^;JV.,fcr:iu^ttr>tel^^ ,^&;Q.OUQOQZQZ>Q'c^uQ0Q'0QQC>'CS lurgeon General's Office X,3&M%J±M V |, ^Ss..— N< ZZ h~3 0 - 'y^snqac^o^GpjaaG 3qq.oq.qj ON GLYCERIN. t o f A MONOGRAPH GLYCERIN ITS uses. BY HENRY HARTSHORNE, A.M., M.D., l—' MEMBER OP THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY; FELLOW OF THE COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS OP PHILADELPHIA; LATELY PHYSICIAN TO THE EPIS- COPAL HOSPITAL OP PHILADELPHIA ; FORMERLY PROFESSOR OF THEORY AND PRACTICE OP MEDICINE IN MEDICAL DEPARTMENT OF PENNSYLVANIA COLLEGE, ETC. ETC. SI* S3 a" PHILADELPHIA : J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO. 18 6-5. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1865, by J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO., In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. QV H33S*i PREFACE. The only treatises upon Glycerin with whose existence I am acquainted, those of M. Demarquay and of Dr. William Abbotts Smith, are almost un- known in this country. Most of the facts con- cerning it are scattered about in various journals; especially in those connected with Pharmacy. I hope it may prove a not unserviceable task, to the advantage both of physicians and pharma- cists, to collate anew these facts; and, without exaggerating anything, to show that in glycerin we have an article with a very wide range of uses, not yet all well determined. Much of the indiffer- ence which both druggists and practitioners have displayed toward it may be explained by disap- pointment resulting from the use of an imperfectly purified article. But, since the means of testing it are now understood to be very simple, it may be hoped that, in the future, its remarkable powers (v) VI PREFACE. as a solvent, and advantages as a vehicle, as well as other available properties, may become better known and appreciated. While claiming the credit only of a compiler in this little brochure, I have, at the same time, taken pains to verify the statements given, as far as was possible; and a few suggestions are made in regard to applications of glycerin, to which I venture to ask the attention of practitioners. For aid in confirming, correcting and extending the accounts of authors in regard to the solvent powers of glycerin, I am especially indebted to Thomas S. Wiegand, chemist, of this city. H. H. • CONTENTS. History.............................................................. g Occurrence in Nature.......................................... jq Properties............................................. n Chemical Relations................................ 13 Manufacture........................................... lg Adulterations......................................... ig Tests...................................................... ig Solvent Powers........................................... •>! Physiological Actions....................................... 27 Medical Uses......................................... 28 External Application................................... 28 Internal Administration............................. 41 Pharmaceutical Uses................................... 44 Medical and Pharmaceutical Summary..................... 58 Uses iD the Arts, Manufactures, etc......................... 63 (vii) ON GLYCERIN. History. Glycerin was discovered by Scheele, about IV T9,1 in the residuum from the manufacture of lead plaster. It was investigated more fully in 1811, by Chevreul and Pelouze; by the former of whom its present name was given. Gay-Lus- sac and Chevreul patented a process for sepa- rating the fatty acids in 1825; but glycerin was hardly known in commerce in its pure state until the beautiful discovery and invention of Mr. Richard Albert Tilghman, of Philadelphia, pat- ented in 1854; by which it was found to be ob- tainable absolutely pure by a very simple process. It was first introduced into medical use by T. De La Roche,2 in 1844; and, at his suggestion, by Mr. J. Startin, in the London Hospital for Diseases of the Skin. Mr. Warington patented, in 1846,s a method for preserving meat in it; and 1 Gerhardt givee this date. An account is given of the discovery in the Transac. of the Royal Academy of Swe- den far 1783. 2 Vide London Pharmaceut. Journal, Nov. 1855. 3 Ibid. (9) 10 GLYCERIN. also pointed out its value in preparing and pre- serving objects for the microscope. Cap and Garot investigated it anew, and pub- lished their observations in 1854.1 By them and by M. Surun2 its solvent powers were principally determined. Many other chemists, pharmacists, and medical men have since given attention to its properties and relations; although, in the lan- guage of G. Fergusson Wilson, "not a tithe of its uses have yet been developed." Occurrence in Nature. Glycerin does not exist uncombined in nature. It is present in the fat of all animals, including man, in natural glycerids or compounds with fatty acids. It is, therefore, evolved in the saponifica- tion, by alkalies or basic oxides, of all oily and fatty substances. Spermaceti and wax, however, contain none of it. Gobley3 found it in the yolk of eggs and in the human brain, in the condition of phospho-glyceric acid, or phosphate of glycerin. Berthelot asserts its existence in cod-liver oil,4 as triacetin, or teracetate of glycerin. Pasteur5 states 1 Journ. de Pharm. et de Chimie, April, Aug., and Oct., 1854. 2 Vide W. A. Smith, M.D., on Glycerine, p. 23. 3 Comptes Rendus, T. 21, pp. 766-769, et 988-992. 4 Miller's Organic Chemistry, vol. iii. p. 259. 5 Comptes Rendus, May, 1858. GLYCERIN. 11 that it is always evolved, in small quantity, in or- dinary vinous or alcoholic fermentation. It was formed artificially by Wurtz1 through a somewhat complicated process; treating the bromide of allyl with acetate of silver; thus obtaining triacetin (teracetate of glycerin), which was saponified by baryta. Properties. Glycerin is a colorless syrupy liquid, decidedly sweet to the taste, inodorous when pure, even when rubbed upon the hand. The specific gravity of the anhydrous is l-28 ;s of the best commercial prepara- tion, having but two per cent, of water, 1-26. At —35° C, it remains unfrozen.3 Heated to a red heat it burns with a luminous blue flame. At 527° Fahr. it boils. When distilled without water it is de- composed, giving off acrolein, C6H4Oa, a substance very irritating to the eyes, nostrils, and lungs, and having a strongly disagreeable odor, like that of the wick of a candle just blown out. Glycerin is neutral to test paper. It does not evaporate in the air, but absorbs moisture when exposed. It is not liable to become rancid, and is strongly anti- 1 Comptes Rendus, April, 1857. * Miller, op. citat. p. 274; Muspratt's Applied Chemis- try, Art. Glycerine; Brande & Taylor's Chemistry, p. 576; Silliman's Chemistry, p. 441. * Storer's Diet, of Solubilities, p. 291. 12 GLYCERIN. septic in its influence upon organic materials. It is freely soluble in water and alcohol, but not in ether. It does not dissolve sugar or gum, but is readily miscible with syrups and mucilages. As a solvent, glycerin occupies a place between alcohol and water. Diluted glycerin will dissolve some substances not soluble in the anhydrous or in water alone. Its solvent powers being among the most important of its properties, they will be farther stated hereafter. Upon the skin and mucous membranes, its ac- tion is bland1 and innocuous; causing only, upon prolonged contact, some enlargement of the epithe- lial cells,2 with a tendency to their more rapid ex- foliation. When the surface is denuded of the cuticle it is still unirritating, although, when not diluted, slightly pungent and stimulant. Taken internally, it is moderately laxative. Dr. S. Weir Mitchella found that the hearts of animals, placed in glycerin, ceased to pulsate sooner than in water or in olive oil. 11 have heard it stated that undiluted glycerin is some- times irritating to the skin when long in contact with it -T but the application of it for an hour at a time produces no such effect with myself. 2 W. A. Smith on Glycerine, p. 37. 3 Am. Journ. of Med. Sciences, April, 1859, p. 346. GLYCERIN. 13 Chemical Kelations. The formula for glycerin is C6Hg06=^C6HJ05HO = 2(C,H2)+02-f 4HO. The hypothetical radical C3Hj was named lipyl by Berzelius, and glycil by Lowig, while others have designated it as glyceryl. In stearin, margarin, and olein, it is considered by Berthelot to exist as the terstearate, termargarate, and teroleate of glycerin; giving up three atoms of water on entering into combination with the fatty acids. While Heintz avers that margarin is only a mixture of palmitin with stearin, Lecanu, and most other chemists, represent it as a definite glycerid. In butter, the palmitate, butyrate, caprate, caproate, and caprylate of glycerin exist; the first in greatest amount, the others giving the peculiar flavor. Glycerin is not a fatty body; the oleaginous properties belonging rather to the fatty acids with which it combines. It is not a sugar, although very sweet to the taste, since it will not ferment with yeast at any temperature, and in composition and other relations it does not correspond with the sac- charine bodies.1 It is best classified with the alco- hols,—as a "triatomic alcohol;" that is, one atom of it neutralizes three of an acid, which would re- 8 Some facts make probable the view of Berthelot, that all sugars may be regarded as polyatomic alcohols. Vide Miller, op. citat. p. 82. 2* 14 GLYCERIN. quire three equivalents of soda or potassa for the same effect. With sulphuric acid it forms (Redtenbacher) sulphoglyceric acid. By nitric acid it is decom- posed, producing carbonic and oxalic acids. When dropped into a mixture of equal parts of nitric and sulphuric acids, a yellowish liquid may be sepa- rated by distillation,—nitroglycerin, or glonoin.1 This is powerfully explosive and poisonous, having some resemblance in its physiological action to that of strychnia. Dobereiner2 found an acid (glyceric3 acid) to be developed from glycerin in contact with spongy pla- tinum. Left with yeast for several months it is con- verted into propionic or metacetonic acid, C6H503. With old cheese and chalk, or testicular tissue {Berthelot*), it is gradually changed to a fermenta- ble sugar or to alcohol; the latter only, if carbonate of lime be present. 