bubbles the whole mass is found to be, the better is its quality and the higher the price it fetches. Almost double the value is obtained for the first-rate article over that of the most inferior quality, the so-called seruamby or cabeça de negro (negro's head), which is nothing but the drops collected at the foot of the trees, with the remains of the milk scraped out of the bottoms of the calabashes. The rubber of India is said to be much like this seruamby, and, like it, to be mixed with sand and small pieces of bark. By way of testing the quality, every plancha is cut through again at Para; by which means discovery is made, not only of the bubbles, but also of any adulteration that might be effected with the milk of the mangaba, that fine plant with dark glossy leaves, now found so often as house plants under the erroneous name of rubber-plant. Native Indian Signboards. A WRITER in the Times of India has been investigating the native quarters of one of the great Indian cities, for the purpose of making merry on the way in which native shopkeepers air their knowledge of the English language in the business announcements over their shops, and his peregrinations have been rewarded by a large crop of oddities. A Goanese trader announces on a very prominent signboard that "chiroots and cigarettes fresh fry mutton things will be got here," while a rival shopkeeper describes himself as a "tea puddin ice-cream bayeef orburing robe What is an Adulteration in Pharmacy ? * BY J. U. LLOYD. ON first thought, this query would appear to admit of but one answer, and that to the effect that the nature of an adulteration in theory can be easily determined. Upon the contrary, there are connected matters which in the State of Ohio reach into the subject, and some of our members may be interested in studying them in these directions. We do not need to be told that to mix water with alcohol, alcohol with sulphuric ether, sulphuric ether with chloroform, and so on, selling each as a full-strength preparation, is typical of adulteration. An imposition is then practised on the innocent purchaser, an intentional deception and debasement for the gain that results to the admixer. Wherever we turn in the matter, whether it be in powders or liquids, the rule holds good and needs no further consideration from us, as the facts of intentional debasement of a substance for unearned gain are too well understood to demand explanation. It is perhaps not so well known that persons of the utmost integrity may unconsciously and innocently adulterate in certain directions, in the eyes of the law; and unquestionably it will surprise many perfectly honorable persons to learn that technically they are now guilty of adulterating, and might perhaps legally be classed with intentional mixers for gain. Really, a deviation from a recognized aneer and retail seller." Yet another storekeeper intimates that he keeps in stock "profitable Benares conserve of the hog plum. Further on an announcement runs : "The shop No. 13 in the name of T. D. Veerjee, cloth merchant, conducted by T. Giga Nuthoo. No tricks shall be played even towards a boy or a man of common sense. In case if the cloth is returned, being unsuited, its value shall be paid back and terms cash. Hakim Syed is a "Rumlee Juffree and astrologer," and Essajee a "plumber dranpipe and drang builder in new system." The oddest announcements of all are those of persons connected with the medical profession or the drug trade-Mr. Dhodee Chundrojee, for instance, having appropriated the title of "oculi et auris chirwig"; and a board on a charitable dispensary announcing that the institution is "for poor only and oculist." A similar institution is the "Cheapest Medical Dispensary has been opened for the benefit of the persons of small sum, and poor salary." "Syed Khoja Kurindinsha Chisliti, generation of Syed Khoja Mohidin Chisti, inhabitant of Ajmere, now wishes to celebrate, which he has been offerded from his master, to cure the patient demon, magic devils, etc., or any short of patient to whom doctors cannot cure the patient should attend here he will be cured by the favor of God." A certain other Syed calls attention to the fact that he can cure every kind of disease particularly the seven kinds of fites, etc." A lady rejoicing in the name of Vurzeebeebee states her calling as a nurse mediceon of any sickness for man and womans, and bone settler.' A native chemist's signboard runs as under: "Nuthoo Ramjee, candee shop is very good and cheap medicine to be had at any time." 66 standard, regardless of the selling or cost price of the preparation, may constitute an adulteration. The selling, under the pharmacopoeial name, of a substance differing from that of the Pharmacopoeia, regardless of the expense to the maker, is, in Ohio, made by special definition an adulteration; and what prominent manufacturer does not send products