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whole pharmaceutical profession of this State is most decidedly opposed to any attempt which would put them on a par with liquor-sellers pure and simple. At the same time it is certain that the profession, as a whole, would repudiate any member who should put himself on a par with a retail liquor-dealer by retailing liquors over his counter. We have watched the proceedings of the State Commission, which has now been in session for some time, with considerable interest, and believe that it has thoroughly examined the whole subject, though we apprehend that it has not always arrived at the correct results. If we are not mistaken, one of the clauses of the new law is proposed to contain a proviso that hereafter no one but a citizen of the United States shall be granted a license to sell liquor. Now, while we do not yield to anybody in patriotic feeling, and in deference and respect for the honor of American citizenship, we must say that in our opinion such a proviso as that above alluded to is not worth the paper it is written on. Citizenship is indeed an indispensable condition for many occupations, or for the exercise of certain rights, but, on examination, it will be found that all these cases have a more or less direct connection with the Government, the State, or minor political complexes, and none at all with purely personal pursuits. Thus the right to hold public office, the right to vote, the exercise of jury duty, the right to own landed property, and many other rights and privileges, may rightfully and justly be made dependent upon the possession of citizenship by the person concerned in the matter. It is easy to discover in all of these cases a connecting link between the individual and the body politic, which makes it desirable, or rather necessary, that the individual should be known as a supporter of the constitution upon which the body politic is founded. But, on the other hand, citizenship cannot be made a condition for permitting the individual to be born, to make his living, or to die. It can have nothing to do with the right of the individual to engage in business, plain and unalloyed with governmental or political relations, for the sake of making a living. A few months ago the Board of Aldermen of the City of New York attempted to pass an ordinance aimed at the thousands of Italian fruit-venders throughout the city, forbidding the granting of permits for fruit-stands to any but citizens of the United States. The legal adviser of the city very clearly and forcibly showed the unconstitutionality of this law, and it was thereupon amended so as to eliminate the objectionable section. The Board of Aldermen might just as well have passed additional ordinances forbidding any but citizens of the United States to receive licenses as peddlers, truckmen, drivers, etc. Were this kind of legislation admissible, it would not be long before it would be applied as a "protective" measure and to shut out all competition to every kind of business, whether it is carried on under a license or not. The consequence would be that there would finally remain no walk of life— except, perhaps, the lowest class of manual labor-in which a newly-arrived person could make his living, no matter how well trained he may be in a profession or trade, until he had resided in the country long enough to become a citizen. He would be like the boy who was told that he might learn to swim, but who was not allowed to go in the water.

Now, if the law to be proposed by the State Commission should contain such a clause, it will become of interest how this part of the law, taken in connection with the other sections, will affect the interests of pharmacists engaged in business, or proposing to do so. Personally we could wish that they were all citizens; but, actually, we know of quite a number who are not, most of them because they have not been in the country long enough; a smaller number from various other causes. If the new law throws pharmacists and liquor dealers together, the section about citizenship might apply to both, and its enforcement will create trouble and annoyance for some members of the profession. It is, therefore, advisable to watch the proposed legislation carefully, so that no attempt can be made to consummate the blunder.

It is not improbable that the Commission will reconsider their action on this point, and eliminate the objectional feature from the proposed law. Perhaps this has already been done, though we have not seen it reported. The pas

sage of the unwarrantable section can do no good, being not even able to afford a guarantee that "citizen liquordealers" will be more respectable and law-abiding than "alien liquor-dealers." Nay, it will only jeopardize any good that may be derived from the execution of the remaining sections of the law.

CREO

REOLIN, the new proprietary antiseptic, which has received indorsements from Prof. Esmarch and other well-known authorities as to its efficacy and power (we hope that the indorsers will not have reason to repent), is alread yon the market in several brands. Besides the original Simon pure, of Jeyes (or Pearson & Co.), there is one made and sold by A. Artmann, of Brunswick, Germany, which is advertised as being "identical with Jeyes' creolin, but free from the strong tarry odor of the latter, to be non-poisonous, not caustic, and free from carbolic acid, etc." The representatives of the genuine article take every opportunity of informing the public that the "imitation" is worthless. R. Otto some time ago published a notice regarding Artmann's creolin in the Pharm. Centralhalle, in which he states that this is made from the heavy fractions of coal-tar, boiling between 180°-220° C., by first distilling off the carbolic acid, and then converting the remainder into compounds with alkalies. Otto thinks that Artmann's product is preferable to the English. When mixed with water, it produces a strongly milky, faintly alkaline liquid, resembling an emulsion. [Since Otto's paper was published, Artmann has made use of Otto's report in a manner which induced the latter to publicly denounce the unauthorized use of his name.] Artmann's creolin occurs as a thickish, dark-brown, perfectly clear liquid, having an odor less disagreeable than the English product, with a spec. grav. of 1.100 at 70° C. It is soluble in alcohol, in all proportions, to a liquid free from fluorescence. On incineration it leaves 3.3% of ash, consisting chiefly of sodium sulphate, chloride, and carbonate. The milkiness which is caused by the addition of water is due to substances which may be separated from the emulsion by ether or benzol. It is not possible to dissolve them out from the creolin itself by means of these solvents. Addition of hydrochloric or sulphuric acid, and also of solution of soda, causes the milkiness of the watery emulsion to disappear. Otto states that the creolin under discussion contains about 50 per cent of phenols; also 2 per cent of carbonate of sodium.

