carbonate of protoxide (white lead) 2(PbO,COa)-f-PbO,HO 387'8 
chloride ----- PbCl 1391 
deutoxide (puce oxide) - - Pb02 119 6 
diacetate of protoxide (Goulard’s extract) 2Pb0,C4H303 274 2 
iodide Pbl 229 9 
nitrate of protoxide - - - PbO,NOs 165-6 
protoxide (massicot) - PbO 111-6 
red oxide (red lead or minium) - Pbs04 or 2PbO,PbOa 342 8 
Lime CaO 28 
acetate CaO,C4H3Os 79 
bone-phosphate ‘ 3Ca0,P05 156 
carbonate (chalk) ... CaO,COa 50 
chlorinated .... CaO,Cl 635 
hydrate (slaked lime) - CaO,HO 37 
muriate. See Calcium, chloride. 
oxalate CaO,C2Os 64 
sulphate CaO,SOs 68 
crystallized - Ca0,S03-f2H0 86 
tartrate CaO,C4H2Os 94 
Lithia ------ LO 15 
carbonate LO,COa * 37 
citrate ----- 3LO,C]2H6Ou 210 
Lithium L 7 
Magnesia MgO 20 
ammonio-sulphate ... MgO,S03-f-NH 0,S034-H0 135 
carbonate (magnesia alba) - - 3(Mg0,C02-j-H0) + Mg0,lI0 182 
citrate 3MgO,C12H5On 225 
sulphate (Epsom salt) - - MgO,S03 60 
crystallized - MgO,SOs-f 7IIO 123 
Magnesium Mg 12 
hydrated chloride - - - MgCl,6HO 1015 
Manganese ----- Mn 27 7 
carbonate of protoxide - - MnO,COs 57 7 
deutoxide (black oxide) - - MnO, 43 7 
sulphate of protoxide - - - MnO,SOs-f4HO 111 7 
Mannite C12H14Oia 182 
Massicot. See Lead, protoxide. 
Mercury (Hydrargyrum) - - Hg 200 
acetate of protoxide - - - Hg0,C4II303 259 
ammoniated (white precipitate) - HgCl2-f HgAda 503 
bichloride (corrosive sublimate) - HgCla 271 
bicyanide (prussiate) - HgCya 252 
biniodide (red iodide) - - - Hgla 452-6 
binitrate of deutoxide - - - Hg02,2N0s 324 
bisulphate of deutoxide - - HgOa,2SO, 296 
bisulphuret (cinnabar) - - HgSa 252 
deutoxide (red precipitate) - - HgOa 216 Appendix. 
1645 
Name. Symbol or Formula. Equivalent. 
Mercury, nitrate of protoxide - - HgO,N05 262 
protiodide (green iodide) - - Hgl 326-3 
protochloride (calomel) - - HgCl 235-5 
protosulphuret - HgS 216 
protoxide (black oxide) - - HgO 208 
sesquiodide .... Hg2I3 178 9 
subsulphate of deutoxide (turpeth mineral) 3Hg02,2S03 728 
sulphate of protoxide - - - HgO,SOs 248 
Methyl C2Hs 15 
Methylen (olefiant gas) ... C3H2 14 
Minium. See Lead, red oxide. 
Molybdenum Mo 48 
Morphia C34H19N06 285 
acetate C34H19N06,C4H30J 336 
muriate - - - - - 321-5 
sulphate 325 
Narcein ------ 463 
Narcotina C44H,3NOu 413 
Nickel Ni 29-5 
protoxide NiO 37-5 
sulphate of protoxide - - - NiO,S03 7 7-5 
crystallized - - - - Ni0,S03-J-7H0 140-5 
Niobium* Nb ? 
Nitre. See Potassa, nitrate. 
Nitrogen (Azote) - - - - N 14 
Norium No ? 
Olefiant gas. See Methylen. 
Orpiment. See Arsenic, tersulphnret. 
Osmium Os 99 7 
Oxygen 0 8 
Palladium Pd 53 3 
Paramorphia CMH21N06 311 
Pelopium Pe ? 
Phosphorus P 32 
Platinum Pt 98-9 
bichloride PtCl2 169 9 
Potassa KO 47 2 
acetate K0,C4H303 98 2 
crystallized - - - - K0,C4H303+2H0 116 2 
arsenite KO,AsOs 146'2 
bicarbonate - - - - K0,2C02 91-2 
crystallized - - - - K0,2C02-j-H0 100-2 
bichromate ... - K0,2Cr03 147 -8 
binoxalate (salt of sorrel) - - K0,2C203 119 2 
crystallized - - - - K0,2C203-f3H0 146-2 
bisulphate ----- KO,2SOs 127*2 
crystallized - - - - K0,2S03 + 2H0 145 2 
bitartrate (cream of tartar) - - K0,2C4H306 179 2 
* Niobium and pelopium were alleged to exist in tbe Bavarian and North American 
columbites. Recently, however, M. H. Rose has announced that they are the same, and 
proposes to retain the name niobium. It is not contended that the peculiar metal of the 
columbites is different from that discovered in 1801 by Hatchett; and, therefore, as justly 
remarked by Prof. A. Connell, of St. Andrews, it should be called columbium, the name 
given to it by its discoverer, and the name niobium should be abandoned. (Philos. Mag., 
June, 1854, p. 461.) 1646 
Appendix. 
Name. Symbol or Formula. Equivalent. 
Potassa, bitartrate, crystallized - - K0,2C4H2064-H0 188*2 
carbonate (salt of tartar) - - K0,C02 69 2 
chlorate K0,C105 122 7 
chromate ----- KO,CrOs 97 *5 
citrate 3KO,C H Ou 306*6 
cyanate ----- KO,CyO 81*2 
ferrocyanate. See Potassium, ferrocyanide. 
hydrate (caustic potassa) - - KO,HO 56 *2 
hydriodate. See Potassium, iodide. 
iodate ----- K0,I05 213 5 
nitrate (nitre or saltpetre) - - KO,NOs 1012 
oxalate KO,C2Os 83 2 ' 
permanganate - - - - KO,MmOT 158*6 
sesquicarbonate - - - - 2K0,3C02 160*4 
sulphate (vitriolated tartar) - - KO,SOs 87‘2 
tartrate (soluble tartar) - - K0,C4H205 113*2 
tribasic phosphate (neutral) - 2K0,H0,P05 175*4 
Potassium (Kalium) ... K 39*2 
bromide KBr 117*6 
chloride KC1 747 
cyanide ----- KCy 65*2 
ferridcyanide - - - - KsCfdy 329*6 
ferrocyanide - K2Cfy 184*4 
crystallized - - - - K2Cfy+3HO 211*4 
iodide ----- KI 165*5 
iodohydrargyrate - - - 2KI,HgI1 783*6 
teroxide KOs 63*2 
tersulphuret ... - KSs 87*2 
Prussian blue. See Iron, ferrocyanide. 
Prussiate of mercury. See Mercury, bicyanide. 
Prussic acid. See Acid, hydrocyanic. 
Puce oxide of lead. See Lead, deutoxide. 
Pyroxylic spirit. See Alcohol, methylic. 
Quinia C40H24N2O4 324 
bimuriate C40H24N2O4,2tfCl 397 
bisulphate C40H24N2O4,2SOs 404 
bivalerianate ... - C40H24N2O4,2C,0H#Os 510 
sulphate (medicinal sulphate) - 364 
crystallized - - - - ,SOs-f-8HO 436 
Quinidia (isomeric with quinia) - - 
Realgar. See Arsenic, bisulphuret. 
Red lead. See Lead, red oxide. 
precipitate. See Mercury, deutoxide. 
Rhodium R 522 
Rochelle salt. See Tartrate of potassa and soda. 
Rubidium Rb 85 
Ruthenium Ru 52 2 
Sal ammoniac. See Ammonia, muriate. 
Salicin C16II18Ou 286 
Salt of Sorrel. See Potassa, binoxalate. 
of tartar. See Potassa, carbonate. 
Saltpetre. See Potassa, nitrate. 
Selenium Se 40 
Silica SiO, 45 3 Appendix. 
1647 
Name. Symbol or Formula. Equivalent. 
Silicon Si 21-3 
Silver (Argentum) .... Ag 108 
ammonio-nitrate - AgO,NOv2NHs 204 
chloride ..... AgCl 1435 
cyanide ..... AgCy 134 
nitrate of protoxide ... AgO,NOs 170 
protoxide ----- AgO 116 
Slaked lime. See Lime, hydrate. 
Soda ...... NaO 31'3 
acetate Na0,C4H303 82-3 
crystallized - Na0,C4H3034-6II0 136 3 
arseniate .... - 2NaO,HO,AsOs 186*6 
crystallized - - - - 2Na0,H0,As05-}-14H0 312*3 
biborate (borax) ... Na0,2B03 101*1 
octohedral .... Na0,2B03-j-5H0 146*1 
prismatic .... NaO,2BOs+10HO 191*1 
bicarbonate .... Na0,2C02 75*3 
crystallized - Na0,2C024-H0 84*3 
carbonate ----- NaO,C02 53*3 
crystallized .... NaO,CO2-f-10HO 143*3 
hydrate (caustic soda) ... NaO,HO 40*3 
hyposulphate .... Na0,S202+7H0 142*3 
muriate. See Sodium, chloride. 
nitrate ..... NaO,NOs 85*3 
phosphate (bibasic), pyrophosphate 2Na0,P05 134*6 
crystallized - - - - 2NaO,POs-flOHO 224*6 
sesquicarbonate - - - - 2Na0,3C02 128*6 
hydrated .... 2Na0,3C02-f 4IIO 164*6 
sulphate (Glauber’s salt) - - NaO,S03 71*3 
crystallized - NaO,SO3-)-10HO 161*3 
sulphite NaO,S02 63*3 
crystallized - Na0,S02+8H0 135*3 
tartrate .... - Na0,C4H205 97*3 
crystallized - Na0,C4H205-|-2H0 115*3 
tribasic phosphate (medicinal phosphate) 2Na0,H0,P05 143*6 
crystallized - 2NaO,HO,PO +24HO 359*6 
valerianate .... 124*3 
Sodium (Natrium) .... Na 23*3 
chloride (common salt) - - NaCl 58*8 
iodide ..... Nal 149*6 
teroxide ..... Na03 47*3 
Soluble tartar. See Potassa, tartrate. 
Starch - C12H10O10 162 
Strontia ------ SrO 52 
Strontium Sr 44 
Strychnia C44H23N204 347 
Strychnia (Br.) C42H22N204 334 
muriate ..... C44H23N204,HC1 383*5 
sulphate C44H23N204,S03+7H0 450 
Sugar, cane ..... C12HuOu 171 
of lead. See Lead, acetate of protoxide. 
of milk (isomeric with cane sugar) C12HuOu 171 
crystallized - - - - C12HuOu+HO 180 
Sulphate of alumina and potassa. See Alum, potassa-. 1648 
Appendix. 
Name. Symbol or Formula. Equivalent. 
Sulphate of ether and ethylen - - C4H60,S03-f-C4H4,S03 145 
Sulphur S 16 
iodide (bisulphuret of iodine) - ISa 1583 
Sulphuretted hydrogen. See Acid, hydrosulphuric. 
Tartar emetic. See Tartrate of antimony and potassa. 
Tartrate of antimony and potassa - Sb0s,C4H205+K0,C4H205 332-2 
of iron and potassa ... Fe 03,C4H2054-K0,C4H.,06 259 2 
of potassa and soda ... KO.C^HjO,.-}-Na0,C4H306 210 5 
Tellurium Te 64 
Terbium , Tb ? 
Thallium T1 204 
Thorina ThO 67 6 
Thorium Th 596 
Tin (Stannum) .... Sn 59 
protochloride ... - SnCl 94 5 
Titanium Ti 25 
Tungsten (Wolpramium) • W 92 
Turpeth mineral. See Mercury, subsulphate of deutoxide. 
Uranium U 60 
Urea C2H4N20, 60 
Vanadium V 68-5 
Veratria 592 
Verdigris. See Copper, diacetate of protoxide. 
Vitriolated tartar. See Potassa, sulphate. 
Water. See Hydrogen, protoxide. 
White precipitate. See Mercury, ammoniated. 
vitriol. See Zinc, sulphate of protoxide. 
Yttria YO 40 2 
Yttrium Y 32-2 
Zino Zn 32-3 
acetate of protoxide ... Zn0,C4H30, 913 
crystallized - ZnO,C4H303+7HO 154 3 
carbonate of protoxide (precipitated 
carbonate) - 8Zn0,3C02+6H0 442 4 
chloride ZnCl 67 *8 
cyanuret ZnCy 58-3 
iodide Znl 158-6 
protoxide (flowers of zinc) - - ZnO 40 3 
sulphate of protoxide (white vitriol) ZnO,SOs 80 3 
crystallized - Zn0,S03-f7H0 1433 
sulphuret (blende) ... ZnS 48-3 
valerianate of protoxide - - ZnO,CI0HBO3 133-3 
Zirconia Zrs03 91 2 
Zirconium Zr 33*6 
B. Appendix. 
1649 
IV. TABLES 
SHOWING THE SPECIFIC GRAVITY CORRESPONDING WITH THE SEVERAL DEGREES 
OF HYDROMETERS IN USE. 
Baume’s hydrometer is usually employed. In this instrument, the sp. gr. of dis- 
tilled water is assumed as the zero of the descending scale, in relation to fluids 
heavier than itself, and as 10 on the ascending scale in relation to lighter fluids. 
In the following tables, the specific gravity of liquids is given, corresponding with 
the several degrees of this hydrometer. The first column of specific gravities is 
taken from the French Codex, and is, therefore, of high authority. The second 
is the one given in previous editions of this work, taken from Duncan’s Edin- 
burgh Dispensatory (A. D. 1830), and based on the calculations of Huss. The 
third column was calculated by Mr. Henry Pemberton, of Philadelphia, in 1851, 
and is recognised by the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy. The figures in this 
column correspond with the degrees of the hydrometers prepared by Dr. W. II. 
Pile, of this city, which may be relied on for their accuracy. 
For Liquids lighter than Water. 
Degree 
of hydro- 
meter. 
Specific Gravity. 
Degree 
of hydro- 
meter. 
Specific Gravity. 
By Baume. 
By Banme. 
10 
1-000 
1-0000 
1 0000 
44 
0-809 
0-8047 
0 8045 
11 
0-993 
0-9930 
0-9929 
45 
0-804 
0-8001 
0-8000 
12 
0 986 
0-9861 
0-9859 
46 
0-800 
0-7956 
0-7954 
13 
0-979 
0-9792 
0-9790 
47 
0-795 
0-7911 
0-7909 
14 
0973 
0-9724 
0-9722 
48 
0-791 
0-7866 
0-7865 
15 
0-966 
0-9657 
0-9655 
49 
0-787 
0-7821 
0-7821 
16 
0-960 
0-9591 
0-9589 
50 
0-783 
0-7777 
0-7777 
17 
0-953 
0-9526 
0 9523 
51 
0.778 
0-7733 
0-7734 
18 
0-947 
0-9462 
0-9459 
52 
0-774 
0-7689 
0-7692 
19 
0-941 
0-9399 
0-9395 
53 
0-770 
0-7646 
0 7650 
20 
0-935 
0-9336 
0 9333 
54 
0-766 
0-7603 
0-7608 
21 
0-929 
0-9274 
0-9271 
55 
0-762 
0.7560 
0-7567 
22 
0-923 
0 9212 
0-9210 
56 
0-758 
0-7518 
0-7526 
23 
0-917 
0-9151 
0-9150 
57 
0-754 
0-7476 
0-7486 
24 
0-911 
0-9091 
0-9090 
58 
0-750 
0-7435 
0-7446 
25 
0-905 
0-9032 
0-9032 
59 
0-746 
0-7394 
0-7407 
26 
0-900 
0-8974 
0-8974 
60 
0-742 
0-7354 
0 7368 
27 
0-894 
0-8917 
0-8917 
61 
0-738 
0-7314 
0-7329 
28 
0-889 
0-8860 
0-8860 
62 
0-735 
0-7275 
0-7290 
29 
0-883 
0.8804 
0-8805 
63 
0-731 
0-7253 
30 
0-878 
0-8748 
0-8750 
64 
0-727 
0-7216 
31 
0-872 
0-8693 
0-8695 
65 
0-724 
0-7179 
32 
0-867 
0-8638 
0-8641 
66 
0-720 
0-7142 
33 
0-862 
0-8584 
0-8588 
1 67 
0-716 
0-7106 
34 
0-857 
0-8531 
0-8536 
68 
0-713 
0-7070 
35 
0-852 
0-8479 
0-8484 
69 
0-709 
0-7035 
36 
0-847 
0-8428 
0-8433 
70 
0-706 
0-7000 
37 
0-842 
0-8378 
0-8383 
71 
0-702 
0-6965 
38 
0-837 
0-8329 
0-8333 
72 
0-699 
0-6930 
39 
0-832 
0-8281 
0-8284 
73 
0-696 
0-6896 
40 
0-827 
0-8233 
0 8235 
74 
0-692 
0-6863 
41 
0-823 
0-8186 
0-8187 
75 
0-689 
0-6829 
42 
0-818 
0 8139 
0-8139 
76 
0-686 
0-6796 
L.J.3. 
0-813 
0-8093 
0-8092 
77 
0-6»2 
0 6763 1650 
Appendix. 
For Liquids heavier than Water. 
Degree 
of hydro- 
meter. 
Specific Gravity. 
Degree 
of hydro- 
meter. 
Specific Gravity. 
By Barime. 
By liaume. 
0 
1000 
1 0000 
1 0000 
38 
1359 
1-3559* 
1-3551 
1 
1007 
1-0070 
1-0069 
39 
1372 
1-3686 
1 3679 
2 
1014 
10141 
1-0139 
40 
1384 
1-3815. 
1-3809 
3 
1022 
10213 
10211 
41 
1398 
1-3947 
1-3942 
4 
1029 
1-0286 
1-0283 
42 
1412 
1-4082 
1-4077 
5 
1036 
1-0360 
1 0357 
43 
1426 
1-4219 
1-4215 
6 
1044 
1 0435 
1-0431 
44 
1440 
1-4359 
1-4356 
7 
1052 
10511 
1-0507 
45 
1454 
1-4501 
1-4500 
8 
1060 
1 0588 
1-0583 
46 
1470 
1-4645 
1-4646 
9 
1067 
1 0666 
1 0661 
47 
1485 
1-4792 
1 4795 
10 
1075 
1-0745 
1-0740 
48 
1501 
1-4942 
1-4949 
11 
1083 
1 0825 
1 0820 
49 
1516 
1-5096 
1-5104 
12 
1091 
1-0906 
1-0902 
50 
1532 
1-5253 
1-5263 
13 
1100 
1-0988 
1-0984 I 
51 
1549 
1-5413 
1-5425 
14 
1108 
1-1071 
11068 
' 52 
1566 
1-5576 
1-5591 
15 
1116 
11155 
1-1153 
53 
1583 
1-5742 
1-5760 
16 
1125 
1-1240 
11240 
54 
1601 
1-5912 
1-5934 
17 
1134 
1-1326 
11328 
55 
1618 
1-6086 
1-6111 
18 
1143 
11414 
11417 
56 
1637 
1-6264 
1 6292 
19 
1152 
1-1504 
1-1507 
57 
1656 
1-6446 
1-6477 
20 
1161 
11596 
1-1600 
58 
1676 
1-6632 
1-6666 
21 
1171 
1-1690 
1-1693 
59 
1695 
1-6823 
1-6860 
22 
1180 
1-1785 
1-1788 
60 
1715 
1-7019 
1-7058 
23 
1190 
1-1882 
1-1885 
61 
1736 
1-7220 
1-7261 
24 
1199 
11981 
11983 
62 
1758 
1-7427 
1-7469 
25 
1210 
1-2082 
1-2083 
63 
1779 
1-7640 
1-7682 
26 
1221 
1-2184 
1-2184 
64 
1801 
1-7858 
1-7901 
27 
1231 
1-2288 
1-2288 
65 
1823 
1-8082 
1-8125 
28 
1242 
1-2394 
1-2393 
66 
1847 
1-8312 
1-8354 
29 
1252 
1-2502 
1-2500 
67 
1872 
1-8548 
1-8589 
30 
1261 
1-2612 
1-2608 
68 
1897 
1-8790 
1-8831 
31 
1275 
1-2724 
1-2719 
69 
1921 
1-9038 
1-9079 
32 
1286 
1-2838 
1-2831 
70 
1946 
1-9291 
1-9333 
33 
1298 
1-2954 
1-2946 
71 
1974 
1-9548 
1-9595 
34 
1309 
1-3072 
1-3063 
72 
2002 
1-9809 
1-9863 
35 
1321 
1-3190 
1-3181 
73 
2031 
2-0073 
2-0139 
36 
1334 
1-3311 
1-3302 
74 
2059 
2-0340 
2 0422 
37 
1346 
1-3434 
1-3425 
75 
2087 
2-0610 - 
2 0714 
The following formulas, furnished by Dr. Pile, may prove useful by enabling any 
one to calculate the sp. gr. corresponding with the several degrees of Baume’s 
hydrometer, and, conversely, the degree of Baume corresponding with the sp. gr. 
1. For Liquids lighter than Water. The following formulas give the sp.gr. 
as represented in the first column in the foregoing table; or, the specific gravity 
being known, gives the corresponding degree of Baume. 
= sp- sr-; and —134 = B°* 
The following formulas apply to the third column of specific gravities. 
= sp.gr.; and - 130 = B°. 
144 
2. For Liquids heavier than Water. For the first column, ~ sp.gr., 
and 144 — = B°; for the third, = sp. gr., and 145 - = B°. Appendix. 
1651 
Gay-Lussac's centesimal alcoholmeter is applicable only to alcohol. The scale 
of this instrument is divided into 100 unequal degrees, the zero corresponding 
to pure water, and 100° to absolute alcohol; and every intermediate degree ex 
presses the percentage of pure alcohol, by measure, contained in the liquors ex- 
amined. Thus, when the instrument stands at 40° in any alcoholic liquid, it indi 
cates that 100 measures of the liquid contain 40 of pure alcohol and 00 of water 
But, as it was graduated for the temperature of 59° of Fahrenheit, the liquors 
to be tested should be brought to that temperature. Tralles'1 centesimal alco- 
holmeter is the one used by the U. S. Government in gauging the strength of 
spirit; and is generally employed in this country by distillers and wholesale 
dealers in the purchase and sale of alcoholic liquors. The scale of this instrument 
is like Gay-Lussac’s divided into 100 unequal parts, each corresponding to the 
percentage by volutie of pure alcohol contained in the liquors examined. As the 
sp. gr. of water is considered as unity at its temperature of greatest density 
39'8° F., and the degrees of this scale are calculated for 60° F., the zero, cor- 
responding to the density of water, will represent a sp.gr. of -9991. 
The following table of Tralles gives the percentage of alcohol by measure cor- 
responding with the specific gravity. Under alcohol in the first part of this 
work (page *12) a table of the percentage by weight corresponding with the 
sp. gr. is given. By means of these tables, in connection with the alcoholmeter, 
every problem that can arise in reference to the strength of spirituous liquors can 
be solved; and by the appended table, giving the value of Baume’s degrees in 
those of Tralles, the facility is still further extended. 
Alcoholmetrical Table of Tralles. 
Alcohol in 
100 measures 
of spirit. 
Specific gra- 
rity at 00° 
Fahr. 
Alcohol in 
100 measures 
of spirit. 
j Specific gra- 
1 vity at 60° 
Fahr. 
’ 
Alcohol in 
100 measures 
of spirit. 
Specific gra- 
vity at 00° 
Fahr. 
Alcohol in 
100 measures 
of spirit. 
Specific gra- 
vity at 00° 
Fahr. 
0 
9991 
26 
9689 
51 
9315 
76 
8739 
1 
9976 
27 
9679 
52 
9295 
77 
8712 
2 
9961 
28 
9668 
53 
9275 
78 
8685 
3 
9947 
29 
9657 
54 
9254 
79 
8658 
4 
9933 
30 
9646 
55 
9234 
80 
8631 
5 
9919 
31 
9634 
56 
9213 
81 
8603 
6 
9906 
32 
9622 
57 
9192 
82 
8575 
7 
9893 
33 
9609 
58 
9170 
83 
8547 
8 
9881 
34 
9596 
59 
9148 
84 
8518 
9 
9869 
35 
9583 
60 
9126 
85 
8488 
10 
9857 
36 
9570 
61 
9104 
86 
8458 
11 
9845 
37 
9556 
62 
9082 
87 
8428 
12 
9834 
38 
9541 
63 
9059 
88 
8397 
13 
9823 
39 
9526 
64 
9036 
89 
8365 
14 
9812 
40 
9510 
65 
9013 
90 
8332 
15 
9802 
41 
9494 
66 
8989 
91 
8299 
16 
9791 
42 
9478 
67 
8965 
92 
8265 i 
17 
9781 
43 
9461 
68 
8941 
93 
8230 ! 
18 
9771 
44 
9444 
69 
8917 j 
94 
8194 j 
19 
9761 
45 
9427 
70 
8892 
95 
8157 I 
20 
9751 
46 
9409 
71 
8867 
96 
8118 ! 
21 
9741 
47 
9391 
72 
8842 
97 
8077 1 
22 
9731 
48 
9373 
73 
8817 
98 
8034 
23 
9720 
49 
9354 
74 
8791 
99 
7988 
24 
9710 . 
50 
9335 
75 
8765 
100 
7939 
25 
9700 
1 1652 
Appendix, 
Table showing the Value of the Degrees of Baume's Hydrometer in those of 
Tralles' Alcoholmeter. 
Bailing. 
Tralles. 
Bailing. 
Tralles. 
Baumg. 
Tralles. 
Bailing. 
Tralles. 
10-12 
•o 
20 
50-1 
30 
75-6 
40 
92-9 
11 
4-3 
21 
53-2 
31 
77-6 
41 
94-2 
12 
9-8 
22 
56 1 
32 
79 6 
42 
95-5 
13 
16-1 
23 
58-9 
33 
81-5 
43 
96-7 
14 
22-9 
24 
61-6 
34 
83-4 
44 
97-8 
15 
29-2 
25 
64-2 
35 
85 1 
45 
98-8 
16 
34-5 
26 
66-6 
36 
86-8 
46 
99-7 
17 
39-2 
27 
690 
37 
88-4 
' 46 37 
100-0 
18 
431 
28 
71-3 
38 
90- 
19 
46-8 
29 
73-5 
39 
91-4 
V. CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN DIFFERENT 
THERMOMETERS. 
In Fahrenheit's thermometer, which is universally employed in this country 
and Great Britain, the freezing point of water is placed at 32°, and the boiling 
point at 212°, and the number of intervening degrees is 180. 
The centigrade thermometer, which has long been used in Sweden under 
the name of Celsius’s thermometer, and is now most generally employed on the 
continent of Europe, marks the freezing point zero, and the boiling point 100°. 
In Reaumur's thermometer, used in France before the revolution, the freez- 
ing point is at zero, and the boiling point at 80°. 
In De Lisle's thermometer, used in Russia, the graduation begins at the 
boiling point, which is marked zero, while the freezing point is placed at 150°. 
From the above statement, it is evident that 180 degrees of Fahrenheit are 
equal to 100° of the centigrade, 80° of Reaumur, and 150° of De Lisle; or 1 
degree of the first is equal to £ of a degree of the second, of a degree of the 
third, and | of a degree of the last. It is easy, therefore, to convert the degrees 
of one into the equivalent number of degrees of the other; but, in ascertaining 
the corresponding points upon the different scales, it is necessary to take into 
consideration their different modes of graduation. Thus, as the zero of Fahren- 
heit is 32° below the point at which that of the centigrade and of Reaumur is 
placed, this number must be taken into account in the calculation. The follow- 
ing propositions will embrace all the cases which can arise in relation to the 
three last-mentioned thermometers. That of De Lisle is seldom or never re- 
ferred to in works which are read in this country. 
1. If any degree on the centigrade scale, either above or below zero, be mul- 
tiplied by 9 and divided by 5, or if any degree of Reaumur above or below zero 
be multiplied by 9 and divided by 4, the quotient will, in either case, be the 
number of degrees above or below 32°, or the freezing point of Fahrenheit. 
2. The number of degrees between any point of Fahrenheit's scale and 32°, 
if multiplied by 5 and divided by 9, will give the corresponding point on the 
centigrade; if multiplied by 4 and divided by 9, will give the corresponding 
point on the scale of Reaumur. 
3. Any degree of the centigrade multiplied by 4 and divided by 5, will give 
the corresponding degree of Reaumur; and, conversely, any degree of Reaumur 
multiplied by 5 and divided by 4, will give the corresponding de( ree of the 
centigrade. INDEX. 
A 
Abbreviations, table of 1628 
Abelmoschus esculentus 1528 
Abclmoschus moschatus 1528 
Abies balsamea 830 
Abies Canadensis 651 
Abies communis 650 
Abies excelsa 650 
Abies larix 830 
Abies nigra 830 
Abies pectinata 830 
Abies picea 650, 830 
Abies taxifolia 830 
Absinthic acid 5 
Absinthin 5 
Absinthium 4 
Absolute alcohol 71, 73 
Abuta 638 
Acacia 5 
Acacia Adansonii 6 
Acacia albida 8 
Acacia Arabica 6 
Acacia catechu 232 
Acacia decurrens 6 
Acacia Ehrenbergiana 6 
Acacia floribunda 6 
Acacia gummifera 6, 7 
Acacia horrida 9 
Acacia karroo 6 
Acacia nebued 8 
Acacia Nilotica 6 
Acacia nostras 7 
Acacia Senegal 6 
Acacia seyal 6 
Acacia tortillis 6 
Acacia vera 6 
Acacia vereck 8 
Acaciae verse succus 7 
Acer saccharinum 726 
Aceta 910 
Acetate of alumina 1452 
Acetate of ammonia, so- 
lution of 1190 
Acetate of amylic ether 1516 
Acetate of copper 1452 
Acetate of iron, tincture 
of 1452 
Acetate of lead 656 
Acetate of magnesia 1452 
Acetate of morphia 1238 
Acetate of potassa 1280 
Acetate of quinia 287 
Acetate of soda 784 
Acetate of zinc 1438 
Acetated tincture . of 
opium 1404 
Acetic acid 17 
Acetic acid, camphor- 
ated 915 
Acetic acid, diluted 916 
Acetic acid, glacial 17, 20 
Acetic acid of commerce 
20, 22 
Acetic ether 1452 
Acetic extract of colchi- 
cum 1092 
Acetification 14 
Acetone 1589 
Acetosella 1574 
Acetous fermentation 13, 14 
Acetum 13 
Acetum Britannicum 15 
Acetum colchici 912 
Acetum destillatum 911 
Acetum Gallicum 15 
Acetum lobelise 912 
Acetum opii 913 
Acetum sanguinarise 914 
Acetum scillse 914 
Achillea 16 
Achillea millefolium 16 
Achilleic acid 16 
Acid, acetic 17 
Acid, aromatic sulphuric 934 
Acid, arsenious 22 
Acid, benzoic 916 
Acid, chlorohydric 41 
Acid, chromic 35 
Acid, citric 36 
Acid, crude pyroligneous 18 
Acid, cyanohydric 923 
Acid, diluted acetic 916 
Acid, diluted hydriodic 922 
Acid, diluted hydrocy- 
anic 923 
Acid, diluted muriatic 929 
Acid, diluted nitric 930 
Acid, diluted phosphoric 932 
Acid, diluted sulphuric 935 
Acid, gallic 919 
Acid, glacial acetic 17 
Acid, glacial phosphoric 51 
Acid, hydrochloric 41 
Acid, hydrocyanic 923 
Acid, lactic 39 
Acid, medicinal hydro- 
cyanic 92? 
Acid, muriatic 41 
Acid nitrate of mercury 1205 
Acid, nitric 4t> 
Acid, nitromuriatic 930 
Acid, prussic 923 
Acid pyretin 1601 
Acid, pyroligneous 21 
Acid solution of nitrate 
of mercury 1205 
Acid, sulphuric 53 
Acid, sulphurous 936 
Acid, tannic 938 
Acid, tartaric 59 
Acid tartrate of potash 668 
Acid, valerianic 942 
Acida 915 
Acids 915 
Acidum aceticum 17 
Acidum aceticum cam- 
phoratum 915 
Acidum aceticum dilu- 
tum 17, 916 
Acidum aceticum gla- 
ciale 17, 20 
Acidum arsenicum 1466 
Acidum, arseniosum 22 
Acidum benzoicum 916 
Acidum chromicum 35 
Acidum citricum 36 
Acidum gallicum 919 
Acidum hydriodicum di- 
lutum 922 
Acidum hydrochloricum 41 
Acidum hydrochloricum 
dilutum 929 
Acidum hydrocyanicum 
dilutum 923 
Acidum lacticum 39 
Acidum muriaticum 41 
Acidum muriaticum di- 
lutum 929 
Acidum nitricum 45 
Acidum nitricum dilutum 930 
Acidum nitrohydrochlo- 
ricum dilutum 932 
Acidum nitromuriaticum 930 
Acidum nitromuriaticum 
dilutum 932 
Acidum oxalicum 1571 
Acidum phosphoricum 
dilutum 932 Index, 
i jidum phosphoricum 
glacixle 51 
Acidum succinicum 1605 
Acidum sulphuricum 53 
Acidum sulphuricum 
aromaticum 934 
Acidum sulphuricum di- 
lutum 935 
Acidum sulphurosum 936 
Acidum tannicum 938 
Acidum tartaricum 59 
Acidum valerianicum 942 
Acipenser huso 463 
Acipenser ruthenus 463 
Acipenser stellatus 463 
Acipenser sturio 463 
Aconella 65 
Aconite leaf 63 
Aconite root 63 
Aconiti folium 63 
Aconiti radix 63 
Aconitia 65, 944 
Aconitic acid 65, 349 
Aconitin 65 
Aconitum 63 
Aconitum anthora 63 
Aconitum cammarum 63 
Aconitum ferox 63, 945 
Aconitum heterophyllum 63 
Aconitum Japonicum 63 
Aconitum lycoctonum 63 
Aconitum napellus 64 
Aconitum neomontanum 63 
Aconitum Neubergense 64 
Aconitum paniculatum 63 
Aconitum Sinense 63 
Aconitum Storckianum 63 
Aconitum Tauricum 63 
Aconitum uncinatum 63 
Acorus calamus 181 
Acrid lettuce 503 
Acrolein 566 
Actaea alba 1453 
Actaea Americana 1453 
Actaea racemosa 250 
Actaea rubra 1453 
Actaea spicata 437, 1453 
Adansonia digitata 1453 
Adeps 67 
Adeps praeparatus 67 
Adhesive plaster 1074 
Adiantum capillus ve- 
neris 1453 
Adiantum pedatum 1453 
Administering medi- 
cines, mode of 1626 
iEgle marmelos 160 
iEsculus hippocasta- 
num 1453 
iEther 948 
iEther aceticus 1452 
Aether fortior 951 
iEther hydriodicus 1529 
/Ether hydrocyanicus 1530 
iEther muriaticus 1559 
/Ether sulphuricus 948 
iEtherea 947 
/Ethiops vegetabilis 1517 
African black pepper 339 
African kino 498 
African sugar-cane 1603 
African turmeric 346 
Agar agar 1517 
Agaracin 1560 
Agaric 1454 
Agaric of the oak 1455 
Agaric, purging 1454 
Agaric, white 1454 
Agaricus campestris 1560 
Agathis Damarra 834 
Agathosma 174 
Agathotes chirayta 248 
Agave Americana 1455 
Agave Yirginica 1455 
Agedoite 422 
Agrimonia eupatoria 1455 
Agrimony, common 1455 
Ailanthus glandulosa 1456 
Aix la Chapelle water 131 
Ajuga chamaepitys 1456,1613 
Ajuga pyramidalis 1456 
Ajuga reptans 1456 
Alantin 467 
Albizia anthelmintica 1556 
Albumen as an antidote 
for corrosive subli- 
mate 1155 
Albumen ovi 634 
Albumen, vegetable 386 
Albuminate of iron 1457 
Albuminate of iron and Y 
potassa, syrup of 1456 
Albuminate of iron and 
soda 1457 
Alcese iEgyptiacae 1528 
Alchemilla vulgaris 1457 
Alcohol 69, 74 
Alcohol, absolute 71, 73 
Alcohol amylic 77 
Alcohol amylicum 77 
Alcohol as a poison 75 
Alcohol, diluted 69, 75 
Alcohol dilutum 69, 75 
Alcohol fortius 69, 74 
Alcohol, met hylic 803 
Alcohol, officinal 74 
Alcohol, table of the sp. 