1 C6H6(NOi)206; De Vry. One drop on the tongue causes severe pain in the back of the head, of several hours' du- ration. 2 Lehmann's Physiol. Chemistry, Phil, ed., vol. i. p. 215. 8 Glyceric acid is not recognized by Lehmann, or by Brande & Taylor. Miller mentions it without a formula. F. C. Calvert states its formation from glycerin by dilute ni- tric acid. Journ. of Soc. of Arts, July 29,1864. Its formula, according to Storer (Diet, of Chem. Solubilities), is C6H6Or 4 Comptes Rendus, May, 1857; also, Am. Journ. of Pharmacy, Sept. 1857. GLYCERIN. 15 Perhaps one of the most beautiful of the tri- umphs of modern synthetical chemistry, is the formation of true fats by an artificial process, as devised and carried out by Berthelot1 and De Luca. Glycerin seems to be capable of combining with one, two, or three atoms of acid, in a manner analo- gous to the power of phosphoric acid to combine, under different conditions, with one, two, or three equivalents of base. Thus are formed monostea- rin, distearin, tristearin, monolein, diolein, trio- lein, etc. These may be artificially produced by heating glycerin with the fatty acids for several hours, in closed vessels, to a high temperature ; or by mixing the fatty acid and glycerin with chloro- hydric, sulphuric, phosphoric, or tartaric acid, and exposing the mixture for several hours to the tem- perature of boiling water. A partial combination occurs when glycerin and a fatty acid are kept in contact at the ordinary temperature for several months. Like the "alcohols," glycerin forms, as deriva- tives, besides the glycerids, or natural and artificial fats, combinations which correspond with the com- pound ethers; e.g. diethylin (CuH1606); a com- pound like the simple ethers, as glyceric ether; hydrocarbons, as tritylene ; combinations with am- monia, parallel to the ethylic bases; oxidized de- rivatives, like the aldehyds, e.g. acrolein ; and an i Ann. de Chimie, III., xli. 216, and liii. 433. 16 GLYCERIN. acid oxide, glyceric acid. {Miller's Organic Chem- istry, vol. hi. p. 275.) Formic acid is one of the results of its decomposition when heated with hy- drate of potassa, or with chlorohydric acid and peroxide of manganese. Manufacture. Glycerin may be and has been obtained princi- pally in the following modes :— 1. By saponifying olive oil by heating it with an equal weight of litharge; the oxide of lead being mixed with water and added to the oil, with which it is then boiled; fresh portions of water being added to supply the loss by evaporation, until the saponification is complete. The glycerin, dissolved in the water, is then without difficulty separated from the insoluble oleo-margarate of lead, or lead plaster. It is freed from oxide of lead by a cur- rent of sulphuretted hydrogen passed through it, the resulting sulphide being removed by filtration ; then it is concentrated by evaporation in vacuo below 300° F. As thus prepared, commercial glycerin is not well freed from lead, and it often contains some free fatty acids, giving an odor and a tendency to rancidity. 2. Cap's process (after Fremy) consists in add- ing sulphuric acid to the mother-waters of the saponification of stearin with lime. After precipi- tating the sulphate of lime, the clear liquid is boiled. GLYCERIN. 17 out of contact with the air, being stirred all the time. The ebullition is designed to remove all the volatile fatty impurities. If litmus show an excess of acid, this is neutralized by chalk or limestone. After filtering, the liquid is reduced by evapora- tion, and decolorized by animal charcoal. It can- not be, by this means, obtained absolutely pure. 3. By adding to the mother-water of soap fac- tories a slight excess of sulphuric acid, heating with carbonate of baryta, and filtering, evaporat- ing, and treating the concentrated filtrate with al- cohol, we obtain glycerin, from which the spirit may be distilled away. 4. A method not much resorted to, is to dissolve castor oil in absolute alcohol, and then pass chlo- rohydric acid through the fluid. The fatty ethers arc washed away by water, and the residuary li- quid, on evaporation, gives a tolerably pure glyce- rin, which may be further improved by digesting it in ether, and decanting off the latter with the dissolved impurities. 5. None of the above modes will compare, either in simplicity of theory or success in practice, with that, the principle of which was originated by R. A. Tilghman in 1854.x This plan at first was to act upon either tallow, palm, or cocoa-nut oil, by 1 Unsuccessful efforts aiming at similar results had before been made by Scharling, Dubrunt'aut, and others. 18 GLYCERIN. "water, at the temperature of melted lead, 612° Fahr., under pressure." Thus the fatty bodies were broken up into the fatty acids and glycerin; the latter, being the heavier, formed the lower stratum, with the acids above. The acids could then be mechanically separated, and the glycerin concentrated by evaporation. There is no impu- rity necessarily present in this product, unless, by excess of heat in proportion to the water com- bining with the glycerin, acrolein may, to some extent, be generated. G. Fergusson Wilson, F.R.S., modified this pro- cess without changing its principle. By injecting steam at the temperature of 550° to 600° Fahr. into a hot solution of fat, he decomposed the latter, allowing the glycerin and the fatty acid to pass over together into the receiver; where, forming two distinct layers, they can be separated. It is in this mode that the best foreign glycerin (that made at Price's Candle Company's works, at Yauxhall, Lon- don) is said to be prepared from palm oil. I am not acquainted with the process used in the manufacture of glycerin by Henry Bower, in this city; but, from its being as free as Price's, and more so than any other now sold, from all impurities, it is probable that the principle depended upon is essentially the same. In no other way has it yet been shown that glycerin can be obtained without contamination from odorous fatty acids or metallic ingredients. GLYCERIN. 19 Adulterations, Some of these, as is injplied in the foregoing remarks, are the unavoidable results of imperfect methods of manufacture. This is the case with 1. "Volatile and odorous fatty acids. 2. Chlorine; present in the form of chlorides in the water employed in the process, or used to decolorize the glycerin. 3. Lime ; as in glycerin made by Cap's process, or by one resembling it. 4. Sulphuric acid, or its salts. Besides these, glycerin may be diluted with wa- ter, or adulterated with cane sugar, honey, or glu- cose. One article, sold to a considerable extent as " German glycerin," was found by H. N. Draper,1 F.C.S., to consist almost altogether of a solution of glucose, having a specific gravity of 1-436. Tests. 1. By rubbing a few drops of glycerin over the back of the hand, a somewhat fetid, mouse-like smell will be developed if it contain any of the volatile fatty acids. 2. If chlorine or chlorides be dissolved in it, the addition of a solution of nitrate of silver will pro- 1 London Chemical News, Oct. 25, 1862; and Am. Journ. of Pharmacy, vol. xi. p. 47. 20 GLVCEltlN. duce a white precipitate'of chloride of silver. Free chlorine will also cause the disappearance of the blue color of a solution of sulphate of indigo to which a little sulphuric* acid has been added. 3. Lime will be detected by the oxalate of am- monia; throwing down the insoluble oxalate of lime. 4. Sulphuric acid, free or combined, will, if present, form a precipitate with chloride of barium. 5. Glucose may be ascertained to exist as an adulteration, by adding a solution of potassa to the glycerin and boiling it; it will become brown; pure glycerin does not. On adding liq. potassa? to gly- cerin, and, afterwards, a solution of sulphate of copper, if glucose be not present the color is not changed by the action of a boiling heat, while glu- cose will throw down a yellowish-red precipitate of the hydrated suboxide of copper. 6. Glycerin is distinguished from cane sugar by the fact that sulphuric acid will not, without heat, carbonize or decompose it. " One volume of glyce- rin must be perfectly soluble in one volume of alco- hol, acidulated with l-100th of sulphuric acid, with- out forming a deposit, when standing in a cool place, even for twelve hours. One volume of gly- cerin must dissolve in two volumes of a mixture of 100 parts of alcohol and 50 parts of sulphuric acid without leaving syrupy residue." {Cap.) Glycerin differs from solution of sugar also in not GLYCERIN. 21 polarizing transmitted light. It will not, when pure, ferment with yeast, but will, in contact with it for a long time, be converted into propionic acid. When distilled alone, it evolves acrolein. It is not capable of " caramelization" at any temperature. 7. Glycerin should be neutral to test paper, not affecting litmus even when it is diluted with- an equal quantity of water. Solvent Powers. The following table is from Cap and Garot i1— 1 part of Sulphur is soluble in 2000 parts of Glycerin. Sulphuret of Potassium 10 Sulphuret of Calcium 10 Iodine 100 Iodide of Potassium 3 Iodide of Sulphur 60 Biniodide of Mercury 340 Corrosive Sublimate 14 Quinia 200 Sulphate of Quinia 48 Tannin 6 Tannate of Quinia 130 Muriate of Morphia 19 Sti'ychnia 300 Nitrate of Strychnia 26 Veratria 96 Brucia 70 Atropia 50 Tartar emetic 30 rnal de Pharmacie et de Chimie 3 22 GLYCERIN. The glycerin employed by these authors con- tained 12 per cent, of water. They further make the following statements i1 " Glycerine dissolves the vegetable acids, the deliquescent salts, the sul- phates of potassa, soda, and copper; the nitrates of potassa and silver; the alkaline chlorides, po- tassa, soda, baryta, strontia, bromine, iodine, and even oxide of lead. It dissolves and suspends the vegetable alkaloids in the same manner as the aque- ous liquids, and at the same time the resulting pro- ducts may be used for the same purposes as though mixed with oil. Thus, the salts of morphia dis- solve in it completely; all when hot, but some when cold separate into clots, which, when triturated with the supernatant liquid, give it the consistence of a cerate, very useful for frictions and embroca- tions. It is the same with the salts of brucine, strychnine, veratrine, and most preparations of the same order, which enables us to consider that we have now, if not medicinal oils with a vegetable alkaloid base, at least a series of new preparations which will fulfill a perfectly analogous use in therapeutics." The solutions of the sulphurets alluded to in the table given above, must be kept excluded from the air; on the addition of water only, they exhale the smell of sulphuretted hydrogen. The solutions 1 Journ. de Pharm. et de China., April, 1854. Cap also published a third paper, March, 1856, in the same journal. GLYCERIN. 