A cursory examination of a sample of Jeyes' Creolin by one of us shows this to have a slightly alkaline reaction (about the same as that above described). It is soluble to a clear liquid in alcohol, ether, benzol, etc., and forms with water a milky emulsion; the color of it becomes the whiter the more dilute it is. This aqueous emulsion is, however, not cleared up by hydrochloric or sulphuric acid, nor by caustic soda. If Otto's statement about Artmann's creolin in this respect is correct, the behavior of the aqueous emulsion to the above-mentioned acids and alkali would afford one method of distinguishing the genuine from the imitation. The spec. grav. of the genuine was found to be 1.082 at 55° F.

According to Crismer, creolin undergoes a more or less extensive decomposition when heated in a retort. At first a little water passes over, but between 115° and 120° C. considerable quantities of hydrosulphuric acid gas are generated. The sulphur appears to exist in the creolin in combination with carbon, and not in the form of sulphates, sulphides, or phenol-sulpho-acids.

THE

THE new and simple process by means of which the amorphous bases, extracted along with the chief alkaloid from coca leaves, can be converted into pure, crystallizable cocaine, is likely to revolutionize the whole cocaine industry. Prof. C. Liebermann and Dr. F. Giesel announced, some time ago, that they had successfully accomplished this, and an abstract of their latest communication, containing the details of their process, will be found on page 4 of this number. We learn from the authors' paper that they have patented their process. But we do not believe that the patent can be controlled, as the process does not require either any special apparatus, or any special intermediary agent or patented ingredient. Moreover, the patentee has no means of knowing whether any

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If the process of converting the hitherto useless and rejected amorphous bases into pure cocaine is as easy as the authors describe, manufacturers will no longer have any excuse for putting on the market any product from coca except the pure, crystallized alkaloid cocaine and its salts. Most manufacturers have heretofore, of their own accord, only sold the pure alkaloid and its salts, and have put aside the amorphous bases as waste by-products. These latter will no doubt now be rapidly worked up and put on the market in form of cocaine. In consequence thereof, the price of cocaine, which is already so low as to leave but little profit to the maker, will probably fall still lower, and eventually the manufacture of cocaine will be concentrated in fewer hands than at present.

THE manufacturers of sulfonal, of whom there are at

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present four, have issued a circular in which they announce that, to insure the purity of their product, they will hereafter subject all their output to the control of two scientific experts. At the same time they announce that they have settled upon a uniform price. We cannot help believing that the essential part of this "combine is the regulation of the price." The "scientific control" is a very good thing, no doubt, but we have heretofore not heard of any bad lots of sulfonal being turned out by the manufacturers, and are inclined to believe that the signature of the experts, as a sort of trade mark upon the labels, is considered of more importance than any scientific examination of the substance itself.

PAPER

APER-PULP has for some time been employed, to a limited extent, in pharmacy, having been recommended by James Ruan, in 1874, in the manufacture of medicated waters. A recent paper by J. G. Falk, read before the Missouri Pharmaceutical Association, furnishes suggestions for its more extended use, and leads us to inquire whether wood-pulp, so extensively used in manufacture of paper, and already employed for antiseptic surgical dressings, might not be treated so as to fit it for pharmaceutical uses. If this can be accomplished, the labor of converting it into paper, and then reducing it to a pulp, would be avoided, and a considerable item of expense be done away with.

HE Canada Lancet, in its issue for October, p. 63, says as a remedy in uterine affections. Will the editor of the Lancet kindly furnish us with a description of this decidedly novel substance?

Michigan Pharmaceutical Association.-The officers for the ensuing year are: President, George Gundrum, Ionia; Vice-Presidents, F. M. Alsdorf, Lansing; H. M. Dean,

iles, and O. Eberbach, Ann Arbor; Secretary, H. J. Brown, Ann Arbor; Treasurer, William Dupont, Detroit. Executive Committee, A. Lymann, Manistee; A. Bassett, Detroit; F. J. Wurzburg, Grand Rapids; W. A. Hall, Greenville, and E. T. Webb, Jackson.