gr. of 72, 1651 
Alcoholic extract of aco- 
nite 1087 
Alcoholic extract of ar- 
nica 1089 
Alcoholic extract of bel- 
ladonna 1090 
Alcoh olic extract of black 
hellebore 1098 
Alcoholic extract of colo- 
cynth 1093 
Alcoholic extract of digi- 
talis 1096 
Alcoholic extract of 
hemlock 1095 
Alcoh olic extract of hen- 
bane 1099 
Alcoholic extract of ig- 
natia 1099 
Alcoholic extract of nux 
vomica 1102, 1103 
Alcoholic extract of rhu- 
barb 1105 
Alcoholic extract of 
seneka 1106 
Alcoholic extract of stra- 
monium 1107 
Alcoholic extract of va- 
lerian 1108 
Alcoholic fermentation 69 
Alcoholic muriatic ether 1560 
Alcoholic potassa 1278 
Alcoholmeter, Gay-Lus- 
sac’s centesimal 1651 
Alcoholmeter of Tralles 1651 
Alcornoque 1457 
Aldehyd 14, 1343 
Aldehyd resin 14 
Alder, American 1458 
Alder, black 687 
Alder, common Euro- 
pean 1458 
Ale 859 
Alembic 888 
Aleppo scammony 757 
Aletris 78 
Aletris farinosa 78 
Aleurites triloba 1457 
Alexandria senna 770 
Algarobia glandulosa 6, 1556 
Alhagi Maurorum 533 
Alisma plantago 1458 
Alizarin 716 
Alkalimetry 673 
Alkanet 1458 
Alkekengi 1583 
Alliaria officinalis 1458 
Allium 79 
Allium Canadense 79 
Allium cepa 1569 
Allium porrum 1546 
Allium sativum 79 
Allspice 647 
Allyl 8C; 781 
Almond, bitter 107 
Almond confection 1307 
Almond emulsion 1228 
Almond mixture 1228 
Almond oil soap 746 
Almond, sweet 107 
Almonds, bitter 108 
Almonds, sweet 108 
Alnus glutinosa 1458 
Alnus serrulata 1458 
Aloe 81 
Aloe Africana 83 
Aloe arborescens 81 
Aloe Barbadensis 81 
Aloe Capensis 81 
Aloe Commelyni 81 
Aloe ferox 83 Index, 
1655 
Aloe multiformis 81 
Aloe plicatilis 83 
Aloe puriucata 969 
Aloe purpurascens 81 
Aloe Socotrina 81, 82 
Aloe spicata 81 
Aloe vulgaris 81, 82, 85 
Aloes 81 
Aloes, Barbadoes 81, 85 
Aloes, Bethelsdorp 83 
Aloes, caballine 86 
Aloes, Cape 81, 83 
Aloes, fetid 86 
Aloes, hepatic 85 
Aloes, horse 86 
Aloes, India 86 
Aloes, Mocha 86 
Aloes, shining 83 
Aloes, Socotrine 81, 83 
Aloetic pills 1265 
Aloetin 87 
Aloin 87 
Alpinia cardamomum 218 
Alpinia galanga 1518 
Alsop’s infusion jar 1176 
Alstroemeria ligtu% 537 
Alteratives 3 
Althaea 89 
Althaea officinalis 89 
Althaea rosea 90 
Alum 91 
Alum, dried 969 
Alum, preparations of 969 
Alum slate 91 
Alum spring, Rockbridge 132 
Alum stone 91 
Alum whey 95 
Alumen 91 
Alumen exsiccatum 969 
Alumen ustum 970 
Alumina 93 
Alumina, acetate of 1452 
Alumina and ammonia, 
sulphate of 92 
Alumina and iron, sul- 
phate of 1606 
Alumina and potassa, 
sulphate of 91 
Alumina, sulphate of 92, 970 
Altunina, tannate of 1609 
Aluminse et Ammonise 
sulphas 92 
Aluminse sulphas 970 
Aluminse tannas 1609 
Aluminium 93 
Aluminized charcoal 215 
Aluminous schist 91 
Alumroot 440 
Alyon’s ointment 1424 
Amadou 1455 
Amalgamation 136 
Amaranthus hypochon- 
driacus 1459 
Amber 598 
Amber eupion 1562 
Amber varnish 599 
Ambergris 1459 
Amblygonite 516 
Ambra grisea 1459 
Ambrein 1459 
Ambrosia artemisisefolia 1459 
Ambrosia trifida 206, 1459 
Amelanchier vulgaris 109 
American agave 1455 
American aloe 1455 
American centaury 722 
American columbo 400, 401 
American dittany 1507 
American gentian 400 
American hellebore 851 
American ipecacuanha 
378, 416 
American ivy 1460 
American poplar 518 
American sanicle 440 
American senna 228 
American silver fir 830 
American spikenard 135 
American water hemlock 1495 
Amide 109, 1173 
Amidin 112 
Amidogen 1173 
Ammonia 95 
Ammonia alum 92 
Ammonia, aromatic spirit 
of 1347 
Ammonia, arseniate of 1466 
Ammonia, benzoate of 972 
Ammonia, carbazotate 
of 1486 
Ammonia, carbonate of 99 
Ammonia, hydriodate of 1537 
Ammonia, hydrochlo- 
rate of 102 
Ammonia, hydrosulph- 
uret of 1530 
Ammonia, muriate of 102 
Ammonia, nitrosulphate 
of 1565 
Ammonia, phosphate of 973 
Ammonia, preparations 
of 972 
Ami*onia, sesquicarbo- 
nate of 99 
Ammonia, solution of 997 
Ammonia, spirit of 1346 
Ammonia, stronger wa- 
ter of 97 
Ammonia, succinate of 1606 
Ammonia, sulphate of 104 
Ammonia, table of the 
preparations of 96 
Ammonia, urate of 1618 
Ammonia, valerianate of 974 
Ammonia, water of 997 
Ammonia-alum 92 
Ammoniac 105 
Ammoniac, mixture of 1228 
Ammoniac plaster 1065 
Ammoniacal ointment, 
vesicating 99 
Ammoniacum 105 
Ammonise aqua 997 
Ammonise aqua fortrjr 97 
Ammonise arsenias 1466 
Ammonise benzoas 972 
Ammonise carbonas 99 
Ammonise liydrochloras 102 
Ammonise hydrosulpliu- 
retum 1580 
Ammonise liquor 997 
Ammonise liquor fortior 97 
Ammonise murias 102 
Ammonise phosphas 973 
Ammonise sesquicarbo- 
nas 99 
Ammonise sulphas 104 
Ammonise uras 1618 
Ammonise valerianas 974 
Ammonia-meter 98 
Ammoniated copper 1053 
Ammoniated iron 1459 
Ammoniated mercury 1172 
Ammoniated tincture of 
guaiac 1397 
Ammoniated tincture of 
valerian 1410 
Ammonii iodidum 1537 
Ammonio-chloride of 
iron 1459 
Ammonio-chloride of 
silver 1493 
Ammonio-citrate of iron 1128 
Ammonio-ferric alum 1129 
Ammonio-tartrate of 
iron 1130 
Ammonium 95 
Ammonium, chloride of 
95, 103 
Ammonium, iodide of 1537 
Ammonium, oxide of 95 
Amomum angustifolium 217 
Amomum cardamomum 216 
Amomum grana paradisi 217 
Amomum maximum 216 
Amomum melegueta 217 
Amomum racemosum 216 
Amomum repens 217 
Amomum zingiber 870 
Amorphous quinia 287, 1317 
Ampelopsis quinquefolia 1460 
Amygdala 107 
Amygdala amara 107, 108 
Amygdala dulcis 107, 108 
Amydalse oleum 575 
Amygdalic acid 109 
Amygdalin 108 
Amygdalus communis 107 
Amygdalus Persica 1578 
Amyl 78 
Amyl, hydrated oxide of 77 
Amyl, hydride of 
78, 1460, 1582 
Amyl, hydruret of 78, 1460 
Amylen 78, 1460 
Amylic acid 78 
Amylic alcohol 77 
Amylic ether, acetate of 1516 1656 
Index, 
Amyiic ether, valerian- 
ate of 1516 
Amy lum 110 
Amyris caranna 1486 
Amyris commiphora 1470 
Amyris Gileadensis 1469 
Amyris kataf 557 
Amyris tomentosa 1609 
Anacahuite wood 1460 
Anacardic acid 1461 
Anacardium occidentale 1461 
Anacyclus officinarum 691 
Anacyclus pyrethrum 691 
Anaesthetic compounds, 
chlorinated 1494 
Anaesthetics 3 
Anagallis arvensis 1461 
Anagallis cserulea 1461 
Anamirta cocculus 305 
Anarcotina 619 
Anchusa Italica 1461 
Anchusa officinalis 1461 
Anchusa tinctoria 1458 
Anchusic acid 1458 
Anda Brasiliensis 1567 
Anda Gomesii 1567 
Anda, oil of 1567 
Anderson’s pills 89, 1265 
Andira anthelmintica 1478 
Andira inermis 1478 
Andira retusa 1479 
Andirin 1479 
Andromeda arborea 1462 
Andromeda mariana 1462 
Andromeda speciosa 1462 
Andropogon nardus 1579 
Andropogon, oil of 597 
Anemone Ludoviciana 1462 
Anemone, meadow 1462 
Anemone nemorosa 1462 
Anemone pratensis 1462 
Anemone pulsatilla 1462 
Anemonic acid 697, 1462 
Anemonin 697, 1462 
Anethol 1248 
Anethum 114 
Anethum foeniculum 398 
Anethum graveolens 114 
Angelic acid 607 
Angelica 115 
Angelica archangelica 115 
Angelica atropurpurea 115 
Angelica officinalis 115 
Angelicic acid 116 
Angola weed 1549 
Angustura 116 
Angustura, false 118 
Anhydrous alcohol 73 
Anilia or aniline 1462 
Animal charcoal 210 
Animal charcoal, puri- 
fied 1034 
Animd 1463 
Anise 119 
Anise camphor 1248 
Aniseed, star 119 
Anise-tree, Florida 1534 
Anisic acid 1248 
Anisum 119 
Annotta 1464 
Anodyne enema 1076 
Anodyne liniment 1188 
Anodynes 3 
Antacids 2 
Antennaria margaritacea 
1464 
Anthelmintics 2 
Anthemic acid 120 
Anthemine or anthemia 120 
Anthemis 120 
Anthemis arvensis 120 
Anthemis cotula 120, 331 
Anthemis nobilis 120 
Anthemis parthenoides 121 
Anthemis pyrethrum 120, 691 
Anthemis tinctoria 120 
Anthoxanthum odoratum 
1615 
Anthracite 210 
Anthrakokali 1464 
Anthrenus 202 
Anthriscus cerefolium 1464 
Antiar 1617 
Antiarin 1617 
Antiar is toxicaria 1617 
Antilithics 2 
Antimonial ointment 1416 
Antimonial powder 1307 
Antimonial wine 1434 
Antimoniate of quinia 288 
Antimoniated hydrogen 1464 
Antimonic acid 123 
Antimonii et potassae tar- 
tras 97 6 
Antimonii iodidum 1538 
Antimonii oxidum 984 
Antimonii oxysulphure- 
tum 985 
Antimonii sulphuretum 124 
Antimonii sulphuretum 
aureum 987 
Antimonii sulphuretum 
praecipitatum « 987 
Antimonii terchloridi li- 
quor 1192 
Antimonious acid 123 
Antimonium 122 
Antimonium diaphoreti- 
cum 1510 
Antimonium sulphura- 
tum 987 
Antimonium tartaratum 976 
Antimonium tartarizatum 976 
Antimony 122 
Antimony and potassa, 
tartrate of 976 
Antimony ash 122 
Antimony, compound 
pills of 1266 
Antimony, crocus of 1506 
Antimony, glass of 1519 
Antimony, iodide of 1538 
Antimony, oxide of 984 
Antimony, oxychloride 
of 976, 1587 
Antimony, oxysulphuret 
of # 985 
Antimonyj precipitated 
sulphuret of 987 
Antimony, preparations 
of 976 
Antimony, prepared sul- 
phuret of 124 
Antimony, suboxide of 123 
Antimony, sulphuret of 124 
Antimony, tartarized 976 
Antimony, teriodide of 1538 
Antimony, teroxide of 984 
Antimony, tersulphuret 
of 124 
Antirrhinic acid 351 
Antirrhinum linaria 1465 
Antispasmodics 2 
Antozone 1580 
Aperient effervescing 
powders 1306 
Aperitive saffron of Mars 
. 1145 
Apiin 640 
Apiol 640 
Apis mellifica 237, 543 
Apium petroselinum 640 
Apocynin 126 
Apocynum androsmmi- 
folium 125 
Apocynum cannabinum 125 
Aporetin 707 
Apothecaries’measure 1633 
Apothecaries’ weight 1633 
Apotheine 1078 
Appert’s process 1359 
Apple essence 1516 
Apple whisky 801 
Application of heat 884 
Approximate measure- 
ment 1638 
Aqua 126 
Aqua acidi carbonici 994 
Aqua ammonias 997 
Aqua ammonias fortior 97 
Aqua amygdalae amarae 999 
Aqua anethi 1000 
Aqua aurantii florum 1000 
Aqua Binelli 1465 
Aqua calcis 1196 
Aqua camphorse 1001 
Aqua carui 1002 
Aqua chlorinii 1002 
Aqua cinnamomi 1004 
Aqua creasoti 1004 
Aqua destillata 989 
Aqua fluvialis 128 
Aqua foeniculi 1004 
Aqua fontana 128 
Aqua fortis 45 
Aqua lauro-cerasi 1005 
Aqua lucias 746 
Aqua menthae piperitae 1006 Index, 
Aqua menthae viridis 1006 
Aqua phagedaenica 1153 
Aqua picis liquid® 1182 
Aqua pimentae 1006 
Aqua regia 931 
Aqua rosae 1006 
Aqua sambuci 1007 
Aqua sapphirina 344 
Aquae 990 
Aquae medicatae 990 
Aquilegia vulgaris 1465 
Arabic acid 10 
Arabin 9, 10 
Arachis hypogoea 1523 
Aralia bark 135 
Aralia hispida 135 
Aralia nudicaulis 134 
Aralia racemosa 135 
Aralia spinosa 135 
Araucaria Dombeyi 834 
Arbor alba minor 577 
Arbor vitae 1614 
Arbutin 846 
Arbutus, trailing 1512 
Arbutus uva ursi 845 
Arcanum duplicatum 684 
Archangelica officinalis 115 
Archil 1550 
Arctium lappa 507 
Arctostaphylos uva ursi 845 
Arctuvine 846 
Ardent spirits of com- 
merce 71 
Areca catechu 233, 235,1465 
Areca nut 235, 1465 
Argel 770 
Argemone Mexicana 1465 
Argenti chloridum 1493 
Argenti cyanidum 1007 
Argenti iodidum 1538 
Argenti nitras 1008, 1011 
Argenti nitras fusa 1011 
Argenti oxidum 1014 
Argentine flowers of 
Antimony 123 
Argentum 136 
Argol 668 
Arguel 770 
Arica bark 272 
Aricina 267, 284 
Aristolochia clematitis 774 
Aristolochia hastata 775 
Aristolochia hirsuta 774 
Aristolochia Indica 774 
Aristolochia longa 774 
Aristolochia pistolochia 774 
Aristolochia reticulata 775 
Aristolochia rotunda 774 
Aristolochia sagittata 775 
Aristolochia sempervi- 
rens 774 
Aristolochia serpentaria 774 
Aristolochia tomentosa 774 
Armoracia 137 
Arnica 138 
Arnica montana 138 
Arnicina 139 
Arnotta 1464 
Aromatic confection 1050 
Aromatic powder 1309 
Aromatic powder of 
chalk 1310 
Aromatic powder of 
chalk and opium 1310 
Aromatic spirit of am- 
monia 1347 
Aromatic spirit of vine- 
gar 915 
Aromatic sulphuric acid 934 
Aromatic syrup of black- 
berry 718 
Aromatic syrup of rhu- 
barb 1374 
Aromatic vinegar 915 
Aromatic wine 1621 
Arrow-root 535 
Arseniate of ammonia 1466 
Arseniate of caffein 181 
Arseniate of iron 1124 
Arseniate of soda 1332 
Arsenic 140 
Arsenic acid 141, 1406 
Arsenic, bisulphuret of 1590 
Arsenic, iodide of 1016 
Arsenic, preparations of 1015 
Arsenic, teriodide of 1016 
Arsenic, tersulphuret of 1571 
Arsenical paste 25 
Arsenical solution 1214 
Arsenical solution of 
Pearson 1332 
Arsenici iodidum 1016 
Arsenicum 140 
Arsenicum album 22 
Arsenious acid 22 
Arsenious acid as a poison 26 
Arsenious acid, tests for 30 
Arsenite of potassa, so- 
lution of 1214 
Arsenite of quinia 287 
Art of prescribing med- 
icines 1625 
Art ant he adunca 542 
Artanthe elongata 541 
Artemisia abrotanum 4 
Artemisia absinthium 4 
Artemisia Chinensis 4, 1558 
Artemisia contra 743 
Artemisia glomerata 743 
Artemisia Indica 4, 1558 
Artemisia Judaica 743 
Artemisia moxa 1558 
Artemisia Pontica 4 
Artemisia santonica 4, 743 
Artemisia vulgaris 4, 1558 
Arterial stimulants 2 
Artesian wells 129 
Arthanitin 1508 
Artichoke, garden 1509 
Artificial bone-black 215 
Artificial camphor 600 
Artificial gum 111 
Artificial musk 1561 
Artificial oil of bitter 
almonds 1472 
Artificial Seltzer water 994 
Artocarpus incisa 537 
Arum 141 
Arum esculentum 142 
Arum maculatum 141,142 
Arum tripliyllum 141, 142 
Asagraea officinalis 721 
Asarabacca 1406 
Asarin 1406 
Asarite 1406 
Asarone 1406 
Asarum 143 
Asarum campbor 1466 
Asarum Canadense 143 
Asarum Europseum 1466 
Asbolin 1001 
Asclepias 144 
Asclepias cornuti 1-467 
Asclepias curassavica 1466 
Asclepias, flesh-coloured 1467 
Asclepias gigantea 148? 
Asclepias incarnata 144, 146? 
Asclepias Syriaca 144,1407 
Asclepias tuberosa 144 
Asclepias verticillata 1467 
Asclepias vincetoxicum 1508 
Asclepione 1467 
Ash, common European 1515 
Ash-bark 267 
Ash-coloured cantharis 206 
Asiatic pills 26 
Asparagin 90, 422, 1468 
Asparagus 1467 
Asparagus officinalis 1467 
Asparamide 90 
Aspargia hispida 828 
Asparmic acid 90 
Aspartic acid 90 
Aspen 1586 
Asperula odorata 1615 
Asphaltum 1580 
Aspidium athamanticum 396 
Aspidium filix foemina 1468 
Aspidium filix mas 396 
Asplenium adiantum ni- 
grum 1453, 1468 
Asplenium filix foemina 1468 
Asplenium scolopendri- 
um 1597 
Asplenium trichomanes 
1453, 1468 
Assacou 1528 
Assafetida 145 
Assafetida, mixture of 1229 
Assafetida plaster 1067 
Assafetida, syrup of 1229 
Assafoetida 147 
Aster puniceus 1468 
Astragalus aristatus 839 
Astragalus Creticus 839 
Astragalus gummifer 839 
Astragalus massiliensis 839 
I Astragalus strobiliferus 839 1658 
Index. 
Astragalus vragacantha 839 
Astragalus verus 839 
Astringent saffron of 
Mars 1146 
Astringents 2 
Atherosperma moschata 1468 
Atberospermin 1468 
Athyrium filix fcemina 1468 
Atkinson’s depilatory 1571 
A tropa belladonna 161 
Atropa mandragora 1552 
Atropia 162, 1016 
Atropia, sulphate of 1020 
Atropim sulphas 1020 
Atropic acid 1019 
Attaleh 7 
Attar of roses 597 
Aurantii amari cortex 148 
Aurantii aqua 1000 
Aurantii cortex 148 
Aurantii dulcis cortex 148 
Aurantii flores 149 
Aurantii tiorum aqua 1000 
Aurantii oleum 150 
Aurum 1521 
Australian gum 9 
Australian sassafras 1468 
Autumnal crocus 337 
Ava 541 
Avena 152 
Avena sativa 152 
Avenm farina 152 
Avens 415 
Avens, purple 415 
Avens, water 415 
Avoirdupois weight 1633 
Aya-pana 375 
Aydendron laurel 1584 
Azedarack 153 
Azulene 570 
Azure 1601 
B 
Bacher, tonic pills of 1098 
Bacher’s pills 438 
Badiane 119 
Bael 160 
Balaustines 426 
Balm 544 
Balm of Gilead 830, 833,1468 
Balm of Gilead tree 830 
Balsam apple 1557 
Balsam, Canada 833 
Balsam, Carpathian 830 
Balsam, Hungarian 1594 
Balsam of copaiva 322 
Balsam of fir 833 
Balsam of Gilead 1468 
Balsam of Peru 153 
Balsam of sulphur 1469 
Balsam of Tolu 157 
Balsam, Riga 1593 
Balsam weed 1534 
Balsam, white 155 
Balsamina 1557 
Balsamito 156 
Balsamodendron Gilea- 
dense 1469 
Balsamodendron myri'ha 558 
Balsamum Carpaticum 1593 
Balsamum Gileadense 1468 
Balsamum Libani 1593 
Balsamum Peruvianum 153 
Balsamum Tolutanum 157 
Balsamum tranquilans 1469 
Balsamum traumaticum 1387 
Balston Spa water 132 
Banana essence 1516 
Bancksia Abyssinica 170 
Baneberry 1453 
Bang 380 
Baobab 1453 
Baphia nitida 1483 
Baptisia alba 1469 
Baptisia tinctoria 1469 
Barbadoes aloes 81 
Barbadoes nuts 608, 1469 
Barbadoes petroleum 1582 
Barbary gum 7 
Barberry 167 
Barii chloridum 1022 
Barii iodidum 1538 
Barilla 788 
Barium 158 
Barium, chloride of 1022 
Barium, iodide of 1538 
Barium, preparations of 1022 
Bark, Arica 272 
Bark, ash 267 
Bark, Bogota 280 
Bark, Calisaya 252, 268 
Bark, Carabaya 271 
Bark, Caribasan 282 
Bark, coquetta 280 
Bark, crown 264 
Bark, Cusco 271, 272 
Bark, fluid extract of 1111 
Bark, Fusagasuga 280 
Bark, gray 266 
Bark, hard Pitaya 280 
Bark, Huamilies 267 
Bark, Huanuco 266 
Bark, Jaen 267 
Bark, light Calasaya 270, 272 
Bark, Lima 266 
Bark, Loxa 264 
Bark, Maracaybo 276 
Bark, new 282 
Bark of St. Ann 271-2 
Bark of sassafras root 754 
Bark, pale 263 
Bark, Peruvian 252 
Bark, Peruvian Calisaya 272 
Bark, Pitaya 280 
Bark, red 275 
Bark, St. Lucia 282 
Bark, Santa Martha 276 
Bark, silver 266 
Bark, soft Pitaya 280, 281 
Bark, yellow 268 
Barks, Carthagena 276 
Barks, false 282 
Barks, false Calisaya 270 
Barks, non-officinal 276 
Barley 445 
Barley sugar 730 
Barley water 1059 
Baroselenite 159 
Barosma betulina 174 
Barosma crenata 174 
Barosma crenulata 174 
Barosma serratifolia 174 
Barras 832 
Baryta 158 
Baryta, carbonate of 159 
Baryta, sulphate of 159, 1606 
Baryta water 158 
Barytas carbonas 159 
Barytte sulphas 159, 1606 
Barytina 851 
Basil 1566 
Basilicon ointment 1043 
Bassora gum 9, 1470 
Bassoi’in 9, 11, 1470 
Bastard dittany 1510 
Bastard ipecacuanha 1466 
Bateman’s drops 1405 
Bath water 132 
Baths 134 
Baume de commandeur 1387 
Baume de la Mecque 1468 
Baume tranquille 1469 
Baumd’s hydrometer 876 
Baum4’s hydrometer, ta- 
bles of the value of the 
degrees of, in sp. gr. 
1649, 1650 
Bay berries 1545 
Bay leaves 1545 
Bay salt 795 
Bay tree 1545 
Bay-berry 1562 
Bay-rum 802 
Bdellium 658, 1470 
Bead tree, common 153 
Beaked hazel 1505 
Bean of Calabar, ordt al 1480 
Bean of St. Ignatius 465 
Bearberry 845 
Bear’s-foot 1527 
Beaver tree 528 
Bebeeriae sulphas 1023 
Bebeeric acid 560 
Bebeerin or bebeeria 560 
Bebeeru bark 559 
Beccabunga 1620 
Bedeguar 1470 
Bedford spring water 131 
Beech-drops 1571 
Beer 860 
Beet sugar 724 
Bela 160 
Belgaum walnut oil 1457 
Belladonna 161 
Belladonnin 162 
Beluga 463 
Ben, oil of 568 Index. 
1659 
Bendee 1528 
Bengal cardamom 216 
Bengal opium 614 
Bengal quince 160 
Benic acid 1568 
Benjamin tree 165 
Benne leaf 776 
Benue oil 598, 776 
Benzin 1471 
Benzene 1471 
Benzine 1497 
Benzinated lard 1415 
Benzinated solution of 
alumina 971 
Benzoate of ammonia 972 
Benzoate of soda 1471 
Benzoii amygdaloides 165 
Benzoe in sortis 165 
Benzoic acid 916 
Benzoin 164 
Benzoin, flowers of 917 
Benzoin, odoriferum 1471 
Benzoi’ne 573 
Benzoinum 164 
Benzole 573, 1471 
Benzyl 573, 918 
Berberin or berberina 
168, 457, 1500 
Berberin tree 1500 
Berberis 167 
Berberis aristata 167 
Berberis Canadensis 167 
Berberis lycium 167 
Berberis vulgaris 167 
Berbina 169 
Bergamot pear essence 1516 
Bertholletia excelsa 1477 
Bestuchef’s tincture of 
iron 1395 
Betel 1465 
Betel-nut 233, 235, 1465 
Bethelsdorp aloes 83 
Betonica officinalis 1473 
Betony, wood 1473 
Betula alba 1473 
Betula lenta 408, 1473 
Betula papyracea 1473 
Betulin 1473 
Bevilacqua 1529 
Bezoar 1473 
Bibasic phosphate of 
soda 1338 
Biborate of soda 787 
Bibromide of mercury 1477 
Bicarbonat e of ammonia 100 
Bicai'bonate of potassa 1285 
Bicarbonate of soda 1333 
Bichloride of ethylen 1494 
Bichloride of mercury 1152 
Bichromate of potassa 667 
Bicolorata (cinchona) 282 
Bicyanide of mercury 1162 
Bidens bipinnata 1473 
Bigaradia myrtifolia 149 
Biguonia catalpa 1488 
Bignonia sempervirens 409 
Bilate of soda 1575 
Bilifulvin 1575 
Bilin 1575 
Biliverdin 1575 
Biniodide of mercury 1163 
Binoxalate of potassa 
1573, 1575 
Birch, European 1473 
Birch, sweet 1473 
Bird-lime 1473 
Bird-manure 1524 
Bisenna 1556 
Bismuth 169 
Bismuth and ammonia, 
citrate of 1028 
Bismuth, magistery of 1027 
Bismuth, subcarbonate 
of 1024 
Bismuth, subnitrate of 1025 
Bismuth, teroxide of 169 
Bismuth, valerianate of 1619 
Bismuthi subcarbonas 1024 
Bisinuthi subnitras 1025 
Bismuthi valerianas 1619 
Bismuthic acid 169 
Bismuthum 169 
Bismuthum album 1025 
Bistort 1473 
Bisulphate of potassa 1474 
Bisulphuret of carbon 1475 
Bisulphuret of iodine 1360 
Bitartrate of potassa 668 
Biting stone-crop 1598 
Bitter almond 107 
Bitter almond water 999 
Bitter almonds 108 
Bitter ash 692, 1475 
Bitter candytuft 1533 
Bitter cucumber 315 
Bitter polygala 666 
Bittera febrifuga 1475 
Bittersweet 357 
Bitumens 1580 
Bituminous coal 210 
Bixa orellana 1464 
Bixin 1464 
Black alder 687 
Black ash 789 
Black birch 1473 
Black cantharis 206 
Black cyanide of potas- 
sium 1295 
Black draught 1184 
Black drink 1534 
Black drop 913 
Black flux 670 
Black hellebore 436 
Black ipecacuanha 483 
Black lead 1487 
Black mustard seeds 779 
Black nightshade 357 
Black oxide of copper 1503 
Black oxide of manga- 
nese 529 
Black pepper 647 
Black poplar 1586 
Black poppy 610 
Black salts 671 
Black snakeroot 250, 1595 
Black spleenwort i468 
Black spruce 830 
Black sulphuret of mer- 
cury 1172, 1476 
Black walnut 492 
Black wash 1159 
Blackberry 716 
Blackberry root 716 
Black-oak bark 694, 695 
Bladder-senna 1501 
Bladder-wrack 1516 
Blanc-fix 160 
Blanchard’s pills 1271 
Blaud’s ferruginous pills 1270 
Blazing star 78 
Bleaching powder 185 
Blende 865 
Blessed thistle 1490 
Blistering cerate 1038 
Blistering cloth 1041 
Blistering paper 1041 
Blistering plaster 1038 
Blisters, use of 204 
Block tin 1614 
Bloodroot 739 
Bloodweed 1466 
Blooming spurge 377 
Blue cohosh 1488 
Blue flag 486 
Blue gentian 413 
Blue mass 1272 
Blue pills 1272 
Blue stone 343 
Blue vitriol 343 
Bog-bean 1555 
Bogota bark 276, 280 
Boheic acid 1612 
Bole Armenian 1476 
Boles 1476 
Boletus fomentanus 1455 
Boletus igniarius 1455 
Boletus laricis 1454 
Boletus ribis 1455 
Boletus ungulatus 1455 
Bolus Veneta 1619 
Bondou gum 8 
Bone 632 
Bone-ash 633 
Bone-black 211, 633 
Bone-black, artificial 215 
Bone-earth 633 
Bone-oil 1510 
Bone-phosphate of lime 
633, 1032 
Boneset 375 
Bone-spirit 100, 211 
Bonplandia trifoliata 116 
Boracic acid 787 
Boracic acid, native 785 
Boracic acid soluble ct earn 
of tartar 786 
Borage 1476 
Borago officinalis 1476 1660 
Index, 
Borate « f soda 784 
Borax 784 
Borax, artificial 785 
Borax, octohedral 786 
Borax, prismatic 786 
Bordeaux turpentine 832 
Borneo camphor 195 
Boron 787 
Boswellia serrata 1569 
Botany Bay kino 499 
Boudin’s solution 26 
Boullay’s filter 895 
Bouncing bet 1595 
Box plant 1478 
Brake, common 1468 
Bran 385, 387 
Brandy 805 
Brasiletto 1477 
Brass 866 
Brayera 170 
Brayera anthelmintica 170 
Brazil nuts 1476 
Brazil wood 1477 
Brazilian sarsaparilla 751 
Bread 386 
Breadfruit tree 537 
Breselin 1477 
Brian9on manna 533, 831 
Brighton water 131 
Brimstone 813 
British barilla 789, 790 
British gum 111 
British oil 602 
British vinegar 15 
Brittle gum 8 
Broad-leafed laurel 1543 
Bromide of ammonium 1477 
Bromide of carbon 173, 1493 
Bromide of iron 1477 
Bromide of potassium 1291 
Bromides of mercury 1477 
Bromine 171 
Bromine, chloride of 
173, 1493 
Brominii chloridum 1493 
Brominium 171 
Brooklime 1620 
Broom 763 
Broom, Spanish 1603 
Broom-rape 1571 
Broussonetia tinctoria 1518 
Brown mixture 1231, 1631 
Brucea antidysenterica 118 
Brucia 118, 562 
Bryonia alba 1478 
Bryonia dioica 1478 
Bryonin 1478 
Bryony 1478 
Bryoretin 1478 
Bubon galbanum 401 
Bucco 174 
Bucharian rhubarb 704, 706 
Buchu 174 
Buckbean 1555 
Buckthorn 1592 
Buckwheat 1474 
Buena 253 
Bugle, common 1456 
Bugle-weed 522 
Bugloss 1461 
Bunsen’s gas burner, 
modified by Griffin 885 
Burdock 507 
Burgundy pitch 649 
Burgundy pitch plaster 1070 
Burmese naphtha 1582 
Burnett’s disinfecting 
fluid 1443 
Burning bush 373 
Burnt alum 970 
Burnt hartshorn 1526 
Burnt sienna 1599 
Burnt sponge 1604 
Burnt umber 1617 
Bursera gummifera 1486 
Bush honeysuckle 1510 
Butea frondosa 498 
Butea gum 498 
Butter of antimony 1193 
Butter of cacao 603 
Butter of zinc 1440 
Buttercup 697 
Butterfly-weed 144 
Butternut 491 
Button bush 1491 
Button snakeroot 1512, 1546 
Butyl hydride 1582 
Butyrate of ethylic ether 1515 
Butyric acid 1515 
Butyric ether 1515 
Butyric fermentation 1515 
Butyrin 567 
Buxus sempervirens 1478 
Byttera febrifuga 1475 
c 
Caballine aloes 86 
Cabbage rose 711 
Cabbage-tree bark 1478 
Cacao 603 
Cachibou 1486 
Cade, oil of 1568 
Cadmii sulphas 1029 
Cadmium 175 
Cadmium, iodide of 176 
Cadmium, sulphate of 1029 
Cmsalpina Brasilieusis 1477 
Cmsalpina crista 1477 
Caesalpina echinata 1477 
Cmsalpina sappan 1477 
Caffea 177 
Caffea Arabica 177 
Caffeic acid 178 
Caff'ein 178 
Caffein, arseniate of 181 
Caff'ein, citrate of 181 
Caffeo-tannic acid 178 
Cahinca 1479 
Cahincic acid 1479 
Cajeput oil 577 
Cajeputene 678 
Calabar bean 1480 
Calamina 1482 
Calamine 1482 
Calamine cerate 1044 
Calamine, prepared 1483 
Calamus 181 
Calamus aromaticus 182 
Calamus draco 1511 
Calamus, fluid extract of 182 
Calamus rotang 1511 
Calcii chloridum 183 
Calcii sulphuretum 1607 
Calcination 898 
Calcined magnesia 1225 
Calcined mercury 1167 
Calcis carbonas prrnci- 
pitatus 1030 
Calcis chloratae liquor 1197 
Calcis hydras 1031 
Calcis hyposulphis 1532 
Calcis phosphas prmci- 
pitata 1031 
Calcium 183 
Calcium, chloride of 183 
Calendula officinalis 1483 
Calendulin 1483 
Calico-bush 1543 
California nutmeg 556 
Calisaya bark 268 
Calisaya bark, light 270 
Calisaya bark, Peruvian 272 
Calisaya barks, false 270 
Callicocca ipecacuanha 480 
Callitriche verna 1483 
Calomel 1157 
Calomel, iodides of 1540 
Calomel pill, compound 1266 
Calomel, precipitated 1159 
Calomelas 1157 
Calophyllum inophyl- 
lum 1609 
Calophyllum tacamaha- 
ca 1609 
Calotropis gigantea 1483 
Calotropis madarii In- 
dico-orientalis 1483 
Calumba 189 
Calx 184 
Calx chlorata 185 
Calx chlorinata 185 
Cam wood 1483 
Cambogia 405 
Cambogia gutta 407 
Camellia sasanqua 1611 
Camphene 195 
Camphol 195 
Camphor 192 
Camphor, artificial 600 
Camphor liniment 1187 
Camphor liniment, com- 
pound 1187 
Camphor oil 193, 579 
Camphor ointment 197 
Camphor tea 198 
Camphor water 1001 Index, 
1661 
Camphora 192 
Camphora officinarum 193 
Camphorated acetic acid 915 
Camphorated soap lini- 
ment 1189 
Camphorated tincture of 
opium 1405 
Camphorated tincture of 
soap 1189 
Camphoric acid 195 
Canada balsam 833 
Canada fleabane 372 
Canada pitch 651 
Canada snakeroot 143 
Canada turpentine 828, 833 
Canarium commune 364 
Canary seed 1483 
Canary weed 1549 
Cancer-root 1571 
Candytuft, bitter 1533 
Cane sugar 724 
Canella 198 
Canella alba 198 
Canna 199 
Canna achiras 199 
Canna edulis 200 
Canna speciosa 200 
Canna starch 200 
Cannabene 381 
Cannabin 381 
Cannabis Indica 379 
Cannabis sativa 379 
Cantharidal collodion 1049 
Cantharidese 200 
Cantharides 200 
Cantharides plaster 1038 
Cantharidin 202 
Cantliaris 200 
Cantharis aeneas 206 
Cantharis albida 207 
Cantharis aszelianus 206 
Cantharis atrata 206 
Cantharis cinerea 206 
Cantharis marginata 206 
Cantharis Nuttalli 206 
Cantharis politus 206 
Cantharis vesicatoria 200 
Cantharis vittata 205 
Caoutchouc 1484 
Caoutchouc, vulcanized 1484 
Cap cement 892 
Cape aloes 81, 83 
Cape gum 9 
Caper plant 1568 
Caper-bush 1485 
Caphopicrite 707 
Capnomor 332, 652 
Capparis spinosa 1485 
Caprification 395 
Caproyl hydride 1582 
Capryl hydride 1582 
Capsicin 208 
Capsicum 207 
Capsicum annuum 207 
Capsicum baccatum 207 
Capsicum fastigiatum 207 
Capsicum frutescens 207 
Capsulsescic acid 1454 
Capsules of ether 954 
Capsules of gelatin 1521 
Carabaya bark 271 
Caracas kino 497 
Caracas sarsaparilla 750 
Caramania gum 1485 
Caramel 730 
Caranna 1486 
Caraway 221 
Caraway water 1002 
Carbazotate of ammonia 1486 
Carbazotate of iron 1486 
Carbazotic acid 1486 
Carbo 209 
Carbo animalis 210 
Carbo animalis purifi- 
catus 1034 
Carbo ligni 213 
Garb ohy dr o gens 210 
Carbolic acid 334, 1486 
Carbon 209 
Carbonate of ammonia 99 
Carbonate of baryta 159 
Carbonate of iron and 
manganese, saccha- 
rine 1554 
Carbonate of iron, pills 
of 1269 
Carbonate of iron, pre- 
cipitated 1145 
Carbonate of iron, sac- 
charine 1125 
Carbonate of iron with 
sugar 1125 
Carbonate of lead 658 
Carbonate of lime 209 
Carbonate of lime, pre- 
cipitated 1030 
Carbonate of lithia 515 
Carbonate of magnesia 523 
Carbonate of manganese 1553 
Carbonate of potassa 1282 
Carbonate of potassa 
from pearlash 1282 
Carbonate of potassa, 
impure 670 
Carbonate of potassa, 
pure 1284 
Carbonate of soda 788 
Carbonate of soda, dried 1335 
Carbonate of zinc 1439 
Carbonate of zinc, na- 
tive 1482 
Carbonate of zinc, pre- 
cipitated 1439 
Carbonated waters 130, 131 
Carbonic acid 209, 996 
Carbonic acid water 994 
Carbonic oxide 1487 
Carburet of iron 1487 
Carburet of sulphur 1475 
Cardamine pratensis 1488 
Cardamom 216 
Cardamomum 216 
Cardamomum longum 216 
Cardamomum majus 216, 217 
Cardamomum medium 216 
Cardamomum minus 216 
Cardinal flower 521 
Cardol 1461 
Carduus benedictus 1490 
Carduus marianus 1490 
Caribbean bark 282 
Carminative, Dalby’s 525 
Carminatives 3 
Carmine 309 
Carminic acid 309 
Carnation 1509 
Carnuba 241 
Carolina jasmine 409 
Carolina pink 798 
Carota 219 
Carotin 220 
Carpathian balsam 830 
Carpobalsamum 1469 
Carrageen 249 
Carrageenin 250 
Carrara marble 538 
Carron oil 1187 
Carrot ointment 220 
Carrot root 220 
Carrot seed 219 
Carthagena barks 276 
Carthagena ipecacuanha 482 
Carthamic acid 221 
Carthamine 221 
Carthamus 221 
Carthamus tinctorius 221 
Carui 221 
Carum 221 
Carum carui 221 
Carvacrol 1249 
Carvene 1248 
Carvol 1248 
Carya (hickory) 1488 
Caryophyllatae radix 415 
Caryophyllic acid 1249 
Caryophyllin 223 
Caryophyllus 222 
Caryophyllusaromaticus 222 
Cascarilla 224, 253 
Cascarillin 226 
Casein 386 
Cashew nut 1461 
Cassava 825 
Cassia 227, 301, 304 
Cassia acutifolia 768 
Cassia iEthiopica 769 
Cassia Brasiliana 228 
Cassia buds 305 
Cassia caryophyllata 1504 
Cassia elongata 769 
Cassia fistula 227 
Cassia lanceolata 769 
Cassia lignea 301 
Cassia Marilandica 228 
Cassia obovata 768 
Cassia obtusata 769 
Cassia ovata 769 
Cassia, purging 227 Index, 
Cassia senna 768 
Cassina 1534 
Cassumuniar 1624 
Cassuvium pomiferum 1461 
Cast iron 390 
Castanea 1488 
Castanea pumila 1488 
Castile soap 747 
Castillon’s powders 1034 
Castor 229 
Castor fiber 229 
Castor oil 592 
Castoreum 229 
Castorin 230 
Cat thyme 1613 
Catalpa cordifolia 1488 
Catalpa tree 1488 
Cataplasm of chlorinated 
soda 1037 
Cataplasma carbonis 1036 
Cataplasma conii 1036 
Cataplasma fermenti 1036 
Cataplasma lini 1037 
Cataplasma sinapis 1037 
Cataplasma sodaa chlo- 
rinates 1037 
Cataplasmata 1036 
Cataplasms 1036 
Cataria 231 
Catawba brandy 805 
Catawba grape 855 
Catawba tree 1488 
Catawba wine 855 
Catch-fly 1599 
Catechu 232 
Catechuic acid 235, 236 
Catecliuin 235, 236 
Catechus, non-officinal 234 
Catechu-tannic acid 236 
Cathartic clyster 1076 
Cathartics 2 
Cathartin 229, 772, 1593 
Cathartocarpus fistula 227 
Catmint 232 
Catnep 231 
Caucasian insect powder 1537 
Caulophyllum thalic- 
troides 1488 
Caustic collodion 1048 
Caustic potassa 1277 
Caustics 2 
Causticum commune 
acerrimum 1279 
Causticum commune 
mitius 1279 
Cayenne cinnamon 303 
Cayenne pepper 207 
Ceanothus Americanus 1489 
Cedar apples 495 
Cedar oil 495 
Cedar, red 494 
Cedrin 1489 
Cedron 1489 
Celandine 1491 
Celastrus scandens 1490 
Cements 892 
Centaurea benedicta 1490 
Centaurin 1491 
Centaurium 1490 
Centaury, American 722 
Centaury, European 1490 
Centesimal alcoholmeter 
877, 1651 
Centigrade thermometer 1652 
Cepa 1569 
Cephaelis ipecacuanha 480 
Cephalanthus occidenta- 
ls 1491 
Cera 237 
Cera alba 237, 238 
Cera flava 237, 238 
Cerain 239 
Cerasin 9, 10, 1470 
Cerasus lauro-cerasus 508 
Cerasus serotina 689 
Cerasus Yirginiana 689 
Cerata 1038 
Cerate of cantharides 1038 
Cerate of carbonate of 
zinc 1044 
Cerate of extract of can- 
tharides 1042 
Cerate of lard 1038 
Cerate of Spanish flies 1038 
Cerate of subacetate of 
lead 1042 
Cerate, simple 1038 
Cerated glass of anti- 
mony 1520 
Cerates 1038 
Ceratum adipis 1038 
Ceratum calaminaa 1044 
Ceratum cantharidis 1038 
Ceratum cetacei 1042 
Ceratum extracti can- 
tharidis 1042 
Ceratum plumbi subace- 
tatis 1042 
Ceratum resinse 1043 
Ceratum resinm compo- 
situm 1043 
Ceratum sabinm 1043 
Ceratum saponis 1044 
Ceratum simplex 1038 
Ceratum zinci carbonatis 1044 
Cerevisiae fermentum 387 
Cerin 239 
Cerite 1491 
Cerium 1491 
Cerium, nitrate of 1491 
Cerotic acid 239 
Cerotine 239 
Ceroxylon Andicola 241 
Ceroxylon carnauba 241 
Ceruse 658 
Cerussa 658 
Cerussa acetata 656 
Cervus elaphus 1526 
Cervus Virginianus 1526 
Cetaceum 242 
Cetic acid 243 
Cetin 243 
Cetraria 243 
Cetraria Islandica 243 
Cetraric acid 244 
Cetrarin 244 
Cetyl 243 
Cetylic alcohol 243 
Cevadic acid 722 
Cevadilla 721 
Ceylon cardamom 216 
Ceylon cinnamon 304 
Ceylon gamboge 407 
Ceylon moss 1517 
Chterophyllum sativum 1464 
Chalk 335 
Chalk mixture 1230 
Chalk, prepared 1033 
Chalybeate bread 1138 
Chalybeate plaster 1068 
Chalybeate waters 130, 131 
Chamsedrys 1613 
Chamaemelum 121 
Chamaepitys 1456 
Chamomile 120 
Chamomile, German 542 
Chamomile, wild 331 
Charcoal 213 
Charcoal, animal 210 
Charcoal poultice 1036 
Charcoal filtering paper 881 
Charcoal, pure 209 
Charcoal quilt 214 
Charcoal respirator 215 
Charpie 1548 
Chaulmoogra 1525 
Checker-berry 1557 
Cheese rennet 1519 
Chelas cancrorum 1505 
Chelerythrin 1491 
Chelidonic acid 1492 
Chelidonin orchelidonia 1492 
Clielidonium glaucum 612 
Chelidonium majus 1491 
Chelidoxanthin 1492 
Chelone glabra 1492 
Cheltenham salt, artifi- 
cial 1492 
Cheltenham water 131, 132 
Chemical food 1143 
Chemical operations 892 
Chenopodium 245 
Chenopodium ambrosi- 
oides 246 
Chenopodium anthelmin- 
ticum 245 
Chenopodium botrys 216 
Cherry birch 1473 
Cherry-laurel 508 
Cherry-laurel water 1005 
Chervil 1464 
Chestnut oak 695 
Chian turpentine 831, 833 
Chicory 828, 1495 
Chiendent 1616 
Chillies 208 
Chimaphila 246 
Chimaphila maculata 247 Index. 