23 of iodine and iodide of sulphur have a smell resem- bling saffron. An addition of water precipitates a portion of the biniodide of mercury from its solu- tion in glycerin. When heated, glycerin dissolves l-40th of sulphate of quinine; forming, as it cools, a transparent gelatinous mass. By the aid of heat tannin may be dissolved in 4 parts of glycerin; the solution is thick and cannot be filtered through paper. One part of muriate of morphia may be made into a sort of cerate with 5 parts of glyce- rin. Camphor is soluble only in 400 parts of gly- cerin, but more after it has been rubbed up with alcohol or ether. Cap and Garot believe that, while fats extract from fresh herbs little more than wax, aromatics, chlorophyll, and other coloring matter, glycerin will dissolve gum, sugar, tannin, extractive matter, watery juices, alkaloids, and the aromata. It will also dissolve the aqueous and alcoholic extracts in considerable quantity. Substances are generally, though not without exception, more soluble in glycerin, the more they are so in alcohol. Dr. W. Abbotts Smith states that 100 parts of glycerin dissolve 0*2 of phosphorus; 0*1 of sul- phur; when hot, 1-9 of iodine; the tincture of iodine in all proportions, water not precipitating the iodine from this solution; bromine, ammonia, hypochlorite of soda, acid nitrate of mercury, and nitrate of silver, in all proportions. Only pure 24 GLYCERIN. glycerin will dissolve nitrate of silver; the pres- ence of chlorine, common in inferior articles, is at once betrayed by a precipitate. Bower's glycerin, and Price's, will be found to stand this test. One hundred parts of glycerin will dissolve 25 parts of bromide of potassium, 20 of chloride of so- dium, 10 of chloride of barium, 50 of chloride of zinc, 7'5 of bichloride of mercury, 2"7 of cyanide, and 32 of bicyanide of mercury; 10 parts of boracic acid, 20 of arsenious acid; sulphuric, nitric, phosphoric, and chlorohydric acids in all proportions. Dr. W. A. Smith also asserts chlorate of potassa to be soluble in it to the extent of 3-5 parts in 100 ; arseniate of potassa, 50 parts; carbonate of soda, 98; bicarbo- nate of soda, 8 ; biborate of soda, 60 ; carbonate, and muriate of ammonia, each 20 ; alum, 40 ; sul- phate of iron, 25; sulphate of zinc, 35; sulphate of copper, 30 parts. Of oxalic acid, 15 parts; ben- zoic acid, 10; acetic, citric, tartaric, and lactic acids, in all proportions. M. Surun experimented particularly with the alkaloids. He found 100 parts of glycerin to dis- solve 0-45 of morphia, codeia in all proportions, 3 parts of atropia (Cap and Garot say 2), 0-25 of strychnia, 2-25 of brucia (Cap and Garot, 15), 1 part of veratria, and 1*5 of cinchonia. The alka- loid salts are still more soluble in it; of muriate of morphia, 20 parts in 100; of sulphate of atropia, 33; sulphate of strychnia, 22 5; nitrate of strych- GLYCERIN. 25 nia, 4; sulphate of quinine, 2*75; tannate of qui- nine, 0-75. J. S. Blockey1 found 1 part of salicin to dissolve in 8 of cold, and 1 of santonin in 18 of boiling glycerin. A hundred parts of glycerin will dissolve 20 of acetate of lead; acetate of copper, 10; potassio-tar- trate of antimony, 5 5; potassio-tartrate of iron, 8 ; and lactate of iron, 16 parts. Baryta, strontia, lime, and oxide of lead are all somewhat soluble in it. Alcohol mixes freely with it in all proportions; most tinctures do so also. The exceptions are stated to be those of oleo-resinous bodies, such as musk, castor, tolu, benzoin, assafetida, and cam- phor. Ether and ethereal extracts and tinctures are not soluble in glycerin. Vegetable juices are readily dissolved by it; and extracts made with it have great stability. Creasote is soluble in it to a considerable extent, and so is tar; coloring matters, vegetable or animal, very readily. It does not change any of the organic coloring prin- ciples, even after long exposure to contact with it. At my request, Thos. S. Wiegand, of this city, made some experiments in regard to several of the above and other solubilities, with a more concen- trated and probably purer glycerin (Bower's) than that of Cap and Garot; containing about 2 per cent, of water, instead of 12. The following were i London Chemist, Sept. 1857; and Am. Journ. of Pharm., Nov. 1857. 3* 26 GLYCERIN. the most important results of these experiments ; which were conducted with the aid of heat. Sulphate of quinine was found to be perfectly soluble, in the proportion of eight grains or more to the ounce. Strychnia with sulphate of quinia, (gr. ss of the former with 9j of the latter, in f^ij of glycerin) made a perfect solution. The ammonio- citrate of quinine also dissolved perfectly. Iodine and sulphate of quinine required the addition of iodide of potassium to complete the solution. Morphia dissolved readily, two grains in the ounce of glycerin. Veratria was slow in dissolv- ing, as it is also in alcohol. Creasote dissolved freely, four drops or more in the ounce. Podophyl- lum was easily dissolved in glycerin while hot, gr. j in f^j; a partial separation only appearing to occur on long standing, cold. Phosphate of iron dissolved well, 5ss to f^ij. Chloride of zinc, quite freely. Labarraque's liq. sod. chlorinat. the same. Carbonate of lead, without being dissolved to a large extent, was so in sufficient amount to main- tain whiteness and opacity in the liquid after standing any length of time ; while a large amount of it was suspended by admixture. Of oxide of zinc the same statement precisely may be made. Phosphate of lime seemed to be nearly insoluble in glycerin. Phosphorus is to a very small degree GLYCERIN. 27 soluble with heat. Iodine required more than 100 parts to 1 {Cap and Garot) to dissolve it, Chloroform, without trituration, would not dis- solve at all, or even mix with shaking together. Permanganate of potassa decomposed the glycerin, with some activity. Physiological Actions, When taken internally, glycerin has no percep- tible effect except to promote moderately the per- istaltic movement and secretion of the bowels. Upon the surface of the body, when covered with cuticle, it is quite unirritating; and to ulcers and wounds it is only mildly stimulant, even when undiluted. So far as might be expected from its known properties, its value for internal use is to be looked for chiefly as a vehicle, for which its extensive solvent powers admirably adapt it; while the same powers also, and its rer markable hygroscopic and antiseptic properties, render it available in many ways for external ap- plication. From its composition and chemical relations, we can anticipate nothing very positively in regard to its effects upon the animal economy. Although derived from the fats, agreeing strikingly in taste and consistence with saccharine solutions, and corresponding in molecular constitution with the alcohols, it yet differs from each of these so 28 GLYCERIN. much as to make it doubtful a priori how far it could act as a nutriment, of the non-nitrogenous series, even accessorily. And experience has not shown it to be capable of such power. Medical Uses. T. De La Roche and F. Startin1 first employed glycerin as a remedy in affections'of the skin. Some indications, almost universal in them, it ful- fills ; namely, to keep the skin moist and soft, and to exclude the air, without evaporation. Startin found that when placed in small quantity in a shallow vessel in an oven, while a piece of meat was cooked beside it, it did not lose, but rather gained in weight, by absorption of moisture. Dr. W. A. Smith mentions that the Russians often spread a layer of glycerin on their faces before starting on a sledge journey, to protect the skin against extreme cold; since it will neither evapo- rate nor congeal at any temperature to which they are exposed. Mr. Shaw, in 1854,2 reported the use with ad- vantage of glycerin in the treatment of pityriasis; Trousseau,3 Bazin, and De Muret,4 in the same; 1 Journal of the Society of Arts, March 7, 1846. 2 Stille's Therapeutics, from Med. Times and Gazette, April, 1854. 3 Archives G6ne>ales, 5eme ser., iii. 241. * Annuaire de Therap., xvii. 245. GLYCERIN. 29 Bougard1 in eczema, and Stirling2 in psoriasis. More extensive employment of it, in many affec- tions of the skin, was made by M. Gibert,3 in the Hopital St. Louis, with excellent results, espe- cially in combination with other medicaments, in irritative eruptions; such as prurigo, eczema ru- brum, impetigo, acne, etc. M. Ancioux,* of Bel- gium, confirmed Gibert's account of its value in such cases as a substitute for lard. Dr. Posner, of Berlin,5 and Max Richter,6 of Vienna, also used it, the former to prevent pitting in small-pox, and the latter with iodine, for the treatment of syphilitic and scrofulous swellings and ulcerations. Prof. Hebra7 found it particularly valuable, made into a caustic with iodine, in cutaneous syphilis. Gueneau de Mussy obtained benefit in pityriasis capitis from its association with muriate of ammo- nia and rose-water, as reported by Demarquay; and the treatise of the latter author (already al- luded to) contains a full account of his own use of it, as well as that of others, in a great many exter- i Bull, de Therap., li. 323. ^Edinb. Med. Journal, ii. 921. 3 Bull. G6ne"ral de Therap., Aug. 15, 1858. 