The Antipyrine Craze in Paris.-A correspondent to the Virginia Medical Monthly says that the extent to which antipyrine is employed in Paris is incredible. The average French doctor prescribes it for all the ills that flesh is heir to; it has become as necessary an article in every lady's boudoir as her perfume bottle; scarcely a man can be found who has not some of it carefully stored away in his pocket-book; children are raised on it, and cry for it as for their biberons; and, in fact, they all take it, and for all things, but especially for migraine, which, as you know, is pre-eminently the malady of those who indulge in social dissipation. "That you may form an idea of the extent to which it is the rage, I will give you an incident as it was told me by the party immediately concerned: Mrs. P- was dining out recently in the Faubourg St. Germain, when she chanced to mention that she had suffered with headache during the day. Instantly, from the pockets of thirteen of the fifteen guests who were present, antipyrine was produced -in capsules, wafers, powders, and elixirs-and she was compelled to take a dose then and there, notwithstanding her earnest protest and her assurance of entire relief before starting from home.

CORRESPONDENCE.

Assay Scheme for Bismuth Ores.

Elitor American Druggist.

DEAR SIR:-On page 217 November number AM. DRUGGIST, I gave your readers a simple test for some of the ores of bismuth in the form of making a coating of bismuth iod on charcoal. The assay for bismuth seems to be a bugbear to the majority of pharmacists. It seems to me it would be well for all pharmacists to acquaint themselves with the study of so-called inorganic chemistry. Through this region a Ph. G. that does not understand estimation of minerals will lose a great deal as far as a monetary consideration is concerned. Now, as to our scheme for bismuth assay, we proceed as follows:-Take of ore (finely pulverized) 10 grammes, borax glass powd. 30 grammes, sodium bicarb. 10, kalium cyanide (pot. cy.) 6 grammes, salt to cover; put in medium size crucible, fuse in moderate furnace fire, and test the resulting metallic button as follows: Dissolve button in boiling HNO, (filter out other metals such as tin, gold, antimony, etc.). Evaporate to nearly dryness on porcelain dish; to expel nitrous acid fumes add about 4 C.c. HCl. Heat three minutes over alcohol lamp, then put in beaker containing about one liter water; add of water q.s. to precipitate bismuth oxychloride. Let stand 12 hours, decant and filter, put precipitate in small capsule and burn to expel chlorine and form bismuth oxide. Now estimate, as in similar operation, to get percentage of the pure metal in the bismuth ox.-about 89%. If this is of any use, give it to your readers. Next time will describe process for estimation of tin, copper, etc. Yours truly, G. H. HERBERT.

BEAVER, UTAH, Nov. 22d, '88.

San Francisco Meeting of the A. P. A. Editor American Druggist.

DEAR SIR:-In the last issue of the National Druggist (Dec. 15th), an announcement was made concerning the S. F. Meeting of the A. P. A. which I fear may prove misleading to the members and others who contemplate making the trip to California, not only in the dates mentioned, but also in the scheme proposed by Mr. Aglar, Agent U. P. R'y. I respectfully request that you will make the statement that the announcement made was not authorized or approved by the committee, who are now diligently at work upon the subject. When they shall have matured a plan that will meet the views of the members of the Association, and are able to give a through rate at the least possible expense, making the side excursions entirely optional, it will appear over the authority of the committee's signatures. We have been delayed somewhat in our labors by the diversity of opinion concerning the date that should be fixed upon for the meeting, which has now narrowed down to June 24th or July 15th. Members interested are urgently requested to communicate their preference to the undersigned, if possible, before January 10th, 1889. Announcement of the date and plan for the trip to California will be communicated in time to appear in the February issue of the pharmaceutical journals.

NEW YORK, Dec. 25th.

Very respectfully, EMLEN PAINTER, Chairman Com. on Arrangements, Broadway and 34th St., New York.

How to Thaw Frozen Gas-Pipes.

MR. F. H. SHELTON says: "I took off from over the pipe some 4 inches or 5 inches, just a crust of of earth, and then put a couple of bushels of lime in the space, poured water over it, and slaked it, and then put canvas over that, and rocks on the canvas so as to keep the wind from getting underneath. Next morning, on returning there, I found that the frost had been drawn out from the ground for nearly 3 feet. You can appreciate what an advantage that was; for picking through frozen ground, with the thermometer below zero, is no joke. Since then we have tried it several times. It is an excellent plan, if you have time enough to let the lime work. In the daytime, you cannot afford to waste the time, but if you have a spare night in which to work, it is worth while to try it."-Sci. American.