to this State? ADULTERATION LAW OF OHIO. SEC. 2. The term "drug," as used in this act, shall include all medicines for external or internal use, antiseptics, disinfectants, and cosmetics. The term "food," as used herein, shall include all articles used for food or drink by man, whether simple, mixed, or compound. SEC. 3. An article shall be deemed to be adulterated within the meaning of this act: (a) In the case of drugs: (1) If, when sold under or by a name recognized in the United States Pharmacopoeia, it differs from the standard of strength, quality, or purity laid down therein; (2) if, when sold under or by a name not recognized by the United States Pharmacopoeia, but which is found in some other pharmacopoeia, or other standard work on materia medica, it differs materially from the standard of strength, quality, or purity laid down in such work; (3) if its strength, quality, or purity falls below the professed standard under which it is sold. Written by request of Mr. A. Robinson McIlvaine, chairman of the Committee of Adulteration and Sophistication, National Wholesale Drug Association, 1889. Read at the annual meeting at Indianapolis, October 22d. This, therefore, brings jobbers and wholesale manufacturers nearer to the U. S. P. than they had perhaps heretofore supposed themselves; in Ohio, at least, it is by law made the standard that all dealers in medicine must bow before. Every ten years the U. S. P. is revised, and with each revision, in order to avoid becoming criminals in the eyes of the law, those who now sell their manufactures in Ohio, as plainly stated in our adulteration law, must, as I see the subject, discard their old stocks and make their processes for officinal preparations conform to the U. S. P., if they name them by the officinal title. This law goes further: not only are we compelled to conform to the U. S. P. standard, but we cannot use the U. S. P. title qualified by explanations so as to show that a preparation of other strength is represented. For example, we cannot use the term "fluid extract of arnica" on a preparation of different nature or strength than the officinal, even though we explain on the label that this is not U. S. P. Neither, as I see the matter, can we use any U. S. P. title for a similar preparation that is named in a foreign pharmacopoeia, even if we should distinctly state this fact. For example, the statutes of Ohio actually forbid us making and selling infusion of digitalis, Pharm. Germ., because the U.S. P. recognizes infusion of digitalis of a different strength (see Ohio law, section 3, a (1).) However just this ruling may generally be in one sense, it appears in other directions oppressive. Take, for example, a drug introduced originally by a certain manufac It is well known that the U. S. P. is not an originator but a follower. Irregular preparations come into demand through individual exertion; physicians prescribe certain of them, and at last the committee of the U. S. P. recognizes their importance. A process is adopted for making them, and thus, although the officinal product may be in many respects dissimilar from the original preparation, it is legally established as the standard. This is not all of the problem with which we have to contend in the matter of deviation officinally, for subsequent revisions of the U. S. P. may materially alter the formulæ of those preceding (indeed, the most do so), and this necessitates a periodic disturbance of the manufacturers' business. A more sensitive barometer than the change in appearance of a medicine can scarcely be suggested, and all persons connected with manufacturing interests realize that the necessary changes that are made in the formulæ and methods of the U. S. P. tend naturally to create more than a little disturbance in the manufacturers' field. The apothecary, with his limited personal trade, can easily explain these differences to his patrons, the change from old to new is usually easily accomplished with him; but the customers of a manufacturer are scattered over the entire country, and only manufacturers realize the aggravations that follow the disturbances of this nature. It seems just, therefore, that a period of time should be established whereby old stocks may be exhausted, in order to permit products of the old process to be exhausted and changes familiarized before compelling turer, in fluid-extract form, to oblige a physician who is the only person using it. The physician commends it to his professional friends; the manufacturers finally advertise it extensively. A general demand arises, and it becomes of sufficient interest to be made officinal. The committee of revision of the U. S. P. then recognizes the necessity for a similar article, and adopts a menstruum that is different from that employed in the preparation that made the demand (the officinal may actually be inferior from inexperience of