4 Am. Druggists' Circular, April, 1859, from Presse Medicale Beige. 5W. A. Smith, op. citat. p. 51. 8 Am. Journ. of Pharm., March, 1857, p. 133, from Wiener Med. Wochenschrift. 7 Allegemeine Wiener Med. Zeitung, 1862. 30 GLYCERIN. nal disorders. In lichen, eczema, and herpes (especially herpes zoster) it aids in diminishing the local irritation; in pityriasis, psoriasis, lepra, rupia, pemphigus, and ichthyosis, it softens the skin, and lessens the disposition to the formation of dry, thick, and hard scales or crusts; while in impetigo, ecthyma, acne, favus, mentagra, scabies, etc., it not only meets the same indications, but answers much better than lard, as a vehicle or adjuvant, in the application of the various agents desired. Thus M. Bourguignon1 employed it for the preparation of the most elegant application for itch that, perhaps, can be used ; to which we will allude again hereafter. The advantages of gly- cerin over" lard for such uses are, particularly, that it is not at all liable to rancidity; that it can be removed at any time without soap or un- pleasant friction; that it does not soil and grease the garments and bed-clothing; and, perhaps, most important of all, that it dissolves or com- bines with the active principles more perfectly than any oil or fat, and, more readily than any such substances, may be absorbed by or distributed through the skin. Of course, occasional disap- pointments will occur, especially where too much is expected from the action of the glycerin itself; as when M. Devergie,2 probably with an impure 1 Med. Times and Gazette, Oct. 29, 1859. 2 Bull, de Therapeut., 1. 241. GLYCERIN. 31 article (such having been often and largely used), thought its action irritating to the surface, while he also found fault with its moistening the skin so constantly; an effect certainly desirable in most cases of cutaneous disorder, but requiring judi- cious management as well as limitation. Dr. Joseph Bell,1 of Glasgow, giving it a trial as a pre- ventive of pitting in small-pox, thought it irritating, and describes it as drying up very soon after its application. It is highly probable that both of these defects belonged to the imperfect purification of the glycerin employed; since, when pure, it has not been found, in burns and bed-sores,2 any too stimulant; and the "drying up" spoken of by Dr. Bell (the very reverse of what Devergie objected to) ought not to belong to undiluted glycerin. Dr. Bell was also disappointed in the action of collodion, used with the same intention; because the contraction resulting from it produced too much pressure and secondary congestion. Had he thought of combining these two agents, as pro- posed by Cap and Garot,3 he would have found the collodion to be deprived in great degree of this tendency, and rendered much more available for its purpose. 1 Glasgow Med. Journal, July, 1861. 2 Dr. C. F. Moore, in Dublin Med. Press, Dec. 26, 1860. 3 Journ. de Pharm., Aug. 1854; vide Am. Journ. of Pharm., March, 1855. 32 GLYCERIN. Dr. Stille is right, at the same time, most prob- ably, in concluding1 that the action of glycerin is rather protective than alterative. It must depend for any powerful action of the latter kind, upon materials combined with it; but its protective properties are so decided, and its solvent powers and affinities so remarkable, that its role in the treatment of skin diseases is likely to become still more extended. The cutaneous affections in which it appears to have proved most especially beneficial, per se or as an excipient, are as follows. In erysipelas, Dr. W. Abbotts Smith2 states that it, more than any other agent, modifies the symptoms ; " allaying especially the smarting pain and acrid burning heat, so that the benefit of the soothing effect produced by its local appli- cation is soon evinced by the improved general condition of the patient." Dr. Edward Harts- horne has found that, in scarlet fever, it acts more favorably upon the skin than lard. Ip prurigo, either simplex, senilis, podicis, or vulvae, Demarquay and others have found it give great relief. If, as has been asserted,3 sulphur, tar, and corrosive sublimate are, for this affection, treatise on Therapeutics, etc., vol. i. Art. Glycerin. 2 Op. citat. p. 50. 3 Von Biirensprung; Brit. & For. Medico-Chirurg. Re- view, July, 1860, p. 247. GLYCERIN. 33 almost specifics, we may have no doubt that, as it may be used as a vehicle for either of these, it is much better than lard for- such use. The same remark might be made in regard to it in the treat- ment of all the parasitic diseases of the skin; in which the writer is among those whom observa- tion has convinced of the importance as well as existence of parasitic growths, which often require specific treatment for their destruction in order to the cure of the case. Pityriasis, ichthyosis, psoriasis, etc. have al- ready been alluded to as indicating the use of a remedy which softens and moistens the skin. Nothing will do this so effectually, agreeably, and permanently as glycerin. In rupia and in pem- phigus, its frequent application (with a large hair pencil, for example), either by itself or with some sedative or alterative contained in it, will have a most favorable influence over the eruption. It may be remembered that it is very easy to dilute it with water, if a partly excoriated surface should appear too sensitive to it; but that is unlikely to occur if pure glycerin be employed.1 The prepar- ation which seems to have met with most favor 1 For maculse, or discolorations of the skin (ephelides, chloasma, lentigo), I propose a lotion of glycerin with dilute nitro-muriatic acid; a portion to be left in contact with the part for some time. 4 34 GLYCERIN. is a combination of glycerin with starch ; the his- tory of which is, in brief, as follows. F. Startin, in his papers before cited, published in 1846 and 1847, proposed as a substitute for un- guents, a compound made with gum tragacanth, glycerin, lime-water and rose-water; described as an elegant and convenient material for external use. Cap and Garot, in 1854, mention in one of their articles, also previously quoted, that "starch and glycerin in equal quantities form a sort of pomade; which may be mixed with salts, alkaloids, extracts, tar, etc." The same qualities, they say, attend the addition of 1 part of powdered althea to 3 parts of glycerin. In the Hopital St. Louis, at Paris, M. Gibert made large use of a similar men- struum, especially for tar. The "glycerole de goudron," employed by him,1 consisted of glycerin 30 parts, starch 15 parts, and purified tar 1 or 2 parts, mixed homogeneously by the aid of heat. Mr. Brady uses 6 oz. glycerin, 6 oz. tar, and 2 dr. powdered starch.2 In 1858, G. F. Schacht pro- posed3 the name of plasma for the mixture of starch with glycerin; his formula being, 1 fluid- ounce of glycerin, with 70 grains of powdered starch; mixed cold, and heated gradually to about 240° Fahrenheit, stirring constantly. A corre- i Bull. Ge"n. de Therap., Aug. 15th, 1858. 2 Am. Journ. of Med. Sciences, October, 1862, p. 515. 3Lond. Pharm. Journ., Feb. 1858. GLYCERIN. 35 spondent of the journal in which his article ap- peared, justifies the name of plasma as classically correct, by a passage from Persius; in which that word is used for a gargle or throat-wash.1 In one of the German journals, somewhat later, credit was given to Dr. Simon, of Berlin, for the introduction of a very analogous composition. His proportions were different, viz., five parts of glycerin to one of starch; forming a soft, butter- like substance. Under the name of glyceramyl, or amylo-glycerin, a similar compound has been employed here by several practitioners. My ex- perience wit^h it has been sufficient to convince me of its great value in cutaneous eruptions; espe- cially where considerable heat and irritation exist; in many of which cases fatty ointments do not suit well, and seem even to aggravate the disorder. Glycerin has been found of service in certain conditions of deafness, as Dr. Turnbull,2 of London, has shown; it being more useful than water in carrying out the ingenious expedient of Yearsley, of supplementing a deficient membrana tympani 1 Scilicet htec populo, pexusque toga recenti, Et natalitia tandem cum sardonyche albus, Sede leges celsa, liquido cum plasmate guttur Mobile collueris, patranti fractus ocello. Sal.I.,v. 15-18. 'London Med. Gazette, June, 1849; andStille's Therap., vol. i. p. 155. 36 GLYCERIN. by a moistened pellet of cotton.- Dr. Turnbull also used dilute glycerin to cleanse and lubricate the Eustachian tube; and Mr. Waklcy1 and others have found it very useful in epithelial thickening of the lining of the meatus, with or without waxy concretions. In ophthalmic surgery, frequent and extensive use has been made of glycerin. For morbid dry- ness of the cornea, Dr. W. Abbotts Smith con- siders it one of the best of applications, when combined with § or £ of distilled water. Where the eye is always open from paralysis or injury of the upper lid, I should anticipate great advantage from the permanency of its moisture. Bowman recommends its application after cauterization of the conjunctiva. M. Foucher, of the Hopital des Enfans, Paris, advises it in all cases of ophthalmia, especially ophthalmia tarsi.2 In place of water, he formed collyria with it, of borax, sulphate of zinc, sulphate of copper, perchloride of iron, tinc- ture of opium, etc. Calomel, though not soluble, 1 London Lancet, July, 1852. 2 Prof. Griife recommends a combination of glycerin with red precipitate for phlyctenoid ophthalmia and its se- quelae. He adds, "when a tendency to turgescence of the conjunctiva and to granulation is observed, pomades made of starch and glycerin are in general more effica- cious than all others."—Journ. de Medecine et de Chiruryit Pratiques, July, 1863. m GLYCERIN. 