Talcum as a Remedy in Diarrhoea.-Deborre recommends talcum in diarrhoea. He gives usually 200 Gm. (about 7 avoirdupois ounces) of very finely powdered talcum in twenty-four hours, sometimes even double the quantity. The talcum is mixed, just previous to its administration, with a sufficient quantity of an aromatic liquid or milk. It does not produce discomfort in the bowels, or nausea, and causes a cessation even of very severe diarrhoea in from two to three days. The remedy is, however, without effect in chronic diarrhoea, prevalent in the tropics, or in that form which is caused by tubercular ulceration.-Pharm. Centralh.

THE physicians of Alsace-Lorraine have been forbidden to write prescriptions in French. They must use either Latin or German.

QUERIES & ANSWERS.

Queries for which answers are desired, must be received by the 5th of the month, and must in every case be accompanied by the name and address of the writer, for the information of the editor, but not for publication.

No. 2,259.--Sulphurares (Boston).

We have never seen this term in English, but believe it is an anglicized form of a term not long ago introduced by Louis Olivier, to designate certain organisms occurring only in sulphuretted waters, such as leptothrix, bacillus zoogléens, etc. These contain sulphur, which undergoes certain transformations (see Comptes rend., 106, 1806). The author calls these organisms "sulfuraires."

No. 2,260.-Eau de Melisse des Carmes (W. J. B., Y.).

N.

The original receipt for preparing this celebrated liquor was published by Chevalier some seventy years ago in his Manuel du Pharmacien, and attention has recently been drawn to this by Mr. Languepin in an article in the Bulletin de la Société de Pharmacie de Bordeaux (reprinted in the Répertoire de Pharmacie, Oct., 1888). As it is not likely that it would be a profitable undertaking for any of our readers to make use of that formula, we content ourselves by referring our correspondent to the above-named journals, which he may consult in the library of the New York College of Pharmacy.

No. 2,261.-Listerine ("Acacia").

This is a proprietary article, the composition of which is given as follows by some of our references:

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Regarding this, we have received the following_communication from Mr. M. Van Every, of Buffalo, N. Y.:

"In regard to prescription query No. 2,250, I would recommend the following mode of procedure: Add the syrups and q. s. water to make three and one-half ounces. Heat to about 212° F., and then dissolve the chlorate of potassium. Allow to cool, and add water q. s. to make four ounces, thereby forming a super-saturated solution. Then transfer to a mortar, and thoroughly incorporate the sulphate of quinine. The syrups will hold quinine in suspension.”

No. 2,263.-Ascertaining the Level of Liquids in Casks, Tanks (Charleston).

We have a letter from a correspondent who is bothered with a problem which we scarcely expected to be put before us for advice and solution, as it is so simple. Nevertheless, after having received our correspondent's letter, we concluded to make a few experiments with some friends of ours, to see in what manner they would solve it.

And as the most simple way only occurred to one of them, and only after having exhausted all other resources, we have concluded to answer our correspondent's query publicly.

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The trouble under which our correspondent labored is this, that he has a number of tanks in his cellar, situated on a high platform, and connected with a water-supply, for a purpose which it is not necessary to mention here. The tanks are all closed, having merely an air-vent. None of them have any gauges to show the height of the liquid, the usual custom having been to turn on the watersupply of each tank when it gave a hollow sound on percussion" to near the bottom, and to turn it off again when water would issue from the air-vent. The tanks are so situated that a gauge or measuring-rod cannot be dropped into them. Now the question was asked, how he may determine the exact level of the contained water at any time, without relying on the uncertainty of percussion. Our advice is as follows: Select a glass-tube of about the

same bore as the faucet at the bottom of the tank, and connect it, by means of a piece of rubber tubing, with the faucet. Hold or fasten the glass-tube in an upright position, best in contact with the tank, and then open the faucet. The water will, of course, rise in the glass-tube to the same level as it is in the tank. Then make a mark upon the tank.

No. 2,264.-Apparatus for Microphotography (W. S. S.)

If you will consult some of the leading dealers in optical and photographic apparatus, we have no doubt that you will be put on the track of what you are looking for.

We would, however, advise besides that you communicate with the well-known optical institute of Carl Zeiss, in Jena, Germany, as this firm has recently perfected this kind of apparatus very materially. A detailed description of their large-size microphotographic apparatus has recently been published in the Zeitschrift für Instrumentenkunde (Sept., 1888), which you may consult in the library of the N. Y. College of Pharmacy. The Scoville Manufacturing Co. and Anthony, of New York, both advertise appliances for microphotography and you may there be able to find what you require without going abroad.