the committee with this one drug). It becomes officinal, but as it is established by the U. S. P. is a very different substance from the liquid that gave the reputation to the drug. Physicians who formerly employed it may even object to the new (officinal) preparation, which in reality is designed as a substitute for the genuine, and demand the original; and yet this genuine has really become an adulteration, in the eyes of the law, and cannot be sold under the general name in Ohio. The original maker and introducer must disturb his business, alter his process, and perhaps enter into a world of explanations to complaining patrons, if he drop the original formula and recognize the U. S. P. process, as he should do if possible. If he does not do this, he is guilty of adulteration, according to my construction of the laws of Ohio, and would possibly be held for irregularity elsewhere if accident followed. That this simile as regards change in product is not overdrawn is evident from the continued experience of various manufacturers of pharmaceutical preparations in this direction, who, however, probably believe that, unless their preparations are labelled U. S. P., they have a right to deviate from the standard established by that work. us to replace with the new. This may perhaps properly be done by amendments to the law of this and perhaps other States, or even, if necessary, by a clause in the U. S. P. establishing the date at which the new revision shall go into legal and permanent effect in order to meet such cases as the one under consideration.+ In this connection, the question arises, Can the U. S. P. control the names of substances introduced by an individual or a firm, or that have been evolved by a long series of years in commercial affairs, and affix those names to different materials, and thus cast the odium of adulteration upon the original preparation? That excellent authorities have maintained their right to personal methods, in which products under the officinal appellation differ from the officinal, is evident, and some do so yet. When the U. S. P. appeared in 1870, no less an authority than Dr. Squibb § rebelled against many of its prepara * Do not infer that this is an adverse criticism of the U. S. P. Upon the contrary, all persons recognize the necessity of these ten-year alterations in that work, and I consider this publication, especially its last issue, as an upward evolution in a work that we may take pride in praising. + Credit for this opinion should be extended an able reviewer of this paper, whose name I do not feel at liberty to divulge, but whose judgment I would unhesitatingly accept in all matters connected with the subject under consideration. The U. S. P. committee, as I view the matter, have never absorbed a private proprietary name; at least I have no knowledge of such act. Strictly scientific appellations are used with all preparations in that work, or at least names explanatory of the substance designated. Manufacturers and others who have established fanciful names, and created a personal demand for preparations under such ownership titles, will probably support this view. I doubt if any man has cause to criticise the work in this direction, or if any firm can view the course of the U. S. P. committee in other than admiration at their respect for the rights of individuals. § I do not hesitate to assume that this unimpeachable authority uses the term U. S. P. only when a preparation is made in exact conformity with that tions. To use his words respecting the fluid extracts of U. S. P. 1870:-* "They have not only substituted glycerin for the sugar in the 10 old fluid extracts which contained sugar, but have introduced it into 7 of the remaining 14 old fluid extracts after ten years' experience had proved it unnecessary, leaving now only 7 of the original 24 without it. Then the committee introduce 22 new fluid extracts, 17 of which contain glycerin, thus making a total of 46, of which the large proportion of 34 contain glycerin. This new officinal feature will not probably be generally followed, and should not, and the Pharmacopoeia will have to be satisfied with that degree of loyalty which adopts its now uniform strength for fluid extracts, whereby each minim represents a grain of the drug from which it is made." It is now nearly twenty years since that day, and there has been a continuous trend towards centralization in State laws that govern druggists. What was possible then is impracticable now. The privileges of the individual have been circumscribed, and in business matters we, as individuals, must bow to modern laws passed avowedly in the interest of the multitude. To take the stand that Dr. Squibb held then would now be an act of open defiance of the statutes of the State of Ohio, should the subject come to issue, and possibly of other States. I, for one, agree with him concerning