37 may be suspended in it, and so applied. The nitrate of silver is quite compatible with pure gly- cerin ; the impure will precipitate with it the chloride of silver. For the application of atropia to the eye, so often resorted to since its substitu- tion for belladonna by Reisinger, C. R. H. Tich- borne has shown1 that its solution in glycerin has great advantages. As much as 4 per cent. will dissolve; but he found one-half, or even one-fourth per cent, usually sufficient to dilate the pupil strongly. By first adding a few drops of alcohol to the atropia, and then mixing it with the glycerin, a heat of 110° Fahr. for half an hour being allowed to drive off the spirit, he obtained a definite solution; which will keep better than an aqueous solution, and act more fully by absorption through the skin. M. Follin,2 of the Salpetriere, adds subnitrate of bismuth to glycerin (1 or 2 parts to 3 parts) for application in chronic granular conjunctivitis, ciliary and glandular blepharitis, etc.; and Debout and Trous- seau have used the same combination for irrita- tions or excoriations, etc. of other parts of the body. In fissures of the tongue and ulcerative affec- tions of the mouth and throat, glycerin has been 1 Am. Druggists' Circular, December, 1860; from Lon- don Chem. News. 3Bull. G£n. de Therap., vol. lxiii. 4* 38 GLYCERIN. found useful, by itself or in combination. In croup, Dr. E. R. Mayer1 employed it, as he reports, with decided benefit as an application to the glottis. Dr. S. Scott Alison used it in an analogous manner.2 In ozgena it is recommended not only by its blandness, but by its antiseptic prop- erty, as the best material for injections, containing astringents or alteratives, to the mucous surface. I suggest its substitution for honey in the wash often so useful in diphtheria, of equal parts with muriatic acid. In chilblains it is an excellent emollient; espe- cially in association with tannin, with alum, or acetate of lead, oxide of zinc or subnitrate of bis- muth. For ulcers, Demarquay preferred it as the first dressing, followed, in his treatment, by compres- sion with adhesive plasters. It makes an exceed- ingly clean dressing, and gives a gentle and salu- tary stimulation to the granulating part. In open cancer, it diminishes suppuration, les- sens greatly the odor, and keeps down fungous growths. Opium, belladonna, etc. may be added to it for palliative effects. I propose for trial a saturated solution of creasote in glycerin as a local application for cancer. Without yet having had an opportunity to employ it, I am sanguine of its lAm. Journ. of Med. Sciences, April, 1858, p. 338. 2 Medication of the Larynx and Trachea, p. 20. GLYCERIN. 39 being found to retard the spread of carcinomatous growths, by the coagulating effect of creasote upon albuminoid tissues and transudations; the glycerin aiding in the introduction of the po- tent agent more effectually and more protect- ively than water. Van Holsbeck found a tent saturated with a solution of tannin in glycerin (1 part to 16) an excellent remedy for fissure of the anus.1 Demarquay injected glycerin with great advan- tage into fistulous abscesses and sinuses, with or without diseases of the bones ; sometimes adding^ iodine. I am not aware of its trial in gonorrhoea ; but would expect a good effect from it. In leu- corrhcea it was found beneficial by Demarquay, used in a tampon with tannin (1 part to 4 of gly- cerin).2 For sore nipples, especially where cracks exist, I am confident that no other local treatment will produce so good results as the application, with a camel's hair pencil, of collodion, to which one-fiftieth of glycerin has been added. Wakley recommends glycerin as the best material to soften corns, preparatory to their excision. In the treatment of burns and scalds, Dr. W. A. Smith insists that glycerin alleviates the pain, and often causes its complete disappearance. "It substitutes for the sensation of heat that of cool- 1 Stille-, op. citat. vol. i. p. 156. 2Bull, de Therap., 1.540. 40 GLYCERIN. ness, which continues in consequence of the prop- erty which glycerine possesses of absorbing mois- ture; it also penetrates into the part, moistens and softens it, and obviates the dryness and tension ; besides which, it prevents the pain which would be produced by the contact of the surround- ing air."1 Maisonneuve as well as Demarquay and others have reported most favorably of glycerin as a dressing for wounds. If pure, it produces no painful sensation when applied to a wound. De- marquay advises the saturation of linen with it for such application; it does not require so frequent renewal as the water-dressing; is deodorizing, cleanly, and easily removed; and lessens the amount of suppuration. The tendency to gangrene is strikingly opposed by the local action of glycerin. This was pointed out by Demarquay in a communication to the Society of Surgery of Paris. While doubting its sufficiency in many cases alone, I should recom- mend it instead of water for the solution of bro- mine, so successful in treatment of hospital gan- grene, in the hands of Surgeon Goldsmith,2 U. S. V.; or, with carbolic acid,3 or coal tar, relied upon by 1 Op. citat. p. 47. 2 Am. Med. Times, Sept, 12tb, 1863. 5 C. Calvert and T. Turner; Lancet, Sept. 26th, 1863. GLYCERIN. 41 others -,1 or, as used at the Bicetre,2 with chlorate of potassa, one part to 6 or 8 of glycerin. One other suggestion of a surgical kind may be made; that, in those curious and distressing cases of nerve-wound reported by Drs. Mitchell, More- house, and Keen,3 in which " burning pain" affects a part of the surface to an intense degree and almost irremediably, glycerin might more per- fectly and more conveniently than water maintain that moisture of the part which the patient seems instinctively to crave. Internal Use. In quantities varying from a drachm to an ounce, according to age or susceptibility, gly- cerin, taken internally, is mildly laxative. On account of its sweetness it is easily administered to children. As all physicians and parents well know, a pleasant aperient is an important desid- eratum in infantile therapeutics. I have used glycerin in this way, enough to find that it has no inconvenient or objectionable quality which should prevent it being recommended as a do- mestic medicine. Nothing else of similar effect, iDemeaux; Lond. Med. Rev., Feb. 1861. 2Ploss; Verges' Zeitschrift, N. S., vol. i.; and Med. Times and Gazette, May 30th, 1863. 3 Wounds of Nerves and Nerve-centres; Philada. 1864. 42 GLYCERIN. except manna, is equally acceptable to the taste; and I think the latter no more reliable for the purpose. Purgative principles, such as podo- phyllin, aloes, etc., may be dissolved in the glycerin, where a more powerful operation is required. Dr. Crawcour,1 of Xew Orleans, made trial of glycerin in place of cod-liver oil in the treatment of phthisis; and reported very favorable results. He gave it in the dose of from one to three drachms, three times daily; not only in pulmonary phthisis, but in different forms of scrofulous and mesenteric disease. In the consumptive, he stated that the cough was relieved, digestion improved, and deposition of fat increased, in a short time. Iodine and iron, associated with glycerin, seemed to do more good than when alone. He also took, himself, a solution of phosphorus in glycerin (2 grains to the fluidounce of the hot liquid); and considered less than a quarter of a grain of phos- phorus, so dissolved, to be an excitant dose. Dr. Lauer Lindsay, of Perth,2 thought favorably of glycerin in the treatment of phthisis. Dr. Cotton,3 of the Brompton Hospital for Con- sumption, in a series of therapeutical experiments extending over five years, compared glycerin with 1 New Orleans Med. News and Hospital Gazette; and N. Y. Journ. of Med., March, 1855, p. 309. 2 W. Abbotts Smith, op. chat. p. 39. 3 Lancet, Oct. 25th, 1862. GLYCERIN. 43 other remedies. His conclusion was, that in phthisis it " failed very generally; and its effects could bear no comparison to those of cod-liver oil." Dr. Da Costa of this city made a trial of it for several months, in the wards of the Episcopal Hospital, in consumption; but'discovered no ben- efit from it. I do not see, indeed, any reason why we should anticipate any favorable action from it in phthisis, unless as an expectorant. That it might often be substituted with advantage for syrup in ordinary expectorant preparations, is, I think, very probable. Dr. Daude1 and others have used glycerin with good effect in dysentery; both by the mouth and by injection into the rectum. One part of it to five of flaxseed tea makes a bland emollient, very soothing to tenesmus.2 It would probably be a good emollient for irritated piles. In ulcer of the stomach, it is likely to act kindly, especially in combination with creasote, or with nitrate of silver. Sugar, when swallowed, often causes pain in an ulcer of the stomach, very much as it does in a carious tooth; but glycerin, so far as I am aware, does not produce this effect. I suggest its use instead of sugar in the regimen of diabetic patients. Not being saccharine either ^m. Journ. of Pharm., March, 1861; from Pharm. Cent. Halle I. No. 6. • 2Stil16, op. citat.; from Bull, de Therap., lviii. 521. 44 GLYCERIN. in composition or capacity of fermentation, its sweetness may be indulged in without liability to increase the disposition to glucogenesis. If, as Dr. Champouillon avers,1 sugar be especially in- jurious as an article of food in phthisis, the same substitution would be equally suitable there also. The opinion of that author, however, though based upon a good deal of supposed experience, requires to be tested by further inquiry. The frequent craving of sweet things by phthisical persons renders it, a priori, improbable. It has been proposed to inject glycerin into the bladder to dissolve phosphatic calculi; but I have not heard of its being tried, and should not antici- pate its success. Pharmaceutical Uses. Cap and Garot proposed the name of glycerole for any solution in, or compound of glycerin, other than the natural or artificial fats. Chemists now reserve the name of glycerids for the fats or other neutral compounds of glycerin with an acid. The term glycerate belongs to glyceric acid salts. Glycerolate, used by Dr. W. Abbotts Smith, is clumsy; so that the term of Cap and Garot may be adopted as the best. 1 Dublin Med. Press, Feb. 24, -1864; from Journ. de Med. et Chirurg. GLYCERIN. 