No. 2,265.-Prescription Query (A.).

The following prescription has been sent to us, with a request to state how it should be dispensed: Sapon. Viridis....

Ol. Cadini.. Glycerit. Amyli.

4 Gm. .100 66

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Our correspondent said he rubbed the oil with the soap and added the mixture gradually to the glycerol in a mortar, with constant trituration. But this failed to make a homogeneous mass.

We regret to inform our friend that we have not been any more successful than himself. The fact is, that the oil of cade and the glycerite of starch cannot be made to combine or mix, without the intervention of some other substances, such as alkalies, which it would, however, be improper to add, without the prescriber's knowledge. If the latter can be consulted with, we would suggest that he be advised, either to substitute some other vehicle for the glycerite of starch, or to permit the addition of a small quantity of caustic soda, sufficient to saponify so much of the oil of cade as is capable of saponification. A simple trial will show how much is required.

No. 2,266.-Hydroxylamine (Baltimore).

We have explained the chemical constitution and mode of preparation of hydroxylamine and its hydrochlorate on page 219 of our volume for 1887. Briefly it may be regarded as ammonia (NH), in which one atom of hydrogen is replaced by hydroxyl (OH), thus:

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The hydrochlorate of hydroxylamine, which is the salt generally employed, has the composition NH,.OH. HCl. Hydroxylamine is not known in the free state, but only in form of salts.

Last year it was stated (see Am. Drugg., 1888, 106) that the hydrochlorate of hydroxylamine, which had been found a very efficient reducing agent in photography, would probably be found serviceable in dermatological practice for the same purposes as pyrogallic acid and chrysarobin. Prof. C. Binz has recently published results of experiments made on animals which seem to confirm this. At the same time it was found that the substance, when injected hypodermically, is an energetic poison, affecting particularly the oxyhemoglobin of the blood and the nerve centres.

No. 2,267.-Preservation of Solutions which deteriorate by Contact with Air ("Analyst").

Our correspondent specially refers to test solutions, such as ferrous sulphate, which rapidly absorbs oxygen from the air, or such as caustic soda, caustic potassa, which take up carbonic acid. He states that he is compelled, for certain purposes, to keep on hand and to constantly use a solution of ferrous sulphate, as free from ferric as possible.

We assume that our correspondent is still a learner rather than an accomplished "analyst." But we will gladly help him out, as far as we are able.

If our correspondent is compelled to keep such a solution as he mentions, on hand for constant use, we would advise him to prepare it either by dissolving pure crystals of sulphate of iron in distilled water previously deprived of air by boiling, or by dissolving fine iron wire in boiling dilute sulphuric acid, leaving any remaining residue in the flask and using the latter itself as reservoir of the solution. A layer of light paraffin oil may then be poured on top to prevent contact with air. The solution may be drawn off by means of a siphon permanently fixed in the neck, and the outlet from the siphon protected by a pinchcock. The exit of the siphon tube may be kept immersed in a little mercury when not in use. There are various other ways in which the same object may be attained. The chief points are: Free the liquid from air before

adding the sulphate of iron. In the case of metallic iron and dilute sulphuric acid, this is not so necessary, as no ferric salt will form while an evolution of hydrogen gas takes place; yet it is better to heat the acid to boiling and to add the iron gradually.

In place of sulphate of iron, the ammonio-ferrous sulphate (green ammonio-sulphate of iron) may be used. This is much less liable to oxidize than the simple sulphate. If the use of the solution is not interfered with by an acid, a few drops of sulphuric or better still hypophosphorous (10%) acid will contribute towards the stability of the solution. The plan of keeping a layer of pure kerosene or paraffin oil on the surface, is one which we have followed for a number of years. It will not do in the case of all reagents, but in those mentioned by our correspondent it answers excellently. A very fine material for this purpose is the so-called Albolene Oil or liquid albolene, which is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless liquid, of the same nature as liquid vaseline or vaseline oil, and for which McKesson & Robbins, of New York, are the agents.

No. 2,268.-Coster's Paste (Detroit).

This is a preparation used in the University College Hospital, London. It has also the title: Pigmentum Iodi et Olei Picis, and is prepared as follows:

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Mix carefully, applying heat if necessary; after ebullition preserve for use.

Martindale remarks to this: Ebullition generally takes place by the chemical action between the two ingredients. A part of the oil is oxidized, and forms a resinous deposit. Hydriodic acid is probably formed to some extent, as the mixture fails to give any reaction of free iodine. Similar, but more irritating applications are made by combining iodine with creosote or oil of cade in the above-named proportions.-Coster's paste is a useful application for ringworm of the scalp; after well shaking the bottle, it should be well brushed in with a stiff brush. A scab will be produced which should be removed in a few days, the part cleansed by soaking with oil, and then soap and warm water. After drying, more paste should be applied. It seldom causes pain.