the justice of his decision at that time. I believe that his studious experience as a manufacturer was such as to justify him in protesting openly against the glycerin craze of the pharmacopoeial committee of 1870. Subsequent revisions of the U. S. P. show that he was right, and yet, as I see the matter now, we defy the positive wording of the law at this day if we use our individual experiences and replace a U. S. P. formula with a better one, or retain an original process in the face of one officinal, if we sell our products in Ohio under the officinal name, even if we should distinctly state that this is not U. S. P. It may occur to some persons to argue that if real improvement of product results from such individual labor, there could be no objection to a deviation in that direction, and that the improved substance could not be adversely decided against. Upon the contrary, if the U. S. P. process yields a defective preparation, this preparation establishes its dose and use in therapy, and to substitute an irregular, stronger one might really, with some drugs, prove a serious matter. If it could be shown that the U.S. P. preparation was the legal one (as our Ohio statutes establish it) and would have been harmless, it is possible that in case of toxic action the dispenser or maker of a more energetic one who uses the officinal name simply (without the U. S. P.) would be held responsible for its action, even without a positive statute such as we have in Obio.t From a consideration of this subject I am led to accept that a deliberate alteration of a pharmacopoeial preparation, if the preparation be sold in Ohio under the officinal title, is an adulteration in pharmacy, regardless of the value or the cost of the material, and I do not know but that law would support it elsewhere. Even if the maker is actuated by the highest motives and produces a better preparation than the officinal, selling it even at a loss in money to himself, the use of the officinal name makes (he need not say U. S. P. on the label) it an irregular preparation.‡ I am quite sure that many manufacturers do not realize their responsibilities in these directions. We have generally considered in trade that adulteration is practised only for unfair purposes, and many have accepted that it must always be an act intended to cheapen a substance. Those who make pharmacopoeial preparations may, however, it seems to me, rest assured that the money value of a preparation is not a consideration in this law; that the maker of a double strength "tincture of opium," sold under that name, is responsible alike with the one who makes the half strength-indeed, that the former act might become more serious than the latter. Owing to the fact that many members of this Society are now engaged in manufacturing fluid extracts and other preparations on a large scale, that the jobber is rapidly becoming a producer and not a mere handler, I take the liberty to present this paper, feeling that the ideas suggested may be kindly received and of value to some of our members. publication, and that any preparation bearing his label is unquestionably as represented. However, Dr. Squibb, in 1873, maintained his right to a certain amount of liberty which, if exercised now, would, by the inflexible definition of the Ohio Adulteration Law, place him among persons who debase their products for gain. Be it said for Dr. Squibb that he has no proprietary preparations and no private processes, and I think facts are stated beyond contradiction. For this reason, perhaps, he is in a better position to maintain his stand than some of us, who maintain an ownership right in methods and processes earned by labor, thought, and expense-a right of property that I, for one, maintain is just and a birthright. New York Medical Journal, April, 1873. + The late Professor W. B. Chapman, when a judge at the Cincinnati Industrial Exposition, informed the writer that he would decide more forcibly against toxic preparations made stronger than the U. S. P. required than against those weaker, upon the ground that injury from overdose was a more serious matter than underdosing. The query arises, Can the preparation of a drug be adulterated with another portion of itself thereby intensifying its action instead of debasing? According to the Ohio laws, which give a special definition, if any preparation deviates from the standard of the U. S. P. it is adulterated. The definition of the word adulterate in our dictionaries seems to me, however, to refer to a debased material. In addition thereto I would suggest that, as manufacturers of officinal preparations and of irregular preparations that are about to become officinal, perhaps through our energies, we should, whenever possible, lend a helping hand to the revisers of the Pharmacopoeia. Our experiences in many directions are far greater than those of any member of the