1663 
Chimaphila umbellata 247 
Chimaphilin 247 
China root 749 
China wax 239 
Chinese camphor 193 
Chinese cinnamon 304 
Chinese galls 403 
Chinese rhubarb 703 
Chinese sugar cane 1602 
Chinidine 284 
Chinoidine 1317 
Chinquapin 1488 
Chiococca anguifuga 1479 
Chiococca densifolia 1479 
Chiococca racemosa 1479 
Chirayta 248 
Chiretta or Chirata 248 
Chironia angularis 722 
Chironia centaurium 1490 
Chlorate of potassa 674 
Chlori liquor 1002 
Chloric ether 959, 1348 
Chloride of ammonium 103 
Chloride of arsenic, so- 
lution of 1492 
Chloride of barium 1022 
Chloride of barium, so- 
lution of 1194 
Chloride of bromine 173,1493 
Chloride of calcium 183 
Chloride of calcium, so- 
lution of 1195 
Chloride of ethyl 1559 
Chloride of gold 1522 
Chloride of gold and so- 
dium 1522 
Chloride of iron, tinc- 
ture of 1394 
Chloride of lime 185 
Chloride of magnesium 1493 
Chloride of mercury and 
quinia 1493 
Chloride of potassa, so- 
lution of 1493 
Chloride of silver 1493 
Chloride of soda, solu- 
tion of 1219 
Chloride of sodium 795 
Chloride of zinc 1440 
Chlorinated anaesthetic 
compounds 1494 
Chlorinated chlorohy- 
dric ether 1494 
Chlorinated lime 185 
Chlorinated lime, solu- 
tion of 1197 
Chlorinated muriatic 
ether 1494 
Chlorinated soda, solu- 
tion of 1219 
Chlorine 1003 
Chlorine poultice 1037 
Chlorine water 1002 
Chloroaurate of ammo- 
nia 1522 
Chlorodyn 966 
Chloroform 956 
Chloroform, commercial 249 
Chloroform, methylic 958 
Chloroform, solubility of 
the alkaloids in 960 
Chloroformum 956 
Chloroformum purifica- 
tum 956 
Chloroformum venale 249 
Chlorogenate of potassa 
and caffein 178 
Chlorogenic acid 178 
Chlorohydric acid 41 
Chlorophyll *363 
Chocolate 603 
Chocolate nuts 603 
Choke-cherry 689 
Cholalic acid 1576 
Choleic acid 1575 
Cholepyrrhin 1575 
Cholesterin 1575 
Cholic acid 1575 
Cholin 1576 
Cholinic acid 1575 
Choloidic acid 1576 
Chondrus 249 
Chondrus crispus 249 
Christmas rose 437 
Chromate of potassa 667 
Chrome 1494 
Chrome green 1495 
Chrome yellow 1495 
Chromic acid 35 
Chromium 1494 
Chromium alum 668 
Chrysanthemum parthe- 
nium 121, 1589 
Chrysen 598 
Chrysopliane 707 
Chrysophanic acid 707 
Chrysophyllum glycy- 
phlaeum 1557 
Chrysoretin 773 
Chulariose 725, 732 
Church Hill alum water 132 
Churrus 380 
Cicer arietinum 1571 
Cichorium endivia 1495 
Cichorium intybus 828, 1495 
Cicindela 200 
Cicuta 318 
Cicuta maculata 1495 
Cicuta virosa 1495 
Cider 860 
Cimicifuga 250 
Cimicifuga racemosa 250 
Cimicifuga serpentaria 250 
Cimicifugin 252 
Cincholin 290 
Cinchona 252 
Cinchona acutifolia 253 
Cinchona amygdalifolia 259 
Cinchona asperifolia 259 
Cinchona australis 259 
Cinchona Boliviana 258 
Cinchona caduciflora 259 
Cinchona Calisaya 256 
Cinchona Calisaya, Tar. 
morada 258 
Cinchona Candollii 256 
Cinchona Carabayensis 259 
Cinchona cava 254 
Cinchona Chomeliana 259 
Cinchona cinerea 257 
Cinchona Condaminea 256 
Cinchona cordifolia 255, 258 
Cinchona crassifolia 260 
Cinchona dichotoma 259 
Cinchona erythroderma 257 
Cinchona flava 252 
Cinchona glandulifera 259 
Cinchona hirsuta 259 
Cinchona Humboldtiana 259 
Cinchona Josephiana 256 
Cinchona lanceolata 259 
Cinchona lancifolia 255, 258 
Cinchona lucumaefolia 259 
Cinchona macrocalyx 256,259 
Cinchona macrocarpa 254 
Cinchona magnifolia 253 
Cinchona micrantha 257 
Cinchona Mutisii 259 
Cinchona Muzonensis 260 
Cinchona nitida 259 
Cinchona oblongifolia 253 
Cinchona officinalis 253, 256 
Cinchona ovalifoiia 259 
Cinchona ovata 257 
Cinchona pallida 252 
Cinchona pelalba 260 
Cinchona Pitayensis 256 
Cinchona pubescens 259 
Cinchona purpurascens 259 
Cinchona purpurea 259 
Cinchona rotundifolia 259 
Cinchona rubra 252 
Cinchona scrobiculata 257 
Cinchona stenocarpa 253 
Cinchona succirubra 257 
Cinchona, testing of 253, 294 
Cinchona trees, planting 
of 254 
Cinchona villosa 259 
Cinchonia 283, 288 
Cinchonia, kinate of 293 
Cinchonia, sulphate of 
289, 1045 
Cinchonim sulphas 1045 
Cinchonic acid 292 
Cinchonic red 283, 285 
Cinchonicia 284, 291, 1317 
Cinchonicine 284, 291 
Cinclionidia 284, 289 
Cinchonidine 284, 289 
Cinchonine 283 
Cincho-tannic acid 286 
Cinchovatin | 267, 284 
Cinnabar 1171 
Cinnabaris 1171 
Cinnameine 156 
Cinnamic acid 156, 581 
Cinnamomum 300 1664 
Index. 
Cinnamomum aromati- 
cum 302 
Cinnamomum cassia 302 
Cinnamomum culilawan 
302, 1507 
Cinnamomum Kiamis 302 
Cinnamomum Loureirii 302 
Cinnamomum nitidum 302 
Cinnamomum rubrum 302 
Cinnamomum sintoc 302 
Cinnamomum tamala 302 
Cinnamomum Zeylani- 
cum 301 
Cinnamon 300 
Cinnamon leaf oil 302 
Cinnamon suet 302 
Cinnamon water 1004 
Cinnamyl 581 
Cinquefoil 1587 
Circulatory displacement 893 
Cissampelina 638 
Cissampelos glaberrima 638 
Cissampelos pareira 637 
Cistus Canadensis 436 
Cistus Creticus 1543 
Cistus ladaniferus 1543 
Cistus laurifolius 1543 
Citrate of bismuth and 
ammonia 1028 
Citrate of caffein 181 
Citrate of iron 1128 
Citrate of iron and am- 
monia 1128 
Citrate of iron and mag- 
nesia 1496 
Citrate of iron and qui- 
nia 1132 
Citrate of lithia 1222 
Citrate of magnesia, 
solid 1208 
Citrate of magnesia, so- 
lution of 1207 
Citrate of potassa 1288 
Citrate of potassa, solu- 
tion of 1216 
Citrate of quinia 287 
Citrate of soda 1496 
Citric acid 36 
Citrine ointment 1422 
Citron 512 
Citrullic acid 639 
Citrullus colocynthis 315 
Citrus acris 512 
Citrus aurantium 149 
Citrus bigaradia 148 
Citrus bigaradia Sinen- 
sis 149 
Citrus decumana 149 
Citrus limetta 576 
Citrus limonium 512 
Citrus medica 512 
Citrus vulgaris 148 
Civet 1496 
Claret 856 
Clarification 884 
Clarified honey 1226 
Clarry 738 
Cleansing of vessels 902 
Cleavers 1518 
Clematis crispa 1496 
Clematis erecta 1496 
Clematis flammula 1496 
Clematis viorna 1496 
Clematis Virginica 1496 
Clematis vitalba 1496 
Climbing staff-tree 1490 
Cloudberry 716 
Clove bark 1504 
Clove pink 1509 
Cloves 222 
Club-moss 522 
Clutia cascarilla 226 
Clutia Eluteria 225 
Clyster, cathartic 1076 
Clysters 1075 
Cnicin 1490 
Cnicus benedictus 1490 
Cnicus marianus 1490 
Coal-fish 584 
Coal-gas liquor 100 
Coal-naphtha 1471, 1497 
Coal-tar 1496 
Coal-tar acids 1497 
Coal-tar alkaloids 1497 
Cobalt blue 1499 
Cobweb 1499 
Coca 1513 
Cocain 1513 
Coca-tannic acid 1513 
Coccoloba uvifera 497 
Cocculus 305 
Cocculus Indicus 305 
Cocculus lacunosus 306 
Cocculus Levanticus 306 
Cocculus palmatus 190 
Cocculus Plukenetii 306 
Cocculus suberosus 306 
Coccus 307 
Coccus cacti 308 
Coccus Ilicis 308 
Coccus lacca 1544 
Cochineal 307 
Cochinilin 309 
Cochlearia armoracia 137 
Cochlearia officinalis 1499 
Cocin 1500 
Cocinic acid 1500 
Cocoa 603 
Cocoa butter 603 
Cocoa-nut butter 603, 1500 
Coco-nut oil 1500 
Coco-nut tree 1500 
Coco-olein 1500 
Cocos nucifera 1500 
Cod, common 583 
Codeia 620 
Cod-liver oil 583 
Coelocline polycarpa 1500 
Coffea Arabica 177 
Coffee 177 
Cohesion figures 595 
Cohobation 1246 
Cohosh 251 
Cohosh, red 1453 
Cohosh, white 1453 
Coke 210, 1496 
Colchiceine 312 
Colchici cormus 310 
Colchici radix 310, 311 
Colchici semen 310, 314 
Colchicia or colchicine 312 
Colchicum autumnale 310 
Colchicum root 310 
Colchicum seed 310, 314 
Colchicum variegatum 1527 
Colcothar 29, 1141 
Cold bath 134 
Cold cream 1417 
Cold seeds, greater 1507 
Colic root 1510 
Collecting of plants 873 
Collinsonia Canadensis 1500 
Collodion 1046 
Collodion, cantharidal 1049 
Collodion, ferruginous 1048 
Collodion, iodized 1048 
Collodion with cantha- 
rides 1049 
Collodium 1046 
Collodium cum cantha- 
ride 1049 
Colloids 896 
Colocasia esculenta 537 
Colocynth 315 
Colocynthin 316 
Colocynthis 315 
Cologne water 1253 
Colomba, U.S. 1850 189 
Colombin 191 
Colophonic acid 699 
Colophony 698, 832 
Coloquintida 315 
Colouring principles of 
plants, changes of 1535 
Coltsfoot 1616 
Colubrina 662 
Columbic acid 191 
Columbine 1465, 
Columbo 189 
Columbo, American 400 
Columbo, false 192 
Columbo wood 192 
Colutea arborescens 771,1501 
Comfrey 1609 
Commercial muriatic 
acid 41, 43 
Commercial sulphate of 
iron 1147 
Commercial sulphuric 
acid 53 
Common caustic, milder 1279 
Common caustic, strong- 
est 1279 
Common salt 795 
Compound calomel pills 1266 
Compound camphor lini- 
ment 1187 
Compound cathartic pills 1267 Index, 
1665 
Compound decoction of 
aloes 1056 
Compound decoction of 
sarsaparilla 1061 
Compound extract of co- 
locynth 1093 
Compound fluid extract 
of sarsaparilla 1119 
Compound galbanum 
plaster 1068 
Compound infusion of 
catechu 1179 
Compound infusion of 
flaxseed 1182 
Compound infusion of 
gentian 1181 
Compound infusion of 
Peruvian bark 1180 
Compound infusion of 
roses 1184 
Compound mixture of 
iron 1230 
Compound mixture of 
liquorice 1231 
Compound ointment of 
iodine 1425 
Compound pill of assa- 
fetida 1272 
Compound pill of colo- 
cynth 1268 
Compound pill of gam- 
boge 1267 
Compound pill of hem- 
lock 1264 
Compound pills of aloes 1264 
Compound pills of anti- 
mony 1266 
Compound pills of gal- 
banum 1272 
Compound pills of iron 1270 
Compound pills of rhu- 
barb 1275 
Compound pills of soap 1275 
Compound pills of squill 1275 
Compound pills of storax 1264 
Compound plaster of 
galbanum 1068 
Compound powder of 
almonds 1307 
Compound powder of 
aloes 1305 
Compound powder of 
alum 1305 
Compound powder of 
catechu 1310 
Compound powder of 
ipecacuanha 1311 
Compound powder of 
jalap 1312 
Compound powder of 
rhubarb 1312 
Compound powder of 
scammony 1312 
Compound powder of 
tragacanth 1312 
Compound resin cerate 1043 
Compound rhubarb pill 1275 
Compound solution of 
iodine 1206 
Compound spirit of ether 1340 
Compound spirit of 
horseradish 1347 
Compound spirit of ju- 
niper 1349 
Compound spirit of lav- 
ender 1349 
Compound squill pill 1275 
Compound syrup of 
phosphate of iron 1143 
Compound syrup of sar- 
saparilla 1376 
Compound syrup of 
squill 1377 
Compound tincture of 
benzoin 1387 
Compound tincture of 
cardamom 1389 
Compound tincture of 
cinchona 1390 
Compound tincture of 
gentian 1396 
Compound tincture of 
iodine 1400 
Compound tincture of 
lavender 1349 
Compound tincture of 
Peruvian bark 1390 
Compound tincture of 
quinia 1406 
Compound tincture of 
senna 1409 
Comptonia asplenifolia 1501 
Concrete oil of nutmeg 556 
Concrete oil of wine 968 
Confectio amygdalae 1307 
Confectio aromatica 1050 
Confectio aurantii corti- 
cis 1051 
Confectio opii 1051 
Confectio piperis 1051 
Confectio rosae 1051 
Confectio rosae caninae 1052 
Confectio rosae Gallicae 1051 
Confectio scammonii 1052 
Confectio sennae 1052 
Confectio sulphuris 1053 
Confectio terebinthinae 1053 
Confection, aromatic 1050 
Confection of black pep- 
per 1051 
Confection of dog rose 1052 
Confection of opium 1051 
Confection of orange 
peel 1051 
Confection of rose 1051 
Confection of scammony 1052 
Confection of senna 1052 
Confection of sulphur 1053 
Confection of turpentine 1053 
Confectiones 1050 
Confections 1050 
Conhydria 319 
Conia 319 
Conii fructus 317 
Coniic acid 319 
Coniine 319 
Conium 317 
Conium maculatum 317 
ConserYa amygdalarum 1307 
Conserves 1050 
Constantinople opium 614 
Contrayerva 1501 
Contusion 878 
Convallamarin 1501 
Convallaria majalis 1501 
Convallaria multitlora 1502 
Convallaria polygona- 
tum 1502 
Convallarin 1501 
Convolvulus batatas 110 
Convolvulus jalapa 487 
Convolvulus Orizabensis 489 
Convolvulus panduratus 1502 
Convolvulus scammonia 756 
Cooper’s gelatin 464 
Copaiba 322 
Copaifera Beyrichii 322 
Copaifera bijuga 322 
Copaifera cordifolia 322 
Copaifera coriacea 322 
Copaifera Guianensis 322 
Copaifera Jaquini 322 
Copaifera Jussieui 322 
Copaifera Langsdorffii 322 
Copaifera laxa 322 
Copaifera Martii 322 
Copaifera multijuga 322 
Copaifera nitida 322 
Copaifera oblongifolia 322 
Copaifera officinalis 322 
Copaifera Sellowii 322 
Copaiva balsam 323 
Copaivic acid 324, 1268 
Copal 599, 1502 
Copalchi bark 225 
Copalm balsam 1548 
Copper 340 
Copper, acetate of 1452 
Copper, ammoniated 1053 
Copper as a poison 341 
Copper, black oxide of 1503 
Copper, nitrate of 1564 
Copper, preparations of 1053 
Copper, subacetate of 342 
Copper, sulphate of 343 
Copperas 1147 
Coptis 326 
Coptis teeta 327 
Coptis trifolia 326 
Coquetta bark 280 
Coral 1503 
Coral root 1503 
Corrallium rubrum 1503 
Corallorhiza odontorhiza 1503 
Cordia Boissieri 1461 
Coriamyrtin 1504 
Coriander 327 
Coriandrum 327 1666 
Index, 
Coriandrum sativum 327 
Coriaria myrtifolia 771, 1503 
Coriaria ruscifolia 1504 
Coriaria sarmentosa 1504 
Coridalia 1505 
Corinthian currants 844 
Cork 1504 
Corn poppy 709 
Corn starch 113 
Cornine 329 
Cornu 1526 
Cornu ustum 1626 
Cornus circinata 328 
Cornus Florida 329 
Cornus sericea 330 
Correspondence between 
different thermometers 1652 
Corrosive chloride of 
mercury 1152 
Corrosive sublimate 1152 
Corsican moss 1517 
Cortex caryophyllata 1504 
Cortex culilaban 1507 
Cortex frangulae 1593 
Cortex musenaa 714 
Cortex thymiamatis 811 
Corydalia 1505 
Corydalis formosa 1505 
Corylus rost.rata 1505 
Coscinium fenestratum 192 
Cotarnia or cotarnin 618 
Cotomaster vulgaris 109 
Cotton 423 
Cotton, gun 1524 
Cotton-seed oil 424 
Cotula 330 
Cotyledon umbilicus 1505 
Couch-grass 1616 
Coumarin 1615 
Coumarouna odorata 1615 
Court-plaster 1387 
Court-plaster, caout- 
chouc 1485 
Coury 235 
Cowbane 1495 
Cowdie resin 834 
Cowhage 553 
Cow-parsnep 1527 
Cowrie resin 834 
Coxe’s hive syrup 1377 
Crabs’ claws 1505 
Crabs’ eyes 1506 
Crabstones 1506 
Cranesbill 413 
Cratmgus oxycantha 109 
Crawfish, European 1506 
Cream nuts 1476 
Cream of tartar 668 
Cream of tartar, soluble 786 
Cream of tartar whey 670 
Cream syrups 1373 
Cream vanilla syrup 1373 
Creasote 331, 652 
Creasote mixture 1230 
Creasote water 1004 
Creasotum 331 
Cremor tartari 668 
Creta 335 
Creta prascipitata 1031 
Creta praeparata 1033 
Crocetin 1519 
Crocin 1519 
Crocus 336 
Crocus of antimony 1506 
Crocus orientalis 337 
Crocus sativus 836 
Croton balsamiferum 226 
Croton benzoe 165 
Croton cascarilla 225, 226 
Croton Eluteria 224 
Croton lacciferum 1544 
Croton lineare 226 
Croton malambo 1551 
Croton oil 605 
Croton oil liniment 1188 
Croton pavana 608 
Croton pseudo-china 225 
Croton Sloanei 225 
Croton suberosum 225 
Croton tiglium 606 
Croton water 130 
Crotonic acid 607 
Crotonin 607 
Crotonis oleum 605 
Crotonol 607 
Crowfoot 697 
Crown bark of Loxa 264 
Crucibles 887 
Crude pyroligneous acid 18 
Crumb of bread 386 
Cryolite 790 
Crystal mineral 679 
Crystalline 1462 
Crystallization 897 
Crystalloids 896 
Crystals of tartar 669 
Crystals of Venus 343, 1452 
Cubeb 339 
Cubeba 339 
Cubeba Clusii 389 
Cubeba officinalis 339 
Cubebin 340 
Cubic nitre 1565 
Cubic pyrites 394 
Cuckooflower 1488 
Cucumber ointment 1506 
Cucumber seeds 1507 
Cucumber tree 529 
Cucumis colocynthis 315 
Cucumis melo 1507 
Cucumis sativus 1507 
Cucurbita citrullus 1507 
Cucurbita lagenaria 1507 
Cucurbita pepo 639, 1507 
Cudbear 1550 
Cudweed 1521 
Cuichunchulli 1542 
Culilawan 1507 
Culver’s physic 510 
Culver’s root 610 
Cumin seed 1507 
Cuminum 1607 
Cuminum cyminum 1495.1507 
Cumyl, hydruret of 1507 
Cunila mariana 1507 
Cunila pulegioides 435 
Cupellation 136 
Cupels 633 
Cupri acetas 1452 
Cupri nitras 1564 
Cupri subacetas 342 
Cupri sulphas 343 
Cuprum 340 
Cuprum aluminatum 345 
Cuprum ammoniatum 1053 
Curare 1622 
Curcas multifidus 1470 
Curcas purgans 1409 
Curcuma 345 
Curcuma angustifolia 536 
Curcuma longa 345 
Curcuma rotunda 346 
Curcuma zedoaria 1624 
Curcuma zerumbet 1624 
Curcumin 346 
Currant wine 860 
Currants, Corinthian 844 
Cusco bark 259, 271 
Cusparia 116 
Cusparia febrifuga 116 
Cusparin 117 
Cusso 170 
Cutch 233 
Cuttle-fish bone 1507 
Cyanide of ethyl 1530 
Cyanide of gold 1523 
Cyanide of mercury 1162 
Cyanide of potassium 1294 
Cyanide of silver 1007 
Cyanide of zinc 1508 
Cyanogen 927 
Cyanohydric acid 923 
Cyanuret of ethyl 1530 
Cyan u ret of gold 1523 
Cyanurpt of mercury 1162 
Cyanuret of potassium 1294 
Cyanuret of silver 1007 
Cyanuret of zinc 1508 
Cycas circinalis 733 
Cycas revoluta 733 
Cyclamen Europaeum 1508 
Cyclamin 1508 
Cydonia vulgaris 346 
Cydonin 347 
Cydonium 346 
Cymene 1507 
Cyminum 1507 
Cynanchum argel 770 
Cynanchum Monspelia- 
cum 760 
Cynanchum oleaefolium 770 
Cynanchum vincetoxi- 
cum 1508 
Cynara scolymus 1509 
Cynips Kollari 403 
Cynips quercusfolii 403 
Cynoglossum officinale 1509 
Cypripedin 848 Index, 
1667 
Cypripedium 347 
Cypripedium acaule 347 
Cypripedium humile 347 
Cypripedium parvifio- 
ruin 347 
Cypripedium pubescens 348 
Cypripedium spectabile 347 
Cystinea 1509 
Cytisin 139, 1509 
Cytisus laburnum 139, 1509 
Cytisus scoparius 763 
D 
Daffodil 1563 
Dalby’s carminative 525 
Damarra australis 834 
Damarra turpentine 834 
Damnpxr 599 
Dandelion 826 
Daniellia thurifera 1569 
Daphne Alpina 547 
Daphne gnidium 546 
Daphne laureola 546 
Daphne mezereum 546 
Daphnetin 548 
Daphnin 547 
Darnel 1550 
Datura ferox 810 
Datura stramonium 808 
Datura tatula 808 
Daturia 809 
Daucus carota 219 
De Valangin’s arsenical 
solution 1492 
Deadly nightshade 161 
Decantation 880 
Decimal weights and 
measures 1635 
Decocta 1055 
Decoction 893 
Decoction of aloes, com- 
pound 1056 
Decoction of barley 1059 
Decoction of barley, com- 
pound 1056 
Decoction of bittersweet 1058 
Decoction of broom 1062 
Decoction of broom, com- 
pound 1056 
Decoction of dandelion 1062 
Decoction of dogwood 1058 
Decoction of elm bark 1056 
Decoction of flaxseed, 
compound 1056 
Decoction of galls 1056 
Decoction of guaiacum 
wood 1056 
Decoction of Iceland 
moss 1056 
Decoction of logwood 1059 
Decoction of mezereon 1056 
Decoction of myrrh 1056 
Decoction of oak bark 1060 
Decoction of pale bark 1056 
Decoction of pareira 
brava 1060 
Decoction of pipsissewa 1057 
Decoction of pomegran- 
ate rind 1056 
Decoction of pomegran- 
ate root 1059 
Decoction of poppies 1060 
Decoction of quince seed 1056 
Decoction of red bark 1057 
Decoction of red cin- 
chona 1057 
Decoction of sarsapa- 
rilla 1060 
Decoction of sarsaparilla, 
compound 1061 
Decoction of seneka 1062 
Decoction of taraxacum 1062 
Decoction of tormentil 1056 
Decoction of uva ursi 1063 
Decoction of white oak 
bark 1060 
Decoction of wintergreenl057 
Decoction of yellow bark 1057 
Decoction of yellow cin- 
chona 1057 
Decoction of Zittmann 1062 
Decoctions 1055 
Decoctum ad ictericos 1492 
Decoctum aloes compo- 
situm 1056 
Decoctum cetrariae 1056 
Decoctum chimaphilas 1057 
Decoctum cinchonae flavae 1057 
Decoctum cinchonae ru- 
brae 1057 
Decoctum cornus Flori- 
dae 1058 
Decoctum dulcamarae 1058 
Decoctum granatiradicis 1059 
Decoctum haematoxyli 1059 
Decoctum hordei 1059 
Decoctum papaveris 1060 
Decoctum pareiraa 1060 
Decoctum quercus 1060 
Decoctum quercus albae 1060 
Decoctum sarsaa 1060 
Decoctum sarsas compo- 
situm 1061 
Decoctum sarsaparillae 
compositum 1061 
Decoctum scoparii 1062 
Decoctum senegas 1062 
Decoctum taraxaci 1062 
Decoctum uvae ursi 1063 
Decoctum Zittmanni 1062 
Deer-berry 408 
I Delaware water 130 
Delphine or delphinia 1605 
Delphinie acid 943 
De Lisle’s thermometer 1652 
Delphinium 348 
Delphinium consolida 348 
Delphinium exaltatum 349 
Delphinium staphisagria 1604 
Demulcents 2 
Denarcotized extract of 
opium 1104 
Denarcotized laudanum 1404 
Dentelaire 1586 
Dentellaria 1586 
Deobstruents 3 
Deodorized tincture of 
opium 1405 
Depilatory, Atkinson’s 1571 
Depilatory of sulphuret 
of calcium 1607 
Deshler’s salve 1043 
Dewberry 717 
Dewberry root 716 
Dextrine 111 
Dextro-tartaric acid 62 
Dhak-tree 498 
Diachylon 1073 
Dialysis, process of 896 
Diamond 210 
Dianthus caryophyllus 1509 
Diaphoretic antimony 1510 
Diaphoretics 2 
Diastase 111, 446 
Dictamus albus 1510 
Diervilla Canadensis 1510 
Diervilla trifida 1510 
Diet drink, Lisbon 1062 
Ditfusate 897 
Digestion 893 
Digitaleic acid 351 
Digitalia 352 
Digitalic acid 351 
Digitalide 351 
Digitalierin 351 
Digitalin 351 
Digitaline 350, 1063 
Digitalinic acid 351 
Digitalinum 1063 
Digitalinum fluidum 352 
Digitaliretin 351 
Digitalis 349 
Digitalis purpurea 349 
Digitalose 351 
Digitasolin 351 
Diil 114 
Dill water 1000 
Dilute nitrohydrocbloric 
acid 932 
Diluted acetic acid 916 
Diluted alcohol 69, 75 
Diluted hydriodic acid 922 
Diluted hydrochloric acid 929 
Diluted hydrocyanic acid 923 
Diluted muriatic acid 929 
Diluted nitric acid 930 
Diluted nitromuriatie 
acid 932 
Diluted phosphoric acid 932 
Diluted solution of sub- 
acetate of lead 1211 
Diluted sulphuric acid 935 
Dinneford’s magnesia 525 
Dinner pills 89, 1265 
Dioscorea sativa 537 
Dioscorea villosa 1510 1668 
Index, 
Dioscorein 1510 
Dicsroa 174 
Diosma crenata 155 
Diospyros 354 
Diospyros Virginiana 354 
Diplolepis gallae tinctorise 403 
Dippel’s animal oil 1510 
Dipterix odorata 1615 
Dipterocarpus turbinatus 325 
Dirca palustris 1511 
Diserneston gummiferum 105 
Disinfecting fluid, Bur- 
nett’s 1443 
Disinfecting fluid, Le- 
doyen’s 661 
Dispensing of medicines 899 
Displacement, circulatory 893 
Displacement, method of 893 
Distillation 888 
Distillation, apparatus 
for 888 
Distillation in vacuo 891 
Distilled glycerin 418 
Distilled oils 569, 1244 
Distilled verdigris 1452 
Distilled vinegar 911 
Distilled water 989 
Distilled waters 990 
Distylium racemosum 403 
Disulphate of cinchonia 1045 
Disulphate of quinia 1318 
Dithionate of soda 1449 
Dithionous acid 791 
Ditoplaxis muralis 1600 
Dittany, American 1507 
Dittany, bastard 1510 
Diuretic salt 1282 
Diuretics 2 
Divinum remedium 1535 
Dixon’s antibilious pills 89 
Dock, yellow 718 
Dog rose 711 
Dog-grass 1616 
Dog’s-bane 125 
Dog’s-tooth violet 1512 
Dogwood 329 
Dogwood, Jamaica 1585 
Dogwood, round-leaved 328 
Dogwood, swamp 330 
Dolichos pruriens 553 
Dolomite , 626 
Dombeya excelsa 834 
Dombeya turpentine 834 
Donovan’s solution 1193 
Dorema ammoniacum 105 
Dorsch 583 
Dorstenia Brasiliensis 1501 
Dorstenia contrayerva 1501 
Dorstenia Drakena 1501 
Dorstenia Houstonia 1501 
Dose of medicines 1625 
Double aquafortis 46 
Dover’s powder 1311 
Dracaena draco 1511 
Draconin 1511 
Dracontium 355 
Dracontium foetidum 355 
Dragon-root 142 
Dragon’s blood 1511 
Dried alum 969 
Dried carbonate of soda 1335 
Dried sulphate of iron 1148 
Dried yeast 387 
Drinks Chilensis 1622 
Drimys Granatensis 1622 
Drimys Mexicana 1622 
Drimys Winteri 1621 
Drops, table of 1638 
Drugs and medicines not 
officinal 1451 
Drying of plants 873 
Drying oils 566 
Dryobalanops aromatica; 195 
Dryobalanops camphora 
192, 195 
Dugong oil 588 
Dulcamara 357 
Dulcin 725 
Dulcite 725, 732 
Dulcose 725 
Dupuytren’s ointment of 
Spanish flies 1418 
Dutch camphor 194 
Dutch liquid 1494 
Dutch pink 1511 
Dwarf elder 135 
Dwarf nettle 1619 
Dyers’ alkanet 1458 
Dyers’ broom 1519 
Dyers’ oak 403 
Dyers’ saffron 221 
Dyers’ weed 1519, 1592 
E 
East India arrow-root 637 
East India kino 496 
East India refined salt- 
petre 678 
Eau de Javelle 1493 
Eau de luce 746 
Eau inedicinale d’Hus- 
son 313, 851 
Ecbalin 363 
Ecbalium agreste 361 
Ecbalium elaterium 361 
Ecbalium officinarum 361 
Ecbolina 368 
Eczema mercuriale 455 
Effervescing draught 1217 
Effervescing powders 1305 
Egg 634 
Eglantine 1470 
Egyptian opium 614 
El Paso grape 856 
Elaeocarpus copalliferus 1502 
Elaidate of glycerin 568 
Elai'dic acid 568, 569 
Elaidin 568, 569 
Elai'n 567 
Elais Guiniensis 1577 
Elaphrium elemiferum 364 
Elapkrium tomentosum 1609 
Elaterin 363 
Elaterium 360 
Elatin 363 
Elder 738 
Elder ointment 1426 
Elder-flower water 1007 
Elecampane 466 
Electric calamine 1482 
Electrolytic test for ar 
senic 35 
Electuaries 1050 
Electuary, lenitive 1052 
Elemi 364 
Elemin 365 
Eleoptene 571 
Elettaria cardamomum 218 
Elettaria major 216 
Elixir cinchonae flavae 1391 
Elixir of opium 1404 
Elixir of valerianate of 
ammonia 975 
Elixir of vitriol 934 
Elixir, paregoric 1405 
Elixir proprietatis 1385 
Elixir sacrum 1407 
Elixir salutis 1409 
Ellagic acid 404 
Ellis’s magnesia 1224 
Elm bark 841 
Elm, red 842 
Elm, slippery 842 
Elm, white 842 
Elutriation 879 
Emery 1511 
Emetia 482 
Emetic tartar 976 
Emetics 2 
Emmenagogues 2 
Emollients 2 
Emplastra 1063 
Emplastrum adhaesivum 1074 
Emplastrum ammoniaci 1065 
Emplastrum ammoniaci 
cum hydrargyro 1066 
Emplastrum antimonii 1066 
Emplastrum arnicas 1067 
Emplastrum assafoetidae 1067 
Emplastrum belladonnae 1067 
Emplastrum calefaciens 1070 
Emplastrum cantharidis 1038 
Emplastrum cymini 1507 
Emplastrum de Vigo cum 
mercurio 1069 
Emplastrum ferri 1068 
Emplastrum galbani 1068 
Emplastrum galbani 
compositum 1068 
Emplastrum hydrargyri 1068 
Emplastrum lithargyri 1071 
Emplastrum opii 1069 
Emplastrum picis 1070 
Emplastrum picis Bur- 
gundies 1070 Index 
1669 
Emplastrum picis Cana- 
densis 1070 
Emplastrum picis cum 
cantharide 1070 
Emplastrum plumbi 1071 
Emplastrum resin® 1074 
Emplastrum roborans 1068 
Emplastrum saponis 1075 
Empyreumatic oils 888 
Emulsin 108, 690, 780 
Emulsion 1228 
Emulsion, almond 1228 
Emulsion of bitter 
almonds 1229 
Endive 1495 
Enema aloes 1076 
Enema anodynum 1076 
Enema assafoetidae 1076 
Enema catharticum 1076 
Enema magnesias sul- 
phatis 1076 
Enema of aloes 1076 
Enema of assafetida 1076 
Enema of opium 1076 
Enema of sulphate of 
magnesia 1076 
Enema of tobacco 1077 
Enema of turpentine 1077 
Enema opii 1076 
Enema tabaci 1077 
Enema terebinthinas 1077 
Enemata 1075 
Enfleurage 1247 
English court-plaster 465 
English garlic 79 
English port 859 
English rhubarb 705 
Ens martis 1460 
Epidendrum vanilla 849 
Epifagus Americanus 1571 
Epigsea repens 1512 
Epilobium angustifolium 1512 
Epispastics 2 
Epsom salt 526 
Equisetum hyemale 1512 
Equivalents, table of 
pharmaceutical 1639 
Erechthites hieracifolia 1512 
Ergot 365 
Ergot of maize 1624 
Ergot of wheat 365 
Ergota 365 
Ergotaetia abortifaciens 356 
Ergotate of secalin 368 
Ergotic acid 368 
Ergot in 367, 371 
Ergotina 368 
Erigeron 371 
Erigeron annuum 371 
Erigercn Canadense 372 
Erigeron heterophyllum 371 
Erigeron khiladelphicum 372 
Erigeron pusilum 373 
Errhines , 2 
Erucic acid 780 
Eryngium aquaticum 1512 
Eryngo, water 1512 
Erysimum alliaria 1458 
Erysimum officinale 1600 
Erythraea centaurium 
722, 1490 
Erythraea Chilensis 1491 
Erythric acid 1549 
Erythrocentaurin 1491 
Erythronium America- 
num 1512 
Erythronium lanceola- 
tum 1512 
Erythrophleum Guineen- 
se 1597 
Erythrophleum judiciale 1597 
Erythroretin 707 
Erythrose 708 
Erythroxylon coca 1513 
Escharotics 2 
Esculetin 1454 
Esculin 1454 
Essence de petit grain 150 
Essence de templine 830 
Essence of ambergris 1349 
Essence of bergamot 576 
Essence of geranium, 
Turkish 597 
Essence of lemon 1350 
Essence of peppermint 
1254, 1350 
Essence of roses 597 
Essence of spearmint 
1255, 1350 
Essence of spruce 830 
Essences 1247 
Essences, artificial fruit 1515 
Essentia anisi 1384 
Essentia carui 1384 
Essentia cinnamomi 1384 
Essentia fceniculi 1384 
Essentia menthae pulegii 1384 
Essentia myristicas mos- 
cliatse 1384 
Essentia pimentae 1384 
Essentia rosmarini 1384 
Essential oils 569, 1244 
Essential salt of lemons 
1573, 1575 
Ethal 243 
Ethalic acid 243 
Ether 948 
Ether, acetic 1452 
Ether, butyric 1515 
Ether, capsules of 954 
Ether, compound spirit of 1340 
Ether, gelatinized 954 
Ether, hydric 948 
Ether, hydriodic 1529 
Ether, hydrocyanic 1530 
Ether, hyponitrous 1343 
Ether, muriatic 1559 
Ether, nitric 1344 
Ether, nitrous 1343 
Ether, cenanthie 857, 1516 
Ether, pearls of 954 
Ether, pelargonic 1516 
Ether, pure 951 
Ether, pyroacetic 1589 
Ether, sulphuric 948 
Ethereal oil 966 
Ethereal tincture of lobe- 
lia 1401 
Etherine 968 
Etherization 954 
Etherole 968 
Etherosulphuric acid 953 
Ethers > 947 
Ethiops mineral 1172, 1476 
Ethyl 953 
Ethyl, chloride of 1559 
Ethyl, cyanide of 1530 
Ethyl, iodide of 1529 
Ethylamin 619 
Ethylconia 319 
Ethylen 953 
Ethylen, bichloride of 1494 
Ethylen, hydrocyanate 
of 1530 
Ethylen, muriate of 1559 
Ethylic ether 1515 
Ethylic narcotina 61 £ 
Eucalyptin 500 
Eucalyptus dumosa 533 
Eucalyptus mannifera 533 
Eucalyptus resinifera 499 
Eugenia caryophyllata 222 
Eugenia pimenta 646 
Eugenic acid 1249 
Eugenin 224 
Euonymin 374 
Euonymite 374 
Euonymus 373 
Euonymus Americanus 373 
Euonymus atropurpu- 
reus 374 
Euonymus Europaeus 373 
Euonymus tingens 373 
Eupatorin 376 
Eupatorium 375 
Eupatorium aya-pana 375 
Eupatorium cannabinum 375 
Eupatorium perfoliatum 375 
Eupatorium pilosum 375 
Eupatorium purpureum 375 
Eupatorium teucrifolium 375 
Eupatorium verbensefo- 
lium 375 
Euphorbia antiquorum 1514 
Euphorbia Canariensis 1514 
Euphorbia corollata 376 
! Euphorbia hypericifolia 377 
Euphorbia ipecacuanha 378 
Euphorbia lathyris 1568 
Euphorbia maculata 377 
Euphorbia officinarum 1514 
Euphorbia, oil of 1568 
Euphorbia prostrata 377 
Euphorbium 1514 
Euphrasia officinalis 1514 
Eupion 332, 652 
European rhubarb 705 
Euxanthic acid 1535 Index, 
Evaporation 887 
Everitt’s salt 923 
Exogonium purga 488 
Exostemma 253 
Exostemma Carib®a 282 
Exostemma floribunda 282 
Expectorants 2 
Expressed oils 565 
Expression 883 
Extemporaneous prescrip- 
tions, examples of 1629 
Extract of aconite 1086 
Extract of aconite, alco- 
holic 1087 
Extract of arnica, alco- 
holic 1089 
Extract of Barbadoes 
aloes 1088 
Extract of bean of St. 