No. 2,269.-Diluent for Wax (Dr. L.).

We are asked to mention one or more substances which will mix with wax so as to soften it without rendering it sticky or greasy.

The melting point of yellow beeswax lies between about 143° and 146° F.; that of white wax between about 146° and 150° F. The addition of any substance capable of mixing with wax, and having a lower melting point, will, of course, render it softer. To do this without finally reaching a point when the compound will be greasy, is probably impossible. However, it will depend altogether how far the softening process is to be carried. We would suggest additions of any of the following substances:

1. Paraffin, That having the lowest melting point should be selected. It may be had as low as melting at 100° F.

We should suppose that this would be the most suitable. Paraffin_ranges in melting point from about 100° F. to 180° F. It will, of course, be necessary to determine the proper melting point. This may be done roughly by coating the bulb of a thermometer with the paraffin under examination, and immersing the thermometer in water which is gradually being heated under stirring. When the paraffin coat becomes transparent or detached, the temperature is read off. If more accurate results are wanted the coating of the thermometer bulb must be done several days before making the test, as freshly melted or freshly congealed fats do not show the true melting point.

2. Cacao Butter. Perhaps a judicious mixture of this with the preceding might answer. Cacao butter melts at about 93° F.

3. Spermaceti. Melts at about 113° F. 4. Tallow. Melts at about 113° F.

5. Japan Wax, so-called. This is a vegetable fat, melting at about 124° F.

No. 2,270.-Metabisulphite of Potassium ("Photo"). We have had several inquiries from correspondents who asked us to explain the nature of the above-mentioned salt, which had been recommended some time ago as an excellent preservative for the pyrogallic-acid developer used in photography. It was only after seeing an abstract of a paper by Prof. Eder, of Vienna, that we were enabled to throw a light on this subject. Prof. Eder committed what we cannot help pronouncing a blunder, by giving to a chemical substance previously known by a certain name an entirely new one. In the reports of Prof. Eder's paper which were first published, the newly-given name only was used, viz.: "metabisulphite" of potassium. When the readers of the photographic journals in which this new salt was recommended went to dealers in chemicals and asked for it, they were-as we have ample reason to know-furnished with the "bisulphite" pure and simple. It was supposed that the new-fangled term "metabisulphite" was merely a fancy name, perhaps introduced by

one of the numerous would-be-chemical photographic writers. More recently, however, the confusion has been cleared up. To make the story short, "metabisulphite is a term applied by Prof. Eder to the salt heretofore known as pyrosulphite." Though a pyrosulphurous acid is not known in the free state, yet its constitution may be explained or understood easily by recalling the constitution of pyrosulphuric, or fuming, or Nordhausen sulphuric acid.

Pyrosulphuric acid (Nordhausen or fuming sulphuric acid) is obtained by he dry distillation of dried and thoroughly oxidized sulphate of iron. Its composition is H2SO, and it may be considered as having been formed either by the abstraction of 1 molecule of water from 2 combined molecules of mono-hydrated sulphuric acid, thus:

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This acid, as stated above, does not exist in the free state, but only in form of salts. And it is a curious fact that the two atoms of hydrogen can only be replaced by monad elements and not by a dyad, such as Ca, Ba, etc. It is supposed that the two hydrogen atoms are situated asymmetrically in the stereometric molecule (see Meysztowisz in Zeitsch. f. physik. Chemie, I., 73).

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Now the metabisulphite of potassium" is really the pyrosulphite of potassium," K2S2O. This is prepared by completely supersaturating a strong solution of sulphite of potassium with sulphurous-acid gas, until the latter ceases to be absorbed. The new compound, K.S.Os, is comparatively little soluble in cold water, and separates in hard crystals which, when washed, do not exhale the odor of sulphurous acid, possess an acid reaction, and are permanent in the air. It may be preserved in bottles without changing to sulphate, though when kept several years it may undergo a slight partial decomposition into hyposulphite and sulphate (See Liebig's Ann., 224, 222).

No. 2,271.-Sterilized Milk (Several inquirers).

The most practical apparatus for sterilizing milk to be fed to infants was described by Dr. Soxhlet in the Münchiner Medizinische Wochenschrift, Nos. 15 and 16, 1886. More recently Dr. Aug. Caillé, before a section of the New York Academy of Medicine (Dietetic Gazette, April, 1888), described a somewhat simplified apparatus of the same character, manufactured by C. Riessner & Co., 406 Pearl St., which retails at $4.50, and which has already been rather extensively used in this locality with excellent results.