committee of revision of the Pharmacopoeia, and I speak advisedly when I say that our aid will often be thankfully received by these gentlemen, and, I believe, will surely deflect immature processes when special preparations, that we are from large experience expert in making, earn such positions in the eyes of the country as to demand their officinal recognition. Our co-operation may also serve in introducing, at the start, formulæ of such perfection as to permit them to remain unchanged from decade to decade as the work is revised. As a partial answer, then, to "What is an adulteration in pharmacy?" I reply, in the eyes of the laws of my State, a deviation from the standard established by the Pharmacopoeia of the United States will probably come under that head if the preparation be sold under the pharmacopoeial title, regardless of the strength, value, cost, or selling price, and irrespective of dictionary definition of the word adulterate. That this may seem a harsh ruling to many who have devised special processes and an extensive trade for preparations that in a very different condition subsequently become officinal, cannot be more apparent to, or bear harder on, others of this Association than on the writer, to whom has been awarded the subject of which this communication is a partial answer.§ Separate Estimation of Strychnine and Brucine in Nux Vomica. Ar the late meeting of the German Naturalists and Physicians at Heidelberg, Prof. H. Beckurts read a paper on a method for separately determining strychnine and brucine in nux vomica. The following abstract is from the Chem. Centralblatt: The The author had already previously pointed out a method for separating strychnine and brucine, which consisted in precipitating the former, in a solution acidulated with hydrochloric acid, as ferrocyanide (C21H22N2O2. H.FeCys), the corresponding brucine solution being soluble. determination may be conducted volumetrically, and the results are satisfactory. Kremel has examined this method, and has likewise declared it satisfactory. But he reports having found in an extract 7.3 per cent of strychnine and 14.28 per cent of brucine, which proportions do not agree with the results obtained by the author. The latter therefore requested Mr. Holst to investigate this point. The alkaloids were separated in the usual manner by shaking with chloroform, the residue converted into salts by adding a sufficient but measured quantity of normal hydrochloric acid, and the excess of acid determined by titration with normal alkali. This gave the total alkaloids. They were, however, not pure enough to serve for the final treatment with ferrocyanide. Hence the solution was again evaporated with addition of ammonia, the residue extracted with alcohol, this solution again evaporated, and finally extracted with chloroform. The latter having been evaporated, the total quantity of alkaloids was determined as before; next the liquid was acidulated with hydrochloric acid and precipitated with a volumetric solution of ferrocyanide. This method, then, permits the determination of the total alkaloids (strychnine and brucine). Moreover, by its use, the relation of the alkaloids in the nux vomica, or extract, is not altered by it. In five extracts this relation varied as follows: Note by Ed. Am. Drugg.—The volumetric solution of ferrocyanide of potassium spoken of above is to be prepared (according to Beckurts) by dissolving 10 Gm. of the salt in distilled water to make 1 liter. Since the reaction which takes place between this salt and the strychnine is in the proportion of 422 parts of ferrocyanide of potassium to 334 of strychnine, it follows that each cubic centimeter of the above-mentioned volumetric solution, which contains 0.01 Gm. of ferrocyanide, corresponds to 0.0079147 Gm. of strychnine. § In my opinion, it would neither be expected by the profession of medicine nor desired by the revision committee that methods of manipulation that give a manufacturer's wares a deserved superiority over that of a competitor should be divulged to his injury. My views of this problem are too plainly recorded to permit of such a construction. Liberality in a general sense tends to advance the interests of all concerned, and, it seems to me now as it has heretofore, can often be exhibited on the part of those of our members who do not depend on specialties only, with benefit rather than injury to themselves. Some of our members may think that the jobber and the United States Pharmacopoeia are out of sight of each other. I believe that men who select and distribute all the drugs for this nation are interested in the stand ard of the nation. Beyer Bros., 16 and 18 Rue de Lorraine, Paris, showed a triturating machine, to be driven by hand or steam, costing in the neighborhood of $200, and shown in the adjoining figure. The cams not only raise the pestles, but may cause them to