NEW YORK JOURNAL OF PHARMACY, Volume 1 (1852)

NEW YORK JOURNAL OF PHARMACY,

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

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

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

VOLUME I.

NEW YORK:

JOSEPH W. HARRISON, PRINTER,

NO. 197 CENTRE, NEAR CANAL STREET.

1852.

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NEW YORK JOURNAL OF PHARMACY. JANUARY, 1852.

TO OUR READERS.

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

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

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

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

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

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

REPORT OF COMMITTEE OF COLLEGE OF PHARMACY AS AMENDED.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Signed) T. B. MERRICK,
Chairman.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

There was no starchy matter present in the portion examined.

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

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

Or expressed in per cents:—

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

December, 1851.

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

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

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

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

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

{15}

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

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

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

[3] Matricaria.

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

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

{17}

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

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

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

The principal object of this paper is to show:—

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[5] If life is prolonged the animals vomit.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

{26}

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

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

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

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

THE PHARMACOPŒIA OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

PHARMACEUTICAL CONVENTION.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

On motion of Mr. Colcord of Boston, it was

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

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

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

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

NEW YORK, November 25, 1851.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

{33}

NEW YORK JOURNAL OF PHARMACY. FEBRUARY, 1852.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

{36}

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

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

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

NaO, 2 C.O² + H.O.

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

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

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

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

{38}

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

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

In New York it would disappoint the physician to put

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

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

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

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

“Take of water any quantity.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Triturate together, and add gradually:

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

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

• Sulphate of Iron one scruple,

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

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

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

{45}

LETTER ON OPIUM, &c.

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

CONSTANTINOPLE, May 10, 1851.

To ———— TRIESTE,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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A. In Respect to Physicians.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

B. In Respect to the Apothecary.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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