45 To the universal employment of glycerin in the place of lard in ointments, liniments, etc., the only objection appears to be its present greater com- parative cost. This is not, however, at all so great as to prevent its being preferred in several important preparations; either by itself or in the form of glyceramyl, or "plasma." F. Baden Benger1 urges its advantage especially as an ex- cipient where ointments are prone to rancidity, as Cerat. Plumb. Acetat., Ung. Zinci, etc., or where the active ingredient is soluble in glycerin, as Ung. Potass. Iodid., Ung. Aconitise, Ung. Atropise, Ung. Veratriae, Ung. Belladonna?, and Ung. Crea- soti. I cited on a previous page Tichborne's ac- count of the convenient glycerole of atropia for ophthalmic purposes. One ounce of glycerin is capable of dissolving fifteen grains of atropia. Benger mentions the recent successful use of a glycerole of the Calabar bean (physostigma ven- enosum). For the extraction and preservation of vegetable principles, glycerin is very valuable. Startin ob- i Pharm. Journ. and Transac, London, Nov. 1864. This writer prefers for "plasma," after trial of various forms of starch, the tous-les-mois. His method is, to rub 50 gr. of this in a mortar with 1 ounce of glycerin, transfer to a porcelain evaporating dish and heat over a gas flame to 240°, constantly stirring with a wooden spoon or ivory spatula, until it becomes transparent. 5 46 GLYCERIN. served {loc. citat.) that "syrups and extracts by its means are kept from evaporation to dryness, as also from fermentation, and from the formation of cryptogamic vegetation or mouldiness." Cap and Garot confirmed this statement. John S. Bloc- key, in the London Chemist, September, 1857, re- corded some facts of the same kind ; and in the Transactions of the American Pharmaceutical Association for 1857,1 F. Stearns, of Detroit, gave as examples of its utility "the extraction of the active matters of the leaves of savin, stramonium, cicuta, dulcamara, elder, tobacco, etc.," and its substitution for sugar in syr. ipecac, syr. scill. comp., etc. A. F. Haselden2 urged similar views in the London Lancet, in 1858. Dr. W. R. Gore,3 of Limerick, cited his own experience as well as that of Dr. Jacob, as to its favorable action in ad- mixture with ext. belladonna?, ext. Valeriana?, ext. opii, aconit., etc., to maintain their softness. T. S. Wiegand, in a communication to the Am. Journal of Pharmacy,4 speaking of "the difficulty of incorporating extracts in ointments, syrups, and mixtures," says that "the most simple and unex- ceptionable method is to work up any given extract with an equal weight of pure glycerin, i P. 138. » Vide Am. Druggists' Circular, Aug. 1858, p. 166. » Dublin Med. Press, Dec. 26, 1860. * March, 1863. GLYCERIN. 47 added gradually during the process of mixing it." Of course double the weight of the extract pre- scribed must be used when thus prepared. At the meeting of the Am. Pharmaceutical Association, held in 1864, at Cincinnati, the fol- lowing question was brought up for answer: " Is there an eligible method by which all the medic- inal matter of Cinchona may be held in a perma- nent solution without deposition of cincho-tannates or cinchonic red ?" This was answered by A. B. Taylor of this city, with the exhibition of a solu- tion of the active principles of cinchona in glycerin, which was judged to meet the desideratum in view.1 Among the preparations difficult to keep, iodide of iron has always attracted attention. In gly- cerin instead of syrup {Liquor Ferri Iodid. for- merly, Syrup. Ferri Iodid. of the new Pharma- copoeia) it is a sufficiently stable preparation. Leamy's formula for this glycerole is probably the best.2 Take of Resublimed Iodine, 3j ; Iron Wire, q. s.; Glycerin (pure), gx; Distilled Water, 3j vel. q. s. Mix the iodine with the water in a porcelain capsule, and gradually add the iron wire, stirring 1 Am. Journ. of Pharmacy, Nov. 1864, p. 479. 2 Transac. of Am. Pharmaceut. Assoc, 1857, p. 90. 48 GLYCERIN. constantly. Heat the mixture until it acquires a light-greenish color, then filter the solution into a capsule containing five ounces of the glycerin, taking care to keep the end of the funnel under the surface of the glycerin; then place the vessel con- taining the solution and the glycerin on a water- bath, and evaporate until it measures five ounces. Add to this the remaining five ounces of glycerin, previously placed in a twelve-ounce bottle, and shake well together. This preparation is of a pale-straw color, entirely free from sediment, and will keep for any length of time. The dose is the same as that of the officinal syrup.1 Glycerole of aloes, first proposed by M. Chausit, was improved by A. F. Haselden,2 as follows : Mix well in a mortar four drachms of finely pow- dered Socotrine aloes and four ounces of pure glycerin; transfer them to a bottle; agitate occa- sionally for a few days, and then, if all the aloes be not dissolved, digest for fifteen minutes with gentle heat by means of a water-bath ; strain them through linen to separate any small portions of dirt which may be present. The result is a bright, mahogany-colored syrupy liquid. Glycerole of lead was suggested as a substitute 1 Other formulae for the combination of iodide of iron with glycerin are to be found in Am. Druggists' Circular, Aug. 1st, 1858, p. 166, and July, 1858, p. 130. 2 London Pharm. Journal, Dec. 1859. GLYCERIN. 49 for Goulard's cerate (objected to on account of its speedy rancidity) by Charles Tilyard.1 He directs the following: Take of pure glycerin, 13| fluid- ounces; solution of subacetate of lead, 2^ fluid- ounces; camphor, -| drachm. Triturate the cam- phor into powder with a few drops of alcohol, add the glycerin, heat in a water-bath until the cam- phor is dissolved; when cool add the solution of lead and shake well together. The strength is about equal to that of Goulard's cerate. In Par- rish's Pharmacy2 we find designated as " Lini- mentum Plumbi Subacetat.," a mixture of equal parts of solution of subacetate of lead and glycerin. On the same page of that work is given also Prof. Procter's " Linimentum Aconiti Radicis;" thus: Macerate four ounces of powder of aco- nite root with half a pint of alcohol for twenty- four hours, then pack it in a small displacer and add alcohol gradually, till a pint of tincture has passed. Distil off twelve fluidounces, and evapo- rate to twelve fluidrachms; to this add two flui- drachms of alcohol, and two fluidrachms of gly- cerin. This is intended to take the place of ointment of aconitia as an external application. F. Stearns, on account of the objections existing to all the ordinary preparations of lactucarium, 1 Journal Trans. Maryland Coll. of Pharmacy, June, 1859. 2 P. 659. 5* 50 GLYCERIN. proposes a glycerole of it. The faults alluded to, viz., want of permanence, too great dilution, ex- cess of alcoholic menstruum, and disagreeable taste, may thus all be obviated. This is his pro- cess i1 Take of Lactucarium one troyounce; reduce it to powder; moisten it with one fluidounce of alco- hol, and pack it into a small displacement appa- ratus ; after twelve hours, pour upon it, gradually, diluted alcohol, until the filtrate measures 16 fluidounces, or until the fluid passes without sensi- ble taste of bitterness; evaporate this filtrate upon a water-bath nearly to dryness, or to the consist- ence of an extract; then treat this residue with 6 fluidounces of boiling water, continuing the heat for a little while; after which pour it off from the undissolved residue into a filter placed in a bottle containing 12 fluidounces of pure glycerin. Repeat this operation with 4 fluidounces of water added to the undissolved residue of the extract; then evaporate the whole upon a water-bath to 14 fluidounces, and, when cool, add 2 fluidounces of orange-flower water, in which has been dissolved 15 grains of citric acid. Each fluidounce repre- sents half a drachm of lactucarium. The dose is from one to three or four teaspoonfuls. " Herapath's Quinine," or Iodo-sulphate of Qui- 1 Am. Druggists' Circular, June 1, 1858, p. 135. GLYCERIN. 51 nine, is said to make a clear, amber-colored solu- tion in glycerin, which may be made of the strength of eight grains in the ounce, one drachm the dose.1 Glycerole of Sulphate of Quinine is an elegant preparation, which may contain either 1 grain or 1^ gr. to the fluidrachm. The ammonio- citrate of iron and quinine T. S. Wiegand finds to dissolve perfectly in glycerin. I would propose such a glycerole containing 10 grains of the salt in the fluidounce, as an excellent mode of combining iron with quinine in the liquid form. F. B. Ben- ger makes a glycerole of carbonate of iron by dis- solving separately, each in 2 fluidounces of glycerin, 76 gr. of sulphate of iron and 60 gr. carbonate of potassa, and mixing the solutions. M. Martinet2 recommends highly as a surgical disinfectant, etc., a glycerole of chlorate of potassa; 1 Iodo-sulphate of quinine may be made in the following manner: Put a solution of 100 grains of commercial sul- phate of quinine into a mixture of one drachm of acetic acid and seven drachms of diluted alcohol, heated to 125° or 150° F., and add strong tincture of iodine, drop by drop, constantly stirring until the liquid ceases to lose color. Allow the liquid to rest away from the fire for two or three hours; when there will be deposited a large quantity of emerald-green crystals. These aod the liquor are to be thrown on a filter and suffered to drain; then washed freely in cold water, dried and bottled.—Am. Druggists' Circular, Oct. 1860, p. 285. 2 Journ. de Chim. Me"d., June, 1861. 