revolve, and the escape of the drug during the operation is prevented by the rubber jacket shown on the left of the two mortars. It is said that a large number of these machines are already in use in Parisian laboratories for the production of impalpable powders. WEIGHING AND PACKING MACHINE. Avery & Cl a uson's weighing Weighing and Packing Machine. Examination and Preservation of Medical and Surgical Appliances. C. SACK, of Berlin, gives some very practical directions for the management of this important class of druggists' sundries, which we copy from the Monthly Magazine: Air and water cushions ought not to be stored in a folded state. The temperature of the room in which they are kept ought to be moderate, not too cold, as the rubber is spoiled by prolonged exposure to cold; the same is done by contact with fatty oil, such as carbolic oil, etc. Small rents in the cushions can be mended. A complete air- and water-tight cushion ought to bear the following test. The cushion in the insufflated state is gradually charged with a heavy weight, which has been placed on a flat board. The weight ought to be in proportion to the size of the cushion, 150 lbs. being sufficient for a cushion of the size of a square foot. The cushion may be declared in order if, after twenty-four hours' pressure, no air has escaped. Brushes are best kept in tin boxes with tightly-fitting cover; spoiling by moths, etc., is prevented by having a piece of camphor or naphthalin in each box. Originally, all brushes used for surgical purposes, eye, throat, and wound brushes, were made of American feh-hair. But as the latter has risen enormously in price, the manufacturers began to substitute for it the much inferior hair of cats, foxes, bears, etc. So cleverly is the imitation made and packing machine for powders, seeds, etc., is capable of weighing and filling many hundreds of packages per hour. The powder, or whatever it may be, is carried into the hopper, and from this it falls into the package below, so that, when the desired weight has gone in, the balance turns, and at the same time a long-arm lever brings a disc into the mouth of the hopper, which effectually closes it. Machines of this kind are now extensively used, and are made so that they can be worked by steam power, every part of the operation to the bringing-up of the packages being done by mechanism. In the one illustrated there is a combination of three packet-holders, each one of which affects the balance only when under the hopper. Supplement to the German Pharmacopoeia. - The Apotheker Verein has resolved to undertake the publication of a supplement to the new Pharmacopoeia, which will be edited by Dr. Vulpius, and which will correspond somewhat with the "National Formulary " of unofficial preparations of the American Pharmaceutical Association. It will contain particulars of all the latest chemicals and preparations of vegetable origin. The profits arising out of its publication are to be handed to the relatives of the recently deceased chemist, Schlickum, whose services in connection with the Pharmacopoeia will thus be appropriately recognized.-Chem. and Drugg. Pill-making Machine. Pill-printing Machine. the noise with which the air escapes. that even compe- Ice bags are often India-rubber goods form a very prominent article in the chemist's shop, and as good appearance and quality depend much on the way in which they are kept, every chemist ought to be well acquainted with the peculiarities and properties of such goods. There are two principal kinds of rubber-hard india-rubber, commonly called vulcanite, and soft india-rubber, of gray, brown, or black color. The former is very durable, whilst the latter is easily spoiled by unsuitable treatment. Soft india-rubber, forming the material for mackintoshes, air and watercushions, tubing, etc., is regularly adulterated by a smaller or larger quantity of the substitutes for indiarubber. By such admixtures the articles are, of course, made cheaper, but at the expense of elasticity and durability. Superior material, so-called moss rubber, is perfectly free of them, and may be recognized by putting it into water. It will swim in the latter if it consists of genuine moss rubber. Soft india-rubber ought to be kept at a moderate temperature, never below 25°; it becomes hard, brittle, and permanently unfit for use by cold, as likewise by storing it for a certain period, which varies according to the quality of the goods. Superior articles become hard only by keeping for several years. Patent india-rubber may be of black, brown, or gray color, the first two kinds indicating greater elasticity and durability than the latter. Patent india-rubber which, in consequence of long-continued storing, has lost its original lustre, may be restored by rubbing it with some glycerin. It may be distinguished from the inferior Pará india-rubber by concentric rings, which