No. 2,272.-Liniment (J. D. J).

The correspondent desires a formula for a liniment capable of relieving pain in the hip following amputation some years since, the pain being paroxysmal in character, having intermissions of about three months, and the paroxysms lasting for six to ten days.

Such pain as is referred to is very apt to come from an inflammation of the nerve in the scar, and we doubt whether any local application in the nature of a liniment will relieve it. We would need rather more detailed information than our correspondent gives to be able to form an opinion of the cause of pain, but will suggest the wearing, constantly, of a covering of india-rubber, guttapercha, oiled silk, or similar impermeable fabric. This is found to often relieve similar pain; and for the acute paroxysms try the internal use of antipyrin and the application of galvanism. The only liniment we will suggest is the ordinary chloroform liniment, to which aconite may be added.

Note on Atropine.--From a paper by Prof. Ladenburg, of Kiel (in Berichte, 1888, 3,065), on the recently-published researches concerning the relationship of hyoscyamine and atropine, in which particular reference is made to Will and Bredig's statement (see AMER. Drugg., 1888, 213) that atropine is an optically active base, we quote only a portion of the concluding remarks:

"I, therefore, arrive at the same conclusion as I did formerly, viz., that atropine is optically inactive, and that it bears a relation towards hyoscyamine analogous to that between uvic acid and lævo-tartaric acid."

Vol. XVIII. No. 2.

NEW YORK, FEBRUARY, 1889.

Whole No. 176,

[ORIGINAL COMMUNICATION.]

COMMENTARY UPON SOME FORMULAS OF THE NATIONAL FORMULARY.

BY AD. TSCHEPPE, PH.D.

HE Druggists' Circular for January contains a reprint

to the Polyclinic. Amongst the features objected to in various formulæ contained in the National Formulary, there are some for which I have to confess parentship, and, like a father fond of his child, and naturally inclined to resent undeserved censure bestowed upon it, I beg leave to offer a few remarks in explanation of the motives which prompted the presenting of these formulas to the Committee of the National Formulary. I do not desire to rebuke Mr. Beringer for his criticisms, for I know that without a commentary on these and many other formulas of the book, the chance of misinterpretation is open to all not acquainted with the inside history connected therewith. As the book itself did not permit the introduction of any lengthy discussions of the merits of the several preparations, or the chemistry of its formulæ, beyond short annotations, the authors owe to the public an exhibition of the reasons which determined their actions, and in the interest of the book I shall try to correct the neglect by inaugurating a short commentary on formulas which stand in need of some explanation, or which may be benefited in some way by such prophylactic treatment. I shall select such titles for discussion as are most congenial to my personal experience and practical knowledge, leaving the rest to others interested in them. I may also be allowed to extend these remarks to formulas not contained in the book, having either been overlooked or not being ripe enough for publication when the book was completed, but which will demand consideration when a supplement to or a revision of the book will become necessary.

1. LIQUOR ACIDI PHOSPHORICI COMPOSITUS. The critic finds fault with the material prescribed in the formula, and stigmatizes the process as a pharmaceutical crudity worthy of the lizard age of pharmacy. The building up of the formula from definite separate ingredients would have been preferred, especially a formula of Dr. Pepper, presumably that published by Mr. Jas. T. Shinn, in the Amer. Journ. Pharm., 1880, 481, in which certain amounts of the phosphates of calcium, magnesium, and potassium (also iron in a second formula) are dissolved in water with the aid of phosphoric acid. In reply to this criticism, I have to say that the object of the formula was to obtain a product similar to a proprietary article which, for a number of years, has been in universal use throughout the United States.

The formula is not a haphazard one, taken from a hogskin-folio of a time when the rule of thumb prevailed, but was framed and minutely gaged through knowledge gained by modern analytical work on the prototype for the intended preparation, and on the process for its production. By cautious work the similarity is so close, that the absolute and the relative proportions of the components of the two preparations are like photographic prints of one plate, and I do not doubt but that the original acid phosphate is obtained in precisely the same manner.

The analytic process which is laid down by the textbook patterns being rather tedious, I endeavored to find a new method which would be more practical and expeditious. From the intimacy gained during this research, I was lucky enough to find such a one, which will be serviceable for assaying the entire list of syrups, elixirs, and other preparations containing iron phosphate in combination with alkaline or earthy bases. The method was published by me several years ago (Deutsch-Amer. Apoth. Zeit., viii., 1887, No. 1, 2, 5).