52 GLYCERIN. ten parts of the latter dissolved in one hundred of the menstruum. Grimault1 introduced a " liquid sinapism," consisting of a preparation of pure gly- cerin 14 drachms, starch 20 drachms, oil of mus- tard 80 drops, mixed well together. This may be bottled, ready at any time for immediate use. In the Royal Ophthalmic Hospital a " plasma" of sulphate of copper has been used; made by dissolving 24 grains of the salt in 10^ drachms of glycerin, and adding 1^ drachms of powdered starch, heating it until the proper consistence is acquired. Glycerole of alum and white precipitate was much lauded by M. Anciaux (before quoted) as an external application in erysipelas. It was made by triturating together 1^ ounces of finely powdered alum and 15 grains of white precipitate, and then shaking this powder well with 20 ounces of glycerin. The mixture is cream-like, but must be shaken when used. J. J. T. W. Smith proposed in the London Pharmaceutical Journal, in 1858, as a basis for ointment, a union of glycerin with fuller's earth. The latter is to be first slaked with a little water, and passed through a fine sieve; then it may be mixed in equal parts with pure glycerin. The bland qualities of fuller's earth promise to make this an available material. 1 Journ. de Chim. Me*d., June, 1861. GLYCERIN. 53 A beautiful substitute for the "unguentum aquae rosse " is the following :— Take of almond oil expressed, 2 fluidounces; spermaceti, 6 drachms; glycerin, 4 fluidrachms; otto1 of roses, and otto of bergamot, each 2 drops. Melt the spermaceti by the aid of a water-bath, add the almond oil so gradually as not to recon- geal any of the spermaceti, remove from the bath, and stir till the mixture concretes on cooling, when the glycerin is to be added and thoroughly incorporated; finally add and incorporate the ottos, and the ointment is ready for employment. A pleasant glycerin lotion is prepared thus:— Take of mucilage of quince seeds and glycerin, each, 1 fluidounce; mix, and add 6 fluidounces of orange-flower water. C. A. Bannvart advises the simple addition of one drachm of glycerin to one ounce of rose water; which, under the name of "glycerin water," many have found an admirable emollient for the face after shaving, or for chapped lips or hands, etc. For a throat or mouth wash M. Blache and others have used 2 drachms of biborate of soda in- 1 ounce of glycerin; 2 scru- 1 So spelled (not attar) in the pharmaceutical journals. The recipe above given is Jos. Laidley's. Am. Jour, of Pharm., 1850, p. 118. Ecky's glycerin ointment contains spermaceti i ounce, white wax 1 dr., oil of almonds 2 fl. oz., glycerin 1 fl. oz.; the first three ingredients being first melted and mixed, and then the glycerin incorporated with them. Am. Dispensatory, art. Glycerin. 54 GLYCERIN. pies of borax in 4 ounces of glycerin, Dr. Brinton prescribed for cracked tongue. Gibert's "glycerole de goudron" has already been described. A simple glycerole of tar (for use like tar ointment) may be made by mixing equal parts of tar and glycerin and straining. It has a dark amber color and an oily consistence (Cap and Garot). Schacht proposed a "plasma petrolei;" which, as the latter article is now abundant and is attracting much attention, ought not to be over- looked. B.—Petrol. 3j; Glycerin (pur.) f|j; Amyli, gr. lxx. Rub the starch with the petroleum till smooth, add gradually the glycerin, and heat to 210° Fahr. For "plasma hydrargyri" the same author recom- mends mixing 14 drachms of starch with 6 drachms of glycerin, gradually adding 12 ounces of mer- cury, stirring till the globules disappear, and then adding 6 more fluidrachms of glycerin, and heat- ing to 240° Fahr., stirring all the time. Here is M. Bourbignon's "aristocratic" recipe for itch, before alluded to:— Yolks of eggs, 2; essences of lavender, citron, and mint, each, 5 grammes;1 essences of canella and clove, each, 8 grammes; gum tragaeanth, 2 1 A gramme is 15*434 grs. Troy. GLYCERIN. 55 grammes; sulphur, well pounded, 100 grammes ; glycerin, 200. Mix well the essences with the yolks, add the gum tragacanth; then to the mu- cilage add very gradually the glycerin and sul- phur. Equal parts of soot and glycerin were used by M. Bougard with "astonishing effect" in the treat- ment of obstinate chronic eczema.1 I would suggest the employment of glycerin instead of olive oil in the disinfectant dressing of MM. Demeaux and Corme,2 composed of 100 parts of finely powdered plaster of Paris, with 1 to 3 parts of coal tar, afterward made into a paste with oil. The antiseptic property of the glycerin itself would make it suitable for this admixture. Max Richter's "iodized glycerin" has been mentioned. It is a semi-caustic substance, made by dissolving 1 part of iodide of potassium in 2 parts of glycerin, and pouring this liquid on 1 part of iodine.3 Several escharotics, according to Stearns (loc citat.), are, on account of their deli- quescence, particularly available in solution in 1 Journ. de Me"d. de Bruxelles, Sept. 1856. 2 Am. Journ. of Med. Sciences, Jan. 1860, p. 219. * An oversight occurs (for which other writers quoted are responsible) in Prof. Stilld's Therapeutics (vol. i. p. 157, 1st ed.) in speaking of a solution of 1 part of iodine in 5 of glycerin. Iodine alone requires a very much larger amount of glycerin to dissolve it. 56 GLYCERIN. glycerin; as terchloridc of antimony, iodide and chloride of zinc, nitrate of mercury, chromic acid, etc. The disagreeable sulphurets may also be ad- vantageously dissolved in it. MM. Bonnet1 and Debout recommend the sus- pension of chloroform in glycerin as the best method for its internal administration. The former combines them in equal proportions; the latter, 1 part of chloroform to 15 of glycerin. Both direct that the two substances should be beaten together in a mortar; and this is indispensable. We have found on trial that, in a bottle, no amount of shaking will prevent the chloroform from separa- ting at once on standing, and sinking to the bot- tom. Glycerin mitigates essentially the unpleasant taste of cod-liver oil. The two substances require agitation, with or without a small portion of gum acac, to mix them together. The following may be said to be an almost agreeable preparation, which does not leave behind it the nauseous after- taste of the fish oil:— R.—01. Morrhuae, et Glycerin, aa f^ij; P. Gum. Acac. 3j; 01. Amygd. Amar. gtt. j ; 01. Caryophyll. gtt. xij. M. The "Mistura Amygdala?" of the Pharmaco- » Bull. Ge"n. de TheVap., April 15th, 1861. GLYCERIN. 57 poeia, made with £ of the amount of bitter almonds, and added to the same quantity of glycerin, will disguise the taste of an equal quantity of cod-liver oil. I have ascertained that some chalybeates neu- tralize the odious quality of cod oil. The follow- ing leaves no after-taste at all, and is an excellent recuperative prescription:— B.—Ammonio-ferri et Quinia? Citrat. gr. x; 01. Morrhua?, et Glycerin, aa f ^ij. M. ft. S. f^ss. p. r. n. Agitate well before administration. Quinine has its bitterness much lessened, but not destroyed, by solution in glycerin. The tan- nate of quinine, which has but little taste, will scarcely dissolve in glycerin at all. One of the important uses of glycerin in pharm- acy is, to prevent pills from drying and becoming hard. Startin noticed this twenty years ago. In some experiments made in 1850, S. E. Shinn1 de- monstrated its value for this purpose, especially in the preparation and keeping of pills of sulphate of quinine. M. Reveil,2 and Dr. Andrews,3 of Chicago, have 1 Am. Journ. of Pharmacy, 1850, p. 127. 3 W. A. Smith, op. citat. p. 36. 5 Stills, Therapeutics, loc. citat. 6 58 GLYCERIN. stated that vaccine virus immersed in or mixed with glycerin will retain its powers for several months. This has not yet been confirmed by other observers. A hermetically sealed tube would probably answer at least as well for the same end. F. Stearns remarks1 that "there seems to be scarcely a fraction as yet developed of the uses to which this wonderful substance can be applied in pharmacy." Summary. Before passing to the non-medical uses of gly- cerin, I desire to invite the attention of the reader again to some of the principal points considered in the preceding pages, upon the chemical, therapeu- tical and pharmaceutical relations of our subject. 1. Glycerin is not a fat, nor a sugar; but, chem- ically, an alcohol. 2. For use by the physician or druggist it must be absolutely pure ; free from chlorine, lead, lime, sulphuric acid, volatile fatty acids, and glucose; and both colorless and inodorous. Bower's and Price's manufacture will come up to this standard.2 1 Trans, of Am. Pharm. Assoc, 1857, p. 138 2 The best that I have been able to obtain from any other source but those above mentioned, has a percept- ible and somewhat disagreeable odor when rubbed upon the hand; besides giving copious precipitates with solution of nitrate of silver, and with chloride of barium; which do not at all affect strictly pure glycerin. GLYCERIN. 59 3. Externally applied, glycerin has no specific influence over cutaneous disorders, but is an excel- lent emollient, especially in erysipelas, prurigo, scaly eruptions, burns, and gangrenous wounds. It may be made the vehicle for any of the prepar- ations used for skin diseases; may be diluted if necessary for open, fresh wounds, and may have bromine, carbolic acid, etc. dissolved" in it for gan- grene. 4. The preparation most widely approved, as a substitute for ointment, is glyceramyl or plasma; composed of glycerin and starch, mixed with the aid of heat. The proportions may vary; but are usually about 1 part of starch to from 5 to 8 or even 16 parts of pure glycerin. A little glycerin added to an ordinary poultice will keep it from becoming dry and hard. A glycerole of soap is mentioned by Dr. W. A. Smith, consisting of from 1 to 4 parts of animal soap, powdered, mixed with 30 parts of glycerin, and dissolved by heating it in a water-bath. 5. Glycerin may be used as an adjuvant to the bath (12 ounces or more at once); softening the skin pleasantly. After bathing, a few drops of it, poured upon a sponge and rubbed over the body, will have a very comfortable effect. 6. Internally, glycerin is a mild laxative; in the dose of 1 to four drachms, it is especially avail- able for children. 60 GLYCERIN. 7. It cannot be relied upon as an analeptic in phthisis; but may be useful as an expectorant. 