will appear when the material is drawn into long, thin streaks. The black variety of patent india-rubber is more durable than the red. Pessaries and syringes made of Pará rubber, covered with a very thin layer of patent rubber, are sometimes sold as genuine patent rubber goods. The fraud can only be discovered on tearing the articles into pieces. Newly made patent rubber goods ought not to be exposed to great pressure, as this rubber is sometimes affected by too close packing. They frequently possess a strong odor, caused by sulphurous acid gas, which will disappear rapidly by keeping the articles in the open air. Fresh hollow articles, such as balloons, cushions, etc., have to be insufflated and emptied repeatedly before the odor disappears. Other delicate articles, on which sulphurous acid gas might have an effect, ought to be kept away from patent rubber goods. Handsprays with silk nets, urinals with bandages, and all other articles which consist partly of rubber and partly of tissue, ought to be kept in an imperfectly closed box, as otherwise the evaporating sulphurous acid gas might destroy the tissue, the gas becoming oxidized into sulphuric acid. The articles may also suffer by contact with fats and oils, or by exposure to sunlight. Inhalation apparatus ought to be turned on to a full flame, as otherwise they frequently fail to act with sufficient power. Stoppages in the two inhalation tubes may readily be removed by blowing through them in the reverse direction. If the tubes and points are not stopped, and the latter are placed very near each other, the apparatus ought to be in good working order. The intact state of the tubes may be proved by detaching them from the apparatus and blowing violently through one tube whilst the other is immersed in water. Dressing material, especially absorbent cotton wool, derives its value from the white color, from the power of absorption, and from the length of the fibres of the tissue. Absorbent cotton wool with the longest fibres is the most valuable dressing material for surgical purposes. Short-fibred may be distinguished from long-fibred cotton wool by the loose, not compact texture, by being mixed with remnants and waste, and by yielding much dust when shaken. The quality of other dressing material, such as gauze, cambríc, etc., is better judged according to the arrangement and number of threads. The price varies accordingly. The threads are counted in a square piece of a certain constant size, and by comparing the number with the one obtained in other cases, judgment of its quality may be arrived at. Gauze bandages vary in value also according to their weight, but the valuation by this method is deceitful in cases where the bandage is impregnated with starch and other chemicals. Dressing material containing iodoform, salicylic acid, carbolic acid, etc., ought from time to time to be controlled with regard to their pretended percentage of chemicals. With iodoform gauze the size of the meshes has also to be taken into consideration; as, for instance, a 20-per cent gauze of wide meshes may contain less iodoform than a 10-per cent gauze of small meshes. Plaster of Paris bandages ought to be well guarded against cold and damp. If kept in suitable well-closed boxes, they remain perfectly serviceable for at least two years. In using them they must be immersed in warm water for at least two minutes before application. Tubing may be judged according to color, gray tubing being the most inferior, which may be mixed up with anything but real rubber. Superior tubing, as used for irrigators, clysopompes, sprays, etc., ought not to give way on being stretched from a length of 10 inches to 35 inches. By lifting with it a weight of 60 pounds the tubing ought not to be torn. Cracks are avoided by keeping it in wide circular curves. Solution of Citrate of Magnesium, and a Proposition for Revision of the Officinal Formula.* BY LUTHER F. STEVENS, BROOKLYN, N. Y. EVERY one acquainted with pharmacy knows that there is difficulty with the present officinal process for the medicament above named. The situation is such as only to need the statement without proof, while the consequence has followed that, though many calls for more accurate construction have arisen, the ancient methods still have been copied without change, until every maker, whether small or large in his output, has a private recipe which is thought to work better; and, as an actual industrial fact, this is usually the case. It seems strange that, with this unsatisfactory position in which the whole trade is placed, no one of requisite skill and name to carry weight has cared sufficiently for the cause to probe the matter throughout and disclose not only the reasons of failure, but also a simpler and better way. Some such considerations have led to thought and work such as time could be spared for, and finally to the production of this