In answer to the charge of a lack of definiteness of composition, if such complex material as bone-ash be employed, I may state that bones, as a product of nature, do not vary to such an extent as the separate ingredients do, as found in the shops, and from which the preparation might be composed. But it was at no time my intention to employ the separate salts. I would have deemed it a waste of time to rebuild artificially a structure from material obtained from its own destruction. Acid phosphate forms the starting point in the manufacture of phosphoric acid, pure and especially free from the very bases with which it has to be recombined in order to obtain the product again, artificially, from its components. Such a process would deserve the emblem used in olden times by pharmacists, of the recoiling snake biting its own tail. I will not close this subject without pointing out one advantage of this formula to those who did not see for themselves, namely, the low cost of its production. If the bone-ash is bought in the market, a gallon of the preparation comes to about twenty-five cents, and if the operator

prefers to trust rather to a self-prepared article, it will be a very simple matter for him to calcine the bones, which are otherwise only a refuse in the household. In this case a gallon of the finished preparation will require only an outlay for two pounds of sulphuric acid.

2. ELIXIR FERRI, QUININÆ ET STRYCHNINÆ. The critic considers this formula as supernumerary and cavils at the use of the tincture of citrochloride of iron in supplying the iron.

The answer is that a preparation under above title is frequently called for, the word Phosphate" or "Phosphates" being omitted, and the choice of the combination being apparently left to the dispenser. The elixir made with citrochloride of iron has several advantages over that made with phosphate or pyrophosphate of iron. These advantages need simply to be known to be appreciated. The finished elixir keeps its bright green color for an indefinite time, and never spoils on standing. The liquor or the tincture of citrochloride of iron admits of a wide range in its reaction without losing its equilibrium, and they are admissible where either a decidedly alkaline or an acid re-action is desirable to prevail in the preparation. In fact, they are admirably adapted for a number of preparations where the combination of the iron is not otherwise specified. The color varies from a yellowish brown, if alkali is in excess, to a bright or dark green, when heutral or acid reaction is prevalent. The development of the intensely green color serves as its own indicator when the proper stage of neutralization is reached.

Several years ago, when pyrophosphate of iron was in vogue, which is now supplanted by the phosphate, there was not a single formula in existence which furnished a completely satisfactory elixir. There were two alternatives: either the elixir became of a dark inky tint on standing for only a short time, when a slight excess of ammonia had been added, or it deposited the iron pyrophosphate in a jelly-like form when there was no excess of alkali. During this time, I noticed that the preparation as furnished by a prominent firm in this class of goods changed its behavior, and kept its color without changing. Uren examination I found that the elixir did not contain a particle of phosphoric acid, although this figured on the label, and the preparation bore evidence that the above-mentioned citrochloride of iron had been used as a substitute for the annoying pyrophosphate. From that time to this, I have used the citrochloride to my entire satisfaction, and can still recommend it to all who have never tried it. It is only recently that the formula of phosphate of iron, quinine, and strychnine has been so improved by recommendations of my own that it will be found generally satisfactory, which fact renders this formula less necessary than before.

3. PEPSIN.

The tenor of the criticism makes it obvious that the pepsin puzzle is not yet as fully and as generally understood as it ought to be by this time, and an elucidation of this question seems to me to be one of the most important themes to dilate upon.

The critic finds fault that no precise description of the kind of pepsin to be used for the preparations has been given in the National Formulary and that the process for making it has been omitted. Regrets are expressed, that the process of Scheffer, which is stated to be admittedly the best," has not been made officinal in the U. S. P. To this I have the following answer to make: Pepsin can only be criticised by testing it for its solvent or digestive power. It is impossible to judge its quality by physical description. As there are several different pepsins now in the market which show a nearly equally high solvent power, while the nature of their vehicles is of very different character, the Committee on National Formulary did not lay any stress upon the accessories, but standardized its solvent power, for the determination of which an elaborate and excellent method has been given. Pepsin is the peculiar ferment, found in the secretion of the stomach, which has the property of converting albumen into peptone in an acidulated medium. Like all animal secretions generally, this secretion is of a complex nature, from which the isolation of the ferment as a distinct body has not yet been successfully accomplished. Several of the better-defined accompanying substances can be removed without impeding its action, and enough has been learned to show that the ferment proper is not an albuminoid. The name "pepsin" is usually applied to preparations derived from the stomach, which either represents its secretion in its entirety, or part of it, with or without additions not derived from the secretion. The principle which effects digestion being intangible, it follows that there is no such thing as "pure or even as "undiluted" pepsin as a commercial article, and that the accompanying substances are not essential to the pepsin proper, but simply perform the office of a vehicle for it.

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