Ignatius 1099 
Extract of belladonna 1089 
Extract of belladonna, 
alcoholic 1090 
Extract of bittersweet 1096 
Extract of black helle- 
bore, alcoholic 1098 
Extract of butternut 1101 
Extract of chamomile 1088 
Extract of cinchona 1091 
Extract of colchicum 1092 
Extract of colchicum, 
acetic 1092 
Extract of colocynth, 
alcoholic 1093 
Extract of colocynth, 
compound 1093 
Extract of columbo 1090 
Extract of dandelion 1107 
Extract of digitalis, al- 
coholic 1096 
Extract of gentian 1096 
Extract of hellebore 1098 
Extract of hemlock 1094 
Extract of hemlock, al- 
coholic 1095 
Extract of hemp 379 
Extract of hemp, puri- 
fied 1090 
Extract of henbane 1098 
Extract of henbane, al- 
coholic 1099 
Extract of hop 1102 
Extract of ignatia, alco- 
holic 1099 
Extract of Indian hemp 1090 
E x tract of j alap 110J 
Extract of logwood 1097 
Extract of may-apple 1105 
Extract of nux vomica 1103 
Extract of nux vomica, 
alcholic 1103 
Extract of opium 1103 
Extract of opium, de- 
narcotized 1104 
Extract of poppy cap- 
sules 1104 
Extract of quassia 1105 
Extract of rhatany 1101 
Extract of rhubarb 1105 
Extract of rhubarb, alco- 
holic 1105 
Extract of rose-leaf ge- 
ranium 1579 
Extract of seneka, alco- 
holic 1106 
Extract of Socotrine 
aloes 1088 
Extract of stramonium 
1106, 1107 
Extract of stramonium, 
alcoholic 1107 
Extract of stramonium 
leaves 1106 
Extract of stramonium 
seed 1107 
Extract of yellow bark 1091 
Extract of valerian, alco- 
holic 1108 
Extracta 1077 
Extracta fluida 1108 
Extractive 1077 
Extracts 1077 
Extracts, fluid 1108 
Extractum aconiti 1086 
Extractum aconiti alco- 
holicum 1087 
Extractum aloes Barba- 
densis 1088 
Extractum aloes Soco- 
trin® 1088 
Extractum anthemidis 1088 
Extractum arnic® alco- 
holicum 1089 
Extractum bel® liquid- 
um 1109 
Extractum belladonn® 1089 
Extractum belladonn® 
alcoholicum 1090 
Extractum buchu fluid- 
um 1109 
Extractum calumb® 1090 
Extractum cannabis 379 
Extractum cannabis In- 
die® 379, 1090 
Extractum cannabis pu- 
rificatum 381, 1090 
Extractum cimicifug® 
fluidum 1110 
Extractum cinchon® 1091 
Extractum cinchon® fla- 
v® liquidum 1111 
Extractum cinchon® 
fluidum 1111 
Extractum colchici 1092 
Extractum colchici ace- 
ticum 1092 
Extractum colchici radi- 
cis fluidum 1111 
Extractum colchici semi- 
nis fluidum 1112 
Extractum colocynthidis 
alcoholicum 1093 
Extractum colocynthidis 
compositum 1093 
Extractum conii 1094 
Extractum conii alcoho- 
licum 1095 
Extractum conii fluidum 1112 
Extractum cubeb® fluid- 
um 1260 
Extractum digitalis al- 
coholicum 1096 
Extractum dulcamar® 1096 
Extractum dulcamarae 
fluidum 1113 
Extractum ergot® fluid- 
um 1113 
Extractum ergotae liquid- 
urn 1113 
Extractum filicis liquid- 
urn 1114, 1260 
Extractum gentianae 1096 
Extractum gentian® flu- 
idum 1114 
Extractum glycyrrhiz® 382 
Extractum haematoxyli 1097 
Extractum hellebori al- 
coholicum 1097 
Extractum liyoscyami 1098 
Extractum hyoscyami 
alcoholicum 1099 
Extractum hyoscyami 
fluidum 1114 
Extractum ignatiae alco- 
holicum 1099 
Extractum ipecacuanha 
fluidum 1115 
Extractum jalap® 1100 
Extractum juglandis 1101 
Extractum krameriae 1101 
Extractum lupuli 1102 
Extractum lupulin® 
fluidum 1115 
Extractum nucis vomicae 1 103 
Extractum nucis vomicae 
alcoholicum 1102 
Extractum opii 1103 
Extractum opii liquid- 
um 1116 
Extractum papaveris 1104 
Extractum pareir® li- 
quidum 1116 
Extractum piperis fluid- 
um 1261 
Extractum podophylli 1105 
Extractum pruni Vir- 
ginian® fluidum 1116 
Extractum quassiae 1105 
Extractum rhei 1105 
Extractum rhei alco- 
holicum 1105 
Extractum rhei fluidum 1117 
Extractum sarsae liquid- 
um 1118 
Extractum sarsaparill® 
fluidum 1118 
Extractum sarsaparilla* 
fluidum compositum 1119 Index, 
1671 
Extractum senegas alco- 
holicum 1106 
Extractum sennae fluid- 
urn 1118 
Extractum serpentariae 
fluidum 1120 
Extractum spigeliae fluid- 
um 1121 
Extractum spigeli® et 
sennae fluidum 1119 
Extractum stramonii 
1106, 1107 
Extractum stramonii al- 
coholicum 1107 
Extractum stramonii fo- 
liorum 1106 
Extractum stramonii se- 
minis 1107 
Extractum taraxaci 1107 
Extractum taraxaci flu- 
idum 1121 
Extractum uvae ursi flu- 
idum 1121 
Extractum Valerianae al- 
coholicum 1108 
Extractum valerian® 
fluidum 1122 
Extractum veratri viri- 
dis fluidum 1122 
Extractum zingiberis 
fluidum 1123 
Eyebright 1514 
F 
Faba Sancti Ignatii 465 
Fagara octandra 1609 
Fahrenheit's thermome- 
ter 1652 
False angustura 562 
False barks 282 
False mannas 532 
False sarsaparilla 134 
False sunflower 1527 
False tin foil 1615 
False tragacanth 1485 
False unicorn plant 1527 
Farina 384 
Fat lute 891 
Fat manna 534 
Febure’s remedy for can- 
cer 26 
Fel bovinum 1575 
Fel bovinum purifica- 
tum 1123 
Fellinic acid 1575 
Female fern 1468 
Fennel, common 398 
Fennel, sweet 398 
Fennel water 1004 
Fennel-flower, small 1564 
Fennel-seed 398 
Fenugreek 1615 
Fer reduit 1151 
Fermentation, alcoholic 388 
Fermentation, vinous 388 
Fermentum 387 
Fern, female 1468 
Fern, male 396 
Fernambuco wood 1477 
Feronia elephantum 6 
Ferrated elixir of cin- 
chona 1391 
Ferri arsenias 1124 
Ferri bromidum 1477 
Ferri carbonas saccha- 
rata 1125 
Ferri carburetum 1487 
Ferri chloridi tinctura 1394 
Ferri chloridum 1126 
Ferri citras 1128 
Ferri et ammonise citras 1128 
Ferri et ammonise sul- 
phas 1129 
Ferri et ammonise tar- 
tras 1130 
Ferri etmagnesise citras 1496 
Ferri et potass® tartras 1130 
Ferri et quini® citras 1132 
Ferri ferrocyanidum 1134 
Ferri ferrocyanuretum 1134 
Ferri filum 393 
Ferri iodidi syrupus 1369 
Ferri iodidum 1135 
Ferri lactas 1137 
Ferri muriatis tinctura 1394 
Ferri nitratis liquor 1198 
Ferri oxidum hydratum 1139 
Ferri oxidum magneti- 
cum 391, 1140 
Ferri perckloridi liquor 1200 
Ferri pernitratis liquor 1198 
Ferri peroxidum 1141 
Ferri peroxidum hydra- 
tum J139 
Ferri phosphas 1141 
Ferri pulvis 1149 
Ferri pyrophosphas 1143 
Ferri ramenta 393 
Ferri squamse 1141 
Ferri subcarbonas 1145 
Ferri sulphas 1146 
Ferri sulphas exsiccata 1148 
Ferri sulphas granulata 1149 
Ferri sulphas venalis 1147 
Ferri sulphuretum 394 
Ferri tannas 1610 
Ferri valerianas 1619 
Ferric acid 391 
Ferridcyanide of potas- 
sium 1514 
Ferrocyanate of potassa 686 
Ferrocyanate of quinia 287 
Ferrocyanide of iron 1134 
Ferrocyanide of potas- 
sium 686 
Ferrocyanide of zinc 1515 
Ferrocyanogen 687 
Ferrocyanuret of iron 1134 
Ferrocyanuret of potas- 
sium 686 
Ferrocyanuret of zinc "* 515 
Ferro-manganic prepa- 
rations 1553 
Ferroprussiate of potassa 686 
Ferruginous collodion 1048 
Ferrum 389 
Ferrum ammoniatum 1459 
Ferrum redactum 1149 
Ferrum tartaratum 1130 
Ferula ammonifera 105 
Ferula assafoetida 145 
Ferula erubescens 401 
Ferula ferulago 401 
Ferula galbanifera 401 
Ferula Persica 1594 
Ferula tingitana 105 
Fever-busb 1471 
Feverfew 1589 
Fever-root 841 
Fever-wort 841 
Fibrin, vegetable 385 
Fibroin 1604 
Fibrous Cartliagena bark 
278, 279 
Ficus 395 
Ficus carica 395 
Ficus Indica 1544 
Ficus religiosa 1544 
Fig 395 
Figwort 1597 
Filicic acid 397 
Filix 396 
Filix mas 396 
Filloea suaveolius 1597 
Filter, Boullay’s 895 
Filters 881 
Filtration 880 
Filtration by displace- 
ment 893, 894 
Fine-leaved water-hem- 
lock 1567 
Fire weed 1512 
Fir-wool 829 
Fir-wool oil 829 
Fish glue 463 
Fishery salt 796 
Fixed oils 565 
Flag, blue 486 
Flag, sweet 181 
Flake manna 534 
Flammula Jovis 1496 
Flavouring extracts 1515 
Flax 514 
Flax, purging 1548 
Flaxseed 514 
FlaxseSd cataplasm 1037 
Flaxseed meal 514 
Flaxseed oil 582 
Fleabane, Canada 372 
Fleabane, Philadelphia 372 
Fleabane, various-leaved 371 
Fleawort 1585 
Flesh-coloured asclepias 1467 
Flies, potato 205 
Flies, Spanish 200 
Flint, powdered 1600 1672 
Index, 
Flixwied 1600 
Florence receiver 1246 
Florentine orris 485 
Flores martiales 1460 
Florida anise-tree 1534 
Florida arrow-root 537 
Flour, wheat 384 
Flowering ash 533 
Flowers 891 
Flowers of benzoin 917 
Flowers of sulphur 814, 816 
Flowers of zinc 1444 
Fluid extract of Ameri- 
can hellebore 1122 
Fluid extract of bitter- 
sweet 1113 
Fluid extract of black 
pepper 1261 
Fluid extract of buchu 1109 
Fluid extract of catechu 237 
Fluid extract of cimici- 
fuga 1110 
Fluid extract of cin- 
chona 1111 
Fluid extract of cocculus 
Indicus 307 
Fluid extract of colchi- 
cum root 1111 
Fluid extract of colchi- 
cum seed 1112 
Fluid extract of cubebs 1260 
Fluid extract of dande- 
lion 1121 
Fluid extract of ergot 1113 
Fluid extract of gentian 1114 
Fluid extract of ginger 1123 
Fluid extract of hem- 
lock 1112 
Fluid extract of henbane 1114 
Fluid extract of ipecacu- 
anha 1115 
Fluid extract of jalap 1101 
Fluid extract of lactu- 
carium 506 
Fluid extract of lobelia 521 
Fluid extract of lupulin 1115 
Fluid extract of Pareira 638 
Fluid extract of rhubarb 1117 
Fluid extract of sarsa- 
parilla 1118 
Fluid extract of savine 724 
Fluid extract of Scutel- 
laria 765 
Fluid extract of senna 1119 
Fluid extract of serpen- 
tar ia * 1120 
Fluid extract of spigelia 1121 
Fluid extract of spigelia 
and senna 1120 
Fluid extract of taraxa- 
cum 1121 
Fluid extract of uva ursi 1121 
Fluid extract of valerian 1122 
Fluid extract of vanilla 850 
Fluid extract of wild- 
cherry bark 1116 
Fluid extracts 1108 
Flux ’ 899 
Fly-trap 1596 
Foeniculum 398 
Foeniculum dulce 399 
Foeniculum officinale 399 
Foeniculum vulgare 398 
Folia Malabathri 302 
Foliated earth of tartar 1281 
Foreign weights, table of 1637 
Formulas for calculating 
specific gravities cor- 
responding to BaumAs 
hydrometer, and vice 
versa 1650 
Formulas for prescrip- 
tions 1629 
Formyl, terchloride of 960 
Formyl, teriodide of 1540 
Fossil salt 794 
Fothergill’s pills 89 
Fowler’s solution 1214 
Foxglove 349 
Franguloe cortex 1593 
Frankincense 828, 1569 
Frankincense of Sierra 
Leone 1569 
Frasera 400 
Frasera Carolinensis 400 
Frasera Walteri 400 
Fraxin 1453 
Fraxinella, white 1510 
Fraxinin 1515 
Fraxinus Chinensis 240 
Fraxinus excelsior 1515 
Fraxinus ornus 533 
Fraxinus parviflora 532 
French berries 1593 
French chalk 1515 
Frejich decimal weights 
and measures 1635 
French measures 1636 
French rhubarb 705 
French vinegar 15 
French weights 1636 
Frere Come, arsenical 
paste of 25 
Friar’s balsam 1387 
Frost-weed 436 
Froswort 436 
Fruit essences, artificial 1515 
Fruit sugar 725 
Fucus crispus 249 
Fucus helminthocorton 1517 
Fucus vesiculosus 1516 
Fuligo ligni 1601 
Fuligokali 1517 
Fumaria officinalis 1518 
Fumaric acid 1560 
Fumarina or fumarin 1518 
Fumigating pastiles 166 
Fuminella 338 
Fuming sulphuric acid 
of Nordhausen 55 
Fumitory 1518 
Fungi 1560 
Fungic acid 1560 
Fungin 367, 1454, 1560 
Fungus rosarum 1470 
Funnel stands 882 
Furnaces 884 
Fusagasuga bark 280 
Fused nitrate of silver 1011 
Fusel dil 77, 801 
Fusiform jalap 489 
Fusion 898 
Fustic 1518 
G 
Gadic acid 586 
Gaduin 585 
Gadus iEglifinus 584 
Gadus callarias 583 
Gadus carbonarius 584 
Gadus merluccius 464, 584 
Gadus molva 584 
Gadus morrhua 581 
Gadus pollackius 584 
Gaiaretine 430 
Galam, gum 8 
Galanga 1518 
Galangal 1518 
Galbanum 401 
Galbanum officinale 401 
Galbanum plaster 1068 
Galbanum plaster, com- 
pound 1068 
Galega officinalis 1518 
Galega tinctoria 1536 
Galega Virginian* 1518 
Galena 653 
Galipea cusparia 116 
Galipea officinalis 117 
Galipot 650 
Galitannic acid 1519 
Galium aparine 1518 
Galium palustre 1519 
Galium tinctorium 1519 
Galium verum 1519 
Galla 402 
Gallic acid 919 
Gallic acid fermentation 920 
Galline ' 1590 
Gallo-tannic acid 940 
Galls • 402 
Galls, Chinese 403 
Gallus Bankiva 634 
Gambir or gambeer 234 
Gamboge 405 
Gambogia 405 
Gambogic acid 407 • 
Garbling of drugs 875 
Garcinia cambogia 405 
Garcinia morella 407 
Garden angelica 115 
Garden carrot-root 220 
Garden endive 1495 
Garden purslane 1587 
Gardenia campanulata 1519 
Gardenia grandifiora 1519 
Garlic 79 Index. 
1673 
Gas burners 885 
Gas liquor 102 
Gastric juice 1590 
Gaultheria 408 
Gaultheria hispidula 1252 
Gaultheria procumbens 4 8 
Gaultherilen 1252 
Gaultherin 1473 
Gay feather 1546 
Gayacol 430 
Gayacyl, hydruret of 430 
Gay-Lussac’s centesimal 
alcoholmeter 1651 
Gein 129 
Gelatin 464 
Gelatin, capsules of 1520 
Gelatinized chloroform 963 
Gelatinized ether 954 
Gelidium corneum 465 
Gelose 465 
Gelseminia 409 
Gelseminum nitidum 409 
Gelseminum sempervi- 
rens 409 
Gelsemiuin 409 
Gelsemium sempervirens 409 
General remedies 2 
Genista tinctoria 1519 
Gentian 411 
Gentian, blue 413 
Gentiana 411 
Gentiana Catesbaei 413 
Gentiana chirayta 248 
Gentiana lutea 411 
Gentiana macrophylla 411 
Gentiana Pannonica 411 
Gentiana punctata 411 
Gentiana purpurea 411 
Gentiana quinqueflora 411 
Gentiana saponaria 413 
Gentianin 4L2 
Gentiogenin 412 
Gentiopicrin 412 
Gentisic acid 411 
Gentisin 411 
Geoffroya inermis 1478 
Geoffroya Surinamensis 1479 
Geranium 413 
Geranium maculatum 413 
Geranium Robertianum 1519 
Geranium, rose 1579 
German chamomile 542 
Germander 1613 
Geum 415 
Geum rivale 415 
Geum urbanum 415 
Gigartina helminthocor- 
ton 1517 
Gigartina lichenoides 1517 
Gillenia 416 
Gillenia stipulacea 416 
Gillenia trifoliata 416 
Gillenin 417 
Ginger 870 
Ginger syrup 1380 
Ginseng 635 
Glacial acetic acid 17, 20 
Glacial phosphoric acid 51 
Glass of antimony 1519 
Glass of borax * 786 
Glass of lead 1520 
Glauber’s salt 792 
Glechoma hederacea 1520 
Globularia alypum 1520 
Glonoin 419 
Glu 412,1473 
Glucic acid 730 
Glucose 724, 732 
Glucosides 725 
Glue 1520 
Gluten 385 
Glycerate of aloes 1088 
Glycerate of iodide of 
iron 1137 
Glycerate of tar 1579 
Glycerides 569 
Glycerin 417 
Glycerin ointment 421 
Glycerina 417 
Glycerinated tar 653 
Glycerinum 417 
Glycerized collodium 1048 
Glycerole of aloes 1088 
Glyceryl 419, 567 
Glycion 422 
Glycocholic acid 1575 
Glycocine 1576 
Glycocoll 464 
Glycyrrhiza 421 
Glycyrrhiza echinata 383,422 
Glycyrrhiza glabra 383,421, 
612 
Glycyrrhiza lepidota 422 
Glycyrrhizse radix 421 
Glycyrrhizin 422 
Gnaphalium margarita- 
ceum 1521 
Gnaphalium polycepha- 
lum 1521 
Goat’s rue 1518, 1612 
Godfrey’s cordial 1405 
Gold, in powder 1521 
Gold, preparations of 1521 
Golden sulphur of anti- 
mony 987 
Golden-rod 797 
Goldthread 326 
Gollindrinera 377 
Gombo 1528 
Gomme d’acajou 1461 
Gomme du pays 9 
Gonakie gum 8 
Gondret’s vesicating 
ointment 99 
Goose-grass 1518 
Gossypii radix 423 
Gossypium 423 
Gossypium album 423 
Gossypium Barbadense 423 
Gossypium herbaceum 424 
Gossypium nigrum 423 
Gossypium Peruvianum 423 
Goulard’s cerate 104S 
Goulard’s extract 1210 
Gourd seeds 1507 
Grain oil . 77, 801 
Grain tin 1614 
Grains of paradise 216, 217 
Grana Molucca 606 
Grana moschata 1528 
Grana paradisi 216, 217 
Grana tiglia 606 
Granati fructus cortex 425 
Granati radicis cortex 425 
Granati radix 425 
Granulated powders 1305 
Granulated sulphate of 
iron 1149 
Granules 1264 
Grape sugar 724 
Grape, varieties of the 855 
Grapes 855 
Graphite 209 
Gratiola officinalis 1523 
Gratiolacrin 1523 
Gratiolin ’ 1523 
Gratiosolin 1523 
Gravel-root 375 
Gray bark 257 
Gray powder 1174 
Greaves 686 
Green iodide of mercury 1165 
Green vitriol 1146 
Green weed 1519 
Greenheart 560 
Grilles de girofles 223 
Griffith’s antihectic 
myrrh mixture 1231 
Grindelia hirsutula 838 
Grinding 879 
Groats 152 
Gromwell 1549 
Ground ivy 1520 
Ground laurel 1512 
Ground nuts 1523 
Ground pine 1456 
Groundsel, common 1599 
Gruel, oatmeal 152 
Gruffs 877 
Guaco 1523 
Guaiac 429 
Guaiac mixture 1231 
Guaiaci lignum 427 
Guaiaci resina 429 
Guaiacic acid 428, 430 
Guaiacin 430 
Guaiacum 427 
Guaiacum arboreum 428 
Guaiacum officinale 427 
Guaiacum sanctum 428 
Guaiacum wood 427 
Guanin 1524 
Guano 1524 
Guarana 1577 
Guaranin 1578 
Guatemala sarsaparilla 751 
Guayaquil, yellow bark 
of 273 1674 
Index, 
Guibourtia copalliffira 1502 
Guilamlina bonduc 249 
Guilandina moringa 1568 
Guinea grains 217 
Guinea pepper 339 
Guirila 1537 
Gum 9 
Gum animd 1463 
Gum arabic 5 
Gum, artificial 111 
Gum, Australian 9 
Gum, Barbary 7 
Gum, Bassora 1470 
Gum, Bondou 8 
Gum, Cape 9 
Gum caranna 1486 
Gum elastic 1484 
Gum galam 8 
Gum gedda 7 
Gum, Gonakid 8 
Gum, India 8 
Gum, mesquite 1556 
Gum mezquite 1556 
Gum pectoral * 12 
Gum, Senegal 8 
Gum turic 7 
Gum, Turkey 7 
Gummi gutta 406 
Gum mi rubruin astrin- 
gens Gambiuense 499 
Gummic acid 10 
Gummi-resinae 901 
Gum-resins 901 
Gun cotton 1524 
Gun cotton, ethereal so- 
lution of 1046 
Gunjah 380 
Gurjun balsam 325 
Gutta 432 
Gutta percha 431 
Gutta percha cement 892 
Gynocardia odorata 1525 
Gyromia Virginica 1554 
H 
Haddock 584 
Haematoxylon 434 
Haematoxylon Campe- 
chianum 434 
Hagenia Abyssinica 170 
Hair-cap moss 1586 
Hake 584 
Ilalecore australis 588 
Halecore dugong 588 
Hamamelis Virginica 1525 
Hard Carthagena bark 
277, 278 
Hard water 127 
Hardback 800 
Harris’s patent sieve 879 
Harrowgate water 131 
Hartshorn 1526 
Harts-tongue 1597 
Hashish 380 
Hawk-weed 1528 
Heal-all 1500, 1589 
Heat, application of 884 
Heavy carbonate of mag- 
nesia 523 
Heavy oil of wine 968 
Heavy spar 159 
Hebradendron cambo- 
gioides 405 
Hedeoma 435 
Hedeoma pulegioides 435 
Hedera helix 1526 
Ilederia 1526 
Hederic acid 1526 
Hederin 1526 
Hedge garlic 1458 
Hedge hyssop 1523 
Hedge mustard 1600 
Hedysarum Alhagi 533 
Ilelenin 467 
Helenium autumnale 1527 
Helianthemum 436 
Helianthemum Cana- 
dense 436 
Helianthemum corym- 
bosum 436 
Helianthus annuus 1558 
Hellebore, American 851 
Hellebore, black 436 
Hellebore, swamp 852 
Hellebore, white 850 
Helleborin 438 
Helleborus 436 
Helleborus foetidus 1527 
Helleborus niger 437 
Helleborus orientalis 437 
Helleborus viridis 437 
Helminthocorton 1517 
Helonias dioica 1527 
Helonias officinalis 721 
Ilematin 434 
Hematoxylin 434 
Hemidesmic acid 439 
Hemidesmus 439 
Hemidesmus Indicus439, 749 
Hemlock 317 
Hemlock fruit 317 
Hemlock gum 651 
Hemlock leaves 317 
Hemlock, oil of 651 
Hemlock pitch plaster 1070 
Hemlock poultice 1036 
Hemlock seed 318 
Hemlock spruce 651 
Hemlock water-drop- 
wort 1567 
Hemp 379 
Hemp, Indian 125, 379 
Henbane leaves 459 
Henbane seed 459 
Henna 1546 
Hennotannic acid 1546 
Henry’s aromatic spirit 
of vinegar 915 
Henry’s magnesia 1223 
Ilepar sulphuris 1303 
Hepatic aloes 85 
Hepatica 439 
Hepatica acutiloba 440 
Hepatica Americana 439 
Hepatica triloba 439 
Heptree 711 
Ileracleum gummiferum 105 
Ileracleum lanatum 1527 
Herb Christopher 1453 
Herb Robert 1519 
Ilerba Britannica 718 
Ilerbemont grape 855 
Hermodactyls 1527 
Hesperidin 513 
Heuchera 440 
Heuchera Americana 440 
Heuchera cortusa 440 
Heuchera viscida 440 
Ileudelotia Africana 1470 
Ilevea Guianensis 1484 
Hibiscus abelmoschus 1528 
Hibiscus esculentus 1528 
Hickory 1488 
Hickory ashes and soot, 
infusion of 1002 
Hiedra 836 
Iliera picra 1306 
Hieracium venosum 1528 
Himalaya rhubarb 700 
Hips 711 
Hircic acid 778 
Hircin 778 
Hirudo 441 
Ilirudo decora 441 
Hirudo medicinalis 441 
Hive-syrup 1377 
Hoffmann’s anodyne li- 
quor 1340 
Ilolchus saccharatus 1603 
Holly 1533 
Hollyhock 90 
Ilomberg’s pyrophorus 93 
Honduras sarsaparilla 750 
Honey 543 
Honey, clarified 1226 
Honey of borate of soda 1227 
Honey of borax 1227 
Honey of roses 1227 
Honey, preparations of 1226 
Honeysuckle 1550 
Hooper’s pills 89, 1265 
Hops 447 
Hordein 446 
Hordeum 445 
Hordeum distichon 445 
Hordeum perlatum 447 
Hordeum vulgare 445 
Horehound 638 
Horse aloes 86 
Horse brimstone 814 
Horse-balm 1500 
Horsechestnut 1453 
Horsemint 549 
Horse-radish i37 
Horse-radish tree 1568 
Horsetail i U2 Index 
1675 
Horse-weed 1500 
Hot bath „ 134 
Hound’s tongue 1509 
Houseleek, common 1599 
Houseleek, small 1598 
Howard’s hydrosubli- 
mate of mercury 1159 
Huamilies bark 264, 267 
Huanochine 292 
Huanuco bark 264, 266 
Humulin 449 
Humulus 447 
Humulus lupulus 447 
Hundred-leaved roses 711 
Hungarian balsam 1594 
Hura Brasiliensis 1528 
Hura crepitans 1528 
Husband’s magnesia 1224 
Huxham’s tincture of 
bark 1391 
Hydrangea arborescens 1528 
Hydrangea, common 1528 
Hydrargyri ammonio- 
chloridum 1172 
Hydrargyri bichloridum 1152 
Hydrargyri binoxidum 1168 
Hydrargyri chloridum 
corrosivuin 1152 
Hydrargyri chloridum 
mite 1157 
Hydrargyri cyanidum 1162 
Hydrargyri cyanuretum 1162 
Hydrargyri et quinise 
chloridum 1493 
Hydrargyri iodidum 1165 
Hydrargyri iodidum ru- 
brum 1163 
Hydrargyri iodidum vi- 
ride 1165 
Hydrargyri nitrico-oxi- 
dum 1166 
Hydrargyri oxidum ni- 
grum 1168 
Hydrargyri oxidum ru- 
brum 1166 
Hydrargyri precipita- 
tum album 1172 
Hydrargyri sulphas 1169 
Hydrargyri sulphas fla- 
vus 1170 
Hydrargyri sulphure- 
tum nigrum 1172 
Hydrargyri sulphure- 
tum rubrum 1171 
Hydrargyria 455 
Hydrargyrum 450 
Hydrargyrum ammonia- 
turn 1172 
Hydrargyrum corrosi- 
vum, sublimatum 1152 
Hydrargyrum cum creta 1174 
Hydrargyrum praecipi- 
tatum per se 1167 
Hydrastia or hydrastin 457 
Hydrastina 457 
Hydrastis 456 
Hydrastis Canadensis 457 
Hydrate of ethylen 948 
Hydrate of potassa 1277 
Hydrated oxide of amyl 77 
Hydrated oxide of iron 1139 
Hydrated sesquioxide 
(peroxide) of iron 1139 
Ilydric ether 948 
Hydride of amyl 1460 
Hydride of butyl 1582 
Hydride of caproyl 1582 
Hydride of capryl 1582 
Hydride of cenanthyl 1582 
Hydride of pelargonyl 1582 
Hydride of rutyl 1582 
Hydriodate of ammonia 1537 
Hydriodate of arsenic 
and mercury, solution 
of 1193 
Hydriodate of potassa 1298 
Hydriodic acid 470, 922 
Hydriodic acid, diluted 922 
Hydriodic ether 1529 
Hydrobromate of am- 
monia 1477 
Hydrobryoretin 1478 
Hydrochinone 846 
Hydrochlorate of ammo- 
nia 102 
Hydrochlorate of lime 183 
Hydrochlorate of mor- 
phia 1239 
Hydrochlorate of mor- 
phia, solution of 1208 
Hydrochloric acid 41 
Hydrochloric acid, com- 
mercial 44 
Hydrochloric acid, di- 
lute 929 
Hydrocotyle Asiatica 1529 
Hydrocyanate of ethylen 1530 
Hydrocyanic acid, anhy- 
drous 927 
Hydrocyanic acid, dilu- 
ted 923 
Hydrocyanic ether 1530 
Hydrogen 867 
Hydrometer, Baunffi’s 
876, 1649 
Hydrosublimate of mer- 
cury 1159 
Hydrosulphate of am- 
monia, solution of 1530 
Hydrosulphate of lime 1607 
Hydrosulphuret of am- 
monia 1530 
Hydrosulphuric acid 
394, 1608 
Hydruret of amyl 1460 
Hydruret of benzyl 573 
Hydruret of cumyl 1507 
Hydruret of phenyl 1471 
Hydruret of salicyl 231 
Hymenma courbaril 1463 
Hymenma verrucosa 1502 
Hyoscyami folium 459 
Ilyoscyami semen 459 
Hyoscyamia 400, 461 
Ilyoscyamin 460 
Hyoscyamus 459 
Hyoscyamus albus 460 
Hyoscyamus niger 459 
Hyperanthera moringa x563 
Hypericum perforatum 1530 
Hyperiodic acid 470 
Hypermanganate of po- 
tassa 681 
Hypermanganic acid 530 
Hyperoxymuriate of po- 
tassa 674 
Hypochlorite of lime 185 
Hypochlorite of soda 1220 
Ilyponitric acid 45 
Hyponitrous ether 1343 
Hypophosphite of am- 
monia 1532 
Hypophosphite of iron 1532 
Hypophosphite of lime 1531 
Hypophosphite of po- 
tassa 1532 
Hypophosphite of quinia 
287, 1532 
Hypophosphite of soda 1531 
Hypophosphites 1531 
Hypophosphorous acid 1532 
Hypopicrotoxic acid 306 
Hyposulphite of lime 1532 
Hyposulphite of soda 791 
Hyposulphite of soda 
and silver 1532 
Hyposulpliuric acid 816 
Hyposulphurous acid 816 
Hyraceum 1532 
Hyrax Capensis 1533 
Hyssop 1533 
Ilyssopus officinalis 1533 
I 
Iberis amara 1533 
Iceland moss 243 
Iceland moss paste 12 
Ice-plant 1556 
Ichthyocolla 463 
Icica icicariba 364 
Ictodes foetidus 355 
Idrialin 598 
Igasuria 563 
Igasuric acid 562 
Ignatia 465 
Ignatia amara 465 
Ilex 1533 
Ilex aquifolium 1473, 1533 
Ilex cassina 1534 
Ilex dahoon 1534 
Ilex mate 1534 
Ilex opaca 1534 
Ilex Paraguaiensis 1534 
Ilex vomitoria 1534 
Ilexanthin 1474, 1533 
Ilicic acid 1533 1676 
Index, 
Ilicin 1533 
Illiciun anisatum 119, 1534 
Illicium Floridanum 1534 
Illicium parviflorum 1534 
lmpatiens balsamina 1534 
Impatiens fulva 1534 
lmpatiens noli-me-tan- 
gere 1534 
Impatiens pallida 1534 
Imperatoria ostruthium 1534 
Imperatorin 1534 
Imperial 670 
Imperial measure 1633 
Imphee 1603 
Impure carbonate of po- 
tassa 670 
Impure oxide of zinc 1617 
Incineration 898 
Incitants 2 
Indelible ink 1535 
India aloes 86 
India gum 8 
India myrrh 558 
India opium 614 
India rhubarb 703 
India senna 771 
Indian corn 1623 
Indian cucumber 1554 
Indian hemp 125, 379 
Indian physic 416 
Indian poke 852 
Indian red 1535 
Indian rubber 1484 
Indian sarsaparilla 439 
Indian tobacco 519 
Indian turnip 142 
Indian yellow 1535 
Indican 1536 
Indigo 1536 
Indigo, sulphate of 1536 
Indigo, wild 1469 
Indigofera anil 1536 
Indigofera argentea 1536 
Indigofera tinctoria 1536 
Indigotin 1536 
Infusa 1175 
Infusion 893 
Infusion jars of Alsop 
and Squire 1176 
Infusion of angustura 1177 
Infusion of bearberry 1185 
Infusion of buchu 1178 
Infusion of calumbo 1178 
Infusion of capsicum 1179 
Infusion of cascarilla 1179 
Infusion of catechu 1179 
Infusion of catechu, com- 
pound 1179 
Infusion of Cayenne 
pepper 1179 
Infusion of chamomile 1177 
Infusion of chiretta 1179 
Infusion of cloves 1179 
Infusion of columbo 1178 
Infusion of cusparia 1177 
Infusion of dandelion 1185 
Infusion of digitalis 1181 
Infusion of dulcamara 1181 
Infusion of ergot 1181 
Infusion of flaxseed, 
compound 1182 
Infusion of gentian, 
compound 1181 
Infusion of ginger 1186 
Infusion of hickory ashes 
and soot 1602 
Infusion of hops 1182 
Infusion of juniper 1182 
Infusion of kousso 1180 
Infusion of matico 1182 
Infusion of orange peel 1178 
Infusion of pareirabrava 1182 
Infusion of Peruvian 
bark, compound 1180 
Infusion of quassia 1183 
Infusion of red bark 1180 
Infusion of red cinchona 1180 
Infusion of rhatany 1182 
Infusion of rhubarb 1183 
Infusion of roses, acid 1184 
Infusion of roses, com- 
pound 1184 
Infusion of sage 1184 
Infusion of sassafras 
pith 1243 
Infusion of seneka 1184 
Infusion of senna 1184 
Infusion of serpentaria 1185 
Infusion of slippery elm 
bark 1244 
Infusion of spigelia 1185 
Infusion of tar 1182 
Infusion of thorough- 
wort. 1181 
Infusion of tobacco 1185 
Infusion of valerian 1185 
Infusion of wild cherry 
bark 1183 
Infusion of yellow bark 1179 
Infusion of yellow cin- 
chona 1179 
Infusions 1175 
Infusum angusturae 1177 
Infusum antkemidis 1177 
Infusum aurantii 1178 
Infusum bucco 1178 
Infusum bucbu 1178 
Infusum calumbas 1178 
Infusum capsici 1179 
Infusum caryophylli 1179 
Infusum cascarillse 1179 
Infusum catechu com- 
positum 1179 
Infusum chiratse 1179 
Infusum cinchonas 1179,1180 
Infusum cinchonte com- 
positum 1180 
Infusum cinchonas flavm 1179 
Infusum cinchonas ru- 
bros 1180 
Infusum colombae 1178 
Infusum cuspariae 1177 
Infusum cusso 1180 
Infusum digitalis 1181 
Infusum dulcamarm 1181 
Infusum ergotae 1181 
Infusum eupatorii 1181 
Infusum gentianae com- 
positum 1181 
Infusum humuli 1182 
Infusum juniperi 1182 
Infusum kramei'iae 1182 
Infusum lini compositum 1182 
Infusum lupuli 1182 
Infusum maticae 1182 
Infusum pareirae 1182 
Infusum picis liquidae 1182 
Infusum pruni Virgini- 
ans 1183 
Infusum quassiae 1183 
Infusum rliei 1183 
Infusum rosae acidum 1184 
Infusum rosae composi- 
tum 1184 
Infusum salviae 1184 
Infusum sassafras me- 
dulla; 1243 
Infusum senegae 1184 
Infusum serins 1184 
Infusum serpentaris 1185 
Infusum spigelis 1185 
Infusum tabaci 1185 
Infusum taraxaci 1185 
Infusum ulmi 1244 
Infusum uvs ursi 1185 
Infusum valerians 1185 
Infusum zingiberis 1186 
Ink 1610 
Inkomankomo 396 
Inosite 725, 732 
Insect powder, Persian 1537 
Inspissated infusions 1177 
Inula 466 
Inula lielenium 466 
Inulin 467 
Inverse sugar 725, 732 
Iodate of potassa 1537 
Iodic acid 470 
Iodic alimentation 475 
Iodide of ammonium 1537 
Iodide of antimony 1538 
Iodide of arsenic 1016 
Iodide of arsenic and 
mercury, solution of 1193 
Iodide of barium 1538 
Iodide of cadmium 176 
Iodide of ethyl 1529 
Iodide of gold 1522 
Iodide of iron 1135 
Iodide of iron, solution 
of 1369 
Iodide of iron, syrup o- 1369 
Iodide of lead 1276 
Iodide of manganese 1552 
Iodide of mercury 1165 
Iodide of potassium 1296 
Iodide of silver 1538 
Iodide of sodium 1588 Index. 