paper and the experiments and samples spread upon the tables before you by which to prove the various steps. * From a paper read at the September meeting of the Kings County Pharmaceutical Society. = I speak to-day for the hydro- or acid citrate, or sometimes called bi-basic citrate, stated thus: MgHC.H2O 214 when anhydrous, holding still one basic hydrogen which gives it its name and also its medicinal activity, this and one basic Mg attached to the citrate group, minus the water of crystallization contained in the citric acid, and two replaceable hydrogens displaced by dyad Mg. In a molecular statement, officinal magnesium carbonate aggregates to the rating 484, this bearing 5 Mg, which require 5 citrate molecules, one being contained in each 210 of citric acid. = = 4(MgCO3)Mg(OH)25H2O = 484 + 5(HзC&HьO,H2O) = 1050 5MgHCH.O = 1070 (when not crystallized) + 4CO2 17616H2O = 288 (10H O from water of crystallization in the materials, and 6H,O from 6 free O and 12 free H, consequent from the decomposition). Also this salt will always form when citric acid is in excess of above proportion, leaving some free acid, while predominance of Mg, in whatever form held, will produce more or less of the neutral or sesqui or tri-basic salt, 3Mg2C.H.O, = 450 rated as anhydrous, or 630 when crystallized. For instance, a solution made containing 23.37 of anhydrous acid salt, to which 10.47 Mg. Carb. (officinal U. S. P.) is added, will in a few days bring the acid salt to 25 of sesqui salt. The present U. S. P. formula, we all know, produces both of these salts-the sesqui in preponderance-to the waste of good chemicals and great loss in therapeutic effect, while if the 200 grains of carbonate were worked up into this acid salt the result would be 442 grains (anhydrous) much too great a dose for the purposes and cases in which this inimitable medicament is used. These matters lead me to the proposition for revision. I think all will agree that the hydrocitrate should be the salt arranged for and produced; the chemical situation all bears that way. And the next thing is the dosage. Since 1882 I have made my supplies upon the basis explained to-day, stating the molecular structure, as given, in grains, and dividing the 5 molecules of hydro-citrate produced (1,070 grains), as held in solution, among four twelve-ounce bottles, sweetening, flavoring, and gas charge q. s., giving to each bottle 267.5 grains of the salt (rated still as anhydrous); during this long time none has ever spoiled, though samples have been laid aside for periods of trial; no complaint either as to effect or disturbance from lesser or greater "strength" in given lots. Messrs. Stille and Maisch state that the officinal preparation cannot be depended upon for constitution or uniformity of action; certainly, such criticism cannot apply when proper chemical balance is secured, for the salt then made is definite and keeps well even with loss of gas charge, does not readily crystallize, and if so by accident, is exceedingly soluble either in hot or cold water. In such case, then, all the alchemic rigmarole in process may be done away with, for this is simple and easy; the solution may be allowed to go on at its own pace or be hurried by heat. There need be no rush to stopper the bottle until the gas is introduced, and one bottle or ten thousand can be made at one batch, as may suit local needs, without fear of deterioration from keeping. My own directions to friends and others are as follows: Materials in grains for producing solution of hydrocitrate of magnesium: For the larger quantity dissolve the carbonate and the acid, each either in fragments or powder, and lemon oil 2 minims or q. s., in a large bottle, with 26 fluid ounces of water; filter upon 1 pint of syrup, rinse the filter lightly, and bring to 48 fluid ounces (allowing for 5 fluidounces space taken up by the products of decomposition), giving 4 fluidounces of sweetened solution for each bottle; fill with filtered water, add 30 grains bicarbonate of potassium, and immediately stopper tightly. Others who have used this method and dosage have been as highly pleased as myself, and our committee will be glad to have it tried by as many as possible during the coming winter and spring, by which means to obtain a consensus of opinion for presentation to the future pharmacopoeial committee. In this case, as in many others, the carbonate is the best chemical form to use for reduction; occasionally there is a variation in that which we obtain, occurring, so far as we find, yet more often in foreign than in native brands: hence a test is offered which is convenient to the situation, taking advantage of the formation of neutral salt. In a test tube or small bottle dissolve 14.5 grains citric acid and 10 grains carbonate of magnesium in powder with 1 fluidounce of water; allow the solution to stand until clear and for escape of CO2. |