8. In pharmacy, glyceroles are more stable than aqueous, oleaginous, or saccharine preparations, while they are less stimulant, and generally more agreeable, than alcoholic tinctures. Glycerole of quinine, of iodo-quinine, of iodide of iron, of sub- nitrate of bismuth, of lactucarium, of atropia, and of acetate of lead have been considerably used. Among many others that have been suggested, that of ipecac, is particularly desirable, on account of the great fermentability of the ordinary syrup. I would add, also, especially, the following:__ Glycerole of Quinia with Strychnia. B.—Strychnia?, gr. j ; Quin. Sulphat. 9ij; Glycerin, f^iv. M. ft. sol. Dose, a fluidrachm. A combination of nux vomica with quinine has recently been found valuable in the cure of obsti- nate chronic intermittens, which resisted quinine alone. The above preparation will answer for the same purpose. Glycerole of Ammonio-citrate of Iron and Quinine. B.—Ammonio-ferri et Quinia? citrat. 9ij ; Glycerin, fjiv. M. ft. sol. Dose, one or two fluidrachms. GLYCERIN. 61 The addition of this to cod-liver oil destroys the nauseousness of its taste and effect; especially with the further addition of one or two drops of oil of cloves to each ounce of the mixture. Glycerole of the Sulphites of Soda and Magnesia. Worthy of careful and extensive trial as anti- zymotic; upon the idea of Polli (Am. Journ. of Med. Sciences, April, 1863, p. 467, and Jan. 1865) j1 in diphtheria, etc. Glycerole of Phosphate of Iron. R.—Ferri Phosphat. 3j 5 Glycerin, fgiv. M. ft. Dose, two fluidrachms. This requires slight shaking when given, al- though nearly the whole is dissolved. Glycerole of Oxide of Zinc. B.—Zinci oxid. Jss; Glycerin, fgiv. M. ft. S. Shake before using. For external applica- tion. 1 Vide Dr. W. F. Atlee's account, in that journal (Jan. 1865, p. 82), of the good effects of sulphite of soda in pyae- mia; and M. Carey Lea's paper, in the same number (p. 84), on the Transformation of Sulphites in the system. 62 GLYCERIN. I advise this as an emollient for severe burns, and in eczema, herpes, pemphigus, etc. Glycerole of Wlxite Lead. B.—Plumb. Carbonat. 3j; Glycerin, fgiv. M. ft. This is an almost perfect solution, all of the carbonate being suspended on slight agitation. It is recommended to be applied to the edge of the lids with a hair pencil, in conjunctivitis, or general ophthalmia, acute or chronic; to in- flamed hemorrhoids, and to the surface over bones affected with periostitis, of scrofulous or other origin. In the last-named affection, I have found carbonate of lead of remarkable utility; and glycerin will introduce it more readily than any unguent. Many other applications of the same or other similar preparations might be suggested. I can- not pretend to exhaust the subject. Vet, in the American Pharmacopoeia, but a few lines are given to Glycerin, and none to any of its prepara- tions; and in the British Pharmacopoeia, it is merely mentioned as a solvent for tannin in sup- posit, tannic. It can hardly be much longer left to so insignificant a share of officinal recognition. GLYCERIN. 63 Uses in the Arts, etc. Warren de la Rue proposed the use of glycerin with alcohol or pyroxylic spirit as an illuminating material. I do not know of the idea ever having been carried out extensively. In gasometers, F. Crace Calvert speaks of its employment with water to diminish the amount of evaporation. In gas-meters, which are ex- posed to a low temperature in winter, it is better than alcohol for the same reason; while its diffi- culty of congelation is as great, and it is safer because of its being less inflammable. It has been spoken of as an available material for lubricating machinery, on account of its uni- form and permanent fluidity. Manufacturers of chewing tobacco find it very convenient to maintain the softness of their pro- duct, while imparting sweetness to it. It is used for the preservation of copying ink, and water-colors; and for the improvement of soaps, and of applications for the hair. When added to a soap solution, it increases the facility of forming bubbles to an extraordinary de- gree. By its aid, bubbles of some seven or eight inches in diameter can be produced, according to Calvert, which exhibit most elegant purple and 64 GLYCERIN. green colors ; the beauty of which is much en- hanced by the electric light. To produce; this peculiar solution, mix 5 ounces of distilled water with £ of a drachm of soap and 2 drachms of glycerin. I find the following receipt for a "glycerin paste for office use."1 Take of gum arabic, 1 oz.; boiling water, 3 oz.; glycerin, 2 drachms; make a solution. Cap and Garot mention that 5 parts of glycerin and 1 of gum arabic make a transparent mucilage: 1 part of glycerin to 3 parts of pow- dered gum arabic unite to a thick mass, which, when spread, adheres well and is very flexible. A few drops of glycerin added to the court-plaster mass make it pliant, and prevent the spread plas- ter from cracking. With 100° of heat, glycerin will dissolve albu- men, in almost any proportion; the solution will remain for a long time without decomposition, even in warm weather. C. Sellers, of this city, some time since pro- posed the use of glycerin in photography, to keep pictures in an unfinished state. It has been, in this way, found to be very serviceable, especially to traveling photographers. Waring long ago made known its value for the preservation of objects for microscopical examina- 1 Am. Druggists' Circular, April, 1858. GLYCERIN. 65 tion. It appears to alter organic solids less than alcohol, and to be a potent antiseptic.1 For the curing of meat it is liable to the objec- tion that the sweet taste it gives is quite difficult to remove, while it is also more expensive than the other common preservatives. The latter reason applies to prevent its substi- tution for sugar in the preserving of fruit. It may, however, be added with advantage to mate- rials used for that purpose. Mustard may be kept liquid for any length of time by admixture with it. I suggest its use for the keeping of rennet. G. F. Wilson, in a paper referred to before, de- scribes the effect of glycerin in keeping the colors of organic bodies. " Our first experiment," says he, "was upon a brilliantly colored two-pound trout, caught in one of the Pertshire lochs. On taking it from the water I poured a quantity of glycerin over it, and wrapped it in a cloth. At night the fish was cleaned and immersed in glyce- rin. Next day it was again wrapped in a satu- rated cloth. On examining it a day or two after- ward, in Edinburgh, the color on the scales was unchanged. When it arrived in London, part was steeped in water and cooked. Though perfectly 1 Assistant Surgeon J. J. Woodward, U. S. A., refers favorably to its use in microscopy, in the Am. Journ. of Med. Sciences, Jan. 1865, p. 111. 66 GLYCERIN. fresh and firm, it had lost all its flavor. The un- cooked portion was sent to Professor Owen, who suggested that the brilliantly tinted fishes of the Coral Islands and tropical coasts might be brought home in kegs of glycerin." After one or two months, the colors of trout, roach, and perch, im- mersed in this liquid, continued bright.1 At the Museum of the Faculty of Medicine, in Paris, says Dr. W. A. Smith,2 glycerin has been recently adopted as a preservative fluid for flowers and fresh plants, which are immersed in large ves- sels containing this substance. The external con- dition of vegetable structures is very slightly al- tered, as the green coloring matter is not dissolved, so that the green parts all retain their natural hue ; the corollas of the flowers also present their usual appearance, with the loss only of some of their brilliancy. It is possible that this property of glycerin might be applied in some way to the pres- ervation of plants for the herbarium. The following account is abstracted from a pa- per read at the Bath meeting of the British Phar- maceutical Conference, September, 1864, by C. It. C. Tichborne, F.C.S., and published in the Lon- don Pharmaceutical Journal.3 Having observed that a vegetable curiosity 1 London Pharmac. Journ., Nov. 1855. * Op. citat. p. 35. s November, 1864. GLYCERIN. 67 which he had immersed in glycerin was preserved unchanged, he thought of making it also available in keeping elder, orange, or rose flowers; and in substituting oils and fats in "enfleurage." His experiments were quite successful. The process was, to pack the flowers in a wide-mouthed bottle, cover them with pure, inodorous glycerin, and cork the bottle. For use, express the glyce- rin, which contains the aroma; add water, accord- ing to the original weight of the flowers, or the amount of distillate required, and distil. Mr. Tichborne has so kept flowers for two years, and then made from them a water with a perfume equal to that of the flowers of the season. With flowers whose aroma is so delicate as to be injured by heat, this material is particularly useful in a similar mode. Cold maceration is practised, and after the flowers have been digested for some time, the glycerin is expressed and treated again with flowers, until it is completely saturated with the odorous substance. Glycerin has a very strong affinity for fragrant essences. The saturated glycerin is then diluted with water and shaken with a small quantity of chloroform. After being well agitated, it is allowed to subside; it carries down with it nearly the whole of the essential oil. The chloroformic solution, after being separated by a funnel, should be filtered if neces- sary, and allowed to evaporate spontaneously in 68 GLYCERIN. shallow vessel. The residual matter, dissolved in spirit, forms the spirituous extract of the flower, whatever that may be.1 To conclude: it has been truly remarked by Wilson, that "in glycerin there is a wide field opened, requiring many scientific and practical laborers; and which, once fully worked, will yield a tenfold crop of uses. Pure glycerin will then take its proper place, among the most valued of modern products, in the arts as well as in med- icine." 1 The same portion of glycerin may be used repeatedly, by diluting it, passing it through charcoal and evaporating it. In France, 2,284,000 pounds of flowers are grown annually for their perfumes.—Tichborne. THE END.