Iodide of starch 1539 
Iodide of sulphate of 
quinia 1319 
Iodide of sulphur 1360 
Iodide of zinc 1539 
Iodides of calomel 1540 
Iodine 467 
Iodine baths 476 
Iodine, bisulphuret of 1360 
Iodine caustic 476 
Iodine, compound solu- 
tion of 1206 
Iodine, compound tinc- 
ture of 1400 
Iodine inhalation 478 
Iodine, liniment of 477, 1188 
Iodine lotion 476 
Iodine, Lugol’s solutions 
of 476 
Iodine, oxide of 470 
Iodine, rubefacient solu- 
tion of 476 
Iodine, tincture of 1399 
Iodinium 467 
Iodism 472 
Iodized camphor 479 
Iodized collodion 1048 
Iodized glycerin 419, 477 
Iodized oil 475 
Iodochlorides of mer- • 
cury 1540 
Iodoform 1540 
Iodoformum 1540 
Iodohydrargyrate of po- 
tassium 1541 
Iodo-quinia, sulphate-of 1319 
lodo-tannin 470, 1542 
lodoue acid 470 
lodum 467 
lonidium ipecacuanha 484 
lonidium marcucci 484, 1542 
lonidium microphyllum 484 
lonidium parviflorum 
484, 1542 
Ipecacuan 480 
Ipecacuanha 480 
Ipecacuanha, American 
378, 416 
Ipecacuanha, amyla- 
ceous 483 
Ipecacuanha, black 483 
Ipecacuanha, Peruvian 483 
Ipecacuanha spurge 378 
Ipecacuanha, striated 483 
Ipecacuanha, undulated 483 
Ipecacuanha, white 483 
Ipecacuanhas, non-offici- 
nal 483 
Ipecacuanhic acid 482 
Ipomcea jalapa 488 
Ipomsea macrorrhiza 487 
Ipomoea purga 488 
Ipomsea turpethum 1170 
Iridin or irisin 487 
Iris Florentina 485 
Iris foetidissima 485 
Iris Germanica 485 
Iris pseudo-acorus 485 
Iris tuberosa 485, 1527 
Iris versicolor 486 
Irish moss 249 
Iron 389 
Iron, albuminate of 1457 
Iron alums 1129 
Iron, ammoniated 1459 
Iron, ammonio-chloride 
of 1459 
Iron, ammonio-citrate of 1128 
Iron, ammonio-tartrate 
of 1130 
Iron and alumina, sul- 
phate of 1606 
Iron and ammonia, sul- 
phate of 1129 
Iron and magnesia, ci- 
trate of 1496 
Iron and potassa albu- 
minate of 1456 
Iron and potassa, sul- 
phate of 1129 
Iron and potassa, tar- 
trate of 1130 
Iron and quinia, citrate 
of 1132 
Iron and soda, albumin- 
ate of 1457 
Iron, arseniate of 1124 
Iron, black oxide of 391 
Iron, bromide of 1477 
Iron by hydrogen 1149 
Iron, carbazotate of 1486 
Iron, carbonate of, with 
sugar 1125 
Iron, carburet of 1487 
Iron, chloride of 1126 
Iron, citrate of 1128 
Iron, commercial sul- 
phate of 1147 
Iron, dried sulphate of 1148 
Iron, ferrocyanide of 1134 
Iron filings 393 
Iron, granulated sul- 
phate of 1149 
Iron, impalpable powder 
of 393, 1149 
Iron in fine powder 393 
Iron, iodide of 1135 
Iron, lactate of 1137 
Iron, magnetic oxide of 1140 
Iron, perchloride of 1126 
Iron, peroxide of 1141 
Iron, phosphate of 1141 
Iron plaster 1068 
Iron, potassio-tartrate of 1130 
Iron, powder of 1149 
Iron, precipitated car- 
bonate of 1145 
Iron, preparations of 1123 
Iron, protoxide of 390 
Iron, Quevenne’s 1149 
Iron, red oxide of 1145 
Iron, reduced 1149 
Iron, saccharated carbo- 
nate of 1125 
Iron, sesquicliloride of 1126 
Iron, sesquioxide of 891. 
1141, 1145 
Iron, solution of citrate 
of 1198 
Iron, solution of iodide 
of 13G9 
Iron, solution of nitrate 
of 1198 
Iron, solution of per- 
chloride of 1200 
Iron, solution of subsul- 
phate of 1202 
Iron, solution of tersul- 
phate of 1203 
Iron, subcarbonate of 1145 
Iron sulphate of 1146 
Iron, sulphuret of 1607 
Iron, syrup of iodide of 1369 
Iron, table of the prepa- 
rations of 392 
Iron, tannate of 1610 
Iron, tartarated 1130 
Iron, tartrate of protox- 
ide of 1131 
Iron, teroxide of 391 
Iron, tincture of acetate 
of 1452 
Iron, tincture of chloride 
of 1394 
Iron, tincture of muriate 
of 1394 
Iron, valerianate of 1619 
Iron, wine of 1436 
Iron wire 893 
Isatis tinctoria 1542 
Isinglass 463 
Isis nobilis 1503 
Isonandra gutta 431 
Issue-peas 150, 486, 1527 
Ivory-black 211 
Ivraie 1550 
Ivy 1526 
Ivy gum 1526 
J 
Jaen bark 264, 267 
Jaggary 726 
Jalap 487 
Jalap, fusiform 489 
Jalap, light 489 
Jalap, male 489 
Jalap, overgrown 490 
Jalap, resin of 1325 
Jalap, rose-scented 490 
Jalapa 487 
Jalapse resina 1325 
Jalapic acid (note) 490 
Jalapin 488 
Jalapinol (note) 490 
Jamaica dogwood 1585 
Jamaica ginger . 871 
Jamaica kino 497 1678 
Index, 
Jamaica pepper 647 
Jamaica sarsaparilla 750 
Jamaicina 1478 
James’s powder 1307 
Jamestown weed 808 
Janipha manihot 536, 825 
Japan camphor 194 
Japan sago 733 
Japan varnish 1456 
Japan wax 241 
Japanese isinglass 465 
Japanese pepper 864 
Jargonelle pear essence 1516 
Jasmine, common white 1569 
Jasminum grandiflorum 1569 
Jasminum officinale 1568 
Jasminum sambac 1569 
Jatamansi 1608 
Jatropha curcas 1469 
Jatropha elastica 1484 
Jatropha manihot 825 
Jatropha multifida 1470 
Jatropha oil 1470 
Java cardamom 216 
Javelle’s water 1493 
Jeffersonia dipkylla 1542 
Jellies 1543 
Jelly, vegetable 220 
Jerusalem cherry 358 
Jerusalem oak 245, 246 
Jervina 851 
Jesuits’ drops 1387 
Jesuits’ powder 297 
Jewell’s hydrosublimate 
of mercury 1159 
Jewel-weed 1534 
Juglans 491, 1488 
Juglans cathartica 492 
Juglans cinerea 492 
Juglans nigra 492 
Juglans regia 491 
Juices 1358 
Juice of broom 1358 
Juice of hemlock 1358 
Juice of taraxacum 1358 
Jujubae 1624 
Jujube paste 12, 1624 
Juniper 493 
Juniperin 494 
Juniperus 493 
J uniperus communis 493 
Juniperus depressa 493 
Juniperus lycia 1569 
Juniperus oxycedrus 1568 
Juniperus sabina 723 
Juniperus Virginiana494,723 
K 
Kcempferia rotunda 1624 
Kali purum 1277 
Kalium 666 
Kalmia angustifolia 1543 
Kalmia glauca 1543 
Kalmia latifolia 1543 
Kameela 713 
Kassu 235 
Kava or kawa 541 
Kawine 641 
Kekune oil 1457 
Kelp 468, 789 
Kempferid 1518 
Kentish’s ointment 1190 
Kermes mineral 985 
Kiew 1559 
Kinate of cinchonia 283, 292 
Kinate of quinia 283, 292 
King’s yellow 1571 
Kinic acid 283, 292 
Kino 495 
Kino, African 498 
Kino, Botany Bay 499 
Kino, Caracas 497 
Kino, East India 496 
Kino, Jamaica 497 
Kino, South American 497 
Kino, West India 497 
Kinoic acid 497 
Ki nolle 293 
Kinol 1462 
Kinone 293 
Kino-red 497 
Kinovic acid 285, 293 
Kinovic bitter 285, 293 
Kinovin 293 
Knot-grass 1474 
Knot-root 1500 
Knotty-rooted figwort 1597 
Kola nuts 1605 
Koossine 171 
Koosso 170 
Krameria 500 
Krameria ixina 501 
Krameria-tannic acid 502 
Krameria triandra 501 
Krameric acid 602 
Krimea rhubarb 705 
Kukue oil 1457 
L 
Labarraque’s disinfect- 
ing liquid 1219 
Labdanum 1543 
Labrador tea 1546 
Laburnic acid 1509 
Laburnin 1509 
Laburnum 1509 
Lac 1544 
Lac ammoniaci 1228 
Lac assafeetid® 1229 
Lac sulphuris 1359 
Lacca in placentis 1644 
Laccin 1544 
Lachryma scammony 758 
Lacmus 1549 
Lactate of iron 1137 
Lactate of lime 40 
Lactate of manganese 1553 
Lactate of quinia 287 
Lactate of zinc 40, 1545 
Lactic acid 39 
Lactide 40 
Lactin 725, 732 
Lactose 732 
Lactuca 503 
Lactuca altissima 503 
Lactuca elongata 503 
Lactuca sativa 503 
Lactuca scariola 507 
Lactuca virosa 603, 612 
Lactucarium 503 
Lactucerin 506 
Lactucic acid 506 
Lactucin 505 
Lactucone 505 
Ladanum 1543 
Ladies’mantle 1457 
Ladies’ slipper 347 
Lady Webster’s pills 1265 
Laevo-tartaric acid 62 
Lake water 129 
Lakes 309, 1545 
Laminaria bulbosa 468 
Laminaria digitata 468 
Laminaria saccliarina 468 
Lampblack 212 
Lamps, alcoholic 885 
Lana pliilosopliica 1444 
Lancaster blackdrop 913 
Lapilli cancrorum 1506 
Lapis bezoar occidentals 
1473 
Lapis bezoar orientalis 1473 
Lapis calaminaris 1482 
Lapis divinus 345 
Lapis infernalis 1011 
Lapis lazuli 1617 
Lappa . 507 
Lappa major 507 
Lappa minor 507 
Larch bark 831 
Larch, European 831 
Lard 67 
Lard, benzinated 1415 
Large-flowering spurge 376 
Larix cedrus 538 
Larix Europaea 533, 830 
Larixine 831 
Larixinic acid 831 
Larkspur 348 
Laudanum 1403 
Laudanum, denarcotized 1404 
Laudanum, Rousseau’s 1437 
Laudanum, Sydenham’s 1436 
Laurel 1543 
Laurie acid 607 
Lauro-cerasus 508 
Laurus benzoin 1471 
Laurus camphora 192 
Laurus cassia 301 302 
Laurus cinnamomum 301 
Laurus culilawan 1507 
Laurus nobilis 1545 
Laurus pickurim 1584 
Laurus sassafras 754 
Lavandula 509 Index, 
1679 
Lavandula spica 509 
Lavandula vera 509 
Lavender 509 
Lavender water 1349 
Lawsonia inermis 1546 
Lazulite 1617 
Lead 653 
Lead, acetate of 656 
Lead, as a poison 655 
Lead, carbonate of 658 
Lead, diluted solution 
of subacetate of 1211 
Lead, dioxide of 654 
Lead, glass of 1520 
Lead, iodide of 1276 
Lead, nitrate of 661 
Lead, of 662 
Lead plaster 1071 
Lead, preparations of 1276 
Lead, protoxide of 654, 662 
Lead, red 654, 663 
Lead, red oxide of 654, 663 
Lead, semivitrified oxide 
of 662 
Lead, sesquioxide ot 654 
Lead, solution of sub- 
acetate of 1209 
Lead, sugar of 656 
Lead, table of the pre- 
parations of 655 
Lead, tannate of 1610 
Lead, white 658 
Lead-water 1211 
Leadwort 1586 
Leather flower 1496 
Leather wood 1511 
Lecanora tartarea 1549 
Lecanoric acid 1549’ 
Lecithin 1576 
Ledoyen’s disinfecting 
fluid 661 
Ledum latifolium 1546 
Ledum palustre 1546 
Leech, mechanical 445 
Leeches 441 
Leeches, danger from 445 
Leek 1546 
Lee's New London pills 89 
Lee’s Windham pills 89 
Lemon juice 512 
Lemon peel 512 
Lemon syrup 1372 
Lemons 512 
Lenitive electuary 1052 
Lentisk 539 
Leontice thalictroides 1488 
Leonurus cardiaca 1546 
Leontodon taraxacum 826 
Leopard’s bane 139 
Lepidolite 516 
Lepra mercurialis 455 
Leptandra 510 
Leptandra purpurea 510 
Leptandra Yirginica 510 
Leptandrin 511 
Lettuce 503 
Lettuce, acrid 503 
Lettuce opium 505 
Lettuce, strong-scented 503 
Lettuce, wild 503 
Leucol 1462 
Levigation 879 
Levant wormseed 743 
Levulose 532, 732 
Liatris odoratissima 1615 
Liati’is scariosa 1546 
Liatris spicata 1546 
Liatris squarrosa 1546 
Lichen Islandicus 243 
Lichenin 244 
Lichstearic acid 244, 1560 
Liebig’s distillatory ap- 
paratus 889 
Life-everlasting 1464, 1521 
Light Calisaya bark 270 
Light jalap 489 
Light magnesia 1223 
Light oil of wine 968 
Lignum colubrinum 562 
Lignum vitas 428 
Ligulin 1547 
Ligusticum levisticum 1546 
Ligustrin 1547 
Ligustrum vulgare 1547 
Lilac, common ' 1609 
Lilacin 1609 
Lilium bulbiferum 1547 
Lilium candidum 1547 
Lily, common white 1547 
Lily of the valley 1501 
Lima bark 264, 267 
Lime 184 
Lime, bone-phosphate of 1032 
Lime, carbonate of 336 
Lime, chloride of 183 
Lime, chlorinated 185 
Lime, fresh-burned 184 
Lime, hydrosulphate of 1607 
Lime, hypochlorite of 185 
Lime liniment 1187 
Lime, muriate of 183 
Lime ointment 184 
Lime, precipitated car- 
bonate of 1030 
Lime, precipitated phos- 
phate of 1031 
Lime, preparations of 1030 
Lime, saccharate of 1197 
Lime, solution of chlo- 
rinated 1197 
Lime, solution of mu- 
riate of 1195 
Lime, syrup of 1197 
Limes 512 
Limestone 336 
Lime-water 1196 
Limones 512 
Limonis cortex 512 
Limonis oleum 581 
Limonum succus 512 
Linaria vulgaris 1465 
Ling 584 
Lini farina 514 
Lini oleum 582 
Lini semen 514 
Liniment, anodyne 1188 
Liniment, mercurial 1188 
Liniment of aconite 1186 
Liniment of ammonia 1186 
Liniment of belladonna 1187 
Liniment of camphor 1187 
Liniment of cantharides 1187 
Liniment of chloroform 1188 
Liniment of croton oil 1188 
Liniment of iodine 1188 
Liniment of mercury 1188 
Liniment of opium 1188 
Liniment of turpentine 1189 
Liniment of turpentine 
and acetic acid 1190 
Liniment, volatile 1186 
Liniment a 1186 
Liniments 1186 
Linimentum aconiti 1186 
Linimentum ammoniae 1186 
Linimentum arcaei 1419 
Linimentum belladonnas 1187 
Linimentum calcis 1187 
Linimentum camphorae 1187 
Linimentum camphorae 
compositum 1187 
Linimentum cantharidis 1187 
Linimentum chloroformi 1188 
Linimentum crotonis 1188 
Linimentum hydrargyri 1188 
Linimentum iodi 1188 
Linimentum opii 1188 
Linimentum saponis 1189 
Linimentum saponis 
camphoratum 1189 
Linimentum terebin- 
thinse 1189 
Linimentum terebinthi- 
nae aceticum 1190 
Linin 1548 
Linolein 583 
Linseed 514 
Linseed meal 514 
Linseed oil 582 
Linseed poultice 1037 
Lint 1547 
Linum 514 
Linum catharticum 1548 
Linum usitatissimum 514 
Lion’s foot 1587 
Liquefaction 887, 898 
Liquid extract of bael 1109 
Liquid extract of ergot 1113 
Liquid extract of fern 1114 
Liquid extract of opium 1116 
Liquid extract of pareira 1116 
Liquid extract of yellow 
cinchona 1111 
Liquid storax 811, 1548 
Liquidambar altingia 1549 
Liquidambar orientale 811 
Liquidambar styracitlua 
812, 1548 Index, 
Liquidamber 1548 
1190 
Liquor ammonias 997 
Liquor ammoniae aceta- 
tis 1190 
Liquor ammonias for- 
tior 97 
Liquor antimonii ter- 
chloridi 1192 
Liquor arsenicalis 1214 
Liquor arsenici chloridi 1492 
Liquor arsenici et hy- 
drargyri iodidi 1193 
Liquor atropi® 1194 
Liquor barii chloridi 1194 
Liquor bismuthi 1028 
Liquor calcii chloridi 1195 
Liquor calcis 1196 
Liquor calcis chloratae 1197 
Liquor calcis sacchara- 
tu3 1197 
Liquor chlori 1002 
Liquor ferri citratis 1198 
Liquor ferri iodidi 1369 
Liquor ferri nitratis 1198 
Liquor ferri perchloridi 1200 
Liquor ferri pernitratis 1198 
Liquor ferri subsulpha- 
tis 1202 
Liquor ferri tersulpha- 
tis 1203 
Liquor gutta-perchae 1204 
Liquor hydrargyri ni- 
tratis 1205 
Liquor hydrargyri ni- 
tratis acidus 1205 
Liquor iodinii composi- 
tus 1206 
Liquor magnesias citra- 
tis 1207 
Liquor morphi® hydro- 
chloratis 1208 
Liquor morphias muri- 
atis 1208 
Liquor morphias sulpha- 
tis 1209 
Liquor opii composi- 
tus 1404 
Liquor plumbi subace- 
tatis 1209 
Liquor plumbi subace- 
tat.is dilutus 1211 
Liquor potass® 1211 
Liquor potass® arseni- 
tis 1214 
Liquor potassas chlori- 
natse 1493 
Liquor potass® citratis 
1216, 1231 
Liquor potass® perman- 
ganatis 1217 
Liquor sod® 1218 
Liquor sod® arseniatis 1218 
Liquor sod® chlorinat® 1219 
Liquor strychni® 1221 
Liquorice 382 
Liquorice root 421 
Liriodendrin 518 
Liriodendron 517 
Liriodendron tulipifera 617 
Lisbon diet drink 1062 
Lisbon sarsaparilla 751 
Litharge 662 
Litharge plaster 1071 
Lithargyrum 662 
Lithia 516 
Lithia, carbonate of 515 
Lithia, citrate of 1222 
Lithi® carbonas 515 
Lithi® citras 1222 
Lithium 516 
Lithospermum officinale 1549 
Lithospermum tinctori- 
um 1458 
Litmus 1549 
Litmus-paper 1550 
Live oak 695 
Liver of sulphur 1302 
Liverwort 439 
Lixiviation 893 
Lobelia 518 
Lobelia cardinalis 521 
Lobelia inflata 519 
Lobelia syphilitica 521 
Lobelic acid 519 
Lobelina 519 
Loblolly pine 829 
Local remedies 2 
Locust tree 1594 
Logan’s plaster 1073 
Logwood 434 
Lolium temulentum 1550 
Long pepper 649 
Long-leaved pine 829 
Lonicera caprifolium 1550 
Loosestrife 1551 
Lotio fiava 1153 
Lotio nigra 1159 
Lovage 1546 
Loxa bark 264 
Lozenges 1411 
Lunar caustic 1011 
Lungwort 1589 
Lupulin 448, 521 
Lupulina 448, 521 
Lupuline 449 
Lupulite 449 
Lupulus 447 
Luteolin 1592 
Lutes 891 
Lycia, lycin, or lycina 1551 
Lyciurn 167 
Lycium barbarum 1550 
Lycoperdon proteus 1561 
Lycopodium 521 
Lycopodium clavatum 622 
Lycopus ,522 
Lycopus Europseus 522 
Lycopus Yirginicus 522 
Lythrum salicaria 1551 
Lytta 200 
Lytta Nuttalli 207 
M 
Mace 554, 557 
Maceration 893 
Macis 554, 557 
McMunn’s elixir 1404 
Macropiper methysticum 541 
Macrotys racemosa 250 
Madagascar cardamom 217 
Madar 1483 
Madder 715 
Madeira wine 856 
Mafurra tallow 604 
Magistery of bismuth 1027 
Magnesia 1222 
Magnesia, acetate of 1452 
Magnesia alba 523 
Magnesia, calcined 1225 
Magnesia, carbonate of 523 
Magnesia, Dinneford’s 525 
Magnesia, Ellis’s 1224 
Magnesia, heavy carbo- 
nate of 523 
Magnesia, Henry’s 1223 
Magnesia, Husband’s 1224 
Magnesia levis 1223 
Magnesia, muriate of 1493 
Magnesia, preparations 
of 1222 
Magnesia, solution of 
citrate of 1207 
Magnesia, sulphate of 526 
Magnesi® acetas 1452 
Magnesias carbonas 523 
Magnesias carbonaspon- 
derosum 523 
Magnesite citratis liquor 1207 
Magnesias sulphas 526 
Magnesii chloridum 1493 
Magnesite 527 
Magnesium 1225 
Magnetic oxide of iron 1140 
Magnetic pyrites 394 
Magnolia 528 
Magnolia acuminata 528 
Magnolia glauca 116, 52» 
Magnolia grandiflora 628 
Magnolia tripetala 529 
Maguey 1455 
Mahogany tree 1608 
Mahy’s plaste,' 1074 
Maidenhair 1453 
Maize 1623 
Malabathri folia 302 
Malambo bark 1551 
Malamide 90 
Malamidic acid 90 
Malate of iron 711 
Malateoflime 1515 
Malate of manganese 
711, 1553 
Male fern 396 
Male jalap 489 
Male nutmeg 556 
Male orchis 1594 
Malegueta pepper 217 Index. 
1681 
Malic acid 711 
Mallaguetta pepper 217 
Mallow, common 1551 
Malt 446 
Malt vinegar 15 
Maltha 1580 
Malva 1551 
Malva alcea 90 
Malva moschata 653 
Malva rotundifolia 1552 
Malva sylvestris 1551 
Malwa opium 615 
Mandarin orange 149 
Mandioca 825 
Mandragora 1552 
Mandragora officinalis 1552 
Mandrake 664, 1552 
Manganese 529, 1552 
Manganese, carbonate of 1553 
Manganese, iodide of 1552 
Manganese, lactate of 1553 
Manganese, malate of 1553 
Manganese, oxide of 529 
Manganese, phosphate of 1553 
Manganese, sulphate of 531 
Manganese, tartrate of 1553 
Manganesii binoxidum 529 
Manganesii oxidum ni- 
grum 529 
Manganesii peroxidum 529 
Manganesii sulplias 531 
Manganesium 1552 
Manganic acid 530 
Mangostana mangifer 1536 
Manna 532 
Manna canulata 534 
Mannite 635, 732 
Maple sugar 726 
Maracaybo bark 276 
Maranta 535 
Maranta allouya 536 
Maranta arundinacea 535 
Maranta galanga 1518 
Maranta Indica 536 
Maranta nobilis 536 
Marble 538 
Marchantia 440 
Margaric acid 567, 744 
Margarin 68, 667, 568, 744 
Marine acid 41 
Marjoram, common 1570 
Marjoram, sweet 1570 
Marmor 538 
Marrubium 638 
Marrubium vulgare 638 
Marseilles vinegar 915 
Marsh parsley 1599 
Marsh rosemary 806 
Marsh tea 1546 
Marsh trefoil 1555 
Marsh water 129 
Marsh water-cress 1564 
Marsh’s test for arsenic 33 
Marshmallow 89 
Martial ethiops 1140 
Martin’s cancer powder 1571 
Maruta cotula 331 
Marygold 1483 
Massicot 663 
Massoy bark 302 
Masterwort 1527, 1534 
Mastic 539 
Mastiche 539 
Masticin 540 
Matias bark 1551 
Maticin 541 
Matico 540 
Matonia 217 
Matricaria 542 
Matricaria chamomilla 
121, 542 
Matricaria parthenium 1589 
Matricaria parthenoides 1589 
Matrimony vine 1550 
May-apple 664 
May-apple, resin of 1326 
Mayflower 1512 
May-weed 330 
Mead 860 
Meadow anemone 1462 
Meadow-saffron 310 
Meadow-sweet 800 
Mealy starwort 78 
Measurement, approxi- 
mate 1638 
Measures and weights 
875, 1633 
Meat biscuit 1554 
Meat-juice, preserved 1554 
Mecca senna 772 
Mechanical division 877 
Mechanical leech 445 
Mechoacan 489 
Meconic acid 623 
Meconin 623 
Medeola Yirginica 1554 
Medicated prunes 1053 
Medicated syrups 1363 
Medicated vinegars 910 
Medicated waters 990 
Medicated wines 1433 
Medicinal hydrocyanic 
acid 925 
Medicines and drugs not 
officinal 1451 
Mel 543 
Mel boracis 1227 
Mel depuratum 1226 
Mel despumatum 1226 
Mel rosae 1227 
Mel sodae boratis 1227 
Melaleuca cajuputi 577 
Melaleuca hypericifolia 577 
Melaleuca latifolia 577 
Melaleuca leucadendron 577 
Melaleuca minor 578 
Melaleuca viridifolia 577 
Melampodium 438 
Melampyrite 725 
Melampyrum nemoro- 
sum 725 
Melassic acid 730 
Melia azedarach 153 
Melilot 1555 
Melilotus officinalis 1555 
Melissa 544 
Melissa officinalis 544 
Melissic acid 23S- 
Melissine 239 
Melitose 533, 725, 732 
Melizetose 533, 725, 732 
Mellita 1226 
Meloe majalis 201 
Meloe niger 206 
Meloe proscarabmus 201 
Meloe trianthemae 201 
Menispermin 306 
Menispermum Cana- 
dense 1555 
Menispermum cocculus 305 
Menispermum palmatum 189 
Mentha piperita 545 
Mentha pulegium 545 
Mentha viridis 546 
Menthene 1254 
Menyanthes trifoliata 1555 
Menyanthin 1555 
Mercurial liniment 1188 
Mercurial ointment 1419 
Mercurial pills 1272 
Mercurial plaster 1068 
Mercurialin 1556 
Mercurialis annua 1556 
Mercurialis perennis 1556 
Mercurius 450 
Mercury 450 
Mercury, acid nitrate of 1205 
Mercury, ammoniated 1172 
Mercury and quinia, 
chloride of 149S 
Mercury, bibromide of 1477 
Mercury, bichloride of 1152 
Mercury, bicyanide of 1162 
Mercury, biniodide of 1168 
Mercury, binoxide of 1168 
Mercury, bisulphuret of 1171 
Mercury, black oxide of 1168 
Mercury, black sulphu- 
ret of 1172, 1476 
Mercury, bromides of 1477 
Mercury, corrosive chlo- 
ride of 1152 
Mercury, cyanide of 1162 
Mercury, cyanuret of 1162 
Mercury, effects of 453 
Mercury, green iodide 
of 1165 
Mercury, hydrosubli- 
mate of 1159 
Mercury, iodide of 1165 
Mercury, mild chloride 
of 1157 
Mercury, preparations 
of 1152 
Mercury, protiodide of 1165 
Mercury, protobromide 
of 1477 
Mercury, prussiate of 1162 1682 
Index, 
Mercury, red /odide of 1163 
Mercury, red oxide of 1166 
Mercury, red sulphuret 
of 1171 
Mercury, solution of per- 
nitrate of 1205 
Mercury, sulphate of 
1158, 1169 
Mercury, table of the 
preparations of 455 
Mercury with chalk 1174 
Mercury, yellow sul- 
phate of 1170 
Mesembryanthemum 
crystallinum 1556 
Mesenna 1556 
Mesquite gum 1556 
Metacinnameine 156 
Metagummic acid 10 
Metamorphia 617 
Metaphosphoric acid 52 
Metastannic acid 1614 
Methyl 804 
Mcthylamin 619 
Methylated spirit 805 
Methylbrucia 1356 
Methylcaprinol 1257 
Methylconia 319 
Methylic alcohol 803 
Methylic chloroform 958 
Methylic narcotina 619 
Methylsalicylic acid 1252 
Metkylstrychnia 1356 
Methysticin 541 
Metroxylon sagu 733 
Mezereon 546 
Mezereum 546 
Mezquite gum 1556 
Mica 616 
Mica panis 386 
Microderma 13 
Mikania guaco 1523 
Mild chloride of mer- 
cury 1157 
Milder common caustic 1279 
Milfoil 16 
Milium solis 1549 
Milk of ammoniac 1228 
Milk of assafetida 1229 
Milk of lime 184 
Milk of sulphur 1359 
Milk-weed 377, 1467 
Mimosa Nilotica 6 
Mimo-tannic acid 236 
Mimulus Moschatus 553 
Mindererus, spirit of 1190 
Mineral, ethiops 1476 
Mineral, kermes 985 
Mineral tar 1580 
Mineral, turpeth 1170 
Mineral water 995 
Mineral waters 130 
Mineral yellow 1577 
Minium 654, 663 
Mint 646 
Missouri grape 855 
Mistletoe 1620 
Mistura ammoniaci 1228 
Mistura amygdalas 1228 
Mistura assafoetidae 1229 
Mistura chloroformi 1230 
Mistura creasoti 1230 
Mistura cretae 1230 
Mistura ferri composita 1230 
Mistura glyeyrrhizas 
composita 1231 
Mistura guaiaci 1231 
Mistura potassas citratis 
1217, 1231 
Mistura scammonii 1231 
Mistura spiritus vini 
Gallici 806 
Misturm 1228 
Mitchella repens 1557 
Mithridate 1051 
Mixture, brandy 806 
Mixture, brown 1231 
Mixture, chalk 1230 
Mixture, creasote 1230 
Mixture, guaiac 1231 
Mixture, neutral 1218, 1630 
Mixture of almond 1228 
Mixture of ammoniac 1228 
Mixture of assafetida 1229 
Mixture of citrate of po- 
tassae 1216, 1231 
Mixture of iron, com- 
pound 1230 
Mixture of liquorice, 
compound 1231 
Mixture, oleaginous 1630 
Mixture, scammony 1231 
Mixtures 1228 
Moccasin plant 347 
Mocha aloes 86 
Mocha senna 771 
Mode of administering 
medicines 1626 
Molasses 724, 729, 731 
Mole-plant 1568 
Momordica balsamina 1557 
Momordica elaterium 361 
Monarda 649 
Monarda punctata 549 
Monesia 1557 
Monesin 1557 
Monkshood 63 
Monohydrated nitric acid 45 
Monolein 568 
Monomargarin 568 
Monsel’s solution 1202 
Monsel’s persulphate of 
iron 1202 
Montpellier scammony 760 
Moonseed 1555 
Mori succus 549 
Morin 1518 
Moringa aptera 1568 
Moringa pterygosperma 1568 
Moritannic acid 1518 
Morphia 617, 1232 
Morphia, acetate of 1238 
Morphia, hydrochlorate 
of 1239 
Morphia, muriate of 1239 
Morphia, preparations 
of 1282 
Morphia, solution of mu- 
riate of 1208 
Morphia, solution of sul- 
phate of 1209 
Morphia, sulphate of 1241 
Morphia suppositories 1362 
Morphias acetas 1238 
Morphias hydrochloras 1239 
Morphioe murias 1239 
Morphias sulphas 1241 
Morrhua Americana 583, 584 
Morrhua vulgaris 583 
Morrhuae oleum 583 
Mortars 878 
Morus alba 550 
Morus nigra 549 
Morus rubra 550 
Morus tinctoria 1518 
Moschus 550 
Moschus factitius 1561 
Moschus moschiferus 550 
Motherwort 1546 
Mountain ash 1602 
Mountain damson 778 
Mountain laurel 1543 
Mountain niithogany 1473 
Mountain rhubarb 719 
Mountain-tea 408 
Moussache 826 
Moxa 1558 
Mucedinese 388 
Mucilage 514, 1242 
Mucilage of gum arabic 1242 
Mucilage of sassafras 1243 
Mucilage of slippery elm 
bark 1244 
Mucilage of starch 1243 
Mucilage of tragacanth 1243 
Mucilages 1242 
Mucilagines 1242 
Mucilago acacise 1242 
Mucilago amyli 1243 
Mucilago sassafras 1243 
Mucilago tragacanthae 1243 
Mucilago ulmi 1244 
Mucuna 553 
Mucuna pruriens 563 
Mucuna prurita 554 
Mudar 1483 
Mugwort 4 
Mulberry juice 549 
Mullein 1619 
Murexide 1559 
Muriate of ammonia 102 
Muriate of baryta 1022 
Muriate of baryta, solu- 
tion of 1194 
Muriate of berberina 168,191 
Muriate of ethylen 1559 
Muriate of Iron, tinctuie 
of 1394 Index, 
1683 
Muriate of lime 183 
Muriate of lime, solution 
of 1195 
Muriate of magnesia 1493 
Muriate of morphia 1239 
Muriate of morphia, so- 
lution of 1208 
Muriate of soda 795 
Muriatic acid 41 
Muriatic acid, commer- 
cial 41, 43 
Muriatic acid, diluted 929 
Muriatic acid gas 44 
Muriatic acid, table of 
the specific gravity of 42 
Muriatic ether 1559 
Musena bark 714 
Musenna 1556 
Mushrooms 1560 
Musk 550 
Musk, artificial 1561 
Musk, vegetable 553 
Muskmelon seeds 1507 
Musk-root 1608 
Must 854 
Mustang grape 856 
Mustard 780 
Mustard poultice 1037 
Mustard seeds, black 779 
Mustard seeds, white 779 
Mustard, volatile oil of 780 
Mycose 368, 725, 732 
Mylabris cichorii 200 
Mylabris pustulata 201 
Mynsicht’s acid elixir 935 
Myrcia acris 802 
Myrica cerifera 241, 1562 
Myricin 239 
Myricinic acid 1562 
Myristic acid 607 
Myristica 554 
Myristica fatua 556 
Myristica fragrans 555 
Myristica moschata 554 
Myristica officinalis 554 
Myristicm adeps 554, 557 
Myristicae oleum 588 
Myristicic acid 556 
Myristicin 556, 589 
Myrobalani 1563 
Myrobalans 1563 
Myronate of potassa 780, 781 
Myronic acid 138, 780, 781 
Myrospermumfrutescens 154 
Myrospermum of Sonso- 
nate 154 
Myrospermum Pereirm 155 
Myrospermum peruife- 
rum 153 
Myrospermum pubescens 154 
Myrospermum toluiferum 157 
Myrosyne 138, 780, 781 
Myroxocarpin 156 
Myroxylon balsamiferum 154 
Myroxylor Pereira 155 
Myroxylon peruiferum 154 
Myroxylon toluiferum 157 
Myrrh 557 
Myrrha 557 
Myrrhic acid 559 
Myrrhin 559 
Myrtle wax 241 
Myrtus acris 802, 1504 
Myrtus caryophyllata 1504 
Myrtus pimenta 646 
N 
Napellina 65 
Naphtha 1580, 1582 
Naphtha, coal 1471 
Naphthalin 1563 
Naples yellow 1563 
Narcein or narceina 622 
Narcissus pseudo-narcis- 
sus ’ 1563 
Narcotics 2, 3 
Narcotin 617, 618 
Narcotina 618 
Nard 1564 
Nardus celtica 1564 
Nardus Indica 1564 
Nardus montana 1564 
Narthex assafoetida 145 
Nasturtium amphibium 1564 
Nasturtium officinale 1564 
Nasturtium palustre 1564 
Native oil of laurel 1584 
Native soda 788 
Natron 788 
Nauclea Brunonis 234 
Nauclea gambir 234 
Navel-wort 1505 
Neat’s-foot oil 577 
Nebuel 8 
Nectandra 559 
Nectandra puchury 1584 
Nectandra Rodiei 560 
Nectandria 560 
Nepaul cardamom 216 
Nepeta cataria 232 
Nepeta glechoma 1520 
Nephrodium filix mas 396 
Nereck 8 
Nerium antidysenteri- 
cum 1623 
Nerium odorum 1564 
Nerium oleander 1564 
Neroli 150 
Nettle, common 1619 
Nettle, dwarf 1619 
Neutral mixture 1217, 1231, 
1630 
New bark 282 
New Jersey tea 1489 
New York petroleum 1582 
Nicaragua wood 1477 
Niccoli sulphas 1606 
Nickel, sulphate of 1606 
Nicotia 819 
Nicotiana fruticosa 818 
Nicotiana paniculata 818 
Nicotiana quadrivalvis 81b 
Nicotiana rustica 818 
Nicotiana tabacum 818 
Nicotianin 819, 820 
Nicotin 819, 820 
Nicotina 820 
Nigella sativa 1564 
Nigellin 1564 
Nightshade, black 857 
Nightshade, common 357 
Nightshade, deadly 161 
Nightshade, woody 358 
Nihil album 1444 
Nitrate of cerium 1491 
Nitrate of codeia 620 
Nitrate of copper 1564 
Nitrate of iron, solution 
of 1198 
Nitrate of lead 661 
Nitrate of mercury, acid 
solution of 1205 
Nitrate of potassa 676 
Nitrate of silver 1008 
Nitrate of silver, fused 1011 
Nitrate of silver, in crys- 
tals 1008 
Nitrate of soda 1565 
Nitrate of strychnia 1355 
Nitrate of water 45 
Nitre 676 
Nitre, cubic 1565 
Nitre-beds, artificial 677 
Nitric acid 45 
Nitric acid, anhydrous 49 
Nitric acid, diluted 930 
Nitric acid of the arts 46 
Nitric acid, table of the 
specific gravity of 49 
Nitric oxide 45 
Nitric starch 1539 
Nitrification 677 
Nitrite of amyl 1460 
Nitrite of ether 1344 
Nitrite of soda 1342 
Nitrobenzide 1472 
Nitrobenzole 573 
Nitrobenzule 1472 
Nitroglycerin 419 
Nitromuriatic acid 930 
Nitromuriatic acid, di- 
luted 932 
Nitromuriatic oxide of 
antimony 1587 
Nitropicric acid 1486 
Nitroprussic acid 1565 
Nitroprusside of sodium 1565 
Nitrosulphate of ammo- 
nia 1565 
Nitrosulphuric acid 1565 
Nitrous acid 45 
Nitrous acid of the shops 47 
Nitrous ether 1343 
Nitrous oxide 45, 1566 
Nitrous oxide water 1566 
Nitrous powders 680, 1629 1684 
Index, 
Nopal 308 
Nordhausen, fuming sul- 
phuric acid of 55 
Norway spruce 650 
Nutgall 402 
Nutme'g 554 
Nutmeg, concrete oil of 
554, 556 
Nutmeg-flower 1564 
Nux moschata 655 
Nux vomica 561 
Nymphasa alba 1566 
Nymphasa odorata 1566 
0 
Oak bark 695 
Oakum 1548 
Oatmeal 152 
Oatmeal gruel 152 
Oats 152 
Ochres 1566 
Ocotea pichurim 1584 
Ocuba 241 
Ocymum basilicum 1566 
(Enanthe crocata 1567 
(Enanthe fistulosa 1567 
(Enanthe phellandrium 1567 
(Enanthic ether 857, 1516 
(Enanthin 1567 
(Enanthyl hydride • 1582 
CEnothera biennis 1567 
Officinal directions, ge- 
neral 903 
Officinal medicines, 
meaning of the term 1451 
Oidium abortifaciens 366 
Oil, benne 598, 776 
Oil, cajeput 578 
Oil, castor 592 
Oil, cedar 495 
Oil, cod-liver 583 
Oil, croton 605 
Oil, ethereal 966 
Oil, flaxseed 582 
Oil, linseed 582 
Oil, neat’s-foot 577 
Oil of aleurites trilotia 1457 
Oil of almonds 575 
Oil of amber 598 
Oil of amber, rectified 1267 
Oil of anda 1567 
Oil of anise 1248 
Oil of ben 1568 
Oil of benne 698, 776 
Oil of bergamot 576 
Oil of bitter almonds 573 
Oil of bitter almonds, ar- 
tificial 573 
Oil of black pepper 1261 
Oil of cade 1568 
Oil of cajeput 577 
Oil of camphor 196, 579 
Oil of Canada fleabane 1251 
Oil of caraway 1248 
Oil of cassia 580 
Oil of chamomile 676 
Oil of cinnamon 580 
Oil of cloves 1249 
Oil of copaiba 1250 
Oil of coriander 327, 1250 
Oil of cubeb 1251 
Oil of dill 114 
Oil of ergot 367, 371 
Oil of euphorbia 1568 
Oil of fennel 1251 
Oil of fern 398, 1260 
Oil of gaultheria 1252 
Oil of hedeoma 1252 
Oil of hemlock 651 
Oil of horsemint 1255 
Oil of jasmine 1568 
Oil of juniper 1253 
Oil of lavender 1253 
Oil of lemons 681 
Oil of mace 556 
Oil of marjoram 1570 
Oil of massoy 302 
Oil of mustard 780 
Oil of mustard, volatile 780 
Oil of nutmeg 688 
Oil of nutmeg, expressed 556 
Oil of origanum 1255 
Oil of partridge-berry 1252 
Oil of pennyroyal, Ame- 
rican 1252 
Oil of peppermint 1254 
Oil of pimento 1256 
Oil of rosemary 1256 
Oil of roses 597 
Oil of rue 1256 
Oil of sassafras 1257 
Oil of sassafras (pichu- 
rim) 1584 
Oil of savine 1257 
Oil of spearmint 1264 
Oil of spike 1254 
Oil of spruce 651 
Oil of sweet almond 575 
Oil of sweet marjoram 1255 
Oil of tar 652 
Oil of tar, heavy 1462 
Oil of tar, light 1462 
Oil of theobroma 603 
Oil of thyme 605 
Oil of tobacco 1258 
Oil of turpentine 599 
Oil of valerian 1258 
Oil of vitriol 53 
Oil of wine camphor 968 
Oil of wine, concrete 968 
Oil of wine, heavy 968 
Oil of wine, light 968 
Oil of wormseed 1250 
Oil, olive 589 
Oil, palm 1577 
Oil-cake 515 
Oi’ed paper 583 
Oilnut 492 
Oils 565 
Oils, distilled 569, 1244 
Oils, drying 566 
Oils, empyreumatic 888 
Oils, essential 669 
Oils, expressed 665 
Oils, fixed 565 
Oils, volatile 569, 1244 
Ointment, antimonial 1416 
Ointment, citrine 1422 
Ointment, elder 1426 
Ointment, mercurial 1419 
Ointment of aconitia 1416 
Ointment of ammonia- 
ted mercury 1422 
Ointment of antimony 1416 
Ointment of atropia 1417 
Ointment of belladonna 1417 
Ointment of benzoin 1417 
Ointment of bromide of 
potassium 1293 
Ointment of calomel 1417 
Ointment of cantharides 1418 
Ointment of carbonate 
of lead 1426 
Ointment of cocculus 1418 
Ointment of creasote 1418 
Ointment of elemi 1418 
Ointment of galls 1419 
Ointment of galls, with 
opium 1419 
Ointment of iodide of 
potassium 1426 
Ointment of iodide of 
sulphur 1427 
Ointment of iodine 1424 
Ointment of iodine, 
compound 1425 
Ointment of lard 1416 
Ointment of mezereon 1425 
Ointment of nitrate of 
mercury 1422 
Ointment of nitric acid 1424 
Ointment of nutgall 1419 
Ointment of oxide of zinc 1428 
Ointment of red iodide 
of mercury 1422 
Ointment of red oxide of 
mercury 1424 
Ointment of resin 1043 
Ointment of rose water 1416 
Ointment of savine 1043 
Ointment of Spanish flies 1418 
Ointment of stramonium 1426 
Ointment of sulphur 1427 
Ointment of tannic acid 1415 
Ointment of tartrated 
antimony 1416 
Ointment of tobacco 1427 
Ointment of turpentine 1428 
Ointment of veratria 1428 
Ointment of white pre- 
cipitate 1422 
Ointment, simple 1416 
Ointment, spermaceti 1418 
Ointment, tar 1425 
Ointment, tartar emetic 1416 
Ointment, tobacco 1421 Index. 
1685 
Ointment, tutty 1428 
Ointments 1415 
Okra 1528 
Old field pine 829 
Olea 565 
Olea destillata 1244 
Olea Europoea 589 
Olea fixa 565 
Olea fragrans 1611 
Olea infusa 1427 
Olea latifolia 589 
Olea longifolia 589 
Olea volatilia 569 
Oleaginous mixture 1630 
Oleander 1564 
Oleate of glycerin 568 
Oleic acid 567, 744 
Oleic acid as a solvent 568 
Olein 68, 567, 744 
Oleoresin of black pep- 
per 1261 
Oleoresin of capsicum 1259 
Oleoresin of cubeb 1260 
Oleoresin of fern 1260 
Oleoresin of ginger 1261 
Oleoresin of lupulin 1261 
Oleoresina capsici 1259 
Oleoresina cubebae 1260 
Oleoresina filicis 1260 
Oleoresina lupulinoa 1261 
Oleoresina piperis 1261 
Oleoresina zingiberis 1261 
Oleoresinae 1259 
Oleoresins 1259 
Oleosaccharum 730 
Oleum absinthii 4 
Oleum aethereum 966 
Oleum amygdalae 575 
Oleum amygdalae amarae 573 
Oleum amygdalae dulcis 575 
Oleum anethi 114 
Oleum anisi 1248 
Oleum anthemidis 576 
Oleum bergamii 576 
Oleum bubulum 577 
Oleum cadinum 1568 
Oleum cajuputi 577 
Oleum camphorae 579 
Oleum cari 1248 
Oleum carui 1248 
Oleum caryophylii 1249 
Oleum chenopodii 1250 
Oleum cinnamomi 580 
Oleum copaibae 1250 
Oleum coriandri 327, 1250 
Oleum cornu cervi 1510 
Ole an crotonis 605 
Oleum cubebae 1251 
Oleum erigerontis Cana- 
densis 1251 
Oleum foeniculi 1251 
Oleum gaultheriae 1252 
Oleum hedeomaB 1252 
Oleum liyperici 1531 
Oleum jecoris aselli 583 
Oleum juniperi 1253 
Oleum lavandulse 1253 
Oleum limonis 681 
Oleum lini 582 
Oleum menthae piperitae 1254 
Oleum menthae viridis 1254 
Oleum monardae 1255 
Oleum morrhuae 583 
Oleum myristicae 588 
Oleum olivae 589 
Oleum origani 1256 
Oleum phosphoratum 643 
Oleum pimentae 1256 
Oleum ricini 592 
Oleum rosae 597 
Oleum rosmarini 1256 
Oleum rutae 1256 
Oleum sabinae 1257 
Oleum sassafras 1257 
Oleum sesami 598, 776 
Oleum succini 598 
Oleum succini rectifica- 
tum 1257 
Oleum sulphuratum 1469 
Oleum tabaci 1258 
Oleum tartari per deli- 
quium 1283 
Oleum terebinthinae 599 
Oleum theobromas 603 
Oleum thymi 605 
Oleum tiglii 605 
Oleum valerianae 1258 
Olibanum 1569 
Olivae oleum 589 
Olive oil 589 
Olive oil, table of, as 
solvent of the alka- 
loids 590 
Olivile 590 
Onion 1569 
Ophelia chirata 248 
Opiania 622 
Opianic acid 618 
Opianine 622 
Opiate pills of lead 1274 
Opium 609 
Opium, Bengal 614 
Opium, Constantinople 614 
Opium, Egyptian 614 
Opium, India 614 
Opium, Malvva 615 
Opium, Patna 614 
Opium, Persia 615 
Opium plaster 1069 
Opium, Smyrna 613 
Opium, table of strength 
of 616 
Opium, tests of 625 
Opium thebaicum 612 
Opium, Turkey 613 
Opobalsamum 1469 
Opodeldoc 1189 
Opoidia galbanifera 401 
Opopanax 1570 
Opopanax chironium 1570 
Opuntia cochinillifera 308 
Orange berries 150 
Orange-flower water 1000 
Orange flowers 149 
Orange mineral 1570 
Orange peel 14? 
Orange red 157? 
Orange-root 45* 
Oranges 149 
Orchil 1550 
Orchilla weed 1549 
Orchis mascula 1594 
Ordeal bean of Calabax 1480 
Orenburgh gum 881 
Orgeat, syrup of 1367 
Origanum 1570 
Origanum majorana 1255 
Origanum majoranoides 1570 
Origanum vulgare 1255,1570 
Orleana 1464 
Ornus Europoea 532 
Ornus rotundifolia 532 
Orobanche Americana 1571 
Orobanche uniflora 1571 
Orobanche Virginiana 1571 
Orpiment 1571 
Orpiment, artificial 1571 
Orris, Florentine 485 
Orsellic acid 1549 
Oryza sativa 1571 
Os 632 
Os sepiae 1507 
Ossa 632 
Ostrea edulis 835 
Otaheitan sugar-cane 1603 
Otolithus regalis 464 
Otto of roses 597 
Overflowing wells 129 
Overgrown jalap 490 
Ovum 634 
Oxalate of potassa 1573 
Oxalate of quinia 291 
Oxalate of quinidia 291 
Oxalhydric acid 1343 
Oxalic acid 1571 
Oxalis acetosella 1574 
Oxalis crassicaulis 1575 
Oxalis violacea 1575 
Ox-gall 1575 
Ox-gall, refined 1576 
Oxide of antimony 984 
Oxide of ethyl 948 
Oxide of gold 1521, 1522 
Oxide of lead 662 
Oxide of manganese 529 
Oxide of silver 1014 
Oxide of zinc 1444 
Oxide of zinc, impure 1617 
Oxycanthin 169 
Oxychloride of antimony 
976, 1587 
Oxychloride of sodium 1220 
Oxymel 1227 
Oxymel of squill 1227 
Oxymel scillae 1227 
Oxymuriate of lime 185 
Oxypicric acid 1536 
I Oxyquinia 287 1686 
Index, 
Oxystiychnia 1356 
Oxysulpkuret of anti- 
mony 985 
Oyster 835 
Oyster-shell 835 
Oyster-shell, prepared 1034 
Ozone 64, 1580 
P 
Pa-douk tree 496 
Pasonia officinalis 1576 
Pagliari’s styptic 166 
Pain du porceau 1508 
Pale bark 263 
Pale rose 711 
Palm oil 1577 
Palm soap 746 
Palm sugar 726 
Palma Christi 592 
Palmic acid 595 
Palmin 595 
Palmitic acid 569, 1577 
Palmitin 567, 569, 1577 
Panacea lapsorum 140 
Panacon 636 
Panaquilon 636 
Panax 635 
Panax quinquefolium 635 
Panax schinseng 635 
Panis 636 
Panna 396 
Pansy 862 
Papaver 636 
Papaver orientale ' 609 
Papaver rhoeas 709 
Papaver somniferum 609 
Papaveric acid 710 
Papaverina 621 
Papaverin 621 
Pappoose root 1488 
Paraffin 331, 652 
Paraffin oil 331, 1498 
Paraguay tea 1534 
Paramenispermin 306 
Paramorphia 621 
Parasorbic acid 1602 
Paratartaric acid 62, 843 
Parchment-paper 897 
Paregoric elixir 1405 
Pareira 637 
Pareira brava 637 
Parietaria officinalis 1577 
Pariglin 752 
Parillinic acid 752 
Paris white 1621 
Parsley root 040 
Parsnep. rough 1570 
Parthenium integrifo- 
lium 1577 
Partridge-berry 408, 1557 
Pastel 1542 
Pastiles, fumigating 166 
Pastinaca opopanax 1570 
Patent yellow 1577 
Patna opium 614 
Paullinia 1577 
Paullinia cupana 1577 
Paullinia sorbilis 1577 
Peach brandy 1578 
Peach leaves 1578 
Peach wood 1477 
Pea-nuts 1523 
Pearl barley 447 
Pearl powder 1579 
Pearl sago 734 
Pearl tapioca 826 
Pearl white 1579 
Pearlash 670 
Pearls of ether 954 
Pearson’s arsenical solu- 
tion 1332 
Peat charcoal 210 
Pectase 920 
Pectic acid 220 
Pectin 220 
Pectoral gum 12 
Pectose 220, 920 
Pegu catechu 234 
Pe-la 239 
Pelargonate of ethylic 
ether 1516 
Pelargonic acid 1516 
Pelargonic ether 857, 1516 
Pelargonium capitatum 1579 
Pelargonium odoratissi- 
mum 1579 
Pelargonium roseum 
1516, 1579 
Pelargonyl hydride 1582 
Pellitory 691 
Pellitory, wall 1577 
Pemmican 1554 
Penaea mucronata 1596 
Penaea sarcocolla 1596 
Pennsylvania sumach 710 
Pennyroyal 435, 545 
Pennyroyal, American 435 
Pennyroyal, European 545 
Pennywort 1505 
Penny wort, thick-leaved 1529 
Peony 1576 
Pepo 639 
Pepper, black 647 
Pepper, Cayenne 207 
Pepper, long 649 
Pepper, Malegueta 217 
Pepper, white 648 
Peppermint 545 
Peppermint water 1006 
Pepsin 1591 
Pepsine 1590, 1591 
Perchloride of carbon 960 
Percolation 894, 905 
Percolator 895 
Periploca Indica 439 
Periploca secamone 758 
Permanent white 160, 1606 
Permanganate of po- 
tassa 681 
Pernambuco wood 1477 
Pernitrate of iron, solu- 
tion of 1198 
Peroxide of hydrogen 1579 
Peroxide of iron 1141 
Peroxide of manganese 529 
Perry 860 
Persia opium 615 
Persian galbanum 402 
Persica vulgaris 1578 
Persicaria mitis 1474 
Persicaria uren3 1474 
Persimmon 354 
Peruvian bark 252 
Peruvian calisaya 272 
Peruvian ipecacuanha 483 
Peruvine 156 
Petalite 516 
Peter’s pills 89 
Petinin 1511 
Petroleum 1580 
Petroselinum 640 
Petroselinum sativum 640 
Peucedanin 1535 
Peucedanum montanum 1599 
Peucedanum officinale 1535 
Phseoretin 707 
Phalaris Canariensis 1483 
Pharmaceutical equiva- 
lents, table of 1639 
Pharmacopoeias 909 
Phaseomannite 725 
Phasianus gallus 634 
Phellandrium aquat.i- 
cum 1567 
Phene 1471 
Phenic acid 1486 
Phenol 334, 1486 
Phenyl, hydrated oxide 
of 334, 1486 
Phenyl, hydruret of 1471 
Phenylic acid 334, 1486 
Philadelphia fleabane 372 
Phloretin 1583 
Phloridzin 690, 1583 
Phoenix farinifera 733 
Phoradendron flaves- 
cens 1621 
Phosphate of ammonia 973 
Phosphate of iron 1141 
Phosphate of lime, pre- 
cipitated 1031 
Phosphate of lime, syrup 
of 1033 
Phosphate of manganese 1553 
Phosphate of potassa 1583 
Phosphate of quinia 287 
Phosphate of soda 1336 
Phosphate of soda, medi- 
cinal tribasic 1336 
Phosphate of zinc 1583 
Phosphorated oil 643 
Phosphoric acid 61 
Phosplioi'ic acid, diluted 932 
Phosphorus 641 
Phosphorus, amorphous 642 
Phosplionis, red 612 Index. 
1687 
Photosantonic acid 1330 
Phycite 725 
Phyllanthus emblica 1563 
Phyllocyanin 363 
Phyllonanthin 363 
Physalin 1583 
Physalis alkekengi 1583 
Physalis viscosa 1584 
Physeter macrocephalus 
242, 1459 
Physic nuts 1469 
Physostigma venosum 1480 
Physostigmin 1480 
Phytolacca decandra 645 
Phytolacce bacce 645 
Phytolacce radix 645 
Picamar 332, 652 
Pichurim beans 1584 
Picolin 648, 1511 
Picrena excelsa 692 
Picric acid 1486 
Picroglycion 359 
Picrotoxic acid 307 
Picrotoxin 306 
Pig iron 390 
Pill, compound calomel 1266 
Pill, compound rhubarb 1275 
Pill, compound squill 1275 
Pill of assafetida, com- 
pound 1272 
Pill of Barbadoes aloes 1265 
Pill of colocynth and hy- 
oscyanus 1268 
Pill of colocynth, com- 
pound 1268 
Pill of gamboge, com- 
pound 1267 
Pill of iodide of iron 1271 
Pill of iodide of manga- 
nese 1552 
Pill of lead and opium 1274 
Pill of opium 1275 
Pill of Socotrine aloes 1265 
Pills 1262 
Pills, Asiatic 26 
Pills, assafetida 1266 
Pills, blue 1272 
Pills, compound cathar- 
tic 1267 
Pills, mercurial 1272 
Pills of aloes 1265 
Pills of aloes and assafe- 
tida 1265 
Pills of aloes and mastic 1265 
Pills of aloes and myrrh 1266 
Pills of aloes, compound 1264 
Pills of antimony, com- 
pound 1266 
Pills of assafetida 1266 
Pills of Barbadoes aloes 1265 
Pills of calomel and 
opium 1264 
Pills of carbonate of iron 1269 
Pills of copaiba 1268 
Pills of galbanum, com- 
pound 1272 
Pills of iodide of iron 1271 
Pills of ipecacuanha and 
squill 1264 
Pills of iron, compound 1270 
Pills of lead, opiate 1264 
Pills of mercury 1272 
Pills of mild chloride of 
mercury 1264 
Pills of opium 1274 
Pills of rhubarb 1275 
Pills of rhubarb and 
iron 1264 
Pills of rhubarb, com- 
pound 1275 
Pills of soap, compound 1275 
Pills of Socotrine aloes 1265 
Pills of squill, compound 1275 
Pills of sulphate of iron 1264 
Pills of sulphate ofquinia 1274 
Pills, Plummer’s 1266 
Pills, Vallet’s ferrugin- 
ous 1269 
Pilula aloes Barbadensis 1265 
Pilula aloes Socotrinae 1265 
Pilula assafoetidse com- 
posita 1272 
Pilula calomelanos com- 
posita 1266 
Pilula cambogie com- 
posita 1267 
Pilula colocynthidis 
composita 1268 
Pilula colocynthidis et 
hyoscyami 1268 
Pilula ferri iodidi 1271 
Pilula hydrargyri 1272 
Pilula opii 1275 
Pilula plumbi cum opio 1274 
Pilula rhei composita 1275 
Pilula scillae composita 1275 
Pilulae 1262 
Pilule aloes 1265 
Pilulae aloes et assafoe- 
tidae 1265 
Pilulae aloes et mastiehes 1265 
Pilulae aloes et myrrhae 1266 
Pilulae antimonii com- 
posite 1266 
Pilule assafetide 1266 
Pilule cathartice com- 
posite 1267 
Pilule copaibe 1268 
Pilule de cynoglosso 1509 
Pilule ferri carbonatis 1269 
Pilule ferri composite 1270 
Pilule ferri iodidi 1271 
Pilule galbani compo- 
site 1272 
Pilule hydrargyri 1272 
Pilule opii 1274 
Pilule quinie sulphatis 1274 
Pilule rhei 1275 
Pilule rhei composite 1275 
Pilule saponis compo- 
site 1275 
Pilule scille composite 1275 
Pilule stomachiee 126k 
Pimenta 640 
Pimento 646 
Pimento water 1006 
Pimpernel, scarlet 1461 
Pimpinella anisum 119 
Pimpinella saxifraga 1584 
Pinckneya pubens 1585 
Pine nuts 830 
Pine-apple essence 1515 
Pines 829 
Pinic acid 699 
Pinipicrin 1614 
Pinitannic acid 1614 
Pinite 533, 725, 830 
Pink, Carolina 798 
Pink, clove 1509 
Pink, wild 1599 
Pinkroot 798 
Pinus abies 650 
Pinus australis 829 
Pinus balsamea 830 
Pinus Canadensis 651 
Pinus cembra 830, 1593 
Pinus Damarra 834 
Pinus Lambertiana 533 
Pinus larix 533, 830 
Pinus maritima 829 
Pinus nigra 830 
Pinus palustris 652, 829 
Pinus picea 830 
Pinus pinaster 829 
Pinus pinea 830 
Pinus pumilio 829, 1594 
Pinus rigida 652, 830 
Pinus sylvestris 829 
Pinus teda 829, 831 
Piper 647 
Piper Afzelii 339 
Piper angustifolium 541 
Piper anisatum 339 
Piper betel 237, 1465 
Piper caninum 339 
Piper cubeba 339 
Piper elongatum 541 
Piper longum 649 
Piper methisticum 541 
Piper nigrum 647 
Piperic acid 648 
Piperidin 648 
Piperin 648 
Pipsissewa 246 
Piscidia erytkrina 1585 
Pistacia lentiscus 539 
Pistacia terebintbus 828 
Pitaya bark 276 
Pitaya bark, hard 280, 281 
Pitaya bark, soft 280 
Pitaya condaminea bark 280 
Pitayna 283 
Pitch 652 
Pitch, black 652 
Pitch, Burgundy 649 
Pitch, Canada 651 
Pitch pine 652, 830 
Pitch plaster 1070 1688 
Index, 
Pittacal 332, 652 
Pix 652 
Pix arida 652 
Pix Burgundica 649 
Pix Canadensis 651 
Pix liquida 651 
Pix nigra 652 
Plantago lancifolia 1585 
Plantago major 1585 
Plantago media 1585 
Plantago psyllium 1585 
Plantain 1585 
Plantain, water 1458 
Plants, collecting of 873 
Plants, drying of 873 
Plaster, adhesive 1074 
Plaster, blistering 1038 
Plaster machine 1064 
Plaster measurer 899 
Plaster* mercurial 1068 
Plaster of aconite 1087 
Plaster of ammoniac 1065 
Plaster of ammoniac 
with mercury 1066 
Plaster of antimony 1066 
Plaster of arnica 1067 
Plaster of assafetida 1067 
Plaster of belladonna 1067 
Plaster of Burgundy 
pitch 1070 
Plaster of Canada pitch 1070 
Plaster of carbonate of 
lead 1073 
Plaster of iron 1068 
Plaster of lead 1071 
Plaster of myrrh 559 
Plaster of opium 1069 
Plaster of pitch with 
cantharides 1070 
Plaster of Spanish flies 1038 
Plaster, strengthening 1068 
Plaster, warming 1070 
Plasters 1063 
Plate-sulphate of po- 
tassa 685 
Platinum 1585 
Pleurisy-root 144 
Plosslea floribunda 1569 
Plumbagin 1586 
Plumbago 210, 1487 
Plumbago Europoea 1586 
Plumbi acetas 656 
Plumbi carbonas 658 
Plumbi iodidum 1276 
Plumbi nitras 661 
Plumbi oxidum 662 
Plumbi oxidum rubrum 663 
Plumbi oxidum semivit- 
reum 662 
Tlurnbi tannas 1610 
Plumbum 653 
Plummer’s pills 1266 
Plum-tree , 688 
Plunket’s caustic 25 
Poaya 480 
Podalyria tinctoria 1469 
Podophylli resinae 1326 
Podophyllin 665 
Podophyllum 664 
Podophyllum peltatum 664 
Podophyllum, resin of 1326 
Poison-oak 836 
Poison-vine 836 
Poke berries 645 
Poke root 645, 852 
Polishing rouge 55 
Pollock 584 
Polychroi'te 337 
Poly gala amara 666, 765 
Poly gala, bitter 666, 765 
Polygala paucifolia 1252 
Polygala polygama 666 
Polygala rubella 666 
Poly gala senega 765 
Polygala vulgaris 765 
Polygalic acid 766 
Polygonatum multiflo- 
rum 1502 
Polygonatum uniflorum 1502 
Polygonum aviculare 1474 
Polygonum bistorta 1473 
Polygonum fagopyrum 1474 
Polygonum hydropiper 1474 
Polygonum hydropiper- 
oides 1474 
Polygonum persicaria 1474 
Polygonum punctatum 1474 
Polygonum tinctorium 1536 
Polypodiumfilixfoemina 1468 
Polypodium filix mas 396 
Polypodium vulgare 1586 
Polypody, common 1586 
Polytrichum juniperi- 
num 1586 
Pomegranate rind 425, 426 
Pomegranate root, bark 
of 425, 426 
Pompholix 1444 
Pompona 850 
Pontefract cakes 384 
Poplar 1586 
Poppy 636 
Poppy, black 610 
Poppy capsules 636 
Poppy, corn 709 
Poppy,red 709 
Poppy, white 609 
Poppy-heads 636 
Populin 1586, 1587 
Populus 1586 
Populus balsamifera 1586 
Populus nigra 1586 
Populus tremula 736, 1587 
Populus tremuloides 1587 
Porphyrization 879 
Porphyroxin 623 
Porrum 1546 
Port, English 859 
Port wine 856 
Portable soup 633 
Porter 860 
Portland arrow-root 142 
Portland powder 2491 
Portland sago 142 
Portulaca oleracea 1587 
Potash 672 
Potash, kinds of 672 
Potassa 1277 
Potassa, acetate of 1280 
Potassa, alcoholic 1278 
Potassa alum 92 
Potassa and soda, tar- 
trate of 1289 
Potassa, bicarbonate of 1285 
Potassa, bichromate of 667 
Potassa, binoxalate of 1575 
Potassa, bisulphate of 1474 
Potassa, bitartrate of 668 
Potassa, carbonate of 1282 
Potassa, caustic 1277 
Potassa caustica 1277 
Potassa, chlorate of 674 
Potassa, citrate of 1288 
Potassa cum calce 1279 
Potassa, dry 667 
Potassa, ferrocyanate of 686 
Potassa, hydrate of 1277 
Potassa, hydriodate of 1298 
Potassa, hypermanga- 
nate of 681 
Potassa, impure carbo- 
nate of 670 
Potassa, nitrate of 676 
Potassa, permanganate 
of 631 
Potassa, phosphate of 1583 
Potassa, preparations of 1277 
Potassa, pure carbonate 
of 1284 
Potassa, quadroxalate of 1575 
Potassa, red prussiate of 1514 
Potassa, sesquicarbonate 
of 1287 
Potassa, solution of 1211 
Potassa, sulphate of 684 
Potassa sulphurata 1302 
Potassa, supertartrate of 668 
Potassa, tartrate of 1290 
Potassa with lime 1279 
Potassae acetas 1280 
Potassae biantimonias 1510 
Potassae bicarbonas 1285 
Potassae bichromas 667 
Potassae bisulphas 1474 
Potassae bitartras 668 
Potassae carbonas 1282 
Potassae carbonas impura 670 
Potassae carbonas pura 1284 
Potassae chloras 674 
Potassae citras 1288 
Potassae et sodae tartras 1289 
Potassae nitras 676 
Potassae permanganas 681 
Potassae phosphas 1583 
Potassae sulphas 684 
Potassae tartras 1290 
Potassae tartras acida 668 
Potassii bromidum 1291 Index. 
1689 
Potassii cyanidum 1294 
Potassii cyanuretum 1294 
Potassii ferrocyanidum 686 
Potassii ferrocyanure- 
tum 686 
Potassii iodidum 1296 
Potassii sulphocyani- 
dum 1307 
Potassii sulphuretum 1302 
Potassio-ferric alum 1129 
Potassio-tartrate of 
iron 1130 
Potassium 666 
Potassium, bromide of 1291 
Potassium, cyanide of 1294 
Potassium, cyanuret of 1294 
Potassium, ferridcyan- 
ide of 1514 
Potassium, ferrocyan- 
ide of 686 
Potassium, iodide of 1296 
Potassium, iodohydrar- 
gyrate of 1541 
Potassium, sulphocyan- 
ide of 1607 
Potassium, sulphuret 
of 1302 
Potassium, teroxide of 667 
Potato 357 
Potato flies 205 
Potato spirit oil 77 
Potato starch 113, 537 
Potentilla reptans 1587 
Potentilla tormentilla 836 
Pothos 355 
Potus imperialis 670 
Poultices 1036 
Powder antimonial 1307 
Powder, aromatic 1309 
Powder, Dover’s 1311 
Powder folder 900 
Powder of Algaroth 976,1587 
Powder of aloes and ca- 
nella 1306 
Powder of catechu, com- 
pound 1310 
Powder of chalk, aro- 
matic 1310 
Powder of chalk, aro- 
matic, with opium 1310 
Powder of ipecacuanha 
and opium 1311 
Powder of ipecacuanha, 
compound 1311 
Powder of iron 1149 
Powder of jalap, com- 
pound 1312 
Powder of kino and 
opium 1312 
Powder of rhubarb, com- 
pound 1312 
Powder of scammony, 
compound 1312 
Powder of tin 1615 
Powder of tragacanth, 
compound 1312 
Powder, Portland 1613 
Powdering, methods of 877 
Powders 1304 
Powders, effervescing 1305 
Powders, granulated 1305 
Powders, nitrous 680, 1629 
Powders, Seidlitz 1306 
Powders, soda 1305 
Prairie dock 1577 
Prairie indigo 1469 
Precipitate per se 1167 
Precipitated calomel 1159 
Precipitated carbonate of 
iron 1145 
Precipitated carbonate of 
lime 1030 
Precipitated carbonate of 
zinc 1439 
Precipitated extract of 
bark 1317 
Precipitated phosphate 
of lime 1031 
Precipitated sulphur 1359 
Precipitated sulphuret 
of antimony 987 
Precipitating jars 880 
Precipitation 884 
Prenanthes alba 1587 
Prenanthes serpentaria 1587 
Prepared calamine 1482 
Prepared chalk 1033 
Prepared lard 67 
Prepared oyster-shell 1034 
Prepared storax 811 
Prepared suet 777 
Prepared sulphuret of 
antimony 124 
Prescribing medicines, 
art of 1625 
Prescriptions, formulas 
for 1629 
Preservation of medi- 
cines 874 
Preserved juice of tarax- 
acum 1358 
Preserved meat-juice 1554 
Preserved vegetable 
juices 1383 
Preston salts 101 
Prickly ash 135, 864 
Prickly poppy 1465 
Pride of China 153 
Pride of India 153 
Primrose tree 1567 
Prince’s feather 1459 
Prinos 687 
Prinos verticillatus 687 
Privet 1547 
Proof spirit 71, 75 
Proof vinegar 15 
Propyl 1497 
Propylamia or propyla- 
miu 368, 586, 619, 1586 
Propylic narcotina 619 
Protectives 2 
Protein 386 
Protiodide of mercury 1165 
Protococcus vulgaris 725 
Protosulphuret of car- 
bon 1475 
Prunella vulgaris 206, 158? 
Prunes 688 
Prunes, medicated 105£ 
Prunum 688 
Prunus domestica 688 
Prunus lauro-cerasus 508 
Prunus spinosa 7 
Prunus Virginiana 689 
Prussian blue 1184 
Prussiate of mercury 1162 
Prussiate of potassa 686 
Prussic acid 923 
Pseudomorphia 617, 623 
Psychotria emetica 480, 483 
Psyllii semen 1585 
Pteris aquilina 1468 
Pteritannic acid 397 
Pterocarpus 742 
Pterocarpus draco 1511 
Pterocarpus erinaceus 498 
Pterocarpus marsupium 496 
Pterocarpus santalinus 742 
Puccoon 739 
Puce oxide of lead 654 
Puff ball 1561 
Pulegium 545 
Pulmonaria officinalis 1589 
Pulsatilla 1462 
Pulveres 1304 
Pulveres effervescentes 1305 
Pulveres effervescentes 
aperientes 1306 
Pulverization 877 
Pulverization, table of 
loss by 878 
Pulverized silex 1600 
Pulvis Algarothi 1587 
Pulvis aloes et canellm 1306 
Pulvis amygdalae eom- 
positus 1307 
Pulvis antimonialis 1307 
Pulvis aromaticus 1309 
Pulvis Capucinorum 722 
Pulvis catechu composi- 
tus 1310 
Pulvis commitissse 297 
Pulvis creue aromaticus 1310 
Pulvis cretae aromaticus 
cum opio 1310 
Pulvis hydrargyri cine- 
reus 1169 
Pulvis ipecacuanhse com- 
positus 1311 
Pulvis ipecacuanhee cum 
opio 1311 
Pulvis ipecacuanhas et 
opii 1311 
Pulvis jalapae composi- 
tus 1312 
Pulvis kino compositus 1312 
Pulvis kino cum opio 1312 
Pulvis rhei compositus 1312 Index, 
Pulvis scammonii com- 
positus 1312 
Pulvis tragacanthse com- 
positus 1312 
Pumex 1589 
Pumice stone 1589 
Pumpkin seeds 639 
Punica granatum 425 
Punicin 426 
Panicum malum 426 
Pure carbonate of po- 
tassa 1284 
Pure Prussian blue 1134 
Pure water 127 
Purging agaric 1454 
Purging cassia 227 
Purging flax 1548 
Purging nuts 1469 
Purified aloes 969 
Purified animal char- 
coal 1034 
Purified chloroform 956 
Purified extract of hemp 1090 
Purified ox-bile 1123 
Purified pyroligneous 
acid 18 
Purified sugar 729 
Purple avens 415 
Purple willow-herb 1551 
Purpurate of ammonia 1559 
Purree 1535 
Purreic acid 1536 
Purslane, garden 1587 
Pyrethrum 691 
Pyrethrum carneum 1537 
Pyrethrum parthenium 
121, 1589 
Pyrethrum roseum 1537 
Pyretin 652 
Pyretin, acid 1601 
Pyrites, cubic 1607 
Pyrites magnetic 1607 
Pyrmont water 131 
Pyroacetic ether 1589 
Pyroacetic spirit 1589 
Pyrodextrin 111 
Pyrogallic acid 921, 1590 
Pyrogalline 1590 
Pyrogayic acid 430 
Pyroguaiacine 430 
Pyrola umbellata 247 
Pyroligneous acid 652 
Pyroligneous acid, crude 
18, 21 
Pyroligneous spirit 803 
Pyroligneous vinegar 19 
Pyrolusite 529 
Pyrophosphate of iron 1143 
Pyrophosphate of soda 1338 
Pyrophosphoric acid 52 
Pyroxylic alcohol 803 
Pyroxylic spirit 803 
Pyroxylin 1524 
Pyrrol 998, 1462, 1511 
Pyrus cydonia 347 
Pyrus malus 109 
Q 
Quadrihydrated nitric 
acid 46 
Quadroxalate of potassa 1575 
Quaker’s black drop 913 
Qualitative tests 1446 
Quantitative tests 1449 
Quassia 692 
Quassia amara 692 
Quassia bark 693 
Quassia excelsa 692 
Quassia simaruba 602 
Quassin 693, 778 
Queen of the meadow 800 
Queen’s delight 807 
Queen’s root 806 
Quercetin 696 
Quercin 695 
Querci-tannic acid 940 
Quercite 696 
Quercitric acid 696 
Quercitrin 696 
Quercitron 696 
Quercus 694 
Quercus mgilops 403 
Quercus alba 694, 695 
Quercus cerris 403 
Quercus excelsa 403 
Quercus falcata 695 
Quercus ilex 403 
Quercus infectoria 403 
Quercus montana 695 
Quercus occidentalis 1504 
Quercus pedunculata 694 
Quercus prinus 695 
Quercus robur 403, 694 
Quercus suber 1457, 1504 
Quercus tinctoria 694, 695 
Quercus virens 695 
Quevenne’s iron 1149 
Quickens 1616 
Quicklime 184 
Quicksilver 450 
Quillay 1601 
Quillaya saponaria 1601 
Quince essence 1516 
Quince seed 346 
Quinia 286 
Quinia, acetate of 287 
Quinia, amorphous 1317 
Quinia, antimoniate of 288 
Quinia, arsenite of 287 
Quinia, citrate of 287 
Quinia, ferrocyanate of 287 
Quinia, iodide of sul- 
phate of 1319 
Quinia, kinate of 283, 293 
Quinia, lactate of 287 
Quinia, pnosphate of 287 
Quinia, preparations of 1313 
Quinise sulphas 1313 
Quinia, sulphate of 1313 
Quinia, tannate of 287 
Quinise valerianas 1325 
Quinia, valerianate of 1324 j 
Quinic acid 292 
Quinicia 284, 291, 1317 
Quinicine 284, 291 
Quinidia 284, 289 
Quinidia, commercial 290 
Quinidia, sulphate of 291 
Quinidine 284, 289 
Quinium 1092 
Quinoidia 292 
Quinoidine 1317 
Quinolein 290 
Quino-quino 154 
R 
Racemic acid G2, 843 
Radcliff’s elixir 89 
Radical vinegar 20 
Radices colubrinae 562 
Radix caryophillatae 415 
Radix zedoariae 1624 
Ragweed 1459 
Ragwort 1599 
Rain water 128 
Raisins 843 
Rangoon petroleum 1582 
Rangoon tar 1582 
Ranunculus 697 
Ranunculus acris 697 
Ranunculus bulbosus 697 
Ranunculus flammula 697 
Ranunculus repens 697 
Ranunculus sceleratus 697 
Raspberry 716 
Raspberry syrup 1372 
Rattlesnake weed 1528 
Rattlesnake’s master 
1455, 1516 
Realgar 1590 
Rectification 888 
Rectified oil of amber 1257 
Rectified pyroxylic spi- 
rit 803 
Rectified spirit 69 
Red bark • 253 
Red cedar 494 
Red chalk 1590 
Red chromate of potassa 667 
Red cohosh 1453 
Red coral 1503 
Red elm 842 
Red iodide of mercury 1163 
Red lead 663 
Red oak 695 
Red ochre 1535 
Red oil 1531 
Red oxide of iron 1145 
Red oxide of lead 663 
Red oxide of mercury 1166 
Red pepper 208 
Red poppy 709 
Red precipitate 1166 
Red prussiate of potansa .'514 
Red rose 712 
Red saunders 742 Index. 
1691 
Red sulphuret of mer- 
cury 1171 
Red tartar 668 
Red wine 854 
Red wine vinegar 15 
Reddle 1590 
Redhead 1466 
Redoul 1503 
Red-root 1489 
Reduced iron 1149 
Reduction 899 
Refrigerants 3 
Refrigeratory 889 
Regulus of antimony 122 
Renealmia cardamo- 
muin 218 
Rennet 1590, 1591 
Reseda luteola 1592 
Resin 698 
Resin cerate 1043 
Resin cerate, compound 1043 
Resin of jalap 1325 
Resin of may-apple 1326 
Resin of podophyllum 1326 
Resin of scammony 1327 
Resin oil 699 
Resin plaster 1074 
Resin, white 698 
Resin, yellow 698 
Resina 698 
Resina alba 698 
Resina flava 698 
Resina jalapse 1325 
Resina podophylli 1326 
Resina scammonii 1327 
Resinte 1325 
Resine de chibou 1486 
Resine de Gomart 1486 
Resins 1325 
Rhabarbaric acid 706 
Rhabarbarin 707 
Rhabarbarum 699 
Rhamuin 1593 
Rhamnoxanthin 1593 
Rhamnus catharticus 1592 
Rhamnus frangula 1593 
Rhamnus infectorius 1593 
Rhamnus zizyphus 1624 
Rhapontic rhubarb 705 
Rhapontic root 705 
Rhapontic root, Siberian 706 
Rhatania-tannic acid 502 
Rhatany 500 
Rhein 707 
Rheum 699 
Rheum australe 701 
Rheum Caspicum 702 
Rheum compactum 701 
Rheum crassinervium 702 
Rheum emodi 700 
Rheum hybridum 702 
Rheum leucorrhizum 702 
Rheum Moorcraftianum 702 
Rheum palmatum 701 
Rheum rhabarbarum 700 
Rheum Rhaponticum 701 
Rheum Russicum vel 
Turcicum 704 
Rheum Sinense vel Indi- 
cum 703 
Rheum speciforme 702 
Rheum undulatum 701 
Rheum Webbianum 702 
Rheumin 707 
Rhodeoretin 488 
Rhodeoretinic acid 489 
lthodeoretinol 489 
Rhododendron, yellow- 
flowered 1593 
Rhododendrum crysan- 
thum 1593 
Rhoeadic acid 710 
Rhoeas 709 
Rhubarb 699 
Rhubarb, Batavian 704 
Rhubarb, Bucharian 704, 706 
Rhubarb, Canton stick 704 
Rhubarb, Chinese 703 
Rhubarb,Dutch-trimmed 704 
Rhubarb, English 705 
Rhubarb, European 705 
Rhubarb, French 705 
Rhubarb, Himalaya 706 
Rhubarb, India 703 
Rhubarb, Krimea 705 
Rhubarb, Rhapontic 705 
Rhubarb, Russian 704 
Rhubarb, Taschkent 704 
Rhubarb, Turkey 704 
Rhubarb, white 706 
Rhus coriaria 1519 
Rhus cotinus 1518 
Rhus diversiloba 838 
Rhus glabrum 710 
Rhus lobata 838 
Rhus pumilum 838 
Rhus radicans 836 
Rhus succedanum 241 
Rhus toxicodendron 837 
Rhus venenata 837 
Rhus vernix 837 
Rib-grass 1585 
Rice 1571 
Riehardsonia Brazili- 
ensis 483 
Riehardsonia emetica 483 
Riehardsonia scabra 483 
Richweed 1500 
Ricinelaidic acid 595 
Ricinelaidin 595 
Ricini oleum 592 
Ricinia or ricinin 593 
Ricinoides elaeagnifolia 226 
Ricinoleic acid 595 
Ricinus Africanus 592 
Ricinus communis 582 
Riga balsam 1593 
River water 128 
Robinia pseudoacacia 1594 
Robin’s rye 1586 
Roccella tinctoria 1549 
Roche alum 93 
Rochelle salt • 1289 
Rock oil 1580 
Rock rose 436 
Rock salt 795 
Rockbridge alum spring 132 
Roll sulphur 814 
Roman alum 93 
Roman cement 891 
Roman chamomile 120 
Roman vitriol 343 
Rosa canina 711 
Rosa centifolia 595, 711 
Rosa damascena 595 
Rosa Gallica 712 
Rosa moschata 595 
Rosae oleum 595 
Rose, dog 711 
Rose geranium 597, 1§79 
Rose water 1006 
Rose water, artificial 1007 
Rosemary 713 
Roses, hundred-leaved 
595, 711 
Roses, red 712 
Rose-scented jalap 490 
Rosin 698 
Rosmarinus 713 
Rosmarinus officinalis 713 
Rosmarinus sylvestris 1546 
Rotten stone 1594 
Rottlera 713 
Rottlera Schimperi 714 
Rottlera tinctoria 714 
Rottlerin 714 
Roucou 1464 
Rouge 221 
Rough parsnep 1570 
Round cardamom 216 
Round-leaved dogwood 328 
Rousseau’s laudanum 1437 
Rubefacients 2 
Rubia 715 
Rubia tinctorum 715 
Rubichloric acid 1519 
Rubigo ferri ' 1141 
Rubus 716 
Rubus Canadensis 717 
Rubus trivialis 717 
Rubus villosus 717 
Rue 719 
Rufus’s pills 1266 
Rumex 718 
Rumex acetosa 718 
Rumex acetosella 718 
Rumex acutus 718 
Rumex Alpinus 718 
Rumex aquaticus 718 
Rumex Britannica 718 
Rumex crispus 718 
Rumex hydrolapathum 718 
Rumex obtusifolius 718 
Rumex patientia 718 
Rumex sanguineus 718 
Rumex scutatus 718 
| Rumicin 719 
| Russian rhubarb 704 Index, 
Bust of iron 29, 1141 
Ruta 719 
Ruta giaveolens 719 
Rutic and 1474 
Rutin 1474 
Rutinic acid 720 
Rutulin 736 
Rutyl hydride 1582 
Rye 1598 
s 
Sabadilla 721 
Sabadillia 722, 1431 
Sabadillic acid 722 
Sabadillin 722, 1431 
Sabbatia 722 
Sabbatia angularis 722 
Sabina 723 
Saccharate of lime 1197 
Saccharated carbonate 
of iron 1125 
Saccharic acid 730, 1343 
Saccharine carbonate of 
iron 1125 
Saccharine carbonate of 
iron and managanese 1554 
Saccharine fermentation 70 
Saccharine iodide of iron 1370 
Saccharum 724 
Saccharum album 724 
Saccharum lactis 732 
Saccharum officinarum 726 
Saccharum saturni 656 
Sacchulmic acid 730 
Sacchulmin 730 
Sack 856 
Sacred elixir 1407 
Sadra-beida gum 8 
Safflower 221 
Saffron 336 
Saffron of antimony 1506 
Saffron of Mars, aperitive 1145 
Sagapenum 1594 
Sage 737 
Sago 733 
Sago meal 734 
Sago palm 733 
Sago, pearl 734 
Saguerus Rumphii 733 
Sagus laevis 733 
Sagus Ruffia 733 
Sagus Rumphii 733 
Saint John’s wort 1530 
Saint Lucia bark 282 
Sal absinthii 5 
Sal aeratus 1287 
Sal aeratus, soda 1334 
Sal alembroth 1154 
Stil ammoniac 102 
Sal de duobus 684 
Sal diureticus 1282 
Sal enixum 47, 1572 
Sal gemmae 795 
Sal prunelle 679 
Salabreda gum 8 
Salep 1594 
Salicin 736 
Salicornia 788 
Salicyl 736 
Salicylous acid 736 
Saligenin 736, 1587 
Saline mixturo 1217 
Saline waters 130, 132 
Saliretin 736 
Salix 735 
Salix alba 735 
Salix Babylonica 735 
Salix helix 736 
Salix nigra 735 
Salix pentandra 735 
Salix purpurea 735 
Salix ltusseliana 735 
Salseparine 752 
Salsola 788 
Salt, common 795 
Salt of sorrel 1575 
Salt of tartar 1284 
Salt of wisdom 1154 
Salt of wormwood 5 
Saltpetre 676 
Salvia 737 
Salvia officinalis 737 
Salvia pratensis 738 
Salvia sclarea 738 
Sambucus 738 
Sambucus Canadensis 738 
Sambucus nigra 738 
Samovey isinglass 463 
Sampfen wood 1477 
Sandal wood 1595 
Sandaraca 1595 
Sandarach 1595 
Sandaracin 1595 
Sand-bath 887 
Sandix 1570 
Sanguinaria 739 
Sanguinaria Canadensis 739 
Sanguinarina 740 
Sanguis draconis 1511 
Sanguisuga interrupta 442 
Sanguisuga medicinalis 441 
Sanguisuga officinalis 441 
Sanguisuga troctina 442 
Sanicle 1595 
Sanicula Marilandica 1595 
Santa Martha bark 276 
Santalin 743 
Santalum 742 
Sant alum album 1595 
Santalum citrinum 1595 
Santalum freycinetianum 1595 
Santalum rubrum 1595 
Santonica 743 
Santonici semen 743 
Sautonin 743, 1328 
Santoninum 1328 
Santoniretin 1330 
Sap green 1593 
Sapo 744 
Sapo durus 744 
Sapo guaiacinus 431 
Sapo mollis 744, 747 
Sapo vulgaris 745, 747 
Sapogenin 767 
Saponaria officinalis 1595 
Saponification 744 
Saponin 1595 
Sappan wood 1477 
Saratoga water 132 
Sarcocolla 1596 
Sarcocollin 1596 
Sarcolactic acid 1576 
Sarracenia 1596 
Sarracenia flava 1596 
Sarracenia purpurea 1596 
Sarracenia variolaris 1596 
Sarsa 748 
Sarsaparilla 748 
Sarsaparilla beer 753 
Sarsaparilla, false 134 
Sarsaparilla, Indian 439 
Sarsaparillin 752 
Sassa 1596 
Sassa gum 1596 
Sassafras medulla 754 
Sassafras officinale 754 
Sassafras pith 754, 755 
Sassafras radicis cortex 754 
Sassafras root, bark of 
754, 755 
Sassafrid 755 
Sassy bark 1596 
Satureja hortensis 1597 
Satureja moutana 1597 
Saunders 1595 
Saunders, red 742, 1595 
Saunders, white 1595 
Saunders, yellow 1595 
Savanilla rhatany 501 
Savine 723 
Savine cerate 1043 
Savory 1597 
Saxifraga 1584 
Scabiosa arvensis 848 
Scabiosa succisa 848 
Scabious 848 
Scales of iron 1141 
Scammoniae radix 755 
Scammoniae resina 1327 
Scammonium 755 
Scammony 755 
Scammony, Aleppo 757 
Scammony, factitious 760 
Scammony in shells 757 
Scammony, lachryma 757, 758 
Scammony mixture 1231 
Scammony, Montpellier 760 
Scammony, resin of 1327 
Scammony root 755 
Scammony, Smyrna 757, 758 
Scammony, virgin 757 758 
Scandix cerefolium 1464 
Scarlet pimpernel 1461 
Schuylkill muscadel 
grape 855 
Schuylkill water 129 
Scilla 760 Index. 
1693 
Scilla maritima 761 
Scillitin 761 
Sclerotium clavus 366 
Scolopendrium officina- 
rum 1597 
Scoparin 764 
Scoparius 763 
Scotch fir 829 
Scouring rush 1512 
Scrophularia nodosa 1597 
Serophularin 1597 
Scrophularosmin 1597 
Scullcap 764 
Scullcap, European 1598 
Scuppernong grape 856 
Scurvy-grass 1499 
Scutellaria 764 
Scutellaria galericulata 
764, 1598 
Scutellaria hyssopifolia 
764, 1598 
Scutellaria integrifolia 
764, 1598 
Scutellaria lateriflora 
764, 1598 
Scutellarine 765, 1598 
Sea salt 795 
Sea water 133 
Sealing wax 1545 
Searle’s oxygenous aera- 
ted water 1566 
Sea-side balsam 226 
Sea-side grape 497 
Sea wrack 1516 
Secale cereale 365, 1598 
Secale cornutum 365 
Secalia or secalin 368 
Sedum acre 1598 
Sedum album 1599 
Sedum rupestre 1599 
Sedum telephium 1599 
Seed-lac 1544 
Seidlitz powders 1306 
Seidlitz water 132 
Seignette’s salt 1290 
Selinic acid 1599 
Self-heal 1589 
Selinum palustre 1599 
Seltzer water 131 
Seltzer water, artificial 994 
Semen abelmoschi 1528 
Semen contra 743 
Semen cynse 743 
Semen nigellae 1564 
Semen psyllii 1585 
Semivitrified oxide of 
lead 662 
Sempervivum tectorum 1599 
Seneca oil 1582 
Senecin 1599 
Senecio aureus 1599 
Senecio vulgaris 1599 
Senega 765 
Senegal gum 8 
Senegin 766 
Seneka 765 
Senna 768 
Senna, American 228 
Senna figs 1053 
Senna paste 1053 
Separation of liquids 884 
Separation of mixed sub- 
stances 880 
Separation of solids from 
liquids 880 
Separatory 884 
Sepia 1508 
Sepia officinalis 1507 
Septfoil 836 
Serpentaria 773 
Sesami folium 776 
Sesamum Indicum 777 
Sesamum orientale 777 
Sesquicarbonate of am- 
monia 99 
Sesquicarbonate of po- 
tassa 1287 
Sesquicarbonate of soda 788 
Sesquichloride of iron 1126 
Sesquiodide of mercury 1164 
Sesquioxide of iron 
1141, 1145 
Seven barks 1528 
Sevum 777 
Sevum praeparatum 777 
Shaddock 149 
Sharon spring water 131 
Sheep-laurel 1543 
Shell-lac 1544 
Shepherd’s purse 1613 
Sherry wine 856 
Shining aloes 83 
Sialagogues 2 
Siberian Rhapontic root 706 
Siberian rhubarb 706 
Siberian stone pine 830 
Side-saddle plant 1596 
Sienna 1599 
Sieves 878 
Signs and abbreviations, 
table of 1628 
Silene Pennsylvanica 1600 
Silene Virginica 1599 
Silex contritus 1600 
Silex, pulverized 1600 
Silica 1600 
Silicate of soda 1600 
Silicate of zinc 1482 
Silicic acid 1600 
Silicon 1600 
Silk-weed, common 1467 
Silurus glanis 463 
Silver 136 
Silver, ammonio-chloride 
of 1493 
Silver bark 257 
Silver, chloride of 1493 
Silver, cyanide of 1007 
Silver, cyanuret of 1007 
Silver fir, American 830 
Silver fir, European 830 
Silver, fused nitrate of 1011 
Silver, iodide of 1538 
Silver, nitrate of 1008 
Silver, oxide of 1014 
Silver, preparations of 1007 
Simaba cedron 1489 
Simarona 850 
Simaruba 778 
Simaruba amara 778 
Simaruba excelsa 692 
Simaruba officinalis 778 
Simple cerate 1038 
Simple syrup 1365 
Sinapic acid 782 
Sinapin 782 
Sinapis 779 
Sinapis alba 779 
Sinapis nigra 779 
Sinapisin 780, 781 
Sinapisms 783 
Single aqua fortis 46 
Sipeerina or sipeerin 560 
Siphonia cahuchu 1484 
Siphonia elastica 1484 
Sipiri 560 
Sir op de capillaire 1453 
Sirop de Cuisinier 1376 
Sisymbrium murale 1600 
Sisymbrium nasturtium 1564 
Sisymbrium officinale 1600 
Sisymbrium sopliia 1600 
Sium latifolium 1600 
Sium nodiflorum 1600 
Sium sisarum 1600 
Skirret 1600 
Skunk cabbage 355 
Slaked lime 1031 
Slippery elm bark 842 
Small burnet saxifrage 1584 
Small fennel-flower 1564 
Small houseleok 1598 
Small spikenard 134 
Smalt 1601 
Smart-weed 1474 
Smilacin 752 
Smilasperic acid 439 
Smilax aspera 439, 749 
Smilax China 749 
Smilax Cumanensis 749 
Smilax medica 750 
Smilax officinalis 749 
Smilax papyracea 749 
Smilax sarsaparilla 749 
Smilax syphilitica 749 
Smooth sumach 710 
Smyrna opium 613 
Smyrna scammony 757 
Snake-head 1492 
Snakeroot, black 250, 1595 
Snakeroot, button 1512, 1546 
Snakeroot, Canada 143 
Snakeroot, seneka 766 
Snakeroot, Virginia 773 
Sneezewort 1527 
Snow water 128 
Soap 744 
Soap, almond oil 746 1694 
Index, 
Soap, amygdaline 746 
Soap balls 746 
Soap bark 1601 
Soap, beef’s marrow 746 
Soap, Castile 747, 748 
Soap cerate 1044 
Soap, common 745, 747 
Soap, common yellow 746 
Soap, grain 745 
Soap liniment 1189 
Soap liniment, camphor- 
ated 1189 
Soap, marbled 745 
Soap of guaiac 431 
Soap, palm • 746 
Soap plaster 1075 
Soap, rosin 746 
Soap, soft 744, 745, 747 
Soap, Starkey’s 746 
Soap, transparent 746 
Soap, Windsor 746 
Soaps, insoluble 745 
Soaps, soluble 744, 745 
Soapwort 1595 
Socotrine aloes 83 
Soda, acetate of 784 
Soda and silver, hypo- 
sulphite of 1532 
Soda, arseniate of 1332 
Soda, artificial * 789 
Soda ball 789 
Soda, benzoate of 1471 
Soda, biborate of 784 
Soda, bicarbonate of 1333 
Soda, borate of 784 
Soda, carbonate of 788 
Soda, caustic 783, 1331 
Soda caustica 1331 
Soda, citrate of 1496 
Soda, dried carbonate of 1335 
Soda, dry 783 
Soda, hydrate of 783 
Soda, hypochlorite of 1220 
Soda, hyposulphite of 791 
Soda, impure 788 
Soda, medicinal tribasic 
phosphate of 1336 
Soda, muriate of 795 
Soda, native 788 
Soda, nitrate of 1565 
Soda of vegetable origin 788 
Soda, phosphate of 1336 
Soda powders 1305 
Soda, preparations of 1331 
Soda sal aeratus 1334 
Soda, sesquicarbonate 
of 788 
Soda, silicate of 1600 
Soda, solution of 1218 
Soda, solution of chlo- 
rinated 1219 
Soda, sulphate of 792 
Soda, sulphite of 794 
Soda, tartarized 1289 
Soda, tartrate of 1610 
Soda, valerianate of 1338 
Soda, vitriolated 792 
Soda waste 789 
Soda water 995 
Soda-ash 789, 790 
Sodae acetas 784 
Sodas arsenias 1332 
Sodae benzoas 1471 
Sodas bicarbonas 1333 
Sodas boras 784 
Sodas carbonas 788 
Sodas carbonas exsicca- 
ta 1335 
Sodae chloratas liquor 1219 
Sodas chlorinatae liquor 1219 
Sodae citras 1496 
Sodae et argenti hypo- 
sulpliis • 1532 
Sodas et potassae tartras 1289 
Sodae hyposulphis 791 
Sodae liquor 1218 
Sodae murias 795 
Sodae phosphas 1336 
Sodas potassio-tartras 1289 
Sodae silicas 1600 
Sodae sulphas 792 
Sodae sulphis 794 
Sodae tartras 1610 
Sodae valerianas 1338 
Soda pyrophosphate of 
iron 1144 
Sodii chloridum 795 
Sodii iodidum 1538 
Sodium 783 
Sodium, chloride of 795 
Sodium, iodide of 1538 
Sodium, nitroprusside 
of 1565 
Sodium, teroxide of 783 
Soft soap 744, 745, 747 
Soft water 127 
Solania or solanin 358 
Solanidia or solanidin 359 
Solanum dulcamara 358 
Solanum lycopersicum 358 
Solanum nigrum 357 
Solanum pseudocapsicum 358 
Solanum tuberosum 357 
Solidago 797 
Solidago odora 797 
Solidago virgaurea 797 
Solomon’s seal 1502 
Soluble cream of tartar 786 
Soluble glass 1600 
Soluble iodide of starch 1539 
Soluble mercury of 
Hahnemann 1601 
Soluble tartar 1290 
Solutio solventis mine- 
ralis 1492 
Solution 892 
Solution of acetate of 
ammonia 1190 
Solution of acetate of cop- 
per (test) 1447 
Solution of acetate of po- 
tassa (test) 1447 
Solution of acetate of 
soda (test) 1447 
Solution of albumen(test) 
1447 
Solution of ammonia 997 
Solution of ammonio-ni- 
trate of silver (test) 1447 
Solution of ammonio-sul- 
phate of copper (test) 1447 
Solution of arseniate of 
soda 1218 
Solution of arsenite of 
potassa 1214 
Solution of atropia 1194 
Solution of bichloride of 
platinum (test) 1447 
Solution of acid 
(test) 1447 
Solution of bromine (test) 
1447 
Solution of carbonate of 
ammonia (test) 1447 
Solution of chloride of 
arsenic 1492 
Solution of chloride of 
barium 1194 
Solution of chloride of 
calcium 1195 
Solution of chloride of 
calcium, saturated 
(test) 1447 
Solution of chloride of 
potassa 1493 
Solution of chloride of 
soda 1219 
Solution of chloride of 
tin (test) 1447 
Solution of chloride of 
zinc 1443 
Solution of chlorinated 
lime 1197 
Solution of chlorinated 
soda 1219 
Solution of chlorine 1002 
Solution of citrate of iron 
1196 
Solution of citrate of 
magnesia 1207 
Solution of citrate of 
potassa 1216 
Solution of corrosive sub- 
limate (test) 1447 
Solution of ferridcyanide 
of potassium (test) 1447 
Solution of ferrocyanide 
of potassium (test) 1447 
Solution of gelatin (test) 1448 
Solution of gutta percha 1204 
Solution of hydriodate 
of arsenic and mercury 1193 
Solution of hydrochlorate 
of ammonia (test) 1448 
Solution of hydrochlo- 
rate of morphia 1208 
Solution of hydrosulphu- 
I ret of ammonia 1530 Index. 
1695 
Solution of hydrosulphu- 
ret of ammonia (test) 1448 
Solution of iodate of po- 
tassa (test) 1448 
Solution of iodide of ar- 
senic and mercury 1193 
Solution of iodide of 
iron 1369 
Solution of iodide of po- 
tassium (test) 1448 
Solution of iodine, com- 
pound 1206 
Solution of lime 1196 
Solution of muriate of 
baryta 1194 
Solution of muriate of 
lime 1195 
Solution of muriate of 
morphia 1208 
Solution of nitrate of 
iron 1198 
Solution of nitrate of 
mercury 1205 
Solution of nitrate of 
mercury, acid 1205 
Solution of oxalate of 
ammonia (test) 1448 
Solution of perchloride 
of iron 1200 
Solution of permanga- 
nate of potassa 1217 
Solution of pernitrate of 
iron 1198 
Solution of persulphate 
of iron 1202, 1203. 
Solution of phosphate of 
soda (test) 1448 
Solution of potassa 1211 
Solution of soda 1218 
Solution of strychnia 1221 
Solution of subacetate of 
lead 1210 
Solution of subacetate of 
lead, diluted 1211 
Solution of subsulphate 
of iron 1202 
Solution of sulphate of 
indigo (test) 1448 
Solution of sulphate of 
iron (test) 1448 
Solution of sulphate of 
lime (test) 1448 
Solution of sulphate of 
morphia 1209 
Solution of tartaric acid 
(test) 1448 
Solution of terchloride 
of antimony 1192 
Solution of terchloride 
of gold (test) 1448 
Solution of ternitrate of 
sesquioxide of iron 1198 
Solution of tersulphate of 
iron 1203 
Solutions 1190 
Soot 1601 
Sophora tinctoria 1469 
Soporifics 3 
Sorbic acid 1602 
Sorbin 725 
Sorbite 724, 732 
Sorbus Americana 1602 
Sorbus aucuparia 1602 
Sorbus hybrida 109 
Sorbus torminales 109 
Sorghum 1602 
Sorghum saccharatum 1602 
Sorrel 719 
Sorrel-tree 1462 
South American kino 497 
South American salt- 
petre 679 
Southernwood 4 
Southernwood, Tarta- 
rian 743 
Sowbread 1508 
Spa water 131 
Spanish barilla 788 
Spanish broom 1603 
Spanish brown 1566 
Spanish flies 200 
Spanish needles 1473 
Spanish oak 695 
Spanish soap 747 
Spartein 764 
Spartium junceum 1603 
Spartium scoparium 763 
Spearmint 546 
Spearmint water 1006 
Specific gravity 876 
Specific gravity bottle 877 
Speediman’s pills 89 
Speedwell 1620 
Speiss 1606 
Speltre 866 
Spermaceti 242 
Spermaceti cerate 1042 
Spermaceti ointment 1418 
Sphacelia segetum 366 
Sphterococcus crispus 249 
Spice-bush 1471 
Spiced plasters 1310 
Spiced syrup of rhubarb 1375 
Spice-wood 1471 
Spider’s web 1499 
Spigelia 798 
Spigelia anthelmia 798 
Spigelia Marilandica 798 
Spikenard 1564 
Spikenard, American 135 
Spikenard, small 134 
Spindletree 374 
Spiraea 800 
Spiraea lobata 1252 
Spiraea tomentosa 800 
Spiraea ulmaria 231,800,1252 
Spirit lamps 885 
Spirit of ammonia 1346 
Spirit of ammonia, aro- 
matic 1347 
Spirit of anise 1347 
Spirit of cajeput 1347 
Spirit of camphor 1348 
Spirit of chloroform 1348 
Spirit of cinnamon 1349 
Spirit of ether 1340 
Spirit of ether, com- 
pound 1340 
Spirit of hartshorn 1526 
Spirit of horse-radish, 
compound 1347 
Spirit of juniper 1349 
Spirit of juniper, com- 
pound 1349 
Spirit of lavender 1349 
Spirit of lavender, com- 
pound 1349 
Spirit of Mindererus 1190 
Spirit of mustard 783 
Spirit of myreia 802 
Spirit of nitre 45 
Spirit of nitrous ether 1341 
Spirit of nutmeg 1350 
Spirit of peppermint 1350 
Spirit of rosemary 1351 
Spirit of sea-salt 41 
Spirit of spearmint 1350 
Spirit of turpentine 599 
Spirit of wine 69 
Spirit, proof 69 
Spirit, pyroacetic 1589 
Spirit, pyroxylic 803 
Spirit, rectified 69 
Spirits 1339 
Spiritus 1339 
Spiritus aetheris 1340 
Spiritus setheris compo- 
situs 1340 
Spiritus aetheris nitrici 1341 
Spiritus astheris nitrosi 1341 
Spiritus ammonias 1346 
Spiritus ammoniae aro- 
maticus 1347 
Spiritus anisi 1347 
Spiritus armoracise com- 
positus 1347 
Spiritus cajuputi 1347 
Spiritus cainphorae 1348 
Spiritus chloroformi 1348 
Spiritus cinnamomi 1348 
Spiritus frumenti 801 
Spiritus juniperi 1349 
Spiritus juniperi com- 
positus 1349 
Spiritus lavandulae 1349 
Spiritus lavandulae com- 
positus 1349 
Spiritus limonis 1350 
Spiritus menthae piper- 
itae 1350 
Spiritus menthae viridis 1350 
Spiritus Mindereri 1190 
Spiritus myreiae 802 
Spiritus myristicae 1350 
Spiritus nitri dulcis 1341 
Spiritus pyroxilicus rec- 
tificatus 803 
Spiritus rectificatus 69, 74 1696 
Index. 
Spiritus rosmarini 1351 
Spiritus tenuior 69, 75 
Spiritus vini Gallici 805 
Spleenwort, black . 1468 
Spleenwort, common 1468 
Spleenwort fern 1501 
Spodumene 516 
Sponge 1603 
Sponge, burnt 1604 
Sponge tent 1604 
Spongia 1603 
Spongia officinalis 1603 
Spongia usta 1604 
Spongy Carthagena bark 278 
Spotted winter-green 247 
Spring water 128 
Spruce beer 830 
Spruce, essence of 830 
Spunk 1454 
Spurge, ipecacuanha 378 
Spurge, large flowering 376 
Spurge laurel 547 
Spurred rye 365 
Squill 760 
Squilla maritima 761 
Squire’s infusion jar 1176 
Squirting cucumber 361 
Staff-tree, climbing 1490 
Stalagmitis cambogioi- 
des 405 
Stanni pulvis 1615 
Stannic acid 1614 
Stannum 1614 
Staphisagria 1604 
Staphisain 1605 
Star aniseed 119, 1534 
Star grass 78 
Starch 110 
Starch, iodide of 1539 
Starch, nitric 1539 
Starkey’s soap 746 
Star-wort 1527 
Statice 806 
Statice Caroliniana 806 
Statice limonium 806 
Stavesacre 1604 
Steam-bath 887 
Stearic acid 567, 744 
Stearin 68, 567, 568, 744 
Stearoptene 571 
Steel 391 
Sterculia acuminata 1605 
Sterlet 463 
Stibium 122 
Stick-lac 1544 
Stick rhubarb 705 
Still and worm, common 888 
Stillingia 806 
Stillingia sebifera 806 
Stillingia sylvatica 807 
Stimulants 2 
Stizolobium pruriens 553 
St. John’s wort 1530 
St. Lucia bark 282 
Stone-crop, biting 1598 
Stone-pine 830 
Stone-root 1500 
Storax 811 
Storax bark 811 
Stoved salt 796 
Strainers 881 
Stramonii folium 807 
Stramonii semen 807 
Stramonium 807 
Strasburg turpentine 830,834 
Strengthening plaster 1068 
Striated ipecacuanha 483 
Strong chloric ether 1348 
Strong solution of am- 
monia 97 
Stronger alcohol 69, 74 
Stronger ether 951 
Strongest common caus- 
tic 1279 
Strong-scented lettuce 503 
Strychnia 562,1351 
Strychnia, sulphate of 1357 
Strychnia, tests of 1353,1354 
Strychniae sulphas 1357 
Strychnos colubrina 562 
Strychnos Ignatia 465 
Strychnos nux vomica 
118, 561 
Strychnos tieute 1618 
Strychnos toxifera 1622 
Sturgeon 463 
Styracin 813, 1549 
Styrax 811 
Styrax benzoin 164 
Styrax calamita 812 
Styrax officinale 811 
Styrax prseparatus 811 
Styrol 813 
Styrone 813 
Subacetate of copper 342 
Subacetate of lead, di- 
luted solution of 1211 
Subacetate of lead, so- 
lution of 1209 
Subcarbonate of bismuth 1024 
Subcarbonate of iron 1145 
Suber 1504 
Suberic acid 1504 
Suberin 1504 
Sublimate 891 
Sublimation 891 
Sublimed sulphur 813, 816 
Subnitrate of bismuth 1025 
Succi 1358 
Succi spissati 1077 
Succinate of ammonia 1606 
Succinic acid 598, 1605 
Succinum 598 
Succory 1495 
Succus conii 1358 
Succus scoparii 1358 
Succus taraxaci 1358 
Suet 777 
Sugar 724 
Sugar, barley 730 
Sugar, brown 727, 731 
Sugar, Havana 727 i 
Sugar, inverse 725 
Sugar, maple 726 
Sugar of ergot 368 
Sugar of gelatin 464 
Sugar of grapes 844 
Sugar of lead 656 
Sugar of milk 732 
Sugar of muscle 725 
Sugar of mushrooms 1560 
Sugar, palm 726 
Sugar, purified 724, 729, 731 
Sugar, uncrystallizable 
725, 732 
Sugar, white 724, 729, 731 
Sugar-candy 729 
Sugar-cane 726 
Sugar-cane, African 1603 
Sugar-cane, Chinese 1602 
Sugar-cane, Otaheitan 1603 
Sugar-house molasses 
729, 731 
Sulphate of alumina 970 
Sulphate of alumina and 
ammonia 92 
Sulphate of alumina and 
iron 1606 
Sulphate of alumina and 
potassa 91 
Sulphate of ammonia 104 
Sulphate of atropia 1020 
Sulphate of baryta 1606 
Sulphate of bebeeria 1023 
Sulphate of cadmium 1029 
Sulphate of cinchonia 
1045 
Sulphate of copper 343 
Sulphate of indigo 1536 
Sulphate of iodo-cincho- 
nia 1319 
Sulphate of iodo-cincho- 
nidia 1319 
Sulphate of iodo-quinia 1319 
Sulphate of iodo-quini- 
dia 1319 
Sulphate of iron 1146 
Sulphate of iron and am- 
monia 1129 
Sulphate of iron and po- 
tassa 1129 
Sulphate of iron, com- 
mercial 1147 
Sulphate of iron, dried 1148 
Sulphate of iron, gra- 
nulated 1149 
Sulphate of magnesia 526 
Sulphate of manganese 631 
Sulphate of mercury 
1158, 1169 
Sulphate of morphia 1241 
Sulphate of morphia, so- 
lution of 1209 
Sulphate of nickel 1606 
Sulphate of potassa 684 
Sulphate of quinia 1313 
Sulphate of quinidia 291 
Sulphate of soda 792 Index, 
1697 
Sulphate of strychnia 1357 
Sulphate of water 55 
Sulphate of zinc 867 
Sulphite of soda 794 
Sulphocyanide of po- 
tassium 1607 
Sulphocyanide of sina- 
pisin 782 
Sulphohydric acid 816 
Sulpho-salts 816 
Sulpko sinapisin 781, 782 
Sulphovinic acid 953 
Sulphur 813 
Sulphur auratum anti- 
monii 987 
Sulphur, black 816 
Sulphur, crude 814 
Sulphur, crummy 815 
Sulphur, flowers of 814, 816 
Sulphur, insoluble 815 
Sulphur, iodide of 1360 
Sulphur lotum 813 
Sulphur, milk of 1359 
Sulphur, native 813 
Sulphur, octohedral 815 
Sulphur ointment 1427 
Sulphur praecipitatum 1359 
Sulphur, precipitated 1359 
Sulphur, preparations of 1359 
Sulphur, prismatic 815 
Sulphur, red 816 
Sulphur, roll 814 
Sulphur, soft 815, 817 
Sulphur sublimatum 813 
Sulphur, sublimed 813, 816 
Sulphur, viscid 815 
Sulphur vivum 814 
Sulphur, volcanic • 813 
Sulphur, washed 813, 817 
Sulphurated antimony 987 
Sulphurated oil 1469 
Sulphurated potash 1302 
Sulpkuret of antimony 124 
Sulpkuret of calcium 1607 
Sulpkuret of carbon 1475 
Sulphuret of iron 394 
Sulpkuret of potassium 1302 
Sulphuretted hydrogen 
816, 1607 
Sulphuretted waters 130, 131 
Sulphuric acid 53 
Sulphuric acid, aromatic 934 
Sulphuric acid, commer- 
cial 53 
Sulphuric acid, diluted 935 
Sulphuric acid, table of 
the specific gravity of 57 
Sulphuric ether 948 
Sulphuris iodidum 1360 
Sulphurous acid 936 
Sumach 710 
Sumach, swamp 836 
Sumatra camphor 195 
Sumbul 1608 
Sumbulic acid 1608 
Summer savory 1597 
Sun-flower 1558 
Superphosphate of iron 1142 
Supertartrate of potassa 668 
Suppositer (note) 1362 
Suppositoria 1361 
Suppositoria acidi tan- 
nici 1362 
Suppositoria morphias 1362 
Suppositories 1361 
Suppositories of mor- 
phia 1362 
Suppositories of tannic 
acid 1362 
Swallow-wort, white 1508 
Swamp dogwood 330 
Swamp hellebore 852 
Swamp laurel 1543 
Swamp sassafras 528 
Swamp sumach 836 
Sweet almonds 107, 108 
Sweet bay 528 
Sweet birch 1473 
Sweet brier 1470 
Sweet fennel 398, 399 
Sweet fern 1501 
Sweet flag 181 
Sweet gum 1548 
Sweet marjoram 1570 
Sweet principle of oils 418 
Sweet spirit of nitre 1341 
Sweet-scented golden-rod 798 
Sweet-scented life-ever- 
lasting 1521 
Sweet-scented virgin’s 
bower 1496 
Sweet-scented water-lily 1566 
Swietenia febrifuga 1608 
Swietenia mahagoni 1608 
Swietenia Senegalensis 1609 
Swift’s drug-mill 879 
Sydenham’s laudanum 1436 
Sylvie acid 699 
Symphytum officinale 1609 
Symplocarpus foetidus 355 
Synaptase 108, 690 
Syrian herb mastich 1613 
Syringa vulgaris It 09 
Syrup 729, 1365 
Syrup, ginger 1380 
Syrup, lemon 1372 
Syrup of albuminate of 
iron and potassa 1456 
Syrup of almond 1367 
Syrup of assafetida 1229 
Syrup of blackberries 1372 
Syrup of blackberry 
root 1376 
Syrup of bloodroot 741 
Syrup of buckthorn 1593 
Syrup of carnation 1510 
Symp of citric acid 1367 
Syrup of coffee 180 
Syrup of conium seeds 321 
Syrup of currants 1372 
Syrup of fruits, prepa- 
ration of 1372 
Syrup of garlic 1367 
Syrup of ginger 1380 
Syrup of gum arabic 1367 
Syrup of kemidesmus 1371 
Syrup of kypophosphite 
of lime 1532 
Syrup of hyposulphite of 
lime 1532 
Syrup of Indian sarsa- 
parilla 1371 
Syrup of iodide of iron 1369 
Syrup of iodide of iron 
and manganese 1553 
Syrup of iodide of man- 
ganese 1552 
Syrup of iodide of starch 1539 
Syrup of iodide of zinc 1540 
Syrup of iodo-tannin 1542 
Syrup of ipecacuanha 1371 
Syrup of lactucarium 1372 
Syrup of lemon 1372 
Syrup of lime 729, 1197 
Syrup of mulberries 1372 
Syrup of nitrate of iron 1199 
Syrup of orange flowers 1368 
Syrup of orange peel 1368 
Syrup of orgeat 1367 
Syrup of phosphate of 
iron 1143, 1370 
Syrup of phosphate of 
iron, compound 1143 
Syrup of phosphate of 
lime 1033 
Syrup of phosphate of 
manganese 1553 
Syrup of pineapples 1372 
Syrup of poppies 1373 
Syrup of pyrophosphate 
of iron 1144 
Syrup of raspberries 1372 
Syrup of red poppy 1375 
Syrup of red roses 1375 
Syrup of rhatany 1371 
Syrup of rhubarb 1374 
Syrup of rhubarb, aro- 
matic 1374 
Syrup of sarsaparilla, 
compound 1376 
Syrup of seneka 1378 
Syrup of senna 1379 
Syrup of squill 1377 
Syrup of squill, com- 
pound 1377 
Syrup of strawberries 1372 
Syrup of tar 653 
Syrup of tolu 1379 
Syrup of vanilla 850 
Syrup of violet 862 
Syrup of wild-cherry 
bark 1374 
Syrup, simple 1365 
Syrupi 136f 
Syrups 1363 
Syrups, cream 1373 
Syrupus 1365 
Syrupus acacias 1367 1698 
Index, 
Syrupus aceti 1365 
Syrupus acidi o»trici 1367 
Syrupus allii 1367 
Syrupus althaeae 1365 
Syrupus amygdalae 1367 
Syrupus aurantii 1368 
Sypupus aurantii cor- 
ticis 1368 
Syrupus aurantii florum 1368 
Syrupus cocci 1365 
Syrupus croci 1365 
Syrupus ferri iodidi 1369 
Syrupus ferri phospha- 
tis 1370 
Syrupus hemidesmi 1371 
Syrupus ipecacuanhae 1371 
Syrupus krameriae 1371 
Syrupus lactucarii 1372 
Syrupus limonis 1372 
Syrupus mori 1372 
Syrupus papaveris 1373 
Syrupus pruni Virgini- 
ans 1374 
Syrupus rhamni 1365 
Syrupus rhei 1374 
Syrupus rhei aromaticus 1374 
Syrupus rhoeados 1375 
Syrupus rosae 1365 
Syrupus rosae Gallics 1375 
Syrupus rubi 1376 
Syrupus sarss 1365 
Syrupus sarsaparills 
compositus 1376 
Syrupus scills 1377 
Syrupus scills composi- 
tus 1377 
Syrupus senegs 1378 
Syrupus senns 1379 
Syrupus simplex 1365 
Syrupus tolutanus 1379 
Syrupus viols 1365 
Syrupus zingiberis 1380 
T 
Tabacum 817 
Table of drops 1638 
Table of foreign weights 1637 
Table of pharmaceutical 
equivalents 1639 
Table of signs and ab- 
breviations 1628 
Table of the correspond- 
ence of the degrees of 
Baum4’s hydrometer 
with those of Tralles’ 
alcoholmeter 1652 
Table, Tralles’ alcohol- 
metrical 1651 
Tables of the value in 
sp. gr. of Baum6’s hy- 
drometer degrees 
1649, 1650 
Tables of weights and 
measures 1633 
Tacamahac 1609 
Tacamahaca 1609 
Tacca fecula 537 
Tacca oceanica 536 
Tacca pinnatifida 536 
Talcahuaua arrow-root 536 
Tallow, vegetable 806 
Tamarind 823 
Tamarindus 823 
Tamarindus Indica 823 
Tamarix Gallica 532 
Tanacetic acid 825 
Tanacetum 824 
Tanacetum vulgare 824 
Tannaspidic acid 397 
Tannate of alumina 1609 
Tannate of iron 1610 
Tannate of lead 1610 
Tannate of quinia 287 
Tannic acid 938 
Tannin 939 
Tannin lozenges 1411 
Tannin suppositories 1362 
Tansy 824 
Tapioca 825 
Tapioca meal 826 
Tar 651 
Tar beer 653 
Tar ointment 1425 
Tar water 652, 1182 
Taraxacin 827 
Taraxacum 826 
Taraxacum dens-leonis 827 
Tartar 668, 12«5 
Tartar, cream of 668 
Tartar, crude 668 
Tartar, crystals of 668 
Tartar emetic 976 
Tartar emetic ointment 1416 
Tartar, red 668 
Tartar, salt of 1285 
Tartar, soluble 1290 
Tartar, white 669 
Tartarated antimony 976 
Tartarated iron 1130 
Tartarian moss 1549 
Tartarian southernwood 743 
Tartaric acid 59 
Tartarized antimony 976 
Tart ari zed soda 1289 
Tartarum vitriolatum 684 
Tartrate of antimony and 
potassa 976 
Tartrate of iron and am- 
monia 1130 
Tartrate of iron and po- 
tassa 1130 
Tartrate of manganese 1553 
Tartrate of potassa 1290 
Tartrate of potassa and 
magnesia 1290 
Tartrate of potassa and 
soda 1289 
Tartrate of protoxide of 
iron 1131 
Tartrate of soda 1610 
Tartrate of soda and po- 
tassa 1289 
Taschkent rhubarb 704 
Tasteless ague drop 1214 
Taurine 1576 
Taurocholic acid 1575 
Tea 1610 
Tea-berry 408 
Tegeneria domestica 1409 
Tegeneria inedicinalis 1499 
Tela aranes 1499 
Tellurite of potassa 1612 
Tellurium 1612 
Teneriffe wine 856 
Tephrosia Apollinea 770 
Tephrosia Virginiana 1612 
Tepid bath 134 
Terchloride of antimony, 
solution of 1192 
Terchloride of formyl 960 
Terebinthina 828 
Terebinthina Canadensis 
828, 833 
Terebinthina Chia 833 
Terebinthina Veneta 833 
Terfebinthina vulgaris 832 
Terebiuthins oleum 599 
Teriodide of antimony 1538 
Teriodide of formyl 1540 
Terminalia bellirica 1563 
Terminalia benzoin 165 
Terminalia chebula 1563 
Ternitrate of sesquioxide 
of iron 1200 
Ternitrate of sesquioxide 
of iron, solution of 1198 
Teroxide of antimony 984 
Terra cariosa 1594 
Terra di sienna 1599 
Terra Japonica 234 
Terra Tripolitans 1616 
Terra umbria 1617 
Terras sigillatae 1476 
Tersulphuret of anti- 
mony 124 
Testa 835 
Testa ovi 634 
Testa prseparata 1034 
Tests 1446 
Tetrathionate of soda 792 
Tetrathionic acid 1449 
Teucrium chamsdrys 1613 
Teucrium marum 1613 
Teucrium polium 1618 
Teucrium scordium 1613 
Texas sarsaparilla 1555 
Thallium 1613 
Thallochlor 244 
Thea Bohea 1610 
Thea Chinensis ItilO 
Thea stricta 1610 
Thea viridis 1610 
Tkebaina or thebain 621 
Thein 1611 
Theobroma cacao 603 
Theobromin 603 Index. 
1699 
Theriaca 1051 
Theriaca, Br. 724 
Thermometers, compa- 
rative value of the 
degrees of 1652 
Thick-leaved pennywort 1529 
Thieves’ vinegar 915 
Thlapsus bursa pastoris 1613 
Thornapple 808 
Thoroughwort 375 
Thridace 504 
Thuja occidentalis 1614 
Thujigenine 1614 
Thujine 1614 
Thus Americanum 828 
Thuya articulata 1595 
Thuya occidentalis 1614 
Thyme 605 
Thyme, oil of 605 
Thymol 605 
Thymus serpyllum 605 
Thymus vulgaris 605 
Tieute 1618 
Tiglii oleum 605 
Tin 1614 
Tin, powder of 1615 
Tincal 785 
Tinctura aconiti 1384 
Tinctura nconiti folii 1384 
Tinctura aconiti radicis 1384 
Tinctura aloes 1385 
Tinctura aloes composi- 
ta 1385 
Tinctura aloes et myr-' 
rh* 1385 
Tinctura ammoni* com- 
posita 1384 
Tinctura arnic* 1386 
Tinctura assafoetid* 1386 
Tinctura aurantii 1386 
Tinctura belladonn* 1387 
Tinctura benzoini com- 
posita 1386 
Tinctura bucco 1387 
Tinctura calumb* 1387 
Tinctura camphor* 1348 
Tinctura cannabis 1388 
Tinctura cannabis Indi- 
c* 1388 
Tinctura cantharidis 1388 
Tinctura capsici 1388 
Tinctura cardamomi 1389 
Tinctura cardamomi 
composita 1389 
Tinctura cascarill* 1389 
Tinctura cassi* 1384 
Tinctura castorei 1389 
Tinctura castorei ammo- 
niata 1384 
Tinctura catechu 1390 
Tinctura chirat* 1390 
Tinctura cinchon* 1390 
Tinctura cinchon* com- 
posita 1390 
Tinctura cinchon* fer- 
rata 1391 
Tinctura cinchon* flav* 1390 
Tinctura cinchon* pal- 
lid* 1384 
Tinctura cinnamomi 1391 
Tinct ura cinnamomi com- 
posita 1384 
Tinctura cocci 1392 
Tinctura colchici 1392 
Tinctura colchici com- 
posita 1384 
Tinctura colchici semi- 
nis 1392 
Tinctura conii 1392 
Tinctura croci 1393 
Tinctura cubeb* 1393 
Tinctura cuspari* 1384 
Tinctura digitalis 1393 
Tinctura ergot* 1393 
Tinctura ferri ocetatis 1452 
Tinctura ferri chloridi 1394 
Tinctura ferri muriatis 1394 
Tinctura ferri perchlo- 
ridi 1394 
Tinctura gall* 1396 
Tinctura gentian* com- 
posita 1396 
Tinctura guaiaci 1397 
Tinctura guaiaci ammo- 
niata 1397 
Tinctura guaiaci com- 
posita 1397 
Tinctura hellebori 1397 
Tinctura humuli 1398 
Tinctura hyoscyami 1398 
Tinctura iodi 1400 
Tintura iodinii 1399 
Tinctura iodinii compo- 
sita 1400 
Tinctura jalap* 1400 
Tinctura kino 1400 
Tinctura krameri* 1401 
Tinctura lactucarii 1384 
Tinctura lavandul* com- 
posita 1349 
Tinctura limonis 1401 
Tinctura lobeli* 1401 
Tinctura lobeli* *the- 
rea 1401 
Tinctura lupuli 1398 
Tinctura lupulin* 1402 
Tinctura matico 1384 
Tinctura melampodii 1398 
Tinctura myrrh* 1402 
Tinctura nucis vomic* 1402 
Tinctura olei menth* 
piperit* 1350 
Tinctura olei menth* 
viridis 1350 
Tinctura opii 1403 
Tinctura opii acetata 1404 
Tinctura opii ammonia- 
ta 1384 
Tinctura opii camphora- 
ta 1405 
Tinctura opii deodorata 1405 
Tinctura quassi* 1406 
Tinctura quassias com- 
posita 1384 
Tinctura quin* compo- 
sita 1406 
Tinctura rhei 1406 
Tinctura rhei composita 1384 
Tinctura rhei et aloes 1407 
Tinctura rhei et genti- 
an* 1384, 1407 
Tinctura rhei et senn* 1408 
Tinctura sabinae 1408 
Tinctura sanguinariae 1408 
Tinctura saponis cam- 
phorata 1189 
Tinctura scill* 1408 
Tinctura senegae 1408 
Tinctura sennae 1409 
Tinctura sennae compo- 
sita 1384, 1409 
Tinctura sennae et ja- 
lap* 1384 
Tinctura serpentariae 1409 
Tinctura stramonii 1409 
Tinctura thebaica 612, 1403 
Tinctura tolutana 1409 
Tinctura valerian* 1410 
Tinctura valerian* am- 
moniata 1410 
Tinctura valerian* com- 
posita 1410 
Tinctura veratri viridis 1410 
Tinctura zingiberis 1410 
Tinctur* 1380 
Tincture, Bestuchef’s 1395 
Tincture of acetate of 
iron 1452 
Tincture of aconite, 
Fleming’s 1385 
Tincture of aconite leaf 1384 
Tincture of aconite root 1384 
Tincture of aloes 1385 
Tincture of aloes and 
myrrh 1385 
Tincture of American 
hellebore 1410 
Tincture of arnica 1386 
Tincture of artificial 
musk 1562 
Tincture of assafetida 1386 
Tincture of bean of St. 
Ignatius 466 
Tincture of belladonna 1386 
Tincture of benzoin, 
compound 1387 
Tincture of black helle- 
bore 1397 
Tincture of bloodroot 1408 
Tincture of buchu 1387 
Tincture of camphor 1348 
Tincture of cantharides 1388 
Tincture of capsicum 1388 
Tincture of cardamom 1389 
Tincture of cardamom, 
compound 1389 
Tincture of cascarilla 1389 
Tincture of castor 1389 1700 
Index. 
Tincture of catechu 1390 
Tincture of Cayenne pep- 
per 1388 
Tincture of chiretta 1390 
Tincture of chloride of 
iron 1394 
Tincture of chloroform 1348 
Tincture of cinchona 1390 
Tincture of cinchona, 
compound 1390 
Tincture of cinnamon 1391 
Tincture of cloves 224 
Tincture of cochineal 1392 
Tincture of colchicum 1392 
Tincture of colchicum 
seed 1392 
Tincture of columbo 1387 
Tincture of conium 1392 
Tincture of cubeb 1393 
Tincture of digitalis 1393 
Tincture of ergot 1393 
Tincture of foxglove 1393 
Tincture of galls 1396 
Tincture of gentian, 
compound 1396 
Tincture of ginger 1410 
Tincture of guaiac 1397 
Tincture of guaiac, am- 
moniated 1397 
Tincture of hemlock 1392 
Tincture of hemlock 
fruit 1392 
Tincture of hemp 1388 
Tincture of henbane 1398 
Tincture of hops 1398 
Tincture of hyoscyamus 1398 
Tincture of ignatia 466 
Tincture of Indian hemp 1388 
Tincture of iodine 1399 
Tincture of iodine, com- 
pound 1400 
Tincture of jalap 1400 
Tincture of kino 1400 
Tincture of lactucarium 1384 
Tincture of lemon peel 1401 
Tincture of litmus 1550 
Tincture of lobelia 1401 
Tincture of lobelia, ethe- 
real 1401 
Tincture of lupulin 1402 
Tincture of muriate of 
iron 1394 
Tincture of myrrh 1402 
Tincture of nutgall 1396 
Tincture of nux vomica 1402 
Tincture of oil of pep- 
permint 1350 
Tincture of oil of spear- 
mint 1350 
Tincture of opium 1403 
Tincture of opium, ace- 
tated 1404 
Tincture of opium, cam- 
phorated 1405 
Tincture of opium, deod- 
orized 1405 
Tincture of orange peel 1386 
Tincture of Peruvian 
bark 1390 
Tincture of Peruvian 
bark, compound 1390 
Tincture of quassia 1406 
Tincture of quinia, com- 
pound 1406 
Tincture of rhatany 1401 
Tincture of rhubarb 1406 
Tincture of rhubarb and 
aloes 1407 
Tincture of rhubarb and 
gentian 1407 
Tincture of rhubarb and 
senna 1408 
Tincture of saffron 1393 
Tincture of savin 1408 
Tincture of seneka 1408 
Tincture of senna 1409 
Tincture of senna, com- 
pound 1409 
Tincture of serpentaria 1409 
Tincture of soap 746 
Tincture of soap, cam- 
phorated 1189 
Tincture of Spanish flies 1388 
Tincture of squill 1408 
Tincture of stramonium 1409 
Tincture of tolu 1409 
Tincture of valerian 1410 
Tincture of valerian, am- 
moniated 1410 
Tincture of Virginia 
snakeroot 1409 
Tincture of yellow cin- 
chona 1390 
Tinctures 1380 
Tinder 1454 
Tin-foil 1614 
Tin-foil, false 1614 
Tinkalzite 784 
Tinnevelly senna 772 
Toad-flax, common 1465 
Tobacco 817 
Tobacco ointment 1427 
Tolene 157 
Tolu, balsam of 157 
Toluifera balsamum 157 
Tonics 2 
Tonka bean 1615 
Toot plant 1504 
Toot poison 1504 
Toothache-tree 135 
Tormentil 835 
Tormentilla 835 
Torment ilia erecta 836 
Tormentilla officinalis 836 
Torreya California 556 
Torula aceti 13 
Torula cerevisias 388 
Touch-me-not 1534 
Touchwood 1454 
Tourmaline 516 
Tous les mois 199 
Tow 1548 
Toxicodendron 836 
Tragacanth 839 
Tragacantha 839 
Tragacanthin 840, 1470 
Trailing arbutus 1512 
Tralles’ alcoholmetrical 
degrees corresponding 
with the degrees of 
Baumd 1652 
Tralles’ alcoholmetrical 
table 1651 
Tralles’ centesimal alco- 
holmeter 1651 
Travellers’ joy 1496 
Treacle 724 
Tree primrose 1567 
Trehalose 533, 725, 732 
Trifolium melilctus 1615 
Trigonella foenumgrae- 
cum 1615 
Trillium 1616 
Trillium erectum 1616 
Trillium pendulum 1616 
Triolein 568 
Triosteum 841 
Triosteum perfoliatum 841 
Triphane 516 
Triphylene 516 
Tripoli 1616 
Tripoli senna 771 
Triticum aestivum 385 
Triticum compositum 385 
Triticum hybernum 384 
Tritichm repens 1616 
Triticum vulgare 110, 384 
Trituration 879 
Troches 1411 
Troches of bicarbonate 
of soda 1414 
Troches of bismuth 1412 
Troches of catechu 1412 
Troches of chalk 1412 
Troches of cubeb 1412 
Troches of ginger 1414 
Troches of gum arabic 1411 
Troches of ipecacuanha 1413 
Troches oflactucarium 1411 
Troches of liquorice 1411 
Troches of liquorice and 
opium 1413 
Troches of magnesia 1413 
Troches of morphia 1414 
Troches of morphia and 
ipecacuanha 1414 
Troches of peppermint 1418 
Troches of subcar bonate 
of iron 1412 
Troches of tannic acid 1411 
Troches of tartaric 
acid 1411 
Trochisci # 1411 
Trochisci acidi tanuic" 1411 
Trochisci bismuthi 1412 
Trochisci catechu 1412 
Trochisci cretse 1412 
Trochisci cubebw 1412 Index. 
1701 
Trochisci ferri subcar- 
bonatis 1412 
Trochisci glycyrrhizao et 
opii 1413 
Trochisci ipecacuanhas 1413 
Trochisci magnesias 1413 
Trochisci menthse pipe- 
ritas 1413 
Trochisci morphiae 1414 
Trochisci morphias et ipe- 
cacuanhas 1414 
Trochisci opii 1413 
Trochisci sodas bicarbo- 
natis 1414 
Trochisci zingiberis 1414 
Trona 788 
Tropia 1019 
Tub camphor 194 
Tulip-tree bark 517 
Tunbridge water 131 
Turkey corn 1505 
Turkey gum 7 
Turkey myrrh 558 
Turkey opium 613 
Turkey pea 1612 
Turkey, rhubarb 704 
Turlington’s balsam 1387 
Turmeric i345 
Turmeric paper 346 
Turner’s cerate 1044 
Turnsole 1549 
Turpentine 828 
Turpentine, Bordeaux 832 
Turpentine, Canada 828, 833 
Turpentine, Chian 831, 833 
Turpentine, common 
American 831 
Turpentine, common 
European 832 
Turpentine, Damarra 834 
Turpentine, Dombeya 834 
Turpentine, oil of 599 
Turpentine, Strasburg 
830, 834 
Turpentine, Venice 831, 833 
Turpentine, white 831 
Turpentinic acid 600 
Turpeth mineral 1170 
Turtle-head 1492 
Tussilago farfara 1616 
Tutia 1617 
Tutty 1617 
Tutty ointment 1428 
Twin-leaf 1542 
u 
Ulmic acid 842 
Ulmin 129, 842 
Ulmus 841 
Ulmus alat.a 374 
Ulmus Americana 842 
Ulmus campestris 841 
Ulmus fulva 842 
Ulmus rubra 842 
Ultramarine 1617 
Umber 1617 
Umbrella tree 529 
Uncaria gambir 234 
Uncomocomo 396 
Uncrystallizable sugar 725 
Undulated ipecacuanha 483 
Unguenta 1415 
Unguentum acidi tan- 
nici 1415 
Unguentum aconitias 1416 
Unguentum adipis 1416 
Unguentum antimonii 1416 
Unguentum antimonii 
tartarati 1416 
Unguentum aquas rosae 1416 
Unguentum atropiae 1417 
Unguentum belladonnae 1417 
Unguentum benzoini 1417 
Unguentum calomelanos 1417 
Unguentum cantharidis 1418 
Unguentum cetacei 1418 
Unguentum citrinum' 1422 
Unguentum cocculi 1418 
Unguentum conii 1415 
Unguentum creasoti 1418 
Unguentum cupri sub- 
acetatis 1415 
Unguentum elemi 1418 
Unguentum gallae 1419 
Unguenutm gallae cum 
opio 1419 
Unguentum hydrargyri 1419 
Unguentum hydrargyri 
ammoniati 1422 
Unguentum hydrargyri 
iodidi 1415 
Unguentum hydrargyri 
iodidi rubri 1422 
Unguentum hydrargyri 
nitratis 1422 
Unguentum hydrargyri 
nitratis mitius 1415 
Unguentum hydrargyri 
oxidi rubri 1424 
Unguentum iodinii 1424 
Unguentum iodinii com- 
positum 1425 
Unguentum mezerei 1425 
Unguentum opii 1415 
Unguentum picis 1415 
Unguentum picis liqui- 
ds 1425 
Unguentum plumbi ace- 
tatis 1415 
Unguentum plumbi car- 
bonatis 1428 
Unguentum plumbi iodi- 
di 1415 
Unguentum plumbi sub- 
acetatis 1042, 1426 
Unguentum populeum 1586 
Unguentum potassii io- 
didi 1426 
Unguentum precipitati 
albi 1422 
Unguentum resinas 1048,1429 
Unguentum sabinas 1043,1426 
Unguentum sambuci 1426 
Unguentum simplex 1416 
Unguentum stramonii 1426 
Unguentum sulphuris 1427 
Unguentum sulphuris 
compositum 1415 
Unguentum sulphuris 
iodidi 1427 
Unguentum tabaci 1427 
Unguentum terebinthi- 
nao 1428 
Unguentum tutiae 1428 
Unguentum veratrias 1428 
Unguentum zinci oxidi 1428 
Unicorn plant, false 1527 
Unona polycarpa 1500 
Upas antiar 1617 
Upas tieute 1617 
Upland sumach 710 
Upright virgin’s bower 1496 
Upward filtering 883 
Urari 1622 
Urate of ammonia 1618 
Urate of quinia 287 
Urea 1618 
Urginea scilla 760 
Ursin 846 
Ursone 846 
Urtica dioica 1619 
Urtica major 1619 
Urtica minor 1619 
Urtica urens 1619 
Ustulation 898 
Uva passa 843 
Uva ursi 845 
Uvas 843 
Uvas passae minores 844 
Uvic acid 62 
V 
Yaccinium myrtillus 293 
Vaccinium vitis Idaea 845 
Valeren 1460 
Valerian 847 
Valeriana 847 
Valeriana Celtica 1564 
Valeriana dioica 848 
Valeriana jatamensi 1564 
Valeriana officinalis 847 
Valeriana phu 848 
Valeriana tuberosa 1564 
Valerianate of ammonia 974 
Valerianate of amylic 
ether 1516 
Valerianate of atropia 1021 
Valerianate of bismuth 1619 
Valerianate of iron 1619 
Valerianate of quinia 1324 
Valerianate of soda 1338 
Valerianate of zinc 1445 
Valerianic acid 449, 
739, 848, 942 1702 
Index. 
Valeria acid 848, 943 
Vallet’s ferruginouspills 
1125, 1269 
Vanilla 849 
Vanilla aromatica 849 
Vanilla guianensis 849 
Vanilla palmarum 849 
Vanilla planifolia 849 
Vanilla pompona 849 
Vanilla syrup, cream 1373 
Vapour bath 134 
Varec 788 
Variolaria 1549 
Various-leaved fleabane 371 
Varvicite 530 
Vateria Indica 1463, 1502 
Vegetable albumen 385, 386 
Vegetable charcoal 213 
Vegetable ethiops 1517 
Vegetable fibrin 385 
Vegetable jelly 220 
Vegetable juices, pre- 
served 1383 
Vegetable musk 553 
Vegetable sulphur 522 
Vegetable wax 241 
Vegeto-animal sub- 
stances 385 
Vegeto-mineral water 1211 
Vellarine 1529 
Venetian red 1619 
Venice sumach 1518 
Venice tripoli 1616 
Venice turpentine 831, 833 
Vera Cruz sarsaparilla 750 
Veratria 721, 1428 
Veratric acid 722 
Veratrin 1431 
Veratrum 850 
Veratrum album 850 
Veratrum officinale 721 
Veratrum sabadilla 721 
Veratrum viride 851 
Verbascum thapsus 1619 
Verbena hastata 1620 
Verbena officinalis 1620 
Verbena urticifolia 1620 
Verdigris 342 
Verdigris, distilled 1452 
Verditer 1620 
Vereck 8 
Verjuice 843 
Vermilion 1171 
Veronica beccabunga 1620 
Veronica officinalis 1620 
Veronica Virginica 510 
Vervain 1620 
Vesicating ammoniacal 
ointment 99 
Vesicating taffetas 1041 
Vesicatories 2 
Viburnic acid 739 
Vichy water 131 
Vienna caustic 1279 
Vina medicata 1433 
Vincetoxicum 1508 
Vinegar 13 
Vinegar, distilled 911 
Vinegar generator 13 
Vinegar of bloodroot 914 
Vinegar of colchicum 912 
Vinegar of lobelia 912 
Vinegar of opium 913 
Vinegar of squill 914 
Vinegar, radical 20 
Vinegars • 910 
Vinetina 168 
Vinous fermentation 69 
Vinum album 854 
Vinum aloes 1434 
Vinum antimoniale 1434 
Vinum antimonii 1434 
Vinum colchici 1435 
Vinum colchici radicis 1435 
Vinum colchici seminis 1435 
Vinum ergotae 1436 
Vinum ferri 1436 
Vinum gentianas 1433 
Vinum ipecacuanhas 1436 
Vinum opii 1436 
Vinum Portense 854, 856 
Vinum rhei 1437 
Vinum rubrum 854 
Vinum tabaci 1437 
Vinum veratri albi 1433 
Vinum Xericum 854, 856 
Viola 861 
Viola odorata 861 
Viola ovata 861 
Viola pedata 861 
Viola tricolor 862 
Violet 861 
Violine or violia 862 
Virgin scammony 757 
Virgineic acid 766 
Virginia creeper 1460 
Virginia snakeroot 773 
Virgin’s bower, com- 
mon 1496 
Virgin’s bower, sweet- 
scented 1496 
Virgin’s bower, upright 1496 
Viscin 1473 
Viscum album 1473, 1620 
Viscum flavescens 1621 
Vitellin 634 
Vitellus ovi 634 
Vitis vinifera 843 
Vitriol, blue 343 
Vitriol, green 1146 
Vitriol, white 867 
Vitriolated soda 792 
Vitriolated tartar 684 
Vitriolic acid 53 
Vitrum antimonii 1519 
Viverra civetta 1496 
Viverra zibetha 1496 
Volatile alkali 95 
Volatile liniment 1186 
Volatile oils 669, 1244 
Volatile oils, table of 
drops of 1247 
Volumetric solution of 
bichromate potassa 1449 
Volumetric solution of 
hyposulphite of soda 1449 
Volumetric solution of 
iodine 1450 
Volumetric solution of 
nitrate of silver 1450 
Volumetric solution of 
oxalic acid •* 1450 
Volumetric solution of 
soda 1450* 
Vulcanized caoutchouc 144>4 
w 
Wade’s balsam . 1387 
Wahoo 373 
Wake-robin 142 
Wall pellitory 1577 
Walnut, black 492 
Walnut, European 491 
Walnut, white 492 
Warm bath 134 
Warm plaster 1070 
Warming plaster 1070 
Warner’s condenser 890 
Warner’s gout cordial 1408 
Warner’s upward filter 883 
Warren’s safety lamp 886 
Washed sulphur 813, 817 
Water 126 
Water avens 415 
Water, distilled 989 
Water eryngo 1512 
Water germander 1613 
Water hemlock 1495 
Water hemlock, Ameri- 
can 1495 
Water of ammonia 997 
Water of ammonia, table 
of the strength of 999 
Water plantain 1458 
Water-bath 887 
Watercress 1564 
Water drop wort, hem- 
lock 1567 
Water-hemlock, fine- 
leaved 1567 
Water-lily, sweet- 
scented 1566 
Water-lily, white 1566 
Watermelon 1507 
Water-parsnep 1600 
Water-pepper 1474 
Water-radish 1564 
Waters 990 
Waters, distilled 990 
Waters, medicated 990 
Water-star wort 1483 
Wax myrtle 241, 242, 1562 
Wax, vegetable 241 
Wax, white 237 
Wax, yellow 237 
Waxed cloth 1041 Index. 
1703 
Weak fish 464 
Weights and measures 875 
W’eights and measures, 
fables of 1633 
AATeights, foreign 1637 
AVeld 1592 
Well water 129 
AA’est India kino 497 
Whale, spermaceti 242, 1459 
Wheat, cbmmon winter 
110, 384 
Wheat flour 384 
Wheat starch 110 ,113 
Whey 732 
AVhisky 801 
AVhite agaric 1454 
AVhite arsenic 22 
AVhite balsam 155 
W’hite bay 528 
White bismuth 1025 
W’hite bryony 191, 1478 
White cohosh 1453 
White elm 842 
White flux 670 
White fraxinella 1510 
AA’hite hellebore 850 
AVhite horehound 538 
White ipecacuanha 483 
White lead 658 
White lily 1566 
AVhite mustard seeds 779 
White oxide of bismuth 1025 
White pepper 648 
White poppy 609 
W’hite precipitate 1172 
White resin 699 
White rhubarb 706 
White saunders 1595 
White swallow-wort 1508 
AVhite turpentine 831 
White vitriol 867 
AVhite walnut 492 
AVhite water-lily 1566 
AVhite wax 237 
White wine 854 
White-oak bark 694, 695 
White-sulphur water 131 
White-wine vinegar 15 
Whiting 1033 
Wild brier 711 
AVild cardamom 216 
Wild carrot 219 
Wild chamomile 331 
Wild cucumber 361 
Wild ginger 143 
Wild horehound 375 
W’ild indigo 1469 
Wild ipecac 841 
Wild lemon 665 
Wild lettuce 503 
Wild nutmeg 556 
Wild pink 1599 
Wild potato 1502 
Wild rosemary 226 
Wild sarsaparilla 134 
Wild senna 229 
Wild senna of Europe 1520 
Wild thyme 605 
Wild yam-root 1510 
Wild-cherry bark 689 
Willow 735 
Willow-herb 1512 
Windsor soap 746 
Wine 854 
Wine, antimonial 1-134 
Wine, aromatic 1621 
Wine, claret 856 
Wine, madeira 856 
Wine measure 1633 
Wine of aloes 1434 
Wine of antimony 1434 
WTine of colchicum root 1435 
Wine of colchicum seed 1435 
Wine of ergot 1436 
W’ine of ipecacuanha 1436 
Wine of iron 1436 
Wine of opium 1436 
Wine of rhubarb 1437 
Wine of tar 653 
Wine of tobacco 1-137 
Wine, port 854, 856 
Wine, red 854 
Wine, sherry 854, 856 
Wine, teneritfe 856 
Wine vinegar 15 
W’ine, white 854 
Wines, acidulous 855 
W’ines, astringent 855 
Wines, dry 855 
W’ines, light 855 
Wines, medicated 1433 
Wines of different coun- 
tries 855 
Wines, rough 855 
Wines, sparkling 855 
Wines, spirituous 854 
Wines, sweet 855 
W’ines, table of the 
strength of 858 
AVine-whey 861 
W’inter savory 1597 
Wintera 1621 
Winter-berry 688 
Winter-cherry, common 1583 
AVinter-clover 1557 
AVinter-green 247, 408 
Winter-green, spotted 247 
AVinter’s bark 1621 
AVistar’s cough lozenges 1413 
Witch-hazel 1525 
AA’itherite 159 
W'oad 1542 
W olfsbane 63 
AVood alcohol 803 
AArood betony 1473 
AVood naphtha 803 
Wood oil 325 
Wood spirit 803 
Wood vinegar 18, 21 
AVood-sorrel 1574 
Woody nightshade 358 
Woorali 1622 
AVoorara 1622 
Woorari 1622 
Worm tea 800 
AVormseed 245 
Wormseed, European 743 
Wormwood 4 
Wrightia antidysenter- 
ica 1623 
Wrightia tinctoria 1536 
AVurrus 714 
X 
Xanthocliymus ovalifo- 
lius 405 
Xanthopicrite 168, 864 
Xanthorrhiza 863 
Xanthorrhiza apiifolia 863 
Xanthorrhiza tinctoria 863 
Xanthorrhoea resins 1623 
Xanthoxylene 864 
Xanthoxylin 864 
Xanthoxylum 864 
Xanthoxylum alatum 864 
Xanthoxylum American- 
um 864 
Xanthoxylum Carolinia- 
num 865 
Xanthoxylum clava Her- 
culis 865 
Xanthoxylum fraxineum 864 
Xylobalsamum 1469 
Xyloidin 112 
Y 
Yam 537 
Yarrow 16 
Yeast 387 
Yeast poultice 1036 
Yellow bark 252, 259, 268 
Yellow bark of Guaya- 
quil 273 
Yellow Carthagena bark, 
common 277 
Yellow dock 718 
Yellow gentian 411 
Yellow jasmine 409 
Yellow ladies’ bedstraw 1519 
Yellow parilla 1555 
Yellow pine 829 
Yellow prussiate of 
potash 686 
Yellow puccoon 457 
Yellow resin 699 
Yellow saunders 1595 
Yellow sulphate of mer- 
cury 1170 
Yellow wash 1153 
Yellow wax 237 
Yellow-dye tree 1500 
Yellow-flowered rhodo- 
dendron 1593 
Yellow-root 457, 863 1704 
Index. 
Zinci cliloridi liquor 1443 
Zinci chloridum 1440 
Zinci cyanidum 1508 
Zinci ferrocyanidura 1515 
Zinci iodidum 1539 
Zincilactas 1545 
Zinci oxidum 1444 
Zinci phosphas 1583 
Zinci sulphas 867 
Zinci valerianas 1445 
Zincum 865 
Zingiber 870 
Zingiber cassumur.iar 1624 
Zingiber officina.e 870 
Zingiber zerumbet 1624 
Zittmann’s decoction 1062 
Zizyphus jujuba 1624 
Zizyphus lotus 1624 
Zisyphus vulgaris 1624 
z 
Zamia arrow root 537 
Zamia integrifolia 536 
Zamia lanuginosa 733 
Zea mays 1623 
Zcdoary 1624 
Zerumbet 1624 
Zibethum 1496 
Zinc 865 
Zinc, acetate of 1438 
Zinc, butter of 1440 
Zinc, carbonate of 1439 
Zinc, chloride of 1440 
Zinc colic 866 
Zinc, cyanide of 1508 
Zinc, ferrocyanide of 1515 
Zinc, flowers of 1444 
Zinc, granulated 865 
Zinc, impure oxide of 1617 
Zinc, iodide of 1539 
Zinc, lactate of 1545 
Zinc, oxide of 1444 
Zinc, phosphate of 1583 
Zinc, precipitated car- 
bonate of 1439 
Zinc, preparations of 1437 
Zinc, silicate of 1482 
Zinc, solution of chlo- 
ride of 1438, 1443 
Zinc, sulphate of 867 
Zinc, table of the prepa- 
rations of 867 
Zinc, valerianate of 1445 
Zinci acetas 1438 
Zinci carbonas 1439 
Zinci carbonas praecipi- 
tata 1439 
THE END.